Address—David Mearns
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It's always a tough time of day.
I got full stomach.
I'm going to put our heads down a nap.
We'll have to.
Give us something special here.
What I had in my heart, I was thinking of the last hymn that we sang.
300 and 301 was it?
Just a comment there that lends itself to what I have before me in 301.
And that's the second verse. It says it is not for us to be seeking our bliss and building our hopes in a region like this. We look for a city which hands have not piled. I was contemplating that a little bit because we know the reference is is the Hebrews 11. And it's just a little bit different here, but it really lends itself to a problem. I've often wondered about Abraham looking for a city that has foundations. We can understand the concept of a building like this having a foundation.
Uh, house having a foundation, but the thought of a city. And so what's interesting here, it says we look for a city which hands have not piled. We pant for a country by thin undefiled. Let's look at a verse just before we pray, just before we sing rather and James, the book of James.
James the 2nd chapter.
James chapter 2 and verse 21 we read, was not Abraham our father? Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar. 23 The scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness, for he was called.
The friends of God.
Well, I have in my heart this afternoon to, umm, to look at a few thoughts in connection with Abraham. It's a large subject, and the subject can be looked at in different ways, but will zero in on a particular part of his life and trust that it would be for a real profit for each of our hearts. Well, maybe we could open by singing, and I might mention that there are two hymns in our little flocking book that mention Abraham, and the first one, the whole thing is the 160th.
160th him.
We're in the fourth verse. We read his call. We obey.
Like Abram of old.
Not going our way, but faith makes us whole. For though we are strangers, we have a sure guide and trust in all dangers the Lord will provide. So maybe we can think #160.
So troubles.
Off.
Dangerous on Friday.
Holy name, my conscience.
By him, let's be gone.
On Together one day.
What can I think about?
00:05:02
But take the membrane and someone the Kingdom of the heart.
OK. And enjoyers, we didn't have a short time.
I will drop them off there and give them.
Blah blah blah, the Lord will roll out.
Before we ask the Lord for his help.
I was, uh, at a wedding a little while ago.
And I sat down with our.
Our sister.
Gorgeous ***** Widow.
And umm, they're visiting together and I, I said to her, I said, you know, and your comments, umm, here and there, umm, and I feel like umm, I missed something by never meeting your dad.
Who was Gilford Christensen? I never met him. I'm sure there were those here that, uh, that, that have, I'm sure our sister Leah would have, uh, known very well. Umm, And, uh, usually the comments, uh, that are made in connection with, uh, something he shared with an older brother and he said, oh, you know, and they would say, well, you know, I, I got this from my brother Gilford and I always felt like, like I missed something by not beating Guilford. And as we were visiting together, she said, you know, it's interesting to say that because, uh, I was out West, umm.
And the brother came to me and said, you know, I remember when your dad came through, umm.
Through, uh, it was actually Aberdeen, Idaho and uh, with, with, with you children, they're all small. And, uh, after the breaking of bread, he stood up after the breaking of bread and he, umm, shared a little meditation And the brother from Aberdeen said to, umm, to our sister, you know, I always remember it, although it was 50 some years ago. He looked at the three looks of Abraham and it really touched my heart. Well, it tweaked my interest to go home.
And looked at those 3 looks of Abraham, which I did, and found out there are seven books of Abraham and I'd like to look at them this afternoon. Uh, as I say, Abraham's subject is a large subject, but if we could zero in on the looks of Abraham, it would perhaps keep myself and everyone here focused as to what the Lord would have for us. So let's just ask the Lord for His health before we open up this precious word.
So let's turn to the Book of Genesis.
And we'll put a pickup on the first time we have this expression that Abraham looked.
It's in the 13th chapter.
Genesis chapter 13.
And it's found in the 14th 1St.
The circumstances.
That surrounded.
First mention of Abraham's look a rather sad circumstance.
Because Abraham and Locke have just parted company.
It's always been a sad thing to me to consider Abram and Locke.
Because they they traveled so many miles together, they went through so many experiences together.
And and they were together through it all.
And they came to this one place in their lives.
That they were not able to stay together.
It seems that their friendship.
Could withstand almost everything.
00:10:03
But it could not stand the test.
Of prosperity.
It withstood everything else.
Withstood them. They went down to Egypt.
It withstood that long trek from Irvicald East.
Where they left everything.
Uh, just just in the previous chapters here, just go through all that, uh.
