St. Louis Conference: 2013
Table of Contents
The Borrowed Axe Head That Swam
Address—Bill Prost
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Could we sing together #332?
332.
A well known hymn in the gospel, but notice the slight change of tents here to adapt it to believers.
Just as I was, without one plea, and then the second verse the same, just as I was referring to what we were, And finally the last two verses, just as I am.
332.
I'd like you to turn with me please to.
A little story, a little incident in the Book of Second Kings.
That has been much on my heart lately.
Second Kings chapter 6.
Just a little short incident here, but one that is recorded in God's Word, I believe, with a real message for us today.
Second Kings chapter 6 and we're going to read together the incident at the beginning of the chapter, just the first 7 verses.
00:05:06
Second king 6 and verse one. And the sons of the prophet said unto Elisha.
Behold, now, the place where we dwell with thee is too straightforward.
Let us go, we pray thee unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam.
And let us make a place there where we may dwell.
And he answered, going, And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was falling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. And he cried and said, a last master, for it was borrowed.
And the man of God said where fella?
And he showed him the place.
And he cut down a stick and cast it in there, and the iron did swim.
Therefore, said he, take it up to thee, and he put out his hand and took it.
As I said a moment ago, I've had this passage on my heart quite a bit lately.
For some reason it had an appeal to me.
Searching perhaps in my own soul, what special message it might have for us today.
There can be different thoughts on it.
One thought is which I enjoy very much and I'm going to mention.
Is that God has a real interest in the little things, what would seem to be on the one hand, inconsequential things in our lives, and yet there is nothing in our lives that really is inconsequential, nothing too small for the Lord. And here the Lord has a care even for a man.
Whose axe head fell into the water?
I appreciate that.
And I don't mind confessing to you that right from the time I was a boy, my mother taught me to go to the Lord with little things.
Help with an exam? Help when I was in any kind of difficulty?
Help sometimes in getting away from some bigger boy that was occasionally bullying me, even if sometimes I had done something to deserve it.
Helping little things and sometimes when we get older.
The things don't seem so little anymore, but some of you may be aware of a book out there that someone out in the world has written entitled.
Don't sweat the small stuff.
And then in the fine print underneath it says and it's all really small stuff.
Well, if the world can say that, how much more you and I can say it? Because in the light of eternity, many of the problems down here all are really small stuff, aren't they? But the Lord is interested.
But then there can be another application of this, and some perhaps have read the pamphlet written by our late brother Clarence Lundine, which I very much enjoyed, in which he likens the axe head to the law.
And the axe handle to you and me in the flesh. And of course the two don't fit too well together, do they? As Peter could say in Acts 15 concerning the law, Why tempt ye, God, to put upon the necks of the brethren a yoke which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? And so he points out that if man in the flesh tries to.
Live up to the.
Standards of the law. Inevitably the axe head flies off the handle and goes into the river, and it requires that tree, which is a type of the death of Christ, in order to bring that.
Axe head back to the to the handle, so that as we get in Romans 8, the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in US who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Not that we're under law, but in walking according to the Spirit we fulfill the moral requirements of the law.
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Very nice meditation.
I'd like to go at this little passage in a bit of a different way, and I will leave you to decide whether it fits and whether it's of the Lord or not.
Here we find the sons of the prophets, with Elisha living in a place.
Who were the sons of the prophets? They figure quite a bit in the history of Elijah, and if we went back a few chapters, we would find that these sons of the prophets surface a number of times, beginning with the day when Elijah was taken up into heaven.
And without going into all the detail, we find that at that time those sons of the prophets were intelligent as to the mind of God. They knew that the Lord was going to take Elijah up to heaven.
And yet somehow it didn't have the proper effect on their hearts, so that when they voice their intelligence to Elisha in a somewhat peremptory way, he says, yeah, I know it. Hold you your peace.
He couldn't have full fellowship with them because what they knew up here did not translate into a walk that was in keeping with it. And as a result, after Elijah was taken up, we know very well that they.
Insisted on sending fifty of those young strong men out into the mountains and valleys to see if just perhaps the Lord had only done half a job in taking Elijah up to heaven. I speak with reverence. And it somehow dropped them into some valley or on some mountain, and he had to be sought out by a search party.
Later on, the sons of the prophets surfaced again at the end of chapter 4, and they're hungry because there's a famine in the land. And Elisha by the Spirit of God is used first of all to set on a great pot and feed them with pottage, and then later on to feed them with bread of the first fruits which were brought to him. And there can be a lot of good meditation.
On that.
I would suggest that in the type that fits the day in which you and I live, the sons of the prophets would speak of those who have been brought up under the sound of the Word of God.
Of which I would suggest this group is largely composed, although maybe not all, but most of you here have grown up under the sound of the Word of God. Many here are very intelligent as to the Word of God.
And the question I speak to my own soul because thank the Lord, I fit into that category too. Does what I have learned have that effect on my heart and on my walk that others can see that it is a reality to my soul?
It is a challenge to my heart. I trust it is to yours too.
I don't think the sister in question will mind my mentioning this, but a little while ago, just prior to the prayer meeting, I was talking to an older sister here who said that this was the 65th St. Louis conference that she had attended. Or perhaps the 64th because she said I had to miss one year, but the first one she came to was 65 years ago.
I thought, isn't that wonderful that you and I, many of us now, I can't look back that far to coming to a Saint Louis conference, but isn't it wonderful that so many here can look back to such privileges? And I believe these sons of the prophets represent that. And where were they when this story starts out?
I'd like to make a suggestion. Turn back to chapter 4.
And there we read in verse 38.
Chapter 4 and verse 38. And Elisha came again to Gilgal.
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Gilgal.
You will remember that when Elijah and Elijah started out on that journey, at the end of which Elijah was taken up to heaven, they started from Gilgal and they went from Gilgal to Bethel, to Jericho and to Jordan.
We know that there was a Gilgal on the banks of the Jordan, or very close to it, a place where after Israel had crossed the Jordan after their 40 years in the wilderness.
They renewed circumcision and they placed those 12 Stones taken out from the bed of the river Jordan, as it were, a memory, and the Lord commanded them to do it as a memory that.
They had now, as the Lord said and God had done it, rolled away the reproach of Egypt from them. From that point on, those rivers of those waters of the river Jordan flowed between them.
And the wilderness, and ultimately Egypt. And it was a place to which they went back, and properly so after every victory.
I'm going to suggest to you that this Gilgal and the Gilgal mentioned in chapter 2, from which Elijah and Elisha started out, is not the same Gilgal.
It's not the same place. If you look at a map, you would find it impossible to go down from Gilgal to Bethel and then to Jericho and then to Jordan. You would kind of be going backwards and forwards.
There were two Gilgals in Israel.
And I would suggest that this was the Gilgal that was far to the West. There was another Gilgal quite a way to the West, probably about 10 miles away from the city of Samaria, and that that was Elise's home.
Where did it originate?
We find it mentioned way back in the book of Joshua. Let's turn back there just to see where it was.
Or at least read about it. Joshua chapter 12.
Joshua, chapter 12.
And here I would suggest we find that Gilgal mentioned.
Right down at the end of the chapter where?
Just a moment here.
Joshua 12 right at the end of the chapter where it mentions all those kings that had been conquered and noticed in verse 23.
Joshua 12 and 23. The last clause of the verse, The king of the nations of Gilgal 1.
Again, not the Gilgal near the banks of the Jordan, a royal city way off up somewhat in the hills close to Samaria in the West of the land of Canaan. A city, I would suggest, that is typical of where the Lord Jesus came from on his way down to this world, typified by that journey from.
Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to Jordan.
A royal city.
And I would suggest that for you and for me, that city, at least to me, has the significance of heavenly places. That is where Elijah dwelt, that is where he spent his time, and that is where you and I, by rights, ought to live.
When we read the book of Ephesians, we find that we are risen and seated in Christ in heavenly places. And it doesn't just say we should be there, it says we are there. God has placed us there because He wants you and me to enjoy, even now, all of those heavenly things that rightfully belong to us and of course will in that coming day be ours in total reality.
When we are there, when we have glorified bodies, when we are taken right out of this world.
And when we can enjoy them to the full. But the Lord says, as it were, I want you to live there now.
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But that is a challenge.
That is a challenge.
It might not seem that difficult, and yet it is.
And the heavenly calling of the Church has been one which the devil has attacked almost more than everything else, because he knows in the words of another that when the Church loses the sense of its heavenly calling.
Humanly speaking, it loses everything, and that is true. And the devil's efforts, if I may say so, in these favored lands as to, and not only now, but in many years past and right from the beginning of the Church.
Has been to drag Christianity down to the level of this world, to make it a worldly religion, a force for good.
In this world, so that the believer loses sight of his heavenly calling. And then of course he has to start working with the world. He's dragged down to the level of the world and he loses.
His character as an ambassador and loses his effectiveness.
Heavenly places.
Very, very difficult to maintain, to have a heavenly calling, to be a citizen of that heavenly place and yet to walk down here.
Not in isolation from the world.
Reaching out to this world, being in the world but not of the world. We tend to go to 1 extreme or the other, don't we?
I would suggest that here this Gilgal brings before us a heavenly collie. And what happens? Ah, we find that there are those sons of the prophets dwelling there with Elisha. They appreciate his company, but they say the place is too straight for us.
You and I might answer, How could that be? How could a place, how could a heavenly calling be too straight for us?
All because if I am going to enjoy my heavenly college, it means that I have to say goodbye to things that are in this world, and they tend to have a tug on my heart. I have to say goodbye to my own desires, my own ambitions, my own thoughts, everything that has to do with me.
And say as we sung in our hymn together.
Here for a season, then above.
O Lamb of God, I come.
I've been impressed lately with how many there are in this world. And it has been the character of this world for many years, hundreds of years, thousands of years to have the horizon of one's thoughts as the life down here and how important they all are. And I don't say that things down here aren't important. We have to live and move in the world. We have to make a living. We have to have a place to live. And it's only right that we concern ourselves with those things.
And in no way would I suggest that it's wrong for a young person to seek a career, wrong for a young person to have certain thoughts and ambitions. But remember that God points them out as a means to an end, not as an end in themselves. And all too often the devil crowds our minds with those things so that they become an end in themselves and we lose sight, as the apostle Paul says to Timothy.
We lose sight. This is the Darby translation. We don't lay hold of what is really life.
These young men said the place was too straight for them. They didn't feel comfortable there.
And in one sense, that was a sad thing, because they didn't feel comfortable enjoying those heavenly things.
And they said we want to go down to find a place where we can dwell.
Forgive this little story, but at a general meeting not too long ago within the year, I sometimes keep my ear to the ground to hear what people are saying about the meetings and I heard a bit of rumblings and grumbling about how that there wasn't enough practical ministry.
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I took it to heart, I trust.
It's needed. On the other hand, let's remember.
That if our hearts are in the right place, the practical things will take care of themselves.
A brother back in the 1800s lamented the fact.
That we have to spend so much time on the details of life and on the practical application of things in Christianity, rather than enjoying the great truths and principles of that life itself.
He wasn't saying it was wrong, he was saying it's a sign of our state.
And don't think for a moment that I'm pointing the finger. There are three fingers pointed right back here.
We need the practical side, but I've been struck by the fact that in Abraham's life, even though he made mistakes, we never read of the Lords having to administer a rebuke to Abraham.
Why? Because his heart was right. And as Clarence Lundine reminds us in his pamphlet on Abraham, communion took care of everything. Things adjusted themselves in the proper way.
Exercises in his heart, which were given of God, caused him to change course if he'd gone in the wrong direction. So it will be with you and me.
Well, anyway, we better go on here. What do we find happens?
The sons of the prophets want to go down and make a place where they can dwell.
And in one sense it was a good idea because, as we will see, they went to the right place.
They want to go.
And Elisha gives his approval. He says go ye. And I would suggest Elisha here as a type of Christ.
He says you go ahead. They had his mind, the mind of the Lord. But then they want Elisha to go with them and how beautiful that is. They don't want to go without Him. They had seen that in Him which touched their hearts.
Even though perhaps their hearts were up, as it were, to his level of spiritual understanding and enjoyment. And how good it is when you and I have the desire to go after Christ. And I say to each one of you, and may I be allowed to say this especially.
To the young people here.
If you have a desire to go after Christ, a sincere desire, the Lord will work it in you. He will take you and mold you, Even if, if I may say it kindly, sometimes He has to pull you along, dragging your feet a little bit because it's not too comfortable. Allow me to say that that has happened to me more than once. Or I've said, Lord, I wanna follow thee.
And the Lord sometimes has to say, All right, this is the way.
Oh Lord, please yes.
It's worth it. And so they wanted to have a relationship with him. He says, I will go, isn't that beautiful? And I say to your heart and mind, God values a desire in your heart. Maybe you don't know how to do it. Maybe you say the way it's difficult. Maybe you say I'm not sure how to work out the details.
Ask the Lord to do it and He will do it.
Sometimes it may not be all that pleasant.
One time a brother.
Went to another brother and he said oh brother, he said, I want to get to know the Lord better and I want my faith to be increased. I don't want to enjoy the Lord more and to be drawn closer to him.
The older brother said well let's get down on our knees and pray about it. Well, I can't fault that, can you? So they got down on their knees and prayed. And the older brother?
He prayed, and he wasn't praying with his tongue in his cheek or in a humorous way. He meant it. He said, Oh Lord, he said, we pray for this dear brother. We pray for this dear brother who wants to learn more of thee.
That you will send lots of trials and difficulties into his life and lots of things that no doubt will be a real problem to him and the younger brother said. Brother, please, I didn't ask you to pray like that.
Oh, no, no, no.
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The older brother wisely said. Brother, you let me finish my prayer.
And he prayed earnestly that the Lord would bring that into his life, which would cast him on the Lord, and which would bring the Lord.
Into his thoughts and into his heart as a definite living reality.
It's true, you know, it has to come that way.
All our blessings come to us through the obedience and suffering of Christ, and our enjoyment of those blessings comes to us in the same way.
Well, let's go on here. We find that they come to Jordan.
That was a long way to go. You would wonder why they went to Jordan. Do you know why I think they went there? It doesn't say, and I don't want to read into Scripture what isn't here. But is it possible that Elisha took them there? I think he did. He recognized that that was the place they needed to go. Why did they need to go there?
Because it was the Jordan which Israel had crossed many hundreds of years before this when they entered the land.
Now, we don't want to go into this too deeply, but you and I know that the pathway of Israel from Egypt to Canaan.
Has many spiritual lessons and the Red Sea if we could say it, and we don't have time to develop this, but you can go at it yourself. The Red Sea brings before me my death with Christ.
The children of Israel, it tells us, went down into the Red Sea. It doesn't say they came out, although of course they did, but it isn't recorded.
In between there was the wilderness, not part of God's purposes, but part of his ways. And then it never says that they went down into the Jordan, but it does say that they came out. That is the Red Sea and the Jordan coalesce in the sense that the Red Sea is Christ's death for me, the Jordan.
It is my death with Christ.
The Red Sea is Christ death for me. The Jordan is my death with Christ. That is, it is my practical realization that only seeing the death of the old sinful self and walking in newness of life.
Only in that way can I enjoy.
The land of Canaan. Only in that way can I have the power for conflict with the enemy, to enjoy those heavenly things, and these dear sons of the prophets, although brought up in that land of Canaan, and party to all its privileges.
Had to realize that dwelling in Gilgal was too straight for them.
And Elisha knew that they needed to come back to the Jordan. I have a feeling that he took them there because it was a long way and you might have thought that there was surely somewhere a little closer where they could have built themselves a place.
But they go all the way to Jordan.
Very, very nice. Very necessary.
Are you and I not enjoying our heavenly calling as we should? Do we feel the lack in our own soul?
Oh, we need to get back to the Jordan. We need to get back to that place.
Where we realize what our Savior did for us. We mentioned already those 12 Stones that were there at the other Gilgal to represent and remind them that they had come through that Jordan.
And that there were those 12 Stones.
Representing the fact that they took their place as dead and risen with Christ.
But what was at the bottom of that river?
12 other stones.
And again, we don't have time to develop that.
But we notice that those other 12 Stones were not put there by direct command, nor were they put there by the people of Israel themselves.
They were put there by Joshua. Joshua put them there. He put them there, as it were, for Israel, for Joshua is a type of Christ in that situation and he puts them there. Where were they?
00:35:00
Long out of sight because as that river once more flowed over, those stones were Unsee. And yet by faith an Israelite could stand on that bank and say, that's where I belong. That's where the ark stood when we passed through and those waters separated. And it's very significant. They went all the way back to the city. Adam, isn't that beautiful? There was a city by that name going all the way back.
To the beginning of man's history.
The death of Christ answered everything wonderful.
And then the water flows over.
But there's more. That Israelite is a picture of what you and I can do and what God wants us to do. He brings us back repeatedly to that Jordan, first of all, to recognize properly.
That we are dead and risen with Christ. But more than that, to recognize that there was a cost involved, that Blessed One, typified by that ark, had to stand in that river Jordan.
Until everyone passed through on dry ground.
And those stones were there, as it were, as a reminder.
And the Lord brings us back from time to time to that place that our affections may be drawn out.
Well, what happens here?
They go to work, they're going to build evidently a log house, and it seems that in those days they didn't have chainsaws, as we know.
Nor did they have what I was used to as a boy. And this kind of dates me. Good old fashioned crosscut saw with a man at each end. To cut down a tree they would add it with an ax.
And here's a man felling a beam during what they could say had the Lord's approval in a sense, through Elisha. Elisha was there. He went with them. And as we said a moment or two ago, I believe.
He was the one that brought them there.
But then this poor man is busy felling an axe, no doubt putting all he had to it, and away goes the axe head into the river.
Does that happen to you and me sometimes?
Sometimes we get a little upset in our Christian lives. We believe we have the Lords mind in doing something, and perhaps we feel that the Lord even has LED us to a place of going right back to first principles. Right back to the point where we recognize where we were before we were saved, recognize the need to see the death of that old sinful self and to walk in units of life.
In order that we might enjoy those heavenly things. And yet the axe head falls into the water and we say, Lord, what did I do wrong? Why is this? And maybe if you're like me.
You get a little bit upset. Sometimes we even get to the point where we say this is not fair.
That's what Job did, didn't he? In the Old Testament? He didn't quite think this was fair, that he, a good man, was suddenly subjected to one of the most severe trials ever recorded in the history of Scripture.
The axe head into the water.
But you know, this man reacted in the right way.
When we are at the Jordan, we react in the right way and all he does is simply go to Elisha and say, alas, master, for it was borrowed. I love that it was implicit.
Acceptance of what had happened and faith that Elisha was equal to the situation. Oh, can I impress that on our souls this afternoon? Allow me to quote Brother Harry Hayhoe, as I'm afraid I do rather often.
The secret of a happy Christian pathway is to take your circumstances from the Lord and your difficulties to the Lord.
This young man doesn't start saying a lot of things as to why it happened, nor does he immediately go to Elijah and say, Elisha please fix this problem I want to get this tree cut down. No, he simply goes and says oh oh master it was borrowed.
And I say to your heart and mind, whatever difficulty there may be in your life and mine, let's quietly lay it before the Lord. If you're anything like me, we like to think now what can I do to fix this? And especially if you're naturally a fix it person, especially if you're capable, then you say, what can I do to fix it?
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But there's no way you can fix an axe head at the bottom of the river, is there?
Unless you've got a scuba diving outfit, and even then it might be kind of hard to find, there's no way you can fix it quite that easily and I believe the Lord often is allowing circumstances your in your life and mine where we have to say Lord.
We don't have any way to fix this, and so we go simply to the Lord, as this young man did. How beautiful.
It was borrowed. What does that say?
It was boring. Wasn't even his axe. Oh dear, that makes it worse. You might say an axe head isn't that serious. Although this man didn't have an Ace Hardware to which he could go, or a Home Depot or something like that where he could pick up another axe without any problem. Probably have to go to a blacksmith and get one specially made and might have taken a bit of time and energy, but it wasn't even his and perhaps he didn't even have the resources to go and get another one.
You know this.
Tells me and I trust this is the right application. You decide.
Your life and mind does not belong to you and me. We like to think that we are our own persons, that we are in charge of our own ship, that we are able to plot our own course, that we are able to direct our own steps.
But way back in Jeremiah it says it is not in man to direct his steps.
Is not a man that walketh to direct his steps. It wasn't at any time.
Reminds me of an old autograph book that my mother owned.
And then at a young man with a lot of zeal for the Lord.
Had written the last two lines of a verse in hymn 283 in our Little Flock hymn book. Love that transcends our highest powers, demands our soul, our life are all.
Evidently, at some later point, my mother, as a young woman, had asked that young man's father to write in her autographed book. And in perusing it a little, he naturally came upon his son's entry. And since his son had not used up the whole page, he took the other half page. And he put that verse down. You're not your own year. Bought with a price, therefore glorified God.
In your body and in your spirit, which are Gods Good compliment, wasn't it? On the one hand there is our exercise to follow Christ, on the other hand.
Alas, master, for it was borrowed. If you and I lose the axe head in the river, let's remember that.
Well, the Lord may have allowed it. It's a life that he has. Claim over first, claim first, claim in everything.
So the axe head goes into the river.
What do we find?
To me this is significant. Verse six and Elijah said where fell it? I didn't read that right, did I? No, it doesn't say Elisha, it says the man of God.
The man of God. Why so?
I said earlier that I believe Elisha here is in one sense a type of the Lord Jesus, but in another sense he's a type of one who by virtue of his walk with the Lord and his experience with the Lord, can act as a leader in a guide in a day of difficulty. And if you trace the expression man of God, and it applies to a sister too, if you trace that expression throughout the word of God.
Try it sometime. If you have a Bible program on your computer, plug in the phrase man of God and see how often it occurs. But I suggest always in connection with an individual who stands out as being 100% for the Lord in a day when there is difficulty, in a day of ruin, in a day of giving up. And I may say that we need men of God and men of and women of God today who are willing to stand up and be counted.
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For Christ, you know the truth is being given up today. And I say that not with any degree of pride. I trust we say it with all humility. But may I suggest to you that the truth of God?
Becomes more valuable as it is given up.
Man of God.
I've told this story before, but it bears repeating. My late father, who's been gone for a few years now, worked most of his life as a farm laborer for a very wealthy man who not only had a nice farm, but had a number of houses and small apartment buildings. And my father, being a bit of a Jack of all trades, was kind of did a lot of farming, but he trouble shot a lot of little problems that people have in rental houses and rental units.
And his boss, who was no believer.
Not infrequently made fun of his Christianity, and also of the fact that he was gathered with a somewhat despised body.
Known as those that are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, my father usually didn't answer his arguments, but one day it seemed that the boss did it once too often. And my father usually wasn't that quick on the draw, but the Lord seemed to give him wisdom that time. And so my father, to my astonishment, because I overheard the conversation, rather abruptly changed the subject. And he said to the boss, he knew. He knew he'd get a rise out of him. He said, what kind of profit did you make on the farm last year?
Well, this was in the 1960s when farming wasn't as profitable as it was back in the 40s, and the boss immediately said, ah, not very well. We we broke even, but that's about it.
Well, my dad said why don't you sell out? Because he knew that every farm pretty much around him had been encroached on by the city, and most of the farmers had sold out to developers for what they considered big money. And my dad's boss was pretty well the last one holding out. He said why didn't you sell out, get out of the business, Why bother with all the hassles and just breaking even?
Well, dad's boss walked right into it, as we would say. He said, oh, he said, you don't understand. He said, I don't need the money. I'm doing OK on my houses and apartments. I don't need the money. I'm holding out. You watch. He said, I'm going to be the last one to sell out. And when I sell out, you just watch all those other farmers, they're going to turn green with envy when they see the price I get for the land compared to what they settled for.
I'm holding out or I'm going to get top dollar for this place.
Well, my dad said.
May I suggest that it's the same with the truth of God? He said. If it's being given up and it is being given up, he said If it is the truth of God, and I know it is, it's according to the word of God, he said.
It's not losing value because a lot of people giving up. It's going up in value, he said. You know that a scarcer, a commodity is the more of a price it commands, he said.
In the coming day when I have to stand before the Lord, I'm going to get top dollar too, I think. Now, my father didn't say that with pride. He just used the boss's own words. As you can imagine, that was the end of the conversation. And I say that to you and me this afternoon. We need men and women of God today who will stand up for what they know the word of God says and who will say before the Lord? I'm willing to live for His glory.
Whatever the cost is, well, these young men, what happens?
The axe heads at the bottom of the river. Why that? What is the ax head represent?
I'm going to suggest a little different thought than what others have advocated. Again, I say you can decide if the application works.
Sometimes we really want to follow the Lord, and sometimes we are really in the pathway of His choosing. And then something adverse happens, and even if it may seem on the surface to others to be something insignificant.
It seems pretty important to us.
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This accent was important to that young man. It was devastating.
And maybe something devastating happens to us.
To me, that axe head can represent.
In your life and mine something that the Lord wants to speak to us about. It may not always be a gross sin, but it may be something. It may be that, but it may be an attitude, may be a trait of character. It may be something in my.
Walking ways something in the circumstances of my life that the Lord says, do you really want to enjoy me more? Do you really want to enjoy what I have for you?
And then he allows the axe head to go where? To the bottom of the river.
In one sense, it's an appropriate place for that to happen because that river, as we said, speaks of Christ.
We realize there our death with him. We realize what he suffered for us, those stones at the bottom of the river. We realize that we, if we take our place with him, have come through that river, and sad as it were.
I reckon that everything to do with self needs to be at the bottom of that river.
And properly speaking, even that act said Lord, if that is your mind.
It's hard to lose the accent sometimes, isn't it?
And this young man didn't say, oh, Elisha, please give it back. Please give it back. He just says, alas, master, for it was borrowed. Our time is nearly gone. But the rest is simple, isn't it, Elisha? What does he do? He says, where's the place? Where is the place? Why? So what does it matter where it fell in? Oh, the Lord wants you and me to be able to identify the problem. He wants us to confess it. He wants us to say, Lord, that's wrong.
I need to deal with that. Thank you, Lord. He wants us to identify the problem.
And then he cuts down the stick and cast it in thither, and what happens? Ah, the iron did swim.
The iron did swim.
There is power in the death of Christ.
The blood of Christ puts all my sins away, figuratively speaking. That happens way back in the land of Egypt, where the blood was on the door.
But here it's the death of Christ, signified by that tree, which speaks of the cross.
And the death of Christ puts me away all that I am in my old sinful self.
In order that I might walk in units of life. Ah, the Lord through Elisha gives that young man the axe. Head back. But now it's different. It's been to the bottom of the river. Now it comes back again.
Now I know in this case it was the same accent.
It was the same accent, but figuratively speaking, that axe head has been to the bottom of the river. It now comes up again.
And it's different before God. It's different. There's a recognition, yes, there was something that needed to go to the bottom of that river and come up.
And Elijah simply says, put out your hand and take it. He had to take it. Now he can take back that which formerly.
Was he using it for the Lord? In one sense, yes. Was he using it in the right way, with the Lord's approval? In one sense, yes. But with something there that the Lord wanted to bring before him and perhaps before those other sons of the prophets. Now I say this is a type.
But God doesn't put these little stories in his word just for a bit of interest so that we can say, Oh yeah, that's interesting, Somebody lost his accent. They're meant for you and for me.
He put out his hand and took it.
Now he still had to take it and put it back on the axe head, so this time it's not going to fly off.
I've had this happen to me in natural terms, have had axe heads fly off and the heads of splitting moles fly off and so on. And when we put them back the second time, perhaps we take a good strong metal or wooden wedge and we drive it in a lot harder and hope that it doesn't fly off so easily the next time. But this is a spiritual illustration. This man takes the axe head and puts it back, and figuratively, figuratively.
00:55:07
It's different. It's been to the bottom of the river.
Well, our time is gone.
May God bless this meditation, I trust it's of the Lord.
Can honestly say I didn't read it anywhere but I believe.
For my own soul, that it does bring some precious truths before us, which the Lord would have us consider in these last days.
And which can be used in blessing to us if we are willing to willing to recognize how the Lord would speak to us, how He would love to have us living in that heavenly Gilgal.
But how he sometimes sees necessity to bring us back to the River Jordan.
A good place to come, how he sees the necessity to allow the axe head to fly off.
But only in order that His grace, and it is His grace.
We speak reverently, dear Elisha could have said well.
I'm sorry, but why are you so poor that you can't even have your own axe?
And why were you so careless? Not to secure that axe head a little better, I guess you'll just have to cut your losses and do the best you can. No, isn't it wonderful? The grace of God meets us where we are, if we only admit where we are. Never fear to admit where you are. In God's presence, He'll meet you where you are. It's when we pretend to be what we're not that we're in trouble. Well, let's sing part of another hymn in closing.
225.
225.
And we'll sing just the last three verses.
The last three verses of 225 verse three while here in the valley of conflict we stay, oh, give us submission and strength is the day.
Soon, free from affliction to Thee, we shall come and find with our Savior.
A Heavenly Home 225, verse 3.
I'll here in the.
End.
01:00:41
Can't get this lid on anymore.
Must be getting old. Uh, one more little story. Singing this hymn always reminds me.
The man who wrote the worldly hymn after this one was pattern in the spiritual sense.
J Howard Payne, an American who wrote those words mid pleasures and palaces, though you may roam, be it ever so humble, There's no place like home. And so on. I'm not quite sure of all the circumstances, but he ended up being exiled from home and there is a very good story.
Sad story about him of how once in London, England.
Cold. Friendless.
Broke.
Huddling under a Bush in the front garden.
In front of a wealthy home in the Hampstead area of London, which is the wealthy area of the city.
And there he was, trying somehow to keep himself out of the wind and the rain.
And what should he hear inside but the cords of a piano and singing?
And you guessed it, what were they singing?
There they were inside, warm, well fed and happy, singing the song.
That he had written.
I've often thought of that.
He had nothing to which to look forward.
You and I in this world.
Look around us and perhaps there isn't much that gives us a lot of comfort.
But oh, what joy.
The Lord wants to fill our hearts with what joy as we look forward to that wonderful eternity. We don't have to huddle, as it were, and listen to the world having a good time. No, you and I are the ones that have.
The real joy because we are definitely hasting toward home.
2 Timothy 1:1-5
Reading
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#208.
If even here the taste of heavenly springs, so cheers the spirit of the pilgrims, saying is What will the sunshine of His glory prove? What the unmingled fullness of His love?
Acts chapter 27, starting in verse 14.
But not long after there arose against the tempestuous when called, and when the ship was caught and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive, and running under a certain island, which is called Quada, we had much work to come by the boat.
Which when they had taken up, they used help undergirding the ship a fairing, lest they should fall into quicksands and strike sail, and so were driven, and we being exceedingly tossed with The Tempest. The next day they lighten the ship, and the third day we cast out with our own hands.
The tackling of the ship, and when neither sun nor stars, and many days appeared, and no small Tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence, Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sir, he should have hearkened unto me.
00:05:00
And not ever lose from creep, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now exhort you to be of good cheer, for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. Brother stood by me this night, the Angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar. And lo, God has given thee all them that sail with thee. And wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, For I believe God that it shall be, even as it was told me. And.
The first chapter of Second Timothy.
What in keeping or a little follow up to what's been before us in the previous meeting?
I I make that suggestion.
Second Timothy. Chapter One.
All an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved Son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers.
Night and day.
Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy.
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in thee also.
Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee.
