Address—Doug Buchanan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I have a burden this morning for these meetings.
To bring before our hearts consciences.
Some of the truths that Satan opposes.
But that have God in his mercy and grace has recovered in the last few 100 years.
Many souls have dug out these truths and they've passed it on to us.
You might say we've got it kind of easy, easily.
And because of that, I believe we can also easily let them slip.
We can easily let things come in to rob us of what is really ours.
I'd like to begin with a few verses in second Peter, one as introduction, verse 3.
According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him.
That hath called us to glory and virtue.
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Exceeding great and precious promises.
Young people.
This is ours.
We need to lay hold of it.
We need to be reminded of it, we need to evaluate and, as the brother said, get back to basics.
And I hope that these meetings are plain and simple enough and yet have enough depth to feed our souls.
Because I see.
Feeding on the World.
I see among us.
Poverty.
Of enjoyment.
And the things of this world.
And that's not the best part. That's not what God intends for us.
Our souls need to lay hold of what God has given to us.
Notice down a little farther in the chapter.
Verse 10.
Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure.
I'll state right here now.
What I hope to develop in brief.
Our Calling. The heavenly calling.
Is one of the great truths that has been recovered in the late years.
Which Satan during the course of the church history?
Succeeded in obscuring from Christendom in general.
And Christendom had lost the hope of heavenly thanks.
And it's in danger now.
Will go on with verse 10.
For if ye do these things, ye shall never fail.
Foresaw, an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yeah, I think it me or fit, as long as I am in this Tabernacle or this body.
To stir you up by putting you in remembrance.
Present truth is mentioned here, and I believe the heavenly calling.
The people of God.
Is one of those present truths.
That's ours. Present truth is a truth that is particularly applicable to us at this time.
All Scripture is profitable the Old Testament, and we're going to turn to the Old Testament.
00:05:01
Has many types and lessons, pictures, shadows, and so on. Wonderful, beautiful, but it's not really developed and it's not really written to us, written to the Jews. It isn't exactly present truth. We have to turn over the New Testament to get to present truth.
Now I'd like to go back to the Old Testament.
Book of Chronicles.
First Chronicles, Chapter 11.
And I'm going to read some of the verses out of this chapter of Davidde, Mighty Men.
Those who made the honor roll.
And as I read it, I would like you to try to look particularly at what it was that distinguished.
These mighty men, what it was that King David.
Noted and appreciated of them. First Chronicles, Chapter 11.
Beginning with verse 4.
And David and all Israel went up to Jerusalem, which is Jebus.
Where the Jebusites were the inhabitants of the land, and the inhabitants of Jebus said to David.
Thou shalt not come hit her.
Nevertheless, David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. David said Whosoever smideth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain.
So Joab, the son of Zeruaya, went up first and was chief.
And David dwelt in the castle, therefore they call it the City of David. And he built the city round about even from Milo roundabout, and Joab repaired the rest of the city. So David waxed greater and greater, for the Lord of Hosts was with him.
This is the first one.
I'd like to call attention to It's interesting that Joab is a really omitted from the list of mighty men in Samuel.
I have my thoughts about it.
Uh, but here he.
Is mentioned for one particular thing.
I'd like to ask one of the young brothers tell me.
What it was that David appreciated about Joette, Tim.
Initiative, initiative, initiative. OK, great. That's good. First.
And he went up and he fought, and he conquered Jerusalem.
Now there's a lot could be developed on that. Jerusalem was the city that God had his eye on.
The center of Israel.
Isn't it amazing that it was still in the hands of your Jebusites? And this is what we're going to notice here from the Old Testament, how the enemy seeks to rob the people of God of their present possession.
What God intended them to have.
To whom did God intend to give Jerusalem?
The Jebusites? No, He had promised to give it to Abraham and his seed.
And they were sent into the land to conquer it and take it and possess it. And that's a picture for you and me.
We've been given another land, and it's ours to possess it, to make it good, to walk in it. And we really only enjoy that which we walk in. And that's why we have meetings like this, to exhort ourselves to bring these things before our souls, that we may lay hold of them, make them our own.
That's something notable about Joab though he had his faults later on.
And the end he had to be.
Taken away in judgment, but there's something good about him here.