That Abraham, Abraham and Locke's friendship withstood and now we hear we come to this portion and the test of the prosperity blew them apart. Isn't that sad? It's sad. Well let's pick up now. I'm sure Abraham was feeling this and we read in the 14th 1St.
Well, let's go back. Umm.
The 12 First Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, and lost, dwelt in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. The men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceeding, and the Lord's 7th to Abram after that loss was separated from him. Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward, southward, eastward, westward, for all the land we shall see us. To thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever, and I will make thy seed of the dust of the earth.
So that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall I seed also be numbered?
Arise, walk through the land, in the length of it, and in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. And Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mammary, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord. So here we have that first mention, as I said, of the subject that's before us, where the Lord says to Abraham, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art. I was touched, you know, when Brother Randy was praying for the food there.
This morning, just at the end of our meeting.
He just made the comment and, and just the teaching the Lord that we would have our eyes not looking around us, but we would have our eyes looking upward. Well, that's what the Lord told Abram to do here, isn't it? In the 14th verse, the Lord said of Abraham after the law was separated from lift up now line on lift up now thine eyes. It's so easy, isn't it, to be distracted by what's around us.
It's so easy to be distracted by the.
The things that come into our pathway, you know, we are sitting in our family reading, umm, just just a week ago.
And, uh, our, our family reading is early in the morning. Umm.
We all come to go at different times and the the the time that that suits us is 6:00 umm.
To the chagrin of those who have to leave a little bit later, but there are those of us who have to leave earlier anyway. We were sitting there and umm, you know, that's supposed to be on top of things and supposed to have everything in full control. And, uh, he doesn't realize how heavily he relies on the comments of these younger ones. But we're sitting there and I had, umm, I had a bad few days, umm, at work and have some things that the Lord had dished up to me that I wasn't really thankful for that umm, I should have been. And out of the blue one of my daughter's says, umm.
You know, umm.
We really need to have our eyes not on the circumstances.
That we have before us, but we need to have our eyes on the hand that dishes the mode.
Umm, I was so thankful for that, for my own soul. Umm, as I say, you know, as daddy's supposed to be in control here and umm, I'm just so thankful to, to have a comment like that. And I just appreciated that Brandy. When you're praying just to it just fits in with how so often it's so easy for us to get taken up with whatever's on our plate and it's diversified. We all have different circumstances. We live in a, we live in a, a busy life or a.
We, we live in a country that has driven people, no matter what we're driven about, it's every time we leave the, leave the, the house, we're driven about something. Umm, it's the way it is. And because of that, it's busy. And because of that, so often the Lord gets squeezed out. But, umm, isn't it marvelous that we can take time like this? Umm, where Abram, uh, he's brought feeling down about, uh, having been with a lot of all these years and now they're separated and he's just kind of contemplating that. And the Lord comes along and says, you know, Abraham, need to lift your eyes up. You need to have your gaze above this scene. And we're going to see as we look at some of the others, we find the same wording. Not all of them because we're going to find five of them here in Genesis and two of them in the New Testament where we have that expression. Well, here we find that he's told to look northward, southward, eastward, westward, and he's told to look at the land.
00:15:34
And it was to be hit.
Uh, the land on which S see us to thee will I give it A to buy seed forever. Well, you know, the Lord has given us so much and umm, we need to enjoy it as Abraham was told to do. Arise, walk through the land and the length of it and the breadth of it. Umm, those of you who uh, knew Mr. Berry, who of course came here so often, umm, he used to quote us young boys or misquote us rather the verse from Joshua used to say, you know, every place that the place, every place that the.
Thank you.
Every place that the sole of your foot, he's coated this way, umm, shall tread upon that shall I give you. That's the way I quote it. And he's asking if he'd say what's wrong with that? Well, he used to say, you know, uh, we didn't know what was wrong with it. He said, well, every place at the sole of your foot shall try to call him and say that have I given you already yours? It's not shall I give you? It's have I given you. Well, although we might enjoy, as Abram was told to do here, walk through that call of the earth.
Well think about many blessings that are ours tremendous amount. Well, here we find I will make thy seed of the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth.
Then shall thy eve be numbered.
Uh, let's turn umm, to the Nadia song from this.
The Monteith Falls.
The ninth first one.
For all our days, our past.
