Still Waters Family Camp: 2018
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2 Corinthians 4:1-5
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Let's pray a gracious, loving God and her Father. We ask for Thy help this morning as we open Thy precious word. We pray that Thou is leading. Guide us to just the right portion. We pray that Thou would lead by Thy Holy Spirit that there would be blessing and encouragement for each one that is here. We pray that Thou wouldst lead and guide and give us something for our hearts. Lord, we just pray for this. We ask this in Thy worthy precious name, Amen.
I wonder if we can make consider second printing support and if the Lord allows it going to chapter 5.
Unless somebody else has something before them, but I guess my exercise behind.
These chapters, as I feel there's a lot of practical instruction that we can get as believers.
And then the 4th chapter of Second Corinthians. The Apostle Paul is of various.
Exercises that he had which are good for us as Christians. There's a lot of practical things that we can get out of this. The thrust behind the chapter really is to have Christ flowing out of our lives.
And in an example to the world, and then he touches on those various things that might hinder that and how to maybe get rid of them out of our lives. And then in Chapter 5.
You know, it touches on the coming scene of glory, speaks about the judgment seat of Christ, touches on the love of Christ. So if it's the mind of the brethren, I wonder if maybe this would be a profitable portion for us to take out.
Therefore, seeing we have this Mr. Not as we have received mercy, we paint not renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, nor handling the word of God as easily, but by manners.
Manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our golf will be hit, it is said to them that are lost in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not unless the light of the stories. Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. Society of the world.
Preached not ourselves, but these by Christ. Use the Lord and ourselves your servants, for you to say for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness. I signed in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God is out of us. We dare it. We are a couple of every side.
Yet not distressed. We are precise, but not in despair.
Persecuted and offers shaken, passed down to now destroyed, always worrying about in the body of the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body when we which live are not always delivered. I do that for Jesus sake, for the light also Jesus might be manifest in our pleasure. So then death worketh in us to life and.
We have in the same spirit of faith, according it as it is written.
I believe and therefore have I spoken. We also believe in therefore to be knowing that he was raised up. The Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with years for all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might do the Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving I've been with me now unto the glory of God, For which Cosby faint not, but through our hours, man parish at the end is renewed day by day.
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Which he thought for a moment, worketh for us a bar more clean and internal way of Lord, while we let not have the things which are seen, but the things that are which are not seen, or the things which are temporal, those things that that are not seem very terrible.
I.
Well, as I mentioned, having this chapter number of moral exercises that are brought forward that would.
Be good for us to.
Pay attention to and employ in our own lives so that.
Of each one of us.
Representation of Christ in this world.
And is very.
The testimony of these rules about those things are not hindered and.
First verse. It's interesting that he mentions this word painting.
You might say a problem today has always been an issue with just throwing our hands up and giving in.
Talking to brother recently about this.
And just anytime that there's a work of God going on.
We can always take it to the bank that the enemy is going to sow his full weight at that work, try to disrupt it, be it a collective work or an individual work. And at the end of the day, trying to stumble us as believers. And if we give in to that tendency is just to again throw our hands up, throw in the towel and and and be wearied by it.
And it's interesting here, the Apostle Paul no doubt was a man of like passions like ourselves. And no doubt he felt the weight of of of the persecutions he endured and, and the work of the enemy to try to stop his ministry. And but he says, you know, we, his exercise was not to faint. And I think that's something that, you know, we need courage today, don't we?
That's good. I have a.
That the Lord wants willing servants, seeing we.
Ministry. The Lord's given every single one of us, even the youngest kid in this room, a service, a job that we can do for him.
And it is so easy to be discouraged by the attacks at the end, by our own failures, he says. As we have received mercy, we faint not. And so I think it's important for all of us to understand that.
It's been put this way, God doesn't fall.
Qualified. Qualified.
Are we willing to follow in the world? They look for humility and being smart and, and being hungry. That's that's what they talk about. You know, if you're looking for a good employee, that's what you're looking for hunger. They want that drive. They're humble, they're not full pride and they're smart. But all the Lord wants is willingness.
But we will, and the Lord says, I want to use you.
I've also heard he says that he doesn't need our doesn't want our abilities, he wants our availability.
I think it's.
A concern to it, I know.
Thank you. Not everyone mentioned over 24 verse 12.
Fell around each other, wax cold, and I know a little bit about what depression is and becoming under the influence that plays around.
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Mr. Harvey says because lawlessness shall prevail, the love of most shall relax. Hold. That's definitely an issue that we have to deal with in the world where so much is going awry. It seems like the lesson maybe things are out of control, but they're not out of control. God's allowing all these things to come to pass and.
That's the status of things in this world and it affects our hearts as well. And and there's so much wrong. So what's the news?
I can't fight against this.
I'm about to be overwhelmed and overcome by this, and that's an actual tendency, so that's why we have.
So we can be together and encourage one another to press on that in his birthday. And even though things are in bad shape all around us and even in Christian testimony, we don't have to throw our hands in Twitter.
Not the second epistle of.
Any of the officials in the testimony written from the perspective of the testimony. And so this is talking for Indians.
In the 1St fiscal 2.
The.
Perspective was the defense of the of the official list view the Church of God rather than the Lord, and 2nd of course.
Things are out of life. Whether it's just been mentioned, we we know from.
Technically it says that in the last day of perilous times. So I was talking about just the general aspect of things in the last days. We have that aspect, but then we also have.
The discouragement of the ruling of the testimony of God going on around. So what's that do so naturally make this discouraged, It makes us.
Not on a put forth energy towards the work of the work. The expectation is that this is the time that's the most important to be faithful in things services for the Lord ministry and and you know we we do the revelation two and two we get the churches there you see.
The first three churches of the latest speaks of.
But there's a message to the entire church.
But then in the last one, In the last four.
Particularly the older. And so because it's why it's at it, because the collective testimony was such that there was.
It's not much good to say tonight, says the majority of the collective testimony. And so the thrust of it is to the to the individual and the overcomer. And so in these last days, when we walk through these difficult times, there may even be failure around us. We may even have to deal with the.
Problems within our own local assemblies. We may have a lot of things that that mark failure both in the world at large and also in the Christian testimony, but as it says.
If we go to Hebrews chapter 12, it's a little different.
Little different context here, but I I like what it says.
In verse 12.
Hebrews 12 and verse 12 Wherefore lift up the hands of chaining down on the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet. Let's thought which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. And so, though there is a great deal of.
Of.
Stuff around us that can be discouraging. There's also a great deal to take encouragement from. And if we go back a couple of verses into chapter 3 here, it says now the Lord.
The Lord is there is liberty.
But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. So even in this day of ruin, even in this time of much discouragement, we have the resource of focusing our attention on Christ. And what the outflow from that should be, is the characteristics of Christ should be displayed in our life. And I want to talk more about it as we get a little further into the chapter, but I.
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It's hard to say what your favorite verse and.
Is but there's don't know me. I often quote verse six. I love 2nd Corinthians 4 and verse 6 and it says for God had commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give the light and knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And then the next verse says that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. It was a distinct decision by God to shine.
That knowledge into our hearts, it wasn't something that we sought after. He came to us to give us the knowledge of the glory of God.
In the face of Jesus Christ, isn't that beautiful? Have a lot to take encouragement from and a lot of incentive and motivation to to be conformed into the image of Christ.
One thing that really helped us what we do whatever trials or experience or whatever the way is down by giving the Lord thanks support it says in first lesson is growing his thanks on the Lord for all things and James says count it all joy my friend when you call in a diverse trials, but that's what will give us victory, but then our eyes will get off the circumstances off our brother and our.
Situation and on the Lord and when we give thanks to the Lord for something that's difficult there's.
He's just like he's ready to embrace us and fill us with his victory that he wants to give us. So just.
This encouragement, you know, sometimes.
All somewhere else in this book, he said.
In First Corinthians he talked about all the things he went through, like persecutions and imprisonments and afflictions, and he said somewhere in that list he says in necessities. So sometimes the difficulties in life, they're actually for our blessing if we can give thanks for them and.
The Lord and like it says in Philippians, casting all your care upon him and rejoice evermore. So if we give thanks, the Lord can put a joy in our heart even in the most difficult situation and then we'll that will help us to not faint. Just a little word to help us know how not to faint.
Of this and and I was really glad Tim that you connected it to chapter 3 and verse 18 because we have a special word here at the beginning of chapter 4 it says therefore and that is a is a link to the chapter before So what we have in this chapter is directly related to what we have in verse 17 and 18 and we already read that but turn back into the Old Testament for.
A couple verses here. The first verse I want to to look at is in Exodus chapter 24.
And I.
I want to set this in context. So in Exodus chapter 24, we have a really interesting portion that I've been thinking about recently for a little while, and this was at the giving of the law, and I just want to read just a couple verses. Verse 9 then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and abide you and 70 of the elders of Israel.
They went up into the mouth, and they saw the God of Israel, and there was under his feet, as it were, a paved work of a sapphire stone, as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.
This is amazing.
This is an incredible picture here of glory, of the glory of God in giving the law. And it says that they saw the God of Israel and under his feet were this pavement of sapphire. That's a precious stone and it and it would have been just incredibly glorious. Not only was it sapphire stone, but it was clear the light shone through this stone.
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And it would have been incredibly glorious to have been on the mount at the giving of the law hair and to have seen this. But it's interesting, the effect.
So let's turn over to Chapter 33.
And we won't go into a whole lot of detail, but in these intervening chapters we know that the children of Israel sin very grievously.
Before the Lord.
Very, very grievously before the Lord, Moses was up in the mount, and the Lord had given him the table of stone on which the Lord had written the law. And as Moses came down out of the mount, he he threw the stone, the tables of stone.
On the ground and they were broken to pieces.
Because of the sin of of the children of Israel.
But at the end of that.
That Moses asks a special request of God and I want to just read a few verses here in Exodus chapter 33 verse 18, he says, and he said, Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he God said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy.
On whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by. I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by, and I will take my hand. Take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts.
And my face shall not be seen.
And so this happened. And what was the effect? Well, we'll turn over just to Chapter 34, to the end of Chapter 34.
And we're going to read just a few verses here, verse 31.
Sorry, Verse 30. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come nigh unto him. And Moses called unto them. And Moses and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him. And Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh, and he gave them the commandment. All that the Lord had spoken with him in the Mount Sinai tell Moses had done speaking.
With him he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him.
He took the veil off until he came out, and he came out and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. And all the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses face shone. And Moses put a veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him. And this is just a a little illustration that we have in the Old Testament that I think it's a beautiful illustration.
Of what we have in verse 18, we all so each one of us have this opportunity. We all with an open face, beholding as in a glass of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by Mr. That's what happened to Moses. Moses beheld the glory of the Lord and he was changed. He was physically changed. It says that his face shone and it says it over and over again several times.
We read that his face shown the brethren, we have the opportunity by faith.
To look at the glory of the Lord and as we do that, there's going to be a change in us. Now we see as it were, through a glass darkly. That means that it's kind of like we're we're looking through a window that that is maybe frosted and and we can't really see as clearly as we would like to see.
But we can see the glory of the Lord shining through that window.
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And that's what it says here. We have this opportunity and if we take that opportunity, it's going to change us so that we faint not.
Therefore, seeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we faint not as we take time to look at the glory of the Lord. The effect is going to be that we're not going to faint.
When we deal with these adversities that Josh was talking about, a lot of it has to do with our perspective.
If we look at it from the standpoint of.
Just being overcome by these things that are around us. We're we're going to get discouraged and we're going to get down. But like Josh said.
Anytime there is an effort made for the purpose of.
Bringing glory to God, the enemy of our souls is going to have his entire heart invested in trying to cause something to disrupt that effort and.
So.
What's the perspective, how we are we looking at these things that happen that are discouraging from the standpoint of just a happen chance, there's nothing that happens but happened chance.
Everything is ordered of God. Oh, and the enemy of our souls steps in. Why doesn't the Lord step in and stop it? Because He's trying our faith. He wants to know, are we going to trust Him in spite of these adversities? Are we going to just throw in the towel like Josh was saying? Or are we going to see his hand in this and are we going to wait on His power? You know, there's that verse.
First Corinthians, I think it's chapter 2. It says that your faith stand not on the wisdom.
Men, but in the power of God, are we going to trust in Him to come in and over overcome these things? You know, I'm trying to find it. I can't put my finger on it, but in the axe the disciples were being persecuted for preaching the gospel and they were commanded to stop preaching the gospel and they didn't. They kept going and it says that they, I can't remember the exact terminology, but they counted it all joy that they were found worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. Why, how could they say that?
Well, because they could see beyond the immediate adversity as to the glory that it brought God and I, there's another aspect of it and something that I was sharing with with Josh earlier about is that those of us that have been involved in this camp have come to expect in the, in the weeks leading up to the camp, various things by the enemy of our soul to come in and cause discouragement. I'll just share a couple from Taiwan.
Monday my irrigation pump went out, you know, and normally I would probably pound my head on the table and just be extremely frustrated, but it was par for the course. I expected. It was like, OK, this is what's next. You know, the Lord worked through that. We handled that. And yesterday morning my, my well pump went out and same thing. You know, normally I would probably be pretty upset by that, but again, it's par for the course and so.
To me.
Now, having been exposed to this over a number of years now, it's an affirmation as to the benefit that this work has for the people of God and for God himself. And so when the enemy of our souls starts sticking his hands into our lives and messing things up like that, what's the perspective? Are we going to get discouraged by that, or are we going to recognize that he's doing that because he's trying to disrupt the work that's of real value?
And we're going to see the hand of the Lord behind it, testing our faith, and we're going to trust Him to work through it. Has he ever failed it? He never has.
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So it's a matter of perspective in large part.
1012 on this first version, but I have a question the kids and that is it says therefore, seeing we have this ministry.
Number one, what is the word ministry mean? Somebody tell me what the word ministry means.
We don't often often use this word in our day-to-day lives.
Somebody give me a definition for ministry.
Michael.
Nope.
That's what we that's what we normally associate with it, but it's actually not the definition of ministry.
Jed.
No guess, Cody.
What? Nope.
Something that we each have here. I'll give you guys a hint everybody.
Signed up for this.
Before we got here.
Does that give a a good enough hint, Kevin?
Starts with an S.
Service service. So ministry is just a different word for service.
We have a service. It's kind of interesting. So my next question is who's this week?
Is that talking about Uncle Tim, Uncle Josh and Uncle Matt and Walt?
Is that who he's talking about?
The people that are doing most of the talking here.
Who's this we?
I'll put it this way, I want you to raise your hand if you're part of this week.
Everybody that's in this room that's above 5 years old should have their hand up, right? Because we can take dishes and put them in that in that window, and that's a service for the Lord.
OK, so I'm going to make this really, really personal. Each one of us are part of this week. So we should sit up and take notice and and listen, right? Because we're, we're part of this. We have this ministry as we have received mercy.
What's mercy?
Trevor, have you received mercy?
What's mercy?
Toby, can you help him out?
Yeah, not getting what we deserve in the way of punishment. So we haven't. This is kind of interesting to connect these two together. So we've escaped some punishment, we've received mercy, and as a result we have a ministry.
So each one of us that are saved that have.
Escape the punishment that is due to our sins. We have a service to others.
And it's something that we should be willing to do and not think. So there were some of us that climbed the hill this morning.
And you know, I'll have to be honest with you, I had to stop a couple times on the way up the hill and suck a little bit extra air.
Because I'm not as in as good shape as I should, but.
The faint is to give up, and I think we've been talking about that. So I just want to make this really, really practical for each one of us. Each one of us have the ability, like we were talking about, to see the glory of the Lord and to be changed. But as a result of that, we have a ministry, we have a service, Each one of us have a service, and you all have signed up for part of that service. It's not just those of us that are a little older that might be.
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Have some responsibility associated. We all have this service.
The Lord said that the Son of man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister. And in John chapter 13 verse 12 it says so after he that is the Lord Jesus had washed their feet and had taken his garments and was sat down again. He said unto them, Know you what I have done to you? You call me master and Lord, and you say, well for our so I am.
If I then your Lord and Master have washed your feet.
He also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord, neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. So if the Lord Jesus can humble himself to the point of ministering to his disciples, you and I very much so have a responsibility to be in service for the Lord's people, and ultimately that's a service for the Lord himself.
Allow me to quote Mr. CHM.
May we be instant in season, out of season, and in no wise discouraged by the condition of things around us, but rather find in that very condition and urgent reason for more intense devotedness.
So, related thought to what you just said, Dad, has the glory of the Lord changed?
What do you young boys think?
No, the glory is not changed, not a little bit. We may not be able to see it very clearly right now because we're looking through a glass darkly, but the glory of the Lord has changed, has not changed.
And in fact, earlier in chapter 3, we find out that the glory.
Well, maybe I should read it.
So verse 9, for if the administration of condemnation be glory, that's what we read about in the Old Testament in Exodus, much more doth administration of righteousness exceed in glory. So the glory has not changed, the objective has not changed, Christ has not changed, He's still as glorious and we're going to behold that.
With.
Out anything in between really, really soon. But we have the opportunity right now by faith to look at that glory.
So then we get to verse two and it says that.
We should not handle the Word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
So there's those in this world that would, as it says in the beginning of that verse, we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness. So there are those that are.
Walking in craftiness and and handling the word of God deceitfully or dishonestly. But we have the opportunity to handle the Word of God in truth. How do we do that?
Well, when we were up on the mountain this morning praying, one of the things that was mentioned is that we would let the word of God speak to us.
And receive it for what it says, instead of taking our words and our thoughts and applying to them to the Word of God.
I don't know if I can make this very clear, but when we bring our thoughts to the Word of God, that's when we end up, as it were, here.
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Handling the Word of God deceitfully.
And and not having the ministry or the manifestation of truth.
So we have to be careful that when we open the word of God that we, as David said, search me and try me, that we allow it to have its effect on our lives and our hearts. And that is going to help us to hold the truth and be able to give it to other people so that there's blessing. And that's what we desire here at camp.
And that's one of the reasons why we named it Still Waters is because.
The picture is of sheep, and sheep cannot drink if there is turbulent water.
Sheep need to have still water. They actually will look at at the water and if they can see their own reflection in the water, then they'll drink of it. And so the the picture there is of a situation that we can readily receive the word of God and have that refreshment and that benefit that is so necessary in our lives.
My brother once said in the Sunday school in that revelation, that is God giving a revelation of his thoughts to us. Revelation is God telling us what we couldn't figure out by ourselves.
I thought that was a good explanation. My brother decided one time that God spoke to him just like he spoke to the apostles said I pray and God talks to me every morning. Well, you know, it's a funny thing. It didn't go too long before he started believing things that were contrary to this book.
Because we can't trust our own hearts, God has given us what we need in this book. We don't need to go any further than this book because if we do, we a lot of times get ourselves into trouble.
So I remember it being said of Mr. Kelly that he bowed to this book like an old fool.
May we be that foolish?
I have a couple notes.
Three conditions of a vessel, and I don't remember who mentioned this, but you think of a vessel as something that carries. You think of this afternoon, we're going to be out playing outside and and we're all going to want something. We're out in the hot sun. What are we going to want?
We're going to want a drink of water. Well water just doesn't hang out in the air. You can't just go grab water like in outer space. You have to carry it in something. And that's what a vessel is, like a water bottle. But the thing that makes the bottle valuable is what it carries.
If somebody had an empty water bottle and they said here you can have an empty water bottle. Gee, thanks for thinking of me. So there's a clean vessel in this verse 2. There's an empty vessel in verse five and a broken vessel or a crackpot in verse 7. But these things, if the Lord's going to use us in this ministry has been so beautifully brought out, we have to be clean inside. If if I if you're out in the field.
You need.
Drink of water, you're really super thirsty. And I go and I find a mud puddle.
And I take my water bottle, I dump out all the clean water and I fill it full of muddy water and kind of let some of that out and then go put clean water. And then are you going to drink it? Is it going to be a help to anybody? No, because it's not clean. It's all dirty. It's nasty. So we have renounce, but we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. And Steve was just talking about how we need to let the word speak to us. It says it's A2 sided, a double sided sword. There's one side for somebody else and one side for us.
And it says in Matthew 7 it says, Judge not lest ye be judged, For with the same measure that ye measure, it will be measured unto you.
So we ought to be fair. We got to be a clean vessel before the Lord that we're honest with ourselves.
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Before the Lord and He'll show us stuff that isn't right in our lives, and it hurts.
And we have to say, if we're going to grow, we have to say, Lord, you're right. Like if we lose our temper, the Lord will show us you lost your temper and we can't disable. They made me mad. That's not the point, Lord, I own it. I lost my temper.
Help me and he does. It's beautiful. And then we can be used. Then we can fulfill that ministry.
What is it that we carry in this vessel?
They're talking about.
It's spoken of here as a treasure.
What is specifically spoken of?
In our chapter here, that is that which we carry in our vessel.
I'm going to suggest that it's what we have at the end of verse six, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God and the face of Jesus Christ.
I believe that's what it's Speaking of and it's talking about the treasure that we carry in our vessels.
I don't know about anybody else, but that's pretty exercising.
Is our vessel fit for that treasure? Are we corrupting our vessel with things that would dishonor the treasure that we carried?
In the best.
You know, we, we spoke about service earlier and.
You know, I, I think if we exercise our service in a proper way, it's going to.
Manifest Christ, of course, and it's going to be for the good of others.
And.
The danger is that we can almost take up with this ministry that we've all been given, as it's already been mentioned.
And use that to exalt ourselves.
And that would not be the mind of the Lord, would it? Because ultimately that is taking away from the glory of Christ that might be seen in our life to exalt Him. And it would be putting that on myself. And so we have in verse 5, just back up for a minute that it says, for we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants.
For Jesus sake.
So when the Lord Jesus walked through this world, did he ever do one thing to please himself?
He did nothing to please himself.
Scriptures say that Christ pleased not himself.
And I have to hang my head because I don't think I can say that.
Too often I do things to please myself.
And so it's important that as Christians.
Not only as we've been commenting already to kind of get rid of those things that.
Are dubious and wrong in our lives be a hidden things as we noticed or things that we're carrying on in walking in craftiness or deceit or.
Using the word of God in a wrong way.
00:50:00
But we need to keep before us that.
We're not out to please ourselves.
And if we're going to try to and do that, it's going to take away from this ministry that we've been given, It's going to taint it, it's going to mar it, and it's not going to shine.
And you notice too.
He says that we preach not ourselves by Christ Jesus the Lord and I think.
The impact of our ministry, again, it's just not the guys up here.
Talking.
You know, our ministry is wide and it's very from, as Uncle Steve said, putting the dishes away or whatever the Lord has put into our hands to do.
The impact should be to glorify Christ and and and affect others in a positive way and move them closer to the Lord. I believe all true ministry will exalt Christ and whatever shape or form it it takes, it will ultimately move others and ourselves closer to the Lord, will it not?
So verse 3.
Is a lot like a children's him we sing.
What? What him am I thinking about?
Guys know.
Starts with the word this.
Anybody get it?
This little light of mine. So this verse says, if our gospel be hid.
It's hid to them that are lost.
So we can, we can hide our gospel, and shamefully.
I think probably each one of us have to hang our heads and say that we've.
Hidden.
The gospel that has been entrusted to us to share with others, this is part of that ministry or that service that we're talking about earlier.
We can hide it.
Song says put it under a bushel, no. Or under a basket, no. We gotta let it shine.
I want to challenge each one of us to let it shine.
Here we can hide it, but it has an impact on those that need it the most.
That's these, the ones that are lost.
Sadly we have in verse four, in whom the God of this world hath blinded.
The minds of them that believe not so there is a active work of Satan to hinder the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From shining forth.
And Satan would like to hinder it in our lives. He would like us to hide it.
And the apostle is saying here, let's not faint. Let's in light of the glory of God that we have before us, let's let it shine.
It says of Moses in the Old Testament that we read, it says that he put a veil on his face. And I think that that's the reference that is being made here, that we can put a veil on her face and hide that glorious gospel. I think it's so beautiful.
Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ.
Who is the image of God should shine unto them?
We have the opportunity to let the glorious, the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine out in our lives, and he wants us to do that. That's part of this ministry there, this service that we have such a privilege to be involved in.
And letting our light shine for him.
And what is our light? It's not our light, it's his light.
I think it's so beautiful that we're literally just a mirror. You guys, You kids know what a mirror is.
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You guys know what a mirror is? You look at it probably at least once a day maybe.
So if you take a flashlight and you shine it into the mirror, what's going to happen?
What's the mirror do?
It reflects the light.
What if that mirror is really dirty?
What if we took a?
We have some T-shirt paint.
Over in one of those boxes over there, we took some T-shirt paint and sprayed it on the mirror and then took a light and shined it into the mirror. What's going to happen?
Is that mirror going to reflect the light from that flashlight?
Not very well.
And so that is going back to our lives being clean so that we can reflect the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
So we talked about service and like Steve said, this is something that each one of us needs to be exercised about, is something that's been very much on my heart of late.
And some of you young people have already heard me talk about this, but I would say that.
One of the greatest services, One of the most important services of a Christian is to carry the gospel message.
In chapter 5 there's a verse that says now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by.
We pray you in Christ that be reconciled to God. So what that's saying is that because.
Christ is no longer physically in this world presenting the gospel.
He's chosen us. He's made us to be ambassadors for him to go about that service of speaking to others of the hope that's in us so that they might be brought to Christ and if we don't fulfill that service.
It's dark there. There's no presenting of the hope that God has offered to this world. We're the ones that that bring that message. If we don't do it, then who's going to? Nobody and so.
I, you know, I, I would. I've said this before, I don't count myself to have the gift of an evangelist.
But I love preaching the gospel, and Timothy was told to do the work of an evangelist. Timothy maybe wasn't an evangelist from the standpoint of a spiritual gift. Sounds to me like he was kind of a timid guy. But he was exhorted by the apostle Paul to do the work of an evangelist. So.
Even though you and I may not be evangelists spiritually, as far as our gift goes, we still have the responsibility of being ambassadors for Christ and doing the work of an evangelist. There's no other way that this world to get that message.
As we carry that message, as our brother mentioned, we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Out in the ball field, we take a big old 5 gallon container of water. Well, what would it be if it was all clean inside, but we took empty milk jugs and they're all clean and we put the empty milk jugs in the five gallon container and then all that would be left would just be a little bit of water.
How effective would that be? It wouldn't be very effective and that's what happens when we go to minister and we're and it's about us.
It's not very effective, it's not very helpful. There's a horrendous amount of work. Think how many loads you'd have to take out to the ball field.
To give everybody a drink of water if most of your bucket is full of air.
And we don't preach ourselves, and the test is what are we trying to accomplish. And as our brother mentioned, all good ministry is a glorification to Christ.
It's all about Him, it's not about us. And if we're trying to look good, I've heard it explained this way. You can either have the blessing or you can have the glory. The glory belongs to God, and if we try and get it, we're stealing from Him.
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And when we steal from him, we lose the blessing. And it would be like being at a wedding and you see the bride and the groom and they're up there. And if I'm at the wedding and I'm going around and I bump into everybody, hey, don't I look nice? Look at this tide. Doesn't this look good? Oh, look at me, look at my new shoes. Double S look good. You just feel like whatever, it's not about you. This is, you know, this is about this couple that are getting married. Well, that's what happens in our lives when we try and look good. We go around and bump into everybody. Don't I look at look at these new shoes. Doesn't that look good? Oh, look at my new shirt. Isn't that nice?
Really. And what happens is we lose the blessing. God wants to bless us.
That's His heart's desire. You see that through the Old Testament, over and over and over and over and over. But if we steal that glory, then we lose the blessing. We want to be empty vessels. We want to be able to carry that gospel, that light to other people. And we get a blessing when we do that job. It's not. The Lord knows what He's doing, and it's the right thing.
So maybe we can start or 6.
Next time.
Our God and Father, who just thank thee for shining.
The light of the knowledge of Thy glory into our hearts in the face of Jesus Christ. We thank You for this treasure. I just pray that Thou will help us to carry it in vessels that are meat.
And fit to be carrying such a treasure. And we just pray that that will help us to not hide the treasure, but be willing to share it with others that they might come into the same blessing. We just thank you for this portion that we've had before us. We pray that all hope make it good to each of our hearts. Thank you for the practicality of it on our day. And we just commit the rest of the day to thee for thy honor and glory. And I just pray that it would be.
For blessing for each one here we think of many that are still traveling and we pray for that kind of keeping for them.
We just commit this today. And the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
New Birth
Address—Josh Costron
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Just ask the Lord's help.
Our loving God and Father, we are so thankful to be here tonight. We thank Thee for the beautiful day that we've had before us and that we could enjoy Thy creation in a little way. We do thank Thee for the fellowship that we can enjoy one with another as fellow believers in Christ. And all thy many mercies to us are God and Father. We are so thankful.
And we thank thee for our Lord Jesus.
Our blessed Savior.
We owe everything to Thee, Lord Jesus, for without Thee we are nothing.
And we have nothing. And so we are so thankful to be Christians, to be saved by grace, and to be recipients of Thy grace. And we long to see the Lord Jesus, and long for that day when we will be with and like Thee for all eternity, and our one object will be thyself. Blessed Lord, we just thank Thee for the bright prospect of Thy soon return.
That is before us tonight.
But as we look to this hour, if not us, leave us here, we ask Thee that they'll help us as we open up Thy word. We pray that they'll help the speaker and the audience, and pray that the message would be clear and concise, and that there might be something for each one here tonight. So we look to Thee for guidance and orderly thoughts.
And we ask thee for a blessing, and we do so in the worthy name of our Lord Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
Yes, by way of introduction, um.
On the subject that's sitting on my heart tonight, I'd like to read a couple verses. Perhaps we'll start in first Peter chapter one.
Yeah.
First Peter chapter one and verse 20.
Being verified, your soul saying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren.
See that ye love one another with a pure heart, fervently being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
And then over to James.
Chapter One.
James chapter one and verse 18.
Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. And then one more verse in the Gospel of John, chapter one.
John One and verse 12.
But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The subject that for me tonight is new birth.
And I would like to look at this.
And turn to various scriptures and to see what the scripture has to say about the subject.
And I think it goes without saying that this subject is largely confused amongst many believers today.
And I feel that it's something that is very important to clearly define.
Because God defines it in His Word. Often you run across some who will say to you, are you a born again Christian?
And I certainly don't take issue with the question or the phrase necessarily. And if you are a Christian, then absolutely you would say, well yes, I am, I am a born again Christian. But you know, within that phrase there is 2 lines of doctrine that I believe we need to define and.
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I think that will show later on perhaps, that the Lord's help why it's so important that we define these things. Is there a difference between being born again and being saved?
That's the question at hand tonight, and hopefully with the Lord's help, we'll define that and and answer it. And the question, or the answer rather, is yes, there is a difference.
In fact, there's a big difference.
So if I was to say this to you.
That every Christian is born again.
But every born again person isn't a Christian necessarily. Does that surprise you?
Well that is the case and with the Lords help I'd like to take a look at a few of those things. First off we need to define and again I realize there's a a wide variety of people here from young kids to older ones and we want to keep this as simple as possible.
But what is new birth? What is it?
Well.
I want to look at at least 4 distinct passages within scripture.
And hopefully this will help us to define this a little bit and give some context to what we're Speaking of.
And it strikes me that it's presented in three distinct ways, One, from a typical standpoint, which we'll look at, 2, from an instructional standpoint, which we'll look at, and three, from a practical standpoint, which we'll look at as well.
The first portion of scripture I'd like to turn to is Genesis 1.
Genesis chapter one.
And before we read this chapter, I should mention before I forget, that as we go through the scripture, we hear a born again and we also hear of being quickened.
They're both the same thing.
And I suppose for different reasons the these two phrases are are used that the Jew is often spoken to is needing to be born again. You remember Israel clung to their national heritage as being those who are by nature in a position of blessing.
And we'll find later on that the Lord Jesus.
Says to Nicodemus that no, you cannot cling to being Abraham's of Abraham's descent, but you need a new birth.
You need to be born anew. You need to be born again.
But with respect to the Gentiles, it seems as though quickened is used.
Again, both meaning the same thing, but the Gentile didn't have a national heritage.
And ancestry that they could cling to and say that my nation was naturally blessed of God and we have been pulled out and and blessed of God. No, that was designated for Israel.
And so they're spoken of as being dead and sins equally true of the Jew. But they needed to be given life, and that's what to be quickened means.
Well, in Genesis chapter one, this is a fan, just an incredible chapter when we consider it, obviously from the standpoint point of creation. And it's not my purpose tonight to take up the subject of creation, but I want to see in Genesis chapter one the typical teaching of what we're going to.
Get into tonight as to the subject of new birth and salvation.
And it's fascinating to see.
That as creation had a beginning.
God creates a new origin in man as well, so let's read it. In Genesis 11 it says in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.
In the evening, in the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.
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And it was so, and God called the firmament heaven, and the evening in the morning were the second day.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear, And it was so. And God called the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters called the seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass and herb, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth. And it was so.
And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind.
And God saw that it was good.
In the evening, in the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night, And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth. And it was so. And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
And to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw there was good in the evening. In the morning were the 4th day. And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creatures that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of the heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly.
After their kind, and every wing fell after his kind, and God saw that it was good.
And God bless them, saying, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth. In the evening. In the morning were the 5th day.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind. And it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created in his own image, in the image of God created him, male and female created he them, and God bless them. And God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it.
And have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed to you it shall be for me. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat. And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
In the evening, In the morning for the day.
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.
You know.
When God created man on this earth.
He didn't create him in a waste and desolate condition as we find in verse 2.
You'll notice in the new translation it says the earth became waste and empty.
The King James says the earth was without form and void.
You know Adam when they created were created in innocence.
And as it says in Isaiah 45 verse 18 that God created didn't create this world as waste.
Something happened.
He didn't create it in.
A condition of being dark and without void and in a state of waste and emptiness. He didn't create it that way. Isaiah 4518 tells us that clearly. So we take from that verse that something happened and it's not my.
Exercise tonight to take that up. There are scriptures that we can point to to give us some insight into what had happened.
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Judgment happened, but nevertheless we know that man was not created that way.
But we know man fell.
Men into a state of moral depravity and spiritual death.
And man today is in that condition.
He sinned.
And it says in Scripture, Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death.
And so death passed upon all men, for that all of sin.
Of sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Well.
We read here that darkness was upon the face of the deep.
Is man in darkness? Yes, he is.
Naturally speaking, man is in a state.
Of more.
I'm thinking of Ephesians chapter 2, if we could just read that here briefly.
Ephesians chapter 2 and I alluded to it at the start of the meeting.
As to where man in his natural condition is today.
He is dead.
We live in a world of dead men walking.
It says in Ephesians chapter 2, and he's talking to Christians now he's talking about something that has happened. And he says, And you hath he quickened? There's that word who were dead in trespasses and sins, where in time past he walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
And so on.
Says in verse three that we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
And so it seems to me that in this first portion here that we have a little bit of a picture, don't we?
Of how man, as we can see it here in type, fell into a state of darkness and spiritual death.
He wasn't created that way, but he fell into that condition.
You'll notice here in verse in the end of verse two that the Spirit of God is singled out.
It says in the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and notice this, and it says and God said.
Let there be light.
We'll develop this a little bit later, but take note of that God's Word and the Spirit of God are brought together here.
And God said, let there be light, and there was light.
You know there was a time for each one of us as Christians when God said let there be light.
And there was light.
He called us out of darkness.
Into his marvelous light.
Think about it. You and I were.
Were in this state of depravity. We were without hope and without God in the world.
And we were moral darkness, no light.
And God in his own sovereign action.
Stepped in and he said let there be light.
And he imparts light.
To our Dark Souls.
That's the way it happens.
You and I don't have any light within us.
It says in John chapter 5 that the hour is coming and now is.
When the Son of Man. Well, let me I'm not right. Let's turn to it. John 5.
I think it's verse 24.
Verse 25.
Actually, you know what? Let's read verse 21 first. For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, Even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
And in verse 25, verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.
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By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth.
This natural creation came into being by the Word of God.
Everything that you see around you, God spake it into existence.
His eternal power and Godhead, His divinity, is clearly seen in the things that are made, Romans, one tells us.
And so we just lookout these four walls into this beautiful creation.
And we see something of his power.
Think about it. He spoke it into existence. It's a miracle.
And God is creating. He is performing miracles today in the lives of boys and girls and men and women.
And he's creating a new origin within them, a new beginning.
And he speaks, and he imparts light and life into the soul.
So in verses one to five we have the first day.
We have an allusion to judgment.
We have darkness and a state and condition of being waste and empty, a picture of moral darkness and spiritual death, and then we have the Spirit of God and the word of God that come in that impart life and light.
Versus.
Verse five tells us too. We'll notice this in verse four, that God divided the light from the darkness. Now there is something that is going on within a soul.
Battle that ensues.
We read about it in Romans 7, and I know this is familiar ground for some, and again, we're not going to be able to comment on Romans 7, but there is a person who has a new nature and an old nature.
But is lacking the Spirit of God.
You might say the person in Romans 7 is in this incredible battle.
And it reminds me of verses four and five. There is this division of light and darkness now within the soul.
Romans 7 is not normal Christian experience.
That, properly speaking, is not a believer in Christ, although I'm not suggesting for a minute that a believer could not fall back into that experience. But it is not proper Christian experience.
This is the first day.
Verses 6-7 and eight give us the second day, and you'll notice here that it is God dividing the firmament, the expanse, the atmosphere.
And the waters, he's separating them.
But there's no foundation, no stability.
Again, this is a picture of a soul who is in this condition where now they have a new nature.
Light has been imparted, new life has been imparted, and they have so struggle now between a new one, a new nature, that all it can do is good, It cannot sin first, John tells us.
But then an old nature and all that it can do with violence is sinful and is corrupt.
And their butting heads.
What's so striking about this is that this is the only day that God doesn't pronounce as being good.
And it's a little picture to us is that God does not like to see his child in that position of being in stable and not on solid thing.
And yes, I did say children.
Somebody who has a new nature.
Is a child of God.
And we'll notice it later. Here. We'll move along.
That to be a child of God and to be a Christian.
Both are true. Both are children. But a child of God isn't necessarily always a Christian. A child of God is one who has a new nature, a new life. What is that life? Well, it's the very life of Christ.
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It's a divine life. It's a life that God has imparted to us.
It's not something that you and I sought out and got and clung on to and claimed it as our own. No, he gave it to us.
By his own sovereign action we had no pardon.
And you'll notice though, move on to the third day.
Times going.
And it says, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together under one place.
How often do we read this verse?
On Lord's Day morning.
And we read of it in reference to the Lord Jesus. Where were the waters gathered? All the waters of under heaven gathered together unto one place. Where was that?
It was of the cross.
The waters of judgment the Lord Jesus could say, All thy waves and thy billows are passed over me.
It's a place where God's unmitigated wrath was poured out in his full.
Upon the head of his beloved son.
And we see in type here a picture of that.
Regard called all his judgment.
Concentrated all at that one place.
Where his son took upon himself the sins of many.
And all those come to know him as Savior, and all the children of God from Adam.
To the end.
He answered for sins and sin.
And he vindicated God as to the question of sin.
God calls all the waters under the heaven unto that one place.
And at the end of it all, when the Lord Jesus said it is finished and it was shed.
And the veil of the temple was rent and twain from the top to the bottom, and free access was now open.
So that sinners could come.
And receive the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It was at that time then that the solid foundation of salvation was established and that the believer now could rest on something outside of themselves, an object on Christ, on a work that was committed that was was done on their behalf.
And if it trusted in peace?
And deliverance is brought to a soul.
The dry land appears.
That's the stability of salvation that in type dear ones is being saved, is resting your feet on the solid foundation of the work of Christ, and God says it was good.
God saw that it was good. Verse 10.
Well, you can move along.
To verse.
9 to 13 brings before us the third day and I'll notice this too.
Notice that fruitfulness is now produced.
Verses 1112 and 13 you see the picture.
Christ dies for our sins, lays the groundwork for salvation that salvation is trusted in, and now, wouldn't you know it, there's fruit.
The herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, the earth bringing forth grass, and the trees bringing forth fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind. And God saw that it was good.
That's our place now as believers, just to bear fruit for God and.
And as saved and sealed with the Spirit of God, we can produce for God and for his glory what is fruit.
If you turn to John's gospel fruit is that which is produced in our life.
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That are the the moral features and representations of Christ in our life being produced in our life.
And it's those things that remind the father of his son.
Did you know that if you're walking with the Lord, you're producing for God and for His glory? It's true. And He's seeing in you those things, as we were commenting on earlier in our reading, those things, those features of His Son being produced in your life.
And he says that's fruit.
Now reminds me of my son.
And each one of us has that privilege to bear witness and testimony for Christ and to represent Him in this world.
Verses 14 to 19 we have the 4th day and now God brings out two great lights, the lesser light.
To rule the night, the greater light to rule the day. Now God sets before the believer heavenly objects that he might rest in and take pleasure in and to look to.
God has set before everyone of us as believers heavenly blessings in Christ.
And we see we receive heavenly light to guide our course on this earth. That's the proper Christian perspective is looking to Christ and enjoying those things that are ours in him. And he has set before us heavenly objects, you might say, as we have in verses 14 to 19.
Verse verses 20 to 25. Now we have another form of life being brought forth.
And we have the fowls of the heaven.
That fly above the earth we have.
Whales and every leaving creature that moveth that moves within the waters.
We have various forms of life, but in a higher state, some more, some less.
And it goes to show that within the creation itself, and in particular within.
The intelligent creation, and I'm Speaking of mankind now.
That there are those with higher privileges that are not known by others.
You think of the fowl flies in the heaven.
Enjoys heavenly things, you might say.
We as Christians, brethren, have something higher and a greater privilege.
Than all the Old Testament Saints, and all the ages that went before the day of grace, this Christian dispensation.
We are a special people.
And to bring us down, if you will, and to aggregate all the Saints of all ages into one group and say, well, we are all the same.
Is to not really appreciate, I believe, the blessings that God has given the bride of Christ, the Church.
We are a unique.
Creation, if you will, we are unique in the sight of God.
And I hope to develop that perhaps a little bit more.
But that the church is different.
It stands unique and set apart, and it will remain distinct from all in the eternal ages, from all the Saints that will be there too, from Adam to Abraham to David to all the Old Testament worthies. They'll be in heaven, but they won't enjoy the position that the Church enjoys.
And so we find these, these higher forms of life, some earthly, some heavenly.
And then?
In verses 24 to 26.
We find.
Rather, I'm going to go to verses 27 here where we find that God creates man in his own image.
As this the 6th day and we find that God now brings man into an intelligent position of affection and intelligence with himself.
And that is?
What I was saying before that we now occupy this place of nearness.
Of intelligence a privilege and we can enjoy a common thoughts with God.
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So this here in Genesis chapter one gives us a complete picture of man coming out of his depraved moral state of moral death and spiritual darkness all the way to being saved and sealed. But excuse me, by the Spirit of God, and then brought into a position of being able to produce fruit for God and into a position of being.
Intelligent in.
Our relationship with him.
This wonderful work of God, and what is so striking is that there is.
A division, you might say, between somebody who receives light and then who comes into that solid footing of standing on the solid ground of salvation. There's a day that separates the two.
And so when it comes to being born again, I'll mention this that it could happen where somebody gets new life.
And they might be in that place and position. You might say it's not a great word, but in that state of having life but not security yet, and the person and work of Christ and being saved and sealed with the Spirit of God, they might remain in that position for years. It might be just for a few moments. But what the Bible shows us is that there is.
A time.
Where the two are separated.
One follows the other.
And it could be minutes, it could be years, and that we leave to God and His operations in the soul. I'll look quickly. Leviticus chapter 8. This is the other typical passage that I'd like to notice.
I won't give we can't read this whole thing, but in Leviticus chapter 8 we find this order again.
In Leviticus 8, and you find in verse, in verse six, we have Aaron, the sons of Aaron and Aaron himself, a picture of what we're Speaking of. And Aaron's sons here are washed with water, the water of the word.
It is a picture of new birth.
And then if you go down to verses 22 to 24, we have a sacrifice, and this ram is slain, and the blood of it is put upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, and he brought it Aaron's sons, and Moses does the same to them.
That's the application of the blood of Christ that is coming into the understanding, the appreciation and the peace of resting in the finished work of Christ, and the blood is appropriated to the soul.
And then you'll notice what follows in verse.
And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons garments with him, and sanctified Aaron and his garments, and his sons, and his sons garments with him. The application of the oil is a picture of the Spirit of God.
When somebody rests in the finished work of Christ.
They are then sealed with the Spirit of God.
And that is when they become a Christian.
That is what defines you and me as believers.
As being saved. It's a Christian term if you will, and the stamp of that is the Spirit of God sealing a believer once they believe and repent on the finished work of Christ.
And God seals that person with the Spirit of God.
Well, you might say, well, that's all fine and good, Josh. I see what you're bringing out and the typical sense, but where else does it point to this doctrine? Well, I believe the obvious one is in John 3.
And this here is the instruction that the Lord Jesus gives to Nicodemus.
It says in verse, and we'll read just a few verses here. We won't read the whole chapter. There is a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man, be born again.
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You cannot see the Kingdom of God, Nicodemus saith unto him. How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth? So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe if I tell you of heavenly things? No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man.
Which is in heaven.
Nicodemus, you might say that this man is an example to us.
Of one of the most cultured and refined people of the day he was a teacher, he was a master in Israel, he was one that.
Had, or at least should have had an understanding of the Scriptures. And so here's a teacher who comes to the teachers of all teachers, the Lord Jesus himself.
And I find this so striking because it's not just anybody that comes to him. It wasn't a poor beggar off the street or a drunkard or a harlot or something like that. It was a man of high standard, of high character who was cultured, who had the word of God before him, who no doubt was an elite person in that day.
And what is said to him? The Lord Jesus says, you and Nicodemus.
You need a new life.
This shows us that you put the best before God in terms of what man can produce.
And he is just as lost.
And he cannot come on his own merits, and he cannot come to God and his position and all the things that might be attributed to him that might be desirable. God says it's worthless. You see, God looks at our old life and he says there's nothing good in it.
God cannot do anything with that life, that old nature, the flesh, but condemn it.
There is nothing good in US.
The Apostle Paul says. He said that I know that within me, that is, within my flesh dwelleth no good thing, nothing.
And a lot of believers today unfortunately think.
That there is something good within this heart.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.
