Address—Bob Thonney
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I'd like to start the meeting with him. We sang this morning in The Breaking of bread #213.
Nothing, brethren, like getting back to the cross.
Nothing that touches the soul, the heart like that.
Let's sing #213.
On Calvary.
We've heard.
Rain stood.
And gazed on that wondrous crime. Start singing the 3rd or the 4th and the 5th versus. We pay particular attention to it because it's what I have in my heart this afternoon to speak about.
It's one of the most wonderful things to think of.
Just let me read it. The gates of heaven are opened wide. At his name Jesus name all the angels bow, the Son of Man, who was crucified as the King of glory. Now we love to look up and behold him there, the Lamb for his chosen slain.
Soon shall his Saints, all his glory, share with their heads.
And their Lord shall reign. And now we draw near.
To the throne of grace for his blood. And the priests are there. And we joyfully seek God's holy face with our sensor of praise and prayer. The burning mount and the Mystic veil with our terrors and guilt are gone. Our conscience has peace that can never fail. Tis the Lamb.
On high on the throne, could we stand and sing these last two verses, please?
The gates of heaven.
It was frustrating in the sleeping mind.
And there are shall rain.
Let's pray in the Bible. I think it's the only book that starts.
With the word God.
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I think most of you know where that is. That's where we're going to speak from this afternoon.
Yesterday in the reading meeting we had a verse.
That we didn't really get to develop very much. But I think, Larry, you mentioned it, that we have the Trinity in that verse.
For by him the Lord Jesus Christ.
We, both Jew and Gentile, have access by 1 spirit.
And to the Father, that's my desire this afternoon is to speak.
On the access that we have to God.
Oh, to me it is the most wonderful thing. I don't know if we're aware. Young people, maybe even older people, we need to be reminded about it if we are not aware of it.
Or if we are aware of it and sometimes we forget, but this morning when we came together.
To remember the Lord Jesus and his death in the breaking of bread.
This was a convenient spot for us to get together, but really where we went was into heaven itself. I'm not talking about just mere doctrine. We were in heaven this morning in spirit. That's where we entered. And to me it seems like such a wonderful thing to get a hold of. And what I fear is that.
The enemy, little by little, is trying to rob us of these truths that are characteristic of Christianity.
Judaism was a system of religion adapted. Yes, it was given of God in the beginning.
But it was adapted for man in the flesh. It was a worldly.
Sanctuary. It was an order of worldly ordinances and services.
All given of God.
The Christianity, as has been mentioned in.
Our meetings is not an improvement on Judaism. It's something completely different, completely new, and far exceeds anything that was known in Judaism. Judaism, yes, the nation of Israel had knowledge of the true God, but brethren, they were held at a distance.
And you and I.
Have access to me, it is the most wonderful thing. Before we go any further, I'd like to just ask if there's anybody in this room.
That has access to the Oval Office in Washington, DC. Would you please raise your hand if you do?
I suppose we're 5600 here, not anybody.
I don't suppose there is anybody that has access to the office of the most powerful man in this country.
But now if I ask, who have you have access to the throne of the God of the universe? We all who are real believers in the Lord Jesus can raise our hand. You and I have access. How is this possible? You know, I know many of you know this.
But you know, what comes home to my own soul is that we're not living.
In the enjoyment of it and it shows in our lives individually.
And collectively.
Christianity is where we have access to the very throne room of the universe where we could put it into the holiest of all. We go right into the presence of God in the Old Testament.
Of the nation of Israel, there was one tribe that was chosen to do the service of God, the tribe of Levi. Of that one tribe there was one family that had access into the holy place, that first compartment where there was the Candlestick.
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The altar of incense and the table of the showbread.
But of that one family, there is only one person, and that only once a year that could go into the very presence of God beyond that veil that separated the holy place from the holiest of all. They're the Holy of Holies, as it's sometimes called.
The way into the holiest.
Scripture says was not made manifest.
But when the Lord Jesus hung on that cross.
When he suffered there not only from the hands of man.
But we know the story that in those three hours of darkness as he hung there.
In abject misery physically. But then God clothed the scene with darkness. And God laid on that holy sin bearer our sins. Every single one of them.
In chapter 10 of Hebrews it says their sins and iniquities. I will remember no more. That indicates that he did remember them once. Where was that? It was in those three hours of darkness every sin have ever committed, laid on the head of that holy sin bearer, and God took the rod of his judgment and.
