Open—J. Kemp, J. Ferguson
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
You coming over here? Is that what you?
Yeah.
Do you want to sit on my lap?
Here.
A little bit more comfortable.
So long, I've never tried recipes like that.
Especially walking.
Oh.
Fire.
And what is he going to show them?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
00:05:32
I.
I.
I.
I.
I.
127.
127.
00:10:32
No.
Read a couple of versions together.
Group Chapter 2.
Ruth. Chapter 2.
And birthday.
They said boys and roots.
Thou not my daughter.
Go not to glean in another field, neither go from him, but a bind here found by my ladies. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do read.
And go down after them. Have I got some young men that they still not, and when they were 30 go under the vessel?
Drink.
And then in the First Corinthians chapter 14.
Just the last part of verse 26.
That all things be done by the edifying.
Verse 29.
That's a prophet, See two or three. So let the other judge.
Verse 31.
40 days, all prophecy one by one, that all may learn and.
Only comfortable.
To the prophets are subject to the Prophet all the purpose of the state.
I.
I hope that.
Few words that I might speak this afternoon might.
And truly so edification.
Rotation comfort.
That's the purpose of ministry.
And.
I don't want to speak very long because I'm sure that there will be there will be some others that.
Have a word for us?
This afternoon.
But, umm, God's desire is to.
Encourage his people. God is a God of encouragement.
And when we are together, we receive encouragement.
Comfort, but we can't live on past blessings. This conference is not going to give you strength for the future.
There has got to be the daily dependence on the Lord. I underlined that because it's important. We can't live on past experiences.
We need a sense of the Lord's presence.
Each day we need to pray that prayer.
Psalm 16 Preserve me, O God, for in Thee do I put my trust.
The culture in which we are living today, as you know, is a culture of self pleasing.
00:20:00
The whole world revolves around that that.
Philosophy. Have you ever heard a person say on the Internet?
I have finally found myself.
What a disappointment.
But that's the way people talk today. But you know, the Word of God, the wisdom of the Word of God is not an improvement upon man's wisdom. It's the very opposite. The very opposite.
And God has given you a new life, a divine life that you did not have before.
You turn to First Timothy, chapter 6. Paul speaks of that life.
A few times in that chapter to his son Timothy.
Verse 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, or lay hold upon that which is really life.
And whereunto thou hast been called, and has professed a good profession before many witnesses.
The apostle here is speaking.
Of life.
Well, we all have a natural life, of course. That's why we're here. But that natural life is stained with sin from the very outset.
We know what kind of a life we have, but God has imparted to us.
Something that is really life.
What is that? It's eternal life, of course. An eternal life is something beyond a life that endures forever.
That's what people think eternal life is.
Eternal life is the full revelation of what God is. It's a quality of life.
And it's life in the knowledge of God. You know, brethren, when you get to heaven, you're not going to have a different life than you have now. No, you have the same life now as you will have for all eternity. But I ask the question, are we enjoying this new life that we have?
Because there's two ways you can live. You can live unto yourselves.
And I'm afraid that's what we do too often. You can live unto yourselves, if that's your choice.
There's a very powerful stream in the world today to please yourself.
I'm the center of my world.
If it pleases me, all right. If that matter affects my, that spills over into the assembly too.
Has someone offended me or my family? I'm going to leave fellowship.
Self pleasing.
The love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again. There is the the new life that you possess, the life of God.
Now what a liberating power there is, not what I was, but what Christ is.
That is the point.
Leave what you are behind entirely, because it's not worth thinking about. We've had enough of that. You've lived long enough. You have come to learn that the flesh profited nothing, that there's nothing good there in the flesh for God. Bury it. It's dead with Christ. It's buried with Him.
Open the casket and look in to see how things are going. You are dead with Christ.
And you're living with a divine life.
You say sometimes you young people might say, I don't feel very dead when those temptations assail me, but you have to have right doctrine before you can have right feelings. And God says ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
00:25:10
And we are to reckon with God. We now, brethren, have a life in resurrection. Romans 6. Let's look at Romans 6.
Romans 6 We you know, I sometimes think of.
The story I don't want to take too long here, but Mr. Darby was.
In the United States, and there was a small conference.
Convened and.
It was the brothers suggested to Ephesians 1.
And so they went on and had a nice reading in Ephesians one and death. Someone asked Mr. Darby after the meeting, Mr. Darby, did you have that passage on your mind? Well, he says not really. I didn't think we were up to that state of things spiritually, but I had Romans on my mind. But he says we always end up in Romans anyway. So I remember. Remember. I remind you, young brethren.
