Open—D. Mearns, D. Martin, C. Gesser
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And is it so I shall be like thy son? 18 in the appendix. Is this the grace which he for me has won?
Father of glory, thought beyond all, thought in glory to his own blessed likeness brought #18 in the appendix.
We pray.
Our Father, no God, Thou dost have purposes of blessing of thy dear people.
There is a scene that the house prepared above through the finished work of Christ, where love will reign supreme.
Where every vestige of sin will be forever removed, the Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world. And everything will redound to thy glory and honor of God. You think of the life of the one who is here below and accomplishing thy purposes. Uh, whoever did thy will and uh, is now seated at thy right hand, who will bring to fruition all my purposes of blessing to.
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All creation near below.
We thank thee, blessed God, that thou has revealed this to us in my precious word rises above all the other uh, thoughts, the thought that now are the God of love as well as the God of light without us love like creature and uh.
We'll bring them into that wonderful sphere of blessing both in heaven and on earth. We thank Thee for our position in Christ. Nearer could not be as part of the bride of Christ, our loving Father. We pray that.
My precious word may be blessed as it is ministered to our hearts this afternoon.
Without sin, take and use it by thy spirit.
We pray, too, for our brethren who may be traveling homewards, and do them see them safely to their destination. We thank thee for allowing us this occasion to come apart, and for the authorities too, upon whose heart thou dost move as the rivers of water, to accomplish thy purposes. And so thou happest to be in peace. You wait upon thee, giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
My personal reading.
I just started the book of Joshua.
And I read the part of the first chapter yesterday, and I read the rest of the first chapter today.
But then two days earlier, I was just finishing up the Book of Deuteronomy, and I'd like to turn there for a moment just to introduce what I have in my heart. Deuteronomy chapter 33.
Genesis 49 we have.
Jacob blessing his sons and then in Deuteronomy 33 we have Moses blessing the tribes, but he starts this portion off.
First one, and this is the blessing, where with Moses the man of God, bless the children of Israel before his death.
And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from seer unto them. He shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came with 10 thousands of Saints from his right hand, when a fiery law for them.
This verse that I had in my heart. Yeah, he loved the people. All his Saints are in thy hand, and they sat down at thy feet. Everyone shall receive of thy words.
You know this is a marvelous place for us to be found at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
It's the place of blessing, for every one of our souls is at the feet of the Lord Jesus. And I would like to look at some of the New Testament who found themselves at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and then to turn also to the Old Testament and to see some in type found at the feet of the Lord Jesus. So could we turn first of all to Luke's Gospel, chapter 10?
Luke's Gospel, chapter 10.
And in verse 38, every, every one of these ones we're going to look at, there's a little different characteristic with each one. Some heard, some saw.
But here we find Luke's Gospel, chapter 10 and verse 38. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word.
That's all I'm gonna read. We know that this is the portion where we find Martha was cumbered about with much service. If we were to go to John's Gospel, Chapter 12, we would find, once again, Martha's there. But she's not cumbered with service. She's there in her right sphere.
We find Mary also and also Lazarus. But here we find Mary. She had a sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word.
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What a blessed place for us to be found at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
And it's there that we're able to hear what the Lord has to say to us. Sometimes in the busyness of life, it's hard for us to hear.
I've often encouraged those who are young to take up the Word of God and to read it, but not just to read it with your eyes, but to read it with your ears. To read it with your ears to hear what the Lord Jesus has to say.
And what a blessed portion that Mary had here. She sat at Jesus feet and heard his word. And a blessed thing when the Lord speaks, to be able to hear. No, I'm afraid there's been many times in my life when the Lord spoken and I haven't heard. I haven't heard. Sometimes there's a loud voice, but sometimes it's a still small voice that the Lord speaks with. What a blessed thing it is for us to be found like Mary sitting at the feet.
Of the Lord Jesus and hearing His word. Now let's go to the book of Second King.
Second Kings chapter 4.
If we were to read this chapter and we won't.
It's the story of the Shunammite.
And how she prepared a chamber for Elisha.
And she had a son, she had a son. And the son grew. And there came that time when the sun died. And what a sad time it was. But we'll take up now and read.
Umm.
From verse 30.
And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And here rose and followed her.
