St. Louis Conference: 2015
Table of Contents
Gideon
Address—David Mearns
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Could we open our meeting this afternoon?
By singing hymn #46 in the appendix.
#46 in the appendix.
Be thou the object bright and fair.
To fill and satisfy.
The heart #46 in the appendix. Can somebody please start that?
Just before we pray, could you turn with me, please to Matthew's Gospel chapter 20?
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 20.
We'll read 4 verses here, starting at verse 30, Matthew chapter 20 and verse 30. And behold, 2 blind men.
00:05:06
Sitting by the wayside, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace. But they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David. And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? And they said unto him, Lord.
That our eyes may be opened.
I'd like to ask each one of us here, has Jesus passed by your way today?
Has that happened yet today?
You know, we read an account in the book of Joshua where it says the son stood still.
Far more wonderful fact we find here in this portion. It says And Jesus stood still.
Jesus stood still.
You know he has time for us today.
He has time for us and it says here these ones cried and they said, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
As we pray, we just trust that is the Lord passes by this afternoon.
That our eyes might be open, that we might behold wondrous things, as the psalmist could say.
Notify Law. Turn with me now, please, to the Book of Judges.
Look up judges.
And the 7th chapter.
The Book of Judges in the 7th chapter.
This is where we're going to spend most of our time.
However, we are not going to talk about Gideon.
The life of Gideon has been taken up for much profit.
Most of us can testify to that.
Gideon was an influential man, as there were many influential, uh, men and women. In the word of God, most of us are not going to be like a Gideon.
Most of us are not going to be like a Joseph second in command of a Kingdom.
Most of us are not going to be like a Moses to lead 1,000,000 1/2 or 2 million people across, uh, a desert for 40 years. Most of us are not gonna be like the Apostle Paul.
But we have in this chapter.
300 men.
And I wanna look at those 300 expressly, those 300 and the characteristics that we find.
With those 300.
No, I spoke about Gideon being an influential man. There are many influential people that we find in this world, but not one of us is a person without influence.
Not one of us.
And we find here 300 men. And they're, they're not, they're not named.
But they spend this time with Gideon, and it's been a great profit to my soul to look at what characterized these 300. So let's commence reading at the first verse of Chapter 7. And it says in Jeerabale.
Who is Gideon and all the people that were with him?
These first characteristics that we're gonna look at, they, they were also true of the 32,000.
Not just the 300, they were true of the 32,000.
And we're gonna go through those first characteristics and then we'll see the the later ones that were, were expressly, uh, uh, characteristic of the 300. But here the first point is it says that all the people that were with him that were with him.
Turn with me to Mark's Gospel, just for a moment. Mark's Gospel, the third chapter.
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Mark's Gospel chapter 3 in the subject of discipleship. It's been interesting to me, to me to look at the lives of the disciples, and they're listed four times in the Word of God. They've listed three times in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and they're also listed in the book of the Acts.
Umm, you know what's interesting? We, we've just gone through a prayer meeting and we've had some prayer requests and I'm very, very thankful for those that have the energy, umm, to go where they go.
Tim's on his way to Malawi and also other parts of Africa. Uh, I'm so thankful, Timothy Lane for the energy that you, you explained in that way. Our brother Bob here has spent his life in South America, for which.
We're so thankful.
Jim goes to the islands, he goes many places, he goes to Egypt. So thankful for those things. Most of us are going to stay right here.
Most of us are gonna stay right here. It's not that we're not welcome to go somewhere else, but that's not gonna characterize most of us. What does it mean to be a disciple right here? Mark's Gospel, chapter 3.
And verse 14, this is the same wording that we have in the first verse that we read in Judges Chapter 7. And he ordained 12 That they should be. There's a list of things here.
He sent them that power over sicknesses to cast out devils. He sent them that they might, uh, he might send them forth to to preach. But first and foremost he chose the 12 That they might be with him.
First and foremost, the disciples. That's what Gideon chose these people so that they would be with him. That's why the Lord has chosen you and me. Yes, He may use us in various different ways, but first and foremost He wants our company. He wants us. He wants us to be with Him.
I so appreciate that in connection with him choosing the 12 and how he first and foremost mentioned the reason why he wanted them was to have their company, that they might be with him.
How's it been with you today? I mentioned earlier I asked the question, has Jesus passed by your way today? Has he had your company today?
Has he had my company today? That's why he's chosen us, so we could have our company. Has he had it? She had our company today. Let's go back to the book of judges.
So the first point, all the people that were with him, the next point.
They rose up early.
The second point.
32,000 And they rose up early. They had purpose, they had purpose.
Do you and I have purpose in our life?
Just a week ago I got up.
My son who's not here, went to Regina this weekend for the young people's weekend. He he leaves early because of his job. We had our reading together and he said dad.
I want my life to have purpose.
I said well, you know, umm son.
I want the same thing.
He's at the beginning of his life.
I'm I'm at the other end.
And you don't. It takes purpose to have purpose, it just doesn't happen all by itself.
These ones, they rose up early. They had purpose.
It's been striking to me because I, I've just gone through umm, just gone through the, the book of Umm, not the book, The Life of Jehoshaphat and Umm.
A A very encouraging life to go through the life of Jehoshaphat and to and to see his walk with the Lord and to see that which was so encouraging. And yet when he turned 60, which is the age I have just turned, when he turned 60, it all went back at 60.
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Why? Because there was a lack of purpose. You know, we look at, look at this audience, the, the ages are all different. Every one of us needs to have purpose.
If we're gonna be able to walk with the Lord in a manner that's consistent with His precious word and that, we're gonna be company for Him.
Purpose. They rose up early. Now let's look at the next point Here in the first verse it says and they pitched beside the well of Harrod.
No, that's not an expression we use very much, is it? He pitched.
It's it's an expression that, umm.
That shows that there's umm.
A decisive move for us as to where we're gonna have our temporary dwelling. And it might not just be that it might be in connection with a job. You know, the, the expression he pitched his tent is found seven times the word of God. It's found six times in the book of Genesis, once in the book of, of Judges. Sometimes it's, it's very positive, sometimes it's very negative. You read of Isaac pitching his 10th and he had an altar there. You read of Abraham pitching his tent and he had an altar.
We read a lot and and it says he pitched his head towards Sodom wasn't a good thing. We read of Jacob and he pitched his tent towards Shechem. It's a bad thing for his daughter.
Where are we gonna pitch?
Where are we going to pitch here? They pitched by the, well, Herod, a place where they could get refreshment. It was a place where they pitched. Mr. Darby renders that. It's the spring of Herod, a place where they could get refreshment.
You know, we go through a number of wells in the word of God and justice because there was a well and justice because you pitched by a well doesn't mean that the water was available. And we find in our own souls experience when often we would love to have refreshment and we just don't get it. We just can't seem to get it. Think of Jacob coming to that place where there was a well and there was a big stone on top of the well.
Think of Isaac going to the wells that his father dig and they're full of dirt.
Think of Moses, uh, coming across that desert and coming to the well. And then here's these girls and they wanna water their flocks and the wells were stopped by shepherds. Think about well-being stopped by a shepherd.
Think of David longing to have a drink from the well of Bethlehem. And yet the Philistines had it sometimes the well of refreshment that we desire to have the refreshment, uh, from it's blocked in some way. Well, here, they, they, they at least pitched by a place where there was refreshment that was available. And they go on now, now here. And it says, umm, in the second verse. And the Lord said unto Gideon, the people that are are with thee are too many for me.
To give the Midianites under their hands, lest Israel bought themselves.
Against me saying my own hand have saved me.
Now therefore go proclaim in the ears of the people saying whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from Mount Gilead in the return to the people 22,000 and there remained 10,000. So of this 10,000 we also find the 300. It's interesting, you know, if you, if you look at the reason these ones were turned back.
It was because they were afraid. Perhaps we'll look at that subject of fear a little bit later.
You know, Gideon was really no different than the 22,000. If we go later on in the chapter, the Lord says to Gideon, you know, if you're afraid, go down to the capital Midianites to take purity of your servant and Gideon goes down.
And we sometimes sing that hymn raise. Gideon had 300 men. Gideon wasn't exactly brave. He was really just like the 22,000. But we've got 10,000 left here, 10,000 left now. Let's go on down and.
The fourth verse the Lord said to Gideon, The people are yet too many. Bring them down onto the water, and I will try them for thee there. And it shall be that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee.
The same shall go with thee. And of whomsoever I say unto thee, this shall not go. With thee the same shall not go.
So he brought down the people under the water, and the Lord said to Gideon, Everyone that laugheth of the water with his tongue, as the dog laugheth him, shalt thou sit by himself, And likewise everyone that boweth down upon his knees to drink. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were 300 men.
00:20:03
But all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink. And the Lord said to Gideon by the 300 men that laughed, will I save you? Now we've got it whittled down to our subject, the 300 men. These things characterized them earlier, but now we're going to look at what characterizes the 300. And the first is how they drank.
You know they drank.
In a manner.
They're sure that they had discipline.
They had discipline in their lives.
They didn't bury their head right down in the water and drink and drink and drink. No, they took what was needed.
And that, that really speaks to my own heart.
About personal discipline.
In my own life.
There's a lot of young people here.
Do you have a disciplined life?
A lot of the things that have been a a trouble to me over the years in my life have been habits. Habits.
Sometimes we have good habits, sometimes we have bad habits.
You know we're not Umm.
We're not looking over an audience here that's, umm, very different from one another.
The scripture says as in as in faith.
As in water face answereth the face, so the heart of man to man.
Were all made of the same stuff.
I, I assure you, uh, when I say that about me, that's not a compliment for you. It's not a compliment, but we are made of the same stuff.
And perhaps there are habits that are not good.
And I could lift habits. We, we could go through a whole list of things and, and often there are things that are taken up here. I, I, I would be naive to think that in a group like this that.
They're that there might not be some young people that perhaps have had a difficulty with alcohol.
Perhaps I've had a difficulty with smoking the odd joint perhaps.
Should have a a difficulty with umm, uh, you know, I, I personally don't eat.
Umm, the amount of food for the glory of God, that is good for me. I, I, I cross that line so many times. There, there, there's so many areas in our life where there there's a lack of discipline. And this is not a discourse to point out all perhaps the bad habits we might have. We know them, we know them, but sometimes because we have them there, there's a tendency for us to.
To put a veneer around ourselves and, and, and not let anybody have a look at what's inside. You know, I, I, just last week I went down to lumberyard. I was looking for a piece of, umm, a piece of, uh, of 1/8 Maple. And you say, what can you do with one eighth Maple? What you could take 1/8 Maple and you can glue it on a piece of melamine and it looks like a piece of Maple. You know, we're good at that in our lives. We're good at putting that veneer around ourselves that makes us look a little bit different than, than what we are.
You know, these, these ones, these 300, they were selected.
Not because there's someone like Gideon. They were selected because.
They had discipline in their lives.
And the Lord said in the seventh verse by the 300 men that laughed, will I save you and deliver the Menianites into thine hand and let all the other people go every man to his tent. So verse eight, they took vittles in their hand. You know this is this is this is so important for every one of us to take food. It's different than the refreshment. You know we we had in between the.
In between these meetings, there were some refreshments that's different than the meal later on. And so we have them pitching by the the the well haired, which would perhaps speak of refreshment. But here it's food and we need food. We need it every day, every one of us to take up the word of God, to read it for ourselves, to meditate upon us. You know, you're not gonna, you're not gonna pick up a dis a, a book that's gonna give you a discourse on on the 300. It's not gonna happen. You pick pick up a book and and read a discourse on Gideon.
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But to, to look at, at the pages of Scripture and to see the, the, the so many things that are there takes time to sit and to meditate. Well, these ones, it says they took food. Well, let's go on a little further now.
And umm, look at the.
The, uh, this is after he, after he hears that dream, after he goes down to the Midianites, uh, Gideon in the 16th verse, umm.
It says he divided the 300 men.
Into three companies and he put a trumpet in every man's hand.
And empty pitchers and lamps within the pitchers. You know, I mentioned the disciples and it's interesting to see what what Gideon did here because he divides the men into into three companies. You know, if you look at the four lists of the disciples that are listed, they're listed in Matthew, Mark and Luke. And in the book of the Acts to the Gospels, the disciples are listed in pairs.
One of the Gospels.
They're listed individually and in the book of the Acts they're listed in groups of 2-3 and four. You know, sometimes the Lord has a work for us to do and it's individually. Sometimes he has the work to do and it's with somebody else and sometimes he has the work to do like the brethren here in Fenton as a team and to put on general meetings. It's a marvelous thing to work with our brethren while the Lord here.
Had Gideon.
Divide these 300 men into three companies just to get an idea as to what 300 men are about. How many shares are in this room 300?
And you know, I was thinking of of the hymn that we just sang, Be thou the object bright and fair. In verse 17, he said unto them, This is a rather he in the 16th verse, he divided the 300 men into three companies. And he put a trumpet in every man's hand with empty pitchers and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, look on me and do likewise. Didn't give him a long list of instructions. He just said, look at me.
Oh, I was sure save myself a lot more difficulties, wouldn't I, if my eye was fixed on that object. Bright and fair look on me.
That as I do, so shall ye do when I blow with the trumpet and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camps, and say the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.
Well.
Gideon and the 300 men that were here's that, here's that little term again that were with him came under the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch and they had but newly set the watch and they blew.
If we were to turn to the book of numbers, it believes the 10th chapter, we would find what the number, what the trumpets were used for, the trumpet would speak to us of our verbal testimony, our verbal testimony.
You know, I, I, I struggle with that.
I struggle with that.
Because.
I sometimes find myself in situations.
And I don't know what to say.
The Lord Jesus, when he was down here, every situation he found himself in, he said exactly the right thing.
We have the capacity to do the same. And that's a real challenge to me that I sometimes, umm, come upon a situation and a brother has acted in such a way and I, it's just easier to go the other way. It's just easier not to address it. And I, I, so often I'm not able to be the verbal testimony that the Lord would have me to be. And you know, the, the apostle Paul, he takes this up and he speaks of, of the trumpet giving a, an uncertain sound and so often in my own life.
My verbal testimony is such that it gives an uncertain sound. Well, here the 300 they blew the trumpets and it says and they break the pitchers.
You know, the apostle uses this analogy in Corinthians, and I'd like to look at that for a moment, if we could turn to 2nd Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians.
And the 4th chapter.
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It would be nice to pick up the chapter we can't The 4th chapter. Is the breaking of the vessel the 5th chapter?
It says if we know that our house, the earthly House of our Tabernacle were dissolved, it's a dissolution of the vessel. So the four chapters, the breaking of the vessel, the 5th chapter, the dissolution of the vessel. But here in, in, in second Corinthians chapter 4 and verse five, it says, for we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves dear servants, for Jesus sake, for God who commanded the light to shine in the darkness hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure.
In earthen vessels that the Excellency of the power.
Maybe of God and not of us.
Now here's the breaking of the vessel. We're troubled on every side.
Getting out distressed.
We are perplexed.
But not in despair.
Persecuted.
But not Forsaken.
Cast down.
But not destroyed.
You know we read those verses.
And I I'm so thankful for the way the apostle, by the Spirit of God, penned these words to those in Corinth.
But you know, there may be those here today.
Who have had the experience as I have had?
Where I look at this and I see troubled on every side but I am distressed.
Perplexed, and I am in despair.
Persecuted.
And I feel very much alone.
Castle, I feel like I'm destroyed.
You know it. It's quite quite possible and quite probable that in a company like this.
That there are individuals that feel very, very much alone.
Hello. And you know, we're, we're, we're good, as I said earlier, about putting that veneer on around ourselves. And so we, we read a portion like this and we think, well, you know, I, I, I really, I really can't.
I really can't show anybody really what's going on inside because, uh, I just can't do that.
You know, I would encourage everyone of our hearts.
That when there are real, real burdens.
And, and, and we're, we're taught, umm, to, to protect ourselves.
So that people can just look in so deep.
But what's really going on? We don't want anybody to see. We just it, it's, it's too embarrassing for us. And we don't know what, don't know what they'll think. They'll think of me as perhaps less of a spiritual person than I would like them to think. And yet these things are true that not only not only are we troubled, but we're distressed. Not only are we perfect, but we're in despair. Not only persecuted, but we feel very much alone, not only cast down, but.
Feel just about destroyed.
How, how, how are we, how are we supposed to act under circumstances like that? Do we just carry on, uh, with this, with this facade and not let anybody, umm, see what's inside? You know, there are, there are difficulties that we have that it's hard for us not only to communicate, but it's hard for us to ask prayer for, you know, I, I can, I can, we had our brother Norm Wood just just announced this past Tuesday that he's got Melanoma.
Brother has been such a help in our assembly and it's a real difficulty. And yet in a certain sense, and having had cancer in the past, I know that it's it's easier to make an announcement like that.
00:35:01
And to say, you know, I've been under so much stress lately, I'm just about to crack. We can't say that.
Now you know be because because we want to protect ourselves from what we're good at praying for everything from here down, but anything from here up. It's just hard for us to be able to communicate to our Brennan. There's a difficulty. I would suggest that there are those in this room, there are those in our local assemblies who are shepherds who struggle with exactly the same things that we struggle with.
And would only be too happy to sit down and not only to hear what you have to say, but be able to share that their soul's experience is much the same as yours and mine.
You know, I, I've thought of that and, and this is what the apostle he, he and he had tremendous difficulties. We turned further, you know, in, in Corinthians and you see the, the, the, the things that the Apostle Paul went through. You think of him, you think of him standing in line at a ship. When you think of him, umm, uh, having suffered shipwreck three times, You know, if you stood in line with and you saw the Apostle Paul in line, you wouldn't want to get on the boat. He had another one to come yet because of the difficulties that he went through. And I, I, I so appreciate all that he went through.
And yet there are those things.
That we have, and the apostle, he even himself says that he had a thorn in the flesh.
And he presented to the Lord, and he presented it with violence. He presented it with real exercise. He wanted the Lord to take that thorn away. And the answer was, My grace is sufficient.
You know, it says here we have this treasure in verse 7.
In earthen vessels.
That the Excellency of the power.
May be of God.
And not of us.
And that's why.
The Lord, through our lives He breaks down.
Our earthen vessel so that light can really shine.
Just was thinking of my dad on his deathbed.
You know, the vessel was just about done.
And some of us are feeling the effects of our vessels are having a much harder time than you young people.
That, umm, that are pretty spry.
He couldn't talk to my dad about anything other than what lay before. He just felt that I was going to be left behind.
And, uh, I went on that last day.
And.
Umm, uh, tried to wake him up and I couldn't wake him up. He's unconscious and nurse went by.
And she looked in and she says everything all right in here, I said. I can't seem to wake that.
Said, well you were sure awake last night. He wanted to know if I knew the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. He's not a believer. Probably the last words he said.
The vessel totally broken, but the light shining. You know the light.
Is.
The testimony of our life.
Trumpet is our verbal testimony, the light, the pictures that the 300 held up, that's the testimony of our life. And often the difficulty that I have in my life is those two don't jive.
I may be something a little bit different in the assembly than I am at work.
Or I maybe something, maybe there's young people here and you're just something a little bit different at school and you are at home now. The Lord Jesus, this pathway with a perfectly consistent pathway everywhere he was and he said exactly the right amount of things and just the right things to say.
Our verbal testimony, the trumpets and.
Our testimony of our life as seen in the lights. It needs to agree. It needs to agree.
Otherwise, there's going to be a real vacancy in our Christian life. Well, let's go back now to.
To the Book of Judges.
And look at a few more things here.
00:40:02
In verse 20, so in verse 19 we read they break the pictures. That was the 8th point. And the three companies, they blew the trumpets.
And they break the pictures, and they held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow with all. And they cried the sword.
Of the Lord.
And just Gideon, it wasn't just the sword of Gideon, it was the sword.
Of the Lord.
You know, young person.
There's a lot of you here.
This afternoon.
When the Lord called the disciples.
And we don't have this with all of them, but I'm sure it happened with all of them.
There was a personal call.
And then there was a more public call.
And I don't doubt that most here know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
But what about the Lordship of Christ?
In your life.
Are you content to be saved and to recognize you're going home to heaven? You're going to be with the Lord Jesus, but there are some things that you just like to look after yourself down here.
Lord Jesus wants us all, wants all of us.
And that doesn't mean that we're going to go to Malawi. It may mean that. And if it is, that's wonderful.
But it may mean that the Lord would have you to be in your local assembly for the rest of your life. He wants all of you. That's what He wants.
They said the sword of the Lord and of Gideon and it says here in verse 21. And they stood every man in his place. I I some time ago I did a little study on the amount of times that we find in the word of God where we find people standing. It's a tremendous subject, these ones that said that they stood.
What what? What does it mean? Umm.
They stood.
You know, just just to mention perhaps one or two we find the people of God when they came to the Red Sea, they were told to stand to stand still see the salvation of the Lord. You think of a man like Shama who stood and defended a field of lentils. Think of the book of the Ephesians were to stand against the Wiles of the devil. And it says and having done all to stand. You know, it was my portion a short while ago, not a short while ago, quite some time ago to umm to do a.
A renovation.
Uh, for a training center of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the RCMPI don't know what exactly how your justice system is down here. Your, your correctionals, umm, in Canada, we, in our, in our towns, in our cities, umm, we have the local police, uh, force, they, the town police or the city police. And you go outside of that on the highways and you have perhaps, I guess, like a state troopers.
There in Canada you have provincial police. Well then.
In the outlying areas and in the airports, they are, they are policed by the RCMP, the Royal Canadian Mountain Police. And there's not too many of them are mounted anymore, but they used to be. But it was interesting to me to, to do this renovation for the, for the, the, the training center. And, uh, we ran late and they started their training and they were there for three weeks as we were there for three weeks. So I saw part of it.
Well, I was there the first day they came.
And these, these, these officers or potential officers, they get a letter because they've applied to be an RCMP officer and they get a letter saying that they have been accepted, but they're given a year and the year they're given is to train. They personally train and they train for that entire year. And then they come to this training camp and they're expected to be in top form. So I'm there at the same time that they all arrive. Uh, there's sixteen of them.
The first thing they do is they put a pack on them. I forget the amount of weight that they put in the pack and they have to run 10 miles.
It was a significant amount of weight in the pack.
They run the 10 miles, they get back to to where we were.
They're helped off with their packs and they have 120 seconds to do 50 push-ups after they've run the 10 miles with the pack on their back.
A, a, a fairly rigorous, umm, uh, training session that they were there, they were there for two months. And the, the man that was running it, he said he, he understood, uh, within the first couple of days, who's gonna make it who wasn't?
00:45:08
About a week later.
I I arrived to do my work and these sixteen men are all in the parking lot.
Some of them are standing.
Some of them are sitting there, some of them lying down. There's a couple leaning up against the tree. There was one man who was. He was.
And they are all in this position. And I, I, I asked the officer when I went inside, I said so, so what's going on here? He said, well, umm, I've asked these men to take a position that they're comfortable with.
And they don't understand, they don't realize it now, but they're going to stay in that position for eight, an 8 hour shift.
And they're not gonna have any food and water, but they've chosen the position that they want. We have to have men that can obey orders. So they're gonna be there for 8 hours. The man that was haunched on his, on his, uh, on his heels like I was. He lasted about four hours and then he fell over.
Having done all.
To stand standing does not mean inactivity.
I would say to you young brothers.
That are perhaps asked to stand up, not perhaps here, but in your local assembly to share the glad tidings of the gospel. Don't do it with your hands in your pockets and mumble.
Don't do that. We have explicit direction in the book of the Acts.
Various different apostles, it says, and they put forth their hand. There was real energy, there was real enthusiasm as they presented the glad tidings of the gospel. And I would suggest to those of you who are young men, realize that the message that we have to proclaim is a wonderful message and it needs to be presented with enthusiasm. That's time and time again. Go through the book of the Acts and see the many times we have the apostles, it says they raise their voice.
It says they put forth their hands.
Standing does not mean inactivity. It doesn't mean that.
Having done all to stand, it says about these ones and they stood.
Every man.
In his place.
That might be what the Lord has for us to do.
In connection with being with him.
We're in his company. Yes, he might send you somewhere. Yes, he might have the gift of public speaking. Yes, you might be an evangelist. Yes, he might be a teacher. But maybe you're not. And you have the ability to stand 300 men. And they stood. You know what's interesting about these 300 men? Notice in the next chapter.
Chapter 8.
In verse four, it says in Gideon came to Jordan and passed over he and the 300 men that were with him. They've gone through this whole scenario and there's 300 and they're still with him.
You know the Lord's desire is for us not only to have a good start.
The Lord wants us to have a good finish and He wants us to start with Him and He wants us to finish with Him.
It's beautiful to see these ones and the portions they had at this time was they were.
N.
Now let's go over to the 8th chapter.
And we'll finish that verse.
That we read in the fourth verse. Gideon came.
To Jordan and passed over he and the 300 men that were with him.
And here's this little phrase that we often see in a text in people's home, and it's in connection with the 300.
Faint.
Yet pursuing.
We understand the concept of faint, don't we?
That's not a concept that's foreign to us.
These men were faint.
They were faint.
In verse five it says, He said unto them, The men of Succoth, give thy pray you loads of bread unto the people.
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Here's the 300.
That follow me.
This analogy is so beautiful in connection to what we have the Lord calling the disciples and the Lord calling us, that we would be with him and that we would follow Him.
Let's turn over now to First Corinthians in connection with faint but pursuing First Corinthians chapter 10.
First Corinthians, chapter 10.
I'm having a struggle with a new Bible.
First Corinthians chapter 10 and umm.
OK, let's let's read verse 11. Now all these things happened unto them, for example, and they are written for our admonition. Upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore that him the thickest he standeth, Take heed lest he fall.
This next verse that I had before me in connection with the 300 that were faint yet pursuing.
There's no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man.
The God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that she may be able to bear it.
You know, we, we, we live in a society that's a, a fast society.
It's a it's a society that.
Umm, that makes for.
The enemy to provide each of us with a lot of stress.
And sometimes that level.
Can get fairly high, you know, I, I look at some young mothers here with young children, umm.
I have to take my hat off to you. Umm, perhaps not getting much sleep last couple of nights and you have to be sitting here at the meetings. I appreciate that. And yet there are those things sometimes that, that, that come across our pathway and, and we, we, we feel like, we feel like Peter who stepped out in the water and, and he started to think and I, I don't know how many times in my life I've cried that prayer that, that Peter cries and I who, who looked at the Lord and he just said, Lord save me. That's all he said.
