Open—D. Hayhoe, D. Buchanan, M. Payette
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I'd like to turn brethren to Genesis. I believe it's chapter.
49.
Genesis 49.
Verse 22.
Joseph.
Is a fruitful bow.
Even a fruitful bell by a will whose branches run over the wall.
The Archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him.
But his bow abode in strength in the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. From thence is the Shepherd, the stone of Israel.
'S.
I have particularly before me to start off with this first verse. Joseph is a fruitful bow.
Even a fruitful bow by a well.
Whose branches run over the wall.
I'm going to tell you just a little story about this verse homespun story.
There's a family, a young family.
That we're reading this chapter.
In their home.
And the father said to the children.
You know the man next door has an apple tree.
That apple tree is right beside the fence.
And that tree grew up, and there are apples growing in every direction off of that tree.
Some are on his side of the fence and some are on our side of the fence.
Whose do those do the apples belong to that are on our side of the fence?
Well, you know what children would say.
Well, there are ours.
Joseph is a fruitful Bow. Who?
Even a fruitful bow by a well whose branches run over the wall.
You know, it's wonderful, brethren, to contemplate our Savior. Joseph is a picture of Christ.
Joseph was the one who was put in a pit. Joseph is the one who was exalted.
To the pinnacle of the world power at that time.
And Jacob said of his son Joseph, he's a fruitful bow whose branches run over the wall.
The blessing of Joseph went far beyond that family of Jacob.
It went into Israel and he's only a little picture of Christ.
We had much before us this morning about our God and about His beloved Son.
And I have enjoyed so much in connection with the Lord, you know, it says.
There in that chapter we read in Isaiah, So shall he sprinkle many nations.
The King shall shut their mouths at him that which they have not.
I've been told them shall they consider?
You know the results of the cross of Christ.
That have flowed over the wall of the boundary of Israel.
And gone to where you and I were.
The mighty God of Jacob the Archer sore wounded that blessed man.
At the cross but all the blessings, so shall he sprinkle.
Many nations like to think of it. You remember back in in Leviticus, it tells us about the priests, about the men that had leprosy. What was he to do with the blood?
He was to sprinkle it.
On the person who was a leper, that he might be cleanse, so shall he sprinkle many nations.
The power of the blood of Christ that has extended over this whole vast world through the centuries.
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And come down, brethren, to you and I, and will be extended right through to the Millennium.
And the value of it, those of us that know Christ as Savior are going to experience for all eternity.
We just had a little picture of it this morning when we were together in the presence of our Lord.
Notice here that it says whose branches run over the wall. You know it's like this, friends.
God could not contain Himself to the confines of Israel.
And so that verse was read to us this morning, for God so loved the world.
Experience it and enjoy it in your soul.
And may it run over the wall for you and me and what I'm thinking of in connection with running over the wall, here we are near the end of the conference.
You're going to leave. I'm going to leave the confines of this conference.
We're going to drive along the road. Are you going to drive the same way you came?
Are people going to notice a difference in the way you drive?
When you speak to somebody, is there going to be a difference?
Is Christ going to be seen in your life and in mine?
Run over the wall.
Having Christ in our lives. The fruitful bow.
Whose branches run over the wall have some tracks to give out here and there to speak of Christ. Dear young people, you can reach people that the rest of us can't reach.
They'll listen to you better than some of us that are older.
Run over the wall.
To others, what about brethren that aren't with us at the conference?
You're going to have something for them when you leave.
Run over the wall.
Carry something back.
To those.
That you know.
Whether in fellowship or not in fellowship with us.
Take some food with you.
Spread it around.
This world is hungry.
For the word of God.
I have some scriptures in mind.
We sung that hymn. Lord, Thou hast drawn us after thee. Now let us run.
And never tire. And so it says here, a fruitful bow whose branches run over the wall.
Let's go for a minute over to John's Gospel Chapter 4.
John's Gospel, chapter 4.
And.
Verse.
Let's I'll start from verse 13. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst but the water.