Theory of divine wrath fell on him.
Until he exhausted it completely, he could say it is finished. There is no longer any wrath towards those who believe.
And as Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent entwined. It was, I understand, a thick veil. It would have been very difficult to rip that veil. But the hand of God ripped it open. God now can come out because of what Jesus has done on the cross.
In the fullness of his character and make himself known.
And we redeemed sinners, cleansed from every stain of sin, now have access to go right into the holiest of all, not at just once a year, but any time of the day or night.
In prayer, in praise.
That's where we enter to present our prayers and our praises. Well, I want to go to the book of Hebrews. You've probably guessed that by now. This is the only book I know in the Bible that begins with God.
And my purpose is not to take up the first part of the book, but I'd just like to mention that.
In this book, the focus is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
His person, his work in the first chapters, I suppose you could say.
It's more a focus on his person. So important to be clear in your soul.
As to who Jesus is, who is he anyhow? God's eternal Son in the first chapter, in the third verse says who being the brightness of his glory, the full outshining of the glory of God, that's who he is and the express image of his person.
You know man in the beginning was made in the image and likeness of God.
But man sinned, and when he sinned, he lost.
Some of those characteristics, yes, there still is something of the marks of God's creation in man, but the Lord Jesus when he came in the world.
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He was not made in the likeness.
Of God because he was God, but he was made in the likeness of men. It tells us in Philippians chapter 2. But he was the image of the invisible God images, visible representation. Can we know God now? Yes we can, in the fullest sense of the word, because the Lord Jesus is the image.
Of the invisible God. To me it is most wonderful that in Christianity.
We have the full knowledge of God. We live in a world, brethren, where people have given up the knowledge of God.
One of their world religions, Mohammed Isms.
Over 1 billion people.
Say in their doctrine God is unknown and unknowable.
Isn't that tragic? Tragic. Terrible?
And you know God.
Isn't that wonderful to be able to say, yes, I know God because God became a man in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have the record of it in the four Gospels. And going through those four Gospels, I can know God. Oh, how wonderful it is.
But I'd like to go not so much to talk about his person here.
To go to the 9th chapter to talk about the work that he accomplished so that we could have access. And I'm going to read a number of verses and want you to follow with me, please, in Chapter 9. Let's begin with verse 11.
Christ being calm and high priest of good things to come.
By a greater and more perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in.
Once into the holy place, having obtained.
Eternal redemption for us. Doesn't that thrill your soul? It just thrills my soul rather than.
He obtained eternal redemption. It's an accomplished fact and you and I, if you are believer in the Lord Jesus, stand in that position that he won for us of having obtained eternal redemption for if the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified to the.
Of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Yes, the God we know in Jesus is a living God.
Now let's go over to the 10th chapter.
And let's begin reading.
In verse 4, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith sacrifice.
And offering thou wouldest not but a body hast thou prepared me in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book. It is written of me to do thy will, O God. That's the Lord Jesus speaking prophetically in Psalm 40.
Verse 8 above when he said sacrifice and offering and burnt offering and offering for sin, thou wouldest not.
Neither has pleasure therein, which are offered by the law, I just want to point out here.
That we have the four major sacrifices of the Levitical order.
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In these four that are mentioned.
Offering or sacrifice is the sacrifice of peace offerings which you get in Leviticus chapter 3 and offering that's the meal offering that you get in chapter 2 of Leviticus and then burned offering is what you get in chapter one of Leviticus and sacrifice for sin is what you get in chapter 4. So you have summed up the.
Four major.
Sacrifices of the Levitical order in those in that verse.
So the Lord Jesus is a fulfillment of the mall. I'd just like to say if you'd like to remember it, think of this order 3214. That's the order that we have in Leviticus of these sacrifices that are mentioned here. They all reflect in some way or another, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We're not going to get into that right now. But then verse 9 says then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God, he taketh away the 1St that he may establish the 2nd.
Now notice verse 10 by the which will the will of God, we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And you notice this word once mentioned again and again because that's what it was, and the sacrifice of Christ it was.
A sacrifice that satisfied all God's holy claims.
Forever.
Once for all. And here it says that through that offering we have been sanctified.
Sanctified means set apart.
And you and I, you've got to understand that young person.
When you got saved, you are sanctified.
