Montreal Conference: 2018
Table of Contents
Forgiveness
Open—James House
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.
Yeah.
While I'm opinionated, I recommend that you love God. I've always been.
No, no, no, no, no exclamation point.
Yeah, let me know if you can do anything you have to do. We need a job. Come.
I didn't see anything.
But.
Yeah.
Right now.
I'm OK, so you're looking for wedding and they didn't have, uh, anything from.
Uh-huh.
I appreciate it. Umm.
So far and praying and the last time I'm still here and I'm going to get back to, you know, uh, I'm not supposed to have the most important one for you.
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I have a burden on my heart to share this morning.
Hope it will be fairly direct.
Before I share it, uh, for those of you who know me, umm.
You might not always see me live out when I'm going to share.
But I hope that the Lord will give you the grace to look past any feelings you see in me or anybody else, and to follow up what's in His Word. And I hope to share some verses in His work.
The burden on my heart is an exhortation to forgiveness.
Few years ago.
After him sing, I was hanging out with my friend Matthew Judd.
We, uh, we probably played hockey the night before.
And we're going back and forth.
Talking Smack and.
He'd say something witty about my hockey performance, I'd say something witty about his. We're having a good time.
But then he landed a shot that I didn't have an answer for.
And I realized I needed to beat a retreat, and I decided to retreat via the High Road. So I said, Matthew, it's OK. I'm gonna let it go. I forgive you.
The truce lasted for about a minute.
Matthew wasn't out of ammunition.
He had another shot for me, but this shot I had an answer for and so I quickly gave my report.
There was an older sister sitting there listening to us.
And no sooner were the words out of my mouth than she looked over at me and she said, James, I thought you said you forgave him.
And as I sat there in stunned silence, she said. It's not so easy, is it?
To begin, I'd like to establish 2 reference points.
First, imagine. Remember the best thing you've ever done for the Lord.
That time when you were close to him and you did something for the Lord and.
And it just was something that, if I can say irreverently, if the Lord owes you a favor for anything, it would be for what you did that day.
So that's on one side.
And I might be on thin ice here, but on the other side, imagine the worst thing that a brother or sister in Christ has ever done to you.
Those are our two reference points.
The Lord Jesus could say.
I do always those things that please my father.
In Hebrews 10 he said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.
And in John 17, he said, I have finished the work.
Which thou gave us to me to do. Let's go to Psalm 22.
We have our two reference points. They're different for each person in this room.
What you've done for the Lord.
A reason why you deserve something.
A reason why you deserve a certain level of treatment of respect.
The other reference points.
What somebody might have done to you and I in no way I'm trying to belittle that.
I'm only trying to make light of what might have happened in your life.
But I'd like for all of us, especially for myself, to look at the example of our Lord Jesus. Psalm 22. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Oh my God, I cry in the daytime without hearest, not in the night season, and I'm not silent.
With our holy, O thou that inhabiteth the praises of Israel.
Verse six I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men and despise of the people. All they that see me lack me to score, and they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
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Verse 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bowls of compass can be strong bowls of beige, and have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion.
I import out like water and all my bones are out of joints. My heart is like wax, it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a pot shirt, and my tongue cleave with my jaws.
For Thou has brought me into the dust of death. Psalm 69.
Save me, O God, for the waters that come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I am coming to deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying. My throat is dried. Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. They that would destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully are mighty.
Then I restored that which I took not away.
Verse 11 I made sackcloth also my garments, and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me, and I was the song of the drunkards.
Verse 14 Deliver me out of the mire and let me not think. Let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
Letting let the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Psalm 38.
Psalm 38, verse 8.
I am feeble and sore broken. I've roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
Lowered all my desires before thee, and my groaning is not hit from thee. My heart paneth, my strength fails me. As for the light of mine eyes, it is also gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore, and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me. They that seek my heart speak mischievous things and imagine deceits all the day long.
Verse 19 My enemy is our lively and they are strong, they that hate me wrongfully.
Are multiplied they also that render evil for good are mine adversaries, because I follow the thing that good is forsake me not, O Lord, Oh my God, be not far from me.
Marks Gospel.
Chapter 14.
Verse 56.
For many bear false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.
And there are a certain and bear false witness against him.
Down in verse 65 and some began to spit on him.
And to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him prophecy. And the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
Chapter 15.
Verse 15.
And so Pilot, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus when He had scourged Him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium. And they called together the whole band, And they clothed them with purple and Plaid of the crown of thorns, and put it above his head, and began to salute him. Hail, King of the Jews. And they smote him on the head with a Reed, and did spit upon him. And.
Their knees worshipped him.
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him and put his own clothes on him, and let him out to crucify him.
And down verse 29, they that pass by railed on him, wagging their heads and saying, Uh, thou to destroy us the temple, and build a sit in three days, save thyself and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking sent among themselves with the scribes. He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe.
And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
Now just hold your place there in Mark.
Go for one verse to John to Luke's Gospel, Luke 23.
Move 23.
Verse 34.
Then said Jesus.
Father.
Forgive them, for they know not what they do. Back to our place in Mark.
Picking up at mark 1533 when the 6th hour was come.
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There was darkness.
Over the whole land until the 9th hour.
And at the 9th hour Jesus Christ with a loud voice saying Elohim.
Sabachthani, which is being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Those words in Luke 23 again, Father, forgive them.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
I hope from my own heart and also for everybody else this year.
I hope those first two reference points that we set up.
Based on our own experience, I hope they're gone.
How they've been replaced with two new reference points that are so far apart they aren't even comparable to the first set.
Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 15.
Part way through the verse.
Left any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. Colossians, chapter 3. Colossians chapter 3.
And verse 13.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any.
Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Ephesians chapter 4.
Ephesians chapter 4.
Verse 31.
Let all bitterness.
And wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking, be put away from you with all malice, And be kind one to another, tender hearted.
Forgiving one another.
Even as God for Christ sake has forgiven you, be there for followers of God as dear children, and walk in love as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for His sweet smelling savour.
For giving one another, even as God for Christ sake hath forgiven you. Be therefore followers of God.
Living in a Time of Weakness
Open—David So
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I have a little bit.
Different burdens, as if it were.
I was thinking we saying that him.
In the beginning of this meeting, I'm just going to quote a couple of lines as a reminder. That was him 225.
Attach What struck my heart was this phrase mid scenes of confusion.
And creature complaints.
Now we're often seeing.
And perhaps I shouldn't use the what we I know for myself. Often we sing many hymns without looking at the words or understanding the words. Here the hymn writer Pandy's words mid scenes of confusion. Are we in a scene of confusion?
And to make matter words and creature complaints.
Is that us? Is that me?
And the third stanza start off by saying.
While here, not anywhere else here, while here in the valley of conflict, we stay.
Does that appears to be?
The circumstances before us I'd like to turn to.
Luke chapter one just read a short portion. This is this is a ver very well known story and I trust that through the Lord's health perhaps we can glean some encouragement from it. The Gospel of Luke, chapter one beginning.
Umm, at verse 5, Luke chapter one, verse five, there was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea.
A certain priest named Zachariah.
Of the cores of Abia and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. Now let's just stop there.
And take a look at the conditions.
That they were in and that in those states.
This is roughly.
Six months before our Lord was born.
So that was quite a while ago. Now let's go back a little bit. Even before the book of Luke.
It would be the book of Malachi.
We know the conditions in the day of Malachi, don't we? Terrible conditions.
Man Israelites.
Have forsaken God. They had the outward form of worship.
They will go and offer sacrifices, but not what God desired.
You know, we go all the way back to history and we saw Abel.
And KE we know that often within slew his brother Abel. But why?
I believe it was because he knew that Abel's offer a sacrifice. Not just a sacrifice, but a sacrifice acceptable to God.
Do we offer any sacrifices that are acceptable to God?
We find in the book of Hebrews it tells us that we now can offer the sacrifice of praise continually. Can we?
Now let me not digress too far from that.
What came to my attention is that the days just before our blessed Lord Jesus came into this world, His first coming in another word.
It's very similar to a second coming that's.
What I really have my heart. We are sitting here, we say one to another. The Lord's coming is so ever near, do we not?
What are the conditions like that we the days that we are in?
Our brother prayed in re regard to the Internet. I trust that what he meant is the wickedness that can come to the Internet.
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Wickedness was always abound.
You know, when we were younger, there was no Internet, right? Didn't even have cell phones. I know some of you will look at us and say, how did you ever survive? No Facebook neither.
With a wickedness abound. Oh yes, in our days you walk into a corner store to buy candies and they would have a rack. 4 magazines that are filthy.
Satan is always there. Try to take man's heart away from heavenly things.
But one thing we have to remember is that the Lord always reserved for himself a testimony, regardless of how dark the conditions are or less. Something that's interesting too is the darker the time, the brighter the testimony. So don't just say the little things that we can do for the Lord doesn't matter.
I don't know how many of you have been in a very, very dark room.
So dark that you can't see the fingers in front of your face. Perhaps you do photography in a room called the darkroom where no light comes in. Perhaps some of you being visited caves where they take you away underground. I see some head noddings and often they will show you by telling you turn your lights off and darkness can be felt. And I remember war in one. All this man did was he lit a match.
That's all.
As that match was lit, that little bit of light from that match lit up the whole room. The darker the time, the brighter the testimony.
There's also the outward testimony in the day of Malachi, the offer of sacrifices. And today we'll say we'll go to church, we'll go to meeting.
Why are you here? Why do you come on lunch day morning?
Are you here because of your friends? Are you here because outward appearance?
Let me share with you this.
The OfferUp lanes and sick, you say? Well, we don't do that today. I'm not very well versed with the city Of Montreal, but I'm quite sure you have Chinese restaurants here. You do, right? Yeah, I know we have lots in Toronto area. You know, a lot of Chinese are superstitious. If you look carefully, they probably have a tiny shrine with their gods in it.
And there to offer incense and fresh fruit and meat. And you know, if you look at it carefully.
They'll say we're, we're too busy for that. So the little incense, by the way, I'm not saying that's right. I'm saying this is man's heart. You see it. Incense has been replaced by little yellow tube with an LED bulb at the end. So it looks like incense that's burning. That's convenient, isn't it? The fresh fruit supposedly got beautiful plastic apples and oranges that look fresh. Is that the heart of man? Is that our heart that want to put on the outward appearance?
And wholly in the meantime, we forsake the God that we ought to follow, the Savior whom we were presented, the One who loved us, the One who died for us.
There was there were 400 years that God did not even speak to Israel. Then come the New Testament time.
This is how dark the time they were. But yet for your encouragement, the verses we just read is that something very special, in this case about two people. First of all, it was the man named Zachariah. There was something special about him. He was from a priestly household.
And you know, as I look across the room, I don't know everybody. I know a lot of you.
And I would have to say many of you have a very godly heritage. Your parents, your grandparents, your great grandparents seek to raise you up before God.
Yes, I do know many who are saved in the later eight years, and we know God our blessed Savior does wondrous works to raise you up for His glory too. But here, Zachariah, please leave from the priestly order. In fact, is so specific it tells us which course.
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Of the priest heard he's in.
He's from the priesthood of Apia now. There were 24 courses of priesthood that David has set up so they can take turns serving in the temple.
If you look at Ezra, the time when they return back, I believe only is it 4 courses that came back. A lot of them didn't come back to work. The work was short and needed to be filled by many others. And then his wife, she too, she was the daughters of Aaron. Oh, you know, as I read this passage, I think of many of you.
I think many of you who was raised in a godly home.
With your parents praying.
That you would be raised to serve the Lord.
Now there's something very interesting. Not only were they from the godly home and we know we are friends and sometimes ourselves too, that are raised in a godly home, get distracted and become worldly. Can we? But let me read that verse again, verse six. There are two words in here that really caught my attention and there is an A phrase, 2 words in a phrase and they were both.
Righteous.
Do we talk and use this word much today to be righteous, not just to be righteous, but righteous before God. You know, we find sometimes politicians, they talk and they try to give the impression they are righteous, but are they really righteous, righteous before God?
And here's a phrase of action walking in all the commandments.
And ordinances of the Lord. Can we say that I do know, many of us know what those ordinances and commandments of the Lord should be?
Many of us can quote versus well.
But do we walk in the good of it, especially when we find there's partly others outside of our circle even believe in righteousness?
Uh, we're walking.
Before God.
And then there's one more word we didn't end the sentence with.
Blameless.
Not only were they righteous.
They were blameless. How precious to think, these two.
Let's go on.
Verse seven. And they had no child because Elizabeth was barren. And they were they both were now well stricken in years.
As a Jew of old, having children is a sign of blessing before God.
They were, in a sense, despised by their friends. No children, not a single child. And they're old in scriptures, often old man.
Seeks of weakness, doesn't it? We see young men often mention the sticks of energy, but more so fleshly energy. So these two, we can look at them and say they were righteous, they were blameless before God, walking before God, but they were despised by their own people.
And there is no outward strength to display to a world who perhaps are looking for something more in the outward form.
I'm gonna skip the following few verses. I'm just gonna comment on it the that.
Zachariah was performing his priestly duty, and his job at this point was to OfferUp incense. Let's jump down to verse 11. And there appear unto him an Angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the Angel said unto him.
Fear, nod, Zechariah, for thy prayer is heard, and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost even from his mother's womb.
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Verse 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
What a wonderful thing that Zachariah saw the Angel Gabriel, the same one who went and spoke with Daniel and showed him what's to come in the future. The same one said you're going to have a son.
It's gonna be great.
John, we know, is the forerunner. It's interesting. We won't turn to that. In the book of Isaiah, the 40th chapter, it says there's gonna be a voice coming out from the wilderness. He's the one that's gonna be crying out. It's interesting that you'll find a 39 books in the Old Testament. The 40th book, in essence begins the New Testament and there is a voice crying out from the wilderness.
Here is one that God's not choosing him to be a Nazareth from the very beginning to serve him.
And his job is to go out there and proclaim the good news that the Savior is coming. The way is he to proclaim the good news should be in the synagogue where the Jews are, should be in the street of Jerusalem.
No, we find John's ministry was in the wilderness.
His own people rejected that message, just like it would be today when we proclaim Christ as the Savior for sinners the world will reject. So John. John and Zechariah was told of him, of that wonderful son he shall have.
Verse 18 And Zechariah said unto the Angel, whereby.
Shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife.
Well stricken in years.
Here comes a big problem.
How often we like Zachariah, we pray.
We just had a prayer meeting this morning.
We said we will commit our time, our awe, into the Lord's hand before we begin.
Rayleigh saw.
And many attended the prayer meeting and many have added the Amen to the prayer that went up before the Lord.
And we should. Shouldn't we pray?
But sometimes we know we pray is for us. So when the Lord taught his disciples how to pray, he told them.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Do we remember that when we pray that we actually should pray that His will be done? The second thing back to this chapter would be this. Do we expect or do we believe that we ask of it? We are to receive it if it is the Lord's will.
We find Zachariah and his wife been praying for a child even though they are old. They pray that means they believe God is able to overcome human weaknesses.
Because the Angel said your prayer has been answered.
How many of us pray, perhaps earnestly?
And when the prayer is answered.
We didn't believe in it.
Oh, it's sad. I look at my own hearts more so than anyone else that do. We have the full confidence that the Lord is able.
Despite what we see, he is an old man how we see our father a child. Here is an old lady pastor age of bearing children. But yet they should know, just like we should from scriptures, that God is able. They had the story, I'm sure of Sarah and Abraham before them.
I'm sure they knew that. We learned in the Book of Hebrews that Sarah made this to that list.
For people, didn't she? She had the faith that even though she was old, she had the faith that God would help her carry that child to be that seed.
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Here, Zachariah doubted. He doubted. How could it be so, Lord, when I'm old and she's old too?
Verse Verse 19 And the Angel answering, said unto him, I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee, and to show thee these glad tidings.
Wow. Where is the power coming from? The one who was sent by God? The one who is before God's presence?
I take it as saying to him say why are you doubting when the power is so great from above? But yet we see Zacharias response and you know sometimes he will say how quickly.
But I think we have to look at it and say, if I was Aquarius, I would probably say the same thing. We're not. Oh, ye of little faith. Verse 20 envy whole thou shalt be done and not able to speak until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believe us not my word, which shall be fulfilled in this season.
How sad. He is a man of God, the one who is righteous, the one who is blameless, the one who walked before God. But unbelieve sets it. And when we go through scriptures we find unbelief often is the source of all our problem.
Why did Adam and Eve ate of the fruit that they were told not to?
We can boil it down to unbelief. They didn't believe what God said is true unbelief. Now I have to be very careful how I make the next comment.
We see through scriptures often the result of unbelief.
We became dumb.
We can't speak.
And please don't think I'm looking at anyone pointing my finger at anyone.
Men like Zachariah, who served the Lord his whole life.
For a short moment, because of unbelief, he was made-up.
Let me digress.
Why are only so few of us willing to take part?
But yet so many of us have the answer of perhaps a better way to express something.
I, I'll share with you this, I never, I didn't take a lot of parts in my younger age. And I remember perhaps I was probably 4045 by then and I was like many others, I'd like to correct people and say, so I went up to Brother Bob Baumann. Some of you still remember him. And I said, brother Bob, you, you, you know, you should have said this and that.
And brother Bob Bowman was so gracious, he looked at me with a smile. And he says, brother, you could have said that, too.
And that touched my heart greatly.
Yes, often when one stand up to speak, we may not, the words may not come out the way it ought to. And I find for people like me, the more I try to correct it, the deeper I dig myself in the hole. So we are better off to leave it as from the Lord. So some might have to write along speech or paper to follow on. Well that's how the Lord leads you into doing so.
Do some. I try writing some notes at one time and I found out I came with my own handwriting, so that's not good, but we need to be.
Listening to the Lord that is there a message to be delivered by him, but.
Brethren, we have to remember this dumbness affect us, this unbelief often said it. But you know, the nice thing is it's not a permanent condition, is it? But that won't take more time. I want to leave the other half hour for others, but let me just make a few more remarks on that. Zechariah. We find that when John was born, they asked what should his name be, and Elizabeth said John and his family said no.
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It shouldn't be.
And Zachariah rode the moment he confessed, the moment he declared what God really wanted him to say in the 1St place, his mouth was opened. He can use anyone of us, even though it was stammering, whispering tongue. But here, back to the original thought. These were the day before the Lord came into the world.
Weakness abound. Who did the Lord choose as testimony for himself?
We just finished talking about Elizabeth and Zachariah. The one even doubted the words.
Weakness, people with weakness we find a little later. We won't turn to that right now. There was this older lady named Anna who served in the temple. The way I interpret that is nobody know who she is, just some old lady. What testimony is that? And here's another.
Old man named Simeon that he think he saw a vision that the Lord won't take him home until he see the Lord's Christ.
Who else?
Mary and Joseph, not our people, are renowned from Galilee.
As they say, there's no good thing came out from Galilee and perhaps a few shepherds. That was the testimony. But we know from the word of God all He needs are two or three witnesses for His testimony, because He does not need men to proclaim His greatness.
He turned weakness into strength. You know, in the Gospel we said it's not of works lest any man should boast. It's the same with the Word of God. It's not of words. We can go out there and say I did this and I did that. In fact, when we see the phrase I is used repeatedly in the sentence, we need to worry.
So here the days of the Lord when He first came.
It was darkness all around. What about today? Darkness all around? What about testimony? Not very bright, is it? To sum up us, perhaps in a very feeble way, you know, some would say, Well, you can stand up and preach.
This is easy, brethren.
Is the brethren that go one-on-one onto the street corners, seeking the loss, seeking to them to present Christ?
The Lord give us all different sets of abilities and gifts to serve Him. You know, I said to someone jokingly one day. I said speaking in front of a crowd is the easiest because the more people in the crowd, the lesser chance someone will say what do you mean by that? And question you part way. But when you're there on one-on-one, you need to be prepared to give the right answer as God would have for you.
The encouragement, the testimony that we give to this world.
This world is not waiting for the Lord to come. Where is the second coming of the Lord? But let me change that statement. What about your heart, dear brethren?
Never mind about the world.
This world is gonna pass away into eternal judgment. Where is your heart?
You know, I'm going to take the liberty for a couple more minutes.
This has been a great exercise in my heart. There is just something as you get a little bit older, it seems that you go to more funerals. You seems to.
Take on more of other people's burdens. I don't know what it is. And we often our natural desire is Lord, this brother or this sister is sick or he is the circumstance before them. That's terrible.
Please help them and get them out of it.
But there's more and more. I meditate on that.
Is that the right prayer? It's good that we pray one for another, but are we praying that is the Lord's will be done? Now then there's a second part of this thought. We say our home is up there.
How many of us still long to be here?
Is it because your new car is coming next week that you wanna make sure at least you drive it around the block before the Lord can come?
00:30:09
Is there a new iPhone coming that your parents gonna buy you? And you said it's coming next week because it's the latest, greatest model. I want to wait, at least touch it and feel it.
Or do we truly say that?
Our home now I'll be cheerful. Not in heaven. It's where the Lord is. Do we long to be with Him? And if so?
Whether we live here in this earth or we are home with the Lord, does it really matter? We do know He leave us here for reason that is deserved for Him. So I'm just going to read that hymn that I quoted. I won't sing it for you. I'll read it. That hymn 225.
Let's see if that touched our heart a little bit deeper.
Mid scenes of confusion.
And creatures complaints. How sweet to the soul is communion with things to find at the banquet of mercy? There's room to feel in communion.
A forte's of homes.
First Love
Open—Enos McCavour
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.
Enjoyed the thoughts that were brought before us and uh.
A lot of the prayers this morning were centered around our life.
How the Lord would have us to live and so on. What we have for us and.
I was thinking about that.
And I'd like to look at a a verse in Revelation chapter 2.
Church has mentioned here chapter two and three.
They give us a snapshot of.
Of how things would be from, you might say, the birth of the church, day of Pentecost, right down through the ages, including.
Here today, until we hear the shout and the Lord takes us home.
But it gives us a snapshot of.
Things and how they have digressed down through the church period. I don't want to go through all the the churches. I just wanna take a few moments.
Uh, to look at the very first one and she.
Chapter 2, but emphasis.
It stays on to the onto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, right? These things, that he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
I know thy works, and thy waver, and thy patient patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil.
And thou has tried them with say they are apostles and are not, has found them liars, has born and has patience for my name's sake, has labored and has not fainted.
Now, if you're looking at something that would please the Lord in your life.
That would make him happy, would make him glad. These are things written here that the Lord desires from us that he delights in.
These things that the Ephesians were doing and verse two and three.
And as you go on through the churches. If you want to read.
You might say that.
The first part of them they're usually a complement to the church by the Lord for something they have been faithful in these things mentioned here to the Ephesians are things that.
That please the Lord. But in verse four it says, nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love.
I believe this is a this is the start of perhaps all the the downfall of Christianity starts right there.
Losing our first love.
I remember when I was saved.
What zeal I had for God and for the Lord Jesus. What love I had for my Lord. It was nothing that I wouldn't do for the Lord Jesus that had lifted the me up out of the mire of this world and brought me into His presence.
Where I knew that my sins were forgiven and covered with His precious blood gave me peace with God.
Eternal life.
And a bright future, a home in glory.
That's the lovely head then. I hope that I haven't lost it, but there is a danger of losing that first love.
There is a danger that, uh, that our own wills come into play and circumstances of this life we get attracted to, uh, other things can draw our hearts away.
And umm, I can so easily happen.
And so I think in Ephesians chapter 2, the Holy Spirit recorded that there for the Ephesians to put them in remembrance of what they were and how God delivered them.
00:05:06
That they were without hope, without God in this world.
They were put in remembrance of it for a reason.
God knew he sees ahead. He knew what would happen.
And so.
We look at the Lord Jesus, I believe.
We wanna look at someone for an example how we should walk in this scene down here, what we should do?
We may as well take the highest ground that we can take.
The Lord Jesus Himself.
The perfect man sent from God.
If we want to be appreciated by God and the Lord Jesus.
Do what he wants us to do. Do His will, not her own.
There's a verse in Hebrews in chapter 10 that said, I come to do thy will, O God, Speaking of the Lord Jesus.
So I like what it says back in.
Psalms chapter 40. Let's look there.
Verse 7.
Speaking of the Lord Jesus prophetically before he appeared on the scene.
So then I then said, I lo, I come, and the volume of the book is written of me. I delight to do thy will, oh God.
Delight, we could say, is love. I love to do thy will, oh God.
The Lord Jesus came into this world born of a man born, born at Bethlehem, a man into this world. His delight, His love was to do the Father's will and to finish it. He knew where it would lead him to the cross. Yet that was His delight. His delight was to do.
His father's will.
That that was His love. Is that our love to do what the Lord Jesus wants us to do? Do we make that our will each day?
Speaking to myself.
We do make that our will each day to do the will of our Savior, what He wants us to do.
Or we just choose to do whatever we want.
To please ourselves and to leave the Lord Jesus out.
Well, it says here in this chapter 40.
Verse eight I delight to do thy will, or I love to do thy will, Oh my God, ye the law is within my heart. We have God's word.
Being born.
With a new nature within us, we have His word put within our hearts.
The word is there.
Do we use it to do his will?
I have preached righteousness in the great congregation.
We can do that.
We can get up each day and decide to.
With the Lord's help, get on our knees, pray and give our day over to the Lord and then seek his grace and his health to go out whatever we may, uh, do that day, wherever it may take us. Sometimes we have many things that on our schedule that we're going to do in a certain day.
But just the committed to the Lord and when we go out.
To be that representative for God.
You know, we don't have to stand on the preach on a street corner and preach the gospel to be a testimony to the Lord Jesus and to God.
Our lives can be that the way we conduct ourselves, how we speak to people, how we show concern and love with them.
And our desire to reach out to them, talk to them, present Christ to them. The Lord Jesus did that when he was here, didn't He? Of all the pathway, he said, I'd delight to do thy will, O God, the laws within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation.
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Well, Lord Jesus certainly did that when He was here. He reached out to all. There was none that He shunned or put aside.
That says.
I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy loving kindness.
And thy truth from the great congregation.
Sometimes.
We get busy.
And sometimes we meet somebody.
And instead of being brave.
That old cowardly spirit takes over.
And we may not do what we intended to do to give out a tract or a calendar to the person we're speaking to. And we we don't do it, then we feel bad after that we did it.
Well, we need grace from the Lord for those things.
And, uh, with his strength and his grace, we're able to reach in our pocket and, and give the tractor a calendar out, it says here.
I have not refrained my lips. Oh Lord, thou knowest.
I have not had my righteousness within my heart.
The Lord Jesus displayed God's righteousness in every precious step that he took here.
There wasn't one thing that the Lord Jesus did. There wasn't one word that he said. It wasn't from God.
Everything he spoke, he spoke by the Spirit.
He spoke from God. Every word that we have that the Lord Jesus spoke here is a man is inspired, holy.
Given to us of God.
Nothing of self.
And what we have in this book.
It's all written inspired by God for us, and so the Lord Jesus was God's Son.
Reading about here and he loved his father.
When he came here, he loved to do as well. We know where that took the Lord Jesus to the cross of Calvary for you and for me to die for our sins.
Has that reached your heart here today? That first love?
Depreciation that entered into your heart.
The realization of what you've been spared from.
Pluck is a brand that says from the burning.
Brought into a place of blessing.
Untold blessings.
So much so that, uh, there is no more blessings that God could give. We are blessed with all spiritual blessings, it says in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.
That's our portion as believers.
And that is not based on anything that I have done or anything that anyone else has done here in this room that knows the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. It's all based on what the Lord Jesus has done.
And when he is done, alone is what God accepts.
In his sight.
Were made of SYS Second Corinthians.
5 of 21 He has made him to be sin for us, He that knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
You and I as believers we stand before God, not in my righteousness. Anything I have done to earn favor before God.
But I can stand before God in the perfect righteousness of Christ my Savior. That's my standing before God. There's nothing to do with me or self. It's everything to do with the Lord Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished at Calvary's cross.
But there is a practical righteousness too. This is what we're Speaking of here. When the Lord Jesus was here is what he practiced when he was here. He loved to do God's will, and every day he did the will of his Father and eventually led him to his death at Calvary.
