St. Louis Conference: 2008
Table of Contents
To the Lord and Before the Lord
Address—Bill Prost
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People's address and gave it out.
And I can remember to this day the effect it had on me as we sung those verses together.
And I trust that the grip.
That it had on my soul back then is still there.
And I trust too, that what the Lord has for us in words like that, we'll have a grip on each one of our souls this afternoon. I suppose if I were to pick some kind of a title for what I have on my heart this afternoon.
We might say.
Living.
For the Lord.
And before the Lord.
Living for the Lord and before the Lord.
Again, maybe some of you get a little tired.
Of hearing some of us talk about our living in the last days.
But I don't think that anyone would argue with that, at least no one that's sitting here.
I suppose.
Most of us could not help but be horrified by the specter.
Of terrorists getting hold of two big hotels in Mumbai, India within the last 48 hours.
I've never stayed in either one of those hotels, but I know them very well having been in the vicinity of them.
And to see and realize all that is going on there.
But then it brings it a little closer to home.
When I saw.
On a TV screen in a restaurant at lunchtime.
That an employee at a Walmart in New York State had literally been trampled to death by the crowds frantically trying to get their hands first grab at the merchandise that was going on.
Sale today.
Horrified.
And you and I are living in that kind of a world today where it just seems to be one thing after another until we look around and say, what next?
And it has been very typical in the past that when things have been very indefinite and unsure, when war and other things have cropped up in this world, when life has been very uncertain, when the future.
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Has been very questionable.
What the apostle Paul brings forward in First Corinthians 15 has very much taken hold of people. Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.
And men have thrown to the four winds, as it were, any moral standards that they had any thought of. What is right and wrong, perhaps, but only living for today. Do what you want today, because there may not be a tomorrow.
And you know if this life is the only horizon.
Then that makes some sense, doesn't it?
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, Paul says, we are of all men.
Most miserable? Absolutely. And why not just do your own thing? Do whatever you want, because the future.
Is not even there.
Most likely.
And yet, what do we find in this precious book?
All we find as we have sung together, that the Lord Jesus says it's only going to be a little while.
It's only going to be a little while.
And then I am going to take you home.
And it's all going to be worthwhile in that day. We sing it sometimes at young people's meetings. That Him it will be worth it all. When we see Jesus, life's trials will seem so small. When we see Christ, when look at his blessed face, all sorrow will erase. So bravely run the race till we see Him.
I'd like to speak a little, first of all, about living for Christ in these last days and to bring that before us. Let's turn first of all to a scripture in Second Timothy.
Second Timothy.
Now probably many of you know this, but we'll repeat it that the book of Second Timothy was written by the Apostle Paul during his last imprisonment in Rome.
When he knew from the Lord that he was not going to be released again, and when, sad to say, the breakup of things that he had labored so strenuously for was already starting to occur.
And so he gives Timothy instruction as to how to conduct himself under those circumstances. And notice what he says here. Second Timothy, chapter one.
Verse 6.
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up.
The gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. I think Mr. Darby uses the term renew or rekindle.
The gift of God.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God.
Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
But now is made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Who have abolished death?
And hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For unto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. For the which 'cause I also suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed, For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
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Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.
That good thing which was committed under the keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US.
This thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are fajilas and homogeneous.
Chapter 2 and verse one. Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
It's a wonderful thing in any field.
Whether in natural things or in spiritual things, to be carried along by, shall we say, a tide of energy and blessing that takes hold of other people.
And forges ahead.
I have always been interested in history.
And I remember reading something about the history of the United States and how that in the beginning of the 19th century, when Europe was embroiled in what are known now as the Napoleonic Wars and Napoleon had conquered most of continental Europe. And the only country in Europe that was able to hold out against him with any effectiveness was Britain. Oh, it's true. He never quite conquered Russia, but.
They weren't able to do too much at that time.
And the comment was made that over in America, America was like a young man.
Braced and ready to forge ahead.
That was probably very true.
And it is a wonderful thing to be on the leading edge of a tide of wonderful blessing.
It would have been a wonderful thing to have lived in the days of the early church when everything was going ahead and things were opening up in a wonderful way. It's a wonderful thing when the Spirit of God is working in a wonderful and outward way to raise up, shall we say, a leading edge of blessing.
Both in the gospel and in the truth.
But as every dispensation has drawn to a close.
It has come down to individual faithfulness, It has come down to the point where.
People have had to live for God's glory according to their individual energy and faithfulness.
And sad to say.
In many cases.
There are those who say it is too rough, this is too difficult, there are too many problems, there are too many difficulties, there are too many discouragements.
I cannot handle this on my own anymore.
Do you sometimes feel that way?
It may surprise you to know that.
I don't think there's anyone in this room, if you were to buttonhole them and say have you ever felt a little bit that way?
I venture to say that almost everyone here would say yes.
I have to admit that I would. I have to admit that there have been times when I have said, where do we go from here?
And at times like that, I have appreciated what Paul says to Timothy.
Because there was a man in the person of the Apostle Paul who probably had labored with more energy and more reality and more devotedness than perhaps anyone else in this dispensation. The Lord knows, and in a coming day He will put his stamp of approval or otherwise on what we have done. But certainly we would have to say that Paul laboured, as he says, of his own accord, more abundantly than they all referring to others in his own day.
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And to see at the end of his life, the fruits of his labor have to come down to what we read in verse 15 of Second Timothy. One, all they which are in Asia be turned away from me. Can you imagine how he must have felt? And there he was in prison, not able to get out there and do anything about it, not able to go and try and encourage anyone in a practical way.
Know if we could say it?
He could pray and that is a most wonderful thing.
But there was number more that he could do. He could pray and he could write.
And you would have expected under any other, under all of these circumstances for any other man to have said, Timothy, I don't know where we're headed. I guess it didn't work. I guess it wasn't worthwhile. It's all been a failure.
Even as well taught and devoted to man as GV Wigram back in the 1800s, when troubles and difficulties came in among the Saints of God and among those gathered to the North Lord's name, he said back in the 1870s, it's all over, we're finished, it's all over with.
Thank God he was wrong. Thank God he was wrong. Yes, he was wrong, dear Mr. Wiggum got under the condition of things that were going on.
Who am I to criticize him?
We don't criticize. All I say is thank God he was wrong.
And what I say to you and to me today, each one of us, is that God wants you to look.
At one who suffered more discouragement in his life than you and I will ever be called upon to suffer.
I don't say that the Lord Jesus was ever discouraged. I don't believe he was, and I doubt if Paul was either.
But if I could rephrase that expression, let me say the Lord Jesus suffered more that was potentially discouraging than anyone else.
And if anyone could have looked around and if I could say it with all reverence.
Felt sorry for himself.
You would say there was one who had every right to do so. Have you ever felt sorry for yourself? I'm afraid I have, and maybe you have too. And maybe we have all, at various times in our lives, indulged in the luxury of feeling sorry for ourselves.
Let me tell you from experience, it's a bad thing to do. It's a bad thing to do. Don't, don't let yourself do that.
Because what God would say to your heart and mind is the same thing that Paul says to Timothy. He would say Timothy.
All this that is going on.
Is temporal all this that is going on? Yes, it is discouraging, but I want to raise your sights so that you can look above it all. Look above it all.
Well, you see, I can't do that. I can't rise above it all. It is too difficult.
How do you rise above it all?
If I were standing.
In an airport.
And there was a huge cloud cover over everything. And maybe it was raining. And I would say to myself, I want to get above that cloud cover. I'd like to get out of this rain. I'd like the sun to shine.
How do I get above it? Can I do it myself? No.
Can even the birds do it? Not very well, because once they get up too high, things aren't very good for them either. Once in a while they can do it. Some of them can, but it doesn't go too well.
But you know, if I were to climb aboard a jet, you know very well I could get above that cloud Comer very easily.
Not that I could fly the plane, but if someone else would do it, that plane would soon take me up above it. And there the sun is shining just the same. And you say, oh, isn't that beautiful? All the rain is falling down below.
But I'm rising above it all.
And I believe that's what the Lord is saying to Timothy here. Oh, he says Timothy.
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Don't you get taken down with all of this. I'm telling you what is going on South that you will understand.
And it seems that Timothy was discouraged because Paul has to tell him to rekindle the gift that is in him.
I suppose we could say that the whole theme of Second Timothy is having energy for the Lord when everything is starting to come apart.
And it's not easy.
But Paul says in what we have read here together verse seven, God hath not given us the spirit of fear.
You know, the Word of God tells us that in these last days, men's hearts are going to fail them for fear.
And when we look around us, we see that happening already. Now it's going to get worse after we're called home, but it's happening.
Oh yes, people can put on an outward show. They can pretend that everything's all right. But deep down inside, if you get people to let their hair down a little, if you get them to talk a little bit about what they really think and really feel, men's hearts are failing them for fear. Where is it all going to end?
Few days ago there was an issue of the magazine called Newsweek.
It was put out since the recent election in the United States.
And in that Newsweek, there were a couple of very.
Shall I say well educated, well-rounded, well informed people?
Who undertook?
To tell.
President-elect Barack Obama.
Some of the things that he should.
Be doing and ought to be getting hold of.
When and if he takes office in January.
I read through those articles.
They were somewhat similar. Both of them covered many of the same problems.
Both of them addressed major issues in the world.
And as you may well imagine, the list.
Speaking in colloquial terms was as long as your arm.
And I thought as I read through that list of problems, that list of things that the new president ought to address, needed to address how he needed to bring this and that one together in order to resolve this difficulty in that difficulty.
And I read it through and shook my head.
I said even if one man.
Had supreme authority to be able.
To tell everyone what to do and where to get off at.
I don't think anyone man's mind, no matter how brilliant.
Would be equal to it.
The situation is too complicated.
And deep down inside, I think that both of those men who wrote those articles realized that. They realized that despite what they were saying, there was no man in this world who had the capacity and the power to pull everything together that they were suggesting he needed to do.
And men's hearts are failing them as they see what's going on. But all I say to each one of us today, what does the Lord say to you and to me? Oh, he says, look up for your redemption draweth nigh.
And I say to you and to me, it's going to come down to individual faithfulness, and it is not going to be necessarily that you can rely on others. Oh, it's a wonderful thing to have a happy assembly.
But God does not promise you and me that. Does He think about it, He does not promise that.
He says that's what it should be, but he doesn't promise that.
It's a wonderful thing to have other supportive, well instructed, well grounded Christians with whom I can have fellowship and on whom I can rely for help and support.
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Somebody said to me some time ago relative to a problem and difficulty that was being experienced in their lives.
Something to this effect. Where are the shepherds? Where are the pastors?
Who will care for the sheep?
I hung my head.
Will God provide those to look after his sheep right to the end? I believe He will.
But I am not promised, if I can say it, that there is going to be a pastor or a shepherd standing right there when an if I need him every step of the way, no.
It's wonderful to have a happy family.
And we ought to expect that.
But I know believers right now.
Who desperately would give anything to be able to have a happy Christian family surrounding them?
And it isn't that way.
And the list could go on and on. It's wonderful to come to a Bible conference like this, but does the Lord promise us that that will always be there?
I spoke to a dear brother on the telephone some years ago.
Over in England, not one who is gathered to the Lord's name, but I had had some contact with him.
In various ways, by letter and by e-mail. And we talked on the phone at least once or twice.
He said. What are you doing next week?
Oh, I said I'm going to a Bible conference and it happened to be in Walla Walla, WA.
Oh, he said. How many will be there?
Oh, I said. I don't know for sure, I said, but it usually is pretty well attended. I said at least 6 or 700 would be there and maybe more.
Is that a fair number, Walt?
Oh, that brother. I could hear the longing all the way across the Atlantic.
Oh, he said. Oh.
What wouldn't I give to sit in a meeting like that? What wouldn't I give to sit with that many Saints together again?
Sighing at the other end of the line.
But we ended up by saying, but isn't it wonderful that the Lord is the same whether it's America or England or India or Australia or no matter where it is? And that's what Paul directs Timothy to.
Yes, I believe on the ground of what we read in Two Timothy 2 and 22, that there will always be the with them who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But ultimately it's going to be a connection with and in obtaining the strength from the Lord himself for you and for me.
Turn back to Romans chapter 13 for a verse.
I'm sorry, 14 Romans 14.
Verse 12.
So then.
Everyone of us shall give account.
Of himself to God.
I don't have to give account for someone else. I don't have to give account for how my brother in Christ behaves a care for him or her. Absolutely a heart for every child of God. Thank God I trust we have it.
But when it comes down to the Lord talking to you and me at the judgment seat of Christ, it won't be a question of what he did or what she did. It won't be a question of.
How they behaved.
Everyone of us shall give account of himself to God, and I'd like to say to you and to me.
It is a special privilege to live before the Lord and to live for His glory in these last days.
I had a long chat.
With a brother on the phone a few days ago. I won't mention his name because probably some here at least and maybe quite a few would know.
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Him if I mentioned his name.
But we were talking about.
The last days.
And I was sharing with him something that I have enjoyed for many years, because when you read the parable of the sower in Matthew's Gospel and in Mark's Gospel.
There is at least one very notable difference.
In Matthew's Gospel, when it talks about the good ground, it talks about.
The good ground bringing, bringing forth fruit.
Summon 100 fold. Some 60 fold, some 30 fold.
But then when you read the same account in Mark, it says some 30 fold, some 60 fold and some 100 fold reversed in order.
That's not by chance.
And I remember that question being raised many years ago in a reading meeting.
And I'll pass on to you the answer that was given by a brother who's now with the Lord.
Someone said why the reversal in Matthew and Mark?
He said. Well, he said. I'll tell you my thought on it.
He said Matthew gives us a dispensational view of things.
And as such, every dispensation starts off with all kinds of energy and all kinds of blessing from God.
But everything that is committed to man tends to fail, and so the end of the dispensation ends with only thirty fold of fruit instead of the hundredfold.
But then he went on to say, but he said, Mark is individual. Mark brings us, brings before us the perfect servant in the person of Christ and ultimately the example of the perfect servant for you and me as individuals.
And he said when it comes to individual testimony and individual blessing, individual faithfulness, oh, he said, the light of the individual continues to shine brighter and brighter as the collective testimony goes further and further downhill.
Oh, I say to each one of our hearts, what an encouragement. What an encouragement.
I am not to be indifferent to what is happening collectively, but I am not to let that rule me.
We said we were going to talk about living for the Lord and maybe we're kind of overlapping a bit.
But I said we would talk about living before the Lord.
What does that mean?
It's one thing for you and for me to have.
Right thoughts in our own hearts and a right state of soul before God.
And an energy that comes from looking only to Christ and not to the circumstances and situations around me.
But is it another thing?
When those circumstances instead of being just generally discouraging.
Hit me personally.
It's one thing if there is a general downhill trend, a general giving up in the world around, and shall we say it without being critical, a general going downhill of the state of things in Christendom in general. And we're part of Christendom. Let's not pretend we're not.
But it's another thing, isn't it, when those adverse circumstances start to affect me personally, when, as it were, the Lord says I am going to allow something not merely to affect the testimony in general, but to hit you.
Ouch.
Does that make it more difficult? It does for me.
Let's turn to another couple of scriptures that bring some of some of this before us. Turn first of all, back to the book of Job.
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Job.
Was a godly man.
But when the circumstances hit him personally.
He found the going rather difficult.
And what ultimately brought out what was really in his heart.
Was the unjust criticism of his three friends.
But God uses a man like a lion to speak to him and notice in Job chapter 34.
Verse 29.
Well, let's read verse 23 first.
Job 3423.
For he that is God will not lay upon man more than right, that he should enter into judgment with God.
Verse 29 When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?
And when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? Now notice this, whether it be done against a nation or against a man only.
Verse 31 Surely it is meat to be said unto God.
I have borne chastisement. I will not offend any more that which I see not teach thou me. If I have done iniquity, I will do no more.
35th chapter.
Verse 14.
Although thou sayest, thou shalt, or thou dost not see him.
Yet judgment is before him. Therefore trust thou in him. Or I think, as the Darby renders it, therefore wait for him.
Wait for him.
Now a verse in Proverbs chapter 21.
Proverbs 21.
And the first verse.
The King's heart.
Is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water He turneth it.
Whithersoever he will.
2nd Corinthians.
Chapter 11.
And verse 7.
I'm sorry, it's chapter 12. I wanted beg your pardon Second Corinthians 12.
And verse.
7.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan, to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me, and he said.
My He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
One last verse, Ephesians chapter one.
Verse 21.
And the antecedent of this verse is in.
Verse 20. Christ.
And it says there in verse 20, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
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Far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head. Now notice the language here.
Not head of the church, although that is true.
Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, a fullness of him that filleth All in all.
You might be wondering how all these verses that we've read tie together.
But I suggest that there is one common theme that ought to grip our hearts in all of them.
And that is that no matter what the circumstances in your life and mine.
God is over everyone of them.
In the Apostle Paul's case, as in Job's case.
What instrument did he use?
Satan.
And there is no question about it, the word of God says so very clearly in both cases. What Satan be used as an instrument of God?
Yes.
Now, Satan perhaps didn't know it, at least not to the extent that God knew, and he perhaps did not understand what God was doing. But God allowed Satan to attack Job and to attack Paul.
And in each case.
God gave Satan, I have no doubt.
The right to go only so far.
Satan, you can go this far and that's it.
And sometimes I say to my own heart, as I say to you and to me, the circumstances in our lives seem overwhelming.
And if I might speak very, very practically, sometimes it becomes doubly.
And Tripoli?
And quadruple E difficult when perhaps the Lord is used as in blessing to others.
As he did with Job. As he did with Paul.
Until if we're not careful. And I am not suggesting that either one of those men said this.
Maybe they didn't, maybe they did, but we can get to the point where we say I help others when the Lord is chastising them and teaching them something. I show them, I help them. I encourage them.
But me, Nah, I don't need it. I'm OK.
And then when the Lord brings something into my own life, it's devastating, it's flattening.
I can't believe it.
And suddenly everyone else is the problem. Suddenly it's the devil trying to spoil my ministry, my service for the Lord.
Yes, that's in the equation. No doubt the devil is trying to do that, no question.
Or it's my brethren that don't understand me. Or it's the condition of things in the world. The world's just getting so bad. You just, well, you just don't know what you're going to expect nowadays.
I say to my own heart.
Ultimately, the Lord says.
This thing is from me.
Now that quotation came from the Prophet to rehab in the Old Testament on the occasion of the 10 tribes dividing from the two tribes. This thing is from me.
And I say to your heart and mine, first of all, we need to look above everything in this world in order to live for Christ.
But I need to look above everything in this world in order to live before him.
Because not only is it a matter of energy for the Lord, it's a matter of acceptance in taking everything from the Lord. And if you have read the book of Job, and I'm sure you have, you know that essentially that was the message from God that Eli you had for Job. Job.
Don't look at your three friends. Don't find fault with the Lord, which is.
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What job was really doing?
Justify God as the starting point and everything will start to fall into place.
But it says in Ephesians one there that Christ is head over all things to the church.
There are two things that we read in that chapter.
That surround that expression.
That are most wonderful.
First of all, the one of whom it is said.
Is far above all Principality and might and Dominion and every name that is named.
He's all powerful.
And not one thing can happen in your life and mine right down to the smallest detail. But what he doesn't allow it?
But secondly, it says that the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all. Can you imagine? I, I, I don't know.
I want to say this very carefully.
But if I had been the Apostle Paul penning that by inspiration.
I think my pen would have hesitated at that point.
Am I really putting down what the Spirit of God is saying?
Is it really true that the Church is the fullness of him that fills All in all?
Yes.
Christ is all powerful.
And all loving. And you and I couldn't be closer to him.
And he couldn't, if we say it reverently, have more power on our behalf.
That one is head over all things to the church.
Not one thing the smallest detail in your life can happen without the Lord's allowing it.
Well, you say, but you don't understand.
You don't know the kind of things I have to deal with. You don't know the kind of boss I have at work or the circumstances I have.
Now let's bring it really close to home. Is it alright if I put it that practically?
You don't know the kind of people in my local assembly. You don't know what I have to deal with.
I probably don't.
But there is one.
Who puts us together in assemblies?
For the good and blessing of each one of us.
And who uses it all for us?
What is Eli who say to job?
Job.
When it comes to the Lord, judgment is before him. Therefore wait for him. Wait for him.
Sometimes it seems like waiting a long time, doesn't it?
Yes it does.
Was the Lord indifferent to what Job was going through? Absolutely not. Was there blessing at the end? Indeed there was.
What does he say to Paul? Paul.
My grace is sufficient for you. I'm not taking that thorn in the flesh away. Whatever it was, I'm not going to remove it. But what's even better, I'm going to give you the grace to be an overcomer.
You know, I think in the coming day.
Our late brother Ruskin Gil, that quite a few here, well, they're not say that too much, but.
Certainly some here remember well.
And he used to say, I look forward when I get to heaven.
Some time to have a good chat with the Apostle Paul.
I'd like to ask Paul too. I'd like to say Paul, what was that thorn in the flesh and what did it feel like?
Tell me a bit about it.
You know what Paul will likely say? Oh, he'll say I would far rather.
Have had that thorn in the flesh and had the experience of God's giving me the grace to be an overcomer.
Than to have had the freedom from it that I prayed for at least three times.
Now, maybe it didn't feel that way when he was praying. I'm sure it didn't. And with you and with me, I'm sure it often gets that way. And I'm looking at young people here, and I know you face some of these difficulties. Maybe not in the same way I do. Excuse me.
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We go through different trials, different difficulties relative to different things in our lives.
And I look back at the things that upset me when I was a teenager and wonder whatever I got in such a Stew about. But they certainly seem pretty big at the time. And so it is. But the Lord knows how to reach every one of us. But what's He seeking to do? Oh, as he says, to do the good at thy latter end. And isn't it wonderful to know that there is One who has walked that path before us?
And he draws us after him.
Turn to 2nd Corinthians 5 for a well known verse.
And I want to leave us with this verse. There are many other verses we could have read.
But.
2nd Corinthians 5.
And verse 14.
For the love.
Of Christ.
Constraineth us.
Because we thus judge that if one died for all.
Then we're all dead.
And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live under themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again.
What will keep you going?
A sense of right and wrong in your conscience, A sense of responsibility before God. Yes, that's important. That's important.
I can well remember.
Again, dating myself a little.
Probably 50 years ago now or close to it.
When a brother made some remarks at a conference much like this.
And he said.
In so many words, he said. I've talked to all of those who are taking part in the meetings here, and he said almost every one of them is over 65.
He said, I trust there are young people here who, if the Lord leaves us here, will be able to take their places.
And I remember thinking no way.
No way.
I could never do that, that he's not talking to me.
But you know, I didn't forget what he said.
A sense of responsibility is important.
But you know that won't be enough. That's not enough. You will not last if it's only a sense of responsibility.
There needs to be a tug at our heartstrings. There needs to be a tug at our heartstrings.
I've told the story before about a young woman.
Who was Jewish and who was taken to one? I think it was at Auschwitz in.
Hitler's well, Auschwitz is in Poland, but it was under Hitler at that time and she was taken there.
And consigned to the gas chambers.
And six times she managed to escape.
And to read her story is very heart moving, heart rending.
Why did she do it? What made her jump off those trucks and try to escape?
They got her, finally, but what made her do it?
Well, it wasn't for herself.
She had a child. She wanted to live for that child. She knew that if she perished, that child would likely perish too. And she would do anything, suffer anything, take any risk, bear any hardship, do anything because of the love she had to that child.
The Lord Jesus touches your heart and mind.
The love of Christ constraineth us.
It tells us in another place that.
In the last days the love of when iniquity shall abound, it says, the love of many shall wax cold.
Now, no doubt in its real application, that is referring to what will happen during the Tribulation, but morally and spiritually it can apply to us.
00:55:02
But then the Lord reminds me.
That he died for me.
And rose again.
He reminds me.
Of that love that took him all the way to Calvary's cross.
And he says.
Now I want you to walk not only for me, but be for me.
Look above all the difficulties in the circumstances.
Why do I read that verse? The King's heart is in the hand of the Lord as rivers of water. He turneth whithersoever he will. I read that because sometimes you say there is somebody whose mind is immune to any change. No matter what I do or what I say, he can't see straight.
Or she can't seem to see straight.
I've talked that way too.
Sometimes it was I that couldn't see straight.
But be that as it may, suppose there was someone whose mind needs adjusting, whose heart needs adjusting, who needs to see things in a different light. The Lord says I can turn that as easy as I can turn a river of water. The Lord can change your circumstances and mine.
And if you chooses not to do it.
Remember, judgment is before him, therefore wait for him. Justify God whatever He allows, whatever trial He puts you through.
And then say Lord.
What do I have to learn through all of this? Oh, then you will find, and don't think I haven't been through it, that not only will you get the blessing, but it will be as if someone has turned the lights on. Then suddenly things, I don't mean everything, will immediately straighten out, but the path will be clear.
And best of all, you will find that you will have the enjoyment of Christ himself and all that He is, and the enjoyment of His love in your heart. Let's sing the last verse of that hymn that we sung at the beginning. 173 the last verse.
A little while.
Come, Savior, come.
Take thy poor waiting pilgrims home to sing the new eternal song. 173 the last verse going to start a different tune to it.
Oh.
Hebrews 11:1-3
Reading
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166 Lord, thou hast drawn us after thee. Now let us run and never tire.
What in thy love possess we not our star by night, our sun by day? Number 166.
Thyself our all our full desires.
Our praise.
No sin can go.
No, I'm here.
Our brother, save your.
World.
Our dear.
What am I?
All for.
Your.
*.
Change.
In your heart and heart you are dear, our deafening.
Take up Hebrews Chapter 11 and the first part of chapter 12.
The first scriptures that were read to us at the beginning of the conference were the chapter of Deuteronomy chapter 8 and the last meeting as well, I believe, connect themselves with what we have in Hebrews Chapter 11 and the Lord as He's brought before us in the beginning of chapter 12.
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After 12.
Just a minute.
At least this time through chat verse 4.
Hebrews 11. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report through faith. We understand that the world's refrain by the word of God. So the things which are seen were not made of things which do appear by faith. Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous God, testifying of his gifts, and by it he.
Being dead yet speaketh.
By faith Enoch was translated that he was not found because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. Without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
By faith, Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world.
Became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should have to receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whether he went. By faith. He sojourned in the land of promises in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and Maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received strength to conceive seed.
And was delivered to the child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful, who had promised therefore spraying there even of one, and him as good as dead so many as the stars of the sea and multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embrace them, and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they've been mindful of that country from once they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country that isn't heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for His, for He has prepared for them a city.
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten Son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called Connie, that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.
By faith is Isaac, Blessed Jacob, and Esau concerning things to come.
By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Jason Joseph, and worshipped leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ. Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he had respect under the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, For he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith He kept the Passover and the spray cleaner blood, lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them.
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians assigned to do were drowned.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot ray have perished not with them that believe not when she had received the spies with peace. And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell Gideon in a barrack of Samson and of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, brought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.
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Quench the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness, remained strong, waxed valiant, and fight turned to flight. The armies of the aliens women received their dead, raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. And others had trial, cruel, mocking bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goat skins.
Destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy, they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beside us.
And let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was sent before him endure the cross, despising the shame, and a set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.
Would you also read chapter 10 verses 35 to 39? Thank you.
Brother, stand closer to the mic.
Hebrews 10, verse 35 Cast on a way, therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. But yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
A little bit. The burden of my heart, brethren, has to do with endurance.
It's one thing to start out in the path of life and faith.
But as it gets longer.
Even for young people, it seems, it's hard to endure. It's hard to keep going with the thought of getting to the end. And so here we have the apostle, or whomever writes the Hebrews.
Exhorting his brethren and encouraging them in the 10th chapter where it says patience, you have need of patience, or we can translate that endurance. You have need of endurance.
That you might receive the promise. And we go to the 11Th chapter and we go all the way through the 11Th chapter. And at the end of the 11Th chapter of those that we read about, it says they hadn't received the promise yet. So here's a whole chapter of people who live by faith and they didn't receive the end of their faith during their lifetime, but they had to endure all the way to the end with the expectation of something beyond in which their faith was based.
And then in the 11Th chapter we have the perfect example of it all in the person of the Lord Jesus, who did endure, who did go all the way to the end, who did have before his heart, his soul, the joy at the end of the journey and what it was going to mean to Himself.
And he endured to the end. And so it's just upon the heart that we might have a sense of what it is that God has given to us to provide for us, that we might go all the way through to the end. I was rather struck in this chapter as we read it and before that faith is in all the original examples of the chapter. It's all individual, like our bill was saying in the previous meeting.
00:15:09
There's a collective side of things, but it has to get down to the individual exercise. And so all the beginning of the chapter is individual and yet there is a collective one. And it to me it's quite interesting and it connects with what we had in Deuteronomy 8IN verse 28 with respect to Moses. It says he kept the Passover. If I were writing this, I would have said they kept the Passover.
