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225 with scenes of confusion reach this complaint.
Of speech to the soul, the Communion with.
Three bonds that we met, all the children of peace.
225.
So.
We say.
And straight by Sunday.
Still free from my flesh.
Of God.
It would be the mind of the brethren to pick up Philippians Chapter 2.
And wonderful examples of devotedness there.
I love her.
Your brother have any other?
Passage.
Suggested.
I wonder about the possibility of taking up the addresses to the southern churches.
To addresses one reading meeting to another, and then perhaps the last one.
Connection with latest field.
Thank.
00:05:10
Revelation chapter 2, yes. Perhaps we could just read the whole chapter and then we'll comment particularly on those first two.
Revelation chapter 2, verse one.
Unto the Angel of the Church of Ephesus, right?
These things, saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.
Who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks? I know thy works.
And my labor and my patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil now has tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and has found them liars, and has borne and has patience, and for my name's sake as labor, and has not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the 1St works.
Or else I will come unto thee quickly.
And will remove thy Candlestick out of his place, except our pen.
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans.
Which I also hate.
Eat at half an year, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. And unto the Angel of the Church in Smyrna, right these things say at the 1St and the last which was dead and is alive. I know thy works and tribulation and poverty without rich, and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews.
And are not that are the synagogue of Satan?
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried, and.
And you shall have tribulation 10 days without faithful unto death. And I will give thee a crown of life.
Even half a year let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
He that overcometh shall not be heard of the second death.
And to the Angel of the church in Bergamo's right.
These things say, If he which hath the sharp sword with two edges, I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seed is. And I'll hold this fast my name, and it's not denied my faith, even in those days where an Antipas was my faithful martyr. Who is slain among you where Satan dwelleth?
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans?
Which thing I hate.
Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
He that happened here, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man know of, saving he that receiveth it.
And unto the Angel of the church in Thyatira right these things say at the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass. I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and my patience, and thy works, And the last to be more from the 1St.
Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee.
Because thou suffereth sufferers that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.
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And I gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she repented not.
Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and then that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.
And I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts.
And I will give unto everyone of you, according to your works, but unto you I say, and unto the rest. And Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak, I will put upon you none other burdens but that would she have already pulled fast till I come. And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of a Potter shall they be broken to shivers, even as I received of my father, And I will give him the morning star.
Eat at half an year, Let him hear what the Spirit said unto the churches.
This Book of Revelation is the only prophetic book that is given to the church. All the other prophetic books in our Bibles were written to Israel and for Israel. And so in the Old Testament passages we have that which pertains to Christ glory in connection with Israel and Israel's hopes as they're bound up with their Messiah. But in connection with the Book of Revelation, it's the last book of our Bibles and it is a book that.
Largely as a book of judgment, but it also presents the blessedness of the Church and her.
Union to Christ at the end in chapter 19 and so on it just gives us a a wonderful picture of the blessing that God has in store for those that are part of the church and so in chapter one God writes his word in a very orderly fashion it's.
It's incumbent upon us to recognize that there are divisions in Scripture and that there's order in how God writes things. So the first chapter that the book of judgment, you would want to know who the judge is.
And so we have the judicial glories of Christ and pulled forth in chapter one he's presented as the ancient of Davis. In verse 13, he says in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like under the Son of Man. That's his title as the judge clothed with a garment down to the foot and heard about perhaps with a golden girdle. His head and his hair were white like wool.
As white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. Well, each one of these.
The attributes of the judge are very, very significant, and the book is written in a symbolic language. It's not literal. Some of the facts are literal, but it's written in symbolic language. The same symbols that are used in the Old Testament are used to portray thoughts in connection with what the Spirit of God wants to communicate in the New Testament. And so on the second and third chapter, we have the Lord Jesus.
Walking in the midst of the churches, walking in the midst of the assemblies and his judgment. Well, if we turn back to.
I think it's second Peter. No, it's I think it's first Peter chapter 4 verse 17.
It tells us what he's doing.
Chapter first Peter Chapter 4, verse 17. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the House of God.
And if it begin at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? And so chapters two and three give us what he is doing in the present day. He's discerning and he's judging in connection with our conduct. And we have the history of the church given in these seven different assemblies that are mentioned. And then in chapter 4 and chapter 5, we have the credentials of the judge. So he is the judge and he's he has the.
00:15:02
Rights to be the judge in chapter 4 because he is the creator and he's created all things in verse 11 for thy pleasure, for thy will. They are and were created and then in chapter five he has the right as the Redeemer, the purchaser of all things as the Lamb of God and in chapter six he begins his judgment and so really we have.
In a very orderly fashion.
God introduces the Judge in all his judicial glories.
And then he presents the one who has loved the church and given himself for it and how interested he is in every assembly and what's going on. And he takes up in connection with the oversight, the responsibility that is theirs during their watch. And then he presented the credentials of the judge before he begins his judgments in the world.
So each one of these assemblies represent a period of time that the Church existed in, and they're sequential in time. And so this is really in chapter 2, verse one begins with just after the Apostolic age. John the Apostle was an aged apostle at this time, but he was the apostle of the affection.
