Address—P.L. Johnson
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Turn again to Ezra.
Well, we'll read from in verse chapter 4 a few verses in this chapter, chapter 4 and verse one. Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple under the Lord God of Israel.
Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the Fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you.
For we seek your God as he do, and we do sacrifice unto him, since the days of is our head. And king of Asher, which brought us up, hit her. But Zerubbabel and Joshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel said unto them, You have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God, but we ourselves together will build unto the Lord God of Israel.
As King Cyrus, the king of Persia hath commanded us.
Then the people of the land weaken the hands of the people of Judah and trouble them in building.
And hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose. All the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Duras, king of Persia.
And in the 9th chapter.
Chapter 9, verse one.
This is a little later on in the history of this remnant, when Ezra himself returns to the Jerusalem. Now when these things were done, the Princess came to me, saying, The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the people of the land, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians.
And the MRI for they have taken of their daughters for themselves.
And for their sons, so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands.
Yeah, the hand of the Princess and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
And then let us read in the prophet Hagar.
Haggai, the first of the post captivity prophets.
Hi God, Zechariah prophesied to this remnant.
We have them mentioned in the book of Ezra is prophesying during the days of this remnant. And the first chapter of Haggai, verse one in the second year of Darius the king in the sixth month and the first day of the month came of the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet under rubble, the son of Shell Hill, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josadeck, the high priest said.
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying.
This people say the time has not come, the time that the Lords house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet saying, Is it time for you, O ye to dwell in your sealed houses, and this house lie waste. Now therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.
You have so much, and bring in little ye, but you have not enough. You drink, but you're not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earnest wages, earnest wages to put it in a bag with food. Thus the Lord of hosts consider your ways.
Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. He looked for much and loath came to little, and when you brought it home I did blow up on it. Why, said the Lord of hosts, because of mine house at his waist, and you run every man unto his own house.
Then in the second chapter.
Haggai, chapter two in the seventh month and the one and 20th day of the month came the word of the Lord by the prophet. Haggai saying.
Speak now, it is a rubble, the son of Xiao Hill, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of John today the high priest, and to the residue of the people saying.
Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?
And how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes? In comparison of it is nothing.
Yet now be strong or derivable, saith the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua son of John, today the high priest, and be strong all you people of the land, said the Lord, and work. For I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts, according to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. So my spirit remaineth among you. Fear ye not for thus saith the Lord of Hosts. Yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea in the dry land.
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Shake all nations and the disaster shall come and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of Hosts.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine set the Lord opposed. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the farmer, saith the Lord of hosts. And in this place will I give peace, says the Lord of hosts.
Well, we turn back to Ezra. I read these passages in the Haggai because it gives us.
To see.
Something of the condition of this remnant that called forth the ministry of the Prophet Haggai.
The moral condition into which they lapsed.
Because I had it upon my heart this evening while we've been speaking about remnant testimony and the features that belong to it, we find in considering further in this book of Ezra, we see some of the.
Dangers that beset such a testimony and we see how that Satan.
Works in order to hinder.
A testimony being raised up to the truth.
Of the gathering center and rebuilding the House of God. Because that's what this rennet was doing. You know, they were going back and reclaiming the divine center of Jerusalem.
And they were going back and rebuilding the house. Not the city as yet, but the house.
And Satan was very unhappy about such a thing as Satan doubtless is unhappy as to any testimony that might be rendered in any form to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ today, and certainly to to see those who would, as it were, reclaim the divine center in gathering to the Lord's name alone and seeking to.
Carry out the principles of the Church of God.
And to exhibit those moral and spiritual features that belong to the assembly as as established by God in the word. Why Satan is going to stir up opposition or he's going to try to bring in things to hinder such a testimony as we know as a fact, it has occurred. You know, I've often thought that perhaps we feel.
That since the day in which we live is a day of weakness as far as the testimony.
Of those gathered to the Lord's name by number stretch of the imagination, can one say that the testimony is is a large and imposing by and large it's small companies here and there, and even those that are considered rather large companies are not large as far as the world standards are concerned, very weak and and small and feeble and perhaps we're inclined to think that because we appear to be so weak and are weak we.
Fast and so insignificant that Satan is not concerned.
