St. Louis Conference: 1996
Table of Contents
Ephesians 6:10
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Eternal word as Son of man, as Sovereign Lord, And now by faith on thee, we rest till all thy title have confessed 264.
If I was to make a remark or two, or talking with a brother.
Stick a little bit of gold.
And a brother.
Texas Who's speaking about the?
All that the the enemy has been so successful.
And I'm sure we're all made to feel that that the power of the enemy has been increasing and the darkness is settling down on these land so favored with the gospel.
And.
But.
I was thinking of that.
I have it in Ephesians 6.
We called on to be strong in the Lord, in the power of his might, and have on the whole armour of God.
And I was wondering if.
Would it be?
A.
What a bee of the spirit of God just to perhaps spend an hour. I don't not say all our meetings, but just an hour on the perhaps the last chapter of.
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Of Ephesians.
And perhaps we could get some help on those one of the mind of the spear. What is the meaning of our having our?
Or being girth of an annoying girt with the truth, our feature with the.
Was the preparation of the piece of the gospel of the peace of God. What is the what is the meaning of having on the breastplate of righteousness and and the helmet of salvation?
Perhaps we could get some help. And if it's of the spirit of God, maybe we can be encouraged to to press on and and to look up.
Where our redemption is growing near.
Verse 10.
Thanks so, ****.
If you agree.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, And having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your loins Gerda, ball with truth.
Having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.
Which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak, but to ye also may know my affairs, and how I do tickets a beloved brother and faithful minister. And the Lord shall make known to you all things whom I have sent unto you, for the same purpose that you might know our affairs, and that he might come for your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
Amen.
Not sure. Crossed.
The Jordan.
With the children of Israel he found himself.
In the land it was. In the land of Canaan, but it was.
He found himself in conflict.
There he met the man with the drawn sword, the drawn sword in his hand.
Now let's show that it was.
It was That meant conflict. There were enemies in the land.
But who was the man with the drawn sword? Perhaps someone will tell us.
Lord Jesus.
I believe so, certainly.
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Yes, the Lord Jesus meets Joshua with a drawn sword.
And Joshua asked him for us over against us, and he says, as captain of the Lord's host, I might come.
And so, Israel.
Where the Lord's host.
And.
The Lord Jesus has gone.
Gone into death for us.
He has gone down into the grave, and these he has gone below.
Creation in a sense.
But there he's he's gone down into those caverns of darkness.
Where Satan reigns.
And.
He overcame thee. By his death he overcame the power.
Of the wicked one, and he has ascended, he has.
Taken captivity, He's taken his enemies along with him. But he's taken us. He's raised us up together with him, Made us sit together in heavenly places in the heavenlies in Christ.
The Heavenlies. He has won the Heavenlies for us.
And that's where we belong and that's where he's going to bring us.
The Heavenlies We are a heavenly people, but the enemy is there.
And he's doing everything in his power.
Try and spoil what the Lord has won for us and this is going on in our life every day.
Is that right, Clem?
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but with spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. We have enemies in the position that we are put in too, don't we?
Would you say today claim that we are the Lord's host?
Yes, we are. That's right.
The captain delayed in all the battle that's before us.
But that is a very solemn thing, is it not? Where Joshua said to him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come, Joshua had to realize that he was standing on holy ground.
And we think of the words of him that is holy and him that is true.
The testimony today has to be in that character or it will come under the government of God for sure.
That is holy and he that is true. So it's very solemn to see the Lord Jesus.
There in Revelation chapter one.
Displayed in a judicial way.
That doesn't change, of course, His love toward us, or our perfect standing in Him. We don't want to put any question at all upon that, but we may indeed feel our His hand upon us because of our low state.
For Israel, the warfare was physical because their inheritance was connected with this earth. That's why the Lord Jesus said in Matthew concerning their blessing, it was from the foundation of the world because it's connected with, was connected with this world and they will yet be blessed in that way in a future day. And so it was right and proper that they go in and conquer with the physical sword and drive out those physical enemies. But we don't have a physical warfare.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, as Brother Clem has brought before us, but it's a very real warfare nonetheless.
And for Israel as they went in to possess the land. And it's interesting that the real conflict for Israel never began until they went in to possess their inheritance. It's true they had a skirmish with Amalek in the wilderness and so on, but the real conflict never began until they went in to possess what was what God had provided for them. But as long as they went in with the realization that there was one fighting for them and went in in his strength, they had victory and were able to set foot on their inheritance.
And drive out their enemies. When they went up to possess Jericho, they went up in the strength of the Lord. And there was a great victory at Jericho. And the Lord caused the walls of that city to come down, and he gave them victory over their enemy. But then they quickly forgot and they said, well, AI is the next city, and it's just a little city, and we won't send up very many of our men. They went up in their own strength, and they were soundly defeated because they forgot that it was not in their own strength, but it was in the strength of the Lord.
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And I believe the land of Canaan brethren brings before us that which we can have an enjoyment of Indiana, our souls. Now it's all that is brought before us in this first the first few chapters of the book of Hebrews of Ephesians. That is our heavenly blessings in Christ. And so we can have an enjoyment of these things in our souls now. Not something we have to wait for until we get to glory. It's true we'll have a greater enjoyment in that day when we no longer know in part and prophecy in part, but he wants us to enjoy these things now.
But I believe, brethren, in the measure in which you and I seek by grace to set foot on our inheritance, to enjoy all that is ours in and through Christ. Now in that measure the enemy is there, and he's seeking to rob us of the enjoyment of all that is ours in Christ. If we're seeking to enjoy these things this afternoon, by the grace of God, from his word, in the power of the Spirit, the enemy is going to be busy to interject every kind of thought, to take our minds and our hearts away from that.
Which he would desire us to have the enjoyment of. But, brethren, we can't do it in our own strength. Sometimes I've heard people say, well, I can do it with the Lord's help. Well, I know what people mean when they say that. But really, it's not just doing it. It's not doing it with the Lord's help. It's doing it in the strength of the Lord, not in my own strength. And so at the beginning of these meetings, I believe it's good to realize this. And again, he wants us to have an enjoyment of these things, to go in and possess the land.
But let's remember we have a real enemy. An enemy that's powerful, but there's one who's all powerful. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Chapter 20.
As a good example for us to illustrate what we're talking about.
Second Chronicles, Chapter 20. There's a nice prayer there. And there's the eyes of the Lord. We've just been reminded about the eyes. So in chapter 20 of Second Chronicles, beginning with verse 11, we'll read a few verses. Behold, I say how they reward us.
To come to cast us out of thy possession.
What belonged to the Lord's host belonged to the Lord which thou hast given us to inherit.
We've got the heavenly things, or God, will thou not judge them?
For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us.
Neither know we what to do. They had the right object but our eyes.
Are upon thee, and who and all Judah stood before the Lord.
That's the position of the Saints today, the Lord in the midst.
With their little ones, their wives, and their children. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
I noticed in the Joshua where we've been referring to in the first chapter that Joshua is told by the Lord some of the same words that we have in our 6th chapter of Ephesians just to go back there. Joshua 1/5.
He says to Joshua, there shall not any man be able to stand before thee.
All the days of thy life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage, for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers, to give them Only Be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it.
To the right hand, or to the left, that thou mayest, prosper whithersoever thou goest.
Verse 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage?
It's been mentioned the inheritance is ours, brethren.
Heavenly places. We've been blessed with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places. No one can take it from us. The enemy and all the hosts of hell cannot take it from us. But what he can take from us is the enjoyment of that.
Blessing. And that's what his constant effort is to do. But we need to realize, brethren, the exhortation of the Scripture is to be strong. It's been mentioned. It's not in our own strength that we can do it if we.
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Exert our own strength. We're going to be made to feel how weak we are, but it is in the power.
Of his might no power like it. When we see the enemy and all his designs, like you've been mentioning Brother Clem, all his efforts and all his seeming successes, it tends to call us, make us feel so small. And it's right. We should feel our weakness, but we should not doubt, on the other hand, the power of the Lord to be strong.
In the Lord, in the power of his might, and in these verses in Joshua, we see that his strength was.
To be very courageous, to observe, to do all according to the law which Moses my servant commanded thee, turn not from it to the right hand or to the left.
In being in obedience to the Word of God, for we can be strong, brethren, we have a powerful enemy. But if we walk in the fear of the Lord, we do not need to fear the enemy to walk in. The fear of the Lord is to be delivered from the fear of all other areas.
Yes, the devil. And he will flee from you if you're walking with the Lord in communion with the Lord.
With Christ, Christ has already defeated sin. And if you were I are walking with the Lord and commune with him. When Satan comes, he finds Christ there, then he please, and he'll flee.
The children of Israel had more conflict in Canaan than they did in the desert.
Well, I suppose clamp on. I not. I don't know others and could give you a better answer than me than I could.
But the the privileges, the great privileges that were that belong to them as God's people, that he gave them this land, that land flowing with milk and honey, and what a land it was.
A wonderful land and it was. It was Jehovah's land, and he and he gave him that well, the Lord Jesus.
He has redeemed us at the cross, He has risen from the dead. He's put all our sins away, and he's gone back to sit on the throne of God. And all the way he feels, all the way from the cross to the throne of God. And there he places us in the greatest privileges that God himself could give, everything short of the Godhead that he could not, that he could not give.
But everything short of the goodness he's given us were in the heavenlies He's given us that it's our title. And so privilege brings conflict. I don't know, Clem, maybe you've got a better answer than that. Oh, that's that's very good. And Satan hates for anybody to enjoy that place so near to God.
Satan's fall himself was that he wanted to be God.
And Adams Four was he shall be his God. And they tried to steal that place. And Satan tried to steal it. And I believe the two great enemies that Satan raises up, the Antichrist and the imperial beast will be Satans last effort to get into the place of God.
And they'll be destroyed. They'll be the man of glory that does that. Now, who is it that has the nearest place in a moral position?
To the Lord Jesus gets us.
Satan hates that. He doesn't like to see brethren walking in the path close to the Lord and enjoying heaven ahead of time. So he tries to make us fall from that high standard. So every time we're warned here, it's to stand stand fast. With stand, we can't go higher, and we dare not go lower. The enemy would like to dislodge us and put us down.
That means Satan's. The fiercest of point of Satan's attack is the holiness. If Saints are seeking to walk in holiness, this is. This is where Satan makes.
His greatest attack the holiness of God. I was thinking our brother Don brought before us earlier as to Genesis. God created a paradise on earth for man, a paradise on earth. Well, Satan comes and he ruins the whole thing. He enters into that and he ruins the whole thing. The Lord Jesus has in at the cross. He's brought us into the He creates a paradise involved for us.
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And his grace is going to bring us there, but he wants us to enjoy it in a measure now. But Satan is seeking to do everything he can to spoil it. He'll he's not. He cannot spoil the heavenly. He's going to be cast out of them. We get that in Revelation 12. The time has not come yet. God is using him as a test during these. During this time, God is using him well. Today is coming when he's going to be cast out of heaven.
He accuses the Brethren up there. He's the accuser up there now, but down here on Earth he tempts us.
With his Wiles he'll do anything he can in order to spoil that which Christ has won for us, the joys of the joys of of all that the Lord Jesus has brought us into.
More of the flesh, wasn't it? What is typical of the flesh? I think it's helpful to see. So the conflict was more within in the desert pathway, but in Canaan it was direct conflict with another enemy, which is figurative of Satan. And as is said here in our chapter, it's the.
Principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness and heavenly places.
I think it's extremely important for us to realize that we are in full warfare now. If the enemy can persuade us that we're at peace, he can advance in a lot faster form against us. We need to realize we are at war, We are treading enemy territory, and every step that we take in the right direction is going to be tested, going to be.
Contested by the enemy of our souls are powerful.
Uh, enemies. And we need to realize that Satan is a defeated enemy. He's already been defeated, but he wants to persuade us that he's not, that he still has authority and power, and the only way we can advance against them is to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his mind. I think it's really important for us to realize we're exhorted to be strong as thinking of what Paul says to the Corinthians in the 16th chapter First Epistle.
Which you like? Men be strong we tend to be. But the enemies efforts to be cowed into position, of being scared and withdraw, Brethren, we have reason to stand not in our own strength.
God granted that we may really realize how weak we are, but to be strong in the Lord, how important that is.
Thing to realize too, that it is a defensive warfare. There's really no provision made for a retreat. That is, it's a question of standing. So there's really no armor to speak of on the back part. Someone was mentioning that just recently, so that ought to be a real exercise to our hearts. It's a question of standing in an evil day and so forth that's emphatically brought before us.
I think too versatile is very important because it points out that we're not selective in this armor. The word is very clear put on the whole armor of God. It's the wisdom of God that knows really what it is we face. And so as we look at the different elements of the armor, we're going to find that it's what God is giving us as complete. It's the whole armor. And it's important that we understand all the elements of this armor.
So that we may be able to stand. And of course what it is, is the Wiles of the devil. It's already been pointed out. But as we know, he's a clever adversary. He can appear as an Angel of light. He's very subtle. And so it's the Wiles of the devil, with all his cleverness. And the only way that we can stand is to put on the whole armor of God.
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Very vital to us to realize the sphere of conflict.
In 2nd Corinthians 10, the Apostle says that though we walk in the flesh, though we are living men and women in this body, the weapons of our warfare are not according to the flesh. We are wrestling with spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.
Our citizenship is in heaven.
We are no longer citizens of this scene. We are here, but the sphere of our conflict is heavenly, and the weapons of our warfare are not according to man, not according to the fight. We do not get involved in the affairs of this life and become entangled in order that we might be faithful and good soldiers for him who has called us into this warfare. We wrestle with spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies, which is our normal place as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ and our the weapons of our warfare are the word of God and this panoply that God has covered us with AS.
Defense against the the subtlety.
Of a wily enemy.
Connection with what you said about no armor in the bet for the back. It says of Ephraim that being fearfully turned back in the day of battle and was slain.
But I was thinking of how you have an exhortation in Second Timothy, and it's very precious to me that it's in Second Timothy where there is an attack on the truth and a giving up there. In that first chapter it says he's not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. If we have the spirit of fear, we didn't get that from the Lord. We got that somewhere else because he's not given us the spirit of fear. I've been encouraged to how in the minor prophets, and even in Isaiah as well, you find when Israel was at a low point and God had placed his.
Governmental hand upon his people, how often he gives them an exhortation to fear, not to find their strength and their resource in himself, even in days of weakness and ruin. And so again, Paul, when he wrote to Timothy in the second epistle, he said, Therefore my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
He told him later on in that same epistle to continue in the things that he had learned and been assured of. Because we might take up these things at a meeting like this, and there might be young people who say, well, you don't know what I'm facing at school. You don't know the conflict of the enemy in this dark day in which we live.
And I realized that things are getting darker and darker. And in a the western world where things were ice and over and we haven't felt the power of darkness in the way that we did in the past generation. We're feeling it today. These things are coming right into the United States and Canada. And you say, can we really go on? Is this provision for the last days? Yes, brethren, the resource that we have in Christ is the same limitless supply that's always been available to the people of God. This whole armor of God that we have in our chapter is available to every St. of God on the face of the earth today.
It's all provided for us, not our provision, but his provision, if we're willing to avail ourselves of it.
And so we don't want to underestimate what life is in a world like this, but I've appreciated when Caleb went in to finally possess his inheritance, he asked for the very part of the good land where they had observed 40 years before that the giants and the high walls were those enemies that just seemed insurmountable and that had scared them. But what was the difference with Caleb? Well, he had seen those giants, but when he saw the giants, he compared them to the Lord.
And it wasn't the people that looked like grasshoppers. It was the giants that looked like grasshoppers. Because the Lord was so much greater. And he asked for that very part of the good land. I don't believe he asked for it. So much for the fact that the grapes of Eshkol were there, and the figs and the pomegranates and no doubt all the wonderful things that were there. But he wanted to prove that in the strength of the Lord he could go in and take possession of his inheritance and overcome the enemy. And was the Lord able? Of course he was.
Caleb had said some 40 years before, if the Lord delight in us, he'll bring us into the land and give it to us for an inheritance. And he found that the Lord was sufficient, and brethren, the Lord is sufficient. Young people, I know you're growing up in a day of darkness, and when you go to school, the presence of the enemy is felt in a greater way than perhaps when we went to school just a few short years ago. But the Lord is sufficient. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. And you can overcome the enemy and go on in the enjoyment of all that is yours in Christ.
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And live for God's glory even in 1996.
No.
Is that ignorance of God and the corruption and all the wickedness that come in as a result of it? How about that? Is that right, Clem?
Ignorance of God. You know not in the light. You don't see the light.
In the night and brother, you get the smoke coming up out of the bottomless pit. That's the influence of the pit upon the minds of men, to exclude the knowledge of God, and that is the darkness.
What is the evil day? The evil day?
I'm sure it is, yeah.
Was it the evil day then?
In the days of the apostle.
Just looking at him when he was chosen, Paul.
And given his Commission, or sent on his mission by the Holy Spirit, he and Barnabas.
The first case they met was Elimis, the sorcerer. Satan began right away. I don't know how much Satan knew about, oh, what are we going to do? I don't think much, but he was going to resist that man who had chosen to go up. And he goes a little further, gets over into Macedonia.
Their gospel is going to spread into Europe, and there was a.
Woman with the spirit of divination.
And she tried to join along with Paul. Now the enemy will do this. He'll try to resist it and put it down or try to join in with it. And she said these men be servants of the Most High God. What's wrong with that state?
It looks good.
Yes, but Jesus hasn't taken that position as Most High God yet. He's going to do that in the day of the Lord. So she was wrong on that. Well, oh put her out, put that spirit out. And the work of God went on so weird to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his mind.
To to mix up the dispensations.
You take like these Jehovah Witnesses that come to your door.
This is the day of grace they bring in. Satan will bring in what is the past or what is future in order to confuse, in order to deny the truth of the present.
But I was. Is it not so that the evil day was would take in this whole dispensation? The whole dispensation? I'd like to think, brother, as to the evil day, it is said this is your day and the power of darkness. So when the creature lifted up his hand against the Creator to slay the Son of God, that began the evil day. And now we're in the last hour of that day. John tells us it's the last hour.
You know Paul, it got progressively worse because when he was there and he upset the work of the silversmiths, you know, and and Ephesus.
That was the crowning blow and they tried to pull him apart.
And I believe even after that they tried every way they could to put him to death. I believe that's what he means when he says I have fought with beasts at Ephesus. So when you really disturb a stronghold of Satan like that, you can expect the worst. What the Lord preserved you. They're greater than that stronghold of Satan and the same. I like what? Clemens Buckley. Boris the evil day. It's the whole of the age. Is that what you're saying?
The enemy fighting against the truth of Christ and the church that he's bringing to heaven.
It's really encouraging to really encourage you to consider what the scripture says about this power of the Lord. There's no greater power than this, and it's important to be reminded that even though we live in the midst of powerful enemies, the power of the Lord is the greatest power. We belong already to the winning side. In the first chapter of Ephesians, it speaks about.
That power and justice like to read those verses. It's just so thrilling to my own soul to get a glimpse of that power. We sometimes talk about the power of God in creation, and it is a tremendous power.
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It's really thrilling to study the universe and to consider the power of God that not only created it but maintains it in its order. But here we have a power of God that is greater than the power of God in creation.
It is the power of God in resurrection and in the 19 verse.
The apostle prays that their eyes would be open to know that power, and he says here, verse 19, what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us Word who believe according to the working of his mighty power. It's almost as if he runs out of adjectives describing the greatness of the power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
And notice this far above all principality and power and might and dominion.
So you want to talk about those powers of wickedness that it mentions in our chapter?
Far above all that power, there's a man sitting on the throne of God.
Oh, what a thrill, brethren. The one to whom we're united to intimately. We look up, and as we view him, we can go on in the power of the Lord. Sometimes the Lord allows the enemy to make inroads. But remember this, that when the Lord allows Satan to do something in our lives, he always sets the limits how far he can go.
We have the example in Job where he was allowed first of all to take away everything that Job had, but he told them don't touch him. And then the second encounter was Satan. He was allowed to touch Job himself, but don't take away his life. He always set the limits. So remember that even though the enemy may make inroads.
It's for us to get into the presence of God.
When he makes inroads, we don't have to do with the enemy, we have to do with God.
We walk this before God. God sets the limits and He cannot cross those lines. The enemy cannot cross those lines.
So that's the power that is working here in the first chapter of Ephesians. It's in to to us word who believe in the third chapter just to point it out, and the 20th verse unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us so.
That word, that power, works towards us who believe, and it works in US who believe.
Speaking of the power of Satan, it's in our chapter, is it not? It's not so much the Satan of the Roaring Lion, but it's his Wiles. It's his Wiles that we're so much worn to him, but we need to have on the whole armor of God for that. The only power that we have is the power of God. Anything else from that is the flesh, and we're sure to fail.
If I get out of communion, Satan knows it right away. He's right there. If I get out of communion and I perhaps I'm due for a fall. If I don't get back into the Lord, ask the Lord to come in. But.
He is. We have such a subtle enemy, and he accomplishes more by his Wiles, and oftentimes much of the time, than he does by outright power.
Relative to armor, the only other time it's mentioned in the New Testament is where the strongman is encountered by one stronger than he and takes away his armor. So he's a defeated foe and we have all the equipment in our chapter.
To succeed against him.
What was the armor that he took away?
Tell us that Hebrews chapter 2.
Through death and joy of death, and delivered them, who through all our time were subject to ******* through fear of death.
Power to passwords to believe. That's resurrection. That's raising Christ from the dead. One of the old brothers said that there was a time.
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When Satan, when Jesus lay in bed, that God's power was called in question.
Could he? Would he racing from the dead? Of course he did. And that's what Bob has written to us about. Now we get to the last chapter in the Book of Revelation. Jesus says I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. Have the keys of hell and death. The power over death belongs to a man now. It's our savior. Now can't we be strong in the power of the Lord and in the Lord and in the power of his mind? He got He got power over the greatest enemy that's ever come. That's death.
Resurrection. What a wonderful thing it is.
Death is the greatest weapon in the arsenal of God.
And we have the, we have the privilege of using it.
In our practical, everyday life.
To be used amongst us First Corinthians.
Think it is the third chapter. We learn what death does for the believer.
Just read that it cheers you up. You know, First Corinthians 3.
Verse 21 The last part of it all things are yours. Whether Paul or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life now look or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours and your Christ. And Christ is God. The only thing that death can do to the believers, Usher him into the presence of the glory.
And even now it disarms the enemy.
I haven't thought of those apostles and those that bore witness to the resurrection power of the Lord Jesus. In the first days, those men were living practically on resurrection ground. You can threaten a man, and I suppose the severest threat you can give to a man is to kill him. But here were men who really were living beyond death. They were living on resurrection ground. You threatened a man that's already died.
And it has no effect on him whatsoever. And they threatened those men. They threatened to kill them if they continued to.
To speak in the name of Jesus and it had absolutely no effect on him, continued right on.
It was the power of this world knows nothing about It's the power, if we know, brethren, what it means to live in resurrection life. It's a power this world cannot touch, really is.
What we use death as a weapon against the enemy is given to us in Second Corinthians chapter one.
Where the apostle said.
That he was so distressed by the activity of the enemy that he was fearful even of his life. Nevertheless, he said, we had the sentence of death in ourselves and are confident that having been delivered, we will yet be delivered. That's a very poor paraphrase, but it's the word, the death of the death instrument of death being translated into experience. So that accepting the fact that we're already dead, we're dead with him.
His death is our death, and so, translating that into our experience, we can wield that power against all the power of the enemy.
And and render him powerless against us.
Later on, because it's Corinthians, Second Corinthians, there it says, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest. So in that sense we have the sentence of death in ourselves. It's an area where the enemy cannot touch a believer.
Do I say that he kept himself under such a under that sentence of death that the only thing that appeared, the only thing that manifested, was like?
He was.
Just like, that's right. The life of Jesus. That's right. Yeah. Well, could we have a word? Perhaps? And what is it to have our loins guard about with truth?
Certainly the seed of strength are they not, and so they certainly ought to be gird about with truth. It ought to characterize our our lives in this world. That ought to be what sustains what strengthens us, is the truth of the word of God.
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It's a practical thing. All the armor is practical, isn't not. Yeah because the breastplate of righteousness, what is that That's not the divine righteousness of the gift of God. I believe it's practical righteousness and we can lay ourselves open to the enemy if we're our dealings are unrighteous in this world even like it says of an overseer having a good report of them that that are without you know.
Because the enemy is ever looking for a way to accuse us. And so these things are extremely practical. Even our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We ought to go through this world as those that have a message of peace rather than contending with our fellow men. You know, it's like the one who came with the beautiful feet proclaiming glad tidings. So all of these things are extremely practical and.
Our heads. Or rather, the shield of faith. You know the enemy is ever looking for a place.
That he can lodge a fiery dart of doubt, and then the helmet of salvation. How the mind has to be guarded.
From the attacks of the enemy. So these things are extremely practical. There's another thing too about those elements. There's an interesting sequence. You can almost relate it to that which is ours is to our steps, you might say, towards salvation. First you start with the truth, and that's the truth of God. And it's not the theories of men. It's not the ideas of men that we often encounter when we speak to people that their souls, but it's the truth. The Lord Jesus Christ himself is truth.
Then having that, then there's righteousness.
And righteousness is related to truth because it's that which is honoring to God that which is.
Through that which is proper. So first we have the truth. We have a sense of that which is.
Becoming to God righteousness. Then what? Then we hear the gospel of peace.
And isn't that wonderful? Because that's the good news. That's the glad tidings for simple men. But how do we make that good to ourselves? The next element? Faith. Because it's in believing that the gospel has any power in our lives. It's a wonderful truth of God that stands salvation to whosoever will, but to whosoever has to have that faith. So then after the faith, then what do we have? Then we have salvation. We know.
