Sully Conference: 1994
Table of Contents
Beginnings & Endings Pt.1
Address—D. Bilisoly
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
192 Great captain of salvation, now crowned with highest glory, joyful, we raise our songs of praise and lowly thou before thee. We worship thee in the Dorothy, each heart and tongue confessing worthy to reign the Lamb once claimed of honor, power, and blessing.
Great captain of.
Our glory.
Glory.
And lonely.
Lovely morning.
We work your hands up and down.
Power and blasting.
Thou had thy crawl a standard in love being a long man, sure.
Locker light grain thy chains to save and have all satisfied treasure.
We need to save.
Their friends, our stands and sorrows.
Bearing.
The land was slain.
Alive again.
Dark Brown House glory.
Where you.
I have to reaction to God's right and love and.
Rejoice with heart and voice.
Before I see glory.
On my Wednesday.
Where all shouts out before.
Turn to John's Gospel.
John's Gospel chapter 4.
John's Gospel chapter 4 and verse 31.
In the meantime, while his disciples prayed him, saying Master E.
But he said unto them, I have need to eat that you know, not us.
Therefore, said the disciple, funds another, Has any man brought him off to eat?
Jesus said, saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him to set me.
And to finish his work.
Say not ye there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say, and you lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already the harvest.
And he that readeth receiveth wages, and gathers fruit unto eternal life eternal.
That both Eve itself and he that brief us may rejoice together.
00:05:03
Here and hearing is that saying to one source and another reason.
I sent you to read about where I need you sowed no labor. Other men labor and near entered into their laborers.
Well, the thought that was before me is the Lord's remark in verse 32 or 34.
My need is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.
I'd like to talk this afternoon just a little bit on beginnings and ending, Beginnings and finishing, as it were.
It's a good subject, I believe, especially in a spiritual way. Someone said once It's nice to begin well, but it's better to end well. You've heard that.
And what an example we have in the Lord Jesus.
We might be distant. You might be disappointed if you look at me and consider my course and how the enzymes are disappointed.
People, I could disappoint my brother.
But the Lord will never, He never disappoints us. We are never disappointed by Him. We see such perfection in all these pathways. And oh, what a refreshing, what a delightful thing that must have been to the eye of God to witness a man walking through this world that was in absolute perfection.
Oh, how that must have rejoiced the heart of God the Father to see his beloved Son in that word.
But here the Lord Jesus had dealings with one soul, and this speaks to my heart not to underestimate the value of one soul.
There is a tendency, you know, to kind of look to numbers, as it were, and to consider the work by.
Numbers, as it were.
In John's gospel, it seems interesting how that the Spirit of God brings before us his dealings with individuals so much in a peculiar way, and the time he takes with individuals is not instructed to our hearts. Who? Who was it taking this time? The Son of God? The very creator of heaven and earth? You know, the great men of this world. They're too busy. I used to have to enter new people sometimes.
And some people were very hard to get to.
You might have to go through inner office as you know and if you were able finally to get an interview with them, usually it was cut very short and you thought out your words carefully, because if you stammered and stuttered a little bit as his turn this time.
They just wouldn't give you the cash.
But this glorious man was so accessible.
Amazingly so.
And he was mingling in among the poor of the flock.
And here he is. He's dealing with one poor sinful woman.
I'm afraid I would have written there off.
That the Lord knew the heart and he was dealing with this one poor soul and as he won her over, she became a soul winner. Isn't that right? She said. Come see a man which told me all things whatever I did. Is not this the Christ? Oh what a soul winner she became. But the thought here is that.
This was his meat and drink. Do we not use that? Sometimes you've heard that expression. Maybe a person really enjoys what they're doing.
It's their livelihood, perhaps their vocation or whatever. And they might say this is my meat and drink.
What do they mean by that? Well, let me ask you this question. Have you ever been so busy and so interested in what you were doing that you weren't too concerned about meals? Yes, I know all about that. Where you get so taken up with what you are doing that you're not so interested in meals. Your hunger passes away, as it were, and you're preoccupied with the thing that you're doing. Oh, I'm astounded at this. How the the Lord himself.
Was so refreshed in dealing with this one poor Sinner about her soul that he says I have meat to eat that you know about her brother. Don't you think you need to enjoy that meat a little more and share, you know, the answer to that question?
00:10:16
His dealings with one soul. Oh, I feel it for myself. And so the Lord spoke of a word.
A word.
To do the work and my need is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.
What does that involve? Well, you know the answer to that.
That work took him all the way to Calvary's front. There was no way he could finish it apart from the cross of Calvin.
Well, we want to consider a little this line of thought, beginnings and ending. Now I'm looking at the faces of those here in the room this afternoon that have all made a beginning. Now, I'm not talking about our security. I'm not talking about our salvation. That's all in His hands. The work is complete and you're complete in Him. It's not a question of our standing in Christ, but.
How are we going to end that is, are we going to continue on? Are we going to finish our course with joy? What is the end going to be? I'm looking at those that I trust have begun. Well, at least you are on the road of exercise and you wouldn't even be here this afternoon.
You're here, I believe, because there's been exercise apart.
And the Lord washes the finish well, It's good to begin well, but He wants us to finish well. He'll help us in every way. But if our will get so active, so determined, he might have to allow us to go our own way. And that's the worst thing that could happen.
And even one who was so much in the will of God as the apostle when he was determined to go up to Jerusalem the last time, and forbidden of the Holy Ghost to do so.
The disciple says the will of the Lord begun. When you say, well, then was he not in the will of the Lord? Well, it was the permissive will of the Lord. It was not the directive will of the Lord in that case.
But of course, that was a difference. There was a totally different motive spreading behind it.
Yes, he was pressing his will, but in what way? A will that have such a deep love for his own nation, a will that desired their blessing, a will that was anxious to be with those people of his childhood, of his?
Nationality.
With those who had the oracles of God and had the covenants of prominence.
Promise. And he longed to be with his people. I think Paul.
By that time was kind of wearing out. He was exhausted, and he thought perhaps that his work was finished, but it wasn't quite finished yet. But God let him go on in the permissive will, in his permissive will, and it ended in prison.
So he graciously God graciously overruled in the whole thing and got the victory. Well, I'm anticipating some thought here, but the perfection of the Lord Jesus and his pure objective to do the will of God and to finish.
The world well may we each one beloved brother, covet that desire to really serve him and to serve him in such a way that it becomes, as it were, our meat and drink to consider his glory here in this world. Is there anything more important? You know, when we get home to glory, when we're with the Lord, will we consider anything more important than how our lives down here?
May have honored him.
Not a thing. In fact, I I'm confident that I personally will abhor those things in my life that were not to His glory, but the value of one soul. You can see how he draws the attention of the disciples to look on the field of their wife, ready to harvest. He was only dealing with one soul, but he's saying, look, the Lord can expand that word. He can amplify that word. Here's an example.
00:15:07
This one woman who was drawn to him, he spent the time and the result was that she then goes out and says, come see a man which told me all things. Whatever I did is not the Christ many believed as a result of that testimony. And they came and proved it out for themselves. So what a word. And I think it's often been that way.
I'm not sure, but it seems to me I remember reading an account.
Of a man who was having some meetings, who attempted to have some meetings and.
No one would come to these meetings.
Except this one man and a young boy, and it seemed as though the work was very disheartening and unfruitful, just no evident result that that very night of that preaching, that young lab got saved and turned out to be be a Spurgeon. I think that was how the account went, and as a result he was raised up and used to God and many souls were converted through his ministry. And I think that sort of thing.
Has been often repeated. We don't want to conclude from the way a work goes. You know God his word goes forth and it will not return unto him. Boy, we can count upon that. Well, let's follow this a little further here, the Lord Jesus said in this passage. He says.
My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish the work.
Back up here to Luke's Gospel to chapter 12.
Verse 50.
Well, you know, verse 49 is very solemn. We've been we were reading a little in the Book of Revelation this morning, and we're about to go on into a whole series of very solemn judgments in that book. And the Lord says in verse 49.
I am come to some fire on the earth and what will I if it be already humbled? What a calm statement.
But I have a baptism to be baptized with.
And how an eye straighten till a thief accomplished. Oh no, he was to bear the fire of that baptism.
He was to go into death and judgment in order that there would be a remedy for fall for ruin and fallen man.
He did not want to bring judgment upon man, God's strange word.
But he says, how am I straight until it be accomplished or that could be rendered? I think Mr. Garvey renders it finished.
I'm in a straight I'm in a great difficulty until it be finished. The Lord Jesus came into this world to die and at that time drew on and as it was near the time it says he said his face is a Flint to go up to Jerusalem. He would not be deterred to the right-handed to the left. The work had to be completed. I am straightened. How am I straightened? And the difficulty?
Will it be accomplished or completed? Well, you know what the answer of that it is back over to John's Gospel.
And verse 19 or chapter 19.
We have these victorious words of the Lord Jesus.
Verse 30 of John chapter 19 When Jesus therefore.
Had received the vinegar, he said. It is finished.
And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. The worst is finished. Oh, what a subject. What a subject considered that one who began that work. And actually, in a sense, that work began as he began his public ministry. He sat back there in John 17. He says, I have finished the work. This Dow Davis, need to do it.
00:20:07
He had perfectly honored and glorified God. His Father in this world perfectly represented them, and he had finished the work.
But here is the grand finale. Here is the real finish. When he laid down his life in death, they couldn't take it from him.
But he exhausted that judgment of God in those three hours of darkness when he was made sin. What a mystery. We can't take it in when he was made sin for us to remove no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God and him, He put away sins for the sacrifice of himself, and here He is.
The work is is exhausted, but that is the judgment and he says it is finished in victory, it's finished and then he.
He bowed his head and gave up. The ghost dismissed his spirit. Miraculous acts of power turn over to Hebrews now Hebrews chapter.
12.
And verse 2.
Looking unto Jesus.
The author. Or you could work at the beginning.
Looking under Jesus, the beginner and finisher.
Of faith.
It's only our faith in connection with receiving it, but since it is his faith, he's the source, you know, James says have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and so forth and that not of yourself. Paul says it is the gift of God. He's the source.
The author and finisher of faith.
Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God? Now we have a great cloud of witnesses that were presented to us there and.
In Hebrews 11 and now the Spirit of God brings us to that central option.
The Son of God.
The author and finisher. The beginner and finisher. Faith to look off under him. There he is in the glory and we're pressing on that way, brother. We're soon to be with him. Like him, he's got a marvelous software.
Consider that we're going to go through a change will suddenly be change these bodies so that we have nothing to distract us from the perfect enjoyment of himself, and you'll be just like Christ. We have now the mind of Christ, and we'll be like Him, spirit, soul, starting, and with him forever.
Oh, marvelous to think about it. And so he is absolutely the leader, you know, in that hymn that we sang.
The words go great, captain of salvation. Now that's a unique term. I believe there's only four places in the New Testament where we have that terminology. It's a it's a unique terminology and it only applies to the Lord Jesus that is this terminology.
That expresses him as the author and finisher, the beginner of and finisher.
And in some places it's the Prince and the Captain in Chapter 2.
These expressions are all relative. They're all of the same.
Original word and here.
It's expressed as the captain of our salvation in Hebrews chapter 2.
And there it's in connection with manhood.
Verse 10 Ford became him for whom were all things and by whom are all things, And bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect, to suffer karaoke, the beginning of the finisher, the captain of our salvation, and.
Peter brings that before the people over in Acts chapter.
00:25:01
Three, we'll just look at these and then you can think about them for yourself. But all these thoughts are the relative in chapter three of the book of Acts and verse 15.
He says. But she denied the Holy One in the just by the way, that's.
The real work of restoration does it not that Peter can accuse them of the very thing he had done. What a work of restoration in his soul, that he could accuse them of denying the Holy One and the just.
And desire to murder to be granted them through verse 15 and killed the Prince of life. Or it's the same thought as the author and finisher, the beginner here it's in connection with life. But he is the the author. He's the author of life or the beginner, and he's the finisher of, as it were.
It's that same expression that is unique to him here. It's worded as the Prince of life.
Over in chapter 5.
Uh.
And in verse 31.
Well, verse 29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men.
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom he slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with the right hand to be a Prince and a savior, or the author in finisher.
For to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins, that they have no idea who they were dealing with. Had they known, they would not have killed the Prince of life. How responsible they were. And they were dealing with the one who was a very originator, and he went the whole course as it were, and he finished it.
So what an example we have in the Lord Jesus.
Now we can take a look at the Apostle Paul because he is a patterned St. I believe God wanted us to see what he could do, how he could change your heart to the extent that he did. The Apostle Paul not only taking him up as the chief of sinners because he was first in ranked you might say, for the hatred he had in his heart against the name of Jesus and against the church.
And God turned him and reversed him, and he became.
The pattern thing.
And so let's follow a little bit of call in his beginning here. It's over to acts.
However, his finishing of his course turned back to Acts Chapter 20. Let's take a look at that 20th of Acts.
And then maybe perhaps we can find an Old Testament reference or two.
But in Acts 20 what I'm referring to is this.
Verse 24 is what I have in mind.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy.
That I might finish my course with joy that was uppermost in the minds of the Apostles. And he had a great burden when he called those efficient elders together, because.
He knew how things would take a turn here as he gives them a stiff warning in verse 38, now 28.
Take heed. Take heed therefore unto yourself and all the flock over the which or in which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
For I know this, that after my decorating shall grievous wolves enter in among you nuts bearing the flock also of your own cell shall mineralize, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after death.
00:30:04
For what awarding the apostle gave these Ephesian elders, and what a prophetic warning it was, Because that's exactly what happened. I know how the enemy has succeeded in coming in and in devastating the church.
And tragic enough, we still see how men arise among them speaking perverse things here happening it. It doesn't necessarily mean untrue things, but it's pressing things, even true to the extent of dividing the faith. It becomes perverse in that way to draw away disciples after them. What a tragic debate of them.
But Paul refreshed their memory here.
In verse 18.
He says, And when they were come to him, he said unto them, You know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons.
Now that's not boast, He's just simply stating a fact.
Can my brethren say that about me? Can they say that about you?
Has there been a consistency and evenness at all seasons so sometimes we're tested on that.
And here we see that God gave the apostle grace to maintain an evenness. Oh, I don't believe that that was totally without some fault here. Some little points of failure, perhaps. He spent a good deal of time there in Ephesus, and there was a tremendous work of God.
You know, it's very interesting. We were talking about timing and even the faster noon our brother suggested that we need to wait on the Lords for an opening. And I believe that was very true. Even in the Lakers of the Apostle. If you follow his journey, you'll see at the 1St that he he came up there into the eastern or into the northern part of Asia and he was forbidden of the Holy Spirit to go up into Papinia. And so they keep going on in a westward course.
And he was forbidden to go down into Asia at that time. And so he they continue on a Western course. And what happens, they end up at the seashore. Now what are they going to do? And on that very night that they arrived.
Poland a dream had this message from the man of Macedonia come over and help us, and so dear then that opened up, then a work into Macedonia that includes Philipine, Thessalonica, and most places. And finally they worked and went on down to Athens, and then down in Torres. And he spent a lot of time down there in Corinth, and yet he had not gone into Asia.
And Asia was used to be perhaps his largest work.
Whose largest work. But finally the time came when he seemed to have liberty, and we don't get much record about it. But when he seemed to have liberty to go on over to Ephesus from that area of torrents in Athens, he went over to Ephesus and he left Aquiline Priscilla there. And even at that time he did not say he wanted to go up to Jerusalem again, but when he returned.
The Lord by the Spirit of God opened up wise.
That worked in Asia, and what a vast work it was. And so he reminds them of how he was at all seasons. All that exercise with my heart, that my life has been consistent enough that the thanks of God have not been hindered by it.
Course that they understand. We all have times when we're not feeling this best or maybe something irritation, but overall, how is the overall picture?
Have you Have we made it easier for others to continue on in the past, for the glory of the Lord Jesus? And notice this too, He says in verse 19, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, with many tears and temptations, which he fell me to the lying in weight of the Jews, and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you.
But I've showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to House of earnings.
What an example he was setting in the course of his ministry that he desired to finish with joy. What an example he was setting because he knew what was best for the Saints. Some brother had to point that out to me when I went too far on a certain line of things. He had to point it out to me that Paul kept back nothing that was profitable. You know what it could have said? How I kept that message.
00:35:29
Several years. But that isn't what it says. You know, Paul. Paul didn't just give them everything at once.
He was careful how he presented the truth, and there may have been some things that would have been difficult for them to lay hold out. He was careful how he presented the truth, and yet he did not shun to declare unto them the whole counsel of God. That's what he says in verse 27. So he was a very faithful steward, as far as that goes. But he needed the wisdom of God how to present these things.
In order to declare unto them the whole council of God, and so.
He had wisdom from God too, as to the public ministry and as to the whole ministry. And it may well be that in some instances where it's much easier to try and help the soul in a quiet home business, it can't be done in public ministry, if you understand what I mean. It's there are times when it's best that it be done as it were.
In the choir of the home to present, maybe correct these things before a soul, if it were given out in a public way, they might stiffen up and resist it, you know. But we can see how the tall, even at the very beginning, when he communicated unto them that ministry, those revelations given to him, he did so privately with Cheetah and with James and the others in Jerusalem, so that he hadn't would not have run in vain, because had he come out publicly with.
That before those Christian Jews. That might have been too much for them to take in all at once. As time went on, of course, they begin to lay hold of the truth of Paul's doctrine. But they had a difficulty with it, with Paul's doctrine, because they were too taken up with the old wing. You know what I'm talking about, James told Paul. He says when the last time he came to Jerusalem, he says, don't see it, how many thousands of Jews there are wish to leave. And they're all jealous of the law. And they put tall on the spot.
To give an answer. He never did have a chance to give an answer, but I believe that his answer was the Epistle to the Hebrews.
I believe that was his answer when he was in prison.
And there were things he wanted to bring before them, but they were not mature enough, and he had this talk to them about having need of milk and so forth.
Well, what wisdom the apostle had, and what an example he had in all his course of ministry, and that the importance of not only the public, but the the more personal ministry of the House of Health.
And what was this ministry? Verse 21, testifying both of the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance for God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ and so forth.
Well.
Paul had that desire to finish his course with joy. Turn over to second Timothy.
Chapter 4.
Well, he has arrived at that time.
And here's the very last letter. Here's the very last letter that Paul wrote. He's pouring out his heart now to this young man who is, like, minded.
And he knew that he was about finished verse six of chapter 4/4.
I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is attached. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.
And not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearance, oh brother, doesn't have encouraged our hearts here. We concede that the apostles spoke very plainly of these things, that he knew that his time was running out. He knew that he was about to finish his course. And he could say, I have kept the faith. Have we kept the faith? Will it be true of us to the end? Oh brother, let's hold fast.
00:40:30
The Lord is coming very soon. Let's hold fast. I believe that if it were in times of great testing, and I have no guarantee that I will continue on in the pathway of His will. I want to. I want to with all my heart, but it's only by the grace of God that it will be sold. And what lovely words to consider. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and so He talks about the sound of righteousness laid out.
And not only for him, but he brings in others too, and all them that love his appearance. Do you know what that means, to love his appearance? Well, if you love his appearing, you're really out of source with this world and all it seems. In our view, that's just what it means, because he's appearing will bring to an end man's day with all its activity and with all its independence, shutting God out of all their ways and doing.
And.
So you won't be popular really with the world if you love his appearance, because that will bring to end all of man's willful doing.
So what a right love that is always beloved brother must not fall into a love like Demon versus him.
Having loved this present world of present age, I don't believe that indicates the way Mr. Darby renders it. I don't believe it indicates that that there was a quest for a worldly course, as it were. He just simply didn't want to go along with the recruits any longer of Paul's doctrine and.
He wanted an easier path, as it were, and his heart was taken up with the present age. I have to be careful of that. It's a very easy thing, and it may not be as if we're a worldly horse, but maybe it's just simply a taking up. With all this age, you know, we're living in an age of great advantage and we all enjoy modern conveniences. We all enjoy the advantages of modern technology, do we not?
But is it stealing away our hearts, as it were, that we aren't enjoying the Lord as we should, and longing to be with him and out of this world and finish with this age? O brotherness, be careful, our hearts are deceitful in these matters. Well, turn over to Revelation and Chapter 11 and look what's going to happen after we're gone.
Verse seven of Revelation Chapter 11.
And when they shall have finished their testimony.
The beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. So here's an amazing thing.
We do get a different we get a glimpse of different classes of people that are linked with the gobbler remnant of Israel after we're gone.
And some of them will follow the instruction of fleeing to the mountains and so forth.
But here's a company that don't budget. They just continue on with their testimony right in Jerusalem of all places.
And the beast and the Antichrist and all their wicked power can't touch them. They can't stop that testimony until it's finished.
Well, you know, this may seem a little remote to you.
But I feel just as confident that the enemy cannot stop the present testimony to the truth of the one body, to the divine Sinner who cannot stop it until it is saved. You say we'll bring women testimony be said.
When the Lord Jesus comes, I believe it will continue on till it comes. I believe there are scriptural indications that there will be a way strictly to meet where the Lord is in in the midst until he comes, and the enemy is not, will not be permitted to stop that testimony till the Lord comes to say, well, what? What could stop that testimony? Our unfaithfulness.