Well, I believe that as long as there is any testimony, however feeble.
Any testimony at all to the truth of the assembly?
And where there are those seeking to gather on the truth of the assembly to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be the objects.
Of the attacks of the enemy, and we know that the enemy works along certain lines. Satan really doesn't bring out anything new. He works along the same lines that he's worked from the very beginning and seeking to spoil any testimony for Christ. We will never get to the place in this scene where we will no longer be attacked by the enemy.
He will always try to spoil the testimony in some way, in different ways.
If it's not by division, it will be by looseness. If it's not by looseness, it will be by legality.
It will be some form or fashion that he will want to get us off of the line of the truth are to be.
Unbalanced at the things in some way, he's going to try to attack the testimony to hinder it, and we find that this is just what happens to this little remnant that returned. It wasn't long, just as soon as they began building the house.
That we read in the chapter 4 when these adversaries.
Of Judah heard that the children of the captivity build in the temple as soon as they heard of what was going on in the temple, the House of God being built.
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Then we find that the adversaries were stirred up to come in and to seek to hinder it in various ways. Well, now before we do that, I'd like to touch on a point that we didn't get into last night, or we just mentioned it, but I'd like to speak a little further on. In Chapter 3, we mentioned how that in chapter 3, they gathered is one man to Jerusalem.
And the first thing they did in verse three is they set up the altarp on his basis.
And then after that, they laid the foundation of the house and began to build.
Well, this speaks to me of the fact that those who would seek to bear a testimony, remnant testimony, to the truth of the assembly in our day would follow this pattern. First of all, we would be clear as to the principle that governs the fellowship of the assembly, as the as we had endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit.
On the ground of the one body.
And at the divine center of Jerusalem. And then after that we see they set up the altar.
They restored, you might say the they restored worship, first of all.
That was the 1St order of things was to set up the altar where the offerings could be offered to the Lord. That was the first thing that was done. Well, I believe that God would have us to enter into the truth that we have in the New Testament in respect to to worship and praise. And we see that that was the thing that.
That really brought the disciples together on the first day of the week in Acts 20 and verse 7.
Was to break bread. When the disciples came together to break bread, first of all there was giving the Lord his proper.
Place and giving him of the worship and praise of which he was due. And then after that they began to build a house.
In other words, they we can apply this to the restoration, you might say.
In a practical way, in seeking to carry out all of the truths found in Scripture in respect to the assembly or the church.
As to its ardor, as to the place given to the Holy Spirit in Christ his head.
As to its Pilgrim character, as to it being a heavenly company on earth with a heavenly destiny?
Though on earth it is really of a it's a heavenly origin with a heavenly destiny and of its proper place as being a testimony to God and the Lord Jesus Christ, the vessel bearing His truth.
And seeking to act as the assembly in this scene. Now turn to the 6th chapter in connection with their offerings upon this altar.
I want to point out something that is very significant.
This, of course, is after the house was built.
In verse 16 of chapter 6 and the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity.
Kept the dedication of this House of God with joy.
And offered at the dedication of this House of God and 100 bullocks, 200 rounds.
400 lambs. You know, if we contrast this with the dedication of the Temple when in Solomon's day we see how small this was in comparison. I think if I remember correctly, Solomon offered 120,000 lambs at his dedication, but here we had 400 lands.
Small and insignificant in connection, but still they offered it in dedication and for a sin offering for all Israel. 12 egos according to the number of the tribes of Israel. Now notice that when they made an offering here, they sent offering. It was for all Israel, not just for this remnant.
Now we know, of course, that this remnant constituted a very small portion of the nation, very small portion. But when they dedicated this house, they didn't say, now this house belongs to us. This is our house.
No, they recognized that it was the House of God and it belonged to the whole nation.
They recognized that while the whole nation wasn't there in order to take part in this dedication, if it's only a part of the nation, just a remnant, yet they acted for the whole nation. They offered an offering as if the whole nation were there.
Though they were not the nation, they acted on behalf of the nation. You might say they acted just as if they were the nation.
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Though of course they recognize that we're not. And I think this is an important point for us to lay hold upon to as we would seek to bear testimony as a remnant testimony to the assembly. I have emphasized over and over, which I think is important to emphasize, that no company of the Lord's people anywhere at any time today can say that we are the church. We are the assembly.
