Montreal Conference: 2011
Table of Contents
Philippians 1:1-7
Building
Address—Don Rule
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.
#13 in the appendix #13 in the appendix. Child of God by God's salvation.
Rise or sin and fear and care. Joy to find in every station Something still to do or bear #13 in the appendix will need a starter.
Nsnoise.
Umm.
Right, we're going to fall in.
Valentine's Day, Barclays.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Ask God's help and blessing.
And to start, would you turn with me, please, to Matthew's Gospel chapter 16?
Help you pay attention. I'm going to read three places to start and when I was your age, that is I'm speaking to you that are young people. I sometimes try to figure what the person was going to talk about by the verses they read. And I'll just tell you ahead of time. All three of these verses have at least one word in common that is before me. So maybe that'll help you pay attention as we read the three verses Matthew chapter 16 or three places.
Matthew, Sector 16.
And uh.
After I find it.
Umm verse 16 Simon Peter answered and said Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood is not revealed unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. And I say unto you, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I'll turn over to 1St Corinthians chapter 3.
First Corinthians, chapter 3.
And uh, verse 9.
For we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building according to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master Builder, I have laid the foundation, and another build up thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid which is Jesus Christ.
00:05:12
And finally, the Book of Jew.
Jude.
Verse 20.
The evil of building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost.
Young people, I want to talk to you this afternoon about building.
You're a builder. We're all builders. Our lives are a process of building.
The Bible is full of buildings.
We find all the way back in the beginning of the Bible in Genesis. In chapter 4 it says of one man he went out and built a city.
The Lord Jesus in the 1St place where we read is seen as a builder, He said I will build.
And we all start out as builders. We don't all build physical buildings. That's not what we're gonna talk about, is not the exactly the construction of any physical, not some of our building, a lot of important building in our lives. There's nothing physical in it. When the Lord Jesus said I will build my church, he wasn't building a physical building. He was building the church, the body of Christ.
But we all build and, uh, our lives, our building process.
Keep We read the verse in Jude that says building up yourself or yourselves. There's a certain aspect of building in our lives that has to do with our own character and our own relationship with God, and it needs to be built up.
There is labor as a servant of God, in which we build for God and we.
Do it carefully or not, but we really don't avoid it. I think I know that some are newly married and when we're newly married, we begin building a household together for God, for life. And so we're all in one way or another in the process of building. And I want to talk to you about that process and some of what the word of God.
Helps and teaches us.
But one thing I want to encourage you young people in this and spiritual things is.
There's one foundation to build on.
Just one.
That's gonna last, the Lord Jesus tells us.
I will build my church, and with respect to that in First Corinthians where we read.
It says.
On the foundation, what is it? No other foundation is there but one, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to say to you, everything that you build in your life should have only one foundation.
That foundation, Jesus Christ, every other foundation in which you can build anything in your life won't stand the test.
That's the one and only foundation is Jesus Christ. Other foundation can no man lay when it's in spiritual things than that which is laid. But the wonderful thing about it to me is that foundation was laid 2000 years ago. It's still there and it's just as available to you to build on this afternoon as it was the day it was late. No matter what has happened in the last 2000 years.
Has not taken away from you and I the privilege and responsibility to build and to build on that foundation.
You have as much privilege and in a certain way as to the foundation you have as much opportunity to build for the Lord Jesus Christ and on that foundation as the very first believers on the day the church was formed, on the day of Pentecost. And I think that's very, very important in a day in which we use words like ruin and all those words which are true and have their place. But this afternoon my heart is to encourage you.
To in your privilege and your opportunity and your responsibility, that has not changed from you have as much privilege as Paul had or Peter had in terms of building on that same foundation. And it's just as available to you as it was the day it was formed. OK, with that introduction, go with me to Matthew Chapter 7.
00:10:32
Lord Jesus is speaking to us, and the Lord Jesus is going to tell us this afternoon through what he says here, some instruction given to you and me in our building process.
Matthew, Chapter 7.
And verse 24 Therefore whosoever here at these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
And everyone that heareth these words, these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
Here we have a building and we have the Lord Jesus making some some comments to us about our building and he tells us.
The wise man builds his house on a rock. The foolish man builds his house on the sand. When your life is over and or even before it's over, it will be tested by the storms of life. And those storms of life are going to explain.
Explain display to you and perhaps others, what you're building on. What are you building your life on?
What's the foundation on which you're building your life? The Lord Jesus says the wise man builds his house on a rock. The foolish man, he builds his house on sand. And when the the storms of life, if you will, when the tests of life come along, some houses survive and some don't.
I will remember. It's not too important, but I think Bob Tony in this room would remember it maybe. But in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador, there was a re/max or there was a river and it went through the city and there was a brother that we knew who lived right by the river. And so we would go and visit him from year to year.
And when we first started visiting him, we came to this river. It was shallow and it was easy. We just rolled up our pants a little bit, took our shoes off and walked across the river to the house from the one side to the other.
As time passed and the rains came, if you will, the river, uh, got wider and deeper and eventually they put in a bridge that was kind of fun. It was a swinging wooden bridge which had a kind of a cable along the side of it. It would have been a scary thing for a child to go across and, and then, uh, but it anyways, we would go across this swingy bridge couldn't really have two people go in the opposite direction. It was too narrow for that.
And there was only one cord to hang on to anyways.
But as the river got deeper, it also started to eat away at the banks of the shore, and there were some houses on the one side that were right near.
The bank and as those houses were basically built on sand and in the due course of time people had to abandon them and finally you would see part of the structure out over air and the next time you go it was gone. It had fallen into the water. And so it is with life. Those houses represented lives. They started out looking good and they served some people for a period of time. But as time went on and as the river.
Beat on them if you will. It undermined the foundations of the houses and they fell into the the river and the people that had to abandon them.
Don't build a life like that.
That's foolish, isn't it?
Well, how do we build on a rock? The Lord Jesus tells us, look at it, it's very simple and runway and very practical and not under under hard to understand either, he says here.
00:15:10
Whosoever heareth these things of mine, and doeth them.
That's how to build on the rock.
Listen to the sayings of the Lord Jesus and the Word of God and do it.
And then you're building on a rock.
If you build on any other sayings or any other imaginations or anything else that you choose.
It, to some degree at least, you'll build on sand.
But if you build on the rock solid foundation of what the Word of God says, it will stand every test that you will ever face in your life.
But see how practical it is. Young people, it's practical and some of us are a little older than you have had to go through the experience of failing and learning. It doesn't say the people who hear.
The Lord says you do what you hear.
You can come to a meeting like this and you can listen to a lot of things being said and you can enjoy them.
And you can go home and live without them for a time.
Because you're not doing them. And so here the process of building involves the process of doing, and it's doing what's said.
You have the instruction Book of Life in your hands.
Do it, read it, do it.
It's not adequate. You know, we're all used to doing it the wrong way. I think, I think probably most everybody in this room that's of any age knows what it's like to have gotten something that had some instructions with it. And we ignored the instructions because we thought we knew how to do it and we did it, or we tried to do it and it didn't work. And so the world has its expression. Of all else fails, try reading the directions.
We experienced that, haven't we? We've ignored the instructions and tried our own way and found.
If we're honest, it didn't work. And so here we have this simple, direct, easily understood word from the Lord Jesus to ourselves about our lives this afternoon. He says listen to my word.
Undo it.
And your rice. You're building your life on a rock.
OK, I want to use because I believe it gives us some real benefit and lessons to illustrate to go back to the book of Ezra where they were doing some building and learn what the Lord was teaching them in the process of building. So let's go back to the book of Ezra to chapter one.
Ezra chapter one and verse three. Who is there among you of all his people? Is God. Be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God which is in Jerusalem.
We'll tell enough of the story. I hope that many of you are fairly familiar with it, but.
These people had been taken because of disobedience to God, to a different country to live, some of them as slaves and.
The Lord allowed them to be that collection of people for 70 years outside of their own land.
But when 70 years were up, as God had said he would do, he raised up a Gentile king and put it in that Gentiles King's heart to say I want these people to go back and build.
The House of God in the place that God has set up in the city of Jerusalem.
And so he says that's King Cyrus. He says there to go.
His God shall be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of the Lord. It starts out pretty humbly. You'd have thought these people would have said, oh, we, we ought to do this and we ought to do that. But they were weak, they were feeble, and God actually used a Gentile king to start the process.
00:20:13
And not the people.
But it says he said of them, their God would be with them. And that's the first thing that I would say to you. When you build your life on the foundation, you can be sure God will be with you. And if you build it on some other foundation, you're on your own.
There's no God's promise to you that if you build on your own foundation that God will be with you in it. In fact, I think we can say he will not. He may care for you and love you, but He's not going to help you be a builder on a false foundation. But he says to them their God would be with them when they came back to Jerusalem.
Now we're just gonna look at some isolated points through this story and view of the amount of time we're gonna look at it. So we're not gonna take it all up in any detail, but the next place I'd like to look at is verse 7.
Or verse 6.
And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of gold, and with silver and gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, besides all that was willingly offered. And Cyrus the king brought forth the vessels of the House of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and put them in the House of his gods. Even those did Cyrus the king of Persia bring forth by the hand of.
Miss the treasurer and numbered them unto.
Best baser, the Prince of Judah.
And this is the number of them.
The truth of God is a treasure.
And the individual aspects of that truth of God are like gold and silver and precious stones.
You come to a weekend like this and if you care, if you are diligent, you have the privilege of receiving treasure from God.
You have in the opportunity here this weekend to pick up treasures that are being offered to you from God Himself through His Word, and you can take those treasures of gold and silver and precious stones which are God's truth for you.
Buy from those that, as it says here, that are about you.
And that's the way truth, that's the way treasures are often passed on in spiritual things. One person receives them and enjoys them and shares them. He doesn't lose them, but someone else in sharing them is able to have it as well and pick it up. And so here there were all these things that had been provided for them.
Many, not all, but many of you young people were raised and have been raised and are being raised in a Christian home.
Tremendous provision of God for your well-being.
Your parents Perfect, No.
No parent is.
But the very exposure that you have to the treasures House of God is yours to benefit from.
If you're willing to take it in.
To receive it. And so here they were going to build and they needed material to build with, and it's put right in their hands.
For some, there's a lot of digging to get it out of the earth and there's been a lot of digging to get it. But a lot of it for a lot of you is maybe it's always, not always appreciated because it is so easy in that way, but it is there to be received. But I want to say to you every treasure that God is putting in your hands this day, this weekend.
Is being numbered.
It's being numbered.
God is recording every treasure He's entrusting to you to build with.
00:25:00
And these people had to take a trip from where they live to where they were going, just like you're taking a trip through life and when you get to the other end of the journey.
Average treasure that was entrusted to you is going to be counted. Did it arrive?
And does it have the same weight?
That means, does it have the same weight, the same value in you as it had when it was given to you?
So they gave an accounting at the other end of every by measure it says, and by weight.
And so you're receiving something to build with in your life in the truth of God, to build you up on your most holy faith so that your character as well as the things that you do, is something that God looks at is pleasing to himself. And it's given. It's recorded by its measure or its number and by its weight, its value.
It's one thing to say I believe the Lord's coming at any time.
That's the treasure really, to have that hope. It's another thing to live by it.
It's another thing to live by it. It's another thing to live your life with that true expectation that is giving it its true weight.
OK.
Let's go over.
To chapter 2.
And verse 68 and some of the chief fathers, when they came to the House of the Lord, which is at Jerusalem, offered freely.
For the House of God to set it up in its place.
They gave after their ability unto the treasure of the work.
Just wanna notice the expression they gave after their ability.
Every single person got something. Some got more than others.
But God only held them responsible for what he gave them.
But he also he gave them all.
It's not going to be acceptable when the day when your house, as you might say on display at the end of your life in the presence of the Lord, it's not going to be acceptable.
To say I I didn't do anything because I didn't have any ability.
If you say that.
You are dishonoring the Lord Jesus.
Because you're saying something that he says is not true.
He says I give to you, I give to everyone of you. I don't give you all the same amount and I don't expect all the same from everyone of you.
I only ask you to do what I give you the ability to do, the capacity to do. We have natural abilities that are given to us of God and can be used in the service of God. We also receive spiritual gifts to be used in the service of God as well. And we all have some of each, and we all have the privilege, the opportunity, whether we use it or not, to present them.
To the Lord, and use them for the Lord, and so they gave after their ability.
I wanna back up. I was meant to comment on it. Umm. So I'm just gonna come back when it says they gave him treasures?
It's important to know what a treasure really is.
And I'm gonna try to illustrate it.
Many of you young people know at least the name of a man named Steve Jobs.
Who recently died?
Steve Jobs was the founder.
One of the two founders of a company known as Apple Computer.
And was the chief really inventor of the iPod and the iPad and so on?
00:30:05
And he died.
How much treasure?
Is there from his life?
By his own testimony.
At the end of his life he said this.
50% of the time I believe there's a God and 50% of the time I don't.
It's very obvious he didn't live a life in fellowship with God in any stretch of the Word.
And he died.
He died fabulously rich.
And what was his comment about being so rich when he died? He was asked about it, he said.
It doesn't matter who's the richest man in the cemetery.
Doesn't matter who's the richest man in the cemetery.
He obviously.
Said a lot of sad things that man did, so sorry for him and I read some of them.
Someone asked him why he wanted his biography written and he said.
The reason I want my biography written is.
I want my children to know.
Me and why they never saw me.
Is that building?
On the rock? Is that building on sand?
Tremendous inventions.
Considered the greatest inventor.
And designer of technology in the last 100 plus years.
Now is life's over.
Young person.
If you carry away this afternoon, 1 treasure from the word of God that you live out.
You're richer than that, man.
Incomparably richer than that man.
And everything he ever had.
When life is over, it's over.
And suddenly, when that man's life was coming to an end, because he knew it was coming to an end with cancer and he, he reflected on it.
He realized, and he commented, that things just kind of paled into insignificance to him, that it once meant everything to his life.
Take the treasures of God.
That's riches.
That's riches and live it out.
Chapter 3.
And verse.
Three.
Here they come back, they are back in the land of Jerusalem, and they're starting to live their lives there. And it says verse 2 Then stood up Joshua the son of Josadec and his brethren, the priest, and Zerubbabel the son of Sheolatiel and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God, verse five. And afterwards they offered the continual burn offering both of the new moons and of all the set feasts.
Or six from the first day of the 7th month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. They had come back to build the temple, and here they are in the land and they're settling in. If you will. And if I could put it this way, in the matter of building, First things first, you have to start with certain things, and they have to be established first, and then other things come along in their proper order and time.
And here I believe they had from God the right order of things. They they first thing that they established and built was an altar.
An altar speaks to us of fellowship with God.
And the consequent worship of God because of it.
The first thing, young people, that's necessary to do building really after putting one's trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and having him to build on is fellowship with him. Cultivate in your life every day. Work at it. It doesn't just necessarily fall into your lap, if you will.
00:35:08
Develop a personal fellowship with the Lord Jesus.
And with God the Father.
Right from the early days of your life, you need to have not just somebody you say, Lord help me today and jump up and read one verse and go off to school and thank him when you eat your meal. That's not all that's involved in fellowship. It's a start. It's a place to start. If you haven't done that, start there, but seek to have your altar, if you will, your own personal fellowship with God and if you do.
What will naturally fall flow from it is a thankfulness, a Worshipful spirit in your life. Thank you Lord, Spirit in your daily life. And if you don't have if you don't enjoy.
Thank you, Lord Spirit, in your daily life. Then perhaps you're not spending the time to develop the relationship of the fellowship that goes with it.
So it says that they did these things and they hadn't yet started on the foundation itself of the of the House of God.
Now let's go on all over.
Verse 10 of chapter 3.
And they sang together.
By course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord.
Verse 10 Sorry. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets.
And the Levites and the sons of ASAP were symbols to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David, King of Israel.
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, because He is good, and his mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men that had seen the 1St house when the foundation of the Lord was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice.
And many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. But just have, really.
One thing I want to bring out of this and young people, your portion is the joy.
Your portion is the joy. There are other older ones in this room whose portion may be the weeping.
But your portion is the joy.
It is a joy.
To every young person who starts out life building on Christ the Rock as the foundation of your life.
There will be, I say guarantee joy to your heart to build on that foundation. There is a collective responsibility that we're not going to try to get into this afternoon that you, as you grow older will perhaps become more conscious of. And you will see failure. And there may come a day if you live long enough to experience the weeping, but.
Take the joy and begin with it and enjoy what God has given to you, which is immense and for you. It's just as much here for you this afternoon as it was on the day of Pentecost in this way.
OK.
Then it says verse 4, now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded, uh, and that so on. And I'm not going to read this chapter in the interest of time, but they start building and immediately there's trouble, people oppose them or say, hey, we want to build with you. And when they say no, they then oppose them.
Yes, you build on the foundation, which is Christ, and you're going to find Satan is there with plenty of things to try to hinder you.
Maybe even forcefully hinder you. There's only one aspect as I see it develop more and more in our culture that I'm going to comment to you on, and that is more and more and more the public testimony of moral character that is governmental actions and public sentiment as to moral behavior is more and more forcibly seeking to undermine.
00:40:21
Living by the word of God, it's an adversary. Young people don't get your moral standards from public behavior. And if you read a Christian book and it's contrary to the proof of the word of God, rejected.
You need you're gonna have an adversary, and I see it.
Very much in the moral side of it this day and age that will be publicly against living by the truth of God in moral behavior.
Chapter 5.
It says.
Uh, well, verse 24, chapter 4, then cease the work of the House of God. This opposition eventually got to a point where they stopped working. Just like there will be effort made serious effort. You may not always be aware of it to stop you building in your life to, to make your life go on hold, if you will, with respect to your spiritual life and your natural life that flows from it.
And so.
These people, they were actually forcibly stopped from their building. And then the next verse, chapter 5 and verse one says, then the prophet Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Ido prophesied unto the Jews that were in Jerusalem and Judah and Jerusalem in the name of God of Israel, even unto them.
