Q&A
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Nsnoise.
OK, we had some questions in the UH, question box, some good questions. Some of them, uh, will have a little shorter answers, but I think we can get through them. The first question, uh, I have here in front of me is how do we know when we're really safe? So this is the question, how do we know if we're really saved or when we're really saved? So we're gonna, if anybody has a scripture to help with the answer, a thought.
Umm, that would be good, but let's start out with a verse in Romans to help answer this question.
Sometimes setting a question meeting like this, we perhaps don't have all the answers, but we have the answer book and the Bible is the answer book, and it's able to answer every question that we have if we're willing to search it. So we wanna get these answers from the Bible tonight, and I wanna read a portion in Romans 8.
Romans chapter 8 and verse 15.
For you have not received the Spirit of ******* again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry ABBA Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our Spirit that we are the children of God. Now just hold your finger here and go over to John's Gospel, Chapter 3.
John's Gospel chapter 3.
And.
Verse eight. Well, I'll read Verse 7. Marvel not that I said unto you, Thee, ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it lifteth, and thou canst not, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whether it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. I begin with these two portions, because I believe what we learn from these scriptures is.
That as we well know when we get saved, the Spirit of God, when God gives us divine life, when we're born again, the Spirit of God comes to indwell us. And it is the Spirit of God that confirms to us in our own, in our spirit that is in our own being, that we are the children of God, and it is the Spirit of God that produces results in our lives.
You know you've never seen the wind, and I've never seen the wind. But we see the results of the wind, and that was what the Lord was telling Nicodemus. And so he said, the wind bloweth where it lifts us, and thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. In other words, we don't see the wind, but we see the results, and with salvation when someone's born again.
Or so someone gets saved. I always look to see some results, some difference in their life. I remember a young man, His name was George. Some years ago I knew him quite well and he professed to be saved. But I watched his life for some time and after some time I said to him, George, if you have no desire to please the Lord in your life, then I question whether you really were have ever been saved.
Because if you're really saved and you have the Spirit of God indwelling you, there's going to be some desire in your life to please the Lord. And there's going to be, as a result, some fruit in your life that others can see. So you see, look out on a windy day and you say, oh, it's awful windy. It's not the wind you see, it's the trees bowing down and before the wind, it's the leaves blowing, stuff blowing around, whatever it might be.
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And so if if you are saved, if you know the Lord Jesus, if you have divine life, you have the Spirit of God indwelling you, and it will be confirmed first of all in your own soul, you'll have a you'll, you'll, you'll feel it in your own soul, in your own being. And then there will be a result. There will be actions that will prove that you're saved. Now we can look at some other scriptures then, but maybe some others have some thought. And if you have a question related to the question, please ask.
I would suggest Romans 51 also.
Repeat that for being justified by faith. We have peace with God for our Lord describe.
So it's a piece that we have with God based on what what he told us, what we read on his word.
That's also another.
Another point, but I think part of it as well is.
Uh, trust the enemy can control.
Throw questions in our minds as well. So I think it's it's important as uh the two two sides of it. One is uh as Jim was mentioning that the his period connected with our experience that we have we're sons of God as well as that we have peace in God as we we trust and we confess with our mouth and trust with our heart.
But sometimes there will be some doubts as well coming to our mind. I think that going back to the ward and confirming because the enemy tries to to bring themselves as well the same way as he did with uh, with Eve. Is that what God said. So I think that's also a a moment to to go back to the word and see uh John five. I think it's a good.
Good assurance.
John 524 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Here that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but it path from that unto life So different times in life perhaps we in our walk we we go a little distant from the Lord. That's a a a moment where where the enemy can can put those in in our minds once again. It's good to go back and see that he promised. We hear.
We believe it. We have everlasting life.
I would be inclined to include uh. Impossible John's writings in his epistle as well. John is very characterized uh By his black and white approach.
The issues UH chapters four and five in particular, are first drawn.
We'll bring up, uh, how we can know.
