St. Louis Conference: 2014
Table of Contents
Prayer
Address—Jim Hyland
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To start the meeting this afternoon with 230.
230 O Lord, when we the path retrace which thou on earth has trod, demand thy wondrous love, and grace, thy faithfulness to God, we wonder at thy lowly mind, and Fain would like thee be.
And all our rest and pleasure find in learning Lord of the 230 if someone will please start it.
By way of introduction to the subject I have on my heart this afternoon, I'd like to read 2 verses. They may seem a little disconnected at first, but we'll seek, with the Lord's help, to use them as an introduction to what I have before me.
The first one is in First Peter chapter 2.
First Peter chapter 2 and verse 21.
For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us.
Leaving us an example that we should follow his steps and then in Luke's Gospel chapter 18.
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Luke's Gospel, chapter 18.
Just the last half of verse one.
Men ought always to pray and not to faint.
You know, we often take up the subject of prayer, and we take it up in its various aspects, and it's a very blessed subject, a very instructive subject. Prayer, as someone has said, is the powerhouse of the divine life, and we need it in every aspect of our lives. But what I'd like to do this afternoon, and keeping with the verse we begin with in Peter, I'd like to go through the Book of Luke and I would like to notice sometimes.
When the Lord Jesus himself as the dependent man, was in prayer to God his Father, because as we read in First Peter, he's left us an example that we should follow in his footsteps.
And before I comment on.
This subject, I would just say this, that this is true in many aspects of our lives. You know, as we go through the Gospels, the four gospels, the four Evangelists, we find the Lord Jesus life brought before us in various ways. As has often been commented, each one of the gospel writers presents a little different character of the Lord Jesus and little different aspects of his life.
Sometimes you even have the same event recorded in one or more Gospels, but often.
In keeping with the character of the gospel, we have little details either added or omitted. As we know in Matthew's Gospel, we have the Lord Jesus presented as the Messiah, the King of the Jews, Matthew's the Gospel that's most Jewish. In its character, Mark presents to us the Lord Jesus is the perfect servant, no genealogy given, and he goes from one busy activity of service to another.
If we were to skip over to John's Gospel, we find the Lord Jesus presented.
As the Son of God and the eternity of his person is brought before us again. No earthly genealogy given. He is the eternal word presented to us, and there are things that are unique to that gospel in keeping with that character. But in Luke's gospel we have the Lord Jesus as the dependent man, the Lord Jesus in the circumstances of life down here.
And there are things again that are unique to this gospel. And in Luke's gospel, over and over and over again, we have the Lord Jesus in prayer, and we're going to go through and look at some of these instances.
And I'm not saying that this is an exhaustive list of times the Lord Jesus prayed. No, there are times given to us in other gospels that you don't have here in Luke's Gospel. For instance, in Matthew 14 where he's up on the mountain praying as the disciples go across the sea, in John 17 we have what we sometimes refer to as his High Priestly Prayer. I'm not even going to say that this is an exhaustive list of times that he prays in Luke's Gospel, but we are going to look at 7 times that the Lord Jesus.
Praise in Luke's Gospel as the Dependent Man and what I'd like to do in keeping with the verse we begin with.
Is to seek, by the grace of God and with the Lord's help, to draw some practical lessons.
Because remember, he's left us an example that we should follow his steps. And as the Lord Jesus said in the verse we read in Luke 18, men ought always to pray and not faint.
Because it was the secret or one of the secrets of the power of the Lord Jesus.
As he walked through this world in the path of faith and service, as the perfect dependent man. And there is no other way, brethren, to have power in our lives. In fact, as you go through the word of God, you find.
Whether it's the Old Testament or the New Testament, you'll find that those men and women and young people who had power and fruit and testimony in their lives for God were men and women and young people of prayer.
You know, as a young person, I used to read to, and I still do some of the biographies and autobiographies of men and women, of God, of past eras, ones who went out with the gospel as pioneer missionaries.
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Ones who when you read their lives, they had tremendous faith and you saw a great miracles and working of the power of God in their lives and service. And as a young person I used to wonder, wow, how is it that they had such power in their lives? But you examine their lives more carefully and you find that they were characterized by prayer. Many of them rose in the middle of the night to pray. I think it was 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. No wonder he was a man used mightily of God during the days of the Reformation. Do you want power in your life? Do you want to see fruit and testimony in your service for Christ? We must be men and women of prayer. In fact, it's the very breath of the divine life. You remember when Saul of Tarsus was saved on the Damascus road and Ananias was told to go, and he would find him in a certain St. in a certain home.
And he was to go to him. And you can just imagine how Ananias must have felt now, Lord.
Don't send me the Saul of Tarsus. You know why he's come here. And he has a reputation and.
I don't want to end up beating and in chains and dragged back to prison myself.
But it's interesting the confirmation that God gave the.
His servant Ananias, in connection with going to visit Saul of Tarsus, he said, You'll find him in a certain St. in a certain place.
And I want you to notice this and behold, he prayeth immediately. When Saul of Tarsus was converted on the Damascus Rd. he was in the attitude of prayer. And I believe it's really one of the proofs of divine life, a soul when they get saved, when they receive divine life, they when they're born again, when they get saved and the process takes place. I believe that it's a proof, a man or a woman who's characterized by prayer.
I'm pretty sure they know the Lord Jesus. I'm pretty sure that they have divine life. Well, as I say, we're going to look at these instances in the life of the Lord Jesus very quickly. And I trust that we will glean something to encourage you and me in our prayer life as we traverse this world the way the Lord Jesus did so long ago. Turn back then, first of all, to the third chapter of the Book of Luke.
Chapter 3 of Luke's Gospel and we'll begin reading at verse 21.
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying.
The heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, And a voice came from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved Son. In thee I am well pleased.
Well, here we have the Lord Jesus. He's about to begin his public ministry.
And he comes to John the Baptist, and he's baptized in the River Jordan.
Now there was a little remnant in Israel in those days that were confessing their sins and coming to John the Baptist for the baptism of repentance.
Now let's make no mistake about it. The Lord Jesus had no sins. He needed to confess. Far be the thought. He was wholly harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners in him with no sin.
He knew no sin and he did no sin, but baptism always has the thought of identification.
And the Lord Jesus is a Jew came and identified with this little remnant in Israel that were coming to John the Baptist and being baptized. And it's the only gospel where it's recorded on this occasion.
That he was praying. There are two other gospels, Matthew and Mark, where you have this same incident brought before us. But in neither of those gospels is it recorded that he was praying at that time, again in keeping with Luke's ministry. Presenting the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man, looked by the Spirit of God by inspiration, adds this little detail that he was praying.
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But I want you to notice three very wonderful things that took place here as the Lord Jesus was praying.
And as he came up out of the waters of baptism, because we find here that the sun had become tangible, here was the Lord Jesus, as John said. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John could say our eyes have seen and our hands have handled of the Word of Life. Not only that, but we find that the Spirit momentarily becomes visible in the form of a dove. I can only think of two times when the Spirit became visible in the Scripture.
The other is later on the day of Pentecost, and in keeping with the character of things there, the Spirit of God descended in the form of cloven tongues of fire, but here he descends upon the Lord Jesus in the bodily form of a dove.
To mark him out as the Christ, the Lord, the Lord's anointed, in keeping with what he read from the Prophet in the next chapter, when he entered into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And they handed him the book, and he stood up and read in the words of the book.
That very place where it says, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. For he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, and so and so on. And lest there be any doubt in the minds of those that stood on the banks of Jordan on that occasion as to who this person was, the Spirit of God descends upon him. You know, it's very interesting that after the flood Noah let the dove out of the ark.
And when Noah let the dove out of the ark on that occasion, the dove found no place for the for to rest the soul of her foot on this earth. But finally the dove came to rest raster on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The perfect one. As the poet said, there was finally an object in this world that would commend the place. The Lord Jesus was here and all heaven could look down. And now not only has the sun become tangible, the spirit visible, but the Father becomes audible.
And the Father, the Father declares from the open heavens, This is my beloved Son in thee, Thou art my beloved Son in thee I am well pleased. Now just a practical lesson or two, because we find here that as the Lord Jesus heaven opened up because he prayed, the heavens opened up, and all heaven gazed down at that blessed object. Here in this world there was an object that was worthy of heaven's attention.
Here in this world. But you know, we can look up by faith this afternoon and we can pray because heaven is open. We can come and we can pray because the heavens are opened and we even been invited to come. Independence and confidence. And you'll find here, as I said, as as is said here, that when the Lord Jesus prayed and the heavens opened up and the Father declared, this is my beloved Son.
There's something practical that we can learn from this, and that is that in the measure in which you and I walk independence through this world, in the measure in which we are characterized as men and women of prayer.
We are going to enjoy, too, the place that we have been brought into through grace. Do we really enjoy that place, you say? I wish I could enjoy more of what I've been brought into, the blessing of the Father and what I mean to the Father. But I ask you how much time do you really spend in prayer? How much time do you spend in communion? And, you know, we have a blessed privilege of addressing our Father directly.
We can come to him at any time, just as the Lord Jesus could pray when he was here on earth, so we can come in that in that same way, you know, It tells us that in the days of His flesh, he poured out his prayers with strong crying and tears.
And what a wonderful thing it is. Again, again, I say to trace the life of the Lord Jesus as the dependent man. But now let's go on to another incident in the 5th chapter.
Chapter 5.
And verse 16.
And he withdrew himself into the wilderness and prayed.
You know, it's interesting that between the time we noticed in the third chapter when he came up out of the waters of baptism and what we read here in the 16th verse of the 5th chapter, we find that three times there is a little statement made concerning the Lord Jesus as his public ministry con commenced. You have it if we were to back up to the 15th verse of this chapter, the previous verse, it says and so much the more went throughout of fame abroad of him.
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This is the third time that we read of his fame going out, and now we find that on the 3rd occasion he withdraws himself to pray. We find that the temptation in the wilderness took place and his fame went out abroad. We find that there was the healing of the man with the unclean spirit. And then in this chapter there has just been the healing of the leper tremendous power exhibited from the person of the Lord Jesus as he walked through this world.
And no wonder his fame went out. Now again, I want to be very, very careful, brethren, in making some practical comments for you and for me in connection with the verse we began with. He left us an example that we should follow in his steps because there was nothing in the Lord Jesus that would respond to this in a prideful way. Again, far be the thought, but again, we have an example for us, and I believe at least one of the lessons we learn from this is.
That as the Lord gives us a little service and ministry, and everyone of us who know Christ as our Savior have a little ministry, have a little service to do for Him. But as we perform that service as a safeguard against pride and being lifted up and thinking that we are anything we need during our service to withdraw ourselves into the presence of God the Father, and we need to pray.
You know, we can be proud in the presence of our brethren. We can be proud in the activities of service and ministry that He gives us. But when we get into His presence, why, that all melts away. Again, the Lord Jesus had nothing that would respond in that way. But He has given us this, this example. It's prayer in our service, and not only as, as a safeguard against pride, but again, do you want power in your service for Christ?
It's going to be measured in the in the UH, in the aspect of how much we time we spend in the presence of the Lord Jesus. I remember one time we were visiting in a foreign country and there was a very busy schedule laid out for us before we got there. And there was a sister who very kindly drove us from one busy activity to another. But I was thankful for her words as we went from one place to another.
Because on a number of occasions, she said to us, remember, Jim, the more prayer, the more blessing. The more prayer, the more blessing. You want power. You want blessing from your service. It must be in the measure in which we spend time in prayer. And again, it's very beautiful to go through the scriptures and notice those times when there's real blessing. You know, I was impressed one time in going through the book of the Acts and to notice that in the chapters.
Or in connection with certain instances and acts, when there was real blessing, it was always a result of prayer, always a result of prayer. When there was prayer, there was blessing and fruit that followed. And so we find this with the Lord Jesus. His fame goes out three times, it's mentioned, and he withdraws himself. He gets alone in the presence of his father, and he prays.
Now let's go on to the 6th chapter.
Chapter 6.
And verse and verse 11, verse 12. And it came to pass in those days.
That he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued in all night in prayer to God. And when it was day he called unto him his disciples. And he chose 12 whom he whom he also he named.
Apostles.
Well, here we have the Lord Jesus praying again, and here we find He prays all night. That was a long time, wasn't it? There are really only two individuals I can think of who it specifically says prayed all night, the Lord Jesus on this occasion and Samuel back in his day when after Saul had been chosen as king and Samuel realized the.
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Uh, condition of things that have come in as a result of it. He spent all night in prayer, tells us he cried all night to the Lord in prayer in connection with the condition of things amongst the people of God. You know, that humbles my own soul.
I have never been so burdened for the people of God and the condition amongst the Lord's people that I have spent all night in prayer.
But Samuel's love and concern for the people of God was so great that it tells us he cried all night.
Unto the Lord. And here we find the Lord Jesus spends all night in prayer.
And what is the is the context of him spending all night in prayer? Well, there are perhaps two things. We didn't read it, but if we were to back up, we would find that they desired to get rid of the Lord Jesus. It was pretty well established at this point that he was rejected. The leaders of Israel were mad against him because of certain things he had said and done, and so he spends all night in prayer. But I think there's something even more marked, and that is.
He was about to choose those who were going to be closest to him in his public ministry. He was going to choose the 12 apostles from those who had been following the Lord Jesus up to this point in his pathway.
Now, did the Lord Jesus know who he was going to choose? Of course he did. He knew exactly who he was going to choose. And let me just put a little parenthesis in here. He also knew what kind of disciples they were going to be. He knew that there was going to be Judas who would remain unregenerate to the end and eventually betray the Lord Jesus with with a kiss. He knew what Peter was going to be like.
He knew that there was going were going to be James and John, the sons of Thunder. There were going to be those who strove, who strove, who was going to be the greatest. He knew all about them. They're different personalities. And I suppose we little realize what an interesting and diverse group of 12 men the Lord chose to be with him during those years of his public ministry, from all different backgrounds, fishermen to civil servants like Matthew the tax collector.
No doubt different temperaments, as we've we've said, all kinds. You know, I often look around on an occasion like this and I think of the of a group of of believers like this this afternoon. You know, we come from all different kinds of backgrounds, different areas of the Coun country, the continent and even the world. What has brought us together? It's the Lord Jesus. It's the fact that he saved you and saved me. It's the fact that he gathered you to his precious name and that he gathered me. I suppose most of you, if not all of you, in this room this afternoon, I never would have known or met if it hadn't been for that work of grace. And so it was with these men and the Lord knew exactly who he was going to choose.
But again, let us go back and reiterate what we read at the beginning. He's left us an example that we should follow his step, his steps? And what is the example? What is the practical lesson that we learn from this?
The need for prayer in connection with choosing those that are closest to us in various aspects of our Christian pathway. Again, I have to hang my head and say I've never spent all night in prayer in connection with a decision like that. I may have been, by the grace of God, exercised from time to time about associations and friendships, but not to this degree. But this is the standard that God's Word gives us.
How much have we prayed about, say, business associates, a job, those we associate with in business? Do we make that a real matter of prayer? You know, there are practical considerations as well, but it's good to get into the presence of the Lord and really make those things a matter of prayer. What about our friendships, those we are associated with closest in our pathway? I'm not talking about now about those we have to rub shoulders with at the factory or the shop or at the office.
Those who are casual acquaintances. But you know, it says of the disciples in the early Acts being let go. They went to their own company. There were those that when their time was free, they found their company with those who would encourage them in the Lord. And again, as we go through scripture, we find this over and over again. Someone has said our friends are like the buttons of an elevator. They either take us up or down.
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And that's certainly true. It's certainly been true in my life. Those that have, I have associated with and been friendly with in a close way. They've either been for my good spiritually or the sometimes for my for my detriment, sad to say.
I suppose we often note the the outstanding example of Daniel in the Old Testament. You know, Daniel's three friends were a real blessing to Daniel and Daniel to them.
Because, you know, there came a time when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had to stand on their own.
When it came to the fiery furnace, there's no mention of Daniel being on the plane of plains of Dora. They were they could stand with Daniel and encourage one another in the first chapter in connection with the portion of the King's meat, but then they had to stand on their own. What gave them, what helped them to make the decision they did in the presence of the king and the fiery furnace nearby being heated A hotter than it it had been.
Oh, I suggested, it was the friendship that they had had with Daniel. Their faith had been strengthened because they had associated with a man of faith. And so we need to pray much about those that we associate with in that way. What about a partner for life? Perhaps some of you young people are praying about this. Make it a real matter of prayer. Yes. Again, there are practical considerations that need to be taken up. God is very practical.
But make it a real matter of prayer. And those we associate in connection with our fellowship as to other believers, have we made that a real matter of prayer? Because when we do, he wants to direct us to that very place where He is in the midst and where we can sit down at the Lord's table to partake of the Lord's Supper. All these things are serious decisions in our lives. These decisions affect our whole lives, and the Lord has given us this beautiful example.
And so the Lord knowing that these were the ones that were going to be closest to him during the years of his public ministry.
He spent all night in prayer and then he arises and he chooses these 12 to be with him. I would just make another little practical comment too. You know, so often we pray about something, and please, I'm not pointing the finger at anyone. I have to point it at myself and leave it there. But so often we pray about something, maybe in the assembly, prayer meeting, maybe in the family circle, or perhaps even in our personal prayer time. And we pray about it a time or two, and then we move on.
And then we look back and we wonder why there wasn't more blessing in connection with that individual we were praying for or that particular circumstance. But, you know, I've been exercised in my own soul of late of that little expression. You get it in Colossians and other places. Continue in prayer. The Lord continued in prayer all night. Do we know what it is to continue in prayer, not just to mention something once or twice and then to pass on?
But to really continue in prayer until we see results, we always want to pray that it's the Lord's will and will speak of that a little later. But it does say the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much in Ephesians. We're told to continue in prayer and watch unto the unto the same, to look and expect answers to our prayers, of course, according to his plan and His will.
Now let's go to Chapter 9.
Chapter 9 and verse 18.
And it came to pass as he was alone, praying his disciples were with him.
And he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am they answering said John the Baptist. But some say Elias, and others say one of the one of the old prophets is risen again.
He sat under them. But whom say ye that I am Peter answering said the Christ of God. You know, it's very interesting, this little expression as he was alone praying his disciples were with him.
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You ever been alone in a crowd? Alone. Sometimes they talk about being alone in a crowd. Sometimes I felt that way. As we said earlier, these men, these disciples, these apostles, were the 12 That the Lord chose to be closest to him in his public ministry. But sometimes, even in the presence of his disciples, he felt alone. Perhaps he there were times when he felt they just didn't understand what He was passing through.
Didn't understand often what he was saying, Didn't understand his exercises and so on. And so his disciples were with him, but he was alone in his exercise. Before God. He was alone praying because you know, you might feel alone sometimes, but you're never alone. There's one that you can always turn to in every circumstance. Now again, it's only in Luke where we have the Lord Jesus praying on this occasion.
In Matthew and Mark, where you have this incident, he leaves that out. There's something else that's unique to this incident too, because when Peter gives this wonderful testimony, he says thou art the Christ of God.
In Matthew's Gospel he says the Son of the living God. Why does it not add the son of the living God here?
Why is it in Matthew that it's added, Well, you know, Matthew, as we said, is the gospel that's most Jewish in its character and yet.
Matthew is the gospel and the only gospel that introduces to us the subject of the Church.
And in Matthew 16, where you have this incident, we find there, he says. On this rock, I will build my church.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. For Israel, it's the uh, it's the Son of David. And for this world in a coming day, they're gonna be blessed in connection with him being the Son of Man. But the Son of God is a expression that is enjoyed by the Church of God. And so when the church is introduced in Matthew, the gospel is Jewish in its character. It's recorded there that Peter says the Son, the Son of God.
Well, that's just a little aside, but again, I want to draw a very practical lesson from this.
Because I believe that as we are in prayer, it's going to give power and testimony in acknowledge and understanding, in acknowledging who he really is. You know, it's not enough that we just know the Lord Jesus as the one who came from heaven, the one of God. That we know him as there were many, knew him as a prophet and a good man and so on. But he wants us to have a deeper understanding of the person of Christ than just that.
And he wants that understanding and appreciation to deepen in our Christian pathway.
It's perhaps a little different, but I think there's something to consider in the life of the Apostle Paul in this regard.
Because you know Paul, some years after he was saved, he wrote to the Philippians.
And he summed up the whole desire of his life by saying that I may know him.
You say, well, didn't he get to know the Lord on the Damascus Rd. Yes, he did. He came to know the Lord there. But as he went on with the Lord, the independence, as he was characterized of a man as a man of prayer.
He went on with the Lord with a desire to have a better appreciation and understanding of who he was. He wanted to have a deeper relationship, and this is something that ought never to stop or cease. In our Christian pathway. We can never say that we've arrived. I heard of a Christian lady who was nearing the end of her life and as her life was slipping away in her memory.
She kept repeating over and over on her death bed that I may know him. And then after a while it was just to know him, and after a while, just him. It was him that she had a relationship with. That relationship had grown.
And developed during her Christian life and even on her deathbed, her desire was to know more of him and to know him personally. And so I believe this is only going to be true. We're only going to have an appreciation of his person, of who he is in the measure in which we walk in his company and independence with him. But let me just say this too, about prayer. I would suggest at this juncture that prayer.
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Is more than just making requests. It is making requests. But prayer in its simplest form, I believe, is speaking to to the Lord. I've often said that, to my own soul at least, the best definition of prayer is in that verse in Timothy where it speaks about our food. It says it's sanctified by the word of God in prayer. But if you notice Mr. Darby's translation, he translates that word prayer as freely addressing God.
That's what prayer really is. It's freely addressing God, and that's what you see in the life of the Lord Jesus.
You know, sometimes we may not have some specific need or request not so maybe not some specific supplication, but just to come and spend time in His presence to speak to him as we would speak to to our friend, denoting reverence, of course, but to develop that relationship with himself. Then we will be like Peter, who was able to give this wonderful testimony.
But Peter answered, said the Christ of God. But a wonderful confession. It was given by Peter, but it was on this occasion when the Lord Jesus was was found praying.
But there's another incident in this same chapter. Just drop down to the 28th verse and it came to pass about an 8 days after these things. He took Peter and John and James and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias.
Who appeared in glory and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish in Jerusalem.
But but Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass as they departed from him. Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make 3 tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias, not knowing what he said.
Well, he thus spake, There came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice of the out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone.
And they kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen. Well, this incident is what we often refer to as the Mount of Transfiguration. And again, it's the only one of the Gospels where it's recorded that he's praying on this occasion, in keeping with the gospel as the dependent man. But I want to notice several things in a practical sense. We find here that he goes up to a mountain to pray.
Now you often find that in the life of the Lord Jesus again in Matthew 14.
After he had dismissed the multitude that had been fed with the loaves and fishes, and after he had constrained his disciples to get into a ship to go across the sea, he went up on the mountain, and there he was alone praying.
Here he's on a mountain praying again, and I suggest that a mountain in Scripture would often speak to us of a place of separation. Because I believe if we are going to have an effective prayer life, we must walk through this world in separation from evil. We're told to be clean, which bear the vessels of the Lord. It tells us if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. It's to walk.
In personal sanctification.
It's to be it's to have that practical cleansing that we need, and to walk in separation from this world again. The Lord Jesus, of course, with holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners.
But remember our key verse, our keynote verse. He left us an example that we should follow his steps. And so he goes up to the mountain to pray, and we find that as he prays, the fashion of his countenance was altered and his raiment was white and glistening. I suggest the practical lesson we learn here is the power to represent him here in this world, in the measure in which we walk as men and women. Independence, Because the more we walk in his company.
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And independence on him, the more we are going to be able to represent Christ here.
In fact, in his pre, as a result of being in his presence, there's going to be an unconscious reflection of Christ in our lives. It's often been pointed out, but I'll repeat it. We find with Moses the result of being in the presence of God on the mount was that his face shone, but he didn't try to make his face shone. In fact, it was unconscious. It says he wist, not that his faith that his face shone.
And it tells us in the New Testament, in Corinthians, we all with open face beholding us in a glass, the glory of the Lord.
Are changed into the same image from glory to glory. What that verse is very simply saying is in the measure in which we are occupied with Christ where he is now.
There will be an unconscious reflection of Christ in your life.
And mine. And so I believe this is the lesson that we learn from this. This was a little preview, of course, of the coming glory, And it rejoices our heart to think of that time when, as John tells us in his epistle, we're not only going to be with Christ, we're going to be like Christ, but he wants that, uh con, that moral conformity in our lives. Now, as we find in Romans chapter 12 and other places, we don't have time to develop it, But I just say again.
And the measure in which we are independence in prayer and in the company of the Lord Jesus, there will be that power to represent him. There will be that testimony and something of a reflection of Christ in our lives now.
Let's move on to the 11Th chapter.
Chapter 11 And verse one. And it came to pass that as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth give us day by day Our Daily Bread.
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Well, this is what we often refer as what is often referred to as the Lord's Prayer.
Perhaps better referred to as the disciples prayer. It's interesting that the disciples came to the Lord Jesus as they saw him as an example, praying in a certain place. Want to make a little comment about that certain place?
Because I want to encourage each of us to not just have a stated time for prayer.
That's good. Have a time for prayer. Some time in your daily routine when nothing will interrupt and you can spend some time in prayer. But you know, I found it helpful in my life too, to have a stated place for prayer, somewhere where you can just slip away and you know you'll be unnoticed and be alone. It's very helpful. And so when you're in that certain spot, maybe it'll be in your room, maybe it'll be somewhere out. Some of you are farmers, maybe some little out building where you can slip away and just have a little time with with the Lord in in prayer. But to have a stated place for prayer, I believe is very helpful.
And then when he had ceased, they said to the Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.
They'd seen John the Baptist, a man of God, and he was evidently a man of prayer as well.
And this had encouraged them. And so the Lord Jesus then gives them a pattern prayer. And I stress that because I don't believe the Lord was telling them that what they needed to do was recite this set of words. And you'll notice in the other Gospels there's a little different details. It's presented a little different ways, but it's not just to rattle off. It's like we often say vain repetition. Now I am thankful for any recognition there is of God and His word in this world today, and I'm thankful if this is recited.
At schools or public meetings, wherever it's recited, I will stand to and recite it, at least part of it with them, because I'm thankful for any recognition that there is of God in the Scripture. But this, I believe, was a pattern prayer, and it was a prayer that was suited to the condition and position of the disciples at this time, because it's really Jewish in its character. However, there are some things that are good for us to consider, for instance.
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We can address our Father. God is our Father. Isn't that wonderful that we can come later on? The Lord Jesus encouraged the disciples in the upper room in preparation for his absence, that though they were no longer going to come be able to come and address him directly as they had on earth, they were gonna have the wonderful privilege of coming directly to the Father. And so that's wonderful. We ought to come with reverence, hallowed be thy name. We always ought to come, recognizing that we are addressing.