Now notice verse 2. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of and Joshua the son of Josadec, and began to build.
The House of God. So here we have two prophets of the Bible, Aggie I and Zechariah mentioned to us and it says they prophesied to them, they spoke to them and after they spoke to them they started building again. We don't have time to go all through them, but I want to go to Hagee Eye and pick up four things that Hagee I said to them that helped them start to build again.
So if you can turn with me almost to the end of the Old Testament.
Zephaniah Haggai, Zachariah Malachi. We're going to go to Hagia.
Chapter one. Verse one.
Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts saying this. People say, the time is not come, the time that the Lords house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the Prophet, saying, It is time for you, O ye, to that dwell in your sealed houses, and this house. Is it time that you dwell in your sealed houses, and this house lie, wait, waste. Now therefore, saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.
You have so much and bring in little.
Verse 7 thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your way. So this is the first one of four. Consider your ways. We're gonna find that yes, there was opposition and yes, they stopped building, but that's the opposition was allowed of the Lord.
To teach them the necessary lessons about what was going wrong in their lives that was keeping them from having the spiritual energy to be builders. And so the Lord allowed that. The Lord allows difficulties to come into our lives. And if he does go to him and say Lord why? Or maybe you know why and you have to say, Lord help me to deal with this matter in my life. And so here the 1St 3 words that I want you to remember are considered.
Your ways.
Sometimes when something comes up, there's something you have to consider and respond to before the Lord.
I remember one time some years ago I wanted to put an addition on my house and I had to go to the county to get approval, a permit to do it. And I went to the county and with my the plans that her brother had drawn up an architect for me to add to something to my house, a bedroom and a bathroom. And they rejected the plan and I said why? And they told me why. And I said, is there any way around it? Can I do it? And they said yes, you might. You go back to your house and you dig six holes in your.
00:45:11
Property 3 feet deep and we will come out and fill them with water and then we'll come back in a certain number of hours and see how much the water's gone down. And if the water's gone down the necessary amount you can get the permit. If it hasn't, you don't. So fine. I went dug the three holes. They were to come out like on a Saturday and on Friday night it was second only to the NOAA flood. To me. The sky fell in and the saturated the whole land and there was no way. And they called and said we'll come back in a week.
So we'll reschedule. They also told me at that point that I could dig them anywhere in the yard I wanted. So I thought Oh well the best place in my yard to dig them will be over where we had a little garden because the land is more a little fertile there and it'll make the water drain off better. So that's a smarter idea. So I went and started re digging holes in the garden and I was digging the hole the last one and I was using a post hole digger and I dug down and I saw something and I said oh what's that?
Is it deep enough? And I reached my hand down in there and kind of felt around and I had my hand on the underground power line and.
I stopped.
I went in and I told my wife. The Lord said no.
And we stopped the whole process. The Lord had something to teach me and he brought something into it brought in to stop the process because I needed to learn something. And later on when the Lord's time was right, that everything just went smooth as butter melting and it it was wonderful. And we don't have time for the end of that story. The purse of the words here are consider your ways.
Consider your ways. If the Lord stops you in some process, in the building process, he may want to talk to you and you need to stop and say, Lord, what are you saying to me and why? In this case, they had the wrong priority. They put their own personal houses ahead of the Lord's house. They put their things ahead of the Lord's things. And the Lord said, who's first, you or me?
In this matter, and so they had to consider and if you want to build with God, you learn to learn the lesson that God's matters of God come first and he will take care of your matters. He won't forget your matters, but he wants you to have the right priority. Consider your ways.
Verse 13 then said, Hey, I the Lord's messenger, and the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you.
Saith the Lord.
Consider your ways. I am with you. Oh, that's a wonderful words to keep in your relationship with the Lord. As a builder, you need to learn to enjoy His promise. I am with you. These people were scared. Are you ever scared in the choices of life? Yes, you are. I'm sure you are.
Maybe you want to tell somebody about the Lord Jesus and you're scared.
Heard the other day of a young fellow that works part time at where I work at Bible Truth Publishers and.
He was talking to my wife at lunch one day and he said some young people at the high school were.
Some fellows were asking me and I found out they believed in a different God and so on. And he said to him, well, why don't you try mine?
And in the course of the conversation, he said to her, you know, I think the reason they came to me and asked me is because I have a smile on my face at school. And he said, not very many kids today. I have a smile.
Not very many kids have all that much to smile about, I think, in today's society. But if you have a smile in your heart and in your life, somebody else is going to wonder what it is and perhaps come to you, the Lord's with you.
Enjoy it and take courage from it and build Chapter 2.
And it says umm verse 3.
Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory, and how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes, in comparison as nothing? Well, that's one way to look at it, isn't it? Everything's gone, everything's nothing. Everything's a mess. Why bother? That's an easy feeling to get. Then it stops building. When we get to that in our lives, we stop building. Maybe when we're older we stop building.
00:50:11
Here it says, what's the answer to that? It says verse 4 Yet now be strong. Those are of a bull, saith the Lord, And be strong, O Joshua son of Jostedik, the High Street, and be strong all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work.
For I am with you.
That's what I am with, is going to bring strength.
Strength if you have the sense that the Lord is with you, no matter how little it may seem by today's standards of anything.
Be strong and build.
Build.
Still, and so he said, leaders be strong, that that is rubble and so on. And Joshua and all the people, be strong and build. Consider your ways. I am with you.
Be strong and build.
Last one.
Is found in the next in chapter 2.
This is one for the conscience. Verse 13. It says Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, it shall be unclean. And the priest answered and said, It shall be unclean.
Then answered Haggai and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord. And so is every work in their hands, and that which they offer here there is unclean.
And now I pray you consider from this day and onward, from before, a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord.
The Lord had looked at the people and he looked at their ways, and he said they are unclean.
I don't know what your personal private life is like.
Lord does he knows every one of us in this room.
Here he looked at this class of people and he looked at their private lives, if you will, and his collective conclusion was they were an unclean people.
He was telling them to consider their ways.
I want to leave with you these words.
And now I pray you consider from this day an upward or onward.
Your life is what it's been up till today.
But this day in November, in 2011, you have your onward.
If needs be, consider your ways. You can't build.
Satisfactory things for God.
If there's uncleanness.
And so he says, I pray you, please, I beg you, he says to them.
Consider from this day an onward.
There's a verse in the New Testament that says the rest of their lives.
Young people, all of us just have the rest of our lives. And so we want to be, as it says, build yourselves up on your most holy faith.
Your most holy faith.
God's standard for his building is consistency with his own character.
He wants everything we do in our lives to be consistent with.
Himself in his own glory.
So back to.
Ezra.
They listened while we listened. I hope we will hope each one of us this afternoon will listen. And the response in them in chapter 5 and verse two that we already read was after the prophets had spoken. Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Cialatio, and Joshua the son of Josadec, and began to build.
The House of God, which is at Jerusalem. And with them were the prophets of God, helping them, and so on. And so they continued to build.
And, uh, chapter.
00:55:02
Six, I think it is, yes.
Chapter 6 and verse 14 And the elders of the Jews build it, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai. They listened. You reread Haggai for yourself and if you want, go on and do Zachariah, which was also involved in it. And Zachariah they heated, they prospered through their preacher, their message to them, and they build it. And what happens? They finished it. They finished it.
May your life.
When it's finished, also be a finished product.
Of that which has honored God.
And if it does, it will also have had in the process, tremendous joy of your own heart for eternity.
So I'll finish with what Nehemiah said to the people later on when they were building the wall, he said. Rise up and build.
Young people rise up and build.
Spray.
The Importance of the Foundation to the Building
Doers Who Are Not on the Foundation
Strength or Weakness in Marriage Promotes Strength or Weakness in the Assembly
John's Testimony of the Lord Jesus
Gospel—Bob Thonney
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 everybody. We'll start our meeting tonight by singing number six on our hymn sheets.
God in mercy sent his Son to a world by sin and done Jesus Christ was crucified.
Twas for sinners, Jesus died. Let's stand and sing #6.
3:00.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
***.
Let's sing one more and stay seating and #23.
Behold, behold the Lamb of God.
On the cross.
00:05:23
Nsnoise.
Alamak.com.
Nsnoise.
Want to quote a few verses before we pray?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.
He was in the world, and the world was made by him.
And the world knew him not. He came into his own.
And his own received him not, but as many as received him.
To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of the will of not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Let's pray.
Like to speak tonight about.
John's testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle John was one of two of the Lord's disciples that are called the sons of Zebedee, John and James.
We're not sure exactly when the first time.
00:10:02
That John met with the Lord Jesus in Luke's gospel it tells us that there was a time when the Lord Jesus was teaching on the shores of the Lake of Galilee, Sea of Galilee, and.
He used Peter's boat, he asked Peter for use of his boat and he pushed off a little from the edge so he could speak to all the people that were on the shore.
And then to pay Peter for his for his the use of his boat, he says now push out into the deep and let down your Nets for a draft of fishes. Well, Peter didn't know the Lord very well then, but he probably thought, well, Jesus is a Carpenter. We have toiled all night and we haven't taken anyone thing but.
Since you say so, Lord, I'll let down the net. Lord, it said Let down the net. And immediately when he let down the net, the net was filled with so many fishes that it could not hold them all, and the net broke and.
They called their fellows, and I suppose James and John were there too. It does say that they saw it and they started filling the boats.
So full that they both started to sink. You know, we get into trouble and we don't obey what the Lord says. And so he saw that and Peter fell down at Jesus feet, recognizing that he was more than a mere man. Here was the eternal Son of God made flesh had come into our world. And to me it is the most wonderful story that has ever been told.
God, the God of the universe, the God that made it all. The God that is greater than it all.
Came into the same world that he had made in the form.
Of a man, wonderful, wonderful story. And those are the verses that we read before we prayed. He came into the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Verse 14 says the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John's gospel doesn't give his genealogy. How could you ever put a genealogy on God?
He always existed, something that completely blows my mind to try to think of it. Here was somebody who never had a beginning and yet he came into the world. There was a point in time when he entered the history of this world that we now live in. Wonderful story. A little later down in the chapter, John the Baptist sees him.
And says in verse 29, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Was there a problem with the world? There surely was. What was the problem? Sin. Man had acted independently of God and done his own thing, and that's what sin is. Is man acting independently of God? And sin separates. Sin divides as soon as Adam sinned in the beginning in the Garden of Eden.
Immediately he runs and hides from God. Why? Sin separates from God. That's the big problem with this world. But here's the remedy. The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Why is he presented as a lamb? Because in all of scripture there is such a thing as sacrifice. God in the Old Testament order that they would bring.
A lamb, and that that lamb would die in place of the guilty person. And so the Lord Jesus is presented as the Lamb of God. Think of it. The very creator of the universe, that one that called it all into existence, is the one that went to the cross of Calvary to die to pay the price of our redemption. He's the one that passed through.
This world and it's wonderful in John's gospel to go through the book. We don't have that much time to do very much tonight and speaking about this, but in chapter three, he meets up with a man who is a religious man. Maybe you are a religious. Maybe you think yourself to be religious.
00:15:15
Is religion enough to satisfy God's claims? You know what Jesus said to this religious man?
He said you must be born again.
If you want to see, if you want to enter God's Kingdom, you must be born again. Every one of us in this room has been born the first time. But if you want to enter God's Kingdom, you must be born again. Every one of us has been born into this world with a sin nature, a nature that wants to do its own thing. Very evident when children start to grow up.
How they exercise their own will. It's in all of us. It's the nature we're born with. And with that nature, if you've only been born once, you will never see God's Kingdom. Oh, you say, I've been born into a Christian family. Thank God you have. But that's not enough.
You must be born again. How can I be born again?
Not by my own will. I didn't decide the first time to be born.
That was my parents decision and you cannot decide the second time to be born. It's God's will and I'm telling you tonight God wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. You're sitting there. I'm telling you God wants you to be born again.
How is that?
It's by the Word of God and by the Spirit of God. Spirit of God is here, He's present here, and He takes the Word of God and lets it put you and puts it into the hearts of those who have ears to hear. Let me ask you, do you have ears to hear what God says tonight? I see sometimes people listening to the gospel and they're listening quite politely.
But often afterwards I find out that inside there ears there's a roadblock and they don't let it get any further in. I'm just gonna ask you, if that's your case tonight, please take down the roadblock, Let God's word in, let him speak to you. Listen, because it is by the word of God, when the Son of God speaks the word, that the dead.
Live if you're dead in your trespasses and sins, let the word of God penetrate it through that word that life can be extended to you. Well, in chapter four, he meets up with a woman and she was kind of a different from the man in chapter 3 different person. She was one who had had.
6 husbands, I should say 5 husbands and she was living with another man.
That was not her husband. And she meets up with the Lord, and she thinks the Lord, probably she didn't realize who he was, of course, but she thinks she didn't know the story of her life. Did you know that He knows everything about you, all the secrets of your heart. He knows what you do in secret when you think nobody else is watching. He knows it all. And this poor woman came to draw water out of a well.
And on the side of the well is sitting a man. She didn't know who he was. And he said, give me to drink. He was thirsty. I don't think he ever got a drink of water. But.
That woman got a drink of living water and Jesus says to her in verse.
13 Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. That's the way it is in this world. There's so many things that this world offers.
To satisfy the thirst of heart. And I can see him so often in young people's hearts. A terrible emptiness. I have to say that there was an emptiness at one time in my own soul.
Sin has its pleasures, and while you're doing it, it might make you happy, but it leaves you totally empty afterwards. But then Jesus goes on to say, Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Wonderful.
00:20:17
Living water that becomes a well within you. That's the kind of water that Jesus gives to the thirsty soul.
Well, there's much that can be said about the Lord's history here in this world all through these chapters, but I'd like to go on now to the end of his life in chapter.
19 We have him appearing before Pilate.
Pilate was the Roman governor of those days, and the Jewish people took him and delivered him up to pilot. It says here. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. The soldiers flatted a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe and said Hail King of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands.
Pilate therefore went forth again, saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you.
That ye may know that I find no fault in him.
What kind of justice is this scourging? Romans scourging was known to be so severe that often people that were scourge died being scourged. It was called the living death. It was so horrible and pilots scourged him before he even pronounced. I find no fault in him. That's the kind of justice that was given to our Lord Jesus Christ here in this world.
The end of verse six. Again Pilate saith unto them, taking him and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. Here is a man completely without fault. The judge pronounces him without fault, and yet he accepts the will of the people that he be crucified, and so Jesus is taken out. Let's read in chapter 19.
Verse 16 Then delivered He therefore unto them to be crucified, and they took Jesus.
And led him away, and he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place called.
The place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.
Where they crucified him and to other with him.
On either side one and Jesus in the midst.
There they were, the three of them that were crucified, and they put Jesus in the middle, I suppose, to appear that there were three male factors that were being put to death that day, but there was two that were malefactors, and the one in the center was the.
Holy spotless Lamb of God.
Necessary that he be.
Holy and spotless, if He's going to pay the price of our redemption. He had no sin of his own to account for. He was there to pay the price of our redemption. You know what? Sometimes you think that God is a merciful and a loving God and that if you send why, he'll just kind of pass over the sin and forgive you. Did you know that that's not true?
God is a merciful and a loving God, but He cannot Passover your sin. Every sin that you have ever committed must receive from the hand of God Himself. It's full punishment. And that's what happened on the cross when the Lord Jesus was crucified there on that cross. Scripture tells us he was crucified about 9:00 in the morning.
And he died approximately at 3:00 in the afternoon, the way we count time. But from 9:00 in the morning till 12 noon, people passed in front of him, mocking him and spitting on him. At 12 noon. Other Gospels tells us the story that everything became dark, and for three hours there was darkness. Nobody could see what was taking place on that center cross.
00:25:10
It was then that God, according to Isaiah 53, laid on him the iniquity of us all, and that storm of divine judgment that would have sunk me into hell forever fell on Jesus head.
He paid the price in full so that now God can offer full and free salvation to all.
And at the end of those three hours of darkness, it says he said three different things, but two are recorded in this gospel. And I just want to mention the one that's mentioned in verse 30. Jesus therefore had received the vinegar. He said it is finished and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.
The whole storm of God's judgment that was against sin in all its awfulness.
Was finished. The work is complete. There is nothing that remains to be done. Absolutely nothing.
All you have to do is accept what he did for you.
And he bows his head and gave up the ghost. He died.
The Jews. Verse 31. Therefore, because it was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day.
For that day, Sabbath day was in the high day. He sought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.
Came the soldiers and break the legs of the 1St and of the other, which was crucified with him.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already.
They break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
Lord Jesus had already given up his life, but the soldier pierced his side. You know the Lord Jesus had many wounds in his body.
But Scripture doesn't really speak of any blood coming out of those wounds.
It's the only wound that blood came out of, according to Scripture. We know that blood must have come out of other wounds, but here was the testimony that life had been given up.
And that blood flowed out of his sight. There was no life in that body. Jesus died. He faced death in all its horrible reality. Jesus died. Scripture says Christ died for our sins. According to the scriptures, He was buried and he rose again. His death did not enter. It ended all. He was buried in the end of this chapter.
And in the 20th chapter we have the testimony of his resurrection.
Jesus did not stay dead. He was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. And God did not quit raising Jesus until Jesus was as a man in the highest place in the universe. There's a man sitting there in highest glory. I'm telling you tonight, that's the man that we present.
For salvation, He is the only one that can save you, your, your.
Faith cannot be in a religion. It must be in a person, a real historical person that lived and died and rose again in this world. These are facts of history.
Christianity is not based on fantasy, it's based on historical fact.
Well my purpose is to go the rest of our time to the first chapter of revelation because.
John wrote the Book of Revelation just as he did John's gospel, and we talked about his first coming. And now I'd like to speak of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Title of my Bible says The Revelation of Saint John the Divine. The true title of the book is in the first verse of the first chapter of Revelation, The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants.
00:30:07
Things which must shortly come to pass. And he sent and signified it by his Angel, and to his servant John.
Who bear record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth and they.
