Materialism

Open—R. Thonney
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Go along with what our brethren have been saying, I'd like to read.
A verse in Second Timothy chapter one.
That I think goes along with it.
And verse.
7.
Or God has not given us the spirit of fear.
But of power?
And of love.
And of a sound mind.
It's true. There's a lot of fear in today's world.
And if you do not have your faith in the Lord Jesus, you have reason to be afraid.
You really do.
But.
God has not given us that kind of a spirit. I find this so challenging and wonderful to think about.
You know, David.
Was one who could.
Stand before Goliath and I am amazed.
At the confidence.
You know, in Proverbs it says. I think it's chapter 14 and verse 26.
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence.
And his children shall have a place of refuge.
Think of Goliath.
About 10 feet tall.
Huge giant of a man, all covered with armor.
And even had an armor bearer out front of him.
To protect.
Him.
And David said to Saul, fear not, I will go against this giant. And Saul says you can't, you're just a youth.
But he says, I was with my father's sheep in the wilderness, and there came a lion and a bear and took the flock and I went after it. It's interesting.
He says.
When he was attacking those animals, the lion, he says. I caught him by the beard. As far as I know, there's only one lion that has a beard. It's the African lion. Can you imagine a youth? And he did that when nobody else was watching.
What gave him such confidence? Again, that verse in the fear of the Lord is strong confidence, brethren.
Let's learn to fear the Lord.
To not displease him in any way. And that will be the secret of not letting fear dominate our lives. So David goes out.
Our Saul puts his armor on him.
David says I can't use this. I haven't proved it.
And he leaves Saul's armor in a heap there. And what does he take? He take what he took, what he knew he could count on.
The armor that he had proved.
His sling and stones, and the shepherd's staff.
And he goes out.
And I think the Goliath was probably kind of insulted. They're sending this shepherd boy against me, he says. In my dog. You send me this.
And David says to him, I love this, because Goliath had said, come, I'll give your body to the birds of the field, and the fowls, the beast, the field and the fowls of the air.
David says You come to me with a sword and a spear. I come to you in the name of the Lord, the God of the armies of Israel which you have defied.
And it's interesting to read the account. I just never get tired of reading. It says. When Goliath started coming towards him, David ran towards the giant. You know, I think if it was me, I would have stopped, step back a little bit and took my shots from back there aways. Not David. There was such confidence. He ran toward the giant, put his hand into the bag, took out a stone, put it in the sling.
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You know, they use slings like that down in Bolivia where we used to live. And I'm amazed the the ones that go around and around like this and and they get expert marksmanship with those stones. It's it's amazing. And David must have had that, but he got Goliath right in the head and he won To David, it wasn't a matter of David versus Goliath. It was a matter of God versus Goliath. And so he knew how it was going to end before it even started.
Brethren, that's the secret. It's not a matter of you against the difficulty.
It's a matter of God.
How big is your God, anyhow? Is he bigger than the difficulties or is he smaller than the difficulties? When you find a God that is smaller than the difficulties, you're going to get fearful. That's true.
But when you realize how great our God is.
Then that disarms all the fear that there is.
I did have on my heart brethren here in Timothy, going back to the 6th chapter, First Timothy.
A subject that I wanted to present.
It's an expression that I find you find here in First Timothy. I don't know that you find it in any other place, but let me read the two verses. The first one is applied to Timothy.
And.
It's in.
Verse 12 I'll read from verse 11.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things and follow.
After righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
Fight the good fight of faith.
Lay hold on eternal life.
Whereunto thou art also called, and has professed a good profession before many Witnesses.
That expression lay hold on eternal life.
What does that mean? Didn't Timothy have eternal life?
What does that mean? Lay hold on eternal life?
Notice a little bit further on verse 17.
Charge them that are rich in this world that they be.
Not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches.
But in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.
That they do good.
That they be rich in good works.
Ready to distribute?
Willing to communicate.
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come.
That they may hold, lay hold on eternal life. There it is again.
Here it's not in connection with.
Timothy, it's those that are rich in this world. Who is he talking about? You know, when we talk about the rich in this world, we always look at somebody else that's a lot more wealthy than us, and we said it must apply to them.
