Richmond BC Conference: 2008
Table of Contents
John 13:1-12
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And this morning that we need something for our hearts and I, I realized what I'm about to suggest is the portion we often take up in a setting like this. But I I'd like to suggest the 13th chapter of the book of John.
If that's the mind of the brethren, I would suggest that this morning, uh, we read the 1St 17 verses.
John, Chapter 13.
Verse one.
Now before the feast of this Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God, he rises from supper and laid aside his garments, and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do, thou knowest not now.
But thou shalt know hereafter.
Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not saved to wash his feet, but is clean every wit, and ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him.
Therefore, said he, ye are not all clean.
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye would I have done to you. Ye call me master and Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet, he also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example.
What you should do is I have done to you.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if you do them.
Well, it's helpful to get the context of a chapter, a portion when we take it up. But I would just say this before we do that, that my exercise in suggesting this portion, as I said, was that there's so much to that affects us today, brethren here with trials, some with burdens that I've never had to feel. And we want to have our hearts refreshed. We desire to have the Lord speak to our heart, perhaps.
Today, in these last moments of the day of grace, unlike anytime in the history of God's people.
There are physical problems, there are problems in the workplace, often in the home, many here burdened for their young people and family members. And so John's ministry very largely speaks to our hearts. And I believe that's why so often in these last days we go back to John's ministry. And so that's my exercise in suggesting it, that this might speak to our hearts and refresh us and encourage us. Brethren, we need to be refreshed and encouraged. We need to have the.
Lift up the feeble hands and the hang down and have our the our walk strengthened for the path of faith and service, because in spite of all the difficulties and problems, we can go on for the Lord's glory. Well, we find that this chapter, where we began then is the beginning of what we sometimes refer to as the Upper Room ministry. Now I realize that all, not all of it was given in the Upper Room. There's a break later on where some of it is given on the way to the garden.
00:05:08
And that what's given in the Upper room and what's given on the way to the garden has a distinct character. But we refer to these chapters, chapters 131415 and 16, as the Upper Room ministry. And then the Lord's high priestly prayer in the 17th chapter, where he lifts up his eyes to heaven and he prays to his Father. And he doesn't just pray for the little company that surrounded him on that occasion, but all those that would believe. It was a little foreshadow, I believe, of the service that the Lord was going to and has taken up on behalf of his own.
At the right hand of God, praying for us every hour of every day. And so in these chapters, it just seems, brethren, that he covers everything. And what he's really saying is I'm going to leave you. I'm going to go away. You're not going to walk with me like you have during my public ministry. But he says I'm going to make full and abundant provision for you in my depart in my absence. And so in this first verse, there's two things.
Brought before us. There's the need. The hour was come that he would he would depart out of the world under the Father. And there was the motive. Having loved his own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And brethren, if we can just get a hold of that infinite eternal divine love, if if that doesn't touch our hearts, I don't know what goes on within our hearts, but just to get a sense at the beginning of these readings of that love that he had for his own and has for you and for me.
It's an unchanging, inalterable divine love.
Might help to make a distinction of two different things. If we were to look at, uh, the Gospel of John chapter 17, we might see there, uh, the Lord Jesus in his high priestly work for the believer. That is, he maintains the place he intercedes that they might be kept in this world, that they might enjoy communion and go on in fellowship with God In this chapter here, you might say it's his work as an advocate that, uh, walking through this world.
There's a danger, even though we may not, uh, be, uh, we may not be practicing sin of one sort or another, but we may, uh, we may be in an atmosphere where our ears hear something that we wish we hadn't heard and we get defiled. Uh, we, umm, may, uh, our eyes might see something. We may walk into the path of something and our feet become defiled in this world. And so this chapter here is taking up the faithful advocacy work of the Lord Jesus.
To wash away the feet, to cleanse it, that there might be communion restored. Because the Lord Jesus real desire is that we might enjoy every day of our lives that same enjoyment and fellowship that He enjoyed with the Father. And so this is the exercise of his heart on his side to keep and to maintain and bring us back into that relationship with our Father.
There is a division, as Jim has said in this, this gospel in the first 12 Chapters, uh, we have the, uh, public ministry of the Lord Jesus, particularly from, uh, the third chapter on. And uh, it is, we see it now drawn to a close at the end of the 12Th chapter. And in this 13th chapter, he is about to go back to his father, as the first verse indicates. And it's beautiful to see that there is one more thing he needed to do before he would leave, and that was to prepare his disciples for the time of his absence.
And as Ed has mentioned that the the first thing that would be required is that they would be maintained in communion with himself, even though he would be gone back to the Father. And so the subject that's before us in this 13th chapter is the maintenance of communion and how important this is. The other things that he will bring out in the 14th chapter, the many gains as a result of him going away and sending the Spirit and so on, would not be realized and enjoyed if there wasn't first this maintenance of communion.
And brethren, do we need communion and our to be maintained and we're walking through such a defiled scene. Yes, we do. So this is very applicable for us this after this morning. And so that's why the subject of the foot washing comes in which is a symbolical actions of the Lord Jesus illustrating really just that work that he would carry on in the time of his absence whereby the disciples would be maintained in communion. And this is what the Lord is seeking to do for us too. He's wants to wash our feet.
00:10:08
Uh, our feet this this morning so that we would have part with him as he says there in verse, uh.
Uh, verse eight, If I Washington, if I wash thee knot, thou hast no part with me. That's part with him in communion.
And it's in communion where he is now. This was in anticipation, as we said, of his leaving the disciples. When the Lord Jesus was here and the disciples walked with him during his public ministry, they could come to Him at any time. They could come and unburden their hearts. They could talk to Him, and so on.
But he wasn't going to be with them in the same way, because Christianity sets us in relationship with Christ, but not with Christ in the way the disciples enjoyed Christ here in this world. Henceforth know we know man after the flesh, though we know knew Christ after the flesh, henceforth knowing Him no more. And it might be helpful too. We alluded to it, but the upper room ministry is divided into two sections, and in the 13th and 14th chapter, that which is given to them in the upper room sets them in the proper relationship.
With divine persons in heaven, they were gonna be in association and communion could be maintained in relationship with the with the Son and with the Father after the Son left this world. And so it's given in the upper room. Then on the way to the garden, as they leave the upper room and enter into the night and on the way to the garden, he sets them in the proper relationship as still being physically here in this world, they can still bear fruit. They have the Spirit of God as the power.
For their life in the absence of Christ and that link with Him while they were still here physically in this world.
And then, as we said, the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus in the 17th chapter, the office that he was going to take up.
I just want to say make this other comment too before we pass on and that is that feet washing isn't necessarily to remove that which is sin. It may be, but it is to remove those things that dull the affections and chill the soul they may be. Nothing wrong with it in itself, but in the Old Testament we have many examples of feet washing. It was a custom in Bible times and it still is in Middle Eastern countries.
To wash a person's feet because the literal washing of a person's feet did two things.
It removed the defilements of the way and it refreshed the traveler after the fatigue of the journey.
And so that's what feet washing is for. And feet washing too, is the practical application of the Word of God in our lives. It's the washing of water by the Word. It's opening this book and reading it and letting it have its cleansing effect. We come home after a day in the world. There are things that have distracted us, things that, as I say, chill the soul and dull the affections.
We need to have a good wash, and I don't mean soap and water. We need the washing of water by the word.
So as we look at these chapters as a whole, 13 through 17, we see that, uh, in the time of the Lord's absence that he would be carrying on A2 fold ministry. He had finished his earthly ministry, as we said, and at the end of the 12Th chapter, but on high in the glory, he's carrying on A2 fold ministry. And, uh, the 13th chapter illustrates one point and one part of it, and then the 17th chapter illustrates the other part. And you know what I'm talking about now, his priesthood and his advocacy.
His priesthood is chapter 17, advocates chapter advocacy is chapter 13. They sort of bookend each of the, the, the chapters and really, uh, set before us what the Lord is doing on high for the good of his people that they might be maintained in the enjoyment of his love and kept from evil.
So it begins with the statement of his love for them.
And I believe that the reason this is mentioned here is because the Lord wants us to go on in the enjoyment of His love. And if that's going to be the case, we're going to have to have the willingness to put our feet in His hands and allow Him to take the water of His Word and to wash and cleanse our our feet in a very practical way. That is to allow the Word of God to have its practical effect on our lives.
00:15:07
Whereby we are, uh, sustained in communion with himself. We can't have communion with the Lord if there's sin and defilement, uh, in our souls. And the second verse comes in to show us that we have a very real enemy that wants to thwart this work. The enemy does not want us to enjoy communion with himself. And he was at work right during the supper, that second verse says, and during the supper.
That is, I'm reading now the other translation, and during the supper, the devil having put into the heart of Judas Iscariot and so on, to betray him. And I believe that the enemy of our souls is seeking to suggest things and put things in our hearts by suggestion. That would spoil our enjoyment of communion too. And so we're going to need the foot washing, every one of us.
His life and his ministry in this world would come to an end. He said the things concerning me have an end in Luke 22, but there's one thing that had no end, and that was his love. Whether they, uh, would mock him and finally crucify him and kill him, it would put an it would put an end to his life in this world, but it wouldn't put an end to his love. It says here he loved them unto the end or through everything.
Should be translated. Even though death would come in, his love would continue and he would go on with him when he would go back to his father. But he wanted them to be in, to live in the enjoyment of that love, even though they were separated and he was absent. And so the necessity of the foot washing comes in.
It's remarkable to notice where this confirmation of the Lord's love for his disciples.
Comes in. If it had come in at the beginning of his public ministry when he had called the disciples and they were in the freshness of following the Lord Jesus and so on, you'd say, well, I well understand how it could. He could give a confirmation of His love. But it's at the end of his pathway. And as we trace the disciples walking with the Lord Jesus, there was much that was wanting and there was much more that was coming. A lot of failure was going to come in.
Judas, who of course remained an unregenerate man to the end. He was going to betray the Lord Jesus. Peter was going to deny him all we're going to forsake him and flee. But did that change his love? No, because divine love is a little different, is different than natural love. Natural love looks for something lovable in the object, and natural love for the most part needs a response from the object if it is going to be maintained or grow.
Now divine love delights in a response from the object, but it's not dependent on it. Divine love is consistent even when there isn't the proper response from the object. And so it's often been pointed out that at the end of the wilderness journey there's a confirmation of Jehovah's love. He loved all the people. If that was in the 15th of Exodus where they were rejoicing and in the freshness of redemption and deliverance, you'd say, oh, I could understand it. But what kind of a journey was it? A journey filled with murmuring and complaining and fault finding and sin and the governmental hand of God upon them time and time again.
Was his love for them any less on the banks of the Jordan than it was on the banks of the Red Sea? Not for one moment. And then when you come over to the end of the, the word of God, you know, it's remarkable that there are only two churches in Revelation that, uh, he confirms his love to one is Philadelphia. And you say, oh, I can understand that there was a freshness in Philadelphia fervency. They were seeking to keep this word and not deny his name. So I understand that. But what about the last church, Laodicea?
As many as I rebuke, I love and chase them. He loved them just as much in Laodicea as he loved them in Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, or any other of those assemblies that John wrote to by inspiration. And so here, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And brethren, if our affections have dulled and become cold, what is it that's going to stir them up? What's going to deepen our affections to be concerned about our affections for the Lord know.
I believe what's going to deepen our affections for him is occupation with his love. If we get occupied with our response, that may be feeble at best, but the more we're occupied with himself and his love for us, there will be an unconscious deepening of affection in our soul for him as a result.
00:20:15
A stronger affection for our brethren because we would see our brother in the way the Lord Jesus sees our brother and.
And so in verse 1314, I don't want to get ahead, but I think when we go through these following verses and.
We, we look at these steps in which the Lord Jesus tenderly washes the feet of his disciples. There's an admonition to us too, isn't there? And so, uh, as we're, as we're viewing this, what he says to us, he says, you call me master, uh, and Lord, that's teacher. And you say, well, for so I am, if I then your Lord and teacher, umm, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. And so the more we occupy ourselves with the tender way in which the Lord Jesus did this.
And we see how much he values his people, uh, how long he desires for communion to be restored. Umm, uh, my question is, is would we have that same kind of heart if our brethren entered into our homes? Would we add soil to their feet, something more of what the world has to offer? Is that what we would do? Or would they find a word of impression of refreshment from the word of God?
With the word of God be opened and their feet be cleansed, would they be encouraged after a weary day? You know, I look at this time that the brother in here and uh, have been exercised to to bring the Saints together. Is that not this kind of exercise? The brother needs their feet washed. They need to be refreshed. They need to be encouraged. They stepped forward to do it. I'm thankful. And so are we not individually supposed to have that same heart and desire. I think as we.
As our brother Jim had brought out, as we occupy ourselves with the way in which the Lord Jesus, so tenderly in his love, responds to meet their need, we're called to do the same.
Now there are some Christian groups that practice foot washing practically literally. Rather, how do we know that this is symbolical actions of the Lord? As we have been saying, Well, I believe the answer is given to us when he says.
Umm, verse seven. What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Well, if it was just literal washing of feet and nothing more than that.
They wouldn't have known exactly what he was doing, but he's telling them there in the seventh verse that there was something, there was a hit, there was a meaning behind what he was doing. Even though they didn't understand it at that moment, they were gonna know it later when the Spirit would come and open that up to him. And so the idea of washing one another's feet literally is missing the point of the passage altogether.
It's a selfless service, isn't it? And you see the Lord Jesus, he, in his humility, he performs this service for the disciples, which has been said we ought to perform for one another. But it's a selfless service and it's remarkable. When you go back to the Old Testament, there are six, I believe, examples of feet washing in the Old Testament. I say examples of feet washing, but it's interesting when you read those stories.
That you actually never read Now I'm not saying it, it happened or it didn't, but you actually never read that the person who suggested the water be brought for the washing of another's feet. You never actually read that they ever carried it out that remarkable Abraham suggested that a Little Feat, a little water be Washington brought to wash those three men's feet that came to him. And by the way, that's the first mention of feet washing in the scripture. And there were, there's several examples in, uh, Genesis 4 examples there's.
Abigail and so on. But you never read until you come to Luke's gospel where you have the woman who in repentance comes to the feet of the Lord Jesus, and she washes her his feet with her tears.
And then there's the perfect divine example of the Lord Jesus here, who humbles himself.
Empties himself and washes the disciples feet. And then you go on to the epistles and you read of the godly widows.
Who washed the feet of the Saints? And of course there were others too, like Odessa forests and different ones who refreshed the Apostle Paul in different ones. But I, I think what it shows is that it to, to wash one another's feet is going to take real humility. It's going to take esteeming each O other better than himself.
00:25:18
Well, it says in verse 3.
That, uh, the Lord knew that the Father had given all things into his hands. Now the all things here is all things having to do with the care of his own.
He took it upon himself, and brethren, we need to let this sink deeply into our hearts the Lord has taken upon Himself.
And has pledged with his own word that he's going to look after us all the while that he would be away.
Doesn't mean that we're going to make a lot of money or maybe be healthy every day of our lives, but He's going to take care of our spiritual state if we'll have the willingness to put our feet into His hand and let Him wash our feet with the water of His Word.
And so as we've been saying, these are symbolical actions. Here they are at the supper, they're enjoying this, uh, uh, Passover supper together, which had a Jewish setting. And, uh, now right here in the middle of this, uh, scene, he rises up.
That was a symbolical action when it says He rises from supper and it indicates that he was going to leave them and take a new position, a new place on high in the glory. Then it says He laid aside his garments. That is, he was going to lay aside all of his outward associations that he had once had with them as the Messiah and the Kingdom.
Because, uh, so very often in Scripture, garments speak to us of the associations of life, but he laid his garments aside. And so there was going to be a, uh, a laying aside of all of those outward associations that they had once had with him as the Messiah and the Kingdom. And then said he was, he girded himself here. This is another symbolical action showing that he was going to take the servant's place for one who girds himself and carries on a servant's work.
And that's what the Lord Jesus was going to do. He was going to carry on a servant's work where he was going. And that's what he's doing today, carrying on that servant's work. And then it says that he would take, he took water and he poured it into a basin. And that would speak to us, of course, his use of the word of God. And then he even took a towel too. That was to be finished the work so that they would be comfortable in his presence after it was all over.
And so this is the result that happens when the Lord washes our feet and we feel, uh, in communion with himself, we feel at rest and comfortable in his presence. And so these things that we insist on that are, they are symbolical actions.
And they really represent what the Lord Jesus was going to do and is now presently doing on our behalf, that we would be maintained with communion.
I wonder if you couldn't say that he did all this in the presence of that which would kill love.
Look at Luke 22 and and we see as we go down the passage, it speaks about before I suffer and then he speaks about the cup and he gives thanks for the cup.
And he took bread and gave thanks and break it, that cup and that bread, He was the symbol of that which he would suffer for. And he gave thanks to God for it. And then it speaks about the betrayal of Judas, one who was closely associated with him. And then they strove amongst themselves who would be the greatest. And then he says of them, yet they that have continued with me in my temptations.
And then he predicts Peter's denial.
And then?
He anticipates the suffering in the garden.
And then betrayed by Judas and then he buffeted by the world. Everything was there, which would kill love in, in, in any one of us. But he continues on. He continues to love them. He wants them, as it were, with his feet in his hands. Precious time, beautiful. It's nice to see too, how that the, uh, in the narrative here we have Illinois, a person mentioned that really illustrates one who's got the gain.
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From the foot washing and that's John. Fast forward for a minute there in verse 23, he was leaning on the bosom of the Lord Jesus. Isn't that beautiful? And so to to quote Mr. Woolston, he said we go from the basin to the bosom. We have to go if we want to get on the bosom of the Lord and enjoy his love. We're going to have to go from the basin to the booze and we're going to have to let the water of the word of God have its rightful place and washing us and that we have to take up with it.
And uh, that's what's really illustrated in verses 6, uh, 7-8 and so on with Peter. Perhaps we could say verses 6 through 10. We have here with him coming to Peter the fact that foot washing is individual, then cometh he to Simon Peter. It's an individual thing. He went from 1 disciple to the other. And so we have to be individually exercised about putting our foot in the hand of the Lord.
And letting him wash our feet, it means that we're gonna have to open the Word and let him use it. If you don't read your Bible, you're not gonna make much progress in your Christian life, and you're not gonna be a clean Christian.
Is that right, Bob? That's very good.
You know, the, uh, example that was given brother Jim mentions, uh, in, uh, Genesis in connection with the, the water that was provided for the three to wash their feet. It doesn't say that they wash their feet, but it also doesn't say that Abraham washed their feet. And so it wouldn't have been appropriate. The picture there given of those three divine guests. And so here we have in this, uh, in the, in this little passage of an individual work of the Lord Jesus.
With each one of this disciplines out of affection and knowing what the need individually was for each one. And so the Word of God that I might need to cleanse my path might be different to what the word is that you need. And the Spirit of God and the Lord Jesus himself are using the Word of God to cleanse us, to help us to have a proper perspective, a proper view of things as we walk through this scene.
I think it's helpful too, to see that there were, when He speaks about the supper here, it's been already alluded to. It's the Passover supper, and the Passover supper was to set them in relationship with Himself as to Kingdom glory. You get that in Luke 22, there are two cups. In Luke 22, there's the cup. First of all, that was connected with the Passover, and the Lord wouldn't drink of that because the Kingdom wasn't going to be at that time. The Lord Jesus was going to leave the disciples.
And as the parable says, take his journey into a far country and so on. As our portion says, he was returning to God. And so when the supper that was that set them in relationship to himself in Kingdom glories was over, then he rises from that supper to set them in relationship with himself as to heavenly glories, because again, we're associated with Christ in heavenly in a heavenly sphere and.
The provision has been made for us brethren to go on in communion and relationship with himself where he is now. And so that's why, again, it was necessary that it begin with feet washing, that communion would be would be maintained. And I think it's helpful to see that. And I think it's helpful in Luke 22 to see that there are two cups there, a cup that had by tradition been introduced into the Passover. And the Lord doesn't set that aside. He mentions it, but then he sets it aside at the supper being ended.
And he introduces in Luke 22 what we refer to as the Lord's supper. We don't get that here, but umm, I, I think it's just helpful to see that he rises from supper this he was going to set them in a different relationship with himself. I I would like to say this about Judas before we pass on to he's a solemn warning to anyone who sits in a meeting like this. And here's the word of God read and is not a believer. Judas had his feet tenderly and lovingly placed.
In the hands of the Lord Jesus. Judas had walked with the Lord Jesus during his public ministry. In fact, there are two things that are solemn to consider. One is that the Lord never treated Judas in a way that gave him away as not being real. You know, you'd think when they got to the to the suffer the table that some of them would suspect at least who the betrayer would be, but it seemed like none of them.
00:35:10
Suspect, is it I? Is it I? They had no idea, it seemed. And the other thing is, so careful, so clever was the cover up of Judas, that he never gave himself away. And it's a solemn thing to realize that one can pass amongst the Lord's people and never give themselves away, and yet pass out of this world as Judas did later on as an unregenerate man. This also illustrates sanctification, doesn't it?
Sanctification means.
It really has a double meaning. On the one hand, it means to set apart for a holy purpose, and that's a wonderful thing. The Lord Jesus has sanctified us, but it also refers to cleansing along the way in our pathway. And it's often been mentioned, but I think it helps to, uh, to repeat it again. And that is that there are three types of sanctification, uh, mentioned in Scripture. One type is provisional sanctification. That is, it's merely an outward sanctification.
In a certain sense, when a person becomes baptized, as we are Speaking of Judas, they're sanctified in an outward sense. And so it speaks of that In Scripture, 1St Corinthians 7, for instance, it speaks about, uh, the children of a mixed marriage are sanctified. That doesn't mean they're saved, no, but it means they're set in a particular place of blessing. And so it was true of Judas here, wasn't it? He's particularly guilty because he was in a particularly privileged place.
And so that's what we, sometimes it has different names, but, uh, it's helpful for, for me to use the word, uh, provisional sanctification. It's outward sanctification. It's not vital. It's not real in the sense that we have a new life, but it is a privileged place. It is provisional sanctification. And so Judas is an example of that, isn't it? And we have that in verse, uh, uh, uh, verse 10, uh, Jesus saith to him, he that is washed needeth not to, not save to wash his feet.
But is clean every width, and ye are clean, but not all. And verse 11 For he knew who should betray him. Therefore, said he, ye are not all clean. So he's speaking to all these people who had been outwardly sanctified. All the disciples had been outwardly, the apostles had been outwardly sanctified, but in fact one was not real. And so, as her brother Jim was reminding us, we are sanctified if we're raised in the assembly, aren't we?
It's a privileged place, but it doesn't make us necessarily real. That's provisional sanctification. Some may have a little different names for that, but uh, that's one term that's helpful. It's an outward sanctification. Now we also have positional sanctification and again, terms vary a little bit, but that has to do with our standing before God. And we have that illustrated with Peter, uh, verse eight. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.
Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. And then as we read, Jesus sayeth to him, he that is washed needeth not saved to wash his feet, but is clean every wet. Well, what is the Lord teaching us here? There's a positional sanctification, and that has to do with passing from life to death, or from death to life, doesn't it, when we are born again?
We're positionally sanctified. That is a vital sanctification. And so that's what the Lord is speaking about with Peter. It's really drawn from the figure of the priest, isn't it? When they were consecrated, they were first of all washed all over. That was part of their original sanctification that made them priests, if we can put it that way. And so provisional sanctification makes us Christians, not just outwardly like Judas was and others are who profess Christianity. That's provisional sanctification.
But PO, positional sanctification is that which makes me a real Christian, gives me a new life. And then practical sanctification is really what we're speaking about. It's feet washing per SE, isn't it? That's for defilement along the way. That's once we're Christians, That's just for Christians really, isn't it? That's, that's for help along the way. We need our feet washed. And so again, uh, I know the terms vary a little bit depending on, on how you understand it, but it's helpful for me to see it this way.
Provisional sanctification is that which is outward, that included Judas, that includes those who've been raised in Christian homes, even in mixed marriages. And then there's positional sanctification. That's only those that are real believers that have passed from death into life. And then there's practical sanctification that's properly speaking, feet washing that we have here. That's the the cleansing from defilement that we need along the way. And remember the priests.
00:40:28
When they entered into the Tabernacle.
Before they could go into the sanctuary, they were already priests, so the provisional sanctification had already taken place, but now they had to wash their hands and their feet at that labor before they could enter in and do their proper service inside the sanctuary. That's the figure of feet washing, isn't it? That's practical sanctification. And so we have, uh, we have these things illustrated often in Scripture. Sometimes, uh, we know that we are holy, but other times we're exhorted to be holy.
Be holy for I am holy. Well, why we might say, if we're already holy, why do we have to be exhorted to be holy? Because the one again is positional sanctification is the position we're in. The other is that we act consistently with that position, and that's practical sanctification. So this is very helpful, at least to me, uh, illustration of the three types of sanctification we have in Scripture.
It's helpful to see too, that when the Lord spoke to Peter in response to his not wanting his feet washed, he said, if I don't wash your feet, thou hast no part. It's important to see this next word with me. It wasn't a question He didn't say in me. Because as you say, what makes it puts us in Christ is that we're saved. We're born again. We know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. We have divine life. But it was, it's no part with me. Again, it's as we've been saying, it's the maintaining of communion.
Feet washing doesn't make me a believer.
Feet washing doesn't bring me into relation with Christ, it maintains me in the relation that I've been brought into. If you'll just allow me to say this to Eric, with the priest, there were two things that were necessary. A man was not a priest unless he was born into Aaron's family. And what makes us priests of God is we're born into the family of God. What put the the priest into the position of being able to serve as a priest was his consecration.
Because water in scripture brings us from one position into another. That's always like baptism, as you've been saying. It brings me from 1 ground to another. And so it was not only important that this man be born into Aaron's family.
To be, to function as a priest, but then to, to so that he could. And, and I don't want to quibble, but the consecration didn't exactly make him a priest, but it put him in a position where he could serve as a priest. And then after he was in that position, after the his consecration, which only took place once, then he had to wash his hands and his feet on a daily basis. There were those things he picked up in his service.
That needed to be cleansed and taken care of. And so he had to come again and again to the Laver, which was for the washing of the hands and the feet of the priests in their service for the Lord Jesus, for Jehovah in the Old Testament. And so we were saying that Peter really illustrates in these verses 8-9 and so on the need for willingness to let the Lord wash our feet. You see, he resisted, he said.
Umm.
Not that I should never wash my feet, but the Lord said to him, if I wash thee not, you're not going to have part with me. You're not gonna be able to enjoy communion if you don't have this, this needed work done. Well, when Peter hears that, he goes overboard the other way, not really understanding what the Lord is saying. So he says, well, not my feet only, but my hands and my head. And so he wanted to have a a complete bath from head to toe. So that leads the Lord to illustrate or at least to teach him.
And to give it in this tenth verse that there are two kinds of washing and we've already sort of alluded to that. He says in verse 10, he that is washed and that could be translated, bathed all over.
And then it says needed needeth not to save, but to wash his feet. And so while in the King James Version, here we read together, it has 2 words there are washed and washed. You would think that they would be the same word in the original language, but they're not. They're two different words altogether.
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One is Speaking of a complete bath and the other is, uh, a washing of some part of the body. In this case it would be the hands and and the feet.
And so the, uh, the being bathed all over is symbolical of really the bath that we received when we are born of God. And again, you just mentioned that it illustrated in the priests if you go back to.
Exodus 29 I believe it is there you find that the uh, Jamaica just so they can function in a priest office, they had to have this bow.
And, uh, but that was a one time thing. They're only bathed once like that. It was a ceremonial bath. And as I say, that really brings before us a picture of the, the being made clean through new birth. And then they were to, they were brought to the altar where there was sacrifice made and blood was put upon them and oil was put upon them and they were fitted to be priests in a functional way. And then after that, as Jim has already mentioned, there was to be a, uh, their responsibility. Notice it was their responsibility to daily wash at the labor whereby they could be clean in the sanctuary before the Lord.
And so it is with us. We have these two kinds of washing. We have been washed all over in the new birth.
We are clean every week as a result of the new birth, but that doesn't mean we're practically clean. There are some people that are clean every whip because of the, the new birth, but they walk in a very defiled lifestyle. They're not clean in a practical sense in any such way or as you say, practical sanctification. And that's because they are like Peter resisting the foot washing process. And so we need this all of us if we are going to, uh, enjoy communion with the Lord Jesus.
Another illustration that's been helpful to me that we have in these chapters.
Is that that in the first 12 Chapters, as a bit as has been mentioned, particularly from chapter 3, we have a large earthly ministry and it's often been mentioned in John's Gospel. We have the budding of Christianity. In the very first chapter of John's Gospel, it says he came unto his own and his own received him, not the Lord is seen as rejected from the very first chapter, which is different from the other three gospels. And so as a result, what he's doing is he's showing them the passing of the old system.
And how it's replaced by the new system is gently leading them from the old system, Judaism, into the new system, Christianity. This is what characterizes the Lord's earthly ministry. But what we have in this so-called upper room ministry, it's been helpful to me to, uh, to, uh, look at it this way. I think it's, uh, Mr. Bellitt that brings it out, I believe from chapters 13 to 17, as it's not merely the Lord's earthly ministry, which we have in the first 12 Chapters, but he's leading them into that which is distinctly Christian now.
Not even transitional so much, but he's leading them into the sanctuary. So we mentioned the priests. We really have in those four chapters that which is illustrated in the Tabernacle in the 13th chapter, as we've been mentioning. We have the labor. How are we gonna enter into the treasures of the sanctuary that God has, particularly for His people, for his priestly people? Well, the first step, once we're beyond the great brazen altar, which is really the Passover, isn't it?
Once we're beyond that grape Raisin altar and we've become believers, in order to enter into God's thoughts and God's blessings requires this foot washing, this practical foot washing, that great labor that had no dimensions, but that great brazen LA labor sat there between the brazen altar and the sanctuary itself, that separate ten of the Tabernacle itself. And so before a priest would dare enter into the sanctuary, he had to wash his feet. That's what we're speaking about.
Maintain that practical holiness which is a result of communion, uh, with the Lord. And then in the next chapter, we have this illustration going forward. Now there's a progressive nature to these chapters. We have the labor in chapter 13 and chapter 14. We have entrance into the sanctuary itself. It suggested that we have the golden altar in chapter 14 because there we have our proper relationship with the persons of the Godhead.
Sacrifices were not the blood sacrifices were not offered on that golden altar. Incense was offered there. That has to do with communion, has to do with prayer, has to do with worship. It's our relationship with God in all three persons. So it's been suggested that we have the golden altar there in chapter 14 and then in chapter 15, if we go on, uh, it's our relationship within the Christian circle.
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It's really a step beyond the labor. It has to do with our relationship within the Christian circle. And if we're in that sanctuary, we see that table of showbread. It has 12 loaves perfectly arranged there. And that speaks of the, the, uh, unity of, uh, of the spirit, uh, reflecting the unity that God had planned for his people. And so that's, uh, what we have really in chapter 15, illustrated by the table.
Of showbread the IT leads on to the unity of the spirit expressing as we know for believers that true unity of the body. And then in chapter 16, of course the third piece of furniture in that sanctuary is the Candlestick. And in chapter 16 the Lord turns aside as it were a little bit and he speaks of our relationship within this world our relationship to the world as we look at that chapter we don't won't go into this in detail but.
It's our relationship, the believers relationship with a hostile world. And of course we have there the illustration of the golden Candlestick. God's testimony shines forth in this Dark World. And then chapter 17, of course, it speaks of the Lord Jesus entering into the very holiest of all. And there we have the ark, uh, the very immediate presence of God, which only the high priest could enter, and that only once a year, we know after the original failure of the priesthood.
And that not without blood. So we have a progressive character. I just wanna encourage particularly our young people that they, they become familiar with these Old Testament types. They illustrate the truth in the New Testament that's given more of a didactic or pedagogical way and, and written terms. And I just, uh, there's such richness and blessing when we see how the Spirit of God teaches us the scope of scripture. And the danger is that we only get one little piece here and one little piece there.
We don't see the overall scope of Scripture. The Lord wants us to be diligent in digging these things out, and he's left them here for that very purpose. So I think we have a beautiful correspondence here between the sanctuary, the entering into the sanctuary, our proper Christian blessings, uh, in these 4 chapters and in the chapter before, in the 12Th chapter, you really have the brazen altar, which as you said, was just inside the gate in the court of the Tabernacle.
Because in the 12Th chapter he speaks of his atoning sufferings that the hour was coming when he was going to take up the work of atonement. Father saved me from this hour, but for this cause came I under this hour he we don't get the agony in the garden as such in John's Gospel in keeping with the character of things and the way the Lord is presented. But we do get the atoning sufferings and so they we really have the brazen altar in the 12Th chapter. Would you allow?
The Passover corresponds to that, doesn't it?
These things are CR proper Christian blessings, and they're based on the foundation of the brazen altar, aren't they?
I'd like to just say this about Peter as well. You know, so often we shake our heads at Peter and we say, poor Peter. And, and it's true. Sometimes Peter was impulsive. Sometimes he spoke up when he should have just sat back and listened. And you would think that the first time the Lord corrected him, he'd sit back and say, well, OK, I'll, I'll just wait and see what happens and learn something. Thank God we learned from the Lord's gracious responses to Peter. But I think it's helpful when you take up the life of Peter.
To look beyond what Peter said and did and see that Peter really did love the Lord.
Now, the difference between Peter and John was that John styled himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Peter styled himself as the disciple who loved Jesus. And he had to learn his own heart. But Peter really did love the Lord. And his first response to the to the Lord taking his feet and washing them was, Lord, I don't want you to have to bend down and wash my feet. He knew he was the Christ. He confessed that by faith earlier in his pathway.
And he didn't want to see the Lord get down and wash his feet. Then when the Lord explains to him why he has to do it again, Peter perhaps should have just sat back and and not said anything. But I love the heart of Peter. Lord, if it means part with you, I want all I can get. That's really what Peter was saying. He didn't understand what the Lord was illustrating. But to me, it's just like, Lord, I want all I all I can get. It's like when he cut off the servant of the high priest here.
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Sure, he acted without the sanction of his Lord and what he did, and he only added to the problem. He didn't help it, but he really loved the Lord and didn't want to see his Lord suffer. And so I think it's we learned some practical lessons from that. But I've just appreciated the heart of Peter, even when he said and did things he ought not to have done, even when he didn't understand where he should have. Yet Peter really did love the Lord. And of course that comes out later when he's restored to the Lord after the Lord's resurrection.
He didn't get the gain of what the Lord was teaching here because he didn't have the Spirit to understand it. But had he got the gain of it, he would not have departed and failed, because the very work of Christ as an advocate would be to restore before a person gets away off the path and plunges into some serious departure from God.
So in verse 12, it says, so after he had washed their feet and had taken his garment and was set down, he said unto them, know ye what I have done to you. So there's a difference between the efficacy, umm, and uh, the high priestly work isn't there. And so once the cleansing is done, uh, once, uh, the sole has been brought into communion again.
Once he's been brought to a place where he can enjoy his father and the Lord and his brethren and can go on and enjoy communion, the work of the advocacy is done. He takes off his garment. He takes off his umm, umm, uh, his, umm, uh, pal and uh, uh, and have taken his garment and sat down again. And so, uh, so that's, that's what the Lord really desires for us is.
Is that that we can enter into these things that our brother Eric was bringing out, that we can enjoy the blessings that are ours, but it has to be without defilement. It has to be that we have communion. And so and So what does he say? He says, if I've done these things, shouldn't you do them? Of course, I'm paraphrasing. We brought it out already earlier. And so just quickly, we might take a moment to take a look back and to see what our responsibility was, our brother Bruce.
Had mentioned the garment What? What is our garment? What is what is your station in life? Are are you willing to set aside who you are to put on a towel?
To become a servant. To stoop down at your brother's feet, your sister's feet.
Are you a basin that has had water poured into it? Have you been taking in the Word of God so that the Spirit of God can use you and me sufficiently according to the Word of God to help her brother wash his feet?
You know, there's a there's another verse in in chapter 2 here where we get an another basin filled.
And it was interesting to me, you know this, when the water was poured into there, it didn't turn into wine.
And, and the reason I believe it didn't turn into wine is because oftentimes when we're very, we're, we're having our feet cleansed. It's not a comforting thing that presents things that have happened to us, that have happened in our lives one way or another that, uh, requires an, owning a, a washing away or removing, uh, that, which would refresh us.
But here you remember the story they they had run out of wine and in verse 6.