You cannot say the Church of Christ meets here.
You can say that there are those meeting here who seek to answer to the truth of what the Church is.
And they want to bear testimony to the truth of the Church of Christ. But you can't say the Church of Christ meets anywhere.
No one can take that place. Just like this Remnant could not say we are the nation.
But yet at the same time, just like this remnant here could not say they were the nation, yet they acted.
For the nation, they acted as if they were the nation, assuming or arrogating to themselves that place.
But they recognize the fact that we're in the place where the nation belongs. We're at the divine center where the whole nation was gathered in the beginning.
And they recognized that what they did, they did on behalf of the whole nation.
They offered here for all of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Well, I believe God would would have us to recognize that if we gather to the Lord's name, truly gathered to the Lord's name on the ground of the one body and seeking to bear testimony to the truth of the Church of the Assembly. In these days, while we cannot say we are the church in Buena Park, no one can say that. Yet on the other hand, I do believe that God would hold us responsible to act for the church.
In the locality where we are, as gathered on the ground of what the Church is, the Lord would hold us responsible.
To act as if we were the church. I don't want to be misunderstood.
We know that every child of God is a part of the Church of Christ and there are many of our beloved brethren, members of the body of Christ, who are not with us. But as far as the principle of our gathering it is, is concerned, the principle I believe would be that we act as if we were the church that is in a responsible way, just like here, this little remnant, when they offered a sin offering, they didn't say no, we're just going to offer it for us. They said no.
We're in the place of the nation now, and you know this, this remnant was held responsible for the nation.
Those Jews who were on earth when the Lord came, and who were responsible to receive their Messiah.
Where the descendants of this remnant, the 12 tribes, were never gathered and have not been gathered.
The nation as a whole has been scattered ever since the 10 tribes were carried away by.
The king of Assyria. They've never been regathered. The nation as a whole has never been.
Regathered, and we find that this little remnant, though they did not constitute the whole nation.
Yet they were held in that place of being responsible for the nation Israel and the things that God has to say that He has, you might say that He has against that nation.
Why really it's it's things that he has against this little remnant because they were in the place.
Of the nation, when they returned back from the land of the captivity to the divine center at Jerusalem, though they did not constitute the nation in its in its entirety, they took the place of being the nation and they were in the place of responsibility that belonged to the nation and they recognized it. So they offered a sin offering for the whole nation of Israel, for all the 12 tribes. Well, I believe that this is true.
That today though, we cannot and we do not claim to be the Church of God.
Yet we would desire, and we trust, according to our understanding of the Word of God, that we are gathered.
On the ground of the assembly, seeking to walk in the light of the truth of the Church of God is revealed in Scripture.
And as such, God holds us responsible to act for the church. And this is true wherever there are those gathered to the Lords name and the ground of the one Body, seeking to give expression to the truth of the assembly and bearing remnant testimony. We can't say that that in any place they constitute the whole church there, but God would hold them responsible.
You know, I mentioned last night about the unity of the Spirit and how that this is one of the features that belong to the Church in the beginning.
And it's one of the features that even though it's a day of ruin and failure, that God would have us to carry out today.
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One time I had a man say to me, and he was a Christian too. He said to me, he says, you know.
You're not trying to keep the unity of the spirit. You people over there where you are gathered, he made this accusation. He says. You believe in a unity of an address book.
What he said, he said I believe in the unity of the Spirit, and what he meant was that he felt free to go.
Wherever he traveled, whatever city he went to, he said when he went to that city, he bowed and he asked the Lord to guide him to a group who were gathered scripturally. And the Spirit of God would lead him. And he might go to one group here in this city and another group, another place and another, another that had no connection, one with each other. And he thought that was the unity of the Spirit. And he said, you believe in a unity of the address book.
Well, now that that may have had a very.
High sounding expression, but when you examine it, actually what he was, what he was advocating was independence.
Not unity at all. That is, he wanted to be free to go and patronize.
Any group that he felt was worthy of his presence, in other words, he was, he would put his stamp of approval on this group in this place and his stamp of approval on this group in another place by saying he thought that they were so gathered properly and and he would go there. It's really independency of an extreme character. So I trust it will never be frightened by such an expression that we are keeping a unity of an address book.