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And so it should be an exercise for us each day when we get up to do the will of the Father, to do what the Lord Jesus would want us to do that day.
But as I said.
We have the old nature, don't we?
We had that despiteful thing, and oftentimes we give way to it, we listen to it and we allow it to influence us and we allow sin to command disobedience to come in and.
I'd only point you to one more verse before I sit down. That's in.
First Peter, chapter 2.
Verse 21 Says for even hereunto where you call, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. He was reviled, he reviled not again when he suffered, He threatened not, but committed himself to him the judges righteously.
Who in his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree that we, being dead descends, should live on to righteousness.
By whose stripes you were healed, for ye as were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and Bishop of your souls. I want to focus on there was verse one of that chapter is.
We can follow.
Somebody that we know that we like.
We admire.
Perhaps we hold them up in great ex esteem, and we should, perhaps.
Perhaps our faithful.
We can follow them.
We should stay follow.
What never says that we're to follow 81 steps except for the Lord Jesus Christ?
I may follow the most devoted person that I could find.
And I follow their faith and that's good up to a point, as long as I know when they make a wrong turn, they don't make it with them.
But if I'm following their steps.
No matter how faithful one may be, if he if I'm following along his steps, when he makes a bad turn, I'll have to make that same bad turn.
Even the apostle Paul had failures, so I was following his steps. When he made a failure, I would have made the same failure.
And so if we follow the steps of the Lord Jesus Christ, he never made a failure, never had a failure in his life.
He was always obedient and every step that he took.
And so we want to know what is right for us is found in the Word of God, all God's word.
As been written for us.
And Timothy, we're, we are encouraged there to, uh, continue on.
The things that that we have heard and know to be true from the word of God. That's all I had but.
I I think that perhaps we're living in such a day.
Of, umm, apostasy. Such a day of wickedness that we're in.
When a lot of the church that we see today is nothing but mere profession, that is it. Look, may look good on the outside, but God sees inwardly and there's nothing there. There's nothing there for him. It's just an outward professional thing. And so we're living in that kind of a day.
But the church, the real church, there's always a danger of allowing.
Things that come in.
Things that will affect our hearts and we lose our first love.
And we drift further away from the Lord.
So my focus is today and those that are real, those that have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and you put your trust in Him, cling to him, especially in this day of ruin, and He will allow us to overcome and give us the strength that we need in this day of weakness.
Umm.
Right.
Nsnoise.
3 John 1-8
Reading
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All right, crashing 7 hour. Come right in thyself on your own, and our souls begin to die.
Our Christmas Day for a while from our ceiling. No, it's been can come in thou art near.
Uh, drinking umm, thyroid and stuff on your vitamin. Umm, I don't think it's, I don't want to stop.
I agree with that.
I want to learn, please. Umm, I have to see this, perhaps you know.
And I can do it from the bottom of the community.
I wonder if we could suggest to take up the third epistle of John.
The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
11 I wish about all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as I so prosperous. For I rejoice greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is, indeed, even as a Thou longest in the truth, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth, Beloved.
Thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the President and to strangers.
Which are for witness of thy charity before the Church, Whom if thou bring forward on the journey after a godly sword, thou shall do well. Because that for his namesake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth. I wrote under the Church, but the atrophy.
Who love us, who have the preeminence among them, receive us not. Wherefore when I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth crafting against us with malicious words, and not content there with neither that he himself received the brethren, and forbidden them that would and have cast them out of the Church. You love it. Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.
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He that doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil.
Have not seen God Demetrius have good report of omen and of the truth itself. Yeah, and we also bear record, and you know that our record is true. I have many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face.
Peace be to thee, our friends salute thee. Greed thy friends by name.
John had the privilege to write to.
I'm going to say a relatively younger man than himself, although perhaps John was as old as 80 at this time or older. And, uh, one of the things that John appreciated that didn't go unnoticed and I think many of us appreciated this afternoon is that there's many young men whose souls are prospering. And he wrote it to encourage this young man to continue to prosper. I don't know whether Gaius.
Had good health, but one thing he did is he had that first love that was referred to this morning and he carried it out in a remarkable way. And in contrast to another gentleman that we read in this chapter called Theatre Fees. This was written at the time when most of the apostles the Lord had taken home. Perhaps John was the only one left at this particular time and it would be nice as some others which maybe give a little more summary of the book. That was not my thoughts.
But, uh, rather to consider, umm, how we are to function in the assembly with one another, with the dynamics and the excitement that first love brings, uh, brothers and sisters in Christ. And, uh, you know, John was writing the scriptures and the Word of God had quite a big impact in his life. He was a changed man. They didn't change, umm, when he was younger.
Perhaps he was in his 30s when he came to value the Lord Jesus in a remarkable way. If you read in Marks Gospel Chapter 11, we'd read that John had a brother, James, the sons of Zebedee. And it was interesting that at that particular time, perhaps just before the Lord went to the cross, those two brothers decided to ask the Lord a question. And they said, Lord, do you have a place for us? Do you have a specific place?
A place of prominence.
But it's interesting, you know, John, when he wrote his five books that we have in the New Testament, we don't read of any of the prominence that he looked for for himself, but rather he enjoyed when gay people gave the preeminence to the Lord. And so I think that was the spirit in which John wrote to a young, prospering man in his school, Paul Gaius. I just wondered if it could be of some benefit for us to see how we can interact in the absence of our Lord. We have a spirit, but soon we'll be with him for all eternity.
So what a joy to be able to act with the same spirit that Gaius had with one another.
We have something corresponding to the first chapter of the book of Joshua, I believe here not in every aspect, but I was thinking about.
The Commission that was given to Joshua and the first verse it says Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun Moses minister saying.
And we think of some of the expectations that are given, and these expectations are just as much needed now as they were in Joshua's time. We go to verse six. It says, Be strong and of good courage, For unto this people shall thou divide for an inheritance to land. Verse seven, only be thou strong and very courageous. And I was thinking of the latter part.
Of that seven first, which links into the portion that we have, it goes on to say, that they may observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand, nor to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. And so we have sole prosperity brought before us.
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And this third chapter of John, verse two especially beloved, I wish above all things.
That thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prosper. So that was the desire of Joshua.
Uh, and here is the desire of, uh, John here as he writes this to, uh, gas and it, it says that gas walked in the truth. One thing to say words, isn't it, But it's another when we have the reality.
Uh, that comes forth in our walk before the Lord and before men.
I wonder how we feel if the brethren, we're praying that our health will be as our soul.
Verse two to trade we have a cow, he's here three that bought the health and it might be a problem to its prosperity to the soul. I've often wondered if the brother of friends in our house might be like our state of our souls absolutely very sick at times.
I was thinking perhaps a little bit differently if if someone were to write a letter about you or perhaps me.
What would they say? Because here is not what you want to hear that what people say. What do you think? Who do you think you truly are? But this is what John wrote about Gaius. Gaius. I believe it means I'm glad he said he was the beloved and we see the qualities that he mentioned here. So if someone were to write about me, not here and particularly about me.
What about you?
Would we see words as such in here? So as the beloved, as the one who walked through, and so on. Now the difference is 6. You can still do something about how someone thinks of you, at least on your walk.
After you die, there's nothing you can do because you do have time to change. If you don't like what you think somebody. And you know, The funny thing is regardless of what you think, someone has an opinion on you. You know, sometimes we try to hide as if it were and don't want someone to say something. Well, whether you are very quiet, very, very local, very shy, we all know that. So we whisper over and someone whisper, oh, that brother is very quiet. Well, that brother or that sister, Oh yes, she laughed. Look nice. And regardless, we have a reputation. So what would yours be if someone provides for you?
It can also depend who's writing about you. Someone who's really close to you, as opposed to someone who just shows you an acquaintance.
That our Lord Jesus is reading open and He's the one that we decide to please. He knows every credits of our life.
And maybe if we bare our heart to Him.
Understand what pleases Him.
Thoughts on motives are exercises.
Our goals is like.
That he would be pleased and that he would meet us at the finish line and say well done.
His first two would it not indicate to us that it is possible for somebody to be prospering in their souls and yet be in poor physical condition?
And there's a gospel being preached today called the Health and Wealth gospel, and the thought behind it is that it one is spiritual. It's going to be reflected in the fact that they have great wealth and they have good health.
I don't believe.
There's any ground for that because you think of how the Lord Jesus himself, when he went about he had to ask for a penny. I don't think we have any place where we see that he carried money.
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And as far as health is concerned, what about the Apostle Paul? You know, it speaks about him, is that?
Well, his father's presence was weak, and he did have an infirmity in the flesh.
And it was that which?
He would have liked to live without.
Messenger of Satan to Buffett him. But the Lord told Paul that he could serve him better with that infirmity, with that thorn in the flesh.
We should serve better with it than without it.
So I don't believe we need to find encouragement in the fact that I think generally speaking, God's desires that we might enjoy quick physical health. Just because somebody doesn't have it certainly does not mean.
That they're in poor spiritual condition. And I think that's brought out here in the spirit, one of our early American presidents who was a believer, John Quincy Adams. And one time someone asked him how he was doing, and he said John Quincy Adams is doing fine, but the house in which he lives in is falling down.
So I believe that that expressed his spiritual state. In contrast to that, the physical body that was breaking down very rapidly. It's interesting that John introduces himself as an elder. Wasn't he an apostle? Why does he introduce himself as an elder rather than an apostle? You know that Paul often begins his officials for the apostles, and as such, of course he was.
Had his mind of God and the Spirit of God and that position as an apostle.
And that gave the authority for that which he wrote.
Here John diminishes himself. He's gonna speak to this brother, and there are some things that he commends about this brother. But there is a situation there that also needed some.
Wisdom and guidance and help to deal with that to minister that need. John the Apostle diminishes himself. He says I'm just an elder. And so we we have to think true that if we want to minister to a situation, Can we do it if we're full of our own importance. We have to remember the Lord got down and watched his disciples speak. And then also, of course, I'd like to refer to Philippians 2.
Philippians 2.
Verse three. Let nothing be done through strife or Vainglory.
And in loneliness and mine, let's each esteem other better than themselves.
And of course, the fifth verse, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus there, of course, we got here. The Lord Jesus Christ, the creation sustainer of the universe, diminished himself in becoming man, having obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And so the apostle Paul, the apostle John, in ministering to this situation, the first thing he does is dimension himself. He says, I'm just an elder, but I'd like to talk to you about something.
That seems important.
We see John introduces, uh, through his episodes there more about how we ought to walk. So we find in the first epistle of John, they told us to walk close to the Father. The fellowship is with the Father and with the Son. And then when we get to the second epistle, we find that you warn us that there are deceivers in this world and sometimes the deceivers of an enemy because they come at the subtle serpent to draw us away now.
In the third epistle he commanded that this young man gave us that he walked into truth because he he sometimes to learn what the truth is.
But it's difficult to walk in the good of it. So we find in the third verse of our chapter, it says for Ivy Joy freely when the brethren came and testified of the truth that it is, or what a commendation when someone else testified how he is walking the truth. Now I'd like to read in the new translation. Give us a little bit of different sense. Why rejoice exceedingly.
When the brethren came and four testimony to thy holding fast the truth, even as our walkers in the truth, so he was holding fast onto the truth. What? We have told the whole fast too, aren't we? But wait a minute, you can't hold fast for something you don't have. So we need to buy the truth 1St and So what not once we buy the truth, then we can hold fast.
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To the food and walk in the good of it. And when we do, our brethren, others will see that we walk in the team.
We hold fast at which we value, don't we?
I at one time used to collect postage stamps and I primarily collected stamps from the British Isles, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
And I recall one specific issue that came out from the Isle of Man.
It showed a post that was thinking and showed a man holding up a parchment.
Above the waves and that stamp was issued in commemoration of the translation of the Manx Bible. He was rowing across, I believe from Ireland to the Isle of Man and the storm came up and he had labored for many years with that translation.
And he wanted to protect that, even at any cost.
So I was very impressed with that particular postage stamp.
We're finding the seven churches that the Philadelphia church didn't have a lot of strength. The Lord said to them, for thou hast but little strength. But what he commanded them was that thou hast kept my word and has not denied my name. It sounds like very simple truth, but yet it's very important, isn't it? So sometimes for many of us who have grown up in the assembly and we use phrases like, well, I go to meeting or I don't like what the meeting stands for, or we make different kind of accusations of lights and dislikes.
Instead of saying why are we here? This is not just a place to come because we have good friends, we need to understand why. Why are we gather the way we are gathered? If you don't understand the principle we are gathered to the Lord's name, then you are probably not in the right state of soul to be here. There are things that we do people with questions until you understand it. Do we hold fast through the word of God?
Do we stand up to the apostles doctrines and fellowships? Do we follow what the word of God say or are we able to bend some of this? You know, it's interesting. Recently there was the news about China, China being trying to force religions out of the communist system. They were fighting for the Catholic Church, that they want Catholic priests and bishops to be sanctioned by the Communist Party. And the and the Catholic are saying that only the Pope can sanction those people. And recently they said.
Good news, they came to a compromise that both can live with. Is that what we stand from the word of God? Do we compromise in order to make peace? Or do we hold fast to what it is that we would keep His word and not deny His name?
There are so many admonitions in Scripture to hold fast and to stand fast.
And I may have mentioned this before, in the book of Judges we see a king mentioned his name was Adonai Visak. And in verse six it says in the donut basic Plaid. And they pursued after them and fought him and cut off his sums and great toes. And Adonai Visak said three score and 10 kings having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table. So forth.
At first I was used to puzzle me and I said what is that application? Oh, without a thumb to work in opposition.
Through the fingers you can't hold fast. Without a great toe, your balance is affected and you can't stand fast. So we think of all the admonitions that are given in the Word of God to stand fast and hold fast.
May we endeavor to do so with the Lord's health today. Just one comment about the elders, not to, uh, talk about them really, because we can go to Titus one and research that subject. Umm, But, uh, it's interesting that John, umm.
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He didn't just want to write a letter to Gaius, but we read at the end of the book that he actually wanted to visit him and he wanted to share a lot more than could be ever put in a letter.
And I think when it comes to real elders, I think we see that in the heart of John, that it's one thing to write, but it's possible. And John, I don't think it was on the Isle of Patmos at this time. He was free to go and visit, and he intended to visit.
You know we read this morning in Revelation 2.
The second Epistle to Ephesus.
And, uh, how they had first lost their first love.
It's interesting that Paul in Acts chapter 20, I believe it is, he made a point of speaking to the elders in Ephesus before he departed for perhaps the last time.
And, uh, elders are really important, but the whole purpose was to feed the flock of God. And, uh, that seemed to have, uh, somehow there was a, a mishap, wasn't there? Because when we read in Revelation chapter 2, we see that people weren't quite enjoying the freshness that Gaius has mentioned here. One other example I thought we could just refer to briefly, umm, with the generations that we see here between John and Gaius.
As you go back to first Samuel 23, you know the story well, but Jonathan had a personal relationship with God and he was able to the use of God as a vessel to go and fight the Lord's battles. And as soon as he saw David come and meet Goliath, they had something in common. We call it truth, but really call it the power of God. And that's what I think that John saw here in gates. He saw him not just talking about it, but it says here in verse three, the brethren came and testified.
They saw it first time John and Peter later after the Lord Rosemont said he could say those things that we have seen and heard and our hands of handle of the word of life. And you know when it came time for David in a discouragement, a young man that had a zeal to the Lord, the Lord could send someone like Jonathan without Agps, go into a wilderness of the woods and strengthen David's hand in the Lord. And I think that's what John was doing here with Diaz.
Is to strengthen our beloved brethren in the Lord. John couldn't run like ayes anymore. It slowed down, but he could encourage gays his heart to continue and know that the Lord was faithful who would do it.
We've been thinking a little bit about the relationships that exist.
Between the elder and Gaius and there's a verse in Second Timothy chapter 2 That has a similar relationship. In Second Timothy chapter 2, verse one, you have Paul the apostle and Timothy, and this is what Paul says. Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men.
Who shall be able to teach others? Also, I don't know whether there was a natural connection between the elder, who I think was John and Gaius, or whether it was a spiritual connection like Paul had Timothy. But I think there's some learning here in the relationship. The words that that brother George has just been mentioning, the idea of the well beloved, the concept of whom I love and the truth, the affection that existed between the older and the younger. I think it's important that we develop those relationships.
And that there's a connection between the older generation and the generation falling because the scriptural model here in Second Timothy chapter 2, verse 2 is that one generation learns, it teaches it to the next generation, who passes it on to the generation after. And it's good that in learning something like that, you understand the emotion and the connection. Our brother Dave so has been talking about the value, for example, of being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. Why are we here?
And for me, one of the things that was incredibly, incredibly educational to me was to see.
The emotional meaning that had to our brother stand odds as he expressed that when somebody challenged whether the Lord was in the midst and he said well, if he's not here, then take me to where he is. I want to be where he is and that made a profound impression on me as a young brother to learn that and I hope that to some measure and me expressing that today. Maybe it passes on to a younger brother in in my circle in my connection, but I think that it's just interesting to see that it's not just head knowledge, but it's also.
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A harp, And it's a relationship between the one who is teaching and the one who's learning. And I know naturally in our society we're taught. You associate with your peers, you'll learn from the experts. But what I see in the Word of God is the assembly is like a family. And there's the older, the elders, the father figures, and they have a responsibility to teach those who are younger. And even more importantly, those who are younger need to have the attitude that Gaius had to be willing to learn it, to walk in it, to have a desire to know it and have a love for the same things.
So these are, uh, principles that I see in this, uh, third epistle of John. And I think it's a practical thing to keep in mind. There are brothers that I hadn't closed, umm, connections to me. I was in the assembly in Ottawa when their brother Gordon Hano was there. And as I look back on it, I realized I missed a lot of opportunities to learn and profit from what he had to teach. I'm thankful for what I did collect and gather from my brother Gordon, but.
I feel like I missed a bit of an opportunity. I could have grown that relationship as a younger brother going to learn. And so I put that out, uh, for myself to be ready to teach younger brothers. If there's a younger brother that wants to spend time with me to learn something, to share something. And I put it out to those of you who are younger. And the same thing applied to sisters that, uh, there's an opportunity to learn, an opportunity to grow. And we need that relationship younger to older across the generations. We need to learn to value each other. Don't follow the path of the world.
Follow the model of the scripture.
The assembly is a place should be a place of love, caring, compassion. We're all part of the family of God.
I think you would say.
There look at the fourth verse he says I have no greater joy here that my children walking through. Where did John learn the truth? He learned like the Savior in Papa John is the apostle that in the gospel of John imports what is properly called the Lord's Prayer as you go over to the 17th of John.
Lord's Prayer there.
1St Chapter 17 and verse 20 Either pray aye for these alone, or for them also the shall believe of me through their word, that they all may be one. Thou Father art in me, and I indeed that they also may be one enough, that the world may believe that.
Drawing words of things that the seed of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So now as an old man he has that desire.
For those who earn his children in faith and no greater joy to hear and to hear my children. I was thinking also in the fossil pier, the 5th chapter of the.
Comment was made that John referred to himself as an elder here in the chapter in Peter, in the 5th chapter of first Peter, the elders which are among you, I absorb you also. I'm an elder and a witness who was suffering a Christ and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed which is among you. Taking the oversight throughout, not like constraints, but willingly, not from filthy looper, but of a ready mind either, seeing Lords over God's period.
Would be an example of what so Peter like John?
One who had learned is to see the Jesus.
In his hair and his love and his desire, that desire that he's seen in the Lord Jesus himself. His prayer to the Father. God now has that care for his children in the faith.
It says you speak to them several walking at the anniversary even as I'll walk through the truth.
And #4 My children walk in the truth. What is the truth?
One of the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the way.
Truth and the light God had no greater joy than he strollered in the face, walked closely the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm pleased to refer to First Peter 5 because there we get the job description of an elder and.
00:35:03
As has been mentioned, it's feeding the flock of God.
Notice what he says there, taking oversight thereof. Not by constraint. Don't. Not as a burden. Not as a burden. It's privilege. Not a burden, but willingly, not for filthy Lucas, don't. There may be a reward when we get to to heaven for that which we've done for the Lord down here, but that shouldn't be in the objective.
But with a ready mind, neither has been Lords over God's heritage. We are not part of the flock.
The slot belongs to the law and we have the privilege of helping to look after it. And so that's the, shall I say, the job description of the elder which we get there. And we find out that John in this epistle fulfills that. What does he do? He looks first, the things he can commend and he finds things he can commend in the life of gas and he commends that he, he, he, he gives that commendation. Likewise, John, of course, when he writes in respect of the.
Seven churches. What does he look for first of all?
To combine and he, he finds that which can be commended, you know, in every church, but uh, but perhaps one, but uh, we, uh, umm.
It's easy to be critical.
John Chioda, the one with the care for the flock. He looks at gas and he sees things. He can come in and that's nice.
Walk into truth. There are often two sides to it. We often just look at get so easy to get on one side or the other in uh, the verses before us of how great it was to see him walk in the truth. But then now we see the practical side that the apostle exalted.
To see that he says he loved thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren. What was that it? He's walking two things faithfully for his brethren. No, I think that's a stop with a comma. And then they said to strangers.
So do we carry the love of God, the principle of the love of God, the truth that we have learned from the Word of God? Is it just for the brethren? No, assist you up. It's the strangers as well, because they are our neighbors.
By simply is about your love the Lord thy God, who all thy heart and all thy might and then if there were the other part is easy. Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself and then we often would raise the question just like they did oh Lord, who is my neighbor? And then we start to.
Put it to our own favor. So here these to learn the truth, walk in the truth and then he is to serve his brethren and strangers. But that's only part of it because we often hear the phrase that we walk a very narrow path and we need to be careful how wide of a path that we go on. So that verse 6 go on, it says, which have borne witnesses of thy love before the church. Wow, isn't that nice that the church is a host. All the love that he exhibited whom if thou wilt forward on the journey after God is Lord.
Thou shall uh do well and then to go on. And it's because that point mainstay. They went forward thinking nothing of the Gentiles. That's an interesting thought, isn't it, that though he serve his brethren and perhaps strangers, but it's a principle here that we will not take any correction. He will not take any money from outside his pleasure. That's a godly principle. We're not to do so. So we learned that not from the Gentiles. I believe here it referred to those.
I'd like to back up just a moment. We were referring in verse three, uh, of the brethren that came and testified of the truth that was in gas.
They were not asked particularly to come up. It was voluntary on their part, wasn't it? And I think of, uh, another scripture. And this is in connection with, uh, a sister that went home to be with the ward in Acts Chapter 9.
In connection with Dorcas.
Uh.
We first serve verse 36 as a woman full of good works.
And in verse 39 says, Then Peter rose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber, and all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. While that was a practical.
00:40:17
Uh, way of showing.
Fourth term love and our concern for those widows, wasn't it? So we have a sister commended here and in our chapter we have a brother commended. And again, those that came up and testified were not put under any pressure or duress to do so. They did it out of the abundance of their heart. So that's nice to see. And our brother George was referring to the fact that.
Uh.
John not only addressed the letter to Gaius, but he expressed a desire to see Gas and meet with him. And I was just thinking of another scripture that we have in Second Timothy. I know I'm digressing a little bit. I believe it's in the third chapter. No, it's in the first chapter. And verse 16 says the Lord give mercy unto the House of Vanessa Forest, for he often refreshed me.
And was not ashamed of my change. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me. We don't know what's encompassed in those words. Very diligently. I'm sure Rome was a big city at that time. He perhaps didn't know where the Apostle Paul was being held, but it was his desire to see the Apostle Paul.
To commune with him and.
To encourage him. So that was part of the refreshing that was mentioned, wasn't it?
I'd just like to make a comment to Robert House when he brought up about sharing the Word of God.
I'm going back 45 years ago when I lived in Vancouver, BC.
Was a young man who was no more higher than a grasshopper.
And this young brother had a desire to look into the word, and he went through a number of our brothers.
That man now is named Bruce Edson, which most of you know. Most of you have read a number of his literature. He was a young man 35 years ago. He was young.
I desire to ask brethren about the Word of God. He had the desire to begin the Word. His name is always. Bush asked Vietnam. See the fruit of that?
I think we can see here in John that he was thrilled to hear about Gaius and to know about him. And he says he writes here, he says he lists some things about about Gaius. He says your soul prospers.
Verse three, you walk in the truth.
Verse five, you do faithfully. He was faithfully hospitable. Verse six, your charity, your love before the church. And so these things, it thrilled the heart of John that this young man.
With the words of God and enjoying Christ and and walking in the truth and it thrilled his heart and I I know from working with so many of the the Saints in Malawi in Africa that.
When I first went there, they hardly knew anything. They didn't know. They didn't know how to function as an assembly.
Nothing. And they really knew nothing. But as you go back year after year, you see them learning and studying and practicing and walking in the truth that they do know. And it's a thrill to your heart. And in your assembly, there's some older brothers who are teaching in your assembly. And when they see that you as a young man or a young woman, you're taking an interest in the things of God.
And you want to know what the word of God says and how you can live in it and walk in it. And they see you progressing and walking in the truth. It excites them. It encourages them.
And, and it says here in verse verse four, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Now you may think, well I can't walk in everything and maybe I try to force you to walk in more than you know, but just be faithful to the little bit you do know. Don't try to walk in something somebody else knows. Be faithful to what you know and and walk in it.
00:45:12
7 Second official to John.
Good morning about those that bring false teaching.
And they are not to be countenance, they have to be.
Rejected because of the doctrine that they bring, it tells us in verse.
Nine Second Epistle, verse 9. Whosoever transgressed it, and abides not in the doctrine of Christ.
Death not God, He that abides in the doctrine of Christ, He hath both Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house.
Neither did him. God, steep, thick. That means don't even say goodbye.
Or he that sitteth in God's feet is a partaker of his evil deeds. So we don't want to give the impression in any way that.
What these are bringing is false teaching is acceptable.
And opposed to the person in the work of Christ. And it's not to be accepted, be rejected.
Now I do believe that if somebody comes with false teaching.
We can present to them the gospel if we can control the conversation and present the way of salvation and the value of the God of Christ.
Perhaps that would be a benefit to one who brings full stop, but we just have to be careful that we don't give the impression that what is being taught by these false teachers anyway? Acceptable. But now when we come to the third epistle.
I believe we have just the opposite, and that is if somebody is bringing the truth.
We are to help them underway.
And it might cost us a little bit to do this. We may need to show some hospitality and.
Yet, uh, we see the topic for John says here.
Concerning gated.
Locked out who is basically whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers.
I noticed that Mister Darby's translation.
He says, love thou doest faithfully in whatever thou mayest have brought towards the brethren, and that strangers. In other words, it's possible that there are those that come with the truth of God that we've never met before.
Are we going to reject him just because the fact that?
They're a stranger to us. I don't believe we ought to do this. If they're bringing teaching that's consistent with the Word of God, we need to promote and help them on their way. I.
I believe that's the thought here.
Diwali you might suggest or ask if those coming in versus in the second of fiscal that brought the false doctrine recommended to not love them commanded not to receive them. So I think John's often called the the love apostle. I think because referred to love more often than any other apostle and yet he wasn't suggesting that love is demonstrated in every instance by receiving someone. There's a teaching in called mainstream Christianity Today that Christianity is all about love and success. The love is demonstrated by accepting everyone regardless of doctrine and lifestyle.
But Apostle John in the second epistle talks about love. He talks about verse four of the second epistle is very close to verse four of the third epistle which foster walking in the truth. So in second Epistle we're told the importance of walking in the truth. We told those importance of loving one another. And yet the elect lady is instructed to not receive an individual into her home in the third epistle.
Talking the the cost of talks with the importance of walking the truth, and then he tells chaos or commend chaos for receiving people into this. What's the difference between the categories of people? It's true.
So the love that we show as Christians to one another is a love that needs to be demonstrated by our application of truth. It's and the value of a place on truth.
