Maine Conference: 2018
Table of Contents
1 Samuel 17:1-15
Reading
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I'd like to suggest.
Brother's.
Reflecting on our prayer meeting and the various things that were mentioned in the prayer meeting.
I've never heard this portion taken up in a reading like this.
Fact. I've never suggested abortions in a setting like this.
I just wondered if it would be.
A consideration to look at First Samuel 17.
So I look at the.
Group of us that's here.
Various and sundry ages and things that we're all faced with. I just make that a suggestion.
Not to force it, perhaps if there's somebody has somebody, something else, I'd be happy. I just think that is a suggestion. First Samuel, chapter 17.
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shoko, which belonged to Judah, and pitched between Shoko and Azika in Ephes, Damon, and Saul. And the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched by the valley of Eli, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side.
And there was a valley between them.
And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gaff, whose height was 6 cubits in a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head. And he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was 5000 shekels of grass. And he had Greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his Spears head weighed 600 shekels of iron.
And one bearing a shield went before him, and he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel.
And said unto them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am not IA Philistine a Philistine? And ye servants to solve, choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall you be our servants and serve us? And the Phyllis Sting said, I defy the armies of Israel this day.
Give me a man that we may fight together.
From Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine.
They were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now David was the son of that appetite of Bethlehem, Judah, whose name is Jesse, and he had eight sons. And a man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons that went to battle were Eliab the first born, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shamah.
And David was the youngest, and the three eldest followed Saul.
But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father sheep at Bethlehem, and the Philistine drew near.
Morning and evening and presented himself 40 days.
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an IPA of this parched corn, and these 10 loaves, and runs to the camp of thy brethren, and carry these 10 cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. Now Saul, and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of the fighting with the Philistines. And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took and went as Jesse had commanded him.
And he came to the trench as the host was going forth to the fight. He shouted for the battle for Israel. And the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion of the Philistine.
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Philistine of Gaff, Goliath by name out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words. And David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man that has come up? Surely to defy as he come up? And it shall be that man who killeth him. The king will enrich him with great riches.
And will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in Israel.
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine?
And taketh away the reproach from Israel, For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab his heart his eldest brother heard, when he spake unto the men. And Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why came his style down? Hit her, With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness?
I know that I cried, And the naughtiness of thy heart, for thou art come down, that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not A cause? And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner. And the people answered him again after the former manner. And when the words were heard, which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him.
Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine, to fight with him.
For thou art buddy youth, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth.
And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
Thy servants slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing had he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said, Moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. And Saul arm David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head.
Also he armed him with a coat of mail, and David girded his sword upon his armor, and he is saved to go, for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose 5 smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had even in a script, and his sling was in his hand.
And he drew near to the Philistine, and the Philistine came on, and drew near unto David.
And the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth and Ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am IA dog, that thou comest to me with staves. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistines said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air.
And to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand. And I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. And I will give the carcass of the host of the Philistines to stay unto the fowls of the air.
And to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
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And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with the sword and spear, for the battle is the Lords, and he will give you unto our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came, and drew nigh on to meet David, that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
David put his hand in his bag, and he took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into the into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a slang and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistines, and took his sword, and threw it out of the sheet thereof, and slew him.
And cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the valley, and to the gates of Akron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way of Cherum, even unto Gath, and even unto Akron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem.
And he put his armor in his tent. And when David saw it, and when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host Abner, whose son is this youth. And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said unto him.
Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant, Jesse the Bethel, the Bethel of her mind. As I mentioned, I've never heard this portion taken up and it would not be my intent to go through it verse by verse, but so look around the room. I know there are many brethren here that have meditated on this portion and they're.
Our number of children here, there are a number of young people, perhaps young people that are exactly the age of David when he faced the Philistine I was.
Just meditating a little on the.
Fair meeting that we had. We opened our firm meeting by seeing miss scenes of confusion. If ever there was a scene of confusion in Israel, it was at this time.
And then to hear while the expression is, is prayer that we face giants in our day, and there's many of them and.
And then another brother trade that.
We have David that was able to be victorious as a picture of the Lord Jesus as he faced the giants. I just wondered if it might be the minus brethren here to consider this portion.
In view of perhaps reaching up and getting some fruit that flow to the ground as opposed to fruit that's way up in the tree.
There are a number of principal figures in this chapter. We have Goliath, a picture of the Philistine. We have Saul, a man of the flesh. Both of them are heavily armed. We have David. He's also heavily armed, but he's armed with a breastplate of righteousness. He's armed with a shield of faith.
We have Davids family.
And we find that they're in opposition. Sometimes we find our brethren or in opposition to us. We have all these things in this portion. We have the armor of God just.
Thought it would be helpful for us to consider some of these things as we face in our own lives many of the things that David faced in this chapter.
As you made your comments, Brother Dave, I was thinking about him also while here in the Valley of Conflict. Here's a valley of conflict, tremendous conflict. We talked about pictures in the Old Testament. This is more than a picture, it's a mural.
With many pictures in it and I believe it's wisdom that we don't take it up verse by verse not his our brothers intention, but that we look at all these various pictures that God has given to us for our blessing. I think I believe we'll profit from you. We learned from Romans that whatsoever things were written before time were written for our learning and I believe this is.
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An account that is in that category, that which was written before time. And we have something to learn from this. And the scripture goes on in Romans that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope.
And if we don't have hope as a result of reading through this portion and seeing how God.
Is working on behalf of his people. I don't know where we're going to find home. This hope you know, it's that which God delights to instill in our hearts and David.
In spite of his felt weakness, he had hope in God and that's what we need today. And if there is hope in God, it's going to be reflected in our faces.
You know, I come to a conference like this.
And I see some they just seem to be beaming. They're happy. And I say to myself, I believe this is the result of hope in God.
And we get that in Psalms too.
You know the question is, why art thou cast down on my soul?
Why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God.
For he is the health of thy confidence.
And so I believe.
The world looks upon us, and if they see one who's happy and contented.
It's unique because what we have in the world today has has been emphasized already in this conference is confusion and creature complaints.
So much discontentment in everybody wanting something more. But you know, the Christian, he hopes in God and God is for him and he comes to realize that. And God is the one who enabled him to overcome the power of the enemy, even though it seems so tremendous.
And I think we need to compare, you know, the giant to God himself. I think that's really what David did.
He didn't compare the giant to himself.
I don't think he would have gone out on the field that had been the case, but he compared the giant to God.
And you know that God is for him imposing the strength of the Lord. Now I, I think it's good, you know, to look at this portion in its entirety. And this has been brought out. We don't need to take it first by first, but there is so much here for our learning.
And I think it's going to be a blessing to us.
So in verse 11 it says when Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.
And so.
As you mentioned.
The they were all comparing the Philistine to themselves.
That's why they were afraid.
So he had one little shepherd boy that was not doing that. He was comparing him to the Lord.
Believe the words here, if we look at them, tells us that very thing and it's good to read them, for example.
Verse 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were sore afraid. Have you felt fear in your life? Put yourself in this position.
Fear.
And we're sore afraid we're singing in that hymn. Oh, give us submission and strength.
When there's fear, the strength is gone. And look what they say. Here's what they say, The men of Israel said. Have ye seen this man?
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That's those are strong words. Have you seen this man? They're looking at this man. They're looking at the enemy, David.
One of the verses afterward he he talks about the living God.
The living God.
Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? And so we have in this passage a thing that our brethren have been telling us about.
Looking to the living God.
When I was young man in school.
We had some reading assignments.
And I never really enjoyed reading till I got saved. So what I do is I look at the pictures in the book. Sometime there was 5-6 or ten illustrations and.
I'd read table of contest and read the end of the book and so.
And I had to read. I write my book report. I didn't get excellent March, but I didn't get passing March anyway.
So when I first looked at the scriptures, I did start in the Genesis there, but I got tired around the Book of Kings or something Chronicles. And so I went and I read the last book.
I was terrified so, and that's how the Lord brought me to realize what I was like before Him, all this bloodshed in the Old Testament and all all these types that were there. And I'd read this portion through First Samuel 17. And so if I do that with First Samuel 17 and I go to the end of the chapter.
That was Saul's question. Whose Whose son is this, you know?
And I think that's the key to this whole book that we have in our hands. Whose son?
Is this and so David?
In this chapter.
What a beautiful type.
Of the Lord chief and when we look at him and what he's going through and we compare that to the Lord, he's going to go down in the valley to meet that giant, you know, and that's the valley of death, isn't it and so.
How gracious of our Father.
Have recorded for us.
In specific details.
What revealed to her? What will reveal to our hearts? Whose Sonny is?
Because what gives such?
Dimension.
To our Lord.
You look at him as a perfect man, and it's beyond us to be perfect imitators of him.
But who is this man?
They said look, look at that man. Who can go against that man well.
Go, life says, give me a man. Well, there he is.
Pilot says behold a man.
Who is this man?
His name is Jesus. That's what he was called. That was his name. My name is Michelle. His name is Jesus. Very simple. Jehovah the Savior.
He came and he became building the office of the Christ.
The one promised in the Old Testament.
And now he's Lord.
Overall thing, but who is this person in essence?
Which he always was and always will be.
The Son of God.
And it gives dimension to our souls when we consider him.
That infinite person, the One, sustains the universe by the word of his power.
He's that one that hung on that cross in whose face we spat. That's the Son of God. And here he is in chapter 17. What type of phase is a beautiful to have these comparisons and to have our hearts enjoy the grace and humility of our Lord Jesus in this picture.
It's nice to notice that.
One of King Saul's servants that noticed David.
This young lad keeping sheep, but he had a testimony this this young boy did mentioned in chapter 16 there that.
Verse 18 then answered one of the servants and said, Behold, I have seen a young, seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehem knight. He is cunning and playing and mighty.
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And a mighty valiant man, and a man of war. No doubt he had heard of him slaying the bear and the lion.
And prudent in matters.
And a comely person.
And the Lord is with him.
So this is a testimony that David had as a young boy keeping his father's sheep.
And so that was attractive to Saul. We know that Saul was an unbeliever, but perhaps he was God fearing. But we find out that he didn't have faith, but yet he he wanted this young boy to play before him. And he was impressed by, you might say, his resume.
But King David had.
A resume that God had given to him. And we know that that characterized David throughout his life.
That he was on God's side and God was on David's side. And and so this is something that each one of us here.
That know the Lord. We know that the Lord is on our side and the Lord will be on our side all the way home till we get the glory. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. We know that King Saul did forsake David and he haunted them like it says, like apartment in the mountains.
And but we know that with our Lord, He will never forsake us.
And so we have one that that cares for us no matter what kind of a trial that we may go through. But David, even at his young age, had faith in God that God would deliver this giant into his hands. And so we know today that we are living in a a corrupt world that all around us, we see that corruption increasing more all the time.
And it is a struggle day by day, perhaps more so in other countries than it is here in Canada, United States. For those that are Christians to survive in such a world is a struggle day by day. We think of dear ones in India and Africa that are really put to the test.
Of their faith each and every day. It's a struggle, but we know that when the Lord is on our side.
That he is going to see us through the difficulties and so we can depend on him.
We can't depend on man, but we can depend on the Lord. And so we have His promise in His Word. He'll never leave us.
Nor forsake us.
Maybe I could just elaborate a little on those characteristics that you brought before us, Brother Enos, because they're the very characteristics that if we cultivate, give real moral power against the giants in our life. And so in that 18th verse, as you say, there was one of the servants of Saul that he he comes and he says I have seen a special him like the son of Jesse, the Bethlehem Mike, someone that was coming and playing.
Well, you know, David was able to see who's troubled spirits.
It's marvelous when there are those that come alongside us and we have a troubled spirit and they're able to see a troubled spirit. David had that character and then it says here he was a mighty valiant man. He was a man with fear. Knowing the apostle brings before Timothy and and that letter that he writes to Timothy, he said, he says that he needs to be characterized by a man without fear. The Lord hasn't given us the power of fear, but.
But it wasn't a power and of a sound mind. It was those things that David David had. It says there then that the the man noticed he was a man of war.
And they would have proved himself. I'm sure there were cattle thieves in the area that realized he had just didn't mess with David sheep. They could prove himself in that way. And then it said he was proving in speech people really enjoyed being in his company. Now there there are those of you who just enjoy being in their company because of their prudent speech. We just enjoy it. We we just enjoy that. And it says he was a Cummins person. His very presence was charming. It's interesting, Akish says about David.
He is as an Angel of heaven. That's English, the king of Gap saying this about David.
Tremendous characteristic. And then it says here, and the Lord, who's with him?
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Beautiful characteristics that you brought before us Enos that are those very characteristics that enable us to stand before the enemy. Know it's interesting that the the the spies when they went against when they went at the spy of the land, ten of them came back with, oh, they said there's giants in the land and how did they do those giants and how did they do themselves and said, oh, we're just like grasshoppers, you know, if they only recognize.
The characteristic of the grasshopper, which is able to surmount anything in its way. If they'd only taken on that character, it would have been a great blessing for them. But they looked at themselves and they compared the giants with themselves instead of, as Joshua and Caleb, comparing the giant with the Lord.
Which is what David did here.
Well, we see these characteristics of the giant, don't we? And in those first, those first 11 verses, it's very interesting to see how.
The enemy used his his his armor, it says here in the end of the seventh verse, and one bearing a shield went before him. The very thing that could have preserved Goliath life.
He thought all somebody else can carry that and I wondered if that's one of the reasons why we have an Ephesians 6 where it says above all.
Take the shield, that which is so necessary in our lives, so necessary to ward off those darts that the enemy throws at us. Well, what does Goliath do here?
Brother Henry he brought before us the end of the 26th verse where David viewed the armies of Israel and how he used them. He used them as the armies of the living God in the end of verse 26.
We have it also in the end of verse 36.
The armies of the living God. So how does Goliath view the people of God? He views them as we have in the eighth verse, the servants assault.
He used them in the 10 first the armies of Israel much different than the way David used the people of God and his desire was as we have in the 26th verse it says, did David speak to the man that stood by him, saying what shall be done to the man that killed this Philistine and.
This is what bothered David the most taketh away the reproach of Israel.
The reproach of Israel, that's what he wanted clear the reproach of Israel. And he was able to stand before that humongous figure who is heavily armed and who boasted that he was going to provide a banquet for the fowls of the air with the beasts of the field.
Last time I read through this passage, I found it.
Helpful to look at the chapter we've read today in its context. In the previous chapter of chapter 16, as we've had so nicely brought before us, you have Davidde character and those traces has been mentioned that helped us defeat the Giants.
But in this chapter from verse one to verse 12, which is where the enemy wants to get us, we don't have any of that. We have David reintroduced to us in verse 12, as has been said in his warring character as opposed to his more moral character in the previous job. And then this verse 1 to 12. And I know this is where Satan tries to get me all the time and my brother know who are here.
Is what do we have? We have.
Saul, who was characterized by energy in the flesh and trying to do things in his own strength, to know that he had been commissioned by David to defeat the Philistines earlier when he was anointed.
But here in the chapter we have him terrified and afraid. We have a big long description of.
The armor that Goliath lore, his height, their weight. And I've said this before, I know, but I've often wondered when I look at this passage why we get such incredible detail as to the armor and I think Satan, one of his toxic against us.
Is to try and get us to look at things in their natural perspective, without the Lord, without David in the previous chapter, without David introduced in verse 12. And how hopeless and how helpless we are in our own strength in the face of the giant being before us. And he tries to have us look at the enemy, as Dave has said, just looking at us as a servant of Saul. We're just the servants of Saul. We don't have any strength in our own. We're just.
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We're just.
The servants of Saul, you're part of the.
Christians who meet and not look at things from the perspective of where the children of God and that we're joint heirs with Christ and that he's given us strength to overcome the enemy. And it's it's searching for me as I consider the 1St 12 verses of the OR 11 verses of this chapter to realize that that is where the enemy wants to get me. He's noticing too in the.
2 verses.
We have reference to two words gathered together.
I suppose in verse one the enemy is gathered together with.
Goliath in view. Goliath is their champion.
Now we come to verse 2.
The people are gathered together.
Who do they have in view? Could it be Saul?
Well, Saul was a tremendous discouragement because as has been pointed out in verse 11.
Saul 1St and then all Israel heard the words of the Philistine. They were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now what kind of a leader is Saul that would cause all of the people to be dismayed and greatly afraid? I don't think that's a good leader.
But you know, I'm connecting these two words with what we have in Matthew 18 and 20.
You know the Lord Jesus says, where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
And I wonder, when we are gathered together as we are in this setting today, do we see the Lord in the midst?
And if we do, we are in a place of strength.
You know the Lord Jesus said all power is given unto me both in heaven and in earth. But sometimes we look around and we get occupied with numbers and sometimes with some individual that perhaps has great gift but we find out is not perfect and might even lead us to become discouraged because of their manner of life later. But you know we need to keep our focus on who it is.
To whom we are gathered. And we sang in the opening hymn, We are weak, but thou art mighty.
And in this.
We know the Lord can work on our behalf.
And on behalf of the Assembly.
Problems that overwhelm us.
To him.
Not difficult and we need to keep our focus on the board. I was talking to a young man recently.
And he turned out to be a believer. His name is Mark doesn't live far from where we live. And he said, I just heard something that I really like.
And so he spoke what he had heard, and I liked it too. This is what he said.
If the Lord brings us to it, he will bring us through it.
That was what characterized David, wasn't it? That he had his trust and his faith in the Lord. That's what characterized David. He wasn't afraid of the giant because he knew the Lord was with him and he he saw the giant is not a something that he couldn't overcome, but he saw the giant as something that God could overcome.
And that's how we should ourselves see obstacles in our way today. There is a contrast, though, as we know here, it's Speaking of really physical warfare, where David really actually took a slaying of the stone and so on, and went out and faced the giant.
Literally. And defeated them because he trusted the Lord that the Lord would deliver him.
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Today we're not asked to take a gun or a rifle or some weapon and go out and to face the enemy. We're not asked to do that, but we are asked to go against the enemy with what God has given to us.
By faith and that we have, we should look at it briefly, I think in Ephesians chapter 6 that speaks there of the spiritual warfare that we are up against and what God has provided for us to combat that warfare.
Just before that, Brother Wally, that statement that you made, that Mark gave you is actually a scripture.
If you turn back to the book of Exodus.
In Exodus chapter 18.
Exodus 18 and verse 23.
If God commands thee, thou shalt be able.
Thank you. I didn't connect that first. Very good.
So in chapter 6 of Ephesians we have.
The spiritual warfare that we're we're up against and tells us what to use against that.
As David were in verse 10, it says finally my brother and be strong in the Lord. David was certainly that and then the power of his might and David trusted the Lord and the power of God's might to defeat the the giant.
Well, we should too count on the Lord's strength, and here's the armor that we have put on the whole armor of God, that you may able to be stand against the Wiles of the devil.
Verse 14 stand therefore doesn't tell us a defeat the enemy here the Lord Jesus has defeated all our foes. He has caught all our foes between their feet by being trodden down. All our enemies that were against us in this in this Christian era in which we live have all been defeated by Christ. But it asks us to stand.
That says stand therefore having your loins girt about you with truth.
And we should have the truth that's going to protect us. That's doctrine. Having on the breast, breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and taking the shield of faith, wherein he shall be able to sequench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. All these are spiritual things.
That we can put on to go against the enemy in a day in which we live.
In Davidde Day it was different.
They they were promised a land that God had promised them, the land of Israel.
And they were told to go in and, and to clean the land out, you might say, get rid of the enemies out of the land so they could possess it. And so it was a real physical warfare that they were up against. The enemies were real and they were trying to keep Israel from taking the promise of that land that God had given to them. And even the day, the day that we live in.
The promise that God has made to Israel is still real.
The coming day, God is going to give them their land back.
Give them every inch of that land back and they're going to possess it and live in it.
Just like God had promised them, they had forfeited it because of disbelief, because of disobedience. But we we're not of Israel. We're we're of the church, and we're living in a day in which our warfare is spiritual. And so we have the remedy here in Ephesians chapter 6.
And how do we defeat that enemy today? I think we have it in verse 18. This is our resource is not a spear or a a physical sphere or a sword or a slang or a rock, but it's praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit and watching there too with all perseverance and supplication for all the Saints.
00:45:15
And it goes on to say.
In this portion that you've referred to Brother Enos and about verse 18 particularly and that is one thing that meets the lack of that the previous verses don't quite fulfill and that is that there is no weaponry or no protection for the the knees and the legs. But if we're on our knees.
The enemy can't affect that part of our body, so that's very important.
It's the strongest warfare that we have, isn't it? I believe so.
As believers, because God's here is always open to hear.
One little bit of a cry from one of his own. He's attentive and listening and he wants to hear from us and he he loves to hear us when we're independents.
And waiting on him, not just for the big things in our lives, but all the little things too, that that come up, come up against us every day. Small little things that we may think insignificant. A God delights to hear even about those things.
I saw in Fulton board yesterday.
It said.
If we do not pray, we will become prey. The people of Israel had chosen a champion before, had they? Saul was taller than everybody else. He was a head length above everybody's shoulder, you know. So if you say, OK, let's pick somebody to go for us.
Let's pick salt. Obvious choice. But Goliath was so much bigger, wasn't he? So it took a smaller person, the one who was last of Jesse's sons. You know, he wasn't there. He had to be fetched.
And so here's the battle. The armies are there, all the generals, all the armament. And but David isn't there. And so David comes last, and this, this, this real mighty man.
Made himself of no reputation. He was the smallest of all. Well, Saul, he didn't understand confidence in God.
So he tries to load up David, this little man, I don't know for sure how little he was, but no doubt considerably smaller than the giant. But he loads him up with all this army. And David, he didn't feel comfortable with the armor. David, he's going into strength of the Lord.
And I believe this is what we see in this chapter that.
After the flesh, we seek to meet the enemy, and it's useless.
You're going to strengthen the Lord.
You're going to find victory.
And the point is that if David had gone with all that armor.
And he had won. He might have said, well, this armor has helped me out. And there would have been some recognition of Sauls armor that he, you know, God wouldn't have any of that. Because in this story we're going to find out that God glorifies his own name, and he does it through weak instruments.
I believe that's what.
Brings glory to God and the Lord Jesus said My strength is made perfect in weakness.
And I believe Paul the apostle, he felt very weak, especially with that.
Thorn in the flesh and then his speech, it was contemptible and his bodily presence, it was weak too, you know, after the flesh, no doubt he felt very weak and perhaps he would have liked to had it different, but you know, the Lord says.
Paul, this is how my strength is going to be manifest through your weakness.
I think we have that in the story here.
I wondered if the fact that David didn't need an armor is a type of showing us that the Lord Jesus was all these things that we need to put on. He was that in himself.
He was he was perfect, he was he was truth and he is truth and so he was obedient. There was nothing that he needed additional to go and meet the enemy when he was before Pilate and Pilot kind of tells him, you know, I can do things to you and the Lord saying he didn't do anything unless my father allows you. So he showed his complete trust in in God as a man and in God as his father. The characteristic of David.
00:50:23
In this chapter one another characteristic here that's striking is that he never shows even a hint of being afraid of what might happen to him.
Not even a hint that he's concerned about himself. That's quite amazing. And even Saul, it seems, tries to get him.
To be concerned about himself, you're just, you're just a little guy and he's a huge giant and you're.
He's been a fighter all his life and you're just a youth, so sometimes the discouragement.
Doesn't just come from the enemy.
Sometimes we can. People can point things out about us.
And the enemy will point to us, try to get us to look at ourselves in the face of adversity.
David.
He wisely looks back on when at another time when he wasn't concerned about himself. And this is the characteristic of David, right? He was concerned about the sheep, he was concerned about the armies of Israel, he's concerned about the Lorde name and his glory, always concerned about others and chiefly the Lord.
But not concerned about himself. There's not even a hint that he's concerned about himself at all here.
Brother Ted, you've been bringing something very important before us, I believe.
We've been looking at the enemy and saying, well, there's Goliath, he's the enemy.
But wait a minute, wait a minute. There's more than that here. There's more than that.
We have 3 enemies. We have the world, We have Satan.
And we have another one too. It's called the flesh.
The enemy Within.
And this plays an important role in what's going on here as we look at this picture.
What about the men of Israel?
It says in verse We already looked at this.
The men of Israel fled from him and were sore afraid.
Well, what kind of testimony is that?
They fled from him. Later on. We're going to read about David, it says about him.
He ran to meet the giant.
The men of Israel are running this way, and David ran the other way.
I remember a brother saying this, and it's to my shame. Perhaps to yours. You know, when there's a difficulty, we should run to meet it.
And I say I speak to my shame.
We often don't do that, do we?
So that here's a a difficulty.
Another difficulty our brothers brought before us, Saul says.
You are not able to go. You can't do this.
Others may tell us that, our own hearts may tell us that, but it's the enemy within. It's not the enemy we're facing that's feeding this to us.
And then there's another difficulty, and it's a it's a large difficulty. It's a weed that I find in my heart. His oldest brother, one that was close to him.
His oldest brother, who should have known better, says, why did you come down, hit her? Why in the world are you here, David? Why are you wasting your time coming here and being here?
That's a tremendous discouragement from those who are closest to us. But then there's something else that's even more insidious. He says this I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart, for thou art come down, that thou mightest see the battle imputing wrong motives.
00:55:00
To our brethren.
Thinking that we know what's going on in their hearts and in their minds. This is a very serious difficulty. Brethren have been turned aside immensely by this.
Saying that they know. Oh, they know, you know that's.
Solomon had this to say about God and his prayer.
Thou only knoweth the hearts of the children of men. Let's not take the position of God and think that we know everything that's going on with our brethren. Take a humble place when they're willing to help and stand up to the enemy.
A liab, I think is an example of what it says in Proverbs. As in water, face answer at the face, so the heart of man to man.
And.
Quite often.
Probably more often than not, we think we see something in someone else. We think we know their heart, we think we see something in them. We're actually just seeing a reflection of our own heart.
You come down to see the battle.
What battle been 40 days, it's been provoking you and you guys are running away? Eliab was one of those that turned his back and he ran away.
But here's this fearless young man and that provokes in our hearts called envy.
Different of jealousy, isn't it? Envy is why they delivered the Lord Jesus because of envy and not that they wanted to be the Messiah.
They didn't want him to be the Messiah.
And if we're all cowards, speaking for myself and I see someone.
With courage, maybe. I'd rather he'd be a coward too, you know?
So I wouldn't look at that.
So the older brother there, he had, I could say, a position in a relationship to David that he wanted to maintain.
And so he had envy, and he could say, oh, I know why you came down. You can learn to see the battle.
