Open—B. Prost, J. Hyland, D. Kollman
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Some who were here who are here this afternoon.
Were also at Morningstar Camp.
And among other things up there, we talked about self judgment.
Then in his talk yesterday, our brother Bruce mentioned it as well.
Could we dwell on that for a few more minutes?
I feel it's needed.
And for my own soul, perhaps more than any other.
Let's read a couple of scriptures together, first of all in Psalm 32.
Psalm 32.
And we'll read from verse 2, Psalm 32 and verse 2.
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Now here's the verse. When I kept silence, my bones waxed all through my roaring all the day long.
For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me.
My moisture is turned into the drought of summer.
Sheila.
I acknowledge my sin unto thee and my iniquity, have I not hid.
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgave us the iniquity of my sin.
Selah.
And now in Proverbs 28.
Proverbs 28.
And verse 13.
Proverbs 28 and verse 13.
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper.
But whoso confesseth, confesseth, and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
And finally in first John.
Chapter One.
One John, Chapter one.
And verse 9.
First John one and verse 9.
If we confess our sins.
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It's a wonderful thing to be saved, isn't it?
A wonderful thing to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.
And to know as we read there in Psalm 32.
That our sins can be forgiven. We didn't read the first verse, but we could have blessed is the man.
Whose transgression is forgiven? Whose sin is covered?
Most of us, and I hope all of us here, know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. And I suppose we can all remember the bubbling joy that overwhelmed our hearts and our souls.
As we realized that that burden of sin was gone, and perhaps the greater the sense of sin that we had.
The greater the joy when we realize that we were forgiven.
But maybe you have all had the experience, and I suppose I can tell this story on one of my grandsons because none of them are here.
And I won't tell you which one it was.
But he got saved at a relatively young age.
And a little while later he came to his father rather distraught.
Daddy, I still do bad things.
Poor.
He thought everything was going to be fine after that.
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And while I have been on this trip, I talked to another father who told me the same thing about one of his children, who wondered why it was that there was still that tendency to sin after his child was saved.
But it's true, isn't it?
It's true, when we are saved, we have a new life in Christ.
But we find out very quickly that that old sinful self, that old sinful nature.
Is just as bad and just as strong as it ever was.
What does that bring us to? It brings us to that subject of self judgment.
And as Our brother Bruce quoted from a pamphlet that is well worth reading.
Self judgment is the inseparable condition of a walk in communion with God.
Why is that?
Because in order to enjoy all the good things that Christ has for us, the good things that our brother Dave Hayhoe brought before us in the address just a little while ago.
We have to exercise self judgment.
We still have that old sinful self.
It brings evil thoughts to our minds and if they are not judged, it comes out either in evil words or in evil conduct.
We wanna mention something right at the very beginning here though, because it's important.
The Spirit of God never occupies you and me with ourselves.
Except to judge self.
That's important.
Because, and again, this was something we laid some emphasis on at Morningstar.
The Christian who is occupied with himself or even the Sinner who isn't saved, it applies board.
The individual who is occupied with himself.
Is never happy.
That's why, in spite of all that we have at our disposal here in North America.
If an individual does not have Christ.
He or she is never happy. And that's why, with all of the glorification of self that is part of the culture of North America today, people see more and more discontent.
And yet sometimes we go to foreign lands where they have very, very little, and yet you can enjoy and sense the enjoyment of Christ in their souls. Why? Because they are not trying to fill themselves with that which can never satisfy.
And so God never occupies us with ourselves. Neither does the Spirit of God except to judge self.
It's a necessary thing.
For me, anyway, it's a daily thing.
If I want to walk in communion with God.
There are times in our life and our lives.
When we have a real sense of the Lord's presence, as we had a couple during the last couple of days, the Lord is always with us. And those two on the way to Emmaus, even though they were not sensitive to the Lord's presence, He was with them.
But they were enjoying him. Why?
Their eyes were holding. It says that they should not know him. And why was that?
Oh, because they were on a wrong course.
Oh, how gracious the Lord was, and we don't need to go over it all again, but how gracious the Lord was to follow them down that road.
All of that distance to Emmaus and to listen to them first of all, and that's important, and then to minister to their souls that which restored them.
But self judgment had to take place.
