Open—J. Hyland, D. Imbeau
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130.
We pray.
Our voice.
To a verse in the Gospel of Matthew, the last phrase of this lovely hymn We've just sung. The Lord has made us to rejoice.
I'd like to read a very well known portion, but perhaps with a little different application in view of the.
Happy time, we expect.
And long for our Lord to give us this afternoon.
Matthew chapter.
2.
Matthew Chapter 2.
And I'm just going to read parts of verses.
The end of verse one.
There came.
Wise men to Jerusalem.
Now down in verse 10.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced.
And then in verse 11.
They saw the young child, and then the end of the verse, when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts of gold.
And frankincense and myrrh.
Let's turn for a few moments to the 23rd Psalm.
Psalm 23 It's a Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yeah, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
00:05:06
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Well, I realize that this afternoon this is a well known Psalm, A Psalm that we have all or most of us enjoyed from the very early days of our youth. Maybe many of us memorized this Psalm in Sunday school.
And I realized that these Psalms are taken up and looked at in different ways. We know when we read the Psalms that they're Jewish in their character. We know too, that many of the Psalms are the feelings and expressions of the Lord Jesus as he passed through the circumstances of life as a man. And I suppose that's why on Lord's Day morning, when we're gathered together to remember the Lord Jesus so often, we go back and we read expressions from the Psalms, the 22nd Psalm, the.
40th Psalm, The 69th Psalm, 102nd Psalm that bring before us feelings and innermost breathings that we don't get in the Gospels. In the Gospels we Get the facts concerning the life and work of the Lord Jesus, but there's nothing we'll tug at our heartstrings more than going back and reading those feelings and expressions. We know too, that many of the Psalms are the feelings and expressions and experiences of the remnant in a coming day.
In fact, I believe that these first 41 Psalms, which constitute the first book of the Psalms, that's really what we have. It's Jehovah associating himself with the Godly Remnant in a coming day, and no doubt this 23rd Psalm will have its fulfillment at that time. Israel isn't trusting in the Lord today. They're not looking to him as their shepherd. No, they're trying to work everything out by their own intelligence and by peace pacts and summits and negotiations.
And lining up with the allied forces and all this kind of thing. But there is a day coming when Israel will rest under the shadow of his wings, when the king of righteousness rises with healing in his wings and the Prince of Peace comes back and there's a shout of a king amongst them. Oh, what a day it's going to be for those suppressed people. Israel or Jerusalem is not the city of peace today. There's fear in Jerusalem.
I suppose people go to bed and get up in the morning with trepidation in their hearts, because they know that the enemy has their missiles pointed at them and they'd like to wipe them out in a moment if they could. But we find too that these Psalms have an application for us as well.
It's been interesting to my own soul in visiting those who are elderly, those who perhaps are shut in, or going through times of real trial and testing. And you ask that person what portion of the word of God would you like to share together? And I would say that more often than not they want to have a Psalm read because the Psalms and especially the Psalms of David, they take us through the experiences of the believers life.
They take us through the ups and downs and there's many ups and downs in the believers life.
This is an up this weekend we've been enjoying the ministry of the word. We've been enjoying being gathered around the person of Christ and with so many of our dear brethren from near and far. But you know, there's a lot of downs in the Christian life as well. And I'd like to just look briefly at this Psalm and this connection because I'd like to speak a few words to our hearts. I have no doubt that our brethren here and your hearts are troubled and burdened. You are troubled as you think of going home tomorrow afternoon.
And facing the situations at work, maybe in the home, often in the assembly.
And you say it's been such a wonderful weekend, but I just dread to go home knowing what is awaiting me. But isn't it interesting that so often in scripture he speaks to our hearts? In the 39th chapter of Isaiah, you have a great failure brought before us, the failure of King Hezekiah and how God was going to have to act in his governmental ways because of Hezekiah's failure. All you say, How could there be any comfort in that? Why the 40th chapter?