I I, I've cried that prayer time and time again in my own life. But in connection with the vessel being broken and and the the treasure that's in that vessel and the concept of of the power not being in ourselves, but being entirely of the Lord. We have here that there is no temptation taking you, but such is common to man. But God is faithful will not suffer you to be attempted above that you are able but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that he may be able to bear it. There's always a way to escape.
Every situation that we find ourselves in, there is always a way of escape. And I've told this before, but it fits here. Uh, when my boys were younger.
They, they used to, to love to catch chipmunks And the way they would do it is, uh, we have, we have some bird feeders. They would take a bird feeder and they would put it on the ground, be full of seeds. And then they'd watch a chipmunk go into the, into the, uh, bird feeder and they take a green garbage can and they jam it down on top of the, uh, the bird feeder. Well, then they take a piece of plywood and they slide it underneath and they pick the whole thing up, turn the right side up, take the plywood off. And then there's the chip monkey in the garbage can And the chipmunk would be jumping and be jumping and be trying to get out and they'd come in the house and look, Daddy, daddy, we caught a chipmunk.
But I always appreciate it the way they let the chipmunk go.
They'll go and get a stick and they'll place the stick in the garbage can and the chipmunk would run around and around and around, and at last you'd find the stick. He'd crawl up the stick and he'd jump off and we'd go free in our own lives.
When there seems to be such stress.
There seems to be such tough difficulties.
There's always, always a stick in the garbage can. There's always a way of escape.
Doesn't matter what the situation, there is always a way of escaping. Sometimes we don't see it for a while like the little chip, but would run around and around and around. Funny you would see it. There is always that. That does not mean that the answer to our prayers of the Lord is always yes. And I've mentioned this before, You know Moses, he desired to go into the land and he really wanted to get into the land and he played with the Lord that you get into the land.
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And the Lord said, speak no more to me of this matter. It was a very plain, final no. Sometimes we have that in our lives, but there is always a way of escape, and there is always My grace is sufficient for thee. The 300 They were with Gideon at the beginning, and they were with Gideon at the end.
Yes, they were faint, but they were still pursuing.
Well then that'd be the portion of each of our hearts. Anytime we take up this little portion and we remember the 300 as to that which characterized them. I wonder if we could sing uh #168.
#168.
Maybe somebody could start that.
When the Savior appears.
Welcome to those who have shared in his cross a crown incorruptible then will be theirs a rich compensation for suffering and loss. What is loss in this world when compared to that day? To the glory that then will from heaven be revealed. The Savior is coming. His people may say, the Lord whom we look for our Son and our shield. Let's sing the last two verses.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh 10-4.
Hebrews 12:1
Reading
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177.
Nsnoise.
John's Gospel, chapter 12.
And just the last part of verse 21.
Sir, we would see Jesus.
Seeing we also are accomplished about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame.
And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Or consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the excitation which speaketh unto you as unto children.
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My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him for whom the Lord loveth He chasing us.
If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he of whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, where of all our partakers then are ye ******** and not sons? Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us.
And we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our Prophet, that we might be partakers of His Holiness.
Now no chastening, for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way. But let it rather be healed.
Full of peace with all men and holiness.
Without which no man shall see the Lord looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled, lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as he saw, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing.
He was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come under the mount that might be taught, and that burned with fire, nor undue blackness and darkness, and Tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that heard and treated, that the word should not be spoken to them anymore.
For they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touched the mountain, it should be stoned, or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, into an innumerable company of angels.
To the General Assembly and Church of the first Born, which are written in heaven.
And to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.
And to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speakers better things than that of Abel.
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh, for they escape not who refused him that spake on earth much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven?
Whose voice then shook the earth.
But now he has promised, saying, Yeah, once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved.
Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.
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And.
Book of Hebrews is brethren. It's the person and work of Christ are the major focuses in this book, as perhaps could say from chapter one through chapter 8, it's mainly the focus on the person of Christ, although you cannot say that the work of Christ is not included, but in chapters 9 and 10 it's more the work of Christ.
Uh, that is.
Accomplished eternal redemption for us. But then Chapter 11 and 12 shows the workings of faith by which we come into the blessing of these, uh, things that we've been talking about.
Tremendous. In Chapter 11 we have the Old Testament believers who walked in faith and like our brother in the address mentioned that they all had failures in one way or another.
But here in this chapter 12, he says.
Looking.
Unto Jesus there was only one who walked.
This world who was completely perfect in all his ways. Isn't that wonderful, brethren, that we have?
That person as the object set before us.
So you have Chapter 11 and I suppose that's the cloud of witnesses that is referred to in verse one of our chapter.
We have a great cloud of witnesses. We look back at those witnesses in Chapter 11 and what tremendous examples of faith we have.
Shown in their lives.
But now we come to chapter 12 and.
He says that should be an encouragement to you. They are watching in a certain way. Are running the race now too. How are we running? Are we half hearted in our running?
Oh, brethren, it is an encouragement to see those different witnesses of faith in Chapter 11.
But we too are running the race, and we are to be looking unto Jesus.
Help 2 The way in which the person and work of Christ is presented to us here in Hebrews, and to see how the heavens are open to us to the eye of faith.
Because if we go back to the Gospels as we know, we find that they present to us the Lord Jesus.
Here on earth, the lowly man of grace sitting on side cars, well weary with his journey, thirsty, getting a few moments rest on the in the back of a boat as they cross the stormy sea. We see him at the end of it, hanging on a cross of shame, crowned with a crown of thorns, that which was part of the curse, and so on. And we often find, as you read through the Gospels, that heaven opened up so that heaven could look down.
And be occupied with the only perfect man that ever walked here on planet Earth.
As someone has said, there was an object in the world that might commend the place, and so heaven delighted to look down and be occupied.
With God's beloved Son and a voice often declare who He was and what he meant to the Father.
But the book of Hebrews, in contrast, it opens to us the heavens as well.
Not so much, brethren, that heaven can look down. Now. Heaven does look down, of course.
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But so that we can, by faith, look up and see where Christ is now.
Not the lowly man of grace walking through this world. Not in his shame, hanging on a Roman cross.
But to see the results of what was accomplished here in this world to the glory of God.
To see where He is now, the results of the work, the resurrection, the ascension, and the glorification of Christ.
The seeding of Christ at God's right hand are God's Amen to the work of Calvary.
And what God wants for us, brethren, is to look up by faith, and to be occupied with the one that God would always occupy his people with.
And that's what we're going to find at the beginning opening of this chapter. As Bob said, he's taken up that tremendous list of men and women and young people who lived and conquered by faith against all kinds of odds and difficulties. But remember, while they're given to us as an encouragement, our brethren are never given to us as the object for faith. It does say whose faith followed? Not the person, but whose faith follow. But what is? Who is the object for faith?
Not anyone in this room. Not anyone who's ever gone before us.
Yes, they're given to us as an encouragement, and I'm thankful for those whose faith has been a real encouragement and blessing to my own soul. Some of them are with the Lord now. Some of them are still with us. But as soon as the list is completed.
He takes our eyes away from that list and he lifts them to the open heavens, and he says, now here's the object for faith. It's the one and the only one whoever walked, began and completed the path of faith and perfection.
And that is the object for you and for me. And brethren, that's what we need. There's so much to distract today, a lot going on in the on the world stage, so much failure and diff, many difficulties in our personal lives, in the home, in the assembly and business and so on. What do we need to to keep our focus on one another? We're gonna see an end of all perfection if we do that. Circumstances, we're gonna get discouraged and overwhelmed if we do that.
But to lift our eyes this afternoon to the open heavens and be occupied with God's man.
The one that's seated at his right hand. That, brethren, is what is going to give us the spiritual energy and courage.
To press on until the end.
Maybe they are, but I don't know about that. But I think it is what you mentioned first. It's they are there for our encouragement.
They gave testimony in their lives that by faith we can live for God's glory, no matter how dark the day or what the circumstances. Not that we want to get on the subject, but I would suggest that they are not watching us now. I say that because Job speaks in the, I think it's the 14th chapter of that book of those that have gone before. It says their sons come to honor and they know it not. They are brought low and they perceive it not.
I think those who have gone before, brethren, once they are in the presence of the Lord, conscious sense of the Lord's presence and occupied with himself, it has eclipsed everything else. My father is not occupied with what his children and grandchildren are doing on earth. I, I, I just suggest that. And there are some other Scriptures, but I believe the thought is here, as you say, Tim, that they gave witness in their lives, testimony in their lives.
That no matter how dark the day, no matter how overwhelming the situations may have seemed, that faith can overcome and conquer all. And brethren, if we can learn that lesson, I believe we've learned a great lesson in the path of faith. Sometimes we look at our situation in life again individually, maybe the family situation, maybe the little assembly we come from, the difficulties and we may be begin to get feeling sorry for ourselves and think we're the only ones that have had to ever face these kinds of difficulties.
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The only ones that have ever lived in a dark day, morally and spiritually. But when you go back and trace the lives of those that are listed.
They had problems and difficulties that perhaps most of us in this room have never had to face. I've never had to face the burning fiery furnace from the wrath of the king. I was never, I never had to face being cast into a den of lions.
And many of the other situations that they faced. Brethren, it's never been easy to stand for the Lord.
It's never been easy to live by faith, but the point is, the resources were there for them to avail themselves up and if they were there for them, brethren and Christianity and the full revelation of what we have and are in Christ, why we have more than they do. They did and remember this too. They didn't know the end of the story. You know, we go back and we read their lives with confidence. Tell a little interest what made it home to my own soul. I remember one time we were having some Bible readings.
With some folks on the book of Esther. And there was a young man, those Bible readings, and he'd just gotten saved. Well, he'd never read the book of Esther. He knew nothing about the book of Esther. And as we started to go through the book of Esther, he started to speculate on what might happen in the end and what might happen to Esther when she went in to see her husband and make petition for her people. And it made me realize I read the story with confidence.
Because I've heard it from before. I can remember from the very early days of my youth, we read the story of the lion's den or the three Hebrew children because we read it with confidence. Esther didn't know what was going to happen. In fact, she said if I perish, I perish. The three Hebrew children said our God is able to deliver us from the furnace, but they didn't know what was going to happen. Daniel didn't know what was going to happen. And it gives real import or impact to the story when you look at it in that light.
To realize that they had the faith and the faithfulness to stand for their God.
And the truth and to seek to be a blessing to His people, no matter what happened.
They had absolute confidence in their God, not knowing what was ahead.
And brethren, if we can learn that lesson in our lives, we don't know what's ahead.
But if we can learn to trust our God in every circumstance without knowing the future of questioning why, then we have learned one of the great lessons that this cloud of witnesses teaches us.
That I'd like to notice that our chapter begins with the word wherefore, which is very similar to therefore it it is jumping off from something previously presented. So I'd like to take us back to the last two verses of Chapter 11 and these all having obtained a good report through faith received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us.
That they without us should not be made perfect. So we're linked with them there. And then again, we're linked with them in verse one of our chapter. We're encompassed by this cloud of witnesses.
To me, what it says to my soul is we're in good company with a great hope and a magnificent object.
His faith is.
We often call the 11Th chapter the faith chapter, but in verse two it says looking unto Jesus. The author and finisher of and ours in italics is of faith.
Tell us, Brother John, what is faith?
Taking God at His word.
There's the.
Energy of faith and there's the patience of faith, isn't it and I think it is important to see that it's easy for us to witness somebody else that has faith and admire what his faith has done but brethren it comes down to the point where we have to reflect do you and I have that faith that same faith what impresses me as I read through Chapter 11 That every.
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Single witness of faith is different. None of them manifested the faith in the same way as anybody else.
And so it is something that you and I in our confidence in God have to work through in our lives. It's a race. It's something that we have to put energy into. And so he says in verse one of our chapter, let us lay aside every weight and.
Sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with patience.
The race that is set before us. We are in a race. It is not easy. It takes endurance, but it comes down to the point. You need an object of your faith. What is the purpose of your life? What are your sights set upon?
In a race, you have to know where the goal is that you're racing towards. You have to know about it. And then there are other questions that have to be addressed. The question of weights, the question of sin.
Those are something that will hinder us in the race, but I think it is important to see that it is, like you say, John is confidence in God, bringing God into the picture. And like you were saying, Brother Jim, they faced extreme obstacles.
Question us, brethren, is God up to the challenge?
Can he be trusted in my life? Can he be trusted?
Oh, I think this is beautiful to see that this is the challenge now.
Run, you run. Don't be looking at anybody else. So often when I go on my visits through Latin America, I hear complaints that in this meeting the brethren are very active. So why are you looking in another direction? Why don't you look at yourself?
Why don't you trust God and go forward? That's what faith is, isn't it?
Just in that connection.
Go back first of all to John's Gospel Chapter 3.
Because there's the question of what faith is and what faith does. And so we find in the probably the best definition of faith in Scripture language, John has given it to us simply, and that's perfect. But let's just notice it from Scripture, John's Gospel chapter 3 and verse 33. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. And so as you say, it's taking God at his word. It may not be understanding why.
It may not be able to reason it all out or fit it into a nice neat little package, but as another has put it, God says it. That's it, I believe it. That settles it. That's faith, unwavering faith. But now let's go back to Hebrews, this time to the beginning of the 11Th chapter. It's one thing to know what faith is, but let's see what faith does. The beginning of the 11Th chapter, he says verse one.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I don't believe this is so much of A definition of what faith is. This tells us what faith does because all those who are listed in the chapter had substance to their life. It was faith and purpose that gave real substance and quality to the to their life, and it was the evidence of things not seen. Now it's true as we've been saying, faith always needs an object, and I think we need to stress that.
And as you go on in the 11Th chapter, you find that every person who lived by faith had an object.
Voffren said there's no such thing as blind faith, and faith is not a leap in the dark. There were those who looked for a city who hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Moses endured us, seeing him who is invisible, and so on.
But it is to grasp that which is not seen by the physical or natural eye.
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But is no less real to the eye of faith. And when we do that, as I say, it's going to give purpose and substance to our lives. Just talk to a Christian or observe a Christian who really doesn't have that proper faith and purpose. They're going to be like a ship without a rudder. They're just going to turn into the wind and drift. They're going to be open for every wind of doctrine. They're going to be open to be pulled this way and that way.
It may be even in service for Christ, but there's not going to be real direction and purpose. And as they say in the business world, stick to itiveness. Daniel had real purpose of heart. Why? Why did he go on all those years faithfully and quietly for his God? Because he was a man of real faith. And though he's not mentioned by name in this chapter, you know at the end he he's alluded to. I want to say one more thing before we leave this 11Th chapter.
The verses that John read to us at the end of the chapter show 2.
But faith has different results and God doesn't always act in the same way.
When we have faith, you know there were this wonderful company who through faith quenched the violence of fire, stopped the mouths of lions.
Enemies were put to flight and and subdued kingdoms and so on. Tremendous. But others, it says, and others, they didn't have those great experiences like that. They didn't accept deliverance. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins. They were sawn asunder. They were martyred.
You say, did they have any less faith than those that went before?
Know what John read to us they all had a good report by faith they obtained a good report they all died in faith the the the chapter tells us and so I say this because I think sometimes we're taught or not we're not taught but in Christian circles there's this thought that well if you're not experiencing great deliverances and mountaintop things and.
And, and great charismatic things. I, I'm speaking very plainly. Well, you don't have the faith. I, I, I, I heard a preacher one time say that you could get a, you could get a brand new car today if you had the faith. Well, a lot of people prayed and didn't get a brand new car and I'm sure they were quite depressed by, by sundown. But, but that's not what faith is and that's not what faith does. And just because God doesn't give you some great experience or deliverance from your circumstance.
Doesn't mean you don't have the faith God operates in different ways in our lives for for different purposes and to bring us to through certain lessons as we're going to learn from the next few verses in this chapter.
Hearing and hearing by the Word of God. So it's always based on some revelation of the Word of God and that is important. And that's why we try to encourage young people, we who are older, it's the same way. Don't give up reading the Scriptures. That's where you will find your faith.
Uh, strengthened and it's so important to uh, not only.
The way it puts it is interesting. It doesn't say faith comes by the word of God. It says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Listen when God speaks.
Think about it. That's the way faith comes. And like I say, it's not going to work out exactly the same as anybody else. In your case, it may be completely different, but it is that same faith that we see reflected in these in the 11Th chapter. But now we are the ones to take up their race and we're told to.
Lay aside the weights and the sin that so easily besets us.
And a run with patience. The word is endurance, the race that is set before us. Where does the race end?
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There is the Lord Jesus. He ran that race completely.
And he had contradiction of sinners against himself.
It looked like his life was complete failure.
But it was the greatest triumph there has ever been.
The Lord Jesus, his death and resurrection.
And there he is at God's right hand. There he is as the object of our faith. Oh dear young people and older ones too. Let's get the vision of future glory. So often we get distracted. It speaks here of weights. And weights are things that in themselves are not wrong.
But they do not let you run freely as a believer.
Sports, for example. Nothing wrong with sports in themselves.
But if you get so occupied with that, you're not going to run properly as a believer.
Music is another thing that sometimes hinders young people. There's so many things that in themselves are not wrong.
But they can become weights, and who, if they are going to run a race, puts on big heavy boots and a heavy overcoat. They don't do that. Not even if it's cold out. They don't do that. They make it as light as they possibly can. And when I look at the Lord Jesus, dear brethren, and see how simply the Lord of glory passed through this world.
What did he have to his name, materially speaking?
Only thing I can come up with is his clothes and that they took away from him when he was crucified.
But he always had to meet the needs of those that came to him.
In simplicity I I just marvel at it. Brethren, here is the Lord of glory. He's the owner of everything.
And yet he passed through this world as a homeless stranger.
I suppose he spent the night under the stars many times.
Translate the first word.
Kept, uh, laughing a little different. It says phase is a substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
When I look at face myself in the German language, you have can't. You don't have a word that replaces faith. You always end up with belief.
You have to believe and in in that verse for me, believing me means in such a way as though it already had happened.
And that's what the Lord Jesus did when he spoke about his suffering and his.
Things that he would have to go through.
It was always as though he had done it already.
He speaks about it in such a way as it was already done, even though when it wasn't done yet that he was going to suffer and be crucified and rejected.
People have faith in many things, and often their faith is shaken because what they really believed in, or who they really believed in, let them, let them down. But the faith that we're Speaking of is not faith-based on something abstract or something that's hard to understand. It's based on a person. It's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you say, we could substitute the word believe. I enjoyed reading one time about John Patton, the pioneer missionary to the New Hebrides.
And one of his arduous tasks when he first went out to take the gospel to those people who had never heard it before.
Was to give them part of the word of God in their own language and as he was going through the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
He found it very hard to find a word for believe or faith or trust, something that was to the natives way of looking at things. And finally he came to the portion in the 16th of Acts.
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Where the question is raised by the Philippian jailer, what must I do to be saved?
And the answer given by Paul and Silas, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
And he translated it like this. Lean your full weight on him. I thought that was very good.
We've leaned our full weight on Him for salvation. It's only in Him that we have salvation.
Now, brethren, can't we lean our full weight on Him for every circumstance of life, knowing that what He's doing is for our good and blessing? I remember not long after I had read that my wife and I had the opportunity to visit an elderly sister in her home. And as we entered her front room, she stood up. And as she crossed the room to meet us, she had some confidence to take step after step because she was leaning her full weight on her Walker. And that was what gave her at least some confidence to come and to greet us into her home. And brethren, we can go through life leaning our full weight on Christ.
To to have that faith and confidence in himself and to realize that he will never disappoint our faith. Has someone let you down? You say, well, that brother let me down. You say, I never thought that sister would let me down.
Oh, be careful. As I say, we're going to see an end of all perfection if we're looking for it in the flesh, if we're trusting in it in man, but we'll never see it in the Lord Jesus. I want to go back just for a moment to what Bob said about weights, because let's take the thought in our minds of a race and we'll suppose some runners line up at the beginning of the race, the starting line, and there's a runner there that has a backpack on. And in that backpack is the rule books book of the race and.
Several other things and they, they halt things from the start of the race and the coach comes out the runner's coach comes out and he says, umm now why do you have that backpack on And the runner looks at the coach and said, well I've read the guidebook, the rule book and there's nothing says I can't run this race without a backpack on full of full of stuff. Well the coach would say of course, but uh, it's gonna slow you down And so he, he insists and so they.
Consult the officials of the race and they they go to the guidebook and they look through and they say, you know, he's right. There's not a thing that we can do to stop him from running this race with that heavy backpack. But you'd say how foolish. It doesn't make sense. They plead with him on the sense of, on the on the basis of sensibility. You're never gonna have a chance to come in at the beginning of the at the end of the race as a winner if you carry this backpack.
And brethren, we're running the Christian race. So often it's likened as a race or an athletic event.
And there are those things, as Bob said, that will hinder us. We can't go to a verse of Scripture and say This is why we shouldn't do this or we shouldn't do that.
But are they things that are hindering us from running the race with focus? Brethren, that's what we need. We need focus in our Christian life. We talk about multitasking, but again, let's go to Philippians. Just, I know we, we could quote it. We know it well. But you know, sometimes I find in a meeting like this, it keeps us alert if we, uh, kind of wake up a little bit and turn in our Bibles in Philippians chapter 3.
And verse 13, again, Paul is likening the Christian pathway to an athletic event in verse 13, Brethren, I count myself. I count not myself to have apprehended.
But this one thing I do, this isn't multitasking, this is focus, this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth under those things which are before I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul wasn't looking behind. You know, I had the opportunity one summer when I was in Belgium to actually stand on the side of the road as the Tour de France went by.
And justice, dozens and dozens of cyclists in that very famous race. And we just stood about 5 feet from the cyclists. You know, a cyclist that looks behind him in a race like that is going to not only cause himself a problem, but those around him. And I've seen where those cyclists look behind for just a moment, and not only do they go off the course, but they bump others. And then there's a ripple effect. And I've seen where several have gone down because of it. They not only affect themselves, but others. We do that.
00:45:09
As Dave said in his address, we all influence one another. But Paul was running a race. He left the things behind. He was looking to the things before he had the prize in view. And brethren, what's the prize in our Christian life? It's Christ and glory. Is that right? It's Christ in glory. And if we have Christ and glory before us, then we're going to be able to endure. We're going to be pressing towards the mark. We're going to be preserved in the path of faith.
But it is only as we have Christ and glory before us that we are going to have that endurance and focus that is needed.
Example, at least I've enjoyed looking at it and Mark chapter 10.
You see an example of weight versus faith. Mark chapter 10. We know the story of blind Bartimaeus, so I'll pick up in the middle of the story, verse 49, Mark 1049. And Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. And they called the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise, he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus.
Bartimaeus heard the message. He believed it.
And his garment, which had previously been an asset to him was now a wait. And I just want to mention that this we say casting away weights as with as we might think, well, we do it once, but things that have been assets in our lives to a certain point may become a weight and environment life. This garment which had been an asset to him became a weight. Everything in life is either a wing or a weight. It helps us forward or holds us back. I'd like to make one other little point on it.
If we get in the business of collecting weights, we're apartment to collect more than we realize. I'll tell you a story. My grandfather.
Spence in Iowa was a fruit farmer. He raised apples and a few other kinds of fruit, but primarily apples. And he would hire men from the State Farm and have people from the State Farm, as it was called. It's a mental institution, come out to pick apples.
And, uh, my cousins who lived on a neighboring farm often came along to pick apples too. And they observed these fellas from the State Farm would come out and for some reason they show up there at work with overcoats on. They were, they had this thing about wearing an overcoat even in hot weather. And my cousins decided to see if they could get them to shed their coats. They, they, they suggested it. And these guys in the State Farm, though, they wanted to keep their coats so surreptitiously, my, my cousins.
Would, as they walk by these men fill their pockets with rocks.
And by the end of the day, these fellows were so stooped down.
And still carrying their wearing their coats. And I'm just going to say that Satan does that to us too. If we start, if we're not careful about this, we'll collect more than we ever intended and maybe not even notice it.
Material things can be a real weight, brethren, and I don't know, I still remember a comment that Brother Lundin made and it's impressed me said.
Pilgrims are those who have very, uh, simple living habits. Let's cultivate simplicity in our lives at a moment's notice. We're going to leave everything behind. And what meaning will it have in that day? All the things we had. I, I must say, when I look at Abraham.
Abraham was a wealthy man. He had 318 servants.
Is there anybody in this room that has 318 employees? I don't think so. But he had 318 servants and he never lived in more than just a tent. Why in the world didn't he have a decent house? Was there anything wrong with that? Nothing wrong with it, but what kept him living as a Pilgrim was the vision of that city.
Whose foundations were God? Whose?
00:50:00
Whose builder and maker was God, and when he saw that city, he wasn't interested in having a house down here. And I think that's what's going to free us from materialism, brother. And if we get our sights set on heaven and heaven's glory and the Lord Jesus who is there waiting for us, O brethren, that's what's going to make us simple in our living habits. Why do we always want to do more and more and get this and that and the other thing?
I can't say that I'm much of an example, brethren, but let's try to be simple in our living habits. It will make us happier people in the end. I must say I have been supremely blessed by seeing people who are very poor in this world but extremely happy in their souls. It it really impresses me.
It's the same, so there's weights, but then there's something else. The sin that does so easily beset us. I suggest that the sin here is the sin of unbelief, because that's really the context of these chapters, and isn't it?
Solemn brethren, to think that we can be as Brother Gordon Hayhoe used to tell us when we were growing up, we can be unbelieving believers. We speak, we sometimes speak of unbelievers as those who don't know the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
And we'll address that issue tonight in the gospel meeting. But brethren, there's maybe unbelieving believers, right, sitting right here in this room.
Where our faith has waned or is lacking, you know, I think of Thomas. We often speak of doubting Thomas, but if you read the account carefully of what Thomas said, it was more than really just doubt. He said, except I see I will not believe now. Thomas was a true disciple. He was a true believer. But there was a moment in Thomas life when he was filled with unbelief.
And we want to be careful, brethren, that we don't fall into that. Just go back to the 10th chapter of Hebrews to see how much God values, and the Lord values confidence or faith in Himself. I'm going to read you a verse, but before I do that, I'll tell you a little story to lead up to this verse. There was a brother one time visiting in a convalescent home, and he was going from bed to bed and giving out some tracks and encouraging those who knew the Lord as their Savior.
And he came to one lady and she looked up at him and she said, you know, she said.
I've been on this bed for so many years, there's nothing I can do, she said. There's nothing here I can do to gain reward.
There's nothing really I can do to please the Lord and and to to get reward in a coming day. Well, the brother turned her to this verse. I'm about I'm about to read chapter 10 of Hebrews and verse 35.