You know when the apostle Paul said to?
Barnabas in Acts 15, he said, Let us go again unto our brethren in every city where they we have preached the gospel, and see how they do. Well now he knew where those brethren were.
Now, he didn't have a printed address book, I know, but he had an address book in his mind.
He knew just where those brethren were. There were definite places they had to go. They knew when they went to Purga. They knew they were brethren there. They knew when they went to Antioch, they were brethren there. They knew when they went through the regions of Galatia why there were places where their brethren who had been saved and gathered, they knew where they were. They had an address book in their minds. They knew just where they were and when he went.
Through the different areas we know like when he comes, it came to Troax.
And on the first day of the week they came together to break bread, when he came to true, as he knew they were brethren there, and he knew where they were.
You see, they knew where they were in every place. You say, well, of course, in those days, why all they believe were together. It's true that in those different cities, why the Christians were together and going on happily. But what I believe we can say today is this just like this little remnant.
We know that they are in other places. Their place is scattered around in this country and elsewhere, too. There are those who are not, of course, exactly like those in Antioch in those days that were constituted the whole church. But there are those who are gathered on the ground of the assembly in these various places. They're gathered to the Lord's name, to the divine center. They're gathered on the principle of the one body. They're endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.
They're seeking to bear remnant testimony to the truth of the assembly.
In a day of ruin and failure. So the address book, of course, is just a matter of convenience to assist us in finding where those.
Disciples are gathered, you know, when the apostle Paul was going, making his way toward Jerusalem.
That last journey before he was taken prisoner. We read there in one place that when the ship.
Landed at this a certain place. The name escapes me right now. It says that they they searched and they found disciples. And when they found the disciples, why they had fellowship with them, of course. Well, that's the thought of an address book is that we might have the convenience of having the addresses of those whom we recognize likewise with us.
As gathered on the ground of the one Body, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and bearing remnant testimony.
Not that we would say or even imply in any way, form or fashion.
That only those whom we speak of as so gathered are a part of the church. We wouldn't say that at all. You might look into the address book and you find the address of a meeting in Denton, TX, but I can tell you that that meeting is not the church in Denton.
I know there are other things there. There are those who are loved to the Lord and belong to the assembly.
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Just as much as those who are gathered. But they're not all gathered. It's just like this little remnant here. They did not constitute the whole of the nation.
But they were on the ground that belonged to the nation and they recognized.
And I think we should recognize that too. You know, we are gathered to the Lord's name and we're at the Lord's table. Sometimes we've heard expressions and different ones raise the question about who has the Lord's table. Personally, I don't think anyone has the Lord's table. I think the question of being at the Lord's table, it isn't in the possession of any brethren or anything of the sort, doesn't belong to us. It belongs to the whole Church of God.
And when we gather to remember the Lord at the Lord's table, we.
We recognize and we own in that very loaf. It is before us that we are one with all of the dear Saints of God on the face of the earth.
And they all, with us, constitute the Assembly. We are not the Church in its entirety.
We may be gathered on that ground, just like here when they offered the sin offering for all Israel.
Offered the sin offering for all Israel. Well, God holds us responsible for this, you know, so that as I say, we cannot claim to be the church, but we act on the principles that belong to the church so that we we we do not act in a, you might say just a local or sectarian way that we recognize the unity of the Church of God on earth.
Well, back to chapter 4. I believe these are some of the features that are involved.
Remnant testimony.
While there are things that we cannot restore.
Works of power and authority.
And we can't go back and regather everything it was in the beginning.
Still, these principles that govern the Church, govern the Church in the beginning, we can seek to carry out today.
Well now then, the enemy gets busy. And here I thought we might have some practical words.
In connection with the dangers that confront the testimony, First of all, the enemy wants to hinder the word because you will notice in verse when the adversaries of Judah, now they were adversaries, but they didn't talk like it in verse two. They come and they stay in the middle of the verse. Let us build with you. They wanted to join themselves to this work, but they were adversaries. They were not true.
And you know, sometimes I, I suppose.
Being a small in number, there's always of course, the.
