St. Thomas Conference: 2019
Table of Contents
Prophecy Part 1: Simple Outline & 69 Weeks
Prophecy Part 2: The Final 70th Week
Prophecy Part 3: Outline of Revelation
1 Corinthians 6:1-8
Reading
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In #166.
Lord, thou hast drawn us after Thee.
Well, let us run and never tire. My presence shall our comfort be thyself. 166.
Whatever time I grasp the snow.
Lord from wording myself.
Our soul.
Inside.
Our presence.
Our presence in your wild working.
Lord, sin and proud, dear, proud.
Here.
Was rustling.
Our sun by day.
I screamed when pirates went down.
Our whites in our ground.
Change.
74 We also seeing #174.
00:05:44
I wonder if I might suggest.
First Corinthians, chapter 6.
Welcome, certainly open if someone else has thought in their heart but.
It's a chapter with a lot of practical instruction in it.
Beginning with.
Matter of saying, taking St. to the law rather against Brother, and then going on to some very important doctrine that flows from that. And then the latter part of the chapter takes up the whole subject of the body and Christian liberty with respect to it, ending with the.
Last verse which says that.
We are to glorify God in our bodies. So I think it could be very helpful both in terms of practical needs that we have and also.
Some very important doctrine that is connected with those things, but just a suggestion.
First Corinthians, chapter 6.
1St Corinthians 6, verse one.
Dear, any of you having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the Saints. Do you not know that the Saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, you are who ye unworthy to unjudge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?
If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church.
I speak to your shame. Is it? Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren. But brother goes to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers. Now, therefore, there is utterly a fault among you, because you go to law with another.
Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
Nay, you do wrong and defraud, and not your brethren. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters.
Nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God.
And such were some of you. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any meets for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up up by it, rise up us by His own power.
Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What know ye not that ye which he which is joined to in harlot is one body for two saith he shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is 1 Spirit flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that commandeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
What?
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God. Ye are not your own.
00:10:06
For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God, God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods.
So I thought I have as to the practical.
The nature of this chapter, which is.
Really what we have in any of the New Testament instruction for us is that in one way or another, it's all related back to the Lord Jesus and the coming glory. And so we have in this book of Corinthians.
The apostle correcting many things that were wrong, and in doing that the instruction is given that is so useful for us today.
So in that sense, I suppose we can be very thankful for the difficulties that were in that assembly.
But when he does it, he always takes it to the level of something that involves the Lord in His glory, which is, of course, what should be our natural instinct as believers. Anything in our lives, anything having to do with how we live our lives, needs to be related to how it affects the Lord and His glory and how we're going to live for Him.
God has set authority in this world.
And the earthly authorities that we have.
But.
We are, as believers in the Lord Jesus, part of what is spoken about in Scripture as the House of God.
It's a place of order and discipline, too.
And I think that's why he says, dare any of you having a matter against another go to law before the unjust.
And not before the Saints. God has given us principles in his Word to help us to deal with our problems.
I maybe have a difference with you, brother Tim, what am I going to do about it?
Are we going to go to the law about it?
No, I think there is another.
Sphere in which we can relate to one another.
And God gives us principles in.
Matthew chapter 18 It says, If thy brother sin against thee, now there's a case of a personal matter between two brothers. It's not an assembly matter, it's a personal matter. What are we going to do about it?
Go tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he hear they, thou's gain thy brother. So that that's a way of resolving it, isn't it? Before the Saints. And if he doesn't hear you, then you take one or two others. These are instructions that God has given us to be a help to one another. And so there are a number of scriptures in the New Testament that relate to our relationship.
With another and they're very important to carry them out. I sometimes think that we talk about discipline and we immediately think about somebody being put away from the Lord's table.
But really the majority of discipline is what takes place within the fellowship at the Lord's table. And it's like you say, being going before the the Saints.
And one way or another, there's a lot of different scriptures that have to do with that. And I think, I think that relates to what you're saying, isn't it, Tim?
This is a little bit different from Matthew 18, isn't it? There, it's if someone has something against me. Here, it's even worse. I'm taking my brother to court. That would be definitely a step lower than the other.
But it probably is because we have something between us that is bothering us, isn't it?
And instead of resolving it like scripture says, I'm going to take this into another step.
I think it's important to realize that anything that we have in in this this scene is really the Lords. We're just the stewards of it and then it's in in verse seven. Why do you not rather take wrong. Why do you rather suffer thyself to be defrauded? Scripture even says what are our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ that he.
00:15:27
Restored that which he took not away.
Not only that.
Not trying to resolve things according to scripture also can cause deep rooted hard feelings of bitterness too.
I would like to ask the question brother, what if there is something between two sisters? Should the sister go to the husband if she has one or should she go to someone in the assembly?
Well, according to well, I could I could be glad to be corrected, but I would think she would go to her husband first was because the husband's the head of the wife.
Well, that's assuming, of course, that he's in fellowship with the Assembly.
If he's not or there is an unbeliever, I don't know what you do in that case.
Wouldn't two brothers be the same as two sisters? If they had a quarrel one with another, wouldn't the sister want to take it up with the one that she had to quarrel with and try to resolve it there?
I like to think, brethren, that what we have in Scripture are principles that are given to us to be exercised about. They're not a list of rules, but spiritual principles. And so you look at those Scriptures and you seek by looking at them to get direction what the Lord would have you to do. I think you're right with that says if you can just keep it in the.
Smallest circle possible Is is the best thing?
Mentions there too, and Matthew 18, that even if the situation isn't resolved between two brothers or two sisters that they meet together, they're unable to resolve it. And it goes then to a couple of brothers visiting and try to resolve the matter. And then if the person still doesn't want to hear those brothers that came.
It says.
To doesn't say here.
They used to go any further with it, he says It says.
If he in the 17th verse, he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the Church.
But if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee, that is unto the one that's been offended, if you're offended, and it's not resolved as a heathen man and Republican.
You're done with it. The church then takes it up. The assembly takes it up. It doesn't say here that the assembly would automatically.
Expel somebody from the body. It just says they would take it up. They they may find another Ave. to pursue about it. They may silence a brother or discipline them somehow without have being put away. It doesn't say to hear that he has to be put away or her. It just says it's left of the assembly then to deal with it. And so we have in First Corinthians 5, the assembly they're dealing with the matter that they had to deal with.
And it was resolved to the benefit of the Lord's glory and the assembly as a whole. And so there's the Lord leaves it open here that even though.
It's not resolved between 2 two brothers or two sisters. The Church then has to take it up. The assembly has to take it up, and it's up to the assembly. What they bind is bound on heaven and on earth.
It doesn't say that that that discipline or whatever they do necessarily putting somebody away, that may be the last thing that they would look at. There could be some other way to deal with this matter. And so the Lord leaves it open.
There's verse in Acts 1731.
00:20:04
Verses 30 and 31 I'd like to read.
At the time of this ignorant God winked at, but now commandeth every all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained, whereof he has given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from dead.
All judgment has been committed to the Lord Jesus, and our judgments of matters should be bring him in. If we leave the Lord out, it's wrong, however it's done.
It's so important to.
These judging one another are going to law. Or if you want to talk about individual brethren, we need to go to the Lord first.
And.
It honors God to the God has chosen to to set the Lord Jesus up as the judge. The Lord has chosen to associate his people with him in his judgment. That's a wonderful privilege. It seems to me that's the the great evil in this chapter where we're reading about is that they're doing it on their own.
And not bringing the Lord in. Anytime we leave the Lord out of something like this, that's the key thing.
There's another preliminary step that I would suggest, and that is that if two are brothers or two sisters are in contention, one with another, then step one in my estimation is to come together on their knees because in prayer there's a great amount of change can take place in attitude. It's a humbling experience. It's it's an attitude of putting the matter before the Lord.
And and getting the individual Pride and prejudice out of the way and it can be a great asset in the development of the case.
It seems that there's another grievous sin here that's before any of that though, and that is that they were going before the law.
They were going outside of the assembly into the world and.
That's why he says there any of you having a matter go to the law and then in verse two he says do you not know? In verse three, know ye not? And four more times in this chapter brings this thought in, don't you know? And this is the problem. Sometimes we forget what it is we are as Saints.
That we are people who were here in this world deserving judgment along with everyone else.
And we've been delivered out of that and we've been brought into a new place and our future is what brother Doug was saying to be associated with the Lord Jesus Christ in glory. And when that day comes, we're going to be with him when he judges this world. And so that's what he says in verse two. Know ye not that this ain't shall judge the world and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? How terrible it is for.
US.
As those redeemed by him to go out into this world that we're going to judge and bring our brother before worldly court.
It's completely wrong to do anything like that. And so this language is very strong. But the important thing I believe is as a brethren have been mentioning, that we need to recognize where we stand.
Always before the world, before the Lord. What are actual places? And if we live in light of what the truth is of our destiny, our association with Christ, it'll affect the way we live now.
But if we forget that.
As they did, this was an assembly filled with brothers who were very gifted and sisters, and yet they were puffed up and they had forgotten these truths. And so they were going on in a very worldly, fleshly, carnal way, even to the point of taking a brother to the law. And that was absolutely unforgivable. And so the language is strong.
00:25:05
I have a question. It starts out here.
And if you having a matter against another and we've talked about.
Brother against brother.
Convention, Tim The the practicality of these matters. What about a brother and someone in the world?
Someone comment on that in relationship and business or in our lives? Whether arise the matter between a believer and someone in the world?
Romans, chapter 12.
Verse 17.
Says recompense to no man, evil for evil.
Sight of all men, if it be possible, as much as lieth in you.
That is whatever you can do on your part. If it be possible, provide.
Or live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if an enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him to drink. For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. I mean, this is just one of the verses you could turn to for the principle of a believer taking someone into the world to the court. It's absolutely wrong.
In no way does it fit in with our place in Christianity. And there's other even more lovely principles. You can go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and you find there that what is committed unto us is that ministry of reconciliation that God was doing through the Lord Jesus. And that's what we have in the world, isn't it? It's a ministry of reconciliation. Go and take someone in the world to court. How are you going to carry out that ministry given we can't do it?
So I think there's plenty of scripture to show there's no place for a believer to take an unbeliever to the law.
The motivation is a little different that you've been bringing before us came like through with what you said, but I think it's important to see that the reason is different.
And as we've had dropped before us here in our chapter that we're taking up.
The question here is to believers, and whose authority do we recognize?
It's very easy to go to a court of law, get a judgment, have the police come, seize the property, whatever it might be. We recognize that force. But as believers, do we really understand that there's a greater authority in?
Jesus Christ delegated it to the assembly and that we have a duty to act, to pour into the place that we're in like you're bringing before us.
So that's a different idea than the question that.
Greg has just been asking in terms of unbelievers, because unbelievers don't recognize the authority of Christ at all. And so the principle is being acted on with an unbeliever is exactly what you brought out and that is you want to keep the door open for the gospel.
We see that too, don't we? In Titus chapter two, I think, and a little bit in first.
First Timothy I believe with the servants and but in Titus chapter 2 it actually brings out the gospel in verse 9 and 10 I think. But I was considering how in that line in in John chapter 19 where where the Jews said we have a law and by our law he should die.
And then in.
First Timothy one and.
Verse nine, I think it says that there's the law is not for the righteous and those things point out to me the glory of God and what are we doing in our lives. And I believe you mentioned that, Robert, in a sense, because if we're going to court with one another in man's systems, we're truly not bringing anything to the glory of God into his precious name. And so therefore, how could we ever bring forth the gospel before these ones? And it speaks in Timothy and Titus of as servants to the master that they would be a believing master.
So how could they ever be a believing master if we're going to behave in such a way as the world does?
It's not our place as believers to insist on righteousness.
The Lord is going to do that in the coming day. What we are to witness is to His grace.
And his forgiveness. And so how can you go to law and preach grace at the same time?
00:30:05
It's a mixed message.
Just to give a little bit of a framework of the early part of this chapter to hang some of our thoughts on that. We've we've had some of these thoughts presented already, but we have a matter between two brothers. And that could be as simple as I go out of the parking lot here and I back out my ratty old Chevy Impala and I back into someone's brand new car.
Smash in the quarter panel, Well, we now have a matter one against another. What do I do? Well do does does the other brother say OK?
Well, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take you to court now and we're gonna settle up and we'll get a fair judgment. And these, although the laws are established, we can follow this out. Great. No, it's if, if there is a contention that can't be worked out between the two, it's brought to the assembly and there is to be justice administered by those least esteemed. And that's often the case of those with discernment. They're not well regarded, but there's the ability for a fair.
A just verdict to be administered. Well Jonathan, you backed into his car. You need to fix it. So whatever that whatever that matter the solution that's worked out that's to be bowed to. But there's a higher path and that's being emphasized already repeatedly and that is verse seven. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded. The opportunity for the brother that I backed into to say.
You know what I love you brother, don't don't worry about it. I'll take care of it and that the dignity that we have as believers. We're we're heirs of all things. We're we're going to judge angels. We've been told we can we can afford to be gracious. We have all things in Christ and and to insist on our rights to insist on some little thing is completely out of character with Our Calling. And that's that's the sense in Philippians chapter 4 when it says let your moderation be known unto all men. The sense there is let your gentleness.
Yet let your yieldingness, not asserting your own rights, that that is what is supposed to be known to all men as a result of our walk with the Lord. And so that's the early part of this chapter. What's being taken up?
And so, yes, there's a fault. Yes, there may be a solution that is just, but as a believer, we can afford to to even go beyond that and suffer ourselves to be defrauded, to take wrong. And we see that so beautifully in the Lord's pathway. When he was reviled, reviled not again when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. So a few a few thoughts just to hang these hang these other thoughts just a framework for these early verses.
Yeah, that's beautiful.
To think of the Lord Jesus standing there before the chief priests and the and Pilate 2 and pilot marveled when he saw him violently accused and every accusation was false. He did not open his mouth. He was as a sheep before his shears is done. What a beautiful spirit, and that's what we are to reflect darkly.
If we had that spirit.
Wouldn't even come up in the first place.
That's really the end point of it all here, but I think in.
What we have brought out here, it says the end of verse 4.
Set them to judge who are least esteemed in the assembly and it shows that it's the assembly. It's a sphere of, of judgment. You say, well, what if that doesn't work? Well, that's where he goes on to just be defrauded.
That even had to get that far, Well then there is nothing beyond.
At least not as far as taking it further. But what do we have beyond the assembly? And I think this is a really important question because I've often heard it asked in my lifetime. Well, what it, you know, in the assembly, we're not going to get it. Just judgment on that. Or they don't under the brothers don't understand. I've heard many complaints about the perceived failures of those who are in the assembly to take up matters.
So what is a recourse if the assembly can't handle things properly according to my opinion? And after all, that's what it is, right?
Isn't it the Lord?
00:35:00
It's certainly not the world and I think it's really, really important to get a hold of this that for the Christian on earth there is no higher, as it's been put by others, no higher Court of Arbitration than the assembly.
The Lord, of course, is over the assembly, and it's not like he isn't involved if we think that things aren't being done right in the assembly in any matter, including what we have here.
Why are we not taking it to the Lord? Do we think He doesn't care? Do we think He can't take care of the matter?
I'd like to say in my own heart, at times I have had that thought which?
I didn't quite put that way. Who would What Christian would actually put it that way? But we need to face it. That's what it actually is. And if we take a matter to the Lord and commit it to Him, and the matter continues on, is it not because He's allowing it to continue on? We need to leave it there. It's really important to understand that He is the head of the assembly and He has never given up his authority or his ability to deal with any matter.
You mentioned that spirit this week. We had this little verse back home.
Second Timothy, chapter 4 and verse 22.
Says the Lord Jesus Christ, be with thy spirit.
Grace be with you. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, be with thy Spirit, your attitude. You know Paul was a terrible person, that Saul, wasn't he?
And.
God the Father had compassion on him.
He says in chapter one of First Timothy, according to the glorious Gospel, the blessed God which was committed to my trust, and I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me for that. He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry it was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I obtained mercy. But I obtained mercy. Peter was standing there and he had already been told he'd deny him three times, and he did.
I still can't imagine what that look was like when the Lord Jesus looked at him standing there, but he was forgiven.
And so if we're willing to forgive ones in the world that we deal with every day and let things go.
Aren't we to love one another and have the same care one for another as being a part of the body of Christ? And so then been through that love because we haven't First Peter, shouldn't we forgive one another these things and move along?
There any of you.
When he says here in the end of verse four, set them to judge which are.
Least esteemed in the church. That's kind of an interesting statement. But then he goes on in verse five to say, I speak this to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that should be able to judge between his brother, but brother goeth to lobby with brother. So it does seem like if there was someone there, it seems like he is trying to shame them.
It doesn't mean necessarily we use the least esteemed brother, but it's there should be somebody that could be a help to this brother. He has a problem, let's help him and I think.
There's another verse in Galatians that I've it's often used I think is helpful too. And Galatians chapter 6 and verse one it says brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fall.
It doesn't say what the fault is. It's a fault.
Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Who are the spiritual ones?
I think they're the ones that can not let their emotions get involved in the matter, but make a spiritual judgment on it and be a help in that way to that particular person.
So let's be a help to our brethren. There are problems. Let's let's help brother.
We are such a small testimony today, just remnant testimony. There's a lot of smaller little assemblies that don't.
00:40:02
Perhaps have any?
Brethren, as we say, brother, just I know one sound leases one brother there. There could be something that arises in a small assembly where they just don't feel comfortable or knowledgeable enough to deal with the matter here. The apostle Paul says, don't you know? Well, there may have been a certain amount of ignorance involved here with the Corinthian Saints and the assembly. And so sometimes it's not just ignorance, but they may not have the knowledge of Scripture to deal with the matter that may come up.
Then they're able to go to a nearby assembly and seek their.
Help and so the matter could be be resolved. There's mentioned that because maybe somebody here from a small assembly and say well, you know we we just don't have.
We just don't have the ability perhaps to resolve something in our assembly. Well, the scripture gives to us the authority to go to a nearby assembly and seek help from them. Also, outside of the assembly, there is no authority for a brother to go to court. He doesn't have any authority of scripture outside of the assembly. That the only authority that we have is in the assembly. That's crisis there. He is authority.
He's the one that gives us the authority to act.
And when it says judge, it is if you're going to make a judgment, you have to have light. And that's why when there is a court case.
There is a hearing and different views are presented so that there can be get things out into the light, and then the judge pronounces, according to his understanding, his judgment.
But this world is in darkness, brother, and how can you see properly in the dark?
We have been brought into the light of God's presence and into the light of God's Word. What a precious privilege to have this book opened in our hands.
And to read it. And to let it.
Reflect on us.
You know, sometimes I do believe that the Lord allows problems amongst us.
So that there will be exercise, brethren. When there's exercise, there's growth.
And exercise means that there has to be some energy involved. We have to get down on our knees, we have to pray, we have to confess. How can we be a help here? We have to get into the Word and search it. And accordingly, I think the Lord will give us to bring a right judgment.
But even if not, it seems to me that the whole tone here.
These are judgments of things pertaining to this life.
And seems to me what the apostle is saying, What are things of this life between me and you, brother, as compared to things of eternity? They're not trivial, but they're close to it.
In comparison with that, you know, we get so occupied with the things that we have here that we can even take up to fighting with one another over them. And I think that's the spirit he's addressing. They apparently were. They were puffed up. They were really.
On the spiritual side of things, trying to take a place one before the other and it seems when it came to the things of this life.
Things that weren't maybe spiritually connected, they were also.
Coming at it an entirely wrong attitude and they were fighting.
And so he says that really doesn't deserve more than those that are the least in the assembly. Now just another thought on that is that we know that there are those who are to be highly esteemed for their work sake. It says so those who take the lead among the Saints in First Thessalonians chapter 5.
These, the ones here, are perhaps those who don't know the Scriptures as well, he says. That's really all that this requires. One who?
Is a believer, therefore they're honest and they have good judgment and maybe they don't know the scripture from end to end, but that's all that a matter like this actually deserves in light of the importance of what we have said before us in eternity and how we should be looking on that and so I think that's part of what is here and for the the.
00:45:10
Small assembly.
I would just suggest this too in verse 7.
That would work if there's only two brothers. Wouldn't it just be defrauded?
That works in every case.
Following along with your comments around the significance of things of this life, things pertain to this life. There is a an idea principle in Acts chapter 6. In the time of the early church there was the administration of funds to the widows in Jerusalem and.
That became an issue of fairness. It's interesting to see.
In Acts chapter 6 and verse three or verse 2, the end of verse 2, the apostles disciples said it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve Ables. And I believe that that fits in with the concept of taking those who are least esteemed. I know it is natural to try and pick the person who's most respected and most spiritual in the assembly.
For these kinds of things. But I think that what's in this scripture here is an important thing when it's things like this to take those who are less esteemed because it requires humility. And I think that that's important when considering these kinds of things in the in the presence of the Lord. The risk if you pick the person who is most esteemed in the assembly is that then you start to feel sites and I've seen that happen.
So, Brother Tim, when are you going to judge the world?
Is not what it says here.
When the Lord Jesus does, I'll be with him. I think our brother Doug mentioned that already. All judgment is committed to the Son of Man, isn't it?
John chapter 5 and it's because he is the Son of man, it says in that same chapter. And so he was a lowly rejected one, and God has committed that judgment to him, and by grace He's associated you and me with him and that glory and that time when he will judge.
Not only men, but angels. Interesting to think about it.
Yeah.
I think there's a thought too of.
The testimony here and.
In verse.
And verse six rather go to the law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.
And so we need to be very conscious of that, too. Don't we have? How does what we do with one another look before the world? We are a testimony here, and that's a real thing. It matters.
What others think of what I do, the number one thing, of course in my life, my number one concern would should be always what does the Lord think? We want to please Him, but it's very important to maintain a good testimony before those that are around us in the world.
Just thinking of Philippians 2, it says in verse 14, do all things without murmurings and disputing that you may be blameless and harmless, harmless the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. I think it should be among whom you shine as the lights in the world. And so we shine out as a testimony in the world, and then what's next there holding forth the word of life.
We're never going to be able to do that unless we have a good testimony. And so it's really important that we always keep in our minds what the claims of Christ are not So what he has for us to do in this world where we're left here.
There's been quite a few comments about the importance of humbleness and dependence on the Lord as our head and dependent on His power and perfectness. And I was just thinking it's nice to have a few verses to lay our faith on in connection with God's power and desire to hear us. I'll just read a couple quickly. Psalm 40, verse one. I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined his inclined onto me.
00:50:08
And heard my cry.
And then the end of Isaiah.
Isaiah, 6524.
Before they call, I will answer.
While they are yet speaking, I will hear.
And then one more. And Daniel.
Daniel, Chapter 2.
This is when Daniels addressing King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 228 There is a God in heaven to reveal us secrets.
Then in verse 30.
This secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living.
But it's God that gave that wisdom.
75.
Our God is light and.
The more.
Pray.
2 Corinthians 5:15
Address—Bob Thonney
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52.
Ourselves.
Rain.
For you.
And I will see you.
Let's pray.
Well, we just have a little less than half an hour and I trust.
I can share with you the burden the Lord seems to have put on my heart.
Based on a verse in Second Corinthians chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.
And I'm going to read first of all verse 15 and that he died for all.
That they which live.
Should not henceforth live unto themselves?
But unto him.
Which died for them and rose again.
That's the worst verse I want to focus on, but now I'm going to go back and read verse 14 because it gives more of the context and I think you'll understand it better if we start and with verse 14.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again. We were speaking in the reading meeting about judging.
Did you notice that word in verse 14?
We thus judge.
You know the form of judgment like we were mentioning, you have to have evidence.
And light. And accordingly you come to a decision. It's interesting how the Apostle Paul uses verses like that or words like that.
In Romans chapter 8 he says I reckon.
That the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glories.
That shall be revealed to us.
Later on in that chapter, he says, I am persuaded.
There's evidence that needs to be considered. The point is in verse.
15.
This is the burden on my heart is.
To whom do you live? You know we are living in a culture that is.
Man centered more and more so you get to decide.
Your own judgments you make, your own calls, you even this getting to the point to call whether you want to be male or female. It's incredible the darkness that is coming into this world. And why is it? It's because men live to themselves and not to him that died for us and rose again.
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Oh, it comes to me as a tremendous challenge, these two verses, the love of Christ constrain of us.
There is no love like his love.
And so I want to go back with you in your minds eye to where that love was displayed in Noah.
Greater way at the cross.
The Lord Jesus.
Who are we talking about when we talk about Jesus?
He is the eternal Son of God.
It just blows my mind to try to think of a being who always was.
I can't grasp it in this head of mine. Everything I know, everyone I know, has a beginning and an end. But here's a person that always was.
The eternal Son of God in the bosom of the Father.
Besides that, he is the creator of the whole universe.
The vastness, the extent of the power, the wisdom that is displayed in the universe.
In Which We Live is incredible.
This is the person we're talking about.
He came into this world, that person he was born.
In a place called Bethlehem and when he was born.
The Jewish people had the scriptures in their hands to tell them where he was to be born. They could tell you the answers.
Maybe you have this book in your hand. Maybe you know the answers. They did not know that he was already there.
And so he passed through this life relatively unknown.
Somebody said to him, are you just a stranger here?
That's what he was, a stranger. He said that foxes have holes.
The birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. You imagine the creator of the universe, the owner of all things, didn't have a place to lay his head. I suppose he passed a lot of nights on the Mount of Olives under the stars.
I suppose he knows what it was to be cold.
What an incredible story.
But where his love was displayed as no other is at the end of his life when he was taken.
And at the end after.
Those thirty oh, those three years of public ministry. 3 1/2 years. How many disciples did he have? 12 Is that all? One of the 12 turned out to be a traitor.
Another of them, another one that said he would never deny him, denied him three times, and the rest, they all took off in different directions. He was left alone and taken by his people before the religious authorities first and then the civil authorities.
There he was as a lamb, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. He did not open his mouth. You know a sheep after it sheared this kind of ugly.
And didn't he open his mouth in his own defense?
No, he was condemned and he died as a criminal. He was taken outside the city of Jerusalem. This person who's the creator of the universe.
There, his head crowned with thorns, and his back plowed upon by the Roman scourge, they nailed him to that cross.
And as they lifted up that Christ to put it into the hole, it disjointed him. All my bones are out of joint.
He can say reproach has broken my heart and I'm full of heaviness, and I look for some to take pity. And there were none and for comforters, but I found none. No one, no one.
00:10:03
There he was hanging on that cross. They said he's the Son of God. He said he's the Son of God, of God, who likes him, wants him, and let God deliver him. Did God deliver him?
Incredible.
Where love went out.
Will have continued.
Yes, His love is eternal and you can never ever get to the end of it.
But the worst trial of all was, as he was hanging there, and those abject physical sufferings, and the sufferings of his soul, and God clothed the whole scene with darkness. And in those hours of darkness God laid on him the iniquity of us all, and the judgment of God, and all his fury fell on him for three hours.
There is no cry from that center cross, only at the end.
Cries out, My God, my God, why is thou forsaken me at any moment? Did he say this is too much? I'm not going to handle this, I can't handle this.
Never, never, never.
