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Like to Lords help, Let's look at a few scriptures that.
Then.
An encouragement to me and a help to me to understand.
The place that we're at in the history of the Church of God.
Just before the Lords coming.
Things that.
Received from brethren who have gone before us.
And.
That's not anything new, but those things that were ministered to us to build us up, it's impressed me and listening to tapes of ministry from when I was a younger man or boy, how the Lord gave us.
Needed ministry to prepare us for trials that we've been through more of late. He gave us what we needed.
And with this help, if we could look at some scriptures in connection with the remnant character of the testimony today and what I believe the Spirit of God is doing and has done, and of those things that He desires for us to hold fast to. If we could turn to the book of James.
I.
Book of James in chapter 5.
Be patient.
Verse 7 Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming.
Of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandmen waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.
Until he received the early and the latter rain.
Then another verse.
The Gospel of Luke.
We would Chapter 18.
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Verse 6 Luke 18 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge sayeth.
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him?
Though he bear long with them, I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? And one more Scripture where we go on in the book of Isaiah.
Chapter One.
And verse 9.
Except the Lord of Hosts had left unto us a very small remnant.
We should have been as Sodom, and we should have been.
Like gone to Gomorrah?
I know I'm taking some scriptures here that apply to the remnant of Israel don't apply, but they speak of the remnant of Israel and a coming day, so I'd like to make an application if I could with them.
To the present day that we're in, in the church's history, in the account of the unjust judge in the 18th of Luke.
There's a judge who regards not God or man.
And yet a widow comes to him, and through her continual crying, through her persistence.
He intervenes on her behalf.
And the question the Lord asks But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in the earth?
Will there be any who are expecting him to come and intervene?
On the behalf of the Elect, well, you know, it's a serious question in connection with the Remnant.
And they despair, if you read in the Psalms, of whether the Lord is going to come for their deliverance.
Goodbye, the sovereign grace of God.
That's not a question in that way with the Church of God.
Now the church had lost down through those dark ages, had lost.
So much of the truth of God contained in the Word of God, and they had lost the hope of the Lord's coming.
They looked at best for the world to be Christianized.
And the result of all the nations being converted, a glorious golden age would come in, and the result would be blessing in the earth.
At the end of which time Christ would come and claim that pure Kingdom. Would that be a Kingdom of men and through the efforts of men, and you know, when they sought to take the Lord and make Him king, he refused it because that would have been a Kingdom of men too. He'll only take it as from His Father's hand, and it's only going to be brought in by the Lord Jesus Christ. And we've been reading in Revelation of the preparatory scene before that judgment which will clean this world to prepare for His Kingdom.
We can turn over to.
Matthew.
Chapter 25 and I think we know the account well so I won't read it all.
We see there the account that the Lord gave of the Kingdom of heaven, like unto 10 virgins, 5 wise and five foolish.
And the Spirit of God, the sovereign grace of God, was pleased.
In time to stir up the sleeping Church of God, as it were.
And to recover those lost truths.
It didn't come into a condition like we read of of Sardis and chapter 3 of Revelation.
A dead system of things.
Of salvation based on works.
Even in the Protestant churches.
And like these virgins who were awakened to their condition and called to go out to meet the Bridegroom, so the work of the Spirit of God.
Revived that lost truth, and the cry went out, and the truth that the Church's true hope was It's any moment expectation of the Lord's coming reverberated around the world.
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And many other truths are recovered in the basis of those truths where the fact of what the Church of God really wants.
And how it ought to meet in Paul's doctrine was recovered once again to the Church of God. And although many of those truths have not been really received.
Amongst the Church of God in the world today, yet this truth of the Lord's coming.
Has taken hold and as the account goes on here, they're waiting.
And ready, verse 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. And so I don't believe the Church of God will go back to sleep as to this truth of the Lord's coming. And so when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith in the earth? Yes, he will. Why? Sovereign grace? Sovereign grace. Not because of faithfulness on the church's part, not because of our faithfulness or our wisdom.
Or anything else but sovereign grace that we cover the truth of God to the Church of God.
And so the husband men hath long patience for the fruit of the earth.
And there was that early rain, that wonderful, fresh, bright day of Pentecost.
And the beginning of the Church's history here on earth.
It was a happy, bright start.
But the husbandmen have long patience for the fruit of the earth and we might say the latter rain. We could apply it that way, the recovery of the truth of God once again to the Church of God. You know, things had gotten into such a state that they really thought that the Spirit of God had left the earth. And some began to meet in little prayer meetings to pray that the Spirit of God would be sent once again to this earth. They didn't understand that the Church of God.
