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00:05:34
Opportunity to.
Open my precious word and we trust. Our hearts are open to listen.
Until they what does show us? So we ask as we begin this meeting.
That thy spirit may have liberty in each one present.
The name of our Lord Jesus we pray. Amen.
Verse 10 of Romans chapter 12.
Be kindly affectioned 1 To another with brotherly love in honor, preferring one another, not slothful in business, bourbon in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patience in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer.
Distributing to the necessity of Saints given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you. Bless and curse not.
Rejoice with them, do rejoice and weep with them that weep.
V of the same line, one toward another.
Mind not hide things, but condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man, evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
It would be possible as much as live in you live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but suffer, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord.
For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evils with goodness.
I made a statement during the address to the effect that being gathered to the Lord's name was a matter of faith and not a matter of indisputable fact.
And after the meeting, Doug Buchanan modified that statement in a very, very good way. And without wanting to get into a discussion about it, I'd like Doug to just to make that statement in the way that he made it because it was very, very good.
No, Sir.
It's, uh, it's a wonderful truth to be assured of this. And uh, I just added to that, that it is a statement of faith or an act of faith in an undisputable fact that the Spirit of God.
Gathers to Christ.
Being gathering to the Lords name is.
An act of faith in an undisputable fact that the Spirit of God gathers to Christ on the ground of the one body.
You can add many more words to it, but the fact that there is something real to lay your claim to your faith to me is so important.
Thank you.
Well, it's, we've been speaking from this chapter of some very, very practical things. Christianity is very practical. As we've been saying, there has to be sound doctrine as the basis for sound practice. But these are very practical exhortations and where we start here this afternoon, it is a very real and practical thing because brethren, it's easy for us to sit here and say, well, we love the brethren, we love the people of God.
And that's the love that loves not because the object is lovable, but it loves because of the source. And that really helps to understand.
And that's the love, like you said, Jim, that is in us if we have been born of God.
And it's a love that loves in spite of what the object may be. And that's so important to understand that verse 10 is the file of it's the love of mutual appreciation. We learn to know each other and that's a God too. It says Hebrews chapter 13. Let brotherly love continue. That should be the case, but I find it interesting, brother.
Well, perhaps brotherly love the filet O love.
00:15:12
Is called in question, but then that's when we ought to understand that there is also the Agape lab, which loves.
In spite of everything which loves because.
Of the source.
I often like to ask in prison when we go in there to ask them and why does God love us?
First answer I always get is because we're his children. So I say, well, if you're not a child of God, if you're not a believer, you're not a child of God, but God loves you.
I know it's important to understand that. I just want to show two other portions in the New Testament where these two words are brought together.
In the same way as we find them here in these two verses. One is in First Thessalonians chapter 4.
And verse 9.
Brotherly love, There it is, the filet O love.
You need not that I write it to you, for ye yourselves are taught of God.
To love, there's the agape. Love one another.
The other one is in Second Peter chapter one.
And he's talking. Peter is about.
What needs to be added to faith?
And the list is 7 things that needed to be added to faith.
At the end of that.
Are the two we're talking about notice in verse 7?
Add brotherly love.
Well then, to that brotherly lad, love and love.
The love that is the agape love. The love that loved in spite of all.
Really important to understand and I think it's very helpful to see them both in their place. They're both correct, but we need both of them.
At the beginning of this conference, that.
I noticed a young man walking across this gym floor here and he got halfway across the floor. He saw somebody he knew and somebody he loved and he, he opened up his arms and started running until they reached each other and then they wrapped each other's up and, uh, in, uh, in a big hug and a show of affection.
That, to me was a great demonstration of brotherly love.
And we need to let it shine out we.
James speaks about.
Faith without works is dead, and brotherly love without showing it you. You have to use works, you have to use actions, and we need to be encouraged to do that.
To let it out, show it forth.
The onus is on you to pro club.
JND reads as to honor.
I think it says each taking the lead and paying it to the other.
That is, sometimes, and we know this from practical experience, there are parts of the body of Christ that perhaps don't feel that they get as much.
Flatter. It's not that we want, as we get earlier in the chapter, to promote high thoughts above that which we ought to think.
But recognition of what someone is doing?
Agape love that doesn't require anything from its object but we need filet O love too. And what will be the result? That we will be glad and we get the same thing in Philippians chapter two. We will be glad to notice the qualities that others have, especially those things that we don't have.
Love is willing to sacrifice too, isn't it?
00:25:25
But when it says not slothful in business.
