Open—M. Payette, B. Prost, J. Boulard
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Lord Jesus.
Forever.
He might.
Have to sing a high glory.
Of.
Praise as my head and my hide.
Let him keep silence in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sits by. Let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
And the spirits of the Prophet.
Not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the Saints.
Second Samuel chapter.
Give me the chapter a moment.
2nd Chapter 24.
Second Samuel, chapter 24.
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Second Samuel 24, verse 15.
So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed, and they died of the people from then, even Toshiba 70,000 men.
When Angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the Angel that destroyed the people, it is enough to stay. Now thine hand and the Angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Arona the Jebusite. And David spake unto the Lord, when he saw the Angel that smoked the people, and said, lo.
I have sinned, I have done wickedly and but these sheep, what have they done?
Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my Father's house.
And God came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up rear an altar unto the Lord, in a threshing floor of Arona de Jebusite. And David, according to the saying of God, went up as the Lord commanded, And Arona looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him.
In a row went out and bowed himself before the king, and his fish upon the ground. And Arona said, Wherefore is my Lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Arona said unto David, Let my Lord the king take and OfferUp what seemeth good unto him. Behold, here be oxen for burnt, offering for burnt.
Twice, and instruments, and other instruments of the auction for wood. All these things did Arona, as the king gave unto the as a king give unto the king. And her owner said unto the king, The Lord thy God, except thee. And the king said unto Aronae, But I will surely buy it of thee at a price, neither will Ioffer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, of that which that cost me nothing.
So David bought the treashing floor and the oxen.
For 50 shekels of silver. And they built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was paid from Israel.
Well, I'm sure we've generally most of us are familiar with this portion.
Just like to make a few remarks on this portion and a few others quickly and that you'll be the judge that you might discern as we read in First Corinthians 14.
We find in this account that it was God. That's third David.
And so there was God's purpose to reveal something in his portion to David.
We find many treashing floors in the scriptures and he speaks of testing.
And it was a threshing floor of Verona the Jebusite.
We read when the children of Israel went into the land of Canaan, they were to destroy all the inhabitants therein.
They did not.
There were those that they failed to clean the country of and those that the Lord allowed to subsist in their midst to be a test for them.
Well, here's one Who's Arona de Jebusite? He he shouldn't have been in the land.
But where was the owner, the Jebusite? Well, he was on the treashing floor there. And you'll find out later on when Solomon built the temple. That's where you're going to build a temple because this threshing floor of Verona de Jebusite is on Mount Moriah.
And the Lord drew attention here to that place.
David had taken hold of most of the land. He was the ruler over there and he had the people counted and how much, how much armies he had, and the Lord put him up to that.
But there was this little spot there.
That he hadn't bothered to take. They hold up and he bought it for 50 shekels of silver.
Why would God have such an interest in that place?
Was that holy ground?
You know this, the religious man thinks of holy places and they go to Israel and they and they go and see the empty tomb and the these places that are for pilgrimages, you know.
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But I believe the Lord drew attention to this place because that's where Abraham was called.
To slay his son in Genesis 22.
Because that is the portion of God to mankind is the gift of His Son, and He couldn't tell Abraham about that. Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do?
He told him what? Sodom and Gomorrah, but he couldn't tell him.
About what he was going to do in time when he would send his son into the world. And so he had Abraham go through the motions on Mount Moriah, and he put the wood on his son. And then he put his son on the wood. And then he raised his hand with a knife to slay his son, and God stopped him.
He said God will provide himself a lamb.
And you know that day God did not provide a lamb.
There was a RAM.
Caught in a thicket by the horns and it was offered instead of the sun.
But there was a day coming when the land would be manifested, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. So God would have in the Old Testament, drawn attention to that location because of what it represented to him, what he would have wanted to reveal to Abraham but could not.
And I've revealed to you and me.
Well, there's much going on in Christianity and it's it's wonderful to hear the gospel going out and ministry here and there on the radio and books being published and edifying the people of God. And we can be thankful for that.
