Open—R. Thonney, B. Christensen, D. Rule
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Let's go back to second Peter again.
Perhaps we can go to the third chapter.
Have a few thoughts that I.
Have become very real to my own soul and like to share them.
Let's.
Start with verse one. This second epistle. Beloved, I now write unto you in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance, that ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts, insane.
Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
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 whereby the world that then was.
Being overflowed with water perished, but the heavens and the 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.
But beloved?
Be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as 1000 years.
And 1000 years as one day the Lord is not flat concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us. We're not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which in the which the heavens shall pass away.
With a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also in the works that are therein, shall be burned up.
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 hastening unto the coming of the day of God.
Wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for.
New heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things?
Be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot and blameless. We just read that far.
Really enjoyed brethren in this chapter to see that there are three worlds drawn attention to just to go over them once more. Verse six, the world that then was. That's the world before the flood.
It evidently was in certain ways different than the world we now live in, because it says in verse 7 the heavens.
And the earth, which are now. So there was a different.
Order of things in the pre diluvian world than there is in the world that we now know. But then it speaks of the passing away of this whole world system in which we live. It's going to melt with fervent heat. It's going to be dissolved, remember.
Remember Brother Jimmy Smith speaking about this?
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He says what it speaks of here sounds like an atomic explosion.
Only this is the end of the whole world system.
That we now live in. Incredible to think about it. It's all coming to an end.
Oh, how important to have God's perspective on things like was mentioned in the address, It's not but what I am or who you are. It's God's texture that we want to get. You're fitting that picture. You're a believer in the Lord Jesus. You do, and that's what makes it so meaningful, but it's not centered in US. God's eternal purpose was.
That the Lord Jesus was going to occupy the central position.
In heaven and in earth, and that cannot be frustrated at eternal purpose.
Thank God for it, but the order that we sometimes spend so much of our time.
In it and I don't say it's wrong to have a decent job to provide for your family. That's very clear in scripture were to do that. But sometimes our efforts go quite a bit beyond that and brother, we need to be reminded that we were not made for this world system. We're made for something that is coming.
Something that is extremely glorious.
And then the third.
World that is mentioned is in verse.
13.
Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Talking there about what is called.
In verse.
12:00 The day of God.
It's that eternal day. It's when God is going to make new heavens and a new earth. You have it in the first verses of Revelation chapter 21. Tremendous to think about it or to try to think about it. We are so limited in our thinking processes.
To understand it, and I suppose that's why Scripture speaks so little.
Of eternity is because we think in the realm of time, and if that's about all that way, we can think. But God has a purpose in our being here in this present world.
God made the first original world and verse five seems to refer to Genesis chapter one.
You remember that it says that?
Waters covered the face of the earth and so then God gave a commandment. Let the waters come into one place and let the dry land appear. Seems to be what?
By the word of the Lord, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water.
And in the water.
But verse six seems to refer to the flood.
Of Noah's day, the world that then was being overflowed with water perished. So the world that that was is fast. But in verse 7, the heavens and the earth, which are now interesting.
To know something of the heavens and the earth that are now.
Wonderful creation that God has created incredible size of the heavens. I I just thrill and I learned something more about the tremendous size of creation. There's no way we can.
Really conceive of it, but we can talk in figures and they say, remember I was talking out West that a young people sing one time and I mentioned that in the Milky Way universe there were approximately 100 billion stars.
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The young man came up afterwards and he says, you know what, it's closer to 200 billion.
Wowie.
And on top of that, they say, according to what scientists can determine from their knowledge, now, there's at least another 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
Just totally, completely.
Leaves our minds behind as to the heavens and the earth that are now and we are living in this world. This is where God has placed us and He has a purpose for our existence here and now. But let's not forget brethren, that it's all destined to be burned up. It's going to dissolve.
And we are getting down to the time when there's going to be major changes in this world, seeing we're going to see a change in governments.
It is really fascinating to me to see what's taking place in our world, the financial meltdown. It just doesn't seem like anybody really understands it properly.
It's all kind of cheatering and they're hoping that it'll stay together.