Through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Don't look around at the older brothers and say, well, they kind of the ones that take the responsibility. No you.
You have been set apart for God. That is important to understand and that's why sometimes I really believe that young people that don't understand that maybe older ones too, have the same problem.
We don't understand that God has set us apart for Himself.
We are not at liberty to do what we want to do.
With our own body, with our own material possession, we belong to Him. We have been set apart for him. He paid an awful cost to make it a reality. You are sanctified.
Oh how important it is to understand these precious truths. It's not your choice. If you believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been put into this position of being set apart for God.
Verse 11 And every priest standeth daily, ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away. And of course that's talking about the Levitical priesthood.
Some years ago I was in the Dominican Republic.
In a little place where it's called Mata Bonita.
Matt is a word they use sometimes for a tree, and there's a big beautiful tree there, so they call it the place Mata Bonita.
But in that town we stayed with a sister who, before she got saved, was.
A very zealous Catholic.
And she had in her purpose to convince those evangelicals that they were dead wrong. And to be able to do that, she said, well, I'm going to have to get the same book. They're using the Bible and, and understand where they're coming from so that I can, I can convince them. And she got reading and she read in chapter 10 here and she came down to this verse 11.
Every priest standeth daily ministry and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins.
This man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God.
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She could not understand that she of course thought that was talking about Roman Catholic priests.
Which it really isn't, but it's the same principle because that system says that the Mass is a continuing sacrifice for sin. So she went to her priest and said, can you explain these verses to me? I can't figure it out. I've got to understand to convince these people.
Well, he could not convince them either, or he could not explain it either. So the result was that she was saved and she was gathered to the Lord's name. Wonderful to let these things get a hold of our soul's rhythm.
That was the case in the Old Testament 1 Sacrifice after another after another. It never ended.
You sinned. You had to bring an animal to die in your place.
Get done with that sacrifice. Oh here comes another one, and here comes another one. It has never ending the stream of animals that had to shed their blood because of sin and an issue that was never fully resolved. It was just for the time.
At that time.
Solomon offered one sacrifice of peace offerings at the dedication of the Temple. Do you remember how many animals?
We're in that sacrifice. I got the numbers right. It was 120,000 sheep, 22,000 oxen. Can you imagine that amount of cattle?
I can't even imagine that many cattle together in one place, and yet that was one sacrifice of peace offerings. Of course the meat of those offerings was eaten by the people. There was part of that animal that was taken and put on the altar and burnt for God, and the rest was eaten by the people. But it was a continual.
Sacrifice for sin. But now the contrast verse 12.
This man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins.
Forever sat down on the right hand of God, and I think it is correct to say that the forever really means he sat down forever.
In other words, Jesus having accomplished that work of redemption, he went into the presence of God and sat himself down on the right hand of God, never to get up, to take up the question of sin again. It's settled once and for all.
Oh, at peace it gives to the believer to realize that the sin question has been settled.
Once and forever, sometimes I meet up with believers who seem to have questions about their acceptance before God. I just want to say to you, if that's the case with you, I want to repeat the end of that hymn we sang.
Our conscience has peace that can never fail. It's the Lamb on high on the throne. If God can question your acceptance now, he's going to have to question the presence of the Lord Jesus on the right hand of the throne of God. Is that possible?
Impossible completely.
That's your position before God. Oh, how wonderful to enjoy it. Let these truths sink down into your soul. We're living in a world that calls in question everything that God has given to us in Christianity. But let's keep on going here, verse 13. From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
Four by one offering he hath perfected.
Forever. Them that are sanctified, perfected. Forever.
And you and I look at each other, and I'm sure if you looked at me very long you'd say, well, you don't look that perfect yet, brother. And it's true as to my condition, I got some things to be ironed out, and the Lord's still working on me like he works on all of us down here. But what we're talking about here is not our condition.
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But our position?
And God himself could not improve on the position that belongs.
To the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, perfect forever.
Oh, to let that sink into your soul, to enjoy it. That's my place before God, perfect forever whereof the Holy Ghost also is witness to us. For after that He had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, that the Lord I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities will I remember.
No more. We've already mentioned that he remembered all our sins.
And iniquities at the cross when they were laid on the Lord Jesus. And now we have a promise. I will remember them no more.
Sometimes, you know, on poems, it says.
They're lost in the sea of God's forgetfulness. Well, that's poetic license, I guess you'd call that. But God is not afflicted with human weakness to be forgetful. He doesn't forget.