But there's little, there's little ground there in which God was so interested.
What does it speak to Assad? Well, I believe it speaks to us of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus God would put before us.
And at the Lord Jesus himself, the night in which he was betrayed, he said this do and remembrance of me.
Remember Me him?
You know, Christianity is about a person that you know.
It's about a person, not we know.
If somebody meets up with a Christian, you should meet meet up with somebody who manifests something.
Of the person living inside him.
And if a person comes into a group of Christians that are in the Prince of the Lord.
They should see something of him represented among them.
And so I've enjoyed this portion here, as God brought David to act this way, and he drew attention to that little spot of land, the threshing floor of Verona de Jebusite he hadn't bothered to take hold of and to possess.
And he bought it for 50 shekels of silver.
And I've enjoyed the thought of 50, you know?
Wonderful things in the scripture with numbers, but you know 50 is is the Lord had people sit in groups of 50 in one of the multiplications of bread, you know, and they had Pentecost was the 50th day, I think a 50th connection with the assembly, you know.
Something we cannot do by ourselves individually.
If you remember the Lord in death.
What we can do that collectively?
And when we do, we're showing the Lord's death.
Till the Lord S coming, no.
Doesn't say that we're showing the Lord's death till he comes.
We're looking back and we're thinking about him.
And is suffering for us and we're looking forward to an event. No good. If you're looking forward to an event, it's a good event.
We should be looking forward to seeing him face to face and hearing his voice and seeing his joy.
And having all his own that he paid for such a price in his presence.
Their brothers and sisters, young people, this is a very simple request from the Lord. The night in which he was betrayed. This do and remembrance of me.
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And you know, there was much happening among us and, and I'm, I'm thankful for that, but this is all we did.
We answer to his request from week to week to show his debt till he comes.
I'm sure in his appreciation, he said. Well done, good and faithful servant.
Because what is lacking in Christianity?
What is lacking in your life and mind is more appreciation for Him, who He is and what He's done. When He comes, when we're gonna be in the heavens, He's gonna fill the holy place with His glory. And we will behold that, every one of us. There'll be no question, no distraction, nothing else. And so David was distracted in his Kingdom, and he had not bothered to redeem that little piece of land.
But he bought it, and he offered offerings there without knowing what to represent.
And I trust by God's grace, with His help, we understand a little bit of why it would have been so precious to God's heart to pinpoint that specific location on which the temple was going to build, to be built. And we know everything is built now. No other foundation can any man lay save that which has been laid, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's go to another portion now in Second Samuel still.
Chapter 6.
We know the children of Israel had been unfaithful and God has allowed their enemies to prosper.
And in their presumption, in one of their wars they brought the ark of the Lord and the enemies.
Took possession of that precious piece of furniture and the Lord brought it back himself. He didn't send the armies to.
To bring it back, it came back by itself on a cart by two milking cows, I believe they were, they had their veals and they they would have stayed with their young and they just went and they and they came back to the land of Israel. He brought it back himself.
And I'm gonna bet him as they looked into the ark and a lot of them died and they got afraid and so they they didn't bring it where it should have been. But in Second Samuel chapter 6, David recognizes the Lord has been blessing that man where the ark was blessed his household and said we're going to bring it up.
And so, in chapter six of Second Samuel, they decide to bring it up.
And it says verse three. And they set the ark of God upon a new cork, and brought it out of the House of Abinadab that was in giver. And as I heal the sons of Abinadab drain the new carton, they brought it out of the House of Abinadab, which was a giver accompanying the ark of God, and a heel went before the ark. And David in all the husts of Israel played before the Lord.
On all manners of instruments made of pure wood, even on harps and salt trees, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals, and when they came.
To Nacon's threshing floor, Huzzah puts forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the auction shook it. Or they slipped, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Azza, and God smote him there for his error that he died there. He died by the ark of God.
What we find here a a good proposition. They wanted to do something good.