And if we don't have the right perspective, we'll be troubled about it all, brethren. But our perspective should be set beyond anything that is material. The Lord help us to think properly in the days in which we live. And he says the verse 10, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise.
And the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also in the works that are therein, shall be burned up.
Day of the Lord, as I understand it, begins at the end.
Of the Tribulation period, when the Lord Jesus comes out of heaven.
With his Saints to reign supreme in this world.
And that day extends the whole millennial period 1000 years.
That day of the Lord. And so when you read verse 10, I'd like to explain it as I understand it. It says the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Semi colon. Stop there.
We know that when the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, it will be because this world does not want him to come and is not expecting him to come.
That's the way a thief comes. We who are believers know that he's not going to come for us as a thief. He's going to come for us as our heavenly bridegroom. We're going to a wedding on that side. Wonderful to think about.
Glorious, tremendously glorious. But at the end of the tribulation, he's coming as a thief for this world that does not want him to come.
And who is not waiting for him? But then notice what comes after that in the witch in this day of the Lord. It's really at the very end of the day of the Lord that this next part is true. The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also, in the works that are therein, shall be burned up.
Interesting to hear about the works that they are planning today.
I've heard, uh, it's interesting. The other day in Spain I was with.
One of the rules, one of Don's nephews in southern Spain, he was talking about some of the projects. He's an architect.
The tremendous plans they have for new buildings, higher, much higher than they have even now. The works are going to be burned up.
No, we have to be occupied with things here, brethren. But the fact that they're going to be burned up, doesn't that challenge you and me to live for things that remain? Everything that is here, tangible, visible, is going to pass away. That which we have by faith in Christ is forever. And shouldn't we live?
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In view of those realities.
In fact, it's interesting the way the Apostle Paul puts it in Second Corinthians chapter four, he says.
The things which are seen are temporal. The things which are not seen are eternal. So much of our lives.
Are occupied with things that are seen, tangible, visible. We live in a culture that cultivates desire for things that are visible. This book is what encourages us.
To live by faith, and faith looks beyond.
The material veneer to those things that are eternal, those things that are spiritual. May the Lord help us to live our lives in a way that we when that day comes of glory, we will have that which remains. I'd like to speak a little bit about this day of the Lord. So I don't think we.
Grasp properly.
The tremendous glory it will be when Jesus comes again with his Saints to reign.
In fact, I really believe that it's going to be perhaps the most.
Glorious display of power that there will ever be in this world's history, ever was or ever will be.
When God introduces his man into the realms of power in this world, and he's going to put down his enemies and he's going to reign from sea to sea.
It's beautiful to read. In fact, I'd like to go back to the book of Isaiah and just read a few verses in connection with that day of the Lord.
Go to Isaiah chapter 2.
Verse two. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established.
In the top of the mountains.
And they and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow into it.
Jerusalem will be the center of this world's government, and many people shall go and say, Come ye, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people.
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares.
And there Spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
In this tremendously beautiful to think of a day when they're not going to teach war anymore.
Verse 50 House of Jacob, come here, let us walk.
In the light of the Lord a little further down verse.
10.
Enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust, for the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty. The lofty looks of man.
Shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down. Oh, what a difference from the world that we now live in.
Haughtiness and loftiness are encouraged. Pride, that which is so hateful to God, is spoken of as something positive.
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Verse 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low, and upon all the Cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up.
And upon all the oaks ofation different figures of lofty.
Persons in this world, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up.
And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall, and upon all the ships of Tarsus, And upon the pleasant pictures.
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. Oh, does not rejoice your heart, brethren, the day of the Lord, when He alone shall be exalted. If there is any desire on the part of anyone to lift himself up in that day, they're going to be put down.
And should not this be an encouragement amongst ourselves? Brethren, who are we?
Nothing. Sometimes I like to say we're just a bunch of zeros.
You put the Lord Jesus as #1 in front of a bunch of zeros. That one gives all the value to the zeros. But the Lord help us, brethren, if there's any desire on any of our parts to make a name for ourselves. Lord isn't glorified in that. The Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. The idols He shall utterly abolish, and they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth, for the fear of the Lord.
And for the glory of His Majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the earth.