That's why Paul says the love of Christ constraineth us.
Let me tell you, dear young brother and sister in the Lord Jesus and older ones to there's something in that just grabs my heart.
It's not a matter of people standing over me and saying you've got to toe the line or else we're going to get on your case, no.
It's an inward constrainment and when you know that love as was displayed at the cross.
It will make a complete difference in your life.
The love of Christ constraineth us, he says. Because we thus judge, we're forming a judgment here. If he did that for us, what does that mean? It means that we were all dead.
We were all dead in trespasses and sins.
And then verse 15 and that he died for all that they which live.
Should not henceforth live unto themselves?
But unto him which died for them, and rose again.
In other words.
It's not a matter of Maine.
And what I want any longer, it's a matter of him and what he wants for me.
That's what's come under such tremendous challenge in today's world.
People think they have their rights. Aren't we living in a democracy?
Don't you? I have my rights to say what I want, to do what I want. If it were a matter of just you and me, yeah, you're right. But that's not the matter. We're forming a judgment, completely different basis. The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
How can I, when I see that he gave all for me? How can I say, yeah, I'm saved, thank God I'm saved now I'm going to have a great time in my life and do what I like to do.
Does that fit into the picture?
Young person, older person, brother and sister in the Lord Jesus.
That doesn't fit and I see that we are living in a culture that is humanistic.
I have to say, brethren, as I stand here, please don't think that I'm just pointing the finger at you. I'm pointing the finger at me because as we pass through this culture, we're affected by it more than we like to think we're affected by it. And I think it's best for us to.
Bow our heads and recognize that this culture has affected us in our thinking.
And that when it comes to decisions in life.
And you need another car. What kind of car do you like?
Brother, is that the question?
If that's a question we don't have.
It straight, yet the basis of our judgments. It's not what I want, it's what He wants for me. That's what's so important. It's not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. He gave everything for me, being who He was. Now can I say I'm going to do my life like I want it?
00:15:28
And I want to challenge each one here. Please bear with me on some practical things that are very simple.
Do you take time to be with the Lord in reading the scriptures?
I mean serious time if he paid his life for you.
Isn't it consistent that you would take not just 5 minutes a day?
But a little more I heard on a recording the other day the whole Epistle of Philippians read. You know how long it took.
15 minutes. The whole epistle. 15 minutes.
Do you have time for the Lord? I want to challenge you to take time. You say, Oh, I'm so busy.
Take time to read the scriptures, How important it is. More and more we are coming under the influence of this godless culture and we tend to come under its influence. And we need the washing of water by the Word. We need it daily.
Sometimes say.
Every day we take time to eat something, don't we?
Generally two or three times a day, sometimes even more than that. We're eating for our body. How about your soul?
Isn't your soul important too? Yes, take time to read the scriptures.
#2 I want to focus on is the matter of prayer. Somebody has said when we read the word, God is speaking to us.
When we pray, we are speaking to Him. Both are necessary to maintain fellowship. Simple things perhaps. But I want to ask you, do you take time to pray? I mean real serious prayer. You know what I find if I wait till daytime?
There's too many distractions. I can't pray right? I have to get up during the night.
To pray and I find when there's quiet, complete quiet, then I can get into the presence of the Lord. It takes concentration. I don't find prayer easy. I find it's a it's a labor get into the Lords presence. I have a little place where I go in my house to kneel down and pray.
I sometimes think as I kneel down, it's just a common place in my house, but I'm not just coming into that place.
In spirit, I'm going into the very presence of God.
I'm coming before the throne of grace in heaven.
There, at that throne, there are God's mighty angels.
Millions upon millions of them, and as I approach, they have to break rank and open as I come in right before the throne, because I have liberty to come before that throne. Oh, the tremendous privilege of prayer. I don't think we.
Really.
Evaluated properly, you know what Martin Luther said? He said I have so much to do every day. I dare not take any less than three hours in the morning to pray. We probably say, well, I don't have that much time. I'll just say a few words of prayer as I'm running out the door.
No wonder that man did what he did in his lifetime.
O brethren, the Lord give us time to pray, to have fellowship, to walk in fellowship with him, to listen to his word, to pray. I had a brother say to me one time in South America, he says, I don't have any time to read the Scriptures, but I pray. I say, well, that's like saying to God, why?
00:20:06
God, I don't really have any time to listen to you, but I want you to listen to me.
Does that sound right? He says. That's kind of lopsided, isn't it? I said. You're right.
So upside it, and if you want more results to your prayers, I suggest you take time to listen.
So those are things that we really need to pay attention to. Another one I want to encourage brethren is being at your local assembly meetings. Don't neglect them. I know especially when you're in high school and college, you think, well, test coming tomorrow, I better stay home.
And prepare for the test. And I'm not laying this on you.
As a rule, but I want to exercise your heart.
Is that test that important?
That you can lay aside eternal matters.
I remember as a young man I lived with another young brother who at that time was in medical school and quite demanding.
Course of study he had but when it came to the reading meeting he was always there. Even then he when he had a test coming the next day he said I will get back home and I will study.
I have to. I'll stay up all night. But he says I don't want to miss the assembly Bible reading. And I, I've found in my own life, dear young people, that the what I've gleaned in the assembly meetings has been so valuable. It's like a treasure trove in my heart. Now, yes, maybe you go and there's just a few brothers sitting around.
And it doesn't seem like there's very much there to glean.
But I've found that a little here, a little there.
A little over in this wide and it becomes a real treasure. I thank God that I did not neglect the assembly meetings, the prayer, and the reading meeting. Lord encourage you to do that. If He's given everything, do you think you have the liberty just to set aside those meetings? Scripture says clearly.
For not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of Samius.
But exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching.
Another area I'd like to encourage and let me read for this in Acts chapter 24.
A verse that the apostle Paul spoke. Acts chapter 24.
And verse 16 herein do.
I exercise myself to have always.
A conscience void of offense toward God.
And toward men. Notice that verse. He doesn't say. I always have a good conscience.
No, it doesn't say that.
Herein I exercise myself. In other words, it was a daily exercise.
What comes tomorrow is going to be another fresh exercise. But to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.
Important conscience is that which man got when he was in the Garden of Eden. You remember God said that there's one tree in that garden that there were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Conscience is a word that con. Take that off and what you have is science or knowledge.
With knowledge.
Before.
They ate of that tree. They were innocent without the knowledge.
Of good and evil.
So once they took of that aid of that tree.
Immediately they knew that they were naked and they hid themselves from the presence of God.
They had conscience, and every human being has a conscience.
Even a little child has a conscience. How do you maintain that conscience?
Dear brother and sister in the Lord Jesus, we're living in a world.
00:25:03
Where so many have TV's and it's incredible how much time you can waste between behind that box. Another thing is the Internet and *********** is a plague. Do you exercise a good conscience?
It's so important. If your conscience accuses you of something, don't neglect the voice of conscience. Recognize something's wrong.
And judge it walk in self judgment before the Lord.
Before we get to the end of our meeting, I want to read the What Paul Writes to Timothy and First Timothy chapter one.
Verse 5.
Now the end of the commandment.
Is charity love out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned? Verse 19.
Holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck.
So when conscience accuses you, step back. Look at what you're doing.
And recognize if it's not right, judge it in the presence of the Lord.
You know the Apostle Paul is a good example he was before.
The Jewish Council in Jerusalem and he said to the Jewish Council.
Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest said to one of the servants that was near him, give him a slap on the cheek.
And Paul reacted. God shall smite thee, thou whited wall. You asked me to be smitten contrary to the law, Somebody said, Are you reviling God's high priest? Immediately Paul recognized his error.
And he said, I wish not it was God's high priest, brethren, for it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Immediately he judged himself. Brethren, the Lord help us to cultivate a good conscience before God. Is there something in your life that is bugging you that you know is not right and you're just kind of sheltering it? You're kind of hiding.
From your brethren or from your parents?
Don't do it. It's going to master you. It's going to take you down. Maintain a good conscience. And so let me go back again to just present that challenge that comes so powerfully to my own heart in 2nd Corinthians 5.
Verse 15 He died for all.
That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again.
Let's pray.
Songs
YP Talk 1
1 Corinthians 6:9-12
Reading
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301.
And.
I'm going to.
Would the brethren be happy to continue on with First Corinthians 6?
What verse would you suggest?
Perhaps verse nine, do you think?
1St Corinthians 6, verse 9.
Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you a year washed. But ye are sanctified. But you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any meets for the belly, and belly for the meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God has both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power. Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?
00:05:04
Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What know ye not that he which is joined to in harlot is one body for two Seth, He shall be one flesh.
But he that is joined unto the Lord is 1 Spirit flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods.
Before we start on this subject, I'm sorry, but I just want to go back to something else because.
And there's a question box outside, and I don't know if it got used, but there was a great deal of discussion after the last meeting that I at least heard about some of it. And it had to do with the subject that we had in the first part of the chapter as to what it meant for a brother going.
To the law against brother and we did mention in the meeting that this had to do with civil matters. The example was given of someone who backed up in the parking lot, hit another vehicle and then.
His two brothers could just deal with it themselves. The thought of taking that to the world.
Is a lawsuit in a court would be wrong and that's what this chapter is speaking about but the question came up whether it takes into.
Its scope, any other matters like criminal matters. And I just want to say, and others can maybe add to this if I'm not clear enough, but this is not speaking about criminal matters.
Matters like murder, which a believer can do, David murdered, or another case that I know came up long time ago, and Dorothy was one of child abuse. In such cases, the law has something to say about that, and if a believer knows about it, they must report it to the law. This chapter is not speaking about that. The law requires that those things be reported.
I think that's the case in Canada as well as the United States. And so we have the instruction from the Word of God in such cases. There's a number of verses, but first Peter chapter 2.
Says in verse 13.
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For this is the will of God. And so in such matters it might be against one who is called a brother, but the law requires that that matter be reported.
And so we have to wait before the Lord whether we should report it. Now, there are cases perhaps where the law would require us to report something and we can't. But we need to carefully weigh that before the Lord. And that is the case such as we have if the law would require that we can't preach the gospel. That exact case is in Acts chapter 5.
Where we're told that Peter says, well, we ought to obey God rather than men, so you judge. And he continued on preaching the gospel even though the authority said that they couldn't.
So I just wanted to make that clarification. In the case of reporting a crime against the laws of the land as required by the law, that is not a matter of taking a brother to court. That's a matter of simply reporting a case that the law requires to be reported and then the government takes up with the case. The person who reports it is merely a witness, a very different thing from what we have in this chapter.
So when I was newly married.
There were times when Esther and I went down to the courthouse in Ottawa at lunchtime and we would eat our lunch there and while we're eating lunch we would watch whatever case was in progress. There was a case in progress in Ottawa at that time where the minister of a church.
00:10:00
Had had one of the Sunday school teachers babysitters, children and she thought that there had been some abuse going on. There was some bruising that she thought she saw and so she reported them immediately to the Children's Aid Society without ever finding out what was really going on.
And that Mister and his family went through a long, long, long abuse in the.
Newspapers and through the court system and at the end was found to be unsubstantiated and not guilty.
So my question to you is, does there need to be some discernment and some are there, are there other steps that you might take first before you go immediately to report something to the government that you think might be a problem?
I would say inequivably, yes, because whether Bob mentioned yesterday, what we have is principles given to us here, and we need to weigh before the Lord what the case is and how the Scripture should be brought to bear on it. And so every case is different and we can't lay it out step by step here, but only present the principles. And I would say the very first thing we should do in any matter as a Christian is take it to the Lord.
Thank you, Robert. Might be helpful to mention that there God has extended authority to three different spheres, the family.
The assembly and civil authorities and these are all spheres of authority that God gave to men and.
There there sometimes can be overlapped. They're distinct. What pertains to the assembly normally doesn't pertain to civil, and what pertains within the family doesn't necessarily need to be taken to either the assembly or.
Civil authorities unless it gets be out of this beyond the family's control and order. And so I think we need to remember that and our government is happens to be very.
Taking up this cause of of abuse in families and when they step in, things can get complicated.
They those kind of things should be handled in the family. If they are not handled in the family, it can spill over and become a more major issue.
The singing of the verses in Deuteronomy 19, it speaks of a false witness there. And I was considering more the portion of the diligent inquisition and the responsibility that we have in the assembly to search these things out and to be diligent, make sure that they are true.
Deuteronomy 19.
Verse 16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against sin, that which is wrong, then both the men be between whom the controversy it is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days, and the judges shall make diligent inquisition. And behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother, and so on.
It would be good that we be righteous to do a diligent inquisition in those things, wouldn't it?
It was interesting driving home last night that I had a van.
Of young people and they started discussing the reading meeting yesterday and.
They were quite excited about some of the things that were said and and but one of the comments that was made was, you know, that were to forgive one another in these things. But what about the responsibility?
That each one has in the matter that might be before us in the chapter, and it could be any matter. We said it was civil, but.
And so they were these young people were discussing the fact that, you know, we have to take responsibility for our actions and go to that brother or sister if we've offended them in some way. And we see that in Numbers chapter 5 and and that we're to confess those things one to another and make it make an atonement.
I felt a really good example of that though was Boaz and Ruth.
And, you know, there was a matter there that had to be.
Figured out if he was to take Ruth for his wife and so he went to the kinsman there in the 4th chapter of Ruth.
00:15:05
And he took those.
Ones with him to witness it.
Somebody may know the verse, but verse 2, verse two. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, sit you down here and they sat down.
He didn't just go to his kinsmen and say that he would purchase the property. You know, there could have been deceit that he might have kept back why he would want all those things. The greatest, the greatest portion of that was to take Ruth for his wife. And he might have very well lost that if he had laid that information out. But he did. He laid everything out in pure honesty, as a true believer should. That's faithful. And, and I believe that that's what really we have in our portion here. And, and that really could have been a civil matter with Boaz and the kinsman there.
Civil matters are often involved with controversies, aren't they?
And I was just thinking of a portion in Second Samuel chapter 15.
Where Absalom comes up to steal the hearts.
Of the people, and his approach was as we see in verse 2. And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man had a controversy, came to the king for judgment. Then Absalom called unto him and said.
Of what city art thou? And he said, thy servant is one of the tribes of Israel.
And.
Verse four and Absalom said, moreover, oh, that I were made judge in the land that every man was had a suit or A cause might come unto me and I would do him justice. Well, there's one place to go, isn't it? And that's to the Lord. That's that's the first course or recourse of action, isn't it? We know that.
Absalom did this for an intent or purpose that was to gain the support of the people.
His intent was not to render a fair rendering or a fair judgment, but he did this under pretense. But we can go to one who has our interest at.
At heart and the interest of all that are involved. So we have a resource 1St and we should avail ourselves of it.
We haven't.
The first Epistle of John.
Chapter 5.
If.
One sends. We know that.
We have an advocate, first of all, that would.
Intervene that we might be restored Lord Himself, but here we have a case of perhaps one that sins, and we have prayer here of the Saints as a resource that says.
Verse 14. This is a confidence that we have in him.
We ask anything according to as well. He won't hear us, heareth us. And if we know that he hear us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. And so.
Collectively, we're able to take a matter to the Lord for a brother that has sinned.
Here talking about two cases. There's a brother that sins, but it's not a sin unto death.
He's prayed for and through prayers of the Saints and perhaps he himself.
Owning it, he's restored says.
Vinny Massey, his brother, sent a sin which is not unto death. He shall ask. He shall give him life with them that sin not unto death.
And so instead of the Lord taking this one in death.
He's restored.
But then it goes on to say there is a sin unto death. This could be a brother that we're talking about here that perhaps falls under.
Civil law or under the laws of the land somehow, and he's done something that.
Perhaps, perhaps prayer is.
00:20:01
Says that.
I do not say that he shall. He shall pray for it.
It may be something that between this one and the Lord that only the Lord himself can intervene.
Perhaps of a civil matter, it says here all unrighteousness is sin. There is a sin not unto death. What does it look, Lord, look for when there's sin? Repentance. So even though this man may have fallen under a civil law for something he has done.
It could be that if there's no repentance there, the Lord would take this one home.
In death, but if there's if he cries of the Lord and he repents about it.
The Lord is able to work.
With civil government.
Government of any sort and perhaps have the person's.
Crime sentence reduced forum but he ends up not being taken home and death.
There's a way out for him.
And so we know that the Lord is there working isn't He, in all sorts of ways for us. And we have that advantage as Christians to be able to go, as Brother pointed out, in prayer to the Lord, not just for ourselves but for others as well.
In verse nine of our chapter we have what is spoken of as the Kingdom of God and when you speak of the Kingdom.
Spoken of in different ways in Scripture, but it is a sphere of authority, isn't it? It's recognition of God's authority. And when we're born again, the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless you are born again. And so we are born into a sphere where God's authority is recognized. And I think that's very helpful. I.
Knows in Matthew's Gospel, it speaks of the Kingdom of heaven and there's other expressions to the Kingdom of the Father, the Kingdom of the Son, of his love, but they're all different aspects of this sphere of authority that we are in.
A brother made the comment some time ago that really helped me. Was the Kingdom of God is moral?
The Kingdom of Heaven is territorial, and he explained it in this way. Kingdom is a sphere that recognizes an authority, and so the Kingdom of heaven that you have so much in Matthew is recognition of Heaven's authority.
Now in the United States we have on our money, in God we trust, and in a certain sense the whole country is in that Kingdom of heaven. It doesn't mean that everybody's real at all, but there is a recognition in some way of the authority of heaven. If you go over to China, the rulers of that country are atheists. So that country, as far as the authorities, is not in the Kingdom of heaven.
But there are believers there that are in that Kingdom.
But when you deal with the Kingdom of God, I'd like to look at a verse in Romans chapter 14 that shows what we mean when we say that the Kingdom of God is moral.
Romans chapter 14 and verse 17.
For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink material things.
But righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, now those are not material things. Those are moral characteristics. Righteousness. If you recognize God's authority in your life, then it's going to be reflected in your way of life.
And so he goes on in this verse in chapter six of First Corinthians, where we're studying to deal with that, knowing not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards nor revilers.
00:25:09
Nor extortioners shall inherit the Kingdom of God. That's not characteristic of a person who is a true believer that recognizes God in the picture, that recognizes their responsibility to God. These things that are mentioned are not characteristic like you say, Brother David.
Murdered. Terrible.
Fell into terrible adultery.
And I sometimes say, I hear brethren say they can do that.
I say I would rather say they do that. I don't say they can because.
That's the old flesh working in them.
But that's not characteristic of a person in the Kingdom of God. And so if you are going on in that kind of sin.
It puts a big question mark up.
Have you truly been born into God's family? I can't look inside to make that judgment. God does. But if you truly recognize His authority, the Kingdom of God, why then these things that are mentioned are not going to be characteristic of you?
Do you agree with that, Tim?
I do, but I have a question for you. What does it mean for to inherit the Kingdom of God?
I don't know how to answer that, so I've always taken it just a little bit differently I guess to.
That, I mean, I agree entirely with what you said, but inheriting the Kingdom of God here seems to me to be that time when we come into the place where there's only that moral authority recognized. That would be the coming state. Or you could just say this would be those who go to heaven, which raises another very serious question about these verses as to how it is. But I think you've answered that as well. Believer may do these things, but they won't be characteristic of him.
To those who will end up in that coming place of glory in heaven, where this is the only thing that's acknowledged, this is not characteristic of them because they have a different life altogether.
Sometimes the Kingdom of God is viewed and it's outward characteristic of what is seen and evident. It's also called the Kingdom of God, like the parable of the tares and wheat and so on. So there's a mixture, but there God has a separating process at the at the time when the Lord comes and the the genuine ones that really inherit it.
Are only those that are really born again?
And none on this list qualify. They are disqualified.
God, it's interesting that when he wants to make his grace great, he that's what he's doing in this present dispensation. He is forgiving everybody that comes to him and asked for it. But many abuse that they pretend to enter in. They make a profession of Christianity and in that aspect they're seen as part of the Kingdom of God.
Or heaven. But they don't end up there because there's a separating process and so this is a warning.
We It's a wonderful thing. Paul was the chief of sinners. God chose him specially because he was the worst, because he wanted to magnify his grace. There's nothing that magnifies grace like a Sinner.
The list here of such were some of you. The Corinthians were in that category.
And by nature, everyone of us here is in that category. That's what our flesh is like if we let it go. And so God has chosen to magnify His grace through the work of Christ. It's a wonderful thing to be forgiven and all that. But the warning is, do not abuse God's grace. This list is a warning.
00:30:04
I think it's imparted to observe in that last.
Part of the first part of verse 11 That you refer to that.
The and such were some of you. That is the past tense. And so it's Paul the apostle writing by the Spirit is assuming that there's been a real work of the Spirit of God and that he is speaking to those who are real. Now there was a question asked yesterday about when do we actually rain with Christ? And I'd like to turn back to a verse in Matthew chapter 19 for a moment.
And I think it's relevant to what we're discussing, and I'll explain why in a minute in Matthew chapter 19.
And verse 27 it says, Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee.
What shall we have, therefore? And I think that idea, forsaking all ties into our chapter and what we're being asked to do here.
To be willing to be defrauded, to be willing for the sake of the Lord Jesus to give something up. And then it goes on. In verse 28, Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon 12 Thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. I do not believe that this is figurative language.
I believe that there will be a role for those disciples with a replacement for Judas.
And I believe in that administration as well. Each believer, like it says earlier in our chapter and we were talking about yesterday, we have a role in judging activities on this earth.
And incredibly, even though we're less than angels, if I can do this and make this analogy, doing a review of the behavior and the actions and the execution of angels, incredible to think about. And now that the relevance to what we're talking about is that we are new creatures in Christ, there's been a real work in our lives. We were these things, and now we're something new and we have this future ahead of us with Christ.
To be active in his administration. And it is important that we have the moral character now in the light of what we, in light of what Christ has made us and of what we're going to be with him in the future.
Anything of that Daniel Chapter 7.
It speaks of.
Verse 18 but the.
Saints of the Most High so take the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom forever, even forever and ever. So what Robert is referring to?
Is our portion in that coming day as the New Jerusalem? New Jerusalem and Heavenly Jerusalem are not the same thing, the New Jerusalem?
Is composed of the Church of God Hebrews chapter 12, where the Church of the first born ones.
Sometimes is mistaken. It doesn't refer to Christ in that verse. In Hebrews chapter 12, we are the Church of the first foreign ones, that is, we are in a particularly.
Special place in relation to.
The administration of the Kingdom in that coming day, we're going to reign with Christ. He's not going to reign without us.
And so.
Robert has referred to the New Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven. You look up and you'll see the new Jerusalem illuminated. It's going to shed its beams all over the millennial earth. But the first born ones are the Church of God. None of the Old Testament Saints in that group. And we will be administering the the Angel.
Will step back. They will no longer be in control of the world. It's like a Prime Minister Trudeau and he took office in Canada a few years ago.
00:35:00
He chose a new cabinet entirely. Mr. Harper's cabinet was completely dismissed.
He had a new cabinet and he administered through that. So the Lord will not administer the coming world through the angels. They are the executors of God's judgment at the present time, but not in the millennial state condition of things. It will be the Saints who will take that place of administration. Is that?
I was looking at.
Few verses in Galatians 5 and very similar what we have here.
And 1St Corinthians only. In Galatians chapter 5 we have the remedy for a given.
The spirit that dwells within us.
True Christian position before God in Christ as Spirit that dwells within us is a power that separates us from those things.
That were mentioned in First Corinthians 55 or 6:00. So we have a list of almost the very same things here in Galatians.
Flesh. The things that the flesh will do if it's not brought under check and it says that.
The end of verse 21. They that which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.
So the spirit that dwelt within us.
Produces fruit.
For God's glory, it produces a character within us.
That is able to shine outward.
A character that reflects Christ to the world.
But that is.
Our true position before God is in spirit, not in the flesh.
In in Corinthians we haven't hear more given to us as what the flesh produces without the Spirit perhaps.
But the true.
Position that we have in Christ before God and Him is in the Spirit.
But if we, we allow those things of the flesh to go on on hindered, but certainly produce these things that we're reading about.
The question is, like Doug mentioned, is using the grace of God as a license to continue to do them. That is condemned very seriously in Jude, he says.
There in verse four says, For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.
Ungodly men turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the danger in our day is to say, oh God's a gracious God, you'll forgive. Doesn't matter what we do after we get saved. It does matter and that's what he's addressing here. And it's interesting in our chapter in verse 11 it says.
Such were some of you. And notice what follows. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, set apart. But ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. And so how important it is to realize that this is not to be characteristic. In the epistle to the Ephesians, Paul says that these things are never to even be named amongst Jews.
Like to read just two verses in Romans 6. Seems like they cover this too. 1St 2 verses. What shall we say then? Should we continue and sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead descent?
Live any longer there is.
Look at the verse in Luke three and eight in Matthew three and eight that speaks about fruits that are meat for repentance.
In my margin for meat for repentance, that says.
Fruits that are answerable to amendment of life the.
The correction.
00:40:00
Of our life and to live it for him in a way that's pleasing. I'm sorry to say though, I'm still confused about verse 9.
Does that mean then, if I can take you back for a moment and ask the question again, if one is confessed that they are a believer but yet they continue to live this life?
As as we have been speaking about that they should maybe go back and check themselves. Would that be a fair?
Paul says to the Corinthians, examine yourselves whether you be in the faith. I think he had questions about them.
And when a person goes on in this kind of sin, brethren, I don't think we do any good by saying, oh, they got saved when they were young, they just gotten away from the Lord.
That just gives them a free pass to continue their sin. The keyword what you read there is repentance. Repentance means a change in thinking and that is so important in dealing with these matters. Has there been repentance? There can be tears without repentance.
Repentance of John the Baptist says bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. In other words, fruit doesn't just get produced in one day to the next. It may be over a course of time, and so if there's true repentance, it will show in time.
But also on the other side of that truth is that the believer can never be lost again, right? I do believe that, and I think that is extremely important to recognize. I just say that I find that there is a real backlash against that because of some who say they're believers and live like the devil. So to take it up on the other side.
Which goes along perfectly with what you're saying. Is it that a true believer cannot continue in these things? It's not possible.
And perhaps the main thing that I know about that is in Hebrews chapter 12, we have a Father that will not let us, can't happen. And it says at the end of that Hebrews 12.
In verse.
Justifying the verse here.
In verse eight he says if you be without chastisement, where of all that's all true believers are partakers, then are you ******** and not sons?
And so if you've trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and you fall into some sin and you're convicted about it and Satan brings in that doubt of dark into your heart to say, well, I was, I even saved in the first place.
It's good to examine, yes, but do you love the Lord Jesus? Do you feel that sin? You want to get it right with God? That's because He put even that there. It's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance, and it's the work of the Father to restore. It cannot be that one of Christ's sheep will ever be lost.
I'd like to.
Follow up on the thoughts that have been expressed with we've been talking about God's part a little bit and keeping his sheep true, but I think there's a very important verse in Second Timothy chapter 2 and verse 19.
The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them that are his, and I'm thankful the Lord knows them that are his. It's not my job to figure out who saved, who's not saved, but if somebody is misbehaving, I have no basis for saying they're a believer.
