Address—D. Rule
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There's two in the appendix.
O Lord Dylob's unbounded, so sweet, so full, so free, My soul is all transported when air I think on thee. Yet, Lord, alas, what weakness within myself, I find no infants changing pleasures like my wandering mind.
And yet I love sun changing and doth recall my heart to joy in all its brightness, the peace its beams in part.
Yeah, sure, if in my presence my soul still constant were.
Mine I would more familiar its brightest glories bear #2 in the appendix.
Please turn with me to the book of Zephaniah.
That's Zephaniah Haggai, Zechariah Malachi, right near the end of the Old Testament.
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Zephaniah, chapter 3.
Verse one.
Woe to her that is filthy and polluted.
To the oppressing city.
She obeyed. Not the voice she received, not correction.
She trusted not.
In the Lord.
She drew not near unto her God.
In the prayer meeting this morning.
And in comments that were made in the prayer meeting, it was remarked even in the prayers too, that.
Some young people are finishing high school, college, facing choices this afternoon. I would like to take that subject up in view of the prayer meeting this morning.
The matter of choices.
Especially choices that are made in youth.
I'd like to make a few introductory remarks and the first one is many of the choices that you are making today.
Are going to be the result of choices you made yesterday, last week, last month, last year. The choices we make in the present are generally formed in US based on choices that we have made in the past.
And so the matter of choice, if you will, is a long term set of choices.
But each one of them is important, and they become cumulative, that is, they add to themselves over time.
Yesterday, the last thing I did before I went out the door, almost the last thing anyways, to come to this conference was to read a letter from man in Michigan named Larry.
Larry said in part in his letter.
That he had now been in prison for 25 years.
He also mentioned in his letter the date of his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
24 years.
Larry has spent the last 25 years of his life.
In prison by choices that he has made.
I thank God that He's made the important choice, since he's been there, of putting his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But he still reaping from choices made before that.
Young people, the choices that you make are extremely important and.
And I want to look at it a little bit.
Here in this chapter.
That we just read 2 verses out of the first verse says she that is filthy and polluted. It's talking here about Jerusalem, but in application this afternoon. If you don't make the right choices, I guarantee you that your life is going to be filthy and polluted.
Because God says so, but if you make the right choices, it will not be so as we had in our chapter. And second Peter, they escaped the corruption that was in the world through lust. God preserved them through choices that they had made and by His grace.
Four things I hope you will go out of the room this afternoon in the short time that we have to think about this matter is in verse 2.
I'm going to put it in the positive. They were facing judgment for themselves and for the city because they failed in these four things. But I'd like to read them and present them to you, not in the negative sense, but in the positive.
Obedience to His voice.
Reception of correction.
Trusting in the Lord.
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And drawing near to God.
Make those good choices.
The first one, listen.
Receive. Obey his voice.
I'd like to, in connection with this, go to the New Testament and look at two people who did it.
Who listened to his voice? The 1St is found in Luke's Gospel, Chapter 5.
We're just going to very briefly, briefly look at the conversion of two men, pretty well known men who had pretty well known lives.
Who hearkened or obeyed the voice that spoke to them?
Luke chapter 5, we're not going to read the whole story. In fact, we're not going to read it at all really, just a couple of verses here.
In verse 5, Simon Says to the Lord, answering, said unto him, Master.
We have toiled all night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless that thy word I will let down the net.
And uh, verse 8, when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knee saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man. O Lord, this is Peter's conversion. Peter knew the Lord Jesus before this occasion. At this time the Lord Jesus was living in the town of Capernaum.
And Peter was a fisherman and his boat obviously was docked in Capernaum and he went out onto the Sea of Galilee. There's a fisherman from that place.
And either lived there, at least his wife's.
Mother lived there, and he was from a little town a couple of miles away himself.
Up to this hour, Peter knew the Lord Jesus as Master or Teacher.
And when the teacher told him to do something out of respect, but according to his own will, he did a half response. I believe he failed in two ways. He was told to put down the Nets and he only put one down. He was told to launch out and there's no indication that he did anything but put the net out where he was.
That's what you do with the teacher. You take it or leave it. You hear it, you make choices about it, and according to how you think and feel and believe about what the teacher says, you accept it, or you reject it or you ignore it.
You're not in a relationship to a teacher.