And then when I see the idols.
There's sports people that are idols, There's idols in other areas of life too.
Sometimes we are embracing idols in one way or another. What's the cure for idols is to get your eyes on the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats.
To go into the cliffs of the rocks and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord.
For the glory of His Majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the earth.
Cease, yeah, from man whose breath and is in his nostrils, for wherein is He to be accounted of? Oh, brethren, we need to glory in the Lord. There's so much to understand about His glorious person, and the more we understand of His greatness, His glory.
The more it will make us cease to be thinking about ourselves and what we are. Thank God our position is an association with Him and when He comes back in that day of the Lord to reign supreme, we are coming with Him.
You know, I've often asked who was the person that first knew about the coming of the Lord in the Bible. Perhaps it was Enoch even before the flood.
He knew about it, God must have told him about it, and Enoch prophesied. Behold.
The Lord cometh with the myriads of his Saints. Think of the glory of that moment when.
Heaven rips open and outcomes a horse, a White Horse with a rider on it. The Lord of Glory and the armies of Heaven come after him. We know we won't have to fight in that war. The sword of his mouth will lay one army after another in the dust.
We are going to be eyewitnesses when Jesus comes back again. Wonderful, wonderful things are just ahead. And are we asleep, brethren? Are we awakened as to where we are and how important it is to take whatever means the Lord has put into our hands and to use them in view of the glory of that day when Jesus will reign supreme?
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There is so much to be done in this world. I see you, dear young people.
Sure, thankful to see you here. Sure thankful to see you interested in the scriptures.
I want to encourage you with all my heart, but I want to say to you, don't get short sighted in viewing this present world. Live for what's coming. Live in a way so that when this is all dissolved, you will have.
What remains for that eternal day?
The Lord, the day of the Lord, The Lord is going to reign supreme, and it does speak in Scripture that we are going to reign with Him.
Yes.
You know what, according to the faithfulness you show with what's put into your hands now, so will be your place in that coming Kingdom. You remember in Luke's Gospel, the parable of the talents is given a little bit different than in the in the book of Matthew.
In the Matthew he gave them according to their several.
Ability. And there are those who have more ability than others, but in Matthew's Gospel, you'll find that the rewards were all the same.
To the one who had the five talents and the one that had the two.
But when you get to Luke's gospel, he gives them all one talent and one comes back and he's gained 10 talents. And accordingly the Lord says be thou over 10 cities, and another one gained 5 talents. Well, he had worked too, not quite as diligently as the first one. The Lord said be thou over 5 cities.
What do you take from that?
They take for it that according to our faithfulness with what God puts in our hands now, so will be the our position in the coming Kingdom.
When the Lord Jesus reigns, are you interested in life here and now? You're interested in having a big bank account now? Not saying there's anything wrong with having a bank account.
But I say, is that your purpose to mask fortunes down here when it loses its value so fast, as we saw these last few couple weeks? Is that your interest or are you going to be interested in something that will last for that Kingdom day, the day of the Lord?
But there's another day mentioned here in Second Peter, and that's what I want to mention too, before we get placed to somebody else. Verse 10.
I'm sorry, it's verse 12 looking for.
And hastening the coming of the day of God, we're in the heavens. Being on fire shall be dissolved, the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, when it's talking about the millennial day.
In Isaiah it says.
A king shall reign in righteousness, and Princess and judgment.
When there's raining, it means that there's something to be controlled, and so in the millennial day there will still be sin.
It will not be open as it is today. Those that sin will be cut off.
Next morning.
And people will realize people get so used to sin in the world that we live in today.
Get so used to it that.
They make excuses for it. They draw out court cases and try to beat justice. And sometimes they do.
But in that day it will be different. There will be no court system of that sort.
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Somebody sins one day, the next day they're gone. No appeals there. That's it. They're cut off.
And they will learn fairly fast, I would imagine that we cannot play around with this government.
So some will yield perhaps feigned obedience.
Others in reality will submit themselves. That's the day of the Lord, the day of God. Notice the difference. It says righteousness dwells. Why? Because there is no longer any sin, not even a suggestion of sin. No trace of it forever. Oh, what a day it's going to be. It's hard for us to even conceive.