Uh, or in verse five, he said, his mother said unto uh, the servants, whatsoever he saith unto you, do. And there were set there 6 water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three fork and firkins apiece. Uh, when Jesus said unto them, Fill the water pots with water.
And they filled them to the brim. And he said unto them, Draw out now, and bear on to the governor of the feast, and they bear it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was. But the servants which drew the water knew the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man at the beginning that set forth good wine, And when men have well drunk, then that which is worse.
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But thou hast kept the the good wine until now. And so it it is with us if we, if we take in the word of God, if we are exercised about about that changing our own lives, then then we can be used to bring joy to our brethren. And if need be, we can be used to be an encouragement where defilement has been picked up. And so I believe both are true with the believer.
Sometimes you get together and, and you just enjoy the word of God. Sometimes to tears, you rejoice in the things that have been brought before your soul of the person of Christ and the love of the father. That's the wine, that's the joy. But sometimes, and I've had it happen to me where a brother has taken the word of God and has presented something to, uh, to my conscience, washing away the defilement of my feet. Uh, I, I had a brother just the other day I'd going through something and, and, and somewhat discouragement of brother called me up.
Just in time, he says. Brother, what's the good word?
I said, brother, why did you call me? Did you call me just in time? What is it? What an encouragement that that he would comfort me with the word of God. The Spirit of God knows what I need just when I needed it. And so that's I, I believe that if we're in tune, if if we love our brethren and we avail ourselves and we're willing to be servants, can we be an encouragement to a weary brother? I believe we can. I believe this is an exercise to us.
It may restore our brother to such a way where he might be able to enjoy again his father and his and and the Lord and the relationship with his brother and enjoy afresh the Word of God.
The water was turned to wine on that occasion that you referred to. You know where to pour the water, The word of God in our souls. But a question for you, when was it that the water turned to wine? Was it when they poured it in? Doesn't say so. But when they poured it out, it was wine. So somewhere between the one and the other, it turned to wine. And I'll give you the clue. It's when they picked the water pots up and they walked out with it.
When they began to walk with the water, it turned to wine. Isn't that beautiful? And wine speaks to us of the joy that we have in the things of the Word of God. And so the enjoyment of the things of the Word of God only comes to into play when we begin to walk out the Word of God. When we begin to walk with the Word of God and to walk in the path that it marks out, then it turns to joy. And then we can be a joy, be a blessing, and bring joy to others, as you've been saying, to dispense it.
So that's beautiful.
It's a brief comment about, uh, John's ministry that I think perhaps will be helpful to us at this juncture. And that is that in John's gospel, what we have is that eternal life which was with the Father, that is God the Son revealed as a man in this world. Uh, he was revealed as the Son of God, we know in John's gospel, and yet it's that eternal life which was with the Father. It's the revelation of heavenly things. And what a wonderful thing that is.
And I just mentioned that because I think there's a tendency in our day particularly to think that these things are old and out of fashion. And, uh, I hear people mocking these things either overtly or covertly, but I hear, I hear these things being mocked as if they are out of date. And, uh, the brethren that are speaking in such a way are really not in touch. But these things never get old, do they, brethren? They're the revelation of that which is eternal, that which will last for eternity as well.
And so these things never get old once we get hold of them in our own souls. I just want to encourage particularly the young people that they, they, uh, accept that challenge to look at these things which will never get old. As I say, there's such a common trend among, among some, and I know, I've, I've heard it among young people as well as others that, uh, these things are out of date. No, they're not. They're the revelation of that which is eternal.
And in fact, we might just give a brief sketch of John's ministry and John's gospel. What we have is that he, uh, speaks of that which is the revelation of that which is eternal God come into this world and showing us who the Father is. As we have in the next chapter, when we turn to the Epistle of John, we have a little different twist on it, don't we? It's that life which was with the Father, but now the Lord Jesus gone back to heaven.
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It's manifested in the family, and we have the family of God brought out in John's epistles.
In fact, as the family speaks of different ones, he speaks of babes. They're all called children. I know the language in our translation is a little challenging sometimes, but all three classes are called children, but one class are infants or babes. That's when we're first saved. Then there's the class of youth or young people, and then there's the fathers. What's the point? The point is that in the family of God, we ought to grow up in these things. We should remain babes forever. We ought to be growing to youth and then to adulthood, to fathers. And then I often used to wonder, how does Revelation fit in with that?
John seems to be the the disciple. He's the disciple whom Jesus loved, and he appreciated that.
And we spoke about this eternal revelation, which never goes out of date, and then the manifestation in the family of God. But how does the Book of Revelation fit in with that? Well, I used to often puzzle about that, but I believe the secret is that if grace is despised, it brings judgment, doesn't it? God is love, but he's also light. And so revelation is the book of judgment from beginning to end. And yet, uh, the truth is of grace's despise.
There will be judgment. So that's a, a brief nutshell what John's ministry gives us. But these things I just wanna emphasize again, will never go out of date. They're that which is eternal. There's no such thing as development in God's things. He brings out that which is eternal, that which is perfect, and it never goes out of date.
I said something and realized my error.
In verse 12, after he had washed their feet.
And had taken his karma and was set down.
And never get that he took off the towel.
He loved us and will love us unto the end.
Lord Jesus, we thank you for this portion that has been before us. We think about love.
That love that the lights deserve.
Thou hast taken the place of a servant.
Thou art our advocates.
Thou art ever ready, Lord Jesus, at any moment.
In which the filement comes in.
Our sin and we fail. Thou art there.
As our advocate, Lord Jesus.
And are our high priests.
Our maintaining our place in the wilderness land, Our interceding to keep our footsteps, to give us the joy of who we are as children of God.
All the blessings that are ours, our relationship with our God and Father, and with thyself, Lord Jesus, and with one another.
In the coming day, Lord Jesus, thou, I have a sit down.
And that will serve us.
More law of delight to serve Lord Jesus.
How wonderful thou art.
Oh greatly, that is lovely when we consider all that thou hast done, but all the cross.
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Thou hast brought us into the richest blessing through thy death, thy finished work. Lord Jesus, we praise thee and safety. What a privilege to be able to open the Word of God and have the Spirit of God ministered our souls. We thank thee and I alone most precious and worthy name, Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen.
Abram Believed The Word of God
Address—Robert Boulard
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I'd like to turn to just a passage of Scripture in Proverbs chapter 30, just to read one verse there, and then we'll read a couple of verses in Proverbs chapter 3, and then, Lord willing, I have it on my heart.
A deep burden upon my heart to just take up some of the thoughts in the Word of God in connection with what God says about Abraham's life.
And what it meant to him to have a friend like Abraham. And so we'll read portions if the Lord tarries and gives us the time in Genesis Chapter 11. Perhaps another couple of passages, but the first passage I like to read in Proverbs chapter 30, verse five says every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
And then turned back to Proverbs chapter 3.
Verses that we often read often quote. Perhaps every young person in the room could quote these verses of Scripture.
Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding or intelligence. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Well. I read these verses here in the book of Proverbs because you know in this book the young man's book. Perhaps instruction given one chapter for every day of the month for young people and for those that are older too. I find myself oftentimes thinking of the book of Proverbs and quoting.
Versus of scripture in the book of Proverbs. But you know it touches my heart when I read this and it says every word of God is pure.
Holy.
And God, you know, beloved brethren, hasn't given us a divine book.
Of suggestions.
He didn't write the 10 suggestions, the 10 commandments, those are 10 instructions for his people and how they were to conduct themselves morally in the course of life in his presence as they walked through the wilderness scene, but then when they got into the land. And so I say that this book is not a book of divine suggestions. It's a book of divine holy words that ought to touch my heart, my conscience, and that I ought to, with desire in the energy of faith, to walk in the goodness.
And it's going to be for my blessing if I do so. It says every word of God is pure.
And then we read here in Proverbs chapter 3 that umm trust in the Lord with all thine heart.
And lean not unto thine own understandings and own intelligence, and the natural intelligence of the.
Of man in his fallen condition has no use for the wisdom of God.
No use for the purity of the Holy Word of God and your flesh and my flesh is no different. If we desire to walk in the flesh, we'll have no appreciation for the purity and the holiness of the Word of God. And we need grace from God Himself, from heaven above to see and to desire to value the truth of the Word of God. And His desire is this afternoon that every one of us should have an appreciation.
For that holy Word and that we should use it.
It says, In all thy ways acknowledge him, let him have his way. Let him.
Direct says he shall direct thy paths, or make plain thy paths. Well, let's turn to Genesis Chapter 11. Perhaps we'll read the last part of chapter 10.
Genesis chapter 10.
And umm, pardon me, Verse Chapter 11, just at the end of Chapter 11, Chapter 11, verse 27.
Now these are the generations of Tierra. Tierra began Abram, Nahor, and Haran, and Haran begat Lot, and Heran died before his father Tyra in the land of his nativity in ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nehor took them wives. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nehor's wife Milka, the daughter of Heran, the father of Milka and the father of Visca. But Sarai I was barren. She had no child. And Tyra took Abram his son, and Lot.
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The son of Heran, his son's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife.
And they went forth with them from Urv the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan. And they came unto Heran, and dwelt there. And the days of Tyra were 205 years, and Tyra died in Haran. Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land, that I will show thee, and I will make thee of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee and make thy name great.
And thou shalt be a blessing, and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee. And in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him, and Lot went with him.
And Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother, son and all their substance.
And they had got that. They had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten inherent, and they went forth into the land of Canaan, and into the land of Canaan they came.
And Abram passed through the land unto the place of psychom, under the playing of Moray. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed, will I give this land? And there build he an altar unto the Lord, whom who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the West.
And hey, I on the east. And there he builded an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord.
And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South, and there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was grievous in the land.
Well, we're not gonna read further than that at the present time, but I just want to review the history. You know God gives us in Genesis chapter six He says there of what he saw in the earth after he created man and man had fallen into sin. In chapter six He says in verse five, you know sometimes I take an underlying just a few words in a verse of Scripture and this is what I have underlined in verse five of Genesis chapter 6 and God saw.
And God saw, what did he see?
That wickedness, the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart, while we know that judgment came in. And so the flood came upon the earth, and Noah feared God. It says, you know, but Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord, and then, you know, after the flood we have.
A picture given to us here in chapter 10 of the nations. It says in chapter 10 verse one. Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem and Ham and Japheth.
And unto them were sons born after the flood. And then we have a whole list of the generations. Brother told me not too long ago that he believed there were 153 nations, 153 lines of the families of the earth that are really come spring forth from, uh, that, uh, beginning in Genesis, you know, I believe it's 16156 years, uh, after the, uh.
Creation of the world and the flood came upon this world and there was judgment. And then 300 years later we read about this occurrence in Chapter 11 and how or chapter 12 and verse one and how Abram had been called of God. And I believe there's a little picture here, brethren, and that is this, that the whole thing would have all happened all over again. God would have come down as it were. It would have seen the evil.
And man's heart hadn't changed, and the whole thing would have taken place again, except maybe not a flood, but some other form of judgment. And we read in the Book of Revelation the judgment that's going to come upon this world because of its rejection of Christ and because of its rejection of the Word of God and the principles of righteousness. And so God in divine intervention called Noah or called Abram.
And so he says here in chapter one, in chapter 12.
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And verse one, the Lord had said unto Abram, the Lord who is this, that had sought to have divine intervention in the course of man, in the course of the history of men, so that things wouldn't go the same way, so that the heart of man would be restrained and that there would be fruit for God. Who was it? It was the Lord Jesus. You know what says it's the same person that's referred to in Revelation chapter 2? I believe it is.
No, it's chapter one and verse four, it's Jehovah God. It says here in John or Revelation chapter one and verse 4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you, and peace from him which is and which was and which is to come, that eternal one, that ever self existent one, the Lord Jesus, He's the one that intervened. He's the one that created man.
Placed him in the garden, that he might have fellowship with him, and sin came in and ruined that communion.
And he wanted to have that fellowship with his creature man. And here he intervention speaks to Noah. The Lord said unto Abram. And so you know, the first thing that I want to point out is that God.
Has said to Abram here he gave him some instructions, some new instructions, a new word God had spoken and so God has spoken in son. It says in Hebrews chapter one and God has spoken to you and I. What does he use in the word of in our lives to speak to us? It is the word of God.
It is the word of God that he uses and Noah or Abram here didn't have a Bible, didn't have a written word of God. It says unto them were delivered the oracles of God. And so Abram the Lord intervened and he spoke to Abram there. He spoke to him in ur of the Chaldees and ur means a light and Chaldeans has something to do with the meaning of occult or spiritism. And so here he dwelt in a place that was characterized by.
A false light and spiritism, Occultism. And it was.
Really a place of civilization, the highest civilization perhaps at the time that Abram lived, and he was living in a place of comfort and ease and luxury, you might say, in a city.
In a city, you know, they I looked up the meaning of a city in Webb's jurisdiction area once, and I don't know if I've got it exactly right, but something like this. The city is a group of individuals living in a community for mutual fellowship and protection.
That's what it is, a group of individuals living in a community for mutual fellowship.
And protection. And so these men had banded together and built homes and so on, and built a civilization that they might live in a place in Irv, the Chaldees.
Characterized by the wickedness of this world. And God in His sovereignty intervened and called out one man, Abram, and he gave him instructions. The Lord spoke to him. He spoke to him directly, and he gave him this instruction. Get the out from thy country. Get thee out from thy country. And why did he say get thee out of thy country? It was because you know there was a nation there that wasn't.
Walking in righteousness, it wasn't characteristic of God's holiness. And he was being called out of that wicked scene to walk in a holy path, a holy place with God. He was being called out that there might be that companion. He might be a companion with the Lord. You know, I'll just give you a little illustration of this and we know we could. We'll read perhaps in Hebrews Chapter 11. Maybe we should do that before we go further.
Hebrews, Chapter 11.
And, umm.
Verse 8.
By faith, Abram Abraham, when he was called out to go into a place.
Which he should after receive for an inheritance obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whether whether he went by faith. He sojourned in the land of promise, as in as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob.
The heirs with him of the same promise, for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
00:15:04
Through faith, Sarah, also Sarah herself received strength to concede, conceive, seed. And then in verse, uh, chapter, uh, same Chapter 11, here in verse, uh, just at the end of, uh, well, let's read verse 13. These all died in faith, having not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and were persuaded of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such thing declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country that is in heavenly, wherefore God is not called, and they're not ashamed to be called their God, for He hath prepared them for them a city. Well, I just read this, you know, in verse 15, it says truly they if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out.
They might have had opportunity to have returned, but you know, Abraham never returned to that country that he left. He never returned to that city. He never returned to that place when I was, uh, in business. I'll give you this little illustration, a feeble illustration from my own life. But in 1997, we sold our business in Hammer Bay and umm, we moved to Detroit, MI.
Area and left behind the nation of Canada.
Went to the US, bought another home, furnished that home, lived there in Detroit for four years and then moved another place to Cuyahoga Falls, OH, area. Lived there for six years. And, you know, I thought of this scripture in connection with Abraham, that he would have had opportunity to have returned at some point if he'd been mindful of that country. And I want to say this, that Janet and I and our family often return to Canada, often returned to Hammer Bay because we did something that Abraham didn't do.
We kept our home there. We kept a little home in Hammer Bay, and it was a tie there and it always was home, as it were. And there was just that pull back home to the family, into that place. But you know what God had said to Abram here? He'd given him instructions, a new instruction to the man of faith. Get the out of thy country. And that is that God was going to form a new nation.
And so Abram was going to have to leave that place and he didn't have any more ties there, it says.
In Hebrews Chapter 11 That he left that country, he abandoned every prospect that he had in ur of the Chaldeans. And I just asked you this. It searches my own conscience. Have we in our hearts not only left this world, but we have we forsaken in our hearts forsaken?
Abandoned every prospect that this world has, every prospect that this world has for wealth and for all of the things that it goes on with in opposition to God himself. Have we abandoned every aspect of this world in our own hearts and gone out. Well, this is what Abram was called to do. And then it says from thy kindred. And so there was going to be a new family. He was going to have to have the he was going to be the father.
Of a family of faith. And so he was going to leave the natural family that he had.
You know, I just desire to turn to, I think it's Matthew chapter 10 there and justice give a little verse of Scripture that gives us encouragement to do the same thing ourselves.
Matthew, Chapter 10.
And verse 37.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of Maine.
And he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of Maine. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of Maine.
He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake.
Shall find it. Well, the Lord Jesus spoke those words, and he was speaking to us as well.
He, that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of Maine. And so in the path of faith, Abram was called and he had to leave those natural relationships. And so that's the third thing that he had to leave. And then it says really from his relatives there, and then from my father's house, it speaks of a new authority. And so when a man takes a wife and forms a new household, there's a new authority, there's a new home set up, and he becomes the head or the authority in that home, and he's responsible for what goes on in that home.
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Abram was called to go to leave his father's authority in the father's realm.
As it were, and to go and to a land that I will show thee. And then it says sevenfold promise that God makes to him in verse two. I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee, will make thy name great. Thou shalt be a blessing. I will bless them that bless thee. Curse him that curseth thee. And then the 7th one is in thee. Shall all the families of the earth be blessed? And so it speaks of Christ himself coming into this world, being at the seed of Abraham.
The seed of faith, and it says in verse four, So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him. You know, God had said a lot of things to Abram and he really painted a little, uh, picture here. A promise was given to Abram and Abram was going to leave versus one and two ER of the Chaldeans, that which he could see with his eyes, that which he enjoyed naturally speaking in the land of ER and what was he going to leave?
Ur of the calories with who's going to leave and the only thing he was going to bring with him was the word of God.
The promise of God, the word that's all he had was a promise. He left that country. He never ever went back to that country. He laughed and he went part way. He went to Haran and perhaps were given the little indication here in verse 32 That Tyra wasn't in was his father. His natural father was a hindrance in the path. And so the days of terror were 205 years and Tyra died inherent and then Abram walks and acts upon what God had told him. But you know he left ur the Chaldees. The only thing he had.
With the Word and the promise of God.
And if you and I are going to walk in the path of faith, we're going to have to lay hold upon, by faith upon the word of God. And we're going to have to take that word and believe it that it is the truth of God and that it is direction for our path. That it is something that we can lay hold of. And that's solid. And that all of the wisdom of the natural man that's found in this scene, that's characteristic of UR, the Chaldees.
Is not to be dependent on and so it says he departed as the Lord had spoken unto him and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. So there was a new course for Abraham for Abram. It says in verse 4A new course and it was a course of obedience. You know, I want to just point out that there were.
I believe Abraham or Abram is Abram means of umm, an exalted father. But uh, Abraham, we find his name has changed a little bit later on in chapter 17 and verse five, it says thy name shall be Abraham. For a father of many nations have I made thee, and I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee in king shall come out of thee. While Abraham got a new name. It means the father of many nations.
And it's denoted a new authority in his life and a new beginning, a new beginning in his life because he laid hold upon the promises of God. And it says here in chapter 15 and verse six, I'm just going to mention a couple of verses of Scripture here. It says he believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for righteousness. While I was going to say is this that Abram is the only man I believe in Scripture in the Old Testament that is called.
The friend of God, the friend of God and why is it because he obeyed the word of God. His life was characterized by obedience. His life was not characterized by questioning the word of God. He did have the conversation. You know it says in you, you find him interceding for the for a lot and those that were righteous in the city of Sodom and Gomorrah there or Sodom you find.
Abraham interceding there for the people of faith.
But you know, he was called the friend of God. I just want to turn to those passages of Scripture in this, in the Word of God that call Abraham the friend of God. Second Chronicles, chapter 20.
10 verse 7.
00:25:06
Second Chronicles 20 and verse 7. Art not thou our God, who did drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gave us it to thy, to the seed of Abraham, thy friend forever, Abraham, thy friend forever. The land was given to Abraham, and to those that would come after him to his seed. Isaiah chapter 40.
And verse 8 But thou, Israel, art my servant Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend, thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant. I have chosen thee and not cast thee away. Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yeah, I will help thee. Yeah, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
And then in James chapter 2.
Verse 23 The scripture was fulfilled with saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, and he was called the friend of God. And then just one other scripture in John's Gospel chapter 15.
In verse 13.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends.
If you do whatsoever I command you, henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends.
For all things that I have heard of my father I have made known unto you. Well, you know, I find this a very real encouragement that God speaks of Abraham and records in his own word that Abraham was his friend, and he records it.
Three times.
God valued the fact that Abraham he could speak to Abraham, and Abraham took him at His word. He believed and he acted upon faith, and he left what was going to satisfy him in a natural sense, but in the grace of God and His sovereignty He called Abram, and he departed. He left what he felt was what was what was naturally appealing to him, and he left, and he went into a land not knowing whither.
He whatever he went and then it says lot went with him. So I just wonder, you know, many of us here have grew up in Christian homes. Perhaps you're a young person sitting here in this room this afternoon and your parents heard the call of God.
They heard the direction that they should not put sync all of their lives into IRV, the Chaldeans. They sought not to make the education of this world.
And all of the prospects that this world offers them, they sought not to make that their objective in life.
And they sought to make the Lord their objective. They sought to place value upon the word of God. They sought to walk in obedience to the truth of God. They sought to bring you into the assembly where you might sit under the sound of the truth of God. Possess this is solemn. It says lot went with him. And so you might have come along for the ride, so to speak. You might have come into the assembly, come with your parents to the assembly meetings and come even to this address.
But you know there isn't that spiritual exercise yourself. And so it's solemn that law. It just says law went with him 4 words went with that man of faith, Abram, and he was 75 years old and he departed out of Haran. And then it says a little bit further on that in verse six that Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sychem under the plain of Mori in the Canaanite was.
There in the land. And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, unto thy seed, will I give this land, and there build it he and altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the West, and hey, I on the east. And there he builded an altar under the Lord, and called upon the name of the Lord. Well, you know, in the in the life of Abram there was a step, there was a call, there was instruction given to him of God.
And he had to act upon that instruction and he wasn't going to get any more instruction from God, as it were. There wasn't going to be a following through. If he wasn't going to follow through in responsibility, then he wasn't going to get more light. He was going wasn't going to get more instruction. And you know, I started out this afternoon by saying that this book is not a book of divine suggestions. It's a book that's written from the heart of God himself for you.
00:30:21
To give Devi divine direction, holy words that will give life and lead in the path of life. And God has given you light. The word of God has been read in your home assembly. It's been read in your homes.
And God is not going to give you light.
If you don't, obey and walk in the path of faith in what you know.
There's, it's a solemn thing not to walk in obedience to the truth of God and not to walk in affection for the word of God, to walk in faith with the Lord. And so it says here that the Lord appeared unto Abram. You know, I think it's seven times that the Lord appeared to Abram, 7 times. And he got new light, new instructions every time that the Lord appeared to him.
And the Lord desires to manifest himself to you. He desires your friendship, your companionship. And when we were by nature and by practice far from God, why, that's when the Lord looked down upon us. And when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. And so he intervened in his wisdom and according to his mind, that there might be fruit for himself in your life. And he appeared. Perhaps he's given you instruction.
Here Abram gets S some more instructions, some more light. Until thy seed will I give this land. And there bill that he and altar unto the Lord, who had appeared unto him. And so Abram became a worshipper. I want to ask you this afternoon, are you a worshipper? You know it's a wonderful thing to come into the presence of the Lord. We come to remember him in the circumstances of his death, when we come on the Lord's Day morning, and we come in the table, is there the cup?
In the loaf. And what a reminder it is of the cost of our redemption.
You know, a brother mentioned this morning in the Reading meeting that there were two cups. There was a cup really in connection with the Passover and then there was the cup in connection with the remembrance of the Lord. And those two cups are mentioned in the upper room. And then there's 1/3 cup that was mentioned in, uh, Luke really it's, and perhaps in Matthew. Father, if it be, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but fine be done. And that's the cup of judgment.
That was poured out upon the Lord. He drank every drop of the judgment of the righteous God, holy God, against sin, that your sin might be put away. But you know, I just ask you this, are you a worshipper? Are you a worshiper? When you come into the presence of the Lord on the Lord's Day morning, is it a wonderful thing to come and to sit in His presence? And is there a worship that flows forth? Have you been occupied with Christ during the week? I ask myself that so often. You know, I need to be occupied with Christ and reading His words.
Being going, I need to go to all of the assembly meetings that I can possibly get to that when it comes time to be in the presence of the Lord to remember him in the circumstances of his death that the worship is there that just flows forth. You know what worship is. It's the overflow of a heart filled with Christ, the overflow of a heart that's just filled with Christ. And so you know what happened to Abram here is that there was worship. There was an altar. He built an altar and then he dwelt between Bethel means the the House of God.
And I believe, hey, I means that a heap of ruins. And so there he is in the land, there in Bethel, in the promised land that he would receive in a future day, His seed would receive. And there he dwelt. And he was a worshipper, and he called upon the name of the Lord. It's a wonderful thing to come into the presence of the Lord and to be a worshiper. You know, I never remembered the Lord Jesus and his death until I was perhaps I think it was 1415 years old.
And, umm, one of the things that exercise my heart, my conscience.
Was this that I thought, you know, if the Lord comes and I haven't remembered?
Him and his death, if I hadn't remembered the Lord Jesus and his death and I come and I'm there, perhaps at the judgment seat of Christ and he says, why didn't you Remember Me? I couldn't say that I didn't know. I couldn't say that I didn't have time. I could perhaps say that I didn't have the heart. I didn't have I had some other objects before my heart. But you know, it's nice here that Abram in connection with Abram, he's mentioned here as being a man that was characterized by worship.
00:35:08
But then in verse 10 it says there was a famine in the land and Abram went down into Egypt a soldier and there.
Well, he had begun in a path of faith. He'd been called out of Ur, the Chaldees, and he'd left that land.
And at 75 years old, and he'd begun in the path of faith.
He had the word of God, He left, and that's all he had is the word of God. And then he came into the land. He became a worshipper. And then there was a test. There was a famine. And God is going to test your faith and mine. He's going to test it. There's going to be a famine. Perhaps there's going to be a famine in business. Perhaps there's going to be a famine in the family. Perhaps they're going to be a famine in the assembly. And you don't find Abraham here calling upon the name of the Lord and crying for help and for sustenance.
There he was a man of dependence upon God. We learned that a little bit later on. But you know, he, the Lord, as it were, allowed him to go down into Egypt to learn his own weakness, to learn that he wasn't sufficient to.
Escape that famine. And so he went down in the natural wisdom, and he went down into Egypt. And we read of how he denied his wife and so on. And then in verse 20 of this chapter 12, Pharaoh commanded him, his men concerning him, that they sent him away and his wife and all that he had.
And then we find here in UMM. I just want to read in UMM.
Chapter 13. Verse 10. Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar and land, Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other. And then in verse 14, the Lord said unto Abraham, Abraham.
After the lot was separated from him, lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward and southward, and eastward and westward, for all the land that thou seest. To thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land and the length of it, and the breath of it, for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent.
And came and dwelt in the plain of Mammary, which is in Hebron, and.
Built an altar unto the Lord. Well, you know, the Lord has said to Abram to remove himself from ur, the Chaldees. Then we find that he went into Egypt. He was tested there. And we know that the flesh is weak, the flesh profiteth nothing. And if you and I seek to escape the famine in our own natural intelligence, there isn't going to be that fruit for God in our lives. There is going to be sorrow. And so we need to submit to the famine. We need to submit to what God allows in our land, in our lives.
Personally, individually, we need to submit to the famine that the Lord might allow in the assembly into our homes, whatever sphere it is. We need to submit to that discipline as it were. Well, Abram, he went down into Egypt. Then we find here it's often being stated that Lot perhaps had a saw something in Egypt that appealed to him and he lifted up his eyes in verse 10 and he saw.
Something and his feet followed. You know, I would just want to make this comment that in the 119th Psalm.
The Lord mentions the harp 14 times. I believe it's 14 times. Maybe someone can count them up. And umm, but I've counted it up in the 119th Psalm and the Word of God, the commandments, the testimonies, all those things. He mentions the heart 14 times. And that is because I believe 2 * 7 two times, completeness, if you will, that were to have an affection for the Word of God and for the truth of God and.
What a what Lot saw, he lifted up his eyes. He saw something of this world that he wanted. And instead of judging himself, instead of judging that desire, instead of realizing that he had perhaps just come along for the ride with Abram, he saw something and he went after it. And his heart, his feet soon followed what his heart wanted and what his eyes had seen. And so, you know, the psalmist could say, I've set before me no evil thing.
And so he saw this even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. And he went down into that place, and then he dwelt there. And then the Lord appeared to Abram said, I'm going to give you something that is better than Sodom.
00:40:20
Do you believe the word of God?
Do you believe the word of God? Do you believe that? Umm.
We're going to have a heavenly portion in Christ.
So we're going to leave this sin filled world behind, everything in it, and it's going to be judged, burned up, every bit of it, everything that man has created to enjoy and to try to escape the consequences of sin and to live in a state of alienation with God. You believe God, do you believe that he's going to destroy this scene? You know?
I say this to myself.
If I really believed that God was going to destroy all of this scene, I might be living differently than what I live.
Today I might be living differently. I might be living with much more of a heart for the Lord.
Well, Sodom was there before Lot. Abram was given a promise from God.
And it broke his heart. I believe he was a broken hearted man, Abram, as he saw a Lot leave and go towards that place because he knew what the end of the pathway was going to be. He knew in a sense what Lot was going towards. And it wasn't going to be for blessing, for his own blessing. And it was going to end in ruin.
You know, the word of God gives us wisdom, gives us light, and it gives us the end of the path. Let's just turn to, uh, the Psalm, Psalm 119.
Verse 105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light under my path. And so there's a lamp given, and a light. A lamp gives us light for one step at a time, and the light gives us a path that shows us where the path ends. And so the word of God shows us where the course.
Ends the course of this world well sodom is a picture of this world and its moral corruption and that's what lot went to live there and it says here let's just turn over to.
Let's read verse chapter 14 and verse 13.
Genesis 14, verse 13 There came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew, For he dwelt in the plain of Mammary the Amorite, brother of Eschol, the brother of Anor. These were confederate with Abram. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants born in his own house, 318 and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he and his servants by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hoba, which is on the left hand of Damascus, and he brought back.
All the goods and also abroad again his brother lot and his goods.
And the women also, and the people, and the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Kedar Laomer, and of the kings that were with him at the valley of Sheva, which is the Kingsdale. And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought forth bread and wine, and he was priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth, and he blessed and blessed be the Most High God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.
And he gave him tithes of all. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. And Abram said unto the king of Sodom, I have lift up my hand unto the Lord, the most High God, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take.
From a thread, even through a shoe latchet. And that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldst say I have made Abram rich, save only that which the young men have eaten. And the portion of the men which went with me, Einar, Escoll, and Mamrie, let them take their portion. Well, you know Lot went into Sodom. We know the story well. But who was it that had the moral courage, the moral strength to go in and to deliver law when he was taken captive here by these kings, you know?
There was that moral corruption and Lot was sent a warning. God allowed that Lot would be taken among those captives. Lot and his family in all of his possessions were taken. It's a picture to us that this world and all that it has is going to be brought under judgment and none of it is going to escape. But you know, it says in Revelation, it says come out from among her, my people, and be not partaker of her sins.
00:45:24
Thank you be not judged with her and so you know that's a picture of the.
Professing Christianity, Christianity perhaps the Roman Catholic system itself in the coming day. And God speaks to his people and says come out from among them. And here Abraham had the moral courage to go and to deliver his brother says, and to take all of his goods. And then Melchizedek met met Abram, king of righteousness is what his name means, and he was the king of Salem means king of peace.
And God wants his people to have peace. And we know here that this is a picture here of Sodom. And the king of Sodom came out to meet Abram. And the king of Sodom wanted the souls of the men, but he didn't want the goods. He said, Abram, you take the goods of this world, you take this goods of Sodom and give me the souls. And the enemy of our souls wants to.
Take that which is precious to God himself, the very souls of our, our, umm, our spiritual life and to destroy them. You know, I just, uh, want to mention here in Revelation chapter 20, oftentimes we think that we, we don't think seriously about the enemy that we have in Revelation chapter 20 and verse 2.
It says he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him 1000 years.
And so in the coming day, the enemy of our souls, the one that wants the souls but doesn't want the goods, is going to be destroyed. He's going to be taken, I should say, and cast into the bottomless pit. Here it says in chapter 20 and verse two that he's going to be bound for 1000 years and then he's going to be loose for a little while. But it speaks to him and speaks of him in four characteristics. One is that he's a dragon and that is he's a destroyer. He destroys, he doesn't know how to create, He's not a creator. We know the creator God, it's the Lord Jesus himself.
But Satan is a destroyer, and he wanted to destroy Lot's life, and he wants to destroy your life and mine. He doesn't care how he does it. He just wants to destroy. And the word of God, every word of God is pure, and he tells us what his tactics are. He wants to destroy. And then it says here that the old serpent speaks of him in the characteristic of being subtle and the deceiver. And that's Genesis chapter 3.
And then it speaks to him, speaks of him as the devil. His character is a tempter. And so he wants to tempt us to walk in the course and the paths of disobedience to the word of God. And then it speaks of them too as Satan, and that's really in his character as a dragon. Well, you know, we find here in Genesis chapter 14 how Abram wanted what the Lord would provide. And he says to the king of Sodom, I have lift up my hand unto the Lord.
The Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth, and he wanted what God had.
He wanted the provision of the Lord himself. He had learned to trust the Lord. He learned that the provision of God himself was far better than what Sodom had, what ur the Chaldees had. And he valued the word of God. He valued the friendship of God. He valued the communion with his God. He valued what it was to be a worshipper. And he desired to walk in communion with the Lord. And so when he had a need now.
Instead of going down into Egypt, he lift up his hand that says, under the Most High God unto the Lord, the most High God the possessor.
Of heaven and earth, and he sought to receive what he needed from God himself.
Well, let's sing #180.
#180.
John 13:13-26
Reading
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Reading and John John 13.
John's Gospel, chapter 13.
And verse 13.
You call me master and Lord, and you say, Well, for so I am. If I then your Lord and master have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I've given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If he know these things, Happy are ye if you do them.
I speak not of you all.
I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that when it has come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit and testified.
And fed Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
And the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. Now there was leaning on Jesus bosom, one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him that he should ask who it should be of whom he fake even lying on Jesus breath. Faith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered. He it is to whom I shall give a thought when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the saw, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
And after the thought, Satan entered into him.
Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest do quickly.
Now no man at the table knew for what intent he faked this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judith had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him.
By those things that we have need of against the feast, or that he should give something to the poor.
Even having received, the thought went immediately out, and it was night. Therefore, when he was gone out. Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him? If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet little while I'm with you, you shall seek me, and as I, as I said unto the Jews, whither I go?
You cannot come. So now I say to you, a new commandment I give unto you.
That you love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord.
Whither goeth thou? Jesus answered him. Whither I go? Thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy fake Jesus, answered him. Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto you unto thee, The **** shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice.
In First Peter, we're told that Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps. And the Lord Jesus here in this chapter was giving a very wonderful example to the disciples with many practical lessons that they were to carry out after the Lord Jesus went back to the Father. This wasn't just something he was showing them. And then it was over.
No, He was giving them an example as He had washed their feet. They were then to wash one another's feet. But I want to notice a little difference between the 13th verse and the 14th verse. I've sometimes said to the young people, you know, Scripture is tremendously accurate, and we never want to read Scripture quickly. We want to read it slowly and with prayerful exercise and see the little differences that God puts in and inserts in His Word because they're very, very instructive.
And in verse 13 the Lord Jesus says, ye call me Master and Lord.
00:05:01
And you and you say, well, for so I am, but notice in the 14th verse, he reverses the order. If I then your Lord and master, I think it's significant that he reverses the order. Now master simply was probably better translated teacher. That's the way Mr. Darby translates it. And that's I, I believe an accurate translation. So it's teacher and Lord, Lord and teacher. And I believe at least part of the thought is this. It's like the young man or the man in, uh, Mark chapter 10, he came to the Lord Jesus.
And he said, Good Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? He thought the Lord could teach him something that would earn him or show him the way to obtaining eternal life. But I often like to contrast him with the apostle Paul as Saul of Tarsus. When Saul of Tarsus went down on the Damascus road and his conversion took place, he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And it was told him then from heaven that he was to get up and go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do.
