Montreal Conference: 2009
Table of Contents
John 16:1-15
Follow Thou Me
Address—Don Rule
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We'll start by singing #100.
And 32132 The person of the Christ unfolding, every grace, once slain but now alive again in heaven, demands our praise. Someone started.
Young people.
On behalf of all of us who've noticed it, and I'm sure there have been quite a number of us and appreciated it.
Thank you for being here.
You're more of an encouragement that you know by your very presence here this weekend.
And on behalf of whoever else feels it like I do, I want to say for them, thank you very much, we appreciate it. Let's pray.
Turn with me to a verse in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 4.
Or several verses.
Matthew, Chapter 4.
Verse 17.
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. And Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea. For they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their Nets.
And followed him. Now turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 21.
Convert John 2121.
Peter, seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, And what shall this man do?
Jesus saith unto him, If I will, that he tarry till I come.
What is that to thee? Follow thou me.
On our way up here we were coming across 407 across the top of Toronto and I looked out on the left hand side of the car and I saw a sign and as best I remembered it said this.
Your eternity is on the left.
Well, that was enough to catch my attention sufficiently so that as the car drove or I drove past that point, I looked back at the sign and on the other side of it it said your eternity is on the right.
I didn't pay much attention to the small print, but I think the small print was advertising a cemetery.
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Your eternity, young people, is straight ahead.
Neither on the left nor is it on the right.
Traveled on down the road, stopped at a service Plaza.
And at the service Plaza.
I was going out with Grace, my wife, and there was a lady who came through the door and, uh, immediately following her, I think it was her son. And he came through the door after her and when he saw us, he backed up, went back to the door and opened it up for us to go out.
And I said thank you to him. And we went on toward our car. But as we were going toward our car, I wished, like a lot of times we do, thought came to my mind it was too late to do anything about it. But I would have liked to have said to that young man, young man, your credit to your mother.
Several hours later, we stopped at another service Plaza.
And we went in.
And then our business, and as we came out, a man in his 50s was there at the door, and he opened the door and I said to him, Sir, your credit to your mother. You looked a little surprised.
But he had a good answer. He said to me, smile. And he said, well, I think it's more credit to my wife.
Dear young people, it's the desire of the Lord Jesus, the desire of God.
That when you straight ahead leave this world and go into eternity.
There could be beside your name.
I don't wanna say tombstone. We look for the Lord to come. Death is not in itself our expectation.
But it'd be wonderful if it's can be said beside your name.
She followed the Lord.
Or he followed the Lord.
Better than he or she Put your name in there.
I'd be quite satisfied if that could be said of me, the only words of my whole life.
Don followed the Lord.
Can you put your name in there? Is that a desire this afternoon that is presently in your heart?
We're going to look at the life of Peter as a follower of the Lord.
And learn, I trust, or at least remind ourselves that we already know them, some lessons that are necessary for us as those who want, as young people particularly, but as we were older too, to follow the Lord.
Turn with me to Luke's gospel.
You know, before you can follow the Lord, you've got to come to the Lord. And I believe here in Luke's Gospel chapter 5, we have what properly could be called Peter's conversion. This is where Peter.
Gets converted where he becomes a follower in his life of the Lord Jesus.
Luke chapter 5, verse one. And it came to pass, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, that he stood by the lake of Genesis, and he saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their Nets. And he entered into one of the ships which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking.
He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your Nets for a draught. And Simon 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 when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes in their net break, and they beckoned under their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them.
And they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sink. When Peter, Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus feet saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord, For he was astonished.
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And all that were with him at the draught of the fishes which had been taken. And so also was James and John the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
We won't look at all the places, and perhaps it could be looked at a little bit differently by someone else, but.
We know the Lord Jesus was raised in a little town called Nazareth. He grew up there. That's where he was raised. That's where he became, learned the trade of his father of a Carpenter and became a Carpenter.
But later, before or at about the time that he was going to go into his public service and that God had given to him, at about 30 years of age, he moves to a town on the North Shore of the Sea of Galilee called Capernaum. We also know that Peter and his brother were from the town of Bethesda, which is a couple of miles farther along the same shoreline.
And the Lord Jesus living in Capernaum on several instances, obviously.
Peter makes his acquaintance. He becomes to know who he is.
And in fact, it would seem from John's gospel that Peter's brother Andrew is the one that first.
Takes Peter to meet the Lord Jesus and the Lord looks at Peter and he says something to Peter that I am confident Peter had no idea what he meant.
But the Lord looks at him, and he tells him something about his own future.
But Peter still.
In this particular little account that we read here, when they when the Lord says to Peter, I want to use your boat, that's OK, He knew him and they go out on the lake.
And Peter was a fisherman. He knew fish. Lord had been a Carpenter, he knew wood. But Peter looks at him and the Lord says, after the use of the boat, let down your net.
Peter says to him, Master.
The word Master indicates that he recognized that he had perhaps heard the Lord Jesus preached about the work of repentance, and he recognized in him some authority.
And I respected it.
And did as he was told.
A lot of you young people have been brought up in Christian homes. Not all of you have perhaps, but from the time you were a child, you've learned something about the Lord Jesus. And perhaps you've learned enough that in similar language you wouldn't use the word, but you were able to say about a master, somebody who has authority, somebody that you perhaps respect in your life, someone that you might even.
Do something if asked.
If he were present here this afternoon.
But Peter's heart.
Wasn't tuned up with the Lord at this moment.
He says, OK, I'll do it, and he lets down his net and the number of fish that was caught sufficient to break the net and so on. And Peter, at that point, if I could use this expression, the light bulb turns on in him and he sees himself.
For what he is, or at least he starts to see himself. For what he is, he sees himself enough.
That he takes his place before the Lord, and he says.
I'm a sinful man. I'm a sinful man.
That's the starting point of a relationship. You cannot follow the Lord Jesus. The Lord doesn't ask you to follow Him.
Up to this point in time, the Lord Jesus had not asked Peter to follow him.
There was nothing in Peter that the Lord could use.
And there was no basis for a relationship between the Lord and Peter until Peter comes to this point in his life where he says I am a sinful man.
Dear young people, there's no way to God. There's no way to the Lord Jesus.
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Until you have come and acknowledged.
Your own sinfulness.
There's only one way to salvation. There may be many ways to repentance, but Peter here is expressing his own acknowledgement of himself and is before the Lord. And in fact, it's a wonderful way. It works sometimes he says, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. Oh, Lord, that is, he felt unworthy. He was unworthy. It's not wrong that he felt that he wasn't worthy, and he felt it. And he says depart from me. I am a sinful man.
But he didn't go away.
It didn't go away. He was a sinful man, but the Lord Jesus expression of the love of God. And this is how God works. He drew his heart. God is here this afternoon by the Word to draw your heart. He loves you and He wants to draw your heart to Himself.
He's wanted to do it since before he ever created the world. And so Peter says depart from me, for I'm a sinful man, O Lord and.
He was astonished, he saw this miracle to his eyes. He knew fishing, and the Lord steps into his life.
I trust, I hope we're not going to talk more about it, that the Lord Jesus has come into your life and you can sit in your seat this afternoon with the joy of saying I'm a sinful man that the Lord saved.
And I'm trust that you know the way of salvation.
And so here it is with Peter.
As we had in the map, the account in Matthew, Lord Peachtree preaches repentance.
Then we see Peter.
Here, who repents?
And the next step, if you will, in the life is He comes to the Lord.
And the Lord gives him now the first instruction of his Christian life. Follow me.
That's the first thing after salvation.
When the Lord Jesus chose his disciples, it says that they might be with Him. That's the first thing they might be with him. That's the first thing the Lord wants in your life. He wants you with Him.
To go through life together.
Follow.
Thou me.
Follow me.
Those words, hard to understand. You know, sometimes young people we say, and I'm very conscious of it this afternoon, to seek before the Lord, not to say something that'll go over the head.
But I challenge you.
Are those words difficult to understand as you sit in your seat? Follow me.
I don't think you can honestly object to them being difficult to understand.
Follow.
Me and so the Lord Jesus, I said to the Lord Jesus, I wish he came.
And stood here this afternoon so that you had the sense directly in your heart from himself that he was saying to you, not me. You might look at me and think, I want to say it to you. I'm not asking you to follow me. I'm not telling you to follow the Lord either. I'm standing here As for the Lord Jesus who says to your heart this afternoon, follow me.
Follow.
Me. I hope you can't get those words out of your soul.
You know, we come to have meetings like this for all kinds of reasons.
Whether we're young or whether we're old, some of them are good and some of them not so good sometimes.
I thought one of them I remember try to remember your age and wanting to speak to you.
When I was your age, sometimes some of us that were young people, we came to see and be seen.
We came to see and be seen.
We were very conscious, more conscious of who else of our own age group was there than we were of what was taking place in the meetings.
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And there is a place for that.
This is where a lot of us have found our wives or our husbands found for us.
But the Lord wants to talk to us too.
And I believe the Lord wants each one of us.
To respond to his own heart when he says follow me.
If we are with the Lord Jesus and we follow Him, then yes, He has things for us to do in life.
He says to Peter, I'll make you a Fisher of men.
And Peter became a Fisher of men.
But in that process, Peter, I don't know how old Peter was. The Lord is about 30 years old. I'm going to let him be still a young person or nearly a young person at that age. First afternoon's purposes.
And I would guess that Peter was a contemporary of the Lord. He was somewhat of the same age bracket, maybe a little younger.
And we're gonna look at a few incidents now in the life of Peter that take place over a period of 3 1/2 years.
And I just want to say to you, I'm impressed with Peter at how well he learned so much, so many lessons in his life in a short period, at least to me, a short period now of 3 1/2 years. You know, you can learn a lot in a short period of time if you're serious about it, if your heart is right and you've got a lot to learn, you've got a lot to learn.
The world, usually.
Willing to for about 12 years.
Pay to have us learn some stuff.
And then beyond that, some of us may go on and spend a few more years paying to learn some more.
And then the expectation is that we've learned enough to go out and as the world says, we say earn a living.
With God it takes a lot longer.
For most of us.
Sometimes I hear the statement made and I thought about it today or last night or something. The statement, uh, we in God's school, we, it goes all the way through life.
We don't graduate until we come into eternity.
But today I think it was God corrected my thought.
God says no.
I have so much to teach you that eternity won't be long enough.
I've got so much to teach you about my son the Lord Jesus Christ that I'll be.
Teaching you forever.
You're just a little vessel and, uh, it takes a long time sometimes, but this is lessons for life that Peter is learning and I'd like to turn over for the first lesson, if you will. I hear people talk about teaching moments. I'm not sure what those words mean. They're not of my generation, but I'm going to tell these teaching experiences.
Uh, turn with me and we don't have time to look at a lot of the experiences, but.
I'd like to look at a few of them that are given to us in Matthew's Gospel, and the first one we'll look at is found in, uh, Matthew chapter. I think it's 14.
This is a teaching experience that Peter, a follower of the Lord Jesus, needed to go through, and so do you. Or maybe you've been through it, I don't know. I find it's one that you're going to have to learn over and over again. Some things the Lord teaches us, we have to go over and over and over the lesson.
So here Peter in chapter 14.
Uh, it says in verse.
19 Or BR verse 18 He said, Bring them, hit her to me. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to have any blast and break, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled, and they took up of the fragments that remained 12 baskets full. And they that had eaten were about 5000 men beside women and children.
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Fantastic experience, right? You would have liked to have been there, right? You would have been awed, right?
Imagine it. It's not hard to imagine. Here's 5000 men plus women and children on a hillside, I think, overlooking the lake of Sea of Galilee. And there's two.
Little fish and five loaves of bread not to put in a lunch sack.
And the Lord Jesus tells them to put them down and put the people down in orderly fashion, and he gives thanks for the food and gives it to them, and they start to hand it out and the the miracle takes place.
Now I think, quite rightly, that if we had been there we would have said the Lord is awesome.
You can trust him, he can do anything.
Right. Well, he is awesome. You can trust him, you can do anything.
But that isn't the full picture.
The Lord knows the heart, and He knows what's necessary and so.
As soon as this is over.
He says verse 22, and straightway that means immediately. Immediately Jesus constrains disciples to get into a boat to go before Him under the other side, while he sends the multitudes away. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray, and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves, for the wind was contrary.
And in the 4th watch of the night, Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
They were troubled, saying, It is a spirit, and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer is I be not afraid? And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come.
And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink. He cried, saying, Lord, save me.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou a little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
The Lord sent Peter and the others out to learn a lesson.
He knew what was necessary. He knows what's necessary for you. You're here at the conference this weekend and you may enjoy it immensely. I hope you do.
And the Lord may show certain things to you in your heart and life this weekend, young people.
But he may also see the need soon as Monday or Tuesday comes.
Put you in a little boat. He may send you in a little boat.
You may not be aware of it quite as definitely in this way as the disciples were.
But the Lord Jesus controls the circumstances of your life.
And he knows how to put you in a little boat.
And send you out in the dark at night.
And make the wind boisterous.
He does that because he loves you.
And he wants you to be a Fisher of men.
But you have to learn to follow first.
Probably spend the whole time on this one little incident, but I just want to pick out for you a couple of thoughts.
Uh.
You need to learn to walk on water.
You need to learn to walk on water.
The life of the believer.
Is a life that has to be lived by faith.
And you will find in the path of life that there are times in life that nature, that is your natural self and what you can provide and do for yourself is not enough.
We all recognize that we weren't made physically to walk on water.
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And I don't suppose that any of us that are present here will physically walk on water as Peter did.
But Peter was learning that he needed to trust in the Lord and have his eye on the Lord to sustain him where faith, where nature could not go.
He wanted to learn. I hope you want to learn, he says to the Lord. Command me.
Come down out of this boat.
And the Lord says, come down.
You wanna walk with the Lord, the Lord's gonna take you through it and you are gonna have to get out of the boat.
And walk in faith.
And be sustained by himself.
And while it doesn't have to happen, I dare say you'll see the boisterous wind and you'll start to sink.
And the Lord will look at you. You'll say, not real calmly, Lord, save me.
And he will, He will, He will not let you sink.
Positive. Absolute. He will not let you sink.
And I dare say, if your desire of your heart is to follow the Lord, and you say, Lord, if it's you let me get down out of the boat, he will say, come.
And you will go.
And you will learn.
And so he did.
Turn over to Chapter 16.
Verse five And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread. Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye a little faith, why reason ye among yourselves because ye have brought no bread? Do you not understand? Neither remember the five loaves of the 5000, and how many baskets you took up.
Neither the seven loaves of the 4000 and how many baskets you took up. How is it that you do not understand?
That I spake.
It is not to you concerning bread, but that you should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Then understood they how that he bade them not to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Another teaching experience for Peter as a follower of the Lord Jesus.
The moment you leave the ground of faith in your relationship to the Lord Jesus.
You will reason.
The moment faith isn't at work in you in your relationship with the Lord Jesus.
You will reason.
The Lord said beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Is that hard to understand?
Maybe some of the details a little bit.
But when he said Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, you think he was talking about physical bread?
I doubt you do.
Why did they start to think about physical breath?
Why did they reason among themselves?
Because there was something in them that was hindering them.
They thought of their own failing. They forgot to take bread, or at least they looked at it as a failing, and they had forgotten to do something. So immediately what was in them and the state of what was going on in their own hearts is there and present when the Lord wants to say something to them.
And instead of accepting it in simplicity for themselves, they reason about it.
And the Lord has to deal with them, and the Lord is able to communicate with them.
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Perfectly and they.
Say, oh, he's talking about the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees, and they get it.
Is there something this afternoon that causes you to reason about what's being said to you?
When the Lord says follow me, is that hard to understand? I'm going to emphasize that.
I don't think so.
But maybe you start in your soul to reason about it.
Well, I'd like to follow the Lord, but that's reasoning.
I do follow the Lord but.
And so on.
Stop yourself.
Then you're following the Lord when it leaves simplicity, when you can't just deal with it simply.
Because reason is coming in.
And that takes you off the proper ground of your relationship with following the Lord.
Follow the Lord with simplicity.
Peter was learning to do that. He was learning to follow the Lord in simplicity.
In faith.
You will find that in almost everyone of the teaching experiences in the life of Peter is recorded in the Gospels. Something of faith or unbelief is found in the experience.
And I want to elaborate on that for a few moments.
The root failure of mankind is springs from unbelief.
In the Garden of Eden, doubt.
With Satan at work behind it resulted in unbelief.
Which resulted in disobedience.
And ever since that moment, God has been working with mankind on the issue of belief and unbelief.
To talk about the for a moment, what we had in the end of the Bible reading this morning of the Holy Spirit coming into the world, it says the very first thing He shall convince the world of sin because they do not believe on me.
The ultimate test of whether there was any natural faith in man toward God left.
Was would man believe in the perfect expression of one worthy of belief?
His son.
And when the world turns in unbelief from the Son of God, the perfect.
Expression of one worthy of belief as a man in this world.
It's the end, absolute end, before God, of the whole creation.
And God has to work in a new creation, and so he gives us life, eternal life.
And we believe by faith and the work of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. But because they're still in us, that natural heart, much of the life of following the Lord Jesus is the life of learning to trust.
In simplicity.
And what God says and in the Lord Jesus that we follow. Dear young people, if you're left here.
I can, I think, guarantee you you'll have some experience to teach you trust.
Peter went through multiple experiences. He didn't know his own heart.
Had to learn to trust and it seems in one instance, well, we'll come to it if we have time. Let's keep going.
Here in the 16th chapter.
And uh.
Verse 12.
He they understood how he bade them not to beware of the leaven of the bread, but of the doctrine of the scribes and Pharisees. When Jesus came into the coast accessory of Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man AM? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias and others Jeremias are one of the prophets. He saith unto them, By whom do you say that I am? Dear young person? Who do you say he is? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
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Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.
But my father, which is in heaven, And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church in the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Keep your finger here.
I want you to turn over with me to Second Chronicles chapter 4.
2nd Tyrannical Sorry, Chapter 3. Second Chronicles, Chapter 3.
Then Solomon began to build the House of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornam, the Jebusite Umm.
Verse three. Now these are the things where in Solomon was instructed for the building of the House of God. The length of the cubits after the first measure were three score cubits in the breadth 20 cubits. And verse umm. 8 And he made the most holy house that length, whereof was according to the breadth of the house, 20 cubits, and so on, and umm.
Verse 17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left, and he called the name of that on the right hand Jacob, and on the left Boaz.
What do you want to? What do you do when you want to talk to God? What do you call it?
We call it prayer.
What do you do when you want God to talk to you?
You know what it is to talk to God. What do you do when you want God to talk to you?
You'll open up the word, and you say, speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.
This is one of the most important ways that God is using today to speak to you.
Every day we need to talk to God and we need God to talk to us.
What I just read to you happens to be.
Where God speaking to me in my morning reading.
What did he have to say today?
Every one of us has to have a foundation to our lives.
Peter's confession in Matthew 16.
Was a confession as to who the Lord Jesus was, that the Lord said on this rock I will build.
You have to have a foundation on which your life is built.
And that foundation is the rock, which is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the solid foundation of your life. You have no other.
On that foundation is built a house for God.
And, well, in some places, it's a collective view of it. This afternoon I'm going to use it in a personal way.
As it God has, I believe, brought it before my soul this morning.
Your heart is a temple, a dwelling place for God to live.
And in that temple.
He wants to put treasure for himself.
You're pretty important person.
You are a temple.
Built on the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In which God wants to keep treasure.
That's where God kept his treasures, isn't it?