Of a world that's such, but that's.
In the future for God's people to look forward with.
Too. But now just notice the exhortation that he gives at verse 14. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things?
Be diligent. There's that word diligent again.
The diligent soul shall be made fact.
Oh, the Lord give us diligence in the things of God, dear brother and sister.
In Christ, let's not be slothful, sloppy about the things of God, diligent that you may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless.
Nsnoise.
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Might we just for a very few moments, turn to a scripture in the 41St chapter of Isaiah?
A week or so ago, the verse that I intend to read appeared.
On one of the Christian calendars and I was very impressed with the verse and it led to a line of meditation.
I'd like to read the sixth verse of Isaiah chapter 41.
Says they helped everyone. His neighbor.
And everyone said to his brother.
Be of good courage.
We'll just stop there for a moment. Think of that expression, his neighbor. Where do we see it occurring? We see it occurring in Luke's gospel in in connection with the certain Samaritan.
And we see that there were two individuals that passed by, but there was one that came who not only gave encouragement, but one that provided for that one that was in great need. And so that parallel parable would really bring before us who our neighbor is. And then in the next verse of that chapter.
It says, so the Carpenter encouraged the Goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer, him that smote the anvil, saying it is ready for the soldering, and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved. So we see a chain reaction here. We see one encouraging the other, and I think we've seen something of this in a very practical way here.
This very day speaking to our brother between meetings before and we spoke about how the fact that we were refreshed by being present at the meetings, being free from our work environment, being free from perhaps the school environment. And so we see that the Lord does make provision for our needs and does encourage we have that provision brought before us in connection with Elam. We have the wells and the palm trees. And so the Lord.
Does encourage his own and how thankful we can be. Now let's just turn over for just a few moments to 2nd Corinthians rather Second Chronicles chapter 31.
For another verse.
In verse four it says, Moreover, he commanded the people that.
Dwelled in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priest and the Levites.
And then it says that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord. And so we've had the word of God before us today. We were talking this morning about human knowledge, human learning. But what are we we to be encouraged in? It's the law of the Lord. And so we're reminded of Psalm 119, which brings before us the word of God.
In so many different aspects. And so our encouragement today can be in the law of the Lord. Now let's just turn to another verse. In Second Chronicles chapter 35, we see another case where the word encouraged is used. The second verse of Second Chronicles chapter 35. And it says, and he set the priest in their charges and encouraged them to the service.
Of the House of the Lord. So we have them in the 31St chapter.
Encouraged in the law of the Lord, and now we have an encouragement and service and how important that is too. Let's just look at a practical manifestation or a practical carrying out of what we have had brought before us in these few verses. Briefly, we'll just turn to the 4th chapter of the book of Nehemiah.
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It's actually the 3rd and 4th chapters of the short book of Nehemiah.
We have brought before us those that build it on the wall, and I believe that we have answering to this in the New Testament that which we have brought before us in the small book of Jude. There were those that had the sword in one hand, and they were to earnestly contend for the faith. But it also brings before us the need in the end of that short epistle.
The need to be built up and so we see that those that worked on the wall here in Nehemiah.
Had a sword in one hand, but they had a trowel and the other. And so while they were holding that sword, they were also holding a trowel. And if we read through this third and 4th chapter of the book of Nehemiah, we would read about various individuals, various families that worked on the wall. And we see in some cases that there was failure on the part of some to build a portion or a part of the wall.
That was before them, but it's encouraging to see also.
That there were those that not only fulfilled a certain requirement to build a section of the wall, but at least three places. In this third chapter, it brings before us that they repaired another piece. And so sometimes we have to sort of speak, pick up the slack. And I was just thinking earlier, what was going through the minds of some that were building on the wall. Perhaps some were feeling weariness.
Perhaps some were discouraged, and we see that there was much discouragement here. We see in the book of Nehemiah the enemy so active to discourage. We see that there were those that were aligned against the children of Israel and tried to prevent them from constructing that wall. And so perhaps there was much discouragement. And I can just picture those working on the wall and they were probably working in close proximity to one another.