But God by the Spirit says He kept the Passover and expresses his faith in doing so. But then in the 29th verse, if you will draw me and we will run after thee, we have the fact that it says by faith they passed over the Red Sea. And then the whole of Deuteronomy 8 is missing from this chapter. We don't have a single thing from that point until they enter the land in verse 30.
And so in verse 30, by faith, the walls of Jericho fell. And so there are lessons that have to be learned in the wilderness that sometimes bring before us where there is not our faith, and in fact, they're profitable and beneficial to us.
Just before stopping at this point I was thinking this morning as as it was being read about Deuteronomy 8. I wonder how many people that left Egypt.
And were there at the banks of the Red Sea when they sang the song of Moses and of redemption. Listen to Moses words in Deuteronomy 8. There were several million of them that started out, but I wonder how many of them were physically present to hear both, you might say the song of Moses at the beginning and the exhortation of Moses just as they're ready to enter the land of promise. And so for us, we really do need provision of God.
We need to have that sense from the Lord. What is it that we have to have to endure to the end?
So one of these individuals that is listed in this chapter, including the perfect example in the beginning of the 12Th chapter of the Lord Jesus, they all had an eye to the future. They all had an object before them because there's no such thing as blind faith. I've heard the expression faith is a leap in the dark, and it's true that faith only acts on the light that it has at the moment, but it does act on light and it acts on an eye to the future.
So a person goes, young person goes off to college or university to school, and perhaps they live on in circumstances that aren't really what they had at home. They perhaps don't go out with when they'd like to. They perhaps eat macaroni dinner several times a week and all that kind of thing. They stay in to study and work hard. Why do they do that? Because they have an eye to graduation. And you ask that young person, why do you live in that little room?
Why do you eat the food you do? Why do you not go out when you when you could with with your peers? Oh, he or she says. I'm looking to the day when I get my degree and I'll get a a job or a better job or things will it will improve.
But I believe we the reason we don't endure so, so often in our Christian pathway is because we lose sight of the future. As you say, brother Don, these ones, many of them, they didn't see the the results in their day. They didn't receive the promises, but they saw them afar off and embrace them and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Moses endured us seeing him who is invisible, you say, How could he go on year after year in the wilderness with all the difficulties and all that he was blamed for by his own brethren and and so on? Couldn't he get just as hungry and thirsty and discouraged as the rest and tired and hot and so on? Yes.
But he endured a seeing him who is invisible. And I appreciated you going back and reading these verses before the 11Th chapter.
Because his brother Bill brought before us in the previous meeting in the hymn that we sang in some of the comments. Brethren, we have a wonderful future ahead. It's not always going to be this way. Someday we're going to leave it all behind and we're going to look back and we're going to marvel at his ways with us. And what is glory going to be compared with a little endurance here? Oh, we're going to wonder why we didn't give up more, why we didn't endure more.
00:20:06
In light of what was ahead. And so brethren, they all had an object and even those who didn't accept deliverance at the end, God having provided some better thing, God has something better in in view. And brethren, we need to have this before us so that we can go on and run with endurance the race that is set before us.
We're dealing with.
Jehovah.
We're dealing with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
We're dealing with an eternal God.
Now he.
Is omniscient. He knows everything.
He's omnipotent. He has all power. He is eternal. Now this is the God with whom we have to do so. He knows.
What he needs to know.
In the end, relationship to everyone of His people whom He chose before the foundation of the world to be like His son. I want you just like Jesus, my Son, and I'm going to work all things after the council of my own will.
In order to accomplish this.
Appearance.
Spiritually, physically, so forth. Just like Jesus, so expect.
A work to be done when what? Bill was just speaking to us about an hour ago.
You don't know.
All that he knows.
But you know him.
Who has the character of justice described somewhat briefly?
And the things that are the things in your life.
That you're aiming for are not being accomplished.
Just wait a minute or two minutes, or a day, or a month or a week, a week. What you need is what we have in this chapter, Chapter 11.
Faith.
I believe God, period.
Now I believe God is able.
To accomplish what he wants accomplished.
Now.
His mind and my mind unfortunately, are not always the same, but his mind is smarter than mine is, and his his heart is.
Full of love.
And wisdom. So I wait for him.
Weight it takes waiting oftentimes to to get to be satisfied.
To know and do what God wants done.
We haven't sung at time, but when I was growing up we used to sing a hymn. Faith is a very simple thing, though little understood. And I suppose that the best definition of faith is really in John chapter 3 verse 33, where it says he that hath received his word hath set to his seal that God is true. And faith really is unquestioning, unquestioning confidence in God.
That is God says it and I don't question it. I believe it, I rely on it. And so we opened here or we read at the beginning the in backing up to the 10th chapter, cast not away. Therefore thy confidence. You know, maybe sometimes in a situation there's nothing we can do, but we can trust. We can have that unwavering, unquestioning confidence in God.
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And brethren, so much does he value that, that he jots it down in his book of remembrance and he is going to reward in a coming day. A brother went in to see a sister one time who was laying in a hospital bed, and she'd been there for some time. And she said to the brother, she said, you know, there's nothing really I can do here to gain any reward. I'm just here and I'm helpless and there's really nothing I can do.
And the brother quoted to her, this verse cast not away. Therefore thy confidence for of such is great recompense of reward. And maybe sometimes we feel just helpless in a situation, but when we get to that point and we simply trust with the future, with the glory in view and his purposes in view, then he says, I value that and I'm going to reward you for that confidence. Maybe you couldn't do anything.
But you trusted me, and I'm going to reward you.
There was a time in my life when I found Hebrews Chapter 11 to be quite discouraging.
When I looked at the chapter and I thought, well, there's Abraham. He's a giant. He really believes a lot.
And there's Noah. Imagine what Noah did and the faith that's exhibited in his life. And there's Moses. And these people are giants and tremendous is the amount of faith that they have to do what they did. But but I'm not like that. And consequently, there was something in the chapter that I found, I would almost say discouraging to my heart to say, well, what am I? I can't be like them.
I want to give you an illustration that is been a real help to me and I think it's a very important one too.
Kaiser and I frequently visit young people in a detention center, and over our visits with the young people in the detention center, we have both spoken to the young people at times about a point in our life where we were uncertain about our salvation.
And at first glance, the two of us were totally different.
In how it was with us, but the end result was the same, a lack of confidence whether we were saved or not.
In my particular case when I was a young person.
I knew the gospel. I never know a time in my life when I didn't. From the time I ever heard words, I was proud the gospel presented to me. And there was a point in my life when I said I believe.
But afterwards I wasn't so sure. And I said again, at some point in my life, Lord I, I said it before, but I mean it, I believe. And this process went on not for a week or a month, but over a period of years when I was young. And in every case when I stopped and looked at myself, my trouble was.
Do I believe enough? Am I sure I believe? I don't know. I better tell the Lord again. In John's case it was the very opposite. He had no doubt that he believed.
He knew, he said. I believe, and he was sure. It's his belief.
But he said I didn't know if God was going to accept me. I did not know if God was going to accept me. And so finally I went to my father and I told my father about my problem and my father gave me this verse. Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. And then he said I had peace about that.
Then I got that verse.
In my own case, I got peace when I finally the Lord allowed me in my mind to say, Is God satisfied with the work of the Lord Jesus?
That he did for me yes he is and as a consequence then I can be satisfied and I had peace from that point on in my life but the point I want to make, the important point about the two examples is in both cases we were occupied with our.
00:30:20
Faith or our lack of faith?
There's no peace in self occupation. About the matter of faith, it's the same difficulty I had with Hebrews Chapter 11. I looked at my faith in comparison to the faith of the people in that chapter.
Don't be occupied with your faith.
It will lead to a lack of confidence or uncertainty in the matter because faith always looks outside of itself to the object of it.
I will not cast you out.
And there's peace in that because the object says, I will not cast you out. When one looks at the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, it's God's side of it that gives the satisfaction of it. And so I would plead with everybody in this room that it perhaps hasn't enjoyed that fact before. Don't be discouraged with this chapter by trying to compare yourself to these people.
Look at their God, look at the one in whom they have their faith and he is worthy. And when one is satisfied with himself, then the matter of can I say the matter of faith takes care of itself because it's no longer self occupation in a very subtle way, even what I believe, its occupation with its object. And that's where the peace comes.
Or not, soul of the world, it is only begotten a Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a boon this has been to many thousands, perhaps millions, of people who were having trouble as to their salvation.
Go farther. Go to the cross.
There's 2 verses, one in the Old Testament, one in the new.
That are.
Or have been a help to me?
Christ died for our sins.
You Testament, Old Testament.
Oh, we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way.
And the Lord laid on him.
The iniquity.
Of us all. That's why they got saved on on my bicycle in 1944 in England.
Now what I saw.
Was that my sins, whatever part of my life?
That included.
Was obnoxious to God.
God took it from me.
And he put it on the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
There at Calvary.
Whether it's New Testament or Old Testament scripture.
We get to the end of the.
Darkness over the land.
For at 12 noon.
God laid on him.
The iniquity.
Of every true believer in all the world.
God laid my punishment.
Or his son.
12 noon I believe, and then it got dark for three hours at at 3:00 in the afternoon.
Jesus said wonderful 3 words. It is finished now then.
What was he doing? He was suffering from my sins.
00:35:04
Now, he says, it's over with.
Now when I sin, and I still do, say things, do things that I wish I hadn't done, bring dishonour to the Lord Jesus.
That when, when God, God sees that, but he doesn't condemn me, he can't condemn me. He's righteous.
So what he says was I laid that punishment on my son Jesus.
At 12 noon on Friday and all the punishment.
That you deserve for that sin and all the other sins of your life.
The blood.
Which is required for payment of sin. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
And that blood was shed and Jesus said it's finished. So there's one thing God can do. He can create a heaven and earth, but he can't send me to the lake of fire because.
Because.
Jesus endured that entirely for me.
Helpful in connection with this matter of faith that.
First comes facts.
The next comes faith and the last is feelings and I find that OFT times.
Souls get feelings up front, and since they don't have what they consider to be right feelings, they question the facts and they question whether they have faith.
But feelings are very real and you can't ignore them. But they're not first. And it's really important that we understand, like Brother Dave was speaking about the facts, the person, the work of Christ is completely outside of ourselves. It's something that was accomplished almost 2000 years ago.
Now our part is simply to believe it.
And it doesn't take a lot of faith.
It only takes a touch of faith. That woman that came behind Jesus, you might say she was trembling, she had a lot of fear, but she had enough to touch just the border of His garment. That was enough. So it's not a matter of the quantity of faith either that you have. The important thing is the person you have faith in, if it's the right person.
All the power in the world is there.
You can have a lot of faith in the wrong person and it won't do you any good. So it's a matter of having faith in the right person. So facts comes first, the person and work of Christ, then our faith is exercised in Him, our confidence and then the feelings will follow in time that don't put feelings first. That confuses a lot of souls.
Chapter 27.
The Apostle Paul.
As he spoke to these ones who were.
In that perilous storm and that boat there, and he says Acts chapter 27 and verse 25.
Wherefore, sirs?
Be of good cheer.
For I believe God.
That it shall be, even as it was told me.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing.
Word of God.
In the French Derby, Mr. Darby has it all. Paradise is there and he says.
Or I believe God, and I know that it shall be, even as it was told me.
So God has spoken.
And then we should not.
But the next test is time.
When is it going to be? As he has told me, that's a test of time.
00:40:01
And time is a great tester of faith, isn't it?
It was a few moments after that Paul saw the accomplishment of what God has told him. But God has told us so many things.
And some are way in the future, some are momentarily going to happen. But one thing is sure, they are going to happen.
There was a time when the disciples were in a ship too, and there was a storm, but they didn't believe what the Lord had told them. He said they were going to go over to the other side there in the end of Mark 4, but they didn't grasp it and they were afraid. And they woke him up and they said, Master karst we not carest thou not that we perish? And So what a contrast. Paul believed what God had said about not a loss of life. The the disciples they didn't grasp, but they didn't believe what he said.
And they were afraid. And brethren, it was brought before us. He's not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. And fear really comes from not having faith in God, not accepting His Word and what He has said without question.
Contrast them and Jim, you just did that the of faith is unbelief. And so when we enter into circumstances in our Christian life, we can either say am I going to act on the one principle? Am I going to disbelieve God? That will be the hindrance to God's blessing in my life or am I going to believe God? Well, that's the channel by which God brings blessing.
Is when we believe and we can see that in the very principle of the gospel, the gospel, the work of Christ is finished. God has an offer of free pardon to any individual who will, what will believe him. He has made that offer of a free pardon.
Available, and only available on the principle of faith.
And so God has made faith a very, very important.
Thing for man, he must put God where God belongs and that is full confidence in him. Any blessing that we receive in our lives as Christian is going to come on that one principle that we believe God anytime there's failure in our life and possibly sin comes in.
It's going to be based upon the opposite principle. We do not.
Believe God. And so it's sometimes it's nice for us to break things down to the very simple principles that God has set before us. It's one is to believe him that brings honor and glory to him. The other principle is to not believe him that dishonours him. And so as we pass through our Christian lives and as those in this chapter did.
They either well in this chapter we have a record of those who said God is worthy of my trust.
And there was blessing. And so we can apply that principle to our lives. Young people, you can apply it to your lives. If God is trustworthy, and if you have a sense of that in your soul, and you've laid hold of the principles of his word and you believe them, you are in the path of blessing.
And the opposite is true.
Could you explain to us the fact of faith, experience, joy, however you take the little train? We often talk about the personal leading, the Spirit, which may have some ties to the Word of God. We know that the Word of God, whenever we believe in it's clearly spoken, clear revelation. But where does our subjective understanding of God's purse or personal leading in our lives?
Fit in with the concept of faith or excuse me, fact. And then faith, you know, would that be more along the lines of feeling or more along the lines of faith when it's not clearly stated in God's word, which is most of our lives, we make hundreds of decisions every hour in most cases not exactly based, but implied by in Scripture.
00:45:10
Mind is in one simple word, communion.
When we were walking with Laura, when we're walking with the Lord, when we're in fellowship with him and his word, the Spirit of God has direction to lead us or gives direction in his in his leading to us. We're close enough to hear his voice. Even though there may not be a, a direct scripture for us to turn to. We know what his mind is because we're intelligent as to his word and we're close to him. We can hear his voice. So that's a good question because.
Oftentimes, the decisions that we make in our lives are based upon not necessarily a scripture which gives us a definite.
Answer direction in our life, but having a sense of the mind of God, being intelligent as to His word, but most of all being close to Him.
So that can never be wrong.
Facts are never wrong.
Well, the Lord never leads, contrary to His word.
Your communion is on the grounds of the Word of God.
May not have a specific verse, but the general tenor of scripture is what's going to lead you, and the more you are close to the Lord and understand His Word, the more you're going to be LED properly.
We can make mistakes in discerning the Lord's will. Can't say that we'll never make a mistake, but we need to be close to the Lord and then, as you say, walking in fellowship with Him, we'll have a sense of the Lord's direction.
Our chapter, it says it's a substantial substance or substantiating of things hoped for. The world has a saying. Seeing is believing.
There's no validity to that statement at all.
When I see something, I don't need faith.
And so, as it says, it's the evidence of things not seen. If I don't see it, then I have to have faith in order to have confidence about something I can't see.
So seeing is believing is not a statement about faith at all. If I hope for some, if I have it, it's mine. I don't hope for it, I've got it.
But it says in this it's the substantiating of things hoped for. In other words, faith has to lay hold of something that it cannot see.
And yet there's a desire connected with it.
And that makes everything of what the person's faith is in.
Because it has to be in someone who can.
Fulfill what's hoped for and what I can't see.
And the only one that ultimately and absolutely can fulfill that is God.
Because everything that God promises to do, He can. There's not a single person in this room that can make a promise that you unquestionably can fill.
As far as every promise.
We're not capable even in what we promise, always fulfilling it.
And we deal with a God who cannot lie. And so every time God says he will do something, we can treat it as a fact because of who says it, not as a fact because we have seen it or only hope that it's true. But the confidence, the basis of it is the one that says it. It's the one who can do everything he says.
And he, thankfully enough, it's not, it's beyond faith, but we know his heart's toward us. His love is toward us. And so he's absolutely 100% toward us or for us. And that that gives us a joy in the faith itself. But I want to make one extra comment about this.
Sometimes the difficulty.
Is that we start with our own desires.
00:50:01
We start with a desire for something that then we turn to God and want to have faith that God's going to do it and it may be something that he never promised.
I want to take an example so that it can be understood simply somebody gets sick.
And then immediately there's a question of having exercise of faith that they're going to get well.
Do we have the absolute from the Word of God that every time somebody's going to get sick, if there's faith, they're going to get well? No, we do not, because God never promised that.
God never promised that he has purposes in such things that don't include getting well.
The but the consequence where our faith or supposed we put our faith.
And are disappointed in it because it starts with a desire that is within us for something that God is not promised to us. And then we're disappointed when God doesn't do it. And consequently, when it comes. And even in the matter of communion, it's very, very important. It's so easy for us to deceive ourselves because it starts with our desire that we need to start with.
God has said.
And when we get to the Word of God and He says it, it's in that that He will always fulfill His promise.
He says, take the matter of sickness, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
That's God's statement, that's the statement of the Lord Jesus, so that one may go through such a trial with the absolute promise of God that the Lord is with me in it. He will not leave me in it, He will not forsake me in it. And that's His promise. And that's something in which one may say, I believe God, but may the Lord help us. Brethren, we get confused in the matter of faith sometimes because we start with ourselves.
And not with what God says.
It's one thing.
And like God, I could read this chapter and be very discouraged. And then when I read about these individuals, there's a lot of failure. And yet they were able to do things because they had faith. They had a, their pathway was right because they had faith. Faith did that. We didn't do that. They didn't do it.
And so the chapter isn't an exhortation to tell us what we should be, but it explains what faith does. And it starts out and not as a definition of faith, but the first thing that faith does is it takes what God has revealed and makes it real to us. Everyone in this room who knows the Lord is a Savior that has faith. Whether it's small or great nose, we're going to be in heaven.
And you know, we can have very little faith, but faith, as sure as we're sitting here, we know we're going to be there. We may not know a lot, but we know that is, in fact, we know that God created the earth.
We go to school and they tell us other things and they may cause questions about this or not, other notes about this or not. But we know by faith that God created the heaven and the earth, that they were formed by his words. And so as I read this, as we read this chapter, it's not what we should be or what we should do or how we should do it. I'm sure we find that in there. But what it tells us is what faith does it made.
Particular things, real truths, real in a practical way to these individuals. It's not what they did, but what faith did to them and to us.
Substance to their life. That's really what this opening verse is saying, that it was faith that gave substance and purpose to their life. A person that just drifts from this to that, as we would say from pillar to post. Their person that has no direction, no object, no purpose in their life but these individuals. Yes, there was failure along the way. Yes, sometimes unbelief did creep in, as it does in all of our lives.
But in the end there was real substance and purpose and testimony in their lives because they had faith. I'd like to just say this too, that when the when Joshua at the end of his life, after they've gone in been established in the land and Joshua was about to pass off the scene in his final words to the children of Israel, he says there is not one thing failed, not one word of all the good promise that he hath promised.
00:55:17
There'd been lots of failure on the part of the children of Israel, lots of times of unbelief and discouragement and losing sight of the object and wanting to turn back to Egypt and so on. But he hadn't failed. And brethren, he abides faithfully, cannot deny himself. And just to realize, as you say, Don, to look outside ourselves and to realize that he doesn't fail. He'll never fail us, no matter what happens in our lives.
And his word doesn't fail. Sometimes we think perhaps it has because we wanted adjusted to the way we think it should workout or the way we think it should have been. But his word doesn't change. His word is faithful. He's faithful. He doesn't change. And so we can always count on that. And just to come back, if we if we waver in our faith, unbelief creeps in just to come back.
And rest on his word it. Joshua says that hasn't changed. He hasn't changed what he was on the banks of the Red Sea, what he promised before he ever left Egypt. Has any of that failed? Is any of that any less? The other thing too, is it's things not seen. But it's very real things, isn't it? Whom not having seen, we love. But I trust Christ is real to every one of our hearts. Have you and I ever seen him with the natural eye? No, of course not.
But is he any less real to the eye of faith? No, I trust not. We haven't seen heaven, but I trust it's a reality in our souls. We read the Word, we rest on what we've been told, and faith takes hold and grasps what we haven't seen with the physical or the natural eye is very, very real, or ought to be very, very real to the eye of faith, and in the measure in which it is real.
To the eye of faith, and we lay hold of it. Then in that measure we're going to endure.
I would suggest that what is seen by the eye of faith.
Is that coming through?
I would suggest that what is seen by the eye of faith is more real to our souls than that which is seen with the naked eye.
We all know that we have seen things.
I have occasionally had the opportunity of standing in a courtroom.
And I have listened to conflicting testimonies, and you sometimes wonder if people were at the same place at the same time to hear what one absolutely and without any shadow of doubt, at least in his or her mind, saw. And someone else comes along and renders a totally different testimony. The eyes can deceive.
When it's a question of faith in what God has said, in who God is, there's no deception, is there? And so it does, as our brother was bringing out in this chapter, faith brings the substance into your heart and mind, brings the evidence there of things that God has chosen not to give us. Why? Because the reality in our souls is far greater.
Than if we actually did see it, now it's true. Faith will give place to sight, but it'll be perfect sight in that day. It'll be sight in all perfection with no deception.
But what do we have here? We have what faith does. Why is it at the end of the book of Hebrews? Because all the facts of all Brady Britain presented. And now he says, as it were, Here's what faith did in the Old Testament for those who had very limited facts.
Now I am giving you that which ought to produce the substance in your hearts.
When you have so much more and then he presents Christ, as he says, the author and finisher of faith. Well, it's a wonderful thing, isn't it? Because as our brother Dave Jennings was mentioning, it brings salvation.
01:00:05
Faith in Christ brings salvation, and it's not a question of how much faith that someone has said a little faith will bring the soul to heaven.
But as we walk with the Lord, as we experience that substance, our faith increases.
And then we find that not only does a little faith bring the soul to heaven, but much faith brings heaven to the soul. And that's what we find in this chapter. We find those who had that faith and whose lives demonstrated it. And I believe the author of Hebrews, probably the apostle Paul, is not, as it were saying, this is what should characterize you, but how much more do you have to go on than they had in that day?
And how much greater should the substance be in your lives, in your hearts, and in your minds?
Maybe someone has a hem. Our time is up.
Most of those who actually saw the Lord Jesus didn't believe in you.
So that's a gift from God to our hearts. We've never seen them, yet we love them.
171.
He bids us come, His voice we know, and boldly on the waters go to him, our God and Lord. Verse three. But if from Him we turn the eye, we see the raging floods run high, our hearts are full of fear.
Our foes so strong, our flesh, our flesh so frail. Reason and unbelief prevail for getting He is near #171.
Someone started please.
Just come his voice. We know.
And.
Go.
To no more God.
Lord.
We love alike and past your sea for.
I almost swing his way.
See your voice just when we dread.
Nor.
Of you round us dread for.
The morning.
Who has come to drive?
I am from.
The.
I.
Didn't.
What? We are unbelievable.
01:05:36
No.
First John 5, verse 9.
If we receive the witness of men.
Which we do, the witness of God is greater. Well, this is the witness of God, which he had testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believe it not. The record that God gave of his Son.
Gospel 1
Gospel—John Kemp
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#15 in our hymn sheets.
O blessed Gospel sound.
Yet there is room. It tells to all around. Yet there is room.
God's love in Christ we see.
Greater it could not be.
All things are ready Come yet? There is room number 15.
Some brotherhood started.
Gospel Sonia, there is room and I'll see you all right.
Great. Could not be.
There is room.
He's willing. How to shame.
For him.
There is room.
All things are ready come.
Everything has done.
Yeah, there is room.
Lord is not completely.
Savior you will be, yes.
God's houses.
Yeah.
There is room.
Yes.
Grace no more will say.
Yeah.
Him before we go on here.
#9 Come every soul by sin oppressed.
There's mercy with the Lord.
He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word. Shall we stand and sing #9?
I say.
And it was your name again.
We cordially welcome any who are.
Strangers here invited guests to the first gospel meeting of our conference. We trust that it will be a blessing to you.
That you will not only hear the voice of the speaker, but that you will hear the voice of the Lord of glory speaking to your heart this evening.
Because it is still the day of grace and the day of God's long-suffering, mercy and compassion, I thought of a little statement at the outset of our meeting tonight. It goes like this. Faith appropriates what love provides. We've been Speaking of faith this afternoon in our reading The hand that is reached out.
To accept what God has provided.
Faith appropriates, takes for itself what love has provided, and that's the meaning of the gospel, dear friend. Tonight it's an expression of the love of God for sinners.
It's the revelation of the heart of God.
You know it says in Galatians chapter 4.
In the fullness of the time, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
You know God had tested man in every possible way in the Old Testament for 4000 years.
And it only brought out.
The hatred.
The IT only exposed what man really was. The law, you know, was not the full revelation of God. We don't see the full revelation of God in His works. We look at creation. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork. We look up into the opened heavens and we see the stars in the heavenly bodies that were created by His fingers.
00:10:11
But we don't see the heart of God revealed in creation. We see the glory of God. We see the power of God. But to behold His love, we must look at the cross. We must think of that blessed One who was in the bosom of God, leaving heaven's glory to come to a world of sin and misery and wretchedness.
That we see all around us today.
To come into this world for that purpose of dying, to save your soul from sin, from eternal hell and darkness. Dear friend, are you willing to put your faith tonight in that work of Calvary? We're not talking about changing your religion. We're not talking about turning over a new leaf.
And trying to clean up your life.
We're talking about born again receiving.
Divine life and nature from God.
Because.
You are by nature lost and ruined, and dear friend, we want to present to you. Tonight may be feebly done, but we want to present to you the person.
Not a religion, not a philosophy, but a person, the divine, eternal Son of God.
Who can meet the deepest need that you have broken hearted?
Burdened with sin.
Unhappy.
Miserable.
God has a message for you tonight from His Word.
The Gospel of God concerning his Son. This is the subject, the theme of the message tonight is the Son of God. And that's what we desire to present to you, our friends, and to each one of us, a person.
The Divine, Eternal One, the Creator of the universe, is the one that we present to you tonight, but the One who laid aside that glory that was his in a past eternity, He could put his hand on all the treasures of the universe.
He veiled his glory.
Left to the home of light and love that was his from a past eternity in the Father's bosom he knew all that in that bosom lay.
He came into a world.
Knowing the treatment that He would receive from hearts like ours, yet He came as the willing one being in the form of God.
Thought it not robbery to be equal with God?
Laid aside that glory. He never emptied himself of his godhead deity, of course, but he did.
Veil that glory and humble himself as a man down here.
To go to the cross.
Creation in all its glory. The word of His power was manifested there in creation, but that could not save your soul. There needed to be more reverently speaking than the word of His power, which brought this whole universe into existence. There needed to be a sacrifice for sin. There needed to be an atonement.
The price of sin had to be paid for. We're going to look at that as we go on in our meeting tonight with the Lord's help that there has been provided.
A remedy for you tonight, a remedy for that awful disease that has afflicted man from the fall of Adam.
God had the remedy ready before the disease came into the world. You know, men and doctors and medical researchers.
They're using all their expertise and their intelligence to overcome the maladies that afflict the human body, and they do the best they can.
00:15:10
But there's always new ones coming up.
They just.
Solve one problem and here's another one.
It's all a result of man's disobedience. But we're speaking about a spiritual need which is greater than any physical need that you have, and that is salvation, forgiveness of your sins.
Eternal life to.
Be prepared for the next World. We've seen some awful things happening the last few days.
Bombay is.
Very familiar to me. I used to stay in the shadow of the Taj Mahal, that is.
The most luxury hotel in Bombay, just at the gateway of India, overlooking the Arabian Sea. Many times I've gone around that hotel.
And we've seen these atrocities in the last couple of days, these terrorist attacks which are appalling.
But you know, dear friends, it's only a a preview, a forerunner of what is coming upon this world.
In Ottawa, we have been studying the Book of Revelation.
And seeing there the awful judgments portrayed under the seals and the trumpets and the vials.
How terrible when men will gnaw their tongues for pain and call for the rocks to shelter them from the wrath of the Lamb.
And the condition of things will be unbearable in that day because.
After the Church is taken, and we want to explain what we mean by that, the Lord's coming is eminent, we must be on the threshold of his return, and the Church will be raptured, taken out of this world.
And don't let anyone deceive you by this falsehood that is being circulated, that there is another opportunity that you'll have a second chance to believe the gospel of the Kingdom and be saved. Though you've missed the opportunity now in the day of grace, that is a complete deception of the enemy, because if you've heard the gospel.