The latent desire in the heart to see larger numbers. And we'd be very happy to have a number to come and want to join with us and build with us. But you know, just like these here, this little remnant they had to consider, they didn't just welcome them with open arms and say, Oh yes, come on and help us build. They didn't say that.
No, we see here, even though they claimed that we seek your God as you do, and we do sacrifice unto him.
They claim to be one with them, but in verse three is derubable and Joshua and the rest of the chief of the fathers and Israel said to them, you have nothing to do with us to build a house into our God. That may sound very ungracious.
That made appear to be a very ungracious why wouldn't they let them join with them?
Well, you know, there is, there is.
The sense in which Satan would seek to hinder the work of the Lord and to spoil the testimony by bringing in those who are, who are not supposed to be there, and who are really adversaries.
We need to be careful with that too. Satan would want to join himself to the work. One might think that's a strange thing to say, that Satan would want to join himself to the work of the Lord.
Well, he does, but not in order to further the work of the Lord, but to confuse things and to bring in confusion and to to bring in things that are not right and things that are not true. You remember in the 16th of Acts, when Paul and Silas were in Philippi and the Lord was working there and souls were being converted, there was a woman who had a evil spirit.
A demon and this woman.
Followed Paul and Barnabas and them many days, saying, these be the servants of the Most High God, who show unto us the way of salvation.
Well, it sounded if she was giving testimony to the Lord, doesn't it?
And one standing around about might say, well, now there's a there's a woman that really loves the Lord.
There's a woman that ought to be with Paul and Barnabas and and because she's giving testimony to the Lord, but she was doing that under the power of a demon. And Paul by the Spirit recognized that and he rebuked the demon and came out of her. Well, you know one thing. Notice one thing when she says these be servants of the Most High God. She didn't say these be servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And there I believe we find it often when Satan seeks to.
Enter into spiritual things or the things of God, and when he seeks to get into the realm of Scripture, he always misuses it, as he did when he was with the Lord in the wilderness. You know he misquoted the Psalm in respect to the Lord being kept. But here we say we see that this woman who had the spirit of a demon.
Says these be the servants of the Most High God. Well, actually the name.
Refers. It's the name that belongs to God in respect to his to the Millennium, the Kingdom. It has reference to that time when he's going to reign over this world and when everything is going to be ordered of God in the world. That name doesn't really apply. He is the most high God, it's true. But the testimony that the the Saints of God bear today, the testimony of the church is to the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not to God as the Most High God, you see. So that connects him with his earthly purposes and counseling.
With what's going to take place in the coming Kingdom, whether those you know who want to go around today with a Kingdom testimony, I have no doubt that that's a work of Satan and they they proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom. Well, the testimony today is to the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, is the one who suffered upon the cross and the one who is rejected and now glorified at the right hand of God as the one who is calling out from the world a people for his name.
World. He's not setting the world right. This is not the testimony of God today that God is setting the world right.
And preparing a people for our unearthly Kingdom. The testimony today is that he's calling souls out of this world to share the heavenly glory with the Lord Jesus.
And he's leaving the world to go on in its own way until he intervenes, of course, in judgment. Well, that Satan wanted to join himself with the work there, but Paul wouldn't allow it. Just like here we see that this remnant, they said, no, you can't build with us, even though they wanted to join. Now, why do you think it is? It's because they knew. They knew the association to these people and they knew their origin. Turn back the second King 17.
Second King 17 You see they mentioned here that they do service unto the same God that the remnant was since the days of Ezar Haddon king of Assyria, which brought us up, hit her. Now in Second Kings 17 we see where they came from and how it is they got connected with the Jewish religion.
In the 17th chapter the 10 tribes have been carried away into captivity and in verse 24 we read that the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon.
And from Kutha, and from Ava, and from Haman, and from Sea for faith, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel. And they possessed Samaria, and dwelt in the cities there are.
And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there that they feared not the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them. Now you see, these are.
A gentile heathen brought in to replace the 10 tribes who were carried away into captivity.
And of course they worship their heathen gods, and the Lord brought in the alliance his judgment upon them. Will they complain to their king? And they said that it's because we do not know the worship of the land. So we read in verse 27 that the king then commanded that one of the priests should be brought into those people, and they should be taught the manner of the God of the land.
So they brought one of the priests, and he taught them.