The very next chapter opens with these beautiful words. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, sayeth your God speaking comfortably, or if you have a margin, speak ye to the heart. And so I'd like to speak a few words to our hearts, because it's the heart that needs to be engaged. Yes, we need to have our consciences stirred, that's true. But we need the hard engaged. There's only one way to be a true disciple, a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:10:30
And that's to have a heart where there's only one object in it, because I believe where our hearts are, then our feet will follow. And we find here in these Psalms of David, David takes us through the experiences of the believer's life. And you know, when you go back and read the life of David, it was not an easy life. He had all kinds of problems and difficulties we find that he's taken.
And anointed by Samuel to be king over Israel.
And it just seems from that point on there's all kinds of ups and downs. You find that he goes sent by his father Jesse to see his brethren and take them some provisions as they're fighting the battle with the Philistines. And when he comes down to his brethren, what did they do? Why they even judge the motive of his heart for coming down. And then the next thing you read, he goes down into the valley with just a few stones and a sling to meet the champion of the Philistines.
Then we find that from that point on he runs for his life from King Saul. He feels it when his best friend Jonathan didn't associate with him in his rejection, he could say reproach hath broken mine heart. He slept in The Cave of a Dullum. He had living conditions that perhaps were not really what he would have liked to have had. And what about after he got his Kingdom? Why, it was a Kingdom that was plagued with all kinds of upheaval.
He had wars from his enemies around him. He knew what it was to shed tears. He knew what it was to lose family members in death. A young child on one occasion, his son Absalom on another. He had domestic problems. He had to flee for his life, problems in his own family. And yet I believe when you read the Psalms of David, you find that while he felt these things very keenly, and sometimes he did get discouraged.
And sometimes he wondered why God had allowed things in his life. Yet by the end of the Psalm, he always comes back.
To what he had in and of the Lord. And again, that's the way I'd like to look at this Psalm, because.
He begins by saying The Lord is my shepherd. Can anything change that, brethren?
We belong to him. He belongs to us. Yes, there are problems and difficulties. But, brethren, we have one who's with us, one that we belong to. And I say nothing can change that. I have redeemed the I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. And so he says, the Lord is my shepherd, and everything else that follows in the Psalm is based on that glorious truth. And what does a shepherd do?
Well, a shepherd cares for the sheep, and it says he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I think of it at a conference like this. There's so many needs in a room like this. There are brethren who are at all different points in their life, both physically and spiritually. But isn't it wonderful that the shepherd understands the different needs of the sheep?
I know nothing in a practical way of the care of sheep, but my father before me raised sheep in his younger days, and he told us how you treat every sheep as an individual. Every sheep has individual needs, and the Lord recognizes that. He recognizes that there are some of us here who are young, some children, young people, some of us who are raising families, and some who are a little further along.
And he's able, at meetings like this, to minister to every need. Have our ears been open to the precious word of God in these meetings? If they are, and if we have tender consciences and receptive hearts to take in what God has for us, then we can go away. And as vast as the needs might be here this weekend, every need can be met from himself, from this blessed book.
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In the power of the Spirit, if I go away and my need is not met, then I need to examine my own heart. And so the Lord is my shepherd. We have one who's caring for us. He knows your need, you say. Nobody knows what I'm going through. There's nobody I can share it with. I've got a burdened heart. My heart's broken. My heart is overwhelmed. Oh, maybe there is no one that you can share it with. But there is one above one. Who's that great shepherd?
Of the sheep, and he cares in the Psalm before we find him as the Good Shepherd.
That gives his life for the sheep, because we have there brought before us the sufferings of Christ. And in the next Psalm, the 24th Psalm, I believe there he says the great, the chief shepherd, Because in Peter it talks about that chief shepherd in connection with the coming day of glory and reward. And there's a day coming when the chief shepherd is going to have his rightful place here in this world when he appears again.
But here I believe in this Psalm. He's the great shepherd who's caring for the sheep. Hebrews 13 brings that before us and shows that through that one we have a tremendous resource and tremendous power at our disposal for the path of faith and service through this world. Well, no wonder the Psalmist could then say, I shall not want. Is your soul hungry this afternoon? Is there something that seems to be lacking in your life?