That I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Sir, the woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hit her to draw, and then go down to verse.
20 Our Father is worshipped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is a place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet a Jerusalem worship the Father.
You know worship, you know not what.
We know what we worship for salvation of the Jews. The hour cometh. And now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for this Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Now I was thinking particularly of the verse. There in verse I think, is it 14 Who's?
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Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water drink springing up to everlasting life. You know, there's two glasses of water here on the table and I'm not going to do this, but both of them are pretty full. But if I took this second one here and I started to dump it into this other one here, it wouldn't be very long before the water in this this first one here would start to overflow.
So it says here in this verse, The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
You know when you and I got saved and we accepted Christ as our Savior, there was a well of water that was put inside.
And and that is the Spirit of God that was put there and, and it's springing up all the time. And God wants it and brings in worship in this chapter. And I believe that the purpose that God's purpose in putting it there is that there might be worship that would flow from a redeemed heart out to the one who loved us and gave himself for us.
Springing up.
To him, worship. And that's what we did in this room this morning.
Worship is not something that should characterize us just when we come to meeting. Worship is something that should characterize us every day of our lives. It is a a thankful spirit to to our blessed Savior for what who he is and for what he has done. Worship first of all and the Lord must have the first place in your life and mind you want to be a happy Christian.
There's not anybody in this room that doesn't want to be happy.
If you want to be happy and I want to be happy, there's only one way to be happy.
And that is that God has made our hearts so that that only in that that state of worship and Thanksgiving first of all, flowing out in our hearts to him, filling our hearts with praise and Thanksgiving.
That it gives us that happiness in our souls.
That communion with the Lord, to walk with him.
To walk with him, to stay close to him in our lives.
Just think of it, what dwells inside a new life, the life of Christ Himself, the Spirit of God indwelling us to give us the enjoyment of His presence everywhere that we go.
The life of Jesus that it might be manifest in our bodies.
It will have an effect on yourself and your friends, your family. Everyone starts at home, works out from there, it'll have its effect.
Now turn, please to John, Chapter 7.
And verse 37.
In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying If any man thirst.
Come unto me and drink he that believeth on me, as the Scripture has set. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
This spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified. You notice it in the 4th chapter, it says that the well of water sprung up to everlasting life. And in this chapter what does it say that the that the waters would flow rivers of living water, they flow out.
First of all.
It is something that is God's portion in thankfulness.
From the beginning of the day to the end of the day, worship and Thanksgiving to Him. And if there is that in my life and in your life, then the rivers of water are going to flow out and that is where.
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I think we can use that little example we had with Joseph being a fruitful bowel whose branches go over the wall that they that the flowing out to others the fruit.
The blessing may fall to those that are outside. Oh, it's a wonderful thing. You think of this poor world and so unsatisfied with everything it's around. And you and I, what do we have? Friends, brothers and sisters.
Turn to that verse that was read to us this morning in First Corinthians. I think it was it First Corinthians 4, Two Corinthians 4.
First must have been Second Corinthians 4, was it?
Think it's Second Corinthians 4 thinking of the.
And verse 6, and I'm thinking of verse 7, but let's read verse 6, God.
Who commanded the lake to shine out of darkness that shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? You know it took just as much a work of God, or maybe more to save your soul as it did to make the world.
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, is shine in your heart and mine. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.
It took the arm of God in connection with your salvation. It says to the world that he made it with his fingers.
When I consider the heavens the work of thy fingers, so it says here.
The God of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not in verse four that God.
The God who who made us, who commanded the light to shine a darkness is shine in our hearts. And that wonderful to think that God loved you and I so much not only to send his Son to die, but went to work in your life and in mind to the point where he got saved.
Now, as they say in the next verse, we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
Well, this cup is here and it's filled with water. One time it was empty and they filled it up. And you and I are just like vessels.
What are you going to be filled with, Friends. What am I going to be filled with on a daily basis? I go on through this world.
