Open—C. Lunden, D. Andersen
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.
October 1971 open meeting.
00:05:04
John's Gospel for a verse, the 17th chapter of John.
Verse 6.
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gave us me out of the world thine they were, and thou gave us the Me, and they have kept thy word.
I'd like to make a few remarks this afternoon in regard to the subject of the assembly. Now I know we don't have the assembly exactly in John's Gospel.
But we do have the beginnings of it.
And here we have the origin.
Of the believer.
The very beginnings.
Of those who are to form that assembly.
And there's something very sweet and precious about this, dear brethren.
That there's no mention of sin here.
The Lord Jesus could say at the beginning of this chapter, I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do.
And so the believer has not seen any longer.
Bound in the cards of his sin.
We were singing in that little hymn this morning, 1:37.
In regard to the Lord Jesus, how all the bands of death were loose.
Yes, he loosed them all. There's not one band now upon the believer.
They're all loose. We're set free.
And you know, it's a good thing for us to begin.
The understanding of our position before God and the assembly.
In this connection.
That we are given as a gift from the Father to Christ.
Again.
If we were to go back to the 4th chapter.
Or the 8th chapter. We won't take the time.
But there we see in those chapters.
Of John.
Sin brought out.
And all its hideousness.
And, beloved, who was there but Jesus?
Jesus was there.
Had he not come to Psycho's Well Shechem, the place that Jacob gave to his son Joseph?
Shame had come over that place as we read early in Genesis.
Shame, sin and shame.
And you know, dear brethren, if we realize this, there be more praise to the Lord Jesus.
If we realize the guilt that attached to our souls.
What cost? What it cost the blessed Savior?
To provide that salvation for us.
And what does he say to the woman?
In John 4, after all of this has been brought out.
What she is I that speak under the AME, is that the person of Christ before the soul.
And in what connection? One who was guilty before him?
He's come to remove the shame.
From those who were to be a part of the Father's house.
And in the 8th chapter, what sin again? A broken law.
Neither do I condemn thee.
Why he had come to undertake the whole work himself.
00:10:03
Now turn with me to Ephesians.
The 5th chapter, 4 verse.
25th verse in the middle of the verse.
Christ also loved the church.
And gave himself for it. Now go down a little bit and 30th verse.
Where we are members of his body, of his flesh.
And of his bones.
Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. Now it's true that.
He died for us, but all brethren.
What is expressed in this verse?
He gave himself for it.
Gave himself.
Or the church.
And so we learn here that we are members.
Of his body, of his flesh, of his bones.
But how did this come about?
So we'll turn to John's Gospel again, the 20th chapter.
The 19th verse.
Then the same day at evening being the first day of the week.
When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus.
Stood in the midst, and seven of them feet beyond to you. And when he had so said.
He showed unto them his hands and his side.
Connected with his, showing his hands and his side.
Now our names were told in the Old Testament are graven in his hands.
But all the story about his side, what does that tell us?
Side.
Oh, how much we learned here, beloved, because this takes us all the way back to the origin of God's counsels. We find them in Genesis, the second chapter.
Genesis 2.
The 20th verse and the last part of the verse.
But for Adam there was not found and helped me.
For him.
And the Lord God caused the deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof.
And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her under the man.
And Adam said, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out.
Of man, this, beloved, is the story.
Of his side, his side.
Oh, is that spear pierced his side. Forth with came their blood and water.
Yes.
The atoning work and the cleansing.
There's not one spot or stain remaining, Beloved. This is the foundation upon which the Church rests.
00:15:13
Yes, what a story here. Have you pondered it?
Having meditated on this passage, this blessed passage, oh how rich these illustrations in the Old Testament and how much we miss. We don't meditate on them.
In detail.
His side.
That's the origin of the believer.
Made for him.
That precious?
Now we'll turn to a verse.
In First Corinthians, the 12Th chapter.
Verse 13.
4 by 1 Spirit.
Are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit?
The 10th chapter in the 17th verse.
For we, being many, are one bread and one body, For we are all partakers of that one bread.
Now, will you turn with me to Acts, the second chapter?
Here we have the beginning of the history of the assembly on the earth.