Study the book of Romans, its fundamental truth. Brother Bruce Ansky has just put out an excellent treatise on the book of Romans. Young people, I would highly recommend that you read it because Romans is fundamental truth and we're not going to give a outline of Romans now, but you notice in chapter 6, I know ye not that verse three, know ye not that so many of us as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death.
And so on, knowing that our old man is crucified, with him the body of sin might be destroyed, and so on. Verse 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him. Verse 11. Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God.
But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Well, we are dead with Christ. Do you believe that? Do you reckon with what God says? Here is a dead man. Here we have a man that was a drunkard. He was a drunken sought, but he's dead now on the floor there. Offer him a offer him a bottle.
Is he going to make any response to it?
He was a drunkard before, but now he's there's no response to it. He's dead.
And so we are dead with Christ and all that you say. I still have that response within me. I still want to do those evil things.
I was listening to a tape recently and the brother who was speaking was astounded that amongst those gathered to the Lords name there were certain things evident that were.
Definitely contrary to the word of God and sinful. And yet they were breaking bread. That's a serious matter. I we broke bread this morning professed to remember the Lord's sufferings for our sins, did we not?
And we saw the Lord suffering that agony for our sins. Am I going to go on with something that has caused the Lord that suffering?
Inconsistent. That's an understatement. It's it's serious.
If I am going on with anything in my life that cannot bear the light of the presence of the Lord and break bread and still go on with those things serious in God's sight anyway.
We are dead to sin.
Alive unto God. We've got newness of life now, young people, each one of us yield. Verse 13. You know you neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. What are you yielding your members to? What are your eyes looking at in the Internet? I never look at the Internet, but I know what's on it.
And through my dear wife, who is a computer expert. But what do we look at with our eyes? What do we listen to with our ears? Your members, now that were used for those things, are set apart. Yield yourselves unto God knowing.
00:30:22
Reckoning with God and now yielding your members.
Unto God do you start off the day.
By bowing in the Lord's presence and say, Lord, you have.
You have saved me by your precious blood. I want to be used in thy service today. Leave me and guide me.
What I should do? I want to be, I want to use those members which were used for sin and evil before. They're under a new master. I reckon with God. I'm dead to sin. What God says.
So.
Which which fear are we going to live in?
We're either going to live in the spiritual sphere. This comes out in Romans 8, which I just want to touch upon. The point is.
We are to yield our members.
Our eyes, our ears, that is a challenge to each one of us. It's going to be a challenge. Who am I going to please in my life? The Lord who redeemed me with his precious blood? Or am I going to live for myself?
You know, there's a verse, I just want to turn to it. John chapter 12. It touches on the.
Subject of discipleship, and I'm not speaking on that this afternoon, but.
John John 12.
Early 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, he accept a corn of wheat, fall into the ground, and die. It abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. Either loveth his life shall lose it.
And he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
In that verse is quoted by the Lord in all the gospels 6 times and it shows us that now our priority should be to please the Lord.
In the estimate of the world, it's losing your life.
But are we living in view of eternity? That's a challenge. Are we living in view of the glory?
And are we keeping that old nature in the place of death?
You know any boy or girl would answer this question here. You see an animal out there rooting in the mud.
You know right away what kind of an animal that is, don't you?
It's a pig, yes, that's his nature. He, he loves that.
But you won't see a sheep doing that. And if a sheep gets into the mud, he may fall in there, but he's miserable until he gets out.
But the, the pig is quite happy there. That's, that's this fear that he enjoys. Oh, brethren, what fear are we living in day after day? Romans 12.
What is it that is the motivation of our lives? I'm going to read Romans just a few verses in Romans 8 here.
Well, here we have the position of the Christian. Therefore there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. The latter part should not be included here. So this is our position before God. We are brought into favor before God. We have the same position before.
Jehovah before God, as Christ himself has. We're in the same favor. He looks upon us.
No longer in the flesh.
We are not in the flesh as to our standing before God, but the flesh is in US.
The flesh is in US and don't try to improve it. It's buried. It's dead and buried with Christ. Leave it there.
00:35:06
The flesh is in us, and we are. Are we obligated to allow that flesh to manifest itself?
Is it inevitable that I have to obey those desires that?
Well, up in my breast sometimes.
No, we're not obligated to obey those evil desires.
That.