And one might say to the other, it's not much more that we have to build. Let's just try to finish this section. And perhaps there was another, uh, next to him that turned around and tried to encourage another one working on the wall, perhaps not using the same words, but expressing the same need. And So what, what is before my heart today is the fact that we need.
To encourage one another. And how do we do that? It's through.
His precious word, another word that could be expanded on, and it's not my intention to expand on that today, is the word strengthen. And they go together, don't they? Encourage. Strengthen. And we read in First Timothy of the household of Vanessa for us, and it says that they OFT refreshed the apostle Paul. So these 3 words go together, don't they? Encouraging.
Strengthening, refreshing, and in connection with Anessa Forest, it says that he was not ashamed of my chains, and so there was perhaps a certain amount of rebuke.
Connected with associating with the apostle Paul but here was one that visited the apostle Paul while he was in house prison and I'm sure.
When he visited the Apostle Paul, he brought him a word of encouragement. He refreshed the soul of the Apostle Paul. May we desire to encourage, May we desire to strengthen, May we desire to refresh one another.
Let us turn again to the last verse of the address that we had this afternoon.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 3.
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2nd Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18.
But we all with open face, beholding us in a glass, the glory of the Lord.
Are changed into the same image from glory to glory.
Even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Let's also go over to Galatians chapter 2.
Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20.
I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me.
And gave himself for me.
Now back to.
Second Peter chapter one that we've had in the reading meetings.
The 1St 4 verses.
Of Second Peter chapter one.
Set the stage. Give us the doctrinal foundation, if you will, for the practical carrying out of the truth that is given in the verses which follow in verses 5.
And following through verse 9.
The verse in Second Corinthians chapter 3 is the key.
To the practical application.
Well, these verses in.
First, second Peter 2 about adding to your faith, virtue and virtue knowledge, and so on.
And I would like to speak about the practical application of it in US.
That we might be helped to fulfill what Peter is exhorting of us in what is said to us.
2nd Corinthians chapter 3 We all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image as by the Spirit of our God.
The truth of that verse is this.
We have to be occupied with an object outside of ourselves.
And that object that God has placed before us is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And as we are occupied with that object.
God by the Spirit changes us.
To be like the object.
And there is absolutely no other mechanism given of God to accomplish that.
It's very important to fully appreciate that.
That God, I'm going to repeat it and then expand on it again and again in the time before us.
We have to have an object outside of ourselves, and God has given to us that object, His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we behold him, the Spirit of God.
Changes us to be like the object.
That we are occupied with. It's true even in natural things if a man is occupied with money.
He will become avarice if he is occupied with power. He will become ambitious.
And so on. That is, what a man occupies himself is that which that man or woman or child becomes.
The same principle, the same truth, is illustrated and given to us in Galatians 2 and 20, where it says, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. That is.
I live by that faith which has as its object.
The Son of God.
And it immediately presents the object in a little bit to my heart, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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That is the Christian faith, the faith which has the Lord Jesus Christ.
As its object.
And it's a satisfying It's a complete object for the heart. God has so made us that nothing else will fully satisfy us.
Than that. And so he presents it to us. And he says as Paul enjoyed it in his own soul, when he thought of the object before him, that he was to live in faith, occupied with that object. He says, Who loved me.
And gave himself for me. And as Paul was taken up with the love of the Lord Jesus for himself.
He was changed.
In a practical way, until he could say, for me to live is Christ.
And to die is gain, he said in Galatians 2 and 20, Who loved me and gave himself for me.
So when he takes it up in Philippians chapter 3 and he says for me to live as Christ, he goes on to as it were practically say.
He died.
He died for me.
And if dying, going through the experience of death will enable me to know him better.
Then I want to go through that too.
I want to experience anything and everything that God would allow me to experience.
That would help me to know him better as the object of my heart.
We naturally avoid pain and suffering.
But the apostle Paul had so learned Christ that he embraced.
Pain and suffering.
Because he said, the Lord Jesus, the object of my life, passed through that, and I willingly will pass through it myself, as that which will enable me practically to lay hold of Him, the object of my heart and my life.
So we have here in second Peter chapter one those things that are given first.