The first person when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as a fire, and that sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as a spirit.
Gave them utterance.
Now we noticed in this passage.
That the House is introduced.
The house.
And so there's more than one aspect.
Of the assembly.
We find the truth in Corinthians of the body of Christ.
Everything there is perfect. Nothing can change by 1 Spirit. We're all baptized into one body.
But now we have the history of that testimony regarding to that truth.
On the earth. And so the subject of the house is introduced.
The house. And when we have the house spoken of in scripture, I'm sure we all realize.
That there is responsibility connected with it.
And you know, it isn't enough for us just to be occupied with the fact that by one Spirit we're all baptized into one body. That's precious. Oh, how precious the truth.
Precious the truth of being taken from his side.
One with Christ.
But beloved, you and I are passing through a world where we're sending to the world as the Lord Jesus could say. As my Father has sent me, so have I sent you.
And so.
His but the church here to replace.
00:20:02
Israel in testimony on the earth.
And it's good for us to have our hearts.
And our conscience is exercised as to this truth.
The house character.
The responsible side of things, and we'll turn to a verse in Ephesians 2, the last verse.
First, in the 20th and 21St verses, he's speaking.
Of the building.
That is soon to be completed.
But now he's speaking also.
In whom the 22nd verse ye also are builded together.
For inhabitation of God.
Or in the Spirit.
This is the assembly here on earth where God makes his habitation.
And we often quote that little verse in Matthew 18 and 20, or where two or three are gathered. That is gathered by the Spirit of God, of course.
Together, in my name, there am I in the midst.
In the midst, how precious this truth is. But that's down here in this world.
Jesus in the midst, we've noticed in these scriptures we've read.
Of the fact that the person that was before us, Jesus.
He could say peace to those in the 20th of John.
He gave himself an Ephesians.
So on.
It's the person who's in the midst of his people. Oh, how we should value this down here in this world. He's made his daughters, made his habitation by the Spirit.
But also Jesus has promised his presence in the midst of the two or three that are gathered by the Spirit to His precious name.
No ask do you value this place?
And do you value the place that's been provided for you here in this world? Oh, you say I value the blood of Christ, but I say, do you value the assembly?
And the truth of it.
You value it.
We have had some solemn.
Things before us in regard to the judgment seat of Christ.
Oh dear ones, are there anyone here?
This afternoon, who knows?
This precious truth and have never answered to it.
To take their place as identified with the people of God here.
After the manner that scripture sets forth.
Be gathered to the precious name of Jesus.
Jesus.
To one of whom we've spoken.
Who shared his precious blood?
We were singing in that little hymn that we began the meeting with all that precious blood.
The price that was paid for our redemption and he's made one request this due in remembrance of me.
Now, by doing this, there's a practical exhibition of testimony to the rejected name of Jesus in this world. And oh, how the Father delights to see his children gathered.
In the ordered way.
Now I'd like to turn to.
A passage in Timothy.
Two Timothy 2.
00:25:07
We know that in the day in which we're living, everything that has been set up.
Has been affected by sin everything that God set up.
But we believe there is still a path for the believer.
And so.
We have the purging here.
In this chapter, but I'm going to read the 22nd verse.
After it speaks of purging himself from vessels to dishonor that he might be a vessel to honor.
Flee youthful lives that's get just as far away as you can from them. Flee them.
But follow righteousness.
Bathe Charity. Peace.
Righteousness. God's own character.
Faith. Be sure it's according to the Word of God.
Charity, the bond of perfectness.
And as much as is in you live at peace with all men.
Yes, peace.
With them.
That call on the Lord, the Lordship of Christ, with a pure or sincere heart.
So, dear one, we have a path then in the last days.
Supposing everything is in ruins, as Second Timothy would suggest.
There is a path for faith.
Now I'm going to turn to an Old Testament passage that might be a help.
Least to some, it's in second kings.
It seems to me that it gives just a little picture of the assembly.
Second Kings.
The 4th chapter.
The first 7 verses.
The other cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elijah, saying.
Thy servant, my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord, and the creditors come to take unto him my two sons to be bonds men.
And Elijah said unto her, What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house?
And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house save a pot of oil.