How could we be assured? Uh, we are living as a Christian, knowing God through love, keeping God's commands, ultimately coining. Verse or chapter 5, verse 13. I've written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
Yes, thank you, Austin. I appreciate that. Because I wanna turn to some further scriptures in in John's epistle and I wanna say this, that in John's epistle first epistle we have a series of tests as to whether we really are true believers or not. And as you go through that epistle, you can take these tests. Am I real? Is this true about me? Let's just notice a couple of them. First, John, chapter 3.
First, John chapter 3 and verse 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. If you meet another Christian, another child of God, and there's an immediate response in your heart to that person, if there's an immediate love that goes out to that person, a bond there, then that's a pretty sure sign that you are also a child of God.
Because remember, John's Gospel, uh, John's ministry takes up the family of God, the children of God. So if you're a child of God, when you meet another child of God, there's going to be an immediate response there. And I know you've experienced this. You meet someone at work, maybe someone on a trip, somewhere you've never met before. You handed the cashier the restaurant or the waitress at the restaurant a gospel tract or a wallet calendar and.
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Oh, I'm a believer too. I know the Lord. Why? There's an immediate bond there, and that's a proof that you are also a child of God. Notice another one in the 5th chapter.
Earlier on in the chapter.
I'll start at verse one first John chapter 5, verse one who whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God and everyone that loveth him.
That beget that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. Is there a response when someone brings up the name of the Lord Jesus? Is there a love in your heart for that name and for that person? The world doesn't love the Lord Jesus they hate, they hate the Lord Jesus. The natural man is at enmity with God. But if you have been born again, if you have divine life and the spirit within you, why there's gonna be an immediate response.
To the to the name and person of the Lord Jesus verse 2. By this we know that we love the children of God.
Now notice this when we love God and keep His commandments, for this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. Again, as Austin said, is there a response in your heart to follow the word of God if we take up something on this weekend? Some instruction from the word of God and there's no response in your heart to desire to walk in obedience to the word of God.
Then you might question, do you really have divine life? Now, I know a Christian can get into a condition where there's very little, if any, response to, but generally speaking, it's another little test. The word of God is brought up. There's a response to the word of God. And when there's real love for the Lord, real love for God, and a commandment or a principle from Scripture is brought before us, is that going to be difficult? Is it going to be some oh, we gotta do this, and it's a hard thing.
Not if there's that. If there's that family relationship, not if we're real, there's going to be a response and it's not going to be difficult to respond to love. And you know that the natural thing, if Somebody Loves You and you love them, why just a request has the power of a command and they don't have to beg you to do something. You know what pleases them. And there's a real response. So these are just a couple more of a little test that John gives and you can read his epistle.
And as you read it over and over again, he says, well, if this is true of you, then you must be a true child of God.
I wanna address 1 little thing specifically regarding this chapter, Umm chapter 5 in particular. First John.
Uh, this is.
I've been told it's written in response to a movement called the Docetics movement, which was at the time a rejection of Jesus, full incarnation UH, or Jesus becoming fully man. So if we were to address UH, proclaimed Believer, who held this kind of position that Jesus did not become fully man.
Uh, how would we approach a fellowship in that way? I could wouldn't even call a fellowship. I would say how we approach a situation such as that. Because the Apostle John here makes it very clear, uh, that that is one of the key tests is do you understand and believe that Jesus, God himself, became fully man because the works on the cross would not be complete.
If it was not, if the divination was superseded his humanity.
Yeah, just go to the second epistle for a moment and I think you get at least part of the answer to your question, Austin. And let me just say in second and third, John, we have those who are to be received and those who are not to be received, those were to have fellowship with and those that were not to. In the third Epistle, it's those that we are to receive and have fellowship with. But in the second epistle, it's those who are, we are not to receive.
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And not to have fellowship with, and I want to read verse seven of of the Second Epistle. For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. And those who come along and tell you that the Lord Jesus is not God manifest in the flesh, or that he did not become a man.
Because there are those who say, well, the Lord became a man in circumstance, but not in fact, and they cloud the whole issue of his incarnation, that is, his becoming a man, a real man sent apart, but a real man.
And we are not to have fellowship with those. And there are those who go out today.
And they go from door to door, Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons and others. And they do not bring sound doctrine concerning the person of the Lord Jesus, the Incarnation.