That we're forgiven. We have that perfect position before God. Our sins are dealt with, so we have salvation. And then what? The spirit we're in developed by the Holy Spirit of God, which makes things good to our souls and and is the the thing that gives reality. In a sense. Maybe that's not the right word, but it makes it good to our own souls being entwled by the spirit. And then finally we have the word of God.
And that's where we have in our hands right now. It's the word of God, wherewith we grow, that we learn that we have the full enjoyment of our faith. So in these elements that we find in the armor, it's also a little bit of the progression that we have.
And starting out, you might say, as those who are without Christ, but then leaving us to that full place of blessing, where we wind up with the full word of God and the truth of God.
Jesus says.
I am the truth. He is the truth, the 4th chapter of a patient says. As the truth is in Jesus, I think you can look at these things as a person. The truth. He is the truth. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ and the next one.
The breastplate of righteousness I remember aren't the Barry telling us one time that.
Nothing that Christ did is our righteousness. Nothing that he does is our righteousness. But He is our righteousness. So it's a person. Again, the breastplate of righteousness. And who is the gospel? Who is the gospel clan? What Jesus. He's the good news always. That he in person is the good news.
And.
The Helmet of Salvation. I'm not getting all these. Maybe, but.
When?
Umm, that old man took out Jesus, Jimmy, and took up Jesus in his arm, he said. Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. He is, it's Jesus. It's the person. So if we look at these things as as a person, well, let's, let's rejoice in him and keep close to him.
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Going back to the.
Going back to the having our loins gird about with with truth as you're saying that the Lord Jesus, I said to the Lord how knows this man not having learned how does he know all these things? He's he's never went, never went to school, never went through our colleges and well, the fact of the matter was he was the truth. He didn't only have the knowledge of the truth, but he was the truth itself in his own blessed person. He was he was the truth. He could say I am the way, the truth and the life and you can't separate.
Either one, any of them, He was the truth. But then he's left us here in this world and in our own, in our own measure and in our way. We're called to be the the what the Lord was here before the the manifestation of the truth of God. No, we're never called. We're never called the truth.
It was only the Blessed Lord Himself could be said to him that he was the truth.
But we're called to be in this world, a display of the truth. The truth is all.
And the Church is spoken of as the pillar and ground of the truth.
But we as as individuals, we are called to the in our everyday walk.
As has been brought out, this is these are all practical. In our everyday walk, we ought to be the display of the truth of God and ours, and as things come a long way.
I may not be able to get my Bible and turn to the Scripture, but nevertheless walking in the truth, walking in communion with God, with the Lord, and in The Walking in the truth, then this is the this gives one, this answers the gives us direction, gives us guidance for everything that comes up, anything that comes up along the way.
We were having real difficulty at home years ago.
And I complained to a brother that we were just so weak that we couldn't deal with the problem. And here I believe he gave us It's been so in my own soul anyway, the solution to dealing with difficulties, he said. When you walk in obedience to the word of God, you have all the power of God at your disposal. Having your loins gird up with the truth is walking in obedience to the Word of God.
That sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy word is truth. So the Lord Jesus is the truth that he says thy word is truth. And so this shows the extreme importance of reading the scriptures and how important that is. You young people go to school or are indoctrinated are reading in the books the ideas of men and they change so rapidly.
Really created a lot of waves when I was down in South America this last time it came out in the newspapers that.
The Pope had said that evolution is now true. He adopted evolution. It really was amazing. The waves that it created down there really made me feel sad because there are more and more departure from the simple truth. And truth, dear young people, is absolute in its character. We're we're in a in a world, and especially in this country where we're told that everything is relative. Your idea. You have your ideas. I have my ideas.
I say completely separate from your idea, completely separate from my idea. There is a standard, an absolute standard that never changes. What is it? It is God and His word. The Lord Jesus said I am the way, the truth that excludes every other option. It means that he is it. That is the truth and.
If you don't line up with that, you are not lining up. That's all there is to it. And it's the scriptures. Oh, to be well versed in scripture. It's our strength, your young people. I know you got a lot of homework at school and at college, but I want to encourage you to never neglect the reading of the scriptures. Girt your loins with truth. Find them about you when you hear ideas.
In the classroom or in any other area that don't line up with this scripture, remember this is the word of the living God. It will never pass away. It will stand. When heaven and earth are gone, it will still stand.
Oh, how important to have our loins girt about with truth. I remember reading a statement when I was in high school of one of the early statesman in the United States, and he's made a statement I thought was good, he said.
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Error needs a strong government to support it. Truth will stand alone.
That's true, brother. If you stand in the truth, you have strength that nothing can challenge. It will stand like that. One more thing about truth, Maybe some have noticed it. Let's turn to 1St John chapter 5.
We are living in the age of the spirit of God. Down here on earth, we know that. And you're looking first, John 5.
At the end of the verse six it says and it is the Spirit beareth witness because the Spirit is truth. There's the truth in that person and he's down here. The word is the truth. Jesus is the truth and the Spirit is the truth. We're to have our loins gird about this truth.
We also say new man just referring back to Ephesians chapter 4.
Where we have the truth thought out in a practical way and connected with the Lord Jesus in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 20.
But ye have not so learned Christ, if so be, that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful loss, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
And that she put on the Newman, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Wherefore putting away lines, because every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another, just to amplify a moment.
Ephesians is particularly the conflict brings in God and Satan.
And it's God's, as we have in Ephesians in chapter 3, is God's eternal purpose that's at issue. And he has, according to the council of his own will, purposed that there be a man, Christ, under whom He will put all things, and has formed a church to be identified with his Son. Where were we when the whole process started? We were dead.
And trespasses and sins, What has God done to bring us into his purposes?
He has raised us up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ, and now there's a conflict between God and his purposes and Satan and his attempt to thwart the purposes of God, because Satan wants that place. And so we need to be protected, and we need to go on in a practical way that the purposes of God be fulfilled in and through us, because not through us, but in us that he purposes and so.
He is going to display his wisdom in the church, and that's what we're part of. And So what does he do? He says, well, you've got to have my armor. It's God's armor here. It's not the armor of Christ. It's not our armor. But we need the whole armor of God. And we have been given a life and a nature which belongs to the family into which we have been brought, which is that new creation that's brought out in Ephesians.
And so he says, you've got to put that Newman on in a practical sense and walk according to it, because that's where the safety is and that's where God is given his glory, as it were, when his people are kept, and walk in obedience in a practical way to himself.
I just mentioned it because it's it's well for us to realize, just by contrast, that Ephesians.
The enemy is Satan, and the emphasis is on God who opposes him, and we come into it as dead, but now alive in Christ Jesus. And so Satan is our enemy as well, because he's the enemy of God. In Romans, the enemy is the flesh, and the Godhead in opposition to it brings in the spirit of God. And so you have the man, and he goes in Romans 5 and six and seven and so on.
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Sets him free. In chapter 8 is the Spirit. In Colossians, the enemy is the world. And what is this set in opposition to it? It's Christ. And He has given us an object in himself, in the heavens. And so we're told that your mind on him, on the things in the heavens. And so it's well for us, in studying the word to distinguish the things which differ and to be able to get the full benefit of them. And so in this particular chapter, even in these verses.
It's well to remember that God is in conflict with Satan. It's in the heavenlies that the conflict is an issue and woe to us to try and do as it were battle in an offensive way. As it's already been mentioned, it's more a defensive warfare or can I say it's more the protection of God for us in his conflict with Satan and that we will be brought into our.
Full enjoyment even now what is opposed in US? It is that measure in which we enter into our place in the heavenlies in Christ and the inheritance connected with it, which Satan is trying to keep God from having in the person of his Son Christ.
The Don my brother Donald was mentioning that these are all practical, these details here, and they're all practical, is the having on the breastplate of righteousness. You're saying that's not righteousness before God, but it's righteousness in our everyday life. It's having a good conscience. Is that right, Dom?
About things.
And if we have a good conscience, then the Spirit is free and we feel we have the Lord with us in in what he was having to do and.
We have a good conscience, he said to the Lord Jesus Christ that he loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God is God.
Exalted him above his fellows. So if we have our affections set on.
Righteousness as he had the love of righteousness and we walk as he walked, John tells us, he said, say if they biteth in him all himself also to walk as he walked, then we are loving righteousness and hating iniquity, and therefore our affections are guarded by the breastplate of righteousness without feeling. I just have appreciated the fact that there are two great things that Satan is seeking to do to us. One is he's seeking to fill our mind with everything that is not of Christ.
And fill it with that which is error. And the other thing is he's vying for our affections. And that's why I believe these two things are brought out first of all in connection with the armor. First of all, the loins gird. Because in first Peter chapter one we're told to gird up the loins of our mind. And I can't overemphasize enough what Bob has said earlier concerning the truth of God as reading it from the word of God you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. I used to hear a statement when I was growing up that meditation was becoming a lost art. But I wonder, brethren, if reading itself is becoming a lost art in the audio visual computer age in which we live.
Where perhaps not the generation of readers that we once were. And, brethren, there's no substitute for storing up our minds with the word of God.
For reading it for ourselves and storing it up. I realized that the mind is not the dwelling place of the truth, but it is the entrance. And what is it that's going to combat Satan coming in and filling the mind with that which is not the truth, It's having the truth of God itself. I used to hear a statement when I was growing up. Store up your mind with the word of God until you think in the very language of Scripture. Well, how good to store up our minds in that way with the truth when we hear something that is error.
How are we going to detect it? Because we've studied up on that line of error and that kind of thing. No, I don't say there aren't times when we need to have some outline of something in a specific situation, but I believe to take up all those false doctrines and errors, only defiles. How are we going to know when something doesn't have the ring of the truth? It's because we have the truth itself. The teller at the bank doesn't handle counterfeit money so she can detect it when it's passed to her. She detects it because she handles the real money from day-to-day.
And being used to the feel of real money. Then when something that's false is passed to her, she realizes immediately that it's not the real thing.
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And so it says, Be simple concerning that which is evil, wise concerning that which is good.
I say again to those of us who are younger, store up your mind with the word of God. What's going to keep us is to be well rooted and grounded in the fundamental truths of the Word of God. Timothy was told that what would preserve him was to have an outline of truth or a form of sound words. We need that more and more in the day in which we live. But then there's the affections. Satan is vying for our affections this very day, and so we need to have the breastplate of righteousness.
And so I just say again, Satan is after those two things, our mind and our affections. Let's be, in a practical way, put on the armor of God that we may be able to withstand. And maybe just allow me to say too, as a warning to those of us who are parents. I'm appalled when our children go to school to see how not only are their affections vied for by the enemy, but there's a great movement today in teaching to empty the mind. Oh brethren, we need to be careful of these things.
If our children come home and tell us that they're trying to put us, put them into some state of meditation or whatever, they may label it to empty the mind. We need to be on our guard. We're never exhorted in Scripture. To empty our minds were to bring every thought into Obi, into obedience, into captivity, under the obedience of Christ. Again, it's having the mind filled with the word of God, not emptying the mind, because as soon as the mind is empty.
Satan has plenty to fill the mind. Well, these things are very real in the day in which we live, and we need to be watchful and on our guard.
Ministers later remarked the other day. I didn't hear him, but somebody told me I think it was over the radio, he said. The worst enemy to this nation, he says, is television.
The worst enemy to this nation is television. And I don't hesitate to say to it one of the worst things that that is for the Saints of God is that very thing, how it has taken time that could be spent in communion. I remember the day when I was a boy, we used to sing. It was a favorite pastime for the family to get together and sing. Hymns. Get around the old organ or piano and somebody would play and we would sing. It's almost a lost arc. It's it's hard to get. It's hard to get people together to sing.
But Satan is hoisting in new things all the time in order to keep us away from the this precious book. He hates this book. He hates this book. What is the very thing that is the most precious thing that we hold in our hands?
To understand that it is a good conscience, it's the practical walking in righteousness. And you and I have a conscience brother Don was talking about in Genesis chapter 3, where?
Even then, Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That's what conscience is. It is the knowledge of good and evil, but it operates according to the amount of light. It's like somebody has said, you can have good eyes, you can have them wide open, but if there's just darkness in this room, your good eyes don't see anything. It's in the measure that there's light that you can see things. And so it is in the light of Scripture that you and I.
Are able to discern what is good and what is evil, and it is an exercise. I think we need to realize that, Paul said to Felix. I think it was herein. Do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men? He didn't say I have a good conscience. Always. No, he says. I exercise myself, and it's a constant thing. We need to be on our guard. And I just like to say.
To those who are younger and to all of us really, if there's some area of your life, something you are permitting, that your conscience says.
Bad. Don't allow it. It's going to take away that defense of your heart. The breastplate covers the heart and one bullet through the heart of the soldier, and he's done. Don't allow it. It's important to have on the breastplate of righteousness, and I think of the Apostle Paul how he said before the council, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And then the high priest commanded that somebody hit him on the mouth.
And so Paul kind of reacted. He said, God shall smite thee, Thou whited wall.
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And somebody called to Paul's attention. That's the high priest you're talking about. What did he do? He immediately he judged himself. He said, I wit not it was God's high priest, for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Immediately he applied the word of God to himself and put that breastplate right back on how important it is to be exercised in the.
Epistle to the Hebrews in the last chapter he also says.
Pray for us, for we trust we have a good conscience. Brethren, our consciences are not the measure, are not the standard. But we need to live in the light of the truth of God, according to what our conscience tells us. Never avoid the voice of conscience. This is telling you something and you ignore it. Then you can have a cauterized conscience, and that is dangerous.
Don't spare yourself when the Spirit of God lays something on your conscience that you are allowing.
Deal with it. Get it out. Make sure that that breastplate of righteousness is in its place.
Whatsoever.
A good conscience is that of a holy faith.
Hebrews says without faith it is impossible to please him.
Roman says that which is not a faith of sin.
So it's a holding faith in a good conscious.
I can remember Clarence Lundine saying a number of times, The first principle of the Kingdom is righteousness. You know the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. And when Paul was talking to Felix, you know he reasoned with him as to righteousness, temperance and judgment to come, and he trembled because the life of those Roman officials was bad.
And so he sought to reach his conscience, and eventually to.
For the good of his soul. But he just trembled, and he only considered what might be of a temporal benefit.
A bride, you know.
You're referring Don to Roman 14 verse 17 just to.
Clarify the point, Romans 1417. The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and I remember Clark saying that.
You can't see the Kingdom of God, but you can see the moral results of it. And that's what the moral what these are the moral results of the Kingdom of God. We're in it, and these things ought to be seen in US. What righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
M226.
And Arthur Gray.
Shall we?
Holy unpro.
Oh great, my glory is her, all right.
We'll see.
Come on, Frozen.
And sorrow.
Grace.
My love will create all the rest of the world.
Ephesians 6:10-16
Reading
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Our Present Things and our things to Come and Change His Love. Divine Hymn 177.
We are.
All.
We are praying all.
How are things I'm fears?
Warrior.
Go away.
So.
Slaves with all your sleep.
Save.
Put you to what the Lord gave us yesterday in the reading, I'm encouraged to suggest to our brethren that we continue that subject.
Because, as our brother just prayed, God has given us the equipment to endure and to go on in the scene until we're taken up. So would it be?
$3 versions, 16 on the end, 610 to the end.
Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10.
Kindly, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil.
Before we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places, Wherefore take on you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, And having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your loins girded ball with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
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Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and suffocation in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints. And for me that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, if therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.
But ye also may know my fears, and how I do. Cheekacus, they, beloved brother, and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things whom I have sent unto you, for the same purpose that ye might know our affairs, and that he might come for your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ.
In sincerity.
Amen.
Wander Clam, if you'd tell us again your exercise in bringing us before us.
What part I remember is why is it that Satan has seemed to have gotten so much victory in the last years amongst the Saints?
Well, I just. I just forget. But I believe that's true. I believe that's true. Clam. We feel. I'm sure we're made to feel the.
That the the power of Satan is being manifested increasingly.
Not only in the world, but in Christendom and amongst.
Listening to ourselves as the Saints of God.
Does he see?
Limited He's going to get in every blow that he possibly can.
To seek, to hinder blessing being.
Showered upon the earth, and that he wants.
Men to be kept in darkness.
Conflict is between God and Satan.
And man comes in between.
So he does. Satan does everything he can.
To.
Spoil the joy of the Saints of God and mar the testimony, but we have a full supply that it need not be so. So something must come in on our part that it's broken down so much and there's so much weakness. Are we not using the armor that's given?
Thing to think, is it not claim that the heart is a battleground in a way we can speak in that way between God and Satan, God and Satan?
Reminds us of the children of Israel.
They're down there on the plain.
And there's veil them up there on the height.
Hired to curse the Saints of God.
To rule them, to spoil their if they can't. But God is there. The children of Israel, they didn't know anything about what was going on up there.
But God knew. And God was there, and there it was. There was God and Satan.
And we know that it could only end in the.
In the victory and God's victory and.
We know too, that.
The Lord is going to have the victory in that.
Out of opinion is the most of he said above, didn't it?
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He was looking on to Jesus, who was coming of the line of David, his king, whom he sets upon his throne. But Christ hasn't taken that throne yet. So the mystery of God is that he leaves his people down here in a very wicked world.
Tested and tried, but kept by the power of God through faith under salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Now that was spoken here yesterday too. So thank you too claim that the.
Satan is He has a measure of liberty down here in this world. God has allowed it. The Lord Jesus is not here.
He's coming. He's not here yet.
But when he comes.
Power will will end, but for the time being God is allowing Satan to.
To test souls, test man and but it's in the during this time of his absence.
That Satan is seeking to ruin and spoil.
And everything he can of God and Christ.
And but the day is coming when he's going to be cast out.
Going to be cast out of heaven and his end will be in the.
In the bottomless pit.
It's true that Lord Jesus is not here.
But when the Lord Jesus was glorified, the Holy Spirit took His place in the world and the assembly.
And so, though the second person of the Godhead, the Son, is on high at the right hand of the Majesty, the third person of the Godhead inhabits the assembly and is in this world, and he is here as the restrainer of iniquity, until he be taken out of the way. So though the enemy has liberty to exploit, the Holy Spirit is here to resist that exploitation, and we have been given in our portion.
All of the equipment necessary to having done all things, and to endure all of the onslaughts of that evil, 1.
While we're about to have him go back to glory, I mean the Holy Spirit that restrains the evil one, we're about to go back to glory. Then it will be man under the influence of the evil 1. And that's what we know as the tribulation and will be anarchy of the highest sort, the spirit of God gone. Not restraining evil will bring about that awful tribulation when the enemy will again be in conflict for the earth. He's lost heaven.
And he is going to be in conflict with the Lord Jesus for this world.
And the Lord is coming to put that power down when he comes in power and great glory and then?
We will see the complete overthrow of the enemy's power in the world as well as in the heavenly that he now has lost.
To realize that when the enemy is permitted to make incursions amongst the people of God, that God has seen a needs be on the part of his people. And it is helpful for us to realize that it is God that is permitted it and to get into God's presence about it. Mentioned yesterday about Job when he was at the end of the book.
When he really got through to God.
It wasn't a matter of looking at his friends and defending himself from his friends any longer.
His supposed friends, it was a matter of looking directly at God, and then he got matter straight. And I think that's so important brother, in the in the book of Daniel you see Daniel too, and how he felt the ruin that had come in amongst the people of God, and they were.
In captivity in Babylon. And what does he say? In that 9th chapter of Daniel? He confesses the sins of his people as his own sins. He justifies God in allowing what had taken place. And to me there's a great secret in that. There's always a tendency when there are these battles is to defend ourselves. But rather than defending ourselves, it is humbling ourselves in the presence of God.
Realizing that he has something that he has seen in us that needs dealing with and humbling ourselves there. Recognizing his hand and getting back to him in it. Same was mentioned yesterday about AI. When the children of Israel went into the land of Canaan. They were defeated and Joshua was completely discouraged and the Lord said up, what are you doing on your face up?
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There's something that needs to be dealt with and so rather than if the Lord allows incursions, it's for us to get into his presence and saying.
Lord, it's thy hand that's on us, and here we are. We trust in the spirit of humility to learn what He has seen in us that needs to be dealt with, and it's extremely important in this battle of faith. It's what's involved in the breastplate of righteousness. There's been something the Lord has seen that needs to be dealt with right here, and I don't have to point the finger anywhere else.
I can confess it myself.
And is upon us. We need to look deeper because there is a heart behind that hand. There is a heart that guides that hand and and the.
Trial. The trouble. The incursions of the enemy can't go any farther than the heart of God will allow. So we can learn. So there's love. God is love.
But there's God is light now. We're getting light out of this scripture. Light for the eyes, light for the pathway. Light to see what is going on.
And when the enemy comes.
We have the whole armor of God, as with stress yesterday, the whole armor of God, another scripture says Put the on the Lord Jesus Christ, but on all the armor and put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
What you say is good, because it's good to realize when things come in our lives, even under the chastening hand of God, things are allowed not just for a purpose, but for a purpose of blessing, even in chastisement. His ways are for blessing. It says whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, And it says there, too, that he chastens us for our profit, that we may be partakers of His Holiness. I often chasten my children.
But sometimes when I look back and consider the chastening, I realize that perhaps in the long run it was just to get something for myself. Maybe they were noisy and I was trying to read or do something and I told them to be quiet and maybe they came under my chastening hand. That wasn't for their prophet. In that sense, it was just to get something for myself. But God, everything that is allowed in our lives is for a purpose of blessing. We may not see the fruition of it all now, but when we get home to glory and we look back on the pathway.
We're going to see it all. Because when Israel finally crossed the wilderness and looked back, what did they have to admit as they rehearsed the wilderness journey? He led us by the right way. That's not what they said when they came under the governmental hand of God in the wilderness. They murmured and complained and wondered why God had LED them into the wilderness, to kill them with hunger and thirst and all that kind of thing. But when they finally reviewed it from God's perspective, they said he led us by the right way. They realized that those things that God had allowed in the wilderness were really.
For their blessing, and I believe that's the way we're going to view it in a coming day. But, brethren, the enemy is not going to give up as long as we're here in this world. We're here in a world where we're in the school of God. We come under the governmental hand of God and the enemy as has already been brought out as opposed to everything that God has set up and established. I've often said there were two great institutions that God set up and established. The first was the family for the blessing of man on the earth, and the second was the assembly.
And if Satan can get us discouraged as individuals, then it affects our family life. And if he can discourage us as families, and if things are out of order in the family, then it ultimately affects the assembly and Satan is busy to smash those things. Just look at our history. Is there ever a day when the family, and not just the family but the Christian home is being attacked the way it is in the day in which we live? Satan is busy and active as the end draws night as he listens to us, ministering the word of speaking from the word of God here Speaking of the Lord's coming, singing of the Lord's coming in the nearness of his return.
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He's busy. He's accelerating his activity to smash and ruin the testimony. But, brethren, the wonderful thing is that God always makes provision to the very end. When God sets up and institutes something, there's always provision for a day of ruin and weakness. Never excuse for failure, but provision for it. I may set up an institute something. Maybe I set up a trust fund for one of my children, but I may never be able to bring it to fruition. I may run out of the resources to bring it to the purpose for which I intended.
But when God sets up and institute something, we have the unsearchable riches of Christ and full provision to the to go on to the very end. I think it was mentioned yesterday that Timothy, in days of appalling ruin and failure, the breakdown in government, in the home, even in the assembly, what was he told to do? To just give up or compromise in some way, continue thou in the things that thou hast learned and been assured of. In other words, Paul says. Timothy, the resource is the same.
The truth hasn't changed. If I give up the truth, that doesn't change. The truth, the truth doesn't change. And so we can go on, as we've been saying in these meetings, realizing and being encouraged with the fact that God, even though the enemy, is busy and busier than ever, God makes provision for us, brethren, to the very end. And he'll do the same tomorrow if we're left here until we're safe home in the glory.
After Jericho and AI in The History of Joshua was Gibeon.
And it says they did work violently. That fits with what we've got here in the end of verse 11, that he may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil.
Seems like in these last days of Christendom that there's so much of imitation. It's not real, and not just in the Great House, but imitations.
Particularly in the eastern world with a Muslim religion is taken over.
To a great extent, and creeping into the West.
It's just an imitation from start to finish. The God of the Mohammedans is not our God.
And Mohammed, called their prophet, is not Christ.
The Christ of God is known in this book, but Satan has made a masterpiece in the Muslim religion. It's an imitation from start to finish, and many that profess to be Christians think that Muhammad is God is our God, but he's not. You have to watch out. It's it's a wily thing, and there's so much of that Eastern.
Those Eastern old religions that Satan is dressing up and presenting, where Christianity is quite strong and we have to be on guard. Finally, me and my brother be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. That's the only way we can stand and we're.
We're not to turn around and go the other way. We're not to fear.
We've got the Holy Spirit in US and with us. Greater He does in you than He does in the world. But there are the emissaries of Satan.
And I believe there's lots of demons.
And back in those early years of Mohammedanism, it was God's judgment upon the West, upon the upon the unfaithful Church God, judgment upon idolatry. And they were allowed to sweep across Africa and even enter Europe through Spain.
And it will be a judgment. It will be in the coming day. We learn from revelation. There will be the judgment.
Of God against the West.
And the giving up of this the West have been so greatly blessed under the gospel of the Gospel of the Grace of God crossover, but that it hasn't been appreciated. And in a way Christianity is on its way out.
And far as the world is concerned, but I was thinking here we have on we're told to have on the whole armor of God.
Not to leave any part out. If we do, Satan will get the advantage. Satan will get the advantage we think of. Have on the whole have on the breastplate of of righteousness. Well, if there's anything in my life.