Either God the Father or the Lord Jesus as a divine person. And there always needs to be that in our in our prayers He says Thy Kingdom come. Well, perhaps we don't pray for the Kingdom, We're looking for the rapture, but we are to love His appearing. It's part of our blessed hope looking for the the blessed hope and the glorious appearing. It's all it's all connected. And we look forward to that day when His will will be done on on earth as it is in heaven. It ought to thrill our hearts to think of it.
You know the Lord Jesus says He's seated at the right hand of God. He's looking forward to it, henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. And it ought to thrill our hearts to think that that day is is coming. We don't ask for the forgiveness of sins, but in Christianity, if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's good to look to him independence for Our Daily Bread we.
Ought to pray that we'd be preserved and kept in the temptations and pitfalls of life.
And so it's not a prayer we are just to rattle off and think little about.
But it is a pattern for us. And those things that they were given here are things that are good for us to consider, Of course, not in the light of the position they occupied at the time, but in the light of what we have further developed in in Christianity. So again, He's given us an example. You know, it's interesting that in the incident before at the end of the 10th chapter, we have a lady that heard his words, and then we have the Lord teaching the disciples to pray. Both are important because He speaks to us through His word.
And then we come and speak to him in prayer and it's a very vital part of our Christian Pathway fellowship.
And Communion. We often refer to it as now One more incident in the 22nd chapter.
Chapter 22.
And verse 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.
And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done.
Well, here we have the Lord Jesus. As the hour of his greatest trial approached, he was about to go to Calvary's cross and how the burden of it pressed on his holy soul. And so we have here His agony in the garden.
Now Matthew tells us he prayed three times. Luke just gives us a summary. He doesn't denote the three times. He just gives us a summary. But it's interesting that he's removed from them about a stone's cast. Why did the Scripture record that expression? Well, you know, stoning was the Jewish way of execution, but you know the Lord Jesus was not going to go into death through stoning. He was removed from them about a stone's cast.
Because the Lord Jesus was going to go to the cross and die the death of the cross as had been prophesied of him.
And so he's removed from them about a stone's cast. And as he contemplates Calvary and all that it meant to his holy soul, not just the sufferings at the hand of man, but what he anticipated in those hours of darkness he prays. And in the 44th verse we didn't read, he prays more earnestly. Now there are a couple of very practical things we can learn from this. One is that no matter how deep the trial is, we have one that we can turn to, and we can pray, and we can pray more earnestly.
It doesn't matter how deep the trial is. I have no doubt there are some here this afternoon who are going through very deep trials, things, perhaps, that I have never been called on to pass through in the path of faith and service. And I have to stand here and confess that I perhaps don't empathize or understand what you're going through. But I do know one thing. There's one who does. There's one who bowed earnestly in prayer in the garden and sweat, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
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And we can follow his steps and we can come in that same way. But there's something else very important, because here we find the Lord Jesus praying for the last time recorded in Luke before he goes to the cross.
And he says nevertheless, not my will, but as thou wilt, thy will be done. And brethren, we always want to pray in the circumstances of life. In that way never beg the Lord for something that isn't according to his mind.
He may grant it in his permissive will, but it won't be for your good and blessing. And so he left us this wonderful example as the Lord Jesus faced Calvary, as he prayed that that cup might be removed from him. Yet he had come to do the Father's will, and perfect submission gave perfect delight. And he rose from the garden and went on and endured the cross, despising the shame, knowing the import of that verse that says weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
And he accomplished that mighty work for the glory of God and for your blessing and mine. Well, we've looked at these instances so very quickly, I trust you'll go back over them and meditate on them. Go through the Gospels and find the other instances where the Lord is in prayer. It is very, very instructive. And I say again, may you and I, by the grace of God, seek to be men and women of prayer until that day when we won't need it. In the same way, we'll sit down in His presence and be beyond the exercises and the needs, the trials of life.
Then we're going to praise him for all eternity. But in the meantime, he's given us this wonderful resource, the wonderful resource of freely addressing him.
Ephesians 2:1-5
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Number 99.
Chapter 2.
First three chapters of Ephesians are what God is doing.
And chapters four to six are exhortations and how what we're to be doing.
And quite often when we're together, it's we want something, we call it practical, that tells me how to know the will of the Lord in my life and how to get through today and tomorrow and the next day and so on. But I think we might find our hearts encouraged to spend a little time together thinking about what God is doing. And we it may be an encouragement to our souls as to the practical walk that we live.
Ephesians chapter 2.
And you, as he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, were in in time past. He walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, and the loss of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.
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And we're by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved, and have raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches.
Of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.
Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh.
Who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands. That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes.
Were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
For He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances. For to make in Himself of twain, 1 Newman soul making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God.
In one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.
And came and preached peace to you, which were far off, and to them.
No.
For through Him we both have access by 1 Spirit under the Father.
Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself.
Being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings fitly framed together, grow us unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
This is not a chapter of exhortation. I don't think there's a single exhortation or to us in the first three chapters of the book of Ephesians, the 1St 3 chapters. In chapter one we have God having certain purposes in himself. He didn't consult with us, but even before He created this world, He purposed certain things to come to pass.
According to his perfect and will and love. And so we learn a little bit about them and the OR a lot about them in the first chapter. But those purposes include people.
And they include people in this room.
And.
When God came to take up the people in this room, He didn't find us in a very suitable condition to fit in with what He was doing and purpose to do, and so He had to do work. He didn't say to us, you do the work and then you can fit into my program and my purposes. We do have that side of it elsewhere, but not here, the emphasis here.
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For our blessing is to see what God is doing.
To accomplish what he has purpose to doing and how we fit into it and, uh, what the result is for God and for us. And, uh, it's wonderful. Jim, in the last meeting, uh, brought out the subject of prayer. And in fact, in the first three chapters, there's two prayers of the apostle Paul and the first one in chapter one, he says.
I pray that God will open your eyes to see.
What he's doing.
And what he's doing for you.
In chapter 3, praise again and his prayer has to do with the working of God in US.
And the power of that work in us to accomplish the end result that God of what God is doing. And so this chapter begins, uh, with continuation of what's in the previous chapter, but it's starts out and you who were dead.
That's where we begin in this story, if you will. There's a bunch of dead people, spiritually dead, not physically dead, but God chose not to leave us in a state of spiritual death. But if we were going to.
Be to his glory. And if he was going to accomplish the purpose of his love to the glory of his Son, then we have a place in that plan. And uh, that place required God to do work on us.
And so the position in which we are when he starts the work is, it says here you who were dead.
Thank God He can work with dead things. Most of us aren't capable of working with dead things. We're really we have to begin with something's living or we work with it as dead. They're not having life and we don't change that condition either. But here God wanted to start with us and bring us into this blessing.
Denote separation. Doesn't it end? It's the fact that we're dead in trespasses and sin, naturally speaking, that has separated us from God. And that's why later on in the chapter we'll notice that he speaks of being brought nigh through the work and the blood of of blood of Christ. Because as it says in the Old Testament, your sins have have separated between you and your your God, and we're dead intra in trespasses and sin.
And so death is taken up in different ways in the Scripture. There's physical death, there's the second death for those who reject God's salvation. And here, as we've been, Don has been saying it's in connection with with spiritual death, but it always denotes separation. And in the chapter before, he's brought before us the wonderful position that we've been brought into the relationship, the position seated in heavenly places in Christ, chosen, predestinated, and all these wonderful things.
But he pauses, does he not, to remind us what we were. He told us what we are, what we are by grace, and what we've been brought into by grace in the first chapter. Now he says, lest you forget, lest you forget, I'm going to remind you of what you were. And that as you say, Brother Dawn, this is all a work of the Spirit of God, God himself. And when you and I get to glory in a coming day, we will have nothing to boast in, because I suggest we will realize, perhaps in a way we've never realized before.
Just what has been brought before us that there was nothing that we could do.
We were dead, a dead person. You can talk to the mall day. You can encourage them and admonish them to do something, but they're not going to going to respond. And you and I by the grace of God have had divine life imparted to us so that there was a response and he's going to take that up later on. It's not really that I noticed Dawn when he quoted this first verse. He quoted, I believe more accurately than we have it here. It's not so much in you Hathi quickened here. That's true. We get that later on, but you notice it's in italics added by the translators, the Hathi Quicken. It's just in you who were dead in trespasses and sin fact.
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No, no doubt about it, no disputing this, naturally speaking, dead in trespasses and sin. But then he's going to go on to bring out how that there's been a marvelous work, not of anything to do with us, but of God, to bring us back nigh. We're separated by sin, but we've been made nigh now by the blood of Christ. But, brethren, we never want to forget, do we, what we were.
Because if we understand what we were, it gives us a greater appreciation of what we are. If we understand that we were dead in sins, it's going to give us an appreciation of the work of God to not only impart divine life to us, but to bring us into the enjoyment of salvation and the full standing that we that we have. The minute I think there's something good in myself. The minute I think that there was some response in myself.
And even after we're saved, it's God that works in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. But the minute I think it's of myself, I've lost the real sense of the grace of God and the extent of the awesome work that He has accomplished and is accomplishing in each one of us.
Is found in John 10 where it says, umm, I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. Uh, that verse indicates that our real true condition naturally as being born as children of Adam is that we were in the condition of of being in spiritual death. No life towards God at all, but the Lord, the purpose of the Lord's coming.
Into this world was that.
We might have life.
Verse two, I'm just gonna get a little piece out of the new translation, he says, in which he once walked.
That is, he's addressing people who once walked a certain way and now walk a different way. He's addressing, as Jim said, looking back at the condition they had once been in, but he's speaking to them now as the condition that they are in.
I was thinking about it in a little different sense.
And that has to do with the fact that we look at the world today.
And most people would say it's in a mess and it is. We wouldn't deny it isn't. And we look at it and we say it's getting worse. And, uh, so we assume that because it's getting worse that the Lord's not going to let that go on indefinitely. And he will not. And so he's going to bring his judgment upon it and he will in his time.
But we want our eyes open.
To recognize that a tremendous positive work is going on in the world at this moment.
There's a great work going on. It's a work of God, and when we see the results of some question came up.
Maybe lunch time today, I think at the at the dinner table about how many people there would be in heaven and only God knows.
But anybody ask would say, well, it's probably a pretty big number and, uh, that's part of.
This day's work, God. Before this day is over, we can say with confidence, I think that there'll be lots more people added to the collection of those that form the building, which is what brought this chapter to my mind when we sang the opening hymn. View the vast building, see it rise. What a great plan behind it. What a great work In the building seen in this chapter is a building of God, and it's built on the living stone.
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The Lord Jesus Christ and, uh, God's patiently but very efficiently doing a great work in the world today. And we will see when it's all done, how mighty was the work on this day and each day of this period in which we call it the day of God's grace. Because remember, grace is what God's doing.
Man had his 4000 years of his doing and didn't really accomplish anything that's gonna last in his effort. But God has spent the last 2000 years approximately in His doing, and what He's doing is gonna last for eternity and includes our personal and collective, uh, eternal joy. And so there is the time passed.
But also we want to recognize through this chapter there is.
The presence and and the presence of mighty work is going on for God, by God.
We look around us.
And we can see the truth of the latter part of this verse, the spirit that now worketh, and the children of disobedience.
We see the.
Ruined lives, wretched ways of man.
Violence, corruption everywhere and we could be distracted or discouraged by it. The spirit, the spirit that now worketh and the children, disobedience. But I can look around this room.
Let's see a contrast, and that contrast is.
Stated in the third chapter.
Verse 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly, above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in US.
So how does it work in each one of us here?
No, it's not they're not finished products yet, but that it says here he is able to exceedingly abundant above all that we ask or think according to the power works in.
US and we I look at my my brother and I look at myself and see faults that there is a perfection.
Think statements, all inclusive statements here, doesn't he? Because the building material that God had to start with, with each one of us was all the same, dead, rotten through and through. And the Apostle Paul, he was a religious man and you get his credentials, so to speak in Philippians and so on. Pharisee of the Pharisee, upright citizen and so on. Very religious, but he says among whom also we all.
Includes himself. And so it's not a question of a good side of the broad road or a bad side, a dirty side of the Broad Rd. It's not a question of some being almost dead and some dead and some good and some and a spark of divinity in this one and not in that one. No, this is all inclusive. And the apostle Paul includes himself and everyone of the Ephesians that he was writing to.
And so again, we need to realize that. But isn't it beautiful then to turn from that as John has brought before us and to see that the place we've been brought into and the work we that that has brought us positionally before God in Christ is the same in each one of us too. It there's we're all blessed with all spiritual blessings. You don't have any less blessing than the person sitting beside you. I don't have any less blessing than than you have.
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There may be a measure of enjoyment, appreciation of it according to our walk and so on, but everyone here has had the same, who knows Christ has had the same work of grace and has the not only the the same blessings, but the same power and resources for the path of faith here in this world to live for God's glory. Dawn pointed out Paul's prayer for the Saints in the first chapter. He didn't pray that they'd have more power.
What he did pray was that their eyes would be open to see the power that they did have and that they would avail themselves of the resources that they did have. You know, it's interesting, the book of Ephesians, as you go on in the later chapters, as Dawn pointed out, is a very, very practical book. Yes, it begins with these precious doctrines and the posi heavenly position and the blessings we've been brought into. But it's interesting that beginning with the second verse.
There are 7 exhortations in connection with our walk, beginning with the fact that we once walked according to the course of this world. I'll just point them out for your meditation very quickly. But in the 10th verse of this same chapter, the 2nd chapter, he says, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. So we walked according to the course of this world at one time.
But that's not what God has for us now in his workmanship. In regard to each one of us, there's a new course.
And again, it's not ourselves, it's all his workmanship if you have any desire.
In your soul to please the Lord, if there's been any walk according to his will in your life. It was all his doing. It's all been his work and, uh, with, in you and with you. But then notice in chapter 4, when we get into the practical side of the epistle, you have the third exhortation in verse one. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation.
Where with your cold. And so he's brought before them their calling in the first three chapters. Now there's a walk that's in keeping with that there we need to walk worthy of that which we have been brought into. And then in verse 17 of chapter 4, this I say therefore, and testify in the Lord that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their minds. So again.
It's extorting them not to go back and walk the way they once walked and the way others that aren't the Lords.
Still walk and then we have the fifth one in chapter 5 and verse two and walk in love as Christ also loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. And then just drop down to the eighth verse of chapter 5. For we are for ye were sometimes darkness, but now our light in the Lord walk as children of light. So we're not just a walk in love, but we're to walk as children of light. There's a position we've been brought into and then the 7th 1:00.
Is in verse 15 of chapter 5. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise. And it's a wonderful meditation. You can go back and meditate on that. So it's very, very practical. But as we've been reminded, it all begins with his work for us and in US.
Realize that in this chapter the Lord only spends 3 verses talking about what we were, what what our true condition was. And I think it's good for us to meditate on what our real condition was. Is He doesn't spend much time outlining or instructing us as to the the ruin of of of what we were as children of Adam, but he does take 3 verses in doing it because he wants us to understand.
What we were.
We can't, truly.
Lay hold of God's grace and mercy unless we have a clear understanding of how what we were and what he delivered us from. And so I think that that's really the thought in in in the Lord in the Spirit of God. First of all, recording these very unpleasant.
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Versus that that don't pull any punches, as it were, that lay it right on the line so that we get a clear understanding of how doomed and ruined we were. And it says in verse 2, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world. How did this world begin as it's Speaking of in this verse? It began by man departing from God and deciding he was going to.
Create a system that was, that wouldn't need God, would not need a relationship with God. The only way for man to have a relationship with God is for man to obey God. And very quickly in man's history, he decided he didn't want to obey God. And so he created a system in which he could be satisfied without the requirement of being obedient to God. And So what happened then in the next part of that verse it says.
According to the Prince.
Of the power of the air. Well, when we decide that we don't want to be under God's authority and we do not want to be obedient to God, we immediately become under the authority of Satan. We immediately find ourselves under a very, very.
Umm, powerful influence who? And really, it was man that gave Satan this advantage.
Satan became the Prince and the power of the air because of man's disobedience and departure from God. And so here we are now we we have created a system that doesn't wanna be under God's authority. We find ourselves under the authority of Satan with no, absolutely no ability to be delivered from that condition.
Umm.
The spirit that now worketh and the children of disobedience. There's a spirit and natural man that is that that really is is is the spirit of of, of, of the devil. And what are the results? Disobedience. I I think that we've gotten a good taste of that this week here in Saint Louis at the beginning of the week.
When man was basically given an opportunity that he's not usually he doesn't usually have, and that he is, he can resist.
The Authority.
That usually he has to submit to but under the circumstances that were created that authority was hindered from subduing man's will and so for maybe a night man was able to run free of the authority that usually he has he is he's bound to resulted in all kinds of chaos and.
We see that just a it's a rare glimpse of what happens when the power of Satan is unleashed and and unhindered. It's not a very pretty picture, but really that's the heart that's really seeing the heart of man.
Completely unleashed. It wasn't a very pretty picture. None of us really like to think about what was going on.
The world of flesh and the devil, we have all three of them. In these verses two and three. Already comments have been made about the world and the course of it. A system of things that was just said, that man is set up for himself to live without God.
And secondly, the power of Satan, who is a presently the usurper of God's authority among men in this world, not by right, but he has power over man. And then chapter verse 3, then we have the third one, the flesh in US, and it says we were by nature. What we're looking at is a picture of God that says this is what your nature was.
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And your nature was being controlled by its lusts.
And by the will of the mind and.
And the will of man is for himself, regardless of what God's will is. I want what I want. And that's his will of man. And what I want, I want, whether it's good or bad for me, I want it. He has a nature, We have a nature which is sinful. And so this was the, the condition of man totally under the control of that which was the enemy of man. Uh, Satan's power, the world system.
And the worst enemy of all ourselves, that is the fallen nature within us, that is against us. And so with that backdrop, he then goes to verse four and he says, but God.
Thank God for the **** God.
Otherwise, we wouldn't have anything more to talk about. We wouldn't even bother to be here this afternoon. Uh, except we can. But God, that is. God comes into the picture. We see what we are, but now we're going to see what God is, and that's the source of all our good and blessing.
We have that we.
Should be to the praise of his glory, her first trusted in Christ. That's really.
From among the Jews, isn't it?
And in our first verse of this chapter, you is pretty much the Gentiles.
And verse two, ye more the thought of the Gentiles.
But certainly true of all. But there's three, among whom also we all.
You get God working, don't you? I was thinking of an Acts 15 where we get the.
Coming together.
Over the question of whether to put the Gentiles under law.
For salvation.
The word that could not be settled merely by.
Paul and Silas at.
Antioch.
And the.
Or the apostles.
Uh, which follows an apostle and he was at Antioch.
But they went up to Jerusalem and there we get an, as you might say, sort of like a care meeting, but it's when the assembly acted.
And it was seemed good unto them and the whole church.
But Peter comes up with the.
Verse uh.
18 says Known unto God, are all his works.
From the beginning.
Of the world wherefore my sentences that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God.
That we write unto them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
And so forth. And it's first.
25.
Seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord.
Verse of.
To send others, send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth, what seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us.
To lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things.
That Ye abstained from meat of her idols.
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And from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, from which, if you keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fear ye well.
So they.
Were dismissed. They came to Antioch when they had gathered the multitude together they delivered the Epistle, which, when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
But it was really.
The acting of.
The church together, the assembly there.
Sending out that good news. But the fact was they were opposites. The Jew, the Gentile, the Lord Jesus said in John 4, salvation is of the Jews.
And people don't like to admit that God had one source, that salvation came through the Lord Jesus Christ. It's God acting and he's bringing.
Companies together that one thought they were doing all right and the other definitely wasn't. But the really it characterized both dead.
So that's what it says. Verse three, we all.
That is, whether you are a Jew with your privileges and opportunity and social situation, or whether as addressed here to the those in Ephesus, the Gentile. What was true underneath the surface of all the different cha relationships they had even outward relationships to God. It had to be said in verses two and three. We all had our manner of life, our conversation characterized by the flesh.
The world.
Even the Jew at it by the world and.
By the.
Satan behind the working of it all says he said the Jews brought the Lord Jesus to Pilate the Gentile and he had to say the Lord Jesus had to say this is your hour and the power of Satan. Satan was behind the work in the Jew, he was behind the work in the Gentile, unitedly so to bring the Lord Jesus to the cross, to his death.
And so regardless of what our background may be, some of us in this room may have had a very, umm, Christian upbringing and others perhaps not in a Christian home, but what characterized us in our natures was these three things. And so it's in verse four. But God and then it's loved us who's the US loved us who were Jews and loved us who were Gentiles and.
So when it gets to be God's work, man may have had different opportunities, but if there's going to be a good result.
Then it has to go back to the work of God to produce it, and so it's God. Rich in mercy to the Jew, rich in mercy to the Gentile.
By his great love. Great love to the Jew, great love to the Gentile.
Then he says wherein he loved us, us, whether we were whatever our background may have been, religiously or otherwise.
We're all come under the common need of the grace of God to work for our blessing.
I like this verse four about being God who is rich in mercy for his great love or with he loved us.
The the Gentiles, they did not have the exposure to God the way the Jews did. And and so when God sent his Son the Lord Jesus into the world, he made a way for the Jews.
To come to God through the blood of Jesus Christ. But he also extended that to the Gentiles. And I'm glad about that because I'm a Gentile and there would be no other way for me to come into a relationship with God except by Jesus Christ. And so in verse two, it talks about verse one is being dead. Umm, I want to point out some opposites here. Umm, when the mercy and the love of the Lord comes in.
There's a change.
And there's a change to the opposite. And maybe it's not a change, but it's a new a new thing that that comes in. So it says we're dead in trespasses and sins. But you go down to verse five. We who are when we were dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ. And so quicken means we're given life. And so we're dead in our trespasses and sins. We're given life. Those sins are gone.
00:45:07
We have life, we have eternal life, the life of Christ and then in verse two says wherein in times past ye also walked according to the course of this world. That might be someone who has been deep, it's depraved.
For depraved, we're walking in the in the lowliness, the sinfulness of this world, all that this world has to offer according to the course of this world. So then you go down to verse 6.
And it says he hath raised us up together and made us sit and sit together in heavenly places, in Christ. We're no longer people of this world, we're people of heavenly places, and it's in Christ.
It's nice to see that all of these blessings are in Christ. We're quickened together with Christ. We're made to sit in heavenly places together in Christ Jesus and then back up in verse 2.
We have a we're reporting to the Prince of the power of the air, so that's of Satan. Anything with Satan is diabolical. And so the opposite of The Walking according to the power of the Prince of the air.
There's a change that's come in in verse seven says that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.
In his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. So there's a change from the power of Satan to the power.
Of the grace of God that's working in US. And that again, is true Jesus Christ.
And then the last part of verse 2.
Says the the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience as Gentiles were dead, were depraved. It's diabolical and it's disobedience. But now you go down to verse 10 and to see the the opposite to change.
The new thing says, For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath ordained, hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. So we are his workmanship now.
Were created unto good works as and as has been said to walk worthy in light and love. We've been created in Christ Jesus. And so I like to see the opposite from what we were to the to what we are now in Christ.
Just say 2 The.
Old Testament placed in the best of circumstances to show really what all of humanity was, was like. It was just a sample, but it was really a reflection of what all humanity was and it left to itself. And so when you read the first few chapters of the book of Romans, you see that all have sinned and there's no difference and and so on. But I was thinking too, in connection with what our brother Tim said of another contrast, and that is.
Satan is the Prince of the power of the air here in this chapter, and we don't want to underestimate the power of Satan. He is a powerful enemy, a powerful foe, and he's opposed to everything that God has set up and established. He's opposed to everything that is of Christ and of of the truth. But isn't it wonderful that in the fourth verse it starts but God now you notice here it's not doesn't say but the Father but God.
Because when it's God, it's the source of power, and there's one who's greater than the power of the enemy, who's brought in something now that super supersedes the power of the enemy. Left to ourselves, we'd still be dead in trespasses and sins. Left to ourselves, we'd still be following the course of this world. Left to ourselves, we'd still be the children of wrath. Perhaps it's feebly illustrated in the Old Testament.
The contrast when the children of Israel were under the power and authority of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, a very graphic picture of Satan and his hosts. But you know, there was another power that was greater, a power that was not only going to redeem them, but was going to deliver them. And when they got got to the Sinai side of the Red Sea and looked back, they rejoiced that there had was one who was more powerful than the enemy.
That powerful enemy sought to to come after them and to drag them back as slaves into Egypt. But by the power of God, Moses lifted up his rod and the sea was split. They went through on dry ground.
00:50:06
Moses lifted up his rod, and the sea came back, and that powerful enemy was drowned there, and they saw their enemies dead, and they saw them no more.
And so there was a power that was greater than the enemy. And thank God, there's a power greater than the enemy. So it's but God.
And then what God has brought in and do and done, God in his power, God with with his resources, and that has far superseded the Prince of the power of the air.
Operated by the love of God, it says. But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us.
No, mercy is not giving somebody what they really deserve. And sometimes that might be hard for us. We look at it, we we look at a circumstance or an individual and we say, you know, that that person is really earned.
Umm, uh, whatever we feel that umm, is, is a result of what they've done and, and sometimes it's hard to show mercy because that person has earned it. They deserve it, but.
Love is a source that does things because of what it is. It does, it does things God has reached out and brought us into this, this place of life and, and blessing and, and, and good works because of his part of love of who he is. And that's, that's what enabled God to be merciful and not give us what we deserve because.
He is a God of love. And so we might say, well, how can I respond to react in kind as God has responded or reacted towards me? And it's only going to be that we show mercy because of divine love that works within us, that gives us the ability, the ability to not react in ways that people might.
Really deserve to be treated. If I love is a powerful thing and it it's it's it's something that has been given to each one of us because we have a new life and a new nature.
Wonderful change of association and relationship.
We were once children of wrath.
Identified with Satan, identified with the world, and dead toward God.
But what a change of by contrast to us, the Lord Jesus came into this world, and in some respects he was a man alone.
He was not understood completely by a single person. What motivated him? What characterized his life?
Couldn't be understood by natural man.
God worked in the disciples, the true disciples, and gave them a life that they could begin to understand, but at that point they were not intelligent about it. They didn't have the indwelling spirit at that time to give them intelligence. But it's all changed now. If you notice in verse six or verse five, it says we were once dead in sins. Well, we were dead in our sins. Christ was physically dead.
And, uh, what was also mentioned says quickened with him, that is, he was, he died and he was put in the grave. And quickening doesn't mean new birth. That's a different sense, different thought. We won't dwell on that at the moment, but, uh, to be quick and means to be given life when you're in a condition of death. And so he was in the grave.
And on the third day, he was quickened.
He came into life and he's in life forevermore, but it says Christ, and when it says Christ, the thought is generally.
What when it associates us with Christ, It's our place before God in his person. It's the place we occupy with God in him, and we occupy a place of togetherness and oneness with God in him. God looks at us and says, you're one and my son in my eyes. And so we when he was raised from the dead, having accomplished the mighty work that he came to do.
00:55:23
And he was quickened and brought out of that condition of death and then raised up from it to have his place in chapter one in the glory God says, well, you were dead. But when I raised my son from the dead, you who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and the the doctrine of that is explained elsewhere, he says you.