In other words, brethren, we may have a lot of knowledge, we may have a lot of teaching, but until we really own the Lordship of Christ in our lives, there's not really going to be true discernment to put that teaching in practice. And so the Lord Jesus said, I'm not so much your master, your teacher and Lord, but I want you to recognize me as Lord and teacher, because as he goes on to say, this servant is not greater than his than his Lord. Again, it's not the servant, It's not greater than his master, but the servant is not greater than his Lord.
And if we don't come to the point where in humility we own the Lordship of Christ and the claims of Christ in our lives, we're not going to be able to affect, effectively serve the Lord and to serve his people. We're not going to be able to carry out in the way the Lord Jesus illustrated here, the truth of feet washing. The servant is not greater than his Lord. The Lord humbled Himself here as we had before us, and it takes humility to wash one another's feet.
A brother or a sister who washes the feet of the Saints may not always be appreciated, may not always be valued, but it's a very necessary work. But it has to be done with the meekness and loneliness of Christ. And so as soon as Solitars owned Jesus as Lord, he was told that he would receive and further instructions. And I believe that that's the order for us in our Christian pathway.
And also with the, uh, various things that the Lord did to wash their feet, which we had there in verses four and five, you know, the, uh, rising from supper and laying inside his garments and girding himself and so on, He says we're to do that. And so in some way we are to replicate that.
In our attempt to wash one another's feet, and I would suggest that the rising from supper would bring before us the thought of.
The fact that we may have to put something down that we really desire to do, that we might be a help to our brother. Now the reason why I say that is because if you turn to Luke's Gospel chapter 22, the Lord said that the thing that he desired the most was to eat that supper. And now we find that he rises up from the supper and puts that aside, even though He desired greatly to do that because of the need of the disciples. And so it is if the Lord exercises us to wash the feet of one of our brethren.
And, uh, we, we may have to put aside some things that we really do want to do, but this kind of self sacrifice we see, I am imaged in the Lord that needs to be replicated in us. Then also to lay aside the garment. You know, the garment speaks to us of what we are before men. And I might speak of the reputation that we have. Well, that delay, that aside would perhaps mean the idea of sacrificing what we might be thought of by others. We all like to be well thought of, but to do this work.
You may not be so well thought of. Are you willing to lay aside your garment? And then it says to gird themselves. He gird himself. Well, we need to gird ourselves too and take the servant's place. And what is that? It's a place of loneliness. We need to get down next to where our brethren are. You know, you know you can't wash someone's feet standing, talking to them. Literally, I'm speaking now. The Lord had to get right down to where their feet were. And it's often been said you can't wash a person's feet with a Longhorn armed handle. Excuse me, a long handled broom.
Or a mop, that's not gonna work. Long range work is not the idea with foot washing. It's a hands on thing. And then also we find that they poured the water in the basin and then he applied it to their feet. That would bring before us the idea of the knowledge of the principles of God's word. We need to know how do you, For instance, if I see you needing something and I have a hard exercise for you, so I take up Genesis one with you about how God created the earth, you may not get the connection.
00:10:17
Because I'm using the wrong verses for the situation. But uh, if we have priestly discernment that only communion gives, which is what the chapter is about, we're going to know the exact verse that it would be needed for the situation and will bring it to bear upon the situation. And the person will be helped by it. And there may be some remote verse, It may be some verse that's taken out of its primary context, but used in another context and in spirit of God can identify with that and use it for blessing.
And so it requires a knowledge of you and, and the use of the word of God that comes only by, uh, being in the word of God. And then Natal while the Lord used the towel, we need to know how to finish the job too. And that would bring before us the thought of leaving them comfortable. And, uh, we don't want to just rebuke somebody and leave them offended or, uh, perhaps feel, feel discouraged about the failure that or whatever defilement that they have contracted. And no, we need to know how to use the towel.
And to comfort them, as old Mr. Blount used to say, you know, you don't wash someone's feet with a club. You make them black and blue, but you're not gonna make somebody's feet clean. And so it takes wisdom as to how to do it and to leave them comfortable. You know how the idea of a towel after you've been washed is makes you comfortable. And the Lord would do that. If the work is right, we'll do it as well. Now, maybe I could just take you to Psalm 141.
Psalm 141 Let the righteous smite me, and it shall be a kindness, Let him reprove me, and it shall be excellent oil, which my head shall not refuse, for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities. That's a little bit at the end there. But the thought is here is that we, when God does send a brother to us or a sister to us to wash our feet, we need to have that spirit of reception.
Of being willing to receive the person that we might get the good out of it. And I think that's why the Lord Jesus mentions in verse 20, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me. And he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. You know the Lord may be behind that brother or sister that sent to you. He may be coming because the Lord has laid it on his heart. And Yusuf, I'm not going to receive something from that person. But remember too that the thought of foot washing is not necessarily some.
Corrective matter, uh, measure in the sense of a person rebuking and reproving. It's more the thought of just a gentle, uh, work of the word of God coming to bear upon the conscience whereby defilement is detected and judged and person is cleansed. Remember, this is the mildest form of Christ advocacy work as an advocate. It's not one who's overtaken with, uh, a course of sin and self will, but rather just for picking up the defilement as we move through this world. It was mentioned at the beginning of the meetings and it needs to be mentioned again.
But at any rate, we should have here a model for us on how the Lord did it and how we are to do it. And what's the grand result if you know these things, happy or ye, if you do them. And that ye there, I understand, is in the plural, apparently in the English, in the original languages. He wanted them then to be a happy company. He wanted this little company that he left behind, and not only in communion, but looking after one another, maintenance, the maintenance of one another's communion as best as we can.
And he says that if you do them, you're going to be a happy little company that's waiting for me to come. I think that's important to see and understand. We often take this 17th verse and we apply it in a broad sense to lots of aspects of the truth. And certainly obedience and happiness go hand in hand. But I think we missed something if we don't see it in the context here. And as Bruce said it, Bruce said, what the Lord is really saying is.
If you want to be a happy company of Christians in my absence, you need to be in the enjoyment of My love and seeking to refresh one another in the path of faith and service. Washing one another Speak. But I want to stress one other point and that is the order in which the illustration is given. First of all, it's the Lord Jesus washing the disciples feet. Very important. And then he instructs the disciples to wash one another's feet.
00:15:10
You know, sometimes perhaps as the people of God, we get together maybe for an evening or some activity. And don't misunderstand me, I have nothing against activity. It's good for the people of God to be together for activity. And our young people need diversity and activities together and so on. But perhaps we come away and we say, well, we had a nice time of activity, maybe there was some nice conversation, but we really didn't enjoy the Lord much together. There wasn't much true fellowship together. Sometimes we confound the word fellowship and activity. They're two different things.
Fellowship is our enjoyment and our sharing of Christ one with another.
And so we come away and we say, well, there wasn't much refreshment or much really of Christ. Why? Because I cannot wash my brother or sister's feet if I haven't had my own feet washed first, if I'm not opening this book every day.
And letting it have its cleansing effect, the washing of water by the Word. I can't share Christ with a brother or sister if I haven't enjoyed Christ in my own soul. And if I do that, if I do share, try to share Christ, and I haven't appropriated it for myself, either the water is going to be too hot or too cold. I can be clear as ice and just as cold. Or in my fervency, I can scald a brother or sister. I'm speaking figuratively.
But when we are in the enjoyment of having our feet in the hands of the Lord Jesus and the Word of God having its cleansing effect on our lives every day, and brethren, we need it every day, we're in a world of defilement as we've been saying. And when that is true in our own lives personally, then it's going to be true of us collectively. And again, that's what the Lord Jesus wanted. If you know these things that I believe it is a plural thing here. If you know these things.
Have your if you do them, you're going to be a happy Christian company in my absence. I think you have both in Hebrews chapter 10, the individual as well as the company there in chapter 10 and verse 24. Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but an exhorting or encouraging one another, and so much the more you see the day approaching.
And so you have the individual aspect there as well as the collective. So consider one another to provoke and to love and to good works. I'll just point that little phrase that the Lord uses here. One another. You ought to wash one another's feet. And so you know, the Lord allows that there might be an individual work, a private individual work of affection. And the Lord did this with tenderness and greatest affection for His own.
It wasn't a cold hearted thing at all. And so he sat down here or he, he humbled himself and there, uh, took their feet individually into his hands and he said, now you do that one and another. And so we don't just line up and a whole row of seats and do seek to wash everyone's feet all at once and a production line, so to speak. But the Spirit of God gives us this little picture.
That there's an individual discernment of what's required, and there's to be the affection and the provoking or the encouraging into a course of good works for the Lord. That there might be fruit for himself in our lives. And so this is the desire that he has, that it's an individual work with affection and with affection for Christ, but affection for the believer too. The question came up over the noon hour as to why in the Old Testament.
The priests had to come to the labor and wash both their hands and their feet.
And here the Lord Jesus, when he institutes this service, it's just the feat. Well, I believe the typical teaching is that in the Old Testament with the priest, their service, the the feet speak of our walk and the hands speak of our service. And in the Old Testament, the priest's service was never done. It was an endless round of offering sacrifices. Every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which could never put away sin.
But the Lord Jesus was about to go to the cross and offer himself as the supreme sacrifice.
And there was nothing that the disciples could contribute to that work of atonement. So he washes their feet, because they were going to be left in a world where they still had a walk for the Lord and a path of service. But having said that, I'd like to make just this practical application. Now, brethren, I don't want to take these illustrations too far, but I would like to make this practical little application because you and I today still have a path of service.
00:20:21
A pathway through this world. We have a walk through this world and we have a path of service. You and I have a, uh, a service for Christ, every one of us. And we're walk to walk through this world in a consecrated way, both hands full, full of Christ doing his service and so on. Now let's just for a moment go to the thought of the litter. What literally happened here, just for a moment, or the thought of literal feet washing. Suppose I'll use Eric for an illustration, but suppose I was to get down.
And to literally wash Eric's feet. And then he reciprocated and got down and washed my feet because the Lord said wash one another's feet. I know it's not literal as we stressed this morning, but just for the sake of my my illustration, suppose we both literally washed one another's feet. What is cleansed in the process? Both our hands and our feet are cleansed. In other words, when you take that to apply it in a spiritual way.
When you and I share Christ and the Word in the way that we've been speaking, and there's that cleansing effect, we are going to both be strengthened for the path of faith and the path of service. And so rather, this is necessary in the day in which we live. Now, before we pass on, I want to read a verse in Luke.
Uh, just to, umm, show that the service of that the Lord took up here.
Is a service that in a little different way he's going to carry on for eternity. He's going to serve us forever. But I want to notice a marked difference as to what it will be in the coming day. Luke chapter 12 and verse 37.
Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve them. Brethren, isn't it a tremendous thought to consider? I I think this is one of the most tremendous verses in the Word of God, to think that the Lord Jesus.
In the coming day is going to come forth and serve us forever. He's serving us now in the way that we've been speaking up. But it's interesting that when we get home to the Father's house, He's going to come forth and serve us. But there's no mention of feet washing in Loop 12. Why? Because we will be beyond the path of faith and service. We will be beyond the defilements of the journey here. We won't need that which removes those things that now dull our souls and chill our affections. Those things will be gone.
But what is the service that He's going to carry on for us in the Father's house for eternity? But if I could illustrate it this way, when I enter the homes of my brethren, they often come out and they try to do everything they can to make you comfortable while you're in their home to serve you. If you need anything, just ask. And there's this and that, and we put this in your room for your comfort, and so on. Think of it, brethren, when we get to glory.
The sun is going to come forth as just to me, as if he says now I'm gonna minister to your every joy and your every satisfaction for all eternity. He's going to be in that capacity of being gird and serve us forever. Now if that doesn't motivate us to serve him now and to gird ourselves in humility and serve the Lord's people now, I don't know what will motivate us. But to think that he's going to serve us forever. Can't we serve Him and one another in the little time that's left us here?
Darby said that, uh, that verse in Luke 12, that what he will serve is he'll serve as heavenly happiness. Isn't that wonderful heavenly happiness?
But I was just thinking about this as we've been reading, you know, to get down next to someone's foot, you're awful close to it. You could get kicked.
What if a person you run across a person? Like Peter said, resist the foot washing.
Well, you take that chance, don't you? There is a risk.
But the Lord doesn't make allowances for the fact that you might run into that scenario. He says wash one another's feet.
We started with umm.
00:25:01
At supper, uh, uh, he lifted himself up at supper and uh, I was thinking of, uh, what we have in verse one, which was brought before us earlier this morning. But umm, having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them onto the end of the uttermost. And you know, I feel there's two things connected with that.
Uh, one is he loved them enough.
To see a change in their life and to have a concern.
But on the other side, they knew that he loved them.
They, they knew that that that this was one that cared for their need. And sometimes I feel that we need to earn the right to be able to get that close to our brother and to be able to see when there's a change in their lives and to be close enough to them where they know we love them and that they would receive a word of admonition from us.
A word of encouragement from the Word of God. You know, sometimes we can come in a critical spirit.
We might call it love, but it may be an opportunity for us to elevate ourselves. It may be that we haven't shown much love to the person in the past and now all of a sudden we feel that we have some right to come and wash their feet.
I think we need to realize it where there's a responsibility to earn, uh, to earn a place in their hearts and in their lives and they should know that we love them. Uh, and I think that that's really the very first thing that moved the Lord Jesus to stand up at supper.
And brother, then we see that sequence you just mentioned in the first Peter chapter 4 and we could just read 3 verses there.
In first Peter four and verse 8 says above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover a multitude of sins. That's the first thing. Then verse 9, use hospitality 1 to another without grudging. That's the second thing. And the third thing in verse 10 is, as every man hath received the gift, Even so minister the same one to another.
So if I don't have, if I haven't shown someone that unfeigned love, brotherly affection, and especially, and if I haven't had them even in my home, we haven't been anywhere else together to enjoy hospitality together. Like you say, how do you have a right to come to them and say I have something I need to say to you? But I think that's a nice progression there, to have that love, the genuine love that we feel for one another and then to have the the Saints in our homes and that's paving the way.
For the exercise of any gift and something that we might have from the Lord to share with them to, uh, wash their feet, as it were.
Apostle Paul says to tell you that there were going to be those that would take up the work of oversight and they were to be lovers of hospitality or given to hospitality. But then he speaks to the I think it's.
In First Timothy chapter 3 and he says that the those that were deacons were taken up with the practical service among the people of God. They were to be hospitable as well.
And so you have a little picture, I believe in the New Testament, in umm, Acts chapter 18 in connection with Aquila and Priscilla. It's a beautiful picture of how it says they took him unto themselves. It says, uh, Acts chapter 18 in connection with Apollos and umm.
It says.
In verse 26 he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom, when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded the way of God unto him, the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into IKEA, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive Him, who when He was come, help them much which had believed through grace. Now I know that this is not really in connection with defilement in the pathway.
But really it's the principle is this, that they, they brought this man Apollos into their own home at their own expense. And, uh, they put themselves out and it was evident, their love for that man was evident and it bore fruit for God. As a result, they were able to just, uh, minister the truth to him in a private way. And so this is another thing that I think we need to bear in mind that when it says one another's feet, there was a private individual meeting.
00:30:16
With the Lord and each one of these disciples. And it wasn't done in a public scolding way in any way. It was done with tenderness and with love. And so you have that in that portion of Scripture that you just referred to. And I believe in equivalent Priscilla. We have that little picture of the grace of God operative in their hearts. And the fruit that was born was wonderful. We may have our feet washed in a meeting like this. They're at a conference like this, but that isn't really the context of what the Lord was saying here.
This is, as we've been saying, a private personal work. And so the Apostle Paul said in the 20th of Acts that he not only ministered to the Saints publicly, but from house to house. He recognized the fact that if he was going to get close to the Saints, if he was going to wash their feet, sit where they sat, it was going to be to get into their homes as well. And so I think it's very important to see that. And Paul said too, of the household of Vanessa Forest. He off refreshed me.
There was refreshment when Paul entered that home. There was a household that refreshed the heart of the Apostle Paul. Paul would enter that home weary, no doubt, from traveling and from this journey and from the burdens and cares of the assemblies he'd been visiting. But there was a home where the, the, the household was, uh, exercised in the refreshment of the Saints of God. And I believe it's important, brethren, to have the Saints in our homes. I know it takes sacrifice. I know when I was working especially, and even now sometimes when I come home from a trip, if I'm home a Lord's day, I just want to shut the door and be alone with my wife and family.
But I'm thankful for a wife who's always been exercised to have the Saints in our home and not just to share a meal, but to share something of the things of Christ and encourage the Saints of God. And brethren, that's what we need. There's lots to discourage, lots to weary us by the way. But are our homes a sanctuary, not only for ourselves, a place of refreshment, not only for ourselves, but for our brethren. So again, as I alluded to this morning, the godly widows.
They refresh the heart of the Saints, and this isn't just something for the brothers.
This is brothers and sisters alike. I'm thankful for sisters who wash, have washed and wash my feet. Some of the most refreshing times and things I've learned that have encouraged me the most have been from godly sisters who have just spoken a word to me in season, and I'm thankful for that. And so, sisters, you have a part in washing the feet of the Saints. This isn't just something for the brothers. First Timothy 5.
Verses 9 and 10 let not the widow be taken in the number under 3 score years old, having been a wife of one man well reported of for good works. If she had brought up children, if she had lost strangers, if she has washed the Saints feet, if she have relieved afflicted. My question is, uh, is that a literal washing of the feet or is that, uh, in the spiritual sense that we're talking about?
Well, if there was an understanding of what the Lord had instituted in the 13th of John, which of course when Paul wrote this about the widows, the Spirit of God had been given, and no doubt there was another, I would say that it may have been literal, but I think in a spiritual way too. Don't you? I was waiting for Vern to tell us.
My spouse is short. I don't know.
Well, it may have been literal, but it it's certainly for us to learn today because as we've been saying, there's a spiritual application to what the Lord wasn't literal feet washing that he was introducing here. He illustrated by literal feet washing. But there was more to it than that. And so we can learn that the sisters and the widows and they have a part to play in the refreshment of the Saints of God.
Now one of the things that you see as a result, and it's beautiful.
If you just take the moral order of things as it's developing in the chapter, as we've had in the opening series of verses, we have the Lord washing our feet. The result is that we have part with Him in communion. We enjoy His love. And what is the first response that would come as a result of that? Well, that's what we had in these versus 13 to 17, and that is that we wanna bring somebody else into the enjoyment of that love. It's one thing to enjoy the Lord's love, but it's such that His love is so contagious and so over.
00:35:11
Uh, flowing and over overwhelming. I don't know what the right word is, but uh, what we want to do is the reaction is we want to bring our brethren into that. And so he says, well, that's what you should do. Wash their feet so they can enjoy, uh, my love as well. And then in the next series of verses, we have the Lord. It looks like he's changing the subject here, but I noticed that the mark, the paragraph marker in verse 18 is not to be there in the other translation. It flows right along. And, uh, what he shows here is that there's another thing that's going to result from foot washing.
And that is that there's going to be discernment of his mind. There's going to be the discernment of his mind. He says, I tell you it before it comes. And now we're let into the secrets of his mind. On this occasion, it was The Who was the betrayer. But that's not the point. The principle of it is that we are let into the insights of his mind. And that's what one of the results. So let me recount them. Now we have not only the fact that we have part with him in the enjoyment of communion, but we also react in wanting to bring our brethren into the enjoyment of that love by watching their feet. And then thirdly, he gives us discernment.
He gives us discernment and then we'll get later in the chapter, uh, the fact that we will render a powerful testimony before the world because we will go on and as a happy company and enjoying one another and the love of the Lord. He says in verses 3831 to 38 that, umm, you know, by this all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another. And so there's going to be some, there is in this chapter some wonderful results that come out of there are that are born out of the foot washing.
And this is not so much insight into his mind and we get in verses 1819 and 20 and so on as to the the the deep truths of God, because that's something that is been committed to us through the revelation that God has given the word of God. It's more the idea of the discernment of his mind for the occasion, just knowing and having the wisdom for the occasion. And what was the occasion here? There was this. There was a betrayer in their midst.
And.
The Lord, uh, uncovers that and exposes that to them. And I believe it's put in here because it has a, because there's a moral order in the teaching here, because it really is bringing out the thought that we're going to have moral discernment in the mind of Christ for the very moment. Isn't that what we need?
Discernment for the path and for the moment.
The Lord Jesus was troubled in spirit, verse 21.
Trouble in spirit.
He who is feeling the rejection that would come as a result of the betrayer, the spirit of betrayal is part of his the sufferings because of the betrayer is part of the Lord's martyrdom sufferings.
You see, as he suffered as a martyr, not only physically but also in spirit, he felt the rejection of, of men, He felt this betrayer and he was troubled in that way. Now it's true martyrdom sufferings also are physical. That is when they apprehended him and they, they beat him and they did all these things. But when they mocked him too, though that's martyred them suffering because he suffered in his spirit as he saw what his creatures were doing.
Having been under the influence of the blindness of sin and what it had wrought in their souls, and what Satan had LED them to do.
And so the Lord here is is troubled in spirit.
That's why I could say reproach has broken my heart to be rejected by those that he had come to bless. To think that Judas had walked with the disciples and with the Lord Jesus for the years of his public ministry and was now about to betray him and so on. So reproach had broken his heart. But I just want to say this in a practical way too, that you see the Lord Jesus in this chapter, He moves calmly ahead. Yes, He's troubled in spirit.
But He moves calmly ahead, He rises from supper, He washes the disciples feet, He goes on here even in the midst of the betrayer and the the one who was going to deny Him and so on and all that. He knew that was ahead. He calmly moves forward. How could he do such a thing? Well #1 All things had been committed into His hand. There was one in full control of the situation. He knew that the import of that verse that says weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. He looked beyond.
00:40:29
To the fruit and the glory, and so on.
Brethren, if we could in spirit have that too, it would help us to move on quietly and calmly amidst the many difficulties and trials that the Lord allows in our lives personally, as families, sometime even as assemblies, gather to the name of the Lord Jesus. You know, things might seem out of hand sometimes, but they're never out of the Lord's hand.
He's always in full control, and the Lord Jesus, it says of him again in Peter, who when he was reviled, reviled not again when he suffered, he threatened not. You say, how could he do such a thing? He committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. He knew that God had the record down properly. He knew that there was a day coming of vindication and so on, and he could commit himself to him that judgeth righteously. And brethren, if we could learn to do that, it would give us.
Not indifference to our situation. We never want to be indifferent. The Lord wasn't indifferent.
To what was happening here, but he could move ahead calmly and as a man with that faith in his God, knowing that all was in full control and rather everything is in full control and he's going to work it all out, not only for a purpose, but for a purpose of blessing.
Thinking of the rest of that verse that you quoted, Brother Jim, in Psalm 69, reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness. And then the rest, and I look for some to take pity, but there was none. And for comforters, but I found none. And then he speaks of what they did on the cross. They gave me also golf or my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. But it's true that the Lord wanted comforters, didn't he? And I've often thought that that's the, uh, that's the place we can play to the Lord now, can't we?
Uh, he wants comforters. He wants those that, uh.
Are in communion with his thoughts and his purposes and his counsels. And, uh, it's often been said that this upper room ministry is, are the family secrets. Uh, it's as if the Lord took his. He did literally took his disciples apart, uh, the apostles apart. I should say. He closed the door and he said, I wanna tell you some family secrets. And so he said in that verse there in Psalm 69, he looked for comforters. Now I know we often apply this.
It's often struck me particularly on Lord's Day morning. And no doubt that's true. The Lord passed through that scene at Calvary without any comfort whatsoever from men, from men. And yet, uh, vicariously, we use that word. It means that a substitutionary way, as it were, we can go back now and, uh, in a sense, be those comforters the Lord didn't have at the time. I think that's one of the grand privileges of remembering the Lord Jesus and his death. There's many, many privileges, of course, but that's one, isn't it?
The Lord sought for comforters when he was going through that awful time. There were none. But now, vicariously, we can go back and be those comforters that He didn't have. Well, that's maybe a little off of our subject, but I think the point is that the Lord is quietly bringing us into these these family secrets that He wants us to appreciate them because they're close to His own heart. They have eternal value and He wants us to enter into it and to be those that have fellowship with them.
Along that line, I've thought of that verse when he said, Could you not watch with me one hour?
You know he wanted them to watch with him, but they couldn't do it. The the Spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. But you know what an opportunity we have to watch with him. One hour on the breaking of bread.
And think of how the sufferings of Christ were punctuated by His infinite foreknowledge. Imagine if you and I knew what we were gonna suffer tomorrow or what we were gonna go through next week. Why? It's a burden we couldn't bear. We suffer or go through circumstances today we look back on what we have gone through. But it's interesting here. The Lord said, I tell you before it comes verse 19, He was a divine person. He knew what was ahead. Only a divine person could tell them something before it happened.
00:45:05
I can't tell you what's going to happen next week. I might have all kinds of plans and suppose this and that, but I can't tell you for sure what I'm going to do or what's going to happen in my life next week. And thank God, I can't. Thank God He hasn't put that burden upon us. But think of how the sufferings of Christ were punctuated by the fact that he had infinite foreknowledge of what was ahead. He could sit here, and even before he was betrayed, he knew it was going to happen. He could tell Peter he was going to deny him before it was going to happen.
He knew as he bowed in the garden in his agony, he knew that he was going to suffer.
In those hours of darkness for sin at the hand of God, he could anticipate that rather than what a person he was. And if don't we get something a little bit of that here and and umm of what was being brought out in in John here, having his his head upon the bosom of the Lord Jesus.
Uh, the love, the intimacy that he was feeling with Christ. It was John that he revealed what was going to happen. And isn't that true with us? We, we have the privilege, we have the, we have the, the loaf and we have the cup and we come together collectively and the intimacy of our heart is connected with that one whom we love, who died upon Calvary's cross for us, that, that he brings us in to the sorrows that he was suffering.
He brings us into what it was and a measure to be forsaken. We don't really enter into it completely, but he unfolds his heart to us and we can respond in fellowship with the father about what his son was going through. And so that's really what's happened to John here. He's leaning, he's leaning on Jesus bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved silent turns to him. He says, uh, uh, therefore beckoning to him, the one who was the closest.
That he should ask who it should be of whom he spake here. He, he, he gets divine knowledge directly from the Lord Himself, because of his nearness. So he says, he that lying on Jesus breast said unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered He, It is to whom I will give a stop when I have dipped it. That was divine knowledge. That was something only He Himself knew, and only the one that was nearest to Him was revealed. We have that kind of privilege, don't we?
It's interesting too, as we've talked about the little expression one another and we as we said earlier, we're to wash one another's feet. But you have the expression again. Now they look to one another. There was a question arose and they looked to one another, but looking to one another didn't answer their questions. No, it only caused out and brethren, when problems and difficulties arise, if we are things we don't understand, we just look to one another. Now thank God for brethren who are helps to us, but looking to one another.
When a problem arises in the assembly is only going to cause doubting and fear. But what does John do? He looks to the Lord, he turns to the Lord, and he directs his question to the Lord, and the question is answered. Then when he turns to the Lord, and don't we have to hang our heads? At least I do and say that so often we look to one another and we only add to the problem, we don't help it. But when we look to the Lord, then the problem, the questions and doubts are going to be answered. So I just say that on a practical note, we're to wash one another's feet.
But when there are questions and doubts, we're not to look to one another, we're to look to the Lord. I noticed that he calls himself.
One of his disciples whom Jesus loved.
You know when we are enjoying the Lord's love.
We lose sight of ourselves.
And he spoke of himself in a very self effacing way. He could have said, because he's recounting this as she's writing this gospel. He could have said and when all the disciples didn't know, I was close enough to the Lord and I knew the Lord told me and so I can tell the others, you know, he would it would be making something about himself.
That's not one of the effects of a person who's had their feet washed and they're enjoying The Lord's love it. It makes us humble and not try to put ourselves forward and make anything of ourselves among our brother.
It's interesting that this is the first of five times in this gospel that he is referred to or refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And at what's significant to me in connection with what we've been saying is that the next time is in the 19th chapter.
00:50:10
When the Lord Jesus looks down from the cross and he sees John the disciple whom he loved, and he is able to commit his mother into the care of John, and that disciple takes his mother, takes Mary into his home.
And comforter and wash it, no doubt in the sense we've been talking. Washes her feet and takes care of her.
What? How could the Lord, Why would the Lord commit his earthly mother to John? Because John had leaned on his bosom at supper, Because John had an appreciation of the love of the Lord Jesus, and having appropriated that for himself, then the Lord Jesus could commit Mary into his care. If if a brother or sister needed some care in the assembly, would you be recommended as the one that they go to, They go to?
Would you would would that one be brought to you as a brother or sister that is recognized as one who's in the enjoyment of the Lord's love, and that you would pass that on to the one who needed help and comfort at the time? Well, it's very exercising, isn't it?
I believe it was quite evident here that John had affection for Christ. He not only had that affection and it showed, but he had confidence in the Lord. And so he leaned on his breast in the place of affection. And so it's nice, you know, if we do desire to deserve something that the Lord has for us, and perhaps we want to take up a portion of Scripture and just enjoy something of Christ together or get some instruction in the path of faith. It's a good thing to go to someone who is enjoying Christ in their souls and walking in a path of nearness to Christ.
And then there's going to be that affection for the soul of those that the one that might be inquiring. There's going to be the desire that they walk in affection and confidence with the Lord too. So it was evident to Peter that John had that place of affection. He he had the way Harry Hail used to say it. We can have as much of Christ as we want in our lives. We'll show it while it was showing with John. And so Peter was the apostle of action.
He was always doing something. He had lots of things to do and he was the first, uh, out of the gate when there was a question to be asked and so on. But, uh, John was quiet and they're enjoying that place of affection. And then you have, uh, Paul, he's the apostle of knowledge. And so, umm, he had that ministry given to him that was, uh, the knowledge and visions and signs and so on. But, uh, instead of being so occupied with action and so occupied with service.
There is that desire of heart. I believe the Spirit of God just gives us to, uh, understand that there is a place that we can enjoy of affection and confidence, and then we're going to be able to discern the, the path and discern those things that might come in among his people.
Our brother AO2, I can't remember exactly how he put it, but he said something to the effect that never tried to love the Lord more than you do, but dwell on his love for you. And that's the secret here, isn't it?
Uh, sometimes people have tried to do that, and I suppose all of us have been guilty of it at one time or the other. And we sometimes sing that song, More love to Thee, O God. And we mean it, don't we? But that's not really how it works, is it? How do we get more love for the Lord? By trying to love the Lord more Might seem logical, but it isn't really true. The secret is just what John learned, wasn't it? He dwelt on his love for him. That increased his love for the Lord, didn't it? But he wasn't taken up with himself.
Uh, my wanting to have more love for the Lord may just be a subtle, subtle type of self. It may be me wanting to, uh, to uh, exalt myself in some way, make myself more spiritual. That's not the point, is it? The point is that as we dwell in the Lord's love, as we enjoy more and more intimacy with the Lord Jesus and enjoy the love He has for us, then indeed we do become more spiritual. But our eyes aren't on ourselves at all.
So it's a, it's a perhaps a subtle thing, but it's a very real thing, isn't it? And as I re remember, uh, reading letter brother Heyo said about it, at least we don't try to love the Lord more than we do. We say, well, we do wanna love the Lord more than we do, and that's a wonderful thing. But the secret isn't in ourselves. That's kind of like the story. The man trying to lift himself up by his own bootstraps. We can't do it, can we? But when we have the Lord Jesus as our object, we become more like him. We become transformed into his image. That's the secret. And John knew that, didn't he? And so.
00:55:22
That's a great secret, although all of us can say the same thing John said can't we? Aren't we the disciple whom Jesus loves? John enjoyed it. That's the difference perhaps perhaps we don't enjoy it as much as John did, but but it's something we can grow in and that's a great secret, isn't it Yes and we want to make that very clear that the Lord loves all his own equally. Sometimes in a large family, maybe it's hard to just show or or even love all our children equally. We tend to show more favor love perhaps to what the one that.
Conforms to what we want them to do and so on. But the Lord Jesus loves everyone of his children equally. And, uh, but as you say, there are those who enjoy it more. And I think, Eric, what you say is illustrated so beautifully in the Song of Solomon, because as the bride is awakened in her affections and restored to the Bridegroom, she is occupied less and less with her response and love for the Bridegroom and more with His love.
And as she enumerates his qualities and beauties, what happens? Why, it just awakens her affections more and more until at the end of it, he's all together lovely, he is mine, and so on. And so at the end her affections are deepened. Not by dwelling on her response or her affection. She realized that had been faulty at best. She'd gone to sleep and her affections had dulled and waned, but the more she was occupied with what he was.
In himself and his affections to her. Why at the end of it, her affections were deeper.
And so I think it just illustrates what you say. And we can get pretty down if we're occupied with our response, but what will lift us is to be occupied with that consistent, as we said this morning, that divine love that is consistent in its outflow toward us. Peter was occupied with his love for the Lord. I say that because when the Lord restored him in the 21St chapter, he said, Peter, do you love me more than your brother? He didn't mean do you love me more than you love John and James and those he meant, do you love me?
More than your brother love me because that was at the bottom of his, his thoughts. He thought he was the Lord's best disciple and he loved the Lord more. He was occupied with his love for the Lord and it led to a fall. John was occupied with the Lord's love for him and he was preserved. And that's the key. And as you said, he recognized his love for all his brethren, right? So, uh, what a, what a difference.
Well, the closer we're drawn to the Lord and the deeper our affections for the Lord, the closer we will be drawn to one another and the deeper our affections for one another. Because I I'll just add this little addendum to what we've said. If we try to love our brethren without there being true affection for Christ, that's not gonna work either. But if there's true affection for Christ, then we're going to unconsciously have love for our brethren and I believe our love for one another.
Is in the measure in which we love, we enjoy the Lord's love for us. The illustration's been given. It's been very helpful to me of a, a wheel with spokes, isn't it? You're exactly right. There actually can be a, a very counterproductive love of our brethren. If we leave the Lord out, we can become friends with our brethren. I was in the midst of all evil in the, in the midst of the assembly. That can cause we can, we can be, uh, partners in crime, as we sometimes say, because the Lord's left out. We come together at the meetings. We think, well, that's a good thing. But then there can be troubles, can't there?
But the proper illustration, I think is a is a as a wheel was spokes. As we get as the spokes, they start at the outer rim. As the spokes get CLO closer to the center, they get closer to one another. And that's the proper order for love, isn't it? Let's notice another little progression in John's gospel in that connection. Just go back to the third chapter for a moment.
John 3, verse 35.
The Father loveth the Son, just that little expression. You know, I believe it's important for us to realize first the Father loveth the Son to, to get a hold in our souls of this glorious truth. When it says the Father sent the Son, isn't that more than if it just said God sent Jesus? God did send Jesus, but there was a relationship there. The Father loveth the Son. That's the first thing. But now go to the 15th chapter.
01:00:20
Chapter 15 and verse 9, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. That's the next thing the dis the Lord says to the disciples. The same love that I am loved by the Father is the same love, the same divine love that I love, that that is shown to you, that I love you with, isn't it? Isn't that something to think about? The same love, the love of the Father.
For the Sun is the love of the sun for his own.
But then notice verse 12. This is my commandment, that ye love one another. But don't stop there, as I have loved you. Do you realize, brethren, that the love that we are to have for one another is no less love than the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Son for his disciples? There's no less standard for you and I loving one another, but.
We cannot love one another with that love if we haven't enjoyed and appreciated that love in our own souls. And so we need to get a hold of the love of the Father for the Son, the Lord's love for us, and then in that measure we can love one another with that same divine love.
He loved his son in at least two different ways. You know what I'm talking about now, I hope. Uh, John as he read to us there. John 3.
And verse 35 as the Father loveth the Son, that's Agapea love. But in chapter five, he says exactly the same words. Let me read it. John 5 and verse 20 for the Father loveth the Son. Sounds like it's just verbatim, but it's not that word. Love in John 520 is not the agape, but it's a filial love. And so he loved the Father, loved the Son in both these ways. Then when you swing over to John 15, he as the Father loved us.
His father has loved him, he loved us. He loves us in both those ways. That's my point.
First John 4 and 19, uh, it says, uh, we love him because he first loved us and him is not supposed to be in there, is it? No. So it reads like this. We love because he first loved us.
We have the capacity to love not just God or the Lord Jesus, but to love one another and even the sinners of this world because He first loved us.
It's time to close brother. We were 10 minutes over on the 1St Bible reading.
7094 in the appendix.
All
Gospel—Jim Hyland
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I'd like to begin with a portion this evening in Second Timothy.