Paul of the apostle of knowledge, and you might say Peter, is it possible of action? He was always acting. He was a leader among these disciples, but John was the apostle in the affection.
And it takes us back to the affections of Christ for His Church, and for each one of us individually as we read these little letters. Just somewhat said is the 2nd letter Second Epistle to the Ephesians, and it was written by Christ himself. And so he has some correction here, and he springs before the Saints, that they might be exercised.
I think it's important to see the.
General aspect of the book going back to verse chapter one, verse 19.
Right between which thou have seen and that would be the presentation of the Lord and His judicial character outlined in the first chapter.
Different in aspect than that we see in the gospels where John the author laid on his bosom, here we have the Lord into his judicial character going to deal with.
The House of God, the corruption that has come into the.
The profession of Christianity I'm going to deal with the nation of Israel and the apostasy that has that will occur in that nation and then the blessings of the Millennium. So the things which are which thou has seen would refer to.
The first chapter and the description of the Lord in that character of judge the same switch are is what we have before us in the second and third chapters. These were actual assemblies in Asia Minor and we have really.
An overview of the history of the Church from the earliest days.
Shortly after the Apostles ministry right through to the.
Conviction of that.
But not exactly apostasy and later deceit. But.
Unfaithfulness and very low spiritual condition. We have an overview, we might say from the earliest years until.
The Lord gives us help and those who are.
Real will be taken from this world. And then the third, the third.
The third section.
It says and the things which are. That's the second and third chapter. He's referring to the assembly's existing at that time and.
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And then we have.
The things which shall be asked hereafter which would refer to the judgments from chapter 6 on to the end of Chapter 1819.
The dealing with the.
The outward profession of Christendom, the apostasy of Israel, the establishment of the Kingdom, and so on. That is taken up from chapters 6.
On to Chapter 18 or to Chapter 19, and then we have the church in that.
In the millennial character, so that's a simple, we might say division of the bull strike where if we are looking at.
Another question if in the seven churches they have a history of the course of the church through this world, how is it that we would find any application to ourselves today?
Particularly in these first two churches we read that we're taking up.
Well, we find, don't we, the instruction that the Lord gives, the correction that He gives in the first His letter to the Ephesians.
He gives the instruction to them and we learn by those things which he spoke. These things were written for our learning. And so we find what hurt him the most, if I could put it that way, was just the heart was not right with him. The affection had cooled. They were an outward relationship. Everything looked promising now. Everything looked good, but really he didn't have what he wanted most was the affections of his people.
And so we learned by that.
What really means something to the Lord and how he spoke to them. And then in the second epistle they write to Smyrna, we find that he didn't find anything that was particularly.
Needed correction, you might say, and his heart's compassion, his affection were with the church, and he was allowing trials. 10 * 10 periods of trial.
Then he might extend the failure that he might.
Call, recall the hearts affections of His people and have His people cast upon Him.
And so we can learn and how we speak to these assemblies and why and what he says. And so that's why it's so important for us to read these things and to understand that they were written for our learning as well.
In addition to historical overview, they're also they also address a moral state, don't they?
And so we know there's some churches that are suffering. We've heard about that last night.
And so there may be all seven. In a moral sense at least, there may be all seven at the same time.
Some of the perhaps we're doing well at some point, like in the Ephesians, but they left their first love. I think sometimes we can identify with that.
You see an assembly that's healthy, and then a few years later there seems to be a coldness that comes in and kind of a mechanical. So there's a moral side to this too, isn't there? But there's also an historical side, as we mentioned. And this is extremely important because what we see here is it's actually only one, one of seven times in the New Testament that we have figures of the prophetic history of the church.
I could just summarize those very quickly and put them in a little chart here, but we have the three women.
Three women mentioned in Scripture, Matthew 13. There's a woman that laughs. Well, that's what happened in the early days of the church, didn't it? We might say with Ephesus, there was 11 Coming in a compromising. And then later on there was Jezebel that we read about later on in chapter 2.
Corrupting the church, not just leavening a little bit, bringing in error, but thorough corruption. We might say that's the ruin of the general testimony. And from that point, as we noticed the first three churches, there's the possibility of repentance back to the original condition. But beginning with the 4th church is what we call the ruin, not of the church per SE, but of the general testimony and as a result.
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A remnant is separated at that point.
Because you can't be identified with the general testimony.
And then finally the third woman that's mentioned will read about and of course in Revelation 17 and 18 that's the anti church that's judged during the tribulation isn't it? So there's three of you may mention the seven mysteries of Matthew 13 is also a prophetic outline of the church.
And Matthew 14, we have the 5000 pen and the ship on its way to Paseo.
And that's also been mentioned versus 15 through 36 been mentioned as an outline of church history. The Lord goes up to pray after feeding the multitudes picture of the 1St century. The disciples are left to go by themselves, so to speak. They meet storms, but then remember the Lord Jesus appears at the end. And then Peter walks on the water, which is perhaps a picture of Philadelphia. But then we start to look around. He gets he starts to save perhaps later to see it. The Lord picks him up.
And immediately their to their desired place, the 10 virgins of Samila 210 there 10 similitudes in Matthew, but Matthew 25 verses 1 to 13 the the 10 virgins is another brief outline of of church history. And then in Acts 20 versus 7 to 12. Remember when Paul preached and the young man Utica fell down out of the window. That's also a beautiful picture of.