I read your in my eyes. You're raised with him too.
And uh, I have brought him up here. Will you come? You're part of it, and you come up here with him and our place before the eye of God this afternoon. We're physically on earth, but as it says here.
To sit down together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In a spiritual sense, that is our present position that we occupy in Christ before God. And so our association, our company, our place is with him. And what he is before God, he has brought us into that same place of relationship. And not only that, when it's a new creation in Christ Jesus.
He said, well, you, if you're gonna have that place, that position where you need the nature too. So I'm giving you a new life with a new nature. That is the life of Christ. So that you might have, uh, be comfortable in the new position. No longer a child of wrath with the nature of the first Adam, but you now have the nature of the one that you're associated with the life of Christ before God.
In chapter one and verse 19 and 20 then.
Right before we get too far verses two and three, I'd like to draw attention to a couple more contrasts that I find wonderful. In the end of verse two were described as children of disobedience and we.
Don't like disobedience? That is our nature. I That's what we were by nature.
And then I said to verse three, children of wrath. That was our condemnation.
By contrast, we have in chapter 5, verse one.
The King James Version says dear children. The new translation says beloved children, it's not a question of what we are by nature at all. It's the nature of God.
God loved us.
And we're objects of that love. We're beloved children. Well, what about? What about?
Our fitness go down to verse 8.
Ye were sometimes darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as not walk to be, but walk as children of light.
The water condemnation to being a wonderful contrast to being children of wrath. Well, children of light were forbid for his presence.
Time is gone, but it's beautiful to see, isn't it, that not only has he and does he love us with a great love, but there was the power and resources to bring us into a position where we could enjoy that love, bring us into a new standing. How many times has someone stood beside the bed of someone that they really loved and watched their life slip away and not had any ability to do anything about it?
How often have we loved someone so dearly and they're going through a circumstance or a situation?
And our hands are tied, so to speak, we say we don't have the power and resources to to help them. But God not only loved us, but he had the ability to bring in something of himself, something in spite of us and to impart divine life to us, to bless us with all spiritual blessings, to seat us in heavenly places in Christ, to give us a wonderful hope, to give us the resources for the path of faith now and so on. All these things that are brought before us. So it's beautiful. You may love someone very much and not be able to to help them. But here was a love that also was coupled with the ability and power, the desires to.
01:00:16
Bring in that which would bring a person, Bring us into the full sunshine and good of that love.
We sing 296.
296.
Ten Virgins
Gospel—Tim Roach
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Good evening.
Let's start our meeting this evening by singing #1.
Almost persuaded now to believe.
Almost persuaded Christ to receive. Seems now some soul to say go spirit, go thy way, some more convenient day on the alcohol.
I'm wondering as I look around this room tonight.
If you are almost persuaded.
You've heard the gospel many times. You'll hear it again tonight, Lord willing.
Have you believed or are you almost persuaded? Let's sing #1.
I'd like to go to Matthew, chapter 25, and I'd like to talk about the story of the 10 virgins and the five foolish, the five wise. And I'd like to compare it to each one of us here tonight. It may be a little difficult at first to understand what's what we're talking about, but because we're gonna go with a lot of symbols symbolism.
In this story, because there's a lot of things in this story that have a meaning and we're gonna show these meanings in the in the gospel this evening. And so Matthew chapter 25, verse one.
Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps.
And took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps, while the bridegroom tarried. They all slumbered and slept, And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
Go ye out to meet him.
Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, not so, lest there not be enough for us and you.
But go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. 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. Afterward came also the other virgin saying.
Lord, Lord, open to us, but he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not Watch therefore, for you know not neither the day nor the hour, wherein the Son of man cometh.
Maybe you know what symbolism is when you have two hockey teams in the in the Olympics, you have two teams playing, you have Canada and the US and as they're playing, you know which team is which by the symbols that they have on their uniforms. And you can say there goes Canada, there goes USA, go USA. And so you're rooting for the country.
00:05:27
I don't know. The Canadians might not say that, but.
But that's a symbol that's not USA, that's a hockey team. But we don't say go hockey team. We say go USA until it's a symbol And we understand a symbol like that. And so I hope you can understand as we go through this story and talk about some of these things as symbols and inverse will go through each verse. Verse one it says then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened unto 10 virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. I like to look at the the Kingdom of heaven as being like.
The country of Christianity, and everybody here in this room tonight is in the country of Christianity. Because you're here, we're having a Bible meeting. This is a Christian, uh, function. And you're here. So you're in the sphere of Christianity. And so the Kingdom of heaven is likened unto 10 virgins, and the 10 virgins are all the people in the country of Christianity. And so.
Each one of you is represented in these virgins, and you live a life as virgins. They would live a life of purity. They'd be good living people. And like you, they go to Bible meetings. Maybe they're churchgoers.
It's not just the people in this room, but everybody who identifies in some way with Christianity is in the country of Christianity. Well, these 10 virgins, they took their lamps and went forth the lamps, were going to look at the lamps as you having a Christian background and you know the right words to say, you know the right actions to take.
You have your lamps, you're carrying a lamp. And he says they went forth to meet the bridegroom. Well, the bridegroom is Jesus Christ.
The bride is not all the 10 virgins. The bride are the true believers. And so as I look at each and everyone of you here tonight, I don't know if you're saved or not, I can look into your eyes. Some people say the eyes are the windows of the soul, and you can look at a person and sometimes you can know what they're thinking. But I can look at you and I don't really know what I'm looking at. Some of you I know, know the Lord is your savior.
Others, perhaps you don't know the Lord Jesus as your savior. You may be one of the foolish virgins that we're reading about.
But Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom.
Was coming verse two and five of these people, Five of these of them were wise, and five were foolish. The wise they were the ones who were saved. They knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. They had accepted that they were a Sinner and they needed to be saved. And they accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. And then the the five foolish.
They they were around Christians a lot.
They learn how to act like Christians and they even say they are Christians. Maybe you when you are asked, you say, Oh yeah, I'm a Christian, I used to do that.
My dad asked me. Oh, are you saved? Oh, yes, Mr. Barry. Some of you knew him. Are you saved?
I'd say yes because I didn't want to hear what he had to say.
I was almost persuaded, and perhaps you were allowed that way tonight. You're almost persuaded you never got serious with God the Wise. They knew they were sinners and they repented and they believed, and they were saved.
Now the five foolish.
They thought they weren't that bad, but they were lost in their self righteousness.
Just like you, they were raised in a Christian family.
And they went to a Christian place of worship, just like you. And people call you a Christian.
When I was in school.
00:10:00
In grade school, I wasn't saved yet, but everybody knew I belonged to the Christian family.
And they they do a lot of things to persecute. I won't go into all of those.
But people call you a Christian, and you get treated like a Christian sometimes. But what's in your heart? What's in your soul?
You are a Sinner and you ignore your need of salvation.
You ignore your need of Jesus Christ.
It may be that your friends and the music and the pleasures of this world, maybe they're more important to you, and the world has sunk its ugly teeth into you, just like a snapping turtle. And it won't let go.
It's got a hold on you.
But why are you so interested in the things of this world? The world has nothing eternal to offer you.
The world will satisfy you for the here and the now.
But what about tomorrow? What are you gonna do about tomorrow?
When you get too tired, the world doesn't want to help you, or you're too sick, or you're too injured, or when you die, what will the world do for you then?
Look at verse 3.
They that were foolish took their lamps and took oil with them and took no oil with them. So the foolish they took their lamps. With their lamps. They looked like a Christian. You are here tonight. You have a lamp. Whether you're saved or not, you have a lamp.
And you look like a Christian.
Well, the foolish they took their lamps.
Well, maybe. Maybe. You haven't done anything terribly bad.
You've done a lot of good works.
You depend on your Christian parents.
You pretend to live a Christian life.
But you're like the foolish ones. You have no oil. The oil is like the spirit of God, and you do not have the spirit of God. Just like these ten, five virgins, the foolish virgins. They took no oil with them. They were foolish. They were not saved.
Math. Verse four. We're in Matthew chapter 25, verse 4.
But the Wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Otherwise are the believers. They're not trusting their own abilities.
They're not trusting that they have a family environment, a Christian environment in their family.
The wise, they're not trusting their good works to get to heaven. They knew they had the Spirit of God. They knew they had eternal life, and they were happy about that. And so they took oil in their lamps, in their in their vessels, with their lamps. They were true believers. They knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. They had the oil in their lamps. They had the Spirit of God. And so the lamps could shine with the light.
Of God the Lord Jesus said, could say to you and I you are the lights.
Of the world. Everyone of you who knows the Lord Jesus as your savior is a light. Everyone of you, whether you know the Lord is your savior or not, you have a lamb.
And so in verse 5.
While the bridegroom tarried.
They all slept. They all slumbered and slept. And so the bridegroom is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's gonna come one day. And the the church are the wise virgins. The church is the bride of Christ. And the groom, Jesus Christ, is gonna come to take us to be with him in heaven. But it says while the bridegroom tarried.
They all slumbered and slept. But why is the Lord Jesus waiting so long to come? We can see a lot of the difficulties that Christians have and so many people have been murdered and and and martyred because of the name of Jesus Christ in recent years, and it's more and more killed every day because of their love for the person and the name of the Lord Jesus. Why doesn't Jesus come? Why is he tearing so long?
Well, the Lord Jesus is not willing that any should perish. You are here tonight. That is why Jesus has not come, because you are here and He loves you. He doesn't want to send you to a lost eternity in hell.
00:15:08
He knows you're raised in a Christian family. He knows.
That you know that you need Jesus Christ.
Well, and he's waiting. He's waiting for you. He wants you to be saved.
Well, it says.
They all slumbered and slept well. This is both the wise and the and the foolish. They were all slumbering. They were all sleeping. They forgot Jesus was coming. The the, the bridegroom. Jesus Christ. He's waiting.
He's waiting, not willing that any should perish, but everybody else is sleeping because they're not expecting him to come anytime soon. Well, what caused that? Well, back in history, the Christians thought that God had replaced Israel with the church, and they thought that the church would get Israel's blessings here on earth. And so that's why sometimes.
You listen on the radio or you hear about in in the newspapers, in the in the news. You hear about prosperity gospels. And they're teaching people that if they they umm, they get saved and they give money to the church, that you'll enjoy success in this world and you'll have nothing to worry about and you can you can be healed from anything and you.
Well, they thought that the church was going to inherit the earth and for the Kingdom.
They thought they were going to inherit the earth for the Kingdom and uh.
The wise Christians, they were ready.
They were ready. They were a little bit mixed up about their blessings of Israel and the church, but they were ready for Jesus to come.
But they thought that this world was their home and they forgot that Jesus is coming.
The foolish They were not ready for Jesus to come. They were not ready for the bridegroom to come.
The wise are ready. The foolish were not ready, but they both the wise and the foolish fakes. They forgot that Jesus is coming to take the church to heaven to be with himself. He's going to take us to heavenly places, and the church forgot that. And so in back in verse 6 Matthew 25, verse six, it says at midnight a cry was made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him.
And so at midnight, at midnight, we are at midnight right now.
We're in the last days, just before the bridegroom comes, just before Jesus Christ comes to take the believers to heaven. It is almost midnight and the cry went out. So in the last days, the Christians, it started some years ago, but in the last days, Christians remembered. They started reading their Bibles. They started to find out what God really had meant for them in the word of God. Instead of listening to the priest tell them what the Bible meant, they started reading the Bible for themselves.
And they started to understand the ways of God. And in the last days, the Christians at midnight, they remembered that the hope of Jesus coming as the groom, coming for the bride, the church, they realize that Jesus is going to come anytime.
From now, let's go to 1St Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 16, and we'll read a couple verses that talk to us about the coming of the Lord Jesus for you and I if you know the Lord Jesus Christ.
As your savior.
First Thessalonians, chapter 4, verse 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, Then we.
That is, the Church which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Well, one day the Lord is going to come down. He's going to come down from heaven with a shout. There's going to be three things that we'll know that it's Jesus coming for us. He's going to shout. And then there's going to be the voice of the Archangel, and then there's going to trumpet of gods going to sound. And then the dead, the believers who have died and they're buried, or wherever they may be, they will rise from the dead and then together.
Those who have risen from the dead and the church who is living here on earth will all go up to be with Christ in heaven. We're gonna meet him in the air. He's not gonna come back down to the earth at that time. We're gonna meet Jesus Christ in the clouds.
00:20:02
We're gonna meet him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. We will never be separated from him again.
This is our hope which we we have and this hope of his coming will happen anytime from now. Jesus is coming for his own people and we will go to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus.
Though he is the one who loves you, he is the one who gave himself for you.
He's coming. He's coming very soon and we look forward to that day. It's going to be an exciting day. When Jesus calls us, He shouts for you to come. And so the blessings.
The blessings of the church are not here on earth. Our blessings are from heaven. Let's go to Matthew to verse verse 7 and Matthew 25. Then all those virgins, all those virgins arose and trim their lamps.
They all rose up, but only five of these people had hope. Only five of them had assurance of their salvation. Only five of them knew that they were going to be with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The fi, the foolish 5 They knew about God, they knew about sin, they knew about salvation. And so they started to trim their lamps too. They tried to make their lamps look nice, and they tried to look like Christians, but they had no assurance of salvation. They did not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior. Well, they thought about it. They thought maybe about sin and salvation, and they're in hell and their need of a savior. They thought about it, and you might say that they were forced to think about it because they were raised in a Christian home.
And their parents read the Bible in the home.
Sounds like you, doesn't it?
Their parents took them to Sunday school.
They went to gospel meetings.
And like you, here you are here today. You're at the gossip. You're at the Gospel meeting. You're at the Bible conference. You pray.
Your parents taught you how to pray.
He learned the memory verses.
You know how to live like a Christian.
You are almost persuaded.
But you haven't put your trust in the Lord Jesus.
Let's go to Matthew, chapter 25. I'm sorry. Let's go to verse 8.
And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out all they wanted the wise people to give them some of their oil. The wise they were ready, and they wanted the wise to give them the Spirit of God. The oil they wanted the Spirit. But the foolish they wanted the oil to light their lamps. They tried to live like a Christian. They tried to live as if they had the Holy Spirit, but they didn't. They had no Spirit of God to let the light of salvation shine.
In their hearts.
They're all just going through the motions, just like you are. You go through the motions, you know what? Your mom and dad tell you how to live like a Christian. So you do what they tell you because you don't want to hear them tell you again. Again, you need to be saved. And so you pretend to be a Christian. And then when you go to meeting you, you to the Bible meetings, you, you act, try to act like a Christian. You try to act like everybody else because you don't want people coming and talking to you. Oh, I remember Mr. Berry again, he said.
He used to come to me and say you look so sad. Are you safe? And he challenged me all the time until one day during a meeting that he had, I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. Are you saved? Are you saved tonight?
When you are saved, you will receive the Holy Spirit.
And when you have the Holy Spirit and you have eternal life, you won't need to try.
To live like a Christian because you will be one you, you will be a Christian, you will have fire in your lamp, and your lamp will be burning.
That's how we can tell if you are saved or not.
Because your light is burning.
If your light is out.
That means you don't have the spirit of God. It means you don't have eternal life.
00:25:07
And so when you're saved, you receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is your guarantee that you are going to heaven. All the foolish pretenders the fake Christians.
They won't receive the Holy Spirit. They'll receive the fire. You will be baptized.
In the fires of hell, the lake of fire, and in verse 8 the foolish said give U.S. oil, for our lamps are gone out. Well, the foolish never had the oil. They never had the spirit of God. And if you are here tonight without the spirit of God, it will become more and more difficult for you to continue trying to live like a Christian. It's gonna be easy for you to ignore the gospel. You'll sit at the back of the room and you'll be whispering to your friends.
Because you really don't care if they are saved or not. You don't care about yourself.
And the more you turn away from the gospel, the harder it's going to be for you.
To continue trying to live like a Christian, you can't pretend to be a light.
In the dark.
With the lights on with other believers around, it's easy to hide and look like a lamb.
And if you're carrying a flashlight, it's off, but you're carrying it, but the lights are on. You don't need your flashlight. Everybody thinks, oh, your flashlight works. He's ready for the dark. But when the dark comes and your light doesn't go on, you're still in the dark. And so you might look like you're a lamp for Jesus. But when you get into a room without light, you're lost in the darkness, and as you are, and you yourself, you'll be as dark as the world because you have no oil.
In your lamp you are like Judas.
Judith.
He tried to be a Christian. He followed the Lord. I asked some people, How do you get saved? Oh, you follow the Lord. That doesn't really work so good.
Judas was a disciple who followed the Lord.
He preached the gospel of the Kingdom. He did miracles.
He invited the Lord Jesus to come to his home.
His father did Simon.
They entertained the Lord in their home.
They trusted Judas and they gave him the money back to be the treasurer.
Bejudice.
Was a fake like you?
Tonight, Judas is in hell.
If your Christianity depends on you doing good works.
Your Christianity will not last.
Judas tried to be a Christian, but he could not endure.
And so if you are trying to be a Christian, if you are pretending just to satisfy your parents or your to satisfy other Christians.
You won't be able to endure either. You will go to be with Judas. I'm going to go to be with Jesus, but you are going to go to be with Judas in hell.
Verse 9.
But the wise answered saying not so.
They're not going to give their oil to the foolish, they said. Not so, lest there not be enough for us and you, but go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. And so the wise believers refused to give oil to the fake Christians.
You need to know this. You need to know something that it is impossible for your Christian friends to give you the Holy Spirit of God. Your parents can't give you the Spirit of God. They can't save you.
You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ yourself.
It is then and then it is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that will cleanse you from your sin. Jesus is the only one who can save you. Jesus is the only one through whom you can get eternal life and receive the Spirit of God.
Well, the foolish. The foolish are still trying to get to heaven. They try hard to be saved. They're doing something to get salvation. They're going. They went to buy oil. They're doing.
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Maybe you think you are doing enough.
To get to heaven, you might say. Look at me. I obey my mom. I go to the Bible meetings.
I do what I'm told. I don't cheat.
At least you don't get caught.
You're trying to buy your way into heaven, but without a commitment.
Without putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 10.
Says 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. Those who were ready went in to meet the bridegroom. They went to be with the Lord Jesus.
I ask you tonight, Are you ready? The Lord Jesus is coming. The trumpet will sound. The Lord Jesus will come. He will shout. Come.
He can't wait for that moment. He's excited about it probably more than you and I are. He's waiting for that moment where he can call to you and say come to be with me in heaven and he'll say enter into the joy.
Of your Lord.
And then the door was shut.
No one else can come into heaven.
After the Lord Jesus comes, it's too late. It's too late. Look at verse 11.
After the Lord Jesus came it says afterward also came also the other virgin saying Lord, Lord open to us.
But it was too late. The door was shut. What about you tonight?
What is going to happen when you are too late?
I think you would instantly. I think you would have a feeling and a sense of shame.
An embarrassment because you know that you rejected Jesus Christ and you will have a sense of desperation in your soul.
And there will be hopelessness and there will be fear in your soul.
Because you know you are hell bound.
If Jesus came this very evening.
Everybody in this room would go to heaven to be with Jesus.
Except for you.
And a few others.
And you would be sitting here looking across the room at those other friends who also got left behind.
And they could ask you where did everybody go?
And you might say.
It's true what Mr. Roach was saying. He was telling us that Jesus was coming and Jesus came.
They all went to heaven and we all got left behind.
We got left behind because we did not believe.
And your friends might ask you, well, where will we go?
And you'll have to answer them.
We are going to hell.
And then you will think.
How will I get home?
Where is home now?
Home is where the family is.
But you have no family. Your family went to heaven.
And you'll become angry.
And you will be afraid.
Because there is no hope. And to appease your fear and your despair, and to make you feel better about yourself, you'll start believing lies about what happened when Jesus left you behind.
You will think, well, oh good, this isn't so bad. Now my parents, they can't tell me what to do.
I can take their car. I can be a free person. Nobody can tell me to turn my music down now.
No one will give me a guilt trip for practice for not practicing abstinence.
You might believe that homosexuality is OK, and you'll believe that you were born that way.
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You believe everything that they start teaching you in the government schools.
And you believe in global warming? You'll believe in a one world government.
You'll believe in evolution.
You'll believe.
And you believe there is no God?
Some of you play violent video games.
These will turn into a reality show.
And you'll begin to kill real people.
And real people will come to kill you, and there will be chaos in this world.
And guess what? The Holy Spirit is not going to be here to protect you. Up to now, the Holy Spirit is protecting you. He doesn't want you to die. He doesn't want you to go to hell. And so up to now, the Holy Spirit is protecting you so you can hear the gospel message again. He wants you to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. He's not willing that any should perish. And so the gospel is being preached to you tonight, and you are permitted to be here. But in that day, the Spirit of God will not be.
Protecting you.
And other people, he the spirit of God, will not protect you from other people doing all the evil that they want to do. Then there's radical groups like the Boko Haram in Nigeria. They will start coming tonight to America. And then there's ISIS and ISIL where who they they who the ones who killed the Christians over there in Iraq and in Syria. And they cut the heads off of the children. And those people will still be wanting to kill you because you represent the Western world.
Which they hate.
But they'll also come to kill you because they want to.
There's going to be war and fighting and terror. It will be everywhere in this world after the Lord Jesus comes to take us to be with himself.
And people will not need an excuse to riot and vandalize like they're doing in UH Ferguson and in other cities across the country even right now. And that hatred and that violence is always in the heart of man. This is all part of God's judgment on this sin sick world. And you will be afraid.
Because you know that deep in your heart that this, that this is the beginning of the end. Because very soon you will be going to hell.
Along about that time, there's going to be a change in the world government.
And the beast will be manifested as a man of peace.
And he will likely be the one to head the One World Government.
And this is what so many nations today desire, to have one world government. That's why there's so much changing in the governments of the world today.
And when the beast rises up and takes power, there will be there will bring peace and safety to the world for a short time. Let's go to 2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2.
2nd Thessalonians, Chapter 2 and verse 11.
Says God will send you a strong delusion that you should believe a lie.
You'll believe the beast. You will trust him. Later, the false Messiah will come as the Antichrist, and you will worship him.
You will believe he is the Messiah. I'm speaking about those of you who reject the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior.
Tonight.
You will be here during this terrible times.
Eventually you might have something like a computer chip put in your forehead with the numbers on it. 666 The Number of the Beast.
And things will go on nicely for some days.
But then there will be a bowler like diseases and natural disasters will be increasing and the fear and the and fear will increase. And if you happen to survive seven years of troubles after the Lord Jesus comes, and if you happen to survive, then you will be taken and you will be put up on trial, and you will be stand before Jesus Christ as your judge.
Jesus Christ. He's the one you are rejecting tonight. He's the one you rejected last week. He's the one you've been rejecting all along, the Lord Jesus, the one who loves you.
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In Matthew Chapter 7. Maybe we could look at that in Matthew Chapter 7.
Verse 21 starting at verse 21.
Says not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
You will continue to do your own will.
Will you, Will you continue to do your own will, or will you do the will of the Father? Right now you have an opportunity to do the will of the Father, which is in heaven. And what does he want from you? He wants you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wants you to be saved tonight Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Verse 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils And in thy name done many wonderful works. And you could say, Lord, Lord, in your name. I went to Sunday school. In your name I learned the Bible verses. I have Christian parents. I obeyed my mom. God, please, God, let me into heaven.
And verse 23 And then Jesus will say to you, I never knew you depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
And then back in our chapter in Matthew 25 we have a very similar verse, Matthew 25, verse 12.
And he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Jesus might say to you, why do you want to come to heaven?
I don't know who you are.
There's nothing for you in heaven.
You reject me? You rejected me when you were on earth as your Lord and savior. Why do you want me now?
There is no second chance for you.
The Lord Jesus won't give you a second chance.
Because you rejected his love, you rejected his salvation, and you were damned to a lost eternity in the fires of the hell of Hell.
And you have lost your opportunity.
You might say, yeah, but God is a God of love. He won't put me into hell.
Loves you so much that he sent his Son, the Lord Jesus, into this world.
To die. To be punished for your sins. To be your substitute.
And that if you believe in Jesus Christ, that he is God, if you believe that he took the punishment for your sins, if you believe.
And put your trust in him. You will not perish. You will not be put into the fires of hell.
You will have everlasting life. You will be given eternal life. You will have the Spirit of God. You will have the oil for your lamp.
Jesus does love you.
He doesn't want you to go to hell and that is why he died.
And so he could give you his gift of love, eternal life.
Jesus, He has done everything he possibly could.
So that you.
Can come to him so that you can go to be with him in heaven. He loves you.
He wants you.
He died to redeem you, and as the Lord Jesus hang there on the cross after he died, a soldier with a spear came and shoved it into his side, and immediately there came out the blood.
Of Jesus Christ.
God's Son which cleanses, which can cleanse you from all your sin. The blood of Jesus Christ is proof that Jesus died. It's proof of how much Jesus loves you. It's proof of how much God loves you. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. All the the five foolish, the five foolish virgins, they were good people, just like you, but they failed to give glory to God.
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They did not believe and they are going to hell.
Just like you.
Unless. Unless you come to Jesus tonight.
Matthew 25 again verse 13.
Watch, therefore.
You need to be careful. You need to be careful because you don't have much time. Jesus is coming soon, he says in Revelation says, Surely I come quickly.
He can come anytime from now. So he says, Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. And so you need to be ready. You need to be ready. For when the Lord Jesus comes, he says, Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation, not tomorrow, but right now. If you put it off tomorrow, you have no guarantee that you'll be here tomorrow. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ tonight.
Let's, uh, sing #22.
Sing the first verse in the chorus.
Let no man douse, alas, for those whose lamps are out will find no oil to buy.
Who ready our show?
And you're on the line and different languages.
Just save forever more.
Their God shall ceaselessly adore in bliss beyond the sky.
Oh, Sinner.
If anyone wants to be saved tonight before it's too late.
Or if you have any questions about what you've heard.
Please come and talk to me after the meeting. I'll be just around here.
Ephesians 2:6-10
Reading
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Allah Allah Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah Allah. Allah Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah Allah.
And where to start is the fact that if you see the new translation, there's a sentence that starts in verse 15 of chapter one and it goes beyond where we are in chapter 2. It's, I think the longest sentence in the whole of the New Testament. So it's, you're gonna, we're gonna be picking it up in the middle of something. And I, I would suggest that we, umm, start in verse 6.
Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse 6.
Maybe we can just read one word from verse five and that would be Christ.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places.
In Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship.
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Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.
Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel.
And strangers from the covenants of promise.
Having no hope, and without God in the world, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh.
By the blood of Christ, for He is our peace.
Who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain, 1 Newman, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross.
Having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by 1 Spirit under the Father.
Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, In whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
Gonna re summarize a little bit of what we had before us when we started yesterday, perhaps bringing it out slightly different way but the same thoughts.
This is what this chapter is not about what we are and are doing. It's not giving us exhortations here as to how we should live our lives, but it is what God is doing.
