St. Louis Conference: 1960
Table of Contents
1 Corinthians 2:9-10, Revelation 19
Address—C. Kohler
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
This is the address by Mr. Charles Kohler.
Taken September 19th, 1960 in St. Louis, MO.
There's our hearts. Retirement go deep and boundless their desire. We've now to please Bud Water in the fall. Whom each knee shall bow with him is all our business now, and those that are his own.
With these are Happy Lotus, cast through the world's bestest root, and waste all through its garden fair.
Where the storms of trouble sleep are all in debts upon the sleep to advance be all our care.
Oh Lord, the way, the truth, the life, henceforth let sorrow, doubt and strife drop off like autumn leaves. Henceforth is privileged by the simple and undistracted be our souls which truly cleave.
That I saw febleness reclined on that eternal love of thine on human thoughts. Forget which I like. A 10 What I would say go forth and serve thee whilst his day, nor leave our sweet retreat #250.
From various kids, our hearts retire.
Alone, deep, honey Bunny.
Desire.
At all.
Where is I, Pray laughing?
Through the world.
On our way.
Oh, it's gone.
So high.
Speed.
Oh Lord, the way.
The truth of the law.
A body.
Temple and.
Be our souls away soon.
Let.
Our people never reclaim.
Another article.
00:05:06
Go for survey.
Wanted to pay?
Gnarly.
By.
Please.
So we turn to 1St Corinthians 2.
On the 9th of Earth.
But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yeah, the deep things of God.
As we read these words.
They remind us that God who is infinite, sees things.
And plans things and brings to fruition his plans, even though we cannot see how.
Or understand just why, but God has his own reasons.
On his own way of bringing his thoughts to pass.
Could we have thought when reading of Adam and Eve in the garden, fresh from the hand of God? Lovely creatures, both of them.
Just as lovely as it could be.
I'm innocent. Pure.
Could we think that?
A little thing, a little matter of justice. A few.
Letters would spell such a difference.
As we find today, everywhere today we find.
Corruption.
And violence.
Under people and turning after the follies of this life here below, and counting the world as of greatest importance, the future means nothing to them. Could we think that such ruin would have been brought into a scene like this?
Or could we have thought or that when this ruin came in and God had?
Fully set aside his way and his thoughts and his purpose.
Under he met every condition which existed.
Could we think of such a thing?
We saw the whole race brought down into ruin through.
Adam's sin?
Under we might have said, well, the whole thing. Spoilers. No good.
Not so with God. It gave God an opportunity to step in and show how, in spite of the ruin, how he could continue his purpose and develop something so far more lovely than we had any idea.
We plant a seed or a bulb and it doesn't look to be much.
But eventually, I always see it come up above the ground. We see it form itself into perhaps a Bush.
And very shortly, a little buds and the next thing we know it's beautifully covered with flowers.
If we had not seen this phenomena before, it would be amazing to us, but we've become accustomed to it because we see it every year.
But could we think that God, instead of being frustrated in his purpose to bring about a scene with a with people that he was going to take the light in?
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And find Satan come in and ruin the whole thing. Could we think that God would be able to undo the work of the devil?
And without his purpose, and that purpose would be far grander.
Than we had any idea of.
Yet such is the case we have gone who has his own purpose, and nothing can possibly hinder his accomplishing his will.
Under as far as man is concerned with his poor puny mind, he doesn't grasp.
These things, even when he's told he can't visualize them.
I'm sure we have this word I have not seen.
No, I'll hurt.
Neither have it entered in the heart of them the things which God has prepared for them that love him.
Some of the things round about us that we see.
Are exceedingly lovely.
And the Lord Jesus took note of these things too.
You remember how in the 12Th chapter of Luke, he says consider the lilies how they grow.
They trial not. They spin not. Are they lovely? Are they pure? Are they fragrant? Yes, so much so, he says. Yet Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
Wonderful.
Solomon represents the very heights.
Of magnificence that a man may rise to.
The wisest man of this day, the wealthiest man.
When the Queen of Sheba came.
To hear his wisdom of the sea, this man of whom she heard.
Why she had to say.
The half has not been told me.
Her heart was so.
Brought to a standstill in the presence of such magnificence. And yet here's a Lily.
In the field, a creature of a day.
Outshines everything.
That Solomon ever displayed.
Consider the lilies. How they grow. They toil not. They spill not. Yet Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these.
And I like to think of the Blessed Lord when he was here, surrounding himself with what kind of people?
See that 8th chapter of Luke.
And what we find?
These 12, most of them were fishermen.
And there were certain women.
And we found one of them out of whom was cast 7 devils.
I'd say, well, what kind of a?
Other company is this.
How could the Lord have surrounded himself with that kind?
Of people. But that's his way, That's what he does.
In the words of Hannah's prayer, he lifts the poor out of the dust and the beggar out of the dunghill to set them among Princess. This is God's nobility.
Could we think that God was going to take up?
The worst of creatures down here.
And hit them for that coming glory that he was going to happen in his house up there.
That's God's way.
The very ruin that was brought into this world gives God the opportunity to show how much greater and grander his thoughts are, and His power too, and the loveliness of his grace and goodness.
And so we get to know God.
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Could we think that in order to bring about a remedy like this and a blessing that God?
Would step down from his throne and take upon him human form, and here he lay.
In this Manger and the inn, or outside of the inn, there was no room for them in the end. But in what some have turned a stable, could we think that the Lord of glory lay there in that little?
Manger. Could we think that in him, in this babe, were the issues of life and death?
We're told that he opposed or sustains that all things subsist together by him. Could we think it possible, this little babe?
In a Manger was the mighty God come down.
Let's so. So we find he was the mighty God come down to display the wonderful love of God. Could we think that God was going to love such a miserable life like ourselves?
And yet God commends his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, not when we were noble and wise and intelligent and good. No, there were no such people. And if there were such people.
Oh, dear friend, they would still be sinners, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Could we think that the Blessed Lord that came down here in order that he might at such great cause to himself?
Going to the cross to die that poor rebel sinners might be cleansed of their guilt and made fit.
To be with himself in Yonder glory, could we think that God would take a poor, guilty, wretched preacher such as you, such as me, and us, make us fit for his home up there?
Equal with the angels? No, far beyond the angels. Angels Can't Sing the songs that the Christian can sing. They can't say he died for me.
Angels perhaps never saw their maker until they saw him lying in that Manger as a little baby. What wonder?
An angel's desire to look into these things could we think.
Are that all this was connected with the coming of the Blessed Lord into this world. Yet such is the fact when He came, heaven acclaimed him.
Angel hosts came to those shepherds on the hill in Luke 2.
And declared that it was glory to God in the highest.
And yet, when they found this babe, they found him in the lowest place.
And we read of him all that he made himself of no reputation.
I just quote the Elberfeld Bible in that case is he made himself to nothing, Sunita. And so here was the mighty God come down and made himself nothing at all in order that he might be able to.
Save our souls and make us fit for those heavenly courts above.
How foolish are those who sing. I want to be an Angel.
I don't want to be an Angel. No indeed.
They have an exalted place, but they are servants and God isn't making servants.
Could we think that instead of taking poor man and bringing him into judgment because of his guilt all that it was God's purpose, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him and love God's children?
Holy and without blame before him and love.
I think God's ways are surpassing knowledge.
We can't understand a God who acts as he does. As a matter of fact, he tells us in the 64th chapter of Isaiah in connection with his very Scripture. For this is a quotation summit, he says.
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I have not seen your ear. Heard of a God beside thee, who acts for him who waits.
For him, I think that's lovely.
If the soul is brought to a point where it doesn't know what to do, and it comes before God uncast itself upon him, God asked for him. God asked for those that wait for him.
We couldn't understand that kind of thing. We'd say, Well, if we don't deserve it, of course we don't.
We'll never be able to say that we deserve any of God's mercies.
But we'll always marvel at the riches of his grace.
To think that God there would step out of all of our reasoning completely.
I would open up the way wide for us to enter into His rich blessing.
And we were just speaking about this little company in the eighth of Luke.
That surrounded him.
Under there a motley little company, if we may put it that way.
And what does he surround himself with now?
People just like that.
With no more to commend themselves than they had.
And we're often times down here.
In just a week, a little accompanies.
And we think we're few, yes, we are few.
And we feel our feebleness.
Our dependence upon him. And yet I have often thought of it like this.
In the third chapter, Malachi, when all Israel had gone astray.
And when even the priests of the Lord would need a terrific purging in the very first few verses of that third chapter, then we come down to the 16th chapter verse of that chapter, and we find there's never a few, just a little handful, they that fear the Lord.
I left, loved his name, thought upon these things. They came together.
Little accompanies feeling their weakness.
But God writing a book about them. I think that's wonderful. God wrote a book.
He heartenedly heard what they were saying, and he saw what they were doing, and he sat down, and he wrote a book.
And then adds to it, And they shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up my treasure or my jewels.
Treasure, I understand, is the right word there. So when God makes up his traitor, that which he counts worth something, it takes his fuel that come together in days of detention on that piece of fun, these things, and think upon his name.
And he says they shall be mine In that day when I make up my treasure, do you think that the Lord does not feel the same way?
When just a little company here and a little company there and some other little company have turned their backs upon everything that boasts of man.
Just to be with himself, just to have himself before us, Just to go on in grateful remembrance of His love and of His kindness. Don't you think that the Blessed Lord rejoices to see this? Oh, I'm sure He does.
And then there's a scripture in the second chapter of Hebrews. We need in time to it. We know the words most of us here do very well.
But there, he says.
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Behold I.
And the children God have given me.
Now I apprehend that what is meant there is this.
He will have come and taken his own up to meet him on the cloud.
They won't be just a little handful here and a little handful over there. No, there'll be a tremendous host.
Secondly, little realize for all the redeemed are going to be in that company.
A tremendous company. And when the Blessed Lord looks at these.
What does he find? Evidence of weakness.
Evidences of sorrow, discouragement. No, no. Because when the Lord comes, there's going to be a remarkable change take place.
A wonderful change.
And John tells us in his epistle, first the person in the third chapter, beloved, Now are we the children of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Like him, yes, like him.
Upon whom all the glory rests now from whose confidence the glory of God shines forth.
Who is crowned with many crowns?
The object that is adored of all the heavenly hosts.
And he's going to see everyone of God's children like himself.
What a wonderful change that's going to be.
When we are changed into his likeness.
And we need not wonder at it, because he exercises the power by which he is able to do all things unto himself.
Read that in the third chapter, Philippians and we shall be changed. This body of humiliation shall give place to a body of glory.
And so the Blessed Lord, when he looks upon all his redeemed ones, a glorious company, every heart manifest in the outshining of its confidence all rejoicing.
With the Lord.
And filled with his beauty, it'll be a wonderful scene and there will be a myriad of those are that's around the Blessed Lord.
And that proved to the whole universe, especially the Angel host, the triumph of God's grace and his goodness, and the blessed result of the finished work of Christ. So in Isaiah 53 we read He shall seal the travel of his soul, of the fruit of the travel of his soul, and shall be satisfied.
When he looks upon that company up there, redeemed and in his own blessed likeness.
No wonder he's happy. No wonder he's satisfied This he has accomplished through the work of the cross. Could we think, as we look at that cross with its shame and its indignity, with its sorrow and anguish, with the darkness there, who we think it was going to end up in the glory like this?
Yet that's God's purpose.
The work of Satan has been undone. His power has been broken.
All these have been redeemed out from the company of those who were lost in darkness, and God has been manifested to them. There they are with the very nature of God. There they are in the very glory of Christ.
Like himself. And he can say, I behold I and the children.
God has given me, and then he's going to bring them into the Father's house. This is a radiant company, a glorious company. You realize you and I are going to be part of that company. You realize that we are going to be by himself, brought into the Father's house and presented there.
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Radiant in his own glory.
All his communists put upon us.
All his shared with us.
Except, of course, his deity. I don't mean that I'm referring now to him as a man.
And could we think that this is the destiny that God has purposed, predestined in eternity to be conformed to the image of his Son?
It's not just that we've been predestined, but we've been predestined for a purpose.
It's not just something that we've been chosen, but we've been chosen for a purpose, and the purpose must be born in mind. And in every case, we find that Christ is to have the honor in place and be surrounded with a company that's just as glorious and just as wonderful in their appearance as their Lord.
And so that is what Christians are looking forward to, not just simply the forgiveness of our sins. Those sins have been forgiven and forgotten.
But here is something that will never be forgotten. Here is something that will be realized and enjoyed through our tenders.
Oh, I think God's ways are just wonderful.
Well then, we think again of another thing.