And then it says at the end of the verse, let everyone that name with the name of Christ depart from iniquity. No matter what you feel, no matter how you're behaving, if you're going to name the name of Christ, it is your responsibility to repent, as has been mentioned, and turn away entirely from the sins. There is no basis in Scripture anywhere for anybody who name the name of Christ to continue for one minute in sin.
Tells us that in first John 2, doesn't it?
My little children, I write these things on to you that you said not.
00:45:00
Where every attack of the enemy there is a divine remedy. It's good to see in these verses that everything that the enemy may seek to bring against a believer, an unbeliever, God has something provided to help us defend. We know from first John that were opposed by the world, the flesh and the devil. And the Father opposes the world, the Spirit opposes the flesh, and Christ opposes the devil.
We have the 10 commandments in the first part of the 10 commandments, our obligations and our conduct towards God, the last part obligations and our conduct towards man. So we have in verse nine you have things where you're taking advantage of another for pleasure. In verse 10, we're taking advantage of another's possessions. People seek pleasure, people seek possession, but God has given us a remedy. The last verse of our chapter.
With the price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods. So for our body it seeks pleasure. Our spirit seeks things to consume it as well but God has provided something there's a remedy. It says in verse 11 year washed you're sanctified, you're justified if a judge comes into a courtroom, he has washed himself. He has put on robes he has sat down where he is to.
Carry on his duties.
And so each one of us, we are obligated to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of it. And it's a solemn thing. And we we fail sometimes, sometimes miserably. First Corinthians 4 says, Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the councils of the heart. Then shall every man have praise of God. So there's things that we only know in part and we evaluate in part, but we are obligated.
Man seeks pleasure, man seeks possessions, but God has given us a body and his Spirit to be submitted to God. But again, for every difficulty there is a divine remedy. I'd like to read some verses in the context of what we covered yesterday and continue with today. Think of the apostle Paul writing where there's a difficulty and he's trying to remedy it and he's providing a divine prescription for a work of the enemy in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 20. I just like to read 5 verses.
Think of these, think of the individuals to whom they were addressed, and how they might respond. Philippians 3, verse 24. Our conversation, Our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we looked for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working, whereby He is able even to submit, subdue all things unto Himself.
Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and long for my joy and crown, so stand fast and the Lord, my dearly beloved, I beseech Yodius, and I beseech Synteke. He uses the word beseech twice, one for each of them, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true young fellow, help those women with labor with me in the gospel. Think of those individuals who are written. They were brought. Their citizenship is in heaven.
We look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus. He's going to change our vile body. The end is in the Father's house. We're pilgrims in the wilderness. The end is in the Father's house. For every difficulty there is a divine prescription. There were 10 commandments. Conduct toward God, conduct toward man. There's the seeking of the enemy, seeking pleasure, seeking possessions. But God has given us our body and our spirit to be fully yielded, and He can satisfy us with pleasures forevermore.
You can satisfy us with treasures in heavenly places. In Christ Jesus we have it all, and if our thoughts are lifted into heaven, into what we have, then the remedy is applied and God can provide to us what we need to resolve the difficulties.
It's a wonderful thing when a soul gets saved and comes to know the Lord as his Savior.
To be able to administer forgiveness to that person in the outward sentence.
To to wash them, to baptize them, to identify them with the name of the Lord Jesus, to give them a clean sheet to start out with as their new Christian life. That's what that's what it's Speaking of here in verse.
00:50:07
11.
But ye are washed, ye are sanctified, set apart in holiness.
Identified with the Lord Jesus, the righteousness that that is becomes ours through faith in Him. So how wonderful to to administer this and treat people in this way, but the danger is not to abuse that afterwards.
We recognize that we are set apart, sanctified. What a wonderful thing. Who is it that's done the sanctifying? It's God. And when He sets you apart, He sets you apart with a purpose in mind. He wants to use you. I like the illustration one time.
Of a brother that you used, he says. I go to the grocery store and as I go down the aisle with my card, I pull off a can of.
This and I pulled off a box of this. What are you doing with those things? I'm setting them apart. I have a purpose in mind to use those things for. So, dear young person and all of us, how important to realize that when God saves us, He not only washes us, but He sets us apart. He sanctifies us not for any earthly purpose, but for a divine purpose.
And how little we seem to grasp that. And I think if we had grasped the immensity of the fact that the God of the universe has set me apart for his purposes, then there wouldn't be the tendency to go back to these things. They are part of the world where the judgment of God hangs over it. No, they are, we are part of now, a completely different people.
Fact. The word Church in the original ecclesia means called apart, called out ones. We are not any longer a part of this world system. We are a people that are set apart.
And neither do we have part in the sense of the flesh, do we?
I think that's a really important thing when we come to these verses. We if we see verse 11 as a work of God.
We certainly understand that about justified. We know what that means to be cleared of every charge before God by faith in Christ.
Before that is put the setting apart that was mentioned, and then before that is the washing. Except the man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
Cannot see it. I think it says John 35. And so it's really the work of the Spirit of God to take the word of God and produce a new life there. And that makes us into something different, something that we weren't before. The old life is still there to be kept in the place of death. That's the truth we have in Romans 6. But this new life is something entirely new before God. And that's why it can say that here. Such were some of you.
Absolutely. Before we were saved, this is what characterized us, but it doesn't any longer. We have another life that this has nothing to do with, and it's so important to understand that.
I just go back for a moment to what it says in verse 9.
Speaks about the effeminate or the new translation has those who make women of themselves, which is a big thing in the world today.
Or abusers of themselves with mankind, sodomites and the terrible things that are all around us now in the teaching in the world is that people are Born This Way. But the Word of God doesn't teach that.
It doesn't teach it that God made us that way anyway. It does say that we were born that way in terms of having an old nature, because that's what this is. We're all born with the nature that wants to sin. And some of us might be more prone to some sins than others, but these are characteristic works of the flesh. And when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, God doesn't work and he puts a new life that this is not what we are any longer. And so if the world would say to a Christian, you can't help it that you're a certain way because this is how you were born.
00:55:00
That isn't true. When you accepted the Lord as Savior, you now became something different. And so it can truly be said such for some of you, but not any longer. You're a new man, a new life in Christ, entirely different now before God. And it doesn't matter what the world says of us trying to characterize us along with those people that they study in the world. The Word of God tells us what we are. We don't listen to them. We take up this book and listen to God.
So we have a power to resist that flesh. I will not be brought under the power of any. That's the mindset to to walk in the new life. And so a Christian has the power.
I think it's important, like you mentioned it, Tim, that we recognize that we are dead to sin. That's the position we occupy now. There is a dead man laying out in on the floor out here. And you, he was a pretty bad drunkard in his life, and you can give him all the alcohol you want. Is he going to reach out and take it with his hand? No. Why not? He's dead.
And that's our position. And so Scripture says, consider yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. I think sometimes we make accommodation. I don't feel that dead inside doesn't feel that way. We're not talking about feelings, brethren. We're talking about what God says we are. Christ died for our sins. We died with him. And so God looks us at us as dead to sin.
So don't make accommodations for the flesh to accommodate its desires. Yes, We were born that way. And I what they say sometimes I was born that way. Yeah, you were. I was born when I was a boy. I told lies. I'm thankful I had parents that discipline me for telling lies. And I learned that I couldn't get away with it.
You're going to accommodate lying in a child.
It's going to get worse as time goes on. Are you going to accommodate murder?
They can all say I was born that way, yeah.
It's sin, but we in our Christian position are dead to sin, alive to God, so let's not give place to the flesh in its demands.
What does it mean?
It says, all things are lawful unto me.
Sounds bad, like it's a contradiction the way you just said. I don't think it is. Help us understand that.
In verse 13, perhaps is something of an answer meets for the belly in the belly for meats.
That God shall destroy both it and them. In other words, there was a occupation with what was offered in sacrifice to idols and.
Is it lawful? Yes, it was lawful. And he says in another chapter here in Corinthians, if you go to the marketplace and.
Eat whatever is set before you asking no question for conscience sake. But if anyone says this was offered and sacrificed to idols.
Then don't eat. So there was a there was an occupation with foods in in connection. I'd take it to be that. Do you understand that way?
It doesn't doesn't mean that a Christian can commit murder and it's not sin anymore. It means that the law is not the regulation of what's right and wrong. Christ is.
Christ is the the law. We imitate Him. If we imitate him, we will do what's right according to the law.
Couldn't have been brought up in a better context, could it?
The Spirit of God it just explained that there are a great many things that are not allowable for the Christians, so we can't get confused on that point.
It it means it's like you're saying it's all legitimate things are lawful for me, but that still is not my position in Christian liberty. And he's now going to go on and show how as Christians we are called into a liberty, but that isn't a liberty to do our own wills. It's a liberty to do the will of God even as Christ please, not himself.
01:00:09
And so I believe that's really the case and and in particular as you brought out by the dog about the law.
It's not the measure at all. It's Christ himself.
The standard has been raised higher by Christ and the Old Testament isn't wasn't good enough. The Lord the Lord said you were. Even to go as far as loving your enemies. The law never required that. So we as Christians have a much higher standard.
In Colossians chapter 3, verse 3.
Colossians 33.
For your death and your life is in with Christ and God. When Christ is our life shall appear, then shall ye appear within, and glory mortified. Our Fourier members, which are upon the earth fornication. I'm seeing this inordinate affection and evil scientific and courageousness, which is idolatry, or with things safe. The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.
And then and the whiskey also walks sometimes when you live and down. But now you also put up all these things and your Rathmatus. That's for me. 50 communication over your mouth.
The apostle Paul was brought up under the wall, was schooled in the law, and the law lists a list of things that thou shalt live.
We have this. To me, all things are lawful.
But all things are not expedient. Then he repeats that again in the 10th chapter.
In verse 23, all things are lawful for me, but all things are not obedient.
All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Also, Paul also speaks about the Christian life is running a race.
All things are lawful.
In that sense, I'm not under the law. It's not the works that I do under the law that justify me before God, as was the case in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament, in Christianity, we're under grace.
Sins that I've committed or dealt with by the work of Christ on Calvary's cross. So it's not a question. All things are lawful for me. It's a matter of I'm not under the law and it's not what I do. Those things are dealt with by Christ always cross. They're still the matter of that our Christian life. All things are not expedient. Yes, it's not a matter of my justification before God. Those things that I that I do, but it's not expedient in my Christian life. The apostle spoke of running a race and putting aside those things that hinder.
You know, if I'm at work and my steel toe boots and I've got some tools in my pocket and I'm trying to run a race, I don't go, I don't get very far. Put aside those things, those weights that so easily beset us all things are not expedient. These things, they're not a matter of justification for God because it was dealt with Christ, but they don't help us in our Christian pathway.
There are two there are two aspects of Washington here. I believe that ye are washed is being quickened by the Holy Spirit of God.
Morally put into a new position.
Not the washing of water by it's not the washing of the blood of Christ here. It's the washing of water by the word were put into a new position before God born again. But it's on the belief and the apprehension of the finished work of Christ.
That we are justified.
That's a question of the expiation of sin, and that requires the blood of Christ. Now the whole thing revolves around the work of the Spirit of God.
In setting apart an individual for blessing and imparting that new life, that divine life, that's the washing I believe. Now sanctification here is in the absolute sense.
But sanctification is also used in a practical sense. That is, we should be more sanctified this year than we were last year from the world. That's in the practical.
01:05:09
Practical sense of the word here it is absolute or positional. Is that right?
I believe that what the brother read there in Colossians is very important, lines up with the chapter that we have.
Here in let's just read a couple of verses there, or read them over again.
Colossians, chapter 3.
Says uh.
Verse 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ and God. When Christ, who is your life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
This is a Christian living.
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, through the list fornication on cleanness and ordinate affection, evil, concupence and covetousness, which is idolatry for which sake.
The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.
Children of disobedience, we don't want to be.
Like.
Those in the world that are going on and disobedience.
But if we give way to that flesh that's in us, we can imitate some of those things. It should not be. Our Christian character has been pointed out. It would not be because of the faithfulness of Christ would intervene in some way. But we have that flesh within us that's able to do these things, if not mortified, meaning cut off.
Is cut off. How do we do that? The Lord?
Has uttered on the cross. But we have a practicality too, don't we? We have we have a practice that we're to practice these things. And so we have the the flesh in us that fall in nature day by day. There's things that come up and how do we deal with it? How do we cut it off to keep it from acting? It was one verse that's encouraging to me.
And concerning this is in Peter first Peter.
Chapter 4.
And verse one.
It isn't for as much then, as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves. Likewise with the same mind. Now we know that the Lord Jesus died for us as a man.
In flesh of the body, but he had no sin within He He wasn't tempted like you and I in the same way.
He didn't have a fallen nature within himself that would be subject to things of the world and and the lust and everything that's around. He didn't have a nature that would be attracted to those things. But we do.
When it mentions arming ourselves.
Likewise, with the same mind, it means.
A dependent mind. We should have dependence in prayer upon the Father.
A submissive mind.
A lowly mind, we should try to imitate our Lord Jesus in every way. And then it goes on to say, for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.
I wondered about that.
But you know, if we have an attraction to something, and we do, oftentimes after we're saved, we have to admit it, we have the old nature within us.
How do we not give way to that?
We cut it off.
We suffer, don't we?
We don't give the flesh its way, we don't give that will of ours its way. We don't allow what we're lusting after to have to do that thing. We cut it off, but we suffer for it. The flesh suffers for it, but it says here it ceased from sin.
The flesh suffers, we suffer for it, but we don't sin. And that's that's the key thing.
Oftentimes we're attracted to things, we're tempted to do things, and it's if we don't allow it, we're going to suffer for it. Inwardly, the flesh suffers. Let it suffer. We don't sin. Don't give way to it. That's been encouragement to me, I hope. Maybe somebody else.
01:10:18
Would be encouraged by that not to give way, but cut it off.
#318.
Remark Before we pray, we read in Exodus chapter 30, we read of the labor, but it's significant that there are no dimensions that are given.
So the priest was to avail himself of that, and we are thankful that no dimensions are given for that neighbor.
Preserved Blameless, 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Open—Richard Mackewich
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.
A couple versions before we pray.
John 21.
John 21, verse 3. Simon Peter.
I go fishing, they say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth and entered a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing.
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not.
It was Jesus. Jesus said unto them, Children, have ye any meat?
They answered him no.
And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find they cast therefore. And now they were not able to draw for the multitude of fishing.
Verse nine And as soon as they were coming to the land, they saw a fire of coal there.
And the fish laid there off.
Brett verse 12 Jesus said unto them, Come.
Dying shall we pray?
Like to start this afternoon. I won't take up too much time.
There are others more gifted than I am.
But I want to look at.
What we've been talking about today and trying to put it together for the young people.
First Thessalonians chapter 5 if you would.
Verse 22.
This is going to keep you young people, brothers and sisters from a lot of problems.
And it's simply a simple verse.
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Verse 22.
Abstain.
From all appearance.
Of evil.
We had a lot of discussion about various things of the flesh.
But you need to realize, young people, that is evil.
Comes from the pit of hell and it's to destroy your Christian testimony.
One of the burdens I have young people.
The empty chairs. I was a young person just like many of you came to conferences.
Had tremendous ministry. Gordon Hayhoe, Clarence Lundin, Paul Gladden, Chapter Brown, AC Brown, Various Brethren.
And yet I reflect on Otter Lake days, I reflect on some of the photographs and I have to ask myself, where are they? What happened?
What was the beginning of the departure?
And I believe we lose sight of the next verse.
A beloved brother now home with the Lord Garden Hayhoe. He was to tell us if we get these three.
Mixed in order. There's certainly going to be a fall.
So I want to look at the 23rd verse.
Very God of peace.
Peace.
You want peace in your life, You want peace in your home, You want peace in the assembly. I believe this verse gives us.
The solution?
The next verse says sanctify you holy or that John gave a nice little word on sanctification. Well, that's the very first thing that's mentioned. If you want peace, you need to be a separated young person and it's hard. This world has many things out there for you, many attraction.
Sanctify you wholly not health half hearted.
Lot 5050 that he wants you wholly separated for him.
Why? Because he wants to use you young brothers. He wants to use you young sisters.
And now we have this solemn verse.
Part of it I pray God.
Realize in any measure that your brethren are praying for you.
They love you.
They don't want you to make shipwreck.
They love you. You're the brother for whom Christ died. You're the sister for whom Christ died. And the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, no doubt for the gospel, but for you young people in this room, your brethren are praying for you.
What are the three things that Paul mentions?
I pray God your whole spirit.
Soul body.
Be preserved, blameless.
Unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, faithful as He then calleth you, who also will do it.
We have the very things that we were talking about today, Your spirit.
Their soul.
And your body, a lot of it had to do with the body.
Doesn't mention if we get these three mixed up for body controls. Everything there's failure.
If our souls control our life, failure.
Spirit of God touches our hearts. It was pointed out in Timothy. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Spirit.
Oh, you're gonna allow the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit today. He loves you, dear young people.
More than Duncan Tell.
We were speaking a little too about Shall we continue in sin?
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That grace may abound.
But you know, the devil's been quite busy with that. He has a new outlook.
And it's called the unconditional love of God.
It doesn't matter what you do, It doesn't matter what you say or where you go. God loves you.
Satan is usually not to blind your eyes.
Verse here says that the Pauls desire, and it's the desire of your brethren that you be blameless.
Sons of God, harmless.
And he prays for the young people.
Speaks to my own heart. We really as brethren, pray for our young people.
Do we really have a godly concern?
A lot of this really doesn't take place until you have your own children.
I remember.
Long time ago there was a conference in.
Cago Falls and it was called Camp Noah.
And my wife and I went for a walk with Don and John. We were walking and we came across Brother Asheville.
And his wife. Two kids.
And after we exchange greetings, I said to my wife afterwards.
Wonder if any of our sons will marry any of their daughters?
And my wife says, well, we better start praying for them now.
Let's start praying for our young people now. So when that girl comes at the conference, wow. Or when that guy is there, you've been prayed for. And to be accounted blameless because you get older, young people, that's one of the qualifications of an elder and Deacon is to be blameless. That's a solemn thing, isn't it?
There's failure on all of us. Think of it. The God of peace.
Set you apart wholly, and I pray God, your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, how is this going to be fulfilled? Turn over to 2nd Corinthians. Second Corinthians?
Chapter 13.
Verse 11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace.
The God of love and peace shall be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the Saints salute you.
But this last verse is the answer to 1St Thessalonians.
How is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ going to preserve you?
How is the love of God going to preserve you blameless? And now is the Spirit of God going to do it? And I believe we have it simply in this 14th verse, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though you are rich, he became poor.
That ye through his poverty might be rich. The grace of God, you ever stopped to think about in your life the grace of God? Think of it, dear young person, you by the grace of God then allowed to be born in a godly home.
Thousands of children in this world have not that privilege. The grace of God has seen fit to place you where you are, that you might grow up in Him.
But as we get older, we find the Galatians, they had difficulties.
Problems.
The last verse in Galatians says the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.
And wow, so even us, his older brother, we need the grace of God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I enjoyed the comment at the hymn thing.
It is I be not afraid.
I was petrified of coming up here yesterday. I had a different thought in mind. I wanted to continue on with the truth of the one place.
The Lord seemed to put this on my heart. How are we going to with everything negative that we've heard this morning and the positive things, some of it probably went right over your head, but here's the positive thing that you think of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Love of God.
That's for the soul. The spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is for our spirit. The love of God is for our souls. And the rush that really touches my heart.
See, the failure in my own life is simply this, David could say.
Thou hast, in love to my soul, delivered it from the lowest hell.
And sometimes young people, we tend to react like dogs. We have this chain around their neck and we could run all over and do what you want and we take off and we get to the end and boom, it throws us back.
The love of God, young people, that's going to throw you back. It's the love of God, Jude says. To keep yourselves in that love for God's soul of the world He gave his only begotten Son.
Are you saved this afternoon, dear young person brought up in a Christian home? Heard the truth many times, no doubt. But have you embraced the love of the truth?
Read in Second Thessalonians so that they're going to be those who refuse the love of the truth.
They might be saved. What is the love of the truth? That's Jesus. It's Jesus. Jesus. He's the love of the truth. I am the way, the truth.
Abstained from all appearance of evil.
And then we have this one that was spoken quite a bit about the body, flesh. What's going to keep us?
Communion of the Holy Ghost. Wow, that's powerful.
We like to sing often when we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word.
It's low, there is a sense and the large not here. The Lords up in heaven seated at the right hand and their majesty on high. He's our advocate, He's our intercessor. He goes into the holy place. Who's down here, Spirit of God? Do we have fellowship with the Spirit of God? What does he tell us in Philippians? Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest.
What's other things are lovely. Thank God, these things when you come to these meetings, your young people.
What are you thinking about?
Are you thinking about this afternoon after the gospel meeting tonight?
We've been praying for that.
The gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the love of God.
Poured forth for you and I. So again in Thessalonians he says, I pray your whole spirit.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit.
Soul, the love of God.
The whole what manner of love the Father at the bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God. You've been brought into the very family of God as dear children and he.
We're not supposed to use this. We're proud, but.
There's a sense, I believe, that he takes special interest and realization.
Has thou not considered my servant job?
What a privileged Job had. And yet here we have the communion of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God, taking the things of God, making them real to our hearts, that we would be preserved and we would be kept. Thessalonians, it says faithful is he that will do it.
He which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.
Let's hold fast, dear young people. Let's not become an empty chair. Let's value who we are, the child of God, a son of God. Walk in the dignity of your calling. We're not of the world, we're not of the night, but of the day. It's a practical thing. And yet so often that which attracts their heart is YouTube.
The Internet, various things.
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I'm guilty of it too. I punch in sometimes and I want to see what's the history of the Plymouth Brethren. Fatal mistake, Fatal mistake. Everybody out there is against him.
I wonder how many in here are for the Lord Jesus? Are you for Him whom to know is life eternal? He wants to give you a happy life to your young people. He wants to provide that beautiful bride for you. He wants to provide that husband for you that's going to take care of you and nurture you. Bring the family up to the end of the meetings, the family that can be used for the blessing of others.
But again, if we get these three mixed up.
Spirit, soul and body, there's going to be failure, and the body is a very powerful thing. I trust I can say this without offending anybody. But some of you are getting to that point where sexual desire has a tremendous force, and that's what destroys a lot of young people. You need to keep it in check.
You need to think what sort of things are true.
Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are good, report think on these things that'll come in time. But if you allow the flesh to act.
Creating problems, heartache and sorrow.
And I was speaking to a brother one time and he was telling me.
How he used to do things just to get back at his father.
Their young people don't do anything. They get back at anybody.
You want to do something to get back, get back with God. Think of the love that he has for you. Think of what he's done for you. The Lord Jesus said this. Do Remember Me. There's going to be a loaf and a cup on the table tomorrow. Have you ever taken that step of faith, realizing by faith the Lord Jesus is here? What a privilege it is, dear young people, to be able to be partakers.
Of the Lord's Supper, not just people who witness it, but to be a partaker.
Of that which is very dear to him, he shed his blood.
Died, Rose living. Adjust these three thoughts as we try to connect some of it from this morning and yesterday. You have a spirit, you have a soul, and you have a body. The devil doesn't care which one he attacks.
He's going to get you. I sometimes pray for some of my young brothers because I know they're on the devils hit list. They're seeking to live a godly life.
Godly. Oh, let's pray for our young people. Rather, let's lift him up in prayer. I can't put my head on your shoulders. If there's life, it's going to manifest itself.
Made these thoughts grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, love of God.
And the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.
Restoration, Ruth 1
Open—Francois Leger
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I have on my heart to share about the restoration.
Route chapter one.
Verse one we read now it came to pass.
In the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land.
In a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab.
He and his wife and his two sons.
You know, when there was a famine in the land.
It was because the Lord. The Lord was not pleased with his people.
There was something wrong going on with the people of God.
And this man here, Elimelech.
Choose to take his family.
The country of Moa.
He was not a good leader. He should have humbled himself before the Lord.
And learn what the Lord had to.
To say to him, to the people of God.
Do you feel that there is a famine in your assembly?
You know, a few years ago, after a Bible meeting, a reading meeting, I went to talk to some of the younger brother, yes, at the back, the assembly and I shared with them how good a meeting we had.
And the first one said to me tonight it was dry. There was nothing, nothing for us tonight.
There's a famine here. Oh, I spoke to the other brother and he said to me, oh, it was a delight. Tonight the Lord spoke to me.
So I went to the first one, I said.
What are you enjoying in the Word of God these days? I don't have time to read these days. I have so much to do, you know, and.
You know the fanman was in his own soul.
And he became critical of the meeting and the assembly.
You know, sometimes.
We may think that there is a famine, but the family is our own heart.
But in that situation here, it was something that happened in the people of God.
And as we said earlier, the man decided to go, and in the country of Moab he was not LED of the Lord to do so.
And I think that for the father Zero family.
We we have responsibility in connection with our family where we're leading them.
You know we read the scripture that the blessing of the Lord make it rich, and he has no sorrows but it.
There was sorrows in connection with the choice that this man made here.
And we read toward the end of the chapter that his wife, after losing a husband and her two sons, came back to the country.
Came back to Bethlehem, the House of bread. It's interesting that.
After experiencing the loss of her husband and her two children that she heard in the land of Moab.
That the Lord had visited his people with bread.
And I wonder, you know, how that she heard that.
And I believe that my brother was talking about some empty chairs, thought we have some kind of a responsibility to reach out.
To those who have left.
That he may hear where they are about the fact that the Lord. Doesn't that change?
The Lord is gracious desire to restore.
It's interesting that Naomi came back and we know with Ruth.
And.
The first thing that Ruth would do when she comes back, she takes a very humble.
Condition she goes and gathered the pieces of wheat there. That was a portion of the poor.
The way back is to come with ability to the Lord.
It's interesting in chapter 2 of Ruth how that we find in the person of Boaz a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Beautiful to see that Bojas means that in him there is strength.
And we find that.
And a humble condition. She would go and gather the wheat in the corner field. And then it just happened that that land belonged to Boaz.
And Boaz noticed her, and he would reach out and talk to her.
Interesting. Then verse eight we read the chapter 2. Boaz would say to her go not to glean to another field.
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Go from hands, but abide here fast by my maiden.
Ruth She received direction from Boaz.
And verse 9.
We read have I not charged a young man that they shall not touch thee There she received protection at the end of verse nine and drink of that which the young man I've tried.
Boaz provides a refreshment.
And in verse 13.
Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my Lord.
For that thou hast comfort in me.
And the last spoken friendly unto my head I handmade.
There is comfort coming from Boaz and then we read that she comes back home and with a good portion.
But before that, in verse 14 we read that Bohas said unto her, At meal time, Come thou hit her, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.
There was communion there.
You know, recently I've been struck about a brother who has left the Assembly five years ago.
And we kept in touch, you know, through the through the years. And one I would try to reach his conscience once in a while, he would he always told me that it was time to end the conversation.
But recently the Lord allowed some difficulties in his life and.
He phoned me one day about the fact that he surrendered to the Lord, came back to the Lord in his life.
And you travel one hour and a half to come to meeting.