Are those things that are essential in order for the exhortation to be meaningful or beneficial to us in our lives? He says. I'm just going to go over it. We've gone over it already in the reading, but to bring back the thoughts to us in verse one, precious faith through the righteousness of God.
I want you to notice as we go over them, that the source of everyone of them.
Is not in US.
The source of every one of these things that are brought before us first is from God.
Because if you disconnect.
Ourselves from the source, you, you lose everything practically. And we'll go back to the Gospel of Luke to see that by example. But here he says.
Like precious, Well, how it says have obtained, have obtained, like precious faith, where's the source of it?
It's in God himself.
Through the righteousness of God, it is that faith which connects us with God, the source of it.
And himself as righteousness.
Verse two. Through the knowledge of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Where is the source of that knowledge of God and the Savior Jesus Christ? It's from God himself.
God has chosen to make himself known to us.
And so that we might know him.
If God had not chosen to make himself in the knowledge of Himself, to reveal it to us, it would be impossible.
To know him.
We could not, and yet it's the very knowledge of God that changes us.
And transforms us to be like himself.
Verse three according to his divine.
Power.
It is His divine power according to the love and goodness of his own heart.
00:55:07
So these chosen to put us as an object of His love, and to reproduce His beloved Son in US practically. But the power of it, the source of it, the goodness of it, is not now and ever will be in US.
It's from himself, it's maintained from himself and the moment again we disconnect it.
We lose the communion with himself. We turn upon ourselves.
And there's sad results that come from it, as we'll see in a few minutes, verse 4, whereby are given unto us. The source of all that's promised that's given to us is not in US. It doesn't start with us and it doesn't end with us. It begins with God and it ends with God.
And he fulfills his own desires and purpose through us to his own glory.
But it is.
Given to us great and precious promises.
The verses which follow.
Our practical exhortations to us.
To carry out.
When we look at them, we see them perfectly expressed in the Lord Jesus.
Everyone of these virtues is seen in perfection in the person and life.
Of the Lord Jesus.
And as they are expressed in US.
We get to know him better. That's why it says in verse 9.
Umm, or verse 8.
That ye be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's him.
Displayed to us in loving kindness and knowledge and love and so on. And as those things are real in us, our knowledge, our fruitfulness of himself increases.
It's not complete yet.
But the key of it.
You and I cannot.
We do not have the power to accomplish these exhortations in any manner.
In which we are self occupied.
The only way in which they will be realized in our lives is in the measure in which we turn away from ourselves and focus our thoughts, our hearts, upon himself.
And God has so given the Lord Jesus to us.
I want to go back to the hymn that we sang at the beginning of this meeting, it says.
Bread of Heaven, feed us now and evermore.
I live by the faith of the Son of God.
But he says before that.
I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
That is when I put my trust and when you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ himself became in you.
Your life.
And practically when your eye is gazing upon him.
Objectively, as a person in the word of God in heaven.
In every manner in which we occupy ourselves with him.
He is the food of the life that is in US.
And that's the only way that the life we have can be fed.
We cannot feed it by something within ourselves. We cannot sustain it by something within ourselves. When we get to heaven, as the poet and the hymn said, feed us now and evermore, and when we get to the glory, the Lord Jesus will continue as we gaze upon Him face to face, to be the actual food that sustains that eternal life which is within us.
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And it has to be sustained.
It has to be sustained.
We cannot.
Sustain ourselves. We are dependent creatures. Turn with me to Luke's Gospel, chapter 18.
This is what we're gonna say is not the primary purpose of Luke 18, I don't believe.
But I think we can properly apply some of the principles of it.
We won't read the chapter, there's not time to do that, but we'll find in this. I wanna comment on three, the beginning and the end. In the middle of the chapter we have things connected with faith. And then between those 3 instances, after the first one, the first message of faith, we have what?
This happens when we turn on ourselves, then we have faith brought before us again, and then we see what happens when we turn back on ourselves, and then the chapter ends with faith again.
In the beginning of the chapter, there's a poor widowed woman and she's insistent that the judge Avenger and the Lord ends up by saying, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith in the earth? This woman illustrates a faith that the Son will have in the tribulation period in the previous 17th chapter where it starts the message. But the point is she that I want to bring out here, she had faith.