And that is God, Blessed Lord, has given us assurances, not simply that we're going to be with himself.
And like himself, wonderful as as this is, but also that for faithfulness in our service down here in our walking ways, it's going to be a reward, he's going to be able to say.
But it's a fruit of His grace, no doubt.
Well done, good and faithful servant, Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. What a wonderful thing that will be.
Are you and I seeking our utmost to soul meet with his approval, now that in that coming day he will show that approval in his loving greeting to each one of us, saying well done.
Good and faithful servant, you and I will look at our pathways, and we say, well, I made a miserable batch of it.
I would that I could have made a better job.
Honda, we deprecate our poor efforts down here, but it's wonderful to him that we're making any effort at all. There are those around us, everywhere who have no interest in the things of Christ, and if there's any evidence otherwise, it's fruit of the grace of our God that works in US. So if in anything, you and I are well pleasing to him here.
As a result of his own grace, of his own operation in our soul, could we have realized that when?
When sin abounded, grace did much more abound, but not only that, but that God was going to give to us His Holy Spirit, in order that we might do those things which are pleasing to Him, and then reward us as if we thought them up, and purpose them of our own accord.
God's ways are simply wonderful.
Under the snow, understanding the goodness and grace of the God who is called as to his eternal glory, He is the God of all grace, and his callers to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus. And though we may pass on through this sin, and we may have trials and difficulties, yet after that we have suffered a while, his strengthens unsettled and establishes us.
It's in order that we might learn his ways and walk in his path, and then give up for his sake. And then there's the Crown. Don't let us forget this. Be the Crown, where there's a faithful service will be the Crown, and he bids us.
To hold things fast that no man take off crown. What are we going to have crowns? Yes, there will be crowns, given some say. Oh, I'm not interested in crowns. Well, I am.
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I'm very much interested in it. Not that I have something that I can boast about, but just think of the love of the Blessed Lord when he gives the crown and states his approval. We've pleased him. We've done what he has desired of us.
And having served him, and served him, as he says, well, in spite of all our stumblings, would it be worth something to you, something to me, to have him pass his commendation on us, or to mean a great deal to me? As to the crowns, I'd like to have as much as I can to lay at his feet.
That he is so worthy it'll be such a joy, just as attributing him all the grace and all the goodness and all the love. Yes, under lay at his feet every crown of that he might give.
I think these things are worthwhile, and we must not just pass them by as though they meant nothing to us. They mean a great deal. They will in that coming day, if we're well pleasing to him to have his approval, we'll remember that all through eternity. There'll be lots of things that we'll forget, and he'll want us to forget the things connected with this earth life. But there will be some things that we'll never forget.
And one of those will be when our blessed Lord.
Rita and approves of our pathway here, though we felt we stumbled and failed in so many ways yet to have his approval. I think that would be well worth having.
All we need to just encourage ourselves a little bit down here with the thought of coming glory. Less occupation with our difficulties, less occupation with people round about us, though we're to be concerned for them to love them.
Yet on the other hand, more occupied with what is well pleasing to the Lord.
Well, these are some of the things that come before, one in connection with this verse I have not seen.
Your ear hurt, neither vented into the heart of land of things. Which God.
Hath prepared for them that love Him, and now that we might know them. God has revealed these things to us by His Spirit. Why would God reveal these things to us if He didn't want us to know them? Why would He make us to know these things if they were unimportant? They're not unimportant. They're very important.
And so we find it here that God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
For the Spirit searches all things, ye the deep things of God.
What does that mean? Does that mean that the Spirit of God doesn't know the mind of God and that he has to search this book? Why The Spirit of God wrote this book? He knows every word in it. If he searches this book, why does he? I'll tell you. He wants you to know. He wants me to know what this book says, and he uses your eyes and my eyes to search the book.
And that's very important.
Little lesson that I learned a good many years ago when I went out to help somebody who was preaching the gospel on the street. I supposed understood he was when I took a handful of tracks down with me to give out and so to help this little work for the man seemed to be open for the truth, to my dismay.
He spoke about closing the saloon on the corner, and they closed up three other salons before it. And here is a small copy standing around listening. But they knew all about the evils of drink. They knew all about the evils of the saloon.
They know all about this kind of thing.
Under they didn't show much interest, they just stood there.
And I felt so grieved over it.
That though I had never spoken in public, I turned to John 3 and I read the 1St 20 verses.
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Unless I was reading that crowd about Doubled. They knew all about the salons. They knew all about the evil. Everyone knew what was in the book. And people do want to know what was in what is in the book, and we want to know it too. We want to be occupied with what God has written. He opens our eyes and he gets to read these things and understand them. That's what the Spirit of God searches. He uses your eyes and mine. I'll take again another thing.
When the Lord was here, how many errands of mercy?
We find him on.
Our many gracious things for the poor and the needy. He hasn't stopped. He often uses your feet to carry you to a place where you can also help some poor troubled soul.
He may use your hands to minister to someone's need.
He does these things and he uses his people. They are his instruments down here now to promote his interests.
Under when we're with himself in the glory.
And he acknowledges what has been done for him.
Well, it will be just wonderful.
I think that while that this is one of the things that we've given very little thought to, we ought to give a good more thought to in what way can we bring glory to this blessed man who did so much for us?
If our hearts desire to do this, and we wait upon Him apart, he will use us, and when he uses us.
He will also reward us for it, but I think that's lovely. I think we should be concerned about these things.
And perhaps we are to some extent, but we probably need to be every once in a while reminded.
Of what it means to him.
And then when we come to the last chapter, that is the 19th chapter of Revelation, I shouldn't have said the last chapter, but the 19th chapter we find the Blessed Lord pictures again as the Lamb.
In Revelation, he's pictured that way. He's the Lamb. In the first chapter, he's the Lamb as it had been slain. That comes in and takes the book. It's a book of judgment, but now in the 19th chapters, the Lamb that has a marriage.
And it tells us his wife has made herself ready, and under her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, pure and white.
For the fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints, that is, all the things which his people have done down here, in which they have served him, and which he can own and confess before the holy angels. It's all going to be displayed in this glorious moment when the Lamb's wife, who has made herself ready, is there with her Lord.
Me companion then for Jesus from him, for him made glory of God's grace forever.
There in US displayed ought to be a wonderful day when we are with our Blessed Lord, and when all the things that have been written are fully realized and accomplished. Well, that's what we have before us.
Unless what the Lord would remind us of to encourage our hearts to go on with himself.
He says. I have not seen, dear, has not heard, neither has it entered in the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them, that love him.
But God has given us a foretaste. Now He revealed these things to us by His Spirit. If now we see as through a glass darkly, then we shall see face to face. We'll realize fully what it all means.
And we shall know as also we are known.
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Precious promises the Word of God gives us.
Or to show us.
How the gain that faith is stored. We've just taken him at his word and we've just put ourselves at his feet like Mary of old.
And our hearts have been filled as housewives, and again and again.
As Mary came to his blessed feet in the day when Elasius was dead, and then afterward.
With a alabaster box appointment.
This is a figure for us too. We're to bring our alabaster boxes appointment to his feet.
And he alone deserves.
The blessedness and the fragrance of all these things, which is accomplished through his own death and by his blessed Holy Spirit.
And as we've often thought of Mary, Appreciate whacked his feet with her hair, carrying away more fragrance than she ever had in her life before.
Just because she had poured it all out upon him, did so with us, could we understand that when we worship and praise Him, it beautifies our whole nature, our whole ways down here?
Wonderful are all His ways of grace, all his ways of loveliness, you and I. We've walked in his fear. We serve him.
And we become like him. We gaze up in the glory and we see.
The glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And as we're occupied with him, we become more like him.
We see Jesus, they tell us in Hebrew. God tell us in Hebrews, we see Jesus.
Yes, we do see him.
Our hearts are lifted up.
We see no man anymore, save Jesus only what an encouragement to us.
But very shortly we're going to see him face to face.
Very shortly, we're going to know what it is to be clasped to its own bosom.
And receive that blessed one, and to thank him with all our heart for all his goodness to us and.
May we thank him with our walk in our ways down here.
May we thank Him with our loving service to him who loved us and served us so wonderfully.
Even with his dreadful, sad and death upon the cross.
Let us pray.
Luke 10:17-37, 1 Corinthians 20-30
Gospel—C. Kohler
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
This is a recording of a Gospel meeting by Mr. Charles Kohler taking September 18th, 1960 in St. Louis, MO.
Hymn 193.
That comes to my heart 1 Sweet strain, a glad and a joyous refrain. I sing it again and again. Sweet peace, the gift of God's love.
Peace, peace, sweet peace. Wonderful gift from above.
Oh, wonderful, wonderful piece.
Sweet peace, the gift of God's love.
There comes to my heart 1 sweet.
Strange I.
See her again.
And again.
Sweetheart Sweet.
Space space.
Space.
Wonderful gift from.
Wonderful, Wonderful.
Me, my my.
Other fault is.
Late.
For me, for the game.
Of God's love.
Peace. Peace.
Wonderful.
Wonderful, Wonderful.
Day.
Sweet.
Love Jesus as Lord, I had all.
My.
Will this be seen above?
In the rich blessing.
I.
Fall.
Sweeping.
Although.
Peace. Peace.
Wonderful.
Wonderful, Wonderful.
Ears, Sweet Face.
Of God to love.
Energy.
And.
I feel close to this side.
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There's a no thing but face nothing.
Alright.
Shall we turn to the 10th chapter of Luke's Gospel?
And beginning with the 17th verse.
And the 70 it refers to 70 disciples the Lord had sent to go in the villages round about and notify them that the Kingdom of God was at hand. And he gave them a certain amount of power to deal with the evil spirits and to heal the sick and the afflicted, and raise the dead. And now it tells us of their report. And the 70 returned again with joy, saying Lord.
Even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
God is going to deal with that great enemy.
And in a manner that he would like when he will be, by sheer force and power, cast out of God's presence.
And so the Lord looking forward, and seeing this, could say, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this is it possible something more could be added? Yes.
And this is of utmost importance. So pay attention to this verse. Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
Written in heaven.
Who could write your name? Who could write my name in heaven? How could my name be written there?
Only God himself could write your name or my name in his book.
And if your name is there in his book, what can ever eradicate it? Nothing.
Nothing. No power in the universe could ever make null and void.
God's record of you, of me, of everyone who believes we have reason to rejoice if our names are written in heaven, and with reason to realize too, that if our names are written in heaven, we didn't do it, nor can it be because.
We have.
Accomplished things that God could approve of has nothing to do with us, but it does have something to do with God's own purpose in grace and those who belong to the Lord Jesus, Their names inscribed in the book, The Lambs, a book of life. There's another book of life, but it isn't the Lamb's book of Life. It's the book of profession.
There are many in many places who profess to seek.
God and to walk in his ways and to serve him. But they're not in the Lamb's book of life. And why are they not in the Lamb's book of life? Because the Lamb's book of Life tells every single one who has put his trust in the precious blood of Christ.
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And because of this.
His guilt has been removed. He's been saved. He's been delivered from the consequences of his weak, foolish, sinful life. Here belongs.
The Lamb's book of life, then, is something that we want to be to have our names in. In the 20th of Revelation, you'll see the importance of that, because there we find there's a Judgment Day coming.
Under those who stand there before that great white throne are going to be each one, given the book of his life.
His complete record is there. As he opens that book, he's going to remember what he did.
When he did it, why he did it? Everything. The record is complete.
And he must own himself a Sinner.
And now? Is there no hope for him, or is there not another book? Yes, there's the Lamb's book of life. He may look. Does he see his name there? He does not. His name is not in the land book of life.
What then?
We're told that they're cast into the lake of fire. That's a dreadful end.
For a man or a woman created by God with capabilities such as you and I have of understanding.
Of obedience, of love.
Our poor hearts.
Don't realize how much we owe to God. He might have made you and me like the beast of the field. They can't reason things out, yet they do have a certain intelligence. Perhaps it's rather instinct with them that intelligence, but the beasts of the field have no conscience, nor do they realize that they have ever sinned, for they haven't sinned through their included in the fall brought in by Manson.
But you and I were not turned away from the Garden of Eden without God having given us a conscience. And that conscience indicates what is wrong and when we're wrong.
And how important it is for us to realize the difference between that which is right and that which is wrong? Well, with all disregarded, are there a red signal?
We've all gone ahead and gone ahead at the risk of our eternal loss.
But dear soul, God isn't willing that any should perish. And therefore we find the Lamb has been brought in and is the Lamb's book of life that is before us here. And it's your name. Is your name written in heaven? I know my name is there.