And you hear thy passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, but there was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awake. And when Elisha was coming to the house, behold, the child was dead.
And laid upon his bed, and he went in there for, and shut the door upon them twain, and he prayed unto the Lord, Oh, what a time of extreme extremity we have here, and we find a man.
An intercession before the Lord in earnest. And we find in verse 34, He went up, and he lay upon the child, and he put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child in the flesh of the child waxed warm.
Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro, and went up and stretched himself upon him. And the child sneezed 7 times. And the child opened his eyes and he called and said call the Shunamite. So he called her.
And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
What I have is not to look at the story, but to look at the spirit of the at this particular time.
We know that this dear woman been through a terrible time.
Just one son. Now her son was gone and now her son's been raised and she's just been told to come and take up her son. But what does she do? Let's read.
We'll read the end of the 36th verse again. Take up thy son.
And she went in. Does she take up her son? No, that's not what she does.
She went in and she fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground. And then we read. She took up her son. You know, she could have taken up her son in obedience, but oh, there was an appreciation in her heart for what had just transpired.
And in the extremities of our life.
When the Lord's hands upon us, do I manifest that spirit that we find in the Shunamite?
Who when she was told to take up her son, if it had me, I would have ran to my son and picked him up and embraced him. But no, she recognized the source of the blessing that she was experiencing at this time. And she goes and it says here and.
She fell at his feet.
And bowed herself to the ground and took up her son and went out.
First Samuel 25. First Samuel, chapter 25.
What a story this is.
Story of Nabel.
And without again going through the story, we find the word comes to David.
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Of Nabal and verse 10 Nabal answered David's servants and said, Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse?
There'll be many servants nowadays that break away every man from his master. Shall I take my bread and my water and my flesh, that I have killed for my shears, and given unto men whom I know not whence they be? So Davids young men turned their way.
And went again, and came and told him all those things. And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword.
And they girded on every man's sword, and David also girded on his sword, and there went up after David about 400 men.
200 abode by the staff.
Oh, what a time we have here in David's life. David is furious. He's furious. And he gathers his men together, 400 men. They gather their swords and away they go. They're gonna do justice to what he's just heard.
And there meets him one in the way.
Verse 23.
And when Abigail saw David, she hasted. Let's picture the scene. David, an angry man, 400 men with him, with their swords.
When Abigail saw David, she hasted.
And light it off the ***. And fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. Here's our subject now. And fell at his feet. And said upon me, my Lord.
Upon me let this inequity be, and let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak in thine audience.
And hear the words of thine handmaid. That's not my Lord, I pray thee regardless, man of Belial, even Nabal for his.
His name is so is he neighbor, all is his name, and folly is with him. But I, thine handmaid, saw not the young man of my Lord whom thou did send.
Now therefore my Lord, is the Lord living, and as thy soul liveth, seeing, the Lord hath withhold a knee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand. Now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my Lord be as neighbor. Now this blessing which thine handmaideth brought unto my Lord.
Let it even be given unto the young men that follow, my Lord.
It's a touching scene, isn't it, to see this army coming down to do justice to what they've heard. And here comes this wonderful woman in her place and she falls at David's feet and.
But she takes all the blame. If you read the portion, and I so appreciate it, you know, because in the next chapter we find that David is being pursued by Saul.
And that time comes when their soul lying asleep, and David approaches them.
Abhishek's there and David's counsel take off Saul's head. And you know, he doesn't do it. He just says, I'm not gonna lay my hand on the Lord's anointed. You know, I've just looked at that portion and realized, you know, it was Abigail that saved Saul's life. It was Abigail that saved Saul's life. Here's David, just ferocious, and he's on his way down. He's gonna do justice. He has his sore drawn. Oh, I believe he learned a lesson there here as Abigail steps in front of him.
And causes them not to shed blood needlessly. And in that next portion where he's standing in front of the Lord's anointed. Oh, the savour. What had just passed, I believe saved Saul's life here, This woman that fell at the feet of David. Let's go to Mark's gospel.
Mark's Gospel, chapter 5.
Mark's Gospel, chapter 5 and verse 20.
And he departed and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him.
And all men did marble.