You will be like the foolish virgins in Matthew 25.
Who?
Came to the marriage supper unprepared and knocked at the door, but found no admittance. It was shot.
The door was shut up, a picture of the termination, the ending of the day of grace, and the Lord never opened that door to their earnest entreaties. It was too late.
God is speaking to this world very loudly.
Here we have companies being shaken, bankruptcies common everywhere, the financial situation unstable. Do you have a foundation for your faith for eternity?
Do you know for sure that your sins are forgiven?
The Word of God is the foundation for your faith. Heaven and earth will pass away.
But God's Word will not pass away. Let us look at few verses in Luke's gospel chapter.
Four verse 18.
We're going to look at some other verses in.
The Book of Luke.
Later, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
Because he hath anointed me.
To preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the broken hearted.
To preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. The Lord had entered on his public ministry. Here he was in Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and he took the book of Isaiah and opened it up.
00:20:25
And read these beautiful verses here. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, prophetic of himself and his ministry down here in this world, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. And dear friends, this is the message that we are giving to you tonight.
There's so many people in this world.
That are poor, my wife and I.
Are going to India.
In December, if the Lord will, it's a nation of extreme poverty.
But you know, often among the poor there is an open ear for the gospel.
People of this world, of this continent, they have a lot of material riches, but they're not concerned often about spiritual riches.
And they might have all the money that they can use more than heart could wish.
But do they have eternal riches, those things that will last forever? Do they have something that is?
Stable.
And enduring the things which are seen are for a time, but the things which are not seen are eternal. So there's so many poor.
Often they have a more open ear for the gospel. But if you are without Christ, if you do not know the Lord is your Savior tonight, then you are poor. Regardless of how much money that you have or the riches, the material riches that you may possess, without Christ, you are poor.
You have nothing that will last for eternity.
Money, the universal provider of everything except happiness.
The passport to every place except heaven. But dear friends, tonight God is offering you forgiveness of sins, eternal riches through His beloved Son. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted.
How many there are who are broken hearted?
And.
Burdened.
And the Lord is the only one who can heal those broken hearts. Man cannot do it. But there's one who stooped so low he dried the tears of the widow.
And he met every form of misery.
And he, the Son of God, could weep with the sisters of Bethany, groaned in spirit as he saw the results of sin everywhere. And do we not see them here as well? This world is a vast graveyard, a vast Egypt, where you remember, the people were burdened by the tyranny of Pharaoh.
And God looked down. He was not indifferent to all that those people were passing through.
There, under the taskmaster and the lashes of Pharaoh, God looked down in compassion.
He saw them in their deep need and ruin and helplessness.
He looked down, He had mercy, he had compassion on those people. Dear friends, God is looking down in this world tonight and He is a God of love that desires your blessing.
And to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives.
How many people there are?
That are in captivity.
With the chains of sin and habits.
00:25:02
Unclean living, vile dispositions.
Evil tempers, all these things are like the chains of sin holding men and women in its grasp. The Lord is able to deliver from those that those chains of sin that bind the unsaved. And then we have.
Recovering of sight to the blind.
How wonderful that the Lord Jesus opens blinded eyes.
How many there are that are still?
Blinded by the enemy, the God of this world, that blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine into their hearts. Blind, spiritually blind.
Maybe 2020 vision, but.
See no beauty in Christ.
And also do not see their need as a Sinner. Notice a verse in the book of Psalms that says the Lord is my light and my salvation. Psalm 27 verse one. And you know what? It speaks to us.
Of the time when the light of God shone into our hearts. We thought we were pretty good. We were.
Not as bad as the others that were around us.
But when the light of God.
Shone into our hearts.
Exposed what we really were.
Then we no longer spoke about our goodness.
No. A person might be very have filthy clothes on and be in a dirty condition, but if they're in the dark it doesn't bother them.
But you bring them into the bright light and they see just what they are. They realize the state they are in and they want to have a remedy. You know, that's what repentance is. Repentance is really a change of mind. You have wrong thoughts about yourself and wrong thoughts about God, and repentance is a change of mind. And it's the goodness of God that leads to repentance.
When you realize the love of God in providing salvation for you at such cost.
You see what a wreck you are for not accepting it.
And when you get into the presence of God, you see your condition as you are before God. You're brought into the light.
But then it goes on in that verse. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Isn't that wonderful? The One who knows all about us, the one who has exposed or revealed what our hearts are, He is the one who has provided salvation at such infinite cost, The One who gave the dearest object of heaven.
To provide a way of escape from that judgment, salvation, deliverance, as we have in our verse here, deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. Humanity has been bruised by Satan.
And.
There's only one remedy. Years ago, there was.
A reporter.
Who was?
Commissioned by the.
A newspaper in Chicago to report on Mr. Moody's campaign.
And so he decided that he would go to the.
The evening meeting where Mr. Moody was preaching and he'd sit up at the front and actually see the proceedings because he didn't believe that this was genuine, that Mister Moody was simply working on people's emotions. And he sat up at the front and Mr. Moody that night was speaking on light and blindness spiritually. And he said, I read in the newspaper reports.
00:30:02
I don't know who the reporter was, but he was describing an experience that he had in Chicago. He was walking along the street and he saw, I think it was 3 little girls looking into a shop window. And two of them were enthused and excited by all that they saw the beautiful dolls and the pictures and the toys and everything. But he says, I noticed that the third little girl.
There was number response, there was just a blank.
A blank site there.
And I wondered why there was number response in that little girl. A blank stare. So I went over a little closer and I looked and I saw the reason for it. The little girl was blind.
Her friends were describing all the wonderful things in the store window. She heard it, but she couldn't see it, so it didn't mean very much to her. Mr. Moody went on to explain. He said this is the way it is in the world. We meet people who are blind to these spiritual realities, the beauties of the gospel, and Christ is the Savior and the wonderful future that is ahead of the child of God. They're blind to all that. It doesn't mean anything to them.
And the reporter was listening and he said, stop, Mr. Moody. And he climbed up to the platform and he said, where did you read that story? Well, in such and such a paper on such a date, he says I was the one who was looking at those girls. I was the one who wrote that report that you read. And he says, I never saw that I was in that spiritually blind condition myself.
He said he was an infidel, but the Lord spoke to him and showed him his blind condition there in that meeting, that gospel meeting that evening, and he was brought to trust in the Lord Jesus, and his eyes were opened and he now saw the beauty of the gospel and the Savior that God had provided for him. Dear friends tonight.
It is still.
The day of God's grace and we trust that your eyes will be opened.
And said at liberty them that are bruised.
May be under the power of Satan tonight. The God of this world religiously the Prince of this world, politically leading men down.
To judgment and God is arresting men and women on their downward course.
Why does the road that leads to destruction God is arresting?
Boys and girls and men and women, awakening them to their need and to their danger before it is too late.
Because sometimes.
Judgment falls and there's no time to escape.
But now is the day of salvation for you, my friend, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
Now is the acceptable year of the Lord, the day of grace, the time when the gospel is going out to lost men and women.
The time when God is beseeching men and women in grace, God is beseeching man, is refusing to be made forever glad.
Tonight we exhort you and the authority of the Word of God be reconciled to Him. God does not need to be reconciled to us because He was never against us.
But God, but man needs to be reconciled because.
He is an enemy by wicked works, the acceptable year of the Lord. And you notice in this passage that the Lord stops here. If you look back at the quotation from Isaiah, it goes on to speak of the day of vengeance of our God. But you know, this was not the day of vengeance at this time. It was the day of God's grace, and it's gone on for 2000 years.
The day of God's vengeance has not yet begun.
00:35:03
Because God is long-suffering and not willing that any should perish.
But there is a danger in neglect. A danger in neglect years ago.
In the country of Wales, I have visited the United Kingdom, it is a coal mining area. The Welsh children are lovely children. I've had them in my classes and they're beautiful singers, as you probably know, and lovely dispositions. But there was a huge.
Pile of slag and death refuse from the coal mines because a large part of whales is devoted to coal mining and this big pile of slag and.
Refuse from the mines was piling up, piling up, piling up year after year. People knew that there was a danger, but they did nothing about it. It got to 500 feet high.
And there was a school at the base of the mountain, and the rains loosened that huge pile of slag.
And all of a sudden, without any warning, it began to slide down the hill and crash into that school of Welsh children and all of them were taken suddenly in death.
There was frantic efforts to.
To dig them out. But it was too late. It was only neglect. They knew there was that danger and they allowed it to go on. They neglected to do anything about it. And everyone in this room is either an acceptor of Christ.
Or a neglector of salvation. Or a rejector. You're in one of those 3 categories. And if you have been putting off the matter of salvation, today is the day of God's grace. Again, we we repeat, it is the acceptable year of the Lord. Tonight is still the day of God's matchless, marvelous grace.
The unmerited favor of God for you to save you from a lost eternity. Tonight there will be joy in heaven.
If you turn to the Lord in repentance and humble yourself as a Sinner in His presence, because we have no promise of tomorrow.
My wife Eleanor is from Brazil, I think, as most know.
We were down visiting her family last summer in July in the Deep South of Brazil, and we were returning back to Sao Paulo where she lives, that vast city of 17 million people.
And we were waiting for the plane in Porto Alegre. It's one of the large cities in the South of Brazil. Probably a million or more people in Porto Alegre. We were in the waiting room there. Our flight was, I think it was around 7:00, but there was a flight that preceded us also going to Sao Paulo.
But to a different airport than ours.
There was 199 people on that flight.
It left about one hour before our flight did.
Probably we were all sitting in the same waiting room. You know that that flight never arrived in Sao Paulo. Those people never arrived.
Coming into the airport.
It was a dark and stormy night, rainy night and the pilot misjudged the runway in some manner and.
Overran hit a deep hole of a fuel depot and burst into flames. Over the highway and hit the depot and burst into flames. An inferno.
199 people went into eternity that night.
Solemn, isn't it?
I reproach myself that.
I didn't get the gospel out to those people because it would have been their last opportunity to hear it. Generally, the gospel is well received in Brazil.
00:40:02
But I just tell that story.
To emphasize that life is uncertain.
And eternity could be around the corner for anyone of us. And what is your foundation for eternity? What are you depending on?
What is your hope?
Where is your confidence? What are you trusting in for your eternity?
Is it the finished work of Christ?
The blood that he shed, the sacrifice that he made. I put it this way sometimes a perfect work done by a perfect person.
To give you a perfect standing before God, you can't add anything to that work would be an insult to God.
God is not looking for you to.
Do good works and to change your life. He's he's pointing you to his beloved son who loved you.
And provided salvation at such a cost. Let us turn over to the second chapter of Luke for a few moments, because here we see.
The Incarnation It's a passage of scripture that is well known to.
Perhaps most of us here.
But we'll just read a few verses here.
Verse 6 And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. This is Mary, and she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a Manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Here we have the incarnation of the Lord that means.
The Lord taking manhood into union with Himself in the glory.
Be in a past eternity the Lord was not a man, but now He takes manhood into union with himself.
He didn't cease to be God, He didn't lay aside his Godhead glory, but he veiled it in a human.
Tabernacle in human form. This is the marvelous truth of the incarnation, the foundation of our Christian faith being attacked. But this is.
Vital to to believe that God.
Became a man in the person of Christ to accomplish the work of redemption. He has gone back to the glory as a man. He's a living man up there. The Lord of life and glory is back up there in, in in heaven with the Father. And he bears in his hands the mark of all his toil and his victory and his sufferings. But here he is coming into the world.
For 400 years there had been no message from the prophets.
The 400 silent years.
And man had been tested, as we remarked, in so many ways, under conscience, under innocence, under the law, under promise, and he had miserably failed in every situation. And now, in the fullness of the time, God is sending forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, and.
He enters man's world and he is not known. He came uninvited.
The great men of the world did not know him, the scribes and the Pharisees the religious leaders.
They were not looking for him. They didn't realize who he was.
Where is he that is born king of the Jews?
That's the first question in the New Testament.
First question in the Old Testament was Adam, Where art thou?
But here is the Son of God.
Coming into this world that his hands had made and there was no room for him in the inn or you say that was a coincidence because the the census was being taken ordered and of course everyone had to go to their native places and the city of Bethlehem town of Bethlehem was overcrowded, but.
Usually when a rich man comes to a hotel, no matter how full it is.
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They find room for him, but here was the Son of God.
The creator entering the world and there was no room for him in the end.
And.
Although that was the case and still is the case in the world today, there's no room for Christ, room for pleasure, room for business, room for entertainment and pleasure, and no room for Christ. It's the same today. But let me tell you that there's room in the heart of God for you tonight. So here was the Lord Jesus.
Entering man's world for the first time in the history.
Of the world the angels saw their Creator.
The Lord Jesus was the only one who could choose where he would be born, and He chose a stable.
The Son of God in humility.
Here, as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes laid in the Manger, there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Those simple men busy at their work there in the fields.
Were the ones that received this wondrous message the first gospel message that had ever been preached?
Nor the Angel of the Lord came upon them. This heavenly messenger. The glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. The Angel of the Lord from heaven came and announced the most wonderful news. The glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. Heaven was opened.
And the light of God.
Illuminated that dark night.
With this wondrous message of pardon, you know, a few years ago.
You remember that?
The grid of North America.
The the electrical grid, something went wrong with it and the whole northeastern part of North America, affecting 50 million people. It was plunged Into Darkness. I guess some of you would remember that.
Which lasted not very long, but it crippled traffic and it caused great upheaval in the whole northeastern area of the continent.
The darkness.
Was a great handicap to people, but it wasn't complete darkness. People had some artificial light and they were able to navigate, although they were much hindered in getting home and trapped in elevators and.
Traffic lights not working and so on.
But when we think of the heavens being illuminated here.
By the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God.
That you might have light in your life, salvation and pardon. Here's the good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, not only to the nation of Israel, now not confined to one nation. The gospel is for whosoever it's for you tonight. God has a deep interest in your eternal blessing in your salvation.
Don't take a chance.
There's no chance in this matter because God is giving you the opportunity in His wondrous grace tonight.
And.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
Bethlehem means House of bread. What a wonderful House of bread Bethlehem has been for 2000 years. The living bread came out of the town of Bethlehem and how many have partaken of that bread and found eternal life?
But here the Lord Jesus is presented to man. Unto you is born this day in the city of David.
A Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Dear friends, you're going to meet the Lord.
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As savior or judge, one or the other.
There's no middle ground. You can't be.
You can't be neutral about this matter. Either belong to the Lord, you know him as Savior, you've been washed from your sins by his precious blood, or else you're still.
Rejecting that wondrous message of pardon.
That God is giving to you tonight.
God is beseeching. Don't neglect that salvation that he offers to you. Suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest on earth, peace, goodwill toward man.
The angels of heaven came trooping down.
To celebrate the entrance of the Son of God into man's world.
The Riddle of centuries was going to be solved. How is guilty man to be saved from his?
Wretchedness and his guilt.
It's solved here in the coming of Christ into this world. Now I just caution. I just make a remark here.
On one point, it wasn't the incarnation of Christ that saves the soul. We know that the Lord could have gone back to the glory from Gethsemane. He could have gone back from the Mount of Transfiguration. But there would be no salvation offered to you if He had left this world.
Apart from the Cross of Calvary, the Incarnation was necessary, but it didn't form the foundation of salvation it.
Was the appearance of God in in this world, but it was the death of Christ, only his death that could save your soul and mine. And so this announcement affected these people they were earnest seekers they went with haste to the.
The town of Bethlehem. They didn't neglect the matter. They were.
Earnest seekers and an earnest seeker and an seeking Savior always meet. So, dear friends, tonight as we come to the close of our little gospel meeting, we do give you that invitation that there is room for you tonight, yet there is room. God's house is filling fast, yet there is room. Some guests will be the last.
Yet there is room. There's a little poem that I'd like to close with.
Years ago there was in the City of London a poor.
Woman who had hardly anything of this world's goods she lived in one of the.
Garrett's up in the top floor of one of the tenements in London where I've often visited, visited with the gospel in those that areas, those areas in the heart of London City, midst the dwelling of the poor, these bright golden words were uttered. I have Christ, what want I more? He who heard them ran to fetch her something from the world's great store. It was needless.
Died she saying I have Christ, what want I more so only the Son of God can give you that peace and assurance. You know peace is a result.
Of something being done for you by another peace with God.
Is a result. It's not something based on your feelings.
There must be something that is disturbing your peace and that is sin in the case of each one of us and the Lord Jesus, just like Jonah there.
He had to go down under those awful waters before there could be.
Deliverance brought to those sailors in the ship.
The only way there could be peace from that awful storm that was.
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Troubling those men and threatening to take them down to the bottom. There had to be.
The casting of Jonah into the water. And so for you to have peace with God, the Lord Jesus had to go down under the terrible waters of judgment, and he did so in love for you, in grace. Unspeakable thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. I said that to many people as I came down to Saint Louis yesterday, because yesterday was Thanksgiving Day and had the opportunity to give out some Gospel tracks.
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. He who was rich became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich. So peace with God is a result of that work of Calvary. You cannot obtain it by your own efforts.
And you cannot purchase it.
But as Jonah went down under those waters, of course Jonah was a disobedient servant. The Lord was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, and he went down under those deep waters of wrath and judgment to bear the punishment for my guilty sins. Some people say, confess your sins and come to God, but I can't do that. I have too many.
In fact, a person who is unsaved.
Before they are brought to Christ, their whole life is sinful. There's no fruit for God in their life. They can't remember everything they done have done.
But God, who knew them, He knew all my filthy sins, and he measured the weight of them. He placed them upon his beloved Son. And like Jonah thrown down into those waters, then there was calm and peace. And so for you tonight, if you believe that the Lord Jesus went into death for you, and He bore the awful storm of judgment, stroke upon stroke, wave upon wave passed over his holy soul.
In the hours of darkness into which we cannot even look or understand. And then he rose triumphant from the dead, and is now a living man in the glory. And he offers that full and free salvation to whosoever. May each one of us tonight. Reach out the hand again, I say.
And appropriate what God has provided, well, May God bless His Word tonight to our souls, and may there be joy in heaven.
Perhaps over 1 poor Sinner as all we were at one time, who believes the message, and passes from death unto life, shall we sing in closing?
One or two verses of #5.
Shall we sing the first verse?
And the third verse of #5 shall we stand?
It's my choice.
Only myself.
Well, play this world, make my dream.
Until it's round shake, it's all the world.
Hebrews 11:4-7
Reading
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139.
This world is.
Yes, I sure.
So long we are, we are going to fear more, to cry.
And the joy.
Is.
Rising shall cry.
First Samuel, chapter 17.
And verse 12.
Now David was the son of that after that event of Bethlehem, Judah.
Whose name was Jesse and he had eight sons.
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Man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
I enjoyed the thoughts yesterday about the chapter that we're talking about, the endurance.
And we often speak of the young men of Scripture, of which David, certainly one of them that we make reference to.
I suppose if we take to heart.
The thoughts of endurance in Hebrews 11.
That the Lord would give us grace to be one of the old men of Scripture.
As well.
Hebrews 11 Dawn.
Very far.
Suggest maybe we start with verse 4.
Perhaps this morning we'll be able to keep moving a little.
Hebrews 11, verse 4.
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead, yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death, and was not found, because God had translated him. For before his translation he had this testimony that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is.
And that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him by faith. Noah, being warned of God, of things not seen as yet moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whether he went by faith. He sojourned in the land of promise.
As in a strange country dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heir is with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sarah herself received seed to conceive, strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Therefore spring there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky and multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable. All these died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embrace them, and confess that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country that isn't heavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.
For he has prepared for them a city by faith. Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac, and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten Son, of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, counting, that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.
My faith, Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
By faith, Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
By faith, Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel, and gave commandment concerning his bones.
By faith Moses when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. A steam in the reproach of Christ. Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect under the recompense of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured and seeing him who was invisible.
Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first warrant should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea, as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed, not when she had received the spies with peace. And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell a Gideon, and a barrack and a Samson.
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Of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword. Out of weakness were made strong, wax valiant and fight, turn to flight the armies of the aliens. Women receive their dead, raised to life again, and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
And others had trial of cruel mockings, encouraging say more over abounds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted.
Were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise. God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Wherefore seen we also are compass developed with so great a cloud of witnesses.
Let us lay aside every weight, and the sandwich does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endure the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endures such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.
Reading this fourth verse by faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
And we know that's true. We have the record in Genesis. We have the record here.
That Cain offered to God the fruit of a cursed earth, the very thing that God had cursed. Cain turned around and presented it to God as an offering. And that's unacceptable to God. But by contrast with that, Abel offered to God that which spoke of Christ, the death of the animal. And so the record given to us about it here is by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.
That is.
He in faith offered this offering to God, and God turned around and gave witness to the fact that he was accepting that offering. It was God himself that gave the witness with respect to the offering and said, I am pleased with this. I'm accepting this offering just in the same manner with respect to Cain. God said, I do not accept.
This offering. And so when there is faith in God and in what God says, he gives the witness himself that he is accepting and is pleased with that faith. So we ourselves have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. God gives witness to that faith in giving us the gift of eternal life. And that's God's testimony as to that faith in that life that he gives that he had promised to us. And further than that, because there's a treasure at the end of the road for us.
That is to be seen as that for which we are going to endure in faith. God says further, I'm going to put the Holy Spirit of God in you so that that is my further testimony and witness to that in which you have accepted my promises thus to your heavenly calling. Further than that, then he goes on to say God testifying of his gifts, that is, he was offering a lamb or a sacrifice to God.
And God gives testimony to his pleasure in the very gift itself, just as with us when we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, the faith is pleasing to God, but he not only gives testimony of his acceptance from us, but he loves to give testimony to the gift itself that is pleasing to him. That is Christ. And so it's a great honor to God.
In giving testimony to that in which our faith rests, and in which he is satisfied, and then finally, and sometimes we put it first, but it comes last, and by it he being dead yet speaketh. That is, God is still using.
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Abel to speak to mankind through the record that he has given to us concerning Abel's faith and his sacrifice and God's acceptance with it.
And so the whole chapter is a cloud of people who we can look upon it, and rightly so, as it shows in the beginning of the 12Th chapter that they're a cloud of witnesses to us of what faith does and how it pleases God and the results of it and so on. But let us not forgive that. God starts at the beginning of it. It is it ends with the sense of being a testimony. Let's not, as it were, make it as an object.
To be a testimony of our own faith. That's not the point. These people were not trying to be a testimony in faith. Rather, individually, they were seeking and accepting what God said to them and acting on it. God gave witness to that faith.
And in turn, as he chose, He was pleased to give witness to us through them of that which is faith. And if God wants to use our faith in some way to give witness, so be it. But that's not the point of it really. It is. Let us individually honor God.
By believing what he says.
We see this.
Is that there are those?
Who have respect.
Unto their creator.
And whatever else you may to other titles you may give him, there is respect. I believe him. I believe that what he says is important. I believe that what he wants.
Is what I want as well.
And I respect.
Everything about him.
So when when he speaks, I bow my heart and my will to say yes, Lord.
That is.
I am right with you.
In seeking to.
Be pleasing that what you want accomplished. I may have a share in it.
It's always based on the Word of God or some testimony from God and.
Might ask, well, what testimony did Abel and Kane have?
I'm sure it was told them by their parents that when they were cast out of the Garden of Eden that they were clothed by the skins of a victim and so.
Abel realized that that was the only way of approach to God by the sacrifice of an innocent victim, whereas Cain I'm sure, also heard the testimony that God had cursed the earth.
But in ignoring directly that testimony he offered the fruit of a cursed earth, and that was not acceptable to God, it shows that it's important that faith is always based on some communication, some revelation from God.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Often notice and preaching the gospel.
There are souls that really listen. How important the hearing here if there's not a hearing here?
You won't get the blessing when God speaks, we need to listen.
We sometimes speak how God teaches in His Word by contrast, and we certainly have it in this verse because here were two boys raised in the same home. As you say, Bob, they heard the same testimony from their parents as to how God had dealt with things at the beginning, but they responded in two very different ways. A brother was telling me a few days ago about growing up in a Christian home.
And he said there were three of us in the home. And he said, as far as I can see, our parents never treated us any different. They treated us, the three of us pretty well equal, loved us equally. We sat at the same dinner table and heard the word read every day. They brought us to Sunday school and Gospels and meetings and so on. But he said that there were really three different responses and three different lifestyles.
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In following.
And I've thought of it in connection with Cain and Abel, and it's really a solemn warning, isn't it? Maybe there's someone here and you brought up in a Christian home. You might have a brother or a sister who's been saved and going on for the Lord, seeking to live for the Lord. What about you? As we've been saying, faith is a very individual thing. And so able by the grace of God, he took hold of what of the testimony that.
He'd heard from his parents and there was a tremendous result in testimony.
As a result, Cain, as you say Bob, he chose to to ignore that and little did he know that it would be recorded in God's eternal record as a warning for us to read here.
Centuries later, but it again, it just shows that faith is individual. And I'd like to say this too as we go down and enumerate these various ones Able and then Enoch and Noah and Abraham.
That their faith shone in spite of the circumstances. You know, a person might say, well, I'm in very difficult circumstances. Or I was brought up in a home where we didn't hear the word or it's a dark day today. You know, there were there were difficult circumstances for all these ones. Here we're Abel and Cain. Cain was one who opposed.
But Abel, he went on unshaken in his faith in spite of it. Enoch who it says after he begat Methuselah, he walked with God 300 years. That was a long time. It's mostly none of us will be called on to walk with God. 300 years. That was a long time. Was it easy an Enoch stay? Indeed, it was not easy. And Enoch's day you come down to Noah. Why? Violence and corruption filled the earth. The thought of the heart of man was only evil continually.
Was it an easy day in the days of Noah? No, it was just in the days of just before the judgment fell. But Noah had faith and he prepared an art to not only the saving of himself, but the saving of his house. What an encouragement this is. We can go on individually in spite of the circumstances in our home life, in the world, amongst the people of God. Who are we going to be responsible for in the end?
If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. We're going to have to be responsible to give an account not of how bad things were, how our brothers or sisters or our brethren or anybody else responded to God's testimony, but we're going to be responsible to how we responded and reacted and what bright lights these are even in dark times.
How did Enoch walk with God? 300 years. That's an example of endurance, isn't it?
I've come to the conclusion, brethren, he did it a step at a time. And sometimes we look ahead and we say, man, I don't understand. I can ever keep up all the distance in front of me. Just do it a step at a time. That's the secret walk with God. What a blessing. You don't read about Enoch doing some great feat like David who slew a giant.
Nothing. Only this is recorded of him. He pleased God. He walked with God for 300 years. What an impressive statement.
And then I think that it's important, brother Bob, the way you put that because.
I've asked myself occasionally, why did the Spirit of God pick out these three men, Abel, Enoch and Noah, and mention them here?
I guess it's all right to say, brother. Don Rule and I were chatting yesterday after the reading meeting and we were noticing that if you want to, you can divide this chapter up a little bit. Here we have these three men.
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Then we have Abraham's family with seven by faith in connection with Abraham's family.
Then we have Moses and the children of Israel, and we have 7 by faiths in connection with them.
Then going further down in the chapter in verse 32.
We have seven more either individuals or groups of individuals that are mentioned, and then, of course, the resulting things that are detailed at the end of the chapter.
But I've asked myself, why these three men? Why are they the three that are picked? And I don't know altogether for sure, but.
We see that Abel, among other things, lived a very short life.
He was probably a young man when his brother murdered him.
We've talked about Enoch.
Following the Lord for 300 years and how long a time that was.
But in those days, he lived a short life, didn't he? It was less than half the life of his son Methuselah. Closer to 1/3 of it.
It was much less of a life than Noah lived.
And yet the Lord saw that after 300 years, he was going to take him home. Did Enoch expect that? I doubt it, but his faith was rewarded. What about Noah?
He lived a good long life.
And he bore a testimony. And so in these three men we have enabled, you might say, the approach to God and worship.
In Enoch, a quiet walk before the Lord.
And in Noah.
The heating of a warning and the testimony to a lost world. And I would suggest that in all of those three things the Lord speaks to your heart and mind. I heartily agree with what Don said. None of these men set out to be a testimony. None of them set out and said I am going to exercise my faith so that I will have a place in the annals of God's Word and be an example to others.
But in doing what they did.
God saw to it, number one, that their faith was rewarded and #2 That they were an example to you and to me. And so whatever it may be in your life and mine, if we look at these three men in the beginning, here we see an approach to God.
We see a careful and godly walk before the Lord, and we see ultimately a testimony to the world, and we see it rendered by men, one of whom lived a short life, one of whom, in what we might call antediluvian times, lived only part of a life, and Noah, who lived a full life. And so God may use each one of us in different ways. He may leave us here for a long time. He may leave us here for a short time.
Whatever He chooses to do, but He uses us to exercise faith and to walk for His glory down here.