00:45:28
But if we're willing to press on to the end by his grace.
Then the testimony will be maintained. Yes, it's very true that the Lord can remove the candle stick, but I do not see any thought that would even suggest that the testimony generally corporately is in jeopardy only. Yes, the enemy is really a failure, but still the Lord is faithful and He will and can maintain.
A little company for his own glory.
For his own glory. That's always concerned about it. And the enemy is not, will not be permitted to stop that testimony. And it's an amazing thing that how God has even moved the hearts of the powers that be that they're not outright opposed to the testimony. Even in connection with a meeting hall. You may get the meeting hall tax free. We get the meeting hall in Corner Brook tax free At first. There was some opposition to that and the powers that be told us.
To consult the right people and we just simply prayed about it, the brethren, and and proceeded with it. And the Lord just opened it up and they recognized it. So I think we can just leave that with the Lord And the Lord has certainly is caring for the testimony and he wants it to go on to his glory. Now one little glimpse in the Old Testament and we may pursue this further. I'm not sure it's over to the book of Zechariah.
The book of Zechariah will read a little of this in chapter 4 and then I'll try and give you a little bit of.
Basis of the thought.
Zechariah, chapter 4.
Verse 7.
Well, we better read verse.
Six Then he answered, and spake unto me, saying.
This is the word of the Lord unto the rubble.
Saying not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Who art thou, O great Mountain, before Zerubbabel, thou shalt become a plague, and he shall bring forth a headstone thereof with shouting, crying grace, grace unto it.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of the rubble have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it.
And thou shalt know that the Lord of peace has sent me unto you for who has despised the day of small things?
For they shall rejoin those eyes, and shall see the plummet in the hand of the rubble with those seven they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth. Well, as you went back historically, you would see that the rubble in the Bush of Ezra was the governor that was sent of the king down to Jerusalem.
To rebuild the temple this was this was after the captivity or into post captivity times in this connection and.
God wanted that testimony established again. He wanted that visible testimony to his presence.
And so he sent the rubble and these others that came voluntarily with him. That's a very important thing to keep in mind. They came voluntarily with him.
Down for the reconstruction of this temple for the name of the God of Israel.
00:50:05
Well, it looks as though they got a little bit discouraged after they got down there. There were several things that were hindering them, but they got discouraged and they began to slack off of its work. And so God sent 2 prophets to stir them up. And we can be very thankful for the way in which the Lord may stir us up when we need stirring up if we get a little bit lax in our hearts.
And he sent these two deer men of God, these two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. So when you read the book of Ezra.
By the time you get to chapter five of the book of Ezra, it's very helpful to read the book of Haggai and the book of Zechariah, and this then helps us to see what those prophets have to say to the people that stirred them up and so.
Here's some of the things that Zechariah had to say to the people, and especially to the rubble. This governor that was sent. And by the way, you know, the rubble was really of the lineage of David, but he came from a family line that had a curse upon them, and so they were never permitted to take the throne of David.
Well, we don't see any thought of resentment on the part of the rubble. No, he's willing to function simply as a governor, governor, and do this for the Lord.
And we see that the people come back, and as I say, they were discouraged, and that these two prophets were sent to stir the people up. And it's interesting to notice how the Haggai focuses especially upon that temple that they were to build and construct.
And Zechariah focuses especially upon the city.
Well, it was all relative, for the testimony of the building of that temple could not be anywhere. It had to be at that city where he had placed his name.
And so how did the prophets encourage the people to go on with the work and especially derubable? Well, I believe it is by this very type of exhortation that we're reading here and in verse six, he he tells Rubble. He says.
It's really not by mightness, power. You don't need to use that as an excuse. You don't need to plead that we have no strength, that we're too weak, that we can't do it. It's because it's really not by might nor power, but it's by my spirit, saith the Lord. Now shouldn't that be an encouragement to our hearts? You might say, always feel so weak. How can things go on in such a state of weakness if not by minor power but by my spirit, saith the Lord?
He is well able to maintain that testimony to his name.
And not only that, but I get the thought in verse seven that God is.
Is warning those that would dare to stand in opposition to this work. He's warning them in this case here it was this power of Babylon that originally.
Came in and took the people away, Kathy, and held them in ******* as it were. And God sent the Persian the little Persian Empire, especially under Cyrus, and said love and gold.
And he put down the Babylonian, Babylonian empire and he set the people free. He said if you want to go back, go back. He said that temple should be built. And he made a decree. He opened the way for them to go back and so.
The prophet of the Spirit of God challenges this power of Babylon, says the quotation from Jeremiah. He challenges this power of Babylon as to their interference and said this great mountain is going to be made like a plane. In other words, this whole Babylonian Babylonian spirit will be just leveled out and destroyed.
Now that baby lonely spirit is at work against the present. Testimony in Revelation 17 is called Babylon the Great. And what is that when the Great In Revelation 17 it is ecumenic Christendom, the storms, the true testimony to the name, and to the glory of the Lord Jesus. So makes it snide remarks as well. You're just a little no name group or you have no.
00:55:25
Minister.
Or some other charge against the same. They scorn a little testimony like this because it does not fit what they expect and what they think is required of the Christian testimony. And in addition to that they resent and they scorn those that will not fall in with the ecumenic spirit of things and the joining in the reunion of all the churches.
And there have been many attempts for the enemy to bring that sort of thing abound, even among brackets.
And so that's what they want to achieve and they will achieve it. After all the believers is on out of this world and there's nothing real left. Then that which only makes a profession will achieve their big ecumenical union and that they will assert their authority, as it were, over the Western nations. And the woman arrived the beast again, that's what you have in Revelation 17, that same spirit of babbling that.
Is developing even now in Christendom.
Was prevailing at that time, and would stand in opposition, as it were, to this work of God. But he said derivable is going to bring forth the headstone, crying grace, grace unto us. What does that mean?
Finish it. That's the idea. He'll finish it. The enemy will not. Would not be permitted to stop him from finishing that work. And what maintained it? Grace. That's the whole idea. Grace. Grace unto us. The enemy could not stop the rubble from completing that work and and capping it off, as it were, and.
The enemy was humbled in their own eyes.
When they saw that this was really a work of God, they couldn't deny it the power behind it. And you might say that the eye of God in jealousy was watching that work at that time. Is there any less true today?
No, I believe that God has. Shall I use such an expression? I say it reverently. I believe that God has an eye of jealousy upon the little testimony to the name and to the glory of his beloved Son.
I am convinced he will preserve and maintain that testimony to the end. And by His grace I want to be there. I want to be gathered to His name. And so we do not want to despise the day of small things. Verse 10. We want to recognize what is really the work of God, and that's what that prophet was trying to bring before them. Don't lose heart. This is the work of God. It's going and Bill and Jewish and complete this work.
And the prophet Zachariah as well as Haggai assured them that God would take care of it, He would see it through, and you just need to get busy and go ahead with that work. That was the word that was derivable and to the other people. And did they turn a deaf ear to such admonition as that? No, they did not. They got stirred up and exercised in their heart, and they went right ahead with that work, and they look at that another time.
They went right ahead with that work and they completed it and the enemy couldn't stop it. So that's very encouraging. You know, if you can trace out some parallels of these things. It is such a sheer and encouragement when we can relate it to the present testimony, which we understand what I mean. Well, let's just give us advice and may we turn to him in every situation. I believe he allows circumstances in our lives.
To make us feel our needs so that we will walk independence before Him. And I would just say in closing again, as we bring those needs before the Lord, let's not forget that he's done so much for us in the past. And let's not forget to thank him and praise him for all the way that He has LED us, and then to trust Him. As long as we're left here. Shall we pray we thank the we're not gathered to a doctrine, we're gathered to a person.
01:00:02
Now, brethren, that is true, may we never lose sight of the person of Christ will be preserved as we see him, and Him alone in the mid, as we see no man save Jesus only. But, Brethren, let's remember that doctrine is vital. It's important. It's the foundation for everything else. And it says that in the 138 Psalms thou hast magnified thy word above thy name. Let's never put us at where the name above the word I speak reverently. God says He placed his word above his name.
And were never justified in doing anything, even in the name of the Lord Jesus, without the authority of God's word. Well, I'd like tomorrow evening to continue and to look at some other things that he would be have us to be occupied with in relationship to His coming. But all Brad and we may be home by then. We may see His lovely face. May we have this before us, May we be washing, May we be waiting, and may we be listening for that assembling shout.
Beginnings & Endings, Ezra Pt.2
Address—D. Bilisoly
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
For 11 in the back of the book.
11 in the appendix.
What cheering words with their sweetness, who can tell in time and to eternal days?
Kills with believers well in every state. Secure watch by the Savior's eyes.
Is well within should life endure, and well called God well in affliction ways.
Or on the mount with John well, when they join and sing and pray, or buffet with the flood.
6.
But above all, how? Well when Jesus speaks the word, and at the trumpet sounding swell, they rise beneath their God.
What hearing words are there?
By now you'll be from all day.
Here will give me words well.
Save your pride.
Peace well.
Well.
When there is joy in heaven and pray.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Oh.
Oh oh oh God. Nowadays to lay all my God.
And grow damnation.
Well.
When they?
Call her now true.
But all how well?
When she saw us peace, our world.
After that.
Strong brother.
Sounding as well.
And they rise into the rising to me and the air gone.
Now let's ask the Lord's help.
Now let's turn to the book of Ezra.
00:05:45
Just a verse in chapter 6.
As with chapter 6.
In verse 14 Ezra 614 and the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet in Zechariah the phantom ISIL, and they builded and finished it.
According to the commandments of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus and Darius and Arthur's king of Persia. And this house was finished.
Now the other day, well, yesterday we were talking about the beginning and finishings of things.
And of course we consider the one who is supreme.
The one who, for the joy that was set before him, endure the cross despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God, the author and finisher of faith in all perfection. And we considered how tall had a longing desire that he might finish his course with joy. And he reached that point where he realized that his testimony was about over.
And we came then to the Old Testament here, and we considered.
We considered how in the book of Zechariah how that the prophet Zechariah encouraged the heart of Zerubbabel by assuring him he would finish this work. He began it and he would finish it and lo and behold and when we get here to the book of Ezra to this 6th chapter.
We read that the work was finished and that work could not be stopped and that should greatly encourage our hearts.
That God's work will continue. Man cannot stop it. God will bring it to pass according to his will and.
We are nearing that time when our work will be finished.
And will be suddenly with the Lord. That will be it. So, brethren. And the time is short. That's what the apostle said. The time is short, and we need to take heed and consider it. Now let's back up a little in this book, because I believe that there are some things very instructive for our hearts in the book of Ezra. It had to do with a remnant testimony. What I mean by that is that.
This was a.
Post captivity book It was a book that took place after the captivity and the people went into captivity for 70 long years. Just think 70 years and.
You know, it says that in the book of Jeremiah that 70 years were determined for The Desolation of Houston. He's not a song saying 170 years.
Well, the most responsible times in Israel's history was during the times of the kings. I'm talking about before the Lord Jesus made venture into this world.
Their most responsible time was during those times of the king.
And those kings were responsible to write for themselves a copy of the scriptures.
Have you ever had to write out the word of God for yourself?
00:10:01
That we've got a past, wouldn't it? But if all our Bibles were taken away and Bibles became very scarce as they were in the communist country at one time, and even yet today they're not real plentiful.
You might come across some hands written copies of scriptures, and if the Bible was gone, we may have a greater value of it than perhaps we do now.
And so people were handwriting copies of the scriptures, and the kings of Israel were required to write for themselves a copy of the scriptures. And why is that?
To impress it upon their memories and on their hearts, so that they knew what the law said, what the word of God said, and what was expected of them. Because they were the leaders of the people and they they bore greater responsibility as leaders. That holds true today.
That holds true today.
But for 490 years of the crimes of the king, they did not observe the law as they should have. Maybe to some extent. But one thing they did certainly did not acknowledge even during the days of David, even during the days of Solomon.
Even during the days of Hezekiah and ASA and Jehoshaphat and Josiah that your godly king during all those times are the kings, They did not recognize one sabbatical year every seven years. They were to leave the land dormant. They were not to kill the land. They're not under the law, of course, we know that. But that was a retirement. They were to let the land fly at rest.
Every 7th year they disregarded that publicly.
Where shall I put it this way, that God, in his ways, in his governmental ways, saw to it that his land, Emmanuel's land, Jehovah's land, got its?
It's 70 fabric.
Well, that's very solid to consider and.
You know, the time was about up in Daniel's day when you get to the 9th chapter of of Daniel.
Daniel was reading the word of God, brother. How are we going to know anything? How are we going to be informed? How can we be assured of the will of the Lord if we don't read our Bible?
And it's it's so important that we personally read our gospel. You personally read your Bible today.
That's a searching question for our hearts, isn't it? I know it's busy times that we can find time to do what we want to do. A little bit to read a little of the scriptures anyway. Oh, how important that is. And Daniel, you know, he was busy in the Kingdom. Don't think for one minute that he wasn't, because he wasn't a man of real rank in the Kingdom.
But Daniel was busy, and he was getting older too. But yet he was into the word of God. And it just so happened that he picked up a copy. He somehow or another he got a copy of the book of Jeremiah.
But that's all they have in those days was just the Old Testament. And if they even had a copy of one of these books of the Old Testament, that would be quite a prize. Not everyone had those. But Daniel had the book of Jeremiah, and he was reading it, and he was reading it. Lo and behold, he came across that passage.
Where Jeremiah said that 70 years we've determined in the desolation of Jerusalem, Daniel realized that that time was up. And what did he do about it? Well, I believe he was getting too old personally to consider the possibility of him going back to the land, but he got down on his knees and he really prayed about this marriage he knew.
That the time was about up and he knew in his heart that surely God would do something, but he also knew the condition of his people and we see when he prayed, he prayed in dead end. Read for yourself the 9th chapter of the book of Daniel. It is so good for the soul if you want an example of a of a fervent effectual prayer.
00:15:00
There it is. Read it, and you'll see how that dear man of God poured out his heart in treating God in behalf of the people. Was God entreated? Indeed he was. I'm sure his heart was, was concerned, and was ready to.
Bless that people to do something. But I'm. I feel certain that God in a special way, was intrigued in behalf of that people because of the fear of Daniel. And so God moved the heart of that powerful King Siren. God can still move the hearts of these men in power, you know, and we really do need to pray for them. Our our brethren in other places are having difficult times and we need to pray for them. I am so thankful that the Peruvian government was able to.
To put down or at least to bring in to check that shining test terrorist movement, they've got the key man to begin with, and that's.
To break the whole tower of that system. And then they begin to get others. Oh, I'm so thankful, for the sake of our beloved brother, as well as all the other Christians of Peru, that that wicked thing was was put in check so that now the brethren can circulate freely up in the mountain areas of Peru, and visiting brothers can go up there now with a measure of safety.
For a while they could not. It was so bad. And I am so thankful that the government in Egypt is not putting up with that extreme Islam, that they are trying to put it down and suppress it. Because the wickedness of those people is to overthrow the government and to bring everything under Islamic law, which would mean too bad for the Christians. It will be the death sentence for the Christians, so we can be so thankful.
That God does work in the hearts of the powers that be. And they're not just opposed to the testimony according to the truth of the one body, the truth of the ground together, No. And we can see how God moved the heart of Cyrus in behalf of that people. That king went through something, I don't know what it was, But God called him his anointed, his elect, and he.
He passes a decree that is extremely favorable.
For the rebuilding of that temple. And he released the people of a little picture of the Lord Jesus Christ is the great deliverer of the people. He put down the power of Babylon, and Babylon is so representative of that which stands in opposition to God, whether he politically or religiously, or whatever the case may be. And we see that Cyrus, like the Lord Jesus, is the great Deliverer.
And he released the people. And so he gives a decree here that we read of in chapter one, and he lays it wide open. We should read a little bit of this in chapter one of Ezra.
Now you will notice if you just flip your page over.
Through the last chapter of Second Chronicles, you'll see identical words from verse 22 on.
Identical words as what we first read here in Asia Chapter one.
Is that? Is it a mistake? Is that superfluous? Absolutely not. But notice, notice how Second Chronicles 36 ends, verse 23 ends.
Let him grow up. I think that's so interesting. Let him grow up. Well, if he came over to the first chapter of Ezra, now we see that it was an incomplete statement sentence. In verse three it says let him go up to Jerusalem. But now, first of all, let's just read.
From verse one. Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord for the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his Kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying Thus as Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven, hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he hath charged me to build him.
00:20:18
And house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah, who is there among you of all his people.
His God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of the Lord God of Israel. He is the God which is in Jerusalem. And then as we read on, he he writes, as it were a blank check. He says, help them out. Do everything you can to further this work. But Cyrus says, the Lord God commanded me to build him and help.
How did the Lord do that? Did he send the prophet to Cyrus? No, I don't believe so. I don't believe so. I don't know how he appeared to Cyrus, how he made this known. It could have been in a dream. It could have been. But Cyrus heart them to this message and and as King Cyrus though he was.
A ruthless conqueror and put down the Babylonians.
And you know that came about in the 5th chapter of Daniel. You can read how that Belshazzar, that propane man, you don't need to turn to it. But if the whole Kingdom of Babylon reached an intolerable state until finally here in his contempt for what's sacred and holy, he calls for these vessels of the temple, the vessels of God could be brought forth, and he and his wives and his concubines and so forth, and his ministers and the people of his court, they drink wine out of these sacred vessels.
And here comes the handwriting on the wall, on the plastic. And it was absolutely terrified. Here was a man's hand riding on the plaster of the wall, and he was terrified. He was so terrified that his knees started smiling once, one against the other.
And there was #1 sound. Who could interpret this writing except Daniel for the power of God, And it says.
Something like thy Kingdom is numbered and finished and so forth. There was the finish of a Kingdom. It did come to an end that began with Nebuchadnezzar, that was built up to such a point that he could say, Is this not great babbling which I have built for the might of my power? For the glory of my majesty and God had to reduce him to an animal?
The humble him and Belshazzar should have known these things. That's what Daniel said to him, that he was full of contempt and had no regard to the God of Israel. And so he was told in that very night that his Kingdom would be finished. And it was it was those those clever.
Needs and Persians. You know, they they blocked the they altered the course of the river.
Of the Euphrates caused the waters to go away from Babylon and the waters lowered down. Otherwise it was a city that was. It was such a fortress. The walls were so high. I think they were 75 feet high. They were so wide they could drive cherry. They had gardens inside. They had their water source. It was a city that couldn't be touched.
You would say that the waters lowered down past the bars, and the soldiers came through and took the city suddenly in the night and slew King Belshazzar and the meat. And the person took over the city, and they had it.
So here was this great deliverance. And so he says that the God of Heaven had charged me to build a house and he's, he's saying now, who is there among you people that will go up?
Has your little brother in there is something to learn from math?
It tells me if we relate to present day things, it tells me that God desires to have a testimony that he is not compelling people to be a part of it. It has to be a thing of the exercise of life of his own will.
00:25:01
Who is there among you of all his people? Verse three, His God be with him, and let him go up. The way was open. If they desired to have a part, to be a part of this testimony. And God desired to have this testimony, and he said that it would be solved. And as we already read it was finished. Ultimately it was finished. Now this Osiris.
Is very open hearted. He gives up all the vessels of the temple as well as other things, and he entrusts them to this.
Czech desire to see in verse 8 of Prince of Junior. Well, that's the same as the rubble. That's the same as the rubble that was to be the governor. Now he was a Prince. He really was of the royal fleet of David and as I said the other day.
He could not reign because of the curse upon his family line. But here he has a willing heart, a ready heart to come and to do the work of John. And you notice we're given the number even of the Chargers and of all this.
These things belonging to the temple, the gold and the silver. And if you read carefully in verses 9 and 10 concerning an 11 Concerning these vessels, you'll see that there's more vessels of silver than there are of gold.
Well, I believe that that is suggested to us. I enjoyed the remarks of others in this connection, but the goal perhaps would suggest to us the deeper, precious things of God. That truth that pertains to the glory of the Lord Jesus as the divine gathering center, for example, and those precious truths. The silver perhaps, would be more suggestive of redemption now. We thank God for all our reviews, and we thank God for each one.
Who values the work of redemption, but we don't want to stop at that point.
You know, like Paul said that the Hebrews let us go on into perfection. You know, let's not just as it were relaxed at that point, but let's go on and enjoy what God has for us and to recognize and society the truth connected with the present testimony to be gathered under the precious name of the Lord Jesus. What a privilege, brother, in such a day of weakness and ruin.
And don't you remember what Zechariah said to Zerubbabel? Especially when they got the scurries? Were anticipating this part of the account, but they did get the scurries a little later. And remember what Zachariah said to to Zerebical.
He says, For who hath despised the day of small things? Oh, it is a day of small things, and that we must be willing to bear his reproach to continue on in a little remnant testimony, according to his name, and for his glory anyway.
Here in chapter 2.
We have a genealogy, a listing, I should say, a register.
Of those that came back.