They wanted to bring the ark back, but they didn't do it according to the instructions from the word of God was to be carried on the shoulders by the coat, and here they put it on the arch. That's like the Philistines had done was a new card driven by the auction. You know what does that speak to us? Well, the oxen, I believe, speak of those that labor for the Lord, relying on certain specific ones.
To carry on with the testimony.
And I don't believe that's from, that's from the Lord. We had that before us, everyone of us.
Our priests, and we should be able to fulfill our priestly function before the Lord. The Lord can take a take care of his art. And so when Aza saw that maybe it was gonna fall, he put his hand for it to stay.
And God smote them.
God doesn't need you or me to preserve His testimony.
And perhaps year ones, we might not want to go back in history, but.
Our heart upon failures of brethren, but I believe much of the failures that have come upon us has been putting forward our hands.
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Not realizing in whose presence we are. He doesn't need my biceps. He doesn't need my strength. He can take care of his own testimony and we need to be quiet in His presence, no matter how much we know, because He's the Lord.
And so this is what happened. You know, abinadab means noble fathers. They've been brought up to know things by their noble father, and they knew things. And their names mean Azam means strength, and a heel means brotherly. So brotherly strength, that's a dangerous thing.
Brotherly strength is a dangerous thing.
That's what happened here. God revealed His displeasure with that here, and Huzzah pays it with his life. And so may we be reminded, dear ones, we are so thankful for every opportunity to be together. We're so thankful for the liberty to gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus, to have His word before us and have His Spirit available to lead us.
And he does that in conferences, but he also does that in local assemblies when problems come up, when difficulties arise.
And we don't know what to do.
Should I turn left or should I turn right? I got those reversed, but I'm French. Should I go left or should I go right? I shouldn't go anywhere if the Lord hasn't given direction. We should just stay put and wait on the Lord. It's a hard thing to be patient, you know, time goes by and something's going to happen if we don't do something and we just get that biceps there and we we got to do this.
And we do it.
And it doesn't workout as well as we'd expected because others would have done it otherwise. And there's displeasure in what's been done. So I just use this portion here because when they will bring out the ark finally, they will carry it the way it should have been carried. And there's a way to carry things out in the presence of the Lord. And I'm sure you know all about this, but it's good to be reminded and that we step back and let the Lord have the 1St place that we step back and let the Spirit do the leading.
And it's not a question of how much I know. It's a question of affection and love for the Lord and love for his people that he's gonna care for. So I just wanna turn to another portion. I'd like to just leave room for others. It's in the book of judges.
Chapter One.
Now in the book of Joshua it says after the death of Moses and the book of Judges first chapter one verse not to the death of Joshua.
Now, these people were used to have a leader, somebody they could see and they could hear and he could say we're going to do this, we're going to do that.
But they were gone now.
And it says here now, after the death of Joshua came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord.
Who asked the Lord? The children of Israel. They had no physical, visible leader.
But the Lord and they asked the Lord, and the Lord made his mind known to them.
And they responded to that. How are we going to roll the mind of the Lord? We asked the Lord about his mind.
And he brings to us communion of thought about things.
We're getting the same thoughts by the Spirit of God and we know this is from Him. Not from me, not from you, it's from Him. It's the same thought. He's leading us, He's telling.
This land now and they're going to meet up with enemies. And then incidentally, that's where the jubbies I came from. He he wasn't taken out of the land, but they come and it's Judah and Simeon verse three, he asked his brother to come along with him because Judah was the one that was chosen to go up first. And it says verse four and Judah went up and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the parasites into their hands and they slew of them in Bezek 10,000 men.
And they found Adonai Bezeq and Bezeq, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the parasites.
But Adonai Bezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him.
And cut off his thumbs and great toes. And at night, Bezek said. Three score and 10 kings having their thumbs and their toes cut off.
Gathered their meal under my table, as I have done, so God hath requited me, and they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
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When they go up into the land, it strikes me.
That there's a Lord's Table there.
Adenai means Lord.
Lord of the lightning or Lord of dispersion? He had a table.
And he had 70 kings.