Love anti all accepting love should be there for everyone should demonstrate it. But there's a difference between having love for someone also respecting the truth, ensuring that we apply it appropriately so that those that aren't following correct doctrine or involving sin at the number of recognize that there's still love. That they have a responsibility to speak the truth. And we demonstrate our love by distinguishing between those that are perceived or not received.
00:50:17
That's a good point because we love the individual that we do not love to teaching.
Say that's in what's in the word faithful when he says, well, that doesn't faithfully.
One who is faithful with his brethren, there's something that I'm going on with that is not according to the mind of the Lord, is not pleasing to the Lord. A faithful brother. I think bring that out.
Shove it down my throat but to encourage you belong with the Lord faithful for the things of the Lord unless I do faith I do It's basically what part I do to brethren and the strangers. I'd like to make an application there lawful, faithful, faithful with lawful. Sometimes we those we work with from school with those we associate with. So I know they're not the Lord. So let me pray we'll speak the word for the Lord.
I'm going to seek to be faithful to the Lord and to be faithful to strangers or in this application, those who are.
Sophalore's those who are unsafe and won't be faithful to them, give them a word and speak to them for the love of the state. Warning of judgment come and faithful to strangers giving that warning.
And bring it another spin on Speaking of truth, we go back to.
Back into during the war time, there's the same instant his name was.
Entries like around he was one of the important citizens that built that big bomb. And in the end, it's like mentioned something that, you know, the scientists, they always believe in what they can prove and proving that they can make this atomic bomb. They realize that the atomic bomb was not the most dangerous weapon in the world. He actually claimed that the most dangerous weapon in the world was the truth because by discovering that sick bombs actually created something very different.
Umm, and also in, in a, in a warping war frame warranty. I'm sorry, uh, in between the war, like what is the most valuable thing is the truth. That's why they cover it by all these bodies of life. They made all these tactics. So if you can turn into Ephesians 6.
11Th until 20 we know that we have to be wearing the armor of God and.
Beware that.
Rent licenses and the desired residences proof, right? Umm, So it's very interesting to put that pin because it's by taking the truth and knowing that in this in the world, those scientists find out like that. The truth is what's most valuable for us. We can search into the word and actually cover myself of Jesus and actually speak what he has and realize that he's actually the truth.
First, uh, three here, uh, we want to be found walking in the truth and, uh, having the truth is really important, especially when we live in a world of moral relativism and people having different ideas of what is white right and what is wrong. We need to have something that we can hold on to. We know that about Jesus. It says I'm the way, the truth and the light. We also know that in John 17 in, in the Lord's prayer, as mentioned, it says sanctify them to thyself.
Thy word is truth, so we have something that we can hold on to. What is the opposite of truth? And I think it's worthwhile mentioning this because there's a cosmic battle going on if you look at John chapter 8 and verse 44.
We read about the devil. He said that Jesus is talking as a Pharisee. She says here of your father the devil and the less of the father you will do of the devil. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth.
We want to abide in the truth, we want to walk in the truth, but the the devil does not. And we also see that he is the father of lies. Lies are the opposite of truth. So in this cosmic battle we need to hold on to to Jesus who is the truth, hold on to the Word who is the truth.
00:55:02
Yeah, so, umm, I would also like to mention that.
In in scientists recognize, too, that having a standard for something is important. Uh, something we take for granted, even like the kilograms, uh, we use it in so many different scientific measurements.
But even that, the official measurement for that is actually a, a metal, uh, uh, piece of metal that's sitting in, in France in, in a special laboratory. Umm, and they're, they're gonna come up with a more, something that has a better standard to even redefining what a kilogram really is. But for us, we do have a standard that we can rely on and, and that is survival. And that's, that's either who is the truth And we need to walk in that.
And George Washington, chapter one and verse 3.
Joshua chapter one and verse 3.
We raise every place that the soul of your foot shall thread apart, that shall have given to you. I think it's important to realize that it's only to take them that we walk, and that we're really for that.
For example, the fact that we are an ambassador for Christ. If I walk in it, if it's true in my life that I represent Christ out here, it will be mine. I can't talk about it.
But if I live it in my day-to-day, it will be mine. The people of Israel at this promised land in front of them.
But they have to put the foot off in order to protect.
And the same thing with the truth of the assembly. You know, sometimes we need a Christian. And you would ask us, where do you go to church?
Well, you know they got her to the Lord's name.
Just want to challenge would be involved in our assembly.
Are we going to be like smalls, like Sunday morning only? Are we involved? We go to prayer meeting.
For brother, do we go through the brothers meeting and being involved into the process of the building up of the assembly? So, you know, we can, we can talk about these things, but it's good for us to walk and we can apply the same thing about the truth of the Lord's return.
We can't believe it, but is it something that we think about in our everyday life? When I start my day, the Lord might come today.
And the measure that I walk into it, it will be mine. So may the Lord give us grace to walk in these things so that we can possess for his glory.
The connection with those that have been mentioned earlier, especially for prayer, the younger ones, we know that in the schools we're constantly being challenged as to what the truth is. There are no such standards. But.
Uh, we have of course have mentioned relativism and pluralism and all of these isms that have come in, but there, there is a standard that we can go by if they're not.
I recall a story being told of a a man who.
Passed a watchmaker shop every morning and.
He was always concerned that.
His timepiece would be off by a little bit, so he detoured and looked in the watchmakers window and there was a clock that he knew was very very accurate and so if there was any deviation he would reset his clock by that standard.
And even in measurements, standards are very important in navigation. I recall our story being told of, uh, Shackleton, who was in the process of trying to rescue his men from Elephant Island off the coast of Antarctica. And he set out with a few men in a, a rowboat that had a sail on it, uh, heading, uh, to South Georgia.
And it was said that if they were off in terms of any navigation by 110th of a degree.
They never would have made it to that island, so they had to make sure that they followed that standard that they had to follow that navigation instrument and thankful to say that they did follow it and landed there and eventually saved those, uh, that were left on that island. So God's word is the standard that we have and the only thing that we can rely on and knowing that standard is, is so important because.
01:00:01
It is the way in which we answer the lies that the devil suggests to us, as Sean was mentioning to us. If we look at Luke 4, which recounts the the time when Satan tempts Jesus, umm in the wilderness, we see that each time that a temptation, and they're all very unique temptations come. Jesus answers them with scripture. He uses the standard that we are given that we can use to answer the lies that are suggested to us on a daily basis. And so is that the way we approach the lies that the devil gives us is using.
Our Bibles. Do we know our Bibles? We look at the answers that Jesus gives with Scripture. They're all from the book of Deuteronomy. It's not exactly the place I always turn when I am having a discussion about spiritual apologetics or something. But Jesus knew the Word of God. And so too do we need to know the Word of God so well that we can use Deuteronomy when the Satan suggests lies that come in conflict with what we're called to do in our lives.
And we get back to our chapter here we find that there are only 13 verses in our chapter and the apostles John chose to spend eight of those 13 verses on the one group value and the pressures to command such a one because he walked for the truth and the way examples of the truth. But then the other practical side, what we said the practical side was to walk in it and then the other side is closed where to be follow helper. We commented earlier that.
He knows he's not going to take collections of donations for the outside sources. So there's a practical consideration too, don't we? Well, we know one who works for the Lord, that there is a fellowship that we ought to have. So we find here, it tells us that in verse eight we therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers.
Christian walk is always twofold. There is a faith and then there is a work.
I will walk now. Faith and works are not the same. Faith is God's word. Faith. We believe that God, and He's the one who gives us the faith to walk in the good of it for His glory and honor the work that we do. And so the world can see that God's Word is at hand. So it's like fire and smoke. When there is fire, we know there is smoke. However, they're not the same. The fire will give you warmth.
They smoke, well, they just smoke. So we have to walk before God in truth. And then the rest of the chapter mentioned a few more people, two more to be exact. And the clock here that we have about 10-15 minutes left to go into the one who oppose this.
That we digress, just for a quick second.
Just about watching the truth, loving the truth. Jesus is the truth, the God of truth. The first and First Timothy chapter 3.
Sounds like, but it doesn't matter.
Let somebody believe, as long as it's according to truth.
That there seems to be the thought that anybody can come in off the street and ask to break bread because the Christians allow them to break bread. Well, that's a dangerous precedent. But here we find in the First Tennessee 3.
Controller and ground of the truth.
But the truth is referring to.
Killer Brown truth. The next verse is that you say as we're going to finish the hour.
That is the truth filler, that truth.
It's, it's important to, uh, for myself, I, I've been looking a lot of relapse to say two years into short, uh, towards, like, uh, what the Lord really means for this assembly and where you walk up. And, uh, I just wanted to, uh, provide ourselves is, if ever we are having questions and we're looking into the word, let's always remember that in the garden statement said to be.
01:05:17
Did God really say that? Then let's always think about that, because if the enemy of ourselves, when we're speaking the truth, always going to try and say that.
Church of the Living God certainly is not the truth. The Lord Jesus Christ said I am the truth. But the Church of God is here in this world to be a testimony to Christ. And I think that's the thought connection is.
Church of the Living God being the pillar and ground of support.
Right. Support truth.
We've had much to say about the truth. I want to repeat something that I read recently.
An article was found in the possession of Brother Wigram after he died and it's attributed to him. The article on heresy and that article, he brought up the different aspects of piracy and he said something very significant that is.
The worst form of heresy.
Is a sect based on purity of doctrine.
Not that a little bit. We insist that every single one of us hold perfectly pure doctrine and exclude all the others.
We are the worst form of heresies, sectarianism. We must distinguish as as you're Speaking of truth, which is there is vital truth, fundamental truth and there's a whole lot of other things that we disagree upon and.
If we.
Refuse people to the table of the Lord for that which is not vital.
Well, we put ourselves in the category. It doesn't say why, Demetrius.
But we put ourselves in that category up to me, sorry, not to meet your theatrics. We put ourselves and his fellowship.
The person says that the truth.
53 they'll be free.
Of truth.
It GI, it binds us. It binds us up.
What happened here was that.
Fellowship. And there was somebody there that had not the truth.
Geographies.
He was promoting himself, giving himself preeminence, shutting out Christ from the fellowship.
And because of that.
They were being bound by this man. It wasn't true.
Wasn't true fellowship as God had provided for us in his Word when there's an enemy that comes in like this one?
There were enemies that we read about earlier on and some of the epistles. There were other circumcision.
And they were coming in, binding the Saints up.
In the loss and deceiving them and putting them under ******* here, it's not the law so much, but it's a a system. It's a person that desiring that people follow him.
And those that refuse to he was putting out of fellowship, out of the assembly.
This is something that you read about here that started, but it had developed into a greater thing throughout Christianity up to the day when we find these kinds of things of professing Christianity, but it's not normal Christian fellowship.
And so we need to know as it says here.
In verse 11, we need to know what to follow.
The glove is followed not that which is evil, but that which is good.
And so we we find out what is good by reading what God's Word has to say for us.
Most times we know what is evil when we look around. Even the world knows things that are evil because when man disobey God and ate of that fruit.
01:10:12
He knew good and evil, free of the knowledge of good and evil. So Mad knows when he's lying isn't right. He knows the ceiling's not right. He knows all sorts of things that are wrong. We're talking about spiritual things.
And if we want to know what is right spiritually, we need to look in the Word of God, and we will then know how to refuse the evil.
It's sad here when we read about this little fellowship, that this man.
Theocracy was.
I say deceiving the people. And he was doing it for his own exaltation. It's no different than Satan did when he wanted to have God's seat and have worship. We have that pride. Each one of us have that pride in US, and we need to be careful. I think this one we're speaking about here as it was brought out in Acts 21.
The Apostle Paul.
Gave an address, you might say to the elders that there be those that that would be without, that would come and scatter the flock, drawing disciples onto themselves. And then there were those that were within. I think this man was one of those that were without.
Because it says just one person, Matthew.
Matthew, Chapter 10.
Verse 40.
He says he that receiveth you receiveth me and.
And he that receiveth being receiveth, he that receiveth thee receiveth him that sent me. So here was one that was presenting.
That fellowship from receiving others.
Into that fellowship.
He was, he had set himself up and so he was actually an enemy of the Lord by doing what he was doing.
And so we need to be careful, but the truth will set us free.
And then we will be free indeed.
Are seeking to guard us against this sort of a situation where some individual takes a prominent position a place of self importance. And the reason I'm saying that is because what I'm looking at on the wall can't help but see the scripture that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Soocracy. He wanted to have it. And then I look over there, it says they saw no man save Jesus only.
And these are beautiful prescriptions, and Christ is the center of the assembly.
And we need to keep our focus on him.
And what a privilege when we come together to exalt no other man, no other individual, but Christ.
To magnify his name together.
There is one other uh thought just to share. On receiving enrollment 15 and seven, there is much that could be said about receding.
So I would like to really refer to, uh, verses 5:00 and 8:00 because I see this is the heart of the whole book of what John was writing to Gaius. Well, in Romans UH-15 and seven, it says receive you one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. I think if we can carry that Scripture out.
Of your wonderful, uh, victory that the Lord will be honored. But what I see here in the big part that Gaius did and the atrophy didn't, if we could have put it simple.
Is.
Gas is going to, as someone mentioned earlier, is going to be well done now, good and faithful servant, the atrophies will be at the judgment seat of Christ and he's going to see a lot of stuff get all burnt up. If you can come with them, it was left behind. And so from an examination, diatrophy has got enough.
And Gaius gave something to the glory of God. That's what it really comes down to. And I think really what Gaius was exhorted and encouraged to do, we read in Romans chapter 12.
Uh, if you could read Romans 12, just verses 9 to.
01:15:04
13 But really 9 to 16, you see in the book of Galatians, you're told how Gaius, first of all, he walked in the truth. But you know, we all have been given the spirit to live in, in Galatians 6 and or five. And 25 if we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Let us not be desirous of Vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another.
You know the Lord has said in Ephesians 2 and 10 we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus on to good works that.
So do we umm, deserve to be able to glorify God and ourselves by our own doing? No. Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. And I think Jesus was one that wasn't really living out something he learned from intelligence, but rather he was just walking in the joy of his salvation. I think that's what Ephesians 2 intent is telling us, that God has given us something that's joyful, something that's practical, something that reaches our wives, our fellow men, our families, and that's himself. And so he says here.
Inverse our Roman swallow nine that love be without hypocrisy or dissimulation. Verse when kindly affection 1 to another with brotherly love and honor, preferring one another. 11 fervent and spirit serving the Lord, continuing instant in prayer. Verse 12. Verse 13 given to hospitality to the necessity of the Saints, which is mentioned near the start of the meeting. And so we see, I think JS is through.
Why? He was encouraged.
Was because the Lord was in total control and the Lord was working in the hearts of these strangers or fellow brothers. And John, I know unspeaking term said carry out your Christianity practically. Throw your arms around them and help them whichever way you can and bring glory to the Lord. So I find it very encouraging that he wrote this to Gaius to encourage his heart. And you know, we need each other. The Lord didn't give us different generations.
Uh, because one is old and one is new. Rhea Bone had that problem. We do need each other. And it's the word of God that has the light and the love. And to think that if there's one first place.
And geographies missed it. Hey, it's got it. That meant to show love first. Have you? Are you gonna be the first one to be able to wrap your arms around someone and show your love? Are you gonna be the last one? Heaven's gonna declare that there's a lot of first places. First place finishes. Because someone not only was living in the spirit, but walking in the spirit, and they threw their arms around someone and loved them. That's what gays did.
This question was that earlier about First Timothy 3 verse 15.
It says there without controversy graded the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit scene of angels, preached on the Gentiles, believed on the world, received up in glory. Jesus said I am the truth had the Bible put before us as the truth. And what's that book about?
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Yeah, we could pray.
Following the Lord
Address—David Mearns
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#278 if somebody could please start that.
The production.
Of.
The.
I don't have to survive.
Uh-huh.
OK.
Our little card here says that, umm.
This is an address to young people.
Trust to respect the exercise of the brethren here in Montreal and address.
You young people.
This I trust will be.
Not very deep, it will be simple.
But I do have you, dear young souls, in my heart. Those of you who are older are welcome to listen in, but I'm going to direct my comments particularly to those here who are younger. First Kings Chapter 18 and our last meeting we had a scripture that said follow after that, which is good.
Follow after that, which is good. I have in my heart this afternoon at noon to speak about following.
Following here in first Kings chapter 18 we have Elijah speaking part way through verse 21.
And he says here, if the Lord be God, follow him.
00:05:06
If the Lord be God, follow him. Let's pray.
I look at your young hearts this afternoon and umm.
I recognize I'm not where you're sitting.
You look at me and you see an old man.
Umm.
And you're right.
Umm, this week.
The, umm, young people in Rio Ferry, they encouraged me to, uh, to go to a fitness class.
And, umm.
It was a moment of weakness for me. I agreed to go and so I went with them and umm.
The door opened up and it was a a bike spinning class and a TRX class. Half an hour of biking, half an hour TRX. We walk in the room. I look at all these lean.
Fit bodies and umm.
My uh, heart rate, umm, rarely goes over 100.
And I'm, I look at the instructor and he kind of smiles and he looks at me. He's standing there like a, like a tree trunk and umm, looks like, you know, he's in a pair of sweats and a, and a T-shirt and it looks like he's been chiseled out of pure marble. And, uh, he comes over to me and he, he puts out his hand and I, I grasp his hand. It's, it's like grabbing a, it's like grabbing a brick. And he's very gently kind of smiles at me. But I, I.
I have the recognition that if he had to squeeze my hand, you would have just crushed it. So I look around at all this equipment and I, I'll, I'll be honest with you, I was terrified. Absolutely terrified.
And I say that, young people, because I realize that there's a gap between me and between you. My teenage physique has, uh, evaporated a long time ago.
But I did at one time sit in the very seat that you're sitting this afternoon.
Yes, I'm not faced with exactly the same things perhaps that you are, but the bottom line is, yes, I was.
And my, my desire this afternoon is that you would follow wholly after.
The Lord Jesus.
Perhaps there are some here who are following?
And we trust that this afternoon that you would continue to follow.
And maybe there's some here and you have not followed at all and you're wondering whether you should or not. Or we trust to exercise your heart and your soul this afternoon.
That you would indeed follow the Lord Jesus.
And perhaps there are some here this afternoon even who have followed the Lord Jesus and you've decided to turn away.
And we trust that as we look into this blessed book.
But your heart would be touched.
And that once again you would follow after.
The Lord Jesus, you know, we read of many people in the word that followed the Lord within the book of Joshua and he says, I, I wholly followed after the Lord my God.
We read about Caleb.
And it says he's wholly followed after the Lord.
We read about David and actually maybe we could turn to that in UMM, in First Kings.
First Things, Chapter 14.
Partway through the through the versus the tremendous encouragement to me. It says as my servant David who kept my commandments and who followed with me with all his heart to do that which was right in mine eyes. You know, as I reflect on the life of David and see how is beset with much failure. What an encouragement this is to me to see that the Lord looks at David and through repentance he says.
David, who follows me with.
All his.
Heart. What an encouragement that is. I want to I read some scriptures actually this, umm, this past Tuesday evening.
At our prayer meeting in Rio Ferry, not realizing I was gonna be asked to take an address here. And I'd like to just go through some of those scriptures again. Umm, if you turn with me to Luce Gospel.
00:10:10
Luke's Gospel.
And I'm just going to simply go through some scriptures. You're going to have to turn quickly. We're not going to spend any time on them. A little bit later on in the meeting, we will turn to Luke 9 and spend a bit of time there. But if you would first turn with me, The Loose Gospel, Chapter 5.
And we read this in connection with the disciples.
In the earlier verses in verse 11 Luke chapter 5 and when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him. Look at later on in the in the chapter in verse 28 in connection with Matthew, he's called Levi here verse 28 and he left all rose up and followed him.
Turn over now to Chapter 7.
Luke Chapter 7.
And verse 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him.
Turn over to Chapter 9.
Luke Chapter 9.
And verse 11.
And the people, when they knew it, followed him.
Verse 23.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Turn over now.
Later on in the book.
To chapter 18.
And verse 28 and Peter said, lo, we have left all.
And follow thee.
And in connection with the blind man at the end of the chapter, verse 43, immediately he received his sight and followed him.
A little further on in Luciko.
Chapter 22.
Verse 39.
The end of the the end of the verse of 22 and 39. And his disciples also followed him. Chapter 23.
Verse 27.
And there followed him a great company of people and of women, verse 49. And his acquaintance, and the people that followed him, verse 55.
The women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after.
Now turn with me to mark Chapter 10.
You young people, after I read these scriptures, you're assessing now your life, aren't you?
Are you following the Lord or are you not? Have you turned back? Have you?
Been in a position where you're wondering whether you should or not?
In Mark chapter 10.
We find that there's this man that comes to the Lord Jesus in verse 17 when he has gone forth into the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why call us thou me good? There is none good but one that is gone down. Also commandments do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not honor thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these things have I observed from my youth and Jesus.
Beholding him, loved him, and said unto him one thing.
The Lord Jesus might not be a big thing, might be a little thing.
Maybe you're like the prodigal, you know, the Prodigal said.
I will arise and go to my father. But you know, the prodigal footsteps never started taking him to his father until he took that first step. And maybe there's someone here this afternoon and you just haven't taken that first step in following the Lord Jesus. And there's maybe nothing hindering you just maybe haven't thought about it. And you just, you just have, you're just not following. You know, I had an interesting thing happen in UMM in Florida two years ago.
00:15:10
My wife and I were down there and umm.
Right close to where, umm, we stay, there's this outlet into the ocean from all the intercoastals.
As the tide goes in and out there, when the tide comes in, it's very interesting because it's a narrow, umm, it's a narrow waterway, not much wider than this room.
And because of that, when the tide comes in, it's just a raging torrent that comes in.
Well, there's a little park there and people come every night and they fish. One of the things they fish for is shrimp. They have this 5 gallon bucket and they fish away. They do it different ways. They cast in a net, they use a little dip net and they catch these shrimp and you know, in an hour's time they might catch 15 shrimp.
And, umm, when we were down there two years ago, something happened that only happened about once every 10 years, and that was there was a shrimp run.
And what that is, is schools of fish down in Florida, they, they travel up the, umm, the Gulf Stream, the Gulf Stream where we are is right close to the shore. And occasionally there's these huge schools of shrimp. And when I say huge, maybe 10 kilometers long by half a kilometer wide, like big schools of shrimp. And they usually come up the coast and they're on the eastern side.
But occasionally.
Once every 10 years, they come up on the eastern side, which is right on the shore. And if that happens at a time when the tide comes in, there's lots of shrimp. And this was happening when I, you know, I just arrived there and I got down to the dock and people were screaming. There's this, this shrimp run. And what it means is they have these Nets and they put a net in the water and they pull it out and it's full of shrimp. Like the water was literally like thick soup.
And people were literally filling up these buckets and they're opening up their trunks and they were just dumping the buckets in until the trunk was completely full of shrimp because this never happened.
Once in a long time and I.
I was watching this. I was just enthralled with with all these shrimp. It was just, it was fascinating to me. And someone said to me, so do you like shrimp? I said, yeah, I like shrimp. So did you get any? I said no.
And they said, well.
Umm, did you have a net? I said that, actually I did. There's there's one in the place where you stay.
Well, why didn't you use it?
I don't know, I just didn't.
I'm wondering if there's someone here this afternoon.
And that's the only excuse you can give for not following the Lord, that you're just not doing it.
No, I love shrimp. Some of these people I'm sure would have spent days cleaning these shrimps. I could have had all kinds of shrimp, but I just didn't do it. I'm I'm just wondering, dear young person this afternoon.
If you're not following the Lord, it's well worth it to follow the Lord.
It is well worth it. I've never, never once talked to anyone who has followed the Lord. That said it wasn't worth it. As you sit there in your chair, perhaps not following the Lord Jesus, yes, you're saved.
What's the hindrance from following the Lord when there's so much benefit?
Let's turn back to Luke's gospel.
Luis Hospital.
Chapter 9.
Whose cost will Chapter 9 and verse 57?
I'd like to spend a little bit of time on verse 57.
Through verse 62.
Came to pass.
As they went in the way Luke 9 verse 57 As they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord.
I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
You know, there was a willingness there.
And there has to be a willingness to follow the Lord.
Are you willing this afternoon?
But it takes more than willingness. I will follow the rules to our goals. And And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have wolves, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay.
00:20:01
His head. It's not gonna be easy. No one ever said it was gonna be easy. I did something, umm, 2 days ago, I was sitting at my desk and I was reading and I pulled out a volume.
Umm.
It was actually the.
Table of contents for the Bible Treasury.
And on that table of content.
Discipled this piece of paper.
It's a birthday card.
That the young people in Montreal.
Gave to me.
When I turned 21.
So 42 years ago I had a staple there. It means something to me. There are.
52 signatures on here.
Interesting.
Michelle Pay Epson here and Francine Payette before they have any children.
Francois and Joanne are not on here as before they were saved.
Fake albrights on here.
Luis Taffe, Diana Ross Wendemore. There's a long list of people on here.
There's some people that have passed away. Eleanor Wills, Pierre Bierkoff, Charles Smith, Jacques Cheney, Fran Newton, so on.
And there's a large number of people who are following the Lord.
However.
There are some and I'm sure that those who are older here would like to see this afterwards and you're welcome to have a look at this this.
Birthday card There are a handful of people on here that sat in chairs just like this.
I thought they were following the Lord and there is no evidence whatsoever now that they belong to the Lord Jesus.
There are a handful of people.
That we're following the Lord very definitely.
And turned away.
They turned back.
Yeah, it's such a solemn thing to to reflect on a birthday card like this.
From years ago.
You know what? What if, what if I gathered a sheet of paper and wrote everybody's name down here? And if the Lord leaves us here?
15 years from now and we again looked at the list. Where would you be?
You earnestly have a desire this afternoon to really, truly follow after the Lord Jesus after all that He's done. Did you have that in your heart to follow the Lord Jesus?
Let's go on to the 59th verse.
And he said.
To another.
Follow me.
And he said.
Lord.
Suffer me first.
To go.
And bury my family.
One of the major obstacles in seeking to follow the Lord is 2 little words that we find in here, and that is me first.
Me first.
Said to another, follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer.
Me first.
To go.
And very my father.
Sometimes there's natural ties and they keep us from following the Lord. You know, I did something interesting this summer.
Umm.
I drove.
To Montreal here from Rita Ferry.
I called Francois and Joanna and wanted to have breakfast with him. Got to Montreal early.
And, umm.
I went to my old high school.
Early in the morning, nobody there.
Park haven't been there for 40 years.
Parked in the parking lot, John Rennie High School.
It's just South of.
Fairview Shopping Center on Saint Johns Rd. There I sat.
00:25:05
And I reflected.
As we often do, it's good to reflect sometimes on our on our lives at various different times. I sat there and I reflected on my life.
I looked across the street.
At the police station.
We have spent some time.
And the chief of police's office for a misdemeanor.
And there I sat in my car this summer, and I reflected on the many, many different directions my life could have gone.
I'm so thankful that the Lord Jesus put it in my heart to follow Him. I didn't have the strength of my own, but He put it in my heart. A young person, you don't have the strength of your own either, but if you ask the Lord, He will indeed put it in your heart to follow holy after Him.
And I'm so thankful that by the grace of God, that has happened.
Our stand before you as someone who has made every mistake possible in the book.
The Lord has restored my soul time and time and time again.
As I sat there, I just marveled at the grace of God.
I sat there in my car reflecting on the time young people when I was exactly your age, as you sit there in your chair with life before you. I don't look at it that way now. It's very different.
But where are you tonight, this afternoon, in your relationship with the Lord Jesus?
Are you willing to follow him?
Holy, that's what he desires for you.
He wants your affections.
He wants them all.
You know the 59th verse, he said, Lord suffer me first to go and bury my father. There's a half heartedness there.
The Lord doesn't want half our hearts. We turn to the proverbs. The Lord says, My son, give me half thine heart. No, he wants our whole heart. He wants it all.
Now it's interesting being at this fitness class and umm.
Umm.
That was Tuesday. This is Saturday. I'm still sore.
But the instructor, he, he was good. He was good, he was kind, but he was good. And when he saw half heartedness, he just screamed at us.