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That is not right with God.
Satan is sure to get the advantage. Supposing people will say, perhaps our neighbor will say well.
They understand that maybe he wasn't very He wasn't.
There was something wrong in his business dealings, they say. Well, he's no better than we are and Satan will use that.
In order to nullify the the the truth of the gospel, in order to win, win them for Christ. So we're called to have on the whole armor of God.
Every part of it.
I remember reading, I think it was in the collected writings, where Mr. Darby said what is the armor of God?
And a very simple answer he gave was a right state of soul.
Something to think about, because it is practical things, and if we're in the right state of soul, I believe indeed we do have on the whole armor of God.
What he said.
Is a status off and so that's they are all a state of soul, but I was thinking that these were.
Might be some difference here. You take Paul. He's in prison, he's in a trial, he's writing this epistle. But I believe at the same time he had on the whole armor of God, he was saying rejoice in the Lord. And again I say rejoice. He was enjoying the land, wasn't he? The heavenly land. So it's a bit different than just being in a trial. This is a foregone conclusion that if there's a ***** in your armor, you're going to get a fiery dart from the devil.
So, and that's the purpose I believe, of this armor we, I think in our day.
Because of our ways we don't enjoy these truths that we have in the book of Ephesians. It's because of our state of soul I believe. But he's telling us this is the way to enjoy heavenly things in the. I think it's a second verse of Joshua one you get the 2 foot rule.
You get the land that your foot walks on.
And so I believe it's the same thing in the Epistle to the Ephesians. So this armor is something that we could be in a trial and still have on.
These different elements of the armor, if we look at it this way, would point out the areas in which we are the most vulnerable to fail.
And I think we should look at these different parts of the armor in that sense, so that we each learn where we are potentially going to fail in our Christian walk. In other words, I think God has given us here and he's made it very plain, as we've had before us, the whole armor of God. So we could enumerate as we look at these different elements of the armor, those things that we should be sensitive to, we should be aware of if we want to have a walk.
That honors the Lord.
That will be a blessing to ourselves.
So the very thought of the whole armor, I'm not suggesting how to go on from that myself. But I think that for ourselves here, as we consider this portion, that we look at each one of these elements and think of it in a practical way. For our own walk, in our ways that we might walk for the Lord and be of use, you might say, because we each have that responsibility. As we read at the end of this chapter, Paul referred to himself as an ambassador in bonds.
But where each one called to be an ambassador for Christ as we go through this scene. So I just like to suggest that we look at each one of these elements and think of it in our own lives and in our own practical way so that we can fully walk and stand for Christ. That's really the answer. Verse 13 isn't it? It's an exhortation take unto you the whole armor of God. It's something that has to be done by each one.
Do I have my Lawrence gird about with Truth?
I have the breastplate of righteousness on. They are my feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Each one of us need to reflect in the Lord's presence about these matters in a practical way. It's not enough to sit in meetings and learn what these mean. It's stopping and saying, is this something that is practical in my own life? That's what it means. Take unto you the whole armor of God.
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Could we say that if we do fail in these things, and we certainly do.
That the way to put on this armor is go back to Gilgal self judgment. And I would imagine that if one can speak for others since we've heard from the first address we've had to go back to Gilgal and where we've seen that some of this armor has been defective. You know this first piece of art mentioned here that is the loins girt about with truth isn't.
In itself a piece of armor. But the loins, as I understand they allowed their garments to flow when they were at ease, but that was no good for warfare. So they would gird up those loins. They wouldn't allow those flowing garments, as it were. So the contrast of what we have here is seeking out, as it were, more the path of ease.
Now that's an exercise to my heart, and perhaps it is to most of us here, that there is such a tendency to day. In fact, it's very strong in a in the prosperous countries to seek out, as it were, more the path of ease, And as a result we're not exercised as we ought to be about the truth. So I believe the loins girt about with truth indicate a readiness of preparedness, as it were, to face the battle.
And to be ready for the conflict.
Going back to Gilgal, that you're speaking figuratively, will you please explain it? Well, I believe it's. I believe that one said that it was a necessary aspect of going on with God is self judgment. These things come into my life and I might try to avoid them, but it's to go before the Lord and and to confess them and to say Lord. That's that's right. I did that.
And and then.
Communion is restored. We can't go on without communion. You know truth won't keep us. It's it's nice, you know, we value the truth that God has brought back to the Church.
By just talking to a man on a phone and and he said, well look how quickly the church gave up the truth. Well it was probably 100 years when the apostles passed off the scene. Rather we're not even 200 years.
From the place that God has brought all this back to us, and we have the experience of Catholicism and the and the Dark Ages and what all this Christianizing the world has done to the Church. They lost almost everything. God has brought her all back in His mercy and His grace. We're only 200 years, and we're just a handful.
So I believe that what you're saying it's self judgment. It's getting before the Lord.
And we need to get before the Lord. We cannot go on without a sense of His presence.
Victory in Israel. They had to renew the Kingdom, go to Gilgal, prepare sharp knives to cut off the flash. And we need that brethren, if there's a victory in our lives, to go back, to realize that the victory is because the Lord gave it to us. It's not anything of ourselves. And like you say, to judge ourselves is really the way of continued victory. It's important, extremely important.
Pain inside of Gordon of Jordan, right? Perhaps someone will give us a word on what is the meaning, the typical meaning, then, of crossing the Jordan about it.
You go ahead.
God, I trust some of our younger brethren have explored the precious truth that has been preserved for us at the crossing of the Red Sea sets before us in figure our coming and being delivered from judgment and coming into peace with God.
But when we experience peace with God, this just sets us on the journey.
That will end in glory, but to get into the enjoyment.
Are these heavenly things that Christianity and the falling epistles particularly, has been revealed? We must come to an end of self, and we do that by realizing not only that Christ died for our sins, to put our sins away, but Christ died for me to put me away. The old man has been crucified so that God now has absolutely no dealings with Adam.
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And Adam's race? The only connection that a man can have with God now is in new creation.
And connected with the Lord Jesus Christ in resurrection, and so the entering in by faith to the simple expression.
That Christ died for me as he died for my sins gives me peace.
Realizing that he died for me and put myself as a natural man forever out of the picture.
I can, in the energy and power of the Spirit of God, explore and enjoy the heavenly things.
Which is the crossing of the Jordan coming into the good of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To put away the first man to enable me to enjoy the new creation and the energy and power of the Spirit of God.
Someone else may be able to add to that.
Peace in our souls until we come to that point again, to put it very simply.
In the Red Sea I see the end of my sins, but in the Jordan I see the end of sin, that is at the cross he condemned sin in the flesh. The new man, if I can speak carefully, is not a touch up of the old man. The axe is laid at the root of the tree, because it's the root of man that's bad. And so to see this the end of myself. That's why the man in Romans he never got deliverance. He had a struggle until he came to the point of two things.
He began to get deliverance when he said it is no more I but sin that dwelleth in me. That is, he said I still sin, but he said God doesn't see me in that way. It's no more I God sees me in a complete new standing in Christ and in all the perfection of that blessed one.
Of course he never got complete deliverance till he said who shall deliver me, Because he found that it was in a person just for the sake of the young people. I remember my reading years ago, Grace abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan, and I hadn't read it for some years, but my wife picked it up some time ago off our bookshelf and read it, and I was surprised at how many times she commented during the reading of that book at how unhappy a man John Bunyan was. And yet he was a man greatly used of God in England.
So when she was finished reading the book, I picked it up and read it again, and I realized that he was an unhappy man. Even though he saw the end of his sins, he never saw the end of John Bunyan and spent his whole life fighting what he called the Holy War, struggling with the old nature and not realizing what God had done with it. Again, if you read his book, Pilgrim's Progress, you'll find that there was a man there who was carrying his bundle of sins.
And he came to the cross, and as the story goes, his bundle of sins rolled off into the tomb, and he went on his way a saved man. But if that man had rolled into the tomb with his bundle of sins and come out in resurrection, he would have been John Bunyan, would have been a happy Christian, if he'd only realized that at the cross he condemned sin in the flesh. And so we can never really enter into the good of our heavenly portion, all that is ours in Christ as seated with him positionally in heavenly places, and all that is brought before us in the beginning of this book.
Which, as we've often been told, and rightly so, corresponds in type to what the type is in the book of Joshua, will never fully enter into the good of that down here until we come to this point and see that we are not not only as Christ died for us, but we are dead and risen with Christ.
Isn't it with Christ our Death? With Christ the Dread Sea?
We have died in him, or he has died for us for or with. I was thinking then, dear Brad, we had something about the peace of God going on to this.
The 15th verse and your feet jawed with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Now a number of times God has spoken of as the God of peace, as the God of peace, And that's what grace is. Grace brings us into that which is of himself, and this we have.
Through the work of Christ, peace. And so as we are at our privilege to go through this world.
Ruined and throw an enemy's land, we go through it in peace.
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And carry something of that peace in our own souls as we.
Go through as you meet others, carry with them that peace, that same peace.
Of which is an act which is of God himself, the peace of God in our souls, and carry with him, carry with us, have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Talking about how making it practical, what some situation in life you give us one? Well, I was thinking of the Apostle Paul.
There he was as a prisoner. And when he was before Felix.
And before those, great.
There he was before those great men of the Roman Empire. Yet he was.
A dear humble man. And yet he was in he was in positive peace. He he moved through those scenes. And isn't it so that it was just a reflection of his blessed Lord Jesus? We think of the Lord Jesus there in the garden with with a cross and and all that was before him. He went through it anticipatedly.
All of it, he could say. Now is my sole trouble and.
When we think of the agony, his agony in the garden.
And his sweat wases were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. There he was going through it all what he had before him, yet he was in perfect peace. He goes through all those scenes. And when finally he's standing before the high priest, before the Sanhedrin, and then when he's before Pilate, he's a man of perfect peace. He's well. This is what this is. The same peace that God would give you and me in our souls to enjoy. Is that right, brother?
I think so. I'd like to just add something Someone said. Well, why is Satan so busy trying to get us from enjoying these things? And I would like to just suggest that I feel that there's only two beings that God ever created that can respond to him, the angels and man.
That makes you to be a that makes you to be a very important being, just to be a man. Animals can't respond to God's heart. Only people can.
And so man has fallen. So that means, brethren, that only redeemed can respond. Do you realize how solemn a thought that is, that only we can answer to the heart of God, Only we can enjoy the things that He has given us?
What an affront to God to not respond to these things. So Satan is busy. He does not want you to respond to these things.
There is in this book we find out that we were chosen out in him before the foundation of the world.
You are not just an ordinary person, even as a man.
You are part of those that God has chosen before the foundation of the world.
And we're nothing in ourselves. But in Christ, no one has been blessed like a believer, and so why is Satan so busy wanting you to not enjoy these things?
Because it's a, it's a direct.
Assault on the Son of God.
Two of the farthest away, back into a place of the closest, the closest to God, we who are far off.
Those who are the farthest away God is brought into the place of the nearness, which is the nearness.
That any, any creature ever was, ever could be.
Doesn't it? It's a matter of our what I think it's extremely important to see that it's the preparation of the gospel of peace. It doesn't say shod with the gospel of peace. It's the preparation of the gospel of peace. The way we walk, brethren, is important. It prepares the way for the gospel of peace.
You've heard the statement. I'm sure the way you act speaks so loud I can't hear what you say.
That would be said about a person who is not shot with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And so our walk is important to have our feet shod in such a way that we commend the gospel of peace. We fail in this, remember distinctly one particular individual.
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And I had not been careful with the way I was acting. And when the time came when there was an opportunity to speak the gospel of that person, I felt that my mouth was shut because of my lack of acting in the right way. That's a lack of being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The way you walk is important. We need to shod put the on the shoes of the gospel, of the preparation of the gospel.
Is that another 2 foot rule?
I think all that and that is not only to walk in such a way, and this is absolutely essential, and it what I'm about to say is certainly not to distract from that, but it's not only to walk so as to commend.
Ourselves to the conscience of those who hear the gospel. But it's to walk in the moral state, as it were brought before us, to be ready to announce the gospel of peace we are given to know the grace of God.
And he said we should our speech should always be with grace, seasoned with salt that we may be written.
Able to give an answer to every man that asks us the reason for the hope that is in us with meekness and fear. So the preparedness is also a readiness to do it.
I believe Paul practicing what he preached, was he not. For instance, he said, I'm not mad, but speak forth the words of sobriety and truth. You know, he returned honor to that man. When Paul could have said a critical thing to him, and also to King Agrippa, he said, I would to God that thou were both almost and altogether such as I am, except this chain, you know, and what gracious things when you consider that. And Paul said that the things that happened to me happened rather for the furtherance of the gospel.
So his whole attitude, no matter what his circumstances were, he was shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And that's what we're talking about. It's a practical thing and he it doesn't say that people were getting saved, but it was just that there was not anything to hinder in his conduct and behavior.
We're ready to March out of Egypt. They were not only to have their loins gird, but they were to have shoes on their feet.
And so here it's our feet shod, because I believe shoes would bring before us perhaps at least three things. One, it speaks of separation. As we go through this world, we need to walk in separation from the evil around us. If we're going to be a true testimony for Christ, we're going to have to walk in separation.
So we put shoes on our feet when we go outside, and our children when they come in from playing outdoors, we make sure they take off those shoes at the doors because those shoes have picked up the dirt and the mud from playing outside. They take off their shoes and their feet are clean and they come into the house. So it would speak of separation. I believe it would also speak of power because it says of Asher in the end of Deuteronomy, let him dip his foot in oil and oil is often a type of the spirit of God in scripture.
It speaks to us, I believe, of what we have in Galatians, walking in the Spirit. And then it says, as a result of that thy shoes shall be as iron. That's power, and as brass that's endurance. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, and as thy days so shall thy strength be. But then I believe too, has been brought out. It speaks of our testimony. And I was thinking how in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 15 it says that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.
Among whom he shine as lights in the world. And so we're left here as a testimony that in the 15th verse is the life we live. And the very next verse, the 16th verse, says holding forth the word of life. That's the words that we speak. And young people, as you go to school and work, you can't speak as a testimony for Christ if your life isn't consistent with what you're saying. We have the perfect example of the Lord Jesus, who was the fine flower. It says in the beginning of Acts. It says of all that Jesus began both to do.
And to speak everything he did was in perfect harmony with what he spoke, so that at the end of his pathway they had to bring false witnesses against him. They had to confess. This man hath done nothing amiss, Pilot said. I find no fault in him. Everything he did and said was in complete harmony.
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And so he's left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps. And if we're going to speak as a testimony for Christ in this world, I say our life must be inconsistent, must be consistent with what we say, Because if it's not, we're only going to bring reproach on the name of Christ. How often have we heard of those who say, well, I wouldn't want any part of Christianity, if that's what Christianity is. I don't want any part of that. Why do they say that, brethren? It ought to exercise us. We're epistles, known and read of all men. And they say that because they find something.
Inconsistent in my life. Something that I'm doing is that is not consistent with what I'm saying.
And so we ought to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of God. And it's wonderful to be ready to always give an answer of the hope that is in us to those that ask wonderful to speak for Christ. But, brethren, our testimony for Christ will only be in the measure in which our walk is consistent with what we say.
Heard that in this verse. It doesn't say the preparation of the gospel of salvation, but it says the gospel of peace. And I'm sure, as we well know and all agree that every word of scripture is important. So why is it the gospel of peace? Well, my thought is that man by his basic fallen nature is estranged from God.
And reconciliation with God brings peace. That is the only source of peace.
And that's really what the gospel is, is to bring man back to God and to bring peace. And one thing that's always thrilled me is to think that the first words the Lord said to the assembled disciple disciples after his resurrection was peace. That was the first word that he said was peace. And in the salutation of all of the epistles, it always says peace. And so we're called upon for peace, and of other people can see in US peace.
That speaks to their hearts. I remember a man at work. In fact he was a Jewish man, and another brother and I had lunch together all the time, and I guess it was known that we were Christians. I was a new Christian at that time and I remember him coming to us and saying, is it possible to have peace in this life? And of course we then told him about the Lord Jesus, and that was very hard for him to accept, being a Jew, but Christ being the only source of peace.
So I just like to emphasize that here that it is the gospel of peace. And so in our own lives, if we're going to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, we have to demonstrate to this world that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
That those that were at the greatest distance had been brought into the nearest place conceivable, And in the second chapter of this epistle it says that he came and preached peace to those that were far off.
Well, he can do that because in Colossians one it tells us that he made peace by the blood of his cross.
The peace having been preached, then by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that which we preach is the gospel of peace. The Apostle Paul speaks of being an ambassador in bonds. Ye are ambassadors for Christ, beseeching men in Christ's dead be reconciled to God.
He had committed unto us that ministry of reconciliation, so that in Christ said we make this appeal.
To those with whom he come in contact. But we make that appeal out of a life of consistency and walk in peace, so that there is that evidence that what we say bears real fruit in a practical way.
We're going on to a scene where God is All in all, and he's the God of peace.
Oh, that'd be a wonderful, wonderful, shall I say, surprise. But it'll be something so wonderful to leave this world of of confusion and sorrow and disappointment, and to enter into that place, into the presence of God, who is the God of peace. God is going to have a scene which is perfectly answerable to what He is in himself. All those blessed attributes of God, all that he is, this will be heaven.
It'll be God will find his perfect rest in everything in you and me and in Christ.
And in you and me, and in that whole scene of glory, which will answer to all that he is, he is the God of peace. But by grace we're still down here in this world, and he gives us to it, gives us that same peace to enjoy down here and to display to others.
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Really a little practical application of being shod.
With the preparation of the gospel of peace. And what I mean is this, being shod with something is wearing something on my feet that protects me.
That's part of the armor to have something that protects me from this world's defilement.
And I was thinking of Moses or of Abram in Genesis chapter 14.
After he goes out to a battle and he wins that battle and he delivers his brother lot, he comes back.
And two kings meet him, the king of Sodom and the king of Melchizedek, Melchizedek, king of Salem.
That is very interesting that the king of Sodom tries to make a bargain.
With Abram.
He says, Give me the persons.
You keep all the goods, you keep all the spoil of your victory, but give me the persons or the souls.
And I think that the answer of Abram is both lovely and very instructive for this thought of.
Being shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, Abram says. I won't take from a thread.
To a shoe ratchet, lest the world say that you've made me rich.
Well, you know, a shoe line. She isn't going to make me very rich. Is there something wrong with taking something from the world as insignificant as a shoestring?
The danger is that we're talking about wearing armor to protect against the Wiles.
Of Satan.
And beloved brethren, if I take something as insignificant from this world as a shoe latchet.
At some point in my walk, that shoe latch, it's going to break and my shoes are going to fall off. You know, Brother Jim was talking about we come into the house, we take our shoes off and our feet have been protected from the defilement. But if we have allowed even a shoe latchet from the world, the shoe is going to come off before we get into the house. And we're going to be picking up defilement from the world before we ever get into the house. And we're going to become defiled. And it's such an insignificant little thing, but it's a while.
And the same can be said for a thread. And we perhaps won't go into that. But, brother, all of us, let's not be deceived. Satan works with the very most tiny, insignificant things. We talked about a ***** in our armor and one fiery dart getting through a *****. We take a shoe latch from the world. We take a thread from the world.
And it's not so much that.
We are unable to.
Preach the gospel or proclaim the gospel. But that thing that we have taken relying on from the world, whether it's a thread or a shoe latch, it fails.
And the armor comes off.
And when the armor comes off, then we fall and pray to the Wiles of Satan. I just say, brethren, let's be concerned that as we shod, see that we're shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, that we don't have a shoelace from the world helping us keep that on our feet. It'll never last. In other words, let's walk through this world without the world's health. Abram did. And what a answer, What an example of faith he left us.
Have these things have practically failed the question that I would like to ask?
Solemn question. Why is it rather than? When I look through the list of gatherings, I find the gospel meaning substitute of the reading meaning.
When I go to a small assembly, and maybe it is in much weakness, but at least on a fairly regular basis, there is a gospel meeting held because, brethren, the Saints need to hear the gospel. It's the ground of all our blessing. When we come on Lords the morning to remember the Lord, what are we remembering? Why, we're looking back to Calvary. We're remembering that time when the Lord Jesus went to the cross and in obedience and love offered himself without spot to God.
01:00:07
We're remembering that time when he made peace, but through the blood of his cross. But, brethren, we also need to hear the gospel, because again, it takes us back to Calvary. And when we get home to glory, what is going to be the theme of our eternal song? Why the blood of Christ that has redeemed us out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation? And we're going to be occupied with a lamb freshly slain. We're never going to forget for all eternity what the Lord Jesus has done for us. And I fear this.
That the that the Saints who do not hear the gospel on a regular basis in the meeting room or from A and that is a good, sound gospel, they're hearing it somewhere else. They're listening to it somewhere else. And I'm speaking very plainly, and perhaps they're hearing that, which is.
A part of the truth. But if I can put it this way, I don't know how else to put it. Perhaps they're hearing what we might call a watered down gospel. Maybe there is the truth there, but there's other things introduced, and so we need to have our hearts refreshed. We sat here as the people of God last night and we heard the gospel of the grace of God where our hearts refreshed. Brethren, if our hearts aren't encouraged in hearing the simple gospel story, then we ought to get down on our knees and examine our state of soul. I like the way the hymn writer put it.
I love to tell the story for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsty to hear it like the rest. And when in scenes of glory I sing the new new song, twill be the old old story that I have loved so long, brethren, are our hearts refreshed. Do our hearts thrill when we hear the gospel? It's true we need to go on and enjoy the things of God in a deeper and fuller way and enter into those things, But we need to go back and sometimes said to my children.
When they're first born, they drink milk and only milk, and as they get older, they're introduced to solid food. And as we've got older, we need solid food. We need meat and good solid food, but we never give up milk entirely. Maybe it's in a little different form even, but we still need milk in our diet.
We still need to go back and be refreshed by that milk, that those fundamental principles and truths concerning our blessing. Let me just clarify one word that our brother has said. He used the expression the watered down gospel.
A watered down gospel is that having taken a shoe ratchet from the world.
And connected it with the precious truth of God.
Another thing for me is that I believe many well meaning Christians are sidetracked by so many issues. Now, of course we need to know where we stand as far as abortion is concerned and things of that sort. But to enter into all of that conflict, I do not believe we have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. It makes Christianity obnoxious to the world when they're pressing into so many things like this.
And I think of that verse in the Psalms there where it says Egypt was glad when Israel departed. You know they'll be glad to have a Christian out of this world. We cramped their style. But faithful Christians, I believe, would be even more so. But when they enter into the issues of the world, it really brings reproach upon the gospel.
Through 16 goes on, brethren, and it'd be nice to get into it a bit to something that seems extremely important because it says above all.
Taking the shield of faith. What's going on, brother?
I was thinking Brother Bob, that just a little thought of few verses Previous to this the Apostle Paul has been giving instructions to servants, to children, to husbands, to wives. And then he summarizes and he says, and I think it's very important in verse 11 or verse 10 for the rest brethren. And then he goes on, well, you know, if you and I, brethren are going to walk in this world.
As a servant, if that's what the Lord has called us to.
To his glory. We're going to need the armor of God as much to do that for his glory as if he's called us to something else. And it's going to take faith, isn't it, To walk pleasing to the Lord as a servant of the way that he brings before us? He says Servants be obedient to them that be your masters.
01:05:01
Well, I better know what it is, as our brother Bob has brought out the importance of this verse above all.
So I'm going to be obedient and thus pleased, and glorify the Lord Jesus, because Satan is going to seek to attack a servant as much as he as anyone else if they belong to Christ.
And a servant who belongs to Christ, who is not serving faithfully, will be a dishonor to the Lord Jesus as much as a king.
Who belongs to Christ and yet is not serving faithfully well. We need this shield of faith, don't we? Whatever position we're in, we need that that we can go on for His glory, and we need that armor and whatever and whatever circumstances were found in yesterday.
That whatsoever is not a faith is sin, and we all know that. But what does that mean?
What it means is if you're acting and you're not acting in faith, then you're acting in your own thoughts, your own will, and that's not God's will. And if it's not God's will, there's no power there. And so that's why this is absolutely essential. That faith is that shield. It's that shield. And you know, a shield is a mobile thing. It's not like something else that you might have in the armor as you stand, but you can move that shield around as these fiery darts come from different directions.
None of our lives are exactly the same. None of us face the same questions that come before us and work, or in our neighborhood, or wherever. But if we're grounded in all of God's wonderful promises for us, and His promises are yay and Amen, and we use God's word, then we have that shield and we can use it in any application. We don't read about television in this book, do we? But we know what the principles are. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh. That's what comes from television.
But if we have this book and we know it, and we trust the Lord to undertake for us, we believe all His promises that we can cast all our cares upon Him. There isn't any question that comes in our lives that we can't bring before Him that is walking in faith.
And that's not sin. But if we use our own logic if our own.
Thoughts. Our own desires? Not according to God? Then it's not going to be that shield, is it?
So it's believing God, It's believing his promises and using those promises as that shield.
Mother broke down on.
God had said something. Satan comes along, says Hath. God said. Do you believe what God said?
In a simple way, one of these these fiery darts of Satan, they come from many different directions. Satan often he's in an ambush and he throws these darts. And I was thinking oftentimes the connection with dear young young people perhaps haven't been saved very long. Satan Joseph dart and says, oh you're not saying you, you're not, you're, you're, you're not saved, you're. Well this is the dark a fiery dark thing. Well, how good it is though to have the the word of God and to know that I can. I remember old Mr. Gill telling us, speaking one time he says I tell Mister devil he says, Mr. Devil. He says I've served you long enough. I belong to Christ now.