Picking up under his table, he cut off their thumbs and their great toes. They were impaired, and they were laying hold of things, and they were impaired in their walking.
But there were sons of kings, there were kings. Brother mentioned this morning about priests and kings from the Book of Revelation.
Every one of us who knows the Lord Jesus, our Savior, our priests and kings, we're going to reign with Him.
But you know the priests in the Old Testament.
When they consecrated them, they had.
Blood put on her.
Down with the right hand, a low with the right ear and the big toe of the right toe.
Couldn't do that to these fellows because they didn't have them.
And two, if you're going to be in a priesthood, you are not to have any bodily imperfection. You're missing a tongue. You have a bodily imperfection and you could not be a priest.
Wonderful verses we had this morning in the portion just before when we read.
He had perfected forever. He had made us perfect forever by his sacrifice. That's how you and I, we can be priests.
Because before God, we're perfect. We're not mixing anything to be able to serve Him. He's given us all that.
But this man here, Adonai Bezak, he had a table and he took pleasure, I believe, in submitting others to his.
His glory, not like our Lord, you know, the Lord elevates us and He has to sit with Him at his table. Well, what a privilege, dear ones. And we speak of the Lord's table off times and when you hear that discourse, it's like a thing.
It's like a doctrine. The Lord's Table is like a doctrine.
Sitting with the Lord at his table.
What a privilege.
What a privilege.
And what has he set before us at his table?
His suffering and death.
For you and me.
Remember Me?
What a privilege there was.
I trust nobody.
And I will not ever. I hope I never did impair you.
From laying hold of that.
Impair you from walking in that truth.
By an attitude.
Of lording over others. That's what he did.
Lording over Saints.
Taking authority over them.
Impairing them from laying hold of things that the Lord would have them lay hold of.
They'll they'll hold of it if you tell them because you're dominating over them.
And I was in a church system, and what the leader of that church system said, that was the truth, till the Lord showed me this is the truth.
Sometimes we speak of.
Recovered truth.
I trust that what we mean by that is not the library of books that I have at home, and I appreciate. I'm sure you do too.
But I believe the recovered truth is the person of the Lord and who he is, what he's done, and the word of God, what it teaches about him. And we thank the Lord for every ministry from every brother to the centuries that has helped us to lay hold of more of the Lord Jesus. And so I just wanted to mention this because when they went into the land and there was no more physical leader.
They ran up against this one man and.
Didn't take long before he was set aside and he died in Jerusalem. And I just wanted to use that as an example for us because we had that place there that was brought before David. The Lord wants us to be around himself and he wants us to remember him in death and the way to carry out things. We saw that with David that they didn't carry out the.
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Uh, moving on the art, you might say of, of handling it there in a manner that was according to the word of God. And that should be an exercise to us as we value the privilege of being around the Lord and gathered to his name. And then his final portion here, that the Lord would keep us, myself and others too, who have a liberty and might say among the Saints to speak of those things of the Lord are teaching or whatever, that we would never impair other believers from being able to lay hold of things and to walk according to the liberty that they have.
In the Lord Jesus.
Perhaps we can turn to two scriptures in the Word of God that I believe bring some balance before us.
In what, to me anyway, seems like a bit of a sensitive subject.
Turn first to the same book in which we have had our readings, Hebrews.
This time to the last chapter, Chapter 13.
Hebrews, chapter 13.
And verse 7.
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God.
Whose faith follow?
Considering the end of their conversation.
And then further on in the same chapter, verse 17.
Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourself.
For they watch for your souls, as they that must give account.
That they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you.
I'm looking around at many in this room who, like myself, grew up under the sound of what I fully believe is the whole truth of God.
I don't mind confessing to you that there were times in my life when I was brought to rock bottom.
And where I went to the Lord and said, Lord, show me.
The precious truth of thy word, and then give me the grace to walk in it.
And I lookout here today on a group of people and many of you are young people and maybe you are going through something of the same exercise.
But possibly you look around.
And you don't see what we talked about this morning, at least not in your eyes, the fruit of what you feel the truth ought to produce.