And even if he said I'd forget him, well, you know when you forget something, maybe later on you remember it.
And that would be something that would might cause consternation in your heart. Maybe sometime later he's going to remember those awful things I did. No, we have a positive promise.
I will remember no more. He's not going to be thinking about those things when we come into his presence. Oh, isn't it wonderful, brethren, the place that belongs to us now let's keep on here. Verse 18. Now we're in remission of these is there is no more offering for sin.
Verse 19.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
I love that verse having therefore brethren, boldness. How do you explain that word? Boldness? That's a strong word, but that's the word that Scripture uses boldness to enter right into his presence.
I remember when John F Kennedy was president of the United States.
And his son?
Who I think is already.
Dad was a little boy. I don't know how old he was, remember real well, six or seven, but they told about sometimes.
President Kennedy would be in the Oval Office, taken care of heads of state, business, and all of a sudden the door would open and the little boy would run in, run right up to his father's desk. Who is that? Who gave him the right to do that?
That was his son. He had the right to go right in there. He had boldness.
Brethren, that's the word that's used, and I want to speak to you, young brothers, in a special way when it comes to prayer and praise, because that's what we're talking about, especially in connection with entering the presence of God. We go in in Christianity, in prayer and praise, and we go out with blessing to others.
That's the.
Holy priesthood, where we go in to OfferUp sacrifices of praise to God, and we go out in as royal priests to bless others, be it our brethren in the Lord, in ministry, or be it the lost in the preaching of the gospel. But that's the order, go in first and then out.
You know, brethren.
I just feel it a tremendous privilege that we enjoy. We come together in the breaking of bread. As I say again, dear young brothers, may the Lord grant you to enjoy this in the depths of your heart, so that you too will enjoy this liberty, this boldness to enter, to present prayer and praise.
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It's not because of what you are.
In yourself, it's because of what He has done for us, that place of acceptance and boldness that He has won for us.
Let your mouth be opened in his praise.
It distresses me sometimes to sit and see in the breaking of bread people sitting there with their mouth closed.
Maybe they think they don't have a very good voice.
Well, join the crowd. There's a lot of others that are that same way. It's not a matter of how it sounds to us, it's a matter of how it sounds to God. And God is pleased when He sees a heart that is full of gratitude and expresses that in praise to God.
You know, there's a verse in the Gospels that has often searched my own heart, the Lord Jesus said.
When he was coming into Jerusalem and the children were saying hosanna, hosanna.
To the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees and the scribes were distressed.
And they said, tell these to be quiet. And the Lord Jesus said if these.
Should hold their peace. The stones would immediately cry out.
God is going to have His Son. Praise brethren, and if you and I are not going to occupy ourselves in doing it, He will raise up others.
He will. So if you're going to keep your mouth shut, be careful. He might raise up somebody else to take your place because he's going to have his son praised. May the Lord help us, brethren, we sit in His presence.
I must savor other than being going down into Latin America sometimes.
The brethren sometimes go to the other extreme, in which they.
Stumble over each other and giving out hymns and getting up and praising the Lord and reading the Scripture and they need to be helped to understand what is the leading of the Spirit of God in prayer. There is a worship leader, if we could put it that way. The Spirit of God is here.
We need to wait on each other, but sometimes our weights get so.
Long and painful, that it is evident, brethren, we are not.
Enjoying the place of acceptance and access.
That we have into the very presence of God and are you and I going to go into his very presence and not.
Sound His praise. Is that possible? Oh, may the Lord grant it that we would enjoy that privilege. I don't think there is a place of more privilege than when we come together to collectively, in spirit, go right into heaven itself to present our prayers and praises.
I just want to pause here to say.
Maybe a word of explanation that might help somebody. You know, sometimes people.
Use the expression Heavenly Father or our Father, which art in heaven.
That's used.
And that we have in the Gospels.
And sometimes people wonder why it's not used more. It's because exactly of what we're saying this afternoon is that we're going right into the very presence of God, and therefore we do not have to use a term which denotes distance. It was for an earthly people as they were addressing a heavenly Father, and it was proper at that time, but for believers in the Lord Jesus, who now.
Prayer and praise go right into the presence of God. It's not necessary to use that term.
So you after the Lord Jesus died and rose again and went back into the glory, you never find that expression used again. I sometimes use this simple illustration, maybe it helps.