Wants controlled us the constant battle, but we do have now a new power. Here's this in book and I drop it. Everyone knows that the law of gravity brings that in book down.
It's a universal law. Any place in the world, that hymn book will always fall down.
However, if I take a helium balloon and I attach it.
To the book, you know that the book which before was drawn down by that law of gravity, it now begins to rise.
Why is that as the law of gravity changed?
Has it been obliterated in some way? No. The law of gravity is just as strong as it was before. But now I've introduced on that book another law or principle, as the apostle calls it here in verse 2. The principle of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the principle of sin and death. That principle of sin and death is what you had as a natural man from your birth, and it's still there.
But you're not obligated to obey its lusts.
Because now God has given you a new power but a divine life, but you also have a new power that gives you.
The strength to overcome those evil desires that rise in your heart. And you say, how can I overcome this temptation? Well.
It's a challenge and it's a continual battle, not only for the younger people.
But for those that are older too, we still have that trouble.
But the point is.
What do we occupy our minds with? And we have that divine life and a new power. You know God does not forgive sin. Did you know that God Forgives sins? All those wicked, evil things that I have done in my life that I'm ashamed of, He forgives my sins. But you have an apple tree out here. You could take all the apples off this year. It will yield the same apples next year.
It won't change.
And I remember a story of our brother **** Gorkas.
To illustrate that point, there was a an old apple tree in his the backyard of his grandfather's house and a grandmother's house. And the apples were naughty and sour and bitter and they only used them to play, to play ball with. So finally the grandmother said, cut down that tree, cut it down. I don't want it there anymore.
So we cut down the tree.
But after a few years, the tree began to sprout again and send up shoots, and soon there was a trunk there, and soon there were apples again. And **** thought, oh, now we're going to get some good apples because it's a new tree, not like those other sour ones that we played ball with, you know, The apples were just the same. There was no change. Sour, naughty, wormy.
They were just the same. Why? Because they came from the same route. And brethren, that route is there. It's going to produce nothing.
But evil? Give it a chance and it will manifest itself.
But remember verse nine, we are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. So coming back to my illustration, first of all let me finish what I was saying. God does not forgive sin.
00:40:08
He forgives sins, but sin has been condemned in the death of Christ.
It's put away from God's sight. He doesn't forgive sin. He he condemns it in the death of Christ. He puts it in the place of death. And you are to do the same. You are to reckon with God and that divine life that you have with that new power that we have read about the Spirit of God.
Will give you.
Liberty Liberty is not licensed.
Not licensed to allow that old evil nature to manifest itself. What's to minister to it in the world? The news stands The Internet. When I was young it was all the television, but I think the Internet, I'm told, is far worse. Anyway, the point is, what are you yielding your members to? What are you occupying your mind with? Do you give place to the flesh? Easy to do.
Lots to minister to it, as I have said, and but that new life.
You have been given.
Sometimes at a meeting like this, so we all look very sanctimonious and we all are occupied with these things, All right, That's the way it should be. We should be refreshed, we should be built up, we should be encouraged. That's God's desire. But when we get back home, sometimes we give quite a place to fleshly things.
In our lives.
Maybe not always immoral. I don't think Dimas went into immorality, but he went back into the world. Is the world occupying your heart, young people? Is it present advantage? That is before you take a lesson from Lot. Heath lifted up his eyes and looked on the planes. They just looked like the Garden of Eden. That's what I want and that's what I'm going to get. And he drifted further and further away from his uncle Abraham.
Picked up a woman there along the way, someplace that he would never seem to stay very long in one place.
And he pitched his tent towards Sodom. You know, a wicked city, an evil city. Lot had present advantage before him. And.
That's what controlled his life, you know, his end. He ended up in the gate of Sodom as a judge, nearly lost his life, lost his family, a saved soul, a lost life. Lot was not living in view of that coming day of glory. Well, it's a challenge for us, brethren to keep our focus, right? I don't like that word focus. I don't know of a better one, however, to keep our eyes upon eternity.
Remember, young people.
You have life before you. Not trying to talk down to you. Someone else should be saying this. I have no children, but I I would encourage you to put the Lord first in your life. I know you have a lot of responsibility at school and at work, being settled in your profession and so on. All right, it's that's correct. Do it for the Lord Lord's glory, but don't forget your priorities.
Don't forget your priorities. There's going to have to be self denial in your life some way or other. It's a sacrificial life. When the Lord Jesus died, he gave 100% everything he gave for us. He held back nothing.