All the details of it are not recorded in Luke 24, but it happened. How do we know what happened? Because all of a sudden when the Lord vanished out of their sight, they realized that they were in a wrong place on a wrong course and there was no difficulty, even though it was night.
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To turn around and go all the way back to Jerusalem.
And there they found not only the other disciples, but the Lord himself.
But sometimes we go on in our Christian lives and things go very smoothly.
And we are very happy in our souls.
I presume this water is to be used.
And we go on very happily in our souls.
But then there comes a point and maybe you have experienced this and this is what I want to emphasize above everything.
There comes a point where the Spirit of God.
Seeks to bring before you some new truth.
Seeks to raise you, as it were, a little higher spiritually.
And suddenly you find that that old sinful self gets in the way.
And you feel terrible.
Is that a bad thing?
In one sense, yes, because the old sinful self never does us any good. But what I want to say is this the the old sinful self gets in the way.
It is a good sign because, and this is important too.
Every new truth.
The Spirit of God seeks to bring before your soul and mind will find its corresponding and antagonist.
In some aspect of my sinful self.
Satan hates the precious truth.
That God gave from a risen Christ in glory.
Through men like the apostle Paul and the apostle John. And Satan will sometimes, and this may come as a surprise, but it's true.
He sometimes tolerate blessing in the gospel if he can take a dead shot.
At something like the truth of the one body.
Or the truth of the abiding presence of the Spirit of God down here during this dispensation, or at the precious truth of the name of the Lord Jesus, or at the heavenly calling of the church.
Satan knows.
And this is quoting the words of another, and some will recognize the source. Satan knows that when the Church loses the sense of its heavenly calling, humanly speaking, it loses everything.
We can't lose our salvation. We can't lose that security we have in Christ. But Satan knows that if you can bring Christianity down to the level of a worldly religion, he's ruined our testimony and he's doing it today. I feel it. You feel it.
And the influence of the world around us is having that strong tendency to drag believers down.
And it's not only in North America we have more of the world at our disposal, but with the Internet, with Facebook and all the rest of it.
The world has become much more homogeneous than it ever was before.
Self judgment.
It simply means that if you and I desire to walk with the Lord.
We have to 1St. We have first to know ourselves.
And then we have to recognize what is not according to the mind of God.
You and I may go along in our Christian lives, and as I say again, the Lord may be using us.
But then the Lord, as it were, says, now I am going to put my finger on something in your life which is a besetting sin. And let me say this, I am preaching at this man here as much or more than at anyone out there. But the Lord lays his finger on something. Maybe no one else knows about it. Maybe no one sees it, maybe they do. But He lays his finger on it and says.
Deal with that. Deal with that.
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And well, remember quite a few years ago, now corresponding with a brother in another country.
And there was something in his life that the Lord was clearly speaking about to him.
I knew him well, and I ventured to bring it before him as well, because I knew that the Lord was speaking to him.
And his answer was rather interesting, he said. But Brother Bill, the Lord is using me, and souls are being blessed through my preaching of the gospel, and souls have been gathered to the Lord's name through my.
Work for the Lord? How can it be that there's something in my life that needs correcting?
Have you or I ever felt like that?
Possible, isn't it?
Why was the Lord using that dear brother? Ah, because down here, which one of us would like to stand up and say watch me, I've arrived. I don't have to exercise self judgment. I don't have to be concerned about the activity of the flesh in me.
You know there's a bad doctrine. That's sad to say. Was started by very valuable men, John and Charles Wesley, who claim that once a believer was saved, they could attain perfection down here.
But we don't find that in the word of God.
Someone asked a godly brother many years ago if it was possible.
To walk a Christian life without ever committing sin and his answer was superb, he said.
I know nothing stronger than the grace of God, but I know nothing weaker than my sinful flesh.
Right. Isn't it because I have no excuse to send?
But at the same time, which one of us wants to stand up and say I've arrived?
No, we can't. There's a need for self judgment, even if it's only to judge thoughts. And that's what we ought to do, because if we judge the wrong thoughts, they wouldn't translate into wrong words and wrong actions.
But back to what we were saying. The Lord is gracious, and He delights to use you and me.
Sometimes we hear people say.
You have to love me the way I am. Have you heard that?
I want you to love me the way I am.
Thank the Lord He does. He loves you the way you are. Otherwise He would never have reached out and saved you. He loves you.