Has this helped that the Spirit of God has this habitation presently in the Church of God they began to pray that the Spirit of God would be set once again. I believe the count was given to me that George Mueller in a class of hundreds in his Bible seminary that he went to.
Got saved.
And another young man there got saved. As far as he knew, there were the only two in that whole class. That was really the state of things before the recovery of the truth of God. It was largely a dead system of things. And had God allowed that to go on, we had been like unto Sodom and we had been like unto Gomorrah. If there would have been nothing left, nothing left.
But in his.
Sovereign grace he gave that latter rain and the reason I seeking to bring this before our souls trust it's the Spirit of God seeking to bring it before our souls is that we might have maybe a little better appreciation. 1 desires it for oneself of that which of what the Spirit of God has done and is doing in this present day. We've been privileged to receive that latter rain.
We've been privileged to come in under those.
Truths.
Like to turn over?
I guess to the book of Isaiah.
In chapter 41, hard my fingers.
Keep silence before meal islands and let the people renew their strength. Let them come near.
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Let them speak, Let us come near together to judgment. Who raised up.
The righteous man from the East, and called him to his foot, and gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings. This is speaking.
Of King Cyrus.
If we turn over to.
The Book of Ezra.
Chapter one and verse one Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth.
Of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king.
Of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his Kingdom, and put it also.
And writing and the declaration goes out that all those.
Who God had put in their heart could return to the city of Jerusalem.
That had been destroyed so many years ago by King Nebuchadnezzar, and God raised up this servant Cyrus.
To accomplish his purpose to give the decree that those captives could.
Return. And as it says, it's by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet. We just turn over.
To look at that in Jeremiah.
Believe it's chapter 29.
And verse 10 for thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word towards you and causing you to return to this place. I'd like to connect that with.
The Book of Daniel.
In Chapter 9.
Daniel, Chapter 9.
First one in the first year of Darius, the son of a Hesterus of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of his reign. I Daniel understood by books the number of the years where of the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face to unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplications.
With fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
Three things.
There's Cyrus, a servant raised up by God to accomplish his purpose.
Jeremiah the prophet, giving the precious word of God, of God's purposes, that in 70 years he would accomplish the desolations of Jerusalem and a remnant would be allowed to return to Jerusalem.
And God purposed that a little remnant would come back to Jerusalem.
That it would be.
There when the Lord Jesus came into this scene.
God had in His grace given David as king over Israel.
And Solomon his son, and in those two kings a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus and his conquering, and in his reign. But soon that family failed, though God had promised one of the seed of David would sit upon his throne forever. And the failure came in, and failure so grievous that God had to allow.
That people to be carried away captive into a strange land.
But one was going to sit on the throne of David and the purposes of God, and God was not going to have an empty, desolate city there to receive that one. And so in his purposes, he is going to bring a remnant back to receive the king. He's going to bring a remnant back to receive the king, to be there when his son took manhood into union with himself and came into this world.
And so he gives the word that it would be so, and he raises up the instrument that it would be so.
Some years back, before I was married, brother Mark Steak and I used to like to travel with brother Charlie Little and we'd go.
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Down to the little assembly and Waverly for prayer meeting or here and there. And Brother Charlie used to like to tell us about the stories of when he was first gathered to the Lord's name. Brother **** drowned with the Lord now and others with the Lord. They told us of those days when they were first brought into the truth and gathered to the Lord's name. And you know, they said we hardly knew anything.
And shortly after we began to come to meeting, there was an old servant of the Lord, for the drown told me that came in and he spent a week and he gave addresses and he gave addresses on the coming of the Lord.
And he said after those addresses, we used to go out at night in the street.
On the sidewalk and he said we just stand there and we just look up.
We just look up.
It so impressed our souls.
And God recovered a little remnant.
In Ezra's day, that they would be there to receive the king. Well, we don't wait for him as king, do we? But as Lord. But so he's done with that ladder rain and recovered the truth to the Church of God, that there might be a little remnant when he comes.
That represents in some way his bride that is waiting.
To receive him when he comes.
It's not just a matter of the way that we meet, that our chairs all face the right way.
Or that the sisters heads are covered. How beautiful those things are in their place.
Or that it's a matter.
Of.
Not having one man ministry.
You know, some of those things are kind of done in an outward form.
In other places.