How would you think about a young, young lady that said to a prospective bridegroom? Well, my dear, I'll give you a 90%, but I want 10% for someone else.
When seeing that, she doesn't agree with that, the opposite to 98 percent, 98%, but I want 2% for myself or for someone else. That would not work either it's 100% all or nothing. Well, there's a tendency in our heart, you know, just have a little reserve. Just give me a little concession for the old nature Lord, just on this occasion.
I want to have a little for myself there. That's our hearts. But when we you know that verse I read in John 12, It comes after the description of the Lord giving him is all for us. Is the corn of wheat going down into the ground and dying giving everything for us. Shouldn't that motivate us to live for Him and not for ourselves? What else could and.
00:45:28
Then we have that diverse any man save his life, he shall lose it well.
I need this truth more myself perhaps than anyone the apostle could say I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. There's that new life again, crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. There's a good motto for you. Christ liveth in me. Not very pleasant to be crucified. Any volunteers that want to be crucified?
It's not very pleasant to be put on a cross, but that's where the apostle, the way the apostle describes it, there crucified with Christ, That's the old nature. We're not going, We're not to live for the old nature anymore, but Christ liveth in me. There's the new life that we have. You go to Colossians 3. Set your mind upon things which are above, not on things which are.
In this life, for ye are dead, and your life is hit with Christ in God.
There's where your life is, there's where your interests are. I'm afraid if I take an inventory of my own life, it's pretty disappointing because how much of the day have I have I had my heart on heavenly things? I have to bow my head and say I don't know 10% or what. But our life is up there, brethren, and.
God wants us to live in view of.
The time when all will be manifested. There'll be a reward for your presence at this meeting, while it's a wonderful thing to be with our beloved brethren here in Hammer Bay.
Kindly invited us.
Conference is over tonight. Another, not another conference until another year. SO50 What is it, 51 years? There's no conference. We're going back to the same problems in the assembly, at home, at school. The Lord is sufficient. He is our great high priest and our advocate and the Word of God to direct us. That verse in Romans 8. And I'm finished verse 13.
If you live after the flesh.
Die. That's the end of that sort of life. But if you through the Spirit, you mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live for as many as are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. All right, you choose which fear you want to live in.
May the Lord help us.
Living view of the coming glory and to hold the things of this world lightly, we have to get through this world. I'm not condemning education, but what is the priority in our lives?
The time will come when there will be a reward.
Lord will delight to give a reward for your presence here at the meetings.
This weekend, and for every little act of devotedness, it's all recorded in the annals of eternity. You don't have to worry about it. You may have forgot it, but the Lord has not forgotten it. Some people say, well, you forget your past failures and sins and go on. Well, be careful there. We certainly shouldn't be occupied with our past sins, but we should be humbled by them. Like Hezekiah after his failure, he said, I will walk softly the rest of my days.
Was humbled. He walked humbly, carefully the rest of his days. Well, may the Lord bless these few disjointed thoughts. May we have.
Fresh energy.
To live in the power of the new life that we have, that resurrection life which lifts us above this poor, dark, perishing world, gives us the power to be a testimony here.
00:50:07
While you're left here to be a channel of blessing, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. That's possible with you. You can be in a channel of blessing in this world, the sources up there, but the channel you can be. May the Lord bless His word to us today.
Just want to open to the the hymn that we started out with. I think it was 127.
They just want to read verse 4 again.
Oh, what a home, but such is love that He must bring us there to fill that home, to be with Him and all His glory share the Father's house, the Father's heart. All that the Son is given made ours the objects of His love, and He our joy in heaven.
So I just wanted to share a few thoughts this afternoon.
Tying into that, and also I think.
Relate a little bit to what Brother John was talking about.
And Rose and I had the privilege about a week ago to to go to a little party. And it was pretty unique in character. I'd never never been to one. And kind of the topic that I have on my heart is something that admittedly I don't know too much about. I'm sure others would know a lot more about it.
But this party that we went to was an adoption party and.
It was challenging and this couple who was who was adopting.
They're Christians and they live in Perry Sound, not too far from where where we live, and we get together from time to time and are able to enjoy some things of the Lord. But I just really appreciated the challenge that they had in their hearts, and I guess it started back from when they were.
The girl, I think she was about 12 years old. She, the Lord places.
This thing of adoption on her heart and she wanted to adopt. And so after they got married, they were phoning, they got into foster care. And so they were phoning the foster system, but they were told that they had to be married for two years before they could foster kids. And I think that's probably a good idea.