But that's only one side of the coin. The other side is he loves you too much to let you stay that way.
And the Lord wants growth in you and me.
Growth and growth means that. Well, let's turn to the scripture in Second Corinthians chapter 3.
I think if I remember rightly, it was referred to already in these meetings, but we'll read it again.
Did you read it, Bruce? I think you did.
Two Corinthians 3.
And I'm going to leave out a phrase that really shouldn't be there, and it makes it a little easier to read.
But we all verse 18 of 2nd Corinthians 3 with open or unveiled face beholding and leave out the words as in a glass. They shouldn't be there.
Beholding the glory of the Lord, our changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Oh, the Lord wants to see growth in you and me. One day when the Lord comes, we'll be perfectly like Christ.
But the Lord wants us to be more like him down here.
That is your testimony to the world and my testimony.
That we become more like Christ.
Yesterday, when Brother Bruce was speaking, he mentioned that pamphlet to which I referred and he said he couldn't remember who.
Rotor, whether it was Gordon Hayhoe or Harry Hayhoe.
Well, it was Harry Hayhoe, but as I mentioned to Brother Bruce afterward, not that it matters who wrote what, but just to give credit where credit is due.
The original thoughts of that pamphlet, and most of the body of it, go back a long way to George V Wigram, who lived back in the 1800s, one of the very godliest brethren.
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And when he went to be with the Lord.
Someone paid him the highest compliment that could be paid to a believer.
He said. Every time I met that man and was in his company.
I was reminded of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have a better complement.
Can you think of something more that could be said about a believer?
Hope it's OK to mention names, but it makes things come alive sometimes.
Dave Hayhoe and I were talking earlier today about some of the older people that we knew in our lifetime.
And I well remember a very godly sister who never married. Her name was Emily Gosby. She spent most of her life in the Toronto Hamilton area where I grew up.
I will remember her and I remember well when she went to be with the Lord at the age of 95.
She could well remember sitting on the lap of John Nelson Darby.
But what I'm going to say is not about her, but about her father, whom I never knew.
But I was told by my own father, who knew Mr. Gosby, that when he went to Mr. Cosby's funeral.
His neighbor, who was not a Christian, stood there by the casket and pointed at his body lying in the casket and said.
You know that man never sinned.
Complement We know it wasn't true or he wouldn't have been in the casket.
But it was a pretty good compliment from an ungodly neighbor, wasn't it?
God wants to make you and me more like Christ.
God is willing to do it. We have a new life.
We have the Spirit of God is the power of that new life, indwelling every believer individually and as we had yesterday, dwelling collectively among believers as the House of God.
He is here.
To make you and me more and more like Christ.
But I have to get a few things out of the way.
We aren't going to dwell too long on the wares and Y fours of all of this.
But we want to emphasize the need for it and the importance of it.
It's hard to confess sometimes when we're wrong.
And if you're anything like me, sometimes when the Lord brings a besetting sin before me.
Or perhaps he uses another brother or even a sister in Christ to bring it before me, the thought that that sin is part of my old sinful self, and that I am capable of it.
It's so awful to face.
That I go into denial.
When I used to practice medicine, I occasionally came face to face with drug addicts and with Alcoholics and others. And I met some who were in denial. I'm not an alcoholic. No, I'm not addicted to it.
But their family knew it, and so did everybody else that was close to them. And I knew it, but they wouldn't face it. And we can do that as a believer. And I have to say, and I trust I say it with tears, because the tendency is in my own soul that I have seen too many dear believers who are in denial about something in their lives that the Lord was seeking to bring before them in order that they might judge it.
And yet there was a denial.
What does it say? Turn back to first John 1:00 and 9:00?
We talked, first of all about an unbeliever coming to Christ. He too has to come as a lost, guilty Sinner. But most of us that grew up in Christian homes don't realize the depths to which the old sinful self can go.
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I didn't. I grew up in a Christian home and with godly parents who kept me from much of the sordid evil that is out there in the world. I didn't realize what was in my own heart.
But the Lord has ways of teaching us. He has ways of bringing us, as one brother said in our good written ministry, to an awful Cliff.
And grabbing us by the collar and hanging us over that Cliff and saying, do you see where that sin could take you? Have you had that experience? I have.
And then we realize what we're capable of and how awful that sin is.