If he saw pumping away there at 75%, he wanted 100%. And you know when we put it up to that 100%, he wanted 110% and he just screamed at us. He didn't want half heartedness. What about us and our Christian pathway? Is it half hearted? Is it half hearted? You know, we had a scripture that was read to us and referred to a number number of times this day and it was in connection with Ephesus.
And it's, it was quoted this way, and it's often quoted this way above the Ephesians Saints and how they lost their first love. You know, it doesn't say that.
And since they left it.
They didn't lose it, they left it.
What a solemn, solemn thing.
They left their first love. They did it with purpose.
Where are you and I?
And our souls experience.
Afternoon. Let's go to the next one.
Verse 61.
And another also said Lord.
I will follow thee. Here we have the same wording. But let me first go and bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.
Now this is an analogy to what we have in the first part of Second Kings. Or maybe it's perhaps the, uh, the, maybe it's the first part of second teams or the, the end of, uh, first teams. I'm not sure where we find Elijah and Elijah. This is discourse and, uh, Elijah is plowing, but turn with me to, uh, First Samuel chapter 15 for a moment.
For Samuel 15.
00:30:02
For Semio 15.
And verse 11.
1St 10 router.
First time you know. 15 and verse 10. Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he is turned back from following me. What a sad, sad commendation for someone who had so much benefit.
Someone who has granted so many things, someone who has so much opportunity and.
And the commendation here is he is turned back from following me, a young person. Maybe you're right in that that spot where we read about the disciples that says, you know, they came to a place where two ways met. And maybe you're right at that point of decision in your life, whether you're going to follow or maybe you've been following the Lord and you're thinking, you know, the cost is just too great.
It's just too discouraging. I'm just going to throw the towel in and I'm going to turn back like Saul did. What a sad, sad conversation. Turn with me to Psalm 78.
Psalm 78.
We have a a a similar scenario.
Psalm 78.
And verse 9.
The children of Ephriam Eprim being armed.
Carrying.
Turned back.
In a day of battle.
Well, I find that so sad.
So sad and yet as I've gone through this birthday card.
I recognize that there's so many names that are written there.
That have done that exactly the same thing, those young people who at that time when I was young.
Were a tremendous encouragement to my soul. And then they threw the towel in and turned back. What a sad, sad commendation.
Turn with me now to Mark's gospel.
Mark's crossfall.
Marsh Gospel, chapter 14.
This takes place after the garden scene with the Lord Jesus and his disciples.
And there comes Judith, and now they take the Lord Jesus. He says in the 49th verse, I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and he took me off. But the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him and fled. Now we have here another man following.
And there followed him.
A certain young man.
Having a linen clothes cloth cast about his naked body and the young man laid hold on him and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
You know this speaks to my heart.
About reality.
And I would just challenge you young people.
This afternoon.
Just challenge your own heart while you sit there in your chair.
Are you real?
Are you real?
You know David speaks in the 51St song of having truth in the inward parts.
This man perhaps looked like a priest. He had a linen garment. The priests were supposed to have linen breeches on underneath. If they had to take this this garment away, and he had his linen britches on underneath, he wouldn't have been. He wouldn't have had the flea naked. Where are you at in your reality, you know?
This year, since I was here last year, something is taking place in my own family life that umm, uh, has been exercising and that is, uh, the Lord has taken home one of my siblings. There's been five of us now they're four.
My brother Peter.
The Lord took home to be with the Lord.
At his funeral, I told a little story about him.
I've told it to my local UMM brethren as well.
It's a story when my.
My P and my brother Peter was four. OK, so being eight years older than me, I don't remember anything about it. Just my mother told me this story and she said that she was dressing my brother Peter up one day. He wanted to go and play in the snow and she dressed him up in his no suit. And just before she sent him out, she told him, she said, Peter, I there's one thing I don't want you to do when you're outside there. And I don't even know what it was. But she told him he wasn't to do this one thing.
00:35:27
So he goes outside and she's.
At the sink, the kitchen window, she can see them out there. He goes and directly does the very thing that she told him not to do.
So he comes in and she challenges them.
She says umm get it such and such.
No, I didn't.
Well, she watched them do it. Umm yes she did. No I didn't. And then he said umm, how do you know?
And in my mother's very French way of trying to.
Explain to him that he had a guilty look on his face, she says. It's written all over your forehead.
Well, some days later he's in the basement playing and he comes upstairs and he's, umm.
He's again got a guilty look on his face, but this time, as he approaches my mother, he's pulling his hair down in front of his forehead.
You know young people.
At your age.
You're a bit more sophisticated than that.
But we can do exactly the same thing.
And the Lord desires that there would be reality in our souls. He wants us to be real. He wants us to be real. This young man, there wasn't reality there. Yeah, he followed. He followed afar off. He had a linen garment. But when that was taken away, there was nothing on underneath. And young people, when the tests come.
There's gonna be no passing the test, but there's no reality and the Lord desires that you would have reality in your soul as.
He says to you this afternoon, follow me, follow me. I'd like to look at one other portion.
Because.
1.
Perhaps the?
Chief sources of discouragement.
For us in following the Lord Jesus is failure in our Christian lives.
And subsequent to that.
A lack of restoration.
I want to speak for a few minutes.
About the restoration.
Of our souls. It's something I know about. I've been restored thousands and thousands and thousands of times. That's not a compliment. But the Lord in his matchless grace has restored my soul. I think of the little.
Prayer that Peter prayed, and I perhaps prayed that prayer more times in my life than ever before. And it's just three words. Lord, save me. You know, I prayed just before this meeting. I was over there in the in the corner and I was.
Feeling very desperate as to how to put these thoughts together and as to how to relay a message that will connect. Umm, you know, there's nothing worse than than standing here and and looking this, looking at this glazed looking in young people's eyes because there's no connection. And I was over there just beseeching the Lord that that he would just help me to be able to do that. And I just said, Lord save me. And a brother came over from my own assembly knowing I had.
The address and he just came over and he just started praying.
And I was so thankful.
For a dear brother to come over and to see me in my need, and to come and to commit this time to the Lord, not just me, but He was praying for you, dear young people, that there would be reality in your souls.
Is the reality in your soul?
Are you real?
You know, this young man, there wasn't reality there. Well, let's look at John's Gospel. And it's John's Gospel Chapter 20.
Stop.
00:40:03
I'm thankful for the scripture that we have.
Where David said in the 23rd Psalm, he restoreth my soul.
He restoreth my soul.
In John 20.
OK.
I'm sorry, it's John 21.
John 21 and verse 22.
1St 21 Rather Peter's seeing him. That's umm, John sayeth to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? And Jesus saith unto him, if I will, that he tarried till I come, What is that to thee? Follow thou me. Now the Lord had said this to Peter earlier. If we're to turn to Matthew's Gospel, Mark's Gospel, and Luke's Gospel, the Lord Jesus at the beginning of his ministry hits that he said to Peter, Follow me.
And now we're saying that again here in the 22nd verse, but we know something has happened in between.
And that is that Peter has denied the Lord.
Peter has denied the Lord and it's very interesting.
To notice in the 15th verse when the Lord deals with this scenario.
In Peter's life.
Because in order for there to be restoration in our own souls, the Lord's desire is that we, each one, would get to the point of departure.
It's permanent, the point of departure.
And so in verse 15 here it says one hand dying. Jesus said to Simon Peter, umm.
Why did you deny me? You don't say that.
Wasn't that the issue with with Peter that he denied the Lord? Yeah, but that was not the point of departure. And the Lord gets right back to the point of the departure when he says Simon.
Son of Jonas.
Levisol me more than these.
You know, before Peter had denied the Lord, Peter had boasted about his affection for the Lord and that was the point of departure. And I would just suggest young people in our lives experience.
The point of departure in our lives is a very, very fine line.
It's a very fine line.
It's not a process. Sin is not a process.
The.
The nature that we're born with is one thing.
The nature of sin, but the committing of sin.
Is an act.
Every time I can remember.
Albert Hall, standing in Montreal, his Bible in his hand, his head lifted to the ceiling. Even the older ones can picture this. His eyes slam shut.
We're not sinners because we sin, we sin because we're sinners. And he took us through the book of Romans.
So true. We're sinners a long time before we sin, because we're born in sin. We're shaping inequity. We're born sinners.
But if we turn now to the book of James for a moment.
We have a process here that James brings before us in connection with our getting away from the Lord.
And James says in chapter one, verse 13, let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust half conceived, there's the line, there's a line that's crossed.
It bringeth forth Fin and Finn when it is finished, bringeth forth death. And in our souls experience, we need to find that line of conception and if we can find that.
That's the start of restoration for our souls and if we can't find it, sometimes there's just no way we can ask the Lord for help that way. I believe that is so often why we don't experience restoration in our souls because we can't establish where that point of, of departure is. We we find that so many times in the return over to the book of the Acts for a minute.
00:45:10
Acts Chapter.
Acts Chapter 5.
This is an action with Ananias and Sapphira.
And since a certain man named Ananias Sapphire and his wife sold a possession and kept back part of the price, his wife also being Privy to it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the Apostle's feet.
Peter said analyze, why have Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and keep back part of the price of the land also remained. Was it not thine own after it was sold? Was it not thine own power? Why hast thou? And notice the wording here same as in James, Why hast thou conceived There's a line of departure? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
How it's not lied unto men, but unto God.
And young people.
Sometimes we're vague.
In coming to the Lord when we've got away, away from Him.
And it's good for us to be very specific.
You know, it's interesting if we look at David's life. Let's look at that portion and David's life with Naman and Nathan comes to him. To me, that's very instructive. As well as in, umm, Second Samuel chapter 12.
Nathan goes through this discourse with David after David has committed the sin of adultery, after he's killed Uriah Hittites, and he challenges them and he says, thou art a man. After he goes through this little umm, this little parable, But what he does is he brings before David the point of departure. Notice verse 9.
Wherefore hath thou committed adultery? No.
Killed Uriah.
No.
Wherefore half style despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight. That's the point of departure and young people, I would just stress that with you in your desire to follow the Lord. Sometimes we think you know how come I've just been enjoying the Lord so much and it's gone now and I just I just I just love to have it back and the Lord's desire is true repentance. We would get back to that point of departure.
It might not be difficult. We look at this and we think, Oh well, the depart, the point of departure was, was David when he committed adultery with, with, with Bathsheba. But that's not it at all, the point of departure.
Was despising the commandment of the Lord, and it's the same in our own lives every time.
In person, we're about to sing a hymn.
You know, we sang it already. Actually, let's turn to it.
First, uh, Robert gave it out earlier in the in the date, umm 46 in the in the back of the book.
It's so easy for us.
To get distracted from following the Lord and we have these last two words, last two lines of this beautiful hymn 46 in the back that I may undistracted be to follow, serve and wait for the could somebody please start #46 for us.
Oh, teach me quickly to return.
Perhaps there's someone here this afternoon and there's been coldness in your heart and you're just as tired as to once again follow the Lord Jesus.
Just turn to him, his desires that you would fall.
The desire that each one of us.
As we await that moment, we will hear that shout the following hard after the Lord Jesus. Let's just pray.
Come
Gospel—Wally Dear
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good evening, one and all. We're here tonight to preach the glad tidings, the good news of the grace of God to mankind. It's a message that's been proclaimed for many, many centuries.
But we trust that tonight it will be as fresh as it ever was, because the gospel of the grace of God is as potent, as powerful to save as ever. We'd like to begin tonight by singing by Him on our hymn sheet.
Number.
15.
#15 O blessed Gospel sound, yet there is room.
Oh.
My God.
I believe God's mirror.
Wait, wait, wait, come on, it's £1,000,000 for many years.
Yes, yes.
Uh.
-Huh.
Oh great, the boy will pray.
For him.
Let's look to the Lord in prayer.
We'd also like to see the next Team 16. Whosoever heareth, shout, shout to sound. Remain seated.
Whosoever.
Denied any thoughts of the world around.
The border and wasn't dangerous.
Umm, we were still high at the world. We had six comma.
And we go back to go back to the world.
That means I'm like, can I can I know how to do it right over the lounge. I can get a little bit depends on the Volume and follow up so long.
00:05:05
As we go.
As you settle down, I think I'm not good or anything. I have a little bit of, don't worry.
And then there's a new thing. It's kind of like a service, but it's like a different thing about it actually. So I have to put a little problem in other words. So I'm asking for it.
Umm.
There was tonight.
An invitation is going out.
And this invitation comes from the heart of God Himself. God extends to you and to me an invitation to come to Him. He wants you to enjoy a relationship with Him. He wants to make you happy.
And he alone.
Can do it.
COME com you know I think it's one of the most beautiful words in the human language. A little girl once was asked, what does this mean?
When Jesus says come unto me, and she said, that means he wants me.
And I think that's beautiful. You know, the Lord Jesus loves you and he wants you. And like the little chorus goes on, He died to redeem you only believe his word. And so tonight I thought perhaps we could just focus a little time on this word. Come, COME. You know, we've got an invitation here.
And this was distributed.
Here in Montreal, and it begins with that four letter word come, COME. It's been said C stands for children.
Then O stands for older people, M stands for middle-aged people.
And E stands for everyone. Come, come, you know, here tonight.
We extend to you.
An invitation to sit under the sound of the gospel.
And the gospel is based on this book. This is the word of God.
Some people question this book. They say, well, how do you know that God wrote this book, the Bible?
It could have been written by men. It could have been written by angels.
Let's stop and think about it. If it was written by.
Good men or good angels?
They would never want to deceive us by telling us that this book is given by inspiration of God, that God is the author, if they were to say that.
They could no longer be considered good men or good angels. Well, what about bad men or bad angels? Would they write a book like this? This book condemns the evil. This book is opposed to the bad. It wouldn't be bad men are bad angels.
That write a book like this. So who is left It's God himself. He is the author of the Bible and he tells.
Men What to write The Bible was written over a period of about 1600 years by 40 different men from all different walks of life.
And you know, as you read the Bible.
You find that there is no contradiction in the Bible. It all seems to fit together so beautifully.
00:10:08
And only God could produce a book like this. And people try to discredit it, but it's all been in vain.
We go into the.
Blacksmith Shop.
And there on the ground.
Are all of these worn out hammers?
Laying there on the ground.
In the blacksmith's shop.
We asked the blacksmith how many animals did it take.
To wear out all of these hammers.
And he responds, only one the hammers of unbelief have been worn out on the anvil of Holy Scripture. And so this book of eyes, this book is open here on earth. It's going to be open in heaven for eternity. It lives and it abides forever.
There's no book like the Bible.
What a wonderful book, and the more you read it, the more you want to read it. You develop an appetite for the Word of God. It's like it.
Digging into a gold mine.
Well, we wanna talk about this little word. COME, come. And I believe the first invitation that we have.
He found in Genesis Genesis Chapter 7.
And we're well acquainted with this account.
I'll let the wickedness in the earth as it tells us here.
What's great?
In the previous chapter, chapter 6 of Genesis, it says God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart.
Was only evil continually.
And so God.
Is going to judge this world now. I picked up a book the other day and it was a book entitled The History of the World.
And I thought I'd like to see just what does this book.
Have to say about the flood. I mean, don't you consider this to be a major event in the history of the world?
The whole planet inundated, immersed in water. Well, I looked into the book. I couldn't find any.
Worried about it, I looked into the index and there was not a word about what we're reading about here. And I thought to myself, this is serious. But then, you know, the Bible tells us how that men are willingly ignorant of that which has taken place.
When God judged this world with a flood willingly.
Ignorant. And so it wasn't recorded in this book on world history. But I wanna tell you something. This is the book you can trust. You go by this book, you'll never be disappointed. This book tells it the way it is because it is impossible for God to lie. It's impossible.
And this is the book that we want to go by so God will judge this world with a flood.
And God makes.
A way of salvation from that awful judgment. And we know it was to build an art. And so we understand that Noah, he built this art according to God's specifications.
For the saving of his soul, the saving of his household.
And it tells us here in Genesis chapter 6 and verse 22. Thus did Noah, according to all that God commanded him, so did he. And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou in all thy house, into the art, for thee have I seen righteous before me.
00:15:18
In this generation.
And then I'm going to read verse 7.
And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife and his sons wives with him into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
Now who is to come into the art?
God says to Noah, comes out, comes out.
In all thy house into the ark. So the door is open, and it tells us Noah went in.
And some perhaps exhibit opportunity to visit.
A model of the art down in Kentucky is very impressive.
And as we went through that model, there were gospel texts and it was very beautiful. How that?
God way of salvation in that day was plainly told.
Out in the placards on the walls and the text and there was one door, and next to the door was diverse. In John 10, Jesus says I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. And so here we have this art of safety. Noah is invited to come in, and it says Noah went in now.
Tonight God is offering an invitation to you to enter the arc of safety, and it is Christ. Christ is the art of safety.
The question is, have you come in? You know, others I think had opportunity to enter, but it was only Noah apparently that believed God.
And his household. And I think that that's why he was considered to be righteous, because he had faith in God like Abraham. It tells us that Abraham, he believed God and his faith was counted for righteousness. And I believe that God only blesses souls on the basis of faith.
Without faith, it's impossible to please God.
What is faith? Faith is taking God at His word. God said it and I believe it, and that settles it.
Or you could say it this way. God said it, and that settles it. I believe it. That's faith. That's what God appreciates. You know, when somebody.
Talks with you.
And.
If they get a sense that you question the truth of what they're saying to you.
It does not foster a happy.
Relationship.
If I always question what you have to say.
How long are we going to be friends?
People appreciate when you have trust in them, when you have confidence in them. Well, how much more the Lord you know, people can't disappoint us. And we live in a world where I must say.
Deceit is on the rampage.
And Satan is behind it. He's the master of deceit.
And we need to be careful.
That we don't.
To come to his lies.
And today, we hear so much about fake news and we sometimes wonder, what is it that we can truly believe? But.
I don't think we need to let that bother us, dear ones, because we do have the truth in this book, the Bible, and this is not fake news. And thank God for a book.
00:20:02
That is anything but fake news because God said it, He wrote it, and we can believe it. So the flood came and you know it tells us.
The Gospels, what Jesus said, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man, which I do believe is the present day. You know, it tells us that Noah, he went in, his family went in, the door was shut.
What happened? The flood came.
The other people, they were eating, drinking, marrying, giving in marriage, and they knew not until the flood took them all away. All of a sudden they're gone. Judgment fell, just as God had.
Say you know God always.
Fulfills his promises.
So Noah is safe and his family, you know, I can just imagine that when it started to rain the people in this world, and by the way, the flood was not restricted to anyone part of the planet Earth. It covered the whole Earth.
Why? Because the sin of man is not restricted.
To one country or to one continent?
But the Bible tells us that there is none that do us good. No, not one. The Lord looked down from heaven on the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and to and seek Him. And He had to say, they are all gone aside, they are all together, become filthy. There is none that doeth good, not even one.
Mr. Darby had said little word, even, not even one.
Terrible state of affairs in this world, but you know, I believe that once you started to rain and the floods came says that the windows of heaven were opened. Fountain of great deep broken up.
I'm sure there were people.
Talking Noah. Noah, let us in.
Open the door, it was too late. God had shut the door. You know this reminds me of an incident that took place back in 2015. I believe it was March 24th of 2015. There was a German Wings airliner took off.
From Barcelona, Spain, en route to Dusseldorf.
Germany took off at 9:00 in the morning. Everything seemed to be going fine. 9:30. Last contact with flight control 9:30.
And what took place in that airliner?
It makes me to shudder.
But I think of it in connection with what we're reading about here in Noah State. Apparently the pilot left the cockpit to use the restroom. He told the copilot to take over radio communications.
And he went out and all of this was heard on a flight recorder. The cockpit door opened and it could be heard to close.
Two or three minutes later.
A fuzzer sounded.
It was a buzzer to advise the copilot to open the door and allow the pilot to come back into the cockpit. The door did not open.
And it could be heard on this flight recorder that there were muffled sounds.
And there was knocking on the door.
And there were.
Words open, open up.
The door remained closed and then for about one minute there could be heard.
Five different times, a terrible battering of violent battering on that door, and that door remained closed through the pilot and everyone except the copilot inside that cockpit.
00:25:14
Once that door clicks shut.
He ejected the altimeter from 38,000 feet to 100 feet.
Accelerated the plane and that plane.
Made impact.
With a mountain not far away.
144 passengers were killed and six crew member.
Died in that terrible disaster.
This deranged copilot was on a suicide mission.
And nobody else knew it. And he took everybody down with him.
But I can just imagine.
Wanting to come into that cockpit, but it was too late. The door.
Had clicked shut.
Never to be opened.
Noah, Noah, open up.
We believe what you were saying about this flood. We want to come in. It's too late, too late now. This is so solemn because as I look out over this audience here tonight.
One of these things, the door of mercy is going to be shut.
And it will be too late for you if you never entered in, if you never responded to the invitation to come into the art.
And be saved. You're gonna be outside.
And there's no second chance.
Could it be possible that there's somebody in this hall tonight that would be in that situation or we shudder to think about it, but I wanna tell you, you have opportunity to come to Jesus tonight. He is the ark of safety. Now I'd like to turn to another comments over in Isaiah chapter one.
And just come, I believe emphasizes the importance of when to come, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month. What does it say? And these are the very words of the Lord Himself, Isaiah chapter one and verse 18.
Isaiah 118. Come now.
And let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be a scarlet, they shall be as white.
As snow, though they'd be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool. Now the Lord wants to sit down with you, wants to talk with you, and once the reason out with you, that even though you are in your sins.
And those sins are scarlet. You know, scarlet is a dye, yet I believe it's humanly impossible to remove. I've been told that when they recycle like red rags, which scarlet is a red color, red rags, they don't command the kind of money that the other kind of rags do because they can't get those red rags white.
It's a deep dye that cannot humanly be removed.
And it's a picture of sin.
And you know, there's only one remedy for sin, and it's the blood of Jesus that was shed there on the cross of Calvary, shed for rebels, shed for sinners, and shed for you and for me, because the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin.
How wonderful to know the blood of Christ cleanses and justifies us and makes us perfectly fit to be in God's holy presence.
And it's God's gift.
God gave his Son to be the Savior. The Lord could say it's the blood that makes atonement for the soul, and I have given it to you. I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement.
00:30:06
For your souls. So we have the remedy and it's not.
By human effort.
It is.
Divine grace and goodness, you know the Lord he says, though you wash yourself with neither. It's like nitric acid. They're very powerful cleaning agent. So you wash yourself with nighter and and take much soap. Yet sign iniquity is marked before me say it the Lord.
We need to look outside of ourselves, we need to look to Christ and to realize that on the cross.
He shed his blood, by which we can be washed as the inputs. What can wash away my sins? Nothing. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. It's God's remedy. Well, we have another.
Another come.
So we have who is to come? Come down, you come.
When come now?
Come where? Let's turn over to Matthew.
Chapter 11 and verse 28.
Matthew, 1128.
What a wonderful verse the Lord Jesus he says, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden in, I will give you rest. Back in the Psalms we read about David and he speaks about how his iniquities have just risen up over his head.
And the burden of his sin is just more than he can handle. He's overwhelmed by it, and you know.
Sin is an awful thing. We don't realize how awful sin is in the sight of God.
It's been said that one thing in the sight of God is worse than 10,000 sins put together would be in your sight or mine, and I believe it was J&D Mr. Darby, he said even if you took all the sins of the world and put them together, one sin in the sight of God would be.
Worse than all those sins of the whole world put together would be in your sight or mine.
I mean it boggles the mind, but what I'm trying to say is God is holy.
He is of two pure eyes, and to behold iniquity he cannot look upon evil.
But you know, it tells us previously here in verse 27 that the sun reveals the Father.
It says here neither knoweth any man the Father, verse 27 save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. And that's why the Lord Jesus was here in this world to reveal to you and to me what was in His Father's heart.
And if we don't know and appreciate what's in the heart of the Father, God the Father, I don't think we're going to have rest. We're not going to have peace. But you know, the Lord Jesus reveals to us the Father's love and to him, right? He put it something like this, the Father's love, the source of all, and it's greater than all it gives.
It rests upon us with without alloy.
And last, while Jesus lives, the Father sent the son-in-law, and this was manifested the love of God the Father, because he sent his only begotten Son into this world, that we might live through Him, OK here in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The father is the source, the originator.
Jesus, God the Son, carries out this wonderful plan of salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit like we sometimes sing. Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan. Oh the grace that brought it down to man, or the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. The heart of God is pulled out in the giving of His Son.
00:35:05
And when we come to the Lord Jesus, we come to know the Father, and we come to know this love.
And it thrills our souls, and it delivers us from fear.
And we rejoice because we know perfect love casts out fear. We found out that God is for us. And if God be for us, who can be against us? The love of God, we can only begin to talk about it and to tell about it and to describe it. It's so wonderful. Mansion. He was an explorer to the artist.
And he was in the Arctic Ocean. He wanted to find out the death.
3 measuring lines. So we took the first line and sought to reach the bottom and he wrote in his log book deeper still, he takes the next line. It was a longer line, he puts it down. He writes in the log book deeper still, then he takes the longest line that they had on the ship measuring line.
Drops it into the ocean.
And he writes in his logbook deeper still.
Then he takes the three lines and attaches them end for end and drops it into the ocean and writes in his logbook deeper still.
Couldn't farm the depth of the ocean with the measuring line.
And I wanna tell you, you cannot Plumb the depth of the ocean of God's love. It's so deep. It's so wide, like you're singing to him, right? Why? Why does the ocean high? Is the heavens above He deep? Is the deepest sea? Is my Savior's love Here tonight, dear ones, I want to tell you, come, you come.
And come now, and come to Jesus.
And find rest for your souls.
No, it goes on here. Take my yolk and learn of me.
For I am meek and lowly in heart. Now to have a yoke means to be associated.
With another person and you know to be in yoke with the Lord Jesus.
It's so wonderful.
He says my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And yo, the Lord Jesus says learn from me in verse 29. I believe it should be learned from me, and you shall find rest unto your souls. You know sometimes after we get saved, the burden of sin is failing. It's gone, but we start getting unnerved about the circumstances of life.
The cares of this life, What's the problem here? Are we not still in yoke with the Lord Jesus?
Can you not help us through the situation? Of course he can. But if we're not learning from him, we're thinking our own thoughts, going our own way, leaving aside the word of God, can we start to get all kind of anxious and unnerved and worried? And where did that rest go? It's gone, you know, there once tonight when we get safe.
The burden of sin is removed for time and eternity because the Lord Jesus took the punishment.
On the cross of Calvary for those sins during those dark hours.
And he shed his blood to wash them all away. And he was buried. Rose again the third day. But the Lord wants us to enjoy peace of heart with respect to our circumstances. We need to continue to learn from Him. You know, somebody said it's the death of Christ that puts me away. So I will say this.
That Christ not only died for our sins, but Christ died for our sins, for our sinful nation. Pasiful said, I am crucified with Christ, referring to that old sinful nature based on the work of Christ.
Spent dealt with the plot of crisis. What puts my sins away?
And the cross of Christ is what sets the world aside. Well, tonight, the message of redeeming love.
And the wonderful invitation to COME com.
00:40:03
I see a time is is gone. I wonder if we could maybe just sing 1St and the last first number 12.
Just as.
Well.
How to change it?
I'll come back, I'll go on together and I'll come together and we'll see if it's a little bit more configured to see anything. Oh, it's, it's a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit. It's a little bit of a long time. So that's why I'm going to have to do it. Uh-huh.
Thanks.
Gone, Father, we thank you tonight.
That I.
Yearns over this world.
Faith and the Blood
Children—Alex Nash
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good morning, boys and girls. Uh, we're gonna just start off with singing some of these hymns. Does anyone have a hymn to start us off with? Go ahead.
#8 I may need help starting some of these. Let's see. Yeah with some of the start #8 please.
OK, yeah, my my birthday. No.
Now we can see the boy and the patriots come on and then.
It's a fire increase in the world.
States of terror that's all my life is amazing why right now I have no.
Another one.
44.
Into a tent where a gypsy boy.
Will be back in the afternoon. The population validation of the other industry Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh, oh oh 10-4.