Cast not away, therefore thy confidence, for of such is great recompense of reward. And he told her, you just lie here and trust the Lord for your circumstances, and it's being jotted down in God's book of remembrance.
And you'll get a great reward, perhaps a greater reward than some who are able to be active and out on the front lines of service and so on. But it was a great blessing and encouragement to that sister who had been there on that bed for so long.
And maybe there's someone here and you just feel so weak. You say, I just, I haven't had the faith. I, I, I, I failed and and so on. But oh, just to trust the Lord. You say, I, I, I don't know what to do in my circumstance. How can I get, get out of this problem? How, what can I do to deal with it and to untangle the circumstances? Maybe there is nothing you can do but trust just to have that faith and confidence, but realize that just having that faith and confidence.
Brother or sister in Christ, God values that highly. It's going to be rewarded in a coming day. And I'm going to rejoice to see some of you who've gone through difficult circumstances, things I've never been called on to pass through. And I'm going to rejoice when it's all manifest in the coming day. And I see you there. There. You wasn't much you could do, but I see you get that great reward. Oh brethren, what a day that's going to be. Let's just learn to trust Him more.
As we said earlier, he'll never let you down. He's worthy of your confidence. Jim, you talk about a besetting sin of unbelief, not putting our full trust in the Lord. And I I think of Peter in Matthew 26 and verse 33, and he's boasting here of his faithfulness. And he says, Peter verse 33. Peter answered and said unto him, So all men shall be offended because of thee.
00:55:21
Yeah, well, I never be offended. And so he was putting his confidence in his own abilities and his he figured things out for himself. He wasn't putting his belief, his faith in the Lord. And I know before I.
Can take a step of faith, I have to figure everything out, make sure that I know the end from the beginning, but then it doesn't become faith. And so when we take that step of faith, it needs to be full trust on the outcome, full trust on the Lord.
Is a choice.
That's the point of this verse here that says let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so beside us, as as uh has been pointed out, this sin is the sin of unbelief. And some people say, well, I have doubts and I can't help it.
Faith is a choice. When Bartami has heard Jesus voice, he could have argued, he could have. He could have had doubted. He chose. He actually doesn't say that he heard Jesus voice. He heard the voice of somebody else that said rise he calleth thee.
And that was enough for him and he chose to believe it and to act on it. And faith is a choice. We when we say I can't, I have doubts and I can't help it. That's not what this verse says.
Doubts come through our minds, don't we? But we have to filter them through the word of God. Is this doubt in scripture or is this just something that Satan wants to stumble me with? And I think we have to think them through and, and they don't come from God. They don't come from his word. They come from another source. So don't just take any doubt that flies through your mind and give it credence.
Challenge it by the word of God. Every sin really hinders in the race of faith. But it is, I think this is a, uh, way of generally addressing it, this sin of unbelief, because every sin is basically you're saying, I think I know better than God, I'm going to do my own thing. Don't do it because it's going to be a hindrance to you in your faith. It's going to hinder you from.
Winning the race.
Chapter 12 The means whereby God keeps us in that path. The 1St is an object for our hearts, Christ and glory. And if that fails and we don't resist sin.
Then he comes in with chastening to keep us on that path. And then also in the chapter, there is the possibility that there might be one who professes to have faith but does not. And the wilderness path proves whether there's faith there or not. And so the warnings come in to those who make a profession, but there's no reality.
Just say this too, that we need the shield of faith, don't we? It's part of the armor of God for our Christian warfare and pathway. Here it's likened to a race in Ephesians 6. It's Christian warfare. But the fiery darts of the wicked are those darts of doubt, aren't they? You know, it's interesting that the first recorded words of Satan in the Old Testament are half God said.
Raising a mind, a question in the minds of Adam and Eve of Eve, did God really say that? Bringing a doubt in as to the spoken word of God and the first recorded words of Satan in the New Testament are if thou be the Son of God. When the living word came, the Lord Jesus immediately trying to raise a doubt in the mind of the Lord Jesus. Was he really who he said he was?
But we find that the Lord Jesus, he answered Satan.
With the scriptures and the scripture is what had the power.
And so we too, brethren, what are we resting on? Are we resting on, as Bob said, some doubt that the enemy puts through our mind or raises before us? He does that just like he tried to do with Eve, raise a doubt in her mind as to what God had said. Well, with the Lord Jesus as that perfect example, he went back to what had been stated in Scripture. And that's absolute. We can rest wholly on that, and we can lift the shield of faith and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, or if I can just put it this way, for our purpose, all those fiery darts of doubt that the wicked one sends our way.
01:00:25
Does that commend itself?
The darts are doubts, yeah.
The point, brethren, that I think at the end of this meeting we need to grasp in our souls is what we've already alluded to several times, and that is that there are the full resources. And God, as Steven has just pointed out, works in one way or another in our lives so that we can avail ourselves of those resources that we have. And there is no excuse for failure.
Lack of faith.
Doubt missing the path. There's always a way back, there's always restoration and so on. But there is no excuse because the resources are available in a ascended, glorified Christ at the right hand of God, the word of God that we hold in our hands, as Peter put it, all things that pertain unto life and godliness. We are fully equipped.
To run the Christian race with endurance, with the object before us. And when I stand and have to give an account at the judgment seat of Christ in the coming day, will I be able to give the Lord any excuses or reasons for some failure or lack of faith in my Christian pathway? Not for one moment He's going to say, but Jim, you had all the resources. It was all there provided for you, and you didn't avail yourself of it. And so, brother, no matter how dark.
And difficult the circumstances of the day and the things we find ourselves in in our lives, no matter how overwhelming they may seem, there are those resources to overcome. Often told the last time I visited brother Eric Smith that he was coherent in the nursing home in Montreal. He said to me something I'll never forget. He said, Jim, remember, we can still be overcomers, not be overcome.
And you and I don't have to be overcome in the Christian race. We can still be overcomers and live by faith for God's glory.
Until the end of the race. And as we said, the end of the race is Christ in glory.
God, umm, God is for us. God desires our blessing and He deserves to be trusted because His heart is towards us. I think that's one of the greatest offenses to God when we don't trust Him and we don't put our confidence in Him as we're actually questioning the goodness that is in His heart towards us. And that's the greatest defense.
To God, you know, it says without faith it is impossible to please him. Why do we, why do we have faith in him? Because of his heart. His heart is towards us. That's the greatest resource we have.
And and you know.
This, this, this, this path of faith is his heart.
I know her time is gone, but uh, we spent a lot.
For things that'll slow us down and wear us out. Umm. But then the sins uh, Darby would render that word be set, umm, as entangles up. If you get caught in the briar pass, you're not going anywhere. So our weight will slow us down on.
Sin will stop us in our race. Let's play that aside, press on for Christ.
Mm-hmm. Oh, Jesus Christ.
We don't need a lot of confidence.
In my life.
So I'm here to get in. Well, I'm staying in the city, continues to spend the time.
01:05:07
I don't understand Franklin Street high education.
It's been for all the girls together.
Falls like I'm down on fire together and Burger King and.
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Uh, I'm just gonna buy dinner for anything.
Laughing out loud Pizza stop 303 Crazy.
One second and I wanna like woah woah woah woah woah woah.
Psalms 56.
Just to give this scripture in connection with some of what we had before.
So I'm 56 and verse 9 the end of the ninth verse.
This I know.
For God is for me.
I thought in my Bible.
For quite some time, of course.
Brother, just read that any connection with those kinds, of course, because.
Believe it's very important and helpful.
Over happiness and failure, whether a St. or Sinner.
Springs from unbelief of the goodness.
That is in the heart of God for us.
Just to give an acronym for faith, one I've been enjoying recently.
Forsaking all, I trust him. I trust him.
Gospel 1
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.
Let's sing number six on our hymn sheets.
God in mercy sent his Son to a world by sin, and on Jesus Christ was crucified to us for sinners. Jesus died.
God and mercy.
1.
Again.
I'm not going to rain all of the gravy.
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Reverse this before we pray.
For the word of God is quick, is living.
And powerful, operative, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow. And as a discerner.
Of the thoughts and intents of the heart, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
00:05:18
Like to go back to the book of Hebrews chapter one.
The only book in the Bible that starts with God.
At least the first word of the book is God.
God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets.
As in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world's, who being the brightness of His glory, and the expressed image of His person.
And upholding all things by the word of His power.
When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down.
On the right hand of the Majesty on High. What a tremendous statement of the Christian faith. In verses two and three, you'll notice there are 7 little phrases speaking majorly about the glory of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of those statements talks about his redemptive work, which is extremely important.
As well, And I'd like to speak briefly about these things because that's where the Christian faith is based, the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this person that we're talking about?
And so his son.
Is in verse two we have two of those phrases. In verse three we have five more phrases that speak about, you know God is in Trinity in the very first verse of the Bible it says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the word God is in the plural in the in the Hebrew language.
It is Eloise. You can have singular in the Hebrew, you can have dual, you can have plural, that is three or more and it's plural. God created God in the fullness of His being. Father, Son and Holy Spirit were involved, and here we find that He has spoken unto us this same God.
Has spoken unto us in His Son, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one we're going to talk about tonight. Oh so important to get to know Him. Can we ever know enough about Him? I have to say for myself, never. It is the longing desire of my heart to know Him better. The more you learn of Him, the more you want to know more about Him.
So we have 7 phrases here. The first one is in verse two. He has appointed him heir of all things. Interesting isn't it? Before he even speaks of the creation of the world, he talks about this person as being the heir of all things. How can that be? Because in God's eternal purposes when there is no universe in existence yet?
Only God in the fullness of his being was there, because God is eternal.
I mean, it just blows my mind to try to even comprehend that.
Here is a God who always existed. Never did he have a beginning. He was always there. And it's his Son, that eternal Son, which was in the bosom of the Father. That's the one we're talking about here, the Son of God. And so he was appointed in those eternal councils as the one who was going to be the heir of all things.
00:10:05
Incredible to think about it.
The second phrase is by whom? Also he made the world's. It tells us in the book of Psalms how he did that. How did he create the universe? Because the world, the word the world's really means the universe as we know it. Universe is fascinating to study and it's really completely leaves us behind as to the size of it.
I love the study of the universe and.
The starry heavens. My children have gotten several books for me on the universe, and each time I get a different book, I find that the numbers keep going up as to how many stars there are. They now say that there are more stars in the heavens than there are grains of sand on the seashore, and I really believe that's true. We live in a Galaxy called the Milky Way. I love to go to the Highlands of Bolivia.
Because there you don't have in those far off way places, the lights of the city to block out the light of the stars.
And on a night when there is no moon, it is fantastic. The display of the stars. You can actually see with your naked eye other galaxies besides the Milky Way Galaxy. And I found when I was up there, sometimes I went out into the country at night. There is enough light from the stars to be able to walk down a path. I didn't realize that that could be the case, but it was.
Enough. But the universe, the Milky Way Galaxy that we are situated in is a Galaxy that has approximately 200 billion stars. There's only 6 or 7 billion human beings that live on this planet that the Milky Way unit Galaxy has 200.
Billion.
Stars in it. Many of these stars are larger than our sun.
And they say now that there are probably something like 250.
Uh billion, uh Stu, umm star, uh galaxies more in the universe.
As far as they can see, and they they see further than they keep discovering more and more. And I don't know, even though I believe that the universe has an end somewhere because it's part of creation and everything that is created is measurable, but I don't think mankind will ever come to the end of it. How was that created? Here's a person who created it.
In Psalm 33 it tells us.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.
He spoke and it was done. Just imagine.
The power that was released as he spoke the whole universe into existence. This is the person we're talking about tonight. No ordinary person we're talking about. He made it all by the word of his power, He commanded, and it stood fast.
Verse three, the next phrase.
Who being the brightness of His glory.
That word brightness is the outshining of the glory of God. The Lord Jesus is the full out shining of the glory of God. Amazing to think about it. You wanna know God? Get to know Jesus because he is the brightness of that eternal glory.
How can we ever understand that properly? When he came into this world, He never ceased to being God in every sense of the word.
But he did veil his glory with a human form, and when they looked at him, they said, there is the Carpenter, we know him, we know his father and his mother.
But he had his veil, his glory veiled.
And then it says the express image of his person. You know God prohibits making images of anything to be worshipped.
00:15:10
Because God is jealous of the worship of his creature man, and well He might be, given who he really is.
Tremendous to think of it, the Lord Jesus is called the image of the.
Invisible God in Colossians. Here it is the express image of his person.
When I look at the Lord Jesus, when he was here in this world and one time he was in the temple and they brought a poor woman that had been committing a very serious sin, adultery, and the law of Moses had said that that such a PEO person should be stoned to death. And so they brought here into his presence.
And they said Moses in the law said that she should be stoned. What do you say?
The Lord Jesus could see their hypocrisy. He knew very well that if it was adultery, there was a man in the picture and they didn't bring the man. He also knew that the Pharisees, their marriage laws, were so loose that they too really were many of them in adultery.
And so if he was going to condemn that woman.
Properly, he had to condemn the mall. He had not come to condemn, he had come to save. And so instead of answering them, he just stooped down and wrote in the dust on the ground. They continued to ask. And he finally stands up and says, Let him that is without sin among you. Cast the first stone at her.
Then he Stoops down and writes on the ground again. And they convicted by their own conscience. You know you have a conscience. I don't know what you've done in life, but you know, and don't try to cover it up. I'm amazed at how people live with a bad conscience years and years. It's a torture.
Remember Joseph's brothers?
They sold him into slavery.
And evidently Joseph, when he was being sold into slavery, pleaded with his brothers not to do that.
And they didn't listen to him. They sold him as a slave into Egypt. Years later, I think it was probably 22 years later, they come into Egypt and they do not recognize Joseph, their brother was the ruler of Egypt. And he accuses them of being spies. You're spies.
No, we're all true men. We're not spies.
And he puts them into prison.
But they say as they drug away to prison, it's for our brother that we sold into Egypt. Just think of that, 22 years of being tortured by their own conscience. You got a conscience. You, your own conscience tells you the truth of what God is telling us in His Word. And so the Lord Jesus stood up again, and all the men who had accused her had gone.
Accused by their own conscience, they had escaped. They were in the presence of the light of the world. And the light shows what there is there. You can hide it from your parents, from your brethren, you can hide it. You cannot hide it from the presence of this person we're talking about, the one who is the express image of his person.
And he sees that poor woman.
Still trembling there, she didn't know what was going to be. There was one person there without sin. It was Jesus, but he was the image of the invisible God. What is God like? Does he want to condemn you? Does he get any pleasure out of judging you for your sins? Not at all.
And so he says to the woman, Woman, where are your accusers? As no one condemned you, she said, no one, Lord, he said, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. What a wonderful display of what kind of a God we're talking about. A God that is abundant in mercy and wants to pardon the poor, guilty Sinner.
00:20:28
And then it says the next phrase of verse 3, upholding.
All things by the word of His power. Not only hath He created all things, but He upholds it by the word of His power. I just marvel when I think about it. The Lord Jesus, when it came time for Him to be born into this world, His human mother, the Virgin Mary, gave birth to him in a stable, and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him.
In a Manger, there he was, the Christ of God, the eternal God. Not only had he created all things by the word of his power, but he was upholding all things.
Looked like a little helpless baby. He was no helpless baby. He was the eternal God, upholding all things by the word of His power.
Later on when they were nailing him to the cross.
Terrible nails into his hands, into his feet, The same time they were nailing him, here he was holding, upholding the whole universe by the word of his power.
Beyond me too comprehend the tremendous implications of these statements. But now the next.
Phrase is when he had by.
Himself purged our sins.
Here is the only of the say is 7 phrases that speak of his.
Person. This is the only one that speaks of his work. He made purgation of sins by the sacrifice of himself.
By himself, no one else could take up that question and settle it.
You know, sin is an extremely serious thing in the sight of God. People make fun of it. People make jokes about it.
But one sin before God is more serious than 10,000 sins are to us.
We get shocked by what happened over in Paris not too many days ago, but we don't realize what God is allowing. There is a reason why He is allowing it. Somebody showed me the other day.
The in the theater where the.
Terrorists started shooting people. It was AI think it was a American band that was to play in the lyrics of the song they were going to play.
Were direct praise to Satan.
No wonder God allowed that awful, awful thing to happen. Does God want that to happen?
No, but when people directly go away from him in another direction.
God is right in all that He permits, and when I see the way this country is turning away from God and leaving His word out of the picture, I say serious things are ahead for the United States of America. Seriously, I look at you young people and I wonder how much longer we're gonna be around. It's not going to be a pretty picture.
What's ahead for this country? In fact, sometimes I think about after the Lord raptures his people out of this world, United States of America is going to be one of the most awful places to have to live on the whole planet. I've lived in South America, I've been in the jungle areas, and it'd be far better to live there. I'm not planning to be around, to tell you the truth, but it would be awful, awful to have to live.
00:25:08
In the United States of America, because of the way there's been a turning away from God, so God has addressed the question of sin. He himself has taken it in hand to address it. God had been dishonored by the question of sin, and He had to be vindicated if there was going to be any way of blessing for mankind.
And so the Lord Jesus went to the cross with that specific purpose.
You know the story of what happened there at the cross. He was nailed at 9:00 in the morning. The way we calculate time, he died at 3:00 in the afternoon. For six hours he hung on that cross, the first three hours the object of the ridicule and mockery of men. And then at 12 noon, everything got dark.
And God, in those three hours of darkness, laid on him the iniquity of us all. Those sins had to be addressed to God's own righteous character. He could not pass over it. Sometimes people think that God just kind of sweeps our sins under the rug and He can forgive Him that way. Not one way. He cannot do that. Absolutely impossible it would be to deny His character.
God has to show His righteous character in connection with the sins that you and I have committed.
And so in those three hours, God laid on him the iniquity of us all, and for three hours the waves and billows of divine judgment swept over him. For three hours there was no cry from that center cross outside of Jerusalem.
He suffered it all in silence and at the very end it says.
He cried. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
All his life long he had spoken to God as Father because that was the relationship he enjoyed with Him from all eternity. But why does he say my God? Because it was not as Father that he was dealing with Jesus. It was as God in all the holiness of his character. It had to be settled. It had to be God's righteous character, had to be satisfied if he was going to extend forgiveness of sins to you and me.
And then he said.
It is finished.
He finished the work and he bows his head and dies. Oh, what a story. Who is that that died on that cross? It's the one that's supposed the universe into existence, the one that wants to save you and me from our sins. Because God is going to have the last word with every single one of his creatures.
You cannot escape. You will not escape.
And so the Lord Jesus died, and after he was hanging dead on that cross.
A soldier came and took a spear and plunged it into his side and outflowed blood and water.
The price of redemption was paid in blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Oh, what a story. How can we ever do justices to such a tremendous story? He paid the price in full. How do we know that God was satisfied with it? Because God raised him.
The third day from the daden and God did not quit raising Jesus until he.
As a man was far above all principality and power and might and dominion.
By faith, we can look up into the glory of God tonight and see a man.
One of the human race is sitting at the highest position of glory in the whole universe.
The Lord Jesus Christ. And so it's interesting how it puts that last phrase here.
He sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. I understand it could be red. He sat himself down because of the sufficiency of the work he had completed, because of who he was, he had the right to walk right into the very presence of God, the throne room of God, and Sith himself down.
00:30:28
The right hand of the throne of God.
Anybody here pretend?
They can have authority to walk into the Oval Office and sit down at the right hand of the President of the United States.
You try to do such a thing, you would be made aware of the fact that it won't work. It just won't work. But here is a man who walked right into the presence of God in the in heaven and sat himself down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Oh, what a glorious person.
That we're talking about.
And so that's the person that we're talking about. I think it's so important to see it is the person and the work of Christ that is the foundation of our faith. Like to go over to the 9th chapter now because here it deals more in connection with the.
Work of the Lord Jesus.
Hebrews, Chapter 9, verse 11.
But Christ being calm and high priest of good things to come by a greater.
And more perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building.
He's contrasting it with the building in the Old Testament, the Tabernacle and then the temple.
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the Holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us as an italics.
He obtained eternal redemption.
The contrast is in the Old Testament. What happened was that a person would sin, and then they would bring an animal to pay for their sin.
There they go, they paid for it now, but on the way back home, he sins again.
Oh, oh, I have to bring another animal.
And.
The stream of blood never ended in the Old Testament times.
How many animals that died, we don't know, but there was one sacrifice of peace offerings that Solomon offered at the consecration of the temple.
120,000 sheep.
22,000 Bullocks.
Can you imagine the rivers of blood that flowed from that one sacrifice? And it never ended, because it was never sufficient. But here's one who by his own blood entered in once into the presence of God, into the holy place, having obtained. Oh, that speaks peace to my soul. I stand not before God on what I am.
Or what I have done, I stand before God, on the grounds of what Jesus did on that cross. He obtained eternal redemption for us. Now notice verses 13 and 14. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh.
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
There we have the question of the conscience again, and it says.
The blood of Christ was sprinkled.
00:35:02
Means applied, I should say the heifer. The blood of the heifers was sprinkled on the guilty party. It was applied. It's not sufficient that the blood of Christ was shed. It needs to be applied.
Let's stop here to speak to some of you younger people, some who are older perhaps too. You have been brought up in circles where you've been taught these things.
But you know, it scares me when I see young people that don't seem to lay hold of it in their hearts. They know it in their heads, but they haven't accepted it in their hearts.
I think it's.
Not too long ago, somebody was pointing out the fact that there are five young people in the United States who used to break bread and fellowship that now professed to be atheists.
That shocks me.
As I look out over this group.
I say, what about you? I can't see your heart. I cannot judge you, but there is someone who is looking right at you, who knows your thoughts and your heart.
You, you cannot hide anything from him. My desires to plead with you your going to meet this person we're talking about one day he has obtained.
Eternal redemption that you have and applied that to yourself yet.
You're sitting there, you know the reality, but you've never accepted it for yourself.
I want to speak directly to you if I can. Please listen to me because it's so tremendously important. Scripture speaks of a word that is called repentance.
It comes from the Latin root pent to think.
Repent means to rethink. It means a change in your way of thinking. When I see people that like to sin.
Oh, they say that's not that awful bad. I'm really not damaging anybody. Look, if you're sinning, you are damaging yourself. First of all. You may be damaging others as well. And if you are doing that, you need to repent. There is no salvation outside of repentance.
The Lord Jesus said in his day, accept you repent, you will all likewise perish. Oh, but I've accepted Jesus as my Savior. You say if you haven't repented, the faith you profess is not true faith.
Scripture speaks of repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
I know I've spoken of this story before, but it shook me to the core. When we lived in Bolivia. The young man who helped us to build our house in Montero, Bolivia.
His name was Jaime Martinez.
And when we got there, he was there in the area and he was subcontracted to help on the construction of our house. Couple times he went with me on weekend visits to visit other little meetings in the jungle areas.
When the house was finished, he got other work somewhere else and I lost track of him.
But in Montero, if you were ever to visit there, you'll notice that they have motorcycle taxis. Instead of using a car taxi, you get on the back of a motorcycle and they take you where you want to go.
And at the time that, uh, Jaime had disappeared, these men started turning up dead in one place and another.
And.
I think it turned out to be 10/11/12 until one day a man was found on the side of the road with a bullet in his head and he was still alive. The bullet had gone off to the side of his brain I guess and he was brought into the hospital and he denounced who had done it, it was Jaime Martinez.
00:40:13
This man that had helped construct our house.
He had been breaking bread.
And he was taken into custody.
And I understand in his declarations, he said not only have I done this, but when I get loose, I'm going to do a lot worse. Yet no evidence of any repentance.
That time it was a military government in power.
And they have a way of taking care of prisoners like that under the pretense of doing an investigation out into the jungle areas with him. Some of his crimes, they took him out into the jungle and they kind of let him loose and he takes off running for the jungle and they shot after him. Stop. He didn't stop.
And so they shot him. Jaime Martinez.
Went into a lost eternity as far as I can determine.
It shook me to the core to think I had broken bread with a man who is now in the torments of hell.
Is there somebody that really hasn't come to grips with the issue of your sins? Your conscience is telling you the truth about it. You need to come to grips with God. Please. If there's something confusing about the issue, we're here to help you. After the meeting, you can come up and talk to us. It is way too important. This world is on the very verge of going into the most awful judgment this world has ever seen.
And you are pull, putting at risk eternal destiny of your soul. How can you do such a thing? I plead with you to take it seriously, to consider where you are in your soul with God.
God is going to have the last word.
And let's go over the remaining moments to the Book of Revelation to see what's going to happen to Jaime Martinis.
And perhaps others who have sat in meetings like this listening to the gospel that never accepting it as their own.
Repentance toward God is.
Tremendously important, but I want to say this repentance will not save you.
What saves is faith in Christ.
But you must repent.
And then believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has done the work. It's all done. All it takes from you is a simple acceptance of the fact that the work is done and you can have all God's blessing.
In Revelation chapter 20, we have a picture of the.
Great White Throne Judgment. Let's read it.
Revelation chapter 20 and verse 11.
I saw a great white throne.
Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them, and I saw the dead.
Small and great stand before God.
And the books were opened 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. Whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast.
00:45:24
Into the Lake of Fire. Here we have.
Setting in space because the earth and the heavens are fled away, they're gone.
It's the, some people call it the atomic explosion that will end the created universe as we know it. The end. There's a throne, a great white throne, and him that sat upon it. Who is that? Him. That same one we've been talking about, the one who brought everything into existence in the 1St place. The same one that hung on that cross.
That's the same one is the one that's going to sit on that throne.
And the dead, small and great, are going to stand there, spirit, soul, and body. They're still called the dead because they have never accepted the living God. And outside of him, you're dead for as much as you might have natural life.
And the books were open. God keeps records of people's lives. Perhaps a book for every person is written.
And all the details of that life are written.
I wouldn't want any of you to know all the details of my life.
I would be ashamed. I would have sent myself quickly if it were put on the wall behind me.
But God.
Has it all written out and the dead were judged by those things that were written in the book. There's no way of escaping your responsibility, your accountability to God. God is going to show that He is completely just.
He wants to save you, His love wants to save you tonight, but if you refuse him, this is where you're headed.
And there was another book, the Book of Life. In that book the names of all those who have faith in God are written. It says the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death.
And Hades depth is where the body goes.
Death takes power over the body, and hell takes power over the spirit and the soul. They delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to his works.
This is the end of death. Death is going to be destroyed.
And here it is Death in Hades are cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And then it says whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Awful, awful end. You know, it uses that word cast. It didn't say they went into the lake of fire. They were cast because the picture that it seems to give is.