Work on just your marriage, getting to know one another first before you throw a new dimension into it. But anyways, after two years they were able to foster some some children and then maybe a year or so ago they were able to get a couple girls, one's 8 years old and one is 6 years old. And anyways time went on and they are able to to adopt.
These two daughters and so these girls would have come from a home, not a Christian home.
I taken out of this situation, which obviously if they're in the foster care it it's not an ideal family home and they are able to get placed into this, this nice Christian home.
00:55:11
And have parents that love them and wanted to care for them. And so this party was very unique because they had invited everybody who were a part of their lives into this building and.
They said it takes a whole village to raise a child. And so we just want everybody to share in the joy that we have of adopting these these two girls. And they actually said vows to these to these girls as saying that they wanted to be loving.
Good parents bring these girls up to the Lord. And one thing that I thought was really touching was they said to these girls, we will, we will never leave you. And so, you know, coming from the past of whatever they would have come from, I think that those words would have probably meant a lot to these girls.
But the other nice thing about this party is that the gospel was able to go out because the thought of adoption and the gospel. I think there's there's some real.
Real parallels that we can draw. And so I thought we could just look into the Word and look at a few different instances where adoption is mentioned. I think we can all take this personally because we're not for the Father sending the Son to go to that cross for us. We'd all be lost without hope in this world, but because of God's great love for us, wanting us, choosing us, He wants us to be a part of His family.
And so when he brings us into his family.
We're not just servants or anything. He calls us sons and daughters. He he calls us his children. And so that the last verse of that hymn that we sang, I think gives that sentiment. But let's go into Romans chapter 8.
And I think John left off at first.
14 So let's start off at verse 14.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of ******* again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry ABBA. Father, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared.
With the glory which shall be revealed in US. And so any of us who have given our lives to the Lord Jesus have trusted in him to have our sins washed away. We have the the Spirit of God within us. And so verse 15 says it's not not a spirit of ******* that we need to to fear things. It is the spirit of adoption and we can address.
God as our Father, and what a privilege that is, that the Lord Jesus being the Father's only son.
Was willing to share that father with us that we could we could call him our father think of that verse in John 20 when he says to Mary, I ascend to.
To your God and my God and to my Father and your Father. Something like that. Maybe I'll flip to it. So I quoted, right?
John 20, verse 17.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them.
I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God. And so the Lord Jesus delights to to share His Father with us. Not only that, but the verses back in Romans 8.
That we are reading say.
Say that our Spirit, the Spirit, the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
Proves to us that we are the children of God and as children we are heirs and we know that the Lord Jesus is is heir heir of all things. All things are are given to him from the father, but he's willing to to share that with us and so he says we can be joint heirs with Christ heirs with him. And So what a what a privilege were were brought into and.
01:00:25
I don't know that we can really quite fathom all that all that that means.
But we know that.
There's going to come a time soon where?
We will be revealed as as the children of God, as the sons of God, and what a day that will be when when the Lord Jesus and God the Father will be happy to to display us as his children.
People around us, not everybody might, might not know exactly that we're Christians.
It's nice if we're able to to share something with them that would tell them, but in this day it's going to be clear to all.
That we're heirs, we're children of God, and that we've we've accepted Christ as our Savior. And so we all go through trials, we all have sufferings at this stage in our life.
But.
The exhortation in verse 18 here in Romans 8 is I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in US. And so the sufferings that we go through are are nothing compared to this glory that we're looking for when the Lord Jesus.
Shows that for all to see.
Verse 19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also also shall be delivered from the ******* of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth, and travaileth, and pain together until now, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit.
Even we ourselves grown within ourselves.
Waiting for the adoption to it, the redemption of our body.
And so even nature around us, animals, everybody is under this this curse of sin. And they're all waiting for the the day when that curse will be lifted. And it's coming very soon and we will be at liberty. And so I think we all feel that the effects of sin around us in various ways.
So even we has grown within ourselves waiting for the adoption.
And I think in one sense, when we accept Christ, our adoption is completed.
But just like salvation has various facets to it, there's that sense.
When we get to the glory where it will be completely done, when our bodies will join our souls there in the glory with the Lord and and that adoption will be completely finalized that the party that we went to.
They were hoping that they would have the papers completely finalized, but still there were some things that were going through the courts, but they were they were 100% sure they had the faith that they were going to be able to, to keep these girls and that they would be their own. And so they said even though this may not be official, official, we're going to we're going to go ahead with this this party anyways and just celebrate, celebrate this adoption and so.