And somebody told him, well, why don't you find a church, you know, near where you live? I mean, don't, don't travel that distance. He says. No, no, no, no.
I want to go and give thanks to the Lord. I want to go back to Him.
You know what is attracting him to meeting is the Lord. He wants to be in fellowship. He wants to be thankful to the Lord.
I just want to read a verse in Galatians chapter one in connection with that.
Galatians chapter one.
As we know in current, they were wrong teaching there. We're trying to bring back the law.
But the first thing that Paul would say to them was trying to reach a conscience in verse 6.
He said on Marvel.
That you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, and to another gospel.
You know they were removed from him. They have lost sight of the Lord Jesus.
And now they were in a state of Seoul where they were ready to receive another gospel.
A couple of weeks ago a brother and a sister came to our house and they had some question.
And the desire to leave the assembly.
They came and they presented their case and gave the reason why they want to leave the assembly.
And I thought about that verse.
You know, if we lose sight of the Lord Jesus in the midst, we may verify that going to another place might be more convenient.
You know, I I ask a question that a couple if the apostle Paul was to come here.
It was on a Saturday that we met like tomorrow morning, like on Sunday morning. What would he have to say to us? We have to say a different message of what we read here.
They said no.
But when I read in one Corinthians chapter one, verse 10, I beseech you, brethren, by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that there be no division among you.
With Paul still mentioned that to the Christian, it will probably have to exhort many of us.
About living in a life more consistent toward him, yes, but publicly he would have to say to us that division is not of the Lord.
In the course of the conversation.
The question of the veil came, you know, and.
And the person said, well, you know, I can get along with the veil or you know, they don't wear veiled on mine. Ask a question. I said, what about the angels? Have they changed their culture since 2000 years ago?
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You know a sister wears a veil because of the Angel.
Because we read in Ephesians chapter 3 that God is teaching the principalities to a church.
But what I'm trying to say is that.
If we lose sight of the Lord Jesus.
We're on the way to compromise.
I remember after the division of 91 I lost many of my friends in the assembly.
They went to other places.
To many different places.
And what I've found in many of these people is that it was one compromise after the other one.
I still love these people, We're going to spend eternity together, but I cannot break bread with them on Sunday morning.
Because of all these compromises.
I have a burn on my heart because.
My youngest son has been very much influenced by other Christian groups.
About people who are trying to influence in many ways. And you know, we are being tested, each one of us.
If we're just looking for activities or for a group of people.
We may be deceived.
But if we are seeking the Lord.
Will be preserved.
There is much today about the gospel people. They want to go out for the gospel.
But you know God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. It is so important the two of them go together.
You know as I share some time.
With the brother who came back recently.
I was encouraged to hear from him his desires, a renewed desire now toward the Lord.
He told me, and I'm so tired these days, he says I'm getting up at 4:30 in the morning to spend time in the word of God because I need it. I need the Lord in my life.
On the other hand.
When we met that couple.
They are ready to compromise the word of God just to.
Accommodate them.
You know, it's interesting in the.
In the Gospel of Mark when the Lord speaks about.
The woman there who poured a perfume on the feet of the Lord.
It is said that wheresoever the gospel will be preached, it will be told about that woman, about what she did. Why? Why does it say that?
You know that woman? She.
Poured a precious ointment on the Lord in appreciation for who He was.
And some of the disciples would say, well, it's a waste. You know, we could have given that money to the poor.
But the Lord took her defense.
And the Lord said, where the gospel will be preached, we will speak about what that woman did.
And you know.
I believe the Father desires that the fruit of the gospel in our life would be that we would appreciate his Son, who would value him above all, because a Father finds all his delight in him.
You know, as I said earlier, they are people who would like to try to accommodate themselves when they go on Sunday morning to worship.
And I like a little illustration. This is a father invites his family's children for a meal on Saturday morning, and they all come.
And then the meal is served at the table.
And one of them takes his plate and goes to the basement, The other one goes in the living room.
You know your 1 Ticket slate goes to the patio. The father would say hey where are you going?
Well, that we appreciate Mom's food. It's delicious. Thank you so much for the invitation.
But I thought I would say, hey, I want to commune with you. I would like to commune with you.
I'm glad that you're taking my food, but I would like to have communion with you.
And I believe that we rob God.
Upjoin His glory when we just do our own way.
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Not giving God the glory. By being gathered to the Lord's name, we're giving God the glory.
As our brother was saying, if we look at the history of those who have been gathered the Lord's name, we have to put our heads down.
But it deserves the glory.
So may the Lord give us to have a fresh vision of Himself as the head of the Church.
As the one who deserves our praise, as we will do tomorrow morning if the Lord has not come.
That we would do like.
Like Naomi?
To if we have failed, if we have missed the path, to come back with humility and to find in the Lord Jesus.
Everything that we need, direction, refreshments, guidance.
Communion.
This only will keep us.
Daniel
Open—Bernie Roossinck
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They appreciate it, Brother Richard. Your thoughts?
And care for the young people.
Some of the things we've had this morning.
Before us in regard to living a life that is pleasing and honoring to the Lord.
Kind of struck me.
And.
I know I'm not a young person anymore, but I'm not that far removed from it.
And I want you to know your young people, how valuable you are.
How much the Lord loves you.
How much we love you.
And I would like to bring out a few things from Daniel, one that I hope will be an encouragement to you.
So let's read a little bit here.
Annual one Verse One. In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
Under Jerusalem and besieged it.
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand with part of the vessels of the House of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the House of his God, and brought the vessels into the treasure House of his God. And the king spake unto Espines, the master of his eunuchs.
That he should bring certain of the children of Israel and of the King's seed, and of the Princess children in whom was no blemish.
But well favored and skillful, you know, wisdom and cunning and knowledge and understanding science, and such as that ability in them to stand in the King's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans.
And the king appointed them a daily provision of the King's meat, and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.
Stuff right there for a minute.
Daniel was a young person, don't know how old he was.
Maybe 16 or 17 years old, maybe a little older, maybe a little younger. But I think that we have a lot of young people here in this room that fit this age group. And Daniel lived at a time when things were broken and shattered in Israel.
And here the king of Nebuchadnezzar comes into the land.
And God had been warning his people for a long time to repent and to.
Love him, and follow him and serve him. And they didn't do it. And finally the judgment of God fell, and Nebuchadnezzar came and carried away captive.
Pack the children in Judah.
And the king of Nebuchadnezzar said to his generals, if you will, I want you to pick out the good ones, the ones that I can make useful to me, and I want you to bring them back.
And look what he look what he says. He wanted the ones that were had no blemish, but were well favored and skillful and so on. Dear young people, many of you have been raised in Christian homes.
I was raised in a Christian home and I'm a very, extremely thankful for that. Many of you are well favored. Many of you know the word of God.
And here Daniel was carried away, a young man and perhaps a teenager.
I don't know quite how far it is, 6 or 700 miles maybe.
Brought into a heathen culture.
And the desire of the king was to teach them.
Their language make them forget who they belong to. And now you, dear young people, don't forget who you belong to. And we've had and we will have in our chapter in the reading. Don't you know you're not your own? You're bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body, your spirit, and in your body with your gods.
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Well, this king wanted to make him forget who they belong to and teach them a different language.
And take away their customs.
Wanted to make him useful in his Kingdom.
Your young people.
The enemy would like to take you that are well favored and say I'd like to use you too.
But you know the enemy.
Of your soul he doesn't have your good and blessing in mind he doesn't, it says in John 10. The thief cometh but the for to kill, the steal, and to kill and to destroy.
And it may seem attractive, some of the things that the world can put before you and say, look at this, how can this be wrong? Do this, do that, go here, go there. And yet he wants to make you forget who you belong to. The Lord says, if you're, if you're saved, the Lord says, you belong to me.
I love you, I want your good and blessing.
And then this king who wants to change what they're eating.
You know, and the appoints in this food.
Read from verse six. Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Michelle, and Nazariah, unto whom the Prince of the eunuchs gave names, where he gave unto Daniel the name Belts, Belteshazzer to Hananiah, of Shadrach to Michelle of Meshach.
To Azariah of Abednego. Well, he wanted to change their names.
Young people.
I know that it is a day of difficulty for you.
Especially those of you that are in high school and university.
I have not very long been removed from that myself. I have a daughter that's a university.
The world would like to take you.
Say man, you're one of the choice ones. I could really. I want that person and to draw you away from the Lord the Savior. Be careful, be careful. Once He wants to change their names, make them forget who they belong to.
You belong to the Lord Jesus. It's worth it to serve Him and to love Him.
Now look at verse 8.
Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the King's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the Prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
While that word purpose really means, he decided.
You know Daniel and his friends here, and it seems like this is Daniel's exercise, but.
It's nice that he had three friends with him that were willing to go along and encourage each other in the Lord to walk in faithfulness.
Daniel decided that he wasn't going to defile himself. You know, I, I think all of us in this room know that the day in which we live.
Is a day of.
Living for yourself. It's a day of.
Seeking for satisfaction and whatever, wherever you can find it. You know the I think of the the motto of Nike, just do it.
That's the thinking of the world today. Just do it.
Young people, be careful.
Be careful.
Seek to honor and follow the Lord. And so Daniel decided in his heart that he wouldn't defile himself. How easy it would have been for Daniel to say, Why should I bother? Everything is shattered and broken.
All of the heritage that I have is gone.
The home that I came from gone. The influences gone. Here I am surrounded here, you might as well say.
If you can't beat them, join them. Kind of. But Daniel said he decided I'm not going to do that. And so he purposed in his heart not to defile himself. You know, we had this morning.
00:10:10
A little bit about things being lawful, but not expedient. You know, Daniel could have said, all right, I I guess I'll just eat the meat and drink the wine.
I'm actually a captive of this man. What can I do? I have no choice. But he didn't, he said.
I decided to honor the Lord, you know, it says in Samuel. Those that honor me, I will honor.
I'm going to put the Lord first in your life.
The Lord will honor that.
They that them that honor me, I will honor.
You know, I also wonder, did Daniel have a verse for what he what his purpose was? I think he did. You know, it's good young people to know the Scripture and to have spiritual discernment about how to decide something, a fork in the path.
Something is before you. You have to choose something. Do I go this way or do I go that way? And to know what the Word of God says and teaches, so important.
You know, I think Daniel, maybe he could turn to those verses in Leviticus about clean food and and unclean food.
I'm sure he knew about that and to say, Lord, maybe they were serving Portia's, I don't know, bacon and eggs or whatever with two things I happen to like. But to the Jewish young man, he couldn't do that. So they bring in his food and he says, I, I can't do it. It's not honoring to God.
And so he purposes in his heart.
The wine which they drank, you know.
I think we remember what the Angel said to Samson's mother about him being set apart. We had a little bit this morning about being sanctified and Samson was to be set apart.
As a Nazarite which means separated to God and he wasn't to drink, strong drink and I wonder if Daniel had that on his heart as a young person at 15 or 16 year old person.
To say Lord.
I want to be set apart in this hard circumstance. I want to be faithful to you.
And therefore he has this request not to defile himself.
And you know, I think it's interesting in verse nine, God brought Daniel into favor with the Prince of the eunuchs. I think that Daniel and his friends, when they wanted to honor the Lord, the Lord allowed it so that they could do that. And he made a way for it to be possible. There is a path, young people, that it is possible to follow the Lord today.
In today's world, that is so against Christianity and against Christ and against.
The things that we love and hold dear, God will honor a desire to walk in faithfulness.
And so we have this little test that they do? Daniel asked the.
The Prince of the eunuchs there. Let's see here.
Verse 12 proved thy servants, I beseech thee 10 days, and let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink.
Then let our countenances be looked upon before they, and the countenance of the children that eat the portion of the King's meat, as thou seest deal with thy servants, so we can send it to them in this manner. Prove them 10 days. Well, what was the result?
God blessed the exercise and the desire of these four young people to honor him and to.
Obey Him and to be separated and to live their lives in a way that was pleasing and honoring to the Lord.
The temptation is to say, why bother?
Everybody else is doing it.
But young people, it's worth being separated to the Lord it is.
You know we're reading Galatians he that I better turn to it. Galatians 6.
00:15:01
This has to do with the sewing and reaping. You know, I see, Doug, that you're here because the fields are too wet to farm, right?
Partly, I'm glad, you said partly, brother.
I think you're here because you love the Lords people mostly.
You know, I told my wife and the kids that unless it rains all week, we're not going.
The Lord let it rain all week, so I'm kind of glad it rained because otherwise I'd be in the field too. Well, when we put our seed in the ground, brother, we're going to get what we sow, aren't we? So let's, young people, this is an important principle in your life.
Galatians 6.
We'll start with verse 7. Be not deceived. God is not mocked or whatsoever a man. So with that shall he also reap. He that soweth to his flesh shall let the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the Spirit, so of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary and well doing and so on. Well, I just want to encourage you young people.
You reap what you sow.
And the world around you, your friends.
Certainly the enemy of your soul would say.
Why bother trying to be faithful to the Word of God?
Do what you want.
You know, if you're saved, you can't lose your salvation.
Grace of God will cover you. It's dangerous young people I know, friends of mine.
Dear young people that I grew up with that have sown to the flesh, and I tell you young people, they're reaping is bitter and hard and real.
I've had to do some of that reaping in my own life.
It's real. So we're not our own. We're not at liberty to do what we want. If you belong to the Lord Jesus, dear young people.
You're bought with a price, you're not your own and I'm not trying to say that negatively. So to the spirit.
Be an encouragement.
Honor the Lord in your decisions, in your friends.
Where you go, what you listen to, what you see.
What you talk about, what you think about the word will honor that and you will reap a harvest that is a blessing and an encouragement and is rich. And so I just want you young people to know, especially for most of us that are older, we love you. We love you.
Our desire is and more than our desire, the Lord's desire is that you would grow in grace and go on in the path of faith and.
Fill your heart with the word of God. You know the Lord Jesus is such a lovely Lord.
Beautiful.
Master.
I'm just going to close with a little bursome Colossians that I often have shared with the young people in their own assembly.
This is what our desire is for you, young people.
Colossians 1.
Verse 9.
For this 'cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you.
And to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will.
In all wisdom and spirits will understanding.
That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work.
And increasing in the knowledge of God.
Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power.
Unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.
So that's our desire for you young people.
Might be filled with the knowledge of His will. They might walk worthy of the Lord. It's worth it.
It's worth it.
Oh the mercy.
Already seed.
All weekend.
00:20:04
Thy people, thou in the.
Daily morning.
Display.
Exodus chapter 12.
And verse 24.
And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons forever.
And it shall come to pass, when you become to the land which the Lord will give you accordingness, He hath promised that you keep this service. And it shall come to pass when your children shall say unto you, What meanie by this service that ye shall say It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover passed over the houses of His the children of Israel in Egypt.
When he smoked the Egyptians and delivered our houses.
And the people bowed the head, worshipped.
Over to the Gospel of Luke, the 22nd of Luke.
Luke 2720 Second. Second chapter of Luke in the seventh verse.
Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.
And he sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat.
And they said unto him.
Where will thou that we prepare?
And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you.
Bearing a pitcher of water, follow him into the house where he entereth in. You shall say unto the Goodman of the host. The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall leave the Passover with my disciples?
And he shall show you a large upper room furnished there. Make ready.
And they went and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover.
And when the hour was come, he sat down.
And the 12 apostles with it.
00:25:02
And he said unto them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Lord Jesus.
On the way to the cross, his words to us.
With desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you.
Before I suffer.
He's asked us to remember him.
We've had in this meeting this afternoon.
Concern for the young people.
How do we know where it is the Lord wants us to be?
The Lord said to his disciples, Go and prepare. They said, Where wilt thou that we?
Gave them clear instruction.
They went.
They found and they made ready when the hour was come.
Sat down.
One last portion.
Book of Ruth verse that was read to us already. Just part of a verse, Chapter 2.
Verse 9. Perhaps we read the whole verse. Let thine eyes be on the field, that they do reap. Go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?
This is the part I was particularly thinking of. And when thou art a first go into the vessels and.
Drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Think of that which the young men have drawn.
Young men, we have a responsibility.
To drive the things with the Word of God, to enjoy them in our souls, and to be able to share them.
So we have the instruction for the young man to draw out the word and Boaz's word to Ruth Drink.
That which the young men strong.
Understood.
1 Corinthians 6:12-15
Reading
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Our souls now.
I tried that grandson and we had.
Pouring in.
Would it be good to begin around verse 12, then verse 20 and six verse 12?
1St Corinthians 6 verse 12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any meets for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God has both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of in harlot? God forbid. What know ye not that you, he which is joined to in harlot, is one body for two Seth. He shall be one flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is 1 Spirit flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication, sinneth against his own body. What know ye not that the that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you?
Which you have of God near, not your own, for ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God, God in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods.
So in looking at the argument that is presented here.
So we had the last meeting, he says. All things are lawful.
To me, that is those things that might be legitimate within.
What is presented in the Word of God?
But there are certain checks on what I should do and three of them are presented immediately.
He says all things are not expedient, that is, they may not profit, or they may not be helpful. It might not be a good thing to do for the benefit and blessing of others. And then he goes on and says, all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of anything.
00:05:04
And so some things might be permitted, but they could be enslaving, could become a slave to drink, for instance. And the apostle says, well, I don't want to take up with something that would enslave me to it.
And and then he talks in verse 13 about yet another thing, and that is that there is a temporary nature to things that we may take up with now and so.
It might be permitted, but it's only for a time, and so I don't want to get overly occupied with it. So there's all these checks on those things that we can do as Christians and that we need to examine them to see whether we ought to do them.
I think the.
The subject is such an important one, especially for young people, but for all of us, because.
The question usually goes like this. What is wrong with and then fill in the blank.
But that isn't the right question, is it?
The question really should be, what does the Lord want me to do? Or as we have these other things laid out here, what is profitable?
What is it that's going to allow me to go on in my life without being ensnared?
So I can be used for the Lord's glory. The goal and objective of the Christian isn't to please myself, but it's really what is it that I should take up with, and what is it that I should do that will please the Lord and be used by the Lord to the help of those that are the Lord's people or the lost. But the one person not concerned in the question ought to be myself.
Says of the Lord, he pleased not himself.
He pleased his Father as a man perfectly. Christianity raises us far above just doing right and wrong.
Is it legal or not legal and so on? There's a positive.
Purpose that God has called us to. We need to search that purpose of God out and and do it. That's far beyond just can I do it or is it legitimate or not. It's a it's a far higher plane to live your life on in pleasing the Lord, seeking to honor him in whatever we do.
But he gives the power by the Spirit, doesn't He? It's a question of obedience.
Looking at these verses, it's helpful to notice one word that's repeated 8 times in verses 12 Through 20, and that's body or bodies 8 times it's repeated in these 9 verses and that's the focus of these these verses.
And that if we were to look at the last verse in the new translation, just to help avoid any, any confusion, it says you have been bought with a price, Glorify now God, glorify now then God in your body. And it ends at that. And so these verses and these thoughts that are being presented have to do with our body. Each one of us have been entrusted with with a body.
Create. We've been created in the image of God. We've been given these tremendous abilities.
But we haven't been given them to simply please ourselves. And so it's not a question of meats for the valley. Well, these things are suited for the body. So I'm going to do them or well, my body needs these certain things, so I'm going to go after them. No, God will bring to nothing both of them. The question is, and that's and that is being brought out earlier in the in the first meeting is the glory of God. And that is what our bodies are to be given to the pursuit.
Of our of our existence here is to be to the glory of God. And so that's what's being taken up in these verses.
And what is suited for our bodies to be occupied with? And so as as was already brought out, those things that we would pursue. All things are lawful to me.
It could be as simple as getting a, a good back massage or something like that. Boy, wonderful if your muscles are sore and all those things. But if, if we're brought under the power of it and we, we spend hours every day getting going to a masseuse or whatever, well, no, that needs to be set aside, whatever it might be.
No, it's it, it needs to be lived our lives and the body that we've been given for the glory of God. You're bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. And that's that's what the thrust of these verses is.
00:10:07
In the middle of verse 13, the apostle moves back into subject of fornication, which I believe encompasses everything that's mentioned in verse 9.
Now there was a question on the board about why we might spend more time on.
Verse 9 rather than verse 10, and I have a couple of thoughts with respect to that. I'd like to turn first to Proverbs chapter 6.
This whole chapter is instructive at the end connection with guarding our hearts, guarding ourselves against lust, reckoning our old nature to be dead and not paying in ourselves to be dead to our old nature and paying no attention to it. But specifically it says in verse 30, men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his soul when he's hungry. That would relate to verse 10. And then it says.
In verse 32, whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding he to do with it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and a dishonor shall he get in. His reproach shall not be wiped away. And Jonathan has just been bringing before us the significance of our bodies and how important it is. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, very important how we manage our bodies.
So we shouldn't allow ourselves to steal. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be drunkard. We should keep ourselves under the control of the Holy Spirit, as was brought out in Galatians 5 earlier today. But as to that question, there is a very significant difference between stealing and these things that come under fornication. And these things that come under fornication have a tremendous impact on not just our body, but our soul and everything associated with us.
And that's part of what was brought out in Proverbs chapter 6. People can understand stealing, but the other one is in a sense.
There's no way back out of it. Now, there's a second thing that I'd like to bring out in connection with this subject of, you know, why would we spend time on verse nine? I'm not sure that we spend a lot of time on verse 9 this morning, but I think it felt like we might have. Verse 10 was also mentioned, maybe not in quite as much detail, but I think we're particularly sensitive to this subject. Why?
Because.
Our society has embraced the behavior.
In verse nine, our government has legalized the behaviors in verse 9.
And now our whole society is promoting the behaviors in verse nine, and they want everybody to accept those behaviors as acceptable behaviors.
And this is entirely contradictory to God, God's Spirit and what he wants for us. And that's why it's so important for us. And I think probably why I got a little more attention this morning maybe than verse 10. And that is that because we're we're continuously bombarded and advertising in education, in law, everywhere we look, we're being pressured on verse 9.
And that's part of the reason why, one, we're sensitive about it and it is a potential point of persecution.
On all fronts, and I would just like to make one last comment about this subject.
We must remember God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God loves each and every individual on this world, and I ought to too, and so should you.
But God does not condone the behavior that goes on in this world, and neither should I. But we need wisdom how we interact with the people in this world. We're not here to correct all their behaviors, to try and legislate their behaviors. Our job is to point them to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners, who can set them free and let them lay hold on what is real life, what is eternal life.
And stop the pursuit.
Of sinful pleasure and pursue God and his purity.
00:15:03
Very well put, Robert. And I, I want to add to that, that it's sensitive to us and it's sensitive to God, and it's the final course before God's judgment comes in if you go back to Psalm 19.
This is why. This is why it seems so serious to us as Christians. The closer we walk with the Lord, I think the more we feel.
This moral degradation, it really, it really touches us.
The seriousness of it. And in Psalm 19 we have briefly 3 steps of decline that I think apply in this principle.
That we're Speaking of.
Psalm 19 and verse 12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret false.
That's one category.
To keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.
Let them not have dominion over me.
That's stage 2.
Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
That's stage 3.
It's a slippery slope.
And man cannot overcome it when he gets too far down the road. That's why we need to judge the little things secret false.
We'll never go down this path if we we judge these things in the in the little things of life, secret things, *********** on the Internet and things like this.
Cut it off, brothers.
Secret false.
The second stage is it becomes presumptuous. We admit it, we're doing it. We we go ahead and do it anyway, knowing it is wrong. That's Step 2 as as far as declension goes and moral things follow this path. When it comes to the third stage, it's practically impossible to recover except for the grace of God.
It it takes control of the person. And so we're seeing, we're seeing this in our society. It's jumped in the last few years from being something that's always was, these things were have always been practiced, but it's been kept in the secret. It's not been openly allowed. Now the doors are being opened to allow it.
Legally.
That doesn't make it right. And those of us that are Christians.
We should, we should be aware of this.
It is going to take this country, these favored lands down. It's going to happen like Sodom and Gomorrah. It's going to being in a judgment of God like that. God does not allow these kind of things to go on unchecked. The history of the Bible tells us this and the Scriptures tell us.
It's going to be like that in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. So we're living close to that time. God is able to keep us, brother. And so we need to study a chapter like this. I must say, Tim, I was a little surprised when you chose this chapter.
I think you had the mind of the Lord. I wouldn't have said that yesterday morning.
Thank you.
The body itself is not sinful.
Translation we have in Philippians vile body is not not a correct transaction. It's the body of humiliation. The body itself is not looked upon as sinful. But if I allow the old nature to control my body.
The Apostle Paul said, I keep under my body and bring it into subjection in this epistle, Chapter 9.
Got your?
9.
00:20:04
27th But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, blessed by less that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. So if we allow the members of our body to be controlled by that old nature which we all have.
Then it's going to be a vehicle of sin and we're going to come under the government of God. But it's.
Remarkable how much we are moved by our bodies, how much we are.
Controlled by our bodies and there's not the self denial that we are exhorted in the fast way of discipleship.
Brethren, if I could, I'd like to focus on a word that we have in two of the verses. At the end of verse 12, it says I will not be brought under the power of any, the end of verse 14, and will also raise up us by the known power. A lot of people who desire power, but these words are used in different contexts. I will not be brought under the power of any, will raise up us by his own power.
Second Timothy says in verse chapter one and verse 7. But God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. And in the beginning of this epistle that Paul wrote first Corinthians, he says in chapter one and verse 18. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.
Us which are saved. It is the power of God. I'd like to briefly read 2 Old Testament passages that I think bring this out and to me a significant way. In Psalm 18 it says.
In verse.
20 Psalm 18, verse 28 For thou wilt light my candle, the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness, and we live in the day of darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop, and by my God I have leaped over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect.
The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God save the Lord, or who is a rock save our God? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like Hinds feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand at holding me up in thy.
Hath made me great. Thou hast enlarge my steps under me. That might be. And there is a lot in this world that can easily make us to slip. We live in an extraordinarily challenging day. In Exodus 17 it says of the children of Israel, they came to Amalek and Amalek is a type of the flesh, and to have power over these things we need to war against Amalek. Then came Amalek and fought with Israel and repeated him. Exodus 17 verse nine. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand.
On the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So.
Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek, and Moses and Aaron and her went to the top of the hill. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed. And when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat there on, and Aaron and her stayed up, his hands, the one on the one side, the one other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
And Joshua discomforted Amalek and his people with the edge of his sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua. For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And then in Numbers 13, remember the stories told, conventions, Joshua there. Well, if we turn over to Numbers 13, we hear that the rest of the story and Numbers 13.
And in verse 29 then the Amalekites dwell in the land of the South, and the Hittites and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. But the men went that went up with him, said, We be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.
00:25:23
They're the battle they fought against Amalek.
God said you left war with Emmet Amalek for many generations. So Moses gave the example and Joshua saw the example. He sat on a rock. He had one on his one side, 1:00 on the other side. They battled until the sun went down. We're in this battle until this time goes down, the day when the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. But until that day, we have a struggle in our hearts and our homes, in our communities and our schools and our workplaces.
And God has to give us that power, but he is able.
And his powers might.