He didn't know he came down. He didn't know because he was, he was fearful of Eliot himself. And so may we take courage, brothers and sisters, as we see, perhaps younger ones among us.
Who display a greater measure of confidence in the space that we have us older ones.
Maybe as we look at these thoughts of Eliad, it would be helpful to look at the household that David was raised in. And we see that from the 12Th verse up to the point where live is mentioned. And for these verses here, it says David was the son of that aphrophyte. And what's interesting, we don't read very much of what David says about his father. We do read quite a bit of what David says about his mother.
There are a lot of mothers here and there are a lot of fathers, and it's, I think, instructive to see the household that David was brought up in and to look at the mothers and to look at the fathers.
So here in this portion it says in David the son of the phrasal, and Judah, whose name was Jesse Getty, Sons. Well, he goes among them for an old man.
And it's to me, it's instructive because Jesse would have known that there would have been for some friction.
Between the sun which comes out and that's what's being brought out in the these previous comments, there was obvious friction between between Eliab. We don't know about the others, but obvious friction between Elias and David.
And I, you know, I, I so appreciate that.
That David doesn't hold that against a lot. In fact, when you look later on at the list of his officers, we find a lot of in a very prominent part, he doesn't hold that against them. And I, I, you know, sometimes we have have a difficulty withholding things against our brethren.
I was. I was very much rebuked.
My wife and I go down for a period of time.
To Florida every year. A few years ago, we were.
We've been going to West Palm for 10 years and I so appreciated sitting under the ministry of Ralph Earsman.
Tremendous ministry. Just so enjoyed getting down there and listening to this man's ministry. Well, a couple of years ago we got down there and his family had moved him back up to Chicago.
01:00:06
Just because of age and he wasn't there anymore.
And a sister said to me, she said, know what we missed the most about our brother Ralph?
I said what was that? She said this. It just smites me. She said he was a brother that remembered nobody's fault.
A brother that remembers nobody's fault. What a legacy and what a characteristic to to carry amongst the gathered Saints. It's beautiful.
And we find that with David in his reaction with Elias, practical look at that later on.
But what was the household that David was brought up in?
You know it says turn to the turn to be 86 thought.
David writing here and Psalm 86.
Verse 15 Thou, O Lord, are the God full of compassion, gracious, long-suffering, plenteous, and mercy and truth.
Will turn on to me, and have mercy upon me, and give strength unto thy servant, and save thou. Here's the statement about David, Mother.
The son of Vine enemy.
The son of Thine Handmade.
Think of David being brought up in a household where he had the conscious sense that his mother was the handmade of the Lord.
What a wonderful position. I'm not a sister here.
I'm not a mother. I'm never going to be one.
I had a mother that was a handmaid of the Lord.
Is that how you carry yourself and the family that you find yourself?
With a husband, With children.
A Handmade.
Of the Lord. It's repeated Turn 216 song.
We often take this portion up in connection with the 15th 1St, which says Precious in the sight of the Lord, of the death of the Saints. Oh Lord, truly I my servant. Again, my servant. I'm assuming if you go through this chapter, although the heading does not say it's a David. Regardless, we have this comment. I'm thy servant and the son of thine. And what a beautiful commendation.
For a mother of this man.
But then let's look at where we have.
To the Father.
UPDATE So here's a man that knows there's some friction perhaps.
Amongst the boys.
But how does he carry himself as a father?
Verse 17 And Jesse said unto David his son.
Take now for thy brethren.
Anita of this parched corn.
These 10 loaves.
And run to the camp of thy brethren.
You know our brethren are our brethren.
Sometimes we're at loggerheads with them.
Sometimes they don't see eye to eye with them.
They don't see eye to eye with us. It's very evident here, although we know that David didn't hold that.
Against the line.
So as a father, he looks on, but what's his desire? His desire is that his sons defend.
He want his he wants his sons to be fed. And so he sends this and he, he recognizes that they're in that they're in a conflict. You know, as fathers, we recognize too, that we have children that are in a conflict. Is it our desire to make sure that our children are fed and that the those they spend time with the captain of their thousand, make sure he gets 10 cheeses to make sure that those that are, are, are sons and our daughters are with that they get food as well.
What a beautiful characteristic of Jesse to make sure that his sons, when they're in the conflict, have food. And isn't that what God desires for us as well, is that we would have food?
01:05:04
Just add one more comment to that that I appreciate in this chapter. David encourages, I'm sorry, Jesse encourages David to run into the camp of his brother.
With his food and he recognized in David that energy to be a health and you see it played out beautifully later in the chapter, verse 23.
Sorry, verse 22. David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage and ran.
Into the army and came and saluted his brother, and then later in the chapter you see him.
A verse 48, It came to pass. The Philistine arose and came and drew an eye to meet David, and David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistines. David had tremendous energy here for the Lord going in his strength. His father recognized that in him and encouraged him to use it, and I know it's a tremendous encouragement.
To see.
Younger brothers who have energy encouraged in the Lord by the older ones. And what a tremendous thing that is actually there's.
I've been very encouraged recently in Rio Ferry there's a.
An older, younger brother who's been encouraging the young people to.
Exercise and do things together. And it's actually been an extremely helpful thing just to be together, enjoy time, spend energy together. And it's nice when we can encourage others to use what the Lord has given them for him. And we see that here in Jesse with David, and we see it you so beautifully later in the job. There's a verse in Isaiah 40 that's perhaps bears on what you're saying.
And I enjoyed it so much.
Isaiah 40 and verse.
29.
He gives power to the faint.
And to them that have no mighty increases strength, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and young men shall utterly wolf.
And then disperse. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
Margin. My Bible says change.
They shall mount up with wings as evil Eagles, they shall run not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.
It's been said that somebody that's waiting upon the Lord is not really a weary person. I think the basis is this verse because when we wait upon the Lord, we mount up with wings as Eagles.
We run and we walk.
Actually, that's what characterized David. He was one that waited upon the Lord.
And.
He was running. I really enjoy what was just brought out and bonus dead how many times references made to David Ronnie in this account.
He encouraged himself in the Lord, didn't they David it mentions about him sometimes that's what we need to do. We know that reading here about David and Goliath and.
His elder brother tried to discourage him. Really. A David. He had courage, he got it from the Lord and.
Even as a young boy.
He had his encouragement and trust from God to do what he was doing.
As mentioned earlier on that when they sent spies to spy out the land.
It mentions there in that account that they picked a.
We might say a leader of each tribe, 12 tribes, a leader or a prominent person of each tribe to go spy out the land. And we know when they come back, they brought a discouraging word back to the people. They discourage the people except for Joshua and Caleb. And so sometimes even if you're young, you may be seeking to serve the Lord.
You may come across some word of discouragement.
But we can be like David. David encouraged himself in the Lord, and certainly he was encouraged by the Lord to go against this formidable foe, Goliath, which all the men of Israel were afraid of.
01:10:08
And so it's nice to know from the word of God that anyone here in this room today can be a David.
Could be a David to stand up against the enemy.
I was looking at that verse in chapter 30 Enos and he says he was greatly distressed, but he encouraged himself and the Lord his God. And I think verse six it is. And when we consider the family portion that was somewhat mentioned a little bit, I'm sure Jesse wasn't in any way surprised after Samuel had gone through all those ones and came to lock on David and he was the one that would go and do that work. But.
I was just wondering if somebody could maybe look at the verses 12?
Well, verse 13 says the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle.
And at the end of verse 14 it says in the three eldest followed Saul.
But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem, and the Philistine drew near morning and evening and presented himself 40 days.
I was considering those verses when Wally read the verses in Isaiah 40 about waiting on the Lord.
Just wondering if somebody could maybe touch on those verses a little bit about how they followed Saul and then David went back.
40 days that he presented himself.
Or maybe next meeting.
Yeah, I would point out though.
And I hope we do take that up. But there's an important thing to note about David's boldness here.
He was coming down and out of his own will.
He was sent down by his father and I believe that was a.
Huge source of his boldness, the Lord Jesus said I In fact, he said he never did his own will. There wasn't a single thing the Lord did while he was here as a man that was of his own will. He was always only doing his Father's bidding. And for us, I can be a tremendous boldness. If we know that we're going, we have the confidence we're going on behalf of the Lord. The bold, the righteous are as bold as a lion. And I believe David's boldness was that he wasn't acting.
For himself.
Or by his own will. And that's a picture of the Lord Jesus.
The 20th verse, which is what you're referring to, it says David rose up early in the morning. And again, the verse that says that he went as Jesse had commanded him. In between, though, there's a statement. And the Lord would never have us take up for the responsibility.
And then leave that responsibility and go to another one and leave the previous one.
Sloppy and unfinished.
It doesn't say he just left the sheep.
He left the sheep with a keeper.
He left the sheep with a keeper. Yes, he was obedient. He did just what his father wanted them to do, but he tied it up first. What he left behind. And I, that's mighty because I'm.
I'm usually terrific on the start, but not much good on the finish, and I can have a tendency to, to to leave things sloppy. And here David didn't do that. He left the sheep with a keeper before he went on to carry on what his father sent him to do, say he was prudent in matters very good. Could we sing together? Hymn #40 in the appendix?
Particularly in the 1St 2 lines are Hail to the Lord's Anointed Great David, Greater Son hymn #40 in the appendix.
Hail to the.
Sun.
To light my heart.
Shall come.
1 Kings 17
Open—Wally Dear
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
When you sing together hymn #100 and 38138 Soft, the voice of mercy sounded sweetest music to the ear. Grace abounds where sin abounds is the word that soon fear 138.
Saw the voice of mercy sounded. Because you're the sanctuary.
We also sing.
326 #326.
Grace.
And shall endure.
As sure as yourness is given.
More happy, but not more secure.
The seriously part into the heaven.
00:05:05
Well, this afternoon I've been thinking.
About another account in the Old Testament.
This one.
Is in First Kings chapter 17.
And I'd like to turn here.
With the Lord's help.
To share a few thoughts that I trust might be an encouragement to us.
No, we live in a very dark day.
And it's man's day, and he does as he pleases.
With no reference to what?
God's claims are he'd like to leave God out of his thoughts.
It's a sad state of affairs and some are even going to the extent to say that there is no God.
Well, I read a statement recently that I thought was rather interesting it it said this.
The very.
Fact that there are those that call themselves atheists.
Proves.
That there is a God. Why? Because.
If there were no God, there would be no atheists.
That's something to think about.
Well, I trust here this afternoon there's no one who's going to speak in those terms that there's no God because the fool has said in his heart there is no God. But you know, as we read here in the Book of Kings, we find out that.
Jehovah.
Is being given up.
In exchange for idolatry.
And I believe idolatry becomes full blown here in Ahab's day when we find that Ahab marries.
Jezebel, who is the daughter of Ethel.
As it tells us in First Kings chapter 16.
And verse 31.
31 And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of ETH Bale, king of the Zidonians, and went and served bail and worshipped him. And he reared up an altar for bail in the House of Bail.
Which he had built in Samaria. Is it possible?
That God's people.
Who had?
Been the recipients of God's communication in a wonderful way. They would forsake the living God for this heathen God. Bale. Well, this is what took place.
And we know that Jeroboam, he led God's people to sin. He set up idolatrous altars. He compelled the people to worship.
Calves and I believe.
This account that we're reading about here took place 58 years later.
And you know what?
Every king since Jeroboam was a wicked king with no exception.
We find among these kings there were those that were murderers. One king was a drunkard.
Another king, he seized the throne, I believe it was Omri, and it tells us that he did worse than anybody before him. But then his son Ahab, he did worse than his father. And so things had really degenerated here.
In Israel.
But you know, God never leaves himself without a testimony, and we find that He brings upon the scene a prophet, and his name is Elijah. Now Elijah.
00:10:10
The first three letters Eli, Eli, it means my God.
We find that when the Lord Jesus spoke on the cross, he said Eli, Eli. So back then, I my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Eli means my God and.
Jahi believe would refer to Jehovah, so the meaning of Elijah.
Is my God is the Lord or my God is Jehovah and so?
Elijah comes on the scene.
To seek to recall the people to the worship of the true God to Jehovah.
And.
He is going to confront.
Ahab.
And let's read about it here in chapter 17, First Kings chapter 17, it says, and Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be, do, nor reign these years.
But according.
To my word.
And so Elijah is a bold man, willing to confront this wicked king who is given over to the worship of Baal.
How is it that he has such boldness? I believe it's because, as he says, here I stand.
I stand before the Lord God of Israel.
He had a sense in his soul.
That he was in the very presence of the Lord God, and it gave him boldness, it gave him strength.
To meet the evil that was present there in Israel now.
I believe you and I, we get strength and we get direction from being in the presence of the Lord. Now. We sang about it in the hymn.
In thy presence.
We can conquer.
In thy presence we can suffer. In thy presence we can die.
But wandering from thee, we are feeble.
The hymn writer said Let thy love Lord keep us night, may we ever.
Be in the enjoyment of the presence of the Lord.
Now not only did Elijah stand in the presence of the Lord, when we turn over to James, we find that he also knelt in the presence of the Lord.
He was a praying man and perhaps it would be in order just to read what it says there about Elijah over in James chapter.
Five Elijah's prayer.
James chapter 5 and verse.
16 It says, confess your faults 1 to another and pray for one another.
That he may be healed, The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to light passions, as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
And so we find that Elijah prayed, and he prayed according to the will of God.
And if we were to turn back over to the book of Deuteronomy, and perhaps I'll turn back there because I must say I don't recall all these scriptures.
By memory, but it tells us here in Deuteronomy.
00:15:02
In verse 13, Deuteronomy 11/13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments, which I command you this day to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart, with all your soul, that I will give you the reign of your land in his due season, for the the first reign, and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn and thy wine.
And thy oil and I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle.
That thou mayest eat and be full, take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived. And ye turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. And then the Lords wrath be kindled against you. And he shut up to heaven that there be no rain, and that the land yield not our fruit, unless he perished quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you. We could look back and elect Leviticus later on in the Deuteronomy.
We find that if the people were to turn aside to idols that it tells us in one case.
The sky or the heaven would become as brass in another place, it says it would become as iron, and the rain would be like just powder coming down. You know what? Elijah recognized that.
The people.
Had turned their back on God. They had turned to idols, given up the living God. And if something did not happen?
To wake them up, they would continue on.
In this evil course.
And so when he prayed, I think he had not only the Lord's glory.
On his heart and on his mind, but he also had the good of the people.
And so he prayed that it would not rain. He prayed according to the word of God and.
We know the Lord answered his prayer.
Now, dear ones.
We have in our hands the word of God.
And we have the privilege of prayer. The question is, do we pray according to the word of God?
The next question is how are we supposed to pray according to the word of God unless we know the word of God?
And you know, if we pray according to God's will, we have that for which we prayed for it. And that is going to bring glory to Christ and happiness to you and to me. But we need to know what's in this book. This book here that we have in our hands is the revealed will of God.
And yet many set it aside.
You know they take it out of the schools.
And they don't want it. And I noticed in the hotel rooms there doesn't seem to be as many Bibles as there used to be. I look in the drawers. There's no Bible, no word of God.
I went to a school one time.
And you know the Gideons they had brought to that school.
Little New Testaments and there was a whole shoe box full of these New Testaments sitting on the counter and the principal said to me, I don't know, I can't pass these New Testaments out in this school.
This man.
Was opposed to God and to his Word, and we weren't given permission to use the school. Now later, another principal.
Came on the staff.
Very receptive to the Word of God and we had opportunity to use that school. But I think the opposition to God into His word is growing today, is becoming more evil. But let's not be discouraged because we find that God has his eye upon you and me just as He had his eye upon Israel.
And so Elijah.
Confronts the king.
Boldly.
And it tells us here.
00:20:03
There shall not be due nor reign these years, but according to my word, and that's the word of the Lord.
And then in verse two we have the word of the Lord. Again, the word of the Lord came unto Elijah, saying, Get thee hence turn the eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.
And it shall be that thou shalt drink up the brook.
And I have commanded the Ravens to feed thee there.
So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord.
For he went and dwelt by the brook sheriff, that is, before Jordan, and the Ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank up the brook, And it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah has ears to hear.
He's tuned in to what God has to say. Is that true of you and me today?
We find that obedience to the Word of God is what will make you and me happy. Now salvation comes through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but I do believe happiness comes through obedience to His Word.
And so it tells us here that Elijah went.
And did according unto the word of the Lord.
Now I'd like to draw attention to one word.
And that's at the end of verse 4. You see that word there THERE?
There.
This is the most important word there is where?
Elijah would have his needs met. There it is that the Ravens would come and feed him and he could drink out of the brook. Now we leave. We read that little word there often in the Scripture. You know, we had reference to it this morning. I believe in Matthew 18 and 20.
The word dared, it appears.
Where two or three are gathered together unto my name.
There.
Am I in the midst of them?
Where is he in the midst?
Two or three that are gathered together.
Together in his name, or unto his name.
And it's such a privilege to be where the Lord is. Now there's another there and I'll turn towards over in Luke chapter 22. I'd like to draw attention to this because.
You know people today, they got the idea that they have.
The prerogative, it's their right just to go here and there and anywhere, and the Lord is going to be in the midst.
No.
I saw.
On a sign in front of a so-called church building.
It said church shopping.
Question mark.
We're open on Sundays.
Church shopping.
Is that really what?
God desires is that we should be shopping around for a church.
Well, you know there once this afternoon God gives explicit direction.
As to where he would have us?
To meet.
Where do we get the direction? It's in his word.
And over here in Luke chapter 22.
It tells us in verse.
Seven. Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
And he that's Jesus sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city.
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There, there, as you enter into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house where he enters in, and you shall say unto the good man of the house. The master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover?
With my disciples, and he shall show you a large upper room furnished.
THERE, there, make ready explicit directions as to where to find the Lord Jesus in order to observe this Passover feast. He doesn't leave us in a quandary, He tells us.
The question is, do we have a heart? Well, should I say it first, say, an ear to hear in a heart to receive and act upon His word? And they went, it says in verse 13, and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready to Passover, and sure enough, 14 when the hour was come.
He sat down and the 12 apostles with him. He showed up right where he said he would.
Now you know there's another.
Fortunate, and it's back in Deuteronomy, God's people were not entitled to offer their sacrifices wherever they pleased, according to their own whim and will and this is what.
We find in Deuteronomy chapter 12.
Over and over there is reference to offering in the place that the Lord would choose.
I do not have the right, the prerogative to choose.
Where?
Worship.
It's the Lord that places his name.
And.
It's our privilege and responsibility to find where that place is.
Now Deuteronomy chapter 12.
And it tells us here in verse 5.
But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name.
THERE there.
Not here.
Some other location there explicit direction.
And we find the Word there over and over again in this chapter and further chapters throughout Deuteronomy and the Word now in my Bible and perhaps in yours, you have a center reference.
Chapter 12 of Deuteronomy, verse 5.
And in that center reference I'm seeing reference after reference after reference.
That has to do with the Lord choosing the place.
Where he would put his name, he makes the choice.
It tells me in my Bible here, verse 11 of this chapter, verse 14182126, we go over to chapter 14. There it is in verse 232425 and then chapter 15 verse 20, and then chapter 16 verses 2:00 and 6:00 and 7:00 and 11:00 and 15.
And 16 and then chapter 17 verse eight in chapter 18 verse six. And then chapter 26 verse two. And then chapter 31 verse 11. Are you getting the point?
And the list goes on.
There once.
How is it that people think?
That they can choose the place where the Lord has put His name.
The Lord chooses the place and then He shows us where it is, and He leads us to that place through His Word. Well this may seem off the subject here, but it just comes to mind in connection with the instruction to Elijah. In order to get the Lorde blessing and benefit, he need to follow the direction of God. And it tells us here He went and did according unto the Word.
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Of the Lord.
And the Ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning. You see, God knows what our needs are.
He meets these needs in a most wonderful way.
You know, we go over to the dining hall and the feast that is on the table.
It's the goodness of God, no doubt, that gives us all these good things to eat.
But even more wonderful is that spiritual food that God gives us to meet the need of our souls. And people don't place any importance on that. You know, they talk all day about food, they talk all day about clothes, they talk all day about houses. But you try to talk about the Lord Jesus.
It's like talking to a wall.
Not interested but you know God is good and God.
He desires our happiness. He's a happy God.
I know our brother Henry brought this forth in the Gospel over in Saint John some years ago, and I never forgot it. He's the blessed God. He's the happy God, and he wants to make you and me happy and he alone.
Can do that. So we got good food for the body, Christ for the soul, and God supplies both.
He just loads us with benefits day by day, I mean.
You know, people talk about Thanksgiving.
If you want to feel rich, think of all.
The gifts that you possess today.
That money could not buy. Think about it.
And just you're going to start feeling wealthy.
Now God gives food, and he gives. Raymond tells us that having food in raiment, let us be there with content.
Elijah was getting food here. You know, most miraculous way. Ravens bringing meat. You wouldn't expect a Raven to be sharing its meal.
With anybody, what I've seen of Ravens is they're one of the most selfish birds.
And they'll grab a piece of meat and another bird comes to try to share it. Take it. No way.
Raven flies away, but you know God has command over all of his creation, and just like he prepared a whale.
To swallow Jonah.
And also there was that wild little donkey that we sing about, remember?
The Lord Jesus needed a animal to ride on, and so he went.
And sure enough, there's that little donkey. Nobody had ever ridden on that donkey. And so no doubt he'd be kind of wild. But you know, Jesus went on the donkey and he went just the way that he should, that little donkey, because Jesus was on him. And Jesus has control. And so here he brings these Ravens to feed Elijah as miraculous. But God is working miracles.
Today.
Now I recall reading.
A story, I believe it was a true story about a missionary.
And she was working in this dispensary, a clinic.
Over in foreign field and she went out of doors to have her lunch with a friend of hers.
And so she opens up the lunch.
On the table.
And then she proceeds to give thanks for the lunch. So she and her friend, they bowed their heads.
And thank the Lord for the lunch. When she opened her eyes, only a part of the lunch was on the table. Part of it was missing.
And they couldn't believe what had taken place. How did this ever occur?
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Some miles away.
Somebody else was praying.
And this person wasn't thanking the Lord for a lunch.
She was asking the Lord.
For a lunch.
Because she had nothing to eat and she asked the Lord for something to eat in prayer.
And when she opened her eyes there, she saw some food in front of her.
And she looked up.
It was a bird.
Flying away that bird, apparently.
He had dropped.
Food.
For that dear soul.
Well, it was sometime later that this.
Dear Salt, she goes to the dispensary for some sort of treatment and.
She gets talking to this missionary and they put the two stories together and here apparently that bird had come and taken the lunch off the table, taking it over to the other one that was praying for the lunch, dropped it.
And God answered a prayer, so you see.
You might say that's a far fetched story. No, there's nothing too hard for the Lord.
And he works in a miraculous way, a wonderful way to meet the needs of his people.
Now the time came when the brook dried up.
Because there was no rain in the land, did Elijah despair? Did he find fault with the Lord? No, because I believe Elijah was waiting on the Lord.
And he knew the Lord was for him. And in verse eight it tells us the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get the tazarifat which belonged to Zaiden, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
So he arose and went to Zarephath. Isn't that beautiful? This is simple obedience.
Here in the first part of the chapter.
The Lord told him to go and hide himself.
And it says he went.
And now we come to this account here the word of the Lord says, Arise, get thee to Zarephath. And it tells us he went. You know this is the path of happiness in our lives.
Not to question the Lord, not to bring up issues, but in simple faith, take him at His word and trust Him for the consequences. How important.
This is simplicity of faith.
It yields great results. And so it was with Elijah. Elijah might have said, well, why should I go to Zarephath? That's inside. That's a heathen place. That's where Bale originated. Why would I want to go there? But I believe what we're seeing here in this portion is the grace of God that's expanding.
Beyond the limits of Israel and if you turn over to Luke chapter 4.
You find the Lord referring to Naman the leper, who is a gentile. He got healed, and also to the woman of Zarafat, the widowed woman.
Who received the benefit of God?
Outside of Israel.
The grace of God overflowing the bounds of that nation.
I believe we have a picture of it right here.
So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city. Verse 10. Behold, the widow woman was here there gathering of sticks.
Just as the Lord had said, the woman was there. She was there.
He had told Elijah I commanded a little woman there to sustain thee.
So she's gathering sticks. He called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel.
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That I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil, and a cruise. Behold, I am gathering 2 sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.
A very pessimistic outlook this woman had. But you know Elijah speaks a word that I believe is a great comfort, encouragement to her. Elijah said unto her, Fear not go and do as thou has said, but make me thereof a little cake 1St and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
Now to the woman that might have seen a very selfish request.
On the part of Elijah.
But you see, Elijah had.
More to say than just that. And in verse 14. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crews of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did he many days the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the crews of oil fail.
According to the word of the Lord.
Which he spake by Elijah.
Now I believe the meal in Scripture often would speak of Christ the Lord Jesus could say, I am the living bread. He that cometh to me shall not hunger.
And the oil, I believe, speaks of the Holy Spirit.
Is symbolic of the Holy Spirit, the oil.
And what I'm seeing in this is that God by his Spirit.
He makes Christ precious to our hearts, to our souls, and He keeps us happy and content in a world where we find anything but happiness and contentment. We live in a dark day. The world is in confusion, as has been said more than once at this conference.
But how wonderful the resources that God has given to us.
We have this account, this picture in the Old Testament that we read in the light of the new, and I trust it is a comfort and encouragement to our hearts that we might indeed have hope.
Because we know Christ will never fail. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And the Spirit of God never fails, always exalts Christ and enables us to enjoy in our souls who He is, what He has done in all that we have.
In our Savior, the Lord Jesus and it tells us here.
This did not fail until the day that the Lord sent rain upon the earth. So.
It was going to continue until the benefit came that would relieve this nation of this terrible situation. And you know, for you and me, the benefit that we look forward to is the coming of Christ.
He says, Surely I come quickly, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
But in the meantime, He gives us that which is needed to lift us above this world that we might enjoy in our souls.
True happiness and contentment.
And it doesn't tell us that it was a full cruise of oil.
Or a full barrel of meal that they drew from day by day. Maybe it was just a handful of meal, but it was always there. You know, by nature we like to make a stockpile of things. And I've seen those that they're concerned about some kind of a.
Terrible state in the world. And so they begin to stockpile food and they go to the grocery store and they're buying cans and cans and cartoons and boxes of food and putting them in storage for a future day. But you know what, dear ones? I don't think we need to do that. I think, you know, the Lord would have us to live a day at a time, don't you think?
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The manner was provide day by day.
There was enough each day to satisfy the people. On Friday there was double portion.
The Lord Jesus could say to his disciples, seek ye first.