You say, if I were God, write out all these names and give us the account of those that returned. Oh, brethren, I really believe this gives us a little hint of God's appreciation and value of those that were willing to bear this approach and be identified with this testimony. And as we read on here in this book of Ezra, we see that these people did bear considerable reproach.
By the people around them. Their enemies tried in every way to shame them, as it were in this report, this word, and to they showed hostility against this work. Oh yes, the enemy resents the testimony. I can remember Eric Smith raising the question in a conference one time. He says, why is the enemy so opposed to the testimony of the one body in practice? And the answer was, it is because that truth draws the same closer to Christ.
Oh, indeed it does. And no wonder the enemy resists that he hates that which honors the Lord Jesus in any way. Dear ones here tonight, who we really desire to honor the Lord Jesus. Are you willing to be subject to the word of God all the way? I I thank God for everyone here that knows the Lord Jesus as his savior. But are you willing to continue on in the truth? And there's his reproach? He will have all them to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
00:30:24
He doesn't want us to just stand still, but he wants us to progress and to know the truth and to walk in what he has made known.
To our souls. But here we have a listing and we're given the number of the names of it and I don't know if.
This the number applies to just certain ones. I don't exactly know because if you tally up all the numbers listed here you would not get the same total, but that isn't the important thought. I just hope that I can convey this thought to you, but you will notice that in this registry that is listed here.
We have a total of the number of names and you'll see in verse 64 of chapter 2.
That the total number the whole congregation together was 40 and 2303 store.
Were given the total number.
That really wasn't very many when you consider the full number of the nations that went into captivity.
That wasn't very many, but God is so pleased with those that were willing to come back, they weren't compelled to do so. But he's so pleased that they desire to come back that he has listed these family names, as it were, and draws attention to this fact. Now hold your place here.
And turn over to the Book of Nehemiah.
To chapter seven of the book of Nehemiah.
No, in Nehemiah Chapter 7.
And verse 6.
Nehemiah says verse five. Rather Nehemiah Chapter 7 and verse 5, and my God put into mine heart to gather together in the nobles and the rulers and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the 1St and found written therein. And as we go down through this registry we see all these same names again.
And not only that, but when we come to the total of the names in verse 66 of chapter Nehemiah 7.
We see that the whole congregation together was 40 in 2303 scores. It's the same number you say. Is this just a duplication of God duplicating something for us? No, I don't believe so. I don't believe so. I believe what we have here in Nehemiah Chapter 7 is a revised registry.
And the comparison to make is the comparison of the number of names. Beside each of these prominent names you will see a discrepancy. You will see that in some cases there are more names added in Nehemiah than what we have over there in Ezra, and in other cases you will see that there are less names.
Than what we had in Ezra, what is the difference? And yet the sum total number still is as it says 40 and 2303 score.
Brethren, the thought that came before me a while back was this.
That I believe that in cases where.
There were less names in Nehemiah, perhaps some lost heart and wet back to Deathless. After all, there were advantages in the north. You don't. Don't you remember even hearing Nehemiah? They had the coax, some of the Levites to come. They were. They were settled up in those places, and they didn't want to uproot, as it were and come down to Jerusalem.
00:35:07
For the purpose of their coming. And so it seems to me that in those cases where there are less, some perhaps churn and wet back, that's very sad to consider. But on the other hand, in the cases where perhaps the number increased, maybe some became exercised a little later after those initially came down with derubable, they become exercise and they came and they were identified with this testimony here in Nehemiah Chapter 7. You can weigh that for yourself.
In some cases there may have only been one atom little brother, and I believe that in itself.
Suggest to us how God values even one exercise soul that desires the truth and will return. Maybe it took some work in their soul, maybe they held back.
We don't want to give up praying. God certainly delights the restorative. He certainly wants souls gathered to his precious name. And we ought to be very concerned about the testimony.
But the thought that comes before me also in connection with these two registries is that God will have an adequate testimony. The total number was still the same. So now what am I saying tonight?
Well, dear brother, if I don't value the privilege of being gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus, he can remove me and replace me with somebody else. Isn't that a dumb thing to consider? He will have the testimony to his own glory. Do we not desire to be identified with him? Oh, what a privilege it is. There's no place for boasting and we're only responsible for the life that we have. There are many dear Saints of God in this world.
That are going on faithfully in the life that they have, and they don't see the truth of the ground of gathering, but they're going on faithfully in the life that they have, and that is the measure of their responsibility. God knows the heart, and certainly we will rejoice to see them rewarded in that day for their faithfulness.
But I believe I am looking in the faces of those who have come to know the truth, and I trust we value the truth and desire to continue on in the truth as gathered under the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Well, I don't want to belabor that point, but I believe that that is really in context what is suggested to us in both Ezra and Nehemiah.
And so.
We see that these dear souls are named and number that God values this little testimony. He wants it. He wanted it for his old namesake. And as far as we're concerned today he wants the testimony for the glory of his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, for his namesake. Where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there are mine in the midst of them.
So anyway, here we see that.
That they come down to Jerusalem in the end of Chapter 2.
And.
Then in verse 70 it says so the priests and the Levites and some of the people and the singers and the porters and the mythonyms.
Dwelt in their cities and all Jerusalem in their cities. By the way, did you notice that little word, Miss Amendment? Who are the misamens? Well, I believe that they are those Gibeonites. Remember those people that way back there in Joshua's day and all, there's such a long chain and history. We were considering this at the table the other day. Such a chain of history of God's governmental ways.
But anyway, God permitted those highlights with giving Knights to deceive Israel and Israel.
Soon discovered that they were the people of the land, and Israel had been deceived, but they had made an agreement with them, They had made a covenant with them, and they they had to hold their word. And so they made servants out of the viewers of wood and drawers of water. And so as time went on, these Gibeonites remained among the people, and many of them were very devoted persons. They were very much attached to the God of Israel.
00:40:13
And so they likewise went off in captivity with the people. And now comes the opportunity for the people to return. And these give you Knights could say, well, we have no more obligation to Israel. We'll just take advantage of this and we'll go our way and we'll.
Establish ourselves in the land and and we'll be finished with all that obligation to Israel.
We see that they are attached.
To Israel, I think that's lovely to notice that. Anyway, here they come and they dwell in their cities and it all looks rather good, does it not? At the end of Chapter 2.
But you know there is a problem, and the problem is this.
That they they so busy themselves.
Getting established and settled in the land that they neglected their purpose in coming.
Isn't that something to think about? But, you know, Scripture says his face answers to faith in water. You know, like a mirror, So does the heart of man to man. Our hearts are no different.
Our hearts are no different and if we go off to live in a different place in a foreign land.
The great tendency of the heart is to do your own things and establish yourself.
And perhaps the work might take a secondary place. There is that danger, and I believe this was the case here. They got so busy doing what they needed to do for their families and their own interests that they were neglecting why they came down there.
Well, I believe these things have a voice to our hearts and to our conscience. But in chapter 3 and verse one, God stirred them up. And how did he stir them up now when the 7th month was come?
The seven sons, you know if you went over to Leviticus 23, you remember we had the seven piece of Jehovah when I was first inverted and gathered a brother and older brother said to me. He says make it a point to study the seven piece of Jehovah and the seven parables of Matthew 13 and the seven addresses of Revelation 2 and three. That was a very good suggestion.
I appreciated that very much, and there's so much that can give us a good understanding of the word of God if we can lay hold of those three sets of sevens.
And so if we looked at Leviticus 23 and considered the seven feasts of Jehovah, we would see that the 7th month is the prophetic month when everything starts to.
Move in behalf of Israel when the prophetic time clock starts again.
When the church is gone, you know the church is like a big parenthesis in scripture. I'm sure most of you understand that the prophetic thoughts stopped at the cutting off of Messiah.
And it stopped.
Prophetic clock is stopped right now and it has been stopped for nearly 2000 years. But just as soon as the Lord Jesus comes, which could be tonight, that prophetic thought will start again. And the 7th year according to Leviticus 23 is the year is the month of all these things. There's three feet that are observed in that 7th month according to the law of Moses back in Leviticus 23.
The first one is a piece of trumpets. That's what calls Israel back to the land.
And then the second one is the feast of Atonement, when they go through a deep morning of soul as they realize that they crucified their Messiah. And like in Zechariah 12, it says they'll look upon him whom they have pierced and they'll mourn. That all takes place in the seventh month. And then finally comes the feast of Tabernacles. And that feast, prophetically, is what ushers in the millennial day.
When the Lord Jesus will establish His Kingdom, and once again Israel will be the center of the earth and the government of the whole world will issue forth from Jerusalem, and of course above it will be the heavenly Jerusalem. You know it's all a marvelous thing and and a subject in itself, but it seems to me that the spirit of God stirred up the people at this 7th month and that they got exercise. And so it says.
00:45:31
And when the 7th month was come, the children of Israel were.
In the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man.
Jerusalem social. Like that expression. Don't you like that expression?
They gathered themselves together as one man.
How were they motivated to do that? Because we see they slacked off for a year.
Doing their domestic training.
What motivated them? I believe it was the Spirit of God what motivates you to be here and to be gathered under the name of the Lord Jesus. It is the Spirit of God if you are truly gathered in heart. And certainly God is extremely patient to help us, to understand and to realize that and to truly enhance together unto Him. And So what a good expression that is. In fact, someone suggested that we have.
In the third chapter at least.
And the 4th chapter, at least five or six things that are very much a part of the remnant testimony, which we very easily can apply for the present testimony. The first one, of course, is the thought of being gathered together, the work of the Spirit of God as one man, that truth of the one body, the unity of the Church, and all that we have in connection with Ephesians 4 and such truths.
And then we see another very important point in connection with this remnant testimony that's going to fly today. And that is to be absolutely subject to the word of God. You see how it's written there? In verse two it says as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. And we we noticed too that they established once again the true worship. There was no true worship all the time.
They were in fabulous. So now comes the opportunity for the true worship of the true God.
And that's all reestablished again.
And also.
We noticed that.
There is the laying of the foundation verse 10. It's like the reestablishing of foundation truth once again.
And then we see another thing that is notable here and that is that there is with the people both.
Weeping and rejoicing in verse 12.
Weeping and rejoicing over the laying of this foundation. Is something wrong? Well, I believe that if we make our application, I believe both thoughts are correct. We ought to weep inwardly, as it were, over the state of the Christian testimony, the dishonor that has been brought to the name of the Lord Jesus, the scattering and dividing of the faith of God. It also would make us weak.
As we consider how the enemy is, has succeeded in causing such devastation, yet, on the other hand, we ought to rejoice that he would be pleased to have a testimony to his name, That by his Maxwell's grace there is a way, a place, to be gathered unto the Lord's name, according to the truth of the one body. Well, these things are all very important.
And another thing too you see in the opening of chapter 4.
The enemies wanted to affiliate in this work and they have to be very plain with them.
And refuse, absolutely, flatly refuse any participation in this work. And I believe that that all is suggested to us that the truth at this very present time must be held in separation, vitally important, in order to continue on in a remnant testimony.
00:50:00
But now, in connection with all the reestablishing of the sacrifices, first of all, in verse three, they set up the altar. Comics bases. Now here's the altar. You know they don't have any walls. There's no protective walls now that came in, Nehemiah said. And here's their their hostile enemies all about them in the land and yet have their confidence was in.
Jehovah's care of them and that altered.
Was the recognition of that and the sacrifice do unto him and so.
Here we have a listing of these various sacrifices that they were to make according as it is written, you see.
And one of the things that we certainly need to notice and that is that they re established verse 5.
The continual burnt offering, I think that's so important because that comes up later. What was that continual burnt offering? Well, if you went back to Exodus, way back to Exodus 29, I think it is, you would see that they were required to offer a lamb.
In the morning and a lamb in the evening every day.
Well, we know what the lamb is suggesting to itself. And when John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away to send the world, they should have easily put it all together, because they had before them that continual burnt offering in their history. It was they made most they made much of that because it was the prominent national sacrifice. The lamb in the morning and the lamb, lamb in the evening, they should have recognized.
That Jesus indeed, was that Lamb of God's providing.
And so as we follow that Lamb.
That continual burnt offering, that lamb we see as Israel began to.
Decline in its history, we see that we only read as it were, of the Lamb in the evening, and that happened in.
Elijah's day, and even right here in the book of Ezra, we see it come up again in.
As we can put our finger on this.
Yes, in Chapter 9, when trouble arose.
We see that poor Ezra sat astonished.
Until the evening sacrifice, verse four of Ezra. 9 What was that evening sacrifice? Was it that lamb?
And so we see that in the.
In the sad and declining State of Israel's history, here is this lamb in the evening. But when we get into the book of Ezekiel and we get a millennial picture of the people in the coming day, it's a lamb in the morning. We see the lamb in the morning. It's as though God is saying this is a new beginning. This is a new work of grace among the people.
Well, anyway, we have these things that are characteristic of the people, and we see that the attitude of the people is here in humility.
See those humility with the people.
What a work of grace and how we can parallel these things.
Well, anyway, it wasn't long before the enemy tried very hard to block this work.
And towards the end of Chapter 4.
We see that the work ceased in verse 24.
The work saved.
Of Ezra chapter 4 and verse 24.
The work see at that time.
But the truth of the matter was that.
That perhaps the work had come to a standstill, maybe even considerably before this, before there was a King's injunction against it.
Now the enemy succeeded in getting the king to stop this work.
But this king forgot that the laws of the Medes and the Persians altered not. He altered a law that Cyrus had made, and he had no right to do that.
And its most remarkable how that when that is brought to his attention.
00:55:03
Oh, he recognizes the mistake of what he had done, and he makes a retranscript and the work begins again. But.
God would not permit that to happen until the people first of all got exercised and began the work again themselves. They were compelled.
God compelled them, as it were, to begin in faith, that work, And then He showed them that he could turn the heart of the powers of being in their favor. That ought to be a great encouragement to us. He wants us to press on in the testimony and trust ourselves to him. He can move, He can work with the powers of God to keep them favorable towards that testimony. So in chapter 5.
We see He raised up these two prophets.
Peggy eye and background. So I suggested yesterday that it would be a good practice to read the book of Ezra with the books of Haggai and Zechariah. And then then you get the real picture. You get the real picture.
But oh, I appreciate what I read here about these two prophets because in a certain sense they what they did, they did it at a great risk. They could have been accused of of insubordination. They could have been accused of a a conspiracy against the king by exciting these people on in this work.
But these two faithful men of God.
They were emboldened to come and to prophecy before these people disturb the people up.
And they proved that they were not afraid of the King's injunction against the work, which was not right.
Which was illegal. They rolled their sleeves up and they got right into this work and they started building with the people. Oh, their hearts were right. It'll be a a lovely thing to see those two dear men of God, Zach Ryan, Hagiah be rewarded in the glory for their faithfulness. And we have no more time. Or we could consider a little of what they had to say to the people we did the other day. Of course, we considered a little bit of what Zechariah had to say and how he stirred up, Especially Derubable because the rubber bowl was the leader. He was the one.
That was the responsible leader, And he was stirred up, and the others were stirred up with him. And they went on with this work. And the enemy tried to stop it, but could not stop it. And the work was finished. Oh, that should be a great encouragement to our hearts. The enemy may try in different ways to stand in opposition to the present testimony that he cannot stop it. I do not believe God will commit.
The enemy to stop it. Our unfaithfulness could cause the work to cease, just as it was with Derubable and the others when they lost heart and they slacked off, and they just went right back to their own things and and and doing their own domestic interests.
And they neglected the House of God there. But God is patient, you know. And he tried to exercise their conscience. Don't remember you. They had failures in various things that should have exercised their conscience. God was speaking to them. Finally they got the message and they got the question, Well, why don't we sing again while we see?
Let him lead on, Almighty God, lead on to victory.
Number three, 12312.
Lead on, Almighty Lord.
Laid on to the glory.
And curving by thy glass and we're we'll join, we follow thee.
01:00:00
We follow.
The.
To hear salvation.
Bring.
We follow.
Grace by life now I can never be heard.
There was a Christ.
Closest.
We hear our war no more.
And all sweet thoughts forever.
Builders, Men, The Lord
Address—C. Hendricks
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.
From Christ, salvation rest to cure, the Rock of Ages must endure. Nor can that faith be overthrown, which rests upon the living Stone. Number 99.
For his friends, Chelsea's name.
And glory and.
Praying.
All right.
Love.
It everything's out of our river.
I want to talk about.
Builders.
The Lord building and man building and the difference.
And the effect of each. Let's turn back to Genesis Chapter 11.
For the first mention of.
Those that hit some building.
Genesis Chapter 11.
And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plane in the land of Shinar.
And they dwelt there and they said one to, another go to.
Let us make us break and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone and slime had they for mortar. Notice how this is the first time building is mentioned in the scriptures. Notice how that the building material that man uses is an imitation. It's artificial, it's not the real material. When the Lord builds, he builds with stones.
Living stones, as Peter tells us he is the rock himself that we are.
Stones in that building, but when man builds, he had brick or stone, something manufactured by man.
And slime has a for mortar. This all speaks of of the earth, that which is earthy, that which is of this world, that which is of man, the first man.
00:05:06
And they said go to let us build us a city. Let us build us a city. Notice that what man builds has man as its focal point. Let us build us a city.
And a tower.
Whose top may reach unto heaven.
And let us make us a name.
Lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth, let us make us a name.
Man is always out to absolve himself. This is the first building and everything that man builds.
Self as its center, the central focus here we see it in the very first building that man undertook.
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of that builded.
And the Lord said, Behold, the people is 1.
And they all, they have all one language and this they begin to do.
And now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. Go to Let us Go down, and there confound their language.
That they may not understand one another's speech.
So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the city.
That is, God frustrated their plans by giving them confusion of speech.
Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because there the Lord.
Then founded the language of all the earth.
And from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
Now this is not normal for God.
The Lord is the Gatherer, but this was a judgment. This was his governmental judgment upon man, because he was. He was leading the Lord out of all his plans. And whatever man builds whatever he puts his hand to has the stamp of self exaltation right upon it that exalts himself. Let us build us a name, make us a city, and a power that may reach to heaven.
And so they were confounded. And so Babylon first mentioned Babylon. Babylon Confusion.
And the last mention of Babylon is found in Revelation 17. Let's turn to it for a moment.
There's much that we could look at in connection with Babylon. There was the Babylon of the Old Testament.
The Jews That was the citadel were you the center of idolatry? And that was where the Jews were carried captive. 70 years of captivity. Babylon headed up by Nebuchadnezzar, the first great gentile world power characterized by idolatry worship of many gods. That which is the direct opposition to the truth that there is one God.
Now in Revelation 17.
Verse 3 So he carried me away. Well let me read verse one. It it starts with where I want to start is come hit her. I will show unto thee the judgment of the great ***** that sitteth upon many waters this great religious system. If a man began building that kind of thing way back there in Genesis 11, and the Lord frustrated their plans, but still whatever man sets his hand to has this character to it.
It exalts. Man, it's poor man. It's making a name for himself.
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
This woman representing this great religious system, so he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness.
Into the wilderness. Just hold our place there for a minute and we'll turn over to chapter.
At 21.
Verse 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hit her.
I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. Now this was the real, this was the real thing. Here in the 70th chapter. It was the false church, the harlot, she who claims to be the bride of Christ. And notice he carried me away in the Spirit to a great entire mountain.
00:10:09
And showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. So the seer views this true bride from a great and high mountain. But back in Revelation 17, verse three, it says he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And it's from the wilderness that he used the false Brad, the harlot, the unfaithful life, if you will. And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast full of names of blasphemy, had her seven heads and 10 horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. Oh, these are all the materials that that man would build to exalt himself, Exalt himself, having a golden cup in her hands, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. She's holding that golden cup high and from earth. As you look at it, it looks like gold, and you can't see what's inside. But from a heavenly vantage point, looking down, they'll see what that cup is filled with. What is it filled with?
Full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
And upon her forehead was a name written Mystery, Babylon the Great, The Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth.
So we read in Babylon, in Genesis 11, Confusion he confounded their languages, and now we have the culmination at the end of all the ages.
Of this great religious system professing to be the bride of Christ, the true Church, out of whose communion there is no salvation. It's what they teach.
Out of whose fellowship there is no salvation. Anyone that is not a member of that Church is damned for all eternity. That is their teaching. That really hasn't ever changed.
All in this country, she has taken a much milder stance, but that's what she still holds.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered with great wonder, not admiration. He didn't admire this woman. He wondered how something that had such a good beginning could have ended up like this.
And the Angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman of the beast that carrieth her, which half the seven heads, and came home.
And at the end of the chapter, verse 18, the woman which thou sawest is that great city.
Which reigneth over the kings of the earth. When John wrote this, there's no question what city that was. It was Rome, and there's no question as to who the woman is. It's wrong.
And then in the next chapter we'll just read a couple verses there. After these things I saw another Angel come down from heaven, had in great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory, and he cried mightily with a strong voice saying, Babylon, the grave was fallen.
Was following and has become the habitation of devils or demons and a hold of every foul spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. She's become the habitation of demons.
Now if you turn back to Ephesians chapter two, we will see the.
The contrast with that in Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse 18.
For through him Christ we both you and Gentiles have access by 1 Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners.