That hear the words of this prophecy and keep.
Those things which are written therein for the time is at hand.
Are you listening? The time is at hand.
Verse 4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you, and peace from him which is.
And which was and which is to come?
The Eternal 1.
Present, past and future in that statement because he is the ever existing God and from this seven spirits which are before his throne.
And from Jesus Christ to His, the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
Three things that it says about him, this person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
First of all, a faithful witness in this world. We have so many that are lying witnesses.
This is a true and faithful witness, this person Jesus Christ. The second thing that it says is the first begotten of the dead.
Didn't others rise from the dead before Jesus rose from the dead? Yes, there were others. The Lord Jesus himself raised three from the dead during the course of the Gospels.
What does it mean? The first begotten from the dead. He was the first to rise in the power of a life that death can no longer touch.
Oh, the wonder of it all. The life that Jesus rose with is a life that can never die.
And that's the life he gives to those who simply trust in him.
I have a life that can never die. This body is still connected with the first creation and it can die, But the life I have in Christ is a life that can never die. So when the time comes that death touches this body, just a mere transfer into the glory to be with Christ. And then the last part of this last, the third thing that it says about his person, the Prince of the kings of the earth.
And this is what's so wonderful in this book. Jesus is going to reign supreme in this world. Sure doesn't seem that way today. Things get by day by day, more complicated and more complex and more.
Threatening.
Pretty terrible world that we live in, but isn't it wonderful that we know that Jesus is coming again? And then it says three things that he does verse five that towards the end it says unto him that loved us #1.
And washed us from our sins in his own blood #2 And hath made us kings and priests unto God, and the Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.
Isn't this interesting? A book of judgment? And he says unto him that loved us.
You know, God judges evil, God judges sin, but at the same time we should never doubt that His character of love is not.
Changed. He still loves.
You know in the 10th chapter, the Book of Revelation, a mighty Angel comes down out of heaven and sets 1 foot on dry land and one foot on the sea, and lifts up his hand and swears to God that there will be no longer delay.
God would not be a God of love if he let sin go on and on and on.
00:35:04
It's not going to happen.
The time is going to come and we believe it's getting close when God is going to say that's it.
And he's going to intervene directly into the affairs of men. Jesus is coming back in person to this world.
To reign supreme.
And I think This is why this book is called The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
You might say John, didn't you know Jesus when he was here?
You would say yes. I leaned on his breast. The Last Supper. I knew him.
But why then is he given a different revelation of Jesus Christ? It's not a different person. It's the same person, but it's the same one who came the first time in meekness and loneliness that is coming the second time to reign supreme. And nobody will escape this person. Every single person that has ever lived on planet earth must come face to face with Jesus.
Either as your Savior or as your judge, you cannot avoid him. You must meet up with Jesus. And so it says in verse 7, Behold, he cometh. Oh, isn't this wonderful? He's going to come back in person to set his feet down on this planet. You remember where he went up.
The book of Acts chapter one. It tells us that.
He was on the Mount of Olives and speaking to his disciples, and he was taken up from them in a cloud, received them out of their sight, and they kept looking up into heaven. And two men in white, I suppose, angels, stood by him and said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, the Jesus that they had known in resurrection.
That they had handled with their hands.
The one they had eaten and drinking with, drunken with the same shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go up. And so the book of Zechariah tells us that his feet will touch down on the Mount of Olives. It's going to be a tremendously glorious day when Jesus comes back, but a day of the most awful, awful judgment that this world has ever seen.
And that's why I have in my heart to speak from this chapter, because Revelation is a book of judgment. And in chapter one, we have the judge introduced, the judge that you will meet if you do not accept Jesus as your Savior, you will meet up with him as judge. And even now he is walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, in the midst of the assemblies. He's walking and he's observing.
And that's why you hear about Christians getting.
So many sicknesses and some of them dying.
He's he's testing us.
You know, I was just down in Mexico at a conference 2 weekends ago and the brother knows they were setting up their PA equipment.
It would say every now and again, testing, testing.
I said as we started the meetings there, I said, brethren, I really believe God is testing, testing.
And that's what he is and his character of judge. He's walking in the midst of these 7 golden candlesticks. The churches. My burden is for those of you who have been brought up in Christian homes.
Your so-called in the meeting.
And yet you're not right. You know you're not right.
God sees it and He knows where you stand.
Connection with him.
Just remember if you don't listen to his voice now.
He will speak louder and louder. Well, he speaks to John.
00:40:02
They should, uh, comment a little bit more on verse 7 before we leave that He says, Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so. Amen. This is not His coming in the rapture. This is His coming at the end of the great tribulation, when He comes in power and glory to reign supreme.
With his Saints, with his mighty angels, Oh what a display of glory. I think it's going to be the greatest display of power and glory this world has ever seen.
And all the kindreds of the earth shall wail. Why do they wail?
The partying's over.
No more drinking and carousing.
No more watching.
The *********** on the Internet. No more people realize he's coming. I'm not ready.
Are you ready?
For Him to come and they wail. Chapter seven or six, it tells us that people are gonna call on the rocks of the earth to fall on them. Cover us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the Lamb, for the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?
Well, he says here in verse eight, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty.
And then John introduces himself in verse nine, and he says in verse 10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.
Heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet.
Saying I am Alpha and Omega, the 1St and the last, and which thou seest write in a book.
Send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamus, and unto Thyatira.
Unto Sardis and unto Philadelphia, and until later Sia.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me.
John was looking One Direction, and the voices behind him.
Not sure that I understand why that was, but I just like to say this.
Are you looking in the direction of that person that's speaking to you tonight? Are you trying to ignore what he's saying to you? Are you looking the other direction? Can I ask you to turn around?
Oh how important it is when he speaks to listen. When John turns around, he sees these 7 golden candlesticks. Doesn't see the one that's speaking first of all, he sees.
The candlesticks and then in the midst verse 13 of the 7 candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. That's the title he always takes in connection with judgment.
I've had people say to me sometimes, what does God know about way? I live down here. We suffer and we struggle through. What does God know about it? He's way up there. I say God has become a man and walked right where you walk. He knows what it means to be a man. So it's going to be a man that that sits on the throne of judgment. And here he's presented as the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, the way judges are clubbed and gird about the paths, the breasts with the golden girdle. His breasts speak of his love.
But it cannot flow out.
As he would like to, because it's a question of judgment here.
And his head and his hairs were white, like wool, as white as snow. This is the judge that you and I will meet up with. John here meets with him, and he falls at his feet as dead. He's so stunned at this revelation of Jesus Christ.
He is the Ancient of Days.
The eternal one and notice at the end of verse 14, his eyes were as a flame of fire. You ever had anybody look at you with eyes blazing as a flame of fire, extremely penetrating. Those thoughts of your heart are an open book to him. The motives you're going to be judged not only by your actions.
00:45:20
But by your motives in the day when God judges through Christ Jesus.
Are you ready for that?
Nothing can be hid from his eyes.
So important that we realize that you know, I don't think we.
Fear God properly.
Even those of us who say we know the Lord.
Do you think David would have committed that awful sin of adultery?
With his one of his best soldiers wives and then had him killed by the hand of the enemy. Do you think David would have done that if he would have realized there was recording going on at that moment? And today we know what happened.
Do you fear God?
Why do you do what you do if you fear God?
I suggest that if you doing things that you know are not right before God, you say you fear God, but you really don't fear Him.
Oh, the awful consequences there was in David's life for what he thought was a movement of pleasure. It lasted the whole of the rest of his life. Thank God, because he repented and recognized his sin, God forgave him, and there was forgiveness in the judicial sense. But he suffered the rest of his life because God has government in his house.
His feet were likened to fine brass. Verse 15.
As if they burned in a furnace.
Brass is God's righteousness in judgment. The altar that was at the opening of the Tabernacle was the brazen altar. His feet speak of His ways. His ways are ways of judgment.
And it says here his voice as the sound of many waters.
Several years ago, took my family to a place in South America that's called Iguazu Falls. It's between the countries of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay tremendously.
Uh, beautiful falls, quite a bit larger than Niagara Falls, but as we stood on the edge of that falls, the Thunder of that those, uh, waters was so great I had to get up to my wife's ear and shout.
For her to hear.
His voice says the sound of many waters. You know God doesn't want to speak loudly to you. He speaks softly. If you don't have ears to hear, He will speak louder and louder and louder until you listen.
Are you listening tonight?
And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp 2 edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Oh, the glory of this person's supreme authority. Son speaks of supreme authority, the power that dominates the day. Who can step outside on a sunny day to look into the blazing sun? You can't do it.
But here's one whose face is as the sun shineth in its strength.
He's the one that's coming again. He's the one that you cannot avoid. He's the one that you will give an account to in the coming day.
Oh, how important it is to get things straight now. Now there is salvation full and free for everyone who simply accepts Him as their Savior. Well, John, when he saw him, verse 17 says he fell at his feet as dead. What a tremendous revelation of Jesus Christ. I thought Jesus Christ was the one full of compassion.
00:50:27
And in meekness and lowliness, she walked down here in this world. Yes, that's the way it was when he came the first time. But he's coming again. And when he comes again, it will not be in the same way. He's coming as the mighty King of kings to reign supreme.
And all those who will not bow will have to meet him as their judge. The Lord laid his hands on him, saying, fear not.
I am the 1St and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead.
And behold, I am alive forevermore. Isn't this wonderful? He was dead, but he's alive forevermore. Jesus will never again die the death that he died.
And I have the keys of hell and of death, you know, before the Lord Jesus went into death.
Satan kept.
All those who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to ******* kept them in fear. But Jesus went into death, and he took the power of death away from the enemy. And now Jesus has the keys of hell and of death. He determines when you die.
Not some people, not some murder. He is the one.
And like to go now just before we end, uh, the meeting to the 19th chapter where we have his coming again.
Because these things are getting close, brother.
It is so thrilling to me. I mean, you feel badly for people in the world that have no hope, but it is so thrilling for us who are believers to see the way things are heading up in this world.
I often say this, that when Jesus came the first time there was a government in the earth, it was called the Roman Empire.
One of the agents of that government tried to kill Jesus when he was a baby or when he was a small child.
Little less probably than two years old in this and the person of Herod was another agent of the Roman Empire that gave the sentence to have him crucified.
Jesus is coming back again. And what do you see happening over in Europe?
The formation of what is called the European Union, the Roman Empire is coming back to life. That is the one that Satan will use as an agent to go against Jesus in the final showdown. And this is what we have here in the 19th chapter. Let me just read it.
Verse 9. Verse 11 Chapter 19. I saw heaven opened and behold.
A White Horse. And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. And his name is called the Word of God.
The armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen.
White and clean out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron He treadeth the winepress and the fierceness.
On wrath of Almighty, God hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written.
King of Kings and Lord.
Of Lawrence verse 19, I saw the beast.
The political head of Western Europe and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war.
Against him that sat on the horse and against his army. Think of it, when Jesus comes back out of heaven in power and glory, they're gonna get their armies together and they're gonna go against him to make war with him.
00:55:18
War. It's not just one battle, but they're willing to do war with Jesus. Here he comes again. Let's get rid of him.
What happens?
Verse 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him.
We believe that to be the Antichrist.
With which he deceived them that received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image.
These both political head and the religious head were cast alive into a lake burning, into a fire burning lake of fire, burning with brimstone. They're caught in open handed rebellion against the Christ of God and they're not even given a trial. They're cast directly into the lake of fire. The first two that go get into the lake of fire.
The remnant, the armies of the beast, were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceedeth out of his mouth, and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Imagine the tremendous display of power as the Lord Jesus.
That sword that comes out of his mouth, one army after another, falls dead to the ground.
Two main actors are taken and cast directly into the Lake of Fire. That's the way it's going to end. Yes, Jesus is coming back, and he's coming back to reign supreme with his people in this world. Governments of the world that we know today are not going to go on the way they are. Jesus is going to replace world government with his righteous government, and he's going to reign supreme, for one.
1000 years here in this world.
Oh, we ask in the name of the Lord that if there's somebody sitting here who hasn't got it straight with God yet, please don't go on in that condition. The Lord Jesus tonight is asking still like we heard this morning in the reading meeting. Come unto me, all ye that labor, and our heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
You should say and come. He wants you to be saved.
You can be saved by simple faith in Him, repentance toward God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Gracious God our Father, bless thy precious word. We pray that there might not be anybody here that will stubbornly go into a lost eternity in the lake of fire. We pray for a blessing on thy precious word wherever it goes out.
Giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Lion's and Lambs
Children—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.
Now, do we have any more boys and girls other than who are sitting on the front row here? What would it take to get all the boys and girls up to the front rows? You know, I got something I want to show you. I'm not sure you're going to be able to see sitting too far back.
You know what the?
Sporting events today.
I understand they charge big money for front row seats, thousands of dollars even people are willing to give for a front row seat.
You know what? These front row seats, you can sit in them. It won't cost you a dime, not even a penny. OK, this is good.
Now who has the number they'd like to sing?
We've got 47 wonderful songs.
But I noticed on the back.
We do have songs especially for children, so you might want to keep that in mind. 8 songs especially for children, but you can choose any number you want.
As long as it's not greater than 47.
40 All right, let's do 40 Jesus loves me.
What a wonderful song to begin with today. And when we come to the chorus, we would like to do the signing. All right, That's the only part of the song. I know how to sign the chorus. So if you can sign more of this song, go ahead, but let's sign and sing.
At least the chorus.
And so we're at #40 #40.
Jesus loves me this time.
They are weak by being in it from never mind.
Yeah, she's not love me. Yes, I'm glad to be here by those countries. So.
EXRB.
El marched out of way in my sense. Let out that book. I'll come in. Yes. She's not like me. Yeah, she's a lot of me, yeah. Do you have a lot of sleep without my clothes around me? So.
395-9015.
18040 58368935009.
Nsnoise.
Tears of a clown, Nsnoise.
So whatever, I don't know, I'd better really read and do wrong and sign in with my.
Son, watch me where I thy nearest you don't want me.
Yeah, she's not Love me. Yeah.
Well, I'm really blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Chorus rather than.
Sing the chorus.
Let's sign the course.
OK.
So we want it to be all quiet when we come to the chorus and we're gonna sign instead of sing. Alright, last verse.
She.
All the way if I trust him till I die.
00:05:11
I think this mic is on, isn't it? Oh good.
All right, who else has a number? That was a great one to begin with. Now, which one would you like?
Why? Why does the ocean? I don't believe it's on this gym sheet, but I think we know it.
So let's all stand up and you might like to turn to the side a little bit so you don't.
Harm your neighbor.
Why? Why?
Do you have?
The most double hungry airplane they are flying like the last five minutes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Very good, So which one would you like? 22 all right #22?
Do we have any extra him sheets handy here? This Marissa doesn't have a hymn sheet.
You don't have one, do you? OK, here's somebody really nice. They're gonna give you that 1 #22.
Well.
Comes after 21.
Uh-huh. OK.
The Heavy.
19050.
900-1007.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Tragedy. Nsnoise.
San Jose, I don't know, you know what I mean? We have a lot of stuff. We're not going to use it for all the clubs, right? And we're going to.
Go listen. It's a good thing. Now, if you have a number, just put up your hand, please. Yes.
45.
And I hesitate to do this, but from now on, I think what we're going to ask is that we sing the first and last verse of the songs. And that way we can have more people giving out songs and we can sing more songs. All right?
So this number 45.
We're gonna see the first and last first.
Too little.
Work for him, Oh my God.
00:10:19
Yes.
46 #46 the next song.
So we have a part here for the girls. We're gonna ask the girls to sing the line that says girls.
Ask the girls to sing that line all by themselves, and then the boys will ask you to sing the next line all by yourself. Alright. And then we sing the rest of the song altogether #46.
Latino.
Number one.
First and last verse, OK.
Oh no.
1St place I think that's why I don't know if.
I've always been.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Yes, 33.
#33.
Nothing, neither train.
030.
35 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 2 10-4 10-4 10-4 0 10-4 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 10-4 10-4 10-4 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 10-4.
00 4/8 three of the ERA and Regional Hospital.
00:15:16
Yes.
44 Thank you.
Into the.
Second one.
There's one celebration remarks. And he's nobody ever had called him to be.
Well, by ******* thou may come again.
Valuation delivery.
Nsnoise.
Newton, IL.
Then I am sure that you sent them for me.
LL again lol my dear.
Swallowation Story. Reaping Horizon.
Yell man can say I'm like children of nature.
I think we got time for one more. Anybody else have a number?
If not, I guess I'll be calling on Noah. He's the only one who has his hand up.
OK. Sorry, no.
42.
A little child.
2530, 7010.
My heart is very beautiful on bright sunshine on the floor.
It's Grand Theft Auto. Reece's the foundation's foundation through the red wine.
Perhaps we'll make one more appeal to any boys and girls that would like to come to the front seats. You're going to be able to see much better on the front seats.
Anybody else want to come forward?
Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Let's just close our eyes and bow our heads while we pray.
Father and gracious God, we thank Thee.
That today we can gather to sing these songs about the Lord Jesus, my beloved Son. And we thank you, Lord Jesus, that thou.
Are inviting the children with open arms to come.
And we know that many have come to thee, but perhaps there's one here today.
That has never yet come to Jesus and we pray for these.
Any who have not accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior.
We ask you that they might be delivered from the power of sin and Satan.
And that they might find joy and peace.
Through coming to thee, Lord Jesus, trusting in thee. And so we seek help now as we open thy word. We thank you for the ones that have come today. You know, in many places there are other Sunday schools and we just do pray that Thy word might indeed find an entrance into the hearts of the children as well as the older ones.
And that salvation might be the result. So we ask all now as we thank Thee for thy goodness, our Father in the precious name, the Lord Jesus, Amen.
00:20:04
Today I brought something that I would like to show.
And.
I apologize to those that are sitting behind because I'm sure you're not seeing this, but.
You're welcome to come to a front seat.
Now.
We've got some words up here, but some of the words are covered up. You don't see all the words.