Turn back to a scripture in Matthew. I think it's chapter 23.
The.
To me it's very solemn.
Matthew 23.
Going back to when our Lord Jesus was here on earth.
And notice what he says here in verse one.
Then speak Jesus to the multitude and to his disciples, saying.
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat.
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do, but do not ye after their works, For they say and do not.
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Sometimes it becomes difficult to do what the older ones say when through the eyes of younger ones, perhaps we say and do not.
I, for one, have to hang my head.
Because there have been too many times in my life when I have had more to say with my mouth than I walked in with my feet.
I started university back in the early 1960s and there are others here who can no doubt relate to this.
Because beginning with the 1960s, there was a tremendous upheaval, a tremendous rebellion by young people against what they perceived was an established authority.
The establishment, if you like.
And they rebelled against it. Why?
Because they saw what they perceived to be an outward form with no reality to it.
I must say that I sympathized with them in their feelings because I knew what they were talking about. And I hastened to say, I'm not talking about the local assembly where I was raised, or about those gathered to the Lord's name. But back in the days in which I grew up, the world in general at least paid lip service.
To Christian principles. When I went to public school, the Bible was read in the school. The Lord's Prayer was said every morning.
And it was even true when our children went to school as well. We respected that. It was very, very good. But then young people who grew up suddenly began to see that all of that outward form, good though it might have been, didn't really translate into practical life with their parents and with many people to whom they looked up.
And as a consequence, they said what?
Is the point. What is the point? Pardon me, I'm going to avail myself of one of these bottles of water.
The young people began to say, what is the point? Why should we pay lip service to something that does not seem to have any substance to it?
Getting closer to home.
And I'm not talking only to young people, but maybe in your local assembly and maybe sometimes when you go to a Bible conference, you say there doesn't seem to be the substance there in the lives of those who hold on to and maintain that this is the truth of God.
Rest assured that you are in some good company I.
I remember well hearing an address when I was a boy from a brother that was old enough to be my grandfather.
Who said quote? I did not want to be part of Brethren. I thought they were far too narrow.
It's nothing new.
And there were those, way back in the 1800s, who listened to those who wrote our written ministry.
And they said that's far too narrow. I want a wider path.
They could hardly accuse some of those dear brothers of not walking in it. But even in that day, no doubt there were those who at least maintained the truth in an outward way, but perhaps didn't walk in it in the way that they should. I say to each one.
You and I have to be ready to go right back to the Word of God.
Yes, we should obey those that have the rule over us and submit ourselves.
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But I can well remember a brother who is now with the Lord, telling me about how when he was a young man and he was concerned about some failure in one of the older brethren in his local assembly, an older brother who took considerable part in the meetings.
He approached his father about the whole question and said, Father, what about that? His father's remark was rather terse and to the point.
He said son.
Referring to Hebrews 13 and seven, which he didn't refer to, he expected that his son would recognize the Scripture. He said son, it does not say whose failures follow. It says whose faith follow. I say that to each one of us today.
The truth of God stands firm. We talked about it a little bit in Lawrenceville and some here were there.
Where we read in the scripture where the Lord Jesus would say to his disciples, and ye shall know the truth.
And the truth Show what constrict your life.
Restrict your usefulness? Absolutely not, and the truth shall make you free.
Free from what? Free from everything in this world? Free from ourselves to be like if we walk in it. That vessel about whom Paul speaks in Second Timothy 2.
Ready for every good work.
Is there a need to look up to and honor those who minister the word to us? Indeed there is. Not only in the setting of a conference like this, but in the setting of your local assembly. But in looking at them, you are going to see failure in every one of them. Yes you are. Don't expect perfection down here.
There is only one in whom you and I.
Will find absolute perfection. It reminds me of a story that took place in the same area where I now live. As most of you know, my wife and I moved a little over a year and a half ago to Eastern Ontario and in that area, many, many years ago, I suppose at least 130 years ago, there was a difficulty among the people of God.