Church history and then of course Paul's voyage and Acts 27 and 28. So there are seven times.
That we have the same pattern and it's interesting that we it follows the pattern of prophecy. That is, not every detail is given every time, but the order is always the same of that those details that are given. For instance, the three women, they only give 3 distinct.
Time periods in the church history, they don't give all of them in between we get more detail in the seven churches of of Asia.
But each one gives the same order, exactly what we see in prophecy. And one very important principle here is this is the same order that we find in every dispensation and trusted demand. There's first the call of those that have the particular call. They're called out of the world. Then there's the establishment of those who have that call, and then there's a fall. And that's what we're beginning with, with emphasis.
It's not fatal yet. There's a possibility of return to the original condition, but there is that fall, that's the woman leavening, for instance, and then there's a gradual decline, and then ultimately there is that ruin of the general testimony which we're going to see in Thyatira.
You can't be identified with the Catholic Church and her daughter because there's thorough corruption there. They misrepresent the head, the Lord Jesus, and then after the ruin again, there's always a remnant separated.
And then finally, ultimately, there's failure. There's always a remnant. That's what we see in the stars, don't we, that are mentioned in Scripture. Stars are faithful individuals.
There's always room for faithful individuals, and that's what the Lord calls us to. But there's even a collective testimony to the end.
That that which, though has keep till the end, the apostle says to the Philadelphians. And then finally there's judgment.
And then the Lord brings in a new dispensation. So the point there is again that every.
Every dispensation follows a similar pattern and the fact is the Church follows the same pattern and this is extremely critical. It will end in corruption though. There will be faithful individuals and there will be a collective testimony at the end however.
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Mr. Lundin used to tell us the surest sign of the Lord's coming is the low condition of the Church that often said that a dispensation ends with those who have the.
Particular calling of that dispensation are no longer distinguishable from what they've been called out of. And that's what we're facing at least in North America and Western Europe today, aren't we that same sort of thing. So I just mentioned that this is one of seven, this is the most complete outline of the history, but it's not exclusive. And in fact, it follows the same pattern that all the other dispensation, dispensation under law, dispensation under the Millennium, believe it or not, there's a decline during the Millennium.
Dispensation under the Patriarchs.
That follows the same pattern ultimately of failure. And This is why what we call covenantalism is an error, because they say that the Church is coming to prepare the world for the Lord's appearing, make it a better place. That's clearly contrary to all the evidence of Scripture. Whatever's entrusted the man's responsibility, man fails in ultimately, but there are always those who are stars.
Who are faithful individuals and as we mentioned there will be a collective testimony even to the end when the Lord comes and he asked us to be belong to that testimony.
The source of all true ministry is in the hand of the Lord, and so has the stars referred to that provision that the Lord has made through the gifts that have been imparted to.
Individuals.
As a result of the death, resurrection, ascension of the Lord into the glory, He gave gifts unto men and He is the source of the outdoors. Yes.
It's not man's authority or ordination. It comes from an ascended Christ within the glory and.
For the edification and.
Building up of the Church of God.
It's interesting that while the.
Subject is the assembly itself and the Lord speaks here to the Angel of the church. Really an Angel is one who is a messenger and he has a message from God and he is faithfulness delivers his message to whom he sent to An Angel gives a message, delivers a message. A star is used for guidance for navigation in those old days and so he speaks to those that are in oversight in the assembly in Ephesus.
And he says, this is what I see. And they, he held them responsible. So in a sense that's like, put it this way, he wasn't speaking to the young people, to the middle-aged crowd and to the children, so on. He holds those that are in oversight more responsible than the assembly, than those who are otherwise not in oversight. And so it's in faithless. And I just find these.
Things.
It's hard to read some of these expressions that the Lord uses, but I think it's utmost kindness on the heart of Lord himself to envy and to write a letter to this assembly, and He speaks himself. He knew their work, He knew their labor, He knew their patience, and He knew how they desired to go on in a holy way. Cannot bear them which are evil.
Try them and say they are apostles that are not.
Has found them liars there was all kinds of wickedness that began the denial of the deity of Christ and all those things in John's day we have not we could turn to some passages in the epistles to John to see how dark today had begun. But this is just after the other apostles that passed off the scene and it represents a time period. Maybe somebody knows exactly what that time period is, but.
Just after the apostles claimed he knew these things, he knew what was going on. And I was born and has patience for my namesake has long has labored and has not painted, nevertheless I have and somewhat shouldn't be in there. You see, it's an italics. Nevertheless I have agency because I have left my first love and the term there really is.
00:35:20
The best?
It's in Luke's gospel. Maybe we could turn to it just to get the point.
Chapter 15.
Verse 22 The father said to his servants bring forth best role.
And put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet.
And so the best love is really what the sense is. And there was no at the beginning of the church period, there was affection for Christ and they nothing was mixed with it. And the Saints oftentimes had to suffer the loss of all things. And some of them gave up their lives for the name of the Lord Jesus. But here they had left that freshness of love. And that's what he was addressing.