Maybe his motive wasn't right in so doing, but at least he was valiant in what he went forth to do, and he did it, and it was characteristic of him the rest of his life. So I think there's something to be learned even in Joab. We'll go on now and read a little farther down.
00:10:07
Verse 10.
These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves.
With him in his Kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel. And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had Desha Beam, the Hackmanite, the chief of the captains. He lifted up his spear against 300 slain by him at one time.
What would you say was notable about him?
Dave.
Pardon, Valiant. Valiant. 300 men to slay 300 men is valiant. That's more than all of this room, I'm sure.
David appreciated that. Now we know in the New Testament it says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, that sword and spear, bombs and rifles.
No, and we fight against a spiritual host of wickedness we learn in Ephesians.
All these verses up here on the bottom row here are out of the book of Ephesians, and we're going to be in Ephesians some this morning, at least in theme.
Heavenly truth.
And in Ephesians.
Chapter 6 we have.
The enemy.
And he's not just a hypothetical enemy.
And you can't see him in this room either. You may feel him, but he's here. Many of them.
Heavenly Host.
Why are they fighting against us?
Because we are the ones to inherit with Christ His Kingdom.
He's going to give it to us. And if you'll notice in nearly all of these verses here on the wall, the word in him or in whom or the Lord's name is there.
Everything that we have.
Of eternal wealth and blessing is ours because of Him, and in Him, separate from Him, we have nothing.
Nothing more than the natural man or anybody else in this world that is destined to death and judgment.
But thank God that I believe most of you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
And have a desire to go on for him.
And these times, you know, when our conversations get turned to the weak and beggarly things and the base things of this world, I trust it's not the real.
I that's saying them.
It's not the real you.
All right, let's go on to the next one, verse 12. And after him was Eliezer, the son of Dodo the Hoheight, who was one of the three mighties.
He was with David.
And there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley, And the people fled from before the Philistines, and they set themselves in the midst of that.
Parcel, and delivered it, and slew the Philistines, and the Lord saved them.
By a great deliverance.
What was it?
That was esteemed of value with this man of valor.
I hope the questions are getting easier.
Somebody in the back corner back there.
That what was it?
That was esteemed of value. I'm not talking about the spiritual significance, I'm talking about the literal item.
Ernie.
00:15:00
I'm a farmer. I know what it is. Barley. Did I hear barley? I think I heard barley. Barley.
Is a field of barley worth risking your life over?
Why would a field of barley be worth risking your life?
We could find another one surely somewhere, or we could go buy some from someone else.
Oh, this man valued a field of barley. Doesn't tell us why, but David.
Noted that and he recorded him as one of his most valued men because of it.
Young people, it's the little things. Maybe a field of Varley isn't just a little thing that it could be.
It's the victory in the little things.
That are really great.
Just getting your conversation in the right theme, for example, might be a great victory for you.
Just resisting laughing at a dirty joke might be.
As good as a field of barley.
Just saying no to an invitation to some worldly event.
Might be a field of barley and we could go on and on. You know them very well.
We'll go on to the next one, verse 15.
Now three of the 30 captains went down to the rock, to David, into The Cave of Adalam, and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Riffian. And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines Garrison was then at Bethlehem. And David longed and said, oh, that one would give me drink.
In the water of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is at the gate.
And the three breakthrough, the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David. But David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the Lord, and said, My God forbid it me that I should do this thing. Shall I take drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy?
For with the jeopardy of their lies, they brought it.
He would not drink it. These things did, these three mighty.
In Samuel it says he poured it out to the Lord. That's beautiful too, showing us that really David wasn't the ultimate object to receive it, but his great son, their greater son, the Lord Jesus. And I believe Dave is going to get a reward too for that. Now here we have something different, not a field of barley.
A cup of cold water.
Water from the well of Bethlehem.
Why did David long for?
Water from Bethlehem.
David was in rejection.
He was not allowed what was rightly his.
He couldn't roam about freely, he couldn't reign over the Kingdom that God had given him because somebody else was ready to relinquish it and give it to him. King Saul.
A picture of our Lord Jesus at this time too, who is in rejection.
The world wouldn't have him when he came, they said away with him.
Where has he gone?
Where we were singing about in heaven, Where is inheritance to be in heaven?
What did David long for?
Oh, he longed for that water that would prove his.