By the putting out of my hands. For God has 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 his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Who has saved us and called us with a 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 is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.
Where I knew 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.
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 unto thee. Keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US.
This thou know us, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are five jealous and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy under the House of onusiferous, For ye OFT refresh me. And was not ashamed of my chain. But wha? But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
The Lord grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.
And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
In the previous meeting, our brother brought before us an incident in the Old Testament in the history of Israel, where there was perhaps that it was perhaps a day of weakness, there was failure, there wasn't, perhaps with some the appreciation of things that God would have. And yet as we went through that, weren't we encouraged brethren to see how God was still working and how God was interested in the lives of those men and the little details of their lives. And I think it's very beautiful when we go through the Word of God to see that God is greater than our failure and God is greater than the condition of things.
00:10:30
In the world and in the amongst the people of God, in whatever day we find ourselves.
And that's what was really on my heart in suggesting this second epistle of Timothy.
We know that in the first epistle we have, as has often been pointed out, the House of God in order. But in the second epistle, the last epistle that the apostle Paul wrote by divine inspiration, we find what are described to us in very real and graphic terms, the last days and perilous times. And when you read the third chapter, remember that when he speaks of the last days and perilous times.
He's not Speaking of the condition of the heathen or godless world. He's Speaking of those things that characterize the professing church right down at the end. And brethren, don't we have to hang our heads?
And admit, if we're honest with ourselves, that those are the days in which we find ourselves now.
And it's become a great house in Two Timothy. And we cannot get out of the great house. We're in the great house despite, in spite of ourselves. And we have to own that we're part of the ruin and failure that has come in.
And sometimes when we think of the epistle of Two Timothy, we think perhaps in those terms, those things that characterize the moral and spiritual darkness that's deepening over Christendom. Every hour we think of the failure and ruin that has come in. And brethren, we don't want to ignore that aspect of things. It's very real, and it ought to exercise us individually and collectively. But what I have found, especially recently in my for my own soul in going through this epistle.
Is to realize that just as it was in the days of Elisha or any other time of weakness and failure amongst the people of God.
There was always lots to encourage and brethren, as we embark on this chapter.
Remember, there's much here to encourage. Here was a young man who was seeking to go on.
For the Lord in difficult days he had to be stirred up. Its true.
There were things that were brought before him to exercise him as to his gift and his ministry and so on.
But here was a man who was seeking to go on in spite of the moral and spiritual darkness.
Amongst the people of God, in spite of much giving up and subverting of souls and undermining of the truth.
And not only that, but by the time you come to the end of the epistle, there's others too.
A few names, albeit a small list, but there's a few names that are given of those who are seeking to go on and hold fast to the truth of God and live for the for God's glory in the last days and perilous times.
And brethren, if we take up a chapter like this with that in view, I believe we can get encouragement and a blessing for our souls to press on. We're almost at the end. The night is dark. The spiritual and moral storms that hit this, have hit the professing Christian world today are very, very severe. And I don't want to undermine those things. And I know there's brethren here who face real difficulties and problems.
Brethren here who perhaps say, well, I failed miserably in my own life. I come from a weak assembly.
But brethren, there's much to encourage our hearts and to spur us on should the fact that we're at the almost at the end discourage us not for one moment. It should encourage us to have a fresh by grace, and it's only by grace, but to have a fresh burst of spiritual energy to hang on by grace and in the power that is given to us by God Himself. The few moments that are left, knowing that it won't be much longer.
And will be beyond the exercises and the need for exhortation and stirring up.
00:15:18
Yes, we know that as has been brought out.
Second Timothy was the last epistle that Paul wrote by inspiration.
And the Lord allowed a condition of things to develop before He was taken home, specifically so that you and I would have.
Instruction and guidance for the day in which we're living.
How wonderful of the Lord to give us that so that we're not left to say well.
It was all very well as it was in the condition of the early church, but we aren't living in those days. So now what do we do? And sad to say, in a lot of cases, uh, there is a tendency to say, well, we just have to muddle along as best we can. We just have to do whatever seems to be right under the circumstances.
But how encouraging to see that God gives us instruction as to how to deal with issues in the day in which we're living. And as Jim was pointing out, there isn't even a hint of discouragement in the whole epistle.
Burden, yes. Tears, yes. Many prayers and concerns, yes. Lamenting, perhaps over some who had.
As Paul has to point out, not only left the pathway of faith, but been a real direct hindrance to him, causing a lot of distress and evil to him. All that is there, but not one hint of discouragement, but rather total encouragement to a young man who was, as it were, having to go on when the apostle was on the way out, knew full well that he wasn't going to be.
Let go again and able to travel around. But there was every encouragement and there's every encouragement for us today too.
Well, he was Paul's son in the faith, wasn't he? Timothy had no doubt been saved under the preaching of the Apostle Paul, encouraged in the Lord, and traveled with the apostle Paul by the apostle Paul, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, and Paul could refer to him as his own son in the faith. We're not told at this point how old Timothy was. He was a man, I suspect, by the time the 2nd epistle was written, of maturity.
He was in a position to take up responsibility and as we get in the next chapter, Paul was going to, so to speak, throw the torch to Timothy to carry on the truth and to teach faithful men and who would be able to carry on and teach others and so on. And so I suspect that at this point he was not told how old, but I, I suspect a man of spiritual maturity and, and a in age as well as spiritual maturity and able to carry on for the blessing of the people of God. Is that what you're referring or what do you have in mind that?
Relationship and son would speak of position.
But I also have the word sun scratched out in child written above it.
And there's a real tenderness in Paul writing to Timothy, isn't there? There was always a tenderness with the apostle Paul. But in the second epistle, as he's nearing the end and he's going to throw the torch to Timothy, there's a real tenderness in addressing him in that way. And in that regard, I'd like to just go to Philippians because it's interesting that this last epistle.
That Paul writes by inspiration is written to this particular individual.
Now, it's not written to an assembly, it's written to an individual. We often say the last days are characterized by individual faithfulness.
But I suggest there's another reason why Paul could in confidence.
Right to.
Write to Timothy in this way and pass, uh, pass responsibility on to him. But just notice in Philippians chapter two, he says in verse 19, But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send to Motheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. Now notice this next verse, verse 20. For I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state.
00:20:27
For all seek not their own, not the thing, seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. You know, it's interesting that Paul writes to Timothy with confidence because he knew Timothy had a heart for the people of God.
And brethren, I believe that's what we need in the days in which we live. We need men and women who have a heart for the people of God. Now, God has given us all a gift, and Timothy had a gift in a ministry that needed to be stirred up.
But he had a heart for the people of God. Maybe there's someone here and you say, well, I don't have any particular outward manifest gift or some great ministry the Lord has given me. But if you have a heart for the people of God, God can use you in a tremendous way for blessing in these these last days. And when you go through the Old Testament, you find that men and women that God raised up at the end and in days of weakness were not necessarily men and women.
With great gift and ability. But they were men and women who had a heart, a love for the people of God. And I suggest that we all need to covet that in our own souls that we would have that heart, that love for God's people. Because if you have that love for the people of God, there is no telling how God can use you. It may be an ever so small and ever so feeble away.
But it will be, I say, for, for blessing. And so Paul knew that while all were seeking their own things, there was a man who had such love for his brethren, for the people of God.
That he wasn't seeking his own things. He wasn't seeking his own comfort.
But that he was willing to step out of his comfort zone, to make, to give himself as a living sacrifice.
To put himself out and in a position to be a blessing to the people of God. And I say.
If we had, if we were each my say to my own soul, if I was exercised more in that way and had that love, what a blessing there would be.
Child.
As UMM it's Mr. Darby's translation has already been commented, UMM refers to him Timothy, my own child, in verse two and in chapter 2, therefore my child.
Umm, we see from chapter one that there was faith in his mother and there was faith in his grandmother, but nothing about a father. There was no.
Uh, record of a father in his relationship, natural relationships, which was of faith. And I believe from my own soul that in a certain sense, the apostle Paul, you might call him his adopted spiritual father, that is, Paul took him and fulfilled for him a role that was important in his life that he didn't have naturally and.
Timothy recognized Paul in that way and that relationship and benefited from it, and Timothy while not.
You might say grown up completely, but we see the father character of Paul working with Timothy to help him to grow and take on more. If I could say it in a right way, although it wasn't his motive, Paul's desire was that he'd be like Christ. But in the measure in which the apostle Paul was like the Lord Jesus Timothy through the nurturing.
Of Paul was becoming more and more like the character of Paul as a heavenly servant of God, and so he recognized in him that heart for the people of God that we know was in Paul himself.
00:25:02
See here how Paul addresses Timothy and as you say, Dawn, there was a real heartfelt desire there to, uh, see him, to be with him. There was a special bond there. As you say, Brother Ed, sonship conveys more the thought of position and maturity. And, uh, there was that, no doubt in Timothy, but at the same time there was that relationship of a child.
And so Paul addresses him, as he says here, and there are a number of details here. But he remembers him in his prayers. He greatly desires to see him being mindful of his tears. Why those tears?
Were they tears on behalf of himself because of his own problems and difficulties? I doubt it. I doubt it. It goes back to the verse that Jim read in Philippians 2 where Paul says I have no man like minded. And I think the Darby reads who will with genuine, who will care with genuine feeling how ye get on?
Genuine feeling.
Sometimes.
Some of us don't break down in tears very easily.
Although we may feel them more inward than outward, but Timothy evidently was a man who not only cared in an outward way for the truth of God, but it seems that he had.
Adopted some of the spirit of Paul. Paul could say to the Corinthians.
Who is offended? And I am not offended.
And he talks about I'm not quoting that accurately. And then he says who was offended? And I burned not. That is, even though some were going through problems and difficulties that perhaps they shouldn't.
Paul felt for them if he couldn't feel with them.
Very beautiful if the Saints of God are going on well.
A believer who is himself going on well can feel with them.
If they are not going on well, he can feel for them.
And Timothy felt for those dear Saints, even though there was much.
That caused him to shed tears.
And contrary to what you and I would think if Paul saw a man who shed tears over the condition of the Saints, what did it do? It brought him joy. It brought him joy. Paul no doubt shed those tears too, but it brought him joy to think that there was another one out there, a younger man, one with energy, one with zeal for the Lord, one with a desire to follow him who shared his heart and whom when he met up with him.
Even though there were tears no doubt on both sides.
It would cause him joy.
Comments about.
Umm, the.
What Paul is encouraging Timothy, besides the individual character of being an encourager of his brethren and so on, but something that's necessary in a difficult day to lay hold of or to be laid hold of by the Lord.
Just pick a few verses out of second Timothy to speak to explain something you find in verse one.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and then I emphasize according to the promise of life.
Which is in Christ Jesus according to the promise of life. Which is in Christ Jesus. Now go to chapter 2.
And verse 10 it says, Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake.
That they may also obtain salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying, For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. And then over in chapter 4.
00:30:11
The Apostle Paul speaking about his own life here.
And telling Timothy his own experience in life.
He says in verse 18, and these are some of the very last words that the apostle Paul ever wrote, if not the last words that he ever wrote. That's part of Scripture. He says, the Lord shall deliver me.
From every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly Kingdom.
That is, he brings before Timothy when he starts to write to him something about the future.
And the calling of God with respect to Timothy and with respect to himself and with respect to everybody that's in this room.
That is a believer. We've been called to life.
We've got a light that's temporary that we're all living in right now, but it has the stamp of death on it. The life which we have in this room that we got from our parents has the stamp of death on it, and it's going to come to an end.
But Paul immediately begins by looking beyond that and presenting to Timothy, reminding him undoubtedly he knew it of that promise concerning life which is in Christ Jesus.
And then he says later on in the first chapter, we didn't read it, but it was a calling, holy.
It was a holy calling.
Umm, that's the life that's in Christ Jesus. The character of it is holy. It's suited.
To the heavenly Kingdom.
It's that which they had and in common with each other. And so then in the second chapter he reinforces that. He said if he be dead with Christ and risen again with him. And finally in the last chapter, what he's saying, Timothy, God is going to preserve me. And he was encouraging Timothy to have the same thought of himself. He's going to preserve us.
For that for which he called us.
And brethren, we need that. We need the sense in our own souls that that which we have been called to by God, we're gonna be preserved to it, that we are going to get through Whatever comes in between, whatever these chapters bring out to us that may be between the beginning and the end, is the sense in our souls that God has a purpose with respect to us.
He's called us to something, and it's a heavenly something, and it's life he's already given to us that's suited to that for which he's called us. And he says, as it were, Timothy, we're going to be preserved to the end. And we can be happy and encouraged as we go through every day with the assurance in our souls that can I say no matter what, because it's God's purpose, no matter what, we will be preserved.
And yet the exhortations here are to directed to us to actually live a daily life with that sense of being exercised for preservation.
Establishes or institutes something, he always makes provision to the very end, doesn't he? Man sets up an institution, but he can't always bring it to the purpose or fruition for which it was intended. Sometimes he runs out of the resources or any other number of factors may intervene and he may in the end have to close down that thing and say, I can't bring it to the purpose for which I've intended.
But God always makes provision to the very end, and it's no different with Christianity.
God has made provision for us so that we can go on not with what we have in ourselves, but with the resources that we have from God through Christ. And it's very beautiful that at the beginning of this epistle there are three things brought before Timothy as resources. Even for the last days and perilous times. There are three things that we often enumerate very quickly but think perhaps little about.
00:35:10
And you have them in the second verse of our chapter, he says grace.
Mercy and peace.
Grace is really what preserves us, brethren. It's not only what saves us. It's true that we're saved by grace.
But its grace that preserves us, its grace that carries us day by day.
Of all we received, of His fullness and grace upon grace, Do we need more grace? He gives. He giveth more grace. If is it just for a select few know of all we received? Is it all we need? My grace is sufficient for thee. And that grace that is avail was available to Timothy and is available to you and to me. This afternoon is the same limitless supply that has always been available.
To the people of God. But then there is something else. There is mercy.
Grace preserves us, but mercy restores us when there is sin or failure.
And again, sin and failure comes in, but God is greater than our failure.
God is greater than our sin, and mercy comes in. Paul is writing to an individual here, and individually we are the recipients of mercy. The church is never looked at as the object or recipient of mercy. She's the bride of Christ and she'll be the lamb's wife in a coming day and a bride, A wife is never looked at by the bridegroom, or shouldn't be at least if things are in order, as the recipient of mercy, she's the recipient or the object of love.
But when the apostle writes to individuals, mercies brought in, and individually, we need that mercy day by day.
That again keeps us and restores us when we fail. But then there's peace. And what? Why do we need peace? Peace is for the circumstances of life. You know, we're not going to see outward peace in this world ever again. In fact, the last days are characterized by wars and rumors of wars and turmoil on every hand, sometimes in the circumstances of our personal, family or assembly lives.
It just seems that everything is upheaval, but there is a peace. It's the same peace that the Lord Jesus had when He passed through this world as a man, and that same peace that He left with the disciples before He went back to glory. He was going to leave them in a world where outwardly there would be no peace. But he said, My peace I give unto you not as the world give us, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled.
Neither let it be afraid. We can sit here in this room this afternoon in a world of absolute turmoil on every level, every level of society and government and so on. But we can have the peace of God ruling in our hearts. We can have the peace of God that passeth all understanding. Why? Because we're going to see things smoothed out down here. No, that's not what's going to bring inward peace. If that resource that we have of the very peace.
That the Lord Jesus had when he walked through a troubled world, a world of turmoil, in obedience to the Father, no and communion with with the Father, knowing that he was doing what the Father had asked him to do and as he.
Did the Father's will and enjoyed that moment by moment communion. There was an inward peace and that peace is the same peace that is given to you and me. So we have these three wonderful resources even for the end times. Grace to uh, grace to preserve us, mercy to restore us, and peace to keep our hearts even in difficult circumstances.
You've already said it, Jim, but I'm just gonna restate it for importance from God.
From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's not something we can, in a full sense, give to each other. We can't give these things to one another.
They really come from their primary We may be instruments of God in connection with them, but the true source of grace is God Himself and the Lord Jesus Christ, the true source of mercy given in a righteous way.
00:40:03
Man may show mercy to his fellow man, but generally puts aside righteousness to do it. But God is able to show us mercy and maintain His own personal character of righteousness and holiness.
And there is a peace that only God can import to the soul that no other, none of us can give to each other. So as well for us to always be thankful and appreciate that when Jim used the word provision, these are provisions for us that come directly from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Maybe I could just add to that a little too, Don.
Because there's a practical way that this can be enjoyed. And just go back to the 37th Psalm for a moment. Just allow a slight digression, but just to confirm what's been said and to bring out the practical way in which this grace, this mercy and peace that come only from God. And again, I know Don has said it again, but let's say it again, it comes only from God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, but you say that's all fine for you brothers to talk about it, but I I haven't really practically experienced it as I've gone through recent trials and circumstances, but I believe there's a little, I don't like to use the word formula, but I will a little formula here in the 37th Psalm if we're going to practically experience what we've been saying.
In the third verse of this Psalm, and you notice it's a Psalm of David. David was a man who experienced all kinds of problems and difficulties and upheaval in his life from the very time he was anointed by Samuel to be the next king over Israel till he took his Kingdom and all through his Kingdom. One kind of problem and difficulty it seemed in every sphere of life, from personal to family life, to the Kingdom and so on. But notice what he says in verse three, trust in the Lord.
That's the first thing. Who is it to trust in man? No, it's to trust in the Lord. It's confidence in God for every circumstance of life. Verse four, delight thyself in the Lord, finding our joy and delight in the person. We have learned in some measure at least to trust. Verse three or verse, I'm sorry. Verse five, commit thy way unto the Lord as we trust, as we find our joy in Him. It's not hard to leave our life in His hand, to commit it into His hand.
And what's the result? Verse seven, Rest in the Lord or in the language of the New Testament? It's the peace of God. How is it we're going? We can have rest in the Lord. How is it we can have that inward sense of peace? It's only in the measure in which we've learned to trust, delight, and commit. And when we have learned, brethren, in a practical way to do that, I believe we have learned to avail ourselves.
Of the three resources that we have just spoken of, grace, mercy and peace.
If you look at Jude verse one together.
Little book of Jude verse one.
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to them that are sanctified, set apart by God the Father, and preserved.
In Jesus Christ, and called mercy unto you, and peace and love be multiplied.
Assurance.
Assurance is a wonderful thing.
I stand.
On the complete finished work of Christ.
And I stand on.
God's promises in his Word.
And my assurance is upon them.
We haven't said the words eternally kept.
It goes beyond this life.
And that is the beauty of it.
That we are eternally kept. My mother preserved jellies, Pickles, all kinds, and they were down the basement, but they sat too many years, they changed and they weren't totally preserved to eternally.
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We are eternally kept.
The promise and the topic of peace turn to Psalms 29, verse 11.
Psalms 29 is about the storms of life.
And the last atom is the master of the storms, isn't he?
In verse 11.
It's one of those promises of the Word of God. The Lord will give strength unto His people. The Lord will bless His people with peace.
And so we see our topics here falling together.
And the beauty of it is, our brothers guide us through these scriptures. An assurance is nice to see that Paul ended in his last epistle with being preserved in assurance, isn't it?
There is real encouragement here too.
In what Paul says at the end of verse 3.
I have remembrance of Thee in my prayers.
Night and day.
We have just completed my wife and IA bit of a trip.
During the course of that trip, we had occasion to visit a number of dear Saints of God who were older, many of whom.
If they could get out to meeting once a week, they counted that a privilege, but in some cases found it even difficult to do that.
But all of them.
Could spend time doing this and we might say that is difficult and I'm sure it was for Paul too. It was doubtless not easy for him to be in prison there and not able to get about and doing things. Sometimes we like to get about and do something.
But Paul, as we know in other scriptures, had called himself the prisoner of the Lord.
And so it was here, wasn't it?
Here was a man who had shown perhaps unparalleled energy for the Lord, unparalleled faithfulness.
Unparalleled sufferings in the pathway of faith, and no doubt was ready to do more, but here he is put aside and not able for the moment to go out and about. And the Lord had showed him that No Paul.
You're not going to be released. And he laborers in prayers night and day.
And I say that to each one of us here, how important it is in the days of pressure and hurry in which we live. Let's not neglect prayer, but at the same time, let's remember if for any reason we are not able to be out and about as much as we would like to be, let's remember the value of prayer.
Both for those for whom we pray and for our own souls.
It's not merely that I pray for someone else, but that it brings me into the presence of the Lord and enables me in that sense to be one with him in all that he is doing. What a privilege that is. And so Paul no doubt had nights when he couldn't sleep, nights when he was wide awake. Some of us have occasional problems like that. What a privilege to use the time in this way. And I believe it's recorded here in order that we might pay attention to it and realize that.
We aren't the first ones to have had this problem.
And would you allow two, Brother Bill, that even if we can get out and about and do things, we need to discipline ourselves and be exercised to labor in prayer? Paul, no doubt, even as he was when he had been traveling around and ministering to the Saints and preaching the gospel, he was a prayer warrior, as we would say. And I, I've, I've enjoyed what you said. And let's just go back to Colossians for a little example of another man who wasn't in prison.
Another man who had an active, I would take an act of service for Christ, but he was a man who labored in prayer as well. In the 4th chapter of Colossians verse 12, Epiphras, who is who? Is one of you, a servant of Christ? Saluteth you always laboring fervently for you in prayers that you might stand perfect and complete in the will of God. Isn't that beautiful? So on the one hand, as you say, Paul was in prison and he had plenty of time.
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To pray for Timothy and the Saints of God that he knew and loved, and no doubt for the gospel work and so on. But here was a man, Epifras. He wasn't in prison, but he was a man who was exercised to discipline himself.
To spend time laboring in prayer, not just for his own needs. No doubt he did that.
But for the Saints of God. And if we read on, not only for the Saints in Colossians home assembly, but also for those of Heropolis and Laodicea, which were nearby assemblies and brethren, if we would spend more time in prayer for one another in this regard.
And not just for those that have special needs or who aren't getting out to meeting or who have drifted away or missing the path in one way or another. But if we would pray for one another before those things arose, perhaps prayer would could be used as a preventative measure, much more than a restorative measure. And so Epifras, he had a he, he was a busy, I dare say he was a busy man. He was a servant of Christ. But he labored in prayer, you know.
I just finished reading a book, a book about one of the old missionaries. And I know we've all read missionary stories and stories of early brethren who had tremendous faith and were used in marvelous ways for the blessing of the gospel and the Saints of God. And we marvel at the power and the activity they had in their life. But you know, when you read their biographies or autobiographies very closely, you realize that the reason they had power in their life.
And the reason they were used in blessing to souls, be it in the gospel or amongst the people of God, was because they were men and women of prayer. They spent some of them literally hours in prayer. Martin Luther said, I have so much work to do for the Lord, I dare not spend less than three hours a day in prayer. He was a busy man. He was used mightily in the days of the Reformation. Why? Because he was a man who was exercised to spend time.
Availing himself of the powerhouse of the Christian life. So I just I didn't mean to take away from, but beautiful to see whether whether it was Paul in prison or an active servant of God. They were both exercised in the same way to pray for the blessing of the Saints of God.
Well, we have the supreme example, don't we? And it's often been very humbling to my own soul to read of how the Lord Jesus after a long day of.
Ministry and healing.
Spend all night in prayer.
And two, two things about prayer.
As it's been said, it's an expression of having common interest with God.
It is also an expression of dependence.
And sometimes the amount of time we spend in prayer is a reflection of the degree to which in our lives we share common interests with God and we share the sense in our souls of our native dependence upon Him.
The last our interests are in common with God, The less tendency we will have to pray, the less we have a sense of need.
Which prayer expresses, the less we will find ourselves in prayer, but conversely, our prayer life often expresses those two things.
One of the apostles, I don't know which, was known as old camel knees.
I'm sure not to his face.
I read the other day that the average pastor spent 7 minutes a day in prayer.
But I I just say this too, before we move on, that it's not always how much time we spend literally on our knees alone with the Lord that counts as our prayer life. That's important, don't get me wrong.
Daniel disciplined himself even in his busy occupation and he he had a top job under the king, but he disciplined himself to escape to his room three times a day and pray. And that's, that's important. But learn to cultivate the habit of prayer as you go about from day-to-day amidst your difficult act, your your busy activity or the difficulties of life and to be keeping open line between yourself and the Lord.
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You're driving your car and somebody comes to mind. Pray for that person as you're driving your car.
You have a little break at your desk, you're sipping some coffee. Pray for your family, pray for your brethren. Use those opportunities. Maintain that open line. I'm sure Daniel prayed more than just those times when he was alone on his knees, independence with his windows open toward Jerusalem. I'm sure as he was signing documents for the king or whatever else he had to do, there were times when he was breathing a little prayer for the people of God.
And for his own needs as well. So I just say that it's not always how much time we spend in our room in prayer, but it's to cultivate that spirit and habit in our hourly life and walk with the Lord.
Well, I work for for a few years, told me after it doesn't you it is well to be on your knees as often as possible. But you don't have to be on your knees to praise the Lord. You can walk down the street, take off your hat and look up to the Lord.
A Christian who's conscious may be able to do nothing else. They may be flat on their back. They may not be able to see, they may not be able to hear. They may be incapacitated in many ways. But a Christian, a conscious Christian can always pray. Isn't that wonderful? That that's the resource that God has given us to the very end. But I wanna say this too, just to I know we allu, I think Bill alluded to it, but let's just go back for a moment.
Paul, when you go through his prayers in the different epistles, there's several things, couple of outstanding things that characterize them. He usually isn't praying about some malady or problem or difficulty. Now it's good to pray about those things, but he's praying for the well-being, the spiritual well-being of the Saints of God. We tend in our prayers, at least I do, to pray about.
The cancer and the sickness and the lack of work and the loss of a job and that one, yes, that's that's all part of it. But we also need to remember to pray for the preservation of our brethren, our families and our brethren and the people of God. The other thing that's interesting is that in the epistles where Paul prays for the brethren, it is usually at a time when they were going on well.
The Ephesian Saints were in such a state of soul that they could take in the highest truth committed to man. Twice he speaks of he, twice in that epistle he prays for them. The Philippians, I know there was a little problem coming in. They were going on well. There was a testimony in the gospel. There was joy in the Lord. He didn't cease to pray for them either. Timothy was a young man, as we said, who had a real desire to go on and serve the Lord and for the blessing of the people of God.
Paul was praying for him night and day. Why? Because Paul knew that assemblies and individuals that were going on happily for the Lord were going to be special targets of the enemy. If you come from an assembly where things seem happy and there's a real desire to please the Lord and outreach in the gospel and attendance at the meetings, your assembly needs prayer more than more than perhaps some because the enemy is going to be right there to destroy that interrupted. If you know an individual who's really on fire for the Lord and seeking to serve the Lord and the Lord's people, that individual needs to be prayed for like Timothy, night and day.
Because the enemy's gonna be right there to seek to trip that person up, and so that he perhaps discourages and trips others up as well. So again, I believe we need to use prayer as a preventative measure. And when we see those going on, well, that's perhaps a time when they are most vulnerable and need the most prayer.
Another point in prayer Jim is looking John chapter 17 and verse one we see the Lord's praying to the Father.
And we we talk about praying for our needs and and interceding for one another and so forth. But in verse one here, these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hours come.
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Glorify thy Son, that thy sin also may glorify thee. It's nice to include or maybe begin a prayer with worship to glorify the Lord as well. Very good.
But for us, what perhaps we should be reminded of when we do pray to the Lord Jesus, it's not someone who umm.
Isn't familiar with the trials of the way. Can I just point us to a scripture that we're all familiar with? It's in Hebrews chapter 4. Umm towards the end. I'll just read it. Umm verse 14 of Hebrews chapter 4. Seeing then that we have a great High priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Let us hold fast our profession, for we have not in High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling.
Of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted or tried, like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore, uh, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace.
To help in time of need. I'm sure all of us in some measure, have been in a difficult situation where we've been comforted in prayer, knowing that the Lord Himself could, uh, sympathize with us in that trial. Umm, So I mentioned that as a means of encouragement to, umm, uh, get on our knees and be before Him in prayer. He knows all about it.
Brother Le Moyne was uh, James, the half brother of Jesus.
Tune with what has been said. It's interesting that just before he speaks of praying for Timothy, he speaks of a pure conscience. Now Paul back in the book of Acts spoke of his he lived in all good conscience before God. His exercise, I think it's in the 24th of Acts, was to have a conscience always void of offense. But here he speaks of a pure conscience and he speaks of this just before he speaks of praying for Timothy.
Because I believe if our prayers are going to be really effective, we need to maintain a pure conscience.
The psalmist said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. And what is a pure conscience? Well, I'd like to hear what others say, but I suggest at least part of the thought in a pure con conscience is to keep anything that is impure out of my out of my life. Let me illustrate it this way. We put a glass of pure water on the table and we say this is pure water. And it is. But the minute I add anything else.
It's not pure water anymore. It can be anything from a drop of poison to a speck of dirt.
But it is no longer pure water. I have allowed a foreign object to come in.
To defile it in that way, and brethren, if we're going to be effective in our prayer life and our walk with God in these last days.
We need to keep evil out. We need to walk in a with a pure conscience. And how do we maintain a pure conscience? Well, it is to walk in the fear of the Lord. It is to walk in the sense of His Holiness and to seek by grace to.
Bring into our lives those things that are for His glory, and to keep out of our lives those things that are not for His glory.
Refer in that connection Jim to 1St John, chapter 3.
First John chapter 3 and verse 21.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not.
Then had we confidence toward God and whatsoever we ask to receive of Him, because we keep his commandments and do those things that are pleasing in his sight?
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Our state of soul with God cannot be separated from prayer. They're vitally linked together. And if there's that up in my life and on my conscience which I know is incompatible with God, there will be no confidence toward God in what I ask for in prayer. And Paul, John goes even farther here, he says, if our heart condemn us not.
It isn't always a specific sin that we may be aware of that isn't judged in our lives. But if there's a walk that doesn't reflect nearness to the heart of God, that is, our heart can condemn us just because we're walking at a distance from the Lord without a conscious sense of His presence and His nearness in our lives.
That too hinders confidence, But if there is that confidence, then we also have the sense in our hearts that what we ask will be in keeping with His will and He will be able to do as it says. Whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him.
They'll be great boldness, great confidence, the nearer the heart walks with God, because there is the nearness of the sense of His own will in whatever it is one is asking for. Peter knew the heart of God.
In some things that he asked for, Moses had a real sense of the heart of God, and he could say to him, you can't do that.
You can't he, he literally could tell God. You know you can't do that. You can't deny yourself. You promised to do this and you can't deny that promise and so you're going to do it. That was an intercessory action on Moses heart with God. But he knew the heart of God and he had great boldness as an intercessor and he plead with God according to what God was and what God had said.
And so when we really get into the presence of God and if I say live there.
There is that growth in the soul that learns to draw upon God according to what he is his own heart and what he's promised. And there's boldness in asking according to those two things. But if we don't walk with God, we don't have that sense of his heart and we.
Fills us with uncertainty in what we ask.
If our heart condemns us, yes.
I'll just pass on what's been explained to me by others and that is that.
My conscience.
If I have done something wrong and I haven't judged it with God, my conscience will feel guilty.
My conscience may have no sense of a sin upon it, but my heart may not have confidence Godward, if I'm walking at a distance from Him in my spiritual life. It's the nearness to the heart of God that gives us confidence in the heart of God. That's why Peter says to John, ask him.