The number of the 10th course, the days of our years are three, scoring 10, and that's by reason of strength. They are 4 score years, yet is their strength and labor and sorrow for it is soon cut off and we fly away the 10th verse, the 12Th verse. So teach us to number our days.
That we may apply our hearts into wisdom in our lives one day within the next.
And we look at it that way so often, don't we? The days with the weeks. The weeks go into months. Here we have a little exhortation to number our days.
So 21,184 days ago my mother gave birth to me. It's my birthday today.
21,000 days 184.
Kind of tweak my interest because I was walking down the road one day with a brother and he, uh, he.
Batter the number and uh, he asked me what that meant to me and I said I didn't know. He informed me that's how many days I've been alive. I thought well, I can get that kind of mind. That's sort of interesting. 21,184 days, you know every one of those days.
Has been very important in my life.
They're, they're all important, every one of them. You know, there's a difference between.
As we have in our our, umm, our chapter before us in Genesis, there's a difference between counting and numbering.
There's a difference, and we read this. We read the expression counting a number of times in the word, and we read the expression numbering a number of times in a word. So the hairs of our head, are they counted?
No, they're numbered. They're numbered.
The Lord puts very specific importance. You know, you would umm, you'd maybe count the chairs in this, umm, in this room, but you wouldn't count the people. You would number the people, because there's a far greater importance than the people than there are the chairs.
Well, you know when the Lord was was speaking to Abram here in our chapter.
In the.
In the 16th verse of the 13th chapter he says, I will make thy feet of the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, so shall thy seed to be numbered.
00:20:14
Arise and walk through the length of the land, and the length of it and the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. You know I just, I just appreciated Abraham contemplating this little discussion that he had with the Lord, and we read, umm, the 18th verse in contrast.
To the 12Th, 1St. So in the 18th versus and Abram removed his tent.
And came and dwelt in the plane of memory, which is in Hebrew on, and built there an altar unto the Lord on this call. First we also read of a tent and we read a lot and how he pitched his tent towards saw and we could follow on through locks lights and see what he did with that tent and how it got him closer and closer to Sodom. But with Abraham, what's interesting about the end of this chapter that we read up, we read about a tent and we read about an alternate, you know, he didn't build a dwelling place.
But he did build.
His AU, he didn't build his own.
And it would seem that the thought there would be the tent was a transient thing he picked up.
It up and he could take it wherever he went. But when it came to the altar, that was not a transient thing. You know, sometimes in our life it's the opposite. Our dwelling place is firm and, and, and that's where it is, whereas our altar, it can come and go.
You know it. It shouldn't be that way as we find here with a room flight.
He built an altar. He didn't take that. Wherever he went, it was built. He may have moved on and built another one, but that one was built. There it was, although we have that in our life.
On a daily basis.
That which is a utmost importance.
The tent could come and go and we know that Abraham could have had more than a tent having 318 service. He could have had much more than he did. You know the archaeologists have, umm, have excavated early and those many years ago.
When uh.
Even after the pyramids were built, I.
You know, I believe that when Abraham went down into Egypt, he sought at least two of those.
Kind of astounding to me to think of 2123 hundred BC. Well during the call these, umm, the excavations show that they had running water.
Spring water, yes, from a sister and above. But there was.
Abraham could have had more, but no, he was content with his tenant. He was content to have that, that which was transient, but not his ulterior, not his alter that was not transient. I'm afraid it's it's the reverse sometimes in my life. Well, maybe be like Abraham here who was told to lift his eyes and given these expectations and we find the result here.
Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt from the plane of Mammary, which is Hebron, which speak of communion, and he built there an altar under the Lord.
Well, let's look at the second one.
They have to turn over a chapter or turn over a page and we find it in the 15th chapter.
The 15th chapter.
It's in the fifth verse.
MMM.
Hmm to get the context.
In the previous chapter.
Uh, lot was taken captive.
There's a battle between the kings.
One of the three things with five.
To get the numbers and umm, lots taken captive. And Abraham finds out that moth's been taken and so he takes his, his servants. Uh, 318. You know, in one respect we think of wow, 318 servants and we say, wow, that's quite a few. How come our minds look at Gideon's army as 300 and say, wow, what's such a small army? They're both the same size.
Uh, and I think that when Abraham went out with his 318 servants, uh, we read that he did it in the night. He was victorious. He brought Lot back. He was probably thinking about, uh, you know, these enemies that I've just beaten. Umm, they're going to find out that, uh, it was me. And all I had was my handful of servants. And, uh, I don't exactly live in a walled city. I live in a tent. He's probably thinking, you know, uh, maybe I shouldn't have acted, uh.