Of the Lord Jesus. And what are we to do? We're not even to bid them God's speed, it tells us.
We're not to invite them into our home. Yes, we might give them a scripture and send them on their way.
But you know, even if you try to argue with those different ones, it really isn't going to have an effect. Maybe quote a verse of scripture and just uh, just leave it, leave it at that. So we want to be very careful we don't have fellowship with those who deny that Jesus is the eternal Son of God and that Jesus was meant God manifest in the flesh, a real man walking here on earth.
Now our time is is moving and I do wanna cover these questions. I know we're not gonna cover every aspect of every question, but here's a good question I thought.
What books of the Bible would you suggest to a young Christian or someone who's been newly converted? Someone who's newly been saved? Now I'd be interested to hear what some of you have to say. I would just say an introduction to this question that it often depends on the person. Maybe someone you know you've been working with and uh, they've gotten saved and you wanna be able to suggest something for them to read somewhere in the scriptures to begin.
What you might suggest to one person may not always be what you suggest to another person. So sometimes it has to do with the person. Maybe how much comprehension you think they've had or exposure perhaps would be a better word that they've had to the word of God in the past. I would say that as a general thought, John's Gospel is a good place to start. We get a lot of foundation truth in John's Gospel. Again, as Austin's been pointing out, we get the person and work of Christ.
The Son of God as a man here on earth. And that's a good place, a good foundation, a place to start. Another suggestion, and again it depends on the person, is in a practical way for practical living, is to perhaps suggest that they go through some of the stories in the scripture of men and women and young people that were believers both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
And to see from a practical standpoint how they lived. Stories like the story of Joseph, I know it's a picture of Christ, but it's also practical living. The story of David, Daniel and his friends. Those kinds of stories are helpful too. But maybe some others have some suggestions in that regard.
In groups, uh, I don't know how it's different, like you said, for every, for every individual. I mean, the individuals I deal with on a daily basis are.
On the intellectual side of things, right. So whenever I engage in conversation or or date or argument, uh, I can't really pick any scripture because they don't want it. They don't want the, they don't want the the touchy feely as a as a answer. They want, they want the, uh, the logic, they want the reason, they want the empirical evidence. They want that kind of thing. It's kind of.
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Kind of difficult to approach that kind of thing and and show that Scripture in fact does.
Satisfy those those accounts, but at the end of the day, you know, they may stand somewhat convinced uh of its empirical uh, truth or or whatnot. But at the end of the day, what has that done for their soul, you know?
The wife of the Lord Jesus is sure at.
It's a nice place to start. So I mean all that you you said John's Gospel, but I know I really like the Mark's Gospel cut. So the Gospels are pretty good place to start. Everything. Mm-hmm. Yes. And it's all good. All scripture is good. I I would just say this too in regard to the to the comments that have been made that a true believer, a true believer's heart will always respond to ministry for the heart.
For scriptures, for the heart, yes, we need that which teaches us and we need to have principles and so on and that comes. But I think a good place for young believers, especially someone who's just been saved, is to again bring before get them to read scripture and maybe even some simple ministry that speaks to the heart, because that's what we need if the heart isn't engaged.
Then we can talk principles and truths and all that kind of thing till really we're blue in the face, but it's not going to have any effect to the heart that isn't engaged. So as you say, Austin, the life of Christ speaks to our heart as well as it's the example Peter says he's left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps. Some of you have heard the name Eric Smith, and Eric Smith was a pioneer missionary to the.
Into Indians in Bolivia and spent his whole life really ministering to the Incas. He translated the Bible into their language, the Quechua language and so on. And he lived to be, I think 104. But someone asked him at the end of his life, near the end of his life, what was his secret in studying the word of God. And he said this, he said throughout his life he made it the habit of his.
Life in reading the Scriptures to every day, no matter where else he was reading in the Bible.
To read something from the gospel.
I thought that was a very good exercise because in the Gospels, as you say, we get the life of Christ, it speaks to our hearts and it gives us that example for our pathway as well.
A another suggestion for young believers and even when I say young believers.