I'm his cleanse me by his precious blood he's bought me. I belong to him.
So now and so This is one way of using the shield of faith, isn't it? To quench the fiery darts of the wicked wicked one. The wicked one, I believe.
Faith comes by hearing and by the word of God, and it's a nice day. People talk about faith in a nebulous sort of way, but the faith of God is always based on the word of God.
And I think it's important to see that it's not based on what I think or what somebody has said, but it's what God has said that the shield of faith can be raised upon. And we've been talking, it's been suggested that there are ****** in our armor. I don't suppose we could say that the armor of God has ****** in it, but perhaps we don't have it all on properly and maybe there are ****** there, but this is a movable thing. And those fiery darts.
Like you mentioned, our doubts that the enemy tries to throw at us, to get us off guard and to weaken us. It was mentioned Eve in the Garden of Eden. What was Satan's tactic with her was to throw a doubt at her. Yeah, hath God said, And then a little later on he directly contradicted God in saying thou shalt not surely die. He threw a fiery dart and she allowed it in she did not have.
01:10:15
The shield of faith up, but how important that is in our lives.
Sometimes they rather than you can write question marks all over my person that don't write question marks on God and His word. Never do it. Dear young people, if it's a question of what your school teachers say and what this book says, believe this book. Believe it always. Whether you understand it completely or not is not the question. It is a matter of believing this book. That is the shield of faith.
Satan comes and I must say that that happened to me in my youth, Uncle Flem, when I was young. And and Satan would come and say, you're not really a Christian you just think you are. And I found peace and simply taking a scripture. I said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And I hung on to that scripture and that ground that fiery dark could not get in.
Fell to the ground. Sometimes things go wrong in our lives and we, like Jacob, might say all these things are against me. But the Scripture says if God be for us, who can be against us? And we raise the shield of faith on the ground of the scriptures and those fiery darts can't get in. It's important to do again. I say young people, if it's what I say, you can have questions about it. You're justified perhaps, in questioning what I may say.
But when it's God that speaks and His word, never allow a doubt to come into your mind about it. Never allowed. That's the fiery darts of the enemy that tries to weaken us. Always on the ship going to Rome and looked like for all appearances, it looked like they were going to go down to the bottom of the ocean. But an Angel of God had stood by him and spoken to him.
And Paul stands up in the middle of that storm. Perfect peace in his soul. He says, Fear not, for I believe God. You have a choice of times in your life to either believe the circumstances or to believe God. I want to encourage you to lift the shield of faith. Believe God, Don't believe circumstances, their appearance.
Circumstances will change, and our God is the God who controls circumstances.
Believe God, and you'll find that you will be protected from those fiery darts, those doubts that the enemy wants to throw at us and get us weakened and fallen on the battlefield of faith.
To the Roman Saints of the obedience of faith.
To all nations. And we've had brought before us how that the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is our perfect example in all of everything. And when he had the fiery darts of the wicked hurled at him, it was the word of God.
That he was able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked. We have been taught that there is an answer in this book for every issue of life, and so when we act in faith, as has been said in obedience to this book.
The fiery darts of the wicked are absolutely futile. The Word of God refutes every challenge. It's true that he uses doubt, but he uses challenges. Cast Thyself down if they'll be the Son of God. Challenging. Or certainly he was the Son of God. The enemy recognized that. And certainly he could have cast himself down, but not in obedience to the Word of God. And so he would not act without a word from God in anything, And so the shield of faith.
Acting in obedience to what God has revealed to us in His Word enables us to render.
Absolutely powerless. Those challenges and those doubts, those fiery darts that the wicked one would hurl at us.
As that Uranus Lee contend for the faith once delivered unto the Saints, I believe that links.
The thought of faith with the whole word of God, the whole deposit of truth. And I was thinking too, you know, Elijah was used in a mighty way that was a great victory at Carmel. And I believe there is a special danger at times like that. And so the fiery dart of the wicked came through, you know, by means of Jezebel, when she says, thy life tomorrow be as one of those prophets, you know. And it immediately intimidated him. And he went off.
01:15:27
Way off. And he exposed himself when he said I'm not better than my father's. Well, did he think he was? You know, our hearts are very deceitful and we need to really stay near the Lord and judge anything of that sort that creeps into our hearts. Or we can certainly lay ourselves open for the fire darts of the wicked.
Lord Jesus who went to the Jordan and was baptized of John in the Jordan.
When he comes up out of the water, then he sees the Spirit of God.
Descending in the form of a dove and an abode upon him. And then we get the Father's voice, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, and thee is all my delight. Thou my beloved Son. Well then, immediately after that he's driven of the into the wilderness by the Spirit of God, taken into the wilderness. And there Satan meets him. And he says, if thou be the Son of God, he says, command that these stones be made bread. Satan was there throwing that dart. The Lord was no doubt he was hungry. Sure he was. He was natural.
But St. was there to throw in a, perhaps in a human way at a very weak time. And that's when Satan often scores, is when we are weak and a time of weakness. And but Satan beatily takes up that blessed words of of God the Father. And he says, if thou be the Son of God, he says command that these stones be made bread and so on. Oh how what a wily Foley is. But how did the Lord meet him? He met him with the word of God. And that's what we had this afternoon, so much the word of God.
He met him with the word of God, and Satan was powerless. Satan was powerless.
Testimony of set to his seal that God is true. And that's really what faith is. It's simply taking God at his word. And I've appreciated what has been brought out concerning first of all the first recorded words of Satan in the Old Testament. Half God said immediately, trying to raise a doubt in the minds of the mind of Eve as to whether what had God really said. This was this really what God had said, raising a doubt as to the spoken word of God And then when the Lord Jesus came.
As the living Word, immediately trying to raise a doubt as to if he was really the one that he said he was. If thou be the Son of God. And I believe, brethren, that the great attempt of the enemy is to raise a doubt in the mind, in our minds as to the word of God. But we need to take that Word of the Word of God, and rest upon it, not only read it, but to rest upon the Word of God. Has God said it? Is it the truth of God? It says, cast not away, therefore thy confidence.
Such as great recompense of reward. And you see it over and over in the history of Israel in the wilderness.
When he sums up their history in the 106th Psalm, it says they believed his word and sang his praises.
What was the joy in Israel's hearts? Why did they sing? Because they rested simply on the word of God. But it says also later on in that Psalm they believe not his word but murmured in their tents. And we've heard the expression before. It's not certainly not original, but we can be unbelieving believers. I often think of it with with Thomas, because we often speak of doubting Thomas. But if you read the account there carefully, it was more than just doubt in Thomas's heart, he said. Except I see, I will not believe.
Now Thomas was one of the Lord's own, and later on Thomas did see and believe, but his heart at that time was filled with unbelief. That was the fiery dart of the of the of the enemy. To fill the heart of Thomas with unbelief. Brethren, we need to be careful that we don't become unbelieving believers, because the joy in our hearts and the power in our lives comes when we rest solely on the word of God. And it says all the promises of God in him are yay and in him Amen, to the glory of God.
Another example, I think of Paul and Silas in prison in Philippi, and I've often wondered what I might have been doing in that situation. I probably would have been questioning God's direction, saying, well Lord, I thought, I got a vision to come over here and help someone. And what good am I doing with my feet fast in the stalks and my back bleeding. Is that what they did? No. They lifted the shield of faith. They rested on God's word and there was such joy in their hearts that at the darkest hour, at midnight, they prayed and sang praises. And what was the result?
01:20:16
Why? The jailer got saved. The prisoners heard them. There was a real testimony because they rested on the word of God, and that joy shone forth and there was blessing. Well, brethren, we can go through the circumstances like that. Maybe It is sometimes hard to rest on the word of God. We say, Why has God allowed this in my life? Why has he brought me to this point? Why has he brought me to this place? Oh, that's just when Satan wants to fill our hearts with doubt, he wants to discourage us and cast us down.
But if we rest on the word of God, if we lean on him, if we have that faith and that confidence that brings God.
Into every circumstance, then there can be blessing and testimony even in a difficult trial.
Let me just say before time runs completely out to the younger ones amongst us. We're not Speaking of the quantity of ones faith. One might feel, oh, I haven't the faith enough to do this or that, but at a time in the Lord's ministry when the disciples perceived that they needed Morphe, Lord, increase our faith, he said if you have the faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can say to the mountain to be moved in the sea. So no difficult situation is so huge and apparently immovable that just simply believing God and his word will not remove that problem.
So it's not a question of how much faith you have to whether or not question whether or not you just simply rest upon God's Word.
And it's putting that faith in option that causes our faith to grow. Because I sometimes said it's not an intelligent prayer to ask the Lord to increase our faith, but our faith does grow. Because when the disciples said Lord increase our faith, he answered to show them that the way their faith would grow was to be put in operation. In other words, if I've known you for a short time, I might have some faith in you. But if I've known you for many years and you've always been worthy of my confidence.
Now my faith has grown because you've always been worthy of my trust.
And so as we walk in communion with the Lord and as we trust him for the day-to-day situations, then our faith grows. That's the way it was with Abraham. If Abraham had been given a great test, such as OfferUp his son Isaac on the mountain immediately on his coming out of Ur the Chaldees, he probably would have failed. But his faith had grown as he walked with God all those years and dwelt as a stranger in Pilgrim and saw God undertake for him day in and day out and year in and year out.
His faith had grown and so when the great test came, that faith was there. But the wonderful thing is, brethren, he never tests us beyond what the faith that we that he gives us. He never puts us in a situation. It says he'll not suffer us to be tempted above that you're able to bear. He always provides for us in the situation. And so our faith grows. But it only grows as we put that faith in operation and trust him from day-to-day.
Oh, where you fall.
Here.
My blood imaging all the love.
What is it? Oh, yes, it will.
Number one.
Ephesians 6:17-24
Reading
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Read it all over God.
Is gone. Great.
We found the pressure.
Efficient.
Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 17.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints, and for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak.
What do you also may know my affairs and how I do? Tikka Cus, a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things.
Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that you might know our affairs and that he might comfort your hearts. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.
Is the part of the armor that protects the head.
As explained here as salvation.
If we're going to have our minds protected.
It's going to be in the joy of our salvation. We read this morning that the Saints need the gospel. I believe it. There's nothing like the joy of salvation to keep our thoughts right, to keep our minds from monitoring.
Which of sins forgiven the knowledge of that salvation?
Enables us to lift up our heads, doesn't it?
Of salvation as we presented that it is something that should be understood and that it is something that is logical, and it is with the mind, the head, the brain that would be under the helmet that we deal with these things. It's it's a wonderful thing to present the gospel in a way that makes it plain that it is not a superstitious or an emotional thing.
But it's a reasonable thing. God says in the beginning of the book of Isaiah, come, let us reason together. And so as we present the gospel, it can present be presented, you might say, in an intelligent, logical way that we're not pleading with souls just on an emotional basis, but as a thing that is reasonable, that is something that's all important in their lives. And so it strikes me to think that salvation is connected with the helmet and the head.
00:05:23
That is the mind, the brain. And when we deal with people, we should deal. I believe in a way that doesn't just appeal to the emotions. We know that the emotions are something that are fleeting and changeable, can depend upon whether we're weary or I'll. But the gospel is eminently logical, reasonable, and because of that, we want to make sure.
We want this bit of armor so that we never lose sight of that fact and that we can talk to people as intelligent people and present to them the wonderful intelligence, if you will, of the way of salvation.
Chapter 5. There's a couple of verses that I think we should read 1St Thessalonians 5.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
So there's the helmet. The hope of salvation. It says here.
If we have.
Before our hearts that coming day.
That hope of our salvation to guard our minds. We won't settle down down here.
As Earth dwellers that will guard our minds, you'll be like a helmet to our minds. Our minds will be set on that coming day rather than down here on things now.
And that hope of salvation to come, because God has not appointed us to wrath but to salvation, that will be a guard to our minds.
So that our affections will be set on a coming day of collapsing.
That's go ahead.
I was just going to say that that the Thessaloniki's brother Frank, they did get their minds disturbed, didn't they That is.
They were confused over what would happen to those that had passed on.
But then the enemy was able to get a worse wedge in. And so we see in the second epistle that they thought the day of the Lord had already come. So Paul couldn't commend them for their hope, patience of hope, as he did in this first Thessalonians. So we see that it is an important thing to consider overall this thought of the helmet of salvation that we really need our thoughts guarded. We need to be.
Settled on these matters according to the truth of the word? Go ahead, Paul.
I was just going to say it in keeping with the truth of First Thessalonians, isn't it? The helmet? The hope of salvation is what we look forward to at the Lord's coming. That's part of our salvation. Like to suggest, an Ephesian, that the view of salvation is a complete view. It's not only salvation from our sins, from the penalty of our sins and present salvation from the power of sin and and the.
Future salvation from the very presence of sin. It is a complete picture. It's the whole view of salvation. Remember Mr. Lundin speaking about any use that last verse of the hymn we have in our appendix, O Jesus friend and failing it says for every tribulation, for every sore distress in Christ thy full salvation, sure help and quiet rest No Fear of post prevailing.
I triumph, Lord, in thee, O Jesus friend, and failing, how deareth thou to me? And I really have enjoyed that, that it is the salvation in every aspect that you can consider it. The knowledge has to do with the mind. Like you say, it's the knowledge that come what may, we're going to come out as the victorious ones in the end. If a person, if a soldier, were going into war, and you could assure him.
00:10:16
Without the shadow of a doubt. Without a shadow of a doubt. Look, I know you're going to come out victorious. He would go in without fear and put all his energy into it. Brethren, we need to have the knowledge that our salvation is a complete salvation. It's important.
Blessed Master.
And the Lord turned and looked on Peter, and their eyes met.
All that completely broke Peter up. He went out, and he wept bitterly. No doubt, he thought, the Satan says, you'll never you'll never be able to lift your head up now.
But the Lord went after Peter, and as he had promised, but after thou art restored, and he went after him, and he He brought him back.
He restored him completely, and Peter proved that the salvation that he had in that in his blessed Savior was a complete, was a complete salvation. And there at at Pentecost. There at Pentecost, Peter was out there preaching and.
He.
We read there he was out there preaching 3000 souls were saved.
3000 And so he.
He tells them he had denied the Holy One and the justice, the very thing that Peter himself had done.
But the Lord had gone after Peter and his love, and he wouldn't give him up. He brought him back, and God used him. And so Peter could hold up his head, as it were, and so can we.
It was helpful to when I was younger to have it pointed out that in the book of Romans salvation is taken up in three different ways. It tells us first of all in the 5th chapter, that we're saved from wrath through him, and we look back to Calvary and having availed ourselves of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We no longer fear death and judgment, all that is behind us now, and we're saved and on our way to glory. But then in the very next verse in that chapter, it says that we're saved by His life. That's His present intercessory life for us now. Because we look up into the open heavens and we see one who's living for us. He's living for us as our great High Priest, that we might be preserved in the path of faith and service for Christ down here. And then He's also living for us as our advocate.
Which brother Clem has brought before us in connection with Peter, so that we will be preserved and restored in the pathway as we go through the situations of life down here. And so David, when he sinned, he said, restore unto me not thy salvation, but the joy of thy salvation. And so we have one who's living for us, that we might be preserved and kept and restored when we do fail. But then there's something else in the I think it's the 13th of Romans.
It says, knowing the time, that it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Brethren, that's the salvation of our bodies. That's what we're yet waiting for. If the Lord Jesus were to come before this meeting is over, and he may, we would immediately receive a new body, a changed body, a body of glory, like unto his body of glory. May this ever be before our souls. If we lose sight of the end of the pathway and all that is ahead, then we're going to be discouraged.
The enemy is going to gain a victory and will be cast down as we go through the circumstances. But if we're looking on to that day of glory and the time when we're going to be with not only with Christ, but like Christ, as it says in first John chapter 3, then it says every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure brethren to look on to the full salvation. The time when we're going to be there with bodies of glory, like unto his body of glory, that is what's going to preserve us in the path and in the measure in which you and I have the end of our salvation in view. In that measure it will have a practical purifying effect.
On your life and mine. And so I just point that out that it's helpful to see salvation taken up in those different ways. We look back to the time when we were saved and our sins were taken care of because of Calvary. We rejoice today because he's living for us, preserving us, that we might be saved by his life. And then we rejoice to think that perhaps this very afternoon the fruition of everything is going to take place and we'll be there in a moment changed and with him in a moment.
00:15:19
May it gladden our souls, and may the Lord help us to keep this ever before us. And we might, in a practical way, put on the helmet of salvation. Because, brethren, if we give up these things, then Satan has plenty to fill our minds and plenty of things that are not true. And so we need to have these precious truths, and we need to be reminded of them over and over and over again. That's the joy of a reading meeting like this. We know these things. We hear them so many times.
But we need to have them brought to our minds once and again.
Yesterday.
That when Simeon held the babe in his arms.
His remark was now Let thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy.
Salvation.
The Lord Jesus.
Makes the remark in his prayer that this is eternal life that they might know.
The the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.
And so the Apostles Paul desired to know the Lord Jesus Christ in the power.
Of his resurrection, so the acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ in a personal way.
Translated into a walk with him in communion. Sets him before us, as our brother has just said.
As our hope that has its purifying effect with us, so the conscious knowledge of salvation and the Lord Jesus Christ who is our salvation gives us that ability to go on in the midst of all of the enemies onslaught.
And for young people, and it's all really to have the knowledge rather than that our salvation is a complete salvation.
So often you see young people or others to get into a severe trial and we all go through trials. But to realize even in those trials we have a God who is our salvation, not to lose our trust in Him, trust in him at all times. It tells us it's so important to keep our confidence. I think it was commented on this morning.
Verse in Hebrews 10 Cast not away your confidence, which has great recompense of reward.
In a trial right now, you have a God who is a God of our salvation. He is giving you a complete salvation. You may not be able to see any light in any direction, but you have a God who is a God of our salvation. Trust in Him. And that's the knowledge that's so important to keep up in the Christian warfare that we do not depend on ourselves for our salvation like was brought out.
And I think it's been such a comfort to so many of God's people in times of stress, that verse in Hebrews 725, He is able to save unto the uttermost them that come unto God by Him. Seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for him. He stands there in the presence of God for you in the time of your need. He knows what you're passing through, and he's pleading for you. He's interceding your cause.
We have reason, even when things seem too difficult for us to take courage.
To not lose confidence in God. It seems to me that one of the enemy's most subtle onslaughts is to try to take away our confidence in God. Don't do it. I like the verse that sometimes we've used with the young people that we quote many times in Proverbs 36. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not until thine own understanding.
With all your heart. It's important the word in Spanish for lean not to thy own understanding is interesting. It's a word for the stirrups on a saddle. You know when a person gets off balance in the saddle, he puts his weight on his stirrups and he balances himself. The scripture says lean not to your own understanding. Our understanding is limited at best. We understand.
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We know in part, and that's all we'll ever know down here in this world. Don't lean to your own understanding. I don't say we neglect it, but we don't lean on it. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. That's a command the Lord gives us. So we have a God that is powerful to save to the uttermost, all the way home to the glory. That's the way Brother Eric Smith used to say it. But we can. We can trust him. He'll come through with it. Dear young people trust him at all times.
All that isn't all the way home, Savior.
When he was down in the whale's belly in the sea.
Made three different promises, I believe, he says. I will do this. Oh, I will do that. I will do the other. Nothing happened.
God brought him down far enough that finally said salvation is of the Lord. He was up on dry land. The Lord is salvation and it's of him that we get it. Salvation is so simple. I learned a good lesson for me many years ago. Traveling around I heard of a young man that had gotten saved and it sounded like a real interesting story. Well, a few weeks later I met him and.
I said I heard that you got saved it for the reason. How did you get saved? He said. God saved me. How did you get saved?
I.
And I think it's beautiful to see that Jonah, he could only blame himself for this position he was in.
And still he could turn to the Lord in that position. I think sometimes when the enemy causes us to fall, and of course we can't blame the enemy. We have to blame ourselves. We tend to think, oh, I've gotten myself into this method, I'm going to just have to bear it now. I can't really turn to the Lord. I've been unfaithful. But even in that extremity, when Jonah turned to the Lord, the Lord delivered him. That's the kind of God we have.
Your young people, dear brethren, we have a God who can hear anywhere.
We can call to him.
You know.
Something comes before me in connection with parental responsibility. Maybe our brother Henry can help us on this, but the Shunamites boy, you know, went out to with his father to the Reapers and all of a sudden he was doing something. Perhaps the father was so preoccupied with his work. His.
Field that he didn't pay attention and the lad fell, and he says, my head, my head. And we see that there was not the concern on his part. He says take him to his mother. Well, she was a woman of faith, and so she took him to Elisha, which is certainly a picture of the Lord Jesus. And one word was sent to her. Is all well, she said All is well.
She knew the Lord would come in in some way and help out, but I think we have a quite a responsibility as parents, do we not Henry, in regard to seeking to guard the minds of these children? But they don't take a fall.
Does touch on.
Something on my heart because.
We took up our chapter in verse 11 and connected it somewhere with the end of chapter 3, but the Spirit of God hasn't put it at the end of chapter 3. He's put it here in the middle of chapter 6, after he has brought before us our relationships of life that should be affected by the.
Sovereign Work of God and the.
Before us in the opening chapters of Ephesians.
And I saw it of Ephesians during these meetings, akin to the Garden of Eden that man was put into. Ephesians is the Garden of Eden for the believer, that is.
Our every blessing is brought to us, and we're not fighting for those blessings. They have been secured for us. But the warfare that's being carried on is here on earth. It's with principalities and powers and heavenly places.
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We look at, I'd like to just say, you know, we we become sons of God and Ephesians. The church is brought out to us in Ephesians. And so in chapter four we get our walk address, how we're going to maintain here on earth the truth of the assembly that we have been brought into.
Something impressing me in chapter 4 and verse 6.
It starts, you know, with the assembly, when it goes down to the realm of nature, verse six, one God and Father of all. So Paul puts us into all the relationships that we enter into in life, the assembly individually as children in chapter 5.
Followers of God as dear children and we go right on down.
To the family relationships, wives, we get husbands.
We get children, we go into the workplace, and we get the work relationships if we're masters or if we're servants. But all of these relationships of life are being attacked. And if we don't have on the armor of God, we fail in these relationships. And so let's look at ourselves in the church relationship.
Have we failed?
Where is the Church of God in Saint Louis? Couldn't begin to be put into this room. We're just the testimony that we have not worn the armor of God in such a way to preserve on earth the unity that should be given expression to by the Church of God.
Look at our families. All right. You know the end of this chapter. It says peace. I don't think this is what it means, but the end of warfare is peace. When war is over, there's peace. Have we experienced, characteristically, peace in our families? Do we find in our workplace that we are able to conduct ourselves as men of God in the workforce? Or have we found practically that?
Our jobs have become our masters and have taken us away from our families.
From the assemblies have become a paramount thing in our lives. Well, all of that is the result of not wearing properly the armor of God. And this helmet of salvation is a little different than the other things we take some of these other things, but apparently the thought here of take is simply to receive it. It's not something active on our part, but it's something as if God were saying I have a helmet for you to wear.
That will save you. And I don't know, we've had different aspects of salvation. I would just like to say the helmet of salvation that is God is handing out to us this afternoon is a helmet that will save us. And I don't care what aspect it's taken up in, It would have saved the assembly from division. It would have saved the family from merit to break up.
It would have saved our children from going out and being lost. They would have saved us in our workplace from not allowing the work to become our master instead of us, like Adam was to have been. He was supposed to have controlled the earth and used it for his servant. But God has this helmet of salvation, he said. I have a salvation for you in every aspect of your life. Will you take it? No. Just receive it. It's here.
Put it on you and we're saying, Lord, I don't want it. I'll think with my own mind. I'll figure a way out if we turn to our own minds and our own ingenuity and we end up in all the confusion that the assembly, the Church of God and our families are in today. So we say it's practical and it is in this salvation. I don't pretend to know the doctrinal.
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Thrust of the salvation here.
But I do know God is saying I have a helmet. That's a helmet of salvation. And if you will receive it, things will be preserved. These relationships of life will be preserved if you put this armor of God on. Because Satan, you know when we've referred to the coming day, when he's cast down, you know he can't fight against the Saints of the Most high places.
What does he do?
He they cursed them, but I can't hurt them. When Paul was called to the 3rd heaven, it wasn't for a wrestling match or a warfare. He was in the enjoyment of God. There he wrestled and he warfared when he had to come back to Ephesus, when he had to come back to earth.
These forces in the heavenlies are marshaled brethren against the assembly. They're marshaled against our families, and they're marshaled against you and I as an individual believer here on earth, to keep us and come keep us in these relationships from demonstrating and showing the salvation our God has for us. Well, let's receive the salvation, the helmet of God's salvation.
We don't have a substitute for it.
That.
In Genesis, when Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and built that city, then those descendants of his that populated, it says that one of them was an artificer in brass and iron. And later when David goes out to meet Goliath, he goes out to meet one who has a helmet. But that helmet he's wearing is a helmet of brass. And that helmet didn't protect Goliath. It was what man was going to do, what man was going to produce to protect his thoughts, his pride?
His ways. And so he took that.
What you might say that science or that ability that was developed by a man who left the presence of God. Cain went out from the presence of God and out from the presence of God. Man learned how to create articles of brass and iron, and one of those articles he learned how to create evidently was a helmet and Goliath. As far as I know, that's the first mention of a helmet in the word of God. I could be wrong, but I think the helmet that Goliath wore not a helmet of salvation.
A helmet of brass. And it's very amazing when you think about it. The thing that Goliath wore to protect his head didn't protect him. When he met David, the stone sunk into his forehead. My beloved brethren, do we want that helmet? Do we want to, with our thoughts and our pride and our abilities, seek to make our way through this world? It's not going to work. It's not going to be a helmet of salvation.