What we're reading of here is what Christ is building in this present day, not what man is building. We've looked at what man has built. We've looked at his beginning in building, and we've looked at the end of it, the end result of it, and what it has turned out to be, an unfaithful harlot and a habitation of demons.
And a hold of every foul and unclean spirit and every hateful bird. But here we see a picture of what Christ is building and what it is called.
Verse 19 Again. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, with fellow citizens, with the Saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That's the apostles and prophets of the New Testament.
00:15:01
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the buildings simply framed together grow it. Here is another building that is being built, that is growing under the direction of the Lord Himself, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. So it's going to issue in, it's going to result in and end in a holy temple.
In contrast with this thing that that man builds, in whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit, the true church, the habitation of God through the Spirit, that which Christ builds, is the place where God dwells. It is his habitation by the Spirit of God, the Spirit dwelling here on earth in the assembly.
In his house, in this building that he is erecting for God's own Lord.
But what Manville's issues in the habitation of demons?
A hold of every unclean and hateful bird. That's the end result of man's building.
Just let's turn back for a moment to Matthew 16 where we have the first mention of Christ building.
We've just looked at the result in Ephesians 2 of Christ's building.
I'll just read a few verses here in Matthew 16.
In verse 15 the Lord asked his disciples, But whom say he that I am?
But Simon Theatre answered and said, the Ark of Christ, the Son of the Living God. Man's opinion had been expressed, and it fell far short of who he really was. And now Peter gives a beautiful confession, taught him by the Father of Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barkilna, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
He did not learn this in some theological seminary. He did not learn this under the teachings of men. He learned it as a revelation from the Father through the Lord. Jesus is that's the most important truth that any of us can have. To know who he is, and to believe in him as the Christ, the Son of the living God. And when he made that confession, Peter the Lord says, now I can build on that. And so he says, I say unto thee.
That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. All the power of the enemy, all the powers of darkness, all the powers that Satan can muster against the Church, will not prevail against what Christ builds. What Christ builds is infallibly perfect.
And the gates of Hades, that is death, can have no claim, no power over the church that Christ builds.
Now let's turn to.
First Corinthians chapter 3.
First Corinthians chapter 3.
And I, brethren, first one could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal.
Even as unto babes in Christ.
I have fed you with milk and not with meat. These Corinthians came short in no gift. They were gifted assembly. They were endowed with these gifts and quite a prosperous assembly. And yet he speaks to them as being carnal and he has to feed them like like babes.
He says, I fed you with milk and not with meat, for you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able, for ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying in strife and divisions, are ye not carnal in rock his mouth?
Envying the strife of divisions in an assembly shows that they are they are operating on a kernel human level, not spiritual.
They walked as men, and yet they were not men. They were Christians. Oh, yes, you would say they were men, but no, they were. They were Christians. No.
And yet they were walking as men. For while one saith I am Apollo, and another saith I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal?
00:20:04
Now they weren't literally saying that they were following Paul and Apollos, he says in the 4th chapter, verse six, he says These things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your savage.
That she might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. Actually they they were following leaders there at current, not calling Apollos. But he didn't want to name these men, because then he would have been charged with being jealous of their popularity. And so he puts his name and a policy's name there to illustrate the principle of carnality.
In following there and setting up men as their object of adoration and following different leaders, it wasn't they were following fallen Apollo's. In fact they were seeking to to speak against Paul and to discredit his ministry and himself. But he puts himself in here in verse four of chapter 31 far while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo's argue, not Carly.
He was using his name in the policies to illustrate.
The principle of the carnality in following any man.
Who then is Paul now? He actually mentioned the the other man that they were following, or the other men they were following and he had named them. They'd say. Well, he's just trying to put them down, so he puts his name instead.
Who is Paul himself? Or who is Apollo's but ministers by whom you believe, even as the Lord gave to every man?
I have planted Apollo's water, but God gave the increase in every one of you. And speaking to many that know what farming is and know what it is to plant water from his God can give me increase.
So that neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth but God that giveth.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one, and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Or we are, it says here, laborers together with God. Literally. We are God's fellow laborers. It isn't that we're laboring alongside of God, but we're laboring alongside of one another, and we're laboring for God. We're his fellow laborers. That's what he's really saying.
We are laborers, fellow laborers with God. Ye are God's husbandry, God's farm, God's cultivated field. That's what that word means. And then he changes the figure He's been talking about someone sowing seed and the Saints where the those that he was sowing the seed among and it was producing fruit.
God gave the increase, and as the word is administered amongst the Saints, the Saints are viewed here as as a cultivated field, a a, a heritage.
My husband husband Excuse me, God's husband, great. And any changes to figure he says Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
Now he's no longer going to, he's switching now from the farm atmosphere of a solar sowing seed in this field and God giving increase and the word of God being presented to the Saints and and to it. They're growing thereby and now it changes to a picture of a building, your God's building so.
Now he's going to give truth founded upon that.
Basis that foundation of God's building.
According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. Here you have Nan building.
In this building that is called God's building.
Another buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Now we saw in the first mention in scripture in Genesis 11 man building.
Van building for his own self Exaltation, Let us build us a city and a tower that they reach to heaven, and let us make us a name and saw.
And all that man does tends to exalt himself.
Now Christendom is a vast arena where a man has been building.
And where Christ has been building, we see that when Christ does the building, everything is perfect.
00:25:01
It's growing through a holy temple in the Lord. Only true believers are in that building.
That Christ builds. But we are also called here in One Corinthians 3, God's building.
And yet, man is the one that's doing the building. There's a foundation which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ, and that's good.
That's perfect. It can improve on that. But now he says take heed. How do you build on that foundation? And as we look around about us, we see so much that has been built on the name of Christ.
That is not good that exalts man that promotes himself.
That makes him a name.
And does not exalt the name of Christ, one of the things that it says of Philadelphia, it says Thou hast kept my word and not denied my name.
Not denied by name, When man exalts himself, and promotes his own name, and so on, the name of Christ is denied. Well, let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon on this foundation which is Christ. What other foundation can no man lay then that is laid, which is Jesus Christ?
Now if any man build upon this foundation, go.
Silver. Precious stones.
That's all good material. That's all going to stand the test of the fire.
But then, he says, would, Hey, stubble. That kind of material speaks of humanity and speaks of man, and speaks of what characterizes man.
What characterizes Babylon? That which exalts the first man.
So he's talking about the material that is being used in the building.
There's two ways of doing God's building what Christ builds and what man builds.
And what man builds is fallible. It is subject to error.
And we know that much that has been built and is called Christian, it's not according to the word of God. It's not according to the pattern. It's building that will perish. Wouldn't it be a terrible thing to be saved and and wonderful to be saved, But I mean to stand there and find out at the judgment seat that everything that I have been doing.
It's been very depressing.
Because it's exalted the man instead of Christ.
Every man's work shall be made manifest, verse 13.
For the day, the day of manifestation, is coming, and it shall declare it.
Because it shall be revealed by fire. The day of manifestation will be revealed by fire.
And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Notice it doesn't say what how much it is.
But of what sort it is? What is the quality of the work that is being built?
Any man's work abide abide the fire. If it's gold, if it has exalted the person of Christ, His Deity, His Holiness, his sinless humanity, that's going to abide.
Silver is redemptive work. Man can be saved by any other means than the precious Blood of Christ. It exalts Christ's work in His blood. That's going to remain, That's going to abide.
According to the teachings of Scripture, the precious stone speaks of the various glories of Christ and all the beginnings and all His perfections in every situation, in every circumstance.
That's all going to abide. But the wood, the hay, the stubble, it all speaks of that which is perishable and which will not abide the fire.
And a man's building. He has used those kinds of materials all too much. In fact, we can say that of the vast, the greatest percentage of everything that's out there that calls itself Christians has the character of Wood Hayes Stubble.
It might be some grand building costing. It might be some grand building costing millions of dollars to direct the stained glass windows of beautiful organ when I was in visiting my brethren in La Mirada on this trip.
00:30:03
Put it in. And Peter Jacobson. They took me to see the Crystal Cathedral by Robert Schiller. He's the one that runs it.
All of last magnificent Must cost several million direct.
Every chair in this vast, huge auditorium seating thousands. I don't know how many had a name on it.
You had to buy your seat in order just to be there, cost a lot of money to be a member of that church.
And then as we walk down the pavement, there were these rectangles with the man's name and state on it, and he was born. When he died, he was gone, that he's still living, that wouldn't be put in yet. He'd been a significant contributor. And as you got towards the front of the, the one that configured the most, he had the risk. So on all I said to Dan, I said this is all good things struggle. Is that correct?
With his stomach. Very impressive to the natural man, Very awesome. We went inside and they were tuning this huge electronic organ. One was playing notes of the organ up front, One was upstairs tuning the apparatus, some above just so everything would sound a little bit.
And I understand that that man, Robert Schiller, I don't know him, but.
One man knew him when he was preaching years back in a storefront.
Very poor place.
He preached through gospel.
He preaches the social gospel.
He has. He's acquired success in this world.
Someone said to Mr. Kelly, do you have a mind for the world? Said Richard Pitchworth.
That's the difference. Are we living for man's accusation, for that which man approves of and that which exalts man? The first man always living for the 2nd man, the last ever?
Woodhay and stubble, So much that has been built under the name of Christ is that now these builders that build the gold, the silver and the precious stones and the wood, hen stubble, there they're they're saved all over.
But not all of them are building the right with the right material. Not all of them are building that which exalts Christ in His work, in His glories. But so many are building even true believers, and that's the sad part of it. They're building that which promotes first met.
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.
A reward for faithful service for building according to the precepts of this book.
In two Timothy chapter 2 it says.
Second Timothy Chapter 2.
Verse 15 It says study or be diligent to show thyself approved unto God.
A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed.
Rightly dividing the word of truth, think of what it will be for one who is spending the pulpit and then a Christian minister and is built, as this man just mentioned, has done vast cathedrals.
Worth millions of dollars and so on.
To stand there if he's the Lords, I don't know. I'm not a judge. The Lord is. The Lord knows under his.
He once preached a clear gospel, I understand, and now he doesn't. I don't know. I'm not to judge that.
But I can judge that what he's doing now is not according to this book, it's not according to this book. And so I stayed clear of it.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, not man approved unto God. They have God's approbation, God's approval. Just think of what will be for many of these men that have spent their whole lives building up a system which is not according to the scriptures.
00:35:00
Which is largely Judaistic and Jewish in character.
When we are told in the New Testament, let us go forth unto him outside the camp, that camp of Judaism, bearing his reproach, and that could carry over Judaistic principles, and bring them into Christianity, which is what's been done in Christendom.
That Babylon the Great is a mixture of true Christianity and Judaism and.
Of the mixture Confusion, Babylon, the Great, and the cry that I didn't read it, but the cry of Revelation 18, they turned back there. Revelation 18 has come out of her, my people.
That you received not of her place. For our sins have reached the heaven, and God has remembered her with come out of her. God calls us out of anything that is that smacks of man's will and energy in building. And there you see the the full result of it in Babylon the grave.
Wouldn't it be terrible to stand before him and to see everything that I have built?
Go up in this in the fire, I'll destroy. I'm saying that all my works are come.
Nothing as we made that he can say. Well done. What an awful thing for that happen.
Rightly dividing the word of truth.
Every time I speak on this book, I have solemnized going back to verse 15. Three now I have solemnized by the.
That the realization that it's my responsibility to.
Present the truth of this book to rightly divide it, to give the sense not to confound what is Jewish and what is Christian, what is earthly and what is heavenly, what is natural and what is spiritual.
Not to mix those up, as so many do today and true Christians, and we're apartment to do it ourselves. We're not going to get better than our brethren elsewhere that aren't gathered through the Lord's name. Not one bit better.
But the responsibility of everyone of us, whether gathered or not, is to go by this book.
We're never wiser than Scripture.
Of all the things that.
Chapter, Brown said in his ministry. That's the one that I remember. Always remember. We had never wisely switched.
So here you have true believers building, and some of what they build is gold and silver and precious stones, and it's going to abide the fire. And the one that is so built will receive a remark. Well done, thou good and faithful servant enter, valid for the joy of thy Lord. What a wonderful thing to hear that.
Accommodation.
From our blessed master.
But what are those? That if any man's work shall be burned, verse 15, he shall suffer loss. He loses reward.
But he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire, or through the fire. It's not the fire that saves him, but he doesn't get burned by the fire. He goes through it, but his works get burned by it, everything that he has done.
Has maybe not everything, but much of it has been burned up.
But then there's a third class in this passage. But before we come to it, he says, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God.
And that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you or among you.
Now this is collective if you turn over to the 6th chapter.
Of First Corinthians we have what is individual.
Verse 19 of chapter 6 What know ye not that your body?
Is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.
For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods.
In this passage it says in verse 13 vote the Lord is.
The body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
And it says in verse 15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ?
And then he reasons upon that, and says, Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of the harlot? God forbid.
Either it is joined to an harlot is 1 flashing, either it is joined to the Lord is 1 Spirit. We have a union with the Lord and Spirit. This other kind of union is a fleshly carnal thing, and the Christian whose body belongs to the Lord and whose body is a member of Christ, is to keep himself pure because of that. And then the most powerful reason is verse 19. What? No, you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God and you're not your natural.
00:40:14
So that's the individual line of truth. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
You fought with the Christ and going back to the third chapter again in verse.
In verse 16 he says, Know ye not that he this is doing the Saints collectively now, not individually, but ye are the temple of God.
It says in verse 9, dear God's building.
Now he says, Ye are the temple of God, this building which grows to a holy temple in the Lord.
And yet he gives us this building that is built now here in this chapter by man.
He still calls it the temple of the Lord. He still gives it the name that He has put upon that which he has established.
But what Christ builds is perfect. What man builds is fallible, and there's bad materials sometimes put into it which will be burned up. But now he talks about verse 17, a man who is building in the in the house, in the temple that isn't even saved if any man defiles the temple of God.
That's worse than the wood. Hay in the stubble was just of human origin. But this is actually to defile the character of it, to destroy its true character by defiling it him shall God destroy. And that Word destroys the same Word in Greece as the Word defile. The way we destroy something, the true character of the temple is to be violated, to pollute it. And we saw there in Revelation 18 that.
Babylon has become the habitation of demons, holding cages, every foul spirit hold of every unseen holy verdict. That which began as the habitation of God in the spirit under man's building ends up as a habitation of demons.
And so there's this kind of a builder, if any man who filed a temple of God into God destroyed.
For the temple of God is holy.
Which temple he are all the Saints are locally viewed.
As God's temple, God's building.
And then notice he ends this chapter in connection with man's building by referring to the wisdom that man naturally leans upon. He says for the wisdom of this world.
Verse 18. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. Let him take the place of knowing nothing.
What he means when he says let him become a fool, that he may be wise, for the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
And man's building is founded upon the wisdom of this world. That's the source of it.
The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, He taketh the wise in their own crafters.
And these Corinthians, they were saved, and they were very gifted. They were building according to the wisdom of man, the wisdom of man, the wisdom of this world.
And again the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. They were doing that they were following their different leaders, their cards.
But no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether pal, or a palace or cephas, or the world, or life or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours and your Christ, as Christ is God.
Notice in the second chapter. Let's back up for a moment. When he went to Corinth, he says in verse one. I brethren, when I came to you came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. He could have, he could have dazzled them with.
Excellency of speech and wisdom that would have appealed to their craving after that line of things, because they were operating on a carnal level.
He said. I didn't go into that.
For I determined not to know anything among you. Didn't he know more than this? Oh, he asked you far more than this. But he only said I could. I only knew among you.
00:45:00
What was it Jesus Christ and Him crucified? They needed to have the person of Christ eclipse any of these men that they were starting to follow, that they were making idols of, that they were following. Whether it was Paul or Apollos or Cephas or whoever. These aren't the ones they were actually following. It was other men that are currently seeking to undermine false ministry.
So he sets Christ before he says, I want you to have Christ before your soul and not man, and Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The crucifixion is the end of the history of the first man. Paul could glory in that In Galatians 220 he said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not either Christ live within me the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
He gloried in the cross which.
Ended his history as a man in the flesh.
And brought him into by the resurrection into association with Christ itself. So he says to these Corinthians that were that were looking after the wisdom, that kind of thing, He said, All I determined to know among you was Jesus Christ and his.
You need to have Christ before your soul and to realize what the cross means.
He says in verse 6. Howbeit, we do speak wisdom among them that are perfect. They weren't perfect, they were babes.
They were fully mature Christians, They weren't adults, they were babes, he says. We do speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the Princess of this world that come to not. But we speak the wisdom of God and in the stream the mystery of Christ in the church contains all the wisdom of God.
So he spoke more than he did to the Corinthians, and he just touches upon it here, but he doesn't develop it like he does in Ephesians.
Where the state was able to appreciate.
Full truth.
Now let's turn to Luke 14.
I'm going to read a passage here in Luke 14 and then one in Matthew 22.
And they're very similar, but they're also different. And the difference?
The differences bring out the difference between master and you get you get Christ building.
And.
In Matthew 16. But in Matthew 22 you have the result of the work of the servants that the Lord sends out. But here.
In Luke 14, it's.
It's different.
Verse.
15 And when one of them that sat at table with him had meet with him, heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall be bread in the Kingdom of God.
Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and that many, and he sent his servant at supper time to say to them, that were didn't come. For all things are now ready, and they all, with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it. I pray thee, have me excused.
And another said, I have bought 5 yoke of oxen and I go to prove them. I pray he hath the excuse. And another said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came. Notice the servant is always in the single.
The servant here represents the spirit of God. Now he doesn't make mistakes like man does. In Matthew we're going to see its servants that he sends out. And they make mistakes and they do some wrong things. They make mistakes, they build with wrong material. But here everything is perfect.
So the servant came.
And showed his Lord these things, and the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in Hitler, the poor and the maimed, in the halt and the blind.
And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in. Notice that word. Compel. The only one that that can compel someone to receive the gospel is the Spirit of God.
He's the one that draws us. The Father draws us to the Son. The Spirit of God compels.
00:50:00
The soul to receive the gospel and be saved. We can't do that.
I can preach the gospel. You can preach the gospel. You can't compel someone to come in. But the Spirit of God can't the word of the Spirit.
The Lord said as the servant go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you that none of those men which were hidden shall taste of my suffering. And notice what it says in verse 18. I didn't comment on it when I read it. I'll comment now. The message is in verse 17. Come, for all things are now ready. The servant says that this is the testimony of the Spirit of God command. And they all, with one consent, began to make excuses. That wasn't one that responded, not one.
Man is so inclined, he's so biased.
Against the Lord that everyone of us would have rejected the gospel unless the Spirit of God had compelled us to come in.
None of us would have chosen Christ if left to ourselves.
That God wanted his house full, and so he sent the Spirit.
He can tell something.
To respond to that message now, let's look at the difference in Matthew 22.
Matthew 22.
Here we have the gospel being proclaimed by His servants.
This one that Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The Kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants.
To call them that were bidden to the wedding and they would not come.
Again he sent forth other servants saying, Tell them which are bidden. Behold, I have prepared my dinner, and my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. There's nothing like that, the accounting loop, because they're the servant of the Spirit of God. But here the servants are his messengers, those that he sent forth His apostles, his disciples.
And some are they entreated respectfully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth, and he set forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers that burned up their city. That took place in 70 AD, when the Jews who had rejected the gospel and had mistreated the servants of the Lord.
The Roman armies came down and Jerusalem was destroyed.
Then saith he to his servants, the wedding is ready, and they which were bidding the Jews were not.
Where they go, ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage. Now all that we can do as servants is to bid them to the marriage we can't compel them to commit.
You don't read the word compelled here, because we don't have that power. Only the Spirit of God has that power.
So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good.
When the servant does the work, he doesn't gather any bad.
Only what is of God. That's the Spirit's work. But here it's man carrying out the gospel message and he gathers bad and good. This is what you see in First Corinthians 3, when man is building some of the material that is building and some of what he gathers is not, is not real.
And the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. He didn't have Christ as his righteousness.
He came in under a false pretense, and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hit her not having a wedding garment?
And he was speechless then said the king to the servants, Find him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen. How are we called? Recalled by the Gospel.
I'm going to read the verse in Second Thessalonians. I think it is chapter 2.
2nd Thessalonians, Chapter 2, verse 14.
Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many are called, the gospel is preached to many, and some are gathered in that aren't real.
00:55:00
That can't happen when the Spirit of God does the Gathering. When he does the Gathering, it's all perfect. But when man does it, he makes mistakes because he's fallible.
He can be deceived. An illustration of that is Simon Megasim Acts chapter 8, who was a sorcerer. And when he saw that the apostles had the power to by the laying out of hands to confer the Holy Spirit, he says he offered them money. He says give me this power, that on whomsoever I lay hand he may receive the Holy Ghost of Peter, expose the hypocrisy of the man and said Thy money perish with me because that was thought that the gift of God could be purchased with the budget that was needed parking lot in this matter. But I heart is not right.
In the sight of God. Repent therefore of this by wickedness, that the thought of thine heart may be forgiven me, for I perceive that thou in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity, and that Simon said, Then Simon said, Simon Magus said to Peter, praying for the Lord for me, that none of these things, that stars spoken public mind.