With this chapter, evidently we're going through it in a reading meeting somewhere.
And that question came up Who are the rich in this world?
And the answer I found quite interesting.
Whoever answered it gave the.
Answer here in the earlier verses it says.
But godliness verse 6 and with contentment.
Is great gain.
Verse 8.
Having food and raiment.
Let us be therewith content.
The answer was given if we have more than food and raiment, that word raiment really is covering. Mr. Mr. Kelly and his exposition says that could include a roof too.
But he says having more than that makes us the rich in this world.
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I think we pretty well all fit into that category, brethren.
And to me, it's a challenge then to take it to heart ourselves.
We are the rich in this world.
What does it mean to lay hold on eternal life? Don't we have eternal life?
Yes, we do have it.
But what it means to lay hold of it?
Is not exactly the same. It means live it.
And I do believe, brethren, I have been challenged in my own soul.
We see our dear brethren in other parts of the world.
We've been hearing about the persecution in India.
In northern Nigeria, there's.
Quite a warfare going on there.
And Muslim radicals are going into villages and burning them and killing the Christians.
They're not gathered to the Lord's name that I'm aware of.
But they're believers. They are members of the body of Christ.
Is that something that I can do something about?
Brethren, I believe that there is something we need to be exercised about.
Perhaps more than we are.
To do what we can.
Maybe you say. I don't. I can't really do that much. But are you doing what you can?
And to me this is what it means to lay hold on eternal life. We tend to be occupied with material things.
Material things.
Are passing.
And as we were talking earlier in the Reading meeting.
One of these moments, brethren, We're going to hear the shout. Or can they hear the sound of that trumpet?
And we're going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
Everything we have occupied ourselves so much with is going to stay here and we're going to go into that eternal glory.
Have we lived in view of that day?
I must say I have been challenged in my own soul by.
Those that have lived for the Lord in their measure. I don't like to make people too much the focus, but I must say there are those who have lived in view of that day.
Some of you remember.
The Missionary.
One of the five missionaries that were killed in Ecuador.
A number of years ago.
Jim Elliot. Yeah. Thank you.
My memory for names is not very good anymore.
But I remember one time when I worked at Bible Truth Publishers in Oak Park, Jim Elliott's father came into the Bible Truth Publishers because Bonnie was Degraff used to work there, and he had known her in earlier years.
So he came in and I got to know Jim Elliot's father.
But Jim Elliot made this statement that it was always a challenge to me.
Here it is. Listen to it carefully.
He is no fool.
Who lived? Who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose?
That is really something to think about. He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
You know, Paul spoke of his deposit and there is a deposit we are depositing in that for that day.
And I must say it's a challenge to me to live for that day. Yes, we need to provide for our families. I don't say we don't.
But, brethren, our focus is not here. Our focus is on that eternal glory.
And the Apostle Paul.
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Could say in two Timothy. I am not ashamed. He had lost everything. He was waiting in the prison for them to take him out and cut his head off.
And he says to Timothy, don't be ashamed.
I am not ashamed, but I am persuaded that he is able to keep my deposit for that day.
Brethren, our religion living for that day.
Or reliving for the brief.
Material.
Things of this life. Yes, we have to occupy ourselves with material things to a certain extent, but they are only a means to the end of living for that day. And that's what it means to lay hold on eternal life. You've got it, but lay hold of it, live it.
Let's say another.
Person that was a great.
Blessing to my Own Soul to as dear brother Eric Smith.
How many here knew Eric Smith? You want to raise your hand?
Yeah, not half of the amount anymore. And know of him.
But you know, when I came to work at Bible Truth Publishers, I took the place of of.
Francis, who was his third wife.
His first two wives he buried in Bolivia.
And Francis was his third wife. And he.
After he married her in 1962, why he went to Bolivia.
And I came later on that year to take her place.
And after about a year and a half, he came back because she had gotten cancer of the intestines and had to have several operations. And so Eric Smith was stuck here, and of course he was talking about Bolivia. And so you know why?
We ended up going to Bolivia.
But he told me the story of his life and I must say it was impressive. He came from a wealthy family in New Zealand.
And his father was not a believer at the first of his Christian life. Some of his brothers, I think, were influential in leading Eric to the Lord.