Then he said, Go bar the vessels abroad of all thy neighbors. Even empty vessels borrow not a few.
And when the art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons.
To pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
And she went from him, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her, and she poured out.
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her, Son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There's not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. Then she came and told the man of God, And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debts, and live thou.
And thy children of the rest.
Now the translators have changed.
And it seems that the first verse it should be children, and the seventh verse it should be sons.
Which might help a little in the thoughts of the passage.
We have a woman here whose husband.
Is dead. She's not spoken of as a widow.
But her husband is dead.
00:30:01
She has nothing in the house.
Nothing in the house.
Nothing in the house save a pot of oil. And what's that?
Oh, how in a day like this the natural man can see nothing unless the Spirit of God opens the eye.
What is it that you and I have, dear brethren, that this world does not have? What is there in the assembly that this world doesn't have? What the pot of oil suggests?
All was a figure of that Holy Spirit of God.
We noticed near that the oil takes care of the whole matter from beginning to end.
Beloved, we're living in the day of the Spirit of God. The Spirit has come down as we learn in Acts.
We read in the first chapter.
Are we counting on the Spirit of God for the full supply at every turn?
Oh, shame on us if we turn to man.
If we turn to human inventions.
Because as soon as we do, the Spirit of God no longer has control.
Oh, may the Lord keep us in all the simplicity.
Now the Word of God sets before us to wait independence on the Spirit of God.
In all things.
Can he supply?
Is the pot of oil, and it's in the house.
It's in the house, it's in the present place where God has chosen to set.
His name?
It's where the Spirit of God has come down here on earth to make his abode.
The oil.
The natural mind doesn't see these things.
And beloved, the more were occupied with natural things.
The more we're occupied with present things, the making of money, the seeking of prominence in this world.
All these things will lessen in our souls a sense of this precious truth.
It's only the single eye that can appreciate the value of that oil in the house.
And so we have the question here.
What shall I do for thee? Tell me, What hast thou in the house? What a question. And so the Spirit of God would ask of the Beloved this afternoon, What hast thou in the house?
Because that's the important question here. What hast thou in the house, man?
See she from man. His breath is in his nostrils. The day of the Spirit of God.
What hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house.
Save a pot of oil.
You know, there's a lot of difference between ignorance and willfulness.
She was ignorant.
And when one is ignorant, they can learn that all that awful will that comes in and sets itself against the Spirit of God.
Nothing save a pot of oil.
Now we have the instructions. The 1St 2 verses are the conditions and the need. Now we have the instructions in the next two verses.
Then he said, Go bar the vessels abroad of all thy neighbors. Even empty vessels borrow not a few. And when they are come in, thou shall shut the door upon thee, and upon thy sons shall pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
Go borrow.
Empty vessel.
00:35:01
You know there wouldn't be near the difficulty among the people of God if the vessels that were brought in were empty.
Empty vessel.
We were speaking the other day.
Of how often times vessels are brought in that are immature and they're not yet ready to be brought in.
And here we find the instruction to bring in empty vessels.
But scan, not bring in as many as you can. That's the going out in the gospel. But it's always connected with the assembly.
The testimony of the gospel is connected with the assembly.
That is, the purpose is to bring souls into the assembly. You get that in the 4th of Ephesians, where the evangelists are identified there with the assembly.
But notice here you have an inside and an outside.
In the house outside of the house.
Their separation.
Oh, how we need to remember that.
I have gone into meeting rooms and I've seen on the wall holiness.
Becometh thine house, oh Lord Holiness separation.
And so we learned from the Gospel of Luke that it's an upper room separated from this world.
With the Saints gather.
All in separation.
From this present world system, completely inside, outside.
Shut the door upon me and upon thy son's.
The children have turned the sons. Now their children and John Paul's writings are sons. Oh, how precious. Sons always speak of being associated with one who has the inheritance. That we learn in Ephesians 1.
Now in the assembly, it's poured out into the vessels.
There is a verse in the third chapter, one Timothy, that speaks of the House of God.
As being a pillar, the Church of the Living God, the Pillar and the base of the truth.
Don't expect to find all the truth anywhere else except for God put it.