Shine before men, they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. And that's enough.
Have spoken to fellow.
Person that you work with or somebody, a neighbor, somebody that you have contact with and you said to them, I'm looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
And they've engaged you in some kind of conversation and found you perhaps not so involved with this world and what's going on with it as they are. And that you tell them, no, I, I have a hope, I have a promise from God that the Lord Jesus is going to come for me and Take Me Home to the Father's house. That's my real home. That's what I'm looking for. The day is going to come.
Trust in our lifetime and perhaps today when God is going to give answer to that faith.
And then your neighbors going to say, where is he? What happened to him?
God gives testimony and he said I'm pleased.
It's an honor to me. And so it is in that the neighbor might say that's what he said, and now he's gone.
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And that's the way it was with Enoch. He walked with God. He had a hope which went beyond this world, and he lived in that hope. We're not told the details of it is Bob has already mentioned, but we know it's true. It's the record that's given to us here. And God showed his pleasure and he said, OK, Enoch, he just took him.
And so the day is coming when we may not think, well, I don't have Enoch's faith, brethren. Yes you do. Yes, you do. You may not have it in the measure, perhaps in a in a way, but again, it's not, it's not how much it is. It's the object of it. And I dare say the majority, we hope, we wish to everybody in this room, we collectively have, as it were, the same kind of faith that Enoch has, he said.
He looked beyond and God answers it and said, come up in the personal Lord Jesus, and then, as it were, it's that which pleased God.
Because it's impossible without, as he says in the next verse. He goes on to say it's not possible to please God without faith.
We were so used to limiting ourselves to what we see.
This was said yesterday. Man's statement seeing is believing but God is honored at now we don't see him.
But we believe he is.
We believe the testimony is given of Himself. We believe we accept what He's put in us, the consciousness of His being because of our spirits and so on. That when we look at things, our spirit says to us, witnesses to us, that flower was created by your Creator, and you have to do with Him, and you know that He is. And only the fool says in his heart, really, no God. That's man's infidelity or turning away.
But as he says in verse six, he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. We not only accept that God is, but we have this confidence that God has a delight in US and He rewards us accordingly according to His own heart. And so it is that every one of these people had something beyond them this life.
Something beyond themselves that they had a confidence that God would reward. So do we in our measure when we say, well, the Lord's coming and we have a confidence in that and God says that's something I'm going to reward.
It's going to be realized and you're going to be, I'm going to exceed every expectation you have in connection with it.
Also gave a prophecy, didn't he? And that was in due it's told to us in Jude. He prophesied that the Lord was coming with 10,000 of his Saints to execute judgment. That didn't happen in the days of Enoch. In fact it didn't happen for hundreds and hundreds of years later till the days of Noah. And I just want to say this that as we have the privilege of living by faith and walking with God and to please God.
And to speak, to speak for God. The judgment is coming on this world. Let's not be discouraged by God's long delay.
To enter into the heart of God and see his long-suffering to us were not willing that any should perish is going to encourage us to go on in the path of faith. Simply speaking and warning Enoch thank God was translated taken out of this world before the judgment fell, but he was faithful in his testimony as to his walk with God. We've spoken of that and then the words that he he spoke as well.
I'd like to just say this too, in connection with these three men, not and I appreciated what Brother Bill said, but would you say to Brother Bill there's a little bit of a prophetic character to what we have here in or dispensational character perhaps would be a better way to put it in that able was a man who enters into the heavenly blessing through death.
00:35:00
Enoch is one who enters into it. He's taken to heaven without dying. That's what we're looking for today. I don't expect to die. I may. But my father didn't expect to die. He did. And he's entered into his portion, not fully, of course, but he's absent from the body and present with the Lord through the article of death. We're looking to be translated like Enoch through the rapture. And then there's Noah. And Noah wasn't taken away before the judgment. He was brought through it because there will be those of God's earthly people.
Who are saved through the tribulation? We're going to be taken away before in no sense of the word are we going to be go through the tribulation. Many scriptures that show that we're going to be taken out, but there is an earthly company who are going to be brought safely through and be brought out to the millennial blessing on a on a, on a in a wonderful way. Noah came out of the ark on a cleansed earth. They're going to be those who are brought through.
And upon a purged earth. And there's going to be tremendous blessing. So would you allow that? There's perhaps that little picture here, Bill.
More than allow it, I would heartily say it's true. Yes, Enoch is definitely a type of the church, and Noah a type of the godly Jewish remnant that are brought through the tribulation and then used to replenish the millennial earth.
Not subject of those that will be saved, maybe should elaborate on the fact that those who have heard the gospel today won't have a second chance. They're not going to be those who will be brought into some blessing in that future day that you refer to Jim. So maybe you could elaborate on it just a little bit more. Well, perhaps and we won't turn to them because they're well known scriptures, but perhaps there are three scriptures that would give.
Confirmation to what you say.
I appreciated what Brother John said in the Gospel last night about how those who have opportunity to receive the grace of God will have no opportunity if left behind at the rapture, having rejected the testimony that they have now.
First of all, in Luke's Gospel it speaks of those. It says once the master of the house hath risen up and shut to the door, they come and they begin to knock. And it's very significant what they say, Lord, Lord, open unto us. Now wherever you read that expression, it's always profession. It's those who have known the name of the Lord, but they've only made a profession.
And so those who say Lord, Lord, they knew, but they left it until it was too late. And when the door was shut, it was never reopened to receive those who had had a testimony. Then our brother John, I think, mentioned last night the parable of the 10 virgins. And again they come and they knock. They had, it looked like they had oil. They lit their lamps and they flickered and then they set. Our lamps are going out.
They again it was profession and they too said Lord, Lord, but again the word comes depart from me. I never knew you. And then in Thessalon, First Thessalonians, it tells us of those that will be sent a strong delusion that they believe a lie. And then it says because they received. Now this is significant. They received not the love of the truth. They heard the truth and it shakes me to think.
That those who receive, who believe the lie, such will be the lie and the power thereof. That it will be those who have perhaps been raised in Christian, in Christian homes. Those who sat in a gospel meeting like we heard last night, those who have come to Sunday school, those who have sat in conferences and rubbed shoulders with other believing young people.
You say, how could that be? That's what Scripture says, that they're the ones, not the heathen, who've never had the testimony of the grace of God in as to the gospel. But those who have heard the truth, they rejected it. They didn't receive the love of it. It didn't become real to them. They will such will the delusion be that they will believe it, so that they all might be damned. And there we never read of repentance with those who have had.
00:40:03
Opportunity now, in fact, in Revelation, they simply cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb and the face of him that setteth upon the throne. They're sorry they got caught, but not sorry. As far as repentance, because the Spirit of God is working in men's hearts now to bring them to repentance. If they refuse to heed the striving of the work of the Spirit of God now, they will not have that work to bring them to repentance, however.
There will be the gospel of the Kingdom. Thank God for those who have never had opportunity now, because it's a principle with God, just like you see in Noah's day, that he never judges without giving it a warning and without making a way of escape. That's the heart of God.
I wonder if we could just consider.
In connection with starting with Abel and as we go down this chapter.
In connection with faith.
That God gives us faith. Abel God.
The facts from.
His parents, but God gave Abel faith to recognize the way to draw to God.
And God.
Looked favorably unto Cain and his offering, because.
It was Christ presented to the Father. I'm sorry, Abel and his offering. It was Christ presented to God and type even though it's Abel in his heart didn't all about that.
And so with Enoch, he prophesied from Jude as to the coming of the Lord, which is really not the flood. It's really the coming of the Lord to establish his Kingdom and to set righteousness on the earth. So Enoch had a revelation from God and his prophecy, and perhaps he didn't understand all of it, but it was Christ as to coming and establishing his Kingdom.
We find it with Abraham also. He's, we'll read about him later there, but you know, he's called out of idolatry and to be brought into the land of promise. And he's going to walk through that land and not really possess it. It's going to be for other people. But God brings him there in faith. And then as a friend of God, God brings him to Mount Moriah with the with the son that he promised and who was born, you might say, miraculously and.
And he rehearses with Abraham, a man of faith, that which we he was going to do himself with the Lord Jesus.
So you can see in a little picture there of that fate that comes from God. It really given to us that we might enter into.
Fellowship with the heart of God in a measure.
And here we are now the Lord Jesus come, and we know that sacrifice of Abel was a type of Christ. The Lord who's coming to exercise judgment is the Lord Jesus, that one whom Isaac was a type, the blessed Son of God, and you and I are come into.
Have fellowship with the father.
About the person of the Lord Jesus.
And our life of faith, with all its experiences and difficulties, trials, God allows for us to enjoy in a greater measure.
That delight that he finds in him and that we would to through our experiences, our difficulties.
Someone is going through a time of.
Test of loneliness.
Brother Bill was speaking yesterday about feeling sorry for ourselves.
Having pity for ourselves. Nobody understands me.
Well, that's a fleshly perspective.
But imagine the grace of God, and by the Spirit of God to say.
Now you're in a measure in your soul to consider something a little measure because you're going through a similar circumstances.
Of knowing something of the loneliness of the Lord Jesus.
Because of your circumstances. Why would God do that in your life? Oh, that you would have a deeper, greater fellowship with His heart. What a privilege dear wants to have the word of God to recall to us the whole history might say of faith for us now. And that we would see the heart of God bringing us through a dead and trespasses and sins, blasphemers and fellowship with Himself, and slowly giving us the revelation, the entrance into His very heart that the Father Himself is sharing with us.
00:45:01
That blessed one, the Lord Jesus.
I think that's what we have in verse 6. Michelle is.
Don't already spoken of it a little bit, but notice it again. It says without faith it is impossible to please him.
For he that cometh to God, and notice this part, must believe that He is first of all.
It's getting to know who God is.
And we get to know each other. And as we get to know each other, we know. Can you really trust that person or not?
And sometimes you can. Sometimes you can.
But the more you get to know who God is, and that's the focus of faith, God said it. Maybe I have a fault in my understanding of what God said, and that's why we need to listen intently when God gives some testimony. But it's his own character that we come to know that God has been revealed and faith.
Focuses.
In on who God is wonderful. Every promise he makes, it brings into focus his own character. If he's made a promise, is he going to keep it? The Lord Jesus made a promise. I will come again. Is he going to keep that promise? I have no other reason to believe that he's going to keep that promise. I don't see any other option.
On the table, He's going to keep that promise. Why? Because God is. It's his own being. God is true. Let all men be liars.
God is true, and so how important it is to have that firmly settled in our in our day. I I really think that the enemy has made a direct attack on the Christian faith in our country.
And continues to do so by calling in question who God is.
And people have all sorts of ideas who God is. Some of them think that they're God.
These are the philosophies that are circulating in our country today.
And we need to know that God is. It's absolute.
And faith rests on who God is, and then that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
God likes diligence. I just want to say to each one of us, let's be diligent. Whatever the Lord gives you to do, do it with diligence. He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. No laziness here, no half heartedness. It's whole hearted.
Unbelievable separates and faith connects.
In the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve.
Enjoyed the company of God and the fellowship of God. It was unbelief coming into their heart.
That caused them to fear because of their disobedience. They feared God in a way that made them hide from His presence. But when there's faith, there is that desire as it's expressed in that sixth verse in the new translation. It says draw near or diligently seek him, Draw near unto God. And so when there is, and that's what we see, Abel drew near to God to offer a sacrifice.
Enoch walked with God. There's a sense of fellowship together.
When it was a case of Noah, it says he feared God.
In Proverbs we have the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, because it's putting God in his right place and us in our place in connection with Him.
That is a proper foundation for wisdom and knowledge. God is to be given his place and God is to be recognized. It's the Lord, the fear of the Lord, because it's a God who wants to have a relationship with us. And where there's faith, there is that relationship established through that faith, and there are the consequences of the relationship. God-given his place in Noah.
00:50:25
Caused him to have a proper respect and reverence for what God said. God said Noah, I'm going to destroy this world.
And here's what you are to do about it. And so he said about doing a thing that, in the eyes of man, was totally foolish.
But the very act condemned the world. The world was condemned. They launched Noah. That doesn't tell us how. It doesn't say whether he said a word or not. We can speculate about that. But the fact is God says the act of Noah, of the building of the ark, was God's testimony to the world that he was going to destroy it.
It has an application to our lives, to brethren. God has said this present age is going to be destroyed. There's nothing in it that is going to be left as far as a system of things in the world. It's lies here and unbelief and the Lord Jesus is going to bring in wrath and going to completely destroy the present system of things, not with the flood, but with his own coming.
And establish a Kingdom in righteousness.
And God, as it were, says to us in this room this morning, He said, And I want you to live in fear. That is a reverential respect in a fellowship with coming near unto me. And I will use your life as a testimony as I choose that this world is condemned.
We don't want the world to be surprised of what happens because we lived like them.
Our lives are to be lived and there will be a different character to the manner of our lives if we believe, like Noah believed, that this world stands condemned and that our lives show that, if you will, we have an ark. We know it's all here and it's proper primary thought is the arc in which the Lord saves them through the tribulation and into the Millennium. But still there is an application for us to live this morning.
These these aren't just intended to be verses that make us think of people that lived a long time ago. They have their present immediate application to the lives of us in this room.
She have testimony in the second and third chapters of the revelation.
That.
Are wisely, I believe, telling us that the.
Coming of judgment is imminent.
Because we have 7 messages to seven churches.
And the last two are Philadelphia and Laodicea.
Very distinct in their character.
In the testimony to Philadelphia, there is godliness, devotion, respect.
To God himself.
There is a love for God and a desire to walk with Him.
Whereas that which follows.
Is the last one.
Of the seven churches.
What a solemn, solemn thing this is.
That we are.
In the midst of the testimony.
Given to Laodicea.
For thou art Luke warm.
The judgment.
Is following.
This era.
In which we are now living and they were once. Let me tell you something.
It might be this morning that it ends.
00:55:03
If there's anyone in the room.
That has not yet embraced.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
According to First Corinthians 15, the first few verses in the gospel.
Then you if you haven't, you will not be caught up.
As we have in John 14.
The Lord is coming.
The Lord is coming.
At the end of the Laodicean period, whatever however far we are in that period at the present moment, I don't know, but I'm sure not taking any chances.
I know him whom to know.
Life eternal.
And I know him well enough to know that I intensely love him.
And love the prospect that he has set before me.
And I want you to know the same thing. Everyone in this room, there might be a child here especially that has not yet embraced Jesus.
First, you have not.
Admitted that you're not fit for the presence of God, heaven itself, and that's the first thing that you need to do is to embrace is to say yes, I'm a Sinner. If Jesus comes now, I'm not ready.
And then?
Go to Calvary.
Go to Calvary.
Well, I'll tell you what I'll ask you to do first.
Ask the Lord Jesus to impart to you divine life.
For in the third chapter of Romans verse 11 it says there is none.
That seeketh.
After God.
Cornelius did.
The jailer at Philippi did. They sought God because they had divine life and they were. They were anxious.
And they went to Calvary's cross.
And and took Jesus and his death on the cross.
For their salvation.
And they?
Or we're ready to to meet him now, then Christ is coming.
Don't, don't say it's not going to be today or even this morning.
But you embrace Jesus as the sacrifice for your vadnais.
There's places things in your life that you're not proud of.
And those are things that will not be in heaven.
And.
They need to be covered.
Washed away with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do it now.
In connection with.
There's another lesson in this verse seven that I think is beautiful. Is that God?
Works with households.
And when the time came for Noah to get into the ark, it said, come thou and all thy house into the ark. And notice in verse seven it doesn't speak of the.
Sons of Noah doesn't speak of their faith. They were adult persons, they had their wives, and I'm certain they had faith because they went into the ark.
But it doesn't speak of that. What it speaks of is the faith of Noah by the which he prepared an ark to the saving of his house. And I think that's an encouragement for those who are who have families. We live in a wicked world. But if you act in faith before God, you can trust God to work with your children.
01:00:00
It doesn't say he could, He could save those children of his, but he prepared the means by which they could be saved. And I think that's the thought here that is encouraging to us. And you live in a world that is so full of wickedness. What is the encouragement for families? This is it. There's an example. Noah didn't just cross his arms and say, well, I guess if God wants to save my children, he'll save him.
No, Faith is an active principle. It was hands on the work.
Pick up the saw and the hammer to work. That was a big ship that he prepared.
And so faith is active does all that it can.
So we're not saved by works, brethren, but the faith that does save is a faith that works.
And I think that's important.
Tells us in another place too, He was a creature of righteousness. And what I've enjoyed in this verse is that there were two things that Noah carried out being warned of God. You know, he was warned of something that wasn't seen. They'd never seen a flood on the earth before. But faith grasps the reality of what God was saying and spurred him into action, as you say. But he did two things. He served God.
And he did it to the saving of his family. And I really appreciate that. Now, brethren, I I can't say we always find the right balance in our lives, but you know, we tend to be extremists to one way or the other. We perhaps ignore the work of God because we're seeking to raise and save our families in that way. Or we go to the other extreme where we take up the word of God at the expense of our families. But what I've appreciated about Noah was he did both.
And God records that He did both. He preached righteousness. He was concerned not only about his family, but his neighbors and those around him.
Those who passed by that ship while it was being built, Noah sought to warn them that judgment was coming. By man's standards, at the end of it, after I suppose about 120 years or so. That was a long time, wasn't it? 120 years to preach again. None of us have ever been called to preach for 120 years or via testimony for 120 years. But he did, and he only had seven converts. Isn't that remarkable to think about? Now, by the world standards, that's not very good.
But you know, he did it to the saving of his house. And God honored the faith of Noah, as you say, the faith of Noah.
His being able to find, if I can put it for our purposes this morning, the balance between serving God and raising his family and God honored that so that when the invitation was given finally, before the judgment fell or as the judgment began to fall with come thou and all thy house into the ark.
And when was this? When did he raise his family for God? At a day when it was easy. This wasn't back in the days of of Cain and Abel. This wasn't even the days of Enoch. No, things had deteriorated worse and worse. Violence and corruption filled the earth. As we say, the thought of man's heart was only evil continually. Iniquity had come to its full at that time. And those are the days in which Noah.
Raised a family for God. I think it's a tremendous blessing. Parents, we can't look around and say the day is too dark. We can't look at the situations around us and say, well, it's impossible. No, as we said before, whether it's individual faith, whether it's in connection with our families or whatever aspect of life and relationship it is, we can never say that the day is so dark that we can't go on for God and for his glory and for the blessing, our own blessing and the blessing of others. The resources are always there. And if the day ever gets so dark that we can't live by faith.
In this world, for God's glory, then God will take us out. But as long as we're left here, all the resources are left to us.
First Peter chapter 3 and verse 20 in the same line as Jim was saying.
01:05:01
You know words have meaning and intensity.
God didn't tell Noah it was. It's not Noah divinely told. It was Noah divinely worn.
There's intensity there.
Sometimes we read the scripture and say we're told about things. So I can walk in this world and say I know something they don't know. Well, that's true. But why has God let us know these things? Is it not that others would know too, and that we would warn them too? So first Peter, chapter 3, verse 20.
Middle of it when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.
While the ark was a preparing wherein few, that is 8 souls were saved by water, it refers here to the long-suffering of God.
And it says the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah.
Was God waiting for the ark to be built?
I believe he was waiting while the art was being built, but he was waiting because he was giving this world a testimony through Noah the preacher.
Now maybe Noah stood on a mount and he preached.
But maybe he was busy and I believe maybe his family was busy with him. I think probably his sons worked on that boat with him too.
And that gave him occasion, as Jim was suggesting. What are you doing there?
This is unusual.
And he had occasion, because of his activity in faith, to give witness to what God had told him and warned others.
So this applies to us, doesn't it? We know the Lord is coming. We know the judgment that's going to come on this world.
Are we warning people? Are they asking us questions as to our behavior? The thing is, we carry on with and the ones that we don't, well, May God help us, dear ones, that we would live this fate and realize that there are things we're told about. There are others that we've been warned by God that others would be warned too.
There's a little side note.
We know in the coming day of tribulation God is going to cut it short and he asks the question, shall he find faith in the earth?
And I believe it's, brethren, that the day will be so dark and so difficult and such a tremendous challenge to those who are there in the matter of faith, that he's going to cut the work short so that faith won't die out in the earth. But there will still be that which is pleasing in his own sight. And then the earth will be renewed afterwards in the coming of the Lord. And in Noah's day seems to have had something of that character as well, that.
Violence and corruption had filled the earth. And if you I could put it this way, the very relationship with God that was vital in faith was dying out. And God saw great. There was grace in the sight of God. At least there was faith left in this one man. And God did something that would judge the world, but would bring as it were, the seed of faith through that judgment into a new age, a new world, as it was then called.
But going back to our chapter, the next person that's brought before us is Abraham. And we have more about Abraham in this chapter than anyone else. And part of it I believe is because the the key thought in the chapter is living by faith. And so it isn't just a single, most of the cases so far have been a single act of faith that we is recorded for us.
Rather than the continuity of it through a whole lifetime. And the encouragement of this chapter is to endure, to go on through the whole path of faith to the end. The introduction, as we had yesterday, is the verse in Habakkuk that says the just shall live by faith. And in Romans, where we have that verse quoted, the emphasis is on the word just. And Romans tells us how a man.
May be just with God.
By faith.
And then in Galatians we have the verse quoted also, but there the emphasis is on faith in contrast to works. And so out of this short little verse, the just shall live by faith. But for us in this chapter, the emphasis is on living by faith. And brethren, that's an exercising thing in this way.
01:10:14
We all at one point in our lives, who know the Lord Jesus there was within us, given of God, an act of faith.
By whereby we accepted that Jesus Christ was our Savior, as God reports that He sent him to be.
And that was an act and there is a consequences we've already had to that act in us in receiving eternal life and the Holy Spirit and promises ahead of us in heaven. But sometimes I feel quite ashamed that having received all that.
By, you might say, one act of faith.
Doesn't that give an encouragement that the whole life be characterized by faith?
Because it's so easy for us to look at somebody else and say, why don't they believe? Why don't they accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior? And sometimes I have to turn that on myself and say, Donald, why don't you believe? Why aren't you living today by faith?
And how can does there not unbelief sometimes come into our lives, brethren?
Something that we have to judge. We really can't look down on the center in the issue of faith because most of us have had plenty of history to recognize to our own shame that we don't always live like Abraham. A man who as apparently a fairly young person had to start out with the call of God. And then that faith had to be exercised over the whole of a lifetime until he died and till he now realizes the full or was still waiting for us but is going to realize the full promise.
That he lived in view of. May Lord help us to not just start right, but go on to the end in a life of faith.
Too far away from Noah.
And our responsibilities and our families. Abraham also took his responsibility and faith for his family. And if we look in Genesis chapter 18.
Many times we raise our children to follow the Lord and we teach them about the Lord, and we have to do it in faith.
Sometimes our children.
Maybe one of them doesn't turn out the way we had expected.
We thought we had raised them properly and they go off.
And they fall into a life of sin.
And it embarrasses us at times.
Well, Abraham in chapter 18 of Genesis verse 19, the Lord could say about Abraham, I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, that they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment.
The Lord knew Abraham.
He knew that he would raise his children and command his household after him.
Does the Lord know that about you? Does he know that about me? Are we willing to take that step of faith to command our households after us? Joshua did that, he says, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. What right did these men have to demand that their children would follow in the way of the Lord?
There are the heads of their households and as fathers in our households.
We have that responsibility.
To guide and direct our households. Whatever we allow in our house, whatever we allow our children to do, it's going to affect them in years to come.
Abraham.
He commanded his household and we find that God honored his faith and we find faith in his son Isaac as well. In the New Testament you can look at at.
Stefanus.
He and his whole he was the faith of Stefanus was there and he had his whole household baptized. He had faith that God would one day bring his children into the faith. And if you look in first second, first Corinthians, the last chapter.
01:15:07
Chapter 16.
We see that God honored the faith of Stefanis, who commanded his household after him.
And in verse 15, Paul is speaking here to the Corinthians and he says, I beseech you, brethren, you know the household of Stefanus, that it is the first fruits of Akiah, and that they, that is the the household of Stefanis, have addicted themselves to the ministry of the Saints. So his his household, they grew up and they followed on in the ways of the Lord, and they addicted themselves to the service of the Lord.
Tim.
I don't want to minimize or.
Take anything away. I agree with what you've said.
But I want to bring a.
A. An aspect to that and that is.
Lord help us if the Lord works in grace.
And there's a working of God in the household that we not be proud.
Because Abraham, there's another side to Abraham as well, and it's not in this chapter. But Abraham would never have said it's by my faith that my household has turned out well. Because Abraham we know in the Old Testament record.
Unbelief came into Abraham's life and it caused him for a time to leave the path of faith and go down into the land of Egypt. And while he was down in the land of Egypt, he got rich, and so did that part of his household called Lot. Lot had faith. Lot will be in heaven. But because of Abraham's unbelief, Lot was exposed and became a rich man. He was exposed to the world. And when they got back into the land of Canaan.
Abraham is restored, but Lot is never fully recovered from the loss that came through Abraham's failure in his faith in his household, because Lot was at that time part of Abraham's household. And consequently Lot ends up choosing the world and he ends up with essentially a safe soul, but a lost life. So may the Lord help us, brethren, in any measure in which there is faith in its works in US, and God uses it in blessing in our households or in the assembly.
Or anywhere else that it not turned to pride. Because if it does, God is displeased with that and will put his hand on it in some way or another. That will humble us and make us recognize that the grace of God is a sovereign thing.
If I can put it this way.
Count upon God's blessing.
Take complete sense as Tim has brought before us the sense of responsibility and act accordingly in faith, but on the other side of the Ledger.
Count upon the heart of God.
That is what you want.
That what does God feel toward my children, toward my brethren? That's what you want to have, if you will. Ultimately your faith in is God. The character of God and his heart is what we need to depend on and go to for the ultimate results that we all desire for those that we love, whether at our household or our brethren or.
Our lost ones is God loves and it's his heart.
That is the ultimate source of grace and blessing in this world.
God is a good teacher and He taught Abraham to his unbelief. It's not reported for us in this chapter because God is bringing out the fact that they did. He did believe and there were things that God did for him because of faith. But when God called him to go into the land, he stopped short of the land, didn't he? And he stayed in Chardon or something. They didn't get into the land until his father died. It was natural ties there that kept.
Him from getting into the land that God had called him to.
01:20:00
And then when he was in the land, he went out of the land into Egypt. So this, this is fair young part of Abraham. And so they are in our lives too. But the God of Abraham is our God. And through all these failures, he learned that God was everything, and his faith was in whom he was believing. Not the fact that he was believing, but is the one he was believing in. It was to be glorified.
On the other side too, when God called Abraham out.
He never really embraced faith in his calling until his father died.
And so there's that side of it too. There's not only faith for our households of which we have wonderful encouragement, but we have to be careful that the natural ties of nature don't hinder the action of faith in our lives, that we retain something of the of the allowing the natural ties of life to keep us from acting according to God's call for our lives. And.
Abraham leaves her the Chaldees.
But he doesn't get into the land of Canaan until his father does.
So solemn thing because we are so bound so often in both directions by the ties of nature, that the claim of God has to be supreme in us. It cannot be that anything come. It's a little often at times kind of to the end, but in Ephesians chapter 6 when it says take the shield of faith.
That you may be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. The thought I believe is don't let anything, any circumstance, any person, anything to get between the soul and God in the simple relationship of faith. And that's what Satan wants to do in our lives, in the trials of our lives. He wants to separate us from God just a little bit so that the circumstances itself.
Comes between US and God, and that our relationship with God depends on.
Our satisfaction of how God treats the circumstance. And it's not faith and it's not that which honors God. And yet it's a constant dart of Satan that nothing is to become between the relationship of the soul and God and and living in that relationship by faith.
You have seen #100.
No.
Food of Faith
Address—Don Rule
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We'll begin this afternoon by singing together #200 and 76276.
No gracious savior.
Despair and land.
We are.
With us.
If I cry for a whole hand.
Turn with me, please, to where we started the conference. Deuteronomy chapter 8.
Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse one. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that you may live.
And multiply, and go in, and possess the land which the Lord swear unto your Father's.
And you shall remember all the way which the Lord thy God LED thee these 40 years in the wilderness.
To humble thee, and to prove thee, and to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know that he might make thee know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.
Doth man live?
This afternoon, for a little while, we're going to take up the subject of the Food of Faith. The Food of Faith.
When God placed man upon the earth.
He created him in such a way that he had the.
Mahdi was able to eat as God created him without any particular effort.
He was told to till and guard the garden in which he was, and for whatever time he remained in innocence.
He had a beautiful garden that was totally self-sustaining. It produced its fruit for him to eat and he didn't have to do anything about it really except to go and choose and partake.
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Nice beginning to God's creation.