And so it's instructive to it, but I think it's very helpful for us to realize that what the Lord said to these assemblies is that in utmost love and affect, but with firmness, judgment must begin at the House of God. His purpose was love. His motive was love. And to recall His Saints to Himself, to recall their hearts, affections, and to have them judge those things, it's like a salesman, you know a salesman.
When you're trained to be a salesman, you have to present the goods, the features and the benefits of the product, the features and the benefits, and then you have to close the sale. You have to say now this is what you need to do, buy my product, whatever. But the Lord calls to his people, he says.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the 1St works, or else I will come unto thee.
Shouldn't be in the text There I will come unto the and we'll remove thy hand. We'll stick out of this place except our pen.
So he presents the truth that to be gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus is a tremendous privilege to bear a light and testimony before this world, and to express the love of Christ for others and to express the love of Christ from one another, and so on.
But as that girl's been the affections for Christ himself and it's just a facade.
Hurts, but it grieves him at his heart. And sowing love. He called them and it brought this to their attention and called them to close the gap as it were. To repent, to consider it in the presence of the Lord, to exercise self judgment, and to say I'm at fault for allowing something to come in to distract my affections for Christ and I need to judge it and to remove it that I might be acceptable under Him.
I'm part of the Wiles of the enemy, you know, he presents.
Something that appears.
Morally acceptable.
It may it.
There's something the enemy would introduce into the life of the believer that detracts him from occupation with the interests of Christ. And so there was much commendable in the Church of episode we see here.
Faithfulness. So many serious doctrines came into the testimony. Gnosticism and so on. Arianism after the the apostles.
Passing there were serious doctrinal issues that.
Confronted the church and it was dealt with, but that motive spring.
In the assembly the love of Christ had declined in their souls, and the Lord felt it.
Maybe someone can give us a definition of Arianism and Gnosticism. We have some young people here and we just used a couple of words that perhaps they're not familiar with.
00:40:00
Eric could do this better than I could, but Gnosticism was that that's one of the things that the fossil warned about in the official to the collections, that there was further truth.
Beyond what we have revealed in the apostles, the ministry, there's something further, deeper truth, a deeper knowledge of things than what is revealed.
Arianism was really an attack upon the person of Christ, was it not? Was it not?
Denial of his of the eternal sonship. Eric.
And his deity and his deity itself. Common example hearing is today is Jehovah Witness or Mormonism. Isn't it Mormonism Mormons tell us that as he was that's Christ was so we can become.
They teach that we can become a God like Jesus. That's completely false, isn't it? There's a great gulf between deity and humanity.
Unitarianism is another.
Would see sometimes assign a Unitarian church and so they'll say that God is God, but they deny the three persons of the Godhead. And what Christianity, what God has revealed in Christianity is that there is a father son. And Gold Coast was unknown in the Old Testament. They knew that Godhead was plural, but they didn't know the details. And so it has been revealed that Jesus is God.
And the Father is in heaven and.
That have seen me, have seen the Father, and so the Lord Jesus is God the Son. So the Scriptures, the New Testament Scriptures present that. But as we say, at the beginning of the church period, the enemy was seeking to attack the person of Christ and his being and setting aside of the revealed Word of God by the apostles, the inspired Word of God and seeking to add to the Word of God.
To erase and to.
To use the black magic, Parker, if we could put it that way, and to try to alter the word of God. And so he addresses that at the end of the book. Let's look at it in chapter 22.
Chapter 22 and verse 18.
Notice who writes this? It's the Lord Jesus himself.
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of this prophecy, of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add under these things, God shall add unto him the plagues and the written in this book. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away out of his part, out of the book.
Of life and other the holy Stadium. From the things which are written in this book. Well, he reveals that those that do not have divine light.
Will deny that Jesus is the Son of God. Those that do not have divine life will attack. The truth of God is revealed in the New Testament. And so it's a solemn, solemn, serious thing too, for a believer perhaps to alter something with the truth of God. I'll just use this as an example. There are some, you know, famous individuals who have said, well, Christ could have sinned, but he didn't sin.
It's absolute denial of the fact that the Lord Jesus is God because God cannot sin. It's not possible for God to sin. And so the Lord Jesus had a life that was unique and his life, he was the head of a new creation race of men. And so he was conceived of the Spirit and he was not a part of the fallen race of men.
And so.
The Scriptures are clear, but we have, even in Christian circles, doctrines that are not appropriate, not correct, and that deny some aspects of the truth of God. And so that's why it's important, it's vital for us to learn the truth and to hear the truth, to be taught the truth from those that walk in the truth. I don't want to.
00:45:05
Be the drum here, but.
To go to an ecumenical Bible study and so on is not the purpose of God. It's not what God has ordained in Scripture. And you read the New Testament, we're going to learn the truth of God.
From those who are walking in the truth of God. It's a principle in Scripture.
John, you mentioned the secret spring is missing here. That is the affection for Christ. What does that mean?
Because one, we might say that this church we might say.
Here come anything, Steve. It's the backside of church, isn't it?
Oftentimes we back select what we are interested. What is missing when we backslide? What's the? How do we maintain that secret spring?
Well, it's communion with the Lord, isn't it? And walking in the self judgment which is.
So important in our lives.