Person that realizes this is the end, this is my eternal existence forever and forever shrinks and is taken and is cast because he would not have.
This God that we're talking about?
Please, I ask you think seriously about this. Don't wait any longer. This is inevitable if you do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Let's sing a hymn to.
End our meeting.
#25.
1St and the 4th verses.
9900 and 29,900 and 1900 and Thai baht.
White and Jake, that's considered.
My everything along your way, you're going to make life alone every day.
Nsnoise.
Anybody has any questions?
About your relationship with God.
We're here. We would like to talk to you.
Please don't think we're gonna try to condemn you. Our desire is that you would know God's salvation and truth.
Faith Character and How We Walk
Hebrews 12:2-4
Reading
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In folding, every grace, once slain, but now alive again in heaven, demands our praise. 132.
We didn't get very far yesterday. I suggest we just read from the first of the chapter again to get the context.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
Wherefore seen, we also are compassed about. Was so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every week, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and it sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Or consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, you have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.
And you have forgotten the excitation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him for whom the Lord loveth, He chasing us, and scourge with every son whom he receive us. If he endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chased and not?
But if he be without chastisement, where of all our partakers?
Then are you ******** and not sons? Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection under the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our Prophet, that we might be partakers of His Holiness?
Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless. Afterward he yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way. But let it rather be healed. Fall peace with all men.
And Holiness?
00:05:00
Without which no man shall see the Lord, looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God.
Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
Lest there be any fornicator, profane person as Esau, who for one more slow meat sold his birthright. For you know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor under blackness and darkness, and Tempest.
And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that heard and treated, that the word should not be spoken to them anymore, for they could not endure that which was commanded. If so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with the dart. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
And to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and Church of the first Born, which are written in heaven.
And to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, And to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
See that you refuse not him that speaketh, for they escape not who refused him to speak on earth. Much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.
Whose voice then shook the earth? But now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved.
Let's have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
For our God is a consuming fire.
Crowd of witnesses.
It makes me think that I'm in the middle of that crowd.
And we leaving a testimony behind as the Lord tarries.
Just like those that we were just mentioned in Chapter 11.
And the times you are living in, there are those who go through this tough treatments that they receive from the world.
And we are in that same evil world, even though we have peace around us now.
We ought to be conscious about what testimony we are right now and what testimony we're going to leave behind.
Like these that I mentioned.
Here in the scriptures.
Like to say at the beginning of this meeting, umm.
I do trust, brethren, that there will be exercise.
Jim and I kind of take the lead sometimes, but.
I'm conscious that we need to all be exercised and there are gifts that the Lord has given here that can be a real help. I sometimes have been approached.
Sometimes by my wife, sometimes by others.
That told me what you're saying is going over the heads of the young people.
And I think that happens sometimes, but if there's not someone who is maybe a little younger who can interject a question or a comment that will help, I find it very helpful when that is done.
I'm not saying this is a free for all brethren should be led by the Spirit of God, but let me just put it this way be exercised if the Lord wants to use you to be available.
00:10:13
Would you agree with that, brother Jim?
I'd like to read a verse from Gospel of Mark.
Chapter 4.
And on verse 18 and 19.
And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, entering, and choke the word, and becometh on fruitful.
Mary at the grave of the Lord Jesus that says she stood and she wept.
She looked in and she saw two angels.
They said, woman, why weep us out? She didn't seem to recognize that they were angels. She turned from there. She saw the Lord, and he said, Woman, why weepest thou? And she didn't recognize the Lord either.
Just would suggest this thought that the weights we took up in the previous meeting.
Are not only the bag of golf clubs or those kind of things that might slow us down, but it's the cares of this life, the anxieties, the trials that come even that bring us, you might say the hand wringing and tears to the point where we don't see the Lord.
And that really slows us down in the path of faith.
And so the Hebrew believers were those who had suffered the.
Their apostles had early took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, at first became a gazing stock.
They really had nothing.
Time had gone on. There were those who were giving up and turning back, those who were saying this really isn't all that it was cracked up to be at the beginning.
Some in that company really that weren't real and turning back, proving themselves that they weren't real, but discouraging others who were real.
And I just say this, the weight was lifted off Mary when she saw the Lord for who he was.
And the first thing that the Spirit of God gives us in connection with being able to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us is occupation with the Lord Jesus Christ.
And to see him, and really, without that, we're not going to be able to lay aside the weights or those things that so easily entangle us. And so the first thing is presented is a man in the glory for our occupation, and one who went through all that we might pass through here, who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, rather than to disobey. He wanted, He purposed.
It was his whole being to be faithful to God, and He's the example for us. It's that alone that lifts us out of those kinds of weights.
And he's a real man, isn't he?
Brother Steve, he sometimes I, I get the feeling that we pray rather mechanically and we have our forms of expressions, not that they are wrong in themselves, but we forget that he's a real person. He went through this life. We can't look up and say nobody really understands what I'm going through. You can't say that because there is somebody at God's right hand who knows.
And he went through it as a perfect man. He experienced everything that it is possible for a perfect, sinless man to experience in life. He was forsaken of his friends. His closest disciples betrayed him, and another denied him. He knows what that means. He knows what it means to be hungry and thirsty and weary with the journey.
So we can't look up and say he doesn't understand. We have one who has gone before. He's the author or the beginner and finisher of the pathway of faith. Oh, brethren, isn't it wonderful that we have somebody that does really, truly understand just where we are right now? We can't expect this sympathy. If we get into sin, that is not gonna be sympathy. It'll be his work as our.
00:15:14
Advocate if we do that, but he's still there for us even then when we get into sin, but not in sympathy, but as our advocate to restore us to fellowship with the Lord. But he went through this life. He knows what it means exactly every step of the way.
Well, that's why it says in the 4th chapter he was in all points. I like that in all points, tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Sometimes perhaps we say, well, nobody understands my situation, nobody knows what I'm going through. That may be true as far as anybody else on earth, but there is one. If, as Bob says, if we look up, he was in all points, there is nothing that you will ever pass through.
In the path of faith and service for Christ that he himself as a man hasn't felt.
And not only has he felt it himself, but he's now living to make intercession for us.
We sometimes sing that hymn with joy. We meditate the grace of God's High Priest above. His heart is filled with tenderness. His very name is love. He, in the days of feeble flesh poured out his cries and tears.
And though Ascended feels afresh what every member bears, so we find in our chapter here.
That, as Steve mentioned yesterday, we have resources and encouragement for us to run the path of faith and service here in a wicked world opposed to Christ. And in the second verse of our chapter, we have immediately brought before us Christ where He is now, because in Hebrews it's not where He was, it's where He is. It's the results of the work that He accomplished here on earth, and it's where He is seated now as the resource for you and for me.
But in the third verse, then we have something a little different in connection with Christ.
It's to look back and see what he did go through here as a man. You know, in the epistles we have Christ in glory, and we need that. We need to read the epistles to see where Christ is now, what we have in him now, the resources that we have in him now as the glorified man at the right hand of God. But brethren, we need to go back to the Gospels too. Read the life of the Lord Jesus.
He's left us an example that we should follow his steps and where are we going to learn what contradiction of sinners he suffered?
Oh, it's to go back and to read the Gospels. Not to digress, but that's why we need.
The breaking of bread too. To sit down in his presence and look back and remember.
What he suffered in this life and of course, in connection with the work of eternal redemption.
But I think it's good for us brethren to go back and read the life of Christ.
Go back and read the Psalms that bring before us the work of the Lord Jesus and His pathway as He walked through this world.
The feelings and expressions, the innermost breathings of the Lord Jesus.
Feelings that you don't get in the Gospels. It will tug at our heartstrings. It will draw out our hearts. It will give us.
The courage to face what we face in the path of faith. And for most of us, it's nothing compared to what the Lord Jesus faced. In fact, he takes it up here in our third, uh, in our fourth verse. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin. You know, many of our brethren have and are today. There are many who've laid down their lives for their testimony for Christ. There are many today brethren who are facing martyrdom.
Before sunset today, there will be many with the Lord because they were faithful to him and to his name and in propagating the gospel. We're not afraid the the this morning of the police busting down the door, coming in this hotel and arresting us. They're shooting us. But there are many of our brethren who meet in in that way and we need to remember them in prayer. But I just say this because we have two things brought before us immediately on.
Our encouragement to run the path with the cloud of witnesses that have gone before our eyes are lifted into the open heavens to see Christ where he is now as the object and resource for us, as the prize in the Christian life. And then he says, don't forget what he went through when he was here in this world himself.
00:20:16
I'd like to.
I'd like to fortify those last two comments.
The comment from our brother Bob and the comment from our brother Jim.
From this standpoint.
And I there may be some here who are younger that struggle with the same concept that I struggled with when I was younger.
And so I'd hear comments like the last two comments that that, uh, we have just heard, we read the scripture in the fourth of Hebrews, which points out that the Lord was tempted in all points like as we.
R without sin and when I was younger knowing those things.
In my mind I would say yes, but he was God.
And because of that I had the tendency.
To disqualify our blessed Lord as an apartment example for my soul.
And what we've just had before us is that's exactly what we're not supposed to do.
Now, you know, as I, as I, as I listen to to these comments and I look at the lives of the disciples, I realize they struggled with the same thing.
So let's turn to a question that they asked and the way the Lord answered in the 17th of Booth.
Loop 17.
And uh, in verse five, hear the apostles, they come to the Lord and they make this comment, they say increase.
Our faith.
Evidently, they felt a lack.
And I identify with that.
That there are so many times in my life where I really feel a lack.
And it's interesting, isn't it, the way the Lord answers?
This query that the apostles had in connection with their faith. Now, just before we look at that, let's go back to our chapter.
In Hebrews 4, and I'd like to just look at the third verse the way it's read in Mr. Darby's translation.
So in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse three, the first statement says for consider him.
But if you look at Mr. Darby's translation, it says consider, well, him. And perhaps that's not what I was doing when I was younger, when I looked at the example of our blessed Lord and I thought, well, you know, umm.
He was gone and so it just doesn't fit my particular experience, but it does. It does. Now let's go back to Luke's gospel and we'll see the way the Lord addresses.
That comment that the disciples had in connection with this struggle that they had, which seemed to be a lack of faith, which I also identify with. So the apostles say here in the fifth verse, they said unto the Lord, increase our faith. And the Lord says.
If he had faith as a grain of mustard seed.
You might say, under this Sick of mine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea, and it should obey you.
Now you know the Lord could have used many examples.
The Lord could have used an example of if you're if your faith was like a grain of sand or if your faith was like a, a piece of dust, but he doesn't do that. He chooses something that was a lie. It's a grain of mustard seed. It's a lie very different than something the same size. That's a grain of sand. And I believe that was what the Lord was pointing out to them, that it mattered not how much faith they had.
But what did matter is what their faith was attached to at the other end.
And I believe it's exactly the same in our soul's experience too. And when we trace through the life of our blessed Lord and see what was attached to at the other end, that made all the difference. And so the fact that the mustard seed is alive is the very fact that we have the life of Christ within us as we walk through this scene. So the Lord Jesus is indeed an apartment example for our faith, as has been brought out in the fourth of Hebrews.
00:25:32
And I believe too in that connection, again, just to echo what we said, that that's why it's very helpful to go back to the Psalms and read those Psalms that are prophetic of the Lord Jesus, because they bring before us those innermost breathing and feelings of the Lord Jesus as a man, and they show how He felt things to the very heart and soul. Reproach hath broken mine heart. My enemies reproach me all the day.
In connection with his physical sufferings. All my bones are out of joint. My tongue cleaveth to my to my jaw. It shows how real he felt these things. Yes, he was God, as Davis said, but he was a real man. He walked through this world. He took on him. Not the nature of angels, as we get at the beginning of this epistle, but he took upon him the manhood. Sinless, yes, sin apart, yes, we want to guard that.
Very carefully, just like to say too, in connection with the incident in Mark that, uh.
In the gospel that Dave pointed out, when they said to the Lord increase our faith, he it's interesting the way he answered them because brethren, I don't believe it's really an intelligent prayer for a believer to pray and ask the Lord to increase our faith. The way the Lord answered them there was to show that our faith does grow, but it grows by putting it in operation. Let me illustrate it this way.
If I've known you for a short time, I might feel that I can trust you.
You gain my confidence and I feel that I can trust you. But if I've known you for 20 years.
And you've always been worthy of my confidence and never let me down. Oh, I say my faith in that person has grown over the years.
And brethren, our faith will never grow unless we put it in operation. Faith is a very real thing.
It's a very practical thing. Learn to trust the Lord in the little things of life.
And you'll find your faith will increase. Now let me just say in that regard as well.
That I don't believe the Lord will ever test us beyond our faith. The faith comes from Him. It's a gift.
But he knows what tests to give us at what point of maturity in our life.
I've often thought that with Abraham, if he had had a great test, like going to offer up his son Isaac at the beginning of his call when he first came out of Ur of the Chaldees, I suggest he might have failed.
But as he had walked with the Lord for many years, his faith had grown as he had proved his God in every circumstance of life, so that when the big test came, he was well up for it. His faith had increased. His faith had had grown. And I suggest that's another reason why the Lord used the the illustration of the seed. You put a seed in the ground and under the proper conditions, you tend it, you propagate it, it's gonna grow.
It's going to increase that little mustard seed someday under the right conditions.
Is going to be a great plant and our faith can be like that too. Again, faith is the gift of God, but let's put our faith in operation, brethren. He's worthy of our confidence. Trust Him in every situation of life and you'll find that without having to ask and subconsciously even your faith will increase to trust him in the different big difficulties that come.
That increase our faith. They were really looking inward and saying we don't have very much.
Brethren, faith in its proper operation does not look inward. It looks out to the one to whom we have the faith in. Is he worthy of confidence? What would you think, Brother Jim? If I'd say, Jim, I just don't have a whole lot of faith in you, could you increase my faith in you? And that could be kind of a slam.
So let's not look inward, brother. And I know there is a tendency to do that. I.
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Have struggled with the same, but let's lookout and let's look at that person in whom we do have faith.
Is he worthy of faith? Has he ever been unfaithful in any way that we would have any doubts about him? I love this in verse two, brother. And getting back to our chapter in verse.
Two, where it says who for the joy that was set before him.
Endured the cross despising the shame.
Jim has spoken of the.
Different ways in which the Lord suffered and suffered physically.
Even those physical sufferings we don't have too much concept of, but these sufferings of his soul. And they taunted him when they said, he said he's the Son of God. If God delights in him, let him deliver him now. And God didn't come out to deliver him. Those things broke his heart. A broken heart is sometimes harder to deal with than physical sufferings.
But then the sufferings for sin, which is the greatest of all sufferings in which we cannot enter, dear brethren, but we can read those Scriptures and we can meditate on them. We can understand in some measure the awfulness of the suffering that was involved when He accomplished redemption for us. But what carried Him through it all?
Was the joy that was set before him.
Oh brother, I love to think of it. And it's been suggested perhaps.
It's two things. First of all, the joy of going back into the glory of God.
And to be able to say, as we have in the words of John 17, Father.
I have finished the work which thou Davis me to do.
The joy of that moment, no other human eye was there to witness it.
But I think that majorly is the joy that was set before him. Of course he will rejoice in having all his own around him, and that may be included. But oh brother, And when we think of the glory ahead.
We've been called to eternal glory. Tell me, dear young people, is there something down here that rates, that compares to eternal glory, that attracts your heart that you're willing to suffer because of that thing in this world?
Look on eternal glory shines before us.
May the Lord help us to get our sights set properly on the Lord Jesus.
He went through it all, he finished it. There he is sitting in highest glory. We're called to that same race and we are running. I asked you as I asked myself, how are you running?
Why is it or how the Lord enjoy?
The hostility and everything he went to.
Up to the point of the cross, He. He did it for us. Many, many here may not have ever.
Experience hostility of an enemy going after your life.
I know what that is.
I know what it's, it's, you know, you, you hear about Jim Roach's, uh, travels and the hostility that he goes to new.
The Lord with the much more.
To show us this was a joy for him.
It should encourage you to be joyful.
To preach his word.
I mean, we're, we're privileged here in North America.
We're, we're, we're free to worship them, to praise them.
Like it was mentioned early earlier, no one's gonna bust on these doors with assault weapons and starts typing at us because we have a Bible in our hands, the word of God.
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It was a joy for the Lord.
To go through that shame, the hostility for us.
Was the Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we never want to forget that.
But I believe the key is that he understood the import of that verse that says.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And so he had.
Before him, the goal, so to speak. He knew what the end result was.
And I'd like to go back to an example of the Lord Jesus in the 13th chapter of John.
To see how he reacted under very, very difficult circumstances before I read this, perhaps to be just helpful to say too that the Lord Jesus in his pathway, as we've said, he poured out his crying with strong tears and so on, feeling things as a man. It's interesting that there is one time we read, and I think it's the only time we read of the Lord actually rejoicing in his pathway here. We won't turn to it, but it's in the 10th chapter of Luke where it says.
Jesus read that same hour. Jesus rejoiced in spirit. And if you notice the context, I'll give you a little homework. Go home and look it up. Read that chapter. If you read the context, it was again at a very difficult time in the life of the Lord Jesus. He looked around at the cities he'd come to bless. He felt it because they had rejected him, and he felt it very keenly, but he rejoiced in spirit. Why? He said Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.
And I believe, brethren, we can rejoice in the difficulties and circumstances of life.
In the measure in which we accept things from the hand of God our Father, we see that it seemed good in His sight. So I'd like to see this again practically here in the 13th of John. I'm gonna read from verse one now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that He should depart out of the world under the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot.
Simon's son to betray him. I want you to notice this, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands.
And that he was come from God, and went to God. He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments.
And took a towel and girded himself. And so on. You say, How could the Lord Jesus hear?
With perfect calm.
Minister to the disciples at such a time, Judas was going to betray him, he knew that.
The disciples were all going to forsake him and flee. Peter was going to deny him.
And more than that, he was going to suffer at the hands of Roman soldiers.
And more than that, he was going to be crucified, and even more than that, as Bob has brought before us, he was going to be made sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. How could he calmly.
Gird himself with a towel and minister to the disciples in this precious way.
He had come from God, He was going back to God, and he knew that all things had been committed into his hands. In other words, brethren, he knew there was one in full control of the situation.
Brethren, I believe what really gives us peace and calm in the circumstances of life as we run the Christian pathway is 2 Things to realize the goal. We're all going to get there.
God hasn't promised we're all going to have smooth sailing, but we are all going to reach the goal.
We're all going to land safely and then to realize that as we go through these things in life.
There's one in full control. I remember going through some circumstances at home and brother came to see me. He just made one comment that calmed my soul and strengthened my faith, he said. Jim, remember this.
Things may seem out of hand, but they're never out of the Lord's hand. And I believe, brethren, degrasse that in our souls in a practical way is what's going to give us the courage to go on. And so how we need these examples of the Lord Jesus. As Dave said, I I can't emphasize it enough. He was a real man. He felt these things. In fact, brethren, he probably felt them more keenly than we did. Do why, you know, we get callous to circumstances. We get used to sin.
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Because we still have the flesh in us and we can go through something several times, we kind of grit our teeth and we get through it. The Lord Jesus never got used to sin and its circumstances as the perfect sinless man, as God manifest in the flesh. And at the end of his pathway he could groan and weep at the grave of Lazarus because he still after 30 some years felt as real and keenly.
The circumstances that those sisters were going through and the results of sin. Brethren, what a resource we have.
I think it's tinted in the expression of the end of verse two. They sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. There are four times in this book where it speaks of him being seated at the right hand, but they have a pattern to them that I think brings out the activeness of the Lord in each of our lives. And so the the the figure I hope we can see in those four seated at the right hand.
Is that the Lord finishes the race. He breaks the tape first. He's the author and completer of faith, but then he turns around and he stands there to encourage us to do the same thing. The four right hands are in the first chapter was brought out in the gospel last night. Chapter one, verse three speaks of him seated at the right hand of the majesty or sat himself down at the right hand of the majesty. The first half of the book, as we were told yesterday, brings out the character of the person of the Lord Jesus.
Was there any question to His Majesty in eternity? Was brought out last night in the Gospel? None. But he finishes the work on earth, and he seats himself down. Is there any question now? Has anything been taken away from that majesty, the greatness of the person, by what he did here on earth? No, he has every right to see himself down at the right hand of the majesty. God wants our character to be like his, and so in the 8th chapter, in the first verse, it talks about Him seated.
At the right hand of the throne of the majesty, still in that first half of the book that talks about his person. Does God care about our character here in this world? Absolutely he does. And so he brings in the throne in the 8th chapter as kind of the thought of his active involvement in dispensing to us all that we need to bear his character here in this world. He's actively involved.
In our character this afternoon, we often enjoy the throne of Grace and his active involvement as our High Priest in the 4th chapter. But in the 8th chapter it's completing that section of the High Priest and it says the throne of the Majesty.
Finished the character race, and then he turned around and he's actively involved in our character. We had it yesterday. The light needs to shine out, the character needs to shine out. And then in the second-half of the book where his work is brought out, there's two more and they follow the same pattern. In the 10th chapter, I think it's the 12. First he does the work of atonement, and then forever, he sits down at the right hand. There's the third one, the right hand of God.
There's a completion to his work and here we have the 4th one. He turns around. Is he interested in our work?
Is he interested in the there was the light and there was the trumpet? Is he interested in what comes out of us to others? Is he interested in what we say? Absolutely he is. And so here he seats himself down at the right hand of the throne of God, the one that has the interest in our work was their joy in it for him that was already brought out, that there was joy in doing his Father's will here and actively doing the work of God.
And so he seated here in the fourth one, at the right hand of the throat of God. Why?
To actively be involved in each one of our lives, that we too would have the joy of bringing out the will of the Father in our life, in the work that we do is actively involved. And I think there's the sense of that in being seated at the right hand. Acceptance of all it is of the throne of God is active work on behalf of each one of us.
I'd like to make one more comment in, uh, verse 2 before we move on. Our brother Bob already talked about for the joy that was set before him.
That that joy of doing the Father's will. But I was, I was. I've enjoyed this thought too, Where, umm, many brothers here have been a bridegroom, and each one of us who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior are going to be part of the bride.
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And I know when they the wedding, my wedding day was set, there was a great anticipation there that as the, as the I get closer to the date of, of that wedding, the anticipation great increased more and more. And, and until it wasn't the wedding day, the anticipation was even greater more. And I was just thinking my anticipation was limited.
By my imagination, I didn't know exactly what was going to happen next. The Lord Jesus did, because he's God. He knows the end from the beginning, as if it already happened. And that joy when he looks on, on us, his bride.
Must have been joy unspeakable. Joy unspeakable. And I, I just present that thought to you rather than I, I, I, I.
Uh, so, so that you can enjoy that too, as as much as I have.
That we have here in the first place.
Lukes Gospel, chapter 10.
This is a real challenge to my own soul. So we have in the 21St verse that umm that was quoted in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father.
Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto bathes Even so, Father.
For so it seems good in thy sight. Now that was preceded by an incident.
And let's look at the incident.
In verse 17 and the 70 returned again with joy.
Saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all power of the enemy, and nothing shall by this means hurt you. You know at this point, uh, they were not getting the point, because their joy was in something that could disappear.
And so he goes on, and he says, notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you. And now he presents something that we can rejoice in on a continual spirit. And that's not to disqualify the fact that we weep with those that weep, but he says to them here, but rather rejoice, because your names are written in in heaven that which we can rejoice in at all times.
And I would just like to present this challenge to my own soul. Just consider your local assembly.
And there are those that stand out that are characterized by joy.
You know what's interesting in our minds view at that point when I make that comment immediately there are those that come to mind that pop right into our mind because they're characterized by joy. And I would suggest.
That our biggest testimony in this world is our joy in the Lord. It's our biggest testimony to our brethren. It's our biggest testimony to our families. It's our biggest testimony for the lost in this world is our joy in the Lord.
Reference John 17. I'd like to look at a verse there in John 17.
Umm.
Verse 13.
Where's the Lord Jesus? And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy in themselves.
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Oh, that's nice. Nice to have.
Some taste of that, but that's not what it says. My joy fulfilled in themselves.
The Lord Jesus wants to enjoy, wants us to enjoy what is His.
Proper portion.
His joy fulfilled in US. And so these words are set before us in this verse.
Looking under Jesus, the author finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before him and that joy is set before us and what did what did that having that joy before him enable him to do it enabled him to endure the cross. Well, we the verse it says in verse one, let us run with patience. The word patience there is basically the same word endurance. It means to take pain.
To bear with something.
And how do we do that?
By fixing her eyes on the Lord Jesus the the brother mentioned, it means to look well or consider well the Lord Jesus that uh, verse three begins with consider well. But verse two, when it says looking unto Jesus, it means looking away. It's a deliberate action looking away or looking Darby says looking steadfastly.
And I'll just leave you with a little thought. That's gonna help to me.
Uh, a brother. Robert Murray McCain.
Once wrote.
The look.
Save the soul, but the gaze sanctifies.
The look saves the soul, but the gaze sanctifies.
But I just hear someone thinking this morning as we talk about these things, Well, I don't find much joy in my circumstances. And I have no doubt there are young people here and some of us who are not so young who are going through real trials and circumstances. And you say I've shed a lot of tears. And I say this because, brethren, we don't want to give the impression again that we get callous or indifferent to circumstances. And the Lord Jesus had sorrow in his life.
Sorrow unparalleled, that I suppose no servant of God since has ever, ever experienced.
And it's not that the circumstances are the trials are joyful.
It's the result of the trials when we learn by the trials, and that's what we're going to have in the verses that follow here.
But I was thinking of Paul and Silas when they were in prison in Philippi. Now, brethren, I don't know what I would have been doing.
In that prison, probably grumbling and saying, well, Lord, I thought I got a vision to come over here.
Help somebody, And what good am I doing with my feet fast in the stalks, my back bleeding, I'm hungry, I'm cold. But you notice that they didn't sing praises right away. Scripture is very specific. At midnight, they prayed and sang, sang praises. Now, I don't want to speculate because Scripture doesn't tell us and it's not important that we know. But I have often wondered, how long before midnight were they cast in prison?
How many hours were they there before they came to the point where they sang praises? I don't know, and it doesn't matter. But I suggest it was at least some little time, if not a longer time. Because, brethren, isn't it true in our lives it takes us sometimes quite a while to see the hand of God and rejoice in our circumstances? So I want you to turn to the 119th Psalm. Again, I don't want to speculate, but I'm going to suggest that maybe.