You're going to fill up somewhere. We don't live our lives in a vacuum.
Oh, there's nothing like having the Lord as the 1St place. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, not of us. And so it is. You can't do anything in your own strength, and I can't do anything in our own strength. It can only be done.
With the Lord's help.
And how many times have you experienced? And how many times have I experienced botching it up as we go along?
And you feel?
Like.
You haven't done very good job.
Go back to the Lord. And now that's where I want to come in for the second part of what I want to talk about.
In connection with that, because I want to talk to you about a man in the Old Testament.
That missed the Lord's mind.
You know, our brother Gordon Hayhoe had he? He said over and over again.
Connection with Moses at the end of his life.
And I think it's Deuteronomy 33.
Moses at the end of his life, he's looking back on the children of Israel and he said said this.
Yeah, he loved the people. All his Saints are in his hands. You know what our brother used to say quite often in connection with that verse?
Moses at the end of his life could look back and see all the failure that children of Israel.
And from God's sight, he said, God never gives up on his people. The.
I have said to some of my own children, don't you give up on the Lord because he's not giving up on you?
God never gives up on his people. I think sometimes we give up before the Lord gives up.
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Yeah, he loved the people. All his Saints are in his hands.
So I want to turn for justice a little bit.
To Jonah.
Turn back to the book of Jonah.
I'm not going to take too long.
Obadiah, Jonah.
I don't know how much you read here. I'm going to read. I think I'll read the 1St chapter.
And then just briefly skim a few thoughts to leave with us.
The whole book is good, but now?
The word of the Lord came unto Jonah, you know, Isn't that nice?
The word of the Lord came unto Joan.
Has the word of the Lord ever come to you? You've got it in your hand.
I think yours beyond that, you know, sometimes the Lord has a very special message for us.
The word of the Lord came unto Jonah. Make sure.
You get a message from the Lord in your life.
After.
Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of MIDI, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and cry against it for the wickedness. Their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee from under Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa. And he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea.
And there was a mighty Tempest in the sea, so that the ship was likened to be broken. I think we'll just stop there. I don't think I'm going to read the whole chapter.
You know.
Jonah was a prophet, he tells us that. I think it's back in Kings.
And he was a true child of God.
Now God had a special message for him that he was to take to this city of Nineveh.
When God saved you and He saved me, He saved us for a purpose, and that was that. He might have us for Himself, that there would be worship that would ascend to Him. But He also has a purpose for you and for me in our lives. You know, I feel this so strongly.
So the Lord had a purpose for Jonah.
And Jonah was given a job to do that no human person could do it.
Unless he was equipped with the strength that was beyond himself.
Was God able for it? Yes, God was able for it.
But Jonah had to be brought himself into a state of nothingness before God.
So that God could use them.
Well, the word of the Lord came unto him.
To go to this city of Nineveh, and Nineveh was the capital city.
Of I believe it was the Syrian Empire.
And it the Syrian Empire controlled the world of that day.
And justice? Imagine.
This man being asked to go to that city to take a message from God to it. A people that knew nothing basically of the God of heaven outside of the confines of the children of Israel. And Jonah was a Jew.
And the Jews had the word of God, and he was asked to take a message to this Gentile city, furthermore, to this great city in the whole greatest city probably in the whole world.
I tell you that naturally I can understand, understand the reticence on the part of Jonah to go to that city.
And, dear friends, you and I can't do what God wants us to do in our own strength.
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It's impossible.
Every true child of God has to learn it one way or another.
The greatest servants of the Lord have had to learn that the apostle Paul had to learn it.
My strength is made perfect in weakness.
But the Lord has equipped you.
And he has a, he has a life work for you.
He has a purpose for you.
There is nobody here that doesn't want to follow the purpose that the Lord has for.
I don't think truly.
You remember the breathings of the Apostle Paul as soon as he was saved.
Of his innermost soul, wanting to know what the Lord wanted him to do.
That is the natural desire of the new life that you have and I have.
Well, Jonah.