Allegations.
Nobody had their high school before.
And the things we thought of my flesh of his prayer just Galaxy and there is no godly not bad. One thing to get some of his soul backwards and being. And I am sure that I can thank him for that. Thank you for being in coordinating.
00:05:21
All right, another one.
#5.
All right #5 raise your hand next time.
Oh, happy day.
I am my daughter and he is my.
My father's time, right here from God.
From one thing on my name and he said that everything ha ha ha ha ha. He said, oh I can give you a blah blah blah. My finger away.
Best by.
And every soul. And you can't breathe in.
And see anything and be there anything when you're blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. My friend fell away.
All right, we'll sing one more.
#39.
What a friendly.
Thank you.
We really thank you God and pray.
I I I don't know the second thing.
But I turn off the light at least.
It's like. That's why we need to get.
Alright, I understand the verse for today is in Psalm 50 and verse 15. It says and call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Is there any of you who would like to say the verse? Raise your hand if you want to say the verse.
Nobody let me start picking people.
Raise your hand if you want to say the verse. Do you know it? Does anyone learn it? I won't make you say if you didn't learn it. Or is there a different verse that you guys learned?
No.
No, nobody with a verse. Oh, sad day.
Oh, all right, Isaac.
Kind of a different fridge. That's fine. Umm.
Hebrews 112.
God, whom in thundery times and diverse manners spake in time passed on to the fathers by the prophets.
Had in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.
Whom he has appointed? Arab all things.
By whom also he made the world Hebrews one, one and two.
Alright, anybody else?
Now.
Romans 5-6 through eight. For when we were yet without strength. In due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a good man, for a righteous man, would one die. Yet for adventure, for a good, for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God commended his love toward us, and that while we're yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Honor the Lord with all thy substance, and with the first rhetorical of that.
Of diet increase.
Well.
Hebrews. One, one and two, God, who it's country times, and in diverse manners, speak in time past unto the prophets. But thou fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has today of all things, by whom also He made the world. Hebrews.
OK, what's that?
Rare opportunity. Montreal Conference.
All right, well, why don't we look to the Lord in prayer, and then we'll start.
The message? OK, Bow our heads and close our eyes. Try to pay attention to what we're praying, OK?
OK. I want to talk to you today about is kind of two cornerstones of the Gospel and they are blood and faith.
So I think you probably all know what blood is. You prick your finger, you get cut.
Blood comes out and, uh, probably all know what faith is too, but we're going to go through those things and why they are essential for the gospel. OK, in a manner hopefully that all of you guys can understand. So we're going to start with a verse in first John. And if you guys can follow along, I may have you try to help me read some of these verses.
00:15:02
So I don't do all the talking.
First John, chapter one.
Let's see first John chapter one and verse.
Uh.
7.
So we'll be willing to read first. Channel 1/7.
Very strong. Anybody else?
Can you do that for us please? But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another in the blood of Jesus crisis and cleanses us from all sin.
Very good, I was gonna read another verse in Revelation chapter one.
And justice, the end of verse 5.
Collation One and verse 5.
They won't wanna read that.
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness in the.
And the the first begotten of the dead and the Prince of the kings of of the earth. And to him that loved us and washed us from our our sins in his own blood, thank you very much.
OK, so these two verses, we have the same concept presented in two different ways. The concept is that the blood of Jesus Christ will wash us or will cleanse us from our sins. Cleansing just means to make clean, right? So if you get in a shower or a bath and you rub yourself all over and all the dirt, whatever else goes away in the water, you're cleansed, you're clean, you're made clean, right? That's cleansed. It's also washing. Washing is a process by which that happens.
So the blood of Jesus.
Is able to cleanse us from our sins and to wash us, wash away our sins. OK. And it has done that for many of the people here. And why is it really important for that to happen? I mean, what's the big deal if I have a few things on my account, you know, that I've done in the past? Why is that important? Can anyone give me an answer?
I'll give an answer to you about why is that important.
That's very that's exactly right. God cannot have sinned in heaven. So if you want to go to heaven.
You might wanna get those things out with, right? You might wanna get them washed away before you meet God. So we're gonna go to Revelation chapter 20.
To see what happens if you, uh, if you don't get that taken care of, if you don't get your sins washed away. You see how important this is? OK, we'll read. I think I'll read it, but we'll read from verse 11. Alright, we'll try to walk through this a little bit. I need one volunteer, Someone volunteer for me who doesn't mind. You don't mind. OK, stand up here.
We're gonna be by volunteer. We're gonna go before the throne. OK, so verse 11, I saw a great white throne. OK, this is a big throne. A throne speaks of power and authority. The one who sits on this throne has all the authority and power because he is God. He made everything. OK, so it's a great white throne. We're gonna pretend that that's a great white throne for now. OK? Oh, hold on.
You're eager to go. All right, So a great white throne.
And him that's out on it. From who? Uh, let's see from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. There was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. All right, let's come over here.
Alright, so you're gonna come over here, you know, face the throne and it says another place every knee shall bow. So go ahead and bow your knee if you would just get on your knees. All right. There you go. You're in the right position. Thank you. Stay there for a minute and all right.
Someone up here, God, and he's gonna look down at you. He's gonna open the books. All right, three, what happens? The books were open and another book was open, which is the Book of life.
And the dead.
Were judged out of those things. Let's see the judge of those things which were written in the books according to their works.
Alright, what's your name?
What's that? Sure. All right, So you can open the book trip.
Good, good, good, Yeah.
Sure. Alright, let's review your works. April 13th, 2018 stuck his tongue out.
00:20:00
MMM.
That was at 1:00.
105.
Lied about sticking his tongue out.
It goes on like that, and the story reads on. Each day builds into another day, builds into weeks, months, years. And what's the result after all those things are tallied up?
First, I will just skip ahead verse UH-14 death and hell were cast in the lake of fire. This is the second death newspaper was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So if you will that's going to close another book comes out, a book of life. He's going to look for your name in that book. Look, trick, trick, trick, trick.
Come up to where it should be.
Not there but OK taking the lake of fire.
That's the way it's going to be. That's the real scene. It's really going to happen. That's kind of, I know it's kind of funny, but thank you very much.
But it's actually not really that funny because that's actually really going to happen. And there are really probably going to be people here. I'm rather sure they're going to be people that are sitting in this room right now. We're going to comment and we're going to have that happen to them. And they're going to be sitting there and they're going to be trembling and terrified and not able to get away and not able to do anything about it except sit there and read and hear their judgment pronounced against them. They won't be able to stand up and say, oh, but wait a minute. I did lots of good stuff too.
Or anything like that.
That's gonna be what's gonna happen. That's what God said is going to happen and.
Alright, so is it pretty important to have the blood of Jesus wash your sins away to be written in that book of life? Is that a pretty important thing you think?
OK.
So then if I was in your shoes.
I would think that there would be two questions in my mind.
First question, why is the blood of Jesus so important? And why is the blood of Jesus able to wash my sins away? What's so special about this blood, right? Every question #1 honest question, question #2 how do I get that blood to wash my sins away? Both good questions, and we're going to try to answer them in turn, OK?
So if you could, you can find it. Turn back to Leviticus for the first question.
Leviticus chapter 17 in like verse five books.
Perfect.
All right, Leviticus chapter 17. And if you guys can find it, who can read verse 11 for me?
Three verse 11.
1711, right?
Umm, For the life of the flesh is among the, uh, is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your soul. For it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul very good.
Those first tells us two things. First of all, it tells us that the life of the flesh is in the blood. Second thing it tells us is that it's the blood that make us an atonement for the soul, and atonement is the old way of dealing with sins.
They were not forgiven in the Old Testament. They were atoned. A tone just means covered. So in the New Testament we have a verse in Hebrews, I think 9 that says without the shedding of blood there is no remission. Remission is what happens in the New Testament. It just means forgiveness. So the New Testament sins are forgiven and the Old Testament sins are atoned. So what this tells us is that it is required that blood is.
Filled to make an atonement for the soul. And in the New Testament you read that you have to have blood.
To be forgiven for your sins. OK, Does that make sense, everybody? So blood is required. God has ordained that blood is required. And it says that the life of the flesh is in the blood. So someone's life is somewhat contained in their blood. I was talking to a nurse a while ago. She worked in a place, it's kind of like it was called palliative care for people who were, you know, going to there had terminal illnesses. So they were going to die.
And she told us story of how there was this guy or I think it was a guy and.
She said somehow he got he started to bleed and there was a whole bunch of doctors and nurses around and they were all trying to stop this bleeding, but they couldn't seem to stop it. And he just kept bleeding. And this nurse is a friend of ours. She said she was looking into the person's eyes and she just saw the light dim and go out. And she made the comment at that time. She said it is true the life of the flesh is in the blood. Practically it is true.
00:25:02
But what this verse is telling us is that also in a sense.
A person's life is encapsulated in their blood. And so when someone gives their blood, it is like giving their life. Well, it is giving their life, but it is their blood is a representation of their life. So why is it that I can die for your sins? That's my point I'm coming to why? Why is it that I can't die for your sins? Why is it that you can't die for your sins? Why is that? Because God has ordained.
That he needs a perfect sacrifice to pay.
For your sins is your life perfect? Then your blood? If it isn't, then your blood is not perfect either. You can't pay for your sin. If my life isn't perfect, I can't pay for your sins because my blood isn't perfect. The Lord needs a perfect sacrifice to pay for sins. OK, does that make sense?
Alright, I have a little a little figure here I'm gonna pull out.
Umm, let's see. Well, first of all, let's do that. Who can think of a sin that probably everyone in the room is done? Can you guys go ahead? Who here has lied? Let's see if he's right. Who is lied? Raise your hand if you have ever told a lie in your whole life. Oh dear.
It looks like probably everybody has any other ones. Go ahead.
You think of a sin that maybe everyone has done.
Hit someone? I don't know. Let's find out.
Oh.
Mr. Roche.
Yeah, looks like we've done that. You got one.
Yelling at your parents. Who has done that?
Have to admit it, OK?
Well, we could just read a verse that you guys probably all know and have learned. It's Romans 323.
Does all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Right. So if, if you even got the whole world in one room and you ask them, well, who here has sinned? The entire, everybody in the room, if they were honest, would have to raise their hand and say, yeah, I've, I've sinned. Maybe they haven't all sinned the same way, but everyone would have to say I have sinned. So everyone's life is tainted.
And no one can therefore give their life for you. So it's like this. All right, I have here. Hopefully it's dry by now.
I have a dog.
All right.
How does this dog look to you guys?
This is a representation of your life and I couldn't find something white. Walmart is poorly stocked but.
How do you guys think of this dog? OK, yeah, it was kind of dirty. It's kind of ugly, kind of gross. Now, if you have a sinful life, which we all just admitted that we do, and you came before God and you said, well, I know that blood is required to make an atonement or to have my sins forgiven. I'll offer my life.
Is God going to accept this?
This gross nasty thing, is he going to accept that in payment for your sin? What if I died for your sins and Ioffer this would be my life. What if Ioffer that? So here I pay for trips since.
Can my guilty sinful life pay for your guilty sinful life? No. I need to have my own sins taken care of. I can't pay for yours. Well, say you did that and you said OK.
We'll, we'll offer that up to God and a lot of people, that's their plan. They say, well, when I meet God, we're just going to kind of weigh the balances and see how it comes out. And I think you'll be OK in the end. I'm going to offer my own life to God. He'll surely accept me. Well, in the Old Testament, there's a, a sacrifice called a burnt offering.
And it was for God. And there was one thing that was supposed to be done to that offering. They were supposed to play it. You know what playing is? Who knows what playing is?
Go ahead.
You know what flying is? The fly FLAY. No, it's not Fill A.
Go ahead.
No. Good, good try. The flight is to take the skin off, just to open it up, take the skin off. OK, so we're going to take the skin off of this thing and say, OK, it doesn't look very good on the outside, Let's see what's on the inside.
All right.
Traumatic but.
Let's see what this life looks like on the inside.
Looks like maybe there's been some bad thoughts.
Been some bad stuff going on in there.
00:30:03
So even on the inside this doesn't look so good, does it?
Is this going to work?
Is this gonna work for paying for my sin? Can Ioffer this up to God and say here you go, here's my sacrifice, My life will be my sacrifice.
Is that gonna work? It's kind of gross, isn't it?
It's not gonna work, and it's not gonna work because God has decreed that there needs to be a perfect sacrifice. That's why your sacrifice and my sacrifice, none of our sacrifices will work. There's only one sacrifice. It's the man of whom the Scripture says you did no sin. You knew no sin, and there was no sin in him. I'm gonna figure him.
That's the Lord Jesus.
Now look at this thing. It's brand new.
There's no spot on him, right?
Is clean.
Is that nice?
So we're gonna let this be a figure of the Lord Jesus?
And you know, the Lord Jesus, when he hung on the cross and he offered himself up to God for he, he when he hung on, when he died, he offered himself up to God, right? But this sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice. And when that Roman sphere, when that Roman soldier took up a sphere and he just threw it into the side of the Lord, maybe to make sure he was dead.
That blood came out of his side. It was an offering, that perfect sacrifice, that perfect offering.
To God, that's why the blood like I can open him up too, but I don't think I really want to because.
Don't need to be more traumatic I guess.
We'll just let him. I didn't do anything to this one, so he's all clean on the inside and we'll just let that be a figure of the Lord. Hopefully that's a lesson to you all.
As to why you can't pay for your sins, no one else can pay for your sins except for the Lord Jesus. OK, it's because His blood, His life was perfect and ours is not. So does that make sense to you all?
That's why the blood of Jesus is the only thing that can take away sin, because his life was the only life that was perfect, OK?
And since he had a perfect life and he offered himself up to God, he is the only perfect sacrifice that ever existed or ever will exist in this world.
And so we must use that as our sacrifice. Alright, that's the answer to question number one question #2 how do I get that blood to wash my sins away? It's very important, right? That's the good news of the gospel. So turn to Romans 5.
And we'll try to answer that question.
Alright, we'll read Romans 5 and verse 9.
So am I. Oh, don't mind reading that.
You wanna read that? OK.
Much more than being how justified by His blood we shall be saved from.
Wrath through him, thank you very much.
OK, so this says that we're gonna be justified by his blood. We've already somewhat talked about that. But now I wanna back up and read verse one. I wanna read verse one for me, yeah.
Romans 5 and one. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
All right, so here we have it. We're justified by His blood. We're also justified by faith. Faith is the answer as to how.
Our sins are washed away by His blood. It's through faith. When we have faith, God sees that faith and He washes her. He washes our sins away in the blood. All right, I wanted to read those two verses and there's another one that makes it even more clear back in Romans 3. I'll just read this one for the sake of time. Romans 3 and verse 25.
Whom God has set forth as Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood of propitiation. There really should be mercy. See, it's a place where we can find mercy, forgiveness of sins, uh, through faith in his blood. All right, So we need to have faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to have faith in the Lord.
00:35:00
And we will be saved now.
Hopefully that makes sense to you all. You need to have faith. If you have faith, your sins will be washed away. If you don't, they won't. You'll end up as tricked in.
OK umm one more question then. What is faith? How do I get faith or how do I act on faith, receive faith from God?
But what is faith? I want to tell a quick little story.
Who Is Here has heard the story of William Tell.
Oh, not very many. If I make a mistake, you don't know. Umm, I don't remember the story all that well, but I know that what happened was there was a boy who the government, uh, there was a man named William Cowell who the government did not like. This was a long time ago.
In Switzerland, I believe, and the sky, William Tell was a famous Archer, meaning he could, you know, an Archer, you have a bow and an arrow and kind of the old, old fashioned gun. And uh, he had a son as well. And the government caught up with William Tell and this man decided to play kind of a mean trick on Mr. Tell. He took his son. Do you mind being his son?
All right. And he said, all right, stand over here.
You took an apple and you put it on his head.
I said, all right, Mr. Kell, go all the way over there and shoot the apple off his head. If you don't, I'll kill you both. If you do, you know you can live.
And Mr. Tell, I don't know exactly all the details of what happened, but I remember that he told his boy he said, all right, don't move a muscle.
They went down the other end. He took out his bow.
It was longer than this, I don't remember how long, but it was a long ways, way longer than the government thought William Tell could shoot it way down here.
He took out his bow, strung his arrow, knocked his arrow, pulled it back and fired.
You know, it's not like a bullet. An arrow you can see in the air. So an arrow, and it doesn't go exactly straight. It kind of goes like this, an arrow does. So that arrow has been flying along. The boy could see the arrow coming. It would have looked like it was going to hit him directly in the head.
It came right along. And of course, the legend is Pierce the apple and did not harm the boy. Sit down. Thank you.
The point I'm making, and we can make it in many different ways, but the point I'm making is that that boy may have believed.
He said, Oh yeah, my dad could shoot an apple off my head from 100 yards or whatever else. Maybe he believed that in his head. But when it came time for him to actually stand there and watch an arrow come directly at his head and not move a muscle, that required faith. A faith in his father wasn't faith that, you know, saves or anything, because it's not faith in the Lord Jesus.
But it still requires faith, and that is faith. Faith is just trusting and believing God, taking him at His Word, and just believing that what He said is true.
So for you all, as far as how do you get the blood of Jesus to wash your sins away, the requirement is, and we could, let's just read it so you don't have to take my word for it in Acts chapter 16.
Acts chapter 16 and verse, uh, verse 30, this is the jailer with Paul and uh, Silas. He brought them out and said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? In essence, he was asking the same question. He said, how do I, how do I get my sins washed away? He suddenly realized he was not standing in the presence of just two ordinary people who have been tossed in jail, but he was standing in the presence of people who had.
A relationship with God.
And he wanted to know, he said, how do I be saved? And Paul didn't stop and say, well, let's see, let me give you the five points of salvation. Or he didn't, you know, go through any sort of doctrinal thing. He just answered right away to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It's that simple. You just have to believe. But umm, let's turn to Romans 10 because I want to qualify that.
Because there's two different kinds of belief. So Romans 10.
And verse nine well known verse says if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe. Now here's the key verse you listening, everybody believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. See, a lot of people believe in their heads like that boy. He may have believed in his head and said, Oh yeah, I'm sure that that's I'm sure that that's true. And you may sit here and you may kind of think.
00:40:06
It sounds good, I mean I don't have any other options.
I'm sure Jesus blood is able to take my sins away and you can believe that in your head.
But what about in your heart? Do you believe that in your heart, not just a mental acknowledgement of sure, that sounds, that sounds good, but you stake your life on it as that boy did. Did he stake his he staked his life on the fact that his father could shoot the apple off his head. Are you going to stake your life, your eternity on the fact that Jesus blood can wash your sins away? That's the question. Are you willing to do that?
Are you willing to say no other options? I'm not gonna try works. I'm not gonna try anything else.
All I'm going to do is just take my eternity, my future, everything on the fact that Jesus blood can wash my sins away. That is faith. And when you do that, God sees that faith, that belief in him and he says, OK, wash his sins away and your sins are washed away forever and they never come back. You can't get anymore. They're just gone. They're gone in the blood of Christ. It gives you a new life.
Does that make sense to everyone? Does anyone have any questions? It's very simple. So when you're up at night, as I was as a boy, and uh, you're sitting there and just sweating and just thinking the Lord comes tonight. I just don't know. I don't know if I'm going to go to heaven or not. I just don't know. And I remember being agonized by that lack of knowledge.
What was my problem? My problem was I didn't really just trust God. I was looking to myself to find some sort of depth of belief or some sort of something.
Instead of just relaxing and saying God has said it, God has said whosoever cometh to me, I shall in no wise cast out. God has said it, I believe it.
That's all there is to it.
Does that make sense, everyone?
I hope it does because that is the message of the gospel. The message of the gospel is believe in Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. It's very simple.
Alright, that's basically what I had on my heart. I hope it all makes sense to you all. If you have any questions, please ask your parents or somebody afterwards and.
OK, looks like we're out of time.
So, uh, let's see, do we have him on here about the blood of Christ?
I should have looked before, but I didn't.
Yeah, thank you very much. We'll sing #32 and pray and we'll be done #32 what?
'S the problem.
Against being right now I have to go through all the time from the house.
And I thought sometimes they got the blind eye.
Things that I have done, nothing but the blood going on.
Oh God bless.
Me. Why am I not wrong? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. It's not something you know, That's the last one. That's the last one that you have to go to Flowery.
It is, uh, nine and 1210 days. I think that's the blah blah blah and all my right chestnuts. Nothing but the blonde cheese.
00:45:09
Is not love. God makes me I have no no.
No, stop coming out of my mouth.
All right, let's just pray.
Contentment
Address—Tim 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.
Good afternoon.
Could we start our meeting this afternoon by seeing #252?
Maybe someone could start that please #252.
All.
3000.
Four creative action flowing from thine.
Everything 305.
100 plus.
Everything all starts out of murders in the whole world.
I want to speak today about contentment as we go through this hymn.
Are we content to muse to think about the cross?
Are we content to rest with all our guilt on Jesus lead? Are we content to gaze upon the Lamb? Are we content in verse 4 to leave all?
And follow him. Are we content to go to the Lamb for wisdom?
Let's pray.
Let's turn to Psalm chapter 38 for a verse.
Psalm 38 and verse 8.
Says I am feeble.
And sore broken I have roared by the reason of this quietness of my heart, this quietness of my heart, that would be the discontent from the things that happened in my life, the circumstances not to be content.
I think that means that we should be happy with what one has or what we are.
And it also means that we should not be desiring something more or different than what we have.
Contentment is also being satisfied.
And also it's not complaining in the situations that we are in.
And so when I'm consent.
I have accepted God's plan for me.
And I will trust God completely in every situation of my life.
And when I'm content that gives God the glory.
You know, I believe contentment is one of the keys to help you to walk.
A happy and a productive Christian life.
And I believe contentment is one way in our life that we can give glory to God practically. And and when we learn to be content, we show God that we really, truly believe that Jesus that he is the Lord of our life.
00:05:00
And we trust him completely.
I want to go over several different points of contentment in the scriptures, and the first point is that being content gives me the strength to do whatever God gives me to do. So let's go to Philippians chapter 4.
Contentment gives me the strength to do whatever God gives me to do in Philippians 4 starting at verse 11.
Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state. I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things. I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
It might be that the economy is bad and your business is suffering.
And you can't really do everything that you used to do, and you've got to cut back on your travel. You can't be buying nice things. You can't be eating out. And sometimes it's difficult to accept some of these circumstances and to accept this change in our life. But the question is, can you be content in such circumstances?
In these versions that we read.
Whatever circumstance that the Apostle Paul found himself in.
He was confident that he was in the will of God.
And I think that this means that whether Paul was sick or healthy, whether he was rich or poor, whether he was hungry or satisfied.
Paul accepted the circumstance from the hand of God.
I don't know that the Apostle Paul just automatically became content because he was a Christian.
Paul had to learn to be content.
I don't believe contentment comes easy.
We need to learn. It takes an effort to become content. And how do we, How can we learn to be content?
Well, contentment.
It comes by choice.
The Apostle Paul. He chose to be content.
And he was content with God's will whatever, whatever it was. We also know that whatever circumstance Paul was in, whether it was good or bad, he could all do all things through Christ, who gave him the strength to do that. And when Paul says, he says I can do all things through Christ.
Who gives him strength? Paul does not mean that he could do great in me and amazing things. He doesn't mean he could go out and play professional football or become some important doctor. I know this verse is used a lot to to claim that we can do great, wonderful physical things and impress other people, but it's not what this scripture means. Paul means that whatever work that God gives him to do, whatever work God gives you to do, that God will give us the grace.
And the strength to do the work that he's given us to do.
Also.
If we go through an unpleasant circumstance in our life.
The Lord will give us the grace to endure that difficulty.
And when when we I'm sure we each have our times when we go through unpleasant circumstances, we go through a disease.
For a chronic condition and we often pray.
We pray and we ask the Lord for mercy. Lord, have mercy on me. Heal me. Take this away from me and then I can give you glory.
But the Lord might not answer us.
With mercy.
He might answer with us with grace to endure that affliction that we have.
And so that we can learn to be content in this trial or in any trial, and we can learn to give glory to God in spite of our circumstance.
2nd Corinthians chapter 12.
2nd Corinthians chapter 12.
00:10:01
And this is when the Apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh and he asked the Lord for mercy.
And he says in verse eight, First Second Corinthians 12 and verse 8.
He says For this thing I besought the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
Lord, he said take it away. But the Lord said to the Apostle Paul, he says, no Paul, I will not give you mercy at this time. I will give you grace. You are not going to live out your days, I mean. I mean he says you are going to live out your days with this affliction, with this thorn in your flesh and in verse 9.
The Lord said unto Paul, says, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
When we ask the Lord for mercy.
The Lord often answers us with grace.
And he says my grace is sufficient for you. And the Lord Jesus says, I will go with you through this lifelong chronic condition that you have, but you must endure.
Until death does you part.
We go along with the grace of God in our troubles, in our afflictions and will and and and that like Paul, he was going to endure that thorn in his flesh until he died. For until the Lord comes. And we we may be called to do that same thing with whatever situation or circumstance you have find yourself in. You may suffer until the Lord comes, but he wants to bring you to the place where you can give glory to God, where you can be content in the condition into the circumstance that God has put you.
And.
The strength, the strength of the Lord is made perfect.
In our lives, when we go with the Lord through these trials and this weakness.
The Lord Jesus, He offers us His grace because we may need to endure a thorn in the flesh for a very long time, and we need grace. Continuing grace and the problems that we have might never be taken away here in this lifetime. And you might be injured, you might be disabled or poor, or you might have a disease or being constant pain, or maybe you are vulnerable in some other way.
But if God tells you to share the gospel.
If he tells you to serve the Saints.
If he tells you to visit the orphans and the widows in their affliction.
But yet you have your own afflictions.
Well, God will give you the grace. He'll give you the strength. He'll give you the courage. He'll give you whatever resources you need.
To do his will.
And in spite of the pain, in spite of the disability, in spite of the persecution.
We just need to begin the work in faith.
And even when the service that the Lord has called us to do, maybe it sounds physically impossible for us when the Spirit of God commands us to do something.
He gives us the grace, He gives us the ability. He gives us the strength to do what He asks us what he asked us to do.
Some people maybe think it's a a glorious thing to go gallivanting around the world and preaching the gospel and visiting the Saints of God.
It must be easy, we think, to be content in such situations.
And I say it is a glorious thing, but only if you are doing it in the will of God.
If you're doing it on your own strength, your own desires, your own will, it's not gonna work out real well.
But it does not matter what calling.
You have, there will be trials and there will be struggles, there will be disappointments, there will be frustrations that we're going to test us.
And these things can easily bring us into discontentment.
We have been tested on our contentment in the mission field when we lived in Africa. For many times we've had thefts and there were threats. There's bodily invasion of parasites, there's car breakdowns, there's food poisoning, there's men arising in the assemblies like wolves in sheep clothing, drawing men after themselves and and taking people away from the assembly.
00:15:22
And there are false accusations.
There are the incessant beggars, there's corrupt police and there's dishonest mechanics. We had a mechanic once.
And he started coming to our BI Weekly Bible studies.
And he told everyone how important it was to listen to what Mr. Roach was saying. And then then at one of the Bible studies, he asked a question. He said, what do these verses mean? And he said in Luke chapter 6, let's look at these.
Luke Chapter 6.
In verse 27 he says What do these verses mean?
But I say unto you, which here love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them which they curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Pray for them which despitefully use you verse 29 And unto him that smiteeth thee on the cheek, turn also off for the offer also the other cheek, and him that taketh away thy cloak Forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to him that asketh of thee, and of him that taketh away thy goods. Ask them not again. What does this mean? Him that takes away your goods? Don't ask for them back again.
What do these verses mean? And so I gave everybody at the Bible study. I gave them a wonderfully pious answer, as if I was so forgiving and kind and gracious and full of contentment.
And then we found out the reason why the truck kept breaking down.
Is that each time he worked on the truck he was taking good parts off and putting on some faulty parts and the truck would break down again. Eventually the truck it it resulted in a damaged engine and the truck was rendered useless and that trusted mechanic was not used again.