Even in this case.
In the principle of it in a man that was unjust, but he he said, well, I'm tired of her bugging me and I'll do what she wants. In the middle of the chapter, there's faith. It's not mentioned exactly, but it speaks with the little children. And we know what characterized the little child in its simplicity of its faith. It doesn't. It wouldn't even know what the word faith. The little children don't even know what the word means. Maybe we don't either very well, but but a child expresses it, it lives it.
You see a little child get hurt and you know where his faith is.
It's immediately expressed I want Mama or daddy. And it goes to them with all simplicity. In the end of the chapter, there's the blind man on his way to Jericho and or the Lord's on his way to Jericho and.
Lord stops and he says, What do you want? He says, that I may see.
Lord says see.
My faith has made thee whole.
I want to comment on faith because faith itself.
Has to have an object that it's emphasized and the murmur. You turn faith back on itself. The moment you start looking at the faith that's in you, you're going to have doubts.
I want to illustrate it briefly when I was a boy.
And I sat in meetings like this and locally where I lived, and I heard the message of the gospel. There came a time in my childhood life when I believed it.
But I did not have peace or confidence for a number of years after I first in my heart said, I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And I found myself over and over again going back and saying at times, Lord, if I don't believe, I believe now.
What was my difficulty? The day came in my life when my thoughts turned from my faith.
To thinking about if God is satisfied with the work of the Lord Jesus for me.
Then I can be satisfied as well, and from that day to this, I've had peace in my soul.
But the point is, I turn from occupation, from myself and my faith.
To God and his satisfaction in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
John Kaiser, whom I go to a detention center each week with, often speaks to the kids.
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Or at least occasionally about his own, where he came to have peace in his soul and he was the opposite. But the principle is the same, John said for a long time, I know, I believe.
But I'm not sure whether God is going to accept me.
In principle, John and I were the same, although it manifested itself in a different way.
He was saying.
I have faith. He looked within himself and he had confidence that there was faith there.
But then when he turned to God, he wasn't sure. And the problem was.
He was self self occupied.
He went to his father, and he told his father eventually of his problem, that his father gave him the verse in John 6. Him that cometh to me I will in no ice cast out. And he got peace, because he turned from his own sense of his own faith, And he put it in to Him that cometh to me I will in no ice cast out. And we find illustrated in this chapter in each case, and in the last case it was.
A faith that was not self occupied.
But it was a faith that dwelt upon its object, and brethren, that is essential, that is key to living a life of faith.
Some ways it seems harder to live it than it did to accept it as to the salvation of our souls.
But to try to live it out in our lives is often more distressing to us.
Than even our original work of faith to save us. Now let's look briefly at the man. That's the parable in verse nine. He spake this parable unto certain that trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Notice trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others, whereas Mr. Darby translates it made nothing of the rest of men.
Two men went up into the temple to pray, 1A Pharisee, and the other a public, and the Pharisee stood and prayed to us with himself. God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are extortioners and just adulterers, or even as this public and I fast twice in the week. I give ties of all that I possess. And the public in standing afar off, would not lift so much of his eyes into heaven, but smote upon his breasts, saying, God be merciful to me, a Sinner.
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. This is generally applied in the Gospel to people and getting saved, but I want to apply it. It applies to us, brethren, and I'm going to apply it to myself and illustrate it through myself.
Every so often where I work.
One of the staff will come into my office and say Thomas is here to see you.
That's all they have to say. Thomas is here to see you. And so I go out to see Thomas, who will be waiting for me.
And I will talk to Thomas.
And inevitably, in the course of the conversation, it will come out that Thomas needs money.
And I will open my wallet and I will look in my wallet and I will see what I have and I will share it with Thomas.
Thomas is a believer.
Now, isn't that?
A demonstration in my life.
That's something of the brotherly love that is said in Second Peter. One is true in me.
Here's a brother. He comes to me. He's in need. I open my wallet.
And I see what's there and I share it with him.
Remember, on one occasion I opened, it was empty and I said I'm sorry, Thomas, it's empty.