Was asked to do this.
And he rebelled against it.
You ever find in your own life that.
You don't want to do the job. Maybe you feel that the Lord wants you to do.
Self will will take us on a wrong course.
And when we get away from the Lord?
We get in a dangerous state.
And brethren, I speak to myself more than anyone else in this room, and may the Lord help us.
In this regard, so Jonah had a downward course, and it seemed that it increased as he went along here once the Lord spoke to him.
He just wanted to seem to. It seems like he wanted to get away further and further as quickly as he could, and he ends up down at the bottom of the ship. But oh, isn't it wonderful to think of God?
He won't leave us to ourselves. He's paid too great a price for you and for me to leave us alone.
Isn't it wonderful?
He loves us and He won't leave us alone.
And you know, I've thought about this in connection with what happened to Jonah with the storm that came out and he fled from the presence of the Lord. It tells us that two or three times over in this chapter and finally in the 11Th verse.
Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? For the sea rotten was tempestuous.
And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea.
So shall the sea be common to you, for I know that for my sake this great Tempest is upon you.
You know the Lord was working deep in Jonah's life here.
Now.
I'm going to tell you a thought that I've enjoyed in connection with this and I have not. I don't know if I'm quite correct, I've never read this exactly.
But it says here, What shall we do? The sea may be calm unto us. And he said, Take me and throw me overboard.
Now the very act that Joseph of Jonah here in saying to take me and throw me overboard.
I have wondered, brethren.
If there wasn't.
Hidden in this because Jonah never talks about himself here. Nothing.
He doesn't say anything good about himself. He says good about the King. He says good about the Mariners and says good about.
About other things here, about the fish and so on. But it doesn't say any good about himself. And that's a sign of the work of God in a man's soul.
And I've wondered if there was faith on the part of Jonah when he said to the men, take me and cast me overboard. You know what he was really doing? He was throwing himself completely on the hands of the Lord.
Out of the ship and into the hands of the Lord and.
And God's a man's extremity is God's opportunity.
And then God takes over.
When you and I meet Jonah someday in the glory of God.
You can ask him about this, I'm sure.
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If he regrets.
At all what the Lord did to him in his life.
Why did the Lord send all this trouble in Jonah's life?
Because he loved him and he loved the people of Nineveh.
Maybe there's someone here in this room that feels it's kind of all over for them.
Maybe you feel that you've made some mistakes in your life.
And you wonder how you can go on.
The Lord hasn't given up on you.
The Lord hasn't given up.
He didn't give up on Jonah, and he won't give up on you.
Because he loved you to death.
Well, you know the story of what happened to Jonah.
And finally, he went to Nineveh.
God's purposes were accomplished in that man.
And to me.
The departure and the restoration of Jonah in the Old Testament.
Is similar to the departure and failure of Peter and the and the restoration in the New Testament.
There were 10s of thousands that were blessed through the restoration.
Of Jonah and there were, I believe 10s of thousands that were blessed through the restoration.
Of Peter.
May the Lord help us.
To help one another.
Confess your faults one another, and pray one for another.
That she might be healed.
Our brother has spoken to us about the desire of God to reach out and bless.
By the way, the apples over the fence belong to the people on the other side of the fence.
The laws of the state of Illinois State that.
It's a beautiful picture of God wanting to.
Reach out.
Our brother has brought before us about Jonah being a messenger.
To a nation that was not of Israel.
And God wanted to reach out to that nation and bring blessing instead of judgment.
That's what our God is like.
And I would like to read from the book of Matthew, one of the parables that further illustrate this in chapter 22.
And along with this, I'm going to offer some practical.
Advice about weddings.
Weddings are a wonderful occasion.
And I believe there's much to be learned about God from weddings.
We often get into difficult situations today about going to weddings.
Difficult to know. Can I go, should I go, how can I go and so on.
And I'm going to give some advice.
Personal as I look at this.
Parable.
Because it speaks about how God.
Has a wedding.
And I believe he's a wonderful example.