He was one of the bad that had been gathered in by the preachers of the gospel, but he wasn't real. That wasn't the work of the spirit of God. So in Luke 14 you have the servant, the Spirit of God. Everything is perfect. That's what Christ builds. That's what answers to what Christ builds. But in Matthew 22 you have the servants and some of that material, some of those they bring in are not not real. And in First Corinthians 3, some of the material that man builds.
Is not gold and silver star. Some of it is, but some of it just would mean stubble and it's going to be built up. And what does this tell me? What does this tell us, beloved? Is that we have to have this. Certainly we have to see, if we look around about us and say is that of God, does that conform to the pattern of truth presented to us in the New Testament? Is that a true representation of what an assembly is in the Miami Father of God?
And if it isn't, it's something that is built and it won't last. It will be burned up.
And there will be no reward for that kind of Labor. The reward is for faithful service.
It is required in steward for the man who found faithful.
And a man is not crowned except he strives lawfully, except he strives according to the instructions that we have in the word of God. We are not wise to restriction. We have no right to impose our wills and the order that God has shown us in His Word.
We are to be diligent in the scriptures so that we know what His word is, so that we know what His mind is, so that when we know the pattern of the true thing, we can spot the false thing when it's presented to us. OK, that's not a problem.
And if it's not of God, we should stay clear of it.
What is it? What is what Man builds End in Babylon the Great.
And I'm going to read the verse. If you'll turn to Revelation 18, I want you to see it right there.
Revelation 18 And then it was closed.
Verse 4.
And I heard it. I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, this great religious system.
Come out of her, my people, that she be not partakers of her sins, and that she received not of her plagues. For her sins have reached the heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double under her, Double according to her works.
In the cup which he has filled, filled to her double how much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her for she saith in her heart. I see the Queen, and I'm no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she shall be utterly burned with fire, as strong as the Lord God who judges her when we see the end of a thing.
That it's like this comes under the judgment of God. We want to stay clear of it, completely clear of it, and recognize it for what its true character is. How can we?
7 Utterances of Christ on the Cross Pt.1
Address—H. Brinkmann
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 turn to him 71 in the appendix.
Oh, my savior.
I'll save.
Our.
Nearby.
God is.
Love by your ear.
I have learned my.
Happiness.
To my.
Home.
And Monday.
And.
Upright.
The Lord.
Yes, I love.
My.
Favorite.
Rap.
My desire is to look at the crowd.
00:05:03
And especially.
That which was expressed by the Lord Jesus while he was on the cross.
His utterances.
7 offences came from his mouth while he was on the cross.
And we I think we'll find.
Our touch when we look at these things.
But we have to realize that.
That which he himself uttered there on the cross.
Is comparatively little compared to what we find.
In the rest of the word of God, even in the Old Testament prophetic utterances, we find only their fulfillment. In the Lord Jesus himself, you know, we find in the sound and even in the prophets passages that can only be understood when we look at them in the life of what happened when the Lord Jesus was on the cross. And you know in prison them in general and especially Catholicism.
When they think of the cross, they think of the physical suffering that the Lord Jesus had to endure. And you know we were.
Visiting the Welsh first in Iowa to Western Park there and there is a place.
In where they had this crime, you know where they have these various stations of the passengers of the Lord Jesus.
On the way to the cross and we wanted to see that and you were amazed of the imagination of man's mind and put things there like supposedly the Lord Jesus broke down three times while he was carrying the cross to call Rosa nothing mentioned there of Simon the Cyrenian that carried across.
And that.
Came very vividly to my mind again that what these people are occupied with is the physical suffering. Now they were real, no doubt what the Lord Jesus endured there on the cross. And I believe he felt these things more than you and I would feel them if we would be facing the same suffering, because his senses were not dulled by sin as it is.
With you and I also the chain, the ridicule.
All of that have penetrated his soul deeply. I'm sure he felt that much more than you and I would feel it, but we have to recognize that the physical suffering.
Are not the things that accomplish our redemption. Atonement was made when in the three hours of darkness, the Lord Jesus from the hand of God.
Exhausted Divine wrath against sin. It was all poured out upon that sinless victim when He bore the eternity of our judgment in three hours of darkness when He laid down His life.
And saying the phony suffering industry hours when he laid down his life and when he shed his blood. These three things have made the torment one work of atonement, the block that floats from his pierced side.
The only blood that the Word of God mentioned.
But the blood of Jesus Christ, God Son, cleanses us from all sin.
But the agony of his soul, the suffering and that which he fell when he was on the cross, you know, when he needed the help of God as a dependent man more than at any other time.
In life, he didn't receive any help. Not only didn't he receive any comfort from man, his own followers.
As a scripture prophetically says, he looked for comfort food and there were none. You know, that's a pathetic word about his suffering.
Meet a man of God gave him any comfort, any aid, and then when he is in his great need of God, he punished he is.
00:10:10
Connie, my God, for everything that you and I have ever done, and.
More than that, he was made sense, but no, no sense. Many do understand about the sins that we have committed, that he bought them on his tree. But they don't understand that the word of God presents things in two ways since the deeds that we have committed and sin that we produce.
The evil deed was all just in the personal soul of Jesus. It's a tremendous chapter when we read in Second Corinthians. He who knew not sin may tend for us that we might become the righteousness of God in his He was dealt with as sin needed to be dealt with, not only the fruit that we had seduced with God also.
There aren't three that produced it was just in the cross of Christ.
And what he experienced in his soul, how could we possibly enter into them?
You know, because he was a sinless holy wisdom.
And I've only kind of seen there was never a time it is eternal electricity when there wasn't communion between him and his Father.
But at the cross Communion was broken. We do not agree that he was forsaken of the Father.
He believed that he was the 2nd of God.
But there was no communion.
You know, if there had been communion, that would have mitigated the judgment. That would have eased the decant pain and suffering. But no, there was no communion. Communion was broken.
And he was made saying.
And how this must have been completely felt by him. You can see what happens when.
In Gethsemane, when he anticipated the drawing, he wasn't indeed suffering yet, but in anticipation we find that sweat has great drops of blood fell into the ground. That's how great the agony was, said he felt just in anticipating what was important.
But how much more it must have been when he actually was in there, when he did, not only anticipatingly, as he thinks before his soul, but when he was in them and endured them and exhausted divine wrath against sin. Have you ever thought of this?
How could the Lord be there in three hours of darkness?
Exhaust divine arrest against faith. Make atonement for all the sins of all the redeemed that were committed from Adam until the last one is saved.
How could he bear their Lord? How could he make in three hours atonement for that eternity of our judgment? But the answer is, I believe, look who it was taking here.
You know, he could have never died, had enough become a man, but he didn't see what he ever was. The son of God who loved me, Paul says, and gave himself for me. It's God's plan that became the Lamb of God, and only that is the reason why he could accomplish.
Atonement in three hours of darkness and exhaust divine wrath against sin.
And bear all these sins in three hours.
The Lord was infinite.
But so was the sanctified. What a savior. I just think God's Son is the one that became a man and went to tell his thoughts.
Wonderful saviour. But let's read now.
Those seven occasions that we have, we start with.
Matthew 27.
00:15:00
I don't think we'll be able to go through them in one hour and maybe, Lord willing to continue tonight.
We read some.
33 of 1927.
And when they were come on to the place called Sodosa, that is to say, a place of a skull, they gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gold, and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.
And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting loss that it might be wholesale, which was spoken by the Prophet, a pardon my garments among them. And upon my venture, if they can't love, and sitting down, they watched him there, and set up over his head his accusation written, This is Jesus the king of the Jews. Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand?
And another on the left, when they had, when they had passed by, reviled him, waking their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyed the temple, and buildeth it in three days, save thyself, if d'arby the Son of God come down from the cross.
Likewise also the chief priest, marking him with the scribes and elders, said he saved others himself. He cannot save he be the king of Israel. Let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now if he will have him, for he said, I am the son of God. The thieves also, which recuccified with him, plans to stay in his teeth.
Now from the 6th hour there were darkness over all the lanes until the 9th hour. In about the 9th hour, Jesus Christ with a loud voice saying Eli, Eli, Lama Sebastiani. That is to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they have heard that that this man followed for a liar, and straightway one of them ran.
And took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it upon a Reed, and gave him drink to drink. The rest said, Let's be let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the goat. The hold of the whale of the temple was rent in twains from the top to the bottom. The earth did quake and the rock bred, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the Saints which left a rose and came out of the graves after his resurrection.
It went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Now we're in the centuries, and they that were with him watching Jesus saw the earthquake. And those things that were done, they feared greatly saved. Truly this was the Son of God.
Look.
We're 33 and when they were come to the place which is called Calvary's deadly crucified him and the malefactor, one of the right and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. They parted his raiment and cast love.
They're 39. One of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself and others to us. But the other, answering, rebuilt him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? We indeed justice, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing amiss. He said unto the Lord.
00:20:04
Lord, Remember Me when thou cometh into thy Kingdom.
Jesus said unto him, Verily, by Sam says, Ease today shalt thou be with me in paradise. It was about the 6th hour, and it was a darkness over all the earth until the $9 The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was drenched in the midst.
When Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit, and having said thus, he gave up the growth. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God's saying certainly.
This was a righteous man.
Staunton.
Past the 20?
We're 25.
Not as stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother sister married wife of Cleopatra, and Mary next to leave. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciples standing by whom he lost, he says unto his mother, Woman, Behold thy son.
1032 The disciple, behold thy mother, and from that hour the disciples took her unto his own home.
After this Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, that I thirst not, ever said a vessel full of vinegar, And they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it upon herself, and put it through his mouth.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished and he bowed his head to give up the gold.
I believe that.
When he looked at these utterances at the cross.
They realized that there are really only two utterances that give expressions to his own suffering, his own agony, and that is described at the end of the three hours of darkness. My God, my God, why is that taken?
That gives expression of the utterance or an utterance of the agony of his soul, what he felt, because he was forsaken of God.
But the other utterance, I third, speak of the extreme physical something that he felt. But otherwise, and this is what is so marvelous, we see that this divine sufferer.
Is worth of forgiveness.
His words of comfort.
To their dying faith and expresses his concern for his mother. I think this is a beauty that radiates from that person that is beyond comparison. In other words, he can rise above his own suffering.
And be concerned with his mother.
And give comfort to that dying thing and to have forgiveness, words of forgiveness for those who lamented him.
And someone has said while they were driving those nails through his hands.
Putting him on their claws, he says, My God, my God, why? I said, my father forgive them, for they know not what they do. This is really, I believe, the first utterance that he gave on the cross. You know, someone has said, and I believe that is correct to put these utterances in this order. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me as the middle of it? And then?
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Woman, behold thy son today, thou shalt be with me in paradise, and then.
I cursed.
It is finished.
00:25:00
Father into thy hands by coming back to it, but the middle cry is.
That was moved on, I believe most deeply because it expresses the agony of his soul, and we find it given twice. We find it again in the mark in the March Gospel. But there we have it in the Chaldean language, the language that was spoken by most of the Jews at the time when the Lord Jesus was here. Eliot Lama Sabachthani. Well, why do I believe that?
That the utterances before the cross came in that order, because I believe.
As we have read in Matthew.
The thieves, Both thieves, mock the Lord visa.
But in look we see that there was a change.
In that one state.
There was a change of heart with that man. Evidently his eyes were open to the glory of that person that was hanging there. And what do you think brought about that change? I believe the change came about because of what he heard and what he saw.
How the Lord Jesus was suffering here, and to hear words of forgiveness, words of concern for his mother, you know, I believe that that thing that was hanging there was a Jew. He knew about the Kingdom. Perhaps he had a godly mother.
That had told him about the word, the truth of God, as if you had it, that there was a Kingdom coming, but he couldn't take care of his mother. But he sees the Lord Jesus being concerned for his mother.
To attract his mother to the disciples who give his love. You are very touching that you find that in John's Gospel, which presents the Lord Jesus as the Son of God.
You know, yet we do see him concerned for his mother. He doesn't say mother, he says woman, but he takes care of his mother. But just to show the order, I believe deep to utterances.
Must have opened the eyes and what he saw, what he heard. I don't think there was ever a person who could buy the Roman crucified many. It conducted himself the way the Lord Jesus did. But he was there on the cross, you know, It wasn't only the sea that evidently had a change of heart. He read that he spent touring him and those with him.
You know, I used to always say that it was a Centauri and that the thief on the cross, but I believe there were others that there were that were with the centurion there. And they said this is the Son of God. You know, their eyes were also to the glory of that person. And our eyes can be opened, our hearts can be drawn to that person, just like the thief, just like the centurion and all soldiers that were with him. I believe we ought to be many times.
Occupied with this divine suffering, what he had endured for us in a heart, he warmed again.
You know that our love might revive, you know, in Christendom.
They take these things up.
On Good Friday, you know when they in Christendom celebrate the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. But I believe as believers, why does the Lord Jesus institute the supper before he left?
Because he knows how forgetful we are.
And that we need to remember again and again what he has done for us.
To remember the Lord Jesus. You know we sometimes only speak about announcing his death. He says as often as you do this, you shall fall my death. But do this in remembrance of me. You know, we should remember more than just that he died. We should remember him He occupied with him. You know, I think that's the most wonderful thing to do on Lord say morning.
Oftentimes we are occupied with what we have received through the death of the Lord Jesus and the place of nearness into which we have been brought, but to be occupied with his glory, to think of who it is that died, you know.
00:30:01
The flip fitting, mother said. See him dying on the tree? It's the Lord. It's God's anointed.
Son of man and Son of God, you know there is nothing more wonderful than the occupation with the Lord Jesus himself. Someone has said what's the difference between prayer, praise and worship. And he made it clear this way. He said in prayer the soul is occupied with his knees and comes to the Lord.
In praise the soul is occupied with His blessings, and that's oftentimes what occupies us on Lord today morning.
But in worship we occupied with the blessed earth Thou art my portion we have in the sound already. That's the most wonderful thing, That He is mine, That He's yours. That we are His.
Well, the first utterance is Father. Forgive them, for they know that what they do in this most beautiful, Don't you see a moral glory reality uncompared for anything that you can witness in this world? And if there is in some of his followers a reflection of this same grace demonstrated perfectly in Him, it's only because of having become to know Him.
You know, you see that It's Steven.
Remember Stevens case in Acts Chapter 7?
But chance of what I expected.
At the very end.
Of chapter.
For 60 And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice. Lord.
Lay not this sin to their charge. When he had said this, he felt asleep.
He had learned that at the feet of his face.
This is not natural for men to react in this way when people treat them like Steven was treated here, Sony. Steven said that a man that had been faithful, you know, the Jews had stones, had crucified the Lord Jesus, their Messiah. We will not have this man reigning over us. And if Stephen, they reject the testimony of the Holy Ghost and they send a messenger after him, we will not have this man to reign over.
And Steven chose the Spirit perfectly displayed in the Lord Jesus by asking forgiveness for his enemies. But we also find in Timothy he might say, well, this kind of thing.
To manifest forgiveness.
That and the spirit of grace on the part of the believer when he feel treated by the unbelievers, that is understood and that's what we should do. But what about cold situation? What was his situation?
In chapter four we read.
We were 16 at the first answer. No man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be late to their charge.
Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me. You see, here you have again the Spirit of forgiveness.
Maybe some of us have experienced that at times when we were looking for comfort and encouragement and help from our brethren. We didn't get it. Paul could rightly expect from his fellow believers that they would be with him there when he stood before Caesar.
Yet they pursue him.
But again, Paul manifests the spirit of forgiveness, that it will not be held against them, he said. You know, I wasn't really alone.
The Lord was here, But when the Lord Jesus spoke these words, he could not let Paul say that God was at his side. You know He had no help from anybody alone. He bore the cross. He stayed all the time alone. It reads this thing. But there is a even in many ways more wonderful.
00:35:09
Answer to that prayer.
And how God dealt with that guilty nation.
That crucified, rejected and crucified the Lord of glory. You know, the Lord Jesus in John's gospel said you know whence I am, who I am, and whence I am. I think it's in John Chapter 7.
But here the cross he says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. What is God's answer to this prayer?
When Peter addresses his guilty nation in his third chapter, he made this statement in verse 17. And now brethren, I want that to ignorance. He did it.
It did also the rulers.
In other words, what we find here.
The sin of rejecting and crucifying the Messiah is made of his Someone has said the city of Refrigerator was open to that guilty nation. We know from the Old Testament when somebody had premeditatingly murdered somebody, there was no mercy for such a one, the avenger of blood.
Had to say that person eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But if it was ignorantly done, accidentally done, then there were six cities of refuge to which if you could flee, and then he was saved. And you know, we find in Hebrews that they had fled to rescue for rescue to the Lord Jesus. Well, isn't that wonderful to have the answer to that prayer in the message of Peter to that guilty nation?
He did an exam. The city of refuge was open. There was grace and mercy open for them now if they would accept it.
But how wonderful for you and me. If we have come to know the Lord Jesus, we have a divine nature and by the grace of God we are unable to manifest the spirit of forgiveness. People might say, well, I'll forgive him, but I won't forget. But he said we'd be forgiveness. That's not forgiveness.
The Lord Jesus, when He forgives our sins, When God Forgives our sins.
He will remember them no more. You know, He doesn't say I'll forget them, you know, because forgetfulness is a human weakness. But God chooses to not remember our sins, and so he had cast them behind his back. Yes, they moved them from us as far as east from the West, passed them into the depth of the sea. What a wonderful, forgiving God.
We have. It's true that if somebody sins against us, unless they contest the sins and ask forgiveness, they can't really receive forgiveness and but we can't have the spirit of forgiveness for them ready to do so as soon as there is the acknowledgement of it. Notice in Matthew 18 with the 10,000 talent that are.
At where the 100th pins that are.
In order 10,000, tell him debtor is really what we owe to God and we're forgiven. We could never pay the debt that we owe, but we are forgiven. But the 10,000 talents that are acknowledged, he said and pleaded for mercy and he received it. But then comes the 110, the hundred 10s better. That's what we might owe to each other. And then we find that the one that was.
So graciously dealt with, and had been forgiven so much he was not sure the spirit of forgiveness that his master had shown to him.
Of that a condition where that is found among God's people.
But that second utterance of the Lord Jesus?
Woman, Behold thy son.
You know the Lord Jesus when he ordered Son.
Of Mary and Joseph he had four brothers.
00:40:04
You know two of them are writers of New Testament of Facebook, James Jude. Where are their names turned to Matthew 13.
Report 54 When it came into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue in so much that they were astonished and said, Whence has this man his wisdom, his mighty work? It's not this The carpenter's son is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James. That's the writer of the Epistle of James and Joseph.
Simon and Judah.
And his sisters, Plural. Are they not all with us?
Why did he not commit his mother to one of these? First of all, of course, they were an Ethi grade at the cross.
John was there, and so were some women. Is that remarkable in itself? We women that we speak of weakness. They were there, but the men had fled. But John the disciple whom Jesus loved, was there, and he commits his mother to the disciples, who was in the enjoyment of the love of the Lord Jesus. It wasn't that the others were not loved by the Lord Jesus, but it is John that always refers again and again.
That he knew that Jesus loved him. He doesn't refer to himself as John, just simply as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And it is to death disciple that he is trust his mother not to his brethren in the flesh. We know that they didn't believe on him at this point. We find that in John's Gospel.
And that the statement made shortly before he suffered we do find later on.
In the book of Acts that Mary and his brethren are in the number of those in the upper room. But.
At this point, when the Lord Jesus was dying, he had no testimony that they belonged to him. The contrary, they didn't believe on him. But through his death and resurrection there must have been a change. They were drawn to him. But the Lord Jesus enters, married to John the disciple who was in the enjoyment of the love of the Lord Jesus.
Entrust any of our loved ones to any better person than one who is in the enjoyment of the Savior Love.
I personally take this to show that our spiritual relationship, our closer relationships than the relationships of nature, and that they have higher claims on us than our natural relationship.
And the Lord Jesus, why his mother could be taken care of in that wonderful.
That he feels that responsibility. In our day and age, this is what we can learn from the Lord Jesus.
In our day and age, people try to get rid of the responsibility of looking after their loved ones. You know what is common thing is they put a nursing home, you know, instead of looking after them when we are able to look after them. I'm not saying that there is not a possibility that someone's condition becomes such that they need a 24 hour care and that we cannot take care of them personally ourselves anymore.
But the tendency is that we dump that responsibility on nursing homes where we would still be able to look after these things ourselves. I didn't know Brother Anderson very well when we were gathered, but I know that for some time he was down in Texas looking after his father and his mother, you know, and brethren felt that he should put them in a nursing home because he had a gift and could move amongst the God's Saints and encourage them.
And build them up, he said. No. My parents are my responsibility, you know, and I respected him very much for that. I believe the Lord took notice of care. Look at his wife now. She's up there in Canada.
00:45:04
At Kent and Maryland looked after her. So we stopped down the way home from Regina, you know, and it takes a lot of love and effort to do that.
But that is what the Word of God tells us is our responsibility.
And the word of God goes so fine to say that if we do not take care of our own and the streets say of the widows, those who are elderly, we have ignite the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.