Second Timothy Chapter 3.
Second Timothy, chapter 3 and verse 15.
And that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. Well, when this gospel meeting is recorded and a a CD or a tape is sent out, perhaps the title on this Gospel meeting could be 1 Short Word.
All because I have it on my heart this evening to look at a number of scriptures that bring before us this little word all.
Because, you know, the gospel doesn't exclude anybody. The gospel is for all.
A little girl was asked one time, what does the word whosoever mean? Why? She said. That means you and me.
And everybody else, I thought that was a good answer. And so the gospel goes out tonight and it goes out to whosoever it goes out to all. But I thought it would be helpful to begin with this portion because here it establishes that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. But before I comment on that, I read the 15th verse because I look into the faces of those tonight who for the most part.
Have heard the word of God from the very early days of their youth. I had that privilege.
I didn't always appreciate my parents reading the Bible around the table twice a day.
I didn't always appreciate being brought to gospel meetings like this. I didn't always appreciate my father.
Sitting me down and talking to me very seriously as I got a little older as to the importance of knowing the Lord Jesus as my savior. But you know, as I look back, I'm thankful now that I had parents and grandparents and others who were concerned enough about my soul and loved me enough to bring the Holy Word of God before me on a constant basis. And Timothy had had such a heritage, I realized, maybe there's somebody here tonight.
And you haven't been brought up in a Christian home. You didn't hear the word of God from the time you were a child. But there are many here who are growing up now in Christian homes, and you're hearing the word of God every day and every week.
But what have you done with it? Timothy had a God fearing grandmother. He had a godly mother.
Who brought the word before him? And Paul reminded him that from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures.
Which are able to make the wise unto salvation because it's the word of God that shows us the way of salvation.
And we're not going to give opinions here tonight as to how to be saved. As our brother Robert said this afternoon, we're not going to give suggestions as to how to be saved. We're going to base what we say we trust on the word of God, realizing that it's the word of God that shows us the way of salvation. How would any of us know God's plan of salvation for sinful man apart from the word of God?
But in the Word of God he's made the way of salvation so plain. It says a wayfaring man, though a fool, may not err therein. And many of us have heard stories of those who never had anybody to explain the Word to them. But somehow they got ahold of a Bible or part of the Word of God, read it for themselves, and the Holy Spirit worked in showing them their need as sinners and God's great provision and his plan of salvation.
But then there was more than that. It's through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. Because, you know, I'm. I fear tonight there are many sitting in these seats who know the way of salvation but maybe have never come to know the Lord Jesus as their savior. Never have put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a solemn thing it is to think that there are those who know the way of salvation, but they go out of gospel meetings like this.
Indifferent to God's claims, they go out of gospel meetings. And they say, not tonight, not tonight. Because the word of God that you have heard in the days of your life upon earth will come back in a lost eternity.
To rise up in judgment the word which I have spoken, the Lord Jesus said.
00:05:04
The same shall judge him in the last days. Won't it be a solemn thing to remember the verses that we hope to read and quote tonight in a lost eternity, to remember a verse like this? For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Have you ever heard that verse before? You probably have, and you've heard it again just just now.
But to realize that if you go out into a lost eternity, you will remember that verse, but it will no longer have its application to you as to a point of refuge, but it will rise in judgment and condemn you, and you will realize that you had opportunity and you refused it. And so all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. This book is not like any other book. This book is the living word of God.
You know, this book we hold in our hands tonight is the only book that's living. That's why you'll never get to the bottom of it. That's why we'll have a fresh enjoyment of it for all eternity, those of us who are in the Father's house. Because you can't get to the bottom of a book that's living. Every other book written by man, you can get to the bottom of all. It might take some extensive study. It might take some several readings, but you can eventually. You have to say we've got everything that we can out of this book.
But the Word of God is living, and I am thankful that it is because it is the Word of God in all its living power.
That God can use tonight to impart divine life. To you we're born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible by the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever.
If the living word of God, if God breathed, it's inspired. And tonight, if you reject any part of this book, you've rejected the whole. It's all Scripture if you bring into question.
Any part of this book, you're really bringing into question the whole word of God. You know, sometimes after a gospel meeting, the comment is made. Well, I find it hard to believe that perhaps folks would be more honest if they said I find it hard to believe God, because that's what they're really saying. It's the word of God that we present tonight. And I'm thankful too, that blessing tonight doesn't depend on our ability to present the word of God.
But what it does depend on is the word of God in all its living power. It's the sword of the spirit. It's quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. I remember some years ago I landed in the country of Nigeria in Lagos, the capital at a time. There's always unrest in Nigeria. It's one of EU s s suggestions to places that people don't go. It's always posted at a major airport as they.
Suggest their citizens don't go because of the lack of security. But I remember landing there at a particularly troubled time in the political history of Nigeria, and General Hibachi had seized power just before I got there. He was reputed to be one of the most ruthless dictators of the 90s. He was a diabolical man, but I remember stepping off that plane and there are several checkpoints you go through before you ever get your luggage.
And when I came to the top of the stairs, I came face to face with a senior military officer with a machine gun slung over his shoulder, and he opened not just my passport, but my visitors visa.
He and I both realized at the same time that I had the wrong visa. They had issued me at the Nigerian consulate in Ottawa a business visa rather than a visitors visa, he said to me, Sir, you have the wrong documentation. I'm going to have to take you away, I gulped. Because I know from having traveled to many corners of the world that sometimes when they lock you up in these countries, they throw away or lose the key and they don't bother to have another one made. And I wasn't about to let him take me away.
At that point. And so we talked a little while and I remembered that I had a couple of Bibles in my carry on bag. And so I reached into my carry on bag and I presented him a Bible And I said, Sir, this is for you. And I said maybe this will help you to understand my story that I'm just here as a visitor. I'm not here on business.
00:10:06
You'll smile when I tell you what he said, he said. Yes, Sir, I can see you're a man of God. You go right ahead. Well, what you have to realize is that Bibles bring a good part people to step ahead to the next checkpoint. That didn't mean I was.
Fully in the country yet. But I got through the most difficult procedures and I thought of it in retrospect. What was it that allowed me to enter that country, if I can put it this way, for our purposes? Tonight I entered Nigeria on the basis of the word of God. And how are we going to enter heaven? It's by accepting what God says in his living word. The boys and girls sometimes sing in Sunday school. The Bible. Yes, that's the book for me. I stand alone on the word of God.
The Bible and we don't have to base our what we say tonight on something vague. We don't have to make assumptions or guesses. No, we have the word of God that clearly tells us the way of salvation. But now let's go to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 4.
Hebrews Chapter 4.
And verse 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
You know, I want to talk very seriously for a few moments about sin and its consequences. And I want us to realize tonight, in the presence of a holy God, that we can hide nothing from God. You know, when we're children and young people, we think we can hide. And sometimes we do hide many things from our parents and other adults, but all things are naked and open under the eyes of him.
With whom we have to do. And we want to make it very clear tonight that not only are all things naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do, but sin has its consequences.
I didn't see the article, but yesterday on the entertainment, in the entertainment section of USA TODAY, there was a headline. I'm gonna paraphrase slightly because I didn't see the headline myself, but it was something to this effect.
Most people today still believe in sin, but not its consequences.
That's solemn. You know. I suppose if we were to go out on the streets of Richmond or downtown Vancouver or any other busy street corner in the town or city in North America and ask passers by if they thought they were sinners, I suppose most people would still today admit that they've done wrong things. But people don't believe in the consequences of sin. In fact, man features this world as a playground.
In which to indulge himself and the whole philosophy that's ingrained in our young people today. If it feels good, do it and nobody's to put limits and bounds on us.
I did something tonight that I rarely do in a gospel meeting. I brought a little object lesson with me. I know you can't see it very well from where you're sitting, probably, but you know, some months ago this came in the mail. I wish I had kept the envelope that it came in, but at our house.
If something doesn't have any present use, it's usually in the blue box tomorrow, but I was able to snag this and keep it. But the envelope went out with the recycling but the envelope said in vague letters.
The seven Ultimate sins. Shocking, isn't it? The seven ultimate sins.
Inside with this brochure. It's an advertisement for Jaguar and it lists 7 sins and they are sins too. You see, man understands what sin is, he makes light of it. He doesn't believe in the consequences of it, but he does know what sin is because he has a conscience. When man fell in the garden, he received a conscience.
Sin #1.
Lust isn't that, you know. Lust today is preached and propagated in the world.
00:15:02
Lost. We're not gonna spend any time on these. But sin #2? Greed. Not what we see today. Everybody's living for themselves, trying to accumulate for themselves. I want it no matter what it costs me or how I hurt somebody to get it.
Sin #3 pride.
Sin #4 Sloth entertainment, amusement, ease.
Send #5 envy.
Sin number six.
Rah sin #7 gluttony.
You ever go to a all you can eat buffet?
You see people and this society is characterized by gluttony. In fact, it's one of the things that brings as society and an empire down Gluttony. History teaches us that the seven ultimate sins. But you know what's so solemn about this?
God is not mocked. Man may make light of sin, but you know, after this ad campaign, the sales of Jaguar dropped more than 50%. And Ford is in the process of selling its Jaguar division to a company in India.
God is not mocked.
And you might make light of sin tonight, but sin is serious. Do you realize the first recorded sin in the Bible is a sin of disobedience? Do you realize the first recorded sin in the church was a lie? Doesn't seem very serious does it? Disobedience and a lie. God doesn't look lightly at sin and God says all have sinned and come short.
Of the glory of God.
Let's go on to Isaiah chapter 53.
Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 6.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Well, again, we want to stress that when we speak about sin and sinners, we're not Speaking of just a select group of people. No, God's word over and over again confirms to us that everyone born into this world is born in sin, and very quickly they become a Sinner by practice.
All have sinned. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. That includes you. You know there are two animals.
That Scripture uses to describe the unregenerate man, a sheep and a donkey.
Man is born as a wild ***** cult, it tells us in the book of Job. A donkey is stubborn, a sheep is wayward, likes its own way and doesn't. Isn't that what man wants more than anything else? Isn't that what the natural man desires? His own way?
Some weeks ago I was in the city of Regina and I was driven by a place of business.
And this was the name over that place of business.
House of Custom Rebellion.
With a body piercing and a tattoo shop House of custom, rebellion doesn't that pretty well describe mankind, especially today? And again, rebellion today is not just practice, it's been practiced from the Garden of Eden down, but rebellion today is preached and glorified.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
But, you know, it's easy to say that isn't it, that everybody is a Sinner.
We have turned everyone to his own way. That's individual. And that's the point I want to bring us to tonight before we go on. It's not simply to recognize that man is a Sinner as a race, but to recognize personally that you have sinned against God, that you are a Sinner before God, and if you go on in that condition, you're on your way to hell.
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You're ultimately going to end up in the lake of Fire, eternally separated from God, in fact.
So awful will it be it's called the second death.
A brother and I were talking about this a little earlier and saying, you know, that all love, whether divine or natural, springs from God.
You know man loves his wife.
Because God has given him the ability to do it. We have friends because that springs from God. God is love. A man loves his children. A mother loves her children. That's God-given. There'll be no friendship in hell. There'll be no love in hell because it will be eternal separation from God.
And so, not only have we all gone astray, but we've turned everyone.
To his own way. And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. You know, I'm thankful that though I am included was included in the first all, that I can go out at the end of the verse in the last all, because the last all is a little different than the 1St All. I can stand with the second all and say that the Lord Jesus bore my sins in his own body on the tree.
Because by the grace of God. And it's only by the grace of God, but by the grace of God.
I have availed myself of the finished work of Calvary. Can you say that he bore your sins? Can you say that Jesus died for you? It's a personal thing. The gospel is intensely individual.
But let's go on to another verse in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 24.
Matthews Gospel, chapter 24 and verse 37. But as the days of Noah S where so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came. And I want you to notice this next expression, and took them all away.
You know, I think this is one of the most solemn expressions in the word of God.
You know, in the days of the building of the Ark and in the days when the flood finally came.
There were young people on the earth, there were boys and girls, there were middle-aged men and women. There were what we refer to today as senior citizens and the flood came.
Took them all away.
Indiscriminately they were ground because they refused to avail themselves of the refuge that God had for them, those who went into the Ark.
Were saved.
You know, the lower creation often are more, and I realize they do things by instinct, but they're often more obedient to the Creator than we who are who into whose nostrils? He breathes the breath of life. And man became a living soul. You know, Noah didn't go out and gather up the animals. They came to Noah under the direction of the Creator. Two by two and seven by seven, those animals came. That should have been testimony enough to people.
But they refused every testimony.
Noah preached righteousness, I suppose, for about 120 years while the ark was preparing and only eight souls went in and the flood came and took them all away. And there's a day coming when judgment is coming on this world again, and it says that the rich and the poor and the bond and the free and the kings and the paupers, and everyone is going to face that judgment if they refuse Christ. And it tells us that they're going to call for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them.
And to hide them from the face, the wrath of the Lamb, and the face of him that sitteth upon the throne.
Are they going to find refuge? Are they going to find escape from the judgment in that day? Not for one moment. But you know, it's a principle with God that he never judges without doing two things. He always makes the way of escape and he always gives a warning. It's a principle with God, and that's why there will be nobody go to hell who will be able to blame God.
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I think that's going to be one of the most awful things about a lost eternity is the nagging memory, the nagging conscience that you have nobody to blame but yourself. Isn't it awful when you don't have anybody to blame for something, get into trouble, and there's nobody around that you can blame? We like to blame somebody for our predicament, or for something we neglected to do. But those who neglect so great salvation, they will have nobody to blame but themselves, they'll realize.
That God gave them opportunity in one way or another.
And so these ones, they lived for themselves without any thought of God, until the flood came and took them all away.
Read a little article in the Miami Herald some time ago. I was sitting in a restaurant having breakfast in Nassau, Bahamas before I started off to preach in several schools that day and picked up the Miami Herald. And this is what the headline said that day. It said getting rich is the number one goal of youth in America.
Getting rich. Not getting rich as far as their souls. Not securing eternity. Us as a happy eternity, but getting rich in this world. And I went on to read that article and there were some testimonies from some young people, intelligent young people who were attending universities around the United States of America.
But what was remarkable is that at the end of most of those testimonies, even though those young people said they wanted to do this and that, and by a certain age have accumulated such and such, at the end of it many of them admitted that they realized there was more to life than just material possessions.
Do you know that Americans spend $20 billion a year on anti aging products?
Why? Because they're afraid to face eternity. They don't want to get old. They're afraid. They they think if they can prolong their life somehow, it's going to put off things.
The flood came and took them all away, but let's turn to something a little happier than that in the Book of Titus.
Titus, Chapter 2.
Chapter Titus chapter 2 and verse 11. For the grace of God that bring us salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.
In this present world, and then I want to read a verse in First Timothy chapter 2.
First, Timothy chapter 2 and beginning the end of verse three. God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. You know God's love is such.
That He has lingered over the sin cursed earth for over 2000 years and God's love is such and his desire for the blessing of man that the word of God today.
Has reached into remote, remote corners of the Earth where it's never been before. It's been translated into languages and dialects that it's never been before. God is reaching out, so this world will be indeed without excuse.
God's desire is for the blessing of all, not for a few select.
We know a couple, and they've just been to a country where they have been told that they will be able to adopt A young child and that per that young child was selected not perhaps necessarily by the couple, but by the orphanage or whoever it was. And that young child has been selected to be given to be, uh, put into a home where that child is going to be loved and have the necessities of life.
And be brought up for the Lord.
But you know there will be many other children left in that orphanage when that child leaves in a few weeks that weren't chosen.
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But you know, the gospel goes out to all those who will respond.
Those who California, who hear, hear in your soul shall live. The gospel isn't just for a select group of people. Again, the gospel is for all whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely.
Is it simple? Indeed it is simple.
Some time ago, I don't remember if it was Betty Crocker or one of those companies that puts out cake mixes. They put a cake mix on the market that all you had to do was to add water. Just add water and stir and stick it in the oven and you had a cake. You know they couldn't sell it. People wouldn't buy it.
The company pondered what to do and finally they came up with a solution.
They put on the box that you had to add an egg. They altered the formula just slightly and then put on the box that you had to add an egg or two. It began to sell. You know why? People thought it was too easy? People thought it wouldn't work. Now God hasn't altered the formula to reach out to man. No, it's still repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. But God has made the way of salvation simple. He's made it easy, so to speak.
He's made it so that a little child of seven or even 3 or 4.
May enter into heaven through Christ the open door. He and he will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. We've just got a few more minutes left. We're going to move right along to Luke 14.
Luke 14.
And verse 16 Then said Heat. Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many, and sent his servant, and at supper time to say to them that were bidden. Come, for all things are now ready. You know, this is the wonderful summation of the gospel. All things are ready. Come, we sang about it. All things are ready. Come yet there is room, You know, those of us who are guests at this conference from out of town.
We just had to come at the invitation of the local brethren, and we've gone several times to the dining room now, and the meal has been prepared. There was nothing we had to do. A brother stood up at at meal time and said things are prepared, things are ready. And we headed, uh, to the dining room. And sure enough, we found that through the kindness of our local brethren here, all things were indeed ready. But you know, God is offering salvation tonight.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's nothing we have to do. We cannot.
We cannot contribute anything apart from coming as a Sinner in faith and repentance. All things are ready come. You know, people talk about insurance today. When I was in business, I'd say there was hardly a week that somebody didn't come into the office trying to sell me some more insurance and insurance on insurance. And finally one day I said to my wife, I said.
We're we're so insured that I I don't know what would happen if we if we had a problem.
But, you know, we're not talking about insurance tonight. We're talking about assurance.
He was born in 1893 and I won't try to pronounce his name.
But he was the last absolute monarch to reign.
In Siam, which is now Thailand, is the Last King of Siam.
He was known commonly as Rama the 7th. He reigned just a few months shy of 10 years.
He's the only king known in history to take out unemployment insurance against his throne.
But early on in his reign, perhaps detecting that there was going to be problem amongst his subjects.
He took out two unemployment insurance policies, one with a British underwriter and one with a French underwriter.
He was forced to abdicate on March 2, 1935, I believe.
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And he lived very comfortably the rest of his life in exile.
Because he had the foresight to take out unemployment insurance.
Against his throne.
You know, we smile at that, don't we?
But you know, there are so many people who face eternity.
And they have no assurance.
I've often told about Michael Faraday, the father of modern electronics, lying on his deathbed, and a friend came to him in his final moments and said, Michael, what are you? What are your speculations? For eternity? He said. Speculations. I have no speculations. I am resting on certainties. Are you resting on certainties Tonight? Turn to one more verse that gives us certainty and insurance and assurance.
It's in first John, first John chapter one.
First John chapter one and just the last half of verse 7.
The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sins. All we want to, at the end of this gospel meeting, stress the importance of the blood of Christ, and that the blood of Christ not only cleanses from sin, but from all sin. I'm thankful for that word all.
It's the blood of Jesus. We've established the fact that we're all sinners. We've established the fact that God says it, and God's word is inalterable. But there is something that cleanses sin.
There is something that removes those stains, and that is the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary's cross. We sometimes sing that hymn Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you? Are you trusting, walking daily by the Savior's side? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Do you trust each moment in the crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? It tells us in the book of Ephesians.
That is through that blood that we have forgiveness. I want to tell one more little story in closing.
It's a story that some have heard me tell before, but I'm going to tell it again because I think it illustrates this truth very, very well.
We have a book room, a Bible book room in on the island of Saint Martin in downtown Phillipsburg on the Dutch side.
I'm going to go there in a few days, meet Brother Garvin Seymour there and.
When I was there, about a year ago, the brother who runs the book room said to me one morning as we were having breakfast. He said, Jim, do you remember an old story in a reader called A Glass of Milk? Well, I sort of remembered it. And when he reiterated the story, I indeed remembered having read that story in the reader in school. Now when the story was in the reader, it just gave a good moral principle for moral living.
But I believe there's a far deeper application to it than that.
This story goes back over 100 years to the state of Maryland, where there was a young man named Thomas Kelly going from house to house.
One hot summer day selling encyclopedias. I know that the young people don't use encyclopedias in book form like we did when we were going to school. We have a set of funk and Wagners that sit idle on our bookshelf. Well, the girls Google and do their research on the computer and search engines and all that kind of thing, but.
Encyclopedias and volumes of sometimes 20 in a set and so on. We're very prevalent just a few years ago, but this young man was a medical student, and in the summer he was selling encyclopedias to try to raise money for his tuition for medical school. He came to a home one afternoon on a particularly hot, humid summer day in the state of Maryland. He knocked on the door and a young lady came to the door and he showed her.
The books that he was selling after the presentation, she said. You know, I'd love to buy a set of these books, but my mother is a poor widow and we just eke out an existence here on the few acres that we have with the little livestock that we have. We have no money for luxuries like books.
Thomas Kelly said that's OK, but before I leave, would you be kind enough to give me a glass of water? She said I'd be glad to, but we've just milked the cow and there's some nice fresh milk in the milk house. Wouldn't you rather have a glass of milk? He said. I'd be most grateful. He enjoyed that refreshing glass of milk, and he went on his way. The years passed and Thomas A Kelly became a fairly well known physician and surgeon in the eastern United States.
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And one day he was making his rounds in the hospital where he practiced, and as he was passing a certain ward, he noticed a lady lying in a bed.
Her face looked awful familiar and as he went about his rounds, her face kept nagging at his memory. Finally, later in the day, he remembered it was the young lady who had given him the glass of milk. He made some inquiries and found out she was very sick. In fact she was so sick she was dying and that if she did not have the proper surgery and treatment she would surely pass out of this life. He also found out she was still in very poor circumstances. But things began to happen.
The next day she was moved to a private room. Very long, tedious surgery was performed and she slowly began to recover. One day the nurse came in to make up her room and the nurse said you must be very happy you're going to be discharged tomorrow.
She said I'm very happy that I'm getting well and I'm going home. But with a troubled brow, she said there's one thing that bothers me, the invoice, the bill. Because she said I know I will never be able to pay for the services of that doctor. You see, she didn't recognize the doctor.
And furthermore, she said, I will never be able to pay for the services of this hospital.
The nurse who knew the situation said, let me go and get the treasurer and we'll see how much it is in a little while. The nurse came back with the treasurer of the hospital and he presented his invoice, and when she saw the total at the bottom of the page, she gasped because it was even more than she had anticipated. But as she ran her fingers, her finger down, that column of numbers, she saw at the end of it all, paid in full.
Buy a glass of milk. Thomas A Kelly, MD and surgeon.
Thomas Kelly never forgot what that young lady did for him, and the day came when she was completely forgiven of a debt that she could never have paid. I thought of that verse that says And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them.
I had nothing to pay for my sins. I couldn't if I had all eternity to try to pay for them, I couldn't have done it. But I don't have to worry. The Lord Jesus paid the debt for me. I'm forgiven. The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, has cleansed me from all sin. I trust that's your case as well. Let's pray our God and Father how thankful we are for the glorious gospel and for the work of Calvary and the precious Savior who lives by right hand. And we pray.
There might be much fruit tonight that not one would go out of this room without being saved. Our God, we pray that thou work mightily. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his glory. Amen.
John 13:25-35
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Johns Gospel, chapter 13.
John's Gospel chapter 13, beginning at verse 25.
He then, lying on Jesus breath, saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give us up when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the shop, he gave it to Judith Iscariot, the son of Simon.
And after the stop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest do quickly. Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. For some of them thought, because Judith had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, by those things that we have need of against the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. He then, having received the soft, went immediately out, and it was night.
Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said.
Now with the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him, if God be glorified in him.
God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you, ye shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, whither I go, ye cannot come. So now I say unto, I say to you a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, if I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
But this shall all men know that ye are my disciples.
If ye have love one to another, Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goeth thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go? Thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow till thou hast denied me Thrife.
We've had much before us with regard to the love of Christ and the way to be found in the enjoyment of it. Now, in the latter half of this chapter, we're gonna have two illustrations of departure from the love of Christ.
Yeah, we see that illustrated in two of the Lord's apostles, in Judas Iscariot and in Simon Peter. You know, there are two kinds of departure from God.
Both are bad, but one is infinitely worse, and they are apostasy, as illustrated in Judas, and the other is, uh, backsliding, illustrated in Peter.
You know, and with apostasy.
There's something only a mere professor can do, or would do.
It's one who not, does not have any divine life in them, but has made some profession of the faith. And when they throw that overboard and abandoned their confession and, uh, go backwards from that, that's apostasy. And brethren, there is no recovery for apostasy.
Hebrews chapter 6 tells us that there is no recovery for apostasy, but thankfully when there is the other kind of departure as illustrated in Peter, which is a child of God can do, there is recovery. And we see that illustrated in Peter so beautifully. Notice here it says in verse 25 where we began.
He then lying on Jesus breast, said unto him, Lord, who is it?
If we turn over to, uh, Matthew's Gospel, I think it's chapter 26, we'll see something quite interesting and it's significant.
And it gives us a telltale sign where the betrayer was really at in his soul. So reading the same account in Matthew 26 and verse 21. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?
And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of Man goeth, as it is written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. And it has been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? And he said, Thou said, Isn't this interesting? We have here a little bit more light as to what was going on at the Passover supper when this took place.
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And we find here that the, each of the disciples, the apostles, they call the Lord Jesus, Lord, Lord, is it I? But when it was, when it came to Judas, he did not say Lord, he said, Master, is it I? And that indicates that he had more of a distant relationship with the Lord. Of course, that was true. And so Judas, uh, his, uh, his guard, his facade was now about to fall off.
And he would be exposed there in what? In the presence of love, the love that was pervading in that upper room, in that divine company, would expose the facade of this man here now. And the Lord does that by giving him the SOP, which was some favored portion or morsel that was given at the meal to some favored person who in the family or whatever. And so the Lord was gave him his last gesture of.
Of divine love, and it exposed him as being the betrayer.
I supposed it it gelled it too. And uh, so it's after the swap that Satan entered into him. You look at verse 2.
And it says the supper being ended, or during the supper rather, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. And that's where.
The, uh, that it wasn't fatal at this point, but Satan put that wicked thought into, uh, poor Judas's heart. But now, after, uh, the, uh, that uh, gesture of love is rejected after the SOP, Satan has now the ability to feel that if you go to 2nd Thessalonians, you'll see it again.
2nd Thessalonians and umm.
Chapter one, verse 8.
No, that's not it.
Because they rejected the love of the truth, whereas that verse Second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse that's a ten OK and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.
And so it's not necessarily the Hellfire preaching or the warnings, but it is in this context, it is the rejection of the love of the truth. And this tender, umm, application to Judas's heart was rejected and Satan has full course now to go in and take control of them. This is a very solemn thing. And this is Satan's activity on one that is hanging around, you could say the Saints. So there could be someone here today.
That has been passing as a believer, uh, some young person, maybe an older person too, maybe someone who has been able to speak about the Lord, maybe as master as we have said. But uh, this, it is a very solemn thing to reject the love of the truth.
Yes, it shows, it shows that we can expose ourselves to the working of the enemy if there is that state in US. You know, it goes along with what we have in Second Corinthians chapter 4 where it says that that the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe lest the light of the glorious gospel, which is the image of God, should shine unto him and so on. And that shows us that it's not, uh, that Satan can indiscriminately just pick one here and pick one there at, at his own, uh.
Uh, choice and blind them. That's a certain class of person. It's a certain state.
With which he can work with and notice, as I quoted to you, the God of this world have blinded the minds of them that believe not. If it's an unbelieving heart, then you are laying yourself exposed to the actions of the enemy. And that's when his delusions come in. And so all mankind, uh, you know, the devil can't just pick one here and pick there and one there and delude them so they'll never be able to believe the gospel. But if there is that willful choice of believing not.
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Then the enemy can move in.
And do his work. So it's kind of just like what you're saying there, Wayne, isn't it? Same kind of principle, isn't it?
The Lord could say to his, uh, to the, uh, unbelieving Jews in chapter 8 and verse 44 of John's gospel, Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father. Ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, he believed me not.
And so Judas, his name is scary. It means a man of murder. And so it speaks of just the Spirit of God, just gives us this picture of Judas who was an unbeliever and he was going on in the character of the enemy of our souls, Satan himself. And so there was instead of faith, instead of belief in the word of God, there was a spirit of unbelief. There wasn't that spirit of faith. And then Wayne, that verse that you quoted in Second Thessalonians, chapter 2.
The very next verse in verse 11 Says for this, 'cause God shall send them strong delusion.
That they should believe a lie. And so there was a space given, if you could use that terminology, space given. Judas didn't need to be Judas as it were. There could have been repentance. There could have been. But we know in the sovereignty of God that were in the permitted will of God, that Judas was Judas. And so there was an A spirit of unbelief. And then his heart was hardened and he fell. He left himself open as a candidate to be the betrayer. Betrayer. He went at work through every yellow light, through every warning.
Until finally Satan took control of him and as I like the way Wayne put it, it gelled what he was going to do.
The we want to make it very clear when we talk about apostasy that a true believer will never apostasize. They may backslide to the point that we have to say, well, the Lord knoweth them that are his. For some I've grown up with and they've got away from the Lord and into things to such an extent that I have to say they made a profession at one time, but I have to leave them with the Lord. A believer may backslide to the point where they're not restored. There is a sin unto death. There is the recalling of the ambassador.
We find with, uh, an Old Testament example with Lot, we only know from the New Testament. It's confirmed to us that he was a righteous man, but we don't read of any restoration or turn around with Lot. Lot was a true believer and so a believer may not always be restored this side of glory, but I, I do want to make it clear that a true believer will never fully apostatize. I'd like to just make this comment too about the 25th verse before we go on.
Because I think there's something very precious to consider here, and that is that John who had had his hand, had his feet in the hands of love, now felt comfortable to place his head on the breast of love. It's a beautiful progression here, you know, why is it we're not always perhaps comfortable in the Lord's presence? Why is it sometimes in spirit we keep our distance?
It's perhaps because we haven't allowed him to take in his hands of love our feet and refresh us and remove those things that have hindered our fellowship and communion.
But John, who had had his feet in the hands of love, now felt comfortable to place his head on the breast of love. I want to say this too, that the other day we mentioned how that in verse 22 They looked on one another and it only raised questions and doubts. But there was one in their company that another felt comfortable to turn to. John was so close to the Lord, and it was so evident to the rest of the company and to Peter.
That Peter, who was not close to the Lord on this occasion.
He turns to John. He says, John, uh, you ask him and uh, I think that's wonderful. You know, again, if, if there was a question or a difficulty in the asce in your assembly, would you be one that's recognized as being close to the Lord, having your hand feet in his hands of love and your breast on his or your head on his breast of love? But another brother or sister, perhaps a young person would feel comfortable.
00:15:14
To come to you and ask a question that they knew was going to be answered with godly discernment and wisdom. So I find it very exercising for my own soul. But I, I think it's important to see that before he places his head on the Lord's breast, he had experienced his feet in the Lord's hands.
Perhaps someone can explain umm, at the end of verse 26, sometimes Judas Iscariot is identified as one of the 12. You get that umm, uh, at the end of uh, or during, uh, Matthew Army Mark chapter 14, uh, after Mary had come in and uh.
Offered the incense to the Lord Jesus and then it says he went out and he was one of the 12.
And then later, after he kissed the Lord Jesus, or as he was coming to kiss the Lord Jesus, it says Judas Iscariot, one of the 12.
But here it doesn't identify him that way. It identifies him as the son of Simon. Why is that?
He's never exposed until this moment, is he? He's always referred to as one of the 12 because the Lord never exposed Judas as not being real until he gave him the thought. He said it's the one I'm going to give the saw. And now the time had come for the exposure of the betrayer, and it proved that there was no reality in ju, in Judas. He was not in that sense, one of the 12. He was had been outwardly during the Lord's public ministry.
But now the time had come to expose him.
Did you have a thought? I did not. I was. That was a question. The scripture never mentioned his name.
Saying that he'll be trained even way before yeah.
But to the Apostles, the other eleven, he was not exposed until this moment in the upper room.
I think it's, uh, important to, uh, just read, uh, second Timothy chapter 2. Umm, just uh, verse 12.
And I think this is very lovely because it speaks of the heart of Christ in faithfulness to us. And we mentioned those that are apostates and those that are really weak and failing and perhaps have got their eyes off Christ. And here it speaks of them in Second Timothy chapter 2 and verse 12. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.
And if, if we deny Him, he also will deny us. If we do believe not yet he abideth faithful, He cannot deny himself. And so the language of Scripture here is that if we deny him in a practical walk, in our practical display of Christ before this world and before one another in practical Christianity, why it says He also will deny us. Well, there's a reward.
There's that appreciation that the Lord will have for each one.
When we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, it says, then shall every man have praise of God. And he could say to the disciples that ye are they which have continued with me in my temptation. And he appreciated their companionship and their faithfulness in the path of faith while they walked with him in this scene. And so This is why he says in verse 12, if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. There's going to be a time of reward and recognition.
And we're he's going to be glorified in the Saints. But then it says if we believe not yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself. And so the Lord knoweth them that are his. And if we walk in a course, a path that denies the fact that we really are believers in a practical way, or perhaps in our speech, as Peter did a little later on, he denied the Lord and he practically denied that he even knew Christ.
As his Lord.
Didn't know the man, but the Lord was faithful and there was restoration. And that's the difference. There is restoration for those that belong to the Lord Jesus, and perhaps we don't see that restoration in our own lifetime, but the Lord knows those that are His.
You know, as we speak of the, uh, two kinds of departure from God, apostasy and backsliding, uh, they're both falls, but uh, of Scripture reserves the expression to fall away, to define apostasy. Let me say that again. Scripture reserves the expression to fall away, to describe apostasy.
00:20:28
Sometimes you'll hear about a brother that or sister that has backslidden and let's say so and so's phone away.
Well, not really. They've fallen. Perhaps they've backslidden. But falling away in Scripture, as you get it in the chapter that Wayne read to us, Second Thessalonians, chapter 2, the great falling away. And you also get it in Hebrew six. It's reserved to describe a apostasy, not backsliding. As we said, an apostate or apostasy is a sin that there is no recovery from. There's a hymn that we sing sometimes in #120.
It says, O thou, who didst thy glory leave apostate sinners to retrieve?
Now I know there's poetic license with this, but, uh, that's not accurate. You don't retrieve apostates. Perhaps, uh, the word repentant would fit there better. Oh, thou, uh, who didst thy glory leave repentant sinners to retrieve would be more scripturally accurate. But, uh, so we're talking about two kinds of, of, uh, of departure from God and, uh.
As we said, one both are bad, but one is infinitely worse.
I suppose the great overall lesson we learned from these two instances, Judas and Peter, is that the flesh in an unbeliever and the flesh in a believer is still the same. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. Peter was true, he was real, and we know that he was restored. But the flesh in Peter was just as rotten as the flesh in Judah. It never changes.
There are two words. Go ahead. You know, I'm thinking in in the book of James. It's interesting. The last two verses say, brethren, if any of you do air from the truth and one convert him, let him know that he which converted the Sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death and shall hide a multitude of sins. Now this first verse is unnecessarily afflicted some, hasn't it? It's not speaking about a lost and guilty Sinner here, is it?
Its brethren. That gives us the key, doesn't it? He's actually speaking to one who had made a profession, and apparently he takes it. They're real, but rather than if any of you do air from the truth and one convert him.
Well, conversion not only refers to the time when we're first saved, but it can refer to a person who's backslidden. And, uh, that's the, uh, expression that's used. That's used to Peter too, isn't it? When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Let him know that he which converted the Sinner from the error of his way. Now you say it wasn't that an unbeliever? No, it's not. The point is that a believer can go on the pathway that leads to a lost eternity, can he?
Now the Spirit of God will never let him get there. Thank God for that. But it's hardly distinguishable, is it? Let him know that he which converted the Sinner from the error of his way shall save his soul from death, shall hide a multitude of sins. We hardly know the difference, but in fact, we know from verse 19, the previous verse, that this was a backslider, not an apostate. So again, a a a believer can go on the pathway that leads to a lost eternity, Thank God.
The Lord will never let us get there if that's our position, but it's a dangerous place, isn't it?
To backslide. And uh, I was thinking also when we have the parable, the sower and all three of the synoptic gospels, remember the seed, the good seed was, was sown in four cases, but only one bore of fruit. And I know this isn't to the extent of apostasy, but nonetheless, I wanna make the point that only one ever bore fruit. The one, of course, fell by the wayside. That's a person who never, probably ever made a profession. He heard the gospel.