Well, no doubt it's because you aren't drawing from the shepherd. You're not walking in fellowship with him. You're not letting him minister to your every need. And I'm not talking this afternoon so much about physical needs. It's true he does take care of those physical needs. I'm not talking so much about temporal needs. It's true he takes care of that. My God shall supply all your need. But I'm speaking now in a spiritual sense.
And the Psalmist said, I shall not want.
How could he say such a thing? How could he say I shall not want all? He was drawing on the source. Are you drawing on the source, young person? Is your heart empty? You say I belong to the Lord. I know I'm on my way to heaven and I know there'll be fullness of joy and complete satisfaction then. But what about along the pathway here? He doesn't want you to have an empty heart while you're here in this world. Now he wants to fill and to satisfy.
That heart, Jeremiah said. Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and they were unto me the joy and rejoicing.
A mine heart. And the very next verse says he maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Now lying down would speak of rest. Those pastures I would, I believe, would speak of our enjoyment of the word of God. I say that because you remember.
With Isaac back in the 24th chapter of Genesis that he went out into the field or the pasture to meditate at even. Do you do that? Do you make it the habit of your life every day to open this blessed book and let it feed your soul? It takes time. You have to stop from the activities of the day. You have to lie down, as it were. And you know, if we don't do it willingly, he maketh me to lie down.
Sometimes the Lord has to put His hand upon me. I like activity. I like to be busy. Sometimes I'm driven. But, you know, sometimes the Lord has to put His hand on me in one way or another, and He has to make me lie down in green pastures. So I take that time to enjoy His word and not just to read it, but to meditate on it, the psalmist said in another place. Oh, how I love Thy law. It is my meditation.
All the day, brethren, there's no substitute for meditation on the word of God. Take it in, read it, take it with you. Stop every once in a while during the day and chew on what you have read, because one of the characteristics of a clean animal under the Levitical order was that they were to chew the cud. I believe it speaks of meditation, and David, often in the Psalms, spoke of the need.
For meditation on the word of God, I can't overemphasize it enough. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures because we're walking through a world that is a spiritual wilderness. It's a spiritual desert, and there's nothing to refresh and feed the new man here in this world. There's plenty to feed our lusts, plenty to appeal to the natural appetites, the to the flesh, I should say.
00:20:24
But there's nothing to feed the Newman. You know, it just seems today. You can hardly stand at the checkout counter without seeing something to feed the flesh. You can hardly drive down the freeway. But we need to satisfy our appetites with the word of God. We need to meditate on it. You know, it's interesting that the feeding of the 5000 in the Gospels is mentioned in all four Gospels. It's the only miracle before the cross.
That's mentioned in all four Gospels and in one of the Gospels, or in three of the Gospels, I should say it tells us that it's a desert, was a desert place. But you know, in John's Gospel it doesn't say anything about it being a desert place. And it's the only gospel where it doesn't. And it just says in John's Gospel, and I love it, it says there was much grass in the place and he made them to sit down and he fed them, oh, it was a desert place, but what did he provide for them? He provided a place where they could sit down.
In those green pastures, as it were, and brethren, he's provided that place for us individually as families and in the assembly. And I want to encourage you. Read your Bible personally. Be at the family reading fathers. Make sure you feed your families with a little portion from the word of God. Give them the green pastures. Oh, it takes exercise, it takes diligence. But how well you'll be repaid.
And then those times set aside in the assembly where the word of God is ministered and our souls can be fed collectively as the people of God, and He leads us beside the still waters. That's the refreshment that we need. We spoke in these meetings of feet washing, and really to some feet washing up. It's the refreshment that comes from the practical application of God's Word in our lives. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed thereto. According to thy word, it's the washing of water. By the word that we hear so often about, there was a brother. He's with the Lord now in my home assembly when I was growing up, And he used to tell us when he came home from the office at night, he needed a good wash. And he wasn't talking about soap and water. He was talking about the word of God and the cleansing effect that it has. But I'd like to just say this too, for our exercise. It speaks here of the still waters.