Ask him.
Because Peter at that time wasn't walking with the consistent nearness to the heart of the Lord. And so when there came up a question and somebody wanted to know the answer and Peter wanted to know perhaps all the disciples did. He basically turns as to John, he said, I know that you stay on his bosom. You stay right there where his heart is. You ask him, then we'll all know. And sometimes we do that we're we're not certain of the the heart of God in something.
And uh, in that way, our hearts condemning us. But John is characteristic of one, he speaks of it here, whose heart did not condemn him because he, he found his resting place on the bosom of the Lord Jesus.
Hey I just suggest this is an addition that.
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Your your question Phil was with verse 20 where if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart.
I suggest we see an example of that in the Lord's interchange with Peter in John 21.
Twice the Lord asks Peter, lovest thou me?
And Peter responds, Lord thou N that, I love thee.
And when the Lord asks him the third time, Peter's grieved.
And what does he say? Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. That is, if our heart is away from the Lord. The Lord knows my heart. He knows, perhaps the innermost desires of it.
And Peter had a real desire. He did love the Lord, but there had been a pride and a self-confidence that had.
Resulted in a fall and eventually he has to get on to God's side of things. Where?
As it were, he says Lord.
Alright.
Whatever you can see in my heart is what really counts. And in that sense, God is greater than our heart, because every true believer loves the Lord, even though it may have gotten dimmed by circumstances and a walk at a distance from him. And this is, if I can suggest it, an epistle that takes up the family of God. And John often speaks in the abstract, every true child of God.
Loves the Father, Every true child of God Has a heart for Christ, even though it may be ultimately dimmed by circumstances. Would you agree with that Don? No, I wasn't recognizing the verse he was asking about, but I'll add this to it.
If we walk with God.
We will have the joy of the fellowship of his heart and his thoughts. Abraham was a man that walked with God characteristically. And so when God was going to go to Sodom and destroy it, he said, as it were, I can't do this without talking to Abraham about it. And so there was that communion between them that caused God to share his intent to bring judgment upon Sodom, but he couldn't do it really until he talked to Abraham about it.
Because Abraham walked with God, but.
Even when we don't walk with God, even when we don't have the walk of Abraham, God still loves us just the same and will act for our good. What we miss is the enjoyment of the fellowship of what He's doing. He will do it. He will act above our hearts because He can't deny His own heart. And He loves us with a perfect love, so He will act for our good.
But what we will miss is the fellowship with him in what he's doing.
And so he said, he made his acts.
Known unto the children of Israel, but he made his ways known unto Moses. I reversed the order in which I think is quoted. What was he saying? Well, the children of Israel got to see the acts of God.
Moses entered into what God was doing in those acts, and God wants us to. He wants to have a fellowship with us that not only his actions are there to be seen, but is what he's doing in them.
Is that which He would bring us into as well. And in the measure in which we walk with Him is the measure in which His ways are perceived in our hearts and lives. Not everything, but in in measure we get to enter into His ways. But if we don't walk with Him, we may see His goodness in His actions, but we won't have the joy of the fellowship connected with it, with Himself. Our time is up.
It's 61.
It's time for us to get paid time.
01:15:01
In London, Kingston of life's great.
To go back and also in your mind.
The Shepherd and the Sheep
Gospel—Jim Hyland
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O Christ, in thee my soul hath found and found in thee alone the peace, the joy I sought so long the bliss till now unknown. Now none but Christ can satisfy none other name. For me there's love and life and lasting joy. Lord Jesus found in thee. Hymn #19. If someone could please start it for us.
I'd like to begin this evening by reading a number of portions from the word of God. These portions were penned by divine inspiration through a number of instruments that God used over quite a span of man's history here on planet Earth. But I think as we read these portions together, we'll see.
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But though some of them were written centuries apart, yet they all have a common theme.
In connection with a certain aspect of the gospel and our precious Savior.
The Lord Jesus Christ like to begin in the 53rd chapter of the Book of Isaiah.
Isaiah Chapter 53.
And verse 6.
Oh, we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way.
And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity.
Of assault. And then in the 23rd Psalm. In fact, we'll take time to read the entire Psalm Psalm 23.
You'll notice the title of this Psalm. It's the Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
And I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever, and then in the 95th Psalm.
Psalm 95.
And verse 7.
For He is our God, and we are the people of his pasture.
And the sheep of his hand today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. And then a verse in the 100th Psalm.
Psalm 100 and.
Verse 3.
Know ye that the Lord he is God, It is he that hath made us.
And not we ourselves. We are the people. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. And then I want to go to the New Testament for three portions. The first one is in John's Gospel, chapter 10.
Johns Gospel chapter 10 and verse 11.
I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Hebrews, chapter 13.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20.
Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do as well, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. One more portion now in first Peter Chapter 5.
And verse 4. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
These are, I suppose, to many or most in this room, very familiar portions of the word of God. But I think as we read these portions, as I say, written over quite a period of time in man's history and by a variety of different men, that God used to pen these words, we very quickly see a common theme. I suppose if we were to put a heading on this gospel meeting this evening, it would be the shepherd and the sheep.
But before we talk specifically about the Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thought it would be well to read this portion in Isaiah 53 that rings before us our condition naturally speaking.
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I would just say before I comment specifically on this verse that when we go through the word of God, it is really only a person.
Who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior who is referred to as a sheep of the Lord Jesus.
But we find here in Isaiah 53 it says all we like sheep.
Have gone astray. You know God uses various illustrations in his word from nature.
To bring out very vital points in connection with the gospel and the truth of God.
And I've been impressed to notice that those things that are vital in the word of God, when God uses an illustration from nature, it is often or usually an A illustration that is universal.
For instance, sheep, you know, you can go anywhere in the world, really, and speak of sheep and people know what you're talking about.
There are some things, some illustrations, that perhaps are very difficult.
To convey to others in different cultures when you talk about snow in Saint Vincent.
Where I was last weekend, It's a very difficult concept for people to understand. You talk about how cold it is.
But what they call cold and I call cold are two very different things.
But when I say God often uses universal creatures or things that will be understood around the world to bring out.
That which is so very vital, and it is vital tonight that we get a hold of the truth in our souls at the beginning of this meeting, that like sheep, we have all gone astray, as it says in the New Testament.
There is none good, No, not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Solomon said There's not a man on the earth that doeth good and sinneth not, and this is vital for us to understand.
If there's someone here tonight and you are not saved, you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
I want to impress upon you, on the authority of God's Word, that you are a Sinner.
And not only are you a Sinner, but you are lost. You are on your way to hell.
And in yourself, there is nothing you can do to get rid of your sin.
Not only are you a Sinner tonight, but you are a helpless Sinner. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
You know, there's another familiar story in the word of God about a sheep that went astray.
A parable that the Lord Jesus told himself in Luke's Gospel. And it's interesting what sparked the telling of that story.
It says just before the Lord related that parable, then drew near all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
There were those in the days of the Lord Jesus who realized they had a need. They felt that need, and they came to the Lord Jesus to hear life giving words. And the Lord Jesus as a result told that story about the sheep that went astray, and how the shepherd an illustration of himself, how he went after it. And he found that sheep, and he brought it home, rejoicing. And what a story it is. And we may refer to that story again in our remarks.
On and on and off. But again, all we like sheep have gone astray.
That is all the whole human race. There is nobody excluded from that statement.
But then there's something else in that verse that brings it down and makes it very personal.
We have turned everyone to his own way. You know, it's perhaps easy to say all have sinned. It's perhaps easy to recognize that we're part of a race of people who have who sinned in our sinners and make mistakes and choose our own way and so on. But tonight we want to make the gospel very, very personal. And this is really my exercise in reading the verses that we did in connection.
With the shepherd and the sheep, because we're going to find that it brings it right down to the individual.
I'm no good at guesstimating how many are in a crowd, and I didn't ask anyone locally.
How many they expected here today, But we have a room full of people here today. But I want you to listen tonight to the voice of God as if you were the only one in the room. And not only have all we like sheep gone astray, but you have turned to your own way. It's very personal. God is speaking to you as an individual tonight, because straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life that is.
00:15:15
It's wide enough for one person at a time to go through.
We must come to the Lord Jesus single file. We must come as individuals.
We don't come as families, we don't come as groups of people.
We must come individually, Timothy, as we read this afternoon.
He had a wonderful heritage. He had a God fearing grandmother. He had a godly mother. But the time came when Timothy had to make it his own. And as Paul reminded him later on that he from a child he had fully known the Holy Scriptures which were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. The moment came in Timothy's life when he appropriated what he had heard.
From his grandmother and his mother, and from the apostle Paul, he appropriated it to himself as an individual. It was through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because that's the gospel. It's repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. It's to realize that we're sinners, but then to come and avail ourselves by faith of what God has for us, the wonderful blessings through the Lord Jesus Christ and the wonderful work of Calvary.
And to become the possessor of eternal divine life. The gift of God is eternal life.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so we come to the 23rd Psalm.
Penned by a man named David And who better depend? The 23rd Psalm? The Shepherd's Psalm, then David, who from practical experience was a shepherd.
It's very significant. I believe that as you go through the Old Testament.
And you read of different men who are pictures of the Lord Jesus by type and shadow.
That many of those men, when they're introduced to us, are introduced to us as shepherds. In fact, perhaps the most, the two most complete types, the two most beautiful pictures of the Lord Jesus in the Old Testament are Joseph and David. You know, some men are brought before us very briefly in various aspects of the person and work of Christ.
But with those two men, Joseph and David, there are pages and pages of the Word of God.
Taken up with their history and it just seems like every verse brings out something that applies to the person and work of Christ as it is brought before us in the New Testament.
But those two men are introduced to us as shepherds if we were to go back to Genesis.
We would find that when Joseph was sent by his father at 17 years of age.
To see how it was going with his brethren who were feeding the flock some distance away.
He was tending the sheep. He was a shepherd boy. We find that when David is introduced to us, brought finally, as the last of Jesse's sons, to stand before Samuel and to be anointed as the future king over Israel.
He was keeping those few sheep in the wilderness. How beautiful that the Scripture introduces them in this way.
Because they are pictures of the Lord Jesus as the Shepherd Moses himself before.
He was used to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness.
He was tending the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro, when God.
It, uh, made himself known to him, and spoke to him in the in the burning Bush and Moses.
On many occasions is a picture to us of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so we find in this Psalm penned by the Shepherd, we find that he brings before us these precious truths in connection with the Lord Jesus.
We read in the New Testament 3 portions in connection with the Shepherd.
And I'll just sum them up very briefly before we go on. We found in the 10th chapter of John.
We have the Lord Jesus Speaking of himself as the Shepherd. There He is the Good Shepherd.
And as the Good Shepherd he gives his life for the sheep we find in the 13th of Hebrews.
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Where we read he's the great Shepherd and there it's in connection, perhaps more particularly with his care for the sheep. And in the 5th chapter of First Peter, we have him introduced as the chief Shepherd looking on to a coming day of glory. And I would just say that that's the way we have it in three Psalms here in the in the area where we read. Because if we were to back up to the 22nd Psalm.
We really have presented to us the Lord Jesus as the Good Shepherd, because in the 22nd Psalm we have the sufferings of Christ brought before us not only his physical sufferings, but those atoning sufferings in those hours of darkness denoted when the Psalm opens. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And in that Psalm it just seems that he covers every aspect.
Of the sufferings of Christ. And you can read it. It's very beautiful, precious and graphic language.
And at the end of the Psalm there are four very significant words. Lest we wonder who the Psalm is referring to, the psalmist ends by penning he hath done this.
Who has accomplished the work of redemption by going to the cross and giving his life?
Oh, none other than the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for the sheep.
If we were to skip over to the 24th Psalm, we would find a future day of glory when the Lord Jesus is going to be owned in this world as the one who has every right to reign supreme.
Looking on to that day when he's going to be presented as the Chief Shepherd, but in between that we have the Lord Jesus here as the Great Shepherd. But notice how the Psalm opens.
It's he says The Lord is my shepherd. You know that word, Lord is perhaps good for us to consider.
And when I read this, I think of that thief on the cross you remember, and I'm sure we've all pictured this in our minds eye.
That scene at Calvary where the Lord Jesus hung on a Roman.
Suspended between heaven and earth as a spectacle for men and angels.
And as there were those who passed by and reviled him, others sat down and watched him in his suffering.
Some added to his suffering by giving him vinegar to drink and so on.
And there was a thief on each side of the Lord Jesus. I believe both initially reviled him.
But one of those thieves realized that the man hanging on that center cross.
Was different than they were. He realized who this person was.
And he eventually turned to the Lord Jesus, no doubt in his final moments of life before they broke his legs.
And he gave up his life. He died.
His life was taken from him.
And he said, Lord.
Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom, But he confessed.
Jesus as Lord, how important that is. Have you done that in your life?
Have you come to that point where you realize that you are not only a Sinner, but there is one who is Lord?
One that you need to confess. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
And with the mouth confession is made. And so it says the Lord.
Is my shepherd. I want to stress this tonight how personal the gospel is.
And the Gospel tonight is not a theology. It's not simply a theory.
It's not a philosophy. The Gospel tonight is a person.
It's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't want to just introduce you tonight to a set of doctrines.
As accurate and biblical as they may be, we want to bring you into the very presence of the Lord Jesus, the savior of sinners. The question is tonight, not so much do you know the gospel? Not so much. Do you know the way of salvation? That's important. But I think perhaps most, if not all here know the story. You've heard the gospel before. You know the way.
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But that's not the question tonight. The question is, do you know the person?
The Lord is my shepherd, how personal it really is.
You know, the story is told of a very famous actor years ago, who was in the habit on occasion of giving.
Recitations from the classics and large audiences would gather together to hear him recite various prose and poetry and pieces.
From the classical writings, and it was the habit of his life.
That at the end of reciting those classics, he would always conclude.
By quoting the 23rd Psalm and they say more often than not.
At the end of his recital there would be thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
But one night, as he was about to recite the 23rd Psalm to a large audience, a young man arose and he made a request of the actor. His request was that if the actor was willing, he would like on that occasion to recite the 23rd Psalm. The actor was a little bit taken aback at first, but he decided no harm done, he would allow this young man to come forward on the stage.
There was a hush over the audience as the young man began in a low voice.
He recited the six short verses and at the end of it, there was no thunderous applause.
There was no standing ovation.
And there were no dry eyes in the audience either.
The actor was astounded. He couldn't believe it.
And he said to the young man, I've had years of experience.
I've had training in elocution.
But I have never been able to bring an audience to tears with the 23rd Psalm.
What was your secret? Oh, the young man hung his head in humility. They said, Sir, you know the 23rd Psalm, but I know the Shepherd.
And that's just our prayer tonight that not only would you know this 23rd Psalm, but that you would know the Shepherd. I have no doubt there are boys and girls here who could stand up and recite the 23rd Psalm. You've learned it in Sunday school.
You've learned it at your parents kitchen table, but do you know the shepherd?
The one of whom it speaks, David knew the shepherd. He could say with utmost confidence.
The Lord is my shepherd. I'm going to tell another little story, and I realize there are slightly different versions of this story.
But I'll try to tell it as I have understood the story and you'll pardon it. Pardon if I don't get all the facts quite straight.
But again, the story is told.
Of a Sunday school teacher who had a Sunday school class in a very poor district in the inner city of one of the cities, I believe here in the United States of America many years ago.
And she had in her class some very young boys who didn't have much advantage in this world. Most of them came from very, very poor circumstances. Some of them had to beg for their bread. Some of them, during the winter months, went to bed hungry and cold.
But these young boys would come to Sunday school and this Sunday school teacher he loved.
These boys.
I believe it was a man, I said. A woman at first, perhaps, but I believe it was a man. He loved these boys in his Sunday school class, and they knew it.
And he was teaching them one Sunday this verse the Lord.
Is my shepherd, and he wanted to impress upon their young hearts.
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The truth of knowing the Shepherd personally. And so he taught them these 5 words in this way.
He taught them to hold up their hand and as they recited these words.
To begin with their thumb and point to each finger like this, the Lord is my shepherd. And he said to them, If you know the Lord Jesus personally as your shepherd and savior, when you get to your fourth finger, grasp your fourth finger and hold it tight.
Well, the boys went home from Sunday school and a week passed and they came back. All except one young boy didn't show up, and he was one of the regulars, and the Sunday school teacher wondered about it. None of the other boys seemed to know why he wasn't there that particular week.
I think perhaps another week passed and he didn't show up again and so the Sunday school teacher decided.
That he would try to find where this boy lived and he would visit and see.
What the difficulty was.
After some searching and questioning, he climbed several flights of stairs up to the third floor of a very poor apartment house.
He knocked on the door and a mother, a lady, came to the door.
The Sunday School teacher introduced himself and the mother burst into tears.
But she invited the Sunday school teacher in and.
When she could get a hold of herself enough to explain what had happened, she explained to him.
That her little boy some days before, had been taken seriously ill Probably it was pneumonia and not being able to afford proper treatment or medication. He had died in that cold attic room on a bed of straw.
The Sunday school teacher sat there with the mother. Tears rolled down his face as well.
Then the mother said to the Sunday school teacher.
I'd like to ask you a quick explain something to you and ask you a question.
She said. When we found him lifeless on his bed, he was holding the fourth finger of his right hand so tight we could hardly pry it apart.
She said. Why was he doing that? She said in fact, during his final illness, during his final hours, he insisted on holding that finger and holding it tight.
Oh no. It was the Sunday school teacher's turn to rejoice and to be able to tell that mother about the Sunday school lesson and how he had sought to impress upon his young students the need for coming to know the shepherd personally.
And that if they knew the Lord Jesus as their shepherd and savior, they could grasp that fourth finger in confidence, knowing that they were ready to leave this world and to go into the next World.
To go to be with the Lord Jesus in that happy home in heaven and the Sunday School teacher's heart rejoiced.
And he was able to comfort that mother with those words.
But let me ask you a question this evening. There are some young children here tonight. Suppose you took Mary ill in the next day or two and you lay on your death bed.
Would you be able to grasp that fourth finger with confidence? Would you be able to leave behind such a testimony for those who mourned at your deathbed like that little boy in that cold attic room?
Oh, this is vital. These issues are important Tonight to be able to say the Lord is not a shepherd, but the Lord is my shepherd. In thought. I just want to go for a moment to the portion we read in the 95th Psalm, because there we read, we read that we are the sheep of His hand.
You know, when I read this I think of a little later on in the 10th chapter of John, for the Lord Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. Neither can any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man can pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one, you know. I'm thankful that as a sheep of the Lord Jesus.
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I am held both with the hand of the Lord Jesus and the hand of God the Father.
I am indeed the sheep of his hand, and this gives me confidence. This gives me.
That security, knowing that I am in Christ, that I will never lose my salvation.
No man, even the devil himself, can pluck me out of the hand of the Lord Jesus.
Or the hand of the Father. I can't even pluck myself out of his hand.
I'm the sheep of his hand.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want again. I want to tell a little story. I know these stories are often told, but they help, perhaps, to illustrate what we seek to bring out from the precious pages of the word of God.
But the story is told of another little boy who went to Sunday school.
And as the Sunday school season progressed, the Sunday school teachers decided that at the end of the Sunday school season, they would have a little program and invite the parents of the children to come. And it would be an opportunity for the parents to see and hear what their children had learned during the season and an opportunity to give the gospel to the parents as well, and perhaps grandparents and other family members and friends.
And so the teachers worked very hard at getting the boys and girls to recite various portions of the word of God, to sing the gospel songs, and so on, in preparation for this particular night of this recital. And there was one very young boy, and the Sunday school teacher decided that she would get him to stand in front of the parents. And to quote this first verse of the 23rd Psalm, The Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want.
Well, she was sure she had it drilled into him, and that there would be no problem. And the night came for the recital, and there were quite a few adults that filled the room. And the boys and girls went through their routine. They sang the gospel choruses different of the boys and girls, recited portions of the word of God. And then it was the turn for this little boy to stand up and to recite Psalm 23, verse one.
He stood up in front of this crowd and he got, I suppose, what we would call stage fright.
He looked into this sea of adult faces and he almost couldn't speak.
But he managed to get himself together enough to say the Lord is my shepherd.
He hesitated. He could not come up with the rest of the verse.
He looked out again at the sea of faces and decided he'd start over again.
The Lord is my shepherd again. The rest of the verse wouldn't come.
Finally, in desperation, he said, the Lord is my shepherd. What more can I want?
And he sat down. And, you know, really He conveyed in the very simplest and yet most profound terms what this portion is really saying. The Lord is my shepherd.
What more could I want? You know, I have known the Lord Jesus by the grace of God as my savior and shepherd.
For about 50 years.
And all there's been times in my life when I've gone my own way.
I've wandered in the path.
I've chose those things that I ought not to have chose, but I'm thankful that as I look back, I can truly say.
The Lord is my shepherd. What more could I want? This is the positive side of Christianity.
Because I think sometimes when the gospel is presented, souls think of what they'll have to give up.
If they come to know the Lord Jesus, maybe their friends, maybe some vice, some pleasure.
Something, some aspect of life that they want to pursue. But you know, when I came to know the shepherd personally?
The only thing I gave up were my sins, and I'm glad they're gone as far as the East is from the West.
So far as he removed our transgressions from us, he's blotted my sins out as a thick cloud.
The Lord Jesus bore my sins in his own body on the tree. Thy sins and iniquities I will remember no more. They're gone and they're gone forever. And what I've gained.
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In giving up my sins and receiving the Lord Jesus as my Savior.
It's so much greater than you could ever imagine.
Oh, I wouldn't want to trade places tonight with anybody that isn't a Christian, because not only am I saved from hell, not only do I have heaven before me, the Father's house, in the coming day, but I have one who has provided for me and will continue to provide everything I need in this life.
That is everything I need in a spiritual way to satisfy my soul. Oh, He provides my temporal mercies and more too. But you know, we sang now none but Christ can satisfy, none other name for me, and there is none that can satisfy but the Lord Jesus. There's a lot of empty, aching hearts in the city of Saint Louis tonight. I have no doubt if we were to go through this hotel, we'd find there are many empty, aching hearts right here in this facility.
And perhaps there's an empty, aching heart here in this room tonight.
But I want to tell you, only Christ can satisfy another hymn writer. Put it this way, I tried the broken cisterns, Lord.
But all the waters failed in as they stooped to drink, I fled. They fled and mocked me as they wailed against us to him, very him that we sang at the beginning. Oh, tonight the Lord Jesus can satisfy. And we don't have time to go through these verses in the 23rd Psalm except to say that David, in his experience in the ups and downs of life as a believer, he experienced the care of the Shepherd.
And the care of a shepherd for a sheep in a natural way is a very individual thing.
I know nothing about the care of sheep. I'm a city boy, but my father, who cared for sheep and his youth, used to tell us.
How individual the care of sheep is that every sheep has an individual need.
That every sheep has.
Northeast needs that attention and that often the Shepherd has those names.
For the sheep as the Lord Jesus knows everyone of his own personally by name.
I remember one time when my girls were younger, we were visiting a farm where they had some sheep.
And there was a sheep in the pan, and on the other side of the pan and.
My girls pulled some grass and things along the side of the fence and we tried to encourage that sheep to come over and to eat that grass so we could pet that sheep and get a little closer to it. And no matter how we called or tried to entice that sheep to come.
Do you think that sheep would move? Not a chance. But all of a sudden the door opened in a building nearby and a young girl came out and she had a bucket with something in it for the sheep. And she came and she called the sheep and she called the sheep by name. The sheep's name was Dolly, I still remember. And she called something like this. Come, Dolly, get something to eat. There was an immediate response that she immediately came tearing across that paddock.
And nuzzled up to the shepherdess.
And got that? Those treats that the shepherd has had. Why? Because the sheep knew its name and knew the voice of the one who cared for it. And oh, how wonderful it is for the believer to belong to the Lord Jesus in that way, to be called by name. You'll never get lost in the crowd. There's a lot of people in this world feel lost in the crowd. Maybe sometimes in a large family, it's hard just to feel as an individual too.
But all tonight, if you come to know the Lord Jesus as your savior, you will be an individual in the flock of the Lord Jesus. You'll never get lost in the crowd and you'll become, as we read in the 100th Psalm, the sheep of his pasture, in the 95th Psalm, where the sheep of his hand, that's the security that we have in Christ. But then in the 100th Psalm, where the sheep of his pasture, that's the satisfaction and the provision that He makes for us all the way home.
We referred earlier to the parable of the lost sheep in Luke's Gospel. And you remember when the shepherd went out to find the sheep? Not only did he find search till he found it, but he took that sheep so tenderly and lovingly.
And laid it on his shoulders the place of strength. And he carried that sheep till it was safe home with the other sheep.
00:45:01
He never let it go. That sheep never got off the shoulders of the shepherd again. All that sheep might have struggled, it might have got a foot or two loose, and I've done that in my experience as a sheep of the Lord Jesus.
But I've never got off his shoulder. Thank God he's carrying me and he's gonna carry me safe home.
To the Father's house. But I want to stress something else for a moment, because we read of the Chief of the Good Shepherd, The Great Shepherd in Hebrews chapter 13, and there we find that He brings in.
The blood, Oh no gospel is complete without stressing the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
O thou great all, gracious shepherd, shedding for us thy life's blood.
Oh, tonight, it's the blood of Jesus. It's that one who went to the cross as the Good Shepherd, and he laid down his life for the sheep. And then after his he had laid down his life in a way that no other has ever done or ever could do.
As a divine person, he could say no of his life. No man taketh it from me. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father, and when he had yielded up his life.
Commended his spirit to his father, and given up the ghost. A soldier with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. What glorious words those are Forthwith immediately Anon God was in a hurry to bless, and forthwith came throughout blood and water, and the separation of the blood from the body was the proof of death.
And we read of the blood of the Lord Jesus. We read that it is through that blood we have the forgiveness of sins.
We're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. It tells us that the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us.
From all sin are you washed in the blood of the Lamb tonight?
That's a great question, isn't it? Are you washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus?
Do you know the cleansing value of that blood?
One time there was a preacher and he was seeking to stress to his audience.
The need for the cleansing power of the blood of Christ and to appropriate it as individuals.
And there was a young man in the audience and he stood up and he said to the preacher, I don't understand.
How can blood cleanse sin? How can blood wash away sins?
There was a glass of water on the podium, and the preacher after a moment, thought he raised that glass.
And he said to the young man, I too will ask you, I will ask a question. How can water quench thirst?
The young man said. I don't know, but I know it does. Just so said the preacher. I cannot tell you how blood cleanses sin, but I know it does. And there are just so many here in this room tonight who can attest to the fact that the blood of Jesus does cleanse sin. That our sins are gone and they're gone forever, washed away, never to be brought up again. I'm not afraid of one charge of sin being brought up against me.
But you know, there's something else, another vital element of the gospel that we want to stress as well.
Paul summed it up when he wrote to the Corinthians. He spoke of the gospel as the fact that Christ died.
He was buried and he rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures.
And we read of that in the book of Peter where the Lord Jesus sat, one who rose from the dead. Or I guess it was in Hebrews, that great shepherd of the sheep that came from the dead and the Lord Jesus in a coming day of glory as a living savior.
Oh, how vital this is to understand the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Because if the if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain and ye are still in your sins. But thank God he was raised again for our justification. I'm going to repeat something that was told to me today that I thought was very, very interesting in connection with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
If we were to travel to the land of Israel tonight, which I have never had opportunity to do, but this brother who was speaking with me today has had opportunity to do on more than one occasion, we would stand at what is referred to, I believe, as the Garden Tomb.
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We know that the Lord Jesus was taken down by loving hands.
Nicodemus and Joseph of Armathia, and was placed in a new tomb, as had been prophesied that he would be.
But you know that tomb is empty tonight.
There are words written over that tomb. He is not here. He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay.
And this brother was telling me that archaeologists.
Have been very impressed.
In excavating other tombs in the Land of Israel.
Define that this tomb is very unique. Every other tomb that they have ever excavated has the bones of the person or persons who were buried in those tombs. But when this tomb was excavated, they didn't find any bones.
And they never will, because when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, he said to the disciples on one occasion, Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bone, as ye see me, Have the Lord Jesus rose bodily from the dead.
And not only that, but after he had remained on earth long enough to give complete and ample testimony to his own, that he had indeed risen bodily from the dead, a moment came when his feet left the mount of olives, and the cloud received him out of their sight, and they saw him no more. And that man bodily went back to the Father to sit down as a glorified man at the right hand of God, and that is the Savior of sinners.
That is the shepherd that we've sought in some feeble measure to present to you tonight, the Lord Jesus Christ, the man in the glory, the man whose arms are open wide to receive you. His blood is sufficient to wash your sins away, and that is the man who's coming back in a future day.
First of all, on the cloud to call his own, to be with himself. I am ready, thank God, and I know there's just so many here who thrill. As we speak of the second coming of Christ. We look up, and with glad hearts we say Amen even. So come Lord Jesus.
But I would be less than faithful tonight if I didn't warn you that the Lord's coming will mean different things for different people.
For those of us who know the Lord Jesus, it will mean to be caught away, to meet the Lord in the air and be ever with the Lord.
For those who do not know the Lord Jesus, who cannot say the Lord is my shepherd, they will be left behind for judgment and to be cast into the lake of fire.
This is perhaps just an an application, but I thought of this when our brother Bill was speaking to us this afternoon about the sons of the prophets.
You know, when Elijah was caught away to heaven?
Who missed Elijah? You know it wasn't the general populace in in Israel. It was the sons of the prophets, as was pointed out to us. It was they that went out searching for him. They didn't. They missed him. And yet they didn't seem to know what happened.
And if the Lord Jesus comes tonight?
And you're sitting in these seats and you have had a godly praying mother and father, grandmother, grandfather, and you're left behind.
You, the sons and daughters of Christian parents, are gonna look around and you're gonna miss those of us who are raptured the moment the Lord Jesus comes. I think that is so very, very solemn.
Because when once the master of the house has risen up and shut to the door.
They're going to come and knock and they're going to say Lord, Lord, open unto us. Those who've made profession are going to come and they're going to want to enter in.
And words are going to come back to ring in their ears for all eternity. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.
Depart from me. I never knew you. How solemn. But tonight the invitation is still going forth even at the end of this gospel meeting. 55 minutes since this gospel meeting began. 55 minutes of God's grace to you, of the shepherd's longing to bless you and bring you to himself. Oh, don't put it off 1 second. One minute more. Come to the Lord Jesus tonight. Be able to go out and be able to say with confidence, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
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We know it is the Father's house and that is the destiny of everyone who is a sheep.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ, we follow that blessed One now, and we are going to follow Him right into the Father's house.
To sit down with all the sheep from all eternity. What a wonderful time it's going to be.
Well, my heart aches, My soul burns to look into this audience at the end of this meeting and to think there might be someone here who's still choosing their own way, still refusing to come O the Lord Jesus is pleading tonight.
I say he desires your blessing and in closing I am going to read.
Words that are familiar to many of us, but perhaps they sum up.
What we've tried to present from the word of God this evening.
This has been my experience, and I trust it's your. It will be, if it hasn't been already. It will be your experience before we pray this evening. I was a wandering sheep. I did not love the fold. I did not love my shepherd's voice. I would not be controlled. I was a wayward child. I did not love my home. I did not love my father's voice. I love to fire to Rome.
The shepherd sought his sheep, the father sought his child.