I think it is extractive to to think of a lot has been mentioned in Sodom and Gomorrah.
And the complaint they lodged against Lot?
When he they came to the door and wanted the two angels to come out to them.
Was that this man came in to be a judge amongst us and it's important brother, and it's not a matter of getting involved in government circles and legislating against these things.
You cannot legislate morality. It doesn't happen. People need to hear the gospel, like our brother was saying, and repent and believe the gospel. Then there will be a change.
But those that get into that get themselves into compromised positions and it's shocking. What lot did He offered to bring out his own daughters. I mean, I don't, I cannot understand.
That awful gesture on his part just to save those two angels. Well, God intervened, we know. But Lot ended up losing everything, even his own decency. And so it's a real voice. We cannot get into government to legislate as judges in these things. We are a separate people. We are a people that have been called out of this world. And so the verse in in verse 13 of our chapter.
The body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. How important to realize that, brethren, the body is for the Lord. In the last chapter we already had it, that we have been bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
How much of a price was paid? Just think of that.
Body that hung on the cross.
Till he was dead, and the spear was plunged into his side, and outflowed blood and water. The blood of the very Son of God was the price that was paid. Can we go back now into the world and use our bodies as if they're our own? It cannot be. It cannot be. It's been bought with a price and so.
Fornication is.
Not what we need now. The body is not for fornication but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. And I think if we make a decision like our brother was talking about Daniel and Daniel chapter one, then God will make a way the Lord for the body.
Resist the temptation, and when the flesh wants to rise up and act, remember.
We are dead to sin, and so the Lord will make a way through this awful morass in which we are.
I just like to mention that we have to be careful.
Of our walk.
When I was single, I was living with a family, Christian family, and the oldest boy had a friend, a worldly friend. And because he wasn't.
Experiencing the love and grace of God, he got caught up with this person and took him to the wrong places and before long he was going to replace at the same time.
00:30:09
My my thought is watch our walk and be careful of who you choose your friends.
If you choose the wrong friends, you will end up at the wrong place.
I remember when I was 17 years old, I was at the beach in Vancouver. The man approached me to try to seduce me and I got out of there like a fox.
And we're, we're young. We're, we're by 8, you might say, at a younger age.
But be so careful your walk And who your friends if they're not really the Lords? Oh man.
Think to it.
Reading this chapter, reading about.
Corinthians that were.
You might say steeped in idolatry. They were a people that were doing the types of things, no doubt that we read about here in this chapter, practicing those things.
It was.
The life that they they lived before the gospel came along and reached their hearts and they got converted.
But they still struggled with a lot of those things that they were mixed up with in idolatry, just as the Jews did when they got converted to Christianity, they still struggled with.
Many things of Judaism and we know that the Lord was very patient.
With his people. And here we read of the patience of Paul with the Corinthian Saints. We know that.
In the second book.
The many things that he criticized them for in the first epistle reading about, they corrected, but we read in this chapter here it starts out.
With.
In the second verse, do you not know?
The third verse, Know ye not?
The ninth verse, know ye not?
The 15th verse know ye not and in the 6th.
Team first what? No ye not.
And the 19th verse, What know ye not? And so there was many things.
That they needed to learn now that they were converted to Christianity.
Which the teachers, the Apostle Paul and others would come along and teach these beloved Saints. They're the way that they should walk in in Christ.
But there was much, much patience with them. I think there's a lesson for us in this.
That we need patience with those today especially that are converted. We're living in a day I believe can. the United States has gone right back to what we have in the chapter here. Idolatry there, there's there. They give up the light of Christianity and what happens when the light is given up? I was looking at a verse in Psalm 36.
Says there in verse 9.
For with thee is a fountain of life. In thy light shall we see light.
It's only in the light of Christianity, only in Christ, only in God, that we see light.
Tells us about our condition before we get saved. That ye were darkness, now are ye light in the Lord. We have been brought into the light today when the gospels going forth.
You could just say the same thing. Know ye not one time there was a certain amount of light called in Christianity. No matter where people may have went to worship, there was a certain amount of light that they received from what they heard, where they went with a certain amount of truth that they were exposed to, and they had light today.
00:35:09
What I see around?
With the worship places of worship closing up.
The number is way down, heart not being attended, The light has been given up. And when you give up the light, what takes its place? Darkness.
And so these dear ones, here we're reading about where?
Steeped in darkness of idolatry, and they were brought out into the light. And here the Apostle Paul is teaching them what they need to go on with now that they are Christians.
It's good for us too. It's good to go back and look at this and so that we are refreshed in our own souls because it's been pointed out many times here today and yesterday, we have the old nature within us and that old nature is still attracted to those things and we we need to be reminded of that. But I just like to point that out that the Corinthian Saints were those that had been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, but they came out of a dark, dark place.
Into Christianity.
Turn to Proverbs 13.
A lot of you young people are making friends right now.
Have friends at school if we interact with.
Proverbs 13.
Verse 20.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.
But a companion, a fool, shall be destroyed.
Now turn to Psalm 1. Bob, you mentioned a lot.
You know what didn't start out? I don't think Lot intended to finish the way he did.
He started out by lifting up his eyes and looking at an attractive situation.
And it progressed in his life. So let's read a couple verses in Psalm one and then I'll bring something about that. Unless it is the man or woman or young person or boy or girl.
That walketh not in the council of the ungodly.
Nor standeth in the way of sinners.
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. And that's what happened a lot. First he looked up and saw the well watered plains of Jordan.
Then he got close to Sodom. Then he went in.
Maybe he was standing there with those men in the gate. Pretty soon he seated there and he's the judge.
And it didn't happen in one night.
So you young people, be careful who your friends with. It's important who you keep company with. People can drag you down and get you into all kinds of problems that you may not intend to get into, but it happens.
I'll just speak frankly with you, some of you younger people I remember as a kid.
You know, you're sitting in the backseat of some car on Saturday night and the guys in the front hand you a bottle with pills in it and they're all taking one.
What are you going to do when it gets to you?
You better have that decision made before you're in that situation. Peer pressure is so strong.
I guess I wouldn't step back and say don't be in the backseat of that car. But anyway, like we had in Daniel, Daniel and his three friends were able to encourage each other to take a stand for what's right and not to be keeping company with those that would be called foolish.
You know, it might have been that there were other.
Young men from Judah in that same group that weren't exercised or deciding to follow the Lord and honor him, and there could be reproach. There will be reproach for you.
To stand up for what God is asking you to do and to honor Him.
And walking in a way that pleases him. And maybe some other young people might say, hey, man.
Are you you better than me? You too good for us?
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And that's hard. But beloved young people, the answer is not to you get into an argument. The answer is just look, I want to honor and please the Lord of my life.
And the Lord will honor that. So let's go down a little further in Psalm 1 here about this person.
Blessed is the man, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. Young people pick friends who delight in the law of the Lord. They will help you, they will lift you up, they will come around you, they will support you. It's important. His delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law death. He meditate day and night.
You know, you're in your car, flip the radio on and some song of the world is playing. And I know that music is attractive and I enjoy music. I like to play music, I like to sing. But.
Don't forget.
In his law that he meditate day and night. It takes you can't meditate fast. You can't you know everything in today's society is quickly. You know, download this in three seconds. How lightning fast. Now we're we're about to go to five.
G Internet speed on our phones, right? You can get to any piece of information in the. I mean, you could look at pictures of King Tut's tomb and 2 1/2 seconds.
It's amazing, right? You can't meditate fast.
Meditate on the law of the Lord, get the word of God into your heart, and spend time and company with people that love that it's so valuable. And what's the result? He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which bringeth for his fruit in his season. And his leaf shall not wither, and whatsoever he do shall prosper. Well, I just want to encourage you.
We do go through times of growth and stress and anxiety in life.
And have friends. And I would also say this, be a friend.
That can do this for others and don't be walking as we read earlier in Proverbs, the companion of fools. And so I think brother Francois brought this out earlier when Boaz said to Ruth don't go and clean in another field. Oh, as is a picture of the Lord Jesus. He says stay with me, stay in my field.
And I will their safety, young people in that.
You know, the Boaz could say, have I not charged the young men that they won't touch you?
Yeah, Satan doesn't want that for you, but the Lord says you stay in my field glean here. So I don't want to do too much talking. Sorry, brethren.
Bernie, I was looking at a verse in Luke 22 earlier that I thought kind of connected with verses 12 and 13 of the chapter. But as you just brought that out about the company that we we keep and and the temptations that were ensnared with.
I looked at that verse a little bit harder.
In Luke 22 and.
Verse 25 it says, And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors.
But ye shall not be so. But he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger. And he that is chief is he that thus serve.
For weather is greater, He that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth is not he that sitteth that meat, but I am, I am among you is he that serveth here they which have continued with me in my temptations. And I was thinking, he says in Hebrews 2, the last verse, about how He suffered those temptations for us. And and he goes on to say here, And I appoint unto you a Kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table.
In my Kingdom. And that's the desire that he has for each one of us, isn't it? And so he tells us in first Corinthians 10, doesn't he, that he can give us a way of escape from those temptations and and he wants to fill us up with the light that Nina spoke about. And and first Peter four, that we would have that same mind with him. And some might remember that I started reading at the beginning of Genesis and was going through the Bible and I got the exodus and I was so caught up with the building of the Tabernacle.
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How beautiful it was. And you know, I kept going and I got the Samuel and I got the Chronicles, and I saw Solomon building the temple and what a beautiful thing it is. I know the verse. We haven't quite got to it yet in our chapter, but we've come into this verse here.
Verse 13 it says our body is for the Lord and that temple that Solomon built.
You know, it tells us in Second Chronicles that.
Verse 13 that the Lord is saying for he is good for his mercy endureth forever, but then.
The house was filled with a cloud, even the House of the Lord, so that the priest could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the House of God.
And oh, how he wants that for us with our bodies, doesn't he? He really does. And I think of how he wants us to be filled up with his light and to shine around to all all those to see. I'm reminded of a little, a little.
Word that.
I heard her said one time, you know God cannot come into the presence of sin.
He cannot commit the presence of sin.
We shouldn't come into the presence of sin either.
I'd like to read a couple of verses. In Colossians 3, Bernie was talking about seeking friends.
Who will encourage us and uplift us in the things of the Lord? Colossians 3 and verse one.
If then you be risen with Christ, take those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth, or you're dead. Your life is hid with Christ.
What does it mean to have our life hid with Christ?
My children like to play hide and seek.
I like to play it with Daddy. It's dark. It's a lot easier to hide.
You hide a good hiding place, you're indistinguishable from that which is around. See here we have your life is hit with Christ and God. If our life is hid with Christ and God, if we're indistinguishable, you can't pick out, well, there's something different here, different than the life of Christ. That should be our goal. Our life hid with Christ in God. That's how we'll be kept. That's how we'll be able to walk with the Lord, and that's how we'll be able to be an encouragement.
One to another if our brother look at us and see there is the life of Christ.
That's what we should seek to be. That's how we'll be an encouragement to our peers, that's how we'll attract those friends that want to go on for the Lord. And that's how we'll be able to encourage those friends to go on for the Lord. Life is hid with Christ and God.
I was thinking the.
All of this really revolves around the fact that.
Now have a divine guest dwelling within us, which we did not have before.
Our brother has mentioned.
The life of Christ. We don't have two divine persons dwelling within us. We have one. We have the Holy Spirit of God.
Where it speaks of Christ dwelling in you, it refers to the life of Christ in the believer, but having that divine guess, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us and brought out in our chapter.
Then my body becomes the temple of that person, that divine person, the Holy Spirit. I go to the theater wherever I go, I take him with me. And it says grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed until you, until you sin and fail, and then he leaves you. No, if you.
Sin against the Lord, the Spirit of God does not leave you.
But he is grieved and he makes you miserable. So a Christian can be the happiest person in the world, should be, but he can be the most miserable as well, because if he's not obeying the Spirit of God, he can't enjoy the world as he did before. He can't enjoy the Lord because he's not in communion. So he's miserable until he judges that sin that has separated.
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His communion with the Lord that has interfered, interfered with it, just like a threat. A threat is very fragile. It can be broken very easily. Communion with the Lord is a link that can be broken very easily. A wrong, a wrong word of an angry word, an unclean thought breaks communion with the Lord and we have to be continually on our guard.
Against these things now, Mr. Darby was asked the question, how can we judge every thought that comes into our hearts?
I like the remark that he made by turning away from that evil. We are judging that thing. We turn away from it, we're judging it. So I just wanted to bring that thought before us that the divine, yes, the Holy Spirit of God.
Will not leave us and he should have control of our of our lives. It's like I've been in Neil Watmo's house. I've stayed in in his house a number of times and enjoyed his hospitality. He gives me a room to stay in. But supposing Neil said, John, here are the keys for all the rooms in this house. You are. I trust you fully.
You have access to any room there is in this house. Oh, I say, Neil, thank you very much. I didn't expect that. Now I fill the house and that's the way the Spirit of God would would operate. He wants to fill our our thoughts, our hearts have have control, not just a part of our lives, but of every part of our of our lives and our souls.
42 in the appendix.
And my friends.
All right.
And like Christmas wake up song.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Don Mackewich
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.
Well, thank you very much, Jim, and thank you for the introduction and good evening and welcome. Welcome everyone. Thank you for being here tonight. How was supper?
It was delicious, wasn't it? Maybe we should give them a round of applause for.
Hey, and thank you for coming. We know that on a Saturday evening, you have lots of choices as far as what you can do with your time, and we're thrilled that you have chosen to be here tonight. So thank you very much. We're honored, and we want to value your time for everyone who is here. Thank you very much. So we're going to get started right away with song #40.
There should be a white song sheet that looks like this. Flip it over to the very back.
It's a song that I heard growing up and I love this song. Probably familiar to.
Most of you and as we sing it, everyone is welcome to sing, so please join us.
Jesus loves me this song.
When all I'm saying.
Is strong.
You have to strongly.
Yeah.
So.
It is also my hero Marshall. Great nights in my sin that I love that soul.
Yes, yes, yes.
Yes, I love me.
Well, she's transplanted.
The Bible tells me so.
So.
It is as much may not make.
Where I go from this shining light on time. You're still watching where I live.
In transport.
Yes, because I love speaking.
Tells me so.
It will take me all my life.
She touched the last week. Yes, she has lost me.
Yeah.
Well, if you could hear the singing that I'm hearing from up here, it just sounds beautiful. Thank you very much. I love that course where it says, yes, Jesus loves me. I want to sing just the chorus one more time. Let's sing it. It's just so precious.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
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You can just go ahead and put the song sheet on the chair or the table by you will use it again at the end.
We're going to pray and ask for the Lord's help. So if you just bow your head and close your eyes.
Lord Jesus, we are so excited, so thankful that tonight we can present clearly the way of salvation. We pray that tonight each one would have listening ears and open hearts. We pray that the Word would go forth with power and blessing. And we pray that tonight there would be ones whose lives are changed as they accept you as their own personal Savior, that there would be joy in heaven tonight.
As ones accept you as their own personal savior, we ask this in your worthy and precious name. Amen.
When we present the gospel, we'd like to say a few things up front. We want to let every single person know.
That God loves you. I also want to let you know that we love you too. I don't know everyone in the room, many in the room, I don't know. But you are precious and you matter to God, says We open up the scriptures tonight. This message is for everyone. This message is for the ones on this side of the room. This message is for the ones on this side.
The room. This message is for the ones in front of me. This message is for the ones who are listening to this recording all around the world. The gospel is for you as we present tonight. It's not my thoughts, it's not my feelings. It's what does God say in His precious word, the Bible.
This is our source. This is what we anchor to.
And if you have a Bible tonight, love for you to participate and open it. If you have an electronic device that you use, you're welcome to use that. And if you don't have a Bible, no worries. I just ask that you listen. We're excited to be able to present the gospel. It is life changing. It has changed my life. It has changed the life of my wife. Two of my children have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior, many in this room.
It has changed their lives.
Many who are listening to this, their lives have been changed by it as they've met the Savior and tonight yours can be too. Do you have a Bible? I'd like you to open it up to Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 10 and verse 17. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So what we preach tonight is not my opinions, it's not my thoughts is what does God.
In his precious word, the Bible, a man named Peter many years ago, who's recorded in Scripture could say, Lord, to whom shall we go?
The answer Thou hast the words of eternal life. I'm sorry the Lord said that, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living Gods, living God. So tonight we present to you the words of eternal life and we are sure we're not hoping that this is the right message for you tonight. We can say with 100% confidence as we present the scriptures tonight that Jesus.
Is the Savior you need. Thomas could say how could we know the way Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me in John 17 verse 17, it could say thy words are true. So what we present tonight is not speculation. This is not something that we found on the Internet last night.
This is comes from God's Word, the Bible.
And that's true, and it's precious, and it's changed many lives in this room. And tonight it can change.
Yours. We're so glad that you're here. We ask that you would listen very carefully tonight. I don't know the needs of everyone here, but I know that many in this room.
There's three things that are going on, and I say this in Love and Justice using a gardening illustration.
Last Friday we went to the store to buy some seeds to plant in the garden. OK, we'd like to try to have a garden. We'd like to grow some crops, and we'd like to have some flowers too, right? Probably like many like you do. But before we can put the seeds in the ground, before we can put the anything in the ground, what we have to do is we have to get out our shovel and dig the ground over, right?
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Otherwise, if I just put the seeds on top of the ground, birds are going to probably come and take it, right?
So I have to go over a few things in love. I have to, as a word, get that shovel out. And I need to dig over, dig over the ground. OK, this is going to be painful perhaps for some, but it's necessary. Does that make sense? It's necessary. And one of the first things we have to bring out, let's get that shovel out, so to speak, is that the Bible tells us we all.
Have sinned. There's no one in this room.
Who, if they were honest with themselves, could say I'm a perfect person?
I've never told the lie, I've never stolen from anyone, I've never been disobedient from my parents.
Could you say that?
No. So we need to bring that up at the front. But the good news is that those sins can be forgiven.
The sins are going to be like a weight. Those boys and girls that are here in this room tonight who attend school, probably a lot of you carry backpacks, right? And sometimes those backpacks get loaded up with books because you want to take them home and study. You're the type of ones who study, right? Don't just walk home from school every day or go to the school bus with no books, right? Most of the time you probably have a book or something and you take it home and sin is going to be like.
A backpack that just gets heavier.
And don't try to brush it aside or don't try to hold to hold that it's there. OK? If you try to do it, it's like taking a beach ball. Ever taking a beach ball and try to put it underwater. You might be able to keep it underwater for a short time, but what happens is it pops out somewhere else. It doesn't go away. Our sins aren't going to go away on our own.
Also tonight there's ones in this room who have an emptiness in their heart. They've tried what this world has to offer and they find that it doesn't satisfy. Maybe that car that you wanted to have and you have now, you enjoyed it for a little while but doesn't satisfy. Maybe you've been trying to find happiness and entertainment watching the local hockey team, the local baseball team. Maybe you've tried to find entertainment.
Through collecting things what this world has to offer.
It doesn't satisfy. You can ask Solomon Ecclesiastes 2. It reminds us, here's one who tried it all and it didn't satisfy. You can ask what's called the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15. He went off in search for the good life and he ended up saying it didn't work. You can ask the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, one of the wealthiest people in the world, and his marriage has just ended in divorce.
That aching that you have.
I can tell you how you can get that filled tonight. Are you going to speak about the H word tonight?
I have to. I do it in love. There is really a hell. I've got some good news coming, but I need to bring this out first. Jesus spoke of hell. It's not something we can say well, it doesn't really exist.
It is real and the Bible tells us of a man in Luke chapter 16. Let's turn to that real quick.
Again, this is all in love. I got to dig the garden first before we plant the seed, right Luke? Chapter 16.
Verse 20.
Four, I'm going to give you the past, the present and the future. The past. It says, Son, remember that thou and thy lifetime receiveth thy good things, and likewise Lazarus, evil things. But now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And besides all this, between US and you there is a great goal fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot.
Neither can they pass to us that would come.
From thence, 3 quick things, the past, the present, and the future. It says, Son, remember tonight. If you do not accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and you do end up in this bad place, your memory will still be there. You will remember what you've heard. You will remember that your parents tried to reach out to you with the gospel. You will remember the neighbor who invited you.
You will remember forever and then what does it say about the present it says.
But now thou art tormented. Awful place. We don't want anyone to go there.
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And what does the future hold that says and there is a great goal fixed so that they which would pass from hence to. You cannot. In other words, no getting out.
So now we might be thinking, oh, this, this does not sound good. I came to hear something else. Know again, in love. We get the shovel out, we dig the ground over three things #1 Those sins that you have, those aren't going away on your own.
That emptiness that you feel that is not going to be satisfied by this world, nothing in it, no person, no object, and hell is real. Say then we need someone or something. We need a savior. And that's who we present to you tonight. I remember years ago getting a Christmas card and it said this. It said if our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology.
God would have sent us a scientist if our greatest need had been money.
God would have sent us an economist if our greatest need had been pleasure.
God would have sent us an entertainer, but.
Our greatest need.
Was forgiveness, so God sent us a savior. Turn with me to Luke chapter 20. It's going to get good Luke chapter 2.
We've turned over that ground, so to speak, and now we're going to put the seed in those sins that we have.
That longing that's in our heart, the reality of heaven being, I'm sorry, the reality of hell being a real place. Luke chapter 2 and starting with verse 10.
And the Angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.
Good tidings of great joy tonight here in Saint Thomas, which shall be to all people.
Not just the ones on this side of the room, not just the ones on this side of the room, Not just the ones that are on this side of the room. Not just the ones who are listening to the recording tonight, verse 10, good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people. This message is for you tonight. Wonderful, isn't it? What is the message for unto you?
Is born this day in the City of David.
Which is Christ the Lord. Did you catch that? Our greatest need is a Savior, and approximately 2000 years ago a Savior was born. Who is that person? That person is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's the one we're going to present to you tonight. He is the Savior.
Salvation is not a process. Salvation is not a ritual. Salvation is not being baptized.
Salvation is not going to church. Salvation, how we can have our sins forgiven, how we can have that emptiness in our heart filled, how we can avoid going to hell is found.
In a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's unto.
All people marvelous isn't it? So Jesus was born nearly 2000 years ago and we share the good news with you. He lived here on earth, but he came with a reason, an intent, and he came to die Well who did he die for? The good people, the Canadians, the Americans, the ones that have lots of money, the ones who have a good education, the ones who have the last name that.
Some privileges that others don't, the ones of a certain color. He came first to die for sinners. It says in First Timothy 115. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And how does that happen? We need to read about what took place on Calvary's cross. Would you turn with me to the Gospel of John? The Gospel of John chapter 19.
In the Gospel of John we get the true account.
You get it in Matthew, Mark and Luke as well. All the scriptures are true. I'm just pulling it from this gospel.
About this one named Jesus because Jesus was the one who died on Calvary's cross. John chapter 19 and verse 16.
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And He bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified him and two other with him on either side, one, and Jesus in the midst. There were three crosses there. Jesus was the one in the middle.
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Jesus was dying as a substitute for you and me.
I'm a school teacher and in a couple weeks I'm going to have a substitute teacher.
Not anybody can be a substitute teacher, someone who's going to fill in for my students. They need to be able to do the job, they need to be willing to do the job, and they need to be approved. It can't just be anyone. Well, our situation, we needed someone to die for us. We needed someone who could take the penalty for our sins. And you know who that was?
That was Jesus. He's the only one who is able to do that.
He was willing to do his Father's will, and God would be satisfied completely with the work that He did. So He was the one who went to Calvary's cross, and He was the one who bore the punishment for the sins that you and I have committed. It says in first Peter chapter 3 verse 18, Christ also hath once suffered for sins that just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.
It's through Jesus tonight.
It's through Jesus tonight, continuing on in John chapter 19, verse 28.
John chapter 19 verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scriptures might be fulfilled, said.
I thirst now there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they filled the sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said it is finished. And he gave up, bowed his head and gave up the ghost. It is finished. Tonight we proclaim that here in Saint Thomas and around the world, stop trying to do something.
The work has been done, Jesus.
Came into this world and died on the cross.
There's nothing left for you to do and there's nothing you can do. He has done it all, and tonight you're going to hear how you can be saved through him.
But moving along to chapter verse 33. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came throughout blood and water.
When Jesus was on the cross, the soldier thrust the spear into his side and the blood came out. Tonight I want to let you know it is the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, that cleanse us from all sin. It is the blood that makes us clean. It is the blood that forgives. We are so grateful for the blood that was shed on Calvary's cross.
Verse 40 then took they the body of Jesus.
And wounded in linen clothes, with the spices, as the manner of Jesus to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the garden of new supplicor, wherein was never a man yet laid, there laid they Jesus. So Jesus, who died on the cross, for you and me, placed in the garden, placed in the tomb, turn with me to the Gospel of Acts. The only one who could die for us was Jesus.
Acts chapter 13 and verse 26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God to you is the word of salvation sent tonight. This message is for you.
When I was younger, when I was in my sins, it was for me. Now I can gladly share it with you.
Verse 28. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they pilate that he should be slain.
And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulchre. And that's where we left off. But listen to this verse 30. But God raised him from the dead.
Oh, it's the Easter weekend and the news that we can proclaim is Jesus is not dead, He is alive. My Savior is alive in the glory, and tonight he can be your Savior too.
Jesus has conquered death. He has risen. He is alive.
Verse 33.
Verse 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, and that he hath raised up. Jesus says also in Acts chapter 5, verse 30, The God of our fathers raised up. Jesus Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince.
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And a savior.
Praise the Lord, tonight we proclaim to you a risen Savior. He is not dead. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. It says in Revelation 118, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell.
And death, what I just presented to you was the gospel message.
We're going to review this as we start to wind down. Each one of us is here in our sins unless we know Jesus as our Savior. But the good news is those sins can be forgiven. Tonight you're here with an empty heart, a heart that has not been fully satisfied and never will be unless you know Jesus as your Savior tonight. The good news is Jesus can fill and satisfy your heart.
Tonight, some of you are here.
And you're on your way to hell. But the good news is, Jesus has a home in heaven.
And he invites you to spend eternity with him.
Jesus was our substitute. He died on the cross for you, and he died on the cross for me.
Imagine going into a prison as we start to end. I give this word picture and in the prison there is a person who has been convicted of murder and has a life sentence. And there he is in the prison with his prison clothes on, eating the prison food with no chance of escape, no chance of parole. And in this scenario.
You're given the opportunity to tell this prisoner it's been approved.
That if you wear my clothes, I can take your clothes and we can exchange places. Would that be a good idea for the prisoner to do that? You would say it would be foolish if he didn't. He'd have the opportunity for freedom. He'd have the opportunity to start over again. Think of yourself. Think of what Jesus is offering you tonight. Those sins that you have, that emptiness in your heart that you have the realization that without Jesus.
You're on your way to the lake of fire tonight. Jesus says, come unto me. All you that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest, I will forgive you of those sins, I will satisfy your longing heart and you can come and you can enjoy eternity with me. You and I both know that your sins aren't going to go away on your own. You and I both know that what this world offers will not satisfy you.
And you and I both know that.