Connection between the salvation and the spirit of the Lord if you go back to chapter one.
Where you have the salvation first mentioned in Pauls letter, it also immediately brings before us the Spirit connected with it in chapter one, just to get the connection, verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ and whom he also trusted. After that she heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
In whom also after that she believed, ye were sealed with that holy.
Spirit of promise, and so God in his purposes of blessing.
Determined that he would have in a man the administration of his creation, and that's in the man Christ Jesus. And he purposed that we too should be brought into connection with him and presented to us the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation. And upon receiving that by faith we are immediately sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. As has already been mentioned, it's a present and practical thing. So he goes on in Chapter 4.
And speaks to us again about that Holy Spirit that has sealed us.
That's Holy Spirit of promise and brings in something of the practical side of it. We might say, well, my salvation is secure.
So nothing can touch it, because I have been sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. But then our side, or our responsibility side is brought in in connection with it in chapter 4. And he says to us, verse 29, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And then what? And grieve not.
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The Holy Spirit of God.
Whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. And so we have a practical exhortation given to us. I have been, and you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. He is a divine guest that dwells within us. And as we go on in a day by day way, how do we walk? Or do we walk in such a way that we grieve the Spirit of God?
That dwells within us. And if we do, are we do we have on then in a practical sense, that helmet of salvation?
Or is that person grieved in such a way that the beauties of the unsearchable riches of Christ that are given in chapter 3?
Are not enjoyed in our souls, and so he goes on and.
Elaborates further in chapter 5 when he says to them.
In verse 18, the positive exhortation to us not just a negative sense of grieving, but then a positive. He says, verse 18 Be not drunk with wine, we're in his excess, but be filled with the Spirit speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual psalms, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting yourselves 1 to another in the fear of God. That's the occupation for the mind that keeps the soul. It's been said and said well, that we ought to read the word of God until our very thoughts are formed by the language of Scripture, and we ought to have the word of God so much a part of us.
That the Spirit of God which would fill us with those things.
Which are for Christ, and which would be to our minds a preservative, a helmet of salvation. And so we have some very positive ones that occupy us, as it says here, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Do we wake up in the morning and the first thoughts that pass through our minds, perhaps is in our hearts, if not out loud? Is the the singing of the word that's found in the word of God the thoughts that have to do? And then also something that so easily gets us is the acceptance, the submission to God that is allowed in the circumstances of our lives. And so he says giving thanks for all things.
What is it that's so easily troubles? The mind is those things that I am not submissive to God in the circumstances of my life. Why has God allowed this? Why has God allowed that? Why did it have to happen to me? And so on. And my mind becomes troubled and confused and in agony. But that which is filled with the Spirit of God responds in the heart and in the mind by giving thanks always.
For all things. And then he goes on, submitting yourselves to one another in the fear of God. That submission of Spirit to God and even to his people, is that which the Spirit of God works in us as a preservative, as we await the full results of the salvation that's been wrought for us and is being kept for us too by the Spirit.
In chapter 2.
In chapter 3.
Verse chapter 3, verse 16, That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man.
So theoretically you might say we could put all of this armor on, but if we don't have the strength of the Spirit of God, the power of the Spirit of God, which we will not have even though we're sealed.
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We won't have his power if he is grieved in our life or if he is quenched in our lives. And we can do that through willfulness and sin. And so that that's what is hindering our Our victory here is that we're we're grieving the spirit of God, and we're hindering the spirit of God, and we're losing the power of the spirit of God, the strength of the Spirit of God in our lives.
So we need to call it, I think not only that we think the thoughts of God being, as has been said, saturated with the word of God, so that we think in the thoughts of the Scriptures, but that the those thoughts of the scriptures control our actions and help us in making the decisions of life as to how we're going to take up these different relationships in life, their control.
By the Word of God having authority over us in our lives, making those decisions based upon the Word of God.
The Helmet of Salvation is the complete of the armor as we have in verse 11. We're exhorted to put on the whole armor, and again in the 13th verse to take unto you the whole armor of God. And after that he tells us to take the sword of the Spirit, which is the weapon that he gives us if we turn to Hebrews chapter 4.
In verse 12.
Where the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and that the joints immoral and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of our heart.
So dealing with this, we can see that Christ has put us in a position that if we do not take this helmet and then take the sword that He's given us as a weapon to continue on, we're left out here in the cold. We have to depend upon the Lord, the Spirit that He's indwelt us with, to take it on as the sword.
For us, is it not? Is the defensive part of the armor. Now he takes up that which is.
This borough fence, this.
The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Having on having on the whole arm right now. Now we can one is unable to take up the the sword of the spirit. That's the first defensive part of the end. Is that right, Jimmy? Well, I believe that's right and I believe it's good to see that it's the sword of the spirit. The reason I say that is sometimes I've heard young folks say as they have their Bible under their arm, I have my sword with me.
Well, that's not really scriptural. It's not my sword. It's the sword of the Spirit, because it's only when it's used in communion by the Spirit that it has its power. I think of the example of Peter. Peter had a real desire to defend his Lord, and he had a sword, but he used it without the sanction of his Lord and what he did. And so he took that sword and cut off the servant of the high priest here. And he didn't help the situation. He only, as another has said, he added to it and he only ended up giving the Lord more work to do.
He didn't help the situation, but it's when it's used in communion by the Spirit.
And so there's a power there. I think it was already alluded to that the Lord Jesus, when he met the enemy in the wilderness, in the temptation he didn't seek to argue with the enemy. He simply quoted from the word of God. He said it is written. But I might say in that regard, again for those who are younger, that if we don't have the word of God before us, if we're not reading it and storing up our minds with the word of God, then the Spirit can't bring it back to us.
So that we can use it when we're faced with the temptation or the situation. But if you read the word of God, maybe it might not mean that much to you at the time. You read some of those Old Testament stories and illustrations. Maybe at the time it's just an interesting story. But if you read it and you're familiar with it, then when the time comes and you're in a situation, the Spirit of God can bring it to your remembrance. When the Lord Jesus spoke to the disciples in the upper room, He brought much before them, but he said that when the Spirit was come, he would bring all things to their remembrance.
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Which he had spoken unto them. And so they listened attentively to what he had to say. But, brethren, if we don't listen attentively to the word of God, if we're not reading it for ourselves, then he can't bring something to our minds that we've never read. It is the glory of God to conceal the matter. The honor of kings is to search out the thing. And so as we study and search the word of God and have these things in our minds, stored in our minds and in our hearts, then he can bring it back. And haven't you been surprised sometimes?
Sometime perhaps you're in a situation, maybe you have to answer a question at work or at school. You have to make a decision and you just don't know how to answer. You just don't know which way to turn. And all of a sudden the spirit of God brings back a story or a scripture and applies it. And so it's applied in the example of David going to the brook. Because I believe that often running water in scripture is a type of the Holy Spirit. Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
And this he spake concerning the Spirit. And David went to the brook, and from the brook he took five smooth stones, and he stored them in his shepherd's bag. There were those stones, as it were, the word of God, made good to him in this power of the Spirit. And when the time comes, he takes one of those stones that have been taken out of the brook, a type of the Spirit of God, and he uses it in type in the power of the Spirit. And what was the result? Why the enemy came crashing down, not because David did it in his own strength, but because he had taken that stone from the brook, and he used it.
At the proper time, brethren, if we store our hearts with the minds and hearts with the word of God.
Then I say the Spirit of God can bring it back to us, and there's a power there. Don't try to argue with people. You'll only become discouraged yourself. You'll only become entangled in human reason. Just bring forth the word of God and we don't have to argue the scriptures. There's a power there in the word of God. When you quote a verse or you bring the scripture can't argue with the word of God. It commends itself.
Battle that I find in this book, Revelation 19, in which we come forth associated with that man on the White Horse.
Heaven open Jesus coming out of heaven.
We find that his name is called the Word of God. So here again the sword of Spirit, which is the word of God.
Is that person.
2nd Hebrews Chapter four that our brother Ken referred to.
We see that the word of God in verse 12 is likened unto a quick and powerful and a sharper than any two edged sword, living and powerful. And it pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit that shows how refined and how powerful the Word of God is through the Spirit of God. To make a distinction like that, because there's so much that belongs to the soul, you might say that has been introduced into Christianity.
The soul would be more of the emotional seat and of feelings and appetites and desires, whereas the Spirit would be more to God, conscious part. And we see how the word of God makes a clear distinction in those things, and we can be very thankful for it. We need the word of God to be kept and the high priestly work of Christ to be kept, and that's presented here in Hebrews 4. But then we see that it goes right down to the joints and the Morrow, in other words.
It seems to me that that has something to do with distinguishing the functions of the body, recognizing the joints, recognizing the true and proper functions of the body. So we need the word of God to bear upon all these things, and the Spirit of God to apply it correctly. So the sword of the Spirit is very important here. It's not our sword as you say. There may be a scripture in First John that might be helpful to consider.
In this connection one John chapter 2 Speaking of the young men, And I might just say, before I read the Scripture, young men or youth in Scripture always speaks to us, or often speaks to us of the energy of the flesh, the natural man. It says in Isaiah 40, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But notice the contrast to that here in first John chapter 2 and verse 14 I have written unto you Father's, because ye have known him, that is from the beginning.
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I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong. But what was the source of their strength? Not natural ability, it says. And the word of God avoideth in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. The word of God had become part of them. It was not only that they knew the word of God in an intellectual way, but they had taken it in it. Abide in abode in them, and that was their source of strength. And that's how they had overcome the wicked one.
Praying. Always.
Praying always. We need to learn how dependent we are.
Reminds you of the 16th Psalm where that blessed man I believe in type uttered those words preserve me of God. Or in yeah, I put my trust. Maybe I'm not quoting that right.
We'll get it right by reading it.
Preserved be, O God, for in thee do I put my trust. Now was that Jesus uttering those words there in type?
The dependent Man.
The Spirit of Christ.
We find him in prayer frequently and he walked through the desert.
I think it's so interesting the way Paul goes on with.
This prayer praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
Walking thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for All Saints and for me, what was he asking for that he could give utterance to the message been given to him? If Paul needed that prayer to give utterance to the gospel, every one of us needs it too.
And then it leads on to prayer for all the Saints.
A largeness of heart.
So they this is an ongoing thing, isn't it?
Ongoing thing all day long, all day long.
We don't need to get down on our knees to pray about a thing. We can't do that. Often times the Lord doesn't expect us.
I remember the story about a man who was in a field and a bull came.
Little fence.
All he could say was Lord, help me and the and the animals veered off and went and went another direction well.
There are little things along in our regular daily life we don't need. We can just look up and ask the Lord to help us give us an answer. We're the we're the gainers. If we take Him into all our circumstances, are we not?
We've often been taught, correctly, that prayer is the expression of our dependence upon God.
And we are often cast upon him because of felt weakness.
And so we can rejoice that God does not despise weakness.
When I am weak, then I am strong. When we consciously feel the necessity of coming to God for strength, he never turns us away. And another wonderful aspect of praying in the Spirit is that God answers because of our opportunity. He does not weary of our coming and coming again. So we are encouraged to pray always and to pray with expectancy watching thereunto. When we ask for various things, then we can can quietly weep on God to see how He's going to bring it about.
Perhaps we might say that it's not only the expression of dependence, but it's really the expression of confidence too. Because when we pray, we're really saying, well, we have no strength for this situation. But we're expressing confidence too, that there's one who is able for the situation, and we need to come in that way. And as our brother has said, the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. And we might say here in our portion, that prayer, as we know, is not part of the armor, one of the pieces of the armor, but it's the spirit and the attitude in which we avail ourselves.
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Armor of God. There has to be the proper attitude. And what is that attitude? It's the spirit of dependence and confidence. But brethren, aren't we all? We often selfish in our prayers? Sometimes we bring before the Lord our own needs, or perhaps the needs of the family circle, and that's right and proper. I don't want to take away from that in any way, but I've been impressed with men of prayer in the scripture how often they prayed for the needs of others. You think of the Apostle Paul, how often he was praying for the brethren.
At times when they were going on, well, I'll just give you a couple of examples. We find in Philippi There was with the Philippian brethren. There was a freshness there, and they were exercised about the Gospel and so on. What did Paul say? Making mention always of you in my prayers when he wrote to the Thessalonians. They were going on in the joy of their new found salvation and the joy of the truth. What did he say? I ceased not to pray for you day and night, Brethren, do we know what it is to persevere in prayer for the Saints of God?
To bring others before the throne of grace, I'm encouraged when I visit in a home, and the man of the house prays after the family reading. And I love to hear those prayers as they reach out beyond the walls of the home, beyond the even the local assembly. And I know brothers who pray diligently and earnestly for the people of God, even at times when they're going on well. Because I suggest that if we use prayer as a preventative measure, it might save us from many things.
I had a sister come to me after a prayer meeting one time, and it was rather a rebuke to my own soul, she said. Jim, why is it when we come to the local assembly prayer meeting, we only hear the names mentioned of those that have specific needs and difficulties, or the names of those who have chosen not to be there for one reason or another?
She said, wouldn't it be well to pray for those who are there to thank the Lord for each one who's there by name, and for the grace that has preserved those individuals? I say, brethren, it might save us from many things. And so when Paul speaks of it here, he says with all perseverance do we know what it is to persevere? I don't mean just to mention in passing the brethren or to just mention the name of a specific assembly. I say this to my own heart. Do I know what it is to persevere in prayer for the people of God?
Brother and I just suggest that it might save us from many things, because prayer is not only the powerhouse of our lives individually, but it's the powerhouse of our lives as families, and it's the powerhouse of our lives collectively, as gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. May we avail ourselves of this wonderful resource that we have that we might be preserved. And if we don't, then we have to face the fact that really, brother, we're fighting for our ecclesiastical lives. We're at the end of a dispensation.
We don't learn how to pray, don't look for things to be preserved. There's many, there's many. God has not given us the time that we have in this country just to to travel the world or to eat at some different restaurant every night. You know, we have a lot of time in this country. We have a lot of time to be on our knees for our brethren and for what's left of the testimony. We must, we must learn how to pray for the people of God.
Sometimes it pays to.
Be prayed up.
I was at the ranch down in Texas 40 years ago approximately and my brother needed to go to the out into the big pasture to get a certain steer that had been contrary and he hadn't been able to work it as he should take it to market and so forth. So he says they let's get on the horses and go out and get that steer, help me get that steer. So I we did. We saddled a couple of horses and I think there were three of us in fact and.
We finally got the stair into the small pasture, and so it was several feet from yards from the gate. And so I got off the horse and closing the gate so he couldn't get back in the big pasture. And suddenly my brother says Dave getting on the horse quick. Well, I didn't have time to get on the horse. The steer was heading straight toward me. I didn't even have to say, Lord, help me.
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6 inches from me.
Horns clipped around, turned to one side, and the Lord turned that stairway, and I only had time to thank the Lord for deliverance. But God is for us.
First, who was Who is? This is in in in Colossians chapter 4 and 12. Epaphras. Who is one of you, a servant of Christ?
Always laboring fervently for you in prayers that ye may stand perfect and complete in all.
The will of God? No. That was a as a lovely commendation. There he had found a service for the Lord, and apparently he was faithful in it, and he was even in prison with the Paul. With Paul we read about him, he's a fellow prisoner. But that didn't the prison didn't keep him from from praying for the brethren. Always.
Laboring fervently for you in prayer, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, and so on.
What's the difference between prayer and supplication? Clem, could you give us a word on that?
Let's try the other clamp.
While I was just thinking that and I here, I I don't know whether this answers that or whether it's the right place to bring it in. I think of the Blessed Lord in the garden at Gethsemane. Oh, there he was, down on his knees, down prostate, on the ground, in prayer. And then it says he prayed more earnestly. He prayed more earnestly.
And that his sweat was as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
So there's there's intensity in prayer too, is there? How about it, Bob?
I think that's what it means too. In that verse, you go to collections 412 laboring fervently in prayer. I mean, it was work. It was work rather than It takes determination to set aside time to get a loan in the presence of God and wrestle and bring these dear brethren and these dear God's dear people before the throne of grace. I think it does include something of more intensity than just simple prayer.
But it is important that supplications is thinking of that story the Lord told. I think it's in the 11Th of Luke of the man who came at night, and that's I think the word opportunity has been used. And I've enjoyed what Mr. Darby's translation uses. Instead of the word importunity it says because of his shamelessness.
He will rise and give him all that he needs, in other words, perseverance.
You might say I go to a person several times and I don't like to keep on bothering him about the same matter. You cannot weary the Lord, You cannot do it because of his shamelessness. He rose and gave him. I thought that was beautiful.
As if there that experience the word the word ask, ask, ask and you shall receive. Well, perhaps you don't get it. Well then.
Press further seek, and ye shall find, and still you may not get it on the knock.
OK, tell me an open idea.
ASK.
We need to be careful we don't come to the Lord and beg him for something that may not be according to his mind.
Now there are some things we pray for, and we ought never to give up because we have a definite scripture for it.
And I believe we will ask.
In we won't ask a miss in the measure in which our thoughts are governed by the word of God and we're walking in communion. And so there are some things. Just as an example, Maybe you've prayed for years for the salvation of a loved one. Don't give up praying for the salvation of that loved one because it's God's will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But maybe there's something we think we want or need in our lives, and it says of the children of Israel, he granted them their requests but sent leanness into their soul.
And so we need to be careful The Lord Jesus as the dependent man, He prayed nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And so when we come, if we've got a definite scripture, then keep on praying, and the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. But let's be careful in those day-to-day requests and needs that we pray according to his will. But I think it's helpful too, to see, brethren, that prayer is more than just making requests. That's part of it, as we've been saying. But if you notice in First Timothy chapter 4 and verse 5, Mr. Darby translates the word prayer as freely addressing God.
01:05:17
Isn't it a wonderful thing, brethren, to come and freely address God? Prayer is speaking to the Lord.
And when Daniel prayed three times a day, I've appreciated a little comment there. In that 6th chapter it says as he did a four time. And I just suggest that Daniel not only prayed when he got into trouble, it's true. When there was a difficulty he knew where to turn. But he didn't pray just when he got into trouble. It was the habit of his life. Even when things were going well, to commune with his God three times a day. I just.
Picture Daniel sometimes going into his room, and maybe there wasn't some special burden or request on his heart at the time, but he communed with his God. And so if you have a friend and you enjoy happy times of fellowship, you say when the trouble comes, I know where to turn. I can go to that friend. You don't mind going to a friend like that because you say we've enjoyed communion and that friend understands me and knows my heart. But brethren, if we if we have a friend and we only go to that friend when we're in trouble.
Pretty soon that friend gets tired of us. They say. Why do you come only when you're in trouble, only when you have a need? Can't we just sit down and enjoy happy times of fellowship together? But then again, if you do enjoy that, then you can turn to that friend. Brethren, if it's the habit of our lives to commune with our God and with our Savior habitually through the day, day after day, in our Christian pathway, then when the trouble comes, we can turn to Him not only in prayer but in supplication, perhaps on behalf of our own need, Perhaps something in the family, perhaps something in amongst the people of God.
And I've enjoyed what it says about epiphrast in the next verse. Our brother dear didn't read it, but he not only prayed for the Saints, that Colossi, which no doubt was his home assembly, but it says there and Heropoulos and Laodicea, his heart went beyond the walls of even of his home assembly. He had the Saints of God in other assemblies on his heart. And so, brethren, let us be in communion ourselves, freely addressing God during the course of the day that when the trouble comes in our own lives or in the lives of others.
Then we can turn to him and I just say get to keep an open line between yourself and the Lord. Don't let something come between. If you have a friend and you have a little disagreement, well, all of a sudden you don't feel free to go to that friend with a problem. But if you are enjoying those that happy communion and nothing has come between, then you can go to that friend. If there's someone here and you've let something come between you and the Lord, some sin, some failure in your life, get before him.
Confess it. Judge it.
And keep that open line. Nehemiah stood in the presence of the king, and he didn't have time like Daniel, to go into his room and make the thing known, or gather his friends together and have a prayer meeting. He had to give an immediate answer. But he was so in communion with his God that it says what the king said. What do you make requests? So I pray to the God of heaven. And I said unto the King between the time the king asked the question and Nehemiah had to give an immediate answer. It was that open line, maybe a swift little prayer. Lord, help me. And the Lord came in and granted him his request, and even more than he asked. And so it says, if any man lack wisdom.
Let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not.
What we had here, this was all perseverance and supplication for All Saints.
I would take in the whole blood box.
Church, would it not?
Nothing. Not just our own little assembly. Thank God if we pray for them, but our hearts would go out to all the Saints of God, wherever they are.
There's a word.
Fearing in prayer. That's been a real help to my soul.
And we have been spoken to as to continuing in asking for that which we know to be the mind of God.
And when we sometimes may not see an answer that.
To a prayer that we know is a correct prayer.
A brother said to me not too many years ago. We have to remember that the last chapter has not been written yet, so we can continue to ask in faith and God in his own time. There's a little line in the preface of Mr. Andrew Miller's 23rd Psalm, a little pamphlet that's been a real encouragement to my soul.
01:10:13
He was referring principally to.
An unbeliever.
For whom prayer had been made, possibly by godly parents.
But I applied it to my own soul and the experience.
And praying for one who has missed the path.
And his brother said in his preface.
The prayer of faith never goes unheeded.
And he said as to this unbeliever and praying for the recovery of one.
In a moment.
A man's entire life comes before him, and the next moment he is the Lord's.
We may pray for a long time for that which we believe is the mind of God and have a word.
From God as to that effect.
But in a moment.
God works in that man's soul, and he is a Newman or a different man.
And I was encouraged to as to praying and waiting.
When?
The Angel appeared to Zacharias Zechariah in the.
Ministration of the temple.
Have you ever noticed what he says? Thy prayer is heard, and thy wife shall have a son. How long have they prayed? They were old, beyond the years of conception normally. But that prayer is heard, and it happened according to the angel's word. So we need to persevere, knowing that we have done the will of God. Then we have patience.
To receive the promise.
It might be good to just have a word on the thought that you brought up there for the clams in Colossians, the Apostle Paul says in a first chapter in the third verse, we give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you since we heard of your fate in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have to all the Saints. And so I think that's a barometer of whether we really are spending any time in the presence of the Lord.
That we have love to all the Saints if we have left out one.
What's on our heart is not what's on God's heart. All the Saints are on God's heart. And so we ought to love all believers, all that are in the family of God. And we will if we have on our heart, which on God's heart. But it doesn't mean that we can walk with them. But we must pray for them and we will love them. The new man loves them and and so we we get into there's a danger.
Of becoming sectarian in our hearts if we don't have.
The whole Church of God on our hearts. So it's I just bring that up because I feel that that's somewhat of a danger that we might fall into and feel that we only should love those that are gathered to the Lords name. That's sectarian the Baptist, love the Baptist, and so on and so forth. But God would have us love all the Saints, have a wide heart large enough to take in all the children of God but feet.
That walk in the narrowest, A narrow path that he's marked out for us. What we confess in the one loaf on the table doesn't I take in all the Saints of God. There were the brother years ago. I remember he was a pastor of a large evangelical church out there in California, and he came to those Thursday morning meetings.
And he got a hold of some truth that he personally wanted that and.
He began bringing it out in his.
And his sermons? Well, there were those in the church there.
They didn't want that. They told him, look, if you're going to, if that's what you're going to preach here, you better start looking for another, another job, another pastor. Well, rather than compromise the truth of God, which you felt it was the truth, he gave it up and went an old brother breath. Way to understand. He went to see him and he said, well, where am I? Where do I go from here?
He saw the all the different divisions among Saints and where do I go from here?
Old brother, Brathwaite said to him. Brother, he said you.
You belong to Christ now. Now your responsibility is to seek to follow him without the camp. And when you have found your place there around himself, you'll find there are others there.
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Perhaps not a great many, but you will find others that are there who are seeking to express faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And love unto all things.
Well.
Happily he was found. The Lord led him.
And he found out that there's a place where the truth is, and there's a place where the truth will put you if you want to give expression to that truth. And so he was, he was happily gathered when all for quite a number of years.
There's a nice illustrator connection with one of the Kings of Israel that confirms what has been said.
We find that with King Hezekiah because Hezekiah came to the throne of Israel at a time when it was divided.
2 tribes were meeting at Jerusalem at the House of God, where he had placed his name.
And 10 tribes were meeting at Dan and Bethel. And when Hezekiah came to the throne, he was thankful that he was there at the House of the Lord at Jerusalem. But in his heart he embraced all the people of God. And so he in his exercise and concern for their blessing, he wrote them those letters, encouraging them to return to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem. We know that the letters, for the most part were laughed and mocked, although there were some who humbled themselves and owned their their failure, and came up to the House of the Lord at Jerusalem.
But I have appreciated the fact that Hezekiah remained faithful. He was thankful to be at Jerusalem, and he remained faithful there, but in his heart he embraced all the people of God and justice. To echo what has been already said in connection with the loaf, it's very good, but there's going to be a loaf on the table tomorrow if we're left here, and it's going to be one loaf. It's not going to be many loaves. It's not going to be crackers. It's going to be one loaf and brethren. I trust that we see in that one loaf represented to us every believer alive on the face of the earth.
No matter how fragmented the testimony has become, God looks down and he says there is one body, It's the testimony to that truth that has failed. There's no ruin in the body itself. The ruin comes in, in connection with the testimony and our responsibility. But I say again, if we do not recognize every believer in that low, then we become narrow and sectarian in our view. It's not just the believers that are gathered there on that occasion.
It's not just the believers who express that truth in a practical way worldwide. But again, every believer on the face of the earth is going to be represented in that loaf on Lords Day morning. May this ever be before our souls, and may we seek to walk in the path of faithfulness of.