And so, in the course of time, Eric Smith decided he was going to go to Bolivia to preach the gospel.
And he told his father, who was still an unbeliever. Later on, he did become a believer.
But he is still an unbeliever, and Eric Smith's father said son. He wanted all his sons to get good jobs, to make good money, to be accommodated down here in this world.
And so he said to Eric. He says, son, if that is your decision, get out of my house. You have no longer any place here. Get out.
And so he had to get out and make his own way. He went to two years of medical school.
And that's why in Bolivia they call him Doctor Smith.
Anyhow, he went to Bolivia.
And quite a few years after he went.
It was my privilege to go with him, with Eric Smith, Eric Smith and Ramon Alarcon of Mexico and Clem Buchanan and Doug Buchanan. The five of us went to Peru and then to Bolivia.
And we.
I one day taking a truck because they.
There's not a lot of buses at that time down there. We took a truck in Eric Smith and Ramon Alicon, rode up in the cab with the driver in the truck, and Clem Buchanan and Doug Buchanan and I stood in the back with the rest of the brethren.
Jostling over those rough roads down the riverbed to where Eric Smith started his work amongst the Indians a number of years earlier.
And at the end of the day, here comes this group of brethren standing in the form of an ark around the road and singing hymns as we came to a stop right in front of them and they were singing. And I looked through a little cubby hole in the front of the chassis of the truck. You can see into the cab and there is Eric Smith.
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His head down, tears streaming down his face. The joy.
That he had in seeing those people one for the Lord because of his sacrifice.
And I still remember the challenge came to my own soul at that time.
And I said to the Lord, please, Lord, please.
Help me not to be deceived by the material things of life.
Please help me to use all my efforts to that which will last forever and that eternal glory.
And it was my privilege before Egg Smith went to be with the Lord. He lived.
To almost. He died two days short of being 103 years old.
Up in Montreal, Canada and I went to visit him a few days before and he could no longer speak.
He is sitting in his wheelchair and I greeted him in the Quechua language.
Himanayaka Shankar Manum and.
All he did was nod his head a little bit. I knew that he understood me.
And it was several days after he went into the Lord's priest.
Do you think he was sorry for the sacrifice he made?
He had relatively not much at all at the end of his life, materially speaking.
But he had what will last for all eternity.
The Lord help us, brethren, and I think this is what it means to lay hold on eternal life.
There's a lot of things that can be done. There's parts of the world where brethren believers are pleading for Bibles. There's not enough to meet the demand.
I understand in China that.
There are people that borrow a Bible and they pass it around from one to another and copy out.
Parts of the Bible so that they can have it in their own possession.
And here we have. I would not want to tell you how many Bibles I have in my own house.
And they don't have enough to go around.
Is there something we can do about that? I do believe, brethren, we need to be exercised about how we are using our means so often. We.
We use our means for our own pleasure and our own good and that is what is tearing down the Christian testimony. I often felt that what is the greatest detriment to the Christian testimony is the spirit of self pleasing. That is not the Spirit of Christ, it's the Spirit of Christ. Was self sacrifice. When the Lord Jesus was here in this world, what did he have materially speaking?
You know, it convicts me.
All the things that I think of that he could have had, but.
He only had the clothes on his back.
He never had a lack when it came to meeting somebody else's need, but when it was for his own pleasure, his own necessity, he never acted for that brethren.
May the Lord help us, Lord brethren, to live in view of that eternal day we.
We are so involved. I have to confess, brethren, I don't want you to think I'm an example here, but I have to confess how much I do for my own pleasure. It's just built into our culture. It's a strong stream that runs through American life.
And were affected by it. And I find for myself, I have to say the best thing I can do is to recognize the problem and confess it to the Lord and ask him to help me to deal with it properly.
The Lord help us to know what it means to lay hold on eternal life. He tells that to Timothy first of all, and then he tells it to the rich in the world.
This is a challenge that I find.
Very strong in Scripture, and so you find even the Apostle Paul.
The end of his life? He had lost everything. Was he ashamed?
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That he ended up his life that way, Not for one minute.
And brethren.
Our desire should be so that that moment comes when we go into His presence. We go as those that have laid hold on eternal life.