But it wasn't apparently very long before unbelief came in his heart. He disobeyed God. He lost the right to life.
He lost the garden.
And part of God's hand upon him was from this point on he was going to have to labor to eat. And so it became necessary for men as the creature of God to work, to spend his life.
Working in order to continue to the extent that he would allow to live on Earth in order to live.
But we learn here in Deuteronomy 8 something else that God wanted man to know.
And the children of Israel had worked hard in the land of Egypt.
And they had partaken of the food of Egypt along with the Egyptians, And God sets them free from that land, and he takes them, He redeems them out of it, and he takes them out into the wilderness.
And then he introduces something new, something that man had not previously experienced in his history on Earth.
And that is that God wanted man to realize that living.
And eating.
Involved something more than just physical food.
And to illustrate that to them, he provided a food that they didn't work for.
It was a food that was from heaven. It was a food that they didn't labor for. There was no effort on their part as far as except the gathering of it. But actually the tilling, the creating of that food came from God himself.
And it was his provision for them.
But in addition to that.
He uses that to say, man shall not live by bread alone.
But by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Food isn't enough to live. That is, physical food is not enough.
We have not only bodies that are sustained by physical food.
But we also have souls, and our souls need to be fed as well as our bodies.
And so we have to have food, not only physically for the body, but the nature of man as God has created us is that we need to have food.
For the soul.
Man doesn't live by physical bread alone.
And in fact.
By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, we had faith. We've had faith in this conference before us. And what is it that is our faith is to be on.
Every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
The Lord Jesus in his temptation, you will remember in the New Testament Satan brought stones are presented stones with the Lord Jesus had been hungry for 40 days without food and there were stones presented to him and he was told turn it into bread.
And then you can sustain yourself, you can eat, you can meet that need that you have. And the Lord's answer was, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
And the Lord Jesus.
By obedience to that word lived.
Couldn't be otherwise because of who he was.
But man dies.
Because he does not live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
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With those thoughts, by way of introduction, let's turn over to the preacher Ecclesiastes.
We're just going to pick up on a little bit of Ecclesiastes.
We'll go first to Chapter 5.
Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse 8.
If thou see us the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter. For he that is higher than the highest regardeth, and there be a higher than he. Moreover, the prophet of the earth is for all. The King himself is served by the field. He that love is silver shall not be satisfied with silver. He that loveth.
Abundance.
With increase this also. This is also vanity.
When goods increase, they are increased that eat them, and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
The sleep of the laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much by the abundance of the rich, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Very often when we read the Word of God and we read about eating and food, our minds immediately go to the physical, and that's as it should be.
But it's important to see, and it's beneficial to the soul to see that very often it is also used.
As a means of explaining to us and teaching us what is necessary for the soul, so that there is physical food to the body, but there is also the necessary food of the soul that man lives by.
King Solomon was used of God to preach to us, and I hope myself, and you included this afternoon will listen a little bit to what the preacher has to say to us. We're going to look first at the natural man and how he feeds himself with respect to his soul.
And then we're going to have the testimony of the Lord Jesus, and he's going to tell us how he feeds the soul the food of faith.
Solomon in the Preacher.
Gives us a lesson.
Concerning natural life on earth.
As man sees it or can see it.
In this picture.
We man, are looked at as the center.
Isn't that true of the world today? Man looks upon himself and said, I'm the center. I need what I need to make me happy, to make me content, to make my life fulfilled. And Solomon takes that place in the wisdom that God has given him.
And he seeks out, by the special ability that God had given to him, to examine all things around himself in order to see what it was under the sun.
That he could eat.
With satisfaction, that is what his soul could be occupied with and enjoy and satisfy the heart of man.
God gave him the opportunity to do everything that is humanly possible, to get such an answer and to satisfy it.
God allowed him to.
Experience everything that a human being can experience to feed on.
With himself as the center.
And so having gone through it himself, having experienced it himself, he says, I want to teach you. I want to preach to you young people, not me. But Solomon says, I want to preach to you older people, too.
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What I have learned.
In the very first chapter and we don't.
Really need to go back to it particularly but.
He starts right out and he says, as it were, God created this world.
And it has a certain character to it as God created it, in that as God sustains it, it sustains itself. It's like it's been here forever. We, of course, he didn't say it had been, but it's, it's a system.
That has its wind and its water and its sun and its cycles and it just keeps going and it just keeps sustaining itself in that way. And that's kind of the the backdrop in which man is going to to live in order to feed on it.
As he said in the chapter, everybody has to the king, right down to the laborer, that's the source of food. As far as it is on the earth, that's the source of food. And again, we're looking at it, the source of the food of the soul.
And so that's where we're going to get it. That's the source of it for us. What can we get? What can we obtain?
And he says this cycle that goes on and on, and it just perpetuates itself.
Right in the middle of that description, and I'm just going to read it, you don't have to turn to it, But he says in verse 8, all things are full of Labor. Man cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
Man's introduced into the picture, and ever since the fall, ever since sin came into the world, if man's going to feed himself, it's got to be with labor. He's going to have to work at it. It isn't just there to be picked off the tree. And so man starts to work.
And he just works, and he works and he works.
To develop for himself something that will satisfy him, and yet as he says, Solomon said.
It's full of Labor, but the eyes not satisfied with the seeing nor the ear with the hearing. Have you ever heard of heard of a generation in the history of man on the earth that said who we got there, we're satisfied, we're done. We finally accumulated that which is good, that which satisfies our souls. And so we don't have to do it anymore. We just have to sit here and well maintain it and enjoy it.
No, no, Never been a generation in the history of the earth since then came into it that was ever satisfied, that ever said, I've got it, we've got it, it's here, let's enjoy it. Every single generation keeps going through the same cycle. The only thing that's constant is the earth itself is a source from which man has to labor.
Man can't change the earth in any fundamental way.
There is absolutely nothing that has ever been done from Adam till 2008 that has made any fundamental change in the character of the earth.
Think of it this way, if man were removed from the earth, what that man has ever done would last.
What single thing that man has ever introduced in all his labor into the earth would be here?
Indefinitely.
If man himself were removed.
Absolutely nothing.
30 miles from here approximately. I didn't look it up today, but approximately 30 miles from here.
Is the site of the largest city in the world 800 years ago.
This place called Cahokia.
It's nothing there. It was bigger than 800 years ago. If you've been in Europe you would have said the largest city in in the world was London.
But it wasn't.
Is now understood. It was Cahokia, just on the other side of the Mississippi River. You can go over there. You can see it. At least you can see the few mounds that are left of it.
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And the museum where they've dug up stuff from it.
But it's gone. It's gone.
And that's the cycle of the Earth a mile or an hour from here.
Is the First Capital of the state of Illinois.
But you can't see it anymore.
Because around the beginning of the 1900s, it went under the Mississippi River and it's gone.
And so is every other thing that man does.
It comes, it goes, the cycle continues. But the important lesson of Solomon is.
That the eye is not satisfied with seeing.
Nor the ear with hearing.
So let's go back to our chapter 5 just to pick up a few more details about it.
As we already said in verse 9, the king is served by the field just like everybody else. No matter who you are, you have to have what's available to eat.
But notice the next verse. He that loveth Silver.
Shall not be satisfied with silver.
He that loveth abundance with increase.
What is it that man can put his soul to feed on that satisfies?
No matter what he puts his heart on.
It will not satisfy him.
If he says I love silver.
Solomon says I tried it.
I know it won't satisfy.
If you set your heart on gold, a house, a car.
Solomon put his heart on every single thing that man can feed on in this world and found it wanting because it could not satisfy the thirst, the hunger that exists in the human heart.
He says.
Verse 11 When goods increase, their increase to them that eat them, and what good there is, what good is there to owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?
Can only eat so much.
Doesn't matter whether you're poor or rich, there's only so much that you can occupy yourself with at any given day and any given time. You can have fifty cars, but you can only drive one at a time.
Well, if you have enough money, you can.
But the the point of it is if we listen to the preacher, if we're willing to accept the words that's come from God through the testimony that he's given us of a man, he says no matter what you love that this world produces.
You're going to come up thirsty, you're going to come up unsatisfied. You are not going to have something that will truly.
Not make you thirsty and hungry.
As.
And verse 12, he says, you know.
Solomon basically, and we we don't want to spend our whole time in Ecclesiastes, but.
He said. You know the person that has it best.
The best you can do.
Is the person this is the best you can hope for any person in this room naturally, and the things of nature the very best that you can hope for is to.
Have enough?
To eat.
And whatever you have to do, whatever labor you have to get enough to eat, you can enjoy that process of labouring.
You can't go beyond that. That's the best man can hope for is that.
He has to labor.
And if he can get enough?
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To satisfy him on a daily basis and can sleep at night as a laborer. That's it.
He goes on and he says about the rich, characteristically of the rich, you might say they tend to work harder or they're more fortunate in some way or another. But he said very often, as verse 12 Says, the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.
Solomon said I worked hard.
I did this. I built this palace and I built this. I had all kinds of servants. I forget how many 10s of thousands of people spent 50, no 20 years to build his house.
No existing dwellings in the world that I know of today that took as much labor as it did to build the House of Solomon.
In his day, he said. But.
The effort, the expenditure of myself to oversee it, to make it happen.
Didn't give me sleep at night.
In fact, he says, you know the person that gets a lot.
He tends to be envied by the one that doesn't have very much.
And if he has a lot about all that he can think about, it is to make his fellow man envious.
What's in that?
What's the benefit of that?
Notice, he says.
Verse 13 There's a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.
It doesn't fully explain it here, but another thing that sometimes happens.
Sometimes a man laborers.
In the wrong way, not the way that Tim was bringing before us this morning over his household, but sometimes a man labours for himself.
And he accumulates what he feeds on.
And then he dies and he passes it on to his children, and his children don't labor to have it. They inherit it. It's just theirs. And Solomon said, you know, that's very often to their hurt.
They're the losers.
It causes more grief and more sorrow in their life than if they had come into the world empty and like their father, their mother, they had to work.
To accumulate enough to have their daily bread.
Chapter 6. Verse 7.
All the labor of man is for his mouth.
And yet the appetite is not filled.
For what hath the wise more than the fool? What hath the poor that knoweth to walk before the living?
Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Why work?
Except to feed yourself.
Solomon.
Says.
What's the purpose of working?
Except we're talking about man as the center of the picture. Why should a man work except to feed himself?
What else is there except to labor for one's personal benefit and satisfaction?
Solomon said there are really two avenues of work. There's the avenue of wisdom and intelligence, and there's the avenue of mirth or pleasure, and he tried both. Some people label real hard to satisfy themselves in what they can, change the world and invent things and do things and so on. Other people.
Primarily labor so that they can enjoy pleasure. You'll find them every moment. They'll be there this afternoon watching the television or if they have the money and opportunity, present where the game is being played.
Or if they can get to Las Vegas or wherever, there is that aspect of laboring to satisfy the appetite, which means whatever it is, you work so you can have it. If it's a boat to go fishing, whatever it is, it's OK as far as it goes.
00:30:11
If you understand that it will never, never, ever fully satisfy.
There will always be the fish that got away, or the bigger fish caught by the neighbor, or the bigger boat that the neighbor has or whatever.
And he's not anymore satisfied than you are.
And so Solomon went both ways, and he gave, he completely committed himself to pleasure. He committed himself to the intellectual pursuits of life. He combined the two into one. And he says I'll balance the two. Maybe there's something good if I can combine wisdom and foolishness, as he called it, into one and come up with some good balance.
Vanity vanities. All is vanity.
Go to his summation last chapter of Solomon.
I.
So Ecclesiastes chapter 12.
Verse 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the matter. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment.
And every secret thing, whether it be good.
Or whether it be evil.
What we said so far left God out.
But Solomon, even though it was under the sun, and if we read the whole, we see that Solomon didn't leave God out of the of the matter. He was conscious of God. He was conscious of responsibility to God. He was conscious that there were sewing.
Doing and then God undoing or judging what he saw.
So he concludes, he says.
The best path through life, even if it's a self-centered life.
For a man.
Is that he feared God?
They have proper respect for the one he's going to give an account to.
That he does what he says, keep his commandments.
Fulfills his duty to his Maker.
But he says remember.
In the end, that life that was lived.
Is going to be brought under God's eye in judgment. God is going to evaluate it. He is going to bring it to His final conclusion.
Do we listen?
Do we hear him?
Do we believe?
That's the big question, isn't it?
Do our lives, you know.
In certain way.
Our lives show unmistakably what we believe.
And if someone could videotape your life or mine for a week, they would know if we believe these words.
Because our life in the course of a week.
If videotaped would fully perhaps, or at least be a nice enough slice to make it completely apparent what we're feeding on.
What it is that's motivating us and how we live.
Whether or not we have listened to Solomon's wisdom, God's wisdom, God's words, or whether we are like a lot of people in this world, if you say to them the lottery, winning the lottery is not going to satisfy you. There's all kinds of evidence that has been given to the lives of people who won the lottery and afterwards had a miserable life.
You know what the common answer a man is?
Let me have the money and I'll try.
That is the heart of man. It's a heart of unbelief.
00:35:00
And we will, naturally speaking, are not willing to accept what is already been said and taught to us.
And so we say, well, I'll have to find out.
For myself. So the cycle just keeps going from generation to generation.
Enough of the negative turnover.
To John's Gospel.
Chapter 6.
John's Gospel, chapter 6.
And verse 27 labor not.
For the meat which perisheth.
But for that meat which endureth unto eternal life.
Which the Son of man shall give unto you, for him hath God the Father sealed.
Then they said unto him, What shall we do?
That we may work the works of God.
Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him.
Whom he has sent.
They said therefore unto him, What sign Show us thou, that we may see and believe, And what does thou work? Our fathers did eat man in the desert, as it is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. And Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread.
From heaven, for the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life.
Unto the world.
This chapter begins with the feeding of the 5000.
And so these people receive food.
Physical food.
But they also received, in a spiritual sense, the food that doesn't last, that doesn't contain stop hunger.
But it's the food that man laborers for.
And so Lord Jesus goes away, and they go after him.
And they come to the Lord, and.
He says to them.
Well, verse 26, before we read, Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw the miracles, but because you did eat the loaves and were filled.
Here was a man that.
Could do something that nobody else could do, and they weren't attracted to himself as a person, but they sure were happy for what he could do for them.
And so they seek him out, and he says you, you come.
For that food.
That's why you're here. You're not here because of Maine. You're here because of what I did and what you hope I'll do again for you.
So he says, don't work, don't labor for the meat, the parishes. You want something better than that, don't you? You want food that isn't, that'll satisfy, that isn't going to go away, that isn't going to perish.
That's what you want to labor for, That's what you want to have, That's what you want to lay hold of.
It's hard to learn. It's hard to learn anything.
They say.
Show us.
We want to work the works of God.
Fans are used to labor for so long and he knows nothing else. And what must I do?
To inherit.
Eternal life.
What do I have to do?
To gain God's favor.
What do I have to do that God will give me bread that will satisfy me?
And won't perish.
Lord tell us we want to do it.
It's a big lesson.
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We cannot.
Cannot do anything of ourselves.
To provide food that will satisfy us.
It has to come from God.
There is absolutely no labor under the sun that any man can do, no matter how hard he tries.
To produce something that he can feed on that will satisfy him, it has to come from God, it has to be accepted from God, and God says.
I must provide it for you. You cannot provide it on your own. You cannot labor in yourself for it.
Well, they say, well, what is the work?
What is the work? The Lord says this is the work that she believe.
That you believe? That's it.
We've had faith before us all morning.
What's God expect?
Is it where he says just trust me, just trust me? That's where everything went wrong in the 1St place. Everything that's wrong in the world today began because man chose to believe Satan instead of God.
Because of the choice of unbelief.
And the only thing that restores the relationship between man and God. God has done everything.
But he must be honored.
By being trusted.
And so he said, this is the work of God, and since we're dead and trespasses and sins, even that has to be a gift from God.
But that's the only thing. Just believe.
I think it's very significant that the bread of God comes from heaven because God is saying to us in that the earth.
Doesn't have it.
The only thing that will ever satisfy your heart has to come from heaven.
It has to come from heaven. It's.
Not to be found on Earth.
It has to be the bread of God. It has to come from God. It has to be heaven. It's food.
And so the bread of God is he which came down from heaven.
Verse 34 Then he said unto him. Then they said unto him, Lord evermore, give us this bread. Isn't it nice? I don't know how many of them really believed it, but they came to the point where they were saying, Okay.
We'll accept what you say. Give us the bread.
Give us the bread.
He says to them in verse 35.
Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger.
And he that believeth on me.
Shall never thirst.
I'll add believeth thou this.
Leave us thou this.
The Lord Jesus.
Is the one and only food.
That satisfies the soul.
So that is not hungry and it is not thirsty.
God has provided the Lord Jesus and our souls in being occupied with him, we feed upon Him and in feeding upon the Lord Jesus.
There is a satisfaction that is complete and leaves no hunger. It leaves no unsatisfied desire.
It is that which God is given for time and God is given for eternity.
In picture form in the Genesis, it's the tree of life, and you go all the way to the end of the inspired Word. And in Revelation 22 it begins that there's the tree of life, and that tree is the tree that we feed on.
Today, tomorrow, and for eternity.
And we shall forever in feeding upon the Lord Jesus.
00:45:04
Have a satisfaction that totally fills our little hearts. And to God's honor, because it so fills the heart, it causes it to overflow.
And that's worship. And so he says to them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger.
And he that believeth on me.
Shall never thirst the next verse he says unto them, But I say unto you, that ye also have seen me, and believe not.
We called it the bread of faith because we haven't seen him.
Whom not having seen ye love.
In whom, though now you see him not yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Isn't that what man wants? Joy.
Yes, he does.
He does. He wants pleasure. He wants joy.
Whom, having not seen you love, in whom, though now you see him not yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
To feed on the Lord Jesus Christ is to feed on one that fully, completely satisfies everything that the human heart.
The renewed heart could ever want.
And yet he was speaking to some here and.
They wouldn't believe.
They would not believe.
Go down to verse 48.
I am the bread of life. Your father's did eat manna in the wilderness, and our dad. This is the bread of life which cometh down from heaven, that a man made thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever. The bread that I shall give him is my flesh, which I will give for the life.
Of the world.
In Ecclesiastes, the bread of the earth, in every single case it ends in death.
It doesn't last, it's temporary.
While they had the food in pictures, the manna from heaven, when they depended on it as a physical thing, he had to say to those to whom he was speaking here, Yes, you had that manna.
All your forefathers had it and everyone of them is dead.
It could not. It did not in itself sustain them.
Indefinitely.
They all died.
The Lord Jesus.
Is the life giving food?
And brethren.
He's the life sustaining food.
What I mean by that is even though we are going to heaven and even though we have what we call eternal life.
God is so ordered it that we will need to feed upon the sun as food of our life forever.
It's eternal in its character, but it is something will never stop eating in heaven.
No, I don't know anything about physical food.
But when it comes to spiritual, our souls will feed upon the Lord Jesus.
Forever as the food of our lives. And so.
To eat upon him, and so on is is that which continues.
We have it now himself and the life and God is using. He's given us the eternal life by faith in in the Lord Jesus, but he's also feeding us.
Buy it and sustaining our lives, our eternal life through the food.
We won't turn back to it. I think it's chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes.
00:50:07
It says the slothful man.
Shall eat his own flesh.
Think about that.
The slothful man shall eat his own flesh.
Some people don't want to work.
They're lazy.
They don't even want to work for what might satisfy their soul. They're lazy.
So what do they do?
They feed on themselves.
It's pretty miserable life, but that's what they do. They feed on themselves.
Let's not be lazy.
Believers.
Because if we're lazy, believers will feed on ourselves.
And it's a starvation diet.
It's a very unsatisfactory 1.
Sometimes we might go to remember the Lord in his death on the Lords Day morning.
And then starve for a week.
And in fact, that's supposed to be a time when we come full up.
So that our baskets can.
Spill over.
But it's easy.
To go along for a while.
Diligent, if you will, in labor for the meat that doesn't perish and to feed on it. He that had little, had no lack either, had much that didn't have too much. Can't have too much of the Lord Jesus. Even if you have a little, it can be very sustaining food.
But don't eat on yourself.
Don't eat on yourself.
It's it's a useless process.
I want to conclude with just another thought or two from the Revelation chapter.
Revelation chapter 2.
Revelation chapter 2 and verse seven. And speaking to the church at Ephesus, he says, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
And then to Pergamos, he says in verse.
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
And verse 17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.
Satan has food too.
Satan has food too.
Satan desires to feed.
On that which belongs to God, that he would appropriate for himself.
He wants to take God's place.
And that which is to be fruit for God. Satan wants the honor that man is to give to God. Satan says I want it, I want it, and he wants to feed on that.
And so you have, man.
And by Satan behind Satan, he gets man to create an idol.
And behind that idol is Satan.
So man takes any laborers, and he gets food, and he takes that food, and he comes and he presents it.
To his idol, which Satan is behind.
Satan is full of pride, and that feeds his pride.
Satan is full of deceit.
00:55:02
And that feeds his deceit.
Satan is full of guile.
And that feeds.
His character.
So what does man do?
After he's done is that we're offering to Satan because he becomes Satan's child. He takes it and feeds on it himself.
The last days.
Man full of himself.
His pride, his guile, his deceit. What's a shame? He turns around and feeds on it.
And here's a warning to the Church of God.
The Church of God, it settled down into the world.
And that which Satan and his children feed on.
Became the food of corruption. And so he feeds upon his pride, his lust, his envy.
Every other.
Despicable really thing.
And if we live lives sink down in our Christian life to be like the world around us.
That's where it goes.
That's where it ends up.
So the anecdote.
He said.
If you'll just turn to me.
I'll give you a food that the world knows nothing of. It's hidden food. It isn't seen by the natural eye, it isn't seen by the one who is governed by Satan's deceits. But it's a hidden manner. It will sustain your soul. It will encourage your heart.
It will feed you now, and you'll keep on feeding on it when you get home to the glory.
May God in His grace help us, each one.
To feed.
On the food of faith, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:8-12
Gospel 2
Gospel—Michel Payette
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Could we open our meeting this evening?
By singing #24 on the hymn sheet that was on your seat.
Hymn #24.
We know there's a bright and a glorious HomeAway in the heavens high where all the redeemed shall with Jesus dwell. But.
Will you be there and I when someone started for us, please?
Who is a bride and a glorious?
Child Jesus, go over here to be there and.
Where all the.
Hair.
Shall receive.
US full.
If you take.
Her now.
Full of horses.
There is one sin die when he gathers his soul for him.
That crying.
There you go.
Shall.
I.
We have a question in this hymn.
It's very important.
00:05:02
It says will you be there?
I'm going to be there. Will you be there?
And if you're not there?
Where are you going to be?
We'll have questions to set before you tonight, but before we do.
We'd like to ask God's blessing. Let's pray.
I'd like to speak this evening on the subject of.
Promotions.
You know, this is a the societies that we live in.
Generally speaking, promotions are happy things.
Somebody gets promoted.
Comes up into a better position.
Oftentimes, better conditions, better revenue.
If you're in a company, you get a nicer office.
Perhaps more holidays?
Well, tonight I want to talk about promotions from.
The Word of God. There's people in this book that have lived promotions, wonderful promotions.
And I'd like for us to look at them together and to consider, because God has a proposition for you tonight, each one in this room here. He wants to promote you.
And I pray.
That you will let him.
The first person I'd like to look at is in the Old Testament, a man by the name of Joseph.
In Genesis chapter 41.
We're not going to read many verses. I'm just going to refer to the story. Perhaps we're going to read in Genesis chapter 41.
Verse 38. Genesis chapter 41. Verse 38. And Pharaoh said unto his servants.
Can we find such an one as this is a man in whom the Spirit of God is And Pharaoh said unto Joseph.
For as much as God had showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art.
There's a promotion. Thou shalt be over my house. According unto thy word shall all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than you. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him investors of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck.
And made him to ride in the second chariot which he had.
And they cried before him, Bow the knee, and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I'm Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot.
In all the land of Egypt.
Well, here's a man who got promoted.
You know, sometimes if I don't know if you're working in Walmart or another store like that and you get promoted, well, you just get maybe a little badge that says manager and you get the key to the cash register maybe, and you get to come when there's a customer complaint.
It's a promotion, but I mean, you know.
This man, Joseph, he got a real promotion.
That morning, he woke up.
He was a prisoner.
In Egypt he was in prison.
And the night, that same day, that night, he went to bed.
He was the ruler of Egypt next to Pharaoh.
When he went by, people had to bow the knee.
That's a promotion.
How did he get this promotion? Well.
Those of us who know the story of Joseph and Joseph, Joseph's God, God gave him that promotion.
You see, Joseph was a God fearing man.
And because he feared God and he didn't want to disobey his God, he refused to sin.
There was a woman about him who wanted him to fall into sin and he refused and she falsely accused him.
And people believed her.
We don't hear him pleading his case at all. He was sent to prison, falsely accused in prison.
00:10:05
And if anyone in this story could have self pity could have been Joseph, couldn't it?
But Joseph had the fear of God.
And God saw Joseph in prison, and, you know, he tried his best to get out of there. He met a couple of people from Pharaoh's court there, and he interpreted their dreams for them. And he thought when they got out, he said, you Remember Me, think about me. He was thinking maybe he could get out of prison with his own efforts.
But it didn't happen but in God's own time.
He got promoted.
Wonderful promotion.
Well, there's one greater than Joseph, you know.
Who got promoted to?
Sometimes in the world.
People do all sorts of things to get promoted.
They do sometimes bad things to make themselves look better than others, so the boss will look at them as a candidate rather than the other.
That's not what Joseph did.
And God saw to it that Joseph got promoted.
And when he got promoted, he passed everybody else by.
He was better than the chief of the guard. He was brother than a priest of all. He was better than anybody else. He was higher saved than Pharaoh. Nobody could lift up his hand or say anything but what Joseph said.
Well, the one that had a greater promotion than Joseph, well, his name is the Lord Jesus, you know.
As a man.
Was born in a Manger.
And after a perfect life of devotion to his Father and kindness to men.
Feeding crowds, healing the sick, the blind, the lame, the death, the mute, raising some from the dead.
He was despised, rejected, spit upon, crucified, mocked, derided.
He was accounted with the transgressors.
He was crucified with two other men condemned to death as a criminal.
And he went into death.
But God promoted him now in resurrection, and He's ascended now in heaven, the highest place in heaven. That's where the Lord Jesus now, He's been there for 2000 years. We had these verses before us in Hebrews 12 in our reading today, Hebrews chapter 12.
Verse 2.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endure the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
There's a man with flesh and bones, a risen man in the presence of God, on the right hand of God, one who has, according to Philippians chapter 2, the name above every name.
Let's read these verses in Philippians chapter 2. Beautiful verses for those of us who know the Lord Jesus.
And if you don't know them, you're going to have to bow to this verse one day, and I hope you do before the day you have to.
Philippians chapter 2 speaks of him going down verse five. Christ Jesus of being in the form of God, taught it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Now comes the promotion. Wherefore God had highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The greatest promotion ever, One who went to the depths of the cross.
Raised up higher than the heavens, now with the name above every name, the name of the Lord Jesus.
When you look at the candidates for a promotion, if you're in a company, your business.
00:15:02
You're going to look for competency, ability, faithfulness, someone you can have confidence in.
And you can see in Joseph's case that his character with Joseph, you could see God's heart inclined towards this man, Joseph. And surely we can understand, if we know anything about the Lord Jesus, how God the Father was pleased to answer to His humiliation by glorifying Him in such a way as a man.
But tonight the promotion we have before you is a bit different.
There's a man in the scripture here. He got promoted too.
He didn't have the character of Joseph and certainly nothing of the character of the Lord Jesus.
Yet he got promoted.
And God would offer you this promotion this very night as we speak.
Let's go to Luke chapter 23. Luke's Gospel, chapter 23.
We read in the other Gospels these two men who were crucified with the Lord Jesus.
They insulted him.
But there's a man who had a change of heart.
Maybe because what he heard from the lips of the Lord Jesus when he said, Father forgive them for they do not what they do.
And this man changed his tune. You might say He stopped insulting the writing. Mocking.
And he said something different.
And it's recorded for us here in Luke chapter 23, verse 39.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Thus not thou fear God.
Seeing thou art in the same condemnation.
And we indeed justly, for we received a due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me, what alchemist in thy Kingdom?
You know, it tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.
And as you sit in this room tonight, young person, little boy, girl, older one, do you have the fear of God?
It's a good thing to have the fear of God.
You know, some people say there is no God.
Well, the scripture says the fool say it in his heart, there is no God.
But when he says it out loud, we can all know he's a fool. The fool say it in his heart. There is no God.
There is a God.
He is the creator of this universe and anybody here who can perceive the universe. You can see the sun, the moon, the stars, the flowers, the animal, and your neighbor.
