Address—Steve Stewart
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We start the meeting this afternoon with 100 and 68168.
Someone could start that.
The night is far spent and the day is at the end. Nobody to be loved for the stars and the stars.
Rejoice and his hands in your Lord's own. Come on, man.
Rejoice for God coming.
Some of the things that I'll speak about we've already touched on, but.
In Deuteronomy 30, that had been.
Looked at it a bit and from Chapter 9 of of Romans was a prophecy by Moses connection when the people would fail.
In continuing in the goodness of Jehovah, we can put it that way. And how they would be cast out of that land that he had given them, their sin being even worse than the heathen that had possessed it before.
But they were not going to be cast off forever as we have had. And in chapter 30 of Deuteronomy verse one, it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse which I have set before thee. And thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whether the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shall return unto the Lord thy God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children.
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And all with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whether the Lord thy God has scattered thee. And we remember the exhortation that.
The commandment which he had commanded them, verse 11 is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
It wasn't in heaven, it wasn't down in the depths, it was right at hand. They had learned the scriptures from the time they were little. They knew them well. It was just a matter of the hearts subjection and obedience to the Word of God. And so that moment waited, and they certainly were long after and fulfillment of that prophecy carried off into captivity.
Like to turn to Second Chronicles?
And the last chapter.
Chapter 36.
Verse 14. Moreover, all the chief of the priests and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen, and polluted the House of the Lord, which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Lord God of their Father sent unto them by His messengers, rising up at times, and sending, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place, But they mocked the messengers of God.
And despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people.
Till there was number remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew the young, their young men with a sword in the House of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age. He gave them all into his hand, and all the vessels of the House of God great and small, and the treasures of the House of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his Princess.
All these he brought to Babylon.
And they burnt the House of God, and breakdown the wall of Jerusalem, and burn all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And then that had escaped from the sword, carried he away to Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons, until the reign of the Kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah.
To the land had enjoyed her Sabbath for as long as she lay desolate. She kept Sabbath to fulfill 3 score.
And 10 years, 137th Psalm we read that their harps were hung on the willows, and they couldn't sing the song of the Lord in that strange place. And for 70 long years there they hung no altar, no temple in that far away land, but God had his eye on them.
And he had prophesied and will turn to Jeremiah to see that prophecy.
He had prophesied that he would come in just as Moses had, and turned that captivity and he.
And Jeremiah's prophecy and things, the 29th chapter.
And verse 10.
For thus saith the Lord, that after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word toward you in causing you to return to this place, and I think a little earlier to chapter 25.
We get that as well.
Verse 11. The whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, And these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years, and shall come to pass on 70 years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon. And that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity in the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it a perpetual desolation. And so he had given the prophecy of the exact number of years.
That they would be in captivity in that land.
But not only had he prophesied the length of time that that captivity would span, or if you turn to prophet Isaiah, he also prophesied of the man that he would use to.
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Initiate that return to Jerusalem Isaiah chapter 44 and 45. I thank.
44.
And verse 28.
That saith thus of Cyrus, He is my shepherd. He shall perform all my pleasure, even saying, to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built, and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have hold him to subdue all nations before him, and so on. And he takes up how he would conquer Babylon.
And then down in verse 11. Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, ask.
May of things to come concerning my sons, concerning the work of my hands, command you me. I have made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their hosts have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness. I will direct all his ways. He shall build my city. He shall let go My captives. Not for price.
Nor for rewards at the Lord of Hosts. And so 150 years before Cyrus was born.
God named him, gave him his surname, he says and.
Appointed him as the one who would let those captives go back to the land of Israel.
While everything's in place, isn't it the time, the length of captivity, the instrument that God was going to use to affect that return? But there remained one thing.
It's very interesting to me lately, looking into something I had not known historically. There was a revival in Wales, southwest England, early 1900s.
A young man named Evan Roberts had prayed for years, the young man that the Lord would come in to that part of Great Britain and would.
Stir up his professing people that the gospel would go out in power, that souls would be saved. And he prayed.
Year, another year, we prayed a long time and then God came in and there was a wonderful revival, the effects of which are felt to this day in that part of Great Britain.
He was used to the Lord in preaching the gospel, but not too far in it. He retired to the background.