Not necessarily those who've just been saved, but a good suggestion for young believers is First Timothy, because first Timothy is written to a young man. And the apostle Paul gives Timothy a great deal of instruction, not only how to go on for the Lord individually, but to go on for the Lord with his brethren and in the assembly, and how to go on for the Lord in the world and and so on. It's all there really in both epistles. But yes, the epistles to Timothy I believe are very, very important and very relevant to the day we live in.
Because they speak of the last days and days very parallel to the days in which we find ourselves now.
OK. Let's move on to the next question.
This question asks is a business partnership of a Christian and an unbeliever wrong or just not advised or advisable? OK, so is going into business now? We're not talking about working in a company for an unbeliever. I suppose Most of us who are working here we perhaps work for. If we don't work for ourselves, we most of us, I suppose, work for an unbelieving.
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Employer or a company that's headed by unbelievers. But that's not what this question is asking. Is it wrong to go into a business partnership with a unbeliever? Let's go to 2nd Corinthians.
Chapter 6.
2nd Corinthians chapter 6.
In verse 14.
Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath A believer with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the Ye are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I dwell in them and walk in them.
And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. So the simple answer to this question is it is not just unadvisable to go into a business partnership with an unbeliever, but it is a it is directly against scripture. Now when it says here be not unequally yoked with unbelievers, it's a very, very broad statement and it really applies to many aspects of our lives.
I know sometimes we apply it in connection with Mary, and that's right. It applies to that. It is never justified to marry an unbeliever.
And I I just say that in passing young people, it is you will never be able to justify before God marrying someone who is not a believer. It's an unequal yoke. And I'll just say in passing, if you never date an unbeliever, you'll never marry an unbeliever. Be careful. But it also applies to many other aspects of our lives as well, and I believe it applies to our business now.
When you go through the Old Testament, you find that the people of God were warned over and over again with making unholy alliances with the nations around them, that is Israel with God's people. The Jews were God's people, and they were not to make any kind of pact or agreement with those around them, whether it was going out to war, whether it was marrying outside the people of God.
Whether it was working with them on some project or whatever, you know, even in Nehemiah's day, and I know it's maybe a little stretch of an application, but when Nehemiah and the people of God were building the wall and there were others of the heathen around them that wanted to join in, in one way or another, Nehemiah said No way we're we're working here, we're doing, we're building and we're not going to join Alliance and have any others help us.
In this building project. And so we're never justified in in a business partnership with an unbeliever. And here's why. Because you sign agreements and enter into a business partnership with an unbeliever, you will very quickly find that they have very different standards and principles than you do. You're going to want to go by the word of God. You're not going to want to fudge the books at the end of the quarter.
You're not going to want to operate in some Gray area when it comes to accounting or sales or legal contracts or whatever it it might be. And your unbelieving partner say, you know everybody does it now and and you got to survive in the business world. And if we're going to make it, you got to just stretch it a little bit. You're going to have to go against your conscience if you've entered into a partnership like that. So I just want I I would say and I would warn you.
Do not.
Do not go into any kind of business partnership with an unbeliever. Now that's not to say that if you're in business, you might have contracts with different companies to service their equipment and so on. When I was in business, we were in the Fire Protection equipment business. And yes, we had service contracts with companies where we went in and service their equipment, but that's very different than entering into a business partnership.
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With with others, my dad and I were in partnership, but we never brought in somebody else into the business who was not not a believer, although we had contracts with different companies and school boards and hospitals to go in and service their equipment. But you're going to find if you go into any kind of business partnership with an unbeliever, you will eventually have to or they will seek to have you compromise your integrity and your Christian and biblical principles.
And.
Well, we've got two more questions we'd like to cover. This 4th question is, and this is an age-old question, This is probably the most asked question by young people and sometimes those who are not so young. This question says how do we know the will of God in our lives?
It's probably the most asked question, and perhaps the most difficult question to answer.
You know the Bible is not a self help book.
And and what I mean by that is, if you've got a problem in secular things, you can go to the shelf and pick out a self help book. Or you can Google the question and in six easy steps, it'll tell you how to get from point A to point B. But God's Word doesn't. It doesn't operate like that. The Bible's not a book of rules. It's a book of principles, and it always leaves space open.
