St. Louis Conference: 2016
Table of Contents
Philiadelphia
Address—Bill Prost
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Could we open our meeting with him #330?
330.
What raised the wondrous thought, or who did it suggest?
That we, the Church, the glory brought, should with the Sun be blessed.
Oh God, the thought was thine, thine only it could be fruit of the wisdom, love, divine, peculiar unto thee #330.
What?
Would you turn with me, please to Revelation Chapter 3?
Revelation chapter 3.
And I would like to read and speak about the this afternoon.
The address in this chapter to the Assembly in Philadelphia.
I suppose most here are familiar with it.
But I can well remember, and I have told this story before, so forgive me if you heard me tell it.
But I can well remember when I started university a good many years ago now, and I had to go to another city to go to school, and that meant another assembly in Toronto, ON.
And I remember after a reading meeting there when I had been there a few months, a brother came up to me. Quite a well taught brother.
And he said to me, you know, Bill.
I sometimes wonder, in the condition that the world is today, if we're not even already past Laodicea.
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I was about 17 at the time and I nodded very wisely and didn't say anything because I had not the foggiest idea what he was talking about.
I'm thankful to say though, that rather than getting upset about it, I decided, well, I better not let that happen again. I better find out what Laodicea is all about. And it led me. I thank the Lord for it.
Into a bit of a study of Revelation chapters 2:00 and 3:00.
Where we have 7 assemblies mentioned all in the same area.
In Asia, and yet all in different states.
And at any time in the church's history, someone could have read.
Through those seven assemblies and been edified, been helped by what he or she read.
They could perhaps have identified where they were and with the assembly with which they were connected.
With some of the characteristics of at least one and maybe more of those assemblies.
Or an individual could have compared what he read there with what he saw around him.
Even if he were connected with something that could scarcely be recognized as an assembly gathered to the Lords name and he could have been helped in his or her Christian pathway.
But there is more here than that.
I don't believe that the Lord allowed the Church to see the prophetic character of these seven assemblies until right near the end, otherwise it would have destroyed the hope of the Lord's coming.
But right toward the end, God, I believe, has shown us how these seven assemblies, taken in the order in which they are discussed in Revelation chapters two and three, give us a panoramic view of the history of the Church right from the time that the apostles passed off the scene, right until the time of the end.
When the church is taken up.
To glory.
It's not our purpose this afternoon to go through all of that.
But suffice it to say that the address to Philadelphia.
Would, I believe, parallel the revival of the truth that God was pleased to give about 180 years ago, or a little better, starting in different parts of the world and raising up godly men who were used of God to restore that precious truth?
The truth of the assembly.
That had been lost, at least in an outward way, lost to the great.
Company of Christian profession lost for centuries. God was pleased to raise up those in the last days who would give us that precious truth back again.
I've spoken on this before.
I hope it's all right to take it up again.
Somehow I feel we need it. I need it, and the Lord seemed to lay it very strongly on my heart.
It's no coincidence that we happened to read it in our reading together, my wife and I, not too long ago. And again, it struck me as to how needful what we read here is for every one of us.
Let's look at it together. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 7.
And to the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia right these things, saith He that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth.
And shut it. And no man opened.
I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.
For thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and has not denied my name.
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie.
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Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Behold, I come quickly, hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God?
And he shall go no more out.
And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God.
Which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God.
And I will write upon him my new name.
Either half an year, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
In many of the assemblies that are detailed here in these chapters.
We noticed that the Lord has a difficulty with them. He has a problem which He has to address.
But we notice here in Philadelphia that there is no rebuke, no problem, that he has to take up only encouragement. And we want to encourage each one here this afternoon. This is not put out on the schedule as a young people's meeting, but I can't help but notice how many younger ones there are here.
And of course, from my vantage point, most of you are younger ones. Hope that's OK. But the point is that some of us are getting older, and if the Lord leaves us here, we're going to pass off the scene, or at least find that our energies are a good deal less than what they are now.
God is looking to you to be encouraged in the pathway that we have here.
But I want to point something out right at the beginning. The word Philadelphia means brotherly love.
Brotherly love. I think it's very characteristic that the Lord uses that assembly.
To show and it had these characteristics in the day in which it existed, the Lord used that assembly to bring out the character that God is looking for among believers in these last days.
And brotherly love is very important.
Is there a need to maintain the precious tooth of God? Absolutely. And the address to Philadelphia brings that out. But at the same time, it's to be characterized by brotherly love. And so this address to this assembly is very largely encouragement.
These things saith he that is holy, he that is true.
You know, the character of the Lord Jesus Christ never changes, but in each one of these assemblies, which are addressed in these two chapters, excuse me?
The Lord Jesus reveals himself in a slightly different way.
Why is that? Because he identifies that, shall we say, and we speak reverently that part of his character which is appropriate to the condition of things in that assembly.
And what we find here is holiness and truth. How important that is. And you will notice that holiness is mentioned 1St. And I believe for this reason that there is no point in trying to have truth.
Without having the walk that goes with it. If I had been writing it, I would have said He that is truth, he that is holy.
But the holiness is mentioned first because it's possible to have truth.
A measure of truth in my head, and without the walk that goes with it, what happens?
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It becomes Laodicea. It becomes Laodicea. Christ is left out. The holiness that becomes that Blessed One is left out.
And that is not the character that God is looking for.
He that is holy, he that is true.
Now here in this seventh verse is another expression which perhaps is open to interpretation as to its meaning.
He that hath the key of David, he that openeth. And no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth.
The key of David What is the key of David?
To find out, we have to turn back to Isaiah, and we might do that for a moment. Turn back to Isaiah chapter 22.
Because there is where the expression the key of David comes from.
Isaiah chapter 22.
1St 20.
And it shall come to pass in that day that I will call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah.
And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand, and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah.
And here it is, and the key of the House of David I will, will I lay upon his shoulder, so that he shall open, and none shall shut, and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place, and he shall be for a glorious throne to his Father's house.
And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the offspring, and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups even to all the vessels of flagons.
In that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in a sure place be removed, and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off?
For the Lord has spoken it.
I don't pretend to understand this completely.
But I give you a thought on it. You can decide whether it's from the Lord.
It's very clear, I believe from Isaiah 22, that this man Eliakim, who is a very, very faithful man in that time, is a type of Christ.
And a man who was mentioned a few verses before who was contemporary with Eliakim, a man by the name of Shebna, is a type of the Antichrist.
And he tried to take the place of being that nail in a sure place.
But in the last verse of the chapter it says clearly he's going to be removed.
That is what is going to happen to the Antichrist in the coming day.
But the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of whom the Antichrist is the imposter, the one who tries to take the rightful place of the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus is going to come into his glory.
What does it say here?
He that hath the key of David.
There is one today who has that key of David, the one who in a coming day is going to reign in power and glory. Today still has that key, even though he's not recognized for who he is and what he is, even though he hasn't taken his rightful place.
For you and for me, he has that key of David.
What does that mean?
In the coming day he will publicly open and shut because he will take his rightful place in this world as the Son of David, and He will rule over all things both in heaven and on earth.
But he has a key right now.
And it's a wonderful thing that you and I are associated with him, so that if he chooses to open a door, what does it say here?
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No man shuteth and shuteth, and no man openeth.
And what does it say in the next verse? I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee. And it should read an opened door, an opened door, and no man can shut it.
Some years ago now.
I had occasion to talk to a brother and it's quite a few years ago now.
Who had once been gathered to the Lord's name?
Very promising brother, as I thought.
But he left over a difficulty.
And I remember having a conversation with him about.
Where he was and what he was doing, He said, Bill, the brethren movement is finished. They were good while they lasted. The movement was good while it lasted. But brethren have been given up. The Lord's given brethren up.
It's finished.
I didn't argue with him on that.
But I said brother, and I knew him very well. I said brother. Suppose that is true.
Is the whole question of brethren what counts? Or is it the truth of God and what is due to the Lord Jesus Christ? I said.
Excuse me, has that changed? Has God's word changed?
Has the truth of God changed? Are not you and I responsible to answer to what God has revealed to us?
Whether or not God has given up, brethren.
Sounds rather foolish to say it this way, but I can almost hear to this day the long silence on the other end of the phone.
He wasn't a brother that showed his emotions much, but he was choked up at the other end of the phone.
He knew, I think, that that was true.
There is an open door and no man can shut it.
And what a wonderful thing it is to have that open door. And I say to you, everyone here, that open door will remain.
Until the Lord calls us home.
For thou hast a little strength.
And it's not denied my name. Why does it say a little strength?
Oh, there are those sometimes who have thought because of the tremendous truth that God has been pleased to Restore to us in these last days, and because of the blessing God has given, that we can turn back the clock.
That we can almost go back to the time of Pentecost and reestablish things as they were in that day.
On one side of the coin.
I want to be careful how I put it.
But an old brother long since with the Lord, made this remark in its absolutely true. He said, Brethren, there ought to be enough spiritual power in every assembly gathered to the Lord's name, to attract every true Christian in the neighborhood.
We have to hang our heads, don't we?
It's not true.
There should be that spiritual power there to attract.
But on the other hand, God says it's not going to happen because when man has been given responsibility and fails in it, God never restores it to its character as it was in the beginning.
He restores it in a smaller way.
To be a testimony to what God did give, but which has failed.
We have to realize that.
And let's remember that.
It's very, very important.
We are a testimony to the ruin and we're part of it. Let's not forget that. And an old brother many, many years ago made a remark something like this and I'm going to quote it. It's not verbatim, but it's close, he said. Wherever there is an attempt to set up and display the position and the unity, there will be nothing but a mess and a failure.
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God will not take that place with us.
In order to have God's strength, we must be in the place of his mind, and that is in the recognition of the failure of the church. Now he goes on to say that where there is the recognition of that failure.
There can be no limit to the blessing God will give, but we must recognize that we are part of the failure. Very, very important.
And so there should not be the idea that, well, yes, we're in the great House of Christendom, and there is a great deal of bad doctrine and a great deal of bad teaching there in that great house. But thank God that there is a corner of that great house where things are done right. And although we may not say it too loudly yet by implication the idea is, and that is where we are.
No, no.
The failure will be most evident.
And most sensitive were the truth is sought to be maintained. But that doesn't alter the fact thou hast a little strength, and God values it. Why thou hast not denied my name.
If I were to ask any true Christian.
And I know a good many of them.
Any true Christian, no matter where they are, what they're connected with, would you deny the name of the Lord Jesus?
I'm sure they would answer a most resounding no.
But do I have the privilege to Connect the name of the Lord Jesus with what is not according to His word?
Is that keeping his word?
It says in the last part of verse 8, Thou hast kept my word, and it's not denied my name.
Pardon me if I sound a little passionate about this, but it has reached into my soul.
For a good number of years, but perhaps more lately.
And I say it very kindly, and I speak to my own heart because the tendency is there too. Is there a thought in my heart? Is there a thought in your heart that I will keep his word as long as it is?
Convenient, and as long as circumstances don't make it too difficult to keep his word.
I have talked to a number of those.
Whom I know well enough to know that they deliberately and willfully turn their back on what they knew to be in God's Word.
And when they were faced up with it.
The excuse was well, but look at the situation I was in and look at what happened to me and look at this and look at that and how could I do anything else?
May I say one thing to you? I don't want it to be understood.
In one sense, I sympathize.
Because I know how hard circumstances can be, and sometimes God tests us by putting us in very difficult circumstances.
And then the question is raised, will I give the Lord the 1St place? Will I honor his word, or will I take a pathway that makes it a little easier so that I don't offend somebody else?
Or I don't make it too difficult for myself.
It can be a very hard decision sometimes. Oh, you say, Bill, How could it be a hard decision?
Anyone that has been through it knows that it is.
And those who in this world of today are giving up their lives for Christ, and there are many of them.
Know how difficult it can be?
Some know the story I'm going to tell, but I know about it first hand because I know the family involved in India who while they were going home from meeting 1 Lords day, were accosted by a wild fanatical Hindu mob who beat them up so badly that the wife who was carrying a baby lost the baby.
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And not content with that, the mob followed them home, went to the brother's place of business, he had a bicycle repair shop, stole all his tools and then proceeded to burn his shop to the ground.
You would say surely that brother was in a very difficult circumstance. What was he to do?
He was badly beaten up too.
He was at meeting next Lord's Day.
Is it meeting next Lord's Day? You and I don't have to face that. But we face difficult circumstances sometimes, perhaps of a different kind, but perhaps just as difficult in some ways.
Thou hast kept my word and not denied my name.
I say to your heart, and I say it to mine, let us never palliate and otherwise keep the peace even among those whom we love the best down here. At the risk of dishonouring the Lord, He is worthy. He is worthy no matter how difficult the path may be. Many of you here come from small assemblies.
It is not easy sometimes to go on and it looks much easier to go out somewhere where there is a lot more fellowship. Some people will say, well look at what am I going to do with my children, How will they get along in that situation? What are we going to do with our young people?
Ah, the Lord is equal to the situation.
Let's trust the Lord and honor Him, and we will find that He is as good as His Word.
Next verse is a difficult one.
Behold, verse nine. I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews and are not, but do lie.
Behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Now the apostle John had said this earlier in the second chapter in the address to Smyrna.
Notice verse nine of chapter 2.
I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich, and I know the blasphemy of them, which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Strong language synagogue of Satan.
What does the Apostle mean?
About whom is he talking?
Back at the time of Smyrna, the Lord allowed a series of savage persecutions under the Roman Empire. Why? Because the Church was drifting, Drifting toward the world and losing sight of its heavenly calling. And why does the the apostle call it a synagogue of Satan?
He calls it a synagogue of Satan because.
Satan knows that, humanly speaking, when the church loses the sense of its heavenly calling, it loses everything.
And Satan has done a very good job of that, because the persecutions that occurred in the second and third centuries AD, savages they were, didn't really have the effect that the Lord wanted. And shortly after that.
A man by the name of Constantine came on the scene, made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, and eventually merged the church with the world.
Looks like a good idea on the surface. Why not have Christians there running the show? Everything would be in good order.
But the Church lost the sense of its heavenly calling and lost its testimony.
And the church is losing it today. Why?
What does it mean when they say they are Jews and they are not, but do lie?
Two things.
Number one.
The Church has imported for many centuries many of the trappings of Judaism into Christianity.
A ritualistic form of service, a clergy or a priesthood that comes between man and God.
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An appeal to the flesh with things like music and beautiful clothing for certain individuals and so on, beautiful buildings, all those kinds of things that were part of the Jewish economy and the Jewish religion, which God did away with under Christianity. Man has brought them all back into the church.
And brought the church down to the level.
Of a respectable worldly religion.
But the second thing perhaps is worse still in some ways.
Because when God put the nation of Israel on the earth, he laid claim to the earth through Israel.
It was right for them to go out with the sword and subdue other nations. It was right for them to go out and tell other people about the true God. Now, they did a poor job of it, but they had that mandate. It was right for them to.
Lay claim to the earth and God used them.
Or wanted to use them?
What is that God's way today? No, God is not dealing with nations per SE today. He is calling souls out of every nation to be part of his church, to follow a rejected Christ, to be apart from this world.
But many believers today are saying we're Jews, not literally, but what are they doing? They're jumping into the political arena. They're saying we have to go out there and fix the world, get it ready for God's Kingdom, Reconstructionism. They call it covenant theology. We have to go out there and fix this world.
Distribute Christian principles all around.
Show the nations how to do it properly. That's what God wants us to do.
Even if you are a true believer, if you are connected with that way of thinking.
Verse 9 applies.
Ouch. Could a true believer be part of a synagogue of Satan? Unfortunately, yes.
He'll never lose his salvation, but he can be doing Satan's work. Oh, how terrible. Let's remember that we are not called upon.
To try and make ourselves a respectable company in the eyes of the world. Now yes, we should be a good friend of the world in the sense of being the 1St to be there and help out and many believers do that. I'm thankful for it.
And we should be there, ready to every good work.
But we should not be working with the world. Why? Because if you're going to work with the world, there is only one level on which you can work, and that's on the world's principles. You can never pull the world up to Christian principles. Rather, the world pulls you down to their principles.
Synagogue of Satan.
And you know, in the coming day, it's not that anyone in that position is going to worship you and me. That's not what the verse says.
But rest assured that at the judgment seat of Christ, God is going to make it clear what He valued. Are you despised or rejected today? God is going to make it clear what He valued. Are you finding the pathway difficult to keep His word or not deny His name?
In a coming day, God is going to make it publicly clear what.
He valued.
Verse 10.
This is beautiful, because thou hast kept the word of my patience. I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation.
Which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
A clear reference to the tribulation. You know many today are teaching that the Church is going to go through the tribulation.
We have to get ready for it and when we espouse so-called covenant theology, we lose the sense of the immediate coming of the Lord and it's the natural thing that we start to think, well, I guess we are going to go through the tribulation. That's what's going to happen to us.
Will every true believer be caught up when the Lord comes? Indeed they will.
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But allow me to say it, and I say it very kindly. I think many are going to get a big surprise when they don't have to go through the tribulation. They're going to get a big surprise when they're caught up, when the Lord comes and they realize suddenly I don't have to go through it after all.
But isn't it nice to have the joy and sense in our souls now?
That's what God wants you and me to have.
And so that's why he says, because you have kept the word of my patience. It doesn't mean that there will be a special class caught up when the Lord comes. Not at all, but rather that those who walk in this way will have the sense of it in their souls.
And will be able to walk in peace. This world is trembling right now. And I suppose it's not saying too much to say that we're here in the United States of America. And those of us from Canada followed the recent election very, very keenly because there was a good deal of disturbance, a good deal of fear. And it seems from what I read that there still is. And not only in the United States, but around this world. Where are things?
Headed What's going to happen? Things are falling apart. Where are we going? What are the world leaders going to lead us into if we're left here?
Isn't it wonderful to be able to rest assured that the Lord is going to call us home before that awful time which Scripture calls the Great Tribulation?
And that brings us to verse 11.
But I want to point something out here that's very precious, and I believe it's important to us. You know, the Lord says in more than one place, Behold, I come quickly. He says it twice in Revelation 22.
But if you look in the Darby translation and I believe it's accurate, the word behold is left out.
You and I would say, well, what difference does that make?
Well, the word behold in scripture has the sense I believe of pay attention. Or as people say many times today, listen up, I want your attention.
And the Lord sometimes has to speak to His church in that tone of voice.
There are parents here who sometimes have to speak to their children like that.
I spoke to a few grandchildren of ours last week in that tone when we were babysitting them for a week. Now they're pretty well behaved, but.
Occasionally I had to say, listen up, I want to tell you something.
But isn't it wonderful?
In the character of Philadelphia, the Lord doesn't have to say pay, pay attention, listen up.
They are walking with him.
I don't want to say this.
There are assemblies addressed in these two chapters where it is not difficult to make a direct application to a particular group. Thyatira is very clearly Roman Catholicism, no question about it. Sardis is very clearly Protestantism. What came out of the Reformation? the Reformation was a work of God, but Protestantism that came out of it was not.
But I would suggest that in Philadelphia and Laodicea, it's not so much a dis discussion of a discrete group.
But rather a character.
The Philadelphia is one who keeps the the Lord's Word.
To the extent that he understands it, I believe there are Philadelphians in this world who are living up to the light that they have, even though they may not know everything you and I have.
And there can be those who know as much as you and I do, but who don't fall into that category because they're not living in the good of it.
Philadelphians are those who are characterized, as it says in Second Timothy 2 and 22, by calling on the Lord out of a pure heart, a willingness to learn.
Those whose will has not been set up against what the Spirit of God is seeking to teach them. How precious that is.
And so here it says I come quickly.
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But then there's an admonition in responsibility. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Somebody made reference to it in prayer a little while ago.
There are those who are taking a crown.
From those who ought not to be giving it up.
There are those in foreign lands today who are taking a crown from those.
In landslake North America and Western Europe that have had the truth of God before them for many many years and yet are saying it's not worth hanging on to, it's not worth walking in.
It's too difficult.
And there are others who are taking that crow. There are others who are saying it's wonderful to be at the Lord's table, to be gathered simply to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to owe no other name but his, to gather on the ground of the one body that expresses that precious unity, so precious to the heart of Christ.
To give to be. Excuse me.
To be where the Spirit of God is given liberty to lead and guide.
There are those who are valuing that privilege.
Hold that fast.
And why do we have to hold it fast? Oh, because the devil is seeking to take it away from us. He seeks to do it. He wants to do it because he knows that that precious truth is precious to the heart of Christ.
And as an old brother used to say it to me in my younger years, he's been with the Lord for many years now, he said, Bill, at the very end of the dispensation of grace, the Lord wanted something for himself.
Something special for himself.
And he raised up those who would bring back that precious truth, so precious to his heart.
And give those who wished the opportunity to walk in the good of it.
John talks a lot about overcoming.
And the encouragement to the overcomer here is some of the greatest encouragement in the whole Bible.
Many years ago I was in a reading meeting and a brother made a remark to the effect that he said, wouldn't it have been wonderful to have lived in Apostolic times when the Church was new, when everything was fresh, when there was perfect unity, and when there was real power in giving out the Word?
And in walking before the Lord.
Another brother, a little older, sat there and a smile came over his face and I can still see him.
He said I wouldn't trade. I wouldn't trade, he said. Not that I wouldn't have liked to live in that time, but he said it's even more precious to be here right before the Lord returns and to have the opportunity to give expression to that which is so precious to his heart just before he calls us home.
Him that overcometh verse 12 will I make a pillar in the temple of my God?
A pillar supports and it doesn't move.
Sometimes in this life, as it says here, we have to go out. Separation is necessary and it's one of the hardest things to separate from evil because in separating from evil by.
Of necessity, I will separate sometimes from those who are insisting on being connected with that evil.
I'm never told to separate, as far as I know from a true believer. I'm told to separate from vessels to dishonor.
And that puts the reference point as the Lord, not as us.
Let the reference point never be us, Let it always be the Lord.
And so we separate from evil, but if there is that which is connected with evil, then there is a going out sometimes and it makes it very difficult.
He should go no more out.
And I will write upon him the name of my God, how precious, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. We don't have time to look at that, but in Revelation 21 we see the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven.
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A picture of the church displayed there in glory during the Millennium. And those on earth will be able to see it, and they'll see Christ in his church in that wondrous display of it. And we will live and reign with Christ. It says 1000 years.
The name of the city of my God.
We don't have time to go into that precious truth, but it's a wonderful meditation.
And then it says I will write upon him my new name.
What is that new name?
I really don't know.
The Lord doesn't tell us.
Many, many years ago.
Long before my time, I only read it.
A brother by the name of Walter Potter.
In a Bible conference here in Saint Louis.
Probably close to 90 years ago now.
Made the comment, he said. I wonder if my new name is Son of Man.
I leave it to your meditation.
It could be. It's certainly a new name. It's a name which the Lord has, which he takes Incarnate. It's the name he takes when he takes his place as head and takes possession of all things He does. So the Son of Man and you and I will be associated with him.
I don't say it dogmatically, I merely repeat what a godly brother sat before us.
May God bless His Word to each one of us.
May He give us the grace in these last days to walk in the good.
And then the character.
What we have here not in any spirit of pride, because if I really have a sense in my soul of the ruin of the church and a sense that I am part of it, the more I know of the precious truth of God, the more I will be humbled.
And how far?
We have come from what God really intended it to be.
We will be humbled at the failure and the weakness in our own souls and the lack of that faithfulness that ought to be there.
But at the same time, that doesn't mean to be discouraged. That doesn't mean to be discouraged. There's not any note of discouragement in the address to Philadelphia. But I will make this as a closing remark, as a word to the conscience.
If we were to go on to the address to Laodicea, we would find there a proud spirit. I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing. And the Lord's estimate is.
Thou knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.
How does that come about?
Among other things it comes about.
From having the light that God gives to Philadelphia, but without the walk that corresponds with it. And then what is going to happen is that if I know something and there isn't the walk with the Lord, Excuse me?
My heart will be lifted up in pride at what I think I know.
And that has been the ruin, sad to say.
Many times of those who knew much of the word of God and the Lord.
Could have used them mightily and did use them mightily.
But in some cases, someone else took their crown.
Because it went to their heads.
And so in one sense, Laodicea is Philadelphian light without a walk that corresponds with it. A walk that corresponds with it will humble me and keep me in that place.
We have time for one more hymn.
#15.
#15 all that we were.
Our sins, our guilt, our death.
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It was all our own.
All that we are, we owe to thee.
Thou God of grace alone, verse 3. All that we are is Saints on earth, all that we hope to be.
When Jesus comes and glory dawns.
We owe it all to thee.
May we remember that #15.
All the three, where are they?
All.
Happy.
I wanted to continue.
God.
2 Timothy 2:1-5
Reading
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Timothy, Chapter 2.
Your address, Brother Bill.
Seems to me that in this chapter we have principles that.
A true Philadelphian would value.
That is suitable.
After two.
Thou therefore, my Son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things which thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men.
Who shall be able to teach others also?
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life.
That he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strived lawfully?
The husbandmen that Laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of 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.
Therefore 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, For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself of these things, put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase under more ungodliness, and their word will eat, as doth a canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have concerning the truth, who concerning the truth have erred saying.
That the resurrection is passed already and overthrilled the faith of some.
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the masters use and prepared under every good work.
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Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace.
With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender stripes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apartment to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
The House of God in its order. If you go to the third chapter of first Timothy and verse 15, it says, But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Sometimes the church is presented as the body of Christ, but here it is presented as the House of God because there is order in the house. And that's why you have bishops and deacons mentioned in this chapter, and it's because there is an order to God's house. And that's what we have in First Timothy. But in Second Timothy we have, as Bill was mentioning, a time when there is.
Tremendous ruin in the Christian testimony. Even the Apostle Paul has to say in first in the first chapter of Second Timothy, that all those in Asia have forsaken me.
There was Ephesus. She had spent almost three years there ministering the word of God.
Tremendous epistle to the Ephesians that we have of the truth of God. As to the church, wonderful.
But they had turned their back on Paul that forsaken him, and it looked all bleak. And he's trying to encourage Timothy. Brethren, we live in those days.
And so in his encouragement to Timothy, a young man.
We have many young people here. Thank God for your the interest they have. But there are principles in this second chapter that are so important and encouraging for us to appreciate and learn. And he uses figures.
Notice in verse two faithful men, verse 3A soldier.
Verse five, an athlete, verse 6 and husbandman are a farmer. So those are figures that we can draw lessons from, easy to understand, and they all have lessons for us. And so I suggest that.
We take it up in that light. We are living in days of the outward run of the public testimony. Still the truth of God remains, and there is every reason not to be discouraged, but to simply lay hold on the.
Principles, the unchanging principles of the precious Word of God.
And so he starts out this chapter 2 with Thou. Therefore, my son, be strong.
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How are you going to be strong?
In the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
What is going to make us strong, brethren, is not.
Getting a hard legal attitude.
But it is the appreciation of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And when we look at what was done for us on that cross, brethren, by the Lord Jesus, how He laid down his life, the only One who truly had rights, laid down every right He had so that there could be blessing for us.
Now he's brought us into tremendous blessing, not because of any.
Merit of our own, but because of His unbounding grace, and that should touch the heart that brings to the floor in a response from these hearts of ours that will carry us through times of outward ruin. May the Lord encourage us.
Yes, that's very important, isn't it, Bob? If some of us had been writing it, we might have written My son. Be strong in the truth that is in Christ Jesus.
And of course that is important too. But grace is the.
Strongest power to keep us walking in a pathway of faithfulness to the Lord and a sense of His grace is.
Far, far stronger than any, as you say, legal attitude or seeking to, uh, as it were, whip people into shape by human energy. Man tries to do that sometimes, and it may work for a while in an outward way, but the strongest force among believers to follow the Lord is a sense of His grace in our souls.
Of the apostle Paul, isn't it in uh, this, uh, chapter, chapter 4 and uh, verse 22, he says the Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit, grace be with you. And so there was, uh, perhaps, uh, in Timothy's day, the tendency to despise those that had not gone on in the truth of God, as the verse chapter one, verse 15 of the first epistle brings before us something of the measure of order. But in this epistle.
There was a giving up, a wholesale giving up of Paul's doctrine and his fellowship and the fellowship of the apostle and what he taught.
And so it required grace. And I think it's very nice that he addresses Timothy as his son because it brings in the thought of relationship. Isn't it wonderful to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus?
And with God we know him as Father, and that is a part of the Christian revelation is to know God as our Father. And so he is addressed as a son. And he had the privilege of serving with the apostle Paul as a son we know.
Maybe that the Apostle Paul was the one that led him to the Lord as he went through Derby, but we have this privilege of reflecting the grace of the Lord Jesus in our lives in the day of ruin.
As we serve, recognizing that we are sons, but reflecting the same grace that Christ would have with his brethren.
This person is connected with chapter one and verse 9.
Speaking of God, who hath saved us?
And called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.
Which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
We're going to take up a chapter which Paul is exhorting Timothy, and much of the chapter is exhortation to Timothy of things that he needs to do to walk in a very difficult day in which Timothy lived.
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And he lived in just as difficult a day as we do today.
We sometimes think all the world's getting terrible and it's awful, and it is. But brethren.
The condition of the world today is no worse than it was on the day of the crucifixion. That's the worst day of the whole world. And the condition that the Saints had to face in that day for many of them was far more severe than any of us are facing in this room tonight or today. But the point in Chapter 9 or verse nine is you can't.
Walk for the Lord in a difficult day unless you are firmly founded in what God's thoughts and purposes for you are.
We have to have that as the foundation or the chapters exhortations to us are going to seem too difficult and too hard. But before Paul takes them up with Timothy, he establishes very clearly what the grace of God that he was to be strong in meant for him. And so it says God.
Who has saved us?
Timothy was to have a complete confidence that he was in the hands of a God who had saved him.
Not according to what he had done.
But what according to God's own purpose, Is God going to have a purpose for Timothy that he will not fulfill, he will not keep? Of course not. And so it was according to his own purpose and grace toward Timothy. And I'm using him as one example. But we all come under the same purpose and grace.
According to his own purpose and grace.
Which was given to Timothy in Christ Jesus before the world began.
And he brought him into the relationship with himself, with God.
According to that purpose to be a son.
Now Timothy had a firm foundation, as is described later in the chapter. He had a very strong firm foundation on which to live. And we need to have established in our souls that strong firm foundation that I was purposed in the grace of God to be His Son before this world was ever created. And now in the little while that's given in this life to walk according to the day in which we live.
In that faithfulness that corresponds to the great grace on which we stand the great favor of God. Because he won't, as it says later, He won't deny himself. He'll be faithful to his promises and to his calling. And yet He would have us to walk worthy of that calling while we're here and not give it up.
The Christian life isn't it? And it says in Titus.
To that the grace of God teaches us.
It's not the law that teaches us. Some people say that after you're saved, the lies a rule of life.
No.
The law is what provokes our sin nature.
And that's not the rule of life. It's the grace of God that teaches us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live righteously and wholly in this present world.
Looking for that present blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. It is the strongest motivator to living a godly life is the sense of grace in our souls. Brethren, the Lord help us to understand it. It's another verse I really has provoked me is First Corinthians chapter 15.
And it's in connection with the Apostle Paul and how he labored for the Lord.
Verse 10 First Corinthians 1510 and it says.
But by the grace of God, I am what I am.
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And His grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain.
But I labored more abundantly than they all.
How did he do that?
Yet not I, but the grace of God which was within me, which was in me, with with me. So does the grace of God having the sense of God being the God of all grace. And in that way, brethren, that is what touches the heart. And the heart is the main spring of Christian life, and that is what will carry us through.
These times of outward ruin, Lord, help us to understand it.
One more verse in Romans chapter 5 and verse 2.
Romans chapter 5 and verse 2 by whom?
By Jesus Christ also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
That is.
We stand in our position before God in His favor.
God looks upon us with all the love of His heart.
In favor.
This is my child, this is my son in whom I'm finding delight, and that's our position before God. He looks upon us and all that.
I favor toward us and that's the grace, that favor in which we stand. And so he says if you have that, as he says later in Romans, if God is for us, who can be against us if he had the eternal purpose that I am to be with him and like his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you gonna abandoned his purpose. Is he gonna not fulfill it for us?
We stand in it. And so, he says, we rejoice in hope.
A firm, fixed expectation, not a hope of maybe or maybe not, but a confident hope that what's ahead of us is the glory of God and to live in it. And so he says in the next verse of that chapter, which Timothy was feeling in his day with Paul speaking to him. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations.
And so on. And so even the difficulty could be looked at as something God was using for the fulfilling of that purpose of good. And so if we stand strong in the grace of God, we will also be able to look at the tribulations that come with it as those things that God is using for good and for blessing, rather than, as Timothy had a tendency to be, fearful.