Kingdom of God in all these things shall be added unto you. Simply trusting every day, trusting through a storming way, even though my faith be small, trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting is the moments fly. Trusting is the days go by, trusting Him what ere befall.
Trusting him, that is all.
The Sons of the Giant
Open—Michel Payette
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
We look at.
Second Samuel.
Chapter 21.
We spoke this morning and this afternoon in the reading of.
That giant Goliath.
And he's been compared to Satan and.
Other great enemies in our lives and so I just like to read Second Samuel 21.
And perhaps check share some thoughts from there.
Verse 15.
Moreover, the Philistines had yet war against again with Israel.
And David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines. And David waxed faint. And Ishi Benab, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spirit weighed 300 shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.
But I'd be shy. The son of Zariah suckered him and smote the Philistine and killed him.
Then the men of David swear unto him, saying, Thou shall not no more go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob and Sibai the Hussite.
Pusha Tight slew SAP, which was of the sons of the giant, and there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where El Hana Elhanan, the son of Jerry Oregon of Beth Lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose fear was like a weaver's bee.
And there was yet a battle in Gath, where it was a man of great stature.
And that on every hand 6 fingers, and every foot six toes 4 and 20 a number. And he also was born to the giant. And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimia, the brother of David, slew him. These four were born to the giant and Gath, and fell by the hand of David, by the hand of his servants.
And so we find here that it seemed like Goliath had descendants, and they were all giants too.
But these were slain by David servants. You know, if you read that a little later on in chapter 23, I believe we have a list of Davidde mighty men and the feats that they performed as much to be.
Instructed of in that chapter, but let's just look for a moment in Ephesians chapter 6. We read a little bit there this morning or maybe this afternoon, I'm not sure. Ephesians chapter 6.
And verse 12.
For we wrestle not we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
But against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
Against spiritual wickedness.
In high places.
Well, these seem to me.
To be great enemies.
I'd like to compare them to those four giants that we read about, descendants of of Goliath.
But they were all slain.
David's servants they overcame.
These giants.
And I trust the Lord will help us to.
Be overcomers also.
Let's read First Second Corinthians 11 for a moment.
Verse one Second Corinthians 11 And one would to God, you could bear with me a little my folly, and indeed bear with me.
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I'm jealous over you with godly jealousy.
I have exposed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
But I fear lest by any means, as a serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
My brother was Speaking of the simplicity of faith, beautiful thought, and the simplicity of faith is placed on the simplicity of Christ. Very simple, you know.
If you do numbers, you know, say something that's double, what's the number that goes with double? It's two. The numbers that goes with simple is one.
God makes it very, very clear to us that he has one object.
He has one object for you and me and for this whole world. Same for Israel. Not the same relationship.
But the same person. This book is about the revelation of that person.
To you and me.
A near once as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we are not moved.
As we speak of the beloved Son of God.
Who he is and what he has done.
There's something wrong.
There's a disconnection.
Between what's upstairs and here and what should be done here?
Necessary.
If any man love not the Lord Jesus.
Let him be accursed.
What's that? It's appreciation in the heart, and it pleased God our Father to reveal Him to you and I.
It pleased God the Father to share with you in our small measure the delights that He has found.
And this one that has so glorified him.
2nd Corinthians 11.
Verse four. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus whom we have not preached, if you receive another spirit which you have not received, or another gospel which ye have not accepted, you might well bear with it.
Another Jesus, another Spirit.
Another gospel.
We're speaking this morning with a brother, you know, the Apostle Paul.
He speaks of the gospel of the grace of God.
This is something that Jews were not expecting.
For God to have a heart for the Gentiles.
In fact, for all the creatures that were made to his own likeness.
God had a plan before the foundation of the world to send his son into the world, and he was volunteered to come.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Other parts of his mission was to be the Messiah of Israel and fulfill the prophecies and establish the Kingdom of course.
But the Jesus that we know now from the Scriptures.
Is the eternal Son of God, who partook of flesh and blood so he could die for you and me. He's done that.
Another Jesus.
If you spoke for a little while with.
One whose a job was witness, you would find that he has another Jesus.
When he says Jesus, he's thinking of someone different than the Jesus in this book.
If you talk to Mormons, they talk about Jesus, but that's another Jesus than the Jesus that is in this book.
Go to Ephesians, Galatians, Pardon me, Chapter 2.
Well, let's read first of all.
I want to read 2 verses Galatians chapter 3.
And before I do, I'd like to relate something that a young man said to me not too long ago.
He'd been going to some special meetings.
Aware the scriptures were presented, explained and.
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Sort of a course, you might say, put on by Christians.
And as we spoke, and he.
He mentioned that he it was troubling him.
It seemed that his own experience was different.
Then that which was presented.
He was questioning himself if he really was a true believer.
From what he'd heard and seen, I've been exposed to.
And I asked him.
We talked for a little while.
And I said.
What really makes you uncomfortable?
Just think about it, what makes you so uncomfortable?
And it took a while to answer.
And I know what he said.
He said.
They didn't talk to me about the Lord.
You see, another spirit is not interested in glorifying the Lord Jesus.
Another spirit is interested in distracting you and occupying your soul with secondary things, so it's not burning when the scriptures are open to you.
God wants your heart to burn, wants my heart to burn. It'll never burn enough. It'll burn for eternity.
Because of him and so go back to Galatians chapter 32 verses I speaking to a couple of brothers about this verse 2.
This only would I learn of you receive me the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of the faith.
And then?
Another verse says the same thing there verse 14.
The end delivers that you might receive the promise of the Spirit.
Through faith.
I used to work in the bookstore, Young man. Young man came in there and he was.
He was troubled.
He was troubled. He was a genuine believer, yet he was troubled in his spirit.
And these verses that I just read from Galatians chapter 3.
Was very much part of what he'd been exposed to.
Receiving the Spirit through faith.
You ask God for a fish.
He's going to give you a fish.
You ask God for his spirit. What's he going to give you?
His Spirit. So you ask God for His spirit. You exercise faith in the fact that He's going to give you what you asked Him for. And you believe that you have received the Spirit, and you express that by manifesting.
Speaking in tongues or performing miracles or something like that.
And that can be justified.
Through these verses.
Is that the truth from the word of God? That's.
Not the truth from the truth from the Word of God. That's how it's used.
There's nothing there about the Lord Jesus was there.
You ask God for his spirit and you believe He's given it to you, and then you express that you have the spirit.
High regulations chapter.
Apostle Paul says.
Verse 20.
I am crucified with Christ. I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God for I for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Did Christ die in vain? I can tell you He didn't die in vain.
I'm going to heaven. I'm not proud like brother says, no pride in that. I'm going to heaven. You know, I'm going to heaven because the Son of God loved me and gave himself for me and what Paul told those Galatians we have in chapter 3 verse one, Oh foolish Galatians who had bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently.
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Set forth crucified.
There's the object of faith, there's what God wants you to hear about. Not that you're going to get the Spirit of God and perform miracles.
Is that the Son of God loved you?
And gave himself for you.
Can you think about that without some emotion?
Can you lay hold of that in your heart without wanting to say?
Lord.
What could I do? I'll never be able to repay. And I would never dare compare what I've done to what you've done for me. But my heart is disposed, My hands are ready, my feet are ready. What can I do in response to such love? And will never do enough. I mean, you know.
So what entertains our hearts in the New Testament is the revelation of Jesus, the Son of God, and your relationship to Him.
He sustained the universe by the word of his power.
That's who he is. He's the creator of the universe. By him, all things subsist as we speak this moment.
All the planets and galaxies, he's holding that together.
The law of gravity is functioning because he's holding that by the word of his power.
And not one will fill the universe with His glory.
He loved you.
Personally.
What can I say?
Beyond me to fully grasp that, but that's the truth of the scriptures, isn't it?
Well, Second Samuel 21.
That first enemy there, that first giant you know he was after?
He was after David.
You want to slay David?
Thought to have slain David. The end of verse 16.
That's the final object.
Getting to the Lord, attacking his person, his work, what is said about him?
And what it said about you in relationship to him.
That's who that giant son of Goliath was after.
It says in the 16th verse there he being girded with a new sword or in my French Bible it's a new armor.
Something new?
You know, there's something to be said for.
Technology, wonderful technology is, is is quite a progress in the medical field, industrial field, you know, men are achieving.
All sorts of things to technology.
Not a good thing.
On the back.
They make bombs, you know.
Fighter jets.
Tanks.
Biological warfare. They can figure out viruses, you know.
Minds an intelligent creature, but he's a fallen creature.
But some of the novelties.
Are directed to.
Slaying, getting rid of, destroying.
You think of the theory of evolution.
You go to university, you go to school, you're going to hear it all the time.
Well, you know, if you really listen to what they're saying.
You do not need a creator.
It just happened this matter, it was a black spot exploded and.
And then, you know, they'll talk to you for millions of years, billions of years, till you fall asleep. And then this doesn't make any sense.
And then if the theory of evolution is true.
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What's this story about man falling in the garden? You know, man is just a product of evolution.
He's the way he is, you know.
He got so developed in his mind at one point in time, he discovered that he was all of a sudden, you know, he just evolved, used to go up trees, down trees, eat bananas, and all of a sudden he gets covered. Whatever, I'm existing.
Well, if the theory of evolution is true, we do not need a creator, and we don't need a savior either.
Who can we dispense with?
The Son of God, my friend.
Who's that lie from?
You know which from and the devil himself.
And science upholds it. I have articles every week in the news, billions of years, millions of years, you know, And if you read it carefully, at one point in time, they're contradicting each other.
Who's that from?
A seducer.
Putting men's mind to sleep unconscious of their condition. There's clouds on the horizon. It's coming.
He is coming.
He is going to have the place that he alone deserves.
Part of this new armor.
I encourage you, dear ones, to read the Word of God.
Make sure you have a good copy.
I don't want to talk about against new translations, but I would say make sure you have a faithful copy of the Scriptures. The verse I have in Titus, it says keeping the word of God, the faithful word of God. It it's the word of God, but it's been faithfully translated in French or English or Spanish, it doesn't matter.
Remarkable thing. Today we have tools.
I want to talk about the tools. I use the tools all the time. I enjoy the tools. You can have Hebrew reference, Greek reference, concordance. You can look up the words and whatever, all sorts of information available on your phone, on your iPad, on your computer.
Amongst many, many, many.
Other.
Not so good resources.
I mentioned this to a brother recently, an older brother. He's taking part and he was reading from his tablet and I.
I have one in my suitcase.
And I bring it out if I had to, but I'd rather wait on the Spirit of God to help me with things. And if He doesn't help me, maybe it's not the time to talk about the things. But one thing's for sure, if you have your Bible in your hands, you cannot text with your Bible.
You cannot send pictures. Look at pictures you cannot.
This book is made out of paper and has words on there. Powerful words.
The Spirit of God draws attention to them. We have that in the readings. I never noticed that, never noticed that.
It's all there was I blind, I never saw it. No, it's just a spirit of God. Just kind of opens it up to you all the time. Wonderful.
So I say be careful with technology.
You know, this is a delicate subject, but you know, we hear about it all the time about *********** and.
That's one of the means, you know.
One of the devil's devices is to use devices to promote devices, and he does that.
He does that and none of us are immune to that. But if we're warned?
If we say no, I'm not going there, I'm not touching that.
We're going to be preserved.
Giant thing. I mean, you know, it's a giant thing.
I have an iPhone, you know, and.
They've got this new model out.
Boy, I'd like to put my hands on that one, yeah.
And then the Lord told me he says, remember brother so and so there in the in Benet he.
He needs about $100 a month to get medication and he doesn't have $100 a month.
So you're going to spend.
Hi, Michelle. You're going to spend the.
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On that phone, I can't. I can't with a good conscience, you know, because I know about those needs, as many needs we don't know about. But it's good to find out.
And maybe we would be more sober and I trust I will be be sober in those things that we allow in our lives or buy or change or you know, how we deal with the abundance that God has given us in our land. So I just to suggest this to you that he had something new there and the end of it was to get to David. And so and then one way to get to David is to get through you that when you speak about.
It was somebody in my house recently and he likes to speak about the Lord, but if you knew about his life.
There's a mess.
So he speaks of the Lord, but he doesn't live out the Lord and he's a bad, bad, bad testimony, a bad testimony to his name. And if that is knowing the Lord and that's a result in someones life, somebody, I don't want to go there.
But if what is being manifested is the character of Jesus Christ and compassion and love and holiness and righteousness.
And befriending people in the right way to help them out, because that's the love of God in US. We make Christianity, we make the Lord more attractive. Let's not make him repulsive, let's make him attractive. Well, let's just go on quickly. Won't take too much time to hear him almost done.
But I, beside the Son of 17, suckered him and smoked a Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swear unto him, saying, Thou shalt not go more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. And so we want to make sure that our Lord is not attacked in any way. As to His blessed person, as to who he is fundamental, that's another Jesus.
Jesus is the Son of God. He that believes Jesus is the Son of God.
Is born of God, and that's who He is. His name is Jesus, the office he filled with Christ. He's Lord of all now, but who he is in himself, always was and always will be, is the Son of God.
Then we go verse 18. It came to pass after this that there was again a battle with the Philistines, that Gob and civic I the Hoshitites Lusaf, which was one of the sons of the giants.
I forgot what shaft stands for. I had a thought on there a little while back, but I forgot about it. So maybe you look it up and you get some fresh thoughts from it. But there was another enemy there in disguise, perhaps unknown. It just came out. And one of David's mighty men there, he, he slew him, one of his servants. Verse 19. And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Al Hanan, the son of Jerry, or him of.
Beth Lehemite slew the brother of Goliath, the Hittite. The staff of Hussier was like a weaver's being.
And I've just suggested thought the Weavers Beam is made to produce apparel.
Appearance in the world to have appearance in the world and you know the world is.
Benefiting from having at its employment, believers who are faithful, committed, and can be trusted. But the world would also like to put on us its garments. And so we need to be conscious of this and to be faithful in what we do for the Lord, even if we're serving our community, the company we work for, whatever activities we're doing.
The world would try to recuperate us and put on us its own garment, but we have the garments of righteousness, and what we want to represent is the Lord Jesus Himself. And this last one, verse 20. And there was yet a ballad in Gath, where it was a man of great stature, And on every hand 6 fingers, and on every foot six toes, 4 and 20 in number.
And he also was born to the giant, and when he defied Israel, Jonathan, the son of Shimia, the brother of David, slew him.
So this last one.
What it suggests to me is one who has pretension of spiritual power.
His hands are stronger. He has six. I only have five. He can stand better. He's got six toes. He can run faster. He can do things others can't do, you know?
Becomes a man of great stature.
You know this is.
00:30:01
Something in the heart of man.
Of every man to be recognized.
To be someone.
To be something to want, to have a place, to be esteemed, and it can go on and on and on.
And I think for us, they're ones who are gathered around the person of the Lord.
The last thing we should want to do?
Is disturbed the Saints with ourselves?
No great stature.
Those verses in First Corinthians we read this morning, you know, poor people. We're just ordinary folks, you know, and we want to help each other out, not wanting to have a reputation for herself warning each other because we love each other and we're, we're concerned for each other and we're against wicked enemies. They don't like our Lord. They don't like you either. They want to destroy whatever resembles him.
Get rid of him and those that represent him.
Up with their technology, whatever it is.
You and I, we only have, I trust everything's fine. You have 5 fingers and on each hand and five toes and God's not expecting you or me to do something that's beyond our ability.
But if God gives us the strength and the ability, let's give and do what we can do, not thinking about ourselves, the position that we can have among the Saints or being known or whatever, but that He, the Lord Jesus, would have the 1St place that He, the Son of God, would be enjoyed and that our Father would have delight with His children that He paid at such a price. He forsook Him to have you and I as His children, but He could share with us.
Really, that perfect satisfaction He's found in that Son and share with you the thoughts about Him that He enjoys so much. Well, May God bless His Word to our hearts, dear ones, May we be sensitive to everything around us that would attack the person of our Lord Jesus and destroy in those that are His the likeness that He would so much want to produce.
In your life and mind.
Jesus Sun Christ.
Lord.
2 verses in closing.
James. Excuse me, Jude.
Book of Views.
Unless we get too focused on the body. Jude verse 24.
And now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, to present you faultless before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy to the only God our Savior, to glory and majesty, dominion and power.
Now.
Amen.
1 Samuel 17:16-39
Reading
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First Samuel, chapter 17.
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle and were gathered together at Shoko, which belonged to Judah, and pitched between Shoko and Azika. In FS Damon and Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched by the valley of Eli and set the battle in array against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side.
And there was a valley between them.
And they went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gaff, whose height was 6 cubits in a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head. And he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was 5000 shekels of grass. And he had Greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's being.
And his Spears had weighed 600 shekels of iron, and one bearing a shield went before him. And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am not IA Philistine a Philistine? And ye servants to solve, choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me and to kill me, then will we be your servant.
But if I prevail against him and kill him, then shall you be our servants and serve us And the Phyllis, Sting said. I defy the armies of Israel this day. Give me a man that we may fight together.
When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Now David was the son of that appetite of Bethlehem, Judah, whose name is Jesse, and he had eight sons.
The man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons that went to battle were Eliab the first born, and next unto him I've been a dab, And the third Shama. And David was the youngest, and the three eldest followed Saul. But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem, and the Philistine drew near.
Morning and evening and presented himself 40 days.
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren, and Eva of this parched corn, and these 10 loaves, and runs to the camp of thy brethren, and carry these 10 cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the valley of fighting with the Philistines. And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the trench as the host was going forth to the fight. He shouted for the battle for Israel and the Philistines, and put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army.
And came and saluted his brethren, and she talked with them. Behold, there came up the champion of the Philistine.
Philistine of Gaff, Goliath by name.
Out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words. And David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man that has come up? Surely to defy as he come up? And it shall be that man who killeth him. The king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and take it away the reproach from Israel. For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? And the people answered him after this manner, saying, so shall it be done to the man that killeth him. And Eliab, his heart his eldest brother heard, when he spake unto the men.
And Ellie ABS anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why came as thou down hit her? With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thy heart, for thou art come down, that thou mightest see the battle. And David said, What have I now done? Is there not A cause? And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner. And the people answered him again after the former Manor. And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul.
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And he sent for him. And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go in against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art buddy you, and he a man of war from his youth. And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. And I went out after him and smote him.
And delivered it out of his mouth.
And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servants slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing had he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said. Moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.
And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put in helmet of brass upon his head. Also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armor. And he has saved to go, for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose 5 smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had.
Even in a script. And his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on, and drew near unto David. And the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, For he was buddy you, and Ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am IA dog, that thou comest to me with staves. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the feasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee.
And I will give the carcass of the host of the Palestine's this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with the sword and spear, for the battle is the Lords, and he will give you unto our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came, and drew nigh unto meet David, that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
And David put his hand in his bag, and he took thence a stone, and slang it, and smoked the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into the into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a slang and with a stone, and smoked the Philistine, and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistines, and took his sword, and threw it out of the sheet thereof, and slew him.
And cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the valley, and to the gates of Akron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way of Cherum, even unto Gath, and even unto Ekron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem.
And he put his armor in his tent. And when David saw it, and when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host Abner, whose son is this youth. And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said unto him.
00:10:29
Whose son art thou, young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant, Jesse the faithful, the Bethlehem brother. Jonathan, can you repeat your question? I can try.
Not sure if I can ask it in the question the same as I did, but I was considering I believe how.
Jesse would have certainly raised those.
Eight sons.
In the same manner each one and taught them those things.
Which we see David definitely took hold of.
At that time, and so when we get to those verses.
In verse.
13 And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul into battle.
And then again at the end of verse 14 and the three eldest followed Saul. There is a difference there.
Between those two statements.
And then David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep of Bethlehem.
And the Philistines drew near morning and evening, and presented himself 40 days.
And so I was.
Considering and wondering what the significance of that might be, that they first followed Saul into battle.
And then they continued to follow Saul.
Even though they had been raised the same way as David.
And that David turned back and went to look after his father's sheep.
But he continued before those ones there for 40 days. It seems that from my understanding in the French version verse 15, that was what David had been doing, going and coming to see Saul as he was called to soothe his spirit. But he would go back and mind his sheep.
I didn't understand that, that he went to battle before he was sent by his father to be in that that general area where the fighting was going on.
So David was going coming and going through Saul and then he was going to feed his father's superbetly. I I've enjoyed that thing about Michelle and if we connected with the 28th verse.
We have Elias the eldest, and he spakes and we took this up earlier. It says his anger was kindled against David and he said, Why canest thou hit her? With whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? That was the accusation that he had was was about the sheep. But we know what David had done with the sheep.
And he says, I know thy pride in the naughtiest sublime heart, for thou art come down, that thou might have see the battle. You know, sometimes when we're faced with this kind of an accusation from our brethren, we fold under it.
But David says here in the 29th 1St David said, What have I now done? Is there not A cause, or is Mr. Darby renders it? He puts it, Was it not laid upon me?
Was it not laid upon me?
And as I consider that in view of these accusations that are portrayed to David from a lion.
You realize that those 40 days were so necessary for David to be alone with the shooting just prior to this battle. And we'll we'll look at it later on.
As to the character of the lion, the character of the bear, those things that were done in private, David needed that time to be alone with the Lord so that when he comes to the battle and he has all these accusations, he doesn't fold like I often do. And perhaps there are those times when the Lord lays something in my heart.
And I know he laid it on my heart. And then there's just his opposition. And I, I called him and I'm not able to.
Follow through with what the Lord has laid on my heart. I don't know if you've ever had that experience, but it's a wonderful thing if we can have that presence of the Lord and we when we gain that confidence so that when the Lord has laid something on our heart, regardless of the opposition, we can follow through. I've appreciated those 40 days that David needed, not just those that were in the Valley Villa. He was anointed king, he was anointed king and this family knew it.
00:15:16
I didn't know that. What a thing, what a direction he had from the Lord to go forward.
That's very good.
One important word that we see in this chapter is faith.
David's faith.
Let's look at some verses that David brings forth to us of his faith in the Lord his God. Let's go to verse 36.
Seeing he have five year armies of the living God, David said. Moreover, the Lord.
That delivered me out of the paw, the lion, David says. The Lord delivered me. We see David's faith.
And under the paw, the bear.
Again we see David's faith, and now we see David saying.
He will deliver me out of the hand of his philistine again.
We see David's faith. Let's go on to verse.
45.
Then say David to the Philistine.
Thou comest to me with the spear of the sword and spear.
With a shield. But here again, we see faith.
But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts. He was pronouncing his faith.
To this gentile.
King.
Saul here had not.
Showing faith.
David, in this time we could say.
All around him were faithless.
We see that the armies of Israel were afraid and scared were dismayed.
We see that they had spoken against David, his elder brothers. David did not waver his faith. Let's go on to verse 46. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand.
Faith.
Let's go on diverse.
The end of verse 46.
All the earth.
May know.
There is a God in Israel again, David renouncing his faith.
There's 47.
And all this assembly shall know.
That the Lord saveth not with spear and sword for the battle is the Lorde, and he will give you into our hands.
That little word? Fake.
David in his day was that faithful one in the midst of all this Great War that was going to take place.
How the Lord leadeth guided him and we see about those 40 days that we just heard about what is 40 in the scripture remind us of.
Time of testing.
And here faithful David.
And even afterwards we see that he his manner was very meek and mild.
There was no great pomp and ceremony. David now was going on serving the largest God.
Of the Lord.
And he takes up five stones out of a brook.
Drop those stones. Speaks to us of Christ, doesn't it?
Lord Jesus was a rock, you know.
Rock of Israel. He's our rock.
That we bill have her faith built upon. He took up those stones and he used one of those stones just one to.
Slaughter that enemy.
Was there? So it is that you, David is a picture of the Lord, isn't he?
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There are consequences connected with being defeated by Goliath.
If I kill him, the interviews are slaves.
And so we've been presumptuous for anybody.
To take that risk of.
Being the champion of all these people and losing up.
Who can face that enemy?
The power of I think it's in First Corinthians 15 there.
The sting of.
That is sin.
You want to meet the challenge of death. You have to be sinless.
And so we have that in Hebrews chapter 2.
Good Hebrews, chapter 2.
There's 14.
For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same that through death you might destroy him that had the power of death that is a devil, and deliver them through through fear of death, where all their lifetime subject to *******.
They're all afraid. Nobody wants to go up.
For themselves and for the consequence that somebody goes up and he fails to win that battle.
We're all gonna be slaves, but there was one.
The sinless 1 And that's the Lord Jesus. And if you notice in our chapter, I was sharing that with a brother before in first Samuel 17, I enjoyed the thought that he, he slew Goliath twice. I mean, you know, I might be exaggerating, but still I I like that thought that he, he slew the giant twice. Chapter 17 of Samuel.
Verse 49 And David put his hand in his back, and took 10s of stone and slang it, and smoked the Philistine on his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead, and he fell upon upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with his slings and with his stone, and smoked the Philistine and slew him.
But there was number sword in the hand of David.
In verse 51, therefore, David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheet thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith.
I've enjoyed that today, and if you read in Matthew, you'll find that when the Lord dies.
There's an earthquake.
And in the next chapter, when he's going to rise again, I think there's another earthquake. This is something never happened before.
A man without sin going into death.
That's him. He paid for our sin, the three hours of darkness and he dies and he goes in victorious. He's not, he's not a victim, He's a victor. And he goes into that and he comes out and there's another earthquake that never happened before. His, his, you know, this is just wonderful. This is that blessed person, this sinless person who's the Lord Jesus. And so when the Philistines, they saw their champion did when the Israelites, they saw the head cut off.
They realized he was dead. They realized it was victory. And so when the Lord raises himself from the dead, he had power to lay down his life. He had power to take it up again. What a picture we have here that I've enjoyed this time. Connect with the way He slew him twice there.
Just to follow through a little bit further with Jonathan's question.
David says here in verse 32 to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him.
My servant will go and fight with this Philistines. It's all said to David. They are not able to go with this Philistine to fight with him and everybody used and he a man of war from his youth.
And then David relays.
The things that happened to him in secret.
And we're not going to be in public.
What we aren't in secret.
And typically the times of our greatest temptation.
Are our times of solitude.
That's the time of our greatest temptation. It's not so much when we're sitting in a room like this, although there can be, but it's our times of solitude.
And David portrays as our brother Jim has brought before us, the concept of his reliance totally on the Lord in the temptations that he had in solitude.
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And we have those characteristics. In the earlier meeting, our brother Henry brought before us the characteristics that we have of the enemy. You know, we have the we have the flesh, we have the the world, and we have the enemy of our souls, Satan. And we see them portrayed here.