For spiritual exercise and discernment, now there are infallible guidelines in Scripture to guide us in the decisions and circumstances of life. Like I said, this is the answer book, but we have to search it out for ourselves and let the Spirit of God.
Make it good to us and show us in a way that perhaps is hard to explain.
To anybody else, but first of all, let's go to a scripture in the 12Th chapter of Romans.
To get a little hint as to how we can know the will of God in the first part of this chapter, I'll start at verse one, Romans chapter 12.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say there, I say, through the grace given unto Me.
To every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Now we get some little hints here as to knowing the will of God.
Because God wants us to know His will. And maybe I'll just say this, if we don't know the will of God in some aspect of our lives, the hindrance is never on God's part.
But I believe there's an Old Testament scripture that corresponds with what we've read here and perhaps sums it up. And it's in Proverbs chapter 3, and it's there Solomon says, commit in all my ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path. In other words, as Paul says here, it's to give ourselves to the Lord.
To turn our whole lives over to the Lord and say Lord.
We don't have any might of ourselves. We don't have any ability in ourselves to know your will and what service you have for us. But we're giving ourselves into your hand. You make it clear, and you you do with us whatever you desire and whatever you see is best. When we give ourselves to the Lord in that way, then He wants to make His will known to us as long as I in my heart.
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Desire some part of it for my own will.
I'm not going to know the will of God. In John's Gospel chapter 6, it says if any man desire to do his will, he shall know. That's the first thing. Do we really have a desire to know the Lord's will? Then the other thing is, do we really have a desire to do his will?
If any man desire not just to know it, but to do it.
We won't turn to it, but if you're taking notes and you wanna jot down a reference, Psalm 143, verse 10, says not teach me thy will, but teach me to do thy will. See, I believe sometimes the hindrance to knowing God's will is we're not willing to do it. We say, well, I wouldn't mind if it wasn't something quite so big or something just quite that direction.
And we're not willing to take the steps of faith, and we're not willing to do it. We're never going to have further light as to what God's will is for us in our lives if we don't have not only the desire to know it, but the desire and the faith to do it.
So it's that. That's where it begins.
And the desire to do it is not by evaluating what.
The will of God. Here I think the same verse. It says that verse 2, Romans 12, what is that good and acceptable and perfect we've got?
At the moment that we don't take it His word or the God's word, that it is good, acceptable and perfect will of God, we start questioning perhaps is it good to me? Is it accept acceptable to me? Do I think it's perfect? And that's when we don't. We're not given further, further life. I believe there is a thing.
Uh, first Kings. I think we can see some some examples. First Kings 17.
In the life of Elijah.
I'll read a few verses.
Uh, for the brand of correct me if I'm wrong. Here in on this passage we're first king 17, verse one in the light of the Tish, by by falls of the Hemet inhabitants of Gilead set into Ahab. As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall not be doom, nor reigned his ears, but according to my word. And the Lord of and the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hands, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the Brooke cherry that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the bruise, And I have commanded the Ravens to feed thee there.
So he went, and did according to the word of the Lord. For he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the Ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank of the brook, and he came to pass after a while, that he the brook dried up.
Because there had to be no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, arise, get to deserve fast. And so and so I think they're interesting to see 33 instances here. One is that Elijah knew the word of God, that when, uh, Israel would not be following the God of Israel, that there would be no rain and no dew on the earth. And upon that knowledge he proclaimed.
That to the to the people. But he was going to be suffering the same. He didn't. He didn't have, as Jim was mentioning he didn't have the full picture, but he act upon that word from God even though he was going to be affected by it. After that we see that the the word of the God of the Lord came into him to see how how he could go through once he had subjected himself to to what was in the word of God. So he he would.
Being taken care of by drinking of the brook and by having by being fed by the Ravens. Now we can say that's great, the Lord provide for us when we start acting, uh, based on what we see on His board. But it was also the will of God that the broke dried up. So I think this is a a part of the encouragement as well exhortation in many times when we are walking based on what we see in the word of God.