But it's really that He's given the latter rain that he might have that here, which represents his bride in this earth, when He comes and calls us to be with him. No, not every member of that body is gathered.
But he will have that which represents her when he comes.
But you know that little return.
In Ezra's day, it waited on something.
There was the instrument of God. Cyrus prophesied many years before he was born.
There was the precious word of God-given by Jeremiah that spoke of that accomplishment, that it waited on something else.
It waited on the exercise of a soul and sovereign grace.
And the purposes of God.
In an amazing way.
He allows it to wait on the exercise of a soul.
And so Daniel opens.
The word of God and he breathes in the book of Jeremiah of how 70 years would be accomplished in the desolations of Jerusalem. You know, I'm sure he could kind of mentally calculate up and realize that that time was almost there. That time was almost there.
Well, he set his face to the Lord. He didn't grab that scroll and run around through Babylon and say, look what I found. We're about we're on the threshold of being able to return to Jerusalem.
No, he didn't. He set his face in repentance and sorrow. Who don't have time to read all of Chapter 9 before the Lord? Oh, it grieved him to think of what God had to do to bring them to that point. You know, in the bright day of Pentecost, it was a joy as that new thing began, but there was a sorrow there too, over Israel having rejected their Messiah and still refusing the work of the Spirit of God.
And that cry goes out, cut it down, white cumber thick the ground of Israel, and in the recovery of the truth of God. And that which I think believe the latter rain speaks of, you know those brethren, and it's been recounted before. One said, we bought that truth on our knees, the floor wet with our tears, and there was a sorrow connected with it.
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There is a sorrow over the true state of the Church of God.
And the place that they have been brought into, and there was a real sorrow over it. And As for his day, when they came back and the foundation of that temple was laid, we can just turn back to it.
Chapter 3 of Ezra.
Verse 11 And they sang together by course, and praising, and giving thanks unto the Lord, because he is good.
For His mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praise the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites in chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, when they that had seen the 1St house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. And many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shot of joy from the noise.
Of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
You know there was a joy in my soul.
When the Spirit of God first began to bring home to me that there was a clean place still in the scene, that we could meet together according to the Word of God, where the Lord Jesus Christ was in the midst and where the truth of God was taught, there was a joy. Like these young ones who had not seen the first temple. There was a joy, a shout of joy. But those who had seen the temple in its early days, it was weeping.
There's weeping, you know, we need both. We need to have joy in our hearts and rejoice in the fact that His sovereign grace has recovered that truth and has preserved it to us and still given us a clean place where we can be gathered unto the precious name of the Lord Jesus and Himself in the midst and yet to realize.
Yet to realize our failure and the failure of the Church of God as a whole to keep that which was committed to our trust.
Do you really have a sense we're nothing?
The Lord has allowed a lot of difficulties, don't need to even say it amongst us in sorrows.
Over the past years and it has struck me.
That it is true that the way in which the truth was recovered and sorrow and repentance is the way in which it must be held today.
And if the Lord has to bring us through those difficulties.
That we would hold the truth in self judgment and repentance.
And sorrow, then he'll allow those things.
Because we can't hold the truth except we hold it in the same way that it was recovered to the Church of God.
They come back to that point. The purposes of God, the instrument of God waited on.
The exercise of a soul. And so there we find Daniel.
And his exercise soul gets before the Lord in real repentance and sorrow.
Real repentance and sorrow.
You know, I in going over these things a little bit at Vestal.
We pardon the personal reference.
Was standing there one night and all the.
The children on the front row.
A lot of young ones.
And those little trips that we made with brother Charlie.
Came back to me and, you know, used to say he still says so I don't know what's wrong with you young brothers.
You'd say, so many nice young sisters around, and there you sit, you know, and you give us an exhortation like that.
But you know, it was his desire.
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His desire, and his earnest prayer and exercise of his heart.
That the testimony would continue in vessel. And he earnestly prayed.
For us as young brothers that we find godly wives.
And raise families for the Lord and instruct them in the truth.
That there might be.
That which represents his bride.
And if I can say it in this way, ready and looking up.
To receive the king when he comes.
And the Lord answered that exercise of soul.
It had never come to my realization till I saw all those children there.
And he waits on the exercise of my soul and your soul.
And he says, Hold that fast which thou hast let no man take thy crown. Oh, it's his purpose, and it will be accomplished. It's according to his word. Those virgins won't go to sleep until he comes, but all his purpose and his counsels wait on the exercise of your soul and mine.
And to the book of Ephesians.