00:25:12
A bit rashly, maybe I should have thought of what I did. And just while he's having these thoughts, we have the 15th chapter. And the Lord comes to him and says this. After these things, the Lord.
The word of the Lord came unto Abram envisioned saying, fear not, Abram, I am thy shield and that I exceeding great in the world. Well, I comfort that would have been to Abraham, perhaps thinking about what he'd done rationally and to realize, uh, just think of the one that I have for a shield. Just think of the one that's that's going to be a protection for me. And so he goes on and we come to this, this, umm, this personality force which takes up our subject in the fifth verse. And he brought him forth abroad and said, look now toward heaven and tell the stars that they'll be able to number them. And he said, so shall I see bees?
And he believes in the Lord and is counted to him for righteousness.
You know, I was thinking of the end of the meeting this morning. Rufus, he gave us that him, uh, for 23. Umm.
How good is the God? We adore you?
You know, we come to the end of that, that, that him.
And it's, it's, it's so precious to read those, the signals, those words that we sing so often in 23.
We'll praise him for all his past.
Uh, we had an easy time with that, don't we?
We don't have quite as easy a time with the next line.
We'll praise him for all his past and trust him for all that's to come. It seems that every time there's a little hiccup in our pathway, it's something that the Lord is not gonna be able to look at. Or yeah, he's able to look at everything else in our past life, but there's one particular thing that's before us. Umm, there's gonna be a struggle there. I was just thankful for the hymn. We'll praise him for all of his past and trust him for all of you to come. Well, here Abram, in his life, he's just seen a deliverance from the Lord.
Perhaps he was just wondering about the future.
Just as to what it was going to transpire, obviously he didn't have any children. And the Lord already told him that if Steve was gonna be tremendous number. Well, we have it again here. Look now towards heaven. There's our subject. Tell the stars if I'll be able to number them. And he said up to them, so shall I still be. And I would have a scripture that's quoted. We have it later on in the Old Testament. We have it in the New Testament. And he believed the Lord, and it was counted to him for righteousness. And he said unto him, I.
The Lord that brought thee though to grow the calbee, to give me this land and to inherit it, he said, O Lord God, whereby shall I know where I shall inherit it? Let's turn into problems just for a moment.
Proverbs, the 16th chapter. The brother in our assembly, Earl Covely, brings this verse before us quite often.
And I'm thankful for it.
Uh, Proverbs chapter.
Chapter 16.
And the 9th 1St.
A man's heart.
Diviseth his way.
But the Lord.
Directed his steps, a man's heart divided his way with the Lord directed.
His steps. We had that a little bit this morning, didn't we? In our reading, in connection with the Lord's ways with us. And you know, there are those who are younger here this afternoon and sometimes we come to a crossroads in our life and we're just not sure what to do.
That happens to those of us who are older, too.
And so the question is sometimes asking how, how can we know exactly what the mind of the Lord is in this situation that comes across my pathway, you know, and often we don't know if we can get.
Umm, from the word here, that which is instruction for our pathway. But sometimes there are things and we're just not sure. And, and it's not like we have a umm, a will in the matter. It's like we're at a crossroads and we can go this way or we can go this way and we're happy to do whatever the Lord has for us. We're just not sure what it is.
Forward house to do.
It's been helpful for me and somebody passed this on that if I in my life.
I'm doing what I know to be the will of God from His Word.
00:30:04
Then it's going to be easy for me, easier for me to.
Know what his will is, but I'm not sure.
And that's often a difficulty in my life. I come to a point that I'm not sure what to do. And the reason I'm perhaps not sure is because there are other things in my life that I know what I should be doing.
But I'm not doing it.
That's that's a solemn thing to my own heart.
But that's often a difficulty in me realizing what the pathway is for me that the Lord have for me. And if I would simply act on what I know to be true every place I know in the Word of God, then it would be a lot simpler when things are coming across my pathway and I'm not sure what his mind is. Well, might we realize this in connection with Abraham, who it says here?
And he believed in the Lord.
And he had counted it to him for righteousness. Well, let's turn over now Another.
Another chapter, the 18th chapter.
The 18th chapter. And the Lord appeared unto him, unto Abram.