When those papers are finally stamped, it'll just be.
Kind of that last approval that they need. And so when we get to the glory, our adoption will be 100% complete.
Let's go to Galatians chapter 4.
Some similar verses.
To what we've read.
Started at verse 3.
Even so, we, when we were children, were in ******* under the elements of the world.
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son bait of a woman made under the law to redeem them, that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
01:05:10
And because ye are sons, God has have sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ABBA, Father, wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. And so once again, just through the work of the Lord Jesus, God sent forth his Son Jesus Christ to go to the cross to to redeem us.
That we might be, that we might receive the adoption of sons, and we might join the Lord Jesus into the family of God. That you might call us children, That you might call us sons and daughters.
Ephesians, chapter one.
Let's start at verse 3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
Courting, as He had chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holier without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us under the adoption of children. By Jesus Christ To Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
So I think just this whole topic of adoption, I think.
The keyword what just comes to mind is just grace. It's just the the grace of God that he would bestow these blessings upon us. And it's when I look at this family who we were celebrating with, it's just just pure grace for these girls to be taken out of a dark situation and just put into such a such light and already.
Both these girls have confessed Christ as their savior and so just what a what a joy to these parents hearts to be able to to make such a difference in in their lives and so.
Going back to the spiritual aspect of this.
Why would the father want to do this? Why would he want to adopt us as his children? Well, verse five says it's according to.
To the good pleasure of his will it gives it gives the father pleasure to invite others to draw alongside his son and and share in the in the share in the relationship that the father and the son have with one another.
And.
Let's go over to James chapter one.
I just want to read verse 27. I think this is a verse that spoke to this couple when they were thinking about adoption.
So James won verse 27 pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the fatherless and widows and their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. And so I think what they did is is wonderful taking this verse at at face value, visit the fatherless, visit the the orphan, so to speak. Maybe maybe some of these children do have.
Fathers and mothers.
Naturally speaking, but they're not wanted and this couple were willing to to take these ones and and be a father and a mother to them. So visit the fatherless and widows to in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. And so it it was just a real challenge for me.
01:10:02
Because adoption of course was is not really something that had had crossed my mind but just thinking of.
Some of these thoughts and the grace, the love that the father has towards us in adopting, it just seems so nice that this this couple wanted to extend a little bit of that to these girls. And what makes it, I don't know if it's a little more sweet, but it was it's completely, completely their choice. They're expecting their first child this month sometime. And so they they wanted their family to include some of some of their own children and.
Some children who have been adopted in and it'll be neat to see to see this family.
Grow and just continue to grow in the things of the Lord.
Have just a couple more verses I want to turn to.
First John, chapter 3.
First John chapter 3, verse one.
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.
Therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew him not beloved. Now are we the sons.
Of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when we, when he shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself even as He is pure. And so behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. Just. It's just so nice to step back and just behold, that means to look, look at the love that.
That God has for us, that he shows us.
We who Ephesians 2 Says were in darkness, we were without hope, without God, in this world completely lost.
But the Father loved us so much that he was willing to send his Son and to die for us so that through the shed blood of Christ we can be called the sons of God. And I had mentioned in this whole story the keyword is grace. And I just have one more verse about grace that I that I enjoy and I shared it with a few this weekend.
And it's in Romans chapter 5.
And second-half of verse 20.
Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And I think.
I think what first comes to mind is the cross. We know sin abounded at the cross. It was it was us who wanted the Lord Jesus there who were.
Mocking him and ridiculing him and nailing him to that cross. Sin abounded there, but we know that the Lord Jesus won the victory. Grace did much more abound. And I think this verse, it applies to everything in life. And I think the reason why it applies is because no matter where we turn, sin abounds for the moment we've spoken on how it won't be for much longer. That's in abounds, but for now.
It abounds.
But no matter where we look.
We can read the rest of this verse. Grace is much more abound, and we know that the Lord Jesus has already won the victory.
We can be thankful that we've been adopted into his family. Those of us who have accepted him as our savior, been adopted into his family. We can look forward to being with him and like him. We shall see him as he is.
As we have read and so let's as we go about and we see the the darkness in the world, let's just remember grace is much more abound and let's let's remember to thank the Father for the manner of love that he has bestowed upon us.
That's the same pin number 21.
#21.
About the same #18 and then.