And there was a brother there who got so discouraged and so downcast by all that was going on.
That he was prepared to leave.
But as many brethren were in those days, he farmed for a living, and as he was out there in the field plowing, he had plenty of time to Mull things over because he didn't have to pay a lot of attention to things. He knew how to plow very well, and once he got going with that furrow, once he, as they say in farming jargon, once he was able to strike out and get one or two straight furrows in the field.
Then he just followed the one that he'd gone along before, and so he was meditating. And as he thought about it, the Lord laid this scripture very heavily on his heart.
This man hath done nothing amiss.
Oh, he thought, Why am I there? Why am I there in that assembly? Is it because of my brethren?
And the Lord brought it very forcibly home to him.
You are there because the Lord is there, and if the Lord is there, he is the one to whom you must look.
Your brethren can be a tremendous help to you, but they are a help only insofar as they bring you closer to Christ and minister Christ to your soul.
But then if there is failure there, and the Lord allows failure because Satan will attack what is true more than anything else. Satan will, even if I can say it this way, tolerate blessing in the gospel if he can take a good shot at the truth of the one body at the person of Christ in that way, because he knows that if he can drag believers as we.
Saying in the readings down to the level of a worldly religion, humanly speaking, he has gained his point over them. Oh yes, they may still preach the gospel. They may still be in that sense of testimony, and we thank God for it. But if he can destroy that heavenly calling, if he can bring them down to the level of a worldly religion, he has succeeded in making them lose, humanly speaking.
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Everything.
So let us remember that, and let us remember. And this remark was made in Lawrenceville as well. Don't put your brethren between yourself and the Lord.
And that's what happens as spiritual power declines.
What happens? The clerical system takes over. Let someone else do it.
And pretty soon we become those who want to listen. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the exercise of gift. That's a different thing. But as we had in the readings today, every believer is a priest, and the Lord looks for believers to be a company of live Christians who hold the truth in exercise.
And who use? And you have a gift. Every believer has one.
Who use that gift for the Lord in the right time and place. But then what's the other side of the excuse me, what's the other side of the coin? Let's turn to first Peter chapter 5.
We've been reading in Hebrews 13 about the need to submit ourselves, about the need to obey those that have the rule over us. Very needful.
But now the Word of God is beautifully balanced, and notice what it says here in first Peter 5.
The elders which are among you, I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.
Neither is being Lords over God's heritage.
But being in samples to the flock.
And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
And then notice after all that we get the comment. Likewise you younger submit yourselves under the elder. They all of you be subject 1 to another and be clothed with humility.
For God resisteth the proud.
And giveth grace to the humble.
In the previous verses, the exercise and the exhortation was to those who are in a position of submission.
But here we have an exhortation to those in a position of elderhood, those in a position of responsibility, authority.
Very, very important. There is a character in which the truth should be maintained, and that is why when.
The apostle John, by the Spirit of God, addresses those seven assemblies in Asia. Whom does he write to? To the Angel of the church in Ephesus, in Smyrna, in Pergamos and Thyatira, and so on. Why the Angel? Oh, because God looks to those who take the leadership in the local assembly and holds them responsible for the character.
Which they foster in that assembly.
What a responsibility.
Permit me to reminisce a little if that's OK.
I well remember listening to an address and I could even tell you the year kind of dates me 1958. Wow, long time ago.
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And the brother in that address, he was reminiscing.
And he went back a long way, too. And he said something like this. He said, I could tell you today what Brother Potter ministered on at the Saint Louis conference in 1900. And five, he said, that's 53 years ago. He said I could tell you today what he ministered on.
But then he made a comment that really stuck with me, and I was, as you can well imagine, pretty young at the time.
He said I have listened to many gifted brethren.
But he said what impressed me was not so much their gift, but their godliness, and that is what lent the weight to their words.
Brethren, it's true.
It was their godliness that lent the weight to their words.
And as I look back on the brethren under whose ministry I have been able to sit, and many others in this room would stand here and say the same thing, what was it that impressed us? Perhaps more than anything else, it was their walk and their ways. Oh yes, they were gifted, many of them.