In verse 28, the end of the verse and taught them how they should fear the law. But keep in mind they're just they're just heathen.
Read in verse 29 and 30 and 31 how that even though they were taught by this priest to fear the Lord, that is, they were taught the external rights of Judaism.
Yet they made gods of their own nations, and each one from the nation which they came, they they made their gods. In verse 30 and 31 we read that. So the result is in verse 32. They feared the Lord, and made unto themselves the lowest of him of them, priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.
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Now verse 33, they feared the Lord and served their own gods after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from them. Well, doesn't that remind us, isn't that a picture of what we have today in Christendom, those who have the form of godliness that deny the power thereof?
That is, they have the outward forms of Christians. They have been baptized and they profess the Bible. They don't profess the Quran or any of the other holy books of the different religions. They have all of the externals that belong to Christianity so that they look like that. But they have gods of their own. They have their own doctrines, their own practices.
Not derived from the word of God, not found in the word of God, but coming from from their own.
Their own philosophies or intellect coming from themselves. It's really.
Idols brought in though they have you might say they feared the Lord.
But they're serving their own God. This is pretty much the state of Christendom today. Well, just that this is the origin of that group that wanted to come and help build the house.
They said, now we seek God just like you do. Just like there are some who might say today why we're Christians just like you are. Well, it's real questionable. But what are they connected with? What are they connected with? Well, that's what they listen to the remnant. Look at these people. And they said no. They didn't even dispute the fact that they were seeking the same God. They didn't dispute that. They just said no.
You leave us alone. We'll build ourselves. We'll go on ourselves building.
The way God has shown us to build and they would not allow them to join with them because they knew.
Of their connections, they knew of their associations, and they knew that they would bring in these these gods of the nations that they were worshipping along with the outward farms of the Jewish religion. Well, God would have us to be careful of that too Satan can bring in.
Though things that are connected, you might say they are they have a Christian connection, but are they really according to the mind of God? Are they connected with the.
With the wage and habits of Christendom? Or do they come from the Word of God? Well, you might say here that one of the ways in which Satan seeks to hinder the testimony.
Is by imitating it and joining himself to it so as to corrupt it. Not necessarily. They didn't want to come and tear down this temple. They didn't want to destroy it. They just wanted to join with it. But it would have been to corrupt the testimony. Now then we read in verse four that the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah.
And they trouble them in building and they hired counselors against them. Here we have active opposition now not only a subtle trying to join themselves to the works so to so as to corrupt it, but here we have actual opposition to them seeking to hinder it. Well, this is another way we know that Satan is always comes in that twofold character as.
In the form of corruption and violence, he comes as the serpent, in a subtle way as the corrupter.
And if he doesn't succeed in that way, then he comes as the roaring lion seeking to destroy. So there, there's both farms here. We see the subtlety of trying to mingle themselves in with the work so as to corrupt it, and then not succeeding in that. Why they turned in an open in an open way to be an adversary and trouble them in building and try to stop the work. Well, you say, if you know about this little history of the remnant, you say the work did stop.
Well, it's true, the work stopped.
But the work did not stop because of these adversaries. It might appear at first reading here in the book of Ezra. If we were to read on in the in this 4th chapter, it would appear that the work stopped because of the decree of the king of Persia. When these adversaries in the land wrote to the king of Persia and demanded that something be done in order to stop this work that was going on. We know of course that the King of Persia did issue a.
Saying that the work should cease and desist, and it might appear that that's the reason why the work stopped, but it isn't really so. The reason the work stopped is because the hands of the people were weakened and they were weakened because they were taking up with the ways of the people. You might say they refused them religiously, but they were mingling with them socially. Turn to the 9th chapter that we read here. In the 9th chapter we see what had been going on for a good while when.
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Himself comes back to the city. He finds here that the people have not separated themselves from the people.
Of the lands, and in verse two, they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons.
And so forth. And they've mingled with the people of the land. There was this lack of separation.
Satan had broken down this this wall of separation. They had refused these people religiously. They wouldn't let them come and join with them in the building of the house, but apparently they had joined with them socially and they were doing according to their abominations and they've taken their daughters and so forth. The wall of separation was broken down and the result was this was a weakening of their hands.
And This is why the work really finished or stopped at this time.