Then that mechanic, he gathered together a group of thugs from his village and he attacked the man who tipped us off and told us that he was cheating us and told us about his dishonesty. And as this man was going home, this group of thugs, they beat him. They beat the informer to a bloody pulp.
We sold that truck for nafu. Kwacha is the money they use in Malawi. We sold that truck for enough kwacha to buy another vehicle.
And then for several months I had to learn to be content riding that bicycle.
And it was blazing hot in that sun, driving 15 kilometers to this assembly, another one to that assembly.
And then I used to wonder why the Malawians, they walked their bicycles up the hills.
And so I was gonna show them how easy it was to pedal the bike up the hill.
Then on the first hill I went up these quality bicycles. They were so cheap the pedal broke off.
And so that's why they walked their bicycles up the hill.
You know, Satan is so busy trying to cultivate discontentment in our hearts that he attacks us with one thing after another after another. He doesn't want you to succeed in following the Lord, He wants to bring in discontentment in your life. Now I have mentioned some of the simple problems that we have encountered while we're in in Malawi. But even at that it is not always easy to be content, especially while.
During those difficult times.
We know that back in America we had a car that never broke down and that they had mashed potatoes and they had lemon meringue pies and Bible conferences.
And they have birthday celebrations, and there's family celebrations and there's Thanksgiving dinners. And it's so easy to become discontent. Let's go to Philippians Chapter 4.
Philippians chapter 4 and verse 11.
Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.
The Apostle Paul could say, even in spite of his trying circumstances and whatsoever state I am, I've learned to be content. You need to learn to be content. Contentment doesn't just come naturally, and it takes energy and determination, and it takes a choice to learn to be content.
00:20:15
We each have our own calling by God to do a ministry, to serve Him, to serve the Lord. And in this ministry that we each have been given. Yours may be different from mine, but in this but we each of us has been given a ministry, and in that ministry that we each have been given, we find that we each have our own set of circumstances that we need to deal with.
And I know that some of you.
Have some very difficult circumstances that you have to deal with.
I'm sure a lot more of you that I don't know have difficult circumstances to deal with in your health.
In your university schooling, in your jobs, and in your marriage relationships.
And in your finances and so many other problems that we can have, umm, difficulties.
Can we learn to be content in these trying circumstances?
You know, some of us aren't really as personable as others.
Or as exciting or as smart.
Maybe we're not as athletic as others.
And we might think that we're less of a person because of it.
And we become discontent.
And our soul begins to roar within us, like the verse we started with in Psalm 38, verse eight. I am feeble and I'm sore, broken, and I have roared by reason of the disquietness in my heart.
You may not be happy with your looks.
You might you your your time might be consumed by trying to improve your looks.
Or you might be jealous over how good someone else looks or how strong they are.
You might be concerned about someone's more has more talent than you.
But let me tell you.
The good looks.
Are only skin deep.
And if you have a contentious person, If there's a contentious, beautiful woman.
The beauty? It's kind of like hypocrisy.
It's a beauty in the soul.
That is important now. We need to learn to be content with such things as we have, without trying to get something more than what God has given to us. And we may roar again in the disquietness of our in the We may roar again in our disquietness, in our disquietude, and we might become discontent. And we might say, what does the apostle Paul know about my unique situation?
I have every right to be discontent.
And for example, you might say if Paul was in my assembly, he would understand and make an exception, an exemption for my case.
Because if you look at my assembly, there's no young people.
And there are some people there in that assembly that I cannot forgive.
And there's some people in that assembly I can't love.
I deserve something better.
And so I cannot be content there.
And with discontent like this, it's easy to leave the assembly and to go to some other congregation where they have perfect Christians and they're lovable people and they're forgivable people.
And there's so many Christians.
And there's so many congregations with some 21St century young people.
And they cater to the young people.
And they entertain us. But whatever you do, wherever you go, you cannot get rid of your bitterness until you learn to be content in whatever state you find yourself.
I think of Paul and Silas in one of their worst circumstances that we read about.
They had been arrested, for Christ sake.
And they were whipped until their backs were bleeding and they were raw. And then they were thrown into the deepest, darkest, dirtiest, dampest, stinkiest, slimiest cell in the prison, and their feet were put fast in the stalks, and they had the open wounds on their backs. And how could they lie down and rest?
00:25:03
And yet, out of this darkness, out of this dark cell, the Philippian jailer, he heard joy and contentment emanating out of the dungeon cell.
As Paul and Silas sang praises.
Unto God.
And so the first point that we have learned about is that being content is necessary for us to do the work of God.
And so let us be content to serve the Lord like it says in Psalm 100. Let us serve the Lord with gladness, and come before His presence with singing. The next point we want to look at is in First Timothy 6.
And this point is that contentment preserves us from temptation, sin, and sorrow.
Contentment preserves us from temptation, sin and sorrow. And let's read First Timothy chapter 6, verse 6 down to 10.
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out, and having food and raiment, let us there with be content. But those who desire to be rich fall in temptation into temptations and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which is sin, which while some coveted after.
They have heard from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Here we find that we should be content.
With whatever possessions that the Lord has given to us. And we should not desire to have more and more and more. But that is hard in this life, in this country that we live in. Because whether we're in North America or in Africa, whether we are rich or we are poor, we want more and we want the best and we want what others have. It looks so good to us and we strive to get those things and it is so easy, easy to be consumed.
With a desire for more and this can often just control our thoughts. In Matthew chapter Matthew, chapter 6.
Let's look at Matthew Chapter 6.
And verse 31.
Therefore take no thought saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, Or wherewithal shall we be clothed?
For after all these things do the Gentiles seek after, for your Heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.
Then Matthew points us back to contentment in verse 33.
And that and this has but see key first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, And all these things shall be added.
Unto you.
God has promised.
That He will give us the necessary things in life if we put Jesus as Lord first in our life.
We don't need to worry and strive for earthly riches if we have Jesus as our Lord and let us be content with food and shelter and clothing without having envy and lust and jealousy. We don't need to have a mortgage on the most elegant house.
We don't need.
To have the most luxurious car that we can get a loan for.
We don't need to have success above all our peers because the love of money, money is not wrong. We're told to use our money wisely, but the love of money to get those things can lead us into temptation and sin and sorrow, just like we already read in First Timothy Chapter 6.
When we achieve those things that we strive for.
We find it doesn't bring us happiness and because then we need some more to entertain us, we need more to satisfy us. And then there's no end in this world of music and money and and movies and there's no end to the drugs and the tattoos and the video games and the sports and entertainment.
00:30:11
That attracts our hearts and our minds.
We can try to be content.
Without godliness.
But there's no gain in that.
And we can be certain that all the money and the possessions and the entertainment that we strive for here on this earth, we can be sure that we can't take it with us.
Because we came into this world with nothing.
And we're gonna go, and we're gonna go out with nothing.
True godliness with contentment will store up for ourselves treasures in heaven.
From these verses we also learned that in order to be truly godly men and women.
We must also be truly contented men and women.
And it doesn't matter what our circumstances are.
I believe a Christian has no right to be discontent.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Let's go to Hebrews 13.
Our next point is that contentment gives us a sense of the Lord's presence with us and takes away fear and loneliness.
Contentment gives us a sense of the Lord's presence.
And his Lords of a sense of the Lord's presence with us, and it takes away fear and loneliness. Hebrews, chapter 13 and verse five and six.
Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as he have. For he saith, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may not so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Contentment will help us to overcome our fears, the verse says. Be content.
The Lord will never leave you, and he is your helper.
The Lord has made every provision for us to be able to overcome our fears and our loneliness.
Are there any lonely people here today?
When we are single.
We might think that if I could only just get married, I would no longer be lonely and then I would be content.
Can we be content being single?
After we're married.
Sometimes we tend to look to our husband for all the love and the support and the fulfillment that we need to function every day.
But we find that our husband doesn't measure up to what we expected him to be.
And then we're disappointed.
And then we feel lonely in our marriage.
Or as a husband, we look to our wife to satisfy our every need and when it doesn't happen, we might feel lost and empty and disappointed.
And we have fears in these relationships.
When we're not satisfied.
And sometimes these fears, they make us do things.
Or say things that might we might regret later on.
And we cannot live up.
To the fullness of Christ.
You know only Christ can fully satisfy. We can't fully satisfy one another in a marriage.
But only Christ can satisfy, and He will never disappoint us.
And so we must look to Christ for our fulfillment. In spite of our loneliness and our weakness and our fears, we can still triumph in Christ.
Go to 2nd Corinthians 2.
Verse 14.
2nd Corinthians 2 verse 14.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and make it manifest the Savior of His knowledge by us in every place.
00:35:08
Although we are not the fulfillment of our husband or wife, we can learn to be content in our marriage relationships with Christ by our side.
And if you expect your husband or your wife to completely fulfill your needs, you're not going to be content.
But when we look to Christ and we look to Him for our fulfillment, it's going to help us to function in our marriages.
And so through Christ, we can have a successful marriage, and we'll be able to, and Christ will help us to overcome our loneliness and our fears.
Now verse 15.
For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved, and in them that perish.
I just want to apply these verses in this way.
Are you a sweet saver to your wife?
Are you a sweet saver of Christ?
To your husband.
We should be.
In our own strength.
And earned strength were not sufficient for these things.
But in Christ.
He is the all sufficient one and we can learn to be content in all our relationships.
And our circumstances that that we find ourselves in and our verse, our verse says to be content with such things as we have.
I ask you.
Are you content?
With the weight that you have.
We're content with the husband that you have for your children. Are you content to be single?
Are you content with your job? Your wages?
The size of your assembly.
Your abilities.
Your looks.
Your personality, any one of these things can give us an inferiority complex.
And it might make us to be lonely.
We might even become depressed.
There's a lot of depression in this world, a lot of loneliness, a lot of fears. But when we have Christ, we have the greatest riches that a person could have. And in Christ, we have a perfect security, we have a perfect protection, and we have a perfect peace.
We need to take time every day to appreciate what the Lord Jesus.
What he has done for us and who he is.
And how he loves you, and how and we need to take time to commune.
With the Lord Jesus and to read the Bible and to pray and to meditate, and as we develop a relationship with the Lord Jesus, we can learn to be content in our situations in our daily life.
Let's go to 2nd Corinthians 12 for our next point.
And here we see that contentment and God's grace go hand in hand.
And in this verse the word sufficient it means to be content.
2nd Corinthians 12 verse 9 and 10. Read these verses again, he said unto me.
My grace is sufficient for thee. That's sufficient is contentment.
My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, and reproaches in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ sake, For when I am weak, then am I strong.
When we realize our own weakness, our own nothingness.
That is when we will depend more upon the power of God.
We'll find that His grace is sufficient for whatever we need. And His grace will. His grace will enable us to be content even in our infirmities and the reproaches and persecutions and the distress. Whatever distress or dis or that we have in all these things, we'll be able to be content when we look to Christ.
00:40:09
We sometimes have problems having grace with our brethren.
And that makes us discontent.
And then when we're discontent.
We start to criticize our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We criticize their dress.
And their friends and their hair.
And their service for the Lord.
And their motives and their beliefs.
And then we expect everyone to live up to our own standards.
And often.
There's no scripture to support our standards that we're trying to get people to live up to.
And I believe that if we were content with the with the sufficiency of Christ in our own lives, and we were content to allow the Spirit of God to work in our brethren at their own pace.
I think we would not criticize our brethren and we would not pass on discontentment to others.
Sometimes we have a a legal tendency.
To force our beliefs on others.
For example.
We may have a correct understanding of the truth of being gathered to the Lord's name. I know in the reading meeting we talk about truth, but truth isn't just one facet of the scriptures. Truth is all-encompassing.
But we may have a correct understanding of the truth of being gathered to the Lord's name.
And I can choose to teach this truth in a gracious manner, as the Word of God presents it.
But when I demand that other Christians understand it and believe it and practice it the way I do or the way I understand.
And I and I neglect the vital importance of teaching other truths.
And I put one truth above another truth.
And then I take anybody to task who does not see it as I do.
And then I might tend to ostracize you, because you don't.
Believe the way I do, and I might ostracize you until you conform to my demands. And when I do that, I'm in danger of becoming a heretic.
As we learned yesterday in the in the reading meetings.
As in all Christian truth, to practice truth in any capacity, it takes a step of faith.
And if I force you?
To accept and to practice according to my faith.
Then conformity. It will become legality.
And we know what it says in Galatians about legality. Let's look at that in Galatians chapter 5.
In verse nine. I know this is a young people's meeting, but.
I think.
All of us can be young at heart and we all need to learn some of these things and.
Galatians 5 verse nine. A little a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
The whole assembly can be contaminated by the heresy of one.
And I have seen it happen. This verse is a powerful testimony to the destructive character of legality.
For someone to demand legal standards, it can breed discontent and can breed leaven in the whole assembly.
You know, being gathered to the Lord's name.
Is the truth that I believe and I enjoy it, and I hold it vitally dear.
And I teach it very strongly.
But I had. I had to have had to learn to be content, to teach it with grace and to not demand conformity. And when we recognize God's grace to us and we see His grace working in our lives.
And then we extend that same grace to our fellow believers. That's going to help everyone to be more content.
00:45:02
We know that Paul often started his letters and sometimes he ended the letters to the various assemblies and the people he wrote to with a call for grace, grace and peace. Why did he call for grace? Because we need to have grace with one another. In First Corinthians chapter one, verse 3.
This is an example of the verses that Paul writes to just about every assembly.
First Corinthians one verse 3. Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
You might be content in one or two areas of your life.
But perhaps you might be deficient in another area of your life.
For the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient for us to help, to help us to be content in all circumstances.
Our next point, 2nd Corinthians 9.
2nd Corinthians 9 verse 6 to 8.
This brings us to our next point, that contentment is promised for a generous and a cheerful giver.
You know, it's we always want to get, we always want to get something for ourselves and to be blessed. But in reality, the blessing is not in getting for ourselves, but the blessing is in giving to others.
And in 2nd Corinthians 9 and verse 6 to 8 he would sow sparrowingly, shall reap also sparingly, and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bound to flee every man according as he purposeth in his heart. So let him give not grudgingly or of necessity. For God loveth the cheerful giver, and God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things.
May abound to every good work that you having always all sufficiency, that's contentment. Having all contentment in all things may abound to every good work.
Generosity is not.
Giving our extra cash.
Generosity might be a sacrifice.
And if a person is generous.
God will give you the opportunity to be generous, and God is able to supply us with resources.
So that we will not only have sufficiency or contentment for ourselves, but so that we'll be able to share with others those things that we have.
And generosity isn't always about money because it can be time spent with someone.
It can be a listening year, it can be a service done for someone.
And I think that we can conclude from these verses that when we have a generous, A generous attitude.
And that we're looking for ways to help others. That God promises that it will increase our own sufficiency. It will increase our own contentment.
I believe that contentment is one of the keys to help you walk a happy, productive Christian life.
Contentment is in our life is one way that we can give glory to God practically.
And so I just want to review the five or six points that we've had today about contentment.
The first one is being content gives me strength to do whatever job that the Lord gives me to do the second one.
Contentment preserves us from temptation, sin, and sorrow.
The third one contentment gives us the sense of the Lord's presence.
And takes away the fear and loneliness.
And the 4th one is contentment and God's grace go hand in hand.
And the last point is that contentment is promised for a generous and a cheerful giver, and so by learning to be content.
We show God that we truly believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life and that we trust him completely. Let's sing hymn #195.
00:50:01
Worthy of homage and of praise. Worthy by all to be adored, exhaustless theme of heavenly lays. Thou art worthy Jesus Lord as with a contented heart. Let's sing #195.
Worthy of all.
Day.
And God bless anything.
That I think it's a good thing.
Uh.
Yeah.
Let's pray.
3 John 9-14
Reading
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276.
Hey Sir, Umm.
Kind of wondering if we exhausted the third chapter third of Pistol of John or whether there is more to be developed from the latter part of the chapter. What you?
Rather than feel about that.
So often let me think it through.
To the young people who observe comes out as sound and brass tinkling symbols.
It'll be nice to finish to the Third Epistle of John, and from there go into First Corinthians 13, starting with verse four. Love and suffering long.
The same time, we may not have sufficiently covered the question that was asked in the previous meeting about First Timothy 315, the Church of the Living God, the Pilgrim ground of the truth.
Where would we read from 30 Pistol of John verse what?
Did we start at verse 9?
Shall we read first Printing 13 from verse four as well Sounds good.
3rd John.
Verse nine I wrote on to the Church. But the atrophies love it to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not. Wherefore if I come, I will remember his deeds, which he do it praying against us with malicious words, and not content therewith. Neither dusting himself received the brethren, and forbideth them that would and casteth them out of the Church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. Neither doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
00:05:02
Demetrius has good report of all men and of the truth itself. Today we also bear record that you know that our record is true. I had many things to write that I will not with ink and pen. Write on to thee. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to thee, our friend. Salute thee. Greet the friends by name.
1St Corinthians 13.
Starting from verse 4.
Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity bonneth not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth. But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Where we know in part, and we prophecy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we've seen through a glass darker. But then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abide the faith, hope, charity, history.
But the greatest of these is charity.
We have in verse 9.
That diatrophies love to have the preeminence amongst the president. There's a verse in 2nd Corinthians 11 That says.
Stop.
First Corinthians 11/20.
You suffer from man bringing into *******. If a man devour you, if a man takes of you, a man exult himself.
What a fuss, exalts himself above the others. We suffer. That's what biographies did. He exalted himself and the Assembly suffered. They're all they're all believers.
I compose everything.
But I think on you or the other way around, we all suffer when we speak of truth. Sometimes we speak of truth in an abstract way.
We have an efficient expression.
The truth was in Jesus.
We have in the Second Thessalonians chapter 2.
I guess that's millions of factors, two and the 10 first is an expression there.
Connection with the truth it says that with all the capabilities of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth what they might be saved. Some people understand that they didn't they didn't love the truth. I don't think the thought there is that they didn't love the truth because that was the truth presents is love. When you hear the gospel, you hear something that's true, absolutely true. God so loved the world. That's what the truth does. It presents God in his love.
To guilty sinners. And how can that be experienced outside of the person of the Lord Jesus?
And I believe myself that whether the author features problem or difficulties among us, I believe oftentimes we can relate that to the fact that we have separated what we call.
And the person who is truth and the love that comes with the truth is absent. And so we have doctrines and thoughts and understandings of this and that in the mind, but the heart is away from the Lord, and so we would press on things at the expense.
Of the unity and the spirit of going on together in love and glorifying the Lord Jesus. And so it's important for us, I believe when we speak of truth, he says whom I love and the truth we have to run the first verse that was love connected with truth and that's because it comes from the Lord Jesus.
Let's always remember that without a fellowship with the Lord, not enjoying His person, and not filled with the fruit of the Spirit that is the character of Jesus and His sentiment produced in our hearts.
We're gonna cause trouble, aren't we?
Yes, we have earlier in Ephesians force speaking the truth in love mentioned the the truth as it is in Jesus. Do we present it for in a way that the Lord Jesus himself would have presented it? Is there that love of our brethren that we would want to see their blessing in the presentation of the truth? It's not the truth that insults me because I know something that you don't.
00:10:23
Face the truth that desires to sing blessing for another, and to present Christ as I present the truth.
Diatrophy said loved but with a love for himself having second attendance Chapter 3 Baltimore Kennedy those in the last days of the lovers at the moment their own selves. They actually wanted to make a name for himself. They didn't want to give place to others that were in the Lords work that we've seen here and in contrast to guys guys had love for the Lord and he received those in and gave them fellowship and hospitality. You're in the Lord's work. It may seem like a small thing that he was doing, but it really demonstrated his love for Christ and I was I was encouraged by looking into take it back but in verse eight of our chapters.
The word fellow helpers.
It says here we can be a fellow helper by receiving those that are in the Lord's words, by giving them a place to lay their head in. A meal may seem like a simple thing and there may be many in this room that think, I know I'm not gifted as an evangelist, I'm not gifted as a teacher. What can I do for the Lord? Well, the word here that's translated as fellow helpers is found twelve times in the New Testament, once here by the apostle John has used 11 Times by the apostle Paul, and two of those 11 Times Paul's referring to a collection of folks as helpers that he was a part of.
But if you look at the 9 references reviews Speaking of those that have helped him and every once in one of those instances he names those that were his helpers.
We have. We're still in Aquila, Timothy Urbaneous. Aristarchus Markets. Justice Titus.
Apparatus by these American Loop, these people that didn't look for a big place for themselves. They simply were fellow helpers. And yet they were so important, the Lord's work that they've been named and written down in God's word. We may think of no great thing to do to the Lord but hold water, his name, hold off the water. A simple gesture yet further in the work of the Lord. We're fellow helpers in that. So this is an encouragement to others. It's a small thing that you can do, but if it's furthering the work of the Lord, it's a big thing in the eyes of the Lord.
SN.
I was noticing too What Peter?
Has to say concerning an elder in the Assembly, who, I take it, would be one who has a concern for the spiritual welfare of the Assembly.
Which certainly wasn't the case with diatrophies, but in first Peter chapter 5.
If it works here.
That I think.
Would be relevant to what we're thinking about here.
And since in first Peter chapter 5.
And 1St.
Two, feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof not by constraint, but willingly. Not for filthy lucre, But I've already mind. I was thinking of this neither as being.
Lords over God's heritage by being in samples. The flock in sample. I think it would be an example.
And so an elder ought to be an example of Christ. And of course, Lord Jesus, he said I am meek and holy in heart. And certainly that wasn't characteristic of diographies. And he goes on to stay here in first Peter 5 verse four. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fate is not awake. Likewise the younger submit yourselves unto the elders.
Gay for all of you. Now we're talking here simply about the younger ones, but all the believers. I believe this is the book. All of you. Be subject 1 to another and be clothed with humility. For God resisted the proud and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.
I believe the Lord can.
You know, lead one into position of perhaps oversight, but it's not something that we should seek to exalt ourselves over one another. That Lord is over God's heritage.
00:15:04
God, you know he appreciates humility.
2006 Nine to those that are of a humble spirit and contrite mind.
Sad to hear that in verse 9.
So on.
Doing exactly what Peter says not to do.
As a Lord over awarding it over the local assembly.
The Seminole local is separately in March, one person or even two or three times to dictate.
What to the assembly? What should be done or not that?
A local assembly is comprised of those who have been gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of God, and we are to At first they are to be subject to the leading of the Spirit of God and whenever decisions are made and if and as long as.
That so a lot of tractors for Peter Paul.
Or to be subject to each other.
So if there is.
Not one mind.
Between all the brothers and the local assembly.
Then there should be getting down on our knees.
To pray that we would have a word in mind in any matter.
It should not be.
One group of brothers.
Working over the rest of the assembly.
It should be a desire to.
Come to to rock together to one mind, and that can only be done by the Spirit of God going through each one of the same things.
You wouldn't receive what the Apostle John had written.
And so.
He set himself up above what we have in Scripture, because what the Apostle Johns are written would have been on the authority of the Lord, wouldn't it?
And as you were saying, Robert?
Sometimes we look at Scripture and we want some black and white answers. We do this, we do that.
But one thing is very important is things that we do for the Lord is the manner in which we do that and the character displayed of the actors in the action.
So I can preach the gospel, beating somebody over the head with a Bible. I mean, I'm preaching the gospel, but I'm not manifesting the character of Christ. And so it's the same in the assembly. We're all brothers and sisters in the Lord, and if we're subject to him, we're not going to want to take his place like that biography here. We're going to humble ourselves and listen to each other and look for that oneness of mind and spirit that the Lord produces to fellowship with him and one another. And so it'd be something of a natural mind to have scripture to support a position.
But when you say you see the spirit of how that position is held, you might have questions as to that really is the spirit of Christ. And I think we need to have the energy to to address that and grace to help each other out, to not let something like biography to spirit affect the sense. You know, when the Lord was with the disciples, they were arguing among themselves. It was going to be the greatest among them.
And if you remember what our brother James presented to us in the open meeting, in the first meeting, and he presented to us the character of the Lord in his forgiveness.
That would be in our hearts to be in a forgiving spirit. And if we realize as we had this morning, the glory of the Lord and when He had to pay to have you for His own as part of that assembly, that would produce in US a humble spirit, wouldn't it? And we wouldn't want to take His place. Wouldn't we ever ask, I believe, ready for a test that we can all use someone that's getting out of the ministry.
Uh, true ministry will always, uh.
Draw souls closer to Christ and glory, and we'll give glory to God through ministry. We'll always do that.
Paul's ministry will draw souls away from Christ and give glory to men. That's what Demetrius was doing here. So we have that simple test. Someone's drawing souls away from Christ for themselves. We know that's not true ministry, but when someone's speaking and they're seeking to draw souls to Christ and glory, that is good ministry.
00:20:21
So as a simple test, someone speaking.
In this case, the Apostle John appears to anticipate using his Apostolic authority to deal with the, uh, with the diaphragm. And just for reference, perhaps we should read refer to Matthew 16 where we get Apostolic authority, umm.
We've really the latter part of the adverse 19 and it was the Lord speaking to Peter.
Whatsoever they'll show blind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. And so the response the apostles were giving responsibility that the administration of the early church in binding and losing on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we notice the similarity between that wording and the Matthew 18, where that responsibility is given to the assembly, the church.
So we find that the apostles use that Apostolic authority. We find Peter uses it in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. Paul uses it in First Corinthians 5, and here John anticipates using it in the case of theatrical. But it does take the question, and I'll kind of raise the question, how do we deal with the diatrophies in these days in our weakness?
There seems to be no spiritual.
Spiritual energy to deal with this area. Can you speak up, John, please?
Deal with this character.
Was she disciplined by the assembly?
We had a similar case like this in Malawi when we first went there. There was a man who kind of set himself up as the Bishop over all the assemblies, and they were getting more and more assemblies and they were called themselves, gathered to the Lord's name and.
The man wanted to have control and power over all these assemblies. But when we came there and we lived there and we started teaching about the priesthood of the believer and how there's not a pastor in the church and there's not a Bishop over everybody and there's not one man who has all this power and control. Then he, this man, he stopped showing up when we're having a meeting. He was my translator and he stopped coming to the meeting. So I have no translator and it became a problem. But the Lord has sent over his own house and.
Things worked out and the Lords for the Lord's honor and glory. This man is no longer wasn't in power, if you might say for for very long before the assembly had to deal with him. But you as you say, brother John. Sometimes the assembly doesn't have the power to deal with that that situation, but the Lord his son over his own house and he has his own means and ways to work things out. If we're patient and waiting and we have in Matthew chapter 18.
Umm, the the authority given to the local assembly for administration. And let's read again verse 1819 and 20. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, that shall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven. And then in verse 20 it says, for where two or three are gathered together.
In My name there am I in the midst of them, until verse 20 gives us the authority of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. His name is there and His authority is there, and He is the one who has the authority to work in the assembly for administration and dealing with such things as binding and losing. That authority does not belong to diatrophies, does not belong to one or two brothers in the assembly who usurped the authority. Those the authority of the Lord is in the midst of the assembly.
And the assembly is is where things are are done there. But as you say, sometimes there's not the the moral character of the spiritual energy to be able to deal with a situation like diotrophies in the assembly. And sometimes it's necessary to give the Lord time to work things out.
00:25:17
First Peter 5, what we heard before and verse 6.
As we speak of, the responsibility that the Lord has could, say, transferred to us.
Because we have this this word in our hands and we have instruction from it. And here's the situation with biographies. And we say we don't have the energy of the power to deal with that. We have for six in first Year 5.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God.
His hat is never too short and.
And sometimes the things that come in among the things have been growing there for a while.
We've been careless. Uh, we haven't addressed small things. Perhaps that would have been better to address and they just grew and perhaps diopres, he just grew in that opposition to others that he would put himself up. So I believe we need to have that exhortation, humble ourselves before the Lord. What are, what are we doing, brothers?
To divide in the name of the Lord. He died, the rest of you together. How come we were having an argument, raising our voices?
How could that ever happen?