If we confess our sins.
It's good to confess our sins.
But sometimes we confess in a general way.
I don't suppose it hurts to use this illustration because the brother about whom I'm talking has been with the Lord for many years.
But I knew him well.
And he was away from the Lord's table for a long time.
And when he wanted to be restored, his brethren expected there to be a confession of what had led him away, and kept him away for many years.
His reaction was, well, brethren, what do you want me to say? We've all failed. We've all failed.
Does that really do it in the sight of God? Can we get away with that kind of a confession?
Let's turn to Leviticus Chapter 5.
Very very important scripture.
Leviticus, chapter 5.
This has to do with the trespass offering, but it applies, as we said earlier, across the board and verse 5.
Leviticus 5 and verse 5.
And it shall be when he shall be guilty in one of these things that he shall confess that he hath sinned.
In that.
Thing. Ouch.
That hurts, doesn't it?
The one who came having trespassed, could not make a general confession. He could not make a blanket shotgun confession which included not only his own sin but that of others. He had to put his finger on that thing.
May I say a word to parents here that's important?
I remember well reading about a young woman. Maybe she wasn't so young when she wrote this, but she told of how that when she was young and she had.
The naughty.
And had done that, which had to be punished.
She said my father would never leave me after the punishment until I had gotten on my knees with him and confessed that sin to the Lord.
Sometimes it took time, but she looked back and recognized how good that was.
In that thing.
Is it sometimes pretty awful?
Is it sometimes hard to face?
Even men of the world have different views of sin, don't they?
Men who are in prison, who think nothing of armed robbery and murder and violence of every kind.
It's well known.
That if someone is brought into that prison, who's a pedophile?
They're out to get them because for them, what they did is excusable to some extent, but what that other man has done.
Well, he deserves to die. And often, as you well know and I well know, those men have to be put in a separate place because their lives will be in danger if they are allowed contact with other prisoners who have committed all sorts of terrible crimes.
But they have this double standard, don't they?
All sins are not equal. We know that from Scripture. That's why the Lord Jesus said to Pilate He that delivered me up unto thee, hath a greater sin.
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And there are other verses that would support that. So God doesn't view all sins as being equal. Excuse me.
But at the same time, the old sinful self in you is no different from the old sinful self in Me.
And if there is that which needs self judgment, let's be willing to do it. Oh, how wonderful it is to be able to open that door.
I wish I could repeat the poem. It's a song again that has been sung several times and some will remember it's being sung a couple of times at Morningstar Camp. Something to the effect that my heart is like a house.
And it has different rooms in it, and the Lord Jesus and I, Speaking of a believer, would visit from time to time in those rooms.
But then there's one verse that says.
There is a room where I don't go because I've got some things in that room that I don't want anyone to know.
And there's a need to open that door.
I hope this doesn't step on any toes, but I have occasionally been as a visitor in some homes where doors have been shut and locked.
And usually it was because the room was, in simple terms, a mess, and they didn't want a visitor to have to to look at it. They didn't want a visitor to see the untidiness in that room.
You know, the Lord already knows what's in that room.
But he wants you and me to face it. Why? So that we can grow in our souls.
One more verse, because we could belabor this point all afternoon, but one more verse. Second Peter, chapter 3.
And to me, this ties in beautifully with what we've been saying.
The last verse of Second Peter 3.
But grow in grace.
And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him the glory, both now and ever and forever. Amen.
What does it mean to grow in grace?
I used to look at some of my older brothers and sisters in Christ when I was young.
And in my ignorance.
I figured the old sinful nature must be pretty well burned out in them. They don't have the problems anymore.
I hesitate to make this remark, but I believe that it's every vet true and you won't read it anywhere. It was passed down by word of mouth.
Someone said, and it was a believer.
Of John Nelson Darby. This may come as a shocker, but it's true, someone said of him.
I have seldom seen an individual.
In whom the two natures were so strong.
Really. Yes. Why?
Because the more he wanted to learn of Christ, the more that old, sinful, sinful self struggled to get the ascendancy.
And those who knew him well sensed the number of times that self judgment had to be exercised.
How do we grow? In grace, we grow.
Because we appreciate more of the grace of God.
And what he did for us, we appreciate the depths of what happened at Calvary's Cross.