In the Old Testament, that was the temple.
And David put what he gave, and it was placed there. Solomon put what he gave, and it was placed there.
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Eternity is ahead of you and when you enter the presence of God.
God is that we're going to have.
Treasure.
Yourself.
And what he's put in you.
Every little bit of the Lord Jesus Christ and His loveliness that resides in your heart is a treasure.
To God.
Every little appreciation and response in you that is carried in your heart is treasure to God.
And at the door of your heart.
Or two pillars.
Jacon and Boaz.
And your margin?
If you happen to have a merchant Jake and Mains, he shall establish.
And Boaz, it is strength.
At the door of your heart, God says, I'll establish, I'll keep.
And I'm the strength too.
Of it, of that treasure.
You have an important journey.
To make.
Through life.
And when the journey is over?
You know, we talked about the world, Hezekiah. When some people from the world came, he opened up the treasure house.
And he showed it, and he lost it.
You can't show the world your treasure that way. It will take it from you if it can. We don't have time to go there. But back to our chapter.
Matthew 16.
God gives to Peter this wonderful truth of a revelation that never man had ever known before him. Be a follower of the Lord Jesus and.
God will open his treasure house so he can put some of it in you, so that you can enjoy it with him. And so God opened up his treasure house, if you will, and put this in the heart of Peter and the thoughts of Peter, and he says it and he enjoys it.
And he says, Peter, this rock will last for eternity.
Speaking of the church, it'll last for eternity. Nothing is going to rob it.
It's on a solid foundation that will go on. Satan can't, the gates of hell won't prevail against it, and so on.
Wonderful, tremendous truth. Now what happens immediately after he says verse 20. Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ seems almost strange, fantastic, wonderful statements. And now he immediately turns around and says, now don't tell anybody.
At least now.
Verse 21. From that time forth Jesus began to show unto his disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed.
And be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from the Lord, This shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offence unto me. For thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it. Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it so on.
Peter had another lesson to learn as a follower of the Lord Jesus, and it's a good lesson. It's one you've got to learn. I've got to learn. You can't escape it, really.
Peter had just gotten wonderful truth from God.
And he enjoyed it and others profited by it.
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But as it were.
Peter enjoyed the wonders of the truth of coming glory.
And when the Lord talked about present sacrifice and death, Peter says uh-huh, No, Lord, not that.
We delight to look forward to what's coming when we're in the presence of the Lord Jesus in heaven, when we reign with Him, when we are seen as His bride. These are wonderful truths.
But then the test is what about Tuesday?
What about Tuesday?
Peter thought about it and as it were, and he said, No, Lord.
I gonna be somebody when you reign, but.
I really don't want this.
Peter didn't recognize that unless the Lord Jesus died, none of it could happen.
That the future glory depended on the present.
Dear young person, when the Lord says, follow me.
He also has to say to you.
Follow me right into eternity, and there's this wonderful glory for you.
But on Tuesday, there's the cross. There's the denial of yourself.
Are you willing to follow the Lord Jesus with this?
Peter was after he learned his lesson. I trust you will be too, if you haven't already learned the lesson.
To follow the Lord Jesus required.
The giving up of self.
And all its aspirations as to this world.
Is it worth it? Are you willing?
It won't be from me.
But can you listen to the heart of the Lord Jesus? Follow me.
Lord says to you this afternoon, follow me.
Follow me.
I think we have time for one last lesson. Turn to the next chapter.
Verse chapter 17 verse one. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James and John his brother, and bringeth him up to a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them and his face to join us. The sun and his raiment was white as light.
And, umm.
Verse five. While he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my beloved son, whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him.
Verse 7 Jesus came and touched them and said, arise be not afraid.
Or should read verse six. When the disciples heard it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid.
And, uh, now down to.
Verse 15 A man with the child's in need comes and says, Lord, have mercy on my son, for he's a lunatic and sorvex for of times he followeth into the fire, and OFT into the water. And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Now we're back to faith again.
Jesus answered and said, Oh, faithless and perverse, He isn't talking to the world here. He's talking about his own followers, faithless and perverse generation. How long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you bring him hit her to me.
Verse 19 And the disciples come to Jesus apart and say, Why couldn't we cast him out? Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief. For I say unto you, that if you have faith of a grain of a mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to Yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing should be impossible to you. Just a couple of quick thoughts here.
The disciples see a vision of the tremendous.
Coming glory. And in the state in which they were in at that moment, instead of making them happy, it makes them afraid.
We can't enter in, in our souls into the immensity of whatever measure of the glory our souls enter into if we don't have the cross before us. And having taken place and now young people, we can enter into it as a as with unveiled faces. But if we really enter into it, if it really gets grips, our souls will recognize that it's in such a purity and such a brightness of light that other than the fact that we're redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, it would make us afraid.
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Make us afraid. It made the disciples afraid to see it when they didn't have the foundation of the cross, to understand, to recognize they were in the presence of holy, holy God.
But.
They're on this mountain and they see this beautiful revelation and they enter into it and appreciate it, and then they have to come down off the mountain and get back into the valley or the world.
And they made something that requires faith.
Can't handle it.
They fail.
We've been given immense revelation of truth, tremendous revelation of the truth of God.
Among us and in us. And we enjoy it too.
We love it, we love to be together and go over it.
But it's hard to walk.
In the everyday holding of it.
My faith.
And that's something to learn.
Most of us have learned it to shame.
But it's something we have to learn.
There wasn't. There was the Spirit of God. We talked about the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of God is greater than us than it is in the world. But the disciples through unbelief had not learned.
To walk by the power of the Spirit of God. And so while there was a power given to them to overcome, they couldn't overcome.
And the Lord says, oh please, when will you learn to trust?
The power of the Spirit of God is present in everyone of us. The shining of the coming glory is before our souls. But oh the need.
As the Lord might have to say to us, how long?
How long before you'll walk in true faith?
Well, you may see some of us that are older. You may see some of the consequences that have come upon all of us because of these things. The dear young people, I want to say one last thing to you.
The Lord Jesus at the beginning of the lessons of Peter's life, he said, follow me.
At the end of the recorded messages, 3 1/2 years later in Peter's life, he adds one word.
Follow thou me. It's an intensely individual thing that the Lord is asking of you. And he says, are you tempted to look at the other young people or your elders or somebody else and say, well, what about them?
My last comment to you from the Lord is the Lord says to you individually follow thou me.
That's great.
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Gospel 1
Gospel—Paul House
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Welcome everyone tonight and could we sing hymn #2 on our hymn sheets?
Hymn #2 Come tis Jesus gently calling ye with care and toil oppressed #2 Someone started, please.
Umm, humans and everything. Oh my God I understand. So I'm sorry it's not translation.
I'm pretty good in the name.
Oracle Color.
From the world's landmarks give you a little bit of time.
For those not familiar with.
A gospel meeting.
Typically, we begin.
By asking God to help us to.
Speak well.
Of His son Jesus Christ, and that each person here would.
Be able to understand the message of God's love for them.
So we'll begin with a little word of prayer to God and then open His word to.
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Go over a few things that he wants us to know.
Give thanks.
When I came in tonight, I was very interested in the invitation that had been passed out in the neighborhood.
And I'll just read a little bit of it because it was.
Encouragement to me.
The message to be presented has brought real satisfaction and profound happiness to millions of people, young and old.
It is addressed to you and should be of great concern to you. It comes from someone who wants the very best for you from God Himself, by way of His Son, Jesus Christ.
It's a message of renewal and of hope. Don't miss the opportunity. It could change your life. And then at the bottom is a wonderful verse and I'll read it. Jesus said come on to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Perhaps you weren't here this afternoon, but there was several meetings in this room through the day.
One of the meetings was particularly addressed to young people and Christians, people who had already accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
And the man who brought the message before us.
He uh.
Read some verses that gave the thought that the Lord Jesus wanted.
All the believers in himself.
To follow him and so he could say follow me.
And I was sitting thinking there in my seat.
About the responsibility that I have now.
The responsibility that I have.
To in some feeble way communicate to each person here that God loves you.
And this verse that I just read at the bottom of your the invitation that you received says, come unto me. So for those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus, we heard how the Lord Jesus said, follow me. But tonight this is a gospel meeting. It's a meeting when we have the opportunity.
To tell others the wonderful truth that we have learned.
Of how the Lord Jesus came into this world. The very Son of God became a man.
And how he died on the cross and gave his life, his blood flow down at Calvary's Hill. He died on a cross for me, for each person who will accept him as their own personal Savior. So tonight the Lord Jesus says, come on to me.
And I have the opportunity, the privilege to tell you that the Lord Jesus is saying that to you, to you tonight. Come on to me. He wants you. He wants you for His own.
Those of us.
Who are Christians here?
We've come to realize.
How wonderful the God who made you and who made me, He really is.
A God who loved me.
When I was so far from him, when I had no love for him, He loved me. You know, there's a verse that just amazes me. It says we love him because he first loved us. And I can remember a time in my life when I had no love for God.
Perhaps there's somebody here tonight and that's your condition. You have no love for God. Let me assure you, God loves you.
And I also want to say this.
As a Christian, as someone who loves the Lord Jesus Christ.
I got down on my knees and I owned my sinfulness before a holy God, and I stand here as someone that is no better than you.
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I'm a Sinner.
I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior. That's what makes me a Christian. I'm no better.
In fact.
I would share with you this thought.
Many years ago there was a dear man who came to our little Bible meeting where I live.
And he had this thought that he shared with me, with all of us that night.
And he said, you know.
He had to realize.
That he was the worst.
One of the worst.
And so God allowed him to be raised in a Christian home to make sure that he'd hear the gospel and to make sure that he gets saved.
You know, I take my place as one of the worst.
I know better, but I am saved by the goodness of the grace of God. I confessed my sin to Him. I ask for forgiveness. There was a day in my life when, by faith, I kneeled at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. I looked up and I saw those hands outstretched, those nails through those hands and through those feet.
I saw the blood flow down his side by the eye of my face.
I realized that he died for me.
I accepted Him as my Savior. I'm no better, but I've taken my place as a Sinner before God. I've come to the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness. I believe that His blood that He shed so long ago washed away every one of my sins and I'm so thankful.
I read in the invitation about the millions that have done the same.
You can do that tonight. You can see the Lord Jesus with His arms outstretched in love for you. You can believe that He died for you tonight, that His blood was shed for you, and that it washes away each one of your sins before a holy God.
And like me, you will be on your way to heaven.
You know there are so many people in this world and they have no idea where they're going when they leave. Do you? Do you know where you will be when you leave this world?
Do you know anyone? This may sound goofy, goofy, but really, do you know anybody that's 200 years old? No.
No.
150 No.
We all have to leave here. Are you ready to leave? I am. Not because I'm better, but because I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
And I trust that you'll do that tonight, if you have not already.
You know, as Christians.
We love the Word of God.
It's our food supply for our souls. We need it every day.
And, you know, we enjoy it.
Before I accept the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I didn't want to read my Bible. Like I said, I grew up in a Christian home. I had a Bible. My parents bought me one. You think I wanted to read it? No.
Do I want to now? Yeah.
When we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit of God comes and indwells us.
And gives us an appetite and a desire.
That new life that we get when we accept Jesus as our Savior.
The Holy Spirit gives us that desire to read the Word of God.
I was going to say that as believers, many of us have favorite verses.
And tonight I want to read one of my favorite chapters, Matthew or Mark, chapter 12.
We could begin there.
Mark, Chapter 12.
If you're not familiar with this blessed book.
There's the Old Testament, which is the part of the Bible that was written before the Lord Jesus was here on earth. And then there's the New Testament that was written vote the Lord Jesus and his life here and by those who were with him. After he passed, he went home to heaven, back to heaven.
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So let's read a few verses in Mark chapter 12.
And my purpose tonight is to.
Talk a little bit about the future.
A little bit about what's gonna happen in this world.
And you say, well, how do you know what's gonna happen in this world?
Well.
I said I'm no better than you.
As a Christian, I've owned that I'm a Sinner before a holy God.
I've come for forgiveness to the foot of the cross, accepted Jesus as my Savior.
But you know, God has a book.
For me to read as a believer.
And for you as an unbeliever to find out his truth and God and His love to man has provided this book so that we will know his heart and know his mind, but also know the future.
You know there's a.
We bought a farm in 2002.
And one of the things on the farm that we found that was left behind by the previous owners was a little gospel text in the garage.
And it says this, It says prepare to meet thy God. Prepare. That's what we're doing tonight. We're preparing. We're talking about the future.
And if there's somebody that doesn't know where they're gonna be when they leave this world, you need to listen very closely. Tonight we need to talk about we're gonna talk about the future according to this blessed book, the Word of God.
Before we read this chapter, I want to tell you a little incident.
It really impressed me.
Some time ago I was reading a book.
An old book.
Now it's been republished by BTP and other Bible people that do books book reprinting.
But this book was written in 18, I think 98 or 97.
At that time.
The city of Jerusalem was found in the Ottoman Empire.
There was no country of Israel.
And at that time.
The person that was responsible for Jerusalem was called the Sultan.
And you know, there, there was a number of things written in that book.
About how there was going to be a future state of Israel and how that Jerusalem was gonna be.
Destroy.
There was a lot of other things that were in that book.
And, you know, when I read it, I said, yeah, Israel is a nation. But you know when it was written, the man that wrote that book?
He he only had the word of God to go by.
He didn't make it up because he had spent a lot of time and effort studying the Word of God. And so he was able to say that, yes, Israel is going to be a nation again because that's what the Word of God teaches. Now we're going to talk a little bit about the future tonight.
And it's not my ideas, but because I'm a Christian, I believe the word of God, the book that tells me about Jesus.
And the love of God and the way a Sinner like me can get to heaven. That same book tells me about what's going to happen. It may not be tomorrow or the next day, but it's going to happen. And so I want to start with this little account in the 12Th of Mark because you know, the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, he tells what's going to happen in the next few months or years.
In that same area of the world, Jerusalem. So let's read these verses in Mark 12.
Verse one. And he began to speak unto them by parables. That's the Lord Jesus speaking to them.
Says a certain man planted a vineyard, and sat in hedge about it, and digged a place for the wine fat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandman, and went into a far country. And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive of the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard.
00:20:19
And they caught him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he said unto them another servant. And at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. And again he sent another. And him they killed, and many others, beating some and killing some. Having yet therefore one son his well beloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir, Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. And they took him and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the Lord of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandman, and will give the vineyard unto others. And have you not read this Scripture? The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.
This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
And they sought to lay hold on him.
But feared the people, for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them, and they left him and went their way.
We'll speak about this for just a couple of minutes.
This is, uh, a wonderful account.
You say, well, what do you mean by wonderful? Well, you see, I love the Lord Jesus Christ.
So this story of how the Lord Jesus told these religious leaders in this account of how he came into this world and how he was going to die, to me is absolutely wonderful.
For him to know that he was going to go to the cross and suffer.
Before it happened to me. It's wonderful that he would come into this world to die for me, that he would love me enough.
To go to that cross and to suffer there.
Now if you coming in here tonight and you're not familiar with a lot of what I'm talking about.
I want to just have a little aside for a minute.
In this country that I live and you live.
A lot of is meant, a lot is made of the holidays.
In December.
People go out of their way.
To celebrate Christian or Christmas.
And people remember how the Lord Jesus became a man, a little baby.
He was born in that Manger, and that's all true.
But I was always a puzzle to me.
With the many people I worked with over the years.
Who didn't love the Lord Jesus?
That they would spend considerable time and effort thinking about the birth of the Lord Jesus, but you know, they had very little interest in the death of the Lord Jesus.
I like to think of him as a little baby, a little innocent boy in the Manger.
The wise men and so on, and all the story concerning his birth.
But then when I talked about his crucifixion and how he suffered untold agony at the hands of men, and then talked about the hours of darkness when Jesus hung there and was punished by a holy God for the sins of each person who would ask for forgiveness, there was very little interest in that.
I ask you tonight.
You ever thought of how Jesus Christ died on the cross? You ever thought that He did it for you?
That he gave his life so that you could have your sins washed away.
And that you could know with assurance that your sins were gone, and that if you had to leave this world.
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And you will.
That you'll go to heaven where there's no sin, there's no sorrow, no pain, no suffering, but just eternal joy in the House of God.
Well.
I love this account. It makes me sad when I think of many of the people who had faith in God who came to tell men and women like me.
About the love of God and how they were killed.
Stoned. Tortured.
Many of you probably know history far better than I do. You've studied how Christians have been.
Pull the pieces over the years.
This is what we're reading about.
Many people came to talk about the love of God and they were, as it were, sent out. We don't want to hear about it.
And I hope there's nobody in this room tonight and you're saying, oh boy, I'm hearing of another gospel meeting about the love of God. I just don't want to hear about it.
You know the Lord Jesus, He wants to save you tonight.
Stop rejecting him.
Just come, come the way you are.
Be happy for the first time.
How can a human being with a heart as big as God has made your heart be happy if he hasn't feeling it?
Only God can fill your heart, and He'd love to do it.
You gotta let him in. You gotta come to him.
And ask for forgiveness from your sins.
It's very simple.
My little boy, I love you.
But if he wants to come in.
To our house and he's got muddy boots.
I really want him to either take them off first or get them cleaned, and then I'd love him to come in the front door, wrap his arms around me, say hi Daddy, but not with his muddy boots on. You know God loves me so much. God wants. God made me.
God wants me in heaven.
But in my sense, with the mud on my boots.
I'm gonna spoil heaven if he lets me in.
You know, it's simple. You say, that's a simple analogy. Yeah, but it's that simple in our sense. We can't get into heaven. The Bible is very clear about that. You say, well, you're just making it up. I'll show you the verses after if you want to see them. And there's many here that would be glad to spend time with you to share the word of God that we have come to value and love.
Well, let's talk a little bit about this story.
Verse 6 Having yet therefore one son, his well beloved, He sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
God sent his Son.
His son, Jesus Christ, we know what happened to him.
Is there somebody here tonight and you don't know what happened to Jesus Christ? You don't know how he was hung up on the cross by men like me?
You don't know the story of how people said we don't want him.
Crucify him.
A man who had never done anything wrong, who had never thought anything wrong. A man who had healed the blind.
A man who had healed the death cast out devils out of people.
And yet they set away with him.
We will not have this man to reign over us.
Perhaps there's somebody here tonight.
You never thought about it this way.
But perhaps you're saying the same thing?
If you haven't accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and you know the way.
To have your sins forgiven.
You're in the same position as those people that said away with him. We will not have this man.
Are you saying that tonight I will not have this man?
I trust not.
00:30:01
Verse 7.
The husbandman said this is the heir.
You know, when I was younger, I used to think that it meant the air that we breathe.
This is the air you see. I didn't know what HEIR meant.
But as I've got a little bit older, I think I've understood it a little bit better.
You know the Lord Jesus has, right?
To the universe.
He made it, He made you. He's the heir. And people like me took him and said I weigh with him, crucify him.
And Pilate said, Why, what evil hath he done? That was the Roman government, governor and authority at that time. Three times he said, I find no fault in this man, and still he committed him to be crucified.
That's the justice that the world gave God's Son.
This is the air. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
And they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. The Lord Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. That's what did happen outside of the hills, outside of the walls of Jerusalem. They took the Lord Jesus Christ, my precious Savior, and they hung him up to die. People like me, they hung him there for three hours. They insulted him. They spat at him.
Before they hung him up, they put a crown of thorns on his head and we never read of them taking them off.
And he hung there, and people like me made fun of him.
I'm sure I would have said terrible things to him too.