You know the, the, the enemy in Goliath is, is, is a picture of the flesh. You know, in its awfulness, in its confidence in itself that we see in ourselves. We, we, we see those, those temptations of the flesh.
The we see the, the temptations of the enemy who comes before us as a lion roaring. And it's, it's formidable. It's, it's very, very terrifying. But then we have the characteristic of the bear, which is, it's the world. And then, you know, the bear does, he opens up his arms and you as soon as he gets, he squeezes the life out of you. And that's what the world does.
Opens up its arms for us. And then when he's got us, when the world has us, it just squeezes all the lifeout of us. Well, David had those temptations in private props during those, even those 40 days and the victory that he had during that time.
He's able to take that faith now and present it to Saul.
And you know, we have this, we have this concept that because we look at the story books that.
David was this little guy like this?
It says here.
Where does it say in verse 38 and Saul armed David with his armor and he put his helm on the breast upon his head, and he armed with a Dakota male?
And David Gordon is sword upon his armor and he has saved to go for they before they didn't fit him. That's not what it says.
It doesn't say the armor didn't fit him.
You know, when Salt, when Samuel was looking at those big, strapping young men, David wasn't there. David didn't come along as that tiny little guy. He was one of those boys. He was a big boy, too. Saul was head and shoulders above all the people. And when he puts the armor on it, he wouldn't have put the armor on David if he had just been a little guy. But the point was.
That David measured Goliath against the Lord.
Measuring himself against Goliath. It was a number contest.
David was a big boy.
But that was not the measurement. The measurement was David measuring Goliath against the Lord and having put into practice those things, those temptations that he had in in in private that were faced with so many times. If there's no victory there, they're certainly going to be no victory when I Goliath comes.
David hadn't tried the armor. He hadn't tried it.
He's going to use what he had tried, and he had tried the Lord, right. And the Lord invites us to try him put, to put him to the test. And David had. They that measure themselves by themselves are not wise. David measured himself not according to his skills, according to that which he had that the Lord had gave to him, but he measured himself in the strength of the Lord, not in his own skills.
Or not in his own wisdom or might, but he trusted the Lord for the battle. And we see here that the enemy said to David, the 44th verse of philosophy said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh onto the fowls of the air, to the beast of the field. This is really the character of Satan.
Picture in Goliath. This is what he would love to do with every believer, the face of the earth. This is what he would delight to do to us.
But.
David says not in his own wisdom, but David said in the strength of the Lord. He said to the Philistine at verse 45. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who now has defiled.
And he says that's too with boldness.
As a child of God, verse 46, this day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. And I will give the carcass of the host of the Philistines this day onto the fowls of the air, a wild beast of the earth. All the earth may know there is a God of Israel. This is a God that defended us at Calvary's cross.
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Defeated all our enemies.
To set us free from the enemy. And it says there in verse.
29 David said, What have I now done? Is there not A cause? Yes, there was a cause. It was mentioned that if Goliath had not been defeated, I.
By someone in Israel that they would be taken captive and turn into slaves and.
And so it was necessary for Goliath to be defeated, for the children of Israel to have liberty. It was necessary for the Lord Jesus to die on the cross so that we can have.
Liberty, that we could have a victory in Christ. And so there was a cause. The Lord Jesus had a cause to go to Calvary's cross. David had a cause here to defeat the armies that were against his people. David was a shepherd. He cared for the flock just like the Lord Jesus did. And because he cared for the flock, he protected it against all enemies that would come against it, whether it was a bear or a lion, no matter what it might be.
David was willing to put his life on the line for the Lord. And so we're called to the same battle as David had. Only now in this day in which we live, it's a spiritual battle that's going on. But nevertheless there is a battle going on. But we we can look back at the cross and we say, well, Satan has been defeated. He's been defeated. All our enemies have been defeated, but doesn't mean to say that.
There still isn't a battle going on. Satan would love to rob us from everything that Christ has given to us if he could. He can't take any blessings away, but He certainly can take some of our enjoyment away, and that's what He would seek to do.
Interesting in connection with the thoughts of the cross if you look at verse 43.
And the Philistines said unto David.
Am IA dog.
That comes to me, which saves.
And the Philistine cursed David.
By his gods.
Read the 40th verse, you find that and he took his staff in hand. In the singular. He had one piece of wood in his in his hand. But when he faces the Philistine, he has more than one. It's in the plural.
And that's where the Lord going to Calvary to be put on two pieces of wood and to be made a curse for us. Goliath cursed him by his God, but when the Lord Jesus was on the cross, God made him a curse for us. Just another thought real quick on how David was back taking care of the sheep. Quite enjoyed hearing a lot about characteristics of David during the last meeting and one characteristic that we.
Should not miss what David is, that he was submissive and obedient and true spiritual power in someones life comes from submission and obedience. And someone mentioned David had already been anointed, so surely caring for his father's sheep he would have been far too important to do that. No, he was obedient. It was his father's will for him to care for those sheep, and it was his father's will to send him down. And that's.
What he does, we also find that I think we would all agree Saul had failed as a king and his responsibility.
And David had this confidence that came from trusting in the Lord and knowing what was right and what the Lord wanted. But we don't find him rebuking Saul In verse 32. He says the Saul let no man's heart fail because of him.
Thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
You know brother Ethan?
Sometimes we're tempted to use the arm of the flesh instead of being obedient. Take a picture here. So here's David. He's got all this armor on. I'm sure there was a temptation to use it.
00:35:03
But you know, if you look at verse 46.
When David's speaking, he says In all of this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with soaring spirit.
With sore and spirit, how would he have been able to say that if he had folded under the pressure of taking this armor and going down? But he's he's obedient to his father. He's obedient to the Lord in every way. That armor that perhaps he was tempted to put on, He takes it off and he goes without the arm of the flesh. Just faith alone. That's beautiful, what you brought before us.
The entrance is submitted.
And it tells us in Psalm 40.
In the volume of the book is written on me. I delight to do thy will for God. You know, sometimes we submit, but it's with a rather grudging attitude. It's not good.
And if we could realize?
How submitting to the Lord?
Is that which really brings happiness into our lives. We could do it with the light.
That we're pleasing the Lord, you know, this is what.
I think can bring the light to our hearts and David.
He just tells over and over how it's the Lord.
Delivered him, and it's the Lord that's going to fight the battle. The Lord does this. The Lord does that. Elia talks about pride. You know what? The man of the world.
He looks at a believer.
Who's telling about his Savior and about salvation through faith alone?
And he says that's pride. How can you be so presumptuous to say that you're good enough to go to heaven?
We're not seeing that we're going to heaven not based on our work, but upon what Jesus did. We try to impress this Son, folks. We're taking the emphasis off ourselves and placing it on the Lord Jesus and Him alone.
And he is the only.
Savior, you know, we seek to exalt him, but then people they think, well, you know, you're, you're proud.
Proud. It's not pride in David's heart.
And something else about David?
He was concerned about everyone of his sheep and I don't know how large a flock he had. It doesn't tell us the number, but here's this.
Lamb taken out of the flock by a lion and then a bear. And David might have said, well, you know, I'm in trouble myself. I'm not going to risk my life to go after that little.
Helpless lamb. Maybe he shouldn't have been out there on the fringes anyway.
No, it tells us here that David went.
Out after in and smoking.
He saw the situation and he didn't relax and take his comfort. He went out and it tells us here he smote him and delivered it out of his mouth. So I think it speaks to us of the love of our Savior for each of us here today. You know, we go over to Luke 15. We have there the account of the shepherd who accounts the sheep supposed to have 100 or there's one missing.
Well, what you going to do? Go to bed and forget about the sheep? No, he goes out and who knows how long he was out there searching for that sheep.
Like the little him says, where the hungry lion hides and the fiery serpent glides.
And he was not content to return home until he had that sheep on his shoulders and brings it home, rejoicing.
You know what I believe? If you were the only.
Boy, they're the only girl, man or woman on the face of this planet Earth.
That God would send his Son to be your Savior, and the Lord Jesus would be willing to come and to die for you.
In order that you might be delivered from sin and Satan.
That you might become his companion.
I just think it's so beautiful. These stories that we have in the Old Testament help us to understand a little bit more about our saviors love.
00:40:10
The Good Shepherd that gave his life for the sheep.
David risked his life, but he didn't give it. He didn't have to, but that was not so of the Savior, the Lord Jesus.
It tells us the Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep.
The other thing there too, I enjoyed that those comments Wally, but mentioned here that.
Then he didn't put the armor on because it wasn't proved.
What's that tell us that?
He only used what he had proven.
To be.
Something that he could rely upon. That is, he made it his own, that sling he practiced.
And he knew that he could depend on it.
And what's it tell us about armor in Ephesians? That there's different pieces of armor that we put on? We should make that armor our own. That is, we should prove it. I may use.
Part of word of God and I think, well, you know, I know that scripture and I might say something to a brother or a sister thinking I'm clever maybe to correct them in something. But we got to remember that the the sword of the spirit, the word of God is A2 aged sword.
And if I'm cutting somebody else to teach them something but the word of God, maybe I haven't proven it. I haven't really taken that for my own. It's A2 edged sword. God can use that same sword to correct me.
So we should remember those things that the things that the armor that we have were to where where to put it on, yes, but we're to make it our own. We're to prove it.
And David wouldn't wear that armor because he hadn't proven it.
What made that stone a lethal weapon?
You could have thrown that like a baseball player would never kill Goliath. What gave that stone velocity was the sling. And so it's the stone and the velocity of the sling. And I think it's the root of God and the power of the Spirit of God. And that's why if we're lying on the Lord, he'll give us the thought by the Spirit, the verse by the Spirit, the passage by the Spirit that's going to be effective to give us victory. So if we just go and fill our minds.
With the word of God we can argue a lot and be an error a lot. But if the Spirit of God is doing the teaching and the leading.
And gives us the thought it's going to be effective.
Maybe it'd be good to talk a little bit more about those stones.
Our brother was talking about how we have.
Kind of wrong concept about how tall David was. What about those stones?
The children sing only a boy named David, only a little slang.
One little little stone went in the sling about 35 years ago. I was in the University of Pennsylvania Museum and they had an exhibit with slingstones in it.
It was remarkable those sling stones were the size of softballs.
There was number little stone I am certain that David used.
5 stones, 5 smooth stones. And we've heard this thought often.
We sometimes.
Say well, they represent the five books of Moses.
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Word of God I I believe that's a correct thought.
You know when we go to battle with the enemy.
We need to use the Word of God.
The word of God.
It's living.
It's powerful.
And it's not just like a sword, it's sharper than any two edged sword.
That's important. I remember reading a news article about people protesting because of scripture was put up in a courtroom and they wanted it taken down. They were atheists. You know what their comment was?
00:45:02
These are powerful words.
These are powerful words. The word of God is living and it's powerful. And this stone in Davidde life.
Did its work and the word of God, if we use it right in our lives, we'll do its work. The objective used with the stones because we don't know how big they were, but there's a big enough to be able to accomplish what God had purpose for them.
But it says they were smooth.
So they must have been felt.
So actually familiar with the Word of God for the Spirit of God to use it properly. So I just enjoyed that clock. Brother Enos mentioned a verse in First Corinthians.
A Second Corinthians, sorry, chapter 10.
2nd Corinthians chapter 10, verse 12.
But we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves.
But they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
And that's something we can tend to do is compare ourselves with others for many reasons, trying to see how we fit.
How we rank among the brethren we can compare ourselves to others as to.
You know, our walk or how good we are, how strong we are. I mean, there's all kinds of reasons when I compare ourselves to one another. But in our chapter, this something another thing that you see absent with David, you know his his brother Wally pointed out It can appear as pride when you exercise your faith because faith is bold and.
But notice that David never.
There's not even a hint of him comparing themselves with anybody else. Somebody said he didn't put anybody down. He didn't put Saul down for his failure. That's right. He didn't even begin to talk, compare himself with any other soldiers, with anyone else in Israel. There's just no thought of self.
There is no thought of self with David in this chapter.
Good, bad or otherwise, his his mind and his focus is on the Lord is being dishonored.
The Lord is being dishonored. That was his concern.
And it wouldn't have mattered if it was a battle or a fight or anything. The Lord was being dishonored and he wanted to see that corrected and he was willing to put himself on the line for it. And as to his comparison with others, if others were to compare him, Can't remember the comment that was made but it made me think of this in First Corinthians chapter one. It's the anti type here.
Verse 26 You see your calling, brethren.
Now that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God.
And this is the verse, and this is a principle both in the Old Testament and in the New.
And it goes back to what our brother Dave said about if if he had taken on the armor.
How would God have been glorified? How could it have been shown that God does not save by that?
God still would have delivered him.
But it would have been clouded. It would have been camouflaged, obscured the fact that God delivered, and would have been obscured had he taken that armor on.
So here's the principle stated plainly here, verse 27, First Corinthians one God.
Have chosen the foolish things of the world to what? To confound the wise.
And God hath chosen the weak things of the world.
For what? To confound the things that are mighty, and the things of the world and things which are despised? Have God chosen? Yeah, things which are not.
To what? To bring To not the things that are for what purpose? That no flesh should glory in His presence?
We get to glory.
Will David say I'm the one that's through the giant? He's not going to say that, is he? I'm the one the Lord loved, forgave such terrible things I did.
We think 32 in the appendix.
#32 in the appendix.
I wonder if we could sing the third verse of the chorus.
00:50:03
#32 in the appendix and wake up and try.
To do such segregation.
And stop never sins.
Also sing #4 #4 in the appendix.
No one.
Here is sunlight right now. It's one of the trails.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Paul House
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Dear God and Father.
We thank thee tonight.
We have this opportunity to hear one more time of thy love.
We thank thee.
For the Lord Jesus, my beloved Son.
The one who was thy delight in heaven past eternity. It is thy delight now and will be forever.
And we thank thee that for many of us here in the room, he is our delight too.
Lord Jesus Christ, we are so glad to belong to Thee.
But tonight there may be somebody who does not belong to the yet, and we feel so sorry for them. And we just pray that they'll help us to be able to turn to the verses that would exercise their conscience and help them to see the need that they have and the love that doubt us have for them. How thou is willing to die.
And take their place on the cross. Help me, Lord Jesus, to represent thee well here. Give me strength.
And help me to show a little of thy love here in this room tonight we pray in thy name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
I want to read a couple of verses right at the beginning.
The first one that was written, perhaps?
Well, over, well, maybe almost 3000 years ago.
Isaiah 53.
And verse 6.
Isaiah 53. Six.
It says this.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
I have to admit that there was many years when I didn't understand this verse.
And there were many years that I didn't care about this verse either. But let me tell you that tonight I love this verse because this verse is very fundamental to the story of the love of God.
First of all.
Begins with all and it ends with all.
The first all is different than the second all, and the first all includes all of us here.
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Everybody in the world, every person, it says all we like sheep have gone astray. And I want to begin tonight with that thought. And I want everyone in this room to realize that this is not my words. I read them in this book. And if you have this book on your lap, you can read them for yourself. They're the words of God.
All we, like chief, have gone astray. These are the words of God were astray.
We're lost. I hate being lost.
We went the wrong way yesterday. I hated it.
It took us longer to get here than I wanted it to. We had to go through more fog along more treacherous roads. I want to stray. But this is talking about being distant from God. From God. And tonight, if you've never accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you are still astray from God.
And you don't have to answer to me.
For your sins. But we're going to have a little word tonight from the thank you Paul. We're going to have a little bit of more of the words of God.
And we're going to see that you're going to that you're astray from God.
And that's far more important to think about than being a stray from me or some other person.
Being astray from God is not a joke.
People Slough it off today in this world, but when they leave this world and they're far from God, then what?
Doom.
Judgment. Those are words we don't like to hear about. And you know, there's another word and it has four letters and it starts with H and it's spelled, it's spelled this way. HELL, people don't like to talk about that either. But people that are astray from God and go through this life without getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ and having their sins forgiven.
Go to hell when they leave.
I want to tell you a little story. This shook me really a lot, and I'm sorry it's about me, but it's something that I went through.
I have a customer. I had a customer had a customer. I don't have them anymore. I had him.
We were going to do a bathroom for him.
His job was to go and pick the tile that he wanted around the tub that we were going to replace for him.
He picked it out and the tile came in and where the store, the store called me and said you're the tile for this man is in. So whenever you need to do the job, just come ahead and pick up the tile. And I said great thanks. And I called the man back and I called him back and I called him back and I called him back and he never answered my call. And one night after meeting, I called him. It was about 9:15.
He answered. The phone sounded completely normal.
And I said, well, your tiles in, we'd like to do your job and you know what's a good time for you? He said. Well.
He said I really have a problem. I said oh OK. He said I can't remember anything.
Said you can't remember anything.
He said yeah, my short term memory is gone.
He said anything that we talk about tonight, I will not remember in the morning and he said I'm absolutely terrified.
Because I can't remember anything.
Few days later.
This man died. He had cancer in his brain.
I didn't know that he had died, I just didn't hear from him again day after day after day. And finally I got a call from his son-in-law.
Who is the executor of his estate?
And he said we'd like you to put the tile up that my father-in-law chose.
I was sad.
You know, we had talked about a few things that night.
One was his soul.
But you know, the problem was that he couldn't think.
The cancer had gone to his brain.
Tonight you have the opportunity to think and God has given you a brain that works and God has said all we like sheep have gone astray. And perhaps this is the last chance you're going to have to come to God as a loving God to accept the Lord Jesus Christ, his beloved Son, as your Savior. This might be it.
00:10:17
You know, I talked to that man about his soul, but he couldn't think.
He knew he needed his furnace cleaned and he asked me, please, I'm going to forget this. Can you get somebody to clean my furnace? I don't clean furnaces, but the guy who did some plumbing there, he cleans furnaces. So I said, can you do that at the same time the furnace got cleaned? But this man is in an eternity tonight. How about you?
You who are astray, God wants you tonight.
God loves you.
His son Jesus died for you if you'll receive Him as your Savior. The second verse I'd like to look at is in First Peter chapter 2.
First Peter chapter 2 Says this.
Who his own self bear our sins, and his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live on to righteousness. By whose stripes ye were healed. Now that verse in Isaiah 53, it talks about the stripes. By whose stripes we are healed. And so.
The story of the gospel is quite simple, actually.
God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, came down into this world.
He was put on a cross and he died.
And anyone who will accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior and the punishment that he received for their sins can be saved. And the answer is very simple. It's not complicated. Anybody can come. Anyone can be saved tonight.
There's a lot of people, though, that may say why. Why do I need that? We're going to talk a little bit about that in a few minutes.
Before I do, I want to tell you another story.
This story is a story that I heard probably two years ago that.
Kind of.
It's a solemn story, really, but.
It's almost unbelievable.
It goes like this. There was a man that I know that's an insurance and this man came into his office and said.
Oh my, my house burned down on the weekend.
This man who is in insurance looked at only.
Your house burned down on the weekend goes yeah, my house burned down on the weekend. So they'll probably be an insurance claim you'll see this week.
And.
The man who told me the story, he thought, that's strange, My house burned down. I wouldn't just say, well, my house burned down on the weekend. I would say my house burned down on the weekend. I lost all my photo albums. I lost my hockey stick that I really liked. My skate burned my heart, my stamp collection burned. I lost everything. But this man said, oh, my house burned on the weekend.
Expect an insurance claim.
Well.
The insurance man got a got a claim all right, but he also got a call from the insurance company a couple days later and they said we won't be honoring that claim.
For the man whose house burned down on the weekend.
Because one of the neighbors had a security system on their house.
And we found out about the fact that they had a security system and we asked them for a copy of the video of the tape.
Of the last week of time and on the tape there was a very clear image of the man bringing a can of gasoline into his house and the house then becoming totally engulfed in flames.
And so, putting two and two together, they figured that the house burned down because the man lit his own house on fire and then wanted the insurance money from it.
So the insurance company said, no, no, we're not going to honor your claim.
Your house is burned down, it's your personal loss because you burned your own house down. And if you ask anymore, we'll take the video to the police and then they'll deal with it.
00:15:12
And you say, well, why are you telling me this story? Well, I couldn't believe that the man had burned his own house down to get the money for the house. I guess this is common.
Unfortunately, in this wicked world that we live in.
You know, many times we forget.
About God, don't we? We live our whole life.
We just kind of do whatever we want.
And we forget that God is watching.
Every moment of the day. Let's turn to 1St Corinthians or Second Corinthians Chapter 7 for a little verse there.
2nd Corinthians, Chapter 7.
And just a little phrase in verse.
12.
2nd Corinthians Chapter 7 partway through verse 12 it says.
But that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. Now, this is the apostle Paul speaking to believers who he really cared about and was seeking to help them. But I want to change the context a little bit tonight and just speak a little bit about those, those four words, the sight of God.
Tonight we're sitting here in this room.
We all have respectable clothes on, we're all looking like we're paying attention, but.
Let me ask you a question. When God looks down from heaven into your heart, what does he see? What does he see? Does he see you in all your sins, all over you, dirty, vile. You say I'm not that bad compared to God.
One sin is enough to keep you from the presence of a holy, spotless God.
Let's turn to a book back in the Bible to Psalm.
54 We'll look at a verse there.
I.
53.
And verse.
We'll read a few verses here just to get the connection. Verse 153 The fool has said in his heart there is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity. There is none that doeth God. Good God looked down from heaven upon the children of men.
To see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Everyone of them has gone back. They are all together, become filthy. There is none that doeth good. No, not one.
God looked down from heaven.
When God looks down on you, what does he see?
Does he see someone who has accepted the Lord Jesus as their savior? Does he see you with a new life, the life of Christ? That's perfect?
Or does he see you in all your sins, your wretched sins, your iniquities that have separated you from him? Abominable iniquity, You say, Well, I haven't done that many bad things, but have you told a lie?
Have you had a bad thought?
Have you ever said a bad word?
That's just three things.
If I started to count the many sins that I did, I wouldn't count half of them, a third of them, a tenth of them.
I'm 56 * 365 multiplied by the thousands of sins I do every day.
If I had to pay.
I'd have to burn in hell a lot.
But you know the Lord Jesus Christ, he died on the cross. I.
00:20:01
I accepted Him as my precious savior.
You know, when he died on the cross of Calvary, He paid for every one of my sins. Can you say that tonight? Can you say that the Lord Jesus Christ died for me? I hope at the end of this you can. Before the end of it, even whenever you accept the Lord Jesus, you'll be able to say that.
OK, now let's look at Romans 14 verse 12.
I.
I.
Says this so then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.
You know, it's verses like this that people do not want the Bible around for.
They just want to get rid of the Bible, don't they? They don't want it in the school. They even don't want it in the library, except as reference and in the far corner, maybe.
What does this say?
So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.
You know, some of the things that I've done that were wrong before God, I did with other people.
But you know, and there's a day coming when I won't be able to say, well, it was because of him or she did this or whatever the Lord wants to know about me.
And for somebody in their sins that has to answer for everyone of their sins to God, they're going to have to answer for themselves why they did this and why they they did that and why they did this and why they did that. So then every one of us.
Shall give account of himself.
To God.
Now Matthew 21 is the next one I'd like to spend some time on.
Matthew, Chapter 21.
And this is really what I had in my heart to talk about tonight, Matthew 21. And we're going to read this story from verse 33.
Down to verse 42.
Matthew, 2133.
Hear another parable. There was a certain householder which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged the winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandman, and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandman, that they might receive the fruits of it.
And the husband men took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants more than the 1St, and they did on to them likewise. But last of all he sent on to them his son, saying They will reverence my son.
But when the Osbourne saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the air, Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the Lord therefore the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard onto other husband.
Render him their fruit in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them. Did you never read in the Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? The same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in her eyes.
Generally when I read this account.
I read it in the book of Mark.
And in the book of Mark, there's a few extra details or different details that are given about the parable here that Jesus told.
But there's one particular detail in this chapter that I read tonight.
In verse 41 in Matthew.
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The answer as to the consequence of killing the son of this man this this householder, was that he would miserably destroy those wicked men and let his vineyard onto other husbandmen, which should render him the fruits in their seasons. In Mark. It doesn't make the distinction that it was the people listening to the parable that gave what the.
Was going to be.
But here in Matthew, the people answered this story. They said, oh.
This man's son, his son that was sent, that was killed by this group of terrible people, they're going to get wiped out. There's a consequence that's going to come because of what was done to this son, this special son. It says, last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying they will reverence my son.
You know, in the book of Mark it says a little bit more as to.
That the people, the religious authorities at the time when Jesus told this story, they knew that he had spoken this parable against them.
And they hated the Lord Jesus because they knew that they wanted to get rid of him, just like this son in this story. And he was saying that he was the son and God was the husband, was the the householder. And they rejected him as being the Son of God.
Now.
We're approaching the holiday season.
And in the holiday season, there's a lot of time spoken about.
The birth of Jesus into this world, right?
Let's turn to Luke chapter 2 and we're going to read about that.
Luke chapter 2.
I.
And perhaps there's somebody here tonight and you keep Christmas.
But you don't love Jesus.
And you've never accepted Jesus as your Savior.
I want you to be exercised tonight.
About Jesus.
Let's read the story about the Lord Jesus.
Chapter 2.
Luke 2 And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed, verse three And all went to be taxed, everyone in his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, onto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger. And tonight that is exactly where most people who keep Christmas that do not love the Lord Jesus Christ thought. They put a period right there.
And you know what? It doesn't stop there.
Keeps going. Let's read what it says because there was number room for them in the end.
Jesus, the Son of God.
The son who came in the story that we read about.
He came here and where was he born?
The eternal Son of God was born in a barn.
And the world says, oh, isn't that beautiful? He was born in a Manger and they have all these stories and songs and all kinds of things, but there was no room for him in the end.
And let me tell you tonight, there's no room for Jesus Christ in this world either.
As soon as you start talking about the Lord Jesus Christ to people, they back away.
They start to get worried.
And they start to get worried because of their sins.
And tonight?
If you keep Christmas but you don't love Jesus, then you put a period where in this verse where it should not be because you have no room for him either in your heart. And tonight we started with, have you any room for Jesus? I want to ask you that, do you have room for him? Do you have room in your heart for the Lord Jesus? Do you ever accepted Him as your Savior?
00:30:21
Tonight, you can.
If you've laughed him out, you got room for pleasure, room for business and everything else, but you have no room for him.
I feel sorry for you.
You've missed out on a lot.
If you leave this world without it, without the Lord Jesus, to your peril, your eternal doom. And that's the warning for tonight.
The good news is that.
This is just the beginning of the story of Jesus on this earth, and he was born in a barn.