I didn't write it there. The same hand that was nailed on the cross for me has written my name.
And those who are not Christians know nothing at all about it, and they go on in their way to end up.
Measurably.
Yes, measurably. But let us go on with our little portion here.
Rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank the old Father, Lord of Heaven, and I Thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them out of babes. Even so far the facade seemed good in life sight. Now what does he mean by that?
Well, when he says thou hast revealed the mount of Babes, he means that he has made the thing so simple that the simplest of men and women can reach and take hold of them and get the blessing. He doesn't require university course. He doesn't require an ordination of the hands of some men who say you have completed successfully your studies. Not a bit.
Is very much like the girl that was asked which of her aunts she liked the best. She said, oh, I like Aunt Emmy first, but why do you like Aunt Emmy first? Because whenever Aunt Emmy baked cookies and nice cakes, she put some on the bottom shelf where I can reach them. And you know that's God. What God has done and God has put on the bottom shelf where the simplest of men and women can reach them. He's brought the gospel in a simple way. I knew a dear man who had often heard the gospel of God's grace.
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And it didn't seem to take hold of himself at all. He couldn't quite understand it. And one night he heard a preacher who turned to a scripture in Matthew that except you become as little children.
You shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven always said. That's the way I've got to tell you, just like a little child. And so he took it at once without any further question. And when he told me what joy we had in rejoicing together for this, my own Father and I was so glad to know.
Or that in this simple way took hold of it, whereas the doctrine itself didn't lay hold of him properly. But God has made the thing so simple by picture and by word that every soul in this world is able to take hold of Him. Even though one were an imbecile, one could still grasp enough to lay a hold of Jesus. He might not understand much of our doctrine. He might not be able to explain much.
May be just like that poor Yeti, that little paper young lovely man. You probably many of you have read it and enjoyed it. I know I did many a time and poor. Yet he was a nitwit, 1/2 wit, or whatever you want to call him under. He could only understand certain things, but he could understand that he was just a poor Sinner. He could understand that Jesus was a savior.
And he learned to love the Lord Jesus with all his heart, though he couldn't tell you much about doctrine.
But he put his faith on Jesus. And you know, the Scripture tells us more than perhaps 100 times in the New Testament something about believing. And it's pretty generally believing on the Lord Jesus or believing on him that sent him.
And only I think twice out of the 100 times, does it speak of believing on anything other than Jesus or upon God.
God puts Christ before us as the object for our faith, and we may be ever so simple and it makes no difference how simple we are if we're resting upon him. Or we can say, as we sometimes sing on Christ, the solid rock I stand all over the ground is sinking sand. It's not by our intellect we make ourselves fit for heaven. It's not by the quantity of our prayers.
Nor even by our attending church meetings of any kind. These things are all right in their place, but they do not save the soul. The only way a soul can be saved is true. The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. The Lamb of God who is nailed to the cross and whose precious blood was shed to cleanse and make us fit for God's presence. Outside of that, there's no salvation that can be offered.
Because the Blessed Lord on the cross satisfied all the claims of God, he took upon him the penalty of my guilt.
And through his breaking the power of Satan, he's delivered me from the power of darkness, and the sun is going to deliver me altogether from the very presence of sin. Oh, it's a blessed thing to know Jesus as your savior and what peace it brings to the heart.
We remember that scripture which says he made peace through the plot of His cross and there alone do you find peace if there's an unsafe one here tonight we just urge upon you to receive the blessed Lamb of God and make him your hope, the ground of your faith.
Your salvation before God. And then we read in the second chapter of 1 John and the 12Th verse.
I write unto you, children, because your sins are forgiven you.
For his namesake. And that's important because of Christ, because of what Christ has done, because of his finished work, which has glorified God and maintained His Holiness, his righteousness, and met your need and my need as poor sinners. And now God appeals to your heart. Fall with a heart. Man believeth unto righteousness with a marked confession made out of salvation.
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So God appeals to your heart, and we just want to have that side of the thing before us tonight in the reading of this portion.
Well, it's a wonderful thing to have our names written in the Lamb's book of life. It's a wonderful thing that is written in heaven.
Are no person, no power.
Less than God himself can do anything with that record. God has written, and I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever, the Psalmist says. And it's a blessed fact, a blessed thing. God has written your name in heaven. It's their for eternity.
Oh, how blessed. Well, now we'll go on a little further here.
In that hour, the 21St verse we've already read, but we'll read it again in that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank the old Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them out of faves.
Even so far, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Now in First Corinthians we find are that not many.
Great men, not many wise men, not many noble men.
Are saved. No, There are great many that miss the point completely. We just read that scripture in the first chapter of First Corinthians.
And we can thank God that it doesn't say not any.
That happened, dear men and women, noble men and noble women, that have been saved.
But.
He tells us here.
20th verse of the first chapter. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the dispute of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe, I suppose that should read the foolishness of the preaching that is the gospel.
For the Jews require a sign on. The Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. But under them which are called, both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. That is, there's no foolishness with God, and there's no weakness there.
That isn't the point. The point is they call the preaching of the gospel foolishness. Well, he says that foolishness that you're Speaking of is wiser than men, and that weakness that you speak of Christ crucified through weakness, is stronger than men. So God uses the things which are not to bring to not the things that are. We. See that down here too, before you see your calling 26 verse, brethren. How that not many wise after the flesh.
Not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world, and confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world, and things which are despised. Have God chosen? Yeah, and things which are not to bring to not the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that according as written he the glorious let him glory in the Lord. For the Christian has the one in whom is all wisdom, and the one in whom is all power.
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And although he feels ever so weak and ever so unable to go on by himself, he is sustained by that.
Gracious, powerful One, for the 89th Psalm says that God has laid help on one that was mighty. And who was that mighty one? The 89 Psalm tells us the same Psalm that he's God's gracious 10. I think that's love. It's the gracious one, the Lord Jesus, who came here in wondrous grace to seek and to save the average of loss. And God says.
Though he passed among men as being just a week.
A man. A man who could feel everything we felt apart from sin and its consequences. A man who could weep with those who wept. A man who could groan in his spirit. A man who could sit by sight as well, Weary, thirsty, hungry.
In need, Yes. This is the kind of a man that God sent that he might come to us so that we could understand.
And we could see. And what was he? Who was he? The wonderful fact is, he was God come down, a heavenly stranger, God manifest in the flesh. This is the one who came. This is the one that John pointed out. He said, Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. It was God himself came down to take up this question and to save your soul, and to save my soul.
Happy the man who has received Christ as his Savior.
That 32nd Psalm tells you how blessed or how happy that man is. Yes, dear friend, as long as he kept himself away from God and tried to hide and cover up his sins, he was miserable by day and by night. But when he came out in the open and made confession, then it was that God's blessing rested upon him, and he could say, blessed is the man.
Whose sin is forgiven? Whose transgression is covered?
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity.
Oh, a happy man that walks the streets of this poor simple world knowing his sins are gone and knowing he has peace with God.
Able to look up into the heavens and behold, as it were in the face of Jesus, the glory of God shining.
Oh wonderful happy soul.
So brought into relationship with God, send his God unforgiveness.
Nothing included again or against him. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
No, judgment is nothing of fear. We go on knowing that the future only holds the richest of blessing for us. And so we find here the Lord Jesus saying that there were those who would like to have heard the things you hear today, so freely spoken. Well, we'll read it, it says.
We come down to the 23rd verse. We turned him onto his disciples and said privately.
Blessings of the eyes which see the things that ye see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see and have not seen them, and they hear those things which you hear and have not heard them.
Or do we prize enough?
The glad tidings of God. The good news of salvation. Do we appreciate what God has gone?
To do to what latest he's gone. Do we appreciate what Christ has done for us? That he should give his life a ransom for your sins and mind? Well, it's truly wonderful. But now let us look at the verses which follow in this 10th chapter of Luke.
It tells us here.
In the 25th vice, behold a certain lawyer.
This is not a lawyer as we know lawyers. This was a teacher of the law of Moses. He was called a lawyer.
A certain lawyer. He should have known the Old Testament Scriptures, shouldn't he? Yes, surely he should. And we'll see what follows him. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
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He said unto him, What is written in the law?
How read thou And he answering saith Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbors thyself, and all these two. This one verse gives you the 2 tables of commandment, and that God gave to Moses the five commandments. On the one table were God word, and the other five were man word, and that's why.
When this man quotes what he does, that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind, remember it was God who put you in the world. It's God who is fed and clothed you. It's God who has given you everything that you needed for this life. And if God were for one moment to forget about you and say I'm tired, I'm just going off on a little vacation, you know what would happen? All flesh would perish, the Scripture tells us.
Every soul would perish if God for one moment.
Ceased his care of you of Maine. Can we say I can get along without God, or you can't? No. There was a farmer who had an abundant crop coming up. It was the envy of all his fellow farmers who came to him and complimented him upon the lovely crop he was going to have from this seed which had been sown, and which had grown up so nicely in his field. You said this formative God will leave me alone.
That's a terrible thing. And yet there are a lot of people that are saying that in effect, if God will just let me alone, I'll just have it, or I'll make things wonderful. You will make a wonderful mess. Yes, you will be a terrible mess. Should make all of it under. So when it came time to harvest the crops, to the dismay of this man that God left alone at his own request, he had the poorest crop that he ever had.
And all the other farms round about had abundant crops.
God didn't let them alone. God still blessed them. But this man, who was such a fool as to want God to let him alone, had practically nothing out of his field. Or if God were to leave us alone, we'd all of us perish.
The poor, miserable creatures, entirely dependent on God for the very breath we breathe.
And here's this lawyer. And he says, I love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, with all my mind, with all my mind. Do you believe it? I don't believe it. For one moment, I believe the man was just as blind as he could be. He didn't realize that he was a Sinner.
But it didn't know anything at all about loving God.
What does the scripture tell us in the epistles of John? It says we love because he first loved us Until he loved us and made that love of his gnome, we didn't know what true love was. Not a bit natural affection. We had, yes. Friendly feelings toward people, yes. But love no. It wasn't until God revealed his love to us through Christ.
That we learn what real love is, dear friends, Study the cross a little while and see what you make of it. You'll discover. Or that there is love that you've never suspected.
There is a little pamphlet written which I've enjoyed and others have enjoyed too, and you probably know about it. I don't know, but.
It's called The Story of an Artist Studio.
And there is a famous painter in Europe.
And a Bishop came to him and said, I'd like you to paint a nice life-size picture of Christ and lacrosse for the church 'cause when he added for the church you expect to get a good big discount.
Well, Stenberg went ahead and he painted this picture and without doubt it was a lovely picture and quite true. The Bishop accepted it and put it up in the church.
But before the Bishop accepted it.
Stenberg thought. I'd like to paint.
A dancing girl, A gypsy.
And he went around the streets looking for just such a type. One day saw Spanish Girl and Dancing with tambourine, and he's dressed like a gypsy, said She's just the idea I'll get her and I'll paint her. So he went over to her and made an offer, and he would be glad enough to pay her so much if she'd come to his studio and pause for him. And while she was there posing for him, she couldn't help but see this picture of the cross.
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And she said.
What does that mean? Oh, said the artist. That's Christ.
Only went on with this painting of her.
She said how sad she looks there. Yes. He looked sorrowful, looked sad, according to the painter's version of the cross.
And then the girl couldn't keep quiet, says you must love him if he died for you. For the painter had said he died, you know, for us on the cross. Oh, she said, You must love him then, if he died for you.
Well, he just brushed that off. He didn't want to answer the question because he was an unsafe person himself.
Under but the words of this gypsy girl haunted him, and when the gypsy dancing girl was completed, he had no difficulty in selling it. It was what we in our present day vernacular would say ahead, and it took rapidly and sold it once. But he couldn't get rid of the words of this girl.
You must love him if he did all this for you.
And Stenberg got in a very bad state of mind.
And.
As days went on.
He finally contemplated committing suicide.
When he started to carry this out, when he happened to pass a mission with an open door, and he heard singing, and he stepped in to listen. There he heard about the blessed Savior in the cross, and the wondrous love of God connected with his death upon the cross, and he got saved.
Leaving there, he went back to his studio and wondered what he could do.
To make others to know this. He couldn't preach. He wasn't a man of words. Oh, he thought, I can paint. I'll paint a picture of the cross, but I'll paint the Christ in a different way now than I painted him before. I won't just paint him full of misery and sorrow. I'll put all the love in his face I can think of. And he did. He made a wonderful job of it so that it hung in the galleries of Europe.