Might have been there.
And So what if you?
A man that was perfect.
A man that loved me.
Then it got dark. For three hours it was dark, so dark that you couldn't see anything. God made sure that no one could see.
Well, he placed the sins of every person that would believe in Jesus on his blessed Son and punishment.
You know, at the end of that, those three hours.
The Lord Jesus could say this.
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Forsaken by a holy God.
Three hours I don't understand.
But I'm thankful that the Lord Jesus paid the price for me in those three hours of darkness. And then he said.
Three more wonderful words.
He said it is finished.
And then it says that he bowed his head and he gave up the ghost.
He gave his spirit back to God.
A dying man would say it is finished. What does that mean? What else could it mean but that the work that his father had given him to do was finished, That he had borne the sins of each person that would believe on him?
You know the Lord Jesus that says he bare the sin of many. It doesn't say everybody.
Would it be right for me to punish one of my boys or one of my girls for what they didn't do?
Of course not.
As a loving father, would I do that? I sure would not want to.
And the Bible is very clear that Jesus was punished for the sins of the people that would trust in Him.
Not everybody.
Many.
And thank God that many people have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior, but not everybody.
Are you in the many?
Have you come to the Lord Jesus? Accepted Him as your personal Savior? It's a wonderful thing to do.
I remember as a young person or boy, I don't know what it was, I don't remember when I came to the Lord Jesus, but I have. I love him.
My Savior. I remember the first time that I could go to sleep without worrying about my sins. What a relief that was.
00:35:02
I didn't wake up and worry about whether my mom and dad were going to go to heaven and I'd get left behind for judgment.
We're going to get into that in a minute.
Because this Bible that we have on our laps and perhaps you have on your lap tonight.
Speaks about the future now. The Lord Jesus spoke about what was going to happen to him in this account.
He tells the rest of the story when he was still alive, how that he was going to be taken and crucified.
They cast him out of the vineyard.
Vineyard would be this world.
God sent his son verse six. Now verse 9.
What shall therefore the Lord of the Vineyard do? He will come and destroy the husbandman.
And will give the vineyard unto others.
Perhaps we could say Israel was the vineyard.
What will God do?
What will God do?
Let's think about it for a minute. 2000 years ago, nearly the Son of God was sent out of this world by people like me who said we will not have this man, we don't want him. Is there somebody saying that tonight? I don't want him.
Is that you?
I want to tell a little story now.
That just made me so sad.
It was a young man.
Near to us.
And he got picked up by the police.
For something that he had done.
And he got put into a cell, the police station.
The police called his parents.
And his father came to the police station.
Came in the door. He was a respectable.
Man in the community.
Very nice man, very polite.
Well mannered.
Came to the desk.
Told the UH.
Sergeant who he was.
He said he had come to get his son.
He could hear a lot of noise down the hall, said to the Sergeant. He said, Sergeant, what's that noise?
Sergeant says that's your son.
Yellen.
The father looked at the Sergeant.
He said this, He said, you know I love my son.
That I have tried everything.
I've tried everything with my son.
I've tried to discipline him, I've tried to help him, I've tried to give him things. I've done everything I can think of with my son. He won't listen.
I don't know what to do, he said. But you know what I think I'm going to do? He said. I'm going to leave my son here.
And he turned around and he walked out of the police station.
He laughed behind his yelling son.
I tell you this because it touched my heart.
I thought of another father. I thought of God.
Speak reverently.
And the love that he has for you tonight.
And the message is that you've heard.
The times that he's intervened in your life through the circumstance to show his love to you.
You've turned him down. You've rejected him.
I thought of that father.
And how he turned and he left that police station.
You know the door of heaven is open for you tonight. God hasn't done that to you.
Are you yelling? Are you rejecting God?
You know there's a day coming.
When the door to heaven is going to get shut.
And then you're gonna want in. It's gonna be too late.
00:40:04
But you know, it broke my heart when I thought of that father having to leave that police station because there was absolutely nothing that he could do for his son. What a sorrow, what a tragedy. But how is it with you, young person tonight? Is that how you treated God like that boy is treated as his father?
God and his love to you, and you've spurned it, rejected it, insulted God.
Come to Him tonight. Ask the Lord Jesus to be your Savior tonight.
Now we were speaking about.
The Lord Jesus being rejected 2000 years ago.
And being crucified and mocked.
Verse.
9.
He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.
This wonderful book that tells us about the love of God, the Bible.
Also predicts.
The judgment of this world and those people who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
This book tells us very clearly what their end is.
And that end is judgement.
And you say, well, how do you know this?
The same book that tells me that God loves me also tells me that God is holy.
It tells me that there can be no sin in heaven. It tells me that we can't live here on this earth forever.
And that someday we have to meet God. If you meet him in your sins, there's judgment for you.
Now you say, well.
Are you sure? Based on the word of God, I would say absolutely yes, I'm sure.
And if you want to have more verses about this, I'll be happy to share some with you afterward. And there's many other people, perhaps the person that invited you, that could do that too.
Now let's turn to another prediction in John chapter 14.
John chapter 14 and verses 2:00 and 3:00.
Just the end of verse 2.
The Lord Jesus speaking, he says I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again.
And receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.
The Lord Jesus was speaking to his followers, those who loved Him, his disciples.
I take that for me personally because I love him.
I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus, a follower of him. I love these verses because the Lord Jesus has gone to heaven. He's prepared a place for me. And it says.
I will come again. The Lord Jesus is going to come again.
Now, I haven't lived as long as many people in this room.
But I've lived long enough to hear people laugh and mock about the Lord Jesus coming again. Now let's talk about this for a minute.
Because the Lord Jesus has promised to come someday and take all those who trust in him home to heaven. And you say, well, when's that gonna happen? I'm gonna say to you, I don't know. But based on the predictions that have happened, that were that were made and that have happened in the word of God, I would say that would give me tremendous courage to believe that this is gonna happen too. Everything that the Lord Jesus says will happen.
God keeps his word always. And so here we have this little verse that says I will come again. I don't know when, but the Bible teaches us very clearly that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come again.
There's an older brother in our assembly at home.
I've had the privilege of having breakfast with him a number of times.
And almost every time he prays and he says, you know, Lord, it's just like some ordinary day, like today thou wilt come. You know what's true? Some ordinary day. We're going to be just doing our business, whatever we happen to do, taking care of our kids or whatever it is. And the Lord Jesus is going to come and he's going to call everyone who belongs to him home to be with himself. We read about this in a number of different verses in this Bible of ours.
00:45:04
And it's true.
My youngest girl.
She, uh, showed me a little bit of a clip.
Of.
A man giving a gospel meeting.
And he was preaching from this book and it was a made-up little clip.
And in the clip, it showed that Jesus came in the middle of that meeting and all the people, almost all the people in that room, laughed.
But you know what? There was two or three people that were sitting there and you know they were sitting there. There was no one else in the room.
And there was this big room like this, and there was one person over here and one person over there, one person in the back corner over there. Those three people were like, Oh my goodness.
Would that be you?
So Lord Jesus came right now.
Are you ready? Would you go to be with the one who gave himself for you?
Or would you be like that boy that was in the jail?
Who had rejected the love of his father?
And his father walked out.
Saw.
I will come again.
Now we have just a couple of minutes I think.
So let's turn to another verse in the book of Acts.
Acts Chapter 17.
We don't have time to go into the whole story, but.
The Apostle Paul was in the city of Athens.
There's those in this room that have been there.
Some that have told me that you can go to this spot, see these stairs that the Apostle Paul was able to preach from.
Where he addressed the people of wisdom in that day, many who didn't believe in God.
Like.
People here in this world today.
And he was telling them about the Lord Jesus and how the Lord Jesus came from heaven to die for the likes of me and him.
And then he spoke about judgment to come.
Let's read a few verses.
Verse 31.
Because he, that is God, hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained where I'll be, hath where he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
So we've spoken a little bit about the cross tonight and how the Lord Jesus was put there to die.
You know, after the Lord Jesus said it is finished.
We read that a Roman soldier.
He came with a spear, and he pierced the side of the Lord Jesus.
His dead side, and it says that forthwith came throughout blood and water.
Tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sins. That's how my sins are forgiven.
Believe that that blood that the Lord Jesus shed was shed for me.
You know, there was two men that came forward.
That risk their careers.
Who, I'm sure were the laughingstock of the religious authorities. After that, two men, Joseph and Nicodemus, came forward and they took the body of the Lord Jesus and they buried it.
The Lord Jesus was in the grave, but on the third day.
He rose again.
And the Bible is very clear that for 40 days the Lord Jesus walked here as a man on this earth, and then he went back to heaven. And today the Lord Jesus Christ, it tells us in the word of God that he's at the right hand of the majesty on high. He's there now.
The Lord Jesus, because he's God, He can see everything, He knows everything, and he's looking into this room tonight and he's looking into your heart.
00:50:08
He's at the right hand of the throne of God. He may come now.
He may come tomorrow, we don't know when, but he's going to come and he's going to take me and he's going to take you if you've trusted in him home to heaven.
You know the Lord or the Apostle Paul preached this 1900 and some years ago to these well educated well off people in the land of Greece.
You know there was a result in verse 32.
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked and others said, we will hear thee again of this matter.
So Paul departed from among them, albeit certain men clave on to him and believed.
We have three classes of people in this room tonight.
The same as were there at that time.
That heard the preaching of the Apostle Paul.
You've heard a little bit about what we said tonight.
From the Word of God, what's the reaction from your heart?
Which category are you in? If I can put it that way, We have 3 categories of people here. We have first of all the people that mocked the people that made fun and said that's ridiculous.
You know, there's some people in this room.
You may not say that.
Out loud.
But tonight, are you telling God no?
Or have you come to God and ask for forgiveness from your sins through the work of God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Some mocked, others said we will hear the again of this matter.
Now what does this bring to our hearts?
When we think about it, have you ever heard people say?
Ah, our I'll deal with it later. You know what? I had the privilege of growing up in Ottawa as a young boy and going to the gospel meeting.
And all the people who are in this room that have ever heard Charles Hale speak will remember this. Used to wave his finger like this. And I remember as a boy he would say, you know, there's people that wanna wait till the 11Th hour to get saved.
And they die at 10:30.
That's a warning. There's somebody here tonight and you're putting it off and you're saying sometime later I'll get saved. What if the Lord comes tonight?
What if you go out there and get run over I?
I trust that won't happen, but don't wait till the 11Th hour.
There was people that said, oh, well, here again. Well, think about it. But you know.
People that put it off very often.
Too late for them. Don't wait, Come to Jesus Christ now, the one who gave himself.
And then, you know, there's this man, Dionysius, and this woman named Amorous.
You know the Lord loves us all the same, infinitely. He wants you tonight. Boy, girl, man, woman. He died for every Sinner.
But you know He only bare the sin of many. He wants you to come. You need to come just like you are. Ask for forgiveness for your sins. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
Want to tell one more little story? Then we'll pray.
Another police story.
I'll try to recount it exactly the way it was recounted to me.
This man.
Was taken into custody.
For substance abuse.
Very common in the world today.
Perhaps characteristic of your life.
Looking for happiness in this world? A temporary high, something to get you through for the next little while.
00:55:07
That's what this man was looking for.
Unfortunately, he had a little too much.
For a little too long.
And.
He was seen in the cell rubbing his arm like this.
His mind virtually empty.
And one of the police people said to the.
Another one, it said Wha wha? What was his name?
His name was repeated to that police officer.
She said. You know.
Seems to me I went to school with a guy by that name. She walked down the hall, looked in the little cell where he was.
That was him.
You know, he was the smartest kid in the school.
His expenses were all paid for by scholarships. One of the best universities in this country.
Chemical Engineer.
An empty mine from drugs.
This world does not satisfy.
There's only one person that can satisfy your heart, that can wash away your sins.
They can assure you a future for all eternity in heaven, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray.
The Redemption of the Soul
Children—Derek Mollon
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.
Good morning. We're going to sing a few few ends from the children's portion, which is the last page. Want to welcome everyone here to the Children's Tree quarter hour. And so we'll begin with any choice.
Children's meeting, But we're all children here, so anyone can give it up.
Five. OK, well, we'll take that one, but next time we'll just use the backside of the sheet and reply was good. I'm happy day. We'll sing the 1St and the last of that one. OK.
My friend.
Oh my God.
I'm a grateful.
Hearted joy and joy and God, that's all I'm wrong about.
Anyone else got a choice from the back of the book 41?
Around the throne of God in heaven will many children sing.
What ring that can do without?
The hands of fire.
When all this did have to hide A lot of things of children.
Have changed morning glory.
Glory.
00:05:04
Oh no. Why can't we stay in laureate glory?
I'd like to read a verse that's before me.
And I'll try to develop their little time together this morning. And it's Psalm 49. Turn to Psalm 49.
The problem I have the subject this morning is such a large subject and such a small time and such a weak vessel, but the the verse here is this one here and verse 7.
None of them.
Can by any means redeem his brother. None can redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him, For the redemption after soulless, precious, and it ceaseth forever.
The brother will give me some liberty and that verse a little bit. I'm going to talk about the redemption of a soul.
Salvation of a soul.
And we're told that the redemption of a soul is precious. Well, you children know about, heard about precious metals and precious gems. You know why they're called that? Because they're so rare.
And the rarer thing is, the more precious it is.
I want to ask you a question. How many souls do you have?
I only have one, right? Only one?
You can't get anything more precious more rare than that.
And this morning, we're going to look at what it takes to redeem the soul.
And you know already it's a subject that.
We can't find them, but we're going to try our best. One more song and we'll get into the story.
You're 47 #47.
When he come.
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Drive them all again.
Turn with me to Luke's gospel.
Chapter 8.
I want to use this chapter.
To bring before us.
The redemption of a soul, it's a very familiar portion. So I'm glad for because I don't want to spend a lot of time.
Reading the whole chapter since, you know, know it. So I'm gonna pick out certain verses and read them and then we'll talk about them. OK. Chapter 8 of Luke and begin beginning at verse 26.
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And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devil's long time, and wear no clothes, neither abode in any house but in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God Most High?
I beseech thee, torment may not.
The last part of verse 29.
Was driven of the devil into the wilderness. Verse 30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, legion, because many devils were entered into the end. Verse 33. Then went the devils out of the man.
And entered into the swine. That's all in that story, verse 41.
And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue, and he fell down at Jesus feet, and besought him that he would come into his house.
He had only one daughter, about 12 years of age, and she lay a dying.
But as he went, the people thronged him.
Verse 49 While they yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead. Trouble, not the master.
And when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, fear not, believe only, and she shall be made whole.
For 54 and he put them all out.
For 53 first. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead already.
And he puts them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid arise. And her spirit came again. She rose straightway and commanded to, And he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished.
Third story.
43.
And a woman having an issue of blood 12 years, which has spent all their living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him and touched the border of his garment. And immediately our issue of blood staunched.
And Jesus said, who touched me?
When all the night Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng the impressed thee, and sayest thou who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody has touched me, for I perceive that virtue has gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people, for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
And he said unto her, Daughter, Be of good comfort, Thy faith hath made thee all grow in peace.
The story is one.
I know it's often applied looked at.
Sound better up here?
Looked at in three different ways and I'm sure it's it's fine application, but I'd like to apply this to the salvation or the redemption of the soul and the story is one in the first part of the story.
We have this man who's unnamed.
And who is he?
Well, it's a picture of me. He's me and he's you.
Is a picture of natural man in a lost condition. As a matter of fact, this man here you'll find.
He's not seeking the Lord.
There's none to help except 1 Lord Jesus Himself.
And he's in the tombs among the dead.
LED into the wilderness.
And so he becomes a picture of you and I in a natural way.
I want to make this clear.
He's not even aware of his condition.
He's not even aware of the state that he's in.
00:15:03
He's not aware that he's a captive.
To a legion of demons.
He doesn't even know has made him captive.
And that is the picture of every man born in this world.
And so the beginning of our story is this.
How did he get that way?
How did we get that way?
Oh, we got to go back.
We go back to the Garden of Eden.
And there we see the 1St man and woman fresh from the hands of God. Perfect. The only two people ever to live in this world that had a free will. The only two.
They could have chosen good or evil.
And you know the story.
Someone else showed up.
Quickly, early in that garden, came Slytherin in.
You know the story through deceit, deception and disobedience.
Our first parents fell.
They became captives of the enemy.
And everyone born of them.
The first man ever born, the first child ever born that grew into a man was a murderer.
You see these people, these two couples.
Once they sinned against God, they have what we call a fallen nature.
A fallen nature when they produce children and their children produce children. We come down to this day in which we live into this very city, into this very room.
First condition.
Captives.
To Satan.
You know, some people think that.
We we're sinners because we sin.
And that's not true.
That's not accurate.
We sin because we are sinners.
We were born in sin. We're shaping in iniquity.
We can't do otherwise.
That's why in this this chapter you have the girl with the issue of blood 12 years or sorry, the woman issue of blood 12 years. The little girl is 12 years old. The next chapter is three sets of 12. I'd like to think maybe the Legionnaires at least 12, but probably more. It's not named. It's only when it's not named at 12. Why not?
Because the Spirit of God wants to tell us that it's impossible for you and I to escape the enemy. We can't get free. Legions have captivated us from the very moment Adam and Eve sinned and the fallen nature came in.
It was done. Done.
And so the enemy.
Foretold and Galatians were taken captive by him at his will.
We can't do anything else.
But then one day in a past eternity.
Someone said I have a plan.
I have a plan. Who will go from me?
Carry it out.
And it was the Son of God.
Son of God said I will go here am I send me.
And so they came down. So he came down.
Into the strong man's house.
And he came down to bind Strongman.
How did he do it?
By going right into the strong man's lair and the death itself, you know the story of the cross.
He died on the cross, that innocent one, that pure one.
Went into the strongman's house and three days later.
He rose from the dead.
What did he do you know this is not salvation here when he's when it says the devils went out of the man. That's not salvation, that's not redemption. All that is is the Lord Jesus binding the strongman were you and I could not escape from found them so that he opened the way.
00:20:23
He opened away for you and I to escape that captivity.
That Satan had brought in in that Garden of Eden.
But it's not.
Redemption.
We're not free.
Yeah, anymore in a prison, in a prison full of prisoners are set free by the door swinging open.
The Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross to open the door.
He opened the way for you and I to come out.
But the prisoners have to come out.
And there's a problem.
There is the problem.
We don't want to come out. Why not?
We have a nature that's fallen.
We not only sin, you and I, but you know what? We delight to sin. We take pleasure in it.
And we have hearts. That's against the Lord Jesus Christ and against God the Father.
We don't want to come out.
We want to stay where we are, and not only that, we are taking captive by him, Satan at his will.
And the world that belongs to him.
God and Prince is set up in such a way.
That it draws the souls of men.
Yeah, it appeals to our hearts.
We don't want to leave that prison. Why? We don't even realize, naturally, that we're captives.
And so.
You know, if you go to the Book of Revelation in the 18th chapter, we have the great empire of man set up.
There's almost 30 things listed there as to what they traffic in the Satan's domain. This empire of man, it starts off with gold and silver. Do you know what's at the end of that list?
The souls of men.
The redemption of a soul is precious.
The Souls of Men. It's the last on the list of.
This world.
That is first on the Lord's list. Your soul and mind is precious.
And as a work of redemption.
And when the Lord Jesus Christ where yesterday went back to glory, God the Father says.
I'll speak this way. Who will go now?
And the Holy Spirit came down.
Into the scene, the Holy Spirit came down to this world. Why?