That's a serious charge, isn't it? In the word of God. Now, like I said, I know the time I pump that one of our loved ones is in such cool physical shape that we cannot give them the care that they deserve, that they need medical attention all the time, where 24 hours care. It's impossible for us to give them the care they deserve, and we might have to hospitalize them or institutionalized them. But.
How often could we look after them and we turn them over?
To the nursing home the Lord Jesus, and turned them over, turned his mother over to the disciples, toward the enjoyment of the love of the Lord Jesus. We know that Joseph was evidently quite a bit older than married his wife, that is generally understood to be so. He was no longer living, and so Mary was a widow.
And the Lord Jesus tenderly turns her over to John John cooker to his home. And I don't think after his present belief that he gave up that responsibility, he loved the Lord Jesus too much and to not fulfill what the Lord had entrusted and to wear.
You can learn from our Lord Jesus even in this way. And I'm sure that thief on the cross was touched by all of that deeply, you know, even very wicked and cruel men when he had a Pinterest part in their hearts for their mother, you know. And I wouldn't be surprised that that is what contributed for this man's eyes being open and he saw who that person was.
He saw there must be more than a beer man. That's the Messiah.
And he addresses him as Lord, He says, Lord, Remember Me when thou Thomas, is thy Kingdom, he manifest faith.
You know, faith doesn't look at circumstances. If he would have looked strictly at circumstances, he was someone in nails on the cross. He was going to die there on the cross, and he seized in that man the Messiah. And faith says if that's the Messiah, no matter what the circumstances look like, he'll be the king and he's going to reign. And I don't want to lose out.
He says, Remember Me when thou cometh into thy Kingdom.
Thank the Lord Jesus. It's my sister. You don't have to wait 15 minutes.
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. You know the Jehovah Witnesses who don't believe in.
The intermediate state that is.
A conscious existence after death.
Present and the resurrection. They don't believe that they speak of the soul sleep. So do the cousins of the Jehovah Witnesses, the 7th Day Adventists. They really have their same origin. If you have known that before, it really has the same origin. One line of them went to become certainly Adventist, the other line became the whole witnesses and much of their Datsun is really the same in some areas. The sword sleep is another thing.
How do they translate this first?
It translated this way, I say unto thee, today, comma, thou shalt be with me in paradise.
But the Lord Jesus is saying this very day you're going to be with me in paradise.
You know, and it's a wonderful thing to look at the scriptures that deal with this intermediate state, the scriptures that tell us what it is like for those that die in faith after they close their eyes and go through that, and what is going to happen to them? Where are they? Well, you have a scripture in Luke 16 that gives us an insight. Luke 16 is the scripture.
00:50:14
Where the Lord Jesus for the first time hope that curtain aside and lets us look into the beyond.
You know into the.
Into the.
Sphere is, I put it this way, or where those are or what the condition that's better out for the history. What's the condition of those areas that die and say and what the condition is of those who die in unbelief. It's really not a place. It's really a condition because.
It's the soul that is the point in question. Where are the souls where the spirit of those who die And in the Old Testament?
That was not made clear that there were two compartments. You know that there was the state of bliss and happiness for those who had died in faith, and that there was a state of torment. Torment of soul begins for those who die in unbelievable, and there's a great dull fix.
And no one can come from the one place into the other. You know their eternal destiny is determined. They cannot change.
Their destiny any longer.
But how wonderful the poor man Lazarus is. In Abraham's puzzle, the rich man is in torment.
He's anticipating if he's not in the body, it's only his soul, his spirit that are there in torment. But for us who are in the body is.
Torment of his soul are explained in physical terms. He is in the lake of fire, you know he is in torment. He is not yet in hell because in the King James it says hell, but it is Hades it's.
Where the souls that are departed are the state that they are in, and there we find that he's in torment.
Lazarus is an Abrams position. Abraham has put them for a Jew is the place of supreme bliss semi activists. But we know that Zacchaeus was told that salvation had come to this house, that he was the son of Abraham.
While the other Jews claimed that they were sons of Abraham, according to the flesh they were, they descended from him. But we know that only those who had Abraham's faith.
Are Abraham children, even as Jake tiles are referred to as a grand children, So this man was in Abraham's bosom the father of all the faithful, all the believers. He had gave to him faith, and he was implicit and happiness, while this other man was in the foreman. Have you ever thought of that? What added to his torment was that he saw the bliss and happiness.
Just imagine.
A child of fishing parents hearing the gospel many times.
And not accepting the Lord Jesus.
And in there he parted the state. They'll see their loved ones that have gone before, that their winter, Lord Jesus, in the place of bliss and happiness.
And they can't have any part of it, you know?
Abraham couldn't even send Lazarus to cool the tongue.
Of the regime.
You know, he was in hell not because he was rich. The problem was that because of his riches, he didn't concern himself.
About eternal matters. Everything was centered about this life on this earth and to have comfort, bliss and happiness see on earth.
But poor Lazarus, he wasn't there because he was poor, but because he was poor. He had nothing in this world, and he must have looked for that which would give him something beyond his life. You know, we find and those who have pleased the gospel and in poor countries.
00:55:02
The gospel is much more readily received than in Western land where we have so much. You know, people couldn't kill it as long as they have a lot of money, big cars and comfortable homes. And all of this is their concern. Maybe young people, as long as they succeed in school and get good grades and so on and so forth, have a motorcycle and.
Whatever else young people might like, How sad that.
The many things that we might have.
My sheep are some looking for that rich has eternal values. Poor Lazarus had nothing in this world but ensure found some better things after he closed his eyes. So that gives us to understand something about the intermediate state. But Paul speaks in Philippians.
Of the same thing he says, you know, he was the six two things He didn't know what he could choose a life of useful service he on the earth, which would be for the benefit of the same, or for him to be part and to be with Christ, which for him would be much better, while we know more than than just what we find in Luke 16 that was before the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus now.
Pause teaching. We know that those who go to die, the God takes them home to be with himself. They're not getting the glory. You know, many times we make statements. I've made statements like that myself. But you might say, well, this one has gone to be with Christ in the glory. Well, that is really only when we all receive their glorified body, when we build the light, Him and with him.
But nevertheless they are with the Lord Jesus. You know, when my mother went off to be with the Lord, I couldn't even go to her funeral. But what a comfort it was for me to go. She's with the Lord Jesus. The same teaching Paul gives in Second Corinthians.
Absent from the body, present with the Lord. You know, when death comes, the Spirit and the soul leads the body.
That house, that earthly home, is left behind. What we put in the grave is really only this shell.
The house in which the loved one dwells, He himself or she is now present with the Lord. Well, he would be outright selfish, wouldn't we? If one of our loved ones little funny or any of our loved ones, you would want them back, you know we know where they are. We know they are with the Lord Jesus.
You know, they are promoted. They got ahead of us, you know, and we would long to be with him. David said when his son died that he will go to here.
He didn't know yet about the differences that we know about the same when.
Saul, the king called, went to the witch of Endor, and called up Samuel.
Samuel said tomorrow you'll be where I am. You know we don't know the difference of the place for believers and unbelievers, but how wonderful we have these teachings in the New Testament that we know where our loved ones are and then we know they are with Christ.
The latitudes himself for three days and three nights there with a grave. You know he was in Haiti, but we find in the Psalms. Thou shalt not leave my soul in Hades, nor my flesh to seek corruptness. You know the Lord Jesus would be raised, and he is now a risen man.
7 Utterances of Christ on the Cross Pt.2
Address—H. Brinkmann
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.
16.
Golden Mercy, send this song.
To the world.
Give us a time for us to save heart was for them as Jesus song.
Oh the.
Holy Holy Blood.
Shine again.
I.
Pretty long.
Oh, the glory.
All the way.
Yeah.
I'm above him, love.
Holy is a million.
To him must fall.
Oh, the glory.
All the way.
Shining.
In love.
Favorite face Heaven save love.
Problem.
God in life.
Christ the Lord will come again.
Once will reign.
Every time.
Will Jesus?
Lord.
All the glory.
All the way.
Shining.
Love.
Save yourself.
OK, flight. God is love.
The purity of God's nature is expressed in the work that he likes.
And the Sinner has to come to realize that he has to do with the God that is life.
The Sinner has to be brought into God's presence, and that he has to realize that he has to do with God.
00:05:06
It doesn't have to do with men. It doesn't have to do with Christians.
You have to do with God. He has to answer to God, not to man, to any man. Of course, when we're children, we have to answer to our parents.
You know we are responsible to submit to our parents.
And when we work for somebody, we have to submit.
To our boss we have to submit to the authorities, but when it is a question of sin.
We have to answer to God.
God is faithful in His word to expose what we are.
All that sin and come short of the glory of God.
And the word of God speaks of ungodly people. You know, when I was a young man, I thought of ungodly people are people that.
Live in sin.
That are habitual drinkers, wife beaters.
Husband, computers and so on.
But I believe ungodly people are people who don't have God.
Who don't know?
And of whom God says, I know you not.
Nothing. He doesn't know about them, but there is no relationship existing between them and God.
Lord Jesus, you know when those 5 foolish virgins.
Standing outside the door being shot, he said. I never knew you. I don't know you.
What a solemn thing that is.
Knows all about them.
And will be manifested at the Judgment seat, You know when they stand before the Great White Throne, and He knows all about them.
He doesn't know that they're not in a living relationship with the Lord Jesus, and that makes all the difference. Christianity is not that we subscribe to.
A certain set of rules.
Or a certain religion. Christianity isn't even a religion. Christianity is a person, and that person is the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And he's the only one that can bring us into a proper relationship to God.
And that is only possible through the work of Calvin's cross. We need him. If we have him, we have everything. If we don't have him, we have nothing. To stand in the coming day and you'll hear these words. Depart from me. Your work is open, nicked.
People say that, you know, nobody will end up in hell because of their sins because the Lord Jesus for them, but they will stand there because they haven't accepted him. That's not what the word of God teaches. The word of God teaches that they were judged according to their deeds that they had committed.
Of course, one of the most serious deeds is to not obey the gospel. You know what? The gospel is really not a matter of choice.
It's a question of whether we obey the gospel. The word of God is very plain about God.
Not really a matter of choice. It's a matter of submitting by obeying the hospital. No, it's repentance towards God.
And faith in the Lord Jesus.
All says in Galatians that we have are the tongues of God who faith in the Lord Jesus.
You know in the Old Testament an Adam was justified or Abraham was justified because he believed God. God told him that he would have a son of Sarah, although she was now beyond the age of childbearing. But if God said it?
Who believes it?
Although it was contrary to nature, and the Word of God says.
It was accounted unto him for righteousness, you know God is a God that wants to justify the Sinner, and you know.
00:10:00
The word of righteousness and justification in the English language is really convening the same thing.
You know, in other languages we don't have these two terms, but in English we have but it means the same thing. So we find in Romans chapter 3.
That God is just the justifier of him that believeth on Jesus.
The basis for declaring A Sinner just is the work of pelvis cross. It's not that God takes of His righteousness of His justice or the righteousness of the Lord Jesus and put it upon us. You know if it would be the righteousness of the Lord Jesus that He manifested when he was as man on earth, it would still be by works that we are justified.
But no flesh shall be justified in his sight, and it is not going to be on the principle of works.
God looks down and those who by faith accept the message of salvation.
Offered in the person that work with the Lord Jesus when that takes place, God said that's a righteous man. He declares righteous such that by faith accept the Lord Jesus.
And justification is more than to give us a standing before God as if we had never sinned. We hear that kind of an explanation many times. Justification means that we stand before God in a new life that cannot sin, as if we never could have sinned. That's the truth of justification. We have a new life. We are new creature in Christ when we come to the Lord Jesus.
And we stand before him in a light to which sin cannot attach. Wonderful truth, wonderful truth. We have been occupied this afternoon.
With those seven apprentices that the Lord Jesus uttered on the cross.
And I think it is most wonderful to look at his divine sufferer on the cross. We're overwhelmed what we see and hear, you know, And we find that there are seven times that he opens his mouth.
And others things.
And these things are Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Woven Behold thy son.
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?
At first.
It is finished, Father. Into thy hand I commend my spirit, and in this order I believe these utterances were given. And we looked at the three.
Before this cry, my God, my God, myself say to me, we've seen.
That there is a blurry radiating from that person on the cross.
Which is overwhelming. You don't see it anywhere in the universe as you see it with the person of the Lord Jesus on the cross. Only two of those utterances are.
Connected with his own suffering, the one expresses the agony of his soul. My God, my God, why is out forsaken me, and the other one expresses the extreme physical suffering. I thirst because he was hanging there six hours on the cross.
And tremendous Thursday itself I am, but the other afternoon says.
Had to do with giving words of forgiveness to his tormentors. That's the very first thing that the others.
And he gives words of comfort to their feet on the cross he is concerned.
In love and care for his mother, deservedly Mother and Ed and John Stanford, of all the Gospels that presents him as the Son of God. He doesn't say mother. He says woman. We also have reminded ourselves that in Christendom.
00:15:05
And especially in the Catholic system.
People are occupied with the physical sufferings and they were real. You know, No one can deny that the Lord Jesus felt everything very keenly, and perhaps more so than you and I would feel it if we would be hanging on the cross because his senses were not dulled by sin.
He felt the insults that were heaped upon him.
The thoughts?
And then reach smiting him, he felt all of that very keenly.
But this did not accomplish at all.
What accomplished atonement when in the last three hours, the hours of darkness he was facing a holy God with all our sins upon him? That is the sins of all the redeemed from Adam to the last one, that will be saved before he comes and takes us home to glory.
And what a burden that was.
How could He have formed the eternity of our judgment in three hours of darkness?
He was more than a man. He was God's Son. The Lamb of God is the Son of God, and his person added such a tremendous value to that work. And only because of who he was, he could exhaust divine wrath against sin in three hours.
We not only bore our sins and his body on the tree as Peter says, Paul says he who do no sin was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
You know, he didn't only die for what we had done.
The evil deeds we committed, he died for what we were.
You know, not only were sins dealt with by God on that cross, sin itself was judged. The scripture says that sin was put away by the sacrifice of himself.
Tremendous.
True things are.
But the thief on the cross at first railed against the Lord Jesus like the other. But there was a change. And if we look at that cross, if we're not saying and really look at that wonderful person, the change that took place.
And that thief might take place in US like picked Centurion and those with him.
They also at the end, after they had observed all of that, they said, truly this was the Son of God.
Apparently their eyes were opened as well as the eyes of.
That thing.
And what changed that seed? What changed that seed? Was he heard and saw something that is unparalleled. He heard words of forgiveness, concerned for his mother. His heart must have been touched. His eyes were opened. He had a mother.
Evidently a Jewish mother, he knew all about the Kingdom.
And he manifests faith in saying, Remember Me, if thou comest into thy Kingdom. His eyes were opened. And this was the Messiah, and it did the Messiah, and no matter how it looked.
It looked like there was hopeless, that he would feed a king because he was crucified to all human observation. He was dying.
He said if that's the Messiah, he'll come and I don't want to lose out. Remember Me and the Lord. Caesar said, you don't have to wait till the Kingdom. Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Well a wonderful and he addressed him as Lord.
You know he believed with his heart and made confession with his mouth. What does it say? Thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead.
00:20:00
Thou shalt be saved.
The Sinner has to believe in his heart. He has to make confession with his mouth. Owning Jesus as Lord, you know.
Well.
That man.
Receive faith. By faith we receive the Lord Jesus. But now we want to think about this utterance. My God, my God, why is thou forsaken me? That's a quote from the Old Testament. From Psalm 22. We reminded ourselves that we only hear 7 utterances on the cross. But there are many prophetic utterances in the Old Testament.
That we can only understand if we read them in the light that they prophetically speak of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. Take Psalm 69.
For instance, there are many coats in there that you clearly see.
Refer to the Lord Jesus. One statement is that in his first they gave him vinegar to drink. Didn't that take place on the cross when he cried out thirst? And so there are many.
In the Psalms and in the Prophets that give us a fuller insight into what he felt in his soul and what he experienced when he was on the cross.
But when it says my God, when he says my God, my God, why is thou forsaken me? It is not that he finds Paul.
We left. God is to it.
He.
Expresses the grief of his soul. You have to remember that this is a person that from all eternity was in the bosom of the Father, never a moment of interrupted communion, and now he faces this tremendous, awful thing for him to be forsaken. Not only does he not get any help from God, when as a dependent man, he needs it more than ever.
He on Earth.
He doesn't get any help.
On top of it, he's punched by God. You know, when he was in the garden anticipating this.
You know the sweat is great. Drops of blood fell to the ground.
But aids of pain and strengthened him.
But if already in anticipation had caused him such agony, what must it have been to actually be there? And there was number comfort coming from either God or angels. He was alone.
And you find that he himself, in Psalm 22 gives himself the answer.
We find the statement Thou art holy.
God, holy the holiness of God, requires such a sacrifice. It couldn't be given by one who himself was sinful.
You know, no product can redeem his brother, the Old Testament says.
A sacrifice had to be given by a sinless victim. You know when you read in the Old Testament of the offerings that were brought and had to be a land without spots, without blemish, That pointed typically to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. That's why the lamb had to be without spot and without blemish.
You know, and some of these sacrifices were cut in pieces and the pieces were washed. That doesn't mean that it speaks of what needed to be done with the Lord Jesus, that he himself needed to be cleansed in order to be burned on the altar. No, that sacrifice had to be washed in order that it would be a fitting sacrifice or a picture of the perfect sacrifice that the Lord Jesus would bring.
But what it must have been for his soul to be forsaken of God?
But then he tries to God and none but God, Even when he is forsaken of God. I think there is again a beautiful side of that blessed one.
00:25:01
So he turns to God at number. God, you know, in our own lives.
We sometimes have to go through things.
Which we have brought on ourselves.
You know.
That was not the way with the Lord Jesus. He was wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from cities. That's what the scripture says about him.
He knew no sin, he never sinned, and in him was no sin. 3 Testimonies in the word of God.
About the sinlessness of this sacrifice.
But.
The holiness of God demanded that the sinless victim would die in our room instead.
And from the beginning.
We find this pointed out. You know, when they were driven out of the Garden of Eden, When they found themselves naked, God made them garments of skin. The thickly aprons were to do. They were still hiding among the trees, although they had tried to cover their nakedness, their unfitness, for the person with God, God gave them.
Skin to color their nakedness, he made a garment for them well.
How wonderful. The Lord Jesus went to the cross for the eternity of our judgment in three hours of dying. You know, if anybody in this room doesn't come to the Lord Jesus, he'll end up in hell and he will spend eternity in hell because of his sins, but he'll never come to the point that he pays for his sins.
Because it's only punishment for sin and it's eternal punishment. The Bible is very clear about that.
But the Lord Jesus did not only bear the punishment for our sins, he made the poor amendment.
He satisfies all God's claims as to sin.
We did that in three hours. It's overwhelming.
Overwhelming that he could bear and atone for all the sins of all the redeemed within three hours.
Or that person is the answer why he could do it. The work was intimate and.
So was the law televised? How much more important their sacrifice was implemented? Can you and I measure it? Never. Can you and I measure the value of their sacrifice, never of you and I NFC according to our people, apprehension of us, You're saved. According to what God see in that baptism. That's the basis of my salvation.
But we also find that to try out.
I thirst, I curse.
The wretchedness of the human heart is manifested in the way they responded to them.
You know when he made him to the cross in the password while they were doing this, they were trying to give him something that would stall the pain and he wouldn't take it. You know he would not face the sufferings of the cross, even the physical sufferings, by being in any way helped.
Or relieved.
But here now he has been six hours on the cross, dehydrated.
Feeling a tremendous thirst.
And he said, I cursed. And what did he do to give the vinegar to break? They give him something which only intensifies, greatly intensifies this thirst. Really good. And you know, I look at it this way, it shows me what the human heart is like. It shows me what my heart is like. You know, it's not touched by the grace of God. If I would have stood there, I would have done the same thing.
I was incapable of doing the same thing. I chose the wretchedness of man. You know, when you think of all the goodness and kindness of the Lord Jesus.
The way he.
Dealt with.
Man, while he was on this earth.
00:30:02
He did good. How did he reward this?
You know they work him with evil, and then you see on the cross. Here he expresses his need, his thirst.
And they give him vinegar to grape.
In German I remember we have a hymn and I like to mention that, which is a somewhat different thought.
For him, right there expressions that when he said I thirst that it was expressing his desire and his thirst for the soul of man, that they would be saved. I think it's a nice thought that even day after had it can be seen that way.
That the Lord Jesus was longing for you and I to be saved, and that that would give him.
Satisfaction that suffer very much not only from the hand of God, from the hands of his creatures.
You know, when we hear from the beginning this cry away with him, we will not have this man to reign over us.
I think the proper way for us is to see ourselves in that crowd at Pilots Hall. There's him today.
Because you and I would not have acted any different than those people. And we see how changing men are. One day they cry, Hosanna blessed he that comes in the name of the Lord. The next day they cry away with him. We will not have this man.
Reign over us.
But then we hear the words of the Lord Jesus.
It is finished.
It is finished. That's the victor's cry.
And we by faith accept that statement coming from the Blessed Lord. As far as our salvation is concerned. The work is finished, nothing to be added.
No one can take anything promised.