And sort of not wanting to face it.
Is unmerited favor.
None of us deserve any favors from God when we consider what we are by nature.
We've turned our back on God.
And yet God is willing to show favor.
To you and to me, and we need to keep, I believe, in the enjoyment of God's goodness to us. Now reference has been made to Titus chapter 2 with respect to the grace of God, but I was noticing in chapter 3, it tells us here what we were in verse three, Titus 3:00 and 3:00.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.
Well, if this is our condition.
What sort of favors do we deserve?
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Nothing.
And I believe the apostle Paul, as he writes this to Titus, was thinking about the fact that he was in this category.
But in verse four he says, But after that, the kindness and love of God, our Savior toward man appeared.
And so on. And then he speaks of God's mercy and also how we are justified by grace in verse 7.
But I feel that in my own experience.
When there's persecution.
Because of testimony for Christ, the tendency, perhaps is to become resentful.
And to become.
Even rather antagonistic.
But that's my old nature.
And if one was strong in the grace that was in Christ Jesus, one would realize.
That I don't deserve any good, any favor and God.
In Spite of Oneself has shown it to me, and I think if we appreciate this, we're going to be more.
In the right attitude toward those that oppose us.
And the apostle Paul, I believe he must have felt opposition from the enemy like no one else, no other servant apart from Christ himself.
You know, was it that, uh, Lystra?
The parcel. He was stoned.
And he thought he was dead.
And they're standing around.
Well, he rises up.
Is that dead or what is he gonna do?
He goes to the next town.
And continues the glorious message of the gospel. He's still giving out the glad tidings. He doesn't resent the treatment that he received at Lystra. In fact, I believe he goes right back to that place later on.
So I just mentioned this because.
We want to have the right attitude toward those that oppose us, and we really cannot unless we're enjoying the grace of God in our souls. Infinite grace of God.
Couple of other the other apostles and what they said about grace as well. I know the apostle Paul was speaking to Timothy here, but really the last words of Peter the apostle, he addresses a situation where there was umm a falling away really in connection with practical godliness in life and umm among the believers in his day. And he says in second Peter chapter 3 verse 18, but grow in grace.
And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and forever. And then in Revelation, where we were reading this afternoon, they laid a sea in character of the Church in its latter days.
Now the apostle John spoke of and in the very last verse of what he writes in Revelation chapter 22 verse 21, he says the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Oh, man, so there's grace needed not only when there's breakdown in the testimony in the House of God, but there's grace that's required in connection with what we see perhaps among the Saints of God, a lot of loose living.
And dishonouring of the Lord in that way, And then perhaps the coldness or an indifference to the glory of Christ, and the cooling of the affections. Why, we have the same grace that is presented as the.
That which is needed in the day that we live in. So why does he address here? Umm, he? Why does he use the title of Christ Jesus? Why isn't it Jesus Christ?
In verse one.
Ford's present, uh, exaltation at the right hand of God, uh.
Isn't that the thought when the apostle uses Christ Jesus that?
He is considering the Lord now as exalted.
God's right hand.
As a man.
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Jesus is that which Scripture uses to emphasize.
The place that we have been brought into before God in Christ.
And when Christ is used first in contrast to Jesus Christ used.
They're both brought together, but the emphasis first is Timothy, it's important to recognize that what grace has done has brought you into the place before God that you enjoy in Christ Jesus. And so it brings before us our place before God in his person, through what he has done, if any man be in Christ.
He is a new creation.
When it's Jesus, it's generally first. It is the thought of what God is doing for us through the person that he has sent into this world as a man.
And what God is accomplishing by that man, Jesus Christ.
But when Christ is given first, generally in the Epistles alone, or even in connection with Jesus, it is more the thought of what we have been brought into the place that we have before the eye of God.
Through his person and his work.
And so through the person and work of Christ, we have been brought into a new creation, and we stand before God as children in Christ Jesus before God. We don't stand before God in Adam.
We stand before God in Christ we were before. God is children of Adam.
But not anymore.
We've been brought into a new place.
By.
Christ Jesus to stand before God in new creation, and that's part of the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And so as it says in Romans referring to it again, chapter 5, verse two, that place of favor in which we stand would not be possible.
Except for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection.
God could not put us in the place of favor before His eye, except He could bring us into it through the death and resurrection and then association of us with Himself in Christ Jesus.
And that's what brings us into new creation. And so we stand now in that new position in His favor toward us, which is unchanging and will be toward us forever. It's not only individual acts of favor that's in view, but it's our position itself is eternally before His eye, as according to His delight and His favor. Hmm.
Well, we're not to keep that grace to ourselves, are we?
Verse two brings before us that.
What Timothy had learned.
He was to commit to faithful men. This is one verse that forever and there are others, that deals a death blow to any thought of Apostolic succession, doesn't it? God never intended that apostles or others should be the custodians of the faith and that they would continue to carry on, but there was a way.
Not in any way, of course, uh, denigrating the word of God. That was going to be very important. But at the same time there was a responsibility to communicate that which Timothy had received of Paul and to pass it on to faithful men. What were they to do?
Pass it on to others, and the Word of God would be the safeguard that it was passed on in a pure form. We know, of course, that it was not done that way. We know that failure came in. We know that bad doctrine came in. And so quickly after John wrote this that actually those who knew and were conversing with the apostle John were in some cases instrumental in.
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Taking the truth away and substituting for that which was not according to the word of God.
But this is what God intended, didn't he?
As well as known in the head, and this way of transferring or passing the truth of God on from generation to generation must be walked in or we can't keep it and hold it. And so the way Paul speaks about it here emphasizes that no doubt Paul was feeling very much those in Asia that had turned away.
From his doctrine, I don't believe they'd given up all New Testament truth, but they had specially given up Hall's ministry and Paul was the one who saw the Lord in glory. We were.
We are emphasizing what the meaning of Christ Jesus is, and that's how Paul came to know Jesus as his Lord in glory, and so that characterizes his ministry.
And this ministry of the heavenly calling of where Jesus is now and where our destiny is, that is the, uh, a truth that is very precious. It was to Paul. And he wanted to be sure that Timothy, uh, uh, valued that and would pass it on to those who would responsibly walk in there.
Diligent in.
Learning Halls doctrine and he turned back to the uh, the 4th chapter of first Timothy, verse six. If thou with the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good.
Minister of Jesus Christ, nurished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, where unto thou hast attained. So I believe that Timothy had been diligent in taking in Paul's doctrine and walking in it, and.
He was a faithful brother. It doesn't say commit thou to gifted brethren, but to faithful men.
That's what God is looking for. And, uh, it was to be passed on in the same form in which it was received.
Which, you know, they'll be. Timothy did did so.
So he says in that First Timothy 4IN verse.
12 Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in Word.
Conversation, that's manner of life and charity, that's love and spirit and faith and purity. In other words, he was to walk according to the truth that he was learning and had received in his personal conduct. The Lord Jesus who said, I am the truth also said, I am altogether that which I say unto you.
In other words, his life was the living, perfect expression of all that he said.
And he's the model.
That's true faithfulness when the life is the expression of that which is taught.
That faithfulness, and it's the only true way that truth can be passed on, because if we don't express the heart of God.
It's not possible to express the truth of God, and God is holy and God is love, and if we do not express in what we say is doctrine.
The expression of what God is in his own being of light and love, then we are not expressing properly the truth of God. And so in this expression, faithful men, it didn't have really anything particularly to say to give.
Gift has its place, but the important, overwhelmingly important thing is that having received it for oneself is to be held in one's own life properly and then expressed to others.
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Chapter one and verse five the Lord speaks to UMM.
These seven assemblies, but the first thing he says he begins to say in verse 5 from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness.
And the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth.
We find in the scriptures often times those that were faithful witnesses paid a very steep price and the Lord Jesus paid the price to be a faithful witness. But then a little further on in Revelation chapter 19.
He's given a new title in verse 11. I saw heaven opened, and behold, a White Horse, and he that sat upon him was called faithful.
And true. And so Timothy in First Corinthians chapter 4, the apostle Paul speaks of him, and he says in verse 17, First Corinthians 417 For this cause of Isen unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son.
And faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways, which be in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. So Timothy knew what it was to walk with Paul, faithful man.
And he too, the Spirit of God records was faithful. And we find in, I think it's the first Peter chapter 5 that Umm Sylvanus is referred to. And in the new translation he says Sylvanus, the faithful brother. So every one of us has the opportunity and the day that we live in to be faithful and the Lord is going to judge us on our faithfulness.
To His Word and to His cause, not our intelligence as to what it is, not as to really the gift that we have. Every one of us has the potential to be faithful to Christ, to the Person of the Lord, and to the truth that we know.
So there's four generations mentioned in verse 2.
Paul taught Timothy.
Timothy was to commit what he had learned to faithful men.
And they in turn were to be able to teach others also. This is the way God's testimony is to be carried on from generation to generation. As has been said, not through necessarily gifted men, although everyone has a gift and there is gift, but it is through faithful men. But I'd like to mention here he says what thou hast heard of me among many witnesses. I think that is a a good.
Thing to think about.
When we have a reading meeting, as we are now, the scripture says in First Corinthians 14 the prophets speak two or three and let the others judge.
Not judging persons, but judging what is said. You have the scriptures in front of you.
Look at it as the brethren are talking about it. Is that what it says?
Get it for yourself from the Scriptures and and I, I really appreciate it because there is opportunity in a meeting like we are having now for the Lord to use one brother and another brother to give the right balance to the truth. I'm not really balanced in every way. I need my brethren to help out in that and we need each other.
And so, Paul, what he taught Timothy was not his secret, it was among many witnesses. And so the importance of these reading meetings in public reading and teaching.
Says to be able to teach, that's important to be able to teach others. Also. I was just looking at Ezra Chapter 7. It's beautiful what it says about.
Ezra.
In verse Chapter 7 and verse 10.
Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord.
And to do it, there's a faithful man.
And to teach in Israel statutes and judgments how important it is.
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To teach these things.
Bill was mentioning the importance of getting a hold of these precious truths as to the church and our heavenly calling that is being given up in a lot of places in the world. Well, Ezra could teach go to Nehemiah. There was another man who was faithful. Chapter 8 and verse eight it says.
Amongst others was Nehemiah and they read in the book of the law of God distinctly.
And gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading. That's the purpose of a reading meeting, to give the sense and to help to understand the scriptures. How important these things are ready.
Hear that?
Uh, they were to go to, uh, Bible college or to, uh, seminary, but, uh, in the bosom of the assembly where the truth was ministered in its purity, uh, they would learn the truth, uh.
That had been committed to the Apostle.
So, uh, we have a wonderful fund of truth amongst brethren, so-called. And, uh, there's nothing that really can compare with it in the systems of men. And so, uh, if we, uh, value that truth and it's, it's ministered in the assembly, we have something that, uh, you won't find in a Bible college.
Yeah, I I thought about that.
Not to speak.
Degradingly of those that want to teach the scriptures but in the Bible college.
A professor is paid to teach.
And it's not for these students if there is an error in what he says to stand up and say. But what does the Scripture say here, Mr. Professor? You can't do that. That's not the context. It's in the assembly when we're gathered together and the Spirit of God is given liberty. I can make mistakes. I have made mistakes, brethren, and thankful for others who caught it.
And were able publicly to say, let's read this other Scripture. And he gives the balance to it. That's the context. And that's why it's the assembly that is the pillar and ground of the truth in First Timothy chapter 3. It is not a Bible school.
Let's not speak degradingly. I'm sure there are many that want to teach and do teach a lot. That's good, but that's not the proper context.
Way 2 doesn't he? In UMM chapter five First Thessalonians he says in verse 19 First Thessalonians 519 Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesying.
Prove all things, hold fast that which is good, while they were going to hear things and they needed to prove them by the word of God. And so he says to Thessalonians in Second Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 15. He gives them instruction there. 2nd Thessalonians 2 verse 15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions or the traditional teachings which.
Ye have been taught whether by word or by our epistle. And so God largely uses those two means to teach us the truth of God by word or by the epistles. And Paul wrote 14 epistles. And we know that there were eight writers of the New Testament. They wrote as well, every one of them. And there's a purpose for every letter that was given to us but Timothy here.
Was to be giving this truth out and to really identify those that would be faithful.
Devoted to Christ and to pass that truth on accurately, not to umm, water it down and perhaps take the sharp edge of the sword off of the truth of God. It was to be delivered the way He got it.
00:55:03
And how we can be so thankful that the truth that was recovered, as our brother was mentioning earlier, uh, almost 200 years ago now, has been delivered accurately and taught in the writings of our older brethren. And May God give us the grace in these latter days to hold the traditional teachings of Scripture as we have been taught, as we have read in the Word of God, and as we have received from those older brethren.
Connection with this verse in the presence of many witnesses.
The truth of God is to be passed on in a public way.
Umm, when the Lord Jesus was being challenged and put on trial and they asked him of his doctrine, his answer was in secret. Have I said nothing? I taught in the synagogues. He taught in the public place where the Jews came together and he didn't have private.
Secret councils, as the Jewish leaders did for what they were going to do and not to do. And it's always a danger.
If we think we have some knowledge of some kind of a truth that we think we have to share in a private way with some more spiritual eyes or minds or something like this, but it's not suitable for collective benefit, that's a very serious danger. And the Saints of God have gone wrong and people have gone, been misled and gone down wrong roads because it was not the truth being ministered in among many witnesses.
And that's the character of the assembly, that is, it's public among the Saints of God. And in that place the Spirit of God will. And this is a preservative. The Spirit of God confirms that each person present, if what they're hearing is truth. And if two people say something in the same meeting and they don't agree, we don't have to fight and say no, I can prove I'm right and you're wrong.
The Spirit of God is the one that confirms the truth to the soul, and he, the Spirit will never confirm error to our souls. And so it's essential that the truth be passed on where the Spirit of God has liberty to confirm it to the soul or not confirm it by not confirming it to the soul in the way it's given. So they fact that it was passed on in the presence of many witnesses is also important.
Hmm.
He gets testimony to the truth of God.
There's another passage of scripture that Paul says this. Then in Acts chapter 20 and verse 20 he says Acts 20 verse 20. Now I kept how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you.
And have taught you publicly and from house to house.
He didn't teach one thing publicly and then teach something else privately. Paul was very consistent in his delivery of the truth. And sometimes we might publicly want to say something. We might present ourselves as being very faithful publicly to hold up the truth of God, and perhaps in an assembly or a reading, meeting, whatever. But then privately, maybe not as devoted to Christ and, uh, devoted us to the truth and not as faithful or as accurate as what we might present publicly.
But Paul didn't put any airs on. No airs. What he taught publicly, he taught privately, and he taught the truth in the homes. It's a a good thing. It's well, I know I'm not trying to.
To say that anything differently in connection with what has been just said, but perhaps we could turn to Acts chapter, uh, eighteen. It speaks there of equivalent Priscilla. It's the right way of using the home, but they were supporting the truth in Acts chapter 18 and verse 26, He began to speak boldly of Apollos. It says that he began to speak boldly in a synagogue whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them.
And expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And so perhaps they brought him into the home, and they expounded the way of God more perfectly unto him. It's the right way to use a home. But what we teach in the home is what we teach in the assembly.
01:00:10
There that.
The apostle not only was a great teacher, uh, unexampled that, uh, I would, I would say, uh, in his, uh, ministry of the word and the revelations that he had received from God, but there was also the pastoral aspect, uh, not only publicly, but he was in the homes, uh, ministering and, uh, in a shepherd capacity there.
Uh, to, to, uh, be with the brethren and to, uh, enter into their, uh, their particular needs and, uh, and.
Minister, uh, in that capacity, is that not, uh, the thought in House to House as well as what our brother has said here?
The thought is not that any truth cannot be communicated to from one individual to another. It can, but all truth.
Yeah, it's perfect liberty to share the Word of God with one another. We never should say, oh, I can't say this because it's not in the presence of witnesses. But the thought of God is that the passing on of that which is collectively recognized, as it says the pillar in support of truth is in the assembly, is that which supports what truth is and is to be passed on. And so there's nothing that's to be.
Held privately.
It's all right to communicate it, but it's not to be given that character of private or specially godly ones are supposed to know some things that no one else is allowed to know. And, uh, it's the manner in which the truth is preserved that's in question, not individual use of it for one another.
Hmm. Hmm, hmm, hmm.
Three and four we have the soldier.
And uh, the new translation says, take thy share and suffering as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
How to recognize it's not going to be easy?
So a soldier when he's trained to be a soldier.
Is vigorous.
Discipline, and he learns, above all, obedience.
Sometimes he understands the command and doesn't understand why, but one or the way or the other, it's obedience, and so he might have to suffer.
Durer hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and no man that warth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. He has to have firmly established in his soul that the word of his commander is first. Nothing can compare with that that's first.
So often, you know, brethren, we know that Scripture exhorts us to not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. But when it comes to the meeting, assembly meetings, we have excuses for not being there. Brethren, how are we in comparison to this figure of a believer, a soldier?
This is something to think about.
Mary used to have a little expression. Maybe you heard him say it, but he said, uh, when we got saved, we gave up our right to choose.
And so here in verse four it says in the new translation, that he may please him who hath enlisted him.
As a soldier, so when we got saved, we gave up our right to choose and if we truly would acknowledge the Lord Jesus as our Lord and He had Lordship authority in our lives, He could direct us.
And in the path of faith there is suffering if we act in obedience.
In Luke Chapter 9, we have two individuals that came in contact with the Lord and it's interesting what they said.
01:05:06
Verse 59.
He said to another, That's the Lord said to another, Follow me.
But he said, Lord, suffer me first.
To go and bury my father, Me First. That's the culture that we form a part of in United States of America. Me first.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead, go thou and preach the Kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee, but let me first.
Go and bid them farewell that are at home at my house. There's another me first.
Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, his fit for the Kingdom of God.
Oh, what a tremendous lesson it is to learn it. It dies hard in it. This me first thing.
It's easy to let it predominate a soldier.
Is not a me first person if he's a good soldier.
This is verses three and four. We get both sides of the same coin, don't we?
That is when it says to endure hardness or take your share in suffering. That can take many forms. A soldier, of course, might have to sleep on a pretty hard bed at times. He might have to sleep in a tent. His food might not always be up to what he thought it should be. Many things he might have to do. He might have to slog it out in an unfavorable climate.
For you and for me as believers, it can cover many things, can't it? It can cover what kind of a job we take, what part of the country we live in, what kind of lifestyle we undertake. It can cover many things and there may be some hardness involved in many different aspects of our life that we have to accept.
But then the next verse talks about what we do.
A soldier doesn't ask for hardness, he gets it.
But if we entangle ourselves with the affairs of this life, that's something we choose to do, isn't it?
And that can become a very difficult thing because we need to mind our affairs in an orderly and proper manner. We can't just ignore them and be sloppy about our way of doing things. That's not honoring to the Lord.
But sometimes we have to say.
I can't really serve the Lord. I can't really do what He wants me to do. I can't really go where He wants me to go. I can't do the things that I feel I want to do for Him if I'm in this situation or that situation, if I do this in my life or do that.
And I suppose, and we've used the example before, a good example is an individual who wants to compete in the Olympics.
For about four years, usually. Everything is subservient, isn't it, to that goal?
Doesn't matter what it is in their life every time they think of what they're going to do.
How is it going to affect that coveted gold medal that maybe I'll get down the road? And it ought to be that way with the Christian, shouldn't it? And of course it leads into that in verse five, but.
The entangling ourselves, I say it kindly because I'm guilty of it too, is probably a bigger snare for us in North America than other countries. Would you say, Bob?
It's easy to get entangled here. There's lots of things to tangle us up.
And we spend time on them, and perhaps neglect the Lord's things. And again I speak right here to myself.
Oh no, Oh no. The fact the brother remarked many years ago, he said. The better The thing is, the more dangerous it is. Because it looks good. It may not be evil in itself.
Greatest form of suffering.
Sad to say would be the shame that's associated with taking a stand for Christ in this world.
I can see in my own life and.
From others that I've talked to, the reproach is associated with going into this, uh.
01:10:06
This world around us with a culture that's taken place and to prevent something which others don't wanna hear, uh, we just suffer and, uh, and having to bear a reproach and to take up the cross of Christ. And uh, in the eighth burst of umm, of the first chapter, it says, be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of he is a prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Uh, this isn't a question, umm, it's not a question as to whether or not we should bear reproach for God. It's we should, umm, it says be thou partaker of the affliction, doesn't say try to try to scoot around it and do work for and do something for the Lord. Present the gospel where there's not going to be reproach. It says to be a partaker of it and there's joy in that.
The aspect in which is.
It says in the Acts when they first suffered.
Umm, for him that the Lord the apostles, they say.
They rejoiced.
That they were counted worthy to suffer. Why? For His namesake. And it's the attachment of the soul to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that makes the difference. The moment the point of reference is my suffering or my reproach for His name, but the moment it's the me first, even in the suffering side of it.
It's going to be incredibly more difficult.
But the apostles didn't have themselves as the point of reference. It was rather his name. His name. Not my name, not my suffering, but his name. And they appreciated they had a love for himself that was such that they counted suffering a privilege for his namesake.
And if the soul is attached to the Lord Jesus?
That makes the difference, really, in the willingness to be identified. And so Paul and Galatia said to the Saints in his letter to them, God forbid that I should glory.
Saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom I have been crucified unto the world, and the world unto me. That is, he was personally found his identification with the very thing that caused suffering, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, which represented his rejection by the world. And so he said, I want to be identified with my Lord, my Savior. I love him.
And the consequences be as they may.
And so it is tremendously, practically important that the heart be attached to himself, otherwise the capacity to suffer is greatly diminished.
I must interject.
At this point, I can just hear it, Brother Edgar saying at this moment. Time's up, brethren.
Just a little reminder of our brothers. It's not here.
Hmm.
226.
And art thou grave?
01:15:04
Nsnoise.
Kings chapter 2 and verse seven do not they blasphemy?
That worthy name by which ye are called.
Yes.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Wally Dear
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.
To the Gospel meeting tonight.
The Gospel.
Is glad tidings are good news.
In fact, I was looking in the J&D translation.
And every time.
I would see the word gospel in the King James person.
I see glad tidings in the J and DI, just thought that was interesting.
Because it's wonderful to be able to stand up here tonight.
And present the good news of the gospel of the grace of God.
It's refreshing, it gives relief.
Because when you read the news in the paper.
Around the Internet.
Oh, you hear it.
From the radio.
Or from the TV.
It's depressing now and then there might be something that's.
Uplifting something that shear the heart.
But for the most part, it's depressing. But tonight we've got wonderful news and it's a message of love that's come down from above.
As for you and As for me.
And.
We wanna focus.
I'm one person here tonight.
His name is Jesus.
Jesus. Jesus, Exactly.
Suits us sinners.
Jesus eternally saves.
Uh, sinners. And you know, Jesus not only saves, he satisfies.
Jesus eternally satisfies.
US Saints.
So we have a wonderful person.
To sing about.
And we're gonna talk about him.
We're gonna read about him.
And.
Not only are we going to talk about him, we're going to talk with him.
Here tonight.
Now there's one word.
That I've been thinking about in connection with the name of Jesus.
It's a four letter word.
It's the word.
Only.
ONLY.
What does only mean?
Only means.
Nobody else.
And nothing more.
And that is all.
Only and I looked at this hymn sheet.
And I must say, I didn't read every word, but there were three songs or three hymns on the hymn sheet that has the word only. So I'd like to sing these tonight.
Let's sing #9.
We'll start tonight by singing #9.
Every soul I sin oppressed, there's mercy with the Lord. He will surely give you rest by trusting in His Word only.
Only trusted.
Only trust in that why he will save you.
He will save. He will save you now. You mean I can be saved by only trusting Jesus?
That's what the Bible says. Do you believe the Bible is true?
You know, saying Jesus loves me. This I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
The Bible tells me so. Let's keep that in mind.
The Lord Jesus sit.
00:05:00
Verily, verily, truly, truly I say unto you, I say unto thee, he that believeth on me.
Has everlasting life.
The Bible tells me so.
So that's why this him is based on the body.
Only trusted. It sounds simplistic.
In making the way of salvation so very simple for you and for me, that you can be saved here tonight, right where you're at, sitting on your seat.
You don't have to do anything. You don't have to go anywhere.
You can be saved now if you will put your trust in Jesus.
And you can trust him while you're singing. Is him tonight. And you will be saved. Now I'm gonna talk more about this listing #9.
Let's stand up as we sing, please.
No president birthday. We're all born.
I may Wil joy.
00:10:43
Whosoever hearers shout, shout the sound. Now this has the word only #16.
Now the door is open. Enter while you may.
Jesus is the truth, the only living way.
Now there's one more swung. It's on the back.
Page.
So #43 one door and only one.
One door and only one.
Everybody got a index finger.
You got one of these? OK, this stands for one. Only one.
1.
And only 1.
Million, but I don't wish I hearted you.
One door.
And only one.
This.
We we had opportunity.
With the visit a life-size replica.
Of Noah's Ark.
And it was impressive.
I didn't realize the size.
Of this art until I stood there.
And it towered above me and stretched down over 500 feet. I believe they had it and I noticed.
One door inside of the yard there was a big door, but there was only one one door.
And you know.
He went inside.
00:15:01
Went to the door.
And it was a nice beautiful Plaid right by the door.
And there was a verse on that plaque. You know what it said?
Jesus said I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved.
And there was a presentation of the glad tidings. It was beautiful.
And so.
We stood there.
By that door.
We thought about nor.
And his wife. And their three sons.
Their wives 8 souls inside.
The door.
And I thought to myself.
What was Noah thinking as he stood inside by that door?
And the flood came.
Don't you think Noah was happy?
I think he'd be rejoicing.
As he contemplated what was taking place outside the door.
And so.
While we were standing there, man walked up.
You had a big bag around his waist.
And he had a big microphone.
With a big furry covering on it, you know, he said. I'm from France.
And I'm a journalist, and I'm over here to write a story about this boat, this ark.
And he was asking us if we like what we saw. And I said, you know, this art is truly.
A marvelous creation.
And it is from a technological standpoint to see the way this arc has been constructed.
In this particular artist model, I believe the thought was conceived back in 2003 or 4 and construction took place and it's still a work in progress, but it was opened on.
July.
7.
2016.
'Cause they wanted to open it.
On 7/7.
Because if you'll notice in Genesis Chapter 7 and verse seven, it says something there. Very interesting.
So perhaps we could just read exactly what it says. Genesis Chapter 7.
And verse 7.
It says and Noah went in and his sons.
And his wife and his sons wives with him into the ark because of the waters of the flood.
Noah is safe inside the ark.
And this reporter, he says this.
Seems to have kind of a spiritual.
Objective to it this art because there's many references to God into the scripture, to the word of God.
And he had some questions and, you know, it was wonderful opportunity to give the gospel.
And the fact that Noah found refuge in this big boat, this ark.
Because of the judgment, the flood that covered the earth.
The waters went up.
I believe 22 feet or more above the highest mountain.
There was no place of refuge on the face of this planet Earth accepting the ark.
Noah and his family went through the door.
And they were safe.
Inside Alright, it tells us here in verse 16 that the Lord shut him in along with all the animals.
00:20:13
You know, and we were able to tell this reporter today, we know that judgment is ahead for this world. God has appointed a day in which he will judge this world in righteousness.
By that man whom he has ordained, wherein he has given assurance unto all men, and that he has raised them from the dead.
Who's that man?
His name is Jesus, and Jesus is going to judge this world in righteousness. It's coming, but at the present time, the Lord Jesus.
He offers to you and to me a full and free party.
For our scene.
And he says I am the door.
Not a door.
Not a better door. Not the best door. Why? Because there's only one door.
We sang it in the songs here tonight.
#16 now the door is open.
Enter while you may.
Now Jesus is the truth, the only living way. One door and only one. You know when we sing that song?
I was able to sing I'm on the inside.
And not everybody was putting up their hand.
So I really couldn't see.
Exactly what was going on in your heart?
Did anybody point out here?
When we sang this.
You know, sometimes.
We do things because our neighbors do it.
And I wonder if somebody may have been pointing here, that really is not safe. You're still in your sins. You're outside of Christ.
You need to be saved because time is short.
And the door will be shut.
And when the door is shut, it will be shut forever.
Well before we departed.
The reporter said. I'd like to give you.
N.
And I had this, uh, track by John Kaiser.
Beautiful track.
I said to him, do you recognize this?
Oh yeah, Titanic. Oh yeah.
I said Titanic.
It had an experienced.
Captain, just like John likes to tell us.
He was a professional in his field, the captain, Captain Smith.
And the very finest of building materials for a ship.
And cutting edge technology of the day built into this ship.
And it was a monstrosity.
And it was impressive.
And it was.
The pride of the White Star line.
But you know, I said to Jim, his name is Jib. Jib.
This ship.
Is at the bottom of the ocean today.
It's 2 miles down under the water. Oh yeah.
And then I said this arc.
It didn't go down.
It floated and then he proceeds to.
Translate or speak a mile a minute French.
Into this microphone.
And I think he was getting the point because when he ended up going.
Titanic.
Well, it was a really good interview.
Except the way it ended up was kind of interesting, he said. No.
What do you think about Donald Trump?
00:25:03
How will he affect?
The future of America.
And the future of the world, you know this man, Donald Trump, he seems to be on so many minds today.
Well, you know.
I think Donald Trump.
Would be ready to admit.
That he is not the solution.
To the world's problems. I'm sure he's going to try to deal with some of the problems, but he can't.
Set this world right.
As much as people would like to see that happen.
Oh, that's good to hear. Thank you very much.
That was beautiful.
Some time ago I went to the dump there and.
Vanceboro. And when I arrived, here was a man. He had this huge black bag.
And he was struggling with this black bag. He wanted to throw it up over into the bin. You know, we got a big bin now and the bears can't get it done. Garbage.
So he comes over, he said.
You think you could help me?
With this bag, throw it in, I thought, well, yeah, I think so.
It didn't look like any big deal.
Until I started lifting on it.
Don't ask me what was in that bag, I think it was a pile of concrete or dirt or something, it was so heavy.
But anyway, we got into the dump, but the bin.
And then he said to me.
Do you know God?
That's a good question. Do you know God?
Have you ever had anybody ask you that question?
You know, I said. I do.
I know him and he was looking me up and down and I think he wondered how is it that I could respond in such a positive way? Well, I said to the man.
I said I've come to know God through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because the Son of God came into this world.
And he walked in this world as a man. The Son of God became the Son of man.
And Jesus was here in this world, and I come to know him, trust him. Well, you know, he said I really.
Haven't.
Thought of him in that way.
He said. I think Geo stands for.
Good, orderly direction. That's God. Good orderly direction. That's all I know.
I don't think that's knowing God or knowing Jesus, but isn't it wonderful to know God, and I mean in a personal way and to be able to speak with him just as we did at the outset of this meeting? We talked with the Lord Jesus. We talked with God the Father. We were on the 12Th floor of this building.
About 45 minutes ago.
And there was a whole room of brothers.
Down on your knees.
Talking with the Lord.
About you.
Any in this hall still in their sin. You don't know God, you don't know Jesus.
You're in big trouble.
You're gonna perish.
You need to be saved. You need to be saved now.
Because one of these days, and let me tell you this, it could be before the meeting is over, the door will be shut.
And if that would happen tonight, that Jesus would come.
You would still be here, sitting on your seat.
I know when I was growing up I thought about that and I must say it filled my soul with terror to think I would be left behind when Jesus comes.
Well, thankfully.
00:30:01
The time came when I I put my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus and I asked him to save me and he saved my soul.
And I've been saved ever since.
I believe once saved, always saved.
Because to suggest anything else.
Is an insult.
To God and to his Son.
And so we have to add.
Something of our own to what God has done.
As for God, His way is perfect.
And when he makes a salvation, it's perfect.
We can't add to it.
Well, why is it that Noah went into the ark? It was because of the flood. Why was the flood?
It was because of the wickedness in the world, and we've been talking about this little word only. I think the first reference in this translation to the word only is in chapter 6, Genesis chapter 6.
And verse.
5.
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great.
In the Earth.
And that every imagination of the thoughts.
Of his heart.
Was only evil.
Continually.
The margin in my Bible says the whole imagination.
The whole imaginations.
Says the Hebrew word signifies not only the imagination but also the purposes and desires.
It says here.
His heart was only evil continually.
What a commentary on the state of man. Only evil.
And as we read on in this chapter, verse 11, it says the earth also was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupted, for all flesh had corrupted his way.
Upon the earth.
All flash.
You realize that when the flood came?
It wasn't a regional flood.
It wasn't a local flood.