To draw out the prisoners. To draw out the prisoners from that captivity.
And when he sent the Holy Holy Ghost, he says use whatever means at your disposal, everything possible to draw them out to my son.
And he says also first thing.
I have children there already.
Go and indwell them.
And make them one and use them.
Because they have a heart for the Lord Jesus, my Son, and they have a desire that others will be blessed. Use them to draw others. And so now let's just go quickly to Gyrus verse 41. Gyrus, the ruler of the synagogue.
He has a daughter.
That's 12 years of age and she's dying.
Oh, we should be so thankful for the Gyruses of this world.
The believers I believe Gyrus is a picture of the believers that are here.
Whose desire is that others would be saved?
How many, I wonder? I've prayed for you already.
How many?
So the Holy Spirit comes down.
00:25:01
And he's desirous to draw us out of that prison, to set us free. We don't want to come.
But oh, how many people in this room have prayed for you and for me.
I think in the day when the vials are opened there in the 5th chapter of Revelation and the prayers of the Saints have poured forth, we're going to see how many people.
Had a part in my salvation. See, the first part is the sovereignty of God. There would be there could be no salvation. There could be no redemption, if unsolicited as it were, undesired, unwanted salvation never began with the Lord Jesus Christ and God sending him.
Opening the way, then the Holy Spirit coming down. This is the work here of gyrus using gyrus and every other.
Thing to touch your heart and mind, say come forth.
You know.
The parents, Christian parents especially.
Desire that their children would be saved to come in.
And they're willing to spend and be spent to do so.
I want to illustrate that thought.
But a little story. It's a true story.
Of a a little girl that lived in Labrador.
Her name was Elizabeth.
Curtina Jefferies.
Her father was an Englishman and her mother was an Inuit woman.
Married on the Coast. It's a long story. Gotta be very brief with it.
In any case, her father wanted to christen her Kirkina after her grandmother, but the minister at the time said no, she has to have a Christian name. So they named her Elizabeth Perkina. She was known by Elizabeth or Betty by most people, but she said daddy always call me my little Kirkina. She was three years old. And then he was a trapper in the Wilds of Labrador. And he would go out in this trap line in the in the winter time once the snow came down and things froze up and he was set out his traps.
And he went 65 miles into the country, deeper and deeper, until he had all this tramps out for fishing or getting furs.
And Kirkina said he would go after that. He would go three days a week and all the traps.
Now the winters and Labrador areas down -20 -. 40 and then the wind chill factor.
And on this particular occasion, Daddy went into the woods to all.
His traps.
And when they would do so, he'd always leave enough wood, of course, for Mommy and Little Corkina to keep the house warm, because once the fire started in the fall, they couldn't put it out. There's no central heating, right? The fire had to be in the wood stove.
24 hours.
Anyway, Daddy went across the river and went on the back country and then something occurred.
It got mild and the rains came and it rained and rained and it flooded the river and he couldn't get back over.
And he came to the edge and for 16 days.
He was on the other side of this brook, this river.
And he couldn't cross it.
And then it turned cold again, Bitter cold winds came in swinging down from the north, and it froze those waters again. And four days later, on day 20, he got back to the escarpment and he looked down upon his little home, the log home on the eastern side of Lake Melville, not far from Rigolette, Labrador.
Then his heart stopped.
As he saw snow on the roof but no smoke in the chimney. If the house had been warmed, the snow would have melted.
He knew there was a problem.
Well, the problem was this, as Krikina tells it.
When Daddy left and turned mild, Mama had to go out and get the wood because he didn't turn up, he didn't come back to.
Bring more wood in and she got cold and wet and she got sick so bad that she was confined to her bed and so little. Kirkina, at age 3, was taken care of her mom.
00:30:08
But then the fire went out. Then it turned cold. Bitterly cold.
As long as you stayed in that bed with all the blankets, she was fine. Mommy was too sick even to.
Even to help her little girl, but she says I stayed for a long while, but then I got hungry.
She was starving.
She got out and said I couldn't put my boots on because they were frozen.
And at first, my feet were so cold on the floor.
But afterwards, fame went away.
When Daddy came down.
Rushed down to that cabin and opened the door.
His little Kirkina came running to him.
And he could tell by the sound of her feet on the wooden floor.
That their little legs were frozen solid right to the knees.
Well, it wasn't long before that he had to fire in, and then he got things out of the forest from UMM for his mother. She was healed.
And then when he had the chance, he took the little girl and went down to the factor down in Nelson Bay Company to get help. And he came back with one small little box of aspirin. That's all they had no doctors there, no hospitals.
And Kurtina said my legs turned black.
And the knees down. They were blank.
And she said I could hear mom and daddy.
Arguing.
Loud.
She's saying no, no, no.
He said I got to, I have to, there's no other way.
What parents will do and save their children.
Early next morning, she says, Daddy came in with a big blanket and wrapped me up in it and took me out to the shed.
Then he took Mama's black scarf and he wrapped it around my face.
And then he took his big axe.
Put my little legs across the chopping block.
And he chopped off my legs just below the knee.
A year later, when she was 4.
Hospital ship from St. John's, Saint Anthony with Doctor Wilfred Grenfell came into Rigolette not in his natural normal ride and Doctor Grenfell was on board and so Daddy took little Cortina down to show the doctor, she said.
Daddy explained to the doctor what took place.
And then he says he was so tall and his hair was silver, and he came and he went down.
And took off the little boots that Mama had made.
And he stared a long time at my stumps.
And then he rubbed his face with his hands.
And he got up and say no word. He went to the side of the ship to the rail.
And she said I can still see him.
His big shoulders heaving and shaking.
What caused that, doctor?
You have performed some of the operations like that taken off people's limbs.
Why cause them to break down in tears and cry?
Because he knew what this man had done.
But it took that man to save his little girl.
Let's go back to that night.
That night when Daddy decided what must be done.
You see him getting in bed and going to sleep.
Out in the next room, little Cortina.
With the black legs and the poison.
Gangrene.
Is already beginning to climb up towards a little hard to would have killed her. Sleeping soundly, totally at peace, not realizing that death was in her body.
00:35:08
In the next room, there's Daddy.
You think he slept that night?
MMM.
Story doesn't say this, but I'll tell you what I think he did.
I think he went out to the shed and I think he got that big axe.
And I think he honed it.
He sharpened it.
Again, never sharpened it before.
He's going to bring it down.
Upon the little girl.
His little daughter.
There's a cost, you see.
There's a cost, and there's a cost to your parents too.
You might be like that little girl, not realizing that you too have a gangrene.
We all have it.
And it's going to result in the second death unless we come out.
And mommy and Daddy's been praying.
Because Gyrus here is mommy or daddy or grandpa or grandma or anyone else has desire for your soul.
And they can only go so far.
But you know, Gyrus went to the right person. No man can redeem his brother or his daughter or his son.
But all we can go to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Gyrus did. I don't want to speak to all the Gyruses out here.
Never give up.
Here we got the little girl even on to death. Never give up.
God our Father desires the blessing of each one. The Lord Jesus Christ has opened away and the Holy Spirit is here to use.
Whosoever and whatsoever.
To draw souls, children.
Your soul is precious.
Precious, you only have one, and the Lord Jesus desires to save it.
To have it with himself forever.
I took you back.
You probably never know how much your what it costs your parents.
I want to go back further.
Let's go back 2000 years, so the night when another father had another son.
Hanging on the cross.
And he brought down his axe upon him.
Not because there's any gangrene in him, no poison in him.
The poison was in us.
It's going to kill us.
Unless that father brought down and taking liberty here.
And so it fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ever ponder why the heavens were closed in darkness?
Why? Isaiah wrote. His vision was marred more than any man's in his form, more than the sons of men. You know why?
I'm running out of time. I'm going to explain a little bit.
You know, I had to die for my sins. The first stroke would kill me. I couldn't die for one.
The Lord Jesus Christ, it says.
In the Genesis.
When sin came in, so did death.
The soul that sinneth it shall die.
The Lord Jesus Christ knew no sin. In him was no sin.
He couldn't. He wasn't subject to death.
He wasn't subject to death and when.
My sins are placed upon him, and stroke after stroke came down.
Finally, he paid for every last one.
And then he picked up Dave Hale's sins.
He did the same thing.
See, the stroke that would kill me couldn't touch him. He was not subject to death. And when it all finished, ever the souls of everyone ever to be saved, paid for, for the sins are paid for in that cross. What did he do? He dismissed his spirit because he was not subject to death. He had never sinned. What a savior.
00:40:22
There's a third part of the story.
This little girl here, this is not salvation either. This is answer the prayer that the Lord would use anything. I think maybe she may have been saved afterwards.
But now we get to the last part of the story. We get to the woman with the issue of blood. Two things She recognized that she had an issue.
Number one, you recognize that you are a captive of Satan, that we are born in sin, that we are sinners. The door is opened, we can come out.
You have to recognize that.
This woman.
In the midst of all these people around, the Lord Jesus.
Came to realize that the answer to her problem or issue was in this person right here.
She believed that with faith as I can only touch the hem of his garment.
So she made her way through the throng, and she reached in, and she touched by faith the hem of his garment. Ah, read the story. Immediately the Lord Jesus stops and says, Who touched me?
Who touched me? Well, they all were touching him different. Someone touched him by faith. Someone reached in by faith and touched the hem of his garment.
She could not hide herself, she says. It was me, Lord, it was me. Her face told the issue of blood was gone.
Have you done that?
You can stop.
The creator of the universe right now. And Evan say you touched me. Have you reached out in faith and touched the hem of his garment?
He turned to her and he says, woman, thy faith has made thee whole. She came out, she came out of that prison. She realized that she had a need, and she came forth to the one.
Who died for her?
Have you done that?
How important it is I want to?
Close our store AC.
The parts are all there. God has done his part by sending the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ has done his part by going through the cross of Calvary and opening the way back to glory. And the Holy Spirit has come in and He's doing his part in drawing you this very morning. The fact that you're here this morning is part of it.
And hearing these words, you feel his voice speaking.
Reach out in faith and touch them.
Let's close what our brother closed with last night in the Gospel Acts chapter 17.
My brother Mr. House closed the gospel with.
The three responses.
At the end of that message that Paul gave.
Every time a message is given, there will be a response.
And so will be this morning.
Verse 32 and when they heard of the resurrection of the dead.
Some moth and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them, albeit certain men clave unto him, and believed, among which was the Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and with and others with them. I want to ask you a question. Did you notice something here?
Do you notice where verse 33 is put?
It's not a mistake.
In other words, some.
Others said we'll hear thee again.
00:45:00
And then it says Paul departed from among them. And then it says.
How be it?
Certain men clave on to him.
That's so instructive.
You see, the believers separated from the unbelievers, They went out. These were those that recognized that they had that gangrene, that they were sinners, and they separated themselves from those that mocked and those that said later, maybe I'm going now.
And so they went out. They separated onto Paul and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what you have to do.
That's what God is calling to come out is taking that stand. Have you reached out in faith and touched him with his garment. Don't be delayed because.
My friend on the next seat is not doing it. I'll be speaking to you. You have to come out shoes life.
And for eternity.
We'll be together in the glory. That's the desire. The salvation of a soul is precious.
And it ceaseth forever. You'll never be lost. Redemption.
The story of redemption.
And in the second phase there where we have gyrus, that's the grace of God.
That he would even use you and I.
He delights to use his own in the salvation of others, our children. We want our parents saved.
We want our family save, our friends save our most importantly, we want our children savings.
Let's just give him thanks, shall we?
Our God and our Father, we just would bow before thee.
We just do thank thee now, our Father, for this privilege.
Of opening up thy word together, of looking to thee. Bless the Lord.
To thank thee for what thou hast done.
We know, we're told in scriptures we read this morning, that no man can redeem his brother.
The redemption of the soul is precious.
We think of what is involved.
In the salvation of his soul thou our Father hast done, Thou Lord Jesus has done.
The Holy Spirit is now doing all we just do. Thank you this morning and pray that each one here is already.
Reach forth in faith and touch the hem of His garment, and will be with thee Lord Jesus Christ and glory forever.
We thank these, we ask the blessing on this Word and the Word throughout this day and impress His name for our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Joshua Caleb Othniel
Address—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.
I wonder if we could open our meeting this afternoon by singing number 13 nine 139.
This world is a wilderness wide. We have nothing to seek or to choose. We have no thought on the ways to abide. We've no not to regret nor to lose number 139. This world is.
The world.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Just ask God's blessing.
Back in UMM, in the last month or two, we've been taking up the.
Subject of Israel's journey through the wilderness.
And yesterday when our brother Dawn was speaking about Peter.
And those words follow Thou me that the Lord spoke to him.
I couldn't help but think of one that passed through the wilderness. His name was Caleb and it says he fully followed the Lord. And I thought it perhaps would be encouraging for us all to once again consider perhaps more than one individual. There are three that particularly come before me, Joshua, Caleb and Osneil, and I don't know whether we really have time to go over all three today.
00:05:16
But, uh, I was wondering if we could take a look at some of the incidents in their lives that perhaps would be for our help and for our encouragement. So I'd like to take a look first of all, at Exodus chapter UH-17.
Where we have Joshua first introduced to us.
My thought was to take up a little bit about Joshua 1St and uh, some of the lessons that he learned. Our brother Don mentioned yesterday about teaching experiences.
In the life of Peter, and certainly there were similar experiences in the life of Joshua and then a little later with Caleb and Othniel.
So let's take a look at Exodus 17, and we'll read from the seventh verse.
And he called that Moses, the name of the place Massa and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not? Then came Adelaide, and fought with Israel in Rapidum. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose out, choose us out men, and go and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill.
And the rod of God in my hands. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek.
And Moses, Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill, and it came to pass when Moses held up his hands.
That Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hands, Amalek prevailed.
But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat there on, and Heron and her stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the years of Joshua.
For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi. For he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
Well, here we have, I believe, the first time that Joshua is mentioned and it was after the beginning of the wilderness journey and he's referred to later on, as we'll see, as a young man.
So I believe that this incident occurred when Joshua was still very young. And you'll notice here that Moses called on Joshua to go and fight Amalek. Now, I suppose that many of the young people here are already familiar with the fact that Amalek was really the grandson, I believe, of Esau. And they bring an Amalek and his, uh, descendants bring before us the flesh.
And, you know, it's not very long in our Christian lives before we realize that one of the enemies that we have to deal with particularly is the flesh.
You know, how many times have you sat down and thought I should, you know, I should read as, uh, a chapter from the Bible tonight and you think, oh, I've got to get on Facebook. I must, uh, write my friends. And so you get on or you're sitting there and you say, oh, I think I'll go out and buy a magazine. Every time that happens, it is really the flesh that is, that is attacking. And you'll notice here at the very end.
Of the chapter it says the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.
In other words, the conflict with with Amalek is not just something that young people have to deal with, it's something that I have to deal with. The very thing that I've been talking to you about. I have to check in my own self. I know I've sat down and to read the word and where do I go? The computer. And you know, I want to say this, young people, be careful. The computer can steal an awful lot of time away from you when perhaps you could be reading a scripture and meditating.
00:10:10
I'm not saying we, we, uh, we have to have these things today. Uh, it's so much part of our life that we really can't get away from it. But let's not give in to the flesh. Let's seek what the Lord's helped to lift to please him and spend time in his presence. But you know, we can't do it on our own. And so you find here that Joshua, he went down to fight Amalek and umm, you'll notice here.
That it says in verse 10 so Joshua did as Moses.
Had said to him, maybe we should stop there for a moment. You know, it's very important young people in your life to, uh, think of what the Lord has said to you. There are many specific commandments that he has put in his word. He says come out from among them and be ye separate. Uh, he tells us in his word, umm, many things that are really a practical umm, and things that we need to help us in our pathway.
And we need to listen to what the Lord is saying and obey. And so we find here.
That Moses he said to Joshua, choose out man and go out and fight with Amalek. And it says Joshua in verse 10 did as Moses had said to him, Well, he goes out, but where does Moses go?
He goes up onto the mount, and he holds up his hands, and as long as Moses held up his hands.
Joshua was able to get the victory over the enemy, but every time he let down his hands.
Then it was Amalek that got the victory. And so I want to say that uh, in our Christian lives, we can't deal with Amalek ourselves. We need the help of the Lord Jesus. And you notice the one man who held up one of Moses hands was Aaron. Now who was Aaron? Aaron was the high priest. He was going to become the high priest. And I believe that that brings before us that the Lord Jesus is there in the glory to help us.
In the difficulties of life, it tells us there in Hebrews chapter 4, it says, let us come boldly before the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So when the difficulties come into our lives, and there are many of them, the Lord Jesus is there to to help us and to take us through those difficulties. You remember how he prayed for Peter.
He said, Peter, I have prayed that thy faith fail not so the Lord Jesus is our high priest and then we have her lifting up the other hands. And what would that bring before us? Well, you know what's interesting that the word her means white or purity. And you know in the first John chapter 2, it says we have an advocate with the Father.
Jesus Christ the Righteous.
And I believe that her holding up the hand of Moses. There is a picture of the Lord Jesus as our advocate. You know, there are times in our lives when we downright fail. We sin against the Lord, maybe with something we do or something we say. But when we say it, when we sin, then the Lord is there as our advocates. It says in Psalm 23, He restoreth my soul.
And so, dear young people, let us remember when we face difficulties, and there are many of them, I face them too. I'll tell you, one of the ways that I'm tested mainly is with my own children. Perhaps they come back and they say something to me. Dad, can I do such and such right away? I feel it's a test from the Lord. And what should I do? Look to the Lord, ask him to help me to stand up for his cause, and the Lord will answer.
But there are other times, like I say, we sin and then the Lord is there to restore us. Well, I believe that Joshua had to learn this lesson when he was young. We have to learn that the flesh profiteth nothing. We've often heard how Mr. Hayhoe and Mr. Darby said to a person, learn well 4 words, the flesh profiteth nothing. Well this was a lesson that Joshua had to learn.
And then the next time I believe that Joshua is mentioned is in the 24th chapter.
00:15:07
And we'll just read a couple of verses.
Umm Janus Exodus chapter 24 and verse 12. And the Lord said unto Moses, Come unto me unto the mount, and be there, and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law and commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach them. And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua, and Moses went up into the mount of God.
And he said unto the elders, Cherry, ye here for us, until we come again unto you. And behold, Aaron and her are with you. If any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. Well, here we find Joshua again.
This time, he's in the company of Moses.
And I believe here there's a very important lesson for us here, young people, who are you choosing for your companions? Are you seeking to, uh, find your companions among those who love the Lord Jesus? Or are you seeking to find your companions with those that perhaps have no interest in his things? It's not just a matter of the person's a Christian, but are you seeking to find your companions to, for those from those who will be a help to you?
You'll notice Moses here, he was a man of God and he was going to go up into the mount there to receive the 10 commandments. And here was Joe, uh, Joshua, he was associated with him, a young man. I don't know just how old Joshua was. He might have been something like 3030 ish, I don't know. Uh, Moses we know was probably umm, something like umm, umm, his 50s, can't say for sure, uh, 40s.
No way.
Umm here Was Joshua associated with Moses?
He chose to follow Moses. And you know, I think it's very important, as I said, to choose companions that will be a help to us. Uh, perhaps I shouldn't mention this, but I know that over the years there were many young men.
Umm, who went down to the Gospel tent to help with Mr. Blenner has it in New Brunswick. And there were those who, uh, went down to, umm, help, uh, Mr. Berry in the meetings in, uh, Nova Scotia. And, uh, I believe that many of them, uh, ended up, uh, really, uh, seeking to follow the Lord. I could mention names of ones I know that were really encouraged by being down there.