Neither do we have to add anything. You know, we had a dear woman, We bought our first house from her.
In Moseley, Wisconsin, she was used to a school teacher.
And.
Then later on we bought a building adjoining that property where I had my business and she lived upstairs. I became a landlord, so we had a lot of contact with that woman and she was taught from child on that.
Yes, the Lord Jesus died for us. He died for our sins.
But there are some sense that we have to atone for, and we try to labor with her to show her that the word of God, the blood says the blood of Jesus Christ, God Son, cleanses us from all sins.
Well, and the Lord Jesus said it's finished by faith. I rest on a finished work of Calvary's cross.
You know, God cannot accept anything from a sinful creature.
In payment for sin.
And.
The only thing he can accept is the Lord Jesus when it was in the Old Testament, a question of the Jews bringing sacrifices, or even Job who was not a Jew. Remember, he brought sacrifices, and sacrifices were brought before long before At Sinai the law of Moses was given, which included directions as to.
How sacrifices were to be brought. Our sacrifices were before that, you know. And the first sacrifice that was brought God proud when he closed Adam and Eve. But then we find that.
Abel brought a sacrifice.
00:35:04
And it was more excellent than Cain. God couldn't accept pain, sacrifice, but he accepted Abel's. Why?
Because.
Cain brought from the cursed earth the laborers of his hands. God couldn't accept that. But when Abel, who must have listened carefully to what his parents said, how God clothed them when he brought a lamb, God could accept it because it spoke of his son.
That spoke of his son. There's a verse.
In Romans that I like to read.
Verse 23 For God all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace to the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who God has set forth to be a propitiation to faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. What does that mean? The sins that are passed?
Some people think that that sins that are passed before we were saved. No, I believe that refers to sins committed by those who died in faith.
You know, and God.
Only at all for these sins. When the Lord Jesus died. The Lord Jesus did not only die for the sins of those who lived after he came on the scene and after he went to the cross. No God accepted his sacrifices in the Old Testament if they were brought in obedience to his word connected with faith.
He accepted them because he knew in due time the blood of the Lord Jesus would be shed and then and then only can put away sin. We know in Hebrews it says that the blood of bulls and goat cannot put away sin.
So the sins that are passed through the forbearance of God refers to the sins of the believer that live in the Old Testament. And then it goes on to declare, I say at this time his righteousness.
That he might be just to justifier of him which believeth.
In Jesus.
See now God is the basis for justification.
Has the work of the Lord Jesus and those who believe on him and his work will be justified or declared right as we have in the 4th chapter 2 examples in the life of Abraham and in the life of David.
You know.
David is quoted from Psalm 32.
And Abraham's faith in the promise of God? God declared him righteous. But as far as the sins of these Old Testament Saints are concerned, they were atoned for, just like you and my sins when the Lord Jesus died.
How wonderful the work of atonement is.
Now the work of atonement.
You know atonement has two sides.
Substitutions and propitiation.
And there are people who are not clear on this wonderful truth. And now I'm speaking to believers.
Propitiation.
Is God's side of the sacrifice that I may put it that way.
You know, God's holiness was insulted. He was dishonored by any sin that was committed.
And God's honor and glory has been maintained in the death of Christ as to any sin that was ever committed.
That's propitiation. That's why we have such scriptures as he died for all.
00:40:05
The propitiatory site of the death of Christ is to any sin that ever has been committed, but the substitutional side has to do with.
The sins of the redeemed before the sins of many need.
You know people say he bought the sins of all. If he bought the sins of every human being in the substitutional aspect of the death of Christ, then God in righteousness could not send any Sinner to hell.
But the substitutional side of the death of Christ.
Is for those who by faith come to the Lord Jesus. You know we have that picture in the Old Testament on the Day of Atonement. There were two animals that were brought.
As sacrifices the One.
Which speaks of.
The propitiatory side of the death of Christ. The animal was slain and the blood was shed, and that is propitiation. But the other animal, the sins of the people, were confessed upon that animal. The animal was sent into the wilderness to perish, to die. It's a picture of the death of Christ, but it is the substitutional.
Side of the death of Christ.
Well.
And how wonderful the work is complete.
And sinners can come.
And had their sins forgiven, come under the strengthening of the blood.
You know that's when that plot is applied to us individually.
No, how wonderful.
But we have to see that the work is finished and as far as the salvation of our souls is concerned, we cannot do a thing.
The only thing that God can accept is that which his Son has done, and he has done it, and he himself says it is finished.
And I rest on the work.
And Word of the Lord Jesus.
Finished work now there have been people that have really done damage to the truth of God. There was one man that said, you know.
When the Lord Jesus said it is finished, it wasn't really finished because.
The high priest had to take the blood and had to bring it into the inner sanctuary on the day of Atonement.
Now the Lord Jesus was number priest on earth. He was only priest when he entered heaven, so he couldn't present his blood until he was ascended.
And what this man failed to see that it says in Hebrews doesn't say that he entered with his blood. He said he entered by his blood in virtue of his blood. You know, if I mistake make that statement when we were in Hebrews not long ago that he entered with his thought. Not that I didn't know about it, but I made a mistake and a young brother corrected me. He said, you know, that's not what the Scripture says it says.
He entered by his block in virtue of his blood.
And how wonderful that is. You know, we see that the whale rents from top to bottom. Right after he died, God himself gave the testimony that the entrance into the presence of God, that's what the inner sanctuary spoke of.
Was made open by virtue of his blood. The Lord Jesus has entered, you know, And then another man had said.
Well, the blood test flowed from the Savior's side, and it wasn't that many years ago that that doctrine sprung up had no atoning value because it flowed after the Lord Jesus said it is finished.
You know, that's the only blood that Bible mentions.
It's true that when he was nailed to the cross, when the crown of thorns was put on his head, I'm sure there was blood flowing. But the Bible doesn't say anything about blood flowing. The only blood that the Bible mentions is the blood that flowed from his side. And when you read in John chapter 20, you see how much of an effort is made that we believe that, and that the testimony as to the flowing of that blood from inside is true.
00:45:12
Because dead blood had all the value of the atoning sufferings of Christ in it, and it's all one word of atonement. I was helped very much when I got Adrian Roach's ministry on that subject, and he said there are three things that have accomplished atonement, the atoning sufferings in the three hours of darkness when the Lord Jesus suffered from the hand of God.
When all his sins were put up, all our sins were put upon him. And when he was made sin, that's the atomic suffering. And then?
Laying down of his life as an atonement for sin.
And.
The Precious Blood, the Blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, Francis, and all sin.
So we have to be careful that we do not, with the human mind, go into the truth of God's Word and distort the truth. There's one word.
And you know the blood there float there from God, from his side is as much for us as it is for God, and especially for us that we believe that that block was shared. And there isn't Savior when he comes into the midst of his own. He doesn't say that he, a spirit, doesn't have.
Flesh and blood.
As he had, he said.
Doesn't have flesh or bone. His blood was sheer.
I think one of the prominent Bible teachers in years gone by, I think it was doctor. Beyond that, believe there was some blood.
There. Otherwise, how could he have been a living man? I don't know the exact details of his daughter, but the mind has to be guarded when it comes to the truth of God. The blood was shed.
And a blessed person in his resurrection body that was a body that was number longer subject to the loss of nature as you are. My body is, you know. He came into the midst of his own behind closed doors. They were gathered together there. The Lord Jesus stood right in the midst. He had a body that could he could eat, but they need to eat to sustain that life.
How wonderful.
It's a finished work.
Nobody can add to it, nobody can take from it. But then this last utterance.
And to die handed I Clement my spirit, And he addresses God as his Father. The only time that the Lord Jesus addresses God as God is when he makes that crime. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why is that He is in the place of sinful men himself, being sinless, but taking their place before God, and being punished All men sins.
We find him saying my God, my God, but after these sufferings are over now and he can say it is finished, he again addresses God as his Father, as he had done throughout his earthly life.
And the confidence expressed in him committing.
His spirit.
To his Father. You know, there are people that have actually denied that the Lord Jesus was fully man.
Spiritual and body, they have dared to try to explain the mystery that no man can understand.
How God and man could be in one person, holy God, holy man, spirit, soul and body. They have said you know the spirit of the man files Jesus was his deity.
Where they tried to explain the mystery that the Lord Jesus himself says nobody can understand, which remains a mystery to us. No one knows the Son but the Father. Matthew 11, You know.
Nobody knows his Father, but the Son and to whom he will reveal, but the mystery of the person of Christ. How there can be.
00:50:08
Two natures in one person.
It's uncomprehendable to our minds. We cannot explain it and we dare not to delve into it. We accept the statements of Scripture without.
Claiming that we understand the mystery of it. You know when he says into thy hand, I commend my spirit.
He's obviously Speaking of his human spirit and how wonderful this is what was characteristic of the Blessed Lord throughout his life.
Perfect confidence and trust in God. His father, you know, he complaints. He expresses his grief that the Father's trusted in God and they were delivered. He trusted with perfect confidence. But he was not delivered. Even his enemies said he trusted in God. Let him deliver him. Now they had to give the testimony that his life had been characterized by trusting in God.
But the Lord Jesus continued to trust in God even when he was under the punishment for sin by God, he turns to him. Notice this verse in the Old Testament? Then I think it must be in Proverbs or a joke. 14 One of the books it says is the righteous structure in God even in death, trusted even in death.
Is that illustrated in the person of the Lord Jesus? You know, if you and I have to go through death, and many Christians have gone through death for the person of the Lord Jesus, did they give up their confidence? Did they give up their trust? No, they continued to trust in God, but they might have been shaken for a while. Like who's 100 years before Martin Luther? You know, when he was?
Standing there before his judges.
And he asked, And he recanted, And then he.
Again, repented, confessed his faith, and he was burned at the stake. Well, how wonderful to look at this being even demonstrated in the lives of many believers. But how perfectly it was demonstrated in the Lord Jesus, and he commits his spirit to his Father.
You know and beloved.
We trust.
God for our salvation.
We accept the truth of the word of God for our soul's salvation.
Certainly not all to trust him for any circumstance that might come up in our lives.
Should we not be encouraged by what we see in the Lord Jesus, what we see in many believers?
Who prove trust and confidence in God.
You know, remember those friends of Daniel when they were facing the king? They were very bold. They said. Whether God will save us from the fiery furnace, we don't know. But one thing is for sure, He's going to save us out of your hands, you know. So even if the king would have burned them up, where would their souls have been? You know, they were not at all afraid to die, you know, because.
Death is nothing but a servant that ushers the believer into the presence of the Lord Jesus. All things are yours, Paul says. And in that list that he gives, he says death. Death is a servant. For the unbeliever, it is the King of terror. There can be nothing worse happening to a man than to die or for a woman, you know, if they have no hope.
But if we know Lord Jesus, they had something much better to look forward to than what they could have possibly had in this world. Eternity in the Father's house with the Lord Jesus, like the Lord Jesus with all the believers, Whoever has faith and died in faith. You know what I'm taking great comfort in that verse in Thessalonians, that all our gathering together unto Him.
1St.
It's a great comfort for me because all my brothers and sisters in five that I can't practically walk with who go in different paths, they'll all be there.
00:55:08
That one will be missing. I'm looking forward to that. You know, to be there with all the radiation, nothing hindering the praise and worship of things, is not going to be wonderful. And then to be for all eternity there nothing can ever.
Rob us of any joy or mar that bliss and happiness.
The Lord Jesus has made all of that possible by going to the cross.
You know, if God would have dealt with me, with you or with anybody in this room according to what we had done, where would we end up?
Hell.
The holiness of God is seen not only in how he dealt with the Lord Jesus on the cross. I believe that gives you the best demonstration of the holiness of God, but the Garden of Eden.
What I'm saying is he dealt with his son.
The way he did, because he took you in my place, he couldn't spare him. He had to punish him. It's a demonstration of what the holiness of God requires. But in the Garden of Eden, what made Adam and Eve lose their innocence?
And put them into position of sinners and the whole human race descendant from sinners, they're all sinners by nature to eat over forbidden fruit.
Like you might say, why you said such a big thing.
That is in the side of God.
It's sufficient in the sight of God to separate Adam from him.
Driving him out of the garden and the only remedy for Adam.
Were those skins, those covers that God provided? Well, a lot of garden there.
I'm so thankful.
That God in his grace has touched my conscience, showed me what I was. I wasn't any better than any Sinner that is still in his sins.
And if I've been kept from doing some things that others have done, it's only because the grace of God kept me from it. I have the capacity to do what anybody else has done.
But God in disgrace brought me two sons. He wants you to come to his son. He wants to be attractive. He wants you to be attracted to him.
To love him. To be a lover of God and an enemy of God. To be reconciled to God. What does it mean? Was God ever our enemy? Did he need to be reconciled to us? No. We were enemies of God, But he has reconciled us by the death of the Son. If you're not going to be reconciled to God by looking at what God has done in the person of his Son, nothing else will change your attitude.
Nothing else will make out of an enemy of God, a lover of God.
Well, I trust there's nobody in this room.
That will neglect or refuse to accept.
God's love and grace.
Let's sing.
Pin number.
109.
I've learned that him from Lemoyne Smith and I don't know if you know that melody that I'm going to start at song by but if you don't know you can learn it because a big beautiful to the words.
109.
Oh, the love of God is false.
No one more that loved me.
Love the soul, soul. Oh my blessing.
Long distance itself on me.
Love that gave them spotless.
Wicked and long ago that Calvary.
01:00:04
Holy Cross.
The Christ is Wanderers.
Never.
Me.
Made a silent evening darkness.
God is.
Like I also see.
Holy cleanse of justifying.
Full expression.
In the sea.
Light and love.
Love. Life, I'm telling.
One of the.
Flowers offering me.
All the signing, heavenly, glorious man in righteousness is there.
Once every time, now victorious Jesus.
Lives in glory.
Him and the Prince of Glory.
And the seed of fluent man on the.
Water story.
God has served my hand.
Oh, what? Right?
Discipline
Address—H. Brinkmann
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.
Appendix.
Oh Lord, I love.
Love. Love. Love.
Transformers.
And everything.
Let's what we have within myself.
I.
Know in the.
Brightness.
And like my laundry.
And yet I love.
Something.
And the recall my heart.
Is going All in all in right now.
Mine, I would.
Love.
It.
In my.
Heart.
When that becomes.
Out.
Lava, plug me in there.
And if I.
Wonder.
Back to the.
Therefore thy creation.
Forever.
Make her like, so big.
Oh.
And birthday my of myself.
Come from.
To read one verse and Genesis.
00:05:04
Genesis 4 verse 9.
And the Lord said, I'm the pain. Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not.
And I my brother Keeper.
The subject that I have on my heart tonight is the subject of discipline.
And I believe.
In the minds of many.
Of God's people when we talk about discipline they think of.
The excommunication of one who has fallen into.
Immorality or evil doctrine or whatever might require.
The form of discipline of excommunication. But really?
That is the end of discipline.
And it proves that all discipline has failed.
And I believe that many times.
The extreme form has to take place because we have failed in carrying out discipline.
And I believe the answer that pain gives to the Lord. Am I my brother's keeper?
We know the answer, do we not? Yes, we are our brothers people.
In other words, we all have responsibilities towards one another.
Now there might be do, and there are those that have more responsibility in this respect than others, like the currently those who have the gift of shepherds.
What is the gift of shepherds?
Well.
They're really concerned with the soul, with the stains to help them along.
And to treat them, and if necessary, to correct them, and so on to help them along in a spiritual way.
There's such a thing as a gift.
As a gift over Kepler, you know those gifts And Ephesians 4 which are apostles and prophets. Well, those gifts we don't have any more. You know we still have prophecy, but we do not have prophets. Those who completed the word of God, those who were used by inspiration to write down what we now have.
In the Bible.
Whether that's the Old Testament or New Testament, you know there were prophets in the Old Testament and there were prophets in the New Testament. Without going too far off on this side line you might take, it's important to see that profits are not just people that foretell future events.
Those prophets we have in the word of God, prophets are all for those, and Samuel had those.
Beginning with Samuel that says in the book of Acts, they are not necessarily telling foretelling future events, but they use what has been previously revealed to restore.
The people to bring them back to God. Corrective ministry. That kind of ministry is still with us today. Let the prophets speak two or three in First Corinthians.
Is really corrected ministry predominantly.
Deadwig is necessary to deal with the state of the Saints. Someone has distinguished between.
And the teacher and the shepherd and the prophet. And you know, the teacher addresses himself to the intellect.
Of course, we're speaking now of spiritual intelligence and the Shepherd.
Directs himself to the heart and the profit. His ministry is directed to the conscience, and we need that kind of thing. And we should not despise prophesying. And this kind of prophesying fits in with our subject.
00:10:20
Of discipline because we all at one time or another.
The correction We need to be brought in line with God's thoughts and even as to our way of life, our practices, they have to be brought in line with what God expects us to do and say, to have our thoughts in line with His, our practices in line with what He can approve of in our lives.
And the Prophet is not wanted.
You know, what did they do with the prophets in the Old Testament? They stoned them.
You know, and you know what the Lord Jesus said. Which of the prophets hath not your father persecuted? Well?
Today we might not stone people who direct themselves in their ministry to our conscience, but we might friends that make legal.
You know.
You know, it's a terrible thing many times when people's brains, people legal who are exercised about obedience to the word of God and I sometimes said.
If obedience to the word of God is legality, then I want to be classified a religious project. I hope you too would want to be there. So classified. There is such a thing as reality, and we know that, and we have to guard against it.
Our actions should always flow from realizing what our position is in Christ, the elevated glorious position that we have the perfect standing in Christ and that we are saved not only from Hellfire, also saved from this present evil world.
You know, and then if you see that clearly, then we can know what is expected of us.
You know, we probably have heard Albert give that illustration of.
The Prince, was it Prince Charles or one of those of the Royal House of England, was traveling on an ocean liner and crossed the equator. And I understand they had some kind of a celebration where they clown around and they dress up in funny clothes and this prints also did the same. And there was a photographer snipping a picture, snatching a picture.
And it appeared on the front page in England, and he was reprimanded when it came back. And he was said, that might be all right for anybody else, but for one who is the Prince, a Prince of England? It's not proper behavior. So we always have to realize what we are in Christ and what our position is in order to know how we ought to conduct ourselves.
But the problem is that.
When we get saved.
We don't right away know everything and we might have habits and customs from our former life that we have to unlearn. And you know, remember when Lazarus came out of the grave, the Lord Jesus told the disciples to take the grave clothes off of him, you know, and I remember that somebody was saved. The lady was saved and.
She came to the meeting, you know, she was painted.
And dressed up and like a Christmas tree, you know, she looked.
And people found that offensive. And somebody said come Egypt lately, come, you know, be patient. Well, it didn't take long and these things dropped off.
Well, I think patience and grace is necessary, but there has to be.
This loving care to help such souls belong. The best way we can help him, of course, is find our example.
00:15:04
And all discipline really begins with self-discipline.
And I think Paul himself is an example.
Of that turned through First Corinthians.
Chapter 9.
Verse 27.
But I keep under my body to entering it into subjection.
Less than by any means, when I have prayed to others, I myself should be attached away.
Because she is talking to Paul did not judge. You know he lived running creeps and.
My grandfather pointed out to me when I was a young believer.
What you find is the book of X.
Verse one, Chapter one.
The former creedus.
Have I have I made a Theophilus of all that Jesus?
Began both to do and teach.
Interesting. We begin to do first and then, he preached.
You know it's.
A sad thing, sometimes when people preach something that they don't practice, there is no power behind it. You know, when I was a young believer in Wisconsin had come here, I had an exercise about joining labor unions and most of those veterans there were in the labor union and so.
They were offended by some of them anyway, by the state that I took.
And.
So one brother, who himself had joined the labor union, preached in the meeting.
Pointing out what the specific teachers about the things, but it didn't carry any weight, you know, it wasn't very acceptable to the audience because they knew that every labor union meeting he attended, you know, well, that wasn't Perry anyway. Well, we should do and then.
See, so it's a very important thing that we are exercising in our lives, that we walk through this world pleading to the Lord, not stumbling anybody, you know?
Offending.
You know, offending we.
That word in English today, when somebody heard our feelings.
But this is not how the word of God uses the Word of Faith. That is to cause to somebody, or to go astray by even our example that we ought to be exercising about that. But we all need sometimes the help of our brethren. We need corrections. The Scripture says that the fool despises corruption. Why do we want to be fooled?
What do we want to classify with food? Despising.
Correction, we need it.
There's none of us there at one time or another does not leave correction where we have. As we look into the subject and read various passages about discipline, we find there are various.
Different forms and to have less or more severe forms of discipline and I think one of the least severe forms is what we find in John.
And Chester 13 to Let's turn to them.
John chapter 13 speaks of the washing of feet.
And we know that the Lord Jesus begins the upper room ministry with the washing of the feet.
00:20:04
You know all that he has to say afterwards, that which is especially of comfort to his own because he was going away. We can say that they can really only be enjoyed if we come into the good of the washing of the feet. And Peter, when the Lord does that to him, or wants to wash his feet, he says, You, the Lord washing my feet? No way.
The Lord says, well, if he I don't wash your feet.
You have no part with me.
What? He doesn't mean to say that if I don't wash your feet, you'll be lost.