To Abraham, uh, in the plains of memory, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
And he lifts up his eyes now. And here's our subject again. He lifts up his eyes and looked. And lowed three men stood by him. And when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the 10th door. And he bowed himself to the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I have found favor in my sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from my servant, let alone the water, I pray you be fetched. Wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. Now I've got a marshmallow bread, and comfort your heart. After that he shall pass on, for therefore I come to your servant. And they said, Do thou hast said. And Abraham hastened unto the tent.
Under Sarah, and said, Make ready 3 quickly 3 measures of fine meal, and need it, and make cakes upon the heart. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man, and he hasted to dress it. And he took butter and milk in the calf, which he addressed, and said it before them, and he stood by them under the tree.
And they?
I was thinking of this portion a little bit. Umm.
We were speaking in the reading meetings, both of them.
Where it says here? He lifts up his eyes.
And looked.
And low three men stood by him. When he saw them, he ransomed them from the tent, already bowed himself toward the ground.
You know, I I covet this posture.
We are speaking about difficulty with our brother.
That sometimes raises it it's ugly hit.
You know, if we had, if I had this posture.
Uh, bowling myself before the Lord?
It would eliminate so many difficulties.
That come across our pathway.
It would eliminate difficulties that come across my personal pathway. It would eliminate difficulties that brethren have with each other.
I, I, I just covered this, you know, we, we see it to look up that, that expression. And he bowed himself. It's a number of times in the word. We won't look at them.
The right at the end of Samson's life when it says, uh, he was blind and the, the lad led him to the pillars, puts it his arms through those pillars and it says any bowed himself the greatest victory Miss Thompson's life wasn't he found himself well here, uh, Abraham, he bowed himself when he saw the Lord. You know the two things. There's two things in this chapter. The first time I mentioned the word. First one is foot washing. We never read a foot washing before. And this is the first time we read of running in the word.
You know, generally run in the heat of the day.
Here when he saw the Lord, a glimpse of the Lord that caused him to run, and the third verse he said, My Lord, if now I found favor in my sight, pass not away operating from my servant.
Well, just little thought is to the fourth verse.
He says let a little water, I pray you'll be fetched and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree. I don't know of a better way of being refreshed than to provide refreshment.
00:35:05
Ever, ever fired, ever thought of that in seeking to encourage a soul and you, you see that they're encouraged and you'll be refreshed too by seeking to refresh that. Well, here's the thought of the foot washing is refreshments. He says little. Let a little water be fresh, let it be fetched. Well, may we be found doing so in our lives, seeking to be a refreshment to those who we come in contact with, seeking to be a refreshment to provide a little refreshment to those that we visit with.
It's got the effect always of being refreshed ourselves.
May that touch our thoughts. Well, let's go on now to umm, the next one, which is in the umm, in the uh.
The 19th chapter.
Now let's go to the 22nd chapter.
22nd chapter is the trial that comes across uh.
Abraham's pathway.
And, uh, in the beginning of chapter, it says it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham, They sent to Abraham and he said, behold, Jeremiah. And he said, take now thy son and only son Isaac, whom thou love us and get the into the land of Moriah and offer him there for burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I'll tell the earth. Well, let's go on to, uh, we know what transpires. And uh, Abraham reaches for the knife and there's that call from the, from the Lord, from the Angel of the Lord in the 11Th first, Well, on the 13th chapter 13, first we read.
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked.
The whole behind the Moran caught in a thickened by its horns, and Abraham Windham took the ram and offered him up for a bird offering instead of his son. I was thinking of this portion. I I was visiting with the Darrell earlier and he he made mention of a comment that I made in a letter that I sent to him.
And I just like to share it this afternoon. I've forgotten about it.
But we had read to us in UMM.
This morning in First Corinthians. I forget who read it.
Umm, there is no temptation taking you.
Which is this common command? Umm, sorry, 10/13 Thank you. First Corinthians 1030. There is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. That God is faithful will not suffer you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that He may be able to bear it. You know, sometimes we find ourselves in difficulties and it just seems like there's no escape, none whatsoever.
There is always a way of escape. There is always a way of escape.
There is always a way out. When my boys were little, they, they used to do something that just intrigued Cindy and I. They, we had a bird feeder and they take the, they reach up there, just little guys and they reach up and they take the bird feeder off the, off the clothesline where we had it hung and they put it on the ground and go and hide. Pretty soon the chipmunks would come and start taking stuff out of the bird feeder. Well, they have to go right inside to get whatever they needed to come out again and they'd watch and when a chipmunk would go in, they'd take a green garbage pail and then run over and they put it down on top of that bird feeder.