And shame on us. I'm Speaking of mankind. There was number room. Can you imagine? At the Ramada, we're all there and this lady comes in the door and she's about to have a baby any moment. And the hotel says, I'm sorry, but the the hotel is, is full. But there's a barn up the road you can use instead.
You can sleep there tonight. Shame on us.
If we didn't say, well, you know, in your condition, maybe you could have my room.
But no one was willing to say that when the Lord Jesus was born. So the Lord Jesus was born in a barn, the very Son of God. Shame on us.
Shame on men.
You know the story goes on. Lord Jesus grew up a perfect man.
He started his public ministry when he was about 3330 years old.
And he preached to the people that unless they changed, they were in trouble. You know, it's no different than what I'm saying tonight. Unless there's a change, you're in trouble. Unless your sins are forgiven by a holy, righteous God, you're in trouble.
And I think down deep, each one of us can say, yeah, that's right.
You know, if you're in your sins tonight, God sees you just the way that you are, and you know God wants you just the way that you are, because God can take you and God can forgive you, and you can have your sins forever washed away in the blood of His precious Son.
And you know, that's the story that's so remarkable to me. You know, we read in Matthew the Lord Jesus told the story of this man that sent his son to get the fruit from the vineyard. And they took his son and they killed him. They got rid of him. They said, hey, he's the heir, let's kill him. Then the vineyards ours. We'll have the world the way we want it. That's what they said when Jesus was crucified, Get rid of him. We don't want him to reign over us. We wanted our way.
And the people said, oh.
The the man that owns the farm, he's going to come and wipe out all those guys that killed his son.
And you know, naturally that's what we would say too. They had it coming to them. But what did God do? God said, you know, when my son was crucified on the cross?
He died for the sins of any person that would come to me to be forgiven by my sons payment for their sins.
You know, God is love, God is mercy. We would say, yeah, wipe out all those people that killed the sun. Sure, they deserve it. What did God say? God says I'm loved. They killed my son. They treated him so bad he was born in a barn. And then they put him on a cross. But I'm willing to forgive them if they'll receive my son as their savior.
That's the remarkable story of the cross.
And we're going to talk a little bit about that now. So let's turn back to Matthew Chapter 27.
We're going to read a little bit about the cross.
Because this is part of the story that's so precious to me.
I love the story of the cross.
00:35:00
But I can tell you something and that is this.
There was a time when I hated when gospel preachers would read about the cross.
I remember sitting in meetings like this. I came with my mom and my dad to Bible conferences, but I never accepted the Lord Jesus as my Savior.
Until I got a little bit older. Shame on me. I should have come to the Lord Jesus earlier. I would have been saved from a lot of sin.
And a lot of sorrow.
But thank God, I did come. But I hated when people would sit and read about the cross and how the Lord Jesus was taken and crucified and that's I just didn't want to hear that story. I'd heard it before and I didn't want to hear it again. But now I love to hear that story because the Lord Jesus Christ died for me.
He paid for my sins and so I love him.
For doing that for me. But that's read about what the people did to the Son. So let's read in verse.
11 And Jesus stood before the governor, the Roman governor.
OK, so let's drop down to.
A 24 When Pilot saw that he could prevail nothing but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. See to it Pilot was the governor.
And so the religious authorities that brought Jesus to be crucified, there was an argument as to whether he was guilty or not, and between the the governor and them. And the governor, rather than giving justice, he allowed the Lord Jesus, who was perfect to be crucified.
Verse 25.
Then answered all the people and said his blood be on us and on our children.
Horrible, but they took responsibility for this verse 26 then released he Bravisson To them this was a man that was going to be released. They had accustomed to release a prisoner and the governor had wanted to release Jesus and they had said no, we want this wicked prisoner instead. So he the governor released Brevis and when he had scourged Jesus.
He delivered him to be crucified.
So this is what the people did to the Sun.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered on to him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet rope. And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and a Reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail King of the Jews, And they spit upon him.
And took the Reed and smote him on the head.
And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
Verse 34. They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled by the Prophet. They pardoned my garments among them.
And upon my vesture did they cast lots, and sitting down they watched him there. 39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroys the temple in Bilaston in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priest, mocking him with the scribes and elders, said He saved others.
Himself he cannot save if he be the King of Israel. Let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let him now deliver him if he will have him, for he said I am the Son of God. Verse 45 Now from the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land until the 9th hour and about the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying Eli, Eli Lama Sabachthani, that is to say.
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Some of them that heard that stood there when they heard that, said This man calleth for Elias, And straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a Reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
00:40:12
Now turn over to John, chapter 19 please.
We'll pick up in verse 29 about the vinegar. Now there was sat a vessel full, full of vinegar, and they fill the sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said.
It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, he saw its pilot, that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the 1St and of the other, which was crucified with him.
But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came throughout blood and water. And he that saw it bear record, And his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
For God so loved the world.
That He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God looked down from heaven, He saw men and women, and he sees men and women tonight in their sinful condition.
He sent his son. His son was taken.
First his son was born in a barn, then his son lived here perfectly, but he was taken and put on the cross.
And instead of coming and destroying the wicked people that did that to his son, instead he said those who want to be forgiven of their sins can be come to me in all their need and have their sins forgiven. There's a verse I want to close with in Acts chapter 17 and it goes like this it says.
Acts 16 actually.
It says.
Verse 31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
We're out of time.
I'm going to pray now.
There's a few quantum jumps perhaps that I've taken tonight, and I apologize for that. I'm a failing.
Preacher.
But I represent a perfect savior.
And tonight, if there's things that you want to ask me about or someone else, please do that. But don't leave here tonight in your sins, because if you do, you may not get another chance of going to heaven and having your sins forgiven. Jesus is the way. Jesus can forgive tonight, and Jesus will take you just as you are.
So come to him.
God didn't destroy those people. Instead, He showed His heart of love. But those who reject His love will have His judgment in a coming day.
Let's pray.
Create in Me a Clean Heart
Children—Jonathan Grinton
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
All right, Daniel, you got your hand way up there. What? When would we sing?
#5.
Oh, that's one of my favorite ones. You know, when we're at home at the Grinton house, my daughter plays this on the piano for me, and she plays it in a way that I like it so much. It gets everybody happy and excited. Are you happy to be here this morning? OK, let's sing.
Rejoice and tell, it's Roger, it's all abroad.
When Jesus was my sins away.
He taught me how to watch and pray, and they rejoice.
In everything.
Happy day. Happy day when Jesus washed my sins away.
The great transactions on.
I am my Lords, and he is mine. He dreamed me, and I followed on, glad to confess. So what is divine?
Happy day. Happy day when Jesus.
Washed my sins away.
To watch and pray.
And the great choice, say, every day.
Happy day. Happy day when Jesus.
Washed my sins away.
Now rest my long till thy heart.
Nor ever from thy Lord depart.
Within a very good poses.
Happy day. Happy day when Jesus washed my sins away.
He taught me how to watch and pray and every joy.
In every day.
Every day, happy day.
When Jesus watched my sins away. Very good. So it's a happy day, isn't it, to be here, to have Sunday school?
OK, Sammy.
#25.
All right.
All right, let's sing the 1St.
And the last verse #25 is that good? OK, all right.
Life, at best, is very breathe, like the falling of a lake, like the binding of a ship.
Be a time fleeting days are telling us, and the joy will soon because and the veil light be passed.
Be in time. Be in time.
Voice of Jesus calls your being time. If it's any longer way you may find no open gate and you're crying me just too late. Be in time.
The warning voice make the larger happy choice.
Spend time come from darkness into light, from the way that seem across.
00:05:05
Come and starve for having tonight.
The inside.
Be in time. Be in time.
While the voice of Jesus calls you me in time.
Heaven save you longer way you may find no open gaze and your pride is just too late.
Be in time.
Well, that's a nice one, Sammy, because you know, the first one we had was, oh, happy day. And we agreed it was a happy day.
But that last verse it says make the Lord your happy choice.
And all heaven will rejoice. You know, there's a verse that we read often in Luke 15. It says, likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one Sinner that repenteth, over one Sinner that comes and asks the Lord Jesus to wash their sins away and save them. Did you have one you wanted to sing?
46 #46 Thank you.
#46.
Glad TID INGSIDR ING.
IJESU last I started being me and he calls and he calls all the GIRLS and he wants all to be OIS 2.
Very good. Thank you. Anybody else have one they'd like to sing that's three. Oh, perfect. OK.
#44 very good.
Into a tank where a taxi boy lay dying alone at the close of the day.
Years of salvation we carry, said he. Nobody ever has told it to me.
Tell it again. Tell it again. Salvation story revealed.
Till none can say of the children of men. Nobody ever has told me before.
To give me so love me a poor little boy. Send unto me the good tidings of joy. Need I not perish? My hand will heal nobody ever. The story has told.
Tell it again. Tell it again. Salvation story. Repeat already.
Till I can say of the children of men, nobody ever has told me before.
Anything. We got the last words of his friend.
Besides, he entered the valley of God, sent his sign. Whosoever said he, then I am sure that he sent him for me.
Tell me again. Tell him again. Salvation story recourse.
Tell them can say of the children of men.
Nobody ever has told me before.
That's a favorite one of mine. You know, when I was your age, we had that big gospel tent and Mr. Blenner has it would come to the Laurenville and he'd set that big tent up in Saint John and we'd go and his sons stand, would stand up in front of everybody. And boy, he really sang this so well. And we would all sing it. It's a really good song, isn't it? OK, who else?
This lady right here.
#47.
00:10:03
When he comes, when he comes to make up his jewels, all his jewels, scratch his jewels.
There's love and there's home. Like the stars of the morning, it is bright round the morning it shall shine. It's good it's getting bright jumps for his crown.
He will gather, he will gather the jumps for his Kingdom, All the same ones, all the great ones is love. And his home, like the stars of the morning, is right from the journey.
They shall shine in his beauty.
Right chance for his crown.
Little children, little children.
Who are very Redeemer? Are the jewels precious jewels?
His love and his own.
Like the stars of the morning.
Is my crown, I Dorning. There's your sound.
You know that hymn is from a verse in the Bible as well. In Malachi chapters 3 it says, And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts in the day when I make up my jewels.
Very nice hymn. Thank you. All right, way, way down there.
He was. We're going to sing that. That's good. OK Is that on here anywhere?
OK.
Sycamore tree for the Lord. He wanted to see, and as the Savior passed that way, he looked up in the tree and he said, Zacchaeus, you come down.
We're going to your house today or I'm going to your house today.
Very good. Wow, wonderful singers.
Do you have a hymn? OK, which one?
That one that we just did again. Oh, I like that one too. I agree. Let's do that one again, Zacchaeus. Okay.
You want to stand up here too?
No, OK.
Yes, you come down going to your house to the day, or I'm going to your house today. All right, we're probably going to sing another song in a few minutes, but that was very good. I've asked this question before after we sang that him. Would you be happy if the Lord Jesus came to Bangor today? Who here would go out and climb up in a tree?
To see the Lord Jesus.
Yeah, I think I would too. You know, Zacchaeus was pretty excited to go and see the Lord Jesus. Can you imagine what it must have been like when the Lord Jesus stopped?
And he looked up.
He said, Zacchaeus, I'm going to come and visit you today. Come on down, let's go to your house. What would you think if the Lord Jesus said I'm going to go to your house? That'd be pretty exciting, wouldn't it? Would you be ready for that? No. Well, you know, he would be pretty happy to come visit you just the way you are. Well, you know, what I brought here today is something that I've done a number of times and when I was about your age.
In Laurenville, Mr. Bill Roach stood up and he did this and.
I was just amazed by it and I hope I can do it as good as he did.
00:15:03
But what I want to talk to you about?
Is how we are in our hearts.
When we're born, and even when we're little, and sometimes when we get older and bigger too.
In Romans 3, who can tell me that there's a verse there in Romans 3 that talks about how we all are? Does anybody know it? Romans 3 and 23 for all.
I've seen them come short of the glory of God.
Excellent Sam, thank you for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Does everybody here believe that they're a Sinner?
Everybody here.
It says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Well.
The Lord Jesus came from heaven tells us that in God's Word, and he came down.
And he died on the cross, didn't he?
They nailed them up to that cross of wood.
And He took all of our sins on his body there on himself. He paid the punishment that we deserve for that, for our sins. And then He shed his precious blood. And that's what I want to talk to you about a little bit.
Your sins. We read that verse in Luke chapter.
15 But the Sinner that repenteth, and if you come to him and be saved.
And you know, it's so important, little ones, young people, to be saved when you're young, when you're small, to trust in the Lord right away. I want to tell you this story. And I actually didn't plan on telling this, and it upsets me a little bit. So hopefully it won't upset you. But you know, the hymn that we sing often it says.
I think it's on here somewhere.
A little child of seven, or even 3 or 4.
Well, have you ever gone to a parade?
Have you ever gone to a parade? I've gone to lots of parades. There's big trucks, you know, and they come around the corner and you see the people on the parades and you look and you have fun. Well, in Nova Scotia, just a few weeks ago, there was a little girl and she was three years old.
Who here is three years old? Is anybody here 3?
Nobody here 30 way back there. Very good. So you're not very old, but you understood your three. This little girl was three years old and her her whole family was there watching this parade.
And you know.
She ran out a little bit to see the truck coming because her uncle I believe was driving the truck.
And nobody saw her.
And she got run over by the truck.
And she died.
And so that's why it's so important.
That you know that you're a Sinner and that you ask the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away right now. If you believe in Him, if you trust in Him, that He died for you and shed His precious blood, He can wash your sins all the way right now.
Look at that, and I hope that wasn't too much.
You see that?
Do you remember that hymn? And we're going to sing it.
My heart was black with sin, I think the new book says My heart was stained.
With sin, that's what we look like, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's what your heart looks like stained with sin.
Can you get rid of that? You can't. You're right, you cannot get rid of that. Not by yourself.
Not by yourself, but there's a verse.
I think it's in first John.
Chapter One.
And talks about the blood of Jesus Christ. Does anybody know that verse?
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's and kind of rice. Very good.
That's very good. Is that number seven? I think right. First John one and #7 at the end, verse seven says the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
00:20:09
So.
The Lord Jesus went to the cross, we talked about that, and he shed his precious blood so that if you and I trust in Him, He would wash away our sins and he would get rid of them.
I did this at home and it didn't work very well.
So James helped me and we got two cups.
It's almost clear, isn't it?
Is it clear now?
Doesn't that look a lot better?
Does, doesn't it?
Which heart would you like to have, Daniel?
To clear the heart. The clear one, the clean one. Sorry, the clean one is what I was thinking. You see that?
Quite different, isn't it? Which one do you like? Yeah, I know it's pretty, isn't it? It is pretty.
Well.
I was thinking of how.
Ugly stain is I was, I was thinking how clean this is and I would like everybody's heart to be clean. You know when I was little I asked the Lord Jesus to wash my sins away and I know He did. I trust that He did and you can too if you haven't done it.
There's a verse in.
Isaiah chapter one. Who can turn to Isaiah chapter one and read that for me?
Isaiah, chapter one.
And justice the very first part of verse 16.
You got it.
OK, stand up and read it clear for us.
Wash you, make you clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my night. Cease to do evil. OK? Read verse 18 for us too, please.
Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be a scarlet, they shall be as wet as snow, Though they be as red as comes, and they shall be as well, right? Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet. That's what they look like in your heart. Your sins are scarlet red.
They shall be as white as snow, nice and clear. You know Mr. House spoke last night and he talked about the Lord looks and he can see your sin. He looks at your heart.
And you can see all that you do, you seize into your heart, you seize that sin. I think that verse was in Psalms chapter 53.
Says in verse three they are all together become filthy. We're filthy, it says.
But in chapter 51.
Says purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. And verse 10 says create in me a clean heart, a clean heart. Who wants a clean heart? I do. I want to have a clean heart.
Well.
Boys and girls, to have a clean heart is a wonderful thing, but.
Once you have that clean heart, I want to talk to you about what happens after for a moment.
And people have probably heard me say this verse a lot lately. It's very important to me. And I tried to consider this verse with everything that I do in my life. Once my heart has been cleaned, who can turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 10? Put up your hand if you get there.
First Corinthians, chapter 10.
Way down here, yeah, yeah. Can you read verse 31, please? Nice and loud.
Whether they're all, whether they're for you, eat or drink or whatsoever you do.
Right. Thank you.
And you know you've got a clean heart now if you've asked the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away.
But now you have a responsibility that whatever you do.
You do for the glory of God, Mr. Allen. He prayed yesterday and he mentioned that very thing in his prayer. I remember.
And so I want to tell you that.
00:25:01
You know if you have something like this.
Do you like to keep it like that? Do you have dolls and toys that you like to keep clean? Do you? And what happens when they get a stain on them? Daniel It stays there. You know, it really does. And it's kind of messy and and it gets all over the place and it doesn't look as nice anymore. Look at that. Do you think the Lord?
Wants us to take that clean heart.
And put sin on it again. Do you think he wants us to do that? No, He tells us to go and sin no more. Tells us in first John chapter 2 to not sin anymore. He doesn't want us to do that. He says whatever you do, do it for my glory, Do it for me.
And so, you know, every little thing that we do in our life, we need to ask him. We need to ask him to help us, to only do the good thing and the right thing.
So that we please him. You know, it tells us in Revelation, I think it's Chapter 7, that we're going to have robes of white. He tells us in chapter 19 as well in Revelation.
But those in the robes of light, in Revelation 7 he says that they are those that are washed in the blood of the Lamb, made clean.
He gives us robes of white to wear. Why do we want to soil it? We shouldn't, you know.
I like to go ATV, you know, 4 wheelings. Anybody have a ATV and four Wheeler? Yeah, well, a few years ago and I hope I don't get in trouble for telling this story, but we went at being and I had my wife was driving one and I was driving one and.
She had this really nice shirt.
And she wanted to keep it really nice.
However, who likes to get money on the ATV? I do, and we were driving along on this road, you know.
And there was a big mud puddle.
And my wife was ahead of me a little bit and I thought.
If I just drive really fast for a moment, I can hit that puddle just before my wife gets to it and she'll get all covered in the mud.
And at the time I thought it was a really good idea.
I really did. And you know, her shirt looked like that and it was a nice shirt.
And after I hit the puddle.
It took me a moment but my heart started to beat faster and I thought, oh boy, I didn't really think that through.
And I looked back and it wasn't just, you know, wet, dirty water. It was clinging to you mud. And it was dark mud. It was filthy.
And I looked back with a sheepish grin. And there was my wife.
Covered in this mud, you could no longer see any white.
It was gone.
So.
I tell that story because it is fun, but I tell it because I didn't really think about what I did before I did it, and I created a filthy mess. I created a filthy mess. You know, the Lord tells us that He looks upon us.
In Ephesians.
Book of Ephesians.
We know this verse well.
Chapter 5.
This is why Christ died for you and I. Who is at Ephesians chapter 5 somebody, Yes, way down there.
Stand up for us and read number or hip. Sorry, read verse 26 and 27.
Glorious church having squat or wrinkle or any such things. I've had it should be holding it.
Right, very good. Thank you. So holy and without blemish, not having spot or any such thing.
00:30:00
And that's why he died for you and I, so that he could take these away and He could create in us a clean heart like this, with these robes of white, robes of righteousness, doing the right things and for his glory and honor. Does everybody understand that?
You know, there's another verse that I like and I, I mentioned this at Hammer Bay, I think it was in Daniels. Anybody know where Daniel is? Book of Daniel, everybody remember Daniel? What happened to Daniel?
He had three friends. What happened, Daniel?
These are all lions den.
Lions den, do you remember that? And what about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? His friends? They got put in a yes.
What was it?
Well, it was like that. It was a fiery furnace, wasn't it? It was really, really burned place to burn them up, wasn't it? Yeah, that's right, Daniel, chapter one. I like this verse because we're all children and the Lord loves us. And verse four, who can read verse 4?
Right here.
Children was no furnished, but well favored and shielded right.
Understanding science and such as have ability in them to stand in the perfect right there. Thank you to stand in the King's palace. You know they were children whom was no blemish well favored. That's you and I no blemish well favored if if we've asked the Lord Jesus to wash our sins away.
And the ability to stand in the King's palace. And he wants to have us come before him in those robes of white.
He looks down and he sees you as perfect.
And he loves you so.
I want you to understand that He wants us to consider everything that we do in our lives as believers for Him.
And that it's for his glory and honor and that we ask Him for help in doing that. Can we do that? Do you pray? Do you pray? You know, that's how you can talk to the Lord Jesus. And He loves to hear us talk to Him. And if you're concerned about anything, you can take it to him. But if you just want to know, Lord, would this be for thy glory and honor? Would this be something that you would have me to do?
Just ask them.
And if it's something for us older ones too, you know, we do that. And if it's something in the assembly, we do that.
So who thought that was pretty neat?
Yeah, that was fun. OK, who has on something black?
Right, this man was the first one to put his hand up right? Here you come, stand up here, okay?
Until the Savior came in his precious blood. I see. Nice red sweater right here. You want to stand up here? Precious blood I know has washed me white. Sally, you got a white hat? You want to come stand up here, Sarita? I mean, sorry, Sally. Yeah, Serena. You want to stand up with your white hat?
OK, my heart was black with sin until the Savior came in. His precious blood I know has washed me. Right here, right here, white as snow and in God's Word. Do you want to hold up the Bible? Come on up. And in God's word I'm told I'll walk the streets of gold. Who has gold?
Oh, you have a nice gold tie. Come on up.
Boom. OK, keep going. There you go. OK, you remember that? Him. OK, you got to hold your Bible up high when they say it. OK, you ready?
Wonderful, wonderful day.
He writes my savings away. Very good. Excellent. Okay, have your seats.
Well, so we understand that the Lord has the strength by His blood to wash our sins away.
00:35:06
And we understand that if we trust in Him and ask Him to wash our sins away, that He will.
And then we understand that He gives us a clean heart.
And that we should keep it clean and that we should ask him for help so that we do it for him, right? Does everybody understand that now?
Good. OK, what we didn't do.
Was verses.
And so if anybody has a verse, we would love to hear you say it.
So.
Go ahead. Yes.
Light open your pants in the water to get his life very good.
Set in Ephesians. Oh no, that's.
The other one? Colossians.
There you go, Very good.
I'd have to look that up, yes.
The name of Jesus.
OK. And.
That at the name of Jesus.
Every knee should bow in the things of heaven and things of earth and the things under the earth. Very good.
Yes.
That at the name.
That is the name of Jesus.
Every knee.
Shabao.
Of things in heaven.
Things of Earth.
Under the Earth.
Very good.
Wow. OK, I'll go here first. Yes.
Very good. John, 316.
Very good.
OK, I'm going to go right here.
John 316. Very good.
Oh, sorry.
Nice. Very good, yes.
Wow, wow. Very good. You guys know that one? Well, Sammy, you had one.
Genesis 1, right? And you already did two other ones for me too, didn't you, Daniel?
Genesis in the beginning.
Yeah. Yeah, You said it right. Very good. Excellent.
Oh, OK. Who else? Yes.
There's this one.
Very good.
Did you have one too? OK, go ahead.
What was your verse?
No. OK. Do you want to do the same one in the beginning?
God created the heaven and the earth.
Very good. Excellent.
This is why I do Sunday school, all right, yes.
Very good.
Yes.
John one verse one in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was gone. Nice.
That's a good color.
Yes.
Oh boy.
00:40:06
Wow, nice. I don't think I can do that one. That's very good.
OK. Yes, Sir.
I say unto you, and have everlasting life.
Nice. Very good.
Whichever one we got the tape too stuck on the tape.
OK, yes.
For this, very nice, very good.
Anybody else? Oh wow.
OK.
Emily.
Nice.
William.
Nice, Good job, good work.
OK.
Yes, Sir.
Oh, well, thank you. Thank you very much. Okay, it's good to have help.
Yes.
OK.
Oh nice, OK, very good. I have other colors you can trade there is you come on up and we'll get one up here, okay.
Do you want to just open that and get one out? Did you have your hand up OK?
Psalm 139 versus one, one, and two.
Oh Lord, you know my sitting, my rising up and my sitting down. You understand my thought very good.
What was it again? Song What?
That's very nice.
1:30 Now, O Lord, thou has searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off Very nice.
Excellent.
Well, boys and girls, if there's anybody who wants to do another verse later, you can come and see me. Yes. Did you have a verse?
Oh, well done. Very good.
And you know, do you know how much the Lord loves to hear you say those verses and to learn them? And do you know how much?
US older ones love to hear you do it.
Is is so encouraging. It's so nice to hear you all do that. And if anybody wants to come up after and say went to any of us, just do that and we'll have hopefully enough pencils for you.
Did anybody have any other? Oh, I had one more question.
Who knows the books of the Bible?
Who is willing to stand right here with me and say them?
Come on up.
You see, this is so important and we learned these so much when we were little. OK, go ahead.
Joshua, Judges, Roof. First and Second Samuel 1St and 2nd Kings, First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Astor, Joe Psalms Problems, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, Psalm and Isaiah. Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joseline.
Hey, Zachariah, Val Kite, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Ash.
Romans currently currently expressions Second Corinthians.
Galatians. Galatians. Ephesians.
First this first once I think these.
1St and 2nd.
James first, second and third job right first, second, Peter first, second, third. John, Jude and Revelation. Good work. Do you need 2 Pencils?
You know what? Here? No, Hold on.
Oh, OK, It's got to be one that's not.
00:45:02
There you go, now you have something to write in it. You can practice some more of the books of the Bible. Excellent. And you know, I don't want to get away from our story.
It really doesn't because you know, that's for the glory and honor of the Lord. He loves to hear you do that. He loves to hear you learn those things and to know them. And when somebody stands up here for Sunday school or anything else and they say, turn to this portion and and can you read that verse? You know, you can turn to it right away and you can find it and you can read the verse and you can be so helpful. And you're not just helping the person standing up here, you're helping the Lord.
You're doing work for the Lord, and He loves it when we serve Him and do work for Him.
Doesn't we have time? Does anybody have they want to do that books of the Bible to anybody else?
I got 2 girls here for sure, three of them OK.
That's it. Excess Leviticus, Numbers. Deuteronomy.
Joshua Judges, Ruth First and Second Samuel 1St and 2nd King, First and second Chronicles, Ezra nearby Esther Job.
Songs, Proverbs, Isaiah, Ecclesiastes.
Solomon, Isaiah. Jeremiah. Levitation. Ezekiel, Daniel. Hosea, Joel. Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Mike. Native Have a Cook.
Hi guys, Zachariah, think of Malachi, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Axe, Romans, First and 2nd Corinthians.
Galatians, Ephesians, Lippies, Colossians, first and 2nd.
SUS. Thessalonians.