But the enemy comes along and plucks it out of his heart, and he never makes a profession. But then a second case that falls on shallow ground and it springs up. That person does make a profession. He professes to be a believer. And yet it Withers away because there's no root, there's no reality. And in the third case, uh, it, it falls among thorns again, it springs up, it has an appearance of reality. And then when the trials and the cares of life come along, it proves.
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That there is no fruit there, there is no reality. And I think it's a sad thing. It's often struck me those particularly, we think of young people and, uh, Jim, you mentioned those that you've grown up with and those of us that are middle-aged and older can say the same thing. We've known of those who, umm, seem to make a profession when they were younger. And this is a warning for our young people too, in a special way. Because I just wonder if those people who, uh, fell among thorns or fell on shallow ground, whether they thought they were saved or not.
Sometimes I hear young people or even older people make a brazen statement that says well.
It doesn't make much difference how I live now because I was saved when I was a child. Well, the Lord knows them that are his. But Harry Hale used to remind us that, uh, there's no comfort in Scripture for the careless believer. If we're acting like an unbeliever, it's assumed that we are an unbeliever. Isn't that right now? God knows them that are his. But remember, James says, show me that's faith before God, before man rather.
Show me whether you're real or not, because James wrote to those who are professing believers, and he says, OK, you're professors. I wanna see reality because that proves whether you're real or not. And I think there's a great danger, as I say, particularly among those who've grown up in Christian families, to make a profession and even think they're saved. And yet what an awful thing if they awake and find out that they've been lost. That's the need for repentance, isn't it? And sometimes we don't stress that enough in the gospel. And it's interesting, Eric, what you say about that parable because when they asked the Lord the meaning of it.
He said that that which fell on the and sprung up on the Stony ground was a non those that received the word with joy. Well, that sounded good, didn't it, that they would receive the Word with joy. But as you say, there was no inward work. There was no repentance and no root. And I think sometimes young people grow up in a Christian home and they receive the word with joy, but there's never been a real work of repentance and so.
Circumstances are brought to bear later in life to show that they weren't real. So I think it's a very solemn thing. And I believe those who preach the gospel, perhaps we need to stress like used to be stressed more the need for repentance. It's not just faith, but it's repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Both go hand in hand. They're vital. With Judas, there was remorse.
With Peter there was repentance.
And in fact, it actually says that in Matthew 26. I believe it says there.
Matthew 27 rather Matthew 27.
And uh, verse 3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, was filled with remorse.
But there's a big difference between remorse and repentance.
In Psalm 55, there's a verse. I'm just gonna read these and make sure I'm right on this, Psalm 55, verse 12 Says. For it was not an enemy that was prone to me.
Then I could afford it. Neither was it he that hated me, that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou a man of mine equal, my God.
We council together and walked into the House of God and company. That's that's looking at the Lord.
Part of how we felt when Judith betrayed him a bit, isn't it?
Is that the same way the Lord feels? If we as Peter did I the Lord, did we make him feel that way when we backside? Yes, Mr. Wollstone actually said it was a look of tender hearted, broken hearted love when he turned and looked at Peter and Peter went out and wept.
So the large set of G, uh, prophetically again of Judas, it says. My own familiar friend who ate bread at my table. I've lifted up his heel against me.
And I was thinking of that, Brother David, in connection with the saw. You know, if you've never traveled in the Middle East or over to Egypt and some of those countries, I think in our the nicety of Western culture, we've lost the import of what this saw really is. And we've lost the import in the sense of understanding that this was the last act of love toward Judas. This really should have broken Judas heart down. You say why?
00:30:05
Well, don't misunderstand me, but I'm thankful in our Western culture that when we sit down to a meal, we go out to have our meal. After this meeting, we're all going to have our own knife and fork and drink out of our own cup and eat our salad off our own plate. But if I'm at a conference in Egypt, which I've had opportunity to do on more than one occasion.
A sister or a brother who's sitting across from you will stick the fork that they're using into a special piece of meat or fruit or vegetable that they think is specially nice. And on the end of that fork they will say, brother, try this. This is especially good. You dare not refuse it because it is a special mark of favor. Come to my room and share. A glass of Coke means that six of us will pass a glass of Coke around and each have a drink.
That's fellowship. That's a mark of of favor. We lose the import of it in the niceties of our Western culture, which I'm thankful for in that sense. But I just stress that because, brethren, I don't think we realize what a symbol of love and favor this was. Here's the this is pressing on the soul of the Lord Jesus to think that the moment had almost the moment had come when the betrayer was going to be exposed.
And very shortly after, the betrayer was going to take up the awful work of kissing his master and betraying him to the enemy. I don't think we realized what was pressing on the soul of the Lord Jesus. And yet he takes that, saw that special mark of favor which is still understood in Eastern culture today, and he gives it to Judas. What a heart, what a heart the Lord Jesus had. Judas went out, it was night. He went to a deeper night. He went to a lost eternity, but he didn't go out unloved by the Lord Jesus.
In the Gospels, we don't get.
Uh, much of the feelings of the Lord, we, we really don't know what, uh, he was feeling at this time and so on. We have a few expressions like verse 21, he was troubled in spirit. But as Dave was saying, you have to turn to the poetic section of your Bible, which is those, you know, the Psalms and, and other of those, uh, poetry books. And then we get the feelings of Christ coming out and there are five songs that speak of Judas and his betrayal.
Psalm 35, Psalm 41, Psalm 55, which he read from Psalm 69 and then Psalm 109. And uh, you read that and you get the feelings of our Lord Jesus as He was betrayed by Judas.
In the French Derby translation in Psalm 55, he really refers to him as an intimate friend. Intimate friend.
And so there was an intimacy there that, uh, was, uh, evident even in the past with the Lord, with those 12, there wasn't any reserve reserve, but it was full intimacy. I'll just point out too, that in, uh, James, where it was read in, uh, connection with the conversion, the, uh, French, it says Ramene or ramen means to bring back, to convert, to turn around.
And to come back and Peter was headed in the wrong direction, and it was the work of the Lord to just turn him around and have him head in the right direction. So that's conversion, a turning around, turning the heart back to Christ. Conversion is not synonymous with salvation of our soul from the penalty of our sins, which Eric has already emphasized. That's important to see. Peter had a second conversion, and for all we know, he may have had more than that for as far as record is concerned.
Peter had a second conversion, and we may have ourselves had more than one conversion because conversion means to have the heart turned around to God. And that's what happens when a person initially turns to God and gets saved. But if he gets away from the Lord and allows sin to come in and to and interrupt that communion and get on a path that's going the other way, he'll need to have his heart turned around to God again and then another conversion. And so we throw these terms around loosely, and oftentimes I'm not sure if we really know what we're talking about. You know, I've heard people say, well, you're talking about a certain individual. He's a converted man.
I think the immense save man probably in the when the person was illustrating this some certain point with regard to meeting a Christian in the street, he was a converted man. Well, Peter had a second conversion.
And, uh, having the heart turned around to God is what conversion, uh, means, but repentance means to have a heart turned away from sin. It has means to have a changed mind toward, uh, a course of sin that we've had and a passing of judgment on all that we have done. And so, uh, the 2GO together, it says in, uh, is it Acts chapter 3 when Peter was preaching of all people, he said.
00:35:26
Repent ye, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. Now there he distinguishes there's a difference.
Repenti and be converted. We just some homogenized all these words in terms and put them all together. I was speaking to a brother about this and he did not like this idea that you're talking about a person needing another conversion. And as I was speaking to him outside the meeting room in Walla Walla, dear brother Bill Prost walked past and I think he was providentially sent and he walked past the same brother Bill.
I brought him into the conversation because I needed all the help I could get. And I said to him, uh, uh, is it true that Peter could have a, a second conversion? And that's when he said, for all we know, he could have had more than that. And that helped the brothers. He helped me to explain it. You know, these terms are distinct in scripture and we need to distinguish them, as Brother Eric has been saying, instead of just throwing them all together. New birth is not the same as salvation. We get into a lot of trouble if we don't distinguish these things. Now, I'm not trying to take us off track here, but it has been mentioned.
Peter was converted, but Judas never was.
Someone had said that in Judas we see the wickedness of the flesh, and in Peter we see the weakness of the flesh. But I'd like to tell a little anecdote that that I've really rejoiced in. There was a preacher in France preaching on a Easter Sunday and he was telling how that Judas betrayed the Lord. And then he went out and hanged himself and after the sermon went to a a young girl and he said.
If you or Judas, would you go out and hang yourself? She said yes. I'd hang myself around the neck of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, there was faith in activity with that girl. There was faith in activity with Peter, but there was no faith, no confidence in the Lord Jesus with Judas.
We also have a picture in the Old Testament of Judah Stilt Lake.
That's an Ahithophel, David's counselor. And so the time came when Ahithophel had been David's most trusted counselor. But the time came when, uh, one of David's sons, uh, Absalom, wasn't it, rebelled against them and hit the fell, went out with Abslaw. Now he might have had a pretext. Some have searched this out and they say, well, you see, a, a hits, a fella is actually the grandfather of Bathsheba. And David did not treat Bathsheba right, did he? That was a sad.
Part of David's story.
But nonetheless, even if he had a pretext, what he did was wrong. He too went out and hanged himself, didn't he? As a result of, uh, of what he did when Hushai, uh, David's friend defeated his counsel, the Lord allowed that. But Ahithophel is probably the one that's often referred to in the Psalms. We know it was the Spirit of God directly, of course, referring to Judas, But oftentimes historically, when they hit the film, David's trusted friend and counselor that turned on him, and then he went out and hanged himself.
Because the real sin of of Judas really was covetousness.
And in all likelihood, Judas thought, well, the Lord will escape and I'll get the money. Well, do we have covetousness in us? Do we have sometimes rebellion in US? All those sins are there in journey, but there be judged. And Satan having entered into Judah, sealed the whole thing, didn't it? Sealed the aft and sealed the end result of, of, of Judas.
And perhaps once Satan entered into him, Judas went blindly, perhaps even without considering the consequences, because that's what Satan does. He doesn't. He sends souls on blindly without considering the consequences. But we want to notice that with Judas, Satan entered into him. There's a couple of things to note about that. First of all, as we've said, Judas was an unregenerate man and remained so until the end, and Satan entered into him.
With Peter, we're going to notice it was quite different, and I don't believe there's a precedent in Scripture that would ever teach us that a believer whose body is the temple of the Holy Ghost can be possessed by Satan or one of his demons. He may be harassed and certainly troubled and bothered and suppressed, but not possessed by Satan or one of his demons. What is so solemn, too, is to consider that Satan didn't leave this up to one of his underlords.
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So paramount in the mind of Satan was the betrayal of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
That Satan came himself.
To Satan's not omnipresent, but Satan came himself. Sometimes when we're bothered, we set people. We hear people say, Well, the devil made me do it. But Satan has a vast host of underlords that are sent abroad to carry out his work. But not so with Judas. Satan came himself and entered into Judas to make sure that this awful deed was carried out. Well, how solemn. But I say again.
Once Satan entered into Judas, he went blindly on it, sealed the act, and sealed the end result in Luke 22. What you were saying there, Jim? I was thinking of this Luke 22 and 31, It says, umm. And the Lord said, uh, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. And so that's what you were talking about, that, that we can avail ourselves, uh, to.
The influence of Satan in our lives, that he may move us in a course that's contrary to the will. But uh, you know what I was thinking of The difference between Judas is he said that, that thou doest too quickly. But with Simon, what does he say? He says, but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. So there's lessons when we do, when we do fail, and we've all failed here. It was conversion for for Peter, but but he knew that through this.
He would learn lessons that would be an encouragement and a help to his brother. And, and so we, we need to be careful. And you know, of course we, we don't get the advocacy work, uh, brought out as much in this particular chapter. You get it in other places, but he is, it's another part of his advocacy work for us. We have washing of our feet and one here it's, it's much more personal, much more direct, uh, much more exposing of what's in the flesh.
But his lot never changes for us. And so later on we find out that in Peter, don't we, that he uses a similar situation in regards to the danger. First Peter, I believe it's chapter five, umm, where where you find that Peter not only used the lessons, but then he, he warns the brethren, He says, umm, in verse eight of chapter chapter 5. Be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil is a roaring lion walketh about.
Seeking whom he may devour. How did he know that? Because he'd been devoured himself.
It's interesting that between the betrayer being exposed and Peter being exposed as the one who was going to deny the Lord, he says in verse 31 of our chapters. Therefore, when he was gone out, that's Judas. Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him?
You know, nothing touches or changes the glory of the Lord Jesus or His Commission. Nothing could affect that. A betrayer and a denier while it pressed on the soul of the Lord Jesus. Nothing was going to change God's purposes. Nothing was going to frustrate the purposes of God for the ultimate blessing and the glorification of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He said. We have two incidences in the last half of this chapter.
With regard to departure from God and uh, between the two, we have these three statements regarding, uh, being glorified versus 31 and 32. So you had the incident of Judas in uh, verses 25 to 3130, but then we have Peter near the end of the chapter, verses 36 to 38. But right in between we have this statement. As you say, nothing alters the, the purpose of God.
Three statements here with regard to being glorified that really lay the basis for what he will bring out in the next chapter and that is the coming of the Spirit of God. First of all, that the Son of man would be glorified. This is a reference to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. And you know to be glorified really is to bring into.
00:45:03
Display all the qualities that would exalt a person, and in this case it was the Lord's perfect obedience unto death.
His, uh, moral glory of obedience and subjection and love and holiness and so on to his Father's will is perfectly, uh, displayed there as he went to death. It's in John's gospel particularly that they didn't exactly crucify him. He went and laid down his life there. And that's a side of things that you see coming out so beautifully in John's gospel. We see his perfection, his moral perfection of obedience.
And love and submission. Then the second expression is at the end of verse 31. It says, and God is glorified in him. Now this is something more.
God being glorified in Him, of course, is a reference to the perfection of His work that He would do on the cross, whereby God would be glorified, and brings in the side of things to do with propitiation. That there would be rendered to God a full satisfaction over the whole outbreak of sin, and God would be glorified over the whole question of sin.
And then thirdly, this third expression as to being glorified is in verse 32. And if God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify himself and shall straight away glorify him. And this the Lord Jesus was speaking about a reference to his ascension to glory, that God would raise him from the dead and see them at his right hand as a token and as a a demonstration of his satisfaction and the perfection.
Of what Christ has accomplished. So it's God's satisfaction and what Christ accomplished.
There in glorifying Him at His right hand. So the first expression is to do with the Lord's obedience unto death. The second expression is what He accomplished in death, and the third expression is to do with what happened after death, when He rose and was ascended to heaven at the right hand of God. So we have a perfect person.
Who per carries out a perfect work to the perfect satisfaction of God. And I like what you say. I know it's a quote from one of the writers that to be glorified is to bring in the full display every attribute and quality of a person. And it's interesting when you come to the 17th chapter, the Lord Jesus says two things about what had taken, what he had done on earth. He says I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
And I believe, brethren, it's important we talk about the Lord having satisfied God as to the work. And that's true.
He finished, to the satisfaction of God, the work that he was sent to do. But it was more than that.
It was to bring in to display every quality and glory of God. Every attribute of God was brought into full display in the pathway and the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. I sometimes illustrated it this way. When my girls were younger and at home, I would sometimes give one of my girls a task to do and I would leave them to that task and then I would come back when they had ample time to finish that task.
And I might find that they had indeed finished that task to my utmost satisfaction, but you wouldn't say I was glorified in the task. The task, the job may have been no reflection on myself, though I was perfectly satisfied with what they had done. But I say again, the Lord Jesus didn't just satisfy God. He didn't just complete the work. But, and John's gospel brings this out, we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
Full of grace and truth, every attribute of God, I say, has been brought into full display so that the Lord Jesus could say at the end of it all, I have glorified thee on the earth.
Like you're saying that God's hatred of sin was taken, that was shown. There wasn't yet the enmity of man was shown, then the love of God was shown here, the grace of God was shown there, and.
Go on, but there was there's a number of things that were shown at that valley glorified God. Every attribute like you say, where was brought out there. God could not forgive man by grace.
It had to be through righteousness. He's got to be righteousness and so show us the holiness of his person and the love of this person was all carried out there at the cross. It's a wonderful meditation. I think another another definition of of glorify too, perhaps even simpler and easier to get a hold of its excellence in display and that's what God shows worth. This is the burnt offering here, isn't it? That's what we get in John's gospel is the burnt offering. Remember there was four classes of offerings.
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But the highest of all was the burnt offering, wasn't it? Because that was not so much meeting men's need, which we have in the sin offering, for instance, and trespass offering. Not even, uh, what the Lord Jesus was in his life, which is the meat offering, uh, not even the communion offering, the peace offering, which is so important in its place. But the burnt offering was the total consecration of the Lord Jesus to do the purpose and will of God. And so it was excellence in display.
God could not go beyond that, could he? Its excellence in display. I think that's so simple, and yet it says the same thing you said, Jim. But it's God's excellence in display and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the burnt offering and the resurrection, the ascension and the glorification of Christ are God's. Amen to the work of Calvary. If we want any proof that God is satisfied and has been glorified through the work of His Son here on earth.
All we have to do is by faith look up as we have in Hebrews chapter 2, and see where he is now. He's no longer crowned with a crown of thorns. He's crowned with a crown of glory and honor. God has raised him from the dead and seated him at His own right hand. It's God's Amen to the work of Calvary. And not only that, but God will never be satisfied fully till His Son is fully vindicated here in this world. We see not yet all things put under Him.
But in this world where they treated him in such a way and cast him out and said we won't have him, God is going to make sure that the glories of his Son are fully displayed and that all are going to recognize that this was the one who hung on a cross of shame.
Well, it's beautiful to see the tenderness of verse 33, and it's beautiful to realize this is the first time he addresses them as little children. It's in the tenderness and affection of one who was going to leave them, and he knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they were troubled and afraid as we get in the next chapter, but he turns to them with great solicitude. He doesn't just call them children here, but he calls them little children.
Term of endearment.
He leaves them with this, uh, commandment, which is called a new commandment.
And, uh, this would take place among them with them if they, uh, had submitted and to the foot washing and what it represents. And that is that there would not only be enjoyment of his love, but there would be a love for one another. And so the new commandment is that, uh, they would love one another as I have loved you when you have that little word as there and that word as brings before us divine standards. You'll get four more of them in John 17 in the prayer.
And so the divine standard for how we're to love one another is how he has loved us. That's how we're to do it. And it's a new commandment because, uh, the, the, uh, the motive, or shall we say the, the reference point of this love is to, is completely different than what they'd ever known before in the, in the economy of Judaism, you see, uh, the motive is to, is for Christ's sake.
And in Judaism, you see, we they were to love their neighbor, but they were to love their neighbor as thyself.
The reference point was themselves.
But here it's to love one another as Christ has loved us, and that's much higher.
We're the love of Christ love. That's why it's called a new commandment, because they were called to love one another in the Old Testament times in that economy, But now the motive is raised to a a Christian, uh, standard.
Christ.
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What a wonderful testimony this would be before the world.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if you love one another. You know, brethren, if the church had just gone on and happy fellowship with one another as they were in the first days of the church's history on earth. You can read about it in Acts chapter 2. They were all in one place. They were all with one accord. They were all in one mind. It was beautiful unity there. But it wasn't long before the enemy came in and upset the apple cart. And, uh, there was a, a breaking of the unity of the spirit. It first showed up with Ananias and Sapphira. And then in the next chapter, they started to squabble over the tables and who was to be looking after them and they thought things weren't.
Done just right. And that had to be solved as well. The enemy was working to upset that unity. And today, as we look, uh, at things in the history of the church, we've come a long way, almost 2000 years. And the church is so divided and shattered. And, uh, there is not this demonstration of love and one happy community in this world, but a divided testimony before the world. And the world uses it as mockery and it comes back on the Lord Jesus that, uh, we have failed in this.
Simple commandment so grievously.
Could you, uh, I'm going back to that, uh, subscription and, uh, pointed it straight away, uh, a loop 22.
And in the 31St verse, I think this is helpful in what we're talking about. And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have all of you.
Spoiler all of you.
That he may sift all of you.
As we but I have desired in these stink Taylor Satan is desirous to to sift all of us.
And that's the, that's the point he gets, he gets in a wedge, then he can destroy, uh, a company or individuals. So is that, uh, that's along that line. It's not just that. If, if Peter, he was desirous to sit them all and he said, oh, this, he's desirous to sift all of us. We have an effect on each other. You know, how much more effective it was that he could take a leader like Peter.
Yeah, and take him away and that's what you find. You see that illustrated a little bit in John 21. He says, I go fishing in five or six or seven or the others say, well, we'll go with you. And you know, ones who have influence over others are the ones that are most, uh, uh, in danger of dividing God's flock. Brother Dave Whitaker sitting behind me here, told me one time years ago, he said, I've never been a young person yet that has created a division amongst God's people.
You know, you think of all these divisions that have happened amongst the Saints gathered to the large name over the last 100 and 5000 and 75 years. Was there ever a young person that liked that? No, you listen to the names and get the history of those things. Not a happy subject nor but they're all older men that with influence LED ones away. So Satan was targeting Peter, but he wouldn't mind having them all. But he was going to do it through the instrumentality of Peter if he could.
But Peter had a resource that he could have availed himself of. I have prayed for thee that thy faith sail not. And we have one, brethren, who's praying for us every hour of every day at the right hand of God. He's interceding as our high priest that we might be preserved in the path of faith and service. When we do fail, He's there as our advocate to restore us. And brethren, in the measure in which we avail ourselves of the work of the Lord Jesus, praying for us to preserve us, we won't need his advocacy to restore us.
And if Peter had only availed himself of the resource that the Lord Jesus had for him in praying for him.
It could have saved him this bitter experience. And so how sad that the Lord told him he was praying for him and he didn't avail himself of that resource and he it ended up this bitter experience of denying his Lord three times with oaths and curses. But we don't have to fail. You know, there's always provision for failure in the believer's life, but there's no excuse for it. When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ and failure is brought out, what excuse am I going to give to the Lord Jesus?
Am I going to say, well, there wasn't the ample resources. You know, when I was in business, I used to send men out on jobs and I would equip them with a tool kit and the resources that I thought they needed for the job. But sometimes at the end of the day, they'd come back and they'd say, my brother's come back from a job and he'd say, well, Jim, you didn't give me the proper tools. I didn't have everything I needed. I didn't have all the equipment. I didn't equip them to do the job. And it was pretty hard to, uh, admonish them for not having completed the job when I hadn't equipped them with everything that was needed.
01:00:27
But brethren, we have all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Peter didn't have to fail. He didn't have to deny the Lord. And so we're not going to be able to stand at the judgment seat of Christ and say, well, you didn't give me all the tools. I didn't have all the resources. Now we have everything we need. And one of the wonderful resources we have is the Lord Jesus praying for us and always looking more about what you were talking about, the leaders. These are leaders and there's nothing so discouraging.
To see a leader fall and there's, there's nothing that Satan is more interested in than seeing a leader fall. If I go wrong, I just, if I watch goes wrong, I don't make an appointment. But if Big Ben goes wrong, All England goes wrong. So it's leaders and and that's I, I just, it's, it's just a warning. You know, we've been decimated as candidates, but all the mighty have fallen, David could say.
But getting back to that verse that you brought us to Vernon, so Luke 22 when he says I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail, not at that point. This was not his priesthood. He was interceding here now as an advocate, and that's interesting to see. He did not listen to what I say next here. He did not pray that Peter would not fail. He prayed that his faith would not fail when he would fail. Peter had got to the point where he was not learning the lesson.
And the Lord saw fit in his ways and wisdom that he was going to allow him to fail now, but he did pray that when he did fail and hit the tarmac, so to speak, that his faith would not break. And that's interesting to see here in Luke 22, verse 31. You know, there was I have out in the other room there this book that it's a very good addendum to the letters of Jan Darby that I suggest to anybody who has an interest to pick up sometime. This is not a plug for the book room, but.
Uh, and what it is, is that George Morris took the, uh, letters of Jan Darby and he took the, the, the person's name to whom he wrote all those letters to. And, uh, you miss a little bit because I, I realized it was propriety, but you miss a little bit because you don't know who he was writing to and you found out he was writing to Mr. Kelly. Oh, he had some strong words to that man. I didn't know it was Mr. Kelly. I thought it was just some follow and so on. But anyway, I had picked up just by matching the letters and the names of who these people were. There was one person. It was J, uh, Mr. King's coat, the man that wrote the.
Christ in the offerings beautiful book and he wrote to Jan Darby and asked him about the dilemma of the priesthood and the advocacy of Christ. Christ prays for us as a priest that we might not fail. He asked him, well, how is it that anybody fails a crisis praying for us and interceding that we wouldn't he's how do we figure this out? Could it be that Christ fails in his intercession? Oh no, that couldn't be the case. And Mr. Darby wrote to him and he said just basically what I've been trying to say in verse 31 here of chapter 22 of Luke and that is that, uh.
There comes a time when the Lord ceases to pray that we would not fail.
And we'll let us go and we have a failure because we wouldn't learn through the, uh, the listening to his word. We wouldn't learn by casting ourselves in dependence upon him. So we have to learn by having a failure. But he does pray that at least when we do, uh, he has to let us go, that, uh, our faith would not fail. It's just as Peters. And so it's a very solemn thing in the ways of God and governmentally that he would see fit that he.
Cannot get through to our hard hearts, so you have to allow us to have an experience like this to learn the lesson. Do do we get a similar thing in in Joe?
And in and in the numbering, uh, that, uh, when David numbered the people where God had a controversy and so he allowed Satan to bring out the inconsistency that was there, that need to be owned and turned their heart back to God.
We sing 110.
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110.
Becoming a Representative
Address—Dan Hallowell
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Could we turn to Isaiah chapter 52?
Uh, maybe a verse in Isaiah 42 first.
Isaiah chapter 42 and verse one.
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. And then the 52nd chapter.
Isaiah 52 and verse 13.
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
As many were astonished at thee, his visage was so marred more than any man in his form, than the sons of men, so shall he sprinkle many nations. The king shall shut their mouths at him. For that which they had not, which had not been told them, shall they see.
And that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and We hid, as it were, our faces from Him.
He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him.
The iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He has brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before. Her Shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression of my people was he stricken.
And should read. And they made his grave with the wicked. But he was with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, He shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied by His knowledge. Shall my righteous servant justify many?
For he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death. And he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. None of us in second Peter.
Second Peter, chapter 2.
And the second Peter chapter one.
And verse 11.
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Miniverse in Jude.
00:05:04
Jude verse 24 Two versus.
Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.
Well, I read the this chapter Isaiah 53 because, uh.
I wanted to consider.
The attitude.
Of the Lord Jesus towards us.
And our attitude towards him.
And so, umm.
As we read through this chapter, we see his attitude towards us.
We see one who God presents to us as His servant.
And what a perfect servant he was. We've had him before us in the meetings and.
What a wonderful servant he was. He fully glorified God in everything that God gave him to do.
And as we look through this passage, we see.
How much he bore for us.
Yes.
He was oppressed.
And he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He never stuck up for himself one time.
As what we deserved was poured out on this Blessed One.
God's servant.
And then we get down to the 12Th verse.
And we see that he shall divide the spoil with the straw. What an amazing thing. Who is it? That's the strong?
I think it's you and I.
What an amazing thing.
That he'd refer to us in this way.
To divide the spoil with the straw and then if we go over and look in.
Second, Peter there, we don't have to turn to it, but he wants to.
Minister an abundant entrance.
Into His everlasting Kingdom to you and me.
He's gonna present us faultless.
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. What an amazing thing.
He's going to present me before God with exceeding joy, the same one we read about in the early part of the chapter. The despised and rejected Him.
Well, how is God going to bring this about? He's not going to have any despisers in the glory. Let me tell you, when we see Him, we'll be like Him, for we shall see him as he is.
But he's working with each one of us right now.
You know, umm.
We, uh, we've had in the meetings before us, we've had uh, the subject of foot washing and uh, I'm not uh, advocating pedicures, but uh, anyway, my daughter, uh, must have some extra money. She's not here so I can talk about her. She went out and she got a pedicure.
No, I didn't know what a pedicure was. But anyway I found out and she came home and she told my wife about the pedicure.
She said that, you know, it was a wonderful experience. They took my feet in their hands and they massaged them so gently and carefully and they washed them.
In a, in a painless way, they took off all the calluses and they did what it took. Umm, I don't know if feet are beautiful, but God calls them beautiful that he did everything they could to make her feet beautiful, she said. You know, it was just a wonderful experience.
00:10:03
And she told my wife, I want to give you.
A gift certificate to get a pedicure.
Well, I'm not advocating pedicures, and I'm not saying it's a spiritual experience, but as she described this to my wife, she thought, you know.
That's what it would be like to have your feet washed.
By the Lord Jesus himself. And you know, this is the first step I think he takes to win our confidence.
He takes we've had before us. We've put our feet in his hands.
And you know, before we can rightly represent the Lord of glory in this world, we are going to have to have beautiful feet. I think in Romans 10 it talks about beautiful feet. How beautiful are the feet of those that preach the gospel of peace?
But you know, first they're going to be after you washed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so let's go back to, uh.
John 13 for just a minute.
You know, there's a thing that was.
Uh, John, uh, let's see the.
The 13th verse.
You call me Master and Lord.
And you say, well, for so I am, you know.
This is the first step that we need to have.
If we're gonna be able to represent the Lord Jesus in this world, you know that's what he wants us to do. He wants us to in June There we read that there's glory. Uh, I have to read the verse again.
Umm unto him be.
Uh, to the only wise thought, our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now.
Whenever.
Who is it that's going to bring glory?
To this one now.
It's going to have to be his redeem like, isn't it?
And you know, that's what he wants for each one of us. There's a verse in John 20, I think.
We read that verse, or I do anyway, often about as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. But if we turn to uh.
John 20 and verse 21.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, Even so send I you.
And so he has sent.
You and me into this world to represent him.
Well, the first thing we're gonna have to do to represent him in this world is to know him, isn't it?
And I think he washes our feet. That's the that's the first, one of the first things he does to bring us to know him. What a wonderful savior he is, you know?
I'll tell you a story to illustrate a point.
I was, I had a 7th day Adventist man who worked for me and he started working for me when he was about 70 because the other place he worked for, they made him retire. They said he couldn't work past 70. So he worked for me and he worked for me till he was eighty and a little bit after his 80th birthday. I, I think I'll, I'll see him in the glory. And we, uh, we had fellowships on times over the things of God. And uh, so right after he turned 80, I told him, you know, Carl, he felt like, uh, he was gonna have to live through the tribulation.
I said, Carl, you're 80 years old now and the tribulation is gonna be the hardest time.
That you ever face in seven years. So you're going to be 87 at least by the time it's done. Are you going to make it through? Because I told him that I felt, felt like the Lord Jesus was going to come before the tribulation. And he always resisted me on that point. And, uh, that day it shook him.
00:15:06
He didn't know if he was going to be able to make it until he was 87 years old.
Because the tribulation hadn't started yet. He had seven years to go. So he went, uh, he's kind of trouble about that. And he went and he talked to his pastor about it. And, uh, he came back to me and I asked him about it the next time he worked with me. And I said, uh, well, I did the, uh, did you think about that, Carl? And he said, yeah, I did. And I said, well, what do you think? Are you going to make it until you're 87? He said, well, the pastor told me that the Lord was going to give special strength.
To get you through when you're over. I don't know what scripture he had. He was trusting strictly on what the pastor said. But yeah, he was confident that he was going to be able to make it to the end of the tribulation.
The reason I tell you that is because.
I think there's times when some of us are trusting things other than the word of God too.
I was just thinking about salvation and you know, before we can represent the Lord Jesus in the world.
First thing, we have to be saved. And I, I was, I looked up the definition of salvation in, uh, vines, uh, Dictionary of new, of, uh, Bible words. And it says, this says the salvation is the spiritual and eternal deliverance granted immediately by God to those who accept his conditions. And these are God's conditions, repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and owning Jesus.
And we know versus we've learned them from the time we were little children.
That support these things.
Well.
That's what salvation is. You know, I was talking to a sister a few weeks ago and uh, she told me that, uh, she has a son and he's going on in wickedness, living an immoral life.
And uh.
She questioned his salvation.
And, uh, he, he got mad at her and he told her.
I'm saved. I accepted Jesus when I was a little boy and I'm saved.
And all of us be saved.
But what was he trusting in?
You know, we've heard often said that there is nothing in the Word of God that's going to encourage a soul going on in sin.
That's going to give him assurance. So he's has eternal life. And so I think sometimes I know I've been guilty. When we preach the gospel, it was brought out in the previous meeting that we do not insist upon repentance like we should.
You know, I thought of it this way, You know, umm, we read that verse, we quote that verse often one of the first verses I ever learned. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And that's a very good verse. So you know, I just thought of that verse. We know the Apostle Paul, he said that when he was the, the prison was broken open, the jailer was there ready to take his life and he says do thyself no harm.
And the jailer says, what must I do to be saved?
And that's a wonderful answer that he was given. You know, I just thought if we thought back to the previous day, suppose, uh, they were, uh, tying Paul down there to with him or scourge him, whatever they did. And, uh, he said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You think that the soldiers would have gotten saved that day? I don't think they would have had an ear for it whatsoever.
And even the jailer when he put when he was fastening Paul's feet in the stocks the night before.
If he'd said to him, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
Would the jailer have accepted the Lord Jesus as his savior that night? I don't think so. I don't think he would have listened at all. And so we see that there was a work of God done in this man's soul, and he was ready for that.
And when the answer came, we know that. We know that that jailer, he accepted the Lord Jesus that night.
And he brought Paul into his house and he washed his stripes and he fed him, and he took care of him, treated him far different than he had treated him the night before. Well, anyway.
There's these three things. Well, there's first, we, we know it's a work of God that we're born again. And when someone is born again, I know that, uh, they're safe and they're safe for eternity.
00:20:12
But if they're going to be saved, there has to be repentance.
There has to be faith, repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And then in Romans 10 and nine we get confession of Jesus is Lord. And you know, I think sometimes.
We try to bypass some of these things, you know, I remember when I was a little boy that it was insisted on me and I don't think it's bad, Uh.
I people, I remember a gospel preacher reading that verse, Romans 10:00 and 9:00. And then he told us to go home and, uh, tell our mother that, uh, we had accepted Jesus as our savior. We were going to confess with our mouth. And you know, that is a wonderful thing. I don't, if there's any children here that, uh, haven't confessed to their parents that, uh, they know Jesus as their savior. There is nothing that you could do to make them more happy than that, I don't think.
But that isn't what the verse is talking about. That verse is talking about giving Jesus lordship in your life. And you know, before we can rightly represent the Lord Jesus in this world, there's gonna have to be these things. There's gonna have to be repentance. There's gonna have to be about our sins. We have to turn around.
There's gonna have to be faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we're going to have to own Jesus as our Lord to give him control in our life. And at that point, the Lord, I think that's when I think that's where John 13 picks up. He says, ye call me master and Lord. These are ones who are owning Jesus as Lord. And so he could take their feet in his hands and tenderly wash them.
And bring them into that place of confidence.
So that they could represent the Lord of glory in this world. Now, you know, there's one thing that I, uh, we need to understand the greatness of this person that we have the privilege of representing in this world. We've had, we've had some of it in the meetings. So let's just read a verse and we might even know the verse. Well, Hebrews chapter one, you don't have to turn to it. It says that, uh.
God.
Who in sun, uh, who at sundry times in diverse manners spake in time passed under the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, or in Son?
Whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world, Who being the brightness of His glory.
And the express image of His person and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
You know, the one that we we are called upon to represent.
N.
If God himself, what an amazing thing that He wants you and He wants me to represent Him in this world. You know, there has been nobody who has been more misrepresented in this world.
Than this one.
But did he give up? No.
Who's calling to you? Who's calling to me even this afternoon? And he wants us to represent him in this world.
Let's let's go over to John chapter one again, just to get a little bit more of how great this person is.
What we know about it, he was.
From the beginning.
He was the creator.
Uh, verse 18, No man hath seen God at anytime. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, oh, he came to declare.
God. How could God be declared to creatures like us?
00:25:09
But he didn't, didn't he? He came.
Behold, my servant, He came as the servant.
Well.
He wants to.
Bring us in the blessing He wants to take us. Let's go back to Isaiah 53.
He wants to take us from those.
Who despised him?