To the word of God. But may we in our hearts embrace every St. of God.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.
Prayer is our strength and the Spirit is it not?
As we see in Ephesians chapter 3.
Verse 16.
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. That ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with All Saints what is the breath and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. That she might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask for, think according to the power that worketh in US. Unto him be the glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages.
World without End, All Men. And then in the chapter that our brother mentioned, the Wall of Golden Colossians, Chapter one going a little farther down.
Verse 9 The apostle tells us here for this 'cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that she might be filled with the knowledge of his will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing. Being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthens with almight according to his glorious power, and to all patience and long-suffering.
With joyfulness.
Giving thanks unto the Father which has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in life. So we go back to our statement Here. Prayer is our strength and the Spirit.
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It's nice too, because we have not really commented too much as prayer in the Spirit, but the Spirit joins himself to our infirmities and makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered according to the will of God.
So it is really the spirit of God joining in our weakness in our prayers that lends weight to those prayers, isn't it?
79 in the back of the book.
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Right. So how are you?
Still ignoring.
Strong.
Transport good here.
Awkwardly. Well.
No way to ask.
The dread No, I can't.
Oh.
Really well.
I didn't call.
Daniel Man Greatly Beloved
Address—D. Bilisoly
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.
In our meeting this afternoon by singing 197.
100 I beg your pardon, 179.
Brightness of the eternal glory shall thy praise an uttered lie. Who would hush the heaven sent story of the Lamb who came to die came from Godhead's fullest glory down to Calvary's depth of wool. Now on high we bow before thee streams of praises, ceaseless flow sing. His blessed triumphant rising. Sing.
Him on the Father's throne sing till heaven and earth surprising.
Reigns the Nazarene alone. Some others start that force, please.
Now let's ask God's help. Let's turn to the book of Daniel.
Daniel, Chapter 9.
And verse 23.
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee.
For thou art greatly, beloved.
Therefore, understand the matter and consider the vision.
Now you know this is a unique statement in Scripture, a man greatly beloved.
Three times that was said about Daniel.
I believe it was developed through the years but.
We see to what extent the exercise of that dear man.
Reached in this 9th chapter especially.
Now, of course, all the Lord's people are beloved. You know the Lord Jesus as your savior, your beloved of him, and scripture is very clear over that.
But of course, we know there's one that even exceeds Daniel.
And that is his beloved Son. We think of those the heaven opening there, and Matthew 3 and that voice from the open heaven. That said, this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased.
Then we were just discussing or someone mentioned this afternoon.
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How that there at the mount of transfiguration?
What a privilege to consider that the Disciples had such a preview of the Kingdom.
And their hearts were so much upon the Kingdom. And what a privilege to have.
A little foretaste, a little preview of that Kingdom when they saw the Lord Transfigured.
And his garments were white and glittering. And there was Moses and Elijah.
And they communicated. They spoke together on those things concerning his decease which he would accomplish at Jerusalem. What an amazing thing, I believe, that tells us that everything depended upon the cross of Calvary, the blessing of all ages from ages past and even the future to come. As far as God's purposes on this earth are concerned, everything depended upon Calvary's cross. We can't make too much of the cross.
Can we, beloved brother? It's the center of two eternities. We'll never weary of the subject. When we get home to glory, we'll rejoice, and we'll revel in that great victory at Calvary's cross, that which transpired in three hours. Abundant witness. Can we take it in? How could it possibly be? But with God all things are possible. He compressed, as it were, the sins of all those believers in that three hours of darkness. And the Lord sustained it and all the wrath and the judgment. And he said it is finished.
So, dear ones, here we have to deal with the beloved one. Indeed, we are accepted in the beloved.
But you know, as you read a statement like this.
This is a remarkable thing, that we have a man three times over spoken to as being greatly beloved.
Well, you know, it didn't just happen overnight. It wasn't just a matter of.
Someone experience as it were, but I believe it is a development of things and that's really what I had on my heart this afternoon was just to look a little bit in the book of Daniel and look at the person and see perhaps if we can trace out a little bit of the development of that quality. I trust that it might be of some benefit and.
Of course, the circumstances we have to consider.
We can hardly get into prophetic things. I don't have the ability to do it, but if we should happen to touch on a thing or two and their questions are raised, we might just kind of turn it over to our students of prophecy.
But should we not have an outline of these things?
Peter told us. He says you have a more sure word of prophecy where until you do well to take heed as the light that shines in a dark place.
Until the daystar of the morning star arise in our hearts. So the Lord's coming held in the affections, is the brightest light to our hearts. But let's not neglect the prophetic word, because the Lord has been pleased to allow us to see things in a stage setting way that are astounding. We must be on the very brink of His coming. Why are we still here, I'm sure.
Many that have enjoyed and looked into these things raised that question again and again. Why are we still here?
And so we want to try and keep simple about these things. But I might just suggest this to you. Many of you know these things already. And that is the book of Daniel is a very unusual book of 12 Chapters. And you can just take the book of Daniel and you can just divide it right down the center.
In the first six chapters, you know, give us well, first of all, I better say this that.
It commences the times of the Gentiles.
And just think of the situation that Daniel came out of because he was part of that captivity of Jehovah. How about Jehovah? Well, we get a little insight into that. The contempt of that man, how he had no regard for the word of God. Indeed, contempt for the word of God and as Baruch or as the Servant came and read the Scripture, read the message.
From the Lord by the hand of Jeremiah.
King Jehokam was sitting in front of a winter fire in his palace.
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And he took a penknife, and each, as each part of the roll was read, he took it.
Cut it off and threw it in the fire and cut it off and threw it in the fire.
Till the whole thing was gone. And yet there was number, fear, and you know, the influence of a king or a person in high rank. The influence they have on their subjects is appalling because his servants followed suit with him and there was No Fear. They had No Fear of what they were doing, the seriousness, as it were, cutting up and burning the word of God.
Could they destroy it?
You know the answer. Remember what happened?
Jeremiah, by the word of God, penned those words all over again.
We can't destroy the Word of God. Thy word, O Lord, forever is settled in heaven.
Can't change it. But God added more words to it. And yet those men.
What was their outcome? Destruction. It all came to pass according to God's precious word.
So patient was he to give them opportunity. We were just talking the other day. How many times was it that the?
Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem before God allowed them to actually just take it over and destroy it three times. Isn't that a patient God? Isn't that a gracious God till there was no remedy? It says in the end of chronicles. And so he had to allow the Babylonians to come and take it away. That's what really distresses havoc, you know, because he sees a people far more wicked than Israel overwhelming their land and taking them into captivity.
But God had to do it. He had to allow it.
So here's Daniel in that all that situation. Here's Daniel as a young man. A tender young man.
And I, as I lookout here, I see some very young in the faith, perhaps, and some young men and young women. And we don't want to just limit, as it were, our thoughts to the young men. Certainly there is that for the hearts of the dear young sisters, and certainly the word of God gives full consideration of that. I love the book of Ruth in that respect, you know, because it shows what the grace of God can do, as well as other passages.
We've often mentioned this. You know, we've talked a little about Islam and the awfulness of it.
And you get into real, fundamental Islam, and they put the woman down South. It's pitiful and tragic and so dishonor her, as it were. But really, Judaism elevated the woman in Christianity even more so in her place. So we see that God esteems A godly sister, a godly brother. But here Daniel was thrown into all of this as a very young person.
But now wait a minute. I really did want to consider another thing before we go.
And consider Daniel a little more closely.
We already made mention of the beloved 1 outstanding. This is my beloved son.
I believe there's at least seven or more references, indirect or direct, of the Lord Jesus in the book of Daniel. Shall we just take a quick glance at it? Turn to Daniel chapter 2.
If we have the time, we might tie this in a little more with Daniel's experiences.
But I'll just touch on it right now and you can think about it for yourself.
In Daniel chapter 2.
And verse 33.
Verse 34.
Thou sawest.
Till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image on his feet that were of iron and clay and break them in pieces. Amazing statement, a stone.
Was cut out without hands. That's all supernatural, but it shows us not the work of man. It's entirely of God. Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious the stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner.
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Well, that's an amazing subject and let me just say this in connection with all these references.
Or indications, directly or indirectly, of the Lord Jesus. They all, as it were, head on toward the Kingdom. You know, really beloved brethren, we do long for the rapture, of course. We we're so anxious to have the Lord come and to take us, to be with himself, And I trust that we're really both watching as well as waiting. But the Lord God takes note.
If we really love his appearing, do you know what I mean?
Do we love the thought that the Lord Jesus will have that most exalted place?
In that coming day.
Does that warm our hearts to think that he will?
Put down all opposition to the glory of God. He will put down everything that stands in opposition to his glorious Kingdom.
And the book of Daniel looks on to that time. And you know, there's an interesting thing here.
I better say it while I'm thinking about it.
That about half of the Book of Daniel originally was written in Syriac instead of Hebrew.
You say Why? Well, I'll tell you a thought that comes before me. See, it begins in chapter 2 and verse 4 where it says then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac and said, O king, live forever.
And this goes on all through Chapter 7. Why is it?
I'll just suggest this to you.
Why did they switch over to Syriac here from whatever language they ordinarily were speaking? I'm not just quite sure. Airmaker something.
But this apparently was the sacred language, and I believe they wanted to gain more of their point with the king, but he didn't buy it. But my the thought that comes before me is this.
That these wise men of Babylon employed this sacred language.
Perhaps to carry more weight with the king.
But it seems to me as though God says, OK, we'll go on right through with this language.
Until we get the full exultation of my beloved Son in their sacred language.
Astounding. I don't know any other reason for it. There might be maybe some of our prophetic students can help us, but isn't that an unusual thing to consider? There is maybe a place or two elsewhere where we have that in the Old Testament, but not like this. This employs nearly 7 chapters complete, or 6 chapters from chapter 24 clear on through 7.
And if you carefully read the close of Chapter 7, you see it is the exultation of his beloved son. But let's get these points while we're thinking about this and see if we can pick this up.
I believe the other place is over here in chapter 3.
And verse 25.
The form of the 4th is like the Son of God.
Now actually what Nebuchadnezzar was saying is that.
This must be one of the sons of the gods, you know this. Maybe even an angelic person or something of that sort.
But the truth of the matter is, it was the Son of God.
Do we have any question or doubt about that?
Oh, we do not.
Now, you know, in focusing upon Daniel, I know what you're thinking. You're saying why was Daniel not cast into the fiery furnace? Well, all I can say to you is that they didn't catch up with him.
They just didn't catch up with him. Certainly he would have been there, but his three friends were the ones that got caught.
As it were. But this is beautiful in itself, because even though he was influencing them for good, and he was, as it were, more or less the spokesman of these four godly young men, they were not just riding on his faith. You know, we had a lot before us this afternoon or this morning in regard to faith. They were not just coasting on Daniel's faith. They knew where they stood.
00:20:06
They had convictions of their own. Do you have convictions of your own or you just?
As it were. Depending upon the faith of someone else, it won't get you by.
It won't hold up in the real time of testing. Oh dear ones here.
What a marvelous, What a wonderful thing to have convictions of your own.
Well, let's trace on here a little bit and.
Well, let's see. Maybe it's over towards seven, yeah.
Chapter 7.
This is a very important subject, you know. It has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven.
Well, there it is. We have the Son of Man brought into question here. That's a subject in itself. How much should I say about it Now? You know, he was rejected as the Son of Man, and so it is as the Son of Man that he will take the Kingdom and he'll put down all opposition to his Kingdom.
Now we see that we come to another thought here in verse 13 and also over in verse 22.
Until the ancient of days came, and the judgment was given unto the Saints of the Most High.
And the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom.
Now the ancient of days here.
Is it perhaps one and the same?
I believe it may be a little bit like Revelation Chapter 5 where the Lamb you remember.
Goes and receives the title deed to the earth from the one that sat on the throne. Well, it's mysterious, it's mysterious, but I do believe the Lord Jesus indeed is the ancient of days. Likewise one other place here.
And that's over in chapter 10.
Now if I've missed any.
No, I have missed something. We'll have to hold off here. I went too fast. Let's go to Chapter 9.
This is too important to miss, and that's verse 25.
Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince.
Shall be 7 weeks and three score and two weeks and so forth.
Now we've got Messiah, the Prince in question here.
And also he's the Prince of the host.
That is so clear, That is so unequivocal. Who else is Messiah? The Prince? It's our Lord Jesus Christ, very clearly. And here as we read on, we see that the Messiah shall be cut off. Verse 26.
And shall have nothing. This is very important to consider because.
He was cut off before he could receive his Kingdom.
He had full right and title, even his last entry into Jerusalem. You remember Hosanna?
And they they sang, and they give glory to him that cometh in the name of the Lord. And then they crucified Him. He was cut off so that he didn't have, as it were, his Kingdom. He will have it. Oh, that's a marvelous thought in itself. But now, Chapter 10, I believe this may be the last reference.
If we've overlooked any.
Please let me know afterwards.
Verse 5.
Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Euphaz and so forth. And as we read on and read on, we see that we have a description very much like Revelation chapter one.
Why would we have the Lord Jesus described in this way in a way that is very solemn?
00:25:06
In a, shall we say a judicial way?
Well, it's because.
That when he does come and take his Kingdom, of course all of these opposing powers will be put down. But you know, it's very solemn to consider him in his appearance in Revelation Chapter One in a similar way.
It's very solemn to see him viewed there because he's in the midst of the candlesticks. That is, he is reviewing the state of the church here in this world, and he's seen in the very same way.
That Daniel viewed him here in this 10th chapter.
Well, anyway, let's back up now. Back way up to the first chapter again of Daniel.
Let's take a little closer look, I trust.
At Daniel's experience.
You know the story well enough.
Here are these young men and they're just, shall I say, children. I doubt if they were very old at all.
Very young persons. And here they were linked with royalty, so they must have known some of the comforts of the court there in Jerusalem and what have you. And here all of a sudden they're wrenched out of their homes and out of their environment, they're forced off into.
A foreign place. Do you ever try and put yourself into these circumstances when you read the Bible? Dear ones, I hope we all do. Privately. Do you think about it and consider what would I do in such circumstances? What would I do to be suddenly put into such a foreign situation? Have you not walked into a situation sometime that was so strange and different to you that you just felt intimidated? I have.
But just think that he had no choice about it. He was a captive. He was forced to come to that land of a people of different tongue.
And a people that were absolutely steeped in idolatry, I should just mention this now.
And that is, as I already said, the book of Daniel is divided right in the center.
The first six chapters have to do with the conduct and the character.
Of these gentile empires while Israel is.
Set aside, you might just say this, that God is at work, transferred his throne from Israel and established it with the Gentiles and with this very first leader, Nebuchadnezzar.
He made him the head of gold, and he put under his.
Authority. The beasts of the fields of the field and the birds, the foul of the air, but not the fish of the sea. He was reserving that for the son of man. Psalm 8.
But he gave Nebuchadnezzar amazing power and authority. And so here's these young men, young children, as it were, and they're thrust out of their land, they're brought into this strange land, and here they're surrounded by idolatry.
What would you do?
And they knew that this King's provision, because it was the idea of the king, of course, to nourish them up and to use them for his own advantage, to please himself. And this is the way the world ever works, you know. They want to get all the fruit and the advantage of the believer. And so we see that Daniel purposed in his heart verse 8. That's the first thing I want to consider.
I can remember.
At the time I was first saved.
I was talking to a brother.
And we were remarking about the energies and the interests of some other young people. And he said, well, they'll be kept if there is purpose of heart, you know, I pondered that remark.
Purpose of heart.
And I thought, do I have purpose of heart?
Do you have a purpose of heart? I believe that Daniel learned the fear of God much before this time. Whatever age he was at this point, he learned the fear of God. But he knew that all of these things were so connected with idolatry, and so he purposed in his heart. If the Lord gives us grace and courage to give him the 1St place and to purpose in our heart, and I believe purpose of heart can be developed.
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The more we continue on with the Lord, the more His precious word is given that place.
Of authority in our hearts, it will form and develop more definite purpose.
Of heart. And so we see that what a request to make Put yourself in this situation, they easily could have said.
We're here against our will. We're captives. If we resist this power, it'll go bad for us. They could have made every legitimate excuse why they they couldn't abstain from this. But see, the Lord was with them and working things out in their behalf. And so he moved the heart.
Of those that were put in trust over them and they granted them this pulse, whatever it was. It may have just been vegetables or something, I don't know. I'm inclined to think that that king had a pretty well balanced diet, but whatever the case was.
The men over them, the chief of the eunuchs, and all he.
He was afraid for their help. Well, we see how God took care of them, and we see that the fear of God with these young men put them in a good position. God was able to work things out in verse 17. As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Well, I believe that God was with those dear young men in their faithfulness.
And I might just add this too that you'll notice that.
Everything was geared to bring them into this idolatrous environment, to affect their minds and make them more subject to this whole idolatrous environment. Even the changing of their names. They were given names that had idolatrous connections. But now you'll notice this that perhaps the faith of Daniel's three friends were not quite the same as his. I don't know. Or their exercise perhaps did not go quite to the same extent as Daniel because.
There doesn't seem to be the same effort on their part to retain their original names that had God attached to them. But Daniel. Daniel all but outright refused this name that was put upon him, and we see that many times over. Even the Kings referred to him as Daniel. Isn't that lovely? I appreciate those things to see that.
But anyway, here we see that God allows a very testing thing in chapter 2.
Here we see that the king has a dream and he can't even remember the dream.
He can't even remember what he dreamt. Have you ever had that experience where he woke up and you say it was an awful dream, but I can't remember what I dreamt.
Let alone the interpretation of it. And God allowed this to happen.
And so here the king calls in all of these wise men of Egypt and.
Of course they wanted the king to tell what the dream was so they could give the interpretation thereof.
But apparently the king was losing some confidence in these wise men and he became irritated immediately. And as we read the account, we see that Nebuchadnezzar was an absolute monarch. He had everything his way.
When you get into the other realm, the Medes and the Persians, they have laws that altered not.
In other words, the king couldn't even alter his own law.
But with Nebuchadnezzar, he was an absolute monarch. And so God allowed this, this way. And here's a decree to put to death all the wise men of Egypt, and they searched out Daniel in his three friends, verse 14.
Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom.
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Well, you can see a quality developing here. I don't know how old he was, but we're told that he had some wise counsel. We're told that he had some wisdom and already he's being he's respected.
And so.
He's able to convince the king to delay. He goes into the king. He seems to have access here in verse 16, verse 17.
And the king gives him time.
Then what does Daniel do? Verse 17. He recognized the need of his brethren.
I believe all of these things should be very.
Suggestive to our hearts and should encourage us and exercise us.
To realize how much we need our brethren.
How limited was his fellowship? Just think of where he lived in the condition of things.
Where else could he go? But here he had those that were, like, minded. Isn't that lovely? How merciful of the Lord to grant that these four would have each other. Oh, I trust that we value our brethren. You know, the local assembly may be rather small, but we need each other, brethren. We really do. And it seems like the Lord has permitted us to be reduced to a large extent. We're seeing fewer numbers among many, many of the assemblies as we travel around.
And I think in some ways it helps us to value more our local brethren. It's good if we have a rapport with our local brethren. And do we pray for our local brethren at least every day? Of course our prayers should reach farther as much as possible. But how nice it is if we can mention by name all our local brethren. Do we do that daily? That's quite an exercise, isn't it? But it's a good thing.
He valued his brethren and the Lord.
Granted an answer to their.
Collective prayer over this matter and when the answer is given.
In verse 19, Daniel does not hesitate immediately to give.
God the Glory.
Oh, he's so quick, so ready to recognize the source of this revelation. We were told earlier that he had the ability to understand visions and dreams, as it said in chapter One, verse 17.
But this is the source, and he he does not neglect to acknowledge it, and he does not neglect to thank God.
In verse 23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my Father's, who hath given me wisdom, and might, and hast made known unto me. Now what we desire of thee, for thou hast made known unto us the King's matter. Now you might say, Well here Daniel and his three friends have this brought before him, because of their dependence and trust in the Lord. And you would have expected, perhaps he would have rushed right in.
And have given the interpretation.
But I do believe we discover another quality of Daniel here in verse 24.
And that is, he says, destroy not the wise men of Babylon. Oh, there's compassion with Daniel. Two. These wise men were corrupted and idolatrous. They were steeped in the occult, and Daniel could have said, oh, they're just a bunch of pagans anyway, let be what may happen to them. But no, we see compassion with Daniel. Isn't it lovely to see such a spirit of things? No wonder later on we read.
That he had an excellent spirit. Now, you know, that didn't come about overnight. That was a developed thing.
Somebody once remarked, How can we be a gracious old man or a gracious old lady if we weren't that way in our youth? You know, these things follow us all the way, don't they?
And this excellent spirit that we read of later in Daniel came about as a result of a developed thing. Lovely to see this. Another thing to consider here in this chapter, verse 30. And that is humility with Daniel. He was not seeking honor and credit. But As for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom.
That I have more than any living but for their sakes or the marginal reading is probably clear. Or but for the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, I believe that's the better rendering of it.
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He fully credits the Lord in all of this matter. He doesn't.
Take, as it were, the credit for himself.
Beautiful to see that, that spirit of things. Now in verse 49 of this second chapter, we see that Daniel does not want to share, as it were, all the glory of what occurred.
Here again, he draws his friends into it, and.
They had places of responsibility in the Kingdom, but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. Now, you know, I thought this over and considered that we see all of this quality developed with Daniel. We see the Lords words of recognition and honor to Daniel. And bear in mind that Daniel was not, as it were, an active prophet circulating as it were among the people. Oh no.
Now do you realize that he was carrying on a full time job all the way through?
And you can't help but notice this, that he always seems to drop in the background and when a crisis arises they go to search him out.
You say, how is that? It's because he did not make an effort to retain?
His position?
And there were others that were more clever. We used to call them at work opportunists that would seek Ways and Means to get ahead of the pack, and they would look for the better jobs and the better places any way that they could get them. I know, you know, many of you know exactly what I'm talking about, and you perhaps have experienced some of these same things in your employment. But Daniel made no effort to retain his positions. Whatever the case may be, he just went on faithfully.
And diligently in his work, he was number slacker. He had the King's business to do and as we read later on.
And he's no shirker or slacker. And all of this is so much to his credit. What a lesson we can learn. We'll not have the time to even get into this. But look and read for yourself and consider this the setting of this whole thing that he was carrying on a steady job day after day. And we read of these events as though they happened one after another. No, they did not. When Daniel was thrown in the lion's den, was he a young man? No, he wasn't. He was an old man, most likely.
And as time went on, he was too old, perhaps even to come down to Jerusalem.
When the opportunity was there to come down, was he indifferent to what was?
Occurring there in Jerusalem, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Not one bit. Of course he may have passed on by the days of Nehemiah, but I'm thinking of the days of Ezra. No, even in the the third year after the proclamation for them to go back and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, he was there in the land of the Chaldeans laboring.
And burden about that people. Oh, what a man of God he was.
Anyway, at the last chapter 4.
Here again is another another point.
And that is in verse 8.
Here again, Daniel came in last. He didn't just push himself ahead. Don't you see the spirit of that man?
He finally comes in, and he's the only one that has the answer.
And when Nebuchadnezzar wants this interpretation of this dream.
In verse 19.
It says then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for one hour and his thoughts troubled him.
The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof trouble thee.
Belteshazzar answered and said, My Lord, the dream be to them that hate thee.
And to the interpretation thereof, To thine enemies. Now, brethren, you know.
00:45:01
I see in Daniel.
A real feeling of deep concern and sorrow, perhaps.
Over what is interpreted here, he's astonished for one hour.
Why did this bother Daniel so much that this King Nebuchadnezzar was going to lose his reason and be driven out of the Kingdom? I have no doubt that Daniel was exceedingly concerned how it may affect his people.
And he felt these things. Oh, brethren, you know, we shouldn't be indifferent to what occurs. I can remember when Theodore Roosevelt died. I can remember my parents weeping over the loss of that president.
And I can remember weeping, too, when Kennedy was assassinated. You know, these things are shocking, and we can be extremely thankful for stable government. Scripture encourages us to pray for those in authority, and I must confess that I often neglect to do so. But I'm sure if we felt things, as they feel in some lands in China and other places, we may pray more for those in authority.
But Daniel was troubled over this situation. He didn't know, I suppose, what may occur in the Kingdom, what may happen.
With this King put down. God had to allow this, of course to happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. He had to learn.
His condition And you know, when we talk about the character and conduct of these gentile monarchs while Israel is set aside, you can sum it up at almost with one word. They became beasts. They became just like animals. And here we have the picture of it and we see it in the first six chapters. How idolatry permeated the Kingdom and self esteem was very evident.
And the refusal to respect the consciences of others, You have all of this considered in the character and conduct of these monarchs. But you know, even King Nebuchadnezzar was given space to repent. Our God is so gracious. Thou seest Ahab, how he humbled himself. You know God.
Is so ready to withhold the judgment. And he gave King Nebuchadnezzar 12 months, a solid year to repent of his pride, he says. But in the end of that time he says, is this not great Babylon which I have built for the House of my Kingdom and by the might of my power, and for the glory of my majesty, and all of a sudden his he lost his reason, and he was driven out like a beast.
Well, a very solemn thing to consider, but Daniel took no pleasure in what happened to that powerful monarch in that way. Rather, he was troubled and astonished.
Chapter 5 just a little in.
In regard to.
Daniel's obscureness.
Not seeking a place in the Kingdom, verse 10. Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his Lords, came unto the banquet house. And the queen spake, and said, O king, live forever. Let not thy thoughts troubling, nor let thy countenance be changed. There is a man in thy Kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.
