Q&A
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Question again deals with family matters.
And with all the divorces in the world, and even many and even among Christians now, what can a Christian couple do to safeguard their marriage?
I'll read the question again. With all the divorces in the world and even among Christians now, what can a Christian couple do to safeguard their marriage?
Can you start maybe by going to first Peter chapter 3?
And we'll read verse 7.
Likewise he husbands dwell with your wife according to knowledge, giving honor unto the white, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.
Please just one simple point. I'm sure there's a lot of point in this, but.
To live together, According to knowledge, there's a.
If you're living together and you don't understand the desires and the concerns of each other, or if you don't understand the concerns of your wife.
And you don't try to fulfill her needs and concerns, it's going to put a wedge between you.
And there's going to be difficulties.
And, and in that sense, your prayers are going to be hindered.
Prayers probably an important part of the marriage.
What strengthens the marriage family? Prayer. Prayer together.
I believe that's vital prayer in the word of God and a Christian family that's set up.
So let's start with the wedding night.
Say that everybody starts to think a certain way.
Let's think prayer. This is your first night together for those who are contemplating marriage, and it's your chance.
To start right off before God.
And one piece of advice I like to give.
Is something that we took into our marriage is to both pray together, express the thought of your heart before the Lord in the presence of the other one, and really seek to know the mind of the Lord together.
And that is what keeps the marriage strong. It isn't just praying either. We know that. We often talk about that.
I'm just talking to God isn't enough. We have to hear what he says. And so you need to take up the word of God together and read it together. And this is the thing that makes the marriage strong. It doesn't mean that even with that there won't be difficulties. But without that, especially for, I should say, in the Christian relationship, there's not going to be much chance. Remember when?
We were married, brother Gordon Hagel spoke and I can mention this last year, but.
I'd like to mention it again Ecclesiastes 412 with reverse that he had on his heart.
It says.
OK, so verse 11 is the one we often think about even at that time. But verse 12 and one prevail against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
And so we need to take into a Christian marriage, or if we are Christians, we're in a marriage right now. We haven't done it and we have this opportunity.
00:05:02
We need to bring the Lord into every part of our marriage.
To have a 2 pole cord is not what's spoken about here. There's some strength in that, but it's not enough. Needs to be 3 fold cord. It needs to be two believers going on with singleness of heart together with the Lord and the Lord finding that marriage together every single day. And that's where the strength will be.
He also said my wife is reminding me of her wedding. He said, you know, I often say that in a marriage you should go into the marriage where you're each one of you planning to.
Fully do your part. Each one of you is going to do 50%.
I said that's not going to work. You each need to be 100 percent, 100% for the other, and together you need to be 100% for the Lord. And when we enter into marriage or at whatever point we are in our marriage, we endeavor in our hearts to live in our marriage. That way it would be a strong marriage. The Lord will help us through all those bumps in the road that surely will come.
Surely do come and help marriage of happiness and blessing.
In a lot of marriages or.
Some marriages.
There's a lot of arguing and fighting and putting up with each other because they know it's against God's divorce. They know that divorce is against God's will and but.
They're not really getting along and there's a lot of fighting, but I think what Tim has mentioned.
Is is going to be very powerful to help you in your marriage if you're fighting a lot, but it takes both of the husband and the wife to be on the same page, willing to give up their own will and to be able to look out for the will and the desires of the other and not to be selfish.
In the marriage. And so if you're having, if you're struggling in your marriage and you're just staying together because God says so, that's good to stay together, but it's not good to it doesn't help the marriage situation just because you're staying together. There needs to be that effort made.
To to to be together with God, like that three fold cord that Tim was speaking about.
We were bringing out that first appears together, the grace of life. There's the grace that God gives for life and and it's a tremendous privilege. We can go. We're heirs as Christians. The husband and wife can take that up before God through his word to say, wow, this is all that he's given us to share and enjoy together and help each other along in it. Those two verses go together very well that night in.
Enthusiasts for these are things that a husband and wife ought to share and enjoy every day together in the Lord.
I was thinking.
Also the expression of the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians chapter 8, he says don't we have the ability as the other apostles to lead about a sister?
