Open—Richard Mackewich
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A couple versions before we pray.
John 21.
John 21, verse 3. Simon Peter.
I go fishing, they say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth and entered a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing.
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not.
It was Jesus. Jesus said unto them, Children, have ye any meat?
They answered him no.
And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find they cast therefore. And now they were not able to draw for the multitude of fishing.
Verse nine And as soon as they were coming to the land, they saw a fire of coal there.
And the fish laid there off.
Brett verse 12 Jesus said unto them, Come.
Dying shall we pray?
Like to start this afternoon. I won't take up too much time.
There are others more gifted than I am.
But I want to look at.
What we've been talking about today and trying to put it together for the young people.
First Thessalonians chapter 5 if you would.
Verse 22.
This is going to keep you young people, brothers and sisters from a lot of problems.
And it's simply a simple verse.
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Verse 22.
Abstain.
From all appearance.
Of evil.
We had a lot of discussion about various things of the flesh.
But you need to realize, young people, that is evil.
Comes from the pit of hell and it's to destroy your Christian testimony.
One of the burdens I have young people.
The empty chairs. I was a young person just like many of you came to conferences.
Had tremendous ministry. Gordon Hayhoe, Clarence Lundin, Paul Gladden, Chapter Brown, AC Brown, Various Brethren.
And yet I reflect on Otter Lake days, I reflect on some of the photographs and I have to ask myself, where are they? What happened?
What was the beginning of the departure?
And I believe we lose sight of the next verse.
A beloved brother now home with the Lord Garden Hayhoe. He was to tell us if we get these three.
Mixed in order. There's certainly going to be a fall.
So I want to look at the 23rd verse.
Very God of peace.
Peace.
You want peace in your life, You want peace in your home, You want peace in the assembly. I believe this verse gives us.
The solution?
The next verse says sanctify you holy or that John gave a nice little word on sanctification. Well, that's the very first thing that's mentioned. If you want peace, you need to be a separated young person and it's hard. This world has many things out there for you, many attraction.
Sanctify you wholly not health half hearted.
Lot 5050 that he wants you wholly separated for him.
Why? Because he wants to use you young brothers. He wants to use you young sisters.
And now we have this solemn verse.
Part of it I pray God.
Realize in any measure that your brethren are praying for you.
They love you.
They don't want you to make shipwreck.
They love you. You're the brother for whom Christ died. You're the sister for whom Christ died. And the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, no doubt for the gospel, but for you young people in this room, your brethren are praying for you.
What are the three things that Paul mentions?
I pray God your whole spirit.
Soul body.
Be preserved, blameless.
Unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful as He then calleth you, who also will do it.
We have the very things that we were talking about today, Your spirit.
Their soul.
And your body, a lot of it had to do with the body.
Doesn't mention if we get these three mixed up for body controls. Everything there's failure.
If our souls control our life, failure.
Spirit of God touches our hearts. It was pointed out in Timothy. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Spirit.
Oh, you're gonna allow the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit today. He loves you, dear young people.
More than Duncan Tell.
We were speaking a little too about Shall we continue in sin?
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That grace may abound.
But you know, the devil's been quite busy with that. He has a new outlook.
And it's called the unconditional love of God.
It doesn't matter what you do, It doesn't matter what you say or where you go. God loves you.
Satan is usually not to blind your eyes.
Verse here says that the Pauls desire, and it's the desire of your brethren that you be blameless.
Sons of God, harmless.
And he prays for the young people.
Speaks to my own heart. We really as brethren, pray for our young people.
Do we really have a godly concern?
A lot of this really doesn't take place until you have your own children.
I remember.
Long time ago there was a conference in.
Cago Falls and it was called Camp Noah.
And my wife and I went for a walk with Don and John. We were walking and we came across Brother Asheville.
And his wife. Two kids.
And after we exchange greetings, I said to my wife afterwards.
Wonder if any of our sons will marry any of their daughters?
And my wife says, well, we better start praying for them now.
Let's start praying for our young people now. So when that girl comes at the conference, wow. Or when that guy is there, you've been prayed for. And to be accounted blameless because you get older, young people, that's one of the qualifications of an elder and Deacon is to be blameless. That's a solemn thing, isn't it?
There's failure on all of us. Think of it. The God of peace.
Set you apart wholly, and I pray God, your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, how is this going to be fulfilled? Turn over to 2nd Corinthians. Second Corinthians?
Chapter 13.
Verse 11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace.
The God of love and peace shall be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the Saints salute you.
But this last verse is the answer to 1St Thessalonians.
How is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ going to preserve you?
How is the love of God going to preserve you blameless? And now is the Spirit of God going to do it? And I believe we have it simply in this 14th verse, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though you are rich, he became poor.
That ye through his poverty might be rich. The grace of God, you ever stopped to think about in your life the grace of God? Think of it, dear young person, you by the grace of God then allowed to be born in a godly home.