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And situations come that we see the brook drive and there's no more food. Is that really the real God? And it was here for for Elijah and and for what purpose? So that it could be blasting to away the woman? It was not directly a blessing for Elijah himself, but after he subject, he submitted himself to that will of God, that he would have no more water there, no more more food there, than the word of the Lord came to him again to go somewhere else.
And the rule of God was displayed in how that widow would be would be sustained. So I think there are three things. One is acting upon the word of God even when it means uh us being affected of it. There is also real God that we we receive direct blessings for it. But there is also a good example and purposeful of God works first will seem as the brook has dried up on us, but the Lord has uh larger plans than our own lives alone.
Yes, and I'd like to just follow up about the word of God.
Because I suggest that generally the way we know the will of God is by orderly, consistent daily reading of the word of God. It you know it's not enough when you're faced with a decision in your life to set the Bible on the table on its spine, let it fall open, put your finger on a verse and expect God to answer your question or direct you. Now I know in I've heard stories and you probably have to, of God directing in that way, and God understands our weakness and so on. But generally speaking, that is not the way God directs you. Notice a well known verse in the 119th Psalm that I think.
Sums up what what we're saying Psalm 119 verse 105.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. And I want to encourage you to every day. And I was encouraged this morning when I got up early, to see some young people in various corners of the lodge and around, reading their Bibles, having their morning reading. And if you do that, and you have questions about some direction in your life, God will use those readings.
To answer your question, it may not be the real meaning of the Scripture. It may never mean that to you again. It may never mean that to anybody else. But I've had scriptures jump off the page at me at times when I needed an answer to some step or decision in my Christian pathway. So the word of God is sufficient light to guide you in every step of your Christian pathway.
But you have to do like Lucas said. It's like the flashlight or the Lantern. You take hold of it and it only shines a few feet in front of you. But as long as you hold onto it and keep walking.
It'll guide and direct you no matter how many miles you have to go on a dark night down a dark road. And that's the way the word of God is. However, having said that, I wanna read a verse in the 32nd Psalm because I believe there's something else as well.
Psalm 32.
And verse 8.
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with my nigh. Now I read this because while it's true that the word of God is our light and direction for the will of God and for our pathway, I believe this, that there are some steps in your Christian life that you will never discern apart from closeness to the Lord Jesus.
If I can illustrate this expression, I will guide you with mine like this. When my children were younger and we were sitting in meeting, or perhaps they were sitting across from me when they got a little older and they were doing something I didn't want them to do. If I could catch their eye, they could tell by my expression, my eyes, exactly what I was saying to them. I didn't have to utter one word aloud.
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However, there were two things that were necessary for me to guide them with my eye. They had to be close enough to me to see me, and they had to be looking directly at me. And as I say, I believe there are some steps in your Christian life you will never discern unless you're walking close to the Lord and the Lord Jesus is your occupation. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, you want to walk in the path of faith.
You've got to be occupied with the Lord Jesus looking at the Lord Jesus and then.
And it's a little bit unexplainable, perhaps, but I believe you will be able to discern. Maybe you won't be able to explain it to anybody else, but you'll be able to discern and know that this step is the will of God for you in your life.
And of course, prayer goes along with it too, seeking the Lord's mind in prayer. So we need to prayerfully read the word of God.
Our time is almost gone and there is one further question this question has to do with.
Something that was said this morning and I was asked to clarify it, and it's a very good question. This morning we said that in connection with God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that in the end he will never be disappointed in any one of us, that he'll never be disappointed in the fact that he chose us and we know from scriptures as we mentioned this morning.
That when he views us in the coming day, he's going to be satisfied with the travail of his soul. He's going to rejoice over us with singing, not going to be disappointed that he chose us, that he saved us, that he carried us through and brought us safely home to the Father's house. But the question has to do with what about our actions? Isn't the Lord sometimes disappointed in our actions?
And I want to clarify that because sometimes the Lord is grieved.
With the way that we act, he's not disappointed with us, but he's disappointed or grieved with our actions. Want to contrast two statements in the book of Malachi that I believe help us to understand this.
Now just say before I read these two statements in the book of Malachi, we have God's people in the Old Testament.