Because they sought to associate themselves with those who were interested in going on for the Lord.
And I believe that's what Joshua was doing here. You know, it's very easy to get into the wrong associations. One good example in the scriptures, I suppose, with lots. Remember how he lifted up his eyes and he beheld the well watered plains of Jordan? Where did he end up? He ended up in Sodom. And we know how the the the brimstone came down on that city and destroyed it. Well, we don't wanna be like lots.
May the Lord give us the grace to find our friends with those who love the Lord.
Umm, that's why the conferences I believe are important because you know, many of us and speaking about young people now, you might find yourself in an assembly with very few young people and, uh, it's hard to go on by yourself. And so how important it is to be together. And I really appreciate the brethren here in Montreal giving us the opportunity to be together. So if the young people and all of us can be encouraged, well, if we go on now to umm, the next time Joshua was mentioned, it's a very brief.
Uh, reference again? It's the 32nd chapter.
We notice here that Joshua had gone up into the mount and umm.
He was with Moses there. Now they are about to come down in the 15th verse.
Moses turned and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hands. The tables were written on both their sides, on the one side, and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables. And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
00:20:17
And he said it's not the voice of them that shout for the mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry, umm, being overcome, but the noise of them that sing do I hear?
Well, here they are coming down Moses and Joshua from the Mount, and they could hear this noise and you know, Joshua was concerned. What is going on in the camp?
He said that sounds like the sound of war.
But you know, Moses being older and perhaps more experienced, he discerned that this wasn't the voice of war. It was the voice of singing. It was, umm, you might say a party like atmosphere, but MO. But Joshua was concerned. And you know, I think this is just something that is important too for us young people. How how much are we concerned for the people of God? You know, it's very easy in the day in which we're living.
To just be thinking of ourselves.
But it's wonderful when perhaps the Lord gives us the sea. The true happiness is found in seeking to be a help in an encourage to others. You know, there are some young people that come to meetings like this that perhaps they haven't come very often and they don't know many of the young people and they feel sort of lonely. Did you ever come to a conference and feel that way? Or perhaps you think, you know, I'd love to go to the conference out in Los Angeles, but I don't know anybody and I'm afraid to go.
And it's easy to be like that. Well, you know, if you see somebody at a conference who, uh, seems to be by themselves and, uh, lonely, do you seek to go over to them and be an encouragement to them at home in your assembly? Is there somebody who perhaps would, uh, be encouraged by a little visits? You know, it's good to be concerned about others. We're living in a very selfish world. I like the, the example of, uh, Timothy.
Notice there in Philippians chapter 2. We'll just look at it for a second.
Philippians, Chapter 2.
Notice what Paul says about Timothy.
He says in verse 20.
I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state, for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ.
Well, isn't that the way it is today? All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ.
But there was Timothy who naturally cared for the state of those dear believers in Philippi, in Philippi. And so I would encourage you young people, don't be often, Don't be off seeking how you can please yourself. Remember the rich man there. And Luke, he said, uh, what shall I do? Very easy to wake up in the morning and say, what shall I do? But you know, Paul, when he was first saved, he said, Lord, what will thou have me to do?
And so we should be exercised about how we can be a help to others. And I believe that Joshua here, he was concerned and he had good reason to be concerned because here the people were dancing around a golden calf and doing the most outrageous things. But Joshua didn't become part of that. And, uh, it was a very serious matter. In fact, that had consequences.
Take a look at chapter 33 and we'll look at verse 7.
And Moses took the Tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that everyone which sought the Lord went out onto the Tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And it came to pass, when Moses went out into the Tabernacle, that all the people rose up and stood every man at his tent door.
And looked after Moses until he was gone into the Tabernacle. And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the Tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the Tabernacle. And the Lord talked with Moses.
00:25:00
And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the Tabernacle door.
And all the people rose up and worshipped every man in his tent door. And the Lord speak unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friends. And he turned again into the camp. But his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed Not out of the Tabernacle. Well, you know, the Tabernacle was right in the midst of the camp originally.
As I understand it, there were 3 tribes on the one side.
Uh, see, on the West side, there were 3 tribes on the South side, 3 tribes on the east side, and 3 tribes on the north side. And then there was the tribe of Levi all around the camp, but they all were facing the Tabernacle, which was in the midst because God wanted to dwell among his people. And you know, it's very important to realize that we're all like the children of Israel. What should be the center of our life?
Excuse me? The center of our life should be the Lord Jesus and the assembly.
And I believe this is very important. Are we making the Lord Jesus the most important thing in our life? Are we concerned about the assembly where we are? You know, it makes me very sad. When I was young, I went to a meeting, I won't say where it was, but you came to a meeting for the prayer meeting, uh, reading meeting, I think it was on Wednesday night and there might have been 7075 people out to the, to the reading meeting.
Come to the prayer meeting. There might have been a few last maybe 60, but they were well attended.
But you know, today you often see maybe a large number out to the breaking of bread, and when it comes to the prayer meeting and the reading meeting, very few people come out. Why is it Satan has succeeded in getting us so busy that we only can get to the meetings if it's convenient here? Young people, is that true of you or are you concerned about the assembly? Do you make it the center of your life? The Lord Jesus is worthy to be the center of our life, and He would have us to put His interest first.
But we're living in a world where our interests come first. You know, it's a sad thing when I become the center of my life and if it's convenient, I go to meeting. If I if it's not convenient, I don't go. We need to make the Lord's things first. And we find here that because the situation became so difficult and so terrible, here they were worshipping the golden calf that Moses said, I have to take the Tabernacle right out of the camp. And he put it afar a far distance away from the camp. It says they're in the seventh verse.
He pitched it without the camp of far off from the camp.
And notice it says everyone which sought the Lord went out into the Tabernacle of the congregation. So Moses pitched the camp afar off, pitched the Tabernacle afar off from the camp. And you know, it's very interesting to notice that when he did that, it says in verse nine that the cloudy pillar descended and stood at the door of the Tabernacle. In other words, God.
Umm, he endorsed what? What, uh, Moses did? He put his presence there in the Tabernacle, afar off from the camp.
And you know, I believe that's the way it is today. God can't approve of what's going on in Christendom. There's so much idolatry and wickedness mixed up with Christianity that now he would have those who seek him to be without the camp, without the camp. And that is the place that we would desire as believers to be, to go on to the Lord Jesus outside the camp.
And we find here that that's exactly what Joshua did. It says there in the umm, uh, in verse 11.
Uh, Moses went back into the camp and, uh, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed, not out of the camp. He sought the Lord. He wanted to be in that place where the Lord was and not on the camp where all the idolatry was going on.
So the Lord would have us to seek His interest, be outside of those things that are not according to His mind. And we find that that's what Joshua did here.
00:30:11
Well, going on, let's look now at another example. I know our time is running along. I think we'll turn to numbers now.
We'll turn to the 13th chapter.
So we can see here that Joshua was learning many lessons.
He was learning what the flesh was, learning who his companion should be, to take an interest in others and umm, uh, to separate from that which would be a dishonor to the Lord. And now we find in the 13th chapter, another incident comes along and we're introduced to another man who I believe was a young person too. His name is Caleb. We'll just notice a few verses here.
Umm, we might as well start with verse one. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search out the land of Canaan.
Which I give unto the children of Israel, of every tribe of their fathers. Shall ye send a man, everyone, a ruler among them. And Moses, by the commandment of the Lord, sent them from the wilderness of Peron. All those men were heads of the children of Israel. And these were the names of the tribes. We won't read all that, we'll just know it's verse six of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jaffana.
And then verse eight of the tribe of Ephraim, OSHA the son of Nun, verse 16, these are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called OSHA the son of Nun, Jehoshawa or Joshua. And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain.
And see the land that, uh, what it is, and the people that dwelt therein, uh, whether they be strong or weak, few or many, and what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad. And what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents or in strongholds. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein or not. And be of good courage.
And bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and searched the lands from the wilderness of Zinn onto Rehab, as men cometh to Hamath. And they ascended by the South, and came upon Hebron unto Hebron, where a hymen she shy and Talmay the children of Anak were. Now Hebron was built seven years before Zohan in Egypt.
And they came into the brook under the brook of Eschol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bear it between two upon a staff. And they brought of the pomegranates and of the figs.
The place was called the brook because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from fence.
And they returned from searching the land after 40 days.
And, umm.
We'll just, uh, continue, I guess. And they went, uh, and came to Moses and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel under the wilderness of Peron, to Kadish, and brought backward unto them, and unto all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came under the lands, whither thou sentest us. And surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land.
And their cities are walled and very great. And moreover, we saw the children of Anak there. And the Amalekites dwell on the land of the South, and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell on the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.
But the man that went up with him said we be not able to go up against the people.
For they are stronger than we.
Umm and let's just drop down to umm the next chapter and uh verse umm 6 and Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jaffana.
00:35:07
Uh, which were of them that searched the lands, rent their clothes, and they speak unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we passed through, uh, to search it is an exceeding good lands. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the the people of the land.
For they are bread for us, their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us.
Fear them not, but all the congregation bad stone them with stones.
Well, here we come to another incident in the life of Joshua. And now we're introduced to his friends. Caleb, You know Caleb, I believe.
Uh, came from a very privileged background. You notice that umm, he was of a tribe of Judah.
And you know, Judah was the place where Shiloh was. It was the place also where David was going to be born and eventually the Messiah was going to come from Judah. And so I believe here that Caleb had a very privileged, uh, background. And dear young people, I believe I could say that most of us here have had a real privilege of being brought up in homes where the word of God was reverenced and read.
Umm, we had the privilege of coming to the meetings, umm, and uh, we, we are privileged and we find here that Caleb was this kind of a person and, uh, very soon in his life. It's umm, this is the first time I think he's mentioned, umm, he identifies himself with Joshua. You know, it's very interesting. Joshua identified himself with Moses. Caleb identified himself with.
Joshua and we're going to find out if there's time that Othniel, he identified himself with Caleb. They all desired to have fellowship with those that would be a help to them.
And as I said before, uh, there's a little verse that says in Psalm 119, I think it is. I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and that keep thy precepts.
Is that true, true of you? Is it TR true of me? Do we seek to be a companion of those that, uh, fear the Lord and that keep his precepts? Well, I believe it was true of Caleb here and they were told to go and search out the land. You know, I don't believe it was really the Lord's intention that they go and search out the land. In fact, if you looked at Deuteronomy chapter one, the Lord said go in and possess the land, go in and possess it. But the people said, no, no, no, I don't think we should do that. We better go and look at it first.
And we'll find out what the country's like, we'll find out what the people are like, whether they're strong or weak. We'll find out what the what the crops are like. They didn't take the Lord at his word. And so the Lord in this chapter.
Says, all right, if that's the way you want it, I want you to send 12 men to go and search out the land. So they went, all 12 of them. And you know, these twelve who were chosen to go and search out the land, they had a very real responsibility because they were all going to come back with a report. And what did they see when they went to the lands? Well, notice the very first thing they talk about.
It it says here in verse 22, they ascended by the South and came unto Hebron, where a hymen and she shy and Talmai the son of Anak were. So that's the first thing they noticed, the giants. The second thing they noticed, of course, was the fruit of the lands, the Greeks and so on. And you know, dear young people.
As we travel through this wilderness.
It's very easy to look at the giants, and there certainly are a lot of giants in the way and it's very easy to become frightened by them. But you know, these men, they all came back. I'm, I'm sort of ahead of myself. They all came back with a report and, umm, they tell what happens. And they all saw the fruit of the land. They all saw the giants.
But there were ten of them that viewed things differently than two of them.
00:40:04
Ten of them said, look, we can't, we can't go into the land of can. It's impossible. Those giants there, they're way taller than we are. They have these very high walled cities. Uh, they're far stronger than us. Notice the way they talk there in the 31St verse. We be not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we. They measure the difficulties by themselves and it's very easy young people to do exactly that.
To measure the difficulties by ourselves. And there are real difficulties. And one of them is certainly is that we're coming to the point now just before the Lord comes, when we're in very small assemblies and you say, what's the point in even going out to the meetings? There's so few out and there doesn't seem to be any food for my soul. And it's easy to get discouraged. And you know, these ten, they came back and what did they do? They discouraged the people of God.
If you go to Deuteronomy chapter one, let's just look at it for a moment.
Deuteronomy chapter one.
This this same chapter, Deuteronomy one talks about the very incident that we're looking at.
But notice the way they talk in the 28th verse. Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, the people is greater and taller than we, the cities are great and walled up to heaven, and moreover, we have seen the sons of Anakin there. So these ten, they discourage the hearts of the people. But you know Caleb and and Joshua, they were completely different.
You know, what do they say in that 30th verse of chapter 13 of Numbers?
It says Caleb still the people before Moses and said let us go up at once.
And possess it for we are able to overcome it. Now I don't want you to think for a moment that they had self-confidence. It's not as if they said, look, we're stronger than the giants. We can go in there and we can destroy them. That wasn't the point. The point is that they were trusting the Lord. They were measuring the giants by the God of heaven. They knew that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And I'll just suggest this young people, I don't know whether it would be true or not, but.
You know, there was the one man, there was the leader of the giants. His name was Anak, and he had three sons. You know, it's possible that those three sons are represented by the world. The lust of the, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. Aren't they three giants that we all have to face when we're young, particularly, it's the lust of the flesh. And then as we grow a little older, perhaps.
It's the lust of the eye that becomes the main attacker and then the pride of life later on. Well, I just suggest that perhaps those three sons of Anak would bring before us the world in all its forms. They would seek to trip us up and turn us aside. And it's easy to get discouraged and say, what's the point? We might as well just do what we are going to do. The Lord's going to come, and we'll just forget about, uh, seeking to be an encouragement. That's not the way Caleb and Joshua were. They encouraged the people.
Caleb still the people.
And said, let us go up at once, for we are well able. Well, I say again, dear young people, what are we in this day in which we live? Are we seeking to be an encouragement to one another?
Are we seeking and when we come together, to build up and strengthen?
Or are we seeking to tear down? It's easy to be a discourager. And, uh, we find here the 10, the 10, uh, spies, they discourage the people and the people listen to them. And there were only two that were willing to go up. Well, the results of all this was the people. They were angry with umm, Joshua and Caleb. They even spoke of stoning. And you know, if you want to please the Lord, dear young people, it's not going to be a popular path. You won't even be popular with your brother.
And, uh, and yet did that discourage them, the fact that they were threatening to stone them? No, God had to tell the Israel they were going to have to spend the next 38 years in, umm, they're going to have to spend the next 38 years in the wilderness because of their unbelief. And, you know, did Joshua and Caleb get discouraged and say, well, we're fed up with these people? They didn't listen. They didn't trust the Lord.
00:45:09
There's no sense going on with them anymore. Is that the way they talked? No, they went on patiently for another 38 years with God's sailing people. Let's take a look at Joshua 14.
Here we are in the 14th of, uh, Joshua, umm, about 40 years later.
And again, we'll read a few verses.
Uh, verse 6.
And the children of Judah came unto Joshua and Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunna.
The Kenazite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, The man of God, concerning me and thee, and Kadish Varnia.
40 years old was I when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadish Varna to spy out the land.
And I brought him word again, as it was in mine art. Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me, made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swear on that day, saying, Surely the lands were on thy feet, have trodden, shall be thy inheritance and thy children's forever, because thou hast holy followed the Lord my God. And now behold, the Lord has kept me alive.
And he has said, these 45 years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses.
While the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness. And now, lo, I am this day 85 years old, and yet I am strong this day, as I was in the day of Moses sent me. As my strength was then, Even so was my strength now. For war, both to go out and to come in and so on. We won't just go on for the moment. So here we are, 40 years later. What's happening, Umm.
Caleb and Joshua, they're continuing in the path of faith.
And you know, life goes by very quickly.
And isn't it wonderful to see those perhaps who have endured the difficulties? Like I said, there's all kinds of difficulties in our in our past. But how encouraging here to see that that Joshua and Caleb, they continued those 40 years, they didn't give up. And I'm sure there were a lot of difficulties that perhaps we don't even read about in the word of God that they had to endure. But here they are at the end and now Joshua and Caleb.
Are together and Caleb asks a re makes a request.
I might just say this. You know, Caleb, you know what Caleb means? It means a dog. That might seem strange. Why would Caleb's name mean a dog? Well, you know, I can't say that I've ever owned a dog, but I have observed the dogs are usually very faithful to their masters. Not only are they faithful to their masters, but.
Wherever the Master goes, there's where the dog goes. And you know, I think perhaps that's what the Lord is trying to teach us here about Caleb. He followed, He wholly followed the Lord his God. He was like the faithful dog that follows the Master. Here he is 45 years later going on faithfully still associated with Joshua and how encouraging that is.
And you know, he says there.
In the verse nine, I'm sorry, verse eight, he says, my brethren that went up with me, made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
You know what, it might sound like a boast, didn't it? Why would Joshua, why would Caleb say that in almost it sounds like he's boasting. But you know, I think that he had the confidence that through those 45 years that he had to stay in the wilderness with those unbelieving people, his desire was to follow the Lord, his God, his holy followed. It doesn't mean he didn't, he didn't have, he didn't have failing times. We all get out of the path every once in a while.
But I believe that.
In the main, what Caleb desired was to wholly follow the Lord. And, uh, so how wonderful here that the Lord, Umm, takes up Caleb here. And what does Caleb want? He wants the city of, of Umm, Kirjath Arba. If you went down there a little further in the story, I don't want to take time. He wanted the city to belong to the giants. Just imagine, I wonder why he wanted that city. Well, you'll notice that the city that belonged to the giants.
00:50:18
Was really the city of Hebron. It was the very place where Abraham had lived after he separated from Lance. It was the very place where Abraham was buried, where Sarah was buried, where Umm Isaac was buried in Rebecca and Joseph. They were buried there in The Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. And I believe that Umm Caleb value that place.
It had special, it had a special place in the affections of of Umm Caleb. And so he asked for it. And yet the very place he asked for was one of the most difficult places to take because it was the home of the giants. But notice what he says. I think it's so beautiful.
Umm, he says. Umm.
He says in verse 12 Now therefore give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day, for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there and the cities were great and fenced. If so be the Lord, be with, I will be with me. Then I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said. So he has that confidence from the Lord that the Lord is going to drive them out, and he did drive them out.
And Hebron became, uh, the possession of Caleb. How encouraging.
Well, may it give us the courage, uh, dear young people, to continue on for the Lord. We're as weak as water. We have nothing to boast in, but the Lord just wants us to keep our eye upon Him and He will work things out no matter how difficult the pathway. And what I think is beautiful, if you go to Judges one, we don't really have time to look at it.
I'll just suggest it.
But.
In judges chapter one.
We find someone else. His name is Osneil.
And we can't really take time to read it, but often the old was Caleb's nephew.
And no doubt Othniel had looked at Caleb, he had looked over his life. He had seen the way he had been faithful over the years. And umm, Caleb says, look, whoever will take the city of Kerja Seifer, I'll give him axe and my daughter to wife. And what is often he'll do, he goes out and he conquers Kurds as deeper. Uh, we all know, of course the courage asked sea firm means the city of books And uh, perhaps it would bring before us.
Umm, umm, education. We know, dear young people, that we certainly need to be educated in this world today, it seems it's almost impossible to get work, uh, with just a high school education. But you know, we don't want the City of Books to overcome us.