Brethren, there's nothing good in us by nature.
And so as I said earlier.
Or at least I alluded to this is This is why we need to divide the word of truth and understand what does it mean to be born again. Because some say that you have to believe to be born again and that type of thing leads into something called free will doctrine.
And it's rampant out there.
Where people suggest Christians suggest that you and I have the power to choose.
That you chose God.
You decided to come to Christ.
Is that so?
No, it's not.
We get a few of these cannots in this channel. Excuse me in this chapter.
Let's just notice them.
In verse three, the Lord Jesus says that he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Man's natural discernment is blindness.
When it comes to the things of God.
It says in verse five that he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
Man in his own power cannot come. Romans tells us that we were without strength.
And so to suggest that we have some strength is to defy scripture.
00:45:01
And what it tells us, because God says you cannot come. I'm thinking right now of portion in, I believe it's in. Well, it's somewhere in the Gospels where you have coupled together a man who is sick with the palsy and then it speaks of a leopard and a palsy man. Just he cannot move. He's got no strength of his. And the leper is one who is a picture of sin.
Within.
And nothing good within him. It's a picture of the sinful.
Sinful humanity, no strength, and nothing good within them.
We read in the 27th verse that a man can receive nothing. He cannot receive anything.
That is, he won't receive the testimony of God.
It says in that in verse 32 and no man receiveth his testimony.
If we.
Turn over here to.
Chapter 6. It says in verse 44 that no man can come to me.
Except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
That drawing is new birth.
Where God compels you and I to come.
No man can come.
Says that also in verse 65 of the same chapter.
In John chapter 8 it says in verse 14 at the end of the verse you cannot tell whence I come and whether I go.
So now man cannot tell.
And verse 43 it says that ye cannot hear my word.
This destroys.
The idea that man has a free will. Man's free will was lost in the Garden of Eden when he chose to sin and he fell.
And now man in his natural condition can only choose evil. Now you might say, well then that absolves man of his responsibility to God. No, it does not.
Don't ask me to try to explain that, but it's clear in Scripture that these two truths of the sovereignty of God.
And the responsibility of man run, and it is only God.
Reconcile it.
Man chooses the evil, he chooses to turn his back on God, and there will be no Sinner in the lost eternity who is there who did not choose to be there.
Sad to say.
Man cannot come.
And so God has to impart life.
And that's why the Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, you must be born again and justice quickly. I read that verse in John one.
It says in which were born. He's speaking in verse 12 of those who become the children of God.
And it says and then it references in verse 13 a work that took place, which were and something that happened before that.
Not of blood. So you and I cannot enter into this new birth by natural ancestry which we commented on earlier.
Can I come to us by blood, nor of the will of the flesh? You cannot choose to be born again.
And nor of the will of man. Nobody's will acting outside of your own and seeking to enforce their will upon you could bring about new birth in you or me.
It's a sovereign action of God.
We believe in the gospel.
Because we are born again.
We do not believe and receive Christ to get born again because to suggest such a thing.
Would mean that you and I chose.
And Can you imagine how that robs God of His glory?
Can you imagine in a coming day when you're sitting in your corner, you might say in glory, and there you're holding on to something that you did that I did?
And say, well, if John Doe only had believed, only if he would have chose.
He would be here with me, with the Lord. But no, I chose.
00:50:03
To suggest such a thing rob's God of his glory.
And I don't think any of us would want to do that.
We cannot come on our own.
Merits are our own power.
And the Lord Jesus says, that which is born of flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit of his Spirit, these things.
The Spirit begins, the flesh begets, and what it begets partakes of the same nature and character that it is begotten from. And you notice this, He says You must be born again. Verse seven and verse eight, it shows us how now how a man is born again, how a woman is born again, how a child is born again. Says The wind blows where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.
You know, many Christians can point to the day in the hour and say I was born on such and such a day, at such and such a time I receive Christ. Some can't, and that's fine.
But when it comes to the new birth.
You and I cannot put our finger on that.
That sovereign action of God was wrought in you, your soul, and mine, at a time when we didn't know it.
And you'll notice what he uses.
He uses the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Says.
In verse eight of hearing the sound thereof, and in verse 10 a rather.
Yeah, at the end of verse 8, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. The Spirit of God is the word of God. This is done.
And he uses the Spirit of God as the agent. He uses the word of God, which is the meant, and he had his own sovereign choice and time.
Imparts life to you and me to a soul.
And that word in the power of the Spirit acts on our faculties, on our conscience, and something happens, a miracle happens, and God puts life, new life into the soul.
The Lord was amazed at this, that Nicodemus didn't know about this.
I don't have time to touch on it, but in Ezekiel 36, that's just one portion of the Old Testament where new birth was spoken of. It was an earthly thing, you might say. And these heavenly things are, are things that we're Speaking of now of being saved.
And the Lord says if you can't understand what new birth is, how can you enter into heavenly things? Keep in mind the Gospels is the seed plot for the New Testament.
Christian truth is developed in the epistles. The Lord hadn't died yet and the work of salvation hasn't been hadn't been accomplished at this time. But in especially in John's gospel, he gives Christian truth.
In its infancy, you might say, and it's later developed and you'll notice the order. New birth. He speaks a new birth. And then what does he speak of in verses 1415 and 16? He speaks about eternal life. He speaks about receiving.
Christ as Savior and putting your faith and your trust in Him, believing in Him, and that you might have everlasting life.
Is everlasting life and new birth the same life? Yes, it is.
But new birth, as it's been explained, is like life in its embryo form. An eternal life is life in its fullness. The Lord Jesus said in John 1010 that I am come that they might have life and might have it abundantly. That abundant life is what we enjoy now as Christians. And what we enjoy is receiving Christ as Savior. And being sealed with the Spirit of God is now something called eternal life.
And that is a Christian blessing.
And that is to know the Father in Jesus Christ whom he hath saved. And it is a life of Christ, but a life enjoying a relationship with God as our Father.
And that is specifically for the Christian.
I must move on. We're losing time. I think I have 5 minutes.
But in Acts chapter 10, again 10 and 11, this now is moving on to the practical.
Truth as to what I'm trying to bring out tonight in the difference between being born again and being saved and sealed with the Spirit of God.
Acts chapter 10, you'll notice what characterizes this man Cornelius. He's a Gentile. And we'll notice that it says that in verse one. There is a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man and one that feareth God with all his house, which gave much arms to the people and prayed to God always.
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I'm going to stop there.
Isn't this interesting?
Here's a man who feared God, and he was praying to God.
Well, most Christians today would say that man is saved.
Is that what the scripture says?
We know this story well. Peter has sent.
Peter gets a vision and a few men are sent to call Peter from Cornelius's house. He rounds Peter, they round Peter up, they bring Peter back to Cornelius, and Cornelius receives the gospel from Peter in verses 34 on to the end. And then you'll notice and read it in your own.
That Peter then, or the Cornelius?
Peter gives the gospel, speaks of Christ dying, being raised again, and then.
Cornelius receives it and then it says that he is sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Now he's a Christian.
Prior to that, and this for me was a chapter that cleared this truth up for me. And when it dawned on my soul this this truth of being born again and being saved and the difference between.
Really answered a lot of questions in my own life and my own experience, but you'll notice in the 11Th chapter Peter who was telling the apostles and brethren in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God and what had happened with Cornelius.
And.
It says here in verse 12, I'll just start there. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover, moreover, these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house. And he showed us how he had seen an Angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send me Manda Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter.
Who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house?
Shall be saved.
He needed to hear words whereby he would be saved.
So this man who feared God and was praying to God.
Was an expression of the life God had imparted to him, the born again soul.
And you know, you look at it in the chapter, I think 9th chapter, the Apostle Paul experienced the very same thing, three days, he bowed without sight.
When he was struck down on the road to Emmaus, he was born again. He was given life.
But not until the third day, when he received his sight again, was he filled with the Holy Spirit. And it's at that moment he became a Christian.
Well, I don't know if I've done justice to the subject. I know we've gone through a lot of material and we've rushed through much of it.
But there is a difference between being born again and being saved.
David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Adam, Eve, Rahab, all these Old Testament worthies.
They were born again. They were given a new life.
But they weren't saved.
They didn't have eternal life. They had life, but they didn't have life that the Christian enjoys in a higher character.
They weren't saved, technically speaking.
But to be saved is something that is Christian truth.
To be saved is to be sealed with the Spirit of God and resting in the finished work of Christ. And God brings us into a position of sunshine.
And gives us to know what life eternal is, to enjoy relationship with God as our Father.
And to enjoy all the blessings in heavenly places that Christ has wrought for us.
Maybe we'll just close and sing.
Hymn #44 Verses one and two. Verses one and two of #44 If somebody could raise the tomb.
01:00:08
Make her a birth and heaven.
S are in love full screen.
And.
Pray.
We praise the power that.
Make us we can praise the love that Blessed One every day.
Without falls away, thy grave shall scare out of the fat.
Let's just pray. Our God and Father, we just thank Thee for this little time over Thy word.
We took up this subject of what it means to be born again.
What it means to be saved, and we think of thy operations.
Of sovereign mercy and grace in the souls of mankind.
To bring them out of darkness into thy marvelous light, and to complete thy work. Thy work.
By bringing us to the Lord Jesus and causing us to see beauty in himself.
And to save us, and then to seal us with thy spirit.
Then to give us everything in terms of blessings in Christ.
Our God and Father, of this magnifies thy grace and thy glory.
And we reflect on these things and admit.
We are nothing, and then all glory belongs to thee.
We thank you so much for what thou hast done in saving us and bringing us to the Savior. We thank thee now. In the name of the only Savior of sinners, our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Worship
Sing Talk—Matt Richerzhagen
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So let's ask the Lord for His help. Our God and our Father, we thank Thee for this amazing location, the wonders of Thy creation as our brother just shared, how it declares Thy glory and Thy power. We pray for help as we would open Thy word that we might speak rightly of Thee. Lord Jesus, that we might walk ever so close to Thee. We thank Thee and pray for help in Jesus mighty name, Amen.
So I wanted to talk today.
About worship and we're going to look at a four instances in Genesis. If you have your Bibles, turn to Genesis 13. If not, just listen. And this is about the life of Abraham.
That is.
That is good, but that's not where I was.
Genesis chapter 12 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house unto a land that I will show thee, and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken unto him.
And I wanted to talk about worship because there's a part in every single one of our bodies, and I'm part of our soul, I should say, our spirit that longs for something that nothing in this world satisfies.
There's nothing in this world that satisfies the whole that God hath made in our spirit that only he fits. And you see people in this world, I work for tons and tons of people that are very wealthy and they buy cars. There's nothing wrong with the car. They buy houses, they buy boats, they buy all this stuff to try and fill that hole. And there's nothing wrong with those things. If you have the Lord Jesus and you have that, it's, it's very nice, but it's never going to satisfy.
And so I wanted to talk tonight about worship, and our dear brother just had a beautiful.
Meeting on new birth and a lot of people think that somehow they're going to live out the Christian path. It's a pathway and they think they're going to they're going to live in some strength of their own. In all reality, what the walk of the Christian pathway is letting the Lord live through our bodies, letting his light shine through us. And so the Lord here, he calls to Abram. He chose him, as our brother mentioned, he chose him.
Abraham didn't go find the Lord, the Lord went and found him and he said get out of where you are, from your kindred, from your father's house, into a land that I will show thee. And just imagine what it would be like if the Lord told you you need to go somewhere else and you don't even know where you're going.
How many of you, when you started out to get to camp, knew that you were coming to camp, right?
I don't know that I've ever started on a trip. I might have because I'm a little bit crazy, but most people don't start out on a trip and then figure out where they're going on the way. They start out with a destination and the Lord said you need to move, start walking, and I'll show you where to go. And he started. And so Abraham goes, and we find him later on.
In verse 6, Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem into the plan of Mora.
The Canaanite was then in the land, and the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed, will I give this land? And there he built it an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him. It was the altar of obedience. There's four altars. And Uncle Jack says this. He says, if we've experienced the Lord's presence even for 5 minutes will never be the same.
The Christian path is not a bunch of rules. It's not a bunch of dues. It's not a bunch of don'ts. It's knowing about the create, not knowing about knowing the Creator of the universe and walking intimately with him and talking with him and listening to him.
And here the Lord talks to Abram. He appeared unto him, and he said, unto thy seed, will I give this land? And in Hebrews Chapter 11, verse six, it says this. It says, without faith it is impossible to please him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that He is, that He exists, and that He's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Every single one of us in our lives are going to face trials and challenges. One of the biggest characters of faith is to believe that God is for us to have that confidence in Him.
So he built an altar there unto the Lord, who appeared unto him an altar of obedience. And then in chapter 13.
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Verse three, it says he went on his journey. This is Abraham again, from South, from the South even to Bethel and to the place where his tent had been at the beginning between Bethel and Hai, under the place of the altar which he had made there at the 1St. And there Abraham called on the name of the Lord. That's his altar as a Pilgrim and dear brothers and sisters were passing through.
And these things that we have, they're not. They're nice, but they're not what make our life. The older I get, the more I realize that if we build our life on anything else except for Christ, we're just building sand castles and the sand gets washed away by the water. And I know people, their lives have been washed away by divorce. They've lost their business, they've lost their money, they've lost all this stuff.
And if that's what's really important to you, then you've lost. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ and you lose your things, you still have the most important thing. You still have Him.
And he's our provision. He's going to make a way.
Under the place of the altar, and he called upon the name of the Lord. We were talking about this the other day. What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord?
Somebody. This is an honest question. This is a question. What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord?
Does anybody have an idea? There's no wrong answers.
What does it mean to call upon the name of the Lord? Go ahead.
Pray to him, Go ahead. Have confidence in him. Yeah, Have confidence in him in Psalm 50. To have confidence in him, to pray to him absolutely in Psalm 50.
Verse 15 it says, call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee.
And thou shalt glorify me. The Lord knows we're going to have troubles. He knows we're going to have trials. And there's a difference between what we create. We create most all of our own discipline. But the Lord allows challenges. Our brother mentioned that this morning in the reading about the difficulties. The Lord allows when we do a work for him. That's OK. It's OK to have those trials. It keeps us humble and it keeps us dependent.
And if we don't have that, we can't be used of him. We were reading in the reading about being an empty vessel if we show up with what we are.
That doesn't help other people.
What we need to do to really be a help to them is give them Christ. You meet somebody and they're suffering and they have trials and you say, well, you know, whatever. But if you give them hope in Christ, that'll help them. That'll be a blessing. That'll be a help. So we had the first altar, the altar of obedience, and we have the altar as a Pilgrim. And then if we jump down.
To verse 151315 it says, For the land which thou seest to thee, will I give it into thy seed forever.
And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it, in the breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. And then Abram removed his hand, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mammary, which is in Hebron, and built an altar.
Unto the Lord, an altar of renunciation, that he was there devoted. He was here devoted to the Lord. And Abraham had great things. The Lord had blessed him. There's nothing wrong with owning possessions. We just have to have him in the right priority order.
And the orders given to us in Matthew 633 says, Seek ye first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. I don't know if any of you guys use horses and buggies or horses and wagons. Has anybody ever hooked up horses Do a cart? We have. I don't know if anybody else has. How would it work if you put the cart before the horse?
Do you think that'd work good?
It doesn't work. You got to put the horse before the cart.
And that's why we got it. We have to put the Lord 1St and then everything comes out right in the wash. I remember once Uncle Steve had a Sunday school in Walla Walla and he had a jar and he had all these vegetables and he wanted to know if we thought that he could get all those vegetables in the jar.
And it was like handfuls of vegetables in this jar. There is no way. And what he did is he put the big vegetables in first and then he just squished and squished and squished and squished and all the vegetables. I think he got lucky.
But everything fit in there because he put the big things in first.
The most important things first.
If you try and put the other things in there first, it will never work. And that same thing happens in our lives and these things come up to us all the time. This isn't just like theory.
We wake up in the morning, we say, Lord, I don't have time to pray today. I have too many problems. Has anybody ever said that?
Lord, it's your fault. Well, you gave me so many problems. I don't have time for fellowship. That didn't work very good. It didn't work for me. The next day I got up and I said, Lord, I don't have time to not have time. I need your help. And you know what? He helps. He's right there. He wants us. He wants to be in communion with us. And Uncle Matt, where did he go? He said earlier that we needed to give thanks.
00:10:24
One of the things about worship, as we're talking about these altars.
And alters a place where we lift things up before the Lord. There's a sacrifice made. One of the things about worship is it sets us completely free from this world. And what worship is in its root, you know, boil down to its deepest form, is saying things that are true and right about God. God, you are holy, you are true, you are powerful, you are righteous, you are trustworthy. That's what worship is. And it totally, completely transforms our hearts.
It changes us and it sets us free from the challenges of our life.
The altar renunciation and then we're going to go the 4th altar is in Genesis 22.
And it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham. And dear beloved brothers and sisters, if you have a challenge in your life, it is not for you to fail. That is not the point. The reason God gives us challenges is for us to succeed and for us to grow. He does not intend for us to fail. That is not His point at all. OK.
God did tempt. He tried Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham, and he said.
Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning. Why did he act right away? Somebody know?
Is one of the characters of faith, obedience, and dependence. Why did he act right away?
Why is it important to act right away?
Does anybody have a guess?
That's right, the urge to obey is the strongest right when it happens.
Right when it happens, right when you hear that call, just do it. You say yes, Lord, because you think about it, you start to reason, you start well. Well, and pretty soon you talk yourself out of it. And then the Lord has to talk again. And guess what? He talks louder.
And louder and louder and louder. And then we can't help but hear him.
So Abraham rose up early in the morning and saddled his ***. We know the story. He took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son. Now Isaac was the son of the promise. He had waited for years and years and years and years to have this son. The Lord said a son that comes out of your loins from you is going to be your heir.
And the Lord finally gives him his son, and then the Lord tells him you need to go and sacrifice him.
But he believed God, the Lord said this son is going to be your heir. There is no way that he was going to die. And if he did die, he was going to come back to life because God had promised. And I'm going to tell you, dear ones, today, tonight, if God has made you a promise, it will happen, not to something you thought of. You know, whatever, if the Lord promised you something, it's going to happen.
If he has to bring somebody back to life.
If he has to, whatever, it doesn't matter. God can do anything. And here was the Son, and the Abraham takes him.
And it says, I, Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son. And he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went, both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham's father, and said, My father. And he said, Here am I my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood. But where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb.
For a burnt offering.
So they went, both of them together, and they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac's son, and laid him on the altar of the wood.
And God calls every single one of us.
To lay our lives down. In Romans 12 it says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present yourselves a living sacrifice.
And it's hard. The trouble with living sacrifices is they tend to squirm off the altar.
00:15:02
Because we don't like the pain, we don't like what we're going through. But let the Lord work.
Though Abraham told his son, God is going to provide himself a lamb.
And he picks up that knife to kill his son. And he believed the whole time. It tells us in Hebrews 11. He believed that if he killed his son, the Lord would bring him back to life. He believed God.
We all need to believe God and to trust Him.
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah Jireh.
The Lord said Abraham, Abraham, stop, because I see that you trust me. Stop. Put down the knife and turn around. And he saw a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. And that's a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he called that place Jehovah Jireh, the Lord, my provision. And dear beloved brothers and sisters, as we go through this scene, the Lord will be your provision.
He will not fail you.
He promised and it may seem we have in our ideas. If this happens, then the Lord provided for me. I'm not saying it's going to show up just like you thought it would, but He will provide for you and He will provide for you at His own expense.
He that spared not his own son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Blessed be his name. So as we walk through this scene, may we be.
Worshippers, may we let His life fill us that we might carry His light to the world. Let's just pray. Our God and our Father, you are so good. We think of how.
Thou would send thy son.
The Lord Jesus Christ to that very mountain where that ram was, where Abraham was, provided a sacrifice. Lord Jesus, on that very mountain you gave your life for us.
We thank thee.
That thou art more than enough to carry us through. And we pray that we would be worshippers, that we would lift your name on high and follow you with all our hearts and lay our lives down as living sacrifices.
For thou alone artworthy. Amen.
Ye Are Not Your Own
Children—Jonathan Csanyi
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.
29 which which in Mccree. Thank you.
The Children's in book 29 in the Children's Timbuk.
This one.
The books of the Bible. I hope you guys know this one. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus.
OK, I've got a question I'd like to ask kids when we sing this song.
Can someone tell me a book of the Bible? We just listed the mall and what it's about.
Any of the kids? There's some easy ones.
You know the book of Jonah is about.
What you want to say?
Jonah Jonas about Jonah. Jonas about Jonah.
But about the story of Jonah, you're right. You had your hand up.
Genesis.
And what's it about?
The beginning of the world, The beginning of the world. You're right. You know what interesting thing to remember? Genesis is about the beginning of the world. It's about the beginning of almost everything. It's a book of beginnings. Everything, almost everything that we read in the Bible, every subject, you can go back to Genesis and find the beginning of it. Who else has one? A book of the Bible and what it's about.
The more easy ones would be.
Esther.
Booth maybe acts You guys know acts. You know what?
Esther's about Esther, how she she becomes.
The Kings.
She becomes the queen and she saves somebody. You know who she saves?
She saves.
All her people to the Jews, she saved them because they were going to be attacked. OK, who else had one? I think I saw another hand.
You already did one, you wanna do another one?
Look, Joshua is about the Josh and the Israelites. Joshua is about Joshua and the Israelites and what are they doing?
Attacking Jericho. They're going into the land of Canaan, aren't they?
Yeah.
Maybe one more one of the one other kid wanna do 10? Here's one.
Yeah, Exodus, Exodus, what's that about? The Israelites traveling? The Israelites traveling, going through the wilderness, aren't they okay?
You know, sometimes we read the Bible and we don't really think about.
The whole book, we look at a verse, we look at a couple verses, we memorize a verse. It's good to think about. What's this whole book about? Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, stuff like that. Exodus, yeah, there's lots of stories that we know, but it's good to know that Exodus, the overall book, is about the journey through the wilderness.
You guys read your Bible, right?
Yeah, sometimes. Mostly.
If you have trouble, you can talk to me afterwards. I'll show you a scripture searcher booklet that you can do that might help you.
OK, who else has another hymn?
From any of these hymn books we have here, I've got this one, I've got this one. If you've got this one, this one.
29 in the back of the camp hymn book.
A friend for little children.
OK, did you guys learn a verse?
We're going to go around. If you want to say a verse, you can. If you know the verse for this week, you can say that one. If you have a different verse you'd like to say, that's OK too. We would like to start any volunteers here, OK.
Also out of an horrible pit out of the Miami clay and set my feet upon a rock and it started with my going Psalm 34 eight.
Psalm 40 verse two. Thank you. Did you want to try anyone here? OK.
He brought me also up out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock. Psalms 42. Thank you. No anyone back in this section.
OK, he brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the Marie Clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. Psalm 40, verse 2. Thank you.
00:05:10
He brought me up also out of the horrible pit and out of the mired clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my going psalms 40 verse two. Anyone here? I missed you.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my going Psalm 40, verse 2, just to give you guessing. Let's go to this section next. Anyone here want to see it?
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of my clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings. Psalm 42. Thank you. Anyone else here? Yeah.
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit out of the Mariku, and set my feet upon a rock and established my going Psalms 42.
He brought me up also up out of horrible pit, and put my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Psalms 40, verse 2.
No anyone here?
He brought me up also out of an horrible.
And set my feet upon a rock. And established my goings. Psalm 40, verse 2. Thank you.
Anyone you want to say it?
Well, I know Judah wants to say it back there. He's one of his favorite verses. Go ahead.
He brought me up also out of the horrible pit, out of the Murray clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my going some. 40, verse 2.
He brought me up also out of the horrible pit and out of the Marie Clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established by going Psalm 40, verse 2. Thank you.
You wanna do a different one? OK.
The joy of behalf Angel had got over one feeling I bent Luke 1510. Thank you. There's joy in the presence of the angels of God. James. He brought me up also at the horrible pit. Add the marine pit and set my feet upon a rocking establishment.
He brought me a puzzle out of the horrible bit and set my feet up on a rock and established my goings. Psalms 42, thank you.
Anyone here? No.
No. Did I miss anybody?
Wants to say it OK.
I like this verse because it's got the whole gospel in one verse and it goes beyond what we often think about as the gospel. And if you just say the verse quickly, you might not notice, but I like to divide the verse into three parts.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit and out of the miry clay. Can anyone think of a gospel verse or another verse?
That might talk about that same subject if we're applying that to the gospel, how we're brought up out of a horrible pit and the miry clay. Anyone do a verse like that?
Mayuri clay is like quicksand. You can't get out by yourself. You're stuck and you can't get out by yourself.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We didn't plan that.
Anyone else other verses like that?
How about the wages of sin is death?
Right. Everyone of us is sinners, is a Sinner, all have sinned.
Anyone here think they've never done anything wrong?
Anybody.
I didn't do it. It was her, him, somebody else, my sister.
No, we all know that we've sinned.
And the wages of sin is death.
There's no way.
That we by ourselves as sinners.
We.
Can get into heaven. Can escape death, the penalty for our sins.
Anyone know the rest of that verse? I've only quoted the first part of it. The wages of sin is death. Can anyone say the rest of that verse for me?
Sorry.
00:10:00
Great.
But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank you. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Lord Jesus came down and he died and shed his blood, so that any that believe on him will have their sins washed away.
So back to our memory verse. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. Nothing you can do yourself. Imagine you're in a deep pit and you're stuck in quicksand. Can you get out by yourself?
No, you're stuck. But he brought me up.
And he set my feet upon a rock.
And you would think how that might apply to the gospel. He didn't just bring me out of the pit. He set my feet upon a rock. Are you going to sink anymore? Could you sink anymore on a rock into that quicksand?
You can't. You're secure.
In John.
Read it verse quickly in John chapter 10.
Verse 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. So I like to think about that of that part of the verse. He set my feet upon a rock. At how secure we are.
If I seem to have been washed away, if we've accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, there is no possibility of losing that, no possibility of falling back into this pit that you can't get out of. You're secure, He's promised.
If God is God.
You're secure as long as God is God.
His own character, his own self, is at stake here.
There's no possibility.
Then the last part of that verse.
What's the last part of that verse? Someone help me up.
After he set my feet upon a rock, what did he do?
You remember.
He established my goings.
He doesn't just bring us up out of the pit and save us and say OK bye, have a good life.
I'll see you in heaven. You're safe. You're secure.
Go do the best you can. He didn't do that.
He established our goings. He has a plan for each one of us. He has a path for each one of us to walk.
And he's guiding us along that path, each one of us, from the youngest to the oldest.
It's just as true as the five year old sitting down there for him as it is for the oldest one here. Who's the oldest one here? I don't even know.
Here and Bev.
Does he have a plan for your life? Does he guide you through your life? He absolutely did.
Each one of us.
He has a plan for our life. There's a very.
One you can read this.
Who can turn for me to Psalm 32?
32 and willing to read a verse for me.
Yeah, OK. Can you show your Bible verse 8 please?
I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way that Wichita shall go. I will guide thee with mine. I will instruct thee and teach me in the way which thou shalt go. I will guide thee with mine eye.
Can you guys see what I'm looking at?
Can you?
Kind of.
00:15:00
James, can you see what I'm looking at? I'm looking at you.
Can you guys see what Jude is looking at? He's way back there.
Anyone see what Jude is looking at?
If he wasn't hiding, I can't see what he's looking at. You know why? Why can't I see what Jude is looking at?
Mary, he's too far away.
So if the Lord Jesus is going to guide us with his eye, where does that tell us we have to do?
Anyone else? What are the tools we have to do stay close to him? You have to stay close to him.
And how do you stay close to the Lord Jesus?
That's a bit of a harder question. How do you stay close to the Lord Jesus? Anyone know?
You again.
OK, how do you stay close? Talking to him more often. Talking to him more often? That's exactly right. Reading his word, praying. Talking to him as a friend.
And he'll show you.
What he has for your life, He established my goings.
I want to turn to a couple more verses.
Wait every time.
One in First Corinthians.
Chapter 6.
Does anyone want to read this one?
It's actually 2 verses First Corinthians chapter 6.
Anyone want to read?
You want to.
No.
I'll read it then, unless I miss somebody.
OK I'll read it. First Corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price.
Therefore, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods. If you think about this, this memory verse, we said, He brought me up out of a horrible pit and out of the miry clay. He was stuck. There was no possibility of escape. Nothing you could do to save yourself as good as dead.
And he brought you up and saved you. He rescued you.
You are bought with a price. You were you were as good as dad.
And he rescued you.
Don't you owe your life to him?
Turn to Romans.
Chapter 12.
If I can find Romans.
There we go.
Romans chapter 12 verse one says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
How many kids were here in the Reading meeting yesterday morning?
I think at least half of you, maybe more. Does anybody remember?
What the word ministry means.
Only two, Steve.
Hannah, why don't you tell us?
Service, service. And each one of us has a service to do. And when Uncle Steve was talking about this yesterday, I found it really interesting because it tied directly into what I wanted to talk about today.
He's talking about how all of us have a service and it was tied to the mercy we had received.
In being not getting what we deserve. In a way, that's being rescued from this pit, saved from the penalty of your sins.
And here we are in Romans chapter 12.
I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.
00:20:06
Because you've been rescued, you haven't gotten what you deserved. That you present your bodies.
If you're going to give your body, you're basically giving your whole life that you present your whole life.
A living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable.
Service Ministry.
Reasonable. It's only reasonable.
It just makes sense that if you've been saved from such a penalty.
You're as good as dead and you were rescued from this that you owe your life.
To him that rescued you, doesn't that make sense?
And it says 2 for the younger ones as it is for the older ones. And it's a good reminder for each one of us.
You know, if you think about.
Some people that you might think of in the Bible, some stories in the Bible of people that were faithful, faithful.
And that followed the Lord or followed God.
Who can you think of?
Who's someone in the Bible? Right. Pardon. Caleb was faithful. Who else? James. Moses. Joshua. Yeah.
Pardon.
Daniel.
Anyone else? Yeah.
Isaiah Hannah, you had one.
Abraham.
Noah.
And we think about these people. We know the stories, we rattle them off. But stop and think for a minute.
Let's pick one, Moses.
Think about his life.
Here he is growing up in the palace in Egypt, but God has a plan for him.
He gets chased out. He spends 40 years in the desert.
He comes back and he leads us, the children of Israel, through the wilderness.
Very, very tough life. Very. I wouldn't want that job.
Think about the trials, the sorrow.
Did he ask for this?
You know, maybe he.
Was tempted to look back and say God ruined my life, I had it all planned out, I was a Prince and he ruined it. Is it true?
Maybe from a worldly perspective, from Egypt's perspective, maybe. But no, he owed his life to God. He brought me up also over the horrible pit.
Present your bodies a living sacrifice. It's only reasonable.
Think of some of the others, Abraham.
But the Uncle Matt was talking about that last night.
He has nice family. He was married.
His father. He lived close to his father.
His brother.
And God called her and said go.
Pack up and go.
But but God, I had plans.
I had plans. I was going to settle down here. I had some nice pasture. I was going to grow my flocks. No go.
Think about these people.
Spend some time when you read these stories and think about what it would be like to live their lives. Think about what it meant for them to follow the Lord.
And really then think about what you're being asked to do.
The tiny sacrifices you're being asked to make.
How do they compare? It's only reasonable.
Which is your reasonable service.
I think we're almost out of time.
Let's finish with one more hymn.
Out of the camp hymn book.
#53.
00:25:04
I have decided to follow Jesus #53.
You're not your own for your bot with a price. Remember that as you make these decisions in your lives. It's true for the front row. It's perhaps even more true for those kids are sitting towards the back. A lot of decisions in your life coming up.
You're not your own. Let's pray.
I got your Father and our Lord Jesus, we thank thee for this opportunity we have to sing these hymns together and say these verses and we thank these delivered us from this horrible pit and not only made us secure.
But planned on our life and that has to plan to guide us through our life.
We pray that I'll help each one of us to remember this and to remember to turn to Thee and to stay close to Thee.
So we can hear what that would have us to do.
We commit the day ahead to thee now. Pray for help in the readings this afternoon and think of those that are still traveling up here and we pray for safety for them.
Commit the whole week ahead to the two, and we pray for an enjoyable and a fun time, but a profitable time too. As we learn more about Thee. We pray this now in Thy name, Amen.
Final 24 Hours of Christ's Pathway
Address—Marc Debu
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Let's look to the Lord.
A godfather we.
Would ask for thy help now as we seek to open thy word and meditate a little bit about on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we thank the Lord that we have that opportunity to think on thee. We think of how we were able to remember thee and thy death.
And we just prayed out what is being said this afternoon would draw us closer to the.
Would maybe help us to enter.
And a little bit more in in what it was that thou didst go through for us. Lord Jesus, we just thank Thee and we pray for thy help and thy worthy name. Amen.
And we sing this hymn quite often that the remembrance of the Lord, the breaking of bread. There's a couple of things in this hymn that it starts out by singing on that same night, saying on that same night, Lord Jesus, when all around the joint to cast its darkest shadow across thy holy mind. And I want to talk about that a little bit about the darkness.
Of that night in which the Lord Jesus was betrayed, in which he suffered at the hands of man.
And then in the fourth verse it says in thee by grace accepted the hard and mindset, free to think of all thy sorrow, and thus remember thee.
You know, when we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, it was mentioned yesterday, we have the Holy Spirit that indwells us. And I think because of that we can look back on that night and have a right perspective of the wickedness of man and what they did, and also of the beauty and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ who submitted to the will of God.
And went through that suffering.
For us. And so that's that's what I had in mind is to in the Gospels, maybe try to go through a little bit of a chronology of what happened from when the Lord Jesus was betrayed till the time that he was hung on the cross, but before that.
You know, we can think of the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's divided up in different parts. The majority of his life down here, the 1St 30 years.
We really have very little information about that, but we know this, that he was about his father's business when he was 12 years old and he was in the temple, he said to Mary wished he not that I must be about my father's business. And so that's what we know about those 30 years that he spent them independence upon the father. He was about his father's business.
And maybe would like to this kind as an aside, but as an encouragement, especially to the young people.
It's interesting to think that the majority of the Lord's life, maybe between 85 to 90% of the Lord's life, he wasn't a public figure. He wasn't occupied in doing miracles and healings and giving sermons. He led a very, if you might say so, normal life, even though there was nothing normal about it, because he was perfect. He was the Son of God.
And yet, if you would have looked at him from day-to-day, he didn't do anything spectacular.
And I think for all most of us, that's really what the Lord wants from us. He doesn't want great things. He's not looking for anything spectacular, but he wants us to live our lives, independence upon him being about our Father's business too. That's what the Lord Jesus spent the majority of his life down here doing. He was occupied with his Father's business, but it didn't look spectacular. And we can follow him in that.
And then of course, we have the three years of his public ministry, and that's what most of the Gospels are occupied with.
But then there's the very end of his life down here on earth. That will be his suffering and his death.
And I think if you look at it in proportion, that's actually what we read the most about proportionally. We read the most about his three years of public ministry, but that occupied three, 3 1/2 years. But then those last, let's say, 24 hours before the Lord Jesus lay down his life. We actually got quite a bit of that written about in the Gospels.
00:05:01
And so that's what I want to take up. But before we start with that.
Let's turn to Matthew's Gospel.
Chapter 26.
Matthew's Gospel chapter 26 and read from verse 6.
This was about six days before the Passover, it tells us in John's Gospel. Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the House of Simon the leper, they came to him, a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his.
On his head as he sat at me. But when his disciple saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, Why trouble you the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For ye have the poor always with you.
But me have not always. For that She hath poured this ointment on my body. She did it for my burial.
Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached, and the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial offer.
Why do I read this?
I read this because I think it shows us that the Lord truly appreciates when we have communion with his suffering. Now this was Mary who did this and she was the one who had sat at the Lord Jesus feet. Maybe she was the one who of all people living at that time.
Entered the most into what was about to happen to the Lord. You know we read about the disciples and they really didn't have a clue even though the Lord many times.
Told them about the suffering he was going to go through. But here was one who had sat at his feet, taken in his words. No doubt she was a woman who meditated upon the things she heard and let them really sing down into her soul. And she knew that something was about to happen.
And in doing what she did, she showed that however far she could enter into what was going to happen.
And she did so, and the Lord truly appreciated that. And so it's nice that we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, but I do think he really appreciates it if we enter a little bit into what he went through.
At the hands of man we'll touch upon, hopefully at the end, a little bit about the three hours of darkness. And we know that that's when the Lord Jesus.
Paid the penalty.
Took upon him the judgment of our sins.
But we're very limited in how far we can enter into that. That was something between him and a holy God. But when it comes to what man did to him and how the Lord reacted to that or not reacted to that, I think those are things that if we're occupied with them, it will really enrich our appreciation of what the Lord Jesus was willing to do for us. And then one more thing in Luke's gospel to.
Kind of bears out the same thing.
Luke 22.
And this was now six days later at the Passover.
And justice Verse Verse 15 He said unto them with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
So here was the Lord with his disciples.
And the strong, strong language that he used with desire I have desired.
And he was about to be betrayed. He was about to go through this awful night that we'll read about. And yet his great desire was to have his disciples around him. The Lord's great desire is that we should be right around him, that we should be close to him and be occupied with himself. What's so beautiful to us? We know that it was right after that that we have the upper room ministry that we read of in John's Gospel.
And what's really?
00:10:01
Canada central theme of that Upper Room ministry, It's the Holy Spirit, is it not that he would send a comforter. And what is the main purpose of the comforter? It's to occupy us with Christ. And so this afternoon when you are here and you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, having the Holy Spirit indwelling you, we can enter into things that this world has no clue about.
This world has no clue about and so it's, I think it's a, it's a real privilege.
In a way that's respectful to be occupied with what the Lord Jesus did and his sufferings. And so let's start in Marks Gospel chapter 14.
And many of these things that we'll look at you can find in several gospels.
All the, all four of the gospels have accounts about the Lord's suffering at the hands of man. And so many of the instances you can look at in two or three gospels, and it's good to do so because they have little different details. But obviously we can't, we don't have time to do all that. And so I'll be kind of picking here and there a little bit, but Mark's Gospel chapter 14 and verse.
34.
And the Lord said unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death, Carry ye here and watch. And he went forward a little bit, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
And he said, ABBA, father, all things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou will.
And so here you might say, he's not quite yet suffering at the hands of man.
But in this whole process of him going to the Garden of Gethsemane, being betrayed, and then, you know, the trial, we might say that comes after that. I think this is the one place where we see that there's a struggle in the soul of the Lord.
And it says he anticipates.
What was about to happen?
He anticipates.
What he would have to endure that a holy God would have to turn away from him.
When he, the Holy One, who was without sin.
Become the Sin Bearer.
This is the place where we see this struggle in the soul.
The Lord Jesus was God.
As God, he's all powerful. That what he was about to do. There was nothing easy about it.
There was nothing easy about it.
Know that the epistles tell us that he did know sin. Maybe we can enter into that a little bit.
But it says to that in Him was no sin, and that's something that we really don't know anything about.
Because we are sinners. We don't just sin, We are sinners. It's what we are. It's our character.
And here was one.
Was without sin.
And it's true that in the 33 years now that he had lived in this world, he had been surrounded by sin.
But unlike us, he had not become accustomed to sin.
Sin was still as awful to him.
33 years into his life on this earth, as it was the very day he came into this world.
And so for him to think.
That in a few hours.
All this sin.
Of man from Adam.
All the way to those that will still come after us if the Lord leaves us here.
They would be poured upon him.
And so we see that here it says that his soul.
Is exceeding sorrowful unto death.
Then he goes further and he falls on the ground and he prays.
And what does he pray, if it were possible that the hour might pass from him? And then he says, All things are possible unto thee. Take away this cup from me.
00:15:01
That's a that's an incredible thing to think about, that he's praying.
To know mighty God. And yesterday we read the account of the creation.
And there's.
There's 3 words in that account in Genesis 1.
Well, the whole chapters as amazing as Josh was saying, but there's three words that show the limit.
The limitlessness of God's power.
It says the stars also. The stars also.
Man doesn't even have a clue yet about how many there are.
We're up to billions upon billions upon billions, and in the account of creation against 3 words, the stars also. And so the Lord Jesus says here.
That the Lord, all things are possible unto thee. Take this cup from me.
Nevertheless, not my will, but dying me, then God can do anything. But He couldn't do this, He could not do this. If there ever was going to be any blessing for man, for fallen man, that cup had to be drunk, and there was only one man that could do it, and that was the perfect man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so we see the struggle here in his soul, because his his holy soul recoiled, shrank back.
From being made to sin, offering. And yet he knew there was number other way. There was number other way. If God's love, his heart of love, could ever go forth to man, this had to be done. And so he says, not my will, but I can be done.
And what's so beautiful is from this moment on.
No matter what man does. And they did their worst.
We see perfect peace in the path of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had submitted to the will of the Father and there's no more struggle. There's no more struggle and you can see that a few verses down he says in verse 42, he says rise up, let us go for lo, he that betrayeth me as I had.
Now, if we have to do something that we don't like to do, we like to drag our feet, we like to postpone things. We like to try to see if we can get out of it. They hear the matter was settled. The matter was settled. This was the Father's will, and he was going to do it. So he says, let's do it. Let's rise up and let's go. Let's turn now to John's gospel.
Chapter 18.
John's Gospel chapter 18 and verse one, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the books he drawn where was a garden into which he entered and his disciples. This is the garden of Gethsemane. We just read about that. That's where he prayed and Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place where Jesus OFT times resorted thitter with his disciples.
Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns, and tortures and weapons.
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto him, Whom seek ye?
They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto him, I am he.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
As soon then, as he had said unto them, I am He, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then asked He then again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am He. If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way.
You know the Lord went to a place where he knew he would be found. Judas knew of that place.
Because they had been there many times.
But what does this little account tell us? What tells us different things? First of all, I think we see the total depravity of the matter that the heart of man. Here's Judas.
Judas was number stranger to the Lord.
Judas had spent over three years.
Pretty much 24 hours a day with the Lord. And we know there was times that the Lord went up into the mountain alone to pray. There were times that he sent out the disciples.
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But for the most part of those over three years, Judas had witnessed everything the Lord had said, everything the Lord had done.
Perfection in every possible way.
And yet for Walt, for 30 pieces of silver.
He was willing to betray.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Now did Judas have any different fallen nature than we did? No.
No, but he had allowed himself to be hardened towards the entreaties of the Lord. I have no doubt that in those three years the Lord.
Towards some special attention into Judas.
Because not willing that any should perish apply to Judas too.
And yet he had not responded.
His heart had hardened overtime. Now it Will stood a point that Satan himself had entered into him. He had allowed this. He's responsible.
What else does it show us?
It shows us the foolishness of men, I think.
They had brought weapons.
To overpower the Lord Jesus Christ.
Foolish. How foolish. There have been many times, or several times at least.
In the Lord's life that they had tried to apprehend them and they couldn't do anything. Maybe they thought here at night we'll send quite a bit of people. It says a great multitude. At some point it speaks of a captain and the word used there is the word that is used later on in Acts for one who is over 1000 men. So it was probably quite, quite the group of people that came.
But it shows us that man has no clue about how the Lord Jesus who the Lord Jesus Christ really is.
It did not matter, he said. I am I am. I am He. And they all fell backward. It's the smallest glimpse of his glory, of who this person was, and man could not stand before that.
And there's.
Today man is still at enmity with God. He still thinks that he can do something against God. And we we know from prophecy that man will take up weapons again against the Lord. But what foolishness? What foolishness?
But there's something very beautiful too. In the last verse that I read, the Lord says, I have told you that I am He. If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way. He's talking about his disciples.
I think it gives us a little picture of the work that he's about to do. He was going to go.
To do what he had to do so that they could be set free.
The Lord Jesus endured all of this in the 1St place to please the Father.
What man had done in his rebellion and in sinning against God.
That had to be.
Propitiated God's righteous claims had to be vindicated, and that's what the Lord Jesus did in the first place.
But two, very much so. He went there so that we might be set free from the ******* of sin and from the enemy. He allowed himself to be bound. We read that a little bit later that verse 12. Then the band and the captain and the officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound. He allowed himself to be bound that we might be set free.
Just think of that too. How these wicked men.
Bound the Lord Jesus, and here were hands that never done anything wrong.
Nothing but good. He had touched people that were sick and healed them.
And touched little children, and he blessed them.
And now those hands were blocked.
As if man says we don't want you, we don't want you to do anymore good.
This is the time 2 and I won't turn to it, but where it says it's in Matthew's Gospel, this is the time where it says that the disciple forsook him and fled.
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The work that had to be done was something he had to do alone. Man could not go with him.
What a savior we have.
Let's read then verse 13. And they led him away to Anna's first, for he was the father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year. And I think there's about six, I don't know if you want to call them stations, but different steps in the in the path of the Lord's trial, you might say, before he's actually delivered to the people.
To be crucified and this would be the first one they took him from the Garden of Gethsemane, which if you look at a map.
Would have been on the east side of Jerusalem. They probably took him through the city to to this man's place and then later to KFS place. And that's kind of where the trial starts developing.
But as we go through this, I want you to to keep in mind too that pretty much all of this was done during the night.
Was done during the night. It was darkness and man lost darkness rather than light.
They were at ease, you might say, during that time.
And so he's brought first here before this man, and it doesn't seem like much happened here, but it's interesting to me that.
The first place where the Lord Jesus is brought is to those who were the most responsible.
The High Priest should have been was instituted to be the link between the people and God. The High priests were the ones that brought the offerings from the people unto God and now instead of doing that, they are bent on destroying the Son of God.
What blindness, how far these people had gone away from what God had in mind with them.
But let's look to the next one. We'll turn now to Matthew Chapter 26.
And this is where the trial really starts, you might say.
57 Matthew 26 and 57.
He Matthew doesn't mention him going to Anna's first, but it says they had laid hold on him on Jesus, led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
They were already assembled. They were ready for this. They had wanted this for a long time. Now we read a little before that and the parable that the Lord Jesus spoke to the people. We will not have this man reign over us.
So they were ready for this. They had been scheming. They were assembled.
There verse 59 Now the chief priests and elders, and all the council sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death, but found none. Yet though many false witnesses came, yet they found none. At the last came to false witnesses, and said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. And the high priest arose and said unto him.
Answer us now nothing. Which? What is it? Which these witnesses?
Witness against thee, but Jesus held us peace.