1St and 2nd Tennessee, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, first and second Peter, 1St, 1St and 1St John, St. John, Third John, Jude and Revelation. Excellent. Nice work. OK, who are the other ladies there that?
Come on up.
You know, I don't help a lot. You guys are doing really well. My children know that I don't help a lot with that.
Joshua Judges.
King versus Second Chronicles Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Joe Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Isaiah, Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel, Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Silvador, Jonah, Michael Name Have a good Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi, Matthew, Mark with John Axe. Romans versus Second Corinthians, Galatians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians.
1St and 2nd Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy. Titus, James.
First and second Peter, First and second and third John, Jude. Excellent. Very good. That is so good.
There you go, Maloa.
Little Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges.
Person. Second Samuel.
1St and 2nd Kings. 1St and 2nd Kings.
First and Second Chronicles.
Ezra, Ezra. Ezra Neelaya.
Esther. Esther Job.
Songs, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes. Song, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations. Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joe and the Soldier. Jonah, Micah and Him. Habakkuk, Stephanie. Hague, Zachariah, Malachi.
New Testament, Matthew, Mark with John X Romans, First and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and 2nd Thessalonians, First and Second Timothy, Titus.
If I leave in Hebrews, James.
1St and 2nd, 3rd John first, Second Peter, First and second Peter.
And then John first and second, third, John 1St and 2nd, 3rd.
00:50:01
Dude, very good. Excellent. Hold on.
OK, well.
Out of time.
But I am so thankful for you children that would come up and do that. And I will just say.
That, you know, times haven't changed that much like some might think it has. Because when I was a young boy doing that.
Growing up where I grew up, it always seemed like the girls outweighed the boys and those things back then too. And I can remember Karen Roach and Melanie Mcaver and these ones that would say all those things. And it would sure encourage guys like me to learn those things and get up and do it. So maybe next Sunday school time, if the Lord leaves us, some of you boys will be able to stand up and say the books of the Bible with the girls too.
All right, let's just pray.
How We Wait
Open—Mark Allan
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Still in all land.
Our long history.
Right.
To me.
Our thirst inside.
When my grand.
Son.
Before we shall join God.
We soon shall walk.
A couple verses before we pray. The first one in Isaiah chapter 50.
Just thinking of the him, he would not take some falsehoods fire. It's literally be the spark as chapter 50.
And verse 11.
Behold, all ye that kindle of fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that you have kindled. This show you have of my hand, you shall lie down in sorrow.
And then over to first Peter.
I.
First Peter, chapter 4.
And verse 10.
For Speeder 4 and 10, as every man have to receive a gift, they are a gift. Even so, minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Now.
00:05:32
God.
Chelsea.
Baby.
Like to share?
A few thoughts with you this afternoon that.
I trust her from the Lord.
Just the last verse about him that we sang this afternoon about seeing the Lord face to face.
And the last couple of verses that we had read to us in the breaking of bread this morning.
Really put this on my heart as well, you know, I wrote. We arrived here a couple days ago. It's fairly late and I.
Was lying in bed.
Just wondering.
Exactly what the weekend would hold and.
Feeling a little bit weary?
And the Lord answered a prayer of mine that time.
It surprised me a little bit and I just want to share a few thoughts and it's with respect to the Lords coming.
You know.
It was about, I guess 6 1/2 years ago as a family we were driving up West and I just enjoyed thinking about, you know, the Lord has come. He came as a baby 2000 years ago and a lot of people think about that this time of year.
And.
I just had been thinking about the Lord coming again second time and there were a number of.
Correlations between people at the time of the Lord's when He first came to when He came.
To looking forward to him coming again and, and I really enjoyed those thoughts and I've shared them in the past. But last, in my personal reading, I'm reading in First Corinthians 5, just starting, sorry, 1St Thessalonians 5. And this morning the verses were read from Second Thessalonians. And what I want to share with you is an extension on what I enjoyed in that respect, you know?
Paul had before us last night. How?
The Lord was born in a Manger, but there was no room for him in the end. And you know, here's a group, we know the Lord is coming, but the question is, is what? What effect?
Does it have on our life and when I thought about this before and I'll share it very quickly just.
And then go on to what I really want to talk about this morning because.
00:10:00
In Second Thessalonians, First Thessalonians, we have the Lord's coming mentioned five times, or in every chapter, I should say. It's mentioned more than that. But in the Second Thessalonians they were discouraged and because they thought the Lord had already come and they're going through tribulation and the Lord. And there's some nice exhortations in that book specifically.
That I was thinking about that also relate to the Lord coming the first time as a baby and I just want to share them with you.
This afternoon.
If we could just, I'm going to go quickly through the five from First Thessalonians and I'll go to the next one. I'm going to tell you what the four of them are because these are four things that I.
Struggle with often.
Very recently the Lord, as he often does, he's put a number of difficulties in my path, in our families path, in the assemblies path over the last three or four months.
And those difficulties are not easy to go through.
The Lord put difficulties in the path of the Thessalonians as well, but the four things that I'm going to speak about are the tendency when we're waiting for the Lords coming to sleep.
The tendency to be troubled. The tendency.
To be weary.
And the 4th the tendency to let go of what the Lord has given us.
Those four things are what I want to speak about, but I'm going to start with the first five, which are very encouraging in First Thessalonians and I just, I'll go through them very quickly. I know some here have heard this before.
But in First Thessalonians chapter one.
Thessalonians is written to by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Thessalonica. He didn't have a lot of time with him. There was a riot and he had to leave.
Where he left and he writes it to them, but he had already in that short period of time taught them a tremendous amount. And about the Lords coming specifically, and it's mentioned every time in every chapter of this book. So I just want to start. So the first one is First Thessalonians 1.
Verse 10.
So there's five positive things in First Thessalonians. The first one is to wait for the Lord Jesus. That's a tremendous thing that we can do is wait for the Lord Jesus to come, says in First Thessalonians one verse 10, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us.
From the wrath to come.
And that reminded me of.
Anna in Luke two and we just flip back to it again. I'm going to go through these fairly quickly.
She waited for the Lord to come. Israel was looking for the Messiah. She waited for a long time.
It says in Luke chapter 2 verse 36 there is one Anna prophetess, the daughter of Fanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was of great age. She lived with and husband 107 years from her.
Um, here's from our virginity and she was a widow of a boat 4 score in four years which departed not from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she coming in that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of all them that looked for redemption in Israel. They were looking for redemption in Israel. They were looking for the Messiah to come. And you know, that was when they were waiting for the Messiah to come. It's a wonderful thing when we can look or wait for the Lord to come. It's a tremendous privilege of it often.
We get bogged down doing that, don't we? So that's the first one.
The second one is in First Thessalonians chapter 2.
The apostle is Speaking of them there.
He says what is our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing, are not even ye at the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming, for ye are our glory and joy. So Apostle Paul just he was filled with joy to know that he would be with the Thessalonian believers for all eternity in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and.
That reminds me of when they're waiting for the Messiah.
The little baby.
John the Baptist in Elizabeth stomach what when she was expecting what happened to that baby? Let's just turn to that quickly. It's in loop again.
00:15:12
Joy. It should fill our hearts with happiness to think that the Lord is coming.
Soon and very soon.
So Luke chapter, sorry it's one.
And verse 41 Says that it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she speak out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For Lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And blessed is she that believe, for there shall be performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
Very remarkable to consider well.
There was joy when the Messiah came the first time, and there should be joy in our hearts as we look for the Lord to come again.
The next one is in First Thessalonians 3. Again, the Lord's coming. This is what should characterize us.
As we wait for his return.
This is First Thessalonians 3, verse 13.
To the end, he may establish your hearts unblameable.
In holiness before God, even the Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our hearts being unblameable in holiness before God.
Well, you know, there's a lot of corruption around us. We don't have to look very hard to see that. And it has an impact on all of us. You can hardly turn on a computer, listen to the news, drive down the street and the corruption around us. You know, it's a real exercise to have our hearts as unblameable and holiness before God.
That should be an exercise for every one of us here as we await the Lord's return. You know, often, I think.
Of those hidden things, perhaps?
That restrict the Holy Spirit from being able to work freely.
Because there isn't that unblameableness in our hearts.
It's a serious, serious thing. You know, we long for blessing and meetings like this. We long for blessing and meetings like this.
But when there's.
Hidden sin sometimes is prevented, but the encouragement here is to live blameless and and the person I'm just who I've enjoyed with disrespect. If you go back to Luke again, John and Elizabeth or Zacharias and Elizabeth, what does it say specifically about them as they waited for the Messiah?
This is Luke one verse 5.
Says there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of Abbya. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth, and they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.
Beautiful picture.
Certainly something that we should strive to do before the Lord is to walk blameless.
I know we need to wash ourselves with the water of the word constantly, but it's a beautiful thing to consider and I think it should be an exercise of every one of our hearts in this room as we await the Lords return to be have that character of Zacharias and Elizabeth and just sorry, just going on and 1St Thessalonians 4.
These well known verses we've heard them spoken on many, many, many times.
So we'll start in verse 16.
So nice not to go back. But it says, Therefore the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first, Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort?
00:20:13
One another with these words, comfort one another with these words. So as we wait till Lord's return.
We should be seeking.
To comfort one another.
I appreciated to the brothers in my assembly in the last three weeks at Austin. Pray with me.
Both times it was a tremendous encouragement to me.
Tremendous encouragement to me. You know, as a teenager, there's someone in this room who needs to pray with me going up the chairlift. That was tremendous encouragement to me. You know, it's nice when we can be a comfort and a help and an encouragement.
To one another tremendous things. Well, I just go back to Luke again. This reminds me of.
As he awaited the Messiah.
Luke 225. Simeon.
He was waiting for the comfort of Israel, says Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. The same man was just and devote.
Waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him, after the custom of the light, took him up in his arms and blessed him, and said, Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace, according thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
Comfort as we rate the Lords return another tremendous.
Thing This was not a particularly comforting time in Israeli history.
Beautiful to see that in the last one in First Thessalonians go to last chapter.
Chapter 5. Last verse.
This is the very God of peace. Sanctify you wholly, and I pray God that your whole spirit soul.
In body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and who thou reminds me of is Mary, who spirit, soul and body before the Lord was blameless and the Lord was able to use her in a in a mighty way, perhaps a way that is hard to even comprehend. Well, these are the the the five people who I'm reminded of in going through Thessalonians and considering.
Coming and they have that. It has been a tremendous encouragement to me every time I go through these books just to consider that and whether my character is similar to these ones who walked before waiting for the Lord to come as Messiah and did do I carry those characteristics?
With me.
And you know, this is all about the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. You know I was.
And that's something that people want to put out last week, actually, I guess.
It was earlier this week my son trips Christmas concert at the Lombardi Public School.
He they went through and there was a whole page of songs and you know the Lords name. Well the Lords name was.
Never mentioned.
The last song which is class sang with Silent Night, Holy Night.
It doesn't even mention the Lord's name specifically. I'm so glad that both Lindsey and I were a little surprised they even sang that song.
You know the world.
And I'm not being critical of.
Christmas in general, but the world doesn't want.
The Lord.
Where are our hearts? And that's where's, where's my heart? You know what? We know these things to be true. We can talk about them technically with one another when we see things going downhill around us.
We can say the Lord's coming. It's got to be soon. The question is what? What? What impact does it really have?
On my heart, on my life, on how I'm living.
00:25:03
Searching things, you know, My tendency is to do those four things.
To be troubled.
To be weary.
To want to let go.
And to sleep, you know I.
It's easy, just when things get tough.
To just shut down, you know, it was struck I was reading this the chapter this morning in my reading and just.
Praying about whether the Lord because I was struggling with whether I should be considered talking about this but it struck me when I was reading through.
Last chapter of First Thessalonians. What does it say?
Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not. This is for Sicilians 5 verse five. We are not of the night, nor of the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep.
As do others. But let us watch.
And be sober.
For they that sleep, sleep in the night, and they're drunk, and be drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love.
For a helmet.
The hope of salvation. Well, you know, I was thinking about that sleeping and I asked, well, were people.
Sleeping.
At the time of the Lord, when he came as the Messiah, he obviously had this exhortation here with respect to the Lord's second coming.
And I couldn't think of anything off the top of my head, but I went back and I reread Matthew, the account there.
And you know, it's interesting Matthew is written from a Jewish perspective.
But it actually.
Gives the account of what happens of non Jews which is the wise men. And I just struck considering this. I read an article in the last week of somebody.
Pointing out the discrepancies between what you often hear and see and the story of the Lord being born in a Manger just with the wise men being there and it not really the details that often get mixed up. And as I read this passage it just jumped out at me a little bit.
Due to the timing and I just want to turn to that Matthew chapter 2 and what I want to point out is that I think.
The Israelites were waiting for their Messiah.
I think we're sleeping.
And someone can correct me if I'm wrong after this meeting, but Matthew chapter 2 Think the Lord had been born.
I think.
That Mary and Joseph had already been to the temple, and Simeon and Anna and all those ones were already there.
And there have been a star in the sky for a long time.
And they were all sleeping.
I don't, and please correct me if I'm wrong in the timing. I don't. We know all the babies under 2 year olds were killed and they went to the house. So I don't know the exact timing of this but what does it say here now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the east unto Jerusalem. They came, they had been following.
Or they had seen the star saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. And what was the response?
Of the people who had the oracles of God, who knew where the Messiah was going to be born?
Who should have known, who should have been watching, who should have been waiting for their Messiah? And what does it say in verse three says when Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. What do you mean there's a star? They were troubled.
And you know, I recognize.
The sleeping and the being troubled in my own heart.
You know we can get so entrenched in the busyness of everyday life. We know the Lord is coming.
But we're not really watching the way that we should be. And when something difficult comes into our life, maybe the Lord is chastising us. Maybe he's trying to shape us to be more like the image of His son. Various reasons.
We get troubled and we lose focus on the Lord.
00:30:06
And we often sleep those two characteristics. You know, it was searching to me. If you go to 2nd Thessalonians and let's just turn there, we're going to be flipping back and forth here, and I'm very sorry.
When those verses were read this morning at the end of The Breaking of Bread, they certainly pierced my conscience a little bit. Let's just read the verse. That was the two verses that were read at the end of Breaking of Bread.
First Austinians or sorry, Second Thessalonians one verse 7.
And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels and flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God. And then later on it says, When he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, because your testimony among you is believed.
And we read of his glory in the previous verse, you know.
I know this is referring to his appearance appearing perhaps, but I just, you know, the natural tendency of our hearts is to fall asleep and to be troubled. This whole book was written because Paul had written to the Thessalonians, had told them about his coming and every single chapter of that first book. And then things started getting tough. They started being persecuted and they thought they were going through.
The Lord had already come, and he specifically says in the first verse of the second chapter. Now we beseech you, brethren.
The thing that I noticed just in considering these things, is this term, brethren, it was almost like.
Maybe term of endearment, I don't know if that's the right term, but it says, We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. And then it goes on into the chapter. My intent is not to go into the detail. This is a beautiful book.
I remember Chuck Hendrick speaking on it and it just sort of awoken me to what was really in here.
But you know, when things get tough, the tendency is to be trouble, but the Lord is going to come. He's going to take us out of this world. If you look at when the world is or when judgment comes through the Bible, the the, the believers always taken out of it. You see with the ark, you see it with the Lord's coming over and over and over again. And he was encouraging them by the fact that this was.
Know the Lord hadn't come yet, and it's just so nice to see that you know.
What takes away the trouble from our heart? And I say this, and I know that many will look at me and say, know that I struggle with being troubled at times. It's the Lord himself. If you go through this second thought, I don't even know who said this. I read at a conference somewhere, but if you look the Lord's full name, we're talking about the Lord's coming here where we're trying to take the Lord's name out of Christmas. The Lord's name in its full title is mentioned 11 Times in three chapters here. I just go through.
Just in considering this, it was so beautiful to me. Verse one end of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. Verse two end of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. First eight end of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 12, start of the verse Lord Jesus Christ. End of the verse Lord Jesus Christ chapter 2, Verse one middle of the verse, Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 14, Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 16, Lord Jesus Christ. And then in the third chapter.
Verse 6 Lord Jesus Christ Verse 12 Lord Jesus Christ 1St 18 Lord Jesus Christ if we can get our eyes.
On the Lord in glory in his full title here.
It will and realize that he's coming to take us away from the judgment that's coming to this world. It will comfort.
Our troubled hearts and it will wake us up as well. You know, it's a beautiful, beautiful thing to consider here where the Lord's name is being completely pushed out the door.
It's what should fill our hearts and what we had in First Samuel 17, those first 11 verses.
Satan tries to take David, figurative Lord, completely out of what was in the previous chapter and just have our eyes focused on that. Terrifying.
00:35:05
Armor of Goliath, his stature, his height, and for us to recognize it in the power of our flesh. We can do nothing against it but the second we get our eyes on David from the previous chapter from the next verses.
It just turns the whole story upside down into one where the trouble is completely gone. And it's easy for us in those stories, knowing the end, to miss that. But it's the same thing As for us, you know, we can know the Lord is coming, and yet Satan gets us focused.
On the troubles, the difficulties, the struggles, the burdens of our heart.
And we lose the Lord, and we become troubled.
And we shut down, we go to sleep, and justice chug on here.
Wonderful.
Wonderful to consider this well.
Umm, sleeping, being troubled. The next one I want to skip to the end and then come back. The next one I'd like to look at is.
Chapter 3 in verse thirteen of Two Thessalonians.
And actually, just before I leave troubled, sorry, I mentioned that all Jerusalem was troubled.
But you'll notice too that even, and I won't turn to it, but in Luke 2, Zacharias was troubled when the Angel appeared to him. It is a natural tendency of our hearts. Well, the next one is in sorry, 2nd Thessalonians 3, verse 13. It says there.
But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing.
And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man have no company with him, that he may have changed. We're sorry. Back up a verse now under them.
Now them that are such, we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, they eat their own bread. But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. Well. My thought in this is just the tendency of us to get weary. No, we know the Lords coming.
And I'm.
I'm not that old yet. I'm. I realize I've got lots of Gray hair and I.
There's a tendency, and the enemy wants us to do this, to just wear us out and say just.
You're done. Just float along.
How can the Lord possibly use you? How can you be an encouragement to the Lord's people? How can you? But it says here. But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. We've just been reading again the story of David running over and over that energy.
We need it, we need not to give up. And the person this reminds me of I mentioned all of Jerusalem and Zacharias being.
Troubled, but I'd like to actually turn back again to look at at Luke again. Let's just turn to it in Luke chapter 2.
I'm sorry, Luke 1 Zacharias was.
Feeling weary perhaps the Angel appears to him and he starts to question and he actually gets chastisement from Lord and not being able to speak until John is born because of it. I just noticed particularly.
In verse 18.
He asked this question and it's not particularly in the strength of faith. He says in verse 18, Zachariah said unto the Angel, Whereby shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well stricken in years.
And the Angel that answering said to him, I'm Gabriel that stand in the presence of God, and I'm sent unto thee to show thee these glad tidings. Glad tidings. Behold, thou shalt be done, and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because they'll believe it's not my words which shall be fulfilled.
In their season.
Just a little warning, and this is a warning for me. This is a warning that I need not to be weary to press on the Lord.
Gave them the energy they needed to do what he wanted them to do.
He did, and he brought tremendous blessing through their son. And my intent is not to go into that, but just, you know, in talking with others, the number of people who are struggling with things in their life that are making them weary, they're making them troubled is astounding. And I.
00:40:21
It's right here, you know, we need to look.
To the Lord.
And where He is and what He's done, we're not looking for Him to come as a Messiah, as the Messiah. We know that He's enthroned in heaven and He's longing to come and call us to be with Him and to come in His appearing and have all of His glory displayed to this world. And yet we still have that tendency to be weary, don't we? Well, again.
I just mentioned these things because.
I'm very guilty of them. Well, the last one.
That I just would like to to mention in Thessalonians.
Is the tendency to let go and this one.
And if you look at chapter 2.
Verse 15 of Second Thessalonians.
The other ones actually said be not be not weary and it said be not shaken in mind or trouble. This one doesn't say be not sorry. In the previous chapter it said.
Let us not sleep in this case. It says something we are to do. It says. Therefore, brethren, stand fast. Hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle.
The way did that one strike me, umm, when I read it?
You know, there were in Jerusalem those who knew.
Exactly where the Messiah was to be born.
The scribes and Pharisees Actually, let's turn to it and read it.
Matthew.
Sorry for flipping.
So after they were troubled, they call it says, when he had gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet. They knew the verses.
The new where he should be born.
But something had been lost, and you know I.
As things get difficult, the easy thing is to.
Let go. But what does it say here? It says, Hold the traditions which ye have been taught well.
Yeah, it's worth noting what it says after that, whether by word or our epistle. So this is what would have come directly from the mouth of.
The apostle Paul, or from what he had written in his epistle, it was the word of God. And you know, I was thinking.
A little bit about those in Jerusalem. When the Lord came as Messiah, they weren't expecting him to be born.
In a barn or cave or whatever it was in a feeding through, that's not what they were expecting. They weren't expecting him to be poor.
They weren't expecting it.
Joseph to be from Nazareth.
And So what happened didn't exactly match the word of God perfectly, but it wasn't exactly what they were expecting. And they missed it. And then they fought it as well. But you know, I was, it's a.
Tremendously important thing to know what the word of God teaches and often these things are things that we struggle with in our mind. We we value them we've heard them. It's worthwhile to test me. I appreciated what Wally brought before us yesterday with respect to under the place. What's the the Lord your God shall choose and how many times.
That is repeated in Deuteronomy there and then.
To see it in Luke 22, you know.
My point of that of saying this is not.
To focus on ourselves at all. My point is to say, can I ever walk away?
From saying.
00:45:02
If I want to know where the Lord wants me to go, He will show me.
Not something that I picked myself, it's something that you will show me.
That is a principle that is rock.
Solid what we do with it.
Maybe we hear it, but do we know how many times it's there?
And so when we get discouraged and we see the failings that we have to blame ourselves for, we want to depict ourselves and not let the Lord.
Direct. You know it's a searching thing in our reading meeting in Rio Ferry I.
Started There was a verse about ambassadors in the last couple times I thought I.
I've heard people use the ambassador thing over and over again, but I didn't didn't.
Really register in my mind how biblical the ambassador thing is, and again, I'm not drawing conclusion.
I am just simply saying it is very clear from the Word of God that we are ambassadors for the Lord and what the implications of that are. What exactly does the Word of God say? And can I walk away from what the word of God do I even know?
What's in?
This book you know I.
It's and this is not just one gathered Saints, but across Christendom as a whole, the knowledge of the word of God is disappearing. Are are we reading it? Do we know it? How many times have you read through the word of God? I'm often.
Amazed. I was listening to something driving home from work this week and they were encouraging to read the word of God every year. The person who married Lindsey and I20 years ago, he that was what he advice he gave us. He said you should, that he had read the word of God every year and he he didn't force us to, but it was something that he recommended. I haven't, I'll be honest, I haven't read through the word of God every year, but I have read it. But do do we know?
What the Bible says Or do we just go by what?
Well, we've heard our whole life, you know, I was listening to an interview.
A couple weeks ago between an Orthodox Jew.
And.
Pastor John MacArthur and Ben Shapiro and they were talking about the difference between. It was very interesting conversation.
The difference between the way the Orthodox Jews look at things and the way the Christians look at things.
The Jews are taught by what the rabbis have taught them, and it's compiled over a period of time, and they're not expected to be able to know from the Torah what the Bible says. They're expected to know from what the rabbis have passed down through the generations. It just made me realize how valuable it is that we have the living Word of God.
For us to weigh what it says and to know why we do what we do.
Very searching to me. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions that you have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. There's nothing that the enemy would like.
More than for us to with those smooth stones, sighed.
So can't use them so that we can be defeated.
Searching thing for me because is it easy.
As things go towards failure to keep going.
Not particularly. When we wreck, we sometimes hide our own failure behind the smiling face. But that doesn't meet. The Lord has not changed Second Thessalonians. His name is in there over and over and over again. Our focus needs to be the Lord and that.
In a very short time he'll be calling us home to take us out of the trouble, to take us out of this world. We shouldn't be weary. We should press on. We should stand fast and hold the traditions which we have been taught, whether by word or our epistle. That's really the exercise what I brought before you this afternoon just.
Considering those who are waiting for the Lord to come as Messiah tendency.
Like Zacharias to feel old and weary and not really trust Tennessee to be like those in Jerusalem who were sleeping and who were troubled. Her eyes was troubled too, to be like.
00:50:08
Those who knew it, but.
Missed it?
Well, they're my exhortation. Those first five are beautiful and 1St Thessalonians, but these next ones are what's really been needed for my own heart. I hope that each one of us as we recognize that the Lord could come anytime He could come today we don't need to worry about.
The United States falling apart, No, Canada is falling apart too. The Lord is coming and it will be glorious and we will see him in power and he's going to be he will be the rightful ruler of this world. He will be given his proper place. He will be king of kings and Lord of Lords. He will fill the heart of the believer. And you know, I hope there's not a person in this room who doesn't know the Lord. You know, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of.
Can you see the Lord's desire to be with His people so that He can know them from the Garden of Eden to the Tabernacle, to the temple, to indwelling it though the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to where two or three are gathered in His name, where He's in the midst, to the heavenly Jerusalem, to the eternal state. His desire is to walk with us and to be with us. And although we go through a very mixed up and troubled world.
It is a very short time when we were with him for all eternity. Oh, I I long for my children. I long for the young people here.
To somehow.
Come to that point where they recognize what a sweet thing it is to know.
Great. David's greater son.
Influence
Open—Etienne Leger
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Turn to a verse in Second Corinthians Chapter 9.
I have it on my heart to speak about the word influence.
My brother just spoke about.
His prayer that those would that are here would go on for the Lord. And it's a prayer for many of us. I'm sure we can all echo that. But I want to just discuss a little bit about influence and how we can be an influence to each other. Now, it's important that we don't do it in our own strength, but I do think it's important to realize that we affect each other more than we know it.
His brother once at the conference in Montreal was speaking and very respected brother and he said in the meeting, he said.
You might receive a lot from this conference, you might receive a lot of encouragement in teaching, but.
What's going to affect you the most, what's going to affect you the most in your Christian life might not be necessarily the things that you hear in this meeting.
But the people sitting right beside you?
And that struck me.
So look at the person sitting beside you. Look at the people in your row. Look at your friends and your family, the young people you're hanging out with. These people will influence you more than you think. These people will help you grow in your faith, or they might bring you down.
I have to hang my head and say that there's been times in my life that I've been bringing people down, that there's been times when.
I wasn't walking into the Lord and I maybe.