As white and then he said we didn't take that, that's our privilege, but we didn't take that. And he served the Lord as a bachelor. But the way he puts it there as the other apostles were, they had a sister in the Lord that they were taking in with them.
In the service of the Lord as wife and the first thing he puts there is a sister in the Lord. It's tremendous. He saw this as one who is one who valued the Lord and His word. And that relationship is as being a spiritual relationship 1St and then the wife is mentioned 2nd. And what a grand thing that is here, here brother and the Lord or sister and the Lord that you're married to.
And you can take up that relationship with them and encourage and strengthen each other in the Lord's things.
That's something that if we look past, we're going to lose such a benefit as we can never regain it, perhaps until we get into eternity.
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One thing that I would like to mention.
Chapter 17.
Verse 13 This is the setting where this widow, she had she had a son. She was about to.
Guy and she had she had a meal enough for a trip and the prophet Elijah came to her and said.
In verse 13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not go, and do as thou hast said for me. Therefore a little K 1St and bring it to me, and after may for thee and for thy son.
That principle is, I believe, so important in the whole, as husbands and wives were to provide for our family, and that's so important. But.
Notice they were to give The Cave first to the prophet, I believe to the Lord.
If we want to.
Give the Lord the 1St place we have to give him the cake 1St and that might mean I know like an example of this, we we had a family get together a while back and.
Right at the very beginning.
We made it very clear we wanted the Lord to give His portion first and though we had an enjoyable time in fellowship and just like we're having here.
But we wanted to give the Lord, put the Lord into it in everything, and it will make the difference. It's just like this camp.
Doing having the fellowship and the activities, the games and so forth, this is nice, but it has to, you have to get the Lord the 1St place and all the other things come second. If that is the case in your home, that's where the Lord will be honored if he's given that portion. So when?
You're having whatever your meal.
If there's somebody that invited to your home but do it, give it to the Lord first. Give him his first place. Don't give him the leftovers.
I'd like to throw a red flag here for the young people especially.
Umm, this world is full of help so-called help for the marriage. There's all kinds of books written and advice given psychology and you can even go to a Christian bookstore and find all kinds of written help that is the ideas of man or has the principles of.
The study of the mind behind it.
There was a young lady who had a family came to me and she said, you have seven children. Can you give me any the names of any books that I could use for the raising of our family? And I said yes, it's called the word of God.
In these books you'll find of the study of the mind, how to get along, how to communicate things, to do things to say, things not to do, or whatever.
I just like to make the point that Ananias and Sapphira would have been very well with those psychology books. They knew how to communicate. They knew how to interact with one another very well as a married couple.
But they didn't have the Spirit of God leading them, and it cost both of them their lives. Acts chapter 5.
00:15:02
The next question has to do with elders in the assembly.
By elders I don't mean the old people, I mean bishops or overseers in the assembly, an overseer. And in Titus chapter one, verse five, that's what the question comes from.
Titus one verse five. And this is Paul the apostle Paul talking to Titus and he says something similar to Timothy who is going to do other assemblies. And he says verse 5 for this cause left thy thee in Crete, that thou shouldst, you know, set in order the things that are wanting.
And ordained or appoint elders in every city.
As I have appointed thee.
So Paul is telling Titus, you go to these different assemblies and you set up a an oversight in each assembly and appoint elders in the assembly. And so the question is this, why don't our assemblies appoint elders as in Titus 1/5?
There seems to be a clear directive to not simply assume elders.
As seems to be the practice.
So the question is, why do we assume elders in in our assemblies? And first of all, it's not our assemblies, it's God's assembly.
And why do Why are elders not appointed in the assemblies we we find here in Titus?
A decree to ordain the elders and then he gives a list of qualifications what to look for in the elder. These are God's standards for a man.
If you're a man, these are God's standards for you.
And as a young man.
This is what you can live and try to make your model for life to become the man God wants you to be.
But that doesn't in itself make you an elder. It's good for a man to desire the to be an overseer in the assembly.
But it's the Spirit of God that makes you overseers.
The elders were appointed back at the beginning of the Church by Apostolic authority. Today we don't have apostles.
And so we don't appoint elders because we don't have any apostles. Timothy and Titus weren't apostles either, but they had direct.