Especially in Vienna. And there it was, it counts in and off stood and gazed upon that picture, and the hours went by, and he stood gazing and gazing and creaking in the love of Christ from that picture, until Zins and Dolph devoted himself completely to the services of the Moravian Church, of which he seemed to have been a founder.
He was saved through the look of that crucified one in this painting. But Oh dear friends, God has painted a picture of that blessed man.
Far excelling anything that Stenberg or any other great artist of his day, or any other day could ever depict. Who can understand what the love of God is? Who could understand the intensity of that love? Who could understand that? When?
Who God had to deal with man who was a Sinner and turn him out of paradise.
Who could understand God's feelings to find that the man he made and the woman he made had fallen away from him and lost their confidence in him?
Well, God wasn't going to be turned away from this, and in various ways he sought to exercise the conscience of man from that point on. No doubt the bulk of the Old Testament is intended just to show up what man really is and to exercise our conscience about it. And we look back on those pictures and we say that's a true picture of myself as a poor Sinner.
All we, like sheep have gone astray, said Isaiah.
We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
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Under so we read in the third of Romans, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not even one, none at all, no, not one. There was only one man in this world.
That by any means.
Might make this world a sacred place. That was Christ, as the poor says. But he's gone. Yes, he's gone. He's left. This world has gone back to the glory with a tale of man's inhumanity and bitterness against God. For the same time, he has sent out his Holy Spirit to continue to tell us the tale of the wonderful love that passes all understanding and all dear friends, if you could only get you to see this.
If you could only get you to understand.
But let's see the picture which comes here and which helps to illustrate it. It says.
25th verse We've already read, Master, What shall I do to inherit eternal life? And now when he says I shall love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, with all thy heart, with all thy strength, with all thy mind, and thy neighbors. Thyself, the Lord Jesus, as you go ahead and do it. It's easy to talk about things, but go ahead and do it, You who know the law so well.
You who know your responsibility to God, do it.
Yes, the Lord says to him, do it and thou shalt live. He doesn't say you'll get eternal life, which was the man what the man asked for. But he says you'll live. Do it and you'll live. Now this man isn't going to take it this way. He wants to pin things down a little bit more to his own liking, and he says.
29th verse And who is my neighbor?
He didn't say How can I love God? No, the main thing let's leave untouched. He doesn't touch it. Who is my neighbor?
And this brings before us the story of one who came down here to be a neighbor to us. Oh, what A neighbor. A neighbor that we needed in our time of need. And here he is. Let's read about him.
And the Lord says.
A certain man 30th verse. This is went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
And fell among thieves.
Which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead. Or you say what inhumanity? Yet that's what man has for man. That's what woman has for woman.
In humanity.
Here he fell among the thieves, but what was he doing on his way down to Jericho? You know the Old Testament story of Jericho, or if you don't know it, you just referred to it briefly in saying that it was a city that was first overthrown by the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan and God pronounced a curse on it to any man that should ever rebuild Jericho.
And here Jericho was overthrown. The only one that was saved out of it was a poor harlot, or that sheltered herself behind the scarlet thread that she left in her window, and her family, whom she had with her in the house, the only ones in the whole city that saved being destroyed. And God pronounced a curse on whoever should build it again. Well, we find that that case was executed, but there was a man that rebuilt it.
And in his first born and in his youngest.
He paid the penalty. Both of them perished. God's judgment is sure when God pronounces his judgment carries it out.
And so a curse was pronounced upon the mange of rebuild. That city, under that case was executed. Now what is this man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho for Jerusalem was the place where God had put his name. Jerusalem was the place where God's altar and God's priest and God's offerings were, and where God's blessing rested. And he should have stayed there in Jerusalem. No, his heart was going to wander away.
And it's always in a downward course. And he went down to Jericho. And what did he expect to find there? Fine, loving companions? No, indeed. What he found there were thieves that fell upon him. They beat him. They almost killed him. They stole everything he had. And they left him lying there naked, dying while in his own blood.
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And no heart of pity for him.
No, nobody to do anything for him. No. There he lay and a certain priest came down that way. It tells us, and why this must be a help to him. Now this priest, what was he going to do? 31St verse. This certain priest came down that way, and when he saw him.
Alas, he passed by on the other side.
He might have said, Poor fella, I'm sorry for you, but you haven't got anything I can give to God and so I've just got to leave you right there.
And now it tells us in the next verse. Likewise A Levite, he's a teacher of the law. When he was at the place, came and looked down him and passed by on the other side. No, he was telling a man in that condition what to do in order to please God. He was helpless.
And his helplessness made him hopeless. There he lay, a poor, hopeless, wretched creature, and the priest that passed by might have helped him but couldn't, and let Levi might have helped him but couldn't. Now notice that there's a certain Samaritan in the 33rd verse.
Not every Samaritan, no. They were just as hard hearted as the Jews.
But there was a certain one, and they had called the Lord Jesus. This American, they said, say, we not thou artist American, has the devil. The Lord is turning his back on them.
A Satan Samaritan. In spite of the fact that they said of Jesus he was a Samaritan. Oh, he said his sacred Samaritan that mocks him off. It's Jesus.
And what did he say of him? He says as he journeyed, came.
Where the man was and when he saw him, he didn't pass by. On the other side, he had compassion on him. Compassion is a mingling of pity and love.
Hear this American had his heart go out to this poor stranger.
Under he saw his desperate state, and this American couldn't go any further.
Right to where the man was. That's what the Lord Jesus did with us on the cross he came. Right the way we were. Poor sinful creatures we were. God laid upon him the iniquity of us all. Yes, the little girl had it right When her father asked his children, had they made their sins on Jesus one after the other said yes, Father, I have. Oh, I'm so glad.
They say to Jamie and to Mary, and now he comes to the little one. He says that you, my little pet, have you laid your sins on Jesus? He said, No, Father, God did it.
That little girl had more common sense than the brothers and the sisters. It was God that laid our sins on Jesus. It were not myself.
If I had to lay my sins upon the Blessed Lord, I'm sure I'd have forgotten many of them.
God didn't forget one, Not one.
Sometimes people say, I'm sure that my sins have been forgiven me until the time I receive Christ as my Savior. Oh, I say, well, what about the sins that you've committed? Sins. Well, they're a little bit uncertain about that. They don't know just what's happened to them.
Well, when Christ died on the cross, how many sins did you committed? How many sins had I committed? None of us have committed any sins.
Well, how could God lay my sins upon Jesus? God knows everything. The future is just as present with Him as today.
That's why He gives himself the name I am, that is the same. He is constantly aware of everything from eternity to eternity. And he who knew all the sins I would ever commit, He took every single one of them and laid them upon the head of His old dear Son.
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That's what we read in Isaiah 53 and six. All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
But the Lord has laid on him. We've turned everyone to his own way. But the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Every believer in the Lord. Jesus can say my sins are gone. Gone. How are they gone? Well, on the cross Christ of all those sins, He's not on the cross anymore.
He was buried. He's not in the tomb anymore. Where is he? He's risen from the dead. He's up there at God's right hand. I'm sure that not one sin can ever come into the presence of God. What, then, has become of my sins? They're gone.
Buried in his grave, Yes, atone for on the cross and buried in his grave. And God says, I'll never, never, never for a moment them again. Never. Oh, what peace this gives to the soul.
How blessed it is, how full of blessing. So then I am saved because Christ died to put away my guilt. And here we find that this American, as he journeyed, came where the poor man won just where he was. That's what the Lord did when he went to the cross.
For my guilt, just where I was, I should have been on that cross had I received the due reward of my deeds.
But Christ came there and took that place upon himself. He who knew no sin was made sin that we who knew no righteousness at all. We had no righteousness, nothing to present ourselves before God did, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. How very blessed this is. So then this American came to where this poor fellow was.
Notice in the next verse he went to him.
And he bound up his wound. Oh, how tender the hands of the Samaritan, as he found up the wounds of this poor fellow that had been so sadly wounded.
Bound up his wounds, and he poured in oil the oil of God's grace.
Are they soothed and comforted, and healed and blessed?
Yes, the believer has the Spirit of God. He receives it, as he believes in Christ. His sins are put away, his wounds are bound up. He received the Holy Spirit. And now comes the oil of some the joy of salvation, the wine which is poured in the new energy, the new vigor or that is given to this poor fellow, and that lay there. So help us a few moments before.
And now wounds bound up, oil poured in and the wine added. But that isn't enough.
That isn't enough. It's a wonderful thing to heal our souls. Would he leave us here?
No, that's not part of his gospel at all. Part of his gospel is to heal our wounds and to bring us to God. But He's to bring us to God. And so we find here that is, He took this man up in his arms in this 34th verse, lifted him up.
Where he lay there, never mind that his own garments might become soiled, he lifts this man up and right straight to his own bosom, and he carries the man over to where his beast was, and he sets him up there on the beast.
Make sure that it won't fall off.
And he walks beside the beast with his arm around the man, no doubt to steady him all the way. And then it tells us. And he brought him to an inn and took care of him. Now the end is a picture of the church. An inn is the company of God's people to home. A new saved soul is brought for further instruction and help. You know, it's a it's very important thing this is.
More important than people think, God doesn't just want to save people and then send them out in the world. Ignorant. I remember a man standing up and preaching a wonderful gospel. He got saved in a mission, and I said to myself that man's going to be a great preacher someday.
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Well, about six months later on, when I checked up on him, I found him married a Catholic woman and he was no more preaching the Gospel.
Just settle down to things here.
And now the love that first moved him to get out there and preach the gospel was forgotten.
All God wants our hearts, and He wants us to be kept in the place where we're better instructed in the ways of God.
I had an experience like that a good many years ago.
It was my first vacation away from home. I was going to spend a couple of weeks up in Green County among those beautiful mountains, the Catskill Mountains, and I said to myself.
I'm going to take the Bible and I'm going to go out and search for a nice woodsy spot and whereas A babbling brook, I'm just going to sit down and oh how I'm going to revel in the word of God, how I'm going to rejoice.
Well, I found just such a place, not very far away from the hotel where I was staying.
And I sat down and took out my Bible.
And I read. You know what? I got nothing.
Said that strange.
I can't get a thing out of it today. What's the matter? Is it something about me? Just what is it that I can't get a thing out of the book?
I put the book in my pocket. I'll come again tomorrow, probably. This is one of those off days, you know, people will talk like that.
And that's the way it looked to me tomorrow. I came, I sat down again in the same spot, and I got just nothing.
Just nothing. I couldn't get a thing out of the word of God.
I could read the word, of course I could read the words.
But somehow they didn't mean much to me. And before the 1St week was up, I was just longing and saying, oh, if I could only get back to my brethren and that's what I needed. I needed to be with a president. I didn't realize that the strength and support I was getting from being with them enabled me to rejoice in the Lord and went away from them. I missed that.
The Lord taught me the importance of being with my brethren. Oh, I think it's so important for young Christians to be with their older brass men and sisters and a lion from them, and to listen to them, to go on with them. You know, if we grow, we either grow together or we grow apart. If we don't come to the meetings, we grow away from the brass ring. And if we do come to the meetings, we grow with them.
The good things that God ministers to them.
He ministers to us and they help us to see and to enjoy them and to enter into the blessing, but if we miss this?
We find that we have no means within ourselves.
To sustain us.
Oh, I soon learned that when I learned to stay close to my present, and it did me a world of good, I commend it to you. Keep close to your bathroom, learn the things that they have learned and which they can help you. Well, this Samaritan brought this poor fellow that he rescued and with whom he's so kind, he brought him to the inn.
On the end, as I said before, is a beautiful figure of the Church of the assembly, and God would have his people together, and so they help one another. Well, it tells us here that he took care of him and the 35th verse on the Morrow. When he departed, he took out two pens. That may seem very small to us, but in those days a pence, which is about equivalent to, I think, 18 cents of our money.
Before inflation, I don't know what it is worth today, but there about 18 cents of our money was equal to a pence, and it was the regular daily wage of a labourer. So it meant all that all the labor of two days were spent on this man for his upkeep, for the two days. So he had plenty and he said, the Samaritan said.
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To the innkeeper, take care of him. And whatsoever thou spend this more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Oh, here's another truth. The one who took me up and made me his says I'll come again. And when I come again, what's he going to do? What? He's going to take this poor fellow that he picked up by the roadside.
And he's going to take him along with him. Yes, he says to the innkeeper. And when I come again, I will repay thee. Well, I suppose the innkeeper hears the Spirit of God. And those who help the Spirit of God, no doubt, are those who will be repaid.
What? They're here, he says. I will come again, and I will repay thee. Now said that Jesus.
To this lawyer, which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor to unto him that fell among the thieves.
But he had no difficulty discovering that.