And then they go and get a piece of plywood and they slip it underneath the, the garbage can and they take the whole thing and put right side up until the chipmunk within the garbage can, they take the bird feeder out and they'd be jumping up high. And daddy, daddy come and see what I've caught, come and see what I've caught. And I go up there and sure enough, there's a chipmunk in the garbage Canyon to be jumping halfway up, not able to get out. And they were just delighted. But what they really delighted in is taking a stick and putting it in the garbage can. And the chipmunk would find a stick and it would raise up the stick and it would, it would, uh, it would escape.
You know, in every one of our difficulties.
The Lord has a stick. Let me put in the garbage can every.
Of our difficulties, and we find that from First Corinthians, don't we?
Well, we know in this in this particular portion.
There was an escape for Abraham. The picture is of course, the Lord Jesus and there was no escape. There was no ram caught in the thicket, none whatsoever. But for Abram, he was an escape and there's always an escape for us. Every time I, I look again, umm, Ruth is just looking at that, that the last two lines of that him being able to trust him for what's to come. Because as we look in the past, every time the Lord has made a provision for us, made an escape for us every single time.
00:40:21
Without fail.
What a what a comfort that is to us, isn't it?
Well, let's go now. We're gonna have to go to the New Testament to to look at the the last, umm, you know, we missed one there in Genesis. Let's go to Genesis 19, where we have one more there.
Genesis chapter 19.
And we pick up on in the 27th, 1St.
And Abraham Gaddaf early in the morning, Genesis 1927 Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord, and he stood and looked as our subject. He looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the plains of Atlanta beheld and loathe the smoke of the country went up as the smoke at the furnace. Let's go earlier in the chapter now and.
Actually, let's go to the 18th chapter.
And this is subsequent to that time that we read, that we read up earlier in the beginning of the 18th chapter where the Lord Abraham spends that time with the Lord and the angels. And we read in the 16th verse, the man rose up from 10th and looked towards autumn. And Abraham went to bring them on their way. And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do, seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.
For I know him, that he will command his children in his household after him they shall keep the way of the Lord. To do justice and judgment of the Lord may bring upon Abraham not which he hath spoken of him.
And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it. Beginning of the 23rd verse. And Abraham drew near.
I was just thinking of that Abraham drawing here and having this discourse with the Lord.
And not knowing what was to transpire. You know, it's interesting when you think of this discourse that Abraham, he, he knew quite a bit about Sodom. He knew more than the people of Sodom. He didn't get it by reading the Sodom Tribune.
He didn't get it by having the bottom Gazette delivered to the tent Uh, no, he had by his communication with the Lord. And we find here, it says in the, in our 19th, uh, chapter, it says in the 27th verse, still before the Lord, and he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah. I just thought he'd been contemplating there in his discourse with the Lord. Well, that's something that we, we do too, don't we? At different times in our lives. Sometimes the Lord brings circumstances across our pathways and.
He has this just a contemplate. I, I did that, you know, just last week, umm, it was a week ago tomorrow with Mother's Day. There's a bunch of mothers here and umm, I went to the little graveyard where my folks are buried and I stood on that grave and umm, I was just thankful for, they stood there and thank the Lord for the mother that, umm, the Lord brought into my life and had, uh, and how she brought the Lord before me.
You know something about a mother's heart. There's a number of them here. When Cindy and I were down in, uh, in, uh, in Florida this year, it was something that transpired that, that really touched my heart. And that was, umm, right in the city just below where we are. We're, umm, in, umm, Pompano Beach, which is right where John and Oliver Stewart are. Just a little bit below that, uh, Fort Lauderdale. A mother's deck was going across the road. Busy road 6 little ducklings.
And uh, the wind was uh, there, there was a wind because of a truck that went by that blew the little 6 ducklings into a storm sewer.
And the mother was frantic and, uh, I thought there was a lot of water. There's a little bit of water there. And the storm sewer took off and, uh, the peeping, I guess there was a, there was a person that was observing this. It was a peeping got fainter and fainter and fainter. And finally the mother duck took off down the road to the next storm sewer where the peeping got louder and louder and louder, louder and.