Doing nothing just brings you one day closer to the bad place. Tonight I'll ask you, would you like to do what many in this room have done?
Would you like to do what many who are listening to this gospel message have done? Here's what they've done. They've accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior. He might be wondering, how can I do that? How does that happen? Well, the good news is you can do it right where you are. I'll walk you through it. OK? The work has been done. There's nothing that we can do right where you are sitting, right in the chair that you're sitting at, right at the table that you're at.
You can simply bow your head.
And in your heart, you can talk to God just like I'm talking to you.
You can talk to God and you can put it just in your own words.
And if you want to follow along with me, you can even do it too, Lord Jesus.
I believe that what the Bible says about me is true.
And I am a Sinner and I deserve what's coming. But I believe you died for me and I accept your gift of eternal life. Please wash my sins away.
In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. What must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as we close with the song, if you have any questions about what you've heard if something doesn't make sense.
If it differs from what you've heard, please don't just walk out of here saying whatever, Talk with someone, talk with someone. Would you do that? We'd love to have you join the family. The family of who? The family of those who?
00:30:11
We're in your shoes at one time, and now we belong to Jesus. In closing, could we sing on #27?
Starting with verse three, it says He bore on the tree the sentence for me, and now both the surety and debtor are free. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Hallelujah, Amen. Hallelujah, thine the glory. Amen, Amen. Would you stand with me? We'll start with verse 3.
He bore on the tree.
The sentence for me and noble.
Hallelujah.
One final verse before I pray, and then we're dismissed.
John, 836.
If the Son therefore shall make you free.
Ye shall be free indeed. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter. Let's pray.
Accept, Reject, Neglect
Children—Etienne Leger
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.
Well, good morning, everyone. Good morning, everyone. How's it going?
Pretty good. Thanks. All right, so let's start off with a couple songs. I will wait for a bunch of our friends to arrive because there's a lot of seats in the front row that are open and I have a lot of things to show you guys and I have a lot of candy to give away so.
Welcome to the front if anyone wants to come up so before we start, let's just sing a few songs and we'll let our friends come in all right so who has a song give a song, raise your hand and we'll.
See what you can do? All right, yeah.
71, OK #71.
123-4567.
6543213.
45678 I may answer haven't came 87 6543256 so thank you.
34567899 88.
9876543 We have said, Come unto me.
45678910 Jesus my name and my 87654 tell the story or endorse. OK Anyone else have a song they want to give out? All right Sammy #90.
There's a friend for little.
Of the Brightwood sky.
My friend never changes.
I'm like I translated.
Will change from nature to here. Let's try and fall when you learn.
No.
Everyone is happy.
Lord would be out here today.
Little children.
About the bright blue sky and the heart of sleeves and all my great glory.
Of big bright souls.
OK.
You have two guys that give it a song. So many young ladies want to give it a song. Go ahead. 96 OK, number 96, when he cometh, When he cometh to make up his shoes. All this jewels, precious shoes.
This long and his own, like the stars of the morning, is right from the Torrance. They shall shine it.
00:05:24
Chance for his crown?
Little children, little children.
Are the two of us righteous? Just makes love and face home like the stars of the morning. It is bright brown in the morning, make sure shining place near me right and so forth.
OK, anybody else have a song that they give out from this section here? All right, Emily.
59.
Let's talk about Jesus.
Let's talk about Jesus.
More and more.
It seems to be right there. Oh, wonderful, wonderful.
Listen, Jesus, my Lord, wonderful.
I succeed.
It's recorded in God's Word. It's in Jesus, my Lord. Wonderful.
Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus says to me, Counselor, Prince of Peace, mighty heart, is he saving me, giving me promising and shame.
Wonderful, inspiring her praises.
In front and back.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
His name is wonderful.
Is wonderful.
The same is wonderful. Jesus, my Lord.
Nearest Almighty.
Master of everything.
His name is wonderful.
Jesus, my Lord.
Almighty God is you.
How come before him?
Right side of the Lord.
The same is wonderful.
Jesus, my Lord.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Jesus, my Lord, wonderful. We shall see, we shall hear over his coming. God with evermore, we shall say, wonderful.
Well, we're so glad that so many of the boys and girls, I'm going to call you guys, my friends are in the front row here this morning. You know, if you're in the back row and or you're with your parents and you're a little shy, but you maybe want to come up, feel free to come up. If you want to bring your parents with you. There's plenty of room. That's great as well. If if you're if you want to sit back there, that's OK as well. But I have a lot of cool things to show you guys. And if you're sitting in the back, you're probably not going to be able to.
To properly see and I also have.
Some candy and some stuff to help motivate people to sit in the front. Yesterday evening I was at the pool at the hotel. Raise your hand if you're at the pool at the hotel. Raise your hand if you heard the noise from two blocks away from the at the pool at the hotel. Yeah, I was pretty crazy. You know, in previous years, I've always played hockey. But this year I traded my hockey stick for a bathing suit and I went to the pool with my little daughter Laurie, and there was a lot of kids there, you know? How many kids do you think were in the pool last night?
00:10:16
Yeah, how many?
You don't know.
Whether 10, maybe 10? Who thinks there's more than 10?
Yeah, how many do you think they were?
30 OK, I think there were 30 parents on the side. Now, how many kids are in the pool? 50I counted more than that. Yeah. 20 higher. 70 I counted 70 kids in the pool.
That's a lot of kids and we said I think there's over 100 kids at this conference, so most of them are in the pool.
So it's pretty cool, right? And you know, the Lord helped us. No one was, I don't think anyone was injured. 70 kids went in and 70 kids came out, you know, and that's really good. That's what we want, right? But I'm counting in the front row and I only count like 30. So maybe your friends are missing. Maybe if they could make it this morning, maybe people got sick. I totally understand. But I know there's more room in the front. So if there was that much participation in the pool, I hope we can have as much participation this morning, hopefully.
Quieter because it'll get real loud. OK, so we're going to start with a word of prayer. So we're going to close our eyes and ask the Lord for His help before we start. So let's pray.
Our Godfather, thank you this morning that we can sing these songs that glorify your Son the Lord Jesus. We thank you that we can have this time to talk about these stories from your Word and how them applied to our lives. You just pray that you might give me wisdom and just a clear message so that every boy and girl might clearly understand the message of salvation. We pray also for those that might be still be traveling for a journey of mercies.
The name of Jesus. We ask these things. Amen. All right, so for starters, I'd like to read a verse in Hebrews chapter 2. So if you have a Bible, raise your hand if you have a Bible.
You will be needing your Bible. If you don't have a Bible, that's OK. You can listen, right? We have two ears. We can listen if you have any questions. What do we do if we have questions?
Raise your hand. My name is ET. You can call me ET, Mr. ET. That's OK too. If you have any questions, I'm from Montreal, QC, and I'm very happy to be able to share a Sunday school with you guys here today. OK, so I want to talk to you about a a couple of three main words. First word. Oh, by the way, I'm going to walk around a bit. Not that I'm nervous, but I like to involve everyone. All right, So I'm expecting people, if you're in the front row, to be paying attention. If not, I'll be asking you a question.
Sounds good. Is that a good deal?
All right, so we're going to have we're going to start off in the verse in Hebrews chapter 2. But I want to talk about my 3 words. I want to talk about the word.
Reject. Accept. Neglect. I'll say it again.
Reject, accept, neglect one more time.
Now, is there a difference between these words?
There is, right, and we'll kind of get into that in a little bit. So I'm going to need some some help as well. So we're going to start off with reading Hebrews chapter 2.
Hebrews chapter 2 and verse three. You have a volunteer to read the verse for me this morning. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse three. Yeah.
How shall we escape, if we elect so great salvation? We at the first begin to be spoken by the Lord, and was comforted, confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
That's right. Thank you very much. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
That's really the verse that the Lord put on my heart to share with you guys this morning. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? You know, neglecting is not the same as rejecting in in the in the sense of the word neglecting is putting something off is saying I'll do it later. I'll think about it or it's not important right now we'll get to that later. But to reject something. If I say Levi, do you want a candy and he says yes, that's accepting. If he says no, that's.
If he's neglecting, that means he could just ignore me and look at something else or talk to his friend or something. That would be what neglecting would be. And you know what? That's what I feel might be the biggest issue from keeping boys and girls who are raised in Christian families and godly parents who open the word of God with them from getting into heaven. It's not that they don't know the gospel. It's not that they haven't heard the message of the the story of the gospel. They haven't.
00:15:02
Even known your verse, maybe you know your verse today you look like you have a real nice suit on or a nice dress and you you look good. You know the verse.
You know the message of the gospel, maybe you've neglected it for yourself, you maybe know it in your head, but never got into your feet. I spent some time a few years ago in Malawi, Africa. We were doing some, some preaching in some schools and they're in the schools. They had a problem because the kids wouldn't really pay attention. They'd be looking at you or kind of looking around. They're in the room, they're sitting down, they're quiet, but they're not paying attention. And so the teachers, they would do certain things in the class to get the kids to pay attention.
So we're going to do that today. Are you with me? Are you with me? Are you with me? All right, so we're going to start off with talking about, let's say I'm the teacher here in Malawi, Africa. We'll see where I'm in the city of Chachippa in the north of Malawi. And so the teacher would come up in the room and says, class, I want you to pay attention. The class was all kind of talking and as as kids do, right, we all like to chat and talk and says, he says, all right, you guys are going to do what I do. All right, So the teacher says to the kids, all right, everyone hands up. So the kids put their hands up.
Let's see some hands up people. Old people too.
Let's go. Or young people do. Hands up, hands down, hands up, hands down. Clap once, clap twice, hands up, hands down. And so at any moment when the teacher felt he was losing the audience, he was losing the attention of the audience, the people were being neglectful, he'd say the same thing. He said. Alright, guys.
Hands up. Hands down. Hands up. Hands down. Clap once, Clap twice. Hands up. Hands down. Faster. Hands up. Hands down. Hands up. Hands down. Clap once. Hands up. Hands down.
All right, we're all on the same page. This is good, this is excellent. And so this way the teacher would have the attention of the class and if ever any moment there was a distraction or a dog was barking outside and the kids would look out the window, he'd immediately make them do the reaction to make sure they were back and track. Okay. But this verse here, neglecting so great a salvation, this is something that is a very serious topic. It's the most important thing that we could talk about today at this conference about neglecting.
The state of your eternal soul.
To neglect means to put off, to not think about. I want you guys to think about it for a second. What would be reasons why people might neglect salvation?
Any volunteers?
Yeah.
They want to fit in with the world. That's a very good answer, yeah. Peer pressure. Something happens. Anyone else? Other things want to talk about? Yeah.
Because I don't want to. That's a very honest answer.
But to help us along here, just for the sake of time, everyone that's sitting in the front two rows, please look underneath your seat. If you see a blue sticker underneath your seat, hold it up in the air.
There should be about 12 of them. Hold it up in the air if you have it.
There might be one in Euro too actually. 3rd row so I see one. Hey Teddy, look underneath your seat.
You see one, I put a couple here, so there should be at least 10 who has one here. There's definitely ones in this row, guys.
I see 123. There might be one around here. Maybe it's in your neighbor's seat. If they don't find it, you get it, you win. All right, Good job.
Maybe there was one here he tripped on looking at that one.
All right, that's good. Good job. OK, so let's start off. We're going to read them out loud. And these are reasons why people might neglect their salvation. OK, let's start with you. What's what does it say in the paper? Too busy.
You guys ever hear that people say that I'm too busy?
Now if you kids think you're too busy, wait till you get to be my age or older. You have a lot more things busy about. But that's still an excuse. People say I'm just too busy to think about salvation. So I'm going to put it off for another time. Hey, thanks so much. OK, anyone else?
Is there another paper underneath there?
I think there might be one here. Nope. I guess they're not there. All right. Yeah. Money. Money. That's right. There was a dollar sign on that one. Yeah. Money. People might be too busy, you could say. You know what? I got? Money.
I got possessions. I don't have time or I don't. It's not really a priority because I have success. So I'm I don't need to worry about salvation. I'll just neglect it. And that's what happened at the rich young ruler, right? He had a lot of possessions and he did not want to accept what Jesus was offering. All right, Henry, did I see it? It says family, family. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. If your family is all believers, if they're all Christians in your family, you might think, well, that's really good and like I can.
Your siblings, you can share Christ with your siblings. But maybe you think, well, my mom and my dad are saved. My grandma and grandpa are saved. My cousins, my brothers and sisters are saved. I'm OK because when they go to heaven, they'll take me with them or I'll be OK. I'll think about it later. So that's something that can happen, right? Family can be a help, but also a hindrance if we don't personally make a decision for ourselves. Just hold on to it, all right? What's it say, Teddy?
00:20:23
God loves me. God loves me anyhow. Some people think that. They say well.
Yeah, I'll be right there in a SEC. God loves me anyhow. You know, even if I've done that things, you know, the Bible says for God to love the world. So that means that whether or not I believe, you know, he still loves me, he'll accept me into heaven. Is that true?
That's not true because God does love you. He gave his only Son to die for you, but you have to personally accept Him.
As your savior, if I say to my little nephew here, Teddy, I love you Teddy, I'll give you a candy. But Teddy has to accept it for himself. He can't just he has to do something. He has to reach out and get it. And salvation gets a free gift, but you have to accept it for yourself. Good job.
When I'm older, When I'm older.
Yeah, it's like that's what people talk, say that sometimes, right? I'm young. I've got my life ahead of Maine. Maybe a young person in this room and you're thinking, yeah, it's pretty good to talk about God. But you know, I got my career, I got my education, I got my courtship, I got my relationship. When I'm older, I'll think about it.
Yeah, later.
Yeah, later they say the roads and another saying in French. I'm going to try to translate it in English here. The roads to tomorrow lead to the cities of never. So today is the day of salvation. Here you go. Anybody else?
You have one, Yeah.
I'm not a bad person. That's right. Maybe you're sitting in the front, you're like, look at those kids in the back row. I'm better than them. I know my verses. I go to the meetings. I'm a good kid. No, that's not good enough because everyone of us have to deal with a perfect standard. God. His standard is perfection. So maybe you're not as quote UN quote bad, but you're not perfect. And the only way to be perfect is to accept what God has given for your soul.
The sacrifice of his son. Anyone else? Yeah.
Check out other options. Yeah, maybe you're in school and your teacher is teaching you about other religions, other options, other ways that you can go to God. Yeah, maybe you want to check out other options to make an educated decision, you say. But you know what? There's only one way to God. John 14, Six. Who knows? John 14/6.
Yeah, India.
John 14 six, Jesus said.
That's right. I think that's the right reference. Is that the right reference, John 46 if you.
Pressure up here. All right. Anyone else have one? Oh, yeah. In the back? Yeah. I'm not that bad. That's right. We talked about that before, right? How we think that compared to the other guy. I'm not that bad. I'm OK. Ready to catch. Good job. Yep, I know.
I know. Is it? I KN ow, Yeah. OK. I know. Say I know enough about like I know about God. I know about the Bible. If you ask me a question, I'll have my hand up. I'll answer it. But we talked about earlier how that you might have knowledge in your head but not have the knowledge in your heart. Let's sing one more song.
Sorry. Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot about you. I'm too young. I'm too young. That's a good one as well. Now, anyone else forget one for you? No, I didn't forget. Anybody else. I'm too young. Yeah, maybe. You're sitting in the front row. You're saying I'm too young to make a decision. All these people in suits, they're talking and they're preaching, and that's maybe for them, but not for me. I'm too young. It's not. Maybe when I'm older. Hey, thanks a lot. Sorry about that. Anyone have a song they want to give up and move from this section over here?
There's one under that seat.
There is.
There's one.
Where is it?
You want to get it? Where is it?
You're holding. Do we do it yet?
Oh, another one. Ho ho, ho, it says, know my verse. Yeah, knowing my verse, who hears knows a verse for the week.
No one knows their verse for the week.
I'll just bury that one. I'm sharing your home assembly people. Have your parents, your teachers helped with their verses? But knowing your verse is not enough now. Did you already get a candy? You didn't get one yet. What does your paper say?
Oh yeah, this is a good one. It's not cool. People say it's not cool to be a Christian. I'm going to neglect be accepting Christ because it's not really cool. Because the cool kids, you know, they wear like different type of clothes or maybe they, we all want to fit in a different way. They say certain words, they listen to certain types of music. That's the cool stuff to do. But to be a Christian, to go to a conference and there's no like.
00:25:21
Really cool music, although him seems to be pretty cool but.
Relatively speaking, it's not a rock concert. You might think that's not cool enough for me, but you know what?
To be cool.
Is not what God is looking for. He's looking for your heart to be turned to Him. Now you had two papers, right? So you're going to get one because you sat beside the person who had two. OK, so let's sing another song. All right? Who has the song they want to sing?
Yeah. What number #10?
All right, let's sing verse one and four. OK? And once again, I want to invite any child that's in the back row or in the room that wants to come to the front. We still have a couple spots available. Just feel free. If not, you're OK right there as well. OK, verse one and four around the throne.
Everyone will have to be happy and.
Glory, glory, glory, glory to God.
And Savior, grace on everything, love to say so everything is blessed and grace and praise you for a man singing glory.
Like to talk about a few?
About neglect. Now who knows what a this means? Like you can probably read, but what would you put this up for?
Yeah.
If you have something expensive or you don't want anybody to take to put that up, so so they don't take it.
That's right. I have a landscaping company. We rented out a warehouse and a couple times has been broken into before, Hopefully not this weekend, but not we weren't there when it was broken into. But when I rented the place, they said you got to put cameras up to make sure that people know that you can protect your stuff because it's a lot of people walk by that area. So I'm going to put up cameras. This is a warning.
That we're filming. What's going on now?
I have a camera that if I have my cell phone, I can look at it and I can see exactly what's going on at that shop or at my house. But today, in this room in 2019, there's someone that can see even more than what my camera can see. God knows the heart. He sees inside every single one of us. He knows what your thoughts are, He knows what you're thinking, He knows what you're doing, and he is watching and knows every thought and intent.
Heart. So this is something that we can't hide from. We can't neglect. You can pretend that you think God can't hear you or can't see you. You can try to hide from God. Someone tried to hide from God in the Bible. Who knows what that guy's name was? Jonah, raise your hand.
All right, What is it? Good job, Jonah. OK, Jonah. Could Jonah hide from God? Did it work? It didn't work, right? Yeah.
It didn't work, right? That's right. Good answer. OK, another sign.
What does this say? Keep out. Now who would put that up?
Yeah.
That's right. If you have private property. Now, if we're here in Canada, we don't put these up. If you're in the States more, it's more of an American thing I think, but.
I'm not getting political this morning, but just saying. So people put these up in errors and I have seen them in Canada, to be honest. Keep out. It means you have to keep out of this certain area. It's a private area here. I'll take that. Yeah, it's a private area. You don't want anyone to trespass because it is. It's your area.
And you know, this morning.
We talked a little bit about neglecting so great a salvation this morning.
00:30:03
God, if I could just put it this way to make it figurative, has a sign it says keep out of help. Keep out. I don't want you to go there. I don't want any boy or girl or older person to go to this terrible place called hell. Keep out. But if you neglect, if you neglect what God is telling you.
There's no hope.
This sign, if it's clearly posted and you just rip it away and you say I'm going there anyway, I'm going to disobey what the rules say. I am sorry my friend, there is no hope for you if you choose to go down that path now. God is merciful. He in time. You might reject today but accept war. But we're not guaranteed tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. Behold, now is the acceptable time.
So who here can help me hold the sign?
You want to help me out? OK, Just hold it right. Take care of it.
And maybe someone else can hold the camera sign if I can find it again. You want to hold it. All right, you hold this one.
What does this say?
Who knows here what Kijiji is or Craigslist. Yeah, you try to sell things on Craigslist. I have a terrible luck with Craigslist or GGI. Try selling stuff and I really have a hard time. So usually you start off with for sale. Let's say it's $1000.
You're at $1000 on it. Let's say I'm trying to sell an old vehicle and eventually after 2-3 weeks, you try to lower the price. We'll put the 800.
And then you see that new Rigid toolkit at Home Depot that you really want, and it's $500.00. So you say if I sell the truck, I get the tool kit. You're right, $500.
No one's buying it. No one wants to buy it. Eventually you say, look, I'm just giving up.
My handwriting is terrible free.
Give up. I just want it gone. I want this thing out of my life. I want to move on and have ruin my in my garage or whatever else you have. And you know, salvation is not like this. God is not bargaining. He's not saying all right. And I've been to different places in the world where you have to bargain. Like in India, you're expecting to bargain over stuff and the price starts really high and you go back and forth and eventually the price goes down.
But not here with salvation. God is not going to cut you a deal. He's not going to cut you a liquidation special to get it to heaven. He's not going to cut you a sale. He says my gift is free. The gift of my Son is absolutely free. And if you neglect it, it's on your terms. It's going to be because you chose to reject what I gave you.
So free.
We sing a song, right? Salvation is a big word, but I am not too small to know. Christ died in Calvary from sin to save us all that we sing within the chorus goes the gift of God is free for Jesus died for sinners, even you and me. So could someone hold the sign free Sign for me? Yeah. All right.
It's all right. We'll talk to you about something else here. I'm running at a time. This is how I'm having so much fun here. This is really a lot of fun. Thank you for being, for paying attention guys. You guys are a great, great front row and also second row too, and everybody else. So this is who knows what this is.
Yeah, tape. Now why would I use this for? Yeah.
That's right, construction. You want to keep your feet out. Anyone else know why this is used? Yeah.
That's right. You're kept out so that no one gets hurt. Yeah.
Yep, that's right.
So we put tape around to protect the area so people stay out of that area, right? And I want to talk to you guys about something that's happening in my hometown Of Montreal right now. We're going through a flood. There's a flooding going on in my in my city and.
Part of it has been underwater, certain parts. Thankfully my house is on higher ground and safe, but in certain parts of the Montreal area and suburbs.
There's been an evacuation warning places like in Rego Hudson area, Hawkesbury close there. There's a highway goes close to the river and people live there and people are being evacuated, Yeah.
That's right. That's right. Some houses are on stilts because of all the flooding. And so these houses are on are being flooded. And so because of all the flooding, the mayor has issued an evacuation notice. Now, what does that mean, An evacuation notice? Yeah.
00:35:11
Get out of here something dangerous. So he said, he says as of this date, you have to evacuate the city. You have to evacuate what this area because of the danger. And what they've done is they've taken tape like this and we're going to.
We're going to tape off an area here.
And he's taking the tape and he says, look, we are going to block off give me hand. You loop it around the end right there. Keep going this way. Do another you do another fist around. He says we're going to block off certain areas of the city. And if you choose and he says we're going to say that you cannot go back in this area because it's dangerous. Sorry here, Savannah.
For the sake of progress.
Thank you. All right. We're trying to hit you. So we're going to close off this area. He says if you go out, sorry, if you choose to go back into this area, you're on your own. He says. We're giving you warnings. In 2017, we had a big we had a big flood area, a flood in Montreal and people's homes were were lost. People were I don't think anyone died, but people were taken away in from in helicopters and it cost the city a lot of money and so they said.
We are setting up.
A perimeter and if you go inside this perimeter, you're on your own. And they took a keep out sign like this and they post them all around. And the mayor went on the TV and he said and the radios too, and put stuff all over the Internet. He said if you choose to go into that perimeter, if you go where it's not safe, you're on your own. We're not coming to get you. And he made it very clear. He says it sounds mean, but we know that the water is rising and the water is rising at some .6 inches an hour.
And if you don't, hey, guys, don't touch the wire, OK? My safety tape here. It's very important. So let's pay attention. All right, Hands up, Hands up. Hands up. Hands down. Hands up, hands down. Clap once, clap twice. Hands up, hands down. And so the mayor said if you choose to go into this area, you are on your own. We are not coming for you. And he made it so clear. He had the police chief say the same thing, The Fire Chief say the same thing. And you know what?
Some people.
They said, you know what, we're going to stay here anyway. I was just Googling the updates this morning on my phone and there's one guy, he said I'm just going to. I took off my phone, I shut off the radio and I unplugged the TV. I don't want to hear what they're saying. I don't care. I'm staying here. This is my home. I'm going to. I'm going to be OK. So this guy.
He can you hold this for a second, He had a, he had a safety plan, he said.
He says I'm going to.
Survive this storm. This.
Flood because I got.
So he says. I have gone to the store, I got provisions, I got everything I need.
And so if I fit this.
Want to put this over here.
And so this young man, well, young man, he's an older man, he said. I'm not going to leave the area. I got my rain gear on. Probably putting this on crooked, who knows what these are.
Waiters. Yeah, he's like, got my waiters on, I'm good, he says. I don't care how much rain comes, they're not going to get me now. He probably wouldn't be wearing the same outfit I'm wearing here today.
Because we'd all been in a lot of trouble, but he's wearing his waders.
I bet that's cool. All right. So he says thank you. Thanks, Emma. So he says, I don't care what the city says, the police say what the army says. I'm staying put. I'm wearing my waiters. I'm good to go. But the problem is I'm not that good at math. But if water is rising 6 inches an hour, how long till four feet is how long? How many hours did that take to go up?
Four feet divided by 6 inches. That's how many hours.
Anybody any home school students here?
Yeah.
40 that's that's even more so 6121824 how many hours?
8-8, maybe 88. We'll go with eight, eight hours, 8 hours before these waiters are no good. And it makes you think of the story of the flood of Noah, right? Noah's flood.
00:40:09
Noah's preaching and warning people for all this time, saying you have to get out, you have to get on the ark.
And what do the people say? They mocked them. They laughed and they said, no, we got our own plan. And I saw a picture recently of like some tall mountains and people holding on the mountain as the water was rising and the ark was floating away. It was a really cool picture. And people were calling out to the ark saying come and get us, but it was too late because God had shut that door. But today the offer of salvation is still open. Today, if you are able to hear, hear my voice, if you're able, if you're listening to this tape recording, maybe from a conference, maybe you're.
In the car with your parents, Maybe you're at home. You're listening. If you can hear this message, the gospel is still open for you. You still have the ability to listen, and you're still able to hear what God is telling you today.
I'm really running out of time, so I really got to compress here, but that's OK. So God shut the door. So this man, I don't know what's going to happen with him. He's probably going to be flooded up. Maybe he'll be washed out to see. Maybe he has a boat that he can throw away.
But he's neglected to hear this message. So it will be really too bad today to have boys and girls and the older ones, I mean young people that are sitting conference after conference and hardening their hearts and rejecting what the mesh of the gospel is. The mesh of the gospel is simple. We've talked about it last night. We've gone over it many times. Many of you kids probably could could say a lot of verses that regards in regards to the gospel and tell me about the way they got to God. But have you made that acceptance for yourself personally? Have you accepted God's?
Free gift.
God says keep out of hell. Do not neglect, do not neglect. You know, we talked about the three words at the beginning. I didn't cover them that much. We had. What were the words again? Yeah.
Reject, accept, reject. Neglect. I'll give you candy, but it's so far down I can't reach it.