We've been disconnected for a while, so we need to get back to the Lord and humble ourselves under His mighty hand and give him the place ourselves that He deserves of a rust. And then personally and then collectively we realize the need. How important is for us to.
Remember the one who gave himself for us and offered himself up as a sacrifice for our sins and sweet selling Savior to God the Father. And at the same time, what we've just learned now in the last two references mentioned is that we so often forget who is in the midst. There's a good person. Umm, Isaiah chapter 57. Isaiah chapter 57, verse 15.
With us at the high and lucky one that inhabited eternity.
Whose name has told me?
I dwell in the high and Holy place.
With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the country.
Maybe we should have referring to first Peter 5. Also have read verse 7.
Where it says casting all your care upon him.
40 carats for you and that finishes the sentence in my Bible.
We have tears, but the Lord wants to make our cares his care. And sometimes we are faced with difficulties in our family. Maybe it's at work, sometimes in the assembly that we just don't know exactly what to do. And perhaps we're burdened about situation. Well, how wonderful that the Lord is greater than all of our sins and is greater than all of our cares. And he's able to work things out like my brother finished and.
Experiencing down there in Malawi.
And we I think if each experience in our own lives how that sometimes impossible situations when we roll them off onto the Lord, it comes in in a wonderful way and.
The mounting, you know, it breaks forth in the sea.
And he can work things out in his own way, in his own time.
Cares for you and for me and how he cares for his assembly. It's not.
The Lord's church, and he's head over all things to the church.
And there's no one who cares more about the assembly.
And the Lord Jesus himself.
I'm signed, Trevor. I think that's the other guilty.
I want to be careful how I fitness, but I I think we are guilty sometimes of.
00:30:00
What a person like psychography is.
They have had a gift, we don't know, but putting that person up on a that is still so to speak.
That we they, they really should not be put on.
We cannot enjoy and and profit from a gift that the Lord has given to a brother.
But we shouldn't be guilty of exulting that brother beyond.
What the word is using him, we just look for a moment at a very familiar chapter in in in 20.
We know the story where Paul was speaking to the elders from Ephesus.
He warned them that even.
We've warned them that even from their own cells, with men arise.
Says in verse 32. Acts 20 and 32.
Now, brother and I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up to give you an inheritance on all them that are so tremendous down to the Lord. There's the power to meet that This is available to us to prevent what he has worn them about in 2829 and 30. Now what's the result?
Of that warning.
We can see that in verse 30.
Seven. They all wept through and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him.
Sorry, most of all the words that he faked that they should see his face no more.
They seem to be more concerned about their beloved brother Paul. She certainly was used as the Lord, no question about that. But they seem to be more concerned that they weren't going to see Paul's face anymore.
Uh, how they were concerned about the warning that he had given that earlier?
And I believe that's an example.
And then the results.
Might be the spirit of the in that brother, we are all subject to pride and orders. Whether I'm saying that drive was the last thing to join. We all have a, you know, in our own nature.
Be careful, brethren.
Look up to a brother more than.
Drop it by what the word has given him.
Speaks of opinions in the scriptures, you know, and uh.
Can be of the opinion.
We have our thoughts formed by our understanding from the Scriptures, what we've heard of ministry and perhaps our own life. You know this example that I talked to somebody that.
Where do you go if you want warmer weather and anyway you have to go South?
To our warmer weather, you gotta go north. Where are you from? I'm from the southern hemisphere, from South America. I want to go where it's warmer. I got to go more. Here's absolutely true. Two positions are absolutely true if they're on the equator. You don't have to go anywhere for the work that's already there. And I might be wrong, but I believe the equator is the position on the earth that's always at the same distance from the sun. And so I enjoyed that and in fellowship with the Lord, you know we can.
Consider opinions and enjoy them, but we don't have to divide over them. We can we can appreciate them. We can see somebody thinks like that because he's such a culture in such a country he's had he's had such experiences in his life. And so I go South when I want to get warm weather and he goes N but we still are brothers and sisters in Christ doesn't have to divide us.
If diastrophe had been guilty of moral evil when the instruction had been different, or I guess the assets in another way, is there a difference in how scripture tells us to address?
An Assembly. Moral versus doctrinal evil.
00:35:08
First has a responsibility doesn't do judge evil any evil little Levin Lebanon whole up.
So whether it's doctrinal evil or classical evil or moral evil, church has the responsibility to deal with it.
One is not any better than the other.
Some are harder to discern because her brother is a well versed in Scripture. If you're not, you might be able to justify, argue, persuade. And so if we've been talking together for with a brother for an hour over or over a period of time and we never talk about the Lord, we never enjoyed him, this person, his glory. We're talking about things side issues. Let's be careful brother. The truth is in Jesus. It's about him and then when it's about him that our hearts are set right when it's about things.
It's dangerous.
I was having that thought this morning when we were sitting enjoying remember remembering our Savior and his death and.
And I was considering those verses that we read in Second Chronicles 5 and how the whole congregation, they all praised him, and it was when they all praised and worshipped him that the House of God was filled with his glory.
And it may not be the only key, but I think it is a very important key here in this chapter that we consider that whatsoever we do, we do it for His glory, whether in the assembly or in our lives as believers, which is what we had in that verse in first Timothy 3 and 15, that we know how we ought to behave ourselves in the House of God, but in the assembly as well.
And I think, Mr. Pat, you in your prayer, you mentioned this morning how?
What we, what we give to Him is what he's already given to us. And I thought of these verses in First Chronicles 29.
In verse 10 it says, Wherefore David bless the Lord before all the congregation. And David said, Blessed be thou Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is dying. Thine is the Kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted his head above all. Both riches and honor come to thee, and thou reign us over all. And in thine hand is power and light. In thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee.
And praised thy glorious name. But who am I? What is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
I just thought that really put in perspective.
What we should be while we're here in this world, waiting for him to come. And in the assembly, it doesn't say take up thy cross.
And decide that you should do this for me or you should do that for me. It says take up thy cross and follow me.
Gaius is the example of one that knew how he ought to behave himself.
Atrophies is the example of one who did not. So as some of us spoke earlier, just on the side really, that's a picture of obedience, I believe, and the other is a picture of rebellion.
And it made me consider we're talking about a man here, but it can be a woman too. It made me consider.
That if these difficulties are going on amongst us.
In our assemblies.
What? What would it be?
If it's you.
And maybe you were to just take a real clear look at yourself in the mirror.
And ask yourself.
Is this thing that I have such a heart for, such a desire to push, that's causing such an issue in the assembly? Is it for the glory of God?
And so I present to you, if that's the case in your assembly, and if it is, you do that very thing. And if it is not, for the glory of God.
Then stop right away, it says, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in peace. And in Acts chapter one it says. And they all continued.
I can't quote that of one 1/4.
00:40:04
And I believe that that is really the picture that we have here in this chapter.
I I miss Sorry.
In respect to the question asked, and perhaps I'd just like to make a comment, I think in respect of doctrine, we have to be very careful that if we are going to take action against a person, it's a doctrine that directly effects the person, the work, the humanity, the divinity, and on the eternal sonship of Christ.
Michelle.
As mentioned.
The, uh, having an opinion based on where we stand and so and so amongst us. There may be various opinions on various scriptures, but we either not, should not be things that divide us. What divides us is if somebody takes the scripture and perhaps a non conventional view of it and then push it and make causes of division over. When we look at the grand division and the Stewart division back in the year 1880s, it wasn't so much that the doctrine was.
Should I say?
Not conventional. It was it was unconventional doctrine. But in each case one happened here in Montreal where the brother says I'm going to set up a separate meeting and you that agree with me coming.
And meet at this meeting there was a doctrine and made a division over and so we've got to be careful when it comes to doctrine that it's something to affect the person of the Lord Jesus. I know, for instance.
I sat down and remembered the Lord with him a few weeks ago. A brother who thinks the world is 66000 years old.
Who doesn't agree that there's a gap between the 1St and the 2nd verses of Genesis that is the same? Does he know the Lord is a Savior? Does he love the Lord? Can I sit down with you and remember the Lord? Of course I can. I know of another brother that believes the church will go through the tribulation. I'm quite happy to sit down and remember the Lord with him. He's in England and I've remembered the Lord with him and I'm very, very happy. So we have to be careful. I think we told the doctrine of issues with something that directly effects the person, the work, the divinity, and the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thinking of the verse there and uh.
Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 31.
Says that all bitterness brought anchor clamor, evil speaking, be put away from you with all mouths.
See that malice is the last thing mentioned, and so these other things came before. Malice mentions bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and so on. Malice is really what I understand is it goes beyond what comes before that, and it's the intent to really hurt a brother or a sister in some way. That's malice. It's gone beyond just anger. Bitterness is the intent to hurt a brother or a sister.
Diocracies. That's what he was doing. He wasn't content.
Says he says here that.
He's not content in the 10th verse.
Neither does he himself receive the brother visit them that would be passed by the church. And so it says verse 10. Yeah.
On the next page, OK.
And so they say that he wasn't content.
Just to do what he was doing, he wanted to take it a step further and we know this is serious thing here that the opposite was guilty of.
And Brother Clem mentioned that.
The doctrine is to be protected.
In this case here it's a doctrine of headship, that Christ is our head of the church. He is the one that is to have preeminence in all things over our own lives. When we gather together, the Lord is in the midst. He is to have a preeminence. But here was one that was taken the preeminence instead of giving it to Christ.
He was in a place of the deceiver.
But we know that the enemy Satan is not going to be content until he has a man sitting in the temple.
Pretending to be God himself at the end of the Tribulation period. So.
So we can see where this goes. It's preeminence. It's a serious thing. It's a wicked doctrine. It's around us today. In the world we see it, but here it was in the primitive Church. We might say this wasn't relevant everywhere at this time, but we're reading about apostasy coming in.
00:45:20
And we know that that's around us where men have lifted themselves up and given them a place that is not theirs. They're taking the preeminence of being something they're not. And that was what he was guilty of. And we have to be careful about that, too.
I'm very 9 and 10. You see the first, you get that quite strong and generally we don't like to make reviews public because in a sense it can be.
Well, we can fall into the position of accusing the brother, but it was important that this review was done and those two characteristics and characteristics that it's not the preeminent and that he was not receiving a brethren in this case where very serious things.
I I had a suggestion, if somewhat a burden on my heart, but here that means of an individual person. I'm wondering if it's possible that we spoke of the spirit of geography, but can this even apply through a system of thinking or a group of people? Is it possible that things should be done in in a in a way that there is this idea of preeminence or not receiving the brother.
This is not something abstract, but it's very real to me. Even this morning I received an e-mail.
From a friend who wanted to be with us, uh, but he felt that there was a principle of things that was contrary to scripture and this was directly in relation to reception. It's, it's a very tough thing to work through and we've talked a little bit about under what conditions can we receive, but.
I just wanted to suggest that it was spiritual geography. It's not always an individual. I think it can apply sometimes in the system of thinking. And we need to be very careful to to be before the Lord and to be humbled in in our reception.
Very good question. You know, we have so many scriptures that speak to us about receiving one another.
And this one it was not receiving we had in the second official not to receive such an one. There was motive not to receive. And so we should have receptive parts and be willing to receive, yet not compromising with the principles of scripture. I don't know someone. I think I might be careless if I received if we received someone we didn't know. And so I think that's the principles we we don't know someone, but I I speak of my of myself, what I what I believe if.
Uh, somebody came who was a believer and, uh, didn't have an agenda. He was a member of the body of Christ and he was vouched for by someone have confidence in that knew him. And he said, no, he's, and he's away from home or, you know, pretty big friend with us. But on the ground of the one body, I think it's honoring for the Lord to allow that. And I know it's a difficult thing to, to practice, but you know, it's a lot easier to say no. And so we don't receive, but I, I think we are off what we have in the scripture in the heart of the Lord, if we have that attitude.
Of not receiving, we should have the adjective receiving, but receiving according to divine wisdom and the principles of Scripture. So be disposed to, not disposed not to.
Said that we shouldn't, uh, we shouldn't have an open fellowship or a close fellowship, but we should have a guarded fellowship that is somebody that would want to have fellowship with us. You would think they would want to know something about us, what we're about, what darkness that we hold, what truth we cherish and how we meet and what.
And a lot more. But we would want also to know something about them, what their beliefs are.
And, uh, so on and so a little time should be given somebody that wants to commit to fellowship, give them some time to know about us and we would like to know a little bit about them, what they believe. I believe that's scriptural that we should do that.
Mr. Darby writes a couple of letters on the issue of receiving as a question what what's notable. I think there's probably about 5 or 10 years between those two letters. And in the second letter, he says this confusion come in and we have to be careful. Now, if that happened during Mr. Toby's lifetime, you know, 100 years later, we have to be even more peaceful.
I'd like to point out a version and 1St John 4.
00:50:06
It, uh, tells us on what basis we're going to receive somebody and there is some teaching that we are not receiving anybody unless it's two or three witnesses. Our, our early brethren did receive just as Brother Michelle spoke that somebody would testify for them and they would be received. I'd like to suggest this verse even goes beyond that. That is this.
We're still here by know ye that oh, I guess we should be first one first love. I believe not every spirit that's there's a guarded testimony, but try the spirit, whether they're of God. How do we do How do we do that because many false and why because many false prophets are going out into the world. That's true. Then it's been pointed out probably worse, no doubt worse now, but now he has instruction how you do it.
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that compresses, that Jesus Christ come into flesh.
The car and it can go on, but that first gives me a party.
If there's no other reason not to, to walk to not the authority of the assembly, authority to receive somebody on their own testimony, they confess that Jesus Christ.
Is is, uh, is common to flesh?
And of God they are making by their own profession.
Their claim to have a place at that table that we partake of. Could I suggest or maybe ask for clarification, that that's why we have verses 11 and 12?
Love it follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. Either do as good as of God. Usually the evidence is there to show that either doeth evil. Have not seen God Demetrius have good report of all.
And of the truth itself. Yeah. And we also bear record, you know, that our record is true.
Is that not an example of testifying?
Might be received.
Which we distinguished rather between someone being allowed to break bread with us on a vacation and someone being received scholarship at the word disabled. We have a distinguishing.
Thought on that.
Look at First Corinthians chapter 10 where the Lord tables mentioned.
I believe we get the.
The reason that we have a guard at fellowship, everyone is expected normal Christianity who want to be at the Lord's table to remember the Lord, but there is a truth of separation in the word of God in doing so.
That is.
We're to be separate from the tables of men. Anything that man is set up that's contrary to the principles of the word of God, we're to separate from it. One of the principles there that we get is.
In verse 18, behold Israel after the flesh, are they not? They would eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar. Of course they were. When a sacrifice was offered up under Judaism, the priest had offered it up, had his portion.
Of that sacrifice. And so they were partakers of it.
And so whatever fellowship someone may be in, if it's not a fellowship, where the truth is, is being.
Held, for instance, I'll give one example. The truth of the Lord being.
God holy to not sin. Some fellowship will say, well yes, then you know the Lord Jesus was a man, but he he could have sinned, but he didn't and that's a bad doctrine.
That's a bad doc, and that's a false doctrine.
And so somebody was holding that kind of a doctrine before I broke bread with them. I would wanna know about them.
And so that's why we have a bit of a guarded fellowship. We want to know about those that would ask to break grid with us, what they're in, what they're enjoying to, what they're going on with, and so on. And so we have first Corinthians 10. It gives us instructions that we're not to be associated with ecclesiastical evil, that which is contrary to the doctrine that we have in the Word of God.
00:55:14
The Apostle Paul's doctrine and all the word of God.
Were to hold it and.
And so we do have a garden fellowship. Nothing wrong with that. And if somebody come in and they wanted to break bread, well, I would ask them, don't you want to know anything about us? You know, when you like to know what truth we hold and all that. I would think it's strange if they wouldn't.
And so in Corinthians 1St Corinthians 10, we have that we should want to.
Honor the Lord in that way to.
Keep separate from those things that would displease and dishonor him. That's really what First Corinthians about. And so it's receiving at the more stable there, but it's a separation from evil to do so.
Not just ecclesiastical evil, but also moral evil and doctrinal evil as well. All three.
I remember some 40 years ago when I first came to the meeting.
I saw back and then, uh, I look at the things that was on comparing with the Scripture and I had a great respect for the brethren for the fact that they did not push me to break brethren.
The honor of the Lord was there and it was important and I respected that. And, uh, I wanted to know also, as you said, brother, what they were teaching.
Uh, but I wasn't stressed by the reverence for the Lord and the respectfully.
I just had visited a couple of Christian group before and they were so happy to see me. They would present me the brand and you know, on the wine as if they would like maybe to make their church to grow bigger. But I really respected the fact that the brethren are in view the honor of the Lord Jesus.
So that waiting time, it took me a couple of months to wait, but I was remembering the Lord anyway, even if I was not breaking with my brother.
I believe that the Lord will believe me there and He confirmed it by when I saw according to the scripture.
Referred to 27.
A garden fellowship, and I'd like to illustrate it in this way. If you've heard the state of it before, you'll have to forgive me, but I feel illustrated like this.
I, I trust earlier Wally. Well, forgive me, I've often been my wife, and I've often at the same time at Wally's house.
And we've always enjoyed being there.
But no matter how long we have stayed there, I.
Cannot start calling it my house or my table that we need out there.
And let us just suppose for a moment that way we are traveling and he knows that I'm going to be we're going to be down there near his place. He said come and use my house, stay in my house while we're away.
And then somebody comes to the door and says, yeah, I know, Wally.
He would. He would want me to be here too.
Should I make a decision myself whether that person should be allowed to come in and enjoy well with house and eat and while we stay? No, I would want to. I would want to check with wallet. Well, you know brother.
We believe, I believe, that the Word has gathered us to His name by His Spirit around at His table.
And why we are at the Lord's table. It belongs to Him, not to us.
We can't make decisions without the Lord's direction and approval.
And I believe whenever there's a question of reception.
We need to go to the water and ask.
And he has the answer. You don't own the table of the Lord, the world. And he is the head that is already has already been said, the head of the body, the church. He's also the head of bookings, local assembly. And he's the one who has the answer.
01:00:02
And we need to.
First Corinthians chapter 10 because it gives us good outline as to reception because it's talking about the Lord's Table. If you go to 1St Corinthians chapter 10, the beginning of the chapter, it talks about baptism. It's important that the believer is baptized to be identified with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. If he doesn't want to be baptized, it means he doesn't want to be identified with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so if he doesn't want to be identified with him, why does he want to remember the Lord in his death? So the first and foremost thing that we find out about the person that says they are a believer and they want to remember the Lord and his death is, is he been baptized? And maybe the first thing we really want to know if he's saved first, but he's he's professing to be saved. Well, then you go on in the chapter and you see it in verse five that God was not pleased with many of the people. And 1St Corinthians 5 is referring back to Israel. And as we read another, another Scripture.
That Israel. The Scriptures are meant for our learning in the New Testament as they apply.
To the church and here we find that they lusted in verse six Israel lusted after evil things they were at verse seven their idolaters verse eight they were fornicators verse nine they attempted Christ first ten they murmured and and and so on. And so there's these things that if a person is guilty of these things they should not not be included in the remembrance of the Lord at the Lord's table. But then we get down to verse.
16.
And here's the introduction of the Lord's table here. And this is what is required for fellowship at the Lord's table, says verse 16, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The first thing that's required is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ because you cannot be part of the next thing is, is the bread which we break, Is it not the communion of the body of Christ? First is the blood, because without the blood we're not saved. We need to have our sins washed away so we can we can add it to the body of Christ.
That's why at the Lord's table the blood is the cup is mentioned 1St and then then the bread. And so the blood is necessary for our eternal salvation before we're looked at as part of the body of Christ. And then we have the bread, which we break is not the communion of the body of Christ, for we being many are one bread and one body. So are you saved? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Then you're part of the body of Christ, and as the at the Lord's table, the bread represents every member.
Of the body of Christ, and so continue on here, for we are all partakers of that one bread. We all belong in in a picture in that one bread. And so.
From the Scriptures up till now, we find that there must be baptism, there must be a godly life, there must be no immorality, and the person must be saved, there must be the application of the blood. And they're part of the body of Christ. They are, they are. There's a place for them at the Lord's table. And then you go on to verse 18. And I think Brother Enos was kind of mentioning referring to this verse as ecclesiastical evil. Now ecclesiastical evil is a misnomer and it's used for things that we probably should just be calling doctrinal people. But here in verse 18 it says, behold, Israel after the flesh. Are they not? Are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers?
The altar and so when they partake of the sacrifices at an altar that is not what God recommended. They're they're they're identifying themselves with that altar. But what is this altar they're talking about here in verse 18. It goes on to explain perhaps a little more in verse 19. Let's say I then that the idol is anything or that that which is offered and sacrificed to idols is anything. This is talking about a sacrifice that is offered to idols. It's not talking about a believer who remembers or who who is involved in.
Perhaps another church and he's remembering the Lord at that church and he's coming to visit and he wants to remember the Lord in his death with us. He doesn't understand all about these other things, but he loves the Lord. He knows who the Lord Jesus is. He knows the Lord Jesus died for him. He knows he belongs to the body of Christ and he wants to remember the Lord in his death. So when we say ecclesiastical evil, we try, we, we dump a lot of things in there that don't necessarily belong there. But these scriptures are saying that when you are identified with the worship of the devil.
Worship of idols, the worship of the anatomism, you have a lot of spirit worship. And if anything that's connected with that, that has no place at the Lord's table. When we go to Africa and people are putting charms on their children to protect them from the from the demons and from the diseases. Just like a lot of people in America and in Canada, they put on, what do we call those little beads? They're, they're, they're little gold bead beads that they put on them.
01:05:16
The amber beads, Amber beads, they do the same thing. They're supposed to protect you from disease and sickness and help your teeth.
To be in the baby's teeth to come in. It's the same idea as the charms and you should not be doing that. It's identifying you with the with the the table of demons. And so that should not have any part at the Lords table. And so these these things are very clear in Scripture. We we're not trying to keep people away from the Lord's Table, but we, as mentioned, we need to have a guarded table that we don't allow this the moral and the spiritual, the doctrinal wickedness to come in and we we.
When a person person knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
And they have a godly life. They don't. They're not involved, as was mentioned, with the wicked doctrines about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they are permitted to remember the Lord in his death.
It's important to distinguish between.
Evil that would disqualify Thomas remembering the Lord and there perhaps were understanding of doctrine, not understanding something is not as late against the person. I think I have two of my fullest children by the grace of God and taking their place in the Lords Table and I know that at 11 years old my daughter may not have a complete grasp of the ground of the one body not have a grasp of all of those things that we may see as eat truth. If you simply want to remember the Lord your death as a simple Christian.
So with depth of knowledge of doctrine, death of knowledge of truth is a.
Something that's against us in terms of our ability to remember the Lord. I suggest that many of us would not be at the Lord's table. You know, if we went around this room and asked everybody about the Trinity and asked for them to describe the Trinity as I'd be fairly confident we get a large majority that we're describing modalism. Not because they're holding a hair seat because simply a lack of knowledge in the ability to explain things. So I think you need to be careful that we're extinguishing between those that you want to remember the Lord who made seek to be received at the Lord's table and those that are bringing active people in the assembly. Assembly not knowing something or being young in the face and simple. You're understanding it's not a disqualification.
Like I just cringe a little bit, but I think that one of the qualifications is understanding all the fully what the principles that we're gathering on. Maybe I believe that simple in the state and the witness test. I in fact, what brother Hadley referred to her testing experience. One thing that we all had in common if we love the Lord is we recognize him as one that was sinless that died for us. That was the Son of God, God himself.
Was Christians, Christians can understand that and it's the Lord's table and believer that's a place there. Now again there are evil.
More legal doctrine. Legal that can prevent someone or keep someone from being at that table. There's certainly a lack of knowledge about one of those things.
Every matter settled on the witness, two or three witnesses and so if the situation comes up and none of us would have a moral way to take that decision ourselves. We would consult with our brethren. Wouldn't we have whatever the mind of the Saints were in that connection, the DFP like that's how the Lord gives us. You would give spirit in acting in his name, in the right spirit.
What I find encouraging.
This chapter.
This book, I should say, is the fact that in spite of this big problem in the Assembly.
There are no that are as it tells us in verse 11.
They're not following that which is evil, they're not being influenced by this individual and they're not giving in to the evil.
And in fact, it says about Gaius that he was prospering in his soul in spite of this big issue.
That was so contrary to Scripture, the despicable.
Behavior of this man and also Demetrius it says Demetrius had good reports of all men so just because there's a problem in the assembly doesn't mean that we should just throw up our hands in despair and say well what's the use of going on for the Lord because.
It's just so much difficult, you know, these ones, they continue on and that's how we're going to be a help to one another is by following that which is good, ceasing to do evil and doing the good. And it'll be for the Lord's glory and it's going to be the help of our brethren as well.
01:10:15
Mr. Colville, when he first introduced this chapter, he said that we would love one another in the assembly. And I know in First Corinthians 16 and verse 14 says let all your things be done with charity. And I know that we never got to 1St Corinthians chapter 13, but love is so important and I'm reminded of those ones that built the Tabernacle in Exodus and.
Those ones that their hearts were stirred up within them, and their hearts were made willing, as was mentioned earlier, they came to do that work and they brought more than was necessary. And that's how the Lord would have us in our ascendance to bring more than is necessary to do the work. And at the end of that portion, and after this, Moses looked.
Moses in verse chapter 39 and verse 42, according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work, and Moses did look upon all the work, and behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded. Even so had they done it, and Moses blessed them.
I believe we will be blessed, very happy in our assemblies.
To help one another in love and in all things.
In John 15 we get.
This is my commandment I'm reading from verse 12. This is client from Almond. You love one another and then the standard is given as I have loved you. Do we love each other as Christ as love is something that's it's challenge to us, isn't it and when we come to.
1St Corinthians 13, of course, the significance is where it is. It's between chapter 12 where the gifts are mentioned and in chapter 14, the orderly use of those gifts in the assembly. What does it mean? It needs to find love, otherwise all ministry. And I say go all ministry. Everybody's got a gift, a cup of cold water and the Lord's name is a gift. But what is it without that divine love? It's it's tinkling bright, it's a sounding brass or simply simple, it's a load of noise and no benefit.
#318.
We still have a lot of young people here and I just wanted to make a comment about Demetrius. It says in that verse about Demetrius that he had a good report of them all.
You know, we spoke about something that's precious in the Lord's sight this afternoon. He said this too, and remembered to me. I don't think there's one of us that we're worthy, but there's one thing that keeps us, and that's the remembrance of the Lord. And we need to remember that when we're receiving one another. It's precious in the sight of the Lord. And Demetrius, I would just like the young people to consider a teenager. He became significant later.
To the point where the Lord could use that teenager to rule as the king of Israel. But if you read in the first in the 17th chapter of First Samuel, you'll see that a young man called David.
When he was told by his father to go and share and encourage his brethren that were their legs were trembling after 40 days of watching delight, it says he behaved wisely.
If you take a look a little later, it says he behaved very wisely in the next chapter when Saul sent him out.
He was just wise in front of all the people. And I think that Demetrius is something that took a challenge of a daily challenge, and he was, he acted wisely when someone wanted a good heart player, someone to play in front of. Saul didn't find someone who's just a good heart play, but they found a man who was prudent in matters and loved the Lord. And young people, if you love the Lord, if you just simply do your simple toss, well then you're like Demetrius and you'll be a wonderful asset in your assembly.
And the Lord will bless you. It's a a wonderful privilege to serve the Lord in your capacity at your very age. And, uh, they'll be a real rich person.
I'll just read 3 verses before we close First Corinthians 1622.
This is the asset test. If any man was not the Lord Jesus Christ. That can be anathema. Maranatha, John 13 verse 34 and 35. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have loved one to another.
Very good.
What is Your Soul Worth?
Gospel—Mike Campbell
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I.
They invented something about smells so dye will still be fast and the painful light beside.
Being in time, we're getting in the sun, you're getting the sun.
While the voice of Jesus all you've been in time.
And I've been sitting here on your way. You're going to find no hope to get it.
And deprived himself to play. Did you find him?
Flowers to be connected into the university class subway or you have the long distance.