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Let's read a few verses from Matthew 22.
And Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables, and said.
The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made him marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding.
And they would not come again. He sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden. Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fatlings are killed.
And all things are ready. Come unto the marriage.
But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.
And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth.
And he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers.
Burned up their city. Then, saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready. But they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together, all, as many as they found, both bad and good.
And the wedding was furnished with guests.
It's lovely to consider in this parable.
A picture of God wanting to honor.
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is really a response to the previous chapter.
Where you have the householder who had a vineyard and he lent it out to servants.
And sent men to receive the goods, and they beat one, and sent them away despitefully and killed and 1:00.
One and another, and last of all, he sent unto them his son.
This is what happened when Jesus Christ came into this world.
God's Son.
He was rejected.
I'm amazed to compare this story with Jonah.
When Jonah went to Nineveh, he was not treated this way.
They repented.
And God blessed him.
God.
God delights to bless.
The vow of Joseph reaches over the wall.
It did it in Jonah's time. It's done it in our day. Those of us who are Gentiles outside of any of the Old Testament covenants and promises, we've been blessed because.
The wedding invitation.
Has extended out beyond the first realm.
The gospel was preached first to the Jew.
After Jesus died and rose again.
The goodness of God and the pent up love and compassion of his heart could not be stopped.
By one nation rejecting him.
And so the Lord Jesus gives us this parable.
Of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This applies to our time that we're living in right now.
We are a part of this Kingdom of heaven that's being formed. We are the people that are invited to the wedding feast.
And when we stand up and proclaim the gospel, we extend the message to both bad and good. It's not a question of the worthiness of the recipients. It's a question of the goodness of the heart of God that wants to go out beyond.
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I want to tell you personally, this is something that I did not understand.
Until I participated in a wedding in my own family.
You know parents love their children.
We want the best for them young people. It may not seem like it sometimes, but deep down we want the good and blessing.
Any true hearted parent does.
We know God's like that too, don't we?
God wants to honor His Son.
It's a privilege to participate.
And seeking to honor that one, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Part of that is preaching the gospel.
We've had about the wealth springing up first of all to return to its source in worship.
We've had about the well, the water flowing out to others.
Preaching the Gospel.
This is God's heart going out.
It's when you begin to understand the heart of God that.
The importance and the value of this love and compassion.
Will constrain you.
Endure certain things.
To get the news out, the good news, the love of God to give the demonstrations of it.
At a wedding.
We do that.
You know, I didn't have a wedding when I got married. It was not an occasion where it could be had for good or for bad.
I didn't know very much about weddings when I was young.
But I'm thankful to have learned over the years a little.
And when the time came to participate in a wedding in our own family.
The thought of this chapter, this parable.
Came home to my soul.
In this way.
God loved his Son.
He wanted the best for his son.
His son deserved the best.
There was so much joy to be shared.
It wasn't sufficient for just a few to be there.
I believe that is what this is, what this parable is teaching us.
It's teaching us what God is like.
Jesus Christ, God's Son, God wants him honored.
And so instead of responding from what happened in the previous chapter, chapter 21, where the beloved son was rejected and cast out, God didn't turn around and give eye for eye and tooth for tooth.
The question was asked, what shall the Goodman do?
And the answer was given.
Let me just read it so I get it right. Verse 41 It is, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen.
But what is interesting is that before he comes back to destroy those wicked men, he introduces something new, something different, and that is the parable.
Of the wedding.
And that is what is happening now in this nearly 2000 years.
Since the Lord Jesus was rejected.
Before God comes back and sends his son to destroy and judge.
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This Earth and those responsible for that act.
He does something different.
He wants to get a people.
To share with his beloved son at the wedding.
And that's why we preach the gospel.
That's the Kingdom of heaven. That's how you get in it. By believing on the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you become one of those that are invited.
And what are you invited to to share?
With Jesus, our Lord Jesus.
What doesn't come out here is that.
Some are even going to be the bride.