I want you to imagine this scene.
What if you would imagine a courtroom?
Where you might say everything is predetermined, it's all one sided, the judge, the jury.
The lawyers, their own playing together, you might say they're all on one side. And then you have the accused, and the accused has nobody to defend themselves, and he doesn't defend himself either.
And what the amazing thing is, they're not able to condemn it.
What a phrase. They sought false witnesses. Every trace of justice was was gone from this. It was just men completely apart from God. These were the high priests that they show their true character. They saw false witnesses and they find some false witnesses.
And even though they were determined to condemn him to death, it was not enough to condemn him.
That's the perfection of the person that stood before him.
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And it just says Jesus held this peace. And as we go through this, you'll see too that the amount of people.
Wanting the death of the Lord Jesus seems to multiply.
And the hatred, the frenzy seems to multiply too. And yet, amidst all of this, there's perfect calm on the part of the Lord Jesus Christ. He not only held His peace, but He was at peace. Why? Because He had committed everything into the hands of the Father. He was here to do His will and what man could do to Him.
That's not what he was occupied with.
But then then the high priest says in verse 65, The high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God.
That thou tell us whether thou be to Christ the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said, Nevertheless I say unto you Hereafter, shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven? Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy. What further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now we have heard his blasphemy. What think he? They answered, and said, He is guilty.
Death.
They do condemn it, but on what basis? It wasn't on the basis that he had done anything wrong.
But it was on the basis of the truth as to his own person.
The priest adjourned him and he has to answer. That was part of the law.
What is the answer?
He just confirms the truth that he is the Son of God.
But it's interesting when he answers, that he says too hereafter shall he see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power.
It's as if before they can pronounce their condemnation.
They receive their judgment because the Son of Man is the title, the name he takes when he will come back to judge this world. All judgment is committed unto the Son of Man says, yes, I am the Son of God, that you will see me as the Son of Man in judgment and in power.
It's an amazing scene. Here was the Lord, and to human eyes it was all lost. It was all over. They held all the power. And yet he tells him, I'm going to come back in power and judgment will come.
And a time of testimony was over. And so these men, these responsible ones, who were now mocking him, and so on, they would get to know Him, they would see Him again as the Son of Man. And then these last two verses, 67 and 68 Then they did spit him in his face, and buffet at him, and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophecy unto us, thou, Christ, who is it?
That's Smoothie.
You know these are not easy verses to read.
We who love the Lord do not like to read of Him being treated like that, but maybe there's something in it too that makes it a little hard.
And that is that sometimes we need to be reminded, and we were last night, but we need to be reminded of how bad we really were.
Who was this that did this? Later on we'll read about the Roman soldiers doing this. We can see that a little bit better. But if you go back, who was here? It was the scribes and the elders and the high priests. They were the ones who were doing this to the Lord at this moment.
They were the ones that on a normal day you would see walking down the street in their solemn clothes and solemn face. Be all respectful. Be here to masks fall off.
These men who would have been the religious top of society, people looked up to him.
They are beating a man who's not even defending himself.
The wickedness of man's heart.
Let's turn to.
Luke chapter 22 again.
Verse 66.
It says And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together and led him into their counsel.
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I believe that there's really two meetings of the Sanhedrin, the council, the one we just looked at, and that was in the middle of the night right after he was captured here. Now it speaks of another meeting.
First thing in the morning.
And, you know, and I think it's a Mark Mark's gossip. It's it's straightway in the morning. As soon as it was day, they held another meeting. I think the purpose of this meeting was they had already come to their conclusion and their eyes, the Lord was guilty of death.
But they knew that they really couldn't do anything about it because they were not allowed to put a man to death being under Roman rule.
And they knew, too, that what they had done and decided during that night would not stand before the Roman rule. And I think they convened together here again first thing in the morning.
To give it a look of being official, we've tried this man properly and that's the conclusion we came to. So I think there's two meetings of the Sanhedrin. This would be the second one. And it's interesting in this one in verse 67, it says, Art thou the Christ tell us? And he said unto them, If I tell you, you will not believe. And if I also ask you, you will not answer me nor let me go.
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.
And the Lord is really saying is.
The time of me testifying to who I am is all over. He had done that for 3 1/2 years perfectly.
And his words and his deeds, there was power backing up the things that he said. The Lord had given a complete full testimony of who he was. And he says, whatever I say now you're not going to listen anymore. But then they say, then said, They all are now. Then the Son of God. And he said unto them, Ye say that I am.
It's interesting that they don't go through the whole process anymore of trying to find witnesses against him. They knew that wasn't going to work. They went through that. And so they go straight to the point. Are you the Son of God? He cannot deny himself. And so he answers in the affirmative. And I think when we look at this whole portion, you know, there's, there's certain things that are really striking.
That the intense hatred of of man against the Lord Jesus.
The calm, the peace of the Lord. But I think what's striking too is that God is silent. God is silent. You know, in during the Lord's ministry, the heavens had opened and God had spoken.
At his baptism Mount of Transfiguration. But here while all this was happening was one man was doing the worst to his well beloved Son. God is silent, but God is still at work and He would not allow.
The Lord to be condemned for anything he didn't do. And so the Lord, a God, works it out in a way that he.
When man would look back at this and say what was he condemned for? It was as to the truth of who he was. And we see too that over and over again, God makes sure that there's witness that this man was innocent. It's amazing how many times we have that.
Judas, the one who betrayed him, he says. I've betrayed innocent blood.
There's Pilot, I think three times, he says. I find no fault in this man.
In a way, the high priest, even though they didn't say it, by the fact that even with false witnesses they couldn't condemn him, they have to admit this man is innocent.
There was Pilot's wife to have nothing to do with this unjust man.
Herod sends him back. He couldn't find anything.
It was the thief on the cross says this man has done nothing in this.
And then in a way to indirectly even the centurion by the cross said truly this was the Son of God, over and over again, the Reed of the innocence.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ. And yet what does it say in verse 71? And they said, what need we any further witness for we ourselves have heard out of his own mouth.
And.
John 18, verse 28.
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Then let day Jesus from cafes unto the whole of judgment. And it was early. And they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover Pilot then went out unto them, and said, What accusation bring you against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Now they did actually give an accusation, and I'll.
Read it. It's given in Luke's Gospel.
Chapter 23.
Verse two, it says they began to accuse him, saying we found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself as Christ the King and that was complete, something completely different than what they had condemned them for. They had condemned them because he made himself the Son of God. When they come to Pilate, the accusation is completely different. It's catered so that the Roman governor.
Would not be too happy with this person. They didn't say he's he said he's the son of God. They knew that wasn't going to go anywhere even though later on that comes up. But what's interesting here is and what I've just read is again, it says it was early. And you see throughout this whole proceeding that there was haste, there was hurry. Man was motivated to do what he did.
Feet that are swift to shed innocent blood.
What we see too, is that.
What hypocrisy. They didn't want to enter the judgment hall before because it was the Passover and they were afraid of being the file.
And here, the one who is the true Passover, they were delivering to the civil authorities to be crucified.
What hypocrisy in man's heart and man's dealings.
Verse 31 Then set Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death, that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the Jews? Jesus answered unto him, Says thou this of thyself? Or did others tell it thee of me?
Pilate answered, Am IA Jew an own nation? And the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done?
You know, we have to try to imagine this scene. What's going on here?
He was the judgment hall, and I'm assuming it was a pretty large room, a large building.
That may be except for a few guards or soldiers. It would have been the Lord Jesus and Pilate alone in there. The Jews stayed outside, not wanting to be defiled, and you see Pilot going back and forth between the Lord Jesus and the man outside.
And we know Pilot is totally responsible.
But he dealt with a situation that he had never dealt with before. He dealt with a person unlike any other person he had ever had. In his judgment home, there's great accusations. And here's this man, he's not even trying to defend himself. And he asks him, are you the King of the Jews? And Jesus says, you say this of yourself, or did they tell you?
And he says am IA Jew pilot must have been complete perplexed.
Hated the Roman authority.
And yet their hatred of the Lord Jesus Christ trumped their national pride. It's amazing. It's amazing. Pilots like, I don't understand this. These people who don't want us to do anything, who want us out, have delivered you, being a Jew to me to be condemned. You must have done something really bad.
Jesus answered. My Kingdom is not of this world.
Then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews? But now is my Kingdom not from hands? What words?
What words think? The pilot must have been stunned. But I think in this verse too we have the real secret to the Jews hatred of the Lord Jesus Christ. His Kingdom was not of this world.
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If he had come as the king of the Jews in the way that they wanted and expected it, that would not have been this problem.
They were looking for the Messiah, were looking for him.
That they had forgotten the whole question of sin.
They wanted to be restored to the times of David and Solomon to be the number one nation. Their vision just had to do with this earth.
When the Lord spoke of things that they didn't like, they didn't want him.
The Lord had to deal with the questions. The Lord had to deal with the question of sin.
So Pilate says, Art thou a king then?
I'm not sure about this, He might have said this half marking, but it seems to be that for a moment the Lord caught his attention.
And how could it have been otherwise?
Here was a man standing before him.
With moral dignity. The way he behaved, as I said, was unlike anybody he'd ever seen.
And at this time to the Lord no doubt already border traces of the beating he had received. And yet the way he talks, the way he acts, it would have made man stop and think, Who is this man? Are you? Are you a king? Jesus answered, Thou says that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth.
Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice.
Pilate said unto him, What is truth?
And then he went out again.
What is truth? And he went out again.
I'm to the point that I almost need glasses. How much time do you have left? Is about 10 minutes. All right. Thank you.
Let the next.
The next stage you might say we only read of in Luke's gospel, Luke chapter 20.
Three.
I think this ties right in with what we just had. He went back out after he said what is true.
Maybe he'll listen for a second, but it just shows us again the way he walks outside. That man in his natural state is incapable of entering into who the Lord Jesus Christ is.
And there was everything there to arrest Pilate in his path, where you might say, and yet he could not enter into it. This person was different, but it was too much, you might say, for him. And so he walks away and when he comes outside.
Let's see here first.
Four, let's start 23 verse four then sent Pilate to the chief priests and to the people. I find no fault in this man.
And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirred up the people, reaching throughout all teaching to our old Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herods jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was at Jerusalem at that time. No, Herod was in charge. This is Herod Antipas, He was in charge of the area of Galilee.
And he was the one who had been responsible for the death of John the Baptist.
And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see him for a long season, because he had heard many things of him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.
You know, we've already had the religious world and their guilt and pilot, we might say we see the political world and their guilt. And here's a man, Herod. And Herod was a man that lived for sin and for pleasure.
You know what? What striking words Herod was exceeding. Glad to see Jesus.
He was a man who had no idea of the seriousness of the situation.
And men that live for pleasure and for sin, they have no idea of the seriousness of their condition.
Now what we're reading about this is the center of two eternities. This was not just a crisis, you might say, in the life of the Lord Jesus. This is a crisis of all humanity.
You know, everything before that led up to this moment, the Lord going to the cross and everything after it looks back. Nothing has ever been the same. And this man was exceeding glad, hoping to see a miracle. And there's so many people like that in this world today.
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You might say he will pretty much be on human feeling.
He wanted to be entertained by this man, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was suffering, who was about to go to the cross. Then he questioned him with many questions, but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests undescribed student vehemently accused him. Inherit witness, man of war sentiment gnawed and mocked him and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him again to Pilate.
Now I don't know exactly what it means when it says they sediment not the heritage is man. It could not have been good.
Could not have been good. And they mocked him, put that robe, gorgeous robe about him.
As if to make him something in this world, and the Lord Jesus had not sought for anything in this world.
There were times that they wanted to make him king and he walked away. He was here to do the Father's will.
Not to seek anything for himself.
And so he sent back to Pilate. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers of the people, he said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverted the people. And behold, I have examined him before you, and have found no fault in this man touching those things were off. You accuse him no nor yet, Herod, for I sent you to him. And lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.
What we see to here with Pilot is.
He did not want to deal with this question.
He realized that this was maybe greater than he was, and he seeks every opportunity to not be the responsible party. He sends them to Herod.
He comes up now with this thing of the two prisoners, Barabbas.
Or the Lord Jesus. By this time it wasn't just the chief priests and the elders anymore, but a multitude had gathered.
You know, forsake of time, I'll have to just maybe.
Summarize things a little bit.
But the multitude that I gathered.
No doubt many of them had seen many of the miracles that the Lord had done.
Maybe some of them had known people, friends, relatives that had been healed at some point by the Lord.
No doubt quite a few of them some days earlier were in that procession when they when the Lord entered into Jerusalem and they hailed him as he came in.
And here they have the choice.
A murderer or the Lord Jesus Christ?
And that multitude Christ, crucify him, crucify him.
Then Pilot chastises him.
He scourges him, and tells us in the Psalms that the plowers ploughed his back.
They made long their pearls. Many people died.
And they were subjected to that scourging.
The Lord bore it all.
Than the soldiers, They mocked him, they beat him.
But let's go now to John's Gospel chapter 19.
This is after the soldiers had mocked him and put the robe on him, the crown spit upon him, smote him.
Verse 4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you. Now you may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said unto them, Behold the man.
What did the people see?
I think this is the time that we can think of that verse in Isaiah 52 where it says that his visage was so marred.
More than the sons of man.
It is, as it were, the last presentation of the Lord to the people.
This is what man had done to him.
Behold the man.
Lord says in Psalm 69 look for comforters and I found them.
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You would think that when he stood there.
And there would have been some.
That it would have.
For some sympathy in their people, they remembered him doing nothing but good.
And I was so beaten up he was probably hardly recognizable. And yet there were no comforters.
But as we think of that, maybe I'll end on this. Sorry I didn't time it well, but.
I remember in high school I read a story, an article we had to read, and during that time there was a genocide going on in the country of Rwanda.
In in Africa, there's two groups of people and they were killing each other. There was an interview with a man.
Who had either been delivered in a prisoner swap or something or escape, I don't remember that his body was full of scars. He had been so badly treated. In the interview, he he said this, he says what hurts the most is the scars you don't see. It's what's inside.
And here we see the Lord Jesus behold demand.
As I said, probably not just.
Not a pretty sight. And the Lord felt it. He felt everything. He felt when he was spit upon, He felt when he was beaten, Scourge, all those things.
Well, what did he feel? Even more keenly? It was the rejection of the people that he had come to bless.
He, the Creator, came into his creation, was among them, doing nothing but good, and this is how he ended up.
The Lord felt it all. He felt it very, very much. And yet the whole time we do not hear one word trying to defend themselves. We do not hear one word trying to lessen any of what came upon it.
And this is not the end. We know there's more that came talk more to Pilate. His path to the cross would have been one of of being mocked and cheered by the people. We know that in the first three hours when he hung up on the cross, all that came by, they mocked him.
If you filed him, there was the thieves on the cross that mocked him.
And yet we see perfection throughout perfection throughout the Lord Jesus Christ.
What a savior and so.
You know, I hope it was somewhat orderly, and I think it's very profitable for us to be occupied with what the Lord Jesus endured for our sake. And we didn't have time, but we know it wasn't the three hours of darkness that He paid for our sins. If it had stopped where we read, there still would not have been a way of salvation. He had to suffer at the hands of a holy, righteous God.
The Scripture gives us all these details about what the Lord Jesus went through, and it should mean something to us. It should mean something to us. He loved us so much that he was willing to undergo all that, and to it gives us that stark, stark contrast.
Of the darkness, the wickedness of man's heart. And that's what we all are. A word. We were no better.
And then yet the absolute perfection delight in that darkness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let's thank him.
Our godfather, we.
We just thank you for the Lord Jesus and we acknowledge that many of these passages that we read.
Are hard for us to.
To think about, to be occupied with. And yet they're part of thy revealed word to us.
And they just show and prove over and again.
The perfect the perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ and His submission to thy will.
And we see two men's awful wickedness.
We just prayed to this not being a gospel meeting, but that there would be nobody in this room who would think that there's any good in man.
The passages that we read show that there is no good in man.
And yet the Lord, knowing all this, knowing all that was going to befall him, he went step by step to the cross, enduring these things.
01:00:03
Remaining that light that shines in the darkness.
And doing the work on the cross so that those men.
That did all this might be blessed. We just marvel at that, Lord Jesus, but we thank you for it. We thank Thee for what thou hast done. In thy worthy name we pray. Amen.
Yeah.
Hindrances to Our Heart
Open—Matt Leland
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A God and Father, we thank thee for the opportunity to.
Administer to by their prophets.
Just pray that they'll help us to be subject to.
The Holy Spirit this afternoon, our God and Father.
And it would be blessing and we just pray that.
Each one of us.
Would rightly receive the word that thou sound for us during this meeting and apply it to our hearts as I will see fit.
We just commit the time to thee. For thy health and thy care, and the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
No, but.
Earlier today when we had the privilege of remembering the Lord in his death.
There was an entreaty made, which is kind of unusual to this is a good opportunity for some maybe in the back row to have something on their heart, whether him or a prayer or a praise. And what a comfort. Let's just turn to those verses that he read.
I took it as an encouragement to be willing to thank the Lord and praise the Lord, but I I'm sure that Brother Tim had others in mind too.
But.
First Peter 2.
We'll just start at verse one because these things kind of touch on the subject that's before me. Wherefore laying aside all malice, that's just a feeling of having a feeling of ill will, I believe, towards someone, anybody. That's something that's going to hinder our hearts from being able to praise the Lord and all guile.
Dial is like.
Craftiness. Or maybe hidden deceit. Kind of like we had on the reading meeting yesterday.
Casting off the hidden things of dishonesty. So that would be another thing. If we have secret sins in our life or secret things that we pleasures that we enjoy, that's going to hinder our heart from having a overflow of praise and worship. And I'm saying these things because they speak to my heart too. I've sat in breaking the breads and I haven't had my heart overflow.
And these are things I've had to see. Well, what's wrong with the Lord Hasn't changed. He hasn't gone anywhere. It's it's always right here. What have I been doing? What have I been feeding upon? What have I been thinking about? And the neat thing is.
The whole reason the Lord picked us up and chose us is He wanted us to be to his praise and glowing honor. And as we're going to see if the Lord's help, I'd like to just turn back to Exodus a little bit, and we're going to see that in the Old Testament. A picture.
Of.
How when the children of Israel, they, they have everybody's familiar with the story. They first the lamb was offered and the blood was applied and everybody that came under the value of that blood was saved from that destroying Angel. But then after that, a little bit later, and it's a wonderful thing to know your sins are forgiven. But God wasn't just happy there. All of a sudden he's going to talk to Moses and he's like.
I want you guys to come worship me. But they had to come three days journey out into the wilderness. We're going to see.
And then a little while later, it wasn't just worship. The Lord said I want you to come serve me. We've had both things before us, even brought before the children. And someone has said that worship precedes service. And our brother Marks just brought before us the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. What more?
Could children, What more could the Lord have done for you or me?
Than he's done think. Can any of you think of something more he could have done to win our hearts?
Or our praise or adoration.
What more could it be done? I say that to my own heart.
So, so hypocrisies. That's just natural to our heart. We want to look good whether we're playing basketball or playing baseball or if we're a girl. Maybe we like have a pretty dress and we want to be noticed. We are more worried about what our brothers and sisters think about us on the ball field or how we look.
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And so we're kind of raised hypocrites. We mostly care about what's on the outside, but God looks on the heart. And these things we just mentioned, that's what keeps us from.
From being real and being like our Lord Jesus. But.
It's don't be discouraged. God already knows what man's heart in the gospel it says he knew what was in man and that's what he came is to seek and to save that which is lost and to take poor broken.
Feeble, failing creatures and give us a new song to give us hearts that want to praise Him and serve Him and live for Him forever. But with the Lord's help. I like to touch on a little couple things that I've found that hinder me from answering the Lord's request. You know, in Sunday school, our brother Jonathan brought before us presenting our bodies a living sacrifice. And that's wonderful. But the Lord has to have our hearts 1St. And then it'll be a lot easier for us to lay our life down.
Live and serve Him and whatever measure the Lord would have us.
So envies hypocrisies, envies and evil speaking. So all these things are things that are going to hinder us in our Christian walk. But here's something that's going to help us as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. So if we don't have an appetite for the Lords things, there's something wrong. And the things I remember Brother Vern years ago in a Kirkland reading meeting saying these things in verse one keep us from verse 2.
And so.
I never forgot that. So if you don't have a desire for the Lord's things, it's because of some of the things mentioned in verse one.
As newborn babes desire the sincere mouth of the word, that ye may grow thereby. If so, be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. As someone mentioned, it was Matt saying how a dear older brother said that if you spent 5 minutes alone in the presence of your Maker, it'll change your life forever. It doesn't mean you might not fail, it doesn't mean you might not fall into sin or have to learn more of what your own heart is, but it'll change your life forever.
And so again, what more could the Lord have done than He's already done?
And you are entitled in this room to say he did it for me. Make it an individual thing. What more could he have done to win your heart and my heart than he's already done?
And then it says, To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. We had a brother speak the other day about new birth and eternal life. It's a big deep subject, but if you remember, it brings before me the Lord Jesus when he was here and there was some Jewish people, and they were like we be Abraham's seed, and never in ******* to any man.
And yet the Lord, what do you say to him? He said. I'm able to make of these stones.
Children of Abraham. And so here at verse four, we're living stones. God's ticking those of us that were dead and trespasses of sins. And He's quickened us, giving us a new life, and now we're living stones. We can thank Him, we can praise him, we can live for him because of the work that he's done. So chosen, we're a chosen people.
Down to the littlest child that's accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, you're chosen. That is wonderful.
To be chosen. And if you're not sure if you're chosen tonight, right now in your chair, you can say yes to the Lord Jesus. That's all the thief on the cross did. He just said today, Remember Me?
And the Lord said, today, wilt thou be with me in paradise? I got that wrong. But Remember Me when you come into your Kingdom, He just said, Remember Me. Just the littlest, faintest cry. As the hymn says, the Lord will hear, and you can be one of his chosen children too. How wonderful is that? How special is that?
He cared for you. If he was here, he would pick you up on his knee and tell you that he loves you and he cares for you and he made you and he knows how many hairs are on your head. I don't. Your dad and mom don't.
But here in verse five, ye also as living stone are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to OfferUp spiritual sacrifices.
Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Sometimes we're not. You might see a brother get up and pray for a long time or read a whole bunch of verses and you're going to think, well, I could never do that. God doesn't want you to be anything more than who you are. He sees your heart. But if you have a little bit of appreciation for Lord youth, that's enough.
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If you get up one time I heard an older brother get up and break the bread and he said this is brother is taking a meeting at conference and he got up there and I'll bet you he said one sentence and broke the bread. I never forgot that. So the Lord allowed that. But it doesn't matter who you are. The only thing that's going to make our praise.
In our prayers acceptable to God is the what does it say? They're acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And so even the smallest offering in the Old Testament, which is a picture, there was one of the birds that you could bring 2 turtle doves and one of them had crop and feathers and someone said everything we do might have the flesh in us. You know, if a word used to the moment you sit down your chair, you might have the Lord a little voice in your head saying.
Remind you of what you did, but we can't help. But if we look to the Lord, He can help us to get our eyes on Him.
And not ourselves, but it's not about us. And he can give us in some measure of victory of that over that. But.
Don't be discouraged because it doesn't matter whose prayers or praises, they're only acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. So what a comfort. So if you're one of God's children, you are a priest. That means you can pray, you can give thanks, you can sing. There's verse in the description say that we're to sing and make melody in our hearts. Who can finish it? Who of your kids can finish that?
We're just singing and make melody in our hearts to the.
Go ahead, say it.
The Lord, that's right. So even a child's praise he delights to hear.
So.
With that being said, I would.
Like to turn back to Exodus and I'm not going to go into this deep. I haven't looked through it in deep so and I know in the day we live, there's so much to distract our hearts. So maybe it's for our own blessing that I'm just going to pass over these things in a real.
Brief way, but I was just struck by reading the book of Exodus months ago with my family and how here was Pharaoh.
Opposing in the God of this world, He's doing everything he can to distract your heart and mind.
So that you don't have a heart that worships the Creator. And then if you have a heart that worships the Creator, guess what? You're going to want to present your body a living sacrifice. You're going to want to serve the Lord forever too, because he put that in your you have the very life of Jesus. You're going to want to do that because you can't help to do that. But there's things sometimes that hinder us.
I got to find this because.
I might just say in passing as I'm looking for it was really striking when Moses, the Lord was trying to use Moses and I'm sure he's a picture of the Lord Jesus to deliver. The Lord Jesus is in heaven and he's going to lead our hearts and captivate our hearts and win our heart from us and lead us even now towards our heavenly home in heaven and bring us into the enjoyment of these things. But it was striking when Moses wasn't willing.
To go and he wasn't wanting the Lord to use his voice.
The Lord said.
Let's see if I can find it here.
Wait wait. And I think it's in chapter 4.
Verse 13 Well, verse 12 Now I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, Oh my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt sin. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. And he said, is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well and also behold, he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. I was looking for some of these bursts I'm about to turn to. I noticed this. I thought, what an encouragement to those of us that.
Want to live for the Lord and serve the Lord that when we see another servant of the Lord in whatever capacity that we would be like Aaron. I never noticed this before, but Aaron saw someone and he's, he's like, he was glad in his heart. So may it be so that when we see another servant Lord, that we rejoice whatever the Lord's called you to do like.
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One of the disciples was like, Lord, what will this man do? And he's like, What is that to thee fall without me? And So what an encouragement that we can just be happy, whatever measure the Lord uses.
And those that have been diligent and been ready scribes to be able to share things like we've been enjoying the last couple days, let's let's be thankful for it. And someday if Laurie is here, some of you guys in the back row, you need to be.
Reminded by the sufferings of Christ and could have he done more for me and you want to have a fresh desire to pick up this book and to learn it and live it so that it could be part of your life and you would have a response in your heart, but.
Anyway, as we if we were to turn a little farther.
I'll just mention it so we see that Lords telling Moses to go before Pharaoh and tell him that he wants to bring his children, the children of Israel, three days journey out of Egypt.
Why was it, you remember what I said, that they might worship me? So someone, as we've heard it often said that worship precedes service. And So what better could win our heart from us than seeing what the Lord Jesus did on that cross like we had just brought before us? He couldn't have done more.
I was struck by the verses in Mark when the Lord Jesus was in anguish and it said he prayed more exceedingly and he fell down on the ground. I thought how many of you kids have been knocked down playing football in the dirt or in the ground or a little girl playing fell down in the dirt, got hurt. The Son of God fell down on the ground and prayed that if there was any other way.
To bless your soul forever.
Then it would if it was possible that the cup would pass from Him. But there was number other way for you and I to have our sins washed away and our names written in God's book of life and for His Son.
To go to the cross for you. And so he couldn't have done more.
So we'd find that three times the Moses brings before Pharaoh and the children of Israel and he says.
Like about three times he says that they might worship me and he said they need to come out of Egypt three days journey and three in Scripture speaks of who can think of something that about our Lord Jesus that was regarding 3 three days. Who can think of something that was go ahead.
Yeah, three days and three nights he was in the belly of the earth, just like Jonah, he said. And so it brings before us the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. But.
It also brings before us sometimes as Christians, I have found in my own life. I'm very quick to realize that I need to be dead to sin. So there's really bad less the flesh less the eyes of we can see those sins a lot easier and there's it's good that we do. There's nothing wrong with saying we need to flee youthful us. We need to put to death our members and say no to sin and put to death by the power of the Spirit and looking to the Lord, we can crucify the flesh.
And set our mind on things above and get the victory. But we're a lot less likely, at least for me.
And this is where I'm going to need some help. There's a verse where Paul said by whom the world is crucified to me and I under the world.
And this and this is much from my heart as your heart. But we live in a day when there's never been more to distract our hearts and our affections and even some wonderful time like we're having now. And there's nothing wrong with it. But if that's all we're here for and that's all is the activities, it will actually be a hindrance. It's wonderful to enjoy these things with the Lord and you can, you can.
But sometimes.
We need to be 3 days journey. Someone find that verse?
Of.
When I was wondering where Paul said by whom the world is crucified to me, and I did the world.
Thank you Galatians 640I won't probably look at too many of the verses in Exodus. I'm just with time. I'm just going to touch on some of the New Testament.
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Six. What was it, 614? Thank you.
But Apostle Paul says, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross. Here we have the Lord Jesus and his cross before us, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. So I would just like to say that one of the biggest hindrances in my life is if I'm not willing to.
By faith.
Say I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, but Christ lives in me and I think that's what's pictured in the three days journey is are you willing to apply what's true? The moment you're saved, God sees you in Christ perfectly accepted in the Lord Jesus forever. But the practical enjoyment of the position we've been brought into, it's depending on our state of soul.
And so we see that all here's Satan pictured in Pharaoh and all his power was trying to keep the children of Israel and Egypt.
It's the God of this world will try to use everything you can to distract us.
And keep our hearts in Egypt. But if we're willing to.
Read this book and read in Romans and see that I'm no longer the one alive Jesus. We just said Jesus couldn't have done anymore than he already has done for you. So that with that in mind, when you read the word of God and you see that the apostle Paul said that he dies daily and then you could I liked it. I'm a simple person. If you you've probably heard of Paul's doctrine.
You could sum it up in a real brief way with I am crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. That's the start of Christianity is when you're willing to say no to me.
And what more could he have done than he has has and yes to Jesus and say I'm now alive in Christ. And the moment you do that, you're 3 days journey out of Egypt doesn't work because you're saying I'm not alive. It's Jesus in me. And then we need to obey his word and obey his voice. And then there's going to be growth. And when you come down here on Lord's Day morning and you sit here.
In the very manner that the Lord himself, the very night that he was going to suffer.
Institute this supper and you can have the Spirit of God say that the hour has come, and there Jesus will meet you in faith. And you can have the privilege of seeing Him by faith in the midst, and see him lead the prayers and praises in the midst of the assembly. And you'll find that if you've been giving the Lord His rightful place in your life during the week, there's going to be responsive heart.
But it was necessary, just like it was necessary for the children of Israel be three days journey out of Egypt.
What did I say that speaks of not I but Christ liveth in me? And so if we're willing to start the morning and saying it's Jesus and get on our knees and pray, we know we're supposed to pray and read. But if we get down our knees and say, Lord, I want help to just live for you today. Satan does not want to hear that. I remember going to Halo said when the simplest believer gets on his knees that all the power of Satan comes against him.
But there's a greater power. We the Christian has three enemies, the flesh in US.
Sin in the world, but we have that he used to bring out that we have God the God is for us and Jesus is for us and we have the Spirit of God and we have the word of God. So we have and he says greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world and so.
You don't want to have to learn the Lord's life through discipline and failure.
In a hard circumstance, God will make sure if you're one of his children, he's going to give make sure he gets praise out of your life. But how much better as a little child just to simply believe God's worth and say here I am. You're Christ is my life and to simply by faith wrecking yourself dead indeed on the sin and alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And then when Christ is your life and you're trying to obey the Lord's voice and you look to the Lord. There was brother Mark mentioned 33 years of the Lord's life. We don't know what he did.
I think there's a little bit mentioned when he was 12 years old, he would actually ask the teachers in Israel some questions and they were all marveled at his understanding. But.
I'm sure that.
He there was things that he did that without being asked to do and the only thing the Lord Jesus, I sometimes tell my kids what has God asked your children to do? Where does he what does he think obey your parents and the Lord so he hasn't even asked you to do that much in the word. It just starts there to obey your parents and all things. But then we had service mentioned being willing service.
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So if we give our life Lord Jesus and let Christ live in our life, our hearts are going to be connected.
To him in a close, intimate way and we're going to hear his voice and we're going to read his word and he's we're going to be more like him as we behold in a glass the glory of the Lord, We're changing the same image. So as we have these things before us and you have an influence, if one of you kids does it, it's going to have an influence on every other kid in this room. You're going to they're going to want.
To serve if you are serving the Lord.
It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and it's almost as draw me and we will run after thee. So all if it says if you be willing and obedient.
And how could we not be willing when we just had before us the sufferings of Christ and all that He went through? And there's two times when God acts according to the holiness of His nature, and one was when He forsook His Son on those three hours of darkness, so that all those that could believe and would believe would have their sins forever.
Taken care of in the other time that he acts according to the holiness of his nature is that the great white throne judgment when he the.
The dead are raised, those that had died in their sins without God, without hope, just like we were, but they never came to do this and they're judged according to their works. And so there's two times when there was holy just judgment. And which which way are you going to have it? Are you going to have Jesus barrier punishment? If you have, you have a reason to want to serve him forever.
And to live for him.
But we see that.
So if the Lord has a hold of our hearts and we want to live for him, then if He wants us to take a little time out of our busy day to help out around here, we should be willing and we shouldn't worry if we look on someone and say, well, that person doesn't work near as hard as me. Only the Lord knows the hearts and motives of the life. So we don't want to judge and use you that work whether you're sisters at labor.
More abundantly than the rest of you. Thank you. That was a wonderful meal of the day and the Lord reward you and bless you and.
Fill you with his joy for all your efforts in the so we could have a time like this, but let's leave one another with the Lord because everybody's different. How they were raised is different. Their energy is different, their health issues different. They have different trials, different burdens. But what a wonderful thing that you can look and see that Jesus had an hour of trial. That's worse than anything that we've ever had to go through. But no matter what we're called to go through, we have not yet had to resist on the blood.
Like he did.
In his hour of trial.
Anyway, I just trust the Lord would take these feeble thoughts and just encourage us.
That he couldn't have done more. And I know that everybody that knows Lord Jesus as their Savior, they want to live for him. But we have to do the our part and say.
I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, but Christ lives in me. So that means, Lord, what would you have me to do today? Does the Lord care about you going to school? Yeah. Does he care about me if I go to work and I'm.
What Satan wants you to do is just go to work and work like you're doing it as on to him to make money. You know the last thing he wants is you to be doing your work as on the Lord. You know why? Because that'll satisfy your heart. You'll be happy if you're doing something with the Lord and you're doing something obese for him. You'll be happy. And then if obedience and happiness go together and then we'll have a a heart that's ready to be thankful and you'll come and hear it on Lord's Day morning if you've been.
Putting the Lord first during the week and you will have a response and.
Your heart and I will have a response in your heart and.
What a wonderful thing, that.
Jesus is worthy. We turn our eyes on Him.
No, it's not about us. We get our eyes on ourselves. Say I'm this is speaking to me. Well, just own what it is. Say Lord this I need your help. I've been living for the wrong world and the Lord and all the power of the Spirit of God. If you get on your knees and crowd to God, he'll give you the strength you need and you read your Bible and you start your day off saying Christ, I want you to live in my life. The Lord will do the rest here a little and there a little.
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And may the Lord bless His word.
What Would You Have Me to Do?
Open—Walt Porter
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.
When Brother Jonathan spoke to the children this morning.
You read that verse in First Corinthians six, I think it is.
1St Corinthians 6.
Verse 19 at the end of the verse.
Says you're not your own.
The first phrase of the next verse, verse 20, says for your bought with a price.
And we heard in the last meeting a little bit about.
The price?
And I went up to Jonathan after the meeting and I said, have you noticed there's two different things there?
You're bought with a price, but before that we're not even our own.
Said you know.
Who here decided that they wanted to be born?
Anybody.
Who decided they wanted to be born?
No. Who put you here?
We know was the Lord Jesus, wasn't it? He created us.
So we're not our own.
We didn't put ourselves here. Somebody put us here for a reason.
That's creation.
The next thing is redemption.
You're bought with a price, you're not your own to begin with.
You're bought with a price.
So he created us and He redeemed us. How many times do we belong to God?
Can you count my fingers?
How many times do we belong to God? You know, we start out in this world and we think we belong to ourselves.
And we think things around us. That's my doll, that's my bicycle.
But you know, the Lord's working with us, like Matt was saying.
To bring us to the point to realize that it's all about the Lord. It isn't about us.
And you know, when we get home to heaven, it's going to be all about the Lord isn't going to be about us at all.
When we start in this world, it's all about us. So in some place here between it's all about us and it's all about him. There's a transition that's occurring here.
And it's nice if we can have some of that exercise Matt was talking about.
To begin to realize how worthy is the Lord, how much he's done for us. He's created us. We're not here for ourselves, just to please ourselves. And like he said, to have that exercise maybe every morning to say, Lord, what do you want me to do?
Sometimes I talk to the children in Sunday school and I say you know you, you think you don't have anything you can do for the Lord, and then I smile at them.
And you know what? They smile back. And I said, why don't you take that smile and give it to that older sister?
What do you think it'll do for them? Does that make you happy, Aunt Bev?
Yeah, it's little something that you can do for the Lord. It doesn't have to be a great thing. You don't have to wait until you're 70 years old.
You don't. You can do little things for the Lord. I always try to encourage the young people that pick up the song books after a meeting. That's a good thing. It's a good place to start. You have something you can do for the Lord. So do we just want to live for ourselves or do we want to live for the Lord Jesus?
You know we sung that hymn before the meeting here.
Oh, that strong and faith abiding we made to the Savior cleave not with Him, our hearts dividing all for Him.
Content to leave So are we content to leave our own things behind?
Matt quoted that verse a couple times. I want to look at in Isaiah chapter 5.
And he said.
What could the Lord have done more for us?
And that's in Isaiah 5 about the Lord, about God planning a vineyard.
In a very fruitful hill, And he fenced it. Isaiah 5. Now verse two, He fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with a choicest vine to build a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein. And he looked at it to bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
00:05:09
Now when the Lord looks at you, boys and girls.
And that's older ones too.
What does he say? He created us, and He's looking for a little bit of fruit from us, a little bit of pleasure for his heart.
Is he finding anything?
I hope so.
Be nice if there's an exercise that way. What can I do to be here for the Lord? What does the Lord want of me? He created me. And if we've asked Him to wash our sins away, we can say He redeemed us too.
Is nice if there's some little thought there towards him, but how sad if the Lord looks at us and all there is is wild grapes, not the right kind of fruit. Is that all the Lord sees in from us? That's too bad if that's the way it is. Each of us needs to search our hearts about those things. So then we come down to verse 5.
No, wait.
The end of.
No, verse four, sorry. Verse 4 is what Matt was telling us. What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?
What could the Lord have done more?
He created us with certain abilities and talents. Some of you boys can run fast, some of the girls are pretty, some of us are really smart. The Lord put all those things in you and it's nice if you say how do you want me to use what I have for you, Lord?
It's nice if that's your exercise and any measure that it's your exercise.
And so.
What could have been done? More so the Lord gave us all those things. He washed our sins away. Have we have certain abilities and talents that we can use for Him?
And he has a right to look and see if there's any fruit there that pleases and honors him, makes him happy.
What could he have done more?
He created us. He redeemed us.
And He's given us this wonderful country, this wonderful time to be alive. The powers that be are happy for us to meet in liberty and peace like this. We can thank the Lord for that. We have a lot of opportunity to live for the Lord, and it's kind of sad if we only want to please ourselves and bring forth just wild grapes.
That I thought I'd read that verse that Matt quoted to us. What could have been done more?
To my vineyard.
Now.
I want to look just for a few minutes at Genesis chapter 47 because we have there a little progression of things that reminds me of our wanting to live for the Lord.
Because you'll remember that there was a famine in those days.
When Joseph was made the ruler of the land, and you remember that he gathered up a lot of the corn that was in the land and they put it in storehouses, and then the famine came. So what happened when the famine came and everybody in the whole world was going through this famine?
What did Pharaoh say to Joseph? It's time to.
Somebody remember?
Open up the store houses and we're going to sell to everybody so that everybody doesn't have to die. OK, So that's the time that we're reading about here in Genesis 47 and so.
We're going to read about the people of the land of Egypt there, and we're going to look at Pharaoh as a picture of God.
A picture of the Lord Jesus. And we need, as Christians, like Matt was saying, we know that we need to come to the Lord for help, for the things that we're going through in our pathway. We know that the Lord is the only resource we have to know how to go on rightly in this world. He mentioned Satan and the world and the flesh, the three enemies of the Christian, and they're always trying to tell you the wrong thing.
They want you to go the wrong way.
And take up with things that are not profitable or maybe really bad for us and for others around us. So we have to go to the Lord to ask for the right things. What do you want me to do? We need to search the scriptures to find things, find out what the Lord has for us to do in our pathway here in order to honor Him. And as Matt said, children, obey your parents in the Lord. That's a good place to start. But there's a lot more things that are written in the scriptures.
00:10:21
So I want to look at this as a picture of us going to the Lord to ask what can we do to honor you? What would so have me to do? And you know, it isn't easy to give up our own things that we were talking about our doll or our bicycle or fun things that we like to do. And maybe we need to go and.
Spend some time reading our Bible.
And maybe instead of doing that, we get distracted and do some other things and we lose out.
But you know, when we we have that, the Lord gives us that purpose in our heart to go on for him. Then one of the first things you might see is, I mean, we enjoy when somebody takes their place at the Lord's table. And that was mentioned this morning. If there's some of you younger ones here that have that kind of on your heart, we'd like to encourage that.
Because the Lord Jesus is worthy of that. That's the one request He's made for us, that we would come and remember him in his death. So may the Lord encourage that in your hearts. And maybe the first thing that we notice as we see a young person with a purpose to honor the Lord like that is that they'll ask for their place at the Lord's table. And then the first thing that we're going to see in Genesis 47 is here when Joseph opens the storehouses.
It says in verse 14 that Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt.
In the land of Canaan for the corn which they bought and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. So maybe that's something that we have that we can give to the Lord. And so the basket comes around on Lord's Day morning. And maybe that's the one of the things that the young people do when they first are gathered is they realize that they can give a little money to the Lord. And that's nice. That's nice. It's a good start. It's like a good start. Like children obey your parents.
So there's a little money, then the next year comes around and the people.
Say you know we're hungry again and we don't have any money. We gave it all the first year. And so Joseph says in verse 15, when money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan and all Egyptians came into Joseph and said, give us bread for why should we die in thy presence for the money? Fail it. And Joseph said, give your cattle and I will give you for your cattle if money fail. Now when you get older and you go have a job.
Is a job just a way to make money?
And a way to accumulate things for myself so I can buy what I want and do what I want to do in this world.
Some of you are in training for a different jobs in this world, going to college and whatnot.
It's nice if there can be a purpose that those things we can use for the Lord to.
And so the second year they came, if we can use it in our picture, they came, as it were, to the realization that their jobs, too, needed to be something that was given to the Lord. It was a way that you could honor the Lord with your occupation.
Then the third year.
Verse 18 When that year was ended, they came to him the second year and said, We'll not hide it from my Lord. Our money is spent. The Lord also hath our herds of cattle, and there's not left inside of my Lord, but our bodies and our lands. Wherefore should we die before?
Both we wherefore should we die before thine eyes, Both we and our land by us and our land for bread, and we in our land will be servants into Pharaohs.
And give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land be not desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Pharaoh of Egypt for Pharaoh. And the Egyptians sold every man his field because of famine prevailed over them. So the land became Pharaohs. So first we had our job, and then as we have this progression, we realize more and more what Mark was talking about, how much the Lord has done for us.
How much we owe the Lord and we have no business being here for ourselves.
Then these these things progress and we say, you know what, really everything that I have belongs to the Lord Jesus. It's not mine to dispense with however I want. And so all of our possessions, they become the Lords too. It's nice to give our money, but that's kind of something I can do one time and I'm all done, and then I'm free to do what I want the rest of the time.
And it's nice to have our work and we go to work and we want to try to be a testimony to the Lord there. And that's good. But I come home and it's my stuff, you know, And I like my boat and my four Wheeler and, and my this and my that and these are all mine. Well, it's nice if we come to the point in our lives that we realize everything belongs to the Lord Jesus, everything we have.
00:15:23
Well, is there anything more than that?
Somebody has said it's one thing to give up everything we have for the Lord. You know, think about that from the standpoint of somebody selling everything they have and going to Africa to be a missionary. That's the kind of thing that we're talking about. But you don't have to do that to surrender everything to the Lord and say it's all yours. Tell me what you want me to do with it. And I'm happy to do that. It's one thing to do that. How about giving up ourselves?
To the Lord.
And that's what's the last thing is here in verse 21, it says as far As for the people, he removed them from this two cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt even to the other end only the land of the priests he bought not. And verse 23 Joseph said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this day in your land for Pharaoh.
And so now the people themselves belong to Pharaoh. It's not just their money. It's not just their money and their job. It's not the money and their job and all their possessions, but it's the people themselves. Do we want to live here for the Lord Jesus? Do we want to be here at his disposal all the time?
How nice, if that could be our exercise, how pleasing to the Lord, how much of A blessing to those around us. But you know, you're going to come across people in town. I know the time is up. You're going to come across friends in the neighborhood or people at school or at work or whatever, and they're going to say you're losing out. You don't go to movies, you don't do this, you don't do that. Come with us, let's have a good time. But it's interesting that these people in the land of Egypt here that sold everything out to Pharaoh in verse 25.
An expression that really stood out to me when I read this portion and they said thou hast saved our lives. They didn't have anything left.
They gave up their money, they gave up their cattle, they gave up their fields, they gave up themselves to Pharaoh. And now they say, well, you've saved our lives now wait, I gave up everything. I don't have anything left.
But you do, because if we're going to go through our lives trying to save our lives for ourselves and enjoy life and take everything for me, you're a loser.
You've lost out, the Lord Jesus said he that saveth his life shall lose it, but he that loses his life for my sake, you're going to gain it. What do we want?
What do we want? Thou has saved our lives. May the Lord encourage us because there isn't anything more He could have done for us. It's all been done and may there be a response from our hearts for that love that Mark was talking about.
Let me thank you that these outcomes have done more to win our hearts from the we just thank you that as one of us said, that what's from the heart goes to the heart. That even if the pictures of types were brought out very poorly that we would realize that.
We are not our own, we are bought with a price and may each one of our hearts in a real and living way. But the first over anything that this world has to offer so that we have a response in our heart and then on any day of our life just to mention of that worthy name.
Overwhelm our hearts. May it be so, Lord we we know.
Far from the we wander that we thank thee that we have a new life that can obey and mess out. It's obey and the greater issue that is in us than he lives in the world. So if we pray that we would leave here change forever and if there's someone that has never known what is to have their heart burned within him and spending time with the Lord Jesus alone in prayer and reality.
Seeking him that they would.
This very day come to know the Lord in a real living way and crown him Lord of their life. And may we each put the 1St.