You're responsible before God to know there's a Creator. You might not know much about Him.
You know, men get so proud. They think because they've discovered the DNA that they invented it. They didn't invent the DNA, they're discovering it. God is the inventor of DNA. He put that code together.
How can it be that intelligent being observing such design could conclude that it just happened?
It's because they're blind. Spiritually, morally blind, because it's obvious.
We can't even make a grain of sand out of nothing.
But because we have a mind that understands, and because our nature is fallen, what we are made to understand, we became, we become proud and we think we made those things that we've discovered. We didn't make that. God made it and he gave it to intelligence, to perceive it and to enjoy it and to give him glory, which we're not doing.
And you know, the surprising thing is that in Christendom and Christian countries, this is where this kind of thought process is happening.
Because if you go in remote countries, people believe there's a God. They might not know who he is, but they believe there's a God. They believe there's a creator.
00:20:09
So tonight, my friend, if you don't believe there's a God.
You can change here too.
Perhaps you can consider as you observe, the universe.
That it didn't just happen.
It was made that way.
And it's held together right now as we speak. It's held together by the same God who made it.
By him all things subsist. That's where the world keeps on. That's why the earth keeps turning and the moon goes around the earth and the sun goes. The the earth goes around the sun and the planets and they move because God is making them subsist.
And he's allowing you to subsist too, you know.
We are fragile creatures. Perhaps we know a lot.
But I could put your life in a little plastic bag right here and show it to you. It's about this big.
That's your life. I could put in a bag. I do that sometimes in the gospel. I just blow in the back and I blow it up and what have you got in there?
One breath.
Just one breath, and if this one breath is your last breath and I'm not giving it to you, that's it. You're going to take 5 minutes at the most.
You might get pink, then blue and then that's it.
Just this little bag with a little bit of air. That's how fragile we are. The fear of God. You realize how fragile you are. And God has preserved us so far. He's letting us subsist. He's letting this world subsist. We're in 2008 and there's blasphemy and corruption and violence and war all around us, and he's letting it subsist. And he has a purpose in letting it subsist.
Because he wants to promote people.
He wants to promote people, he wants to promote you.
This man in Luke chapter 23, he then deserved to be promoted.
He might have been a murderer.
He had capital punishment.
Look at his promotion.
Verse 43.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
That man got promoted to paradise.
Not because of his works, he was a fine looking man or whatever.
He got promoted to. What did he do to deserve that promotion?
I believed he used one word.
He used one word, and God recognized that faith in this man's heart when he used that word.
And that word, he's turned to Jesus, and he said, Lord.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He recognized that Jesus was the Lord.
Every mouth is going to say that, every knee is going to bow, recognizing that Jesus is the Lord wasn't his Lord yet, but he was the Lord.
And this man got promoted.
To be with the Lord Jesus and I'm going to see this man in heaven. We're going to talk about his promotion and mine too, maybe yours.
And we're going to talk about the promoter.
And how he could promote someone like this thief and a Wretch like me and Someone Like You. There's such a place of blessing.
And God is promoting people through the work of the Lord Jesus on lacrosse.
Because when he was on the cross, the Lord Jesus, the perfect Son of God, a man who never sinned, never had a wrong thought, never said a wrong word, never did anything wrong, was without sin absolutely. Well, He bore my sins in his own body on the tree. And he bore the sins of this thief, this malefactor, in his own body on the tree. And I know He bore the sins of many in this room.
Isaiah 653 says the last verse He bore the sins of many.
It doesn't say he bore the sins of all.
Oh, He would love to have borne the sins of all, but He only bore the sins of those that will put their trust in Him.
00:25:07
So tonight we have questions for you.
Important questions Boy, girl, older one.
Will you be there? You're going to get promoted to that place in the glory with the Lord Jesus.
This man got promoted.
He called Jesus Lord.
You want to call Jesus Lord tonight. You recognize he's Lord. He's the worthy one. He's going to be the ruler of the universe and the earth, you know.
You want to call upon him tonight? You haven't done it already. You ask him right now, says Lord Jesus, save me.
If you do, he'll promote you.
Now some people think they've been promoted.
This is a difficulty with men because.
Sometimes we think we're better than others.
And we figure if we're doing things to please God, and that God will look and say, you're pretty good, Mike.
Better than this other guy who got crucified because he was a teeth. We think like that and sometimes we think we deserve a promotion. That's why we get so upset. Sometimes somebody else gets promoted because we thought we should have got that promotion.
There's jealousy in our hearts and sometimes in our minds. We get religious thoughts that if I do the right things, God's going to promote me.
God cannot promote anybody for doing the right things. He can only promote people who've done the right, the wrong things and have Jesus as their Savior. And that's the perfect example here. One man, the only thing you could say that he did right as he said, Lord.
That's all I can see, he said Lord. There was repentance in his heart before, but that's when he opened his mouth to the Lord Jesus and he said Lord.
And the Lord answered that, and he said, you're going to be with me in paradise today.
If you go to Matthew Chapter 7.
We referred to this, I think was Brother Jim who mentioned that.
Matthew, Chapter 7.
Verse 21.
Not everyone that said unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord.
You say they get twice saved. No, no, the reason they repeat the name is because they don't believe that he is Lord. They're just using his name. Lord, Lord, look at, look at their arguments.
Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
I get saved because I preach the gospel.
No, nobody gets promoted for preaching the gospel. You only get promoted for having the Lord Jesus as you're saved. Have we not prophesied in thy name?
And in thy name have cast out devils, And in thy name done many wonderful works.
I mean, if you were the boss of a company and you see these guys performing like that, I should promote these guys.
Well, they didn't get promoted.
They got demoted.
Oh, what a word.
They got demoted verse 23.
And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you.
You thought I knew you. I never knew you. Depart from me, Ye that work iniquity.
They're expecting a promotion. They got a demotion.
Derek, the wrong argument.
You see, have we not done all these things?
Nobody gets promoted with God from doing things like that.
You get promoted because of what the Lord Jesus has done.
All this man says Remember Me?
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. How could God take a man with sin like this man who was crucified for his crimes and bringing into the heavens of purity and absolute holiness? Because of the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin, and that's what made this man fit for such a promotion.
00:30:13
That's what made me fit for that promotion and many in this room, I say tonight, are you fit for that promotion?
Or do we talk about?
Demotion.
There is no status quo.
That God is going to close the department.
If I could use business language, you're either going to go up to the next floor, get a promotion.
They're going to get demoted and really it means you're going to get fired.
And you take the DL, you're going to get fire.
And God doesn't want anybody to get the fire. He wants to promote everybody. He so loved the world. He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He wants to promote everybody.
He wants to promote you.
We're in November 29th, I believe 2008.
You can be promoted tonight in your soul and then there's a next promotion is when your body is changing. You go right up to heaven with the Lord Jesus.
Have you been promoted already? Are you a child of God? Have you accepted the Lord Jesus your Savior? You haven't yet. Don't put it off.
It can be yours tonight.
You say, well, I get promoted tomorrow. Well, God's promoting right now. Tomorrow I don't know if you're going to be promoting.
It might be closing the business tomorrow.
No more promotions, going to go on to something else setting things were right in this world.
And preparing this, this earth for the reign of that man who's going to be recognized as Lord, the Lord Jesus himself.
Well.
Let's go to Hebrews chapter 6.
Hebrews chapter 6. I just want to refer to part of verse 18. There a little expression in there.
Refers to.
The Jews there in a time of the Lord Jesus.
Who had heard in the gospel?
The news of saving faith as you believe on the Lord Jesus your Savior.
And he speaks of them.
Verse 18.
And have himself also, we might say we might have a strong consolation, but we who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.
What are you hoping for in this world?
And what are you hoping for?
If time just goes on.
When you die.
Because death, you know.
We're doing. It's not a nice subject, it's a sorrowful subject, but this is real.
There's a reality of death.
All these men we read about in Hebrews 11, they're all gone.
And if the Lord leaves us here another 100 years, which he surely won't.
We're all going to be gone.
The question is where?
You have a hope as to where you're going.
Well, a lot of people say, well, I hope, I hope I'm going to go to heaven.
I hope I'm going to be saved.
Well, these ones, here, they heard God's proposition of promotion.
And they lay hold of it.
It says here we have fled for refuge, to lay hold upon the hope set before us.
They had a hope and if you read on you'll see it's connected with the Lord Jesus up in the glory.
This hope they had as an anchor for their soul, and their anchor was anchored in the person of the Lord Jesus in heaven.
00:35:08
Usually you have anchors, you usually go down and get the bottom, but God's anchor for your soul and mining is up there in the heavens a lot. Surer place than the rocks in the bottom of the sea, let me tell you.
But they laid hold of the hope that was set before them.
And tonight, I'd like to set this hope before you very plainly.
But I can't lay hold of it for you, I can't grab it for you. But if it's set before you and God offers it to you, you've got to take it and make it your own.
I use an example.
Very simple example.
Little boy goes to school, and some of you boys and girls, you go to school.
And maybe you go to school and hear all these bicycles, you know, some kids ride to school and bicycles, 10 speeders, 15 speeders, 18 speeders, and the little boy goes to school and.
All these God is this beat up bike and wiggly wheels and makes a little bit of noise when you pedal squeaky, squeaky squeak. Maybe everybody makes fun of him and he sees all these beautiful bikes and he kind of gets discouraged, you know, and he's.
Feel sorry for himself a bit. And he doesn't smile that much. And all his friends, yeah, look at your bike. So he goes home and he's, he's sad, you know, and.
And his father starts talking to him and he tried to find out what's wrong. And he said, oh, all the boys in school, they all have nice bikes. And you know what kids are, they worked on your dad like that anyway. And so the father sees that, you know, it really is an old beat up bike and I should really get him another one. So he says to his little boy, he says, listen.
Daddy's gonna have his paycheck on on on Friday and you and I Saturday. We're gonna go and you remember that bike we saw the other time that we're gonna go and get it and then you'll have it for next week.
So little boy's countenance change. It's changing. He's got smile on his face and then and he goes to school the next morning.
Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet.
And his friends are there, and he looks at the way I'm getting one like that.
What do you mean you get anyone like that? You just got a whole squeaky bike there? No, I'm getting a new one.
Sure. Yeah, my dad. Saturday morning, we're going to get that bicycle.
Well, you know, here's something in this little boy's life called Hope.
If you say to this little boy, show me your ****.
Where is his bike?
He doesn't have his wife. You can't show you his bike. You know where his bike is. It's there in the store. But that's not the only place it is. It's in his Father's heart. That's where that bike is, in his Father's heart. You know, earthly fathers, we fail. The man going to work that Friday morning, he might break a leg and never be able to go and buy that bicycle. We trust in men. We might be disappointed, but our Father in heaven, our Lord Jesus, when he promises something.
He says he's going to do something. He's going to do it.
So this little boy, he's happy, he's rejoicing, he's whistling on his way to school and even likes his old bike because he's going to get rid of it. What's he living on? He's living on hope.
Just faith is the substance of things hoped for. He's believed his father, and now he's rejoicing in something he can't show anybody. Nobody's ever seen that bike, but that's his bike.
I want to tell you tonight, there's many people in this room tonight. They're rejoicing in someone they've never seen.
Not a bicycle. A person whose name is Jesus Christ, the object of our hope.
And he's going to be coming for us any moment.
That's the hope we have from the scriptures and having a Savior who loves us and died for us on the cross. Is he your Savior tonight?
Have you laid hold of that hope from the Word of God?
I see. Is God going to be able to give you that promotion on the basis of the work of the Lord Jesus?
Or are you going to neglect that to the point where all that's going to be left for you is a demotion?
00:40:01
Away from me, I never knew you. You know, somebody here in Saint Louis, maybe across the street, going by on the highway, wasn't in this room this evening or last night or tomorrow night perhaps, if the Lord leaves us here to hear, to have this proposition from God.
Of eternal hope, happiness, love with the Lord Jesus.
Well, he's not as responsible as you and I are.
He didn't hear it. It wasn't presented to him. It wasn't set before him. He didn't have the opportunity of saying I'm taking that for myself. I'm accepting the Lord Jesus, my personal Savior. It's not enough to come to meeting, to read your Bible and to praise. These are good things.
It's not enough to say I'm a Christian.
What each of us need to do, if we haven't done it yet, is to receive the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior in our heart and say, I accept you, Lord, I take you as my Savior.
That man on the cross.
Beside the Lord Jesus, you never heard the gospel.
But God could see.
In the ignorance of his faith.
That he had faith in the Lord Jesus.
And God cannot count you to be ignorant like this man.
You know more, even boys and girls here. You know more about God and the Lord Jesus and sin and salvation and this grown man who went to be in heaven.
And I say tonight.
Are you going to heaven?
Are you going to be promoted?
If you accept the Lord tonight, you're going to be promoted right away.
You're going to be promoted to be a child of God. John chapter one, verse 12.
Gospel of John, chapter one.
Verse 12.
Look at verse 11.
Ten He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
No, no, we don't know. He came unto his own and his own.
Received them. Not, not not. We're not going to receive him.
Verse 12 But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. What about you tonight? Are you going to say no, No.
Yes, yes.
Yes, I say yes to the Lord Jesus. I say yes. His sacrifice has been accepted by God and I need him as a Savior.
Because I'm a Sinner.
Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone in this room were qualified to be promoted. We're sinners.
God only promotes sinners.
And he takes sinners, and he makes them his own children, because they trust in the Lord Jesus.
You trust in him yet? Never I've done it yet. Why not tonight?
Will you be there and I?
I'm going to be there. This brother is going to be there. A lot of us are going to be there. I'm not going to point you with my finger, but I'm asking you, are you going to be there?
I'm waiting for a further promotion.
I've been promoted to be a child of God now through faith in the Lord Jesus. As many of us here tonight, I'm waiting for another promotion, and it's as sure as the first. That's when the Lord Jesus comes. He's going to change my body.
And he's going to give me a glorious body, like unto his glorious body, and I'm going to go into the Father's house and the House of God himself in the heavens where the Lord Jesus is. I'm going to be there.
And many of us are going to be there momentarily. This promotion is coming. But if you're going to leave out this wonderful last promotion, you have to have the 1St.
Of becoming a child of God, of being saved, of accepting the Lord Jesus.
As your personal savior.
We've never done it. Why don't you do it right now? Why don't you just close your eyes? Don't. Maybe leave your eyes open. Nobody will know you're doing it. Say Lord Jesus, save me.
He will Lord Jesus forgive you my sins.
00:45:04
I don't want to be demoted. I don't want to be castaway in the lake of fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
You know we read off time. Let's read that Revelation chapter 20.
There's a book of life there.
Revelation chapter 20.
This is in the future.
When the Lord Jesus sits on his throne as a judge.
It's going to be a sad day, I think, for a lot of people.
We don't want you to be there.
God does not want you to be there.
But if you are there.
You will remember.
Saint Louis Conference.
You will remember when God put this hope before you.
You will remember the message last night concerning the Lord Jesus.
And you will remember.
That you said no.
Because when you say yes, God writes your name.
In the Lamb's Book of life.
This little word on the cross by this man Lord.
God wrote his name down in the Lamb's Book of Life. Tonight God is writing names.
Anyone here tonight who calls upon the name of the Lord, who accepts Him as His Savior, trust Him. God writes your name in the Lamb's book of life. But Revelation chapter 20, verse 12, well, verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the books were opened, which is the book of life, And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works, and that in hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And the books that were open you would read in those books, I don't know what their names were, but those ones in Matthew 7 the Lord was referring to.
They cast devils out in my name and they did wonderful works in my name.
It's recorded, it's recorded in the word of God, it's recorded in those books of men's works, but it says in verse 15 and whosoever what not was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
That's the final demotion.
Body, soul and spirit in everlasting judgment, fire, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. This is no joke. This is serious.
If you think in your mind it's not true, that's a lie from the devil himself, because that's where he's going and he'll take you with him if he can.
I ask you tonight this question is your name in the book of life.
Can you say yes, my name is in the Book of life.
You're not sure? Talk to someone tonight. Don't let the evening go by until you're sure your name is in this book.
And if you say no?
I pray to God and He'll speak to you again.
I can't guarantee it though.
We don't know how much time is left.
The hour of the Lord's coming is so very near. Momentarily, this might be the last conference, the last gospel meeting.
This might be the last day that the Lord long suffers over this guilty world that blasphemes His name every day.
And you know where his name is blaspheming the most.
Where you think it's in India and Muslim countries?
His name is blasphemy the most in those countries that were Christian countries.
And you know God puts up with it because there's a day coming when every mouth will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
00:50:01
Is long-suffering tonight he's waiting for you.
He wants to write your name. He hasn't already.
Now I just have a few words for.
All of us too, you know we.
We speak of the Lord's coming and we know it's the last hour and.
We have been warned. Those of us who know the Lord, we we have to say we've been warned. We know this is an event that's probably going to happen in our generation.
And it might very well happen today, tonight, tomorrow, I don't know.
Does it grab our souls?
I want someone to do some math for me.
30 * 30 * 300.
Put your hand up please.
I don't have my calculator.
30 * 300 Who knows what 30 * 300 is?
This is the United States. They're not Canada.
Pardon me.
Thank you. You get two chances 9000.
9000.
That's a lot of that's a big number.
Think of 9000 souls.
Do you think we could reach 9000 souls?
Those of us who know the Lord Jesus that we could reach 9000 so as well before this meeting there was thirty of us or so.
Approximately praying upstairs for the gospel of the Lord Jesus and you know if everyone of us all thirty of us who prayed for the God in the Gospel for the salvation of souls.
If we just gave out a tract every day.
Skip Sunday. Take the day off.
300 days a year, 30 people, that is 9000 people have received the gospel.
Now imagine I'm going to exaggerate a bit. Let's say there's 300 of us when brother said it was 270. Maybe that's just a guest 300 of us.
And you volunteer 300 * 300.
There you go.
90,000.
Hey, that's that's a lot of people, 90,000 people receiving the gospel.
Where's John Kemp?
I know you do that by yourself, John, but still.
Is it possible, dear ones, those of us who know the Lord, assuming we all know the Lord?
That we could in our little measure, you know, get attract gospel calendar or something and just.
Say well I can't reach 90,000 people.
John can but.
And most we can't. But we could be sitting in this room next year if the Lord has tarried, and we could have reached 90,000 people or more just by a little word here, a little track there, a little testimony here and there.
I leave that with you.
Because.
I believe the Lord Jesus is interested in souls.
Very much.
Oh, he delights to see us around himself, thinking on that time when he was alone on the cross as we remember him.
But he went there and he suffered that to glorify his God and Father. And for this man hanging on the cross right beside him, that murderer, perhaps that thief for your neighbor, for the guys and the girls you go to school with, for the people you work with, that's who he died for, you know? And if you don't tell them, who's going to?
The Blood of Jesus Cleanseth Me
Children—Tim Roach
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.
Good morning.
Well, not quite. Everybody's here yet, but I think we can start singing anyway, So we can sing while everybody comes in. Who has a song you'd like to start with?
Does anybody have a song? Yes.
#46
glad.
I.
AM.
Saving Andy calls and because of the GI on her eldest and he wants all of the BOYS to.
Who can tell me what is our sins washed away? What washes our sins away? Yes, Paul.
The blood of the Lord Jesus? That is exactly correct, yes. Does someone else have a song to sing?
Yes.
#44
We'll sing the 1St and the last.
Into a tent where a gypsy boy.
Crying alone at the close of the day. News of salvation, we carry study.
Nobody ever has called it to me.
Tell them again. Tell them again.
Salvation story before and all.
Till none can say on the children of men. Not a body ever has told me before.
Everything we have the last words of his friend, just as he answered, God sent his Son whosoever said He, when I am sure that he sent him for me.
Salvation story we ignore and all.
None can say of the children of men nobody ever has told me before.
Why don't we pray and ask the Lord's help our God and Father? We give thanks for this time. We can come together and have another song you'd like to sing.
2747, I'm sorry.
OK, when he cometh? When?
To make up is to the most honest, to the most precious, to the most.
And Islam.
Like the stars of the morning.
Is bright brown, adorning face shall shine, and his beauty righteous for his crown.
Kingdom, all of your ones, all the bright ones, Can't love them his own like the stars of the morning. It is right from the dormitory they shall shine in his beauty.
Little shell, brown, little children.
Love, their breaking deep breath, are the two most precious ones, and it's love and in song like the stars of the morning, there is right from a dormant they shall shine in his beauty.
00:05:06
Right chance for his crown. You know, I have spent a lot of time in Malawi and there has been a there was one man who came to a young fellow, he was maybe 18 years old. He came to my gate one day and he wanted some work. His name was McDonald and McDonald. He was coming to the rainy season and he had no work and he needed to fix his roof because it was leaking very badly and so.
I had a tree that was growing up and it was full of termites and it was full of vines and it was a very unsightly tree. So I I asked him to come and and dig the tree out and cut it down and and we put some chemicals in to kill all the termites and and try to make it look a little nicer. Well, he worked, he worked hard for several days and got the job done nicely and so I paid him and then I didn't see McDonald for a few weeks.
And then he came knocking at the door again and he says I need some more money. So I want to know if you will buy, I have a chicken for you. Do you want to buy this chicken? And so, OK, I will buy your chicken. So I bought it and I put it in the pen with the other chickens and we're going to eat it in a few days. Well, three days later another knock on the gate and another man is there and he says.
You have my chicken.
I said, I don't have your chicken. Yes, you have my chicken. And he told me what the chicken looked like. I said, will you come with me? We'll look at our chickens and sure enough, I had his chicken. McDonald had stolen his chicken and he sold it to me.
McDonald was a Sinner. Does somebody else have a song you'd like to sing?
Yes.
40 OK #40 we'll sing the 1St and the last.
Cheers.
Let's make.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, gives us last week. Love I don't tells me so.
Jesus likes me. He will stay close to speak inside me all the way if I trust him. Should I die, he will Take Me Home my heart.
Yes, she is a **** spin.
Yes, she is as much me.
Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so. The.
There was another boy, and he grew up in a Christian family and he went to school and he obeyed his teachers most of the time.
And when he came home, he would help his mother and his father.
He'd work in the garden with his mother, for his mother and he and he went to the meetings and he prayed before he went to bed.
He was a good boy.
The kids at school, they knew he was from a Christian family and they called him Holy Roller and he didn't really like that.
But even even those the kids made fun of him because of Christianity.
This boy was not saved.
But he was able to hide most of his sin.
But there came a day. Then he got worried about his sin.
Because he had no peace with God, and he started to tremble about his sin, he was troubled.
That boy was a Sinner, and he needed to be saved. He.
He looked good on the outside, but inside?
He was not saved. I want to sing #34 because I want to talk about the blood of Jesus and we'll sing #34.
Precious. Precious.
Jesus.
Warning.
00:10:03
Right. Just flashes now breathing us all about grass and respect.
Never take part in now it is offered peace. It's his name.
All thy sins are read by Crimson, deep and scarlet glow. Jesus Precious blood can't make them quiet as long.
Precious precious blood of Jesus.
Ever offered free.
Oh really?
Maybe you are like that boy who is troubled about his sin.
You're able to hide your sin from your mother. You're able to hide your sin from your father.
But you're troubled because you know you cannot hide your sin from God.
And so you are troubled, and you're worried, and maybe you have fear. But you know Jesus did not come into this world to make you worry.
Jesus came into the world because he loves you and he wants to give you his peace and he wants to give you salvation.
Maybe you have no peace, but you can have peace today. You can come to Jesus Christ today. You can be saved. The Lord Jesus says, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Let's go to John Chapter 3.
And there's a verse here, verse 36, but before we read that verse.
I want to talk about a penalty for sin.
You know, when I was a child, I was not always good I.
I tried to make everybody think I was good.
But sometimes I would argue and I would fight with my brother.
And my mother would hear us.
And I'd hear the drawer down in the kitchen opening.
And I'd hear her shuffling through the utensils, and she'd come up with a wooden spoon, and I'd hear her walking along the we had wooden floors. I'd hear her walking along the floor and up the steps, and I had time to grab some some shirts and stuff and stuff them down behind me, because I knew it was going to hurt.
And then my mother would start to spank, but she always hit me down in the leg where there's no protection.
There's a penalty for sin.
Other times.
I would say things that weren't very nice. Maybe I'd tell a lie.
And my mother would come out again.
And she'd bring me to the washroom.
And she gets some soap.
And wash out my mouth with soap. Oh, that didn't taste good at all. It left a bad taste in your mouth.
But there is a penalty for sin. We have different penalties for different sins.
Maybe your dad someday he's driving along the road and he's going too fast.
And it's not long before another car comes up behind him with lights flashing and a siren going.
And he pulls your dad over.
And he comes to your dad's window and says, may I have your license please?
And your dad says. Why, officer, What was I doing?
You were speeding. I was, yes. You were going 85 in a 50 mile an hour zone.
Oh my, my speedometer must be off a little bit.
Give me your license and he writes him out a speeding ticket and he has to pay $75.
There's a penalty for sin.
Sometimes a person will put on a mask and they will go into a bank and they will have a gun in their hand and they will say to the teller, give me money.
And they will rob the bank. Well, there's a penalty for robbing a bank and they may have to do 5 or 10 years in jail, but there is a penalty for sin.
00:15:08
I was. I was driving along the road few weeks ago.
And I was trying to keep up with the traffic and I started to go a little faster than the traffic.
And one of my children looked over my shoulder and said.
While you're at it, Dad, why don't you just rob a bank?
I I I.
We tend to think that one sin isn't as bad as another sin, but God says.
If you've committed one sin, you're guilty of all of them.
God says that the soul that sins, it shall die that dying that death. It's an eternal death in the lake of fire that we heard about last night. It's an eternal hell. And our verse here in John chapter 3 and verse 36 says he that believeth on the Son has everlasting life and he that believes not the Son shall not see life. But listen to this. If you don't believe on the Lord Jesus, it says the wrath of God abides on you. That means you are in danger.
Of going to hell.
Eternal hell. But God doesn't want you to go to an eternal hell, so he wants to talk with you. And let's go to Isaiah, Chapter one.
And we'll see what God has to say to us.
Isaiah chapter one, and I want to talk about the power of the blood.
And God comes alongside of you, and he says.
And he wants us to do this. He says, Wash you, verse 16. Wash you, make you clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil. Learn to do well.
Stop doing the bad. This verse says stop doing the bad. Start doing the good.
But boys and girls?
What kind of good can you do if you're not saved? You can't do any good, but there is a good thing you can do. The only good thing you can do, the good work, is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
Then we go down to verse 18.
And here, God, he wants to have you, boys and girls. He wants to have you close to him. He wants to have a fellowship with you. He wants to be your friend.
And so he says, come now and let us reason together. When it says reason together, that means let's have a little talk, let's become friends, Let's talk together. He says though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. That's salvation. He wants to take your sins away and make you white as snow. And then he goes on to say, though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool. That's like eternal security. He wants to keep you safe. He wants you to know that you can never lose your your salvation.
When you've been washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's look at this first part of the verse. Here it says though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Now scarlet it's a bright red color about the color of.
Well, what do we what do we have here about this color?
That's like kool-aid. It's a bright red color.
In the old days, when somebody would sin a bad sin, they would take some red scarlet color and they put a sign on the person about the sin that they had done. And they would have to walk around and people would see that they were a bad Sinner and they would want to stay away from that person. They would have nothing to do with them because they were a bad Sinner.
How would you like it if when you went to school?
And you had a fight at school and the teacher would put a red sign on your shirt that you were fighting.
Or that you stole somebody's pencil.
Or you cheated on a test.
Or you threw some paper airplanes out the window of the school.
That's that's some things that we do when we go to school. I remember when I was in school.
00:20:01
I was sitting back next to the window and there were two other boys who were a little closer to the window and we started. We were up on the third floor of the school and we would make air paper airplanes and we'd fly them out the wind. The teacher would be looking at the blackboard and we'd throw these planes out the window.
And they fly down and land.
At the feet of the principal who happened to be walking around the school at that minute.
Well, it wasn't long before the principal came knocking at the door of the classroom. And he went back and he looked through the notebooks of the boy sitting next to the window. And that boy had used paper that he had writing on. And he compared the writing and he found that it was the same boy. So he took him and brought him down.
To the principal's office. It wasn't long before the loudspeaker in the ceiling was saying from the principal missus teacher, Send that other boy down to the principal's office.
And he got up and he went a few minutes later.
That loudspeaker started talking again, saying Mrs. Teacher, send Timothy Roach down to the principal's office and oh.
That was embarrassing.
I felt shame and my face turned a scarlet red as I had to get up and walk.
I was a Christian. People thought I was a Christian and I had to walk across the classroom and go down to the principal's office and I got two weeks detention at lunchtime.
There is a penalty for sin. Let's go over to Romans chapter 5.
And verse 9 says much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
You can be saved from your sin. You can be saved from the judgment of sin.