And we thank God for their gift. But sometimes there were those that did not say a whole lot.
But their godliness made its mark on us and changed our lives.
They may not have been terribly gifted, but there was something about them that when they did say something.
It really carried weight. And so here the elders are exhorted, not so much as to what they say, although that is included in it, but what their walk is like.
They were to have the character of shepherds. They were to take oversight willingly, with a ready mind, and above all, by being examples to the flock.
The best character of those who take the lead is to have such a life that someone else looks on and says, He makes me want to follow Christ and he attracts not primarily to himself and I might also say to herself.
He attracts.
She attracts not so much to themselves, but to Christ.
How precious that is, I say to each one of us. Let us remember that.
Sometimes.
And I say again, not specifically to young people, but maybe more so to them, the grass does look a little greener on the other side of the fence. But let us remember, and pardon my stressing it, but we had it in the readings. It is never, never, never right to do something that you know.
Is contrary to the word of God.
Others may be able to do it, and the Lord may bless them because maybe they do not know any better.
And maybe the word of God has not had that same impact on their soul because of where and how they have been brought up. But if you and I know the precious truth of God.
We are responsible to walk in it, and God, I do not believe, is going to bless that which deliberately and willfully goes contrary to His Word. Let's remember that.
But on the other side of the coin.
If there are those whom the Lord is using in our local assemblies to take the lead in ministry.
Oh, let it be with the whole truth of God presented as we get in Ephesians chapter 4. The truth.
As it is in Jesus, as the truth is in Jesus, what does that do? That connects me with that blessed One, with everything that He is and all that he exhibited, an absolute perfection.
00:55:15
Down here, the embodiment of everything that is the truth is found in that blessed One. And so the truth of God is not simply some high sounding group of principles that we hold. It is that it's a group of precious principles that are revealed in the Word of God. But it is much more than that. It is connected with Christ himself and all that he is in the.
Of what He is and in the living out of that new life which we have been given in Christ, which delights to walk according to that truth in every aspect of our lives down here. Well, I want to leave a few minutes if there's another brother that has a word for us. But may we remember the beautiful balance in the things of God.
And may there be that interest on the part of myself?
Not to walk or to criticize the failures of others so much as to see their faithfulness. But on the other hand, for those in responsibility and those in influence, may we remember that there's a way that the truth of God needs to be ministered and above all, walked in that will commend it to others. And that's what we need.
I'd like to.
Share just a few words of encouragement to those who are older.
Umm.
Very often there's encouragement minister to those who are younger and the words that were just broken spoken by Brother Bill there, I'm sure for those who are older must be very humbling to consider. It's a way your life in the light of the way it's being lived, but just a few very brief words of encouragement from.
A a little story in the Old Testament.
And the individual I'd like to look at very briefly here, the time is very limited, is Jacob.
So let's look very briefly at a few points in the life of Jacob here, and I trust that will be an encouragement for those of you who are older.
So let's turn to.
Genesis Chapter.
Genesis chapter 45.
Genesis chapter 45 and verse 28.
It's Needless to say that Jacob and his wife lived a very checkered life. There was a lot of failure in the life of Jacob, and I think we're all very familiar with this.
But just looking here at this verse, Genesis 45, verse 28, Israel said it is enough.
And you, dear older brethren.
As you've, as you've lived your life and you've come to appreciate and enjoy the Lord in your life, even through failures.
And, and Jacob's life was full of failures. You can come to the end of your life and you can say it is enough. And you can dispense to those of us who are younger some of that fullness that you've received, some of that enjoyment of Christ.
And you can, you can come to the end of your life as those who are filled, those who are overflowing. And you can, you can say it is enough. And as we look at the rest of the character of Jacob's life from this point forward, he is one as he is in the land of Egypt there, and he's dispensing blessing all around. He's one who is being filled.
01:00:16
Yes, there is failure in Jacob's life. Yes, there was points in Jacob's life that he would not point to himself as an example.