It's good we remember the history where we came from, the great gathering of truth 100 and so years ago. But the gathering wasn't just something that **** was there. There are certain truths that were brought out and the power of the Spirit worked in those days to bring out these truths. It's good we sit a certain way. It's good we claim to be gathered in the name of Christ. But these are the truths that gather us. And we find this in the book of Ephesians. We have the 1St 3 chapters telling us what to believe.
The second three chapters What this faith should produce in our lives.
We could read the prayer and Ephesians chapter one again.
Ceasing not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, the one who gives us a spirit, the one who gives us understanding is the Father of glory. It's not from man of man, but only from God. We are gathered to a person. We're not gathered to a number of doctrines, though we do believe the same, but we're gathered to a heavenly person.
Might give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of Him. When we know we all have the Spirit, we've already had this in the book of Ephesians. We're sealed by the Holy Spirit by giving the Spirit here He's not meaning actually giving, because we already have, but the experience, the expression of that Spirit in our lives. The result or purpose of this. The clauses in all of Paul's prayer, especially in the prison epistles, build one thought upon another. First the Spirit starts giving us this wisdom.
For the purpose that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, the following chapters you can go to school your whole life. You can quote this in Greek, you can quote it in English, but it's a spirit that has to open our eyes. The book we have before us cannot be understood by man. The doctrines cannot be understood by men. Our eyes are open via the Holy Spirit and Paul's praying that the believers and ethnists.
That their eyes would be open to these truths, just as we should be praying that our brother's eyes should be open, that our children's eyes should be open to understand these things, that you may know what is the hope of your calling and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints? He is not our inheritance. We're His inheritance, the hope of Our Calling, our purpose, our heavenly calling. We can't know of our heavenly calling by the intellect of man, by the studies of man. We should read the books behind us.
We should use our minds. We're not mindless, but we're totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit to open these truths up to us, to understand the truth that are coming in the following chapter. And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the work in this mighty power which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him in His own right hand in heavenly places, This power works in US the same power that rose Christ from the dead.
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Christ himself lives in us. We know that from a different book, the book of Colossians, Christ any the hope of glory. So he's praying first that their eyes would be open to these different things. We start off in Ephesians. We were dead in sins. He's made us alive. He has made us alive. But God, who is rich in mercy, we have not made ourselves alive. Not only has he made us alive, but where has he taken us? He's raised us up and placed us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Do we understand that we can read the words, but it's only through the working of His Holy Spirit and our minds and hearts that this can be real to us? He goes on. We find out the wall petitions been broken down. We are no longer Jew and Gentile, but one new body. We have not become Jews, but we become one new body, Jew and Gentile. One new body is not merely in Romans the peace for us. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
But here we see He is our peace. The very essence of God has come to dwell in us. He is our peace. We have the objective peace with God. We have the subjective peace. My peace I give unto you not as the world gives, give I unto you. His subjective peace dwelling in US. We are now one body. As we go on, He's told us to open our minds to the mystery that we've become one, something new, something totally unrevealed. In the Old Testament, why do we speak of young people of.
The church not being in the Old Testament, because right here it's called a mystery. It was not revealed in time to old what we are this great mystery.
We're told to understand all these things, we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, but so we can sit here and straighten our collar. Oh, I know all these great truths well, no, for a purpose, for change lives. God only blesses us for us to bless others. Read the next prayer quickly, chapter 3, verse 16.
That He would grant you according to the riches of His glory. First to be strengthened with my biased spirit and the inner man. For these truths we first have to understand them. We can't reckon on something. We can't believe something unless we first know it. You know, like remember in Romans 6, no wreck and yield. The first part of this chapter tells us to know certain things. Here it tells the inner man to be strengthened, that we can bring these truths to a practical life.
Before men, we are to be living Christ. Christ is to live in and through us, as we will see here in a moment. And we first know now he's working here that we might believe.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts. How? By faith, Christ is not living my heart by good works, doesn't live in my heart by me beating myself, by me doing this, by me doing that, by prayer meetings, by Bible study, by coming to meetings. We should do all those. But Christ lives in our heart by faith, as I trust in the truth that we were just discussing, Christ makes himself at home.
We know that once we're saved, Christ is in US forever. It's not that Christ needs to come, but He needs to make His home within us.
Being rooted and grounded in love.
The next thing that happens, be able to comprehend with all the Saints.
What is the breadth, length, depth and height? And to know the love of Christ, which passes all knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in US, unto him be glory. So what happens whenever we start believing, excuse me, and working with these truths?