Accepting when it comes to taking exams in that part of the relationship, but I'm speaking about the belief in what they say.
Is not really theirs to command on you.
But when Peter saw the work, the power of Jesus.
And what happened in an experience that obviously he understood and recognized as a fisherman was not a work of man, but a work of God and by the power of this man, Jesus.
Is the words that come out of his mouth are.
Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, oh Lord.
I won't get into the matter of the process of conversion here, but just the last two words.
Oh Lord.
Jesus on that boat that afternoon.
Became Peter's Lord.
That is the most important decision. I'm assuming you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
That is the most important. I'll call it a decision. I don't like that word exactly, but I'll use it for the moment that he ever made in his Christian life.
Was to accept the truth.
That Jesus was his Lord.
You will not make a more important choice in your life than the acceptance of Jesus as Lord. He is Lord, He is your Lord, but you need to recognize it and make it your own within your soul. Turn over to Acts 9.
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Verse 3.
As he journeyed, he came near to Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord?
And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest, it is hard for thee to kick against the ******. And he trembling an astonished, said Lord.
What wilt thou have me to do? This is Paul's conversion. And God takes these great men that are presented to us in the word of God, two of the greatest in the Christian era.
And he lays it out in a simple, easy to be understood way, both of them immediately and for the rest of their lives.
Accepted the truth of their relationship.
With that man Jesus.
Lord, Lord.
Yes, it says.
Choose you this day, whom you will serve.
And that's the choice. I guess it's put that way in Scripture, but in another sense I wanna say that was the last choice that those two men had to make in their life.
Because every other situation from that point on in their life.
Was to know the will of their Lord and do it.
He became supreme to them in a way that.
What wilt thou have me to do?
Earlier this afternoon we talked about not we, not I, but we listened to the Lord through His servant to talk to us about relationships. I want to say this is the number one and most important relationship that any one of us can ever have and all other relationships flow properly from it. And if it doesn't have its right place in it, no other relationship is going to take place as it should.
Lord.
Lord, Lord.
They learned it immediately, thank God, and have left. The testimony of the fruit of that in the life is recorded for us in the Word of God.
We still see in Peter the natural disposition of Peter coming out in his life. Even though Jesus was Lord to him, he still was Simon Peter and we see he had other lessons to learn.
But if he was under authority.
When there was the matter of the disciples out in the boat.
What does he say when the Lord comes walking on the water? He says, If it be thou.
I'm coming.
No.
Bid me. Bid me.
Tell me to come to you. And he was ready. In his heart was the desire for it, but he wasn't his choice to make.
If it be thou, bid me come to thee.
You got the answer I'm sure his heart wanted. Come and he went.
And learned another lesson in the process.
Lord.
Lord.
Have you listened?
Obeyed the voice, Who art thou?
Lord.
We need if we don't get lesson #1.
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Right.
Young people, older ones, all of us. Nothing else has its right place.
Turn with me to Proverbs chapter one.
This afternoon in the reading meeting, we were talking about knowledge.
We didn't, but connected with it is wisdom and understanding.
Let's notice something about the connection between knowledge and Lord.
And listening to his voice, Proverbs chapter one and verse 7. The fear of the Lord is the beginning.
Of knowledge.
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Turn over to Proverbs Chapter 9.
And verse 10.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning.
Of wisdom.
And the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.
If relationships aren't right, nothing is right.
Between the two parties.
And man is a creature of God.
Under his authority.
And man who does not recognize his relationship to the one under whom he is.
Is a fool.
Among other things, and has no true knowledge.
You can't have the true knowledge of anything and leave God out.
Because all knowledge relates to what God is and has done, He's the source of it.
We have it because he has given us a certain capacity and natural things to know. But the important, the really important things about himself, we only know because he chooses to tell us.
That's why in the Old Testament they did not have the full knowledge of God, because he hadn't told us yet.
But he gave us a fuller, full revelation of Himself in the person of the Lord Jesus as a man. And then we knew more than we ever knew before about God, because he chose to tell us more.
And to give us the joy of that knowledge and also the relationship which goes with it, which for us is to be able to say Father to our God.
But giving God his right respect.
His right place in our hearts is the foundation of getting knowledge, and there's no pride in it either. You can't be in the presence of God. The true knowledge of God is humbling.
It humbles self and exalts God.
It doesn't exalt self.