That doesn't come out. That had to wait till later before the beauty of that could be comprehended. We do have in the last parable of the.
Kingdom of heaven in this book in chapter 25, the parable about the.
10 virgins who are waiting.
Or we're waiting for the bridegroom to come.
Five wise and five foolish.
It's again a picture.
Of our position here in the world right now.
We are the ones who are profess at least to be waiting for our bridegroom, the Lord Jesus, to come.
And there's an exhortation there about watching, about having your lamps.
Burning brightly and lessons to be learned.
But when the Lord comes.
He's going to take his own and there is going to be a marriage in heaven and the Lord Jesus is going to receive a people to himself.
And there's going to be a lot there.
And it says there will not be one empty seat.
I love that.
Not one empty seat.
My house may be full.
It's sad on Lord's Day morning sometimes when we break bread together that there's empty seats.
Someone's maybe it's for health reason, other things, but you know the Lord misses it when there are empty seats.
And God is seeing to it that in heaven there will not be one empty seat.
The Lord Jesus deserves it. God is going to have all his own together there.
The branch that went over the well over the wall has gone out.
To the Gentiles.
It's too bad that Jonah.
Was a little bit slow to learn that lesson than going to preach to the Ninevites.
It's too bad when our hearts are slow to take in.
God's thoughts concerning these things concerning the Lord Jesus.
To get the people in.
Heaven full.
Well, briefly the chapter goes and the wedding invitation went out.
To the first who were called, and I believe that's a picture to the Jews.
But they made excuses and wouldn't go to the wedding.
The heart of God.
Is not content with that.
He has gone out and he has invited from all nations.
The gospel is preached.
And we are thankful it was preached here last night.
Wonderful.
Maybe some souls got saved.
If so, they're going to be among the number.
To be at that wedding feast.
So.
When we have a wedding.
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Isn't it nice to think that our weddings here on earth?
Or a picture of this, you know, God was the one that.
Instituted this.
The Lord Jesus himself brought the first bride down, gave him to Adam, gave her to Adam.
When he was here on earth, he attended and participated in the joy. In fact, he contributed to the joy. He made it possible to be a joyous occasion.
Now what is the good thing to do?
In a situation like this.
A family has a son or a daughter in the going to get married.
Why do they invite other people?
Well, that's what I learned.
In having a wedding.
I began to realize.
Because I love my children too.
And I remember.
That God loves his Son.
And he wants the best for him.
And so.
When the day came to make out a wedding list.
You know the names start getting long when they start getting up into the hundreds. You start scratching your head and thinking, wow.
How are we going to pull this off? How are we going to do all this? How are we going to provide for all these people?
Are we going to invite so and so?
I'm not quite such an open hearted person maybe as some of my children and they had lots of friends.
I think most all of them were invited.
Now what do you do when you get an invite like that?
What's to be the attitude when somebody sends you an invitation to a wedding?
I'm going to suggest this is the way to look at it.
Weddings are a picture of what God has done.
The best thing to do to a wedding invitation, if you can, is to go.
And honor that occasion by your presence.
If you cannot honor it with your presence, then you better not go.
But if you can, honor that occasion with your presence.
It is a good thing to do.
Because it is a picture, it is a demonstration.
Of the response that everyone of us should have to our God.
Who has invited us to participate?
In the wedding of his son the Lord Jesus, and.
And were we worthy?
In the.
In another.
Down farther now, we did not read that part, but you have the part. Apparently they had different customs in in in the old times. And it was the custom, or at least in this parable, it was the custom to give a wedding garment to the guests.
I don't know whether that was literally the custom at that time or whether the Lord purposely put this in here because He knew in reality of our own selves, we would not be worthy to even be at this wedding.
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Regardless of.
What it was, That's the picture given to us.
This wedding is so worthy that they have this guest, this the wedding garment given to the guests. Well, we know this is a picture of the garments of salvation. The Lord Jesus not only invites us to the wedding, but He makes us worthy, forgives us, clothes us in righteousness so that we can be at this wedding. It's really all things are of God.