That was imposed on certain people because they were so bad.
But it was a flood that covered the face of the planet.
Why? Because all flesh.
Had corrupted.
His way.
And such is the state of man away from God.
It's plain, the Bible tells us.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And when the waters came, they covered the whole earth.
You know, some had the idea that.
Maybe their race is better or their nationality is better.
Or the country they live in is better than another country?
That's not the case, you know, it tells us the Lord, He looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God.
And what did he observe?
They are.
All gone aside.
They are all together, become filthy. There is none that doeth good.
No, not one.
Altogether become filthy.
Now, you know, men don't like to hear that commentary on their state.
And this is a big problem.
I do believe.
In the total depravity of man, fallen man, there's no good in fallen man.
00:35:03
Somebody says, well, you're going to an extreme.
No, that's what the Bible says.
At the other extreme, we have God.
Holy God.
And so we have on this extreme.
God only good.
Only wholly.
Over on this side, at this extreme, we have.
Man only dead, only sinful.
That's a big space in between.
You know what men try to do?
They tried to tell us that God is not as good as he says he is, He's not as holy as he says he is, and so he seeks to bring God down to his level and also.
He says.
Man, it's not so bad. There's some good in him and so he seeks to bring man up.
And bring God down. And somehow we have.
A middle of the road approach which I must say is a big mess.
It's not according to the Word of God. Now here tonight, I want to tell you something.
When I say.
That man by nature, in practice, is a Sinner in all bad There's a remedy, and that's the precious blood of Jesus.
Jesus at the cross of Calvary shed his blood.
In order to save your soul and mind.
And.
Cleans us from all sin.
How we get this cleansing?
By going to church? By being baptized?
By saying prayers.
By reading the Bible.
How is it that we can get cleansed?
Only trust him.
That's it. Only trust him.
Now that brings to mind another only.
John, 316.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
His only son, One son.
His delight.
Because we often sing by the one chief treasure His bosom freely gave his own pure love we measure his willing mind to save.
I believe the heart of God was pulled out.
In the unspeakable gift.
Of his dear son.
And now all God asks you to do is to trust Him. Put your faith in Him.
Believe on him.
Brother John here, he told me a little poem. I think I got it right, but I maybe don't have it quite right.
It went like this.
John, 316.
OK, 25 words.
In John 316.
12 About God.
And 12 about me.
Sun in the middle.
Who died?
Upon the tree.
Right at the center of John 316 is the SOA.
Just like the SUN is at the center of this solar system, SON is at the center of John 316. Because you know what I believe?
Jesus, the Son of God, is at the center of God the Father's thinking.
00:40:01
He loves his son.
And he has committed all things into his hand.
And he loves him so very much.
John three, 36. It tells us, he that believeth on the Son has everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
I believe that God thinks so much of his.
Beloved Son, because of what He did here on Earth.
Doing always those things that please the Father.
That to reject the sun is the worst crime that could ever be committed.
The worst thing is to reject God's Son.
And God feels that rejection.
And that's why it says the wrath of God.
Is there anybody here tonight? You're still in your sins. You've heard about Jesus, but you have not come to Jesus.
What is it that?
Keeps you from coming to the Savior. You have no good excuse.
You know, people have such flimsy excuses for rejecting.
God's goodness.
His offer of salvation. We read about excuses over in, I think it's Luke 14. One man, you know, he wouldn't come to the supper, that the man is prepared.
Because he bought oxen, he had to go to Proven. He bought land. He has to go check out the land.
See if it's good or not.
One man, he said, well, I married a wife, so I I can't come.
You know, there's no good excuse for not coming to Jesus. One time we were, uh.
On an island off the coast of Maine.
And we're looking for a lighthouse.
Well, we couldn't find a lighthouse, so we saw two hikers, a man and his wife, and they had this humongous backpacks. I mean, these things were seemed like they were almost as tall as they were and they were on their backs. Well, we started to go toward these ones and they put down these huge backpacks.
And we asked as to where this lighthouse is on this island. So we sit up, I'll show you, pulls out a map, and he showed us exactly where to go.
So before we separated ways.
I said Sir.
You gave us a good steer tonight or this afternoon.
So I'd like to leave you on here too, offering the gospel paper. You know what his wife said? He said no.
We can't carry any more weight.
That's what he said. She said that. I stood there. I could hardly believe my ears.
You know what she had a problem with her heart. Heart problem.
And I think that.
You probably felt the weight of those backpacks.
But if they would only feel the weight of their sings.
They would have grabbed this track.
And find out.
How their burden can be lifted?
Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But such is the case with.
Millions in the world tonight.
They go their own way, they have their own thoughts.
In my heart.
Goes after these ones. You don't realize they're peril.
Because one of these days the door is going to be shut and Grace no more will say yet there is room. You're gonna be outside the door or you're gonna be safe inside. Because if you're on the outside, there's no way you're gonna get back in. You're not coming in. It's gonna be too late now. 01's tonight. This is very serious business.
00:45:07
It wasn't that long ago.
There was, uh.
A plane that flew from Barcelona, Spain.
Headed to Dusseldorf, Germany.
He had 144 passengers on board.
6 crew members.
Well, part way through the flight.
The pilot exited the cockpit.
In order to use the restroom.
And when he went?
To return to the cockpit.
The door.
Shut up.
And so the pilot.
He knocked on the door.
It was all quiet.
You thought it gets on the intercom to talk with the cockpit?
There's no response.
How would you feel if you were the pilot?
Wanting to get in.
In order to navigate this plane to a safe landing, he couldn't get in.
He said well, I.
I can disable her.
I got a quote. It punches in the code to get in.
Didn't work.
The code reader on the inside been disabled.
Now he's getting frantic.
Something's wrong.
And he literally started.
To bang on the door.
And when he realized.
That that door was shut.
Deliberately shut.
You started, I think, with some kind of tools or whatever.
You want to get back in that cockpit.
But sad to see.
On the other side of that door was a deranged copilot.
And I understand after that copilot.
Lock the door.
He began a program.
Whereby that plane begin to descend into the French Alps.
We know the end of the story.
You know, it just makes me cringe to think about a pilot trying to get into his cockpit knowing that this plane is probably going down.
And all they could hear on the recorder was.
The copilot was breathing.
Consistent breathing.
They could hear somebody trying to break down the door of the cockpit.
And then they heard the shrieks.
And the screams.
As that plane crashed into the mountain.
Well, I spent a long time in that story, but what I want to say this?
Boys and girls.
If you're not safe, you're on the outside and judgment is ahead and you need Jesus and the doors open, he says. I am the door.
By me if any.
Man, woman, boy or girl, enter in. He shall be saved.
Wouldn't you like to know for sure you're safe inside?
You know there's many more scriptures we could turn to.
Uh, over in some no notice. Uh, some.
62.
I think 6 times we have the word only in this song. Psalm 62.
And we don't have time to read through the whole song, but it starts off and it's a Psalm of David. And he says truly.
My soul waited upon God and if you notice in the margin, at least in my Bible, I think Mr. Darby for the Word truly only my soul waits upon God only verse two. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved.
00:50:25
Notice verse five, My soul waved out only.
Upon God. See how often that word only shows up here? My expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be moved.
No.
There's two.
Places where we don't have the word, Well, I should say one place. Uh, I skipped over verse four. They only consult to cast him down. Now this only refers to those.
That are sinners.
And there's never only that refer to sinners in verse 9. Surely men of low degree are vanity.
I think the word surely, perhaps is only.
And men of high degree are a lie to be laid in the balance. They are altogether lighter than vanity, only vanity.
You know David, he liked to speak of the Lord as the rock of his salvation.
And if we turn over to the New Testament, we find the Lord Jesus refers to himself as the rock.
Because I do believe that Jehovah in the Old Testament is Jesus in the New.
And Peter said about the Lord Jesus, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
That was a good description because that's what Jesus is, the Christ, the Son of the living God and the Lord Jesus said on this rock I will build my church. He's referring to himself. He is the rock of our salvation.
There's uh.
A flight in Chacoamy.
Back in 1996 and I visited there shortly after and the brother was taking us around.
And he'd see that house there.
And there was a house standing all by itself out there.
He said there was a horrific flood. In fact, I think it was.
Four weeks of water going over the Niagara Falls accumulated during two days.
And it flowed through that area, carried away 488 houses, just swept away. But that house remained. And it's just a little house. It's called the Little White House. It become a museum. And I was reading about it because it's interesting. You know what, back in 1950, the man that built this house.
He made a good foundation. He went right down to the rock.
And this picture shows the rock right here. The rock.
The house remains till this day.
It was built on a rock. You know what the Lord Jesus said, The wise man, he builds on the rock.
So when the floods come, the storm beats against the house.
Stands firm.
But the foolish man, he builds on the sand.
And when the flood comes and the storm beats on the House?
It swept away.
And the Lord Jesus said those that hear his word and do it.
Are like those who.
Build on the Rock.
And they're safe for time and for eternity. But those who hear the Word and don't do it, the Lord said you're like a foolish person building on sand.
And you're gonna perish. You're gonna perish, you say. Well, I thought you said you don't have to do anything to be saved.
00:55:04
You know what the disciples wanted to know?
What could they do to do the works of God? What can they do? And the Lord Jesus said this is the work of God.
That you believe on him who he has sent.
No.
There's something that you can do with your mouth. See this mouth?
Romans 10 and 9. The mouth and the heart.
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart.
That God has raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved. Have you done that? Have you told somebody that Jesus is your Lord? Do you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead? You can't be saved unless you believe that Jesus lives.
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
He was buried.
He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures.
And Jesus lives, and he's returning.
And He wants you to trust Him and be saved. There's other scriptures we could turn to, but our time is up. There's just one other perhaps I'll mention, and that's in Mark chapter 5. Psoriasis. He comes to the Lord.
But on behalf of his daughter, his daughter's dying. She's sick.
Lord says, well, I'll go to your house.
But while the Lord is going to drive his house.
A servant came and said, don't trouble the master anymore 'cause your daughter is dead.
It's no use him coming to the house.
As soon as the servant said that.
Jesus said.
N.
I'd like to leave you with these 5 words.
Be not afraid, only believe.
Perhaps you could sing in closing.
#14.
Let's sing the 1St.
And the last verse of #14 Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
On the cross for me, on the cross for me, dying there in agony. Jesus paid the price, Himself, the sacrifice on the cross.
01:00:09
For me.
Can you say that?
He died for me. He died. That's history. He died for me, His salvation. And Jesus paid the price that salvation could be offered at no cost to you.
Only trusting.
Only.
Trust him.
2 Timothy 2:6-15
Reading
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Lord, Thou hast drawn us after Thee. Now let us run and never tire. Thy present shall our comfort be thyself, our hope our soul desires. 166.
Yesterday we were reading in Second Timothy chapter 2.
How far would you think we got, Brother Bob?
Second Timothy, chapter 2, verse 6.
The husbandmen that Laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Consider what I say and the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of 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.
Therefore, I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.
If we deny him, he also will deny us if we believe not. Yet He abideth faithful, He cannot deny himself.
00:05:01
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
And their word will eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Phivitus.
Who, concerning the truth, have erred saying that the resurrection is passed already?
And overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and that everyone that nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour sanctified, and meet for the master's use.
And prepared unto every good work.
Also youthful, lush, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions avoid.
Knowing that they do gender strife and the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apartment to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves.
If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Remind ourselves that we have only this morning's reading and that which is scheduled for this afternoon.
There is much in this chapter that would be a prophet to us, and well, I wouldn't in any way want to shorten the discussion on a particular verse. We might bear that in mind.
Yesterday.
We were encouraged in a faithful way to hold fast the as we had in the Second Thessalonians, the tradition by which we've been taught, whether by word or whether by our epistle.
And So what I'm going to say may seem to fly in the face of that, and I trust it doesn't.
But in the first chapter of our epistle.
Verse 16 It says the Lord give mercy unto the House of Vanessa. Forest refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me.
Lord, grant unto him, that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day. And how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus thou knowest very well.
My question is.
Did Onessa Forrest, after he had done all this in regard to the Apostle Paul, did he turn away from him as well?
I I don't know why that if he didn't, the apostle would say the Lord grant first of all to to him to his house, he might find mercy, and then the Lord might grant that he would find mercy of the Lord in that day.
Because this is that day, the day of manifestation of all things.
And I just mentioned this because.
I know of those who have defended Paul's doctrine, even at a cost to themselves.
And yet later today.
Umm, they're saying something different, and their associations are a denial of what we have in in Paul's doctrine.
And so I I only mention that as we take up these exhortations that we have in the second chapter to realize that none of us are immune.
00:10:08
Will not be preserved unless we take these exhortations to heart.
In chapter 4, Ernesto Forest is mentioned in verse 19.
Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 19 salute Prisca and Aquila and the household of Vanessa forest, and so I wondered whether or not Sephora went to be with the Lord and his household continued.
In the truth, there were not all it says here in verse 15 where you read first Timothy chapter one, verse 15. Thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are collegiates and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy unto the House of Vanessa for us. He's an exception. Perhaps there was uh, really, uh, Paul points out that uh, there were were some that were faithful not all forsook him. And I wonder if uh, perhaps.
We're not told whether, uh, he went to be with the Lord or not, but that there was, uh, some faithfulness seen in his life. And then at the end of this epistle, the apostle Paul speaks of his household as being faithful and perhaps walking in the same faithfulness as the Father did I just suggest this.
Just made, but at the same time IA 100% agree with what was said previously as to the moral importance of recognizing that any of us are. None of us are immune.
From what is before us of having embraced truth, enjoyed it, lived in it, and then later on turning away from it. And I will give as a scripture example of that truth, that point.
King Solomon, when he first became king, it says specifically of him, he loved the Lord.
But at the end of his reign, it also says of Solomon that the strange wives, he didn't follow his own advice, he didn't follow the truth that he preached to others.
As that we have in the Proverbs specifically, and the instruction there not to be taken up with the strange woman. And yet it says at the end of Solomon's life, that he his heart.
Was taken away by his love for the strange women of the other countries and his the end of his reign was sadly unpleasing to God. And so I think it's the point made is very important that we can embrace truth of God and live in it maybe for years and that.
At some point in life, we're not immune.
From that which would draw us away from it and bring sorrow upon ourselves, our family, and our brethren.
You get a similar thought I would suggest in the Old Testament.
And I've often thought of him in connection with.
Jonathan.
There's no record that Jonathan ever displeased David in any way.
And yet Jonathan was not willing to share that rejection with David, and as a result, he lost his life on Mount Gilboa.
What kind of a crowd was David surrounded with in The Cave of a Dullum?
Some very faithful men, but also some impetuous men, some who had to be rebuked at times and had to be restrained, some who were ready to stone him at one point in his life when things went the wrong way and Ziklag was burned to the ground and their wives and children taken captive.
But they were faithful to David and so I suggest the possibility as Robert has brought out that maybe Onessa Force and as Dawn has said too, maybe there was some failure in his life along the lines of real faithfulness. But Paul appreciated his love and his kindness and everything that he had done. And it does seem that his family continued to go on well for the Lord, which is a very thank worthy thing.
00:15:10
Interaction with Jonathan, that he had a son and his son is mentioned in connection with David Mephibosheth and uh, but it says that he was lame on both of his feet in chapter nine of Second Samuel. And perhaps a little picture of the fact that Jonathan did not walk with David in rejection. He did not identify with David in his rejection, and as a result, there was an effect upon the sun's life.
And so his Son was not able physically to walk and to follow David. But a little picture of how necessary it is for us as fathers and grandfathers to walk in a path of separation to the Lord, and to acknowledge the Lord Jesus in our lives practically, and associate with Him in his reproach.
Otherwise, our own children or our own grandchildren may not go on to follow the Lord.
Solemn responsibility that we have.
The spirit of the apostle Paul as he sought the blessing of the Lord's people, he had he had instructed Timothy here to be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's obvious that the apostle Paul himself was strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ because as he as he comments on on osiferous. He doesn't necessarily tell us the whole history of onociferous but.
You can sense the grace and the love that is in his heart for him, and he places on oceiferous in the best light possible. If there was failure in odosiferous life, the apostle Paul makes no attempt to make to emphasize that, but he makes the attempt to put osiferous in the in the the most.
Favorable life that he can. And that's a, that's a, umm, a proof of the grace that the apostle Paul had had in his heart. And that's a wonderful thing for us too. And isn't it? To learn and to be established in that same grace so that we can always put our brethren in the most favorable light possible.
Their husbands meant that laborers must be first.
A taker of the fruits.
And then consider what I say, and the Lord gives the understanding in all things.
I was thinking a lot about what is meant by this by this verse here and I was looking at.
Edge when Paul got saved.
And ever saw actually he was still sour when he got saved, it says here in verse in Chapter 9 of.
Ads and when he had received meat, he was strengthened, then was sauce.
Certain days with with disciples which were at Damascus, and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues that he is the Son of God.
Did the Apostle?
Far go through this right away.
That he when he was say that he was right away able, He was right away able to preach.
And does it have any connection with that?
It's helpful to see the new translation.
I'll read it. It says the husbandman must labor before partaking of the fruits.
Of course we know that to be the case.
Brother Doug, you are a husband, man or a farmer. Can you tell us about this verse?
Well, as in the natural, so in the spiritual and, and, uh, we, we understand that very easily. I don't think it's complicated.
00:20:10
It struck there to encourage us to labor and wait for the fruits we labor in hope, brethren, we and carrying on the with Paul's doctrine, there are many challenges. It's harder to go on for the Lord in a day of ruin.
Then when everything is smooth and there's a bright testimony. And so, uh, it takes more faith to walk with God in the day of run, but individually it's possible. And we, we need to be in be a here encouraging ourselves to continue on. Uh, there's a lot of, there's a lot of background history represented in this room of people that have struggled through, uh, problems and things that have come in, in the assemblies.
And it's wonderful to have survivors and to those that carry on with Paul's doctrine.
I think, uh, I was thinking of the in the story of or in the book of Acts, it's often been suggested that the shipwreck of Saul is a prophetic outline of the end times and that in that, in, in that shipwreck, it says that they cast the wheat in the sea to save the testimony, the ship.
I think that's a picture of casting out he, the heavenly calling of the church.
And that's what the, uh, covenant theology that is becoming more embraced by Christians today does in essence. And so it's a challenge to carry on with the heavenly calling and our relationship with Christ as a church.
How long does it take after you to produce, uh, a crop of corn?
Well, four months or five months isn't very long, but it's a picture of uh, uh.
Of the pathway of the Christian.
And are there in those four or five months?
This, and we see it as it's recorded in Daniel. It says of him at the end of his life he shall be cut off and have nothing.
And if we looked at the life of the Lord Jesus on the day of the crucifixion, we might have said this man produced no fruit in the earth.
His life was a failure. He didn't get anything out of the whole life that he lived.
But on the day of the resurrection and beyond, we look at his life and we see it's the most fruitful life that has ever or ever will be in the history. And yet he labored his whole life really in faith for God. And you might have looked at it and said that life wasn't very fruitful because there's, as it says in Daniel, he shall be cut off and have nothing.
And that's the way it appeared and that's the way it was. And so he was a faithful laborer. He was a faithful husbandman. But he, too, waited for the crop.
And the crop is the greatest crop that there will ever be in the history of man. And so we're given the same We sow in faith, and God's perfect time for a harvest comes, and we can count on there being the harvest, but our job is to be laborers for him and let him take care of when the fruit comes.
Apparent results. Should we? I think that's why in our chapter, brethren, he goes on to say in verse 8, Remember.
And Mr. Driver leaves out to that Remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David.
Raised from the dead. According to my gospel, God's answer is not in this life.
God's answer is on the other side in resurrection. And as you said, Don, it didn't appear that there was much results in this life. He died. It looked like it was complete failure. And here is the apostle Paul now he's come to the end of his life in this epistle, and it doesn't appear like there's much results, all those in Asia where he'd labored so hard.
00:25:09
It turned away from him. Things looked pretty bleak.
But he says, remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from the dead according to my gospel. And I think it is such a beautiful thing. There's not, uh, results in this life. We need not to get discouraged. We need to go on. There will be a harvest in the future. Like to mention to me, it's a beautiful example.
Of it in John chapter 4 the Lord Jesus is in Samaria and notice what he says there.
In verse 35, Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are wide already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another Reaper. I sent you to reap that where on ye bestowed no labor, other men labored, and ye are entered into their laborers. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying which testified of the woman. That which testified he told me all that ever I did.
But now go over to the book of the Acts in chapter 8 and you find another instrument of the Lord Philip. This is not Philip the Apostle, it's Philip the call later in the book, the Evangelist.
And it says in verse 5, Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, Samaria, and preach Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which they did, which he did.
And verse 12 and when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God in the name of.
Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
There's an example of the Lord Jesus sowed the seed in Samaria, and then later on here's Philip reaping the harvest that the Lord Jesus had sowed. So sometimes there are those who sow the seed and don't see too much results. It may be for another instrument of the Lord to come and do the reaping. The point is whatever the Lord gives us to do, not to be discouraged.
I would like.
I would like to make a application of this scripture in John four that I think fits very good with our subject matter.
Excuse me while they are, I would like to finish this thought and then I wanna hear your thoughts too. Uh, I was already gonna read this before Bob mentioned this scripture in John and uh, so we're, I think we're on the same channel here this.
In John 4 where he said the Lord Jesus has saved not ye, there are yet four months and then cometh harvest and then he refers to the white wheat that is ready to harvest. Wheat that is white is is passed ripe, it's sun bleached and it's so it's in it needs to be done quickly. There are four months between the wheat harvest and the fall harvest.
And I believe what the Lord Jesus was teaching here was the Jews were looking for what the fall harvest was a picture of. That was the harvest of earth, the blessing of the Kingdom on earth. The Lord Jesus was saying right now is another harvest upon us. It's the heavenly harvest which wheat is a picture of. And there are four mints between them. And so it links up with.
00:30:02
Paul's doctrine, which is heavenly truth, that is the harvest of wheat that is pictured throughout the whole Bible, and it's the tendency of Christianity Today to only think of blessing here on earth, when in reality Paul's doctrine gives us heavenly truth. The wheat harvest is a picture of that, and that comes first.
In the in the feast of Jehovah that are in the Old Testament and so the Lord Jesus here is saying don't miss out on the harvest. That's right now that is he's he was thinking of having a people in heaven with him afterward. We know there's gonna be a earthly time of blessing on earth and so that applies to us today, brethren.
There is a tremendous movement in the Christian testimony to go back to what are the light that the translators of the King James Bible only knew. They only knew the truth that linked up with Israel and didn't distinguish between the heavenly calling and the earthly. And so we can be thankful that 190 or 80 years ago that truth was revived.
Of the heavenly calling of the Church, the coming of the Lord, and so on.
These are the truths that I believe are impressed on us in this chapter and so we need to cling to these these things that are especially precious and have been revealed to us as those gathered to the Lords name, along with many other Christians that have accepted them too. But the danger is to give that up.
I was just gonna say that in Ecclesiastes.
It tells us there.
To sow the seed.
End.
Sew it in the morning.
And sew it in the evening.
Because you don't know what's going to prosper.
Either this or that or they both be like good. So we don't know what the results of sowing the seed will be, but it's our privilege to sow the seed. And I never forgot what somebody said one time they said.
You can count the number of seeds.
In an app, but you cannot count the number of apples in a seed.
So let's not get discouraged. Let's.
I'd like to draw attention to just two very plain statements of Scripture that have encouraged me. In this connection, Wally referred to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 11, verse one.
Cast thy bread upon the waters.
For thou shalt find it. That's a very positive statement.
God doesn't leave us in a hope so condition. When we have his word, we have something that's.
Guaranteed the guaranteed results. His word never goes forth in vain, so it says, Thou shalt find it. Very plain statement.
And the other verses in First Corinthians. And again this is this passage was alluded to just in the last few minutes. First Corinthians chapter 3.
And verse 6.
Paul says I have planted a Polish water but God gave the increase. We recognize what God did through Apollos and Paul, but verse 7 applies to us.
Verse seven says so that neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase.
Extract from that this plain statement God gives.
The increase?
It's guaranteed.
00:35:00
Hmm.
Going back to the question our brother Eckert was asking.
I would suggest, and we don't need to dwell on it, but I would suggest that when the apostle Paul was saved, as her brother has pointed out, he was still Saul, that the Lord did give him very quickly.
A sense of the mission that he was to have, how that he was to be the apostle to the Gentiles and the special one to whom the truth of the assembly was committed. And he did receive, as we know, those revelations.
From a risen Christ in glory, not given to anyone else, but given to Paul.
And he was given the responsibility to preach that precious truth.
And I believe in that connection. That's why he says in verse seven of our chapter.
And that connects with what our brethren have been bringing out. Consider what I say.
And the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Do I want to have an understanding of the Word of God? I have to have Paul's doctrine clear in my soul and in my mind. I've never yet in my life met someone who could understand the Word of God, who rejected Paul's ministry because it's the key to everything. And so if I want to understand the purposes of God, they're found in Paul's ministry, and it links together all the purposes of God from a past eternity to a coming eternity.
It's all found there.
But as Dear Paul found out, it was not popular.
And at the end of his life, as has already been pointed out, he could have been an extremely discouraged man. He could have said Timothy.
It's not working.
We have to try something else. We have to do something different. Look at what happened.
I remember quite a few years ago now.
I had a contact with a man who was a little younger than I in Buffalo, NY and he asked me to have lunch with him. He was a dear Christian.
And I remember distinctly, he looked at me, he said, Bill, you've traveled a fair bit. You've been around the world. You've had a lot of experience in Christian things.
I want to start a church.
I want you to tell me what works.
What works?
Well, I said, brother, I want to show you what worked for the Apostle Paul.
And I don't think, although we parted amicably, I don't think he really cared for the answer I gave him. I said, brother, let's look at what the Apostle Paul had to experience at the end of a faithful life of preaching the whole truth he could say without hesitation in Acts 20. I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
What did he have to say at the end of his life? Just what Brother Bob brought out all day, which are in Asia. He turned away from me.
Now I thank God that all Paul's laborers weren't in Asia.
But the point is, where some of the brightest testimonies had been, there was a total giving up of Paul's teaching. Not Christianity, but Paul's teaching. They said, Paul, this is not for us.
I don't have any right to say what works, do I?
What I have to say is, and this is what is being brought out in this epistle.
And Paul says this to Timothy. You be faithful to the Lord, you consider what I say.
And the Lord will give the understanding in all things, but remember the reward for faithfulness.
For the Lord Jesus was in resurrection the reward for faithfulness for Paul.
Well, be it the judgment seat of Christ, he didn't see it down here. And by implication, the reward for the faithful Christian will not necessarily be down here. Yes, we may get encouragement from time to time. We thank God for that. But.
The reward is in the coming day, and Paul proceeds to detail that as he goes on in this chapter, that it's going to be a pathway of suffering. It's going to be a pathway of difficulty. It's going to be a pathway where you may not see the tangent rewards for what you do for the Lord, but the Lord will give us reward in the coming day if we're faithful to Him.
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For results does he? He does hold us responsible for faithfulness, but he does not hold us responsible for results because as our brethren have already quoted in First Corinthians.
Chapter 3 God giveth the increase. And so he goes over here in verses 8 and nine really in connection with the two examples of faithfulness unto death. Really he, Paul hadn't suffered, uh, to death. But he mentions the Lord Jesus as one of the examples of one who was faithful to his God and father in all that he was given to do. And he could say truthfully, he could say, I do always those things that please my Father and heaven itself could open up and say, this is my beloved son.
In whom I am well pleased. He was faithful unto death, but then the Apostle Paul was faithful as well.
Wherein I suffer trouble. It says verse nine. And then he also says verse 10. I endure all things for the elect's sake. And so there was an endurance, faithfulness on the part of the apostle Paul.
So we have those two great examples even in this chapter, and perhaps we might even say Timothy, an example of faithfulness. And so God delights and he always rewards faith and faithfulness.
Were not accountable for results. We are accountable for faithfulness.
Very very important really is to understanding this passage and fruit bearing verse 8 to read it again. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
Going back to the Old Testament, God looked for fruit from his earthly people, Israel.
In Isaiah chapter 5, he says of his planting.
And he had planted Israel and the earth as a seed from which he was seeking fruit.
And he has to say what more could be done in my vineyard and he could find no fruit.
The truth of that is that in Adam there is no fruit for God.
None.
There's not a child of Adam who has been able to produce or be himself fruit for God's glory, and Israel with all its benefits and all the labor of God as a husbandman for that earthly people could not produce a fruit that was pleasing in his sight, and consequently when the Lord Jesus came here to earth.
As a husbandman seeking fruit for God, there was not going to be any, even though he labored as the seed of David in Israel for fruit.
And it had to be said, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. Speaking of himself, it abideth alone. He would have been the only fruit for God in the history of man as a seed of David, as a earthly man. But there's no fruit for God in Adam's race, in Adam, all die. And so here the key in verse eight is raised. He went through death.
And then?
Was raised from the dead, and that's the secret of all fruit for God's glory.
There would be no harvest for God if there had not been death, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and there would be no fruit for God if there was no resurrection.
In Adam I'll die, in Christ all shall be made alive, and now God can have a harvest.
He can have fruit.
And we've heard something about people today who seek fruit for God and have corrupted, destroyed the whole truth of God in trying to produce a fruit. I'll use the name through things like covenant theology as an example, because it's an attempt again to go back and produce something for God in Adam's race, and it always connects itself.
00:45:04
With the 1St man and prosperity, the prosperity gospel and all the rest of it, is man trying to use Christianity as a means of encouraging fellow man to be fruitful and have a happy life.
But it doesn't work. God, you might say, did it for 4000 years without producing any fruit as a perfect husband, man. And so, as he says, Paul says to Timmy, think of what I say. Think of the message of the gospel. What is that message?
To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and enter into a totally new creation on associated with that eternal life. And then there's blessing. Doug spoke of the harvest, and the first true harvest is in Christianity for God. But then he's going to go back with his earthly people and he's going to produce a second harvest from them.
But on the same principle as the first harvest, and that's through death. And so when God deals with an earthly people again, he's going to have to start with them as dead.
And you have it prophetically and is equal detailed to us. And the basis on point which there will be an earthly harvest in the coming day is the same basis in which there's a heavenly harvest taking place now, and that is through death and resurrection. And so as it says in first Corinthians 15 and Adam all die in Christ, all shall be made alive. And so, as he says in this little paragraph, even connected with ourselves.
Uh, he says I suffer all things, I can suffer even to death because the truth is the harvest is coming in the resurrection of life. And so death isn't going to stop the harvest. It's in life that it comes. And so as he identifies in verse 11, if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. And so really these verses are all taking up that very, very basic fundamental point, brethren.
And that's the truth of fruit for God and a harvest for God, that even God himself operates on that principle. And so should we. If we're going to be fellow laborers with Him in his work to produce a harvest, then it's going to be on that one basic principle.
Hmm.
Waste any time after his calling, he went right to work.
Drink rice in the synagogue. We don't know how long he was there and the mascot with his brethren and what the conversation had been. No doubt he acted as a husband man.
And the the result was persecution.
So we shouldn't waste any time, even today, to preach the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
Three, you have the three laborers there. I suppose we have seen that.
Before the uh, the one who ministers Christ, uh, the gold, the silver, precious stones.
That's the ministry of the, of the Lord that will, uh, bear fruit, uh.
At the judgment seat of Christ, that which will abide in our ministry, that has his approval. Umm, this is what the apostle coveted, and so should we. But then there is the other workmen, uh, that is given to us there in, uh, verse 15. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire.
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That's a saved soul, but a lost life. His work is burned up because it has not been according to the the rules as we have in our chapter. He had departed from the instructions. We find Lot is an example of that. A saved soul, but nothing in his life that really bore fruit for eternity.
And then the third person is the one who defiles the temple of God. Verse 17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
That's an unsaved person bringing into, uh, Christendom defiling evil doctrine. Uh, he's destroyed himself and his doctrine is umm.
This is a very serious thing. It's, uh, bringing in usually, uh, error as to the person and work of Christ. So we have man's responsibility in this chapter very, uh, clearly, uh, brought before us.
One verses 8:00 and 9:00 as possibly, uh, an example of our versus 11:00 and 12:00.
Uh, the words that Paul wrote to the Corinthians, Second Corinthians 1.
Verses 8:00 and 9:00. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life, But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raises the dead.
Who delivered us from so great a death, and thus deliver whom we trust will yet deliver us.
So would you say, Doug, that the pathway of the believer here is to be in the current of God's thoughts and to be looking after Christ's interest down here? And in that pathway we can be assured of all the power of God behind us. But it may mean suffering. It may even mean giving up one's life. And many dear believers are doing that in the world today.