We appreciate what it meant for God to give his Son. We appreciate what it meant for the Lord Jesus to bear that load of sin because we realize more and more what was in our own hearts, what is in our own hearts.
But we can't realize it if we're in denial. We can't realize that if we don't exercise self judgment.
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Let the old nature be as bad as it can be, and it is bad.
Christ has died.
The sins have been cleansed, and more than that, the old man has been crucified with Christ. Now we don't have time to go into it. But don't confuse the old man with the flesh. They're not exactly the same. It's never said.
That the flesh has been crucified, We're to reckon it to be dead.
But the old man has been crucified. We're in a new position.
In Christ, beyond it all. But now the Lord says, I want you to live up to it. I want you to reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God.
But in so doing, you and I will find that it's a lifelong thing.
To exercise self judgment.
Just to go back as we close to one thing that we said at the beginning.
God doesn't want us to dwell on self. Sometimes dear believers get so occupied with thinking of all the wrong things that they've done. Excuse me.
Thinking of how bad they are and how sinful they are that they're down in the dumps and depressed all the time.
Satan likes that because Satan doesn't care whether you think about self in a positive way or in a negative way.
As long as you're occupied with cell.
What's the solution?
God wants you and me not to be occupied with self, either positively or negatively.
Rather not to be occupied or thinking about self at all.
If Christ is before me, I won't have to think about self now and then I'll have to judge it. God wants me to judge it and then go on. I don't dwell on it. I judge it in the presence of God. Now much more could be said because in order to judge self, I can't use myself as a yardstick. I can't use others as a yardstick. I have to look to Christ himself. I have to judge in God's presence what that sin is.
But when I do.
I get it out of the way.
And then the Spirit of God is free to minister Christ to my soul, and I grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Well, I wanna leave room for some other brothers, so we'll sit down. But may the Lord impress this on our souls in these last days so that instead of being conformed to this world that as we had in 2nd Corinthians 3, we become more and more.
Like Christ, and are changed into his image from glory to glory.
In connection with what our brother has brought before us, I'd like to go back to a story in the Old Testament that I trust will encourage us as to the resources that we have in connection with both preservation.
And restoration in the path of faith as we walk through this wilderness world. I'd like to go back and read a well known incident in the 17th chapter of the book of Exodus.
Exodus chapter 17 beginning at verse 8.
Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in raphidom. And Moses said unto Joshua, choose us out men, and go out fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek and Moses.
Aaron and her went up to the top of the hill, and it came to pass when Moses held up his hand.
That Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him. And he sat thereon. And Aaron and her stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. So Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses.
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Write this for a memorial in a book.
And rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah Nissi, for he said, because the Lord hath sworn.
That the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Now hold your finger here, We're gonna come right back to this place. But I'd like to read a verse or two in the book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy, chapter 25.
5.
Deuteronomy chapter 25 and verse 17.
Remember what Amalek did unto thee, by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt, how he met thee by the way, and smote behind her most of thee even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou hast faint and weary.
And he feared not God.
Well, we've just had some excellent ministry in connection with self judgment. But perhaps there's some of us sitting here this afternoon and we say, well, that's wonderful. I realize there's a need for self judgment. As I often heard growing up from my older brethren, we need to keep short accounts with God and so on. But how am I going to do it? Because as we read in the book of Galatians, the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.
And the two are contrary one to the other. And you say I have this constant struggle in my life?
And I just don't seem to be able to overcome. I come and confess it to the Lord, and I just get up and I go on. And I have the same temptations. I fall into the same problems and difficulties.
But I suggest, brethren, that by type and illustration here we have the resources that we need for our pathway. We find at the beginning of this chapter that they came to refit them by the commandment of the Lord.
The Spirit of God is very careful to record that because there were great difficulties that refit them. First of all there was number water and God gave them in the previous account. Here he gave them the water from the rock to refresh them.
And then they're drinking from those refreshing waters, and over the horizon comes Amalek, a powerful enemy. Now the children of Israel at various times faced various enemies, depending where they were.
When they were in Egypt, they had Pharaoh and his hosts who sought to keep them in slavery.
That's a picture of the enemy seeking to keep souls from coming under the good of redemption and deliverance. Tonight there will be a gospel meeting preached if we're left here. And in the Pharaoh character of Satan, he's going to be busy to keep souls from coming, to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior, to keep them in the ******* of sin. And then if we were to jump ahead in their history when they entered the land of Canaan, there were a number of enemies.