Ability to reign over it all, to be accepted by all. Do you think our Lord Jesus doesn't long for the day when He can come back and have? Rightfully He is.
Did he go through all that rejection and suffering without any feeling?
Oh, he felt it very much, and he's able to sympathize and help us too, as we go through this world.
00:20:04
And in the measure that we turn our back on what Satan would offer to us and all his hosts.
Because he has his counterfeit, you know.
The Lord Jesus can minister to our hearts and.
He appreciates what you and I.
Give to him of refreshment and encouragement.
Acknowledging his rights now and risking our lives.
To do something just to please him.
It wasn't just the intrinsic value of water.
It was where the water came from and what it signified that made it noteworthy.
And made David appreciate it.
I sometimes applied this to.
Our great privilege of worshipping the Lord. My brother was speaking the other day about where he used to be, that they only come together once in every quarterly or so.
To break bread. To remember the Lord in his death.
It isn't. Oftentimes, you see, it isn't esteemed of much value because the gospel isn't going forth, or because souls aren't being brought in, or because there's no ministry to man or fill them in.
Because really, worship is giving God, giving our Lord Jesus his part.
And so when these men gave David that, you know, he really appreciated that water, it was something just for him.
And because of it, the three are recorded here and it doesn't tell which three they are.
This, says three of the mighty That wasn't the important thing. The important thing was who the water was for and what it signified.
Don't forget young people, the Lord appreciates it when you give him something.
As it even says in the New Testament, a cup of cold water. That can be a literal cup of water too. But I believe it can be much more than that. Pouring out your heart and worship to Him.
Something the Lord appreciates, something that will be rewarded in the coming day.
Where we have mentioned others, here we have a Bishi, I, the brother of Joab and then we have Benyaya.
It's interesting. I'll just leave for your meditation sometime when you read the chapter.
What Benny I did, he slew 2 Moabites, he slew a lion and also an Egyptian, and I believe those three are pictures of three of our great enemies.
The flesh, Satan, and the world.
In that order.
It's an interesting meditation, but I don't want to dwell too long on this part because we want to go on over to the New Testament now and speak a little about.
What is our inheritance or what is Our Calling?
Let's just turn to Ephesians 1 to start.
Verse 3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
I'm not going to read anymore of the chapter.
But the book of Ephesians develops the heavenly calling.
That is what is our portion, young people.
And we live in view of that, and we're marching as pilgrims as we sang, until that day when the Lord reigns and has his Kingdom.
I'm not. I'm going to go back now to John's Gospel chapter 14, and we're going to look at justice, a few scriptures.
I'd like to just try to bring before you a general order of how the Lord introduces this, starting in John's Gospel chapter 14.
00:25:12
I know that most of you have heard these truths. I want to just simply go over them because I think we need as Peter said.
John 14.
Verse 2.
In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. This is the Lord Jesus speaking just before He went up to the cross. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also.
And whither I go, ye know, and the way ye know.
Thomas said unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also, and from Hinch ye know him and have seen him. The Lord Jesus here had been with his disciples. He was ministering to them in the upper room, and He was preparing them for his departure. They didn't understand what was going on. They thought the Lord was going to set up His Kingdom here and got a reign in righteousness. But God had a better plan.
And that plan was to introduce and open up.
Heaven for men.
And that's why he says, I go to prepare a place for you. And that's where he went. After he rose again, it was caught up into heaven. The disciples saw him go up.
It's well testified to his resurrection and his ascension.
Apostle Paul saw him in glory, and when he saw him, he bowed down and he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
Same man.
Good example.
This is Our Calling, This is why we preach the gospel, and this is our destiny.
Wonderful.
Higher than a heart could ever dream of.
Whoever dreamed of going to heaven?
Before God opened it up by his Son the Lord Jesus, the highest our hearts would aspire to, I believe.
Oh I know they have the space games and everything, but you know that doesn't near nearly nearly reach it.
God wants you and me, dear young people, to be with Him. He loves us. He chose the human race to redeem them. We are those He died to save us. He sent back the Holy Spirit to help us, to get the to get there, to carry us along the way.
And that's going to be one of the other themes that we'll speak of, Lord willing.
The action of the Holy Spirit here.
This purpose and so on, it all works together, part of God's plan for us.