The man that gets close to God the closer you get to God in reality.
The more it will produce the humbleness in the soul to know what you are in His presence. And so in Proverbs it teaches that right in the beginning, the fear of the Lord is the beginning.
Of wisdom and knowledge and understanding. And without it, if God isn't put in his right place, nothing will have its right place. It will be. It will lead to filth and corruption.
Because man left to himself becomes violent, and he corrupts all that is of God in his.
Perceived knowledge and wisdom.
He becomes the fool.
Let's turn back to our chapter in Zephaniah.
Get some practice finding it if we're not used to that spot in the Bible.
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Again in the positive.
She obeyed the voice.
She received correction.
She received correction.
I will be so bold as to say there are some who are not in this room on this occasion, who have been in this room on this occasion at past times, and they're not here this afternoon because they have refused.
Correction.
It's not really a choice.
Be willing.
To receive correction, there's not a person in this room who graduates from the school of correction.
Every single one of us will need it as long as we're here.
And very often the Lord will use an instrument for our correction that also brings with it the necessary humbling. Let's embrace it. Let's be thankful for it. Let's not despise it.
Young people and older ones.
Donald me don't despise correction. It's so important and if.
We despise it. It will lead to terrible, sad choices being made.
She trusted.
In the Lord.
She trusted in the Lord.
How many decisions in life get made?
Because of a lack of trust.
Is God worthy to be trusted?
Make if it's a decision, whatever it means to you, if it's making in your life early.
God is worthy of your complete trust.
Because if he is the choices that are made subsequent to that one.
We'll all be in the right direction.
And preserve you from.
From.
Harm and loss and lack of fruitfulness in your life.
Faith. Trust.
Honors God.
And a lack of trust is a dishonor to God.
You want somebody to you say something and say to. You can't trust what you say.
I don't know, I'll have to find out for myself. Does that make you feel good?
God wants to be trusted.
And he's dishonored if we don't trust him.
Trust means believing what he says to be true.
Abraham has put before us as a wonderful example of trust in God because.
God told him to do something that we would find extremely hard to do. Anybody would.
To offer up his son.
And I always appreciate that God has given us the reason. What was going on in inside Abraham's mind and heart when he did it?
As he went out to that place.
And he got there and he took that knife to kill his son.
Hebrews 11 tells us he knew that God had promised that he was going to be made a nation in that sun, and that God is a God who keeps his promises no matter what. And if necessary, he would have to raise up Isaac from the dead in order to keep his promise. That's trust.
That's a wonderful example of trust.
And uh.
It's a tremendous important choice.
That makes other choices fall into the right place.
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The 4th, 1:00.
She drew not near.
To her God.
Have you drawn near to God today?
You've been alone with God today.
It takes conscious effort in one sense, you know you can go through the motions.
Reading a chapter of the Bible and saying Lord take care of Maine today and I'm in a hurry and we'll talk more tomorrow. That's not drawing near to God.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him.
We see in the Word of God that there are times when.
We are faced with situations, if you want to call them, choices.
That are only discerned in the nearness of fellowship with God.
That's why we go to other people to help us sometimes, because we have some perception in us that that, well, that person is nearer to God than I am. They might have more experience of knowing what God's will and mind in the matter is.
And uh.
So it is.
Notice connection with it if you go back to chapter 2.
Verse 12 it says, And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles and punish the men that are settled on their lease, that say in their heart the Lord will not do good, neither will he do evil.
In other words, there were some. They didn't say it out loud, but their lives showed and they kind of relaxed.
Live the way they wanted to live.
And in their hearts, they were acting as well. Lord, he thought of it. You're not going to do good for me. He's not going to do evil. He's just a spectator. If he's that, he's paying any attention at all. And so they leave the Lord out.
Bad mistake, bad mistake.
Draw near.
Come near unto me, I pray you.
Come on to me.
You're weary and heavy laden.
I will give you rest. That's good for salvation, but that's good for everyday life. Draw near unto God.
We have a little bit of time and I would like to go to Luke's Gospel chapter 3.
Connection or chapter 2. Luke chapter 2.
Make a few comments about the boyhood of the Lord Jesus Christ in connection with this subject.
Luke chapter 2.
We read in verse 21 and when 8 days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus.
Verse 22 And when the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. This is in the first month of his life.
And uh, verse 27, he came by the Spirit, and this is Simon into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him, after the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God.