Oh dear friend of your unsaved tonight, have you discovered yet that this blessed man joining all the way from heaven to be a neighbor to you, to give his life for you to die, that you might live? That's the blessed truth of the gospel. The gospel is not in you doing something, but in telling you what Jesus has done. It's a gospel of.
4 letters, not 2 letters. Do has no place in it. Done is written all over it. The work is done, the cross is accomplished, and God has been satisfied.
The Lamb's Book of Life Separates Profession and Reality
Gospel—C. Kohler
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Shall we turn to the 10th chapter of Luke's Gospel?
And beginning with the 17th verse.
And the 70 it refers to 70 disciples the Lord had sent to go in the villages round about and notify them that the Kingdom of God was at hand, and he gave them a certain amount of power to deal with the evil spirit, and to heal the sick and the afflicted, and raise the dead.
And now it tells us of their report. Under 70 returned again with joy, saying Lord.
Even the devils of something unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
God is going to deal with that great enemy and in a manner that he won't like when he will be by sheer force and power cast out of God's presence. And so the Lord looking forward.
And seeing this, would say, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you.
Power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Notwithstanding in this, is it possible something more could be added? Yes.
And this is of utmost importance. So pay attention to this verse. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
Written in heaven.
Who could write your name? Who could write?
My name in heaven. How could my name be written there?
Only God himself could write your name or my name in his book.
And if your name is there in his book, what can ever eradicate it? Nothing, nothing. No power in the universe.
Could ever make null and void?
God's record.
Of you, of me, of everyone who believes we have reason to rejoice if our names are written in heaven. And we've reason to realize, too, that if our names are written in heaven, we didn't do it.
Nor can it be because we have.
Accomplish things that God could approve on has nothing to do with us.
But it does have something to do with God's own purpose in grace and those who belong to the Lord Jesus. Their names inscribed in the book The Lambs, a book of life. There is another book of life.
But it isn't the Lamb's Book of life.
It's a book of profession. There are many and many places who profess.
To seek God and to walk in His ways and to serve Him.
If they're not in the Lamb's Book of life, and why are they not in the Lamb's Book of Life?
Because the Lamb's Book of Life tells every single one who has put his trust in the precious blood of Christ.
And because of this.
His guilt has been removed, he's been saved, he's been delivered from the consequences of his weak, foolish, sinful life. Here below the Lamb's book of Life, then, is something that we want to be, to have our names in. In the 20th of Revelation, you'll see the importance of that, because there we find there's a judgment day coming.
And those who stand before that great White Throne are going to be each one given the book of his life.
His complete record is there. As he opens that book, he's going to remember what he did, when he did it, why he did it, everything. The record is complete.
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And he must own himself a Sinner.
And now is there no hope for him? Or is there not another book? Yes, there's the Lambs Book of Life. He may look. Does he see his name there? He does not. His name is not in the Lamb's Book of Life.
What then?
We're told that they are cast into the lake of fire. That's a dreadful end for a man or a woman.
Created by God with capabilities such as you and I have of understanding.
Of obedience, of love. Our poor hearts, you'll realize how much we owe to God. He might have made you and me like the beast of the field. They can't reason things out, yet they do have a certain intelligence.
Perhaps it's rather instinct with them, that intelligence, but the beasts of the field have no conscience, nor do they realize that they have ever sinned, for they haven't sinned through their included in the fall brought in by Manson.
But you and I were not turned away from the Garden of Eden without God having given us a conscience.
And that conscience indicates what is wrong and when we are wrong.
And how important it is for us to realize the difference between that which is right and that which is wrong. Well, we've all disregarded all the red signal. We've all gone ahead and.
And gone ahead at the risk of our eternal loss.
But dear so, God isn't willing that any should perish, and therefore.
We find the lamb has been brought in.
Honest The Lamb's Book of life.
That is before us here. And is your name? Is your name written in heaven?
I know my name is there. I didn't write it there. The same hand that was nailed on the cross for me has written my name. And those who are not Christians know nothing at all about it, and they go on in their way to end up.
Miserably.
Yes, miserably, but let us go on with our little portion here.
Rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank the old Father, Lord of heaven, and I Thou has hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them out of babes.
Even so far the facade seemed good in life's sight. Now what does he mean by that? Well, when he says thou hast revealed the Mount of babes, he means that he has made the thing so simple that the simplest of men and women are can reach and take hold of them and get the blessing. He doesn't require university course.
It doesn't require an ordination of the hands of some men who say you have completed successfully your studies.
Not a bit.
Very much like the girl that was asked which of her aunts she liked the best. She says, oh, I like Aunt Emmy bears, but why do you like Aunt Emmy Fest? Because whenever Aunt Emmy baked cookies and nice cakes, she put some on the bottom shelf where I can reach them. And you know, that's what God has done. And God has put on the bottom shelf where the simplest of men and women can reach them.
Is brought the gospel in a separate way. I knew a dear man who had often heard the gospel of God's grace and it didn't seem to take hold of him. Somehow he couldn't quite understand it, and one night he heard a preacher who turned to a scripture in Matthew that except you become as little children.
You shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven, always said. That's the way I've got to take it, just like a little child.
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And so he took it at once without any further question, And when he told me what joy we had in rejoicing together. For as my own father. And I was so glad to know that in this simple way took hold of it, whereas the doctrine itself didn't lay hold of him properly. But God has made the thing so simple by picture and by word.
That every soul.
In this world is able to take hold of it. Even though one were an imbecile, one could still grasp enough to lay a hold of Jesus. He might not understand much of our doctrine. He might not be able to explain much. He may be just like that. Poor Yeti, that little paper, young lovely man. You probably many of you have read it and enjoyed it.
I know I did many a time and boy yet he was a nitwit, 1/2 wit or whatever you want to call him Ander he could only understand certain things.
But he could understand that he was just a poor Sinner.
He could understand that Jesus was a Savior.
And he learned to love the Lord Jesus with all his heart, though he couldn't tell you much about doctrine.
But he put his faith on Jesus. And you know, the Scripture tells us more than perhaps 100 times in the New Testament something about believing.
And it's pretty generally believing on the Lord Jesus or believing on him that sent him.
And only I think twice out of the 100 times does it speak of believing on anything other than Jesus or upon God. God puts Christ before us as the object for our faith and we may be ever so simple and it makes no difference how simple we are.
If we are resting upon Him, or we can say as we sometimes sing on Christ the solid rod, I stand.
All other ground is sinking sand. It's not by our intellect we make ourselves fit for heaven. It's not by the quantity of our prayers, nor even by our attending church meetings of any kind. These things are all right in their place, but they do not save the soul.
The only way a soul can be saved is true, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the sin of the world.
The Lamb of God who was nailed to the cross and whose precious blood was shed to cleanse and make us fit for God's presence. Outside of that, there's no salvation that can be offered. Because the blessed Lord on the cross satisfied all the claims of God. He took upon Him the penalty of my guilt.
And through his breaking the power of Satan, he's delivered me from the power.
Of darkness and the sun is going to deliver me altogether from the very presence of sin. Oh, it's a blessed thing to know Jesus as your Savior and what peace it brings to the heart. We remember that scripture which says he made peace through the plot of his cross. And there alone do you find peace.
If there's an unsafe one here tonight, we just urge upon you.
To receive the blessed Lamb of God and make him your hope, the ground of your faith, your salvation before God.
And then we read in the second chapter of first John and the 12Th verse, I write unto you, children, because your sins are forgiven you.
For his name sake, that's important.
Because of Christ, because of what Christ has done, because of His finished work which has glorified God and maintained His Holiness, His righteousness, and met your need and my need as poor sinners. And now God appeals to your heart.
Fall with our heart. Man believeth unto righteousness with a mouth. Confession is made out of salvation.
So God appeals to your heart and we just want to have that side of the thing before us tonight.
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In the reading of this portion.
Well, it's a wonderful thing to have our names written in the Lamb's Book of life. It's a wonderful thing that is written in heaven.
Are no person, no power.
Less than God himself can do anything with that record God has written, and I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever.
The psalmist said. And it's a blessed fact, a blessed thing. God has written your name in heaven. It's there for eternity. Oh, how blessed. Well, now we'll go on a little further here.
In that hour, the 21St verse, we've already read, but we'll read it again in that hour. Jesus rejoiced in spirit.
And said, I thank the old Father, Lord of heaven and earth.
That thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and has revealed them out of babes. Even so farther, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Now in first Corinthians we find, are that not many?
Great men, Not many wise men, not many noble men.
Are saved no.
There are great many that missed the point completely. We just read that scripture in the first chapter of First Corinthians and we can thank God that it doesn't say not any.
That happened, dear men and women, noblemen and noble women.
That have been saved.
But.
He tells us here 20th verse of the first chapter.
Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching To save them that believe. I suppose that should read the foolishness of the preaching, that is the gospel.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.
But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness. But under them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. That is, there's no foolishness with God and there's no weakness there. That isn't the point.
The point is, they call the preaching of the gospel foolishness. Well, he says that foolishness that you are Speaking of is wiser than men, and that weakness that you speak of Christ crucified through weakness is stronger than men. So God uses the things which are not to bring to, not the things that are. We see that down here too.
Before you see your calling. 26 verse brethren.
How that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, And God has chosen the weak things of the world, and confound the things which are mighty and base things of the world, and things which are despised.
Hath God chosen? Yeah, and things which are not.
To bring to north the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, whom God is made unto us, wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption.
Then, according as it is written, he the glorious, let him glory in the Lord. So the Christian has the one in whom is all wisdom, the one in whom is all power.
And as though he feels ever so weak, and ever so unable to go on by himself, he is sustained by that gracious, powerful one of the 89th Psalm says that God has made help on one that was mighty. And who was that mighty one?
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The 89 Psalm tells us the same Psalm that he's got gracious 10. I think that's lovely. It's the gracious one for Lord Jesus who came here in wondrous grace to seek and to save that which was lost, God says.
Though he passed among men has been just a week.
Man. A man who could feel everything we felt apart from sin and its consequences. A man who could weep with those who wept. A man who could groan in his spirit. A man who could sit by sight as well. Weary, thirsty, hungry.
Indeed.
Yes, this is the kind of a man that God said that he might come to us so that we could understand and we could see. And what was he? Who was he? The wonderful fact is he was God come down a heavenly stranger. God manifest in the flesh. This is the one who came. This is the one that John pointed out. He said, behold the Lamb of God.
Which takes away the sin of the world. It was God himself came down to take up this question and to save your soul, and to save my soul. And happy the man who has received Christ as his Savior. That 32nd Psalm tells you how blessed or how happy that man is. Yes, dear friend, as long as he kept himself away from God and tried to hide and cover up his sins.
He was miserable by day and by night, but when he came out in the open and made confession, then it was at God's blessing rested upon him, and he could say, Blessed is a man.
Whose sin is forgiven? Whose transgression is covered? Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute iniquity.
Oh, a happy man that walks the streets.
Of this poor simple world, knowing his sins are gone and knowing he has peace with God.
Able to look up into the heavens and behold, as it were, in the face of Jesus, the glory of God shining.
Oh wonderful happy soul, soul brought into relationship with God, sends God unforgiven, nothing imputed again against him. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
Judgment, nothing of fear. We go on, knowing that the future only holds the richest of blessing for it. And so we find here the Lord Jesus saying that there were those who would like to have heard the things you hear today so freely spoken. Well, we read it, it says.
Come down to the 23rd verse. We turn.
Him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.
Or do we prize enough?
The glad tidings of God.
The good news of salvation? Do we appreciate what God has?
Gone to do to what length he's gone. Do we appreciate what Christ has done for us?
That he should give his life a ransom for your sins and mind. Well, it's truly wonderful. But now let us look at the verses which follow in this 10th chapter. Luke.
It tells us here.
In the 25th race, behold a certain lawyer.
This is not a lawyer as we know lawyers. This was a teacher of the law of Moses.
He was called a lawyer.
A certain lawyer, he should have known the Old Testament scriptures, shouldn't he? Yes, surely he should, and we'll see what follows him. And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
00:25:16
He said unto him, What is written in the law.
How readest thou?
On he answering said, Thou shalt love.
The Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbors, thyself, and all these true. This one verse gives you the two tables of commandment that God gave to Moses. The five commandments on the one table were God word, and the other five were man word.
And that's why.
When this man quotes what he does, that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. Remember, it is God who put you in the world. It's God who is fed and clothed you. It's God who has given you everything that you needed for this life. And if God were for one moment to forget about you and say I'm tired, I'm just going off on a little vacation, you know what would happen?