We want to, umm, seek what the Lord's help to keep things in their proper place. And here, uh, off nearly went out and he conquered the city of books And the result was that he got, uh, AXA Caleb's daughter to wife. And, you know, she was a wonderful help to him. And, you know, young people, it's nice when you can get a partner who is a real help and an encouragement in the Lord's things when she got a feel from her father.
She wasn't content with the field. She wanted springs of water and you know that would speak of refreshments and the Lord, I'm sorry, Caleb, he not only answered her request and gave her springs of water, but he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs. That was which would speak of the Lord Jesus and the glory that would speak of his life here on earth. To be our example, it was the upper springs and the lower and the nether springs. We don't have time to go into it, but.
Uh, there was off, you know, he got AXA Caleb's daughter to wife and later on he was able to be a victor over Shushan Richard Tham.
And he was mightily used to the Lord. I might say just one more thing too, just before we close, and that is that, you know, Joshua, through those various years, the Lord was training him to become a leader. His name means Jehovah the Savior, the same as the word Jesus. And we know that he was the very one that was going to lead the children of Israel across the Jordan River and into the land of Canaan to take possession.
00:55:08
So the Lord was training him. And so, dear young people, the Lord sometimes might be training some of you to become a help and take a place of leadership among the Lord's people. I don't believe Caleb was that kind of a person. It seems to me he was the more retiring type. He didn't take a place of leadership, but he went on faithfully. And I believe that he was a real encouragement not only to his family, but to those around him.
As we have seen, and so the Lord doesn't call us all to a place of leadership.
Uh, some he calls just to go on day by day. And you know, I believe the Lord would have us to be an encouragement and a help to one another is a verse that says in Romans, I believe no man liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself. In other words, we affect others and the way we live. Well, may we be an encouragement and uh, go on and seek to be a help, uh, where we are and the Lord is going to give us.
A rich reward if we go on faithfully for him. May we be willing to go on for him till he comes. Let's just close with one hymn 312.
312.
Lead on, almighty our Lord.
And.
God, let it come here.
Umm, just ask the Lord's blessing.
John 16:16-33
Gospel 2
Gospel—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.
Good evening.
Would like to thank each and everyone for responding to the invitation to come to the Gospel meeting tonight.
Some have been invited recently perhaps.
Others, perhaps within the last two or three months.
And we're thankful to see each and everyone here tonight at the Gospel meeting.
Now there's another invitation.
That's been going forth.
For almost 2000 years.
And the question is.
Have you responded to the invitation that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has extended?
He says, come unto me. It's one thing to come to the gospel meeting.
To sing the hymns, to listen to the message.
But I won't save your soul. What counts is have you come to Jesus?
Now tonight I'd like to begin our meeting.
By singing at him.
And it's #9.
Starts with the word come.
I was looking through this hymn sheet and there's two hymns. Let's start with the word come, COME, come.
And we sang one of those hymns last night. I like to sing the other one tonight.
#9 Come every soul by Sino Press. There's mercy with the Lord, and He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word. Only trusting.
Only trust him.
He will save you.
He will save you now perhaps we could stand as we sing this hymn together #9.
Yeah.
I'd like to also sing #14 will remain seated as we sing #14.
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
#14.
Nsnoise.
565-8587 No, I'm not lying on my hand.
Let's look to the Lord for His help and prayer.
It's great privilege.
Be able to.
Stand here tonight and to tell you God's way of salvation.
We have in our hands tonight the Word of God. I'd like to turn.
To a story.
00:10:01
It found in.
The Gospel according to Luke.
Now, this morning, my brother Derek Molin.
He told us some stories, He read us some stories from Luke chapter 8.
And you know, we can't do any better than to tell stories about Jesus.
Jesus alone can save.
Jesus alone can satisfy.
And as we read these stories.
In the Gospels.
Our hearts are thrilled.
As we realize the love of the Savior.
For lost and perishing sinners.
In Luke Chapter 7.
We find here.
A woman who was a Sinner.
She comes to Jesus, she's attracted to him.
She feels her need.
But she recognizes that in the Lord Jesus.
There is one who cares for her.
One who loves her.
One who is gracious.
One who is able to meet her in her need.
Save her soul, Satisfy her heart.
You know this story here.
Took place back in the 1St century, long time ago.
Wonderful thing about the Savior is he doesn't change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday in the 1St century.
And today, 21St century.
And forever.
That's why I love to sing about Jesus.
I like to read about him, I like to talk about him.
Because I know he is one who we can trust. You can put your confidence in him and you will never be disappointed.
Well, here in Luke Chapter 7.
Let's read.
But before I read, let me just tell you something about the Bible.
You know, some people say.
You're always talking from the Bible, but how do you know it's true?
How do you know that it is the word of God?
You know what I have found people that talk like that.
Often have never ever read the Bible.
They passed judgment on it.
And they don't know what they're talking about because they haven't read it.
You know, as I read the Bible.
And I speak for others in this hall here tonight.
I know you find it to be a treasure chest. It becomes more real and wonderful the more that we read it. It developed an appetite for it.
And there's treasure in the Word of God that you will not find in any other book.
But what I see in the Bible is that God has used many different men to write the book, but he's the author.
I've been told that the Bible has been written by 40 different men over a period of 1600 years.
And these men have not collaborated, they have not got together and.
To determine what each one is going to write so that they don't make a contradiction. Did you know that there is not a contradiction? I don't believe in the word of God, even though it's been written by all these different men over such a time span.
It's marvelous to think about.
Maybe I could illustrate it this way?
Here we are in this building.
And we're sitting in our seats here.
And if somebody desired a picture puzzle.
00:15:02
Of this meeting.
They want a picture puzzle.
And this puzzle is going to have 40 different pieces.
To the puzzle.
And it's going to be a picture of everybody sitting in their seats here in this room.
So we choose forty different people.
End.
You say I want you to go home.
And you make.
A piece of the puzzle.
So we have 40 people now they look at this room.
And they go home.
Each one to his own home.
And makes a puzzle piece.
At an appointed time.
All these 40 individuals.
Are asked to return to this room.
And we're gonna put all the puzzle pieces together and we're gonna look at this nice picture of everybody sitting here in this room.
You say now.
Don't be facetious, it would never work.
Of course it would never work.
The only way it would work.
Is there one individual?
Was to make an outline.
And picture the people and then.
Tell the individual, go home and make a piece.
And this is how it is to be. And then you come back and then it could be put together and it would all fit together. Because we don't have 40 different people doing what they want or what they imagine or the way they think it should be. But there's one individual that's over the whole works. Well, the point here I'm trying to make.
Is that God?
By his spirit used men.
To write this book.
Holy men of God.
They spoke, they wrote, as they were moved by the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit is God, and so God moved men to write this book and it all fits together.
From Genesis all the way to Revelation.
And there's hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament.
And many have been fulfilled in the New Testament.
To the letter.
You know, in the book of Daniel.
Many will not accept Daniel as prophecy, the book of Daniel. So see, that's history.
No, Daniel was written before the fact. But the point is, Daniel has moved by the Spirit of God, wrote down future events so accurate that man says it's got to be history. But no, it's not. And.
This book is divinely inspired. There's no other book like it.
God has preserved it to us.
I've been told that perhaps there's 25,000 copies of the scriptures. You know, before the printing press came into existence way back.
In early centuries.
Copies were made have been found.
It's different than other books that men have written.
Perhaps just a handful of copies.
Of various works of men, literary works, but the word of God, thousands and thousands and thousands, thousands, thousands of old copies. You see, God preserves his word to us.
It's the Bible.
And it's the word of God.
00:20:03
Well, let's read this story in Luke Chapter 7. This is a true story and I'd like to read from verse.
29 Luke Chapter 7 and verse 29.
And all the people that heard him and the publicans justified God.
Being baptized with the baptism of Job but.
The Pharisees employers rejected the counsel of God against themselves being not baptized of Him.
Verse 35 But Wisdom is justified of all her children.
Now this is the story here.
In verse 36 it says, And one of the Pharisees desired him, that he would eat with him. He went into the Pharisees house and sat down to meet. Behold, a woman in the city which was a Sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisees house, brought an alabaster box appointment and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head.
And kissed his feet.
And anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee which had been him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a Sinner.
And Jesus answering, said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
And he saith, Masters say on.
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed 500 pence and the other 50.
When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon.
Do you style this woman? I entered into thine house.
Thou gave us me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
Thou gave us me no kiss, But this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet, my head with oiled out, it's not anoint, But this woman hath anointed my feet.
With ointment, wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.
She loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
They had sat at meet with him, began to say within themselves, Who is this?
That forgiveth sins also.
And he said to the woman.
Thy faith has saved thee. Go in peace.
I started in verse.
29 because we see.
That there were those that justified God.
I believe that they declared that.
What God said was right.
They accepted what God said.
However, there were those that rejected the counsel of God, the Pharisees, and the lawyers.
The Pharisees were religious.
Can you imagine those that were religious leaders rejecting the counsel of God?
They were opposed to God.
You say, well, I thought religion was to uphold God's interest.
And promote him in this world.
But you know what?
I'm sorry to say.
Man's religion does not promote God.
For his son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christianity.
It's not man's religion. Christianity is what God has done for man and the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And God's desire is that all men should honor the Son.
And so is that Honor not the son, Honor not the father who has sent him.
00:25:05
God evaluates you and me, not on what we do.
But our attitude toward Jesus?
And we find in this story.
There was one whose attitude toward the Lord Jesus was beautiful.
One who had her faith in the Lord Jesus.
And it was one whose attitude was rotten.
Had no faith in the Lord Jesus.
We have the same today. I wonder in this hall here tonight, what do you think of Christ? Your eternal destiny hinges on how you answer that question.
What thinking of Christ?
Pilot said. What shall I do then?
With Jesus is called Christ.
Well, we know that Pilot rejected him.
And.
Pilot acknowledged.
That he found no fault in him.
But what did he do? He listened to the people.
He was governed by what the people wanted, and the people were clamoring for the blood of Jesus.
Away with him, Away with him will not have this man to reign over us.
Now what? How did you answer that question tonight?
What have you done with Jesus?
Have you responded to his invitation?
He says, Come unto me.
Well, you're at labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
We find here in this story there was a woman and she was a Sinner woman.
But when she heard that Jesus was in the house.
It tells us.
That she brought an alabaster box of ointment into the house where he was and stood at his feet behind him, weeping.
Did she knock on the door?
And when Simon came to the door, did she say, Simon, would you mind if I come into your house? Because I'd really like to come to Jesus.
Of course, she didn't do that.
She really wasn't welcome there by Simon.
And that's the last place she would have gone to Simon the Pharisee's house, except there was one in the house that made the difference, that attracted her heart.
That was Jesus.
And I believe that she went right to Jesus. She didn't go by way of the disciples, Peter, James and John or any of these ones. She went directly to the Lord Jesus.
That's your privilege in mind tonight.
To come to Jesus.
By faith.
It tells us here she was a Sinner.
Notorious Sinner, no doubt. She was known on the streets of the city, I suppose.
But she found that that kind of a lifestyle did not satisfy her heart. There was an 8 there, an empty feeling.
And no doubt her sins weighed down upon her.
You know what David said back in the Psalms?
You said my iniquities.
Have risen up above my head.
As a heavy burden.
They're too heavy for me.
Let the Lord Jesus.
You know he invites those who are burdened with sin to come. It was on the invitation we had read to us last night. Jesus said, Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden.
I will give you rest.
Oh, how he desires to give rest tonight.
00:30:03
He sang it in the opening hymn.
Come every soul by sin oppressed. There is mercy with the Lord, and He will surely give you rest by trusting in His Word.
First three, yes, Jesus is the truth, the way that leads you interest. Believe in Him without delay and you are fully blessed.
You know many in this hall tonight.
They found that in Jesus.
There is.
Rest for the soul, rest for the conscience.
Because on the cross the Lord Jesus went.
And suffered there the jest for the unjust. He would suggest we were the unjust. What for? That he might bring us to God.
And he bowed under.
The weight of my sins.
And yours too, if you trust him.
God who knew them.
Placed them on his son.
And we read this morning from the South the Lord Jesus could see the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep my where there is no standing.
Psalm 22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
You know the Lord Jesus, when he asked that question, was not finding fault with God.
Not in the least. In fact, he justifies God.
He says Thou art holy.
Thou art holy. What does it mean to be holy? To be holy is to abhor evil.
And to love good.
NetSuite, he's a Christ, holy God.
You know this man, Simon?
Did not understand the holiness of God, the holiness of Jesus.
And by the way.
Jesus.
Was God manifest here in the flesh?
Apostle John said we heard him.
We saw him with our eyes. We looked upon him.
And our hands have handled. We touched him.
It was the word of life.
And he describes the blessedness.
Of knowing Christ as the Son of God, the Son of the Father.
Yes.
His presence here.
It was.
Audible was visible.
Tangible.
God.
Manifest in flesh. We sang it into him this morning, the glories of the living God.
Were revealed in Jesus face.
Not marvelous to think about.
That God came to this planet Earth.
2000 years ago when the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He could be seen walking down those.
Roads over there in Israel.
Galley.
Judea.
These different places.
And as one looked upon him.
Could be said there is God.
The one who?
Created all things, made the universe.
It tells us.
That God who at century times, in diverse manners, spake unto them.
Fathers by the prophets, He had in his last days spoken unto us by His Son.
Whom He has appointed here of all things, by whom also He made the worlds.
00:35:00
Moving the brightness.
Of his glory, glory of God.
And upholding all things by the word of His power. Think of the glories of Christ.
When He had by himself first our sins.
Sat down on the right hand, the Majesty got on high.
It's marvelous to contemplate the grace of our God.
But here we find Jesus in the House of this Pharisee. He had responded to the invitation.
Good Pharisees.
Who had hidden him to come to his house?
But we find out that there was really no appreciation for the person of Christ on the part of the Pharisee.
If I was just the opposite.
With the.
Woman here.
You know she brings an alabaster box of ointment.
I believe it was Alabaster Box and Myrrh. No doubt it was perhaps the most valuable possession that she had.
Perhaps she used it out on the street.
But she brings this.
And she wants to use it not on herself, but she wants to use it on Jesus. She wants to show her love for the Lord Jesus.
And the love was a result of her faith in him.
And notice what she does in verse 38 it says.
She stood at his feet.
You know there was a propriety.
Two.
The way she approached the Lord, there was a reverence there. She stood at his feet.
And.
I suppose she stood in awe of this one.
And it tells us that she was weeping. Now why was she weeping?
Could it be that she was so touched in her heart?
That one.
Who is so great, so mighty? Who had been performing these miracles?
Over there in Palestine, could it be that he would care for a poor guilty Sinner like herself? I think it just touched her heart and caused her to weep. And the tears, they flowed.
And they must have flowed quite vigorously, because notice what it says.
She began to wash his feet with tears. That's a lot of tears that were shed.
And then she did wipe them with the hairs of her head.
And then she kissed his feet.
And then she anointed them with the ointment.
What more could she have done?
You know what comes to mind in connection with this?
It's written in the Old Testament, but I believe quoted over in Romans.
It says how beautiful are the feet.
Of them that preach the gospel of peace.
And bring glad tidings of good things.
That's what characterized the Lord Jesus.
He was here in this world to preach the gospel of peace.
To bring glad tidings of good things.
End.
We can stand here tonight.
And even though.
Our newspapers.
Our newscasts, our magazines, our flooded with.
News that's so depressing. Bad news.
The good news is.
That the Lord Jesus is still extending an invitation to you to come.
And accept Him and find joy and peace, not in this world, but in believing on Him.
There was that Angel back in Luke two we read about.
How did the glory of the Lord? It shone down.
On that night around the shepherds and there was an Angel that spoke something to this effect. Uh, fear not.
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For I bring.
Glad tidings of good things.
That shall be unto all men, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ Jesus the Lord.
And then a short while later, there's a multitude of the heavenly host, many angels.
And you know.
They say glory to God in the highest peace upon earth. Goodwill from that.
And that was the description of the mission upon which Jesus was sent.
He was here in this world to bring glory to God, the highest, but also peace to a troubled world.
And goodwill to man, His desire was to bless.
And you know, it did the heart of the Lord Jesus good to see this woman there now.
The Pharisee.
Thought that because this woman was a Sinner.
That she was really unfit.
To be in contact with.
Jesus.
He did not understand who Jesus is.
And that's the big problem with religion today.
You know, religion keeps us.
In ignorance as to what we are in ourselves as poor, helpless, hopeless.
Hellbound Centers, But it also keeps us in ignorance as to who God is, that he's a savior God.
But I believe if we're going to enjoy the gospel.
We gotta go to the two extremes.
Man today, he doesn't like to go to extremes. He likes to find a happy medium. That's what religion is trying to do.
It's actually trying to.
Depreciate God to some extent. He's not so.
Holy.
His requirements?
You might say.
So holy.
And also you're not so bad.
That's what Satan tells us.
You're not so bad.
But we find that in the.
Word of God.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We find a life-size description of mankind over in Romans chapter 3.
And it's not nice. It's terrible.
Isaiah speaks of the condition of man.
Away from God doing his own will.
This is from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
It's full of wounds and bruises and and putrefying sores.
Sources think.
End.
It's not a pleasant picture.
You say well.
I thought you were here to tell us some good news.
Well, the good news is that in spite of what we are in ourselves.
God loves us.
And we learned that God commends his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, while we were yet this bad, that Christ died for us.
And so God in mercy sent his Son, as we often sing, to a world by sin undone.
And God.
Would not withhold his son, his only son.
Would not spare him, but he delivered him up for the soul.
To think what God did.
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It's marvelous. How could we question the love of God? How could we?
Well, we have to go along here.
Let's go to verse.
39 Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him, for she is a Sinner.
So here in this Pharisee, in his heart, he is finding fault with Jesus.
But he didn't realize that the Lord Jesus knew all about the woman.
And.
He knew all about the Pharisee, about Simon. He knew what was going on in the mind of that man.
The disciples could say, as we had in chapter 16 of John.
We are sure that I know it's all things.
And it's true. The Lord Jesus knows all things. You know, He looks down in this hall here tonight and he knows everybody. Everyone.
He knows what's going on in your mind, what's going on in your heart. He knows the Lord is good stronghold in the day of trouble, but He knoweth them that trust in Him.
And then the Lord Jesus goes on, and he speaks to Simon and he tells the story about these.
2 debtors.
One owed 500 pence and the other 50.
But they were both bankrupt.
So it tells us.
The creditor frankly forgave them both, Tommy. Therefore which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most, And he said unto him, Thou is rightly judged. Well, from a human standpoint, Simon could.
Give the right answer.
The one that was forgiven most would be the one that would love most.
But in saying that, he really condemned himself.
Simon did not recognize himself.
As a Sinner like that woman, no doubt he had quite a good opinion of himself.
And the Lord has to expose what's in his heart. And He does.
44 He turns to the woman, and says unto Simon, See you saw this woman, I enter into thy house. Thou gaveest me no water for my feet.
Well, that was a common courtesy.
To wash.
One's feet.
I can't say no too much about the customs that prevailed in that country at that time, but I suppose they walked around on dusty roads and it would be nice to have.
Water to wash the feet, maybe to cool them down, but also perhaps to clean off the feet.
It's like we might take off our shoes.
Before we go into the house if they're dirty.
So Simon didn't even show that.
Kind of appreciation for the Lord.
On the other hand, we find that the woman.
She hath washed my feet with tears, wiped them with the hairs of her head.
That gave us me no kiss.
What's wrong with you, Simon?
Do not realize who it is that you're entertaining. You could not entertain a more wonderful guest.