Instructions from the apostles, authority from the apostles to do that. And we don't have the apostles giving us the authority, neither do we have the word of God to give us the authority to appoint elders. And if you look in Acts chapter 20, verse 28.
Acts 20, verse 28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to feed the Church of God, which he hath her.
With his own blood. And so the spirit of Spirit of God was now making.
A person, an overseer. Well, how do you become an overseer? Well, it goes right back to the qualifications. Is that part of who you are in your life that your your life is, is.
Governed by who you are. And is this who you are? Is this how we live before God? And as you read the word of God and you learn and you're instructed by the word of God, and you live.
And practice those things that you learn.
You are making yourself an available instrument for God to use.
In an overseer perhaps is developed over time and so we don't appoint elders. God works with you in your heart and gives you a care for the people of God. Some people don't like to have the responsibility and so they just ignore God's standard for man and they don't take that responsibility because given them, but there's an overseer in the assembly.
00:20:25
Is one who cares for the people of God. He takes the chart, takes responsibility for things in the assembly and and he's one who is looked up to for his spiritual guidance and direction for matters in the assembly. So it's the Spirit of God that takes the instrument that you are.
And leads you along into the place of oversight. But there has to be something there to work with. And so God gives it the instructions as to what these apostles had sent Timothy and Titus, what they should look for in a in a man to put in that position.
I don't know that any of anyone fully fulfills all the requirements or the qualifications. So they're not really qualifications. It's more of a standard that God has for a man to live by and as he learns the Word of God and he's able to apply the word of God to situations.
The over the Spirit of God can make you an overseer.
Remember, the question correctly is why don't our assemblies have point outers? And then it goes on to imply that this is the plain word of God that is 1/5.
Hope we all can see that it isn't. It's not at all what kind of 15 says in fact, in the word of God, we never ever once find assemblies appointing elders. They appoint deacons. Get that in Acts chapter 6, but not elders. And so here just to go back again.
He says for this cause left ID and creed that thou should have set in order the things that are wanting and ordained or established elders in each city.
As I had appointed or ordered, Big Titus was directly ordered by the apostle Paul on Apostolic authorities. Tim was saying to go and appoint these elders, and he went to Crete, a whole island full of assemblies, and appointed voters. And those assemblies, not one of those assemblies appointed their own elders.
And so it is in every other case in the scripture and so.
And there are ones who come along today who say that you need to go as assemblies and appoint your elders. And of course, the way we do that, especially in North America, is we're going to do it by vote, say suffrage or whatever. So they get together and, and vote as to who their elders should be. And they think they.
That's fulfilled Scripture, but they haven't because Scripture never gives instruction for that for some reason to say, well, the apostles are gone, So what else do we have? There's only assembly, so.
That's the way we have to do it. But if it was so, I would have told us. And he hasn't told us that. And so Tim mentioned the verse in Acts chapter 20. I just go look at another one. And 1St Thessalonians chapter 5. And here was an assembly that probably wasn't more than a month or so old. The apostle had been there less than three weeks.
And he had to leave because of persecution.
And these ones got saved and they were carrying on as an assembly.
But you take people or a month old as believers.
Now, who's going to meet the qualifications of an elder among them?
And indeed you find when the apostle went around and people got saved in assemblies then were established that elders were not appointed. It was until later that he would go back and appoint elders in those places. And so here was an assembly that was in its infancy. And one of the qualifications of an elders says not an office.
That's being lifted up with Piney Falls in the condemnation of the devil.
And so they didn't have any of these who weren't novices. They were all spiritual novices. They had to learn the word of God. It was even harder in those days because they didn't have what we do. They had the occasional letter coming through. This is one of them for Thessalonians.
00:25:05
And so Paul says something here that was important. First Thessalonians 512.
Well, even back to verse 11, Wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another.
Even as also you do, and so they had that to help each other with, but then there was something beyond that. Verse 12 he says, we beseech you, brethren, to know them, which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and esteemed them very highly in love for their works sake, and be at peace among yourselves. And so already in this infant assembly there were those who the Lord was raising up just exactly as how Tim was bringing out.
In Acts chapter.
And the others were to recognize them and to say, I recognize that God is raising these ones out in a special way to take the lead among us in the Lord.