And what God is doing begins in the beginning of this epistle, in the first chapter.
And we learned there that number one with God isn't you, and it's not me.
Number one thing in the heart of God is His Son.
He is supreme.
And God has purposed.
In his Son, to his own glory, to God's honor, to the sons honor that everything that's created should be brought into a oneness, a conformity.
To God.
Under the headship of his son.
And that in doing so, God displays the greatness of himself in His own nature of love and glory and holiness. And in doing so, His Son is given a supreme place.
But we know that in the purposes of God, His Son became a man.
And as God has said, it's not good for a man to live alone.
And so as a man, he came into this world, but he was alone, morally alone, because there was none other like him.
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There wasn't a single other person, whoever lived on this earth, that lived as he did to the pleasure and glory of God.
But God's purpose was it wasn't that he should remain alone in that morally proper compared to us, better place, better way. And so God purposed to do a work for his Son that he would have companions.
In his manhood, and that they would be brought into the most intimate possible relationship to God himself and to His Son.
And so we learn in the first chapter of that purpose to be fulfilled in what we call the Church.
His body so intimately connected with himself that he has had.
That which is connected with him in his manhood is called his body.
Chapter 2 begins with, you might say, the raw materials.
That he has to work with to accomplish those purposes. And he looks at a collection of people that are dead.
In trespasses and sins.
And he says that's what I'm going to work with.
And that's what I'm going to use for my glory to fulfill my purposes. And so we have in this chapter a description of an ongoing work of God, particularly from God's side of the work rather than our responsibility side of it. That work that God is ongoing, taking steps in it this morning by having us here together in his presence to accomplish that work.
Of forming a habitation for himself.
Where he can dwell by the Spirit and that which is the greatness of His work. To have his Son have a bride, a body that is displayed in the glory with Himself.
Which is our destiny.
Again, just the general comment or two in connection with what we've already had, but I think it's helpful to find as we go through the book of Ephesians, that Ephesians detaches us from this world in every way except from the fact that we are still physically here. We're still physically here on planet Earth. We're in this building in Saint, uh, in Saint Louis the the morning.
But as far as our position, our hopes, our goals, Our Calling.
It's not connected with this world in any way. We notice yesterday that we once were part of this world system.
And we followed the course of this world, this world that's under judgment. But now as we have so secure as our position and so real is it even now that we are already seen as seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And I believe we need to keep this before our souls at all times. Brethren, you know, the children of Israel when they cross the Red Sea and they had experienced not only redemption, but deliverance from their position in Egypt, a type of this world.
They never got back there. It's true in their hearts they returned into Egypt, Stephen says in his summary.
In the book of Acts. But positionally they never got back there. They were seen in a whole different light on a different ground. And brethren, God sees us in Christ, and seated in heavenly places in Him.
And in the measure in which we can grasp this in our souls and enjoy it as a reality.
It will have a very practical effect on our lives. It will detach us from our hearts returning into Egypt, so to speak, from seeking to be try to be part of this world's program and plans.
And when we speak of this world, we kind of alluded to it yesterday, but I think it's helpful to understand that the world in the Scriptures is taken up in three different ways. Sometimes it has to do with this physical planet, and we're still here in this world. I'll just give you an example of a verse. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is, he came in incarnation. He was born in Bethlehem. He walked in this world. He was crucified here on planet earth.
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And then his feet left this planet in ascension, and he went back to heaven. That's the physical.
A planet. God so loved the world. God didn't love a planet. God doesn't love this globe, so to speak. It's the people in it. So sometimes it's the planet, sometimes it's the people. But when we speak of the world, the way it was present, it's presented in the first part of this chapter. It's, if I can put it this way, there's the planet, the people, and the program. 3 PS might help us to remember it. And the program is really a world system of things.
Set up by man in independence of God, of which Satan is the God of this world religiously.
And the Prince of this world politically. So I just say that to help us to understand, we talk about the world in this context, the context in which we've been talking about it this weekend. It's that program, it's that system. And we've been delivered completely from that, positionally from that. And we are, I say, already seen positionally as seated in heavenly places in Christ.
We have in verses 5 and six. First He is quickened us together with Christ, giving us life.
Verse six, it says he has raised us up together. In other words, we do not occupy a position in this place any longer. He's taken us completely out of that position. When right Lazarus was raised from the dead, he was given life.
But he didn't continue to live in the cemetery. That's not the place for living people. That's the place. That's the place for dead people. So he's taken completely out of that position and we have been too. But then, like you say, Jim, it's in verse six. He's made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's our present position.
In Christ sitting together in Christ Jesus in heavenly places.
And I I love to think too, Brother Jim, how the Lord in his.
Sojourn here in this world, the 33 1/2 years that he was here.
How simply he lived.
Hardly had anything materially speaking to his name. Why did he live that way?
Brethren, the thought that has come to me, and I enjoy it so much, is that he had come from the Father's house, and there was nothing down here to attract him.
We get attracted to things down here, but oh brethren, we've been called to a higher sphere. We need to realize it So much. So is it that God already sees us in that position?
Make it a little more down to earth I like to say sometimes.
Supposing there was an election.
And I was elected to be the President of the United States.
I hope that never happens, but supposing it happened, well, the time of taking office hasn't come yet, but I could say if that was the case, my place is in the Oval Office in Washington DC. So brother, we can look up into the glory. So closely are we associated with the Lord Jesus that we can say we are seeing here as seated.
Together with Christ in heavenly places. Wonderful reality, brethren. Physically, like you say, we're still here, seated in Saint Louis. But this is not our position. Our position is about.
It says even when we were dead in sins.
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Now, when we were still in sins, we were dead.
But then on and that's in parenthesis.
Verse five the end. By grace ye are saved.
So from what are we safe now?
We are made alive and we were dead in sins, so that's what we are saved from. We are saved from our sins, from sins.
And we don't sin anymore.
And I'd like to refer to a verse in.
And first John 3, verse 6.
Whosoever abideth in him thinnest not.
Whosoever thinness hath not seen him, neither known him.
Now that's a very serious.
Expression.
It says that when we are safe, we don't sin any more.
And the fact is, we don't.
But that doesn't mean that we can't swim anymore.
But if we sin, we have.
An advocate, the Lord Jesus.
Right.
People think that. There are people who think that.
When they are safe, they.
And they sin again. Then they're not saved anymore, or or they are temporarily unsafe.
That's not possible. 1/3 has been quickened. We have made, uh, been made a life to God. We are, we are alive. We, we are dead too soon.
Then don't we? That's what that verse is saying. But in chapter one of the epistle to John it says if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his true word is not in us. So that yes, if we allow the.
Old man the flesh to act in us, the result will be sin. So we need to qualify it that way, don't we?
So as a believer, I have a new life. When I'm born into this world, I have that sinful life. When I'm saved, I still have that sinful life. And so I do sin I.
Our sin was put on him at the cross and he was punished for it. Even if I sinned tomorrow, that sin has already been punished at the cross. And and those verses you mentioned in first John, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. And so if we live in our in the power of our new life.
The carnal man.
Then we're gonna get back into trouble. We're going to sin and it's and we need to bring that before the Lord as our advocate and confess it to Him. And if we confess our sins, be faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, that verse is to a believer is not to an unbeliever there. If a believer sins, he has an advocate and we can come to the Lord and he promises to forgive you. And you may go on in your sin. Uh, I'm sorry, you may go on in your guilt. Your sin may be forgiven, but you may still suffer in your soul because of the guilt of that sin. Well, you don't have to suffer from that guilt of your sin, the Lord Jesus.
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He says he'll cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He'll forgive you. You need to accept that forgiveness from the Lord. And so we can't say that a believer will never sin, Brother, we do sin, but we have an advocate with the Father.
The beautiful thing about what we're doing to today is we're, we're learning what God has done and bringing about a change in our, uh, in our condition. I've enjoyed the thought that, uh, the 1St 3 verses, the verses of this chapter tell us what we once were, how God saw us at one time, the condition that we were in, it was really, really bad, but because of the work of Christ and because of the purposes and the plan and the counsels of God.
We are no longer if we've put our trust in the Lord Jesus. We're no longer what those first three verses tell us. God has placed us in a completely new position. He is, He has. He has made us be in Christ. We are now associated with Him. And the purpose we're here today is to find out and to learn what God has done in bringing about a completely new change.
In our lives and the more we learn about our new position, our new life, the grace that has brought us here, coming from a limited, unlimited source of love from the Father's heart and bringing us into this blessing, The more we learn about this, the more we will be changed and the less we will want to reflect what we once were.
We are not that anymore.
We are in Christ, we have a new life. It it can never be said of us now.
Of the of that we are just the character of these first three verses we have there's a change that has been wrought and so the reason why we're here is to learn what God has done and.
How how great his his heart has and and and bringing this and making it possible.
So it's what He's done and what He's doing. It's what He's done for us, what he's doing in us, his ways with us. And in these verses we're considering this morning, it's not so much what we've been saved from, that's true, but it's what we have been saved for and what we have now. There's plenty of other scriptures we could go to that show us what mercy has saved us from, saved us from a lost eternity.
Saved us from our sins, saved us from a life of degradation and so on. But that's not what we have mainly in these verses. And brethren, to get a hold of in our souls of what we have been saved for, what is ours now as a present possession and what is ahead in those ages of ages. This is really what is going to lift us above the circumstances of this world. This is what is going to give us the character that he brings out at the end of the chapter.
Of strangers and foreigners. This is what is going to have a practical effect on our lives.
And you'll notice here that it's not so much mercy. Now I realize that yesterday in verse four, He began with God, who is rich in mercy. I realize that. And the reason he begins with that is because mercy.
As individuals, we are the recipients of mercy and we are all individuals. We're part of the Church of God, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, but we are individuals. But he immediately he doesn't develop that subject. He goes on to speak of love and he goes on to develop the subject of grace. And so in these verses we're considering at the end of verse 5, by grace are ye saved? He in in verse seven that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches. Notice this.
Of His grace, mercy saves us from a lost eternity and so on. But it's grace that brings us into a position now where we have every blessing that God could give.
And remember this, the Church is never looked at as the object of mercy. Individually were the objects of mercy.
But the subject here is more in connection with the Church of God, the body of Christ.
And so he immediately takes up this subject of grace. And brethren, we need to get this concept of grace firmly implanted in our souls. Grace is really love, inactivity towards unworthy creatures. That's what grace really is. I say again, it's love, inactivity towards unworthy creatures. And it doesn't just save us from something. Mercy does that. But grace brings us into all the fullness.
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Of what God has for us in and through Christ. So in the previous chapter he speaks of the riches of his glory.
In verse 18 of the previous chapter, wonderful subject, the riches of his glory. But when we get home to heaven, brethren, we're not only going to be occupied with the riches of his glory, but he's going to show us the riches of his grace.
For all eternity.
We're never going to lose the sense of the richness of His grace, and when we get home to glory, we are going to realize, perhaps in a way that we have never realized before.
That it was all of grace. That grace provided everything.
That it was grace that worked in US and through us. That it was grace that saved us.
It's grace that picks us up, carries us along, and preserves us. It's grace that restores us when we do fail. And it's grace that's going to take us home to glory. And we're going to sit down and He's going to show us for all eternity the richness not only of His glory, but of His grace. And that's going to bring forth fresh bursts of praise from our hearts for all eternity.
Umm, because we've had multiple times in verse five, uh.
Starting point what we were.
Dad, and we already have in our lives as we sit in this room this morning, been brought in. We have been raised. This isn't future, but in Christ we have in the present position before God in Christ. We've been raised from that condition of death and we're alive toward God now. We weren't before we were saved, but today we are further than that. This is already been said.
We presently occupy, spiritually speaking, a place in heaven before God in Christ, and that's our present portion. But when we get to verse seven, it's something that's future. I would like to comment on this, which is still future. It says in the ages to come He might show. What is it that God wants to show? Well, He's going to show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness.
Toward us through Christ Jesus. To get the thought of it. I appreciate if you turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 17, and it explains a little more in connection with it as to what he's going to show.
And, uh, John 17.
He says umm in verse 23, the Lord speaking to his Father, I and them and thou and me, and that they may be made perfect in one. And this is the point for reading it the next phrase.
That the world may know.
That thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Think of your neighbor, everybody or your school, somebody that's with you in school. God has a purpose and he says the day is coming when I'm gonna show your classmate at school. I'm gonna show your neighbor in the town where you live.
What I think of you.
What my heart, my God's heart is toward you. I'm going to display you in a place in heaven with my son that is going to show your neighbor, if you will, is going to show that fellow at school that I love you as much as I love my son. And I'm giving you that supreme place among all men. There'll be people on earth, there'll be people, other people in heaven that aren't you and I.
But I'm going to show how much I love you, and I'm going to put you on display.
That is going to display the riches of My grace to you.
And the expression of my love to you, and that you are going to be displayed to all the rest, to angels, to all the all the rest of men.
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That I love you just as I love my son.
And I just a little word, it's hard to keep exhortation out of anything we say, umm, even though this is not a chapter of exhortation. But brethren, let's not make it hard on him.
God's gonna fulfill this purpose. So in our lives, until that point, let's make it easy on Him to do His work and to fulfill the purpose that He has that will be suited to that display. Because when it happens, we will have reached that point of sinlessness. But right now it says He that hath that hope in Him purifieth himself as He is pure, that is.
Anything that is presently a hindrance to God making us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Less.
Put it aside, let's judge it and say God, keep on with your wonderful and perfect work in me for this purpose and this end.
Play will ultimately really be for the glory of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
I I like to read a verse in Second Thessalonians, one that brings this out, just to add a little thought to what dawn has brought before us, because it's very precious. We think of that wonderful day, and it will be a day of vindication for His church, for his people, but it will also be a day when Christ will have his rightful place. And even in the display of his church, it's going to reflect his glory.
And I've appreciated that in connection with a verse here in Two Thessalonians, one verse 10, when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe. I'll leave out the parenthesis in that day.
What is that day? Well, it's that day of manifestation when the Lord Jesus is going to appear. Heaven is going to open up. The Lord Jesus is going to appear.
And we're going to appear in glory with him. And what thrills my heart to think of is the fact.
That when we appear with the Lord Jesus and have the world looks up to see us, wherever they look they're going to see Christ.
Christ perfectly reflected in every St. It isn't always true in my life now.
Sometimes the reflection of Christ in my life is pretty dim. Pretty dim.
And sometimes the world doesn't see that display that they ought to see. But it throws my heart to think.
That when I appear in glory with him, I'm going to in that day.
Perfectly reflect the glories of Christ. And as the world looks up, wherever they look, they're going to see Christ. Why? Because Christ is everything. And this is what God really wants. And this is what God is looking forward to. He's looking forward to his Son being completely glorified and vindicated here on planet earth. And we're going to share in that wonderful day with him. Well, if that doesn't motivate our hearts to live for Christ now.
And to let him have his way and not work in US. I don't know what goes on within our hearts.
When we look at these scriptures together, umm.
We see that verse 7 looks in the ages to come, in the future.
And that's like prophecy being written there with the verse before it is current. We are currently setting in the heavenlies. We have to be careful with the word places in there.
We're currently setting in the heavenlies as the Christians relationship with Christ that we are having here. What is currently taking place in our lives. And so we see this us. Let's not always us as italicize this first, but not always back and forth, not italicized, but you're hearing the brother and use us all the time. You're hearing the brother news we all the time because the theme of Ephesians is the church, the whole body.
Of Christ. And therefore it is an epistle, isn't it? And when it started out, back in chapter one, it started out and it tells us in verse three that we are blessed. It tells me in verse four that I've been chosen. It tells me in verse five I've been adopted. It tells me in verse six I've been accepted. It tells me in verse 7 redeemed. But it's not just me, it's us, it's us. Us have been blessed. I should have been chosen. Us have been adopted. Us have been accepted. Us have been redeemed.
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We are made alive, we are raised up and we have been made to currently set in the heavenlies. It it it it follows a theme of Joshua and Israel coming to the land of Canaan and everything. And of course we we flaw. Yes, we do, but it's the emphasis is on in Christ Jesus. That's why it's not only there in verse six, but we'll see it in verse 10.
And that is a selected walk. That is the current one. Right now we have a selected walk by him and that is created. That walk is we are his workmanship and created in Christ Jesus. So it's been ordained that we should walk in them by him. That's pre selected by him that walk.
I'd like to go verse 8 now.
For by grace, I saved through faith.
Now that is a very important ingredient.
Because if we don't have that.
We don't have anything.
We have to have that faith, and that faith we don't receive by works. It says it right there.
And that not of yourselves. We can't work for faith.
There's nothing, there's no any kind of work we can do by which we receive faith.
It is a gift of God.
But we have to have it.
It's absolutely important that we exercise faith in our life.
The Lord Jesus headed 100th growth fence.
Because whatever he said came to pass.
And we have to believe in the Lord Jesus. It says Jesus Christ in hand over sex and says Jesus Christ Jesus in the end of 07.
He is the one who gives us that faith.
Verse seven about the ages to come that I enjoy. Brethren, in Luke's Gospel, when the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil, it says he showed him all the kingdoms of the world, the glory of them in a moment of time. That's all it took to show him the kingdoms of the world.
The glory of them, a moment of time when God shows the exceeding riches of his grace. It's in connection with the ages to come. And I like to think that that will be the display before this world during the millennial day. I do believe, like you say, Jim, it will be for eternity. But even in the millennial day, if you look at Revelation chapter 21.
One is speaking about the heavenly city.
And the dwelling place of God, that glory to come. Notice what it says in verse 24.
And the nations of them which are saved, that's necessarily the nations in this world, because there's no nations in heaven.
Shall walk in the light of it, of that heavenly city and the kings of the earth to bring their glory in honor to it, so that it will be on display through that millennial day.
We have lost the sense of any connectedness to heaven.
Long since because of our departure from God in general. But in the beginning it was quite normal that God would come down and he walked in the cool of the day, evidently to have fellowship with Adam. And he came to visit Abraham and he even came down to talk with Cain after he'd killed his brother. I mean, it was.
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Normal, the sense of a connection with heaven. But as this world that Jim was mentioning has developed into such a system where God has no place, we have a sense. We've lost that sense of connectedness. But in the millennial day, the heavenly city is going to be above visible from this earth. I think that's really interesting to think about. And the nations of this world are going to walk.
In the light of that heavenly city. And that's where in those ages to come.
Will be displayed the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Isn't it beautiful?
At the beginning of the 21St chapter, there's something that's still distinct for eternity. The bride of Christ. She comes down as a bride adorned for her husband, not beautiful. We're not going to just melt into some meld of of eternity or the heavenly company or whatever. We're going to remain distinct because as we've been saying, I believe.
What begins in the Millennium goes on into the eternal state as far as the Church is concerned.
And brethren, to think that He, at the end of that thousand year reign, is going to deliver up the Kingdom to the Father.
That God might be All in all. And why is he going to deliver up the Kingdom to the Father? Well, there are a number of reasons. There's nothing more to be put down and so on.
He's going to deliver up the Kingdom to the Father, to devote eternity to His bride.
Brethren, if that doesn't stir our souls and we are going to remain for eternity the Bride of Christ, And the bride is the freshness and loveliness of what she means to His heart, and that is never going to fade for eternity.
Has of the Ephesians has the church is on display right now.
On display to the angels, isn't it, That it might show God's wisdom?
So the church is currently on display right now to there as well as in the future.
Same to me on the prayer meeting this morning. I think it's applicable to the reading meeting.
Umm, a lot of times when we pray and some of us, many of us, most of us, maybe all of us who came to this conference this weekend had these two words somewhere in our vocabulary. My needs, my need. And uh, I hope when this weekend is over, my need gets met.
And, uh, our lives, that word my has a pretty prominent place. It's my life. It's my need.
We may as Christians downplay it a little bit, but it's character of Adams, right? My glory, my freedom, my liberty.
Have it my way when I go to Wendy's to choose.
And so on it it. It's the whole vocabulary of life.
Let's remember.
All those things are gonna disappear.
There will not be a single person in this room when this display is taking place that's going to talk about my glory.
My needs, my life.
And part of the purpose, yes, we do have needs. I don't wanna be totally one sided in what I say. And the Lord Jesus came down into this world to live life as we've had to live it and are living it.
To enter into our needs and to be able to take our needs and this morning bear them before God at the throne of grace. We do have needs, but I'm speaking about the focus of life and we talk about need. And one of the things that in this chapter we have in these verses is God had a purpose.
But we couldn't participate by ourselves in accomplishing it. We're not gonna get to glory and say, Oh God, you and I did a real good work that's resulted in my being here with you and my being in this place in which I am with the the sun as part of his bride, his body. No, everything had to depend on God, not on me or mine or us or our.
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And so it's, it's bringing out to us the work that God is having to do, even in the expressions he has to have it, it has to depend on his grace. Otherwise it's not to be, it has to depend on his work that there be faith, that faith is essential, but it has to depend on him that it be there. Uh, there won't be any in the end that says, look at my glory here.
I really did a good one. I know my neighbor, he wasn't so smart as I, he didn't make these good choices that I've made that's resulted in my place here at the side of Christ and, uh, in this heavenly glory. No, because everything connected with Adam that he boasts in has to be left as useless before God. God can't use it. And so there'll be no boasting then. And in fact, as this chapter goes on.
He has to say in verse 10, we're his workmen ship.
Totally is worth.
All based upon what he's doing and will do. He had to start over in that way with us and say I gotta start over with you. There's nothing of that. What I found in you and Adam that I can make any use of for my purposes. Your identity will be the same. You'll still be you, but I'm gonna have to make you new. And so we're a new creation implied in that tenth verse where new creation in Christ Jesus.
And uh, the end result will be looked at and say, my God is a wonderful Craftsman. He's done a wonderful work. And uh, his work isn't even taking glory or credit for it. It's just happy to be his work.
Like to mention in verse eight, again it's been mentioned the importance of faith. That is the principle that brings the blessing that as has been mentioned, it's not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.
But I think it's so important to that verse in Romans chapter 10, which says.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. So that faith comes to us through the hearing of the Word of God.
Now does a dead person here?
Naturally speaking, we have to say no.
And at the beginning of this chapter, we're dead.
But in John 525 it says the hour is coming, now the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. So it is when God speaks His word. And I just like to say this to each one of us as we listen to God's word.
Let it penetrate. Maybe you say I don't understand it, but let it penetrate into your heart because it is through. That means that God imparts life to dead souls. There's somebody that hasn't truly accepted the Lord as your savior. Maybe you're raised in a Christian home, but you've always had a reserve in your soul to not let the word of God penetrate. Listen, the Lord.
Had so many times in his.
Earthly ministry, and it's in the Book of Revelation Two, He that hath.
An ear, let him hear what the Spirit says so that it's so important to listen to what God says. It's through. That means that faith comes into my soul to believe, to receive the blessing that we have here. So, so beautiful to see it working in souls. People. I've seen them when they just didn't seem to have a clue what you're talking about.
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But they listened.
And then you see the difference. New life has come into that soul because.
They listened. They let the word penetrate into their hearts.
And souls, oh, how important that is, not only for the outside world, but I'm saying.
US who have been raised in Christian homes.
Listen, let the Word penetrate into your heart. It's that by which God imparts life to dead souls.
One more my 2.
In the sense that work, as mentioned here, not by works, work connects with me. I work. And if I do work, then it's to my credit, it's to my honor, the work that I do.
And so it identifies itself with me.
Properly speaking, faith identifies with the object of the faith.
When I say I trust God, the honor is to God.
Not to me, it's to God. It's the worthiness of the object of faith that makes having faith important.
If you have faith in something that lets you down, then you're sorry that you had faith in it.
Uh, you say I trusted that chair and it fell apart on me and so you were not too happy with the chair.
But God created us in that fundamental relationship with himself, that Adam was to trust him. And the test of the trust was with Adam, obey him. And so God set up a test that would show that Adam would trust the goodness of God, that God would make the choices for Adam.
And that he would be a dependent creature as well. He had to be dependent and obedient, and he had a test to make sure he was. But man dishonored God when unbelief in him came into his heart and it resulted in his act of disobedience. But God, faith is essential because it's essential in the honor that is due to God.
So it must be in each one. But we're not going to get to heaven and say, boy, I had great faith that got me here.
No, I have a great God and he got me here.
The power is not in the faith, is it? The faith connects us to the power.
In God, you can have great faith in somebody that is not worthy of faith and you'll be let down, like you say. But it is faith in the per in the right source.
So it's not our work, as he says, but it's his work. Again, it goes back to what Don has said. So it's not of works, lest any man should boast, but it is of a work, not our work, but it's the work of God. It's just a simple illustration that might help us to understand this.
Those who know me best know that I'm absolutely useless with any tools with my hand. As a builder, there's no use putting a hammer or a screwdriver or a drill in my hand. I'm only going to ruin something and perhaps hurt myself.
And so 26 years ago, when we were going to buy a home, I said to my wife, I said, there's no use of us buying an older, older home. There's no use of us moving in. And then there has to be some work done on that home because as she had learned long before, it just wasn't going to work that way. And so I said, with the Lord's help, let's go to a development that's being put up and let's see what those new homes are like.
And perhaps we'll buy one of those so that at least when we first move in, there's nothing that has to be done.
And we were able to do that. We bought a brand new home. And if you were to come to my home, even to this day, I have nothing to boast in as far as the building of that home. I drove no nails in that home. I lifted no beams in that home. I nailed no shingles down in that home. Nothing in that home I can boast in as being my workmanship. And brethren, that's true in our lives as believers.
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We have absolutely nothing to boast in. As we've said, even the faith to believe is a gift of God.
If there's been any faith in our lives, whether it's to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, whether it's been any confidence in God, in our Christian pathway, when we get to heaven, I'm not gonna look around and be able to say, well, I had more faith than you. You're not gonna be able to say, well, I'm here because I had a lot of faith, or I lived the Christian life such and such a way because I had more faith than somebody else. Again, we're going to realize the grace of God.
I, I know we stress this, but again, I suggest that when we get to heaven, we're going to have an appreciation and understanding of the grace of God in every aspect of what has been wrought in US and for us in a way that perhaps we've never had before. We're going to see it from the perspective that it's God that worked in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. We quote that verse now. We give a cent to it. Yes, we understand that. We appreciate it, but brethren, we're going to see it.
Clear like we've never seen it before.
When we are the have their ex, uh, when we there have displayed to us that grace and kindness of God, I say we'll enter into it like never before.
The greatest motivator to good works, isn't it? And I think that's what it means in verse 10. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Does good works have a place in the Christian life? It really does.
Lots of place, and we ought to be exercised in good works not to gain anything because we have a position of favor already with God. But if we understand the awfulness of the cost of that position we've been brought into, then we will want in our gratitude to God, to do all we can to show how grateful we are for what He has done for us.
The apostle Paul says in First Corinthians 15, and I like this because.
He sets, uh, he's talking about himself in connection with the other apostles.
But he says verse nine, I am not the least of the apostles.
Let him not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God, I am what I am. He didn't compare himself to Peter. To John. I am what I am. And His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all.