And what I'd like to speak about today.
Of course.
I really wanna talk about Jesus.
Because He's the important one in our lives. And if you don't have Jesus, you don't really have anything. But if you have Him, you have everything. The Lord Jesus is such a wonderful Savior, and He wants to save you from your sins, and He wants to save you from the power of Satan, who is a destroyer.
But you know, in the Bible, God in a wonderful way helps us to understand about His Son.
And.
One way he does this is by.
Telling us about animals. OK, so I'm thinking about two animals in the Bible.
And I'll give you some hints because I want to see if you can tell me what these animals are.
The one animal.
Is.
Considered a wild animal.
And the other animal is considered a tame animal.
I see some hands up already.
Let me give you a little more hint, then maybe I'll see some more hands up.
Both of these animals.
Start with the letter L.
And both of these animals.
Have only four letters.
In their name.
All right.
So who thinks they know what these animals are?
OK, how about you?
Yeah, OK.
Alliance, he thinks. A lion. Now let's see what's under here.
You got it.
A line.
Now who thinks they know what the other animal is?
That was a girl. How about a boy, Noah?
Not sure. Would anybody?
No, I'm talking animals.
Anybody else have any idea what the other animal might be? It starts with an L Would you?
A lamb? You think it's slam? Let's check out.
Then you got it very good.
Now there's a big difference between a lion and a lamb.
And I also brought.
Something in this little.
Bag here.
Let's take a look at what we've got here, OK?
Alright, you see him. So there's our lion.
I wonder if I have a lamb in here. You know, I had a hard time finding a lamb.
But he's in here somewhere.
I think he got lost.
You ever hear about a lamb that got lost?
We sing a song about that, don't we? Like a little wandering lamb lost upon the hills. I am like a shepherd. Jesus stands holding out.
00:25:08
His busted hands. Well, here's my lamb.
It's pretty small.
Anyway, I'll put him right there. OK, so now we got a lion and a lamb. Well, what are we going to say next?
You know you read very much about lions in the Bible.
And I suppose.
Of all the wild beasts are undomesticated beasts.
The lion is perhaps spoken of more than any other animal.
In the Bible.
And lions are very interesting animals.
You know, you look into the face.
Of a lion.
And a lion seems to be.
Calm and collected and.
Even when a lion is fighting.
It doesn't seem to be particularly.
Unnerved because.
It just doesn't seem to be afraid.
The lion is a mighty animal, and we're gonna talk about a lion in a story. But before we do.
I would like to say this.
And I looked into first Kings, the 1St.
Book of the Kings and I saw how that.
There were lions in the temple where God lived.
And there was a throne that was made and it was raised up quite high because there was 6 steps going up to the throne.
And the throne was made out of gold.
And it was super fine gold. I think it was the very best gold that could be found in all of the world. And this was in Solomon's temple, of course. It was God's temple. It was the House of God.
But there was this throng with arms on either side.
And guess what was beside the arms?
Lions There was 2 Lions one on this side.
And one on this side.
Of course they weren't alive. They were statutes.
But you know what? There was lions on the steps.
Going up to the throne there was 6 steps and it tells us that there was 12 lions on either side, which I suppose means there was 6 lions on this side of the steps and six lions on this side of the steps.
So that makes me.
Think lions are important to God?
And he made those lines for a purpose, see.
Now.
We know.
That most of the time, I suppose in the Bible we find that the lion.
Is used for.
Perhaps a destructive purpose?
And even Satan is referred to as a roaring lion going about.
Seeking whom he may devour. But I think the Lion would speak to us of strength.
You see this lion here?
He's got big paws and I understand that. A lion.
With just one swipe of his paw, he could knock over a young cow.
And perhaps even kill it. Of course the lion has claws.
In his pause.
And he can bring these claws in or out.
That's what he can do with his claws. Other animals can't do that, like a dog or a bear or a wolf.
But a lion is special in that regard. But his paws?
00:30:01
And something else he has.
Jaws.
And the strength.
Of those jaws.
It's amazing.
I really didn't know that much about lions, but I got interested.
And I was asked for this little talk to find out a little bit more of a lions. And you know, a lion has powerful muscles throughout its body.
And it's got a long tail and it's got a tuft of hair right on the end of its tail. It's the only cat that has a tuft of hair on the end of its tail. And the baby lions, they like to play with that tuft. The mother swishes their tail around, and the baby lions are jumping around and trying to catch the end of her tail well.
A muscular animal. It's got a mane.
You see this hair? This grows out around the head of the lion.
And its long hair, thick hair, and it makes the lion.
Look a lot bigger than he really is.
With that name, that's what it's called, a main, and it also helps to protect the lion if he finds himself in some kind of a fight.
And he takes a blow to the head, while this mane is going to help pad the blow.
So that's interesting.
So the lion would speak to us, I believe, of strength.
A force, whether it be used for good or bad and.
I read a story one time about two boys. They went to a zoo.
And I don't think they were thinking, but they had a little dog and they went into the Big Lion house and.
Maybe it was, uh, surface. I think it was a surface, I'm sorry. And there was a cage with a big lion.
And they took the little dog.
And they put it.
Into the cage.
Of the big Lion.
You know the little dog, he was pretty scared.
He sensed there was danger, so he ran over to the corner of the cage, the far corner.
You know the Big Lion King.
Prancing over and.
Very majestically went over there. He sniffed a little dog.
The boys went away and they were walking around and they came back sometime later in the day.
You know what?
They saw the big lion was sleeping.
In the middle of the cage.
And.
The little dog was sleeping too.
He was all rolled up between the paws of the big lion and he was sleeping.
And the boys looked and he said, Sir, that's my dog over there.
That's my thought.
And you know what the zookeeper said? Or the I guess it was the circus, circus man, he said. Uh.
Oh, is he your dog? All right, Well, I'll open the door and you can just go get him.
And you know what?
The boy said no.
Don't want to do that.
Well, why? You know that?
Dog.
Was there and that line hadn't hurt that dog and I believe that.
In a sense, he was protecting that dog. It was interesting to me how that worked at that time.
And in order to get the dog back, the boy is going to have to deal with the lion.
So, you know, sometimes in the Word of God, we find that lions are truly.
00:35:03
Animals that.
They're not always bad.
OK, doing bad things.
But now I want to talk to you about another side of the line. And this is where we come out to the Word of God, because really, we're here today to talk about the Lord Jesus. And this story happens back in First Samuel. So if you got a Bible, let's look that up.
Let's look up First Samuel chapter 17.
And I might ask somebody to read a verse if they can find it in their Bible. First Samuel chapter 17. Now this is about a.
A man whose name David young man and you know David, he kept sheep, and one day David's father asked him to go and to.
Find out how his brothers were doing and bring him some food.
Some cheeses and so on. Parched corn red and find out how they're doing. So David he went.
At his father's fitting.
He was a shepherd, took care of sheep.
And what he got where his brother and where he found that there was a huge giant.
Would anybody know the name of this giant? Yes, Goliath. Exactly. He was like 9 1/2 feet tall.
He was. He probably touched that chandelier up there. He was so huge.
And you know what? He was challenging.
The armies of Israel to send out a man to fight with him.
He said give me a man that I might fight with him. He was huge. And you know, everybody in Israel was scared. They were just shaking.
Even the king.
But when David went there, he found out this giant.
He is defying the armies of Israel, which are the armies of the living God.
How is it that this Goliath, who I think is a picture of Satan?
Is.
Ruling the situation here and David said I'm going to go fight because David, he loved the Lord and David knew.
That the Lord was for him, and he didn't like to see the Lord's.
Arm Honor.
Traveled upon.
So he said he would go, but Saul said no, you're just a boy, how can you go fight this giant?
Well, you know what? David then told a story, and that's the story that I had before me. It's in First Samuel chapter.
17.
And verse 34, is there anybody that thinks they could read that verse for us? It's in First Samuel chapter 17 and verse 34. OK, I'm gonna give you the mic, right? Can you read it? Of course.
And David said unto Saul, thy servant keep his father's sheep. And there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. That's very good. How about #35 Anybody? OK, we'll do it, girl, shall we? All right, see you. And I went out after him, and mowed him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And.
When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smelt him and flew him. Thank you, that was very good. Now we find the story.
That David told.
The king saw and.
David had won victories.
Perhaps victories that no one else knew about.
In private now, he was ready to win a victory out in public.
And what victories had he won? Well, it tells us that while he was watching the sheep.
00:40:03
Your team.
A lion.
And took a lamb out of the flock.
And so I suppose this line came from his den, wherever he was living, and he's looking around. He wants something to eat. You know, lions have big appetite. I understand a lion can eat 75 lbs of meat.
In one meal.
That's a big deal.
That's a lot of quarter pounders.
Yeah, but The thing is they don't then eat for quite a while, you know, their stomach gets all filled up and then maybe it's 2-3 days before they have another meal.
But anyway, they eat.
And this lion, I believe, saw this flock of sheep.
And what did he do? He didn't go pick out a big ram or a big adult sheep. That's really tough. But you pick out a tender lamb.
And it tells us here that.
He took a land, you know, boys and girls. Now I want to tell you something about the lion.
In the Bible.
We read about how Satan the Devil is like a roaring lion.
And he's going about seeking whom he may devour, and he wants to get the children.
The children.
You notice that children.
They believe what they're told. They're very trusting, and the fact is that most, I believe come to Jesus and get saved. When they're just young, their hearts are tender, but Satan wants to.
Keep a grip on you.
You know this line, he picked up that lamb and he was going with the lamb. I thought he probably gonna take it back to his den, maybe.
And and and just kill it and and eat it. And that's what it's thought no doubt was.
But what's it tell us here?
The lion came, took the lamb, and David went out after him. I got something on the board. Can you tell me?
What, David?
Did before.
He went to after the lion.
Anybody see that I got it right written down here?
Yes.
What? Oh, you prayed? Well, that's. Yeah, I would think he did pray. Yeah. You know, this isn't actually written right here what he did, but I put it up there anyway. But.
Yeah, he prayed.
Can anybody see what I wrote up there? I don't know if you can read that before David went after.
You saw it, You saw what was happening.
And he didn't turn away.
Sometimes people, they turn a blind eye because they don't want to get involved in any kind of difficulty. But notice David saw, David went after and then David he smoked.
Smoked, which means he hit the lion hard.
And I suppose maybe knocked him over and he delivered the lamb out of the mouth of that beast that was wanting to destroy it.
And you know that Lion then, I believe, just reared up and tried to overcome. David tells us here that he rose against him.
But he just caught him by his beard.
And he slew him. That means he killed him, all right.
Well, that little lamb must have been so thankful to be free from the lion.
And I'm gonna ask you a question now.
What did the lamb do?
Alright, here we go.
What did the lamb do?
00:45:00
In order to save itself from the lion. What did it do? Anybody have any idea?
Well, the lamb is in the mouth of the lion, He.
Yeah, you can't run the Lion's running within. All right. Anybody have an idea? I see my time ran out.
And hard for me to see that there.
You probably tried to. Yeah, you tried to try to get free. Well, here's what he did.
Alright, see you.
What does that mean?
The lamb didn't do anything. Zero, The lamb could not do anything.
To help itself to free itself from that lion.
You know, boys and girls, what have we learned from this story? You and I are like the lamb, alright, Satan. It's like the lion. He has a grip on you, boys and girls. He wants to drag us down to hell. That's where he's going to spend eternity. He wants you to be there with him. That's an awful thought.
But Jesus saw.
The situation and you know the Lord Jesus came into this world and it tells us in Hebrews 2 That through death He destroyed Him who has the power of death.
And he has delivered them, who through fear of death, through all their lifetimes, subject to *******. In other words, the Lord Jesus, by dying on the cross.
And giving his life as the Good Shepherd give his life for the sheep.
He rose again. He made Satan weak. And I'm thankful to say.
That many in this hall can, with assurance, say, yeah, Jesus.
He forgave my sin, He saved my soul, cleansed my heart and made me whole. And.
You know, I'm sure David must have picked up that little lamb, probably put it on his shoulders, bring it back to the flock.
David a wonderful picture of the Lord Jesus. David could have run for his life. He could have said, well, I don't really care that much about the lamb. I got all these other sheep. Or he might have run home to his father and said, dad, there's a lion took a sheep, let's go get him. But no, David went and he risked his life in order to do it. And that's.
The story boys and girls. David didn't have to give up his life, but Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
He did give up his life for the sheep and we got one more word. Anybody know what this word is here?
No.
I got one more word under here.
You want a hint starts with T and ends with T. What do you think?
Starts with the D and ends with the D Davis. That's good, I think.
Check it out. Yeah.
David OK boys and girls, David became between the lion and the lamb and save the lamb in the lion's mouth. And Jesus wants to save you from the destroyer who is Satan. Well, we could have said more about the story, but our time is gone. So let's pray. And boys and girls, as we pray, if you want to be saved from the destroyer who is Satan, who has a grip on you, who just asked the Lord?
To save you.
To come into your life and wash your sins away in this precious blood.
Call upon the Lord. Whosoever shall call upon the Lord, the name of the Lord shall be saved.
King Asa
Address—Bill Prost
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.
Could we sing together #166?
166.
Lord, thou hast drawn us after thee. Now let us run and never tire.
I'll probably get in trouble for making this remark, but this hymn has a special significance to me and to my wife, who has sung at our wedding year or two ago.
166.
Lord, thou has strong.
Screen.
Flowers.
Nsnoise.
Assess the Lords help.
I'd like to turn this afternoon to a passage in the Old Testament in Second Chronicles.
00:05:00
I believe we have the mind of the Lord in turning there.
And I can assure you with reference to yesterday's young people's meeting, that in no way did Don Rule and I collaborate ahead of time.
But I'd like to turn to a passage that, at least in part, brings some of the same truths before us as we had before us in the meeting yesterday.
Turn with me, please, to Second Chronicles Chapter 14.
Second Chronicles, chapter 14.
And we're going to read.
In the 14th, 15th, and 16th chapters of second Chronicles, concerning a king by the name of ASA.
We have often remarked before that.
You young people in these last days are living in a difficult time.
And I say that advisedly because some of us who are older.
I'm not suggesting in any way that we can coast. Oh no.
But at the same time, you young people are being made an object of special attack in these last days.
Satan's efforts are to snuff out if he can.
Any testimony to the name of Christ, anything in this world that honors and glorifies that blessed man?
He knows that some of us.
If the Lord leaves us here a few years.
Are not going to be around anymore.
And if the Lord should leave us here, it is to you, young brothers and young sisters.
That the testimony will fall.
In the words of that well known poem by Doctor McCray, in Flanders Fields, there will come a time in the very new, in the very near future, when some of us will have, as it were, to say to you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.
We find that ASA lived in difficult days.
If you take.
The years into consideration.
When ASA came to the throne, I believe as a very young man, although his age is not given.
It had been exactly 20 years since the awful division occurred that split Israel into a northern and a southern Kingdom.
That awful division when Jeroboam took the 10 tribes one way and left Rehoboam with Judah and Benjamin.
Had been only 20 years before.
And although ASA was probably too young to remember any of the details yet, I am sure.
That awful thing.
Was very fresh in the memory of many and he was keenly aware of it. And yet we find in Asa's life that the Lord gives him every encouragement. And I say to you, beloved young people, the Lord would give you every encouragement today because no matter how difficult the days are.
Nothing can touch the spring of God's love and grace.
Toward you.
I say it advisedly.
There at no time, even in the earliest days of the Church's history.
When everything was new and pristine, if we could use that word.
They had no advantage over you in the personal enjoyment of Christ.
Let's see what happened.
Second Chronicles 14, verse one. So have I just slept with his father's, and they buried him in the city of David. And ASA his son reigned in his stead, and in his days it says the land was quiet 10 years. And they said to that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, for he took away the altars of the strange gods into the high places.
00:10:13
And breakdown the images, and cut down the Groves, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images, and of the Kingdom was quiet before him.
And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side.
So they built and prospered, and ASA had an army of men that bear targets and Spears out of Judah 300,000 and out of Benjamin that bare Shields and drew bows 204 score thousand. All these were mighty men of valor.
Oh, how wonderful it is to see that God gave Ace a rest.
No doubt there was a reason for that, because if we were to go back just a couple of years or less before ASA took the throne, we would find that Jeroboam, the king of the 10 tribes, had decided that he would wage war with Ace's father Abijah, who was king of the two tribes. And it looked as if it would be an easy battle for Jeroboam.
Because Jeroboam, it is recorded, had 800,000 men to put in the field.
And Abijah had only 400,000.
But we find that because and those in Judah relied on the Lord God of their fathers.
There was a tremendous victory, and of those under Jeroboam in the 10 tribes, it is recorded there fell in that battle 500,000 chosen men.
On the one hand, it was a mighty victory for Abijah because he trusted in the Lord.
On the other hand.
I have read.
Those words and I can honestly say I have wept over it.
And those who know me well know that I don't weep easily.
But I have wept over it, thinking that one of the greatest slaughters of men in the Old Testament.
Was Israelite against Israelite?
Oh, sad.
But as a result of that, we find that ASA has 10 years of quietness and four times over in the verses that we have read, it says there was quietness in the land, there was rest. And I say to you, beloved young people, there may be times when God gives you rest individually in your life and perhaps collectively among the people of God. And we find, and we don't need to belabor the point because it was gone over pretty thoroughly yesterday.
But ASA used that time wisely.
He didn't just say, isn't this wonderful?
To use the common terminology, he didn't say let us eat and drink and be merry.
Let us kick up our heels, so to speak.
There were two things that ASA did. Number one, and remember there are priorities here. ASA got rid of all the idols in the land. Sad to say, under his father Abijah and under his grandfather rehabilitation and even under his great grandfather Solomon, idolatry had entered the land of Israel.
And it was not only among the 10 tribes. And so we find ASA gets rid of those idols.
And I say to your heart and mine as much as to my own heart as to you young people, first of all, there is a need before I can build could to get rid of those things that are in the way. Those idols were things that took the place of the true God. And ASA had to purge Judah, and it's recorded here that he took away not only the idols but the high places.