We're told walk in the Spirit. How do we walk in the Spirit? By believing who we are in Christ. Not by doing, but by sorry, my mouth, but by believing. It says to put off the old man and put on the new man. How do we put off the old man? I realized that before God I am dead to sin. That's the way God sees me. How do I put on the new man? Before God? I am risen in Christ.
I put on the Newman. How does the full power come in our lives to fight the Christian warfare? I realize positionally I'm seated now. I see myself as seated and the power of the Spirit flows through us for warfare, for our walk to honor God in our minds and lives. We live a life of faith, not of works we were for by grace. Are you saved through faith?
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As you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walking in Him as we understand these truths, not as merely nice positional things for us to know, but that they are the power of our lives, and as we trust and lean on these, God Himself, Jesus Christ will manifest himself through us by faith alone.
Let's go over to the 6th chapter of Ephesians.
We've had some.
Very encouraging readings here.
And it's impressed me, brethren, in the days we live in.
How the enemy is.
Making full scale war.
He knows he cannot take away.
Our blessings.
But what he tries to do is take away our enjoyment of the blessings and that's what the warfare is about.
Her brother has said we need to simply believe the truth of God.
In Ephesians 1.
That mighty power of God is working.
To us word who believe Ephesians 3, it works in us to believe. Is there any lack of power? No.
But there is real warfare going on, brethren, and it comes down to practical things in our lives. And I'd just like to touch on it. The armor of God. I must say that in my own life, I find it helpful once in a while to stop and reflect. Do I have on the whole armor of God?
It's real warfare. It's not warfare like in Iraq.
We have bombs and bullets.
It's spiritual warfare. It is no less real.
There are casualties all over the place. Incredible. Sad to see it.
But it's important then to make sure that we take unto us what God has provided us for us in the this warfare. Let's just read a few verses here in the 6th chapter says in verse 12, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in higher heavenly places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in an evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore and now we begin with the armor, and I'd like to just simply point out that there are 7 distinct things. There's five pieces of the armor that are defensive. There is one piece that is used for offensive.
Warfare, which is the word of God. And then there's the attitude in which we are.
To go about this warfare prayer verse.
14 The first piece is having your loins girt about with truth. It's not enough, brethren, to be talking about the truth. Fairly easy to sit down in meetings like we are and talk about the truth, and there's a real value in that.
It's not enough. Put it on. Put it into practice if you don't do that.
You can't stand. There is nothing that makes you strong.
As the simple truth of God, get it into your souls.
But here it says girded on. You know, the old soldiers used to put a big belt around their middle outs, what it's talking about so that they could use their strength in battle. Nothing is going to make you strong like the precious truth of God. But let it be something more than just a head matter. Let it be something that you have girded on, made practical. I am impressed increasingly with the fact that you and I do not have the truth of God.
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If we only understand it in our heads, it has to be put into practice. That's when you can say you have the truth of God.
Second piece having on the breastplate of righteousness.
Was a piece that covered the breast of the soldier important part?
One arrow through the heart of a soldier. Sorry, that soldier is not going to be too active any longer. So you have to have on the breastplate of righteousness. What is that? This is practical righteousness.
And I like to put it in this way. It is what Paul talks to Timothy about in First Timothy chapter one. In fact, he mentions it twice in that chapter.
A good conscience.
Sometimes you know we're doing stuff we know is wrong.
Maybe nobody else knows about it. Maybe you got all the doors closed when you do it.
But if you're doing it, you don't have a good conscience. You know what conscience is. Man was created in innocence. Innocence simply means without the knowledge of good and evil.
Sense is the root word for science or knowledge.
When man ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, immediately he had conscience. Every human being has conscience. It means with the knowledge of good and evil.
And sometimes we do not maintain a good conscience, Paul said when he was standing. Given his defense herein, do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offence toward God and toward man? He didn't say I always have a good conscience.
Now I exercise myself, and that's a constant thing. Brethren, I might be all right one day. Am I all right for the next day?
That's something I need to exercise myself before the Lord about. And conscience is something that operates according to the measure of light. Somebody has put it. It's like eyes. I got good eyes. I can see you all this afternoon.
But if all the lights were off, for as much as I have good eyes in my head, I wouldn't see a one of you.
You need something to make your eyes work. You need light. And this book is the standard, brethren, which gives us to see things for what they really are. Are we maintaining a good conscience? Brethren? Is there something in your life I don't have any way of knowing? Brethren, I see you once in a while. I'm glad to see you all here encouraged, but you know, before the Lord.