He followed me, or Valen hill, or deserts, Waste and wild, he found me. He found me nigh to death, famished and faint and lone. He bound me with the chains of love. He saved the wandering one.
Jesus, my shepherd is thank God.
Jesus, my Shepherd, is twas he that loved my soul, Twas he that washed me in his blood.
Twas he that made me whole? Twas he that sought the lost that found the wandering sheep.
Twas he that brought me to the flock, Tis he that still doth keep no more a wandering sheep.
I love to be controlled. I love my tender shepherd's voice. I love the peaceful fold.
No more awayward child I seek. No more to roam. I love my Heavenly Father's voice. I love. I love His home.
2 Timothy 1:6-8
Seeing From a Heavenly Prospective
Address—Don Rule
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#212.
212.
Called from above.
And heavenly men by birth.
Who were once but the citizens of Earth?
Lands 2 verses of the hymn. The cross has suffered severed ties which bound us here.
Thyself our treasure in a brighter sphere #212.
Nsnoise.
Turn with me to Exodus chapter one.
Exodus chapter one and verse one. Now these are the names.
Of the children of Israel.
Which came into Egypt.
Numbers Chapter one.
Exodus chapter one and verse one. And the Lord God spoke unto Moses and the wilderness of Sinai into the verse after they came out of the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy chapter one.
Verse one.
These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel, on this side Jordan.
In the wilderness.
In the plane over against the Red Sea.
Joshua, chapter one.
Joshua chapter one and verse one. Now after the death of Moses the serpent of the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun Moses minister, saying, Moses my servant is dead.
Now therefore arise and go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you.
As I said unto Moses.
Now over to Revelation Chapter 4.
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Revelation chapter 4 and verse one. After this I lucked and behold, a door was opened in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was, as it were, of a trumpet speaking with me, which said, come up, hit her.
And I will show thee.
I had occasion on Thursday.
To have dinner with Bill Prost and family.
And, uh, after the dinner.
We had a little time together, as we typically do, and we have Thanksgiving together and each go around the circle of people that are present so that each one can publicly express something they have to give God thanks for.
And, uh, I listened to what Bill had to say.
And I can say in my soul I knew what he was going to talk about yesterday.
And I had already known, I believe from the Lord, that I was going to talk about the same thing.
I want to say this because I want to reinforce to my soul and yours what I believe is the importance when God wants us to hear the same message twice.
In the same weekend, it's not going to be with the same words, but essentially I believe it's the same.
There are some things that we only understand. Many things we only understand if we look at them from the right perspective.
That's why we read Revelation chapter 4 and verse one, because what we're going to consider.
Has to be seen.
As it were, from the heavenly perspective.
If we just see it.
From where we sat on earth, we won't get it, I don't think. We have to see it, if you will, from the perspective from which God sees it.
Those of you, including myself, who sang to him.
Now we just finished.
Called yourself.
A heavenly man.
I look into a room of heavenly men.
That includes sisters and children who belong to the Lord Jesus in that word.
You are a heavenly man.
It's not you hope to be, you want to be someday. You would like to be. You are.
You are.
Because that's what God has chosen you to be this day, this hour, in this room.
You are a heavenly man.
You're a heavenly man by birth.
You were born into this world as a citizen of Earth.
And I speak to you who belong to the Lord Jesus, of course.
You were born a citizen of Earth.
You aren't a citizen of Earth anymore.
You are a heavenly man.
You'll notice in the verses that we read.
In the Old Testament in Exodus.
Exodus tells us about a people who lived in a place called Egypt.
We all, or I assume most of us, understand that in picture, Egypt is a picture of the world in which we live.
But God's purpose wasn't to leave them there.
God's purpose for you.
Before you were born was not to leave you in Egypt.
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And so before Exodus is finished, they're out of Egypt.
And so are you.
They went out of Egypt into a wilderness.
They spent quite a while in a wilderness, 40 years.
They got so far.
And their leader?
Dies.
Because he couldn't take them all the way.
What he represents could not take them where God wanted them to be.
Moses couldn't take you where you are today.
Wonderful man is Moses.
Tremendous leader is Moses.
But Moses couldn't bring you where you are this afternoon.
And so Joshua begins. Moses is dead.
And for you, Moses is dead.
Joshua.
Was the only one and what he represents.
That could take them where God wanted them. Your Joshua, Jesus Christ has taken you where you are this afternoon, and only He could do it.
And the only way he could do it partly why Moses couldn't do it, because only he could take them through death.
Jordan.
So Joshua to take them in to be heavenly men. Canaan is a picture of heavenly place.
To enter into the land of Canaan, they had to go through death just as you do and have.
But having done so, they were in the land of their inheritance. They were.
People of heaven.
That is their heaven, Canaan on earth.
We're gonna look in the time we have of how God has made us to be heavenly men.
And some of the characteristics.
Some of those things that should.
Be seen in us as heavenly men.
It's true and I'll just not try to explain it. It's true that Israel.
Had to go through each place one after another. They couldn't be in two places at once. There is a certain way in which every one of us is still in Egypt, every one of us is still in the wilderness, and every one of us is in Canaan as well. But we're not going to look at that aspect of it. We just want to focus on the Canaan.
Aspect of what we are and I characterize it here as this hymn writer JG deck heavenly men by birth. Let's go to John chapter 3.
John Chapter 3 we have a conversation that's taking place between a citizen of Earth.
And a heavenly man.
And the citizen of earth has trouble understanding what the heavenly man says.
I thank God he learns. Maybe you have trouble understanding, maybe it's not expressed very well to you this afternoon. But if I can say with assurance, if there's a desire that was found in this man, this citizen of our whose name was Nicodemus, he did by the Lord's work with him, come to understand. And so will you, because God wants you to understand what you are.
I want to say this about it because it's really important to get the right perspective really.
If you were one of the royal family of England, one of the children of Queen Elizabeth.
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You don't aspire to be that.
That's what you are by birth.
You may be given instructions as to a manner in which you are to behave that is appropriate to what you are, but you don't aspire to it.
You don't aspire this afternoon to be a heavenly man.
You don't say I wanna be. You are. You're born into it.
Yes, there are things that should be seen in you because of what you are, but not in order to be that. And it's important to see that because very often we look at ourselves and we don't think we see what we want to see and we want to be different, and we aspire to be different in some way or the other, as if we weren't the thing we wanted to be.
God doesn't work that way. He makes us what he wants us to be, and then he works in us that we live it out in a practical way according to what he has made us to be. So here's this citizen of Earth named Nicodemus.
And in verse 3, the heavenly man Jesus says unto him, Truly or verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man, be born again.
He cannot see the Kingdom of God.
And as I'm going to use it this afternoon, he can't see heavenly things.
If there happens to be somebody in this room.
That is still a citizen of Earth.
And not a child of God, a child of heaven.
Then you won't see either as long as you remain as you are.
The natural man, the citizen of Earth.
Can't see it?
Can't see it, can't enjoy it, can't appreciate it, can't understand it.
He just can't.
No more than an Ant can understand you.
It's a creature, it's got certain capacities, but it doesn't have the capacity to understand you.
Unless you couldn't give the aunt your life, and then it could.
You must be born again.
The Kingdom of God you must be born again to become a heavenly man.
Verse 5 Jesus answered, Verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water.
And of the Spirit you cannot enter.
Into the Kingdom of God.
God has to make the heavenly man heavenly.
He has to be clean.
He has to be holy.
He has to be washed morally from anything and everything that is unsuited to what God has made him to be.
He can't do it by himself.
Use the little poor illustration of the Ant. The aunt can say, I guess I'll be a man, so I'll be a man. I'll transform myself into a man.
Neither can you transform yourself into a heavenly man.
You have no more capacity to do it than an Ant.
Does to become like you?
You must be born.
By the power of God. By heavenly power.
To enter in.
To the Kingdom of God.
Verse 10. Verse 9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?
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It's pretty important, I think, to what we're talking about this afternoon to recognize a difference here.
Nicodemus, a citizen of Earth. But more than that, he was.
Perhaps what we would call an honorable Jew.
A teacher among the Jews.
And the Lord, he says I don't understand.
And the Lord responds and says you're a master, you're a teacher in Israel.
He could have.
Said more explicitly.
Nicodemus, you ought to know what Ezekiel 36 says. You're a teacher. You know that, Ezekiel 36 says. I'll bring you into the land.
I will cleanse you.
I will put a new heart in you.
I will put my spirit in you.
Doesn't that sound like salvation?
Cleansed a new heart.
The Spirit of God in you.
But it won't make the people who have it heavenly men.
It will not make the people who have it heavenly men.
He says I'm going to do it for my name's sake and I'm holy.
And I want you to be holy too.
Doesn't that sound like?
But what it was going to do or will do in the future, it's not yet taken place, is it will form earthly men for the reign of Christ on earth.
You have a higher calling, and you've been called higher than they will ever experience.
As Nicodemus was supposed to know as a teacher of Israel, we.
Got to keep the right perspective or we won't enter in to what God wants us to enjoy and live out in our lives.
So then he says to him.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak what we do know, and testify what we have seen, and you receive not our witness.
If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?
We speak what we do now.
This heavenly man came from heaven.
And he wanted to speak of heaven.
He spoke of what he knew.
For he came from there.
Could he not speak about it? I don't know where you live, many of you, but I doubt not that you could speak of where you live and explain where you live.
And give some understanding of it to someone else.
So could this man.
He was a heavenly man. He came from heaven.
He wanted to present heavenly things.
But he said, Nicodemus, I tell you earthly things and you don't take them in. You're not accepting those. How can I truly?
Tell you about heavenly things.
How could I say to you as we sang?
Wind to our raptured hearts, we hear thee tell the heavenly glories which thou knowest so well.
That's what He wants to tell you and me this afternoon. He wants you and I every day of our life to listen to Him tell us of the heavenly glories which He knows.
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So well it suited to the heavenly man.
To have fellowship with him, to receive from him.
That which speaks of home.
But he couldn't do it to Nicodemus.
He says in verse 13, No man hath ascended up to heaven.
But he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven.
We can't say. I think I'll take a look at heaven tomorrow.
I think I'll just take a trip.
Get a little look.
Little idea, plan to live there someday, so I think I'll just go and see what it's all about.
No.
You can't.
But the man that descended from heaven can and did.
The man who began.
The journey from heaven.
To Earth.
Is the man.
It came down.
But it also sent something very, very important.
About him, the heavenly man.
It says of him even the Son of Man, which is.
In heaven.
Yes, he physically came to Earth.
But his heart, his interests.
His way of thinking.
Never left heaven. Never left heaven.
God has made us.
Heavenly Men.
And he wants us to live the same day, same way every day.
He wants us to live with our heart in heaven, our interests in heaven.
Our affections in heaven.
Even while on Earth.
That is proper and normal.
For us as heavenly men.
We'll see hopefully a little later, how to do that a little more practically.
Verse 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Know, if you stop to think about it, lifting up a serpent.
And talking about it as Jesus Christ don't seem very compatible.
You know what Scripture talks about the serpent that entered the Garden of Eden and spoiled life for man on earth? You know what it's like for that poisonous snake to bite the people of Israel?
So that many of them died.
You have some understanding because you've been bitten.
By that serpent.
So why is it a serpent?
That's used as a figure.
Because that man that was lifted up.
Not only for what you've done, but for what you are.
Was made sin for you?
So that you could be.
Spared from perishing?
But also so that you could receive a heavenly life.
Eternal life.
A life that comes from heaven.
Without the serpent lifted up.
Without the Son of man being made sin for us, God could not accomplish His purpose of making us heavenly men.
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He had to be lifted up, he had to take our place for what we are.
And in that place, he had to die.
Not only had to bear it, but the end of it was death.
Put it this way, nobody becomes a heavenly man.
Except through death.
There's no way.
To be brought into the place of being a heavenly man.
Except by death.
So it says.
Have eternal life.
That's a holy life that characterizes heaven.
That's a life that expresses itself with the very nature of God.
As love.
And this light?
You don't find a life like that originate from the earth.
But that's the life.
Of the heavenly man.
Verse 19.
Light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
Heaven is characterized by light.
The Earth is characterized by darkness. The citizen of Earth is a man that wanders around in the dark all his life.
Never finds the light of life as a citizen of Earth. He is full of people that are blind.
Just walking darkness.
Morally, their darkness itself.
But you're not.
You're not. You're a child of the light.
Your child of life.
You live in a dark place physically.
But you have the light of life.
You have the light of heaven.
And you have the privilege.
Of living.
In the light.
OK, down to.
Verse 27 John answered and said, A man can receive nothing except to be given him from heaven.
Yourselves bear me witness that I said I'm not the Christ, but that I'm sent before Him.
Verse 31 He that cometh from above is above, and he that is of the earth is earthy and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven is above all.
And what he has seen and heard he testifieth, and no man receiveth his testimony.
He that is of the earth is earthy and speaks of the earth.
It should be true that if someone engaged you in conversation, they would discover that you were a heavenly man.
The earthly man speaks of the earth. That's all he's got. That's his citizenship, that's his interest.
That's the world in which he lives.
Not the heavenly man.
He has other interests.
He has other things.
That in Occupy is hard. His thoughts, his activities.
John the Baptist was a man of earth. He's not a heavenly man. He's saved, but he's not. He didn't have a heavenly calling.
His calling as to his natural life was the earth.
And he lived out his life as an earthly man, a godly earthly man, but the scope and character of his life had to do with this earth.
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You're not an Abraham. You have a better calling than Abraham did, a higher calling to live out your life than Abraham did. You're not Moses. You have a higher calling to live out your life than Moses did.
They were not heavenly.
Even though they had hopes as to such things.
But the character of the life they were to live in obedience to God didn't have its reference to heaven.
That had its reference to the Earth, but not you.
You're a heavenly man.
As it was said of John the Baptist.
There's not a greater among women.
John the Baptist.
But the least in the Kingdom of heaven.
Is greater than he.
The least person in this room is greater than John the Baptist.
In position.
Calling.
In character.
Turn over to Colossians.
Colossians.
Chapter One.
Colossians chapter one and verse 27 to whom God would make known whether the riches of the glory of his mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you?
The hope?
Glory.
If God makes us a heavenly man, he gives us a heavenly life.
He gives us a life that's suited to what we are.
Where's your life from? Where is it today?
From heaven.
It shared with the source of it, Jesus Christ. Christ, who is not, will be, but is our life. Where is He?
Here on Earth.
No, it didn't happen.
He crossed, figuratively speaking, which probably won't have time to talk about it, but he crossed the Jordan River.
We have Joshua. He crossed the Jordan River.
But as far as Scripture records, he never crossed it the other direction again.
He lived from that point on. Joshua lived in the land.
Christ died, was buried, He rose again.
And he will never again live as he had lived in his natural life on earth. And that character?
He crossed, if you will, the Jordan.
In his own person, and he remains there.
So then it says in chapter 2.
And verse 20.
Wherefore if he be dead with Christ?
Chapter 3 verse one. If he be risen with Christ.
That's crossing the Jordan.
Oh, are you dead with Christ? Yes, you are.
Are you risen with Christ?
Yes, you are.
Were you once before God on the wilderness side of the Jordan? Yes, you were.
Are you with Christ on the Canaan side of the Jordan? Yes, you are.
You're dead.
Christ.
Make a comment about it.
Leave it to your soul to.
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Chew on it.
If you're dead with Christ, think about this.
Just one minute.
Feeding.
A dead man is 60 seconds too long.
Did you hear that?
You who have access to the Internet.
Just one minute.
Feeding a dead man.
Is 60 seconds too long?
If he be risen with Christ, seek those things.
Which are above where Christ sitteth.
Verse two set your affection.
On those things above, not on the things on the earth.
Connect that with turn back a few pages to Philippians Chapter 3.
Philippians, Chapter 3.
Verse 20 for our conversation is in heaven.
From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Word conversation here is our interests of life.
We're Commonwealth is used in translation, it's the affairs of our life are connected with heaven.
Is that the case?
We're heavenly men. We're not taught to want to be. And in fact in Colossians 3 after it says if you be dead with Christ and if you be risen with Christ, in chapter 3 it says put to death and it names some things that characterize the man of earth.
Put them off and then it says put on. Because as we had when we read in the beginning of Joshua, these things that we're talking about, we only enter into in the enjoyment of them. We only enter into them in a practical way when we put our foot out and walk in them, when we take possession of them.
In practice.
In our lives and so there are things that are necessary for us to be able to.
Enjoy them and experience them, but it's no use talking about that if we don't recognize what we are. That's the point of burden of emphasis this afternoon. But if we recognize what we are?
It's not what we want to be.
Someday, but what God wants us to be today.
That we're talking about.
He wants us to be what he's made us to be.
And it affects every aspect of our life. I'm gonna go back and add a little bit another application, if you will, to the ax head that many of us were here yesterday afternoon during the address.
And Bill talked about the man who was using the axe.
And it where did it go? It fell into the Jordan.
And he said.
Alas, master, it was borrowed.
I wanna make an application of that to what we're talking about this afternoon.
Everything that you and I have connected with this earth.
That we still, yes, physically live in.
We should treat as borrowed.
Do you have time tomorrow time?
You have an energy.
It's borrowed energy.
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Do you have youth?
Do you have mental and physical capacity?
In a very real sense, is borrowed for your use, but in truth it belongs to another.
The heavenly man came down to earth.
And what did he begin with?
A body hast thou prepared me?
And he never he referred to it in responsibility as my body.
But in the use of it.
It was always seen as under another.
We remember the Lord Jesus in his death, and very often we quote.
This is my body.
I'm gonna misquote it.
Which I gave for you.
Is that what it says?
Doesn't this is my body which was given for you?
In the sense of my application, it was like it was borrowed.
For the use of another.
And if.
You try to use it for yourself as a heavenly man, you're going to lose it.
And the use of it, the value of it.
The iron in the Jordan didn't do the man any good, did it? It was useless. The tool was useless.
It had to have the application of death, which the Jordan speaks of.
Before it was really useful.
You and I have to recognize that everything that we have for this earth's use is temporary, is borrowed, and is only of use to the master if we recognize the sentence of death connected with it.
The Mammon of unrighteousness won't last.
Even the temporary youth won't last.
They're gonna pass.
Have no future.
Accept the body through death.
Another point connected with it.
The heavenly man must learn to live above nature.
And the power of nature.
He's called from above.
Timothy was brought before him power to live, and the power to live was the power of heaven to live on earth properly as a heavenly man.
The power of earth is not sufficient to live the heavenly life properly on earth.
Put it this way for you to think about.
We all have to learn sooner or later to walk on water.
We do.
What do I mean?
Peter got out of the boat.
To go to the Lord Jesus.
And when his eye was on the Lord Jesus, and the power for what he was doing was sustained by the Lord, he was OK.
But the moment.
He got occupied with the power of nature. He couldn't do it.
He started to sink because humans in nature sink in water. Nature can't sustain man on water.
The axe head had to be raised out of death by their power. No, the power of God was that which raised the axe head, gave it back to the man to use in a new way. Same acts, same head, but with a different power connected with it. It was that which had been raised out of the place of death.
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I think we have time just to finish, to show that a little bit in Second Corinthians chapter 4.
2nd Corinthians chapter 4 verse. I will read the last verse of chapter 3, chapter 3 verse 18. We all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord chapter 4 verse seven. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are troubled on every side, but not distressed. We're perplexed but not in despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Cast down but not destroyed. These are people walking on water.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
The life of the man of heaven was that in them by the power of heaven, the Spirit of God that was sustaining a weak vessel.
That otherwise couldn't have taken it. Even the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane angels came and strengthened Him in that hour of need. There is that in which the natural man in his perfect condition needs.
Heaven and the the.
You're a heavenly man and and.
God has chosen to put something of heaven in you to carry.
Through life.
Treasure.
Of himself.
Does he want to preserve the life of Christ, the life of heaven in you? Yes, he does, and He will.
He will sustain you, but not by anything in yourself, not by any.
Force of nature not by any strength of character.
By his own power.
He maintains the vessel.
One last thought.
Verse 18 we said we started with perspective, while we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The heavenly man by faith.
Can see from the perspective of eternity.
Not good.
The heavenly man, your heavenly man.
God has given you the capacity to go through life with an eternal perspective.
To value things. To see things, to give weight to things.
The citizen of Earth can't do it.
There's no such perspective. You can't see it.
Can enter into it. He has no interest for it, he says. Give me Egypt's food.
The things which are not seen are temporary.
Things which are not seen are eternal.
Our treasure.
2 Timothy 1:8-18
Reading
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294.
Reading verse 40, Lord.
Enlarge our scanty thought to know the wonders thou hast wrought. Unloose our stammering tongues to tell thy love immense.
Unsearchable.
294.
Some comments on the last part of our chapter, but.
Just so John doesn't have to begin reading in the middle of a sentence, perhaps it would be good to read from verse 8, but we've made comments on.
Some of these verses, but as I say, it's all part of the same sentence, so it will give them thought, but I think it'd be nice to go down these last few verses if we can.
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Second Timothy, chapter one and verse 8.
You're not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God, who has saved us.
And called us with a 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.
What is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ?
Who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel?
Where 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.
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 unto the key by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US.
This thou know us, that all they which are in age you be turned away from me, of whom are if I jealous and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy under the House of Onosepras, for He will OFT refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me the Lord. Grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.
And then how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Like to just make a comment or two to bridge what we had before us this morning and what we have in these verses that follow. Or at least something of what we have. And that is to reinforce that when you read the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul, you realize that Paul after he was saved on the Damascus Rd. he lived in view of another world. You say as you we read the 2nd epistle.
Why? Why was it that Paul wasn't discouraged at the end?
Things were pretty bleak, outwardly speaking. All had turned away from him.
There were, as we said earlier in these meetings, just a few names that he could commend. Some had turned away that are named like Dimas and so on. Why wasn't Paul completely discouraged at the end of his ministry?
Because he was living as we have here in view of that day.
He knew that there was something else, another world. The stories been told before, but I think it bears repeating.
About William Kelly, whose commentaries many of us have en enjoyed and and read.
But William Kelly, I believe it was his nephew, he had a nephew who went off to one of the great universities in England at the time.
And he well, among other things, he was studying Greek. And the professor realized very quickly that this young man must be getting some tutoring in his Greek over and above what was being taught at the university.
Because he was excelling in his studies. And so he was questioned about it. And he was told that yes, indeed, his uncle William was tutoring him in Greek. And the professor and the Dean of the college, the university made an appointment to have an interview with William Kelly. And the Dean of the college was astounded in the presence of one of the great minds of England at that time. And finally he leaned across his desk and he said, Mr. Kelly.
You could be a great man in this world and Mr. Kelly looked him straight in the eye and he said.
Which world? And that's really what we have with Paul. He had a vision. Well, he'd been caught up there. He had more than vision. But he it's like that verse in Proverbs that says where no vision is, the people perish.
And in taking up a chapter like this or an epistle like this, brethren, if we can just get a vision of what's ahead.
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These things that we have spoken of, that were characteristic of Paul, that he sought to impress upon Timothy as he passed the torch to him and was about to pass off the scene, these things will become.
A reality in our lives, not just something we merely enumerate as one of the doctrines and the practical truth of the Word of God.
But I was thinking too, in connection with what was said this morning of Moses.
You know Moses first of all. He was a man when he came out of the palace, who was mighty in words and deeds.
But that wasn't the kind of material God could use. He had to spend 40 years in the backside of the desert in the school of God. And when he came out of that, what did he say to the Lord at the burning Bush? Well, I can't win. I can't even speak well in our modern language. He was basically saying, I stutter and stammer and I can't put words together. How do you expect me to go in and talk to Pharaoh? That wasn't the Moses you found 40 years before. He was afraid in the one of the senses in which Brother Bill was bringing before us this morning.
But he was now the material God could use. It wasn't the material God could use when he was mighty in words and deeds of the Egyptians and the schools of men.
But now he was the kind of material God could use, because he was going to have to go forth independence.
But you know, when you come to Hebrews, there's some interesting statements made about Moses. It says he endured us seeing him who is invisible. He lived in view of another world.
He esteemed the reproaches of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt, because.
He had recompense unto the reward. He was. He had something else in view. Was it easy? No, even His own brethren spoke of stoning Him. It wasn't easy, as we said this morning. Was it worth it? Ask Him in a coming day. Later on He stood on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Lord, with the glory of Egypt, and it was a glorious nation at that time. Was the glory of Egypt worthy to be compared to the glory?
Of the Mount of Transfiguration, Is the glory of Egypt worthy to be compared with what's ahead for you and for me? Anything in this world, Paul. When he got saved, he left those things behind that he once counted dear. The things he wants that he once thought gave him status religiously, socially, and every other way. They were nothing. Why? Because he had found something better.
His desire was to win Christ. He had the prize before him, and he was living in view of that day. And that's why he could say that he knew whom he had believed, and was persuaded that he was able to keep that which I he committed unto him against that day. And, brethren, we need to live in view of eternity.
As Dawn was saying in the address.
It was impossible, in one sense, for those in the Old Testament to have the viewpoint that you and I do.
It's true that, as we've been hearing from Hebrews, Moses endured as seeing him who is invisible.
And it's true that men like Abraham looked for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God, but I would suggest that their thoughts of that were very dim and very imperfect compared to what you and I know.
Why is that?
Because what we have in verse 10 here brings before us what God has done.
The appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, that's not his appearing in the coming day, that's his appearing on this earth as a man. And what was the result of that? Perhaps a better word is annulled. Death. In one sense, death has not yet been abolished.
If you and I are left here at some point, if the Lord doesn't come, we will have to pass through death. It will be abolished in the coming day. The last enemy that will be destroyed tells us in First Corinthians 15 is death, but God has annulled death.
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You and I can now look upon death as that which is ours.
Death is ours. Why? Because God has brought, as it says in the end of the verse, life. And although immortality perhaps is all right of a word, the Darby translation reads incorruptibility brought life and incorruptibility to light through the gospel.
It has often been mentioned before that every Old Testament Satan, no matter how godly.
Did not really know where he was going when he died.
They knew about resurrection, they could trust God, but they did not really know where they were going. But now God has brought it all to light, brought to light the fact that not only do you and I have life in Christ, but in corruptibility. That is, there is every reason to expect that all of those in this room may well be caught up.
To meet the Lord in the air without having to go through death, without having to to see, as it were, those bodies facing corruption. It's been brought to light through the gospel. So your vision and mind is is in a Vista, if you like, that none before this dispensation of grace could ever have. And God as it were, says to you and me, even in these last days when yes.
There are difficulties, yes. There is a giving up, yes. The last days are characterized by many, many things that are very sad. God says, as it were, come up and get the viewpoint from the position where you really belong.
Because it's all been manifested by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Nulled that you put in place of abolished. Well that's what I suggest it's it's a it's a good word. Would you agree with that Yeah I, I sometimes render useless or inactive. It's the same type of thing that, uh, to the Christian because of eternal life and I just I just didn't hear it real clear it was all Bill that's why I asked there and I know it's a good word yes it's because sin death still exists in this world is an actual fact we die.
But uh.
The power of death is has been taken away, hasn't it? Looked at us, Hebrews, chapter 2.
For another related part of it.
In verse 14 it says Hebrews 214 For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He's the Lord. Jesus also Himself likewise took part of the same.
That through death he might destroy him. That had the power of death. That is the devil. So the one that had the power of death is destroyed. The word there is an old as well, because Satan still operates in this world, but his power has been annulled. It's no longer a valid power. And we recognize that. So that's beautiful because I remember somebody using the illustration of David when he went.
Down into the valley of Elah to fight with Goliath. And of course he brought him down with his stone from his sling. But when he ran down into the valley, he stood right on top of Goliath, and he drew Goliath's sword out of his sheath and cut his own head off with his own sword. That's the picture we have. Through death. The Lord Jesus went into death. He tasted death. He knew what death was in this awful reality.
But since he went into death, he destroyed or annulled him that had the power of death.
Here in our chapter he has an old death and then back. I think you mentioned that bill in chapter 15 of Revelation First Corinthians. It says in verse 26 and it's talking about a future day.
Actually, it has its fulfillment in in Revelation at the end of the 20th chapter, the last.
Enemy that shall be destroyed is that but for us right now.
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In the same 15th chapter First Corinthians, it says in verse 55.
Oh, death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
So the sting of death is already gone.
Good illustration of it. When Israel crossed the Jordan River, Bill mentioned yesterday afternoon that it went all the way back to the city of Adam and what that represents.
Adams, But the city of Adam is apparently about 30 miles north of where they crossed the river. And the picture is they crossed the river on dry land and they did not see any water at all.
That's the annulment of the power of death when they went through with him.
The arc went in first, and then there was the dry land. And that dry land was the work of God was of such power that when they went through, they didn't see any water at all. All the water that was there at that time had flowed downriver and the stopping of the water was totally out of their sight 30 miles north. And God now uses death as an instrument of good for us.
But its power to harm us is is done.
And that's why in First Corinthians 15 and other places, it's referred to as sleep for the believer. We lie down and go to sleep. We have every expectation that in the normal course of things, it's only a temporary thing. And in a while, after our bodies have had sufficient rest, we rise up and we go on our way. So death is of even those, the Saints of God, who passed through physical death. It is.
A very temporary thing, and while waiting for the resurrection, they're absent from the body and present with the Lord, which, as Paul said, is far better.
We have a living picture when the Lord Jesus raised Lazarus from the among the dead and he was already four days in the grave.
And later on we read that the layer table with the Lord Jesus and.
As though there had nothing happened to him and but we do not read anything that he was saying. He did not tell anybody what he went through during that time where he was dead and his thoughts or anything he saw.
We would have liked to know how that was, but we are not told it. But the reality is there that he was dead for four days and that he was put alive again by the power of the Lord Jesus.
Certainly.
Well worth repeating in verse 12.
It does not say I know what I have believed.
It says I know whom I.
And all the peace and the joy in our souls is not dependent so much on what we know, although we do need to know sound teaching. It's very important to know it. But when it comes down to the persuasion of the soul, it's.
Whom is everything? The person that we believe in.
And trust in and have rested our souls upon is what we need.
Before we go on, we just to come in a little bit more on that verse 10. I think you mentioned that Bill, didn't you the is brought life and in corrupt ability to light through the gospel. Would you open that up a little bit more?
Will you go ahead, Bob I?
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My thought on it is just fairly simple as I expressed it that.
There was, as we know, life in those Old Testament believers, but it wasn't in that sense, and we don't want to make it complicated. It wasn't the kind of life such as, if I may say so, that dawn was bringing us to see. In John's Gospel, chapter 3, the Lord Jesus talked of heavenly things. He talked of eternal life, a life lived out in the power of the Spirit of God.
A life that now has its horizons beyond this world and looks to heavenly things. And what is characteristic of that life? The constant, immediate expectation of the Lord's coming. And so the Lord Jesus could say, for example, at the grave of Lazarus, he that liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this he says to Martha. And Martha realizes that she's a little out of her depth in that conversation.
Why? Because it was something that could only be apprehended by seeing beyond all that God had revealed in the Old Testament and was going to bring out in the dispensation of grace.
Go ahead Bob, you must have some large thoughts on that. I don't know, I just enjoy it. It's been said that life is for the soul and incorruptibility is for the body and both things have been brought to light, you know, in the Lord Jesus rose and that first Lord's Day he breathed on them and said receive Holy Spirit.
It was.
Imparting life in resurrection in a way that had never been known before. It was like God in chapter 2 of Genesis. When he made man, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. That was the first creation, now the Lord Jesus in resurrection.