So accept, reject and neglect. So today you are the sand and those one of these three categories either you've said I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, He's my Lord, I am nowhere. I'm going either you are rejecting, you have said no, it's not for me. I reject God. Or maybe you're saying I'm going to I'm going to neglect it. I'm just going to deal with it when I'm older or later and all those reasons you guys still have those blue papers. Some of them are floating around. Be sure to collect them up after. But you have those blue papers. Maybe that's one of the reasons you're giving.
And that's not good enough. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. A few years ago, I was at my meeting room in Montreal. We were raking up leaves and I looked outside in the backyard and there was these built, these houses. And I saw flames coming through one of the up in the kitchen, up through the window. So I ran, I jumped over the fence, I ran through the door, I started banging on the door and I said there's a fire come out. And the kid came to the door, probably the same age as a bit older than him.
Age comes up to the door and he the fire was here on the side and he walked up to the door oblivious to the fire and I said, open the door, your house is on fire. And he's like, no, I was like buddy, like I'm about to kick this door down. So get out of the way. Thankfully he he, he saw the fire and then ran away in the, in the in the living room. I was like, all right, 10 seconds, I'm going to kick the door down. And he came back, finally opened the door and I was able to get in and switch off the electrical fire electrical panel and put out the fire. But that could have burnt his house down. But he was.
He was ignorant at first. The fire, when he saw it, he acted. So today, if you hear what we're saying today, you're not ignorant. You can't say I never knew. You can't say, oh, no one ever told me clearly the message of salvation. We talked about salvation being free. We talked about how God always sees us, right. We talked about how God is saying keep out of hell today. Do not harden your hearts. Do not be like that guy.
That disregarded everything that the city was trying to tell him.
The authority was trying to tell him, so I'm right at the end here. Does anyone have any questions? So sometimes I get excited, I speak too fast or I'm not clear. You don't have a question that maybe not being clear, Yeah.
But at first they didn't know what he was doing. They were laughing at him. That's right.
Wouldn't you think that would be able to swim? Yeah, but they could. It rained for 40 days and 40 nights. I saw kids swimming in the pool for an hour and they were tired. So there's no way you're going to make it for 40 days and 40 nights. So. And plus you got to eat right? So it would have been hard. So I really. The message of salvation is for today. It's for now. It's not for later. Behold, now is an accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Jesus Christ died on the cross for you. He shed his blood if you put your faith and trust in him, if you.
00:45:12
It like Teddy accepted that free gift you can be saved. Anyone else have a question?
All right, let's bow our heads and let's pray.
Father, thank You that we can open up Your precious word. We can talk about the importance to not be neglectful. We can talk about the importance of us not despising what Your word has said. We pray that every boy and girl might accept this for themselves. They pray they might make it personal to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. We pray the right be joy in heaven over a Sinner that repents this morning.
We ask these things to your glory, Lord Jesus, you, your name, Amen.
Relationships
Address—Robert House
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.
Welcome to this address this afternoon.
I'd like to start.
By taking a moment.
You just think about what we were doing.
3 1/2 hours ago.
3 1/2 hours ago we sat down in the presence.
Of our Savior, King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
Creator of the universe.
We considered His Majesty and His glory.
And we considered him as the Lamb of God.
And the Spirit of God brought before us.
That same person.
Going to Calvary's cross.
Absolutely amazing that the omnipotent.
Creator allowed himself to be nailed to that cross.
And even more incredible that he was made sin for me and for you if you're a believer in the Lord Jesus.
And on that Friday?
The cross was empty.
Because the one whose name was Jesus, He shall save his people from their sins, was dead.
And placed in a tomb.
With a stone over the door over the entrance sealed.
And on a.
First day of the week.
About 1990 years ago.
The stone rolled back.
To show an empty tomb.
Because Jesus was risen from the dead.
The power of God raised him.
I'd like to just take a minute just to think about that. Recall the feelings the Spirit of God brought before us.
And then I'd like to sing 132.
132.
The person.
Let's pray.
Our gracious God and Father, we are thankful for our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the majesty of his person.
For his wisdom, his power.
And for his humility.
For his love, for his matchless grace.
And now we come to Thee in His name, asking for help. I pray for a portion for myself and for each one in the room today, and for those who will hear this message in the future.
00:05:07
Ask for blessing.
By thy Holy Spirit, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
My intention this afternoon is to speak about.
Relationships.
But I intend to begin by way of a test.
Now this test is only for people here. We're here on Friday afternoon. Wonder if somebody could tell me.
In the address that our brother Bob gave, what the key verse was?
No volunteers yet.
I heard something.
Listen, I'm looking for the verse.
Maybe I should ask my brother Bob.
Thank you very much. Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 15.
And the key idea?
In this verse as I picked it up.
Should not henceforth live unto themselves?
That was the negative side, the positive side.
Should henceforth live unto him which died for them.
And rose again.
I intend to take a few minutes.
And go through and try and make a practical application of this verse.
To our relationships.
I don't have nearly enough time to talk about all the possible relationships that we can get into.
But there's a relationship that we have with our God. I intend to talk about that.
There's a relationship that we have inside families.
Husbands to wives.
Children to parents.
And then there's the relationships inside the assembly, and I hope to touch a little bit on some of them.
And then I plan to come back to the relationship again that we have with our God.
So first of all, I'd like to turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, verse nine. Turn over a couple of pages.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.
That ye, through his poverty, might be rich.
I think the key concept when talking about relationships is this word grace.
It's a beautiful word.
I like the fact that it's related to the concept of charisma.
And charisma is that which attracts. And I want to think about grace this afternoon in a specific way. It's not the only way you can think about grace. Because I know my brother Bill Prost stood here at this spot a few years back, and he talked for 45 minutes on grace. Many different aspects of grace, but I have been personally enjoying.
Two things. Three things about grace.
Grace being an amazing, incredible combination.
Of Holiness.
Humility.
And love.
And we see it so clearly expressed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did the creator of the universe?
Come into this world.
To seek and to save that which was lost. People like me and you.
Because he's love. Because God is love.
But why did he come into this world and go to Calvary's cross?
Because if he just wanted friends, he'd come into this world. But no, there was something more than that.
00:10:05
And that is that he is holy, He is light.
And as a result of that.
Grace had to deal with the question of holiness, God's holiness.
And so when we think about the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have the holiness component that took them to the cross and.
In obedience to his Father was made sin.
And died. And yet at the same time, in that we have the love of God, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how God commends his love to us.
Because Christ died for us.
And we have in the person of the Christ that absolutely beautiful, incredible, Amazing Grace. Now I'd like to turn over to Titus chapter 2.
Titus, chapter 2.
Starting in verse 11.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.
That's the holiness component.
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself for us. You can see the love so clearly.
And then why? That He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. So you see there grace combining the love and the holiness. And whenever I think about the Lord Jesus, and so often on Lord's Day morning, the Spirit of God brings before us when we sit down in His presence.
Philippians 2.
You can't help but think of that humility that the Lord Jesus demonstrated.
How could he?
The Almighty.
All powerful.
God allow his creature to spit in his face, to pluck the hairs off his face, to crucify him.
That's humility.
Well.
We've had the verse brought before us. The love of Christ constrains us on Friday.
That we should not henceforth live unto ourselves, but to Him.
That died for us and rose again. Now let's turn to Psalm 119.
Psalm One 119, verse 9.
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto, according to thy word?
There are some instructions from the Old Testament and that's what I want to do.
Look at the word of God. Apply it to my own life in connection with relationships.
Now, just to show you that it's not just.
An Old Testament idea. Let's turn to First Timothy, chapter 4.
First Timothy chapter 4, verses 15 and 16.
Meditate upon these things, Give thyself holy to them, that thy profiting may appear to all take heed unto thyself.
And under the doctrine.
Continuing them. For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.
Notice that. Take heed.
Unto thyself. So what I want to do for myself this afternoon, and what I want you to do for yourselves.
Is measure your personal behavior in the relationships that you're in, in the role that you have in those relationships against the Word of God.
And wherever I see a difference in my own life between what I'm doing and what the Word of God calls me to.
00:15:03
I trusted by the grace of God I'll be able to change it and that would be the challenge for you as well.
It's much easier for me to go to this book.
And read a verse and say that applies to my buddy that has the marriage problems.
Always that verse ever fit him.
It's much harder for me to look at myself and say, you know, Robert, there might be a little room for improvement in your own life.
So.
That's what I'd like to do.
You could probably guess what chapter I'm going to. Ephesians chapter 5.
There are a lot of other chapters and portions as well that have to do with relationships. When you think about it, we're made in the image of God.
And God is triune Father.
Son, Holy Spirit.
Always has been, always will be, and there's always been a relationship.
Between them.
And when God?
Chose to make man. He made man in his own image.
Male and female.
Created he then. That's fascinating.
He designed male and female for relationships.
And he designed them to have children.
More relationships.
So this is something that's important. It's about the word is what? The Word of God has so much information in it regarding relationships and how do we live appropriately in them. So turn to Ephesians chapter 5.
We'll start with verse 17.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submitting yourselves 1 to another in the fear of God.
I read all that good and powerful verses, but the part I wanted to pay attention to is the last phrase, submitting yourselves 1 to another in the fear of God.
Does anybody in this room think that they're omitted from that?
I don't think there's any room for anybody saying no. I'm the boss here. Everybody else has to do what I want.
Think about.
Philippians.
Chapter 2. We've already mentioned it.
Let nothing be done through strife or Vainglory. Verse 3.
But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. This is a beautiful concept.
All through this room I'm seeing hundreds of jewels.
Pearls.
Diamonds.
Some fitted in sockets of gold, all for a different purpose.
All of you.
Jewels of the Lord.
Valued.
But you know what? I'm one of those jewels too, valued by the Lord and loved.
Precious in his sight.
But when I look at all you.
What am I to see?
Gems and jewels that are more valuable than I am. All of you better than me.
Look at this. Look, not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but was?
Made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
00:20:09
He submitted himself.
To the priests, the chief priests, the high priests.
He submitted himself.
To pilot.
To the Scourger.
To the soldiers who let him out.
And crucified him.
And in obedience to his Father.
Holland, that cross.
He asked if there was another way and there was number other way. And so he did it in love and obedience to God his Father.
Humble yourselves.
Well.
Let's turn to Hebrews chapter 4.
And verse 16.
We have an incredible example in the person of the Lord Jesus.
And how are we ever going to even start?
To be conformed to his image.
The task is huge. Verse 16. Hebrews 416.
Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The throne of grace. It's a lovely place.
Think of it. That's where God the Father sits, and beside him, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And we get to go there and ask.
To obtain mercy from our God help in our relationships.
And grace to help in time of need.
That's to give me the ability.
To be the father I'm supposed to be.
The husband I'm supposed to be, the son that I'm supposed to be.
We all have that same resource.
So prayer is fundamental and important to our being able to do relationships. Let's turn back to Ephesians chapter 5.
Verse 22.
Wives, submit yourselves onto your own husbands is on to the Lord.
Verse 33. The last part.
The wife see that she reverence her husband.
That's going to take Grace.
You know the hard thing about this? I am not a woman, I am not a wife, so I can only imagine what this must be like.
It doesn't say.
When your husband has earned the respect.
When he's lived up to my image of what a husband should be.
When is as good as my father used to be, and he wasn't very good, he's got to be at least better than my father. Then I'll submit to him.
Then I'll give them the reverence, the respect, whatever. Until then, he needs to go get help.
No, no.
Your instructions wives to submit with one qualification.
As on to the Lord.
That's important because the holiness part fits into that.
If your husband is asking you to do something, that's unholy.
I believe the instruction of that verse is that you and your responsibility to God, you don't have to do it.
But that's The only exception that I see.
I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying that's why you have access to the throne of grace, why we have Jesus as an example.
00:25:01
Now let's go to.
Verse 25.
Husbands, love your wives.
How is it that a husband can wake up Christmas morning?
Roll over in his bed.
Look at his wife and say.
I don't love you anymore.
Get out of bed, pack his bags and leave.
It happens. It's tragic.
How is it that a wife looks her husband in the face and says I hate you?
Well.
It takes grace.
On all sides.
Takes grace to love because.
I'm not told to love my wife because she's beautiful.
And only as long as she's beautiful.
I'm not told to love my wife so long as she's good and obedient and submissive.
I'm not told to love my wife as long as there's no other woman that you know what, she's actually a little cooler, so I'm going to have a fling with her.
No, I'm told to love my wife.
I don't see any exceptions to that.
Not easy always. Some days it's easy.
Sometimes it might not be.
That's why we have the throne of grace to go and pray and get help find grace.
For times of need.
Love.
Got at least three meanings in three different words in Greek translated into English.
Agape filios Eros.
Agape is the love of God that loves in spite of the object.
And loves with no response.
It's a beautiful love because there was nothing in me when Christ loved me, gave himself for me.
But he did because of that divine love. It's a beautiful thing, grace of God.
Some days we need that kind of love when we don't feel like loving.
Our wives, you do it anyway. It's a choice.
And we'll come to that a little farther down what it is. And I'm picking this order because First Thessalonians 523, we had that earlier.
Agape Filios Brotherly Love family love Sometimes your family is nice to be with. Just so much fun to travel with them.
Other times you've got problems in the family. Not so much fun.
Maybe there's sickness, maybe there's misbehavior.
Not so easy.
That's where you need grace. Go to the throne of grace. Seek mercy and grace to help.
But the last one, Eros, is that relationship, the physical relationship, the love.
Natural attraction. Sexual type.
And I want to make this point.
That's a perfectly good love.
So long as remember it takes grace and grace has the holiness component in it.
I hope you've been listening this conference.
For the word ***********.
My fellow brothers, there's no room in my relationship, in a relationship that's not grace for anything that you learned in a pornographic magazine or movie or anything else that this world presents because it's under the word lust.
The flesh is never satisfied.
Ever. Cannot be. Lust is never happy, it always wants more.
00:30:03
And to my lady sisters.
What you learned in Harlequin Romance is about what a husband is supposed to be to be.
That feeds your kind of female lust.
It doesn't belong in a holy relationship either, and that's where grace comes in. You need to have holiness and love and humility altogether in all aspects of a husband and wife relationship. And now moving on to verse 26, there's an incredible lesson in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us.
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water.
By the word.
That's what he's doing for us as his church, as his bride.
And that's what I need to do for my wife.
Figure out what her potential is, figure out what she's capable of, understand what my Lord wants for her, and help create the environment and the circumstances for her to be that woman that God intends her to be.
And.
Wives, God brought Eve to Adam.
There be a help meet?
And you need to actively think about how do you help your husband be the man that God wants him to be, to build them up, to strengthen them?
These are the things. Doesn't depend on what the husband does, doesn't depend on what the wife does.
Obedience to the Word of God.
It doesn't guarantee your husband won't look at you some morning and say I don't love you anymore. He's perfectly capable of doing that.
It doesn't mean your wife won't look at you and say I hate you.
But it is the path of blessing. It is the path that God laid out in His Word for a good.
Relationship and it can be done one sidedly.
And it would take the grace of God and trips to the throne of grace to make that happen.
You know the scripture it talks about even and unbelieving husband.
Being won by the wife.
So there's hope and there's grace, and God is able when we think things are impossible, He's able to change the situation. He's the one that can change King's hearts. He can change your wife's heart, can change your heart.
Your husband's heart.
Well, trying to move on to the children.
Let's go to Chapter 6.
Verses one and two.
Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right.
The only condition on that is in the Lord.
Your parents tell you to do something. Do it.
You know, that's actually the path of happiness.
The path of unhappiness.
Children is to live to yourself.
To live unto yourself.
First Corinthians and 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 verse 15. In the middle, we're told not to live to ourselves. I'm speaking to you as if you're Christians and if you're not, you need to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and accept them as your Savior.
Because without that you don't have access to the throne of grace. So I'm going to speak to you as if you're Christians. Obey your parents. That is what is the path of happiness. And then verse 2, honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise.
That it might be well with thee, that thou mayst live long on the earth.
I dishonored my father once.
An afternoon was a very long afternoon for me.
I wasn't looking forward to him coming home from work.
I smashed something that he valued and I did it intentionally and I'm not proud of it.
Wasn't a happy afternoon.
If I had simply obeyed, my life would have been better. My father's life would have been better.
00:35:03
And so, children, even if your father is unreasonable, even if your mother is unreasonable, doing things that you don't think makes any sense, that they don't understand your circumstances, the path of happiness and blessing.
Is obeying and honoring your father and mother. You can turn to the book of Malachi, the 1St chapter and you'll see there how God was dishonored as a father by Israel. They shortchanged him when he wanted something. They did the worst possible job they could and still do it. How do you respond to your parents?
You know what they want.
Are you doing the minimum just to get out of getting in trouble, or are you responding with a willing heart? It takes grace to be able to do that. And you as a child can go. The Lord Jesus received the little children, took him up in His arms, and He blessed them. And He wants you in love and in holiness to obey and honor your parents.
Well.
I'd like to turn over to Malachi the 4th chapter just for a minute.
Malachi Chapter 4.
And verse 6.
He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
You know what Ephesians chapter 6 verse four says?
It says fathers.
Provoke not your children to wrath.
You know.
One of the things that's essential in our relationship is that we think about them and we plan for them.
What is the nature of your children, fathers?
Don't do things on purpose to bother them. If they need predictability, try to be predictable.
If they're interested in something you have no interest in and love to them, seek grace to be able to be interested in what they're working on and think about the path of their life. How to try and help them is no guarantee that they're going to obey you. There's no guarantee that they're going to make your life pleasant. But there it is. Think about it, just like you think about your wife and.
Mothers, just as you should think about your husband, you need to think about the path your children are on.
And guide them.
According to the tenor of the way, direct them to grow and mature, to be intelligent Christian adults who can act on the principles of the Word of God, not just. This is the way The brethren have always done it, not just.
This is the way Dad says to do it.
But help them learn to search the scriptures and by the grace of God.
Understand what God wants them to do and how He wants them to live according to this word.
Now why does the devil work so hard to destroy families?
To get the father to be absent at work too much.
Or off playing his sports. Or stuck on the Internet or whatever. Or the mother to get involved with alcohol so she's not there to love and care for her children.
Or the children themselves, to make the home miserable by bad language, by abuse of their parents, whatever it might be. Why does the devil work so hard to do that? Because he wants to ruin the picture that we need to understand all the other relationships that we have in our life.
So when you turn over to.
Timothy.
First Timothy, chapter 5.
Verse one, rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father. You know what, if you don't understand the father son relationship, how are you going to function in the assembly?
No matter what it is, you're going to need the grace of God. Remember the holiness and the love, both of them. They're part of what Jesus was and the humility. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Look at the next verse. The elder woman is mothers.
00:40:13
See how important the family relationship is. It helps you understand how to function in the assembly.
And then the younger sisters, the younger men as brethren.
Parents, mothers especially, don't let your children be mean to their siblings.
Teach them to be respectful. You know, mothers have that role of respecting their fathers and it's a role model for their children to respect their fathers and they need them to know that. So then the assembly, they can show that same respect to their brothers and sisters in Christ and get along properly in the assembly.
Always there's going to be problems because we live. Somebody mentioned this morning the spiritual warfare that we're in. The devil is always attacking, always trying to cause trouble and disrupt. And where do we go? Back to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace, to help the holiness and the love. And now I want to go back one more thing. Why does the devil try to destroy the family?
Because ultimately, it's a relationship.
Between.
Child and father that God has with us.
Think about Hebrews 12.
God portrays himself as a loving father.
Who cares about his real children to discipline and train them?
It takes grace to learn those lessons. Remember the holiness of God. Remember the love of God and the humility of Christ.
And you know, the husband and wife relationship is so important. Why?
Because that's the relationship between Christ and his bride, between me and my Savior.
I need to see it functioning at a human level.
In order to understand how it works between me and my God.
First, John teaches us that if you say you love God and you hate your brother, it's not real.
And the Lord Jesus, what is the one commandment we have as Christians?
That you love one another.
As I have loved you.
What does love require of Maine? Remembering the holiness of God.
And humility, that's what grace is, and it's going to help us in all of our relationships and in the last relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit, we have to remember He's inside each and everyone of us.
We need to listen to him. Sometimes the Apostle Paul listens and sometimes he didn't.
But God was gracious to him, and Paul humbled himself.
And was used for blessing even in his chained circumstances of being in prison.
And so we have to listen to the Spirit of God as He would teach us things from the Word of God, and as He would communicate to our heart and conscience about our state of soul. So going back to those two verses, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed there to according to thy word, and that same thing.
Listening to the word of God, measuring myself against it. And then the key thing is I need to change.
And it's the grace of God that's going to allow me to change. It's me. And I have a responsibility to act according to the word of God.
In each of my relationships, remember the humility of the Lord Jesus Christ that took him to Calvary's cross and the holiness that had him bear our sins on that tree, and the love to His Father and to you and me.
And that's what's going to help us in our relationships, husband and wife.
Wife to husband, parents to children, and then those same relationships in the assembly and our relationship to God, to have that same kind of loving affection between children and father as with God and ourselves, between husband and wife as with ourselves and the Lord, and continuous obedience and listening to the Spirit of God.
00:45:02
Let's pray.
1 Corinthians 6:15-20
Reading
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.
139 One, three nine.
This world is.
A wilderness.
Why we have nothing to sing or to just with nobody?
The way still Robin, we got you regret nor do.
The Lord is and the soul of God.
Before you just marked out the.
Regret.
Here's the sure.
Thing to be in order to.
There is a blood warming in the ways which was.
His soul and Wallace, you'll see where he's put on his ground.
World of bad world.
Father and God.
To the place where he is.
Strength shall be ours on the road.
And with them shall.
I bring it holding a Sprite crystal down.
In the joy of his love and love.
And to serve when we reaching.
All his own.
House Grant thence chapter 6. What verse should we start with?
OK.
First Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 15.
Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid What Know ye not that he which is joined to in Harlots is one body, for two sethe shall be one flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is 1. Spirit police fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sent against his own body. What know ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?
What you have of God and you're not your own or ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are Gods.
00:05:22
Have a relationship here that.
Is the.
Both as possible.
Relationship we can have with the Lord.
As members of his body.
And.
The Bride of Christ.
When did that take place?
At 20 cars.
Collective thoughts.
So the Lord is the Head. The Lord has various headships. He's the head of the new creation race. He's the head of all principalities and powers.
He's the head of creation, but he's also the head of the body.
That's a relationship.
Was not known in the Old Testament.
We're not known while the Lord was here on earth.
The church was not formal and most understand that the church was not formed and.
Till Pentecost.
And the Spirit of God came down, united all believers into one body, some an Organism that had never existed before.
And will not exist exist after the rapture.
When the Rapture takes place today, maybe.
The body of Christ.
The bride of Christ will be taken into the glory. Now we have the body of Christ on earth.
I think it's basically an earthly concept.
Were members of the body of Christ. This morning we had on this table one loaf. That loaf.
Of course, as 22 meanings to it one.
It is a picture of the body of Christ. Every believer in the world was represented there this morning in that loaf. They may not act as members of the body of Christ because they're going through denominations. In fact, we have no membership in an assembly. We have a membership in the body of Christ. No membership in an assembly or or a denomination. When the bread was broken, then the figure.
Change. Then it became a symbol of the body, the actual body of Christ that was given in death. So it has two significances there. And we, if we are intelligent, we break bread not only as forgiven sinners, that's true, but we break bread as members of the body of Christ.
And so the Lord is our head. In fact, the church is not said to be in Christ, because as members of the body of Christ.
We're not in the head. This hand of mine is not in the head. It's directed by the head.
And it's under the control of my head, but it's not in my head.
So the church is not looked upon us in Christ as members of the new creation race. We are in Christ because that is an individual thought. But in the in the body of Christ it's collective and we are members now on earth.
Of the body of Christ, body of Christ is not in heaven. And those who have passed through the article of death, my mother and perhaps our loved ones, they're no longer in the body of Christ.
Some people think they are.
Don't believe so. They are with the Lord, but no longer part of the body of Christ, because the body of Christ is an Organism that is on earth now.
Formed at Pentecost, completed at the return of the Lord and the Rapture.
And the character of our relationship in the coming day will be as the bride of Christ, wife and bride. But I don't believe it has the significance of the body because there's no suffering in heaven, but there's suffering in the body. Now members are suffering. Gifts are given in the body of Christ by an ascended Lord, but there's no gifts in heaven.
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We won't need any gifts there, but we need gifts in the body of Christ now. So I just mentioned that someone can elaborate on it, but I believe that the body of Christ.
Is an earthly Organism.
Of which every believer is a member.
Same as we have members in our body which function and are directed by the head. If they're not directed by the head, we we have an awful condition in the bottom. But I believe that that is the.
It's in good to distinguish between the headships in the new creation race because we are now new creatures in Christ.
Individually, we are part of that new creation race that was formed after the death and resurrection of the Lord. That's not the body of Christ as an individual relationship that we have.
As in the family of God.
But the body of Christ is a headship of a different character.
It might be good to go back and read the verse and a half before this to get the connection. The middle of verse 13 it says Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body, And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise us by his own power. And then it speaks about the body. This same body that the Lord has given us is to be raised up.
And so it's for the Lord and the body, though it'll be changed, It's, it's, it belongs to the Lord, is to be used for the Lord. It's to be preserved holy cure. And it's not to be connected with uncleanness. And it's so important when we see that this same body that I live in right now is going to be raised up and presented to God in holiness and perfection.
We should keep it holy and pure now.
It's interesting that in this.
Discourse here of carnality.
That you have both the positive and the negative side.
It's.
He does the Lord or the apostle doesn't just tell us the wrongs of evil, but he associates the positive side of our bodies, the God's intended use of them as a positive thing. What a wonderful thing to think that our bodies are given to us for the honor of God. And there is a beautiful application for us in the even in the marriage relationship where the body.
Is used according to God institution of it. This is holy and good and it's so we only we don't look at it just as the negative side, but we see the positive side. It's kind of like a double attack against evil.
Seeing we're talking about the flesh in this subject we have before us, could this application also be a woman of the street? Or could it be in relationship? If one person has an affair with someone else, is there that possibility in this very jewel as a warning?
It's wide application.
It's interesting in verse 15, it really doesn't talk about the body of Christ or members of the body of Christ. It's members of Christ and it's a little bit different than members of the body of Christ. That's a wonderful reality like our brother John's been bringing out, and it's true, but here it's members of Christ because the focus is on the physical body that we all possess.
00:15:07
And sometimes it's presented as if we have been redeemed, spirit and soul, by the Lord. And sometimes people think the body is something that's still unclean. No, it too is something that the Lord has redeemed. And as such, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we are. Notice that it says in twice in verse 15.
Members of Christ.
There's a relationship with him.
That is to be cultivated, so he says. Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of an harlot?
God forbid. And then he goes on to explain.
In verse.
16 what know ye not that he that is joined to an harlot. What you're referring to brother IS1 body. That's that's something that really kind of shakes me because he's quoting he says for two shall set he shall be one flesh and it's quoting from Genesis chapter 2, where God made Adam in help me for him.
And he says they shall no longer be.
Two but one flesh and so it's in that act, that sexual act that they there is a union that God recognizes me. It's very interesting that it says that in connection with being joined to in harlot. Can I take this body which is a member of Christ and join it to a harlot?