And to give them their place. Now you just say that's wrong. There's a clear direct to do otherwise. Well, here's a clear directive to recognize those whom the Lord is raising up in a place where the apostle wasn't there to appoint elders.
So where are we today? Are we in a place where the apostles aren't here to appoint others? Yes. Does this Scripture then apply to us? Yes, that's where we are. And the Lord does raise up those ones, and we recognize them, there's no doubt about it. It's just as clear as if they were appointed by apostles. And we need to then.
Recognize them and give them their place. There's also another helpful principle in Second Timothy chapter 2.
From verse one it takes all. Therefore my son, be strong and the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And then we have.
Some steps, perhaps four of them here.
The things which thou hast heard of me, the apostle Paul among many witnesses the same commit thou Timothy to faithful men. There's another one faithful men who are able to do what teach others also. Now this is about teaching and teachers, but I believe the principle is the same too, that if someone has a desire for oversight to help the Lord's people.
It's passed on by being a faithful man.
Verse four, it speaks of not entangling ourselves with the affairs of this life and so on. If somebody has a desire that way, these things are passed on. That way the faithful men were able to teach others also.
Two examples I've seen over the years happen and they weren't getting gathered assemblies.
The first example was.
The pastors of the church were going to appoint elder.
And so when the day came for the appointment of the elders.
The pastor appointed this, this person, this husband and wife. I guess it was.
And another.
White couple were offended because they had a dream, they said in the 19 quarter that was supposed to be them. So they left the church in kind of a hop and went to another church.
Who's who's appointing the elder? Is it man? It was the pastor of the church.
You know, we, we feel that it should be ourselves.
I think it's people more that naturally gravitate to it that people will see in more of that role or people that don't want that kind of a title. You will see in maybe assemblies people that have more of those qualifications and if you have a question, you will tend to seek them out. But to a point somebody has not really gone away, especially we don't have any offership that was there for.
Another example, the church, totally different church is appointing another pastor. So how do they do this?
All the church got together and they have both. They had an election.
I'm not sure where we've got to have elections before, but they have elections when they get out of the palace and they counted them and this one gentleman won the election.
Well, apparently his son was the person that had the ballots. So there was a bit of a hair cobble because people were saying, well, no, I didn't vote for that person. I voted for this person. This person should have won. So now we have another division. Why? Because man is.
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Look at Acts chapter one.
This is before the day of Pentecost and.
Judas had committed suicide.
So there were 11 disciples and one was missing.
And in verse.
15 through the end, they're deciding what to do.
Verse 26 it says they gave forth their loves, and the lot fell upon Matthias.
Well chapter 2 verse one says and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, and we know that the Spirit was given.
In chapter 2 verse one, this is the last time that we find them drawing straws if you will.
The question that the apostle Paul said to the Lord.
On the road to Damascus was the right answer.
Not shall I draw draws and see what to do. He said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? And then the Spirit had the answer.
In fact, I guess in that case it was the Lord Jesus directly said, Lord, what do you want me to do? So I want you to do this. There's no drawing straws anymore. The Spirit that was given.
There's no casting lots.
I hope I'm.
Making too many assumptions here, but I think I'm right in this that we never again read in the New Testament after the day of Pentecost of casting a lot through drying stuff or whatever. So the question for us is, what wilt thou help us to do? And then if we ask that genuinely, he'll tell you.
There's a verse I can't put, I can't remember exactly where it is. It says if any man will know, will do his will, he shall know what? The doctor So I can't you and I young people can't say to the Lord.
You know, let us tell us what you want and then we'll let you know if we're going to do it, we're not going to get the right answer.
But to say to the Lord genuinely, and I think this relates somewhat to the sorry Tim again, sidetracked here, but.
In in the question to say, Lord, what wilt thou have us to do?
That's the right question, and the Lord will manifest what His perfect will is.
But we can't say have a almost like a little hidden escape.
Say, well if I don't want to do that then I won't, but tell me what it is first, then I'll let you know if I'm in or not. That doesn't work.
So anyway, I think it's important to recognize his spirit of God that we should be guided by in the Word of God.