This is the verse that came before Paul and Silas that caused them.
To sing praises at midnight. I want you to see this in the 119th Psalm and verse 62.
At midnight I will arise and give thanks unto thee. I'm going to stop there for a moment. I've often wondered if maybe they didn't remember this verse. The Spirit of God brought it before them. At midnight I will arise and sing praises unto thee. But the verse doesn't stop there. It gives a reason because of thy righteous judgment. In other words, to realize. And I have no doubt Paul and Silas finally came to the realization.
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That what God had done and was doing with them was right. And I believe that's another way we're going to be able to rejoice. Not that we're going to be always taken out of the circumstance. They eventually were in the 16th of Acts. But it's not that we're always going to be taken out of the circumstance. But we can rejoice in it and go through it with rejoicing, not because the circumstance is good, but because we realize that what He is doing in our lives is right.
And that it is not just for a purpose, brethren, but it's for a purpose of blessings.
And that in the end, there is going to be fruit for His glory and for our blessing, and perhaps even the blessing of others.
Paul and Silas, I believe, realized that what God had allowed was right.
And it goes along with what has just been said, What was the testimony of their joy in the Lord in the prison?
The jail keeper got saved, the prisoners heard them. There was subsequently an assembly gathered to the Lord's name established there.
And when Paul wrote to those brethren later on and said rejoice in the Lord, it had moral weight.
They had could remember the time when he was in very difficult circumstances in their very city.
Rejoicing in the Lord. It had real weight when they got his letter and they were exhorted more than once to rejoice in the Lord. Well brethren, I just say that because just to add to what Dave said. So another reason we can rejoice in the Lord always, and that is because what He is always doing with us is always right.
In John chapter 15 we have a little recipe for John 15 verse 11, verse 10.
Hear the Lord speaking this If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love.
Even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abiding His love, these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. The joy of the Lord did not come from His circumstances.
But it came through keeping the My Father's commandments. It came through obedience. And if you look in Psalm 118 and in verse 22, we see the Lord.
The Lord Jesus is looking forward to the the cross.
And it says here in verse 22, the stone of the builders refused has become the head of the corner. So he had joy looking beyond the cross to what was going to be the time of the Lord, when the stone of the builders refused has become the head of the corner.
Of obedience bringing joy.
Umm, and, and, and it just so happens that the, the path of faith is a path that, uh, that God designs in order to teach us how to be obedient. I don't wanna speak irreve, irrelevant, uh.
Relevant, excuse me, without reverence to the Lord, but it does say that He learned obedience by the things that he suffered.
So God does sometimes design the path of faith in ways that teaches us to be obedient. And when you and I are obedient, we're bearing fruit for God. God is picking fruit. He's he's, he's seeing Christ produced in our lives and he is, he is reaping that which his heart desires. Sometimes we, we think, well, we're.
We're in this all, all by ourselves, and we've gotta, we've gotta, you know, force our way through the Christian path. No, God's there, and he's not designing a path in which he's teaching us.
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To be obedient so that we can enjoy the joy of the Lord and our souls. So, you know, the, we have here the, the, uh, the, umm, it says run with patience or endurance. The race, this is a difficult race. The path of faith is a difficult path. Sometimes, uh, uh, an endurance runner has to run uphill and it has to slow the pace down. And sometimes they just barely make it to the top.
Just all part of the race, the R, the, the race that God has designed for us. I know I've talked to some just recently. And if you were to ask him, they would probably say, well, I'm just barely hanging on, but God's getting glory because you're hanging on. Why are you hanging on? Because you're trusting in the Lord. Well, what do you have? I mean, what outward circumstances do you have that makes you trust? I don't have any outward circumstances that make me trust. I've got the Lord.
To trust and I, I'm, I'm confident that he's going to see me through this section of the race because of who he is, not because of who I am. And faith is based upon what God has said and who God is. And he has all the resources for us to trust him. And when we do, when we do trust the Lord, we're bearing fruit and he's delighting.
In the fact, even, you know, some of you may, may just feel like you're barely hanging on you, you're just barely making it. But believe me, faith is faith is maybe at the strongest point in your life because that may be the, the steepest hill that you're climbing. And you're, you're, you're maybe you're almost to the top, but you're, you're, you're, you're hanging on. And that's, that's bringing glory to the Lord.
Alright with hanging on, be occupied with the fact that he's hanging on to you. And I love that the object of faith is outside of ourselves. Somebody has said an anchor in the boat doesn't do the boat any good during a storm. It has to be thrown out of the boat. Then it can be a help. And so, brethren, our faith is in him.
It's objective, it's looking to him, consider him or as it's been pointed out, consider well, him. I like the old Spanish version of this verse. It says translating it reduce your thoughts to him and you know, in our culture, we're constantly.
Honed to turn our thoughts in on ourselves. What do you think about this? What do you feel? Feelings are very real things. You can't ignore them. But that's not what our faith is re anchored to. It's not our feelings or our thoughts. It's him, his thoughts that will give us stability. So you might be troubled by thoughts about yourself that you don't measure up or one way or another.
Reduce your thoughts to him.
But they didn't treat me right. Reduce your thoughts to Him. It's constantly a struggle to get our thoughts turned around from pointing at ourselves to Him.
Brethren, that's what Christianity is. It's him.
And where he is now in the glory.
Chapter 43.
Psalm chapter 43 and verse 3.
Says, Oh, send out thy light and thy truth.
Let them lead me, let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.
Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God, my exceeding joy.
The Upon the harp will I praise thee, O God, my God.
There's that which has come out from God.
Perfectly.
In the.
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Of our Lord Jesus Christ, His life, his death, his resurrection. Oh, send out thy light and thy truth. Let them leave me. Like something outside of ourselves, isn't it?
Let them bring me. It's outside of ourselves.
Verse 4 is.
Unto God.
My exceeding joy? That's not talking about.
Necessarily my joy in this thing or that thing, but it's our joy in the person.
Of God.
Unchangeable.
Like Mr. Darby translated, translated God, the gladness of my joy.
Wonderful.
That we have this in chapter 12 of Hebrews.
It's implying here.
When we consider him in verse 3.
That he has resisted unto blood.
We see it so clearly on the cross, don't we?
We see that blessed man hanging there.
Bearing our sins in his own body on the tree. It's already been brought out. There were those who said if thou be son of God, come down from the cross. Look at this contradiction of sinners when he's got the goal totally before him. If we turn back to Luke 17 at the Mount of Transfiguration or is it marked we get Moses and Elias and they're talking with him about his deceased.
Which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
Men that lived in this earth 555 years apart.
What's their occupation and glory?
With the Lord of glory.
His death that he should accomplish if we turn to Romans 3.
It's those sins that were past their very sins.
We're going to be born on the tree and his body.
Through that death he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
It's marvelous.
When you think.
Of that contradiction of sinners against himself, is he going to accomplish this? How much did he feel it? Let's turn to Psalm 102.
So really, man?
So really, God there on the cross.
But we read in Psalm 102.
Verse.
10.
Because of thine indignation.
And thy wrath for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. How was he lifted up?
As he came into Jerusalem and they spread palm branches and clothes and hollered or cried out Hosanna.
He was lifted up, see the sequence in this verse and cast me down.
What is the human heart like? It's fallen.
Here's men, children.
With the great greatest knowledge of God in the world, the Jewish people.
They say hosanna one week.
In a week's time.
Let's they say crucify him.
What an awful thing are our fallen natures.
Here he is hanging on the cross.
What does he feel as man?
Look at verse.
23.
He weakened my strength in the way he shortened my days.
33 years old.
He's hanging there on the cross.
Suffering at the hands of men.
Crucified.
Verse 24 I said, Oh my God, take me not away in the midst of my days. It's not at all natural for man to want to die.
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Self preservation is a powerful instinct.
But here is this man who came to die.
We sometimes sing that beautiful hymn of the Cross of Christ, the Center.
Of two eternities that look onward and back to thee.
How marvelous but this blessed man.
Has that complete focus of accomplishing the perfect will of God.
And Oh my God, take me not away.
In the midst of my days.
Then we get an answer in the rest of the verse.
This we would find in Hebrews chapter one.
Thy years are throughout all generations.
This is Jehovah the Father answering Jehovah the Son.
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
They shall perish, but thou shalt endure.
A. All of them shall wax old like a garment, and as a vester shall thou change them and.
They shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy ears shall have no end.
There hangs that blessed man on the cross for you and I.
And in the midst of suffering and knowing what it is as a man to be cut off.
He's comforted with the words of who he is from eternity and what he will do yet.
Marvelous consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
Lest ye be.
Wearied and faint in your minds. Can you trust your mind?
The mind needs discipline of the word of God because we have a fallen nature. As we go on in the chapter we see chastisement. Christ was never chastised for wrongs.
He didn't have any.
But there is this battle of faith. He is both.
The author and completer of faith.
And he is the example of faith.
And here.
That faith goes on.
Hebrews is a very interesting book because we get something God had established.
In the order of things he gave unto the children of Israel.
The Tabernacle, the priesthood, the offerings, and all of that. As we go through the book and we see each time he touches something, it's for the first time perfected forever.
What is harder to set aside if you're a Pagan and you come to Christ?
You may burn your idols like we get in the book of Acts books.
Of witchcraft that were burned. But what about setting aside something God originally set up? That was the difficulty with the Hebrews.
There was something that had been God's order down through the centuries. It had become corrupted by fallen men.
As we see the way they high priests cried out, crucify him and move the crowd too.
But now.
It's become recognized as the world.
In a previous chapter.
And God has one focal point.
His blessed son, and they're going to be, are they going to be delivered from that system?
This is maybe the year AD 64.
69 Titus invades in 70 and.
The temple is burnt.
Here is the effort of the Spirit of God.
The ministry of God by the Spirit.
Release them from that old thing that had been of God.
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And cleave to the Lord Jesus, even though there be such contradiction of sinners against themselves. We could look at Noah. What kind of contradiction does he have as he preached for 120 years? What kind of contradiction did Enoch have as he?
Spoke of the ungodly sinners awful, but the Lord Jesus.
Manifested the Father's heart in our scene and brought.
Brought in that which is forever and ever, the Messiah, according to Daniel, says he would be cut off.
Well, he felt it, and in our example and our author and finisher of our faith.
There's a, uh, order of things in the beginning of access corresponds to that.
Further, and we see in the first.
Chapter That the disciples are standing as the Lord is received up in the cloud, and the two angels appeared to them. And say, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? And their eyes are directed back to the earth.
Because there's going to be a year under the ministry of the Spirit of God in which an offer was going to be made to Israel, if they would repent, that God would send the Lord Jesus Christ back to this earth and establish the Kingdom.
That offer was made if they would repent nationally.
And the chapters intervening between the descent of the Holy Spirit in chapter 2 and the stoning of Stephen in Chapter 7. When we come to Chapter 7 and we.
Stevens presentation and the power of the Spirit of God and the testimony to them, really convicting them of their sin and their guilt and refusing the witness of the Spirit of God.
Refusing to repent, it says he looks up. Verse 55, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. And they stopped their ears, they gnashed on him with their teeth, They took him out and stoned him.
And in the stoning of Stephen, the church received its witness that her portion was not this earth, but heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ was, where Stephen saw him. There's no man standing there saying to Steven, why are you looking up into heaven? No, their gaze is now directed into the glory itself. And he sees the Lord Jesus Christ not only in glory, but standing on the right hand of God. He sees him in that place of power.
And in his acceptance there at God's right hand, and the church receives her pledge and his stoning, that that was her portion, the glory, and that is the laborers our brother brought out of the Spirit of God.
In Hebrews to direct the Hebrew believers to that fact, that that was their portion in the glory where Christ was and.
In all that they were passing through and suffering and in persecution.
The relief was to look up into those open heavens and see the Lord Jesus Christ there, to see that that's where their portion really was. But if they failed in that, and if you and I fail in that, then He will, in His faithfulness to us, bring in what is next, and in His chastening hand in His love to us to recall our hearts, to be focused back.
Upon the Lord Jesus Christ, He'll bring in chastening into our lives to accomplish that purpose.
Just a little comment before we close in connection to tie it all, to tie what Steven has just said in connection with what we're going to take up in the next meeting. Lord Welling at the end of verse three, He gives us the results of not being occupied with Christ as the object in glory, with not going back and considering well that One who walked here through this world and suffered in the way He did. And that is lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
01:20:00
I'd like to just go to the end of Isaiah 40 because I believe there we get an exhortation in this connection.
Isaiah chapter 40, and I'll read from verse 28. Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not? Neither is weary not interesting. Sometimes we may get faint and weary, but we have one, brethren, as our resource, who never is faint. He's never weary. He's the eternal one, He's the Almighty, He's the powerful one. And then what does he say?
He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no mighty increases strength. You know, I know a lot of great people that have a lot of power and might, but they're not interested in me. And even if they were, they probably couldn't convey that same power and strength to me. But here's the one that we've been Speaking of, brethren, the one who has power and might and strength. And he gives us that power and might and strength. The one who walked through this world in the power and strength.
Of all that we've been saying, and with the goal before him of returning to the Father.
Having accomplished the Father's will, He gives us that same strength and power for our pathway.
But then, he says as a warning, even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.
You know, natural strength even of youth isn't enough to meet the situations today.
It isn't enough to run with endurance the race that is set before us. I'm thankful for the energy of youth that I see in this room.
I'm thankful for young men who are willing to travel to other countries and to help us with the physical side of things. Wonderful. Some of us are feeling our natural strength begin to wane just a little bit. But natural strength of youth isn't enough to run the Christian life. But what's the answer? And this is what I want to focus on the end of our meeting. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Maybe there's someone here and you say I just.
I've had no strength. I just I've failed. I've I've missed the path like this and that and the other thing, you know, there's a renewing we can go on from here, get a fresh glimpse of the man in the glory. Consider well him take up the resources that perhaps you haven't been using in the in the Christian race. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength and then what does it say? It gives us three conditions here.
They shall mount up with wings as Eagles. You watch the eagle. I've watched them.
Sometimes in other countries from the mountaintops and you see those Eagles soaring above the mountains.
There's a difficulty why the eagle just rises above it. The Lord can help us to do that.
He can help us to rise above the difficulty. Not that we become callous or indifferent to it, not that we shrug it off, but to rise above it. But maybe I hear someone say, Oh no, Jim's not like that in my life. I just can't get above the situation. What's the next one? They shall run and not be weary. So the running person, he can't get above the situation, but he's running and he's finding daily strength. As by days, so shall I strength be.
Think it was, David said. By my God, have I run through a troop?
You're not going to see the removal of the troop, you're not going to see the removal of the enemy. But David ran through the troop.
He could get through it by my God, if I leaped over a wall, that's the getting over it. But maybe we can't get over it. We're running and we're finding daily strength. But you say, Oh no, I'm not even running. They shall walk and not faint. Maybe you are just down to walking. Maybe you can't get above it like the eagle. Maybe you can't run through it like the athlete. But you say, he says they shall walk and not think. And this is really the answer to what we have, isn't it?
The enemy wants to weary us. The enemy wants us to faint. And I believe, brethren, one of the greatest tactics of the enemy today.
Is to weary the Saints of God. I have wondered if that isn't an application for us.
The roaring lion character of Satan. I know we normally think of that as persecution, and that's true. And still many of our brethren.
Are suffering the roaring lion character of persecution today, but what about us?
Scripture has a present application and I suggest that the roaring lion character of Satan for us.
His wearyment and discouragement he wants to wear. You ever watch a cat with its prey?
You know, we had cats when we were growing up out in the country and that cat would catch a mouse or a bird or a mole. It never killed it right away. It always would tantalize it and play with it, let it maybe let that mouse go for a while and then go after it and get it again, tormented again till that creature dropped of exhaustion and then it would spring in for the final kill. Isn't that what Satan does? He's just wearing down the Saints of of God. And it may not be sin. It may be just those weights.
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It may be the cares of life, trying to keep your head above water at school, get through your courses, trying to keep up at work and get through all that you have to do, and under the pressure of work and home, and so on. Oh, brethren, they shall walk and not think. We don't have to be weary and faint in our minds if we have Christ as the resource, Christ as the object and goal, and to consider Him.
Who was a man here in this world and is now living to make intercession for us.
#282.
The cross shall meet its sure reward.
Must pass a little while, then joy shall crown thy servants toil.
And we shall hear the Savior say, Arise my love, and come away #282.
Masterwood no longer.
Breathing. It's coming back tomorrow night.
Life. I'm ready to go alone. OK. Thank you so much. And I can't remember all the crowds of the crowd. Oh, yeah. And the crowd is not a problem. You're you're you're you're quitting with everything. You've made little things. You've got a lot of dark and thorny and thorny. And you're all like anything for anything. I can't go away for a time. Or no one's gone.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
The Place the Lord Has Put Us In
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.
By singing again.
#46 in the appendix.
Have I an object Lord below?
It's very easy to be distracted with what's right before us down here below.
With the meetings have set before US one who is above.
Have I an object, Lord below, which would divide my heart with thee?
Which would divert its even flow in answer to thy constancy.
Oh, teach me.
Quickly.
To return and 'cause my heart.
Afresh to burn have IA hope, however dear, which would differ thy coming Lord, Which would detain my spirit here, Where not can lasting joy afford?
From it my Savior set me free to look and long and wait for thee, that I may undistracted be.
To follow serve and wait for thee 46 in the appendix.
00:05:01
We do Judges Chapter 7 please.
In verse 21.
I'd sort of like to pick up where our brother left off yesterday. To me, it was encouraging.
And I felt his thoughts LED into what was on my own heart.
I don't mean I shouldn't say his thoughts. The thoughts I believe the Lord gave him.
Judges 721.
And they stood, every man.
In his place.
That's referring, of course, to the 300 that followed Gideon.
300 men, unnamed.
But they stood in their place.
We may not be famous in this world, but each one of us has a place.
And the purposes of God.
And it's a wonderful thing to stand.
In the place that the Lord has put us, the place that the Lord has put us spiritually, the place that He's put us socially, the place that He's put us geographically, and that place as far as social and geographical things. The things that are temporary, those can change, but the point is to be where He wants us.
To be what he wants us to be, where he wants us to be, when he wants us to be there and.
Every man stood in his place.
Now if we turn to First Chronicles chapter 12, we get a little insight into this.
First Chronicles, chapter 12, verse 33.
Oh, Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war with all the instruments of war. And so we have all these men who were mighty men, and they had the they were experts with instruments of war.
But that is not their final commendation.
Says 50,000 of which could keep rank.
They knew how to stand in their place.
The battle is not ours.
You know the temptation is to get into a competition sometimes.
And we want to show other people how it's done.
And we get out of her place.
We have a leader. We have a Lord.
And.
The battle is the Lord's and our business is to be in our place.
To keep rank, to know where we belong.
And to be content with it and useful in it.
50,000 which could keep rank. They were not of double heart.
That's the secret.
They were not of double heart, you know. I don't, I don't.
I trust that every person here today has a heart to please the Lord, has a desire to please God.
But we know the tendency of our own hearts too, to try to please ourselves and to put ourselves forward.
Says of these they were not of a double heart. That's what keeps makes us unstable in our place is having a double heart. Yes, a desire to please the Lord, but also maybe a desire to accomplish something on our own. God never meant us to accomplish anything on our own.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 6.
00:10:10
Ephesians chapter 6.
Verse 10.
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil, For we wrestle.
Or another translation said our struggle is not against flesh.
And blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of darkness in this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Our foe is bigger than we can cope with. We should realize that.
And it says here.
The King James Version says we struggle, Darby's translation says.
Our, our umm, can't remember the word exactly, but our battle is, it's present at this point, automake. We're engaged in it. Whether we feel it, recognize it, we're engaged in war. We look at a world around us that's continually warring and we may relax and say, well, it's not here, but it is here.
And we don't see it as we should.
But it's interesting here the, these are the Ephesians. They're addressed collectively and you, we, we read in, uh, chronicles there about those who had the instruments of war and the, the cooter mints of the soldier are mentioned here.
It's not my thought to talk about those.
I want to talk about the soldier inside the armor.
Wanna talk about the nature of the soldier of Christ?
So we turn to First Timothy chapter 2.
Paul was engaged in conflict.
When he wrote this epistle, he was in prison for the sake of the Gospel.
And not only was imprisoned for the sake of the gospel, but he had experienced desertion, shall we say, those that were dear to him with whom he had walked.
Who he whom he had.
Instructed in the things of God, many of them had forsaken him, and he was feeling that loss.
They they were another evidence of the attack of the enemy.
And Paul is giving instruction here to an individual soldier. And as you know, it's interesting in Ephesians 6, it says be strong in the Lord and in the power as might. But when Paul addresses Timothy.
He uses different words.
Ephesians chapter 2 Thou therefore, my son or my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Second Timothy, Excuse me. Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse one. Thank you thou. Therefore, my son, be strong.
In the grace that's in Christ Jesus. Grace strong in grace.
Why, because he was going to need it. We need grace to go on. We we desire to be strong. This world has a view of strength and because it didn't re it, it has the wrong view of strength. It didn't recognize the Lord Jesus when he came. It says of the Lord Jesus grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus came in grace. He didn't come in the outward show of strength that this world.
Uh, so glamorizes.
And we're apartment to be turned aside by that ourselves. We we get very conscious of our weakness. Folks may taunt us because of our apparent weakness.
But there's no limit to the grace that the Lord can provide. And so that Paul says to Timothy, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Turn to Acts chapter 4 for a minute.
00:15:11
Acts chapter 4 verse.
33.
And great power, with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There were those among them, the apostles, who had gift.
And this gift was exercised in power. And this is just a, a, a, a weak body of believers.
But it says here there was great power and great grace was upon them all. That means each individual great grace was upon them all. And brethren, we're weak, young people, we're weak.
But we are no more collectively than we are individually.
And.
If we each experience the grace of the Lord Jesus, there will be power.
In our testimony.
We the 11 I believe the one reason the world sees so little power and Christianity because they see so little grace.
Doesn't. It's interesting, it says.
You know, because Paul had spoken earlier of those who had given up the truth that he committed to them. He doesn't say to Timothy, be strong in the truth.
He says be strong in grace. It's the character.
And.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
Like to impress this verse on us?
I'm gonna be referring a lot to a lot of scriptures.
This afternoon because.
I trust the word of God more than I trust my own, with good reason. Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 28. Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Grace.
Let us have it. How do we get it? Turn to Proverbs chapter 3.
OK.
Proverbs, chapter 3, verse 34.
Surely he scorneth the scorners, but he giveth grace.
Antilla lowly.
And that verse is quoted twice, at least in the New Testament.
In James and also in First Peter where it says God resists the proud but gives grace to the lowly, and James says he gives more grace.
So we can have as much as we want.
And better than that, we can have as much as we need.
We don't want as much as we need.
Back to Second Timothy, please.
And Paul says in verse 2, Paul says in one first in verse one first be strong because we can be strong.
Timothy was a person who was.
They perhaps had a tendency to feel weak, to be backward, Paul says to him. Simply be strong, you know?
We need that assurance in our soul that we can be strong. That doesn't say, feel strong or act strong. It's being, it's drawing on the Lord's supply. There's no way we can be strong.
Independently the Lord is our strength, and so it says here in verse two and the things which thou has heard among.
00:20:06
Many witnesses the same commit out of faithful manner.
Paul had confidence in Timothy. He knew that Paul had. He knew that Timothy had heard many things among many witnesses. Paul's teaching.
It says the things that thou hast heard.
What we're going to find is, and I don't know if I'll make it through the whole passage here that I was hoping to get through in this hour, to get down through the umm 12/13 first. And I don't know that I'll make it. But what we find in this passage is that, Paul, that the character of a servant, a soldier, is first of all that of a servant.
You get in the armed forces, one of the first things you learn is how to hear, to recognize commands and how to respond to them.
We want to serve the Lord. We want to follow the Lord. We need to listen.
And of course you want to listen to somebody, you have to get close to them.
But there's a very important verse regarding listening, and actually a couple of them in the book of Proverbs like to look at.
Proverbs Chapter.
Umm, 10.
Proverbs, chapter 10.
Verse 8 The wise in heart will receive.
Commands.
If we're good at listening, we respond properly to the simple instructions of Scripture.
The wise in heart will receive commandments. You say, oh, I want inspiration and there's people today.
They're looking for inspiration rather than guidance. They want to accomplish big things, and they're not content to be faithful in little things. The wise in heart will receive commandments. That's the test of our hearing ability.
Is the willingness to receive the simple, straightforward instructions of the Lord, and when we when we as we receive His commandments, we learn His ways.
And as we learn his ways, we learn to know his mind.
There's another verse in Proverbs that's very helpful in this respect.
21 Proverbs, chapter 21.
And by the way, you'll notice that I'll be referring to a lot of verses and proverbs because.
Proverbs is called the Young man's Book in the Old Testament, and the Epistles to Timothy might be called the Young Man's Book.
In the New Testament there is a strong correlation between the two proverbs. Chapter 21.
And.
Verse 20.
8.
Remember, Paul said to Timothy, the things that thou was heard among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Paul was looking forward to the propagation of his teaching and that's a privilege that we have, a heritage, we have a spiritual wealth to pass on to others.
We need to get it faithfully, we need to hear, to listen carefully. But this verse is interesting, gives us some hope.
Proverbs 21, verse 28. It says a false witness shall perish.
But the man that heareth speaketh constantly. Now this verse. I used to have trouble with this verse. For years I had trouble with this verse. The man they hear it speaketh constantly. How can you listen constantly and speak constantly? Because this word constantly has a different meaning in English than it did several 100 years ago.
The man that hears a better translation would be speaks endearingly.
Enduringly.
We have a privilege of spreading the word of God, something that lasts, but we can't speak it according to the mind of God until we hear it from Him. We have nothing more to give than what we receive. If we give more than we receive, we haven't got it from God. Come out of our own minds.
The man that heareth.
Speaks enduringly. Oh, we have a it's a privilege to be able to pass along to the souls around us the eternal councils of God, the word of God. The man that hears Speaks enduringly. Paul was in prison.
00:25:13
But he says later in this chapter, the word of God is not bound.
The truth stands. It cannot. You can't stand against the truth, Spurgeon once said.
We don't need to defend the Bible. The Bible defends itself. Just let it loose.
And that's the nature of God's truth, the Word of God.
OK, next I thought I'd like to concentrate on is this word faithful?
Proverbs tells us a faithful man who can find.
We find them in this room. Yes, I believe so.
Faithful men.
Find faithful men.
If I couldn't find a faithful man in this room, then I would be condemning myself. Paul was a faithful man. Turn to Philippians chapter 2.