It says you can be justified by his blood. What does it mean to be justified? It means that Jesus wants to take away your sin. He wants to take away the guilt of your sin. He wants to forgive you.
The Lord Jesus took my sin away.
That paper airplane flying out the window, that sin is gone.
The Lord Jesus took my sin away and made me as white as snow.
What does it mean to be white as snow? It means that He's given us the righteousness of God. We've been made pure and clean, and our sin can no more take us into the wrath of God.
Jesus says that you can be saved too. He says, Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden.
I will give you rest. I will give you peace. You can be saved and he will take away your sin. He will take away your guilt. He will take away your shame. And then you can remove those scarlet sign that tells of all the sins that you have done. The sins will be taken away and as far away as the East is from the West so far as he removed our sins.
Jesus is the taker away of sins and he wants to take away your sins. Let's go to 1St John chapter one.
First John chapter one and verse 2 and it says here if any man.
I'm sorry, first John chapter one, verse 7.
The end of the verse says the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. I like that word all. You can also say that word as every. And it helps us to understand that the blood of Jesus takes away every sin. He doesn't miss one sin. Every sin is going to be taken away. And when the sin is gone, God gives you eternal life. And he says that when you have eternal life you shall never perish. You are in the hands of Jesus.
And he's going to keep you safe. He's not going to let anybody touch you. He will. No one can ****** you out of his hands. Even your own sin. You cannot be taken out of the hands of the Lord Jesus. And then for double security, the God the Father, his hand is protecting you too. And so you have that protection when you are saved. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from every sin, and so you can never lose your salvation. Let's go back to.
To Isaiah chapter one.
And we'll read the rest of that verse and it says at the end of the verse though your sins be read like Crimson.
00:25:06
They shall be as wool. Now Crimson is like a deep dark red dye. It's like and it's called Crimson. Now Crimson comes from a worm that when it's crushed the red is the blood is very dark red and it's called Crimson.
That reminds me of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When he was hung on the cross.
And the soldier pierced his side, and the blood came out.
And the Lord and God put up my sins on Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ was punished, and in Isaiah says he was bruised for our iniquities. Another word meaning for that word bruised is crushed. The Lord Jesus was crushed for my sins.
And the blood flowed forth the blood of Jesus Christ, that precious, precious blood of Jesus.
That was shed on Calvary. That blood was shed to wash away your sins.
The Lord Jesus wants to do that for you. Then it says here at the end of the verse they shall be as wool. Now what does? What do we know about wool? What are how can our sins be as wool? I used to think that it meant that they would be white as wool, but wolves not white. Snow is white, nothing can be as white as snow. And So what does it mean? The wool? Well, I used to clean carpets and when we clean clean wool carpets, wool has a natural without doing any treatment.
To it, It has a natural resistance to soil and staining, and so wool in its natural condition will be able to to repel sins or repel stains. And that that's what the Lord Jesus can do for you with His precious blood. He can cover you with His blood and the sin when it comes on you, it won't stay. You can wash that off.
It's the blood is resistant to the soiling and the staining of sin.
Jesus gives you a perfect security. You can never lose your salvation.
That the sin can never get in to your soul to make you dirty. I have a tie here.
It's a nice tie.
My kids tell me that it doesn't match what I'm wearing. I don't know if it does or not, but it's a nice tie. It's 100% silk.
And it feels nice.
Your dad maybe has a tie. I see a lot of nice ties here. What happens if you pour coffee on a tie?
It gets stained. I have a cup of coffee here.
I'm going to pour coffee on my tie and we're going to see what's going to happen.
Oh, it just runs off.
Most of it.
How can that happen?
Before I came to the meeting, I came. I put Scotchgard on my tie.
And the coffee, it doesn't. It doesn't stain the tie, it just runs right off.
But now I have some kool-aid. What happens when you put kool-aid on a tie? You know kool-aid has dye #7 in it. That's the same color dye they use to dye carpets.
And they give kids kool-aid, and they know kids are going to spill kool-aid on the carpets. And so carpets get stained. But let's see what happens when we put.
Kool-aid. See, it's Kool AIDS red.
It runs down off the tie too.
And we can shake that off most of it.
I don't recommend that you do that to your dad's tie.
My tie, it still looks dirty. There's still a little bit of coffee and a little bit of kool-aid on it, but I can take a dry cloth and I can blot it and it will be gone.
00:30:04
When you sin after you are saved.
That sin won't stick to your soul, it gets the outside dirty.
And if you confess your sin, the Lord Jesus is faithful and just to forgive you your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Let's go to 1St John chapter 2.
I John Chapter 2.
And halfway through verse one it says if any man sin.
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. Now that word, advocate, that's a hard word, but that's kind of like a friend. We have a friend. If we sin, we have a friend, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And what does that friend do? He comes alone after you sin.
You don't stop being a child of God, but you lose your happiness and you lose your fellowship with God.
You lose your friendship, and so Jesus, as a friend, comes to you and tries to bring you back into a good relationship, a good fellowship with God.
How can he do that? It is because of his blood that was shed. Oh, there's power in the blood of Jesus Christ. There's power in the blood and.
So he wants to so as our advocate.
He comes and tries to bring us back to God. Bring he tries to get you to the point where you will confess your sin and Jesus. God says if you confess your sin he will forgive your sin and you can be brought back into fellowship with God.
You know.
I I remember a story of a of a man who is driving his car and his daughter was in the back seat, a little girl and she was deathly afraid of of bees because if she got stung by a bee, she would die very quickly. And as they were driving along, a bee came in the window, open window and the little girl saw it and she started to scream. Daddy, daddy, the bee is going to get me. It's going to kill me. I'm going to die, daddy. And so the father's driving along the road and he's trying to get catch this bee and he's swerving over the road and he finally catches the bee.
And the beast things him in the hand and he lets it go. And the beast flying around again. And the girl is screaming daddy. And but he says it's OK, dear, look in my hand there. The Stinger of the bee is in my hand. It can't get you anymore. The sting of death was in daddy's hand. And that's what the Lord Jesus did for you when he was on the cross. He took away when he died and shed his blood.
He took away the sting of death, the sting of sin. Sin can't get at you anymore because of the blood of Jesus Christ. If you were to go to heaven today, you would see Jesus. He is a man. He is there, and in his hands you will find the wounds.
From the nails that went through them at the cross in his side you would see the wound where the spear went in and brought forth the blood that can save you and wash you from your sins if you sin to day after you are saved.
The Lord Jesus can show God his hands in his side as proof that you are saved, as proof that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, has cleansed every sin, and so there can be restoration of your fellowship with God. There's power in the blood of Jesus.
Some of you may think.
That you try hard not to sin.
You know you are saved, but sometimes you have doubts.
And you can see.
Mr. Prost and Mr. Rule and Mr. Tony and these different brothers speaking in the meetings and you think, oh, they are so safe, they are so secure, they're going to go to heaven. But the children, you, you start to wonder, am I really saved?
00:35:12
Because I I did this bad thing.
Maybe I'm not saved.
But you know what you can have the weakest believer can have the same.
Perfect security as the older brothers and the older sisters who we think are so much better than ourselves.
You are safe when you are in the hands of Jesus. He will never let you go.
Let's look at one verse in Romans chapter 3.
Romans chapter 3 and verse 25.
And it's talking about Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.
Faith in the blood of Jesus. You can trust. Jesus. Can you believe?
That you are a Sinner. Can you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins?
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. You can do that this morning. You can be saved.
Just tell Jesus, Jesus, Lord, save me. I'm a Sinner. I want to be saved.
After you are saved, you need to have faith in the blood.
You need to have confidence in God. When God says that you can never perish.
You need to have confidence and trust God when he says you have eternal life.
You in a faith in His blood, we are protected by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are protected from the wrath of God. We are protected from the penalty of sin.
You need to go to the cross. You need to confess your sin.
And if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
I think we have time for one more song.
Somebody have a song they like to sing.
Let's see, yes.
Number What #8? OK.
We can sing the first and last of #8.
Should.
I.
Ask this Lord yours. Come.
I'm strong. It's glorious. It's glorious.
Yeah, we're with the sins of this coming.
And watched in the Savior's world. I know some of you find it hard to sit and you wonder why do we have to sit through so many meetings?
But.
The meetings are almost over.
But you have this last opportunity.
One more chance to be washed in the savior's blood, and if you are, if you are saved, if you are washed in the Savior's blood.
You will be gathered with Christ at his coming.
Malachi
Address—Jim Hyland
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.
Let's begin this afternoon with hymn #84 in the appendix.
One there is above all others. Oh, how he loves his is love beyond brothers. Oh, how he loves 84 in the appendix of Someone will please start it.
How he loves.
Earthly friends.
Make their poor people one day.
Still the next day grievous.
Love this friend will never be seen by.
Oh, how he loves.
Joy and peace.
It is to know him.
Oh, how he loves.
Thinking how much we owe him.
Oh, how he loves.
With his precious.
He bought us.
In the wilderness.
He sought us.
To his loved one.
We have found a friend in Jesus.
Oh, how he loves.
Us.
Malachi chapter one.
And verse one.
The Burden of the Word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi, I have loved you, saith the Lord. I have it on my heart this afternoon to take up a few expressions in the book of Malachi, and really just to make some applications that I trust brethren will be relevant to us where we are today and that will encourage us to go on in these last moments.
00:05:05
Just before the Lord Jesus comes, you know, often when we take up the book of Malachi, we look perhaps and focus on the negative side of things. And I don't want to pretend that we're indifferent to the negative side of things. As we go through this little book at the end of the Old Testament, just before what has been often referred to as the 400 silent years, we find that there was indeed much wanting. There was complete indifference to the claims of of Jehovah.
This book isn't written in the as a an appeal in the days of the kings and a denunciation.
Of idolatry. It isn't even an appeal in the days of Ezra when they return to the land. It's not an appeal in the days of Haggai to rise up and build, or even in the days of Nehemiah to take up the wall, build the wall of separation, and so on.
Malachi does bring us right down to the end, but what I want to notice in the book of Malachi are some positive things that God uses to encourage the hearts of his people even in days of weakness and ruin.
Because I'm afraid that sometimes the tendency of my own heart is to look at the negative side of things, to simply look at how far things have deteriorated morally and spiritually amongst the people of God, and certainly.
We have to own that we're part of it, but to become overwhelmed. Because, brethren, we can still be overcomers even in these last moments just before the Lord Jesus comes. Because the resources that we have in Christ this afternoon are the same limitless resources that have always been available to the people of God sometimes said that if the day ever gets so dark that we can't live for God's glory here in this world.
Then the Lord will take us out. But as long as we're here, in spite of the darkness of the day, in spite of spite of the failure, the weakness and the ruin that has come in amongst the people of God, there are the resources to go on. And our brother was bringing before us in an earlier meeting how the last days are characterized by individual faithfulness. I've enjoyed it in connection with Timothy when Paul wrote For the last Time by inspiration.
Of days very parallel to the days of Malachi. Days very parallel to the days in which we find ourselves this afternoon, he said to Timothy. Continue thou, I love that little expression. Continue, thou. In other words, he says. Timothy, these aren't the early days of the church anymore. You're not going to see great revival in Pentecostal power. But Timothy, go on in the things that you've learned and been assured of.
The Lord hasn't changed. The truth hasn't changed. And he said, you go on and walk for God's glory and for the blessing of God's people, even in in in spite of the fact that it's the last days and perilous times. And so this is really the burden of my heart, brethren. I know there's plenty to burden. We've come to these meetings. It's been a time of real refreshment. We've been around the person of Christ. We've had the word of God before us, ministered from various portions.
We had the precious privilege of quite a number of us remembering the Lord Jesus this morning at his table in the breaking of bread. We've enjoyed sweet fellowship with one another. It's been a little Oasis away from the trials and burdens and the grind of everyday life.
And I have no doubt that our brethren sitting in these chairs this afternoon, whose hearts are really burdened as they think of going back, leaving this little Elam that we've enjoyed, and going back maybe to work, to school, maybe to assembly problems and difficulties home situations.
But all the Lord is sufficient. Maybe I don't know what you're passing through, but I know one thing. The Lord is sufficient, and He's able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. But where we begin here in the book of Malachi, we have a couple of beautiful things that introduce these very solemn exhortations that Malachi is caused to write to the people of God. First of all, it says the burden of the word.
Of the Lord to Israel in that beautiful you know, even though it had come right down to just a little company, as we're going to notice later on, who were seeking to go on faithfully for the Lords glory. Yet God had a message, and not just a message for that little remnant.
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Not just a message for Judah, but it was for all Israel, because, you know, God has a message for his people this afternoon. This book we hold in our hands is relevant for every situation, every difficulty, every question that arises.
Even in 2008, this book is sufficient. And if you and I are willing to open our ears and our hearts and let our consciences be reached, He has a message for us. God wasn't forsaking his people all. Maybe many had forsaken him, so to speak, but God wasn't forsaking his people. He had a message, and it was for all of his people. And he raises up this man, Malachi.
With this real burden and that beautiful to realize, God raises up, I believe men and women for the day. I'm thankful for those who prophecy in the day in which we live.
Now I realize that prophecy is a little different today than in the days of Malachi. We had a brother at home for years when I was growing up. He's with the Lord now, but he used to put it this way. He said back in the days of the scriptures there were prophets who foretold. Today there are prophets who forth tell, and so I'm thankful that there are those who God raises up to with a burden and who present not something new.
But they present to us a message from the Word of God relevant to the day in which we live. Because prophecy, if we can bring it down for our purposes this afternoon, prophecy is really speaking a message relevant to those to whom it's addressed. God sends His messengers today, and so when we go over to the the New Testament we find in the Church of God, there are those who prophecy.
Let the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge it says and even sisters too. Not publicly in the assembly, but you know, I think it was Philip in the book of Acts and he had some daughters and they prophesied in the home. A woman is a sister is to cover her head when she prays or prophecies. You know, some of the best lessons I have learned from the word of God are from sisters. Sisters who in their proper place said a word to me. That was just what I needed for the moment.
And I'm thankful for those sisters who had that burden to speak to me, speak to me faithfully. And it's been a tremendous blessing and help to me. And so, brethren, I know again, these are perhaps days when there isn't perhaps great outward manifest power. Maybe sometimes we say, you know, there doesn't seem to be much gift, especially in the local assembly. But, you know, there are those with a real burden for the people of God.
Those who have a message for us, if we're willing to listen. And so the Lord had a message and he used Malachi. In fact, Malachi's name actually means God's messenger. And then it says, I have loved you, saith the Lord. You know these exhortations, and again, they're very serious exhortations, but they begin with a confirmation of the Lord's love for his people.
You know if we were to back up in the history of the children of Israel we would find that at the beginning of their history they were given an exhortation to love the Lord their God, with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind and so on. But nothing of that here Israels love. Had the people of God. Their love had waned, their love had grown cold and indifferent. How does he seek to warm them up at the end? By exhorting them to love him? No, by giving them a confirmation.
Of His love. Because Brethren, there's nothing will warm our souls like in the enjoyment of His love for us. So often we get occupied with our response. But my response is cold and feeble at best. If I'm simply occupied with my response to him, that's going to discourage me. But Brethren, just to get a little taste in our souls again. Of his love to realize as he could confirm to them at the end of the wilderness journey.
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I have loved you, saith the Lord. He loved them just as much on the banks of the Jordan as he did on the banks of the Red Sea, when they were in the freshness of redemption and a singing people there delivered by a mighty hand. All after 40 years of murmuring and complaining and fault finding and all going after idols and all those kind of things, He still loved them the same, right down at the end of their history. Here He still loves them this, love them the same.
It's interesting that before the upper room, ministry begins in the Lot Lord's last final words of encouragement and exhortation. Before he left the disciples, there's another confirmation. Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Because I again, I say there's no use giving exhortations or warnings to the heart that isn't engaged to the heart that doesn't go out to Christ. It means nothing.
But where the heart is engaged, then the feet will follow. We need real purpose of heart to stand and live in days like this, because again we can, brethren. You know, Samuel ministered to the Lord at a very dark point in Israeli history. Why we find there the priesthood was defiled, the sacrifices were abhorred, the lamp of God was going out. Samuel ministered to the Lord.
We find, too, that I think it was the prophet Elijah he ministered in the dark days of Ahab.
Daniel had purpose of heart in Babylon when it seemed like most of his peers were compromising and eating the King's meat. The three Hebrew children were faithful even at a time when others were perhaps compromising and bowing down to the golden image in the plain of Dora. And So what an encouragement it is. But I say we need to have a heart stirred up. I need to have my heart stirred up to the fact that he loves us.
Often said with The Bride and The Song of Solomon.
As she is awakened and restored to her bridegroom, all her affections go out more and more to him. But what is it that awakens her affections for the bridegroom to be occupied with her love and hurt? What her response had been?
No, that would have only discouraged her. And if I can put it this way, it would have caused her to go back to sleep or to run further away. But as she numerated the qualities and glories of the bridegroom, as she was occupied with himself and her love, why her affections were awakened till all she wanted was his company. And she could say at the end of it all he is all together lovely. What deepened her affections?
Oh, it was to realize his love for her. Because, brethren, that doesn't change. You know, divine love is different from natural love. Natural love looks for something lovable in the object and a response from the object. And to a great degree, it's dependent on those two things.
Now it's true, divine love delights in a response from the object. My son give me thine heart, he says. But it isn't dependent on it. I say it delights in it. And it grieved the Lord here when he didn't see that proper response from his people, but it didn't change his love. Just one more comment in that regard before we pass on. It's interesting that when you come over to the addresses to the seven churches.
In Revelation chapter two and three, there are just two assemblies that he confirms his love to. One is Philadelphia. And you say, well, of course there was a freshness in Philadelphia. There was energy of faith and exercise to keep his word and not deny his name, you say, I see why he confirmed his love to that assembly. But then you come to Laodicea, complete indifference to the claims of Christ, so much wanting in that assembly.
I have loved you, saith the Lord. Not beautiful to realize everyone of us can say that. You see, there's so much wanting in my life, maybe even in the assembly I come from. Oh, just hear His words. I have loved you, Seth, the Lord and brethren. If that doesn't stir our hearts up with fresh exercise and desire, I don't know what goes on within our hearts. And so this was the great burden and these exhortation. Start with the fact of His unconditional love.
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But then I just want to drop down to the fifth verse for a moment.
And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, the Lord will be magnified from the borders of Israel. Now, as I say, we're just going to make a few applications here. I realize much of what we have here is prophetic. Some of it will be fulfilled in the coming day when God's purposes will be fulfilled and his earthly people. But I just want to make this little application, because just as it will be with Israel in a coming day, so it is with His people today.
Nothing frustrates the purposes of God. That's something else that we can rest on, brethren. Sometimes our plans and our purposes are frustrated. How often have we had some plan, some purpose for our lives, perhaps for our family? Something we really thought was for the good and blessing of our family and for others, And something came in and we were never able to carry that plan or purpose to fruition.
Say, oh, if it had only worked out that way, I think it would have been helpful and for our good and blessing.
But isn't it wonderful, Brethren, that no failure in man, no lock on the part of his people, is ever going to frustrate the purposes of God because he's going to bring it all to fruition? It says he's working all things after the council of his own will. And that's true whether it's in our lives individually, whether it's in our family lives, whether it's amongst the people of God collectively.
And then to of course, in connection with this world, you know God is going to make sure that his son has his rightful place. He's going to be magnified and glorified from the borders of Israel. His Son is going to be recognized universally as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But a tremendous comfort that is we follow Christ now we say, well, everything seems out of control, doesn't seem to be much honor given to the Lord Jesus.
But are you and I content to follow him knowing that God is working everything for a purpose? And not only is God working everything for a purpose in your life and mine, but he's working everything for a purpose of blessing. You know, sometimes we might have some plan, some purpose, even in connection with our family, But, you know, in the end, it might be just a selfish motive. It may have been just to get something for myself.
But his purposes in our life are not selfish. If I can speak carefully in that way, it's always for our good and blessing all things work together for good. Do we really believe that brethren we quote that it doesn't say all things are good? No, There's some bitter experiences in your life and mind. Again, I'll repeat a little illustration we've often used on an occasion like this. And if my wife was here, she would well confirm after this meeting that I am not a cook in any sense of the word.
And I don't attempt to do anything, perhaps beyond a simple stir fry in the kitchen. But you know, I watch sometimes as my wife or one of my daughters is going to bake something, and they get a lot of ingredients out on the counter. And they're very careful to make to make sure before they begin that they have every one of those ingredients. Or maybe sometimes there's a substitution. But those ingredients are all important.
If the cake or whatever they're baking is going to turn out and be tasty in the end, and you know, as you view those ingredients spread out on the counter, you realize that some of that ingredients is bitter and some is sweet. They're sugar, There's butter, but then there's salt, there's flour. There's other things that by themselves are very bitter, things you wouldn't want to put on your palate by themselves.
And isn't that the way it is in our lives? Sometimes there's those sweet experiences and then there's those bitter experiences. But then we find that they take those ingredients and in the proper order. They take those ingredients and they mix them together. And some of those ingredients need to be sifted. Sometimes they need to be beaten, Just like the circumstances in our lives. He doesn't just know what circumstances we need, he knows how to administer those circumstances.
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As well. And then they're all mixed together and still you can't eat it. Still it isn't very tasty or good for you. It has to be exposed to the fire. Sometimes we have to be exposed to the fire of trial, and they are trials, They are fiery trials, as Peter spoke of to the Saints in his day. But you know, when it's all put together in the right way and exposed to the fire for just the right length of time.
You realize that all those ingredients worked together for good. Not that they were all good on on in themselves, but they all worked together for good to finish the product and make something that was edible and palatable. And rather that's the way we're going to view it in a coming day. He's going to have all the glory in the coming day when we bow before him there and we realize that everything was working out.
For not just for a purpose, but for a purpose of blessing. I've enjoyed that in the end of Revelation 5, where the four beasts which represent to us God's governmental ways on the earth, they say Amen. We see it all now, brethren. We're just going to bow before him in that day. And we're going to see how seemingly those bitter and tangled circumstances that were allowed in our lives, we're all working out for His glory and for a purpose of blessing in our lives.
Then I want to notice verse nine of chapter one. And now I pray you beseech God.
That he will be gracious unto us. Just that little expression. I want to speak for a moment in connection with the grace of God. Brethren, isn't it wonderful that we have that resource for our pathway? We think back some here over many years, some over a few years, to that time when we came to know the grace of God in salvation. Because it is by grace that we're saved through faith and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.
And we're thankful for that grace that has reached out to us in all our need. But aren't we thankful for that grace that has met every need along the path of faith and service? Oh, God's desire here was to be gracious to his people. That's what He desires. He doesn't want. He doesn't give us what we deserve, always faithful with us, as we'll speak of in a moment. But he's gracious, and so that grace is sufficient.
Paul said my grace is sufficient for the year. The Lord said to the apostle Paul, my grace is sufficient for thee. Do we need more grace? He giveth. More grace, you say? I just don't know how I'm going to face things this week. I just don't know how I'm going to go back to my little assembly next weekend if the Lord leaves us here. But His grace is sufficient. And do we need more grace? He gives more grace, and of all we received of His fullness.
And grace upon grace, because grace meets us in our present need, the Psalmist said. The Lord will give grace and glory. Glory is what comes at the end of the pathway, But grace meets us in our present need. It's remarkable that this book.
Which ends the Old Testament ends with a curse, but the New Testament ends with grace, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. At the end of the Book of Revelation he speaks of his coming, but then to me it's if just as if he without before he closes the book, he says. And if we I leave you here a little bit longer my grace is going to meet your every need. And so brethren, his grace is able. I don't know what you're going to face. I don't even know what I'm going to face tomorrow if the Lord leaves us here.
But again, I have the assurance from God's word that His grace is sufficient. Oh, let's learn to draw on that wonderful resource more and more. Well, we're not going to comment on the second chapter or or read any of it. Suffice it to say that the second chapter is devoted as a rebuke and an exhortation to the priests and those that were in a place of responsibility.
Leadership and influence amongst God's people. And I think it's a very solemn thing to realize because we find often in Scripture, at times of low, of a low ebb amongst the people of God, morally and spiritually, there's a special rebuke to the priests, to the Princess. In the Lord's day there was a special rebuke and warning to the Pharisees, to the scribes, to those who were in a place of leadership.
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And influence. And five times in the second chapter, if you notice Mr. Darby's translation, he translates the word treacherously, as unfaithfully or unfaithfulness.
Here were those in a place of leadership, those who should have been standing for rectitude and righteousness, those who should have been upholding God's word and so on. And they were going on unfaithfully in their personal lives, in their family lives, in connection with their relationships to the world, in connection with their relationships to the people, relationship to the people of God.
And it's a very solemn thing to read the second chapter in that regard. Because I believe that those the work of the enemy has always been to trip up those who are in a place of leadership and influence amongst God's people. Because he knows that if he can trip up those who are in a place of leadership and influence, the result is what we have in verse 8 of that chapter.
They caused many to stumble. Not only do they miss the path themselves.
But they more often than not take others with them. I would just say to to all of us.
That we need to pray, especially for those who are in a place of leadership, whether it's in the local assembly or on a wider sphere, realizing that they are so very vulnerable with Peter in the Lords day, the enemy knew if he could trip up Peter, who took a lead amongst the other disciples, that it would not only lead Peter astray, but others as well. Like when Peter said I go a fishing.
Why he influenced others who said, I also go with thee. And So what a serious thing it is. But now I want to go on to the third chapter. I'm not going to read it, but in the first few verses of the third chapter we have what we might say brought before us the government of God. And the older I get, the more I realize that the government of God is very real in our lives. Oh yes, He loves us with an everlasting love. Oh yes, His grace is sufficient.
For every situation, and not only His preserving grace, but His restoring grace is sufficient whenever we fail. But His government comes in as well, and we need to live our lives in the fear of the Lord.
Daniels Daniels name means God is my judge. I believe Daniel lived his whole life in the fear of the Lord. Thank God will never if we know Christ as our Savior be judged for our sins by one offering. He is perfected forever them that are sanctified.
And there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. And we're justified by His blood. But his government as His people is very real in our lives. We get away with nothing in our lives. God our Father, loves us too much to go our own way, just like an earthly father. If he really loves his children, He loves them too much to just let them drift along and go their own way.
Without training and often chastisement in their lives, whom the Lord loves, He chastens and scourges every son. But I believe when He brings before us the government of God. Here it's really culminated in this sixth verse of the third chapter.
For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Brethren, isn't this another encouragement amidst the dark background of Malachi? I am the Lord. I change. Not so often we sing that little hymn. We change. He changes not. Our Christ can never die. His love not ours the resting place we on his truth rely.
Oh, he doesn't change. This is the world of constant change. And you know, the older I get, the more I dislike change. I like to slide into a comfort zone. I like things to go along from day-to-day and year to year and not change. But everything changes down here. But there's one who never changes. In fact, if we were to trace out some other scriptures, we would find that he's not only the same.
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But it's one of his titles, the same, and he's the same yesterday, today and forever. Has he been our sufficiency in the past? Or won't he do the same today and won't he be the same tomorrow if we're left here? You know, people say today, there's nothing you can rely on today, but there's one that we can rely on, you know, because of the frequent flyer program I belong to and because I rack up so many air miles in a year.
I have the opportunity to, while I'm waiting for my flight, go to, I suppose, what you would call the VIP lounge, and to relax, have a meal, get caught up on some work and so on, get cleaned up. And as a result, I sometimes rub shoulders with, if I can put it this way, the upper echelon of the political, business and corporate world. And I watch them as they're harried talking on their cell phones, faxing, emailing on their computer.
Getting caught up on their work. And not only that, but usually in those lounges on one end of the lounge there's a big flat screen with CNN and depending what country you're on, and the other end, there's a big flat screen with CBC or BBN or one of those new new stations where 24 hours a day they're churning out the bad news of this world. And I watch people's faces. Especially in the last year or two, I've learned to watch people's faces.
And there's absolute fear written in their faces.
And you watch people turn away from watching the economic and political news of the day as well as the social events that are unfolding, the moral breakdown, and people shake their heads. I've had people just turn to me, strangers, and say, where is it going to end? Something's gotta give. This world realizes that things are on a skit. The skids that they're dealing with, the political and economic and social force that is got to give somewhere. The elastic has got to snap.
And they're afraid. If ever there was a day when men's hearts are failing them for fear, it's the day in which we live. But oh, how thankful we are that, well, we need to be aware. And I don't believe we are isolationists. We need to be aware of what's going on in the world, but not overwhelmed by it. Because we know where it's all going to end. And we know that there's one who's unchanging, who's in control, and not only in control of this world, but he's in control of your life.
Mine, he's the rock, David said. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. And then he says, Therefore, ye I want you to notice this, not ye sons of Israel, but ye sons of Jacob.