In new creation because the Lord Jesus and resurrection is head of a new creation breeze on them.
Life in resurrection by the power of the Holy Spirit and life in resurrection. The Lord Jesus said a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have. It's not fresh in blood. It's flesh and bones because life and resurrection is by the power of the Spirit of God. So he breathed on them.
The Holy Spirit, and I think that's the thought of eternal life. Eternal life is the.
Knowledge of God, the full revelation that we now have because of the Lord Jesus and because.
Of his finished work on the cross. We know God. So the Lord Jesus says in John 17 this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. What is eternal life? We always think of it as a life that goes on and on forever. That's true, but that's not the full sense of it. It's the knowledge, the full revelation of all that God is.
We have it now because of the Lord Jesus, because of that finished work. And now the Lord Jesus in resurrection imparts life through the Spirit of God. He communicates that risen, that resurrection life, and that's the life we have now. It's the life that cannot die, this body I live in.
Is subject to death because it's part of the first creation.
But the life I have in Christ is a life that can never die. Isn't that wonderful, brethren? You realize that we are possessors of that life. He's brought to light through the gospel life and in corruptibility because in that creation, that new creation to the Lord, Jesus is already head of. When he comes again to rapturous home, these bodies are going to be transformed. You can't go to heaven with that body you have on right now.
It's got to be transformed and it's going to transform these physical bodies to be bodies like his body of glory. So it's a body that cannot be corrupted. It's in First Corinthians 15. It's incorruptible, it's immortal, no longer possible for anyone in that, in that resurrection sphere to experience sickness or or death, Absolutely impossible.
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That's what he has brought to light through the gospel. Wonderful to realize down here we suffer sickness and we struggle with it, and we feel for those that are passing through special trials. But brethren, we're soon going to be in a sphere where life and incorruptible incorruptibility will be in their full.
Enjoyment, we can enjoy that right now because we have that new life right now we still lack the redemption of the body, but he has brought it to light through the Gospel wonderful revelation that we have because of the work of the Lord Jesus. And just to say one quick.
After one.
First John, chapter one.
First John. The epistle of First John gives us in significant detail what the life is.
To see it in its various aspects, read first John. And so it begins in verse two or verse one. That which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen, the beginning here is the beginning of the Incarnation.
Of that which presents eternal life to us, We didn't know it in our chapter until the appearing. He had to come, who had to come.
That eternal life had to come among us, and so that which is seen with our eyes, John says, That which we have looked upon, our hands have handled.
Of the word of life. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. Why was it manifested? How did we see it? Why did man never have a revelation of it before? Because it had never come to earth. And the person of the one who displayed it and manifested it to us. And so he begins the Epistle that way.
And there's much, much connected with it. Part of it is the the eternal life is that which has imparted to us.
The divine nature.
And we participate in a relationship with God that has nothing to do with the first creation, the Adam, Adam and his race. But we have been given to share in that eternal life, Christ, who is our life, as we had in Colossians one that life is imparted to us to share with it in its source.
And that is what is it. Look at the Lord Jesus and you see what the life is.
You see them as He is now, and you're looking at eternal life. How does it apply to us in that sense? Look at chapter 3. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God. What's it mean to be a son of God? Verse two. Beloved, we are the sons of God, and it does not yet appear that we shall be. But we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
But.
Children of God God, when he brings children into his family, wasn't revealed.
Before the eternal life was seen here on earth and the person of the sun.
But now we know it in resurrection power as Bob was bringing it out.
It's like the other side of death. It's life in new creation. But the essence of it, the wonder of it, is it's His life imparted to us. The very nature of God in life and love is that which we partake in. And So what does it make us? It makes us like Him.
It makes us like Him. Everyone who has eternal life as it is going to be seen in US is going to be like Christ.
Not just a little bit like him, but morally, totally, completely, perfectly consistent with himself because it's his life. There is that which he is unique that we never take part in. We never rise up to his glory. Thank God he it's never would want to. He should have the supreme and honored place. So we never become him, equal to him in any sense of the word. But as to a matter of life.
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It's been imparted to us, and if you're going to have that kind of a life, God says, well, of course you have to have a body suited to it. You can't have a mortal body connected with such a life and have it retain and keep it that way. And so in First Corinthians 15, this mortal has to take on immortality. This body of humiliation that's been purchased by the blood of Christ has to be changed into an immortal condition.
Because it's the only condition which is suited to the life that is in it.
To clarify something I didn't mean, and I'm glad Bob brought it out, I didn't mean to imply when I connected incorruptibility with those of us who are here and expect to be alive when the Lord comes. It's not limited to us. It applies to every St. of God that will be raised at the Lord's coming. Everyone will share in that incorruptibility when the Lord comes.
And there will, we will have, has been said bodies that are completely suited to that sphere of things, so that when we sit down in the Father's house in the coming day, we're going to be perfectly comfortable. When the apostle Paul was temporarily caught up to the 3rd heaven, the eternal dwelling place of God, it was a temporary thing. And he said he didn't know whether he was in the body or out of the body.
But when we get there, we'll be in the body. But these bodies, as has been said.
Will not be new bodies. It never says we get a new body, but they will undergo a tremendous change. We will have changed bodies.
He'll change these bodies of humiliation. And so when we get there, as I say, we'll sit down perfectly comfortable, not wonderful. We sit here in these meetings and we're comfortable when we're thankful for comfortable chairs and climate control and all that has been provided for us. But we're not completely comfortable, really. Some of us have a few little aches and pains. There's burdens and cares.
There's, you know, everybody seems to have a little different internal thermostat. Some of us might be a little too warm, some of us a little too cool, some some of us just right. We're never really perfectly comfortable in these bodies here in this world, no matter where we are. But we're going, as we were saying earlier to another world, brethren, and there we're going to be have bodies suited to that and the the realization, the enjoyment of this.
These truths that we've been just talking about in our souls, the reality of them.
Is going to give us the proper response and practical effect in our lives while we wait that moment Dawn didn't read on but the next verse in first John chapter 3.
After he speaks of being with and like Christ, he says, and everyone that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure in the measure in which this hope and this truth is a reality in our souls. It's not that it should have a practical effect on our lives. It will have a practical effect. Why is it so often we don't walk as men and women of heaven?
Why is it we don't always have that character that there ought to be that we've heard about in these meetings and the hymn we sang in the previous meeting in connection with, uh, with, with being men of heavenly birth and so on. Why is that? Because we know these things intellectually, Perhaps we can turn from page to page in the word of God. We can enumerate it as fundamental doctrine of Scripture, and that's good. We need to have that he's going to talk about.
A form of sound words, an outline of truth. Wonderful, vital, especially in the days in which we live, to hold these things.
As fundamental doctrines from the Word of God. But that is not enough, brethren, if we go out of this room.
At the end of these meetings and we have simply learned intellectually a set of doctrines and truth, and that is as far as it has got. Then it will have no effect on our lives while we wait for the Lord to come. And that's why we need to let this become a reality and sink down in our souls that we might be like Paul. You know, he was a he goes on to say he was appointed a preacher, an apostle, a teacher.
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Of these things, but it had a practical effect on Paul's life as well. And Timothy and others, when they looked at the apostle Paul, they saw the reality of it in his life. Just notice a little later on when he speaks of this to Timothy about having fully known. Yes, in chapter three he says to Timothy verse 10.
But thou hast fully known my doctrine. But he doesn't end there.
He says my manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity and so on. He gives a list of things. The doctrine that Paul was given to present and we have it in our hands by inspiration. Thank God this afternoon. It was more became more than that to the apostle Paul and he could say to Timothy, Timothy, you've seen the reality of what I've taught you and you've seen it in view of that which is ET is eternal.
Well may it be true in a measure at least of each one of us.
To about it in its practical.
Carrying it out.
A man of the world can't see it.
He's blind. He's dead in his sins.
But.
If it's lived out in our lives before him.
There's one thing in them they can't deny it, and that's his conscience, even if he's blind to it mentally.
The working of it out in a life that manifests it before his soul. As it's been said by some remember in preaching the gospel, a man's conscience is always on your side. And it's true. The conscience of man needs enlightenment, and even if it can't be under understood in the intellect, the word of God has that power through the testimony of a life.
To manifest itself to the conscience of a soul. And so it's a very real responsibility that we have in the world in which we live, that we display what we have in such a way that even if his mind can't see it, our fellow man is touched in his conscience by it.
Like to make another comment too on eternal life that's.
Part of what eternal life is.
When God created Adam?
Adam knew God as his creator and this was before he ever sinned. Adam knew God as his creator and God came down and visited Adam and they had fellowship together.
But Adam and his innocence.
Did not know the full character of God.
Adam was innocent.
But when we receive eternal life.
We receive a life which is holy.
A life which can for the first time have the measure of fellowship with God that God intended for us as creature, and so he has imparted to us.
That which enables us to have a fellowship with himself that we never had before.
I say John 17 it was quoted this is life eternal that they might know the the only true God. Does that mean that I can count off that he's omnipotent and omniscient and all bunch of descriptive words that man uses to describe God in philosophy class no.
I know it's hard.
I know it's hard. I know it's hard better. I know my own heart. My heart is deceitful and desperately wicked in a natural sense. But having received eternal life, I have a life which resonates with his own heart in a way I can say I know the heart of God.
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And likewise in light, God is light in his very nature, and he says you're my child and you walk in light as I am in the light. And we'll have fellowship together according to all that God is in his being. An eternal life is that which enables us to share in that character of fellowship with God. And it was not revealed, and it could not be revealed.
And tell the Lord Jesus came and manifested it and then did a work that we could participate in it. And as soon as the work was finished in which we could participate in it got immediately began to reveal it in the Gospel and one other. It's the opposite side, but it's a solemn side of it too. It wasn't until the Lord came.
And did the work on the cross that God fully revealed.
Righteousness and wrath. If you go to Romans chapter one where you get the other side of it, you see that God through what he did on the cross of Calvary in the judgment of sin and his Son who bore that sin, God was revealing in it the full measure of his righteous character and of his wrath against unrighteousness. And so someone says.
I don't thank God. He loves too much to put anybody in hell. He's never been to the cross in his soul. He has never gone to the cross and see what God revealed at that cross as to his own holy character and nature. And that also has been revealed. And that revelation is what man is going to be judged by if he stands before God.
In his sense.
Verse 12 for a moment.
I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him.
And turn with me please to First Peter chapter 4.
And verse 19, First Peter 419.
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God.
Commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
In creation, in the beginning it said let us create.
So we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit here, the faithful Creator. I might stand corrected, but I believe it's the only time that the two are used together in faithful Creator. In the verse that we have in Second Timothy, we have assurance.
And we have security.
An assurance in the security lies within the one with whom we have committed our soul to.
When I take the check to the bank and I deposit it, I entrust it with the people that I deposited it with.
And when we commit, we have deposited our soul and entrusted it with the faithful Creator.
When you have a committal and you take vows, there's 22 parts to the to the vows, and that vow is registered on high the moment that we are saved and we've deposited our soul with him to the faithful Creator.
And in turn, he also commits something back to us, doesn't he?
And he commits his oracles, the oracles of God.
And he commits the gospel to us, doesn't he? When you look there in first Peter chapter 4, if you look at verse 11, this has been ringing out all day.
If any man speak lame speakers, the oracles of God, the oracles of gods are the words of God.
If any man minister let it do it is the ability.
Which God giveth?
That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. We've been talking about power. We've been talking about the differences between each and every one of us and peculiar our brothers have brought out. And here we see that we have a difference of the ability that's been given to us by God, don't we? But the motivation behind.
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What we've been committed with.
Lies Inn.
That God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
To whom be praised, and dominion forever. Amen.
And so we touch upon committal here, don't we?
And vows that are rang out in whom we've committed our soul with and what he's committed to us that day.
Could we say, Brother Bill, that?
It goes even beyond the committing of our souls to him in the sense that.
Paul is looking onward here to the judgment seat of Christ to that day, and not only was he secure in the sense of what his soul and his ultimate eternal security would be, but he's very sure about what he's doing for the Lord and the fact that that deposit is going to be secure. We all know what it is for.
Banks to fail in this world, although thank the Lord it hasn't been as common perhaps as.
It was in at some points in history, but.
Here is a Here is an investment that really will pay off.
Here is where you and I can put a deposit that will have no no possibility of being eroded.
Wall Street can't touch it. A sudden crash in the stock market can't touch it. It's a deposit that Paul says. I know whom I have believed. If everybody else is giving it up, if there's opposition from every angle, Paul says in verse 11, I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles.
That is, he was in a special place, but he calls on Timothy and ultimately on you and me to follow him. And then, of course, as you point out, there's a deposit connected with us as Dawn was bringing out with the vessels in the time of Ezra that had to be accounted for by number and by weight. So we make a deposit up there, but God says I'm giving you a deposit and I count on your responsibility to carry it out, too.
That's in verse 14, isn't it?
The deposit that we've been given, in fact, Mr. Darby's translation.
Instead of using what I've committed and that which was committed, it uses the word deposit. It's interesting. It's helpful to see that. So there is one deposit that the apostle had with God and then there is a deposit that has been given to us to keep. But I think it's good, brother, and for us to see that the Apostle Paul was a vessel specially called.
For suffering because he was the apostle to the Gentiles and the apostle to open up the gospel of the glory. It had to do with another scene seeing a heavenly calling and it just seems like Satan who is the Prince of this world makes a special object of of ridicule and suffering those.
That would be connected with a heavenly glory. The apostle Paul lost everything he says in Philippians 3. For the love of whom I have lost all things, and do count them, but dumb that I may win Christ. He lost everything. There he stands before King Agrippa and all those mighty men in the Roman Empire.
Come in with palm and sit down, and a man is brought in in chains. Who is that man? That man is the man that God had chosen.
To open up heavenly glory.
And it wasn't appreciated.
And brethren, it seems like the enemy is trying to rob us too.
Of that which will last forever, that deposit that he talks about here, that deposit in the heavenly bank, if you will. But he says, I am not ashamed. Paul, aren't you a little bit kind of radical? Why do you preach in such a way? You get yourself imprisoned. Don't you think you should knock off a little bit and be a little bit more moderate?
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I am not ashamed, he says. And so he says to Agrippa. I would that you were all such as I am, except this chain. That man in the chain before all those earthly potentates was the freest man there. He was the man who had real eternal gain before his soul. He lost everything down here, Brethren, it comes to me so often that.
The enemy is robbing us by occupying us so much with earthly things. There's nothing wrong in themselves with material things, but sometimes they get such a hold on our life. We are occupied so much with them.
Those verses that Don read in Colossians chapter 3 about set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Come on, brother and sister, I have to confess for myself as I evaluate sometimes the day's activity, what percent of that day was my mind set on heavenly things I have to say it's a pretty.
Small percentage.
We get so occupied with things down here. Apostle Paul lost everything, and I have noticed that people in this world who have little materially often appreciated in greater measure the heavenly glories that we're called to. Why do we let these things interrupt the enjoyment that God means us to have right now?
I'm challenged by our brother in other parts of the world that are losing their lives.
And here we are. We love our comforts. Nothing wrong with the comfort in itself, but we love our material things. But it's robbing us of the enjoyment of what Paul is speaking to us here.
Says I'm not ashamed. How that speaks to my soul. Not ashamed.
And he won't have to be ashamed in that coming day when he's evaluated before the judgment seat of Christ. Brethren, when we stand there and look back, I'm afraid, and I'm going to have to say.
Why did those toys down there occupy so much place in my life?
Why wasn't I more occupied with that heavenly glory that had been called to Lord help us brethren, to get our evaluations straight, Paul says. I'm not ashamed, for I know whom I have.
Uh believed an M persuaded.
And persuaded means that he calculated per definitely what he was talking about. And he said, I am persuaded that he is able to keep my deposit for that day. He won't be ashamed in that day either, brother. But Scripture speaks about the judgment seat of Christ and it speaks about in First Corinthians 3 about suffering loss.
I'm afraid that's going to be.
The experience that I will have and I the Lord is the judge, brethren, but we need to reflect on these things now and live in view of that day of coming glory.
John as well. That exhorts us in connection with not being ashamed at his coming.
There is that sense and as you say, that sense of loss. But just to go on, because our time is, uh, flying by, I'd like to make some comments on the 13th verse. Just say before I do that, that there are three things in this chapter that all the failure in man cannot touch. One is life in Christ. It's introduced to us at the very beginning of the chapter and we've spoken of it at some length. The other is our holy calling. You have that in verse 9.
And the other is sound words. Nothing can touch that can touch those three things. No failure in man, no failure in the Church of God, but were exhorted in or Timothy is exhorted and it's for our.
01:00:08
Exhortation 2. To hold fast or to have a form of sound words or an outline of truth is the way Mr. Darby translates it, and this was very important for Timothy.
As Paul was about to pass off the scene, and especially in regard to the fact that these are the last days described, when the truth of God was already in Paul's day being given up. And brethren, if Paul saw the seeds of the last days in perilous times before he passed off the scene, how much more are these things a reality in the days in which you and I live just before?
The Lord Jesus is about to come and the day of grace, the Christian era is about to end, and it ought to really exercise us. But Timothy was told to hold fast the form of sound words. Very interesting that in both of these epistles we have a number of exhortations in connection with doctrine or teaching. In fact, in the previous epistle, the 1St Epistle, 9 times.
Paul speaks about doctrine. I believe there's four or five times in this epistle. You can count them some time.
But this was vital for Timothy to get a hold of. Now what earth is a form of sound words or an outline of truth? I suppose we can all spend our lives studying the word of God and reading scripture and still.
Have to admit that we only have an outline, but is it isn't? It's not hard to have just some outline, some idea of what the different writers bring before us. Paul's ministry, John's ministry.
The four Gospels and James and Jude and the different writers. What Peter's ministry brings before us, the Old Testament books and writers to see. Just to have a few short sentences perhaps, that sum up. What is this book saying? What is this writer's line of teaching? Just as an example, Paul brings before us the truth of the church and the hope of the Lord's coming.
The dignity of sonship, John brings before us the relationship of the family and the he, he develops the thought of life as we've had before before us in eternal life and so on. And just to have some outline, this is going to be a safeguard when that which is per when something is presented to us that is not the truth, we can say, oh, that doesn't fit because Paul's ministry is such and such. That doesn't fit in first John, because that can't be what it's saying because.
We have that outline now. I'll repeat an OFT repeated illustration. I've used it many times myself.
But I noticed as when I've been home the last couple of times, that there is a large jigsaw puzzle spread out on a table in our family room. And we often do that as the winter approaches and we spend some evenings together putting together a jigsaw puzzle and we we enjoy that kind of relaxation. But when we put together a jigsaw puzzle, there's something we always do first.
We always do the border. We get the outline of that puzzle. Why? Because it helps us to know how big the puzzle is, to visualize how big the puzzle is. But it also helps us.
To not put pieces in the wrong place in the interior of that puzzle.
If you work from the border in you're less apartment to put pieces in the wrong place or to force pieces where they don't belong, you do the outline. And that's true in many things that we do.
We we like in in school they might teach an outline first and then they fill in those details that are necessary. Well, Timothy was to have an outline of truth and if he was to have an outline of truth.
How much more you and I who are in a day when things have deteriorated to to such a .1 more little comment about this expression. Hold fast. I want to take that just the way it appears in our King James Bible because it does take energy of faith to hold fast to something. It takes spiritual energy if we are going to get an outline of truth and if we are going to.
01:05:07
Hold fast to that outline. Even when the truth of God is being subverted and given up, it's going It's not going to be easy to stand for the truth. Read some of the Old Testament examples.
About a man who defended a field of lentils and, and on and on and on it goes. Those who valued what they had from God. It took it took energy in one way or another to defend it and hold onto it. And it is no different than the deposit of truth that you and I have been given. We must hold fast to it if we're going to enjoy it and walk in the good of it.
Uh, turn over to Titus Chapter 2 a moment.
And look at verse seven of Titus chapter 2 together.
In all things, showing thyself a pattern.
Of good works and doctrine.
Sound.
Healthy doctrine, the word pattern, by the way, and the word type 2, IPE and the word form, I believe can all have, uh, a same type of meaning. And our sisters can understand pattern real easily. You lay out a pattern to make a dress. It's like Jim talking about the puzzle. You lay out the pattern to make the dress. You can use various colors of material and make the same dress again off the same pattern and it can be handed down and handed down and it keeps using it. And that's what takes place here.
When the sisters helped, an older one helps the younger one, the older brother helps the younger one. It's a pattern, it's a type, it's a form of sound doctrine there. And so you won't can have a good healthy doctor and helps in having a good healthy assembly. By the way, it's a beautiful chapter to look at. But a pattern or a type, I can look at what my mother was like and my father was like my elders or my anything. And there's a pattern, there's a type, isn't there?
And each book has a form or an outline. And it does help and I encourage younger brethren to seek to get an outline. I remember an older brother giving younger brothers each time they got together. It was just kind of a cottage meeting at a home. And but they took up one book every time they came together just to give the outline of that book.
Romans is a book that speaks about the gospel and the 1St 8 chapters deal with the question of sin.
From chapter one to chapter 5, verse 11, it talks, it deals with the question of sins, those unrighteous acts we've done from verse 12 of chapter 5 through chapter 8, it's sin that evil root in us that produces those sins. And if you have that outline, it really helps to understand the whole book. And so it is with the Word of God. And to understand it is very important, very helpful.
Another illustration that is used is plans to build a home.
Here you have a empty lot. You want to build a home. What do you do first? Did you get some plans made-up on paper? There it is laid out. Now you go according to those plans. Where do the doors go? Where do the windows go? It's all in there. And so it is in the Word of God. We have the instructions. First Corinthians deals with order in the assembly, and it's a universal epistle written not only to those Saints in Corinth, but to.
All those in every place call upon the name of our Jesus Christ, our Lord.
So it really helps to get an outline of doctrine of sound doctrine.
The outline itself, but it's important to recognize too when.
And you're gonna follow something, be sure where it came from.
When God speaks, he speaks. He speaks from what he knows. When the Lord Jesus came into this world, he spoke what he knew.
We live in a world.
So much of what man follows is nothing greater than the imagination of man.
It's not truth. It's just man's present imagination operating on present problems. And very, very often it's disconnected and it's, I'm not talking about building a boat or something like that. That's not in the moral realm, but when God speaks to us in the moral realm of things.
01:10:16
Be sure we have a sense of who it's coming from.
And so much of what we think we often have absorbed within our thinking patterns without much sense of where it came from.
We're constantly exposed to man's thoughts apart from a life that's consistent with God, and very very often, quite uncritically. We absorb wrong thoughts and don't even realize that we're thinking with wrong patterns of thinking.
So it's very important for us to recognize we hold in our hands the perfect outline of sound words, not to take away from the individual thoughts that have already been expressed, which I think are the is the point here. But just to remember when we want to learn, we need to go to the right source. We need to go to the word of God and to back up one moment further.
The Apostle Paul.
Said I know whom I have believed and a lot was said about how he suffered for it. But back that thought up a little bit. I know whom I have believed. Who is he referring to?
He's referring to the man that lived here on Earth.
That it could be said of him at the end of his life and Daniel, he shall be cut off and have nothing. Nothing. If you evaluated the life of the Lord Jesus Christ at the time of his death, you would say that life ended in nothing.
In fact, the world said.
Get rid of it. We don't want that life here on earth. Crucify them. Get rid of them, and that's the value that was placed on that life.
It was worth nothing to man, It was a life to be rid the earth of, and consequently from a natural perspective you could look at the life and say it was cut off and have nothing.
That's the man that Paul followed. That's the man that he could say I know whom I have believed. He followed that life and that man. And consequently, because he did, he could say in the end of Galatians 6, God forbid that I should glory saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's where he was gotten rid of. That's where that man ended his life. That's where the world put its stamp of value on him.
God forbid I should glory. Is he gonna identify with the shame of it? Absolutely he is, because he identifies with that man. And he says by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. And so if he ended his life in shame.
And rejection. I'm as I'm following him, he's my Lord. Why would I expect anything better? And yet did did it make him ashamed? No, not really. He said I glory. He had properly evaluated it in such a way he could say I'm going to glory in that cross and I'm going to identify with the man that's on it. And if the world says I don't want you, then I'm willing to take the same side of the cross he's on and say I don't want the world either.
Can do the same thing to me it did to him.
I want to stay with him on his side of the cross.
Turned away from Paul.
Expand on that a little then.
I think you have it. Go ahead.
Well, we know that much of Paul's ministry had been in Asia, although I thank the Lord that not all of it was there. And I suppose that, as we had mentioned earlier, the highest truth that God ever gave to man concerning the believer's blessings is in the Epistle to the Ephesians. And he stayed there, as far as we know, longer than any other single place.
There was tremendous blessing in Asia and they had a real opportunity to learn of that heavenly calling and all that was entailed in enjoying that heavenly calling. But the time came and we face it today.
01:15:16
When there were those that said Paul.
And I'm going to paraphrase a bit. That brand of Christianity doesn't appeal to us.
And we know that the ultimate attempt was to bring Christianity down to the level of a worldly religion.
To take away from that heavenly calling. To take away from what that life really teaches us.
And from following that rejected man in all that he went through, all the way to the glory.
Reminds me of what? And some will recognize the source of this quotation, but a brother who was at a reading meeting back in the 1800s and somebody said to him, why do more believers not want to hear and enjoy the truth of God or words to that effect?
And his answer was very terse and very to the point. He said, well, they will usually listen to you until you want to take them up to heaven.
Does that say it all? I believe it does. And again, we don't point the finger because the tendency is in our own hearts, isn't it? And that's why Paul puts this here. And that's why we have it preserved to us as a gentle warning.
All in Asia be turned away from me.
In uh, Second Timothy chapter 4 and verse 16.
Just a couple of chapters back there.
At my first.
Answer. That was his defense.
No man stood with me.
Turn 2. Psalm 69.
And look at verse 20 of Psalm 69.
Reproaches broken my heart.
And I am full of heaviness.
And I looked for some to take pity.
But there was none.
And for comforters.
He looked for one to take pity.
He looked for one to give him some comfort and he found none.
And what did he do when he left? He sent us a comforter.
That's our Lord, and our Savior has provided for us.
But there is encouragement, isn't it there before the chapter ends? Because if the chapter ended with all they in Asia have turned away, would that be a very sad end to the chapter? But isn't it beautiful that Paul goes on then to denote an individual who hadn't just turned away, but had so was had searched him out diligently? We often say that the last days are characterized by individual faithfulness.
And I think perhaps we have a little picture of it here, a little beautiful little illustration of it here, all in Asia turned away. That's in contrast to the first epistle where some would would turn away in the last days and some had erred and so on. But here it was all but not quite there was there was a nest of force. And it's very beautiful to my own soul that you have this man, just two brief mentions of him, one in this chapter and one at the end of the epistle, and it's in connection with his household.
That beautiful, you know, I have I, I know there's other thoughts on this, but let me just make a little application and give a thought that I've enjoyed in my own soul in the regard to the fact that he's mentioned within connection with his household. I have wondered, brethren, if this whole household, not just the man of the house, the head of the home, but this whole household was a household.
Where they were seeking to go on for the truth of God, where they where they valued the apostle Paul and his ministry. We know it was a household where he was OFT refreshed. Wasn't a lot of places where Paul was refreshed?
01:20:08
Especially near the end of his ministry and his life and so on. But here was a household where Paul found refreshment, those that loved and appreciated him. And I'd just like to say that I believe it's a little hint or a little encouragement that in the last days it is possible to go on in the enjoyment of the truth of God, not just as individuals, but as households. So little aside too, but it's interesting in the list that's given.
At the end of the epistle of the very few that were seeking to go on and that Paul could commend.
He doesn't again, just commend individuals, but he commends a couple, a couple that we've had several that you have several times mentioned prior to this and in the book of the Acts and so on. But that couple is Priscilla and Aquila. There was a couple going on. Here was the household of Vanessa Forrest. There were individuals who were going on and I believe what it shows, brethren, that in every sphere of our lives, whether it's individually.
Whether it's as a couple, whether it's as households, there is the provision even in the last days to go on in the enjoyment of the truth of God and to live for God's glory. And as a testimony in these very, very dark days when morally and spiritually the cloud is deepening over the Western world and what we call Christendom. But there were these bright lights that encouraged the apostle Paul. So on one hand, yes.
He felt it, and he felt it very keenly for those who had turned away from him.
Who were not willing to associate with Paul the prisoner, who, as Bill said, no longer seemed to appreciate that line of things that he had presented, that heavenly line of things. But on the other hand, his heart was encouraged too.
With those that were going on and brethren, as we leave these meetings and leave this chapter.
Let's look at the positive. Let's not, let's be aware of the negative. Let's be exercised by those things that are wanting, but let's be encouraged too. There are those that want to go on. There are those who have a desire. There's young people here who have a tremendous desire to please and serve the Lord. There's those who desire to go on at the Lord's table.
To enjoy the truth of God, to go out with the gospel. If we look simply at the negative, we're going to get discouraged. There's plenty within and around us to discourage on every hand.
But I believe we need to focus on that which God is doing. I've been to places in the last few months. I never thought I'd see the work of God the way I've seen it. It's not great things, brother, but a person baptized here.
And at real cost. More cost than I've ever had to pay someone gathered to the Lord's name here.
Someone saved here, someone restored to the Lord their little things. But brethren, it's encouraging. The Lord is still working by His Spirit. The resources we have, as we said at the beginning of the meeting, are still the same.
The resources that we had in the first epistle were the are the same in the second epistle. And if we focus avail ourselves on of those things, focus on those things, I believe, brethren, the Lord can keep us in ourselves, no.
He was, Timothy was told, to keep it by himself. No, in his own strength, no, by the Holy Ghost. The power still there, brother. The resources are still there. The encouragement is still there if we're willing to look for it. And let's press on and be used as instruments like Timothy was for the blessing of others and for our own encouragement and blessing as well.
#285.
Verse 3.
To us they cross with all its shame, with all its grace be given.
The earth disowns thy lowly name. God honors it in heaven.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Bob Thonney
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I am not ashamed.
Of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.
Let's see #37.
The gospel of thy grace.
My stubborn heart has won, for God so loved the world He gave His only, only Son, that whosoever will believe shall everlasting life receive.
The Gospel.
Of.
Our lives is very long. I can come.
Round.
Oh man.
Nsnoise.
Second call.
Read quite a few scriptures tonight because.
My experience in gospel work is that God uses His Word. You know, sometimes we put a lot of emphasis on explaining it, but sometimes I wonder if we put too much emphasis on that and not on the simple, clear reading of the Scriptures. One young brother in South America that is quite gifted in giving out the gospel.
00:05:04
Stood up one evening to give the gospel and quoted and read scripture after scripture after Scripture. When he sat down. I don't think any of his own explanation entered into it, but it was the Word of God and as we had in the verse I quoted at the beginning, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God. My brother today said that word power is the same word that we get our word dynamite.
From it is the power of God to salvation. I never cease to marvel.
And how God reaches down to grasp one person and another.
And another and all in different ways, but it has this in common that it is to him that believeth and so I would just like to ask each one here tonight. I don't know where you stand with God, but it has been something that has kind of shaken me that.
Some, I guess. I know as many as four young people that used to sit in meetings like this who broke bread, who today say they are atheists.
That really makes me stop and wonder. I cannot look into your heart to see how you stand with God.
But it's so easy to make an outward profession of faith in Christ without inward reality.