Sure enough, the six ducklings went by and she went on to the next storm sewer. Well, the, the, the person that was relaying it relayed how the the mother duck went for just about two kilometers from storm sewer to storm tours to storm sewer. And so they came to one umm.
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That had a, a bottom discharge and it was like a dead end for the ducklings and they called the fire department and they got the six year old ducklings out and they were happy to move their home again. Boy, I just thought, you know, umm, that, that's the, that, that concept of a mother's heart, uh, that we see in a duck that those of us who are brothers here, we don't have quite the same thing. There are those mothers here that, uh, that can understand that concept. Umm, you know, it's, it's touching to contemplate and I just at my mother's grave and, umm.
Just contemplating the many times that she wiped my runny nose and the many other major things that I caused her so much trouble and.
And to thank the Lord for, well, we have different times in our life, don't we, where the Lord brings something into our life and we just contemplate here, Abraham did that just, he said before the Lord and uh, he looked towards autumn. Well, let's go now to the, you have 10 minutes left. Let's go to John's gospel.
John's Gospel.
The 8th chapter.
John's Gospel, chapter 8.
And we'll pick up on the 56th verse as the Lord is speaking with the Jews.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. Doesn't exactly say look there, but we we can pick up on the subject. He rejoiced to see my day. And he thought and was glad. And when the Jews said unto them that said the Jews unto them, they are not yet 50 years old. Hast thou seen Abraham? You know I didn't say that he'd seen Abraham. He said Abraham saw him.
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily I say unto you, before Abraham was I am they took up stones to cast of Jesus. Well, I just thought there of that 56th verse, the joy that it was for Abraham to look forward to that time when the Lord Jesus would come and he didn't know. He didn't exactly go through it in that in that way, but you know, I thought.
Probably our greatest testimony in this world to our brethren, to those who are lost. It's our joy, Lord. It's our joy.
Abraham rejoiced.
It's pretty hard to, uh, fight against someone that's enjoying the war.
It's pretty hard to, uh, think negatively and some of them are just really enjoying more, you know, that's our biggest testimony.
Is our join the Lord I something else that happens when you're in Florida, Cindy and are down there and I went and did a few groceries for on my way back.
I was following a car.
And it had on the bumper.
2 words and it was the blood.
I wonder what this means. And I, we're in traffic, you know, And so I, I, I kind of worked our way down a couple of a couple of blocks. And so finally I got beside this lady and I without a smile, but with a twinkle in my eyes. I just kind of picked up my Bible like this and I went like this.
Please just lit right up and she reached out and picked up her big smile. And that's the only communication that I ever had with her or she had with me. She was gone.
You know, it just rejoiced my heart. It rejoiced her heart. That's all the communication we have. You know it, it is marvelous that we can have, umm, a communication with each other that just brightens each other. It's just, it's just that which because we're enjoying the Lord, we can be such an encouragement. Always find back here with one of Abraham's looks for well, the last one, of course, is in Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11.
And we'll read from verse 8.
By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should have received after for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out not knowing whether he went. By faith. He sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles. Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. You know, if you do the math.
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Jacob lived in the same tent as his father Abraham for 15 years.
Jacob was 15 when Abraham passed away, dwelling in Tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob. Just seems that Jacob could only have tapped in a little bit on some of the exercise that his grand grandpa had. It would have saved them a lot of difficulty. Well, we go on now. Here's our subject.
Four, he looked for a city.
Which have foundations.
The builder and maker.
Is called well, as we've had before us in these meetings.
Abrams life was such that he has his gaze lifted above the speed. He looked for something that was real enjoyed that that we hadn't brought before us in connection with truth this afternoon. No Abraham. He looked for that which was real. He knew that what was down here was not real and it's it's hard for us to get a hold of that concept, but Abraham did that well, maybe a few thoughts on the seven looks of Abraham.
Be an encouragement to our own partners and to quicken our steps to that moment. Perhaps today that we'll hear that show will be called Home to be with the Lord Jesus. Well, let's sing another hymn that has Abraham's name in it. It would be #45.
#45.
In verse 3. Thus Abraham.
The friend of God, thus all the Saints redeemed with blood, Savior of sinners thee proclaim, and all their boasted in thy name. Maybe somebody can start #45 for them.
Jesus the Lord, I shall drive.
You.
Out of our Lord and I don't drive.
Problem.
For the joy.
Of God.