Yet not I, but the grace of God which was within me, and it will be evident in that day.
If there was anything, brethren, for the glory of God in my life.
It was because of the grace of God that worked in me. Nothing for our glory. Even the crowns on our heads are going to be taken off and cast at the feet of the Lord Jesus the worthy 1.
Bob, I'd like to in that connection, just read a portion in Titus. You know, it's often been said that Titus is the epistle of good works and good works are mentioned a number of times in the book of Titus. But I'd just like to in connection with grace and the work of God innocent for us. This is a very practical application and you'll allow a little digression here, but in chapter 2 and verse 11.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men.
Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.
And purify unto himself a people, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. There's a lot here, and we won't take but a moment, but just to point out that grace here is what teaches us. Grace is a teacher. Grace saved us. But an appreciation of that grace that saved us in our souls is going to teach us to do and not do several things. First of all, it's going to teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.
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You know when I see a Christian.
Who exhibits moral piety in their life?
I say there's a believer who understands and appreciates grace. You know, there were those and the Lord rebuked them in his day who turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. That is, they took license by saying, well, God's gracious and so.
I can live this way, maybe confess it at the end of the day or the end of the week, and God is gracious and everything's OK. They didn't understand grace. A Christian who lives carelessly and lives for this world is a Christian, maybe a true believer, but he doesn't understand and appreciate grace. But not only does grace teach us to deny those things that are unholy, but it also teaches us to live soberly.
Righteously and godly when in this present age, right now.
The grace of God is sufficient for the day, the age we live in. It was sufficient for Paul's day. It was sufficient for our grandfather's day, and it's sufficient to that we can live for God's glory now, here in this present age. But it teaches us something else too. It teaches us to be looking for something, looking for that blessed hope, the moment when we're gonna be called out of this world, perhaps before this meeting's over. It teaches us to look for something else, too.
The glorious appearing to love his appearance, the day when he is going to be vindicated. And as we said, he's going to have his full glory. And it is that which motivates us to good work, and that's what what he wants. And so how far reaching grace is. It's not only that which picked us up in our need and saved us. It's not only that which brings glory before us at the end, but it is that which is going to create in US by the work of God that which is care. We ought to characterize us now.
And those good works that He desires from us?
Were foreordained, in other words, God's purposes of blessing from that past eternity. We can be those whom God uses to do those good works if we understand what grace is really about. If I'm not walking in the sense of that, why God will use somebody else to do those works.
Because he's not limited in the instruments that he uses. So young people, we were older too. Let's be exercised. We live in a world of a lot of hurting people.
Let's just be exercised before the Lord what we could do to help in some way or another. It doesn't have to be a big thing, but be exercise to be used to walk in good works.
Not just doing good works, but that we would walk in them. It is really to be, brethren, the character of our life. You know, in the end we won't go back to it, but in the end of Titus one, it talks about those who are of good works, reprobate.
And so a person can do good works. Even the natural man can do what we might refer to as good works.
But what God wants is now, and what is working in US is that we would not only just do the odd good work, but that it would be the whole walk in them to be the characteristic of our life, our walk for Christ down here. The Lord Jesus, when he was here, He was here to do the Father's will. Everything he did was, so to speak, with a good work. Every motion he he made was in connection with good, with good doing good.
And that is to be the characteristic of our life. You know, I'm afraid sometimes there's believers and they do something and they feel they've done their, as we would say, their good deed for the week or their good deed for the day, or they might at certain times of the year be more characterized by doing good works. That's not what God wants. This is, I say again, to be what characterizes our life in every step of our walk for Christ down here.
Some of the same thoughts from the same book that is Ephesians, uh.
That we've just had before us and our chapter and verse 10 it says were his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And now turn over to chapter 5 and we have a another way of looking at the same subject of good works.
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Umm, as the workmanship of God, God has done a work, He's given us life, He's made us a new creation in Christ Jesus. He has put the Spirit of God in us to dwell within us and so on. And uh, whereas we had in chapter 2, it's for a purpose that, uh, we might be creatures of, uh, that are of good works. Notice how it's presented in chapter 5.
Verse one and I'm going to read the new translation be therefore imitators of God as beloved children. He's done a work, He's created this creature that's going to be able to imitate him.
Think of that. He's got creatures that he's created in this room.
Not future day and glory, but right now, this day in this room, He has those that He has made a new creature in Christ for the present activity.
Of being his imitator.
So what's in verse two? Walk in love.
God is love.
And so this creature that he has made this workmanship of his is someone in this room, all the someone's intent in this room that are going to display as his imitators what he is in love in this world. When his son was here, he did it.
But his son's not here anymore.
He's in glory and so he has created others.
To imitate him.
Has good work for him in this world to display his own nature of love.
And it will be seen in practical activity, that's true. Uh, but the, the characteristic of it in the display of it is that which is in love.
Before and verse six, he says the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. That's what man is in Adam. He's a disobedient creature.
And uh, as Peter says, he brings it out, uses the same word he said, your children of obedience.
And so God is going to display Himself and His children as obedient unto Himself and to their responsibilities. So then he goes on just to.
Verse 11, he says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
All the works of man that come from Adam don't produce a good crop. They're just works and their motivation is wrong. And so they don't have God's character and consequently they have there's nothing for God in them. They don't produce anything that lasts as a fruit for God.
He says verse 8 and we'll just stop there. You can study these more on your own time.
He says in verse 8.
Uh, for you were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light, He says. Here's you're the light of the world.
God is light and He's created you to be his imitator.
You have I have the responsibility to display to our fellow man that God is love and God is life. And that's a work in the world that God through which by the power of the Spirit of God, God can create fruit for himself that will last for eternity. And so to he wants good works, but he has a purpose in those good works.
Because by his spirit he will use those good works to produce for himself fruit.
That's the intent of work generally and, and farm work anyways is labor that's going to produce a crop and the crop is going to produce a good result. And so God wants to use the work of his children to result in something that he has by his power that will last for eternity. Some in this room are going to see others in heaven.
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That God.
Saved by using their good works as part of the means by his power, and they will see the fruit of their laborers.
It forever and that's the purpose of God and that that we might be his imitators as children.
Something about that work, that word ordained.
Which God hath before ordained.
Now this word has been perverted.
Today by many.
But it should read.
Which God has before prepared.
And that is a proper word for prepared.
Because.
A person that God wants to use, He prepares first.
The Lord Jesus was prepared.
As a perfect man.
Right in the in the body of Mary.
And that's the way that God works with his people whom he wants to use. He prepares them.
And this ordaining that.
Has been perverted by the religious groups worldwide.
Because they are ordaining men to do spiritual things and that can't be done.
Only God can do that, and He prepares them even before they are born.
He prepares the opportunity.
He prepares the time.
E.
Prearranges.
Everything in our lives.
So that He can accomplish His purpose in our life, that is according to His will.
And right down to the detail, it's not just the big things. If I can illustrate it this way, the Lord spoke of a cup of water given in his name and how that's a good work and it would be rewarded. But I've often thought when if you give a cup of water in His name when you get to heaven, you'll realize several things that the judgment seat of Christ. One is that first of all, He provided the cup of water. Secondly, He provided the opportunity to give it.
Thirdly, he implanted the thought in your mind and put the desire in your heart to give it.
Well, brother, no wonder. As Bob said earlier, when those crowns are handed out, we're going to cast them back at his feet.
Because we're going to realize that every detail, right down to the smallest iota, was nothing of ourselves, but was all of him. And I say that because when we speak of good works, sometimes we think of perhaps great outward things and big things.
But it goes down to everything in our lives, and that's why, as we've already said, that we should walk in them.
Everything we do in our lives, whether it's in the family circle, whether it's in connection with the unbeliever, we're to do good unto all men. Whether it's the household of faith, fellow believers, because it says, especially those of the household of faith. Whether it's in the home, whether it's at work, whether it's when we go to the grocery store, whether it's at a conference like this or in the local assembly, everything we do in our lives has been preordained or prepared.
And we are to walk in the conscious sense of doing those good works that he works in us to do.
In Titus chapter 2 verse seven brings that that out. You don't to do good work. You don't have to go down to the island, to Africa. That's not what the good works you're talking about.
You have relationships with and you build those relationships and your good works are gonna be manifesting to them the heart of God. And it says in Titus 2 verse seven and all things showing thyself a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech.
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They cannot be condemned and so on. Then in verse 9 talks about servants. If you have a job, you gotta be obedient to your master, your boss, and and so on. So whether you're in the home or in the workplace, there's opportunities that God can prepare you to to address in his time. It may take you months to develop a relationship before you can be used, but show a pattern of good works and and the Lord will provide the opportunities.
Hello, it's reflect and to glorify Christ on the earth and you talk we're talking about fruit. Several have mentioned fruit. You know fruit doesn't make any noise when it grows. You you wanna go to an apple orchard and listen to fruit to apples grow. Not a chance. You might hear the wind and the leaves and the birds in the branches and other things, but you'll never hear an apple grow. It's not a question of making a lot of noise. So I'd like to sum up what we've said in this connection and because this in in connection with glorifying Christ.
When the Lord Jesus was here, he glorified God on the earth and finished the work that he gave him to do. There's a few. And so God was glorified on the earth through his Son, the Lord Jesus. There's a day coming when the Saints are going to be glorified with Christ, as we've spoken. He's coming to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them that are about Him in that day. But in the interim, that's past and future. But what about the present? What he desires is that Christ would be glorified in His Saints now.
That there would be something of Christ seen in our lives as dawn stressed imitators, so that when we leave this room, or we leave this conference and we go back to our daily sphere and routine.
Is there going to be something of Christ seen in our lives? Are we going to reflect Christ?
And not just what we say, but what we do.
Servant of the Lord, aren't they? I was looking at Ephesians 6 there where it speaks of that word servants, but it's really the thought of slaves, those that never had any time that they could dispose of from their own. But notice what it says there. It says verse 6 not with high service as men pleases, but as the servants of Christ.
Who are the servants of Christ here in this room? Don't be looking at special people, brethren. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you are a servant of Christ with goodwill, doing service as to the Lord. So you say you're serving a earthly boss. Do it to the Lord. And I find, brethren, that those that take the place of preachers or missionaries sometimes are discounted.
What people really listen to is somebody that's just normal, got a normal job, but doing it hardly to the Lord. That's the kind of people that are listened to. So do it to the Lord. Wherever you are, you are a servant of Christ. I'm going to put that on for a moment. Time's up, brother.
117.
Not to ourselves.
Leo.
That we, O God, are thine Jesus the Lord.
Our night broke through.
And he gave us light, divine.
117.
Obedience
Address—Don 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.
Nsnoise.
To him I was thinking about not in the himbo.
So Lord had a a way of dealing with that. However, I'd like to, uh, sing.
The first verse of it, or at least those of us that are able, we'll sing the first verse in the chorus. It's found in little. I'm sorry. It's on the Echoes of Grace hymn book. I'll quote it, not from memory. Uh, and then we'll, those of us that can, we'll try to sing it when we walk with the Lord.
In the light of his word.
What a glory he sheds on our way.
While we do his sweet will.
How our hearts He can fill with His love as we trust.
And obey, trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy.
In Jesus, but to trust and obey. So let's sing that.
All right, let me see.
Well, I wanted to tell you.
Wherever you are.
And no rain.
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More than so hard, never mind.
I guess all my life I've been told certain things go together.
And I'm sure they do.
Umm, two things that.
And spiritual things go together.
Our happiness.
And obedience.
They go together.
And we just sang a song that obviously the author of the song was bringing that before us. There's no other way.
You'll be happy in Jesus.
But to trust.
And obey. We're going to talk about obedience. Obedience is the companion talk to Jim's of yesterday.
A man as a creature.
As a relationship to his creator God that intimately involves trust.
It's impossible for God to have a a true relationship with us without trust being involved in it.
And there's two fundamental things.
That are connected with a relationship with God.
One is dependence, and that was yesterday's that's we know that prayer, as Jim said, in its broadest sense is simply talking to God.
But prayer is the prime one of the prime ways in which we express our dependence upon God. So in that sense, yesterday we had the importance and the consequences of dependence upon God.
The other fundamental relationship that we have to God from Adam on is obedience.
We are God's creation, and His relationship with us now from Adam all the way into eternity, is involved with obedience.
Umm, for most of us, obedience isn't a real good word.
Most of us can remember, or some of us still are children. And there's the difficulty we have with the word obedience is.
It restrains our will.
And we don't like our well restrained. Each one of us would like to do what we would like to do. And even if we are obedient.
To mom or Dad or the government or in the Assembly, there is, naturally speaking, something about it that we kind of don't like.
Because it acts in restraint.
Upon our will.
I hope, if that's the best way we have tended to look at it, that when we're done this afternoon you will embrace the Word. Let's see. Thank God.
In order to see it, we're going to 1St and primarily actually probably spend most of our time looking at one man.
An obedient man.
There was one man who came into this world, and he lived life as you should. Yesterday we saw him as a man of prayer. Today we're going to look at him as a man of obedience. And as we trace his life yesterday in Luke and today in Luke, we are going to see it as a pattern. And as we go along, we'll make some applications to our own lives to see.
How important.
Obedience is.
Let's start out with reading a little bit in Philippians chapter 2.
Whippians, Chapter 2.
Verse five Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
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Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God?
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself.
And became obedient.
Unto death.
Even the doubts of the cross, his life as a perfect man.
The life of obedience that we will look at is a life that went all the way.
The ultimate price, you might say, that obedience could ever be called upon to pay, was obedient unto death.
Turn over to Psalm 40.
For we have him brought before us.
And this life that we're looking at of a perfect man.
Verse four, Blessed is the man, Psalm 40. Verse four, Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust.
Her sick sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened burnt offering, and sin offering hast thou not required? Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book. It is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God.
Yeah, thy law is within my heart.
This is Speaking of Lord Jesus.
And his becoming a man, the one that was found in fashion as a man.
And he said.
Icon.
In the volume of the book it is written of me.
Says in the New Testament to do thy will.
Oh my God, you speak tear of his ears being digged.
Ears have to do with hearing.
They also morally have to do with the will either half an ear to hear, let him hear, says and umm, so here where is a pair of ears of a man whose ears were always.
And ever open to the will of someone else.
Here's a man who lived without once exercising his own will.
In any way that was not identical.
To the will of the one.
So you see, to obey.
When you and the one you're obeying agree.
On what it is, it's to be done or not done.
At least it's a lot easier.
Uh, not completely naturally speaking that way because we don't want to be told even if we're gonna do. I know, I know, I know what you want and I wanna do it too, so I'll do it. But I really don't want you to have to be the one to tell me that. There's that spirit of self will in us by nature. But here was a man that came into the world.
And his ears were perfectly.
To do the will of another.
And further than that.
I delight.
To do thy will.
I'd like.
Does that sound like you?
I delight to do thy will.
I said I hope you want to embrace the word.
So I'm gonna say right here.
You do delight to do as well.
You do delight to do as well. There's not a single person in this room that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ that has eternal life that does not delight to do as well.
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He made you.
A new creature in Christ Jesus to be like his Son.
And his son could say from the moment he came into the world.
I delight to do thy will, Oh my God, but we have a room here of people that.
R.
I hope can't say all but all that are.
Our children of God.
And God's children by nature, by nature, delight to do as well.
It's a good word to embrace. And so here is one who says I delight.
To do thy will, O my God.
You know the world has a lot of ways to find pleasure and delight, doesn't it?
And, uh, most of them.
Involves self wealth.
The pursuit of pleasure, of one sort in another, to bring happiness, to bring joy into the lives of those that live on.
In this planet.
But here's a man that came and did imperfection without failing in it, the will of God, and he found perfect pleasure in it. There was nothing in him.
That resisted.
That said.
Is God's will perfect? What?
Generally speaking, we'd all agree God's will is perfect, right? So isn't it nice to have a man who always wanted to do that one perfect will?
And did class. Yes, it cost him.
Cost him his life.
Did he shrink back from?
Being obedient or resistant? No, he didn't really.
But he recognized how expensive it was to himself to says he learned obedience by the things which he suffered in Hebrews chapter 5, because he he had to enter into the circumstances of life.
And in doing so, he to be a compassionate helper to us. Now he went through life as we have to go through life. And he in that process experienced how expensive it can be, if you will, how how hard it is maybe at times to have to go through that which involves obedience. But he did all the way.
And so he can perfectly sympathize with us when we face a situation where, even if can I say we want to, we feel hard to go forward and do what we believe is God's will.
In our lives.
He said Thy law is within my heart. It was his very nature.
The life called eternal life that God has given to you and I in its very nature.
His laws within our heart.
It's not something we try to get, it's not something that we produce.
It's the character of our life. He has put it in US, in our hearts.
And so it's something that we can with joy.
Carry out.
Stern to Luke's gospel now.
Chapter 2.
The way we're gonna look at this is we're just gonna start in Chapter 2 and then go to chapter three and four and five and so on, and look very briefly.
At at least one thing out of each chapter that expresses his life.
As obedient.
Chapter 2.
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And umm, verse 49.
Here's the Lord Jesus speaking as a 12 year old, I don't know, maybe there's a 12 year old in the room or somebody about that age. Here's the Lord Jesus when he's 12 years old and his parents have gone up to Jerusalem for the the feast. And now they started home and they get a day's journey on the way home and they discover that Jesus their son is missing from the collection of them that had gone down to Jerusalem from Nazareth. And so they go back to Jerusalem looking for their lost, lost to them at least, son.
They find him.
And he says to them in verse 49, How is it that ye sought me West, ye not, that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Here's the here he is as a 12 year old.
And you might say they're already, umm, I don't want to say conflict, but there was already this matter of who do I obey, if you will, seemingly coming into his life and he perfectly.
Submits as a child to his parents, even though he knew who he was and he knew what his father's business was and he had started at that point in his life to.
Fulfill it to do it. But here's a subject. Obedience, child.
Perfect man, turn to chapter 3.
So I say we're just trying to trace the the pattern of his life more than the detail of it.
And chapter 3 and verse 21.
This is the baptism John the Baptist is baptizing here and the Lord Jesus has come to where John is baptizing. And in verse 21 it says Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him. And a voice came from the heavens and said.
Thou art my beloved son in thee.
I am well pleased, you know, as we know from the, uh, full account of this, that John the Baptist objected.
To the Lord being baptized, John the Baptist was the baptizer, and when the Lord came to him for baptism, John says to him.
You don't need it.
This is a baptism of repentance. This is a baptism that recognizes that we have been disobedient.
And, uh, John didn't understand at the time and, but he was told, well, you just let it be, uh, baptized me.
And so John baptizes him.
Only make this comment about it.
He identified himself.
In obedience with failure.
Even though he personally had not failed.
It's an important principle in God's things.
If we are to walk with God at this time in the present state of the church.
If any sense of what is being done, we will be willing to identify ourselves.
In obedience.
Where there's failure.
On our point, so we'll just stop with that suggestion to you. Let's turn over to Chapter 4.
We're going to spend a little more time here, so we're going to read verse three. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone, that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written that man shall not live by bread alone.
But by every word of God.
And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
00:25:10
And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to whomsoever I will I give it, If thou therefore will worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan. For it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God.
And him only shalt thou serve.
And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence.
For it is written, He shall keep or give his angels charge over thee.
To keep thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering, said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Here we have the Lord Jesus.
Perfect man.
Being tested.
About what?
Obedience.
The primary aspect here of the test or the temptation?
If he's to be the Redeemer, he must be a righteous man. To be a righteous man, he must be an obedient man.
And if he had not, if you will pass the test, there would have been no savior.
We wouldn't be in the room this afternoon because we wouldn't have anything to share together of importance.
The matter of obedience involves it is written.
All three answers that the Lord Jesus gives to the temptations presented to Him.
Have simply the character it is written.
God has spoken, it is written. Your life and mine of obedience depends.
On this book. Oh it's message to us.
It is written.
We are responsible to God for its what it says.
It is red.
Came across the other day and I'm going to read it because I probably couldn't paraphrase it from memory very accurately.
Umm, just happened. I shouldn't say it just happened. It was preordained to God that I would see it two days, three days ago.
Umm, I'm gonna read these words and.
I The point I want you to get out of the words is.
The importance of simple obedience to what God says and what it can preserve from.
This temptations of the Lord Jesus here are we call it subtle.
Clever.
Difficult Satan's way makes.
Bad look good.
Satan comes to us and has a kind of a What's the harm in that?
Way of presenting it, uh, something he's going to try to use uh.
He doesn't say fierce fire, jump into it. No, he's very subtle. He's often an Angel of light, or else he tries to work on us through fear and other means as well as subtlety. But here is particularly the subtlety that's involved, and I'm going to read these words.
Even a child.
Unacquainted with the ways of the world.
Speaking about the word of God, it says he need not know them.
It's not necessary to be well acquainted with all the subtle traps and ways of the world.
00:30:00
4 Knowing the mind of the Lord through the Word, he avoids by simple obedience all the subtlety.
Of the enemy.
The bringing in of the authority of God in the Word sets aside our will.
Our wisdom.
We obey because we love him.
And we know it.
I can't say it better, I can't expect you to absorb it all that easily, so I'm going to read it again.
He need not know them. That is the ways of the world.
Knowing the mind of the Lord through the Word.
He avoids this by simple obedience, all the subtlety.
Of the enemy.
The bringing in of the authority of God in the Word sets aside our will.
Our wisdom.
We obey because we love him and we know him.
This is elsewhere in the Psalms.
Obedience. Well, I'll put it this way. Obedience is the secret to wisdom.
The world in Proverbs looks at the Christian or the one that follows the word of God and he says he is wise.
Is he wise because he's wiser by his way of thinking about things than his fellow man? Is he understanding because he has a a fundamental better way of looking at things? No, not that's not really the point.
The point is, God's wise, and if I obey God in simple obedience, the result of what I do will be what the wise thing is to do.
Sometimes we make life too complicated.
Because we think we have to figure it all out.
But in truth.
Simple obedience is the path of wisdom.
And in that.
Not the motive for being obedient, but it is a result. Happiness comes as a consequence.
Love it.
Something else I wanna bring out from this here?
Read the first one.
Again the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God.
Command this stone that it should be made bread.
What's the Lord Jesus is being tempted with here is you're the Son of God.
You have power.
If you'll just step outside of your place as an obedient man and exercise your power as God, you can meet your needs. You can have bread.
How does it apply to you?
And me.
Well.
God has made me a new creature in Christ Jesus.
A creature that can say, I delight to do thy will, O my God.
Satan says.
If you'll just step out of the place that you have now and the nature that God has given you and act like you once were as a child of Adam.
You can have this or that or the other.
But to disobey as a child of God, you have to do that.
You have to step out of your position, out of your place, out of your nature and go back and act.
As that man that was dead.
In Atom.
I want to show you that fact. We'll we're going to come back here, but just to umm, see the principle of it brought out in first John.
00:35:08
First John, chapter 5.
And verse 18.
First John 518.
We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not.
But he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not.
We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
And we know that the Son of God is calm and hath an understanding that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and the eternal life.
What's being said here is.
This is the life first John is describing, helping us to understand what we are as a new creation in Christ Jesus, and it's giving us what eternal life is.
And so here he's saying.
Whosoever is born of God, sinneth not what it is, is the life that we have in Christ. Eternal life doesn't sin. It's not in its nature to do so.
Furthermore, when it says.
He that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not.
It's saying to us in that life.
Satan can try, he can tempt, but there's nothing in the nature that responds to the temptation.
Very important principle. Sometimes we think, well it was OK for the Lord Jesus to be tempted because, well, he was perfect and he didn't have a sinful nature.
But God says to you, I've given you his life.
You have it.
And Satan can't touch it.
You're no more tempted if you want to use it in that way. You're no more tempted by Satan than the Lord Jesus in that life.
Can't be tempted.
The wicked one touches not.
Man's in the way we talk about temptation. Yes, he's.
Pull back.
Into the old.
If the Spirit of God is not given His place to work in the new, he can be pulled back and then he has no power.
Whereas placing of the wicked one at that point.
OK.
Let's go back to John.
Let's go to chapter.
5.
John, Chapter 5.
Thank you. Thank you, John. Yes, Luke. Chapter 5.
Lord Jesus has been preaching. This one isn't so much the perfection of the Lord Jesus, but it's more connected with us.
Uh, Luke chapter 5 The Lord's been out fishing with in Simon's boat and he's finished the preaching and so now he.
Says to Peter he tells Simon to do something.
Simon recognized it, and so in verse four. And when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your Nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master. And in this case that word means teacher.
Teacher, we've toiled all night.
And have taken nothing, nevertheless that thy word I will let down the net.
Stop here for a minute.
Teacher.
You know how to teach. I know how to fish. I'm a fisherman. You're a teacher and you've been teaching and you've been saying nice and good things to us, and we appreciate that teacher.
But umm.
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I'm a fisherman and I fished all night. I know how to fish. It's my livelihood. This lake here been fishing on all my life nevertheless.
I do respect you.
So we'll.
We'll go halfway.
You say launch out into the deep. Well, we'll just put. We'll just do it right here. You say put down Nets. That's work.
So we're not going to do Nets, but we'll do a net and we'll put it down here.
So they do.
You know the result, I don't need to.
You know what? How significant this was.
Peter got converted that day. This is his salvation. This is his day of conversion.
And so he says something. I honestly must say I find part of what he said somewhat amusing per SE. Simon Peter saw it. That's the collection of fish. He falls down at Jesus feet, saying, depart from me.
I'm a sinful man. Oh Lord, where are they?
They're in a little boat out on the lake and Peter says depart from me.
But it it exposed Peter's heart at this point. And the most significant thing that he says is he doesn't say master anymore. He said Lord.
That afternoon or that day, Jesus became his Lord.
Far more important to him than a teacher.
And uh, what happens? Oh, it becomes obedient. Yes, he failed. He's like us. But verse 11 Says when they brought their ships to land, they forsook all.
And followed him. Follow me, they did.
Peter learned from that point on, he had to go to school multiple times to get the lessons like we do. But Peter's life changed at that point and he started to learn to live what he now had become a new man in Christ and he started to learn obedience in his life during chapter 6.
And, uh, verse 12.
And it came to pass in those days that he went out in the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his 12 disciples, and of them he chose 12. We had this yesterday.
But just in the flow here, gonna just briefly make the comment.
Lord Jesus.
There's a man praise, he's about to exercise an important matter and the will of God, and that is to that the right disciples be chosen. And so he expresses his dependence on God's will, that he do God's will and what he does, and he expresses it by his prayer. And when he has, can I put it this way, the answer from God, he acts upon it.
To do the will of God.
Chapter 7.
Verse 20 And when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying.
Art thou he that should come, or luckily for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities, and plagues, and evil spirits. And unto many that were blind he gave sight. And Jesus answering, said unto them, Go your way until, John, what things you have seen and heard, and how that the blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor to the poor the gospel is preached.
Uh, for the purposes this afternoon, I want to apply it this way and that is.
