Open—S. Stewart, P. Daplyn
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.
61 #61.
Nsnoise.
OK.
Turn to a Scripture in the Romans 11.
And verse 29.
For the gifts.
End calling of God.
Or without repentance.
Genesis chapter 6.
Verse five. And 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 it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man.
Second Peter.
Chapter 3.
Verse 5.
For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water, and in the water, or by the world that then was being overflowed with water perished.
But the heavens and earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Verse 11.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God? Were in the heavens being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth. We're in dwelleth righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved, saying that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless.
In the scripture.
And here in this little portion and Peter, there are three worlds that are mentioned. There are three worlds. There was that world.
Which was of old in the heavens, standing out of the water, and in the water. For the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters in Genesis, and he called forth that dry land, and it stood up out of the water.
00:05:14
And those same waters that filled the heavens and the earth, in that world, God separated them by a space, by a firmament, the waters above and the waters below, out of which the dry land was called up. And so the world that then was stood in the water and out of the water, But those very waters were reserved.
Just as there is fire now reserved, and by those very waters, God overthrew that first world. It repented him that He made man.
Man had changed.
Sin had come in.
And it repented him that he made man. God changed his mind about that which had changed in itself, and that world was overthrown, overflown with water, and perished.
And Noah stepped out of the ark.
Onto a new world, a world that we presently live in, world that Peter says is going to come under judgment as well, but not water stored up with fire is going to be the end in judgment on this world. But we look according to his promise for a new heavens and a new earth. There's a world yet to come.
So there's three worlds, and the world that we live in is in between, one yet coming and one that has perished and is gone. Like to look back?
At Genesis again.
A little at that new world that.
Noah stepped out of the ark into.
Chapter 8 of Genesis 9.
Excuse me? Genesis 8 and verse 20.
I know I builded an altar unto the Lord, and took of every clean beast and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour. And the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground anymore for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I against smite anymore every living thing as I have done.
Let's.
Yeah, I pondered that. I think even as a, as a, as younger man, it seems so strange to me to read this verse and, uh, these offerings being offered and the Lord smelling a sweet savor Speaking of Christ to his heart, looking on to Calvary that the Lord would say he was not going to curse the ground anymore for man's sake.
And then say for for the imagination of man's heart.
Is evil from his youth.
And I thought, well, isn't that the very reason he brought judgment on that world that was overblown with a flood? Why would he, say, make this part of that statement, why he would not curse the ground anymore for man's sake? What he's doing is he's introducing a principle upon which he's going to act in this new world.
That Noah and his family stepped into a principle upon which he did not really act in the world before the flood. And he says the word to know. We're going to start out right up front. Noah knowing this, the imagination of man's heart's only evil from his youth.
The fact.
And so consequently in Chapter 9.
He says in verse 5, And surely your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of every beast will I require that the hand of man, and at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man. Whoso shutteth man's blood by man, shall his blood be shed, For in the image of God made he man.
00:10:03
God comes in, uh, and, and what he says to Noah with this, with this very plain statement effect, man's heart is evil, his imagination is evil from his youth and therefore he needs to be restrained.
I'm not going to let man be unrestrained like he was.
In the world that just got overflown with a flood, he must be restrained. He filled that world with corruption, and he filled it with violence.
And he took his brother's blood.
That which did not belong to him. For the life is in the blood, and the life belongs to God, and the blood belongs to God. So another principle is introduced to They could eat and use animals for food.
Verse four tells us three and four tells us that. So we don't have any indication that before the flood man used animals for food and now he's allowing men to use animals for food. But he says but.
Not the blood, because the life is in the blood, and that belongs to God alone. And if I give you these animals for food, you've got to acknowledge that the life I gave them belongs to me alone and not to you. And not only that, it's the life of man and his blood as well. And if someone murders someone, Noah, you're responsible.
To exercise capital punishment and execute that one who commits that.
Send.
And so in principle, in principle, government in this new earth is committed to the hands of man.