And when Jesus was passed over again by ship under the other side, much people gathered unto him, and he was nigh unto the sea. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, GI rest by name. And when he saw him.
He fell at his feet, and he besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter laughed at the point of death. I prayed he come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live. And Jesus went with him, and much people followed him.
And thronged him, and so on.
When it came to Mary, it says she heard his word at his feet.
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But now it's a little different here in verse 22, there come with one of the rulers of the synagogue, the iris by name. And when he saw him, he fell at his feet. And hasn't that been our experience too? You know, we take up the word or there's some little incident that happens in our life and oh, it's a little glimpse of the Lord. It's just a little glimpse of the Lord. Perhaps we haven't heard anything, but we just get a little glimpse. And what does it do? Oh, it causes our hearts.
Mark's Gospel, chapters 7 and verse 24.
And from thence he arose and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into one house, and would have no man know it. But he could not be hid, for a certain woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came.
And fell at his feet.
A woman with a Greek, a sire, Phoenician by nation, and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil.
Out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled, for it is not meant to take the children's bread and cast it under the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord, yet the dogs under the table eat.
Of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying, Go thy way, the devil has gone out of thy daughter. And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid.
Upon the bed.
Oh, I can learn something here from this dear woman who heard of the Lord Jesus and came and fell at His feet. What was the deportment of this dear woman who was from Tyre and Sidon? We see that in verse 28.
She answered and said unto him, 2 words, 2 words, Yes Lord. Yes Lord.
Is that 2 words that come from our hearts?
On a daily basis, is that 2 words that come from our hearts? Yes, Lord. The portion that the Lord brings across our pathway, whatever it might be. Are we willing to be like this dear woman who in a time of extremity was able to say Yes Lord? Yes Lord.
I covet that with my own soul. I covet that how often I'm not willing to say yes.
To my blessed Lord, not willing to recognize the claims of that blessed One whom we had before us this morning, the Lamb of God. Oh my, my heart learned from this woman at the feet of the Lord Jesus who said yes, Lord.
Yes, Lord, let's go to the book of of uh.
Of Luke, Luke's Gospel, the 8th chapter.
Luke's Gospel chapter 28 and verse 26. And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes.
Which is over against Galilee.
And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city, a certain man, which had devils long time wear no clothes, neither a boat in any house, but in the tombs. And when he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most High, I beseech thee, torment me not. For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, for off times it had caught him. He was kept bound with chains and in fetters, and he break the band.
And was driven of the devil into the wilderness. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion, because many devils were entered into him, and they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there unheard of many swine feeding on the mountain.
And they bethought him that he would suffer them to enter into them, and he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man.
And entered into the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake, and were choked. And when they that fed them saw what was done, they fled and went in and told it to the city and in the country, and they went out to see what was done.
And came to Jesus.
Found the man out of whom the devils were departed sitting at the feet of Jesus.
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Clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
You know what matters not?
What's transpired in our life before?
What circumstances we find ourselves presently now.
The place of blessing is at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
Think of the experience of this man.
But think of the blessing here he found. They went out to see what was done, and they found the man of whom the devils were departed sitting at the feet of Jesus. What a blessed place.
So many of us here have had that blessed privilege to be found at the Lord Jesus feet just quietly sitting. What a blessing it is to be found there and here is this man at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
His life totally upside down, total turmoil, total confusion, and it's changed and he's found at the feet of the Lord Jesus. What a blessed place to be in. Let's go back a chapter, Luke Chapter 7.
Luke Chapter 7.
One of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with them, eat with him, and he went out. He went into the first his house and sat down to meet, and behold, a woman in the city, which was a Sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat up neat in the Pharisees house, brought an alabaster box of ointment.
And stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears.
And he'd wipe them with the hairs of her head.
And kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisees which were bidden saw it, He spake with himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touched him, for she is a Sinner.
Oh, what a place for this woman.
Just think of the circumstances of this woman.
And here she found standing at the feet of Lord Jesus behind him, weeping. No.
What did she have to do? It says she began to wash his feet with her tears and to wipe them with the hairs of her head.
This is the place for me. Here I have learned sweet lessons. Truth that has set me free, Free from myself Lord Jesus, free from the thoughts of men. Chains of thought that once found me never shall bind me again. Oh what a portion for this dear woman to be found at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
Let's go over 10 chapters now.