Verse two. There is no form, or he hath no form, nor comeliness, or, I think, lordliness. And when we shall, when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
You know, I don't know. I hope everybody's not like me, but I'm afraid maybe so. But there were times in our lives when we were ashamed of this one.
I remember when I was a boy, I was in 6th grade and uh, I had a neighbor boy across the street who I think, uh.
Was probably about in my shape. He was, his mother was a Christian. I remember that they had a deal in their house that if, uh, if they left anything on the floor, they had to put a nickel in this can. And uh, the father, if he swore he had to put a nickel in, I mean, maybe he had to put 1/4 in the can. I don't remember what the deal deal was, but I think that his mother was a Christian.
And one day, uh, uh, we came home for lunch and I remember my mother, uh.
She would read the scriptures with us every day at lunch and then she'd pray. And, uh, we had a great big front window. We were on display when we were in our living room. And, uh, he came over to, to, to, we came home from school, uh, for lunch and he ate lunch at his house and I ate lunch at my house and he was out there standing in front of the window while my mother finished reading and, uh, then prayed and, uh, I went out the door and, uh.
He said you were praying, weren't you?
And I lied and I said no, I was ashamed of it.
You said yes, you were. I said no.
Well.
That's not the only time I've been ashamed of this one.
But I think that everyone of us.
Has been ashamed of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he wants to take us from that place. You know, I think I'd accept that the Lord Jesus as my Savior at that time.
He wants us to to take us from that place where we see no lordliness in Him.
Where we just think that being a Christian is not cool.
It's not me.
He wants to make US1 who will represent him.
In this world, and not only in this world, but to be a display of the glory of His grace forever.
He's seeking to work it in each soul, here in this room, in mine.
And in yours, what a wonderful thing to hear. Hear ones who?
Like the Apostle Paul, they can say I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
For it is the power of God and salvation to everyone that believeth.
Well, what a wonderful God.
What a patient savior. We've had his work as an advocate.
He works for us continually. Does he?
No matter what our circumstances are.
He's working on our behalf. You know, I remember hearing her brother told me this one time, he said.
00:30:01
Suppose you are very discouraged.
Then you are all alone in a house.
And really down and all of a sudden you heard someone talking in the next room.
Thought you were alone, but someone was talking in the next room so you went over and listened carefully and you could hear them talking and you realized that they were praying.
And this kind of stoked your interest. So you, you listen a little harder. Go over by the door and listen and, uh, find out they're praying for you. Do you think that would encourage you a little bit there they are praying for you.
Well, it would encourage our heart, wouldn't it? But what if we opened that door and we looked in and saw that it was the Lord of glory in there praying for you?
You know that's exactly the way it is, no matter how discouraged we are.
No matter what our situation.
The Lord Jesus is praying for me. He's praying for you.
We forget often, don't we? But that doesn't change his mind.
We see in this chapter how there were those who.
There is Peter, who denied him. There was Judas who betrayed him.
But it didn't change the Savior did it. It didn't change his heart of life.
Towards us one bit, he went on.
Well, I'd like to just look quickly at an example that we have in the Old Testament umm of Judah in the book of Genesis.
You know, Judah had a great privilege.
I don't know if he viewed it as a privilege. He had a father, Jacob, who, uh.
Was one to whom the promises of God had been made.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
And Judah was raised in this home.
And I think the first time, first mention we have of him was in the 37th chapter. Other than, uh, that he was born.
And, uh, we know the story, so we won't read it all, but, uh.
We can see Judah's heart here in verse 20. So we know the story that Joseph came down to to seek the welfare of his brethren, and they took him, and they threw him in a pit.
They talked about killing him, and Judah shows up now in verse 26. And Judah said unto his brethren, What prophet is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, and our flesh and his brethren were content.
Well, we see a heartless young man, don't we? I don't know how old he was, maybe 21.
Something like that, but a heartless young man.
And you might think, well, he didn't, uh, he wasn't brought up in a Christian home. He, uh.
He didn't have the privileges that we have. And you know, that's very true. But, you know, I know a young man today, I think he's 22 years old, and he's sitting in jail. He was raised in a Christian home. He's been to many conferences. He's memorized many, many verses. I don't think he's been at the Lord's table, but he's sitting in jail today.
I saw a letter from him and he said, you know, the hardest thing is to change a criminal mind.
How could that be raised in all the privileges that you and I have enjoyed?
To be at the beginning of five year prison sentence.
Thank God.
He has some thoughts towards God.
00:35:00
You know the Lord can turn him around.
But you know.
We can't say that where one might better than Judah.
When God starts to work with you and me.
We're right here.
You know, umm.
I've enjoyed. I've thought of sinners, you know, a Sinner. Everyone of us was born into this world, a Sinner.
And, uh, a center is not someone who accidentally sins every once in a while.
A Sinner is someone who loves to sin, and he sins and he sins, and he sins and he sins and he sins and he loves to sin, and he sins some more, and he sins until he gets tired of it. And because he's a Sinner, he can't do anything else. So he sins and he sins and he sins and he sins again until he hates it.
And he's in a bond. It's a terrible *******.
And, you know, we were talking about what salvation is and how it's, you know, sometimes I think that we try to skip over maybe God has worked in our soul. And I think God has worked in the soul. This, this young man that's in jail. But, you know, there's other things that have to do with salvation, repentance, facing up to the question of our sins.
Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ owning Jesus as Lord. You know we don't especially like those things. Repentance. Repentance is a scary thing.
Do you think that if Judah had known he was gonna meet Joseph when he went down into Egypt, do you think he would have gone?
There was gonna have to be repentance.
With Judah wasn't there, I don't think he would have gone. If Jacob had known that he was going to meet the Lord that night in Bethel when he was sleeping on that rock pillow, do you think he would have stopped there?
He says this is a dreadful place.
He didn't want to meet God. And you know, as children and young people growing up in the assembly, maybe there's a work of God in our soul, but we don't want to meet God any more than Jacob did or any more than Judah did, because we're going to have to reason with God about our sins.
And it's going to go further.
After we've reasoned with God about our sins, we're going to have to give control of our life over to Him.
These are not things that we like to think about, are they?
But they are absolutely essential.
If you're going to have a life that's fruitful for God, if you're going to have a happy life, well, this young man, I trust he's considering these things as we speak.
And I trust that each one of us, you know, we have kind of created a.
Something about being saved, like that boy I was telling you about who got upset at his mother, that was always saved.
We've created some sort of salvation that we don't read about in the word of God and.
Maybe that's the kind of salvation you have.
God wants to reason with you. You know, God is amazingly unreasonable. You know, He wants to take your sins away and he wants to bless you and make you a blessing. What a wonderful God we have. He says, come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be a scarlet, they shall be white as snowy. Oh, let's get that backwards. I can't remember. But anyway, our sins are a real problem and God wants to reason with us about it. And you know.
I would encourage you with all my heart, go and reason with God about your sins.
Because God is for you. What an amazing thing.
It doesn't have to be scary to meet the Lord.
He wants to bless you.
Well, let's go on and look at Judah's life a little bit further.
Umm, chapter 38.
I don't know. Uh, so Judah gets married. He's a young man. I don't know how old he is, but he must have been not not long after Joseph was sold. He marries a Canaanite girl and uh, he has three sons. And then, uh, the Lord takes his wife away. A voice to Judah.
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And then God is not Judah's oldest son is wicked in the eyes of God, and God slays him.
The suitor returned with the repentance, yet with Judah.
No.
And then Judah's second son, and we can read through this chapter and we see that Judah's wife was a moral wreck.
As God sought in his grace to reach his heart.
How far will God go to reach your heart and mine?
You know I have to hang my head.
He'll reach far for your heart.
In amazing love and tenderness.
He has reached far enough in my life to take two of my sons.
He's going to reach for you.
He wants to bless you.
And make you a blessing.
And he's gonna stop at nothing.
Well, the day comes we can look a little further down on Judah's life.
And God sends a famine into the land. We know about it.
And there was no bread.
And uh.
Chapter.
42.
We know the story. God allows this famine over the face of the whole earth.
Because He was reaching for the heart of Judah and his brethren. You know, God doesn't tell us about His brethren very much. I don't know how deep the work of repentance was in their hearts, but I know that God wanted to bless each one of them just as much.
And so Judah comes down and he's standing there, and little did he know that it's his brother that he sold into slavery and that heartless act, and he's standing before him there to buy corn.
And uh.
He, uh, he makes a statement here. Well, the brothers make a statement. I think, uh, Judah was in agreement with it in the 11Th verse. We are all one man's sons. We are true men.
How many of us have thought that maybe we haven't said it?
But how many of us have presented ourselves in a way like this? We are true men.
You know what, We can deceive lots of people. We might even be able to deceive everybody. But you know, God looks right into our hearts and you know, unless all these things are brought out into the open, we will not get the blessing of God, will we?
Well, time goes on.
And we see in the 21St verse.
They all all, uh, ten brothers, they get thrown into this prison.
Uh, versus, uh.
Port, I'll read it from verse 14. And Joseph said unto them, This is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies. Hereby shall ye be proved by the life of Pharaoh. Ye shall not go forth hence except your youngest brother. Come, hit her, send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely your spies. And he put them all together in ward 3 days.
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And Joseph said to them the third day, this do and I live.
This do and live, for I fear God if he be true. Men, let one of your brethren be bound in the House of your prison. Go, ye carry corn for the famine of your houses, but bring your youngest brother unto me. So shall your words be verified, and he shall not die. And they did so, and they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us.
And we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us.
Well, there they were in that prison for three days. We don't know what went on in the prison. There they were all together and I'm sure that they discussed this matter.
But they go home, and they still they tell their Father their true men in the 31St verse.
And then they come down again in chapter.
44.
We see a wonderful thing.
Well, Judah promises to be surety for Benjamin.
And we know the story that.
They come down, they're fed with an amazing feast.
And uh.
Then they're sent back the next day and the servant goes, chases them down and, uh, to find the cup that they had stolen. Well, they knew they hadn't stolen the cup. They had. No, they were true men. They wouldn't steal the cup.
They might sell their brother as a slave, but they wouldn't steal a cup.
And so we know the story. The facts were searched. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
And they all rent their clothes and went back.
And what a wonderful entreaty we see from the lips of Judah.
He opens up his heart.
And he pours out this wonderful entreaty, and we can see that there was repentance wrought in this man's soul.
Joseph wasn't done. God wasn't done yet. Joseph wasn't done yet either.
After this wonderful entreaty, Joseph tells them I am Joseph.
And all of a sudden there was number way that they could say they were true men anymore, was there?
And they were troubled.
Well, God is going to have to reach deep in each one of our souls.
But he wants to bless us. He wants to make us a blessing.
But we've got to have it all out with him first.
Repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, owning Jesus as Lord of our life.
These are the things that God needs and then he wants to bless you and make you a blessing. Well, we read that verse earlier in the.
I think maybe the first prayer meeting of the second, the fourth verse of chapter 45.
Come near. And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near unto me, I pray you.
And they came here.
And then if we go over to the.
To the next, maybe 46.
Uh, in the 28 first and uh, we see that Jacob, he sends Judah before him, the very one who sold his favorite son into slavery.
Is able to represent Jacob.
As he goes down into Egypt.
Well.
God wants to use each one of us here. He wants us to represent him in this world.
He wants to bless you and make you a blessing. He wants you to come near, you know?
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We'll never know.
The fullness.
Of the love that is in God's heart toward us while we're here. Anyway, I think that it will be for eternity.
Drinking him more and more.
For the love of God towards us.
Well, he wants us to start now and as long as we're in control of our life.
We're going to be going away from God.
Away from the blessing of God.
Away from happiness in our lives.
He wants us to be here.
Could we seeing uh.
December 27 I think the.
27 in the appendix.
Sony so very nice to God.
I cannot nearer be, for in the person of his son.
Hi Viznir, is he?
So dear, so very dear to God, more dear. I cannot be the love we're with. He loves the Son. Such is his love to me. Shall we ask God's blessing?
John 13:36 to 14:31
The Gibeonites
Gospel—Ernie Munck
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And a rock they called Gibraltar.
There's a little bit of land that's disputed, and that land is called No Man's Land. You know, there are people in this world, they say, well, I'm neither.
For Christ. Nor am I against Christ. I stand on neutral ground.
You know, here tonight, we'd like to tell you.
That there is no neutral ground.
Either a person is for the Lord, or he's against the Lord. Either he's bowed to the name of the Lord Jesus.
Or he still rejects him. To say I don't have anything to do with him is to reject him.
Solemn position to be in, but with God there is no neutral ground. Shall we pray?
I'd like to turn to a verse in Ephesians chapter one.
Solemn verse. Very solemn verse. Chapter 2. Pardon me Verse 11.
Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called the uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in flesh, made by hands, that at that time.
You were without Christ.
Being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. Having no hope and without God in the world.
What a solemn place that's to be in without hope, without God in the world.
I'd like to have you turn with me to another portion.
Joshua, Chapter 9.
And I am well aware that the teaching of this portion teaches that Israel did not inquire the Lord.
And I know of no commentator that gives it any good quarter.
But I see here someone who was in a light condition.
And I see that they found mercy.
And I see that they even lied to obtain that mercy.
Because they were earnest. They were earnest about it.
And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side, Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon.
The head tight, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite and the parasite, the hiveites and the Jebusite herd thereof, that they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one accord.
You know, there are people here in this world, they would fight with God. Man, what a foolish thing to fight against God. Who's going to win? Who's going to win, my friend? You'll lose every time. Who can fight against God? And here we find these. They did that very thing. And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard.
What Joshua had done unto Jericho and to AI, they did work wildly, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their ***** and wine bottles old and rent.
And bound up and old shoes, and clouded upon their feet, and old garments upon them.
And all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy, and they went to Joshua onto the camp at Gilgal.
And said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We become from a far country.
Now therefore Maki, a league with us, and the men of Israel said unto the hiveites, peradventure.
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Ye dwell among us, and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua.
We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye, and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country, Thy servants are come, because of the name of the Lord thy God.
All my friends think of it. You have to do with the Lord. Every man shall give an account of himself unto God. You do have to do with the Lord.
How are you going to do you know? There's a verse in Hosea that says How long will it be ere ye return unto innocency? Is that possible?
And you have committed sins. You are guilty of sin. You know, when I was a boy.
I knew what it was to send against God, and it caused me no end of trouble so that I cried out in the middle of the night. Mama, I've stolen a dime. I stole a dime. You know, sins don't trouble kids very much anymore.
My mom was able to give me a dime back to give to the boy who dropped it on the playground.
You have committed sins. How many?
Oh, you say, we've all sinned. Everybody's up the same tree.
But you know every man, it says every man shall give an account of himself to God. And here these men, they went to Joshua.
We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye, and from whence came ye?
And they said unto him, From a very far country, Thy servants are come, because of the name of the Lord thy God, For we have heard the fame of him.
And all that he did in Egypt, ah, you know God.
Has at different times, in different ways, brought judgment upon peoples because of their sins. And these people, the Canaanites, they were doomed to judgment.
God will judge sin. He cannot have sin in His presence.
God is a God of judgment and justice.
But he is also a God of his word.
And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond Jordan, to Sihan king of Ashban, and to Aughh king and Basian, which was at Ashtroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take vittles with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants, therefore now make you a league with us. Oh, what did they want?
They wanted an assurance, they wanted to have some word from them that they wouldn't be slain. Ah, is that what you're after here tonight? You know, there were some that came to the Lord Jesus.
And they said, Ye seek me not, ye seek me for the loaves and the fishes. But the Lord Jesus, he gave them good advice. He says, labor not for the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give you. Or think of it, labor for something which he will give you. That's just exactly what these wise ones were doing.
All they were doomed. They had a pronouncement against them, they were without God in the world solemn position to be in, and yet and they trembled, and you know they did what they could.
They lied, they said this. Our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go on to you.
But now behold it is dry, and is mouldy, and these bottles of wine which we filled were new, and behold they be rent, and these are garments, and our shoes are become old by reason of their very.
Long journey and the men took of their vittles and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. Ahir was indeed a mistake to ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
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But you know, the Lord overruled it, The Lord overruled it and.
These men.
Let's read a little bit about them. Deuteronomy chapter 20.
I read a book on Joshua by Mr. Ironside and said if these men would have come just as they were, in all honesty, why, they'd have been shown mercy, they'd have been brought into the congregation of Israel.
But is that true?
Well, let's look and see what it says here.
Verse 10. Deuteronomy 20 When thou comest nigh unto a city.
To fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it, and it shall be. If it make thee an answer of peace and open unto thee, then it shall be that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee.
And they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it. And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword.
Then it says further, verse 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations, but of the cities of these people.
Which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance. Thou shalt save alive nothing that breathes, but thou shalt utterly destroy them, namely the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Parasites, the Hivites and the Jebusites.
As the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, Oh, what a solemn thing God will judge sin.
God will judge sin. And these people, they didn't know of a way of escape. But to tell a lie, you know, Rahab, she also lied.
But her lie showed her face, and these people had.
Faith in the judgment of God that was coming on that nation.
Fez, let's go on.
Joshua made peace with them and made a league with them and let them live.
And the Princess of the congregation swear unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days.
After they had made a league with them that they heard that they were their neighbors and that they dwelt among them.
And the children of Israel journeyed and came unto their cities on the third day.
Now the CI. Their cities were Gibeon and Chafir, and Biroth and Kurja. Jerem and the children of Israel smote them not, because the Princess of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel.
And all the congregation murmured against the Princess, But all the Princess said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them.
By the Lord God of Israel now, therefore, we may not touch them.
Now, for the sake of time.
Well, let's read on.
This what we do to them, we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we swear unto them. And the Princess said unto them, Let them live, but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water onto all the congregation, as the Princess had promised them. And Joshua called for them. And he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have you beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you when you dwell among us? Now therefore you are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondsman.
And hewers of wood and drawers of water for the House of my God. And the answer Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land.
And to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you.
And have done this thing, and now behold, we are in thine hand as it seemeth good.
And right unto thee to do, unto us to do. And so did he unto them.
And deliver them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
And Joshua made them that day, hewerers of wood and drawers of water, for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord.
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Even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.
Now you say, what on earth does that mean, my friend? It means there is mercy in the heart of God. O God knew all about them, and God knows all that transpires in your heart tonight.
And we could turn to the 139th Psalm for a few verses, just just to show that God knows every movement of your heart.
There's nothing hidden from him.
The Lord, thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting in mine uprising.
Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down. Thou art acquainted with all my way.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
O knowledge too wonderful for me, it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whether shall I go from my spirit or whether shall I flee from my presence? You know there is no hiding from God. There is no place to hide. And you know God knows everything about us.
And when I came to Christ as a youngster, I didn't know 110th of what was in my heart. I didn't know that my heart was at enmity with God. And as I grew up, I found I discovered things in my heart that I were made me aghast.
But you know, God knew all about it, and God speaks about the forgiveness of sins.
Forgiveness of sins according to his knowledge of myself all. Thank God that every fresh discovery that I find in me is covered by the work of Christ.
All the precious blood of Christ is enough to bring me nigh to God.
Enough to cleanse my sins. Thank God for that.
An infinite load of sins can be taken away by the blood of Christ. I'd like to say this to you tonight. You know there's two things that you can't do.
You can't create an app.
You can't create a gnat and you can't create anything, and it's not in your hands.
And there's another thing that you cannot do. You cannot put away one's sin.
Not one sin can you put away.
But oh, thank God.
There is a way, thank God, there is a way, and that way is provided from God's own hand.
Without any of your help. Thank God for that.
We read further here.
If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yeah, the darkness hideth not from thee.
But the night shineth as a day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well.
Ah, you know, the soul that's renewed, the soul that has turned to Christ.
He discovers that there is an affection for the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that affection is every case that we love because He first loved us. He first loved us. We don't get God to love us because we love Him. No, He first loved us. And then we read on here.
Verse 17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God.
How great is the sum of them?
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The poet could say, O blessed God, how kind are all thy ways to me, whose dark, benighted mind?
Was enmity with thee yet now subdued by sovereign grace? My spirit longs for thine embrace.
Preserved by Jesus when my feet made haste to hell and there should I have gone.
But thou dost all things well are my friend.
It wasn't you who gave the Lord Jesus Christ, we read, for God so loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten Son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Oh, God is the source of all our blessing. There is none to be found in ourselves, nothing but ruin and sin.
But God. But God, thank God.
Like to have you turn with me to Matthew Chapter 11.
Or before we do.
Let's turn to Matthew 11.
Oh, Matthew 15. I'm sorry, Matthew 15.
Then Jesus went thence.
And departed into the coast of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coast.
And cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me.
O Lord, thou son of David.
My daughter is grievously vexed with the devil.
But he answered her not a word.
And his disciples came and besought him, saying.
Sandra Way for she crieth after us.
You know, I remember when I was a boy in Sunday school and my teacher took this up. I had a good Sunday school teacher.
And he took this up with me and I thought to myself.
Here's somebody that came to the Lord Jesus.
And he rebuffed her.
Oh, you know, that's awful.
Here I had been taught that the Lord Jesus welcomes children to himself.
I thought to myself.
How is it that he rebuffed her? Maybe he would rebuff me.
You know that went hard with me.
Martin Luther came across his scripture.
And he said, my it's strange that if Peter would have said these words to me.
I'd have been very discouraged.
But.
If the Lord had just said these words to me, he says, I think maybe I would have run away and never come back. But you know this woman, she had a need, she had a need, and you have a need tonight and you're shut up to only one Savior. Neither is there any other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
This woman, you know, she found out that she didn't have any title, that the Lord Jesus didn't make any covenant with her.
He did with Israel.
If they kept the law, they would have been blessed by keeping the law.
If they'd have stuck with the Lord, he'd have taken care of them. But he didn't do that with all the nations. The other nations had no gospel, as it were preached to them yet.
Sure, Gentiles came into blessing.
But the word hadn't gone out yet to all the world through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ to have blessing. But this woman persisted. She had no other Ave. And then she said, Well, he's the Lord, He can do it, nobody else can do it. But he answered, and not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us.
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You know you can go to the preacher, but you know he has only enough Christ for himself.
Each soul has enough Christ for himself.
Have you got Christ for yourself? He's the source. The preacher. Isn't the source. A blessing?
It's the Lord Jesus Christ himself with whom you have to do.
But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep.
Of the House of Israel, you know when the Lord Jesus came.
Into this scene, said in John's gospel, he came unto his own.
His own people and his own received him not.
Ah, think of it, He came to bring blessing to that nation.
He came to show the heart of God to that nation, and they refused him.
They said we'll stand on our own ground, we have the law, we'll keep the law and we'll get into heaven that way.
He saw their wounds. They turned him out right in John's gospel in the beginning.
In Matthew's Gospel, they turned the Lord Jesus out.
You know, as ministry changes, his ministry had new words in it. It had woe.
O unto you, O unto you, O unto you, you know the portions that I mean. But he also had a new word. He said, Come unto me, all ye that labour.
And are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Ah, the Lord Jesus has not rest to sell.
Now in Isaiah we read prophetically of him, he could say.
O everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye by wine and milk, without money and without price. Why? Because God has made a provider. He's the one who's provided it at an infinite expense to Himself. Because Isaiah 53 tells us that he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
And the punishment of our peace was upon him.
Oh, the Lord Jesus is as worse, standing still. Standing still for another Sinner to lay hold on him.
But he says these words.
It is not meat to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs.
Well, what did she do? She laid hold on his words. She laid hold on those words. What were the words?
It's not meat to take children's bread and cast it to dogs. But she says yes, I'm a dog, I'm a little dog, and even the little dog get something for them. The Lord couldn't say no.
And so I dare say tonight there may be a soul wondering if I'm in a condition to be able to be saved. Oh, God has got some crumbs for you. He's got some crumbs for you. And I'd like to look at a few of those crumbs tonight.
Romans, chapter 3.
Verse nine. What then? Are we better than they?
No and no wise, for we have before approved both Jews and Gentiles.
That they are all under sin. As it is written. There is none righteous. No, not one.
There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way. They are together, become unprofitable.
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There is none that doeth good. No, not one.
Verse 21.
But now.
Our first twenty. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, For by the laws the knowledge of sin.
Now we come to a place where the scene changes.
But now the righteousness of God without the Law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all.
And upon all them that believe, for there is no difference.
For all has sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Being justified without a cause in US freely means without a cause in US.
Oh, thank God. Oftentimes we might think in our hearts, oh, there's got to be a cause in US, we think, but must not I repent more? My friend, you're lost, lost, undone. How can you? And your heart is at enmity with God. Are you going to change your heart?
Ah, look to the Lord to change your heart. Look to the Lord to give you a new heart.
But don't try to mend your heart before God. It's impossible. You know there was a man in the Old Testament by the name of Job, and you know he was a man who was righteous. God said he was.
God said he was, but you know he had in his heart that seed of thinking all my righteousness I can stand before God, God will acknowledge me. But you know God is a pure eyes and a behold sin and God saw that Job was standing a little bit on what he was to God but to say and God says move us thou me against him without a cause.
You know.
As far as Satan was concerned it was without a cause. But in the 9th chapter he says you're against me without a cause. Oh God wants to see that every soul stands before him.
On the ground of what God is to him, and not on the ground of anything that he can bring to God.
How much we think that we must have something to bring to God. Somebody has said, have I repented enough? And the question was asked, which repentance have you tried?
Ah, the repentance of the law is to say, oh, I acknowledge this sin.
I acknowledge that sin, but the repentance of grace says it is all over with me.
It's all over with me.
God is everything to me then. Ah, my friend, think of it here we find being justified without a cause in US through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God has set forth a mercy seat. Ah, whom God has set forth a mercy seat. He did it of His own voluntary will. He allowed man to do his very worst to the Lord Jesus.
And the crowning insult at the end of his life here below, when he was hanging on a cross.
Was that man took a spear and pierced his side as an insult and forthwith came there out blood and water. Oh thank God, in the face of my enmity toward God, he's given the Lord Jesus Christ to be my Savior and he poured out his precious blood, that blood that cleanses me from all my sins.
No other standing have I got no other plea except that precious blood that was poured out and it's available for you tonight. Here we have it that God has set forth the Lord Jesus Christ a mercy seat. Let's look at another verse.
First Corinthians, chapter 5.
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S.
And verse 7.
Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed. Now leave off the end of it there for us. That's not in the text.
Christ, our Passover is sacrificed now. There was a preacher in.
Wales, he said at the end of his days, he said, I've always tried to be careful to put the blood in the basin. What does that mean? Oh, it means that the work of Christ is available. It's available for you tonight. That finished work of the Lord Jesus is available. Christ our Passover is sacrifice.
Let's look at another verse, Hebrews chapter one.
God, who has sundry times, and in diverse manner spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets, hath in these last days.
Spoken unto us in Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power.
When he had by himself.
Made purgation for sin.
I believe that's the sense of it.
He had by himself made purgation for sins.
Who sins?
The sins of those that avail themselves of it.
Odds by faith. Faith lays hold of that which God sets forth.
He made purgation for sins. Let's look at another verse, Hebrews chapter 8.
Or 9.
Neither in verse 12, neither by the blood of goats and calves.
But by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.
We don't have the application of it here, but we have that work that was done. How are we to avail ourselves of it all? What is our title? Let's look at a verse in Acts 1043.
Or 42 Pardon me, 42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God.
To be the judge of the quick and the dead to him. Give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive the remission of sins. Oh, what terms those are.
Whosoever. I think whosoever is a pretty wide gate.
But it's also a very narrow gate because it's just whosoever. It's not whosoever prayeth enough, it's not whosoever.
Weepeth enough, it's not whosoever.
Whatever.
But whosoever believeth in him, what does it mean to believe in him? You know there was a preacher Patton in New Hebrides one time. He.
00:40:00
Was translating the scriptures and he came to a word that.
He couldn't translate, was the word believe.
And as he was trying to translate this word, he had learned the language pretty well, and he and a friend, a native, went hunting and.
They had shot a fallow deer and they were bringing it back and it was very hot.
And they, they came to a little Meadow and, and they both laid down. And the natives says, my, it's good to stretch out here. So to translate John 316.
He said, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
That whosoever stretches himself out on him should not perish, but have everlasting life are my friend, we sang at the beginning of our meeting. That lovely.
Sing about an anchor. Let's look at another scripture, Hebrews chapter.
Six. And with that, I close.
Verse 17 and 18, wherein God willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath.
That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hopes set before us, which hope we have as an anchor.
Of the soul, both shore and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.
You know those Gibeonites? They had the word pronounced that they were not to be slain.
But here we have a word pronounced, and we have a great consolation who have fled for refuge. If God would have broken his word with those, we might have reason to think that he'd break his word with us. But he didn't allow that that word be broken. And when Saul sought to take vengeance on them.
He and seven of his sons were slain. Do you know?
The blood was sprinkled once on the mercy seat and seven times before the mercy seat. And in Hebrews 9 and 10 you have the seven sprinklings of the blood of Christ. Oh, you say, where are they?
Once, once, once, one time, seven times. In those two chapters we have the blood of sprinkling blood sprinkled to show that God is faithful.
To His Word. All I can rest on tonight is that word of God. I cannot rest on anything that passes in my heart.
No, only on what God has set forth, what Christ has done in His Word.
That he is faithful to his word. Thank God shall we pray? Our God and our Father, we look to thee. We own before thee that.
But we are in ourselves is nothing.
But poor, guilty, ruined, lost, helpless, rebels against thee, and yet thou hast loved us, Thou hast loved us.
So much without his give the darling of thy bosom, so that thou couldst free us.
Thou couldst bring us to thyself. And so we sing sometimes the blood.
That purged our sins has brought us nigh. We bless thee.
And thank thee in Jesus name. We ask thy blessing upon thy word to each one of our hearts, in Jesus name, Amen.
In Adam or in Christ
Children—David Whitaker
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
We like children to know about our precious Savior.
And I think that's the main reason that you would come to know our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.
It's a wonderful and blessed thing. How about another song, Claire? Do you have one?
#62.
That's so nice and cold. I don't want frustrating, that's all. Oh my God. Oh my God.
AY 5:00 AM No way.
Some people when they get saved, the day they get saved, they're, they're afraid. They're afraid, you know what they're afraid of? They're afraid that their sins can't be washed away or they're, they're afraid of this or afraid of that. But does that change the fact that when someone puts their trust in the Lord Jesus and vows their knee and says, precious Savior, save my soul, I'm a lost Sinner.
Does that change? The fact that they're afraid or not? Doesn't change that thing.
Because this is something that God does. He takes and he takes us out of darkness and he puts us into the light. He takes us out of the family that's lost and puts us into the family that's saved. And it doesn't make any difference if you're scared or you're crying or you're shaking or you're nervous or you're wondering, does it make any difference? What makes the difference is when God puts you out of Adam's family into the family of God.
That's what makes the difference.
Some people saying, Oh Happy Day when Jesus washed my sins away, that may be true and it's wonderful when it is, but it may not be true. That is a happy day for them. They may be in real. I know some people that were just shaking and trembling and sweating and worried and all that, but when God does it.
It's it's, it's God's job and it's what he does. He presents you as a gift to his Son.
Who has another one?
OK.
#60.
1.
Like a shepherd Jesus and all the things out in flesh and hands.
Umm, but I didn't mean to make it go down like you'd like to order it. I will take it to my home there. So that much crazy. Did you come?
Thou shalt be my sweet feel like on Thursday and also not unlike.
Well, we've had some girls. How about some boys? I see a little boy back there.
What number would you like?
#58.
#58.
00:05:25
Hey, how are you? Let me in while you come back to me.
And give me your name, your father.
Sun, sunshine, well appreciated evening.
So I said what else should I do?
All right, what about one of these boys here?
Here's a little boy right here. What number would you like to sing?
92.
#92.
We have heard the joyful sound in the same being the same.
1000, it's all around.
Hands upstairs.
Not the rest of the praise and the more high.
OK, this boy.
52.
Sing the first and last of 52.
But he is strong.
Yeah, in his life.
Yeah, it is not one thing. Yeah, he is coming from here. 1005 thousand and I'll come in stone.
895305.
How about?
05050595 Here's my little plate. Please hold on to my.
Yes, please let us one day yes, in the What's the meaning?
Yeah.
Well.
Who tells me so?
It's interesting at this conference that the children are the ages of who you see right here. There's not too many that are 12/14/10. We've got one that's going 8 here in a few days, Morgan. And let's see, seven years old, 76 who's seven years old here. There's one OK, that's quite an age. You know, a lot of children get saved when they're seven years of age.
I've watched that a long time, seven years of age. Children start to think about these things and you can think about them if you're 4 or if you're 3 or maybe even if you're 2.
00:10:10
There's a song about a little child of seven or even 3 or 4.
Well, I got some things to think about this morning. Let's first pray.
Grace is God and loving Father, we thank Thee for this wonderful privilege.
Being able to talk to these children, we think of how they're loved. They're loved by their mom and their dad and their brothers and sisters and grandmas and grandpas.
And we just pray that they might realize that their love most of all by the Lord Jesus.
We find out that and I were that God is love, so we thank thee. We pray that these.
Few words that are spoken will be like those few fishes that were fed to the multitude, and there was some leftover and there was blessing, and everybody was filled. Help us, Father, we pray, and again for these little children, that they might come to know Thee, they might appreciate.
What they have in in the Lord Jesus. So bless this word. We ask for help in Jesus name, Amen.
Riding along in a car down in a far, far, far away place. And I said to the man, he was a taxi driver. I said, do you have any orphans in your city? Oh yes, he could speak English.
I said uh.
Does the government, you know, like the city or the state or the county, do they help out with the orphans? You know what he said? Oh, no, no. Well, I said, well, why? Why? Why don't, why don't they help out? Because then there would be too many, too many people for them to take care of the, the the people, the parents would just leave the children there with the with the government. The government would take care of them.
I was surprised when I heard that. Then I said, how old are these children?
Well, he said, when they can tell the difference between.
Let's see if I got any money in here if they can tell the difference between.
Let's see if this girl can tell the difference between what's What are those two pieces of money?
You know it's OK, you don't have to know. Do you know what the difference is between those?
One is a what and the other is a what.
Oh, not quite. This is going to be interesting. Can you tell me the difference between that?
One's a diamond. One's a penny. OK? This girl right here. This girl here, she doesn't know yet. That's OK, honey. Don't worry. She doesn't know the difference between a dime and a penny. This girl does. Do you know what that means in this town of Maputo? It means that this girl gets to stay with her mommy. And this girl?
Is turned out of her house and she has to live on the street.
When I heard that, that man was telling me the truth, that made my heart sad because here's children that that know the difference between one coin and another. When they know the difference, that means they can go and buy a bottle of Populace. Just make up a little store here. They can buy a bottle of pop for $0.10 and they can sell to somebody on the street for $0.20. And how much do they get to keep then?
If they buy it for $0.10 and they sell it for they sell it for $0.20, how much do they get to keep?
Well, they get to keep $0.10. You see, it's called markup. Now those, uh, those children, they live on that extra money that they make. So if they sell a bottle of pop to somebody for, for $0.20 and they only bought it for 10, then they get to, they get to live on that $0.10 and their little children out there that age, you know the difference between a penny and a dime, don't you? Sure you do. Well then you don't get to stay home in some homes. They just say you, you're on the street. You're on the street now.
They disown you and that is so sad. And so when we we sing a song like this, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me. He knows about those children on the street. He knows about you right here in these chairs this morning. And you know what? Everyone of you children have a mommy and a daddy that love you.
00:15:01
You'd be thankful for that and you know when your mommy and daddy tell you to do something.
It sure makes the heart of God happy when you do it.
And it makes the heart of your mommy and daddy happy when you obey.
There was a mom came into my office one time and she had a boy about Anthony's age, maybe a few months older. And that little boy, he just wouldn't behave at all. He would run around the office this way, run that way and back and forth. He'd go and fool with this and mess with that. And his mother would say, oh, Johnny, Johnny, Johnny, don't blah, Johnny. She never made him behave.
And I felt like telling that Lady. Well, I did tell her. I said, you know.
I had a little talk with that Lady. I said, you know, there's a way that you can deal with this situation. And so she said, Oh yeah. And so she's all bring your book and it'll it'll show me how to how she was going to bring me a book, teach me how to raise children.
Well anyway, here's the point children. Your mommy and daddy love you, but we want you to know that the Lord Jesus loves you more than your mom and dad.
All right.
So on the street, seven years of age, 8 years of age.
That is so sad. You know there's coming a time when that won't be anymore. God is going to change all that.
Well anyway, the point I want to make today was this or the story I want to tell is this that the Bible tells us about?