And so it's in the house then?
That.
She pours.
Into those vessels.
These are tights. These are figures.
Don't stretch the tie.
No, it's just a little picture to us that in the midst of the assembly, the oil is poured into the vessels, that's all.
That crisis, the bosom of the Assembly.
Where we can bring our children, Where they can grow up in the things of God, Where they be instructed.
You think they're Christian because there's only three gathered in your little meeting that you don't have instruction.
What hast thou in the house?
You have the pot of oil there, don't you?
Be sure of this.
God will never disappoint faith. Never. There's only two or three.
And sometimes he allows this because we get the leaning on what men call gift.
Oh, what a poor thing to lean on when the Spirit of God is in the midst.
And what about setting aside that which is full?
Now we have the other side of it. What is it? There should be discernment in the assembly to recognize when God.
Has endowed someone with a special thing that he can do for the Lord.
And the Saints should recognize it. How often there is that jealousy that comes in among Saints.
Afraid to recognize when God raises up someone to be a blessing among His brethren.
00:40:04
Set aside that which is full.
That was the spirit of God's thought.
Now the institute carries out the instructions. We learn more as she carries them out. And what's this?
She went from him. Now she's on her own for Faith shut the door upon her first.
She takes the place of separation, and then on her sons, thou and thy house.
Father and mother, is this the case with you?
Have you shut the door on you and your house?
Oh, you say, well, I, I can't do this. I just have to do it for myself.
I remember.
Calling attention to.
One once about her child.
And she said I never interfere with the exercise of my children, never interfere.
All my friends are just in the quest of interfering father and mother. What a precious privilege this to lead.
You're all in to the precious truth of God.
Was this not true of Israel?
That they were to to instruct their children from morning to evening.
But the truth of God.
Are these truths really precious to your heart? Well, then you can pass them on to your children as being that precious.
If they're precious to your own heart.
Who brought the vessels to her?
Who brought the vessels to her? The sun. The church doesn't teach.
For those who go out of the assembly to teach.
And to evangelize that the church does not teach.
They went out from her.
And they brought in the vessel so they could be filled in the bosom of the assembly.
And now, when the vessels were full, she said under her son, bring me yet a vessel.
And he said unto her, There's not a vessel more, And the oil stayed.
The oil stayed.
This is the solemn moment in this world's history when the oil stayed beloved.
We're nearing that moment rapidly when the oil is going to stay.
There will not be a vessel more.
Wouldn't it be sad, dear fellow Christian, if you at that moment that had the opportunity and yet you'd never once found yourself?
Seed is that table to remember the Lord Jesus when he comes. Oh how solemn.
The dear friend, if you're unsaved here this afternoon, remember there's a time coming when the oil is going to stay.
No more will the gospel of the grace of God go out to this sad world.
But judges will come.
But that's not spoken up here.
But the next verse tells us of something else. Go sell the oil. Pay thy debt.
Now I gather from this that is the evaluation of what the oil will do.
We know very little here.
Few little meager thoughts we gain on this journey through life of the precious things of Christ.
That oh, how we'll learn up there, the value of that oil and beloved, what does it do? It pays the whole debt.
And all through all eternity, we and our children. Is that so?
Thou in thy house.
Live of the rest.
Have faith for that.
You have faith for God. What God says thou in thy house, he says it. You have faith for it. God never disappoints faith.
00:45:02
Never. If it's genuine faith, he does not disappoint faith.
Live thou and thy children.
Really, here should be sons and the dignity of the inheritance of the rest. There's enough for all eternity now.
That the oil is brought in.
Oh dear one, what hast thou in the house? Just a pot of oil.
What let's do pays the whole debt, doesn't it?
Yes, and it takes care of you for all eternity.
And your sons?
Their faith.
And now one more Scripture will turn back to John's Gospel again.
The 17th chapter.
And here I'm going to read about the destiny of the believer.
We've had the origin of the believer.
From that ribbon side.
We've had the present position of the believer in the assembly down here passing through this world.
A witness for Christ.
And what we've been gaining as the oil is poured out in the midst of the assembly. But what's the destiny? The 24th verse.