And so forth and so forth. Well, you know, when Daniel appears before this king Belteshazzar, he does not give him the respect as he did Nebuchadnezzar, his grandfather. Why? Because this man was absolutely profane. He had contempt for God and the things of God, and Daniel is a faithful witness and lays it right before him.
Chapter 6.
Now Darius is a man, is an honorable man.
But Darius got trapped into this self esteem movement.
That they were not to request make a request of any God but of him.
For this length of time.
And.
So we see that the whole objective was to get Daniel. You see in verse three it says.
Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and Princess, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Well, watch out, watch out. The enemy is ever ready to get at 1:00, so faithful as that. And so they tried to lay a trap, as we see for Daniel, but in verse four consider now This I believe has to do with his work habits, with his duties in the Kingdom.
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And it says, for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. He was not purloining from the king. He was not.
Juggling the books. He was not trying to Curry favor and do things.
To gain advantage in the Kingdom, he was just doing his job as faithfully unto the Lord, whatsoever thou doest, do heartily unto the Lord.
And not unto men. Oh, there's much for our conscience, beloved brethren, in all these things that we're reading of here. They couldn't find a thing to lay a charge on him, and so they the only way they could trap him was concerning his religion.
And what was this? Simply that he prayed and gave thanks before his God.
Three times a day.
I'll just ask a question here.
Don't answer me, answer yourself.
How many of us here get on our knees every day, three times a day?
I really believe that Daniel, in all the circumstances and all the environment.
Of that Pagan situation and all that idolatry, he keenly felt his need of strength day by day. Three times a day, I suppose, even through the day's business, he would feel the pressure of it in his soul, and he would be glad to get home at lunchtime and get on his knees. Oh, brethren, is that not a voice to our conscience? And so this was a practice with Daniel. It was not an act of bravado.
It was a practice. If you have a practice like this, do I have a practice like this?
As he did a four time, why should he change his customary thing? This was his strength. This was what sustained him.
Well, we're missing on some very important things, but over here in Chapter 9, we must just take a quick glance at this.
And that is.
Verse two of Chapter 9. And by the way, this is in the first year of Darius.
We see there's a change in the Kingdom.
In the first year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books the number of years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolation of Jerusalem. And I set my face under the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
Daniel read his Bible. Can I put it that way? I believe he was doing it all the time.
His reading was very timely on this occasion.
Because here in reading the book of Jeremiah, all of a sudden he came upon this passage that said 70 years were determined in the desolation of Jerusalem, and I can just picture a thrill that went over Daniel.
He put it all together and said we're at this point, so we know Daniel had to be of quite an age at this point.
He put it together and he said this is it. Oh beloved brethren, you know, this prayer of Daniel Chapter 9 is absolutely sublime.
We know the prayer of John 17 is so majestic.
But for a man of like passion, this is astounding to see the spirit.
Of that man and as we already had remarked in the meetings.
He makes the sin of the people his own. That's his first confession. You know, fasting would be self denial, sackcloth would be humility, and ashes would be nothing. So you can see the spirit of that dear man of God. He's into the word of God. He's got understanding now, and God has opened his understanding. And so we see that he gets right on his knees. And God is pleased to give us this prayer in detail.
And he recognizes what is due to God. He honors God in all that God has done against that people, the necessity of it. And he includes himself. And he recognizes the righteousness of God in what happened. I think he uses that word righteousness three or four times.
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Verse 16 for example. But finally he makes supplication. He reaches the point where he begins to make supplication.
And he's heard. And this, I believe.
Is what finally brings us to this expression.
Old man greatly a man greatly beloved in chapter 10 three times.
He's referred to in that way and you understand that.
When the answer comes.
It has a far greater answer than his immediate thought.
It goes on into future events as we well know, bringing us to the last week of Daniel 70s weeks.
Anyway.
I might just say this in closing that you have the words of the Angel here in chapter 10 and Chapter 11. And as we've had in the meetings, you'll see by the things said to Daniel that there is indeed a spiritual conflict there. There are principalities and powers against God and on God's part, and there are conflicts that we have no idea of. And we see how Michael is a faithful guardian Prince.
Of the children of Israel is very active in their behalf and whoever the Angel was, perhaps Gabriel that came to speak to Daniel, he was supportive in all this matter. We have no idea what's going on, but the day is coming like we've had referred to in the meetings when Satan will be cast out of heaven in Revelation 12 and then he will know that his time is short, he will have lost his place in an anti priestly character as the accuser of the brethren.
And so he'll accelerate in the character of the false king and the false prophet.
Horrible to consider all that, but those times are coming upon this poor world. But may we, by the grace of God, beloved brethren, both brothers and sisters, follow the example of that dear man of God, even though we're thrown into a world that's an evil day.
But still, this is where we are right now. Are we going to continue to glorify him while we're here? May the Lord give us grace to consider ever His glory. Shall we pray, Blessed God and Father, We do thank thee for the examples of the.
Gospel
Gospel—D. Nicolet
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Let's open our hem sheets to him #12.
Hymn #12.
Just as I am.
Don't know how you've come into this room tonight, God knows.
I could.
Make a pretty good guess in many cases.
Many of you have come in here as I have, by the grace of God, knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior sins washed away in His precious blood.
But I don't know if all of you are in that condition.
And but this hymn tells the truth, just as I am. Whatever condition you're in tonight, right now, here you are, as fit as you need to be to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. You are in the only condition you need to be in tonight if you do not know him a Sinner.
To receive the Lord Jesus, to receive eternal life, just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidst me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. Let's sing the 1St, the 3rd, and the 5th verse of hymn #12.
Just as I am.
Your personal savior.
It's time to put aside all pretensions and thoughts.
Feelings that you have and recognize that those 3 words, poor, wretched, blind are God's estimation of your condition as lost in sin before him tonight. And if you'll recognize that.
Simply accept that that is a true representation, a true characterization of your condition before God as a Sinner.
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Then cite richest healing are yours. This afternoon our brother Ruhl spoke about the eyes. There was one in the word of God who was born blind.
He had to do with the Lord Jesus. He didn't know much about him.
In fact, he couldn't even tell some who were asking who he was, But he knew one thing.
Whereas I was blind, now I see.
That's the site tonight. We trust and pray every soul in this room who can understand what's being said.
Will leave with.
Now I see.
Let's pray our God.
I have two verses to begin with tonight.
That are on my heart.
Both very well known.
The first in the Gospel of John.
The.
10th chapter.
John, Chapter 10.
And I'm going to read the 1St 3 verses of verse seven and then part of verse 10.
Then said Jesus.
I am.
That they might have life.
And that they might have it more abundantly.
Now I'd like to turn to the Old Testament, to the book of Nehemiah.
Chapter One.
No, I'm sorry. It's Chapter 2.
Nehemiah, chapter 2.
And verse 10.
When Sanballat the Horror Night and Tobiah the Servant the Ammonite.
Heard of it? It grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man.
To seek the welfare.
Of the children of Israel.
It grieved them exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare.
Of the children of Israel. You know, this afternoon we had some very, very wonderful ministry.
Practically practical ministry on Ephesians of the armor.
And there was a comment about the evil day.
I would suggest to your heart tonight, dear friend, that at least in the context of our gospel meeting, the evil day is the day in which there are those who, or I should say particularly that enemy who is grieved that one is seeking your eternal welfare.
That is, to me, the best description I can think of of an evil day. One is here tonight, an enemy of your soul.
Who is grieved that there has come into this world?
God manifest in the flesh the eternal Son of God.
That blessed one whoever dwelt in past eternity in the bosom of the Father.
Laid aside, hid that Glory was born a babe in Bethlehem's Manger.
Perfect man, very God. And with one specific object, I say reverently to his heart, And that is your welfare, you sitting here tonight?
He has come with your welfare on his heart. He has come that you might have life.
And that you might have it more abundantly, The very thing that this world tonight so desperately seeks for knowing it can't have it.
00:10:01
Knowing it can't prolong it in a madding rush to either seek to prolong it a few years or to forget that it's going to end so quickly.
In a rush of indescribable.
Attempts at finding pleasure.
Into that world that very well is aware that there's no such thing as life that goes on.
There's one come to give a gift of the very thing that men most desperately seek and apart from faith in God, can never have.
And it's for you tonight, dear friend. He's come, the Lord Jesus Christ has come, that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly.
But what I have, especially on my heart.
Is that there is one who is grieved.
And doing everything he can tonight to see to it that either.
That seed of the gospel which could sprout into eternal life if there's faith, a work of the Spirit of God, in your heart by faith.
That that seed could spring into eternal life, will do everything he can to ****** that seed away. Or perhaps, and I have to say, I have this very much on my heart tonight.
That there may be sitting in this room.
Young people who have heard this message, and they have heard it proclaimed far more clearly.
And far more eloquently than you'll hear it proclaimed tonight.
And yet are sitting there with no movement in your heart at all.
I'm not here to judge, nor can anyone else whether there is really life in your heart.
But, dear friends, dear young person, if there is no stirring at all in your heart to hear that the Creator of this universe took upon himself to become a man.
Came into this world and went to a cross, and there willingly offered his life the most horrible, ignominious death imaginable.
And he did that for you, if knowing that tonight, if having this book, this precious, divine, inspired word of God.
Which clearly proclaims that wonderful account and reality and truth, if hearing that and knowing that stirs nothing in your soul.
I don't care how many times you've said in a Gospel meeting how many verses from the Bible you know, how many young people's meetings you've attended or who your parents are.
You do well to be very concerned if knowing that the Lord of glory, the Creator of this universe.
Has given his life knowing all about you.
From past eternity, and was still willing, knowing everything about you, Every thought you'd ever think, everything you'd ever do.
And still from past eternity.
Came.
For you. And that stirs nothing in your soul. And you sit here absolutely cold, beloved young people, I beg you.
Find out before God why that is.
I recently heard.
And this account will open what we're going to look at in the first.
Chapter or so of the book of Nehemiah.
An account of a United States champion figure skater.
Who would be competing in the Olympics?
Perhaps we'll be competing in the Olympics. I don't know this individual's name.
But the account goes that this individual who had to, as I think we all could understand, spend quite some time training intensely for the kind of competition that they were going to face, was having a real difficulty getting up at 5:00 every morning to begin that training routine. And it was quite a concern, too, that figure skater's coach.
00:15:18
That they were having difficulty at 5:00 rousing up and beginning their training.
And evidently this went on for some time until a coach found a remedy.
The remedy was that he placed by the Figure skaters bedroom clock. A photograph.
Of the Russian Olympic world figure skating champion.
And underneath that picture these words were written.
Comrade.
While you were sleeping, I was training.
Are you sleeping tonight?
Does the world put you to sleep? There is something far more valuable, infinitely more valuable at stake tonight than a gold medal and a few years of prestige in this world. What's at stake tonight is your never dying soul.
And while you're sleeping, nothing's stirring in your heart. No concern, no care.
For what God would have to say to you, someone I say, is very, very active.
And they're very, very grieved.
That tonight you're hearing, though it's spoken feebly, the truth of the word of God, that the Lord Jesus Christ loves you and died on the cross for you His blood has been shed, that blood so infinitely valuable before God.
That it can wash away every stain of sin. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Are you sleeping tonight? I want to tell you there's someone else, a very real individual, who isn't.
And I trust that the Spirit of God will wake you up.
Beloved young people.
To realize that we're talking.
Tonight about life and death issues.
You know.
Sometimes I go with my wife to a store.
Yet we go through the checkout line and there are all sorts of publications with big headlines. It's pretty difficult to even get through those lines without reading some of those headlines.
It's really been amazing to me the last.
Just a couple of months.
Names that though I don't really know much about them, I can remember hearing.
From the time I was in junior high and high school as those who were looked up to as entertainers of this world and they were very popular and they were what are called beautiful people.
And they were very well thought of, and they were very highly paid, and they lived a very, very evidently glamorous life. And those names were almost, it seems to me, household names as they are today. A different generation of names, perhaps, but they're out there. But what has struck me is the headlines of one of those names after another, talking about their last days as they die.
And in some cases, the horrible photographs of faces.
That are etched and creased with sorrow and agony. I don't know if those things are.
Accurate if those photographs are true, but I can assure you.
That it would take a person truly blind to take a look at that photograph and say the 80 or 90 years that they spent was worth it.
Don't be sleeping tonight.
Someone has come that you might have life.
And that you might have it more abundantly. He doesn't just want if I can apply it, and that's all I'm going to do by the help of God tonight, is make some simple applications.
00:20:08
From a wonderful story in the word of God, but he's not only come to give you life, that is to so that you can say I'm so thankful I'm not going to go to a lost eternity. That's a wonderful thing to know.
But he wants to have you enjoy an abundant life, to realize the joys and the blessings that he has to give you. And may I say.
I want to be very careful how I say this.
But you know.
This world can offer some pretty tantalizing things it can make.
Pleasures and all sorts of activities seem very, very wonderful, worth spending a lifetime striving to attain to enjoy.
You know, I say this by the grace of God, and I don't know much about it. I know I'm going to learn a lot more.
But it's nothing compared to what my blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Has given me.
And what he wants to give to you.
Why don't you try him? I want to be careful.
That he's not lying when he says he wants you not only to have life, but abundant life.
He wants you to have what the world can't give as to life and as to joy.
And the only way you're going to get it is to believe that he means what he says.
Let's look in the first chapter of Nehemiah and Justice, consider some of these things.
I would like somehow if it be the.
With the help of the Spirit of God, and only by his.
Help that this blessed man.
And what he's done might touch your heart.
Really don't care if what I say, my words don't have any effect. They can't have any effect unless the spirit of God makes them good. But I trust that as we look into this precious word, there will be something that touches your heart.
The words of Nehemiah.
And Nehemiah was in a palace called Shushan verse 2.
Hanaini, one of my brethren came.
I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity concerning and concerning Jerusalem, and they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. So I want to stop there, and I want to say what I've said before, and I want to emphasize that I'm simply going to make some applications tonight.
And what has touched my heart is to think about the Lord Jesus.
Do you think that he?
Tonight is aware of the misery and the affliction and the reproach that's rampant in this world.
Do you think it means something to his heart to know that, as it says here?
That the walls, the wall of Jerusalem is broken down.
The gates thereof are burned with fire. Here's a place that he had, you might say, the Lord Jesus.
Has right to inhabit his king.
But the wall is broken down. There is no way to keep out.
The filth and the corruption and the defilement, the wall is broken down.
It's not in a fit and suitable condition for the king to reign and the gates are burned with fire. There's no way any longer to have a way to get blessing. The gates have been burned.
That's a pretty apartment description, It seems to me, at least morally, of souls in this world.
Who don't know the Lord Jesus as savior. No way to keep out the filth, the defilement, the enemies that abound that would seek to lead your soul not only to a lost eternity, but to destroy it in misery here in this world.
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No wall.
And no way for Blessing to come in. No gates. They're burned.
Well, what did Nehemiah feel? What do you think the Lord Jesus feels as he looks down into this world, perhaps into this room tonight, Into someone's heart, into this room tonight, stranger to him. You may be playing a role of being a believer. You may look like a believer. You may do all the right things that a believer does. Go to the right places. Be seen in the right places. Have a Bible on your lap.
And yet the Lord Jesus looks down into your heart, and the gate, The wall is broken down, and the gates are burned with fire, not a fit place for him to reign as Lord and as king. What do you think that makes him feel? Well, we'll see in a little measure here. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept.
And mourned and fasted and prayed. Do you think there's misery in the world tonight? You think people are going through deep trials and persecutions and sufferings? And I don't mean believers. I mean those who don't know Christ as Savior. And they're in agony and driven to extremes.
To seek to get out of that agony, the sorrow, the agony they feel. Do you think people feel that? What do you think their creator feels?
I fear to even use examples, but at one time when I used to teach.
A class.
In a high school.
We taught the students how to create pottery. Maybe some in here have done that. You get a ball of clay and put it on a wheel and after a little practice and dedication you can throw a very nice looking pot.
Beautiful vases. Cups take some skill, but it can be done and it's very interesting. It's kind of fun to do.
I know what it is to not only myself, but watch students who gain some level of skill doing that shape on a Potter's wheel or rather nice looking vessel that could be useful.
A picture.
And they spent some amount of time and they got this thing shaped and as they were finishing it, perhaps their arm bumped a little bit or something went wrong and the vessel was marred and it was no good anymore.
And I could see the disappointment many times and I felt it myself.
Of seeing something that you had created ruined. It's not only pottery, You all know what I'm talking about. Things that you've done, created, worked on, and it didn't work out the way you had planned. It was ruined somehow. And you know, the disappointment you felt.
Can you in a little measure, Can I, in a little measure tonight understand the heart of the Creator who looks down into this world tonight?
And sees what has happened to that which he created. Do you think it meant anything to him to walk through this world some 2000 years ago?
And find it a hot, dry, dusty, tiring wilderness.
And find it so in perfection, as a perfect man, to enter into it, and to feel what it was that the very thing that he had created.
Had been ruined.
Nehemiah wept and mourned.
And he prays.
And there's so much here. We're just going to notice this. Here's Nehemiah, Consider this. He's sitting in Shushan. He's got a very responsible position there. He's evidently carrying it out very faithfully.
Pleasing his master.
Look what he says.
In verse 6.
I pray before thee Now He's praying to God day and night, for the children of Israel, thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee. Both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against the have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments which thou commandest thy servant Moses. Two things I'd like to say about that.
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Number one, if you want to tonight know what it is.
To enjoy.
The abundant life that the Lord Jesus has for you.
This is the spirit that you need to display before God. I have sinned. Not look at those people. Look at how bad the world is. Look at how bad things are getting. Look how hard it is to even live righteously in any way in this world. But I've sinned.
Who is imperfection? For he was absolutely perfect, sin apart and yet the Lord Jesus.
So.
Beautifully.
So perfectly.
Identifies himself with the condition.
Of man, man of sorrows. What a name.
For the Son of God who came.
Man of sorrows.
Acquainted with grief.
He knew what it was. He knew perfectly, far more deeply than you'll ever or I'll ever know. The awfulness of what sin is, the sorrow. It's wrecked.
The havoc.
And tonight.
Fully entering into it in a way that you and I could never enter into it.
He offers you eternal life.
We read.
God he hath.
God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.
Sin for us who knew no sin he entered in.
In sorrow.
In a way that you and I can't.
But I'd like to also say this tonight if you think if anyone is sitting here and thinks that there is something in their life so bad.
So sorrowful that no one could understand it. Let me assure you there is one tonight who fully understands, who fully has entered in to whatever it is that's gone on in your life.
That you feel, perhaps, is absolutely hopeless.
That can never be righted.
I tell you, there's one who fully enters into it and fully understands, and not only that.
Has done.
At the cross.
That which is necessary.
That you might know the peace of that sin, sins, whatever it is, forever washed away, forever out of God's sight hidden.
Well, Nehemiah prays a very wonderful prayer, and we will not.
Go into it further, but there is this one phrase I want to notice in verse 11.
For I was the King's cup bearer. That was Nehemiah's particular responsibility, was to bring joy to the king.
I love to think as I read that, to be reminded of the Lord Jesus speaking there in Proverbs 8. I was daily his delight.
Rejoicing always before him.
That's the one who knows all about your sin, understands it, has entered into it fully.
That one knew what it was, knows what it is to dwell in absolute perfect joy and fellowship in the bosom of the Father. That one the Father's delight. Well, what is Nehemiah going to do?
00:35:12
Says that in chapter 2.
I took up wine, and gave it on to the king. Now I had not been before times sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Where Why is thy countenance sad? Seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else.
But sorrow of heart.
I don't have any ability to begin to describe.
What it means to the heart of the Lord Jesus.
When he sees one.
Going on in sin.
But let it just burn itself into your soul. That whatever.
Sorrow.
Whatever sadness you see in this world, that's the result of sin, and you don't need to look very far to see it.
It causes an infinitely greater sorrow to the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He feels it.
And for those tonight who know him, who have by faith accepted him as.
Their personal savior who have believed the record.
Who have by faith seen.
This blessed One hanging on the cross.
There's something that we will forever, I suppose, for all eternity.
Be enjoying but I'm sure never understanding even in eternity. My God, My God, why?
Hast thou forsaken me?
Spoken by the only perfect, spotless man that ever walked the face of this earth.
Did he know what sorrow was?
In three hours.
When the lights that God had created in nature were turned off.
So that none might behold what transacted between a holy God.
And that perfect man hanging there on the cross, a sacrifice for sin.
But hear his words, though you will not understand them. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Hear those words.
And in the holy solemn presence of God give that answer.
It was for me.
It was for me, for my sins.
That one who I say reverently, was the cup bearer bearing that wine before.
God daily his delight, as we said for three hours.
Drank every drop of the cup that he was given.
By a holy God and drained it empty, not one drop left.
It's gone.
Won't you have him tonight?
Well, Nehemiah makes a request to the king.
And he says in verse five of chapter 2 if it pleased the king.
And if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou would send me unto Judah.
Under the city of my father's sepulchres that I may build it.
Isn't that wonderful in a place that's characterized by death? He wants to come and build that there might be life.
Well.
That thou would send me Where is that in Isaiah, I think.
Better be careful. Maybe some brother will nod their head where it says Here am I send me.
00:40:07
Those head nods are nice. Here am I. Send me, prophetic of the Lord Jesus who will go for us. Here am I. Send me.
You know, I can remember years ago, many, many years ago, when my parents thought it was time that I learned how to do some work. And they thought perhaps one of the ways I could learn was to become a paper boy.
And so I became a paper boy, and one of the jobs was to get up very, very early on Sunday morning.
And lug a bag of papers which were incredibly thick compared to any other morning. I had to get up and carry papers.
And I know that.
Old age plays tricks on us, but it seems to me that the winters in Iowa Falls, IA.
Were far more harsh when I was 10 than they are now. I can remember at about 4:30 in the morning on Sunday morning when I would hear my mom or dad come into the room and there I was, lying so very comfortable and warm underneath those covers, knowing what awaited me for the next couple or three hours.
And sometimes it really was pretty cold.
And it was pretty miserable.
Well, I want to be careful and I want to speak reverently.
Here am I. Send me. What do you think? He was leaving?
To come into a world that was anything I say reverently, but comfortable.
What do you think the Lord Jesus laid aside of the joy? May I say it this way carefully?
Of the joy.
May I say Comfort, Bliss, Divine, Infinite Bliss of the Father's House.
And knowing fully ahead of time exactly what awaited him.
Not only the hard wintery cold of man's heart, but the cruel death of a criminal's cross, and more than that, the forsaking. Perhaps, I say carefully, the worst of all, the forsaking of holy God.
And he left that.
He said, Here am I send me.
That's how much you're worth, dear friend.
That's what the value you have is to him, that he looked.
Forward and saw you and saw me lost in all of the misery and sin of our lives.
And he said I want to go.
Think of it.
Send me.
Doesn't that touch your heart?
Here am I send me.
To that place of death that I can build it. And how is he going to build it? On a foundation of his own life? Being laid down, his blood being shed. That's the foundation that was laid.
At the city where he could reign as king.
Could be built.
And then I came verse 9 to the governors beyond the river and gave them the King's letter.
The king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.
I just want to say what strikes my heart as I read that verse.
That he came.
He was the word.
He didn't just bear the King's letters. He was the Word in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And so he came the full, perfect divine revelation of God.
But it says he came with Nehemiah anyway. He came with captains and horsemen.
Jesus.
My blessed Savior isn't going to force you against your will to get saved tonight.
But he comes with the authority of God as to who He is, His person, and His Word, and His work.
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He comes with the full authority of God, the captains, and the horsemen.
But he won't, I say reverently, Lift a finger to force you.
To accept him.
Now we come to.
What we read earlier.
When the horror night and Tobiah the servant the Ammonite heard of it.
It grieved them exceedingly.
That there was come a man.
There's come a man into this world. God has become a man.
And he's walked in this world as a man, and he's gone back to, he's laid down his life as a man and he's gone back to glory as a man. And there's a man, God and man, a man perfect in glory tonight.
For you, if you'll have him.
You know, I was thinking.
We won't turn to it. I think it's well enough known. If I just tell you, you'll remember that there was a time.
In the life of David.
When he and his men.
They had been chased out by Saul and were.
He was running away from Saul, trying to stay away from him, and he was given by another king a little.
City called Ziklag there. He and his wife and wives, families of his men, they all lived there in that little city. But he and his men were gone. And while they were gone, an enemy came and stole all of David's loved ones and his men's loved ones. The city was burned with fire. Does that sound familiar?
David and his men come back and they see a destroyed city.
And everyone.
That they loved carried away captive. Well, the time comes when David finds that Egyptian in the field and.
You know the story well, he says. Canst thou bring me down to this company?
And the Egyptian does. And it's very interesting because David totally destroys that company of Amalekites and delivers all of his loved ones and his men's loved ones with this exception.
It says that all of the enemy that were holding those loved ones of David captive were destroyed, except for 400 young men who fled on Campbell camels and escaped 400 young men who fled on camels and escaped. They were Amalekites and they got away. Where are they?
I think they're here tonight.
400 Reasons Why You Don't Want to Come to Christ.
Why? You don't want to be delivered from your sin and to find what true, abundant life and joy and blessing is. And there's more than 400 reasons, but they're here tonight. Are you going to let those 400 young men Amalekites?
Keep you from the blessing and the joy.
That the Lord Jesus wants to give you in delivering you.
May God grant that it not be so.
I'm going to close, but I want to notice this before we do that the next verses are so precious in the view in the way that we have been looking at things.
And I won't take them up, other than to encourage your hearts.
If the Lord by his Spirit has made good anything that we have said tonight.
Read verses 11.
To the end of the chapter, in that same spirit, to see what it was, perhaps we'll mention this.