00:15:07
Now remember that we're going to refer to that again. What were the high places anyway? They were places where the Canaanites had offered their sacrifices to false gods, and somehow they had the idea that if a place were elevated, perhaps on the side of a mountain or something like that, that it had an advantage.
And men still do that.
Some of us here have had the opportunity to visit the little country of Bhutan in northern India, or north of India I should say.
And if they are going to build a Buddhist temple there, they build it up on the side of a mountain so that everyone can see it. The high places we find that all those were taken away. Evidently they had not been taken away before.
So then we find that ASA uses that time to build. Oh, what a wonderful thing it is to build. And I say to your heart and mind.
Let us use the time of quietness to build. And we're not going to say a lot about building because, again, it was covered pretty thoroughly yesterday. But building consists of immersing myself in this precious book and not only getting up and getting it up in my head here, but getting it down in my feet.
You know, five times over in the Gospels, with minor variations, the Lord Jesus reminds those to whom He spoke to take heed to what they heard, because He said to him that half shall be given, but unto Him that hath not.
Even that he seemeth to have shall be taken away from him.
And that simply means this, that if you and I hear something, we in one sense have it, but in another sense it is not really ours until we live and walk in the good of it. And God will not allow you and me to have the theory of the truth of God in our heads without the practice of it in our walk.
And so we find that ASA was diligent. Why? Oh, because as was pointed out yesterday, the Christian life is a life of conflict. And as was pointed out in the reading meetings, while there is much that God has given us to enjoy, and while God delights to give us rest.
We cannot expect.
Uninterrupted rest down here.
It's nice to want rest, isn't it?
I can remember well talking to a dear brother about.
The figure is significant, isn't it? About 20 years ago, when many of us can remember terrible turmoil in our lives?
And one brother gave up some of the truth of God and he admitted it. And when I talked to him about it, he said, Bill, he said I just wanted some peace and quiet. I want some peace and quiet.
Oh, did that ring a bell in my own heart? Did it strike a cord and beat it did. I don't know what strikes a chord in the heart of you young people. And you say I'd like peace and quiet too. But you know, God doesn't promise us that down here. He says the rest is in eternity. And what happens here when we get to verse 9?
And there came out against them zero, the Ethiopian with a host of 1000 thousand.
300 Chariots and came under.
Oh, what a host. A million men, tremendous army.
No, ASA had a pretty decent army too, and if you take the numbers there, he had an army of 580,000. And that's pretty significant because his grandfather Rehoboam could only muster 180,000 and a budget. A budget could only muster 400,000.
Excuse me?
The Lord was good.
But the odds were pretty formidable, almost 2 to one.
It almost reminds us of what we read in Luke chapter 14 where we find one king coming against another king.
00:20:02
And the one has 10,000 and the other has 20,000. And the implication of the scripture is that the one with 10,000 would be good. He would be smart to try and negotiate conditions of peace.
What happens here? It says in verse 11. And ASA cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power, help us, O Lord our God.
For we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God, and let not man prevail against thee.
Oh, how beautiful to see that here was ASA with a pretty formidable army by human terms.
But he realized that, humanly speaking, he was up against odds that were too much for him. And I say to each one of us here in every age bracket, but particularly to the young people, you are going to find that if you go out in the world today, do not be surprised if the conflict looks so difficult that you say there is no way I can't face those odds I cannot face.
These difficulties Now I hasten to say that you and I don't face the same difficulties that are faced by some of our brethren in foreign lands.
Many here are aware that in many countries of the world today.
Often one's life is at stake if you name the name of Christ boldly. And among some of us that are known in, known to, or among some that are known to us. In India, within the last few months, there have been two at least, who have given up their lives for the Lord rather than bow down and worship idols. You and I for the moment don't face that. But the devil comes at us in other ways, and he causes so many difficulties, so many problems.
As to make us throw up our hands and say I can't go on.
But ASA says, we rest on thee, and in thy name we go.
I know quoting poetry in an address is a bit rough for those that are translating.
But I love the poem that has been written about this. We rest on thee, our shield, and our defender, we going up forth alone against the foe.
Strong in thy strength, safe in thy keeping, tender we rest on thee, and in thy name we go.
The last verse goes We rest on thee, our shield and our defender. Thine is the battle. Thine shall be the praise when passing through those gates of pearly splendor. Victors, we rest with thee through endless days.
Some here in my age bracket will remember that that hymn was sung by those five missionaries in Ecuador 55 years ago now.
Who were murdered as they sought to reach the Alka Indians.
ASA won a victory, and I might mention, and I stand corrected on this, so that as far as a pure victory in numbers, I believe this is the biggest victory ever recorded in the Word of God.
Because if you read the Darby translation.
It says in verse 13.
The end of verse 13 For they were destroyed before the Lord and before his hosts.
In the Darby translation it says there was not one of them left alive. I can scarcely imagine that. A million men, all of them.
Oh, what a wonderful victory that was. Not that ASA took any pleasure in seeing a million men dead on the battlefield, but they were coming against the Lord and against His host. Oh, what a wonderful thing that is.
That is.
And I say again, beloved young people, if you will use.
Times of quiet, on the one hand to get rid of those things which hinder your progress in the spiritual things of the Lord, and on the other hand to use the time in building you will be prepared when there is conflict.
00:25:04
And I may say that humbly, I trust, because some of us have had experiences in our lives when there was real conflict and, sad to say, we found ourselves unprepared.
But you don't have to be that way.
Well, our time is going. Let's go on to the next chapter.
We find that this is in the end of things. There's encouragement. Verse one of chapter 15.
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oh Dad, and he went out to meet ASA, and said unto him, Hear ye me, ASA, and all Judah and Benjamin, the Lord is with you, while ye be with him.
And if you seek him, he will be found of you. But if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
And then he gives reference here to what I believe goes back to the times of the judges.
When Israel had forsaken the Lord, and noticed the picture, verse three. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble to turn under the Lord God of Israel and Sodom, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the country's.
And a nation was destroyed of nation and city of city, for God that vexed them with all adversity.
Be strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.
All I say to our own hearts that if you and I forsake the Lord, we will not have any times of quiet. We may think that in compromise we're going to get quietness, and we may at least to some extent. But we will find here that as with Israel in the times of the judges, so it will be in our lives that there will be no peace, as it says here, either to him that went out or to him that came in. There will be great vexations. There will be nation destroyed of city. There will be all kinds of adversity.
And so the Lord reminds ASA through the mouth of the prophet, that on the one hand, God was willing.
But on the other hand, there was responsibility with him.
Christianity.
Is meant to consist of live fish.
You know what that means?
Everyone here knows that a dead fish floats down the stream, but I'm sure you have all seen it, maybe even in actual real life. Or perhaps you've seen a video of it.
Of some of those fish like salmon and others that swim upstream to spawn.
In the spring and the tremendous energy which they have not only to swim upstream, but to negotiate an actual fall where they get up speed and up those falls they go.
And if they don't make it the first time they try, try, try again.
Now, of course, we know that there is danger involved sometimes the grizzly bears waiting at the top of the falls with his mouth wide open, but that doesn't take away from the fact that those fish have energy. And God looks for believers that are willing to say yes. By God's grace, I'm going to build with the Lord's help. I'm going to be with him and walk with him, and you will find that he will be with you. But it's going to be more and more an individual pathway.
It's nice to be part of an assembly where there is tremendous encouragement.
It's nice to be able to come to meetings where there is food on the table. It's nice to be able to be where there is plenty of encouragement, where there is effort in the gospel.
But all I say to your heart and mind, do we feel our own responsibility, the need to think in terms of what are we doing, what are our hearts and how are they responding to the Lord's call?
If you forsake him, he also will forsake you.
Well, let's go on verse 8. And when ASA heard these words on the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, out of the cities which he had taken.
00:30:08
From Maudie free and renewed the altar of the Lord that was before the porch of the Lord.
Always say I thought you did that before.
I thought you did that 10 or more years back at the beginning of your reign, where the idols come from.
I have no doubt that ASA did take the idols away.
But you know, they never stopped reappearing, do they? It's not a one time thing.
In your life, in my life, it's going to be continuous because Satan, if you can't get at us with one kind of an idol, he'll get at us with another kind. And if he can't tempt you with one thing, he'll tempt you with another.
The idols continually have to be taken away.
What we notice here that ASA had influence beyond Judah and Benjamin, and that went back to the days of his father Abijah, because when Abijah won that tremendous victory over Jeroboam.
The result of that victory was that abides his Kingdom was extended over certain cities.
That previously had belonged to the 10 tribes.
So we find that Aces sphere of influence is extending. After all he was the rightful king and he was the rightful king as the son of David over all Israel. So he was not usurping to have influence over part of that Kingdom of the 10 tribes. He takes the idols away out of them too. Wonderful. And what's the result in verse 9?
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and the strangers with them out of E Freeman Manasseh and out of Simeon, for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance.
When they saw that the Lord was with him.
This is a real test to our own hearts, both individually and collectively, isn't it?
Because here were those 10 tribes that had turned away to idolatry and they had gone into a kind of mixed up religion. Because Jeroboam had corrupted what God had given, made priests, it says of the lowest of the people, put golden calves in Bethel. And Dan made a kind of a hodgepodge of religion that had something of what God had given and mixed it up with idolatry and human thoughts.
And thank God, there were those who when they saw what was going on in Judah.
There was exercise in their hearts, they said. Ah.
This man, this king ASA, the Lord is with him. Look at the victory he won. He couldn't do that in his own strength. And I say to your heart and mind, if we're walking with the Lord, it won't be a matter of conscious effort to go out and try and influence others. We are going to speak far more loudly by our walk and our ways. And we find here that many came from those 10 tribes back to the worship of the true God.
When they saw that the Lord was with ASA.
Well, there are many things we could talk about here, but we only have time to hit the high points. But I want to say at this juncture something to each one here.
I hope this comes through in the right way.
I want to make it clear that when I talk about building, I'm not talking just about young brothers.
Your young sisters, you can be just as much involved in building. It's true that God does not commit public testimony to you in the same way that He does to the brothers. But that doesn't mean that you can't immerse yourselves in the Word of God. It doesn't mean that you can't read it diligently every day. And as I say again, if you're old enough to have your own Bible, you're old enough to read it for yourself.
Maybe your parents read it wonderful, but have your own Bible reading. Have it for yourself even if you don't understand it all.
And if you're a little older, get a hold of some of our good written ministry. There was plenty of it here.
00:35:04
If you don't know what to read, ask some older brother where to start, because some of it can be a bit heavy going, I freely admit. But nevertheless, it's worth the effort and I suggest that you young sisters should read it just as much as the brothers.
When God gave the woman to the man and created the woman, he said I will make him an help.
Neat or suitable for him?
And a young brother that has been building.
He would like to relate to a young sister that also has been building.
It's nice to be able to be able to talk intelligently about the things of God. And I say to you.
Don't hesitate to read the Old Testament. Don't hesitate to read the lives of these kings of Israel.
There is much instruction for us in the way they live their lives.
Verse 11. And they offered unto the Lord the same time of the spoil which they had brought.
700 oxen and 7000 sheep, and they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.
04.
People of every age, but especially young people.
Who will have this desire in these last days?
But then the testing wasn't over. Notice verse 16.
And also concerning Mayaka, the mother of Ace of the King. Actually this was his grandmother.
He removed her from being queen because she had made an idol in a Grove.
And they used to cut down her idol and stamped it and burned it at the brook Kedron.
Might sound simple.
But how many times do family ties have an influence on our faithfulness to the Lord?
And how often times if we're not careful and I speak to my own heart.
We will perhaps dishonor the Lord in order not to offend.
A close family member.
It can be a snare to us.
Because if we do it once, we're liable to do it again and we find ASA here was faithful and it must have been very difficult for him.
Probably as a relatively young man to have to remove his grandmother, to whom he doubtless looked up, and who was.
A revered member of his family.
But because she had been involved and was involved with idolatry, he not only gets rid of her idol.
Burns stamps it out, makes no question about it.
But he removes her from her position to show that he would not allow her to have any further influence in the country. How good?
You know, I wish we could close the meeting right here. I'd like to.
I'd like to stop and sing a hymn and say what an encouragement we get from the life of ASA.
But you know when God records things in His Word, He records them faithfully.
And I may say this because some of you and I used to raise the question when I was young.
May wonder why you get, as it were, the history of the Kings of Israel gone over once in First and 2nd Kings and then it seems all over again in First and Second Chronicles.
Well, there's a reason.
In First Kings, the emphasis tends to be on the 10 tribes.
With the history of Judah and Benjamin only brought in to round out the history.
In First and Second Chronicles you get the emphasis on Judah and Benjamin.
With the Kingdom of Israel, the 10 tribes brought in only to round it out.
In First and 2nd Kings you get largely man's responsibility.
And his failure under it.
00:40:02
In First and Second Chronicles you get God in his sovereignty and grace.
Working out His purposes in spite of man's failure. And so you find that much of the failure that is recorded in Kings is left out of Chronicles because we see God's side of things and God working in spite of man's failure. But God doesn't leave all the failure out because He wants us to learn something. And here we find something to which I would like to draw your attention. And it seems but a little thing in verse 17.
Of Chapter 15.
But.
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel.
Nevertheless, the heart of ASA was perfect all his days.
This seems like a very small thing.
Here ASA had authority and dominion not over due to and Benjamin, but also over a certain amount of territory among the 12 tribes.
He faithfully gets rid of all the idolatry and Judah and Benjamin.
And the high places.
But when it comes to that territory in the land of Israel.
It seems, and scripture is accurate, that he gets rid of the idols.
But not the high places.
Why was that?
I don't know and I don't want to say why it was when scripture doesn't tell us.
But I rather think that perhaps ASA felt, let's not go too far too quickly. Let's not push things and cause an uprising or a rebellion. Let's not go too far. We'll get rid of the idols, but for now, we'll let the high places go.
And while it might seem like a small thing.
I suggest.
That it was the beginning of failure in Asa's life.
The point I want to make to your heart and mind is this.
And trust me, I have felt it in my own life. I am not pointing the finger.
It's very often a very little thing in our lives that we allow.
That Satan is able to use.
To get, as we would say.
A wedge in the door.
And very often we find that when we have allowed some little thing.
But it is the route.
If you're an American to bigger things.
The bigger problems.
God holds us responsible for what we know.
And that's why you may see another Christian out there who seems to be doing things that are contrary to the Word of God.
And who seems to be connected with that which is unscriptural? And yet the Lord seems to be.
Using them in a remarkable way and bringing wonderful blessing into their lives.
And Satan says, see that? Why don't you go that way? Look what you're doing and it's not working as well.
Go where things are working.
Pragmatism.
You young people know that word, pragmatism.
In simple terms, if it works, go for it. Go for what works.
Young people.
Go for what the Word of God says and we're going to find that that same pragmatism overtook poor ASA.
Let's read on here and see what happened.
Verse one of chapter 16. And in the 6th and 30th year of the reign of ASA, Biasha, king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Rhema to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to ASA king of Judah.
Have you heard that phrase before? Coming out and going in? Yes, in the previous chapter, in the times of the judges, when there was no peace to anyone that came out or went in.
00:45:03
You know, I think rather be Asha, who was then the king of Israel, the 10 tribes, he wasn't too pleased at the way things were going. Look at that, that king ASA.
As a result of his winning a mighty victory, not only has some of my Kingdom fallen into His hands, but my people are deserting my Kingdom and going over to be with Him.
And he knew full well, from the way things had gone, that mounting.
A military offensive against ISA was probably not a good idea.
In the first place, Ace's father had.
Wiped out 2/3 of his army not that long before.
That is the army of the 10 tribes, and furthermore, ASA had wiped out an army of a million men belonging to The Ethiopians, no doubt, Biasha felt.
I can't make war with that man. It's not smart.
But something has to be done. So he's going to build a city there on the border.
As it were, to prevent any further moving back and forth between the two kingdoms.
Poor ASA.
What does he do?
Oh, instead of there being that trust in the Lord that had been there before.
Things had gone downhill. He had had another period of rest, it says in the end of the last chapter, chapter 15, and there was number more war.
Under the five and 30th year of the reign of ASA.
He had another 20 years of wonderful peace.
But now when another challenge comes.
Things didn't go so well.
If we could say it, that pragmatism.
That the devil had sowed.
Of which the devil had sowed the seed in his heart.
Now translates into a wrong course, verse 2. Then ASA brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the House of the Lord and of the King's house, and sent to Ben Haydad, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying.
There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father.
Behold, I have sent thee silver and gold, Go break thy league with the Asha King of Israel, that he may depart from me.
And then he had hearkened unto King ASA, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel.
And they smote Ijon and Dan and Abel Mame, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Biasha heard it, that he left off building of Raymond and let his work cease.
Then he said the king took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Raymond. The timber thereof were up by Asha was building, and he built therewith Giba and Misbah.
It looked as if it worked, didn't it?
It looked as if it worked.
ASA takes all the treasures of the House of the Lord and of the King's house.
What does he do? He goes to the king of Syria and says come and help me go after that king of Israel.
Get him off my back, so to speak.
And then he'd had no doubt was only too glad to get involved.
He had no special love for either the King of Judah or the King of Israel, and if there was a chance to get involved to his own advantage, he would.
And as a result.
Has to leave off building.
An ASA goes and gets all the material that Vyasha had collected, takes it away and he builds some more.
Oh, you say ASA, perhaps good for you. You're building again.
Young people, there's a right way and a wrong way to build.
And if I may say so, as Dawn brought before us yesterday, there's a right foundation and a wrong one on which to build.
ASA built on the right foundation the first time, but now he's building on a shaky foundation. He does three things wrong. First of all, he goes to the king of Syria.
Secondly, he buys him with all the treasures that God had given him to collect.
00:50:01
And thirdly, he persuades him to break an agreement that he had evidently made with the king of.
Israel, the 10 tribes, none of which I believe were of God.