The independence on the Lord and to.
Deal with those things which.
Is freezing to him in our lives.
Or it may be that some other object is coming in and will be coming.
Occupied with. With something that is.
You know, as I have said, perhaps is not immoral, but.
It diverts our eyes from the Lord and.
It robs us of that.
Communion.
Personal communion with the Lord.
And enjoyment of his love. So another has said there's no substitute for communion. But it's a very it's a very delicate.
Thread there, and we know only too well how easily.
There can be a rupture in our communion with the Lord and we have to be watchful and.
Careful, we need the whole armor of God, don't we?
Song of Solomon.
Chapter 5.
Really enjoy the connection with.
Ephesians, Ephesus, and and that question.
And.
No, it's, it's primarily Speaking of Israel, but I think the lessons are for us.
And then Song of Solomon, chapter 5, the Lord.
Comes into his garden he's expecting my God in Genesis that came into the garden in the cool of the day looking for communion with Adam but of course Senate spoiled it will he comes here looking for communion with his beloved her responses in verse two I sleep.
So nicely and the Lord has through the apostles.
Said to Ephesians.
In chapter 5. Wherefore he saith, The weight of that sleep is, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. And so he comes, and she's sleeping.
But she says my heart waketh.
Because she hears his voice. My heart waketh.
It is the voice of my beloved, that knock is saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled, for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. Blessing. That's a picture of blessing that he desires for us, and I think not just future but presently present enjoyment of himself. Her response is, I have put off my coat, how shall I put it on?
I have washed my feet. How shall I defile them?
Think of the picture. She's not walking in ways of defilement.
00:50:02
She's at rest.
I have peace with God for our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm at rest. I know where I'm going. If I die, I'll go to heaven. I'm not going on in worldly ways when she was asleep.
And it's the picture I think we have in in our chapter. There was much to comment, but there was a problem.
They were asleep and still affection for Christ.
I just can't get out of bed, you know? It's really her response.
My beloved put his hand by the hole of the door. I assume that's an opening in the door and she could see his hand.
And my bottles were moved for him. Her heart moved. What did she see? All of him know. She saw one part. She saw his hand.
You know, they're in the upper room. When the Lord showed his hands and his feet to the disciples that says, then were they flat? When they saw the Lord, they saw those hands pierced for them. And his hands speak of service and a service of love, and in His service of love his hands were pierced for us.
If there's anything that's going to wake us up.
And move our hearts.
It's going to be what he did for us.
And occupation with himself and what he's done for us and his love for us occupation with his love for us that here's and then there's a response violent from her and she gets out of that that bad that she wakes up. And I think that's that's really what we've been saying. It's a hearts occupation with the love love of Christ for us and what it cost him seeing that Pierce pan.
And his desire to have.
Fellowship with us.
All the rest without it, no matter how nice, how great the works, it's empty for him unless we open that door, which we're going to get finally glad to see it once we open that door where we saw his hand by the whole door and let him in.
You know, Brandon had an expression correctly, John, if I don't get it quite right, but I believe it was that everything were right. Nothing were right. Say the motive were right is the spirit that's true.
And so speaking to young people, especially if you can listen up a second, I think it begins with the spiritual discipline, doesn't it? Spending time ourselves with the Lord, taking every opportunity we can to be in his presence, going to meetings and, and online and watch what we occupied with online. It's so dangerous today.
And some people say we'll have to go to school or I have to work. Is there a secret there? I believe there is that is the real secret is that will keep him in perfect peace. His mind is stayed on day. How can we do that when we have to go to work and go to school? Because if we do it for the Lord, it brings that peace and community doesn't our our occupations or our school ought to be a testimony that we belong to Christ.
And we're using our time and energy for his glory. And that's.
Privilege but again I say that it begins with reading and prayer on our own with Christian disciplines. Hebrews 5 with Apostle Paul was speaking to the Hebrews and it says strong meat belongs to those who by reason of use or habit have their ex their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. We need to develop this habit. We need to control our minds for things that are.
Going to conflict.
With that, we know it's true. And so that's really the secret. I think we've known people. I think of somebody that is well known to some of us here no longer with us. But he was a, he was a giant intellectually, but the spirit was all wrong.
And it didn't end well. And it begins with this, doesn't it? And so that's the fall. Sometimes it's been said, this is the fallen church. Ephesus literally means desirable. She's the one that Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. She's so desirable. Or as we often quote Galatians 220, the Son of God who brought faith and has given himself for me to present faith, not just past. And to the extent that we're taking up with what belongs to Christ and we belong to Christ.
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And walking, as her brother John was saying, in communion with the Lord and judging those things that are contrary to his will and his way, that's the path of peace and happiness. And that's will keep us from being fallen. Or if we backslide, which we all tend to do, it gets us back into into fellowship with the Lord.
2 verses and songs come to mind. One is song 2514.
Psalm 2514 This is the secret of the Lord is within that feed him and He will show them His covenant and reveal Himself to my community, wouldn't it? That's one and then the other is Psalm 91 and verse one.
Since you Psalm 91.1.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of Almighty and mention how do we keep? How do we, how can we be kept while we're here? While the warranty says the shadow of the Almighty, What better hand could be in to be kept than that hand?