We shouldn't seek persecution. Sad to say, there have been believers in the past who have done that and those who seek persecution. Sometimes it only ministers to self. But we have the assurance that if we do follow Christ in a faithful way, we will suffer persecution in one way or another. But the great thing for the believer today is to be in the current of God's thoughts.
To be where he would have us to be and to be looking after Christ interests and the interests of his own. And that's what Paul says in verse 10. I endure all things for the elects sakes.
Why? That they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
That goes far beyond their merely being saved from coming judgment. Paul's gospel, Paul's ministry took the believer right up to heaven, gave him truth which separates him from this world.
And gives him a place connected with a risen Christ in glory. Paul says, I really want to preach that truth. And that's what you and I have to do. And that is what we should have before us and.
If we do so, there will doubtless be suffering, but the glory is ahead.
Mentioned in scriptures and not always in connection with the salvation of our souls.
And so here he's really referring to the salvation of their testimony, their public testimony, and the salvation perhaps even of their individual lives. And as our brothers mentioned, it's possible to have a safe soul and a lost life.
So Paul also mentions in Philippians the, uh, salvation of the assembly and he speaks in uh, chapter 2 of Philippians in verse 12, that uh, because of his, his absence, he was imprisoned. And he says, uh, wherefore my beloved, as he have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
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So it's the salvation of the assembly in that aspect because the enemy was seeking to destroy the assembly.
And he's still seeking to the destroy the assembly. And so the Spirit of God gives us encouragement here in connection with suffering. And uh, in verse 12, it says if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. And so there is a faithfulness required and there's going to be suffering if we desire to be faithful to the name of the Lord Jesus.
And his desire is that he would give us a full reward, more than we could ever expect or desire, as it were. You know, there's a brother out east and he has a little expression that he uses.
And I take it as encouragement. Often times, he says. When you do work for the Lord, you're working for maximum wage.
When you work for this world at McDonald's or some place, they're going to pay you minimum wage.
But when you work for the Lord, He will pay you maximum wage.
You don't know how much that is, but you can be certain that he will pay maximum wage. And so that's what he's referring to. The apostle. He says if we deny him, if we shirk our responsibility and we don't identify with him in the time of his rejection and take our share of suffering and reproach for the name of Christ, he won't be able to give us as much of A reward as he would have liked to have given us.
He wanted to pay us maximum wage, but we didn't enter the work as it were. We just desired not to do that work. And so he will also deny us, He'll deny us that reward. So isn't it lovely? What a privilege it is, brethren.
To identify ourselves with the Lord Jesus is he worthy of identifying with he pleased his Father in every aspect of his life in all of his service in a day a terrible day at the end of the day of the Jewish testimony in this world that was accepted of God, raised up of God and then the times of the Gentiles had taken had begun in Daniels day we know.
But now we have the privilege, at the end of the day of grace in the Laodicean character of the church that we see all around us, to take up with the name of Christ.
And he's going to pay maximum wage at the end of it all.
I could just make one more comment on that, which I think you would agree with, brother Robert.
It's often been misunderstood that last phrase of verse 12. If we deny and him as in italics, he also will deny us. It's not the only time that Paul uses a phrase which in its ultimate interpretation, refers to an unbeliever.
He does the same thing in Philippians chapter 3 where he talks about those whose end is destruction.
Why does he write that to an assembly of believers?
Because there was a danger of their getting carried away with self-interest instead of Christ interest. Why does he talk about denying when he's writing to a faithful brother like Timothy?
Yes, there are, sad to say, those who are in the great House of Christendom who are not even true believers.
And ultimately, although they may masquerade as Christians, they really deny him. And in the coming day, they will be denied.
But there's a warning for us, which I think our brother Robert has placed a good construction on, because can I effectively in my Christian life?
Deny the one who loved me.
The one who gave everything for me.
By my actions, I can live a worldly life so that I am scarcely distinguishable from the world around. And as our brothers pointed out, He won't deny us in the sense of denying our salvation or denying that we are His.
01:00:01
But what alofts at the judgment seat of Christ, if that's the way I have lived my life?
What an awful loss to have to see another getting a real reward for faithfulness and the Lord happened to say I'm sorry, but you could have had much more. So I believe that is the import for our souls.
While realizing that the ultimate meaning of it really applies to an unbeliever who is really, as we often say, a nominal or a professing Christian with no reality inside.
I'd also like to say in connection with it and what I believe is the great force of this paragraph, and that is he's spoken about death and resurrection in verse 10, and so he says this is the faithful word.
We have died with him, we shall live with him, and if.
I refuse, practically speaking, to live my life on the other side of death in resurrection life with Christ. I am denying the place which He is in and which He has brought me into. Hmm. And that's what's particularly in, I believe the Spirit of God is wanting us to get a hold of. And that is, I might say, well, I don't know. I don't deny him.
That He's the Savior and that He's the only one that can be saved through Him by trusting in His precious blood. If I live seeking fruit for God without recognizing that He has died as to this world and that I am dead with Him, and now He is raised from the dead and I stand before God in Him in resurrection life.
If, if you will, what the apostle Paul in accepting this truth, said, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. That is the truth of not denying Him, but taking my place that He has brought me into.
And even if I don't walk faithfully in the truth of resurrection, in my place and resurrection, he can't deny himself, he will remain faithful. But we in principle, without going all the way to false profession, can in truth deny our heavenly calling in resurrection by the way we live.
And in such the Lord was seeking those who would.
Take His place with him, as he has it now with respect to this world, so that when his day of glory comes, he might identify them with himself in that glory for having lived now in that same place that he he has with respect to this world.
Temple of that on Pentecost, when he was very bold for Christ, he had denied the Lord because he didn't understand what was going on at the cross. But once he got a hold of the truth that the Lord Jesus was alive and had power.
He was very bold for the Lord afterward because he knew his right relationship with the Lord in resurrection.
Because in this matter of suffering to death, because I now live in a life that death can take, not take from me.
That's what's so important. Paul could suffer to death, but what death? The death of the natural man, because he now had life and resurrection. He had eternal life that the fruit of that could not be taken from him. And to him, the life he now had was far more important than the life that he wants that only had, which was the natural life he'd been born with. He now had a better life.
He had a life that no matter what man did, the worst he could do was usher him into the full enjoyment of his new position. And so he could say, for me to depart with Christ is far better because he had something he already was living in, the enjoyment of, something that nothing in this life could take from him, including death. And so he could consciously, even joyfully if necessary, face death itself.
01:05:06
Because of his position with Christ in resurrection life.
I have found it helpful to my own soul.
To think about this word deny, it's not a word that we commonly use in our own language. We think when we hear the word deny, we think of Peter, how he denied the Lord, and so on.
The word literally means to say no.
Is there anything?
That the Lord Jesus.
As revealed to me in His word, in His life.
To which I have said no.
That's the bottom line.
That's what it comes to. If we deny him, He presents to us a truth that we're not willing to walk in something that he a responsibility that we're not willing to fulfill.
Then he has to say no to us that they reward.
Deny means to say no.
And we get ourselves in those positions because of our lack of faith.
And that's why I find verse 13 so encouraging. Brother, if we believe not, that's our lack of faith. What then? Does that change our God?
Not in the least. Yet he abideth faithful, He cannot deny himself. God is God, he is immutable, he is faithful, he cannot deny himself. And so, brethren, it leads us to realize there is only one we can fully trust.
You know, sometimes when we are unfaithful and it happens, brother.
The enemy comes to, Arian says OK, you messed up.
You can't trust the Lord now.
Well then, who can you trust?
That's the enemy that's speaking. That's who you can trust.
He still is faithful.
And I love to think of Peter. He knew the Lord and when.
He meets in John 21.
They're out fishing all night and catch nothing, and there's the Lord on the seashore.
And he gives them the direction to cast the net on the right side of the ship.
And they do it, and the Nets are filled.
And John says it is the Lord.
What does Peter do?
He dives in and swims to shore so he can be first to be with the Lord.
I I I find that so beautiful, the confidence.
Hey, Peter, you made a mess of things. Aren't you scared to go and face the Lord? Not in the least. He was gonna be the first to go. Oh, brother. And to me it's a bulwark. Verse 13. If we believe. Not yet. He abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself.
Wonderful thing about it is when he's faithful too.
In other words, we might say, well, no, if I the Lord, he's he's always faithful. He always does it right, even though I fail and I do it wrong and and so on. And we only look at it sort of abstractly as to the fact that he's a faithful person in his character. But I'd like to refer back to what we had maybe in the first reading in verse nine of chapter one, chapter one, verse 9 tells us something. He's faithful to He saved us.
He called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. He's faithful to fulfill every single word and every single thought in that verse with respect to us. Even if we are unfaithful, He cannot deny Himself. He purposed our blessing before this world began, and He called us with a faithful calling.
01:10:01
In Christ Jesus and He will fulfill it. He is faithful to His promises and they they turn us back to Himself, even if we have failed to be cast more humbly perhaps upon Himself and what He has said He would do.
Well, in verse 14, it's possible to occupy ourselves with that, with that which doesn't.
Profit us at all?
Charging them, it says before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
And then the next verse tells us what we are to do.
Paul does not go into detail about what all these words to no profit are. I rather think that in his day it had to do with a lot of questions and arguments about Judaism and things that of course have been the bane of the church all down through the ages. But it can be a number of different things which.
Are argued about perhaps really not to any profit.
There are important fundamentals, important things that God has given us in His Word that we need to be occupied with.
And we need to remember that, don't we? Let me use an example.
I remember quite some years ago now having a discussion with a young woman who had been raised a 7th Day Adventist.
And she wanted to have a lot of discussion about things like keeping the Sabbath, and she knew her Bible pretty well too. And she wanted to talk about various interpretations of prophecy and so on. And.
We had a little bit of a discussion.
After a while, I said to her, you know.
These things are not really the root of the problem that you and I need to be talking about. And I started, I won't go into detail, but I started asking her a few questions about what 7th Day Adventists believed as to the person and work of Christ. She was intelligent and with some reluctance she admitted that those things that I put my finger on were true, that that is what 7th Day Adventism taught.
And we're not here particularly to throw stones at any group. I just mentioned that as part of a story. I said to her, those are the things that you and I need to talk about. Those are the crux of the issue that you need to get into the Word of God about. Because these other things are only peripheral issues. And we could argue all over the map about some of these peripheral things and never get a straight answer.
I don't fully for myself believe that God doesn't give us these answers, but Paul wants us to be having a proper foundation in that which is important, not to be taken up with peripheral things which men love to argue about and love to get into discussions about, but rather to as we get in verse 15.
To study, to show ourselves approved unto God.
And what's the result? Rightly dividing the word of truth? Or, as another translation reads that is a little more accurate, cutting in a straight line the word of truth. We can only do that if we have the foundations properly in place, can't we?
14 It's interesting in this chapter, and even in quite a few places in First Timothy, does Paul warn against getting into these striving about words. Notice verse 16. But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase into more ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a canker, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus.
And later in the chapter here, verse 23, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender stripes. So again and again he encourages Timothy to avoid those kind of things. And I think that is wise. You get into some of those questions that are really not basic like you say Bill and.
01:15:28
It, it really helps nothing in your overall, uh, growth in, in Christianity, It's so important to avoid that.
Verse 15 as well, that's very encouraging, he says. Study or strive diligently to show thyself approved unto God.
And I think it's helpful to us to recognize that there is that which is God can approve and there is that which he does not approve of. And what we need is to study the truth of God and to know the word of God to be a Workman. That's another example of one that is laboring in the House of God during in the day of declension that, uh, he works as a Workman and he sweats, he laborers for the Lord and, uh.
But he's doing it in a way that is will meet with the approval of God himself. It's, uh, interesting how he uses it in several different places, uh, in Scripture. I'll just mention one here in, uh, Hebrews chapter 12, it says in verse 28.
Hebrews chapter 12 verse 28 Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably.
And with reverence and godly fear, not only that which is consistent with what God approves of, as we know in His Word, but the character of the Spirit in which we labor. And so it's with reverence and godly fear. Doesn't wonderful to just be able to do a little something for the Lord and to walk practically in the path of faith and to have a sense.
Of the approval of the Lord in that walk we hear of peer pressure and often times those that want to please somebody else. You may even want to please your brethren, but it's the truth of God revealed in the word of God that.
Tells us how to walk in such a way that we can meet with the approval of God himself.
In connection with rightly dividing the word of truth, just an observation that I have observed down in Brazil where the Lord is blessing the, the preaching of the gospel on many souls are getting interested in being gathered the Lord's name and going on to understand the New Testament truth. It's interesting that, uh, one of the things that is being very helpful is.
The study of the dispensational order in the Word of God and an outline of what God did from the beginning down through the ages and getting teaching, that is distinguishes between the Old Testament and the New and so forth. And this is very basic truth that gives a groundwork for people to understand their Bibles and in particular Brother Lamar.
Has gone around and, uh, he has a series of meetings on the, on the dispensations of the old of the Bible and it's, it's been proving very helpful to a lot of new believers.
Older ones too, but, uh, I, I've been struck by how that God is using, uh, the teaching there to rightly divide the word of truth and, uh, souls see more clearly than the differences and, uh, there's growth.
Yes, it says in chapter three of our book here and verse 16.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God.
And is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. So all scripture is profitable, but all scripture is not written to us. It's all written for us. But if you go back to First Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 32, you find.
01:20:13
3 distinct groups that.
The Apostle Paul mentions.
Says, Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God.
Jesus was God's earthly people in the Old Testament. Gentiles simply means the nations of the earth outside of that circle of blessing that God had for Israel. And then God has from both Jews and Gentiles.
Called out a people for his name that is known as the Church. The assembly called out ones. And so when we read Scripture, we should distinguish to whom is He speaking here. We read it and we profit from reading it all. But we need to distinguish what is written to us and what was written to the Jewish people.
We don't apply directly the Law of Moses because it was never given to the Gentiles.
It was given to the Jewish people and so in the Old Testament.
You have for example.
In Psalm 152 Says to praise the Lord with all instruments of music.
Why don't you do that?
We are not Israel and you go to the New Testament when it relates to the church and you find only two instruments that I remember that are mentioned to praise the Lord. One is the heart and the other are the lips. Those are the instruments that it mentions in connection with the church.
So there is if there are instruments, and I don't say that they're wrong in themselves, but it's not the characteristic of.
The prayers that we give to God now in this time. So we need to learn to be workmen, to rightly divide the word of truth. Somebody made the comment the other day, I forget if it was here, but that in Judaism, I think it was you, Bill, that mentioned that in Judaism they had immense temples. They had a temple that's Solomon built. What a beautiful building.
And people put that name on a physical building today.
That is not the temple of God in this time, we are the temple.
Of the living God we need to learn to rightly divide the word of truth.
That's what uh, quite a few mentions have been made of covenant theology. And covenant theology basically does not distinguish between Israel and the church. It varies a lot from one group to another. And so it's hard to make overall statements as to it, But I have heard statements made that the church was in the Old Testament and that.
The church in the New Testament has replaced Israel so that there is no God, has no future for the nation of Israel any longer. Those are things because they believe that there's one people of God at all times. No, there is a distinction made. Scripture itself makes that distinction. And we are to rightly divide the word of truth as to what is written to us. It's all written for us again, I say.
But not all written to us, so we need to distinguish.
Perhaps Romans Chapter 11 and just get that distinction. I think it would be helpful in Romans Chapter 11 and verse 25 and he's Speaking of the Gentiles here.
The distinction between the Gentiles and the Jew, what God has done in the past with the Jews and what he's going to do in the future.
Romans 11, verse 25. For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits. So God had taken up in an interval of time with the church.
01:25:05
And with the Gentiles that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness or the completeness of the Gentiles, the time of the Gentiles become in.
And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And so in the future God will take up with Israel.
And the testimony will not be centered in the Gentile world.
But will be centered again in Jerusalem. God is going to have his way with Israel and the sovereignty of God. There's going to be an abundance of fruit, as has already been mentioned. But we need to make this distinction.
It wasn't revealed in the Old Testament that God was going to have a church. It wasn't revealed that there was going to be.
A great blessing brought out to into the, in the Gentile world. There were little hints at it, but, uh, it was really a part of the apostles doctrine to really bring out the fullness of that truth. And so he calls it the mystery.
And so the mist, the blindness, is only in part. There are Jews getting saved today.
They were brought into the light, their eyes are open, but the nation as a whole is blind towards the purposes of God. They will be brought to life again, as it mentions in Ezekiel.
And the Jewish people and the Jews that are saved today are part of the church, aren't they? Correct.
303.
Nsnoise.
Nsnoise.
Chapter 43.
Adverse.
25 Just a phrase out of the middle of the verse.
01:30:05
Isaiah chapter 43.
Verse 25 Read the whole verse and then focus on the middle phrase. I even I am. He is of lot of thought. Thy transgressions.
For my own sake.
And we'll put and and will not remember thy sins put me and remembrance.
4.
9 own sake.
My/Mine
Address—Don Rule
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Again, our meeting this afternoon by singing together.
#18 in the appendix, but before we sing it, I would like to read a couple of lines out of the hymn that we began with yesterday afternoon at the address.
Yesterday afternoon, the song that was sung to begin was #330 which begins with these words. What raised the wondrous thought?
Or who did it suggest?
Oh God, the thought was thine.
In #18 in the appendix it says verse stanza one Father of glory thought beyond all thought. Comment I want to make about those two statements is this.
It's a whole lot better.
For us to get God's thoughts than to be occupied with our own. And so it would be my prayer and yours this afternoon that we would be listening for God's thoughts as they concern Him, His Son and us, rather than being occupied with our own.
Because the source of all good thought is God. I don't know that any of us could lay claim that we've ever by ourselves apart from.
Truly getting the root of our thought from God. Could say I had a wonderful thought that God never had.
So let's sing #18 in the appendix together.
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We just sang some words.
And those words to me say some things that I find absolutely beyond me amazing.
That are in give me God's thoughts.
The very first words we sang were.
I shall be like thy son.
It's something I thought.
That's not your thought.
It's the thought of God.
God's thought is that you and I shall be like his Son.
You would never have thought of that. I would never have thought of that.
But that's God's thought for you.
That's God's thought. That's God's purpose for you personally, intelligently.
I God, I'm going to make you put your name in there like my son.
You know, we could stop right now and sit for an hour in silence that each one of us might truly let sink in that simple statement which is profound beyond belief.
Really.
I God, it's my thought that you are going to be like my son.
In addition to that, the song if you look at it this way.
The Lord Jesus says, as it were, God, that's your thought concerning the people sitting in that room in the Sheraton Hotel.
And I'm going to work with you that it be so.
That's going to be the fruit to use this morning's expression from the.
Reading, meeting, that's the purpose that I have to make those people in that Sheridan room like my son and the Lord Jesus, the Son of God says we'll work together.
And I will do what's necessary with you. That that be the end result.
It's pretty nice to be in this room.
To have God think of us that way, and when he thinks something, he has the power to make it happen. So it's gonna happen.
Let's begin.
With a verse or two in Luke's Gospel chapter 3.
Luke's Gospel, Chapter 3.
And verse 21, it says, Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him. And a voice came from heaven and said, Thou art my beloved Son.
In thee I am well pleased. Or is the new translation reads in the.
I have found my delight and Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age.
OK, before comment let's go back to chapter.
UH-2.
Chapter 2. Verse 10. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not.
For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior.
Which is Christ the Lord? And this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a Manger. And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.
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Or.
Is the Darby translation presents the last phrase using the footnote in it?
Glory to God in the highest and on earth. Peace, good delight.
In men.
Thoughts before?
Me, I trust of the Lord. This afternoon began with the word my.
We're all pretty familiar with the word Mike.
It's a pretty common word in scripture. I decided that I was going to look a little bit into it with the help of a online concordance and I found the word my occurs over 3000 times.
In the scriptures.
I could you could sit this afternoon and take out a pencil and paper and find a lot of fill up, probably quite a bit of space if you were asked to list things that you could put the word my to.
My house, my car, my job, my education, my neighborhood, my country, my whatever.
My friends, my family and you can make a long list.
Of things that you call my.
My interest I was in going through the Word of God was not things that the Bible tells me have become mine, wonderful as some of them are, but I was more interested in the things that God calls His.
So perhaps you could take out a pencil and paper and make a list of the things that God calls mine.
I suspect your list would be shorter.
The second one, then your first one.
Maybe not.
But God takes personal possession or uses that word my with respect to certain things associated with Himself.
He talks about my land, my city, my glory, my people.
And so on.
But in looking at that list.
When I got to the first one that.
We read this afternoon because.
My my beloved son.
In whom I have found my delight. It was a mountain's peak.
All the things that God speaks about as mine.
It seemed to me it struck my soul immediately that there's one that's above all others.
My beloved son, in whom I have found my delight.
It's so wonderful to God.
It's so joyous to God. It's such a delight to God.
That is his thought.
That you find your delight.
In the same thing that he finds his, and that you find it your supreme delight, as he finds it his own.
He's willing. He wants to share with you now, today, tomorrow, next week, and forever.
The same he wants you to experience with him that which he finds to be his. I want to say supreme delight in what he calls mine.
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But also.
Consider this.
The second place we read.
When Jesus was born into this world.
Host of angels got to see their creator for the first time ever.
And they were delighted.
They found some shepherds. They wanted to share the joy that they were having and being able to see their Creator for the first time.
In the one that had just been born.
But they say.
What they thought about it as they saw that site. What would be your thoughts if you were an Angel? Well, they tell us what they thought. They looked at him as having come into this world, that babe.
And they say, glory to God in the highest on earth, peace good, delight in man.
Can I put it this way?
God chose to find his personal joy, his.
Personal delight.
In math.
He had perfect supreme delight in his son. And now his choice, his thought is, I'm going to find my pleasure, my joy, my delight.
I look this afternoon.
On a small sample of.
And it's a pretty awesome thing.
To think that I'm standing here looking at what God has chosen.
You, you, you personally sit in your seat.
As the object of God's pleasure.
Is that a good thought?
Is that desirable on your part? I think so. I hope so.
That you sit here this afternoon.
The object.
Of God, that he looked upon his son and found his delight in his son. And so this afternoon he wants to say to you, I find my delight in you.
And his son?
Says the same.
We won't turn to it, but if we went back to Proverbs chapter 8.
It says of him, the son.
My delights of himself, he says. I was daily his delight.
That is, he had the conscious sense from eternity that.
Speaking in reference to time like we can. We can't speak totally in reference to eternity because we don't understand it yet, but he speaking in a way we can kind of relate to God says the Lord says I was daily his delight.
Rejoicing always before him, and my delights were in the sons of men.
The habitable parts of his earth.
He has a conscious sense of being the delight of his father. He himself had delight in you and me.
And if I could put it this way, the two team together.
To do work.
That that purpose and pleasure in you and me will be so perfect.
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That eventually they will be able to say all of us now together enjoy one another.
With the same delay.
Isn't that a good future? Isn't that a good present?
To have the consciousness in your heart and mind that the Father, the Son and you.
And I are to jointly enjoy one another today, this afternoon, yes, tomorrow and forever.
On the way down here.
Pass through, Uh, people know me. No, I tend to meander on back roads getting somewhere if I'm not in a super hurry. And so we were coming down by back roads.
Through a little town in Illinois and there was a nice sized billboard the edge of one of these little towns and it said this among other things, we all start small.
We all start small.
I would like to trace with you.
The early life of the Lord Jesus.
And see how this one who is first presented to us as a babe is.
Who becomes what is called in the new translation in the chapter.
And it's called a child. He is, it's not mentioned here, but we know we progress on in scriptural language to be youth and from there to adulthood.
God wants to find his delight and will eventually, if not perfectly now.
In you, but presently he's working so that you grow in a way that he can find his pleasure in you.
You know, we won't take time to go back there, but it was referred to the in the reading this morning.
Where Israel and Isaiah chapter 5 was is talked about as a plant from which God wants to have fruit.
And in that chapter he refers to her as the plant.
Of my delight.
That is, he planted her with the desire that he could find his delight in her.
But sadly he has to tell us he couldn't do it.
He wasn't able to find his delight in her as she was.
He did everything he could.
But he had to say ask the question, what more can I do?
What more can I do to the plant of my delight?
And yet it was not at that point, and in that way he was unable to receive it. So I would say to you and to me, let's not make his job unnecessarily hard. Let's respond to the workings of God with us to bring us into that.
Practical conformity to his son that he can find a full measure of delight in US.
We look here in.
Chapter 2.
And it says in verse 16 they came in haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a Manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
Verse 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
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And verse 21 and when 8 days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child.
His name was called Jesus, which was so named of the Angel before he was conceived in the womb.
And.
Verse 22 and when the days of her purification.
According to the law were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
There's the Mother and the Father of Jesus.
My thoughts were primarily to look at the child and to.
Compare the child to God's work with us. But this morning in the prayer meeting.
Umm.
There was something prayed which brought before me a thought.
It's probably the most humbling thought I've ever had in my life about the thought of being a parent.
And raising children. And so I'm going to share that along with what had been my thoughts up to that point.
So some of these remarks are going to refer to you who are mothers and fathers.
Here's a mother.
Who had the responsibility with the father?
Of being the mother.
With the responsibility to raise.
The child, the babe, Jesus.
What if you mother or?
Father had been given that responsibility.
What if you had been called personally to have the responsibility of raising?
The Babe. Jesus.
Here's the mother that had that responsibility.
And she wasn't different than you in kind.
She was a child of Adam.
Oh, we would say wonderful. Blessed it was, it was.
But think of it in the responsibility side.
Mother. Father.
You have the responsibility of raising a child.
To be in adulthood the delight of God.
That's your responsibility. That was hers.
Is that humbling? It is to me.
And I think back over my parenthood days.
What is the first thing really that she does?
We read it.
It says verse 22.
She brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
Perfect example isn't it for a parent?
Lord, here's my child. I present him to you. Not when he's 10 or 15 or 20 or about 30.
But a babe from the womb just delivered eight days old.
Presents him.
Tremendous responsibility to raise this child for God.
As she was to do and her husband with her. And so she starts right out and she presents him.
To the Lord.
It says.
Verse 33 after.
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Simeon has made some remarks concerning the child, the babe.
It says in verse 33 Joseph and his mother marvelled.
That those things which were spoken of him.
Is there not reason for a mother and a father to Marvel?
That God has such a purpose for your child.
That he wants him to be like his son.
Pretty awesome responsibility, I think. Pretty humbling responsibility.
She marvels at what God purposes.
That she has heard from another concerning her child.
So should we.
We should marvel.
As we see, maybe they're not all our own in this room, but there are babes in this room.
Or have been babes if they're not here at the moment.
Just little banks.
To be made like Christ. And so it says, she marveled.
So verse 39, when they had performed all the things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
Verse 40. Then the child grew.
And lack strong in spirit, filled with wisdom.
And the grace of God was upon him.
This is normal proper child growth.
For a child of God.
The child grew.
And we see if we looked ahead for a moment at the rest of the chapter, we we'll get to it little by little. We see them when these words are said. He's not yet 12 years old.
Not yet 12.
This is child growth.
He grew, He waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. The grace of God was upon him.
Later.
Verse 42 When he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem.
And then after that we find him after 12 years of age, verse 52. He's still increasing, he's still growing.
As a perfect person in this world.
These are words said about him, not in the sense of his Son of God.
But as Jesus.
Child and as a child, even if we can't fully understand his person as we cannot as both Son of God and as Jesus.
Person we can recognize Scripture is presenting to us the growth, his growth in this world as a child.
I'd like to turn back in connection with the 40th verse. The child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom in the grace of God was upon him to the first chapter of Proverbs.
We'll come back here.
Proverbs, chapter one, verse one The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel.
To know wisdom and instruction. To perceive the words of understanding. To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice and justice, judgment and equity. To give sub subtlety or prudence to the simple to the young man. Knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and will increase learning, and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.
To understand the proverb in the interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark sayings.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the words of instruction of thy Father, and forsake not.
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The law of thy mother.
The child waxed strong in spirit.
The Spirit is that part of us that is God conscious.
And the number one beginning.
Point of growth.
In a child of God has to do with their relationship to God.
In the God conscious part of their being.
And here's a child, a babe, really. A little boy.
That from the very beginning, his mother and his father were bringing him into that sense of his relationship to God.
Tremendously important.
I can't say it without thinking when I said it. The very first conference I can ever remember being at in my life, and I was a preschooler.
Saint Louis.
Probably most of you weren't there at that conference.
But this the first conference I ever remember in my life being at was here in Saint Louis when I was a preschooler.
I thank God that my mother and father.
It meant enough to them to bring me.
Into the presence of the Lord, that I might.
Have my spirit connected with my God.
Child, but he became strong.
And that first beginning of life.
It also says in where we are reading, he waxed. He was filled with wisdom.
This is not speaking about him as Son of God.
This is speaking about a child.
Who started small?
But these first verses of Proverbs say the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and later on in Proverbs it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The foundation of God being able to have delight in US.
When we have become children of God.
Is that God have his right place in our hearts.
And other things flow from that.
This child.
As it says.
Was filled with wisdom. That's the beginning of it.
To have a sense in my heart of my relationship to God and the importance of it and how I felt with God.
Here's a little boy that was filled with that.
I don't know how old you are.
We're not talking in these matters, only the mothers and fathers who have biologically young children.
We're talking about our Christian lives too, and there might be babes in this room that were saved last year. And you're a babe, spiritually speaking.
You have to grow.
Whether we're saved at 5 or 10 or 50, we start out babes and we gradually grow. And at whatever biological age we are, when we accept the Lord Jesus, one of the very first things we want is to give God His right place in our thoughts and in our hearts.
The fear, that is the reverential respect that we give to God.
Is going to determine how we see things and how we live, and if that's not right, nothing else is going to develop properly.
I say with some sadness, I've seen young people among about properly can be called gathered Saints whose head knowledge far exceeded their heart knowledge and when they got tested as young people, they didn't do very well.
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Because what they knew up here had not gotten down here in the heart, which is the true place of knowledge. Scripture doesn't talk about this as being the important spot of knowledge. It's the knowledge of the heart. And sometimes the knowledge of the head gets ahead of the heart, and it's connected with not truly accepting the fear of the Lord, and it has its consequences.
So it then says.
The grace of God.
Was upon him. There was a sense in this child that God was for him.
Tremendous important thing to learn.
Right at the beginning of life, spiritual life, Is it gods for me?
Just because he's for me. Because it's in his heart toward me.
To have that sense, no matter what God's forming.
And the child Jesus had that.
Let's go back for a moment. You can keep your finger here. We're coming back to Proverbs chapter 2 in a moment. But if you want to go back to Luke chapter 2 again.
We find as it says in first.
42 And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast, and after the feast they start home. Verse 45 they realized Jesus is not with them, and they turned back to Jerusalem, seeking him. And they came to pass. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors and both hearing and them and asking them questions. And all that hurt him were astonished at his underst.
And answers.
Here's a boy, 12 years old.
He's making progress in his life as a child.
Here he is asking questions of those that are older than himself.
And he's growing by it.
Turn back to Proverbs chapter 2.
Proverbs chapter 2, verse one. My son of thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding. Yeah, if thou cryest after knowledge.
And lifted up thy voice for understanding. If thou seekest her as silver, and searches for her As for hid treasures, then thou shalt understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom, and out of his mouth cometh knowledge.
And understanding.
This characterized this boy.
He valued what came from God.
And he wanted to learn.
Because he valued it.
He sought it, you know.
I doubt not.
That the words that we're reading this afternoon, this boy read.
As a child.
I'm quite confident personally that the words we're reading.
Jesus, the boy read before he was 12 years of age.
He listened.
He learned.
He asked questions, he was asked questions, and he responded to questions asked of him.
He sought.
He laid it to heart.
These words were written 1000 years before he was born.
But he wanted to know God's thoughts.
You want God's thoughts.
Are they important in your life?
Where are you going to get them?
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Where are you gonna get them?
He wakeneth my near morning by morning to hear.
Says prophetically of him in Isaiah 50.
He could say to his Father, I delight, Father was to find delight in him. He could say of his own, I delight to do thy will, O my God.
Did you and I delight this morning to get up?
To open God's thoughts.
And read them.
Because we want to know them so that we can have the joy of doing them.
This boy did.
This boy did.
We might listen, you might listen to what's being said to you or you say here this afternoon and they may be things are in the reading or at other meetings. It won't always be perfect.
When it's man's thoughts mingled with God's or man's understanding.
Here's Jesus the boy reading Proverbs given by Solomon 1000 years before he was born.
And he I doubt not.
Recognized, because he had the rest of the Old Testament to read, that he could look at this man Solomon's life, and he could have said quite rightly, Solomon, you didn't follow your own instructions.