Not my favorite brother when I was a young person, I could list off, you know, people that I thought, man, if I go to Montreal conference, I hope this guy's having an address and that guy and this other guy. And, and I don't say that's totally wrong because.
Yeah, I remember as a kid, you know.
Different brethren would take an interest in US children, and we appreciate it, and then we loved them. But.
To say, well, I'm going to pick these five guys to be the elders because they're my favorite ones. That's not the right way. The Lord, the Spirit will establish in his way, and that's the happy path.
To the knife or.
00:35:01
The first chapter and Oklahoma what you're saying brother kind of alliance to number of things we've been talking about.
With our very.
Change that to one of your fires.
Sometimes our drive is in the way, we get down on our knees and we're real with the warrior.
Really where the rubber moves the room and any of the black wisdom.
Let him out of God. They give us the almond literally and upgrade God and give them.
No.
The moment we've had them there that ever lived, those Lord Jesus Christ.
I have that need every day.
I just want to make one comment add to what has been said because there may come a question that while it's true that the Spirit of God always was there and no longer was the lot cast into the lap so to speak after the Pentecost yet.
The apostles did appoint. In case that question comes up in anybody's mind, we have to remember that the apostles were part of the foundation of the Church.
They were put there to establish order in the beginning when the mind of God was not yet fully known. As to these matters, you have to remember before the apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians, nobody had this part of the Word of God. And so the apostles were needed there until the Word of God was complete. They were part of that foundation. Now that foundation is laid.
And we've got it preserved to us in the Word of God.
Today we look here, we find all the guidance for what we do here and that is why we don't go and appoint elders anymore. We wait on the Lord as to who they are.
Parting a practical application of the appointing of elders. Years ago, I was sitting in my office and the phone rang and an older brother was on the end of the line and he said, John, I got to come talk to you.
So I told him come on over and he came over and he sat down and he said.
John The.
Doctors have told me that I have cancer, that I have to have an operation at the end of this week and the Lord may not pull me through.
And he said.
Before the Lord takes me home, he says I just wanted to come over and tell you that.
There are some things in the assembly you need to take care of.
And I know when we get on the on the subject of elders and apostles, we usually think of it in terms of ministry. And here's the list that he gave me, he said item number one.
The women's restroom has to be clean. Make sure you clean it and clean the men's restroom too. And don't forget about the kitchen floor. The sisters don't like that floor to be dirty. And don't forget about the windows. Get the windows clean and make sure you sweep up the leaves in the parking lot. Now, you know, sometimes young people, as we think about elders, we often think of those that stand up and speak, and that is correct.
But there's also a practical side to eldership. It is doing that which is practical around the assembly. And it's interesting too, that older brothers.
Sometimes in Hamid we in Hemet, CA we refer to older brothers as Q-tips because they're white haired but.
You know.
These older ones have a real like apostles and elders did in the early days of the church. And so they passed the baton, so to speak, to the younger generations. And sometimes the younger generation is very surprised as to what they pass on. I mean, I never thought that old brother would say, go clean the toilets. You got to be kidding, you know.
00:40:13
But it's good, it's good to take care of what the older brothers and some of the older brothers are very good at in taking care of the practical responsibilities of the assembly. And it's also very interesting, I find something in all the years that the Lord has graciously kept me gathered to His precious name.
That I find that those brothers that do the practical care of the assembly also have a very practical.
Application of the Word of God when it comes to spiritual matters.
And so I would suggest that, you know, as you young people, you look around the assembly and you say, well, what can I do?
Just stop and do it. As unto the Lord, pick something to do. There's lots to be done and books to pass out and books to pick up. There's things to clean up around the assembly, but it's a care. We were talking a little bit about the marital relationship.
We often.
Look at a verse in Corinthians that says that a unmarried man cared for the things of the Lord.
And a married man cares for the things of the world that he made please his wife. Well, you know, a lot of times we consider that as a negative, but that's that's God we order. A married man will care for the things of the world as to how to please his wife. Husbands like to keep their wives with the cares of the world and keep them.
Happy they do have cares there are certain things that a woman.
Likes to do. They like to arrange things in our lives, and it's good for our husband to be sensitive to that sometimes. I like curtains. They want certain curtains put up. They want certain flooring down. They want kitchen cabinets and dishes, just soap. And we thank the Lord for our wives with that because these are the cares of the world.