This is why the work was was stopped. God allowed, you might say, that circumstance of the decree of the King, to just bring to light the real state of the people.
And you know, this is one of the ways in which remnant testimony to in our day can be hindered.
We might refuse the world religiously, you might say, but then if we take up their ways socially and in a private way, this will weaken the testimony. It will weaken the testimony. And Satan would like to introduce those things in the midst of those gathered to the Lord's name. And so that the result will be would would would be of weakness, and that the work of the building of the House of God would cease and desist.
Because that's what happened. Now turn to the book Prophet Hagar Haggai. As I said, I read this because it shows the state of the people.
That caused the work to cease. If we had gone to read in the Book of Ezra, we'd find that when the work stopped.
The Lord then raised up the prophet Haggai and Zechariah to prophecy, and a result of their prophesying the work was resumed.
And the work stopped, as I say, because of the moral condition of the people.
Not really because of their adversaries. It was because they the separation had broken down and they had taken up with the ways.
Of the world now in Haggai one we see the difficulty was here in verse two they were saying.
The time has not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built.
Well, they just, they just lost interest, they lost interest in the work of the House of God because they became interested in the affairs of the people of the land.
As they took up with the abominations of the people of the land, and as they became occupied with their ways and settled down with their ways and mixed in mingled with them socially.
Why? It sort of took away that zeal that they had for the Lord's house and they were saying, well, the time isn't come. It's it's not the time to build the House of the Lord.
This isn't the time to do it. Well, we I'm sure that we can recognize right away.
How that this is a great danger to us too, and we find that when we.
If we do get occupied with the things of this world and we get in a social way connected with those of this world, we find that our interest in connection with the things of God and the assembly and the little assembly and seeing it going on and prospering for the Lord's glory, why we find that our interest in that is affected.
And it's not quite so keen as it was, you might say the edge is taken off of these things that it was with the people here.
And in verse four we see they were occupied with their own things, their sealed houses.
They were occupied with their own personal prosperity, you might say, to the neglect of the House of the Lord.
But notice what he says.
In verse 9.
The trouble was why, saith the Lord of hosts? Because at the end of the verse because of mine house that is waged, and you run every man.
Unto his own house.
Well, this certainly, I'm sure that it doesn't take much comment for us to see how that these things all are very, you might say, grave dangers that confront those who would seek to bear testimony in a remnant way to the truth of the assembly in these days. These are the ways in which Satan would want to come in and hinder, first of all, by trying to join himself to the work to corrupt it, and then secondly, by having open adversaries.
That oppose and do all they can to hinder the progress, and then to bring in discouragement.
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I'll rather hear more than discouragement bring in occupation with one's own things, and taking up with the worldly practices and worldly pursuits, and settling down in this world to the neglect of the things of God in the House of God, and the furtherance of the Lord's testimony in the gospel too, and in the furtherance of the welfare of the Saints, and the truth of God in general.
Now then, in chapter 2 of Haggai, we have another thing, as I've mentioned some of these hindrances.
To remnant testimony here in the second chapter of Haggai, we might say the hindrance here is discouragement. He says in verse three, who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory, and how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison if it is nothing you see there was a there was a danger of their saying of looking upon this work as being so insignificant in comparison to.
Temple that was built in Solomon's day as to despise the littleness of it, as to feel that it's just, well, what's the use of working in this, in this house? Because after all, it's, it's so insignificant and small and it doesn't amount to anything. Well, I feel that this is one way in which Satan can work too, to hinder us in going on and bearing testimony to the Lord.
Is by bringing in discouraging thoughts.
And being discouraged because of difficulties along the way, and being discouraged too, because, as we read in the Word of God in the early days, of how strong the testimony was. And not only that.
As we hear sometimes of those in days gone by, and as we read of those last century, how God worked in power by His Spirit.
And how that there were souls gathered out?
Why? By the thousands?
And how that as the families would move out to new places, you know, the Spirit of God would be working and soon it'd be a little testimony raised up there to the truth of the one body.
And it seemed that that such power was going out, that why it was going to be such a wonderful work. And now we're living in days when there's been much division, there's been scattering and there's weakness. And many have given up and say, as it were, well, now there's really not much point in keeping this thing up. There's such weakness and failure in comparison to what it used to be.