Begins time.
While the Spirit is supervised, there is a longer role.
Let her see you in your home. Let's do.
Give me a time.
And you're crying. You've got to see the idea.
I'm employed by the rudge involved, going on through the arms of Jesus flow.
Oh, I pray to count the cause there's a failure by because.
And your Christ when soul be long.
Everybody to check my eyeballs and get it and you're crying. He's just too late.
Living in time.
You may find so often get anything and your pride is just to let him all right. If you have your Bible, could you turn to the book of Luke, please? Luke chapter 12 and we're going to read verses 16 through 21. We're going to look at three mistakes the rich fool made.
Luke chapter 12, starting at verse 16.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do. I will pull down my barns and build great air, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul.
Thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat and drink.
And be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, And then who should thou? Who shall those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.
00:05:14
Have word of prayer before.
Man, I don't know if you ever made typos or not. I'm a work in education, so I prepare sometimes my own materials and during that time typing things up. Sometimes I make a lot of mistakes and I wanna tell you about the most expensive typo of all time. Or perhaps it is. I don't. I've never heard of one that was better or bigger than this. Seven back in 1978, nineteen 78, the Prudential Company, which was one of the largest insurance companies, if not the largest.
Company at the time made a expensive loan to a company called US Lines or United States Lines. They recall them, and they loaned them $160 million, which they could well afford to do. And as part of the deal, the Prudential Company got a lien on eight of their vessels, which they figured that if, you know, things ever got bad and they went into bankruptcy, they could sell those.
Vessels and get most of their money back. Or so they thought.
But eight years later, 1986, the US Lines did have to file for bankruptcy and and file the proceedings. And so Prudential thought, well, we're still OK, we're gonna lose a little bit, but we still have about $93,000,000 that this company and liens that this company owes us. So they get together with the lawyers of US Lines and their parent company, which was called McLean Industries.
And they go over the documents, they bring the original lien agreement out.
But when they went over the lean agreement, the people at McLean Industries were smiling because unfortunately whoever typed up the agreement and it was signed by both parties at the time they let out, they left off 3 zeros off of the number. So instead of Prudential getting 93 or almost $93 million.
Back from the lien. According to the document, they were only getting $93,000.
Back from the lean, of course, I don't know who committed that era, but I'm probably sure that they didn't have a job after that. But nonetheless, it was a pretty tragic error for them. They lost millions of dollars, but they finally managed to settle out of court. And McLean Industry said we're going to sell these vessels. We'll give you most of it, but because your company made a mistake, we're going to keep $11 million. And so that's what they did. They, they did give them the rest of the money for the sale of the vessels. You know, that's a big error.
That's a big mistake for our company to make, to lose millions of dollars. But dear friend, tonight there are some of you, perhaps even here, that are making even a worse mistake than losing millions and millions of dollars. It's a mistake that Jesus talked about in Mark chapter 8 when he said, what shall profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose his soul?
For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? There are many people tonight that the only concern in their life.
Is to get another dollar bill to have a larger income to be able to go out and buy whatever they want to buy.
And they spend their lives in that kind of pursuit, just as someone asked JD Rockefeller one time, how much is enough? And he said just $1.00 more. And that's the way many people look at their lives. They're trying to amass and pursue it. And there's nothing wrong with having things that God blesses you with money and, and, and that there's nothing wrong with that if you use it for him. But we're looking at a man in this passage.
That had no thought of God at all. It was all about him and what he was going to do with his money.
And how it was going to be beneficial to him. He didn't think at all about the Lord. And I want to look at 3 errors that I see in this passage. Three big mistakes bigger than the mistake whoever typed up that Prudential lien document. And these are mistakes because they're mistakes that count for eternity. And they're mistakes that people perhaps even in this audience.
Are making tonight. I trust that's not so uh, the first mistake is I call this he mistook his.
Bankbook as being more important than the Bible. Look at if you will again the verses 17 and 18 it says.
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do?
Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said this will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods now.
00:10:02
Actually, there is a fourth mistake this man makes because notice how he begins his process. He thought within himself. He doesn't go to get any counsel from anybody. He figures he has all the answers and that's mistake number one. And but I don't have time to go into it because I'll take most of my time to go through the 3 1/2. But I just point that out in passing because the scripture says where the multitude of counselors are, there is safety. But this man said well.
I don't need anybody else. I can figure this out. But nonetheless, when I use the term banquet here, he didn't really have a bank book in the sense that modern day sense, but he may have had a Ledger. He may have had some way in which he recorded all the wealth and all the materials that he owned and possessed. Of course, they didn't have banks back in his day, but he had some way to record all his wealth and to know how much stuff he had. And he knew he had a lot of stuff because he had so much.
Couldn't contain it, so he's gonna have to build something bigger to hold all those things.
And I want to kind of look at his thought process in relation to how he sees things. And then I want to compare that thought process to what the scripture says in regards to things and material possession and wealth.
First of all, we see for this rich man, this man that God calls a fool, we see that he has a consideration. He's thinking, at least he's thinking about it. And he says in verse 17, what shall I do?
He knows he needs to do something, but he's not sure what it is. So he's trying to come to that determination. He's trying to think about what he should do.
You know, there was a man that once came to visit a man named Robert Hall, who was a noted English preacher, and he wanted to argue over something that Hall preached about when he was preaching the gospel. And Hall saw that this man was kind of like the rich man in our text. He had this thing for money and possessions and all the rest. And so Hall got out the Bible and he pointed to the verse and he said, can you see the word God in this verse?
The man said, well, yeah, of course I'm not blind. Obviously I see the word God there.
And then Hall took out of his pocket a coin over in Britain that was called 1/2 sovereign. He took it, plunked it down in the word God. And he said, can you see it now? And the man found a very valuable lesson to him, because the love of money blinds us to the Lord because we're so concerned about I need another dollar, I need another item. I need this to make me happy.
When it really doesn't, and it didn't for this rich form.
So he thought about it. He thought about what should I do?
Problem is, he thought about in the lens of look at all these things that I have. He never considered it all his eternal soul.
And that's his most deadly deed that he does to himself. He never once considers eternity. I often think of that him. Where will you spend eternity? This question comes to you and me. Tell me, what will your answer be? Where will you spend eternity? And sadly, this man was more consumed with stuff than with his eternal soul. Well, the next thing we see about this man of verse 18, not only is he.
About what do I do?
But he's decide he's going to go into construction work in the sense he's going to tear down his barns as it says in verse 18. He says this will I do? I will pull down my barns and build greater. He's going to make more room for all that stuff he has for all these material possessions that he owns. He figures that is the solution to his problem. Notice.
Nowhere in his thought process is there any concern about his soul. It's all about, hey, I got all this stuff and I got to do something with it.
Dear friend.
If you're thinking about all the things that you own and that's all you're concerned about, what does God say about this guy here, thou fool? Because one day you are going to have to meet God. The Scripture says prepare to meet thy God one day. You're going to stand before him, as we saw in Sunday school, and you're going to be this great white throne and he's going to look in this book. And if your name's not there.
You're cast into the Lake of Fire.
For all eternity.
May not may that not be said of anybody in here, but because of this man's carelessness, he doesn't think about that. I came across an interesting description. It goes like this. I've never been guilty of wrong actions, but on my account, lives have been lost, trains have been wrecked, ships have been sunk, cities have been burned, governments have failed, battles have been lost, and churches have closed their doors. I've never struck a blow or spoken in unkind word.
00:15:19
But because of me, homes have been broken, friends have grown cold, the laughter of children has ceased, wives have shed bitter tears, brothers and sisters have been forgotten, and parents have gone broken hearted to their grave. I've intended no evil, but because of me, talents have come to nought, courtesy and kindness have failed, and the promise of success as well as happiness.
As yields sorrow and disaster, I have no sound, just silence, no cause for being in myself. I have no offering to make except grief and sorrow.
You may not in an instant call me by name, but surely you are personally acquainted with me. My name Neglect. This man knew that neglect very well, did he not? Because all of a sudden God comes to him. He says, This night thy soul shall be required of thee. And then who will these things be which thou hast provided?
He met with neglect.
And then we see not only is he decided, OK, I'm thinking about what do I do?
And he's thinking about, OK, I'm going to build. But we also, I think here there's an issue of security here because he has so much stuff he is concerned about. Well, I wanted to be safe and I want to invite you to break it and steal it. So in the building, I'm sure he's concerned about where am I going to bestow all my fruits and goods? He wants to build a place that is most likely secure and most likely will be safe for all his things.
But of course, once again, what is the problem with this man?
It's all about stuff. It's all about the earth, it's all about material possessions. And never, ever once thought about heaven. One thought about there is an eternity coming. One thought about the fact that he is going to spend somewhere forever. No, he didn't think about that at all. It's all about the here and now. He's worried that his goods, he's worried that they're going to be safe. He's worried that he's going to have the the room needed.
To have all this stuff.
But he forgot there is an eternity for.
For every human heart is an eternity in heaven, or an eternity in hell that determines whether or not you make preparations for your soul.
You know, it's interesting. During the initial construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, umm, they were having a problem because a lot of the men were so concerned about not falling off and into their death that many of them, 23 men fell off to their death because they were trying to work and trying to maintain their stability and balance and working in these heights and of course the rocks and the, the dangerous waters below, the 23 men fell over.
And were.
Of course, found later on dredged up on the shore somewhere.
And so the men who were doing the construction, they had a problem. How are we going to make this safe for the men? And So what they did was they had had a giant net made and they placed this giant net over the areas where the men were working and then they would move the net to the next area once an area was completed. And so it was so large that if the men fell off, they would not hit the shore, but they would hit the neck.
So they they thought, well this will say the problem. In fact, not only did it solve the problem for them.
But they actually got the work done 25% faster because they were no longer worried about falling off. They knew if they fell off, the net would catch them and all would be well and people would help them out and they would be back to work again.
You know, this rich man was concerned about the security of his goods, but he didn't have a safety net. He didn't have a real safety net. He's like those initial workers who are so concerned about keeping their balance and doing what they need to do, plus be safe, that they fall and go to their doom.
You see, the only safety net for a human soul is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one that can make you save.
For eternity and he alone. He was the one who died on the cross and bore your sins there.
That's the only salvation, that's the only work that God accepts that will make your soul sane. And as the Scripture says in Proverbs 2925, at the end of the verse it says, but whosoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be saved.
00:20:05
So if you wanna have that safety net for all eternity, you need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But this man, as we have noticed.
Did none of that. It was all about.
Myself. Well, let's take these three things now and consider them from Scripture. First of all, he said, thinks, what shall I do?
But he's of course, thinking about his money and about his things. But what does the Bible say concerning are what shall I do? Well, turn, if you will, to the book of Matthew, chapter 27.
Matthew chapter 27, verse 22.
Matthew 27, verse 22.
Pilot is speaking to the crowd.
And it says, pilots saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? Notice their response. And they all said to him, let him be crucified. You see, the scriptural What shall I do is what shall I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ? And this is an important question because.
All this question hinges your eternal destiny.
There's four things that I came to my mind as I thought about this question. First of all, it's a present question. It's something that you need to consider now because the Bible does not couch the offer of salvation in the future tense or the past tense. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Why not the past? Because Proverbs tells us 27 one, boast not thyself of tomorrow, or I should say the future. Boast not thyself tomorrow, for thou knowest not what.
To bring forth as far as the past, the past is gone. We can't do anything about it anyway. And we, we certainly can affect the future. So the only time think about that you have to be saved is now. If you say, well, I'll be saved tomorrow, when you wake up the next morning, it's today. Today is the day when God wants you to decide about your eternal soul and what will you do? It's the present question. It's always framed that way.
If you think, well, I'll wait a little while or put it off.
You're actually saying no to God's salvation.
Not only is it, is it a present question, what should I then do with Jesus, who's called Christ, but it's a personal question you're seeing. You have to decide for yourself. Your friends can't decide for you. Your parents can't make that choice for you. Nobody can make this choice of what shall I then do with Jesus, who is called Christ? But you, you have to choose. You have to decide.
Will I accept him or crucify him? Will I be like the crowd who called crucified crucify Him or will I trust?
And the blessed work of Calvary. It's a personal question. What are you gonna do with Jesus tonight, Princess? What shall I then do with Jesus? Just call Christ? Not only that's a pertinent question, because as we said, your eternal soul hangs in the balance tonight. Your eternal soul.
Hinges on how you answer that question. If you refuse Christ.
Your destiny is from one of despair for a place that the bottle eventually calls the Lake Apartments. That's where you'll end up if you choose to reject him. But if you choose Christ, heaven is yours. Eternal life is yours. The wonder of being with Christ is yours.
So it's pertinent your soul hangs in the balance on the answer of that question. What shall I then do with Jesus, which is called Christ? What are you going to do?
And it's a pressing question because you have to decide. If you say no, I'll wait till later, that's the same as saying no, no, no, I don't want it.
The Bible offers now, not for you decide I'll do it later. Think about it or put it off. It's now it's pressing. You must decide now. God has grace may give you more time.
But that's not the way the Scripture places the mandate upon us. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
So when we consider what shall I do, it's not what shall I do with my stuff? What should I do with my things? But what should I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ? What are you going to do with that blessed Savior? What are you going to do with that One who loves you enough to come and dine across for you and to bear your sins there? He who had not, but he took your sins there upon himself.
00:25:02
How wonderful, as the Scripture says, the document His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. What are you going to do then with Jesus, who's called Christ? That's the consideration that you need to make.
And then we saw that rich man wanted to construct something. He wanted to pull down his barns and build greater.
But you know, when it comes to your eternal soul, there's no building for you to do, there's no work for you to accomplish. It's not by works which we have done, as Titus says, but according to his mercy, he saved us. You'll never be able to do anything to get your soul in heaven, because the work has already been done by that blessed man who came and died on the cross for you.
Stop trying to think will I just do something or join a church or do something religious.
God does not offer you religion, He offers you his Son. Jesus said that if you believe in me, you'll have everlasting life. Not believe in the church or do these things, or, you know, follow these religious regulations.
For God to love the world that whosoever believeth.
And his son?
That's what God wants you to do. You don't have to do anything. There's no labor, there's no construction for you to build.
The work is finished.
All you need to do is trust in it. You know one of the great ambitions if you're a violinist is to play a instrument called a Stradivarius.
These.
Instruments were handcrafted by a man named Antonio Stradivara. And they're very old, they're very expensive.
And but they have a beautiful sound that sound unmatched by any other modern day violins. In 1981, one of the most acclaimed violence of the day was a man named Peter Cropper, and he was excited because the London's Royal Academy of Music offered him a chance to play a series of concerts on a 258 year old Stradivarius violin.
And of course that for a a man who would love violin music like he did, that was amazing. He couldn't believe it.
That he was gonna have a chance to be able to play an instrument of that magnitude.
But then the unthinkable happened. Cropper was entering the stage, holding the Stradivarius in a trip and fell and broke the neck of the Stradivarius. Of course he was inconsolable. He didn't know what to do. But he had heard there was a master Craftsman who could fix it. And sure enough, he took it to the master Craftsman and so well done.
Was the repair that you couldn't even tell it had broken in the first place?
And the sound was not diminished, in fact, the economy was so grateful to have it fixed and copper paid for that they allowed him to continue to use this throughout various in this concerts. You know, our lives, dear friends, are ruined by sin for all sin that come short of the glory of God. We're marred, we're broken by sin and the master Craftsman, Jesus.
Wants to give you new life. He wants to take those ruined.
Broken tatters of sin.
That has destroyed and deployed this world in our lives and make something new out of them. He wants to give you a new line. He wants to make you into a new creature. Same man being Christ, He's a new creature. All things have passed away. Behold, all things become new. That's what Christ wants to do for you tonight.
He wants to not have you do something, but he said it before and he just wants you to trust in what he's done.
And then of course, the last thing we mentioned about this man. And as you can see, I'm spending most of my time with my first point. Don't worry, we'll get done. Umm, it's containment or the security. He wanted to build these things to make all his goods be safe and to have a place for them.
And you see in the word of God, we're not trusting in a bank or some security firm to keep our our soul safe, because we have a Savior who saves as well as keeps, as it says in Philippians 16. Being confident this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you shall perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. I love that an old hymn is not in our hymn book, but it says my faith has found a resting place not in.
I trust the ever living one His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument. I need no other plead. It is enough that Jesus died and that He died for me. Dear friend, it's enough for everyone in this room to just trust in that One who will keep your soul in time and in eternity. Well now it's time for me to move off to point #2.
00:30:19
The second mistake this man made?
Let's look at verse 19 again in our text.
Luke chapter 12 verse 19, it says, and I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry. His second error is mistaking his body as being more important than his soul. Now you say, wait a minute, He just said, I'm saying to my soul. He says, I say to my soul, soul.
And then he goes on to talk about it. But The thing is, this man was confused because what he was calling his soul was actually his body.
Notice what he says. First of all, he says thou hast much goods. Once again, this man is all about the stuff. I got all these things. J for me got all these things. Has nothing to do with the soul. It's all about his physical well-being and his material possessions.
He says not only that, but he says you can take your ease. It's about rest and relaxing, not having to work.
Once again, nothing about the real soul has a lot to do about the body, he says. You can eat and drink. Once again, nothing to do with the soul, but the human body needs to eat and drink them in order to function.
And then he says be merry. Well, you might say, well, that must have something to do with the soul. But I think in this case, since everything else pointed to the soul, I believe in this case he's also talking about his his body because Proverbs 1722 Says that Mary hard doeth good like a medicine with a broken spirit drawing the bone. So I think if we look at the context, this man when he says soul is confused.
Because he's talking about his body.
Because everything in this man's life revolves around stuff. Look at what I got. Hey people, look at me. I've got all these things.
And it's all about what he has.
If he was really addressing his soul, the conversation would be quite different. If he was really addressing his soul, he would be concerned about dying and what would happen after that. But he's not. It's all about now and what I have.
You know, there was a young boy that sat in his father's knee and he said, Papa, he said, is your soul insured? His father said, well, what do you mean by that, son? My sole insured. He said, well, I heard Uncle George say that you have the house insured and you have the car insured and you have the property insured. But he said he didn't think you had your sole insurer. Papa, will you get your sole insured?
And the man realized that his son was right. He had spent all this time accumulating things and never thought about his soul. Dear friend, are you spending your life in the accumulation of worldly goods, but you've never taken one moment to think about eternity. That is sad, because what happens to this man? God says to him, Thou fool this night.
Thy soul shall be a part of thee, and then who shall these things be which thou hast provided?
Then we all try to plan out our lives like they as a Christian man, talk to a a man, a young man that was going to college. And he said to him, what do you plan on doing your life? And he said, well, I'm going to graduate from college and hopefully get a good job. And Christian man said, well, what then? And he said, well, I hope to, you know, eventually get married and have a family. And he said, what the Christian man what then? And he said, well, hopefully after, you know, be able to buy a property and.
Nice home for my family. And the Christian man said what then? And he said, well eventually after we get married to raise our family, we'll retire and enjoy life. And then the Christian man said what then?
You didn't have any other answers because he'd never thought about his soul. He never thought about what happens after that last. What then? It was all about what I am going to do.
You know, sadly, there are many people, maybe even someone in this room tonight that you've spent a lot of time thinking about what you're gonna do as far as your earthly life, and you've never once thought about your soul. Never once.
You know, and The Associated Press told of a young lady in, uh, 2012 who actually put her soul up, forbid, on eBay. She was asking a beginning price of $2000.00. But at the time of the reporting of this, uh, story by The Associated Press, no one had been on her soul. And so local TV station from Albuquerque, NM wanted to find out.
00:35:19
You know why did you put your song bid on eBay?
When they found this woman, her name was Lori. They didn't get the last name.
And she said she put her soul up because she was tired of living. She said she had and suffered through a series of unfortunate happenings. She had been in a car accident, left her in a coma for three weeks. Umm, she also had a stroke that resulted in parallelization of parts of her body. She and then as a result of the car accident, she had a broken hip and a broken pelvis and another of other internal injuries. And she was just tired.
Of living.
And she thought maybe if she sold her soul, maybe she could do some good for a family. You know, that's sad. that Lady clearly is depressed. that Lady clearly had some problems.
And it would be wonderful if someone had shared the gospel with her, but I don't know how it went after that. But I do know that there are a lot of people in this world that are selling their souls for far less than the $2000. They're selling their souls for pleasure and wanting to go to be the life of the party like the, the, you know, the prodigal son. I'm going to enjoy life. Give me my money now.
There's people that are selling their souls for some kind of chemical high.
There's people that are selling their souls for prominence in the community.
And they want people to look up at them, clap and tell how wonderful they are.
There's people that are selling their souls for government positions and.
You know our positions in their company.
Dear friend, what are you selling yourself for?
You know, maybe you think that Lady Lori was a little crazy for selling her $2000.00. But your friend, if you're selling yourself for some earthly thing like position or pleasure, you're not making any better bargain. You're not making any kind of better bargain than what this lady was for trying to get $2000.00 for a soul. Not at all. Because as we said, Jesus said, what shall a man give in exchange for assault?
Your soul is priceless. Your life is priceless.
And God has given you life and time to make a decision what to do with it. But the sad reality is we're so busy with life sometimes that we forget there is a life to come.
You know, I found this interesting article that was written in 2013. Man named Walter Hickey was writing for a Internet magazine called Business Insider. I think they also have a print copy. But he was trying to figure out in this article what a soul was actually worth. So he writes this. He said an award-winning short story from the 1930s called The Devil and Daniel Webster offers another estimate of the worth of a human soul.
In the story, a man named Jabez Sohn sells his soul to the devil for 10 years of prosperity.
Business Insider notes that had the story taken place today, that would have made his soul worth approximately $1,745,926 now to me.
That's not a very good bargain, but he thought it was. He goes on. Did you know that the United States government actually has an estimate on what a human soul is like? In the Environmental Protection Agency, they use this statistic called the VSL, which stands for the Value of a Statistical life.
In 2016, they determined, and I don't know how they determined this, that the value of a statistical life was $7.4 million.
2013 went up a little bit. They figured the value of the VSL was $8.6 million.
I don't know where it currently.
Stand that, but none of those figures are active. The Bible is clear. Your soul is of the national value.
And it's worth far more than a few paltry million. For what shall it profit a man if he gave the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for a soul? Dear friend, God wants you to give your soul and your life to Him. He has sent his Son Jesus to die for you so that you can go to heaven.
00:40:00
He has paid the price so that you.
Can no eternal life and the sad thing is so many people.
Are wasting their lives.
Consumed about stuff just like this Richmond and I'm almost out of time. So I'll give you my last point. Try to shorten it up.
The last mistake he makes. So not only does he mistake his bank book as being more important than what the scripture says, and not only does he mistake, uh, his body for his soul, but the last thing I want us to notice is he mistakes time as being more important than eternity. Let's go back to our passage again. 1 reverses 19 and verse 20 again.
And there's two phrases that I wanted to point out to us that we we need to understand in these two verses. The first phrase is found in verse 19. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for notice this two word phrase many years.
Take thy knees, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, verse 20 Now thou fool, this is the next phrase. I want you to think about this.
Night, thy soul shall be required of thee, and then who shall those things be which thou hast provided?
So he mistakes time as being more important than an eternity. Notice what he says. I have many years.
Many years is the statement of pride. It's a statement. Well, I know what I have and we've already mentioned the Scriptures that Proverbs 27. One says boast not thyself, but tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. We don't know what will happen tomorrow even an hour from now.
It could be this night, someone in this room, your soul will be required of you by God.
Are you prepared for that?
But this man thought I had plenty of life. I had plenty of time.
Statement of prime Ah, I've got lots of time. Think about it later, worry about it later. But he didn't. It's a statement of procrastination. Someone said that people who expect to get saved in the 11Th hour usually die at 10:30, and sadly, that is often true. We think we have time, we think we can postpone, we think we can delay.
God says now as we sung being time, being time, while the voice of Jesus calls you be in time.
If in sin you longer wait, you might find no open gates and you cry. Be just too late. Be in time.
And of course, the last thing that we noticed about that phrase many years is how does it end? It ends in peril for him. Why? Because God says thou fool this night, thy soul shall be required of thee. So it ends in peril for him. Not goodly dense in peril. And then we have the phrase, the two words this night. I just want to quickly draw your attention to it. First of all, notice what this night is for this man. This night is a night of the soul, because what does?
Say he says, This night thy soul shall be required of thee.
Tonight, as a soul. The actual soul. Not that thing that he thought was the soul, which was everything related to his body and his physical comforts, but it was his actual soul.
You know, there was an unsafe man who went to play and he was convicted about his soul and the play. The the last action that takes place is there's a man who's being brought before the gallows.
And the last thing he says before they put him on, the gals would play. He says here's to the prosperity of the British nation and to the salvation of my immortal soul. And then the curtain drops.
Well, that man that was under conviction could not escape those last words. Not the prosperity of the British nation, but the salvation of my immortal soul. Dear friend, you have an immortal soul, you're gonna end up somewhere forever.
What the question is, what have you done with Jesus, who is called Christ?
Not only was it a night of the salt was a night of seizing. It's interesting the Greek word there required means to demand that the scripture is clear and I don't have time to read them.
But our lives are in God's hands.
He is the one who decides the bounds of their inhabitation, as it says in the book of Acts.
God's doing. And so when God says this is the night, I want your soul back.
The man has to.
Obey.
00:45:01
You know, many people are trying to figure ways to extend their lives, but our lives are in God's hands. And if he calls for your soul, there's no scientist, there's no scientific thing that can be done to save him because God determines the bounds of your habitation.
It's interesting, Sir Walter Scott, the last words he wrote, he was famous for his Diaries. He also wrote the book Ivanhoe, which is probably his most famous work. He was writing in his diary one night and he wrote Tomorrow We shall, and he dropped dead.
And so know what? It's a big literary mystery. They wondered, what was he gonna write after tomorrow, we shall.
No one knows, because that night his soul was required of him, and God asked for it back. And then lastly we noticed that the night of sorrow, because the Lord says to him, then who shall these things be which thou hast provided? Why sorrow? Because this man's life was spent all about his stuff.
And so certainly now that he's being ripped away from all his stuff, it is sorrowful for him. It reminds me of another man who was rich, had the same problem as the pool here because he's called the rich young ruler. And then Matthew 1922, it says this. But when the young man heard that saying, Jesus knew that this rich ruler was all about the stuff and all about the money. So he told him to give it all away and follow him. And that's the thing they're talking about. It goes on to say this in Matthew 1922, he went.
Away sorrowful because he had many possessions.
So what's the night of sorrow?
This man who was all about his riches and his possessions and his things, found sorrow at the end of it. Dear friend, if you're spending your life all about yourself, as I said earlier, you're making a fool's bargain.
The Bible is clear. Salvation exists only in God's Son. That's it. It's a finished work for you to receive tonight. But the question is, will you receive? What shall I then do with Jesus, who is called Christ? What are you going to do? This rich man? He wanted to do something and he decided to make it all about the earth. God asked you to make it all about His Son.
I'm way over, but I wanna read you a little poem and then I'll pray and then the meeting will close.
This is a man written by a man named Perry Boorman. He wrote this many go down life's path with lofty plans to amass a great fortune of houses and lands and to live a life of pleasure and ease, thinking happiness can be found in these others pursue power and worldwide fame to be known by all and to win their acclaim. But those without God who attained those goals.
Soon find emptiness remains in their souls.
They couldn't find the happiness they saw, for it comes from him and cannot be bought.
If only they realize these things won't last since life is fleeting and will soon be passed.
Well, worldly pleasure, flame, our fame and power will all be gone in death stark hour and beyond the grave. When eternity begins, those unsaved will be judged for their sins. If only they would believe in God's Son and repent of the simple deeds they've done, then they could go down life's path not needing to worry.
About God's wrath.
They would have the joy they longed for, inner peace, contentment and much more for when their lives inertial end heavenly lifts what it once began. Dear friend, as we close, I asked you once again, what will you do with Jesus? That's the question. And also where will you spend eternity? This question comes to you and me. Tell me, what will your interview? Where will you spend eternity? Let's pray and then the meeting will be over.