From this time forth, primity thou the guide of my youth. Wilt thou not from this time crying to me. Thou is the guide of my youth. So we just pray God bless my word and just thank you that our faithful and and now we're unable and use thy word wherever it went forth this day for blessing and after continued blessing the rest of the day and blessing on those that have worked so hard for a time like this and encourage their hearts to fill them with my love.
00:20:21
We asked all this in Jesus name, Amen.
I'm.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Alejandro Zacarias
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It's so nice to be here.
Is really nice and it's really nice also to see many faces that we've been seeing for many years coming to the camp and many of you young people, kids.
That we see in growing and not only growing physically but also growing spiritually. And we can see it and we can hear it when you guys speak.
How you got guys act?
It's so nice to be here and it's so nice to see you and you know.
When I say it's so nice to see you, I really mean it.
When When words.
Come a reality to your life.
You really mean what you say, and when I say it's really nice to see you, as you many know.
I've been having trouble with my eyes. Is the reason I wearing these glasses?
And a little bit at the time I've been losing my my eyesight.
And is really, really, really nice to see you, be able to see you, still seeing you.
Maybe one day I cannot see you, but for now it's really nice to see you sitting here for the Gospel meeting.
Let us start the gospel meeting tonight with him. 35 in this book.
Hymn 35 please, if somebody can raise, raise the tone.
Let us pray our God love you, Father, we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ and we.
Always will give you thanks for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank you.
Because today we remember Him, he's dead, and through these meetings our brothers has been reminded us what the Lord Jesus did for us in the cross through his sufferings.
We thank you for the plan of salvation.
We thank you and we asking you now.
To open the hearts.
Maybe somebody here who needs to hear the gospel of salvation. We asking you?
To open the ears, to open the hearts, and that your Holy Spirit can.
Bring light.
To that heart.
We're asking you to help the speaker.
We declare you need of you.
Because.
I'm really not sufficient to do it, but trusting in you.
And we thank you, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Brothers called me and told me if I can have the gospel and like you know English is my second language and I pray that the Lord can.
Either give me a better English or you understanding my English so.
It's a nice, like I say before, it's really nice to be here and to see many of you and your parents.
Making the sacrifice to bring you here, I know for us is the highlight of summer to bring our kids here because they counting the days to be here.
And it's so nice to be here with our brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter the place. I like to confess something.
I really don't like camping.
Really. I mean, I tell my wife I live in Mexico for 20 plus years and I tell my wife I camp every single day of my life over there. Now you when I'm here in a nice house with my bed, you want me to bring to camp? I mean it's like come on, but.
I do it gladly because it's nice to really nice to be here. You know, I don't know when I was living in Mexico, I never own a bed until I was married with my wife, until I I was married, I buy my first bed. I always sleep in the floor or in couches and stuff like that. But so is the reason I say camping again.
00:05:18
But.
You know, it's just like some people say.
Heaven will be heaven because the Lord Jesus Christ will go to be there.
And camping here, no matter the place, is so nice because my brothers and sisters and Christ, young people, kids who are here, it's so nice to be here. It's so nice to hear the meetings. It's so nice to open the Bible and hear about our Lord Jesus Christ. So it's really nice to be here and not only that, but a very nice place.
I was asking one of the girls today, do you really like camping? And she says.
This is not camping, it's a nice buildings, nice cabinets, really this is very nice and real, real good food. Also the only problem I have with the food we just eat is is that what's Mexican food? And I know Mexican food has a side effect. It puts you to sleep.
Is a reason we all Mexicans take a siesta after I'll because the food in Mexico, but it's just a joke. But let us start the meeting the gospel meeting. You know, some time ago I my brother's in Tacoma asked me to preach the gospel and I start reading about the gospel and finding that the gospel means that the great news, good news of salvation, the good news of God.
And we're living in a world.
Where is not many good news? Not long ago I was browsing best top 10 news of the year. Some years ago I was browsing top 10 news of the year and what can come up surprised me because the best news of this world was a shooting on the state of this state.
So many people die on this other place.
On Africa has been war and so many people die and that was the best news this world offer.
That was the best news, the top best, top 10, best news that this world offer. And really, it's not very good news around, but the gospel is the good news of salvation for you and for me.
And it's really a good news. But before I give you the good news, I want to, I want to give you a little bit of bad news 1St, and is the bad news that Brother Joshua and Mark was speaking about. And the bad news is that you and me, we are sinners. We're born on sin. When we born this world, we born sinners.
The Bible tells us that seeing come onto the world from one man.
Adam, and when he's seen after him, every people, every person born in this world is a Sinner.
I'm born in sin, no longer going Bible reading at home. My son just say was telling me so if I never seen and I never do nothing wrong, I live forever. Well, I was telling him, you know, we've seen because we are sinners. We don't sin and become sinners. We sins because we're born in sin. When we're born, we are sinners.
And some people think so many times. Don't tell me that.
You're telling me that a little baby, that nice little baby, is a Sinner? Well, it's not what I say, it's what the Bible said. That little baby is born in sin.
And it's evidence on scene of that case, right? Like many times we say you don't say send to your kid to a school to be nice.
You send your kid.
He already is no good.
He already you can see the scene in his life. I always put this example. I have 4 kids, my oldest is not here. My oldest is Jonathan.
My second oldest is my daughter Alyssa Raquel sitting over there.
And I remember when they was little, my oldest son, now 18, I can't believe it, but he's 18 already. He was like 3 years old. And my daughter was 1 1/2, two years old. She was crawling. My oldest son, he was walking. What they did is they went to the refrigerator.
00:10:23
My oldest son offered the refrigerator and he take a whole dozen of eggs out.
And he knew that was wrong what he was doing so, so he don't want to be in trouble. So what he did is he bring her brother, his brother, her brother, sorry. And he start giving to my daughter the eggs and my daughter every time she received one egg, she started dumping it on the floor and dumping on the floor. So we don't know what that was happening. So I come around.
And when they saw me, my son gets so scared.
What's not me? What's her?
Immediately, he accused her sister.
Because he knew that was wrong.
And you see, little babies, Little.
Babies you can see the effects of seeing on them.
I remember going to a store.
And one little kid.
I don't think her parents was Christians or nothing, but this little kid, I don't know, 2-3 years old and he has a gun, a toy gun.
And he was killing everybody in the store.
He was chewing on everybody. Boom, boom, you're dead. Boom, you're dead. So the man of this little boy, she was kind embarrassed. So he started telling the boy, hey, hey, come down. And the kid start getting so upset about it that he turned around and was so big surprise to me that he turned around and he started shooting to his mind and telling him so many bad things to her, to his mom.
And I kill you. And she starts cheering to his mom with this little toy girl.
So we see.
That little babies.
Are born and seen, and we all has born and seen.
Can you please open your Bible in Romans chapter 3?
Brahman, Chapter 3.
And verse 23.
Let's start with Romans 310 first, please.
As is written, there is no righteous not not one.
There is no righteous, not no one. Verse 23.
For all have seen. For all have seen.
And fall short of the glory of God.
All has seen.
Sometimes I tell my kids when we reading when we speaking about this.
Not only babies, not only young people, not only kids or people. We all sin and we all come short of the glory of God.
We all short of the mark. He is a righteous God. He's a holy God.
And we all sinners, and we need him.
The Bible tells us that we all sin and is what brother Joshua and Brother Mark was speaking about the depravity of men. The total depravity of men is nothing good on us, Paul says. I found that in my flesh. This isn't me. It's nothing good. Everything is bad. It's nothing good on us. In my flesh, it's nothing good.
Without the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in sin.
And we all are walking to perdition. We're walking to death. The Bible tells that the wages of sin is dead, and dead is the separation from God, the eternal separation from God. The wishes of sin is that the pay of sin is dead. Last year I speak about this.
00:15:19
Too when we go to work, I go to work every day.
And every 15 days 2 * a month I receive a check. I receive a pay from my company.
Is the wishes of my work Well, the wishes of sin is there.
Unlike the brothers once mentioned through the Bible, man is dead in his sins.
We are dead without the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing we can do to be saved. Only Jesus Christ can save you, the Lord Jesus Christ in John 14 sixes. I am the way, I am the truth and I am the life, the only way, the only truth, the only life. He don't say I am one of the ways, I am one of the truths and I one of the lives. You can choose as many over there. You can choose, you can choose me, please choose me.
He says I am the only way, I am the only lie, and I am the only truth Is nothing outside him that can save you, Believe me, is nobody here in this room that can save you? It's not religion that can save you. It's no group that can save you. Nobody can save you but the Lord Jesus Christ who died for you in the cross.
Is the only who can save. Only through Him we have salvation.
And that is the great news, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. He gave his only begotten Son. So whosoever believing in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, the same God we was speaking in Genesis, the creator of this war, the creator of the universe, the sun, the moon, everything is the same God who loves you.
And give his only begotten Son.
What an amazing God we have.
That saw our need, that saw you in your deed. So mean my need dead in my sins. With nothing to do. I cannot do anything to be safe. And he needed to reach for me.
He quickened us.
So we can hear the good news of the gospel of salvation in Christ.
And we can receive it by faith. The Bible is in Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 2.
Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2.
Very known verses an efficient chapter 2.
Please forgive me and take a little bit of time to find the verses because I need to look closer. I have this device here that blow the letters.
Big so I can see.
Ephesians chapter 2 verse one. And you did he make alive when you were dead through your trespasses and sins.
When you were dead, through your trespasses and sins, he make us alive.
He gave us the faith to believe.
Even the faith to believe in Him, He give us to us because we don't have nothing. We were running away from Him, enemies of Him.
Everything wrong in us, nothing good in US. Running away from Him, no one and nothing from him. Enemies of God.
He quickened us and given us the faith to see.
Life in our Lord Jesus Christ.
A good news of salvation.
In heaven the plan was made, Who will go for us? Who will be sent? And the Lord Jesus Christ says, here I am, send me the gospel, come from heaven, the living gospel, the Incarnate gospel, the good news of God, come from heaven to this world.
Brought from a virgin.
Live a life without sin. He never sinned.
00:20:02
He never did nothing wrong, no even at all in his mind.
Seamless.
And it's really good to remember, like brother Mark was saying, what he did for us.
I know many of you here have has listened to the gospel many times, but like brother Mark was saying, like today, we remember our Lord Jesus Christ in his death, on the cup and in the bread. When we preach the gospel, we remember also. It's good to hear the gospel because we remember where we was and where we are now in Him in Christ.
Who did everything for us.
God sending his Son. God sending his son to die in the cross.
For you and for me.
The good news in this world that don't have any good news.
God thank His Son to the.
On the cross.
I remember one time.
I have a dream and I don't mean to tell you that their dreams are nothing, just an example.
And in this dream, I was dreaming that my my oldest son was taken by some kids on the neighborhood where we live, and he was taken by these kids.
And when they take it away, I was.
Seeing him going away with these kids and when he was far this kid style start beating him.
With no mercy.
They start punching him and kicking him and he was in the floor.
And he was bleeding and I was looking and I was.
Trying to go there but I was not moving and I cannot reach my kid and help him and this guy was beating him and I was crying because I saw my kid being being hidden. My dream.
And I wake up so desperate and I.
Getting my knees.
And I was thinking.
Oh, Lord, oh Father, you keep your son.
You give your son.
And what we did to him.
We crowned with thorns.
Give it nails in his hands, speed on his face.
Melvin to a cross.
And the Father give him.
The father did the father thank him to die for you and for me?
What great love.
What a great love of the Father to send his son to die for you and for me.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believing in him should not perish, back up everlasting life. For God so loved you and me.
He gave his son.
I don't think I can do it, brother.
I don't think I could give any of my sons or my daughters, but he did. He did, His only begotten Son.
To die for us.
Because he loves you.
What a loving father we have.
What a loving God.
Who see you in your sins?
And he provided remedy.
He provides the remedy.
That is great news.
That is a good news.
Bad news, we all sinners.
Great news.
God loved you and He provided remedy for you and for me to be safe. Let's go back to Romans, please.
00:25:03
Romans Chapter.
Bye.
Romans 5, verse 8.
But God.
Commandments His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners.
Christ die for us.
Cry, die for us when we was yet sinners.
Christ die for us.
Many times we read these verses when it's the breaking of bread.
And many times we say the same.
And we say it because it's the truth.
God don't save you.
Or God that saved me because he saw something nice or something good on you. Was nothing there? Nothing attractive? You cannot say.
God choose me.
Because it's so good in me.
You cannot say God choose me because my good looks.
Or my good works.
When we was jet sinners.
Christ died for us. By grace are you saved? By grace are we saved?
Grace, the narrative gift of God. Grace by grace are we saved?
So nobody can boast, nobody can say any other religion in the world tells you that you need to do good things and do your good things need to upgrade your your bad things. And it's the way you go to heaven.
The Bible tells us.
Is nothing you can do to get to heaven.
Only.
Only the only way is to believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith.
And like we already say, that faith, even that faith, is coming from Him.
It's nothing we can do, brother and sister kids, it's nothing you can do but.
Receive and believe through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. The Bible tells us believe. Put your faith in Christ.
Simplicity of the Gospel. We make everything harder.
But the gospel is simple.
The good news of salvation are simple. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you will be saved. He is the one.
Who is saving?
He's the one I telling you again, I cannot save you. Nobody in this room can save you. No religion can save you. No group can save you. Nothing you can do can save you. The only one who can save you is Jesus Christ through faith by grace. Believe in Him and you will be saved.
He is the one who saved us. He is the one who chose us.
No long ago I got to give you another example.
And I give you these examples because it's a.
What happened?
I was driving.
From home to work.
And I drive a big truck, a service truck. I work for Toyota and I go places to fix stuff.
And I dry this big truck and as you know as many traffic.
And I was.
Driving and sometimes the enemy bring thoughts to your life.
Things that happened before.
Because he wants to torment you. He's a liar and he wants to torment you. And he brings stuff that happened in your life to to make you feel sad and to make you feel abandoned and to make you feel nobody loves you. And he brings so many lives from things to happen in your life. So I was thinking.
00:30:19
When I was John.
You know, I put this example over there in Tacoma and I was telling them when I was.
678 years old.
I was very, very overweight.
When I was that age, I wait like.
200 lbs. At that time I was very overweight.
And I remember when.
I was that John and live in the neighborhood where many kids, many, many kids was playing and like here, sometimes you make teams and sometimes people say, OK, make a line and the two best players go to choose people.
They got to be the responsible to start choosing people and nobody wants to be in the losing team, right? Everybody wants his teams to win. So at that time I remember making a big line with was many kids on the neighborhood.
And making a big line and these two guys, who was the best?
Start choosing people I want Panchito in my team I'm panchito #1 and he runs and he's all happy because they choose him and the other guy I.
Want Tony and they start picking, picking and one-on-one and one-on-one and I was one of the last one. I always waited for you. Please, please choose me. I want to play too. I want to play.
But you know.
Many times they don't even choose me because I was so no good. I don't run fast. I was not good for sports.
To them I was.
A waste.
You are not worth it because.
You don't run fast, you don't place nice, you don't know the sport.
So we don't charge you. And I was thinking, oh man. But at that moment.
The Lord.
Bring the Bible.
To my heart.
And you know he brings John 1516.
You have not chosen me.
I have chosen you. I have chosen you. I have chosen you to be in my team and you will be with me forever and I will never abandoned you. I will be always with you every single day of your life.
You will be my son. I love you so much that I keep my life for you.
When he starts telling me all that he did for me, oh man, my heart was rejoicing. And I can't do no anything by telling Blessed be your name Lord. I love you Lord, because you love me first and you die for me in the cross.
I have chosen you.
You don't choose me.
In our flesh, in our sins, we rejected Him. We run away from Him. We don't want Him.
But he said, I have chosen you. I give you faith to believe.
And now you will be with me forever.
Kids.
Don't never forget that.
He is the one who shoots you if you in Christ.
And if you still don't believe in him, you still have time today.
Just put your faith in Him.
Put your faith in Him. Maybe this world tells you you are not good. You are not fast.
You are not pretty.
You are not handsome.
But he's telling you, I choose you and I love you.
00:35:03
And I want you.
I die for you.
To save you.
And to give you a reason to live.
What a wonderful loving.
God we have.
He is.
Calling you.
Giving you the faith to believe.
And it's the reason your mom or your dad, they bring you to this place so you can listen to the Bible, you can listen when brothers.
Like we have been listening these last days.
Telling us about.
This loving God who sent his Son.
Lord Jesus Christ is for us in the cross. He died. He went to the grave.
By the third day, he rise and he is alive.
And he's coming.
Is coming.
Our God and loving Father.
We thank you for this good news, the good news of salvation that we can read in the Bible.
We thank you for sending your son.
We thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ, who died in the cross.
Thank you.
Because you did everything for us.
In ourselves.
We're lost.
But thank you, because you saved us. You give us your son.
Nothing that we did.
But all the work was by you.
What a precious plan, the plan of salvation.
And we thank you because we know that our Lord Jesus Christ soon will come for us.
And we will be with him forever.
For eternity.
And thank you.
Because you choose us.
And you save us.
And we can call you our Father today, because our Lord Jesus Christ, our Lord and eyes our Savior.
Blessed be his name.
Blessed be the name of our Lord.
Jesus Christ.
We asking you?
For all those.
That stealing his sins.
Give them life, please, Lord.
Let it, let it, let them to see the precious light of the gospel.
Thank you again.
We pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
And.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
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.
Let's pray.
Our gracious, loving God and our Father, we just turn to Thee this morning and we ask that Thou wouldst lead by the Holy Spirit and give us a portion this morning as we open Thy precious word. We thank Thee for the resource it is to us to give us Thy mind and Thy will, as we were reminded last night, and so we just ask for Thy help. As we open Thy precious words. We pray that Thou wouldst make it good to each heart and soul in this room.
We pray that Thou is leading guide us and help us this hour. We ask this in the worthy and precious name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus, Amen.
So we started in Second Corinthians chapter 4, and we'll start at verse 6. Read the chapter.
Second, successful to Corinthians.
4th chapter.
Verse 6.
We're gone. We commanded the light to shine out of darkness.
Shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in US.
Life in you we having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written. I believe, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might be the Thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
For which 'cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
For those of us that were not clear on Saturday morning, could.
Well, I tried to do my best here, but the chapter that we have before us, we mentioned that it's really in its context, Christ flowing out through our lives to this world. And there's a number of verses I guess we can look at within this chapter to that bear that out we we had in verse 2.
The manifestation of the truth.
And commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
So that is certainly something that is outward and towards others.
00:05:00
We also had in, you know, verses 3 and 4, the glorious gospel of Christ shining unto others.
And we have in verse 5 preaching the Lord Jesus.
You, you know, we have in verse 10, I'm just moving ahead here a little bit. It's bearing about in the body, the dying of Jesus that his life might be manifest in our body. So the context is really Christ flowing out.
And you know, each one of us as Christians have that responsibility that the Lord Jesus is manifested in our life and the chapter.
Touches on various things that might hinder that within our lives and what we can do to make sure that.
This testimony, this this outflow of Christ to others isn't hindered. And so we made a few comments on on you know, verse one, for example, we, you know, we we need to have courage to go ahead but.
We also need to, you know, we need to be willing to go forward in our testimony and in our service.
Without, you know, letting the things around us discourage us from doing so. And then, you know, there's in verses two and three or, or, you know, there's things that may manifest themselves in our lives.
Be it a, you know, hidden things or more open things that could.
Could hinder that outflow as well. So you know, we commented on the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness or handling the word of God in a in a wrong way.
If we do that, then you know, the truth is not going to be manifested and we're not going to commend ourselves to anybody's conscience and and this outflow of Christ will be hindered in that respect. And you know, verse 5:00, we, we touched on the fact that, you know, our service ought not to be so not to be focused on ourselves and, and and self absorbed. You know, we could use the platform of our ministry.
As Christians to promote ourselves and and put ourselves forward and that taints this glorious gospel that we've been given to share and the testimony of Christ in our life. So the apostle said you we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. So that brings us up to verse 6 where we where we started today. So again it's.
The the context of the chapter, just to repeat it is, is the outflow of Christ and it's those things that we that we ought to not allow within our lives that that would would hinder that outflow.
Before we jump into verse six, I would just like to touch back on verse five that talks a little bit more about it. In verse seven it says for we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake. And then at the end of verse seven it says that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. You know, this is the exact opposite of what the world looks for and what the world does.
And I was thinking about an example that we have in scripture of one who bore this out and.
John the Baptist wore this out in his life. Everything that he did was purpose for shining the light on Christ.
In John chapter one.
He over and over says that people came to him. He had the opportunity to exalt himself. He could have made much of himself.
But he always deflected that to the Lord, and that was his, that was his ministry. And they asked him, are you the Christ? And said, I'm not and so.
Everything that he did focused on the Lord Jesus and he's given a tremendous commendation.
I couldn't find the verse this morning but it says John did no miracle.
But everything that he spent of this man was true. That's a remarkable commendation.
There was nothing about John you didn't do any miracles. He didn't draw attention to himself, but his testimony for Christ was found to be true and that is a wonderful accommodation and if you turn to Matthew chapter chapter 5. I'm going to share something that those that.
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Are in the West Richland Assembly. You've already heard me say because I mentioned this before, but.
I I my whole life have always wondered what it meant when.
Let me let me just read a couple of verses here and Matthew chapter 5 and then I'll I'll continue.
Matthew chapter 5 and verse 13. Here are the salt of the earth. But if the salt of lost his Savior, wherewith shall it be salted? Is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and be trodden under the foot of men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid, neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a Candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, which is in heaven. So I don't know if there are any of you young people have struggled with this as as you thought of this, but my whole life I've always wondered what's it mean to be ye are the salt of the earth?
You know, salt is a preservative. There's, there's a lot of different aspects. It's a cleansing agent. There's, there's probably multiple applications that can be made on this. But a little while ago I was meditating on this. The Lord gave me this, these verses and I from my own heart, it really answered a question to me, what's it mean? You're the fault of the earth and it has to do with what we're talking about right now.
In verse five and the end of verse 7 where?
We have a ministry that is to reflect Christ and deflect that which has to do with ourselves. And So what it speaks of here in Matthew chapter 5 is you're the salt of the earth. And then a little bit farther down it says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
So I mean, I give an example and I'll just use the same example again when you're eating corn on the cob.
Where I am from, you butter the corn on the cob and then you salt the corn on the cob. And if you eat the corn.
It's delicious and you might make the comment, Man, this corn is delicious.
But you don't say this salt is delicious.
The salt adds savor or flavor to the corn. It enhances the flavor of the corn, But the salt in and of itself has no real part. You see what I'm saying? And so the focus for us as Christians, as we walk in this world and by our good works, the Father is glorified. But the tendency, and especially in this world, is to take the focus and put it on our stuff. And that extracts or detracts from.
The value of the testimony because God is not glorified.
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Somebody help us with verse six maybe?
I've noticed that a new translation it it says that.
The God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shine in our hearts and says for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So I think that.
Again, there's a there's a shining forth of this wonderful knowledge, but it's an interesting verse and perhaps somebody can elaborate on that.
The very first chapter of the scriptures in Genesis chapter one find the creation account laid out for us. We find out in verse three it says God said let me light there was light.
And we know it would be the creation account.
But the sun itself wasn't created says until verse 14. Let there be lights in the front of the heaven to divide the day from the 9th. So there's three days that went by before we see the lights in the heavens.
And so we have here, no doubt, a picture of.
With God in his light shining forth on the creation before the physical sun that we see out there even was in existence.
And so it is in a future day we're going to see the glory of Christ shine forth on a new creation. So here though in our in our verse, this is a new creation, new life is being imparted upon man. That's nice to think about that the physical light of the glory of Christ to see him light up the creation in Genesis one. And then we can also turn to the last chapters of Revelation to see that the Lamb is the light thereof beautiful. Consider that for a moment.
That the sun itself that we see out there in the sky right now is not going to be in a common position.
In a future day. But Apostle Paul on that road to Damascus was struck down by light, and that's a phenomenal thing to consider is to see a man gets struck down by light.
You struck down by light, and he saw things that could not be uttered, but it's beautiful to see. That meant life was imparted. Paul was struck down and turned around. And it could be said that every one of us has to have that light shining in our hearts. At some point. You have to see the light shine into your heart. If it's younger, the gospel is clearly given last night. If you're younger and the light hasn't shined into your heart.
It's time to let the light shine in and we will find I enjoy what we said last night. There's good news, but we start with the bad news 1St and we find out that we are dark. We have dark parts and the light has to shine in. So consider the fact that the Christ is light. Consider the fact that He shined on this creation before the sun was created in Genesis 1. Consider the fact that He will be the glory of of a shining upon new heaven and new earth.
But consider the fact that you can shine in your heart, and Paul got to experience that. And I think it'd be the prayer of everyone here that every person in this room would have the light of Christ shining earth.
That's good, Mark. What what we speak up here is a relationship with our Creator and our Redeemer. It's not some creed. We don't have a bunch. You know, you walk in there and there's all these rules and everything for camp. We don't have a set of dos and don'ts. Do do this and do this and do this and don't do this and don't do this and don't do this. It's a transformation. It's a new life that we've been given. We were complete darkness.
There is nothing good in US. And it says here He commanded the light to shine out of darkness. He has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And the very life of Christ lives inside our bodies. And as our dear brother spoke earlier.
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Our our objective, our job is to make less of ourselves and to make more of Christ, to make more and more and more of Him shine through our lives.
Like to connect this with the 1St chapter of the Gospel of John? Let's just turn over there real briefly.
Because in our verse, if you read it in the new translation, it says because it is the God who spoke.
That out of darkness, light should shine.
Who has shown in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God? Just want to read these verses in the first chapter of the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. God spoke.
And our brother Mark was just mentioning that in the beginning.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shined shineth in darkness, and the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.
We were reminded on Saturday.
Of new birth.
And that that is a work, a sovereign work of, of God. There was nothing in us that would receive that light.
We did not comprehend it when God shown the light of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world. This world did not receive that.
But God and His sovereignty has.
You might say opened up our hearts to receive that. It's his work and he is the one that has shined into our hearts with the gospel, the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. It's so beautiful.
In verse nine it says that was the true light which lighted every man that cometh into the world. So not only is the Lord Jesus the life and the light, that He's the true light.
That's the interesting thing about light.
Light is from science. We know that it's energy.
And light dispels darkness. She turned a light switch on, and all of a sudden, instantaneously to our eyes, the darkness flees. It has to flee, it goes away.
Darkness is the absence of light.
And so that's our natural condition, Your heart and my heart, apart from the Lord Jesus is darkness, is utter darkness.
But God, you might say to use the illustration very poorly and this is a poor illustration, but he's the one that that has turned on the light so that we can see the beauty and the glory of the Lord Jesus.
And we need to see that. It's so absolutely important that we see that.
So that's what God did in sovereignty.
Then in the context of the chapter, in the second-half of the verses, the goal for that is that that very light would shine forth unhindered through the servant so that the world utters might come into the knowledge, a glorious knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so I, I heard that when you started this chapter referred to the last verses of the previous chapter. And the only way for that light to shine forth through us is that we are occupied.
Looking at the Lord Jesus Christ and Moses is a beautiful example of that in the Old Testament after, yes, spent time in the presence of the Lord and he came down, his face showed. And so the more we are occupied with the Lord, the less there will be of self and the more that light will shine through us out to this Dark World. And I think that's the whole kind of purpose of these first verses in this chapter that Paul wanted to impress, that he saw to seek his life in a way that there was nothing of himself.
00:25:15
That would hinder the message that he had to flow forth through the world and so he can say if our gospel be here, it is hid to death, but our long he's saying is nothing that we did or said or the way that we behave hindered that life to flow forth. If it didn't didn't find entrance into the hearts of others is because Satan had darkened their hearts. And so for us, each one of us should be a testimony to the world.
And our desire should be too, is that there's less and less of us visible, so more and more of the light can shine out or flow through us. And I think in the next verses we have that our earthen vessels, through the things that the Lord allows us to pass through, are slowly broken down and the cracks become bigger and bigger, and the light shows out more and more. So it's for the shining 4th of that light. It's through the Lord shone in our hearts and we're so thankful for it. That's a sovereign act.
But the more we are broken now, the less there is of us.
The more the world will see of that light. And so we are.
You know, in Ephesians 4 it speaks of joints of supply. It's a little bit different thought there. It's the same way the light shouldn't stop if there's a lot of us S, If we're occupied with S, we hinder the light from flowing forward. The less of self, the more delight will be able to flow out and the more purely the light will be able to flow forth.
Well, we could speak a lot about the light, couldn't we? But as our brothers just brought out, it's the responsibility that we've been given. And we have that at the end of Mark when he tells us to go out into the world and preach the gospel. So he's taken us in first Peter chapter 2 out of darkness and brought us into his marvelous light. And as Steven pointed out in John chapter one, that he is the true light and the light of the world. And if we look further in John.
I think chapter 8.
John chapter 8 he says in verse 12 That I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He tells us a little bit further over in.
John, Chapter 12.
Verse 35 When Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while as the light with you, walk, while you have the light, less darkness come upon you. For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth while you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light.
And so that's our responsibility, isn't it?
I think it's in Second Peter.
Somebody mentioned this just in comment, but I think the verse is worth reading to a second Peter chapter one and verse 19.
Part way and it says, whereunto he do well, that you take heed is unto a light that shineth in a dark place, and so we might have that true light within us.
But I believe we're to reflect that true light. It's his light. We're to reflect that to the world around us as his disciples. And so Paul, as Mark mentioned that light that there's so many marks. I'm sorry.
As Mark mentioned, Paul.
And how that light came upon him there, and how he was transformed, we might say.
He had a real desire in these first couple of verses to go out and to preach the gospel. And I think it was in the previous chapter, sorry. Now it's First Corinthians chapter 10.
And I don't want to belabor the thought, but it's important to point this out.
In verse 16 he says, For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory. Nothing to glory, Her necessity is laid upon me, Yeah, woe is unto me if I preach not the God.
And so he wanted to reflect that light to all. And he goes on to say, For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward. But if against my will a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me, what is my reward then verily, that when I preach the gospel I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I have used not my power in the gospel. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all that I might gain the more.
00:30:06
Wasn't that the Lord Jesus desire that we would go out and gain, the more that that light would shine out of us so clearly, so bright, that all those in the world might see something and that they might have a desire to have it?
Spoke about this a little bit on Saturday and.
Again, not to belabor the point, but we each have a responsibility as Christians to be ambassadors for Christ. They have that in the next chapter in chapter 5 at the end, and it says in verse 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you for you isn't even in there in the in the original. Now we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech by us. We pray in Christ's dead be reconciled to God.
And you know, again, we may not feel like they have the gift of evangelism, but we have the responsibility to do the work of an evangelist.
Knowing thou, therefore, the terror of the Lord would persuade men and.
And think of it this way. What if what if you were given from the President of the United States a a, a mission to travel on a railroad?
And you're going to ride on this railroad and the president of the United States is going to meet you in Denver, Co. And you're starting in the East Coast, and you're headed West. And the president of the United States tells you, aren't you, to get off at the depot in Denver. I'm going to meet you there, but make sure you get off. And I want you to tell the people on the train to get off at Denver as well.
Because just West of Denver, there's a huge trestle that's gone.
And the trains going off the track and to the bottom of the Canyon. What if you got on that train and you headed West and you never said a word? Anyone else on that train?
But Denver came around and you stepped off the train and the train loaded back up and headed West and drove off into that trestle.
That's pretty sewn. And as we walk through this world, we have a treasure that tells us here in our earthen vessels, this world is a world full of hopelessness.
I am not kidding you. I come into contact with people every day and my work that have gone to the extremes of hopelessness and they are desperate for somebody to give them something that they can actually find hope in. And we have that treasure and I have that treasure. We have the opportunity to tell others that the word you described and the light that he would impart for each one of us.
And I know it's difficult. I'm not any different than anybody else here.
Struggle I have I I told the story in Kirkland of a of a co-worker that needed the gospel badly and I was intimidated by him because he was not a nice man and.
And I never gave. I never stepped up because I lacked courage. I never stepped up and told him.
The gospel and I'm 40 years old on 4th of July came back from the fire and died of a heart attack. Fire station.
Really smoke my heart. I had opportunity to tell him, I have no doubt.
And I had an opportunity to tell them the doc never did.
And that bears heavily upon.
And just want to emphasize the importance that each one of us out, you know, maybe we don't, maybe we don't have the courage to necessarily preach the gospel in an elephant way like Alejandro did last night. And you know what, just beside him, John 316 to somebody, everybody here from the youngest kid to the oldest knows John 316. And there's power in that verse. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
And.
A lot of it goes back to what Mark was just mentioning, too. If I'm on that train, maybe I tell everybody about the fact that the trust was out, but I do it in a really disparaging way, and I'm fighting with people on the train and I'm doing things that diminish my testimony. Nobody's going to believe me. Nobody's going to get off the train because of my actions. And so it's important. Maybe we don't have the courage to necessarily go out and physically preach the gospel, but they can walk in a way.
00:35:07
To reflect the light of religion of Christ in my life.
And that's a good start.
We have so many kids here and one thing I like about the camp is that we sometimes.
And I think this is important. Who here has flashlights here?
Any flashlights here at the camp?
All right, I don't see something. The half, half crowd. What's the rest of the folks doing without flashlights? Well, we have flashlights here. And last night, you know, Steve and I were walking around the camp here and Uncle Steve told me he's got a brighter flashlight than mine. Well, he said his has got a lot of candle power and he was bright enough stuff. What? We're talking about lights here. So why do we need a flashlight? So we can see where we're going. We were actually peering off in the bushes last night.
What kind of batteries do you have in your flashlights? You tell me. Someone tell me what battery they have in the flashlight. What do you have?
AAA's there we go. Anybody else have another battery in their flashlight?
AAA's I, I think I have some C's. Anybody else have any other candidate? Rechargeables maybe? The point of it is, is there's different batteries in these flashlights. Now let's get back to Uncle Steve's flashlight. If, how can my flashlight I thought was pretty powerful, but his was even more brighter. How can I, how can he, what could he do to his flashlight to make mine a brighter flashlight than his? In other words, his would be dimmer. How could, how could we get Uncle Steve's flashlight? It's so bright.
To shine less than mine.
Yeah.
There's a way to get a flashlight to shine not as bright, yeah.
Did, yeah. OK. So yeah, you could have batteries that are going dead, right. You could get a less less light. Yep, that would be I didn't think of that too. That's a good one. Your batteries are starting to dim. Yes.
Cover it with something that's good. Now you're on the right. You're on the same track. What do you have?
What if he dropped it in a mud puddle, right? And, and, and it dries, right? The mud is on the glass and he shines his out and I shine mine out and I've got a lesser flashlight, but it's brighter because he's got mud on his screen, right? And so it is you and I, we can have batteries, we can have the light shine for things. This is what Mark was saying earlier is the light shines out. But sometimes we can have mud spots on our flashlight and it takes away from the brightness.
And so it's a responsibility. We get this in Apostle Paul on his first letter to the Corinthians. We never really read it and break your bread, but you can read it for yourself and 1St kisses 11 There is a process, and John brings it up in his first epistle, is there's a process of cleaning our lenses before the Lord, right? So the light shines forth.
Maybe that, you know, elaborate a little bit what you're saying. Mark I That's how I took it. I think it's a beautiful thing. There's the light that shines into us, and then there's a light that shines out from us.
I was thinking of conversation I had.
Our brother and I can't pronounce his name right now because I'm trying to our Mexican brother that had gospel last night and we were Speaking of this young girl that spoke to her grandparent.
And she said, you know, probably just like some of you children here, that she was afraid that her Grammy would go and die and not go to heaven. And so she wanted to know if she was saved.
And it didn't take anything special.
No special particular words for that little girl to do that.
And we often are afraid to do these things as older ones. We're afraid to speak to ones. And I was thinking of these verses in First Corinthians chapter 2, and it speaks of the power here.
Paul says in verse one. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, but I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ.
There's the gospel and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your face should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
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And I know how difficult it is.
To not only stand before your peers in a room like this and speak the gospel, but to try to pass a gospel tractor, speak the ones on the street, and you consider what it might be for a light to shine forth. And maybe you and I don't necessarily think we see it, but I'll mention John Kemp for a moment, and many of you may know him. I know Josh and I know him quite well. And I can remember in the little town of Truro that I live in, I don't know how many, what the population is there. I'll say 50,000.
But there's a drugstore downtown. And one day I get out of my car and I was walking around the corner and, and I could hear this man. I couldn't see him, but I could hear this man say, oh, dear ones, take one of these. The Lord loves you. Take one of these. He wants to save you today. And I could hear this voice. And that's a light shining for it. That's a light shining for me. And I walked around the corner and I had no idea that Mister Kemp was going to be in Truro, NS.
Here he was standing at the door of this pharmacy passing out tracks and talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, that one that he knew of and that one that he wanted to pass the message on. And I just think that we might be in fear and trembling and might not have the words, but we can pass out that little paper. And you know, he encourages us because there was a person there that very day as I stood and watched Mr. Kent, I didn't really participate on the shame to say this lady took one and she said, oh.
I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know, so he encourages us while we're in the midst of our trembling in fear, someone comes along and they encourage us to go a little bit further and to pass out another 50 or so or five or six. And, and so, you know, I don't want to keep talking about these things, but one day my wife and daughter and I went into the mall and we had these little calendars and.
And I was quite shy to pass these out, but we came to a counter to pay for some merchandise. And I told the lady I was so thankful for her help. And I gave her a calendar. And that was the very thing she said, oh, I know this story. And it's so encouraging, dear ones. And, and to think that the Lord gives us that power and that strength and that courage from others that believe in the Lord so that we might shine forth and others might be saved.
Sometimes I think we're reticent because we don't think we have something to share.
We don't think our story is as cool as John Kemps or or Jim Highlands or Mother Teresa or somebody. It says we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Each one of us has the spirit of Christ inside of us at the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
And there's a couple things here. One of the things is that we need to be willing to share.
We don't want to defile people if you know, if there's like really negative events, negative details, but we need to be willing to share what's happened to us to let to let God's power be revealed in our weakness. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. And our brother last night was a beautiful example of that to just share. This is what the Lord is doing in my life.
And to be willing to be honest and not have a facade, because when we aren't honest, it's a turn off to people. It's it's fake. But when we're willing to let.
To be honest and say this is what I've struggled with, this is what the Lord's brought me through, this is where I am, there's another thing here.
We went to a conference earlier this year and there was a gentleman there who was a believer and he was talking about he's a comedian, believe it or not, And he was talking about every single one of us has trials in our lives that are setbacks.
Every single one of us in this room.
Maybe, maybe the little kids, the young kids don't feel like that, but as you get older, every single one of us has setbacks. That's something that's common to every single human being. And he was telling how a joke is you, you make a setup, you you tell a story and then you change directions and that's the punchline. And dear beloved brothers and sisters are setbacks are our setup, the trials and the challenges that we pass through. That's what the Lord is going to use to show his glory.
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You don't have to be Brother Kemp. You don't have to be Mother Teresa. All you have to do is be you.
And just be honest, this is what I struggled with, This is where I am, this is what the Lord has done for me. And there isn't a person in here that can't share that. And I know the trepidation that people are talking about, but when we just share what the Lord has done for us.
When we share what the Lord's done for us, it's so good. And then lastly, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Those trials in our lives, they can either make us better or they can make us bitter.
And in Hebrews 12 it talks about.
Let's just read it in Hebrews 12. I think it's in verse 5.
It says this, my son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of him. And we, we can go through a trial and it can make us stronger. You see people and they go through trials and you just be like, man, I can't even believe I would never want that. And Tim was sharing with me this morning about Brother Mike O'Brien and he wouldn't trade where he is today for where he was. Can you imagine? This is a man in a wheelchair. He can't even get up. He can't even stand up.
And he wouldn't trade that.
Do you see the power of Christ pouring through his frail body? We watched a video about this man. He was injured just like days before. He was going to be a millionaire and he was going to get to play in the NFL. He longed to play in the NFL his whole life, and he gets in this accident and his arm is completely useless.
And he said, Lord, couldn't you have waited, like until I got into the NFL and people asked him, his name's Inky. Inky, don't you wish this wouldn't have happened to you? And he said, no, I'm so glad this happened. He was. He's not fainting under that trial. He's letting the light of the glory of Christ shine through his frailty. And every single one of us has that opportunity. It's not about us, it's about him.
I'd like to.
Read some verses in the Old Testament. We have the word treasure here and I've been enjoying the thought of treasure the last.
Month or so. And so I'd like to turn just to expound a little bit on what Matt said, want to turn back to Isaiah.
Chapter 54 and we're going to we're going to talk a little bit about treasure.
I have a question for the kids. Thanks, Mark for the reminder to take it down to the kids level.
Have any of you kids ever seen?
Real treasure.
Let's treasure.
Somebody give me a definition for treasure.
Danny, let's treasure. What rubies Very good, very, very good. So treasure is generally defined, especially in the word of God, as something that is very precious. And most of us are probably acquainted with at least one type of precious stone, maybe more than one type of precious stone. So I know my wife has a.
Diamond on her finger and I probably I can guess that most of the most of the ladies that are married in this room probably have a precious stone.
That means a whole lot to them and I want to read some verses that are really kind of interesting.
In Isaiah chapter 54, I'm going to read from verse 11.
Oh, thou afflicted.
Tossed with The Tempest and not comforted.
That's pretty tough.
Oh, thou afflicted and tossed with The Tempest, and not comforted. Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors.
Who's this I?
This is God speaking. This is the Lord Jesus. He says that he is going to lay thy stones with fair colors, and I will lay thy foundations with sapphires. I will make thy windows of agates and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones. These are all precious stones. I want to read another verse over in Malachi Malachi chapter 3.
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We know this verse pretty well. In fact, we have a children's hymn that is written.
About this verse.
I'm going to read it in in the King James, and then I want to read it in.
The New Translation, Verse 16. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another. And the Lord hearkened and heard it in a book of remembrance was written before him For them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name. They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. I really appreciate the way this is rendered in the New Translation. And they shall be unto me a peculiar treasure.
A special treasure.
Saith the Jehovah posts in the day that I prepare, and I will spare them, as a man's spirit, his own Son that serveth him.
This treasure, if I understand it right in our chapter and we could turn over to Matthew chapter 13, and we find there that the Kingdom of heaven is likened into a treasure that is hid in a field. And a man when he found it, I found it, he hide it, and for the joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
It's interesting this treasure is speaking about your life in my life as hidden Christ.
And back in Isaiah, it says that he is going to.
I'm going to read that again.
It says, Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors. He's the one that is creating that color. And interestingly enough, color is what makes a precious stone precious.
And that color comes from the trials that are in our lives Uncle Matt was just talking about.
Trials in our lives.
I believe that.
There are beauties, there are glories that are are being formed in your life and mine as we go through trials. It's the pressure, it's the heat of the trial that creates the color in the stones and they all these stones, it's very interesting all this precious stones that are that we read of in the word of God.
Are transparent stones. The light shines through the stone.
And like Uncle Tim was mentioning, just to connect these thoughts together, it's like that salt that that adds to the flavor of something that that it's applied to. And what the Lord wants in our lives, in your life and my life as we pass through these trials is he wants there to be glory for himself. That's what he is working in your life and my life. The power is of God.
We don't have to worry about that. To go back to Mark's illustration of the flashlight, he's the source of the power. The power is infinite.
But we can have a dirty lens and we if there's if there's things in our lives that are not right and we've read about them at the beginning of this chapter that hinders the light from shining through us so that others can see the glory of God.
Dear young person, dear child, God wants to shine through you.
And reveal himself to others.
And so that's why I read these verses in Malachi. It says that they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord was listening.
The Lord was listening and he values it. He calls it his peculiar treasure, His most valued treasure. That's amazing.
That you and I can be valued by God because we speak to each other.
About his blessed son.
We have that opportunity. It doesn't matter how old we are.
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Well, you can be five years old.
And speak to each other about the glories of Christ, about the love of the Lord Jesus.
And the Lord values that so much, he said he wrote it down in a book.
And He's going to make us His treasure. There's a coming day. And we could, we won't take the time, but we could turn over to Revelation and we could find that these precious stones make up the foundation of a coming city. And they're going to shine. We're going to shine for the glory of God.
Blessing of others. He wants to use your life and he wants to use my life. And it can be something very, very small. We were talking about it earlier on Friday. That ministry is simply service.
Whether it be one of the young kids that was walking around with a cart this morning picking up trays, take him over and put him in the window. That's a service for the Lord and he values it, but he values it even more.
When we open our mouths and we speak about the Lord Jesus to each other, I want to encourage you to do that.
It's a peculiar treasure. It's a special treasure to the Lord.
I always enjoy that person. I'm not sure what time the meeting goes still but.
1030 Enjoy the verse in Proverbs 17 and eight that speaks of the precious stone. But a gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it, and whithersoever attorney that prospereth. And so those in line with brother Steve is saying, and he's made us precious stone, that whatever way we turn, we should shine forth that glory for him, shouldn't we? And I think in John 17, it speaks really clearly of that glory and and what we're to do with it.
Maybe if we just read that verse 2 verses there in John 17 verse 22 and the glory which thou gave us me I have given them that you and I.
That they may be one, even as we are one, I and them and thou and me. That they may be made perfect in one.
Now here's our responsibility, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me.
I've read those verses so many times.
And leftover that responsibility. I didn't realize that that's what that that little line means in that verse.
And that the world may know that thou hast sent me, how is the world going to know?
The only way the world can know is that you and I are shining forth that glory to all those around. And it is difficult, as our brother has pointed out. It's tough. The next few verses in our chapter, which we didn't get very far, but says we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, and so on. And it just reminds me of the verse that I love so much in Romans chapter 8. I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy.
Be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in.
And so to be that peculiar treasure, as their brother has pointed out, reminds me of the verse in First Peter Two that says that we're a peculiar people. The margin says purchased, purchase people purchase treasure redeemed by the blood of Christ, that we might shine forth that glory while we're here.
When people have something that is valuable, a treasure, they usually put it in a very safe place and.
In a safe box, or if a museum has a piece of art that's very valuable, it will put it on display, but they might put bullet through grass around it. We have this treasure, the knowledge of the glory of God.
What did God do? He put it in earth and fastest. That's us. We are the earth in the past. The treasure is the knowledge of. Isn't it like God to do that? That he would use us to shine forth that treasure into this world?