But he would say at this point in his life it is enough. And as he would reflect on his life, just like to look at a verse in Genesis 48 here.
The end of verse 15. Let's just read Genesis 48 verse 15 and I'll I'll change one word as it's translated in the new translation. He blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac did walk.
The God which shepherded me.
All my life long unto this day.
And in spite of what failure there may have been, and there's no one of us who've walked any amount of time before the Lord, and we won't acknowledge that there's been failure and much failure.
But Jacob, in spite of that, would say, the God which shepherded me.
And that is a treasure that you have as you look back at the Lord shepherding you, caring for you, your life long.
And you can in turn, as as was mentioned in Peter, there to care for the flock of God, as you would then exhibit that same character that is being shown to you.
By the Lord our Shepherd, as you would then exhibit that to your brethren, and seek to lead them along, and to encourage them and comfort them.
That's a rich heritage, that's a rich treasure that you have.
The Lord.
Sorry, God, before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac did walk, the gods which shepherded me.
All my life long on to this day, just a a rich treasure. And then just one very last look here at the end of Jacob's life.
He passed away in Egypt there.
And verse seven of Genesis chapter 50, Joseph went up to bury his father and justice. Note these different ones who are noted here. So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh.
The elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the House of Joseph and his brethren in his father's house, only their little ones and their flocks and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen all these different ones.
That Jacob touched as he, as he's there in the land of Egypt, one who is filled, it is enough, and he's dispensing blessing to the whole land of Egypt.
He, he sits there as a patriarch of the whole land. It would see him as one who is so rich. He finally realized how rich he was. And he's dispensing that blessing to those who were younger, those who were greatly loved and dear to his heart. And he becomes the patriarch of that whole land, these ones who came and, and who who weep. And there's that lamentation.
At that, that threshing floor, we had threshing floors mentioned a little earlier in this, in this meeting. But as they weep there at that threshing floor, that was not simply because of what Joseph had done for the land. That was not simply in sympathy for Joseph. Hear this, dear old man.
In spite of his failures in his past life, he endeared himself to that whole land.
And they mourn that loss. And so, as one who is younger, here this afternoon.
Just a desire to encourage those of you who are older. We need you, those of us who are younger.
And perhaps you don't realize it, but as, uh, as, as some of those who are older are taken home 1 by 1. Those of us who are younger, we do weep.
Yeah, it you may not see it sometimes we may not show it, but as we lose some of you dear older ones.
We weep, and this, the whole land of Egypt was weeping here.
And so just to take that position, take take that privilege, that body of experience that you've been given that you've been privileged to have.
And dispensed that blessing to those around and to shepherd the flock of God. It's not because you're perfect.
But because of the God which shepherded you, and you would exhibit that same shepherd and care for those who are younger and those who you love dearly.
01:05:15
Can we sing #206?
Oh Lord, we know it. Markers. No, I swear the song.
Nsnoise and.
Then.
Please hear me. Please. MMM. I'm sorry. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nsnoise.
Shall we read one verse in closing?
Hebrews 11.
Verse 21.
By faith, Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph.
And worshiped leading on the top of his staff.
So we commend ourselves.
Our God and our loving Father, we do, thankfully.
For this day and 1/2.
Bitter past.
And you thought it's Terry?
Another day to look forward to, to be over thy word.
We do thank Steve that.
That was instituted in order.
Whereby these things are passed down.
One generation to the next.
And the truth is carried on.
And we?
Would look to thee for thy help.
Each one of us in our proper station.
To take the place that we're in.
The younger.
To take that opportunity to lay hold of thy things.
01:10:03
And then as we grow in the enjoyment of them.
To seek to share them the others.
And to pass on.
The responsibility.
It's been given us from the Good Shepherd.
To feed the flock of God.
Feed his Lambs.
We do thank you for the exercise of our brethren here to provide such an opportunity.
Pray for a rich blessing on them especially.
Thank you for all these things.
The name of our Lord Jesus Christ we do pray. Amen. Amen.