And we need to lay hold of it. But to lay hold of it, there are those enemies.
The spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places, they're there and they're fighting against us young people, and this warfare is going on. Who's winning the battle?
We have the example of Moses, you know.
When the children of Israel were fighting in Amalekites and then Moses had to lift up his hands, and as long as he they kept his hands lifted up, the Israelites were winning, winning. But when they got tired and fell down, they were losing. And so they had two helpers there to help him and.
Israel prevailed picture of the high priestly work and the.
Advocacy of the Lord Jesus. He's interceding for us.
But are you praying? Do you pray each day?
Your Your Christian life won't be a successful, victorious one if you don't. It's our only way. The enemy is too great.
00:30:06
Those Jebusites wouldn't let go of Jerusalem and the Lord.
By His grace has recovered a ground of gathering today too.
The One Body Truth has been revived and made known to our hearts to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus simply and only as members of the Body of Christ without human system and other creeds and additions that man brings into.
It has been made note to us.
Very precious, but the enemy will seek to rob from us.
Now let's go on to the 18th chapter, John.
We're just hitting a few verses here from John to show the heavenly aspect of the ministry of Christ. John. John 18.
No, Pardon me, Let's go back to the 17th chapter first.
John 17, verse four. I have glorified Thee on the earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou may with Thy known self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was, I have manifested Thy name unto the men which thou gavest me. That was the disciples out of the world. Notice out of the world.
Thine they were.
Thou gavest them me, and they have kept Thy word. Now let's drop down to the 14th verse. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them.
From the evil they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth.
And then he sends them back into the world. And it's a tremendous principle there in these verses.
That avoids compromise, even though we go back into the world. And if you're not sanctified, young people, you better not go into the world because it'll overcome you. The sanctification comes first, the word of God in your heart.
The Lord has left us His word. We need to read it every day. It has a sanctifying effect. And the Lord is also sanctifying us from heaven. Well, you get here, the Lord praying to the Father about His disciples, and we learn from His purpose. They're not of the world.
Young people, if you go out and try to have Christ and the world.
You're going to find out it doesn't work, you can't have it, and God won't let you unless in his government he gives you up.
To a bitter life of learning it the hard way. And that's sad.
Sometimes he does allow us to have a piece of it, to learn the emptiness of it.
Better to learn it.
The vanity of it.
The emptiness of it.
It stressed up beautiful young people. It looks attractive.
And I believe to a certain extent, we all learn it the hard way by bitter tasting of it.
I want to go back to Jeremiah if I can find the verse. Just do before we close here the 1St chapter Jeremiah.
Interesting verse there that.
I believe gives us the key to Jeremiah chapter 2. It is this is talking about Israel, but I believe the principle of it would apply to us today.
Jeremiah 213 For my people have committed 2 evils.
They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out. Cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Here you have two things.
00:35:04
Why do people go into the world? Why do they get swept away with things? Christians, those who know the Lord.
They turn away from the Lord first.
We need to have the Lord before us, Dear young people. It's in him that all all these things we have.
Apart from him.
Nothing. If we aren't feeding on the Lord from the Word, if we don't have the Lord before us, our hearts are too big and they start craving things, searching for something. And that's what a lot of the youth of the world is out. They're out to find something, to discover themselves, their own heart, or discover the pleasures of all different kinds of things.
Why would a Christian who has.
All the inheritance as his.
Wants something like that to satisfy him.
Those are the empty cisterns that have been carved out and that we can look to to supplement what we haven't been gleaning in our own souls and feeding on the Lord Himself.
And.
I speak to my own heart in this and it's the need to have the Lord before you. You see, Christianity isn't just a bunch of rules and regulations to keep us all together and make us have a fun time or to be a one mind about certain things. Christianity is bringing a person before our souls.
And if he's not enough?
What else would be He's the fountain of living waters. Don't give him up.
As before, your souls.
If you do, you'll start carving out cisterns.
False sources of refreshment, and you'll have to find out that they don't satisfy. And there's older brethren here and those who have passed through bitter experiences.
Among us that can testify, and if dear young people, some of you are contemplating something that you know is disobedience to the word of God.
Talk to someone who's been down that road before you go it.
Save yourself a bitter experience.
Our time is up. That's close.