You know, an earthen vessel is not worth very much. It's fragile, it can break easily. And in this case that's a good thing. That's a good thing. Why did he put that treasure, the knowledge of the glory of God in an earth investment. So the attention would not be on the vest, but the attention would be on the tread. And so these next verses, as a brother referred to, what is the whole point of the Lord allowing us to go to these things is that our earthen vessels might break.
01:00:01
We are allowed to go by the perfect wisdom of God.
Through circumstances in our life, and it will be different for each one of us, but each circumstance has, Matt said if it makes us better, if we take it from the Lord, we will realize, we will feel our own weakness, we will feel that we are earthen vessels.
And will break us down. They're a perfect servant of the Lord. The light would go in and it would shine forth without any filter. The same strength as it comes in, it would shine forth. Lord Jesus was that John the Baptist could say that he had to become glass. The Lord had to become more. And that's the whole point. If we want to be servants of the Lord here, we need to realize our own weakness, our own frailty. But we need to realize too that the Lord has entrusted us with this treasure.
And if the world is going to see anything of the light of God, it's going to come through these earthen vessels.
That the more they're broken down, the less we rely on ourselves, and as the younger we are, the harder that is because we are strong.
We don't wake up with aches and pains. We haven't gone through all those things yet that have humbled us.
You know, we have bodies of humiliation, and so here at the beginning of this, we have a treasure, but it's in an earthen vest. Let's not make more of that earthen vessel than what it is. It's made to be broken so that the light can shine through.
Matt mentioned it already, but on that same subject again.
Michael Brian would be very upset if I made a lot of Michael Bryan, but I will just say that I have never seen a vessel of such power as to these things that Michael Bryan, He is a vessel that as far as the earthen structure is concerned, it is completely gone, is relegated to a wheelchair where he has.
The capacity to maybe move his head a little bit. But if you go and talk to him, you take the time to go talk to him, to encourage him, He will spend so much time talking to you about how good God is. Yeah, that his face will glow and he can't even breathe because he's struggling so hard to get enough air. And to tell you more about it. Right. That's what we're talking about. Exactly where the earthen vessel is. Not even.
Not even an aspect involved in it anymore. But it's all Christ. And I'm telling you what, there is power in that testimony. If somebody from off the street came in and saw that man speak of Christ, I don't know how they could even not take it. Just like a tremendous amount of weight because there's nothing of Viking. It's all crazy. It's incredible.
He's got his forecast to make us to bring us to that point.
In our lives, he do things in our lives so we can get to that point. I was telling brother Matt yesterday that Job needed to come to the point where he says even if God kills me, even his his lightning, I will trust him.
Even if he takes my life, I will trust him and.
He's working in our lives to bring us to to that point.
Brother Joshua wasn't saying that we should don't use ever our gifts to bring attention to ourselves. And Paul says what you have that is not given unto you. And if he's given unto you, why you boast about it? You are nothing. What we have is giving to us. The ability to walk, to breathe, to work, to speak is given to us.
And every day when we wake up, we should say thank you Lord, for a new day, that you letting me wake up and speak to you.
So it's striking to see how our bodies are spoken of in this chapter into the 5th chapter, and we've been speaking about how frail we are.
In these natural bodies and really have nothing to boast in or of save our Lord Jesus Christ and.
You know, to think that we might put ourselves in a place or position that.
Would receive any glory is unthinkable really, when you think about what has been done in us by God and his sovereign mercy and grace. You know when we think about that.
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It it, it ought to humble us to the dust and you think here in this chapter, I appreciate it how it has been brought out by others, but I highlighted them in this chapter.
About how attention is given to the glory of God in Christ and to the frailty of man. And you notice in verse seven, we've already touched on it. Bodies are spoken of as earthen vessels. And verse 10 it's it's spoken of as a body. Verse 11, it's mortal flesh. Verse 16, it's the outward man. And into chapter 5, verse one, we have an earthly house and a Tabernacle.
All various ways to reference our body, but what is in those phrases that gives any thought that there is anything of strength or glory or power in us, in our natural condition, in this natural body of ours? Nothing. It all suggests nothingness and frailty. And so it's good that we've appreciated the comments that my brethren have been, have, have, have made already.
To to demonstrate, to to explain to us that brother we're nothing and he is everything.
Unfortunately, our time is up.
Father, we're thankful that we have the scriptures to turn to.
We're thankful that weekend.
In a little bit more of the Lord.
You see that we have a role.
But it's to the glory of the Lord.
So we just pray that this might be manifest in our life, each in our capacity.
Thanks again that we have opportunity to sit down over the scriptures and liberty to enjoy what we trust. Father that you have for us here today. We give thanks in Jesus worthy and precious name, Amen.
A Willing Heart
Not of the World
Sing Talk—Jonathan Csanyi
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Let's look to the Lord for help.
Regarding your Father and our Lord Jesus, we thank thee for this opportunity we have together to sing these hymns. We pray for the help now as we open thy word to have a word for each one of us and pray for help for the speaker for.
Words from thee and for help in in telling forth whatever message that is to have. We pray this now in thy name, Amen.
Starting John Chapter 17.
This is a prayer of our Lord Jesus recorded here. Start at verse 9.
I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given me. For they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee, Holy Father, keep through thy own name those who Thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name.
Those that thou Gareth me.
I have kept and none of them is lost but the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Down a little bit.
And now I come to the and now come I to Thee. And these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou should just take them out of the world, but that Thou should just keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
This is a prayer of our Lord.
Just before he is betrayed and crucified.
His thoughts were of us.
Those that are left behind in the world.
And those that would believe through their word, that's us.
And he's especially concerned about the fact that they're being left behind in the world. They have to live in the world. And that's what I want to talk about tonight. The world, every one of us is living in the world. We can't escape that, but the world.
Is bigger than just this globe that we live on the term the world encompasses much more than that.
It's a system that's been set up.
Been set up to keep man happy, apart from God, without God.
One of the more common pictures of the world that we see is Egypt.
You know, in the land of Canaan, the Israelites, whoever was in the land of Canaan was dependent. They were dependent on the rain from heaven to be able to grow their crops and to eat.
Egypt didn't have that problem, didn't have that dependency, I should say.
They built their own system.
Irrigation.
They took of the the river Nile and they built canals and technology and they irrigated their land so they didn't have to depend on God.
And that's a picture.
Of the world in its independence from God. And I want to look a little bit at that today, because every one of us is living in the world.
And yet we're to be in the world, but not of the world. And there's a distinction there.
Let's start by turning to Genesis 12.
Look at the the life of Abraham and Genesis 12. You've all heard this before. I'm not going to stay here very long, but Abraham was called to go into the land that God would show him, and he he went there and he kept on going.
Genesis chapter 12 and verse 9 And Abram journeyed going on still toward the South, and there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to soldier in there, for the famine was grievous in the land.
00:05:04
I won't read the rest of it, you guys are all familiar with the story.
But there was a lack of food in the land.
And so Abram went to Egypt in type. He turns to the world to make up what he might have said God had failed to give him.
He turned to the world to make up what he thought God had failed to give him.
And it affected them.
Everyone went down into Egypt to soldier in there. His purpose was to soldier in there. He was going to continue to be a sojourner, he thought.
But you, if you read through this story, it affected his his, his discretion, his wisdom. And I think even though he was delivered from Egypt and he went back up out of Egypt, he brought with him things.
That caused countless problems through the rest of his life. One time we sat down and we tried to list them all and I don't remember how many we came up with. There was a lot.
Let's go to chapter 13 now.
Abraham's coming up out of Egypt.
And I want to look at his nephew that was traveling with him lot.
And Abram went up out of Egypt, 13 verse one, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him into the South. And Abram was very rich in cattle and silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the South, even to Bethel, and to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hayati, and to the place of the altar which he had made there at the 1St. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord.
And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents, and the land was not able to bear them.
That they might dwell together, for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle, and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen. For we be brethren, if not the whole land before thee. Separate thyself, I pray thee from me. If that will take the left hand, then I will go to the right.
Or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as alchemist unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan. And Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other.
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent towards Sodom.
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
So Lot has some decisions in his life here.
One important one Which direction is he going to go when he separates from Abram?
And he makes his decisions.
Based on his experience and the exposure he's had to Egypt, to the world, you might say he chose.
The well watered plains that were like the land of Egypt as alchemist and Zoar. How do you know that? How did he know that?
The result of Abraham's taking him down into Egypt.
And you know, we often we think of the world. I probably should have started by mentioning this. We sometimes think of the world and worldly things as these things that are evil or bad, and many of them are. But the world is much broader than that. Like I said, it's to keep man happy apart from God. Distractions.
Many of them perfectly fine by themselves in their place.
Lot chose.
Well watered planes, nothing wrong with that.
But he oriented his whole life toward these well watered plains. He relocated here.
He pitched his end. He still had a tent.
He still professed a Pilgrim lifestyle.
He still confessed he was a Pilgrim. We read in the New Testament that he was righteous. He vexed his righteous. He vexed his righteous soul.
00:10:00
Now often we look at Abraham and we we take lessons for our life. There are great lessons for our lives from the life of Abraham.
But if we're honest with ourselves.
In a lot of ways, we're a lot more like Lot than Abram.
He confessed to have a Pilgrim life, but he pitched his tent toward Sodom.
He made decisions in his life.
Based on these things of the world that he wanted.
And you know, there's a wide range of ages here.
But by far the vast majority of you are at or approaching a point in your life where you could be making some of the most important decisions that will set the course for the rest of your life.
And what are you using? How are you evaluating your options?
How are you choosing? Is it like lot?
Based on the pursuit of some worldly thing. And remember, worldly I'm not saying something bad, something that's an object that will distract you.
From Christ.
As I brother mentioned, it's an hour ago. Serving ourselves instead of him.
NASCAR.
Jump ahead a couple of chapters to Genesis 19. You know where this you all know where this is going.
And there came two angels to Sodom, and Even and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. He's part of the government of Sodom.
What happened to his tent? Gone.
And Lord, seeing them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. And he said, Behold, now, my Lords, turn in, I pray you into your servants house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early and go on your ways. And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night. And he pressed upon them greatly, and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house.
And he made them a feast and to make unleavened bread, and they did eat.
But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of thought, are encompassed the house round both old and young, all the people from every quarter.
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. And Lot went out at the door and unto them, and shut the door after him, and said, I pray you, brethren, brethren, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now I have two daughters which have not known man. Let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes only unto these men do nothing for.
Came they under the shadow of my roof and they said stand back.
And they said again, this one fellow came into sojourn, and he will need to be a judge. Now will we deal worse with thee than with than with them? And they pressed sore upon the man even Lot, and came near to break the door. But the men put forth their hand and pulled Lot into the house to them and shut to the door.
And they thought the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, blindness both small and great, so that they wearied themselves to find the door.
Here's what.
Not just pursuing some.
Perhaps innocent or innocent looking things of the world. Well watered pastures. He's in the gate in the government of Sodom, and his discernment is gone.
You look at what he's suggesting here.
Lot vexed his righteous soul. Righteous soul. We don't see that here.
He's been so accustomed acclimatized to the world.
That it seems normal to him.
And sometimes maybe we get the idea that.
The world going downhill fast.
But as long as we.
Long we stay a little bit above the world.
You know, the world's bad. The world's bad. Maybe it's down here, but as long as we're up here and we're, you know, this far above the world, we're OK.
00:15:00
But the world's not like this. The world's going downhill fast.
I guess from your perspective, it's downhill fast. And so if it's going downhill fast and we're a little bit above it, we're going down just as fast.
The world is not our standard.
And if the world becomes our standard, like it did for Lot here, our discernment is gone.
The vilest thing seemed normal.
And keep reading a little bit.
And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou hear any besides son-in-law, and thy sons and thy daughters, And whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place, For we will destroy this place before the because the cry of them is waxing great before the face of the Lord. And the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. And the Lord went out and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said up, Get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
To me, this is one of the saddest phrases of this whole story. He seemed as one that mocked.
His testimony was so far gone.
Sometimes we justify ourselves and say.
I can reach the people that I'll be associating with.
I can compromise in order to reach them. How did that work for a lot?
He seemed as one that mocked even his sons in law.
You might think that would be the very least he might be able to rescue his sons in law. Nope.
And when the morning arose, and the angels hastened lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters which are here, lest they'll be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and the upon the hand of his two daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him. And they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought him, they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape thee for thy life, escape for thy life.
Look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain. Escape to the mountain, lest they'll be consumed.
And Locke said unto them, Oh not so, my Lord, Behold, now thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in saving my life, and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die.
Behold, now this city is nearer to flee into unto, and it is a little 10 Let me escape thither, is it not a little one? And my soul shall live.
Is it not a little one?
Is Lot just having been pulled out, barely saved from the destruction of Sodom, seeing his family destroyed?
And he can't help it, he's reaching back just a little bit more.
Just a little bit more of the world. I can't go to the mountain, you know, Abraham stayed in the mountain and went to the well watered plains.
Just a little bit more of the world.
Turn to 1St John.
Chapter 2.
Verse and verse 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world.
This particular set of verses is written to the young men. I think it's very appropriate for tonight.
Love not the world.
And love here is not just, you know, don't like it.
It's not saying we can't like something he loved playing baseball. That's not what he's talking about.
Someone that loves the world. It's like the love of money we read about elsewhere. Love the world. They're pursuing it. It's their object. They're making decisions based on it.
Is that guiding your life?
I often think.
I imagine.
00:20:00
A comic cartoon comic that I.
I saw once, I don't, I don't even remember the point of the comic, but it was a single panel and it had a fish.
And it was surrounded by a sea of hooks. There were lines coming into the water. I don't remember what the point of the comic was, but that picture stayed with me.
Satan, the enemy of our souls.
Is trying all these different baits.
He doesn't care which one we take.
Baseball music.
Sports, entertainment, education, whatever. Computers, games.
He doesn't care which one we take.
He's just as happy.
For you take something that seems perfectly innocent.
But like Lot, it's the beginning. He chose the well watered plains. He made a decision based on that.
For anything.
Anything but Christ. The devil's APC's some some call it.
Anything at all doesn't matter what, as long as it can distract you from the Lord.
Love not the world.
A couple more, two more verses.
The first in Galatians.
Chapter one and verse 4.
Who gave Himself for our sins, Talking about our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.
I compare that to Second Timothy.
Chapter 4.
Verse 10.
In Galatians he delivered us from this present evil world. Galatians 4 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.
Doesn't say present evil world.
Dimas was caught.
By one of the nicer hooks.
He loved his present world, not something that appeared evil, but it distracted him.
From the Lord. It distracted him from Pauls doctrine.
He gave up.
The life that would be consistent with Paul's doctrine, with the truth that he knew because he loved his present world, And doesn't that in some way, at some level, describe us all?
Having loved this present world.
You know, we live in a weird time if you look at history.
The Bible freely available.
We're in a so-called Christian nation.
Nobody's forbidding us to meet together like this.
It's a strange time from the perspective of history, the last 2000 years.
And in a lot of ways, it's a blessing.
But in many ways also it's an attack.
The Christian testimony, the assembly, the body of Christ in the world.
Has thrived under persecution.
And it's never been so weak.
That's when it's embraced by the world.
You see that way back in Roman times, in Constantine's time, and you see it today.
Satan has seen that the persecution.
Just makes the church stronger.
And so.
His attack today?
Is to bring the world.
To turn the church into just another part of the world.
To have our.
00:25:01
In a way to take the world, the world and what it offers, and to rebrand it as the Christian dream, the American dream, the Christian Dream.
What happened to that dedication we talked about?
Present your body as a living sacrifice, which is your reasonable service.
Where does that fit with building a comfortable life for ourselves?
In this world.
With choosing the things of this world. With using the things of this world as the standard by which we make our decisions.
It doesn't fit there.
We're serving ourselves, not him.
I'll close by rereading a couple verses from John 17.
Separate into verse 14. I have given them thy word, and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou should have take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.
From the Evil.
Even the nice hooks are evil.
Maybe we could sing. I didn't bring him back.
One hymn before we close.
#70 This is.
Often.
Well, it not often it is a gospel hymn. If I gained the world but lost the Savior where my life worth living for a day, but I want us to think about it.
As Christians, you know the enemy uses the same tactics to distract people from being saved as he uses on Christians to distract us from being fruitful and profitable.
So instead of if I gained the world but lost a savior.
What if if I gain the world but shortchanged, the savior didn't give him his due.
Think about it from his perspective.
Of a Christian, if I gained the world and lost all these things that I should have instead, let's say #70.
As you make decisions in your life.
Think back to lot.
Think about his seemingly small decision and think about where he ended up.
Absolutely no discernment in the.
Midst of such great evil.
Let's pray. And should I be giving thanks for the refreshments, I presume?
Sure. OK, Our gardener Father and our Lord Jesus, we thank thee that we could spend these couple minutes over thy word. We.
Pray for each one of us, young and old.
That that would help us to view the world from thy perspective, to see it for what it really is.
And to not be so affected by living in it down here, they'll help us to.
To turn to thee and to make our decisions based on thy things.
We commit the remainder of the evening to the remainder of the week to thee, and we thank thee too for the refreshments that have been prepared.
And we pray that that'll help us to that our fellowship would be over thy things.
That we would build friendships and relationships that are lasting and based on the.
We pray this all in thy name, Amen.
Yeah.
2 Corinthians 4:7-18
Reading
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I love you, God and our gracious Father. We thank you for the enormous privilege that is before us now to open Thy Word together, consider its contents, and trust to be built up on our most holy faith. Encourage help.
And we just look to the and pray for help for those who speak and minister the word, that they might have thy mind and what is brought forward. And we would just pray that the Spirit of God might have liberty in each of our hearts to make Thy word good to us. We feel that we are completely dependent upon Thee if there's to be any benefit from this time. And we thank the count upon me that Thou just looked down with the light.
On those who would speak to one another of things concerning our beloved Son.
And so with confidence and joy, we ask these things in Jesus worthy name.
Bless the Godfather, we thank you for singing. I don't need begotten Son into this world to go to Calvary's cross to back for a sentence.
Thank you through thy son's blood that's been made. Much blessing through this and we thank you for this time we should draw aside from the business of life.
You know the sound as I word, but you take advantage of this. You have open ears to hear what others say to us. Pray for that. We would be speak by the leading.
Listen to.
Thank you for the kindness Steven and others that are taking part in this to host this camp. Pray for each one that's working to during the camp less than thank you that was provided this time. Pray to you that each one of us would take that time and quiet with me each morning, evening and during the day most necessary.
Now we ask for help.
That we would during the day, seek each other out, take your time, ask, tell each other's doing, share something of the.
That would be an encouragement.
Now we pray for those that might still be coming for safe journey mercies.
Pray for those that couldn't come that does give an abortion.
Think of those that.
Let me sorry because lost of a loved one or sickness, pray for them. Let us know. Pray for the young people here that ought to encourage them.
You know there's many attacks of the enemy these days.
Thinking of going to college? Pray that they would have thy will first and foremost. First and foremost before there are.
And thank you that doubt they are in their hands and.
Allow them to go ahead or close the door and let us know.
Now we ask for safety during the Buddy Day today and this time of encouragement too. Like that we do it again to the privilege to pray and thank you for all this, my precious name, Lord Jesus name, Amen.
We're reading in Second Corinthians in the 4th chapter.
We'll read a few verses into chapter 5 also, but we'll start at chapter 4 and verse eight. Second Corinthians 4, verse eight. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you, we having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written. I believed, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus.
And shall present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might do the Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God, For which 'cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
00:05:27
For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Chapter 5. For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened.
Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath brought us for the self, same thing as God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, For we walk by faith, not by sight.
So many new people that are here, I thought it might be nice if somebody could give us a brief outline of what we've covered.
Well, for those who aren't here, we've made some comments on this chapter at length about how the chapter in its context really brings before us the outflow of Christ in the life of us as Christians. And various comments have been made regarding how that is done and how that is not done, what might hinder that outflow. And we noticed a few things in.
The earlier part of this chapter, which I won't backtrack and and summarize necessarily, I'll leave it for your personal study, but the Apostle Paul touches on various things that that could hinder that, that outflow and, and quench it, you might say. And so, you know, as we move about in this life as servants of Christ, it is our responsibility to be a living epistle before this world. They read Christ in you and me, or at least they should.
And if we allow things into our life that.
Will, you know, hinder that? Then the world is not going to see a manifestation of Christ. And it's quite solemn as I consider this, because the only Bible that this world reads, brethren, is in you and me as believers, we pick up this book, we hear the Word of God, we read the Word of God, we enjoy it, we take it in, we have the capacity to understand it.
And assimilated to our own good by the power of the Spirit of God indwelling us. But this world doesn't have that. But you can't expect a dead man to pick up the word of God and read it. They have no interest in it. So how, how else are they going to see Christ? Well, it's through you and me. And this chapter again brings that out and, and hopefully that's a good enough summary.
If I can read it, it's kind of applicable to what we're reading right now. I came across this old poem I remember from my youth. I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day. I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell. The way the eye is a better pupil and more willing than the ear. Fine counsel is confusing, but example always clear. And the best of all preachers are the men who live their creeds. For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done. I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run in a lecture you deliver may be very wise and true, but I'd rather get my lessons observing what you do for my I might misunderstand you and I advice you give, but there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live. Be thou an example of believers in Word and conversation and charity and spirit and faith and purity. First Timothy.
00:10:30
12:00 So we can see that what we say is good, but what we do, that's what people are watching.
It was pointed out, I believe by our brother Mark in verses 8:00 and 9:00 that these two verses touch on various things that God may bring into our life or allow us to experience or subject us to so that the light of Christ would shine brighter in in US and through us.
And so sometimes we are subjected to some pretty trying circumstances and we can take comfort in the fact that we know that God.
Doesn't make any mistakes and what he's doing is that he is seeking to form more of Christ in our life and at times.
Pardon me, but at times, brethren.
These things are pretty tough.
You know, each one of us come from various circumstances and walks of life and there are people here right now that are experiencing some very, very tough trials.
But you know.
God is seeking to form more of Christ in us.
So that we become less and he becomes more, as John the Baptist could say.
I must decrease, but he must increase.
And what a testimony it is to the glory of God when you see, as a brother, Tim had brought before us an example of a man the other day who totally subjected himself.
In obedience and.
And acceptance of the trial that God had brought through his life, and it has affected the lives of all those around him for the good and Christ has not only been manifested, but glorified.
And exalted in the hearts and souls of not only that man, but also in those who are witnessing what he is going through.
I think in this tenth verse.
I think it's very instructive where it says we are to always bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. And this is what we're talking about. I noticed in the new translation that.
It's it's, it's the dying of Jesus. And this is very instructive. Doesn't Mr. Darby took out the Lord Jesus?
And that is is, as I say, very instructive, because when you have just Jesus presented to you, it brings before us his manhood.
What do you experience down here as a man?
And this is not his atoning sufferings. You and I could not participate in that one bit, not one bit. So here is not his atoning sufferings that is being spoken of, but his martyrdom sufferings. And that's what Mark brought before us the other night in his address, the sufferings of our Lord Jesus at the hands of men. It was his martyrdom suffering. And the point behind this here is that his, it is his obedience, his submission to the trials and circumstances that God.
And sought to put him through and he totally gave himself over it, over to it.
And that's something that you and I can participate in.
That we can submit to those things as verses 8:00 and 9:00 bring before us. We can submit to the circumstances of life that God brings us through for our good and our blessing, but also for the blessings of a blessing of others. Because it says that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body, not to exalt or glorify us, but to glorify Him and His life becomes manifested.
00:15:11
For the good of others.
This is very practical what you're saying.
And in verse 7, where we end it yesterday we talked about the treasure, which is the knowledge.
Of God and the earth and vessel, which is our body and that's what we all receive when we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. But once we are in that condition, you might say in a very practical way, God goes to work right away and what does he do? He allows things in our life. I guess Joss was telling us that break start to break down that earthen vessel. And so, you know, for a lot of young people here.
God wants on a daily basis to work with you.
And he has the plan in your life that you might become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul writes this here after he had been in the surface for quite a number of years and he had experienced those things, the Lord. And maybe with him it wasn't a special case because he was a special vessel, but the Lord had allowed all these things, outward things, the inward things that he dealt with too, to come in his life to break down the earth and vessel.
And you might say the more he went on in his life, the less you saw Paul and the more you saw of Christ. And that's that earthen vessel being broken down. But it's interesting. And the whole time here, he always speaks about we. This was not specific to Paul, or it wasn't even specific to Paul and the ones that traveled with him. It's normal Christianity, you might say, the Lord is not going in his goodness. He's not going to leave us alone.
And allow us to have this quiet life without trouble because if we did, none of Christ would shine out. And so that's what these verses speak about. It's God at work in our lives to break down the earth and vessel so that the treasure would be able to shine out more. So when the Lord allows things in your life, just realize that God is allowing these things because He wants me to be more like His Son. He never does it because He wants to bring trouble in our lives, if you want to call it that.
But he wants us to be broken down when it comes to ourselves. So there might be more of Christ and more of Christ to shine out. And maybe I'm going a little bit further now, but in verse 12 it says death work within us. And that's just a breaking down. But life in you there was a blessing to others because of what Paul submitted to in the circumstances that the Lord allowed in his life.
I was thinking on.
The bears on Hebrews Chapter 11 and verse 24 were says by faith most Moses.
When he was come to years refuses to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Chosen rather to suffer affliction with the people of God. Chosen to suffer affliction, nobody here chosen to be afflicted.
Not me.
That he chose to suffer affliction with the people of God. The Lord says just like the people hate me, they will hate you.
In this life, if you want to live righteously, you will suffer persecution, you will suffer persecution, but it's better to suffer persecution and to shine that light. The brothers yesterday was talking about shine the light.
No.
Of yourself, but the light of the Lord Jesus Christ through you. And to do that he needs to broken you. He needs to broken us.
Brother was talking about brother Mike and being in his wheelchair and not even able to imagine this. Sometimes you have a itching in your nose. You just do this, you scratch your nose. He cannot even do that. He cannot even move. But he says I don't change my place when anybody because the blessing and the the joy to the Lord is being communion with him.
Now let me ask you something. Do you chase? Do you change places with him? Do you want to be in his shoes?
00:20:01
I can probably save myself, no?
But we need to be able to say Lord.
Break this bustle so you can shine the light.
Through me of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Yesterday we talked about.
The New Translations rendering of this verse and it talks about God shining into our hearts for the purpose that we would then shine forth the glory of God. And there is very few things in this world that shine forth the glory of God.
As powerful as child when someone is going to trial. We talked about Michael Bryant. He is a powerful testimony. And we have a brother, Alejandra, stand up here.
With difficulty with his eyes, and he says, blessed be the name of the Lord. It's.
Hour enough and I would just like to read a couple of verses that have to do with what we're talking about. First one is in first Peter chapter one.
First Peter chapter one and verse seven that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth they'll be tried with fire might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, and you know.
If we go back to John Chapter 11, there's an example there of a couple of ladies that we know well, Mary and Martha, and.
They had a brother that they loved very much named Lazarus, and Lazarus died. And we can see as we read through John Chapter 11 That that was purpose of God. But that wasn't an accident. He didn't just arbitrarily die, but God allowed Lazarus to go into death and He tells us why.
You turn to John Chapter 11 and it says in verse 4.
Well, so this is.
I'm going to start with verse 3.
Umm.
I'll just start with verse one. Now a certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Merrier, sister Martha. And it was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair. His brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore his sister said unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. And Jesus heard that he said, the sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister, and none of this happened because the Lord had forsaken them. He purposed this for the glory of God and.
He stays they they said Lazarus is sick and purposely waits until Lazarus passes into death and then he goes because he was fulfilling what we're talking about right now. He was working in Mary and Martha.
That they would be an outflow of the glory of God through them in this trial. And so the Lord Jesus comes in first. Martha meets him and says, Lord of thou has been here. My brother had not died.
And the Lord, the Lord says to her.
And Mary says the same thing by the way, and the Lord goes through the process of raising Lazarus from the dead. But the verse that I was thinking of, especially in verse 40 of John Chapter 11. And Jesus said unto her, said I not unto thee, that if thou was believed, thou should see the glory of God.
What happens? John chapter 12 follows. And if we turn there, it says then Jesus six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. And there they made him a supper, and Martha served that Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair.
And the house was filled with the odor appointment.
A little difference there was between the Martha that we see from the past that complained about the fact that it says that she was covered with much service and now it doesn't. We don't see any complaint though we see the glory of God manifested through her now.
00:25:08
Well, why was that? It was because of what she had passed through and John Chapter 11, what the Lord had allowed to happen in her life for the purpose of her being able to bear forth the glory of God in her body while she was here.
So, you know, there's a there's a gospel that's preached in this world today called the prosperity gospel and it speaks of the Christian as having a, a blessed place and material wealth and things on this in this world.
Humans, that robs us of the eternal weight of fluid. And I'll be completely honest and completely frank with you that the path of faith of real Christianity is not easy. As Josh was just mentioning, it is hard. The Lord passes us through deep trials, but it's for the purpose of bearing forth the glory of Christ in our life.
And we wouldn't have it any other way. Go talk to Michael Bryan and he would say like we've been talking. He wouldn't trade it for anything. You think that he would rather have a mansion on a hilltop and be involved in these things that the prosperity gospel would bring before us, that we would have wealth in this world that robs us of the real blessing that Christ would have in US. And that's what we have at the end of this chapter. I don't mean to to jump ahead, but it has to do with it. It says in verse.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. But we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. But the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal. But then that's what God vows is this eternal way to flow. And it's at the cost of Him breaking down our earthen vessels for the purpose of His glory shining forth from us in this, in this scene. We only have the opportunity to do that while we're here.
Christ is glorified in a future day by us and what we have done and what we have passed through in this in this life, but the only opportunity to provide for that is here in the same.
Go down a little further and.
Or where it says, John 1224. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it brings forth much fruit.
Michael Bryant.
It's pretty far down that path.
What about us?
How much are we willing to give up for the board?
So that his life can shine forth through us.
We have some conjunctions in verse 8:00 and 9:00 that I think it'd be good for us to spend a little time on this.
Those conjunctions are yet not and but not.
And but not happens three times.
And I don't want to take in any way away from what we've just been talking about.
But I would like to focus on these conjunctions. The first one is we are troubled on every side.
Yet not.
Yet not distressed, or, as in the new translation, it could be rendered. We are afflicted in every way. Afflicted, yet not straightened or limited.
These conjunctions are really, really important for us to get a hold of.
If we're going to walk as we have just been discussing or describing in this path of faith and we're going to have trouble, there is a resource for us in that trouble.
Why? Why is it that we read here? The apostle said he's not distressed.
Or not straightened.
What is the message there for us?
The message is there's a resource in the trouble, in the trial, in the affliction.
So we've just been talking about Michael, Bryan and.
We don't want to make too much of our brother, but we know for a fact that the Lord, and if you sit down and talk to him, he will tell you very plainly that the Lord has been with him. And I can tell you, young people and children in my life, in the times that we have gone through trial and trouble, that's when we experience the presence of the Lord in the most dear and real way.
00:30:34
There was a time that our Lord speaks of His being straightened.
Here to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul he in another part of this.
Of his epistles to the Corinthians, he tells them not to be straightened, because he and those with him were not straightened toward them, limited in their affections toward them. The Corinthians were under influences that would cause them in their affections toward the apostle and laborers, to be limited to be straightened. I was thinking about verse.
The Lord saying I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till it be accomplished?
And that word limited that you bring up brothers is is a real help there.
His heart was to flow out freely in blessing to His people.
But he had to lay the groundwork first, and that was the cross, the baptism that he had to be baptized with.
You know, there were times even in his earthly ministry.
When he came into his own hometown and the people there who were familiar with him.
They said it's not this the carpenter's son, and it says he could there do no miracle.
He was straightened not by not by any lack of course of power on his part, but by moral considerations on their part.
And So what does he do? He's not straightened in the sense that.
Service still goes forth. He sends out his disciples that they might minister, and he still receives those that would come to him and heals them, and so on. He is not straightened. His affections towards his people are unchanged.
And his care for souls is unchanged. His love will not be deterred by either moral considerations on the sides of others or the work that lie before him. The apostle here is Speaking of.
The sufferings that I believe primarily that he went through in his in his laborers to bring the word of God to the people of God and bring the gospel to the lost. And all he got in return was persecution and hatred and suffering. He was stoned to death.
And the Lord raised him up.
But he was not going to be deterred. None of these things he could say later on on his way to Jerusalem. None of these things moved me.
Believe perhaps that helps us understand here it is not straightened, Persecuted, but not straightened.
I was reading those very verses in John 15 that I believe you're somewhat referring to there, Steve.
John chapter 15, remembering that the example in all of this to us is the Lord Jesus.
Verse 17 These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you're of the world, the world would love his own. But because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hated you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake.
Because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sinned. But now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sinned. But now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause.
00:35:02
But when the comforter has come.
For you and I, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me, and He also shall bear witness. That's referring again to the verses that we read in John 17 yesterday, because you have been with me from the beginning.
There's four sentences that we have in these two verses, Theta 9, and you might say the second part of each sentence is kind of surprising. It's not what you expect. If maybe somebody else would have written that that doesn't belong to the Lord. He said we've troubled in every sight and very distressed, but what is it every time? The first part of that sentence, that's the earthen vessel being broken down. What's the second part? Why was he not straight? Why was he not in despair? Well, that's the second-half of verse 7.
Is the Excellency of the power maybe of God?
And so we go through these things and we feel our.
Or other lack of strength. We can do it when these trials come upon us, and yet we can be overcomers. But we know it's not ourselves. It's not the strength of the earthen vessel because there's no strength in it. But what is it? It's the Excellency of the power of God. And I, you know, in chapter one of this epistle.
Verse nine of chapter one, Paul says this. We had the sentence of death in ourselves.
That we should not trust in ourselves, but in God. That raises the debt. Hold it alive that every day pretty much He didn't know if he was going to make it till the end. And he had learned and had to learn that he learned that he could not trust in himself. The earthen vessel was very fragile. There was no strength in there, but there was that Excellency of the power of God that made it so. He went through everything and there was more and more of Christ shining out. And so if you look at these two verses and we read it like that every time, the first part.
That's the earth and vessel being broken down, persecution, distress, trouble being cast down. But then the second part, that's the power of God coming in and you know when.
Some of us are much further along, but as we go through life and these things come up, be it in our family lives, being at work, whatever it is that troubles arise in the assembly.
God makes us feel the weakness of the earthen vessel.
But at the same time, if we take these things from him.
He will reveal to us more and more the Excellency of the power that there isn't that resource that Steve was talking about. And so when again, when trials come, we don't like him. And Alejandra mentioned that. But take him from the Lord and there's going to be nothing but blessing there, even though it will be hard when you go through it. But keep in mind the second part of all these sentences. Not distressed or or straight, not in despair, not forsaken, not destroyed.
And that's something that this world doesn't have. Trials come upon them, and they only have the earth investment because the earth investment is not just a Christian. Everybody has an earthen vessel.
And you can just see the breakdown, the distress of the sprayer. There's no hope. But we don't have that. If we take our trials, the things that are allowed of God, from him, we have that surpassing power, the Excellency of the power of God.
So a young person, or even those of us who are older might ask ourselves, well, why would we want to do this? Why would we be willing to do this? Verse 13, it says we have the same spirit of faith. Verse 14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you, and that's glorification. In Matthew 16, verse 24, Jesus said unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.
And follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, and whosoever will lose his.
Will lose his life for my sake. Shall find it. The the path of discipleship is costly. It will cost us everything to follow Christ.
And why would we be willing to do that? There's no mistake that the portions of Scripture in the order that they are the next chapter in Matthew 17, it says in six days after Jesus taketh Peter and James and John his brother and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart and was transfigured before them. They got to see the glory of God. They got to see the Lord Jesus Christ glorified glowing.
00:40:25
Dear brethren, the path of faith is worth it. As our brother Alejandro said earlier, Moses looked at these things and he said, you know, this looks nice.
Whatever he had in Egypt, but it's not going to last.
What we have is going to last forever. We have the best portion because we have him in the world. You can have all these things, you can have money, you can have houses, you can have all this stuff and there's nothing wrong with any of that.
But if people, if that's all they have, when they lose it, they have nothing left. If we have Christ and we have those things, that's wonderful. If we lose them, we still have Christ.
And he's everything to us. He can be everything to us. And as our brother shared last night, that we would be willing to trust the Lord. And at the end of the portion, he talks about the things that we we're going to do if we're going to be kept.
And we'll get to those.
Let me finish to to read to you or read a little bit again. Hebrews 201124.
Finished the the verses by faith Moses when he was come to years refuses to be called the son of Perus daughter chosen rather to suffer a fiction with the people of God that to enjoy the pleasure of sins for a season.
Steaming the reproach of Christ.
Greater riches than the treasures on Egypt, for he has respect unto the recompense of the reward. In this world everything is passed, everything will be destroyed.
But we have a reward in heaven. It's not compared the little sufferings we pass in right now that the glory is coming with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, just seeing his face and telling him.
Lord, it was worth it. It was worth it because now I'm here seeing you face to face, my Savior, my Lord, the one who walked with me every single day, even through bad circumstances in this world.
You was with me every single day, Lord.
And now I'm here seeing you and forever be with him. Never, ever to have this world again. It's worth the brothers and sisters. It's worth the young people.
In this world, maybe you never want to be popular, but it's better. Put your eyes on Christ. Put your eyes on heaven.
Like a brother, Guillermo Guerra.
Used to say stick your head in heaven and look of the glories and all in this world we don't have any value.
Yes, put your eyes in heaven, in Him who is worth it.
So you might say in verse 13.
And I say this primarily to myself, but it's as though the apostle is saying I'm all in, I'm all in.
It's a question that I think I know I have to ask myself. I know the hesitancy at times of my own heart.
And failure in these things. But when it comes to our Christianity, brethren, are we all in?
Or are we holding back a little?
Or holding back a lot.
And to your point, brother, it's all worth it, isn't it?
And.
He in verse 14, he says, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus or with Jesus could be translated and shall present us with you. He was looking on to that day when God would reward the believer and raise him up with Christ and that is the day that we ought to be living for that eternal day.
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Not now. Not trying to get established necessarily down here.
And making this world our primary focus. But it's living not for self, but for Him and for that eternal day.
Matthew, I think in the back over there.
Giving up all things and we see that with the Apostle Paul in Philippians, don't we? Where? He said.
Chapter 3.
For me to live as Christ and to die as gain. And in chap sorry, that was chapter one and chapter 3 again he says, yeah, doubtless I count all things but loss.
Or seven, what things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ? I think it's important and it bears reminding in this chapter that we're speaking that he suffered these things so that he might preach the gospel. Not just our daily lives, not everything that we encompass in our life. He suffered these persecutions particularly.
For Christ, namesake for the gospel.
A little bit more.
You bring that up there in Philippians chapter 3 for the young people, particularly for the young men. I don't know where you are, but I can tell you that we may come from one end of the spectrum. And how did Paul get from one end of the spectrum all the way to the other end of the spectrum? You see this in here in Philippians chapter 3 where it says in verse, as we see here in verse four. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh.
I more circumcise the 8th day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin and Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the law a Pharisee. You know today we may not necessarily we shouldn't be into the law, but we can be into the fact that perhaps we come from a family that is that has been in the assembly. If you could say, but on the sound of the word and there is some merit of or some.
Thought of of laying so-called, riding your dad's coattails. I can say that for myself because I was raised in such a manner and I know many others were here as well. And Paul is saying that he had all this concerning zeal. Verse 6 persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is the law, blameless. He was at the top of his game in Judaism. No one else could surpass him. He could say verse 7 but what things were gained to me, those I counted for loss.
And that's one end of the spectrum. And then the other end of the spectrum that he ends up going to is in the end of our book, Second Corinthians here. If we turn over to here, this is where he finds himself. I think this is interesting to see his travels here because in 2nd Corinthians 11 it says.
Verse.
16 I say again, Let no man think me a fool, if otherwise yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly the confidence of boasting, Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also if you suffer fools gladly, seeing you yourselves are wise. If you suffer a man bringing the ******* of a man devour you. If a man take you, if a man exalt you, if a man smite you on the face, I speak as concern reproach.
As though we had been weak, albeit I work whatsoever and miss bold I speak foolishly, I'm bold also. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I are they the seed of Abraham? So am I are they ministers of Christ? They speak as a fool. I am more now this is where he gets into into what he's been through. And labor's more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons more frequent in deaths off of the Jews five times received I-40 strikes.
Say 1. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stone, thrice I suffered shipwreck a night in a day. I have been in the deep, in journeys often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness.
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And watching often in hunger and thirst, In what? In fastings, often in cold.
And nakedness besides, those things are without all they which cometh among me daily the care of all the churches. So he's come from one end of the spectrum of being the most beautiful Jew that a Jew could produce, touching the law, blameless, zealous, all the way down to the other side of the spectrum here where he had a resume here of persecutions. And it's tremendous to see this and is, and I was just mentioned, it was all for the purpose.
Of preaching Christ and look at the very last phrase of this long list. I just read into verse 28, the care of all the churches.
And you can see their false brethren is up there. It's one thing to receive stripes to be bent over a Roman barrel and and receive 39 stripes across the back. And it's another thing here to have up above here false brethren. But he did it all verse 28 into verse 28, the care of the churches.
That connects.
Somewhat to the verses that we read the yesterday in First Corinthians Chapter 9.
Speaking of the gospel in verse 17, he goes on to say in verse 18, What is my reward then? Verily, that when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge. That I abuse not my power in the gospel.
I was thinking from these verses on For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all.
That I might gain the more. And under the Jews I became as a Jew, and I might gain the Jews. To them that are under the law, as under the law. That I might gain them that are under the law, to them that are without law, as without law, being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ. That I might gain them that are without law to the weak became I as weak That I might gain the weak. I made all things to all men, that I might buy all means save some.
And this I do for the gospel sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
This I do for the gospel sake.
We've got a lot of this.
Hour about tribulations and sufferings and rightly so. That's what it's occupied with and we've talked extensively about what God's purposes in that.
But it's so nice to see these last verses of the chapter that God gives us these encouragements, these things that will sustain us in this inner path of service. So God doesn't set before us just a bunch of trials and tribulations, and now you go along with it and he gives us encouragements along the path. When I think there's four main ones and maybe just mention them and we can expand on them a little bit. And the first one was already mentioned.
Verse 12/13/14 We have a God of resurrection, we have a God of resurrection, we have that resurrection life that we can look forward to. What a wonderful thing that is. But then he goes on and in verse 16, he speaks of the inward man being renewed day by day. It's through the outward man. Our bodies are broken down, but the inward man is renewed day by day. That's our soul and spirit. And that can be refreshed and strengthened day by day by communion with the Lord and so.
You might say the proper pathway for a Christian is that the outward man, the body.
Is on a downward course, but the inward man is on an upward course and gets stronger and stronger. And then the third thing is, and it's amazing that Paul was the one that rode this verse in verse 17, he speaks of light affliction. But for a moment, and I think that pulse path of surface was a little over 30 years and you just read the list that fits in very perfectly. We wouldn't call that light affliction, but Paul seeing things in their proper perspective and what was about to come.
He calls that light affliction, but for a moment that should be a help as we go through tribulation and we know people have gone through tribulations for many years and yet in the light of eternity it's but for a moment. And then the last thing is that he had his eyes fixed on unseen things. If we have our eyes fixed on things around us. Last night Jonathan spoke about Law looking down and seeing the well watered plains and where that led him. If we have our eyes fixed on unseen things.
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That will sustain us too in the pathway down here. And so yes, we've been talking about tribulations and they're very real and God has a purpose with it. But here's 4 huge encouragements, things that will sustain us in the path of service.
If I may, I would like to add one more thing to that that I believe I see in this this.
Chapter as a motivation that the apostle Paul had in addition to those four that you mentioned in verse 15. He is motivated because he knows that what he's doing and what he's suffering is for the benefit of the elect. It is love to the people of God that also motivated that drove him he and when he suffered that persecution when when he was hindered.
His heart was on.
What the what the Lord's heart is on his people, his suffering people in this world who needed help?
One of the biggest keys as we face trials and challenges are in this list that you mentioned. Mark and I have down verse 16's daily communion. Verse 17 is a shield of faith and verse 18's the vision of glory. As we go through these trials that one of the most important things for us to remember is that God is for us and in Ephesians 6 he mentions our weapons.
Our armor. Pardon me.
And in verse 16, it says, above all, taking the shield of faith. Well, I had an older sister in my assembly and she said the shield of faith is the confidence that God is for me. And it says with that you're going to be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked because there's a battle that goes on in our mind when we have trials.
In our mind, our flesh is questioning what's going on, and the enemy of our souls is shooting darts at us.
Saying God's forgotten you, God doesn't love you.
You're worthless. All these things come at us and we can hold that shield up and say no, I know that God is for me. This challenge is not wasted.
In verse 15, it says all things are for your sakes. When Mary and Martha had their brother died, if he would have come and healed him, they would have known the Lord Jesus as a healer because the Lord Jesus didn't come. They came to know Him as the resurrection and the life. And he'll pass us through things our brother mentioned earlier. It's so painful, so painful. Hold up that shield. The Lord is for you. He loves you.
He gave everything for you. He's not going to go back.
The second thing our brother Matt mentioned earlier, and that is thankfulness and in chapter.
Ephesians 5.
Verse 20 it says giving thanks for all things.
Unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And some people say that's crazy. How can you give thanks? We can give thanks because we know that God knows what he's doing.
And we can say, Lord, I thank you for this trial. I don't understand, it doesn't make any sense to me, but I trust you and I thank you for it and let the Lord work in our lives and quit trying to get out of the trial and just let yourself relax and try and learn the lesson. So often I've seen people and then it is horrendous trial and then it's over. Just like that. As soon as they learn their lesson, whatever the Lord had in it for them, the trial is over.
That's what he's trying to teach us, and he does it with love and with patience and with compassion. Because he loves us. We're his children.
I remember an old saying that joy or happiness is not a state, a set of circumstances, or is not dependent on our circumstances, but it is a state of soul. And I would like to read a verse in first John really quick first John chapter one.
And verse three, that which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that He also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. How can He have joy in all the things that he went through? And in the verses that we are reading, we are troubled on every side, yet not stressed, and so on.
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How is he sustained in that? But he knew.
Go out his Father and Christ, he had a daily fellowship with him. He was walking and communion with God and so whatever we face in our lives doesn't matter what God brings us through. We can have joy in that path. I also would like to point out I don't know if it's been pointed out yet, but in verse seven it speaks of.