It's a total contradiction of what we are being taught in this chapter. It cannot be. And so he is raising it with him. This is very common in Corinth and I'm sure you all know that it's very common in today's world.
That they think that there is sexual freedom. This is my body. I'll do with it what I want to do with it.
Can I take this that is a member of Christ and use it in that way? Absolutely not. God forbid, he says. And so there is a union and it shows to me rather than in what God has ordained the sexual union between a man and wife in wedding in a wedded.
Relationship.
Is a beautiful thing that God has instituted. And when it's used in that context properly, it is the most beautiful thing. And it's the means by which we procreate. And so it's something that God has already. But sometimes I've used the illustration of a, a river. A river is a beautiful, useful thing to have.
But when it overflows its boundaries, it causes great destruction. And God has set the boundaries in which that can be used. And so when a man goes and takes a harlot, a woman that he is not united to by matrimony, then it's going to cause real destruction and havoc.
Don't do it. And so he gives the way that we are to be preserved.
Ourselves, since we are members of Christ.
Yesterday, I think, Mr. Tony, you mentioned about the Kingdom of God and you explained that to us a little bit, and it reminded me of the verses in Mark Chapter 9 that speak of.
Verse 43.
As if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, and having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Verse 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Verse 47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out. Is better for thee to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into the Hellfire, and so on.
00:20:09
And I considered those verses because that was, I think Enos, you even mentioned this, but it was the removing of it was the getting rid of that defiling, that defiling part that would keep us separate and keep us out of the Kingdom of God and keep us out of that blessing. And so when we remove that portion of our natural body or that sinful thing so that we're able to come into his very presence, He takes that sin away. But to come into his presence, then why would we?
Then want to return to something like that and I believe it's being brought out in these verses because it tells us in chapter 12 of our of our first Corinthians about the body and Mr. Camp was explaining it in verse 12. It says for is the body is one and half many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body. So also is Christ. Verse 14 says for the body is not one member but many.
And so to go and return to such a defiling state.
We no longer have an effect on ourselves, but we affect the whole body of Christ.
All the members of the body are affected by that defiling of becoming one with that harlot through fornication.
That be correct.
Definitely, since we are members of one body, it does have an effect on others as well and so that is of concern.
But I think it is good to keep it in the context here. It's the members of Christ. And then he goes on to say in verse 17, he that is joined into the Lord is 1 Spirit.
One spirit with the Lord. What a wonderful thing to be able to walk in fellowship with our God.
You're through a world that's so contaminated now if I get involved with an illicit affair.
Is there going to be an enjoyment of that fellowship?
It cannot be. It cannot be.
Are we enjoying the fellowship of our God? Brethren, dear young people, cultivate fellowship. Brother spoke of Daniel and how he was in very difficult circumstances. Think of that as a young man of maybe 15 or 16 or 17 years old. Probably his parents have been killed when they took Jerusalem. We don't know anything about his parents.
Up there, but he had that purpose of heart to keep him and God honored him and even as an old man later on in the book is still persevering. What a useful instrument God had in that man. Do you want to be that way or do you want to go under the subtle temptations of this world and.
Be nullified as to your usefulness for God.
Lord help us.
I just mentioned that.
That often people speak of a new body, but that's not actually a correct statement.
It's not a new body that we will receive.
A glorification of the Lord's coming. It's the same body that goes down into death.
That will be raised in a glorified condition. 2nd Corinthians 5. So it's not a new body as some people think, but it's a body transforms into the likeness of Christ's body physically, without the scars and without the wounds. Praise His name.
A body physically like Christ and morally, morally, morally.
When we shall see him, we shall be like him. That's first, John three. That's we're going to be like Christ, physically and morally. Is that right, brother?
00:25:06
So the 1St 2 words of verse 18 are very pungent. Flee fornication.
Doesn't say stand there and resist it. Flee whenever there's the suggestion of such a situation.
Get out of there, young man, young woman, don't stay there. Get out. And we have a wonderful example with Joseph in the Old Testament, who was against his will, no will of his own, to be sold as a slave to Egypt.
And then being bought by Potiphar, captain of the guard of Pharaoh and.
Taken to his house and there was a temptation that was very real.
Pharaoh's wife tempted him constantly, day by day, says.
And he would, he would resist it. But one day she caught him by the clothes. What did he do? He didn't wrestle with her. He left the garment with her and he got out of there. That's fleeing. And there's a lot of temptation in this world that we are passing through.
The Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray. Lead us not into temptation and when you know.
That there is an area of your city or your town or even in the in your home. If you're on the Internet, you know there's areas of the Internet that are not right. Flee fornication.
Fornication is any sexual sin outside of the marriage bond. Flee. Get out of there. Don't try to even think you're strong enough to resist it.
Hebrews 13.
Hebrews, chapter 13.
I would like to develop for a minute a couple of verses here.
Speak to the young people again. I hope this is OK.
God created intimacy.
In a beautiful way and we've talked a lot in the last couple meetings about.
The negative.
Consequences of engaging in what God created.
In its right place, which is a blessed thing. Getting it out of its right place, like you mentioned Bob, brings big problems.
So Hebrews 13 verse four, marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled God created.
Sex intimacy with your husband or wife and it is a beautiful thing that he gave.
To a married couple.
Turn back one page to Hebrews 12.
And there's mention of Esau made here.
And God calls him a profane person.
3 Hebrews 12/16, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau.
And for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. Well, Esau was the first born of Jacob.
Isaac and Rebecca, and as the first born, he had this right, if you will. This upcoming blessing called the birthright, and it would be given to him when his father died.
But he didn't value it. He wanted what he wanted right now. So he's out in the field hunting.
And he's hungry.
And so I think we can all identify with different aspects of our own lives where we want what we want right now. So he's hungry and he hears Jacob making this pot of Stew or whatever it was with the lentils. And Esau said, give me, give me what I want right now. If I don't get it, I'm going to die.
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So Jacob says well.
OK, sell me your birthright, he goes.
I don't care about that. I want what I want right now. And he gave up what God's blessing was going to be. He just threw it aside basically. And God says.
Esau was a profane man because he didn't value what the blessing was and he gave it up so we could have what he wanted out of its proper time.
You know he wasn't going to die if he didn't get his bowl of soup.
But his attitude was I want what I want now and I just, I don't care.
About the birthright, it's valueless to me. Throw it overboard.
And I guess what I want to encourage you young people on is.
Outside of this relationship with your husband, your wife?
It's wrong.
But inside this relationship with your husband or wife, it's not wrong. It's given by God and it's a marvelous blessing to husband and wife. But don't be like Esau, who had the lust that he had for that pot of soup and he was willing to throw overboard to get what he wanted. Now, I guess what I'm telling you is wait.
For God's tongue.
And it will bring tremendous blessing in your life. And I know that is really hard to do.
It's not that long ago that I was a teenager. I know what hormones feel like.
I see the same advertisements you see.
The radio or whatever that you hear, but.
Be like Daniel, purpose in your heart. So wait and don't throw aside what God has made for your good and blessing and get it out of its proper order and it really creates huge problems. So purpose in your heart to say, Lord, I will wait for your time.
And the Lord bless you if you do that.
As a profane person, wasn't he? Profanity is treating what is sacred as if it were common. And he, like you explained he took his birthright, which was what God gave him. He should have treated that sacredly. He said that's no more worth to me than a bowler suit. I'll give it to you. And so he relates it here. And I don't know that we know from the Old Testament that Esau was a fornicator.
But it's the same principle as profanity.
If you just use your body in a sexual way at your own will, that's profanity. That's treating what is supposed to be sacred as if it were common. Don't do it.
It it brings out the point of what comes from God. The birthright came from God. Sometimes we think our bodies are our own. We're, we're, we're, we're the owners of our own body. We forget that God gave us that body and we are responsible to our creator God. How we use that body and if God gives us a sound body that can marry and enjoy the relationship of marriage, a wonderful thing. Not everybody has that.
And so whatever God gives us, it's so important to take it as from God and honor him in not how we use it.
In connection with fleeing fornication, I'd like to go over to the 7th chapter, the very next chapter, in which Paul deals with a lot of things connected with the marriage relationship. Mr. Reed a few verses there, verse one. Now concerning the things where have you wrote unto me? It is good for a man not to touch a woman nevertheless to avoid fornication.
Let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife do benevolence, and likewise also the light wife. And to the husband. The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband, and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife.
00:35:26
Defraud ye not one another, except it be with consent for time, that you may be give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. So in this chapter it says, and I think this is one of the things we need to be aware of in our lives, is it says it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
Don't think it means that we can't shake hands with a sister in the Lord.
But it's going beyond that and sometimes in our relationships.
Between young people, we go beyond that. Remember there if you're not married to a woman that is not your flesh and bone. So treat them with respect and notice the brother that read First Timothy chapter 5 this morning. Just let me read that to you because I think it is so significant there.
Paul is telling Timothy how to relate to different people in the family of God. He says rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father.
And the younger men as brethren.
The elder women as mothers and notice this part, the younger.
As sisters with all purity, so there needs to be the recognition of the fact that this body responds to touch. And so when it's a matter of a person of the opposite sex, I need to be careful in my relationship to not stir up the passions that are to be only used in the within the marriage bond.
So he was told to do that. In fact, it's interesting to me. We have one of the other pastoral epistles is Titus.
And there in Titus, Titus is not instructed to teach the younger women.
Used to tell the older men how to act, and the older women and the younger men.
But it is interesting there he is to tell the older women to instruct the younger women. I think that's interesting to think about. And so there is need of care when it is those who are younger. And so in First Corinthians 7 in connection with fornication says not to touch a woman. Like I say, I don't think it means.
Never not touch and not shaking hands and things like that, but be careful how far you go.
I was a young man too, like you say, Bernie, I it was a few more years back than that and I remember the struggles I went through because I didn't get married till I was 30 years old.
But I was traveling with Eric Smith.
That began and I went to Bolivia 1968 together and it was interesting. But one of the pieces of advice that Eric Smith gave to me, I've never forgotten, says be careful of those of the opposite sex because you can have a good testimony for 10 years, for 20 years, for 30 years. You can. You can lose it all.
In just a few moments.
Of unguarded.
Actions. So be careful. I thought that was really helpful to me and I think they were more careful. I don't know. I think it is more so in Latin America.
But brother Eric Smith and brother Ramon Alarcon, both, they were very careful. They went into a home that the brother of the home was there as well as the sister. I know it's not the same here in North America.
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But let's be careful. You know what people think if they know that a woman is there by herself in a place.
And you go in there too. You know what people think, the people of this world, that's the way they think. Let's be careful to not leave bad testimony. And so we need to be careful as to this, the testimony we have. And then it says in verse two of Chapter 7 to avoid fornication. How are we to avoid it? Let every man have his own wife.
And let every woman have her own husband.
Your young brother in the Lord.
Wait till the Lord gives you the right mate, and sometimes it seems like waiting a long time. I must say I thank God that I waited for the one the Lord had for me, now I see.
Many years after that, this was the one that was the suited helpmate for me.
And it's worth waiting for the intimacy that is enjoyed in the marriage relationship. It's worth waiting for people who treat their bodies as if they were a profane thing. Even when they may get married later on, it's not the same if they've used their bodies with other men or other women, it's not the same. There's always in their mate.
The worry that maybe something.
Is not totally right.
So treat your body as sacred. It's the member of Christ. How important it is to remember, dear young people, that we are. We are members of Christ. So this is the way to avoid fornication.
Have your own wife. Let every woman have her own husband.
And then it says, let the husband render the due benevolence, or to the wife the due benevolence. There's to be that respect.
What our brother brought before us in the last meeting as to love. It's interesting to me, brethren, that.
In Scripture, the wife is never told to love her husband.
Except in Titus chapter 2.
If the older women were to teach the younger women how to love their husband, but it's not the agape love, it's the file lab and that is important. It is on the part of men.
To obey the command of God and to love their wives no matter what.
That's the command of God. It doesn't a matter of feelings. I see so many people like he said in his meeting that come to the point they said I don't love you anymore.
They don't understand what love is, that's why they talk that way.
Love is something that is eternal and it doesn't. It doesn't fail when there's not the feelings. Whether I feel it or not, I have an obligation to love my wife. It's a command of God, and I think it really helps to understand that.
So we're to render the due benevolence one to the other and the wife the husband has not power over his own wife, our own body and the wife has not power over her own body. That said first and then it says in verse 5, defraud G not one another. I think that means to deny.
Except it be with consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer. It's to me it's interesting.
Do we fast? Here it is fasting. What is fasting? It is.
Denying yourself and that's to be the character of our lives, brethren, The Lord Jesus said if any man come after me.
Let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. And so there might be a time that we dedicate ourselves to prayer and we desist from the intimate relationships. But then it says, but then come together again, that Satan will not tempt you for your incontinence here. Lack of self-control. So the Lord help us. I think these are important points to consider in the marriage relationship.
00:45:23
Well, I've used an interesting word word think.
At our mental outlook, the way we look at life, what we think in our minds and our overall perspective is absolutely crucial.
Verse 18 says flee fornication. The idea there is keep on running away from sexual impurity.
You run today. If it shows up at your door again tomorrow, and it will, you run again if it shows up the next day. You run again and you keep on running. It's not enough just to do it today, you're going to have to do it again tomorrow. You only run away from things that scare you. You only run away from things you don't want. If you want something, you're going to go towards it.
I'll I'll be brutally honest, I have struggled with *********** myself.
And today, if I see an image that even is even remotely pornographic, it is an indication to my own heart of where I am in my relationship with the Lord, what my gut reaction to that picture is. If my gut reaction is revulsion, I'm glad if there's even a small part of me that.
Maybe doesn't even want it, but condones it or doesn't think badly of it if there's not a part of me that doesn't want to turn around and run.
Even if it's running in a mental way.
Then I get scared. Then I start praying like Madden. It scares me.
Daniel, it says. He purposed in his heart. He made a decision in his mind.
And it wasn't enough just to make it that very first day. The first day they rolled out the steak, the wine and the delicacies. That wasn't enough. He had to make it the next day. And the third day he had to go and eat vegetables while everybody else ate prime rib.
If we don't have the right perspective, we aren't going to turn around and run. And just to tie in with everything else that said, I'm not talking about a God-given relationship between a husband and wife. I'm not talking about sex itself. I'm talking about sin, about what you know deep down inside.
The Lord Jesus Christ died to pay for.
Very good, James. We're bombarded on every side, all knelt the society in which we Live Today.
That they say.
Upon all living is.
Statistics say it's close to 50%, but this, this is an evil in God's sight, and it's rather and as our brother James is very well.
Explained We need to be very careful and.
Leave to the Lord with the purpose of heart.
In the FSL of James, chapter one, verse 12 to 15.
James, chapter one, verse 12 to 15.
Listed is the man doesn't endurethe temptation, but when he is crying he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love him. Let no man say when you stand till and temple of God, but God cannot be tempted with evil either.
But every man stand good when he is drawn away of his own dust and his entire. Then when lust have conceived the training 4th sin, and sin when it is finished, bring it forth there. Do not air, my beloved brother.
I'd like to share something for those in this room or that are listening to this recording about that are maybe in a courtship or getting or engaged because you're kind of in transition towards being married from being a state of not married and yet clean fornication still applies until you are married. And I would encourage that if you if you're on a date with your.
00:50:03
The wife or husband that you begin your date with. Prayer that the Lord will preserve you, that you would not do anything that would compromise.
Impurity, but also at the same time, don't put yourself in a situation where the Word of God would not be honored. The Spirit of God will not protect you somewhere where the Word of God.
I'm probably not saying this right, but the Spirit of God will not give you victory over something if you're choosing to willfully go down a path that is wrong.
So for that, if that means being behind closed doors, just you and your your, your significant other, then don't do it. If it means being in a parking lot together, then don't do it. If it means the one place of doing activities that were acting physically together that would lead you down a road, that is wrong and don't do it. It's important to have these conversations with your future spouse. Speak to the men, especially to take the leadership and set physical boundaries.
Before you go on the date before you are together, before you are in that place of compromise because when you're in that moment, you're not going to feel like necessary stopping. So it's important that as men that we take that leadership to make sure that we're not causing our sister in Christ future wife that the sin as well. But that will be glorifying to the Lord. And yes, there is forgiveness. If a couple has gone too far, there is forgiveness. There is restoration, but there are scars.
And it's also not a bad idea to maybe get Christian counsel from a godly couple about these questions about physical, how to act physically. It's before marriage. It's not a bad idea to talk to those that have gone before that can give us godly advice. I know my wife and I would help us to talk to certain couples. And I really encourage you because you're at a place where you're told to flee fornication, but yet you're getting close to being married to person and then suddenly it's OK and.
It's though it's very important that until you are married, even if you're engaged or to be married next week.
Still before God are not married until that very day.
I have two questions. The first one relates a little bit to what John just shared and what ET just shared.
My first question is, if we're to flee, that means we're running away from something and we're choosing where we're going when it's chasing us. So where do we flee to? John mentioned fleeing to the Lord and ET mentioned being in prayer as an act of way of fleeing.
And there's a verse in Second Timothy 222 Says flee youthful lusts and then it says but follow. So we're fleeing to follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. And then another verse that comes to mind is Proverbs 1810.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower.
The righteous runneth into it and is safe.
So I realized I gave a bit of an answer already to my question or to flee to the Lord, but I'd appreciate a little bit more elaboration on that. And then my second question is, we are told in Colossians that were complete in him, we're complete in the Lord and the Lord is our All in all. And Bernie mentioned our feelings and our hormones. And my second question is, can we find complete satisfaction in our relationship with the Lord?
In connection even with those physical feelings.
Sense of flame brother, I think he just mentioned some things that I think are good as far as fleeing is concerned, some practical things that can be done.
That would fall in the category of fleeing. I know that you're you are talking about who he flew Fleet to, but I think you've answered that question. But there's a method in that fleeing that.
I believe is the same principle as what another brother brought up earlier about.
How the Lord would have us to cut off those members that offend.
I I, I believe that we all know that the Lord.
Wouldn't have us cutting off our body parts. What he means there I think is very similar to what this fleeing is, and that is to remove ourselves as much as possible from the temptation. I think that Bob made a good comment there that it's not good enough.
00:55:07
To merely resist the temptation.
We really need as much as possible to remove ourselves from the temptation. Give an example that's outside of the subject we're talking about now. For instance, if if a person was an alcoholic and has been fighting drink, you know, and they have to walk to work every day and the most direct route takes them past the bar that he used to frequent so much. And he hears the sounds and smells the smells and.
And it becomes a terrible temptation for him. Well, in a sense, the cutting off of the foot or whatever would be to, to change the route that he's taken so it doesn't take him by that temptation. And I think that with what we're talking about here, the fornication, it's a similar thing. There are situations, I think it's already been said that we can put ourselves into that really are dangerous.
That where the temptation will occur and we think maybe we're strong enough that we can resist it and that's not so I one of the things that I that came to my mind for young people that.
Young adults that maybe are getting to that point where they're looking for a a mate.
That one of the things that might be helpful is to when they do.
Quote UN quote date that they do it in a in the company of others.
As much as possible, that removes a lot of the opportunity for things that might otherwise go wrong. But I believe that ET mentioned some very nice practical things when it comes to fleeing.
Remove ourselves from that temptation.
Where did Jacob get to know Rachel?
It was in the home of her father, Laban.
Before everybody, I mean, there was nothing secretive about it. I think those are things. And where did Moses get to know his wife? It was in that same context.
You want to get to know a girl? Go and see how she treats her parents. Does she treat her parents with respect? She doesn't treat her parents with respect. How do you think she's going to treat you? So those are things that are in Scripture and I think are something to be considered.
An exchange is the second question. Can you read a verse in the book of Proverb chapter 23?
Proverbs 23.
As verse 31.
Look up.
Come to one when it is red, when a pivot is color in the cup, and when I move it itself to right at the last it bite it like a serpent and string it like an Adler. Nine eyes shall be all strange woman, A dark heart shall utter perverse. I just want to stop there for a minute.
The use of wine, alcohol would provoke passions.
People come to our house. It's been a while and.
I tried to encourage them to stay away from alcohol.
Because this will stimulate the fashion.
But now connections. Second question, what will help me?
Not to be led by nature, by passion.
We have an Ephesians chapter 5.
Don't be drawn with wine wherein there is success or it leads to dissolution, but being filled with the Spirit.
You know, it's just something that it takes.
Takes a long time to get this concept to learn, but it needs to be filled with the spirit.
Is to be a few 5 to the Lord Jesus.
I know a brother recently told me that he.
Was charging with actions.
Just need to be before the Lord. I need to go take a walk and.
Break of the Lord, You too need a picture.
Sing sing song. Listen to ministry.
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To have my minor coupon with the things of the war.
So we are to.
Not to be drunk with wine.
But to be filled with this.
May the Lord help us, young and old, to save a lot of habits.
Think much about the Lord Jesus to find.
The occasionally the tools that will help us to be occupied with them and this will preserve us.
1St and that is filled with wine. You know it don't you? By the way they talk and by the way they walk.
A person that is filled with the Spirit. You know I do.
The same way by the way they talk, by the way they walk. But I would say this too rather Jason, that.
Companionship with other young men that you can enjoy is very helpful. I I must say in my youth I had some really good friends and and that companionship was a big help to me in the right direction. One of them was your father, Bernie and.
Yeah, well, it was a big help to me. This brother sitting right here is another brother that was a big help to me. So.
It does help to have companionship because we're not alone in this world.
That everyone struggles with the same way and one way or another. But I must say I I'm exercised by that exhortation you mentioned, Brother Francoise, be filled with a spirit. That's an exhortation.
It depends on you and me. Are you filled with the spirit, Brother Francois?
I see.
Your exercise to do that, aren't you? But I don't think any of us are the judge of that.
But with that is what we are told to do be filled with the Spirit?
Lord help us.
Can a person be fulfilled as a single person? Is that your question? Kind of?
I hope this is not out of its proper context. Turn to Isaiah 56.
Yeah, Isaiah 56 begin with verse 3.
Neither let the son of the stranger that have joined himself to the Lord speak, saying, The Lord hath utterly separated me from his people. Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am at the right tree. For thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my Sabbaths, and that shews the things that please me.
And take hold of my covenant.
Even unto them will I give in my house and in my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters, and I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Well, I I would suggest young people, if you find yourself single.
And you wish you weren't single.
Take it to the Lord.
But realize that here the Lord says, don't say I'm no good, I'm of no value, I'm a dry tree. You're not. The Lord can use you and bless you in that.
That station of life that you're in and you may be called to a life of being single.
Does that mean you're of no value? Certainly not. You're a tremendous value and they'll hear the Lord says I'll give you a place within my walls and a name. It's better than sons and daughters. So I I take from that Jason, the answer is yes, you absolutely can be a complete, fulfilled happy.
Lover of God.
The Lord Jesus was all 33 years.
You know, the apostle Paul mentioned there too and.
The 9th chapter.
He was a man that he committed himself to the work of the Lord.
He he had passions like any other man, but.
He didn't.
He forsook those things so that he could give his life wholeheartedly the work of the Lord. But nevertheless he realized that there was temptations there. But what did he say? He said in verse 27, But they keep under my body and bring it into subjection. Was that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway, that is.
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Something to remember. Isn't that when we're?
Servants of the Lord.
On this step, like that in our bodies, we could be looked at as a castaway.
You know, other people look at, they read us, don't they? We're an epistle known and rid of all men. So they see what we do, they watch us. And the Apostle Paul knew this very well. And so he, he was very guarded, but he had to be. I think it was reading a story on Billy Graham when he, when he was younger, I don't know, but when he was older, but when he was younger, he went around.
Preaching the gospel, the large crowds everywhere.
And oftentimes you'd have to stay in a hotel overnight.
And having the reputation that Billy Graham had was women there that would try to attract, try to attract them. So he had a he had guards that that would guard them against that kind of thing. You, they would protect them. He'd go right to his room. He would stay there. He wouldn't intermingle with anyone. Well, I mean that that isn't a very nice way to have to live your life. Is that you, you would like to be sociable. And but he realized that.
He could be very easily tripped up.
So he guarded himself against that, and we see that the Apostle Paul did the same here. It's self, it's self judgment, isn't it?
Here in our chapter before we get to the end of our time on a touch verse 19.
And it has to do with what we've been talking about by being filled with the Spirit. It says, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you're not your own or you're bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
Which are which is God? And so to realize individually everyone, their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. If you go back to the chapter 3, it says that we are collectively the temple of the Holy Spirit. So God dwells by his Spirit in US collectively. But here it is individually my body as an individual.
The Holy Spirit of God dwells there. That's an incredible thing to stop and try to comprehend. And why is He there? He is there to guide us into all truth. He is there to bring to remembrance the things that the Lord has said to us. And so let the Spirit of God have his way in your life. Let Him show you the way to go. It's beautiful to notice in the book of the Acts how often it uses that.
Expression that they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
Stephen is a beautiful example, full of wisdom and of the Holy Spirit, full of power. And what was he at the end of his testimony? He was looking up into heaven and occupied with the Lord Jesus, and that's where they stoned him to death. What a brilliant testimony. Didn't last very long.
But what a tremendous testimony and the Lord help us, dear young people, to keep our bodies that have been bought with such a tremendous price. How are you going to go take those bodies and use them for your own purposes? It cannot be if you really understand it, right?
I think prior to closing it would be good. We can go back to verse 11 for a minute.
There might be young people here today who said, but I got caught up in that.
Know what what I'm hearing? It's all doom and gloom and approach. Here's my brother and I'm down for the rest of my life.
Verse 11 And such were some of you, but ye are what you are sanctified, and you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of our God. You go to Joel chapter 2.
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So if there's someone in that condition right now, Joel chapter 2.
Verse 12 Therefore also now saith the Lord.
Journey to me with all your heart, but fasting and weeping those mornings, and read your hearts and not your garments, and turn us to Lord where God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and our country Him of the people.
Verse 25 and I will restore to you the years of the motion cohesion that came to worm in the Caterpillar.
That's 26 and you shall eat them plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, and have dealt wondrously with you. My people shall never be ashamed.
Turn also to 2nd Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 2.
We have that promise that we will be forgiven. We have that promise that we don't have to live in shame, that we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ it is able to restore.
What about her brother? What is their responsibility?
Verse 7.
So controversy off rather to forgive him and to comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with much sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you, that you would confirm your love for him. Verse 11. Let Satan should get an advantage over us. We are not ignorant of his devices.
I'm not to say that people go on and sin, but if someone has fallen into one of these traps via *********** via fornication, and they have repented and turned back to the Lord, there is forgiveness, there is restoration. And it is our job as fellow Christians to show, to confirm our love, that that person doesn't have to live in shame for the rest of their lives. He can look back in Scripture and we can see Brahav who is in the family of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We can let's buy after we can see David and he fell and through through his life. Bathsheba there was Solomon's there can be blessing if you have fallen. There can and there is blessing if we turn back to the Lord. 256T plus four to three plus TV to be myself and still believe 256.
Is the savior.
I saw your dog in my squinty to the end of my style and still believing you'll be home by every sinning promised Lord for everything.
And we sounded where we would like it, and we sounded like we should be great.
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Shall be.
Our own.
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