Thousands of children in this world have not that privilege. The grace of God has seen fit to place you where you are, that you might grow up in Him.
But as we get older, we find the Galatians, they had difficulties.
Problems.
The last verse in Galatians says the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.
And wow, so even us, his older brother, we need the grace of God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I enjoyed the comment at the hymn thing.
It is I be not afraid.
I was petrified of coming up here yesterday. I had a different thought in mind. I wanted to continue on with the truth of the one place.
The Lord seemed to put this on my heart. How are we going to with everything negative that we've heard this morning and the positive things, some of it probably went right over your head, but here's the positive thing that you think of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Love of God.
That's for the soul. The spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is for our spirit. The love of God is for our souls. And the rush that really touches my heart.
See, the failure in my own life is simply this, David could say.
Thou hast, in love to my soul, delivered it from the lowest hell.
And sometimes young people, we tend to react like dogs. We have this chain around their neck and we could run all over and do what you want and we take off and we get to the end and boom, it throws us back.
The love of God, young people, that's going to throw you back. It's the love of God, Jude says. To keep yourselves in that love for God's soul of the world He gave his only begotten Son.
Are you saved this afternoon, dear young person brought up in a Christian home? Heard the truth many times, no doubt. But have you embraced the love of the truth?
Read in Second Thessalonians so that they're going to be those who refuse the love of the truth.
They might be saved. What is the love of the truth? That's Jesus. It's Jesus. Jesus. He's the love of the truth. I am the way, the truth.
Abstained from all appearance of evil.
And then we have this one that was spoken quite a bit about the body, flesh. What's going to keep us?
Communion of the Holy Ghost. Wow, that's powerful.
We like to sing often when we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word.
It's low, there is a sense and the large not here. The Lords up in heaven seated at the right hand and their majesty on high. He's our advocate, He's our intercessor. He goes into the holy place. Who's down here, Spirit of God? Do we have fellowship with the Spirit of God? What does he tell us in Philippians? Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest.
What's other things are lovely. Thank God, these things when you come to these meetings, your young people.
What are you thinking about?
Are you thinking about this afternoon after the gospel meeting tonight?
We've been praying for that.
The gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the love of God.
Poured forth for you and I. So again in Thessalonians he says, I pray your whole spirit.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.
Soul, the love of God.
The whole what manner of love the Father at the bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. You've been brought into the very family of God as dear children and he.
We're not supposed to use this. We're proud, but.
There's a sense, I believe, that he takes special interest and realization.
Has thou not considered my servant job?
What a privileged Job had. And yet here we have the communion of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, taking the things of God, making them real to our hearts, that we would be preserved and we would be kept. Thessalonians, it says faithful is he that will do it.
He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.
Let's hold fast, dear young people. Let's not become an empty chair. Let's value who we are, the child of God, a son of God. Walk in the dignity of your calling. We're not of the world, we're not of the night, but of the day. It's a practical thing. And yet so often that which attracts their heart is YouTube.
The Internet, various things.
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I'm guilty of it too. I punch in sometimes and I want to see what's the history of the Plymouth Brethren. Fatal mistake, Fatal mistake. Everybody out there is against him.
I wonder how many in here are for the Lord Jesus? Are you for Him whom to know is life eternal? He wants to give you a happy life to your young people. He wants to provide that beautiful bride for you. He wants to provide that husband for you that's going to take care of you and nurture you. Bring the family up to the end of the meetings, the family that can be used for the blessing of others.
But again, if we get these three mixed up.
Spirit, soul and body, there's going to be failure, and the body is a very powerful thing. I trust I can say this without offending anybody. But some of you are getting to that point where sexual desire has a tremendous force, and that's what destroys a lot of young people. You need to keep it in check.
You need to think what sort of things are true.
Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are good, report think on these things that'll come in time. But if you allow the flesh to act.
Creating problems, heartache and sorrow.
And I was speaking to a brother one time and he was telling me.
How he used to do things just to get back at his father.
Their young people don't do anything. They get back at anybody.
You want to do something to get back, get back with God. Think of the love that he has for you. Think of what he's done for you. The Lord Jesus said this. Do Remember Me. There's going to be a loaf and a cup on the table tomorrow. Have you ever taken that step of faith, realizing by faith the Lord Jesus is here? What a privilege it is, dear young people, to be able to be partakers.
Of the Lord's Supper, not just people who witness it, but to be a partaker.
Of that which is very dear to him, he shed his blood.
Died, Rose living. Adjust these three thoughts as we try to connect some of it from this morning and yesterday. You have a spirit, you have a soul, and you have a body. The devil doesn't care which one he attacks.
He's going to get you. I sometimes pray for some of my young brothers because I know they're on the devils hit list. They're seeking to live a godly life.
Godly. Oh, let's pray for our young people. Rather, let's lift him up in prayer. I can't put my head on your shoulders. If there's life, it's going to manifest itself.
Made these thoughts grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, love of God.
And the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.