Well, that's what he says here. Which one of you saw this house in her first glory? How do you see it now?
Is it not in your eyes, in comparison of it as nothing? But then he encourages them, and he encourages them by telling them that in verse five or in verse end of verse four. For I am with you, saith the Lord.
According to the word that our covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remaineth among you.
Fairly enough. In other words, we might say he encourages him by saying this. It is true.
In comparison, if you make the backward look, he says to Solomon's temple and compare this house that you're building with with Solomon's temple.
Why? It's nothing. It's nothing in comparison to that. But he says.
I am with you. You still have my presence.
And my word is with you, you still have my word. And he says, my Spirit remaineth with you. You still have my spirit. Well, now it's true today that where two or three are gathered together under my name, there am I in the midst. Just as true as 1828 or 1878 are just as true as the 1St century. The Lord is in the midst of the two or three gathered to His name and His Word. It's the same word they had last century, the same Bible.
It's the same word they had in the 1St century. We have the same blessed light from God in his word that they had been. In fact, we have an advantage. We have, you might say the accumulated ministry of many years to help us understand this word and we have it today. And his spirit remains the the church is the habitation of God by the Spirit and he's still here, the Spirit of God and we have these things even though.
In comparison to what the Church was in the beginning.
Or even what the testimony was last century. It is as nothing in comparison to these things. We still have the Lord.
And his Word and his Spirit remaining among us, well, it's not enough to encourage us.
Is that enough to encourage us to go on with a remnant testimony seeking to maintain the truth that have been restored in connection with the assembly, that the Lord even goes further than that? And he says in verse 9 about the future glory of this house. Now He says the glory of this latter house. It should be. I'm going to have to change the translation as it should be from the original.
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It isn't the glory of this latter house, but it is the latter glory of this house.
Shall be greater than of the farmer, saith the Lord. In other words, what he is saying here, this house that you're building on.
As far as God looks upon it, it's the same house that Solomon built. It's the continuation of that. And he says now go on and look into the future and there's going to be a future temple. Of course, this has has reference to the Jewish temple. There was a temple built in Solomon's day and destroyed, and now the temple is being rebuilt here by this remnant. And then there's going to be a future temple that the Lord himself will fill in his own glory.
In the in the Millennium, in the Kingdom. And he says to this little remnant now look forward to that coming glory.
And this house that you are working on, this house that you are building on, is going to be the house that the glory of the Lord is going to fill in the coming days.
So we might say today, in respect to the assembly, God would have us to have a forward look.
The assembly of which we form, part of which every member of the Lord Jesus Christ is in the assembly which today is in such ruin and failure and is scattered and divided, and which you might say, those who are seeking to give expression to the assembly are so weak and insignificant and failing.
But that same assembly is going to be presented to Christ in glory, a glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
You might say that that Church which we form a part of, in which we seek to give testimony to at the present time.
Now it is it is set forth in weakness and failure, but we read in the Book of Revelation, chapter 21.
That it has the glory of God and all of the glorious perfections of Christ.
Are going to be seen in that church. Paul speaks in Ephesians 3 of glory to God through the church.
Throughout all ages, world without end. Think of that. Glory to God through the church.
The Church, the assembly, which we would seek to give expression to and bear testimony to in a day of ruin and failure.
Is going to is that to which God will have glory throughout all ages, world without end, and it's going to shine as his reflection. Well, God would have us to to look forward to that and have that before us rather than as it were, just looking behind at the at the backward view. We should have the backward view to keep us humble and to give us to realize that we can't be puffed up and boastful.
And that we must be very loving and kind and patient with all of our brethren in Christ, wherever we find them. Because after all, I'm sure.
That our own failure as a testimony has been a hindrance and a stumbling block to many. So God would have us to look back, but then He would not have us to be occupied with that. He would have us to look forward to the coming glory when the whole church there will shine as His reflection. Now this is what we're a part of, and this is what we seek to give testimony to and to bear witness to the church which Christ loved and gave Himself far, and which He's occupied with at the present time.
And which is going to present to himself in glory a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. Well May God exercise us as to these features of the remnant, and to see too, that there are these dangers, and that Satan would want to spoil it in any way that he can, that these might exercise us as well.