My brother said that means that we need to be very diligent in this world. And when someone objected to that statement as to our natural business, the brother said, Oh yes, he said, it means that the Lord wants us to make a dollar whenever we can.
Let's read it in the J&D translation bill, and then perhaps you have a thought as to too diligent zealousness, not slothful in spirit, fervent serving the Lord.
Yes.
But he did it in the proper spirit. And so there's what we do, but there's the motive behind it. And even in our service to one another, what is the motive behind it? Is it to get something for ourselves, to get the praise of man, to get a pat on the back and say, well?
That person, boy, they, they did a good job and that really was a wonderful thing they did for the Saints. That was a real help in the Lord's work. Or do we do it for the first and foremost for the Lord, And do we do it in the, in a spirit, uh, the spirit of the Spirit of Christ?
00:30:52
From my Christians, we Christian, we expect when he makes an appointment at a certain time that he will be there.
Not half an hour later.
But as possible as close to the time appointed as as we can do it if we don't.
We lose our faith.
People say, well this brother, he just forget it, he's not on time and.
You can't. You can't really trust the person.
I'm just thinking now of the when the Lord sent out his disciples to prepare the Passover.
When he when they asked him wherever are you gonna have to Passover, he knew where it was.
And he told them exactly how to get there and what they would find and when they went, when they came to that place.
The upper room was ready.
And they did.
Let's bear in mind.
But when it says serving the Lord here, who is that written to? That's written to you and it's written to me because as we have already stressed in these meetings, everyone of us have a service for Christ. And when you go home to your secular employment.
00:35:54
Says here for the Lord in a certain way have an advantage. I must say that I have found my travels. People ask me what do you do for a living?
I say I'm a preacher or a missionary. I can almost see them to now they're not going to listen to me anymore because there's been too many preachers so-called that are out there for the money and so they tune out. But if there's somebody that does a bricklaying job, does it well, does a good job.
Opportunity comes to speak about the Lord. They listen to a person like that because they've done it Hardly. It's to the Lord and I think in a certain way they have an advantage.
So it's, it's a, it's a real challenge, isn't it, to, to serve the Lord. Everyone of us are servants of the Lord, doesn't matter how mundane The thing is. And if we are.
That's what has really impressed me, that little verse in Luke 16 that says he that is faithful and that which is least is faithful and much.
Be faithful in the little that the Lord has given you, and you will find that the Lord will give you more to do. But if you're not faithful in the little amount, how do you expect?
You to be more to to do more for the Lord. It's important.
There is a man in the book of the Acts that's called Fervent in Spirit. I I enjoy thinking about him.
Balance came to Corinth.
He needed some instruction as to the baptism of John.
But it's interesting, he was fervent in spirit, but he was one who could accept instruction that night.
We ought to never get to the point where we can't accept instruction ready.
Precede just where we are.
How we carry out appropriate service for the Lord. And that list goes on.
After umm.
After verse 12, but in the middle of that list is verse 12, and I kind of think of it of verse 12 as describing the basis a, a, a foundation under what we do.
If all of our service is is based on our uh, uh, doing it in view of what is coming in our uh, in our permanent home about and with the Lord and uh, rejoicing in hope and patient in tribulation, dis displaying patience, whatever the circumstances and continuing instant in prayer being a person of prayer to.
The uh, aware of what the.
We lose sight of the Lord's coming, then we'll never be able to carry on, will we?
00:40:14
It means simply to look up to the Lord right in the middle of any situation.
Uh, we all know what it is. I hope to get on our knees, maybe in the morning, maybe in the evening, and maybe both to commit ourselves to the Lord. But what a wonderful thing it is to be able to look up to the Lord in the midst of any situation at all.
Might be an emergency, it might not be anything so terrible, but to live in an attitude of prayer very, very important, isn't it? Because then we are dependent on the Lord. It expresses our dependence.
It's good to do that, brethren, to just cultivate awareness. We're in the Lord's presence so much so that we can say it right. He's right next to us.
Kotave conversing with the Lord. You don't even have to say it with your mouth. You can sit in your heart, alert to read your heart.
And that's really the thought, isn't it? In First Thessalonians 5, when it says pray without ceasing, it doesn't mean we're always forming words in prayer. Why we couldn't, that would be impo practically impossible. But it's to be in that state of soul and in in the conscious sense of the Lord's presence, so that we can turn to him in any situation. And the illustration from the old test of the example from the Old Testament has often been given.