Two families. Two families.
Uh, family of God and the family, Well, the family of God where Christ is the head of it and the family of Adam.
Which family do you were you born into Adams family or God's family?
He got it right. I've had children say God's family. Not quite right. What family were you born into? God's family or Adam's family? Adams, you understand? That's good. What family were you born into? Adam's family or God's family? This pretty young boy here.
He never thought of that. Well, we're going to talk about it this morning.
OK, I want to keep these chairs over here empty, but I see we have a we need a little more room, so we'll just leave these children right here. That's fine, but let's just say.
Well, let's put this way. In the Bible, it says.
In First Corinthians 15 says this.
Verse 22. First Corinthians 1522.
For as in Adam, all die.
Hmm.
Now let's just do this. Let's take a piece of tape.
And go between here and here like this.
And over to here. Let's just pretend like this is time.
And back here we know about this. This is the, this is we're living in 2008. I think it's still March. And back here is when I was born. Back here is when your daddy and mommy were born, and your grandpa and grandpa and so on way on back.
But now we come up to a place in time where we don't know, we don't know what's beyond today. Now I have a paper here. This is a front of my, uh, motel hotel door. There was a, there was a paper that was laid down and gave the date and so on. That paper takes you right up until almost today. And I suppose if you're listening to the news, it would take you a little closer to right now.
But if you were standing right there when something happened, you would be right there.
OK, right there in time. Now do you know what's hap going to happen tomorrow?
Do you what if somebody that had a newspaper and they could tell you exactly what's going to happen tomorrow ahead of time? They would be so rich. They would be so famous, they'd be so wise. Well, this paper takes you up until today. But now I have something to tell you right here. This book right here is the only book in the world that takes you past today. We'll put it right there. I wish I could put it right there on the on the table.
00:20:16
That's the only book in the world that takes you past.
To date, the newspaper takes you up to date in which the stories your mommy and daddy tell you, uh, and things that happen at school, it's all about yesterday or today, but nothing, nothing tells you about tomorrow. I plan to go to work tomorrow, but do I know that for sure? No. There's been days I've got up in the morning and I didn't go to work that day because I couldn't. Well, I didn't know that the day before. So God tells us about.
Tomorrow, now he tells us about tomorrow in this way, as in Adam all die. Let's just pretend like this family over here in this row of chairs here is the family of God. And you know who's at the head of that family, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's give him that chair right there. OK? Now over here is another family.
And.
This is Adams family, you know, Adam and Eve, this is Adam's family, their children down there. Come on right on down Abraham and so on way down to your great grandpa. There's a great, there's a great grandpa in this room today, right now. So that would be 4 chairs back. Let's see, here's great grandpa, here's grandpa, here's daddy, here's you.
Who has a great grandpa here?
I know she does. OK. You're in this chair, your daddy in this chair, your grandpa is in this chair, and your great grandpa's in that chair, and it keeps it going. Back to who? All the way back to.
Uh-huh. Yes, Adam, you got it.
OK, Addams Family, it says they all die. That's a sad story. Now, children, that's the fact. As in Adam ALDI, do you have a great great.
Great grandpa.
You have a great grandpa. You know who he is, don't you? Is his daddy still alive?
No, he's not. He died. He died.
Well, that's the case with my daddy and my grandpa and my great grandpa. They died as an Adam all died. But now here's the question. Here's this whole family of people that are either dead or dying.
How do you get out of this family, into that family over there where all is life, all is alive? You know, we may, we may go to sleep in Jesus, but our, our souls go to be with God.
So how do you get out now? This is Christ's family here. If you're either in, you're in Adam. You're born in Adam.
How do you get out of this family, into this family? Can anybody tell me?
She's got it, She's got it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the way, That's the provision, that's the gift that God has made for us. We can get out of that family that all dies into the family that all lives. Isn't that nice? That's a wonderful story. Let's sing another song.
Who has another song?
27.
Someone like that please?
Nsnoise project Nsnoise.
00:25:11
Uh, yeah, everything fine. How do you want to know?
Everybody else to know.
Who will give us their heads?
On the front beside the Lord, stand in the middle.
And we have slightly quiet and slow.
Now another little illustration.
Is this once we were once we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ like that those beautiful hymns have been telling us and we are saved by the grace of God. The precious blood of Christ has cleansed us from all of our sins. By the way, I asked a little 8 year old Chinese boy that was in the shop one time. His parents were standing right there in front of him.
And the little Chinese boy was standing right there and I said, I have a question for you.
I forget his name.
They uh, uh, I said, if you were standing at the gate of heaven, I said, doesn't quite work this way, But if you were standing at the gate of heaven and God were to say to you, let's just call his name Bruce. Bruce.
Why God says, Why should I let you come into my heaven?
What would you tell him when the kids were kind of surprised in North, the mommy and daddy said they said go ahead, Bruce, tell him.
And so a little kid took a breath and he says, because Christ Jesus died for me on the cross.
So beautiful.
Now, now that we're saved, we're children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, if indeed we are. I have something I'd like to do here. Uh, first of all, I'm gonna read, uh, uh, John chapter 10.
And uh.
And verse 28.
John, 1028.
And I give unto them eternal life. Oh, verse 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. All right.
Now that we're one of.
The sheep, the Lord Jesus.
UMM says nobody can pluck them out of my hand and I'd like to see if there's a boy here because generally they're a little stronger than the girls. Is there any boy here that would like to have this shilling? I have a English shilling here. It's a piece of money.
And if you'd like to go ahead and take that out of my hand, you're welcome to do that. Would you like to do that?
Little boy or little girl? Go ahead. There's a boy right there. Is it Conan? Is that No. Did I get it right, Conan? OK, Conan, go ahead and take that out of my hand.
OK, keep trying now.
No, I'm sorry.
Would you? Would you like to help him?
OK Oh this guy don't hurt your little brother.
He's digging for it, isn't he? No, you're not going to get that out of there, son.
OK, I'm sorry, but you know something.
I'll tell you what. I'll give it to you anyway. Can you? Sure. Wait, wait, wait. That wasn't fair. That was not fair at all. No, you wouldn't be able to get that out of there. What else we got here? Oh, just nothing. Here. There you go. OK. Thank you. Boys. Sit down. You made a point. Well, what's so interesting about that? You're in Christ's hand now. God the Father's hands over that. So nobody can get you out of the hand of God.
00:30:08
And there's some verses that we could read that explain that very nicely. Now let's just pretend like this is another nice thought. Let's just pretend like this is you. What's your name?
OK, what's your name?
OK, and I know Amanda Anthony. Boy boy. OK, let's just say.
This is Anthony right here. See that little picture there, Anthony? All right, let's pretend like this is the hand of Christ. Lord Jesus pretending, OK? And let's pretend like this is Anthony. OK, Anthony, take that money and put it right in that hand right there, not in your pocket, right in this hand. Hold my hand. OK, Put right back in my hand. All right. Now I close that hand on there like that. Now, when God is when? If, if Anthony is a believer, when God is looking for Anthony.
What does he see? Who does he see? He sees Christ, you see. That's how wonderful salvation is. So no longer do you see Anthony, or do you see a Christian in their old condition, You see them in Christ. So is God happy with what Christ has done on the cross? Oh yes he is. Yes he is. And so when God is looking for me.
The Sinner that was looked at as I'm a Christian now, but when God is looking for me.
He sees Christ.
Isn't that wonderful? Now when God is looking for you, does he see you still in Adam or does he see you in Christ? Are you in that family of God or are you still in Adam's family? Uh, one more time here. If we're talking about you live or you die, OK, If you're an Addams family, you.
Die, she said it.
But if you're in the family of God, where Christ is the head of it you.
Live in that beautiful Let's sing another song.
OK, who has another one?
OK, Amanda, you're doing good, 5151.
Jesus loved me.
She loved me.
That's why I found my own life giving me.
An exploded meaning.
Like what are you doing?
So I'd probably say I felt great screwed up dreaming.
That I was wondering.
And support me.
758 I got raised Cambodia sleep.
He was just reading.
My way throughout Thursday from 10:00 to 15.
I'm calling from a meeting.
In 1040.
Seven his strong will call me out to have his paintings in.
When they were going up the road, the freeway, uh, Interstate 5 and we were not in a rush that day, my wife and I and I saw, uh.
A, uh, car side the road, I was pulling a trailer, small travel trailer and it was stopped and I thought my, that's a rickety looking thing. So I thought, well, these people might be in in trouble. Let's see. So I pulled over and I backed up and I backed up and I looked and here was a.
00:35:03
An old car in the, it was all rusty. And the, the travel trailer, the windows were broken out of it and the curtains were flapping and there were two children sitting in the back seat and the springs were showing in the seats. And I thought, and the windows were broken out. I thought, what kind of a problem is this? So I was curious. And so I said, uh, you, you having trouble? Yeah. I said you got jumper cables. I said no, umm.
So what's the matter? He said, well, I, I got troubles. Well, we got him some jumper cables and so on. That wasn't the problem. But this man and his wife, they lived in Montana and she, the mommy got sick. And so they drove over to Seattle to a special hospital where they take care of those special diseases. And they on the way over their Dodge pickup that was running real good broke.
And the.
Mechanic said you gotta, it's no good. So they had $150.00. They bought this car in this trailer and now they're going, mom's getting treatments in town there at the hospital and they go out in the country to find a place where they can park at night.
And I looked at him. I thought to myself.
How sad. Nobody cares, I said. You have parents that can look after you.
No, no, no way they can help you.
No, they were broke. They their car was broken. They were hungry I guess, and they were just trying to find a place to park they can go in the next day to get some more treatments because the mommy was going to get sick and die. And I thought what? This is awful.
You know something? There's a verse in the Bible that says the Lord looked down from heaven. Let's see if we can find that verse. How about Psalm 102?
All right.
And it's burst.
19 Psalm 100 and 2:19.
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary from heaven did the Lord behold the earth. Now I have a question for you, children. If you were going along and you saw this family that was so broken down beside the road there, what would you have done? What would you have done?
What would what would you have done?
If you were able to help him, you would or wouldn't you? I'm sure you would have.
Amanda, what would you have done if you saw this family that was just having so much trouble? What would you try to do?
Help them, yeah.
Well, here's what happened here. The Lord looked down from the height of his sanctuary. From heaven did the Lord behold the earth.
To hear those, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, you know, year on earth here and you can't get out of it. You're in this thing called life and you can't get out of it. Really. You need help from on high. You need help from God. You're in a we're in a simple condition, a broken condition.
We need help from God and here it is. It says he looked down from the height of his sanctuary from heaven to the Lord. Behold the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose to let go of those that are appointed to death.
And then it says God looked down from heaven in Psalm 53 upon the children of men to see if there was any that did understand and that did seek God. Every one of them has gone back. They're altogether become filthy.
There's none that doeth good. No, not once. So, children, we need help. And what's so wonderful and so precious is this.
Help is available. You know what you have to do to get it. You have to just reach out and say, Lord Jesus, help me. Just help me. I'm a simple man, save my soul. I'm a simple boy or girl, save my soul. And will he do it? Those that come to him, he will not cast out.
Shall not cast them out.
So let's sing one more little song, and then we'll close with prayer.
00:40:09
Hi.
I'm sorry.
Getting too old to hear it. Oh, OK, all right, all right. What's that #3?
You know, she had Wi-Fi on the TV and was the bridge Insight and sailed on somewhere and went to me and saw 1000 and Bright.
Grow up and strong. It will not cloud the cross. The skyline is clear in the Broadway Club on.
And all what one went so afraid of sinking in the sea?
Raising bells on cease and lighting Ravens not a baby and then swear to them. So let's go on our hearts and see. Let me let me gravely wonderful. And we need them thou.
Can blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
MMM.
Well.
His care of those who trust his word will never, never end. You want to put your trust in the Lord Jesus, children, and then all through your lifetime, all through your lifetime you have this book is your guide book. Now one more thing before we pray. Those of you that know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, listen carefully.
You can call God your Father, You can call the Lord Jesus Christ your Savior, You can call the Spirit of God your comforter. You can have the people of God for your companions and your friends. You have the Bible is your guidebook all the way through this world. And then you have heaven is your home. Isn't that wonderful? And the Lord's coming.
Is what you're waiting for.
Let's pray. Our God and our loving Father, we thank you for this blessed, blessed story of salvation. We think of how it cost you so much. Lord Jesus, we pray for each of these children, bless them, keep them. We think of how that time goes on.
Which we believe like coming draweth. My Lord Jesus, time goes on. These children face a world that is so twisted and broken. Lord Jesus, thou art greater than all. We just pray for these children. Bless them, we pray.
00:45:03
And help them thank you that they sat so still during this conference and they're doing so well. We just thank you for them in Jesus precious name, Amen.
Short announcements for the day. Uh, the uh.
The Path of Faith
Address—Eric James
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Got it. I'd like to read a couple verses, first of all in the book of Job.
Job 28.
And verse 7.
Job 28 and verse 7.
There is a path which no foul knoweth, and which the vultures eye hath not seen. The lion's whalps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. You know this verse has sometimes been used to identify the path of faith. You know the path of faith is not open to the natural eye or the natural senses. The path of faith is only known by.
Spiritual discernment and that discernment which is subject to God himself. And so this is a these are striking verses, aren't they?
There is a path which no foul knoweth.
And which the vultures eye hath not seen, The lions welts have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. The strong don't know it. It's known only to those who listen for the still small voices. I hope we can get into a little later this afternoon. You know, I was overheard a conversation this morning before breaking of bread and somebody was not speaking to me but to another brother. And he said, you know, this is the climax, isn't it?
It really is, isn't it? He was speaking, of course, of the breaking of bread.
And so these three days we've been together, we've been over the precious word and, uh, we've been speaking about the path of faith we've used, we've heard that term a number of times, the path of faith and, and service, or as I like to say, sometimes the path of faith and fruitfulness. And umm, yet we came together this morning for the sole purpose of remembering the Lord Jesus and his death and what a happy time that is. So if that, that being true now we're on the down downside, aren't we? Some people have already left.
Some people, most of us are thinking about leaving. When you see somebody haven't seen for a while, they say, when are you leaving? Uh, where? I think if I remember my literature classes a little bit, they said you build up to the climax and then you have a short day. Newman. Maybe they use a different term for it now. I don't know. But the point is, it's a time to take stock a little bit, isn't it? And so I thought of that, uh, him we just sang Savior we long to follow thee.
It's time to take stock, and I'm not pointing fingers at anybody. I feel that just as much for myself As for any of us. But isn't this true? There is a path for faith through this world. There is a path for faith through this world. We've been speaking about the blessedness of it, but I wanna talk about it a little bit more this afternoon. You know, there's a Barna research company down in the States, and they do research.
And surveys on religious subjects and, uh, one of the common questions they ask at every, every so often is if you could ask God a single question, what would it be? And you know, the answer is usually about the same. And that answer is, we'd like to know what the purpose of life is.
People would like to know, at least that's what they claim. They would like to know what the purpose of life is. You know, there's a book that tells us what the purpose of life is, but there's a problem and that is that we need to be willing to learn it, don't we? Let's look at a couple of other verses. This is the path that it's Speaking of. Let's search through the pages of this book a little bit to find out that path of path for faith, the path of fruitfulness as well. Let's turn over to, uh, Psalms.
Ring Job. So if we just turn over a few chapters to Psalms, let's look first at the 16th Psalm.
The Lord Jesus has come into this world, hasn't he? And he's walked this path of faithfulness and fruitfulness. And this Psalm is a particular Psalm which speaks about the Lord Jesus is the perfect man.
You know, if God becomes a man, he's going to be the perfect man. And so it is with the Lord Jesus. And so in this Psalm it gives us particularly, I don't want to go through it in detail that that would be a wonderful subject in itself. Just want to pick out a few verses. But this poem gives us the inner breathing that somebody was mentioning in the Gospels. We don't get so much the Lord Jesus inter breathing and inner feelings. We turn to the Psalms. We tend to get that much more.
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And this Psalm gives us the inner breathing of the Lord Jesus Christ as he walked through this world as a perfect man. And as such, it's the path of faith that he walked. And and so therefore, it's a helpful, he's, he's marked out the path and it gives us help to know what that path is. Let's look at just a few verses here. The very first verse, Psalm 16, you know, it says I might mention.
In the Psalms, you might notice there's often these little captions, and those captions are divinely inspired. This is a victim of David. And a mictum means a prayer or a meditation or a golden Psalm. It's a Psalm that was particularly precious to David, apparently. And so it starts. Preserved me, oh God, for indeed do I put my trust.
That's the first step, isn't it? And the path of faith is that we recognize our dependence as the Lord Jesus did. Hard to imagine, isn't it, that the Lord Jesus would breathe these words preserve me, O God, for indeed do I put my trust. But again, he's seen here as the perfect dependent man, and he realized his dependence as a man on God the Father. And so he lays this out. Preserved me, O God.
For indeed I put my trust. I suggest that's the very first step too in the path of faith that we recognize our daily, our moment by moment dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. Preserve me, O God, for indeed do I put my trust. I hate to skip some of these verses, but for time we have to do it in verse 8. Here's again the inner breathing of the Lord Jesus as he walked that path of faith through this world.
And it's the same pathway for us. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. And then verse uh, 11 here is confidence. Now I know this is a resurrection Psalm as well, but it also applies to the Lord Jesus path day by day that will show me the path of life in thy presence is fullness of joy and at thy right hand.
There are pleasures forevermore, so the first step in the path of faith is that we follow that pathway that the Lord Jesus himself took through this world. Let's turn over to Psalms 107.
Essentially, wanna call these first, uh, introductory statements the prerequisites for the path of faith. The 1St is to recognize that the Lord Jesus himself has walked in. We don't have to just guess at it, but we know that the Lord Jesus came down and he was that perfect man and he walked that perfect pathway of faith and fruitfulness in this world. That's the first great prerequisite for our walking in that pathway.
Well, Psalm 107 gives us another prerequisite. I think verse 8 all that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men for a satisfieth belonging soul, and filleth a hungry soul with goodness. We need a longing soul, don't we? No, I know this has often been said. I hope it's not trite, but particularly when the children were younger.
Well, I shouldn't say that.
It's true today too. Kids come home and they're hungry. Uh, but we often say, you know, don't eat too much snack food because you're gonna spoil your, your appetite come home. And, uh, we have one son particularly that loves to, to, uh, to junk out on junk food. And, uh, that's our tendency in this world, isn't it? We live in such a world that we live on snack food so much of the time. I'm not just talking physically, but spiritually. It's true too. We just live on snack food.
But here we have a second prerequisite, I suggest, for walking the path of faith and fruitfulness in this world. And that is that we have a longing soul and a hungry soul that we spend time in the Lord's presence and not be satisfied with just little snacks here and there. Remember, uh, our brother, uh, Lundeen came one time when I was a young person, that's been a few years ago now. He came to the meeting where I was and, uh.
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Somebody asked the question, how can you increase your appetite for the word of God? And you know, I, I never forgot his answer. I know some have heard me say this before, but I think it bears repeating. How can we increase our appetite? Sometimes people say, you know, I just don't have an appetite for the word of God. How can we increase our appetite for the word of God? And his answer was read it.
That's a simple answer, isn't it? But you know, I found it to be true. Sometimes I find my appetite is not very good for the Word of God, and I pick it up, and if I don't get too far, maybe my mind is distracted, as it tends to be. But the more we read it, the more appetite we have for it because we start to realize that it is indeed our food. But we need a hungry soul and a longing soul. And so a second prerequisite, I believe, for the path of faith is that we have that hungry, longing soul.
We not be satisfied with the junk food all around us, spiritually speaking, but that we read the word of God and we try to plump what what the Lord has for us in it. Well, let's jump over to umm, the New Testament, the book of Hebrews. I know there's so many places we could stop here, but let's look at the book of Hebrews.
And Chapter 11, sometimes called the chapter of the honor roll of faith, and it speaks of so many in the Old Testament, of Old Testament worthies and uh.
There's a key verse in verse six of Hebrews Chapter 11. But without faith is an it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
We must believe that God is God. I've often puzzled about that part of the verse. What does it mean? He that cometh to God must believe that he is. What's that mean? Well, I, others may have a better answer, but the answer that's come to me about that is that God is a great God. You know, when the queen of Sheba went to visit Solomon, she'd heard a great deal about Solomon and, uh, she came with her train and her gifts and so on.
And she had her breath taken away from her, didn't she, when she saw the beauty of Solomon's court, saw how his, uh, how his servants conducted themselves, saw their attire. And she heard the wisdom of Solomon.
You know, she didn't realize how great a King Solomon was. And often we don't respect how great a God our God is. You know, if our God is going to supply salvation, he's going to supply it in a way that's consistent with his own dignity.
And that's, I think, what we have here. Without faith, it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, he's a great God. And his dignity as such, that the salvation he has for us and the path of faith he has for us is such that's consistent with his own dignity. Don't set God apart. Don't put the platitudes on the path of faith, because God is a great God and he wants us to act according to the dignity.
That, uh, he's imparted to us. Well, we read in this chapter then of those who were dignified by the path of faith. Have you ever thought about that? Let's, let's turn over to chapter 12 to see that verse, uh, one of chapter 12. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about what's so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which thus so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame?
And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. You know, there's a great cloud of witnesses. I sometimes think in my mind's eye of this great line, this great parade of witnesses that goes all the way back to Adam. They've walked the path of faith. It's true that some had more intelligence than others. That's not a question. But nonetheless, there's many, many, many that have walked this path of faith before us and so.
In a sense, the apostles saying, now you get in line, you take your place, you serve your generation, you add to that great cloud of witnesses. Well, there's even more witnesses since this day, aren't there. You can get a good church history and read about many others that have witnessed the good faith. And, uh, it's a wonderful thing to learn about those. But now it's our turn and the Lord wants us to witness the good faith and, uh, and so we're told to.
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Lay aside every weight and sin which doth so easily beset us. What is it that's hindering us in the path of faith? The Lord says lay it aside, it's not worthy of hindering us. And let us run with patience the race that is set before us, you know.
These were, these were dignified by the path of faith. Isn't that a wonderful thing? If you wanna walk a dignified life so that when we get in the Lord's presence, we have something to hand back to him, something worthwhile? You know, it's often impressed me that there's a danger of my getting home to glory and not having anything to give back to the Lord because I live my life for myself. The Lord wants us to walk the path of faith.
And fruitfulness, not only for our own happiness, but for His glory. And so He's given us these various prerequisites. He's a great God, and He's pointed out a pathway for us. He wants us to take our place in this grand parade of faith. If we don't take that place, somebody else will have the privilege. But He wants us to take our place and the path of faith to add to this great cloud of witnesses. As I say, it's our turn now.
It's our place and the Lord has requested that. So the path of faith dignifies those who walk in it. And we read about those who were so dignified in the 11Th chapter. But in the second verse of chapter 12, it's not that the path of faith dignified the Lord Jesus was it, but rather it's the other way around. He dignified the path of the faith. So when when we walk in the path of faith, the path of faith dignifies us, it makes us something which is suitable to God Himself.
Uh, in our, in our walk, and that's a wonderful thing, but the Lord Jesus himself has dignified this path. He sanctified this path. He says, walk in it. I've already been there. Now I want you to take your turn and, uh, walk in that pathway. Well, these are, as I say, in a sense, the prerequisites to the path of faith. There's many other verses we could look at, of course, but just wanted to bring these out. Uh, the Lord Jesus has walked in this path. There is a path of faith.
It can be known as a path of dignity. It's a path that the Lord Jesus has already walked in and he wants us to lay hold of eternal life as it says in the the end of first Timothy. I'd like to look a little bit this afternoon at the at an incident in the profit Elijah's life. Let's just turn over to the book of Romans.
Because I think it shed some light on this path of faith.
The foul doesn't know it, the vultures I have, hasn't seen it, but the word of God points it out for us. And I wanna point out some principles that have been, uh, helped to me. If we turn over to the 11Th chapter of Romans, we read a little bit about Elijah and reading about Elijah at home some. And, uh, had enjoyed some thoughts about that. And, uh, I feel that there's an illustration here of walking in the path of faith, our present path.
But let's look at some principles we have here. You know, the book of Romans is a very helpful book. It's the apostle Paul teaching the Romans the gospel. He's not preaching the gospel. I think that's something more reserved for gospel meetings. But he's teaching the gospel. These are those people who are already saved, and he's teaching them about the gospel. And so we have that particularly brought out in the first eight chapters of Romans. The first several chapters bring out man's condition.
And then from the end of the third chapter through the middle of the 5th chapter, we have the two fold remedy to man's condition. Man is guilty and man is lost. And so from the middle of the third chapter, as I say, to the middle of the 5th chapter, we have the blood applied to man's sins and that settles the question of our guilt before God. And then from the middle of the 5th chapter on to the end of the 8th chapter, we have the question of sin taken up.
Not only is man guilty, not only have we done things that have offended God, but we have a nature that's contrary to God. Sometimes it's, it's expressed as the root and the fruit. We have the root desire that results in sin. We plant an apple tree out. We don't expect to get pears off of it because it has a apple nature and it's going to produce apple fruit. And so that's what's explained in the first eight chapters of Romans, man's condition.
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God's two fold remedy. And then starting in chapters 9:10 and 11:00, sometimes it's called a dispensational parenthesis. Umm, the words are not so important. But the point is these Roman Gentiles, remember Rome was the queen city of the world at this time. And they had some questions. And one of the questions that was nagging in the back of their mind was.
What about Israel? You know, we're Gentiles, the Romans were mostly Gentiles there that he was addressing. And we're thankful for all these blessings that God is, is bestowing on us as believers now. But what about all the promises made to Israel? And, uh, there's a good reason to ask that because in the back of their mind, the nagging question was if God made all these promises to Israel in the Old Testament and then he hasn't kept them Israel set aside.
Then how can we trust that God is good to his word? How can we trust that God is really faithful? If he's appeared to be unfaithful so far as the people of Israel go, then, uh, how can we expect him to keep his word to us? And that's a fair question, isn't it? And the apostle Paul knew that. And so he answers it in these three chapters. First of all, he gives us in the 9th chapter, he shows what the origin of Israel was. Some people say that these three, in these three chapters we have Israel passed.
Israel, president, Israel's future and we get some helpful, uh, principles brought out in these chapters. So how was it that Israel came about to be a people, a people, the people of God? Well, he points out in the early part of Chapter 9 without looking at any details, but he points out that it was God's sovereignty that chose Israel. He chose Abraham. That's true. Abraham had two sons, didn't he? He had Ishmael and he had, and he had, uh, Isaac.
It was God's sovereign choice to choose Isaac rather than Ishmael. Now Isaac had two sons. If you read the account here, the one son was Esau and the other son was Jacob. And I might add that if you had a choice of neighbors, as I've often said, you would choose Esau, not Jacob, because Jacob was not a very upright person. He was always trying to get the best end of the deal. It's no surprise that he's the father of the Jews, is it? But.
He would, uh, he would, uh, he would want, he would not be a very good neighbor. Esau would have been a better neighbor. But once again, God and his sovereignty chose Jacob, not Esau. So the lesson he's teaching to the, to the people here is that it's God's sovereignty that is the basis of election. And so Israel's position as a people, as the people of God was based wholly on God's sovereignty.
No merit of the people their own. But then in chapter 10, man's responsibility is brought in, particularly under the law. God tested the Jew and the Jew was found wanting, wasn't he? And as a consequent of his testing the Jew, the Jew was set aside. Why? God is sovereign, man is responsible. Two principles that go all the way through Scripture. And so as a result of man's responsibility, the testing of mankind.
Just as with the.
Belshazzar. He was weighed in the balances and found wanting. So Israel was set aside because they failed under the testing of God. Israel, remember, was the best sample of mankind. They were set aside.
But in Chapter 11 he brings out another point, and that is that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, that Even so Israel, even while Israel has set aside for a time.
God and his sovereign grace is going to restore Israel in the future day. And so that's where we read a little bit about Elijah here. Uh, Elijah wasn't quite so sure about that. He, uh, lived at a time when, uh, Jezebel was firmly entrenched in the throne of Israel. She was a Princess, a Gentile Princess. She was a heathen Princess. She had no use for.
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For the Lord God. And she convinced her weak minded husband who was the king of Israel, Ahab, to bring in idolatry into that land. And idolatry was widespread throughout the land.
And so the time came when, uh, Elijah came and we have in verse 2. Let's look at that a second in Romans 11 and verse two. God hath not passed away his people which he foreknew. Was she not what the Scripture saith of Elias or Elijah, how he marked make us the intercession to God say against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets.
And dig down thy altars. And I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what sayeth the answer of God unto Him? I have reserved to myself 7000 men who have not vowed the need to the image of bail. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no more of work, Otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of work.
Then it is no more grace. Otherwise work is no more work. And so we can say that this is Israel, past, present, and future. Israel in the past was chosen by God's sovereignty. They were under the testing according to man's responsibility. But in the future they're going to be brought in and blessing purely on the principle of grace, not because of their own merit, just the way that we Gentiles were brought in purely on the basis of grace.
And so it's sometimes been said that we have the fact that, uh, uh, we have, uh, God's sovereignty in Chapter 9. We have man's responsibility again in chapter 10. And then in Chapter 11, we have the irresistible purposes of God, God purposes blessing. And that blessing is going to take place. And what a wonderful truth that is. Well, let's look over in, uh, Revelation chapter 2.
Revelation chapter 2.
We have some similar principles.
You know, Israel was tested under the law.
They turn their back on the Lord and the time came when the Lord turned his back on them, although he re pro, he reserved a remnant. And so in the general testimony is so corrupt that the Lord can no longer be identified. It, uh, identified with it. He calls men out of it into what we call a remnant principle. And that was mentioned there in Romans, Romans Chapter 11, wasn't it? He preserved a remnant. Paul, the apostle Paul was part of that remnant at the current time.
And yet he recognizes that in the future God is going to restore Israel as a nation so that all Israel shall be saved. But he restores a remnant according to grace. Well, in Revelation chapter 2, we have a similar principle with the church. Remember, the church was.
And we have the seven churches of of Revelation here.
The first four churches are brought out in Chapter 2.
We have the original condition of the church and uh, and then shortly after the days of the apostles, we have, uh, what's called Ephesus here, what corresponds with Ephesus. And they had lost their first love. Their hearts had not been so hungry for the Lord anymore. And uh, they had lost their first love. They'd gotten their eyes off the Lord and as a result, there was a fall there. Notice what it says in verse 5.
Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the works. And so they're called to, uh, they're, they're, they're spoken to as if they had fallen. They had fallen. And then in time we see that there was a partial recovery in Smyrna. Smyrna means suffering, as we well know. We had that here a year or so ago. And there was a partial restoration under suffering. But then in Pergamos, pergamos means the word gamos in Greek is marriage.
And uh, I don't know what the per is, maybe somebody can tell me, but.
One person who thought he knew the answer at least said he thinks it's a perverted marriage. Umm, maybe somebody has a better answer for that. But Gamos, I know is marriage because I was able to look that up, but I think it's a perverted marriage. And what is a perverted marriage that took place in Pergamus? Well, we remembered that this was the time when Constantine came in and, uh, he became at the end of his life, at least a Christian. And prior to that time, the, the, the Christians had been persecuted.
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And now they were brought into the government, brought into the mainstream of Roman life, and they were actually, uh, their, their favor was curried and they were encouraged by the officials. And as a result, it was really a perverted marriage, wasn't it? It wasn't that separate place that the Lord had preserved for his bride. It was no longer a chaste version of Christ as we're encouraged to be in Scripture, but it was a perverted marriage, joining the church outwardly at least.
And the world. And as a result, there was a further decline in the church. But then when we get to the 4th church, Thyatira, it's interesting that word Thyatira actually means burning incense. It's the full development of the, of the condition of idolatry in the church that corresponds, of course, to the Middle Ages, as we are well aware.
When Catholicism was a mixture of hedonism and Christendom. And uh, as a result, we have the name of this lady Jezebel in verse 20. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication that spiritually of course, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication.
And she repented not Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her their deeds, and I will kill her children with death.
And all the churches shall know that I am he which searches the reigns and hearts. And I will give unto everyone of you according to your works. Well, what's happened here? You know, Jezebel is at the queen as I mentioned, that heathen Princess that became queen of Israel. And she was the one that was in entrenched in the throne of Israel during the days of Elijah. And uh, Elijah could go up and he could stand toe to toe with the king.
And he could rebuke the king and he did. He caused the, the, uh, he caused the, he prayed. And the fact was that there was no rain for 3 1/2 years. And finally he met the king who had searched all over for Elijah and, uh, and, and uh, Elijah actually speaks to Obadiah and says, you go tell the king that I'm here to talk to him.
And he could rebuke that king, and he brought reign after there was a measure of repentance. But then Jezebel, who was the queen of Israel.
That was one that Ahaz, that, uh, Elijah couldn't stand toe to toe with. Why is that? Because Jezebel speaks of complete corruption. She had completely corrupted the throne of Israel so that there could be no permanent recovery. And that's what we have here. You know, there's three women really in Scripture that speak of the decline of the church. The first woman we find in Matthew 13.
That's the woman that put the leaven in the three meals of and the three measures of meal. And she's a picture of the very early days. And Ephesus, when evil was slowly introduced. There was that those happy days in, uh, in, uh, uh, in the early chapters of Acts when the people of God went on together and there was so much happiness. But then Levin was introduced, wasn't it? The woman introduced those 3 measures of, of, of, uh, introduce that leaven, which is a picture of evil.
Into the three measures of, of uh, meal. And as a result, there be there was that fall that we have in Ephesus and then the pathway was down and down until we have here Jezebel in Revelation chapter 2.
And she's a figure, as we mentioned of the Co complete corruption of the original testimony.
And I just might mention the third one. If we turn it, we won't turn over to it. But in chapter 17 and 18 of Revelation, we have the final stage of the original corruption of the church. And that's of course, the great harlot that's going to be judged during the tribulation. You know, the outward church goes into the tribulation. That's an important point, isn't it? Because we're told to come out of it right now. And so there is the outward corruption of the church.
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And the, there's, as a result, there's that which God is going to judge. Uh, just as in Elijah's day, there was that corruption of the Kingdom which could not be permanently remedied. So in the church, the original testimony came to the point where it was so corrupt that God could no longer recognize it. And that happens with Jezebel.
Read on and versus.
UH-24 But unto you I say, take out the next two words. The rest are the remnant in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine in which have not known the depths of Satan as they speak. I will put upon you none other burden but that which you have already Hold fast till I come. He that overcometh and keepeth my works until the end. To him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with an iron rod of iron, as the vessels of a Potter shall he they be broken to shivers, as I have received of my father.
And I will give him the morning star. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Well, when we were here a year ago, we spoke about these seven churches. And we noticed how that at this point in the church's history, the the church, the outward testimony of the church, has become so corrupt that God now calls a remnant testimony. And I mentioned this because we're speaking about the path of faith.
You know, there's a great tendency today among Christendom to try to get everybody together and yet the word of God tells me that the path of faith today for the Christian is a remnant testimony. Why? Once again, because the church, the original condition of the church has fallen so low that God can no longer be identified with it. We might call it the Catholic Church, although.
I don't want to confuse it with that, which is only called the Catholic Church, but it includes that. But the condition of the Church, the outward testimony of the Church has become so low that God can no longer be identified with it. We'll look at some verses that bring this out a little bit further. And as a result, with Jezebel being entrenched in the throne, as we said with Elijah, he calls a remnant. That's how that word can be translated in verse 24. But unto you I say the remnant.
In Thyatira he begins to separate a remnant now.
He no longer speaks, first of all, he separates a remnant and you have a remnant. Uh, the last four churches have a remnant character. Secondly, he speaks of the Lord's coming. You know, in the first three churches, there was the hope that there could be a restoration back to the original condition of the church. And many people hope that that could happen today. You know, there's a great Pentecostal movement a few years ago and people were hoping that there could be a restoration back to the original days of the church.
What we call the charismatic movement, and that's still a strong movement, isn't it? But I don't believe God is in it because, uh, what we have here again is that the original condition of the church has become so corrupt that God himself can no longer be identified with this outward testimony. And so he takes up this remnant, number one. Number two, he points him rather to the Lord's coming rather than to a restoration of the original condition.
And then #3 you'll notice, and that's what we get in verse 28, for instance. And I will give him the morning Star points us on to the Lord Jesus taking us out of this scene rather than a restoration back to the original days, which was the hope of the first three churches. And then in verse, uh, 29, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches and the first three churches that was addressed to.