Because she cannot drink from troubled waters. And I want to just say this, to exercise those of us who have responsibility in the local assembly, are we providing those still waters, or are the waters in the local assembly troubled? You know, when the waters in the assembly are troubled, there is no refreshment for the sheep and for the lambs. Oh, I know the Lord is sovereign. I know he's able. But the sheep and the lambs are not going to be able to drink and be refreshed.
The waters are troubled. And you know the assembly, the local assembly ought to be a sanctuary. It ought to be a place of quiet and refreshment for ourselves and for our children. And so He leads me beside the still waters. But you say I failed. There's been sin in my life. I've been cold. I haven't walked to please the Lord the way I ought to. He restoreth my soul. And you know, I believe that times like this are often real turning points.
In the Hearts and the lives of Brethren. It was so in my life when I was a young person, I got away from the Lord. I was going on with things I ought not to have gone on with. And I came to a meet to meetings like this in the city Of Montreal. And it was a time of real turn around and restoration in my own life, how I thank God for meetings like this. And maybe there's someone here and you say, oh I failed and I failed badly. You say Jim, you don't understand the things that I've allowed in my life in recent times.
Well, maybe I don't, and I don't want to hear about it really. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And you know, we can never say we fail too badly, so badly that there isn't a way back. There's always a way of restoration. Yes, there are consequences. Sin has consequences. Yes, we reap what we sow and that's why we need to walk certain spect. But there is a way of restoration.
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David, when he penned this, no doubt thought about that time in his life when he failed, a moral evil came in. It was a grievous sin, a grievous evil. But if we were to turn over just a few pages and read another Psalm, we would find that there was restoration for David. Yes, there were consequences, but there was restoration, and he praised there. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, he says. Here he restoreth my soul. His restoring grace, brethren, is as limitless.
As his saving and preserving grace. And then he says he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. We mentioned this, I believe, in one of the readings the other day how that when there's restoration, we don't have to go on in the path that we were in because he's able to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and to lead us in those right paths. You know he has a path of faith and service.
For each of us, and I just want to say this to perhaps this is what is particularly on my heart. You know, in the path of faith and service. We're not going to see the removal of all the difficulties in this Psalm. We don't see the removal of all the difficulties. But what we do is grace to go on, strength to go on in the resources that we have in the Lord, despite the difficulties, the hurdles, the trials.
And the exercises, You know, sometimes when we go through a difficulty, perhaps our prayer is that the Lord would remove the difficulty. But, you know, Paul had a problem and he prayed three times that the problem would be removed. And the Lord said, no, Paul, I'm not going to remove the difficulty, but I'm going to give you what is needed to live for my glory and to serve my people with even with the difficulty. And he said, my grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness. We'd like the problem removed.
But sometimes I believe we need to pray that the Lord will give us grace to.
As it says, by my God, have I run through a troop. You don't see the troop removed, but by my God have I run through the troop. By my God have I leaped over a wall. It's not that the obstacles removed, but it says he gives us Heinz feet and sets us on our high places. And then he speaks in the next verse of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Now usually when we read this verse and it's a verse that's often read at a funeral.
We usually apply it in connection with passing the believer, passing from this light to the next.
One who is absent from the body and present with the Lord. But I'd like to make just a little different application, because I would suggest in its context here that the valley of the shadow of death is really this life. It's this world with the shadow of the cross hanging over it. And isn't it true wherever we operate in the world we see, it's stamped with death. We sometimes sing that hymn We're Pilgrims in a wilderness.
Our dwelling is a camp created. Things, though pleasant, now bear to us. Death stamp this world. Cast out the shepherd They didn't want the Lord Jesus Christ. They crucified him. And this world is under judgment and it's stamped with death. But we have to walk through this world. The Lord doesn't take us home the minute we're saved. And so David speaks of walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
And he says, I will fear no evil. Are you sometimes afraid as you walk through this world, as you see sin and its consequences on every hand? I have to confess, sometimes I've been afraid. But you know, if you're afraid, you don't get that from the Lord. He hasn't given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, and so often in the Old Testament, at times of real weakness and failure.