And they asked him why. He said to pray. And so he died in 1964. I was just five years old. And he had spent the rest of his life in prayer for that work and the souls that were saved. He went into one church. They wanted him to preach. And he said not that he knew the truth and the way we do it. And he said.
Do you believe that the the scripture that says we're two or three are gathered unto my name? There are mine in the midst of them? And the congregation said yes.
He said, well, do you believe that the Lord is here? They said, yes. He said, well then you don't need me. And he walked out.
Well, it was a wonderful time. There's a hymn that sometimes sung that was written in Welsh some years before that became known as the love song of that revival. Here is love, vast is the ocean.
God intended to do that work.
But it waited, his purpose waited on the exercise of the soul of one young man.
Who spent years in prayer for that very object.
God's purposes wait on the exercise of the souls of His people.
Have you ever thought of that?
His purpose is going to be carried out. It's his purpose.
But he is pleased to let it wait on the exercise of the souls of his people.
And so he had purposed 70 years in that captivity. He had named the instrument that was going to be used to bring them back to that land.
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But there was a man.
Who he called.
Greatly beloved.
And that purpose waited on the exercise of that great heart.
Daniel, Chapter 9.
Verse one.
In the first year of Darius, the son of a Hazuarius of the seed of the Medes.
Which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.
And so God had brought to pass what he had said, that at the end of that 70 years he would judge Babylon and its king. And he did, through the Medes and the Persians, and that rain had come in.
In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of years or of the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
I've been reading Jeremiah, I've been reading the Word of God, and he knew.
And understood Spirit of God opened it up to him.
That number of years and no doubt he realized the time had come.
The time had come.
What would you do if you were Daniel captive and that far away land and you read in Jeremiah and it it it hit you 70 years?
It's now.
I think it was me. I'd be running all around Babylon telling all the other Jews we're going to go home.
Really, look what I found.
He doesn't.
He doesn't because, you know, before you get to Jeremiah 25.
In Jeremiah 29.
There's 25 other chapters to cover.
That lay open the sin of that people and the reason why they were in captivity. They had made themselves empty and broken sisters.
And they had departed from Jehovah in their hearts.
And he had worked over them. They had forgotten him. Days without number.
And so the result is verse three. I set my face unto the Lord, gone to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes, and I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession and said, Oh Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping covenant and mercy to them that love him well. Israel had not been faithful.
With the one to whom he prayed was faithful.
Keeping confident and mercy to them that love him, to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned.
And have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. And so Daniel might have looked back and said, well, God knew all about it. Look all the detail of it there in Jeremiah.
What need to confess? No, he doesn't. He feels deeply the reason for the broken condition and for the captivity.
Of God's people and he believes no stone unturned. He confesses everything, but he takes his place in it and he says we have sinned. He doesn't take a stand over here and say they know he includes himself in it. He feels his own responsibility in that.
And dear ones, isn't it the same with the Church of God? You know, it struck me as we thought of those branches broken out and grafted back in, that the ones that were.
Grafted in their place, then we were broken out or never restored. The sin of the Church of God is greater in its responsibility than anything committed by Israel.
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Saul, Saul.
And we need to feel our place in it and remember reading Miller's church history. And he quoted another writer. Instead of the history of the church, it was the annals of hell itself.
And it says in revelation in her was found the blood of Saints.
They aggravated their sin by not hearkening, as we had read of the messengers that Jehovah sent verse six. Neither we hearkened unto thy servants, who didn't argue, just the kings.
Now the kings.
The Princess, the fathers, the people of the land, all of them.
All were responsible before God. Every class is included.
And he says, O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion a face as it is this day.
And going on down to verse 9, to the Lord our God belongs mercies and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against thee. And so he goes to the only possible foundation.
For restoration, for blessing, the only foundation of his intercession to God, for that people and for that place, that city.
Was the grace of God.
And you know, that's exactly what Moses takes up, that it was would be if they turn to the Lord with their whole heart in that land of captivity, he would begin anew with them in grace, in grace. And so he comes back to that wonderful foundation of God's own sovereign mercy and forgiveness like we had in Romans 9. I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful.
Wonderful place.
To be cast upon.
He has confirmed his words, verse 12.
He had spoken over and over and over again, but in the end his words were confirmed in the captivity and the judgment that fell upon them.
Verse 13 middle of the verse yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth.
And the result of all of that, therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil.
And brought it upon us. For the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth.