A picture to us of the enemy seeking to keep us from coming into the enjoyment.
Of our heavenly portion and all that is ours in Christ. I say that because Canaan is a picture to us of that which we can have an enjoyment of. Now it's that vast panorama of heavenly spiritual blessings that are ours for present enjoyment. But in the wilderness they had a powerful enemy here. His name was Amalek, and if we were to go back and trace the genealogy, we would find that Amalek was a grandson of.
Esau.
Was a man who sold his birthright for momentary gratification. An Amalek is a picture of Satan's working on the flesh to seek to hinder our walk with God through this wilderness world. Because Satan doesn't want us to walk with God for his glory and for our blessing as we pass through this world, wilderness world. He cannot take our salvation from us, but he can take our joy, and he can stumble and discourage us, and he can work on the flesh, and he knows well how to do it. He's had thousands of years of practice.
In doing it.
And he knows well how to work on each one of us. And so they face this enemy. We don't have time to mention all the things that are here illustrated in these verses. But what I'd like to focus on particularly is the fact that Moses goes up on the mountain and eventually he sits down. And two men, Aaron and her come and stay up his hands till the going down of the sun. And the Moses. Here is a picture of the Lord Jesus.
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Gone on high to fill all things. Isn't it wonderful that we have a man in the glory, as we've been saying in these meetings? One who not only died for US1 who's not only risen from the dead, but he's ascended and seated at the right hand of God. And that's the resource for us, brethren. If we're going to be preserved in our wilderness journey here, if we're going to go on, and when we fail, if there's going to be self judgment, it's to avail ourselves of the resource that we have.
In the person of Christ, as a glorified man, living for us and interceding at the right hand of God, the place of power.
But I want to talk about these two men for a moment, because these two men represent to us two very important offices that the Lord Jesus is carrying on at the right hand of God this afternoon.
On our behalf, Because first of all, we have Aaron. Now I realize, brethren, that Aaron had not yet been officially put into the priesthood. That wasn't until later on, but I believe we see the picture very clearly.
Aaron, on the one hand, represents to us the priesthood of the Lord Jesus, because as the book of Hebrews develops so beautifully, we have a high priest seated at the right hand of God.
He's there at the right hand of God, to put it very simply, living for us, praying for us every hour of every day to preserve us in the path of faith and service. And we have not in High Priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted, like as we are, yet without sin. Isn't it wonderful to think that the Lord Jesus is praying for us? We think of how wonderful it is to be able to bring our own needs before the throne of grace.
To pray for our families. To pray for our beloved brethren, wonderful privilege and resource that we have.
But just look up and realize there's one who's praying for you, and he knows every need. He knows you through and through. He doesn't forget one need of each of his own. And not only is He sympathizing with us, not only does He know our difficulties, but he it was in all points tempted like as we are. I want you to think about that, because there's nothing that you and I.
Will ever pass through in the path of faith and service that the Lord Jesus hasn't felt as a man here on earth. That's why the Lord Jesus lived here on earth as long as He did.
So that he could be a sympathizing and an empathizing high priest. You know, I might come to you in a difficulty, and I might say to you, brother, sister, I sympathize with what you're passing through. But unless I've been through a similar circumstance, I really can't empathize. A brother was telling me who went through a very severe trial, he said, Brother Jim, you wouldn't believe how many people called me and said.
I know what you're passing through.
He said that was no comfort to me because he said they had never passed through a similar circumstance.
But he said a brother finally called me and he said I know what you're passing through. He said That was a comfort to me because that brother had a few months before been through a similar trial. And so the Lord Jesus, he understands, you say nobody knows.
What I'm passing through, nobody understands. Oh, just look up this afternoon and there's one at the right hand of God who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. And so I say again, He's living for us as our high priest.
To preserve us in the path of faith and service. But then we find on the other hand there was a man named her and I suggest that her represents to us the advocacy of Christ because it tells us if any man's sin. We have an advocate with the Father. I say that because hers name actually means purity. And in that verse I just quoted from First John it goes on to say.
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Jesus Christ the righteous. I have a righteous advocate.
Because if his high priestly work is to preserve me in the path of faith.