Amongst the people of God, he exhorts them. Fear not, fear not, I have redeemed thee. Fear not, be not dismayed, be not discouraged. And on and on the exhortations to fear not. And so the Psalmist says, yes, this world is stamped with sin and death. Yes, there's many trials and difficulties, but he says, yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
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And notice the tone of the Psalm has changed. In the first part of the Psalm, he's talking about the Shepherd.
But now he's not talking about the Shepherd, He's talking to the Shepherd. And it seems to take the valley of death to do it. And isn't it true? As you go through those circumstances of life, those things that just seem to cast you down, isn't it true it drew you closer to him, that some dark situation in your life just caused you to cry out and you found yourself closer to him? You found yourself walking in the conscious sense of his presence, and you could talk to him.
Isn't it wonderful that we can talk to him? And so David isn't talking about the shepherd. Now he says, thou art with me in that wonderful brethren. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. You know, sometimes we pray and we ask the Lord to be with us. But, you know, I don't believe we need to pray that prayer as much as we need to pray and ask the Lord that we would be in the conscious sense of his presence with us.
Because he's there. We can walk in such a way that we don't enjoy it. When the two were on the way to Emmaus, did they understand who was there with them? No, They were going away in discouragement. But Jesus himself drew near and went with them, and he worked in their hearts in such a way that their hearts burned. And they eventually returned that same night. But he was with them, even though they didn't know who this person was.
He's with us always. I believe that's really the thrust of the verse in Philippians that says the Lord is at hand. That is, he's right there. He's holding our hand. Someone takes your hand. You're conscious of their presence. You can lean on them. You can feel the support that they give. The Lord Jesus, He's always there. And in another song we read. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast hold in me by thy right hand. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire.
Beside they oh, is that what our desire to walk in his company, to draw on the source that we have in himself? And then he says, Thy rod and I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Two things that comfort comforted the psalmist, the rod, and the staff. Perhaps the rod would speak of correction his ways with us. And isn't it wonderful to know that?
Even though there are sometimes, when he has to correct us that he does it for our profit, it says he chastens us for our profit, that we might be partakers of His Holiness. I can't say that about my children and my dealings with them. Sometimes I correct them just for myself. Maybe they're making a noise or I don't want them around. I want to do something and I say go on outside and if you don't go, there'll be some punishment. Why? That's not for their good. That's just for myself.
But the Lord, everything he allows in our lives, even in chastening, is for our prophet. He knows what's best, but not only is there the rod, but there's the staff. One of the things that Israel was to have when they went up out of Egypt was a staff. It speaks of support we.
Need support. They have support groups for all kinds of things in this world, in business and in school, and support groups for the elderly and support groups for Alzheimer's patients and all that kind of thing. And those things I'm not criticizing. They may be helpful in their place, but we have a great support. And Israel was to take up, take that staff. You know, it took Jacob his whole life to learn the lesson, but at the end of his life of trying to scheme and do things for himself.
It says he worshiped leaning on his staff, what support we have, and and both are a comfort. Whether it's his rod to chasten us or whether it's his staff to support us along the way, both are a comfort. I look back and I'm thankful in my life as a child that my parents corrected me. I didn't always appreciate being chastened at the time, but as I look back I realize how necessary it was, what things it kept me from.
00:35:06
And so it is as God's children in his family and in his schooling and his training with us. And then he says, Thou prepare us the table before me in the presence of mine enemies, right here in this world. A table would perhaps speak of several things, but I was thinking of it first of all in connection with authority. You know, a table speaks of authority. If you were to come to my dinner table in Smiths Falls, who has authority at that table?
It's my table. I have authority. I have authority to invite to that table. I have authority to refuse if there's conduct that I feel is not in keeping with my table. And I just want to apply it in a broad sense. Because, you know, this is a day when authority is undermined on every level. And I know you children and young people, you hear this all the time. It's ingrained in you to rebel against every level of authority.