And then God tells Noah.
Verse 7 And you be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly in the earth and multiply there. And so they were to spread out on this earth and families and to fill it, and that was God's purpose for man.
But we we read over a little bit in the course of time.
In Chapter 11.
Verse One. And the whole earth was of one language. And 1:00 Speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. And they said, one to another, Go to let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime they had for mortar. And they said, Go to let us build us a city and a tower whose top may reach into heaven, and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth.
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, they have one laying all one language. And this they begin to do, and now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand when another speaks. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off.
To build the city, therefore, is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Soldier place there. I want to add one more scripture to that in Deuteronomy.
Chapter 32.
Verse 7.
Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask thy father, and he will show thee thy elders, and they will tell thee.
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance. When he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel for the Lord's portion as his people. And Jacob is a lot of his inheritance. When God came down and divided man by language, He really created nations. It wasn't judgment.
For their wickedness of rebelling against his command to Noah to spread out and multiply and families throughout this earth. Families are instituted of God. He set that up at the beginning with a with Adam and Eve, husband and wife. And now he brings in something else here in this new world. He divides man by language and into nations. But it wasn't only just his purpose to do that in judgment.
00:15:12
But he has something else in view. Though man's sin was the occasion, he had something else in view. He had a people.
And view, and a particular place and view. And he set the bounds of the children of the sons of Adam according to their nations. He purposed a place for each one of those in this earth. And he had a very special place, purpose for one special nation that was in his thoughts, and he was going to bring them into that place, and that was Israel.
And so we might look back at this, uh, time and see two things.
Families and nations both instituted by God.
Both instituted by God and this principle of government brought in to restrain man, that was really now going to largely be carried out by these nations, and they might carry it out very poorly.
I might carry it out.
Failingly.
And without regard to the one who gave them that responsibility. But nonetheless it was.
Committed to man.
Now going back to Genesis.
Chapter 10.
Verse 8 and Kush begat and Imran.
He began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord.
And the beginning of his Kingdom was Babel and Eric and Akad and Count on the land of Shiner, and out of that land went forth. Asher being made strong, he went out and builded Nineveh in the city of Rehoboth and Kayla and, uh.
Reason between Nineveh and Nineveh is, is the city of Ninas, which is really Nimrod. So it's beginning of his Kingdom was that very place of rebellion and, uh, he went out and, uh, being made strong, I think is perhaps one of the thoughts there. There's other, uh, uh, thoughts as to how that is interpreted.
And he built satellite cities. And how did he do it? Well, he was a mighty hunter. You know, I've haunted a little bit. I'm pretty poor hunter. And uh, it takes a lot of skill. But I can tell you this, I have no doubt the skills that this man, uh, learned in hunting, he applied to hunt man and he slave man. He enslaved other languages and he used them to build his Kingdom.
And this man, I'm just gonna give you very briefly, because I'm going beyond the word when I take this up, but in just in secular history, he married a woman.
Sumaramus and Nimrod was a violent man and he met a violent death and his wife gave birth to a son and said this is Nimrod reincarnated. And uh, he's, uh, he's the God man and worship him. And she and her son were worshiped.
And that's still so today. Even under the guise of Christianity, the woman and her son still worshipped. And it was the beginning of idolatry. And it spread out to all that earth in that tower they built with its many layers. You can see all around this world in the ziggurats built in the same fashion. Wherever you find them around this world in idolatry, begin to fill this world.
Something perhaps that had not been known before the flood either. We don't get a mention of idolatry until after the flood.
Hold your place there and we'll go back to Peter again.
Chapter one of two Peter.
And verse three, according as his divine power has given unto us all things.
That pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that called us by glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, are the very best.
00:20:05
Promises the very best.
X 7th chapter.
Verse Two. And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken. The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Karen. And he said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I will show thee.
I want to look at another verse in Joshua.
Chapter 24.
And verse 2.