Father, all that precious, precious name of Father. Father, we have it in John in this chapter, in various ways. In the 11Th verse, it's Holy Father Keith.
Through thy name, those that spouse given me.
But here is just father, Father.
You know there are various pictures in the Old Testament of the Church of God.
We noticed the first one.
There are several.
But I like to think of Abigail.
She's in the spoken of in the 25th chapter of a First Samuel. I believe Abigail now I believe her name means Joy of the Father.
If the first one that we have spoken of speaks of the one who's associated with the Lord Jesus in his headship over all things. Like Adam was appointed the head of the creation.
Abigail is a picture of the bride and home in the father's house.
Did you ever thought of that? There was the bride and home in the father's house.
That's going to be your portion. Have you ever thought about it?
Or what are you thinking about as you pass through this world? Are you thinking of these paltry things that are going to waste away at a moment?
About the Father's house.
Who is it that brings joy to the Father's house, The children? To the Father? What he says? Blessed be the God of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean? It means that God is going to make himself infinitely happy by having four sinners that he saves through the blood of Jesus in his presence.
His house is going to be filled with children.
Father.
I go unto my Father.
In your Father, my God, your Father.
Is this truth ever gripped your soul, beloved Christian?
The Father. The most endearing memories that you have, I'm sure.
As you look back in your childhood when you sat at your father's table.
And it was intended to be so, to give us a little picture of what's coming.
Joy of the Father, Abigail.
Yes, Father. And now the Lord says I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.
00:50:03
That they may behold my glory.
You know we're going to share glories with him.
But there's some glories that we're just going to be opposed.
Oh, how precious.
How precious that they may be whole.
My glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before.
The foundation of the world.
Well, dear one, if you have never seen the precious privilege that you have today is being identified with those who form that company that will be in the Father's house to be identified down here in the place of the rejection of our blessed Savior.
Weigh it carefully.
And find yourself in that position in the house, sitting at his table, answering to his loving requests.
Let's do in remembrance of me.
That you might have the Spirit of God open to you those joys.
Concerning the Father.
In the Father's house and that blessed Savior that loves you.
The Son of God that loved me.
Gave himself for me.
Our brother reminded us.
But we are still on Earth. The assembly is here on Earth.
Being here in this scene, we have a responsibility.
We're still going through the wilderness.
And God has made ample provision for his assembly as it goes through the wilderness.
In this connection.
I wish we might turn to numbers Chapter 19.
This chapter gives us.
Something connected with the wilderness journeys of the children of Israel.
And it tells us of provision that was made.
For defilement.
How it was to be cleansed.
From them how they were to get rid of this defilement?
And we have here the ordinance of the red heifer.
It's one of the types brought before us of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, his suffering and his death.
And in this case, the Children of Israel were on their way from Egypt.
To Canaan they were in the wilderness.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel.
That they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yo. And he shall give her unto Eliezer the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp. And one shall slave her before his face. And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of a congregation 7 times. And one shall burn the heifer in his sight, her skin and her flesh and her blood and her dung shall be burned.
And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh and water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And the priest shall be unclean until the even. And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even. And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and lay them up without the camp in a clean place.
00:55:00
And it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel, for a water of separation. It is a purification for sin. And he that gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and the unclean until the even. And it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger, the sojourners among them, for a statute forever. He that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean 7 days. He shall purify himself with it on the third day.
And on the 7th day he shall be clean. But if he purify not himself the third day, then the 7th day he shall not be pleased. Whosoever toucheth a dead body of any man that is dead, and purifies not himself defile of the Tabernacle of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water separation was not sprinkled upon him, He shall be unclean. His uncleanness is yet upon him.
This is the law when a man dieth in a tent.
All that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent shall be unclean 7 days. And every open vessel which hath no covering bound upon it is unclean.
And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean 7 days. And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin. And running water or living water shall be put there too in a vessel. And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent.
And upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him to touch the bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the 7th day. And on the 7th day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be cleaned at even.
This brings before us.
A solemn picture.
We have.
God's pictures of the sufferings and death of Christ in the Old Testament, and this is one of the solemn ones, bringing before us the awful agony, suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We notice that the heifer is to be read without spot. That is, it's to be a pure color, bringing before us the purity of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was no spot in him, no impurity there. He was wholly spotless, undefiled.