17.
Luke, chapter 17.
Luke 17 and verse 11.
And it came to pass as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers.
Which stood afar off.
They lifted up their voices and said, Jesus Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests.
And it came to pass as they went, they were cleansed, and one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice, glorified God and fell down on his face at his feet.
Giving him thanks and he was a Samaritan.
You know we had yesterday in our reading and everything gives thanks.
Just picture these 10 lepers, picture them all being cleansed, nine of them. They're caught up with the ceremonies of the day and they're going to go and be obedient to what the Lord Jesus had said. But oh, there's one here and the affections of his heart.
Are unloosed, and he comes back and he falls on his face at the feet of the Lord Jesus, giving him thanks.
Is that deportment in my own heart, that spirit of thankfulness?
We appreciate someone who's thankful. We don't appreciate someone who takes things for granted.
Here's a man. He was thankful. He comes, he falls on his face.
The feet of the Lord Jesus.
With a thankful heart.
Now one last one in the book of Ruth.
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The Book of Ruth, chapter 3.
Ruth. Chapter 3.
And verse 6.
Speaking of Ruth. And she went down under the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn, and she came softly and uncovered his feet.
And laid her down. And it came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid. And he turned himself. And behold, a woman lay at his feet.
And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thine handmaid. Spread therefore it should read, Spread therefore thy wing over thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end.
Then at the beginning, inasmuch as thou follow what's not young men, whether poor or rich?
And now, my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requires. For all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. You know Ruth, the only one in the Scripture that's called a virtuous woman. We find that here, all the city of my people that know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am my near kinsman. Howbeit, there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning that he will perform unto thee the part of the kinsman. Well, let him do the kinsman part.
But if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth, lie down until the morning, and here's our subject. And she lay at his feet until the morning.
I was enjoying yesterday in our reading here.
The thought of watching and waiting for the Lord Jesus.
I'm gonna tell a little story.
Many here have heard it, perhaps heard Albert tell it. He used to tell this story, but I drive by the place where this took place.
Every week, and sometimes several times a week.
This is when our brother Albert Hale was in business in Smith Falls and he'd leave his place of business and he'd walk home and he'd round the corner and up in the second Storey of the house just at the end of Strathcona. His daughter was watching and waiting every day.
And she would give him a big smile and wave to him, you know, And after a long day's work, he'd start on his way home. And just with anticipation, he'd know when he rounded that corner, there was his daughter B at the window. And so he'd round that corner, and there she was.
Big smile and big wave.
This one day he was detained a little at the office.
He was a little bit late in leaving.
And he quickened his step because he knew what was awaiting him. And he came down the street and he rounded the corner and there was nobody in the window, nobody in the window.
Well, you know, he went on home and he went in the door and he went up the stairs and there was his daughter in the room where the window was and she was playing and she looked up and she says, oh, Daddy, I just stopped watching. I just stopped watching.
And you know.
He had a heavy heart. He had a heavy heart. And as he talked with his daughter, he realized that she was disappointed too, That she was disappointed too.
Oh, may it be our portion to not simply be waiting for the Lord Jesus, but also to be watching. To be watching. Here we find in the book of Ruth. There she is found at the feet of Boaz. And how long was she there? It says she lay at his feet until the morning.
Until the morning, O may that be the portion of my heart to be found, watching and waiting until the morning at His blessed feet.
Can we turn to John 17?
John 17 in the first verse.
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These words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven.
And said father.
Probably a lot number in this room. Can maybe even quote the rest of this chapter.
By heart, and those of us who can't certainly know and love every word of it.
But.
That one word.
Father.
We know.
How precious.
The fellowship was that the son enjoyed with the Father when he was here on this earth, but it's not that that I wish to just.
Remind our hearts of.
It's the relationship that we enjoy.
And first of all, to just underline the fact that it's the same relationship.
That the son enjoy with his father.
That very precious eternal relationship that the Lord Jesus shared with His Father has been given to us to enjoy.
I don't know.
Uh, how you pray?
You know, sometimes it's pretty simple. Dear God bless mommy and daddy and Grandpa and Grandma and.