Oh, Satan can persuade us that it's all right to do something wrong in order to gain the right end. He can persuade us at the end justifies the means.
You and I are in a world that is filled with what might be called situational ethics.
We are in a world when the whole pattern and fabric of things.
Has made moral principles so blurred.
That eventually Satan says you just have to do what works. You just have to look after things in your own way.
All I say to each one here.
In these last days, it is all the more necessary to have the word of God before you.
Because all around us we are seeing these things happening and if we are not careful, we fall under the influences ASA did.
But God was not going to let him off. Verse seven. And at that time Hanani the seer came to ASA, king of Judah, and said to him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria and not relied on the Lord thy God. Now notice this therefore is the host of the king. Syria escaped out of thy hand. What?
ASA could say, but I was in fighting with the king of Syria.
Who were the true enemies?
Who was the true enemy? Oh, the king of Syria was subtle.
He knew how to play both ends against the middle, as we say in the common term.
He knew how to work through his own ends. He had no love for the King of Judah or for God's things or anything.
Syria was the real enemy.
Syria is the real enemy, the Lord, says ASA. You let him go. You worked out an alliance with him and looked as if it worked.
You let the real enemy go.
And I say to your heart and mind that the minute we start working with worldly principles, the minute we begin to compromise even a little, we're on a slippery slope. And just as poor ASA decided that he let the high places go down there in Israel, so you and I.
Maybe in a very small thing.
And let something go. But the point is, we know better. And if God has revealed something to your heart and mind, if God has brought His precious truth to bear on your soul and mind.
As Dawn mentioned yesterday, he is going to make us accountable for it.
And the scripture uses those terms by number and by weight.
I think that scripture is in the 9th chapter of Ezra if I remember rightly, but you can look it up. They had to account at the end of the journey for those vessels that were committed to them.
By number and by weight.
And So what happens for A in Ace's life?
Verse eight Were not The Ethiopians and the Lubans a huge host?
And with very many Chariots and horsemen, yet because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
Herein thou hast done foolishly. Therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
Oh, how very sad.
For a man.
The greater part of whose reign had been characterized by peace and rest, because when there was conflict, God came in for him in a wonderful way when he relied on the Lord. But now the prophet has to say, ASA, you've done foolishly, and from now on there will not be rest, there will be wars.
And I say to your heart and mind, let's not look for a temporary piece. Let's not look for the easy way out. Let's remember, as we had before us this morning, that there is one, as it were, who would hold out his pierced hands, and it would say to your heart and mine.
00:55:10
What about my claim over you?
Are you going to deny my name or are you going to walk with me in these last days?
And to me, it's almost unbelievable.
What did? Because here it's recorded that when the prophet faithfully brought this message to him, it says in verse 10 then ASA was wroth with the seer.
And put them in a prison house.
Oh, how sad. There's no limit to the extent that your flesh and mind can go. Remember, this was a godly king, and the Spirit of God witnesses to the fact that his heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.
But there was.
Fly in the ointment.
There was something.
That caused a problem.
And poor ASA, he doesn't want to hear that kind of thing anymore. He puts the profit in a prison house. And you and I can do that today. When someone comes to us and speaks faithfully, we can, as it were, put them in the prison house. We can say get out of here. I don't want to hear that anymore. I don't want to listen to you.
And worse still, it says at the end of the verse. And they oppressed some of the people.
Same time, no doubt there were those who felt the situation, who agreed with the prophet, Asus says. I don't want to hear from you either. Very, very sad.
We won't read the last few verses.
But it tells us that as a result of all this, the hand of God was on poor ASA. He was diseased in his feet, and it says his disease was exceeding great. It doesn't tell us what it was.
Was there anything wrong with his going to the physicians? No, that wasn't a problem. We find physicians mentioned throughout the Word of God, and we don't find that God speaks against their use in the proper way and at the right time.
But the fact of the matter was that ASA was away from the Lord, and he didn't take the whole thing from the Lord. He didn't recognize the Lord's hand in it. And as a result we find that he died from that disease. And as far as we know, there was not his making right with the Lord that which had caused his failure. Well, we say that we trust with all humility because we don't want to be occupied with failure. We want to be occupied with that which is positive.
We want to be occupied with the things that ASA did that were right and we say to each one here, but especially to you young people that there is no reason why you and I in a day of ruin in a day. Shall we say it, when they're likewise have been divisions among the people of God and when perhaps there is the feeling at least in the hearts of some of saying how can you find any kind of a path? You just have to.
Muddle along, as it were, as best you can.
Until the Lord comes.
No, there is a path that the Lord has marked out.
The Lord will be with us in it.
And there is tremendous blessing in that path.
If you and I will walk in it.
In closing.
Could we sing together the last two verses of #168?
168 The last two verses, O kindle within us. That's the fifth verse, A holy desire.
Like that which was found in thy people of old, who tasted thy love, and whose hearts were on fire, while they waited in patience thy face to behold. 168 verses 4:00 and 5:00.
Small correction before we pray. The reference by number and by weight is Ezra 8, not 9.
Philippians 1:8-30
Gospel 2
Gospel—David Hayhoe
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.
Could we start our meeting with him #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?
Hymn #14 could we stand?
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
You may be seated.
Now let's ask the Lord to help us.
Let's sing another hymn #20.
Behold.
The savior at the door, he gently knocked his knock before.
As we did long as weeding still.
You use no other friends, so I'll open the door.
He'll enter in and stuff with you and you with him #20.
We stay in our seats for this one.
00:05:46
Nsnoise.
Could we take this wonderful book?
That I think pretty well everyone has a copy of tonight.
An openness and turn.
To Proverbs chapter 30.
Just start off.
Proverbs, chapter 30.
Verse one.
The words of Aker.
Son of Jacob.
Even the prophecy the man speak unto, even unto Ethyl and Yuko.
Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man.
I neither learn wisdom, nor have I the knowledge of the Holy.
Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who had found the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
Every word of God is pure. He's a shield unto them.
That put their trust in him. Add thou not under his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found the liar.
Just a couple of comments in connection with, uh, this portion here.
00:10:00
It's a wonderful book, friends. This starts out the words of Acre.
You see how acre?
Looked upon himself, you see the place he took before the holy God of the universe.
Look at verse 2.
Surely I am more brutish than any man and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learn wisdom.
Rabbi, the knowledge of the Holy.
You know man by wisdom knows not God.
If you have come into this room tonight.
With your own ideas.
About yourself and about God. You're starting from the wrong basis.
And you see that in this few verses that we are opening with tonight.
God has been pleased to put down about this man, Aker.
His confession as to what kind of a man he was I more brutish. He took the low place before God.
As you sit in this room tonight.
Would you put aside your thoughts?
And listen to what God says.
Because, you know, my thoughts don't matter a hill of beans, if you'll.
Excuse the expression.
You know this verse here verse four said by this verse 5 every word of God is pure.
But there was a desire on this part of Acre, this man who knew not very much.
He wanted to know.
And dear friends, if you want to know, there's answers.
Have you found the answer?
You see here in verse 4.
He says, Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended?
All friends will largely of what we're going to talk about tonight is a world you haven't seen.
And I haven't seen.
The unseen world.
But God has revealed it.
And he's told us about it.
It's the most marvelous book in the world. We hold in our hands, friends.
And it is so despised by man.
It is being set aside more and more in this so-called Christian land.
But here it says, who hath ascended up into heaven? Verse four again, or descended? Who is he? Friends that ascended into heaven want to talk a little bit about the man that made it all tonight.
All the secrets that are revealed in this book.
You know, from Genesis through to Revelation, it's the unfolding of God's purposes.
For this world, but more than that. For the universe and more than that.
For you.
Amiche.
The mind of God.
Open up to the creature man.
So he says, Who hath ascended that verse 4.
Into heaven or descended.
Who has gathered the winds in his first?
Who hath found the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? Now this question.
What is his name and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
I believe the thought here is just this.
How can you and I know such a great being?
As the God of the universe.
As he says, what is his name and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?
00:15:02
Dear friend, you'll never know outside of divine revelation from God Himself.
And again, he has been pleased to give it to us now.
Notice that in verse six add thou not.
Under his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
One of them, one brother in this conference, made this confidence, this, uh, comment.
Or was referring to Steve Jobs.
The man who was.
President of that Apple corporation.
I read on the Internet.
I read where it said what his last words were. His sister revealed what his last words were, that his strength was going away and he was just about to leave this world and go into eternity.
You know what he said.
Wow, wow, wow.
Use gone.
Knowing nothing.
One of the most brilliant.
People that ever lived in this current age and he goes into eternity with those words on his lips, knowing nothing can it would appear about the Lord Jesus Christ and about God as to who he is and about God's love to him. What he knew I don't know.
Turn with me, please, to the book of Job.
The Book of Job for some verses there.
My wife and I have just finished reading the book of Job. The more we got into it, the more we loved it.
Job 38.
Job 38.
You know, God tells us a lot about Job, but what kind of a man he was Job.
Was a true man of faith.
But he questioned God.
And he brought his arguments to his friends that he wanted to bring.
To God.
Well, it tells us in Job 38 and verse.
4.
Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare if thou hast understanding.
Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest, or who hast stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened, or who laid the cornerstone thereof?
When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.
Or who shut up the sea with doors when it break forth, as if it had issued out of the womb when I made the cloud, the thick garment thereof, and thick darkness.
A swaddling for it and break up for my decreed places and set bars and doors.
And said, hitherto shalt thou come, but no further, and here shall thy proud ways waves be stayed.
Well, friends.
After.
After job had.
Been brought low.
In the early part of this book.
You know Jobs, The Book of Job is an interesting book in this way.
God takes up in the 42 Chapters I think.
00:20:01
God takes up the history of one man. I believe that it would seem Joel lived approximately 2000 years BC.
And all the people that existed in the world, God takes this Gentile man and he talks about Joel.
And we find that God is looking down, and he knows everything about that man Job.
And in heaven.
There is a time when the when the angels come into the very presence of the holy God of the universe, and God says to them.
Hast thou considered my servant job? There's none like him in all the earth.
Dear friends, what's it tell you?
He knows the secrets of men. He knows everything about us.
He knows the end from the beginning.
2000 years ago.
Hast thou considered my servant job? There's none like him in all the earth.
Then we see the enemy. You see, in this blessed book, God opens up the universe to us. He opens the unseen world. And we see from heaven what God sees as he looks down in this room tonight. And he looks into your life and my life. And what does he see, friend?
What does he say?
He knows every thought of my life and your life.
Hast thou considered my servant Job? And so in the course of this book, up to this time, when Job interacts with his, when he, when he struck down with these boils, when God speaks to him in that way, and then we find the three friends, so-called friends.
When they interact with them and the way they interact.
You know what God was doing? He was bringing out in Joel who he really was in himself.
God saw there was something in Job that needed to come out.
And he knows all about your life and mine. I don't separate myself from you tonight.
And after these three men friends had finished their arguments with Joel back and forth.
Then God steps in.
Oh friends, it's a wonderful thing when God steps in in time.
All that you and I would listen to him, both Satan and Sinner alike.
As he works his ongoing process in our life.
And I think of a verse right now, I think it's in the book of Amos that says 5 words. That was something else I thought about talking about tonight because Paul said I'd rather speak 5 words than 10,000 words. And these are the five words.
That is spoken of in the in the book of Amos. Prepare to meet thy God. Go through the Bible sometime and count the number of five words that there are in the Bible.
Christ died for our sins. Ye must be born again.
I am the Good Shepherd.
I believe there's hundreds of them.
We'll hear.
God speaks to Job and he says, were you there when the world was made? What do you know, Joe?
Job was brought into the presence of God in such a way that he found out that all the arguments were taken away. He was stripped of all his arguments.
00:25:00
And then God says to him in this verse.
Here these verses I love dear friends, want to talk about them a little bit. Verse 6.
Well, verse 4, Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
The Lord hung the world on nothing.
By the West all things were made by him and for him. Job, were you there?
No, he wasn't there.
So then what's it say verse 7?
When the morning stars sang together, you know what the morning stars are.
They're the angels.
Notice this verse.
Verse 7 when the morning star sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.
You know, friends.
I find myself I miss so much. And I read it. I meditated. I've meditated on this verse.
I've read what some others have said about it. I've enjoyed it so much. When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. When was it? When God prepared the earth for man.
You know how we read in Genesis chapter one. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Then it tells us the earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And then it tells us about how God. It would seem to me, I don't want to step over the bounds, but it seems to me that there was a preparation made by God.
For the existence of man in this earth.
And so it tells us in those verses, the first day, the second day, the third day.
And all the preparations and who was observing what was taking place, friend?
The angels were.
As they saw the universe and out of this whole universe that guarded me.
And then zeroing in down to the solar system that you and I are on, and then coming down to planet Earth, there was a special work of God that was being done in preparation for man's existence in this world.
And you find yourself, and I find myself here.
And here it is telling us about when God was doing it and those angels that ever did his bidding. They saw the work that was going on by the creator God and what did they do?
They sang for joy. They knew not what was coming, but they saw the preparations.
The unfolding of what God has in His purposes.
And here you are friend.
You fit into the plan.
Was he thinking of you?
Oh is wonderful to lay hold of.
The sons of God shouted, it says, for joy.
It says.
In the seventh verse, the morning star sang together. Someone has made the comment.
You know, it's interesting.
We don't want to miss anything in this blessed book.
The morning stars sang together. It's the only time recorded in the Bible.
I believe that the angels sang.
The only time.
The morning stars, they sang together as they saw the unfolding of God's purposes for this world. What change that? They don't sing all. They always do God's bidding. Those angels of God, they're always there to do his bidding. But something came in very shortly after God had made this world and did all the preparation.
00:30:17
And he puts a man in.
And then sin. Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. And you know what separates man from God? Just one thing, Sin.
It's spoiled.
The world.
The animals suffer because of sin.
And dear friends, you've suffered because of sin.
You know, I really dearly have enjoyed being with Saints of God that I've known that have walked with the Lord.
And now they passed on.
And I don't think the family will remind me will mind me saying this.
'Cause I dearly loved my cousin Ruth Smith in Ottawa.
I saw in her one that had accepted Christ as Savior.
Had lived for him. But, dear friend, she died. And you know why she died.
Only for one reason, because of sin.
The wages of sin is death.
And your sins have separated you from your God. Now thank God that we know that, because Christ took the place of that dear sister, and she took the gift of God, which is eternal life.
That when that moment came, when she left this world immediately.
She was absent from the body, imprisoned with the Lord in glory.
Cannot be said of you tonight.
It doesn't happen to everybody who leaves this world.
When you leave, friend, you know where you're going. Do you have the assurance?
Where you're going?
Eternity where it floats in the air.
I don't think we're gonna have time to turn to it, but in Matthew the 24th, I think it is of Matthew. It tells about as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days. I'm gonna take a minute. Let's turn to what? Matthew 24?
Matthew 24 and verse 37.
36 But of that day an hour N no man know, not the angels of heaven.
But my father only.
As the days of Noah, where so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as the days that were before the flood.
Now, Fran, listen to what it says about the days before the judgment came.
As in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving and marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Now you notice that it doesn't say anything here about the violence and about the corruption.
That is recorded in Genesis chapter 6.
It just tells about the the spirit of the people in the way that they were going on just before the flood. And what does it say? Notice it again, verse 38.
As in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark. What's the thought, friend? And these words were said by Jesus himself. What's the thought? It's the carelessness of the age.
00:35:04
The carelessness.
And I find more and more and I believe that. MMM.
Most of my brothers and sisters in Christ that are in this room tonight.
Especially as we get a little bit older, the carelessness and the lack of concern.
And this sort of trying to make our way in this world.
With no thought of God.
Careless. Don't let the spirit of the age take over in your life. Are you a Christian in this room tonight?
We've come to the last meeting of the conference.
And we leave. And friends, as soon as we leave, we're exposed to the world in a way that we're not right here in this room.
And the danger is that it can creep into our own lives and we become careless.
I speak of brethren, I speak of friends to myself.
Remember the world is going on to judgment and during that time when Noah, when the flood was coming, you know, it tells us about Noah, It says that he how does it put it there in the in the 11Th chapter of Hebrews, it says he moved with fear for the saving of his house.
He didn't want to lose his family.
Dear fathers and mothers, dear grandparents.
May it speak to us.
That our actions.
They they speak to our children and our grandchildren. He moved with fear to the saving of his house, prepared an ark, and the ark speaks of Christ.
Christ, is there anyone like him?
That man that came make thee an ark of Gopher wood room shalt thou make in the ark. The only place of safety for that coming judgment that was coming on the world on that flood. That flood that was coming was safety in the ark. And then we read those words after the preparation of that arc. That would seem to be approximately 120 years.
All the long-suffering of God, how often I've thought about that in this way is Noah every morning got up and picked up his hammer and saw and went out.
And.
Did the preparations for building that great big long boat because there was a flood that was coming and never seen before in this world.
There was judgment coming. And Fran, there's one thing worse than water judgment, and that is fire. And the fire of God's judgment is going to fall on this world.
Just last night we learned about a resort down in Nova Scotia.
They caught fire.
Saw on the Internet a picture of it. Just yesterday it happened. I understand.
Fire all friends, this world is going to be burnt.
The elements shall melt with fervent heat.
Well, let's go on to another couple of verses.
Let's go on to uh.
Acts Chapter 17.
Verse 23.
As I passed by and beheld your devotions.
I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God.
00:40:03
Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship.
Him declare I unto you.
The unknown God.
Why is he unknown?
Why is God unknown in this world?
Just hold this and turn to Colossians, The Book of Colossians.
If I can find it.
Yes, Colossians one verse 27.
And justice the 1St 6 words.
To whom God would make known? Now we just read to the unknown God, and we read in Colossians, to whom God would make no one. Why is God unknown if he says God would make known?
The hindrance, friend.
Is on man's part.
It's not on his part.
You want to know about him? Do you have questions?
Do you know your sins forgiven?
That's the foundation you want to rest on.
Because God sent his Son in the person of Jesus.
Into this world to take your place, we have them.