We find that he contrasts there, our present state with the coming glory, and in regard to it, He says we are saved by hope. What does that mean? It means we get through today. We're encouraged to endure today and serve the Lord today with something better in view. You know yourself if you're going through a difficult circumstance, if you're sick or you're in pain, you can get through today as long as there's hope that things will be better tomorrow.
Prayer, that was the IT was or is the the power behind their lives and their service for Christ.
Well, all of this is very practical, isn't it? Christianity is characterized by giving, and here the context is giving. And within the framework of Saints given to hospitality, the Lord places a high premium on that.
And I believe we need to remember it in this day and age.
Uh, I'm not, uh, in that sense, making that remark.
Trying to, uh, be critical at all, but it's an A day when, uh, people eat out, eat out a lot more, when lives are perhaps not as regular as they used to be when I was growing up.
It was a little different.
00:50:12
If we've had people over to our homes, if we get to know them, if we socialize a bit with them.
Look after people who have lost their jobs or who otherwise are having difficulty in that sense.
Or you will have always with you.
And so we have a responsibility, especially when it concerns.
Food and clothing I really believe rather than we need to be aware of our brethren. Brother Tim spoke about in the Sunday school about the meat in Malawi. Look at what the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2 about uh.
His Commission.
When he was.
In Jerusalem, verse 9 Galatians 29 and when James.
Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars.
Perceived a grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they and to the circumcision. Verse 10 only that they would, that we should remember the poor.
The same which I also was forward to do.
Brethren, let's remember the poor. We live in really luxurious circumstances.
Let's remember the poor.
Dear brother, And in Malawi we cannot eat a meal each day. We don't have enough.
And the only answer to it is to be before the Lord in prayer.
We don't want.
Other believers to depend on us instead of the Lord. We don't want them to look to us instead of the Lord. That would be a disservice to them, harmful to them, and no ultimate good to us or to the Lord Himself.
But as you say Bob, when we visit so-called third world countries and realize the huge discrepancy between what we are accustomed to and what they accept as.
As daily life.
00:55:07
Slip from 20 to the US dollar to 2,800,000 to the US dollar in the course of two years. So it really led to a lot of hardship and it really made me search the scriptures as to how giving should be done to avoid the problems like you speak about. We don't want people to be.
Depending on us, we want them to be depending on the Lord.
But look in Acts Chapter 11 because we have an example.
In the world at that time Acts Chapter 11 and verse.
27 And in those days, these days came profits from Jerusalem into Antioch, and there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world, which came to fast in the days of Claudius Jesus.
And the disciples, every man according to his ability.
Determined to stand relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea.
Notice Barnabas and Paul did not give the help to the people directly.
They went through the local brethren and I find if we go, those that are truly needy will not come forward. It's the ones that really don't have so much need that come forward to receive. And so it's better to do it through local brethren that know the real need if there are those who are faithful in that area.
That's a scriptural principle there that I find helpful.
Nsnoise.
We get half circumstances where the people really take advantage of us.
And when we could, really.
Get upset about things that are happening.
To us in business or in any circumstance?
How do we act?
How do we respond?
Are we keeping our?
Vedge attitude toward those.
That uh, we are not in the of the same mind. It could be anything.
It could be how we distribute things in the meeting or.
Uh, what we expect or and what we don't expect?
If we take it across, we have people looking at us.
An acting ***.
But there's a way that we should try to put that right and not just keep on being mad at each other and being angry at each other and and other people just don't even know why, but we know why.
Moses rather than often spoke against him and didn't appreciate his service for the Lord and his leadership. And we spoke earlier of having the proper spirit. But you know a moment came in the life of Moses when they had provoked his spirit to such an extent that he spoke I'll of the people of God. He said, ye rebels, shall I fetch you water from the rock? Were they rebels? Well, perhaps they were, but that was not for Moses to say.
Go ahead.
We don't choose our circumstances to serve the Lord in this list here gives us quite a variety of different situations that we as believers can be in, uh, all the way from tribulation to blessing and rejoicing.
So it's wonderful to to look at whatever circumstances the Lord puts us in as an opportunity to represent him some way. And the the chapter gives us those things that we can do in each circumstance and.
Has been mentioned about Moses losing his patience and being provoked and.
Umm, he uh, umm, he paid for it. Umm, it's easy to on the slip of the tongue to let a word come out.
Uh, so, uh, but if we umm, focus on these things in this, in this chapter, I believe.
And realizing that God has something.
For us then that as we say, all things work together for good and every opportunity, every, uh, experience that God puts us through, there's a purpose in it. And let us not miss the opportunities. I, I can't speak, uh, for experience of not having done that. Yeah. How often a situation passes and then 10 minutes later you think, oh, I should've did this. I should've said that.