John had some uncertainty, uh, because of his personal trial and situation of having been put in prison. Was Jesus really the, the Messiah that he thought he was? He expected something different to be the outcome than where he found himself, if truly the one that come to liberate Israel. Uh, the Messiah, that was what he was called. Uh, and John here John finds himself after preaching himself in prison.
00:45:15
And so he sends a message to ask for an way of affirming Are you really, really the one and.
The Lord's answer was tell John and then he describes things that Jesus others had seen, and John knew that Jesus was doing, which if looked at fulfilled what had been promised of the Messiah in the Old Testament.
Search the word.
The Lord Jesus Himself, when tested, knew the Word. It is said, it is said. It's important for us if we're going to be obedient to know, and to know requires knowing the Word.
Give it its due priority. You want to be happy? Give the word its priority and uh.
It's important. Let's go on to Chapter 8, our times getting along.
Chapter 8. Verse 15.
Here's the parable of the sower. We had something of the.
Many times the parable of the sore. I'm just going to read one verse, verse 15, and that on good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it.
And bring forth fruit.
With patience.
There's the word.
And in our application here, there's the obedience to it, the keeping of it.
And what's the result?
Fruit.
With patience, keep that in mind and turn over to Romans chapter 5.
Romans, chapter 5.
And verse 19.
For by one man's disobedience.
Many were made sinners.
So by the obedience of one.
Mini.
Shall be made righteous.
Moreover, the law in earth that the offence might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
That as sin hath reigned unto death, Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
One man.
Introduced disobedience.
Into the creation.
And everybody in this room has from birth been affected by that.
We were like our forefather.
Born in sin, shaping in iniquity Children, as it says elsewhere, of disobedience. We inherited the nature of our forefathers, and God characterizes it as children of disobedience.
One man came into the world.
I left obediently.
We saw in Luke 8.
Says Fruit.
Right, he did it.
Was this life fruitful?
There was one perfectly obedient life that's been lived in the history of man on earth.
A life that was lived in obedience.
Was it a fruitful life?
By one man's obedience, many.
Shall be made righteous.
Through that man's obedience. If you're a child of God, you sit in this room righteous.
Everybody in this room that's righteous before God.
Is righteous before God through the life and death, obedience unto death of one man.
00:50:09
Do you want a life that's fruitful?
You know how to have it.
Do I have to spell it out?
Obedience.
Obedience.
Do it.
And with patience.
It will be a fruitful life.
Not instant gratification necessarily.
Or at all.
Disobedience. The will of the flesh once instant gratification.
The world is getting more and more engineered that way.
I haven't got out of it now, can't wait.
This life, sometimes obedience, involves patience. Embrace it. Embrace it, don't fight it.
But just go along with God's way.
So we see it here, right? Turn over to.
First Peter chapter one.
We quoted it, but we're just gonna read it.
First Peter chapter one, verse 14 as obedient children.
Or in the new translation, As children of obedience, not fashioning yourselves according to the former, lost in your ignorance, but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy.
In all manner of conversation, because it is written.
Be ye holy, for I am holy.
Hardly think it needs any explanation.
I think it's simple and clear.
We were once.
Slaves of Satan under the power of the world system that he had established. That was described to us in the reading meeting.
And now he says, you're my children.
You're my new creation in Christ Jesus. Any man be in Christ. He's a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
2nd Corinthians 5 and so he says.
Don't fashion yourself.
On the old, embrace the new.
Liz the new.
So it's here.
New creation.
Obedience.
Notice first two connection with this first Peter chapter one verse two it says.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience.
And sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Well, we the Spirit of God has worked to bring us under the value, the application, the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses from all sin.
We stand proper before God is saved, and so on.
But I want to emphasize the other phrase in the verse.
Sanctified set apart.
By the of the Spirit.
To be obedient children.
To be fruitful for God.
In a sinful world.
To be to God's pleasure.
You know, lots of us in this room have children.
And one of the things that gives pleasure to the heart of a mother and father. And if you're still a child, listen up.
00:55:02
One of the ways you give pleasure to mom and dad.
Just when you're obedient.
And one of the things that gives them Gray hairs.
This is disobedience.
You know when we obey.
We can have fellowship.
When we are disobedient, even though we're children, it Mars the enjoyment of fellowship together.
When there's a child in a disobedient state, fellowship's been interrupted.
I believe that's in part why God had such pleasure when he opens heaven and he can look down with pleasure on his obedience son, even in a situation which his son hadn't done anything wrong.
But he was identifying himself with those who had.
As a godly man, and he he.
He was baptized with the baptism of repentance, and it was a pleasure to the heart of God to see such extremity of obedience.
That he expresses it by opening heaven.
To so say.
Now for one last verse, turn over to 1St John chapter 2.
First, John.
And verse 8.
Uh, verse seven, brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which he had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning.
He's talking about life, eternal life here and what it is.
And he writes to his brethren and he says, you know, there's really not a new commandment. You could look at the life of the Lord Jesus and you could see that perfection of life in him, the perfect obedience one if you love me, He said, keep my commandments.
Not talking about the law here, I don't have time to explain the differences, but it's the spirit of submission to His will in everything and whatever he says is the law to the heart.
To and so here was the Lord Jesus, and they saw it in him. So he says to them, verse eight again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true lights now shining.
It was true in him. We've traced it a little bit in the time we've had this afternoon, he says. It's new. Well, what's new about it is it's now in you. That's what's new.
What was true in Him, in perfection is now in you.
And to be lived out in you.
God would delight to see all the pleasure that He had in His Son as an obedience son on earth lived out in everybody in this room.
When we're obedient, we with the right motive, we give pleasure to the heart of God.
Isn't that a worthy desire for your life? Some people say what's life all about? What's the purpose of life? Well, I'll give you 1 Satisfactory purpose to life. Live to give God pleasure.
Being obedient son or daughter.
Ephesians 2:11-22
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.
Everybody.
Let's start our meeting tonight with #32 what can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can I shall weigh my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of sea.
4953.
9698 96964 on my thighs and that might be nothing but all of a sudden.
All of the grass droughts and sunflowers.
And make me wine that's not all the snow. No, no, no, no, no.
Let's sing another song #23.
Behold, behold the Lamb of God on the cross for us. He shed his precious blood on the cross.
Maybe we could stand and sing #23.
Nsnoise.
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Nsnoise.
Let's turn to Acts chapter 10.
Gonna read a message that the apostle Peter gave in the home of a man called Cornelius.
Acts chapter 10 and verse 36.
The word which God sent unto the children of Israel.
Preaching peace by Jesus Christ, He.
Is Lord of all that word I say ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.
Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil?
For God was with him, and we are witnesses of these all things which He did, both in the land of the Jews.
And in Jerusalem.
Whom they slew.
And hanged on a tree.
Him God raised up from the dead and showed him openly.
Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us.
Who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead?
And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He.
Which was ordained of God to be the judge?
Of the quick or the living and dead to him give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive.
Remission of sins. That's the message that Peter preached.
In the home of Cornelius, it's the same message that we preach today.
It's a message about Jesus in verse 2636 it says Jesus Christ He is Lord of all. Just to talk a little bit about who he is because it's so important to be clear about who Jesus is. Jesus is a name that means.
00:10:13
Jehovah the Savior.
Stop and think what that means. Jehovah is the name of God.
From the Old Testament.
Is that man that walked through this world, the God of the Old Testament, the same person? Yes, the same person. He is the one who spoke the whole universe into existence by the word of his power. You know, I love to study the universe and to think about the vastness of it all. It's just beyond our conception.
Some years ago I was speaking out.
In Burbank, CA to some young people and I made a comment that our Galaxy in which we live, it's called the Milky Way Galaxy, has approximately 100 billion stars.
You know, a young man came up to me afterwards and he said, you know, it's closer to 200 billion stars in our Galaxy alone. You know, the numbers just keep going up.
And then in a book that my children gave me because they know I enjoy the universe.
It said in one of the recent books that they calculate now that there are at least 250 billion.
More galaxies, more or less the same size as the Milky Way Galaxy in which we live. Now we're talking about a person who spoke it all into existence. That's the power of this person, Jehovah God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah the Savior. This is the one who came into this world.
It's interesting. I'm sure you've heard how he came into this world.
He was born in a way that nobody else has ever been born.
In Genesis chapter three, he is called the seed of the woman. You know that everybody in here has born, been born not of a seed of any woman, but the seed of a man. But here is a man, a man who was born of the seed of a woman because he had no human father. God was his father. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.
And so the Lord Jesus, to be able to rescue us, to be our Savior.
Necessarily had to die. You know God cannot die.
God is immortal, and so to be able to die, he had to become a man. And the Lord Jesus took on humanity in his person in the in through the Virgin Mary. And the Lord Jesus here in this world was God the Savior, Jehovah the Savior. The next title is Christ.
And Christ means the anointed one. It's the same.
Word basically as Messiah, you know, in the Old Testament times.
When they were going to anoint a new king, a prophet would come along with a horn of oil.
And when he got to the designated person, he would pour the oil on the head of that person. That was the anointing to show that this was the person that was terrain. So that's what.
Christ means it means the anointed one, and it speaks here 2 verses later.
In verse 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth, somebody has talked about it today already that when the Lord Jesus came to John the Baptist.
To be baptized, the Lord, John the Baptist protested. He says I have need to be baptized of thee, and you come to me.
Because he knew who he was. He knew he was the sinless, holy, spotless Son of God.
But Jesus said, let it be thus for now, for it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. So John the Baptist baptized him, and in that way Jesus identified himself with repentance. Sinners.
00:15:14
There were a bunch of Pharisees and scribes there too at the baptism, watching what was going on.
He did not identify with those people. He identified with the people that were repentant through being baptized and so the Lord Jesus when he came up out of the water.
Was as if God couldn't hold back any longer. The heavens came open.
And the Spirit of God came down in the form of a dove, and lighted on him.
And a voice out of heaven said, Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
The Lord Jesus is the anointed one. He was anointed by God and his the baptism of John. But notice there's another title here in verse.
2636 He is Lord of all.
Now we don't maybe use that word Lord too much in today's world. Maybe we use the word landlord and it means somebody who has authority over a particular piece of property.
But when in the word Lord is used, it's somebody that has authority. That's the use of the word Lord in England. I think they still have the House of Lords there.
Uh, elected to a position in the House of Lords like in this country. I think it would relate to what we have in the Senate. But the Lord is the one who has authority. And notice he begins by saying that this message was given to the children of Israel, but it says he is Lord of all. Doesn't mean matter who you are.
There's some Mexicans in this room, there's some Bolivians and there's some Americans and maybe some Canadians.
Doesn't matter who you are, He is Lord of all.
You know what really impresses me in the world, and especially in this country, the United States of America, what is destroying, really destroying this country is that people do not want to submit to the lordship of anybody.
God is the author of government, human government, and very, uh, necessarily we need to recognize that human government often fails in the way they handle authority.
But still God is the author of authority. Human government is subject to failure. But I want to say about this authority, the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of all.
He will never make a mistake and you are not mistaken by submitting to His authority in your life. You know what sin is. Sin is rebellion to God.
In an alternate reading of first John chapter 3, it says sin is lawlessness. In other words, it means that any way that God says that you ought to do, you basically say, and this is the principle that is in all of us because we all have a sin nature.
No, I'll do my own thing and don't you dare judge me. I have my rights.
To me it is sad, the destruction that we've had here in Ferguson these days. Why is that? People think they know better than the earthly authorities that God has set in this world?
I don't say that the earthly authorities haven't made mistakes.
But to say that they know better and to go and burn down buildings and burn cars?
Is not of God. That is rebellion, and it's rampant in the heart of man. Don't you and me say that we're any different. This heart of ours is exactly the same.
00:20:07
We like to think that we are a notch above those people that do those crazy things. No, don't you think of that in a moment? We are the same flesh and blood. That's what's our nature, rebellion to God. And that's why it's so important to get to know the Lord Jesus Christ, because he came to resolve that question of sin.
Notice how Peter continues here.
The word I say ye know, which was published throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached.
Oh, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.
And went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil for God.
Was with him, and we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
Anything that he did, was there any reason to reject it? Do people like being healed of their diseases? I've often thought that the Lord Jesus wouldn't you want a person that could go into a hospital and totally empty a hospital of all the sick people in there?
In fact, he could walk into the morgue and he could revive those that had died. He could bring him back to life. Wouldn't you kind of want a person like that? What did they do to this person?
It says here in verse 39 whom they flew and hanged on a tree. What an awful response to the Christ of God. He went about doing good. We don't want this man. Can you see the rebellion in their hearts? Yeah, we can see it in other people, but sometimes we can't see it in ourselves. If you have not resolved the sin question, it doesn't matter who you are.
You need to think about this. I was raised in a Christian home too. I was taught.
Good doctrine in meetings like we've been sitting in, but the time came when I had to repent of my sins. I had to realize I was no better than the worst criminal on on death row in the United States of America. No better. God says there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
I don't know. People tend to justify themselves.
Remember down in Peru one time we were having a Bible meeting and a man came in and said.
After the meeting was over, he said it was evident that he had been drinking.
He wasn't too out of it yet. He could still talk pretty sanely.
He says I want to get saved. Said, well, that's certainly good that you wanna get saved. I said, so you are a Sinner. Oh, no, no, I'm not a Sinner. I say you're not a Sinner.
Well, one time I beat my wife up, but I'm not a Sinner, you know, I don't know how people think they think that to be a Sinner you have to do something terrible.
And I'm afraid that even amongst those who are raised in Christian homes do not come to the conviction of their own sin before God. It says in Romans chapter 3 there is none good.
No, not one.
Destruction and misery is, in their ways, the way of peace they have not known. That has been evident in what's happened in this city. This is the way of man in his rebellion towards God. Terrible where it leads to. So that's why it's so important to come to grips about this question. They slew him.
And hang them on a tree.
I want to tell you a little bit more about what happened to him when they hanged him on a tree. It was about 9:00 in the morning that day in Israel, in the city of Jerusalem, when they led a man out to die. In fact, they led three out to die. One was Jesus, the Lord of all, the Messiah.
00:25:18
Jehovah, the Savior, that was the one, and his face.
He was crowned with thorns.
Spittle was running down his face.
And when they got him out to Golgoth, outside the city of Jerusalem, they stretched out.
Those hands that had been so many works of mercy.
And they nailed them to a cross, and they hung him between heaven and earth.
There for three hours he suffered from the hands of man in his rebellion to God.
Then God at 12 noon covered it with darkness, and for three hours, from 12 noon to three in the afternoon, nobody could see what was going on. The prophet Isaiah says it so clearly.
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. I am the guilty party.
But God took those sins that I had committed because He wants to forgive me my sins. Somebody has to pay the price. And God took those sins and light them on his own Son. And then he punished him. For three hours the waves and billows of God's judgment rolled over him, until at the end Jesus could cry with a loud voice. It is finished all the judgment that was against us as guilty sinners.
Jesus paid the price in full.
And then he bows his head and dies.
And a soldier came up to make sure that those three that were crucified were dead, and he breaks the legs of the first thief and the other thief that was crucified with him. Then he comes to Jesus.
And he sees that he's dead already. He takes his sphere and plunges it into the side.
Of Jesus and outflows blood and water.
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Sin is a terrible thing in the eyes of God.
You know, we laugh about sins. Sometimes we joke about it, but sin is serious business with God.
Every single sin will receive, it's just punishment from the hand of God.
Jesus paid the price at the cross of Calvary and now.
You and I are to accept what Jesus has done for us by faith, trusting in Him. Like it says in the last verse we read, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive the remission of sins. That means the forgiveness of sins.
God is offering it to you tonight. You don't even have to ask God for forgiveness. He is offering it to you. All you have to do is accept what He is offering to you. Sometimes say if I had $100 bill and I came down and offered it to this brother.
You might say, well, that's sure a nice thing that He's offering me, but if you never put out your hand to take it, it will never be yours. You have to take it and I can't take it for you. And the same goes for forgiveness of sins. Do you want forgiveness of sins? You have to do it by an act of personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scripture says whosoever believeth in him shall receive.
The remission or the forgiveness of sins by His name?
God has a legal way of forgiving your sins because of what Jesus has done.
You know, sometimes I mentioned this and I think it is important to understand if we had a judge here in the city of Saint Louis.
That every time.
A criminal was brought before him. He would say, well, we're just going to forgive you. You can go now. Here's somebody brought before him that has committed murder. We're just going to forgive you. You can go now. What would you think of that, judge?
00:30:15
That's not a good judge. Why not?
He does not make the law valid. He doesn't make it stick.
But when Jesus forgives our sins, when God Forgives our sins, it's because of what Jesus paid on the cross of Christ. On the cross of Calvary. He paid the price in full. The full penalty of guilt fell on him, and he paid it all on that cross. Wonderful, wonderful way that we can be forgiven.
Not only forgiven, but justified.
But notice one other thing here that we want to draw attention to.
Verse 42. He commanded us to preach unto the people.
And to the testify that it is he, Lord Jesus Christ.
Which was ordained of God to be the judge?
Of quick and dead quick is an old English word which means living.
And the dead. The Lord Jesus is ordained of God to be the judge of the living and the dead. In other words, there is no way you can escape Jesus.
You must meet Him personally, face to face. You will come to meet Jesus.
No way you can escape it. And we plead with you to think seriously through these issues because you are going to come to face the Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember what we said earlier?
Every single sin that has ever been committed on planet earth will be judged by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thank God, those sins that I have committed, Jesus took the punishment for him and now I can be forgiven, legally forgiven because of what Jesus did on the cross of the of Calvary.
But you say I don't really believe that I have my own way. OK, I'm not here to force you to believe, but you need to understand what are the alternatives if you don't accept the Lord Jesus as your savior? Because either if you're living when Jesus comes or whether you die and are buried.
In either way, you must meet Jesus.
And I'd like to go briefly to those places in the Scripture that speak of the judgment of the living and the judgment of the dead, because no one is going to escape Jesus. Let's go to Matthew chapter 25.
Verse 31.
This is the judgment of the living when Jesus comes back again and he's coming back again.
There is going to be a judgment of all those who are living in this world.
At that time, notice verse 31 of chapter 25 of Matthew, when the Son of Man shall come in His glory. Son of Man is another title of the Lord Jesus Christ when He sits on the throne of judgment.
People will see a man sitting there. The same man that hung on that cross is the one that will be sitting there on the throne of glory. And the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with him. Then shall he sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations. Sometimes that word nations is called Gentiles.
If you're not a Jew, you're a Gentile.
All nations are included in this. All nations are going to be gathered before him, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on the right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.
00:35:28
From the foundation of the world. For I was in hunger, and he gave me meat. I was thirsty, and he gave me drink. I was a stranger, and he took me in naked, and he clothed me. I was sick and he visited me. I was in prison. He came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw thee we thee in hunger and fed thee? Or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked and clothed thee?
Or when saw with a sick and imprisoned, and came unto thee, Verse 40. And the king shall answer, and say to them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Verse 41.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed into.
Everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was in hunger, and ye gave me no meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you took me not in naked, and ye clothed me not sick and in prison, and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when shall we be in hunger, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison? It did not minister into the.
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily, I send to you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.
And these shall go away.
Into everlasting punishment that the righteous into life eternal. Here's the Lord Jesus on the throne of his glory when he returns.
You know, these are things that could easily take place in the next decade. We can't set dates here as to when things will happen, but things are happening in the world today that make us realize that we're getting close to the end times.
And the time will come when he will come back, and it says here with all his holy angels.
Don't you think that you can escape him because those angels?
Will root out those that offend and will bring him them to judgment.
There they stand, like a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
Puts the sheep on the right hand and the goats on the left.
Those on the right hand are those that have heard the gospel of the Kingdom.
Just let me reflect here a minute if you have heard the gospel of the grace of God.
That we are preaching now that their salvation through the Lord Jesus thru His precious blood.
And definitely take a decision. No, not yet. I don't think so. I'm going my way and the Lord comes. You will not have another chance. Scripture is very clear about that. In Second Thessalonians chapter 2. You will be deceived in the coming days by Antichrist, who is a man probably alive in the world today.
It's incredible to think about it.
But.
If there's a person in this world and there are parts of this world that have never heard the gospel given clearly, and they will hear the gospel of the Kingdom after the church is gone.
They will respond. Some of them will respond. These are the sheep that will go into blessing on the earth in the millennial day under the reign of Christ.
But now the goats. What about the goats?
Lord Jesus said, Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
00:40:00
Just start to think what's before you if you don't accept Jesus as your savior.
A place prepared not for man. You know God never prepared any place for a rebellious man, because he doesn't want anyone to perish. If you are not saved, God does not want you in that condition, He wants to save you.
But he prepared a place for the devil and his angels.
It's everlasting fire.
And I don't know how awful to I could explain it. Can you imagine ever lasting fire? You know, one time I got burnt when I was trying to start a car and I was pouring some gasoline into the carburetor that you used to have in times past and it backfired and.
Yes, I was pouring into the car.
Exploded and went on to my face, onto my hand and I'll never forget the intense pain, not so much of my burns on my face, but on my hand. Still have some scars there of those burns that I had on my hand. Couldn't stand it. It was too painful. My wife bought a brought a bucket of water and I put my hand in the bucket of water so we could go to the hospital and get a shot that was.
Help me with the pain, but think of it ever lasting fire.
Prepared for the devil and his angels. That's why God sent his Son so that you would not go there. He's blocked the road to hell with the cross of Christ. He doesn't want you to go one more step in that direction. He wants to save your soul tonight.
If you die without faith in Christ, this is where you are headed.
If you continue to live and the Lord comes and the door of salvation is shut for you because you've heard the message clearly.
And you've taken a decision not to believe God. You know what you're doing When you don't believe God, you're calling him a liar.
That's serious business.
Then this will be your end.
You will be one of the goats. And he says to them, Depart from me. He cursed into everlasting fire. It's not what God wanted for you.
It's what you chose yourself.
Somebody has said there are two kinds of people in this world.
Ones that say to God.
Your will be done.
And the ones that God will say to them, your will be done because they rejected what God wanted for them. He is not going to force you against your will. It's in your hands. And I plead with you tonight with all my heart. And there are many other believers here who would join with me in that plea. Please consider the salvation of your soul.
It's way too important to be putting it off. Don't put it off any longer. So this is the end for these that are living on the earth when Jesus comes. But he's the Lord not only of the living, His Lord of the dead as well. And I'd like to go to where we see the judgment, the final judgment of the dead.
In Revelation chapter 20.
I don't read these things to stare at you merely. I read these things so that you will realize that there is no other way to resolve this issue of sin in your life.
Revelation chapter 20.
These are things that will happen because they are written in God's infallible word. Revelation chapter 20 and verse 11. And I saw a great white throne, Him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven LED away, and there was found no place for them.
00:45:19
And I saw the dead.
Small and great stand before God, and the books were opened and another book was opened.
Which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works.
Mercy gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.
And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Here is the judgment of the debt. The heavens and the earth are gone.
This world is not eternal, it is part of creation, and the day will come when heaven and earth will pass away with a great noise. Scripture tells us somebody said it's atomic explosion, everything is going to disappear.
And so here in space, John sees this great white throne and the one that's sitting on him, the same one that sat on the throne of his glory in Matthew 25.
The same one that hung on that cross.
2000 years ago, close to 2000 years ago, the same one is the one sitting on this throne.
Judgment is God's strange work. He doesn't like to judge. But if you refuse to do about the question of your sins with God, you will have to meet Jesus.
It's your choice. You chose that end. God doesn't want you to go there, He wants you to be saved. But it says the books were opened.
God keeps books, and I suppose there's a book written for every single human human person that's ever lived on planet earth. There's a book. God does not forget details.
He knows every single thing that's ever happened in your life. I would not want people to know some of the things that I have done in my life, but God knows them all.
And the books were opened, and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books according to their works. You know when you accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
The blood of Jesus Christ wipes all the guilt of those sins we have committed out.
They're no longer there against us. But if you do not accept what Jesus has done.
And you must answer to God for those sins that you have committed, and there is no way of escaping it.
Books were opened and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books.
According to their works, and the sea gave up the dead which were in them, which are in it.
You know, a lot of people today have their bodies burned when they die and they give instruction to throw their ashes over the out over the sea. Do you think that's going to be any difficulty with God to bring them back? Absolutely no difficulty. He's the one that spoke the universe into existence. He can call your ashes back and re re uh, resurrect you so that you will stand there.
Spirit, soul and body before God.
She gave up the dead which were in them, and death and hell are Hades delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works, and Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of fire. Lake of Fire is another word for Vienna, which is the word same word as hell.
00:50:18
It's the most awful place. It's an enclosure. A lake is an enclosure, but not of water. The fire torment forever.
And ever, without any hope of ever being able to escape that place. That's why we're here to plead with you to not go any further that direction, to come in true repentance and faith to the Lord Jesus, to accept Him as your Savior, to receive the forgiveness of your sins, to know that you have eternal life, to know that you have a home in heaven. This is what God wants for you.
And we plead with you tonight to not leave this place until you are sure of your eternal destiny.
Meeting is going to end.
But if there's anybody that is sincerely wanting to get things clear in their soul, we will be here. You can come and ask for help. We'll be glad not only myself, but others too to help. If there's something that you are unclear about, please do come. Let's talk.
Lessons Ants Teach Us
Children—Howard Erisman
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good morning boys and girls, and older ones too.
Umm, if some of the children would like to come up to the front row or front couple of rows, maybe you can hear a little better and you're certainly welcome to do that.
We'd like to start today by singing a number of the Sunday School hymns that we have in this book and this booklet on, mainly on the Backpage, but maybe some others too.
I think I'd like to pick the first one, and then I'd like some of the other boys and girls to, uh, suggest some for us to sing. But I'd like to start with #41 That we all know very well Jesus loves me. This I know.
Nsnoise.
92913.
953.
And around the bank, maybe huddled my mind. Yeah, it's like one thing.
Yeah, it's not a lot of raining. Yeah, it's it's like 1,000,000, 150. My God, please. So.
What a wonderful song that is. I don't know how many decades that's been sung.
But it's a favorite, isn't it? And the Sunday school for many, many years. And there are lots of verses in in the in the Bible that tell us the truth of this song. And what I'm thinking of is in Galatians. I'll start it and maybe one of the boys or girls here can help me finish. It starts like this, the son of God.
Any clues? Any volunteers? The son of God who loved me.
00:05:02
Thank you. That's it exactly. The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Isn't that a wonderful verse to know that the Lord Jesus loves me? It's very individual. We can each say that, can't we? The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And you know, I'd like to. A lot of times we sing the chorus of this little song in Spanish, and I think there's some people here that know Spanish.
A lot better than me, but I think we can do the chorus at least. And it goes like this. C which means yes, yezu meama, Jesus loves me. And we repeat that three times. Si ye tsui miyama, si ye SU meyama la biblia. What is la biblia mean?
Yeah, what does it mean? What does la biblia mean in English?
The Bible. Yeah. Abibria DC. So let's just sing the chorus in Spanish, see.
Very good. OK, who has that? Which is boys and girls would have a song they'd like to give out. Yes.
One door and only one OK.
And that one is #43 in our book and in our song sheet, here on the Backpage.