Be it parental authority, authority in school, they had an illegal teachers strike in Ontario this year. I said what did that teach children to do? It taught them to rebel against authority. Governmental authority is brought into question the authority of the husband as the head of the home and sad to say, the the lordship of Christ in our lives. And so I want to encourage you. God has set up authority for the blessing of man on the earth and of course the supreme authority.
Is the Lord himself. We used to sing a hymn when we were young people. Lord of my life. I crown thee now thine shall the glory be. Sometimes we sing that hymn rain thou within our hearts alone. And but I believe too a table would speak of fellowship. If you come to my table you I will partake of a meal and we'll have fellowship together in eating of that meal. We've spoken of that in connection with First John One. How we've been brought into a place of fellowship.
Not only with the father and with the Son, but with one another as a result.
And what a wonderful place of fellowship it is. But I would like to, just before we pass on, to make another application, because, you know, this morning we had the privilege of sitting down at the Lord's table. You get that in First Corinthians. And we had the privilege, I believe, with all my heart, of partaking of the Lord's Supper at the Lord's Table. And as the loaf in the cup was passed this morning, did you partake of that loaf and that cup? Did you remember the Lord Jesus?
I was thinking this morning of two expressions, particularly in what connection with what was before us. At the end of the meeting, in the end of Psalm 22, it says he hath done this. That's the work of redemption. That's the work of Calvary. And then he says this do in remembrance of me. Does the work of Calvary mean no more to your heart than to sit there Lord's day after Lord's day, and open your hymn book and Bible and bow your head when one and another praise?
And yet you don't. Your heart doesn't respond. And where is the heart so hardened? And who is so vile as he that seeth the Savior suffer? And Seth, that is nothing to me. Is it nothing to you? Is it nothing to me? I want to encourage you. And if there's something in your life that perhaps is hindering you from taking your place at the Lord's table, oh, judge the matter. Get before the Lord. Get it taken care of. If there's others involved, get it taken care of.
Don't let it keep you from the joy of being at the table, at the Lord, at the Lord's table, to remember him. And so he says, Thou anointest my head with oil. Well, oil invariably is a type of the Spirit of God. And you know, here it's the head. And I like to think of this in connection with what it says in the New Testament, bringing every thought into obedience under the captivity, into captivity, under the obedience of Christ.
It's having our thoughts governed by the word of God.
In the power of the Spirit, it's to saturate your mind with the Scripture, all the enemies busy to fill your mind with all kinds of junk, with all kinds of defilement. But what are we filling our minds with? And parents, when our children go off to school, I'm appalled at what is crammed into their minds. But what are we filling it with their minds with? Are we filling their minds with the word of God? Are we filling our minds with Christ? Do we have as it were, our heads anointed with oil? And then what's the result? My cup runneth over.
00:40:05
Well, we had this before us at the beginning of the meeting and the singing of the hymn, the comments that were made. Rejoice in the Lord always, not just sometimes, but rejoice in the Lord always and again. I say rejoice. In other words, if you didn't get it the first time again I say rejoice. We don't just have a lot to be thankful for, brethren, We have everything to be thankful for. And David again had a lot of trials, but he could rejoice in that one because he had found his resource. Paul had a lot of trials, but he could sing in the prison.
Because his heart was overflowing with Christ, my cup runneth over and then he says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. You know, we sometimes sing to him through every period of my life. Thy goodness I'll pursue. When the children of Israel came to Elam, one of the things that was provided for the refreshment were three score and 10 palm trees. Why were there three score and 10 palm trees?
Because all the days of your life shall be 3 score years and 10. That is, there's provision for the whole way. And then he says, I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. For us, brethren, it's going to be the Father's house. And the Lord could say to his disciples, let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. How could he say such a thing? How could he at a time like that, when they were troubled and thinking of the Lord going away?
Oh, he says, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. Brethren, we have a glorious future. We sometimes sing that hymn the worst that can come, but shortens the journey, and hastens us home. But not only that, but we have the promise of the Lorde return at any moment. He promised I will come again, and there's not failed one word of all his good promise. Wherewith he hath promised all the promises of God. In him are Yay, and in him Amen. To the glory of God by us we're going to dwell.