And so you don't have to sit there and argue with your wife saying why do you like those dishes?
That's not being practical. God's word says the married man is going to care for the things of the world that please his wife. To keep our wife happy for those of us that are married, not that serving the Lord unmarried.
Is any what can we say? There's less distraction, there's less care I have to worry about if you're serving the Lord.
And you don't have a wife to be distracted, But you know, it should be an encouragement to us that are married that the Lord has made it such that we do care for our wives.
When the apostle Peter, who was an elder himself, and he was giving instructions for for others.
He talks about cleaning toilet goals. Brother, let's go to first Peter chapter 5.
In the 1St 456 verses, he's talking to the elders, to the overseers in the assemblies and.
Middle of verse five it says be clothed with humility for I think in Darby's translation he writes it. All of you bind on humility toward one another and so.
We tend to think of an overseer as one who's kind of like a ruler or a king perhaps, but that's not what an overseer is. An overseer is one who has to get down and do the and become involved in things that are.
Sometimes cleaning the toilets and spiritually, sometimes having to go and speak with somebody who is and that's part of the shepherds work too. But to someone who's getting off the path that needs to be talked to and and try to encourage them to go on and.
And so a lot of it could be a private work, but.
00:45:02
This versus Tim spoke about in Thessalonians know them that take the lead among you.
And those who take the lead among you.
There also needs to be a humble side to them. Sometimes you don't see that humility because it may not be there.
We're all failures in some ways.
But.
Humility is a very big part of God's standards for man.
And for an Overseer, we have one more question for today.
Why are so many discouraged these days and are leaving or threatened to leave the assembly?
Why are so many discouraged these days and are leaving or threatened to leave the assembly?
I'm going to give one example, and I'm sure there's many reasons why people get discouraged.
And but why does that discouragement lead them to want to go somewhere else or not to be connected with, with the Lords Table and they want to go somewhere else? Why? Why is there that discouragement? And I think Tim talked about it the other night about the world that comes in.
And.
Draw their hearts away and if we go to Galatians chapter.
5.
In verse 16.
This I say, then walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And so the flesh is going to be something that.
Wants to be have its own self will wants to do its own thing once. I want my way to be preeminent in everybody else. And if there's a decision to be made or a choice, I want it to be my choice and.
I I, I live by the power of the flesh rather than by the Spirit. There's in in Ephesians 4 talks about endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I'm going to give you an example that I know of that a one man had to be put out of the assembly for some.
Some erroneous teachings and so forth.
His son came and tried to negotiate a unity in the assembly and he tried to usurp the authority of the leadership in the assembly, the oversight and he tried to force.
His peacemaking attempts to try to negotiate a unity that we could all live with in a compromise.
That was.
Not Spirit LED. The unity of the Spirit is not compromised so everybody can get along together. The unity of the Spirit is based on the Word of God and if a person needs to be put away at first for some.
Terror like that or whatever it may be, there's no negotiating unity to try to get them back. If there's rest, if there's repentance and restoration to the Lord, then there's restoration to the assembly and the the leadership, the oversight in the assembly, they have the responsibility for those decisions. And if somebody thinks that they're restored in their hearts to the Lord, then the oversight needs to go in and inquire about that. But.
To negotiate a unity is not.
God's way is in agreement with the Word of God. Then there's a verse in John 7.
And if a person doesn't get his own will, like this man I was speaking about, he became discouraged.
00:50:04
And he no longer comes to the assembly. He goes somewhere else because he could not have his own way.
In the assembly and so the assembly is not about having our own way or or exercising the flesh in decisions. It's called according to the unity of the spirit and in in John Chapter 7 verse 17.
Let's start in verse 16.
Jesus answered them and said my doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
The Lord Jesus was very keen about the doctrine of the Father.
If any man will do his will, the will of the Father, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.
Whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. And so if you are willing, I think this principle can apply here also. If you're willing to know what the will of God is, if you're have, if you have a desire to do the will of God, you're not going to want to negotiate a unity.
He wants to be subject to the Word of God.