Fry's and Water together, brown.
00:10:13
Nsnoise.
Yes, yes, Ezekiel. Ezekiel.
1884 good, Would you like to say it?
Any other boys or girls perhaps a little further back?
That's the very solemn verse.
The soul that sinneth it shall die.
I don't like the thought of dying, do you?
I don't like the thought of dying. There isn't a it's a solemn verse, isn't it? It makes a stop and think the soul that's in it that shall die. There's another verse that says and after death.
The judgment.
And after death of judgment. So those two verses together are very solemn, aren't they? They make us stop and think, Oh.
I better not sin.
I better not be a Sinner because I don't want to die and I don't want to face judgment after I die.
But you know, if we can, if we don't sin, then we won't have to worry about it, will we? We won't have to worry about it if if we don't sin.
So what would that take?
Well, whenever mom and dad says to do something.
We do it with a smile.
Never complain, always obedient, Never.
A bad thought about it. How about when our brother or sister comes along and takes one of our toys and breaks it?
We have to take it with a smile, take joyfully the spoiling of our goods, take it with a smile. You know, it says in the Bible that the thought of foolishness is sin.
So that means I better not think any foolish thoughts. None at all. No foolish thoughts.
00:15:03
Well, it would be wrong to steal something, wouldn't it?
And I think that applies even to something like a cookie out of a cookie jar, don't you think so?
So if mom has cookies there on the on the counter and she says don't take the cookies, they're for dessert.
We say, well, I, I don't want to be a soul that sent us, so I'm not going to take green.
And never a harsh word and never an unkind thought. Think you can do it?
Do you think you can live that way?
It's too late for me.
I don't know if it's too late for all you boys or girls, but I think it is because the Bible says this. It says all have sinned.
And come short.
Glory of God.
Oh, and so none of us are going to get to heaven, none of us are going to escape the judgment of our sins by being sinless, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
So what do we do? Here we are. We're all sinners. Some of us may be worse than others, but we've all fallen short. What are we going to do?
Well, you know, mom and dad can usually fix things, can't they? Maybe have a Big Brother or sister they can fix things sometimes.
So maybe we can go to mom and dad and say, can you get me in? Can you get me that? Even though I'm a Sinner, even though I have sinned?
But you know what the word of God says? Says no man can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God an answer for him.
And if you can't redeem your brother, it applies to mom and dad to they can't do it either. They can't do it either. There are lots of things moms and dads and brothers and sisters can do, but to get you into heaven they cannot do.
They cannot do. And yet none of us want to die and then face judgment. And God doesn't want us to either.
And so you know.
God saw our terrible condition that we're in and that we couldn't do anything about it, and he said I'm going to solve it for you.
The God himself solves the problem for us.
And this is how he did it.
2000 years ago, there was a young lady that lived there in an area of Galilee. Her name was Mary and an Angel came to Mary one night. The angel's name was Gabriel and Gabriel came to Mary and and he said to her that God is going to put a baby in your womb and you're going to give birth to a baby and this baby is going to be.
Great. And he's going to be the son of the highest.
And Gabriel says God has already chosen a name for this baby, and it's important that you give this baby the right name.
You know what the name was.
Yes, it was Jesus.
Jesus. Why would would they call his name Jesus?
Yes, God chose that name. Why did they? Why did he choose that name?
Yes, because it means Savior, because He shall save His people from their sins.
So we've determined that we all have sins, and Mom and dad can't do anything about it. And yet God requires that those sins be paid for. And so we need a substitute. We need somebody else that can come and pay the penalty for our sins for us. We can't look at anybody else down here in this world because all are sinners. There isn't a single person born in this world down here and except for Jesus.
They can put away our sins.
And so God provided Jesus, and the Lord Jesus came down here in this world.
Did he ever sin?
He never sent. Does that mean he never had a foolish thought?
00:20:02
Never had a flu shot. Does it mean he was always obedient to his mom and dad?
To his mother and.
He was always obedient in every single thing he did. Did he ever steal a cookie?
Never steal a cookie.
He was perfect in every way.
Because he didn't have a sinful nature.
You and I have natures that like to sin, but he didn't have a nature that like to sin. And he went through his life down here without a single sin. And then he went to the cross of Calvary, and there on the cross of Calvary it says He bore our sins and iniquities.
In his own body, on the tree, and in the cross of Calvary, the Lord Jesus.
Suffered for our sins.
God took all those sins, everyone that you've ever committed, put them on the Lord Jesus and punish the Lord Jesus and the judgment after death, the judgment, the judgment was carried out, wasn't it? The judgment was carried out upon the Lord Jesus and he suffered and died.
And now isn't that wonderful? We have a Savior, the Lord Jesus, and it says neither is there salvation in any other.
For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must.
But we have a responsibility too, don't we? We need to come to the Lord Jesus, for it says, except you repent.
You shall all likewise perish. And so we have to come to the Lord Jesus and tell him we're sorry for our sins. We need to repent of our sins and then believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now I have a a picture that I want to show you of a little animal.
And I wonder if somebody can tell me what this animal is. We're going to walk around and let everybody see it before I call on anybody.
There is a little animal.
Got lots of legs, doesn't it? More than you and I do anyway.
You see that little animal? Do you know what that is, Lauren?
And, and, yeah, did you say Ant? I think you said Ant. Say it out loud. And it is an Ant. That's right. Now, some of you in the back may not be able to see this picture too well, but I'll hold it up. Maybe you can see it. What a wonderful little animal this is. How many legs does an Ant have?
It is 3 on each side, so total of 66 legs. Now it's got a couple of other little things here in the front of his head. Those aren't legs. Antenna. That's right.
And it's quite an interesting little animal. He's got three parts to his body. He's got the head part and he's got the body part. The thorax, I think they call that an abdomen. And all the legs come out of the middle part. The thorax and the antenna are in the front of his head.
And the antenna allows him to do lots of things. He can touch other ants. And when he touches other ants, he can convey little messages to them. And he can feel things and he can find his way. And I think he can have a little sense of smell through the antenna. And so, you know, when an Ant finds food, then pretty soon if you look at ants, you'll find that there are a whole bunch of ants that follow that same little trail to go back to the same food.
And they pick up some food and they bring it back to their nest again. How do they do that? They've got some sense of smell through those antenna that allow them to do it now.
There are lots of ants in the world, and I have read, and if the people that did this research are right, then it's quite interesting that it says for every person in this world there are one and a half million ants, one and a half million ants for every single person in the world.
Now if you do the math on that, it's quite interesting because there are 7 billion people in this world there abouts. And if there's one and a half million ants for every person in this world, that comes to over 10 quadrillion ants.
Isn't that amazing? You know what a quadrillion is?
It's big.
00:25:01
And and another way to look at it is this. If you if you write a one on a piece of paper and follow it with a bunch of zeros and put 16 zeros out there to get 10 quadrillion, lots and lots of ants. Why did the Lord make so many ants?
May be.
You're smart, they are smart, there's scripture says that they're wise. And so yes, I think that's AI think that's a very good answer. He made them because they are wise, they're smart and he wants men to learn some lessons from them. So that's why we're going to talk about ants today, so we can learn a little lesson about the ants.
Now, but let's talk about a few other facts about the ants. First of all, ants live in nests. Sometimes they're called Ant hills. And I have a couple of pictures of different types of Ant hills because there are lots of different types. Some of them grow down into the ground, and those are the ones most of us are familiar with. We've seen them. And so maybe on a little crack in the sidewalk, you'll find a little mound of dirt and all kinds of tiny little pieces of dirt there. And you know that.
Their ants that go down into the ground. And so you go there and pretty soon you're going to see ants coming and going. They're always busy, aren't they? Answer one of the busiest little animals you ever see. They're crawling back and forth and they're working so hard and doing things. So here's a picture of that type of an Ant hill.
A little hill that goes down into the ground, but there are other kinds of Ant hills too. I haven't seen one quite like this, but maybe some of you have. These go out of the ground.
And they can re be really big and some of them can be as tall as your house and uh, you know, if you were to look inside, well, first of all, let's say this Ant hills can house usually uh, some pretty large colonies of ants. Lots of ants can live in a single in a single hill. And of course some of them start pretty small, but they can get up to over a million ants living in a single pant hill. Isn't that amazing to think of a million ants living in a single anthill. Now, if you were to look inside an anthill.
You would find a series of tunnels.
And you would find a series of chambers and the main entrance always goes vertically, they tell me. So the ants crawl up and down. If they're, if it's an Ant hill that goes up into the sky, I guess they climb up vertically to get to all the different little cavities that are up there, up in there. If it's down under the ground, they're climbing down, but they're up and down or the main passageways. And then there are little branches off to the side. And when you go into these little branches, you find rooms, lots and lots of rooms for the big Ant hills at least.
Well, what's going on in those rooms? Well, they're different types of rooms.
And that's interesting. There's one room for the Queen.
And some anthills have more than one queen, but let's talk about the ones that just have one queen for a minute. So she's got her own little room down there and she's busy laying eggs all day long. Laying eggs, 1000 eggs a day. Some of them can lay. Can you imagine that? 1000 eggs a day for years on end, this queen is out there laying eggs. I suppose that's why they're 10 quadrillion ants, because she's laying so many eggs.
And then when they hatch the, they come out about a week later in a little larva, and those larvae have to get put in rooms and have to have some other ants look after those little larvae and take care of them. And so there's some rooms for the nurseries for the little ants. And so that's part of the rooms. And then they need food. And so some of the little, little cavities in there are to store their food.
And they've got big granaries where they work all summer long and they they collect all this food and they put it in the greenery. And then there are other rooms that are for trash because when you have that much going on, you generate a lot of trash. We do at home and the ants do too. And so they have to have trash rooms in there. And these ants always know what to do. And some of them are responsible to look after the nursery and some of them are responsible to take care of the queen.
And some of them plucked the garbage and take it out, and some of them go out on a hunt for food.
And they bring the food back and put it in their granaries and so that they'll have food for the winter. And do you know what? The queen doesn't tell them what to do. You might think, well, there's the queen, she's the most important one. But it it says in the Bible that having no guide, overseer or ruler, they know just what to do. God gave them that knowledge. And so they would know exactly what to do. And whenever we look at the creation, whether it's the animals or the stars or the plants.
00:30:15
We're always amazed at how wonderfully God has put this world together.
And so he's given them that wisdom. Now let's talk a little bit about the ones that go out and get food.
Because they have a very important job, it sells us in the Bible that they prepare their food in the summer.
That's wise. And the Bible tells us that ants are exceeding wise. They're very small, but they're exceeding wise. And that's why because they prepare their food in the summer, they know that winter is coming and they're not, there's not going to be food available for them in the winter and maybe it's going to be too cold to work. And so that they know that when, when the weather is right, that's the time to go out and collect food. And so they go out in the search for food and then after they find somewhere, they lay a little scent trail.
And so other ants will know exactly how to follow that centrial to find more food and bring it back. Now it, it tells us in the Bible that, uh, the, the answer not strong. They're, they're very small. That's why they're not strong. But it's interesting when you study ants that you find out, although they're not strong because they're so small, they have exceeding great strength compared to their weight because they weigh only two milligrams. That's very small too for them, 2 milligrams very small and.
And but they can carry a piece of tidbit of food on their backs that as as much as 50 times their weight. Could you do that, Carry something on your back 50 times as as heavy as you are. If you're 50 lbs or 60 lbs or something like that, it would be like carrying your dad's car on your back, carrying your home and putting it in the garage. Ants can do that. Amazing, isn't it? They're that strong and they're busy and they're preparing.
Their food in the summer, so they'll have plenty in the winter.
Now, why is all this important? Why did God make 10 trillion, 10 quadrillion ants? Why did he make it? And so that we all know what they are, and we've all seen them, and we can watch.
I think I like to think of it this way, boys and girls.
He wants us to prepare our food in the summer too. And what does that mean? I'm thinking of it as spiritual food that He wants us to prepare while we're young. Now you boys and girls this morning prepared some spiritual food. Many of you did because you quoted the verse. The soul that sinneth it shall die.
You memorized that verse and you tucked it away inside your brain, at least, maybe inside your heart. And so you prepared some food while you were young. And that's the lesson that we should learn from the Ant. We should prepare our food in the summer. Now let's think of it a little bit further like this. Let's look at those cavities that are in the anthill and let's think of two types of cavities. Let's think of one of those cavities as being.
Our minds, our brains, and when we study a verse and memorize a verse, or when we read a verse in the Scriptures, maybe we haven't even memorized it, but we've read it and we've kind of understood it a little bit. It's nice to put it away into our brains. And then later the Spirit of God can bring that to your mind and it can be a help to you in your life. But I want to think of another cavity too.
And that is our hearts.
Because we all have brains that can understand things, but we have hearts that can appreciate things and can enter into them and enjoy them. And we all have brains and we have hearts. And we need to take the scriptures that we learn, these little verses that we learn along the way. And we need to put them into our brains and so that we can kind of begin to understand them a little. But even more important than putting them into our brain, we need to enjoy them. We need to put them into our hearts. And when we quote a verse like the Son of God who loved me.
And gave himself for me and put that in our heart, in our brain, we can understand. Oh yes, Jesus came into this world and he loved me and he gave himself for me. But in my heart I can, I can reach out and love the Savior, the one that loved me so much. And I can put tuck that away in the cavity of my heart. You know, David did that. He said thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.
00:35:09
Isn't that nice, thy word, if I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee? And.
Another verse that I've enjoyed.
Is in Jeremiah it goes like this. Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. And you know, boys and girls, when you're young and you read the Bible and you pick up some verses, maybe you don't always understand them. And when we're older, we don't always understand them fully either. But don't ever let that stop you.
From reading the Bible and tucking away those words into your minds and into your heart. And I have found sometimes I've read a verse and I say, well, I don't really fully understand what that means, but I sure do enjoy it, has a nice thought to it and and I I get a little sense of it, but I maybe don't totally understand it yet. But you know, that's what it is. Lying upon lying precept upon precept.
Hear a little.
There a little we pick up the words from the word of God, we in our brains, in our minds, we tuck them away in our hearts. And then as we grow older and maybe we see another verse and say, Oh, I think I'm now beginning to understand what that other verse means because look at this one. And we begin to make those connections. That's the lesson of the ants. The ants, they prepare their food in the summer and so that they are prepared when the winter time comes. Yes.
Do they send dancing? Is that the question?
You know, ants aren't responsible. Sometimes even animals do things they shouldn't do. But ants aren't responsible for their sins because God sent us a savior, the savior for people and we're responsible for our sins. And even though sometimes animals do things that you know, I, I know some dogs that have gotten into trouble and done things they shouldn't do.
Maybe climbed up on the table and eating some food they shouldn't have eaten. I guess that's a sin, but they're not responsible for it, are they?
OK, I think we have time to sing one more song and then we'll close.
I don't think he's saying #46 yet. Let's sing #46.
Nsnoise.
Go Forward
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.
Let's sing hymn #35 in the appendix.
I have memories of singing this hymn as a child and.
We sang it to a rather doleful tune, and I thought it was a very doleful hymn, but I've learned to appreciate it. You know, that we things grow on you and sometimes you grow into things and I've grown into this him a little bit.
And it helps.
If you don't use a real ponderous tune, but I want you to notice.
Umm.
The third.
The fourth verse.
Join the singing that he leadeth.
The only reason we sing is because our Christ.
Has triumphed.
Join the singing that he leadeth loud to God. Our voices raised every step that we have trodden is.
A triumph of His grace.
Now, that doesn't apply to you if you're not saved. If there's someone here this afternoon, that isn't true for you necessarily. But if you are a child of God.
God has had his eye on you and His heart towards you.
Since eternity passed and every step in your life.
Has been tailored.
Has been influenced, has been ordered by his grace. You may look at it and say, well, I don't, can't see how the Lord ordered that. Well, I didn't say that. The Lord took us, told us to take every step we took, but every step we took, he had his.
Interest in it?
And, you know, we sometimes think that.
At least I know I used to think, and I think we we all tend to think that God is kind of like we are, that he, he's a spectator and he gets involved in our lives from time to time. And it's not so he's involved in our lives all the time.
And the Lord tarries. We'll look at some folks this afternoon who didn't believe this.
They didn't believe that every step.
Was the triumph of His grace.
#35 in the appendix.
No, no, no, I didn't write the rest on the number to my phone.
I've been suffering all the time.
For the storm of wrath alone.
00:05:20
Nsnoise.
Yeah, All right. I'm fine, I'm afraid.
Wander, Joy or Wathers?
Right on.
Camera may work for you.
Or he never thought of violence. I am, and I call on us where there's long.
Oh, I enjoy your spirits around.
Day down and rest and rest on.
The other circuit rehearsal.
Now, before we give thanks, we'll set the table. Open your Bibles, please.
Two John, chapter 6.
And verse.
66.
From that time, many of his disciples went back.
And walked no more with him.
From that time, many of his disciples went back.
And walked no more with him. John 18.
Verse 4.
Jesus, therefore knowing all things that should come upon him.
Went forth or went forward?
And said unto them, Whom seek ye, They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them.
I am he, and Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them, and as soon as he had said unto them, I am he.
They went backward.
It's the same Greek word in both passages. In John, they went back, they went backward.
Jesus went forward knowing all that was ahead.
That was his prerogative.
We don't know what's all ahead for us. We know some of the details. We're told the end with somewhat of what the end is going to be. The Lord Jesus knew every step of his path in advance.
He knew all that should come upon him, and he went forward.
Now turn to Exodus Chapter 14.
Verse 15.
And the Lord said unto Moses.
Wherefore Christ thou unto me?
00:10:00
Speak unto the children of Israel.
That they go forward.
A year or so ago.
Brother brought me for me this passage in John 6.
And he said, I wish somebody would speak on this subject or write on this subject.
On this question that Jesus asks.
Will ye also.
Go away.
The Lord Jesus asked that of his disciples, knowing what they would answer.
Then why did he ask it? Well, for two reasons. One, to exercise their hearts and the 2nd to exercise our hearts.
This afternoon.
And I've been thinking about that question now for over a year.
And and not continuously, but from time to time.
Various passages and Bible characters would come into mind in connection with this. I'd just like to share with you a few of the things that I trust the Lord has brought to me in connection with that.
Question.
Turn to Genesis.
Chapter 12.
First, we're gonna look at a couple of pairs of Bible characters.
And, uh, it won't be immediately obvious why they or it may not be immediately obvious why they're connected with this, but I trust it will be before we're done.
Genesis chapter 12.
Now the Lord said unto Abram.
Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him, and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed.
From Heron and Abram took Sarah his wife, and lost his brother's son and all their substance that they had gathered and the souls that they had gotten in here and went forth.
Or went forward to go into the land of Canaan.
And into the land of Canaan they came.
Now it's interesting.
Lord spoke to Abram and starred with one person.
It says in. Let's look at it.
Umm.
Isaiah 51.
Let's read from the beginning of Isaiah 51. Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord.
Look unto the rock, whence ye are hewn, unto the whole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abram your father.
And unto Sarah that bear you, for I called him alone.
Abram was called alone.
Nor as God spoke to him.
And Sarah went with him.
And so that says there the children of Israel told to look to Abraham and Sarah, but the Lord calls each one of us individually first. But it's his purpose that we should walk in company.
God put Adam in the Garden of Eden and then said it's not good that man should be dwell alone. I will make it help me for him. And so God provided Eve for Adam, he provided Sarah for Abram and we will see that the and we look at two other couples two other.
People that the Lord brought together and, uh, God called Abram alone.
And it's interesting what he says in chapters. Go back to Genesis chapter 17.
We like to lean on people, but notice what God said to Abram.
Genesis 17 verse one.
00:15:00
And when Abram was 90 years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, said unto him, I am the Almighty God. I'm all you need.
The Almighty God, you say? Gabriel, I'm all you need.
Walk before me and be Thou perfect. We need to individually learn to walk with the Lord. He's all we need. But in His goodness, He often provides a companion to those who walk with us. The hymn we sang at the beginning of this meeting was a congregational hymn. It was a hymn of group, a group going traveling together. And I'm thankful for my brother, those who walk with me and with whom I walk.
With whom I journey. But we each need to learn to walk before the Lord individually as well.
And so the Lord said to Abraham, he called him alone, He said, Walk before me and be thou perfect. And then he gave him Sarah. And Sarah also was a woman of faith. She's mentioned in Hebrews 11, and the Israelites were told to look to her as well as an example.
But I've enjoyed like thinking about this.
I don't know how Abraham Abraham broke the news to Sarah, but he might have come to her after the Lord came to him, maybe in the night. So he woke up in the morning and thought, well, the Lord gave me an order, I got to do something. And so he says to Sarah in the morning, we need to start packing up. We're gonna move.
And uh.
She says oh why?
Well, 'cause the Lord told me, Well, where are we going?
I don't know.
Turn to Hebrews 11 before we go any further.
Hebrews 11, verse 8.
By faith, Abram, when he was called to go out into a place which he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
That's two wonderful things said about Abram there. The 1St is that he obeyed.
And the second thing, he obeyed without knowing the results. And the Lord often challenges us that way. He tells us to do something and we don't know what the consequences will be. We sometimes have very strange thoughts about the consequences. God's purpose for Abram was blessing. And I ask you, we had quite a talk yesterday afternoon about obedience. Where would we be if Abraham hadn't obeyed?
Obedience has wonderful consequences.
It's to me, it's a simple, it's a wonderful thing that it doesn't say that we don't know, but I, I get the impression from these scriptures that Abram didn't argue with the Lord that says Abram obeyed. That's the character of faith. You act on the word of God, you don't argue.
But I can imagine that there's a difference between men and women. And Abram came to to Sarah and said, well, we're going to move and.
Let's face it, Abram was 75. I think that makes umm.
Sarah, 65 or something like that. She, I think she was 10 years younger. She by this time it probably become pretty settled, comfortable where they were. And she and she naturally curious. Women are less adventurous, I think in general than men. UMM wants to know where we're going, what are we going to do there? How long are we going to be there? How long is it going to take and to each of these things.
Abraham can only say I don't know.
Brethren, it's not a bad thing. Not always a bad thing to say. I don't know. We like to know, but it's not wrong. It's not a bad thing to say. I don't know. It's a very humbling thing. And that's that can be a good thing.
And sisters.
If your husband walks before the Lord.
Let him say that once in a while. I don't know.
I know that it's hard to live with that sometimes.
But Sarah did.
And they got to the land of Canaan.
There, when our brother Don was talking yesterday, I thought a thought came to me which has occurred to me before.
00:20:05
Just to say we're about obedience. There is no downside to obedience.
You say, what do you mean there's no downside? The obedience could be costly. Yes, it can be. But ultimately there's no downside to obedience, let's say ultimately.
Let's turn to Proverbs chapter. Umm.
12.
Now Faith looks at the big picture. Let's keep that in mind. Faith looks at the big picture. Faith takes the Longview.
When you look at a couple of verses in Proverbs 12 just to reinforce this thought.
Proverbs chapter 12, verse 21. There shall no evil.
Happened to the just.
But the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Now I used to, I read that verse many times my life and I for years I've read that verse because I have a habit of reading through a chapter in Proverbs every Saturday, the the chapter that suits the date. I'll read that chapter on Saturday, Saturday morning. And I've, I've read this and I thought, how, how can that be? No evil happens. What we sang in our song. Every step that we have trodden is a triumph.
Of His grace, whether good or whether sorrow, all can only work for good.
That's the Longview. Yes, we do have trials, and faith does cost no immediate cost. By the way, there's no such thing as faith without obedience. We need to learn obedience because there's no such thing as walking by faith.
Without walking in obedience, and obedience is hard.
And faith is hard. Both are contrary to the flesh.
But look at another verse here in the same chapter. Proverbs chapter 12, verse 28.
In the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death.
That's the Longview. Yes, the Lord Jesus had trials on this earth, and every St. has trials in the path of faith.
I'd like to illustrate it if I can.
I was hoping there would be some young men sitting up in front here that I could pick on, but uh.
Is there anybody sitting close by like so I can see them? Umm, who likes to travel?
Hold up your hand if you like to travel.
I'll pick on Bob here, then. He didn't hold up his hand. Oh, OK. All right. You like to travel? What's the name? OK, you like to travel? Umm, between here and SE, and between Saint Louis and Chicago, there are a variety of highways.
Umm, and if you had, there's the the main route, of course is is UH-55. It's not a toll road, but supposing there were another, it was another Rd. that was a full Rd.
And it was equal distance, equal comfort. All things being equal, which would you rather take, the toll road or the free Rd.
The free road. Now suppose I told you I would like you to take the toll road.
And I will pay the tolls and for every dollar you pay in toll.
I will pay you $100 at your destination. Would that change anything? Yeah.
Rather than that's our life, the world and the Prince of this world will collect their tools from us. But the Lord promises to pay the tolls.
And to reward us at the end.
It just helps a little to think about that. Then you say, well.
How many toll stations are there?
And what are the tolls gonna be? Well, we don't know. You want more?
My point is.
The Lord is no man's debtor.
If he calls us to a course, he's taking full responsibility for it.
And he rewards. It's interesting, it says in the last chapter of the book.
00:25:01
My reward is with me.
We're going to meet him.
And his reward is with him.
We're spending more time here on Abram than I had planned.
Let's tune into.
The Book of Ruth.
We won't spend so much time there.
Ruth, Chapter One.
And.
Verse.
14 first 15.
And this is Naomi speaking and and she said, behold, thy sister-in-law has gone back.
Unto her people, and unto her gods, return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not.
To leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge, and thy people shall be my people, and thy God, my God.
Now here we find two women who are headed the right direction.
They had that in common.
But one was in a very poor state. She was bitter. That was Naomi. She was so bitter that she gave her daughter-in-law bad advice. But there must have been something in Naomi previously.
That had convicted Ruth.
That where Ruth was going or where Naomi was going was where Ruth wanted to go. And Ruth spoke in faith. She had no natural claim on God, but she said.
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou doest I will die, and there will I be buried the Lord.
Do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee in me.
And so we have three people. Two people. Excuse me, Two people headed the right direction. One in a poor state, one in a good state and with differing levels of knowledge. They only had a good fund of knowledge. She came from the land of Israel. She knew where she was going. I don't know how much Ruth knew. I'm quite sure she didn't know as much as Naomi. This to me, is a little picture of us traveling together. We have different states.
And we have different levels of knowledge.
What is it that keeps us going together? It's the fact that we have a common goal, a common interest. You find this picture, there's kind of umm, described in Philippians Chapter 3, and I just want to turn to that briefly.
Philippians chapter 3 and verse.
Umm 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded, having a common goal it is. And if any other thing ye be other minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, wherein till we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example.
It's just need to keep in mind that sometimes we get really upset with things people say, and Ruth could have gotten upset with what Naomi said. She didn't, and she ended up being an encouragement to Yomi. And we see, if you look at the book of Ruth, you see eventually that Naomi's faith outpaces roots. Naomi grows, she's restored, she gets back to Bethlehem, and she starts to see how the Lord has worked for her.
And she grows in faith, and there's rich blessing from it.