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When my dad was living here in Walla Walla, maybe I wanted to communicate with him. But if I was in South America, I had to write a letter and on the envelope I put the name of my father. In Walla Walla, WA. That was necessary because I was at a distance.
That the time came when I came to visit my parents here in Walla Walla.
Now there's my dad sitting on the other side of the table. I'm sitting there too. How am I going to address my father then?
I can say Father in Walla Walla, WA.
No, I'm right there. I'm just going to say Father.
Right in his presence. And that's the case for us who are believers in the Lord Jesus.
That's why we don't normally use that. It's really not true understanding of our Christian position. Saying that I want to be patient because sometimes people are not instructed as to those things. And so we need to be patient when we hear it and not be critical.
But here we have in verse 19, brethren, having therefore brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
By new and living way which He hath consecrated for us through the veil, there it is, that rent veil, that is to say, His flesh. In other words, that rent veil speaks of the Lord Jesus and that work on Calvary. And as we go in, we should never forget the cost. Yes, we go in in boldness, but it should be.
Holy boldness.
Recognizing whose presence we are in recognizing as well.
The terrible cost that made it possible for us to go in with such boldness and verse 21 having an high priest over the House of God because we are compassed with infirmities in this world, but He is there for that very purpose.
He is there to help us in our infirmities, so that should not be a hindrance when we think I might make a mistake.
Made a mistake? I sure have. I made a lots of them. What happens when I make a mistake in addressing God?
To all our prayers and praises, Christ adds his sweet perfume and love. The sensor raises those orders to consume. He's there for that and He corrects those things so that they when they reach the eye ear of God.
They are improper order. We have a high priest over the House of God.
Verse 22 Let us draw near. I love this. Don't stay at a distance. The price has been paid so that you two young believer, older believers, sometimes there are just certain ones who seem to take part in assembly meetings.
I'm talking about prayer and praise meetings. We need to be exercised, brethren.
You know, we're not going to have time to go to the 13th chapter, but there is another exhortation there.
That tells us, let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp bearing His reproach. For here we have no continuing city, that we seek one to come. What is the camp here? In the book of Hebrews it is Judaism. It's the system of religion that holds men at a distance, and we're called.
Out of that.
The camp is not Christendom, brethren, because we're called out of it and we cannot come out of Christendom. Seven said that I want to say that Christendom in many sectors have adopted principles of Judaism.
An elegant building that they call a temple. That's the principle of Judaism.
Elegant music to entertain people, to make them feel like they're worshiping God.
And we're not going to criticize others. There may be true hearts there that really truly worship the Lord. But I'm saying the system that we're called out of is that and a separated priesthood.
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But in Christianity we have that every believer is a priest.
Capable of offering sacrifices of prayer and praise to God.
Now to give that up and this is what concerns me. Younger brethren, an older brethren perhaps too this applies. We need to be exercised about it. When we come together in assembly meeting, are we, like we were speaking yesterday, giving liberty to the Spirit of God to use whom he will or do you just always sit there, Mom?
You don't give yourself, you don't present yourself there in the presence of the Lord.
As an instrument for him to use if he wants to. I'm not saying you will always take part.
But you need to be exercised to take part if the Lord lays it on your hearts. I have to confess that at times I've been guilty of quenching the Spirit of God. The Lord put something on my heart.
Saying, not going to say anything. I like to kind of put the brakes on because maybe I'm a little too impulsive.
But remember, not too long ago I did that, and a brother on the other side of the meeting room gave out the very same hymn that was strongly on my heart.
So let's be exercised.
I want to say this to those who are older and who normally take part. Let's try to put the brakes on a little bit to give opportunity to younger brethren. But younger brethren, let me say this to you. You understand what we've been talking about here, that everything's been done so that you can, with boldness, enter right in there to the presence of God to offer prayer and praise.
Be exercised.
You don't have to pray a long prayer. It can be short. Better if it's short.
That the exercised in the presence of God, because if you're going to just sit there with a decision, I'm never going to take part. You know what you're doing, You are going back to a principle of the camp. Let somebody else do it. That's the principle of the camp of Judaism.
Lord, help us in this brethren, I really believe we need to be exercised.
The public testimony is declining seemingly, but it's because we are not enjoying these things and practicing and walking in the reality of them. The Lord grant us to do that. We are called out of that system that kept man at a distance from God. We are called into the.