You said this, but you did that at a certain point in your life. Did he say, well, can't follow that man? No, you can't follow that man. But God's thoughts were given to that man.
Are you going to follow what God gave him, or are you going to make excuses and say, well, you know those people, they're not perfect. I'll have to find some perfect people or I'll have to follow my own ideas? No, Jesus didn't do that.
He didn't reject what Solomon said because Solomon's life was not perfect.
But he recognized it was God speaking.
And he grew by it. He valued it.
Facts, Chapter 3 for a moment, and we're going to come back to Proverbs.
Proverbs. I'm sorry, Luke chapter 2 and verse 51. Umm.
Verse 50 They understood not the saying which he spoke unto them, and he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject.
Unto them. But his mother kept all those things in her heart.
True mothers, isn't it fathers too? Sometimes after a while, when your kids start to grow up, you just ask the question. I don't understand them.
In one way or another. And they might say I don't understand you too in one way or another, But did that stop the pattern of growth? No, it did not.
Mary was not a perfect mother.
Even herself.
But the experience, she grew by it. The child grew by it.
She pondered it in her heart. She learned by it.
He says verse 40.
Wish ye not that I must be about my father's business. He's 12 year old boy. But by the age of 12, one who has been growing will start to express their own thoughts. Given from God we trust.
And not accept everything that's simply given to them by mother and father or other influences like at schools.
You might say they start to think and act a little on their own and that's proper. That's proper normal growth.
But at the same time.
Proper normal behavior is he was subject to his parents.
A word to you that are maybe teenagers here this afternoon and I was there once.
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Sometimes, as teenagers, we tend to speak and all the confidence of our own lack of understanding, of our own ignorance.
We may think we know it all.
And what our thought of knowing it all is only an expression of our ignorance at that point in our lives. The Lord Jesus doesn't wasn't to know it all as.
He was still growing, listening and being subject.
It's the perfect wisdom of God to grow spiritually.
For each one of us.
So it says in verse 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
Turn back to Proverbs chapter 3.
Proverbs chapter 3 and verse one. My son, forget not my law, but let thine heart keep my commandments.
For length of days, and long life and peace shall they add unto thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck, and write them upon the table of thine heart.
And directly related to the verse in Luke. So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God.
And man.
Just give emphasis.
How do we keep it?
Where do we keep it in the heart?
Let thine heart keep.
Write them upon the table.
Of thy heart.
The truth that's going to control your life is that which governs your heart.
And if your heart is governed by something other than God's thoughts and God's thoughts for you, you're going to experience the consequences of it.
And so there can be periods.
Of discipline.
Or Jesus did not have to go through that.
Because He didn't resist. He was the perfect child. But you will find that if you resist God's purpose for you to find His delight in you, that you will go through the experiences necessary to bring you to submit.
And.
If you do, you shall increase in wisdom and structure and in favor with God.
Unmanned.
Paul said to Timothy, Be given to these things that you're profiting appears to all you know, sometimes it's pretty obvious when you find a person growing spiritually.
It they may not know it, sometimes I hope they don't. They're better off many times. As it says in the proverbs, be not wise in thy own eyes. Don't go around with the idea I'm pretty smart.
I've got it all figured out. You're not, if you think that way, pretty smart, because you haven't got it all figured out. The Lord Jesus, from the first day of the baby and when he became old enough to express his own will until the last day of his life, submitted himself perfectly to somebody else's thoughts and will, not his own.
And we see it.
His favor?
With God.
And as a growing up child, his favor with man, he increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God.
And man.
So it says where we started in chapter 3 verse 23. I'll just reread it. You don't need to refer to it. Jesus began to be about 30 years of age.
Just like to make this comment, we passed briefly with a few glimpses of the life of a person that was growing spiritually.
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And the things of God is a perfect man.
What was it to God?
For those 30 quiet years to watch this boy, this babe become a boy, to become a youth, to become a man we know from scripture he had brothers and sisters to interact with.
We know that he followed his father in becoming a Carpenter, undoubtedly learning the trade of being a Carpenter from his father. And so he went about everyday life.
But isn't it nice to think that every day, in every circumstance of that life?
God was able to watch him grow.
And find pleasure.
And delight in that light. Nothing recorded for us about it. Normal, everyday human life.
And yet, for the eye of God, it was a pleasure to watch that light.
Your life may be very ordinary from first maybe to last. It may not be anything in the eyes of men.
But it does that mean that your life, in its everyday character, lived out, perhaps very quietly?
From man's eyes.
Is not to be a daily joy to the heart of God. It is. It is. And God wants to see in you each day a little bit of maybe not, you're not conscious of it necessarily, but a little bit of that same pattern of growth.
So that when the end of the work is done.
And it will be done at the moment you go to glory. Let's hope that the change on the last day or the last moment doesn't have to be too big.
That the work has gone on to the point where each day you might say God, with less reservations about certain things, can find more and more pleasure in your life. And when the final change, when the flesh is taken out of you.
And you are, because you already have your life. That's not going to change. You're not gonna go to heaven and have a different life than you have right now. If you're the Lords, you already have a perfect life. Life of Christ is your life. May it not be to God's pleasure that each day as he looks at you, he sees more of His Son and you.
Christ, who is our life, and so.
As the non Christ things drop off, as there is that pattern of growth, then He will be able to have His satisfaction. And I say to you the measure in which it's taking place, you too are growing. In finding your joy in exactly the same things that God finds His joy in, you find your delight.
In exactly the same things that the Lord Jesus is finding his delight in today.
Is it not important is this day, when it comes to its clothes, that there might be the thought in you that the Lord and I enjoyed the same things today? That God and I enjoyed the same things today?
That there not have to be some little bit of your day that.
They couldn't participate in.
That you had to, although you wouldn't do it. That's why you say sorry, Lord, but I got a few of my own interests here. I'm going to put yours aside, and there's a few things on the Internet right now that I need to see that. I know they're not your things, but you know, that's me.
Don't go there.
If you can't bring the Father's joy, the Son's joy, into it, leave it alone.
Wherever you go today and your thoughts, your heart, your eyes.
Say, father, son, let's do it together.
And find our joy together.
2 Timothy 2:16-26
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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.
Were pilgrims in the wilderness? Our dwelling is a cap with fellow pilgrims meeting as through the waist. We roamed 231.
Nsnoise.
Put verse 16 be good.
Second Timothy 2, verse 16.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their word will eat, as doth a canker, of whom Heminius and Philetus, who concerning the truth of air, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.
Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure.
Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor sanctified, and meet for the masters use and prepared unto every good work.
00:05:22
Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But foolish and unlearned questions avoid knowing that they do gender strife.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apartment to teach, patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Well, just a backward look for a few moments, uh.
It's a wonderful privilege to be identified with Christ in his rejection and, uh.
This is not the time of glory, it's the time of suffering, time of the Lord's patience. And we have that, uh, wonderful privilege of, uh.
Being identified with the Lord, we have gathered around a rejected Christ, not a glorified Christ.
Yet and.
You will rejoice to confess our names before his Father if we are we have suffered and confessed him boldly here below. So it does speak to our our conscience is that sometimes we have the opportunity to speak for the Lord and we hold back we may hear his name, uh blasphemed and we.
We don't, uh.
Speak up and, uh, reprove such, uh, conduct. So, uh, in that way, we are really denying him. If we're not willing to take that, uh, that place of, uh, rejection with the Lord, separation from the world, not isolation, but separation, then, uh, we're not going to receive his commendation in that coming day at the, uh, judgment seat of Christ.
The verse that we started with, verse 16, there are some things that we are told to separate from and to, uh, consider individually the necessity of distancing ourselves from. And one here, I'm going to point them out. There's, uh, five or six things in verse 16. Shun profane and vain babbling. So don't partake in that kind of activity. It speaks of separation.
And then a little further on in verse 19, uh, Mr. Darby's translation says let everyone that name it the name of the Lord withdraw.
From iniquity so were to withdraw or depart. From iniquity were to walk in a clean path, and then were also in verse 21, to purge ourselves, that if any man therefore purge or purify himself from these, he shall be a vessel.
Unto honor sanctified. So we're to purge ourselves from those vessels that would hinder us from, uh, walking in a path of obedience and faithfulness to Christ and to the truth that we know. And then in verse 22, it says flee.
Also youthful lusts. So we also have here in verse 23 foolish and unlearned questions. Avoid.
Knowing that they do gender strife and I'll just .1 out in chapter 3 verse 5.
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn away.
So we heard a little bit this morning of the necessity of saying no, and the perhaps we would get ourselves in less difficulty at times if we simply said no to those that would like to engage us in conversation that is not profitable or in some activity that is not going to be profitable in according to the mind of God. So it requires discernment and so the enemy is seeking to.
00:10:10
Really mar our personal testimonies and to really, umm, engage us or entangle us in things that we shouldn't get engaged in. And I believe that the apostle Paul here was pointing some of these things out to Timothy so that he would have a good ending with dear brother Gordon used to often remind us it's good to have a good beginning. And there are young people here and it's nice to see you here and have a, a good beginning.
But make sure you have a good ending. And that's how Paul was speaking to Timothy. He said, as it were, there are some tactics that the enemy has to get you off track and make sure that you have a good beginning but a very good ending.
That bad doctrine inevitably leads to bad practice.
But bad practice also leads to bad doctrine.
Paul could tell Timothy in the previous epistle. In the first epistle he could talk about.
The doctrine that is according to godliness.
But if we go in a pathway that is ungodly.
Then the human tendency is to shape the doctrine in order to fit the bad practice.
And so I believe that's a warning that we have here, because if we allow profane and vain babblings, which again, in the context in which Paul uses it, probably LED back to Judaism and many things that they were occupied with, that tended to bring Christianity down to the level of a worldly religion. But it could be many different things. And what's the result? We find that in verse 17.
The word says eats as doth a canker, and I believe the word in the Darby translation is more descriptive. It's gangrene. Gangrene results in the human body when there is not enough circulation, not enough oxygen getting to tissues to keep it alive, and so it begins to die. And sad to say, there's only one remedy for gangrene in the human body. It usually occurs in the extremities, particularly the feet.
And the only remedy for it is an amputation. Very, very difficult.
And when I worked with people in the medical profession, it was often very hard to persuade someone to have a toe or a foot or even a leg amputated in order to save their life. It was not an easy decision.
But that's the way bad practice works. It eats like a gangrene and eventually results in what we have here, those who actually say that the resurrection is passed already and overthrow the faith of some. And so it's very, very important in a world that is characterized by bad practice, as our brother Robert has been saying, to avoid that number of things we need to avoid. But that's what is.
One of the things that is brought before us here, isn't it?
Extremely important, isn't it? It's, uh, nice people don't think it is that important. It's our actions that are important, but all actions are ultimately based on doctrine. Doctrine is just a word that means teaching. And it speaks here of this false doctrine that these two were giving out, that the resurrection was already passed and the result was that they overthrew the faith of.
So, Doctor, it is extremely important, and that's why it's so important.
Somebody mentioned the verse this morning. They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in the breaking of bread and prayers. That's Acts 242.
Very important verse.
The fellowship is based on the doctor.
You and I can't get together and say now this is the kind of teaching we're going to allow here. It's all set down already. And we and that's the value of these reading meetings is to set forth the teaching of the apostles and our fellowship is based on that. So tell a doctrine is extremely important. It's foundational.
00:15:19
Uh, it says here in verse 19, the foundation of God standeth sure.
To me, that's another bulwark in the Christian faith.
The foundation stands sure in the Old Testament when the temple was destroyed.
The foundation was broken up.
And when in the time of Ezra they came back, they had to relay the foundation.
But in the New Testament, even though ruin has come into the public testimony, the foundation of God stands sure. That is tremendously encouraging. Sometimes, you know, we have to dig down through the rubble of our own thinking to get to God's thoughts about things. But when you do, you're going to find it's all there and it's all sure.
And so the Lord help us to get back to the basics like you were mentioning this morning, Bill about.
Different doctrines sometimes that people quarrel about, but how important it is to understand.
The person and the work of Christ, those are issues that are fundamental, they are basic, and it's so important to be clear and correct in our thinking about.
Those two things, the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse of the chapter where we started or second verse, it says he was to commit these things to faithful men who would be able to teach others. And then here we find two men mentioned by name. It's a solemn thing when someone has to be mentioned by name in connection with their false teaching or false thoughts. But the point I want to make is what we teach effects and influences other people.
And so we have to be careful because we ourselves, if we get wrong thoughts and we pass them on, they may have an effect on someone else. And, uh, so we affect each other in this way. And that's another reason, going back to the second verse, why it was so important that the word be passed on to faithful men, because if we're unfaithful and we have the word, we may be a Hymenaeus and a Pulitzer that.
As it says here, overthrow the faith of some. So it's an important thing to know truth, it's a responsibility to hold the truth, and it's a serious thing to mislead someone else in that which is not the truth.
I was thinking that we don't have Apostolic gift or a position or power at the present time, but uh.
We do have the Apostles doctrine.
Clearly presented to us in the epistles. And this is where Christendom has largely failed. They don't acknowledge a return to those principles of the truth that were enunciated by the apostles. Uh.
All and others. So we have not started a new denomination, but we've returned to that which was from the beginning, but God gave us in the apostles doctrine very important and the teaching.
Of the separation from not only the present evil world, of course, but also separation from the systems of men, where man's organization has been prominent and a departure from the principles of.
On the subject of this chapter, but in connection with what's just been said, I'd like to refer back to John 16 for a thought, connection with the truth and passing it on and holding it.
00:20:00
Umm, it says verse chapter 16 of John and verse 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot hear bare them now.
Albeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me, and he shall receive of mine, and show it unto you.
We have something better than the apostles. We have the Spirit of God.
And the time we have this now we have the Spirit of God to take the truth and authoritatively make it good in the soul. And we thank God for that. The Lord said that the Spirit when he came, would have that function. He's the spirit of truth. And just to say again, the Spirit of God will confirm to our spirit what is truth. The Spirit of God will not confirm to our spirits what is error.
And so when we have the Word of God, we don't have to reduce it to one opinion versus another as to what it means. But we have given of God not only the words themselves that we are to know and understand the doctrine, but we have one who gives that understanding and a power that's beyond ourselves and yet doesn't occupy us with ourselves, rather with the thought of God.
Down below where it says the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle.
We don't have to use human strength or striving to suppress our point. The Spirit of God is able to take it, and that's why the striving is unnecessary.
It's also in acknowledging the lordship of Christ, isn't it? In verse uh 19 Towards the end the Lord knoweth them that are his and let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord.
Depart from iniquity. And so it's really the lordship authority that should, uh, have, uh, power in our lives, our thoughts that in the assembly in the Church of God, it's the will of God.
It's the Word of God that ought to govern what goes on there. It's not my opinion or another brother's opinion or anybody else's opinion, but we should have real convictions as to what the truth is, as what the Spirit of God teaches in connection with.
The activity that goes on during the Christian time that we're here. And so it's personal responsibility to depart from iniquity. And then he says that in a great house, which is really what Christianity has become, he says there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. And so not everything that is done in the name of the Lord, not everything that is done is.
Approved of God. Not everything, not everyone that says Lord Lord is a approved of God. Let's look at Matthew chapter 25 there because the Lord reveals that there even after the rapture, there's going to be those that call themselves Christian and they'll address him as Lord, but they don't have life. They're not indwelt with the Spirit of God in verse 11, Matthew 25, verse 11.
Afterward came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. And so here there's that individual responsibility to recognize and to discern that which is characteristic and approved of God and that which is not approved of Him. Those who are real believers, the silver and the gold, Speaking of redemption and divine righteousness. And then those that are of wood and earth, those that are not characterized by.
The heavenly thing, heavenly line of things, and not perhaps even believers.
Beautiful balance, don't we, in that 19th verse.
On the one hand, in a day of ruin where there is a lot of bad practice and bad doctrine.
We sometimes don't know whether an individual is real or not.
00:25:00
All we can judge by is what we see by their fruit. Shall you know them?
And sad to say, there may be a believer.
I have to see the tendency in my own soul. I could get so far away from the Lord that someone looking at me would say, well, he professed to be a Christian and he seemed to be walking well, but look at him now. I don't know.
We fall back on the Lord knoweth them that are His. But what is my personal responsibility? Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. And as you say, that brings in the lordship of Christ over everyone who names the name of the Lord.
Has someone been baptized? They name the name of the Lord. Does someone say I'm a Christian? They do, in an outward way, name the name of the Lord. Do you and I, as perhaps real believers, name the name of the Lord? We have a responsibility.
And let me say something here, and I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I've seen during my lifetime sometimes people, dear believers too, who don't want to take their place in remembering the Lord at His table, and sometimes, while it perhaps may not be said to explicitly.
I have found out that there is a thought in their hearts. Well.
If I come and take my place at the Lord's table.
Then my life will come under closer scrutiny by my brethren.
And perhaps I will have to.
Walk a different path and give up certain things that I allow in my life. Nobody bothers me right now and it's better that way.
No.
Many, many years ago. Over 100 years ago.
There was a young man who didn't come to the Lord's Table.
For that very reason.
And suddenly he read this verse and it hit him right in the eye.
Do I name the name of Christ? Do I name the name of the Lord? It doesn't say that everyone that breaks bread depart from iniquity. Oh no.
Doesn't say let everyone that is at the Lord's table depart from iniquity. It says everyone that nameth the name of the Lord. It exercised his heart. He gave up certain things that he knew in his life.
Were not something that he ought to be going on with.
And happily came to the Lord's Table. Wonderful.
For what it's worth, the brother was Harry Hale.
That came through the family. I he never told me that personally, but.
So we can all have that thought that we don't want to be under the scrutiny of our brethren.
But.
If we name in the name of the Lord, we have a responsibility, don't we?
And we're talking in verse 20 about.
A great house.
But before it speaks of that, it speaks in verse 19 of the foundation of God. Interesting.
And I find it extremely helpful to me to get that clear what that means. If you go back to Matthew chapter 16, the Lord Jesus speaking about his church.
Says upon this rock, referring to himself as the Son of the living God.
Upon this rock will I build my church. That's the foundation.
And that rock is solid.
If you go to 1St Corinthians chapter 3, you find the foundation mentioned again in verse 10. The apostle Paul is speaking and says, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation in another bill, that they're on that leather. Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ. There it is the affirmation of the foundation of God that stands sure.
00:30:11
Now go over to Ephesians chapter 2.
And we find a little bit different thought, although it is really the same. But in verse 20, speaking about the house aspect of the church, it says we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
So here it says it's the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Very interesting and important to understand this.
Because it is the apostles and prophets of the New Testament upon which the Church is built as well, and Jesus Christ himself is the chief cornerstone.
The point of reference in everything, how important it is to get a clear understanding of New Testament doctrine and I encourage you young brothers to get a hold of it, you young sisters as well. It's important. It will establish you in your souls. It's interesting. It's important in view of the fact that here in Second Timothy chapter 2, when the.
House is spoken of. It's not like in First Timothy.
First Timothy, it says very clearly in chapter 3. We mentioned it yesterday, the House of God, the pillar and ground of the truth, the Church of the living God.
But here it doesn't say the House of God. Why not? It just says a great house. And it's been like some our brothers have been talking that there's been a lot of profession that has entered into the Christian profession. I understand that the Christian religion is the largest religion on the face of the earth.
And this is what it is. It's the place where the name of the Lord is named.
Doesn't mean that everyone is real in that house, and it has become such a great thing that you can't hardly tell now that it has the characteristic of the House of God, because God's order has been left out in so many sectors.
Of the area that is that names the name of the Lord. So we have to say, like you're saying, Brother Bill, the Lord knows. We can't tell. It's not ours to judge, but there is a responsibility and it's important to understand that if you name the name of the Lord, you have a responsibility. Don't connect that name with iniquity in any way, shape or form.
There's iniquity, morally speaking, There's iniquity, doctrinally speaking, that we have here in verse 18.
And there is ecclesiastical iniquity too, that is mentioned in parts of Scripture, so that it's important that in whatever way iniquity comes up, we are responsible. And this is individual responsibility. I think it's important to understand it says here, if a man is therefore verse 21, it's individual, you are responsible.
I am responsible to act upon the truth of these scriptures.
Before we get too far from verse 18, I don't want to slow down the forward progress because there's so many important points in the, but could someone just give us a brief, umm, explanation of?
The seriousness of this evil that was being taught concerning the resurrection and I guess the other part of the question is what resurrection were these two referring to Himeneas and Phelitis? So I guess that's part of the question and what what is the seriousness of the consequences of of this error and doctrine, this evil doctrine?
00:35:07
Uh, verse 18, OK.
Well, I would make a suggestion, Brother John.
We don't need to turn to it, but in First Corinthians 15, once again there were those that were denying the resurrection.
And what was the result?
Paul says that is going to lead to the very thing that you and I see around us today. He says evil communications, corrupt good manners and the eventual outcome is let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.
And if they said here that the resurrection was passed already, what does that do? It effectively removes responsibility from man. Because, as we had earlier in the chapter, where is the reward for faithfulness? Where was the Lord Jesus reward for faithfulness? Where was Paul's reward for faithfulness? Where is our reward as Christians for faithfulness?
It's in resurrection, isn't it? It's on the other side of this world. And in that sense, if man can persuade himself and.
Even, sad to say, those that might be true believers, if they can persuade themselves that the future is not that serious and that the resurrection is passed already, then the result is it brings believers down to the level of this world and gives them, you might say, the license to live according to the course of this world.
Live for the moment. That's the watchword of today. Live for the moment.
All the young people here know what the coined word Yolo means.
YOLOU only live once and that's what the world is saying today. And even though perhaps some of those that would say the resurrection is passed already might not go that far yet that is the eventual result, isn't it of of saying that how they.
Presumed all that and what they thought happened the scripture doesn't go into, but it was a very serious thing, the same as it was in Corinth and resulted in a lowering of the behavior believers down to the level of this world.
Uh, perhaps they thought the Lord's resurrection was passed already and that there would not be any further. But go back to John chapter 5 and it's very clear there what the Lord Jesus himself says in verse 28. Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice.
And shall come forth.
Uh, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.
So absolutely every tomb, every graveyard of this world will be empty. Very clear, isn't it?
So there is no such thing as the resurrection has passed.
Every single human being that has ever lived on planet Earth and died will rise again.
In Jewish, uh, in the Jewish, uh, era, they didn't have real light and complete knowledge of resurrection, did they? And so even the Sadducees, they denied the resurrection and umm, so in first Corinthians chapter 15 has been alluded to in verse 23. It says every man in his own order, Christ, the first fruit after were they that are Christ that is coming. And so the Rhode Island, the umm, resurrection really, you might say the.
Takes place in three installments. The first fruits and umm, so they the Lord Jesus is risen, a glorified man. He's seated at the right hand of God. The next installment of that resurrection is going to be at the rapture.
And you and I are going to leave this world the same way that the Lord Jesus left it. We're going to leave planet earth with bodies glorified and will be brought into the presence of the Lord. And so the glorified head will be.
00:40:05
United with a glorified body. And then we find in Revelation chapter 20, he speaks of the first resurrection being complete then and so very shortly before the appearing of the Lord and to assert His rights in this scene and to deliver His people, Israel, that first resurrection is going to be complete because the martyred Saints during the tribulation period will be raised.
And they all have glorified bodies. And then at the appearing, why the Lord Jesus is going to come with all of his Saints. So it's evident that as we're reading here in Second Timothy, these Judaizing teachers that troubled the Saints at the beginning of the church period, they didn't know all of the truth and they rejected Paul's doctrine and, uh, different parts of it. And so they weren't clear as to the truth of resurrection. And so this is perhaps given to us as an example.
Of doctrine that is, uh, misguided, untruthful, and how it will affect the outcome of our own lives and our own testimony. How thankful we can be.
To be able to, uh, simply read and, uh, have, umm, oral ministry that, uh, gives us the truth of God in connection with resurrection. And to realize that the next great event in this world, uh, the world is not aware of, but the very next great event is going to be the rapture. And it'll be the resurrection of those Old Testament Saints and New Testament Saints. And we know that we're going to be caught up together to be with the Lord. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
It's the truth of God.
That at the end of Millennium there will be the resurrection of the dead. That's why you understand.
Next, I'd like to turn to Second Timothy, Second Thessalonians, Chapter one.
Saints in Selena were new believers.
The first epistle may have been written within three weeks of their salvation. And, uh, in that first epistle, they have spoken to them about the Lord's coming in chapter 4 and the looking forward to the Lord to come. And it raised certain questions in them that troubled them, uh, when they, when they were told about the rapture, as we call it. And, uh, so he writes in the second letter to them.
And chapter one and verse seven, you who are troubled, rest with us. The Lord shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. I'm not going to get into the teaching, but He is correcting some thoughts that they had which were not correct.
The point I want to make is very often error is mixed with enough truth to confuse.
And that's part of its danger.
Umm, the very subtle work of Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane in the Garden of Eden, was to mix in some measure truth with error and caused the fall of man. And so Mary, for example, when the Lord talked to her at the time of the death of her brother Lazarus, and the question of resurrection came up, she recognized, as a godly Jew did, that there would be a resurrection.
And she said to him, I know that he shall be raised in the resurrection, or there should be a resurrection, she said in the last day. And so the Jew had certain senses of resurrection. Christianity introduced more.
Enlightenment as to the subject, and here are some who have not explained to us in detail, have started to mix what was Jewish hope with Christian hope and when it was going to happen and how it was going to happen and.
So on and so forth, but just the point. Again, the danger for us is very often the subtlety that there's some truth in the error. The timing may be wrong, the motivation may be wrong, but we need to stick to the words of God. Otherwise we can easily be LED astray by error because of the measure of truth in it. These people weren't denying there was a resurrection here.
00:45:02
But they were saying, well, you know, about the resurrection and et cetera. And it's already happened. And now they're trying to give something that goes beyond the the resurrection and it's, it's serious error.
Himself more light in connection with resurrection, didn't he as you mentioned in chapter five he says and to corroborate brother Bob just corrected me on or just added to in verse 29 John 529 shall come forth and they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. So those that are.
Umm die in their sins will be raised, but not at the same time as those that have life. Those that are raised, that uh, have faith in Christ, that died in faith, will be raised and will be given glorified. Our bodies will be glorified.
Receiving a new body.
That's not really scriptural. It's the same body in which, uh.
A person goes into the uh.
20.
Uh, we are always, we are part of the great house. We cannot leave the great house. Uh, it's professing Christendom. There's the House of God in reality and there's the House of God in profession. Umm, we're always in the House of God. Uh.
That's taken up in detail in in the first epistle.
But it it mentions the apostle says, let everyone that name it the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Gold and silver vessels would be true believers. The wood and earth would be unbelievers. But there in the House of God, part of baptized Christendom, some to honor an unbeliever cannot be to honor and some to dishonor. That could be a that would be an unbeliever, but it could also be a believer.
Who is associated with that Which is, uh, contrary?
To the word of God.
So we are to separate.
From uh, iniquity, from, uh, the evil doctrine which may necessitate separating from persons. But I was wondering, is there another class here, uh?
As we have in verse 21 a vessel unto honor sanctified, and meet for the masters youth, and prepared unto every good work, I have a little difficulty here.
To say that everyone who is not gathered through the Lord's name, I don't think we could say that they are a vessel to dishonor.
Umm, perhaps someone can give us a word on that?
Can a person who is not on his in a scriptural position?
According to the word of God, can they be a vessel unto honor?
Important for us to understand that this is individual responsibility.
They're not looking at a collective position here. It may result in a collective position because it says in verse 22, follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them. And so there might be as a result.
A collective position, but it's not looking at that primarily, It's individual responsibility. Everyone that names the name of the Lord has this responsibility.
And notice, brethren, when it speaks of vessels of gold and silver, of wooden, of earth, we tend to relegate those to honor and to dishonor. The Scripture doesn't really explain it that way. It just says some to honor and some to dishonor. And then in verse 21, it defines the vessels to honor. What are they? It doesn't define those to dishonor.
But here it says, if a man therefore shall purge himself from these, And it is.
00:50:06
Like you say, Brother John, it's the iniquity, and perhaps that may mean separating from.
Uh, vessels, maybe of gold and of silver, that are Alvini iniquity connected with them. Purge himself from these, Then he shall be a vessel into honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared into every good work.
I don't have any gold vessels in my house, but supposing you came to my house, Brother John, and saw that I was using a vessel of gold for the garbage pail.
Would you say that's a vessel of honor?
You'd probably say that's strange. Why should he have that vessel in that position?
That's not a vessel to honor, not in that position. But that vessel was not made for that. It was made for a place of honor. So what has to be done to that vessel? It has to be taken out of that place. It has to be cleansed and then set separately in another place. And we, we shrink from the thought of separation, brother.
And it's hard because we know those that are real believers and perhaps are going on with things that are clearly not scriptural.
Lord, help us to have the right spirit in connection with it all, but to separate, you know, in our own houses what would happen if you would see me washing the dishes after a meal and here on one side all The Dirty plates.
And they have the what the dish. I don't have a dishwasher suppose and I don't but and I'm washing them and I wash and I put them.
Over here separately and then all of a sudden I pick up a dirty one and I set them over there with a clean one. So my wife gonna say anything to me? Yes, she will. Why? Because those are clean. You don't put The Dirty ones with the clean ones. Anybody that washes dishes in their house knows that. So here you have a bunch of nice clean vessels clean.
Uh, blades and you put a dirty one with it. You don't do that. We use more care in our homes than we do in connection with our Christian association.
Evil contaminates and we need to be careful with it. And so to me, it helps me to understand that, Brother John, to realize that here we're dealing with the position individually. You are responsible. I am responsible. It's not looking primarily at a collective position. It may result in something collective, but it's individual faithfulness in a time.
Of ruin, you say? That's right, Bill, definitely. And I like your point that we need.
Real humility in all of this because all too easily the reference point can slide away from the Lord to be a focus on ourselves and that's wrong. There were those in the. I think it's the 9th chapter of Luke who took issue with one who was casting out demons in the Lord's name and.
It's ironic that not too far previously to that the disciples had been unable to cast out a demon, but they said to the Lord we forbade him because he followeth not with us. And the Lord rebuked that spirit because the emphasis was on the US. Here we notice very clearly that the reference point is always the Lord iniquity, that is, iniquity before the Lord.
Vessels to dishonor. Dishonor to what? Dishonor to the Lord.
And if that becomes the reference point, then as Bob says, in separating from what dishonors the Lord, I may have necessity end up separating from a vessel of gold and silver.
But then again, it's not because I think I'm better than he or she. It's rather am I going to dishonor the Lord by being in fellowship with that which dishonours him? Or am I going to separate from what dishonors him, even if it sometimes means separating from another true believer can be very, very difficult. But I believe there's one more point here.
00:55:18
Which is important to include. And that takes us into the 22nd verse.
It talks about those who are calling on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Everyone who calls on the Lord out of a pure heart does not know the whole truth of God necessarily.
But I would suggest it means that calling on the Lord out of a pure heart are those who have not set their will against what the Spirit of God is seeking to bring before them. That is important.
And so we should recognize those who perhaps.
Do not necessarily know it all. Perhaps they have been given very limited opportunities and perhaps because of an upbringing or associations.
Their understanding of the whole truth of God is very limited, but if there is a willingness to accept what the Spirit of God is seeking to bring before them, then they're calling on the Lord out of a pure heart, aren't they?
John.
But they'll just got through saying there. I think that's a good answer. Verse 20/20/21 are separating from and and verse uh 22 is separating 2 something. It's having the the Lord before you and it's best to leave the other souls in the House of God alone to to be looking at their position is really to fail to see that we.
This whole mess of the ruin of the House of God we are a part of and a part of the cause of it and everything and that it's an individual thing of action within the House of God that God has opened up.
And given faith to have a bulwark to lean on the foundation of God, remain, assure. And so we can, that's something for us to cling to.
God holds that and we need to leave those souls that aren't necessarily following with us where God looks at them and not be those that pronounce upon their position. Uh, I believe it's utterly, uh, uncharacteristic of, of how we got to where we are and being, uh, seeing truths that gather to the Lord's name in a way of separation from.
Evil.
And so our let's concentrate on not only separating from those evil things, but following faith, following righteousness, faith, charity and peace with them that call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart.
A verse in the Old Testament might connect with this thought of a pure heart job.
Chapter 34.
And verse 32 Job 3432.
It says that which I see not teach thou me if I have done iniquity.
I will do no more.
We have here one that I believe has.
The right attitude, A teachable spirit.
And desires to know the truth of God, acknowledges that he or she doesn't know at all. And perhaps there is something that isn't consistent.
That they don't know about something not consistent with the word of God and they want to know about this. They say if I have done iniquity.
I will do no more.
Now would this be a pure heart?