Help me with this and that and the other thing. Amen. And I'm sure the Lord listens to prayers like that and loves to hear His children pray.
But.
Do you ever pray?
Or you can't get past the first word.
Does it ever?
Overwhelm your heart.
The fact that you are addressing.
The God of the universe, the eternal God of creation.
As your father.
And that he hears, and that he listens.
The other day I was watching.
A man leave the hospital carrying.
A baby carrier.
And his wife, who had done all the work, was about four paces behind and he had his head down and he was looking in the baby carrier.
And you could just about see the smile because it was wrapped around the back of his head. And he looked up at me and I went like that and his face just radiated.
The joy in that man's face was absolutely glorious and I thought.
My father.
Haste the light in me.
Imagine that. Think of that. We don't have to imagine it. We know it. Think of that for just a moment.
Who am I anyway?
This tiny little creature on a tiny little planet.
Somewhere in an infinite universe that's measured in light years, created by the word of his mouth.
And he looks down on you, and he looks down on me, and he takes delight.
Individual special joy and delight in you and in me. We know the principles, we know the truth. We know what Scripture teaches. We know the facts, and they're so precious.
But do we ever let them enter our souls in such a way that we're left speechless?
To think of the relationship that we enjoy, that you enjoy, that I enjoy, are able to enjoy, and we don't even begin to get to the past the the first stage of it. Perhaps what we do enjoy is by the Spirit of God and we know it's real and we know it's true and it's precious to us, but there is so much more.
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So much beyond what we comprehend on a daily basis. So much for us to just let penetrate our hearts, our souls, our thoughts, our beings. The Father that we have is the one who sent His Son and who became the Lord. Jesus became that which we were out of the love.
Of a father's heart for you and for me.
We just.
Perhaps I I should say we tend to start off rather quickly and start right into the prayer and and and begin with Father and begin with the Lord Jesus and go into those things which are on our hearts, but.
The thought that we are in a relationship with the eternal God is so far above and beyond what it even is that I'm praying about. Why did I start to pray?
What did I have in my heart? What was I going to tell him? What was I going to ask him? What was I thinking about? It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all. The fact that I can address him with that word that the Lord Jesus used and loved to use and speak to Him as my Father. Everything else just fades. It doesn't matter.
That relationship is ours, whether we enjoy it or not, whether we think of it or not, whether we even speak to him or not, but as we.
Realize what it means to have.
That ongoing eternal relationship with Him, how it takes us out of our circumstances, how it takes us out of our particular need. It may be, you know, when it talks in Philippians. We should read that verse.
We know it again by heart, but let's just read it, Philippians.
Chapter 4.
Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving.
Let your requests be made known unto God maybe.
Maybe we'll never get past the Thanksgiving.
F.
The thought of who it is that we're speaking to enters our hearts. It's by prayer and Thanksgiving, supplication with Thanksgiving. But the requests come afterwards, and sometimes we just don't get to the request because we're so overwhelmed with Thanksgiving for that relationship that is ours, bought with the precious blood of His beloved Son.
Hours to enjoy not only in eternity, but here and now. We live so much.
Not for ourselves, perhaps, perhaps not in a selfish way, But our perspective is so much within ourselves, even in a good sense, when we think of, you know, our families, our home, our responsibilities, perhaps our assembly, those that we love. Those are all important, significant and precious, but far above our own circumstances, far above our own thoughts, far above our own relationships.
Is that 1 glorious eternal relationship?
With God, who is my Father.
Look at the First Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 8.
I'm really thankful and.
Really happy and really encouraged with the reading meetings that we've had today, uh, this weekend.
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And uh.
Some of the things that we've gotten from this reading meeting, these reading meetings were umm, were children of the day, were children of the light and to be watching and waiting for the Lord.
Uh, to take us home at any moment because we are children of the day and children of the light.
First Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 8. But let us who are of the day be sober.
Putting on the breastplate of faith and love and foreign helmet the hope of salvation.
And, uh, that, that really does speak to my heart and I'm sure that it speaks to your heart as well.
Let us, but let us who are of the day, be sober.
And today we need that exhortation more than ever before because in this day in which we live, there has never been a day like today where there has been so much of this, uh, party spirit going on. And it's everywhere. There's this party spirit and the children of the night and the children of darkness.