Starting now to another pair. That's kind of a sad pair, David and Jonathan.
Turn to First Samuel chapter 20. I just want to read one verse there so we know the story of David and Jonathan.
00:30:06
The size of Jonathan that he loved David as his own soul, but his love was not governed by wisdom. He will will find he made some bad decisions.
No question that Jonathan loved David but turns that's you find that and let's let's see that John excuse me first Samuel 20 verse 17, the end of the verse that says he loved him as he loved his own soul. But then look at the end of the chapter.
The end of verse 42. And he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. David went into the wilderness, and Jonathan went into the city. Their paths divided.
And turn to umm.
Chapter.
23.
Inverse.
16.
We find Jonathan here comes to meet David again and.
And Jonathan saw S son, arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God.
You know, Jonathan was a was one who loved David.
And who spent time with David and he encouraged David. And I'm happy to say there are many brethren with whom I don't walk that have been an encouragement to me.
We're all members of the same body. They have gifts, they have callings that we can benefit from even though we don't walk with them on a regular basis.
But here is Jonathan he strengthen.
David's hand he strengthened his hand in the Lord, but.
Umm then it says, umm, Jonathan says to him, verse 17 And he said to him, Fear not, for the hand of Saul, my father shall not find thee, and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee, and thou shalt. And and that also saw my father knoweth. And they too made a covenant before the Lord, and David abode in the wood. And Jonathan went and went to.
His house, the previous chapter says he went into the city. Now he goes to his house. The city speaks of friends, shall we say the house speaks of family. And there was these two things had a pull on Jonathan. He wasn't willing to forsake his friends and his family. And I believe there was one third thing that affected Jonathan's actions and suggested by what he says here in verse 17.
I shall be next unto thee.
Remember when the disciples?
They wanted we're looking for a special that they arguing themselves who would have the 1St, the 1St and 2nd or the primary seats in the Kingdom and even the mother of Ebony's children came to him to the Lord and said grant that my sons may sit next to you.
There was ambition there, shall we say.
Umm, a desire, perhaps a right desire to have influence for David on David's behalf.
But you know, it's this was Saul's, this was Umm Jonathan's undoing. He made a wrong choice. How much better if he'd stayed with David?
By going back to Saul, he strengthened Saul's hand as well.
And he ended up, he wanted the best, shall we say, He wanted the best of both worlds. He wanted the best of Saul's world. He wanted the best of David's world. And he lost both.
But you know.
Saw a Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth gave David the devotion that Jonathan didn't. You know, it's, it's wonderful to look at Mephibosheth's attitude when, when David was, uh, chased out of Jerusalem. So I always say when he returned, there is Mephibosheth to greet him. And Mephibosheth didn't want anything else. He said, I've got enough. You're here. All he wanted was David. He wasn't concerned with positions. He wasn't concerned with possessions.
00:35:05
He had the the he had the heart that Jonathan should have had.
And then that's must have been a real joy to David.
Now.
You know, these are these, Jonathan. Jonathan made some poor choices and I like to say we underestimate the significance of choices.
Our brother Jim Highland spoke to us, uh, two days ago, talked about prayer. Prayer is the expression of humility, of dependence.
And we need wisdom to make choices. So many choices we make. We think, oh, that this doesn't matter. It's a small choice, you know, that we need the Lord's wisdom in every step of our lives. I need I, I'm, I'm saying what the Lord I trust have been telling me.
We underestimate the significance of the decisions we make. They I'm sure Jonathan hadn't didn't have a clue how serious his decision was when he left David and went back to his house. It was a very normal thing for him to do, but it was disastrous.
Every decision we make is a moral decision.
Everything we do, every decision we make is a moral decision because it's either for better.
Or for worse, for good or for bad.
You know, it's just.
Everything in life the Lord Jesus never did a thing apart from the will of the Father.
And this, this is a, a, a, a difficult lesson to learn, a difficult lesson to remember.
Every decision in life is immoral decision.
Let's turn to John 6. Now we get to the heart of what's before me.
And we'll read the whole passage.
John chapter 6, starting with verse 61.
Well, let's start a little bit F We'll start verse 59.
These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they heard this, said this as an heart, saying, Who can hear it?
When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Does this offend you?
What and if you shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth.
The flesh profiteth nothing.
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not.
And who should betray Him? And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come to me, except that we're given him of the Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
Then said Jesus unto the 12 will ye also go away?
And Simon, then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have I not chosen you? 12 and one of you as the devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the 12.
The Lord Jesus had had these people following Him. They were listening to Him.
And they were thinking about what he said, and it didn't add up in their minds.
They said who can hear it?
Who can deal with this?
They were offended.
Now we get offended. What's the word offended mean? It means upset.
Well, what does upset mean? That means we're.
We are getting contentious in our hearts when I'm when I'm upset, it means I am against whatever it is I'm upset at. I'm contending with it.
00:40:10
I'm negatively engaged with it.
And that's interesting. What the Lord? How the Lord?
Speaks of that.
Because people like to think that they, they, they like to talk about their offenses. Well, I don't like this about this person or that brother or this teaching or that doctrine or that assembly or whatever. And people make an issue of it and they get issues and they, they becomes a, a pet, something they like to be occupied with. And what does Jesus say here?
I say unto you, But there verse 64, there are some of you that believe not.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not It's an issue of faith.
We are either walking by faith or we're not.
And if we're not walking by faith, we're going to be offended.
We're going to be upset. The two are.
Antithetic they oppose each other. It's interesting it says in these people they were upset they were they were offended. The Lord Jesus knew they were offended and it says in Romans 15 it says we have joy and peace through believing it says in first Peter one whom having not seen.
Yet believing you rejoice and it's talking to Peter's addressing people who are going through trouble.
What was the secret of their joy? It was believing. It was faith.
But there were people here who didn't believe. They come to a point and they said I won't accept that because that's what faith is. Faith says I accept it, God says it, I accept it. I didn't say I understand it, I accept it.
And things we get, we get things said to us, done to us. We have experiences or circumstances that we are not willing to accept, which the Lord has brought into our path and we don't accept them and we don't walk by faith.
That is why.
It says here many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him. They went back. That was not progress. They lost.
They lost, they lost fellowship with the Lord, and then it comes to something in our paths and my path and the assembly in my home, in my personal life where I'm not willing to accept what the Lord gives.
In that aspect, I lose fellowship with the Lord.
And that's why many went back. They went back and walked nowhere no more with him, because they were not willing to accept what the Lord said or did.
And Jesus said to the 12 Will ye also go away?
They needed that question. We need that question because we can lose.
What we presently enjoy, we can lose it. I've heard people say well so and so went off and gave up the doctrine and I don't think he ever believed him.
Not necessarily true. We can lose.
We can lose whatever the Lord gives us in the way of things down here, we can lose.
Things we have guaranteed to us forever and things that are treasured up in Christ Jesus. We can't lose them forever. But it says here.
They walked no more with him. They, they went back. We don't know whether this is an absolute statement for doesn't mean the rest of their lives, but as far as this account is concerned, they walk no more with him. They lost out. And I'd like to just look at a few scriptures that, uh, well, before we get to them, I'd like to finish here with what the Lord says here.
The Lord says to P the 12 We also go away. And son, Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? What is it that keeps us? It's appreciation for the person, Lord, to whom shall we go? They didn't understand everything he said. Sometimes they thought they did, sometimes they knew they didn't. But Peter says, you have the words of eternal life. They recognize his authority. They recognize that he didn't have to be understood.
But he had the word of God, He had the words of authority. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. It's interesting that.
00:45:15
Judas.
Sat there and let Peter say that.
And we know Judas is heart.
He never did believe.
But he was there for what he could get.
A lot of these others, you know, they left because they weren't getting what they wanted, you know, and we, when there's such an attitude these days, what's in it for me? Uh, I don't get it. And if it doesn't satisfy me, then I don't want it.
Doesn't matter who it comes from.
But Peter knew what was coming, what he was getting. He was getting the words of eternal life. He didn't understand them all, but he appreciated the Person. Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words eternal life, and we believe in our share that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He was occupied with the Person.
Umm in this connection?
I'd like to look at a verse.
In uh, Proverbs 8.
Proverbs 8 this kind of pictures the whole situation.
Proverbs 8 verse 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily in my gates, waiting at the posts, my doors. That was just the attitude that Peter and the disciples.
Evidenced they were sticking with the Lord Jesus, they were willing to hear him, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the post of my doors. For who so fine with me findeth life, and shall obtain favor the Lord. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul.
If we're not willing to accept what the Lord tells us, what the Lord gives us in the way of circumstances.
We wrong our own souls.
Those that left the Lord, they may have thought, ah, I'm done with this business. They didn't realize the loss to their own souls.
He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul.
Serious consequences.
Let's look at a couple more verses. They're helpful in this answer. In this connection, Hosea chapter 6 and verse 3.
This is God's promise.
Hosea chapter 6 and verse three. We're so apartment to throw up our hands when we don't understand when we don't understand the.
The the, the teaching, the doctrine, the circumstances, the behavior, whatever it is. Notice what it says here Jose chapter 6 and verse 3. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord how you gonna know a person you have to be close to them to know them and Peter was committed at this point. We know later that says they all forsake have been fled, but Peter came back and the others came back.
They were committed to being with the Lord, and that's the only way to know him, you know, is to be with him.
And so in this connection, I'd like to look at a couple other verses.
Uh, Psalm 68.
Psalm 60.
Umm, you know, Psalm 60.
3 Psalm 60 Psalm 62 First, let's go to Psalm 62, because Psalm 62 and Psalm 63 go nicely together.
Psalm 62.
I'm going to read it to you the way it is in the Hebrew Bible and some other translations. Truly, my soul quietly rests upon God.
That's so opposite from being offended, isn't it?
Truly, my soul quietly rests upon God. From Him cometh my salvation. He only.
00:50:04
Only David wrote this Psalm. He wasn't looking to any man to resolve the situation. He says he only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. Let's turn to verse.
Look at verse 5.
My soul.
We have that word wait again, as again the Hebrew says. The Hebrew is to rest peacefully, rest quietly only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. You know, so often we have our expectations and our brethren and our circumstances. I was talking to a young fellow recently who left the meeting a year or so ago.
He found this church. It was just so wonderful.
I think he used to tell me how wonderful it was and and now he's discovered it's not wonderful. The people in are just like us.
And he's so discouraged.
Everything turned out, so it's gone sour for him.
My soul rest.
Peacefully or quietly, only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. That's where Abraham's expectation was from, was from God.
That's where our expectation is, is from God. And that's interesting. I quoted that verse in Romans 15 says now the God of hopefully with all joy and peace and believing. And that word hope doesn't mean maybe in this world the word hope means maybe. But in the Scripture, in the New Testament in particular, the word hope means expectation. He's the God of expectation.
He delivers.
And so my soul rest quietly or peacefully only upon God, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved. Verse eight. Trust in Him at all times, ye people, pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for a Selah. Now look at chapter verse Psalm 6. Psalm 63, verse 8.
My soul followeth hard after thee.
You know the Lord Jesus chose 12 disciples that they should be with him, and they they stuck with him.
On the evening of his crucifixion, evening before his crucifixion, he said, Ye are they which have continued with me in my trials, my temptation.
My soul followeth hard after the you know that ought to be the expression of my heart. My soul followeth hard after that means that means there's effort to be close. You find the express you. If you read through the historical books of the Bible, you'll find that there were times when an enemy, one enemy was pursuing another and since they followed hard after that person, they were diligent. They St. stuck close to that person didn't let that person get away so that the very attitude that.
That Ruth had entreat me not to leave me.
My soul follows hard after the We ought each to take that to our hearts.
So these ones who were who left the Lord Jesus back in John six, they had a choice. They had a choice to believe or a choice to take offense. They had a choice to walk by faith or a choice to react according to their reason and their feelings.
And that's faith is a choice. Offense is a choice.
Our time is nearly up and I haven't covered anywhere near the the, uh, the, umm, things I'd like to cover.
Umm, but, but you know, in this life, you, you, you take this passage in John 6. Notice what it says. Let's go look what one more phrase in John six. There were so many more I wanted to refer to, but our time is up. Uh, John 6 again.
Umm.
Verse 61.
Does this offend you?
Does this offend you? The question he asked of those who were offended. It was a thing. It was just a thing. And that's if you go through the song, through the through the gospel so often, you find.
00:55:10
Take example, the disciples who were going to on on the road to Emmaus, they were going the wrong direction and the Lord came to them and asked them what was troubling them. And they said, don't you know the things that have happened? The things.
And then he revealed himself to them, and they turned around. And in life it's this way. It's things are Christ. Paul said that what things were gained to me, those I counted loss.
Lord Jesus, when we think of Thee.
Of my Lord and pray.
For the parents, long as they were seeing.
I didn't even see.
I'd like to sum it all up.
In two words.
Go forward.
Let us go forward.
Gospel 3
Gospel—Bob Woods
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'd like, if we could, to sing out of the little flock at it. The song I'd like to sing is in the little flock and I'd like to stand when we sing it and sing it heartily. It'll be No 257 #257 Let's stand.
And that'll be good luck.
4000 must be done.
Our sinful make my fall.
Upon.
Us, it was one.
Himself, because all I say is bloodstream too deeply more.
In love himself.
Thinking.
To pay all the deadly Lords.
Holy Day.
Oh.
And now we're closing.
By our friends and Savior.
That's it. That's my God.
And blink of mercy.
Nsnoise.
Thinking about the, uh, the condition that that we're in is dead in trespasses and sins. Just look at a verse just to start. Look at Isaiah, the verse in Isaiah.
00:05:21
Isaiah in chapter one.
In verse six, look at Isaiah.
One and verse 6.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it.
The wounds and bruises and putrefying sores, you know, when you think about us lost in sin, indeed, from the, the top of our head to the bottom of our feet, there's no soundness none whatsoever. And in, uh, psalms, David could say that in I was shaping in iniquity and born in sin. And so as we.
Think about that size or condition and then we think about how God is holy and, and cannot, uh, cannot look at sin and cannot look at iniquities. And then we think about the place that in heaven that nothing can enter that will defile. And so look at this, uh, verse in Exodus 13.
Exodus 13 and verse 13, you know, this is a wonderful picture of the redemption and how there was a substitute. And so as we look at this, the the donkey or the *** is a unclean animal. And so the question would be is how could something unclean be given to God? And so God made a provision for it.
And this is this is hit in verse chapter 13 and verse 13. And every first sling of an *** thou shalt redeem with a lamb. And if thou wilt not redeem it, then thou shalt break his neck.
You know, there's a illustration with this and I'll see if I can repeat it. It, uh, was an illustration was used. UH-22 People, the, the priest and, and a poor Israelite were standing together with, uh, with an *** or a donkey. And this was the, the first sling of his flock. And he was there with the priest and he asked the question. He said, uh.
I have a very, uh, earnest question that I would like to ask you. I'm wondering if there could just be an exception that would be made just this once I have the this *** here and it is the the first thing of my flock, but I just wonder in in my particular case, could there be an exception made?
And the priest would say.
Well, the, the word of the, the law of the Lord is here. It says every first sling of an *** thou shalt redeem with the lamb, and if thou wilt not redeem it, and thou shalt break his neck. And so the priest then would say, where's your lamb? And the poor Israelite would say, I, I don't have a lamb. And I was just wondering if, if just in this case.
There could be an exception that would be made and the priest said no, there's no exception. There's either the lamb that would die or the *** will die, no exception. And so the priest then would say.
Go and purchase a lamb.
And the Israel, the poor Israeli Israel, I would say I don't have any money, I'm too poor. I can't, I don't have anything to buy a land. And so the righteous priests would again quote the the law of the Lord and say without exception, there has to be a lamb. Either the *** will die or the lamb. And so as we stop and think about this, really, it's a wonderful picture.
Of what God has done for us, he's provided the lamb. And you know, somebody here might say, could there just be an exception in my case? Could I just have one exception? Could I? And there's not. God must punish sin. And so here a lamb had to be had, had to be provided. So the poor Israelite would say, all of my hopes are dashed.
00:10:30
Everything that I have is is in this this *** and so 1/3 Israelite that would have heard all of this conversation would have then come up to this poor Israelite and telling listen, they have good cheer. I have a lamb that we have put up and it's without spot or blemish.
I'll gladly get it for you. And so off runs this, uh, third.
To his home.
With the lamb. And here the lamb and the *** are standing side by side. And the the priest binds the lamb and cuts its throat it and sheds its blood, and the fire consumes the sacrifice. And so the priest then says, listen.
Your *** can freely go the LA. The lamb has died in its place.
You freely can take your ***. He's free.
So isn't it wonderful? It's really a picture of what God has done for us. It's really a picture of redemption. When you think about our condition before God and how God in His Holiness has to punish sin. God can righteously bless us because the sins are punished. Now let's just go. We're familiar with these verses, but just go to John one.
Go to John One.
And look at verse 36. This is John speaking to the other disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked. He saith, Behold the Lamb of God.
And look over at Genesis 22.
Genesis 22.
And look at verse 7. This is as Isaac and.
Abraham were going together, and Isaac was going to be.
God had told Abraham to offer up his son as a sacrifice. And here's a question that Isaac asks. Look at verse seven and Isaac speaking to Abraham his father, and said, my father. And he said, here am I my son. And he said, behold the fire in the wood.
But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Verse 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for burnt offering. So they went, both of them together.
How wonderful this this story is. Indeed. God did provide a lamb. God provided his only begotten Son to die in our stead. How wonderful that God.
Could come up with a plan to bless man and to do it on a righteous basis.
Look at First Peter 3.
First Peter 3.
And verse 18.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, that just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
And then look at Job chapter 33.
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Drove 33 and verse.
24 Or verse 23, if there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among 1000 to show and demand his uprightness, then he is gracious unto him, and saith.
Deliver him from going down to the pit.
I have found a ransom.
What wonderful, what a wonderful statement that God could say, I have found a ransom. Isn't it wonderful to to see the plan that God has devised to bless man, to punish sin and to bless man? His Holiness was never he never deviated from His Holiness. How wonderful it is that he could do this just as He made a provision for that unclean animal.
You and I are a picture of the unclean animal. How could God accept man in his sinful condition?
He provided a substitute. He provided his only begotten Son to die in our stead. And so God can be just in justifying the ungodly.
And let's go and read that. Let's go and read in Romans.
How wonderful that God can do this. He can be just in justifying the ungodly. Look at Romans chapter 3.
And look at verse 26 to declare, I say at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. And then look at chapter 4.
Look at chapter 4 and verse five. None of this is on works. It's it's all because of faith.
And look at the.
Look at verse 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt, and verse five, but to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justify the ungodly. You know, we can't even enter into such a thought that the ungodly could be justified, that God could be righteous.
In justifying the ungodly, how wonderful what God has done so that man now can be blessed. Now go to the same chapter, chapter 4 and verse 7.
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Isn't that wonderful?
Isn't that wonderful that what God has done, it's a a blessed thing that our iniquities are forgiven and our sins are covered. Full atonement has been made, the price has been paid, the debt is gone. Isn't it wonderful?
Now the cost. Just go to this verse in Lamentations.
Go to Lamentations chapter 3.
You know, when we think about calories cross and what happened there, think of the awful mistreatment that man, the hatred that was poured out on the Lord.
But nothing compares to this the three hours of darkness where God made it out the atonement for our sins and punished, put our sins on the Lord Jesus and punished him for our sins. And so this is what the Lord this is prophetically this verse limitations 3 and verse one.
I am the man that has seen affliction.
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By the rod of his wrath.
So the wrath of God was poured out on the Lord Jesus.
It was not for His sins, it was for our sins. Our sins were born in His body on the tree.
Knowing Isaiah 53, we don't have to turn to it. It says that he was a lamb to the slaughter.
But wait, let's do look at there's a verse in Isaiah 53.
Look at Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53.
In verse 10.
You know, to think that God would pour out his wrath on his Son.
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief.
This is what I was thinking of. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.
Shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. And verse 11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.
By His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall prepare their iniquities. How wonderful the Lord took our iniquities. He bore em.
In his own body on the tree.
Let's look at that verse in First Peter.
First Peter, 318.
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just, for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. How wonderful that the Lord Jesus took our sins and his own body on the tree.
Now look at this verse in John 3.
John 3.
I'm really thinking of the word must MUST John 3.
In verse 14 and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. You know we can it's a wonderful the next verses that follow we could ask the question why? Why did he have to and the answer comes.
Verse 15 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. You know what's so wonderful? We could stop here and we could all say how wonderful this is. But there's it's even more wonderful because it's not to a certain class of people, It's to whosoever will the gospel, this wonderful plan of salvation is.
Open to anybody.
How wonderful could it be? It's to whosoever will. It's not to a certain group of people.
It's to anybody. So have you, can you think of a of something today where it's open like this to anybody? God offers this to anyone. How wonderful because of what God has done, it's not selected to a certain group of people. It is open to anybody. How wonderful that we can proclaim the gospel to.
Whosoever will, how wonderful.
So why did he have to die? The perfect one that knew no sin? He must die, or mercy could not come.
To sinners such as you and I. So here in verse 15, this is the reason that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life, for God so loved the world.
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That he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever.
There it is again, Believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
And let's look at one more Whosoever, go to Romans 10.
Romans 10.
In verse 13.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How wonderful this plan of salvation goes out to whosoever will.
Now let's look at a verse in John 5.
I was thinking about our condition and how a dead person.
The provision that is that God has made its redemption. It's a a substitute died in our place. And so here look at this verse in John 5.
Look at John 5 and verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation.
But his past from death into life. And verse 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God.
And they that here shall live. You know, it's really remarkable statement, isn't it, that the dead can hear?
And, you know, it's a wonderful thing that dead folks like us that are born in sin, that are lost can hear the gospel and believe and be saved and have life. So what a wonderful thing to be able to read a verse that says the dead can hear and they can hear and believe and have this.
Everlasting life.
Now look at this other verse in Acts 13.
Another it's just as wonderful as the Whosoever Acts 13.
X13 and verse.
Look at 38 Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
In verse 39 and by him.
All that believe are justified from all things.
Read it again. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all, all that believe are justified.
From all things, isn't that wonderful? It is so wonderful to to see that everyone that believes none would be refused. Not only is this open to whosoever will, but every single one that believes are saved and justified and not only justified from all things.
It's a wonderful gospel, isn't it?
It's a wonderful plan that God has done that. He would devise a plan to bless you and I and to do it on a righteous basis. Isn't that wonderful?
Now it's just think about something. Let's think about the three hours of Jo judgment. All of us that have believed that penalty has been paid for the blood was shed and our sins are forgiven. Think of how the payment has been paid or justified. Now let's think about what if somebody were to reject it?
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How does God?
Is he is he righteous in how he would?
How he would.
Deemed punishment. What about the unrighteous? You know, uh, let's look at at, at our side 1St and know not only the verse we've read there in Acts, but look at this verse in Ecclesiastes.
About what he's done.
Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
Chapter 3 and verse 14. I know that.
Whatsoever God, do it.
It shall be forever. Nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it.
It's perfect.
What God does is perfect. So when we look at how He's taking care of the debt that we've owed, but He knew our sins and he laid them on the Lord Jesus. The atoning work has been done. Whatever deemed necessary for every sin, He punished it. He knew them. He laid them on Him and punished him whatever was needed for every sin.
He took care of it. It's complete. Now think about somebody that would reject this salvation. Go to Revelations 20.
Golden Revelations 20.
We read this once earlier in the conference, but so let's read it again because it's another significant statement about the dead.
And look at verse 11. This is the great White Throne.
And I saw a great white throne in him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. You know, just as we read the dead would hear, hear, it's the dead will stand.
And so it says.
The dead smiling great stand before God, And the books were open, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it.
And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.
It'll be eternal punishment.
Where our punishment was meted out on the Lord Jesus.
They will have to stand, or they will be for all eternity in punishment.
So the righteousness of God will be meted out on anybody that rejects this great salvation. The punishment will be for all eternity. Think of the wonderful sacrifice that the Lord did. Doesn't it honor that sacrifice? To think that He took care of the punishment for every one of us, for everyone that believes on Him, it's been taken care of.
The work that the Lord Jesus did on Calvary's cross, doesn't it magnify that work?
So look at this verse in Job 36.
Very solemn thought.
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And it's about these that would reject and it would be cast into the lake of fire. Look at Job 36 and verse 18.
You know God's wrath poured out in those three hours of judgment on the Lord Jesus for our sins. Think of the wrath of God.
That think of the folks that would their be in judgment in perish forever in the lake of fire and look at verse 26. Behold, umm, look at verse 18, because there is wrath. Beware lest he take the away with his stroke.
Then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. There'll be no hope for a ransom in the lake of fire. It's eternal judgment. There's no hope. A ransom, a ransom won't work. Now look at look at for uh.
Look at the look at First Thessalonians 4. Those of us that know the Lord Jesus, we're, we're going to see our Redeemer, We're going to lay eyes on him face to face the one that died for us. And we're looking forward to this great event that can take place at any moment. There's nothing that would, uh, there's nothing that has to be done. We look, uh, for the imminent return of our Savior and let's just read it in First Thessalonians 4.
And verse 15 For this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord.
That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise 1St and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.
To meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
That were to happen right this minute. Those of us that are redeemed, we'd immediately be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. The ones that have died in faith they too we would meet them in the air. If there is one that doesn't know the Lord is the Savior has not had the LO this substitution has not been redeemed.
Will never hear this shout.
It will only be for the ones that know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
If there's a a person here that is not saved, they'll never hear this shout.
They will be left behind for judgment. And So what a wonderful thought to, to know that here shortly we're going to be able to see the, the one that died for us. You know, uh, there's a story about a, a fellow that was taking a, a voyage on a ship. And, uh, as he was on this ship, he observed the, the passengers on this ship.
And.
It was very, uh, obvious to him. Two passengers stood out. There was a young lady that was on the ship that was looking forward when they got to shore. She was going to be, uh, it was her wedding day. She was going to meet her bridegroom, bridegroom. And there also was a, a convict that was in, uh, cuffs and that when he got there, he was going to meet the judge.
And So what a contrast, you know, it's a reminder to us, those of us that are saved, we long for the day when the Lord will shout. It will be just like that Lady that was looking forward to.
Seeing her bridegroom with eager anticipation on the side of the ship, she scanned the shore, looking forward to a new home. And so aren't we the same, those of us that have been redeemed, We look forward to the shout and the time when the Lord would call us, uh, home to be with him and to be able to see the one who faith will be faith no longer. It will be be able to see the one that died for us.
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The contrast to to know the Lord as your Savior. What a wonderful thing to be able to think about what God has done in redeeming us, poor, lost, a Sinner, lost and undone, dead in trespasses and sins. Think of what God has done and how he's provided a a savior and think of how the floodgates are open to bless man and it can be done on a righteous basis.
Isn't it wonderful?
Let's see, let's sing out of our hymn sheet. And let's sing.
31.
Somebody start that.
OK.
The dead has made.
3055.
1000 every day.
Ephesians 2:11-22