Earthen vessels and, and we have been commenting a bit on vessels and, and maybe it's been pointed out, but I'll briefly just point these out. There's a number of different types of vessels in this chapter.
First one we have a willing vessel and in verse two we have a clean vessel.
And that's having renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. And in verse five, we have an empty vessel or selfless vessel we preach, not ourselves. And in verse 8A, broken vessel.
And.
In verse 13, there may be more to verse 13. We have an open vessel. He's he's received it and there he's speaking it. It's open.
It's taking those things in and putting them out. In verse 16 we have a renewed vessel and in.
Verse 18, we have a devoted or a focused vessel. So a lot of things that we can get in this chapter, it's been just a joy to meditate on it.
That's nice, Luke.
I was thinking of that joy that you spoke of and Brother Tim started to read these verses in first Peter chapter one earlier.
And in connection with the end of the chapter here, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. And those verses in first Peter chapter one go on to say in verse 8, Whom having not seen ye love, and whom, though now you see him not yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
And so.
Joy and full of glory and says that we faint not in verse 16 and we're renewed day by day.
Our light affliction.
Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
And I know we read it yesterday, but it bears repeating in Romans chapter 8.
The end of verse 17. If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in US.
And we see over in verse 24 of Romans 8 we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for?
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we, with patience, wait for it?
And I thought of that verse in Isaiah 40 that we all know well, and he speaks of renewing our strength, and Isaiah 40 and verse 31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as Eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.
So we're just about out of time, but I just wanted to these last couple verses in the chapter here give us a a different perspective. And young people and children, I want to encourage you.
To have a different perspective, the apostle here in the new translation, it says for our momentary light affliction.
And then he goes on to speak about things that.
Are looking on things that are not seen and sometimes we have a difficulty understanding that. So when I ask the kids here, is there anything that you know of that is occurring in this room right now that you cannot see?
So I saw a couple heads shaking. Yes. What?
So there's, there's something holding this down in our chairs, Michael said. Gravity, We've never seen gravity. I don't know that I've ever seen gravity in in force. And I'm speaking right now and, and there's something something happening that we cannot see. There's sound waves that are going through the air that are taking what I'm saying and, and conveying it to you and we can't see it. I've never seen a sound wave. I've seen the effects of it.
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There's electricity flowing through these cables here that help us out as well, and I've never seen electricity as well. I've seen the effects of it.
So sometimes there are things that that we cannot see, but we know that they're there.
The apostle was talking about things that are not seen are things that are seen are temporary or for a time, but the things that are not seen are eternal, and that's another.
That's another word that is very difficult for us to understand.
Because everything that we feel and see and experience in this world is associated with time. We all have watches on our wrists and we look up on the clock on the wall.
And we are bound by time, but God is not bound by time.
And so the perspective that we're talking about here is one that is not bound by time, that's eternal.
How can we?
Do the things that we just read about.
The only way that we can really effectively do that.
Is having an eternal perspective.
And I'm not sure how I can help you guys understand that.
But it's really, really practical.
The day-to-day choices that we make, are we making them in light of eternity? The apostle was saying. It's worth it.
Because of what is coming ahead and we cannot see it. Just like the electricity, the sound, other things of gravity, we cannot see it with our eyes, but we can apprehend it by faith and say that it's true and that it's real.
And in fact, it's more real than the things that we see. Science would actually tell us that this these chairs that were sitting on are primarily made-up of empty space.
And there's coming a day when these chairs will have no effect on us. We will walk right through them.
Because we will not be hindered by the things that we see right now.
The things that are eternal, dear ones, are more real than the things that we see right now. And that's the perspective that the apostle wanted to help us understand in this chapter. And it provides the motivation and it provides the strength and the attitude that is necessary for us to be the beneficiaries of what we've been reading about and talking about.
We need to have an eternal perspective. If we have a perspective that is just based on time, we're going to go back and we're going to say it's not worth it.
And the apostle even said that if there's no such thing as the resurrection, then we're above, we're counted as as the most miserable of all men. But then he went on to say it's it's not even worth comparing. You can't even begin to compare what is coming, what is eternal.
What we can't see is so far better than what we can see. And that's what motivates our brother Mike, as we were talking about. And that's what should be motivating us in our lives. And it should be really, really practical. It should change our very lives and the decisions that we make. And if not, then we have the wrong perspective.
If I could just add Brother Steve, I know we're done.
But what you say is so good that the eternal things that we've had before us is there. They are more real than what we are looking at. Look around you.
This is all going to burnout one day.
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It's all going to burn.
That which is eternal is going to last.
And brethren, what are we living for?
May it be that we're living for that eternal day, for the glory of Christ. That is what's going to last.
Father, we're so thankful for practical ministry.
We just pray that.
My tunor hearts and.
What the Lord would be?
Made manifest.
Might be much glorified and what's been spoken. We just pray this in Jesus worthy and precious name, Amen.
The Interconnectedness of Scripture
Address—Josh Stewart
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Let's pray before we begin. Our God and our Father, we give thanks for the happy few days we've had so far and for the encouraging times of fellowship and time spent over the Word. We just pray that we will be kept cleaving to the side of our Lord Jesus Christ, still believing till the hour of our receiving. We just pray that there would be something tonight that would be for the edification and the building up of those who are here.
We just pray that for the speaker to that.
He would say nothing that he does not believe.
As we read this morning, I have believed, therefore I speak. So we just pray that there will be that tonight, which would build up and encourage the people of God. So we just pray this and give thanks in the worthy name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
It's so good to be here.
The subject that I would like to speak on tonight is not an easy subject, but I feel it's a very important subject and there's so much young energy in this room tonight. I see so many children and young people and young families and there's so much potential here. And so I'm sure I can speak for others who have participated in the ministry so far, that there's a tremendous responsibility laid upon us to present.
Thing that would be useful and something that would be helpful to you, something that would strengthen you and build you up in your Christian pathway. What I would like to speak on today is the interconnectedness of Scripture. Interconnectedness that is actually a word. I looked it up, the thought that the Word of God is all connected together. There is a harmony that runs all through the Word of God.
I say harmony, I do not say.
Homogeny. I don't mean that the whole word of God is homogeneous, that it's all the same thing, that every verse is some codified version of the same thought repeated over and over. No, it's not homogeneous, but it's harmonious. And So what I would like to do tonight is just to demonstrate that to you and I trust.
That's that's the positive reason for speaking on this. The negative reason, which is also important is that I hope you can get an understanding of the.
Ramifications of denying some part of the Word of God. It's all connected. And if you pull out one piece, the whole thing falls apart. So very, very important. You know, the Word of God is so important for us. And when I speak of the harmony of Scripture, I'm not. Again, I'm not taking away from the need to divide the scriptures. What do we mean by dividing the scriptures?
Told Timothy that if he was to be a Workman that needed not to be ashamed. He needed to rightly divide the word of truth. That is to show the distinctions between this passage and this passage. Is it talking about the church or Israel? They're distinct and we can get very confused if we don't rightly divide. In fact, that's one of Satan's greatest lies is to say, oh, just lump everything together. There's no good and evil. It's just all Gray. There's no man and woman. There's no male and female.
There's just lumping together. You see it all around the genders, you name it.
So we want to be clear that we need to rightly divide the word of truth and yet what we have before us is a book that is all connected together.
In the New Testament, there are something like it's over 300 quotations from the Old Testament. Tremendous connectivity between the old and the new.
There's stories from the Old Testament, from Israel's history that are recounted in the New Testament and used as types and shadows. And I think it's interesting that the Bible publishers for.
Century, probably centuries, have tried to capture some of the cross references in the center column or a marginal column of references. It's all connected together. So I want to speak about this today because more than ever, ideas, ideas are everywhere. And it's partly because of the day we live in and also the technology that makes the transmission of ideas.
More prolific.
But we're living in a day when you can look up just about anything you want and have an answer at a moment's notice. But a lot of the information that you get is not true. It's not based on this book. So what brings this before me is just this sense in my own heart that we need to be grounded in the truth of this book and we need to understand how that they all fit together.
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So very, very important. So I said I wanted to give an example of interconnectedness.
And what I would like to do, this is kind of like a third reason, rather than just haphazardly pick a subject to choose, a subject that I think we need building up in something that I think we need to be encouraged in and to see more clearly. And so I wanted to speak about some of the doctrines of salvation. I feel that we need that. And it's been so helpful for me to see these these truths and I want to try to put them together.
What I have here, one of the kids tell me what they see.
Anyone. How about a young kid?
There is that more clear? Go ahead.
That's right. How many of you like to do puzzles? Lots of people. OK, how many puzzle How? How big of a puzzle can you do 200 piece? Who's done a 500 piece puzzle?
Lots. OK, how about 1000 piece puzzle? Still watts. OK, how about 5000 piece?
One, OK, well, the good news tonight is there's only four pieces to this puzzle. You know, the truth is, is that the puzzle is actually much bigger. I'm just picking four pieces and I want to show how they connect. But really the whole word of God is like a puzzle and it all fits together. But I'm just going to take a small zoom in section of the puzzle to talk about with you tonight.
So I wanted to speak about this interconnectedness in in this area of the doctrines of salvation. And then at the end of the meeting, I want to go back and just show you what happens when you reject one of those, what will happen to the whole thing. And I hope that will be helpful to you. So the first piece of the puzzle, let me see if I can find it here.
Is.
Election and on each piece I have two items together and I want to talk about each of these pieces. And this isn't going to stand up. That's okay. So what I want to do first of all is just talk about election and faith. This has to do with the salvation of man and who's responsible for it. So let's talk about election really briefly. Let's just turn to a verse, Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians, chapter one.
And verse 4.
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. But what is election? We know what it is. When you elect someone to to a public office, you go to the voting booth and you cast your ballot. You make a choice. You choose between a number of candidates and you pick one. That's what election is. It's simple as that. It's choice.
God.
Voted for you. He chose you in a past eternity, it says. Before the foundation of the world.
He knew you and he chose you, and he decided before you ever existed that he would put you before him wholly and without blame.
In love, isn't that incredible? And it's as simple as that. God chose us. Without that, we would not be saved. And we're going to talk about that more about that in a minute. But if it wasn't for God's choosing us, we would never be saved. But I have something else up here, and that's faith. That's the counterpart to to this election is God's sovereign choice of individuals for blessing. Faith is believing God.
I don't know how much simply I could say it believe in God.
John three, I believe it's verse 33 gives what I've heard is a great definition for faith and I enjoy it. It's he that hath believed God has set to his seal that God is true. Have you ever said in your own heart God is true? That's faith.
To recognize, to acknowledge that God is true. And we read in the New Testament that faith is the prerequisite for salvation. It is by faith that we are justified. Abraham, even in the Old Testament, he believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Justification is by grace through faith alone.
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And so we find that we could not be saved.
Unless God chose us in a past eternity. But we could also not be saved unless we believed, unless we had our faith in His Son. God requires faith in His Son. John 316 For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not be saved. Faith is required in order to be saved.
Both these things go together.
One is God's prerogative. He chose us. We didn't even exist. We weren't even around when He made this choice. But He did. And this makes us worship when we realize that He chose us. There was nothing good in us, but He chose us. But faith is our responsibility. God commands all men everywhere to repent and to turn in faith to His Son. That's what He wants to see. So one is what God does, the other is what we do.
We have faith now we find in Ephesians that faith is a gift from God. But my point here is our responsibility is to believe.
In the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sounds simple. I read you scriptures, quoted you at least quoted you scriptures to support both of these, and there's many more.
This is what the Word of God says. My message to you tonight is just believe it. Just accept it. God says it, Just believe it. Now the problem comes in when we try to logically rationalize these two things, we try to force them together in our mind. And I'm going to talk about that at the end of the meeting, but we're going to set this aside for now and we're going to move on to our next piece.
Which is.
New birth and salvation. New birth and salvation.
Now, I was very encouraged to hear that someone has already spoken on this at this camp. And so I'm glad that you're not hearing this for the first time because this might be one of the more difficult things to bring out tonight. So.
New birth and salvation and.
Let's talk briefly about what these two things are, and let's talk about how it interlocks with election and faith.
So.
Man is utterly lost in his natural condition. We could read back in chapter 2 of Ephesians and verse one and you who were dead in trespasses and sins, we were completely dead. A dead person can't talk, can't move, can't think, can't do anything. That's how we were towards God, completely dead.
We were utterly lost. How then, could we choose God?
If we were utterly lost.
Is there something in us that could choose God?
This brings up the whole question of free will. Does man have a free will?
And if I can just try to briefly say this, on each of these puzzle pieces, you could take multiple sessions to to to go over these. So I just want to go over it very briefly. I believe that Adam in the Garden of Eden created by God had free will in a, in a certain sense, Adam could choose.
Whether he wanted to obey God or whether he as he ended up doing.
Choosing to disobey God. Adam had a human nature, but his human nature was not predisposed to do.
Holy things to do good things. And it was not predisposed to do evil things. It was just a human nature. It didn't lean one way or the other. And Adam had a choice, and Adam used his choice to disobey God. And what happened when he did that? By one man's sin entered the world, and death by sin.
And Adam's nature is human nature fell.
Into a condition of sinfulness, and he gained the knowledge of good and evil. You know the story. I don't need to go over it. But that fallen human nature is what the Bible calls a number of things. The flesh.
Sin that dwelleth in me, sin in the flesh. Now those terms I'm not going to go. And there may be slight differences between them, but generally speaking, what we call the old nature, that's what he got when he, when he fell there in the Garden of Eden, that old nature is predisposed to sin.
00:15:12
Do you believe that?
The Lord Jesus said in John chapter 6 and verse 63, the flesh profiteth nothing. There's just nothing in it that's good for God. Paul said there in Romans Chapter 7, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. And we can expound verse after verse after verse that would show that if there's nothing good in man in his fallen condition, how can he choose God?
That is where new birth comes in. OK.
It goes on to say in Ephesians chapter 2 That those who were dead in sins, it says, hath he quickened.
Quickened means to give life, and we need that, and God does that. One day we're going along and God uses His word. We read in John chapter 3. It also brings out the subject. God uses His word by the power of His Spirit, and He quickens us when we're dead in sins and offenses. He quickens us and He gives us a new life.
And we didn't ask for it. We didn't want it.
Sovereign goodness, he just gave it.
And the beautiful thing about that new life is that it has it desires to please God and it has the capacity to believe God. It has the capacity to call out to God.
And so then.
What happens is we're presented with the gospel, some wonderful day, and we believe the gospel, and then we are saved. And what happens when we're saved is that we're sealed with the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit comes to indwell us. These two things don't always happen at the same time. In fact, I believe most often they don't. Most often new birth occurs at some point and then later on.
It could be hours, could be months, could be years later the Holy Ghost comes to indwell someone who has put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And let's just read a verse to show you that because I don't want you to take my word for it. I want you to take God's word for it. Chapter one of Ephesians.
Verse 13 and whom he also trusted. After that he heard the word of truth.
The gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. I'm sorry, that is not the verse I was looking to read. But that verse tells us that the Holy Spirit comes to indwell us after we're saved, after we believe the gospel. So hold that thought. The verse I wanted to read was actually in John's gospel chapter one.
What I'm what I'm going for is a verse that shows that salvation follows new birth.
So John's Gospel chapter one. Pardon me.
John's Gospel chapter one and verse 12. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name which were born.
I'm emphasizing were past tense were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
What does this verse tell us? A lot of things, but what I'm bringing out now is that those who believe down here salvation were born previously. They were born of God. So what that tells you, and I just want to show you that so you have a verse, I'm not making this up. New birth occurs and then we believe the gospel. OK, so how does this fit?
Let's put these two pieces together here, see how nicely they fit.
OK.
What happens is that those who God has elected, those who God has chosen in the past eternity.
He comes along and he imparts new life. He quickens them and that.
Life that they're given has the faith to believe the gospel so that they can be saved. You see how these pieces fit together. God quickens those whom He has chosen, and then they receive a life that has the faith to believe the gospel. So they fit together very, very nicely. OK, so let's move on to our next piece.
00:20:02
The next piece I would like to speak about.
Propitiation and substitution. Now these are some really big words and there's some children here. I don't want you to be afraid of these words. I'll try to explain them. But if you don't follow all of this, understand the main point that the Word of God is all connected together. So, so, but these two big words have to do with the work of the cross.
The work that our Lord Jesus did on the cross.
We call that the atoning work of Christ.
That work has two parts, propitiation and substitution.
Very important to see this distinction. OK.
You might say, how does this connect with what we have here? Well, it might not seem connected at first, but.
What Christ did on the cross has everything to do with our salvation. So it's very connected and I want to show you how.
Propitiation and substitution. Let's talk about substitution first. How can God bring a Sinner to heaven?
How can God bring someone who is guilty of sins to heaven? How can he do that and still be righteous? Can someone answer that? It's very simple.
Go ahead.
He can't accept.
Something happened 2000 years ago that made it so he can.
The Lord Jesus died on the cross. Very good. And what happened is on the cross Jesus bore our sins. That means he carried them on his shoulders and he suffered for them to take them away.
And that is what we have here, Substitution. Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ took your place and my place and suffered on the cross for the sins that I committed. It says He bare, He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. It says He suffered the just for the unjust, the just in place of the unjust. He is the just. We are the unjust. He suffered in our place. That's what substitution means.
A substitute teacher is someone who fills in when your real teacher is out sick.
A substitute is someone who stands in the place of one who isn't there. We deserve to be punished for our sins, but Jesus is our substitute. That's what this verse means. That is part of the work of the cross. Now this is something that's not very well understood. Did Jesus?
Die as a substitute for someone who goes to a lost eternity.
I don't believe so, no. You see, God is righteous and if Jesus bore their sins?
How could God send them to a lost eternity? How could they be punished for their sins if they were gone?
It would be very, very dangerous to say that he could, because then what about you and what about me? It would mean that we're not secure if God sends those to hell.
Who since have been paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ. We have no security, but praise be to God that's not true.
Jesus bore our sins and our security is fixed and eternal. Amazing, but.
If Jesus died as the substitute only for the elect.
Is there nothing in the work of the cross that is for all?
Can't we turn to scriptures? We just quoted the one in John 316. For God so loved the world. Let's find some others.
Acts 1730 says God commandeth now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. OK, he's commanding all men to repent. Let's turn to second first Timothy.
First Timothy.
Chapter 2.
Verse 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all.
OK, so here we find that the work of Christ on the cross was not just for the elect, it was for all. And that is where this word propitiation comes in.
00:25:00
OK, the work that the Lord Jesus did on the cross had another aspect to it that was much higher, and that's why I have it higher than the work of substitution. Both are important, just like election and faith are important, just like new birth and are important. Both are important, but the work of propitiation.
Propitiation is a is a word that might be hard to understand, but it simply means satisfaction. It might go a little bit beyond that, but let's stick with that satisfaction.
There is an aspect to what the Lord Jesus did on the cross that perfectly satisfied God and glorified Him in every attribute of His person.
There is a sense in which and what the Lord Jesus did on the cross that God could look down and be so completely satisfied with it that even if no one was ever saved, he would still be glorified in what the Lord Jesus did.
You ever, I don't want to lower this so I don't mean to be irreverent, but if you ever eaten a delicious meal that was so good that afterwards you were just like, you couldn't feel your legs. You were just so, it was just so good. You were just so satisfied. And you know, when the boss is happy, he gives raises, he gives bonuses.
God is so happy if I can say that. Not just satisfied, but glorified with what Christ did.
That he says, you know what? Open the floodgates. Send the gospel to everyone. It doesn't matter who, whosoever will may come. Call them in from the highways and the byways. It doesn't matter. I am satisfied, I'm satisfied. Send the gospel out to whosoever will may come. That is what propitiation does. It allows God to send the gospel to all.
Let's just read one more verse that I think ties these two together. Romans.
Chapter 3.
Romans 3 and verse 22. This is not propitiation and substitution exactly, but it's the effect of propitiation and substitution.
Verse 22 Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and upon all them that believe. I'm just focusing on that last part unto all and upon all them that believe.
It's propitiation. It's the work that Christ did for God.
To glorify God, that allows the gospel here to go out unto all, but it is really substitution that allows it to be as it says upon all them that believe. It's not upon all. In other words, it goes out to everyone, but it only comes to rest on those who have faith, who are the elect. So you kind of get the effect of both of those things. And there are numerous other examples, so let's connect them.
Sorry.
Let's connect them.
Propitiation and substitution. I may have trouble keeping these together, but what I would like to show is how this fits so beautifully with election and faith, with new birth and salvation. It's really substitution, where the Lord Jesus bore the sins he suffered in the place of the elect, but his propitiation that opens up God's heart.
I hope everyone can see this that opens up God's heart to go out to all, to command from them the obedience of faith. So you can see how these are so closely connected together. OK, we're going to see more of this connection when we get to the towards the end of the meeting. But for now, our next clue, our next puzzle piece.
God's glory and man's blessing, OK?
This is more abstract.
If you you know I had the prototype of this puzzle in my wallet for about a year, or maybe more than that. Much too small to show you. That's why I turned it into this poster board.
But you know, you could draw puzzles just like this for many other groups of truths in Scripture. In fact, I've got one for dispensational truth, church truth, prophetic truth, the hopes of the church all linked together. I think this puzzle piece fits in every single one of those. God's glory and man's blessing. Again, there's an order to them. God's glory, first of all, and man's blessing.
And I'm going to try, with the Lord's help, to show you how that's connected.
00:30:01
All right, I'm running out of room here, so I'm going to set these down for a minute.
God's glory and man's blessing.
It's connected for one simple reason, and I'm going to explain more, but the simple reason is this. All truth. All truth eventually impinges on the glory of God and on the glory of Christ. Let's read a verse to show that John 16.
You know, and I apologize if I've missed some references. I have many written down and I'm not going to have time to turn to all of them, But if you feel that I haven't substantiated something.
From Scripture. I'd love to talk to you after. There are many more references we could give.
Let's just read verse 13 and 14. Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. For He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that he shall speak, and He shall show you things to come. Here's the part. He shall glorify me, for He shall receive of mine and show it unto you, OK?
I admit the language there is a little hard to follow talking about the Spirit of Truth, Holy Spirit.
How the Holy Spirit would come and he would glorify me. The Lord Jesus speaking Simply put, the Spirit of God glorifies Christ if the Spirit of God is glorifying someone and the word of God in the Scriptures, it's Christ if it's in the Old Testament. I still remember when I was reading through Haggai got to the last message in the book of Haggai and is talking about this man's rubble who's going to be glorified and it's.
It's propping this man up in a way. And I thought, this is strange. Come to find out, Zerubbabel is a type of Christ. The Spirit always exalts Christ. That is beautiful. It's beautiful. You know, I've never seen this simple litmus test fail. If a doctrine exalts Christ, if it makes nothing of man but exalts Christ.
Generally speaking, it's it's a true doctrine if it exalts man and takes away from the glory of Christ.
Generally speaking, it's a false doctrine.
And I've never seen that fail so well. What is God's purpose? Let's go back to the book of Ephesians for a verse.
Again, one of those verses that could be read in just about any occasion and not be out of context because it's so broad, so foundational. God's eternal purpose. Ephesians chapter one and verse 10. That in the dispensation, well, let's just read verse 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. Pause there. We're going to read the next verse. God's ultimate purpose, his ultimate goal is to glorify Christ, to set him up as the exalted, glorified one over heaven and earth. And secondly.
In whom also verse 11, we have obtained an inheritance. He's going to bring men into blessing in association with Christ. So first.
God is going to glorify His Son. He is going to get glory for His Son, that one who was rejected, who was crucified, who was cast out, He is going to get glory for Him. That one who glorified God on the cross, that propitiation that we talked about, God is going to see to it that He has the highest place not only in heaven but on earth. That is His ultimate aim. But praise be to God, He also has blessing for us.
And he will bring us into blessing. He'll bring.
You into blessing if you don't believe, If you're not a believer tonight, he can bring you into blessing if you just believe by faith in His Son. He'll bring the church into blessing in a wonderful way in the Millennium on into the eternal state. He'll bring Israel into blessing. He'll bring the nations into blessing. His heart is to bless.
But His glory comes first.
The United Song of Heaven.
When we get to heaven, we're not going to be praising ourselves. We're not going to be praising ourselves. We're not going to be, I believe, thinking about ourselves. This is our song.
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. His glory is paramount. Well, how does this fit?
00:35:12
With our puzzle today, this fits with our puzzle.
Somehow this thing ends up being more stable when it's all connected, and I didn't intend that, but there's some truth to that. When you have all the pieces, it ends up being more stable. This fits with our puzzle. Somewhat stable. This fits with our puzzle.
And that all the glory for our salvation goes to God and not to us.
We're going to talk a little bit in a few minutes about what happens when we deny one of these pieces. What happens is man gets in there and says, I want to take some of that glory for myself. What happens is he strips it away from God, or he would if he could. But you know what? Trying to get glory for himself.
He ends up detracting from his own blessing.
When we simply accept what God has said, God is far more glorified and man is far more blessed. So remember that.
It all comes down to the to the glory of God and to the blessing of man. Let's just read one more verse before we talk about.
What happens when we interject into what God has said with our own minds?
Just turn over with me to Romans. I want to read this because.
It's been so.
Wonderful for me.
And again, a lot of the truths that we're talking about here have to do with God's sovereignty and man's responsibility, and Romans 9:10 and 11:00 deal precisely with that. So if you would like to read more, Romans 9:10 and 11:00. Incredible. The way the apostle Paul lays out his arguments 1 by 1 by 1, I cannot understand.
I can't understand but I struggle with how.
How believers can reject this? It's so clearly laid out there, but I say I understand because there's something in my flesh that wants to reject it. But Romans 11, he summarizes Romans 9, God's sovereignty. Romans 10, man's responsibility, He comes to the end of it all. Let's read verse 32. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief.
That he might have mercy upon all. Just pause there for a second. We're not done.
In the process of these two chapters, what the apostle Paul showed was that the Jews who Christ was sent to rejected Him, and as a result they have been set aside in unbelief. But that the Gentiles who God has now come out to in grace, they too will not continue in faith and will be set aside in unbelief, so that He will conclude the whole world.
In unbelief that he may show mercy upon all. In other words, God is laying everything flat.
No one can say I did it. The Jew can't say I did it. The Gentile can't say oh, I did it. Everyone has to just reverently speaking, shut up.
And recognize that God alone is worthy of the glory that we did nothing of ourselves. It was all Him. He gets all the credit. He flattens the landscape as it will, if you will. He paints it all white and just a.
Spoiler alert, in the next epistles he builds upon that the truth of the church, but he shows that it's all flat, that God gets all the glory. And then the Apostle Paul bursts into praise. Let's read it.
Owe the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor, or who hath first given to him? And it shall be recompensed unto him again, for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
The apostle Paul gets to the end of this and he says, who could have thought of this? Who could have come up with this? Only one. That's God. All the glory goes to him.
The more we study this book, the more we study the Word of God will be brought to our knees with the Apostle Paul.
00:40:03
Singing this song.
Saying this praise.
It's all of him. So I just want to encourage you with that so we have these pieces.
It's just briefly summarize them how they're all connected together. God in a past eternity chose some, but he also requires in time that man believe in his Son by faith.
But how can he believe if he has a fallen nature? God works the new birth.
And gives man a nature that now has the capacity to believe. He then believes.
And he is saved and sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Then we find how was man saved? Both because the Lord Jesus suffered in the place of those he chose of the elect. He bore their sins in his own body on the tree. But broader than that, God's heart is opened through the propitiatory aspect of atonement to go out to all men.
And finally, all the glory goes to God, and as a result of what Christ has done, of God's sovereign choice of His work, man is blessed. So that's how these pieces fit together. Now, I may have missed one or two or three, and we could talk about other pieces that fit in here. I just wanted to keep it simple for today and show you these pieces and how they fit together.
Now I want to speak.
In the last few minutes about what happens when.
Human wisdom.
When the natural mind of man, the butcher of all things good, enters into the things of God with his clumsy hands, what is going to happen to this puzzle? OK, First Corinthians deals with the subject of man's wisdom. I just wanted to pick out two verses. We'll just read those two verses.
First Corinthians chapter 2. I encourage you to read this book if you're struggling with.
Human wisdom coming into the things of God.
Verse 13 First Corinthians 213 Which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth.
But which the Holy Ghost teaches.
So important that our.
Doctrine comes from what the Holy Ghost is teaching.
Not from What man's Wisdom Teaches, Chapter 4 and verse six. I just saw this maybe.
Four months ago, maybe we're reading through this in our assembly readings, and I noticed in critical translations there's a difference in how this is versus rendered.
Middle of the verse that you might learn in US. I don't have my new translation that you might learn in US. Something like the lesson of not letting your thoughts go.
Above that which is written. Wow. That is what human wisdom is when our thoughts go above that which God has written, God says.
That he sovereignly chooses who to save. And he also says that man is responsible to believe. Can you understand that? Can you logically put those together, Matt?
Josh.
What happens is if we try, smoke will begin to pour out of our ears. Or what we will do is we will eventually deny some part of the word of God. He has spoken. The place for us, the place of blessing, is just to accept it, just to believe it, just to accept what He says. Even though we can't wrap our minds around it. Who do we think we are?
Did the word of God come out from us? Paul could say to the Corinthians later in this epistle. No, I didn't. You are responsible to accept what God has said.
Because He is God after all, you and I are creatures and He has spoken. The only way we can be blessed is in dependence upon Him. So man's wisdom enters in and what I would like to do is speak about what happens with this piece here first. This is the one I started with. Election and faith.
Man's wisdom comes in and he says, you know well who really gets the credit for man's salvation.
Did God really choose, or does man choose? Does man choose God or does God choose man? And this opens up something called the free will debate. And I'm not going to get in. I don't have time and I don't think it'll be profitable to get into this whole subject. But there are two sides of this debate. And all the way to one side in the trench, if you will, is something called Calvinism.
00:45:11
And the other side, all the way into the trench, is something called Arminianism. One is named after John Calvin, the other after Jacobus, Arminius and.
Both, I believe, are a result of human wisdom coming into the things of God and trying to rationalize it. We can't do it. What ends up happening is we end up denying one piece or the other. OK.
So.
I have false pieces over here. So have you ever done a puzzle where you had more pieces in the box than you needed to complete the puzzle? Well, that's kind of what this puzzle is like. So let's say we say we don't like this piece. OK, we're going to cast aside election and faith and we're going to instead deny election or faith. And I'm I wrote this so you could go either way. You could go off into one ditch or off into the other.
The the result in some ways is different, in some ways it's the same.
What happens in Calvinism is that they cling tightly to the sovereignty of God, which we commend them for because the Scripture supports that and it's wonderful. But what they do is they end up adding to Scripture and subtracting from it. They add to Scripture in that they say God predestinated people to heaven and some to hell. Well, first of all, predestination isn't the heaven or hell. It's to be conformed to the image of his Son. But God never in Scripture. We never read that.
Predestinated anyone to a lost eternity. We never read that.
In fact, Romans 9 look it up for yourself right where you would expect it to say that God.
Ordained people for destruction. It doesn't say it. Instead it says that they were fitted vessels of wrath, fitted for destruction. But they fitted themselves for destruction, just as Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Never says that. So they add the scripture there, but then they also take away from scripture.
When it comes to propitiation and substitution, what ends up happening is they end up denying this propitiatory aspect of atonement and they end up saying that you know what, there's no part of the work of Christ that's for all that Jesus. There's no part of what he did. That was for all. It was only for the elect. And that's what they call the doctrine of limited atonement. I'm happy to tell you today, atonement's not limited, it's because of propitiation.
Substitution, in a sense, is limited to the elect. A propitiation is unlimited. God's heart, He's so satisfied. How could it be limited?
So they end up denying that OK, and.
Let's talk about the other side, Armenianism. And again, there are those who are one side or the other of the free will debate. I believe it's not scriptural, but some of them are all the way into one ditch where they hold the double predestination. And there's a whole range here, OK? But I'm just bringing out to you the logical consequences of denying, OK?
So on the other side, there are those who cling so tightly to our responsibility that they deny God's sovereignty in election. And they say, you know, it's really man who has a free will and he's the one who chooses God. And So what they end up saying is.
Over here, these puzzle pieces, I'm going to show you in a minute, they don't fit together. If you do it wrong, they say, you know what, this new birth business, we're going to confuse it with salvation.
They don't actually go through that thought process, but it's inevitable. What happens is they say man is lost, but what happens is God is so gracious that somewhere down in man's heart there's a little spark of something. And if God were to fan that little spark, it would grow into a little flame. And that little spark is enough for man to take that first baby step forward towards God, and that kicks off the whole process.
Salvation.
Ultimately, it comes down to not really understanding that man is truly lost. Again, Calvinist, they would both say man is lost, salvation is of God, it's by grace. But when you question them, they have a different definition of lostness. They have a different definition of grace. And so I just wanted to bring that out to you. And again, when we get down to propitiation and substitution, the Arminianist.
Well, they can't see substitution.
Because if they see substitution, it brings out that aspect that Christ died for me and he died for you. They can't have that. So they end up only seeing. Actually what they end up doing is they end up taking the sin bearing aspect of substitution, which is for those who have faith and they attach it to propitiation, which is towards all. They end up muddling these things together is really what they do so.
00:50:19
Enough said. Let's let's walk through this for a minute.
What happens, kids, when we take denial of election or faith and try to put it with new birth and salvation? How many of you have ever had this situation when you're building a puzzle?
So what do we do? We could proceed forward with the puzzle.
But what do you do? Go ahead.
Do you know if you ever got to a place where you have two puzzle pieces that they kind of fit, but they kind of don't fit?
You just keep building or do you stop? What do you do?
Exactly, couldn't have said it any better myself. So what they end up switching it out with is.
This piece here confusing new birth and salvation. I'm sorry if I'm favoring one side of the room.
Those put together very nicely, OK.
But now not only that.
Oh, we got another situation over here. Tab is too big, it won't fit. Do you get out the hammer?
I've done that a few times. Maybe the manufacturers were a little off with their stamp. No, it's never that way. It's always the wrong piece and you've got, again, search for another piece. And So what we come up with is confusing propitiation and substitution. Okay, those fit together now.
Is going to be a really tricky.
Finally, we try to fit our last piece and as you can expect.
It doesn't fit. Pieces don't fit where they're supposed to go. You say I don't really want to take away from God's glory or man's blessing, but you know, it doesn't fit. Something doesn't fit with these doctrines that I'm holding. So what do we do? Sadly, cast it aside and we pick up.
A piece that detracts from God's glory and actually ends up detracting from man's blessing as well.
How sad.
Can someone tell me though?
Can someone tell me?
Something that's a little bit different.
About this puzzle.
Than about the other puzzle, I tried to make it obvious. Go ahead someone.
Back there.
Actually, no. Those are actually in the right order, right? Yes. Anything else? Look close, look close. Go ahead.
Yes, those are supposed to be bullet holes. I tried. There's a bunch of holes in it. I didn't want to give you the impression that this puzzle piece fits together as beautifully as the real one, as the truth of God. There's still a bunch of holes, but you know, generally the thing holds together. Can someone, and I'm looking for an older one here. Can someone tell me a verse?
That talks might talk about what happens when we get a whole system.
Of errors that all work together.
I think someone might know.
Anyone.
Steve, can you think of a verse?
OK, what is it?
That's right, it's Ephesians 4.
Let's just read it.
I see our time is just about gone.
Ephesians 4 and verse.
See where am I looking here verse 14 that we henceforth this is talking about.
Accepting the gifts that God has given to his church, He's given all these gifts. Apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, so on.
And.
The point of him giving these gifts was that this is one of the reasons that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, in the sleight of men, and in cunning craftiness. And my margin says unto the systematizing of error. It's not there in the King James. Unto the systematizing of error.
00:55:06
So what we have is falling apart, but what we have when we have all these pieces that fit together.
But they're all a denial of the Word of God in some way is a system that all fits together.
But it's error, and many people fall into that because there's an explanation for how these pieces fit together, but they're all.
In disagreement with the word of God. So I just wanted to bring that out to you to be faithful tonight. If we begin by denying.
Something of the Word of God setting something aside. What's going to happen is it's going to lead to the next piece and the next piece and the next piece, and before long we'll either end up in one of two places. We'll reject the whole Word of God.
Or will end up mired down in a system of error.
You and I are never going to logically rationalize the mind and ways of God. We're never going to do it. But we can be blessed, we can be built up, we can be edified if we simply accept what He says.
And it'll be to the glory of God and to our blessing as well. Let's close in prayer.
Our living God and our Father. We just pray as we close this meeting that there would be something that would.
Build up and encourage each one. Here we think, especially of the younger ones, we think of the.
The frequency of the attacks of the enemy. We think of the proliferation of false doctrines. We think of the the technology that makes it also available to us. We just pray for each of these dear young people and children and two, for those who are parents, that we will be preserved from falling into systems of error.
But we just pray in a positive way.
That we would see the beauty.
Of Christ all through the scriptures and that we would come to know it and enjoy it and be established in it. So we just pray these things and in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Humbleness of Mind
Sing Talk—Keith Sacksteder
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Before I talk on what a few words I had, I wanted to say something regarding the singing in this room.
A few years ago I had.
Took a business trip up to Toronto area.
And I I didn't know if I would have the opportunity was over.
Over a weekend, as my line of business requires that I work installing it was installed and install the phone system and we have to do the cutovers on a Friday night and then you have to allow for time to see if it works properly. So I knew I was going to be there over the weekend, but I didn't know if I'd have opportunity to remember the Lord.
There's a number of assemblies up there.
But at the last moment, kind of late on Saturday night, it it became obvious enough that, yeah, I was gonna have some time on the Lord's Day, a bit of free time, which I really was happy because it tends to be long hours. So I was in a little town called Mississauga. Some of you may know the town South and West, I believe, of Toronto proper.
And so I I had.
I I had not gotten directions to the place, had not prepared.
But I had a picture.
And it was of the assembly from a local brother Vern and Rhoda Clark had been up there visiting and they had taken a picture. And in the background of the picture there was a sign that named the building. So I was able to, with the help of my wife, find where that building was and able to find that room. And we were up there. It's a small assembly.
Probably 15/15/20 people and they were augmented by a few families. So there was probably 20 to 25 people there and we sing a song.
And I, I we sang this song many times, but this line caught me.
Well I'll, I'll read the first verse. It's #14 in our little clock him book. Hark 10,000 voices crying Lamb of God with one accord.
1000 thousand Saints replying wake at once the echoing cord again.
20 people were in that room.
And those numbers struck my heart.
It was the voice of 10,000 thousand Saints that morning.
I'm not one.
Would be a kind of a funny statement. I'm not one given to emotion. I tend to bottle it up.
But if you take the time in this room to listen to the singing.
And just to close your eyes.
For a moment.
That's beautiful.
It's foretaste, I think, of Laurie.
Again, the emotional side of things, because because of sin.
We need to.
Keep it in check a little bit.
But to have songs about the Lord?
Beautiful. And I would suggest when you're in this room and we're singing, close your eyes for a moment. Just listen to 10,000 voices.
Praising the name of the Lord.
So.
Anyone tell me what this is?
We'll make it a little bit general, but what is this?
Ben, it's well close. It's a, it's a cord, it's a communications court in this case, Jonathan loaned it to me. It's a microphone cord. But I, I'm in the business again of doing phone systems. So I'm going to say roughly, I don't know, 18 inches of this.
18 inches of this? What is 18 inches of this cord? I'm not asking expecting an answer. There might be some that no.
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I think 1 probably knows exactly the answer because I talked to him. 18 inches roughly of this cord is this is copper copper cord. This is 1 nanosecond, 1 nanosecond roughly.
Speed of light one and 86,000 miles of a second, 186,000 mph I'm sorry.
Make sure we get that right.
A copper transmission because of attenuation and crosstalk and whatnot, roughly. I'm sorry, Jonathan.
We'll just might be making this number up a little bit. Forgive me.
122,000 miles per second.
So roughly 18 inches is a millionth of a second. Again, I'm in the business of phones communications and we tie phone systems together for the company that I work for and.
The.
The.
Capacity of those carriers of voice.
Is vital and we'll talk about a few characteristics of that copper wire. But before we do, I did want to read one verse.
Where we've been reading this is what brought it to mind in Second Corinthians that 4th chapter.
The sixth verse. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, not of us.
So there's a few things.
About this cable.
This is kind of the old world. I've been in the business long enough to.
A little bit old school, this is copper fiber might be more germane to the topic if I kind of flip back and forth between the two for those of you that may know some of you probably.
It's second nature to you almost, but there are things that can limit or inhibit the signal going across this piece of copper. I wanted to talk about just a few of them. And actually instead of the copper, I'm going to talk about the fiber.
And just a few things so that fiber you can take a piece of fiber.
When you can.
Coil it up and you can shine a flashlight in it. You could take the end in this room and have the other end in that room and you could coil it up and you could wrap it around things and what not and you could shine a light into that one end of the fiber and look on the other end. Do it with a flashlight, not with anything else. You can damage your eyes, but you can see the flashlight coming out the other end.
Amazing.
Technology.
I enjoyed that Steve talked about electricity and energy this morning and talked about how you couldn't see it and I almost jumped up and said some things. But he is right, you can't see energy. Some of us have felt it.
We know the effects of it. Every one of us knows the effects of it. There's a switch that will do these lights one way or the other, correct? So we enjoy the benefits of it.
That cable, that cable can be miles long.
Can be very long. There's different types of fiber.
But you can shine a light in them and the light comes out at the other end. Now, there are some things that can inhibit that, and I'll just mention two of them. And then I'm going to read a few verses and talk about those verses for just a few minutes. Again, thinking about the two verses there in the 4th chapter of Second Corinthians that these earthen vessels are used as a conduit, a piece of fiber.
To shine the light of Christ out.
To the world around us. So there is a bend radius on fiber. Fiber is a good example for this. You can you get the fiber cables for those of you that work in any kind of networking or whatnot, you get the fiber and when you put that fiber in to connect it to devices for the signaling to be in use, you are told you cannot bend it.
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Beyond a certain point and you'll find that that fiber you can, you can bend it pretty tight.
It's very flexible. It's glass in there.
But it can be bent. But it can be bent too far. What happens to that fiber if you bend it too far?
It fractures the glass and it becomes, in essence, useless.
So it can be fractured.
It can be repaired, but it's useless in its state when it's fractured. Now there's another thing that can happen that's very important with fiber.
When you connect fiber to the device that needs to be connected to.
So a lot of science, a lot higher than me, but that fiber has to be perfectly mated to its receptor on the other side. So you think about two pieces of glass and you try to shine a light through them. What happens if those glasses, those two pieces of glass are cantered just a little bit? The light comes in this way, it gets bent by that other light.
Hits the other one because they're not perfectly lined up. It's going to get blocked. It has to be perfect.
And they have devices that you use to do what they call cleaning fiber. And what it really means is you're sanding down the ends of those fiber ends perfectly flat, not perfectly flat, but close enough to perfect, flat enough so that those two ends, when you put that fiber in into its receptor and you screw it down those two receptors.
Are perfectly flush, perfectly mated.
So that light coming through goes right through and it doesn't inhibit the flow.
And by doing that.
You can call me.
You can e-mail me.
You can text me so on and so forth. We're going to all the tools for the younger ones. It's what Snapchat and I don't know, Facebook and I'm way too old for that stuff. I'm sorry I didn't catch what you said there, but second nature to the kids, all the different applications that are in use that ride on that backbone of fiber, so.
I just thinking about those two and I'm going to read a few verses now.
And this one is for us.
Find my notes.
It's a Colossians.
3rd chapter of Colossians. We'll read just a few verses.
So I was talking with a brother earlier in the week and he related a story to me about when he came into the camp. He was here a little bit before I was, and he was setting up and another brother came in and there was something that the brother was doing that kind of got under.
Brother #1 Skin.
Just a little bit and he related the story to me. He said, well, I tried not to let it bother me, but it kind of bothered me and I asked him about it and and you know the response was given. While I kind of need this to do this for XY and Z reason, I don't want to give out any names or anything. The names don't matter, but so the one brother decided he was going to move to a different area to.
Not cause a fence.
He said it kind of caused offense that he moved out, but so I was thinking about that.
Colossians, chapter 3.
Verse 12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another.
We'll stop there. I was really thinking about the humbleness.
The humbleness and of mind and meekness and long-suffering, you know, these are it was a very small thing and I'm pretty certain that.
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I hope that beyond a momentary offense, it didn't cause any friction.
And probably at a camp like these were able to allow many things to go. And we should. But it is a mind, a state of mind.
That I'm thinking about is to have that mind of humility, humbleness of mind.
To neither give offense nor take offense.
Again, in this setting here it's probably a little bit easier, but it needs to be.
Ingrained. It needs to be practiced and it's going to happen at home. In your home assemblies, it's going to be by those that are closest to you that you might find it's easy to take offense or to give offense those things.
Are little scratches on the glass.
They're the little imperfections that are going to break that signal up. They're going to break that testimony.
And so I just want it to be very practical and hopefully very simple, but that we need to have that mindset of humility to neither take offense nor to give offense. That's really what was on my heart tonight.
It's something that you have to practice in and you may never get to the end of that practice this side of eternity, but it is a necessity for that unity. Let's let's give things.
God and our Father, we're thankful that we can be in this room, in this place this evening, sing these songs. What beautiful songs they are.
Bring the Lord before us.
Much to gain by it. We just pray that our hearts might be so in tune that we're able to let things go where necessary.
Keep our hearts simple, keep them humble.
As Peter says, therefore humble yourselves under the mighty end of God. Make it a practice in our own lives. We do pray this in Jesus worthy and precious name, Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:1-9
Reading
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Great.
Lord, we are thine thought by thy blood.
We are thine Thy claims, we own ourselves. To Thee we'd holy give. Reign Thou within our hearts alone, and let us to Thy glory live.
We ask as we open Thy word, that we might have more instruction and help, and that Thou wouldst open to us Thy word and open our hearts to receive it.
We ask this as we give thee our thanks, committing ourselves to thee.
Our loving Father in Jesus name, Amen.
Read in Second Corinthians chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians chapter 5 For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be, that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened.
Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath brought us for the self, same thing as God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always, always competent, knowing that whilst we're at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. Before we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in His body, according to that He hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, But we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences, for we commend not ourselves again unto you.
But give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat to answer them, which glory and appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we be sober it is for your cause.