But there was no water for the feet. There was no kiss.
On his part 46 my head with oiled out. It's not annoying.
But this woman hath anointed my feet with one.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.
For she loved much.
But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
They had sat at meet with him and began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
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Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 13.
He preaches and he says, Be it known unto you men and brethren, that through this man that's Jesus is preached unto you, the forgiveness of sins.
And by him all that believe are justified from all things by which they could not be justified.
By the law of Moses.
Lord Jesus could forgive sins. Why? Because he was God. They didn't recognize that, they just said meet with him, began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
And then the Lord Jesus says to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee.
Go in peace. That's the bottom line. You know this woman, I believe she justified.
The Lord Jesus.
By what she said, by her actions.
She was one of Wisdom's children.
It tells us here in 35, wisdom is justified of all their children.
So she justified him.
It's wonderful to think that he justified her.
And you know, we have these two words, faith and peace. They're put together in Romans chapter 5.
But the end of port says our Lord Jesus Christ, who is delivered for our offenses and was raised again for our justification, therefore being justified by faith.
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you tonight, do you have peace with God? How is it with your soul? You cannot be happy unless you enjoy a relationship.
With God, With the Lord Jesus. God wants you for his children.
He loves you, he wants you, He sends his son.
And by virtue of.
What the Lord Jesus did at the cross of Calvary. A full and free pardon can be extended even to the worst Sinner.
And I'll tell you something and this.
It it, it almost sounds too good to be true, but it is true. The worst Sinner is saved and in the glory. And that's the Apostle Paul. You know, he went around persecuting the Church of God, Christians. He thought he was doing the right thing.
But it was a terrible thing that he was doing.
But you know, he came and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Paul invited to Timothy, he said this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of whom I am chief, that is the chief of sinners. So you may be a bad Sinner, but I wanna tell you something.
Not too bad for the Lord Jesus, because the chief of sinners is already saved by the grace of God, by the blood of Christ.
And I look forward to seeing him. Are you saved tonight? Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Jesus lives Christ for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried, but he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. And now the question is, will you accept it?
I was going to tell the story.
Well, I see our time according to that clock allows us another 3-4 minutes.
Don't let anything or anybody keep you from coming to the Lord Jesus.
I talked to a man one time.
He said I wouldn't accept Christ because when I go back to work I know they'll make fun of me and he couldn't handle that well.
There's no good excuse for not coming to the Lord Jesus.
And this Sinner woman here is an example of one who is determined to come.
And she did, and she got a blessing.
I think she came in faith, but she went away knowing that.
She was saved and had peace.
Back about.
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Six years ago.
There was a man that was out in Colorado.
And he was.
He explored canyons.
And he had already, apparently.
Climbed about 49 of those high peaks out in Colorado.
14,000 foot peaks.
And he was preparing to climb Mount McKinley.
The highest mountain is continent.
One day he went out.
For the end of April. And he would go on his own and he had his gear with him, the ropes, the tackle and so on. And he was climbing and he put his right arm into a crevice in the rock to get a hold. And all of a sudden the rock shifted.
He tried to pull his arm out, couldn't do it. He got his tackle. He did all that he could to try to wedge.
The rock so he could get his arm out, but it didn't work. He was trapped, he was pinned. He was in serious trouble.
Time went on. His water ran out.
By the time Thursday came around.
He faced, he knew, death if something wasn't done.
So what did he do? But he had a little pocket knife. I don't know how big it was, but he went to work and he put a tourniquet on his arm.
And then he amputated his arm.
We heard that story this morning.
About what took place with that little girl.
But this man here amputated his arm.
And then apparently he got the ropes and he was able to.
Repel down the 60 feet down to the Canyon floor and he walked toward his vehicle.
Trying to remember all the details, but any case he was picked up and taken to the hospital. But what impressed me was there was a man who was concerned about his life.
You want to hold on to his life even at such a cost. Losing his forearm. You know this happened in Maine some years back too, with a lobsterman. He amputated his arm after he had got caught.
In the big rigging, the wheel that runs the traps out into the water. Apparently his jacket got caught in there and flung him into the water and he tried to hit the switch to turn it off but couldn't reach it and he knew that his end.
Was just a matter of short timing. Took out his knife and amputated his arm. Then he piloted the boat through rough seas back to the pier.
With one arm from the throttle to the helm, back and forth, back and forth. It was quite a miracle to say the least. But he survived, and he had no regrets about what he did to his arm. But the point I'm trying to make here is that.
Here are men that are concerned about the physical life.
And they're willing to go to such an extreme in order to preserve their physical life. But what is more important is your spiritual life. And the point is, unless you have Christ, you are still dead in your sins before God. You need Christ. And are you going to allow anything or anybody to keep you from Christ, whether it be alcohol, drugs, ****.
Maybe it's your business. You're consumed with your business.
Whatever it might be, maybe it's sports, maybe it's music.
You know, things that we need to.
Part with perhaps in order to come to Christ.
Well, the Lord Jesus, he said if your hand offend you, cut it off.
It's better to.
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Pass into.
Life with one hand and into Hellfire with two hands.
He spoke with the feet. If your foot offends you, cut it off. It's better to.
Pass into life with one foot and into Hellfire with two feet.
If your eye offends you, pluck it out. It's better to pass into life with one eye than with two eyes into Hellfire.
Tonight you have opportunity to come to Jesus.
End.
We urge you to come while there is still opportunity because time is short. The coming of the Lord has drawn nigh.
Let's pray together.
Open Mtg. 3
Open—B. Prost, D. Mearns, K. Harman
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.
Some of these exhortations.
The thoughts expressed have, I know, touched all of our hearts.
Brought tears, perhaps to our eyes. At least they do to mine.
And just in a few minutes that our remaining.
I asked myself, and I asked your heart, the question, how can we carry it all out?
How can we carry it out?
We've had brought before us the need for dependence in our lives.
The fact that.
Not one of us can walk.
A pathway before the Lord without faith.
And her brother Dawn brought before us how Peter had to learn by repeated lessons.
How to exercise faith?
Our brother Ken was bringing for us the need for faithfulness in these last days.
The need to walk in what God has given us and to pay attention to those things.
That have been brought before us.
And now we've heard a little bit about the marriage relationship of most needful exhortation in this day and age.
Because as we all know.
The gap between what shall I say, we might even consider to be the normal relationship in marriage, I say the gap between that and the actual reality that this world has placed before us is becoming wider and wider and believers are being affected by it.
Could I read a couple of verses and just make a comment or two on them? The first one part of a verse in the chapter we had before us this morning, John 16.
Just the 1St 4 verses of chapter 16 and verse.
14th.
Speaking of the Spirit of God.
The Lord Jesus speaking here, he shall glorify me.
Then in Philippians chapter one.
A well known verse.
Philippians chapter one and verse 20.
The Apostle Paul speaking here.
According to my earnest expectation and my hope.
Matter nothing. I shall be ashamed for that. With all boldness as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body.
Whether it be by life?
Or by death.
For to me, to live is Christ.
And the guy is gay. And one more scripture in Luke's Gospel, chapter 10 I think it is.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 10.
And verse 17.
Earlier on in the chapter, the Lord Jesus has sent out seventy of his followers.
Two by two.
And as he had given them a Commission, so they had gone out.
Working miracles, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
And here they return.
Luke 10 and 17 And the 70 returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils or demons are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Notwithstanding.
In this rejoice not, let the spirits are subject unto you.
But rather rejoice.
Because your names are written in heaven.
And then notice what follows in that hour. Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.
For those hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
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Even so far, for so it seemed good in thy sight.
All things are delivered to me of my father, and no man knoweth who the Son is but the Father.
And who the Father is but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
There is only one way to carry all this out that we have had brought before us.
And that is if the motive of your heart and mind.
Is the honor and glory of Christ.
And not the gratification of self.
Satan has done a good job.
Of bringing Christianity down to the level of this world. Does our brother Dawn reminded us in the address. Or rather, perhaps it was in the reading this morning.
That the whole motive, the whole.
Pattern of things that governs the world that Cain and his family set up.
Itself and if we are not careful.
Is it not true that that very mode of that very Spirit can animate us even in the things of Christ?
So that I look upon the Lord as a means to my end, rather than recognizing that He is worthy no matter what the cost.
Of every second.
When Paul wrote the book of Philippians, we know that he was in prison.
And although he was not perhaps in the same kind of a prison as he was.
When he wrote Second Timothy, nevertheless, he was deprived of his liberty.
And there he was, unable to go about.
But what was his thought?
Always he says there, that Christ may be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
When the Lord Jesus sent those 70 out, it was with a Commission to exercise power in His name.
Two work miracles to demonstrate to that nation of Israel that here was the one who was the true Messiah, to preach the gospel, that the rightful king was there.
And they come back full of joy.
Oh, it had been even as the Lord had said to them.
And they come back saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us through thy name.
Oh, the Lord shared in that joy, and I have said this before. Forgive me if you have heard me say it before, but it has touched my own heart.
The Lord shared in that joy, and he says, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Perhaps a view into the future when Satan will be cast out of heaven.
Probably in the middle of the last prophetic week, just as the Great Tribulation begins.
And the Lord Jesus again reiterates that there was power.
Power that would be given to them because Satan as a result of his work on the cross.
Would be and is now a defeated foe. Thank God for that.
And we wouldn't diminish that in any way.
But that it seems the Lord Jesus speaks to their hearts in a way that has often spoken to my own heart.
Because he very gently adjusts their outlook and thinking.
He says, Rejoice not that the demons are subject unto you, but what does he say?
Rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. Why does he say that?
All because even in the exercise of whatever gift God may have given you and me and we all have some degree of gift even in The Walking before the Lord in this world.
Even in the using of whatever power you and I may have as a result of being faithful to Christ.
And there is power there.
Even in the exercise of all of that which gives us victory over Satan, wonderful as it is.
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If we are not careful, self can be rather pleased.
With the fact we are being used of the Lord, we are doing something for the Lord.
What does the Lord say?
Joyce Knott.
Because of all that. But rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Oh, what did you and I have to do with our names being written in heaven?
Oh, it humbles us, does not. Nothing but our sins. Nothing but the awfulness of Calvary's cross.
We had nothing to do with it. It's the hymn records it for us. The mighty work was all his own.
Though we shall share his glorious throne.
Oh, that is what I believe the Spirit of God would bring before you and me in these last days.
Does this have an application to does I believe in many areas of our lives?
It has an application in our personal lives. Where am I going and what am I doing?
Is it for the honor and glory of Christ no matter what happens to me, or is it Lord help me to fulfill what I want, to get what I need in this world?
I say it very kindly because I reiterate.
I must confess that when Dawn Rule, at the beginning of his address, looked out at you young people and commented on what encouragement you were to him.
I almost said Amen out loud.
I restrain myself but.
I felt it in my soul.
You are a tremendous encouragement, but the world around you, I say it because some of us have seen it develop insidiously and yet in reality just the same. We're an attitude and spirit that's taken over this world that says God is there in order to make you and me happy. And that is the deception that will eventually destroy your heart and mind before God because God will not allow you and me to take the glory that belongs to His beloved Son.
Nor is he satisfied with anything less than a sight that looks ahead.
And looks up to that one who is there at his right hand, and who is worthy of all praise and all glory.
It translates into family life and into the marriage relationship as brother Dave was bringing before us.
Because how can a wife reverence her husband?
Sometimes we are unworthy of the reverence, aren't we, brethren?
How can the wife dwell with his, or rather the husband dwell with his wife according to knowledge, when perhaps he says I have enough on my own shoulders to keep my own head above water? She'll have to keep her own head above water in spiritual things.
And it's beautiful to see how.
The word of God says no. As our brother Dave was saying, you are to grow together.
How beautiful that is. I remember my late father-in-law, Albert Hayhoe, emphasizing that verse to me when we were newly married, and that's getting close to 40 years ago now.
But I want to say just one more word and I hope it won't be misunderstood.
Does all of this translate into the collective aspect of things?
It's a day when the devil puts into your heart and mind. You don't have to put up with this or that or the other things. You don't have to put up, shall I say it with hurt feelings. You don't have to put up with wrong things. You don't have to put up with somebody's offending you because they say something that they ought not.
And as a result, sometimes, and I speak to my own heart, there is a tendency in our hearts to say, I will not go along with this. I want more than this, I want more than that. I want to do this, I want to do that.
Christ.
Becomes secondary. His claims, His honor, his glory.
Become secondary.
May I use a personal illustration?
I apologize for doing it once in a meeting some months ago.
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And her brother came up to me afterward.
And in a gentle way rebuked me, he said. Bill, don't hesitate. If the Lord lays on your heart to use a personal illustration, it makes it real. It's not always the bad thing to do.
Some years ago, and I'm not the only one in this audience that had the same problem.
But some of us were shaken right to our very foundation and core.
By some difficulties among the Lord's people.
Some of us, and I among them, missed the path for a while.
And had to face that solemn fact in the Lord's presence. And I can tell you it was not easy.
It was not easy.
And I can remember very well wrestling with the Lord as to the whole question.
Because the Lord said you have to humble yourself.
You have to admit you were wrong.
And I said, Lord, what about the wrong of others?
The Lord said we're dealing with you're wrong at the moment. I'll look after the others. If they've done wrong, we're dealing with yours, never mind the others.
And I said, but Lord.
Suppose I do what you are bringing before me.
It may mean.
The end of any public service for the Lord.
The Lord said don't worry about that.
If I'm glorified.
Can you do it?
I said Lord, it'll mean eating a lot of humble pie.
The Lord, as it were, seemed to say it's for my honor and glory. Is it worth it?
It wasn't easy.
I say that not to talk about myself, but I say that as an encouragement perhaps to younger ones here who may at times go through similar struggles and who may find at times that the pathway is not easy.
I am thankful to say the Lord gave me the grace to say yes, Lord.
And I can well remember.
In a conversation with our late brother Norman Barry Wright Of Montreal, here.
And I said brother.
The Lord seems to be laying something on my soul, and I told him what the Lord seemed to be telling me.
While those that knew our late brother Norman vary.
I think I can say this confidently.
He had a real heart of gold that I came to appreciate for many years.
But when he felt something needed to be said, he knew how to put it straight.
And sometimes you knew there was love behind it, but he knew how to put it in terms where you didn't mistake what he was saying. I think I'm right in that.
And he said to me over the phone, he said, Bill.
If you want to please the Lord, you may have to do just that.
And he emphasized it pretty much in that tone of voice.
And I must confess that it hit hard because I was hoping he would say, well, Bill, there's another way around it or something like that. But that's not what he said. You said, brother Bill, you may have to do just for that. Ouch.
Again, I say that not to talk about myself, I just say it because.
What is so blessed is that when you and I by grace, and it's only the grace of God that can give us to do it.
Are willing to say yes, Lord, whatever the cost.
We will find.
That one of the blessed by products of all of that.
It is not only that the Lord has given His place in our lives.
But it's the happy path.
I don't say that it always ends with everything turning out beautifully. It doesn't mean it's suddenly an end of all problems. It doesn't mean that it's all smooth sailing. No, the devil never leaves us alone.
But you and I will find that there is a peace and a rest and a joy in our hearts. And when the Lord Jesus said that to those 70 disciples, rejoice, because your names are written in heaven, what does he go on to say? Oh, then he proceeds to say to his disciples, but he says it as it were to the Father. But in their hearing, I thank the old Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
00:20:27
And then he talks about what is most precious.
The revelation of the Person, his own person, the revelation of himself. Now that is infinite. And as our brother Dawn was saying, it is so infinite, the person of Christ and all his glories, that God will spend all eternity revealing them to your heart and mind.
But the Lord says, as it were, there's something even better than your happiness down here. There's something even better than serving the Lord down here. Blessed although that is, there's something even more blessed.
Then being used of the Lord.
And that is the revelation of the person of that Blessed One.
Who is before the heart of God the Father, so that he says, as we have there on the wall to my right.
That in all things he might have the preeminence.
Again I say it, May God see, may the world see, may our brethren see.
That displayed practically in your life and mine.
We have had two very.
Good exhortations this afternoon.
I would like to.
Further some thoughts.
I have before me this afternoon.
A subject that I.
Tremble to take up.
A subject that's needful.
For my own soul.
And I trust.
To be a help to some here.
And that is the subject.
Of the marriage relationship.
The marriage tie.
That having been married for 26 years.
It seems like a very short time compared to some here who have been married for twice that long.
My particular burden this afternoon.
Is there are those here who have been in that relationship?
For a shorter period of time than I have been in it.
There are those here.
Who have young children.
And find themselves in that relationship.
Usually when we hear.
Of the marriage relationship.
It's at a wedding.
Another wedding.
There is the freshness of first love.
At a wedding we're taking up.
With the romance.
Of the wedding and it's so nice usually to be at a wedding and to hear thoughts brought out.
To the young couple in connection with their marriage.
This afternoon.
That's not my burden.
Mm-hmm. My particular burden is.
If I could say so reverently.
God the Father.
Was very careful.
In his selection of a couple.
That was to raise his son.
Mary and Joseph.
Were selected.
But God the Father.
00:25:01
Was also very careful.
To select couples and bring them together.
So that they could portray to those of us who are the Lords and portray to this world.
Christ and his Church.
As we consider that.
There are young people here who are not married and you are not married.
My brother Don bought before us many times we've come to.
Conferences like this before we were married and we met our wives or we met our husbands.
But this afternoon.
As I look at you, dear young people.
Some of the principles that we're gonna look at this afternoon you need to consider.
As you consider.
Taking up.
The relationship of a lifetime partner.
Often at a wedding.
We hear thoughts brought before the husbands and that is husbands love your wives.
And we hear.
Thoughts brought before the dear sisters, and we have it in Titus.
The elder sisters to teach the younger sisters to love their husbands, and the sisters that they would submit themselves to their husbands.
It's not my burden in exercise this afternoon to take up husbands, love your wives or.
Wives, submit yourself to your husbands.
But rather of those of us who have been on the pathway for some time.
And find ourselves in that marriage relationship. How are we to conduct ourselves in a manner that displays to this world a picture of Christ and His Church?
Turn with me, please, to Ephesians chapter 5.
We're going to look at 2 portions.
And then two examples in the Old Testament.
The first portion here.
Is addressed to the Sisters and Dear Sisters.
It's in humility.
That I portray these thoughts because I'm not a sister.
And so I humbly submit these things.
Not having walked in your shoes, but only to portray what we find here written in the Word of God.
Ephesians chapter 5.
We have in verse 33.
Nevertheless.
Let everyone of you in particular so love his wife, even as himself. And it's this latter part of the verse that I have before me.
And the wife see that she reverence her husband.
The wife. See.
That she reverence her husband.
I'm going to ask a question now.
This afternoon on this.
Afternoon.
In November.
2009.
Dear sister.
Batman.
That is sitting at your side.
Do you?
Reverence.
Your husband.
I'm not asking if you log in.
You may love him dearly.
I'm not asking if you submit to him.
You may be in total subjection to him. That's not what I'm asking.
I'm asking do you reference?
Your husband.
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Now turn with me to First Samuel.
We'll briefly look.
Had a relationship here in First Samuel chapter 18.
First Samuel, Chapter 18 in connection with Michael.
In verse 20.
And we will not go through the history here, but we'll just pick up on a testimony here that we find in First Samuel chapter 18. And Michael, Saul's daughter, loved David, and they told Saul the thing pleased him.
And in verse 28.
And saw and knew that the Lord was with David and that Michael Saul's daughter loved him.
Now one second Samuel, Second Samuel, chapter 6.