Look back and I said, man, I could have been a help to that person. Some of the kids here, you can be an influence too. I just thought you're in this meeting one kid trying to distract the other kid and make funny faces and the kids sibling said no, you should listen. So you know what, you might be sitting in this row in this conference and be five or six or seven or ten, you can be an influence.
To the people around you.
It doesn't just start whenever you start speaking at a conference, you can be an influence where the Lord has put you. And I want to speak this afternoon, just we'll just start in in 2nd Corinthians 9 and verse two. And this is something the Lord just showed me in my reading, in my regular reading, as is going through this book. And it just kept sticking with me and sticking with me. And the Lord just put it on my heart to share. So I just would unload this burden on my brethren here.
We'll pray it'll be it'll be for profit. So this is the end of the verse nine of Second Corinthians.
Sorry, end of verse two of Second Corinthians 9.
And your zeal has provoked very many.
I believe if I have the context right, they were going to prepare a collection or prepare something to give to the apostle and this was going to be an influence on this had influenced very many around you around them in that day. And if you look at other portions whenever especially with the the apostle will write in the salutations, he writes about those that were a help to him, those that were that refreshed him, those that that provoked him, those that encouraged him.
And if we were the apostle Paul was here and he was writing about us, what would he say about us? Would we be that we would be have been those that were an encouragement, those that were an influence for the right for the good?
I say that because.
We influence either in the positive or the negative. If you show up at meeting and use as well. I'm just here. I'm just here to fill up a seat and I'm just here to go. I got my busy life. You're influencing people. Maybe you didn't say a word to someone. Maybe you said not a thing. You just came. You left and you came for the first time. You left for after the end. You left. You influence people. You weren't a part of the assembly life. You weren't in fellowship with the assembly as a whole. Now this isn't this doesn't mean.
Talking about being breaking red or not in the Lord's table, but we have an influence on each other either for the positive or for the negative. And I want to turn to a story in John 21 of of Peter who had an influence on those around him.
John 21.
And let's read verse two. And they work together. Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus and Nathaniel of Canaan, Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. And Simon Peter said unto them, I go a fishing. And they said unto him, We will also go with thee. And they went forth and entered into a ship immediately that night, and caught nothing. Now I'm not here to bash Peter for what he did.
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Peter was at a low point in his life, he.
He'd realized he had denied the Lord, Him who had just a few days before said he would go to death for the Lord. He had denied the Lord and him who a few years ago had given up his fishing boat, given up what he was wanting to do, and given and gone to serve the Lord, to follow his Savior, his Lord.
And now he did not get denied him. He was discouraged. And he says I'm going fishing, but he brings six people along with him.
Six others come with him, and they go fishing all night and they catch nothing. And I say that we can be, if we are discouraged in our souls, we can influence people in the, in the towards things that are not good, towards things that might not glorify the Lord, towards things that would be a discouragement. Think it says.
In Romans 14, no man lives, no man dies to himself.
We're not an island in ourselves, in our Christian life.
If I come to be an encouragement, if I come ready to bless others, if I come with saying, Lord, who can I encourage today in the meeting? Who can I reach out to? Who can I try to just be an encouragement? If I come with that spirit, the Lord will will bless us. But if I come with a critical spirit, oh, I not that brother again speaking, or oh, that person looked at me crooked or they're always late, That person if I have a critical spirit in my heart.
It'll influence how I perceive my brethren. It'll influence.
Umm, the way that I treat fellow fellow believers. And there's a verse in the Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12 and verse 15.
Looking diligently lest any man fail the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, trouble you, and thereby many be be defiled.
So if you have a root of bitterness, or if I have a root of bitterness and it troubles me, it'll influence people around me. I know growing up with some young people whose parents were very critical of the assembly, were very critical of other believers, always putting them down.
And guess what? It was contagious and it affects other people.
Same way that I know other believers where they always sought to.
Build up the Saints be an encouragement to not speak negatively of them, not have roast brethren for lunch. And it was been an encouragement. Now does that mean you're never going to be critical? No, but and I'm just realizing this being a new dad that with the way I'm going to treat my brethren and the way I'm going to speak of my brethren in front of my daughter and if you have other kids that's going to influence.
Very much how they perceive things as well.
You know the only, I believe the only.
The only failure of an Old Testament St. recorded in the New Testament is that of Elijah, who did not sanctify the people of God, who spoke against, who criticized. So let's be careful and have a critical spirit of those around us. We are in a day of weakness. We are in a day where there are real difficulties. There are problems. You shouldn't just close an eye on it and pretend it's not there. But let's try to go on to have a good spirit, to have one that would always seek the best, to seek the positive in our brethren.
To be a help. So we have Peter who was a discouragement to Wells. He took his, the six guys fishing. Now we can say that at the end of that night they didn't catch anything. They didn't catch. They had a whole night of fishing and they didn't catch anything. And it wasn't a profitable time. And unfortunately, they could say the times when maybe I've been critical or I've sought to say things in jest or seek to be.
Think myself better than others has not been for the blessing of the people of God.
It's not for it's not going to help build the Saints, but let's turn into the Book of Acts Chapter 11.
Is the time when.
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Peter received the vision and he's recounting this story to the apostles in Judea and he's discounting how that he received this vision. The sheep came down three times and he went to Cornelius and the Spirit was given there were there were they were saved. But it's interesting to see when he went to visit these brethren, what happened. And let's see in verse 12, just verse 12 of Acts 11. And the Spirit bade me go with them. Nothing doubting.
Moreover, these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered in that man's house, and he showed us how he had seen an Angel in his house, which stood and sent to him, and going on and the result. We're not going to go over the story for the sake of time, but.
Looking before Peter took six brothers with him, there were six of his fellow disciples, and they went in the ship and they caught nothing.
Now he takes six men with him. Peter being restored full, the Holy Ghost goes. And with these six brothers, our encouragement to this group and the gospel is preaching. There's a great blessing. And so we can put ourselves in either category. We're going to be the Peter that brought discouragement or the Peter that brings encouragement. Sometimes it doesn't have to be a long exhortation or a long conversation or a long.
Thought out rebuke to a brother or sister.
And I speak well to the sisters because we we all need to help each other as well. It's not just the brothers in the public in a public sense like today.
There's it's so important to be exercised to be a help to those around us.
Whenever you have the Saints in your home for a meal or seek to get to know them better, it could be a help. You can get to know them and get to know them more than just their false. They might show a meeting. You can seek to be a help to them that way. It's not always in the big things, it's in the small things that we can be a help as well.
And so to be an influence.
Are you influencing people for the better?
For your discouragement and I think this involves all areas of life. He mentioned the kids that could help each other and I I didn't saw it today so I know it still happens the young people as well. I'm a bit older than that now I'm kind of graduated but as young people, are we building ourselves up Are we are we helping each other in our faith are we seeking in our communications to to edify to build each other up in our faith There's nothing wrong having a good time of having fun of partaking different activities but.
Are we seeking to build?
Things that remain are we seeking to dig a deeper sense of growing in the word I was talking about this a few years ago last night with a couple of guys and we were talking how that 15 years ago at this conference we had gotten together we had had like a discussion about spiritual things and man, some of the things we talked about like we probably weren't completely accurate but there was a desire for us just to kind of discuss some of these things. I'm not trying to put us on a pedestal here but in our conversations that we.
For the glory of God, are we seeking to to help to strengthen the things that remain? Are we going to be a help in our assembly now when it talks to being, to being, having influence? I would encourage something to have my older brethren.
In your assemblies, maybe there's some young brothers or sisters or families that need encouragement. Maybe they might not come to you, say I need encouragement, but go to them. You can reach out to them. You can have them in your home. You can try to reach out to them and bridge the gap between the Gray hair and the not so Gray hair.
Or the the older and the younger. It's a way we can help each other out. There's some young brothers that I'm sure would love to get together with you and learn the word. It might not tell you outright, but maybe it's a desire of theirs. But if you never talk to them, if you never connect on that way, that you never might not know that there's that need. And the sisters as well, I can't speak exactly from the sister's perspective, but I know that they do value the fellowship as well.
And so I don't make a blanket case for every single occurrence, but.
There needs to be the, the transfer of knowledge from the older to the younger. There needs to be the, the influencing are therefore the positive for the positive. You know, online on social media, there's a lot of people that are influencers that have, you know, 10,000 followers on Instagram or on YouTube and they promote different products, they promote different things. They're influencing people's mindsets. And we can be that way in our Christian lives too.
Even at school, in our work, we can be influencers for good and so.
I just want to encourage.
They all here to not be like the one that would have a root of bitterness, so would have something against his brother or against his sister against something or a teaching and would seek to push their own way or and it has a defining effect to to build up to to influence for the good because we each other were going up or we're going down. There's no middle ground. We either should come ready to encourage Ray to bless others.
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Making sure, like my brother mentioned, there's no said in our no, no, no sin in our conscience, no, no unjudged thoughts that we might come ready to be an encouragement.
Where the Lord has put us in the 1St Corinthians 14.
Actually, sorry, 1St Corinthians 12 and verse 26.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or if one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. In the year are the body of Christ, and members in particular. We have an influence on each other.
We can weep with those that weep. We can rejoice with them that rejoice. We can condescend to men of low estates. We can seek to be like a Barnabas, to be an encourager. We need that. We need to be building up just to, to, to come, to, to come and we're together to have the joy of the Lord ready in our hearts. To me, sometimes as people walk in to meetings and they look so glum, they look Moody or, or just downright sad, it's like.
You're not helping if you're that way. Do you realize that you're acting that way? It's not really a help. You're not going to have someone not going to want to reach out to you necessarily if you look like you could eat them or you can look just look miserable. It's it's not as welcoming. So let's just make sure the joy of the Lord is in our faces as well as in our hearts and we are body. We are members of another. What we do effects one another. Maybe you might say I come to meeting. I don't do anything wrong. I'm on time.
And no one ever knows what I do in my personal life.
But in order you know, godliness is not inherited. You might come from a godly family, godly parents or grandparents that love the Lord, that value the truth of being gathered to Lords name. But that does not mean that you will automatically inherit that. We inherit some other things from our parents, but we don't inherit godliness necessarily. We have to personally make that conviction in our own hearts to want to follow the Lord with purpose of heart.
Be like Caleb, be like a Joshua that would seek to even if the 10 of the tribes would bring a false, a bad report about the land, they said, no, no, we're able. We are able, Caleb could say. And they would go in there and they would move ahead and want to claim the the promised land for God's people. And that influenced Caleb's daughter as well. Caleb's daughter and her new forget his name, her name now, actually, I think it was. Yeah. And.
She wanted the land as well. It influenced her in a good way and so we can be an influence to to our children as well in a positive way.
And so just thinking about, you know, we're in our reading meeting, talking about David, David had a lot of opposition. He had those around him that the soldiers were not necessarily for him. The his brothers were against him saying, what are you doing here, David? Even Saul, King Saul wasn't encouraging him to go out, but he went out and he was an influencer for the good. And so maybe you come from a small assembly, maybe there's a lot of discouragement. Maybe there's no young people. Maybe there is just weakness.
You could go on and you could list all the problems, but are you going to be an influencer for good? Are you going to bring about change? We don't mean like in the in the arm of the flesh, trying just to go and push your weight around. I know what's your brother. Sometimes you can get excited and want to get things done. But you know what if we seek if we're there to be a blessing, if we are there to encourage and build up, we'll make a difference. You know, maybe it might not be whistled right away. Maybe it'll be someone that will come to you a few years later. Say hey, you know, whenever you.
This to me, whenever you said that to me, you had me over or you, you took me out for coffee. That really encouraged me in my life. We might not even know this side of glory, what we do for the Lord. We might not get that reward right now, but let's be influencers for good. Let's fall wholly follow the Lord and we'll see. It'll influence our brothers and sisters until the Lord comes.
May the Lord bless His word.
Words of Our Own Composition
Open—Henry Sikora
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Psalm 45.
I'll read the heading, it's part of the inspired Word of God.
To the chief musician upon Shushanim for the Sons of Korah.
Master and instruction that means.
A song of Love's.
I'd like to read a couple verses from this Psalm. It's been an instruction to me.
And perhaps I can share.
How the Lord has instructed me from this. It was read this morning in the breaking of bread, and it came before me quite.
With quite force, a lot of force, I'll read 2 verses. My heart is indicting a good matter.
I speak of the things which I have made touching the King.
My tongue is the pen of a many ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men. Grace is poured into thy lips, Therefore God hath blessed thee forever.
The Psalm gives us a beautiful illustration of worship.
That which is due to our Lord Jesus Christ. He's worthy of our worship. And there's some instruction here. My heart is indicting a good matter. I speak of the things which I have made touching the King. I'll read another translation. I say what I have composed.
Touching the king. I'll tell you why this came before me, and it's not to be critical for one second.
We sang a lot of hymns this morning.
I love him, I love poetry, I love sacred songs, but there's something that's better than that.
It's that which we have composed.
I say what I have composed, what someone else has written is their composition.
When I come into the Lord's presence.
What have I composed?
Have I prepared Does the word of God speak of this If we looked at the.
96 Psalm. It says this, Bring an offering and come.
If we looked at Deuteronomy 26, it speaks of the the first fruits being offered.
And they were carefully to prepare those first fruits, bring them to the Lord and set them down before him. There's preparation, personal preparation that goes before being in the Lords presence, so that there will be worship that which is due His name. Look at the first part of.
That first verse, my heart is indicting a good matter.
A better translation. My heart is welling forth with a good matter. I think of a pot that's on the stove and the heat is supplied.
And it begins to boil.
You put a lid on it and it boils. It just comes out. That's a heart filled with Christ.
It comes out, it can't be contained. It's the enjoyment of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me personally enjoyed. How do we prepare? You don't prepare 5 minutes before you come to meeting to be in the Lord's presence. As a brother says, you don't take an express train from Egypt.
Into Jerusalem.
No, it's the.
With the Lord spent over his word, with the enjoyment of Christ, and we come into his presence, and our heart bubbles up with a good matter, and we stand up and we give him that which we've enjoyed of himself present to God.
The enjoyment of Christ.
Our personal enjoyment of him. Maybe you can understand it a little better.
Just to give you a little illustration, we've all received birthday cards and you get a birthday card.
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Someone goes to the store and purchases a very nice birthday card and they sign their name. They put a little personal note in there and that's nice and it's thoughtful and it's good.
My last birthday I got a birthday card from one of my daughters.
She found photos of myself and her.
And they were on the back front cover.
In the middle.
On the back.
And words written by hand.
About her love for me.
That card is on the top of my dresser today.
And I look at it with joy and with happiness.
What does it mean to God the Father?
When we've enjoyed his son.
And we stand up, and with our own lips. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. May the Lord encourage us that it would be so when we come into His presence.
We sang 300 and 31331.
To bring us home. To gain.
Your life.
God saves your life.
Sorry.
00:10:49
Is there?
A lot of children here.
And a little hymn came to my mind in connection with our what our brother just sang, and I wondered if we could sing it. It's really easy, we all know it.
Running overtime since the Lord saved me behind us, happy and simply.
My lovely swollen let me know.
1 Samuel 17:40-58
Reading
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Can we sing 1:30?
If someone can start it.
Lord.
Yeah.
Before we pray, could we just read a couple of verses in the book of James?
James chapter one.
Verse 17.
Every good gift.
And every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of Life, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning of His own will be gathi us with the word of truth that we should be a kind of first groups of His creatures we continue in.
First Samuel 17 And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose 5 smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had even in a script. And his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David. And the man that bare the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him.
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For he was buddy you, and Ruddy, and of a fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am IA dog, that thou comest to me with staves. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield.
But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into my hand, and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee. And I will give the carcass of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and all this assembly shall know.
That the Lord saveth not with the sword and spear, for the battle is the Lords, and he will give you unto our hands. And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose and came, and drew nigh unto meet David, that David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
And David put his hand in his bag, and he took thence a stone and slang it, and smoked the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into the into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a slang and with a stone, and smoked the Philistine, and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and threw it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him.
And cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until thou comest to the valley, and to the gates of Akron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way of Cherum, even unto Gath, and even unto Akron. And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem.
And he put his armor in his tent. And when David saw it, and when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto Abner, the captain of the host Abner, whose son is this youth. And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Inquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said unto him.
Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant, Jesse the Bethlehem. The Bethel of her mind was thought was advanced yesterday when we were speaking about the stones.
I was thinking of David here.
Choosing those stones.
You know we had a.
We had a faithful gospel last night.
Sitting in my chair here, thankful that I was saved.
We have faithful message in the Sunday school.
I'm so thankful that I've been washed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus.
So thankful that I'm one of the redeemed.
But just think of the thought, the humbling thought. It is for us here to sit here.
And to be chosen.
You know, there's an interesting statement made about David in the book of the Acts.
I can turn it off for a moment.
Look at the acts.
Is Stevens discourse in the 7th chapter?
Steven starts this chapter and he says.
After the high priest addresses them, and says, Are these things so? And he says, men and brethren and fathers hearken, And then he gives a long discourse on Abraham.
Is a discourse on Jacob.
Here's a long discourse on Joseph.
00:10:00
Comes to Moses gives a longer discourse on Moses.
Thanks, speaks about David.
And it's very, very brief. And this is what he said. One verse, verse 45, the end, David.
Who found favor before God? David. Who found favor before God? Isn't that beautiful?
Out of all the things that could have been said about David, if you go back in the chapter, you see all the things are said about Moses, all the things are said about Abraham, all the things are said about Joseph, Jacob of David. It just says David, who found favor. Isn't that a humbling thought? And a marvelous thought would be to be sitting here this morning.
Have that precious remembrance and to realize we've been chosen. It's like those stones were chosen. Beautiful to consider that from Ephesians chapter one.
When even chapter 16 verse 19 which we read.
The.
Saul's servant who's telling him about David, recommending him bliss. Some very tremendous qualities.
He says. I've seen a man or I've seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite.
That is cunning and playing.
The mighty valiant man, a man of war.
Prudent in matters and a comely person.
Well, what more do you want?
And then it says.
And the Lord is with him.
Well.
One would think all those other things probably wouldn't mean anything if it wasn't for the Lord was with them.
And I think that's.
That's related to what you just shared, brother, that.
That was the Lord.
Was favoring him. He was with him because he favored him.
And that's what grace is. Grace is favor and.
The Lord is with us not because we're better than anybody else and we really can't answer that question is why we can't answer that question.
But we know that it wasn't arbitrary. The Lord had some purpose in it. We just have to bow our heads in humility and say.
Where there is doing.
To elaborate on.
What I think it meant to David for the Lord to be with him, not to jump ahead, but if we look at the 45th verse, when David is speaking to the Philistine, he says I'll come us to me with a sword and a spear and with a shield, but I come to thee in the name of the Lord. Gonna stop there, He said. I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts.
The first person to use that term was Hannah.
And maybe we could look at that, and it's in First Samuel that it's early on. She's the very first person in the word, to use that term, the Lord of hosts. And it's in First Samuel, chapter one.
Here I believe she's not simply praying for a son, but she's praying for a deliverer for the people of God.
And she says.
In the 10th verse, it's in the bitterness of her soul. She prays unto the Lord and wept soul. And she vowed about and said, Oh Lord.
It's an interesting expression to trace through the word you remember when.
Elisha is there with his servant and servants, a little bit nervous. And the Lord says open the young man's eyes, and he opens his eyes. He looks around in the whole mountain is covered with Chariots and angels and Chariots of fire, and there's this huge company. I just thought of the Lord of hosts.
We, as the psalmist says, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of God of Jacob is our refuge. As David was approaching Goliath, he had the sense that he was going against life with the Lord of hosts. Oh, if we could just do that and our own souls experience.
Good to have a shepherd's heart, isn't it?
Story of David reminds you so much of the Lord.
The Lord was a Good Shepherd. He gave his life for the sheep.
00:15:04
David the Lord made David a shepherd when he was a youth, kept his father sheep.
And he maintained that heart of a shepherd throughout his life.
We see that there were those when they saw Goliath coming, says they fled. They fled. What happened to the Lord's disciples when the.
Lord was up against a Roman emperor and up against.
The Roman government under Pilot.
His disciples forsaken, they fled.
We know that later on when Peter was restored. Feed my lambs, feed my sheep.
The Lord is the one that makes shepherds, but the Lord is a perfect example of a shepherd. He came up against the greatest enemy.
Ever that we know about, and that's Satan.
The Lord Jesus came up against the enemy of her souls.
See, and he didn't, he didn't flinch, it says. And Isaiah, I think it's 52 That he set his face like a Flint, says the go to Jerusalem.
And another place in the New Testament, said he.
He he was as though steadfast to go to Jerusalem. That's how he appeared when he came into the city.
He had a focus when he was here as a man.
To accomplish his father's will.
Took a shepherd's heart and love for us. David loved his people. David loved children of Israel. He would risk everything for their benefit.
The Lord Jesus.
Risked everything for us. He knew what was ahead of him when he was here, yet he was willing to.
Put his life on the line for us, which he did.
And through his death on the cross, he defeated Satan.
The greatest enemy that we ever had.
Well, it's nice to see what it says here about the Lord there in chapter 10 of John.
Just a couple of verses where it says.
Verse 11 it says I am the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own life the sheep are not.
Seeth the wolf coming, or you might see seeth Goliath coming, and leaveth a sheep.
And flea and the wolf catches them and scatter the sheep the hiring fleet because he is a hireling and careth not for the sheep.
And so on and we read about wonderful picture of the Lord and that 10th chapter as a Good Shepherd, it gave his life for us on the cross. But here we have a type. The Old Testament gives us pictures and types of the Lord Jesus and here so we have David is a picture of the Lord is that Good Shepherd that was willing to lay down his life for his people and.
Even though it was a giant it, it didn't mean anything to David because David saw the Lord in it all.
And we have things happen in our lives, don't we, that just seem that that they're we can't overcome them almost but.
When we rely on the Lord and get the strength from Him, we are able to overcome obstacles and things and so support and like David to keep her eye on the Lord. And because of that, David was easily able to overcome Goliath.
Beautiful.
Prophetic line in this chapter. That's which is not my.
Desire to follow through but.
00:20:00
We had it this morning, I thought beautifully in our breaking of bread.
And if you look at the first verse of the next chapter, because.
If you go through these early chapters of a first annual, Saul is really a picture of the Antichrist.
Jonathan comes on the scene, he's really a picture of that godly remnant that always sticks up for David because of that gets into real trouble. The enemy Goliath is always a picture of the enemy. There is that line of things, but it's it's it's so instructive. What is impressive to Jonathan in the first verse of the next chapter, because it says the soul of Jonathan was Nick.
With the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And there are three things that were really impressive to Jonathan about David that we had before us in that sweet breaking of bread this morning. It's the person and the work and the word of the Lord Jesus. And we have it here. It says here.
And in verse 58. And Saul said unto unto him, Whose son art thou, young man? There's his person.
That's the wonderful person that Saul was looking at and wondering who this was. And then there's the work. It's in verse first 57. It says that David returned from the saw the slaughter of the Philistines. There's the work.
And then we have the first verse of the 18th chapter. We have the word, it says. And it came to pass when he made an end of speaking. What was impressive to Jonathan was the person and the work and the word. And that's really what we had before us this morning, wasn't it? The person and work and word of that blessed One, our Lord Jesus.
It seems like.
Even not not so much prophetically about.
Although I'm sure that's included perfectly about the future when the prophetic clock starts clicking again and the remnant takes up the Lord. But even when He came, you have this picture that Davide Father sent him down to see how his brethren were doing.
So he comes down, he sees how they're doing.
And you get a sense of rejection there. He has brothers saying, what are you doing here, right? So there's kind of a picture there of his own rejecting him. But then he sees what they're up against, the enemy that's come up against them to destroy them.
And He takes out on his own to take Him on by himself. Well, we know the Lord was sent down to do that. But if there's a picture here, the Lord was sent down. He comes down, He sees the condition of his people, they reject Him. And yet he, instead of rejecting them, He sees what they're up against. He sees their enemy, and he goes out against him alone. And after doing that, there is a small remnant. Even then there was a small number.
Of the children of Israel, who who did turn to the Lord right then when they saw what he had done. So you get in the early chapters of Acts, Peter stands up to preach and several thousand of the children of Israel. Their hearts were won when Peter preached them and showed them what had happened. Their soul, so to speak, was knit with David.
In the 42nd verse it says and when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him.
You know, that's really what we can expect.
If we're faithful in this world.
Yes, we are instructed to do good unto all men, and people appreciate that.
But there is a sense when it's connected with the Lord Jesus that there's a disdain.
And here Goliath, he sustains David. But to me it's interesting what Goliath does. He likens himself unto a dog.
In a very negative case, he says am IA dog that thou comest to me was thieves. Every person in the word that likened themselves to a dog humbling were brought into real blessing. David says to solve Amaya flee Amaya dead dog without cometh against me.
And he's brought into real blessing.
Look at Mephibosheth and what he says to David.
That thou lookest upon such a dead dog as I am, and he's brought into tremendous blessing.
Look at the sire Phoenician woman.
When the Lord challenges her and she says Oh yeah, but.
00:25:04
The dogs eat the crumbs, the fall from the table, and she's brought into real blessing.
Those that liken themselves to a dog and it's in a negative case like here having there did the same thing and his life was taken in a short while after that. Here Goliath likened himself to a dog and his life is snuffed out. But those that humbly took.
That degraded position.
In humility, we're brought into real blessing.
So Saul, I mean, so Goliath doesn't liken himself to a dog. He actually challenges that notion, right?
Instead, it's like the opposition am IA dog, as if to say I'm not a dog.
And so he's doing the opposite. He's rejecting that notion, right?
That's pride.
Right, that's pride, what you're seeing there. You have to wonder if thought.
Goliath, the Philistine knew anything about Dagon and what happened to that Philistine God, Dagon?
You know when the ark was taken, it was set up in the temple of Dega, the Ark of God. And if you turn back to First Samuel chapter 5, you find out what took place.
And I believe.
It's very striking how God's interests are upheld in this circumstance.
And we see who truly is in the ascendancy, it says in verse.
Two, First Samuel 5. Two, When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the House of Dega, and set it by Dagon. And when they have Ashdod arose early on tomorrow, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth.
Before the Ark of the Lord.
And they took Dagon, set him up in this place again.
And when they arose early on tomorrow morning, both Egon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord. And.
Head of Decon, and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stuff of Dagon was left to him. Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any that coming to Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon and Ashdod. Under this state the hand of the Lord was hidden upon him, and so on. Well, we find here that the Philistine curses David.
By his.
Gods, you know this philistine giant? Really.
Had no spiritual power going for him and he was disillusioned. He had his gods.