Was it Philip that said to Jesus, Show us the Father?
And it suffices us. We'll be happy if you just reveal who he is.
And Jesus said.
He that has seen me has seen the father.
You want an all about God, friend, You can, because God has revealed him in the purse of his Son to the unknown God him, Paul said, I declare unto you.
Let's go back, please, to Psalm 19.
We'll just read.
Say down to about the in verse 1011.
From verse one, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament show with his handiwork. Day in to day utter a speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There's no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a Tabernacle for the Son, which is as a bridegroom, cometh out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man.
To run a race is going forth is from the end of the earth.
Into heaven and His circuit under the ends of the earth, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. The law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise is simple. The statutes of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous. Altogether more to be desired, are they?
Then gold, yeah, then much fine gold, sweeter also than honey in the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is I servant warned in the keeping of them is great reward.
Just look at verse 4 again.
Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he said a Tabernacle for the sun.
Oh, dear friend, the magnitude. You know what some people talk about about creation and how much they enjoy watching the sunset and how much they enjoy going to different places in the world and seeing what a beautiful creation it is. And I wanna tell you a friend, it means so much more when you know the man who made it.
It's wonderful. It's his handiwork.
And David said when I consider the heavens.
The work of thy fingers.
00:45:00
The sun, the moon, and the stars. What is man, that thou art mindful of them?
Can you picture David as he as he looked up into heaven at night time and he saw it all friend?
Or he saw what he saw, he didn't see at all.
But he saw it there, and he revealed to him the work of thy fingers.
Work of thy fingers.
What can you do with your fingers? You can't do much with your fingers, you know. They're just for the fine work.
That's what God's done with His fingers, the creation. But when it came to salvation, you know what it says. He laid bare His mighty arms, and you know there's a lot more strength in the arm than there is in the fingers.
You see what it costs God with far more to put away my sins than it was for Him to make the universe.
That you and I live in.
So it says here in this fourth verse, they're line is gone out. That's creation, you know, throughout all the earth and their their their words to the end of the world in them. And he said a Tabernacle for the sun. You see, I take it this way in connection with this verse that the whole universe has been set up so that it's like a tent for the sun.
Now the sun is just part of the solar system that you and I are in.
But you see, God has set the sun in such a way that everything else, the stars and everything.
Are just like the housing for the sun.
Why? Just one reason? Because it's a picture of the Son of God, and He's gonna be the center of all creation.
Now are you gonna be with them?
Is he your savior?
He died for you. He shed his blood for you.
And he says him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out. Are you going to say no to Jesus?
You're gonna meet him.
You're gonna meet them and they are either gonna be with them forever or you're gonna be lost in the lake of fire forever.
And it tells us that Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, not for you, but if you reject.
You'll land there.
And it says.
Into the lake of fire. And I wondered about that. Who does the casting?
Oh, I I feel myself that if the angels of God.
The cast, those that don't accept Christ.
To a lost eternity.
Don't land there, friend.
You remember the story of the three.
The three men that were cast into the fiery furnace, and those that cast them in, they were killed from the heat of it.
But those men were saved. And dear friends, if you accept Christ as your Savior.
You know he'll help you walk through the fires of this world.
You'll never be cast into the lake of fire because he said him. That cometh to me.
I will in no wise cast sector.
Will you come tonight?
Our time is gone. I had some more verses that I was thinking about. I was thinking a lot about angels, you know.
I want to just in closing.
Turn to Hebrews chapter one.
Hebrews chapter one.
Verse 13.
But to which of the angels said he at any time sit on my right hand until I make thy enemies thy footstool. I'd like to just say in connection with this, this is a re uh, this is a, a verse that you'll find back in Psalm 110. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit on my right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. That is when Jesus went back to heaven.
00:50:26
He was there at the right hand of God. You know what? Why it says that he was at the right hand of God? Because it's the right hand of power.
God.
Had the ability to take and set the world right at that particular moment. But he said to Jesus, sit here until I make thine enemies thy footstool. How long has he been there? 2000 years. What's he been doing? He's been waiting.
Long-suffering that this world.
Than men and women would come to Christ, and he said, God said to Jesus, sit here.
God beseeching, man refusing, behold, I stand at the door and knock.
Oh, why is it that people say no to Jesus?
The wonderful man with the holes in his hands and feet inside, and he waits, and he waits and longs to bless. And then the last verse. Are they not all ministering spirits? That's the angels.
They're ministering to you and me. They're helping us through the world. But here it says administering to them who shall be heirs of salvation. Now, ere I close, I want to tell you a little story. This happened many years ago. It happened to to a couple who live near Schaumburg, Ontario.
Where I was living and their names are Jeff and Marlene Acheson. I do not hesitate to mention their names. This happened.
It's gotta be four years ago.
And this was this was before.
Before they were married, I it may be, or either before their son was born.
And they had a Volkswagen, one of those old Beetles.
They were driving it down the 10th concession of King Township and come to an area there in King Township where you're going down and there's a there's, there's a little lake in the middle. And so the road makes a turn around the lake and then it goes on straight, straight, North and South.
Jeff loved to drive fast and he was a young man.
And he was driving fast down this road and he forgot about that little lake that was there.
And at the last minute he saw it, and he swerved to miss. And when he swerved, that little beetle turned over and over this way as well as that way.
And that couple got out of that car without a mark on them.
And after that God went to work in their life and saved them.
What happened? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation? I believe with all my heart that God's protecting angels were there at that time, protecting them through that accident and warning them, preparing them that they might receive the gospel.
You might not get a warning like that. They got a warning.
May God grant not one person will go out of this room without accepting Christ as Savior. Let's bow in prayer.
Open Mtg. 3
Open—R. Thonney, M. Payette, T. Roach
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.
Am I an object, Lord beloved?
But you want to divide my heart with thee, which was, I heard a demon flawed in answer to like constancy 46 of the appendix.
For you, this would be all in my heart and feeling.
Like 997-698-0568, 546-8546 Four 10-4 OH 10-4 OH 10-4 10-4 OH 10-4 OH 10-4 10-4 06, 10-4 8959595959567956954695768678034080803557.
4 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 0 10-4 10-4 0 10-4 06 8016. Dodge around. 4 10-4 901444.
Nsnoise.
I don't want to take too much time, brethren, but I do have something that I trust is of the Lord and start with a verse in Psalm 11.
Kind of, uh, in conjunction with what our brother gave in his address about building.
Psalm 11, verse 3.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, His eyelids try. The children of men just like to speak on the question of foundations. Extremely important part of building is foundation work.
Foundations, it's interesting, are not part of the building that are very visible.
Often almost completely invisible.
But extremely important. You're going to make a building.
00:05:01
You don't have good foundation. You may use good material in the building itself, but the building will not last. How important then to get the foundation right?
As we were reading in Ezra, when they were relaying the foundation of the temple, it had been broken up. When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple, the foundations were broken up.
And so they had to be relayed, and when they were relayed, it caused real joy to those who were younger.
And it caused weeping in those who were older, who had known the 1St house on its glory. Both emotions were proper in their place.
But what I have learned to enjoy, brethren, and we come to the building of God in the New Testament.
The foundation is the Lord Jesus Himself.
We read that verse in First Corinthians Three other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, that is Jesus Christ? How important to know where we stand, where we rest our souls?
He is that rock when he says in Matthew chapter 16, upon this rock I will build my church. He's not talking about Peter if we know.
He's talking about the his own glorious person, the Son of Man and the Son of the living God.
That's where we rest and if you're not there, you're not on the foundation, there's not going to be any firmness to your life and testimony.
****.
You know, in the New Testament, ruin has come into the public testimony just like it did in the Old Testament. But there's one difference and I'd like to read it in First Timothy or Second Timothy chapter 2. That has been such a tremendous.
Bulwark to my own life and faith.
Second Timothy chapter 2 and verse.
Well, we'll read from verse 19, but just to go before, he's been talking in verse 17 about two men who had taught.
False doctrine about the resurrection. And he says they overthrew the faith of some. But notice what it says in verse 19. This is what's been such a consolation to my own soul. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure.
Not a consolation, brethren, the ruin may be ever so great, but the foundation is there.
It's never been destroyed, it's never been broken up.
Thank God for that.
Sometimes, I say, maybe we have to dig down through the rubble of our own thoughts to get where the foundation actually is.
Really get into the word, search the scriptures, find out where we do stand.
On issues of our life, both individually and collectively.
The foundation of God standeth sure having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His, and let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
Two parts, one God's side.
In the present ruin of condition, ruin condition of the public testimony, who is the Lord's who isn't? That's for the Lord to determine. The Lord knows them that are His, and we can leave that with Him. But there is a part of our own responsibility. What is that? If you name the name of the Lord, do not connect that name with iniquity in any form, moral, ecclesiastical, or doctrinal.
00:10:05
Don't connect it with iniquity.
Very important parts associated with the question of the foundation. I'd like to go back to Ephesians chapter 2.
To show one other point in connection with the foundation.
Little bit.
Of a detail that perhaps can be helpful.
Connection with the building.
Ephesians chapter 2 and we'll read from verse 19. Now therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
Whom all the buildings fitly framed together growth and to unholy temple in the Lord.
In whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God.
Through the Spirit. So here we have that the foundation is called the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Because God used the New Testament apostles and prophets to lay the foundation, the groundwork where the church was to be built. And so we have the New Testament Scriptures and upon that we are grounded. This is the foundation in Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone, the reference point in connection with this foundation.
But it's interesting that it puts it as the foundation of the apostles and prophets and I.
Want to encourage the younger brothers and sisters too.
And all of us of the importance of getting.
An understanding of New Testament truth.
Paul says to Timothy, maybe we should read it in not to lose this place in Ephesians in chapter one of Second Timothy.
Hold fast the form of sound words, verse 13.
Or have an outline of sound words.
Do you have an outline of Scripture? I want to encourage you young brothers to read the scriptures and get an understanding of New Testament truth. It will make you steady in times where everything is shaking as it is today. So important to have that.
I have been very encouraged in Latin America, younger brothers that seem to have really gotten a hold of the truth of God as to the church. It just thrills me to see the way the Lord is using them because they have found rock solid groundwork where to build. And I just want to say young brothers, you don't have to apologize for anything that is written here.
Because it will stand firm at all times.
This foundation of God standeth sure, and so it's called the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Loop, for example, I don't think, I don't believe it's called an apostle certainly was a prophet because he gave us the book not only of Luke but of Acts, which tells us a lot about church truth.
There were others too who were not apostles, perhaps James and Jude. They were half brothers of the Lord been suggested. They were not apostles and yet they were prophets. They gave us scriptures that are very important to understanding our times.
So we need to have an understanding of these books. I don't say you have to understand every single detail. Have an outline. You know how it is. When you're gonna build a house, you get the plans out in front of you.
And you know where the doors are gonna go, you know where the windows are gonna go. You have that outline in your mind as you start building. It's important. And so he's an outline of Scripture. What is the book of Romans about? What does it deal with? How about First Corinthians? What does that deal with when you have an outline that you know where to go when there are questions on certain issues?
00:15:28
So the Lord encourage you to get an outline.
Let's say see younger brothers sometimes really getting serious and understanding the New Testament scriptures. I thank God when I see that they're going to be a help in times of need.
Here it says in these verses we read in Ephesians 2.
Verse 21 Whom all the buildings fitly framed together.
Grow us into an holy temple in the Lord that's looking into the future. We're growing towards this point.
But verse 22 is present in whom also ye are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. In other words, the Spirit of God dwells in the House of God.
Every true believer is a stone, a living stone in this spiritual house.
And the Spirit of God dwells in US. And I want to stop to reflect on that a minute because.
Sometimes I wonder if we really realize.
Realize properly.
The reason that the Spirit of God is here on earth.
Now in the Church of God.
Says in chapter 16 of chapter John's Gospel that is that here to guide us into all truth. You know, we need to cultivate young people and older ones too, a sensitivity in our souls of the presence and power of the Spirit of God in us to guide us.
I have to confess that OFT times I have quenched the spirit when he told me perhaps to open my mouth. Sometimes I quench the spirit by talking too much too. That happens.
And I probably am more guilty of that than the other, but I say we need to be sensitive in our souls of His presence and power in our midst to guide us. We sit down in the Lord's presence. We should sit down, you younger brothers, just as much as the older brothers.
With the attitude.
Lord, I know You're here in our midst and You're here to guide us by Your Holy Spirit and to be sensitive as to how He may lead you and use you, maybe in praying, maybe in offering a word of praise to the Lord Lord's Day morning.
Maybe in asking a question in a reading meeting, sometimes questions are very helpful in opening up a subject, but whatever it is to be.
Have that sensitivity in our souls.
I do believe, brethren, that there are many of us that come to our public meetings and sit down almost with the attitude. I have to say this because this was my attitude many years of my life. I'm not opening my mouth tonight. Doesn't matter what might happen, I'm gonna just keep my mouth shut.
Don't do that.
Be in the Lord's presence in exercise of heart.
How important that is to realize the body of Christ is a living Organism here in this world. And I must say I have so enjoyed being amongst our Latin brethren. Not that I don't enjoy being here too. I enjoy it.
Same body, brethren, same spirit.
But I get the feeling sometimes, especially on the Lord's Day morning and a breaking of bread meeting, when it seems like we leave it up to two or three or four brothers to take all the part.
00:20:11
Brethren, are we quenching the Spirit of God? He dwells in us, not just a certain quantity of brothers.
He dwells in this awe when it comes to a question of prayer and praise.
It's not a question of gift, the question of priesthood, and you are all priests. The Old Testament, a person was a priest if he was born into Aaron's family. The New Testament, you are a priest. If you are born into the family of God, you're a priest. Do you exercise your priesthood? That's an important point. Spirit of God dwells in US, and he desires to use us.
Must say, being amongst the Latin brethren, sometimes they go to the other extreme brethren, they kind of stumble over each other and getting up on Lord's Day morning to have praised the Lord.
Sometimes two of them speak at the same time.
Your brother that gets up on his feet to praise the Lord generally praises the Lord 1St and then maybe a brother is giving out to him at the same time has to wait till after and we sing to him. Well, they need instruction too as to the fact that the Spirit of God guides in an orderly way.
But I wonder sometimes which is the lesser of the two evils rather than that or what we witness sometimes in our meetings up here. I just want to encourage us. Brother God by his Holy Spirit dwells in the Church.
Not only in US individually, that's true, but in US collectively, and it should be evident.
1St Corinthians 12 We don't have time to go to it now because I want to leave time for others.
In First Corinthians 12, it's a question not so much of the gifts, but out of the manifestation of the Spirit which is shown in the activity of the gifts in the body of Christ.
God dwells in US, brethren. Is it evident?
The living God.
Dwells in us by his spirit. He's not limited.
By our thoughts, but may the Lord give us sensitivity and exercise in His presence.
Lord help us.
Matthew chapter 87. Rather, we had this morning or this afternoon.
And verse 24 we read a bit down about the wise man building his house upon the rock.
I'd like to reach few verses before.
Verse 21.
Not everyone that said unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter is the Kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord.
Have we not prophesied in our name?
And in thy name have cast out devils, And in thy name done many wonderful works.
And then will I profess unto them.
I never knew you.
Depart from me.
Eat at work. Iniquity.
These ones here.
At vendors.
They had done things.
Have we not?
Have we not?
Have we not?
The Lord doesn't have to dig to see the origin and the foundation.
That they were wrong.
But we learned that they were not.
On the Foundation.
Which is the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is the will of the Father which is in heaven? The will of the Father is that we believe on Him that He sent.
And now we have no other foundation than the person of the Lord Jesus.
And they did not have that foundation. You know, we live in a world today where many men are known for their great activity for the Lord, and the Lord knows them that are his. And we can be thankful for every minister of the gospel, every minister of the truth of God that is used of him to edify the body of Christ in love wherever they are.
00:25:15
But there are those that we are warned about here.
We'll do things in his name.
And yet I'm not on the foundation.
That should be a help to us. They're ones that, uh.
That there's so much confusion that can affect the weaker ones that we would not go by a man's reputation.
We would go by what a man says about the Lord Jesus, how he speaks of him, not how he what he does for him, but how he speaks of the Lord Jesus.
It says as her brother was bringing before us the foundation of God. I'd like to turn to some verses in Galatians chapter 5 for a few moments.
Verse 22.
5 and 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering and gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
The fruit of the Spirit of God.
Manifest in the lives of those that are His.
God glorified in mortal bodies like you and I have by the manifestation of this character of the Lord Jesus in our lives.
If you allow me, the fruit of the Spirit is love. What kind of love?
The love of God.
The love of God and joy by yourself and myself, because that foundation is not a piece of rock. That foundation is a person who loves and who loves you and loved me.
A God who sheds his love in your heart by His Spirit. And that's the quality of the love. It's the love of God.
We love because he first loved us.
Joy. What joy? It's the joy of God.
God makes you happy. God has you shared in His joy.
So what we have in the Book of Joy, Philippians.
And then the piece, what kind of piece? Peace with God, of course, starts with peace with God. In Romans chapter 5. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, which those men in Matthew 7 did not have.
But it's also the peace of God that passeth all understanding, the love of God.
The joy of God, the peace of God, and all the other manifestations of the Lord Jesus, all the character of God, the long-suffering of God, gentleness of God, goodness of God, faithfulness. It's faith in the English, but really I believe the thought is faithfulness, the faithfulness of God.
And so on. But I'd like to spend just a few moments on the theme of the joy of God and thinking of the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know it says.
The third official of John John says I have no greater joy than I hear, but that my children walk in the truth.
So John could hear of the children walking in the troop, but the Lord can see his own walking in the tube, and we can give him joy. The joy of the Lord is your strength. What a privilege, dear one, that we, these small creatures, before such a great God can bring joy to his heart. And I'd just like to spend a few months to consider quickly.
Some aspects of the Lord's Joy. Psalm 16.
Verse 11.
You know, just some of the perfect servant. This is the Lord Jesus.