Joshua said unto all the people. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Your Father's dwelt on the other side of the flood. That's not the flood.
That overflowed this world in judgment, but the other side of the river, because rivers flooded sometimes, and sometimes they're referred to as a flood in that way.
He dwelt on the other side of the flood. I take it that's Mesopotamia, the other side of the Euphrates?
In old time even Tara, the father of Abraham and the father of Nakor, and they served other gods.
And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac, and back to Genesis. 10 Herb Genesis.
11.
Well, maybe we'll just, we'll skip, uh.
Chapter 11. For the sake of time and justice, look at 12. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto land, that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great. And now shall be a blessing. Now bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and then thee shall all the families of the earth.
Be blessed. So Abraham departed as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Heron.
Verse 6 And Abram passed through the land, into the place of psychom, through the plain of Mori, And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed, I will give this land. And there buildeth he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.
And he removed from thence unto a mountain in the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the West and Hayeye on the east. And there he built an altar unto the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord neighbor Am journeyed going on still toward the South.
And there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land. It came to pass. When he was come near to enter into Egypt, he said unto Sarah's wife, Behold, now I know thou art a fair woman to look upon. Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This is his wife, and they will kill me, and they will save thee alive.
Say, I pray thee that thou art my sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul shall live because of thee. They came to pass that when Abram was coming to Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman, and she was very fair. The Princess also Pharaoh saw her and commended her before Pharaoh. The woman was taken into Pharaoh's house, and he entreated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep and oxen, and he ***** and men, servants and maidservants, and she ***** and camels.
And the Lord plagued Pharaoh in his house with great plagues because of Sarah, Abram's wife.
And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst thou not tell me she was thy wife? Why saidest thou She is my sister, so I might have taken her to meet a wife. Now therefore, behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and sent him away, and his wife, and all he had. And then we come to chapter 13. And in verse three he comes again to that place between Bethel.
00:25:06
Nai.
Abraham.
We see from Joshua.
Was from a family that worshipped those idols that began at Babel. He was in that very place, in the midst of all that corruption, when God called him, when the God of glory and virtue appeared and called Abram out. And what did he say, Abram, get thee out of that idolatry? He did not say that.
He did not say that, He said, Abram, get thee out of what?
Family, kindred and country.
Those things that he had instituted in this world.
Both family.
N Nation.
Instituted by God. But he says to Abram, you get out, get out. And Abraham heard the call of God and he went out and you and I have been called too. And where in the world in in the midst of moral pollution and corruption too. And God has called us out. He's called us out of family and nation, because both family and nation are subject to corruption.
And sin and if our loyalties had to be first with family and nation, we would be bound to the corruption that they are subject to and can come into and have come into. But he calls Abraham out of those things, even though instituted by him. He doesn't say go change it, go rescue it. Go see if you can con, uh, revise things or turn them around or restore noises. Just get out, Abram. And you and I have been called out too.
We have been called out, you and I each have an individual calling of gone. Do you know, do I know we're called by God, by the God of glory and virtue to a path of following him and what is attendant upon that calling?
The exceeding great and precious promises, the best promises. Abraham was given promises.
As called by God, with calling goes promises of God, and he went out, and he laid hold on those things, and he went into that land of Canaan, and he left behind family and nation.
And the test came, and the famine came in the land.
And he left that path that he had been called to the Father of faith.
Left that path. You know there was number calling before the flood.
There was no calling of God before the flood.
There were certainly men of God, there were prophets of God, Enoch and Noah, but none of them called like Abram was. He was the 1St.
Called of God.
And God said of that world before the flood, it repenteth me that I have made man, and he repented and he overflowed that world with a flood. But Romans 11, we read the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God isn't going to change his mind about Abraham. He called him, He's given him gifts, promises. He's not going to change his mind. And God isn't going to change his mind about your call and my call and the blessings and promises and gifts that he's given us either.
But Abraham fell, and he went down into Egypt a picture of this world.