With him forever, it says, And so shall we ever be with the Lord. But perhaps I can sum up my remarks by quoting a verse in the Book of Colossians. It says there, I think it's the third chapter. In the 11Th verse it says Christ is all and in all. Or if you notice Mr. Darby's translation, Christ is everything. Oh brethren, Christ is everything. We need him, I say I need him more before my soul.
To to enjoy those pastures.
To drink of those waters of refreshment. To walk in the power of the Spirit, even though it's through the valley of the shadow of death. To experience his presence and his care. Oh, I wouldn't want to trade places with anybody who doesn't know the Lord. What do they do when they go through trials or they meet some crisis in their life? No wonder people are wrecking their lives, turning to all the abuses of humanity and all this kind of thing that we always have. Christ, when my mother and her father forsake me, then the Lord will take me up.
Oh, brethren, Christ is everything. May he be more to your heart and mind as we go on and await that day when we will be satisfied when we awake in His likeness.
Before I start, before I turn to the scriptures that.
I trust will be for our help and encouragement.
We have in the Book of Revelations, Chapter 2 and 3A History of the Church.
And the first one in that list is Ephesus.
And Ephesus was given by the Apostle Paul the highest truth that ever was delivered to the Saints.
And in that book.
Of Revelation, the second chapter, there's nine or 10 things mentioned of Ephesus that they had done.
And without concluding that, let's turn to the 13th chapter of First Corinthians.
And let's read it.
The way it was really written.
Charity is not a good word.
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Charity is not the word that was originally used. It's love.
And in Ephesus it says they left their first love.
1St Corinthians 13.
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love.
I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.
And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries.
And all knowledge and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not love.
I am nothing, and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
God is love. In first John 4 verse seven it says for love is of God and he that loveth.
Is of God, for God is love. Let's turn to it the oldest place and turn to 1St John Chapter 4.
We don't misquote it.
First John chapter 4 and verse 7.
Behold, let us love one another, for love is of God.
And everyone that loveth is born of God.
And N God.
Kent first he here in Islam, not that we love God, but that he loved us.
What a marvelous thing love is.
Without love.
There's nothing to hold people together. The Assembly of God. The Assemblies of God. The Church of God. The people of God. Ever since the day that the Spirit of God came down into this world and formed one body, it's been held together by love, nothing else.
Love is of God. When I say nothing else, I don't mean that God's spirit doesn't work to hold us together. But what holds us together is love.
The first.
3 verses we read tell us that IA. What the Apostle Paul is saying is it doesn't matter what we do. It doesn't matter how hard we work. If we don't have love connected with it, it's hollow. It's worthless.
The Book of Revelation, the second chapter, 9 or 10 things spoken of.
The Ephesians.
And the Lord says, I have something against you.
You've left your first love we've had before us in John's epistle love. John's epistle is a book of love.
The first epistle is filled with it.
The second epistle is the love of God demonstrated in a woman keeping her house.
The third epistle is a demonstration of a man by the name of Gaius.
Was a man of love.
And there was another man there, too.
And he had no love.
For his brother.
There are 8 positive things in this about love, and there are eight things that love doesn't do. There are eight things that love does do, and there's eight things that love does not do. Let's look at them. The first two that they that love does enforce for charity or love suffereth long and is kind.
We've had much ministry in regard to young people getting discouraged.
What about those of us who are older? Or have we shown them the love that we should?
Love suffereth long How long? It doesn't say.
What about God's love? How long has God's love suffered with this world and with the assembly? How long?
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Love suffereth long.
And is kind.
Ephesians 4 and the last two verses.
Marvelous freedom.
I wish that God would give us the grace to live in that those two short verses at the end of Ephesians 4.
This part of it right here.
Now the next state mentions are that love does not do.
Let's go through them love. Envious not.
Love vaunteth not itself.
Is not puffed up.
Does not behave itself unseemly.
Seeketh not her own.
Is not easily provoked.
Thinketh no evil.
Rejoiceth not in iniquity 8 things that love does not do.
There's many.
Young couples in this room this afternoon.