Nearness of Christianity. Somebody has put it this way.
That Christian position is within the veil outside the camp, so may the Lord help us to enjoy that. But there's a few more exhortations here that I want to touch on before we stop here, brethren, verse 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering.
For he is faithful that promised.
Sturdiness in the things of God is so important, dear young brother.
Be consistent in your testimony.
Is it a question of our faithfulness? No.
It's a question of his faithfulness. I love that.
In this verse 23, let us hold fast the profession of our faith.
Without wavering, for he is faithful that promised am I faithful? I hope I am to some degree anyhow.
But I can't count on my faithfulness.
I can count on His faithfulness. God is faithful. You can count on Him if you have some tough areas in your life.
You can count on him, trust him.
Next one is verse 24. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.
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Sometimes we provoke the other direction, don't we?
We provoke to anger offenses.
Rather than consider means to look at that person and say now what would?
That person really liked what would help him in the right direction.
May the Lord give us, brethren. God has done so much for us.
That in our relations, one with another, we provoke in the right direction to love and to good work. What provokes love, Love does. Don't think that nobody shows me any love. You know, the character of divine love is love that loves when there's nothing lovable.
Sometimes I hear people complain there's no love in this meeting.
And I say the person that's complaining is the first one guilty in that part, because the kind of love that divine love is is a love that loves when there's nothing lovable. So there's no love there, you start loving.
Start provoking to love and to good works. Oh brethren, we need to be exhorted about this.
We have time for our own business, we have time for our own affairs, our own family, our own house, our own car.
Maybe somebody else is having trouble with their car.
If they're having trouble with their house.
Let's provoke unto love and to good works.
And then verse 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.
It's often been mentioned that this day is the day of apostasy, that it's contemplated in the book of Hebrews.
Yes, the day of apostasy is approaching, and a true believer can never be an apostate, but a true believer can be affected by the apostasy that's all around us. That's why we need the assembling of ourselves together, not merely the breaking of bread, but the other meetings too. Brother and I value, I treasure in my heart the things that I've learned in reading meetings.
Times in weakness sometimes it doesn't seem like we get much out of reading meeting, but just to sit there in the presence of the Lord Jesus to have this book opened to give the spirit of God's liberty to use whom he will and I say maybe you young person, are kind of discouraged about going to the.
Reading meeting he exercised there sometimes a younger brother asking properly in the right spirit a question is a real help in a reading meeting. It gets things down to the level where we can understand perhaps better.
Be exercised, but don't give up the reading meeting. Don't give up the prayer meeting. These are important meeting scripture.
About it, it says in the beginning of the Church's history they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine.
Apostles doctrine is teaching.
And fellowship.
Because fellowship is based on the apostles doctrine and in the breaking of bread and in prayers. What does steadfast mean? Does that mean you do it for a while and then you kind of leave off and then maybe do it a little bit later on? No, Steadfast means going on steadily. And I can say in my own soul, maybe I picked up just one little thing in one meeting, one little thing and another meeting here or there, here a little, there a little. But.
The treasure I really value in my souls. Oh brethren, let's not give up the assembling of ourselves together. One more thing before we close. I'm not going to even read it, but at the end of this chapter it speaks about the Lord's coming. He that shall come, will come and will not tarry. Brethren, it's a burden on my heart.
That God is speaking to this world.
We are getting down to the wire. Major changes are just ahead for this world. The political system that we are so used to in the United States is going to come to an end.
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We can't set dates, but there's evidence that we are getting close. And what concerns me? So look around as the world is completely asleep and a large percentage of those that profess to be believers in the Lord Jesus or asleep as well. Oh brethren, if you see that I'm sleeping, please come over and give me a shake.
I want to be watching.
Sober for that glorious moment when the Lord Jesus comes back again.
We are in a serious world, world that is in serious trouble and things are not going to get better. U.S. dollar has taken a nosedive and I don't expect it to get much better, but things are going downhill. Let's live, let's be awakened to live the rest of our time with the rest of our energies. The rest.
Our means to make a difference for that coming day of glory.
To lay up treasures in this world now does and make sense.
Don't say that we shouldn't provide for our own. We should. The scripture is very clear on that.
But may the Lord awaken us to use our energies, our means, for the advancement of God's Kingdom here in this world. Let's pray.
Gracious God our Father, bless thy precious.