For we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord, are gone, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and has gotten the renown, as at this day we have sentenced an wickedly Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee. And he has three pleas, the Lord's righteousness.
He had promised in his word, if they turn to Him in their heart, He would bring them out of that captivity.
And then down in verse 17.
The end of the verse. For the Lords sake, for the greatness of his own name. These were his people. Daniel is characterized by a burning desire for God's glory in connection with Jerusalem, a place where he had placed his name, and an undying love for God's people.
It filled his great heart.
Oh Lord, for the Lord's sake, His name was in that place, His people.
Lord, incline thine ear, and hear open thine eyes. Behold our desolations in the city which is called by Thy name. For we do not present our supplications before Thee for our righteousness, but for Thy great mercies. O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive, oh Lord, hearken, and do defer not for thine own sake, Oh my God, for Thy city and thy people are called.
By thy name.
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And then we find that God had sent an Angel right at the beginning of his prayer to come and give him understanding as to what would unfold in God's purposes with his people. It's not my intent to go into that.
But God's purpose in returning that little remnant to Israel and bringing them out of captivity hinged upon or this was the catalyst that it was waiting upon.
For him to fulfill his purpose.
Back to Ezra.
And chapter one.
Verse One. Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he made a proclamation throughout all his Kingdom. And put it also in writing, saying Thus say, Osiris, king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven, hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build him in house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God.
Be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God which is in Jerusalem, and whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the free will offerings for the House of God that is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah, and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, and all them whose.
God had raised up to go up and build the House of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem.
We spoke of the sovereignty of God in our meetings.
In connection with the salvation of lost man. But here we have the sovereignty of God.
And a revival among his people and a recovery of that remnant back to Jerusalem, back to that place where he had placed his name. And dear ones, there is a correlation in these things to the work of the Spirit of God. In the early 1800s, you know, the people of Israel were in Babylon. And what does Babylon speak of? It speaks of religion.
Confusion.
And what confusion the church had descended into over the centuries, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. But God was pleased in His purpose.
To make a recovery, to restore.
To his people, those things that had been lost in the confusion of professing Christianity.
And it began with prayer, it began with the heart's exercise as to the condition of things in the Church of God. And it began with tears and prayers of intercession.
And it was deeply felt.
And God was pleased to respond to that. And I would like to look at the third chapter of Ezra when they came back and see some of the things that were set in place and connect them with the truths that God was pleased to recover at that time. But I just wanted to present 1St that the truth of God was recovered.
In a state of soul, of feeling deeply their ruin of the responsible testimony.
In this world. And each one of those hearts that were exercised that way felt their own part in it. It was not a movement of rebellion.
A movement of dissatisfaction that would have just led to another church. It was a movement returned to the first principles of the Word of God.
In a deep sense of repentance, you know, on the day of Pentecost, that beautiful beginning of the church, there was a sorrow, and it was expressed in our chapters that we took up, Paul said, My continual sorrow.
Is for Israel. His continual burden was for that people that had forfeited their own blessing in rejecting Messiah. And so in the time of the recovery of the truth, there was a deep sorrow as to the result of the failure of God's people and that responsible testimony in this world.
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This is a sovereign work. The Lord stirs up Cyrus. He did it. Cyrus didn't do it, God did it. He stirs up the people that go back. Who's verse 5? All them whose spirit God had raised.
And I believe that work in the early 1800s and the wonderful recovery that we have come to enjoy the truth of God was a sovereign work of the Spirit of God as well.
Well, chapter 3, you know, this remnant that responds in the sovereign work of the Spirit of God in their hearts and went back to that place. I think of them returning and it was in the first year of Cyrus this proclamation goes out. We'll read if we touch on a little later, Daniel.
Was still living in the third year, Cyrus. I have no doubt he saw that little company.
Go back to Jerusalem. But he was too old to go. It was more than he could do.
But no doubt he saw them go back with joy and anticipation.
Some had never seen that place before, only heard of it, some distant memory and going back.
And looking forward to being back at that place.
Where Jehovah had placed his name, and a restoration of that divine order of things given in the Old Testament Scriptures as to the worship of Jehovah and building that temple.
And no doubt he watched them go.
Well, it says in chapter 3.
When the 7th month was come.
And the children of Israel were in the cities. The people were the people gathered themselves together as one man.
To Jerusalem.