And that concerns me, and that's why I would like you to listen to what God has to say to you.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
And it is the Scripture again and again in the Bible, says, If any man hath an ear, let him hear.
Oh, how it is important. It is if you do it. Don't want to listen to what I say tonight. I can understand, I can maybe sympathize with you, but I ask you for the good of your own soul to listen to what God has to say. That's important.
You know, I just like to tell you a few stories of those that God has reached into their lives.
And save them.
When we lived in Bolivia, in the city of Montero to the north of Santa Cruz, I used to take my Jeep into a mechanic shop to get it tuned up when I was about to go on a trip.
And then and who was the mechanic there? His name was Alfonso Mendez. I think I've told a number of you about him and asked for prayers for him.
But Alfonso Mendez was a man who.
Had lived with a woman and then he found another woman and because he was unfaithful to the first woman, the Catholic Church excommunicated him. I don't know if they do that anymore for that kind of sin. It is sin in the sight of God. Unfaithfulness is sin.
But he said, well, the priests do worse than I do, and so I'm not going to let it worry me. And so he lived basically a godless life.
One day when I was into the shop, I said to him, after I had paid the bill, I said, I've straightened my accounts with you, Alfonso, but how about the accounts with God?
Oh, Senor Tony.
I'm a good guy and you're a good guy. I don't think we have anything that bad. I said, well, you can talk to yourself, but you can't talk for me. I may not be that good of a guy. Well, I'm not really that good of a guy either. He's.
And so one day I left him a little New Testament and another day I was in, he said, you know that book you left me, I can't understand anything. Why don't you come over to my house and explain it to me? So we set up a time and we went over and we started with John's gospel chapter one. Never forget. We got down to verse four says in the beginning.
Was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God in the beginning. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made that was made. And this verse seemed to penetrate. And Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And I looked at him, and I said, Alfonso, what is light?
00:10:09
And he looked at me for a long time. He didn't say one word, but it was just as if the light penetrated the darkness and that man's soul. Next time I was into the shop, he said, you know what, that book you gave me, I can understand it now. It makes sense. What was the what made the difference? It was the penetrating of the word of God. It wasn't so much what I said.
But Alfonso Mendez, Lemoyne Smith and I had the privilege of going to see him this last time we were in Santa Cruz. Cancer was eating off his nose.
It wasn't a very pretty sight, and since we've come back, we heard that Alfonso went into the glory.
He believed the message. He didn't have much to his account. You know, there are more and more people that say.
When you ask them how they stand with God, they say, oh, I think I'm as good as anybody. I've done a lot of good things and they have the idea that the good things that they've done.
We'll cancel out the bad things they've done.
I want you to stop if that's your thinking, because that is erroneous thinking. Supposing I was known here in Saint Louis as being a very good person, doing a lot of good things for people. But one day in the street I have.
A problem with somebody and then a fit of anger. I give him a.
Hit in the face so hard that he dies.
Oh, oh, here comes the police.
Officer, please, I want you to understand one thing. I've done a lot of good here for Saint Louis, and I promise to continue to do it. I'm sorry about this, but I've done a lot of good. You think he's going to let me go? You know he's not going to let me go.
In human justice, good things done do not cancel out bad things done. It doesn't work that way. And God's justice is not less than human justice.
That is erroneous thinking. Every single sin.
That has been committed by man, woman or child must receive from the hand of a righteous God. It's just punishment. And if God lets even a little single white lice escape to be swept under the rug, it calls in question His holy character absolutely impossible. It cannot happen.
So let's go back to Romans chapter one I want to read.
For I am not ashamed verse 16 of chapter one. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God, and to salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew 1St and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith for the wrath of God.
Is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Did you notice that they hold the truth? Or you say I know the truth. Oh, you do. Hey, here's men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Are they gonna escape? Absolutely not.
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath should it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world.
Are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made.
Even his eternal power in Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
You know one of the.
Questions I often get.
As I give the gospel is what about?
The heathen that don't have never heard about the Lord Jesus Christ. I said, well, I don't think you're a heathen, are you? You have heard about the Lord Jesus Christ, but God is a righteous God. And even to those heathen in the jungles of South America, I've heard of tribes that have never been civilized. They're going on killing each other and there's efforts to reach them.
00:15:17
The loggers were usually the first ones into the jungle when we lived in the.
Montero and they always carried a rifle and if they saw a savage.
They would use their rifles on them. There are missionaries that make it a particular effort to go in after those men.
I met one in a doctor's office, one of those missionaries. One time he told me he and his friend were trapped. After going after some of those tribes, they had made friendly contact with them.
And they were going through the jungle. And I mean, it is not pleasant circumstances. Swamps, hordes of mosquitoes have been in that area at least once. And if you stop your March through the jungle, those mosquitoes just descend from all directions to partake of your blood. That's still kind of circumstances. They were going through wild animals, snakes and but they were maintaining their March.
Through the jungle after these. And he said after a little while, one of the savages stopped and looked at him and took out an arrow out of his sheet, put it to his bow and shot him, went in this side of his stomach and came out that side. And he was lying on the ground for 26 hours before they could evacuate him.
Those poor people, I said to him, I said, why do you think they shot you? He says. I think they did it out of compassion. He probably looked at him and said this guy is so miserable.
We'll just help him.
Put him out of his misery. That's the way those people think and that's why their numbers are diminishing. That's why there are people, thank God, that go after them to see if they can communicate the gospel. But those people, even though they have heard nothing of Jesus and salvation through faith in Jesus.
Are they without excuse? No.
They have a testimony given to them. What is that testimony? The testimony of creation. That's why even those savages have a moral code of ethics. They know it's wrong to take somebody else's wife. They know it's wrong to steal.
And so their conscience according to the measure of light that they do get.
Shines into their conscience and they realize that they are guilty before God.
So how do they accept that testimony? That's all the testimony they have. Thank God. God is sending people to reach those.
People.
But you have the scriptures in your hand. You have listened to the gospel time and time again and yet you have not made it real in your heart. I hope you stopped tonight and really think this thing through. You know you can fool me. A lot of people have fooled me.
And you can fool me. You can say I believe.
I remember one I baptized in Bolivia, but he never ever gave any evidence of real salvation. You know what we're not saved by works. But the faith that saves is a faith that works. And when a person truly gets saved, you notice it. And if there's been no change in your attitude, if you still.
Sin.
Without any compunction before God, I question if you really have come to grips with sin. You know God hates sin because sin wrecks his creation. When the Lord Jesus was here in this world, everywhere he looked he saw sin and disease and death, and he groaned and he wept.
This was his creation and it had gotten to this state. Just think of it, when God created Adam and Eve, Adam lived up to 930 years old. You ever seen anybody?
Over 150 years old, today's world, I don't think anybody exists. Whatever happened to the human race that we don't last very long anymore.
00:20:09
Sin degrades.
It is something that is degenerative to the human race.
So if you treat sin lightly, you need to repent. We're going to get to that word in these this reading here, but here it says the invisible things, the creation that God has made is a testimony to his eternal power and Godhead.
I love studying the creation and in the High Plains of Bolivia I love to go out on the starlit night when there's no moon and away from the cities, because you can actually see other galaxies with the naked eye scattered around. Of course, you're up at 12,000 feet altitude so that you don't have a lot of the dust of the atmosphere to interfere with your sight, but it is majestic to see.
The extension. And what do we see with the naked eye? Very little.
I understand that now with the telescopes they can see about 13 billion light years distance.
What is beyond that, they have no clue. They don't know what to say.
But who created all that?
Why is there such tremendous order in the creation? Somebody has their fingers in this matter.
So if somebody sincerely accepts the testimony of God in creation, those savages in the jungle, God will send them more light, and that's what happens.
Verse 21 because that when they knew God.
They glorified Him not as God. You take time to glorify God.
We get so busy.
Even sometimes we Christians that we don't take time to sing God's praises. Oh, yeah, we sing when we come to meeting, but do we sing when you're at home? Do you think a practice of singing, you know what it does, it puts the focus on how glorious and great our God is. So they didn't glorify him as God, neither were thankful. You make a practice of thanking God for the positive things in life.
We really have lots to thank God for. We need to stop and do that. Sometimes people have complaints, and I sometimes suggest that they take a notebook and put all your complaints on one side. Then on the other side, put all the things you have to be thankful to God for. I think you're going to find that you're going to fill up the right side where you have the things to thank God for. That's going to fill up a lot more than the things you have to complain about. Just that people get so concentrated on their little view of life and their complaints.
That they forget to thank God. I want to suggest a change to turn it around to thank God. Here is our generation, young people that we're living in neither. We're thankful but became vain in their imaginations.
Isn't it incredible the way people go after imaginations?
I see the polls that they take, the polls that really actually just ask what people are thinking. It's not based on fact. It's just what people are thinking. Since it's a democracy, people wanna know what the Americans are thinking.
That's vanity of imagination. It's basing our lives not on truth, but on imagination.
Their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. That incredible. I don't know if there's a time when there's been so much an emphasis on education, but a truly wise man realizes how little he really understands.
Somebody is sad. It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.
00:25:00
And that's the truth of the matter. People that think they are so wise.
Are often fools because they don't take God into account.
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God.
Into an image they'd like to corruptible man and to burst birds and four footed beasts and creeping things. So they go and make their images. Man comes first because he's the most exalted of the creation. But then there's birds and they're up in the air, but it keeps coming down 4 feet 4 footed beasts and ends up in creeping things.
They worshipped those things.
Been sad to me living in Bolivia and since we left Bolivia, our residents there and came back to the states, we continue to make visits to Bolivia. The present government of Bolivia has abandoned.
Has apostasized from the Roman Catholic faith. Oh who is Those governments were Roman Catholic and have gone back to the worship of creation.
They actually sacrifice llamas and other animals in the present presidential palace to Mother Earth, father, son. It SAT. It is truly sad, but that is what's happening more and more in this country because what figures for people is not the God that has been revealed to us in Christianity. People want to play God.
They say I have my rights and I say sometimes to them when they say I have my rights, yes, I guess as an American you have your rights. But when we're talking about God, it's not about your rights or my rights. We're going to a completely different level. God has something to say to you and that ultimately you are accountable to Him.
Wherefore God And I want you to notice in these following verses three times it says God gave them up.
Really makes me sad to see this happening in American culture today. This country that has been so prospered materially speaking. God here is the first time verse 24. God also gave them up if they're going to turn from God.
Then God gives them up through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves.
Notice the first time he gives them up is the degradation of the body. That's where it starts.
It's sad to see how people treat their bodies.
Making markings, making cuttings, as if their body belonged to them and they had no other one to give an account to. Do you know what? You're going to give an account. God gave you that body. And the human body is a marvelous thing, incredible thing.
But God gave them up to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Now notice verse 25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie? First they hold the truth and unrighteousness. Now there's a change. They change the truth of God into a lie.
You know what I noticed? It's a lot easier in American culture to believe a lie than it is to believe the truth.
It's a lot easier.
And worship and serve the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
They've replaced God.
With the creature, it's what I want, what I like.
Somewhere out there, I don't know where he might be.
That's the way they treat God.
For this 'cause God gave them up unto vile.
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Affections for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.
Women prostituting themselves incredible. They don't realize the value that God puts on a woman, but doesn't stop there. Verse 27 and likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lusts one toward another. Men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error.
Which was meat, homosexuality. Here we have it. It's not a new thing. It's something that is old as the book.
God showed and he made Sodom and Gomorrah an example of those that should live ungodly. What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? I understand they can't even find vestiges of those civilizations or those cities. There are four cities that were destroyed. Sodom and Gomorrah admin Zeboyum and they think it's out in the plains to the towards the salt sea, but it is an area that is.
Totally desolate to this day, God showed what he thought about it.
Fire and brimstone were rained down. I don't know if you know what brimstone is. It's sulfur.
Can you imagine in Bolivia on the border with Chile on the High Plains, there are sulfur veins on the surface. They can go in with big front end loaders and scoop up the sulfur and put it into dump trucks to take away and use for industrial purposes.
But they say that when they are scooping up that sulphur, there's as much as a little spark it sends, it starts it burning. Very flammable sulfur is.
Imagine big hunks of sulfur coming down, burning hunks of sulfur, hitting people, burning them till there is nothing left of Sodom and Gomorrah, United States of America, this country that has been so prospered, going right square back toward that direction.
Without any evidence of repentance.
They want to defend that way of life, that alternate lifestyle, they say.
Oh, I trust that there's nobody here that participates in any such activity. But you need to see it as God sees it.
Verse 28 and even as they did not like to retain God in their.
Knowledge God gave them over to a reprobate mind in verse 24. He gives them up to uncleanness in their bodies to dishonor their own bodies.
And in verse 26, he gives them up into vile affections. That's the soul. And now he gives them up into a reprobate mind. That's the spirit of man and is a tripart, Dean. And they've been given up.
I don't know, brethren, it seems to me that we are getting the three things in our culture today give them up to a reprobate mind, a mind void of understanding. And some of the things they're doing doesn't even make sense.
Terrible. This is the Word of God. This is the pure word of the living God. Listen to it being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers back fighters, haters of God, despiteful, proud boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents without understanding.
Covenant Breakers without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death.
Not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them.
You know that last statement of verse 32?
Is what people do when they watch movies on TV or otherwise that are violence and corruption.
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Having pleasure in them that do them.
You participate in that.
I'm afraid there's quite a few that watch those kind of movies.
Do you realize where you stand with God?
Do you realize that even the things that are entertained in your mind, you will give an account of in a future day? I know I've been pretty negative and what I've said up to this point, but I think it's tremendously important that you realize that God takes sin seriously. Judgment is coming on this nation. God is speaking to it in so many ways. The floods, the drought.
The Hurricanes, the Tornadoes that God is allowing to knock out people and their houses through this country and people don't get the message. They don't get it, don't seem to even mention God, the authorities. It makes me grieve to see it. God is giving warnings. A lot worse is up ahead. God is not going to allow things to go on forever.
You know, people say if God is a God of love, why would he judge people?
Because God is a God of love, He will not let evil continue its unchecked course. He is going to step in. He's going to say that's it, that's enough, and he's going to start judging this world.
The worst judgment this world has ever seen.
Is just ahead. It's called the Great Tribulation.
God is going to take serious the sin of this world.
But I want to go now over to the third chapter because the apostle Paul in his discourse of the gospel, comes to the part where we have what is good news, and that's what the gospel means. But again I say.
It's amazing to me how God has to allow people to be crushed.
To be brought down to the bottom before they are willing to turn around and appreciate the gospel.
There's a man in southern Mexico. Maybe I've told this story too.
Name was Synovio Ruiz. He was abandoned. That was his, uh, occupation.
Burned houses, he robbed and he killed people.
He had killed 21 People.
It was so bad that the Mexican army had orders to get him dead or alive.
He knew that they were looking for him.
A little town on the sides of the mountain down there in Oaxaca, Mexico, called Okatlan. There's a meeting room.
And they make their meeting rooms, buy some sticks putting for the sides. Since it's warm down there, the air circulates right through. And so somebody's standing on the outside can easily see. And, And Synovial came under conviction. And he used to stand outside and listen to the message when everything was dark. And he realized if he went into that, they could maybe trap him in there and rest him.
So he always on the outside, and he heard the gospel.
It penetrated.
He realized he was in trouble.
And he heard the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sins.
And he couldn't believe it. Is that possible?
All the bad stuff I've done in my life.
And when he had a chance, he spoke to one of the brothers in that town, says, is that really in the Bible? And he showed it to him, yes, Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. Synovial accepted the Lord as his Savior.
You know what he did next? He turned himself in to the Mexican army authorities and they took him into custody. I think he was in custody about two weeks. I have no clue how they came to this conclusion that after he killed that many people, they let him loose.
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They saw such a change in that man because he had simply believed God's testimony.
There's such a change in him. They let him loose. I had the privilege of getting to know Synovio Ruiz. You had never, ever guessed that he was that kind of a man, such a meek and mild person that I got to know.
Synovial Lewis as well has departed from this life, and to me it is the most wonderful testimony to the power of God and to salvation.
A man that is a murderer in the presence of God, how in the world is God let a man like that into his presence?
We want to get around to that because God is a just God and cannot let those murders go unpunished. Chapter 3.
Verse 10 and then read some more as it is written, there is none righteous. Listen to this young people you're that have been brought up in Christian homes, you that have lived a pretty straight life. Listen to this There is none righteous. No, not one. There is none that understand that there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one. Have you accepted God's testimony? You know, when I used to read this young person, I was brought up in a Christian home and I was taught all that I should understand about Christianity. Oh, man, that's kind of hard. Say everybody's gone out of the way. There's none that do it. Good. Come on.
According to my estimation, that wasn't the truth, but I had to come to repent to change my thoughts about what God had said. God is true even though.
It may make every man a liar. God is true.
And so I repented. I accepted God's testimony.
Mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways, in the way of peace. Have they not known there is No Fear of God before their eyes?
Now we know that what's a thing so ever the law say it. It said to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped in all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in His sight.
For by the laws the knowledge of sin.
The law is good and right, but the law's purpose is to show.
That we are sinners. Verse 21. But now notice this, Here's a change. The righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
God looks at the human race. He says there is no difference.
Doesn't matter who you are, how good a life you may have lived, there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Like the way the Spanish translation reads, it says all are destitute of the glory of God. God made man in his own image and likeness.
A man fell into sin and has corrupted himself. Maybe you like certain sins, maybe I like others kind of sins. But one is thing is common, naturally speaking, and I'm talking right now, is that we are all sinners. We are all sinners and destitute of the glory of God.
Now look at verse 24. Here we come to the good news, and this is what we want to get to.
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
You mean God can justify a person that believes? How is this? Isn't God just sometimes say to the prisoners when we preach in the prisons? How would you like a judge?
00:45:16
That every time a criminal is brought before him, a judge says well.
We're gonna just forget you. It doesn't matter what the crime is. We're gonna forgive you here. I'm going to forgive you. You can go out free. It doesn't matter what the crime is. How would you like that? Kind of a judge, of course, in the prison sometimes.
At first say, well yeah, that'd be nice, but.
I remember one guy says, no, I wouldn't like that kind of a judge. Maybe he killed my wife. I wouldn't like that kind of a judge. And I say that's why that kind of a judge might be merciful, but he is not just and God is just. How can a just God justify the person that believes in Jesus? How can that be? Here's the answer through.
The redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And let me tell you.
The story of that redemption, to me, it is the most wonderful story it has ever been told. God sent his son. You know, I have two sons. I would find it difficult to give one of my sons to be killed for an enemy. God had only one son, but knowing full well, knowing how he's going to be treated, he sent him into this world.
The Lord Jesus was born of a virgin. That's important because he had no sin. When the Angel announced to Mary that she was going to be the mother of the Son of God, he said That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. We're not born holy. We're born sinners, all of us.
But the Lord Jesus was holy. He never had any sin in his whole life. He always did the will of his Father. But at the end of his life of about 333 1/2 years, he was taken before.
Pilate, the Roman governor and falsely accused and pilots seen that people were bent on having him crucified, finally gave in and let him be crucified.
You know, Pilate had just said what is truth?
And there was the truth standing right before him. Pilate condemned the truth, and in condemning the truth, he condemned himself and his whole world system. This world is under condemnation since that time. And they took Jesus and they led him away.
They crowned them with thorns, they spit in his face, they whipped him, they scourged him, They led him outside the city of Jerusalem, they nailed him to a cross, and there he hung between heaven and earth.
He said my father could send me 12 legions of angels, but how then would the will, will, will of my father be done? You know what God loved his Son. But you know what, God loved you as well, and so he was willing to give his Son to that death. Not only did Jesus suffer those terrible.
Physical sufferings and the sufferings of his soul. The broken heart we read about today.
Because they said he's the Son of God. Let God deliver him if he will have him.
Did God deliver him?
I broke his heart.
But then.
God covered the whole scene with darkness and in three hours where no human eye could see.
Something happened that has told us about in Isaiah's prophecy. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
Chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with His stripes we are healed. In those three awful hours of darkness, God laid on him the iniquity of us all.
I think of the filthy things I've done. Oh, God took those and laid them on Jesus, and then took the rod of his judgment and had broken all its fury on his blessed head for three hours.
00:50:14
No complaint from that center cross as Jesus suffers what would have wrecked us in hell forever. And at the end of those three hours, he says it's finished. It's finished.
And he balanced his head and gives up his life, and a soldier comes and takes his spear and Rams it into his side, and outflows blood and water.
The price of your redemption. The price of my redemption.
What's paid? What's the blood of the Son of God? How can we ever forget such a thing? That's the redemption it's talking about because Jesus paid the price in full. Now God offers to him who truly believes, who repents and believes forgiveness of sins, and not only forgiveness of sins, but justification. You can be.
Right with God on God's own standards.
God has a legal way to forgive you your sins.
God is just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. Notice verse 25.
Whom God, the Lord Jesus Christ, has set forth to be a propitiation.
Through faith in His blood, the Old Testament on the great Day of Atonement.
A goat was killed in the blood of that goat was carried into the very presence of God in the holiest of all, and that blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. That word propitiation could read the mercy seat.
The blood has been sprinkled. Now God holy character has been vindicated, so much so that he can come out without compromising his holy character and forgive the guilty repentance Sinner. Oh, the wonder of that story, the wonder of his story. The Lord Jesus died, He was buried, He rose again the third day. The Lord Jesus is a living.
Savior at God's right hand able to forgive, able to justify the believer in Jesus. So in verse 25 it says to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. In other words, in the Old Testament times there were people who believed if God is a righteous God.
How could he forgive them? David sinned grievously, the prophet said. God has remitted her, forgiven your sins.
How could he do that? Because of the propitiation through faith in his blood that the Lord Jesus was going to do in the future. But now we come to what is true today in verse 26 to declare, I said this time time we're living in his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Isn't that wonderful?
Is just. God cannot be anything less than completely just. He is just at the same time the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. Wonderful, wonderful story.
That a Sinner, a repentance Sinner. And that's where we all have to come to you. Are you repentant?
Or do you think you are still good enough as you are?
Oh, I ask you if you're thinking that kind of thoughts, to repent tonight and to come in simple faith to the Lord Jesus. He is the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. You know, it's wonderful to be forgiven.
But it's another thing completely.
Beyond our concept is to be justified. You know, you and I can forgive each other for something we might do one to another, but we can never justify what a person has done. But God has been so fully vindicated in the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross that he not only forgives sin, but he justifies the believer in Jesus. Wonderful, wonderful. The record has been completely blotted out.
00:55:20
No sin will he ever remember again. He remembered them all at Calvary and he laid them on Jesus in those awful hours of darkness. And now he has said, I will never, ever remember them again.
Now go over to the 10th chapter.
And read a few verses here.
Verse.
4.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness.
To everyone that believeth, notice that for Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, that the man which doeth those things shall live by them, but the righteousness which is of faith.
Completely different righteousness speaketh on this wise thing. Say not in thine heart, that is, uh, who shall ascend up into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above? Or who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead? But what saith it? Is it something hard? The word is Nighy even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the Word of Faith which we preach.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved. There it is again. Believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved.
What does it mean to be believing in the heart?
I sometimes give this illustration to the men we preach to the gospel to, because they ask, what does it mean to be believe in the heart?
I say, supposing you tell me.
Bob, when you go out of this prison, don't go down that road you normally go on because there are bandits down there that are going to kill you, or at least they're going to try to kill you. Don't do that. I say thank you for the warning. I believe you. But I get it. Go out of the prison and I get in my car and I go right down that road. Do I really believe him?
What I do says I really don't believe in.
You've heard the message tonight. Are you gonna just keep going the right same way you've always gone? If that's the case, you really don't believe in your heart. You just say it with your lips.
What, God? I can't see your heart, so I can't see if you're deceiving me. You can't deceive God. You've got to deal with God and he can see it. So it's believing in the heart. God sees it and so.
If you will believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved, For with a heart man believeth unto righteousness.
With the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved beautiful.
Did you listen? Do you really believe it? I trust them. God is looking down and he looks into your heart and He knows if you really believe.
But I want you to truly believe God. God is to be trusted.
You and I Are Dirty. Jesus's Blood Cleans Us
Children—Stephen Rule
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.
You ready to sing?
Are you ready? Good.
Who? What number would you like?
#16 You can choose from anywhere. The ones on the back are the Sunday school songs, but they're all good songs. I might shorten some of them so other people get a chance to sing and somebody else better start these. I think I know the tunes, but it'll either be way too low or way too high, so somebody else will do a lot much better job starting #16.
And the proclamation of A.
Loving puppet. Also wonderful.
And surviving.
Wilma.
Good call number 11 and we'll sing the first and last stanzas of #11.
Air all in the storms of light, when the clouds are full, their wings are stride when the strong light flip and the cable string regurator boyfriend remains.
We have a curve that we cannot take off.
Some of you noticed that some things change with time, don't they? Including song sheets. We'll talk about something later on that never changes. Who else has one you'd like to sing? OK, we'll get to you. Just in a minute. Adrian, what's yours?
14 Oh good, I was going to give that out later. You saved me the trouble. And Adrian?
We'll do 14, the first and last verses, and yours is 3838. We'll do the first and last, first two and that we'll see. We'll start with 14, the first and last verse.
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When the bridegroom cometh, where your blood be white, your unwind in the Lord.
Raise your soul, be ready more than I can't bright and be washed in the blood of the land.
Are you lost in the blood on the line?
#38 the first and last verses.
One more and I'd like it to be from a girl because I don't know that they've chosen you. I'm sorry. Maybe we'll get one at the end.
That's no girl has one.
You're looking OK. We'll give you a second there.
Go ahead, you know #30 and we'll sing the first and last verse on that one too #30.
Will not take me.
To my favorite.
'Cause I want a sin of it, we think we will not take me.
In the blood and die for me.
00:10:18
Enterprise will take me.
See Butterfly Lantern.
To make my friend.
How long can save me?
OK.
Who of you has a verse that you'd like to say? I won't make anybody obligated. Sometimes it's kind of a little embarrassing in front of everybody else, but you'll have the chance. We'll just would you like to stay in the microphone? OK, If I can make it work here.
Umm.
Lord of Jesus Christ.
First, on one second the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanses us from all sin. First John 1/7 Thank you.
The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sins. First John 1/7.
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses his Son, cleanses us from all sin, first on one second.
The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. First John 1/7.
The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleans us from our sins. First. John 1/7.
Over here, OK.
The blood of Jesus Christ's Son cleanses from all sins. First John 1/7.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we will fellowship one with another. The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. First John 1/7.
The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. Verse John 1/7.
The blood of Jesus Christ, guards and his Son planted us from all sins, Blessed John 1/7.
The bloody Christ his unclean enough for all sin for 717 good. Thank you.
OK. And one person that said the whole verse, You know what I'd like to do this morning in the half hour that we have, I'd like to do something they suggested we do yesterday.
Yesterday in the afternoon, we were told we should have an outline of things. So I'd like to give you 4 important points, kind of like an outline of the whole chapter where that verse comes from. That sound like a little bit much, but we'll make them four simple things I think that are important, and I think they're important for all of us.
So we'll look at four things. If you want to turn in your Bible, we'll pretty much stay in first, John.
And the first chapter, that's where you quoted from.
And we'll start with the 1St 4 verses. But I won't read the mall here, we'll just read.
The first verse for starters, first John one, and the first verse, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life before we talk about what this first part means.
I want to help us understand from things we already understand, so I brought a picture.
And we have a bigger one at home, but I was afraid of getting it damaged, so I'll just let you see it real quick. See that picture?
Got it. See that picture? All right, And you can see it. The rest, everybody else just has to believe me. You got it there, right? We have a big one at home. We just got it about a week or two ago, and it's 2 feet tall and it's almost three feet wide of the same thing because it's something we want to be reminded of. And it has a nice verse. All things were made by Him. It says on this one, The one we got on our wall has a different verse about the Lord's love. But what did you see in that picture?
00:15:11
I showed it to you really quick, didn't I?
Oh boy, you saw a boy. What else did you see in the picture?
OK boy, picking up a rock or a shell, what does he have in his hand?
A stick? What else do you see in the picture? Do you see one something in the picture?
A beach? Yeah, there is a beach in there. And there's lots of other things. Tell me one more thing you see in the picture, Adrian.
You see sand. OK, you know, and I'll give you a chance. Great sand. Do you know what those are?
Those are footprints. Yeah, that's right. Those are footprints of a bird. You know, this is a picture from something our family really enjoys doing. And I wanted to teach you just so Well, you don't need to know about our family, but I want you to think about your family. There are things about your family that are true about your family that I don't know. There's lots about your family. You know, families have special things. We have some special words in our family.
That don't exist in the dictionary. They mean something in our family. But I I went through the list of these special words and I couldn't find one that wouldn't be embarrassing. So you don't get to hear them. But there is one special word that I I laughed harder than I've ever laughed in my life about this one special word. And it is a real word. How many of you in the room we were reading a book by John Bunyan as a family. And I burst out laughing and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed.
When I read this one word, how many of you know what the word guardilou means?
How many? Raise your hand in the room. This includes all of you adults. Do you know what the word gardilou means? OK, now I know somebody with a smartphone will probably look it up in the next 5 seconds. But that word has a special meaning in our family, at least to some of us. And you don't know what it is. So you you don't even know what the word is unless you're looking it up in the last few seconds. That has a special meaning. And you would have to be part of the family to know what that word means. Any of you and your family have a special?
Word or two. You don't have to say what it is, but raise your hand if you think in your family there's a word or two that gives you that nobody else outside your family would know.
OK, I would. Can I ask you what it is? Or is that, uh, I'm not telling what our words mean so you don't have to say.
OK, there you go. There's a word that was special, the Highland family. Do you have one? You want to say what it is? No. OK, that's fine. I understand that completely. All right. And we have a special names too. There are names. There's names in our family that in fact, I have a little notebook, it's smaller than this. And on one page of it I have over 35 names that we've called our son.
Over 35 Now, how many of you have a name that's not written down on your birth certificate that your parents use for you?
OK, how many in the room get called something by a family member? That's nice. That's not written on your birth certificate.
Just, well, no, not just about it. I'm surprised. Wow. There's lots of families just a little different than ours, I guess. You know, my birth certificate has a name on it and it tells who my parents. I made a photocopy. It tells who my parents are and how old they were when I was born. I didn't know that was on there.
And it even tells I didn't know this. I suspect my parents don't know or forgot. Do you know when I was born?
What time?
549 PMI didn't know that until I made a copy. You know there are things that are special to your family.
That just make it a little a little nicer to be part of that family. You know, this picture, there's animal tracks and there's just all kinds of memories that come back. And so we got a big one with a different verse to put it on the wall in our room to remind ourselves of it. And how many of you can hear in this picture? Can you hear the seagulls?
Paul says yes. Can I know the rest of you here? The seagulls?
I can hear the seagulls when I look at this picture. Can you feel what the temperature is like? You know, whether it's hot or cold when you look at the picture?
00:20:04
You could start to guess he's got a coat on. It was a little bit chilly and it's kind of a misty morning, but to know all about it, I'd have to sit down and tell you. And that's not worth our time, is it? But the start of this chapter, what does God want you to know about?
In fact, it says which we have heard. I can look at that picture and I can hear something he's saying which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes.
Which our hands have handled.
How many of you have shaken my hand?
OK, some of you. How many of you have never shaken my hand? I'm sorry. Ahead of time. No, I haven't been friendly. There's some of you. I've never. But this one person was writing about somebody that they had touched. In fact, how many of you have snuggled up next to me and put your head on my chest?