Pierced for us.
We have all things that pertain in the life. There's nothing that God hasn't given us to preserve us in that pathway yet. Dwelling spirit, a new life, eternal life, a new standing before God. God is our Father, a new object, the indwelling spirit. These are all things God has given to us as believers so that we can walk in that pathway.
Forget who.
Told the story, it was one of the old brothers at the hospital, head of the up in New Brunswick. They ever forgot it. He he mentioned how somebody was giving the gospel to another person and the person said, you know, I'd like to be saved, but I just don't think I can live the Christian life.
And so the man that had a pencil in his hand is not sure. Many have heard the story, but perhaps some of the younger ones haven't. But he gave the person a pencil and he said, I'll make that pencil stand on the pen. The man put the pencil there and it kept falling over, of course. And finally he said, I'll show you how to make the stand. You put it there. He kept his finger on it. And that's what the word fends for is, doesn't it? He wants to keep us, and He's provided us all things that pertain on the life of godliness so that we can walk in that pathway in the midst of.
The darkest days.
And that's what we have here. So it was a fallen church, but not a ruined church. That word fallen is there in verse five. Remember therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the 1St work that begin in with Christ Is it? And then the Nicolae. What is the Nicolae? What are some different thoughts on that? It's very.
From the word itself, it means the comfort the people conquer lay the people. So some of suggested that perhaps it was yearly intrusion of the clergy of separate class of people that were not only brethren of in Christianity there could be an equal class of brethren. Sure, we have different responsibilities and so on, but we're all equal. In a large site there's not a distinction between clergy and laity. So that's one thought. Another thought that the writers like Mr. Darby and Kelly feel more strongly about.
Is it that they were anti no meanness?
And Tyson we means against and no Ian means law. In other words, what they did was these men pretended to be Christians, claimed to be Christians, but their lives were not Christian at all.
So that's what the Early read themselves about Nicolae. I don't know what others say about that. Perhaps they could accept both but Nicole has appeared to have been anti millionaire. They were pretending to be spiritual.
Claiming to be spiritual, that their lives were anything but spiritual.
You know you're not stagnant. We're not.
Staying at one place in our Christian experience, either we're progressing and the understanding and the knowledge of the Lord or we're retrograding. We're going back. This is the case. We haven't been there church and.
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The apostle will go back to his remarks in Acts.
In chapter 20.
One and 20 chapter 20, where he's arresting the elders of this very church. 282028 They keep therefore unto yourselves, into all the flock over which the Holy Ghost.
May do overseers lead the Church of God, which he'll purchase with his own blood, for I know this.
That after my departing shall breathe wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock also of your own selves, and then arise speaking perverse things to go away disciples, after that, therefore watch, Remember that by the space of three years I see snow to warn every one of you night and day. Now here's the resource that we are left with at night and day with tears.
Now, brethren, my commenders involved.
Through the word of his grace, which is able.
Build you up and give you an inheritance among them all them which are sanctity.
And then we have the provisions of the war that do not change.
The God and the Word of His grace.
Which we?
Which we have the privilege of that.
Of the reading today, the word of His grace and.
Obedience to that word is a time that is marked out for us and.
The Word of God, two great resources, not only the word of God, but prayer as well. So he commended them to God and so we can pray for one another. We can pray for the assembly. It's God's assembly, it belongs to the Lord Jesus. It's not ours. Let's praise for the Lord to preserve those that are in the assembly, to preserve the assembly itself. I was just going to comment on chapter 20 as well in verse connection with Utica's. You might say, well, how do you get sleepy?
Our brother Steve read about this woman who wouldn't get up because she was sleeping and she wanted to get her feet dirty and so on. But how do you get sleepy near Utica's? It didn't happen all at once. And then it's the same terminology, the same illustration is giving. You might say in Matthew 25 that our brother Eric, they all slumbered and slept. What does it mean to slumber and sneak? It means to get sleepy.
It means that we become insensitive to the responsibility that we have, the support board and the testimony that we have and the actual fact that we are here to their testimony to live for His glory and be taken up with His interest. We become sleepy and unconscious to the fact that that is our responsibility. That's why we're here. And then so it's a gradual thing. We become sleepy and then we fall asleep. We're totally unconscious to our desire or.
Responsibility to bear a testimony. And So what makes us sleepy?
The world Satan has all kinds of tricks.
And I'm not a good example. I don't want to say that I'm a good example of anything at all.
But I have just one little trick that helped me at night. I shut myself phone off. I don't put it on airplane mode or anything like that. I shut the thing off and then I do not turn it on again until I read a few verses of scriptures and a little time in the presence of the Lord.
We need to take exercise self judgment, we're allowing ourselves to become sleepy and then we're unconscious as to the responsibility of have before the Lord during the day and it's a dangerous thing. Brother London used to say to us when we were young, He say young people, you have three parts to the day, three eight hour sections. You have to spend 8 hours roughly resting and refreshing, recovering and sleep.
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You have 8 hours of responsibility at work, perhaps at school and so on, and then you have 8 hours of discretionary time. What are you doing with those eight hours of discretionary time? Are you frittering them away?
And that's how he would speak to us. And so we have 8 hours you could say that we could really spend.