The 7th month is significant. You remember what happened in the seventh month. There were three feasts. There was the Feast of Trumpets. There was a Day of Atonement.
And there was the Feast of Tabernacles.
And I think the Day of Atonement might present to us that a spirit of self, judgment and repentance before God that accompanied that work of the Spirit of God, and the recovery of those truths that had been so long lost. It was a day in which they afflicted themselves. We read of that feast.
And so it's at that very time they come in the seventh month.
And they gather as one man to Jerusalem and that wonderful truth of the unity of the Church and what the church really is.
Composed of members of one body united to Christ in heaven as their head forming 1 Newman. Not some national entity presided over by a king or a queen or any such thing.
But just composed of the members of the body of Christ, the Church and its true nature and character and unity was recovered, had been long lost. And so they gather as one man to Jerusalem.
Really, it goes back to Pentecost, doesn't it, where they had one heart, one mind, all things in common, that wonderful unity that was displayed so practically there at that time. They're returning to 1St principles.
Then stood up Joshua the son of Josdak and his brethren, the priest, the Rubble, the son of Sheltie, on his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses, a man of God.
The first thing they did was to take that altar, it says in verse three. They they set it upon its bases. Fear was upon them because of the people of those countries. They knew there were those that were enemies of the work that was going on there. But the best protection was not to get a lot of weapons together, not to.
Build walls but to give God.
The first place, his rightful place. And they set that altar upon its basis, that altar of burnt offering. What, on what basis can God have to do with His people? It's on the basis of the finished work of Christ. And so the great burnt offering was the basis upon which God could have to do with Israel. And there was a burnt offering every morning.
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And every evening that was to be offered.
And we get that in verse 5, the continual burnt offering. And every morning and evening, verse three, the end of the verse, every morning and evening, a burnt offering would go up to gone. It was the basis upon which God could have to do with them and before them. And it's the basis upon which God can have to do with you and I, and which He is for us is the finished work of His beloved.
All that burnt offering was beautiful. It was a voluntary offering. It was laid on the altar. It all went up to God. Every bit of it was holy for His glory. It spoke of the work of Christ, who by the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, whatever God required for the satisfaction of His own.
Glory of His own holiness, the maintenance of His righteousness.
His Majesty in connection with a question that sin had brought in against His own holy character. Christ offered Himself whatever it took.
He yielded himself up to God.
And that burnt offering, all of them.
You know, sometimes we enjoy the thought connection with the sacrifices.
That those sacrifices were burnt upon the altar.
And consumed but when Christ was crucified on the cross.
After those hours of darkness, rather than the fire consuming him, he had consumed the fire. It's a beautiful thought.
But I want to present another thought to you.
At burnt offering went all up to God.
Nothing was left.
Nothing but ashes.
And what are ashes? Ashes are the witness of an accomplished and an accepted sacrifice.
It all went up to God. Nothing was left, and there is an aspect of the cross of Christ in which that is most precious. Nothing remained on Mount Carmel. The fire fell on that altar, on that burnt offering that Elijah laid upon that altar. He had raised it, consumed the sacrifice, it consumed the wood, it consumed the stones it.
Licked up the water in the trench.
And the dust of the ground. Nothing was left.
All went up to God.
There's a hymn.
First line her lines for verse is this. I've been to the altar and witnessed the Lamb burnt wholly to ashes for me.
And seeing its sweet savor ascend upon high accepted of God by thee.
It's a beautiful picture.
And in the law of the burnt offering those ashes were carefully taken, and they were laid by one dressed in linen at the side of the altar.
And then they were carried outside the camp to a clean place.
And in John's Gospel, we read at the cross that right by the cross there was a garden, and in that garden a new tomb.
Where never man had laid. And they carefully took the body of the Lord Jesus, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in that new tomb. Rape by the cross, like those ashes laid right by the altar. But it was a clean place. It was a new tomb, never defiled by a dead body.
Falls in a beautiful.
All went up to God.
What remained his body on that cross is precious to God.
And what care was taken with those ashes off the altar? Burnt offering?
All that's the basis upon which God can have to do with you and I.
Finished work of his beloved son, and they were eager to have that in its place. They set the altar upon its bases. It wasn't going to come in contact with this earth. It was too holy.
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Abraham said to his servant connection with Isaac. Bring not my son down.
Know the truth of His person, I think also presented in that altar upon His basis, for we know that alternates construction speaks of Christ.