And then it says no blemish. Ah, that was the, the one that we have been speaking about here in this meeting. The blessed Lord and Savior, no blemish in him. They couldn't find any fault in him. What a savior we have.
And I was it was to be a heifer upon which never came yoke on the blessed Lord was never under a yoke, never under ******* never under never a slave to sin. There was no sin in him, no sin on him. He never did any sin or what a holy person.
We thank God for sending him into this world to become a man that he might die for us.
Then it speaks of this heifer being slave. Well, this is what took place at Calvert.
Our blessed Lord and Savior gave up his life there.
Wicked men.
Took him and slew him, nailed him to a tree. But we know the blessed Lord laid down his life.
At Calvary. But here we have the blood brought before Eliezer. The priest shall take her blood.
With his finger and he was to sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of the congregation 7 times.
This was before the presence of God. God was there present in the Tabernacle, and this blood must be sprinkled before him.
All this reminds us of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that's been shed at Calvary and we read in Hebrews. Without the shedding of blood is no remission and the sins that we have committed.
01:00:00
Have been washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's through that precious shed blood that we have the forgiveness of our sins.
And everyone who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior can say, I know my sins are all gone, I'm forgiven. God doesn't charge me with any sins anymore. They're all gone, forever washed away in the precious blood of Christ.
And it speaks of seven times that the blood is to be sprinkled.
It was a perfect work that the Lord Jesus Christ did, and when our sins are washed away, forgiven, it's a perfect work. And we read that he will not remember them against us anymore. They're gone forever.
Now we notice something else here. The carcass of this heifer is to be burned.
If not only the blood sprinkles, but the carcass must be burned, and this brings before something else. This brings before us that not only the fruit of sins have been dealt with.
But the root of sin has also been dealt with, and I believe this burning of the heifer answers to what we have in Romans chapter 8.
In connection with the Lord Jesus.
Verse 3.
For what the law could not do, in that was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son.
In the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned sin in the flesh.
Condemned sin in the flesh when the Lord Jesus Christ.
Was sent into this world.
In the likeness of sinful flesh.
And for sin.
God condemned sin in the flesh.
When the Lord Jesus Christ was hanging there upon the cross and guides.
And all. What a picture this brings before us.
The skin of this heifer, her flesh, her blood, her dung, all to be burned.
Brings before us that awful judgment that fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the suffering that he went through there during those three hours.
God was dealing with sin. Sins and sins were dealt with at Calvary.
The precious blood of Christ cleanses all my sins away.
Death of Christ puts me away.
Sin in the flesh is put away. Sin in the flesh has been condemned. That Calvary and my blessed Lord was condemned there on the cross.
That I might be seen by God.
As having the old sinful nature, sin in the flesh condemned sin.
Sin in the flesh, condemned in the person of Christ.
All what he suffered, the judgment he went through. Why does God give us this kind of a picture, All to impress us with what the Lord Jesus Christ has gone through.
Not only putting our sins away, but putting sin in the flesh away.
That doesn't mean that I'm rid of it. I still carry it with me.
It's still there, that's sinful nature, but sin in the flesh has been condemned.
Judge, and we're to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, not only that, but alive unto God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
So we find here a picture of sins and sin being dealt with.
In the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
But there's something else. Cedar wood and hyssop are to be cast into this burning.
What's that that's symbolic of nature? The mighty cedar down to the little hyssop, the two extremes of the vegetable Kingdom of nature.
Yes.
All that might be attractive to this old nature in US.
01:05:06
Has gone down in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And there's also the Scarlets, which speaks of this world glory, that which appeals to the pride of man. That's gone too.
So all that would appeal to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life has been judged by God and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the carcass has been reduced to ashes and all of this cedar wood and hyssop and the scarlet.
What what it wants to be done with the ashes there to be kept, there to be gathered up.
They're to be kept.
Well, I believe the ashes would be a memorial of that burning.
And we have brought to our memory.
The burning at Calvary when we look in the word.
Yes, we find it there. We notice that when an Israelite was to be cleansed from defilement.