Oh yeah.
There are two legitimate hands that I can see, maybe four in the hand the person writing.
Doing this had put his head on the chest of the person he was writing about. Who was he writing about?
Who is he writing about? Jonathan.
So Lord Jesus, he was writing about the Lord Jesus and he said here's a person and I've touched him.
He's not just a spirit up in heaven that people talk about. I've touched him.
And I want you to know about him because his life is so special and you're going to share it too. And you need to know special things about this family. You know, you don't need to know about my family. You don't need to know what State Park that is and what state it's in and what kind of birds I was hearing and all. That's not important. But you do need to know about this family because I hope that all of you belong to that family. What family are we talking about?
For family.
In the verses in first John, I mean what family is that talking about in the first few verses?
A little bit extra help.
OK, talking about God's family and there's a special life that everybody in that family shares, and it was shown in the Lord Jesus. You know, if you want to know more about that life, what that family is all about, you have to open up this book because it says in verse four and these things right we unto you, that your joy may be full.
Can you see a photograph of the Lord Jesus? How many of you think that you could open up a Bible that was big enough and you'd find a photograph of him in there?
How many think I'm being silly when I say that? You think I'm being silly? Yeah, you can't. But you know what? I showed you a photo. But God gave us words, and in those words he tells us just a little bit of what we need to know. No, that your joy may be full. I've told you everything you need to know to enjoy the Lord Jesus. That's the first part of our chapter. Now the second part of our chapter.
What do I have in this box?
You don't know nothing. Good guess you know that's not right though. There's something in this box, you know, but it's in darkness.
There is maybe a little bit of light sneaking in the top.
How many of you think you could peek in and tell everybody else what's in the box?
All right, you want to peek in and tell everybody else what's in the box.
You can't see, there's an opening, but there's no light inside. It's dark in there. And you know what? This whole world was in darkness. They didn't really know what the Lord Jesus was like, but God sent His Son so that you could know him. And when God turned on the lights, read verse five, it says this sent is a message that we have heard of him. And declare unto you that God is light.
And in him is no darkness at all. How many of you are glad that God is light?
Good. If you know why you're raising your hand, that's a wonderful thing.
But I wanna show you what's in this box, and this belongs to me. This is some of my clothing.
00:25:01
And I'm going to show you a little bit of my clothing. First. I need to tell you that on Thursday I was walking along a.
Stream bed and kind of hopping back and forth. Part of the stream was frozen and part of it wasn't. So you had to walk real carefully as I went along the stream bed and I was wearing this clothing that day. What do you think I've got in the box?
Should we bring it out? And do you think you know, OK, what is it?
Maybe some wet clothes. Yeah, they might still be just a little bit wet. I'll show you what's in the box.
Now you ask yourself ahead of time, would your mom like these gloves? OK, ready. You ask, if you showed these to your mom, would she like them?
OK, here we go.
There we go. Can you see them? Do you think your mom would like those?
What do you suppose?
Is wrong with those.
They're dirty, they're wrinkled up, Yeah. And if you got a little closer, you'd find some more things wrong with them.
But thankfully it's been a little while. I want to show you something.
This sock is kind of like most of you. It's got a couple little.
Isn't that cleaner than this one?
Yeah, that's cleaner. And you know why? Because I think most of you, if not all of you have a mom or your dad, dad that comes along and they see something like that and they go, oh, I don't like that, and they get rid of it.
Or they help train it so that other people can't see it. And I see another one, a little one over here. And I see another little one over there. And I see another little one over there. And before too long, if Mom and Dad are real careful, it starts to look a little bit better. Anyway. Maybe they throw this one through the wash.
Now, does this sock look better than the other one? Yeah, it says it look good. Not really, but it looks better, doesn't it? And you know, if you're just comparing these two socks and you have to put one on.
How many want the one in my right hand? If you had to wear one, OK, how many would prefer the one on my left hand?
We brought these out into the light too, didn't we?
You only see outside, don't you?
You only see the outside of these socks, it's not really in the light yet.
Because you can only see the outside. What do you think I'm really getting at, Jonathan?
You can't see the inside of people, and I can't see the inside of people. I can only see what comes out. And if your mom and dad are real diligent, maybe not a whole lot will come out that shows from the inside. But I want to tell you a real, real short little story. This is about a Doctor Muir, who's his name, and he went to a family and she had a little boy, and maybe he hadn't met that little boy before. So she wanted to show off her little boy to this doctor.
I guess he'd been there a little bit. And she said, who do you think he's like? How many of you have seen a new baby and your mom or your dad or somebody else's? Oh, they have their dad's eyes and their mom's hair and oh, I think I see in their dimples their uncle.
How many of you have heard something like that? Yeah, it's it's pretty common. They probably said it about you too, when you were born. You know what this doctor said? Who do you think he's like? The doctor answered. I think he's like Adam.
I think he was talking about you. No, he was talking about that man who sinned in the garden, who's the father of all of us, and he has a life and a nature that's kind of rotten. You want to see what's inside the socks?
You sure? OK, I'll show you what's inside the socks. If I take this sock and I turn it inside out so that the light gets to the inside, I can't even get it apart because there's various bits and pieces of junk in there. You know what? It's kind of kind of a mess on the inside, isn't it?
Still look good now? No, because when the light shines on the inside, the God's light, it turns on a light and it shines inside and outside and it shows a big mess. And you know the other socks the same way. I think you already knew that. I don't need to open it out, so we'll save a little bit of time. The other socks just as bad, it's just as messy on the inside. And you know what? We all share that messy.
00:30:11
Nature on the inside now.
How many of you are glad that God is light?
Oh, good. I'm still getting just about as many hands. That's a good thing. You know why I'm glad that God is light? It's the next part. But to get to the next part, I want to illustrate something. We'll talk about the verse that you quoted, the next part, the third part. But before I do, I want to illustrate it this way. You all have to tell me what this stuff is good for, so you each get one. You can. It's not very much. You can keep it.
I think there's people in the room that could tell us, oops, sorry about that. Tell us.
MMM, when they were boys and girls.
What this stuff was good for?
I gave everybody a regular US quarter. What's this good for? What's it do?
OK, help me out. What's it good for? What can you do with that? You can spend it, you can buy things. These are good to buy things and what can you buy with 1/4?
Not much.
You're absolutely right, not much is the correct answer.
Can you buy something?
Yeah, not much snacks at your school. You can get some snacks at your school for 1/4. There's a few. Wow, your school must subsidized. I don't think Paul's school is like that.
How many of you in the room can remember when this would buy a whole gallon of gas? All right, there's. Well, look at all those hands. Wow. You know, when you go to a gas station, none of you have had to buy the gas, I'm sure. But when you go to the gas station, you know those big numbers.
Out in front. Have you ever had your mom heard your mom or dad comment on them? Yeah. Are they this small? No. This would be, this would say a zero and then a period and then A2 and A5 on the big sign, do you think?
You've ever seen a sign like that in front of a gas station not advertising a gallon of gas in your time, Not since any of you have been born. You know this bias thing. But what it buys changes. And one of you is right, It doesn't buy much. It's not worth much, but it buys things. That's what it's for. Yeah, that was that way back when you could get a gallon of gas for 1/4. And it's still true, still buys things. It just doesn't buy as much, does it?
Yeah, it could.
What do these things?
Do.
What do these things do?
What are they good for?
Umm 2.
Good. Yeah, power stuff. I have it here powering a flashlight.
How many of you have picked up a flashlight with some of these in it and used it? Maybe not this kind of OK, all of you, just about not most of you. Anyway I can get this back on. We'll see. Important part about this was the batteries in it. I want to see if it's still OK. There we go. You think there's still some light in here? I hope so. I think there is.
Yeah, it's a little bit of light. Is that a really bright light? No. Yeah, If we turned off the lights, that would be a big help. But it's not super bright. It used to be brighter, but these batteries have been in here a while. What happens to these batteries? They power things, but they die out.
And one more thing, this one, what are these good for writing? This got returned to me on somebody wanted to take notes near me on Friday during the meeting and they started to write and they got about two words in and they returned this and said don't you have another one?
What's wrong with it?
It's out of ink, you know, this writes and these batteries, they give energy to things and this money you buy stuff with, but it all loses its value and it gets used up or it's worth less. Now let's go back to that verse and it says the blood of Jesus Christ his or God's Son cleanseth us from all sin. What does the blood of Jesus Christ do?
00:35:08
What does the blood of Jesus Christ do?
Cleanses us from all sin.
Was it worth more when your dad was born than it's worth now?
How many agree with Anna?
Maybe you didn't hear, she said. No. It wasn't worth more when her dad was born than when she was born.
Has it lost maybe just a little bit of its power because it's already been used to cleanse?
Most people in this room, I hope all is it may be worth a little bit less now.
No, the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. It's worth just as much to God today. It was. It was the day when Jesus shed it on the cross. He cried. It is finished and he shed his blood and out came that blood and water. That blood is worth just as much to God today as it was then. How many of you have a toy that maybe you got for a birthday or is a gift?
That you really enjoyed it was special.
OK, good. Just about everybody. How many of you is it worth just as much today to you as it was then?
Oh wow, a couple.
I think if you went back through and you asked your dad or your mom or your older brother or older sister.
And said those Legos you used to have, do you play with them as much anymore as you used to? Do you enjoy them like you used to? Do you think your dad would say, oh, yeah.
Woody.
Really.
OK.
Maybe we'll ask in another five years, because most things that people have just.
They don't satisfy the way they used to.
They're just not as good. But the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin, and it's worth just as much to God as the day that Christ shed it. How about for me? Or for let's suppose you asked your dad. OK, I'll pick on you, Adrian, because you had your hand up a moment ago. If you asked your dad when I was born, did you appreciate the blood of the Lord Jesus as much as you do now? What do you think he'd say?
You're not sure?
Not sure.
OK Oh, if you were to ask your dad, Dad, when I was born, did you appreciate the blood of Christ as much as you do now? What do you think he'd say?
Yeah, exactly the same amount.
Do you think I should ask him? Let let's ask him and find out.
Is that OK, John? He says no, you appreciate it more or less more. The value to God is the same. But you know what? When you have the things of God, when you have the life that's in his family, you begin to enjoy more. You know, when I was your age, I wouldn't have said I was glad that the light showed everything. But the fact that God knows all of my sins and he put the mall under the blood of Christ, I'm a lot more appreciative of that now than I was then.
Because, you know, I think when I was your age, I didn't know that socks could be turned inside out and how ugly they were on the inside, and I didn't know how ugly things were inside. And now that I know a little bit more.
I'm glad the Lord Jesus knew all about that.
Those are three things we've talked about so far and we have just a couple of minutes talked about the family and knowing the Lord Jesus and the life that he has.
And bringing everything to the light and what the blood does. We've got one more. The last part, or one little piece at the end of the chapter. Got another picture? This one hangs in my office. Do you know who those people are?
OK. Do you agree? All right, there's my family. This picture hangs in my office. And I want to show you something about the picture. You know, if you were to take that other picture, there's no glass in front of it. It was just temporary until we got our complete picture. But I want to try something. I didn't try this ahead of time, so I hope it works. And you'll have to pardon.
I'll put a little bit of water in here and.
And get my fingers wet, see if that'll do it.
00:40:03
Umm, I've got a little of this stuff with my wet fingers. I'm gonna. Oh. Oh, yeah. OK, that's working now quite as well as I like, but it's starting to work. And what do you suppose I'm doing? This picture. Am I making it better? No. Am I making it worse? What am I doing to it?
Spreading chocolate on it. Yeah, I'm marking it up. I'm making it worse.
Alright, Hmm.
Maybe I didn't anticipate all that I should have here, but I've got some socks available.
And I think they have to go through the wash anyway.
So if I look at this, did I make the picture better or worse?
Worse, I messed it up a little bit, didn't I?
Did I mess it up? Yeah. Can you see that face quite as easily as before? No. You know, when we're believers, when we know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, when we're washed with the blood, sometimes we do things that we shouldn't.
Does that make it easier to enjoy God the Father or?
That makes it harder, doesn't it? It gets in the way, it messes things up.
Did I destroy that picture?
I made it worse, didn't I? I sure did. I clouded it up. I made it hard to see. In fact, if I kept piling on more and more and more, it might get so bad that you'd say, Are you sure there are three people in that family? Because I only see two, right? I get hard to even see what the picture is about.
Why didn't I really mess up the photograph that's in there? You want to take another close look?
Yeah, there's glass on top. There's glass on top.
I sure made it our deceit, didn't I? I messed it up. How many of you raise your hand if you think your mom?
Would be happy to hang a picture like that on our wall all the way it is right now.
What would your mom do if she saw a picture on the wall like that?
Oh, OK. Go ahead, Jonathan.
So you take it down and what would she do with it?
Probably get a new frame.
There might be an easier way.
Is there an easier way cleaning it? Yeah, I have a little bit of water here and I have a brand new clean handkerchief and I hope it does the trick here. I'll just put a little bit of water on the water and we'll clean that up and see if it doesn't look a little bit better.
OK.
Does that look better?
Does that look better, you think? Yeah, a lot better. Has cleaned up. And you know what?
That same person, that same one who says the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin. You know, sometimes we do things that are wrong and God wants us to. I'll read the verse. We're out of time. I'll read the verse. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, you know we have a forgiving God.
If you know Him as your Savior, but you've sinned, He wants you to confess. It's not good to hang a picture like that on your wall.
It's not good to live as though people couldn't look at you and see the Lord Jesus. I'm gonna finish with this story. There's a little boy and he knew the Lord is his Savior. He had a family life, that eternal life, and it was in him. And he was walking down the street and he was singing. You know what song he was singing?
Umm, I did a minute ago. It was a song about the blood and it was umm, drawn from Emmanuel's veins. Help me with the first part of it. There is a fountain filled with blood. He was singing, There's a fountain filled with blood and he passed a policeman and the policeman knew the Lord as his savior too. So the policeman started to sing and when they were done, the policeman said, do you know the Lord is your savior? And he said, I sure do. A few days later that policeman was in the same area and somebody came up to him and he said.
Do you know that song you were singing a day or two ago? You were singing with a little boy while I was standing with a woman and she heard you.
00:45:07
And when she heard you, she realized she was a Sinner that needed to be cleansed with that same blood, and she got saved. You know, for each one of us, what comes out is what's inside. If we're enjoying the Lord, it comes out. I don't know if that boy, the policeman got told. I don't know if that boy knows to this day, but he's going to find out someday. And he's going to find out that you heard about it. And maybe he'll find out that you thought about it and spoke up for the Lord Jesus when others were around. Let's let God's family life show in each one of us today.
Let's Have Spiritual Surgery This Afternoon
Address—John Kaiser
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.
Begin this afternoon by singing hymn #22 in the appendix.
Number.
22 in the appendix and let us think.
Thou wholly one, and through our hearts in Thee.
Confide.
And in the circle of thy love, as brethren, we abide. Teach us that name to own while waiting, Lord, for Thee and what's involved.
In owning his name.
Unholiness.
And sin to shun.
From all untruth to flee #22 in the Appendix.
Thou holy.
I am laughter.
All my love, all right.
Great, I'm on my.
In Hebrews chapter 4.
We find these words. The word of God is living.
And powerful.
And sharper than any two edged sword piercing.
You better look at it since I can't quote it properly for memory. Let's look at it briefly. Hebrews chapter 4.
Verse 12. The Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
That's the word of God, the written word of God.
And now we find the nature of the surgeon.
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him.
With whom we have to do, or, as another translation says, to whom we must give account.
00:05:01
It's my desire.
For the glory of God.
That we would.
And myself included.
Experience spiritual surgery this afternoon.
It's so easy to.
B.
Umm.
Unobserv.
To be just a watcher.
And not let the Spirit of God speak to our hearts individually as He sees the need and so before we.
Commit this surgery to the Lord we want to look at briefly.
Some of the passages we hope will be involved. Let's turn to 1St Kings Chapter 6.
Let him speak to us before we speak to him first Kings, chapter 6.
Excuse me a second, I think actually a second Kings chapter six. Yes, Second Kings chapter 6.
Verse.
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early.
And I gone forth, behold, and host compassed the city, both with horses and Chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, master, how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not.
For they that be with us.
Are more than they that be with them.
Psalm 89.
Psalm 89 verse seven. God.
Is greatly to be feared.
In the Assembly of the Saints and.
To be had in reverence.
Of all them that are about him.
Proverbs, chapter 16.
Proverbs chapter 16 verse.
6.
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged, and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.
Turn to Isaiah chapter.
1.
Isaiah, chapter one, 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.
Malachi, chapter one.
Malachi, chapter one.
And verse 6.
A son.
Honoured his father.
And a servant, his master.
If I then be a father.
Where is my honor?
And if I be a master?
Where is my fear?
First Timothy.
Chapter 3.
00:10:09
First Timothy chapter 3, verse 15. But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself.
In the house.
Of God.
Hebrews chapter 3, verse one.
Hebrews chapter 3, verse one.
Where for?
Holy Brethren.
Partakers of the heavenly calling.
Verse 8.
Harden not your hearts.
As in the provocation in the day of temptation and the wilderness, when your father's tempted me, proved me, and saw my works 40 years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said they do always err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.
Chapter 13.
Verse 28 Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom.
Which cannot be moved.
Let us have grace.
Whereby we may serve God.
Acceptably.
With reverence.
And godly fear.
4.
Our God is.
A consuming fire?
Let's break.
When I was asked to take this meeting some days ago, I told the brother.
That I didn't have anything definite before me.
And he reminded me that God has a way of preparing us and I.
Now find I have so much to talk about, so much to say that I don't know that we can cover it all in an hour.
But we all have a limited capacity.
So I wanna go over some of these passages that we have read together and it's my hope that maybe we can expand a bit too.
I want to begin with first a second Kings chapter 6 again. Let's look back at that passage.
These things that are in this book were written for us.
Yes, they were written 2000 years ago, but they're up to date because God knew what we need today.
I wanna remind you of that. The last verse we read it says our God is.
We have a God who is presently.
Available.
And not only presently available, but presently engaged.
And not only presently available and presently engaged, but he is all sufficient. He's a consuming fire. What's a what could be more irresistible than a consuming fire? And we think in terms of judgment.
If you look earlier in that chapter we we read how the children of Israel trembled.
When the law was given and they were afraid to approach the mount because they recognized God as a consuming fire, they recognized His power.
00:15:08
But that's just one aspect of God's consuming fire.
God is not only a consuming fire in holiness.
And then righteousness and purity.
That character is also in his love.
Before we pro ceed, I want you to know.
That the hand of the surgeon is a loving hand.
God's love is infinite, and it's not only infinite, it's passionate.
Our God is a consuming fire.
What brought this particular verse in First Kings to me, to mine?
His experience I've had in the past month talking to two young men.
Or younger men.
Both of whom profess to be believers.
And in connection with them, I thought of this passage.
What we have here in Second Kings verse chapter 6 is a battle situation.
And we're in battle.
We're all of us engaged in a war.
Ephesians 6 says we fight.
We're not observers. We like to be observers. It would be more comfortable to be observers, but we're not.
We're in the battle and we can fight, we can stand, or we can succumb to the enemy.
And here was somebody who was distressed. He saw the battle, he felt inadequate for it. And he said, alas, master, how shall we do?
And he answered, That's the Elisha.
Answered Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with me.
And if that was true, then it's true now. God has given us the Holy Spirit.
We find in first John it says greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
We have no excuse except our human weakness to feel defeated.
God has amply provided for us for the battle.
Verse 17 And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may say, that's my prayer today.
That if you're facing a battle that you feel you can't deal with.
That God will open your eyes.
To see.
To see things as they really are, You see, God deals with reality because God determines what reality is. We look at circumstances around us and we think we have a grasp of reality and we don't see behind the scenes.
Elijah prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold.
The mountain was full of horses and Chariots of fire.
Round about Elijah, that's all we need to read is this story. You know the end.
God was there. God had provided.
The problem is that we forget. We get occupied with what we can see and what we feel, and forget what God has. We don't have God's view of things.
What in particular brought this to mind is both of these younger professing believers confessed to involvement in ***********.
And it may be that.
There are some here who can identify with that.
00:20:02
Most of us have encountered it at one time or another.
And it's a real trap.
I want you to know that there is hope, there is deliverance.
And God has shown us how to deal with these things.
Let's turn to next to.
Psalm 89.
Psalm 89 and verse 7 again.
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the Saints, and to be had in reverence.
Of all them that are about.
You will notice that in several the verses we read, you have a pair of phrases.
Fear and reverence. I want to talk about those later.
But what I'm concerned is right now is, do you understand that God, if you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, you and God are inseparable.
And whatever you're involved with, you're involving God with.
Turn to Deuteronomy chapter 23 please.
I don't know what the psalmist was thinking about here, but this is one passage that.
Might have he might have umm been thinking of when he wrote this Psalm, Deuteronomy 23.
Deuteronomy 23 and verse.
14 For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the camp. That was actually what's referred to here by the assembly.
And uh, this Psalm God is greatly to be fear in the assembly of the Saints. We we see this in meeting rooms and it applies. It applies here too. But this is ex this is what was actually being referred to the camp of Israel. The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the camp to deliver thee.
Not to condemn.
Yes, we may feel condemned. We should feel condemned.
Someone asked me a while back and I was pointing out a fault to them. Are you trying to give me a guilt trip?
The answer is yes.
Guilt trips are healthy.
If the surgeon goes in and and strikes, find something that's not right. There should be pain.
God gave us a conscience for a reason.
But God doesn't walk in the midst to condemn, He walks in the midst to deliver.
The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of the camp to deliver thee.
And to give up thy enemies before they therefore shall thy camp be holy.
That he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
So why did the psalmist write this verse? God is greatly to be feared because.
What happened to Israel?
Happens to us, we get complacent. The Israel was given the oracles of God. They had the Tabernacle, they had the priesthood, they had the sacrifices, they had the offerings. No other nation had that.
And they grew complacent and forgot who was walking among them, who was associated with them. And so the psalmist says, God is to be.
Greatly, God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the Saints and to be had in reverence and like. I want to talk about those two terms later, but the point is, do we accept that?
Do I give God the reverence He deserves?
Does that fear characterize my life?
Things haven't changed.
The world changes.
But God doesn't. He still deserves what he always deserved.
00:25:03
He deserves reverence and fear.
Turn to Proverbs chapter 16 now.
Proverbs 16.
And verse 6 By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged.
Or atone for?
So there's two things that are dealt with here in a connection with sin. By mercy and truth, iniquity is purged or atoned for.
But then there's the area of responsibility too. By the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil. Is there sin in your life? Is there a habit you want to be rid of?
Do you accept the fear of the Lord? Because that's.
The way of deliverance by the fear of the Lord. Man depart from evil. Why do I say that? Let's turn to Genesis 39.
We know the story of Joseph.
Joseph.
What came from a family?
Blessed by God.
But Joseph ended up in Egypt.
And everyone of us lives in Egypt.
How do we deal with the temptations around us?
Genesis 39 verse seven. I can't you pass after these things that his master's wife cast her eye upon Joseph and she said.
Lie with me. But he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, my master, what if not, what is with me in the house? And he has committed all that he hath to thy hand, and there is none greater in this house than I. Neither has he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
You know he started out by explaining.
Very practical reasons why what this woman proposed was not a good idea, but he ended up. The bottom line was this.
How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Who thought it was wickedness? She didn't.
The Egyptians were immoral people. They didn't consider wickedness. And we tend to take on the influence, the the opinion of the world about us and the world shrugs of evil and so we shrug it evil. But Joseph didn't.
He said, how can I do this great wickedness?
And sin against God. And what you think we're Joseph was Joseph was a man who'd had communication from God. He had a dream, but that dream was shattered.
He couldn't see any hope of that dream ever being fulfilled.
So they say I give up, I'll take what the world's got to offer. No, he says. I.
Fear.
How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
He feared God. He recognized God in the situation. He still had God in the situation. The situation was lousy.
It looked hopeless.
Except God was there.
And he honored God by recognizing God in that situation. How can I do this great wickedness and sin?
Against God? Well, does it just matter what he said? No.
And it came to a path, as the as she speak to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. He avoided this temptation.
He deliberately avoided this temptation.
This is scriptural.
Sometimes we make excuses, say well, just I can't happen, help it. Every time I turn on the computer, it's there or, or whatever it is, maybe it's something else. It's a problem for you, for you here. And temptations abound and opportunities abound and with every circumstance in our lives.
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God gives these things.
To test us.
And to give us an opportunity to prove what He is. What do I mean by that? Every circumstance in life has A2 fold purpose. To prove what I am and to prove what God is. Some people.
Say, well, God didn't give me a good hand. People are using the analogy of cards. Some people say God didn't give me a good and it gave me a bad hand. I might as well play it for what it's worth.
I was just telling your brother before the meeting. I just recently enjoyed a little two verse expression, A22 word expression. Hebrews 13. People complain about the hand God has dealt them and use it to make excuses.
If someone deals you a bad hand, what do you do with it? You go back to the dealer and in Hebrews 13 it says God Dealeth.
It says literally God deals with you as sons. But the point is.
God is in all our circumstances.
And he's giving us opportunities.
To overcome for His glory.
And Joseph overcame. What did he do? He avoided the situation and when it came to it, confront him face to face. Notice what it says here.
It says here as she spoke to Joseph day by day, this is a habitual thing. And by the way, it's very similar to what the experience that Samson had. Delilah was after him day after day. And it says he succumbed, he gave up.
And he lost his eyesight.
Joseph didn't give up.
What did Joseph do?
Came to pass day by day that he hearkened not to her, to lie by her, nor to be with her. In other words, he made deliberate, deliberate.
Efforts to avoid this.
This temptation, and it came to pass about this time that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men in the house there within. And she caught him by the garment saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out. He ran. It was the right thing to do. Timothy was told. Flee youthful temptations. Wait a second. Was Timothy as young as Joseph? Probably not. It may surprise.
Some of you younger brothers to know that the older brothers are subject to the same temptations.
And by God's grace, we've been given grace and we've taken.
The opportunity to run.
On a number of occasions.
Joseph Rand.
You sell well. Just piece of his history. It was the deciding point of his life. If he hadn't run then everything would have been different in his life. It was. It looked like a cowardly thing. It was the best thing he could have done.
He was a he was, well, he wasn't even at the bottom there. He ended up in prison because of this. It was misunderstood. It was misinterpreted, but God.
Came in for Joseph.
And then period of two or three years, I believe he was head of the land. This was a deciding point in Joseph's life. He resisted temptation. You and I don't know which little circumstance may be a deciding point.
Where our lives turned the corner.
So often we miss opportunities because we're careless. Joseph was not careless. He did the right thing. He ran.
By the by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.
You know, we're lazy sometimes.
Turns me to.
To uh.
Second, uh, second Samuel.
Second Samuel.
Chapter 17.
Moreover, Isabel said unto Absalom, let me now choose out 12,000 men on our rise and pursue after David this night, and I will come upon him while he is weary you just one of Satan's favorite times to attack us, this one retired.
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There's two good things to do. Retired, the Lord Jesus said. Come to me, all ye that are weary.
Pray the others go to bed.
But I want you to be especially warned. Be aware that Satan attacks, particularly when we're weary.
They skipped it, you know, And common, common wisdom is forewarned, is forearmed.
So be especially careful when you're weary. Satan attacks, particularly when we're weary.
You know, when it's, it's, it's interesting. And Joseph's case, this thing came on gradually. Most things in life do come on gradually. It built. She's this woman spoke to him repeatedly and.
I'm sure that that Joseph was dreading the time when he had to go into the house and discover there was no one there, no other man there but himself and this woman.
He was. I believe Joseph was prepared to run.
And so often we lose in the battle because we're not prepared. God has given us His Word so we can be prepared.
Uh, turn to back to Isaiah.
I'm just going through these in scripture order.
Isaiah chapter one verse 16. This is the word of God to his people. Wash you, make you clean.
You know the we have a verse that says the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. That's true.
But each one of us is also responsible for our own moral cleanliness, our own practical cleanliness.
Wash you, make you clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do well.
Why do I mention this? Because there is a moral order here, and you find it all the way through Scripture.
There are some here who want to serve the Lord.
We read that verse. We may serve the Lord acceptably with reverence and godly fear, and we want to serve the Lord. We want to be of some use to the Lord, but we'll never know how to do it right.
Until we're pure.
Cease to do evil, learn to do well, God.
Does not want to use.
Impure vessels.
If you want to be used of God.
You need to get ready.
We'll see more of that later. We're willing.
Ceased to do. We've learned to do well. This is a principle.
What's the secret of knowing God's mind?
It's being in communion. You can't be in communion with God if you're indulging in sin in your life.
Turn to Malachi chapter one again.
Malachi chapter one verse.
6.
God draws a natural example. He says. It's natural for a son to honor his father.
But you know, we harbor sin in our hearts. It affects even our natural affections. We find that in Scripture.
A son honors his father, and a servant his master.
These are normal, natural responses and God says.
If I then be a father, where is my honor?
Let me ask you a question.
Do you want to enjoy the communion of the Father and the Son?
There needs to be honor in your life.
Honor in your heart, in your attitude, that we're talking about attitude, and somebody who's playing with sin has a wrong attitude.
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Yeah, bye.
Then be a father, where is my honor, and I may be a master. Where is my fear? The fear of God relates to service. We'll see that later too, Lord willing. The fear of God is more connected with service and reverence with communion.
Where? Where in a society where people talk, take everything casually, we have what we're called seeker friendly services and churches and so on, where the natural man can feel comfortable.
God says where is my reverence? You know, I learned this long ago.
I was raised in a Christian home and my parents were reverent.
But I had also was among some other people that worked and umm, I learned to be careless in the use of the word of God. In some ways I was visiting up in the home of Ruth Smith. Ruth and Albert Smith up in Ottawa some 484546 years ago.
And visiting with Harold and Clifford. A few of you may remember them.
Having a good time and to be funny I casually.
Made a joking reference to a phrase in Scripture.
And Ruth Smith.
Rebuked me.
And I took it to heart.
And I've been thankful ever since.
There are so many that today that just.
Treat the Word of God as some other book.
The way you reverence God's Word is the way you reverence Him.
Do you take his word lightly? You say, Oh, I reverence the word of God, Yes. How often do you read it?
If you're indifferent to the word of God, is that reverence? No.
The psalmist, Psalm 119 says, Oh, how I love Thy law. It is my meditation all the day. That's reverence.
It means something to you.
And so the Lord here says this was his last communication to Israel.
Before the Lord Jesus came, for 400 years, God had nothing more to say, so to speak. He'd said it all, he said.
If I am a father, where is my honor? If I am a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of Hosts to you.
You take it personally, take it to heart. One more thing, look at the end of this first chapter of Malachi, verse 14.
But cursed be the Savior, who hath his flock of male, and voweth and sacrifices unto the Lord.
A corrupt thing, for I am a great king.
That was my hope, and I see we're gonna run out of time. It was my hope to.
Turn back to two passages in the Old Testament where we see how people behaved in the presence of the King.
We'll have to save that for some other time. It's very instructive.
People are reverent.
When they recognized the king on the throne.
It it's appropriate.
Turn now to I'll go back to First Timothy, Chapter 3.
First Timothy, chapter 3.
Verse 15.
But if I carry along with thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house God.
It's one thing to know how to behave yourself.
And our behavior changes when we go into a house.
We do things outside the house, so we don't do anything do inside the house.