Then when I sin, his advocacy is to restore me, but he does it on a righteous basis. You know, if I go against society and I'm brought up to the judge, and the judge listens to my case, and I get a good lawyer or I'm able to talk my way through it, he might let me off. But if he's a righteous judge or or if I'm really guilty, I should say he's not a righteous judge. But we'll suppose for the sake of illustration.
That the judge says to me. Now, Jim, I know you're guilty.
And the penalty for going against society is thus and so. But I'm going to pay the penalty so you can go free. Now he's a righteous judge because the claims of society have been met, whether it's a fine or community service or a jail term or whatever it is. And when I sin, it's just as if the Lord Jesus in the presence of the Father, says I've paid for that sin. That's how he can be.
A righteous advocate.
Because he bore the penalty of sin for me on Calvary's cross when he bore my sins in his own body on the tree. And so he's a righteous advocate. Just a little difference to notice between another difference.
Between his high priestly work and his advocacy, his high priestly work is with God.
Because that's power. But his advocacy, it says we have an advocate not with God but with the Father. To me that's one of the clearest verses in connection with eternal security. Because I have heard many people say that when they sin, they lose their relationship with God, they lose their salvation. If it said we have an advocate with God, we might well wonder, but it says an advocate with the Father showing that when I sin.
In no way is the family relationship broken.
But I do have to do with my father. When my children went against me when they lived at home, I never brought them up to the court of law, to the judge on the bench. But they did have to do with me as their father. And so we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. But before we pass on, I would just say this, that in the measure in which you and I would avail ourselves of His high priestly work, we wouldn't need his advocacy.
The Lord Jesus said to Peter, I have prayed for thee that my faith fail not, and if poor Peter had just availed himself of that resource, he never would have denied his Lord three times with oaths and curses.
Thank God there was restoration for Peter, and there is always restoration.
Maybe there's someone here this afternoon and you say I failed so bad. I've sinned so bad. Can there really be restoration? Remember this, brother. Remember this, sister. The restoring grace of God is as limitless and powerful as his saving grace and preserving grace. David failed in his life, and he failed grievously, but he could say with confidence he restoreth my soul.
And so we find that these two men hold up Moses hands, and there he is, as it were, an intercession on behalf of the people who were down in the valley of conflict.
And they held up his hands till the going down to the sun, because, brethren, the hands of the Lord Jesus in that way will be held up.
As long as we're here in the valley of conflict, we sometimes sing Our great High Priest is seated at God's right hand above his hands, with uh, his hands uplifted in sympathy.
And love. And so his hands are going to be held up. He's going to fulfill those two offices for us.
So that really there's provision for failure in our lives, but there's really no excuse for it. Brethren, we have all the resources that we need. And then very quickly we find another resource. Here we find Joshua leading the battle. Joshua's name is uh means Jesus, and he's a picture of Jesus on various occasions. And when I think of the incident here, on the one hand we have Moses seated on high, a picture of the Lord Jesus.
Gone on high to intercede for us.
But the Lord Jesus, before he went back to heaven, he said to the disciples, I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. He was Speaking of the descent of the Holy Spirit. And isn't it wonderful that we have the Spirit of God, the power for our lives as we meet the enemy? We have a powerful enemy, it's true. But greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. And so we find Joshua here. He's the one at the forefront of the battle and what is in his hand.
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A sword because the word of God is often referred to as the sword of the Spirit.
It's illustrated with the Lord Jesus, so beautiful, and when he was in the wilderness.
Here were the people of God in the wilderness. The Lord Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted before his public ministry. And how did he meet the enemy? Oh he and the power of the Spirit quoted a verse of Scripture. And I believe that the word of God is the power, the Spirit of God, and it's the power for meeting the enemy when he comes to attack us and seek to hinder us in our wilderness, in our wilderness journey.
Yeah, I say again. It's not our sort. Sometimes I've heard people say I've got my sword with me referring to their Bible, but it's not my sword. It's the sword of the Spirit. And when it's used in communion by the Spirit, that's when it has its power, you know, Peter had a sword in his hand on one occasion, too, but he used it without the sanction of the Lord and what he did and what happened. Someone said he just ended up giving the Lord more work to do.
He only added to the situation, he didn't help it. I'll give you another little illustration.