At their lowest point, morally and spiritually, a lot had been introduced into the service of God and even into the sacrifices and the service of the temple. That was not according to the mind of God. And we find that Malachi comes along as God's messenger, and he has a good many rebukes for the people of God. The people of God are told that they need to stop what they're doing. Turn around. Repent.
Get back to the word of God and act. You know the way that God had spelled out earlier in His word. But I want you to notice first of all the second verse of the first chapter.
I have loved you, saith the Lord. Isn't that interesting that before he rebuked them and exhorts them as to their condition of things, he?
Says to them, I love you because positionally, the people of God hadn't changed in connection with his love and His purposes for for them. God still loved his people just as much in Malachi's day as he loved them when they were a singing, rejoicing people on the banks of the Red Sea, when they had first been redeemed and delivered by the blood of the Passover lamb and the power of God.
You say, Well, I know I could understand if it said he'd love them at the beginning of their history in the Old Testament. But here's at the end of their history. His love and his purposes for them had not changed. And his love for you and me will never change. And his purposes for our blessing will never change. And so that's his purpose. That's their position. But now notice later on in the chapter in verse 10.
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I read the whole verse, but it's really the last part of the verse I want us to get. Who is there, even among you, that would shut the doors for not? Neither do you Kindle Fire on my altars, for not Now notice this. I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of Hope. Now you say, how does that correspond to what we had earlier in the chapter? I thought he loved them. I thought that hadn't changed.
That's true as to their position and his purpose, but as to their condition and practice, he had no pleasure in them. It was not the them personally, but it was their practices. What they were doing did not please the Lord in any way. And so in our lives there may be things that we do in our lives, places we go, a course of things that we follow.
And the Lord may have no pleasure in that. It may not please the Lord in any way that doesn't change his love for us. You know, at the end of the Lord's pathway, it says, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. That wasn't stated just after the Lord called the disciples. And they were in the freshness of following the Lord and so on. That was at the end of the Lord's pathway, and they're walking with him during the His public ministry.
Was his love for Peter any different than it was when Peter had left his neck and his vote to follow the Lord? No. Was there lots of failure in between? Yes, and there was going to be more to follow. But that didn't change the Lord's love and purpose for Peter. He loved all the disciples just as much in the upper room as he loved them on the banks of the Sea of Galilee, or wherever He had called them from initially to follow him.
And so again with Laodicea at the end of Revelation 3.
Where you have the last state of profess, the professing Christian testimony described as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. He loved them just as much and laodicea as any other assembly, even though there were a lot of things that he had to rebuke and chasten them for in that assembly because of their practice. So I I I hope that clarifies it. God's love and purpose for us.
Never changes. The Lord will never be disappointed in US, but He may sometimes be grieved with our actions and sometimes has to chasten us and act accordingly because of our actions, but that doesn't change His purposes for us.
No matter what what we do, God's plans will not be frustrated.
That's absolutely that's other part we may miss, we may miss the blasting.
We may get a a a rebuke or we may have to learn something about it, but God's planning out to frustrate it. Thank you 2 examples Uh one is the one that was uh put together this morning about uh Gael killing. That was something that was baruch to go but he was afraid. So God's purpose in having the judgment uh is was still going to be done but Baruch lost lost the the reward if we were him doing that.
And another example also I think the the life of Elijah. Elijah when he's.
Lane from Jezebel. He goes forth and hides himself and then he goes through to the desert 40 days. The desert that was not what God wanted for him. But he still goes through and not only he goes through but the Lord provided for him to go through with meat. And you can read later on 1St Kings 19 with meat and water for the 40 days. But once he's there the Lord talks to him and what the Lord tells him.
Tells him to go back, so he he lost some time. He had to learn from the Lord, but even Even so the Lord was was with him, sustaining and correcting him.
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Well, maybe someone has a hymn for us and then someone can close in prayer after we sink.
140 In which book? The blue hymn book. OK 140 Thank you.
Bringing the.
Water back again.
Into the.
Bowl of my sailor.
Give us the last name.
Us all ever, We can once let our soul.
Bringing the.
Water back again.