All that would listen.
But starting with church number four, it's always addressed after the message to the overcomer. The point is that only the overcomers will be the ones that will hear what the Spirit has to say. Now, why do I, why do I bring this up? I bring this up because I think we have a very important principle here, and that is that the great testimony of the church has been set aside by God. There's no possibility of a resto restoration back to the original days of the church.
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As a result, the path of faith according to Scripture lies with a remnant testimony. And I wanna look a little bit more at that principle. Such an important principle, isn't it? Perhaps one that's hard to UN be understood. And yet it's one that we have over and over again in Scripture. We saw it in, in Romans. Uh, we'll see it in Elijah. Let's turn back now to Second Kings. I think we have an illustration of the principles of the remnant testimony there.
We have a few minutes to look at that second Kings Chapter 2.
Second Kings chapter 2 And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elijah from Gilgal, you know?
Elijah, we didn't notice, we didn't read it, but several chapters earlier he had been set aside in a sense. He, uh, wanted the judgment of God to come down on Israel, but God still had a testimony of grace and he wanted to show us grace through this, this, uh, this remnant that we read about it.
And, and Romans Chapter 11, the 7000 that were reserved, I don't know how many millions there were in Israel at the time, but there was a remnant of 7000 that had not yet vowed the need of bail. And so that's the remnant testimony. So Elijah then, uh, was, uh, was anointed at least was, uh, uh, uh, was, was to, uh, take, uh, uh, Elijah was to take Elijah's place. And here we have in this chapter.
That, uh, Elijah, Elijah is going to be taken home. He's going to be raptured home. And we have, in a sense, it's a path, an illustration of the path of the remnant in the last days, the path of faith in the day in which we live. Here we have it. And Elijah said unto Elijah, verse 2 Terry, here, I pray thee, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. Well, we noticed that this first started.
And verse one, uh, Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. You know, these are places, there's four places that are mentioned here in this chapter, the first half of this chapter, and the first one is Gilgal. The second one is Bethel. The third is we read a little bit further is Jericho and verse four. And then the last one as we read a few verses down in verse six is Jordan. These are important places in Israel's history, aren't they? And they have a lesson to us, I believe.
Adds to what our pathway is and the day in which we live. What is Gilgal? You know, Gilgal actually means rolling or rolling away. Gilgal was on the right along the the Jordan River. Jordan River of course we know speaks of death and Gilgal. At Gilgal they were circumcised. There are several things that happened at Gilgal. One of the things was one of the notable things was that they were circumcised.
It speaks of the time.
When the reproach of Egypt that tells us in the, in the book of Joshua was rolled away, they no longer were identified with the land of Egypt. Now there's a difference between the Red Sea and Gilgal or the Red Sea and Jordan at the Red Sea. Uh, what happens is they were separated from Egypt. And as a spiritual picture, we don't have time to look at it, but if we were to go to the book of Romans.
We see that, uh, the Christian is seen as as being in Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, that's the first verse of chapter 8. There's therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. But if I'm in Christ Jesus now as a Christian, what was my condition before that? That tells us later on in that chapter that they that are after the flesh or they that are in the flesh, I should say, cannot please God. Before I was saved, I was in the flesh. Now as a believer, I'm in Christ.
And so that's what the figure of the Red Sea in Scripture is, if any, if, if, uh, it's a picture of me as, uh, being separated from Egypt. It's not a question of sin so much as it's a question of separation from the power of sin. And, uh, I'm no longer identified, uh, with that old man, as Scripture says, the old man is dead. I'm a new man in Christ now.
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If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. So when I became a Christian, I was in a new position. I was in Christ. But what skill goal then? And that's figured, I might say by the figure of baptism. Baptism, we go down under the water and in a sense we come up a new person, a new creation. But because I'm a Christian.
Does that mean that I automatically act like a Christian? We still have the old nature, don't we? There's many verses in the New Testament that tell us that we still have an old nature. There's many ifs in Scripture that warn us because we have an old nature, there's a danger that we act on it. And so in the book of Colossians, maybe we'll just turn to that very quickly. Umm, we actually have what circumcision means.
OK.
Colossians chapter 3 we could look at the 2nd chapter. Well, let's look at the 2nd chapter first Colossians chapter 2 and verse 11. And whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the flesh, it should read not the sins, but the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. And then in chapter 3 of Colossians and verse UH-5, mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.
And then it gives some of the typical symptoms of the old nature. And we're told to mortify that. Well, that's what circumcision is. Mr. Darby says that it's a consecration of man to God, which sets, which, uh, sets aside the, uh, uh, practically set aside the flesh. And, uh, it's when we start to act like more, act like Christians. It's not just the fact that we are Christians, but now we're acting like Christians.
And as a result, the reproach of Egypt is rolled away. People don't think of us as worldly people anymore because we act differently. That's what Gilgal speaks of. So that's one step that, uh, Elijah, Elijah followed. Elijah in the second was Bethel. Bethel is another place that's, uh, auspicious in Israel's history. Remember in the 28th chapter of Genesis, we have Bethel. Bethel means the House of God.
That's when there was Jacob's ladder, the gate of heaven. I think somebody mentioned that this morning, the gateway of heaven. And that was the time when promises were made to Jacob. He was leaving the land of Israel. He was going to the land of Heron. And, uh, he was fleeing from his brother Esau actually, wasn't he? And uh, the Lord made unconditional promises to him, promises a blessing, promises about the land that he would preserve for him, promises about his seed, the people he would prepare for the land, and promises made to Jacob himself.
That he would be preserved, That the Lord would preserve him. Well, we have that the Christian is brought into the House of God, aren't we? In First Timothy we're told about the House of God. Let's turn to that well known verse in First Timothy chapter 3.
First Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15 but if I tarry long that's how may I know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. So the House of God. But you know something had happened at Bethel as a Elijah and Elijah we're walking together. They looked at Gilgal and they saw what it had once represented at once it represented that the people were at unworldly people.
But what had happened now there was altars to idols there. And then secondly, when they went to Bethel, they remembered that that was Once Upon a time the gateway to heaven, a beautiful place, the place of unconditional promises that God made to Jacob. But now what was it, Bethel? There was an altar there, wasn't it? Remember when Jeroboam became king of Israel, he put a golden calf at Dan and one at Bethel. And so there was the, the, uh, golden calf there.
And so the House of God, if we turn to two Timothy, we're told that it's now a great house. It's become that corrupted condition we spoke about before. And as a result, we're told to separate within the House of God to a clean place. And then it goes on to, uh, Jericho and verse four. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha Terry, here, I pray thee, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho. And he said, as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.
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So they came to Jericho. Well, it's a good thing that Elisha was persisted in this pathway, isn't it? And we need to be persistent too, in the path of faith, because there will be many who will try to discourage us. It's not an easy pathway. But what is Jericho speak of? Well, remember, Jericho and the children of Israel first came into the land. That was the juggernaut of the enemy, wasn't it? That was the very first city that they faced, and the very purpose of that city, if we could put it that way.
Was that it was placed there to prevent the Israelites from, from possessing their land. And so it is with the believer today, isn't it? We, uh, realized that, uh, at, at, at the, in the early days, the church realized that the world was very distinct from the Christian and they realized the power of the enemy in Jericho and that it had to be completely destroyed. But what happened afterwards? Remember when Joshua destroyed that city, he proclaimed a curse on it.
And, uh, he said that the place was cursed because it was so corrupt and the world is a cursed place. And he also proclaimed a curse on anybody who would rebuild it. And now as Elisha and Elijah went to that place, what did they see? They saw a city had been rebuilt there. Who was it rebuilt by? A man from Bethel. It had been rebuilt by those who professed at least to be Christians. And what does that speak of? Well, I think that speaks the Pergamos, doesn't it?
It speaks of that illicit marriage. It speaks of bringing the world.
And the church together. And then finally the, uh, Jordan River.
They cross over to the Jordan where, uh, as a result of this corruption, uh, they leave the land of Israel. You know, this is just the opposite of what happened when Israel came into the land of Canaan so many years before they came into the land. They left the wilderness, they came into the land and it was going to be the place of blessing. But what's happened now here in this figure is that the land of Israel has become so corrupt, these ancient landmarks.
That had been a place of such great blessing, had become so corrupt. Now that the Lord had left that place, in that sense, he could no longer own the testimony of Israel. And so they have to leave the land across the Jordan again, and that's the remnant testimony.
Well, I just, uh, wanted to look at one, one verse in Hebrews and this connection.
A uh.
Last verse of Hebrews, just two more, couple more verses I wanna look at and we'll be done. Hebrews chapter 13 in connection with the path of faith. You know, there's such a tendency to wanna join hands with all believers today.
And yet the path of faith is a remnant path. Today we have that in Hebrews chapter 13, don't we? Verse 13. Let us go forth therefore unto Him.
Without the camp bearing his reproach, for here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. You know, the original testimony of the church has been spoiled. We can't go back to the original condition. The Lord calls us out of it to where he himself is. He's outside the great testimony of the church. The church the House of God has become is called the great house. And uh, here's a little different thought, but.
The camp now has become that decrepit, corrupt system which God can no longer recognize. And just as he called Elijah and Elijah across the Jordan again, it's just the reverse of what happened to Israel. They no longer could stay in that land that had become corrupt. And he called them out across the Jordan River. And the Lord calls us out too out of this system of Christendom in a sense, uh, that system which.
Was originally, uh, formed by God, but has become so corrupt that God can no longer recognize it. And so it says, let us go forth therefore unto him, without the camp bearing his reproach. Just want to look at one more passage before I close over in the second Samuel.
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You know, this place outside the camp is a place of reproach. It's a separated place for many others who are Christians, some who are real Christians, but it's the place where the Lord Jesus is. And umm, I've often been struck by a question that was asked in Second Samuel 19. Remember the story of Mephibosheth how the, the, how David picked him up when he was at Lodi Bar.
When he was a cripple on both his feet.
A restored to them all the lands of Saul, his father, his grandfather actually, he made him a wealthy man and a powerful man, and he had him sit at his own table. That was wonderful grace, wasn't it? You know, the path of faith. Then the time came when, uh, David was persecuted, he was pursued and, uh, Absalom, his son rebelled against him and David had to flee from the city of Jerusalem.
And some people follow David, and David said, why are you following me? It was just a few years ago that you came as a stranger and, uh, why do you follow me now? On my rejection and reproach. But when David finally came back to Jerusalem, there was one person who hadn't followed David, and that was Mephibosheth. Let's look just very quickly at that Second Samuel chapter 19.
And verse UH-24. And Mephibosheth the son of Saul, came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes for the day the king departed, until the day he had come again in peace. And it came to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him, Wherefore whenest not thou with me, Miss Vivashet? You know, I think Mephibosheth had a good answer for not going with David. But I wonder about you and me today, brethren, we're talking about the path of faith.
The path of faith now is a remnant testimony. It's outside the great system of Christendom that has been corrupted. Doesn't mean we leave Christendom, of course not. But we leave that corrupted system and we follow the Lord Jesus outside of it.
We're just about at the end of the pathway now, aren't we? I've often thought that I don't want the Lord Jesus to ask me that question that David asked. Mephibosheth. Why didn't you go out with me, Mephibosheth? You know Jonathan was a dear friend of David's.
There's a little booklet, I think it's written by Charles Stanley as I remember, and it's called Jonathan or One Thing Lacking.
The time came when Jonathan realized that David would be the next king in Israel. And, uh, they spoke together and, and Jonathan told David that he said, David, after my father is off the scene, you're going to be the king and I'm going to be next to you. But you know, that never happened. Why did it not happen? Because Jonathan did not have the grace to.
Leave his father and be in the place of reproach with David. And so David felt that, and he asked us to do that. Now today, perhaps we don't like the reproach. Naturally we don't like the place of reproach. But I believe the path of faith today is outside the camp. Let us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. I trust that we'll be exercised about that question.
That the Lord that David asked Mephibosheth, why didn't you go out with me? Mephibosheth? May the Lord grant that that would touch each of our hearts, that we might be found where the Lord Jesus is. You know, somebody said recently, just in closing, asking about their assemblies, they said, you know, there's only a handful where we are just 12. And I've often heard that we live in a day of weakness, don't we? But the great question is.
Where is the Lord?
If the Lord's there, does it make any difference whether there's two or three or two or three thousand? Isn't it better to be where there's two or three, where the Lords and the Mets, than with 10,000, a mega church where the Lord's not there? That's the remnant position, isn't it, to be where He is? Let's close our close our eyes in prayer. Blessed Lord Jesus, we thank Thee for this time. We've been over Thy precious word. We realize often with stumbling words, but we thank Thee that Thou hast pointed the pathway out for faith.
We thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for the du instructions Thou just give us directly and by example in the Old Testament of how the outward testimony under man's responsibility becomes corrupt and as a consequence, Falcon no longer be identified with it. Remember the time in Ezekiel when, uh, the cloud departed from the temple and ultimately departed from the city of Jerusalem?
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Went back to heaven that the the, the Shekinah glory, the cloud of testimony. And so on our day too, we read in the history of the church that the time came when Jezebel was enthroned really in the church now could no longer be identified with that outward testimony and a remnant separated. And uh, we pray, Lord Jesus, that we might follow thee in that remnant place. We pray for commit ourselves to thee now for the rest of the afternoon. We do so now.
Remembering especially those that are purposing to travel soon, we do so now in Jesus precious name, Amen.
Wall of Unbelief and Doubt - It's All About Me
The Value of the Word of God
Gospel 3
Gospel—Paul Cedarland
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This is a faithful, sane, and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. This is a gospel meaning tonight we have good news.
There's two things I hope to bring out tonight, and one is man's lost condition and the other is God's remedy for man's condition.
Man is ruined. He's lost, he's undone.
Bible tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is not a just man upon the earth that doeth good and sinneth not. Man is responsible to a holy God.
And tonight each one here is either in one of two conditions. They're either saved by the grace of God through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and on the road to heaven, or their lost in their sins and on the road to hell. God's word tells us plain there's there's only two places.
There's only one remedy, the Word. Jesus Christ said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. I worked with a lady once and she told me that, well, there's lots of ways to heaven. It's kind of like the town of Seattle. There's lots of different roads you can take to get there. God's word doesn't tell us that the Lord Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life.
Says neither is there salvation in any other.
For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The Lord Jesus is the only way. He is the only Savior. Tonight. How are you tonight my friend? I would like to welcome you here. Thankful to see so many.
I hope each one will have a sense of being in the presence of the Lord. Tonight. There is a God, a God that created the heavens and earth in the beginning. God created the heavens and earth and God.
Has spoken. He's spoken through his word. Tonight we have the Bible, the word of God. Men have their opinions. Men, no matter who you ask as you walk down the street, each one has different theories, different opinions. Well, tonight it's not what I think, it's not what you think, It's what God says that matters. God has spoken.
You know, we were to turn to the book of Genesis, we would find that God.
Placed man in a garden in a place of blessing. He provided for man everything he needed.
And we find that man sinned. He believed Satan rather than God. Satan came along and said, yeah.
Half God said he tried to get man to doubt the goodness of God. He got man to think that God was holding back something good from him.
And you know, if you're in your sins tonight, you probably believe that lie, that that's probably why you haven't been saved, because you think that God is holding back something good from you. Tonight. I want to proclaim a God that's a giver God, God that so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Let's turn to that verse in John 316.
John chapter 3 and verse 16.
I think there's a lot of children here that have learned that verse.
For God so loved the world, they gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever.
Believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
Remember a few years ago I was talking to brother Carl Keith after he had a little boy born into his family, and he said, you know.
No, I understand John 316 in a fuller way than I ever did before. He had a little boy of his own, little boy that he loved and he.
Could appreciate more.
As he looked at that little boy, delighted in that one to think that God loved him so much that he gave his only begotten Son.
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You know tonight that God loves you.
God so loved the world.
It is personal. Have you ever thought that God loves you?
Enough to send his son to die for you.
Bible tells us God commanded his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us when we were yet without strength. In due time Christ died from the ungodly.
You realize tonight that you have a need.
You're a Sinner. God says you're a Sinner.
Bible tells us all things are naked and open under the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Tells us there's a day coming when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. Yes, men have lots of secrets. I can put on nice clothes and walk around and fool a lot of people. But God knows his secrets of every heart here. And the Bible tells us that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And who can know it?
And it says, I, the Lord, search the hearts. Yes, God sees our hearts tonight. Neither He sees the heart that is stained with sin, or he sees a heart that's washed in the precious blood of Christ. How is it with your heart tonight?
O the Lord Jesus Christ, he's more than a man, He's the eternal Son of God.
Fossil Paul could say, the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Lord Jesus loves each boy, each girl here tonight, each man, each woman, regardless of your state, your condition, this may be look at a few verses in the book of Luke.
Luke, chapter 18.
In verse 35.
Luke 1835 And it came to pass that as he was come nigh to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the wayside, begging, and hearing the multitude passed by. He asked what it meant. And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace.
But he cried so much the more. Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto him. And when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?
And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight, and Jesus send him, Receive thy sight, thy faith hast saved thee. And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God.
And all the people, when they saw and gave praise unto God.
Here we have a man that had a need. He was a blind man.
Can say, well, I really can't relate to that. I'm not blind, you know, the Bible tells us the God of this world hath blinded the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
God of this world, Satan is the Prince and God of this world they have. Man has cast off the true God, and he's a slave of Satan. Tonight the Lord Jesus came that he might undo the works of the devil.
And on Calvary's cross he provided the way whereby any that are lost in their sins can be delivered from the power of Satan through his precious blood that he shed there on Calvary's cross.
God, who commands the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the faith of Jesus Christ.
John could say, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Lord Jesus could say.
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Are you thirsting tonight? Have you found this world to be a place that doesn't satisfy?
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Your heart, there's no satisfaction out here.
This world has its pleasures, but they're only for a season.
If I gain the world but lost the Savior, were my life worth living for a day? Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort in the things that soon must pass away?
Or what emptiness without the Savior, mid to sins and sorrows here below and eternity. How dark without him, only night and tears and endless world. What though I might live without the Savior when I come to die, How would it be oh to face the valleys gloom without him and without him for eternity?
All the joy of having only Jesus. What a bomb. The broken heart to heal.
Near a sin so great that he can cleanse it, not a sorrow that he does not feel.
The word Jesus is a loving Savior. We sang that hymn O Come now.
To Jesus, that dear, loving Savior received him this moment in peace.
Shall be design.
Says in the book of Job, a quaint Now thyself with him, and thee at peace thereby good shall come unto thy soul. What a contrast between the sin and ******* of this world. O Satan is a hard cast. Master tells us in the Bible that the way of the transgressor is hard, and it is, it's very hard.
Oh, which way are you going tonight? The Lord Jesus could say, Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light, and ye shall find rest on your souls.
You have rest tonight or you like the wicked Bible tells us and Isaiah, it says the wicked are like the troubled sea that cannot rest, cast us up mire continually while there's no rest for the wicked. Even the world uses that expression. There's no rest for the wicked. God's word.
Proclaims it. Which Rd. are you on tonight? Do you love the Lord Jesus tonight until you therefore, which believe He is precious? Is He precious to you tonight? Do you value him? Or are you going after the empty things of this wicked world? That which will never satisfy the heart? Oh, the only thing that can meet the need of your heart is the Lord Jesus Christ alone can save break the power of sin. Christ hath fully satisfy the heart.
It cleaves to him.
Where Jesus is the only one that can bring true satisfaction and peace. This world is empty. This world is, but it tells us what is. Your life is even a vapor that appeareth for a moment.
Was a man we read about in the Old Testament named Solomon. He had, he was the king. He had opportunity to experience many of the things that a lot of us would think would be nice to try. But you know, Solomon had to say vanity, vanity, always vanity. He experimented. He had all kinds of entertainment. He had all kinds of buildings, gardens, lots of nice things.
Lots of wealth.
He had a position, he had people working for him, people entertained him, apes and Peacocks, anything you could think of practically he had.
And yet he had to say vanity of vanity. Oh, is vanity. You know, there was another man. This man knew the word Jesus. His name was Paul. He was in a prison.
In a prison cell and yet he wrote rejoice in the Lord Alway and again I say rejoice. You know, once you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Your joy is not dependent on the fleeting things of this world. It's a joy that God puts in your heart. Yet believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory tells us in the book of Peter. It's not like this world's attraction, which is just but for a moment.
Pleasures of sin are first season and yet they leave their awful scars. I remember one time when I was a boy in Sunday school, the man that was up front asked me to come up and uh, he took and tied his string around my.
Hands, he had me hold my hands together and tied a string around and he said now break it tonight, pull a little bit and I snapped and he wrapped it a couple more times and.
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I once again I snapped it. There was marks on my arms and only he wrapped it again several more times and I couldn't break it. He was illustrating the power of sin.
Tonight, if you don't know the Lord Jesus, just like that, you're in the shackles of sin, the shackles of Satan. How long halt she between two opinions? Who are you, who you belong to tonight?
No man can serve 2 masters.
There's only one Master worth serving, and that's the Lord Jesus.
But Satan has those that are bound in the cords of sin, says in the book of Proverbs, He shall be, he shall be Holden with the courts of his sins. Speaking of one that chooses to go their own way and ignore the warnings of God's word. Or have you taken heed to God's Word? We read that verse earlier. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto, according to thy word?
God in his goodness has given us warnings in this book, warnings to preservists. You know, there's as I look around this room, I see many young people and children. They've grown up in a place of privilege, grown up in a Christian home.
Very wonderful privilege. It's also very responsible position.
You value it.
Have you ever made it your own?
Are you thinking the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence? I can tell you right now it doesn't.
Maybe you think you'll have a broader outlook on life if you can experiment with some of the entertainment, some of the things the world does to have a good time. The Bible says there is a way that seemeth right into a man, but the end thereof.
Is a way of death.
Lord Jesus could say, I am come that they might have life and that they might have it abundantly.
Which way are you going tonight?
The path of the Justice is a shining light that shineth more and more into the perfect day.
Which Rd. are you on tonight?
This blind man, we can learn some lessons from him. The Lord Jesus was passing by.
He realized perhaps he would never have an opportunity. You know, a brother made a comment to me before this gospel meeting a little earlier in the day. He said it might be the last time someone here hears the gospel message.
You know we don't know. None of us know when our last moment is.
There's a man that said, well, how long does it take to get saved? Christian told him. Only a minute or two, he said, well, I'll just wait till the end of my life and then I'll then I'll get saved.
And Christian said, But you don't know when the end of your life is. We don't know how much time we have.
Because there is wrath. Beware lest he take thee away with a stroke. Then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. God has made full provision for you so that you don't need to perish. God warns us of hell.
Because He's a loving God and He doesn't want us to go there. He's made full provision in the Lord Jesus. That finished work the Lord Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross. There in those three hours of darkness, the Lord Jesus bore the sins of any who will receive him. He suffered. We read that verse out of the hymn, says it better than I can. It says those hours of darkness He suffered for sinners on Calvary's cross, all forsaken alone.
While making atonement and bearing the judgment are ended, and now he's on high on the throne. The word Jesus suffered so that you might not have to suffer. The Lord Jesus is God's remedy for your sins. Man is guilty, man is responsible to a holy God, and either you're gonna bear the punishment of your sin for all eternity in hell.
In the lake of fire with the devil and his angels. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. God has blocked the road to hell with the cross of Christ.
So that you might have your sins forgiven.
Have you accepted God's remedy? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and he was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
It was a synax. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses. How are you going to be justified tonight? How can a man be just before God? We're thankful to say that God has provided the remedy to the faith in the Lord Jesus. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ endow shall be saved.
What are you trusting in tonight? Are you trusting in the Lord Jesus, or are you trusting in your own good works?
Bible tells us plainly, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.
What are you trusting in? All our righteousnesses are as filthy Rags says.
You're trusting in your own righteousness. God has revealed his righteousness there at Calvary's cross.
Sometimes people think that grace means that God winked at sin, so to speak, and said well just come over here and be forgiven. But no, God is a holy God. God could not pass the Sinner by. His sin demands that he must die.
But in the cross of Christ we see how God can save, yet righteous be.
Yes, the word Jesus on the cross.
For the punishment of any who will receive him as their own savior. And he's offering pardon tonight.
Salvation and pardon freely it offers.
How is it with you tonight? Have you received God's pardon? Years ago there was a man that was a prisoner.
And his mother went to the governor and begged the governor. This man was condemned to death. But this man's mother went to the governor and begged the governor to, uh, write a pardon. The governor had that power. He wrote a pardon and took it to the prison.
And the man in the prison said, get out of here. And the governor said, I have something for you. The governor said the man said, get out of here, I don't want it. And that's what men and women are doing tonight with the gospel of God's grace. They'd rather have their own way. They'd rather be a slave of sin and Satan and die in their sins and come just as a needy, guilty Sinner and own their need before God and receive the gift he has through the Lord Jesus.
It's been made available to the Lord Jesus and that finished work he accomplished on Calvary's cross there on Calvary's cross where Jesus died for your sins. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. Or have you ever received Him as your own Savior? Have you accepted what He did for you? Will you accept the pardon that God is offering tonight?
That pardon didn't do that poor prisoner any good. And you know, the work that the Lord Jesus did on Calvary's cross won't do you any good unless you own your need as a Sinner in common simplicity and receive him as your Savior. You need to make it your own. You can't simply there's many people that believe about God. Many people believe God, but you know, it tells us in the book of James that the devil also believe and tremble.
The difference between believing about God and believing there was such a person as Jesus.
And believing in the name of the Son of God, have you trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior?
You know if it says as many as received him to them gave you power to become the sons of God. Have you come in simplicity and received the Lord Jesus told him you're a Sinner and you need a savior and that you accept him as your own personal savior. If you do, you'll be saved.
He could say, Him that cometh to me I will, and no wise cast out. He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. John 636. Lord Jesus has done everything there on Calvary's cross.
This man, this blind man here we read about, he was in earnest. He cried out. There were those that tried to get him to be quiet.
But he cried out so much the more. What's holding you back from the Lord Jesus tonight?
There was a woman in the book of John where Jesus said to her, if you knew the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink. Thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. O the Lord Jesus was there in all his power, and that woman didn't realize who he was. Well, tonight we proclaim the Lord Jesus. We present him tonight as the Savior of sinners. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Do you believe that tonight?
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God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever.
Believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Will you trust him tonight? If you do, you'll never be disappointed. If you don't, you're going to spend a lost eternity in hell. God's word is true, that God be true and every man a liar. There was a man that said, oh, I, I don't believe in God. When he got to the end of his life, he was on his deathbed and uh, just before he died, he said there is a God.
He said there is a heaven, there is a hell, and I'm going there. He dropped over dead. What a terrible ending for a man.
God's word tells the fool hath set in his heart, no God, O man tonight, doesn't want God. I'm thankful tonight that God wants man. God wants man.
Man went out from the presence of God there when he was a Sinner. Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. You know, it's not comfortable to be told we're sinners. We don't like to hear that. We'd rather hear someone just talk about the love of God. But it's necessary to realize our need. And so we have to face the facts that you're either lost in your sins or you have the word Jesus as your Savior and you're saved.
How is it with you tonight?
Where Jesus could say, look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none else.
Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
So they be red like Crimson. They shall be as wool.
All tonight God is offering salvation. I can't tell it like I'd like to tell it, but nevertheless, God's word is true.
His Son told out the love of God when he was there on Calvary's cross. The Maker of the universe, the Lord Jesus, the Lord of glory. By Him were all things made in heaven and earth.
All things were made by Him, without Him, with not anything that made that was made, and Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The Lord Jesus came to reveal the heart of God came down here, the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
That one who went about doing good, healing all that we're oppressed to the devil, healing the lame, giving sight to the blind, taking little children in his arms. That one who could give rest the weary thou dost attract, the wretched and the weak, Thy joy that wanders and the loss to seek. That's what characterized the Lord Jesus became not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Oh, are you a Sinner tonight?
You realize you're a Sinner. That's the first step of blessing because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Or have you found that you're needy tonight? Lord Jesus had made full provision for you.
There on Calvary's cross.
He allowed where Jesus allowed man his creature to spit in his face, He allowed man his creature to place a crown on his, a crown of thorns on his head and they smote him with a Reed that tells us, oh, he asked the Lord Jesus allowed man to pour out his heart to show his feelings. We read that verse in Isaiah who was mentioned earlier, Isaiah 53 earlier in the meetings and.
I was struck by that verse. He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, thinking how the Lord Jesus, I don't know a lot about gardening, but I know when the plants are coming up, they're very tender. And if you step on one, oh, you see?
Some sad results, but the Lord Jesus came here where man.
Could get his hands on him and we find that man used his hands to smite the face of the Lord Jesus.
Man used his lips to spit in the face of the Lord Jesus. Man used his tongue to blasphemy the Lord Jesus. Many things blasphemously fake they against him. O the Lord Jesus, endure such contradiction of sinners.
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From man, his creature.
Could thou be delighted with creatures such as we who when we saw these, slighted and nailed thee to a tree? Yes, men took the Lord Jesus and nailed his hands to a cross of wood. That one, those blessed hands that did such good, they nailed them to across the woods the Lord Jesus. That one who could reach out his hand in blessing to those in need, He could touch that leopard and heal him, the last act of the Lord Jesus.
Before they bound his hands, he touched a man's ear and healed him.
When those that was coming, he might say an enemy. You know the Bible tells us when we were enmity with God, the Lord Jesus.
We're enemies of God. He showed out his love and grace.
Reconciled us to the blood of His cross when we were at enmity with God. Those of us that no allure Jesus. We were once His enemies, but now were broad nigh through His precious blood. How is it with you tonight? Are you still an enemy of God?
Or have you been brought into the family of God by trusting in the Lord Jesus? God wants you to come into fullest blessing tonight. This man here he.
Had a need and he cries out to the Lord Jesus. Have you ever cried out to the Lord Jesus?
Where the man in Acts 1631 and cried out in desperation. What must I do to be saved?
Apostle Paul and Paul and Silas said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Oh, will you cry out tonight to God? There was a man that said, God, be merciful to me, a Sinner. The Bible tells us this man went down to his house justified. Ah, there was another one that prayed and said, oh, I thank thee God, that I'm not like other men.
That person thought they were pretty good. Maybe you feel you're pretty good tonight. Maybe you don't, uh, mistreat people. You're kind and good neighbor to those around you. Maybe you do lots of kind things to people, but that will not undo your sins. There was a man.
A number of years ago that was involved in a bombing in the University of Washington there Seattle, he bombed our our OTC building.
Steve was anti war demonstrator and he fled out of the state so he wouldn't get caught.
Took part in that and thought he could go to a different state. So we went to a different state and he.
Changed his name, got married.
And started living a good upright life, caught a decent job and lived a respectful life and to raise a family and.
But you know.
That man that whole time had a nagging conscience. He knew that he was guilty.
And he had that fear inside that one day he would be caught and eventually he turned himself in.
You know, I feel sorry tonight for you if you're yet in your sins, because you also have a conscience and one day you too will have to give account to God.
How much better to come to God now, Own your need, own your guilt, take sides with God against yourself, and you find that God is for you.
Was that man that turned himself in? All the good things he had done afterwards didn't undo the crime that he had done. And you may try to turn over a new light lease and live a good life outwardly and do lots of kind things.
But inside, you still can't get rid of those sins. Not one sin can enter into heaven, into God's presence. The only way you can get rid of those things is by coming to the Lord Jesus.
In His precious blood will cleanse you from every sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
How is it with you? Are you trying to?
Hope that the scale balances out and I will tell this from within. Out of the thought, out of the heart, proceed. Evil thoughts.
00:35:02
Yes, this, those things, murders. Oh yes, those things are in the heart. We may outwardly live an upright life.
If we can fool our neighbors, what about those evil thoughts? Those selfish thoughts? You think you keep the law tonight?
There was only one that kept the law, and that was the Lord Jesus. Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
I think, you know, when I pulled in the parking lot this morning, I was glad there was a parking lot parking space for me. I wasn't loving my neighbor was myself. I wasn't thinking about someone else coming after me. And, uh.
So we find that we don't love our neighbor as ourselves, naturally speaking. It doesn't come natural to us. It's true that when we know the Lord Jesus is our Savior, he gives us a heart that the Lord Jesus had, a heart that loved his neighbor more than himself. He gave his life for his neighbor and uh, he gives us that.
Power where we can live to please Him and give us a desire to help others and to to love them more than we love ourselves.
But by nature we don't keep the law. Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy strength. I think that we live in a day where men are lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God by nature.
You haven't kept the law.
God says all have sinned and come short to the glory of God.
Will you receive God's remedy tonight?
If thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shall be saved. The Lord Jesus died on Calvary's cross for you. He's paid the penalty.
Will you accept it? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Will you accept him tonight? Just come in simplicity. Oh, there's plenty of excuses.
This man was in earnest, though he pressed on, and he cried out the Moor when the multitude tried to tell him to hold his peace. You know God's Word tells us today, if ye will hear his voice. Harden not your heart.
Says behold, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation.
None of us know how much longer our time is.
How short our time is.
We have no guarantee at tomorrow. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Remember one time I was up skiing with my nephew and we were cross country skiing and my nephew went and jumped his stump. Oh, it's a lot of fun, Paul. Try it.
So I went and I tried to jump the stump and I wasn't quite as coordinated as he was or as good a skier, and I didn't make it over. Some one minute I was skiing, having a great time flying through the air, and the next minute, bam, on the ice on the other side of the fence of the other side of the stump. I had a hard landing in my nose hurt pretty bad for days afterwards. But you know, it was just the second time. I had no time in that instant to to cry out to the Lord and be saved.
It was just an instant, and it was.
So it is my aunt. She was just in a parking lot just getting her groceries at the grocery store. My great, my great aunt and uh.
In perfect health, she had plans ahead, thinking that she would be living many more years.
And justice like that a young teenage girl jump got in her car and shoved the car in reverse and didn't look behind her and Sam in a second time. Second of time my aunt was crushed between that teenage girl's car and the other car behind it. Went into eternity.
Oh, none of us have a guarantee on life.
They don't know how short our time is, how important to be ready to be in earnest. This man was in earnest. He cried out, he acted. Are you in earnest tonight? The gospel is one thing you don't want to wait on. I know I tend to be a procrastinator.
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But I'm thankful that I know the Lord Jesus as my Savior because the gospel is not something to procrastinate on. It's important. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Will you receive the Lord Jesus tonight? That risen, glorified Savior, that one who was once cast out by this world? God has raised him up and highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth that every tongue should confess in Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Either you vow that need to him now.
Or there's coming a day when you will have to own and then it will be too late to bow and voluntary.
What shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? You know the word Jesus is coming.
Are you ready? We came tonight.
We don't know when he's coming, but he says, Be ye therefore ready also, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.
Are you ready?
You know there was a.
Some time ago I was up snowshoeing with my nephews.
And uh.
We're a snowstorm hit. We had walked up fallen snow tracks and tracks in the snow and when we came back, we were on our way back. The snow was coming down hardened. We came to this open area and snow had blown.
And varied the tracks and the wind was blowing, the snow was coming down and we couldn't see far. We couldn't see any tracks. And it was like we were up like on a big Ridge and there was only one way down. And we circled that Ridge and we circled that area up there and we couldn't find the tracks. We couldn't find the way down. When we circled it a second time, we still couldn't find it.
And I, I began thinking. Well, we were.
Just out for a day's activity and I thought.
Some of the stories that I'd heard of different people that go up in the mountains and end up they're going up for just a short day of fun and then they end up in a.
Losing their lives.
You know, we, uh, we stopped right there and we cried out to the Lord.
And the Lord showed us the way. We were able to find that trail and get down off that Ridge and get to safety.
You know tonight, if you're not sure the way, the Lord Jesus knows, the Lord Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. And if you cry out to him, he will save you. He miracle could say only trust him, only trust him, only trust him now. He will save you, He will save you. He will save you now.
Why won't you come to the Lord Jesus tonight? Trust Him in simplicity. You'll never be sorry.
Lord Jesus will meet the needs of your heart.
They'll give you peace with God, they'll give you joy that will last. It'll give you a life with himself. Say I am come. They might have life, they might have it abundantly. You have that life tonight. This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom now has sinned. He that hath the Son half life, he that hath not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Will you come tonight?
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
The Lord Jesus shed his precious blood that your sins might be put away. The Bible tells us it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Have you trusted that precious blood?
Let's sing hymn #14.
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Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you washed in the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white and snow as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Hymn #14 verses 2:00 and 3:00.
Open Mtg. 11
John 13:36-14:31