None of us started out contributing in this.
But it does honor God to take him at His Word and to respond to his invitation.
By our presence there.
And so.
This.
Has been an encouragement to me.
To How to respond to a wedding invitation.
When we respond to a wedding invitation and we go.
We don't go there with our own agenda.
Our own feelings.
We, as it were, set those things aside and we honor the family.
I'm the couple that are there.
And join in.
With whatever the joy they have on that occasion.
And it makes it an happy occasion.
Well, these are just some thoughts that have helped me and encouraged me in the situations. I know there are difficult situations.
In life here.
And the Lord alone can direct, but may the Lord.
Give us to see from this chapter.
God's view about weddings and may our.
Own individual lives and our weddings that we have.
Continue the picture.
And make souls understand.
How great is God's love and goodness?
He needs.
These poor hearts and souls of ours to respond to it.
To assent to it to honor him.
With our presence.
Psalm 19.
19 Psalm.
Verse 4.
Psalm 19, verse four. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.
In them.
He set a Tabernacle for the son.
Which is as a bridegroom.
Coming out of his chamber.
And rejoice it as a strongman to run a race.
Is going forth is from the end of the heaven.
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And his circuit unto the ends of it.
And there is nothing hid.
From the heat thereof.
You know this Psalm? The apostle Paul refers to it in Romans, and he uses it to bring.
Man's responsibility before him in connection with the things that he sees in creation.
But I believe there's also in here for us.
A secret from the heart of God.
For us who know the Lord Jesus.
We had that in our first hymn when like a tent to dwell in.
He spread the heavens abroad.
I would ask you, dear ones.
What is the most glorious object God has placed in this creation?
You would have to say from man's perspective, that is the sun.
The SUN.
When you look at our universe, it's true that the scientists, they look up in the heavens and our brother was speaking yesterday of all these galaxies, and the vastness of it all is just.
Beyond our minds, really, to take it in.
And scientists say some stars are so much brighter than the sun, they're probably right.
But if you just use the senses that God has given you to watch His creation, you'll find that the most glorious object that you can see in the heavens is the sun. And when the sun appears, all the other heavenly bodies disappear.
Save the moon.
Becomes almost transparent because of the glory of the sun.
If you look at our universe, the small universe, we live in the solar system.
All these planets gravitate around the sun.
He is the center of our small universe, we might say.
And I believe the sun in this creation has been given to us to be a picture.
Of the son, Son.
Who is, I believe, the object of God's heart in making this universe?
He made this universe, this physical universe in its vastness.
Purpose of manifesting.
The glory.
Of one person is beloved son.
So it says here in the last part of verse 4.
In them hath he set a Tabernacle.
For the sun.
In French it says there he made a tent.
This universe that you watch, that starry sky that you watch at night.
Think of it like sometimes you can lay in a tent during the summer in daylight. You can see the little holes there in the tissue there.
If you can't see them, you'll feel them when it rains.
But these little stars up there, they're there to speak of the glory of God. But if you think of them as just as being a tent, God made this universe for one purpose, to manifest a person, which is the Lord Jesus.
That very one that he's called you and me now to know.
My brother spoke about Joseph. You can go back to Genesis there and Joseph in one of his dreams, you know a type of the Lord Jesus who had he bowing before him.
He had the sun, the moon and the stars bowing before him.
And you can see well the authorities of the world in that fine. But when you compare the Lord Jesus Christ to Joseph, you see the Son itself disappears in glory before the glory of the sun.
You know this. We had that verse in First Two Corinthians chapter 4.
In the beginning of this universe.
Verse 4 where God speaks the first time God said let.
There be light.
So light is introduced.
And you read down to the 4th date and the sun, the moon and the stars.
Are introduced. There is light here, God himself, his glory, shining Fort. And yet these other celestial bodies are just accessories brought in later.
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You read in Revelation chapter 21.
When the Lord himself reigns on the earth, he says the city doesn't even need the sun.