I mean, a pure heart is not a perfect heart.
I don't think anybody really.
Has a perfect tire, do they?
01:00:02
In the sense that there's not a.
Believer on the face of this earth that doesn't need correction of some sort.
Our desire is to judge that.
And to go on and to live for the Lord.
It seems to me to be.
In connection with having a pure heart.
Art this list is, that is given in the order of the list because it's righteousness first. And, uh, we would naturally like to put love first, which is really the third item there, but it's really God's part, God's portion first. And God delights in righteousness and in holiness. And so there's righteousness. There is such a thing as a righteous path. And, uh, as our brother Bill has mentioned, uh, when one.
Is teachable and sets aside his own will, then there is a possibility of being able to be brought into the knowledge of the righteous path, acceptable path with the Lord. And so we can walk with the Lord out of a pure heart. It's just, umm, you know what struck me that umm, and I've often enjoyed it this way that, uh, a pure heart is one that knows the truth of God, knows the word of God, knows the instruction and the clear teaching of the word of God.
And walks in it.
One that does know that, one that knows the truth of God, knows the clear teaching and the word of God, and will not walk in it, is not walking in a pure heart.
He's not walking according to the truth of God and so that's why this list is given righteousness first, faith men, charity or peace and love men, peace with them that call on the name of the Lord on the Lord out of a pure heart. So it really gives us the encouragement, doesn't it, that there are going to be others. It's not that we're going to be an island to ourselves, but God in his grace reserved in Elijah's days 7000 that had not bowed the need to veil.
And it doesn't matter how bad things get in the Christian testimony, it seems to me that this is a little encouragement to Timothy and ought to be an encouragement to us that God is going to see to it that there are others that walk and desire to walk in a path of righteousness and faith, love for one another, love for the Lord, and it will result in a peaceful path and the path of fellowship with him.
Something that I find sometimes causes confusion and thinking about these, uh, portions of Scripture, the great house, or it says really a great house here. And we have said this is the House of Christian profession. And brother John was mentioning we cannot leave the House of Christian profession.
Unless we should become apostates to Christianity, give up the Christian profession completely.
But sometimes we use the, uh, expression the camp, which is used in Hebrews chapter 13, as if it were the same thing as the great house. And I think that is important to distinguish because we are told distinctly to come out of the camp. And the camp is the Judaistic religion that is in many parts of the Christian profession has been incorporated.
But we are to come out of that, but are never told to come out of the great House, and I think that is important to distinguish those two.
I'd like to go back to uh, for a moment. It's we've covered it before, but I want to summarize a couple of things back to First Timothy chapter 3.
Been referred to multiple times and I don't think it's been read in this reading meeting but perhaps it was yesterday or this morning. First Corinthians chapter 3.
And verse 15.
Umm, if I carry long, that's Paul speaking to Timothy. If I don't see you soon, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
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Immediate thing you see here in connection with the House of God is behavior. Behavior has to do with responsibility.
The Church of God is seen in different ways, but it's seen here as God has a house, and in His house, just as there was the temple in the Old Testament, and it had its vessels and so on, of gold and silver and other things, God today had formed a house on the day of Pentecost.
And so he says to Timothy, I want to give you instructions concerning your behavior in this house.
For it is to be where God's truth is supported and maintained in the world.
And so in God's house, that's the purpose of it, to maintain the truth of God in the world in which we live.
So then in the second Timothy.
God, as it were, the Spirit of God can no longer call that house his house because it no longer has the characteristics that identify themselves with God.
So instead of calling it God's house, a different name is used. It's called the Great house, but the truth of it is there's just one foundation, and the foundation has already been spoken about. So God's house was built on a foundation. Now the same foundation is there, but the house that's on that foundation no longer shows the characteristics of God and is no longer by the Spirit of God, calls this his house.
His name can't, as God, be identified with the behavior that's taking place in it as a whole.
So it's called instead a great house. Baptism is the manner in which we enter the house. And so everybody who's in this house on this foundation got into it in the place of responsibility by baptism. Now it comes to behavior today and the behavior today in this, the verses we've been considering have direct reference to one person.
Lord and Lord is always seen in Scripture as an individual thing.
It's not a collective thing. Your relationship to the person that you call Lord is your Lord.
He's mine too, but my relationship with him is myself and himself and.
And consequently, when you have this confused condition of things and I'm told, how am I supposed to act?
To me, the simplicity that comes out of it is I have to go in reference to my Lord and obey Him.
And he tells me how to act as.
The personal relationship between myself and himself in something that is very confused and out of order. And so when I why do I separate from something? Because my Lord says do it, it's directly and to me. The key in a personal sense to following out these things is I don't separate from you or somebody else in something I rather.
Seek to obey my Lord, and that may require me to be in separation from someone. And it does. Tomorrow morning there's going to be a loaf and a cup on a table in the middle of this room. Why are you going to sit down and partake of it?
I purpose Lord willing to sit down and partake of it because it on that table is what my Lords table.
And remember it in the individual responsibility connected to it rather than the collective side of it. I want to sit down because to me and my own soul, it is a direct response between my heart and my Lord who wants me to do it.
And he says to thee, this is my table.
And I want you to sit down at my table with me and Remember Me in my death.
And when that cup and that loaf is passed to you, I want you to think of it as me, your Lord, giving it into your hand to Remember Me in my death. And then it takes on its proper collective character when others do it. But the sense to me and my own soul of what we're doing is following the fact that Jesus is.
01:10:24
My personal Lord. And it answers some of these questions about looking at it collectively and individually, and it gives me a motivation because I'm motivated in my own relationship to that person who I say my Lord. And so when I act, I act in his name because I'm doing it in reference to himself.
The result is a testimony. Uh, but if we invert that order and seek about making a testimony, uh, we're, we're, we're, we got the cart before the horse.
Pretty well known by name, but maybe it it will say do less about it. I guess I'll use his name. A brother in the last in the 1800s who said if we seek to be a testimony.
We will be a testimony to our own failure. In other words, if our object is to be a testimony rather than to be obedient to the will of our Master and act for him, we will be a testimony to our own failure. That person's name was John Darby.
#52.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Bob Thonney
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To everybody.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
It is the power of God unto salvation unto everyone that believe it.
Let's sing #37.
The gospel of thy grace.
My stubborn heart is one.
The Gospel of.
My heart.
One foregone.
Thy word forever.
Into half a life of your life and your eyes being alive. Dreams.
***.
Nsnoise.
Christmas Nsnoise.
Well, like we had last night, we still have good news.
Uh, the gospel. That's what it means. Good news.
I noticed this morning there was a piece of news that wasn't quite so good.
Fidel Castro.
Passed from this life to meet his Creator.
He is no longer an atheist.
But it's not good news unless the last moment he might have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Soon as a person passes from this life, he comes face to face with his creator God.
I'd like to speak about the gospel tonight in the different ways it's presented in different parts of the Scriptures before we talk about the major portion of my desire to speak of which is called the Gospel of the Grace of God.
00:05:15
Like to speak on something that is called the Everlasting Gospel. I think it is important perhaps to start there. It's found in Revelation chapter 14 and I'm going to read 3 scriptures that have to do with the everlasting Gospel.
Chapter 14 of Revelation, verse 6.
And I saw another Angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people saying with a loud voice.
Fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come and worship him that made notice this.
Heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water.
This is the everlasting gospel.
It's dealing with the same God that we talk about when we talk about the gospel of the grace of God, but it is in connection with creation. Let's look at another verse in Romans chapter one that has to do with this same matter.
Romans chapter one and verse.
19 and 20.
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, For God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made.
Even his eternal power.
And God had so that they are without excuse.
So God has manifested those things that are invisible.
By the things that are visible, the creation. Let's go back to Psalm 19.
We're going to read the 1St 4 verses.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the Firmament showed his handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech in night and to night show it knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth.
And their words to the end of the world in them.
He has set a Tabernacle for the sun. So it's talking about creation. And before we talk about the gospel of the grace of God, I want to touch on this, the everlasting gospel because sometimes I get the impression with people when I talk about the gospel and the things that they are conceding.
A time of.
Listening on some issue that is just a matter of human opinion.
Want to make that clear? We're not dealing with a matter of human opinion. We are dealing with a matter of the everlasting, the eternal God that you and I have to do with. There is no way you can avoid it. You must meet God, and you will meet Him. Believe it or not, that is another matter, but you will meet Him.
And he has given us to understand who he is by the things that are made, the creation, the universe. I find it fascinating and I have often mentioned something of the vastness of the universe that we live in. We live in this little planet Earth, which is.
00:10:18
25,000 miles to do.
A trip around the earth.
And we are circling around a sun which is one of the stars that is 93,000,000 miles from us. And this has been going on now for thousands of years.
The Sun is approximately 1,000,000 times greater than planet Earth in size.
And yet the Sun is just one of approximately 200 billion stars in the Galaxy in which we live, which is in the shape of a plate whirling around in the universe.
And from 1 edge of the.
Uh, Galaxy that we are located in?
To the other edge is about 100,000 light years, the distance that light traveling at the rate of 186,000 miles per second. It takes it 100,000 years to get across.
Our Galaxy alone.
Just to give you a little example or something maybe that helps us to relate to the vastness of it. The light that started across the Galaxy when Adam was placed in this world is not a tenth of the way across yet this Galaxy, our Galaxy alone.
Now they say I have a book at home that tells.
That they calculate that there are at least 350 billion galaxies more in the universe.
The other day.
Happened to pick up a Time magazine and in it there was a little quip.
That's sad. The scientists now calculate that there are 10 times more galaxies than previously thought. The numbers just keep going up and up and up, and we're talking about the God that created it all by the word of his mouth. By the word of his mouth, he commanded.
And it stood firm.
He spoke and it was done.
This is the vastness and the grandeur of the God that we are dealing with, that you have to meet and that you cannot avoid meeting. You will meet Him sooner or later.
Fidel Castro crossed over the line to meet him last night or this morning. I don't know exactly when it was that. You will meet him too. There is no avoiding it.
After death is the judgment. Well, I just want to say that to me it is tremendously awe inspiring. We stand sometimes in positions where we get a little bit of an idea of the vastness, the grandeur of our universe. I love to stand on the.
Andes of South American Bolivia.
Some time ago, crossing from Potosi to Uni, you go over the what is called the inner Andes and you come to a point where you drop off down to the 12,000 feet level, which is called the Altiplano. And as we came to that point where we're going to drop down to that level, we stopped and just looked out over the.
Alta Plano in the distance you can see 2300.
400 miles off into the distance and to see the outer Andes on the edge of South America stretching up into the sky and other side, I don't know. It does something to me to realize how tremendously insignificant we are. You have to do with God. There is no way you can avoid it.
00:15:02
But thankfully, God has shown himself to be a God.
Of all grace, and God has given us the gospel of his grace.
So this is what we want to speak of majorly this evening, is that God is a God of grace. Let's go to Romans chapter one because Romans is the book that deals with the gospel.
And we'll read a few verses here.
Verse one.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures.
Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.
Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ?
To all that being, Rome, beloved of God, called to the Saints grace to you in peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world, for God is my witness whom I serve.
With my spirit in the gospel of his Son.
That without ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers. So in verse one we have it called the Gospel of God. In verse nine we have it called the gospel of his sons. In verse 16 we have it called the gospel of Christ.
And it's interesting because in verse one, it's the gospel of God because he's the author of the gospel message.
It comes from him. You know, sometimes people have the idea that God is this great person that we have to deal with and that he's angry and that he wants to strike us down. That is not the truth. God is love and God is light. And so when God looks at you, he looks at you.
In love, you may decide not to accept the gospel and go to a lost eternity.
But God still loves you. You will never be able to say in that lost eternity.
Nobody ever loved me because he loves you. He loves you not because.
Of what you are, what you have done, He loves you. You know why? Because God is love in his own glorious person. Oh, it's a wonderful thing to think about. He is the author of this message, but in verse three it says it's concerning his Son, Jesus Christ.
Our Lord, I think this is beautiful and wonderful.
To think about as well, which is made of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power.
So the Lord Jesus is of the seed of David, in other words.
He came to be a human being.
He is in other places called the Son of Man.
He is the one that came into the world and was born.
As we had today of the Virgin Mary important that it was a virgin because he had no sin nature. He came into the world without the instrumentality of a human father. He his God, his father was God and but he came as a man into this world. You know that was in.
That was important because as God, he's immortal and he cannot die.
To be able to die, He had to become a man. Man is capable of dying. We are subject to death because of our sin. The Lord Jesus was not subject to death because He did not sin. But He chose to die because He wanted to save us from our sins. So He was.
00:20:18
The of the seed of David according to the flesh, but then he was declared to be.
The Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness. By the resurrection of the dead, in other words.
He was, in every sense of the word, all at the same time that he was the Son of Man.
He was the Son of God, and He proved it by the resurrection of the dead.
And that's a general term that means that anyone that came into his.
Pathway He could speak the word and raise them from the dead. And we have in the Gospels the record of three persons that he raised to back to life again in this life. One was a little girl of 12 years old that had just died, and the Lord Jesus came and took her by the hand and lifted her back to life again.
Who can do that but God? And he as the Son of God could speak life.
Into dead souls another one was a young man who had died and there were.
On the way to the cemetery and as they went out of the city with a great multitude on the way to the cemetery.
There was another group coming in, and in that group was the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is the Son of God with power for the resurrection of the dead, and he stopped that funeral procession.
One procession was on the way to the cemetery, the other was going the other way.
Which group are you in? Are you in the way that's on in the group that's on the way to the cemetery or you knew the on the group that where the Lord Jesus is? Oh, that's wonderful.
Poor widow woman that was losing her son was weeping and the Lord said weep not. You know that would have been cruel to say to her, if he hadn't have been who he was. But as soon as he said, don't weep.
He said to the young man, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he rose up and began to talk. I wonder what he had to say. It would have been interesting, but Scripture doesn't exactly tell us anything what he said. The third one was a man who had been dead and buried for four days.
And the Lord Jesus came to that tomb.
And there too, there were those who were weeping. And to me it is most interesting. That is the Lord Jesus comes to that tomb and sees his sisters, Lazarus sisters weeping as well. He wept as well. You know what that tells me? God is a compassionate God. And when you go through sorrow and trouble.
He understands.
He feels what you're going through. He knows about it. And so then he said take the stone off the of the sepulchre and they took the stone off and he said Lazarus come forth. Somebody has said if he hadn't qualified that call, he would have emptied the whole cemetery. But he did say.
Lazarus come forth and Lazarus, even though he was bound up the way they used to bury people.
Is wrap them with linen clothes and even though he was all bound up.
He came out, the Son of God had spoken, the one who had created the whole universe had spoken. How can he not come out of that tomb? So the Lord Jesus has shown himself to be the Son of God with power according to the resurrection of the dead, but I haven't told you about the most tremendous example of resurrection power, and that was his own.
Resurrection because the Lord Jesus went into death for us.
And he says in John chapter 10, I have power to lay down my life, and I have power to take it again. And so the Lord Jesus by his own power raised himself from the dead. Yes, it was by the Spirit of God that he was raised. Yes, it was the Father that raised him. But also by his own power he raised himself from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:25:19
Has shown himself to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead.
Now I'd like to go over to the 15th chapter. I'm sorry, the 10th chapter of Romans and the 15th verse.
Because we see here the.
Gospel with a different title on it.
How then shall they preach, except they be sent as it is written? How beautiful.
Are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace?
And bring glad tidings of good things. There is that word glad tidings that her brother used last night. It is the gospel of peace. You know, we live in a world that is afflicted by war. So many parts of this world, it seems like people, all they can think of is killing each other.
That's the world we're living in.
And we have the gospel of peace, but in order to.
Proclaim peace the problem that has led to all this killing.
Has to be addressed and you know what the problem is. The problem is sin.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Oh, you say I'm not that bad of a Sinner. You might not be.
But you know what Scripture clearly tells us that not one lie will enter.
Ever enter that holy city above? And if you have any hopes of going there when this life is over, you have to address the question of sin. There is no way you and I can avoid it. We have to address it.
Sin. God hates it because it destroys. It destroys lives, it destroys families.
It destroys nations. It's an awful thing. Sin is, you know, we can recognize it, but sometimes we do not get serious about this matter. You have to get serious about this. It's what's called repentance, a change of mind if you've been just living your life.
Just kind of let it go with the flow and doing whatever you think to do. Think again because.
It's not going to go good for you that way. You need to change your thinking. You need to repent is the scriptural word for it to change your thinking. And it's a matter of question of sin. The wages of sin is death. Is there anybody that escapes?
Death.
Cannot avoid that. There's no one in this present world that is going to avoid debt. You might delay it a long time, but the time comes when you will face it, we said.
Fidel Castro faced death last night or this morning. Oh, how solemn it is. It's a leveler, remember, a man that we visited in the nursing home where we go sometimes to sing hymns, visiting him in his room, he said, why do we have to die?
Yeah, that's a good question. Why do we have to die? Because.
We are sinners, that's why we die. And so God has taken up this question of sin, and knowing that you and I are sinners, with God we cannot have peace. But this is called the gospel of peace. How in the world then can you and I have peace with God when there is the question of sin in the picture?
00:30:04
Let's go back to Chapter 3.
Because God has addressed this issue and is such a amazingly wonderful thing way.
It's through his own beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice in verse 10 of chapter 3, as it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They're all gone out of the way. They are together, becoming profitable. There is none that doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre. With their tongues they have used deceit.
The poison of ASP is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace. Have they not known there is No Fear of God before their eyes? Now we know that what so things, so ever the last saith, saith to them who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped in all the world, may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law.
Is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Now verse 24, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation thru faith in his blood to declare his righteousness.
For the remission of sins that are passed through, the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time his righteousness.
That he might be just in the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
Let me just tell you more or less what this is saying. You and I are sinners before a holy God and God has addressed the question of sin. How has he done it? It's in his own beloved Son, the Lord Jesus came into this world, as we have been mentioning in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and yet a real.
Man and he lived here for 33 1/2 years.
But at the end of those 33 1/2 years, they condemned him to the most cruel death possible, to the death of crucifixion. They crowned him with thorns. They scourged him. The Roman soldiers scourge him. They used to call that the living death because it was so traumatic to any human being.
And then they let him outside the city of Jerusalem.
And they stretched out his hands and his feet, and they nailed them to the cross.
And they lifted up that cross and hung him, the Son of God, the creator of the universe, the same one who created this vast universe in which we live. They hung him there. I say God would have been righteous to completely obliterate this creation for the awful crime that they committed against His Son.
But you know why? What? He didn't obliterate it. You know why?
People would have known that God is righteous if he would have done that.
But no one would have known that God is love.
And so that God, that you and I might know that our God is a God of love. He himself settled the issue of our sins before the holy God. There he was on that cross. We told the story, and I never hired telling it. I'm gonna tell it to you again.
From 9:00 in the morning, how we count time, to 3:00 in the afternoon, he was hanging.
00:35:03
Alive on that cross, the first three hours people passed in front of him, mocking him, jeering him, spitting on him.
And he suffered from the hands of men. Not only did he suffer physically, but he suffered emotionally.
He said.
In prophetic utterance in the Psalms, reproach has broken my heart and I'm full of heaviness, and I look for some to take pity. And there was none. And for comforters, but I found none.
You know, they said he said he was the Son of God. Let God deliver him if he wants him. Did God deliver him?
Silence, total silence from God. God didn't deliver him. Why not? You know what? If he would have delivered him, you and I would have been condemned to eternal hell for our own sins. And so the Lord Jesus was not delivered at that awful time.
But at 12 noon, that's what I want to tell you about to 3:00 in the afternoon, God covered that Mount Goth outside of Jerusalem with darkness, and for three hours nobody could see what was taking place. But God's holy character had to be vindicated as to the question of sin, because he cannot deny himself.
God is God.
And so in those three hours of darkness, God took my filthy sins and laid them on the head of his own beloved son. And he took his judgment rod, and he punished the fury of his character, his own beloved Son, so that he wouldn't have to sink me into eternal hell.
Complete silence those three hours as Jesus suffered the waves and billows of God's judgment against our sins.
Only at the end of those three hours, there is an awful cry that comes.
From that Mount Calvary.
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
God forsook his Son.
So that he wouldn't have to forsake us in the lake of fire forever.
All the amazing wonder of it. He himself paid the price of our redemption. That's what it's talking about when it says here in verse.
UH-24 being justified freely by his grace through.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Jesus paid the price in full. Little after he cries out, it is finished, and he bows his head and he gives up his life, and a soldier comes with a spear. He had been told to not leave those three that were crucified.
With life. So he breaks the legs of the first malefactor, he comes over to the second one and breaks his legs, and he comes to Jesus.
Dead already.
Nobody could take his life. He gave it because he loves you and me that much.
And so the soldier took his spear and rammed it into his side, and now it flows blood and water.
And that is the price of redemption. It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. Without shedding of blood, there is no remission. If you are going to be forgiven your sins, it's got to be on the basis of shed blood of a sacrifice. Thank God accepts it cannot be just any blood.
And so the Lord Jesus shed his blood.
The price of redemption was paid in full by the blood of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, the amazing wonder of it all. Never, never can we get tired of such a tremendous message. And they took down his battered body, they wrapped it in linen, and they put it in a sepulchre.
00:40:11
But the third day he rose from the dead, God raised him from the dead, and as we said before, he by his own power raised himself from the dead.
The Lord Jesus is not dead. He is a living man of flesh and bones. Today, tonight.
And so it says here.
Being justified freely, What does justified mean? It means to be declared righteous. You know, it's one thing to be forgiven your sins. It's another thing far greater to be justified. Somebody can forgive me for something I've done that doesn't justify me.
No way, thank God if somebody forgives me, but they can never justify me.
God is the only one that not only wants to forgive us our sins so that we can go into His heaven, but He goes beyond that and declares us to be righteous. Oh, the wonder of it all. That's what God wants to do for you. And now go over to chapter 4 at the end of chapter 4.
Verse.
The end of verse 24. Jesus raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses.
And was raised again for our justification.
Chapter 5, verse one Therefore, being justified by faith, we have what is it peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I can face the future, I can face the judgment that's coming on this world and at the same time I can have peace.
With God because of the work of redemption.
Because God is not only forgiven me my sins, He has justified me. He has declared righteous the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, it is the most wonderful thing to think about.
And that's where we can have peace. Remember some time ago being in a prison.
Preaching the word and I noticed that one of the prisoners was quite nervous. I didn't know what was going on. But after the time of having the word open and talking, we got talking to some of the guys there. And the guy that was so nervous, he told me, he says tomorrow the judge is going to sentence me.
OK, I understand why you're pretty nervous.
But I said, what if you knew the judge was going to justify you tomorrow? Would you be nervous? I said he said no, of course not, He says that's exactly what God has done if you simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has justified the believer in the Lord Jesus, forgiven them their sins.
And declare them righteous before God. No one can ever again raise up the issue of our sins, because God Himself has settled it in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Tremendous.
No wonder we can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let me just ask you where you're sitting right there tonight. Do you have peace with God about the question of your sins? Have you ever in a personal level?
Settled that issue with your creator God.
He wants you to have this peace. That's why it's called the Gospel of peace.
00:45:02
I want to go to another scripture in Second Corinthians chapter 4.
Where it speaks of the gospel again and it's a little different focus.
Chapter four of Second Corinthians and verse 4.
We read from verse three. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.
To whom in whom the God of this world notice it is a small G that's Satan has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. I'm gonna read it as it reads in another translation.
The last part of this verse less the effulgence of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
Who is the image of God should shine unto them?
Want to talk to you a little bit about what this means. You know the Lord Jesus rose from the dead.
Where is he now? He was here in this world for 40 days, showing himself by many infallible proofs that he was truly alive. Physically, he was a man of flesh and bones, he said at one time when they thought he was a spirit. Handle me and see if spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see me have.
But you know, after those 40 days, the Lord Jesus walked into the glory of God, and to me it is the most amazingly wonderful story of his entrance into eternal glory. We don't have very much spoken of in Scripture about it, but I'd like to read to you what it says.
In one place, Ephesians chapter one.
About his exaltation and glory.
Ephesians chapter one and verse 19.
What is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places?
Far above all principality and power and might and dominion, in every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.
And that put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
There's something of the effulgence.
Of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. Where is the Lord Jesus now? In a place that is the highest place in the whole universe, there sits one of the human race, a man of flesh and bones that has in his hands and his feet in his side.
Wounds the reminder of the terrible price that he paid. There he sits.
In highest glory, oh, the glory that's associated with him. This is the gospel of the glory of Christ. He is the most tremendously glorious one. You know what's going to happen in this world. Things seem to be getting worse and worse on so many fronts. The Middle East seems like.
The time blown and who knows what's going to happen next, So many areas, but Scripture clearly tells us that this very person that we're talking about, this very one who created all things by the word of his power, this one that hung on that cross to pay the price of eternal redemption to God.
He's coming back to put his feet down on planet Earth, just where they left this planet.
Out of Olives to the east of Jerusalem, if you've ever seen a picture of that part of Jerusalem, there is A to the east of the Temple Mount, a valley, the Kidron Valley. And on the other side to the east is the Mount of Olives. And that's where the Lord Jesus left this world, according to Acts chapter one.
00:50:23
And went back to the glory, but if you read in chapter 19 of this book.
Of revelation, you're going to find that the Lord Jesus is going to come back.
In Zachariah, it tells us that his feet are going to come down in the very same spot where they went up to the Mount of Olives. Jesus is coming back, and I think it's without question, according to the witness of Scripture, that the most glorious display of power is going to take place when God rips open the skies and Jesus comes back with His.
Saints.
Excuse me?
This is so tremendously wonderful again.
When he comes back with his Saints and with the millions of the holy angels to reign supreme. The last time this world saw him, he was hanging dead. His bangled body, I mean, on the cross. That's the last time this world saw you.
The next time I see Him, He will be coming in power, glory, accompanied by His Saints and by the holy angels.
That's the gospel of the glory of the Christ. Oh what a glorious person we have to tell you about. And know our desire is like our brother said last night, what do you got to do about it? Only believe, that's all. Trust Him. He's done all the work. All you have to do is accept what He has done for you.
What is it that you are allowing to hinder you in the?
Acceptance of the gospel message. You cannot, you cannot put in at a distance. You will meet him and you have to do with him. There is no way to avoid him.
We don't have time now, but Scripture also talks about the gospel of the Kingdom and I'd like to just mention it. We preach the gospel of the grace of God. If you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith, simply sitting there, open your heart to him and say Lord, I believe.
God will forgive your sins.
He will give you eternal life and a home in heaven. That is the message we preach.
And it's going out all over the world.
But if you choose to not accept.
If you continue to reject it or just put it off, and as our brother was talking last night, the door of God's patience, whose waited almost 2000 years since they put his son on the cross, the door is going to go shut.
And then if you have heard the message and have rejected it, you will not have another chance.
God is going to raise up, allow a man to raise up in this world who is called Antichrist. It's a man that probably is living in the world today and through him there will be strong delusion and those that have not accepted the love of the truth will be deceived. But after the rapture of all God's people out of this world.
There is going to be a time.
When there is a gospel preached, that's called the Gospel of the Kingdom.
It was preached by the Lord Jesus when He was down here in this world.
And also by his forerunner, John the Baptist. It was a simple message. Get ready. The king is coming and he's not going to allow you to go on in your sins. He's going to cut down the tree if you do not repent. And so he preached that gospel and of course, they rejected the rightful king.
00:55:04
And that gospel will be preached again.
During a period of time that's called the great tribulation, and there will be many who have not heard the gospel of the grace of God who will hear that message and believe and be saved, Not in the sense we are saved today, but they will be saved from the judgment.
And then the Lord Jesus will come to establish his Kingdom as he said he would. We just want to say the importance. If you're sitting here and have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior tonight, you have an opportunity. Don't put it off because you don't know what might happen next. People are offered that offer of salvation, the brother was telling me down in Central America.
Of a man that he presented the gospel to, and he said.
Uh, all things get over and he didn't accept the Lord Jesus as his savior. In those Central American countries, there are gangs that wander around killing people. And it was shortly after that they came up to that man in that house and pulled out their pistol and put a bullet through his head and he didn't have another opportunity. You're gonna miss the opportunity. Who knows what might happen?
Now is God's day of salvation, and so we encourage you, just simply open your heart and accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior. Only believe.
What Matters? How Strong Your Are or Who Is On Your Side?
Children—Stephen Rule
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Just a tiny bit early, maybe we'll sing a song, and if there's anyone else that's heading up to the front row, you can come up while we're singing that first song. Who has one you'd like to sing?
OK, which one you can say?
Do you know the song?
Yeah, OK, Jesus loves me. Jesus loves me is on the back and it's #40 #40 we'll sing the whole thing.
Let's see where I I.
Love me. Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yeah, she's not lost me. The Bible help me so.
RBL.
Wonderful. OK, you get the next one, let's say it nice and loud and clear for us #63 Thank you. OK, do you remember what one that one is? Or maybe somebody else can help me because this SIM sheet doesn't go that far. But I think you're thinking of a song. Do you know how it is?
News for little children.
Somebody knows it and can start it. We can try. Or at least the first verse.
News on.
00:05:26
If time for several more, who else has one you'd like to sing? All right #44?
OK, great.
Nobody ever has told me before.
1199 good morning.
Again.
Loving again.
Salvation. Sorry, reaping around.
Till I can stay on the children of a man nobody.
Ever has told me before.
OK, we have time for one or two more. Who else has one you'd like to sing? OK.
#2.
OK. Thank you.
And so that we get one more after this one, how about we sing the first and last verses of #2?
Oh my God. Oh, it was done.
00:10:32
OK, that was number 4. We'll sing the first and last persons of that one too.
If you've memorized and you'd like to say it, OK, we'll have time for hopefully everybody.
Did you learn the one on the Sunday school paper?
Yeah, OK, that's found in the book of John chapter 10 verse nine. I am the door by me if any man let enter, and ye shall be safe and go in and out and by pastor.
John, tonight, perfect. Thank you.
Anyone else OK?
Thank you. I like that part. That's good. You want to say that I am the door by me. If anyone entering, he shall be safe. John 10, Nine. OK. Thank you. Alright. Oops. Sorry. I have the door.
He shall be saved. Thank you. Good.
Alright.
I am the door if any man enter.
By any man it.
Buy me enter and he shall be saved. John 10/9. Thank you. OK.
By me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. John 10/9. Thank you. Anyone else. OK, bye.
In the door by me If any man enter and he SH he'll be saved. John 10/9 I am the door by me if any manager and he shall be saved. John 10/9 Thank you. Anyone else would like to You might know it and be shy. That's OK. I'm the door I'm the door by me.
That if any man enter, enter in, they shall be saved. Johnson OK. Anyone else you understand?
I am the door.
By me, three days. If any man enter in, he shall be saved. He shall be saved. Thank you. All right. Maybe one more.
OK.
Shall we? I am the law I mentioned and she shall be safe. 29 Thank you. Good. All right. Don't want to leave anybody out that would like to.
Alright.
This morning I would like to make sure you walk away with one simple thing, and I want you to remember it. I think all of you have heard the gospel before, and I hope you hear it again this morning. There's a wonderful gospel last night and the night before, and you've heard from your parents, I believe. But I want you to remember one simple thing, and I want to illustrate it first. But I'm going to need.
00:15:06
Six of you.
Who are willing to do a tug of war and hopefully be a little better. If you could take your shoes off. But if you don't, if your shoes are hard to get off, that's OK. OK, I have 12345 and I need one more volunteer. OK, Laurel U 6, come on up. And you can divide up on whatever teams you think you want to be on. Three on one side, 3 on the other. But I'm going to warn you, I've got a big surprise for you when we get going here.
So take your shoes off if you can. If they're hard to get off, that's OK. I don't want to make it so that you, yours are easy. Good. OK, you get them off that. That'll make it a little slicker when we're on carpet.
So make for a better tug of war. And what do you want to be boys and girls here? Is that OK? OK, you three girls over there. But before we start, I'm going to give you your big surprise, OK? You girls going over there. You guys over here.
Alright, you hang on there and we'll we'll make this part the middle, so if you can pull the other team past these shoes here, you're the winner. But I'll tell you when to get started. Who thinks they're going to win? All right, got a lot of confidence on both sides here, but I thought I had a big surprise for you first. You boys are ready and your girls are ready. I have an assistant that's going to help one team.
Would you come on up here, Teddy? Thank you.
I want you on the side with the girls here, Teddy.
Yeah, OK.
Now don't give the boys rope burns, but when I say go, I want you to pull nice and firmly. Everybody ready? Set, go.
Oh boy.
OK, alright, we've got the first team member pulled across. You guys wanna try again? You think you have a chance if you try a little harder? You wanna lift weights for a couple minutes and then try again?