You know water. Running water in Scripture is usually a picture of the Spirit of God. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, and this he spake concerning the Spirit. Contained water is usually a picture of the word of God. But running water, a fountain, a brook, a spring, a well, is usually a picture of the Spirit of God. And I think of David when he went to meet Goliath.
What did he do? He went down to the brook, a picture of the spirit of God. And from the brook he took five smooth stones, and he stored them in his shepherd's bag. I suggest it illustrates to us the word of God appropriated to our own souls in the power of the Spirit of God. And when the moment came, he was able to take one stone out and to use it effectively to meet the giant, the enemy of God's people. And so here we find it doesn't say that Israel disquieted Amalek. No, it was Joshua. It was not in their own power. It was in the power of one who speaks to us.
Of Christ or the the Spirit of God and his sword, the Word of God.
And so, brethren, if we're going to meet the enemy, if we're going to go on in our Christian pathway, if there's going to be self judgment, if we're gonna get our eyes off ourselves and on Christ, oh, it must be in availing ourselves of the resources that we have. And he was to write this in a book. There was a victory, and it was Jehovah Nissi. The Lord is my banner speaks of victory. You know, in the old days they raised flags when they had those battles.
Out on the plains between various cities and and and factions, and they'd raise the colors and those on the wall, perhaps miles away, who were looking to see who had the victory. Well, when they saw the colors of the city, of the colors of the army raised, all that would be great rejoicing because there had been a great victory.
And brethren, we can only raise the banner as we have victory in Christ. It's not going to be in ourselves.
We've had a wonderful weekend blessed privilege to have this little Oasis, to be with the people of God, to be in the presence of of where? Of Christ, Christ in the midst, to have fellowship, to have the word of God before us, this little place of safety and and security for a few moments in a wicked world. But we're going to leave here. If the Lord leaves us here, we're in Satan's territory. He's the God of this world religiously. He's the Prince of this world politically.
He's there at every hand in the Amalek character. How are we going to have a victory? Oh, I say it's only in availing ourselves of the resources that they we have in Christ. And so they were to have a war with them elect from generation to generation. As has already been a broad out brethren. We're not going to be done with Amalek until we get home to glory. As long as we're here in the valley of conflict. As long as we're here in this wilderness world, the.
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Flesh is going to lust against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, and the enemy is going to work on the flesh to discourage, to weary and confuse and divide the people of God. But the resources that we need are all there in an ascended Christ and the resources that he sent down to uh to us on the day of Pentecost and the Word of God and so on. But I want to just say this in closing I read in Deuteronomy because there we find another little comment made about this battle that we don't have in the 17th of Exodus.
We find there that Amalek smoke behind her. Most of them, if I can put it this way, those that were farthest from Joshua, those that were farthest from the captain, you know, Peter had that sad experience.
Really. The start of Peter's denying the Lord. It was a course of things he followed afar off.
He followed the Lord, but he followed afar off. And these ones here they followed Joshua.
But Amalek got those that were farthest away. And if we follow afar off, if we want to keep part of our heart for the Lord, for ourselves and the world, Ohio, it's going to end in sad ruin again. It can't take, we can't, He can't take our salvation. But we can become discouraged and weary, as he says, faint and weary. And the great tactic of the enemy today, I believe, is to weary and confuse the people of God.
To wear us down, even if it's just using the daily grind of life. But all I say again, let's follow close to the Lord Jesus. Let's walk beside him in the conscious sense of his presence with it, with us. Let's look up and re avail ourselves of the resources that we have in an ascended Christ. He's living for us as our great High Priest. He's there as our advocate. He sent down the spirit of God as the power for our lives. And we have the word of God.
To guide us and direct us, to refresh us and to encourage us.
Brethren, we can go on. I know it's difficult. I know some of you are going through circumstances that I've never been called on to pass through, but the resources that you and I have in Christ today are the same limitless supply that has always been available to the people of God.
Part to cleave unto the Lord as those that did it, as recorded in Acts. One other resource here is the Lord's coming. And so in closing I'd like to read from Umm First John chapter 3, a couple verses.
Chapter 3 and verse 2 Behold, now are we the sons of God?
And it does not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, or we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
So I believe we've been instructed to realize that, uh, when we have this hope of his coming, you know, that's two parts of that coming. It has a purifying effect, an ongoing purification in us that awaits his return.
I got it 5.