Excuse me, not Paul, I meant Timothy. Timothy was a faithful man turned to Philippians chapter 2.
Philippians chapter 2 and verse 19.
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send to Moses shortly unto you, that I may be of good comfort when I know your state. For I know have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. But you know the proof of him. That is a son with a Father. He has served with me in the Gospel. Paul had found in Timothy one who was faithful, who was reliable, who listened.
And who could be trusted to pass on what he had received?
It's a challenge to my own soul that I might be found faithful in this respect to hear and to pass on to other faithful men.
Who shall be able to teach others also?
Faithfulness.
Implies hearing. It applies obedience. It implies reliability.
And loyalty.
Back to Second Timothy.
Two.
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. You look down through this passage, you find the thought of endurance. We've had this thought before us in Hebrews chapter 12 as well. Endure.
It doesn't mean just to last.
What it means to bear hardness, Darby's translation says Take your share of hardness.
That's part of our lot down here. We're associated with a with a Lord who was rejected.
He endured contradiction as we.
Heard early endured contradiction of sinners, Paul says elsewhere. All they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And we have it so easy in this country that sometimes we forget that.
Thou therefore take your share of hardness as as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
I'm I passed over one thought, I'd like to bring it go back a moment. This thought of being faithful. It isn't just.
This we have in this verse, in verse two, faithful man. I'd like to draw your attention to Acts chapter 16.
For the encouragement of the sisters here.
Acts Chapter 16.
And verse 15, Speaking of Lydia. And when she was baptized at her household, she besought us, saying, if you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrain us. Now if this had been, if Lydia had been judged unfaithful, I don't believe we would have had this verse here.
00:30:18
She had a good conscience and she is recorded here, I believe, indicating that she was a faithful sister. We need faithful men.
We need faithful sisters.
I thank God.
For the influence.
Of many faithful sisters in my life.
Back to our chapter.
It says here in Second Timothy chapter 2.
And verse four, No man that worth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.
We read about. We talked about weights.
The same sort of idea. No man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life. In other words, he doesn't.
A good soldier doesn't stop to pick up curious.
He carries.
What is required to carry what the what the Army shall I say, says is his proper equipment?
And they have a pretty good idea of what a man can live with and what's most efficient.
And so it says no man that warth entangled himself with the fairest life. Every one of us is engaged with this life and we find things that we that we feel our entanglements. But it says no man that worth entangled himself. In other words, on his own initiative, he doesn't get he doesn't get any more involved in life than he has authority to be involved.
No man that worth entangled himself with affairs this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him.
To be a soldier.
Our whole point down here should be first and foremost to please the Lord. You know, Paul said. If I please myself, I should not be the servant of Christ.
But we are by nature we we all we, we all. I look at myself, I condemn myself and saying this because our nature is to please ourselves. We get up in the morning, we.
We think of ourselves pretty automatically. It's a nice thing to present ourselves before the Lord and say, Lord, what do you want me to do today?
No man that warth entangled himself the affairs of this life.
That he may please him who hath chosen him or enlisted him. It's not just chosen, but we're on the roll. We are officially.
In the in the Army, so to speak, has enlisted him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strives for masteries, yet he is he not crowned unless he strive lawfully. In other words, we're not left her own devices, we have our orders.
And.
Umm, we wanna get them fresh from the Lord every day.
Now we come to verse six. The husband on that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruit.
I remember puzzling over this verse for many years until I started reading the book of Proverbs again. And let's look in, uh, Proverbs chapter.
Umm.
I think it's 28.
Yeah, excuse me, Proverbs chapter nine first.
00:35:02
Proverbs, Chapter 9.
Proverbs Chapter 9 and verse 12.
If they'll be wise, thou shall be wise for thyself. But if thou scornest, thou alone shall bear it. And look at Chapter 11.
And verse 25.
The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. And then Proverbs 27, which is the really verse I was thinking of originally. Proverbs 27.
And verse 18.
Whoso keep as the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof, so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.
It's just this.
We're aware.
Then when we ask the Lord for something.
We should be aware of it anyway, that when we ask the Lord for something He gives us abundantly. He gives us, always gives us more than we ask.
But the other side is when the Lord asks something of us.
He always repays us more than he asks.
When I do something for the Lord or for one of the Lord's people.
I get more than I invest. That's the point of this verse here. The husbandman must be first partaker of the fruits.
Back in That's the verse in Second Timothy.
It says here.
The husband and Laboureth must be first, particular the first. We're the first beneficiaries of anything we do.
On the other hand, if we do something wrong, we hurt ourselves more than we hurt anybody else except the Lord.
But we do something for the Lord. We benefit by it. It may not seem like it at the time, but God is not unfaithful. He is a rich rewarder.
And so anytime I do anything for the Lord.
I benefit myself.
We're not talking of selfish motives here. We're talking about a person who generously rewards we're we serve a generous master, one who generously rewards anything we do for him.
Now it's notice what it says here in the next verse.
Verse seven Consider what I say.
You know there's time for meditation.
For considering.
It was one of it's it in the beginning of Isaiah. Let's look at it, Isaiah chapter one.
Verse three Isaiah 1. Verse three. The ox knoweth his owner, and they asked his master's crib.
But Israel does not know.
My people does not consider.
It was lament.
Considering takes time.
Another word for consider is meditation.
Considering we need to take time to consider what the Lord tells us, consider what our brethren tell us.
Consider Paul says what I say, and the Lord shall give the understanding in all things. It doesn't say of all things, but in all things. In other words, we get what we need for each circumstance.
We need to take the time to consider we the Lord gives us a little turn to Isaiah.
Umm.
00:40:00
28 verse 10.
Isaiah 28 and verse 10 it says.
Verse 9, Isaiah 28, Verse nine. Whom shall he teach knowledge, and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk drawn from the breast. You see, it's time involved here. We need to give the Lord time.
God doesn't need time, but we do. That's why He's giving it to us.
The time that God gives is opportunity to know Him.
It's a little poem I've enjoyed recently I'd like to share with you.
So many people today feel that life is a game, Oregon a dream.
And they waste it.
Life is neither game nor dream.
But true is God who gives it.
Life is not all it may seem.
But he who knows God lives it.
Lost is neither thought nor deed.
Times record God is keeping.
Time we have for sowing seed.
Eternity for reaping. We have opportunity now. God gives us time. Time to know Him, Time to do things for Him that that will be lost forever if it's wasted. Time we have for sowing seed.
We may not see the result of it down here.
Time we have for sowing seed, eternity for reaping.
And so it says here in Isaiah 28, Whom shall I teach knowledge, and whom shall I make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk drawn from the breasts. There's time there involved, for a precept must be upon precept, line upon line.
Here a little and there a little.
And that's how we learn.
Every one of us, just here a little and there a little. But those littles grow and they combine and they're precious.
Give God time in your life. Paul says to Timothy, Consider what I say, and the Lord shall the promise give you understanding in all things. One more verse in connection with this umm, Proverbs 28.
28.
And, umm.
Verse 5.
Evil men understand not judgment, but they that seek the Lord understand.
All things we need this understanding. We're going through a world that's very confusing, but God can give us discernment.
And we need it. We're often reminded of it in our circumstances. We.
How often, how often I have just been at my wit's end and I've turned to the Lord and something from His Word just illuminates the situation.
And Paul knew that Timothy was going to be meeting continued opposition back to our chapter, Second Timothy, chapter 2.
Paul says, continue, consider what I say, and the Lord shall give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
You know Paul rejoiced in that gospel.
He calls it my Gospel. We have it in his epistles.
It was precious to him.
It wasn't always precious to him. There was a time when Paul hated the gospel and he was against Christ. So what turned it around?
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Paul met the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus.
And it completely upset his world. It completely changed his view. Here's Paul on the way to Damascus. And he thought he had things all figured out.
And then he met Jesus on the road to Damascus and everything was upset. And you know, Paul had to learn, as we say, little by little. If you follow Paul's course through the book of Acts, we find that there are failures in Paul's life. He had to learn little by little, just as we do too. But his whole course of his life was reversed because of the resurrection of Christ. And Paul is saying to Timothy.
Remember.
Oh, we tend to forget. We get involved in circumstances and forget.
That God can completely reverse all those circumstances. He can change anything.
Is an interesting phrase that I've enjoyed in Acts chapter 13. This little phrase. But God raised him from the dead.
It made all the difference and God is able to completely change your circumstances. Yes, Jesus went through death, but he rose. And Paul's saying Timothy, don't forget Jesus.
Rose matter of fact, it's interesting if you look at First Corinthians 15, how the Paul's gospel has a feature in it that I've just only recently appreciated.
1St Corinthians 15 and verse.
Three, I delivered unto you, first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, and we preached the gospel, and we.
Appreciate that we needed somebody to die for our sins.
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and he was buried. Oh well, it's a fact.
We don't preach about that much, the fact that he was buried.
But it says here then he was buried, and that he rose again the third day.
What's the point of that? We understand that the the the wonder of the resurrection. Well, what about what's what's the significance of his being buried?
It's like God put an exclamation point.
On Jesus death it's like Satan himself.
Said aha, it's the end. No hope he was buried.
But God raised him from the dead.
We serve a risen Savior, one who has conquered death, not merely passed through it, but conquered death. He rose.
And so.
Paul says remember.
Remember, Jesus Christ is the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
Wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound.
Let's turn to umm. I mentioned about this earlier, but let's turn to.
2nd 2nd Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 13.
Verse 8.
2nd Corinthians chapter 13 verse eight. We can do nothing against the truth.
God's truth stands.
God has said what shall be and it shall be, and we get discouraged by things that.
Appear insurmountable.
I need this reminder as much as Timothy did or anybody else.
We get overwhelmed by things that appear insurmountable.
But God's truth endures. It stands. We are on the side of God's truth. You can't change God's truth.
We're not here because of any merit in our own. God has brought us here by grace.
Associated us with the risen Lord, we have the truth.
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And it says here we can do nothing against the truth. Nobody can.
The truth stands but for the truth. Oh, we can do that. That's what Paul was talking about to Timothy about to stand for the truth to endure, to go on. And so Paul says we're in I suffer trouble as an evildoer back in second Timothy 2 even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Paul says, well, I'm I'm in prison and people might have said well.
What a waste. Paul's labor law, his life, and he ends up in prison and that's the end of him. It's not the end of him.
We've still got it. God's Word, a good chunk of it given to us through the apostle Paul. God's word is not bound. Apostle Paul died. He was in prison. He was executed by Nero. But that wasn't the end. God wasn't done with Paul. God still isn't done with Paul. We're going to meet Paul someday. Resurrected. Scripture suggests that he wasn't a real attractive man. Naturally speaking, he will be when we see him.
And so it says here.
The word of God is not bound, therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake.
Relaxing.
What is precious to God?
They who are precious to God ought to be precious to us, Paul says. I endure all things for they like sake. You know, we want to draw a line somewhere. I remember one time a person who was feeling abused said to me, God didn't create me to be a doormat.
Paul says we're the offscar.
Was that Ador was That's a doormat. That's what a doormat collects is the off scouring. Paul says that we're the off scouring. Speaking of himself. A doormat is something that collects dirt before somebody can enter into a cleaner room. I said our Lord Jesus did at Calvary. He took our filth so that we could enter clean.
If God calls me to be a doorman, may I be willing to be a doorman?
Paul says I endure all things for the elect's sake.
That they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. We're associated with the risen Christ. That's what Paul said before Timothy all the way through here in verse thir, 12. It says if we suffer in the Word, there is the same word as the word endure. So you find the word endure here Paul says in verse.
Umm 3 endure hardness and verse 10 I endure all things. Verse 12 if we suffer or if we endure, it's the same word. If we endure, we shall also reign with him.
I love the word shall.
It's a guarantee we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us.
If we believe not, He abideth faithful, He cannot deny himself. We have a faithful Lord. Paul begins by by saying the things which thou hast heard among many witnesses. The same commit to faithful men. We have a faithful Lord. Faithful Savior, who was the faithful and true witness turned to Revelation very quickly. Revelation chapter one.
God values faithfulness.
Revelation chapter one.
And verse three, notice the order here. It's interesting. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness.
And the first begotten of the dead, the Prince of the kings of the earth. Look what's listed first.
That he was a faithful witness.
Turn to Revelation chapter.
21.
Excuse me, Revelation. I'm chapter sorry, chapter 19.
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Verse 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a White Horse, and he that sat upon him was called.
Faithful.
Andrew.
You know, I had so much more I wanted to share.
Our time is up.
Let's sing together hymn number.
I think it's 174.
174 Patient spotless 1.
Our heart and our hearts and meekness, train to bear thy yoke and learn of Thee, that we may rest. Obtain Jesus, Thou art enough.
The mind and heart to fill 174.
Hope, patience.
All right.
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Hebrews 12:5-11
Gospel 2
Gospel—Jim Hyland
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It's a gospel meeting this evening with Hymn #13 on the Gospel Hymn sheet.
Man of sorrows, What a name for the Son of God who came ruined. Sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah. What a savior. Let's stand up to sing this number 13 and if someone could please start it.
And I'm sorry one day war of Allah.
Before we pray, I'd like to sing part of another hymn, Hymn #19. Like to sing just the first verse in chorus of hymn #19.
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To begin by connecting 4 portions of the word of God, the first one is in the book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 30.
Proverbs chapter 30 and verse 4.
Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell, And then in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah, Chapter 7.
Isaiah Chapter 7 and verse 14.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.
And shall call his name Emmanuel, and then in the 9th chapter of this same book.
Isaiah Chapter 9 and verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. And one more portion for now in Matthew's Gospel, chapter one.
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Matthew's Gospel, chapter one, verse 21.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
For he shall save his people from their sins.
I think of that hymn that so often we sing as believers.
There is a name. We love to hear. We love to sing. It's worth it. Sounds like music in our ears. The sweetest name on earth.
And I know there are just so many in this room tonight who rejoice, whose souls thrill.
As we read and sing of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that name that was once just another name to us, that name that is still on the lips of the cursor, that name that is still the Song of the Drunkard tonight is the most real and precious name that we have ever known and ever will know for eternity. But we want to bring this down in connection with the gospel to those who have never come to know the value.
And the preciousness of the name of Christ. Perhaps there's someone under the sound of my voice this evening, and you begin to squirm when we speak of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But oh, tonight we trust that there will be a work of God in your soul, and that before this meeting is over, you will come to know that precious name in all its value and all its power. And we are, with the Lord's help, going to go to different scriptures that bring before us the name of Christ.
But we began with these four different portions because we find here in the book of Proverbs.
Agar raises a question as to the name of God's son.
If we were to go back to the beginning of this chapter, we would find that it is the prophecy of Agar, the son of Jacob. Now, we're not altogether sure who Agar was, but one thing is for certain, this man of God that was used to pen these words by inspiration.
He had a question, he was looking into things and he speaks here.
Of this the Son of God not understanding really who he's Speaking of.
But he brings out by inspiration the eternity of his person. Because I want to echo what was brought before us last night in the gospel.
That when we speak of the Son of God, we want to be sure we understand.
That he had no beginning. From a past eternity, he was there.
When the foundations of the world were laid, that he was there, he was the Creator. By him all things were made.
And Agar, in taking this up, he says. And what is his son's name?
If thou canst tell, I don't suppose Agar ever really got the answer to his question.
He must have pondered these words that he wrote. What does it mean? Does he really have a son?
What is his name? It was shrouded at the time. It was not revealed at the time.
But what a good question to ask our souls tonight. And what is his name? And I am thankful that we can go from scripture to scripture, and unlike Agar, we are not in the dark as to who he was Speaking of. Here it has been fully revealed, we read in the book of Isaiah, and there we have some further revelation prophetically by the prophet Isaiah.
First of all, his name is Emmanuel and we know it means God with us.
Because God became manifest in the flesh, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
And we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Isn't it a marvelous thing to think that God has come down to this world in the person of his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?
It's mind boggling, really. This planet is just a speck in God's creation. It's just a marble in God's creation.
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And yet this is where God came in the person of the Son to planet Earth, because there was no other way that God could reach out in blessing to man. You know, there would be no Gospel meeting tonight in the city of Saint Louis if it hadn't been that the Lord Jesus came into this world. And why was he the word, the living Word? Well, there are a number of thoughts in connection with his title or name as the Word, but I suggest that at least part of it is the fact that words give expression.
Words give expression to thoughts and the Lord Jesus as the living word fully expressed.
Who God was, He was the express. Who God is, He was the express image.
Of his person he fully revealed, He could say at the end of it, Have I been so long time with you? And hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father, and saw his name is Emmanuel, God with us. And then Isaiah goes on to give us five other names in connection with his incarnation. Wonderful.
Oh, we have a wonderful Savior to present to you tonight. We have a man to present to you beyond compare. We have the man Christ Jesus, the one of beauty and glory, the one who's the Savior of sinners, the one who wants to bless you, to bring you into personal relationship with himself, and to take you home to the Father's house, to be with himself, to fill his heart for all eternity.
Oh, it'll fill the hearts of every believer to be there. But oh, who is going to have the greatest portion in that day? Oh, it's going to be the one who hung on Calvary's cross. It's going to be the one that we were singing about tonight. Man of sorrows. What a name for the Son of man who? Son of God who came. Oh, what a name he has. Wonderful counselor. You know, I have known the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior.
For over 50 years, and he has been my counselor and my guide. I haven't, sad to say, always gone to him for guidance and counsel when I needed it. I haven't always heeded the guidance and counsel that he gave me, but thank God he has been my counselor, the Psalmist said. He will guide me with Thy will guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Wonderful counselor, the mighty God.
All the power.
The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. You know there's no peace in this world tonight. And I believe we're being made more and more aware of the fact that there will never be peace in this world until the Prince of Peace comes to reign in righteousness. Some of us were talking earlier and we were saying that perhaps one of the greatest signs that we are right at the end of the Christian era.
That we are right at the end, before the coming of the Lord Jesus, is the fact of global terrorism.
I know we want to be careful not to fit prophecy into the events of the day or the events of current events into prophecy. We need to be very careful. But there are signs, there are things that indicate that we are at the very end. And the reason I say what I have said about global terrorism being one of the signs is because you can't fight an ideal. You know, men have fought great wars in this world.
You can fi you can fight and win when it's a geographical area, or you can fight and win an army that's gathered together in one place, but you can't fight and win terrorism. Only God's man now will be able to straighten things out.
Only the Lord Jesus will be able to put down his enemies and bring peace on the earth.
And then we come over to Matthew, and oh, what a glorious name is presented to us there as the Lord Jesus is about to come. In incarnation, thou shalt call his name Jesus.
For he shall save his people from their sins. Oh, this is the savior of sinners.
Jesus, what a precious name. Is that name precious to your soul? Do you thrill when we speak of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you do not, then I question whether your sins have been taken care of by the finished work that he accomplished on Calvary's cross.
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His Thou shalt call his name Jesus.
And so we're going to go on now and we're going to look at some further scriptures that bring before us this precious name.
Let's go first of all to the book of Acts, Acts, chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2 and verse 21.
And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call.
On the name of the Lord shall be saved and then in the 4th chapter.
Chapter 4 and verse 12. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. We want to speak for a few moments of the value of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in connection with salvation, because this is where it really begins. You know we have sat in these chairs for the last day and 1/2.
And we have enjoyed those of us who know Christ as our Savior, those precious resources that we have in the person of Christ, that which we have to carry us through this world, and that which is ahead for us in that coming day of glory when we're going to spend eternity with himself. But for the person who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, those things mean nothing. Those things are irrelevant.
Because it all begins with coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
As your savior, you remember in the Old Testament the children of Israel were in Egypt under the ******* of Pharaoh and and his host and the Egyptians. It's a picture to us.
Of our condition as under the ******* of Satan and his hosts being in our sins.
And there they were as slaves, and God looked down and heard their groanings.
And God said he was going to deliver them. It had to be in a way that made them feel their guilt and his provision for them. And the Passover lamb was provided in the blood on the door, and so on. But it's interesting that the 12Th chapter of Exodus that brings before us the Passover and their redemption from Egypt begins with these words. This month shall be unto you.
The beginning of months, it was going to be a new beginning in the history of the children of Israel.
They were no longer going to be slaves in Egypt. They were going to be a redeemed people and later on a completely delivered people from the power of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. And they rejoiced on the banks of the Red Sea after they had crossed over. And there on the Sinai Peninsula, they were a redeemed and delivered people. But there was a new beginning. There was a new start. And you can have that new beginning tonight. You can start afresh by coming to the Lord Jesus. It will be a new beginning. You'll receive eternal life. You'll be transported from the broad Rd. that leads to destruction.
To the narrow way that leadeth unto life you'll be taken from being on your way to hell, to being on your way to heaven. You'll find one who not only has provided a wonderful eternity, but one who has provided for you all along the path of faith and service through this this world. I would just say this too, that when we speak about the name of the Lord Jesus, it's the person.
That's why it's the name, because you cannot separate the name from the person.
A name is very, very individual. If I were to say the name.
Of some of the greats and famous of this world here tonight, you would immediately have brought to mind.
Everything you know about that person, everything you've read, maybe photographs you've seen of them in the media, you would immediately equate the name with the person. If I say the name Queen Elizabeth the Second of England, you immediately think of everything you know about it. You can't separate the name from the person. If I say the name of President Barack Hussein Obama, you immediately re recognize who that is.
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And what characterizes them? And so the name is the person. And so we find here it says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.
Shall be saved. This is a quote from the book of Joel. It's quoted again in Romans chapter 10.
Isn't it interesting that three times in the word of God, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord?
Shall be saved. You know, when God says something once, it's important to listen, and God doesn't really. I speak carefully. He doesn't have to repeat himself, because when he speaks once, it's with authority. But when God says something twice, he's really trying to get our attention. And when he says something three times, it's vital.
Are you listening tonight? Are you listening to the voice of God through his living word?
He is saying to you tonight, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord.
Shall be saved.
Some years ago there was an elderly St. of God in the village of Brighton St. Vincent down in the Caribbean.
She had known the Lord Jesus Christ from the early days of her youth.
And in her working days she had been a nurse at the big hospital in Kingstown, Saint Vincent, which is the capital of that country.
She had been very faithful in her testimony as she tended her patience over the years and I knew her as an elderly St. of God in her little two room home in Brighton Village. Saint Vincent and I often had opportunity with Jonathan's grandfather Alan Hammer to visit Dorcas, Dublin.
In her little home, and it was always a cheer to our souls to visit her.
Because there she sat with her Bible open beside her, she often had a blocked calendar with Scripture.
And maybe something else. She was reading of the word of God, and she was always cheerful and happy.
But I remember Jonathan's grandfather and I one time sitting down in her little living room.
And she told us a very interesting story. She said that when she was a nurse at the hospital.
One evening she was making her rounds. It was the final rounds of the night.
Most of the patients were asleep but she came to 1 bed and there was a young boy in that bed.
I think he was probably 12 or 13, I don't remember exactly, but something like that. And she was very concerned about this boy because she knew that he was not going to live much longer.
She knew that he was dying.
She leaned over him. He didn't seem to be conscious, but she leaned over him. She didn't know if she he could hear her voice.
But she began to quote Scripture to him. She quoted John 316 for God so loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
She quoted other well known gospel verses. The blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And then she quoted this verse.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
He opened his eyes. He said, Lord Jesus, I believe, And he went into eternity with his last breath.
We sat there and listened to that story and we were stirred and.
Mr. Dublin was stirred in her own soul, just at the memory and the repeating of it. But I have thought of that story ever a lot since. Here we sit in health tonight you unconsciously take one breath after another, But remember this, the God in whose hand by breath is and whose are all thy ways? Hast thou not glorified? He giveth to all life and breath and all things.
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He's the preserver of all men as you take one breath after another. It is the grace of God.
That allows you to sit here with ears to hear the word of God. But what if you were like that young man?
With his last breath God graciously saved him, and he made confession. He went from that hospital to the presence of the Lord Jesus, absent from the body and present with the Lord.
But I have heard of people too, in good health.
I stood up to take the funeral of a brother in Christ in Aberdeen, ID.
He got up one morning.
Said to his wife, I feel so good this morning. I think I'll go and workout with some of the employees he they had a little have a little gym at their place of business, so I think I'll go and work out a little bit before work.
20 minutes later, his wife got a call that he had been found dead.
On the gym floor by one of his employees who had arrived a few minutes later.
Perfect health.
Naturally speaking, thank God with confidence, I could take his funeral, knowing that he was with the Lord.
We don't know when that one last breath is going to be taken.
You know, it could be before this meeting is over.
Someone may have to rush out and call an ambulance before this meeting is over.
And maybe you'll be lying on the aisle somewhere up or down these rows.
And maybe the paramedics will come and they'll take your pulse.
And they'll do some CPR and the other procedures that these folks do.
And maybe they'll have to back away and say he's dead.
If it was you.
Could we with confidence say he's with the Lord? Could we with confidence say we're going to see her again in heaven?
Or would we have to shake our head and say, you know, they came to Bible meetings like this because mom and dad brought them?
But you know, I'm not sure if they're really the Lord. Their life really didn't show it. They never made a clear confession.
You know, sometimes I have the wonderful privilege of standing up and addressing audiences, sometimes of several thousand people.
And realizing that most in that audience have perhaps never heard a simple and clear gospel.
Have only heard the name of the Lord Jesus Christ taken in curse and anger, and it is a wonderful privilege and opportunity to present the God simple gospel message to an audience like that. But I sometimes wonder if it isn't a greater challenge to present the gospel to an audience like this, where most if not all have heard it many, many times.
And I find myself praying on an occasion like this in light of the verse that says.
The word of God is as a hammer that breaks the rock in twain. You know why? I think of a verse like that in connection with an audience like this.
Because this has often been said, people who hear it so often become gospel hardened.
There was an evangelist many years ago visiting in Sheffield, England, and Sheffield has been noted for its fine UH production of steel and this evangelist was visiting there and having some evangelical meetings.
But as as he went to retire in the home he was staying in, he said to his host, How do you sleep in this town with those hammers banging all the time? It was the equipment in the in the steel factory going 24 hours a day 24/7. As we say, all they said, you stay here long enough and you'll get used to it.
And I think there are people who get used to hearing the gospel, boys and girls.
Young people, Are you so used to hearing the gospel that, like the people in Sheffield, you just don't hear it anymore?
Because there's a sequel to that story. One night the equipment failed and the whole town woke up.
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You know, there's a day when people are going to wake up to reality and it's going to be too late.
There's a day when the word of God is not going to pound as a hammer on your conscience and your heart.