We have in this chapter the ark coming from.
Kirja Gieram.
And we find in verse 12 it was told the King David saying, the Lord hath blessed the House of Obadiah.
And all that pertaineth unto him because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the House of old Edom under the city of David with gladness.
And it was so that when they that bear the ark of the Lord had gone six faces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings, and David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was girded with a linen, he thought.
And we'll look at verse 20.
Then David returned to bless his household, and Michael, the daughter of Saul, came out to meet David and said how glorious was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovered himself.
And David said unto Michael, It was before the Lord which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord over Israel. Therefore I will play before the Lord, and I will yet be more vile than this, and will be based in my own sight. And of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honor. Therefore Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no child until the day of her death.
I read this portion this afternoon.
To emphasize the question of that that I've asked for this point, we find the testimony twice here in the Word of God that Michael loved David. And so again, I asked the question. It's not a question as to whether or not you love your husband.
Or a question as to whether or not you are in subjection to your husband. But the question is, do you reverence your husband?
It's vital.
In our portrayal.
To this world.
The picture of Christ and his church.
Now I'll say this to those of us who are husbands because this has been something that has truly exercised my own heart in connection with this.
That lest we as husbands.
Point the finger at our wives and say my wife doesn't reverence me.
Are we in a position?
Where we make it easy.
For our wives to reverence us.
Our brother brought before us.
The example of the life of Peter.
And we find, as we've had roughly for us, the beginning of Peter's life. And the word was that he was to follow the Lord Jesus, follow me.
And then we had at the end of his life, how it was very personal to Peter. Follow thou me.
I'll add one thing.
Peter had a wife.
We're gonna turn to first, Peter.
Not now, but we're going to turn to first Peter.
To see what he has to say on the matter.
And I would say this to my own heart.
That as a husband, I can live my life very righteously.
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I could live my life in a manner.
That you can't point the finger at the things that I do.
But I will say this as exercise to my own heart and conscience.
That righteousness has to do with our actions.
Whereas Holiness has to do.
With our thoughts.
Holiness has to do.
With our thoughts.
As husbands. As young men.
How am I doing with this?
Do people look at me and they can they say that life is a righteous life?
They can't look at my thoughts.
But are my thoughts such?
Morally.
That it is hard for my wife to reverence me.
So lest we point the finger at our wives, where it says here.
See that the wife reverence her husband.
Those of us who find ourselves in that relationship as husbands.
Or as those who are seeking at this present time to find a wife.
How are we doing?
With our thoughts, it slays me, It slays me.
Turn with me now to first Peter.
First Peter, chapter 3.
If we were to turn.
To the fifth verse, we will find an example of someone.
Who reverenced her husband? And we know if we were to turn to the Old Testament, we would find that that was an imperfection, that this relationship was not without failure.
But as I mentioned at the outset.
Of our time here that often when we address this subject, it's in the freshness of first love.
On a wedding day.
But for those of us who have been in that relationship for some time.
What does Peter have to say as one who had a wife?
In verse 7.
Likewise.
He husbands.
Dwell with them according to knowledge.
Giving honor unto the wife.
As unto the weaker vessel.
And as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.
So how am I doing with dwelling with my wife?
According to knowledge.
What does that entail?
You know, I think of the times in my past life when the children were young and.
I had my time that I, I, I spent in the word of God and, uh, gleaned those things for myself. And perhaps in the, in the busyness of life, umm, there was an opportunity for, uh, for my wife to have the same times that I had. And so as a result, umm, maybe I would grow ahead of her. It's not the mind of God, it's the mind of God that we would grow together. It's the mind of God that our prayers would not be hindered.
Maybe sometimes.
We feel that our prayers are hindered. Is it possibly because of what we find here as Peter who was one who led about a wife?
And so he records this by the Spirit of God.
For us as husbands.
To dwell with our wives according to knowledge. Now turn with me to the book of Genesis.
Genesis chapter 33.
I would like to look at a couple of thoughts in connection.
With Jacob.
Jacob had an interesting household.
It's interesting to see how Jacob's.
Scheming.
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Backfired on him.
Imagine waking up in the morning and finding out.
That you've been deceived and you're married the wrong person.
To me, it's bizarre. It's.
It's incredible.
And we find that.
He marries Leah.
He marries Rachel.
When the children start to come along.
There's two others that come into the picture, Zilpah and Villa.
You know, as you go through the list of those that come out of Egypt, or rather go into Egypt, the time of famine.
With the exception of one, I believe.
We don't find any of Jacob's son Jacob's sons taking more than one wife.
No, no, I can't imagine what that household would have been. It was interesting to me once to speak with Harry Chan and he was portraying to me some Chinese.
Symbols and he portrayed that the symbol for.
A woman is sick up and down.
The symbol for.
A house.
Is a little roof.
I don't know Chinese but I'm just portraying what he shared with me. The single of a of a woman is a stick and the single of a house is a roof. The symbol for war is 2 sticks under a roof.
None.
Of Jacob's sons were interested, with the exception of one of taking more than one wife.
Now here.
In Genesis chapter 3.
When Jacob is approaching Esau.
Notice what it says here.
When Esau says umm.
Inverse.
12.
And he said let us take our journey and let us go.
And I will go before thee.
And he said unto him, Jacob speaking, My Lord knoweth.
That the children are tender.
And the flocks and herds with young are with me.
And if men should OverDrive them, one day all the flock will die. Let, my Lord, I pray thee, Passover before his servant, and I will lead on softly, according as the cattle that goes before me, and the children be able to endure until I come unto my Lord, unto seer.
We don't read of any mention here.
Of over driving his wives.
Nothing.
He's interested in the cattle.
How they're to fare.
He's interested in the children.
How they're to fare.
Nothing about their wives.
What does Peter have to say about that?
Husband's.
Well, with your wives, according to knowledge.
They're the weaker vessel.
And that your prayers be not hindered.
I'm going to close my remarks.
By turning to Genesis chapter 49.
If we were to turn to the earlier chapters of Genesis, we would find what Leah's thoughts were as she lived in that household.
And she says so and it says the Spirit of God records that when she saw that she was hated. So this is just not something that she.
Concocted in her own mind.
This is the situation which provided in that household.
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But sometime between that portion that we read.
In chapter 33.
If we were to go 2 Chapters later.
We find Rachel's buried.
Sometime though, between that portion and the portion that we're to read now.
There was a change with Jacob and we're going to read about it.
Genesis chapter 49.
End.
Verse 28.
Jacob goes through, and he blesses his sons.
And in verse 23, all these are the 12 tribes of Israel.
This isn't that their Father spake unto them, and blessed them everyone according to his blessing. He blessed them, and he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people.
Bury me with my father's in The Cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.
In The Cave, that is, in the field of, that is before Mamrie, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephraim and Hittite for a possession of a bearing place.
You know.
To me.
This is the most touching.
Part of Jacob's life.
To me it's one of the most touching.
Parts in the Word of God.
Because the Spirit of God could have ended that discourse at that time.
But he does not do that.
And so Jacob does not say take me.
And bury me on the way to Ephraim. Take me and bury me in Bethlehem.
Beside Rachel, the one that I loved.
No, he doesn't say that because I believe sometime between these two points that I brought before you and I had brought before my own heart, that there was a change in Jacob's life and he learned to appreciate Leah.
And so we read the next verse.
There.
They buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife.
There they buried Isaac and Rebecca, his wife, and there.
I buried Lea.
First time we ever read.
There, at the end of Jacob's life.
He wanted to be buried beside Leah.
We don't have the time and we won't take it to go through Leah's son's.
The blessing that was brought up here to go to Chronicles. And we look at Zebulun, you look at Issachar, you look at the tribes, you look at the understanding of the times, you look at so many things in connection with the sons of Leah.
But there was that time on his deathbed.
The Jacob says bury me beside Leah.
And so this afternoon, I say to my own heart as we take up this portion.
And the subject 50 for us.
Wives.
C.
That you reverence.
Your husband.
And husbands.
Dwell with your wives.
According to knowledge.
As the weaker vessels.
That's your prayers.
Be not.
Hindered.
I'd like to turn for a moment to the first chapter of First Corinthians.
First Corinthians, chapter one.
Like say that.
The previous meeting was a challenge to my own soul.
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It wasn't just for young people.
Because the hearts of the older, no different than the hearts of the young, we all need to be encouraged. We all all need the same expectations. And we can edify one another. And I just like to bring before our hearts a few thoughts. And if it's OK with my brethren to kind of follow along a little bit with the thoughts that our brother had in the previous meeting. Not the same, I trust, but.
I, I believe, uh, I'd like to try and build upon a little portion of that. And, uh, first of all, I'd like to just read a few verses of that would introduce this in first Corinthians, actually chapter 2, and we'll read from verse one. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God, for I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.
And I was with you in weakness and in fear, in a much trembling, and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom.
But in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
We speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world.
Nor are the Princess of this world that come to naughty, but we speak the wisdom of God.
In a mystery, even a hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world was.
Before the world unto our glory, which none of the Princess of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I have not seen, nor your heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.
But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit search of all things. Yeah, the deep things of God.
And uh.
Before I go any further, I'd just like to comment on this a bit for more for my own soul. And I trust that I can make my thoughts clear. I feel like what we've read here that we are and before you and fear are much trembling and my words are not with enticing words is from men's hearts. But I trust that what we can share together here to this afternoon will be for our edification. Uh, I want to draw our attention first of all to the phrase at the end of verse one.
Where he speaks thereof, declaring unto you the testimony of God.
That is very important to understand what the testimony of God is all about.
Uh, our brother touched on a Li a little bit on it, on the, uh, when he, uh, gave the account of Peter being addressed by the Lord about I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And when God has started something, he will complete it. And what this, what that testimony of God is all about that began before the world. And I want to know, I want to want us to realize that God has now revealed it unto us by his Son.
It's not something that is just a temporary thing. It's not something that God thought up, shall we say, if we could say that reverently, that he thought up after man was on this world, on this earth, and he saw what man has done and now he's brought in a testimony. You know, man has taken this testimony and he has made it what it is not.
And we see, we see all about us in the, in, in Christendom. We see that which has distorted the beautiful and the perfect testimony of God.
And man is confused about it. And unless we have our, uh, unless we have the right vision, brother, and unless we have our focal point right, unless we begin at the right focal point, we'll never understand what the testimony of God is about.
As a young person, I went. I had to learn this.
Uh, I had to go through this process and the only way I was delivered from it, I might say, was to forget about that which there is and just go to the Word of God and see what he had to say about it. And that's where we have to begin. We have to begin with God and we have to end with God. And if we try to add anything to it, we'll be confused.
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And so God says here that speaks about the testimony of God.
That is a beautiful thing, and he has committed that to a man in the person of the Apostle Paul, who brought it to the St. in much trembling and fear, and not according to man's wisdom, but in but it was according to the the power of God.
And God used, worked in this vessel so that he was even, umm, brought him to a situation where where he had a, uh, an infirmity of the flesh that tried him.
And it was difficult for him. We're not sure what that was, whether it was his eyes or his speech or whatever it was, but it was something that made his speech contemptible. And so he didn't present himself or the truth of God in a, in a, a way that that commanded man, but it commanded the word of God.
And you know it hasn't changed but the the the.
That was meant as corrupted is still here and we have to deal with it as young person. I can understand what you must go through and and yet again I say if we if our eye is single, our whole body also shall be full of light. And if any man will do my will, he shall know of the doctrine.
And so let us remember, there is a testimony of God, and it has never changed. And no matter what man, what man does to it, the Lord says that the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
And God is to this day is building upon that foundation. He's putting in stones, precious stones, he's putting in souls that are are building up that that testimony of God. And you and I can be thankful for it. And sometimes it's difficult to understand just.
Went to sort this all of this out when we look in at the whole vision of things in the world today.
But I want to say this that if your eye is single, your whole body will be full of light.
And so we get down here in verse nine. I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. Now we have, we've had much before us in these meetings so far about the work of the Spirit of God, and He is the only one that can reveal these truths to us.
It's not by might nor by power, but according, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
And so if we want to understand things, we need to be submissive to Him and allow the Spirit of God to teach us. And if He teaches us, we'll be taught right.
And the Spirit of God will only lead man and you and me to Christ. He will not lead us to a system. He will not lead us to some, some other, anything other than Christ himself. Let us be assured of that, because this is the testimony of God.
And so it goes on to say, But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
For the spirit search of all things deep things of God.
I love that that that little phrase there the deep things of God and in connection with that, let us turn back to this chapter that our brother had before some last meetings which probably provoked this these thoughts of mine and let's go to umm.
Let's just make a few comments here. I don't know whether our brother mentioned this or whether I I missed it. And if I missed it, maybe somebody else missed it too. But.
I just want to make reference to the fact in verse 2 where uh, or rather in verse umm.
Four Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep. There we get the deep.
Launch out into the deep, The Fisher in the deep. They aren't at the shore.
So if you want to, if you want to get something for your Nets, you have to launch out into the deep. That's Luke chapter 5. Sorry if I didn't mention that. Luke chapter 5 and verse 4.
01:00:06
So he says, launch out into the deep and let down your Nets. OK, it's in the plural, let down your Nets. I'm not sure. I'm not telling many here anything new, but I just want to draw this to our attention here. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have told all night and have taken nothing nevertheless, that thy word I will let down the net.
Well, the Lord said, let down your Nets.
And he was willing to fill those Nets, however, regardless of how many there were. But Simon said, OK, I'll let down the net.
There was a little lack of faith here perhaps, and I believe it is with you and me when we want to search the thing, the deep things of God.
He would have us let down our Nets and he's going to fill them.
But sometimes we in order to do this, you know, these, these men, they had to push off from the shore.
They had to get away from the shore.
And if they weren't willing to get away from the shore, they weren't going to catch.
Make a good catch and sometimes you and me, you and I, I should say we, uh, we aren't willing to press off from the shore too far.
And as a result, we tend to hang on to a little bit of the earth so that we don't just go out in faith into the deep.
You know, umm, we've seen it all. We've all seen children that have been put into the into the pool to teach them to swim and they're very reluctant to let go of the edge of the pool.
And we said we might, as parents will say, come on, come, come to Daddy or come to mommy. And they won't let go. They just are afraid to launch out into the deep. And so consequently, they did. They take longer and longer to learn something. They'll take longer. They'll never learn to swim, just hanging on to the shore, hanging on to the edge of the pool. So they have to trust. They have to trust. And so they'll let you go. And sure enough, their parents will catch them. They won't let them sink as we had before us in type here this afternoon.
The Lord will not let us sink.
And so we have to launch a learn to launch out into the deep. You want to know what the deep things of God are? Then let go of the shore. Just get away, let go of the world.
And let the Lord teach us.
Another verse will turn to in this connection is in First Timothy.
Umm, I don't want to take up too much time because this is an open meeting and I wanna leave lots of time for someone else, but in First Timothy chapter 4.
Let's read from verse 12. Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in Word and conversation, in charity and peace and spirit, rather in faith and purity. Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the pro presbytery. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself.
Holy to them that thy profiting may appear to all, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Continue in them. For in doing this thou shall both save thyself and them that hear thee.
Now there is a work for you and I to do in, uh, in the, uh, this testimony of God in this world. And he has, since Christ has gone back into heaven, he has sent down gifts for men.
And these gifts are men, and he sends he, He puts them here for the building up of the church, for the edifying of the body, that there might be growth in you and me.
And we're told another place despised, not prophesying. Don't despise the gifts that God has given us, regardless of who it might be. It might be, you know, in our local assemblies, they may be very small. There may not be what you say is a lot of gift, but if God has put someone there, he maybe he's put you there and you say I can't speak. Well, you know, Moses said the same thing and so did Jeremiah, so does Ezekiel. They're young men.
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But God says I'll be your spokesman.
And so if there if you and I have a understanding, even a little understanding of what the testimony of God is about, and we want to be a help in that testimony. And I speak a lot here to the young Bran, the young men because they're the ones that are going to to be here if the Lord doesn't come and they're going to carry on the testimony of God.
Then be exercised about it now.
Do something about it now, and I don't say you have to be forward in this, but give thyself to, to uh, uh.
Give thyself to reading, and this I understand in its full proper sense is the the public reading of the Word of God, and that is the assembly reading meeting.
Don't despise it. Don't despise these little things, these little small assemblies you come from. It's a testimony of God.
It is.
And if we?
Carry on in that God is glorified, God is honored, and the Lord Jesus will be will not let us sink. He will maintain it for His glory.
It may be as weak, the Lord Jesus said, or it is said in Yes, he said in into Philadelphia. He said, Thou hast little strength.
But thou hast kept my word, and not denied my name.
Is that important? It is to him.
Meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them, not haphazardly holy to them.
I trust the young man will listen in this.
And the sisters too, because.
Umm, the sisters can be a help in this.
They can help the young men.
By leading them in the right, in the right direction and encouraging them.
You know, it's not just for the young men, it's for the sisters too, that the Word of God is there for us to meditate upon and give ourselves wholly to them.
We thank God for godly young sisters as well as godly young men.
Because God will not despise that. Man may, but God will not.
So we're told to take heed to these things that we have heard.
We're told not to neglect the gifts that is in US.
And each one of us sitting in this room hear this afternoon has a gift.
You might not know what it is, but ask God to show you and go on from there.
If he knows your heart, that it is.
That you want to to please him, He'll show you what to do.
It may be a little.
But that's all right, because if it's little and God is in it, it's much.
So do what God has put in your hand to do and continue in it and go from there. A man once said, when I don't know what to pray for.
I committed to the Lord, and I do the next thing.
Whatever that is, you just go on.
Because if you commit your ways unto the Lord, you will direct your steps.
I say this to my own soul because I have neglected that so much in my life.
But as we get older, we realize more and more that it is true after all.
Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. Doctrine is important.
Because it's concerning his son Jesus Christ.
And it's the doctrine. It's not doctrines, it's the doctrine.
It's all one.
And it's concerning the testimony of God.
For doing this, I shall both save thyself. It's important to do this first to feed our own souls.
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We've been told many times as young people and as older ones too, don't read for others, read for yourself. Feed your own soul 1St and get established in these things and remember that is God that speaks to us when we read His word and when we go to the Word of God and read it, we read it with God.
We read it with God as was mentioned to us. We take it and it's God speaking to us.
All that we might, uh, recognize this more, you know, sometimes we take it up hurriedly and we read a portion and.
And we put it down. We say I've done my duty today, now I can go on.
What have we read? Meditate upon these things.
You know the truth of God gets down into our souls by meditation.
Not like through the head, it gets in through the eyes, through the ears, and it gets down into the soul, and the soul is a habitation of the spirit.
And that's where we get the truth of God, and then we can walk in it. But it's got to get down in there through meditation. And meditation isn't just transcendental. Meditation is sitting in the presence of God and letting him talk to us.
And think about it.
You know the little word in the Psalms that means stop and think about it. See light.
N.
There's another another word there too. That's umm.
If I can find it here a minute, I think it's in Psalm chapter.
11 I I believe we'll find out when we get there.
No, it's not 11.
It's 9.
Verse 16. The Lord is known by the judgment which He executed. The wicked is sneered in the work of his own hands. Hageon Sila.
What does that mean?
Means in my margin means meditation and seal means stop and think about it.
And so when we read the word of God, we should remember this Hageon, meditate upon these things. Give thyself holy to them. Seala, stop and think about it. Let us let this characterize you and me in our souls, regardless of what our age might be. I encourage you young brothers to do this, and the sisters too, and also my older brother as well, because.
We're all building on that foundation.
And that has to do with the testimony of God.