That was Friday. He came back Monday.
But the point, brethren, is this.
It is extremely easy for me to say I'm not like Thomas.
I'm not like Thomas.
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I don't go to somebody else's place of work.
And say I need money.
But it's easy when there's confidence in one's own goodness and in self. And in fact, in this Pharisee there is evidence that he was something that man would call good.
The fact that he did not do those things that he said he didn't do, we have no reason to doubt. And he is, from man's standpoint, virtuous.
And he was aware of it. God had produced in him what he was.
And he turned in on himself, and he thought about himself and what he was.
And it produced because of turning away from his object. That should have been his object at least. And the moral of it he.
Trusted in himself.
And it led to self exaltation.
Which is a form of pride.
If you, if I become improperly occupied with the grace of God that has worked in our souls to make us grow to the extent that we may have grown in our Christian life up to this point. The moment you turn away from the only holy and true true object and source of what you are and occupy yourself with what God has done in you.
It will turn to self exaltation.
And that is true collectively as well as individually.
And it will bring the government of God into the light and this man.
Had that problem, and brethren, it's easy to have that problem.
You must, I must be done with even the workings of the goodness of God in US.
Or we will struggle our whole lives with the problem of indwelling sin.
Quickly, while there's a moment or two, we'll just go to the high point of it, but the next example is the man that's given to us, the rich young man.
Umm. In.
Umm, see if I can find it here. Verse 19 A certain ruler asked him, saying, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good save one that is God. That's all. We'll have time to take up on this.
God alone is good.
God alone is inherently good, and the goodness that is found in anyone of us is Christ and His life in US. It is not in US separately from that the Lord Jesus prophetically in the Psalms could even say of Himself, My goodness extendeth not to thee when addressing God.
And yet this rich young man had virtue as we see it. Who of us could say we lived a life like he did?
And yet.
When he addressed the Lord as good, he was addressing him as someone who him and said as it were, what else do I have to do? I suppose he may have thought he had done enough, that he was going to inherit eternal life. And the moment we turn in on ourselves and even the work of God that has been working in us, we disconnect ourselves from the source of the good.
And it leads again to taking us back on self and defeat too, eventually in doing so.
I live.
Christ liveth in me.
That's the life that we have and Christ living in me.
Has to be lived out, not with self occupation.
Not with a check up on my progress. Not with a desire to say I've got so far in life and I'm making good progress and I'm growing. Let God decide how far you've grown.
Just simply.
Find in the perfection of God.
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That which satisfies will satisfy, because God will make it satisfy your heart.
Just one last comment, I hope you don't find it unnecessarily amusing.
But it illustrates something that's important.
What we've had before us says in another words that's been said many times to some of us in this room.
Don't try to love the Lord more than you do.
Just be occupied with His love for you.
That's the truth of what we've been talking about.
Don't try to produce from within yourself a love for the Lord Jesus.
God will produce it in you when you are occupied with Himself in His perfection.
But the other side says, well, doesn't John's epistle tell us hereby know we we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren? Isn't that the perfect life seen in US? And so there's a tendency to to think about ourselves and perhaps that we love our brethren and so on. Let me take that statement and say it a different way.
If you think that the truth of it is the same in us as it is in him.
Don't try to love your brethren more than you do. Just be occupied with their love for you.
Do any of us think that we're getting from our brethren?
That perfect love that is manifested in the Lord Jesus.
No, we realize it, and if we see it in them, we see it in ourselves. Or at least we should.
And so there is not even in others anything that we can see as a satisfying object.
So we don't say, we don't try to apply. It's not a correct statement to say don't try to love your brethren more than you do.
Although in truth, don't try to love your brethren more than you do.
You be occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ, and God will work in you so that you do love your brethren more than you do.
And on the other side of it, just be occupied with their love for you.
The self occupation and is doomed to fail on the other side because you'll say my brethren don't love me like they should.
They're failing me. And there again, your eye is off the object.
Whether it's your love for them or their love for you, your eye has lost its object.
And it will not produce the end result in practice in your life. The only result is occupation with himself. Our time is up, so let's pray.