Keeping ourselves awake.
Well, we haven't commented here on Smyrna very much, but he does in this little assembly present the that there were a couple of things that distressed him, and that he knew that there was those that were blasphemous, and they spoke impiously, you might say, a divine things, because they said they were Jews and are not.
Letter the synagogue of state and it really refers to a Judaizing element within the church. They wanted to mix Judaism and Christianity, but God is wisdom has made a clear break. The church was not revealed in the Old Testament. It was unknown and it was in the secrets of God. He had a secret, a great secret, the greatest secret that he had in any call to the mystery.
Of Christ in the Church.
The greatest mystery.
And he revealed it after the Lord Jesus was crucified and ascended into heaven. 10 days later, the church was formed. And he reveals by the apostle Paul and other writers that this church is going to be the bride of Christ, and she's going to have a special place in his heart. Well, these Judaizers, they wanted to mix Judaism, the principles of Judaism and the principles of Christianity and make something that was.
A little bit of a smorgasbord.
And everyone would have a slightly different flavor. And so that's why the Spirit of God insists on.
Those things that are Christian being distinct and that there would not be a separate class of priesthood and a separate lazy and all those things that had begun to creep into the church early on.
And so he speaks very forthrightly, but he had allowed, as we said earlier.
Trials and tests.
And he was going to test as to whether there was going to be faithfulness or not.
Faithfulness to the name of Christ, faithfulness to the cause of Christ and the Lord deals with us as individuals. He would test individuals. That's the faithfulness. Yes, the whole assembly was responsible and those that were an oversight, he's speaking to and they're responsible, doubly responsible, you might say, but he was going to test them all. That's just faithfulness. And I believe the Lord Jesus was tested you and I today in the day that we live in as to whether or not we will be faithful.
For the truth that we know.
There's a word on the overcomer here. What is the significance I will give to each of the three of life which is in the midst of the paradise of.
Well, paradise means the garden of delight, doesn't it?
And man, Adam never ate of the tree of life. We're not told that he did. And otherwise he would have lived forever in that state of innocence. But you and I in the fallen statement, pardon me, in the in his fallen state, in his fallen state. But he didn't even need it in his innocence, I don't believe.
But here he he speaks at the paradise of God, at the light, the garden of the light. And we know that in Luke's Gospel chapter 24, the Lord spoke to the thief on the crossing, says today shalt thou be with me in paradise garden of delight. And so the Lord delighted to present that future hope to those that would be overcomers, that they would be with him and enjoy.
The provision that he would have for them, that garden of the light, those that would be overcomers.
I like what it says in Colossians 2 we mentioned the mystery of God, the end of verse two and the rest of the verse. It shouldn't really be there and then it's properly translated in which are hit all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
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Well, this is the broad panorama of God's blessing for mankind. Isn't that what it speaks about? The the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God?
Tremendous blessings that God wants to bring us into.
And we'll see that as we see that in the Tabernacle. It's interesting, the door of the Tabernacle, not the outer gate, but the door into the sanctuary.
Have beautiful colors on it.
Purple and scarlet, and of course the white background in blue heaven. It speaks of that which is pure, that which is heavenly, that which is.
Imperial side of things, the purple and the earthly side of things, God understanding and and how he teaches us what's going to happen on the earth. These are all part of the treasures that God wants to introduce the Christian into.
Like he said to Abraham of old on the way to Sodom and Gomorrah when they visited the Abraham, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I am about to do? That's why Abraham was called God's friend. We taught him things that were unknown to the world otherwise. And let's remember, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Satan is far greater than we are, but he's not nearly a mess to the Lord.
So the overcomer. Each one of these churches has an overcomer.
And that's what the Lord calls us to. To be faithful doesn't mean we're necessarily gifted. Does it mean we necessarily have a prominent place among brother? But it's faithfulness. It's seeking to honor the Lord and walking in the Lords and the secret of his presence.
So this is the suffering or the persecuted church, isn't it?
Smyrna comes from the words myrrh, which we know. The bird comes from a tree, a shrub, and they use the SAP. It's like teardrops from the SAP that they use, and it often speaks of sorrow.
And in fact, remember when the the Oriental kings came to the infant Jesus, they offered a gift so of of of a gold myrrh and frankincense.
Remember, Gold of course, speaks of his divinity. The murder speaks with the sufferings he would bear. But Frankenstein speaks of the beauty, the moral beauty of his past.
You might turn to the Song of Solomon again, Chapter 4 at the end of chapter 4.
Maybe we could read a little earlier than that. Verse 13. Chapter 4. Verse 13. The plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, campfire with spikes, here spiky and saffron. Calamus and all the treatment, frank consensus, murder and arrows with all the cheap spices. A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, the streams from Lebanon.
A wait until north wind come blow upon my garden, but the spices are of me flow out that my beloved come into his garden or eat his pleasant fruits. So in this passage we have the north wind perhaps blowing over the garden. And you know here in Hammer Bay we have a Grapevine right by the model tea shed and I think Jonathan is pruned it a little bit and so on and maybe grapes on it. But at this time of year.