Can't go back and redo it.
Hmm, Scary Bob.
Yeah, the Lord, when he spoke to Moses after he said, ye believe me not to sanctify.
Me in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Serious, isn't it?
Didn't sanctify the Lord in the midst of the children of Israel.
Said sanctify the Lord God and be ready to give an answer.
How important that is to have the Lord before us always.
And I suppose if we did, then we wouldn't be so reactionary, would we?
Realize that the Lord keeps the account straight. It's not me that has to set things straight.
Iraq and not to strike it. And so in that sense.
A provoked spirit with our brethren.
Often leads to that which is disobedience to the Lord Himself.
And that perhaps was the more serious thing. And uh, as you say, Bob, he didn't sanctify them in front of the people. That was true. But at the same time, between Moses and the Lord, here was one who had walked with the Lord for many, many years, who had been schooled in God's school for 80 years before the Lord.
01:05:19
Gave him that responsibility.
And he directly disobeys what the Lord had told him to do.
And so relating that to what we have here in the chapter, Bless them, which persecute you takes in every situation, doesn't it sad to say.
There may be persecution even from those who call themselves Christians. There may be criticism from our brethren and from others, and we need to recognize that.
We need to take it to the Lord, we need to lay it before Him. But then there may well, and we don't experience as much of it in these favored lands as some of our brethren do.
Real persecution from the outside world and there are many today that are suffering bodily harm, imprisonment and being put to death for the name of Christ. And not just a handful either, large numbers of them. I suppose 200,000 in a year would not be an exaggeration in some cases.
And.
We need to remember that, and I would only say that for those dear brethren.
It takes real grace. It takes real grace.
I know a family in India and maybe some, uh, know about it, who are on their way home from the breaking of bread, were attacked by a radical mob and a radical mob of Hindus and beaten up so badly that the wife, who was expecting a baby, lost the baby over it. And not content with that, they followed them to their home and uh, into the brother's place of business, stole all his tools and probably burn it to the ground.
Very real thing that dear brother was at meeting the next Lord's Day. His wife wasn't able to be there. She was beaten up so badly, but she did eventually come back. So these are real things. It wouldn't be easy under those circumstances to blame.
To bless them that.
Persecute.
Wouldn't be easy to take that kind of an attitude, would it? And so we need to remember that these words in reality.
Only by going back to Calvary's cross. Only by seeing what happened there at the cross.
Then we can do it. And there has been marvelous blessing in some cases, not in that particular one that I know of, but there has been marvelous blessing from those who were able to act on this scripture and of course in.
What we have later in the chapter where?
There's the negative aspect of not cursing.
But there's a positive aspect of blessing, of doing good, of seeking to reward good for evil, that has a tremendous impact in this world. We get opportunities in North America from time to time.
Perhaps not as open and flagrant as they are in some parts of the world.
But it can be a very real thing today, and it makes a tremendous impact on the world because the world doesn't act like that.
Miriam and Aaron spoke against him.
He doesn't respond to their criticisms.
He When the Lord smote Miriam with leprosy, he prayed Lord, heal her now.
I think that's so beautiful and it comes to me, brother, and if some brother has spoken hard about you.
Or maybe really unjustifiably. He's spoken about, they've spoken about you.
Can you sincerely get down on your knees and pray for the blessing of that brother? I think that's the spirit that we see in Moses, and I think that's what it's talking about here too, in principle.
Bless and curse not in our hearts. Oftentimes we feel like it's been.
01:10:33
And James said a few things to say in his.
First chapter of James and we know he was very qualified to say this because he grew up with the Lord Jesus.
He was 1/2 brother of the Lord Jesus. They grew up together and he was watching him. The Lord Jesus himself had a lot of persecution and he says here in first chapter verse two, my brethren.
Counted all joy and he fall into diverse temple, diverse temptations.
Knowing this.
That the trying of your faith worker's patience, but let patience have her perfect work.
That you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and operate His love, and it shall be given him. So we have prayer here again too.
End.
We can learn a lot from James.
We read in the book of Peter 2 Concerning the Lord Jesus. It says, who when he was reviled, reviled not. Again, when he suffered, He threatened not. And you say, how could he do it? Here was the Lord Jesus as the perfect man walking on earth, as you say, who suffered more than him and wrongfully. But the next clause of that verse in Peter gives us the answer. He committed himself to him that judges righteously.