No.
Is there anything you guys could do to get ready a little better so you'll beat that team?
Do you think of anything? No, no. Can you think of anything?
Do you wanna pull harder by yourself against them? See if that works.
OK, you put your wrists really strong, you pull harder. We'll try one more time.
Ready. Set. Go.
Oh my. OK, alright. Thank you very much.
You can pick up your shoes there.
Now what I want you to remember isn't didn't they look silly up there sliding along the floor, or ha, we won. What I want you to remember is this one simple thing.
Of the six of you that came up.
Children from the front, did it matter how strong you were?
Didn't matter how strong you were. Do you think you were stronger than the girls? Well, you're not sure. Do you think you were stronger than the girls?
MMM who knows, Maybe, maybe not. Do you girls think you won because you were stronger than the boys?
No. Why did you win?
OK, go ahead.
He helped us. He helped us, OK, because that big guy, his name is Teddy. He was on your team. I want you to remember this one thing. If you remember nothing else this morning, it doesn't matter how strong you are, It doesn't matter how smart you are. It doesn't matter how many verses you've learned. What matters to God is.
If you're with the Lord Jesus.
Are against him if you're with the Lord Jesus or against him that determines who was going to win and our tug of war, right?
The team with Teddy was going to win. The team without. Doesn't matter how hard you tried, you weren't going to win, were you?
What matters is with if you're with the Lord Jesus or you're against Him, if you come through the door that you learned about or not. I want to illustrate why it's important. Yesterday we heard something in an address and I'm going to read a verse I already had written down to read to you that's very similar to what was said yesterday. It's in Luke Chapter 9.
00:20:13
And verse 35.
If you have your Bible, you can look it up.
And maybe one of you could read the last part of that verse for me.
I have a voluntary He'll read the last part of that verse for me.
Or I could do it for you.
All right, I'll read it. The last part of Luke Chapter 9 verse 35 says God speaking from heaven.
This is my beloved son here him. You know the Lord Jesus. I don't think we heard these exact words yesterday, but the Lord Jesus loves his Son so much that he wants to help fill heaven with people that are exactly morally like him. So are you just like the Lord Jesus?
Do you know the answer to that question?
Lilly, I'm sorry. Oops.
Go ahead. No, no, uh oh. You know, we're going to talk about something kind of important, but I want to illustrate so that we all know what we're like, what God wants us to look like, if we're like the Lord Jesus. Let's read just a couple verses here quickly, the first ones in Romans chapter 13.
And we're going to spend quite a bit of our time seeing if we look like.
The Lord Jesus or not.
We're going to read Romans 13, verse 9.
For this thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness or lie, thou shalt not covet. And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no I'll to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. And let's look to.
One other verse in James.
Chapter 2.
James Chapter 2.
And verse 10.
James chapter 2 and verse 10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. So I want you to help me figure out whether or not you think the person I'm going to describe is like the Lord Jesus or not. We heard a lot about the Lord Jesus when he was a young person.
A boy or a girl? You are a girl or a boy around your age.
Now let me tell you about a. I'm going to see if you can tell me whether this is sin or not.
And some of you maybe have heard the story before, but I suspect none of you children have. So here we go. Is it a sin in the Bible? Is there a verse in the Bible that says it's a sin to eat raisins?
What do you think? No. OK, there were some things about Nazarites and all, but I don't think you're going to find anything in the New Testament that says it's a sin to eat raisins. Now I'm going to tell you a story, and when I'm done, you tell me if it's a sin to eat raisins. You ready?
There was a little boy about the age of a lot of you here. Well, no, not a lot of you here, but maybe some of you. He was maybe three or four years old, maybe three, OK. And he was, he was in a meeting room.
And it had a we walked in over here and then there were some steps down to the basement and then there were some steps up to the meeting room. And he was in the meeting room and he loved to eat raisins.
OK, how many of you like to eat raisins? I know there's some people here that don't like them at all, but maybe you've got your favorite snacks. So you think about your favorite snack when I tell you the story. But this boy loved to eat raisins. And his mom would bring those little boxes of raisins. How many of you have eaten one little box of raisins before? They're good, right? And she would have a bunch of them in their little bags. She brought some eating and he would eat through one box and then he'd ask for more.
And maybe his mom would give him more and he'd eat through that box and she'd say, no, that's enough. And he would argue with her. So one day his mom thought, you know, I've got a solution to this problem. I'm going to solve this. I'm going to bring one box of raisins. And when the box is gone, I'll tell my boy, there aren't any more for you. Have any of your parents done that?
00:25:12
That's it. That's all. No more. We're done. OK.
So she brought one box of raisins to the next meeting and the little boy grabbed that box of raisins and he ate the mall real quick. And she told them ahead of time, there's only one box, don't ask for more. He ate that whole box of raisins and he said, I'm always in.
What do you think? His mom said.
No, there aren't any more. And do you think he said? Oh OK mom, that's fine, I forgot.
What do you think you said?
What do you think he said? She said no, and she gave his name. There aren't any more.
What do you think? The boy said. You have any idea? Yeah, I think you do. What did he say?
You're right, he said. MO Weisin.
And his mom took him down into the basement of the meeting room, and she gave him a spanking.
And she brought him back up and set him in his chair.
And he was crying, but when he could talk, he said.
Malaysian.
So his mom took him down to the basement and she spanked him again.
And she brought him up, and she set him in his chair.
And he had a hard time talking, but as soon as he could talk, what do you think? He said. I'm always.
How many times do you think they went downstairs?
Well, I'm not going to ask how you came up with that number.
They went downstairs seven times. That's how I remember the story, right, Mom?
As as I remember the story, because I don't remember the actual events, I went down. That was me. That was that little boy.
And we went downstairs and I got spanked. I guess we went down seven times, so I got spanked 7 times. And the last time we came back up and sat down in the chair. What do you think? I said.
No.
I learned that that wasn't a good way to go because that didn't bring raisins. But you know, I want to read you a verse because I'm illustrating a very important principle here, and I'm going to read you the verse for it. It's in first John, so you can see this is in the Bible.
Verse chapter 3.
And verse 4.
And I'll read the last part and explain it just a little bit. It says first John 3 verse four. The end says the law for sin is the transgression of the law.
Or lawlessness.
Sinning is the biggest way of describing it. Is sin is doing what I want to do.
And not worrying about what my mom or dad or teacher or most importantly God wants. Sin is doing what I want without worrying about what my mom or dad or what God wants.
How many of you have gotten?
I will spanking or other punishment from your parents.
I just told you I did, right? So you don't have to be ashamed to say you did, but many of you, probably all of you have. How many spankings did the Lord Jesus deserve as a boy? The Bible doesn't tell us what happened during those years, so I'm not going to say whether he ever got one or not, but I can tell you this for sure.
How many did the Lord Jesus deserve?
None. Now remember the Lord Jesus wants people in heaven that are like him, and the Lord Jesus never deserved 1 spanking. And you just all told me, well how many of you? Well you just said you've gotten them. How many of you deserved what you got at least one of the times.
I deserve what I got. I just read a verse that shows what was wrong. Now I'm going to ask you for another one. You help me out with this.
00:30:02
Is it a sin to breathe?
Oh, how many of you would say it's a sin to breathe?
Mr. Boulard saying no, I couldn't send the brief, how would we get here this morning if we couldn't breathe? I'm going to read you a verse in the Bible that shows how it can be a sin to breathe.
You ready now? I need to tell you another story first. OK now.
I know a boy who was a bit older than the one I just described. He was a bit older, and he liked to annoy his sister, especially his younger sister. Oh, he liked to annoy her. He liked to get a good reaction out of her. How many of you know a brother or sister that likes to annoy their brothers and sisters? Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Let me ask you, because that's what we're thinking about. Did the Lord Jesus ever he had brothers and sisters?
The Bible tells us about them. Did the Lord Jesus ever annoy his brothers and sisters? You're right.
He never did, but this little boy did, and he did it by breathing.
So one day at the table, he knew, I think. I don't remember exactly, but I think he'd been annoying his sister throughout the day and he had her in a perfect state, just about ready to go over the edge.
Have any of you ever? Oh no, not you. Has anyone ever been annoyed by your brother or sister?
Or maybe you did it yourself and you kind of watched them in there about ready to snap.
And so at the dinner table, this boy was a little older than most of you. I think he was maybe 13 or so. And at the dinner table, he went like this. He was sitting on one end of the table down here, and his sister was over there, and the parents were at the far end where they couldn't hear quite as well. I made it easier. So this little brother, our older brother, now, he went and he went like this.
Just loud enough for his sister to hear.
And not loud enough for dad and mom at the end of the table to hear.
What do you think his sister did?
What? What's that?
Blew out the years, yeah. Or blew out yeah. She got mad. Said stop it.
Oh, the boy he was.
What?
Do you want me to stop breathing?
Such innocence. Now let me read you the verse that shows that that was a sin.
I'll show you the verse. It's we already read it, but let's read it again. It says back in Romans 13, maybe you didn't know this verse was talking about how to breathe to irritate your sister, but let's read it again and it says.
Verse Romans chapter 13, verse 10.
Love worketh no I'll to his neighbor.
Love worketh no I'll to his neighbor.
Do you think somebody that annoys their brother or sister is working I'll to their neighbor, even if working I'll to their neighbor sounds like strange words. I think you can guess right exactly what that means. Do you think going like this, and if your brother or sister somebody poked you like that, would you like that? No, and you can poke somebody all kinds of ways. You can poke them by breathing.
Right, but it was on purpose, and this first shows that breathing like that was sin.
Now, did the Lord Jesus ever annoy his brothers and sisters? You already told me, but tell me again.
Do you think that boy belongs in heaven?
Yeah, not acting like Daddy doesn't. Can you imagine heaven with boys and girls like that in it? That would be awful. It wouldn't be heaven. There wouldn't be people there like the Lord Jesus.
You know that same boy is here at this conference.
And I heard him talking to Mr. John Kemp on Friday night. Mr. John Kemp didn't know this was coming. But you know, there was another part of the verse cover there. And I want to read to you a temptation and it's in John. I'm sorry. Let's go back with you. Still open the Romans there. It was right there. It said, I have to flip back to Romans 13. It says thou shalt not bear false witness.
00:35:20
Mr. John Kemp.
Asked that person. I heard it clearly. Asked him. Do you still distribute?
Such and such gospel messages in a certain way.
And he heard his answer.
But I better tell you something else before I finish the story.
You know who that little boy was who was breathing? That was me.
And you know who that person talking to Mr. John Kemp was?
That was me too, and you know, he said. I thought to myself, uh oh, I know what's coming next.
Because he's going to ask me how I go about doing it.
And I want him to think I'm doing it in a really good way instead of justice. Sort of so so way. I hope he doesn't ask me.
And you know, the next question up was, so do you.
But, you know, I was ready, and I told him the truth. I wanted to say it in a way that I wasn't going to lie to him, but I wanted to say it in a way that would make me sound better than I was. What's that called? What's the Bible called that?
What's it called? It's in the book of Proverbs lots of times. What's it called when we don't directly say something that's just not true, but it really is meant to make the other person think something that's not true?
It is a lie, a special kind. You know it is sin. That's a good word for it. The Bible does call it that. There's another word I was thinking of. A lie and sin are both true.
A white lie. Some people call them a white lie because it sounds like it's not quite so bad. I was thinking of the word deceit. It's deceit. Now I want to ask you another question. I didn't deceive Mr. John Kemp. I told him the truth.
But in my heart, there went this little thought ahead of time. If he asked me that question, can I word this?
No, I better word it right. Did the Lord Jesus ever think like that?
Are you sure?
No, he never thought like that. He never even went through his head.
In him is no sin now.
Who in this room can say you never even thought about sinning? Raise your hand nice and high if you never even thought about sinning.
Wow.
That means there's nobody in this room that's acted their whole life just like the Lord Jesus.
Now raise your hand if you've at least once in your life thought about doing something that was wrong.
Oh wow.
Oh wow, that's a lot.
Everybody in this room is the center.
There's not a single person in this room that's lived their whole life just like the Lord Jesus, but God wants people in heaven that are like Him.
He doesn't want people that aren't like him.
I want you to think about that.
You can get away with excuses with your mom or dad.
You I wrote down a whole list of them and I shortened it to four and I'm going to give you one. I thought we might run out of time, so I left it for the later on and I'm going. You give me one excuse that you might work with your mom or dad.
When you've done something wrong and you want to get out of the consequences of it.
What's 1 excuse that might work?
Accuse someone else. That works great.
Sometimes with mom or dad, that works great and that was on my list.
Because you know what? The Bible talks about that one. Did you know the Bible talks about that one?
Also away from the very beginning, way back in the Garden of Eden, when God came and he said to Adam, where are you? And Adam came to him? What did he say to God about his sin?
It was easy. So I was worse than that. But you're right. He did that part. But he also said the woman that thou gave us, me, she gave me. He blamed two people in one sentence, starting with God, isn't that awful? But you just said we do the same thing with our parents.
00:40:01
Right. How many have blamed your brother or sister or the neighbor boy? If you're an only child at least once, that includes you adults.
Husband, wife, children, the whole bit.
The woman now gave us nothing to me. She gave me an eye to eat. Uh oh. You know, there's another excuse I was thinking of. I'll give you one more. I've only been in the law office once. My brother-in-law worked there and I was there visiting. But one thing I remember when you walked in the door back then. Anyway, I'm sure it's all electronic now. There were these big fat volumes and they started at the top when you walked in the front door, the entire wall.
Floor to ceiling was these ****. There was this bookshelf, and one after another there was a big fat book.
And I looked at the spines on them, and at least the ones I looked at, I didn't go through everyone in the bookshelf, but the ones I glanced through on.
They were all the laws of Illinois.
OK, so when you walk in and you say, oh but mom or dad?
I may have annoyed my brother or sister, but I didn't murder her and I didn't cover her doll and and you go down a whole list of things you didn't do.
Does your mom say oh OK.
That's fine. Then look at that old wall of things and you didn't do anything but one little thing.
That last little volume there. So you're OK? Is that what Mom says? I hope not.
I hope not, and God doesn't either. God doesn't say it either. We read the verse at the beginning. You offend in one point. You're guilty of all. Now I want to finish with the good news. This is the part that I thought you would already know, but I want to review it with you. Let's read one pair of verses in Ephesians chapter 2. Because remember, back at the beginning while I'm turning, what matter wasn't how strong you are, how good you were, how whether you were better and worked harder.
And pulled straighter or anything. What mattered at the beginning was whose side were you on The team with? Teddy was going to win every single time. It didn't really matter, did it? Whether one team worked harder and pushed harder and sweated and hung under the rope better, That didn't matter. That wasn't important. What was important was what team they were on. And I want to read these verses, Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8:00 and 9:00.
Four by grace.
Are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves? It is the gift.
Of God, not of works. Lest any man should boast, I'm going to give you something.
Very small something, nothing of great value, but I want you to use this in a minute. So for all of you in the front, maybe in the view of the time, would one of you give me a hand? Would you pass this out to everybody around here for me? And would you pass one of these to everybody in this section? I think they're enough and I'll take care of this one. And there's a one pencil each.
There's one for you and one for you, and one for you and one for you.
And for you and you and you.
OK, I'll give one to you a little. Almost everybody's got one now.
Now.
Thank you.
Thank you.
There are now two groups of people in this room.
And only two groups of people according to this criteria.
There are the half colored pencils and the don't have colored pencils people. They are the haves and the have nots. That's it. Raise your colored pencil if you have one.
Lift it up if you've got one there probably some in the other rows that have colored pencils too. But here I have as well. But you're hiding, you know, maybe there's some have. The Lord Jesus is in this room and that are hiding, but we're holding up our pencils. These are the half pencils and the rest of you are the have nots. There's only two groups in the room, those that have and those that don't. And I want you to think about this very carefully here. We're out of time. We're going to pray in a moment. I'm going to give you.
Little piece of paper and you do not have to fill it out, but I want you to look at it and think about how you would fill it out. And on it it says my faith is in Jesus Christ as my savior. And it has two boxes. One says yes and one says no. You're right. And if you were to take that pencil and you would put an X where it said yes or where it said no, which.
00:45:15
Have to be for you. It's one or the other.
Raise your hand if you don't have a colored pencil.
You've got one there. OK, boy, there's a lot of people sitting in those back rows and they don't have one. They're have nots.
If the thing said I have a colored pencil, which box would they put their X in?
They would have to say no.
But that question doesn't matter, does it? It's just an illustration. The question that matters is the one that's on here, the way God sees it. See, I'm not asking you to put an X in there. I want you to just sit there with that pencil in your hand and ask yourself, if I were going to put an X here, where would I put that X? Can I say the Lord Jesus Christ is my savior?
I know a boy once and.
He wanted to be picked up.
He wanted his dad to pick him up and he was two years old and he wanted dad to pick him up. So he came to his dad and he said one word, not even a word in the English language. It's not in Spanish, it's not in Hindi, it's not in Telugu. You can't find it in most dictionaries. He said one word.
He said he put his own hands up and he said puppy.
Do you think his dad said I'm sorry? When you can say this just right, come back and I'll lift you up and put you on my shoulders.
Anything else what his dad said sitting his dad had a hard time understanding what up he meant No, and it's not the words you use when you talk to the Lord Jesus that matter, but you do need to know I'm a Sinner. Lord Jesus save me from my sins and if you can say that to him, he's not going to get confused. He says him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out.
Whatever words you use, can you put a yes in that box?
If so, you've trusted the Lord Jesus. If it's real, you've trusted the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
And you're going to be made just like him, and you're going to be just like him.
Forever.
Seven Enemies We Learn About in Ephesians
Address—John Bilisoly
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Noon. I wonder if we could sing together 200 and 76276.
Nsnoise.
Hey, good hunter. Hungry.
Oh, good evening, laundry.
And knowing.
All the time union.
All the sweet times gone by, love.
Nsnoise.
Just wanted to point out that expression pilgrims through this barren land. And also I wonder if we could also sing the last two verses of the song before.
275 again emphasizing the thought of our desert path. And the end of the song says of where thy path does lead. So maybe just the last two stanzas of 275.
Through.
I wonder if you would turn with me to the book of Deuteronomy Chapter 7. I want to read a few passages of Scripture to begin with here, to lay a little bit of a framework for what I have on my heart, and I want to read a few verses in several passages.
The first one being here in Deuteronomy Chapter 7.
And starting with the first verse, When the Lord thy God shall bring thee unto the land, whither thou goest to possess it, and hast cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Ammonites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Hibites, and the Jebusites, 7 nations greater and mightier than now.
00:05:01
And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee?
Thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make no covenant with them.
Nor show mercy unto them, neither shalt thou make marriages with them. Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
And thus shall ye deal with them. Ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their Groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art unholy people unto the Lord thy God.
The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than other any people.
For you are the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your Father's hath, the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the House of bond men.
From the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments to 1000 generations.
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that hateth him, He will repay him to his face.
Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which I command thee this day To do them now just turn over to the book of Acts, chapter 13.
And beginning with verse 16.
Acts 13 and beginning with verse 16.
Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it, and about the time of 40 years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Now if you would turn back to the book of Joshua, chapter one.
And I want to start at the beginning of the book and read a few verses.
Joshua chapter one and verse one.
Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses's minister sang.
Moses, my servant is dead now, therefore arise go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread, upon that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
From the wilderness in this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee.
All the days of thy life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage, for under this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayst observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
That thou mayst observe to do according to all that is written therein.
For then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
00:10:06
No, I just want to turn to again to acts.
Chapter 20 for a few verses.
Acts chapter 20 and just.
Maybe verse 17.
And from my latest he Paul sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church, and when they were come to him, he said unto them, You know that from the first day that I came into Asia. After what manner?
I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. Now let's forsake a time skip down to.
Umm.
Well, there's so many good verses here, but why don't we go to verse 28?
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, unto all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years.
I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel.
And so on.
Umm, maybe we'll stop there.
What I have on my heart is the result of something that, uh, I heard many years ago, You know, I've, I've noticed, umm, in these meetings and typically in most of our meetings, that sometimes the brethren will, as it were, drop a handful of purpose that maybe they won't because of time or the setting or whatever. They won't.
Develop what they've dropped. So that's what happened to me. Umm, someone, I don't even remember where it came from, but I do remember that someone made a correlation between these seven nations that scripture refers to these enemies that were in the land of Canaan when the Israelites were getting ready to go into the land. The seven enemies and what we have in the book of Ephesians as to what Paul speaks of, of walking.
So Paul in seven different passages in the book of Ephesians refers to walking and, umm, the correlation, as I remember it was, uh, between those references in Ephesians and these enemies. And, uh, I will say up front, I do not profess to understand much about these enemies, but over the course of a number of months I have been looking into it a little bit from time to time.
And I feel like the Lord has laid it on my heart and I feel like it's in keeping with what we've had in these meetings. And that is that, umm, our dear brother that have been teaching us the word of God, I feel like have done so in the spirit that Paul had. And, uh, I just want to say as perhaps representing a somewhat younger brother, and I think I speak for others.
That I trust that we.
Have appreciated what our brethren have brought before us we spoke about generations at the beginning of our are looking into the second chapter of first of second Timothy and passing things on and I I just appreciated that and I just feel like maybe I'll get in trouble for this but I feel like taking this opportunity to thank my older brother for what they have sought I.
In the spirit of what the apostle Paul brought before the Ephesians to bring before us, and it says here, it said there that he labored for three years and that's a lot of time to invest in one assembly. And yet when you think of the import of that assembly as far as what was given to them to the apostle Paul.
Umm, I I believe and.
00:15:01
Paul would say readily. It was time well spent.
But it wasn't without tears. If we just look again at that in Acts 20, it says the emotions that that you feel there. And and then as you get to the end of that chapter, when they kneel down on the shore and they fall upon Paul's neck and kiss him and they weep sore, it says in verse 37, sorrowing most of all for the words which you speak, that they should see his face no more. He he had labored among them. He had endeared himself to them.
He had taught them the truth and they valued that, and they wept at the thought of not seeing Paul again.
The Lord over time takes our brethren from us, doesn't He?
One by one they pass off and it's an exercise that I feel and I trust others, I'm sure others do too, that we lay hold of what is being given to us. Paul knew what was coming. He, the Lord had revealed to him that when he departed off the scene there were going to be grievous wolves that came in and they were going to try and take away what Paul had done undermine.
And ruin the work of Paul's, his laborers, his three years of laborers and night and day laboring for them in prayer. I, I believe that's that you get that thought that he he sees not night and day to warn them and and not not just to warn them, but he did it with tears, with feeling. Paul was serious about this.
It meant so much to him and we have other examples of Paul's.
Ardent desire for the welfare of the Saints. I just umm so value, I trust I do the older brother that are seeking to bring before us the truth. What a, what a heritage we have. Umm and I believe that umm the book of Joshua.
And type answers to the this epistle, this epistle of Ephesians.
Because in Joshua you have the children of Israel going in and taking the land. And we know that figuratively that land is is heaven. And it's perhaps not just that, but all of those things that the land spoke of and that the land provided. It was a land that was flowing with milk and honey. It was the land that as we sung in the stanzas of that that second hymn, the grapes were born between the cluster of grapes.
A land of plenty and So what are the umm? So Paul was concerned that that not be lost that that not be given up. I believe our brethren have a a similar concern that these truths that are being let go, especially concerning what Paul valued and what Paul taught by revelation from God.
That they are being let go.
And so in this, in this epistle, we have, like I said, these 7 uses. And what's interesting is, is if you look at the Greek word, uh, for a walk in this epistle, it's the same in every case. It's the same word. And it has the thought of, of marching and through and, and.
Treading all around and being a becoming acquainted with it.
And walking about in it. And I believe that's what our brethren would like for us is they would like us by dropping these handfuls of purpose. They would like us to, to be encouraged to give us a little, uh, you might say a little nourishment for us and, and to whet our appetite. And they want us to take up with these things too, that we might be able to enjoy them in our souls and.
Should the Lord tarry, I trust we won't be here that long.
Perhaps in some measure be able to pass them on to another generation.
I just appreciated how that was brought out in these meetings, the the importance of laying a hold of these for oneself so that we might be in a position to be able to share with others. Well, let's look at these. Like I said, I don't profess to enter in very deeply.
I haven't seen any ministry on this, but I've just enjoyed a few things in connection with these enemies that I'd like to bring out. Perhaps you have enjoyed them differently or perhaps other things about them. I'm sure the the word of God is is so full and I do want to be careful about forcing a type I. I think that can be a danger. I don't want to.
00:20:17
Make these things fit if you will. So I trust my brother and will.
Uh, bear with me as I kind of go through these and, uh.
And uh, also too, I, I, uh, I want to say that, uh, these are just, I'm, I'm taking this up and way by way of application. And so with that in mind, umm, if we look at the first one here.
The Hittites. Now interestingly in my bit of study on this.
I believe that all of these enemies were descendants of Canaan through him, so ultimately they they relate back to him who was one of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Except for the, uh, parasites, I, I couldn't find, uh, anything that would indicate that they were, uh, from the descendant of, of Canaan, descendants of Canaan. But the others were, and in fact, one of them is, is called Canaanites. So sometimes in the word of God when you're reading about these enemies.
The Spirit of God will just use a general term and he'll call them Canaanites. And other times we get specifics. Umm, what is interesting to me is that that list that I read in Deuteronomy 7 that I'm going to keep referring back to is mentioned at least two other times in the Word of God with the exact same list of enemies. And those other two times, and perhaps there's more.
Are in Joshua. We're not going to look at them.
The order is sometimes different, but it's the same number of enemies. And the apostle Paul himself refers to these seven nations, as did Moses and Deuteronomy 7, lighter than them, than the Israelites. And so I think we have a basis then from that to at least be able to say that the Spirit of God intended for us to know that there were seven enemies there in the land. I'm not saying that was all of the enemies.
But he lists those in those three instances together and puts them together. A7 And then Paul refers to that in his statement there in Acts 13. So anyway, the Hittites, the Hittites were descendants of Health, and Health was the second son of Canaan. And it's interesting that.
And we're not gonna go into all the, all of the references about these because we just physically don't have time. I'm, I'm see, I'm running, I'm gonna run into problems already. And if we don't get through them all, uh, my feeling brethren, is, umm, it doesn't really matter if there's anything at all that we can take from this for our encouragement, for our exercise.
I believe that would be the purpose of I TR. I trust my purpose and the Spirit of God. So anyway, uh to.
To get to this one here, we need to look at Abrams experience in, uh, Genesis 23. And, and we're not, we're going to do this very briefly because like I say, we don't have much time. But if you turn to Genesis 23 and hold your place in, in Ephesians, umm, we get Sarah's death in this chapter and then we get, uh, Abraham. I called him Abram, but it should be Abraham.
He stands up.
In verse three. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you, Give me a possession of a bearing place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of health answered Abraham, saying unto him.
Hear us, my Lord, Thou art a mighty Prince among us in the choice of our sepulchers. Bury thy dead. None of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, that thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of health.
And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me The Cave of Machpelah which he hath, which is in the end of his field, for as much money as it is worth. He shall give it me for a possession of a bearing place amongst you. And Ephraim dwelt among the children of health, and so on. Well, then, there's this dialogue, and it's, it's like.
00:25:00
You know these these sons of health.
Don't understand Abraham when it comes to this, this question of the bearing place. They they just want to give him this and they even offer him the choice of of their sepulchers in verse six. But all Abraham wants is this piece of land that was special to him and it had a cave called The Cave of Machpelah. And it was a place where he could bury his dead out of his sight. Now I don't know what all the typical teaching would be, but what I have enjoyed.
In my soul is that, and I should have read the first verse, that Sarah was 107 and 20 years old. These were the years of the life of Sarah and verse two. And Sarah died and courgette Arba the same as Hebron in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. So Abraham comes here as a weeper and as a mourner. But she's able to stand up in the presence of death, you might say, and in the presence of.
Him and asked for this bearing place and to where he can bury his dead out of his sight. I believe that the key is this that Abraham had learned.
The value and the truth of resurrection in the 22nd chapter, because we're told in Hebrews 11 That he accounted that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, and so Abraham had laid hold in his heart.
Of the truth of resurrection. And so he can stand up in the presence of death, even though he is a mourner and a weeper, which is very natural to us and proper, and he can ask for this place to bury his dead out of his sight.
Why not in their chief sepulchers? Why didn't he take them up on that? Because they weren't gonna they weren't gonna stay there. He he knew that there was a time coming when they would they, they didn't need a fancy place. He just wanted to bury them out of his sight because he knew that wasn't the end and that they were going to be raised again. I just valued that now to for the correlation in umm.
For the first use of Paul's first use of the word walk in Ephesians.
Go to Ephesians 2.
And Paul starts out and says, And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, or in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, The Spirit thou now worketh in the children of disobedience.
Among whom also ye all had. We all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. The God who is rich in mercy for His great love, worthy loved us even when we were dead in sins, have quickened us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together.
In heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.
What I get from this, brethren, is that.
Paul here is saying that, you know, just like the, the, the man that dies, we were like that in our sins. We were dead in trespasses and sins. And God in his mercy came in and with quickening power he raised us up. And not only that, he not only raised us up, but he made us. He raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.
And Paul was reminding them that this was what you were, but you don't want to stay there. You don't want to dwell on that. You were dead in trespasses and sins. But God has raised you up to me. What a beautiful thing.
That Umm Paul could bring this out to that that was essential for them to lay hold of that if they were going to be able to enter into the the beauty of, if you will, of sitting in heavenly places in Christ together in heavenly places in Christ.
The Hittites that we're talking about didn't understand that they didn't value that. They, they, they, this, this whole.
The thing issue of a bearing place is, is just they just don't understand it. And just like it says, you know, the world knows this not because it knew him not that that the world can't understand us. They don't know us and why we value so much the the truth of resurrection. Now, I'm not saying that I feel like there's a great danger among us of, of not laying hold of resurrection, but I believe that the application I'm making here is that I do believe that there is.
00:30:01
Danger of settling down in this world as if this world were our home and in in effect like we were before God quickened us and raised us up and I believe that that Paul is is reminding them that this is what you were but that's not what you are now and so if we can lay hold of that and the and the enemy wants us to to not lay hold of that because.
Umm, if, if there isn't resurrection in that sense. I mean if, if, if we.
If we lose sight of the fact that we have a new life now and that we've been quickened, we've been raised up. If we lose sight of that, then it's it's kind of like what Paul said in first Corinthians 15 and this verse was was read or referred to in these meetings. He says what advantage? What advantage of it me advantage of it me. If the dead rise not let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.
And what Paul's saying is, you know, if if there is no resurrection, if there is.
No new life? Then what's the point of suffering? It would be a wiser principle to act on, to just eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. That's what Paul is saying. But he spends that whole chapter almost in First Corinthians 15 about emphasizing and laying down the value and the truth of resurrection. The Hittite to me.
At least one application wants to spoil that he wants us to forget about.
The this new life that you have and so on and just live according to this world. Just live like the world does. There is a danger of that. Uh, perhaps we don't go as deep as, as the world. I'm not saying that, but even to lose sight of the fact that this is not our home, that we are only passing through and that our home is in heaven. We're seated there with Christ already, like the hymn writer said in spirit there already.
Umm, that's how Paul wants us to view this, that to be thinking about that like we have in Colossians to set our minds on things about, not on things on the earth. Well, the next enemy that is mentioned in that list is the Girgashites.
There's not too much known about the but one thing that struck me was that I found out from my little bit of research that the name signifies or means clay, and that they were dwellers of clay, of the clay country, the inhabiters of the clay country. And so I, I thought about that, you know, these, these were earth dwellers, They were of the clay country. And you know the.
The apostle John uses that expression several times. I think it is in the Book of Revelation about dwellers on earth. And and the thought is not not that just because we're on the earth too, but that's not the thought that the thought is the spiritual thought or application is that that we're a part of this earth that we take up with this earth and it's it's programs and so on.
And Satan is the God of this world. He's the the Prince of the power of the air.
And the enemy would like us to, uh, be, as it were, inhabiters of clay. Uh, if, if I can use that expression, umm, to take up with this earth to, to just settle into this earth. This is, this is our home. So let's, let's enjoy it. Let's maximize our benefit in this earth. What does Paul say in?
Ephesians chapter 10. I'm sorry, chapter 2.
Paul says this.
And verse 10 For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision, by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel.
And strangers from the covenants of promise.
Having no hope and without God in the world, and I have to reverse. 13 but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. What I want to emphasize here, if I may and by way of application is that we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus and we've had a lot before us in these meetings about.
Being conformed more to Christ and that that is the work of the Spirit of God in our lives right now.