Walk by the Grapevine and you had a night just below a frost. The smell of those grapes, those Concord grapes, is a wonderful, wonderful smell. And So what he did here, the Lord himself allowed suffering.
His heart of love that that fragrance that he desired low forth and the fragrance of the craters of the Saints, they're dependent upon him, their expression of their love for him and their dependence upon his care. Preservation through those trials would walk heavenward and he would have the scent of all those prayers. And I believe this is a little bit of a picture given to us. It's.
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Murder. Suffering.
And but it was for 10 days, it was measured. It's a wonderful thing for a believer to recognize that when we go through a trial, it's measured.
Is not indefinite. The unbeliever, he has no hope. He has no thought of when this could possibly end. Why he's going through these situations but you and I independence upon the Lord and depending upon his faithfulness and upon his love.
We can even thank Him for the trial, giving thanks always for all things under God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We can thank him for allowing the trial, that we might learn something from it. And so.
It's measured, and so God does not do things indiscriminately. There's a purpose.
Here I think it was sometimes in our own lives, a preventative measure.
There was mentioned already evil doctrine said raise their head. You get them more fully developed in in Pergamus where it's right within the assembly.
But he stemmed that downward slide towards those things and using sufferings and the poverty that they had in in so many ways.
Had no influence in this world. They could change anything in the government or do anything in that way. They just were battered and bruised. But God preserved them through that time from sliding any further. And when that persecution and that poverty changed, well then the slide picked up again. And so He may come in in our own lives and introduce those things to keep us from drifting further away from Himself rather than draw us close to himself.
Those are all practical thoughts to reach one of us to keep in mind. You know the assemblies that were in and.
Go back, it's going back quite a ways, but it's been mentioned the individual and in connection with the collectiveness too in the assembly. But all of us that started as an individual, didn't it? We had to come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. I think Robert mentioned that verse in Luke 15. Put on the best robe. And I think of those verses in Zechariah 3, You know, take those filthy garments off and I'll put in them a new raiment. Remember what He has done for us. What does He mean to us? Mary could say in the garden for Beaumont. That was a term of true affection and love, wasn't there?
And that blind man and Mark 10, he said, what would you have me do? Lord said, what would you have me to do for you? He said, Lord, that I might receive my sight. It was affection. There was reverence there. And so to hold that and keep that our whole life. Sure. You mentioned the one in Song of Solomon there and what she heard his voice. Mary assumed that it was the gardener, but she heard his voice and said, Mary, and so he keeps us with him.
As we had before us and and mentioned the waking and you know that we wouldn't make provision for the flesh in our lives. We see that in Romans 13 with awake out of sleep. You know our salvation is nearer than it ever was before. And so he would have us to be walking close to him. But if we're in an assembly.
And we're going through difficult times in that assembly and there's hardship.
Think that you can't help. Don't think that He's left you there and that you're alone. Remember that He does give us provision to overcome these things. We're going through it for a particular purpose. Maybe there's something that you don't like in the assembly. Well, maybe that's for you to pay attention to. Who knows what it might be. But we do need to pay attention to these things because, you know, as an individual, it's my responsibility to walk in the path that He has laid before me to show Christ when you put on that garment.
You're putting on Christ. That tells you that again in Romans 13, I believe. And so if you and I put on Christ and walk in those ways, then others are going to see it. As much as it is contagious to fall asleep and have others fall asleep around you, it's contagious when you show Christ and others can follow that example too. Paul said follow me. He didn't mean follow him because he was some special individual, which I'm sure he really was.
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But he said follow me because I'm walking in the path. I'm walking in the example that Jesus Christ left for me to walk in.
Follow that path. Follow that example.
I think that Practically speaking sums these up a little bit.
We have the crown of life mentioned here, and it brings before us that though there were martyrs at this time, there were two things particularly that Satan did I believe. One was that the burning of the Scriptures, the eradication of the word of God, trying to persecute the Saints and eradicate the Word and.
Because they all had to be handcuffed.
Books of the Bible at that time.
No printing presses. And the other was martyrdom to take the light. And so he said, be faithful under that, and I will give thee a crown of life. And so it reminds us that what God gives, He may take something away. The life may have been taken away from some of those dear ones and it looks like they lost everything. It looks like they lost those days on earth. That could be truthful for the Lord.
But he always gives something better.
In return, he always gives a reward that's better.
And so it's a principle in God's ways with men that he blessed the latter days of Job rather than his beginning.
And so a brother sister has lost their house to a storm and basically we have a homeless family in our midst.
They don't have a home.
But he gives the best, he always gives the best. And so here Speaking of loyalty to Christ, be thou faithful unto death. And I maybe just to turn to UN quote it. Galatians 5/22. The fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy peace.
Long boy.
The fruit of spirit, Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
That's loyalty.
Loyalty to Christ.
That's the expression that's meant there. And so loyalty, they were to be loyal to the person of Christ and to the faithful to what they do to be the truth of God, even if it costs in their life this night for us to live in the day that we live in and to take this instruction to be faithful, loyal to the word of God, loyal to Christ, to person even in the day that we live in.
The crowd like.
One of seven crowns that mentioned the Scripture week.
You say #51 from the start #51.
Jesus our Lord, we.
Are.
Souls to shame.
No more like our whole.