He left that path of calling and the promises that went with it, that land that had been given to him of God. And what does he get? He goes down into Egypt. You know what Sarah is a picture of? If you turn to Galatians, we won't. She's a picture of grace. She's contrasted with Hagar. There's a picture of being under the law, and she's a picture of of the place we have in privileges, like Isaac, her son of being.
Sons of God and under grace.
And what does Abram go do when he gets out of that path of faith that the God of glory and virtue called him to? He denies his relationship with Sarah.
He denies his relationship with the grace of God. Is it word? Picture the grace of God called by glory and virtue. It's the grace of God that picked you and I out. But only get out of that path.
Of faith and calling will be brought into a place where we'll deny our relationship with grace.
00:30:08
And relax in a way we won't be able to confess Christ.
And Pharaoh comes along, and he takes as Sarah.
And what does he do? He sends them all kinds of gifts. He sends them camels and that are just servants. And he's he went out of Egypt rich later. Like Can you imagine Abram standing there and here it comes from Pharaoh, all the camels and ***** and everything else, all the wealth of Egypt.
One thought.
We go through his mind.
Where's my Sarah?
How about you?
And.
We get out of that path. Spirit of God reaches conscience, does he not?
Uh, where's my Sarah?
Where is Christ?
Where's that grace that picked you up and called you into a path of walking with God? Is a friend of God?
None of that display would have mattered at all to Abram.
Where's my Sir? Oh, he denied that relationship. God restored it to him. There's always a path back.
And he comes back into the land where he bent the beginning, and now he has what he didn't have in Egypt, an altar and a tent.
I just want to make a few brief comments on our brother Steve was talking about.
Umm, you're reading in second epistle Peter.
Chapter one, Verse 4. Where, where, whereby are given unto us, exceeding great and precious promises, that by these can be partakers of divine nature.
You know, Steve, my brother was talking about Abram.
Computer too. He he failed in a similar way he was uh.
Rubbing shoulders for the world as we were wearing himself before fire.
And as a result, he denied his Lord, He denied his Lord.
The Lord Jesus looked at him.
When he denies his Lord a third time, as the Lord told him he would do.
And he went out and he wept bitterly. Wept bitterly.
But you know.
Our Lord has the thought of all grace.
And Peter was picked up again. He was restored.
You know, whenever I see a a picture of uh.
Of salvation. We can often use the same pictures as an application to restoration as well. It's the grace of God.
Fix this up again when we fall, not necessarily in sin, but uh, in a wrong path where we can't enjoy the things of the Lord as we did before.
And.
He's ever ready and willing. We turn our gaze upon the Lord Jesus Christ again to set our feet on the right path again as we were before.
And you know.
When Peter went through that time, that sorrow, that that bitter weeping, and then privately and then publicly restored by the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Peter knew, and a fuller measure.
The depth of the love of God and the depths of the grace of God, so that He's able here.
To see whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. I think Peter uses the word precious seven times in his epistles.
I don't have time to find them all but.
00:35:00
Chapter 2 of verse one. He also has Li lively stones are built up a spiritual host, a holy priesthood to OfferUp spiritual sacrifice acceptable by God unto Jesus.
Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture. Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone. Elect precious. He believes on him shall not be confounded unto him. Therefore which believe he is precious.
Verse 9.
But you are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that you should show forth the praises of him who have called us, called you out of darkness unto His marvelous light.
Well, I just wanted to share this few little thoughts because our brother was speaking.
How precious our Savior is to us that know Him, the Savior, and may we always.
Have our gaze on him.
And walk on that path to please him and glorify him in our pathway down here.
I don't know how long ago.
I can't call it.
We also sing #5 in the appendix.
3993.
Uh, before I speak, it's what I'm talking about, I'm afraid. I'm not sure.
Nsnoise.
00:40:12
1515, 10-4 10-4 921292. 10-4 101 018111130531738.
Nsnoise.
And also saying the last verse of 160. The last verse of 160.