And this is the House of God.
It's got the highest standards.
And you're in it. If you're the Lord, you're in it all the time. How do I, why do we say that?
In the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the Church of the truth, you're in the House of God all the time. Yes, you're in the world, but you're also in the House of God all the time.
How are you behaving? How am I behaving in the House of God? I'm in that house all the time. I belong there.
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Am I dragging things into that house that don't belong there?
Starting to Psalm 93, verse 5.
Psalm 93, verse 5.
My testimonies are very sure. Holiness becometh thy house, oh Lord.
Forever, Holiness.
That's a challenge. We won't find it in the world. We only.
We only get it from God.
God furnishes his house.
Holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, forever.
Like I say, I I wanted to take time to.
Look at some passages in the Old Testament that showed the illustrated proper behavior in the House of God. It's really a a fascinating subject.
We won't have time for that because I wanna finish up with this.
This verse in Hebrews 13. I want to talk about a little bit about Hebrews 13.
Verse 2628 wherefore we receiving, oh, you know, we're not worthy. He was 12. Thank you. Hebrews 12. Verse 28.
We receiving, we are privileged.
We are infinitely gifted and we're so ungrateful.
And so responsible we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, you know.
We look and see, we get distracted by this world. It's change all the time and.
People chasing rainbows.
A running down rabbit trails and they're getting excited about this and that into something new every every month.
We have something that lasts.
Something that's substance for eternity. We receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved. Let us have grace. Let us have grace.
You know, we can have as much as we want, Grace.
And I want to point out something about grace.
God's grace, like every other thing that He has, is alive. It's something that reflects His nature. I want to point out what grace does. Let us have grace. Let's turn to Titus chapter 2.
Titus, chapter 2, verse 11.
The grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared to all men.
Or the grace of God that brings.
Umm, salvation to all men has appeared, teaching us, teaching us. God's grace teaches us. Are we teachable?
Are we teachable? Are we willing to be taught?
And God's grace can teach us. Remember what that, what that.
Servant asks how shall we do? How can I deal with this?
Great host. How can we deal with this? Great host that comes against this?
Here's the answer. God teaches us how to do it, teaching us that denying ungodliness is willing us. This is responsibility.
Denying is not.
Well understood these days.
Denying.
Umm, people sometimes say, well that's just denying reality, you know? No, it means to say no. That's what dying means. They're going to read this in another translation.
It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions.
Why do people follow these their passions? Why is it that we so easily slip into sin because we follow our feelings?
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We are so hindered. I see. I see young Christians, men and women both.
Waste their lives going in circles like a dog chasing its tail. Why? Because they're chasing their feelings instead of acting responsibly in the fear of God.
It teaches us.
It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self.
Controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. That's what grace does.
Let's have grace. Let's have it in our lives.
Let's turn back to Hebrews 13.
There's a lot more to it. I'm just touching the surface of these things. I, I really pray that some will go home and meditate on these things. There's so much more. Wherefore we're receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved. Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Serve God acceptably.
You know, it's a great privilege to be used by God, and he does use us.
God doesn't have anything, Uh, any any anything. How do I put it? God is not wasteful.
Remember when the Lord fed the 4000, the 5000 He said gathered the fragments.
That nothing be lost. God is not wasteful. He uses us in ways that we don't know we're going to find out.
But it says they may serve God acceptably.
Acceptably.
I hope we want to serve God acceptably.
Not just acceptably to our brother, but acceptably to him. And it says with reverence and godly fear.
Now wanna just say a few words about reverence and God affair and I'll be done. Although I'm only half with you, my subject.
Reverence is the respect we owe him because who he is. I hope we take these words to heart.
There is.
The the reverence, the respect we owe God is unlimited because he is unlimited. He is infinite.
We may serve God acceptably with reverence. That is whatever God says.
That's gold.
It has authority in my life. I can't be indifferent to it.
It's the Word, the living word of God. It lasts forever.
The may serve God acceptably with reverence.
Respect.
An indifference is not respect.
You and I know the difference between respect and indifference, and God knows it even better.
Let me serve. God accepted you with reverence and godly fear.
And now, for years, I wrestled with this idea of godly fear.
And I don't think I've encompassed the thought.
We haven't exhausted any truth here at this conference.
But I'm gonna share with you something I've enjoyed in the and and then it's helped me and my understanding Godly fear. Godly fear has to do with.
God's ways, His purposes, and His power.
The fear of God. You know, I've come across people who don't reverence God.
But they fear God. They recognize there's somebody out there and they may joke about him, but they it's interesting. I read an article recently by Charles Krauthammer, who's a famous commentator, and a few people may have heard of him. And he's was raised a Jew. And he says, I don't know God, but he says I fear him.
He recognizes that God involves himself in man's affairs.
That the universe was created by God.
Ron Hammer says I feel sorry for an atheist. He has nothing to live for and nowhere to go when he dies.
I'm not quoting me exactly, because I don't know if Charles Krauthammer knows where he's going either. But my point is.
The fear of God recognizes God in our circumstances and in our in creation. This is what motivated UMM.
At least part of what motivated Joseph.
He recognized his responsibility to God in the circumstances.
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And Proverbs says we should live in the fear of the Lord all the day long.
Let me illustrate.
I hope it sticks with us. I've got a heavy Bible case here. I'm going to place it on the edge of this table and say that's not a very smart place to lay. That's the point of illustration. Now suppose that we're a baby lying there.
I can just see some others getting UN nervous.
If that were a baby lying on the edge of that table, you wouldn't be just sitting there. You'd think I was crazy and you'd be doing something about it.
Why? Because a baby does not respect gravity.
We grow up.
Dealing with gravity? Get out of bed and the first thing you do is you put your feet on the floor so you don't fall on the floor, because you know that if you don't put your feet down first, you're gonna land there anyway.
We deal with gravity all the time. That's why we have belts in our waist so that the pants or or skirts will hang properly. This whole this whole building is designed to take gravity into account. Gravity pervades everything in this world.
And that's.
The way God is.
He is active, He's involved in every circumstance of life. Remember I quoted that verse in Hebrews 13 and quoted that phrase God dealeth and Ephesians chapter one. You find God work. God works all things.
Gods involved in every circumstance of our lives.
And we need to take that into account. That's to live in the fear of God, to know that God's in my life. Joseph recognized that. He says, I, how can I do this sin against God, God.
You know I share that woman thought he was crazy.
But Joseph recognized that God saw what he did. He lived in the fear of God.
Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
For our God.
He's as big as he ever was. He's as great as he ever was. Our God is. This is present tense.
A consuming fire?
He's all powerful.
And he's, you know, a fire is hot.
God is involved and he is not indifferent. He hates indifference because he is interested beyond our belief.
And that's why it says here in the next chapter.
Verse five, let your conversation this Hebrews chapter 13. Verse five, let your conversation be without covetousness.
And be content with such things as you have or present circumstances. Christianity deals with the present right now. God's involved in the present, and we are to be content with the present circumstances. Be content with the circumstances God has given. Why? Because he makes up all the difference, it says here.
Be content with such things as you have, for behold, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Now what's the point of that? Well, the first thing is he says I, he's there.
And, you know, as you and I separate and we go home, we can take this with us, he has said, well, you know, it's, it's, it's sometimes discouraging to go home from a conference.
But God has said I will never leave me nor forsake thee, and God is not redundant here.
God never leaves us. That's physical presence.
There've been times I've been with my wife sitting right beside her and she's talking and I'm offensive. My mind is elsewhere. I'm not attentive. I've I'm not laughter, but I've forsaken her.
And that's the point here. God is always there, always with us, and He is always attentive to us. Always.
Gospel 3
Gospel—John Bilisoly
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Welcome everyone to the Gospel meeting this evening.
I wonder if we could begin the meeting with singing together #20 in our little hymn sheet.
Behold the Savior out the door. He gently knocks, has knocked before.
Has waited long as waiting still you use no other friend, so I'll open the door. He'll enter in and Sup with you and you with him.
#20 in the hymn sheet.
Behold.
Oh, that's when I left that. I hear you, that one.
If I had to let my God have a good winter for dinner.
And all that I can learn him.
When will you be on the examining till now?
I wonder if you could turn with me tonight to John's Gospel chapter 10 to a well known verse that I would like to read.
John's Gospel, chapter 10.
And verse 9.
We know this is the Lord Jesus speaking.
And he says, here I am the door by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.
And shall go in and out and find pasture.
Well, I have it on my heart this afternoon to talk a little bit about doors in Scripture.
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And there are many portions and passages in the Word of God that talk about doors we're not going to have time to touch on, but just a few of them.
So with the Lord's help, I'd like to look at some doors that we find that.
We're open and then we're shut and then I would like to look at some doors that were are open. But before we do that, I wanted to begin with this verse here because I believe that in all that we have to say, this is the most important one that we're going to speak about in connection with doors. These words of the Lord Jesus. I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved.
You know, doors are important to us, aren't they?
We came into this room through doors.
We leave through these doors, we enter into our homes through doors, our cars. They're in our lives every day, aren't they? And they are important to us. They're the means of access into a room.
But you know, there's another purpose for doors, and that is to keep out.
And so we have doors, we have locks, and at least in our part of the country.
We lock our doors that night. Maybe some of you don't have to do that.
That's nice if you don't have to do that.
Umm, when I was going with my wife Carmen, it was nice to be in her home and when we would leave for a meeting, the doors weren't locked and when we came home we walked right in. We didn't need a key. Well, in our home in Denver, Co, we lock our doors and we need to use a key when we come home.
The Lord Jesus uses a very simple example.
And object to convey a message. Here he refers to himself as a door, something that would not be misunderstood. Easy to understand the thought of coming in to some into a home, for example, through a door.
And I think it's interesting that when it comes to such vital things in the word of God, such as salvation.
The Lord employs such a simple object that we can lay hold of our hearts can understand. You know when you get into.
Other subjects in Scripture, like prophecy, for example, things that are going to take place in the future. Sometimes the Spirit of God will employ imagery and things that are more complicated and complex. But isn't it wonderful that when it comes to salvation?
For this lost Sinner, God uses such a simple thing as a door. I I like that the Lord Jesus here says I am the door. And so our our message tonight is is just as simple that the Lord Jesus is saying.
That man, sin, man sin, has shut him out from God, from God's presence. But the Lord Jesus came into this world.
To provide a way in which God could reach out to man and bring him back into favor bring bring him back into his presence. And so the Lord says I'm that means I'm the one that.
God is using to bring the lost Sinner to him through myself. I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved. You know there's a hymn on the back page of the sheet.
Let's just take a minute to sing it. It's a well known hymn, that little chorus that the children often sing when we sing with them #42 let's sing that little hymn in connection with this verse.
A little child.
And it has to be very happy to hear my heart and I'm glad.
You know, there's another little hymn that we often sing in our children's hymn book in our Sunday school, and it goes like this. And no doubt it was whoever wrote it was thinking of this verse that we have just read in John 10 and verse nine. And the little hymn goes I am the door.
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I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved.
He shall be saved he shall be saved and then the next stanza goes like this I am the door. The words are but 4,000,000 are yen but there's room for more the doors open wide come right inside and thou shalt be saved and therewin tonight the gospel is just that simple and so I wanted to begin with this door because, as I say, if we don't have any time for anything else, we.
Given the Gospel, the Lord Jesus is the means of coming to God as a lost Sinner. We can't bring anything that will atone for our sins, but we can accept His gift, the Lord Jesus. And we can believe the work that was done on Calvary's cross where He laid down his life, where His precious blood was shed. We've had that verse before us throughout the day. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
Are you a Sinner tonight? God's Word says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Then this message is for you, and you too can come, if you haven't already, through that open door, through the Lord Jesus.
Well, to begin with, I wanted to look at the first mention of a door in Scripture. I think it's very remarkable and interesting what God gives us in His Word in Genesis chapter 4 in connection with two young men.
Abel and Cain that are brought before us there and we're just going to touch a little bit on this. We're not going to read the whole portion, but we know that these two boys brought something to the Lord in the way of an offering. And it tells us that Abel brought the first slings of his flock and of the Father of in verse four. And the Lord had respect unto Abel unto his offering. He accepted Abel's offering.
This little lamb that was slain, his blood was shed, and Abel brings that to the Lord, and the Lord accepts it. Cain brings something too. He brings of the fruit of the ground in verse 3.
And.
An offering unto the Lord also from the fruit of the ground, that which uh, he had produced through his efforts. And no doubt nice, whatever it was, whatever produce it was, I'm sure Cain picked out the choicest want pieces to offer to the Lord. But it says that on verse 5 unto Cain unto his offering, he had not respect.
The Lord could not accept Cain's offering. There was number bloodshed with connected with Cain's offering and the Lord could not accept it. And it tells us that Cain was wroth and his countenance fell. And so the Lord says to him in verse six, Why art thou wroth? 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. Well, I know there's been different.
Umm, opinions as to how to actually interpret this? It's, it's a little bit difficult to English here. And, uh, you look at a more critical translation like Mr. Darby's and it, it helps a little bit and he has a footnote that helps too. I don't know exactly what is being said here, but I think it's something along this line that the Lord, as it were, is saying to Cain. Cain, if what you have done, if what you have offered to me.
Is good and acceptable to me, then you could look up with confidence in what you have brought to me. But if it's not, then I'm going to provide something for you. I'm going to provide an offering that I can accept. And I believe that perhaps, maybe that's the thought here where the Lord says if thou doest not well sin or a sin offering Mr. Darby has on a footnote in a footnote of his.
Lieth out the door and you know, I thought about that very first mention of Dora in Scripture and it's in connection with approach unto God and.
Man Cain represents man that tries in every imaginable way to approach God. And if you were to ask the average person on the street how do you approach God today, you would get a variety of answers, no doubt. Well.
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None of those are going to avail.
God's offering is all that can be accepted and His offering.
Is that which is a substitute for the one that is is offering the offering and so in the thought that we have here, the Lord, as it were, says to Cain, I'm going to provide you something that I can accept. I'm going to provide an offering for your sin. You are a Sinner, Cain, and I cannot accept what you have brought me. It's not going to avail. It cannot atone for.
You're the fact that you are a Sinner. So I've provided something and I'm reading a lot into this and we know that all of this points on to the work of Calvary's cross. But that's the point that when Abel offered that lamb, God could look at that lamb and he could see in that lamb that which would remind him that which would point to a coming sacrifice that would, as it were, satisfy God and has satisfied God for all eternity.
His beloved son and so.
Abel, I mean Cain, has provided a lamb and all he has to do is that we're as open his door, open his door. God has provided something, a remedy for him.
Whereby he can be accepted. But oh, how tragic and sad. We know the story. Cain turns away from God and from God's offering, as it were, and he in wrath and anger kills his brother and he becomes a fugitive and a Vagabond in the earth. He becomes one that is fleeing and one that has no home, no dwelling place. He's on the run, as it were, and man in his sin is on the run.
From God tonight man cannot in reality stop and face that question of eternity without his conscience being affected. Man is on the run from God and does not want the remedy that God has provided. Well, I thought of that as the very first mention of door in Scripture, that God would be, as it were, anxious to bring before our thoughts His beloved Son.
The one in whom is all his delights, and the one who has.
Satisfied him for all eternity concerning the question of sin.
Well, let's just go a few pages further in our Bibles to the 6th chapter of Genesis, and we're going to look at a door here that was open and then was shut. And I am referring to the ark, as you probably have already surmised. So in chapter 6 of Genesis, I'm just going to make a few comments here, starting at verse 14. Make thee an arc of Gopher wood. These are God's instructions to a man named Noah.
And he tells him to make an arc of Gopher wood because God had told Noah that he was going to judge this earth by a flood and all flesh was going to be destroyed. But there was a remedy. There was a place of safety.
And God is giving Noah instructions on preparing that place of safety.
Make the Anarch of Gopher Wood rooms shalt thou make in the Ark, and shall pitch it within without with pitch, and this is the fashion of it which thou shalt make it of. The length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits. I understand that would be about 450 feet by 70 feet umm L in length and or width, and uh 40 feet 45 feet high.
Someone has estimated that to be somewhere around 42,000 tons in weight. If you take a vessel that size and create it out of wood as they would have had in that day, and then you add the pitch and so on, umm, you're looking at a fairly heavy vessel.
So he's told to make this. Now we know that this.
Is a picture to us, isn't it, of shelter from judgment? And we can apply that to our what we're speaking about tonight to the gospel that God is going to judge this world. And yet he has provided a means of safety from that judgment. And men are being told to flee from the wrath to come. There is wrath that's coming on this world because they have taken his Son and have cast him out. They crucified him.
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And God is going to hold man accountable not only for that act, but for every sin that man has committed.
There will there will be just recompense for each of those sins, but God has provided a way.
Of safety and this arc is a picture to us of that and we won't take the time, but we know that the Gopher would might speak to us of the Lord Jesus, his humanity and he was here as a man. Wonderful to think about that. I understand that the pitch might bring before us the thought of atonement. And so we have this arc that was covered within and without with pitch. But what I wanted to really concentrate on.
Was the thought of the door in verse 16 a window shalt thou make to the ark?
And in a cubit shalt thou finish it above.
Umm, and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof. With lower, second and third stories shalt thou make it. Well, I wanted to think and focus a little bit just on this door. Now this door was set in the sight of the Ark, and we know that it was through this door that the animals.
Entered that were preserved from the flood and Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives 8 souls was all that entered in through that door. But there was a period of time when this ark was being prepared. And we know that God had told Noah in verse three that his spirit would not always strive with man. And then he said, yet his days shall be in 120 years. So we know that Noah was 120 years.
In preparing this arc and there was lots of time and ample opportunity for those that lived in that area to see that something was going on that Noah and his sons were doing. They were building this ark. Now, we're not told a lot about the the reaction of the others, but one thing we know is that no one else entered in through that door. That door was open for a period of time.
We know it was because we're told later when it was shut, and we're going to look at that in just a minute. But I like to think of that door there in that, the sight of that arc as Noah was building this ark, and people could see the size being put up, and then they could see this door, perhaps that was cut out of that as an opening.
There was an opening there, and that opening was for anyone to enter in that wanted to. Well, I thought about that and I thought about this. That door was located in the site of this ark. And you know, it reminds me.
Dear ones, this this evening or this afternoon of the ribbon side of the Lord Jesus, you know we have that read to us twice and we'll just read it again.
In John's Gospel chapter 19, then came the soldiers and break the legs of the 1St and of the other, these two thieves that were crucified on either side of the Lord Jesus, which were crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs.
But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
And he that saw it fair record, and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe, for these things were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another Scripture saith, They shall look on him.
Whom they pierced, Well, I believe that we can see perhaps in this door that Noah was instructed to put in the sight of an ark, the ark, a little picture of the ribbon side of the Lord Jesus. And we know that as we're told there in John, that when that soldier plunged that spear into his sight, forthwith came there out blood and water. You know, we have the same imagery in another place and I'm just going to read it. You don't need to turn to it. But it's in the Song of Solomon where Solomon kind of employs similar imagery, he says.
And Speaking of in type, the bridegroom here or the bride and the bridegroom speaking, uh, the bridegroom says, Oh, my dove referring to his loved one, his, his bride, that art in the clefts of the rock in the secret places of the stairs. This is chapter 2 and verse 14. Let me see thy countenance. Let me hear thy voice, for sweet as thy voice and thy countenance is comely that part again, O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock.
In the secret places of the stairs, you know we have in Isaiah chapter 32. I'll just turn to it. You don't need to. In the very beginning of that chapter, it says here in verse two. And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind and a covert from The Tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary or thirsty land.
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Well, we have that expression there a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind and a covered from The Tempest. You know, that's the again, isn't it? A little picture to us of the ribbon sight of Jesus. And I would ask you tonight, are you sheltered beneath the precious blood of Christ as a Sinner before God? You are unfit for his presence.
But the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. And I would ask you, are you sheltered?
Have you found in the Lord Jesus a hiding place from The Tempest? There's judgment coming on this world. Are you hiding in Him, as it were? Are you like the dove that's in the cleft of the rock?
In the secret places of the stairs. Well, I've enjoyed that and connecting it with the thought here.
Of the ark and the door that was in the sight of it. But then it says in the very next chapter, verse 7.
Chapter 7 and verse 17.
Umm are actually the verse before that I'll read verse 15. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, Speaking of the animals. And they that went in went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him, and the Lord or Jehovah shut him in. I think that's important because as we said.
This door of this ark was open, but now we see and we read here.
That God, once they were in all that were going to go in God and patience waited all those years allowing man the opportunity to come in. But once that time was up, it says the Lord shut them in. And I think that's important because, you know, if Noah would have shut the door of the ark and then there came those that wanted in Noah and pity might have opened that door. But you know, dear ones.
God's patience will not always continue. God is extending his patience.
In this day of grace, perhaps for over 2000 years now, God has impatience waited for man. Maybe He's waiting for you tonight to come in.
God wants you to come in to that place of safety from judgment.
But there is a time coming when the door is going to be shut. There is a time coming when this gospel that we are sounding for tonight will no longer be sounded forth, not in this room, not in anywhere else in this world. The Lord Jesus will have come and then it will be too late. It will be too late for those that have spurned and turn to deaf ear to the gospel. Come tonight. Come through the open door before it's shut forever.
God shut them in.
Well, let's, uh, go on a little bit further. We have another, umm, very familiar portion in Exodus chapter 12, and we're just gonna touch again on our subject without developing these, these very instructive accounts for us.
We know that God was delivering his people out of Egypt, His earthly people, Israel.
And he sent these plagues to force, as it were, the Egyptians, to let, to force Pharaoh to let the people go, the children of Israel. And this last plague was the death of the first born.
And the children of Israel are told for in each of their households to take the lamb.
And it says umm in umm first.
Six of Exodus chapter 12. And ye shall keep it the Lamb up until the 14th day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper door posts of the house, wherein they shall eat it.
And so on. Well, I want to again emphasize to stay on track with our subject. What I wanted to bring before us here was this blood that was to be applied at the top of the door and on the side posts so that when the destroying Angel came through and saw that blood, he would not come in and take the life of the first born in that home. And so they were told in verse 13.
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And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses wherein ye are. And when I see the blood, I will Passover you.
Hence the name Passover I will Passover you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt.
Well, God was going to send judgment, but if the blood had been applied as they were told to do.
They were safe, but the houses that didn't have blood applied to the outside of the house.
The destroying Angel came in.
And so again they were told in verse 22, And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the base. And they were to slay that lamb and capture some of that blood in a basin and apply it with this hyssop to the outside of the door.
And take a bunch of hits, hyssop and di dip it in the basin, and strike the lentil in the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the house, the door of his house, until the morning, for the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians.
And when he seeth the blood upon the lentil, and on the two side posts, the Lord will Passover the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in.
To your houses, unto your houses, to smite you. Those children of Israel, they had to go out of their houses and take that blood and apply it. And then they had to go back in through that open door and that those doors were shut. I'm sure they were very careful to shut those doors and secure them and to make sure that that blood was on the outside of the house, on the around the door, so that the destroying Angel would not come and take the life of the first born. We can understand this. This is an easy.
Application for us to make to the gospel that the Lord Jesus is going to.
Come in judgment, and anyone who has not been washed in the blood of the Lamb is going to fall under the judgment of God.
How solemn to think about it tells us in verse 30 that there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Can you imagine? Can you imagine the cry that went forth out of that great land?
As those Egyptians woke up in their homes and the first born was dead.
And think too of those that were outside of that ark when the floodwaters, when the rain began to descend, rain was not known in that that day. And the rains came down and the floods began to the creeks became swollen and so on and lakes and so on, and the floodwaters began to rise. Can you imagine the terror of those souls and perhaps an attempt to try and enter that arc, but no God.
Had shut the door. These doors were shut and those that were not in homes that had the blood on the outside.
Death and destruction came into those homes. Let's look at one more Old Testament example here that's so vivid to us in Joshua chapter 2. These are all well known stories. We know that when the children of Israel had umm, left Egypt and were coming into the land, they had enemies there that they had to confront and the cities that had to be taken. And so we have that story of.
Of Rahab the Harlot and how she hid those spies because she feared God.
And they told her that they were going to come and they were going to destroy that city of Jericho. But there was something that she could do. She could put a scarlet line outside of the window of her home, which was built on the wall of that city. And when they came to destroy that city, the children of Israel, when those armies marched around to take that city, they would see that scarlet line in Rahab's window, a picture again of the precious blood of Christ that was shed at Calvary's cross.
They would see that scarlet line and those that were in Rahab's house were safe from judgment. The soldiers of Israel were instructed to not destroy those inside of Rahab's house.
And so it says in verse 19 of this chapter 2 of Joshua.
This was the word that was given to Rahab. And it shall be that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street.
His blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless. And whomsoever shall, whomsoever shall be with thee in the house, His blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. Here's the message. Here's the gospel again, dear. 1:00 tonight.
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That.
Safety from coming judgment is only is only in the shelter of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so if you are in your sins tonight, you need to flee from God's wrath.
You need to work, as it were, enter by faith into that place of safety that God has provided.
In the Lord Jesus. Well, we have a little picture of that, don't we, in Rahab's house here. And no doubt Rahab was earnest with those that were of her kindred come into my house. This is the only place that's going to be preserved in God's judgment. And so those that came in were delivered from that judgment. Well, let's go now to the New Testament, to Matthew 25.
And just look very briefly at another account of.
The door that was opened but then it was shut and this is in connection with the.
The story, this account that the Lord gives us of the virgins that went out to meet the bridegroom, and it tells us in chapter 25 that five of them were foolish. There were ten of them and five were were wise. And we know that they all had lamps and the foolish didn't have oil in their lamps and their lamps eventually went out.
And, uh, so they asked those that were wise to give them of their oil and they said, no, there's not enough, but you need to go and buy for yourself. And it says while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. So let's just pick up the story from.
Maybe verse 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Oh, how solemn. Another shut door here.
That door had been opened, but they waited too long. The invitation had gone out.
The, that the bridegroom was coming go ye out to meet him, but they waited too long. How sad. You know, Uh, sometimes, uh, we wait too long, don't we, uh, to get on to something. I ride the bus quite a bit in my work and uh, there's a shuttle bus that runs along and when they're getting ready to close the doors, they will announce it. The doors are closing and, uh, so people know that they need to step on quick. Well, occasionally.
People will wait too long and you'll see people running and they're trying to get on the shuttle and they don't get there in time and the doors close and it's interesting to see the expressions on people's faces, you know, uh, missing a bus is not too serious of a consequences connected with that. You can just wait for the next one. But I remember one time when this man tried to get on and he actually kicked his foot.
At the door and he got his foot in and the door pinched shut and there's these, uh, these rubber sleeves on the side of the door so that they don't shut real tight. And he got his foot in the door and the door shut and the bus started going and people were yelling at the bus driver and, and finally he was hopping along there trying to, as the bus was, was starting to pull away from the curb and, and the bus driver stopped right away and the door opened and he got on. He almost didn't make it.
But he got on. But dear ones, we're not talking about something that is minor in consequence. If you miss this open door that God is offering and it shuts like we have in these different accounts, it's too late.
It's too late for the the people that missed the bus, you know, they some of them would get angry and they would kick the bus or you hit it with their fists, but they get the next one.
But here God is offering you tonight salvation. What are you going to do with it?
Well, there's others, like I said, that we could, umm, touch on, but I just want to speak for a few minutes about open doors and then, umm, we're gonna close a little early, but let's just go over now, umm, to a portion in the New Testament and let's go to, uh, umm, Matthew Chapter 28, just a few pages over from where we're at here.
I just love this one because you know, we've had the Lord Jesus saying I am the door. Uh, if any man enter in, he shall be saved. But here we have another door that's brought to us before us in Scripture. And this is in connection with the Lord's tomb that he was placed in. And so we're told in Matthew chapter 28 and verse 2.
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Well, we'll read verse one. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre and behold.
There was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
And his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became his dead men. And the Angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which is crucified. He is not here, for he is risen.
As he said, come and see the place where the Lord lay.
Well, I just have enjoyed this here, that here was this tomb and we know that there was a, a great stone that was rolled into the mouth of that tomb. Umm, it's referred to here as a door. And, uh, the Lord's body was placed there by two disciples, uh, Nicodemus and, and, uh, Joseph of Arimathea and tenderness. They took that body and they placed it in that tumor and never a man had laid.
And then we know that the Lord rose from the dead. What a wondrous thing, resurrection. We don't have time to turn to other scriptures that develop that. But we know that the grave could not hold him, but that he rose from the dead as he said he would. And so the Angel is telling the women that they expected to find him here. And he says, no, he's not here, He's risen, but you can come and see where he lay. And so that stone was rolled away, you might say, so that they could go and they could look in and they could see an empty tomb.
And what a glorious thing this evening to be able to tell you that the Lord's tomb is empty.
He has risen, He is no longer in the grave and the door is open and you can see that He's gone. He's in the heavens now and he's waiting to come for us. He's waiting for the Father to tell Him to come for us.
Are you going to be among the number? Do you believe that the tomb of Jesus is empty? That he has risen from the dead?
Well, I want to touch on one more in closing. It's at it's at the end of this book and it's in Revelation Chapter 3.
Revelation chapter 3.
And, uh, we're just going to read umm.
One verse here, verse 20.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
Him knocking, I think is another translation. Is he knocking on your heart's door tonight? Do you feel that? Do you hear that? Are you in your sins and the Lord is knocking?
What are you going to do about that dear one tonight? Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will Sup with him, and he with me.
Well, this is an invitation. The Lord Jesus is standing, as it were, at your heart's door, and he's knocking. I'm going to apply this in this way. And he wants to come in and it says Sup with. He wants to Sup with you and you with him.
And I so I thought of that as fellowship. And you know, the Lord doesn't just save us to save us from the lost eternity and to save us from the wrath that is coming upon this world. That's wonderful in and of itself. But he wants fellowship. He wants.
Fellowship for his heart and he wants it with you and I and isn't that wonderful that he would desire to have fellowship with us? And so I take this too as an appeal to us, perhaps just a word to us in closing that know the Lord as our Savior. Do you feel at times like the the bride and the Song of Solomon that the Lord has been knocking, as it were, and you haven't opened to him?
And.
Perhaps you aren't comfortable in being in his presence, but he wants to come in. He wants us to open up to him in that account that in the 5th chapter of the Song of Solomon, he comes, as it were, to her, and he wants fellowship with her.
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And she is too. It's too much of an inconvenience for her to get up and to open to him. But she finally does. But when she opens, he's gone. He has withdrawn himself. It's a kind of a touching scene there. And then she realizes how much she misses him. Well, the Lord wants fellowship with us, and he's knocking, as it were, at our hearts door, and he wants us to open up.
And He wants to come in so that we might Sup with him and he with us. Oh, what a wonderful Savior we have. What a wonderful salvation we have. And it's available to you tonight. The door, by God's grace, dear one, tonight, at this moment anyway, is still open. Will you come in? Will you come in and accept the Lord as your Savior tonight? You know, we're going to sing a hymn in closing #17 in our hymn sheet.
And.
Just I trust that you will listen to the message that this hymn has, that you will swing the heart store widely open and let him enter while he may. You know there's a time coming when he's not going to enter.
He won't be available.
Even if you call, there won't be an answer. You can knock and he won't open, but won't you come tonight? Let's sing #17 in closing.
Have you in the morning?
I mean, I'm a friend of the day.
Procrastination
2 Timothy 1:6-7
The Disciple Matthew