I'm sure most of us are affiliated first it's a first Peter 5 verse 8 starting the verse you registered the devil with a roaring mind walk the boat sitting when we made of our Satan will try to use whatever he can.
Going to discourage us from close the way, whether it's things in the world or, you know, struggles in the assembly. But so it's especially important to remember the first part of the horse. Be sober, be vigilant.
The same same kind of situation that we have in the question that was asked.
John chapter 6 and verse 66. From that time many his disciples went back and walked no more with him.
Then the question needs to be asked in our own souls. The Lord Jesus asked his disciples this question and may we take it from him? Jesus said unto the 12 Will ye also go away? There's a heart searching question as to what it is that really occupies our hearts and Peter answers this way.
Then Simon Peter answered.
Him more to whom? It's a person. It's not a system, it's not a set of rules, it's not the meeting or the belief of the brethren, or whatever you might want to say it.
Whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life and we believe in our sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. We have spoken. Now Peter has had so many times, but he had this in his heart, deep rooted. And that's something that needs to be deep rooted in each one of our hearts as well and as it's rooted.
Our hearts, we can be an encouragement to others who may be discouraged to point them to Christ the Center.
Where's its origin? I believe its origin is and failing to have faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Discouragement usually comes from circumstances. Circumstances are something that comes into our life.
Various ways.
And so that circumstance overcomes us also. We can think about that circumstance. We fail to see that there's a God who loved us behind that circumstance.
And that nothing happens in our life that isn't placed there by a God who loves us every day of our life. God is working with us. He's trying to conform us to the image of His dear Son. And He puts things in our life for a reason. And when we fail to recognize that this was placed here for a reason by a God who loved me, all of a sudden I'm consumed by what's going on in my life, by the circumstance.
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And I get discouraged. If we turn over to First Samuel chapter 30, we have an example of some who got discouraged and some who overcame when circumstances came into their life that were.
Not very good.
Verse one it says, and it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the South, and Ziklag and spittin Ziklag, and burned with fire, and had taken the women captive.
Is that where they are in They slew not any either great or small, but carried them away and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with burned with fire, and their wives and their sons and their daughters were taking captive.
That's not a very good circumstances.
That's a terrible circumstance.
And David and the people that were with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more power to lead. It's not wrong to wait over a circumstance that happens in your life sometimes. That's the place where God is trying to get us to, where we have no more power in ourselves and we're completely cast down.
Now what happens on the other side of that circumstance is being brought to our knees.
Do we respond and stand up in the energy of the flesh, or do we respond and the energy of the Spirit? That gives us two things here.
And David's two wives were taken captive, and him, the Jezreelite, Abigail the way from naval, the Carmelite, and David greatly distressed. For the people speak of Stoningham, because the soul of all the people was grieved at responding in the energy of the flesh.
That's taking that circumstance not from God.
And trying to meet it in the energy of the flesh and use the flesh to combat that circumstance.
You will never find peace. I will never find peace or joy in responding to a circumstance in the energy of the flesh. Satan wants you to think that if you respond this way, you'll get some satisfaction, you'll get some gratification, maybe you'll get one over on somebody who you have feelings against, who did something to you, but it won't bring about joy.
Or peace in your life.
And it goes on, every man, for his sons and for his daughters. But David encouraged himself and the Lord his God. David lost two wives here. The city that he was living in was burned with fire. And yet on the other side of that circumstance that brought him to his knees, he responds to the energy of the Spirit, and he takes it from God.
And he goes further and he prays, and he seeks God's mind, and he says, what should I do?
What, what is the path that I need to take to overcome the circumstance? And that's the path you and I can take. And that's the fact that you and I can encourage other ones in. Sometimes we want to sugar cook discouragement. And I'm not saying that we don't have care when we go to somebody who's discouraged. We need to have great care. But as it's already been said, we need to bring them back to Christ. There needs to be a recognition of what that discouragement is and where it comes from.
And then to recognize that I need to act in the energy of the Spirit of God.
Sometimes you discourage it because we have an expectation of maybe our brothers and sisters that we thought they should act a certain way. And when they don't act that way, we get discouraged and we say, well, if they are not in this way, I'll go somewhere where I'm getting encouraged. I'm a friend that he felt there wasn't enough shepherding in the assembly, so he went somewhere where he felt he could be shepherded.