All flesh would perish, the Scripture tells us. Every soul would perish if God for one moment ceased his care of you, Of me. Can we say I can get along without God? You can't, No. There was a farmer who had an abundant crop coming up. It was the envy of all his fellow farmers who came to him and complimented him upon.
Lovely crappie was going to have from this seed which had been sown and which had grown up so nicely in this field. Yes, said this farmer, if God will leave me alone.
That's a terrible thing. And yet there are a lot of people that are saying that in effect, if God will just let me alone, I'll just have it, or I'll make things wonderful. You make a wonderful mess. Yes, you will be a terrible mess. Should make on it.
So when it came time to harvest the crops, to the dismay of this man that God left alone at his own request, he had the poorest crop that he ever had. And all the other farms round about had abundant crops. God didn't let them alone. God still blessed them. But this man who was such a fool?
As to want God to let him alone had practically nothing out of his field.
Or if God were to leave us alone, we'd all of us perish.
The poor, miserable creatures entirely dependent on God for the very breath we breathe.
And here's his lawyer. And he says I love God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, with all my mind, with all my mind. Do you believe it? I don't believe it for one moment. I believe the man was just as blind as he could be. He didn't realize that he was a Sinner.
I didn't know anything at all about loving God.
What does the scripture tell us in the epistles of John? It says we love because he first loved us. Until he loved us and made that love of his known. We didn't know what true love was. Not a bit natural affection we had, yes. Friendly feelings taught people, yes, but love no.
Wasn't until God revealed his love to us through Christ.
That we learned what real love is. Dear friends, study the cross a little while.
And see what you make of it. You'll discover. Or that there is love that you've never suspected.
There was a little pamphlet written which I've enjoyed and others have enjoyed too, and you probably know about it. I don't know, but.
It's called the story of an Artist studio.
And there was a famous painter in Europe and a Bishop came to him and said I'd like you to paint a nice life sized picture of Christ on the cross for the church, because when he added to the church he expect to get a good big discount.
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Well, Stenberg went ahead and he painted this picture and without doubt it was a lovely picture and quite true.
The Bishop accepted it and put it up in the church.
But before the Bishop accepted it.
Stenberg thought I'd like to paint.
A dancing girl. A gypsy.
Under he went around the streets looking for just such a type. One day saw a Spanish girl and dancing with tambourine and he was dressed like a gypsy. Said she's just the idea. I'll get her and I'll paint her. I think she couldn't help but see this picture of the cross.
And she said.
Who does that mean?
Also, the artists left Christ.
Only went on with his painting of her.
She said how sad, according to Painter's version of the cross.
But before the Bishop accepted it.
Stenberg thought I'd like to paint.
A dancing girl. A gypsy.
And he went around the streets looking for just such a type. One day saw his Spanish girl dancing with tambourine.
I just dressed like a gypsy, said she's just the idea, I'll get her and I'll paint her. So he went over to her and made an offer, and he would be glad enough to pay her so much as she'd come to his studio and pose for him. And while she was there posing for him, she couldn't help but see this picture of the cross.
And she said.
Who does that mean?
Also the artist left Christ.
Only went on with his painting of her.
She said how sad he looked there. Yes, he looked sorrowful, looked sad, according to Painter's version of the cross.
And then the girl couldn't keep Christ as you must love him.
If he died for you, for the painter had said, he died, you know, for us on the cross.
Or she said, you must love him then if he died for you.
Well, he just brushed that off. He didn't want to answer the question because he was an unsafe person himself under but the words of his gypsy girl haunted him and when the gypsy dancing girl was completed, he had no difficulty in selling it. It was what we in our present day vernacular would say ahead.
And it took rapidly and sold at once. But he couldn't get rid of the words of this girl. You must love him if he did all this for you.
And Stenberg got in a very bad state of mind.
And.
As days went on.
He finally contemplated committing suicide.
And he started to carry this out when he happened to pass.
A mission with an open door. And he heard the singing, and he stepped in to listen. There he heard about the blessed Savior on the cross, and the wondrous love of God connected with his death upon the cross. He got saved.
Leaving there, he went back to his studio and wondered what he could do.
Who will make others to know this? He couldn't preach. He wasn't a man of words.
Oh, he thought, I can paint. I'll paint a picture of the cross, but I'll paint the Christ in a different way now than I painted him before. I won't just paint him full of misery and sorrow.
I'll put all the love in his face I can think of. And he did. He made a wonderful job of it.
So that it hung in the galleries of Europe, especially in Vienna.
Under there it was, it counts in and off stood and gazed upon that picture, and the hours went by, and he stood gazing and gazing and creaking in the love of Christ from that picture, until Zins and Dorf devoted himself completely.
00:35:17
I told the services of the Moravian Church, of which he seemed to have been a founder. He was saved through the look of that crucified one in this painting. But Oh dear friends, God has painted a picture of that blessed man.
Far excelling anything that Stenberg or any other great artist of his day or any other day could ever depict.
Who can understand what the love of God is?
Who could understand the intensity of that love? Who could understand that when?
God had to deal with man who was a Sinner and turn him out of paradise.
Who could understand God's feelings to find that the man he made and the woman he made had fallen away from him and lost their confidence in him? Well, God wasn't going to be turned away from there. And in various ways he sought to exercise the conscience of man from that point on.
No doubt the bulk of the Old Testament is intended.
Just to show up what man really is and to exercise our conscience about it. And we look back on those pictures and we say that's a true picture of myself as a poor Sinner.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray, said Isaiah. We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Under so we read in the third of Romans.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, No, not even one, none at all, no, not one. There was only one man in this world.
All that by any means might make this world a sacred place suffers Christ.
As the poor said, but he's gone. Yes, he's gone. He's left. This world is gone. Back to the glory.
With a tale of man's inhumanity and bitterness against God.
But at the same time, He is sent out His Holy Spirit to continue to tell us the tale of the wonderful love that passes all understanding and all dear friends. If you could only get you to see this. If you could only get you to understand it. But let's see the picture which comes here and which helps to illustrate it.
It says.
2020 First, we've already read Master, What shall I do to inherit eternal life?
And now when he says, I shall love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, with all thy heart, with all thy strength, with all thy mind and thy neighbors, thyself, the Lord Jesus, as you go ahead and do it. It's easy to talk about things, but go ahead and do it.
You who know the law so well?
You who know your responsibility to God, do it.
Yes, the Lord says to him, do it and I shall live. He doesn't say you'll get eternal life, which was the man, what the man asked for, but he says you'll live. Do it and you'll live.
Now, this man isn't going to take it this way. He wants to pin things down a little bit.
More to his own liking and he says.
29th verse And who is my neighbor?
He didn't say how can I love God?
No, the main thing he lets leaves untouched. He doesn't touch it. Who is my neighbor?
And this brings before us the story of one who came down here to be a neighbor to us.
Oh, what a neighbor.
Unable that we needed in our time of need. And here he is. Let's read about him.
00:40:00
And the Lord says.
A certain man, 30th verses went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
And Fellowmont thieves.
Which stripped him of his raiment.
And wounded him and departed, leaving him half dead.
Oh, you say, what inhumanity. Yet that's what man has for man. That's what woman has for woman.
In humanity.
Here he fell among the thieves.
What was he doing on his way down to Jericho? You know the Old Testament story of Jericho, or if you don't know it, you just referred to it briefly in saying that it was a city that was first overthrown by the Israelites when they crossed the Jordan and God pronounced a curse on it. Any man that should ever rebuild Jericho.
And here Jericho was overthrown, only one that was saved out of it with a poor harlot, or that sheltered herself behind the scarlet thread that she left in her window and her family whom she had with her in the hall, The only ones of the whole city that saved me destroyed.
And God pronounced a curse on whoever should build it again.
Well, we find that that case was executed, but there was a man that rebuilt it, and in his first born and in his youngest, he paid the penalty. Both of them perished.
God's judgment is sure. When God pronounces, the judgment carries it out.
And so a curse was pronounced upon the man should rebuild that city. Under that purse was executed.
Man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, for Jerusalem was the place where God had put his name. Jerusalem was a place where God's altar and God's priest and God's offerings were, and where God's blessing rested. And he should have stayed there in Jerusalem. No, His heart was going to wander away. And it's always in a downward course.
And he went down to Jericho.
And what do you expect to find there? Find loving companions.
No, indeed, what he found there were thieves that fell upon him. They feed him, they almost killed him, they stole everything he had, and they left him lying there naked.
Dying while I'm in his own blood.
And no heart of pity for him, No.
Nobody to do anything for him.
You know, there he lay, and a certain priest came down that way, it tells us, and why this must be a outcome. Now this priest, what was he going to do? 31St verse.
The certain priest came down that way, and when he saw him.
Alas.
He passed by on the other side.
He might have said, Poole thought, I'm sorry for you, but you haven't got anything I can give to God, and so I've just got to leave you right there.
And now it tells us in the next verse. Likewise on Levite. He's a teacher of the law. When he was at the place came and looked on him.
Passed by on the other side.
Though he was telling a man in that condition what to do in order to please God, he was helpless.
And his helplessness made him hopeless. There he lay, a poor, hopeless, wretched creature. And the priest that passed by might have helped him, but couldn't. And the Levite might have helped him, but couldn't.
Now notice that there's a certain Samaritan.
Not every Samaritan.
No, they were just as hard hearted as the Jews.
But there was a certain one.
And they had called the Lord Jesus American. They said, say we not. No honest American has the devil. The Lord is turning his back on them.
As certain Samaritan, in spite of the fact that they said.
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Of Jesus, he was a Samaritan. Oh, he said, the Satanist American that mocks him off it's Jesus.
And what did you say of him? He says as he journeyed, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he didn't pass by on the other side. He had compassion on him. Compassion is a mingling of pity and love.
On here, this American had his heart go out to this poor stranger.
Under he saw his desperate state of this American couldn't go any further.
He came right to where the man was. That's what the Lord Jesus did with us on the cross. He came right to where we were. Poor sinful creatures we were. God laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
Yes, the little girl had it right.
When her father asked his children had they laid their sins on Jesus, one after the other said, yes, Father, I have. Oh, I'm so glad he'd say to Jamie and to Mary. Now he comes to the little one. He says of you, my little pet, have you laid your sins on Jesus? He said, no, Father, God did it.
That little girl had more common sense than the brothers and the sisters.
It was God that laid our sins on Jesus. It were not myself.
If I had to lay my sins upon the blessed Lord, I'm sure I'd have forgotten many of them. God didn't forget one, not one.
Sometimes people say, I'm sure that my sins have been forgiven me until the time I received Christ as my savior. Oh, I say, well, what about the sins that you've committed? Sins. Well, they're a little bit uncertain about that. They don't know just what happened to them.
Well, when Christ died on the cross, how many sins had you committed? How many sins had I committed? None of us have committed any sins.
Well, how could God lay my sins upon Jesus? God knows everything. The future is just as present with him as today.
That's why he gives himself the name I Am. That is the same. He is constantly aware of everything.
From eternity to eternity and he who knew all the sins I would ever commit.
He took every single one of them and laid them upon the head of his old dear Son. That's what we read in Isaiah 53 and six. All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
The Lord hath laid on him. We've turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Every believer in the Lord Jesus can say my sins are gone, Gone. How are they gone? Well, on the cross.
Christ of all those sins, He's not on the cross anymore. He was buried. He's not in the tomb anymore. Where is he? He's risen from the dead. He's up there at God's right hand. I'm sure that not one sin can ever come into the presence of God. What then has become of my sin? They're gone.
Buried in his grave, yes.
Atone for on the cross and buried in his grave. And God says I will never, never, never remember them again. Never.
Oh what peace this gives to the soul, how blessed it is, how full of blessing. So then.
I'm saved because Christ died to put away my guilt. And here we find that this American, as he journeyed, came where the poor man was, just where he was.
That's what the Lord did when He went to the cross.
For my guilt, just where I was, I should have been on that cross, had I received the due reward of my deeds of Christ, came there, and took that place upon Himself. He who knew no sin was made sin, that we who knew.
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Knew no righteousness at all. We had no righteousness, nothing to present ourselves before God in that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
How very blessed this is. So then this American came to where this poor fellow was. Notice in the next verse he went to him.
And he bound up his wounds.
Oh, how tender the hands of the Samaritan as he found up the wounds of this poor fellow that had been so sadly wounded.
Found up his wounds.
Reported oil, the oil of God's grace.
Are that soothed and comforted and healed and blessed?
Yes, the believer has the Spirit of God. He receives it as he believes in Christ. His sins are put away, his wounds are bound up. He receives the Holy Spirit.
And now comes the oil of some the joy of salvation.