Appreciated going through especially the prophets and finding how many times he addresses Israel as Jacob because Israel is what we are. By grace Israel means a Prince with God, and certainly he's brought us as beggars from the dunghill and set us among Princess. And what a lofty position we have through grace. But Jacob is that what we are by nature? And don't we sometimes act just like men in the flesh?
And we get afraid, don't we? You know, sometimes I'll have to confess, I'm afraid too. I, I, I read the front page of USA TODAY or the Ottawa Citizen. I get afraid too. I'm. I'm just like Jacob. But isn't it wonderful that he's still the God of Jacob? And so often you have the two names brought together. Why sayest thou O Israel? And speakest O Jacob? My way is hid from the Lord. It's just as if he says you're acting like Jacob. But that's not the way I see you.
But nevertheless he still the God of Jacob, and he comes in in his grace. But I just want to say this too before we pass on. You know, we talk about talked about fear and being afraid and overwhelmed. You know, we don't get that from the Lord. If our hearts are afraid to this afternoon, if we didn't get that from the Lord, we got that somewhere else. Because he hasn't given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
And if we again, if we can just go back and rest on that which we have in himself, that's what's going to give us the peace of soul, that peace of God that passes all understanding. Oh, that's the peace that he wants us to have. It's the same piece that the Lord Jesus walked through this world with. It's the peace he left with his disciples, who had more turmoil in his pathway outwardly than the Lord Jesus.
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But he walked through this world in perfect confidence. He committed himself to him, that judgeth righteously, and that gave him a peace and a confidence as a man in his pathway. And you and I, as we rest on his unchanging person, and all those things that we have in him that are so consistent, we can have that same peace. And so ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
In the seventh verse, we have an exhortation to return because, you know, brethren, there's always a way back. There's always a return. Maybe there's someone here this afternoon. And you say, you know, I came to this conference and I haven't been following the Lord like I ought to have been. There's been a lot of failure in my life. But, you know, sometimes conferences like this are real turnarounds. I remember as a young man coming to a conference like this, and there were a lot of things wanting in my life, and I heard some ministry from the word of God and the spirit of God.
Applied it. And there's a real turn around in my soul by the grace of God. And so there's always that invitation to return. Oh, there is the government of God. Sometimes there are consequences. We reap what we sow, even in our Christian life because of sin. But there's always that way back.
With Peter, there was a way back and a path of usefulness for Peter, even though he denied the Lord three times with those and curses. But now notice the 10th verse, it says.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it, Well, you know, at the beginning of meetings like this we often read a verse like this. As I've grown up in the assembly and come to many conferences, I've often heard, particularly at the first prayer meeting.
A verse like this read with the genuine exercise on the part of the assembly to be fed, to have the windows of heaven open and a blessing poured out. But I might just say in connection with this statement that I think perhaps, and I don't want to be dogmatic on this, but I think there's perhaps a suggestion here that the Book of Malachi may have been written during Nehemiah's second return to Jerusalem.
In the 13th chapter of the book of Nehemiah, the reason I say that is on a couple of accounts. First of all, if that is so, doesn't it show how quickly indifference and declension come in? Don't we see that even in the days of the Apostle Paul? Why at the end of his pathway wasn't very many years, but at the end of his pathway he writes Second Timothy and he has to say all in Asia have turned away.
And when he describes the last days and perilous times to Timothy, you know, we often think of that in relationship to the world. That's not a description of the world. That's a description of the Church of God. That's a description of professing Christendom and how it deteriorated so quickly. Declension comes in.
And if indeed this book was written during that time of Nehemiah's second return, it shows how quickly declension comes in. But I make this further suggestion that this verse may indicate such in that you remember, when Nehemiah returned, one of the things that really grieved him, and one of the things he rebuked the people of God very severely for, was that they weren't bringing the tithes into the storehouse.
You remember that there were rooms built where they were to bring the provisions for the those who had the full time service of the House of God. They were to bring in their tithes so that they could be provided for. And in that chapter we find that there was such indifference to that.
That the Levites, those who should have been devoting their full time to the service of God, had had to flee to their fields, to till and cultivate and plant and try to make a living for themselves and for their families. And Nehemiah stirs the people of God up to bring their tithes into the storehouse.
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But I want to apply this again for our purposes this afternoon. Now again, brethren, I don't believe we're ever going to return to the Pauline days of the Church. Nor are we going to return to the days of Pentecost, or even the days when there was a great revival of the truth in Britain and Europe.
Just over 100 years ago, we don't expect, as it were, great outward signs of power and thousands saved and gathered to the Lord's name.
But he does still desire to bless. And you know, it has encouraged my heart in traveling to various corners of the world and having the privilege of preaching the gospel and spreading the gospel in various ways. Having the privilege of ministering the truth not only to those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, but to other believers. To to see how the Spirit of God is still working in these days. His delight is to bless, to bless in the gospel.
You know, there's still places in the world where there's a hunger for God's word. This is just a little parenthesis in our talk. But are you and I exercised in that regard? Maybe we look around in North America and we say, well, you know, there just doesn't seem to be much hunger for the word of God. Well, you know, maybe we haven't looked close enough because there is still, there are still those who have a hunger. Maybe again, it's not 3000 and 5000.
Flocking and saved in one preaching and so on. But there are still plenty of opportunities.
And not only that, but there's opportunities in many parts of the world are we exercised to rise up and seek in some little way to help fill those needs and and opportunities, you know, brethren, and maybe I'll say this particularly to my younger brethren.
There's no shortage of opportunities. We don't have to get up in the morning and pray for opportunities as much as we need to get up in the morning and pray that we will be in a watchful state of soul to avail ourselves of the opportunities that there are. I know we're not all called to be missionaries and to go out to other parts of the world, but we are all called to be missionaries and a testimony in our own sphere from day-to-day and then to as far as the truth, you know, God is still.
Having his truth spread, and souls are still being encouraged in the truth of God and 1:00 and another here being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, and little assemblies gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus springing up in various places and encouraged to go on.
You know, I'm not very old, but sometimes I feel like the old man in Nehemiah Day that wept. In Ezra Day that wept. But oh, we need to be encouraged by what there is to just turn to Malachi, to the very end of the history of the people of God in the Old Testament, and to be encouraged to turn to the end of.
Of Paul's writings to Second Timothy to turn to Laodicea and see. Yes, there's lots wanting and lots to exercise, but there's lots to encourage and spur us on as well. He wants to open the windows of heaven, and he wants to pour us out a blessing. Then just notice further on in this third chapter, verse 16. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him.
For them that feared the Lord, and the thought upon his name.
Or we often enjoy this little verse, don't we? We sometimes sing with the boys and girls that little hymn, when he cometh, when he cometh to make up his jewels. But you know, isn't it tremendous to think, brethren, that every one of us, young and old here, who belong to the Lord Jesus, we're jewels on his heart? It takes us in thought, does it not? Back to that breastplate on the heart of the high priest, a picture of Christ.
Back in the Tabernacle, how there was a special jewel, a unique jewel for?
Each one of the 12 tribes of Israel, each one was precious and unique to him. Then we jump ahead to the heavenly city in its millennial glory in a coming day. And those jewels, that death, the foundation of that that city in that day. It speaks again of the individual preciousness that we will retain to the heart of the Lord Jesus for all eternity. Oh, it's true collectively where the bride of Christ.
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It's true, collectively in that day will be the wife of Christ. But we will retain our individual uniqueness and preciousness to the heart of Christ for all eternity. The Saints as jewels on his heart Christ doth ever bear again. This ought to encourage your heart and mind. Why are they referred to as jewels here Now I realize that Jewelers don't do this so much as they used to.
But you know when I was growing up and you went to a jewelry shop or looked in a shop window, you most always saw jewels displayed on black velvet. I know they don't do it so much anymore. There's other thoughts now as to how to display jewelry. But back then the thought was that the dark background would bring out the luster and the gleam of that precious stone. I really enjoyed it in that connection here. It was a dark background in Malachi's day, but again.
That dark background was the luster of these ones that were precious to the heart of God, a little company seeking to go on.
Like the Lord said to the disciples, fear not, little flock. They might have felt like a very small company seeking to go on with the Lord Jesus. They were little company. They were little company here. But what were they doing? Well, they feared the Lord. They spake often one with another. And what did they speak of? You know, we're not specifically told, and I don't want to read into scripture more than that's here, but I would suggest that when they spoke together, they spoke of those things that would encourage one another to press on.
Brethren, that's what we need. We're going to leave these meetings, and as we have interaction with one another in our home assemblies or wherever we meet one another, what are we going to speak of? I don't mean there aren't times when things may need to be taken up and discussed. For the Lords, glory and sometimes discipline has to be enacted in the assembly, and some serious things have to be talked about. But when we get together, it's so easy. The tendency of our hearts, our natural heart, is to speak of those things that discourage.
Brethren, we don't need to look for things to discourage. There's plenty out there. What we need to do is be exercised. And I say this to my own soul, I can't point the finger at anybody.
I say it to my own soul more than anyone in this room. We need to be exercised to speak together of those things that encourage, you say, what could they possibly have had to encourage in Malachi's day? Well, we've just spoken of some of those things. His love, His purposes, His grace. The fact that they had one that was unchanging. The fact that while they had one who desired to pour them out of blessing all these things they could speak of together and spur one another on in the path of faith and service. Did the Lord value this?
You know, if you notice, I think it's Mr. Darby's translation. He didn't just hearken. He observed it. He looked down and he observed this little company going on together and Speaking of the precious things of himself and encouraging one another. Don't you think that when we speak together, whether it's in the assembly or whether it's on an individual basis, and we speak of the things of Christ and we seek to build up and edify our brethren? Don't you think he observes that? Don't you think it's precious to his heart and furthermore?
A book of remembrance was written before him. You know, every time you say a word of encouragement to a brother or sister.
He jots it down in his book of remembrance, and not only that, but even the thought on his name he remembers because you know what we think is going to come out as what we say. Often I say things to my brothers or sisters in Christ because that's what's on my mind. But if I would set my mind on things above, if my mind was governed with those things that are pure and lovely and so on that are listed for us in the New Testament, wouldn't my my thoughts be expressed out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh?
And so he values every thought, every little encouragement, everything. That's for his glory. He values it. And there's a day coming, brethren, and it's not far off. It's not far off when that book of remembrance is going to be opened to the page with your name on it, and everything that was for his glory is going to be rewarded. He's going, every man is going to have praise of God, and he's going to say, well done, thou good and faithful servant again, that ought to spur us on, to seek to have our thoughts governed by himself.
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And to encourage one another. And so they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts in that day.
When I make up my jewels all I say we're precious to his, to his heart. Well, in the 4th chapter we find prophetically. It speaks of the sun of righteousness rising with healing in his wings. And I realized that this is in connection with the earth.
There's a sun going to rise that's going to bring about a day of blessed glory here in this world. What a day it's going to be when everything is set right regards to what his sense of things is. And he's going to reign in righteousness and Princess rule and judgment. But in the meantime, brethren, may the day star arise in your heart and mind. And may we have Christ as the morning star and before our souls. And may we be looking for his coming. Oh, he's coming any moment. He's promised I will come again.
He that shall come, will come and will not tarry. What a hope, brethren, just to go on the little time that's left. Are we at the end? Yes, we are at the end. We're just at the threshold of glory. But all I trust. But that which we have taken up so quickly and so briefly here from the Book of Malachi will encourage us to go on Again, I want to say not that we're indifferent to what we see around us or what's in our own hearts, but just to be occupied with what we have in himself.
Brethren, what we have in himself is so much greater than our circumstances, than our failure, than our own hearts. But that's what's going to encourage us. We sometimes sing that little prayer. I trust it's the sincere and earnest prayer of your heart and mind all fix our earnest gaze.
So, Holy Lord on thee, that with thy beauty occupied we elsewhere none may see. We used to sing that little prayer too when we were young people, Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in this wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Brethren, as we leave this place and go back to the circumstances of life for however long the Lord leaves us here.
May our hearts go out more to Him, and may our feet be hastened on in the path of faith and service for His glory, for the for our happiness, and for the blessing of the people of God.
Gospel 3
Gospel—Doug Buchanan
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Could we open our meeting this afternoon with hymn number six Nahim she?
God in mercy sent his Son to a world by sin undone.
Jesus Christ was crucified. It was for sinners. Jesus died. Does everybody have a hymn sheet? Join us in.
Number six.
God and mercy and his Son.
To the world, by sin and dumb, Jesus Christ was crucified.
Was for sin, there's Jesus died.
All the glory.
And God is love.
Sin and death no more shall reign.
Jesus.
Died and lives again.
See him go supremely light.
Grace.
Shining in the sacred space.
The only sins?
Lord of all, it's Jesus now.
Everything to hear my spine.
Oh, glory on the grace shining.
The Savior's face.
Telling sinners.
From the Lord.
Once will rain every.
Time that last spill.
Jesus Christ is Lord alone.
On the floor, agreed on the grace.
Shining.
In the Savior's face.
Telling us.
All of us.
To introduce our subject matter as open our Bibles to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 5.
I'm going to read about 3 portions here first before comment.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5.
And verse 8.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
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For they shall see God.
Now turn to 2nd Corinthians.
Chapter 4 and verse 3.
If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.
And ourselves, your servants, for Jesus sake, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And then one more verse in the Book of Revelation.
Chapter 22. A last chapter of the Bible.
Verse 3.
And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.
It's a wonderful thing to think that we human beings can see God.
No God.
Face to face relationship.
You know God, our Creator, God who made us, made us purposefully as human beings to be that special people with whom he wanted to form relationship.
He made other beings too, angels.
To do things that angels are called to, but they're not called to be in the relationship that you and I are called to be, like family members.
He made the lower creation and other animals too.
And it's true that a dog.
When it's happy and when it has a relationship with this master can enter into it and it will wag its tail.
When he knows his master's happy and it will put his tail between his legs. When it's shamed and know something is wrong.
And it has those kind of feelings, too.
And how much more we as human beings?
We don't have a tail to put between our legs, but we show our shame.
In different ways too.
You know, on my way here.
Yesterday I stopped and had a gospel meeting. It was a very different gospel meeting than this one.
The gospel meeting where I don't think I know the names of a single one of the persons there. I might, if I scratch my head for a while, be able to come up with one or two. Now I look out on you, and I know many of you by name, and most all of you by at least family.
It's a great privilege to be in a place like this where you have family relationships and you know.
And we're on Thanksgiving weekend here today. This is the close of Thanksgiving.
Weekend. I'm very thankful that in this country there's a special weekend that is dedicated to giving thanks.
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Now that.
Takes for granted something.
That relates us to this gospel meeting.
To whom do we give thanks?
Where is the thanks owed?
Who gave us what we have here?
Or who didn't give us what we don't have.
For some good reason.
It's our God.
It's our God that wants a relationship with us.
And this gospel meeting is about.
Relationship with God.
Our God.
Wants you and me to be in a happy relationship with him.
And he did everything possible.
So that we could enjoy that.
Not just on one weekend of the year, but every weekend, every day of the year.
He wants.
You to be near him And how can we be near him?
Except it be for the Lord Jesus Christ who came down into this world to take our place on the cross and bear the judgment that we deserved, to put those sins away and to remove them so completely that we can come back to our Creator God.
In a good conscience, with no shame.
And no impediment to joy or peace.
I want everyone in this room this afternoon to be able to go out of these doors enjoying that relationship with your God.
That's the purpose of gospel meetings. It isn't to gather somebody to us and to become a part of the meeting that we go to. It's better than that.
It's to get you back to God.
For Christ also hath suffered for sins, the just, for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
That's the gospel.
Now, I told you that on the way here.
We had a gospel meeting.
As a few less than here approximately the same number, a few less.
And I want to tell you a little bit a story about this gospel meeting.
You know it was Thanksgiving weekend.
This gospel meeting was in a prison.
Everyone of those men there were at a distance from their family.
Some of them had wives and children's off.
One of them was telling me he didn't know where his father was, he hadn't seen him years, he didn't know if he still existed or not.
What a thing on Thanksgiving weekend.
And so some stories were told there.
Different things about Thanksgiving.
Weekend and I want to relate to you one story that I heard.
A man.
Who had a Christian mother?
Who had a praying grandmother too.
On a Thanksgiving weekend.
This man.
Knew the gospel.
He knew ought to give all the answers, or at least a good number of them.
Probably not as much as you little girls right there on your third row there.
But he could give a good number of the answers.
But he didn't think.
That was the way he wanted to live his life.
In a relationship with his God.
And so he put up his hands and said, God.
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Thus far.
I'm going to let you in my life and that's all.
And he proceeded to live his life without God.
The best he could.
The years went by. One marriage, two marriages, Both failed.
Other relationships also failed.
Things were getting bad financial.
Problems came into his life.
Including bankruptcy.
And who knows what else.
That have not been described.
Thanksgiving weekend rolled around.
Invite went out to the to the children, two boys.
No response, Not even a no thank you.
No word at all.
So this man calls up.
One family member.
Can I come over for Thanksgiving?
Sure.
The door was open.
This young man.
Enjoy this Thanksgiving with his family member.
Talked about a few old times.
I think it was probably the best Thanksgiving it had for a little while.
The next day, he proceeded to drive home.
All these thoughts flooded in.
About how he had left God out of his life.
Perhaps a little touch of love at that Thanksgiving meal had touched his heart.
And he began to thinking about his God.
And as he was driving along to turn to help pass the time, he turned the radio on and it happened to be there was a gospel preacher preaching on the message.
He started listening to the gospel again that he'd heard when he was a young person.
The Lord was speaking to him.
The difficulties of his life had broken him down.
He had learned the hard way that futility of finding life and joy without his God.
And like the father of the prodigal son, there was somebody waiting for him in heaven for the right moment to throw his arms around him.
And that young man began to cry.
And he couldn't control himself and he had to pull over to the side of the road.
And all he could say is God, whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes, here am I.
That's the fellowship. That's where our God wants to bring us.
Repentance toward God and faith.
In our Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed did.
Are the pure in heart.
For they shall see.
How is it with you, dear young people?
I know you go to meeting. I know you've come to this conference.
But personally, how is that relationship in your with your soul?
And God.
Are you really happy or are you just faking them?
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Isn't it wonderful to have a time to give thanks to God?
Well, we go on to 2nd Corinthians.
And we have the gospel mentioned there.
How is it that God could bring this man and welcome him as a Sinner in all his need?
And be so generous and kind.
It is a privilege to preach the gospel to those prisoners and.
And I want to encourage you young men and young ladies too. There are doors.
Open for the Gospel.
I get thanked over and over again every week.
For coming and sharing an hour together.
And they genuinely appreciate it. There's an open door. There are places.
There are places where there are souls hungry for the gospel. Our brother mentioned to us last night about making an effort to get out there. 9000 souls to be reached. That's a goal.
May you find one of them.
Just one of them right now.
I'm looking for one soul here tonight, this afternoon.
One soul that's tired.
One soul that doesn't know how to appreciate rightly what God has given us and to give thanks for it in fellowship with our God.
If our gospel is hid.
It's hid from them that are lost.
Let's go back to.
Book First book of the Bible, Tap Genesis. I want to read about the first two boys.
And how this separating process began with Cain.
This departure down this road that leads to darkness, that leads to a distance from God.
You see, we're a little bit like Cain and Abel in that, being brought up in a Christian family.
We're close to God.
He's near us. We hear about him from week to week and day-to-day.
And these two boys did, too.
But then they made their choices.
Genesis chapter 4.
Verse 3.
Came to pass.
And in process of time, it came to pass that Cain.
Brought of the fruit of the ground, and offering unto the Lord, and able he also brought of the first slings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fall fell.
And the Lord said unto Cain.
Why art thou, Roth are angry, and why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and unto thee shall shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him, or over that it.
Cain talked with Abel, his brother, and it came to pass when they were in the field that Cain rose up.
Against Abel his brother, and slew him.
Just that much for now.
Both of these boys started from the same point God was near.
An established relationship was there.
It may not have been perfect because sin had already begun its work of degradation and separation.
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But.
They both drew near.
Let's say this was the first Thanksgiving Day.
And each one wanted to give bring a present and give thanks.
One brought of his own make works of his own making.
Fruit of he had labored for, and the other brought an animal that had been sacrificed. Picture of death.
God doesn't have to tell us why he accepts certain things and why he doesn't.
I understand why he didn't accept one thing and he didn't. He did accept one thing and he didn't accept another.
It's plain to me, but even if you don't understand why, or even if these two boys didn't understand why one was accepted and the other was.
Basically all they had to do was change and repent and do it differently. Nothing hard about that.
But he refused.
This is the same story that I told you a little earlier that was told at prison.
Same story, just a little few different details, different.
What's the story of your life going to be?
You're starting out now. Maybe some of us here are farther along.
The story of our life.
But basically.
Two ways.
Two people, two ends.
Very simple.
I read this.
And I think about.
The Lord God looking down at these two boys.
I think he loved those boys, those boys. I have two boys. They're different.
But I love them both.
Our God is that way He loves.
Everybody.
He wants the good and blessing of everyone. He wants your blessing and mine.
And it must grieve him when he sees two boys like this, one envious of the other and refusing to change.
The sad thing is.
What Cain did was the beginning of a departure of a course.
If we would read on in the story, we'd see little later on, it says in the farther down in the chapter. In verse 16 it says and Cain went out.
From the presence of the Lord.
And dwelt in the land of Nod, in the east of Eden and so forth. And then it goes on and tells what he did.
And various.
Progress or digression, however you want to term it.
Of things that were developed to live.
Life without God.
That was his choice.
And I'm calling it to your attention.
So that you will make that mistake.
To choose to live your life without God.
There is no better life to live than what God, our Creator has planned for every one of you. You know, it is difficult in this in this world that we live in. There are a lot of choices and life is very complex. It wasn't, it isn't simple any longer like it was there. I envy some of our brethren down in the Dominican Republic for this reason because life is simple there.
And.
Basically, when you want to get married, all you have to do is go back and gather a few sticks together and build a house and and you can live off the land and, and there's much to be said for a simple life like that and to raise a family.
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Off in the woods.
Without all the detractions of the world around, there's something to be said of good for that. I believe the Millennium is going to be a little bit like that. But God hasn't given us that option right here in the United States where most of us live. And so we have to deal with these issues.
We're born near the city, we're born near civilization and we have to deal with these kind of things, but this principles are still the same.
God has a plan of blessing.
For you and me.
And it's through.
What the Lord Jesus Christ has done.
For us to come back and give thanks to God and to live our lives.
In fellowship with him.
Now let's turn over to.
Let's turn over to the book of Acts.
Chapter 9.
I want to read a little bit of history of the man who wrote these words in Second Corinthians that we read.
Concerning Saul.
Acts Chapter 9 and verse 3.
Speaking about Saul, it says, as he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecute us, Thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecuted.
Hard for thee to kick against the ******. And he trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise and go into the city, and it shall be told thee.
What thou must do?
Here was a man very zealous in his religion.
But he did not know Jesus Christ, whom God had sent.
And the Lord Jesus was revealing himself to him in a very dramatic way.
If our gospel be hidden, it is hid from them that that are lost.
It was hid from Saul because he was blinded in his religion.
But God wanted to shine in his heart and bring that man into a relationship with him again.
And he did it.
And that's what the Gospel does.
And that's what the gospel did to this man that we spoke about in prison.
It took a lot to breakdown the barriers.
Once those things were broken down.
And there was a pliable heart and a willing heart, a submissiveness to receive from God.
From that moment on, everything was easy.
Is there someone here who is resisting?
Saying no to the Lord.
I'm not saying you're not coming to meeting. I'm not saying, are you?
Learning your memory verses I'm saying are you let keeping the Lord out of certain aspects of your life? Are you saying no to the Lord?
If so.
You're missing some of the blessing of relationship with your God.
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In essence.
You're saying I've got a better plan?
You must be pretty smart then, to have a better plan than God.
Saul here when that light shone.
And we heard those words.
First of all, he says, Who art thou, Lord?
You know, it's significant that he said Lord without knowing who he was speaking to.
Unqualified.
His faith or his obedience was no matter who you are, what do you have to say to me?
Now that's what it takes.
Usually we kind of reserve, well, it depends on what you're going to say and who's going to say it, whether I'll accept it or not.
That's not the obedience of faith.
Who art thou, Lord?
Then the Lord Jesus could reveal.
And what wilt thou have me to do?
And he was told. And from there on it was simple.
How much it takes sometimes to break us down, to bring us to the point.
That's why there's the need to preach what we call repentance.
Repentance is not really the gospel, but there needs to be that breaking down of my own will.
And repentance isn't just saying I'm sorry, but it's a complete judgment of self.
Repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Lord showed him.
So now we'll turn over to Two Corinthians and read again those. Notice again those words that we read.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 4.
Verses three and four if our gospel be hid.
It is hid to them that are lost. I believe Paul had a real burden for souls from that day on that he was converted. That same week he was converted, he went into the into the temple and he preached that Jesus is the Son of God. He began early and no doubt there were many things he needed to learn, but the he established well who Jesus was.
And what an authority or what who he was in relationship to him. And so he wanted the gospel to be preached. It's hid from them that are lost.
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.
And that's what's around us.
The blinding of the God of this world. The God of this world does not want human beings to see that light of who Jesus is.
And to enjoy that relationship.
Of seeing God.
And he'll do anything to keep he can to keep us from that.
There is an enemy.
Really, he's an enemy of Jesus Christ more than he's an enemy of you and me.
That's his number one target is Jesus Christ.
But we get caught up in it if we heed his ways.
Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
It was so precious to my soul this morning in the remembrance.
To come into the presence of God through the Lord Jesus, to remember him in his death, and to.
What a wonderful theme we had before us of The Who God is and knowing Him.
This is just a little foretaste of what heaven is going to be like.
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This is the relationship that God wants to bring you into. This is what my friend was missing all those years when?
He blocked God out of his life.
We preached not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.
He's Lord.
The Lord Jesus is the one who has breached the gap between God, and who extends his arms out to us and says, Come unto me, all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
That's rest of conscience, you know, as well as physical rest.
It's peace and rest in the presence of God.
Well.
I want to close.
But let's read those verses in Revelation chapter 22.
Verse four And they shall see his face.
And his name shall be in their foreheads.
I want to contrast this with go back to Matthews Gospel chapter 8.
And verse.
12.
Now verse. We'll begin with verse 11.
This is the Lord Jesus speaking. Matthew 811 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and West, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing.
Of teeth.
These are the two destinies.
These are the two ends of the path of Abel and Cain.
One is darkness and one is the presence of God.
And seeing his face.
The light.
It's interesting that I believe.
Every time in scripture where it speaks of weeping and gnashing of teeth, the subject matter is Christian profession.
In other words, it's those who heard the gospel or made a profession of the gospel but weren't genuine.
I find that so serious.
It isn't talking about the pagans that haven't heard the abundant testimony that that we have heard.
But it's Christian profession.
Every time that the Lord uses those words, weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Another place that says where the worm dies not and the fire is not quenched.
I I hope I'm not just using scare tactics here, young people and children.
No, this is just simple facts of reality that God has revealed to us. The two destinies that there are light and darkness. That's the one of the first things that God did when he made the creation was he separated light from darkness. And you can't mingle those two together. It's impossible for them to those two things to exist together.
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Their mutual, exclusive light and darkness can't happen together. There will be no darkness in heaven. There will be no light in hell.
There will be no company. I was speaking to the prisoners about this because sometimes we hear mockingly.
Said Oh well, if you go to hell, you'll have plenty of company in hell.
Shudder the thought.
There will be no company in hell.
In outer darkness, no fellowship.
It says misery loves company, you know, and it's when we're in misery that we need company.
But there will be no company.
In outer darkness.
There will be fellowship.
In the light.
Not a shadow.
Not a cloud between the face of God and His people.
Wonderful.
We allow clouds and we allow things here and from time to time to come in between to break our communion. It doesn't break our relationship, but it can break our fellowship with our God. He's still the same. He doesn't change when we allow those things to come into our lives and they break that communion. But we're still in the relationship if we've become sons and if we've accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
So Thanksgiving.
Is about being in the presence of God.
In fellowship with him.
With nothing between us but light.
Nothing to disturb.
Joy and peace and happy and the ability to give an expression to it.
Here on Lord's Day morning, sometimes we have these wonderful thoughts and we can express them. They're so wonderful.
And we're thankful sometimes to be able to say Amen at the end of a prayer or of a hymn that has been written in the Spirit and enjoy it. But many times they're not. We're not capable of expressing those things.
Well, perhaps some of those limitations will be set aside in the glory and will have new bodies. Well, I was just thinking about this as a gospel message for Thanksgiving weekend, and I hope if there's someone here who hasn't.
Given thanks for the unspeakable gift that today you would do it and begin your life.
In fellowship with your creator God that gave you everything to be thankful for.
Hebrews 11:8-12:4
Hebrews 11:8-12:4