And I just want to read a verse in, in, in thinking of why we're, why we're at the assembly and who's there. And it's an application in First Samuel 22.
First Samuel 22 and verse 2. This is the time when David was fleeing from Saul and was in the key of a Abdullah.
And it says everyone that was in distress, everyone that was in debt and everyone that was discontented gathered themselves unto him and he became a captain over them. And there with him about 400 men, you know, in the assembly. I don't choose my brothers and sisters. I don't pick this brother, that brother to be there on Sunday morning. I don't decide. And it's not the best people are in the meeting.
There are way, there are other brothers and sisters, I love the Lord a lot more than I do that are not in the assembly. I don't I don't go there because it's the best Christians. I go there because I believe the Lord is there. And these people, if they're giving you a David, they have to go with where David was. There were all these misfits, these people that were in debt and people that weren't happy, but they went as a Lord because David was the type of the Lord was there. And if we have that as our view, I think it'll help us from being discouraged because if we expect our brothers to be perfect, expect a meeting to be perfect.
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We're going to be disappointed one day.
It's by looking to the Lord and realizing He is the one we come visit or He come we come to remember. It'll keep us being disappointed from our brothers and sisters around us.
There's another side of this. All of that is absolutely true, but there's also the side where we can turn others away, and that's in Hebrews chapter 12. One place at least.
Just the one, verse 13, make straight paths to your feet less that which is lame be turned out of the way. And so if we're going to be honest about it, we'll have to admit that sometimes in the assembly we act in certain ways when we say certain things.
That we may have the tendency to turn others aside, and it's very important that we take heed to that as well and be careful to make straight paths for our feet.
We may say things as well. Just an example that has come up was raised by a young brother recently. Sometimes we may speak in the assembly as if we're the only ones who are believers even who are in love or you know outside of the assembly it just very wicked people to even save it all.
And there's a lot of believers who know other believers who are with us, and they know that's not true. They know there's people everywhere who are not gathered who love the Lord very much, and there's much faith and much desire for the Lord.
In other places than where the Lord is gathered. And so there are things that we can say and do to discourage others, and we need to be conscious of that and be very careful.
Not to do those things and to really leave the truth of God where it is as it applies to ourselves. Now, what are The Who are the ones that would be turned out of the white? Well, they're the light, and they do exist. And there's no excuse for that. None of us ought to be lame, and yet it happens at different times in each one of our lives. Perhaps we are the lame ones, right?
I could be the lame one, and have often been, and so it's important.
It's monopoly one at the moment. Don't stumble one who is. But if we are, and this is what has been brought out mostly that if we are a lame person.
Has, in the sense of this verse, we ought not to be, the reason for discouragement. We've been given every resource not to be. And when it comes even to the issue that I've just raised, as to being discouraged because the ones in the assembly speakers, if they're only the ones in the assembly, are those who love the Lord.
And how can that be? And I'm so discouraged.
Well, what are you going to do about that? What do you believe in your heart? And this is what some of the brethren have been bringing out. John 6 and brother Mark was mentioning. Do you see that the Lord Jesus is in the midst of those gathered to His name or not? I believe that He is. I believe that I'm gathered in that place. And I say it without apology. And that's an important question. It's why our brother took a whole meeting on it the other night.
Important that these things should be presented, and very important for everyone of us to get ahold of these truths so that we can look past all of the things that are said and the things that are done right to the one who himself is there. And if we see that the Lord Jesus is there and troubles come in, whatever they may be, even if we're horribly discouraged, the question is going to be just as her brother read to us, to whom should we call the Lord?
Where else am I going to go? Yes, I can leave the assembly and I can go with some other group of Christians and in some ways.
Will be there too, yes, certainly, but not in the way that he has promised to be with those gathered to his name. Just want to tie it into that other truth, but to remind us all that we need to be careful not to stumble our brother.
Our God and Father, we give thanks for these thoughts. We've had questions that have been answered, and we just trust that we've been helped by these discussions and that we might be built up in the most holy faith.
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That we would not be discouraged as we go on through this Christian life and Father, we we just ask for care and safety today as we go through our activities and in time of fellowship together. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.