The wine which is poured in, the new energy, the new vigor or that is given to this poor fellow that lay there. So help us a few moments before and now wounds bound up, oil poured in and the wine added. But that isn't enough.
That isn't enough.
It's a wonderful thing to heal our souls.
Would he leave us here?
No, that's not part of his gospel at all. Part of his gospel is to heal our wounds and to bring us to God.
But he's to bring us to God. And so we find here that is, He took this man up in his arms in this 34th. Birds lifted him up where he lay there. Never mind.
That his own garments might become soiled, He lifts this man up and.
Right straight to his own bosom, and he carries the man over to where?
His beast.
Was and he sets him up there on the beast and make sure that he won't fall off.
And he walks beside the beast with his arm around the man, no doubt to steady him all the way.
And then it tells us. And he brought him to an inn and took care of him. Now the end is a picture of the church. An end is the company of God's people.
To home, a new saved soul is brought for further instruction and help. You know, it's a it's very important thing. This is more important than people think. God doesn't just want to save people and then send them out in the world ignorant. I remember a man standing up and preaching a wonderful gospel. It got saved in a mission.
And I said to myself, that man is going to be a great preacher someday.
Well, about six months later on when I checked up on him, I found him married a Catholic woman and he was no more preaching the Gospel.
He just settled down the things here.
And now the love that first moved him to get out there and preach the gospel was forgotten.
Oh, God wants our hearts, and he wants us to be kept in the place where we're better instructed in the ways of God.
I had an experience like that a good many years ago.
It was my first vacation away from home. I was going to spend a couple of weeks up in Greene County among those beautiful mountains, the Catskill Mountains, and I said to myself.
I'm going to take the Bible and I'm going to go out and search for a nice woodsy spot.
Whether babbling brook, I'm just going to sit down and oh, how I'm going to revel in the word of God, how I'm going to rejoice.
Well, I found just such a place not very far away from the hotel where I was staying, and I sat down and took out my Bible.
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And I read. You know what? I got nothing.
Is that strange?
I can't get a thing out of it today. What's the matter? Is it something about me?
Just what is it that I can't get a thing out of the book?
I put the book in my pocket. I'll come again tomorrow.
Probably this is one of those off days, you know, people would talk like that.
And that's the way it looked to me. Tomorrow I came. I sat down again in the same spot.
And I got just nothing. Just nothing. I couldn't get a thing out of the word of God.
I could read the word, of course I could read the words, but somehow they didn't mean much to me.
And before the 1St week was up, I was just longing and saying, oh, if I could only get back to my brethren. And that's what I needed. I needed to be with the president. I didn't realize.
Or that the strength and support I was getting from being with them enabled me to rejoice in the Lord and went away from them. I missed that.
The Lord taught me the importance of being with my brethren. Oh, I think it's so important for young Christians to be with their older brass men and sisters and to learn from them and to listen to them, to go on with them.
You know, if we grow, we either grow together or we grow apart.
If we don't come to the meetings, we go away from the brass room, and if we do come to the meetings, we grow with them the good things that God ministers to them, He ministers to us, and they help us to see and to enjoy them and to enter into the blessing. But if we miss this.
We find that we have no means within ourselves.
To sustain us.
Oh, I soon learned that I learned to stay close to my present, and it did me a world of good. I commend it to you.
Keep close to your brethren.
Learn the things that they have learned and which they can help you. Well, this Samaritan brought this poor fellow that he rescued and with whom he was so kind. He brought him to the inn on the inn, as I said before.
Beautiful figure of the Church of the Assembly, and God would have his people together and so they help one another. Well, it tells us here.
That he took care of him and the 35th verse on the Morrow when he departed, he took out 2 Pence. That may seem very small to us, but in those days a pence which is about equivalent to, I think, 18 cents of our money.
Before inflation, I don't know what it is worth today, but about 18 cents of our money was equal to a pence and it was a regular daily wage of a labourer. So it meant that all the labor of two days were spent on this man for his upkeep for the two days.
So he had plenty, Honey said.
The Samaritan said to the innkeeper, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Oh, here's another truth. The one who took me up and made me his says I'll come again.
And when I come again, what's he going to do?
We're going to take this poor fellow that he picked up by the roadside, and he's going to take him along with him. Yes, he says to the innkeeper, when I come again, I will repay thee. Well, I suppose the innkeeper hears the Spirit of God, and those who help the Spirit of God, no doubt are those who will be repaid.
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What they hear he says, I will come again, and I will repay thee now, said Jesus to this lawyer. Which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor to? Unto him that fell among the thieves.
But he had no difficulty discovering that.
Oh dear friend of your unsaved tonight, have you discovered yet that this blessed man.
It all away from heaven to be a neighbor to you, to give his life for you to die that you might live. That's the blessed truth of the gospel. The gospel is not in you doing something, but in telling you what Jesus has done. It's a gospel of.
All letters not 2 letters do has no place in it done.
It is written all over it. The work is done.
The cross is accomplished and God has been satisfied.
And now the only thing remains is for you if you're unsaved and have Christ now.
God's Reveals Then Man Can Understand
Address—C. Kohler
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The return the First Corinthians.
And the night of work.
But as it is written.
I have not seen, nor hear heard. He would have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them as loving, but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.
Positive. Expect us all things, Yeah, the deep things of God.
As we read these words.
A reminder that God, who is infinite, sees things.
And plan things and bring to fruition his plans even though we cannot see how.
Or understand just why.
But God has his own reasons.
And his own way of bringing his thoughts to pass.
Could we have thought when reading of Adam and Eve in the garden, fresh from the hand of God? Lovely creatures, both of them.
Yes, as lovely as it could be.
I'm innocent, pure.
Could we think that?
A little thing, a little matter of just a few.
Letters which spell such a difference.
As we find today.
Everywhere today we find corruption.
And violence.
And their people, and turning after the follies of this life here below, and counting the world as of greatest importance. The future means nothing to them. Could we think that such ruin would have been brought into a scene like this?
Or could we have thought or that when this ruin came in, God had?
Fully set aside his way and his thoughts and his purpose. Under he met every condition which existed.
Could we think of such a thing?
We saw the whole race brought down into ruin. Show Adamson.
Under we might have said, well, the whole thing spoilers no good.
Not so with God. It gave God an opportunity to step in and show.
How, in spite of the ruins, how he could continue this purpose and develop something so far more lovely than we had any idea?
We plant a seed or a bulb, but it doesn't look to be much.
But eventually I always see it come up above the ground.
We see it form itself into.
Perhaps a boy and very shortly little buds, and the next thing we know it's beautifully covered with flowers.
Always. If we had not seen this phenomena before, it would be amazing to us.
But we've become accustomed to it because we see it every year.
But could we think that God, instead of being frustrated in his purpose to bring about a scene with her?
With people that he was going to take the light in.
On fine Satan come in and ruin the whole thing, could we think that God would be able to undo the work of the devil?
And without his purpose, with that purpose would be far grander than we had any idea on.
Yet, such as the case, we have gone.
Who has his own purpose, and nothing can possibly hinder his accomplishing his will.
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Under as far as man is concerned, with his fortunate mind, he doesn't grasp.
Are these things even when he's told he can't visualize them?
Until we have this word, I have not seen.
Your heart.
Neither have it entered in the heart of them.
The things which God has prepared.
For them that love him, some of the things around the borders that we see.
Are exceedingly lovely.
And the Lord Jesus took note of these things too. Do you remember how in the 12Th chapter of Luke he says consider?
The lilies, how they grow.
They trial not.
They spill not.
Are they lovely? Are they pure? Are they present? Yes. So much so, he says. Yet, Solomon.
And all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wonderful.
Solomon represents the very heights of.
Magnificent that a man may rise to.
The wisest man of this day. The wealthiest man when the Queen of Sheba came.
To hear his wisdom and the sea, this man of whom she heard.
Like you had to say.
The half has not been told me.
I thought the soul.
Brought to us and still in the presence of such magnificence. And yet, here's a Lily.
In the field, a creature of a day.
I'll shine everything.
That Solomon ever displayed.
Considerable knowledge how they grow.
The trial. Now there's the Lord if Solomon and all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
I like to think of the Blessed Lord when He was here, surrounding himself with what kind of people?
See that 8th chapter of Luke.
And what we find.
These 12, most of them were fishermen.
And there were certain women.
And we found one of them out of school with cash. Seven devils.
It says of what kind of a?
Our company is this How could the Lord?
Have surrounded himself with that kind of people, but that's his way, that's what he does.
In the words of Hannah's prayer, he lifts the poor arm of the death and the better of the Dome. He'll just set them among Princess. This is God's nobility.
Could we say that God was going to take up?
There were some creatures down here.
And hit them for that coming glory that he was going to happen in his house up there.
Yet that's God's way.
The very ruin that was brought into this world gives God the opportunity to show how much greater and grander His thoughts are on His power too, and the loveliness of His grace and goodness.
Until we get to know God.
Could we think that in order to bring about a remedy like this and a blessing that God?
Would step down from his throne.
And take upon him human form. And here he lay.
In this Manger, in the inn, or outside of the inn, there was no room for them in the inn, but in what sometimes is stable, could we think that the Lord of glory lay there in that little?
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Danger.
Could we say that in him, in this babe, were the issues of life and death?
We're told that he opposed sustains, that all things subsist together by him. Could we think it's possible?
This little babe.
In a Manger.
With a mighty God, come down.
Shall we, shall we find that he was a mighty God come down to this place, a wonderful love of God? Could we think that God was going to love such a miserable life like ourselves?
And yet God commends his love towards him, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, not when we were noble and wise and intelligent, and.
Good. No, there were no such people. And if there were such people.
Or their friend, they would show these centers, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Could we think that the blessed Lord that came down here in order that he might have such great cause to himself going to the cross to die, that poor rebel sellers might be friends with their guilt and made ****?
To be with himself in Yonder glory. Could we think that God would take a poor, guilty, wretched preacher such as you, such as me, and make us fit for his home up there?
Equal with the Angel? No, Far beyond the angels. Angels Can't Sing the song that Christian can sing. They can't say he died for me.
Angels.
Perhaps never saw their Maker until they saw him lying in that Manger, the little babe. What wonder an angel's desire to look into these things.
Could we think?
All that, all this was connected with the coming of the blessed Lord into this world.
Yet such is the fact when he came.
Heaven acclaimed him.
Angel hosts came to those shepherds on the hill in Luke 2.
And declared that it was glory to God in the fire.
And yet, when they found this babe, they found him in the lowest place.
Can we read it in or that he made himself of no reputation?
I just quote the elbow felt Bible. In that case he made himself to nothing.
So next.
And so here was the mighty God come down, and made himself nothing at all, in order that he might be able to.
Save our souls and make us fit for those heavenly cross above.
How foolish are those who sing I want to be an Angel.
I don't want to be an Angel.
No, indeed.
They haven't enjoyed the place, but they are servants and God isn't making servants.
Could we think that instead of taking poor man and bringing him into judgment because of his guilt, that it was God?
Purpose chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we shall be holy.
And without blame before him and love God's children.
Holy and without blame before him in love.
Oh, I think God's ways are surpassing knowledge.
You can't understand a God who acts as He does. As a matter of fact, he tells us in the 64th chapter of Isaiah in connection with his very scripture. For this is a quotation comment.
He says I have not seen your ear, head of a God beside thee, who acts for him, who waits for him. I think that's lovely if the soul is brought to a point where it doesn't know what to do and it comes before God.
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Uncast itself upon him. God asked for him. God asked for those that wait.
For him, we couldn't understand that kind of thing. We'd say, well, we don't deserve it, of course we don't.
We'll never be able to say that we deserve any of God's mercies.
But we'll always marvel at the riches of his grace.
To think that God then would step out of all.
Of all reasoning completely.
I would open up the way wide for us to enter into.
His rich blessing.
And we were just speaking about this little company in the east of Luke that surrounded him.
Under there a modern little company, if we may put it that way.
And what does he surround himself with now?
People just like that.
With no more to commend themselves than they had.
And were often times down here.
Just weak little accompanies.
And we sent you a few. Yes, we are a few.
And we feel our feebleness.
Our dependence upon him.
And yet I've often thought of it by this.
In the third chapter, Malachi.
When all Israel had gone astray.
And when?
Even the priests of the Lord would need a terrific purging in the very first few verses of that third chapter. And we come down to the 16th chapter verse of that chapter and we find there's several few, just a little handful. David feared the Lord.
And that's not his name. Thought upon these things, they came together.
Little companies.
Weakness, but God writing a book about them, I think that's wonderful.