But we see that Philistine God.
Totally useless in the presence of the Lord.
And so, David, he goes in the name of the Lord, a post.
The God of the armies of Israel.
David had the Lord on his side and it's been said that one plus the Lord makes a majority.
And I was thinking of that in connection with Elijah, you know, on Mount Carmel, one man.
Confront it.
About 850 priests, but they were all false priests. They were priests of bail.
And that one man.
You might say he had the Lord on his side. It appeared outwardly that the sides were uneven.
But you know the outcome of that circumstance and God manifest who he is. He's the living God who has all powers and.
You will be exalted.
Above his enemies. I think that's what we're seeing here in this portion.
I have a question when it speaks about the Lord of hosts.
In what way is he the Lord of hosts? What hosts?
00:30:00
Are we referring to here?
I.
Says in verse 45, I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.
Maybe someone has a more specific answer, but I think of what the Lord said in resurrection. All power in heaven and earth is given unto me. All power is at his disposal. And I I think of what Goliath says in verse 44, Come to me. So I don't know for those of you who are children here, but you've never seen people fight, two people fight. Maybe you'll see someone do something like this.
You see what I'm doing? You ever seen people do that right before a fight? What they're saying is, come to me, bring it on. That's what Goliath was saying to David, bring it on. And that's what people tend to say before a fight. But I enjoy, I've enjoyed this thought from Isaiah 50 that the Lord Jesus the Messiah prophetically in resurrection takes up that very same expression. Come to me.
Isaiah 50. I don't want to take a lot of time to go into this, but it's touching on what? Wally asked.
What host, what power, all power in Isaiah 50. If you have the time later you can trace it through to see how we have the Lord's life pictured in verse four that he was woken morning by morning he wakened in my ear to hear as the instructed we find his suffering. I gave my back to the smiters for six.
And so on. But then we have him in resurrection verse seven. For the Lord God will help me. Therefore I therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face like a Flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me. Who will contend with me? This is it. Let us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near him to me. This is the Lord in resurrection standing up as we're coming out of the grave.
And saying to all his enemies, bring it on, I speak reverently, I trust. And the beautiful thing is, in Romans 8, this very same verse is quoted by the apostle Paul for those who are in Christ.
I can't think of the exact verse.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? But that very verse is quoted. Maybe someone can help me with it.
83333 Can you read it? We shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect. It is God that justify it. That's right, that's it. And so for the believer who's in Christ, we can join with the Lord in that cry. Who shall lay anything to my charge? There is nothing, No spiritual enemy can can do anything against us because the Lord has won the victory. All power has been given unto him.
I have a note here, I just read it.
Hebrew and the Hebrew Jehovah Lord of hosts means samboa.
And.
Their interpretation of it, at least in Samuel chapter one, is that.
It is a name, therefore, of Jehovah in the matter of the station of power the Lord opposed. In other words, it's used when there's in a reference to warfare or service.
That word Lord of Hosts is used.
Another name for that is Samoa, Jehovah.
It's a distinctive meaning of Jehovah.
And so on it, but it's used in reference to.
God as a warrior and.
I don't know if that helps or not.
Well, reference has been made to Elijah. How?
Young man's eyes were open to see the Chariots.
And horsemen, and so on.
Invisible power? I just wondered if it refers to angels to perhaps?
00:35:04
The power of the angels you know, we think of what happened in Hezekiah's day when some accurate comes up against.
Hezekiah against Israel, and there's one Angel that goes out in the night and slays 186,000 troops, the Syrian troops. Now that's power.
How many angels required just one Angel?
Yet we think of the angelic hosts at God's disposal.
Get some little sense of the power that's available to the Lord.
And how wonderful it is to be on the Lord's side because we are on the winning side.
Although outwardly it may appear like everything's against us and you know it spoke in Isaiah 53 about how he was despised and rejected of men.
And that's how he appeared in this world. He he looked to be a loser, but.
We know that he went to the cross and through weakness and defeat, as we often sing, he won the median crowd. He tried all his force but need to speak by and he comes forth in resurrection like you're pointing out to me and the power of resurrection. There's no power greater in the universe.
Then resurrection power.
And the Lord manifested that power coming forth from the grave.
I'd like to back up just a verse because there's a certain way in which we can abuse.
That power of the Lord as the Lord of hosts, the Philistine here in the 44th verse, he says the Philistine said to David and he boasts he's going to provide this banquet for the birds of the air and for the beasts of a field. He says the Philistine said to David, come to me and I will give thy flesh under the thousand year and to the beast of the field. That expression, the beasts of the field is about seven or eight times in the word.
And one of them I find very, very searching for my own soul because I've I've, I've.
I've put myself into this pitfall and we find it in the book of Deuteronomy because turn there for a moment. Deuteronomy Chapter 7.
Will the Lord speaks.
In verse 18, it says in connection with the nation, he said, don't be afraid of them.
I shall remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, unto all Egypt.
The great temptations he speaks of the 20th verse. He says, the Lord thy God will send the Hornet among them. Verse 21. Thou shall not be afraid at them, for the Lord thy God is among you as a mighty man and terrible. It's just next verse.
And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little.
That thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beast of the field increase upon this.
And there can be a tendency in my own soul.
To take.
What I learned.
And perhaps to put it forward.
Before I walk in it.
And what happens is the beasts of a field come in and they do their terrible work. And that's what the Lord is warning here about the people of God, that when they go in and take the land, they should take it a little bit at a time. We do that with the truth, don't we? We take a little bit and we walk in it.
We take a little bit and we walk in. If we take a great amount and then another great amount and then another great amount and we don't walk in it, it's abusing that power of the Lord of Hosts and it works against us. Solemn thing that I've proved in my own soul.
I just go back to verse 43 too. But before we do, let's look at the end of verse 54. It says he put his armor in his tent. So David had armor too and you know Goliath and verse 45 it said David says.
00:40:03
Wife was coming with a sword and a spear and a shield, and we can all relate to those in terms of battle. But what did David have for his army? And I think it's good for us to meditate on the pieces of armor that David had because he did. And we just, we read about them a little bit.
And verse 43, they were despised by the Philistines, so one of them that's mentioned by the Philistine.
Is the stage the stage? And it says in verse 40 that he took his staff in his hand and then he says he chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in a shepherds bag. So that's another thing he had even in a script.
And then it says his sling. Now, I don't know if there was other things that he had for armor, but those are four things. So the first thing is his staff. And that's what the Philistine made fun of. And we've heard the expression, you don't bring a knife to a gunfight.
We can understand them. That's kind of what the Philistine was saying. I've got a sword. I'm going to take you out. But David valued that staff. He'd used it many times. He'd used it as a shepherd with his sheep. And God uses the staff in our lives, too. We can relate to that. In Psalm 23 by Rod and thy staff, they comfort you.
And then we go on to that and I'm sure others have thoughts on these two that these are not. These are just things that I've enjoyed. We have this, this shepherd bank and how useful this bag was. It was not only for the rock that was used, the stone that was used to bring down Goliath, but there was four more. And we talked about the other four giants yesterday. That perhaps is another example of what these four, four other rocks represented with four other giant.
But then we have the script, which was a carrying case and perhaps that would reflect that would kind of make us think about what we treasure up and keep stored up in our minds and in our hearts. It's very close to us, very important and dear to us. The things that perhaps we can fall back on when we're tempted or discouraged, But there are fundamental that the Lord has showed us and we need to have those things for ourselves. And then of course, the slink.
And the sling was what the rock went in that did the damage to the forehead of the joint. And it looked like something so insignificant to Goliath that he didn't even mention it. He could see the stack. But the slang, that's 11. And so as believers, people make fun of our prayers. They make fun of the word of God. They make fun of all the resources that we have.
The things that we are that are so valuable in our warfare as we seek to live for the Lord. And so let's remember that David did have armors. Let's meditate on those things that we do have as Christians that we can go into battle with for the Lord.
That's very beautiful.
I've appreciated Paul, how David had a choice. He reached into a shepherd bag. He could have thrown the stone. And so often we're tempted to use the army flesh. But I've looked at this thing about the power of the Spirit of God. That's where he put the stone in and he's playing it. And that's really what does the work, isn't it? It's not by taking the stone and throwing it with the arm of the flesh. I appreciate it too, what you brought out in connection with the shepherd's bag. You know, it's nice when we.
Meditate on something.
It's like spending time in the brook that David did to get a nice little smooth stone. Just tuck it away.
Just tuck it away the time you come, this one will be able to use it. Perhaps it's speaking with a brother. Perhaps it's speaking to someone about their soul.
Perhaps it's at a time when you're a young brother is asked to give a little meditation. They can reach into their shepherds bag and pull it out when David is standing before the Goliath Goliath. There was no time there to spend time in the place of refreshment. He had to have those things in the bag. And it's nice to be able to tuck those things away. And if we tuck them away and they're really from the Lord, they're not going to go back. They're not going to go rotten. They can stay there for a long time and then we can pull it out and use them and they're.
The Spirit of God can use those things for great blessings if they're indeed from Him.
00:45:04
Very special stone.
We get a little description of that stone in Isaiah 28.
Verse 16.
Therefore, thus sayeth the Lord God. Behold, I lay in giant for a foundation.
Stone, the fried stone.
A precious cornerstone.
Sure, Foundation.
David takes the lion sword and cuts off his head, but he didn't have this stone, the person of the Lord Jesus.
Just as in Daniel chapter 2. Remember that great picture there?
Sauce or stone was cut out without hands.
Smoke the image.
The Lord Jesus could say here from beneath, I am from above here of this world. I am not of this world this very, very special person.
I'll read that verse in Daniel.
I saw that a stone was put out without hands.
Smoke the image upon his feet that were lying and play and break them to pieces.
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broke into pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floor. And the wind carried them away that no place was found for them. And the stolen that smoked the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. And that's our Lord Jesus.
It's the same picture really, Satan in all his opposition and David's day, Satan and all his opposition in the coming day, all it'll take the person of Christ to turn him into chat and he'll blow away and there'll be no place found.
Similar to the garden.
And they all went backwards and fell to the ground. It's just the power of his person.
That will do away with his enemies.
But I think the sword was taken.
There's a verse in Hebrews that might shed light on why David took the sword. It's an easy chapter 2.
214 So as much as the children are partake of the flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.
That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. That is the devil. In other words, the sword is the symbol of death.
David took his own sword and destroyed him. That had the power of death.
Now I believe Goliath was dead when the stone smoted. Just like the image in Daniel, he was done, but judicially and officially the sword is taken.
And he used death to destroy him. That had the power of death. He used Goliath's own weapon upon him.
I think that's the picture why there was two, but it's just precious to know that it's the person of Christ, Him alone.
His person will be away with all opposition. He didn't need a sword again. I believe it was an official judicial act. But his own person, the power of his person is Indian senator. It seems so beautiful brother, because.
The Lord, in those three hours of darkness before his death, he defeated the devil there in the sense that in those three hours he, he took, he took away our sin, He took it all our judgment upon him.
In those three hours of darkness, when God's wrath was poured out upon him and he absorbed it completely, in a sense, I guess you could say that's like the stone taking down Goliath.
And that then he went into death to defeat.
Him who had the power of that. So that's like the sword being taken and taking taken off Goliath head. And so we have both. The three hours of darkness, which we often speak of is where he paid the penalty for our sin. But then he went into death that he might come out of it and defeat him who had the power of death.
He was a tried stone, wasn't he? And.
Fit into the temple a stone.
That was cut out, not made with hands.
00:50:01
Chief Cornerstone. It fit right in where it ought to fit.
Holly Stone, We think of these stones here that he picked up David. They were smooth. What makes a stone smooth is water, isn't it running over those stones for a long time? Water, of course, in the we know speaks of the word of God.
The Lord Jesus was the word manifested.
And that word manifested is what smoke Satan.
And it's a nice picture of those stones to see Christ pictured in them.
Seems important that the head was cut off.
Have you noticed what happened as a consequence?
Let's read it.
Slew him and cut his head there with with the sword. Then what happened?
And when the fellows see saw their champion was dead, they fled. It was manifested the power of what had happened there was no doubt. And the men of Israel and of Judah arose and shouted and pursued the Philistines.
There's no doubt we we don't have real victory until we understand that there is a complete victory. He just wasn't laying there stunned.
People may have thought that, but once that head came off, there was no doubt about what happened, and I thought about this in relation to what we have been in First Corinthians 15.
Where we have the victory. Oh, death, where is I? Sting, O grave, where is thy victory? You know we're waiting for the shout.
For the Lord to call us.
Not all believers understand the fullness of the victory that has been won at Calvary.
Get ready for the shout from the Saints.
When we all together realize what has been one for us.
Through the death of our Savior and what He has accomplished for us.
At that time, there will be no doubt.
Just briefly to just before we close it, I thought that in connection with that, the taking off of the head, it was that which God pronounced, wasn't it? That would happen in Genesis.
He said about Thou shalt he shall bruise thy heel, but thou shalt bruise his head.
The Lord Jesus smote Satan hid took his head off. You know nothing will kill a snake quicker than taking the head off of it.
Oh Lord Jesus did that on the cross when the defeated Satan and so we see that that Goliath head was taken off the pitcher of the Lord Jesus that would.
Smoke Satan later on.
And we say 218.
00:55:52
We pray.
Gospel of Luke.
In chapter 24 through chapter 24 and and verse one.
Now, upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning.
They came unto the Celtic or bringing the spices which they had prepared and.
And certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the set cooker they entered in.
Found not the body of the Lord Jesus.
And they came to pass, as they were much perplexed there about.
Behold, 2 men stood by them in shining garments, and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth.
They said unto them, Why seek ye, the living among the dead? He is not here, but his wisdom.
Clean and Unclean Animals
Talk—Stan Allan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
All right, maybe we just look to the Lord before we start.
Our God and Father, we come before thee this evening, and we thank Thee for the very happy time we've enjoyed here the last two days.
And we think of how each one of us now are going to be returning to our homes.
And we're going to have the opportunity to put what we have heard into practice in our daily life. And we know how important this is for each one of us, including the speaker. And so, Lord, we would pray that Thou would help us to honor Thee and all that we say and do as we return home.
And we might be willing to walk in the path to this pleasing to thyself.
And so we pray as we open my word for a few moments that there might be something that would be an encouragement.
And the instructor for each one of us. And we ask it now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I know there's a lot of young people here this year, and a lot of younger ones, and I thought it might be nice to look at a a scripture from the Old Testament. But before we do, I'd like to read just two scriptures that are often quoted.
One is found in Romans chapter 14. I think it is. I'm sorry, Romans 15.
And verse 4.
It says this whatsoever things were written aforetime.
Were written for our learning that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.
And then one verse in First Corinthians 10.
1St Corinthians 10 and verse 11.
It says this now all these things happened unto them.
For in samples or, as the margin says, four types and they are written for our admonition.
Upon whom the ends of the world are come.
So it's made very plain that the Old Testament was given to us for our admonition and for our learning. And I'm sure we have learned a great deal this past couple of days from the story of David and Goliath.
A story that's often told to the boys and girls in Sunday school, but we who are older have much to learn from it as well. But I was wondering.
If today, or at least right now, we might look at it some scriptures in Leviticus Chapter 11.
I'm sure that many of us here are familiar with these verses, but I think they're very practical and we can learn a lot from it.
It says here in Romans in Leviticus 11, starting at verse 4. Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof as the camel, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.
And the Coney, because he choose the cud, but divides not the hoof, he is unclean to you.
And the hair, because he chews the cud, but divides not the hoof. He is unclean to you. I should have read, you know the third verse whatsoever who, whatsoever part of the hoof, and his cloven footage. And chew with the cud among the beasts that shall ye eat.
And then I'm going to skip down to verse 9.
These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters whatsoever have fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. And then down to verse 13.
These are they which ye shall have an abomination among the fouls, they shall not be eaten. They are an abomination. The eagle, the ossifrage, the Osprey, the Vulture, and the kite after his kind, every Raven after his kind, and the owl and the nighthawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind.
The Little Owl and the Cormorants and the great owl. We'll just skip down a little bit.
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Verse 20 All fouls that creep going on all four shall be an abomination unto you, yet these may eat Of every flying, creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet to leap with all upon the earth, even these of them he may eat.
The locust after his kind, the bald locust after his kind, the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind. And then I'm just going to ask you to read one other verse, verse 29. These are these also shall be unclean unto you.
Among the creeping things that creep upon the earth, the weasel, the mouse, the tortoise after his kind, and the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail and the mole, these are are unclean to you. Among all the creep. Whosoever doth touch them when they be dead shall be unclean until the even.
Well, these are very.
Interesting verses, and I'm speaking mainly to those who are young, and many of us here, of course, have enjoyed what we have in these verses. And no doubt God has in it for us important instruction that each one of us can glean.
And you'll notice the first group of animals that were mentioned, it says.
If they parted the hoof and were cloven footed and chewed the cud.
Among the beasts, then shall that shall ye eat? So there were two things here that were important. One, they had to have a cloven foot. Secondly, they had to be able to chew the cut. Now, what can we learn from that? Well, you know, I believe there are.
Many scriptures that would really illustrate what is meant by chewing the cud and having a cloven foot. I'll just mention this, that chewing the cod makes us think of the cow, doesn't it? You know, the cow is one of those animals.
That goes along and it eats the grass and the grass goes down into its first stomach and then it goes and, and sits under a tree perhaps, and it regurgitates what it had been eating and it chews and it chews and it chews and then it goes down into the second stomach. And you know, I believe that that brings before us the importance of meditation.
You know the Lord has given us the word of God.
To feed on we've enjoyed a lot of good food here this past couple of days but you know, we need spiritual food for our souls as well as the physical food for our bodies and.
The Lord here is bringing before us, I believe, the important.
Of meditation, you know, I think many of us think, well, you know, someone was mentioning today how?
They read through the Bible every year. Or is that some people do this and that's very good.
I believe it's important, but you know, we need to ruminate, we need to think, we have to meditate and chew on what we have read. And in that way we grow in our souls. And I believe there are many scriptures that show this kind of thing. Let's just look at a couple.
As we go along here, let's look at Joshua chapter one for a moment.
Just to show you a few verses, I don't want to take too long here tonight. I'm supposed to be quite short so.
But anyway, it says here in Joshua chapter one.
And verse eight I'll read first. It says, this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
Isn't that the chewing the cud that is so very important? And then we have in the verse before it says the latter half of the verse turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
And so how important it is to chew and to meditate on the Word of God.
Let me just give you another example.
Psalm, Chapter one.
Just to give us another example here.
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Psalm chapter one and verse one it says blessed is the man.
That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly. There's the cloven foot.
And then it says in the second verse, his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. There's the chewing of the cuts. And so how important it is to meditate. You know, the apostle Paul said to Timothy.
Meditate upon these things, that thy profiting might appear to all. And so there's the chewing of the cud, but then there's the cloven foot, and the cloven foot has to do with our outward walk. I suppose you could say that the chewing of the cud has to do with our inwards meditation, but we need to walk.
Separate from this world, and that's what we have brought before us with the cloven foot.
And you'll notice that the animals that they were allowed to eat had to have the cloven foot and they had they were to chew the cud. It wasn't good enough to have a cloven foot. And you know, I think that's important too. We might walk separate from the world, but if it were not reading the good, the the word of God.
And meditating on it, what good is it? Or if we're reading the Word of God and going on with the world, that's wrong too. And so we need to have the cloven foot and we need to be chewing the cut. Well then if we go down a little further.
We come to the fish, and it says there in the ninth verse, These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters.
Whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat. So what does the Lord have for us here? I believe, first of all, the fins of the fish, of course enable it not only to swim through the water.
But to swim against the current, and, you know, we're living in a world that has a powerful current. I think we would all agree the current of the world today is powerful and we need those fins to be able to swim against that current.
It's often been said, how can you tell the fish is dead or not? If a fish is dead, it flows with the current, doesn't it? And the proof of a real living fish is one that can swim against the current. And so how important it is for us as Christians to swim against the current.
The current of this world. And yet the other thing that the fish were to have was scales. And what did the scales do? The scales kept out the outward, the outward influence, you might say, not allowing it to penetrate.
And you know, as we go through this world, we have to be careful not to allow.
The world to penetrate us and to influence the way we think and the way we we speak and so on. We need those scales. And so we have those two things brought before us, the fins and the scales. They were both necessary. It wasn't good enough to swim against the current.
They had to have that which would keep out the outward influences that would penetrate and cause harm to the fish. And so we go down further and we come to the 13th verse and it mentions many of the fouls.
It says the eagle, the office office tries the osprey, the Vulture, the kite after his kind.
Every Raven after his kind and you know these, all these birds and, and I can't say that I know every one of them here, but the general thought is that these birds fed on the flesh and you know every one of us.
Have an old nature that loves to feed on the flesh and and or what's what I should say is we have an old nature likes to feed on the things of this world. It's the flesh in US and how important it is to spend our time reading the word of God. Now I'm not saying that we have to read the Bible 24 hours a day. That's not what I'm trying to say, but I'm saying that we should be feeding on.
That which is wholesome and clean. Not like the Vulture. You know the vultures love to find dead carrying around and feed on it. The same with the Ravens. You'll see them on the highway, won't you? And they're eating the flash of dead animals. Well, we're not to feed on the things of this world.
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That are full of corruption and we know that the Internet today is filled with all kinds of corrupt things and we need to be careful because the devil has been very clever. He's given us a device, a computer and telephones that not only are useful in many ways but can bring right into our homes the world.
And so we have to be very, very careful and so.
It tells us here that the Vulture and the Raven and these other birds, they were unclean because they fed on the flesh. And then it mentions the owl and the nighthawk. It mentions the little owl and the great owl.
And I think we understand what that might bring before us. These birds, they might not only eat flesh, but they also are birds of the night. And you know, we had that verse today in First Thatssalonians chapter 5.
I'll just read it.
It says this.
1St Thessalonians 5 and verse 5.
It says ye are all children of the light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. So how important it is to remember that we're left here in this world to be children of light. We are children of light.
And we're not children of the darkness, and the Lord wants us to shine.
You know, boys and girls, we often sing that little hymn, don't we? Jesus wants me for a sunbeam to shine for him each day. And how important that is. And so they weren't to eat those things that were the birds of the night. There's another verse in that connection too, in Romans chapter 13.
Which perhaps we could just mention in passing the 3rd Romans 13 and verse 12.
It says the night is far spent, the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. And so we know that John, the Gospel of John, says men love darkness because their deeds are evil. And so we don't want to be going on with those things that are from this world.
Well then it goes on and mentions fouls that creep in verse 20.
Going on all four shall be an abomination unto you.
And so it mentions here things that were creeping along the ground. And what would that bring before us? Well, I can't help but think of the verse in Philippians chapter 3. It's not talking about Christians, but let me just read what it says there in Philippians chapter 3.
It says well, Paul says be followers together of me and mark them which have that which walk. So as you have us for an example for many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you weeping that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is is destruction. And this is what it says here.
Whose God is their belly? Whose glory is in their shame?
Who mind earthly things? What I want to stress there is that last part. Who mind earthly things? These things that creep along the ground?
They're concerned of in eating and eating anything and everything that they see on the ground.
Anything to do with this world and I think is the thought here and so.
We're told that these were unclean, those that ate anything and everything on the ground.
And yet it says if you go on a little further.
It says in verse 22, even these of them ye may eat the locust after his kind and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind and the grasshopper after his kind. Why were they allowed to eat grasshoppers and locusts? Well, you know these.
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Insects. They might have been on the ground, but they had the the.
The ability to leap. And have you ever seen grasshoppers and locusts? They have, they have wings, don't they? And they can fly and they can go way up above the ground. And I think that that is the thought that they weren't just interested in eating was on the ground. They got above those things. And you know, there's that verse in Colossians that says.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. And so those things that were able to leap up and be above the ground, they were clean to eat. There's a verse in that connection too in Habakkuk that I just might mention.
In passing, we know this verse very well.
Of Habakkuk chapter 3 and it says this the very last verse. It says the Lord is my strength and he will make my feet like Hinds feet and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. You know I remember brethren Speaking of this verse in the past they said it was really referring to the mountain goats.
That would climb up the mountains and they would be able to walk across these very narrow ledges high above the ground. And it says here he will make me to walk upon my high places. So the Lord wants us not to be occupied with the things of earth.
He wants us to set our affections on things above. How important? Well, there's just one other.
An animal that I would mention there in Leviticus and that is the chameleon. And I don't know if any of you have ever seen a chameleon. They're a very interesting.
Little animal, and I can't say that I've actually seen one, but.
What characterizes them? If they're sitting on a blue chair, they turn blue. If they're standing on a leaf, they turn green. If they are on a twig, they turn brown or or grey. In other words, they just simply become whatever their.
Sitting on and, you know, we don't want to be chameleons, do we? Coming here to the meetings and and and.
Enjoying the fellowship of Christians and acting like a Christian and then leaving here and going out in the world and acting like the world.
That's like being a chameleon. And so how important it is to try and learn a little bit what the Lord has for sometimes. I remember when I was young, I used to read the book of Genesis and then I would read Exodus up to about the 25th chapter, and then I would skip over to Joshua because it didn't seem like there was anything in those books, you know?
Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Didn't seem very interesting. That's the way I remember it when I was young. But you know, there is a lot of very interesting truths in these books. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.
Very practical and of course in the early.
Chapters of litigious you get the offerings that are a picture of the Lord Jesus in many aspects and.
We have in Leviticus 2 The the feasts of Jehovah.
Much that we can feed on and meditate there will be a blessing to our souls and so I encourage those who are younger.
Not to miss a lot of the truth that we have in these early books, and there's some very good.
Expositions on it too, to help, like Chapter Macintosh, who has written the books on the pedicure on the Pentateuch. And so I just leave that with you, study it and meditate and I'm sure you'll find much there for your profit and blessing.
Well, maybe we could just look to the Lord again.
Our God and Father, we just come before thee this evening, and we think of this chapter that we have looked at very, very briefly. We think of how important it is not only to meditate on thy precious word, but Lord Jesus, to walk in separation from this.
Wretched world that is under judgment, and we're going to be leaving very, very soon.
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We pray, Lord Jesus, that we might.
Not be seeking to follow in the dark places of this life, feeding on the filth of this world, but Lord, that we might make it our habit to start every day with the reading of Thy precious Word and meditating on it, and be praying that Thou just preserve us as gathered to Thy name, until out us come. And we pray especially for the dear young people. We know the difficulties they face.
But we pray that they might be preserved, and that they might live for Thy glory, and that each one of us might honor Thee in the little time we have left. And so we asked Thee for these things now, in the worthy and precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.