Are apartment and have a tendency to get drunk and to do those things spiritual drunkenness, not just, uh, physical drunkenness, but their spiritual drunkenness throughout this entire world. And it especially seems that Satan has attacked the Western world.
Umm, very hard, because the Western world has been blessed with so much truth.
Because the truth of the gospel, of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ was spread throughout Europe when the Apostle Paul went to Europe. And, uh, it's umm, and of course we've, uh, experienced that blessing. That blessing has come over, uh, to the United States and Canada.
And especially, you know, in the last 100 and 71180 years when the truth was recovered by uh, brother John Nelson Darby and the brethren that were with him.
And.
It's, it's we need this umm, And so Satan has definitely attacked this Western world, Western Europe, and these countries, United States and Canada that have been so favored. And Satan, Satan knows that his time is short.
And so we need these exhortations that are in here in this chapter. There's a lot of practical exhortations as we've had, uh, to be sober. And I think I read one time where there was a brother that knew Mr. Darby very well that, uh, about the time when, uh, brother Darby, umm, recovered the truth, the Lord led him to recover the truth in his day.
Already, umm, Mr. Darby made, uh, made some kind of a comment that uh, there was umm, some kind of a party spirit going on. And uh, Fast forward that to 178 years later, seventy 100 and 78179 years later to the day where we're living right now, that party spirit is even worse. It's even full blown just before the Lord comes and to take us home.
So we need this exhortation to be sober more than anything, more than ever before.
Putting on the breastplate of faith and love.
Umm, putting on the breastplate of faith in Ephesians you have the the breastplate of righteousness and the breastplate. The breastplate of righteousness is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Here it is, the breastplate of faith and love.
The just shall live by faith.
And the breastplate of faith and love. The breastplate of faith.
The, uh, breastplate of faith and love is a wonderful thing when faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And it's wonderful and it's extremely wonderful to take up the word of God in your own individual time and read the word of God and see what your father and see what my Father has to say to us.
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And uh, it goes hand in hand with the assembly, reading meetings and prayer meetings. And to be in his presence collectively as an assembly, it's a wonderful thing. And uh, the breastplate of faith, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Breastplate of faith and love and, umm, the love of the brethren, the love of the assembly, the love of the Lord and.
If we show love one to another, it's a testimony to the world that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we belong to God our Father, and it's a proof that God is our Father and foreign helmet the hope of salvation.
In the book of Ephesians. Just want to get that thought.
How Ephesians puts it.
Ephesians chapter 6.
Yes, Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17.
It says and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And so the helmet of salvation, we need that helmet of salvation.
To protect our thoughts in our minds and our hearts. The helmet of salvation can protect our heads from the wicked thoughts that Satan sometimes tries to throw at us and the fiery darts of the wicked. And we need that helmet of salvation to protect us from that evil that the that the devil that the devil tries to throw at us, that Satan tries to.
Throw it us and rob us of the joy that we have.
So an foreign helmet, the hope of salvation. We have a blessed hope, the hope of salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior. He's coming soon to take us home. And uh, we are soon to see the redemption of our bodies. When the Lord Jesus Christ comes, he's going to redeem these bodies. He's going to take these bodies of ours and he's going to fashion them like unto his glorious body.
And so we have a full salvation. Our spirits and our souls have been redeemed.
But the day is coming when the Lord Jesus Christ will take our bodies and He will fashion our bodies.
Like unto his glorious body.
Be sober and to be vigilant for our adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion seeketh about whom he may devour, and whom he may devour. The Lord Jesus, we pray that thou would help us.
In this regard, to those grace and strength, we thank you for Thy precious work that has gone forth. Pray that thou use Thy precious word to bless our hearts. We thank you for blessing us this afternoon with this open meeting.
Pray that thou continue to give us graceful guidance and we continue to look for thee for guidance, for strength, uh, for the next meeting as well, Lord Jesus. And so Lord Jesus, we just look to thee.
We thank You for bringing us here together and pray that Thou help us to value Thy precious word more and more as we get closer to Thy coming to take us home. So we just look to Thee, we pray and we ask it. And I know the most precious and worthy name, Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, Amen.