Doesn't come in contact with this earth.
And so.
Wonderful truths were recovered in connection with the finished work of Christ, brought out in a way that they had not been brought out before.
As to his person in the holiness of his person so carefully guarded some of the most wonderful ministry that you can read on the Son of God.
We have readily available to us what wonderful things were recovered, How precious to the Saints. It was a 7th month. The Feast of Trumpets speaks of the ingathering of Israel. But what does it speak to us of all that moment when that shot will be given?
In the trump of God, war and Archangelic voice, the Lord will come and take us to Himself, and the truth of the rapture of the Church was recovered.
As the true hope of the Church of God that 7th month, the Feast of Trumpets.
The Feast of Tabernacles is mentioned in verse 4.
Dwelling in booze, tents, pilgrims and strangers. The heavenly calling of the Church. We don't belong to this world. We're just passing through. This world is not our home.
All wonderful truths recovered in a in a beautiful way. How opposite the general testimony of the Church of God that saw its place in this world, its home down here.
We find the priests and the governor, Joshua Jozdak and his brother and the priest, the rubble, the governor.
Order and function in the assembly recovered in a beautiful way that there is.
The function of priesthood.
Of all believers.
Was recovered.
And not only that, that character of things that needs to be active in the assembly, the intercession side of things, the priestly side of things, the mother side of things in the assembly and the care for the Saints, the governor, that which maintained order among God's people, Both of those things needed in the in the ongoing functioning of the assembly. We need both.
You know, it says in. Is it in Deuteronomy?
That if one came across a bird with its eggs, they were to take the eggs but not the eggs and the bird. Why?
Because if you take the mother too, you won't have any eggs.
If you take away the mother spirit in the assembly, you're not going to have any fruit and you lose your children in the end.
We need that side of things. Yes, we need the orderly side of things, but we need that motherly side of things.
That priesthood side of things. That intercession side of things.
They saw that that's all in order and then we come down.
To.
Verse 7.
Well, let's read verse six. The first day of the 7th month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. Everything wasn't recovered at once.
They progressed and the Spirit of God opened up more and more truth to those early brethren.
And one thing built upon another. The whole temple wasn't built in a moment. Here things are being put in order, but the foundation isn't even laid of the temple yet. Everything in its time.
And God.
Provides here with.
Masons, verse seven, carpenters, and they're provided for with meat and drink and money. Cedar trees from Lebanon.
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To see if Joppa, according to the grant, the head of King of Persia.
What else was recovered?
In the functioning of the assembly that God had given, the Spirit of God had given gifts severally as He will.
To set forward the work of the Church of God. Not everyone is a Mason. Not everyone's a Carpenter. Not everyone's a healer of wood or jar of water. Each gift different.
To forward the work of the House of God. I think of those cedar trees taken down like the gospel were going out and dropping those mighty Cedars in their pride, and bringing them down low, and bringing them into the work of the House of God Building, laying strong solid foundations of truth and doctrine for the Saints of God, fitting everything in its right place, and they themselves were provided.
With the needed food and drinks.
And how wonderfully that works, as the members have a care of one or another, each with their own gifts, they build each other up and the work is set forward and it grows.
And that order of things was wonderfully recovered at that time too, That all believers have a function in the body of Christ that sets forward the whole body.
But what is it all leading to?
I'm skipping over a little bit, but down to verse 10, when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their peril with the trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with symbols to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David, king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, because he is good.
For his mercy.
Endureth forever toward Israel, and all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was lain.
All those harps long hung on the willows. It was time to bring them out.
Those songs long not sung, the songs of Zion, it was time to sing them again, and what everything was working towards, and that is exactly in the function of the Spirit of God and the members of the body of Christ, is to bring us into the place of worshippers. The Father seeketh such to worship Him.
And the ministry of the Spirit of God through the members of his body, whether individually.
Or collectively in the assembly, as we go on in the assembly is to set Christ before our souls, and when Christ is set before us, praise and worship goes up. Old Brother Armstead Barry told this story on himself and I enjoyed it so much.
As a younger man, he was in a meeting many years ago.
And there was an old brother named Walter Potter who could be quite pointed when he wanted to correct something.
And Arm said Barry prayed as a young man. He prayed that the Lord would give us an attitude of worship.
And old brother Potter came to him afterwards and said.