Are you allowing something in your life?
That is not right. You don't have on the breastplate of righteousness.
And that's a scary thing.
To contemplate in view of the fact that we are in the midst of real spiritual warfare.
Put it on, brethren. That's the exhortation of Scripture, Paul says in second in the last chapter of Hebrews. Pray for us, for we trust that we have a good conscience.
3rd place is your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Feet as the wok.
And the way you walk prepares.
For the possibility, the opportunity of giving the message of the gospel of peace. It's not the gospel of peace that is we are to be shod with. It is the preparation of the gospel of peace. How important it is to walk in a way that commends itself. If I am known as a brother, there's always picking a fight with somebody else.
Is that the preparation of the gospel of peace?
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I'm afraid I'm not going to be shod properly if that's the case.
The fourth piece, because our time is going here, it says above all, and this is extremely important piece, taking the shield of faith wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. In other words, it was a large piece of metal. I'm sure we've all seen it. Generally if the soldier grabbed the sword with his right hand, he had this buckled on to his left arm and he.
People would swing at them with their sword, they the other soldiers and he would parry. They blow off with his shield. Any arrows coming in, he could raise his his shield and knock him down. What is the shield of Faith for us?
Faith is always based on the word of God. It's confidence in God, unwavering confidence in God. How important that is. And it seems like Satan is making war on that point to get us to mistrust God.
I can understand, brethren, if you mistrust me. I can understand if you mistrust others, but never allow a doubt in your life about God or His Word.
That's a direct attack of Satan. Those fiery darts you can put, say, our fiery doubts.
He fires them at you to try to get you to doubt God. If you doubt God, your strength is gone and the shield goes down.
And the fiery darts get in.
There are so many fiery darts that he aims at us in these last days, brethren.
Trust in God, he's completely faithful. Don't doubt him. You may doubt others, but don't doubt God that's the shield of faith and the.
Helmet of Salvation.
But as that is, the helmet covers the head.
It's the knowledge that in the Lord Jesus I have complete salvation.
Remember Mr. Lundeen talking about this and he used to quote the verse of the hymn and the appendix of our hymn book. I think it explains so well what the helmet of salvation is. It says for every tribulation, for every sore distress in Christ I full salvation. Sure help and quiet rest. No Fear of foes prevailing. I triumph, Lord in thee. Oh Gee, oh Jesus, friend.
Dear art out of me, that's the helmet of salvation to know that going into the battle.
That we have complete salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the sixth piece is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. How often in spiritual warfare we like to try to reason things through.
The Lord Jesus. If there was anybody that could have reasoned with the devil, it would have been the Lord Jesus.
He did not do that. He simply said every time it is written, it is written. And when the devil quoted the scriptures to him, misquoted the scriptures I should say, because he didn't quote him. Exactly right. The Lord Jesus says it is written again. There is nothing like the power of the precious word of God. Store it in your soul. So when the time comes.
The Spirit of God can bring it to you for your use. It is the sword of the Spirit. It's not our sword. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And then the last praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
And watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints.
Praying always, Oh brethren, what a resource we have in prayer. Praying always.
Doesn't matter what circumstances of life you're in.
At home, on the road, at work, the attitude of the Christians. Life is an attitude of dependence on God at all times. Praying always, not only with all prayer, but supplications. Do we know what it means to supplicate? It's more intense.
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And we need Daniel his supplications in Daniel 9.
Do we know what it means to be serious with God to get down to business about?
Things that there is no other remedy about.
For it says All Saints.
Brethren, do we embrace All Saints, all the body of Christ? Are we interested in just a few of the Lord's people, or does our heart go out to them all?
We should never narrow our hearts affection, even though our pathway may be one of separation from what we know to be wrong. Still our hearts affection should be to All Saints and watching thereunto, in other words.
To be waiting for the answers to those prayers. Brother, we have a God.
Who is a living God? We have a God who hears.
Who answers? Let's just pray to finish our meeting. Father, bless thy precious word. Bless the time we've had together here. Thanks so much for our brethren who invited us here. Bless them too, Lord. Now as we go out on the roads, we're thankful that we have things to meditate on, to chew on. Help us as we've already asked a number of times, Lord.
Not to be only hearers of thy word, but doers help us to gird on.
The Arloins, the truth of God, oh the precious.
Truth of this book we have in our hands. We ask thy blessing, Father, commending ourselves into thy hands for the rest of the day, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.