For the love of Christ constrained with 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. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh? Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry.
Reconciliation to it, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ stead be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Just to recap what we had in chapter four, we spoke about how it brought before us the outflow of Christ in the life of the believer and the various exercises that we ought to have.
That would help us.
Help that outflow shine out brighter and brighter.
There were various things that could hinder that light from shining, if you will, and which were touched upon on the on the in chapter 4. And so various exercises were brought forward there that we ought to have so so as not to prevent that light from shining through us. Now in chapter 5, here we have various things that motivate us in our service for Christ.
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And it's been pointed out that there are three main ones, you might say, in this chapter. The first one we considered at the front end of this chapter was the coming of Christ in terms of the rapture to bring us to bring the church home to glory with himself. And so we have the rapture put before us where certainly we.
As when we live and we we.
Go forward in our ministry for Christ that certainly is a motivating factors if not as we look on to that moment when we'll be caught up to be with the Lord himself. The other one was the judgment seat of Christ that the the in terms of the believer. That's where a faithful service will be rewarded and then at the end of the chapter we have the love of Christ. Certainly something that motivates us as we consider that it is really the greatest motivation going.
God was motivated to send his Son out of love for you and me. The Lord Jesus was motivated to die for us out of love for our never dying souls. And in turn, we ought to be motivated out of love for all that He's done for us, to give up our lives for His cause. So that's just a little bit of an outline. We'll fill it in, Lord willing, as we move along, but hopefully that that helps set things up.
There is one word that.
That I've circled in this first verse and it says for we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens if.
So we expect the Lord Jesus to come at any moment. We don't expect to die. That's not the proper hope of the Christian. Is that right?
When writing of the of the writing about the rapture and speaking to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul himself said we which are alive and remain so that he anticipated that moment to occur even within his lifetime.
And now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.
We have every reason scripturally to expect that we may not pass through the article of death.
As we start this first section or this first motive that Josh outlined in the rapture, the condition of glory that we know which it's a certain thing. It's not something we we think might happen, but it's something we know in this, in these verses, it might be pretty confusing because Paul uses several terms that we're not using on a daily basis. And I think if we just define what they are, it might help us understand this.
Little section, this first section of the chapter better. There's four terms. There's clothes unclothed, clothed upon and naked, and they all four mean something very specific that helps us to understand what he talks about. When it speaks of clothes, it just speaks of being in our bodies as we are now. We're clothed and it it speaks of a Tabernacle, something temporal. It's not our permanent condition and we will have for all eternity.
And it speaks of unclothed. And that would be when there's that separation of the body from the spirit and the soul. That's when a person goes to the article of physical death. It's like he puts this body off his unclothed. And then the third one is clothe the palm. And that speaks of our future condition when we will have our changed. Bodies are glorified bodies. We're clothed upon. And once that happens, it won't change anymore. That's permanent. And then the last one is naked.
That speaks of having no covering for our sins before God. So if we keep those four terms separate, I think it clears up these verses quite a bit.
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Yeah.
Maybe somebody could explain having a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.
Right with the thought, brother.
President referred to the the glorified body that awaits the believer who's whose body humiliation is dissolved and death at this time.
So I think it connects much with the end of chapter 4 where it talks where Paul talked about the things which are seen and the things which are not seen. The things which are seen are temporal. The things which are not seen are eternal. He's been talking about the life that we have, the life of Christ, and how wonderful, powerful that life is and how it can shine out.
And then what were to happen? What we see around, if we look around, we see all of everyone in this room has a physical body. It's something that's seen, but there's something that's not seen. That's the life, the life of Christ that's inside you and me. It was said previously that the things which are not seen are actually more real than the things which are seen. That life that's inside of you and me is more real and more permanent.
Then the bodies that we have today. And so he goes on in this chapter, he says, now if this body that you see on me and I see on you is dissolved, that life is going to have a body with it because of the permanency, the eternal nature of that life that we have. And I think that that speaks volumes to me because we have a life now.
That is capable of sustaining a body for all eternity. The bodies that we have today are sustained by blood and by breath. The life of the flesh is in the blood. If you were to lose enough blood, your body would die. Our physical bodies that we have today would die, but there's going to come a day. But we're going to have a body that's not sustained by blood in the same way that our bodies today are. Those bodies are going to be sustained by the power.
Of the life of Christ.
We have that life already. We just don't have the body yet that goes with that life, but we have the the life itself. It's an unseen thing, but it's eternal and we have it right now.
I noticed that Brother Mark was careful to say that these bodies will be changed and glorified, but he didn't say a new body.
Because the body that you're sitting in now is a.
While it is fitted for this round that our brother Josh is talking about and in that sense is transient.
Our God is going to raise the bodies of the Saints who have who sleep now at the rapture, and the Apostle Paul teaches us this in chapter 4 to the Thessalonians. First Epistle to the Thessalonians.
And this body is going to be.
Complicity with the World
Address—Steve Sacksteder
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.
Please turn to 1St John chapter 2 for an introductory verse.
Well known exhortation.
Someone has described the difference between an exhortation and teaching in this way. In teaching, it's in practice where you're you're bringing in an athletic sense. When you're bringing before the athletes new techniques and and you're getting them to perfect their techniques and their maneuvers. Exhortation is more half time where you're telling them to do what they already know how to do. And what's on my heart tonight is something more along the lines of an exhortation.
These verses we've read many times. First John 2, verse 15.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God.
Abideth forever.
Let's pray.
Our God and our loving Father, as we look at thee tonight.
We feel our particular.
Vulnerability in this.
With regard to this exhortation, living in a land where we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing from a logistical standpoint, we have all of our physical, natural, bodily needs met.
And have a tendency to not feel our dependence upon Thee in a way that many of our brethren and other places would feel it.
And we have a tendency toward complacency.
And we look to thee now, and we pray as we would open up thy word some more and think, meditate some little bit.
On some of the lessons that thou dost have for us, that it might hit home with our hearts.
And that we might be made more willing to be in service to Thee. We just would ask this now. We would pray to our God and our Father. Thou knowest every heart here. And if there are any here who have not.
Yet come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in the way that we have sung of Him.
A friend unfailing, more dear to the believer than anyone else could ever be.
The dearest object of thy heart that thou hast invited.
Men and lost men.
To come into acquaintance with him, that he might be everything to us, as he is everything to thee. We pray that if there is such a one here who does not know this relationship.
That the word of God might have power in his or her heart.
And that the Spirit of God might convict them of their need of salvation. And we who are believers, that we might be stirred up to a closer walk with thee, we ask it now, our loving Father, in Jesus name, Amen.
I cannot give it up.
The little world I know, the innocent delights of youth, the things I cherish so.
Tis true, I love my Lord and long to do his will, but oh I may enjoy the world and be a Christian still.
I love the hour of prayer. I love the hymns of praise.
I love the blessed Word which tells of God's redeeming grace, but I am human still, and while I dwell on earth, God surely will not grudge the hours I spend in harmless mirth.
These things belong to youth and are its natural right.
My dress, my pastimes, and my friends, the merry and the bright.
My father's heart is kind.
He will not count it. I'll that my small corner of the world should please and hold me still.
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And yet.
Outside the camp.
Who was there my savior died?
It was a world that cast him forth and saw him crucified.
Can I take part with those who nailed him to the tree and where his name is never praised? Is that the place for me?
Nay, world, I turn away, though thou seem fair and good, that friendly outstretched hand of thine.
Is stained with Jesus blood.
If in thy least device I stoop to take apart all unawares, thy influence steals God's presence from my heart.
Please turn to Second Chronicles Chapter 17.
I'd like to consider the story of a man who.
Love the Lord.
But he had a struggle with his association.
With the with ones in this world.
Who the Lord would not choose for him to be his acquaintances?
I'm Speaking of the son of ASA, king of Israel. ASA was a godly king.
He was a king who followed the Lord, and he instituted reforms. He.
Tore down Groves.
And he turned the hearts of the people of Israel from idolatry in his measure, that they would again serve the Lord.
And in chapter 16 of Two Chronicles, says in verse 11 toward the end of the chapter.
Behold the acts of ASA first and last, though they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
And Ace, in the 30 and 9th year of his reign, was diseased in his feet until his disease was exceeding great. Yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, not to Jehovah, but to the physicians. He put his trust in natural help rather than in the Lord, who had delivered him greatly.
We've been reading in the readings about how the Christian walks by faith and not by sight.
And we see it over and over in the Word of God.
In the lives of the faithful, there come times when.
Peter looked at the waves and saw that they were boisterous.
Or when Elijah received a message from Jezebel and it says when he saw that we find him running for his life, walking had been walking by faith.
But it seems that the enemy knows just when to strike.
And we begin to look around us.
At what's against us? And then we look at our own resources and forget to consider him. The disciples in their day, they said, Lord send the crowds away. We don't have enough food to feed them.
They forgot. Here's the one who would give bread to Israel in their midst.
Basa verse 13 slept with his fathers, and died in the one and 40th year of his reign. And they buried him in his own sepulchers, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed, which was filled with sweet odors and diverse kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries art. And they made a very great burning for him. And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.
And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which ASA, his father, had taken.
And the Lord and I will use the name Jehovah. It is the covenant name. And when you see Lord in all caps in your King James Bibles, that's who it's referring to, Jehovah, the God of Israel.
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And Jehovah was with Joshua because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Balaam.
But sought to Jehovah God of his Father's and the God of his Father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
Remember, at this point in Israel's history, the Kingdom had been not very long before divided between Rio Bombs, son of Solomon and Jeroboam, Solomon's servant.
And the greater part of Israel have 10 tribes. To the north followed Jeroboam, and the House of David under Rehoboam retained only 2 1/2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin, and half the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Simeon was also at the South end of the land and and so by location was in the in the area where the kings of Judah reigned.
Verse three, The Lord is with Jehoshaphat. Verse 4. Excuse me.
Because. Because he walked in the first ways of his father, David.
And sought not unto Balaam, but sought to Jehovah God of his fathers, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore Jehovah established the Kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presence, and he had riches and honor in abundance.
In this 17th chapter, which is not my primary subject, I just wanted to introduce his reign goes on to speak of things that he did.
For the glory of the Lord in Israel and how He fortified the people of God and the Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom.
Now chapter 18.
And now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance.
Now, we had just read that.
In the end of the fifth verse of chapter 17.
All Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presence, and he had riches and honor and abundance. It's a positive connotation here. There was faithfulness, and the Lord caused prosperity. And as he goes on, the faithfulness continues in that 17th chapter, and so does the prosperity.
Until chapter 18, verse one, Jehoshaphat had riches in honor and abundance and joined affinity with Ahab.
Stop there for a moment and turn to Proverbs chapter 2 where you get.
Characters that wisdom would protect the people of God from.
Proverbs, chapter 2.
If you and I in our pathway of faith.
Are going to be preserved in this world, and from this world and its influence there is a need for wisdom.
And it says in verse six, the Lord giveth wisdom. Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous. He is a buckler, a small shield to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his Saints.
Now the two characters first 12. To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh forward things who leaveth the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness.
Who rejoiceth to do evil and delight, and the frowardness of the wicked, whose ways are crooked, and they forward in their paths.
If there was ever a description of King Ahab.
This is it.
He was an evil man. He turned in every possible way that he could. He turned away from the paths of uprightness.
And in First Kings we get.
The assessment of him right after he goes to take control of the vineyard of Naboth. And I would like to take the time to read that whole story, but I don't have the time for that, so I would encourage you to read it.
And I'm going to have to find it here.
00:15:30
In verse 25 there was This is the commentary of the Spirit of God on the character of Ahab. There was none like unto Ahab which did sell himself to work to work wickedness in the sight of Jehovah, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. Back to Proverbs 2 and verse 16.
This other character that wisdom would deliver the faithful from.
To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger, which flattereth with her words, which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Isn't that curious? I would have thought it would say.
That her house declineth unto death.
And her paths unto the dead? It seems like that would be a downward course, don't you think?
I wonder if it's a similar thing.
When you read in Revelation 17.
When Babylon the Great is judged.
It seems like there's a sigh of relief.
When her influence is finally gone.
So that for her to no longer exist.
Is a drastic, huge improvement in this world.
What a sad thing to consider.
Her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go in that go unto her return again. Neither take they hold of the paths of life, that thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths.
Of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it, but the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it. Chapter 5.
Verse 3 For the lips of a strange woman drop as in honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, but her end is bitter as Wormwood, sharp as A2 edged sword.
Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold on she'll.
Lest thou shouldst ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them.
How the enemy would distract us.
From pondering the path of life.
Please go back to second Chronicles chapter.
18.
And we'll pursue the history, the narrative of Jehoshaphat.
Who linked himself?
Up with this character, this caliber of people, the evil man.
Especially.
Jehoshaphat had riches and honor and abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.
And after certain years.
After certain years, he went down to Ahab, to Samaria.
He went down to Samaria. I keep a map in my Bible. My Bible doesn't have maps like many of yours have that are put into the Bible. I have photocopied the one from the Concise Bible Dictionary. It's a helpful map.
But if you were looking on the map, imagine there's a translucent or a transparent map between you and me. And here's the land of Israel in front of my face here. And you have the River Jordan, you have the Black Sea, the Dead Sea down here. You have Galilee up here. Sea of Galilee down here is Jerusalem.
And up from Jerusalem is Samaria.
Up into the West just a little bit, Samaria.
00:20:01
And if you were here, we are in Oregon. And if I was in my daddy's home and I said to him, well, Dad, we're going up to Oregon next week to the camp. See, I live in Washington, north of here.
And we've had similar conversations. That's why I can say this. My dad would would be very quick to say you're not going up to Oregon.
Oregon and South, you're going down to Oregon.
And he'd be right. But in this instance?
Morally speaking.
That would not be a right correction, the Spirit of God here says.
That he went down to Ahab, to Samaria.
And the directions in Scripture are important because they often.
Indicate a moral direction.
And.
Here is Jehoshaphat who has been walking with the Lord, serving the Lord, he has been.
He has been used of the Lord to strengthen Israel, to strengthen the two tribes, Judah.
But now he's on a downward path, morally speaking. He goes, he goes down to 1/2.
And they have quite excited about this, no doubt. It's because Jehoshaphat had riches and honor and abundance. For this world loves you for what it can get out of you, and no other purpose.
And the God of this world is no different. Speaking to a brother just before this meeting who talked a little bit about Farrell and how he worked the children of Israel there.
And that's how this world is. But nonetheless, Ahab was very excited. He killed sheep and auctioned for him in abundance and for the people that he had with him and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. And Ahab, king of Israel, said unto Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wilt thou go with me to Raymond Gilead? This wasn't for vacation. In first Kings we read the reason. He says, know ye not that Ramoth and Gilead is ours, and we be still and and take it not from the Syrians.
Well, this is kind of telling. Why was Ramoth Gilead, a city that belonged to Israel, not in their possession? No doubt because the leaders of Israel, they say leaders 2 separate, 2 separated kingdoms.
We're not. Their priorities weren't right. The Syrians had taken this important city. Perhaps someone here can tell me.
At least one thing that makes Ramoth and Gilead a very important city to Israel.
Any volunteers? Anyone has an idea?
Forsake of time, I'll just tell you it is one of the six cities of refuge where the Manslayer would flee, and there were six, and they were positioned strategically throughout the land.
No matter where a man was, if he by accident slew another Israelite or slew someone in the land, he was no further away. I believe then around 30 or 35 miles from one of those cities of refuge.
But that wasn't the case at this point in history because they didn't have Raymond and Gilead. So if you lived in the eastern portion on the other side of the Jordan River.
Raymoth was right there in the middle Central Park from north to South.
And if you were in that Central Park, you would have to flee to the very South end or to the very North End.
It's an important city. It was a resource for the people of God.
And, and those things were being lost under careless leadership in Israel.
But the problem here is that Ahab, he says it's ours, let's go take it. And Jehoshaphat says to him.
Inquire verse 4. I'm sorry, Back up to verse 3.
And he answered midway through the verse. He answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people, we shall be with thee in the war.
Now if we think of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That where he says where he prays for his own, which are in the world, and he says they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
00:25:12
As we.
As we had before us in this part of a.
Of a poem that I.
Had before us it was a world that cast him forth and saw him crucified. The divide between Christ and the world, the measure of his separation from the world, he tells us there in John 17, is the same separation between you as a believer in Christ and this world.
We are to have no part with this world, James tells us Know ye not, he says Adulterous says Know ye not? That friendship with the world is enmity against God.
It cannot be otherwise.
But he says I am as thou art my people as thy people. He puts categorizes himself right there with the world, side by side, shoulder to shoulder with the world.
It's not a path that our God can look upon with pleasure, and we can't be blessed in it.
Therefore the king of Israel, verse 5 gathered together of prophets, 400 men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I for bear? And they said, Go up for God. Note the difference. It's not Jehovah here, for God will deliver it into the King's hand.
But Jehoshaphat said.
And no doubt he is quite uneasy here.
Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah? Besides that we may inquire of him.
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah.
But I hate him.
No question here where Ahab stands, and it's that way with the evil man. From the moment you meet him to the moment he goes his way, there is no question where he stands with regard to the things of God. It's not so with the strange woman. She has a religious upbringing. She's very difficult to discern. Her paths are movable that thou canst not know them, and she knows how to do things in a way that look right.
That look scriptural.
Very deceitful and very effective.
And Jehoshaphat said at the end of verse seven, let not the king say so, that he hates this prophet of Jehovah. And the king of Israel called for one of his officers and said, Fetch quickly Makaya the son of Imla.
It's a relief to our hearts, isn't it, that there was at least one faithful voice in Israel?
1.
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes.
And they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them, these 400 prophets, who by the way, were spared because of Jezebel's prudence, when Elijah the Tishbite had invited all of the prophets of bail, 450 and the prophets of the Groves 400. I take it these ones up to Mount Carmel, where we know that story.
Those 450 profits of bail.
They were destroyed.
But Jezebel was too wise to send hers. These ones, they sat at her table, and they were under her direct control.
And she wasn't about to allow them to go somewhere where they would.
Meet the judgment of God.
So they sat on their Thrones in verse 9, clothed in their robes.
And all the prophets prophesied before them. Verse 10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenana had made him thorns of iron, horns of iron, and said Thus saith Jehovah, with these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed. Now this section of this.
Of this story is incredible. The Spirit of God is going to draw the curtain aside for you and I and he's going to narrate for us.
00:30:01
Through the mouth of his prophet, exactly what goes on in heaven. Not just for you and I, because we're reading the story, but for these two kings who are sitting on their Thrones in their robes.
He's going to tell them the Council of Heaven with regard to what's going on here.
He's Ahab's going to get a lot more than he bargains for, but let's read.
Zedekiah said about these horns of iron. With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed. And all the prophets prophesied, so saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for Jehovah shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the messenger that went to call Micaiah, speak to him, saying, Behold, the word of the prophets declared good to the king with one ascent. Let thy word therefore I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.
And Micaiah said, as Jehovah liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak?
This seems a little confusing here, because we know what he's going to say, let's just read it. And when he was come to the king, the king said to him, Makaya, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I for bear? And he said, Go ye up and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.
Now he had just said only what the Lord tells me to speak, that will I speak.
But we're going to see when he when he tells us about the Council of Heaven.
That it is the Lord's will that Ahab is going to go up to Ramoth and Gilead.
Not that he will prosper, but that he goes up and the Lord says, who's going to convince him? We'll read it.
Well, he gives him this word. Go up and prosper. In verse 15, the king said to him, How ironic. Ahab says to Makaya, How many times shall I adjure thee, that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the Lord? Wicked man though he is, he knows.
That Jehovah cannot bless him in his ways, and he is at least shrewd enough to realize that this is this is not the truth.
Then he said, I did see, and here's the Spirit of God through the prophet drawing aside the curtain. Then he said I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd. One of the kids asked me.
When I went through this with the kids at home, we we talked about Israel. He doesn't. We said he didn't specify Judah. He said Israel, that the judgment of God is going to be on Israel.
In thinking about a little more, I think that.
Just as it says here, it is perhaps a more correct thought to take into account all 12 tribes, all Israel scattered. We'll see why a little bit later.
I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains as sheep that have no shepherd, and Jehovah said these have no master. Let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophecy good unto me, but evil?
Again he said, therefore hear the word of Jehovah.
I saw Jehovah sitting upon his throne, and all the hosts of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
And Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And Jehovah said, Thou shalt entice him.
And thou shalt also prevail. Go out and do Even so. Now therefore, behold, Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil against thee. Then Zedekiah the son of Shenana came near, and smote Makaya upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of Jehovah from me to speak unto thee? And Makaya said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber, or from chamber to chamber.
00:35:10
To hide thyself.
Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Makaiah, and carry him back to him and the governor of the city, and to Joash the King's son, And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.
And Makaya said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not Jehovah spoken by me? And he said, Hearken all ye people.
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth and Gilead, and the king of Israel said unto Josh Fat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle, and put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went to the battle.
I suppose they have felt he was being quite shrewd.
If the Lord intended for Ahab.
To meet his end in this battle, he felt perhaps he could sidestep that.
And set up a different target for the enemy, a Jehoshaphat.
How about you? You take the lead on this one.
Jehoshaphat here we find, is completely powerless and without discernment.
How sad. Where was he when Ahab commanded that they take Makaya and mistreat him, put him in prison?
Where was Jehoshaphat? Where was his discernment when he agrees to this scheme? Yeah, sure, I'll put on my robes and and you can disguise yourself.
There's something very serious going on here with Jehoshaphat here. He is a man that loves the Lord.
He's descended from David and from Solomon.
Home and all his wisdom.
Failed to act wisely at the end of his life.
But nonetheless, he had a good pedigree. He should have known better.
He just he just goes along with the flow. The old writers use this expression complicity with the world. Complicity is the same root compliant.
You just kind of go with the flow.
A compliant child is one who's obedient of sorts.
Does what he's told because it's a path of least resistance.
And Jehoshaphat here, he was complicit with the world. He felt it was easier to keep his mouth shut. And you know, the Lord will take care of his prophet. That's true. The Lord did take care of his prophet.
But where was his discernment? Where was his power? Where was his desire to please the Lord in any of this?
It's all sadly missing.
Friends, this is a warning to us Romans. I think it's chapter 15. It speaks about how these things happened to them and are in samples, examples to us. We have the privilege to read this to learn about it objectively.
Our faith to lay hold of it and not repeat the mistake.
Let us not be those who find ourselves saying, I cannot give it up this little world. I know the innocent delights of youth, the things that please me so.
Well, we know what happens.
Here.
Came to pass verse 31 when the captains of the Chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said it is the king of Israel, therefore they compassed about him to fight. But Jehoshaphat cried out. Was there faith in that cry?
And the Lord helped him, and God moved them to depart from him.
Think of that proverb, though hand go in hand, yet shall not.
The wicked be unpunished.
And it came to pass that when the captains of the Chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.
And a certain man drew a bow at a venture. Not a random man, a certain man.
This is. This is the.
This is the sovereign God doing His work.
Despite all the scheming of Ahab, despite all the wisdom of the world, you might say God has his plan. He has his purposes. They will come to pass. How good for us if we're in tune with Him when that happens, rather than walking in complicity with the world, having no power and no discernment.
00:40:25
A certain man drew a bow at a venture and smote the king of Israel in just the right spot between the joints of the harness.
Therefore Ahab said to his chariot, Man, turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day. Howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even, and about the time of the sun going down he died.
In Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
At this point I would categorize him more among the sheep of Israel that had no shepherd who were to return in peace to their homes according to the word of the prophet, because he, Jehoshaphat, really was missing in battle.
And Jihu the son of Hanani the seer, went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, shouldst thou?
Take these words to yourself, Kristen.
Shouldst thou help the ungodly?
That is, help them in their cause and love them that hate the Lord.
Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.
One of the kids asked me.
How do we? What is this wrath from the Lord?
And where do we see it?
And I don't I couldn't really point to anything specific that that happens.
In the form of an event, a judgment that falls on Jehoshaphat.
But the Prophet is telling him you're in trouble.
You're not right with the Lord. You need to get right with the Lord. There's a need for repentance.
A need to own.
All that you are, all that you've done and passed judgment on it.
Nevertheless, verse three there are good things found in thee, in that thou has taken away the Groves out of the land and has prepared thine heart to seek God. Before we move on to this I just.
I wanted to finish this when we think of the condition that Joshua Fat is in here.
In trouble because he's been away from the Lord. This is the remainder of that poem.
I miss.
I miss my Savior's smile whenever I walk thy ways. Thy laughter drowns the Spirit's voice and chokes the springs of praise when ere I turn aside to join thee for an hour, the face of Christ.
You're Christian. Listen to this.
The face of Christ grows blurred and dim.
And prayer has lost its power.
You ever found yourself in a similar state?
You get on your face before the Lord, you have a need and it feels like you're speaking to the pillow cushion.
Words of another scripture. It's like the brass and the heavens are brass. Nothing but judgment there.
You ever felt that? I have.
What's the answer?
Farewell, it's judgment, self judgment, getting on with the path of faith. Farewell, henceforth my place is with the Lamb who died, my sovereign. While I have thy love, what can I want beside thyself? Blessed Lord, Art now my free and loving choice, in whom though now I see thee not believing, I rejoice. Shame on me that I sought another joy than this, or dreamed a heart at rest with thee could crave for earthly bliss.
These vain and worthless things I put the mall aside. His goodness fills my longing soul and I am satisfied.
Lord Jesus, let me dwell outside the camp with Thee. Since thou art there, then there alone is peace and rest for me, Thy dear reproach to bear. I'll count my highest gain till thou return rejected. 1 To take thy power and reign for the remainder of this chapter. Now, Jehoshaphat.
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Though he's been bucked off the horse, he's been tested and he's failed.
Thank God for repentance and restoration.
He gets back on the horse.
Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem, and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers, and this here brought them back. This is why I say, when we noticed earlier in the previous chapter where it says all Israel, I saw all Israel scattered.
Well, here, the moment he comes back, he's got to bring them back. They had strayed.
Because he wasn't in the right place doing his job.
And those who have the responsibility and assembly and assemblies take heed to this. It's one thing if one of the sheep strays sad, very sad.
But when a leader strays like Jehoshaphat did here.
The effects are far more prolific.
It wasn't just one or two sheep.
I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, a sheep having no shepherd. Did Jehoshaphat feel this?
Well, repentance doesn't stop part way and I believe that he came to a point where he felt it and we'll see by what we read here.
He brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers, and he set judges in the land throughout all the fence cities of Judah, city by city, and said to the judges, Take heed what ye do.
Imagine that it's something like Peter who stood up.
Speaking to the elders of Israel, and he says, whom ye have betrayed.
Speaking of how they had crucified the Lord, whom he have betrayed and crucified.
And Peter, he's the one who had betrayed the Lord. We know that.
We don't like to read about it. We don't like to think about it. The Spirit of God is faithful and tells us about it.
But it wasn't the end with Peter. It wasn't the end here with Jehoshaphat either. And if you or I.
Find ourselves in a similar condition. God grant us repentance. We might get right with Him and be a help where we can.
The government of God came upon Jehoshaphat.
And yet he does go on in this chapter and serves the Lord.
And he says to the judges, take heed, verse six, what you do for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord who is with you in the judgment. And that must have meant so much more to him that it ever had before, because he knew when he sat on a throne with Ahab and they were sitting there in their in their robes looking high and important, the Lord was not with him in that.
But here he can say to these judges that he's setting up. Take heed. What you do want you to walk circumspectly. It's a word we get in Ephesians that just means really carefully. It's the prudent man that foreseeeth the evil and hide it himself while the simple pass on and are punished.
Jehoshaphat walked as a simple man in the previous chapter. Here he walks as a prudent man. For the Lord himself is with you, the Lord, rather who is with you in the judgment. I don't want to go through the rest of this chapter all together, but I do want to. I don't want, but I need to revisit.
The end of chapter 20. We know what happens in chapter 20. It is among the most beautiful stories of deliverance, of dependence of the of the people of God on the Lord when they are attacked by the enemy. Moab and Ammon come up against Jehoshaphat. Someone comes and tells him and he falls on his face. All Israel and Judah or all of Judah is gathered together as one man to Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat falls on his face. Oh Lord, we have no power against this, a great company that cometh up against us. Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee.
And the word of the Lord comes upon Jahaziel.
And Jahaziel says, Hearken ye all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I'm back in chapter 20. I'm in chapter 20, verse 15.
00:50:03
Just to point this out, hearken ye all Judah, ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat.
And this is one of the reasons I love the King James translation, and the New translation for that matter as well. Ye you is plural.
Thee. Thou.
It's an individual that's being addressed. It becomes intensely personal. It can be.
Depending on the context, think of it in terms of the Lord there at the end of John. Simon, sorry, excuse me, it's chapter 22 of Luke. Simon. Simon, behold, Satan have desired to have you, you disciples, that he may sift you as wheat.
But I have prayed for thee. It's personal.
Lord is speaking directly to Peter. I've prayed for thee that thy faith fail. Not Peter was about to fail. We know the story.
Hurricane All, Israel.
Let me get back to this.
Thus saith the Lord unto you, Hearken ye all due to verse 15, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou, King Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Again, we know this story. I won't read it, we won't talk about it. It's not exactly my subject tonight, but it's such a beautiful story. It can be set to music.
Jehoshaphat set up singers no thought of, no thought of weapons of warfare. They didn't need them.
By faith they believe the words of of this prophet here, and they go out led by singers praising the Lord, and the Lord delivers them.
Verse 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.
And Josh Fat reigned over Judah. He was 30 and five years old when he began to reign.
Excuse me?
And he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Azuba, the daughter of Shilhai. And he walked in the ways of ASA, his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
Howbeit, the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts under the God of their fathers. Just a quick word, I passed it up. I forgot. There was a spot earlier on where we read that he had prepared his heart to follow the Lord, and I would suggest that that is something that he had given diligence to, perhaps in his youth, but at some point in the past. It reminds me of an Ephesians chapter six with the Lord talks about the need to put on the whole armor of God.
And having done all to stand an evil day, you and I, as Christians, we know we're going to be tested and we're going to be tested over and over again.
And there will be evil days, times when the enemy is allowed by the sovereign will of God to gain the ascendancy.
We're going to be tested.
And if we have prepared our hearts to serve the Lord.
Will stand if we have not.
Will be to us, will fail.
Dishonor the Lord.
Will be a detriment to our brethren rather than a help.
Lord keep us and help us.
For as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers. Verse 34. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu, the son of Anaini, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. And after this did Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.
Join himself.
With a Haziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly.
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish.
And they made the ships an easy on geber. This is this is actually he's trying to duplicate something that happened in the days of Solomon. Solomon had made ships at easy and gave her and sent them to Ophir for gold.
And he wants to do this same similar work here, but he wants to do it.
Still hanging on.
00:55:03
To the world.
To a character in this world, one who did very wickedly.
You just want to throw your hands up, Jehoshaphat. Why? Why are you doing it?
Didn't you learn your lesson?
You know, there are lessons that we learn and it may be the first time we learn them is when we get saved.
But some of these lessons, we don't learn them necessarily once and for all.
We each have a bent.
We have a weakness and the flesh is with us until such time as our bodies, as we are speaking about this morning, are glorified and we are changed, and we will be like him morally, the flesh will be gone. But it's not yet, brethren.
Beloved Christian, you're going to be tested on these things over and over and over.
And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships an easy on geber.
Then Eliezer the son of Dodava of Marisha prophesied against Jehoshaphat.
Saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with a Haziah, Jehovah hath broken thy works, and the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
It's so difficult to read this at the end of his course.
But again, these things were written for our learning that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.
It's not that we'd throw up our hands and say it's hopeless. We can't, we can't do anything. We have natures that are totally depraved and and what can I do?
Well, I'll tell you what you can do. Practice repentance.
Practice getting back on the horse when he's bucked you off.
Practice getting right if you've gone wrong.
And more than that, you young people.
Learn this lesson objectively so that you don't have to learn it subjectively. Objectively is.
It's put before you on a screen in the word of God. You, you can read it. We read it tonight.
And you take it in and maybe someone will say it's just intellectual. That's OK, You've got to get it intellectually first.
To whom the more is committed, the more is required. And you sitting in this room, you've been given very good teaching this week.
And as among the gathered Saints, you have available to you very much sound teaching and help take advantage of it. Prepare your heart to serve the Lord.
Prepare your heart to follow the Lord.
Realize too, that you're very.
Very responsible.
And you can learn it objectively before you've developed habits of of bad friendships or whatever it may be, before you've dabbled in this thing or that thing that brings you some pleasure for a season.
Learn it that way and stay away from it.
Going out in the path of evil men, Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass away.
That's what you can do to begin with.
We do have hope. We have hope that cannot fail, and we have a faithful, loving Lord who will keep us.
Our God and our loving Father, we thank Thee for thy word. We thank Thee for the warnings and the admonitions we get from it. We thank Thee that Thou dost give us every opportunity to to learn from Thee, to walk in Thy path.
And if we've if clouds have dimmed our site, if we've turned aside for a moment.
In the face of Christ has grown blurred and dim.
And power has lost its prayer. Prayer has lost its power.
Thou just restore us. We thank Thee. We thank thee for that word. He restoreth my soul.
We pray for help, Lord, that we might be willing vessels, but that too we might be clean vessels that are fitted for thy use.
We might follow thee in the path and be of use to thee, to thy people. Be a help to them and not a hindrance. We ask you to keep us.
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And if there has been any measure of attainment in any of our lives, if we have been used, oh Lord, we beg thee, to not allow us to get lifted up in pride or to become complacent.
To think that we can take it from here.
We just look to the end and commit ourselves to Thee for these things, giving Thee our thanks for our Lord Jesus Christ, the leader and Completer of our faith, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Spiritually Minded
Sing Talk—James Read
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Good evening. Well I guess I guess I'm supposed to use this so I will try to do that.
Let's begin with prayer.
Our God and our Father, we give thanks for this opportunity tonight to be here, to have time this week, to be set aside to consider the Word of God.
And we pray for our time tonight as we endeavor to consider some practical things about our walk.
We pray that we would not quench the Holy Spirit, but that we would have listening hearts and listening ears.
And so we pray for your help.
We ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
All right, well, well, this will be a talk given from an iPhone. Pardon me for that.
A verse I'd like to start with and really base my talk on is Romans chapter 8 and verse 6.
It's a verse I've pondered over the years.
Romans 8 and verse six. I'll read it.
For it to be carnally minded is death.
But to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
So I was, I've been intrigued with this verse because.
The apostle Paul is setting before us two ways that our mind can work. We can be carnally minded, which will put to death the spiritual life within us where we can be spiritually minded and have life and peace two ways. And there's really no Gray areas in those two realities.
So what? I trust that what I say tonight about this will complement what our brother Steve shared and also what's been said before this week.
I've also been intrigued with the promise there of life and peace.
That's the benefit, the blessing that comes from being spiritually minded. And don't we all want that to have life and peace?
Jesus said I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. That's in John 1010 and I will be reading some scripts or verses and for the sake of time you're welcome to turn to them, but I'll just read them.
So Jesus has come that we might have abundant life, but I know from my own personal experience.
That many times we as Christians in our practical lives are not enjoying abundant life. We're not enjoying that life and that peace that the apostle Paul talked to us about.
You know, I remember, I see a lot of young people here. I remember as a younger Christian.
Having many worries and concerns about my life and at times, you know, that took me into places where I lost my trust, my faith, didn't have the joy that I should have. There's a lot of things to think about when we're young, and even as an older believer, it doesn't take me much to get frustrated with the things in my life that aren't going.
The way that I think that they should be going.
And it's very easy for me to become overtaken with the cares and concerns of this world.
Well, I would submit first of all to myself and then to you.
That when we lose that sense of life and peace, we are momentarily out of our spiritual minds. We've lost that sense of being spiritually minded. And I know that positionally, we cannot lose our salvation. We cannot lose our spiritual nature. We are always God's children if we are saved. You can't lose that.
But we can temporarily or unfortunately it can go on for quite some time. We can lose that spiritual state of mind. We can lose that reality of being spiritually minded, as Paul talks about.
And so tonight I want to take just a few minutes.
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To talk about four principles, 4 principles for maintaining.
Our spiritual mind or forgetting it back if we've lost it.
Because in a room of this size, chances are there's somebody here struggling to maintain a spiritual mind with distracted or discouraged or concerned about something.
So I want to talk about four principles.
In the first principle is we must have absolute faith in the sovereignty of God.
Absolute faith in the sovereignty of God. And you know, that is one of the easiest things to agree to in a meeting like this, right? We're here, probably had a good day, had some fun. It's easy to sit here and nod our heads and say, yes, I believe that every circumstance.
Of my life is under God's control and He's working out everything for my good and for my blessing and for His glory. That's the most important thing. It's easy to be here tonight and to believe that.
But you know, as soon as something goes wrong in our lives.
I know from personal experience it can be very, very easy to lose that sense of God's sovereignty over my life. And typically when something goes wrong, and I'm not talking about, you know, pinching a finger or something like that, but when something really seems kind of messed up with life, two things happen.
We thank God has forgotten me, or is overlooking me, or doesn't like me or is punishing me or something like that.
And we think, what do I need to do to get out of this situation? What do I need to do? And that can be healthy that we look at ourselves, but we want to take control. We want to get out of the situation or fix the situation. And so it's very easy to lose that sense that God is completely over our circumstances.
And I I didn't have time to look at some verses that speak of God's sovereignty, but there's one that I go back to in my own life many times, and that is Psalm 1830.
As for God, His way is perfect, and anyone who's heard me talk before has probably heard me quote that verse. As for God, His way is perfect. His ways in our lives are perfect according to His plan, according to his, His perfect will for us.
There's another verse two that came to mind and that is in Revelation 17 chapter 17 and verse 17.
And that's a chapter that's Speaking of.
And perhaps we should turn there so I don't misspeak, but Speaking of some very evil, evil beings that are on the earth at that time.
The Woman and the Beast.
But Revelation 1717 says, For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will.
Those terribly wicked and evil creatures, or whatever you want to call them, that are on the earth at that time, it says God put in their hearts to fulfill his will.
And so we know the circumstances of our lives, the circumstances of this world are in His hands. They are under His control.
And so whatever happens to us, you know, things happen that can be caused by our sin, can be caused by other people's sin.
There may even be satanic opposition in our lives.
But if we can hold on to that belief that God is over it all, it helps us maintain that spiritual mind that Paul is talking about.
Well, the second principle is connected to this or follows from this.
Second principle for being spiritually minded.
Is prepare for battle.
Prepare for battle. Expect it.
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Expect battle.
In Acts 1422, Luke is Speaking of the work of Paul and those who were with him and how they exhorted the the people. And they said we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God.
Did you hear that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of God?
It's not easy. Being a Christian is not easy.
And moving forward in life and fully enjoying the Kingdom of God is going to involve tribulation.
You know, that's not what we want to hear when we're young and hopefully those who are younger, more mature than I was when I was your age. But I think really I had this idea that if I, you know, was a good a good Christian, that that kind of be my my past from suffering and I could kind of get around it wouldn't have to deal with too much difficulty in life.
But you know.
Life. Life is difficult and God intends it that way to refine us and to make us more like His Son.
There's another verse that's related to that, this idea of of being in battle and escalations 5/24.
Says in They that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
So for Christ, we're in the business of crucifying our flesh with the affections and lusts.
And you know, God will use the circumstances of our lives to bring us face to face with the ugliest parts of ourselves. He will bring ourselves right up in front of us so that we can see our flesh.
And what's wrong?
See those things of us that are still wiggling on the cross and that need to be fully crucified?
And so accepting this reality.
That we need to prepare for battle. That life is a battle. That we have work to do, hard work to do to crucify our flesh. Understanding this helps us maintain a spiritual mindset. When we go through life, Life and things aren't going exactly the way that we wish they would go.
Well, there's a third principle as well that I believe can help us.
Maintain to be spiritually minded.
And that is never forget your citizenship.
Never forget your citizenship.
You know when you travel to a different country, you carry a passport?
And everywhere you go, that passport identifies you as an American or as a Canadian, whatever the case may be.
And, you know, I think you could be in the deepest of deep sleeps and a policeman could come to your hotel room and knock on the door and shake you and say, where are you from? And you would say I'm an American or I'm Canadian. It's just so ingrained in you. That's who you are. That's your citizenship here on earth. But we need to have that same sense of our heavenly citizenship as well.
There's a verse I'd like to look at in Philippians.
Chapter 3.
And verse 20.
It says for our conversation and in the new King James it says citizenship.
So I'll read it that way for our citizenship is in heaven.
From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our citizenship is in heaven.
We are heavenly people.
If we have been saved, and that means that we will of necessity be different from those around us in the world, we will have to go a different path. We cannot do the things that we see other people do because we are citizens of heaven and not of this world.
You know a citizen, a citizen of this world. How does he or she act?
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In their interactions, typically they're seeking their advantage, right? Business and life, they're seeking their advantage. They may be very nice about it, but they want to get what they deserve.
What about in relationships with the opposite sex?
Especially true of young people, but of any age a citizen of the world seeks.
Seeks pleasure, seeks to get what they want, whether or not it may be God's mind they seek to get what they want.
The citizen of the world says, well, this, This is who I am. This is who I am. I have to do what makes me happy. I don't really have any other choice. That's what a citizen of the world thinks.
And you know that is normal according to the flesh, right?
If all that we have is that we are born and that we die, and that all that we have is what happens in between those two milestones? If that's true?
We need to make it as enjoyable and make it as good for ourselves as possible if that's really all we have.
But you know, as citizens of heaven, we know that this life is temporary and what we have to come is eternal. That's reality.
And so a citizen of heaven lives for Christ, and for others a citizen of heaven.
Honors godly standards in relationships with the opposite sex.
A citizen of heaven lives for the honor and glory of God. It's not normal.
From the earth's perspective, but it is normal according to our citizenship in heaven.
And you know when we see Christians falling into ongoing habitual sin.
We can surmise that they forgot their citizenship. They've got caught up in worldly thinking about I got to get what I need to get, and so I speak to myself. But remembering our citizenship is key to being spiritually minded.
Well, I have one more principle.
It's a cover and I'm sure there are others. These were just some that I could think of this evening.
But the 4th principle is to rest in who you are as a son or daughter of God.
Rest in who you are as a son or daughter of God.
It's a verse in Colossians chapter one and verses 21 and 22.
Or a portion I'd like to read.
It says in you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you wholly and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.
That is our destiny. That is what we're headed for. And that's how we're seeing positionally even now as holy and unblameable and unreprovable in the sight of God. And there's there's so many other verses that that we could look at that talk to us about who we are in Christ and what our inheritance is and what we have before us. And we can meditate on that and.
And be formed by that.
Will maintain that spiritual mindset that's so important for for life and for peace.
But there's one one more verse I'd like to close with.
And that is Luke chapter 12 and verse 32.
Luke, 1232.
Jesus speaking and he says, fear not, little flock.
For it is the Father's good pleasure to give you.
The Kingdom.
Does the Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. And as I look out across this room and I see Rob over there and Matt right here.
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My wife over there and others.
What a what a marvel.
To consider that it is the Father's good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. And that's, that's what we we we have it now in part, but we'll have it someday in whole, and that's what's before us.
And so.
I trust that these four principles, and as I said, I'm sure there are others.
Will help us maintain that spiritual mindset to be spiritually minded, which is life and peace.
All right, let's close and we'll give thanks for the refreshments as well.
Our God and Father, we thank you for this time that we have this evening. Consider these things, and we thank you for what we have before us and.
Help us and pray to the spiritual. So we give thanks to now for the refreshments that we will enjoy.
Hands to prepare them. And for all your many, many blessings, commit the remainder of this planet into your care. We ask in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen.
2 Corinthians 5:10-11
Reading
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Whatever God's blessing.
Father, our God is opposed to now before this morning, this time that's been set aside to continue in this passage. And Father, we consider crews that Apostle Paul is ready for the Corinthians that we can take into ourselves. We pray the Holy Spirit would take the same truths and apply it to us. We would be an enjoyment of these things. We consider the fact that indeed, any moment we can shed these bodies of mortality and take on these truths that we're reading about. So we pray that we may have open hearts to hear these things.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to have free liberty and guidance in the meeting. And we do. Lovely Lord Jesus, we look forward to that coming, perhaps even today. My name we pray, Amen.
The reading this morning is in Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10.
2nd Corinthians chapter 5, starting at verse 10.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we command not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that she may have somewhat to answer them, which glory in appearance and not in heart.
For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we be sober it is for your cause. 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. Wherefore henceforth know ye no man after the flesh? Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ stead be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
At the end of the last meeting our brethren were remarking about verse nine that it is not a positional thing, it is a practical thing that the Christian laborers to be agreeable to the Lord and and seeks to please the Lord and all that He does.
And the verses that the verse that we began with gives us, it leads right. It follows right from that thought.
We labor to be agreeable to the Lord, knowing that there are things that are going to come under review in a coming day when we have gone to be with him when he has taken us home to be with himself when all of the redeemed from this present age and from the Old Testament Saints as well that heavenly companies together but and then primarily in this context with having to do with those of us.
Who are part of the Bride of Christ?
When there will be that time when there's a judgment seat of Christ, where he brings under review a number of different things, there are a number of scriptures we could look at. It might be profitable for us to do so, but this being one of them.
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Where?
Where the deeds that are done in our body will come under review, we have in other places. I'll just list a few of them. I don't know if I can remember all of them off the top of my head. Others here will be able to help. Then Matthew 12. Every idle word shall be reviewed.
In Romans chapter 14, our convictions on on having having to do with spiritual exercises those things that the Word of God does not does not outline and give us rules for that we need to be before the Lord about and and exercise discernment and and and do those things with a view to pleasing him and not stumbling our brethren and in view of the fact that he is our Lord.
So our convictions there in Romans 14.
And then going on to.
Chapter three of Second Corinthians.
The the work that we do in the Kingdom will come under review at the judgment seat of Christ, and in the 4th chapter of Second Corinthians our motives will come under review.
All these things the Lord is going to go over with us and.
And the Scripture says, Then shall every man have praise of God?
It'll not be with a view to judgment.
Certainly will not be punitive, but it's with a view to reward those things that were agreeable to him, those things that pleased him. He looks forward to commending you dear Christian saying well done, good and faithful servant.
Yesterday after the meeting.
There was a little conversation about verse nine and.
And I just like to asked him if he wouldn't mind sharing what he shared then because I think it ties into.