These ashes were to be mixed with water and sprinkled on the unclean person to cleanse him from his defilement.
What's the running water? Well, no doubt it speaks of the Word of God brought to us in the power of the Spirit of God.
Bringing before us the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And isn't this what takes place?
When the Lord sets about to restore our souls when we've sinned against Him.
By His Spirit and His Word, he reminds us of what the Lord Jesus Christ had suffered at Calvary. And when I've sinned against God, I have done that which brought suffering and.
Death to my blessed.
And I don't believe there can be proper restoration in our soul when we have sinned, unless we're directed by the Word and the Spirit of God back to Calvary and we see what really was done there, that our sins were dealt with there, and the old sinful nature that produces the sins was dealt with there. And when I see what my blessed Lord has suffered.
For my sake.
And I view this thing that I have done.
In that way relating it to Calvary.
Surely I see the horribleness of that scene.
And I believe this is the application on the third day.
We see the awfulness of, we see the horribleness of the thing.
Ah, what do we do next?
Then we confess and he says if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, cleanse from all the deposits, nor we don't need another application of the blood. The blood is a judicial thing. That is when it's applied to us, it's once for all judicially, and all of our sins are taken care of judicially and there's no charge against us anymore.
But.
If after we have been relieved of all the charge and guilt of sin, we sin again, we become defiled by it and we need cleansing from defilement. And God has made provision that we might be cleansed from defilement. And so in in light of Calvary, we see the awfulness of that thing we've done. It might be moral evil. It might be an evil principle.
It might be doctrinal evil that we've gone on with, but I must see it in the light of Calvary. And when I see that, see it in the light of Calvary, I see how bad it is, how awful it is. And then the next step is I make confession and then I'm cleanse.
From the defilement office. Oh how, how wonderful, how lovely that God has made provision that we could be be cleansed from the defilement of evil.
01:10:02
Now notice in verse 11 it says he that touches the dead body of any man shall be unclean 7 days. Why a dead body? It seems that in the Old Testament they result of sin is brought before us as a symbol of the sin. The result of sin which is death is brought before us as a symbol of sin. Why is that?
Every time death comes in among us, into this world, people are solemnized.
They're made to realize that the wages of sin is death.
Yes, death came in because of sin.
And I believe this is a way God has of making us realize how terrible sin is.
There's much carelessness in connection with sin these days.
There's looking likely upon sin.
But death is still here.
And every time death comes in, God is speaking to souls. He uses that to teach us the awfulness of sin.
There is an increase in diseases connected with moral sin these days.
I believe it's God's way of speaking to this world of how terrible moral sin is. He allows an outbreak of disease connected with it.
We will not realize how terrible sin is, naturally speaking, without having these.
Results of sin come upon us.
But all I trust that we may see how horrible sin is, not just from the results of sin, but look at Calvary see the result of sin there not just to ourselves, but to the blessed law. This is the only way that we can really understand and see how terrible sin is. We see the result of the.
When our blessed Lord.
Had to suffer that awful agony and death, therefore our sins, not for His, but for ours for our sins. He bore our sins in His own body on the trees.
There is a solemn thing said here.
If a man.
Would not purify himself on the third day. Then on the 7th day he would not be cleaned.
Sometimes I believe that souls, and very often so we do not realize how terrible that sin is that we have committed.
We do not see the horribleness of it because we haven't seen it in the light of Calvary and so there's not real self judgment with us.
And so we never really get rid of that defilement.
Cannot possibly get rid of the definement without judging the thief in the light of Calvary and making confessions to the Lord of it all. May God give us grace to really judge ourselves and not only individually but corporately. Collectively, we need to judge ourselves because of the things that come in among us and the things that we're careless about.
Oh, it's so easy for me, for each of us to become careless about sins, about worldliness. We become indifferent. We're in a layer of the same condition and we we're not really interested in that which is for the glory and honor of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we're cold, lukewarm toward that which dishonours the Lord Jesus Christ, all that we might have.
Our conscience is stirred up that we might have a tender conscience.
That we might have a warmed up heart. That we might have Christ before us.
And see how it affects him.
We go on down.
In this chapter and we notice.