So I came verse 11 to Jerusalem and was there three days.
And he goes out at night.
By the gate of the valley.
Verse 13 Before the dragon well to the dung port.
Views the walls of Jerusalem.
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The Lord Jesus Christ.
I just say this strikes my heart as I read this The Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
Fully.
Met the power of Satan.
And fully answered the claims of God against wicked, filthy sin.
And he did it by going out through the Valley Gate. None ever went lower.
And my blessed Lord Jesus.
Even to the death of the cross.
There's one last thing I want to say.
Look at chapter.
4.
No, I'm sorry, chapter. It's still in Chapter 2.
And verse 19.
But when Sanballat the horonite.
And Tobiah the Servant, the Ammonite and Jesham the Arabian. Now we'll stop and I'm going to turn over now.
To chapter 4 and verse 7.
But it came to pass that when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites.
You know, we started out with two enemies, San Bella and Tobiah. Then we gained another one, Gisham the Arabian, and we get to Chapter 4 and we've got five of them.
Satan will add and do anything he can, and add and multiply.
The obstacles to keep you from coming into blessing. He is not going to give up.
This day in which we live is an evil day.
It's perilous times, and you may be feeling like sleeping, but I can assure you, if you'll allow me to go back to that illustration, your enemy isn't sleeping. He's multiplying obstacles to keep you from coming into blessing.
But I want to just close with this for the beloved young people.
Because it so much touches my heart, I wish I could class myself as a young person, but at least I can in this.
It says there in that second chapter, verse 19. When they heard of it, those three, they laughed us to scorn.
They lapped us to scorn.
You know, later you're going to find that they get an army and they're going to come and fight. There's all sorts of ways that these enemies.
Come against Nehemiah and those that are seeking to build that wall.
There's all sorts of things they do to try to stop that work, but it starts by their laughing.
Is laughing keeping you from taking a stand for Christ?
Does the mocking of this world keep you from saying I want Jesus?
Christ.
As my Savior and Lord.
You know, it's amazing to me. They're in AX. What happens when the church is formed? The spirit of God comes down. They mock them. I say that's they're drunken. That's seems to me the first thing that Satan does to stop blessing, to turn aside from blessing is to mock and to laugh. The Lord Jesus goes to that place where that little 12 year old girl lay dead.
And he says to her, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise. But before he said that he told those who were reaping weep not, for she's not dead, she sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn.
If they could have, by their laughing, they would have kept that girl dead.
And if Satan can tonight by laughing.
He'll keep you dead.
May God help you.
00:55:03
To have your eyes anointed to see.
I was blind, but now I see and I can assure you.
That that blind man who saw whatever else they were saying.
Nobody was going to get him to laugh.
Gospel
Gospel—R. Thonney
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.
Any room for this?
He who bore the load of sin as he knocks and asks, admission, Sinner, will you let him in room for Jesus?
Lord of glory, hasten now His word. Obey. Swing the heart's door widely open, Bit him. Enter while you may.
Have you any room for?
Jesus.
Or.
For which is God?
For all the world.
Shall we pray sing another hymn number?
5.
Joshua said at the end of his book Choose You.
This day, whom you will serve. Evidently he was.
Had a sense in his soul that the children of Israel that he was addressing had desires in other directions, and he realized that there was need of them. Making a personal choice. And this is my desire tonight, is to challenge you. Who are you serving?
It says very clearly in Luke's Gospel chapter 16, no man can serve 2 masters either. He will hate the one and love the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon, you have to make a choice. And this hymn says Oh Happy Day, that fixed my choice on thee, my Savior and my God.
00:05:04
Oh, happy day.
To watch and pray.
Let me rejoice.
In every day.
I've created it.
When Jesus was my rainbow.
Transactions on I am my Lord and He is mine.
He grilled me up. I followed God who had to come to a one day party.
When Jesus was my friend away.
Now rest my heart.
Rest on the blood and standard rest.
Nor rest all.
When Jesus?
Was my sins are very.
It must be hard to do.
Like you to turn with me to begin with this evening in Acts chapter 2.
This chapter tells us what took place on the day of Pentecost.
Amongst other things, Peter is preaching to the multitude of those that were present. Jews and Jewish proselytes like to read a few verses.
Here let's read from verse 32. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost.
He hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear, For David is not ascended into the heavens.
But he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Verse 36. Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
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My desire tonight is to speak on the Lordship of.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, let's turn over to the 10th chapter for.
Another time that Peter is preaching, this time not to Jewish people, but to Gentiles.
I suppose most of us here this evening belong to this group called the Gentiles. I don't know of any that are.
Of the Jewish nation by birth, but here he is called to.
A Roman commander's home to preach the gospel, and let's see what he says here, beginning with verse 34. Then Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. The word which God sent into the children of Israel.
Preaching peace by Jesus Christ. Notice this part. He is Lord of all that word I say, you know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.
Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. For God was with him, and we were witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they slew and hanged on a tree.
Him God raised up the third day, and showed him openly, not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and drink with him after He rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead.
To him give all the prophets witness that whosoever, that through his name, whosoever.
Believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins, and especially I'd like to call your attention to that little expression at the verse and the verse 36 Speaking of Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all.
Let's go over to the book of Romans, chapter 10.
And verse.
Six. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise.
Say not in thine heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above.
Or who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring Christ again from the dead?
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart.
That is the Word of Faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth.
The Lord Jesus, or Jesus as Lord and shalt, believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made into salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.
For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Another series of verses in chapter 14, please.
Chapter 14 and verse 9.
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For to this end Christ hath died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Verse 11 For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord. Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue confess to God.
So then everyone of us shall give account of himself.
To God. Well, I think from the verses that we have read it is clear enough to each one.
That Jesus Christ is Lord. This is what Scripture teaches, clearly. But we live in a world where everything is.
Against that truth, everything runs contrary to the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord. It is Satans world. We've been discussing in our reading meetings during these Cottonist conference how that we live in an area of warfare and I would like to say to the young people especially.
But all of us at the same time. For the gospel is unto all.
And I don't know the state of your heart before God. God knows how you stand before him. Before Him all things are naked and open. But I say this, that we live in a world that is contrary to the one whom God has proclaimed Lord and Christ. And you and I have a nature within us.
That is an enemy of God. Naturally. You may not think it that way, but it doesn't matter whether you're talking about a 2 year old or a person who is 80 years old. The mind of the flesh, that nature that you and I have inherited from our parents, is an enemy of God. And today, in the world that we live, you're invited.
You are encouraged.
To satisfy your own desires. To do your own thing.
And I want to tell you if that's the current of life that you are living.
You are going directly contrary to the Christ of God, and I want to talk to the young people, especially here. God knows your heart. I'm not going to sit up here to judge your heart, but sometimes I wonder when I see what seems to be a lack of decision for Christ. Maybe you have never come to the point in your own soul.
Where you have been brought to realize that you have to decide, am I going to live for myself or am I going to live for the one that God has proclaimed Lord and Christ?
It's going to come to a time when you're going to have to decide for yourself.
And I don't know why it is that it seems to be such a difficult thing to come to.
But I for one thing in my own thinking about it.
I really believe that we have never come to see the Lord Jesus Christ for who He really is like we ought to. My desire tonight is to simply speak to you about the person.
And the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, a more glorious person.
We will never talk about through all eternity, we will never know a person of more glory than the person of the Lord Jesus Christ speaks in Romans one of the glory of the incorruptible God. To me, that's a tremendous statement to think about the glory of the uncorruptible God. You know God has always existed in his glory. He is eternal. He never had a beginning.
He will never have an ending. That is his character, his eternal.
And His glory is so great that there is no way that you and I.
00:20:02
At a moment can contemplate the glory of our God. He manifested himself in many ways in Old Testament times. He says in the book of the Psalms, the heavens declare declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
You look at the massive.
Heavenly bodies that are out in the universe.
To me, it fascinates me to study the universe. Recently I read a book that tells, and I'm not sure how they can even come to these calculations. It's written by a man who is an astrophysicist, but he says that there are approximately now what they figure to be 100 billion trillion stars in the universe. I mean, that's a number that just totally boggles our mind. Just absolutely no way that you and I can understand the grandeur.
Necessarily the God that we're talking about is greater than the universe. Necessarily.
And he's showing a little bit of his glory by letting us look into the heavens.
And try to get a glimpse of what's there. Oh, the tremendous grandeur of the God that is ours.
Something of His glory was manifested at the giving of the Law, the people of Israel.
Thought they could keep.
The commandments that God would give them.
And God immediately set bounds to that mountain of Sinai, and the whole mountain was on a smoke. There was earthquakes, there was lightning, there was thunderings. And it was so fearful that even Moses, the one who could go up into that mountain, said, I exceedingly fear and quake. Our God is great in every way you want to consider him.
But God never was fully manifested until.
He sent his only Son, and the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to show us who God really is. I'd like to turn to Hebrews 1 just to show you something of the glory of the person of the Lord Jesus that we're talking about. To me, these verses just thrill my soul when I think about what they really tell us.
It bows my heart in worship and praise to him. I don't know if you have really come to grips in your soul with who he is, but I ask you tonight, please, if you're talking to your neighbor, stop. Please. I'd like to introduce you to the glory of this person that we're talking about, the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. Stop and listen. Sometimes I.
I look around during a meeting like we've been having and I see some that are having chats with their neighbors and I realize that you cannot be listening if you're having a chat with your neighbor. I'd just like to ask you if you wouldn't mind just listening as I read these verses.
Verse One of Hebrews One God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time passed under the fathers by the prophets, half in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world's, Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power.
When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
What a tremendous display of glory we have mentioned in these first three verses. God is introducing His only begotten Son. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. God became a man in the person of the Lord Jesus, so that we could know God in the fullest sense of the word.
And knowing the Lord Jesus, you can know God in the fullest sense of the word in Him.
We have the revelation of God complete. Who is this person that is being introduced here in this book? He is the one who has appointed heir of all things. I often wondered why it speaks of being heir of all things before it even speaks of making the worlds. You know why? Because in the counsels of God, He was appointed heir of all things before he ever made the world's. That was the way it went.
00:25:24
And in that past eternity, God's beloved Son.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son in the bosom of the Father.
In those eternal councils it was decreed that he would be heir of all things, and the time came when he made the world's. Think of it, the grandeur of this person that we're talking about. He spoke and it was done, you and I, to create something. Sometimes we use the word create in a different fashion. We get some boards, we get some nails and some glue, and we make a table out of what we already have.
But when God created, he spoke and it was done. He spoke worlds into existence. He spoke the universe into existence.
And everywhere man looks, there's order in the universe that he spoke into existence. Tremendous. The more he looks out into the distance of the universe, all he sees is order. The more he looks into the minuteness of the atom and the other particles that they now talk about in the atomic structure of matter. It's all order. It was the creation of the God that we're talking about.
Who is it? His name is Jesus. This is the one.
Who we're talking about in these verses, verse three says who being the brightness of his glory. Oh, that bows my heart. Think of the Lord Jesus, the brightness of the eternal glory of God, the full out shining. You step outside on a sunshiny day and try to look at the sun. You can't do it. It's too bright, far too bright. And that's only part of our minute part.
Of the creation of the One who is the brightness of God's eternal glory.
How can I understand it? I can't.
Can only bow.
The feet of such glory.
The one who possesses it.
The express image of his person.
The images representation.
From the Lord Jesus was here, one of his disciples asked, Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And he answered, have I been so long with you, and you have not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. You look at Jesus as he passed through this world down here, you'll see the Father. You want to know God, look at Jesus.
You know, important people of this world, we sometimes like to say we've seen them. I don't know how many people in this room may have seen the president of the United States at one time. A number of years ago, I saw one of the presidents as he passed down the street of the city where I happened to be at that time.
I counted it quite a great thing to be able to have said. I saw the president of the United States.
But here we're talking about the eternal God. Eternal God.
And he came, and he passed amongst men.
Majorly unknown.
Really, it is amazing to think that when he came into this world.
He came in like you and I come into this world, except that He did not have a human father. He was born of the Virgin Mary, miraculously conceived in her womb, and born into this world. You know, the people of this world measure people in their greatness by how they treat them and when the Creator of the universe was going to make His entrance into this world.
And.
His mother and his father, Joseph.
It was his stepfather really, but when they came to Bethlehem there was no room for him. In the end out were the animals were taken care of. There Our Lord Jesus entered this world. Nobody seemed to know it. The Jewish people had the scriptures to tell them about the time frame when He would come.
00:30:17
They had the scriptures to tell them where he was to be born. Everybody asleep, completely asleep as to the fact that the creator of the universe was entering into this world.
Oh, how the angels wondered as they looked down and saw their Creator for the first time. What happened? Why are these people not recognizing? Here is the Creator of the universe, the one by whom?
The whole universe is maintained in perfect order by the.
And nobody knows it. The religious people, they don't know it. They have the Bible in their hands, they don't know it.
And they went out to look, and they found some shepherds in the field, and they appeared to them to tell them.
And the shepherds came.
Has your heart been awakened to the glory of the person that we're talking about?
Are you, like was said last night, asleep?
Are you asleep or have you awakened as to the glory of the person we're talking about?
Oh, the glory of that person.
No one He came, He veiled His glory. No way that you and I could see Him in His essential glory. It says in First Timothy chapter 6, Whom no man hath seen, nor can see, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
And in a certain sense, there's that part of the glory of the person of Christ that we will never be able to enter into.
But the Lord Jesus came into this world to reveal the Father's heart.
And he veiled His glory. It was veiled with a human form, it says in Hebrews 10, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. And so when people looked at him, they thought just another man, just another man. This is the Carpenter we know. His father and his mother and his brethren are with us today. They thought they knew him. They did not know Him.
The Lord Jesus in his public ministry called his disciples to follow Him, and even the disciples did not seem to grasp very much the implications of who this person really was.
They were on the ship in the middle of the sea with the storm raging. They were fishermen. They were used to battling some bad weather at times I would guess.
But they got scared and they started crying out. Didn't they realize that it was impossible for the boat to sink with the creator of the universe on board? They didn't seem to really understand who he was.
And when he rose up and calmed the wind and the sea, they said, what kind of man is this, that even the winds and the seas obeyed. I ask you, do you understand the glory of this person that we're talking about? Are you still undecided who to make Lord in your life? You know, we're living in a world where we have been infected far more than we like to realize with what is called the New Age movement.
And the New Age movement takes many different facets. It's infiltrated into many different areas of our lives here in the United States of America and Canada.
But it basically is not the new age. It is the old lie of Satan that he told Eve in the Garden of Eden, ye shall be as gods. And it replaces the Lord Jesus Christ. It replaces the God of the universe with another God.
People say here is God, I'm God. I've been astounded at how many people now say such things, but it is true. What scares me even more is that there are those who call themselves Christians.
00:35:06
We talk about God. We talk about the Lord Jesus.
But when it comes down to their affairs of life, here is.
The one who decides matters.
Not that God, no. There's somebody else here that decides matters.
Let me speak a little bit frankly.
To you, dear young people, the older ones too.
There are two distinct commands, I shouldn't say commands, but requests that we have from our Lord Jesus.
One is, do this in remembrance of me.
You know that.
And yet many of you have not responded to what he asked.
I ask you, is Jesus Lord in your life? Is He? He's not going to force himself upon you if you don't want him, like was said last night. But I ask you, is he really Lord in your life? Do people notice that you are not the one who is in command in your life, that there's somebody else that is in command in your life?
Another command I'd like to speak about.
That is very clear in Scripture. The Lord Jesus left his disciples before he went back into the glory.
He said go into all the world, preach the gospel to every creature.
That is a responsibility everyone of us has to share the good news of the gospel with a dying world around us. I don't feel, I don't real, I don't think we realize how important that task is.
And sometimes we make excuses not to do it. I know I've been guilty of it myself. I'm ashamed to have to say that when I was in high school, many times I was a coward about sharing about my faith in the Lord Jesus.
Remember in our speech class at school, the teacher, I don't know if he realized I was a Christian or not, but he told us in speech class if anybody wants to preach a sermon, they can.
It would have been a good chance to share the gospel with my classmates. I didn't do it.
But I was convicted about it that I needed to share somehow. One of the assignments we had in speech class was to read an article publicly over the PA system.
So I decided I would.
Try to do it and I got a gospel tract to read.
I got up and my knees were batting together pretty bad, but at least I was able to read.
And give the gospel to my classmates.
That's a request.
By the one who is Lord of all, is he really Lord in your life? If you have certain areas of your life that you think you have the right to dictate in, can you really call him Lord? And who are you to choose the areas of your life that you can dictate in and say the other areas the Lord can dictate in? But I'm going to have to have these areas to have the say so in my life. Who are you to determine that?
He is.
Lord of all, think of the grandeur of this person.
Here it says the brightness of his glory, the express image of his person. Oh I love to going back to the Lord Jesus during his life down here, how he manifested.
The God of the universe down here in this world, you know, one of the things that is marvelous to me to think about.
That the majority of the 1St 30 years of his life he spent in a Carpenter shop, That boggles my mind.
Think of it.
What's the creator of the universe doing in a Carpenter shop?
Why? He's making furniture, making things that are useful. Isn't that tremendous to think about?
And that show the seal of approval that God sets.
On physical labor.
Think of the Lord Jesus in his public ministry as he went out, then in His.
To show and to preach the gospel. How he went out.
00:40:00
How he had time to pick up little children. You know, important men don't generally take too much time for little children.
If we go to the Oval Office.
This week and try to take some of our little children there so President could hold them in his arms. Do you think he'd have time to do that? I doubt it.
The Lord Jesus, the one who by the command of his, the Word of His power, maintains the whole universe in its order, had time to pick up little children and to bless them. Oh, what a God. What a God we have interested in the most in the youngest child here tonight. You may not be able to understand what I'm saying, but there's a God that's interested in you.
Oh God, oh what a God.
We could detail a lot more about his life down here, how he met situations in the complete perfection that he was in his own person. Remember that time they brought a woman taken in adultery in the very act it says, you know, that there has to be a man and a woman to commit that sin and they only brought the woman. What terrible hypocrisy to bring that woman to the Lord Jesus and expect Him to condemn her.
If he was going to condemn her, he had to condemn all those Pharisees at the same time. No way.
He had not come to condemn, he had come to save. And he.
Bends down and writes in the earth, and then finally stands up and says.
He that is without sin amongst you, let him cast first the stone at earth, and they all went out.
When he rises up again from riding on the earth, only the woman, and she and he says to her woman, were those thine accusers. No man can condemn thee, she said, No man, Lord, there was one there without sin. He was the only one that had a right to pick up the stones to Stoner with. But he said, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. He did not make light of that serious sin she had committed.
Sexual sin is extremely serious sin, even though it's looked down South lightly today, extremely serious sin. The Lord Jesus didn't make light of it, but at the same time He did not come to condemn. He came to forgive, go and sin no more. What perfection they surrounded Him. They tried to find some little defect in His speech that they could lay hold of, to accuse Him of. They could not find one iota.
Of fault in him you cannot find fault in a perfect man, and he was a perfect man.
Oh, the glory of his person. There were times when his glory shone through the human veil, when they came to take him so that he could be falsely accused and crucified. They came and he said, whom are you seeking? And they said Jesus of Nazareth, and he said, I am. That was the title of Jehovah God of the Old Testament and the.
And the glory shone through the human veil, and they all fell backward to the ground.
Think of the audacity of their hearts to get up from the ground and come and get them and bind him. But that's what they did. Take him to their religious leaders. Seek for a false witness to put him to death. Take him to Pilate, the Roman governor of those days, and condemn him there to death. Pilate would have let him go, but they clamored for his blood.
Well, it shows the enmity in this heart of mine naturally against the Christ of God, the enmity that's in your heart naturally against the Christ of God. That's why I say to your young people, dear children, dear older ones too, there must be a time when you've come to a point of decision.
Choose you this day whom he will serve. If you think it's evil to serve the Lord, choose you.
Whom you are going to serve. Don't be here like a Christian thinking you're going to serve yourself.
I'm appalled that the money that is spent for pleasure in this country when people are dying of starvation in other parts of the world.
00:45:10
The way you spend your money is indicative of who is Lord in your life.
How are you spending it? Is it for yourself?
Or is it for the one who bought you with his precious blood? They took the Lord Jesus.
They took him outside of the city of Jerusalem. Can't you see him as he has LED out outside that city? His face so marred more than any man. They had hit his face. They had pounded him in his face with their fists. They had hit him with rods on the head. They had pounded the crown of thorns into his brow. And they took him outside the city. They stretched his hands out, and they nailed those hands to the cross.
His feet, and they hung him there to die.
Who is that that's hanging there? Is that some criminal? Is that some mere man?
That's the creator of the universe that's hanging there.
Save a poor Sinner like.
Young people, how can you continue to be?
There without making a choice in positive decision to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only did He hang there, tortured by humans as they passed in front of him, but during three hours of darkness, from 12 noon to three in the afternoon, so that God could dispense mercy to me, a poor Sinner, God laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all, and God poured out His judgment without mitigation on the head of His own Lord's Son.
That's how much he loved you. You know, sometimes I think when the Lord Jesus was contemplating coming into this world.
Couldn't he have chosen a time of the history of this world?
When capital punishment was not such a terrible form as crucifixion, but knowing the whole history of the world.
He specifically chose the time when capital punishment was, by crucifixion, the most excruciating death a man could die.
Why? He wants you to understand just how much he loves you.
And can you still say I want to serve this Me, myself and I?
Is that the God in your life? Is that the one who dictates the decisions of your life?
How long halt she between two opinions?
Elijah had to say to Israel.
If Jehovah be God, follow him.
If they'll follow him, if there is another God that is better than the God we're talking about, follow him.
Make a decision. Don't stand there in between two decisions.
If Jehovah is God, follow me.
Jesus died. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried. He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
He died for me.
Is there any way that I can reserve pockets of my life where I want to dictate?
Is that recognizing His Lordship?
I suggest that it is not. In fact, it is a definite upfront to the one who died on that cross to redeem.
There is no way you can remain neutral as to Christ. There is no way. God has made him Lord and Christ He is Lord of all.
You must make a decision as to this person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He died. He was buried the third day. God raised him from the dead.
And for 40 days in this world, he was seen.
Of many witnesses, one time of over 500 brethren at once saw him.
00:50:03
We're not talking about fiction, we're not talking about fables. We're talking about fact. These are historical facts. It's interesting, I understand that even in the history of this world, one of the most well established facts in the history, profane history, is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead.
You cannot get away from it. He rose from among the dead.
And it says that verses, those verses we read in Romans 14, he died and was buried and rose again that he might be dead. Both of the he might be Lord both of the dead and the living. He is Lord of all. No way you're going to avoid Jesus. You must meet him. You must own him Lord either now to receive your salvation.
Or in a coming day, to be vanished into a lost eternity forever.
That the Lord Jesus was, as we mentioned down here in this world, passing amongst men for 40 days after His resurrection.
And I love those verses at the end of Mark's gospel.
How majestically it seems to tell the story. After he had spoken these things, he was received up into heaven and sat down on the right hand of God. There was a man who was walking amongst men for 40 days. The time came he walked right into the glory of God and at the pinnacle of all authority.
There sits a man, the man Christ Jesus.
We're not talking, say again about fables. We're talking about facts.
There is a man of flesh and blood at the right hand of God.
Who wants to be your Lord and Savior? He's not going to force himself upon you if you in your will say no to Him.
It will be your undoing for all eternity. He will not force himself upon you.
He's going to come again.
No one's going to escape him. Everyone that has ever lived on the face of this earth is going to come face to face with Jesus.
Either you're going to see him if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, when he comes again to take us home to the Father's house.
Or, in that awful day of judgment, the Great White Throne.
There is one sitting on that throne, and it is nonetheless that Jesus Christ the Lord and that great multitude of the dead who have the opportunity to receive the Lord Jesus and said no to Jesus, are going to stand before him and the books are going to be opened.
And they're going to be judged out of those things written in those books. God is a careful record keeper and there's going to be no mistakes in those records of your life. It's going to all be straight. You may have long forgotten about different details of your life. It will be read out in that day. The Jed were judged out of those things that were written in the book. And then there is another book, the Book of Life. The Book of Life is written.
The names of all those who have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior. And the end of chapter 20 of Revelation says whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Cast into the lake of fire. There the soul stands, being judged for its works. They look in the book of life. His name does not appear. He has to bow to Jesus.
The Scripture says every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, not in profanity, but to the glory of God the Father. And then that soul will be cast into the lake of fire. Awful, awful. And God tells us these things not merely to scare us, but to show us what's going to really happen.
So that you can take warning and not go to that end. God is not willing that any should perish.
But that all should come to repentance. I challenge you with my heart.
00:55:04
Who is Lord in your life? How long haughty between two opinions?
I call you to come face to face with the Lord Jesus Christ tonight as we presented Him feebly this evening.
That glorious God and Savior Jesus Christ.
Come to face him.
You cannot remain neutral when you face it.
If you turn from Him, you will pass your eternity in the lake of fire. If you accept Him, you will pass your eternity in the Father's house in the glory. But one of the most solemn, most awful cries that Scripture records that's going to be heard in that coming day is.
Lord, Lord, have we not?
Prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out many demons, and in thy name done many miracles.
And he will say to them, Depart from me, ye cursed.
Into everlasting fire. I never knew.
Awful, they too said with their mouth. Lord, Lord.
He says the Lord Jesus says, many shall say to me in that day meant not just a few. Is there somebody here who really isn't real before God? Never having got that thing settled with God yet, I asked you to come to the Lord Jesus tonight to bow before him, to own him, Lord and Christ in your life.
For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus.
As Lord, and believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved.
Just pray.
Eyes of the Heart