And if you go, if you go on rejecting Christ, the day that pounding stops, you are going to realize the reality of what has taken place. And you are going to be left behind when the Lord Jesus comes. And that might be before this meeting is over. And you're going to be left behind to realize that what mom and dad and what the preacher said were true and that there was an urgency about the gospel and its reception.
That you neglected or rejected, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Have you called upon the name of the Lord? It's as simple as that. It is to realize that you are indeed a Sinner, and that there is nothing you can do to get rid of one sin. You know that's the beginning, because if a person is in trouble, they're not going to call for help unless they realize.
The desperateness of their situation.
You know, a person may be in trouble and think they can handle it themselves, a lifeguard told me one time. We never go after a drowning person until they call for help and have given up. Because if we tackle A drowning person who thinks they can still try to save themselves, they're gonna pull us down with themselves. I thought that was very interesting.
But when that drowning person realized the desperateness of their situation and that they're going to the bottom without help, then they'll call for help. Then the lifeguard is there, just hovering nearby, to pull them out and to save them. Do you realize the desperateness of your situation this evening without Christ?
Your situation is desperate.
And it is eternal ruin if you go on in your sins.
The Lord Jesus came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, he said. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
Then drew near all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. Why? Because they realized they had a need.
They realized that there was something that this man had.
That they wanted and needed.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And then it's confirmed to us in the 4th chapter of Acts where we read. And not only is it confirmed to us, but we read here that there's only one person. There's only one way of salvation. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.
You know, people are putting confidence in a lot of things today, and yet people are finding that their confidence in others and other people and in things is being shaken to the very core.
You know, there's an overthrow or a change of government in a country and people think, oh, this is our salvation.
I remember being in Grenada some years ago when there was a change of government.
And the day after the election, people were rejoicing. They said we're on a course for better and better things.
In fact, I tremble to tell you what they said about the new president. They said he was the Messiah.
That he was going to save them from all their woes.
Didn't happen.
Didn't happen.
People put confidence in people, people could put confidence in things.
But there is salvation in only one person. It is. That's why it's the name of Christ. It's the person of Christ that we present.
It is not religion. It's not theology, It's not philosophy. It's not sociology.
That we present tonight.
It's Christ. Christ is the Savior of sinners.
We sang of Christ being the one that satisfies neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name. Notice it's the name, it's the person, none of their name under heaven given among men, whereby we must.
00:35:08
Be saved. You know as you go through the book of the Acts, you find that when the name of Jesus.
Was mentioned. It usually brought reproach. It often brought anger and ire from the religious leaders of the day in Israel.
That precious name that was announced in Matthew, chapter One. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Make no mistake about it, the name of Jesus is still not popular in this world today. In fact, if we were to take time and read the next chapter in the book of Acts, we would find that at the end of that chapter they forbid them to teach and to preach in the name.
Of Jesus. It wasn't that they were teaching and preaching, that wasn't the problem. They could teach and preach all they want as long as they didn't teach and preach the name of Jesus.
I remember a man came.
To some gospel meetings we were holding in Nova Scotia some years ago.
And after those Gospel meetings, the Gospel meeting one night, he stayed behind to talk.
And he said, I'd like to talk religion, but let's leave Christ out of it.
You can hardly imagine such a thing, but that's exactly what he said. I'd like to stay and talk religion, but let's leave Christ out of it. You know, there's religion in this world, plenty of it. But it's religion without Christ. Oh, there's a lot of religion. Man is a religious being by nature. God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living soul. And he's different in that way from the lower creation.
But I say there's religion without Christ. But we're not presenting religion.
Tonight we're presenting Christ. I grew up under the preaching of a man by the name of Ernie Wakefield.
When I was a boy, we lived in the city Of Montreal, and when Ernie Wakefield was home, he always preached the gospel on Lord's Day, evening and.
I know this wasn't necessary, but as a young boy, alone in the back seat of my parents car going over Mercier Bridge off the island Of Montreal every Lord's Day night that Ernie Wakefield preached, I got saved again, just to make sure.
He shook us over hell, but not only did he shake an audience over hell.
But he brought before us the glories of the person of Christ, and he used to say, as we got older and encouraged us preach Christ.
Preach Christ, He also used to tell us. Make much of the blood.
I want to pause for a moment and make much of the blood because it is such an essential part, a vital part of the gospel message, because it's the blood of Jesus Christ that takes care of sin. It's not which cleanse us from all sin, it's through His blood that we have the forgiveness of sins. I'm thankful that I'm redeemed, not with corruptible things of silver and gold, not with something that changes in value on the world market from day-to-day.
And year to year. But I am redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, which is just as valuable and precious to the heart of God.
That's when it flowed forth at Calvary's Cross. And I know that those of us who know Christ have gone in our mind's eye time and time again.
To that scene where the Lord Jesus at the end of those hours of darkness, he bowed his head, he gave up the ghost. You know he died in a way that no other has ever died, He could say of his life. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. And then we, I'm sure we have all pictured that scene where a soldier came and he broke the legs of the one of the malefactors on the one side of the Lord Jesus.
Broke the legs of the one on the other side. And scripture tells us when he came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, he break not his legs. But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came throughout blood and water. I thrilled to recite that phrase. Forthwith came their out blood and water. You know, if it just said there came out blood and water, that would be enough.
That would be enough to rest my soul on, but it says forthwith.
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The crowning act of man's hatred against the dead Savior was the very Ave. that God was waiting for from a past eternity to pour out blessing and forthwith, quickly there came out blood and water, because all the blood of those sacrifices in the Old Testament in the heart and mind of God only pointed forward to the blood of His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace, or wash away its stain.
But Christ the Heavenly Lamb took all our guilt away. A sacrifice of nobler name.
And richer blood than they. You know, those of us who will be gathered around the Lord Jesus as the lamb in heaven in a coming day, we're gonna sing of the blood of Christ for all eternity. We're never gonna forget it. It's gonna be the theme of our eternal song. Because it's the ground of all our blessing. Oh, I trust that everyone here is sheltered by the blood of Christ. I trust that you've appropriated it for yourself, that you're washed in that precious blood.
I'd like to turn to another portion of scripture now.
Back again in the Old Testament, in Proverbs chapter 18.
Proverbs, chapter 18.
And verse 10.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it and is safe.
When we think of a tower, we think of protection, don't we? They and I have had opportunity over the years to visit some of the great fortresses and castles of England and Europe and other parts of the world. And you'll always invariably find those turrets and those towers where the they had extra protection so that if the enemy invaded they could go to the tower and there was extra fortification and hopefully they would be safe there.
And be able to look down and fight the enemy from a from that vantage point.
But the name of the Lord is a strong tower. Aren't we thankful that there is refuge from the coming storm of judgment that's about to fall on this world? But there's only refuge in the Lord Jesus. Again, the name is the person, but notice what it says here. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous runeth into it and is safe.
Have you availed yourself of this strong tower, of this refuge from coming judgment? Because if you go out of this world lost and in your sins, there will be no strong tower when you stand at the great white throne judgment. And if you are left behind in your sins when the Lord Jesus comes, it tells us of those who cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall on them, and to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb and the face.
Of him that sitteth upon the throne, there will be no strong tower to run into.
At that time.
But isn't it wonderful too for those of us who know the Lord Jesus that we have that strong tower to run to in every circumstance of life?
David put it a little different way in another song. He said. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Oh, there's refuge in every storm of life. This is the positive side of Christianity.
You know, sometimes people think of what they'll have to give up if they get saved.
Well, the only thing I gave up were my sins, and I'm glad they're gone as far as the East is from the West.
So far as he removed our transgressions from us, he blotted them out as a thick cloud.
They're gone. Thy sins and iniquities. I will remember no more and what I've gained in return.
Is so much more than I could have ever anticipated. If you're thinking of what you'll have to give up if you get saved, oh, remember there's far, far more. And that which is of eternal value.
You know, Moses esteemed the reproaches of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt.
00:45:03
He left all that behind because he saw something.
Of greater value. Something of eternal value and Ohio, if you could just get one glimpse in your soul.
Of the person of Christ and what he has for you for time and eternity.
All you wouldn't want to stay away, you'd flee to that strong tower if you're not saved.
And then, as I say, for those of us who are saved to be able to flee to that tower time and time again.
This verse was really brought home to my soul 14 years ago. It's hard to believe it's that long, but 14 years ago? Plus when the Twin Towers in New York City were brought down in just a few hours.
Those towers that symbolize the power and greatness of the United States of America.
They were brought down. I say just in a few hours. There's no strong tower. You know, again, we've been to some of the ruins of the castles and fortresses of this world, and those fortresses and castles that once provided protection and refuge for those who hid themselves within. They're in ruins today, but, oh, there's one who's a strong tower, just a strong and powerful.
As he ever was, I'd like to turn now to two further scriptures.
First one is in the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 2.
Philippians chapter 2 and verse 10 that at the name of Jesus.
Every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess.
That Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And then I want to read in the 19th chapter of Revelation.
Revelation Chapter 19.
And verse 11.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a White Horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful and true.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was called, and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, And his name is called the Word of God. This is his vindication. You know the last glimpse this world ever God of the Lord Jesus was hanging on a Roman cross crowned with a crown of thorns.
That which was part of the result of the curse. When man sinned though last glimpse this world God it was of the Lord Jesus in his shame. The next glimpse they get of him is not coming in lowliness and grace the way he did the first time.
But coming in power and glory and the world is going to look up and they're going to see this one crowned. Who's right? It is to reign, crowned with many crowns. He's coming. I say in power and glory to execute judgment and righteousness in this world. What a wonderful day is going to be.
And in that day, every tongue is going to tongue is going to confess. Jesus Christ is Lord, every knee is going to bow.
If you don't confess the name of Jesus now in connection with salvation.
And a point of refuge. You are going to confess it someday.
If you don't bow the knee willingly and own him as your savior and Lord now.
Those knees are going to be forced to bow in a coming day.
No exceptions.
No exceptions.
All tonight.
He wants you to come. The Spirit of God is working tonight.
Perhaps he's striving with you. I plead with you not to put it off. Don't go out of this room. I am not gonna tell you to go to your room and think about it. Even though you may be just a few floors above this assembly hall tonight, I'm not gonna tell you to get on the elevator and go to your room and think about it. I am going to plead with you in the presence of God tonight to not get off that chair until you know.
The Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
00:50:03
And if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, confess that name.
It'll give you real assurance what hinders me this evening from confessing Christ before you all again tonight. I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. It thrills my soul to be able to say that once again. And if you've been saved for many years, or you're just getting saved here tonight, I want to encourage you to confess the name of Jesus. But oh, I say again, it's a very solemn thing to think that someday you will confess him as Lord. Someday you will bow the knee, but it will be too late.
It will be to be taken and cast into the lake of fire. And we have a scene further on in Revelation where the dead, small and great, stand before the Lord Jesus as their judge tonight. He's your savior.
You know, this time of year people are getting geared up to celebrate the birthday.
Of the Lord Jesus, many of them will be celebrating the birthday of their judge.
Not serious.
Celebrating the birthday of their judge. But, oh, tonight you can have a new birthday. You can come and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, and you can have a new birthday. This can be a new beginning for you. And you can go out of this room tonight with the assurance that you're on your way to heaven. There's a savior who's living tonight. Yes, he died. Yes, He shed his precious blood. But as we was pointed out earlier in these meetings, he died. He was very.
And he rose again the 3rd day. According to the scripture, glorious truth, there's a risen Savior waiting to receive you and to save your soul.
I do want to close with one further verse, and this verse I'm going to read is for those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior but have maybe never taken a further step. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28 and verse 19.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. You know, we find in the New Testament that baptism is the next step after salvation.
You know, I am sobered when I talk to believers, young people and sometimes those who are not so young.
And I find out that they're saved, but they've never been baptized.
I find that a little bit strange, but I wonder sometimes if it isn't the fault.
Of the one who has presented the gospel to them, the one who has been the instrument used by God in their salvation.
Because the disciples were to go forth and they were to preach the gospel.
And they were to baptize, you know, the Ethiopian eunuch in the book of Acts.
At the very hour he was saved, he was baptized.
I was saddened one time. I no young sister saved for some years. She finally asked to be baptized and the brethren decided to wait till a special all day meeting event.
And by the time that event took place, some weeks later, the exercises was Wan had waned, and to my knowledge, she's never been baptized. I feel rebuked in that regard.
As soon as the Ethiopian eunuch was saved and expressed a desire to be baptized, Philip went down into the water and baptized him.
And I believe we have a responsibility in that regard and if there's someone here.
Who knows the Lord Jesus as their savior? Perhaps someone who gets saved tonight?
I want to encourage you to take a stand for the Lord. Baptism doesn't save us from our sins.
But it does bring us in onto a ground and a place of blessing that identifies us with the name of the Lord Jesus.
If you've got saved, don't you want to be identified with your precious Savior? Don't you want that name placed on you? As many as have been of us, have been baptized, have put on Christ. It's to take that name and put it on a have it put on us so that there is a public confession of who we belong to, and it is the public expression of desiring to own the lordship of Christ.
00:55:26
In our lives, I'm going to pray now and if there's someone here and you don't know the Lord Jesus as your savior.
Here's how simple it is. Just talk to him in your heart.
He hears you whether you utter one word aloud. Talk to him in your heart. It's a matter between you and God.
It's a matter between you and the Lord Jesus. Confess the fact that you are a Sinner, but tell him you want to be saved, you want to have your sins forgiven, that you want him as your Savior. And remember, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I plead with you not to put it off 30 seconds longer.
The Lord Allows Things in Our Lives to Exercise Us for Our Good
The Lord Values You Kids
Children—Bernie Roossinck
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Good morning, kids, Good morning.
It's a it's a great.
Privilege to stand here to talk to your kids this morning. And, uh, I saw a lot of you at the swimming pool last night and all that enthusiasm and joy. What a, what a great thing to see the smiles on your faces this morning. OK, there's, uh, lots of, I shouldn't say lots. There's some seats left up here in the front and, uh, I don't want you to be afraid to come up here. So I love boys and girls and, uh, we're gonna talk this morning about the Lord Jesus.
And his love for us.
And I want you to be able to see and hear what we're going to do. So first we're going to sing a little bit And, uh, there's a, our hymn sheets that we have here. You can pick any hymn that you want and the Sunday school ones are usually on the back. But if you don't choose from the back, that's OK. All right, Who wants to be first?
OK, what's your name again? Besides Mr. Buchanan, What's your name? William. What do you want to sing, William.
#3 OK, and I think what we'll do is sing the 1St and the last verses of these so more kids can have a chance to sing or to choose. Is that OK?
So let's say #3.
OK. Thank you, William. All right, Who wants to be next? Yes, Sir.
Number six, OK, we'll sing the 1St and the last of this one as well. Number six.
God in mercy sent his Son.
Jesus Christ wondrously crying, God's person, and there is being the sun. I see your hands.
00:05:02
Uh, how much do you need to pay?
OK, we still have some room up here if we crowd in, but don't be afraid of me.
OK, who wants to pick the next song?
Alright, we'll go over here this time. How about you? What's your name?
What one would you like to sing this morning #5 OK #5.
OK, how about somebody over here?
How about you #32 OK.
What can wash away my sins?
I really love this song and a beautiful hymn. This is number 32. Let's sing the whole hymn on this one.
4:10 one.
Zero 10-4 one rainy day. Nothing but the bloody time.
Oh Christmas in the wall and face me my eyes now.
No, I don't know. Laughing at the.
4 by 12.
Or thy fire them at my place. Must be like the bloody love. Oh Christ cannot see it on the floor and make milk. I have a nice flow.
No wonder. And dying alone, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
So let's, uh, let's try something that we used to do when I was a kid.
And that is, uh, let's have the boys sing the question. Although in verse three and four, it's not a question, is it? The 1St and the third line will have the girls saying the answer is nothing but the blood of Jesus.
00:10:00
Is that OK? And then we'll all sing the choruses together.
So get ready boys.
Nothing can afford him not come.
On good and I'm gone.
Here, oh Christian's face off. Oh God makes me. I ain't as long as the whole no longer.
But the blood of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace.
There are outside now, laughing by the blood of Jesus.
Alright, we'll, uh, sing a little bit later again, but we don't have a lot of time and we have a verse that maybe some of you memorized.
In our assembly, I'm, by the way, my name is Bernie and I'm from Michigan.
And I'm really glad to see you this morning.
The verse that I have in my hand at our meeting, we accidentally passed it out on the wrong week.
So the kids from Fremont learned this two weeks ago.
Does anybody here memorize the verse?
Maybe I'll say it first and then if you want, I'll give you a chance to say it. But if you're shy about all these people, that's OK, because I used to be shy too.
So here's what the verse is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself?
For our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians chapter one, verses 3:00 and 4:00.
I mean, will you look like you know the verse? Do you know the verse? Does he know it is?
So we try them.
OK, who wants to be first? Anybody alright? Can you tell me the verse right into this thing?
Our Lord thesis. Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself?
For our hands.
That he might deliver us. That he might deliver us.
When does present evil world?
Creations.
1/3 and four. Well done. Excellent. OK, who else wants to try it? All right, here's a young man over here.
OK. You tell it right into that, OK.
Umm, presentation.
Let's try this one. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
OK then so.
4/7.
He might live around.
So let's press it.
Evil world.
It's one.
Well done. Thank you very much.
OK, who else? OK, now we got a couple of kids that want to say it. We'll go right down this line. OK. Are you ready?
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians 1/3 and four. Well done. Excellent. OK, who's that?
OK, all right, we'll go this way. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians, 1/3 and four. Very good. Excellent. OK who was was he? You? OK.
00:15:05
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for sins.
That he might deliver us from his present Evil World Collections 134. Well done. Thank you. Excellent.
You want to go? All right, here you go, our Lord Jesus Christ.
That gave himself for our sins, that that he might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians 1/3 and four. Excellent, thank you.
OK, here we go. You want to use this or not? OK, go ahead. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians 1/3 and four. Very good. Thank you. Would you like to try it too? All right, here we go, our Lord Jesus Christ.
That.
Gave himself.
4R.
1.
3/4.
OK, who else?
All right, we got lots of kids that know the verse. That's excellent. OK, here you go. Our Lord Jesus, who delivered, who delivered his life for our sins.
Might.
Deliver us, Deliver us from this evil world.
Galatians. Galatians.
1/3 and four. Great. Thank you. Well done. OK, now we have a couple of girls here.
OK, you wanna be first? All right, go ahead.
Want me to help you?
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who gave ourselves?
For our sins, that He may deliver us from this present world.
His present evil.
Galatians.
131 Would you like to try it too? OK. You want to hold this too? OK. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world. Galatians 1/3 and four. Thank you. All right. Did we get everybody that wanted to try it? You want to try it too? No.
Your brother thinks you do.
That's OK.
Alright, so.
Before we get into what I want to talk to you about, I want us to take a minute to ask the Lord for His help, because we always need the Lord's help.
So let's close our eyes and bow our heads, OK?
You know, kids, did you ever think, did you ever wish that you were bigger? Like did you want to get to be an adult faster?
No, that's a good thing.
When I was small, I wanted to get big faster because I saw people doing things that I thought were funner than what I was able to do.
Like, uh, I wanted to use my dad's chainsaw and he said, Oh no, you can't touch that chainsaw.
And finally the day came when he let me use the chainsaw. And you know what I did?
I hit a nail.
I hit a nail with it and ruined the blade and he said I knew it. You can't touch the chains.
You know, sometimes when you're a kid, when you're a young person, you think that you'd like to, you wish you had more value and you wish that you were bigger. You could do something, drive the car maybe, or be able to drive a snowmobile or tractor or something like that. Almuel.
But you know what the Lord Jesus said?
About people that were wondering about their value, he said. You could go to the market and buy 2 Sparrows.
For a Farthing I think it was.
Or you could buy five sparrows for two farthings, so they were so cheap if you bought 2, you got one for free. Kind of, you know what he said. Because you were more value than many sparrows.
00:20:11
And that one of those birds falls to the ground without your Father in heaven noticing that.
And now, before I get into the topic I want to talk about, I'm going to share with you a verse that my mom gave to me one time when I was having a bad day.
And I was born with a cleft lip and palate.
That means that this lip right here that you see wasn't there properly. There was a big hole right here, and it was a bit of a surprise, I think, to my mom to see that.
And the Lord gave her this verse.
That she shared with me and I'm going to share it with you. This is Isaiah 43.
Verse six Bring my sons from far.
And my daughters from the ends of the earth.
Even.
Everyone that is called by my name.
For I have created them.
For my glory.
I have formed him.
Yeah, I have made him. Do you know that the Lord made you for?
Way he wanted used to be.
And the Lord values you kids, and I do too.
So don't, uh, rush your childhood.
Remember, the Lord has created you for His glory.
And that's a wonderful thing. Someday when you're having a bad day, it's, uh, nothing's going right. Remember the Lord said I have formed you for my glory, and that helps us. But now what I want to talk to you about today are voices.
In the meeting that I come from in Fremont, we are pretty close to Grand Rapids, MI.
And when we have our Sunday school outings, we do them together.
And in the summertime, we usually go to a park and one of the games that we play.
Umm is the person, a person gets blindfolded and they stick a ball out in the grass and then everybody on your team is yelling at you about which way to go to find the ball, and you have to get to the ball before the other team gets to their ball. So when the game starts, there's a lot of yelling about turn left, turn right, farther stop is behind you to the left, to the right.
It's very confusing.
And usually there's a kid like Kyle who can really yell loud.
And sometimes he's on the other team and he's trying to mess you up.
And I had a hard time finding the ball because of all these voices that were yelling to do this.
Do that.
I want to talk about whose voice we're listening to this morning.
You guys ever find in your lives that there are umm, lots of things that are saying give me your attention. I want you to pay attention to this, pay attention to that. I want time for this and time for that. You ever notice that I have in my life.
And what I want to talk about is following the Lord's voice, because there are lots of voices that are counterfeit in this world. Who knows what counterfeit means?
What does it mean? It's fake, right? It's supposed to be right, but it isn't. It's a trick. It's wrong. It's a lie.
And who has the only voice?
That is absolutely, totally trustworthy. Who is it, Rachel?
The Lord Jesus, right?
Let's turn to John chapter 10. And if you have your Bible, that's that's where we're going to turn. If you don't, that's OK.
Because we don't have a lot of time. So I'll read this. This is John 10, and we're going to read verse 27.
My sheep hear my voice.
And I know them.
And they follow me.
Do you know the Lord's voice in your life?
00:25:03
You know, sometimes there are, we have examples in the Bible about people that that heard the voice of the Lord.
Umm, you guys remember, uh, Elijah the prophet in the Old Testament?
There was a time where he had a great victory in his life.
And he won. Remember when he was on top of Mount Carmel and he had the altar and the the sacrifice on it. And he cried out to the Lord to drop fire from heaven. And the fire fell and it burned up the sacrifice. It burned up the wood and burned up the rocks. It burned up the water. And the Lord answered him in a tremendous way. You know what happened the next day to Elijah.
He got a message that said tomorrow you are dead meat.
And instead of trusting in the Lord, he ran a long ways away, and he was in a cave, and there was a voice.
A still small voice. You know what it said.
So what are you doing here, Elijah?
If you remember the story, there was a wind and the Lord was not in the wind.
It's kind of like sometimes there's wind voices in our lives that are tumultuous.
And there was an earthquake.
Things get shaken up in our lives, and Lord wasn't in that either.
And then a fire.
Sometimes it gets pretty hot for us, isn't it Jim?
And then comes the still small voice, and that's the voice I want you kids to learn to know and love. The voice that says, come unto me and I will give you rest. It's the voice of our Savior.
There's another verse I like in Isaiah chapter 30.
That says.
Thou shalt hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way.
Walkie in it now.
If I hear, let's see who can I use an example? If Scott, would you help me? Just Call My Name, will you?
Yes, Scott. OK, What just happened when Scott called my name? What did I have to do?
He was behind me, right? I was walking away from Scott and when he called me I had to stop and change my thinking.
Change my path and go back.
And the Lord is calling us. Everyone of us, boys and girls, are born in sin.
And Lord is calling us to say.
Stop and turn around and come to me. So here you have this voice. You'll hear a voice behind you saying this is the way walking in it.
Now I brought some counterfeit voices with me this morning.
And I think there are a few young men here that could probably use these voices better than I can.
But I have used these voices.
At different times.
Did you know that?
The enemy of your soul, The devil. Sometimes he presents himself like a roaring lion, right?
But other times it says in Second Corinthians that he can present himself as an Angel of light.
And send you a message that sounds like it's the right message.
But it's a counterfeit.
And I have 4 voices here that I have used in my life.
These are not human voices, but they are counterfeit.
And each one of these voices is something that the enemy of your soul is telling you.
That is against what the Lord Jesus is telling you. So I want you to listen to this voice. Ready.
What is that voice?
Who knows what it is?
Mr. Bremen, it's a Turkey. Yes, this is a female Turkey calling in the springtime.
OK, this you know what this voice says, This is not really a Turkey. This is a piece of wood.
It's a counterfeit.
The voice is saying.
Come to me because I have what you want.
00:30:06
And you know, boys and girls.
In your life, you will.
Struggle. People struggle to find satisfaction.
In things, in activities, in uh, pleasures and the Satan would like to tell you, uh, don't pay attention to the voice of the Lord Jesus. Listen to me. I can satisfy what you want, but it's a lie. It's not the voice of the shepherd.
Does that make sense?
OK.
This voice is getting kind of rusty.
Because it's been in use for a long time, so I hope I can make it behave. I want you to tell me what voice this is. Ready.
What is it? It's a goose. Yes, that's what it is. This is a Canada goose. What message is this voice saying that's not true?
This voice says come to me and you'll be safe here.
When I use this voice, is that true?
Am I hoping that the geese come to me so I can keep them safe?
No.
The enemy of your soul wants to tell you. Come with me and I'll make sure you're safe.
Is that true?
It's not the shepherd's voice, is it? It's a lie. It's a counterfeit.
So I want you to remember that there is safety.
In putting your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.
Not by listening to the counterfeit voice.
OK, here's another one.
Even tell me what this voice is.
What is that?
What is it?
Allison, it's a squirrel.
What? This voice is a lie.
This voice says If you come with me, it's going to be really fun.
It's what that voice is. It's fun to sit out in the woods and watch squirrels play together and jump around and, uh.
Steel nuts and sticks from each other jump on each other and they're making this sound.
Right. And this, the voice says. Come with me and you'll have fun. You know, it's a lot.
The scripture says there is pleasure in sin for a season.