What you were just saying, Steve, and I think that entire chapter that he was referencing is a beautiful picture.
So I'll leave it to you, brother.
So.
I'm going to read the verse again in our chapter, Chapter 9, then in the new translation. Wherefore also we are zealous, whether present or absent, to be agreeable to him. And I was just thinking of of the description that we have of the mighty men in Second Samuel. I believe it's chapter 23.
Turn there just briefly.
Second Samuel chapter 23 and I'll just read 1/2 a dozen verses starting with the verse 13.
And three of the 30 chief went down and came to David in the harvest time under The Cave of Adolam. And the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of of referendum. And David was then in in hold. And the Garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. And David longed and said, Oh, that one would give me drink of the well of Beth of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. And the three mighty men breakthrough the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem.
There was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out under the Lord and he said, be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Wherefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men and I was just thinking of this in relation to what we have here in in verse 9, where if we labor that whether present or absent, we may be.
Accepted of him or agreeable to him. This example that we have in these three mighty men is David's wish was their command. They were driven by affection for David. And he said it. It's almost like he thought it. And they took that as a direct command. And they went and they brought a great.
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Potential for harm to themselves. They went and drilled that water of that well of Bethlehem and brought it to David.
And I believe that that is a beautiful example of what we have here in verse 9 there's.
What's our motivation? Steve is talking about the motivation. What's the motivation that we have?
For this, and you know a little bit further down, we'll talk more about it. It says in verse 14, For the love of Christ constraineth us.
But what greater motivation do we need than that?
In connection with verse 9 and 10 in our chapter, I would like to read 2 verses in Philippians chapter 2.
Second part of verse 12.
But now much more in my absence, workout your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who worketh in you both who will and to do at His good pleasure. And we know in recent time they are believers talking about doing good works and labour to the labour they have to do before they appear before the Judge Masita Christ. But as it was mentioned yesterday, for the believer, the judgment is behind us. It took place.
2000 years ago and.
To use the verse about our own to work out our own salvation in fear of the judgment seat of Christ, we have immediately after that verse 12 second Philippians, we have verse 13 for it is God who worked in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. So in the end God is taking all the glory for everything for our own salvation for the labor we do for.
For for everything from A-Z.
So it's going to be a day of manifestation of all those things that we've done in our body. And it's interesting that the new translation, Steve, maybe you can help me with this, but I think it says for we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ. Is that right? Yeah. So that's the point is the Lord is going to not only are we going to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, but it's going to be a day when when Christ will manifest.
Those things that we have done in our bodies, as to whether or not they meet his approval or not. And as to your point, Steve, it's not in a punitive way.
Not at all, but it's it's in view of reward and what he could commend as being done for himself. And to your point, brother Radutes, it's amazing to think that he will.
He'll reward us for those things that he gave us the motive to do and the power to do and.
At the end, it was all of him, and yet he's going to turn around and reward us for that. It's, it's, it's amazing the, the grace of God shows out the heart of God, doesn't it?
What is amazing to me is that even after we get the new nature, the divine life from Christ, after He imparted, that was after we are born again, even when we are sealed and indwelled with the Holy Spirit, it is still of Him, the will and the ability to do the work for Him. So how much more before we are saved? Everything depends on Him.
There's a picture of this in First Corinthians three. Yeah, First Corinthians 3, verse 13, it says every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built, thereupon he shall receive a reward, which is what we've been talking about. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire. And as we see all the creatures around us. Somebody was asking me the other day.
Beaver Dam because they saw a pile of sticks. Beavers have to build a good dam. They don't have a choice.
Robins have to build a good nest. They don't have a choice.
Deer run as fast as they can run. That's the way God made him. But man has been given the choice to choose how we're going to live. And it's all, it's those two things, God's sovereignty, man's responsibility, God's sovereignty is 100% true, but it's also true that we have responsibility. God's entrusted these things to us. The the parable of the 10 talent shows us that. And so we have a choice. The Lord's entrusted these things to us, and if we use them for him, we're going to be rewarded.
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And all of us, as our brother Steve said, all of us are going to get some reward. But there are so many people that waste their life, they live their lives for themselves. And it's not a happy path here. Being selfish is not happiness.
Living for others. The happiest people I know on this earth love other people. They serve other people. They give to other people.
Taking and taking and taking is not a happy pet. And there.
There's coming a day when it's all going to be manifest and what we did for Him is going to be beautiful. It's going to be awesome for his glory.
And what we did for ourselves is going to be lost.
Apostle Paul.
An axe is still in. I think that Indians.
By him relieved and move and breathe every day when we wake up is because he wants us to wake up and because he has a reason for us to wake up. He has a job for us to do. If he don't have nothing for us left in this world, he just take us home. But if you wake up this morning and you're breathing and you're walking and you're thinking, it's because he has something for you in this world still.
And he gave us the ability like the brother was mentioning.
He given us the he put the good works in front of us that we walk on it, that we walk and, and make that good, good works. And he give us the ability and he give us the strain and the knowledge to do that good works. And he's the one who is doing everything in us. He give you the ability to do it, even though the strength he give you the the the brain to do the things and also.
He's giving, he's doing everything, and he got to reward you for it.
What an amazing God we got.
And we need to do that thing somebody in the morning and the prayer was mentioned that verse that.
Who sees something? I don't remember exactly the birds, but maybe somebody can help me with hands to do good and don't do it is for him is sin so.
It's many things we can do to do well and to do the good works that the Lord wants us to do.
And He's giving you the ability to do it, and He got to reward you for it. And you know, one day when you have a crown and we see all that and we see His glory, what an amazing time we're going to be to take your crown off and throw in His beard and recognize that He did everything. All the glory is His. All the glory is His.
Brother Richard Hagen, I appreciate you turning us to 1St Corinthians 3.
Does it help me to realize that I gave a wrong reference earlier 1St Corinthians 3? I said Second Corinthians 3 for our work in the Kingdom and it is First Corinthians 4 for the motivations that we that because of the fact that we have within us the flesh and our motives may not always be pure as we seek to serve. And the apostle Paul addresses that in first Corinthians 4 and I.
Given the wrong reference for that earlier as well, so I appreciate you pointing us in the right direction.
Like our brother has spoken of motives. I have to admit I'm lacking a bit of confidence today. But that verse you referred to as James 4 and 17 brother and it reminds me of Romans chapter 12.
When we speak of motives.
First one. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
It's very similar to the verses we have in Hebrews chapter 13.
Yeah.
That I like very well verse 20 Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect.
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In every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen. And we know in Romans 14 it says so that every man shall give account of himself unto God.
And so it should be our reasonable service to do that good thing.
That we should be being trained up for it should be our.
Our desire.
I read a little pamphlet one time and I'm not sure I spoke of this to somebody yesterday, I think. I think it might have been Mr. Darby, but I'm not sure. And he spoke of when he.
Gets before that judgment seat.
We often think that there might be this little mound there of our sins, but he said no. It's like that little hymn. My sins were as high as a mountain. And it's going to stretch so far up. It's going to be so far up. We don't contemplate the things that that we do wrong. We try to consider the things that we do right so much. But we should be.
Focus so much on doing His will like the Lord Jesus did. I do only those things which are pleasing or righteous in His sight.
Chapter Brown.
Read somewhere he gave an account of a dream that he had and you'll remember the chapter. Brown was a labouring brother and no slouch in the things of the Lord. And he had a dream that he was standing at the judgment seat of Christ and there was a huge pile that was being burned and.
He was just at a loss his whole life.
Is there and it's giant bonfire and he was really discouraged and the Lord was standing there and he turned him and said, don't worry Brown, we'll find something. And so he I I like that story because it really brings out the fact that what the brethren have been talking about that the focus of the judgment seat of Christ is on reward and all that we will suffer loss. That's what first Corinthians chapter 3 says there will be that which is burned away.
And, and in and of itself, that's should be a disappointment to us. We'll recognize missed opportunities that we could have provided service for the Lord and, and there will be lost and that will hang our hearts. But the focus of the judgment seat of Christ is on reward.
As we've been saying, the Lord who knows all, He knows our hearts, He knows everything we've done, He knows our thoughts. He's going to search high and low and he's going to find everything.
Because that's his heart.
And we can't forget to when we are at the judgment seat of Christ. It's not like how we are right now.
How do we get there? When does the judgment seat of Christ happen? It's after we rapture. It's after we're with them. And what happens at the rapture?
Will become like him.
I don't like to when I visualize the judgment seat of Christ for to believe her.
I don't see it as a face to face. I see us standing next to the Lord and Him having his arm around us. It will be like Him. How could there be judgment in the sense that we think of judgment generally because we're like Him. It's impossible. He would have to judge himself. It's impossible. And so there will be the aspect of reward that we've talked about, but I think even more than that, it'll be the act, the aspect.
The magnifying of the grace of God when we see that pile burned up and for the first time we see how truly bad we are, how truly sinful we are.
We're going to be able then to say and you still went to that cross.
We want the judgment seat of Christ. We really do. It will have its effect for all eternity that we have a proper appreciation of how great the grace of the Lord Jesus is that He went to the cross. For a Sinner like me, because I don't know what kind of a Sinner I am, I have somewhat of an idea, but it falls far short because I'm accustomed to sin. I was born in it. I I practice it and I'm surrounded by it. I'm accustomed to it.
In a way you kind of get in the almost numb to it to a certain degree. But when we stand there beside him.
Like him? Then for the first time we'll have a full view. We'll see things through his eyes. We'll have a full view of what we were and how great his love and his grace were now.
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It is the judgment seat of Christ, and this is not the only aspect of it.
For those that have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a fearful thing. And then the next verse will speak about that, but it goes all the way from here. I believe this will happen probably pretty quickly after the rapture. But the judgment of Christ, it goes all the way to the great white throne, and that's the final judgment. And there it says very clearly that they will appear before the throne. There's no standing at the side of the Lord Jesus. There won't be an arm put around those people there. He will act in the character of a judge.
And every single one will receive their their proper judgment.
It's a very solemn thing to read of that in Revelation 20, but here?
It's brought before us something that would motivate us in our pathway, not something that would scare us. The judgment seat of Christ for the believer is not a scary thing at all.
I'd like to be the 1St and the 1St epistle of John. Thinking about what you said, Mark.
The first Epistle of John in the first chapter.
2 verses maybe first John chapter one, verse 5. This is the This then is the message which we have heard of him. And declare unto you that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
Verse six. If we say then that we have fellowship with him and walk and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
The blood of Jesus Christ, your Son, cleanseth us from all sin I was thinking about.
What you said, Mark, standing at his side as that review of the life goes on. You know, righteousness really opens the doors to communion. Sometimes I'll speak for myself. I kind of think about it the other way. I think love opens the door for communion and righteousness as judgment of sins.
But you know, really it was the love of God that led the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross, took the judgment. It's the light that brings out community. And so, you know, when we stand at the Lords side and we have that review of our lives and there's plenty of instances in our own lives, we each know it. The things that that needs to be burned away.
Will be in agreement with.
You know, because righteousness leads to community. When the light shines in and everything is exposed, that's when you have communion. It has to be exposed. The more we allow it to expose our lives today, the more intimate that communion really is. The more we try to hide things, the less communion there is. And in that day and in that judgment, it's opening the doors wide open.
For the most intimate communion you'll ever have.
With the Lord and we can enjoy that in a certain sense today, and it's practical.
And it goes with one another to be an open book as much as we can. It's beautiful.
Yeah, I appreciate. I appreciate your comments, brother Keith so good. And Mark, like you said, you know, we really want the judgment seat of Christ. We really do deep down because to your point, it's going to bring out that intimacy, you know that we that we long for and you know, throw it all eternity and we'll have but I believe it's going to put.
The put us over the top, if I could put it that way, in praise, because when we look at what the Lord has done and we get a true.
Appreciation for what we were because we don't know how bad we really are. I mean really, let's be honest, I don't understand how bad my heart is. And it's the judgment seat of Christ that is going to reveal it all and that is going to put me into a place.
Of praise and worship to Him that I don't think we could have without the judgment seat of Christ. It is so necessary for eternity.
Read a verse in Revelation chapter 4 which what Josh is saying.
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The four in Revelation 4 verse 10, the four and 20 elders fall down before him.
That sat on the throne and the worship Him that liveth forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honor and power that has created all things and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. I think we'll realize that after getting those rewards and seeing that that really it was the Lord that created any kind of thought towards him or anything that we did for him, it was because of Him.
And because of that, we'll discuss our rewards.
So it might be helpful to have a picture in the Old Testament, and I think that the chapter that we were at earlier is a beautiful example of this.
The most of the chapter 23 of Second Samuel is is a picture, I think, of of a judgment seat we don't read in chapter 23 of any of the wrong things of David's mighty men.
I have no doubt that there were things that they did that were not pleasing to David. But in this review he talks about the things that were pleasing to David. And David is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus, and we've already spoken of that. But I think that there's also a little picture of this judgment seat that we've been talking about in the first couple chapters of First Kings.
And I just want to touch on a couple verses.
Because I think it it brings it out.
I can put my finger back on it.
And interestingly, before we read these verses in in chapter 23 of Second Samuel.
There's some people that are missing from that list that we might have thought were should have been in that list, and one of them is Joab.
And and so I want to just touch on a few verses here in the first chapter.
If I can put my finger on it.
Umm, yeah.
Sorry, I'm not seeing it right now, but he David.
Tells Solomon that he is to remember.
Those that helped David 27 Yeah, show kindness.
Unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table, for so they came to me when I fled of Absalom thy brother.
The solemn thing is the next couple verses. And behold, thou hast with the shimmy eye the son of Guerra, the Benjamite of Bahram, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to man AM, and so on. And he says, Hold him not guiltless in verse 9.
And then he speaks of of Joab in verse 5.
And it's so sad to see.
And to read these verses because.
We are going to suffer loss if we have done those things that displease the Lord. And Joab, he, even though he was the captain of the host, he did things that displeased David and he suffered loss. At the end of David's life when there was a review made, Joab suffered loss. And I want to just encourage our hearts. We're going to those things that we've done for the Lord.
He knows about them and he's going to reward us for them.
But.
The opposite side of that is true. Those things that we have done that displays him are are going to be things that are are to our loss.
I was thinking of the same thing in relation to Hebrews Chapter 11. Hebrews Chapter 11 is a list of people that are commended for their faith and.
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There isn't any mention in that chapter of that which was wrong. There's a lot that we could find in Jacob's life that was was not commendable, and yet that's not mentioned in Hebrews Chapter 11. But I will say that there are descriptions in Hebrews Chapter 11 That are longer than others.
And went on. Isaac is very short. Well.
That may be similar to the judgment seat of Christ. There would be those that have long commendations and that some of us others that may be a little shorter.
Bart made a comment that I think.
Would do well to just.
Follow up and just emphasize how important it is and that is the distinction between the judgment seat of Christ and verse 11 where it talks about knowing that therefore the terror of the Lord. And Mark clearly laid out that there was a very stark distinction between the two. There is no terror of the Lord for the Christian. Why? Because of the last verse of our chapter. For He hath made Him to be sin for us. He knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God. In Him there is no terror.
For the Christian because of that and then First Thessalonians chapter.
UH-5.
And verse eight it says, But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for in home, at the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Or for comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also you do, so we should be.
Encouraged to recognize that.
This terror of the Lord that we're Speaking of in verse 11 has nothing to do with the Christian. And it is, it's possible if you just read this without rightly dividing the word of truth, to come to the conclusion that they go together. And that's not correct. So for the sake of the young people, I just wanted to clarify that that the terror of the Lord has nothing to do with us, but it is something that should motivate us in our service for preaching the gospel.
And Acts Chapter 7, Acts chapter 17 and verse 31, it says because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world and righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. And so there is a day coming of judgment, and we have knowledge of it. And like we were talking about a few reading meetings ago, it's like that train. We have knowledge of the trestle being gone. The trestle is washed out the train once it passes that certain point.
Is going to go into the abyss. And if we're on that train with knowledge of that, why would we keep ourselves silent? We have the responsibility of carrying that message of judgment and then also of hope.
Of the.
The escape from that judgment and we need to be faithful in that responsibility.
And separating those two in connection with what you said there, how does that relate to Hebrews chapter 12?
Verse 28 says Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, or let us hold fast, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear for God as a consuming fire.
There is a place in a Christian's life for reverential fear, right? But there's a distinction between reverential fear and terror.
I'd like to hear further.
Position on that.
Well, I think that I think what you say is is correct, Tim. And you know, just going back to the scriptures of brother Matt brought out how in First Corinthians 13.
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Is that the day shall declare every man's work. Verse 13 Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it that is, the day shall be revealed by or in fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. And so I think that links up well with Hebrews.
Chapter 12, verse 29, our God is a consuming fire. So again, to repeat what you said, Tim, it's again, the judgment seat is not a time of terror for the Christian at all, but God will judge. And again, fire is, is an apartment type of judgment throughout Scripture, the fire God will judge everything that is inconsistent with himself that manifests itself in the life of the believer and he will bring that out so morally, physically, spiritually, whatever.
That manifests itself in our life. God is going to.
Pass judgment on it in that day and again, not our sins. Our sins are not the.
The topic of discussion, if you will, at the judgment seat of Christ, it's the deeds done in the body and whether or not they receive a commendation for things being done for him or not. And, and Matt, you, you gave a good example yesterday about an art show. Can you maybe repeat that? I think that's helpful to give an idea as to, you know, what type of judgment we're talking about. Yeah, it's, it was explained to me. It's like a, a County Fair.
And the judge goes and he looks at each one of the exhibits.
And he gives ribbons. There's a blue ribbon and a red ribbon.
And he's giving rewards, as was explained.
Tim, I think he also answered it when you said that.
Reverential fear should be a motivation for us, like Steve mentioned at the very beginning of the meeting, that it's not only our actions, but our thoughts, our motivations and all things that will be taken up in that time. And so if we look at ourselves individually or look in the mirror, whatever way you want to address it, do we have a healthy reverential fear? A little him comes to mind once again. He sees what we do and he hears what we say.
My Lord is watching all the time, time, time.
That being said, I totally agree, but a higher motivation is love as a father.
I could be a a dictator and my children have a responsibility from scripture to obey your father and mother, and I could hold that over their head and I could probably accomplish some things, but how much more can we accomplish if I if I seek their affection?
And they do.
What I ask and they honor me based on the response of love from their heart. It's a much, much higher motivation. But you're right, we should have a referential fear, Paul told those ones in First Corinthians 16. To do all your things with charity in me.
I think that some of what we're saying is here. In verse 15 it says, and that he died for all the day which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. And in Galatians 6 verse seven, it says, Be not deceived. Don't kid yourselves. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. The universe is an echo. Whatever you send out, you're going to get back.
What goes around comes around and it picks up speed.
Be not deceived. And that is on both sides. There are people who sow bad stuff and they say, oh, this isn't going to happen. This is no one saw, no one knows. You're kidding yourself. Nobody gets away with anything. Even if you don't get caught right here, you carry that on your conscience.
So he says he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. Why are things wrong? Why is this wrong and this not wrong? It's wrong because it's bad for us. It's sin because it hurts us.
It's not that God is up in heaven. And he says, well, I don't want you to have fun about this, but this is OK. But not too much of that. He looks over what he made and he said, you know what? This is how the universe works and I want you to be blessed. And he gives us a boundary and he says, you can go clear to the very edge. And dear, beloved brothers and sisters, we have the opportunity. Do we want to walk as close to Christ as we can, or do we want to walk as far away as we can without falling off?
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The edge may it be that our hearts burn within us, as our brother mentioned being willing, as our brother mentioned our motives.
I talked to a guy one time at the college and he said God has three wills in in Romans 12 is good, acceptable and perfect will. And I said, don't tell me that you don't want God's very best for your life because I don't even want to hear it. You got to be kidding me. God wants to bless you and you don't want it. You think you know better than he does.
You're kidding me. So he says right here, he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption.
Where if we do what's wrong, we're going to reap that.
Nobody wants a harvest of weeds. Nobody does. And you have to think about this. When you plant evil, you are going to reap corruption. And then he goes on and says there's two sides of this. But he that soweth to the spirit shall shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. What a hope. It's like our brother said, it's, it's not, it's not something about us. It's an opportunity that we have because he gave us the opportunity. He gave us the energy.
He gave us all that, but we get to choose. Are we going to live our lives for Christ? If we do, we're going to reap life everlasting. And it starts right now. Our brother mentioned about communion. When you speak kindly to people, what do you get? You get kindness. When you're mean to people, when you diss people, what do you get? That whatever goes around comes around. If you don't believe me, go up to somebody and say you look horrible today. What are they going to say back to you? If you say it's good seeing you, what are they going to say back to you?
There you go. And then he says right here, let us not be weary in well doing. Be encouraged dear beloved brothers and sisters, don't be weary in doing the right thing. Sometimes we look around and we say that guys cheating on his taxes, look at the house he lives in. That person is doing this. That person cheated on their test. They didn't do all their study and they got a better grade than me. It says don't be weary and will it in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not and our brother just had a harvest.
And he came here because they got done with harvest. Well, he doesn't plant the crop and harvest it the next day.
The same is true in our lives, and so often we don't judge what we know is wrong because it's not harvest time yet, but the harvest is coming. Dear beloved brothers and sisters, don't let anything in your life go on that you know is wrong. It gets bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger. If God convicts you of something, stop. If you're driving the car, pull over. It's that important. And get right with the Lord and confess.
That the terror of the Lord does not apply to the Christian can be seen in the effect that it produces. The apostle Paul says, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, we preach the gospel, we give them the information they need about the love of God and the grace of God, that they would not have to be exposed to the terror of the Lord.
And someone might say here, but it's the Lord. The Lord is in relation with his people, isn't He? I'd like to turn you to Second Peter chapter 2.
Verse one, there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall privilege shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them.
And bring upon themselves swift destruction the scripture is speaking about.
Thoroughly unbelieving people.
They come to you in the name of the Lord, bringing false doctrine.
And they are headed for swift destruction. And yet the scripture says the Lord bought them. He didn't redeem them, but He bought them. All men in this world, saved and unsaved, belong to the Lord on the by virtue of purchase.
And and so these that is not that that is something that helps us to understand I think this verse.
That it is the terror of the Lord. There is one universal Lord.
It is our Lord Jesus Christ.
And to the lost, what is coming is.
00:50:05
Is calculated.
To invoke sheer terror, the eternal judgment of God.
Is is is not something that can be taken lightly and you and I, who know the relief of our sins, forgiven.
We have a better perspective of what the terror of the Lord is because we've been given as we've been speaking about.
Divine life and the ability, the capacity to be able to at least enter in in some degree.
To eternal truth, to spiritual truth and realize what it is we've been saved from and what it is that the that the man of this world is headed for. And the apostle Paul says we persuade men. It's not that by persuasive arguments we can turn someone away from destruction. I don't think that's the idea because we realize that fallen man as we've been.
Had brought before us in the meetings here fallen man cannot respond, and so on have spoken of the sovereignty of God and salvation.
But I believe that what he means here is that.
That everything that he can do within his power to communicate to the lost center what lies ahead if he won't turn to Christ.
That's what he'll do. That's what we would do. When we give the gospel, it is in earnest appeal to the lost.
But we we feared, we feared the Lord with respect and love.
We fear him because we know that he's holy. Somebody was.
Saying one phrase Monday morning, Christians.
We need to be a Monday morning Christians because Lord's Day or being here is so easy to be a Christian. I mean, we are Christians. We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we say. But when we are between our brothers, it's so easy to speak about him, to praise him, to sing songs. But when we go back to the world and we got to work or you're going to school.
You need to.
Fear the Lord in the sense of you love him like the brother says we love him and we know who is who, who is he and by that love that fear. I respect him and I am a Christian. Even Monday mornings and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and until the next Lord's Day. Brother was saying that and and when he he was preaching the whole week. We need to bring to our inner lives the Lord.
And love him and respect him because he I tell my kids he is everywhere. Like the brother was saying that song, he is watching you day and night. He's watching us day and night. I remember traveling with a brother from San Diego, Bill Worth that. Now he's with the Lord. We was traveling from Tijuana, visiting the assemblies, him and me.
And we get to an assembly. I don't want to say which assembly.
But we get to that assembly in Mexico and we were sitting at nighttime and we was about to read.
And in the wall was an antenna cable coming down, down, down, down, down, down to a little, a little table in the corner, but was nothing in the table. Yes, the cable coming down. And brother Bill said, ask the brother over there of the house. Brother, what is that cable over there?
And the brother said a cable antenna and what that is for?
For a TV in the corner and the brother said where is the TV? It's not there.
We know that you was coming, so we take it away and put it in the closet. And the brother says, brother, you shouldn't fear me, fear the Lord, fear the Lord. Don't hide from me. You cannot hide stuff from him.
The more in the He's seeing that in the closet. He knows that you hide it in the closet. Don't fear the brothers, fear the Lord and respect him.
Mr. Verse in first John Four that says there is No Fear in love. We love him because he first loved us. There's no terror and love. We still have due place for reverential fear. And I would just say that this terror that we're Speaking of here is a very real thing.
00:55:19
Very early in my career I went on a call one time where there was a very sick man and we were treating him and he wasn't very nice. We were, they called us. We didn't just show up at his house. He was having some health problems and difficulties. So they called us and we came and I was working with the rest of the crew to try and provide some relief for him.
And stop breathing. His heart stopped.
So we changed course and started working to resuscitate him and took about 6 minutes.
And by God's mercy, we were able to get him breathing again and get his heart started again. And for the rest of my life, we'll never forget the look on his face. It was abject terror. I have no idea where he was, but it was not a place of comfort and peace.
Thank God he had another opportunity, put him on an ambulance and he was gone. Never had another opportunity to interact with him but I made a very marked impression on my soul. There is reality to this terror.
Brother Keith, you were going to say something?
Think the word pictures given are more than accurate. Thank you.
I was mentioning because at the beginning that the judgment is behind us and because of that we could call God our Father. But being Father he's still in a position of authority and the government of God still applies to believers and non believers.
Like Matt said, there is always a consequence for everything we do.
We've been talking about the judgment seat of Christ, and we've been mainly talking about what it is, but here in the chapter.
I think for verse 11 shows us that it's not something that we enjoy, but it's something that should have a practical present effect on our life. And one of the effects has been talked about that we persuade men. How do we know a little about the terrible if we know that we as those who have been redeemed by Christ, who paid for sins, all, everything done in the body will still come up for review. Imagine not having a covering for one single one.
Of those sins that you've done, and you still have to face the holy God.
We have a covering for everything because the Lord Jesus died for our sins on the cross. But imagine the terror of 1 standing before the great white throne and their life will be in review too, because God opens the books that has the deeds, that has all the acts that man has done. He hasn't forgotten any smallest thing. And even for the smallest thing you have not covered, you know, speaks of those early in the chapter that are naked. You have no cover for their sins. And so that's the first practical effect that it should have on our lives when we think about the judgment seat of Christ.
That we realize there will be people that it will appear before the one who knows everything and if they don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they'll have to answer for every single one of those sins. But there's a second thing here in verse 11/2. He says, but we are made manifest unto God and they trust also are made manifest in your consciences. I think that's the same word that's used in in verse 10 or speaks of us being manifest before the judgment seat of Christ.
And so another practical effect that it should have when we think of the judgment seat of Christ and we realize that everything will be put on display between US and the Lord. I don't think it's going to be a public thing that we're all watching, but everything will become in the open. I think Paul is saying here, I already tried today.
To lead my life in a way that's manifest. You know, in chapter four, in the first meeting, we talked about renounce the hidden things of dishonesty. He tried already now to live in view of that. They were everything would be manifest. And he didn't want to lead a life that put up a front that was different from what he really was. And so I think when we are occupied and and meditate upon the judgment seat of Christ and we realize there's going to be a day coming before the Lord where everything will be manifest. And as Alejandro said, he already sees everything today.
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Why not lead our lives in an open way today? That's a great effect. That's that's something that motivates us in the pathway.
Considering the word persuade and.
I'm not an English major or anything, but I'm pretty sure that that's an action type word and you see that Paul uses it quite often. And so I listened to brother Matt over there and he was very persuasive to us to get right with God if we have something in our life, his voice elevated, he was adamant about it and expressive. And Alejandro the same way when he spoke a few moments ago. And, and so we spoke of that reasonable service.
The Lord Jesus went and did it all. We've accepted it. Should we not want to persuade? He said. I would have all men to be saved, and you can remember.
In Acts, when King Agrippa did say almost thou has persuaded me almost and so it should be that we would want to go and and speak like Matt Alejandro and and give it our very best. Not just all you need to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior.
Again, I say John Kent and.
You need this, you need this, you got to have this. And I can't quite do it like Matt did. But you know, I think Paul too said that I persuade men everywhere. And it's a, it's a type of trying to convince, trying to show, trying to sway.
And we're going to have those ones like King Agrippa that, say, almost persuaded me.
So I was thinking about that very thing a little bit here and how we had before us in the 4th chapter, how there's a testimony in the life of a believer, at least there should be. And sometimes we say, well, I'll, I'll let my life do the preaching for me or spend. There's an element of truth to that. If our life doesn't match up with our words, then we have no power or no weight behind what we say. But we have a responsibility not only to be a testimony in our life, but also to speak.
And to tell others about Christ as you've been bringing out, so we persuade man. We also get later on in the chapter that and it says at the end of verse 19 and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. So that implies that there's an element of of preaching that you and I are responsible to do to go out and tell souls about Christ.
I think it's a kind of a cop out when we just say, well, I'm just going to let my life just do the preaching for me. I, you know, I there's more to that.
We may not all have the same ability and gift, We may not all have the same charisma or passion, but what we do have is the Word of God.
Paul told Timothy preached the word.
Paul said to the Romans, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
We're told that we're born again by the word of God.
Of his own will begat he asked by the word of God.
And while we may not be clever in our persuasive words.
We can give the word of God.
And it is that that the Spirit of God uses to impart life to begin with.
And then to convince, convict, excuse me, convict, the soul of their sins and of their need to convince them.
We all have that in our earthen vessels. If our vessels are willing and clean and broken and the light can shine out, it's the light of the Word of God and that is the active element. That is what's important here.
Romans 10/14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have no belief? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not here? And how shall they hear without a preacher? We need to go and give the the word of the Lord you need to. You don't need to be gifted to read verses to a friend, to present to him the Lord Jesus Christ.
In his death and what he did for you.
I remember, and this is not to put the man, but I remember some years ago when I used to, I used to work on on the shop where I work and we was sitting at break time and and people knew that I was a Christian and and they asked questions. Sometimes they ask questions to trick you and to make you fall, but nevertheless they ask questions and we were I was telling about the Lord Jesus Christ.
01:05:14
In particular to two guys, two guys who was there hearing and they hear the gospel.
I tell him about the Lord Jesus Christ. They quit the job no longer after they quit the job, one of the guys who was sitting there who I tell him about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was drunk in his house. Neighbors called the police.
Police scam took two cars come two policemen tell him we're going to take you with us he say let me go upstairs and put a sweater the police nicely say OK go he goes upstairs he has.
A semi automatic rifle.
He comes out from that room shooting the police. He killed one of the policemen.
The other one going aside and the daughter of this guy was there and he was shooting that repeatedly, just shooting, shooting even when his daughter was there.
And police come out, shoot him and kill him.
You die.
The longest I know.
This guy never received the Lord Jesus Christ, but he here about the Lord Jesus Christ.
The other guy, months, years after that, one day I was eating lunch on the street and I hear Alex Alice screaming and I turned around and was Nick and he says blessed be the name of the Lord.
I know now that the Lord is true. I believe in Him and He saved me.
One belief.
One die and the longest. I know he is in the place of torment now.
We need to preach the gospel, brothers and sisters. We need to. It's a world who need to hear. Like I told you before, no, because we save anybody. We, you cannot save nobody. But he can.
We're out of time, but the children are all here and I just think, you know.
YouTube can tell people how to be saved and I knew this story of this one boy and he loved his friends so much.
And he wanted him to be saved so bad.
That they were playing one day and he told him that the Lord Jesus again and he told him how to be saved and the friend didn't quite know what to do about it and.
So the one that wanted them to be saved, he said OK, you have to get down on your knees. So the boy get down on his knees. Well, you have to close your eyes.
The boy closed his eyes.
He said now you have to ask the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away. So a boy said, well, Lord Jesus washed my sins away. He said you have to ask him to come into your heart. And so the boy asked him to come into his heart. He said now you have to say Amen. He said Amen. And I don't know if that boy really put his trust in the Lord Jesus or not, but the other boy sure was persuading him to do so. You can tell your friends how to love the Lord Jesus and to be saved too.
Let's pray, Lord Jesus, we just thank Thee for this time over thy word. We look forward to that coming day and thou put thine arm around us, go through our lives and that'll manifest thy rich and matchless grace and how it?
Took us through our life and Lord Jesus.
Thou receive the glory, we will cast any crown that we receive at thy feet.
And just praise Thee for all eternity or Jesus. We long for that day. We look forward to it. Perhaps today we will be caught up. Be with and like Thyself to start that process that we've been considering, which will only redown to Thy honor and glory throughout all the ages of eternity. We thank Thee, blessed Lord, for Thy grace and mercy to us. We just marvel at it. And so we praise Thy holy name. We pray thy worthy name, Lord Jesus.
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Amen.
Fellowship
After God's Own Heart
Sing Talk—Mike Sikora
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.
So it's not every time you get to be up here. And I was a little apprehensive when I received a call that said, hey, would you have something for us on your heart to speak about? And that sounds a little weird.
And you know, I had to pray about it because.
I had a conversation recently with someone and.
They said you talk a lot, you should listen more. And so I asked my brother Matt, I'm sure most of you know, And before I finished asking him, he said, yeah, you talk a lot.
Asked some other people I know fairly well and they, they were a little less unsure, but they said, yeah, you talk a lot. And so that makes it important for me to make sure that it's not me speaking up here, but it's the Lord Jesus, his words, because there are many states of souls in this room tonight.
And you know, if you look around here in this room, you didn't happenstancely sit next to the person. More than likely if you look to your right or your left, you know there's someone next to you that really wants to see you go on for the Lord. They want to see you have a filled life, an appreciation and a joy in the Lord. And that is tremendous. And what that person did for me was kind of focused me and showed me that it's important to be reminded that sometimes we fail.
You know, it's not all the time that we do that. We're a reflection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we are, it's wonderful When someone comes up to you and says, I see the Lord Jesus in you. That is the best compliment that someone can give to you. But there are times when someone comes up to you and says, you know what? It's a little something you got to work on. And I didn't want to focus on what was told to me, but what that person did. You know, you have a huge responsibility as Christians and as friends of one another.
You have the responsibility to help and encourage and build up and that is an important responsibility that you need to take seriously. Because I can be up here and I'm different age than you and I may not understand exactly what you're going through, but the person next to you probably does. They understand you much better than I do and they can be an encouragement to you that I may not be able to be. And so that's important for each one here. So I really respected that person for telling me so that there are things that I can work on in my life.
Let's just look to the Lord for His help.
Our loving God and Father.
How it's so good now. It's given this weekend for us to be here, to enjoy Thy loving kindness and Thy goodness, to be under the sound of Thy word, to understand what Thou hast prepared for us in a coming day. For us to realize that Thou has chosen us individually for Thy Son to be His bride. How wonderful it is for us to enter into these things, to recognize that Thou art over all of these things, and that Thou art desirous that we would have a full appreciation.
Of who He is and what He has done for us, each individually and collectively. So we just look to Thee for this time. Ask that there will be a blessing that there would be that which is from Thee for each one in this room. That they would go away, build up and encourage with a desire renewed strength to go on for the we ask these things. Lord Jesus and thy worthy and precious name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
There's a passage that I very much enjoy and we're going to go over it a little bit tonight.
But I thought it was interesting. Earlier today a brother mentioned David's mighty men. Does anyone here remember where that passage is found? David's mighty meant mighty men.
Second Samuel 23, you win. If I had a prize, I would give it to you.
Second Samuel 23, but I'm going to go for the chapter after that. So if you have a Bible and would like to turn Second Samuel 2324, excuse me.
This passage is important for a number of reasons to me, but one main reason I recently finished a book on David. Something that I've always appreciated about David is the title that was given to him or what was said of him, the man after God's own heart. And you know, we have so much regarding David's life. And when you look at his life, you say, how in the world is this a man after God, God's own heart? Because you look at all of the failures.
And you wonder how in the world that it's possible to have so many failures. And we're not even talking simple failures. He murdered someone. How in the world could he receive that title, The man after God's own heart? And, you know, I was having a conversation with someone within the last year, and we were talking about the book that I was reading. And he told me. He said, you know, David was very quick when he realized what he had done to get before the Lord and to confess it. You know, that is such a truth in our lives.
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As soon as we realize what we've done, where we've taken a step off the pathway to recognize that we need to get back on the path, that we need to confess it. Everyone knows the verse in First John. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just. And that really stuck with me because David was a man after God's own heart. Because when he was made aware of the sin that he had done, his desire was to be found back in the presence of the Lord to confess it and to enjoy that closeness, that proximity, that love and joy.
That he had.
Chapter 24, I'm not going to read it because there's a lot of words, a lot of names that I would probably mispronounce, but we're going to go through it just in a few sections here.
It starts out in the first verse that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and as a result of that he moved David against them to say go number Israel and Judah.
Sometimes things in the Bible are not super clear because maybe we don't use them in the same context. Simply said, we're going to do a census, we're going to go out and we're going to count. And in this case, I believe it was just for the, the men. They wanted to know how many soldiers they had available. You know, how strong are we? What can we do with our army? You know, where are we at? And so the, the David.
He goes to number the people. He says, you know, this is a good idea. Let's let's number the people. And that's really pride right there. There was a measure of pride in that. So he starts to get the people counted. But before that, and this is what we were talking about a little bit earlier, Joab, the captain of his host, he comes to him.
But you know what? Verse 10. David's heart smote him after that. He had numbered the people.
Loved ones.
Very often we sin.
And we don't realize it right away.
In this case, it took almost 10 months before David realized what he had done.
But as we had mentioned.
David desired that closeness with the Lord.
And very quickly he says I have sinned greatly and that I have done in verse 10, middle of the verse.
And now I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.
My desire for everyone in this room is there's one take away.
If you sin.
Whether you realize it immediately or it takes a day, a week, a month, or a year, that the first thing you will do is go to the Lord and confess it.
That that communion would not be broken in this case for a long time.
Thankfully, he didn't realize his sin until that time later on.
And yet there were those around him. You know, I so appreciated Joab because Joab was his friend. Just like I mentioned, someone sitting next to you here, they have a care for you. And he told him, he said, do you really need to do this? David didn't see it. His friend saw it, but he did it anyway. And yet David, as time progressed.
No doubt that was the Lord bringing it to his conscience, to bear on his conscience that what he had done was wrong.
But I've so appreciated that.
He's very clear I have sinned greatly in what I have done. And what was his desire? His desire? The middle of verse 10. Oh Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly.
He realized that there was going to be a penalty. What was his desire? His desire that he could move forward? He didn't want to wallow in it and say, oh, well, you know someone. Joab should have told me. He should have just forced me not to number the people. No, he recognized that the sin was his and his alone.
This third thing, verse 12.
Go and sand to David. This is God, David sear, which would have just been the one that was between him and you know him and God that would have helped him and and gave him instruction and and care.
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Verse 12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, Ioffer thee three things, choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
Verse 13 So God came to David, and told him, said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee and thy land, or wilt thou flee 3 months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee, or that there be three days pestilence in thy land?
Now advise and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
In our lives after we sin.
Very often.
There is a penalty that has to be paid.
Sometimes it's.
Can I say an acceptable penalty?
Maybe no one knows and it's just between US and the Lord.
Sometimes it's a bigger penalty. Maybe our family knows about it.
Sometimes it's a huge penalty and everybody knows about it. The lad has perished that the son has died.
But he says.
Who is to know if the Lord would be gracious?
In this case, it affected 70,000 men.
70,000 men who probably had families. Multiply that by four. It affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Simply because.
A bit of pride.
Always remember when you have a choice, because sin is a choice.
That no man or woman here, no boy or girl.
Is separate from anyone else.
Everything that we think and do has an impact on the ones that we love, the assemblies that we go to, the families that we're in.
The more that you think that you can do and get away with it, the larger the toll is going to be.
To build an altar.
And to sacrifice to his God.
He wanted to show the Lord that he recognized the sin that he had committed, and because of his sin, it had caused a terrible circumstance in the land. So many people lost their lives.
The king says.
I understand.
And I want to give it to you. I'll give you the land. I have ox in here. They're yours.
And I believe truly right here.
This is a strict word of repentance from David.
Verse 24, he says.
Nay.
You know we sin.
Probably more frequently than we realize.
But when the Lord comes to bear upon us and shows us that we have sinned, and we know that we need to confess it.
Afterwards, the Lord's desire is for us.
To be back in his presence and to enjoy that relationship.
And here it was almost as if the king came to him and said, you know what, let me just give it to you.
And what would that have meant to David? Didn't cost him anything. All these men had lost their lives because of what he had done. And here the king is just going to give him the land and give him the oxen. He doesn't have to do anything.
You know, I really think at that moment it went through his mind.
Now that's not going to work.
Nay.
There had to be a price.
He had to pay a penalty himself. He didn't die.
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Was his men died, but he recognized that there was a price that he had to pay.
For what he had done.
He said, But I will surely buy it of thee at a price neither will Ioffer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God.
Of that which cost me nothing.
You know, if we sin, perhaps we share it with someone.
We recognize our failure and they brush it off and say it's not a big deal, don't worry about it.
It's not being faithful.
And I don't want to say that that was the King's intention, but I feel as if David took it.
Has another test of the Lord.
And he recognized.
That for that restoration to be complete, it required a penalty.
And it says the end of verse 24. So David brought the threshing floor, bought the threshing threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver.
And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings.
So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed in Israel.
Practically in our lives.
Whether at the Lords table or not.
And I'm not going to be that person that says if you're not, you should be.
But if you're not, you should be.
It's one of the requests that he asks you intimately and personally.
You should respond to it if you have any appreciation for him.
Don't worry about everything else.
If I've done things wrong, have the desire do it.
After David paid that penalty.
That communion was restored.
The effect of the sin that he had caused.
Was state.
When we sin.
There is a distance that comes in between us.
Perhaps the ones we love.
Our family, our friends, those in the assembly.
It's a distance that you may be right next to the person and they don't even recognize the distance that's between the two of you.
Recently.
I got some very.
Disappointing news.
And it was disappointing because of what had been done.
But it was disappointing because I realized.
That had I been closer to that person.
Maybe I could have been more of a help.
You know, I called my mom.
Because that's where we get all our.
Where we get the best?
Recommendations.
The ones who have the most care for us. Sorry dads, it's the moms.
And she gave me a verse and.
How many you? I'm going to close with that.
It's in.
A Psalm that.
00:20:01
I so much appreciate.
Psalm 27.
And she said you know all you can do.
Is pray about it.
All you can do is pray about it.
She said. I remember when your grandfather.
Talked on a verse and I'm going to share it with you.
Verse 13.
I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord.
In the land of the living.
In our lives.
We're going to go through a lot. It doesn't matter if you're one of the younger ones, maybe on the front row, or if you're one of the older ones sitting around the perimeter who has a lot more experience with these things.
Like David.
Either you're going to be the one that sends.
Or someone around you is going to sin.
And it's like Minesweeper, if anyone remembers that. You click a button and you see a bunch of boxes open up.
One little spot.
But it has devastating effects all around it.
We should pray for grace that we aren't the one in that place.
And yet we have a responsibility.
As ones who love the Lord Jesus Christ and love the person sitting next to us on either side or both.
To have a relationship that is strong enough and deep enough.
To be able to help one another before we get to that place.
Of sin.
I won't go as far to say as I was discouraged.
But this verse was important to me because.
It reminded me.
That in our own strength we would faint under the weight of all of these things.
But our focus should not be on the sin.
Or the Sinner, or the effects of it.
But on the goodness and the graciousness and the joy that we can have in the Lord.
Our responsibility as brothers and sisters in Christ is not to say I can't believe what that person did, it's to recognize that what was done there is in my heart and it's in your heart. And if the Lord was not gracious, we would all be doing the exact same thing.
Yeah.
It also mentions in there believed.
Hebrews, as we know, says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
We can take these things as a theory.
And say they're great for someone else.
They're great for the person next to me.
Or we can believe what God's Word says, like was mentioned this weekend, Paul in Acts 28.
I believe God.
Do we believe God that what He says is the best way? Is the only way for us to stay together to have enjoyment with Him?
There is so much.
In these last days.
Good food.
All of this was put on.
With the simple desire that each one here would go on for the Lord.
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And I would like to share in that desire.
Let's commend ourselves.
A loving God and Father, we own how weak we are.
So thankful that thou has given.
So much about my beloved servant David.
For us to read, to see ourselves in it.
Lord Jesus, when we think how thou hast.
Said of him, a man after God's own heart.
We covet that we would have a closeness with the.
That when there are failures that come in in our lives that we would desire, as he would say.
His desire for thee to be close to him, for there not to be any distance.
Or Jesus for each one in this room.
My desire, as long as thou just leave us here.
Is that they would go on for thy honor and glory.
That they would keep short accounts with the that there might be power in their lives.
Enjoy that there might be a benefit to those that are around them.
That Lord Jesus, and that coming day when thou wilt display us as thy bride, and all look on in wonder.
Has those jewels.
That we will give thee the glory that is due to the.
We thank Thee so much, Lord Jesus, for what Thou hast brought us into, the knowledge that Thou hast given of Thy love and care and Thy dealings with us. We commit the balance of this day to Thee, the balance of this week to Thee. We ask Thee for those things that will transpire afterwards, for any activities for safety.
For the food, Lord Jesus, we are so thankful that thou art so merciful to us.
And we desire most of all.
That by faith we would see thy goodness and loving kindness, and that it would give us the energy through that new life to go on and be profitable servants for Thee while Thou dost leave us here. These things we ask, and that worthy that precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Amen.
Service
Address—Josh Costron
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.
SAS Lords help.
By loving God and Father, we just so thankful for Thy mercy to us and Thy good grace. We thank Thee for our Lord Jesus, our loving Savior, and we consider Thy goodness to us this past week much to be considered and.
Taken in and enjoyed in our souls and our hearts. We thank Thee for all Thy provision and.
Sounds of Camp
Knowitg the Will of God