Now down to verse 39. And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth.
Verse 40.
This tells us all we are going to know about his life from one year old. Well, we know he was taken down into Egypt and so on, but from Luke's account, this is all that we're told from the time he's one month old or so until he's 12 years old. But time has passed the 1St 12 years of his life and here's what we read about him. The child grew and waxed strong in spirit.
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Filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon him. How many children in your life have you ever heard about or read about that would have been characterized this way from their age of one month to 12 years?
He waxed strong in spirit. He's told, we're told about him as a child. We're not in the verses which follow, we'll see, we see something of him being the Son of God. But here in this little passage, it's connected with him as a child growing up. And it says the child waxed strong in spirit. The spirit is that part of us which connects us with God. And as this little child grew, the number one thing that is important in a child's development.
Is the Spirit.
That is that part of the child in their relationship with God.
Parents can provide all kinds of things for the soul and the body.
And they're important in their place. But don't neglect the Spirit.
And the development of of its growth and its relationship with the Lord God.
This child waxed strong in spirit, something else you don't think of as a child filled with wisdom.
How many kids between 1:00 and 12:00 would you say? Boy, that child is full of wisdom.
Pretty rare, right? Maybe not at all.
But God records of this child that he was full of wisdom.
Where does wisdom come from? What this proverbs tell us? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The knowledge of the Holy is understanding. Here was a child who was growing in that relationship as a man.
Or the relationship of a person with their God.
And even.
By 12 one can be in scriptural sense of that wisdom.
Again, I say the child isn't perhaps in control of a lot of that, but their parents here that are starting to raise children and so on.
They can, you can present God in His right way and place to their soul, to their heart, but most of all even to the Spirit and see a development of a child.
The wisdom to make right choices based on the right relationship and the right importance.
Can be made young.
And the grace of God was upon him.
Wonderful. Isn't it good to have a child and have the confidence that the grace of God is at work for them?
Don't have time to say more, but let's just go down and.
They leave the city after the yearly trip to Jerusalem for the Passover and I suppose Feast of Unleavened Bread, which was included in it, and they go home and he's, they miss him. And we've heard much about that at times past, I'm sure. So the parents come back looking for him.
And uh, verse 47 and all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. He doesn't get out of his place. He asks questions he didn't want to hear what didn't want to he would not have is a perfect person said here, listen to me. I know more than you do. How would you know if I didn't tell you here? I want you to know this, that and the other. No, you ask questions. Uh, and yet his own wisdom that he had developed, developed in him by God.
Umm, he must have been asked questions that he answered, but he had understanding. The knowledge of the Holy is understanding.
God had his perfect and right place.
We read in the Old Testament there's not time to turn to it, but he waketh morning by morning to hear with the ear.
The learns, that is. I'm sure every morning of his life, the Lord Jesus isn't where he woke up with a hearing ear.
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To listen to the voice, he didn't need correction as we do, but he listened to the voice.
That was given to him. He trusted what was said. He drew near unto his God.
And there was blessing as a result of it.
The answers which does show his deity in verse 49 wish ye not that I must be about my father's business. I would just comment that while he's presented to us as a perfect person, a perfect child growing up.
He always was, and always conscious too that he was Son of God.
He couldn't be less than he was, and he knew. And here.
He was growing into that place that.
His father's business needed to be attended to, but he keeps relationships in their perfect order. His parents had a claim over him as his parents as he was still a child, and he submits to that. He doesn't cause a conflict over it. He doesn't say, well, I think I ought to be doing this instead of what you tell me to do, that he keeps the relationships properly ordered and submits to his parents. And we don't hear of him again until he's almost in the approximately 30 years of age.
Accepting in verse 52, Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
Right choices produce growth.
And they were amazed at his the wisdom and understanding that he had as a child. But it continued to grow.
As a man, as he became older, he increased in wisdom. He grew up. Dear young people, you ought to be growing.
But again I say.
If you don't obey his voice, it'll stunt your growth.
If you don't listen to correction.
It'll stunt your growth spiritually if you don't trust the Lord.
We'll stunt your growth or ruin your life.
And if you don't draw near to God, you won't be able to follow Him.
Is he would want and as you would want. So let's all seek.
To listen and obey.
Not be rebellious to correction.
Trust in the Lord and.
And draw near to him.