God wrote a book, He heartened. He heard what they were saying, and he saw what they were doing.
And he sat down and he wrote a book.
And then adds to it, and they shall be mined, saith the Lord, in that day when I make up my treasure.
Or my jewels.
Treasure, I understand, is the right word there.
So when God makes up his traitor that which he can't work something, it takes these fuel that come together.
In days of detention.
On that piece of fun these things and think upon his name.
Bonnie says they shall be mine in their day when I make up my pleasure. You think that the Lord does not feel the same way when just a little company here and a little company there, and some other little company have turned their backs upon everything that boasts of men?
Just to be with himself.
Just to have himself before us, just to go on.
In grateful remembrance of His love and of His kindness. Don't you think that the blessed Lord rejoices to see this? Oh, I'm sure he does.
And then there's a scripture in the second chapter of Hebrews. We needn't turn into it. We know the words. Most of us here do very well.
But then he says.
Behold, I and the children God had given me.
Now I apprehend that what is meant there is this.
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She wouldn't have come and taken his own up to meet him on the cloud.
They won't be just a little handful here and a little handful over there. No, there will be a tremendous host.
Such as the little realize.
For all the redeemed are going to be in that company.
A tremendous company.
And when the blessed Lord looks at these, what does he find? Evidence of? Weakness.
Evidences of sorrow, Discouragement. No. No.
Because when the Lord comes, there's going to be a remarkable changes take place.
A wonderful change.
And.
John tells us in his epistle question the third chapter. Beloved now, are we the children of God?
It turns not yet until what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him.
For we shall see him as he is.
Like him? Yes, like him.
Upon all the glory rest now from his conference the glory of God shines forth.
Who is crowned with many crowns?
Object that is adored all the heavenly hopes.
And he's going to see everyone of God's children like himself.
What a wonderful change that's going to be.
When we are changed into His likeness.
Under we need not wonder at it, because he exercises the power by which he's able to do all things unto himself.
That in the third chapter 13 and we shall be changed, this body of humiliation.
Give slides to a body of glory.
And so the blessed Lord, when He looks upon all His redeemed ones, a glorious company, every heart manifest in the outstanding of His continent, all rejoicing.
With the Lord.
And filled with his beauty.
You do a wonderful scene.
There will be a million of those of us around the blessed Lord.
And that prove to the whole universe, especially the Angel host, the triumph of God's grace.
And His goodness and the blessed result of the finished work of Christ.
So, and Isaiah 53 will read, he shall see the travel of the soul, of the fruit of the travel of his soul, and shall be satisfied when he looks upon that company up there, redeemed and in his own blessed likeness.
No wonder he's happy. No wonder he's satisfied.
This he has accomplished through the work of the Cross.
Could we think, as we look at that cross, with its shame and its indignity, with its sorrow and anguish, with the darkness there, would we think it was going to end up in the glory like this?
Yet that's God's purpose.
The worth of Satan has been undone.
His power has been broken.
All we have been redeemed are some of our company. As we look at that cross with its shame and its indignity, with its sorrow and anguish, with the darkness there, what we think it was going to end up in the glory like this.
Yet that's God's purpose.
The worth of Satan has been undone. His power has been broken.
All these have been redeemed out from our company.
Of those who were lost in darkness, and God has been manifested to them. There they are with the very nature of God. There they are in the very glory of Christ, like himself. And he can say, I behold I and the children.
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God has given me, and then he's going to bring them into the Father's house. This radiant company, a glorious company. You realize you and I are going to be part of that company.
You realize that we are going to be by Himself, brought into the Father's house and presented there.
Waiting in his own glory.
While his communist put up on us.
All he is shared with us.
Except, of course, is deity. I don't mean that I'm buying now to him as a man.
And could we think that this is the destiny that God has purposed predestined?
In eternity to be conformed to the image of his Son.
It's not just that we've been predestined.
But we've been predestined for a purpose.
It's not just simply that we've been chosen, but we've been chosen for a purpose.
And the purpose must be born in mind, and in every case we find that Christ is to have the honored place and be surrounded with a company that's just as glorious and just as wonderful in their appearance as their Lord.
And so that is what Christians are looking forward to.
Not just simply the forgiveness of our sins. Those sins have been forgiven and forgotten.
But here is something that will never be forgotten.
Here is something that will be realigned to enjoyed through our endless phase.
Oh, I think God's ways are just wonderful.
When we think again of another thing.
And that is God, blessed Lord, has given us assurances, not simply that we're going to be with Himself.
I like himself, wonderful as as this is, but also that for faithfulness in our service down here in our walking ways, it's going to be reward, he's going to be able to say.
What is the fruit of His grace? No doubt well done, good and faithful servant.
As a thou is the joy of thy Lord. What a wonderful thing that will be.
Are you and I seeking our utmost?
To Seoul meet with his approval now that in that coming day he will show that approval.
In his loving.
Breaking to each one of us saying well done.
Good and faithful servant, you and I will look at our pathways and we say, well, I made a miserable batch of it.
I would that I could have made a better job under WE.
Deprecate.
Poor efforts down here.
But it's wonderful to him that we're making any effort at all.
There are those around us everywhere who have no interest in the things of Christ.
And if there's any evidence otherwise, it's fruit of the grace of our God that works in us. So if in anything, you and I are well pleasing to him here, it's the result of his own grace, of his own operation in our soul. Could we have realized all that?
When?
When sin abounded, wasted much more abound. But not only that, but that God was going to give to us his Holy Spirit, in order that we might do those things which are pleasing to Him, and then reward us as if we wrap them up, and purpose them of our own accord.
God ways us simply wonderful.
Under this though understanding the goodness and grace of the God Death, who is called as to His eternal glory, He is the God of all grace and his callers, whose eternal glory by Christ Jesus.
00:30:14
And though we may pass on through the sin, and we may have trials and difficulties.
Yet after that we have suffered a while. He strengthens.
Establishes us. It's in order that we might learn his ways and walk in his path and endure for his sake. And then there's the crown. Don't let us forget there's been a crown. Where there's a faithful service will be the crown. And he bids us.
To hold things fast that no man take off crowns. What are we going to have crowns? Yes, there will be crowns given. Some say, oh, I'm not interested in crowns. Well, I am. I'm very much interested in it. Not that I have something that I can boast about, but just think of the love of the blessed Lord when he gives the crown.
And.
Faced his approval. We've pleased him. We've done what he has desired of us.
And having served him and served him, as he says, well, in spite of all our stumblings, won't it be worth something to you, something to me, to have him pass his commendation on us or to mean a great deal to me?
As to the crowns, I'd like to have as much as I can to lay at his feet.
That He is so worthy, and it is such a joy just as attributing him all the grace, and all the goodness, and all the love. Yes, under lay at his feet every crown of that he might give.
Oh, I think these things are worthwhile and we must not just pass them by as though they meant nothing to us. They mean a great deal. They will in that coming day if we're well pleasing to him of the hazardous approval.
We'll remember that all through eternity. There'll be lots of things that we'll forget.
And he'll want us to forget the things connected with his Earth life. But there will be some things that we'll never forget.
And one of those will be when our blessed Lord greets us and approves our pathway here. Though we felt we stumbled and failed in so many ways yet to have His approval. I think that would be well worth having.
All we need to just encourage ourselves a little bit down here with the thought of coming.
Glory, less occupation with our difficulties, less occupation with people round about us. So we're to be concerned for them to to love them.
Yet on the other hand, more occupied with what is well pleasing to the Lord.
Well, these are some of the things that come before one in connection with this verse I have not seen.
Your ear heard neither of entered into the heart of land of things which God has prepared for them that love him.
And now that we might know them, God has revealed these things to us by His Spirit. Why would God reveal these things to us if He didn't want us to know them?
Why would he make us to know these things if they were unimportant?
They are not all important, they are very important.
And so we find it here, that God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things a the deep things of God.
Well, what does that mean? Does that mean that the Spirit of God doesn't know the mind of God and that he has to search this book? Why the Spirit of God wrote this book?
He knows every word in it. If he searches this book, why does he? I'll tell you, he wants you to know. He wants me to know what this book says. And he uses your eyes and my eyes to search the book.
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And that's very important.
That's a little lesson that I learned a good many years ago when I went out to help somebody who's preaching the gospel on the street, I suppose.
Understood wise and I took a handful of tracks down with me.
To give out and so to help this little work for the man seen to be open for the true to my dismay.
He spoke about closing the saloon on the corner.
And they closed up three other salons before it.
And here is a small company standing around listening. But they knew all about the evils of drink. They knew all about the evils of the saloon.
They knew all about this kind of thing.
Under they didn't show much interest, they just stood there.
And I thought so grieved over it, that though I had never spoken in public, I turned to John Three and I read the 1St 20 verses.
And as I was reading, that thought about doubled. They knew all about the salons. They knew all about the evil. They won't know what was in the book. And people do want to know what was in what is in the book. And we want to know it too. We want to be occupied with what God is written. He opens our eyes.
To read these things and understand them, that's what the Spirit of God searches. He uses your eyes and mine. I'll take again another thing.
When the Lord was here, how many errands of mercy we find him on?
How many gracious things for the poor and the needy he hasn't stopped?
He often uses your feet to carry you to a place where.
You can also help some poor troubled soul.
He may use your hands to minister to someones need.
He does these things.
And he uses his people, they are his instruments down here now to promote his interests.
And when we are within staff in the glory.
And he acknowledges what has been done for him.
Well, it will be just wonderful.
I think that this is one of the things that we've given very little thought to. We ought to give a good deal more thought to. In what way can we bring glory to this blessed man who did so much for us?
And if our hearts desire to do this, and we wait upon Him apart, He will use us. And when He uses us?
He will also reward us for it.
I think that's lovely. I think we should be concerned about these things.
And perhaps we are, to some extent, but we probably need to be every once in a while reminded.
Of what it means to him.
And then when we come to the last chapter, that is the 19th chapter of Revelation, I shouldn't have said in 19 in the last chapter, but the 19th chapter we find.
God, blessed Lord, fixes again as the Lamb.
In Revelation, he pictured that way. He's the Lamb. In the first chapter, he's the Lamb as it had been slain. That comes in and takes the book. It's a book of judgment. But now in the 19th chapters, the Lamb that has a marriage.
And it tells us his wife has made herself ready and not a her was granted.
That she should be arrayed in fine linen, pure and white.
For the fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints, that is, all the things which his people have done down here, in which they have served him, and which he can own and confess before a holy angels.
So I'm going to be displayed.
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In this glorious moment when the Lamb wife who has made herself ready, is there with the Lord.
The companion then for Jesus, from him, for him, made glory of God, grace forever.
There in US displays.
It'll be a wonderful day when we are with our blessed Lord and when all the things that have been written are fully realized.
And accomplished.
Well, that's what we have before us, unless what the Lord would remind us of to encourage our hearts to go on with Himself.
It says, I have not seen, fear hath not heard, neither has it entered in the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them and loving.
But God has given us a foretaste. Now He revealed these things to us by His Spirit. If now we see us through a glass darkly, then we shall see face to face. We'll realize fully what it all means.
And we shall know.
As also we are known precious promises the word of God gives us.
To show us.
Other gain that faces stored. We've just taken him at his word and we've just put ourselves at his feet like Mary of old.
And our hearts have been filled as housewives, and again and again, as Mary came to his blessed feet in the day when Elizabeth was dead, and then afterward.
With a Alabaster box appointment.
This is a figure for us too. We're to bring our Alabama the boxes appointment that to his feet.
And he alone deserves.
The blessedness and the fragrance of all these things which he's accomplished through his own death and by his blessed Holy Spirit.
And as we've often thought of Merry appreciate Blank his feet with her hair.
Carrying away more fragments than she ever had in her life before.
Just because She had poured it all out upon Him, did so with us. Could we understand that when we worship and praise Him, it beautifies our whole nature, our whole way down here? Wonderful are all His ways of grace.
All His ways of loveliness, you and I will walk in His fear. We serve Him and we become like Him. We gaze up in the glory and we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And as we're occupied with Him, we become more like Him.
We see Jesus, they tell us in Hebrews. God tells us in Hebrews. We see Jesus.
Yes, we do see him.
Our hearts are lifted up. We see no man anymore.
Save Jesus only.
What an encouragement to us. Well, very shortly we're going to see him face to face.
Very shortly we're going to know what it is to be passed to his own bosom.
And receive that blessed One.
Thank Him with all our heart of His goodness to us. May we thank Him with our walk in our ways down here.
May we thank him with our loving service.
To him who loved us and served us so wonderfully.
Even with his.
Dreadful.
Sad and death from the cross.