In obedience on the earth to please his Father and to bring about his purposes and verse 11. Speaking of human resurrection, Thou would show me the path of life in thy presence is fullness of joy. At the right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
00:30:04
Think of the Lord's joy.
As he entered the glory, having finished his course after accomplishing the work of lacrosse.
Being before the Father, the joy that was set before him, many aspects to that, the joy of the Lord and entering into the Father's presence.
Having given the Father all that He requires to bring the vilest of sinners and all the vile sinners of this world into the presence of a thrice holy God, on the basis of His work and faith in Him, what a joy for Him. You can rejoice in the Lord always. We can rejoice with the Lord also says in Hebrews chapter 12, before the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.
Song of Solomon.
Chapter 3.
There's 11.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon.
But the Quran were with his mother crowned him.
In the day of his disposal, and the day of the gladness or joy of his heart.
Think of the joy we're going to have when we see the Lord Jesus face to face.
Thank you, Joy. He's going to have.
When he sees all his own.
And the perfection he has brought them into.
In the full enjoyment of who he is.
And when he's done, surely we can grieve at how little his people know him and know about him and know what they have in him.
But in every measure that God has revealed to us, those treasures that we were speaking about, the gold, the silver, the precious stones, all those things that he's given us to know about the Lord Jesus, the body of his person and His work and all that we have in him.
What a subject for our joy, and to think that there's a time coming when you will see the fullness of the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. So when he comes with clouds and presents the church to himself, what a joy for him.
But you know, we do sites sometimes too, of our Lord's special heart in connection with the people of Israel.
They've been set aside for a time.
There's a time coming when he was going to rejoice over them with seeing.
Not in a greater joy that he rejoices over you and me, or will rejoice.
For this that would belong to him now we can enter into and enjoy together. And I see this in this verse 11 of Song of Solomon chapter 3.
To think of that love of the Lord Jesus.
For his people.
So you and I are different. We're indifferent to his name. I've last seen his name before I knew him.
Well, you didn't walk in the streets of my corner where I lived. I never heard this. This course is I never saw any of his miracles. I never saw him, period.
But the Lord Jesus was manifest to these people. He was in their streets. He fed them. He healed them.
He preached to them.
And he heard them say, Away with him, crucify him. We will not have this man to reign over us.
I know we breathe the heart of the Lord many times, but perhaps we can enter a little bit into.
What a grievance to his heart.
To receive such promised people he was so close to and manifesting grace and patience and long-suffering to them.
To be dusted.
And to think about time coming.
When this very pupil is going to weep.
Every family apart gonna be weeping because it's when he's gonna be revealed to their hearts. And in this verse of Song of Solomon, go forth, ye daughters of Zion, it speaks, I believe, of the other cities around Jerusalem. And behold, King Solomon.
With the crown wherewith his mother crown him.
I believe the mother.
Several scriptures speaks of Israel. Isaac was comforted because of his mother's death.
When he had Rebecca as his wife.
So the mother might say when he came and they crowned him all right.
They crowned him with a crown of thorns, and they spit in his face.
00:35:03
When they rejected him, I can't enter into what this must have meant to his heart of love.
There's a day coming when this very nation is very people is going to own them as the true Messiah and King, and they're going to crown him, and he's going to rejoice in that day and the day of his espousals and the day of the gladness of his heart. I believe this speaks of the restoration of the Lord Jesus to his people, Israel as their King, as the King of the Jews.
Well, dear ones, these things are.
This beautiful book for us to rejoice in the Lord always and to rejoice with the Lord when we speak on foundation brother read the verse and Mark, he said it says there about digging, digging deep. No, sometimes we carry a lot of rubble with us and we let many, many things interfere in our vision as Christians and we lose sight of what it's all about. It's all about one person.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
You know him as your savior. You're one of His.
It haunted him that we need to build on his person, on his finished work. We can rest on that. Nothing can change the foundation of God. Nothing can alter. We built on that foundation. You're on that foundation today. You're safe forever. If you're not, you can be doing, doing, doing.
But when you are measured, you will be found not to be on the foundation like these workers of iniquity. In Matthew Chapter 7 they spoke about what they did for the Lord, but they never entered into what the Lord.
Did.
For you and me.
In uh Matthew 16 it talks about the Lord Jesus. He says I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Satan is trying, the gates of hell are trying to tear down the church, but it will not prevail.
I want to read a verse in Ephesians chapter 5.
Christ paid an awful lot for the church. It cost him a tremendous amount and it says here in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 25. Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. He gave himself for the church.
He gave everything he had.
That verse that was read earlier.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
Are the foundations being broken down in our lives? Our brother mentioned about moral and doctrinal and ecclesiastical evil coming in and, and, uh, he, he warned us about building with those things on God's church.
But yet somehow spiritual lethargy comes in.
And what causes that?
Let's go back to Ephesians 5.
And verse 25, starting at the beginning of the verse, Husbands, love your wives.
Even as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it.
It brings in our marriages.
The marriage relationship.
What you are in your home.
Is what you are in the assembly.
And if our marriages are being broken down?
It's going to weaken the assembly.
As I look around.
I see a lot of young families.
I see some who are not yet married, but there's interests.
But as you get ready to get married, and if you are already married, you will know that two people have different ideas and different expectations. And in your marriage, perhaps your father is the one who takes out the trash. And as a woman, you expect your husband to take out the trash. And if it doesn't happen, your expectations are destroyed.
And if if your husband or your wife does not live up to your expectations.
You're offended and you're hurt.
And marriage is a very difficult thing. It doesn't have to be, but sometimes it is. There's struggles in a marriage.
00:40:01
And if you don't understand the differences between a man and a woman.
Your life is going to be very difficult.
Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 33.
Nevertheless, that everyone of you in particular so love his wife.
Even as himself and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Men who are dressed first, it says love your wife.
If your wife knows that she that that you love her, she'll be happy.
And you'll see by your actions and your comments that you make that you love her.
Ladies, the last part of the verse talks about reverence your husband.
You need that's respect. You need to give your husband respect. And if your husband knows that, you respect him.
If you respect his thoughts.
And you respect his work.
And you respect his decisions?
Your husband should be happy.
Unless he is selfish.
Or perverted.
This love in this respect, it's unconditional.
The Lord Jesus loved the church. He gave himself for it.
Did we deserve it? No.
Does your wife deserve to be loved by you?
Does your husband deserve to be respected by you?
This verse doesn't address whether you deserve it or not.
If your wife does not respect you, what are you to do?
It says.
Let everyone of you in particular so love his wife.
That's the response.
And if your husband doesn't show you love?
What is your response?
It should be a response of respect.
But that's not always the way it works out, because when we have.
Difficulties or differences of opinions in our marriages.
Sometimes.
You may expect your husband to just know how to react or to say things just right and he doesn't do it and it can make you angry.
And you get feelings of malice in your heart. It's possible, it happens.
50% of marriages end up in divorce and there's a reason.
Because of expectations that are not met.
Let's go to Matthew chapter.
19.
And verse five, you know what you are right now.
In your life before you are married, that is what you're going to be when you're in your marriage. And so if you want to know what your husband is going to be like after you're married, look at him now.
Is he selfish?
What is he like?
He will be more of that as he gets older.
Except by the grace of God it works on him. But Matthew 19 verse five and six.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife. And they twain shall be one flesh, Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder, we're told to cleave to our wives.
That means to hold on to don't let anybody disturb that marriage relationship. Don't let anybody get in and break you asunder, and even you yourself.
Don't do anything that would cause that marriage to break up. Sometimes a husband and wife get married, but they don't really leave their parents. This verse says to leave your parents and that means more than just moving out of the house. You need to break your your ties to your mother and your father. They have no more authority over you. If you go to Ephesians chapter 6, it says children obey your parents. When you are married, you are no more a child. You do not obey your parents. Now you establish your own family circle and.
Man is the head of that and you are responsible now for everything that goes on in your marriage. It it is not your parents or your in laws, they should break their you don't break the ties completely. But as far as authority and responsibility, they have no more authority over you and so don't let your parents or your relatives control decisions because.
00:45:05
It will cause you the husband and wife, it will cause arguments among you and they will break down your relatives can break down your one mind and and you're supposed to be cleaving to one another and they'll disturb the love that you have for one another because your wife will want to do what her parents say. She always has done that and now she's under your authority and you will want to obey your parents and it just you need to be your own unit and cleave 1 to another.
And another thing that happens sometimes is that when things aren't going smoothly in a marriage that we complain to our friends or relatives every time our husband or wife does something that maybe we don't like and.
Don't let anyone get inside your marriage and give you bad advice and and disturb your one body of marriage, it says in our verse.
They are no more twain, but one flesh.
And so.
Don't be telling others about what happened, what your husband or your wife does. Now there are ex exceptions to that, but we'll get into that right now. Umm and then that verse that we had in Ephesians 5, verse 33. Umm Nevertheless, every one of you in particular so love his wife.
Even as himself and see and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Now let's go over to Genesis chapter 29.
And verse 34, this is Leah, Jacob and Leah, she was having another child. And in this, in this, uh, instance, Jacob had married Leah, who was forced to marry her and he didn't really love her. There was no communication between the two. And, and uh, in verse 34, so Leah conceived again and bear a son and said, now this time will my husband be joined to me because I have borne him three sons. Therefore was his name called Levi.
And so.
Leah She was hoping that there would be a closeness of communication with her husband.
Husbands, your wife is no different. Your wife wants to be joined to you. She wants to be joined in an intimate communion with you. Intimate means a connection of thoughts, a sharing of thoughts and ideas, and your your wife wants to be one with you in thoughts and ideas, and so she wants you to be close to her, to stay near to her.
Jacob and Leah, they had a troublesome marriage and at one time, one time God said in the Garden of Eden to to the woman, she said the desire of the woman will be towards her husband and so.
Our wives, their desire is towards us. So towards the man. She wants to give you respect. She wants to give you the place of responsibility. But sometimes as men, we get lacks and we oh, whatever you say, whatever you want to do. And we don't take our responsibility in the marriage seriously and and be a leader in the in the home as the head of the of the unit. And so Leah, she desired to be close to have that intimacy of fellowship.
With Jacob.
So we need to stay close to our wives so we can connect with them emotionally to our wife. A wife needs to be intimately and emotionally attached to her, to her husband. And if we're not aware of that as men, we we become self focused on what we are doing and we forget about what our wife needs and our wife wants and we make sure that she takes care of everything that I am and everything that I want. Let's go to 1St Corinthians 11.
1St Corinthians 11 and verse 11. Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord.
I know as our busy lives we're not always together all the time.
Maybe meals aren't eaten together.
Maybe you don't walk together, but this this verse says the woman is not without the man and the man is not without the woman. So it's important for us to be a family unit together. You eat together. I know the man has to go into out into the working world, but you do come home and you can sit down and you can eat together. You can read together you can walk together you can sit together you can make decisions together and you can make talk about the children and how you're gonna spend the money and who's responsible for this and that and so there's.
The husband and wife, they are not independent one of another. They're to cleave to to one another and and they.
00:50:05
Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man. And so we should operate together. There needs to be a closeness. The wife needs to be close. She needs to have affection. She needs to be touched and not only sexually, but she needs to be touched at other times too. And she needs affection and and to hold her hand or to give her a hug or or a smile. Spend time together getting to know one another and communicating on on an equal.
Equal level.
And you need to treat your wife in a way that lets her know that she is valuable to you and that you appreciate her opinions.
Christ gave himself for the Church.
He let us know.
That we are valuable to him and that's how we need to be with our wives. To let them know that they are valuable to us. Go to First Peter 3.
OK in verse 7.
First Peter 37 Likewise ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.
According to knowledge.
You need to understand your wife.
God has put the husband in a position as head in the relationship.
Now, I know some people think that head means that you're the king and that whatever you say, that's the law. And we and we rule with the an iron fist and keep our lives under our thumbs. That's not what it means to be the head. To be the head means to be a leader.
The head needs to know what the needs and the wants and the desires of the people who are following him are. He needs to know their strengths and their weaknesses so he can lead them. And so the husband needs to know his wife. You need to know what are her concerns, what are her needs, what are her desires, what are her problems? But we always get it turned around. And now you make sure you take care of my needs. You make sure you know what my concerns are and you toe the line and you do what I say.
And what kind of marriage relationship do we have?
And we try to mold our wives to be something that God did not intend them to be, and then after they become what we force them into, we don't like them anymore.
A leader must understand.
A head is a leader. You must understand your wife.
And you need to listen to her and I, I can stand up here and say these things, but I'm speaking. I'm speaking to myself too.
We need to sympathize with our wives. What are her problems? What are her concerns?
Christ loved the church.
And gave himself for it. And we were to emulate that.
Now the end of the verse says, Give verse 7, giving honor to the wife as unto the weaker vessel.
So in, uh, in Malawi, the, some of the men, they came to me with this version because the women, they carry the big heavy loads on their head and they do a lot of the work in the garden and they're stronger than most of the men. And they came to me with this verse and said, now what does this first mean that the woman is the weaker vessel And it's kind of a challenge, but what does that mean that she's the weaker vessel? She's more vulnerable than you are.
You see?
As the head, as the leader, you are responsible for all the decisions that are made.
Every decision you make.
It affects your wife. Whether it's good or bad, it affects your wife.
You see a woman as a as a girl, she's grown up under the authority of her parents, her father, her mother. And she does whatever they tell her to do. And she gets to know what life is like under her parents. And all of a sudden she's taken out and now she's responsible to you and you are responsible to her. That's a big step. And that can be scary.
00:55:05
She's subject to you physically to provide for her.
When God created created marriage, he took Adam, put him to sleep, and took a rib out from his side.
Right next to his heart.
Right next to his heart. That's where our love comes from. And so God intended that a man loves his wife.
And it's under his arm.
And so that's where our arms are there to protect, our arms are there to provide for our wife. And notice that the Lord didn't take a bone from the foot of Adam so he could walk all over his wife.
Neither did he take the bone from his head so the woman could rule over the man, but he took the the bone from the side so they can walk along together.
The husband is also responsible for his wife emotionally.
To know her concerns and her needs.
And to consider her ideas.
Husbands.
Our verse here says.
Give honor to the wife. So husbands, we need to honor our wives. Provide for them, protect them and love them. Create an atmosphere where they can blossom and grow into who God made them and wants them to be. Let's go to 1St Corinthians 7.
Verse one.
Now concerning the things whereof you wrote unto me, It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
It's good for a man not to touch a woman.
This isn't talking about holding hands.
This is talking about fornication.
But it's good to realize that fornication.
It starts somewhere else.
Starts with a look.
Maybe it starts by touching the hand?
So you need to be careful.
It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
But yet in society today.
The woman is.
Made out to be a sex object.
And so when a man goes into marriage quite often.
The man's idea of a woman is a sex object.
And he doesn't treat her as a person.
And he lived selfishly.
And thinks only of himself. But yet we are to love our wives even as ourselves. We treat ourselves good.
We need to treat our wives good also. Verse two. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication that every man have his own wife and let every woman have her own husband.
Of his own wife.
Verse three. Let the husband render unto the wife do benevolence, and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
Benevolence is kindness.
Are you kind to your wife?
Do you look out for her Good?
What about the wife? Do you? How do you treat your husband?
You see when when marriage gets out of order.
We stopped being kind to one another.
And then we say, well, she doesn't love me, she doesn't respect me, so I'm not going to love her.
And then she says, well, if you don't love me, I'm not gonna respect you. And it gets goes into a vicious circle.
And it's hard to get out.
And so we need to render benevolence one to another.
Verse four, The wife has not power over her own body but the husband. Likewise also the husband has no power over of his own body but the wife.
In other words, you don't belong to yourself. You now belong to your husband. You now belong to your wife.
You don't belong to another woman.
You have your own way.
And you need to reserve your body for her.
01:00:04
Don't give your body to someone else.
With the Internet today.
Many people give their bodies.
Two.
Other women.
With ***********.
As I look around.
I don't know who of you are guilty.
But young men?
Sometimes the idea is that when you get married.
You can just put that away. You won't. It won't bother you anymore and marriage will solve your problems.
But it won't.
When it becomes a part of you.
You can't get rid of it.
And marriage won't satisfy your perverted lust.
And it will destroy your life.
We're we're told in First Corinthians 11 and it says let a man examine himself and so let him eat. So if you are at the Lord's Table, you need to examine yourself daily and when something starts to get a hold of you.
No matter what it is.
You need to confess that and put it away, otherwise it's going to grow into something that's going to destroy you and eventually the assembly will need to get involved and to put you away as a wicked person, because sin doesn't just stay little.
It grows and it becomes a habit and it will destroy you.
You don't belong to anybody else. You need to save your body for your husband. You need to save your body for your wife.
Verse 5.
The fraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and come together again that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. And so here.
The husband or the wife is not to withhold themselves.
From their husband or their wife.
But God does give a reason.
For not coming together in that way.
It says for prayer and fasting.
I ask you.
Have you ever prayed?
I'm I'm sure everyone can say yes.
But then I ask you again, have you ever fasted?
Why not?
Is fasting something old fashioned? Something they only did in the Old Testament? Something they only did under the law?
Do we really care about what God's view is, what God's ways are? Or do we only care about ourselves?
Fasting.
I think it shows dependence on the Lord. Prayer shows dependence on the Lord and if we're giving ourselves to prayer and fasting.
Included in that.
Is a a time of separation from our husband or our wife? And so I say these things because.
When the family breaks down.
And the man who is part of that breakdown when he is part of the assembly.
And he is responsible perhaps in the assembly, he takes part in the assembly. He's a he's a help there. And God has put everyone in the body to be one members one of another.
And when the when the marriage breaks down, that weakness comes into the assembly.
And we see people sitting in the assembly who never take part.
And I know God has different gifts for different ones, and he's maybe not going to use everyone publicly.
But the Lord wants your heart.
He wants your worship.
He wants your praise. He wants your body.
Glorify therefore God in your body.
We say #318 three, 180 Lamb of God still keep us close, because I hear the sky is only there in safety.
01:05:48
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.