Anymore.
Because the Lamb is the Lamb thereof, the Lord Jesus himself is there.
The glory of God don't need the Son anymore.
Brother was talking about weddings.
Verse five of Psalm 19.
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber.
When the Lord Jesus, the Son of righteousness, appears.
We will appear in glory with Him.
His bride, the one that he redeemed with his precious blood.
Every eye shall see him, Nose appears to him.
Is going forth is from the end of the heaven and his circuit until the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. All things are naked before him with whom we have to do, and when he comes he's going to establish his reign of righteousness. Things are going to be according to how.
He watched them.
The apostle Paul when he saw the Lord Jesus in glory on the way to Damascus, he says from when account to the other gets brighter, and he says a light brighter than the sun.
When the disciples are on the Mount of Transfiguration and they saw the Lord appear in glory.
His face shone like the sun.
You know God is a spirit. You can't see His spirit.
The sun is a physical object.
Scientists will tell you how far it is and maybe measure the heat thereof and.
Here is one who is the expression of the glory of God in a physical body.
That you can touch. Touch me. A spirit hath no flesh and bones, as you see that I have.
In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead.
Bodily.
Were given to know the glory of God.
In the face of Jesus Christ.
There was these things, they're beyond me.
Who can enter into these things? Our brother yesterday was talking to us about the vastness of the universe that God made and that he would be.
Preoccupied with little specks of dust like we are.
But God is so great, he has revealed to these specks of dust that we are.
The secret object of his heart, the Lord Jesus.
And you and I this morning, dear ones, we were here.
In the presence of the Lord of Glory Himself.
In the presence of God Himself.
No silver, gold, no fine apparel, no temple to catch your eye.
Nothing to disturb your soul, I trust, but a loaf of bread on the table and a cup of wine.
Yet, dear ones.
To be brought by the Spirit of God and fellowship with the Father.
And the sun.
They went, both of them together. We had that this morning.
And now they're bringing us along, dear ones.
They're bringing us along.
Are you enjoying that? Is that affecting you, dear ones?
It's a wonderful privilege and truth to know to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But don't let that dwell only in your mind.
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Don't think about the believers with a sense of pride.
Look the other way.
Look to the privilege and to what God has brought you into.
Into the sweetness and the depth of fellowship with his thoughts.
The Lord Jesus, what a delight to his heart.
Have you and me as He leads the worship to the Father. He came.
To manifest the Father and hear these ones.
Redeemed by his precious blood have been brought into the enjoyment of God.
As their Father. And we cry ABBA Father, and we worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
And we worship the Lord Jesus too, and fellowship with the heart of the Father, whose heart is filled with delight.
As he considers him.
So, dear ones, just a thought in connection with the Psalm and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we could compare it to the Son, and that these thoughts might just.
Thrill our hearts.
And then affect us.
Affect us to say Lord Jesus.
What a privilege God has given us to know Thee as our Savior and to be brought into by Thy Spirit, by Thy word, into this sweet fellowship of glory beyond our understanding.
And we can just bow our heads and worship and enjoy.
And it's going to be like that for eternity, dear ones, to enjoy the fullness of the presence of God, of His glory, all manifest to us.
And one person, the one who fills All in all, yet manifest to you and me in a man.
A man you and I are going to see face to face, and we're going to hear his voice.
And enjoy him forever.
178.
Bless Father.
Of joy.
I wish our hearts live.
Let's get. Thanks.
Our God and our Father, we just do thank me. How? It's such a remarkable way. Now it's brought before us the Spirit and the Father and the Son. We just do and pray that we might rejoice.
And all that thou has given us, and in particular the very revelation of thyself, our God. And we thank thee for that day in which.
God will be All in all.
And thou wilt have thy people there with the sun in a full enjoyment for all eternity. We just do thank thee that we can feel that now.
And we can rejoice in the fruit and the labor of thy soul. Lord Jesus, in thy name we can. Thanks, Amen.