00:35:01
Is to conform us more to Christ. And I've just enjoyed it in that sense that, uh, you know, just like you would picture, umm, someone taking a, a Potter, taking clay and, and working it into something beautiful. The Lord is working in each of our lives to conform us more to the Lord's enemies. We've been changed from glory into glory. And so he wanted them to remember that. No, you're not.
Earth dwellers.
If I can put it that way, as, as these uh, Gergeshites were, no, you are, uh, his workmanship. You are a new creature. And so he says that, doesn't he? In 2nd Corinthians 5, I think it is, he says.
Behold, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Behold, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And He wants you and I to walk through this world with that sense in our hearts that we are His.
Creation, if you will, that new creation we're we he has made something new is making something new out of us. I I'm not explaining it very well, but umm, I've just enjoyed that in connection with what we have here that we are his workmanship and what a wonderful thing is going to be in that coming day when the Lord can as that were present us to the father and he can say, behold, I and the children.
That thou hast given me, that we have in Hebrews 2. I just, uh.
Of him working in each of our lives sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's not easy, but boy, if we could just see the end result. You know, you see someone that's very talented artistically and you you maybe look at what they're creating you, you can't see it all there, but you just know it's going to be beautiful and you want it you're just eager to to want to be able to. Is there any way we can turn that page and look on the other side and see what it.
What that end result is, but, uh, no, it's, it's a little bit at a time that he works in our lives. Wonderful. The grace of God with us. Well, the, the next enemy that was mentioned, uh, in this list in Deuteronomy seven were the Amorites. Now the Amorites are interesting. There's a little bit more about them.
There are, umm, references to that that help support some of these things, and we're not going to have the time to.
To go into them, but the Amorites were the most dominant of all of the enemies and they were the most corrupt and, uh, in fact they were almost the, they were used kind of, as you might say, umm, almost like a, a gauge, if you will, of, of the evil that they represented. And we see that in, uh, in Genesis 15. I'll just, you don't need to turn to it, but if, if you want to, it's.
The 15 where the Abraham is the Lord is speaking to Abram at this point, and he's telling him in verse 13 that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them 400 years.
And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age, but in the 4th generation they shall come. Hit her again. For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And so as Abram was waiting for this promise to be fulfilled, and it and it was in his seed.
Umm, the iniquity of the Amorites was filling up.
And, uh, so I, that, that's one example of where you might say the Spirit of God gives us the, the Amorites as this, this measure, if you will, of the wickedness that was that they represented and it was filling up and there was a time coming when the.
Iniquity of the Amorites would be full and then God would come in and judge them. And that's that's what we're seeing in in these.
Referred to in these this book of Deuteronomy here is that the the Lord was going to send his people in and it we we read what they were to do with them they were not to have any mercy at all they were to completely destroy them and their idols and so on their form of worship because.
God knew what, what would happen if they didn't. And sadly to say, the story is that it did happen and, and they weren't able to drive out, uh, these enemies, umm, completely. And it, it caused all kinds of havoc that, uh, carries on the consequence of it to this very day. Well, God is faithful, though, as we had, he will not deny himself.
00:40:08
So, umm.
So these Amorites were, like I said, the, the, the most prominent and dominant of, of these and corrupt of these enemies. Umm, there's one reference I wanna turn to though, in, uh, Judges chapter one and, and, and the other thing I want to mention while we're going there is that, umm, these what characterized the Amorites is that they were, umm.
They were a mountainous people. They dwelt in the mountains on both sides of the Jordan River.
And.
Uh, they were, they were mountain dwellers and, and so let's keep that in mind as we go to Judges chapter one.
And then?
Uh, first.
33.
Or 34.
This to me is a is a sad note. Umm, the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain and you say, well, that that sounds like a good thing. Well, no, not really, because and it it goes on to say for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley. And I think in tight with the valley, we have the thought of fruitfulness and, umm, that's where the farming would take place and so on. So the valley, you might say, would speak of.
Of that, that fruitfulness and that, umm, umm, more of a lowly position, whereas the mountain would speak of more of a lofty position. And that's what I took from this with the Amorites is that they like that vantage point. They like to be on top. Umm, they wanted that high position, that lofty position.
That proud position, Umm, so let's, let's go to, to, uh, Ephesians and see Paul's antidote for this.
And.
That's in the 4th chapter.
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you. And this is the third time he uses the word walk in this verse.
That you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.
There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called, and one hope of your calling. Well, I what I took from this, brethren, is it starts out with with pulsing. I'm a prisoner. That's not a very lofty position.
And then he says, But he's a prisoner of the Lord, that makes all the difference. And then he says that we he beseeches them. That's the word beseech is.
With strong feeling that you walk worthy of the vocation where with you are called, with all lowliness and meekness. It was fitting that he said that because he had given them lofty truths. And to think of of being risen with Christ and seized with him in heavenly places, and other truths that Paul developed in those three years that he was with them. And it was fitting that they needed to be reminded that.
You you need to be lowly, you need to hold this, you need to walk in this in lowliness and meekness and long-suffering. It's going to take patience and endurance because the enemy is gonna come back you feverishly in this and you need to walk in loneliness. You know, pride is a insidious thing, isn't it? It's the first thing mentioned in the those seven things in Proverbs six. I think it is that are abomination to.
And it seems like it's the last thing to leave too. John speaks of the character of this world of just read it to get it accurately. In his epistle, first epistle, he says for all that is in this world in chapter 2, verse 16, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
Is not of the Father, but is of the world and so on. And someone has said that it's kind of like a scale of our lives.
You know, it begins with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and then the pride of life is the last perhaps a little more prevalent in those age categories as we age, the last thing to leave is pride. So loneliness with all loneliness and meekness is the antidote to what would.
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The enemy would bring in through the Amorite. Well, there's more that could be said, but uh, but those, those thoughts, the 4th enemy here.
Was the Canaanite.
And his name signifies humiliation to be low. And that sounds good and sounds commendable, but when you look at the line of enemies that come from Canaan.
It's terrible and the the wickedness that they represent and we won't take the time, but you can, you can turn to Genesis town and you can. And I think verse 15 and a few more verses you'll read about the descendants of Canaan and many of these that we're talking about here in this this list are from these these descendants.
Umm.
So basically, uh, the, the Canaanite, what, what does, what does he bring before us? Well, Canaan was the one, you'll remember that was cursed and, uh, by Noah. And it says a servant of servants shall he be to his brother.
And so I thought about that, that this curse that fell on Canaan made him a servant. But Canaan did anything but act like a servant. In fact, he completely rebels against that idea of servitude. And if you read about the Canaanites, umm, they weren't in the character of the servant, just the opposite.
So what does Paul give us in connection with that?
Because you don't really. And we've had that before us too, haven't we? We've had the thought of service and the supreme example being the Lord Jesus. And those verses were read to us this morning. Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but humbled himself.
And made himself obedient. I'm going to have to read it, I know it well, but at times things don't come to mind. Umm made himself a no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant or a bondsman. Stronger than what we think of as a servant.
And was made in the likeness of men.
Paul then to counter this enemy that would want to make us into something and we we love that by nature. That's our natures. We like to be given a place. Paul has an antidote for that. So let's go to Ephesians again.
And look at.
Verse 17 of chapter 4.
This I say therefore, in testifying the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darken, being alienated.
From the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts.
Who being past feelings have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ. And we could read on, but I'll stop there, because what I wanted to emphasize was.
That he brings out these things that are the tendency of the natural heart to walk in vanity and so on. But he says that's not how Christ was. That's not what you learned from him, from his example.
He was a servant, He humbled himself. That's what we need to do.
We need to be a servant like he was.
Well, we're gonna move on because we're running out of time. The next one is the parasites. And, uh, their name signifies villagers. So they were those that, uh, dwelt in villages.
But there was something about the way they dwelt. They dwelt in the open country.
So they didn't have any walls, they didn't have any protection, there was really no separation, so they just dwelt out in the open.
Well, what could that maybe typify to us and by way of application?
Well, we need to guard, be guarded, don't we? And Paul takes that up in the last chapter of Ephesians, doesn't he? And he gives us all of this armor, and most of it, you'll notice, is defensive armor.
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And he tells us to stand. So it's not so much that we're going out and fighting with the enemy, as it were, but we're standing firm and we're not giving up. And we have this protection against the enemy's tendencies and tactics that we see perhaps represented in some of these these different nations that were there. And So what we have then in Ephesians.
To counter this work of the enemy.
In the in the parasites is what we have in Ephesians chapter 5.
And verse one, be there for followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us.
An offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.
The fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, would it not be once named among yous, become a Saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks.
And so on. And then he says in verse 7, Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Well, I thought of these parasites as those that dwelled in these unwalled towns and villages. Like I said, they had no protection, they had no separation, and there was no odor that was sweet to God.
And so we need that, don't we? We need that.
The wall up against we need to to walk in love as Christ also hath loved us that's going to preserve us if we think of his love for us. And later on in this chapter 5 we get that beautiful example of of the husband and wife relationship, the most intimate relationship that has been given to man and how it's such a beautiful picture of Christ in the church and then enemy is trying hard today to corrupt that.
And these parasites, they were the ones that they intermarried with the Israelites. There were others that intermarried with them too, but they were one of the ones that did. And so they would come in and corrupt that and there would be no sweetness to God. Our lives would not be that which would be an odor of a sweet smell to him is the thought that I, I take from this. We need that wall of separation. We need to, to walk.
In In Love.
As Christ hath loved us, so that our hearts might be preserved and be kept pure for him.
If you are in love with someone.
And devoted to them.
That is a preserving factor, isn't it?
And you, Washington, you want to do what pleases them and you want to be there for them. I believe there's at least that application in these parasites.
The Hiveites are the 6th one that's mentioned in this list. Their name also signifies Villager, but a little different.
They they dwelt in towns and so on.
And I think what they bring before us is moral corruption and darkness. And it was the high bites that corrupted.
Umm, umm, Jacob's daughter, Dinah in Genesis 34. We're not, we shouldn't take the time to look at it, but I just wanna make sure I got that right. Umm, I'm sorry. Dinah, the daughter of Leah.
So we, yes, it was Jacob's daughter, umm, it was the hiveites, these, uh, these men of Shechem, they were high bites and they corrupted her and so on. Paul has an antidote for the Ephesians for this enemy. 2 and that's in uh, chapter 5 and verse 8. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light for.
Of the light it should read instead of the Spirit there. For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. You know, if Joshua would have laid hold of this, of course he didn't have the Scripture, but this thought, this principle, he would have been preserved from these high bites. These high bites are the ones that came and deceived Joshua. The Gibeonites, they're called there. They were high bites and they came.
00:55:00
Received and said we're from a far country and so on. You know the story and it says they asked, they took of their vittles, they they ate with them fellowship and they asked not counsel of the Lord. And the Gibeonites came in and they were a trial to Israel. They were hiveites. So proving what is acceptable. Verse 10 and Ephesians 5 unto the Lord, proving what is agreeable to the Lord and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
But rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is the light. Wherefore he saith awake thou that sleepest.
And arise from the dead in Christ shall give thee light. That's the antidote to the tactics of the enemy, the subtlety of the enemy. You need the light to expose the enemy's tactics and subtlety. And thank the Lord that we have the word of God. It's a light lamp into our feet, and a light unto our path. And the enemy can be exposed in his ways. Well, we have one more.
And our time is gone, so we'll just finish up with.
The thought of the Jebusites now their name means Treader down. And if you look at the word, uh, Jebus Jebus, it's, it means a treading under foot. Well, umm, that's different than walking around in the land, as it were, speaking spiritually and and becoming acquainted with these things that we've been enjoying this weekend. That's different to walk about in it, to become familiar with it.
Uh, every, every place that the soul of, of, of our foot treads upon, I think in the sense that Joshua is using it as to lay hold of it, you've got to walk in it to make it yours. And that's the point, isn't it? And the Jebusites, it means nothing to them. These, these truths don't mean anything to them. They're a treader downer and treading down destroys and damages.
And so we don't want to be like that, do we? So the antidote is what Paul gives in.
Verse 15 of.
Ephesians chapter 5. See then that you walk circumspectly or carefully, not as fools, but as wives, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
I just take from this, brethren, that we need to not only value these truths, we need to walk in them and we need to walk carefully because we have an enemy that is crafty and clever. We have many enemies, and he wants to keep us from the enjoyment of these things. And so Paul says you need to walk carefully and you and I need to walk carefully.
You know there's a tendency.
And it's easy to take up divine things, perhaps in somewhat of a careless way. I, I say that for myself. I'm not saying what that we're doing that. I'm just saying that there can be that tendency. And so Paul says to walk carefully. Well, there's much more that could probably be said, but I've, I've enjoyed those things and I want to close with.
Uh, J Business Prayer and First Chronicles 4 as our own. You know, we've had some.
Some wonderful things we've, uh, had brought before us the thought of Philadelphia. We've taken up that second chapter of Second Timothy. And as was mentioned, a true Philadelphian should appreciate and enjoy those things in that chapter and take them to heart and act on them. And I've thought of it this way.
When we talk about these things, I think in all that was brought before us, uh, when we talk about.
Philadelphia, when we talk about, umm, the truth and so on, umm, well, we, we even taken up the subject that we took up. I feel like there's a, there should be a lot about our walk and a lot less about our talk, a lot about our walk and a lot less about our talk. I think, uh, as I gathered from what was said over these past few days, I think our brother were saying to us.
Do we walk in this? Are we willing to walk in these things? And the prayer of Jabez is a good note to end on. In First Chronicles chapter 4 it says that he cried out to the Lord, and this is what he said.
01:00:01
Inverse Town and Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that thou wouldest bless me indeed and enlarge my coast or border.
And that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested.
Gospel 3
Gospel—Robert Boulard
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I thought maybe we would begin with #18 on our hem sheet.
Maybe somebody can raise that tune.
I'd like to read the most famous verse, perhaps in the whole of the Word of God. Perhaps everyone of us could say it. We wouldn't even have to turn to it. John's Gospel, chapter 3, verse 16.
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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world or to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
That's the first time that word saved is used in the Gospel of John.
But you know, I wanted to speak tonight or this afternoon on this love of God. You know, I see evidence of love in this room and I was noticing, I couldn't help but notice it in the room.
And in the hallways and different places during this these three brief days together.
00:05:03
Love of a young man for a young woman. Love for a young woman, young man. Some love of an older man for an older woman. An older woman for an older man. A little picture of Christ in the church.
Just a little picture. You know the Jews in the Old Testament never understood what marriage was. They asked the Lord Jesus in Matthew's Gospel 19 chapter 19. They said is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?
And then he told them about the purpose that God had for marriage.
He told them the purpose of what love meant and that it was a little picture. He didn't tell them in that particular instance, but in other passages of Scripture of that it's a picture of Christ in the church. And so in the Christian era we have a little picture.
By the God called it a great mystery in connection with Christ in the church in Ephesians chapter 5, but we have a great revelation of God as to the type of Christ in the church.
And so God is the one that loved. You know, years ago when I was in business, I used to give out Bibles to different ones that I did business with because my father got saved when a man gave him a Bible. 8 years old, didn't have enough money, he was a poor farmer, but he gave that young boy a Bible.
Two boys real my father and Roland.
Didn't have enough money. He gave him a Bible just once so that they could share. And uh, Roland wasn't too interested. I do believe he did get saved later on in his life, but Real took an interest in that Bible and started to read it changed his life. I won't tell you the whole story here this afternoon.
So I gave this man in San Antonio Bible. Ordered one from BTP. Nice leather bound Bible.
I gave it to him when I was down there doing business one day and he called me on the phone a couple of days later after I got home. And he said, you know, I was reading where you told me to read in John's Gospel. And he said I got to Chapter 3, my wife and I, and he said.
My wife said, I think that's the most famous verse in all of the Bible. And he said I tried to learn it and in a very halting way, he, he kind of quoted it to me over the phone. He said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and he stumbled a little bit. But you know, he said that verse, he only had his Bible for two or three days.
Well, I wanna look at that love.
Who is it that loved? Who is it?
I see some couples, brother Bill and Charlotte, Wally and Lynn, brother John and his wife Eleanor, different ones. And you say love.
And there was a person and there was a work of the Spirit of God, a little magic moment at one time, and there was an attraction.
And love began.
But with God, you know, who is it? Who is he? Why would he love? Why would he love this world? It's not that he loved the globe, didn't love the world the the object. He loved the people that were in this world.
And so it's the lover of our souls, the one.
Who is the source of all love? It says God is love. But let's look at Colossians chapter one. We don't have a lot of time and perhaps we'll be able to condense our little talk a little bit this afternoon so that we don't drag on.
But I'd like to look at a few points in connection with this Love and the Source of Love, chapter one of Colossians.
And perhaps we could read in verse 16.
For by him were all things created.
That are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. He is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead.
That all things in all things he might have the preeminence.
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Oh, this is the one that loved.
This is the one that loved.
The creator of the universe.
The one who always existed.
The one who created you.
Loves you. He didn't just create an inanimate object. He did create the earth. He did create all those things that are in it.
But he loved you.
The Creator, you know, if we turn to Daniel Chapter 7, we would find something of the glory of that person. We could turn to different passages of scripture, but I just thought of this one in Daniel Chapter 7.
Verse 9.
He says, I beheld till the Thrones were cast down, and the ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. Thousand thousands ministered unto him.
10,000 * 10,000 stood before him and the judgment was set. The books were open.
I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which were the horn spake, I beheld till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame. Let's read verse 13. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, came to the ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him, and there was given him dominion and glory.
And a Kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his Kingdom that which shall not.
Be destroyed.
This is the one who loved, the one who is the king of kings.
One who is the Lord of Lords, the one for whom all things were created and by whom all things consist. You know, Isaac Newton, the great scientist said in the his writings, he said that the universe, he was the one that came up with the theory of how the solar system was constructed by God, designed. And he said.
In his opinion as a scientist, it required the insertion of energy into the solar system consistently for it to continue to for the for the.
Planets to continue to orbit. He said it wasn't all in a vacuum as some thought, but that there was a reduction in energy and it required the creator to insert energy into the solar system so that it would continue in perfect order.
He's the sustainer of the universe. That's who loved the world, That's who loved you. That's who came into this scene to bring you into the greatest blessing that is possible for a man, a woman he brought. He came into this scene that he might manifest his love.
Not only did he love the world, but that he proved it. Now when did he love?
We'd like to know when that love started. You know, it says we read some of these verses before, but I'm going to turn to them again in Ephesians chapter one.
Love begins with a human, doesn't it? We're born into this world.
Love begins. A mother sees a little child. The love begins, perhaps before the child is born.
And it never ceases.
Well, you know, the love might not be displayed the way it ought to be, but umm, sometimes a child can be forgotten.
But God never forgets.
Says in verse four, chapter one of Ephesians, verse four, according as he hath chosen us in him before.
The foundation of the world, that we should be holy without blame before him in love.
God's love existed for you, and it existed in the past eternity. It had no beginning and has no end. You know we often quote that verse, don't we? And John's Gospel chapter 13 having loved his own, which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. When will his love end? It never will.
00:15:14
It never will. He's the source of love. God is love and He loved you so much.
Then he came into this world. The Son of God, born into this world, took a body that he might be able to die as a man, and that body was given to him, wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, that he might live for the glory of God in this scene.
And that he might offer himself a sacrifice for sin, a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour. That's who loved you.
The one who loved you is the Creator. The one who loved you is the Lord of Lords, the King of kings, the ruler of the universe, in fact, the one who is the heir of all. We're not going to read those passages of scripture, but it says in Romans chapter 8 that we are sons of God, heirs of God.
Joint heirs with Christ. What's his inheritance? Is he going to inherit you?
No, he's going to inherit all created things, all created beings, they're all his. And he hasn't taken that possession yet of the inherent, but it belongs to him. And he's going to share that inheritance with all those that belong to him, and particularly his bride, that he's come into this scene and lay down his life, shed his precious blood.
Blends each one of us from our sins if we would receive him as Savior and to make us a part of that bride, He's going to express that love to us in a future day. I want to just look at the character of his love. You know, there are perhaps four different characters that come to mind, the characters of divine love. Let's look at Jeremiah chapter 31.
What kind of a love is it that God loves us with?
We know his character is Holiness.
It's light. God is light. God is love.
And if you accept him tonight for this afternoon as your savior, if you don't know him as your savior.
You know what Ross Love really is and those of us that know.
The Lord Jesus is our Savior. We know some small little bit of that love, and I'm so sorry to only be able to communicate so very poorly, a little fraction of what I might even enjoy myself in connection with that love.
Buddy, in Jeremiah chapter 31, this is one of the things that God says about his love in verse three. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, yeah, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.
Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
It's everlasting.
Never ceases. You know, there's all kinds of.
Sorrow and heartache in this world that's filled with sin.
There was a little boy in Reynosa when I was there not too long ago.
And he came to the little Sunday schools, the hobby classes, dirty little smudge faced and so on. And.
Not well addressed and so on He came and we spoke of love, the kindness and love of God.
How many of you here have a mother and a father that love you?
He put his face down.
He said nobody loves me.
I said surely, surely you have a father at home, He loves you.
No, his mother didn't love him, he said. He said, yeah, he didn't have anyone in this world that loved him. And so he spoke of the Savior. You know, often times some here have gone to the jails, to the prisons. I don't know if it's like this in every prison, but if you go to a prison sometimes and you hand out this little gospel sheet to the prisoners so that they can sing little songs.
Gospel songs, the very first song that is given out.
Is what?
That's the one Jesus loves me every single time.
Y.
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I asked one of those prisoners one time.
He said. Man, nobody loves us in this place. We're treated like cattle. Nobody loves us.
Nobody on the outside comes to see me.
Some you'll see in solitary confinement if you're permitted to go visit. They don't know much about love. But you, dear friend, God sent his Son into this world so that you would know his love. He demonstrated it at the cross.
So that you could say if you accept him as savior tonight.
The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Well, this is just one character. Never ends. Everlasting love. Let's look at Malachi chapter one.
Verse two, I have loved you, saith the Lord. And in chapter 3, verse six for I am the Lord, I change not.
Here's a love that is not only everlasting, will never cease, for you had no beginning and will never cease. You were loved before the foundation of this world.
But there's a love that will never change.
My love changes for my wife.
Sometimes it goes cold, sometimes it grows a little warmer. Our love ebbs and flows.
You can't do anything to make the love of God change for you.
Not possible.
It's unchangeable love. It will never change.
If you were the only Sinner on the face of the earth, Christ would have come into the world to save you. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
I had a young girl brought up in a Christian home, 32 years old, went out for a meal with her and her father. Her father, a dear believer.
She looked into my face and she said I have never sinned.
I said, well, God says that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, she said. I never sinned.
I said, well, it says too that let every man be a liar and God be true.
I never sinned, not once.
I said somebody's telling the truth and someone's telling a lie.
God is true.
All of us have sinned that young girl. Her name is Jimmy Young and she lives in South Korea.
And she's lost in her sins. One of the qualifications I said to her to have Christ as Savior is to recognize and to confess that you're a Sinner.
We were born in sin and shape and iniquity. Well, this love will never change. Now, if we look a little further into the Epistle to the Romans, we'll find that there's another aspect of divine love in chapter 8.
Let's read just from verse 38, Romans 8, verse 38. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life.
Nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us.
From the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Here's a love that is powerful love.
Christ loves you. He came into the world to save you individually, and if you've you've accepted him as your Savior individually.
None can ever separate you from His love. None can ever come in and separate you.
Oh, there were those that sought to malign, those that were believers during the dark ages, those that sought to persecute them, not only take their lives from them, they were, many of them were martyred, but many of them were slandered and told that Christ didn't love them, that they had been banished from the Church and because of their faithfulness to Christ.
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That Christ had ceased to love them.
But no, no. Wonderful to think, dear friends this afternoon.
The love of the Lord Jesus is so powerful.
None can ever release you from that love. You have been loved with a now, a love that's everlasting and unchangeable love and a love that has grasped you in His hand. If you know Him as your Savior, you put your trust in Him. He's loved you and He will never let go. Let's read this in John's Gospel, chapter 10.
Verse 28 I give unto them eternal life.
And they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand, my father, which gave them me his greater than all. And no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand.
I and my father are one, you know, Brother Gordon Hale. Some of you perhaps remember him saying it's like the father had you in his hand.
And then or the Lord Jesus had you in his hand, He says, none shall pluck them out of my hand. And then the Father's hand over the Son's hand, you're doubly secure.
It's a picture in the Tabernacle of the pillars, the posts that held up the outer skirt, and they all sat in a socket of silver that had two tenons doubly secure. You could never be lost.
That's the love that God has. That's divine love. Let's look at one other aspect, the 4th aspect of divine love and Ephesians chapter 5.
In verse 25.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loves the church.
And gave himself for it.
It's a sacrificial love.
It's a love, that divine love that gives and gives and gives and gives and never stops giving, for all eternity.
Those of us that know the Lord Jesus as Savior are going to be received into the glories glory above, into the very presence of the Son of God. He's going to receive us. If I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself.
That where I am, there ye may be also.
And he's going to come forth and serve. He's going to serve us with heavenly happiness for all eternity.
He's going to cause us to come and to sit down and says I think it's in Luke's gospel chapter 12 to sit and he shall come forth and serve the Son of God who loved me, gave himself for me. Can you say it?
That's the love. That's the God who loves us.
That's the God who loved us before we existed. That's the God who is the creator of this world.
Whose love will never end. But you know, it says here that he's, this is what he did in the past. He gave it. He gave himself for it. What a price was paid for that love to express that love. Where was it expressed?
When I got married.
I determined one of the things that I would do.
Was tell my wife every day of my married life if it was possible.
Tell her with the deepest feeling that I could that I loved her.
I don't know if it's the true statement or not, but uh.
I never it's true that I never remember.
My father telling my mother that he loved her publicly in front of us kids not even once.
I know he loved her.
But I do whatever I can to tell my wife every day, more than once, that I love her.
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And you know there's a future day when you're going to see the Son of God, the Lord Jesus, who went to the cross of Calvary, laid down his life for you and shed his blood. He paid the highest price as possible to express His love at the cross of Calvary.
And he's going to tell you.
Constantly that he loves you, he's going to tell you what you mean to him. And when he sees you in that glorious scene above, it says in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, he shall see of the fruit of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. He's going to see you individually in that glorious scene above. The one he loved in this world, the one he died for, the one whose.
Was shed to save you. He's going to tell you how much you mean to him. Well, he expressed at the cross.
He not only said he loved us.
But He loved us, and proved it at the cross. In this was manifested the love of God.
So you're loved by God the Father, and you're loved by the Son.
God sent his Son into this world, and He expressed His love at the cross. One of the reasons that the Lord Jesus came into this world as a man to die was so that we would be able to know His love.
So that he would be able to express that love. Does God love the angels?
No, it doesn't say that he loves the angels. Why did he die for you?
He loved you.
But did you know that he wanted a return of your affection? Did you know that he wanted you a little picture of Christ in the church, that return of the affections and the communication of it? Did you know that the Lord Jesus wanted to hear you tell him that you loved him and appreciated him?
It's true.
He longs to hear your voice.
And you could read in the Song of Solomon those things and the bride saying, yeah, he is altogether lovely. Oh, you could hear those things, read those passages of Scripture. But you know, the Lord is going in and one day he's going to present this church to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
His love has accomplished something in his bride. He's going to have a perfect bride.
She'll be beautiful for all eternity and he'll love her for all eternity.
You're gonna present it to himself, That's how much he loves you.
Without spot.
We didn't begin that way, did we? If there's someone here that's still in their sins, you know what? We read it this afternoon.
In chapter 2 of Ephesians, you happy quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, weary in time past, you walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air and the Spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
Oh, what a wonderful love it is.
Have you ever thanked him for his love?
In your prayers, do you ever tell the Lord you're so thankful for His love? You tell Him?
Oh, He wants to hear your heart opened up to Him and to express your love and appreciation for what He has done for you in time and for eternity.
Well, let's look at the expression of the love we began with.
Revelation Chapter 3 in connection with.
Philadelphia. I'd like to read just a little bit in chapter 3, the last part of the not chapter, verse 14.
Revelation chapter 3, verse 14.
And under the Angel of the Church of Laodiceans, right these things sayeth the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works.
That thou art neither cold nor hot.
I would not work cold or hot.
So then, because our lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew the out of my mouth, Because thou sayest I am rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knoweth not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor and blind naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich.
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And white raiment that thou mightest mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear. And anoint thine eyes with thyself that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous, therefore in repent, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will Sup with him.
And he with me, to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear.
What the Spirit saith unto the Church?
It's very striking to me to think of the name Ephesus, you know, means amiable or lovable, we might say in our terminology.
And uh, we just read in chapter 5 of Ephesians that Christ loved the church and gave himself for it.
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with washing of water by the Word. That he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
What kind of a response does he get from the heart of the believer in the day that we live in?
Well, the Christian testimony is characterized by indifference.
By every other thing having a priority. Not his love, not his things. It's more important to do this or that or the other. It's more important something else.
But Christ has taken the last place. Oftentimes in our schedules, if we have time, if it's convenient, we'll go to meeting if it's convenient.
Tonight, dear friend, if you don't know the Lord Jesus as Savior, the highest priority on your agenda right now.
Ought to be.
To bow your head in his presence and to confess that you're a Sinner. Guilty of hell, guilty of judgment.
And to thank him for his love, for coming to Calvary to die for you and to express his love.
A changeless love. A powerful love.
An everlasting love.
A sacrificial love that will never cease.
But you know in a lost eternity you're going to be if you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior and you leave this scene and sin against that love, you'll never know what love is for all eternity. You'll never experience the voice of the Lord saying, I love you, I gave myself for you.
You never will.
For all eternity.
But may our hearts.
Just, uh, as we read these little verses.
This short portion in connection with the Laodiceans, you know, it means the rights of the people.
Speaks of democracy, a day of democracy that we live in. I have a right. My vote counts. My opinion counts.
That's the what characterizes Christianity, and so the will of God and the Word of God often times are set aside in our own personal lives and perhaps even in the assembly, The Word of God and the will of God and the love of God is not enjoyed the way it should be.
Wasn't it nice here? It says.
That I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and Sup with him and he with me. I just want to suggest to you if you want to enjoy those of us that know the Lord Jesus as Savior, you just trace those two little words in the New Testament with me, that the Lord Jesus.
Uses he says, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast give given me, be with me.
That may they need to hold My glory for Thou Lovett Me before the foundation of the world with Me is not what you want with one that loves you. You want them to be with you, don't you?
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Love desires the companionship and the affection of its object.
And the Son of God is going to have the desires of his heart fulfilled. He's going to have you at His side for all eternity. I was going to be so thankful if you've received them as Savior. Oh, he's going to rejoice to have you in that glorious scene above. Have you thank them?
May we desire to keep close to that Blessed One and have the privilege of enjoying fellowship with him individually and in coming day. If we can overcome this indifference of the day that characterizes the Christian era that we live in. If we can overcome that indifference, and who cares? I've got other things to do. I've got a life to live.
And we make his priorities our priorities and that we give him the first place in our lives.
We overcome that umm spirit of things of indifference. It says here in verse 21. Him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.
The bride of Christ will sit beside.
Her bridegroom.
But you individually will be rewarded for that affection, that devotion to Christ in your life, and God will see to it. He always rewards faith. He always rewards faithfulness, and He desires that.
You might enjoy the thought of reigning with him and receiving a reward from him. You know, I'm going to read the last in chapter 22, the last time that he uses that little expression in, uh, chapter 22 and verse 12 of Revelation.
Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me the last time he uses the expression.
His reward is with me.
Oh, when the Lord Jesus comes, I used to think when I was younger that he would, he had a lot on his plate after the rapture, the tribulation would be beginning shortly and so on. And, uh, there would be all kinds of activity, uh, there would be, uh, things to get done, you know, and it would be perhaps sometime before he get around to giving the rewards.
But no, that's not how Scripture puts it.
He's gonna receive you into his presence.
You're gonna look upon you.
He won't be able to wait to look into your face for the judgment seat of Christ, to have an individual meeting with you and say, I appreciated your love and your affection. I appreciated your devotion to the cause, to my cause in the days of your sojourn in this world. It meant so much to me.
And he's going to give you the reward.
Going to tell you how much it meant. Going to express his love to you.
Then in chapter 4 says at the end of chapter 4 of Revelation, it says we'll cast our crowns before him because the truth of it is that there would be no response in your heart or mine to the love of God.
Apart from His intervention, apart from His working in your heart and mind, in His sovereignty that there might be a response. So He desires to give us a new life. Those that are lost in this room, I hope there's no one that is lost in your sins. What a loveless situation to be in for all eternity without God and without hope in this world.
Well, May God bless His word and may you.
Just enjoy something of the love of that blessed one.
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