I'm going to keep you saved by washing the feet. No, the danger exists of losing communion. That's the point. And we as we walk through this world, which is the wilderness and which lies in the land of the wicked one, that's how it can be translated.
Satan is his. God is the garden Prince of this world. The world lies in his life.
We cannot help but be defiled.
And it isn't something that we.
See, He can't avoid it.
You know, all we have to do is when the weather gets hot and we go to town and we see how immoderate some of the ladies are dressed. You know, they know what that does to men. Maybe ladies don't always realize that, but men are aroused by what they see, and the advertising agents know that. And that's why they when they want to sell a car, you know they.
Put a well formed, scantily dressed lady right next to it, you know, because that catches the attention of people. Well, I sometimes ask the question.
Do we want to tempt or arouse our brothers in Christ? But we ought to be exercised about these things? But we, as we go through this world, we cannot help but see things and hear things that we do not necessarily want to see, that we don't necessarily want to hear. When you go to work, for instance.
You know, depending where you work, many of you are privileged that you don't have to go and work in a factory or where you are with many unbelieving people. You know as you sit on your tractor and farm your farm, your privileged individual in this respect, that you are not exposed to the vulgarity and all that which are better than Christ have to be exposed to who have to work in the factory.
Well, so we cannot help but see hearing things that have a defiling effect. So we have to submit to the planting effect of the word of God. Now the Lord Jesus uses that with his disciples and then he tells the disciples. Now I'm giving you an example if I.
The Lord says that you have to do that to one another, but it is.
A service that requires humility and grace, you know and and many times when I hear on John 13, people always bring in.
Sin and defilement serious of a serious nature. I don't think this is necessarily what is anticipated there.
A brother in Wausau, WI. He made the statement once after I've been all day in the store contact with the world, I feel that I have to go home and let the water as it will run through me, you know, and this is what the word of God does.
Define that a new birth.
The word of God is used as a cleansing agent. And when Peter says oh, he says when he hears that if the Lord wouldn't wash his feet he wouldn't have any part with him, he says old enough, only my feet and he wanted to be washed all over. And the Lord says he that has been given a bath need not to our save his feet. You know we have that with the.
00:25:07
Dedication of the priest in the Old Testament, he was given a bath that's new birth. That's a picture of new birth. But then daily he had to wash his feet, his hands and his feet.
Why was that Because?
As he walked through this desert sand, his feet will be fired, and in connection with the bringing of sacrifices, his hands were unclean.
They got bloody, you know, But how wonderful for us as believers. It's not hands empty, it's only feet. Because the work is done, you know. And this in itself also shows if it would be a more serious case of defilement, something that we do. Our hands are usually used in the word of God for what we do, you know, but our feet walking through this wilderness.
We get deprived and we need to be cleansed, and our brethren can do that. When we come to meeting, when the word of God is opened up and read to us, and it's found that this is what takes place and that's why it is so important for us to come to meeting. You know, some people think that the breaking of bread is all that I have to go through. No, we need to come under the sound of the word.
And I believe when we get together.
In the holes, I think it's a good thing that the word of God has a big part in our get together, even outside of the assembly meetings.
You know it's a pleasure to be in the home of the Saints then, and after breakfast the word of God is bread. And then.
The same about their needs coming themselves to the Lord in the evening. You know the word of God is wet. Prayer is made. These are beautiful, wonderful customs based on the word of God.
You know, in Timothy Paul says that everything is good to eat if it is connected with the word, the word of God and with prayer. You know that we visited in Cairo the first two times we noticed that they do not have the custom that they open those pictures after they had eaten and read the word of God. We have mentioned that several times, but that is such a custom with them.
Or lack of custom based files and or if you don't do it, but it certainly is a good person for us to do that.
So the work is a cleansing agent, and even when it becomes a more serious case of defilement, if you really want to help our brethren, you know I believe you use the word of God.
And I understand one time it was an assembly that had a problem with a certain brother and brothers had labored with that individual and hadn't gotten to first base with him and.
And it was a serious case, a serious problem that they had with him. So they asked his brother, well thought, whether he would go and make an effort to the brother went into that house.
And he won't even sit down. He wouldn't in any way socialize with that man. And he said, I've come here to read some scriptures to you, and if you read scriptures that were pertinent scriptures that really fit his face and then he left, you know, the Lord used that to exercise their individual. And I believe from what I understand, he was restored. So the word of God.
Is such a big.
Part even we find in Ephesians chapter 5.
That this cleansing with the water, the Word, is something that is an ongoing thing that the Lord is doing, that God is doing with us until we reach glory, you know, that is the scripture then shows that water and the Word of God are synonymous well.
You find in the Old Testament you have a more serious case typically.
00:30:04
In the Red Heifer, you know there you have a person who gets defiled but the defilement has not started from within himself. You know there are things that lead to our defilement, like leprosy for instance, or open source scriptures speak of that. That is something that breaks out in an individual and it comes from within.
His evil, sinful nature, but we find there with the red heifer.
The person that comes in contact with a dead body or with a grave or with a bone, he is defiled, he contract, is contracted, Something that does not necessarily start with him, but at least to something serious in here.
So what we find here too, in that passage that he cannot get cleansing without the help of one of his fellow believers. A clean man didn't have to even be a priest, had to strangle the water of purification on the third day and under 7th day, you know, and this is so instructive there, that it doesn't have to be a priest.
You know, or Levi, even any clean person can perform that service of love to a fellow Pilgrim. And so it is with us, you know, we must not say well in our local assembly. There are some brothers, they have the responsibility of oversight and so I don't have to bother with this kind of thing.
Well, certainly there are things that only the older ones and those in oversight should handle and deal with. But in our contact with one another, all of us have to responsibility. We're all our brother's keepers, depending on the circumstances, you know, and how important it is, you know, even a sister.
Him.
Depending again on the circumstances for your help to a believer who is of the opposite sex in that connection with just a brief statement or quoting a scripture you know in context, outside of the assembly, of course, how important these things are to realize that. But let's turn to relations.
Relations, Chapter 6.
First one.
Brethren is a man, he overtaken in a fall, he which has spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness. Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted, bear ye one another burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself, But let every man prove his own work.
And then shall you have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden.
Well, here then we have a case where.
Can you simply the fellowship of the same? There is somebody overtaking by a fall.
Well, it is evidently not something that needs to lead to excommunication, you know.
And those that are spiritual should restore that one. And again, in here you don't necessarily have the elders and overseers, but.
Those who are spiritual should restore that one. Now what is a spiritual person?
Well, I believe a spiritual person is one who realizes that that evil that that individual has fallen into is something that I can fall into, myself and.
00:35:05
A person that.
The chances of his own weakness and shortcomings. The humility tries to help a fellow believer. The story is taught, and I don't remember now who told that story that there was a brother that had fallen into some problem and here some brothers live together and they were praying about it and this one brother.
Wanted to have another one to do with it.
And after they had prayed the brother who was leading in the exercise? He asked the one brother, he said.
If you would face the same temptation, what do you think would happen?
Well, she said. I think the Lord would give me grace that I wouldn't fall into it.
And.
The other one was asked and he too gave an answer that his brother wasn't satisfied with. And then the third one, I believe he was sitting there with his head down and he said to the brother when he was asked. He said. I'm afraid if I would have faced the same thing, I might have fallen more hard than he did.
The voters said you're the one that goes with me and they labor with that person.
Well, I think this is what is so hard and why.
This care for one another is so difficult because it has to be carried out by people who themselves are far from perfect and they themselves might have had in their history things where they had to be dealt with.
And it might well be thrown into their face when they come and try to help the one that now, at this time itself well. So it is humility that is necessary, considering ourselves realizing we're made out of the same stuff. We can fall into this.
And so that's the right state of soul.
That is necessary in dealing with one another. And then the Lord can give praise. Now he again it is not held such a serious nature that the person has to be put out of fellowship, you know, like fornication, adultery, and evil doctrines of turning the person and work of the Lord Jesus. But Gordon Hill once said when the subject was discussed at a conference.
It's not for brethren to determine what has to be done with a fornicator. The word of God tells us what has to be done with a fornicator. Put out some among yourself that was the person you know. There's a doctrine going around even amongst the gathered things that if somebody only falls into sin, one fornication, you know he doesn't need to be put out.
Well, the question that should be answered to people is somebody only murders once.
To become under discipline. You know what they're trying to say? That the person is not a foreigner. Peter, by falling into that sin only once, is a person not a murderer. If he murders only once, he certainly is. Well. So we have to be careful to not have people put things into our minds that don't stand up in the light of the word of God. Now it is true that.
If somebody falls into such an evil.
And it truly repented.
And truly humbled before God that he might not have to be outside very long, but there is more involved in that form of discipline in the assembly than the thought of restoring that one.
The name of the Lord Jesus had to be cleared. The name of the assembly has to be cleared. Well, we'll probably get to that if we do in First Corinthians 5, but here it is apparently not something that requires excommunication.
00:40:05
All that is needed here is those who are spiritually with that one. And when the person acknowledges his fault, he's forgiven, you know, He remains in fellowship, you know, sometimes.
Like in one of my recent trips, I came through an assembly. Not in this country.
I'm glad to say that there was a man that had fallen into adultery, and he and his wife came to one of the responsible brothers, and he was broken about it, confessed it, and the brother thought that it was all that was needed. He had confessed it. And so the brother continued in fellowship. You know what happened? He fell into the thing again.
And at that time he left his wife without any support and his two daughters and.
So when I pointed out to him, to this responsible brother, what could teach us, he was thankful, you know, he didn't know. And so sometimes mistakes are made amongst our people because of lacks of understanding the scriptures. But that's why we need to go into a subject like that. We would much rather take a subject like we had the last two nights, but I believe this kind of subject is very important.
Too, especially in our day and age where people are so independent, you know, and the attitude that prevails in the world in general.
Mind your own business, you know.
It's none of your concern. Well, we are one members, one of another, you know, whatever happens to one of us affects us all. And we are one body, you know? And when things occur in the assembly, all are affected by it, not just the person.
That falls into some sin. Remember, even in the Old Testament, when Aiken took up the accursed thing, God did not tell Joshua that.
One in Israel has been, the Lord said. Israel has sinned. Sure, it was one in Israel, but all Israel, until they dealt with it evil, was identified with it before God.
And they were defeated at AI because of it.
But isn't that nice when there are such cases as we have here in Galatians 6 and when in love and grace things are dealt with and the person is rescued?
And does not continue on a downward course and eventually has to be removed from the fellowship of the Saints.
But now let's turn to.
Timothy First Timothy.
Verse Chapter 5, verse 20.
Them that sin rebuked before all that others also may fear.
Now here again, you have a more severe way of dealing with something. Something has happened that requires a review.
You and what we find when we look at this whole subject of discipline, we find more scriptures deal with personal discipline or the responsibility of the individuals to be individuals to deal in discipline than the collective.
Aspect. That is the assembly dealing with it. And if this is what comes across to us tonight, it'll be very helpful because I believe, because we do not carry out that responsibility that many times a person ends up outside of the assembly altogether, but sitting here again is not a.
Matter.
That will have to come before the assembly, and the assembly has to excommunicate that person you know, let's say for instance as an example.
00:45:05
One of the brothers or sisters makes a vulgar statement or in their anger. Use a word that Christians should be saying a fellow believer right then and there.
Can use this picture.
As authority to rebuke that person. But what it is anticipating here is that the review has not only hopefully the result that that person is repentant, that also is a warning for others who might witness the conduct and behavior. Take another example, let's say in a brother's meeting.
There's a young brother who in an undercoming way.
Runs down an older brother or talks to an older brother. That's pretty.
Or children do it to their parents.
We might all have done that at one time or another.
You know and.
A review should be administered right then and there. The Lord might use another brother to rebuke that young brother, right? And then there publicly, you know? Or maybe it's an older brother that behaves out of place, you know, let's fly off the handle, you know, you know, order better than two, and nobody is beyond the review.
You know we have in chapter 5 verse one rebuke not an elder, but Mr. Darby's rendering says rebuke not an elder character.
Such a case that an older one has to be reviewed. Don't review them sharply. Review them as a father as it would be becoming for a son to talk to his father.
No, father sometimes might well.
Have to.
He rebuked even by their own son.
But there is a becoming way to team with older sisters, you know, like a mother, and then into the coming way how younger sister should be rebuked by a brother. So we had to consider these things, you know, sometimes perhaps the older one, saying that nobody should ever dare say anything against them or oppose them in anything.
Well, older ones are not always right, but there is a becoming way how to speak to older ones in such a case.
Now turn to.
First Thessalonians, first of all.
4:50 verse 14.
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that our unruly comfort the people minded, support the weak, be patient towards all men. He again you have, you certainly see, a form of discipline.
Warn them that are unruly.
You know, in our day and age.
The kids are being sold in school many times. Do your own things, don't you think for yourself And so on and so forth and.
Things are undermined. The family structures undermine.
In many cases, for those who take the place of counselors, even among Christians, you know, we've heard that long ago that somebody who played quite a prominent place trying to be a counselor to the young people set to one of the children of the Saints.
Does your father really love you?
Yes, he said. Well, how do you know he loves you? Well, my dad goes to work.
He she's two. I said I have something to eat, that I have clothes to wear, that I have a head over my roof, a roof over my head, and well, he said the penitentiary would do that for you.
Fitness and the mining.
Confidence and trust.
In the family.
Well, it said that these things occur, but.
00:50:04
We have to.
Honor those whom God has put over us, healing the family, be it in the assembly. And there are rules who are over us in the middle.
Then Second Thessalonians.
Verse six of chapter 3.
Now we command your brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh his orderly, and not after the tradition which he received which.
He received of us for ourselves, nor yourself, nor how you ought to follow us, For we behave not ourselves disorderly among you, neither did we eat any man's bread for not.
But brought with labor and prevail night and day, that we might be not be chargeable to any of you, not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
Over here that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but a busy body. Now then there are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. But he brethren, be not weary and well doing, And if any man obey not our word participist, though note that man, and have no company with him.
That he may be ashamed.
Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
So you can see what the problem was here at Tesla. Nika was that there were those who were walking disorderly and the disorder walked consisted of not working. They were lazy.
You know, they didn't provide for themselves and for their own. That's it. Quite a statement in First Timothy when we read that those who do not provide for their own have denied the faith and are worse than an unbelievable. You know what, it is there not just for our own children, but it's for our relatives, you know, when they get older and need help.
And here.
There were those who were disorderly and didn't walk work well. They were to be not associated with. They were not to be socialized with.
And they were not to be regarded as an enemy. They were still in the assembly. But this is a form of discipline. That is the responsibility of individuals. Are we willing to be faithful? We have met in our short life as a Christian, those who were lazy, whose family suffered.
Didn't have food on the table sometimes because the father was lazy. Well, when we had such cases, we should not keep company with them. We should not invite them, nor neither should we accept invitations by them.
Now, those who act on the Scripture in such cases might be considered troublemakers, You know, an unkind. But this is what the Scripture teaches. We're going to go not by what people say, but it's popular in the world.
We go by what the Word of God teaches. I hope we all do.
You know, and this is a form of discipline that is individual responsibility. It might become the basis for an assembly action. This is I think another thing that we can see that those scriptures that speak of individual responsibility, like a review for instance, that is predominantly an individual responsibility. But I know cases have been such that the assembly rebuked somebody publicly.
00:55:00
Or sisters publicly for their behavior.
But here this also might be necessary that the assembly publicly reviewed such a one for the disorderly walk.
But it might well be that some discern this earlier than others. It might have to act for their for themselves. And hopefully the others will come to realize that there is indeed a problem that needs to be dealt with. Now turn to Roman.
Romans 16.
We're 70.
Now I beseech you, brethren, and you will see now that things become more and more serious, as we proceed in the subject of discipline. Now beseech your brethren, mark them, which caused divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which he has learned, and avoid them.
Don't have anything to do with them.
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by good words and fair speeches receive the hearts of the simple.
To hear now we are born.
You know, if we do not avoid those that cause division and offenses, contrary to the doctrine.
If you do not avoid, then we ourselves might become affected by it. Have we not seen it many times? Those that are oldest here?
I'm sure they can relate cases where people did not go by the teaching of this scripture and were influenced and their fellowship with their brethren.
Between March.
But you see he again. You don't have necessarily yet an assembly action here, but the individual discern this man conducts himself in a heretical way, and it might be a woman.
And the course of safety for me is that I avoid such a person. I don't expose myself to the influence.
Now turn to Titus.
You see, sometimes we confuse divine love with humankind, you know, and we continue to associate with those that have divided the Saints of God. Beware. Maybe we ourselves will be affected.
Perhaps even Mr. Pat.
Chapter 3 of Titus.
We're standing.
A man that is an heretic after the 1St and 2nd admonition rejects, knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth being condemned of himself.
Here, now you have a person.
Called a heretic now when we usually encissed them, hear, hear the word heretic used.
And it's generally used in connection with people. Doctor, this man is heretical and people read by that he has fall darkness. Now a person might well use false doctrine to draw disciples after them like we have it in Acts chapter 20.
From among yourselves the men arise, teaching perverse things, drawing disciples after them. But a heretic might not necessarily be one who teaches false doctrines, but he divides the same.
And that's a heretic. And you know, we can use the very truth and divide God's people. You know, not everybody amongst God's people sees everything the way you and I perhaps might see it.
01:00:10
And.
Especially young believers, you know, who are still in the early stages of spiritual growth. And if you try to force certain aspects of the truth of God upon people when they're not ready for it, you know, and.
Then we might cause a risk amongst the people of God. You all know, perhaps that Mister Darley's belief in.
Household fabric and many of these brethren did not believe in household baptism. And just like today there are brethren who believe in household baptism and their brethren who believe in believers baptism, that only those who have made a profession of faith should be baptized. And when he was ministering in England, he was in a meeting, in a certain meeting, where the president there all were pretty well.
Of the persuasion of the liver's baptism, and a young man comes running after him after he had ministered the word and he said, Mr. Darby, and what did you hold on back to him? And Mr. Dougherty said, you know, you go to those travel in there, they can tell you all about their citizens. What he realized is he didn't want to give this young man.
Ammunition that he could use to cause problems in this group of believers in England. Well, we have to be careful. A heretic is one who divides the people.
And you know, there are such things as division.
And.
They are caused by a sectarian influence, but they might still be.
Start people. You know, we speak of the division of sons of bread and the division of son, so brethren, But really, I believe it would be more correct.
Of so on and so the steps of so and so because when it becomes an outward rift.
You know, it's really a sectarian movement all together.
You know you find everything within the church. Encourage Chisholm. But it wasn't getting outward. RIP How serious a matter it is to devise God, people.
There we find in First Corinthians 3, where it's quite a solemn scripture to consider.
I see we don't get to the fifth chapter, but there we have.
Verse 17 If any man defiled a temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple we are. That is the church collectively was the temple of God. Well, the 6th or 5th chapter of First Corinthians is really.
The evil is of such a nature that the person has to be put outside, and that cannot be done by individuals. That can only be done by the assembly. And also only the assembly administratively can forgive or.
To not forget to remit or not, to remit or to bind the sin upon the person, or to loosen the same. You know, when people say like they have been saying that in connection with recent troubles among our people, we are bound by the action of so and so. That's not a scriptural expression. Finding means that the assembly binds to sin upon that individual.
You know, and we bow to the action because it was done in the name of the Lord Jesus. They're not binding us to be active Now we bow to the action. The action of the assembly of binding and loosening is binding the sin upon the individual or to loosen.
01:05:09
System. And when that is done on earth, it is recognized in heaven the administrative responsibility.
Invested now in the assembly. That's why, first, what Matthew 18 teaches, that is no longer Israel.
That is among the two and three scattered to the name of the Lord, and they have authority to deal in his name, because the Lord himself is in the name.
And really, those who do not have the Lord personally in the midst, according to Matthew 1820.
Do not have such authority. That's why we do not.
Vowed to anything or accept or acknowledge anything that is being done by those who professively.
Made in the name of Christ, but cannot lead His claim to begin at according to Matthew 1820. Well, I will. I hope you love it that.
We will look into this subject more thoroughly and.
To see that we all have responsibilities with one another. And if you see me do something wrong, you have the responsibility to try to help me. And it should always be done in the smallest circle. You see me doing something wrong, you come to me.
Do you speak?
From the word of God to my conscience. And if I acknowledge it, that's where it ends, you know. But hopefully that's where it will end. When any of us and this whole thing of spreading things all over the continent and all over the world with satanic, you know, matters are to be dealt with in the smallest possible circle. That's what Matthew 18 teaches.
You know, so maybe God helped us that we live up to our responsibilities and.
All of our actions.
Affect.
The whole testimony.
And affect the name of the Lord Jesus.
And if he can in any way contribute to things being.
Ordered properly or straightened out so that the testimony is not marked by anything in any of us. The Lord will be honored by this. You know the time is going to come when this will no longer be necessary, when we'll be all with and like the Lord Jesus, as long as we are on this earth.
We have the responsibility of trying to help each other. You know we are.
All interdependent. We all need each other, and how wonderful that the Lord has arranged it in this way. And may the Lord help us to live up to our responsibility.