01:15:25
But in the next verse, there's two statements made that I think are good for us to consider. Our time is passing on. He says rejoice with them that rejoice. And then he says and weep with them that weep. But I'd like to make this suggestion that the first statement is perhaps harder than the second statement to carry out practically. You know, we often stand with or sit with those who are going through a sorrow and we weep with them. We either, if we've gone through a similar circumstance, emphasize.
Perhaps it's helpful a verse in First Corinthians 12 speaking about the body of Christ.
It says in verse 26.
Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.
Or one member be honored. All the members rejoice with it.
Be of the same mind, one toward another.
That's a hard thing to do.
Often envelope a meeting.
Wherever something occurs.
That tool might have a different way of doing things.
And a different way of looking at things.
And that can that can be carried on to the point where there's very unhappiness in the whole meeting.
Not having the same mind.
If you notice Mr. Darby's translation, he says having the same respect one for another. And again, this is very practical, isn't it? I think it was quoted earlier in one of the meetings. But I often think of the verse that says let each esteem other better than himself. Do we really? Do I look at you? Do you? Do you? Do I look at another brother or sister and say that brother, I esteem that brother better than myself? And not only that, but we're not, it tells us in another place we're not to have respective persons.
01:20:59
Again, the exhortation.
Perhaps loses something in, uh, modern day America where democracy seeks to put everyone on the same level. But through most of the world's history, there were people who were in positions of nobility and people who were in positions of power and authority, people who were servants, serfs. We know what that term means and so on. And uh, James of course recognizes it in his epistle there where he talks about a wealthy man coming into the.
In this case, in that case, the synagogue, but it was the same principle and being accorded a great deal of respect and honor.
As opposed to a poor man who was treated differently, but.
What carries weight in in the assembly is moral and spiritual power, doesn't it?
And there is more respect for the one that has that spiritual power.
And.
It's needed. And so in that sense here I believe the reference is to natural things, which would have been quite a thing in the Roman Empire of that day. There were those that had wealth and position and who might naturally have been accorded much more respect just because of who they were. But in the things of God, it's moral and spiritual power that counts, doesn't it? And it does carry its own weight.
We won't turn to it, but it's in the 10th of Ecclesiastes where?
With reference to using an axe, it says.
If he do not whip the edge.
Then must he put two more strength. But wisdom is profitable to direct.
And I well remember an old brother saying with reference to.
Respect and shall we say influence in the local assembly, he said. If you see a brother really swinging his axe on an issue.
It's probably dull and he'd better.
Be quiet and go home and sharpen it.
Well, that was a good remark and I believe that's something we need to remember.
It's moral and spiritual power that counts in the things of God, and it is felt there is real power in one who walks with the Lord, who seeks the Lord's mind, and who with the mind of the Lord speaks up about something.
Then that will have that will have power because it's from the Lord.
01:25:11
Ministry on the, umm, the Lord's coming and, uh, in the, uh, evening, uh, Israel LaBelle preached the gospel and, uh, Charlie said that impressed us so much that we eventually took our place at the Lord's table. There were other things that exercised them, of course, but they said this was so different.
I've heard various comments but I'm not sure that I understand it.
Doing an active kind of.
Laser a a burden on their conscience that's like coals or fire.
Mm-hmm.
In Bolivia.
1 day as he was going down the road, he finds this neighbor that had treated him so badly. Every turn he had to treat him badly, he did it.
He found him broken down at the side of the road and.
As he got out.
The man said to me, said to this brother.
You know what? It would have been easier for me if you would have spit in my face than to do this.
That's heaping coals of fire on the head. Insupportable.
I think that's nice, Doug and brothers. Garvin Seymour was telling us the story when we were in Saint Vincent this last time. And he said there was a man in the village many years ago where he lives. And, uh, this man would curse Garvin every time he went by. And every morning when he went by, Garvin would say good morning, nice to see you or something to that effect. And it was years that this went on. And finally one morning when the man was going by, he broke down.
And he said, I've been cursing you for years and you're so friendly to me. And he said, what is it? And you know that man was not only converted, but he was gathered to the Lord's name and broke bread there. Not little assembly in Dixon Village till the day the Lord took him. I believe that was heaping calls of fire and overcoming evil with good.
O God, what cause of love?
Oh God. Oh yeah.
Thank you for this, these, uh, meetings that we've had to encourage us and.
Obedience and and faithfulness.
We thank the Father that.
Fulfill these instructions.
None of us are capable of.
Walking the Christian pathway.
In our own power.
And that will bring forth glory to the Lord.
That we do thank thee.
This, uh, this afternoon that you've blessed us with these meetings.