Armstead, when are you going to stop praying that the Lord will give us an attitude of worship?
And he said, Brother Potter, what should I pray? You should pray.
That we would have Christ before us. Then you would have an attitude of worship.
That is the function of the ministry of the Spirit of God in the assembly is to set Christ before us, and the other function is if there's things in the way of seeing Christ, he addresses those, get them corrected so we can get Christ before us, that we would be worshippers in His presence.
That praise would go up to him.
We are built up a spiritual house, Peter says. We have a holy priesthood.
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And those praises went up when that foundation was laid.
Well, the we know this account, but the.
There were those that were ancient men. Verse 12.
They had seen the 1St house Solomon's won. The foundation of this house was laid before their eyes wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout and the noise was heard afar off.
What a beautiful Symphony. That's what I think. What a beautiful Symphony.
The weeping and the joy.
We should feel both.
We should be able to look back at the church in our first estate.
And feel it what has happened.
And yet we should look with joy on what the Lord has preserved to us.
He has preserved so much.
For sitting here today, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, return to 1St principles. The truth of God recovered, ministered to our souls in a way that very little of professing Christianity has ever had. The truth of God ministered to them.
Hold fast that which thou hast.
That no man take thy crown.
Haggai ignores both the weeping.
And a shout of joy. And he says, does this house seem small? Oh, there's a there's a coming house. The latter glory of this house is going to eclipse everything else.
No matter how things have gotten here, remember, dear ones, the latter glory of the Church of God.
Is going to be beautiful.
We're looking forward.
We're looking forward. A backwards look is good for us and the humility that it should bring, but looking forward.
Is a wonderful prospect.
With all the burden of my heart as we had gone through these meetings this weekend, how we need.
Those building blocks of solid doctrinal teaching laid in their places like that course of stones and that foundation of the temple how we need it. I thought some years back, and this was I meant probably a foolish thought. I thought all the days are past where we have to worry about doctrinal error amongst us.
It's just more moral issues and maybe.
You know, assembly decision issues and those things, but don't have to worry about the doctrinal side of things.
Well, I was wrong.
We need to go over those foundations. We need to rehearse again and again the solid truths of the Word of God and that which was recovered.
And the work of God, His purpose.
And maintaining that truth.
Till he comes.
Rests upon the exercise of your heart.
And your prayers.
His purpose is wait upon the exercise of the heart of His people.
Second Kings.
Chapter 19.
Where I read what I'm going to read, I want to go back to Daniel in my thoughts. You watch that remnant go.
And in the third year, Osiris and Daniel, 10, he's given a vision.
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Vision that's so difficult.
He can hardly bear it.
A vision that he can hardly understand. I'm going to keep my spot here, if you don't mind. Second Kings 19, come back here. I want to read a little bit from Daniel 12.
Daniel, 12.
Verse eight I heard, but I understood not.
Then said IO, my Lord, what shall the end? What shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel. Go thy way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed to the end. What did he seem?
In that vision, what had he heard he had heard.
Everything that that remnant was going to pass through, that he had seen go back to the land, he had heard everything that they were going to pass through until God brings in the Kingdom.
And wave after wave of army was going to sweep through that land and beat that people down and down and down.
I think of that great heart.
Who so loved the people of God and had such affection for that place, that city where his name was placed, hearing all of that?
He didn't understand how can it be?
Go thy way, Daniel.
What was Daniel's way?
While we read a bit earlier in the book, his way was to open his windows towards Jerusalem and three times a day kneel down in prayer.
And I have no doubt Daniel went his way.
And did just that.
That great heart alone knew.
What God had said about that remnant, He had no one to share it with. It was between him and God.
And he went his way.
I have no doubt Daniels prayers will still be yet answered in a coming day.
Second Kings 19.
The end of verse 4. Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.
We need to go.
Daniels away.
We need to pray that God will preserve and keep.
Those solid foundations of truth that he recovered as many years ago.
That He will keep us in the right spirit of self, judgment and repentance.
Our new brother that had this very verse on his mantle years ago, but he slept into a spirit.
That God could not use any more.
And God dismissed him from Lord, dismissed him from his table.
We need to have Daniel's spirit.
And we need to go his way, and we need to lift up our prayer.
For the room that that is left.
We.
271.
271.
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We know from serving to serving.
This heartbreak tears to the beach, our bright side blank and saving her love. Here's the Lord.