There's a way that seems right to a man or a woman or a boy or girl, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
So boys and girls, I want you to remember, like Jim said this last night in the Gospel meeting, becoming a Christian, giving your life to the Lord Jesus is not to give up fun. The Lord wants to bless you. He wants to keep you in your lives. He wants to fulfill you. And there's no fulfillment like that that God can do in your life.
You know, the other day the highway that goes near our house was closed for a bad car accident.
And, uh, actually two car accidents and I was talking to a farmer that I know about it because his truck was stuck in traffic and he was on his way to deliver corn.
He said I know what happened, it's my nephew.
And he was using cocaine.
For a good time, it's gonna be fun.
He overdosed in his car.
Smashed into a tree and burnt to a crisp.
That, boys and girls, is the end of this voice right here.
Don't be deceived by that.
I'm not trying to scare you, but I want to tell you the Lord Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life the Lord Jesus will provide.
00:35:12
Fulfillment and joy in your life. What a joy it is to follow the Shepherd.
OK, we're gonna be running out of time. I got one more voice here. OK, this one I used this week.
What is this voice? What is it? Somebody that hasn't guessed yet?
What is it? No, not quite, but close, Rachel.
It's a deer.
You know what this voice means? This voice is a lie. This is just a piece of plastic.
You know what the message is, and I think this especially pertains to.
Boys, it does to girls too, this voice says. I dare you to do it.
I remember, I remember when I was a kid.
You could turn down any challenge there was until the neighbor said I double dare you to do that, and then you had to do it.
You didn't have to do it, but you felt more compelled to, and usually it was a bad idea. Like trying to walk down the ridgepole of your father's shed. Or, uh, jump over the fence without.
Splitting your shirt and pants open or whatever. But you know sometimes the enemy will say I dare you to do this.
And part of our nature says I want to do it.
But it's a lie. That's what this voice is.
So I dare you to come over here.
That's what that means.
It's a lie.
Well.
I want to just read a verse in Proverbs.
Chapter One.
For you young boys and girls.
Actually 2 verses in Proverbs that have been helpful to me.
When there had been these voices in my life, not these animal calls, but fake counterfeit voices that are not the shepherd's voice. First one is Proverbs one, verse 10.
My son or daughter.
If sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Don't do it.
The next one is in Proverbs chapter 4.
Verse 14.
Enter not into the path of the wicked.
And go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away.
When the enemy of your soul.
Is tempting you?
Don't listen. It's a fake. It's a lie. It's a trick. Whose voice?
Are we going to follow and be safe? It's the voice of the Lord Jesus.
Does the Lord Jesus care about you as a little kid? He does.
Many years ago a a brother shared a verse with me that I have appreciated and I haven't underlined in my Bible. In fact, I shared it with somebody yesterday in Mark 10. This is what the Lord Jesus thinks about little boys and girls.
Mark 10/13.
And they brought young children to him.
That he might touch them.
So I could be touched by the Lord Jesus.
When you, when you think it would be great if the Lord Jesus would just come and say hello, my friend, how are you? That'd be nice if the Lord Jesus would just do that. I'd just sing that Sunday school song. I think when I read that sweet story of old when Jesus was here among men, how he called little children.
As lambs to his fold, I should like to have been with him. Then I will feel the Lord's hand on my head, and I hope you will too.
So here, and this is an encouragement to you moms and dads too. I know that it's a lot of work to bring a two or a three-year old to a conference and they're not going to remember the fine points of doctrine that we have talked about yesterday.
00:40:16
The reason you brought them here is so that the Lord Jesus could just.
Touch their lives like that.
The Lord values you children so much.
You know what the disciples said? Oh, he doesn't have time for you kids. Buzz off. Get out of the way.
It says, uh, the recycle. The disciples rebuked them when they brought him. What did Jesus say? When Jesus saw it, he was much displeased.
And said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me.
And forbid them that.
For as such is the Kingdom of God, and the Lord Jesus says, you come to me, boys and girls, come to me.
The Lord loves you. He wants you. He wants you to put your faith and your trust in him, the path of life. He'll show you each fork in the road you can turn to the Savior, the shepherd, and say, Lord, which way are we going? And he'll show you, says in the Old Testament, that will show me the path of life. That's the voice that's trustworthy. Let's turn over to Matthew 11.
This is the real voice here, kids.
This is the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 11, verse 28.
Come unto me.
You want to do that? You want to come to the Lord Jesus. He wants to take you into His arms.
He wants to make you his own.
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
These voices that I used here, you think the enemy of your soul wants to give you rest?
He doesn't. These are a lie. These are fake counterfeits.
This that we're reading is the real voice. Come unto me.
You want to do that? You're willing to do that with your life, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Well, we're almost set of time.
I want your kids to think about this and remember this. Whose voice are you following?
God, thank you, the Lord Jesus says.
Suffer the little children that come unto me.
That's what he wants for you. He says, Come unto me and I will give you rest.
I think we'll close at that. Uh, do you think that we could sing the little Sunday school song that says here Christ calling, come unto me, You know that. Well, this thing, the first verse of it together, OK.
Hear Christ.
Come to me, come to me, idle heaven.
I will stay around. I will stay.
Around.
Here right I am on you. Here I will get it right.
Once you kids to remember also the Lord says I created you for.
That's what the Lord thinks about able to the Lord Jesus. Don't walk away from Him.
00:45:08
Go to him, give him your life. Trust him. Hear his voice. He has the trustworthy voice.
He loves you, He wants you, He died to redeem you.
Guidance of the Holy Spirit
Address—Tim Roach
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Afternoon. Umm, let's start by seeing him number.
156 Praise ye the Lord again. Again the Spirit strikes the chord. Nor toucheth to our hearts, In vain we praise, we praise the Lord #156.
Praise ye, the Lord.
I can't. I am.
Errors by me by the Lord.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
I want to speak today about the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in Psalm 32 verse eight it says I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye until the Spirit of God wants to guide us in our Christian pathway day by day. And there's different ways in which the Spirit guides us, and I wanna look at some of those. But the Spirit can guide us in the big things in life and can also guide us in the little details of life.
Some of the DE, some of the decisions we have in life and and experiences that we have, they're big choices. They're big decisions and there's big consequences if we make the wrong decision. But then there's little decisions that it's not gonna make much difference in our life if we do one or the other. But can we be guided? My my point. I'm going to attempt to address the point How how can can we listen to the spirit of God in the little things?
00:05:15
In life, and I'm sure some of these principles apply to the bigger things too. But let's go to Psalm Chapter 40.
So practically, how do we get better at listening to the Spirit of God in this busy world? We all have busy lives, and so is it possible for us to be guided by the Spirit in our daily responsibilities and the decisions in life that we have. But first, before we can be guided by the Spirit, first we need to have the word of God.
In our hearts. And then we will be able to do His will. So Psalm 40, verse eight, I delight to do Thy will. O my God, yeah, Thy law is within my heart.
And so this key to being guided by the Holy Spirit in the daily things of life, that's what we have in this verse. That's the key. So now, instead of, instead of perhaps delighting to be led by the Holy Spirit in order for us to do the will of God, we might end up doing nothing because our life becomes controlled by other people.
Or other things in life. And so we don't hear the spirit of God. There is a man in Maputo in Mozambique, and he was a quadriplegic and he was paralyzed.
He couldn't do anything for himself and so he got pushed around by others every day. And another man was pushing him around through the traffic and they're going from car to car at a stop light and they were begging. They were using the paraplegic as a, uh, as a source of income and to try to get some money at the traffic lights and they were using this helpless man as a tool to generate money for the other man.
And so the invalid, he couldn't even say, I don't want to do this. He was controlled by others and by outside forces. And so we often we often worry about the fear of really knowing what is the Lord's will for my life. And sometimes it results in paralysis and we get pushed around in life like the man in the wheelchair.
And we never hear the subtle suggestions of the Spirit of God.
Well, we get controlled by perhaps the standards of somebody we think is illegal brother or sister in the assembly. Or maybe we get controlled by our desire to be accepted at school or in our job, or accepted in this world.
And we get controlled by pressures from our peers and by the demands of society. We get controlled by our job and our schooling, and by our daily desire for success and our quest for pleasure.
And so let's go to Matthew, chapter 5.
We we tend to look to the to look for the will of God for the future.
Sometimes the future never comes.
We were always looking for the next day, for the next day. But what we need to be concerned with is the question of what is the will of God for me right now? And if we're faithful, I believe in the little things now. We'll be guided in the future with of things for things later on in Matthew 25 and verse 21 Says, well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things.
I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
So how do we know the will of the Lord for our life?
We have the word of God that instructs us what to do.
We also have the Spirit of God that dwells inside of us, and the Spirit guides us to do what the Word of God says.
And so the two work together. The word of God and the Spirit of God, they work together. And so maybe you would say, I'm waiting on the Lord to know his will about what I should do, or when I should do it, or where I should do it.
Or why? And so our search for the Lord's will in our life. It can sometimes be an excuse for inaction, and it might even be an excuse for disobedience.
00:10:15
In Galatians chapter 5.
Is it possible to be led by the Spirit to respond in a way that is on an as needed basis, maybe with our friend, or a child, or a spouse, or an acquaintance, or in any circumstance or for any decision? In other words, is it possible for us to be led by the Spirit of God on the spur of the moment?
Galatians 5 verse 25.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. If you are saved, you have the Spirit of God dwelling inside you, and that means that you are living in the Spirit.
And verse 25 says that if we live in the Spirit, then we need to walk in the Spirit. And so I need to allow the Spirit of God to guide my actions, my every actions, and my every decision in my daily life.
And sometimes we make decisions that are perhaps controlled by our carnal desires in the flesh.
Is that how we make our decisions, or or do we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God?
I suppose that, uh, if I get up in the morning and I listen to the news while I eat, and then I go to work and I turn the radio on all day long, then I come home to eat, I check the Internet, Maybe I play some game.
I checked the news, I watch a movie and I go to bed.
Well, the Spirit is not having a chance to be able to fill me, and the Spirit of God is not even able to have much space in my heart at all.
And if I have not allowed the Spirit of God any space in my daily routine?
How can I live in the spirit?
How can I walk in the spirit?
If the Spirit has no say in my life, how can I live by the Spirit so?
If we don't give any, give the Spirit of God any recognition in our life.
What happens when you're with your girlfriend and you begin to get intimate?
You need to walk in the spirit, even when you are with your girlfriend.
But if you are not walking in the spirit.
Each and every day, it's going to be difficult for for us to keep ourselves pure.
Suppose you have you feel homosexual lust growing within your soul.
What do you do about it?
Can can we say, well, God made me this way and God wants me to be happy?
So I'm just going to pursue my desires.
God will understand.
We need to look into the scriptures.
And to see if God pursues approves us of pursuing our desires.
And if God says no?
It might be a real struggle for us.
But if we have the Spirit of God inside of us.
We need to walk in the spirit.
And we need to depend on the Lord Jesus Christ for the grace to overcome. Let's go to Galatians 5 and verse 16.
This I say, then.
Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. In one way this sounds very simple.
But in another way, we may think, oh, this sounds awful, high and mighty.
But the things that we are occupied with in our daily life can can prevent us or keep us from hearing the uh leading of the Spirit. And so the more that we commune with the Lord Jesus through the Spirit of God, the more we're going to be prepared for the Master's use.
00:15:16
Let's go to Romans chapter 12.
And we'll consider receiving divine guidance from the Spirit through Scripture.
And as we learn to do and to obey the direct guidance of the Spirit through the scripture, where it will will begin to have our mind renewed. And so Romans 12, verse 2.
Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
When you have had your mind renewed by the Spirit of God.
You get to know the heart of God.
And when the communion of the Spirit is a regular part of our day, I I think we will be more ready to respond when the need arises. And so back to our question of allowing the Spirit of God to guide me in the little decisions of life.
Such as?
Do I go to Starbucks or McDonald's?
That seems a trivial thing, and I don't want to over spiritualize going out for lunch or coffee. But it may be that the spirit of God gives you a word of encouragement. And does the carnality of my selfish desire for a latte take me to Starbucks? Or do I allow the spirit of God to lead me into McDonald's? Because the spirit knows that someone in the parking lot needs an act of kindness or a word of encouragement? And I know we can't sit down and analyze every spiritually analyze every sit situation. And should we stop at McDonald's or Starbucks? But.
Just to get the idea that the spirit of God.
If we allow him.
He he can even guide us in those little choices in life.
As you pull into the parking lot of McDonald's, maybe you cut somebody off so you can get a good parking spot.
And then you try to be led by the Spirit of God to talk to somebody, to encourage them in the Lord Jesus.
Well, how does that work? Living by the Spirit?
Should be a whole life commitment and not just something that we turn on and off. Uh, when the CER certain occasions occur. And these are things that I myself need to be aware of in my own life. And so the Spirit guides us in the little things. So what about in the gospel? Does the Spirit guide us for sharing in the gospel? Umm, how do you know to listen to the Lord when he's telling you to go? Perhaps again?
To Burger King instead of Taco Bell. So you'll be able to give a track to the cashier who's been searching. Well, we don't know that cashier is searching, but the spirit of God does, and and so we need to be willing and available for the Lord. And what would you have me to do today?
When I I lived in, we were visiting in Karanga some about a year and a half, two years ago and.
We went into the market in and we we went to a certain restaurant there and there were two white women who came into the restaurant and that's very unusual there. Usually we're the only white people there, but there they were in the restaurant.
And later in the day we went to the Internet cafe and those same 2 white women were in the cafe and they had found out that we had had six gospel meetings that day in three different schools with more than 3500 students. And so they asked us, could you come to our school where they were volunteering and they wanted us to preach the gospel to the children at that school. And so we went the next day and somebody got saved. It was wonderful.
Was that a coincidence?
That we met these two women in the restaurant and that we accepted their invitation. Or was it the spirit of God at work? The Spirit of God. He is living. He is active in our hearts and our in our lives each and every day.
Let's go to Romans 8.
00:20:11
And this question is about the Spirit of God guiding us in prayer. The Spirit of God is communicating with our spirit, and that is because God made us in their image.
We have a spirit that can communicate with God.
And so, in verse 16 of Romans 8, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. The Spirit of God can put a certain person in our thoughts at a specific time, and it may be that the Spirit of God wants us to pray for that person that pops into our mind.
Have you ever prayed for a certain person at a certain moment, not knowing that that person needed prayer at that very time?
Who knew they needed that special intercession at that time?
Was it a coincidence?
Or is the Spirit of God at work?
You might get discouraged in praying. You may not see any evidence of your prayers.
But don't give up because we may never know the outcome of our prayers until we get to heaven. So allow the spirit of God to guide us even in praying. And when's the spirit of God put somebody on your heart, Maybe you don't know anything about the situation of that person. Pray for them. It may be that the Lord wants you is putting that person through difficult time where they need the encouragement of your prayers. Let's go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 8.
This brings us to a question of does the spirit of God guide us in our giving in Second Corinthians chapter 8?
In verse 11.
Now therefore perform the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have, for if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath.
Not according to that he hath not. In other words, it doesn't matter to God if you only have $50.00 to give to the needy, or maybe you have $5000 to to share. On a bigger scale, God can use both of them. And it may be that the $50.00 that you have to share with the needy is a bigger gift to God than the person who just gave $5000.
But what does matter is that we have a willing heart. We have a willing mind so the spirit of God can communicate with your spirit, so God can guide your heart in giving. Let's read verse 13.
Says for I mean not that other men may be eased and you'll be burdened, but by inequality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want, that there may be equality.
Another example back in Africa. Uh, a sister there. Her name is Laura.
And she had a difficult situation in her life.
And one day when we lived there in Malawi, we we received money.
For Laura. And when we took it over to her that that day, she was overwhelmed with thankfulness. Because one day previous to this her kids were walking home from school and her FA and their father who had beaten their mother and chased her away and he ran off with and he kidnapped the two children and wouldn't let them go back home for months and months.
And so.
But on this day, her kids, who had been kidnapped by her husband, were coming to visit her. She hadn't seen them for months, and her children were permitted on that day to come and stay with her for a couple of days.
She had no money.
She had no food.
Her children needed clothes.
And she wasn't able to care for her children. And that was the very day that we brought her the money.
Residence or was that God at work?
00:25:00
We didn't know Laura had that specific need on that specific day.
And the person who sends the money did not know the situation.
But the Spirit of God knew and he arranged that all would work together for good.
At just the right time.
Are we in tune to the Spirit in order to give money by faith? You know, the needy they receive by faith. I have many people asking me, give me, give me. I say, have you? Have, have, have you talked to God? Have you prayed to him? Why are you asking me? You need to have faith.
But sometimes we need faith to give, like what happened with Laura.
Acts chapter 8 I want to go over some examples of individuals who are being who were LED in the in the Bible of who were led by the Spirit of God in their everyday life and how they could act in faith.
You know, let's begin with Philip in Acts chapter 8. We're just going to read part of verse 26.
And the Angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go.
Well, an Angel of the Lord told Philip the Evangelist to go.
To the road that went from Jerusalem up to Gaza. I don't know, Maybe it was the Gaza Strip, I don't know. But it was a remote, deserted place. And so Phillip was told to go there to speak to an Ethiopian eunuch who is passing by at just that moment. And the Ethiopian.
Started listening to Philip and he was saved. Was it a coincidence, that coincidence, that Philip went off into the desert? Or was it the spirit of God? He was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness.
Then there was Samuel.
In uh, Samuel was living in the House of Eli the priest. And Samuel, he heard somebody talking to him in the night, and he thought it was Eli. So he got up out of bed and he went to Eli and said, you're calling me, what do you want? And so this occurred on three occasions. And Samuel heard God calling him Samuel, Samuel and Eli. After the third time, Eli sensed that it was the was the Lord.
Speaking to Samuel. So after that Samuel responded to the Lord and and Samuel from that time on he was able to communicate directly with God. Well, Samuel had to learn to recognize when it was the Lord who was speaking to him. In First Samuel chapter 3, Samuel gradually learned to hear the voice of God when God spoke to him.
We need to be regularly in touch with God so that we know when He is speaking to us. Let's go to Romans 8.
And we'll look at Paul.
Uh, this one's Romans. Sorry.
OK, the Apostle Paul. He experienced the leading of the Spirit in his daily life, and he learned a great spiritual principle in his Christian life.
And he shares it with us in Romans 8 verse 14 it says as many as are led by the Spirit of God.
They are the sons of God.
This verse here says the sons of God. A child of God is a person who is saved.
But the Son of God is one who is saved, but has also developed a an intimate relationship, a fellowship, a communication with the Father.
A son or daughter of God is one who is led by the Spirit of God. That's what our verse says. As many as are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God, and so a person who wishes to know the leading of God.
Must yield himself completely to the control of the Spirit of God, and I believe this includes both our minds, our hearts, our personalities, our imagination, our will. We need to give it all to the control.
Of the Spirit of God. Let's go to Acts chapter 16.
00:30:01
And we'll consider here divine guidance from the Spirit through circumstances.
And how how were Paul and Silas led to give the gospel to Lydia and to the jailer there at the Philippi prison? Well, here in Acts 16, I'm not going to read a specific verse. I'm just going to tell you what it says here. Paul and Silas, they were forbidden by the spirit of God to teach the word in Asia.
They were forbidden by the Spirit of God, and then the Spirit did not allow them to go into Bithynia. And I have been invited to share the Gospel in the countries of Burundi and the DRC Congo.
And to encourage the Christians there, well, the visa applications have been sent to the embassies in the in Washington. DCI don't know if the visas are going to be approved. I have my tickets, but I don't know if I'm gonna be able to go to to these countries. I may be forbidden by the spirit from going to these countries through the circumstance of having my visa denied. And so we do not know always what method, the spirit of God. I'm sorry, we don't know what method the Spirit of God used.
To forbid Paul and Silas from going to Asia and Bithynia, but somehow they were led by the Spirit to not go, and later on the Holy Spirit directed Paul and Silas to go to the city of Philippi.
Into the region of Macedonia and we get that in verse 12 here of Acts 16.
And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia in a colony, and we were in that city certain abiding certain days.
And so Paul and Silas, they were led to go there.
To to Philippi by the Spirit of God. Well down in verse 13 we read about Lydia. Lydia and the Holy Spirit had LED Paul and Silas to go to a prayer meeting down by the Riverside where he met Lydia. And verse 13 tells us about that. On the Sabbath day we went out of the city by a Riverside.
Where prayer was won't to be made. And we sat down and spake unto the women, which resorted thither. Was it a coincidence that the spirit of God LED Lydia, or Paul and Silas to meet Lydia there at the Riverside?
Or was it the Spirit of God? I think it's the Spirit of God who guides and directs and allows us to come into contact with certain people at certain times in certain places. So we need to allow the Spirit of God the freedom to guide us and direct us where to go and.
If we if we meet someone there, will we speak to that person? And I know it's easy for some people to to get a conversation going with somebody you don't know and for some of us it's rather difficult. But be willing for the spirit of God to be able to use you whenever he desires. And acts 16 verse 23 here we talk about the the the jailer the Philippian jailer and while while Paul and Silas are in the same city of Philippi.
Paul and Silas were put into prison because of preaching the word of God, and this was a circumstance. It was the Spirit of God guiding through circumstance that led to the jailer's salvation.
Verse 23 says. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely.
And so Paul and Silas, they've been preaching the gospel here in the in the city. And they were arrested. They were thrown into the prison the the. They were whipped and beaten and they were thrown into the stocks and chained there and the door was shut and locked. And round about midnight Paul and Silas started singing hymns and praises to the Lord. And as they were singing the.
There was a great earthquake and the whole building shook and the chains fell off the prisoners. The doors, the locks broke open off the doors. The doors were thrown open and the people, they easily could have escaped. Well, the jailer, he got frightened.
And so he came and got his sword, and he was ready to fall on his sword and to kill himself. But Paul crawled out and said, do thyself no harm, for nobody has escaped. We are all here. Don't. You don't need to kill yourself.
00:35:06
And so the the the jailer. He comes running in to Paul and Silas, and he's trembling. And he says, Sir, what must I do to be saved?
Well, the answer was Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
The jailer was saved.
The next thing is, is Brother Jim mentioned in the gospel last night after salvation a believer should be baptized. And so the the Philippine jailer, he was baptized and he was so happy. He he had his whole household baptized along with them. He wanted them to follow Christ too. It didn't matter that they weren't saved. They had to be baptized because they lived in his house and he wanted them to follow the ways of Christ as well. And so there were good reasons why the Spirit of God sent Paul and Silas to Philippi.
And subsequently an assembly was established in this city. And later on Paul wrote the book of Philippians to these Christians. And we are able to benefit from that circumstance that happened there in the city of Philippi.
1St Corinthians 2.
And we can receive divine guidance through reason, through our minds, and so now that we are saved.
It is possible for us to think in godly ways, because we have been given the mind of Christ in First Corinthians 2 verse 16. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him, but we have the mind of Christ.
As we read the word of God and we become familiar with it, we are able to understand its meaning and and we are able to understand it through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who who dwells within us. And so the Spirit, it guides us and directs us into truth and it guides us into our actions. And so when we have the word of God in our hearts, our minds can then bring to us that which we should be doing.
And so Romans chapter 5 of chapter 8 and verse five, it says for they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit do mind the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded as death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
When we allow the Spirit of God to be active in every aspect of our lives, and I believe our thinking will also be guided by the Spirit of God.
I know that none of us are infallible because we still have a carnal mind, we still have the flesh, and so we're still capable of having wrong thoughts or missing the mind of the Spirit. And we might even pray.
Or say or even do the wrong thing.
How many, how many times have we prayed about something that we really wanted to do, about something that we really wanted to buy?
And The funny thing is that if it's something that we really want, the answer is always yes.
Is that the carnal mind?
Or is it being led by the Spirit of God?
I remember a Christian husband and a wife and they were having some, uh, marriage difficulties and they were struggling and they talked to us and they said they were praying about buying a $7000 diamond ring that they found on Craigslist and they thought it would solve their marriage problems.
Well, they're praying. Well, guess what the answer was?
The answer is yes, buy that ring. And so they were so happy.
And now they are divorced. That ring didn't help them. Was that really the spirit of God they were listening to?
We need to be careful what we pray for because we might get it.
And so we need to be aware that we believers are guided by either the Spirit of God.
Or our carnal minds. Let's go to Romans chapter 14.
00:40:13
In verse 17 tells us what happens when we allow the Spirit of God to have control in our lives. Verse 17.
The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The natural man.
We do enjoy the physical pleasures of meat and drink.
And that is OK if we do not allow it to control us or distract us.
But the natural man needs to be controlled in the light of the Kingdom of God.
By righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, in the Holy Spirit and John John 14. Let's look at another verse in John 14.
In this in this verse it shows us another effect.
In our life when we allow ourselves to be submitted to the will of God in verse 26.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Imagine the change in our meetings if we were occupied with Christ in our personal lives and we learned to listen to the Spirit of God in the little things in life.
I think the Spirit of God would be given more liberty when we come into the meetings.
And he could bring to your remembrance those things that you have learned in your personal study time.
So you could be a help to the assembly. Maybe you're younger, maybe you don't know very much, but the spirit of God wants to use you to be a help in the assembly, and he wants to draw from your knowledge of what you have understood and learned and practiced in your life so that you can be a help to the assembly. But before you can be a help like that, first.
You need to study, you need to read, and you need to meditate. So the Spirit of God has something to draw from, and the Spirit of God is able to draw from those things that you have learned both in the perhaps in the meeting, but also in your daily interaction with other believers or or other situations, perhaps with other people, that you might experience every day. And so let's go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 13.
And.
So if we if we want to be led by the Spirit of God in the many decisions of life.
We need to have a good fellowship with God.
A good communion with God. And so in in 2nd Corinthians 13 and verse 14 we are called to a communion to a fellowship with God through the person of the Holy Spirit. And so verse 14, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all.
And so the more that we are in communion with God through the Holy Spirit, the more we will be filled with the Spirit, and the more we will be able to respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the little things.
In our life.
That's all I've had today, so but I just want us to understand that.
When we are filled, our minds are filled, and our hearts are filled, and our life is filled and guided by the Spirit of God. If we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh and will be ready and available for the Spirit of God to use us.
When we even in the little things, even in the little decisions of life, let's close by seeing #23.
Is Jesus the 1St and the last? Whose spirit shall guide us safe home, will praise him for all that has passed and trust him for all that's to come.
Nsnoise.
That's great.
Gospel 3
Faith Conscience How We Walk
Heb 12:5-29
The Lord Allows Things to Exercise Our Hearts
Gospel 12