This is read often at weddings. Nothing wrong with that. That's good. But it's not just for weddings. It's for each and every Christian, each and every day of our life.
How many of these things, these eight things, that love does not do? How many times have we found ourselves doing them?
Envious not.
Wanteth not itself.
Is not puffed up.
Does not behave itself unseemly.
I'm not going to tell you what these things mean. You know what they mean.
You've all got good solid minds. You know what they mean.
What is love?
It's of God. Love is of God.
If we demonstrate love, we're demonstrating the heart of God, for his heart is love.
Let's look at the rest, the six others that are positive that love does do.
Rejoiceth in the truth.
We've had the truth before us. We had the truth before us yesterday. We've had the truth before us today. What is truth?
This is truth.
The Lord Jesus, standing before Pilate, spoke of the truth, and Pilate says unto him, What is truth?
The Lord Jesus had said before that.
I am the truth.
I am the truth.
Rejoiceth in the truth.
Beareth all things.
Do we get angry at our brethren? Do we get angry at one another?
Beareth all things. That's love.
Believeth all things. That doesn't mean I believe a lie. That means I believe what God says.
That's what that means.
Hope of all things.
What is our hope?
Scripture asked that question. What is our hope?
What is our hope this afternoon? Right this afternoon, the hope of the Lord's coming could be realized.
Is that your whole?
Is your hope to hear the shout.
The trump of the Archangel.
The voice of the Archangel, the trump of God. Is that your hope?
If it's not.
I don't know how many people are in this room.
304 hundred.
Every single seat.
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Where one is sitting that does not have the hope.
Of the Lord's coming will be right here.
When that shout comes, every single one in this room that has the hope.
In himself that knows the Lord the Savior will go. The ceiling is not going to be any barrier. None whatsoever.
Hope of all things.
The hope of glory, The hope of seeing, the faith of the Lord Jesus.
The hope of being with him, like we have in first John 3, does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when we see him, we shall be like him.
Where we shall see him as he is hope of all things.
Endureth all things.
Endurance.
What is endurance?
Carrying on, going on, do we have difficulty in our assemblies?
Excuse me?
Are we enduring?
Are we persevering?
It takes love to do that. We can't do it ourselves. We can't do it in our natural capabilities. It takes love and it takes the love of God, For God is love. Endureth all things.
Love never fail.
To some in this room this afternoon.
That have been married maybe 60 years or more.
That's quite a while.
That's quite a while.
It says of the Bride of Christ.
1000 years after the wedding ceremony that she comes down from heaven adorned as a bride.
That's love.
Love never faileth.
This love is God's love.
The one who loved this world enough to send his son to die.
Do you think that he would give up one of those that his son purchased with the blood of his own? It tells us never.
Love never faileth.
If the only thing that goes on, we're not going to read the rest of the chapter, but we are going to read the last verse.
And now abideth faith. Oh, stop there for a month.
Is there necessarily going to need to be faith and hope and glory? No.
No.
The Apostle Paul says if you've got it, why are you hoping for it?
The greatest of these is love. Love never fails. Love is going to go on.
Love is what keeps the Saints of God going on happily together.
Love is what does it.
Do you love your brother?
Do you love one another? Do we love one another?
It so happens that.
A Christian can't help himself but love another Christian. You you can't help yourself. However you know you can demonstrate all kinds of things that don't demonstrate love.
And God asks us.
The Lord Jesus said, If ye love on earth.
Let's turn to 15th chapter of John's Gospel when the Lord Jesus.
By the way.
The 15th chapter of John's Gospel is during the last day of the Lord's life here on earth.
John 15 verse 10 If ye keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love.
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The 12Th verse. This is my commandment that she loved one another as I.
Have loved you.
Amazing.
Absolutely amazing that she loved one another as I have loved you. How much did he love you? How much did he love me?
Enough to die.
For you enough to die for me.
The Apostle Paul could save the Son of God who loved me.
And gave himself for me. That's how much he loved you. Love.
That which binds the Saints together.
Love.
This is my commandment that she loved one another.