Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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I'd like to turn Brethren to the 9th chapter of Luke Luke's Gospel, Chapter 9, beginning at the.
23rd verse.
Luke 9 and verse 23.
And he said to the mall, if any man will come after me.
Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever shall it will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it the 28th verse. And it came to pass about an 8 days after these sayings he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias.
Who appeared in glory and spake of his deceased, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make 3 tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them.
And they feared as they entered into the cloud, and there came a voice out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him. When the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone, and they kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
And it came to pass that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him, and behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, for he is mine only child.
And all the spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him that he formeth again.
And bruising him hardly departed from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out. I had to cast him out, and they could not. And Jesus answering said, Oh faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring thy son hit her, and he was as he was yet a coming. The devil threw him down and tear him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed a child, and delivered him again.
To his Father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered everyone at the all these all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink deep, sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of man. But they understood not this his saying, and it was hid from them that they perceived it not. And they feared to ask him of that saying.
Then there arose A reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest, And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child.
And set him by him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name?
Receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me, For he that is least among you among you all the same shall be great. And John answered and said, Master, We saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followed not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not, for he that is not against us, is for us. And it came to pass from the time.
Was come that he should be received up.
He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Well, I was just thinking, brethren, how the Lord has given us indeed a very happy time here.
And how we've enjoyed this time, apart away from business and its cares and perhaps many other cares that might be pressing upon us to be gathered here, to be occupied with the Lord Jesus. But we know that we have to return home again. And we know that many of the difficulties that we had before we came here are going to meet us freshly again when we return. And I think this is a very precious passage in that connection, because we see the Lord Jesus anticipating, understanding fully that need.
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For He knows all about us. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust. He knows all our tendencies and everything about us, and we're all individuals as we sit here. We're all different. The disciples were all different. But how blessed to know that the Lord enters into every situation. And it seems to me that it's brought out particularly in this chapter where we began. It says that the Lord said in that 23rd verse.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Notice this his cross. Now we certainly know about the cross of the Lord Jesus, and how there He on that cross died for us, shed His precious blood to put our sins away and to make us His very own. But what does this mean about take up his cross? Well, I believe, brethren, that it answers something to what was given to the Levites.
Back in the Book of Numbers, we find that those Levites were brought to Aaron, and he appointed to each one his service and to each one his burden. Every one of us have some little service to do. We've been reminded a good deal of this in the meetings, and how the service the Lord has given to us differs, one having one place to fulfill in the vineyard, another having another place, and each of us being given the strength that we need to fill that little corner in the vineyard.
As we often seen you in your small corner and I in mine, but we also have different burdens. Just like those Levites. They weren't all given the same things to carry. Some might be given the holy vessels, some might be given things that were much more difficult, like the heavy boards. Some might be given such light things as the pins. What would keep their minds at peace? Well, just knowing that that was what was appointed to them. And I believe that's what is referred to in Galatians.
Where Paul says, Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone.
And not in another Isn't it lovely? Just to think that God is a neighbor can make us happy.
In the very corner where he has put us, he can give us the strength that we need to carry the cross that you and I may have the burden.
And he can also give us grace for the little service that he has for us.
And we can be happy in it, as I say, many of us before we came to this meeting.
Or may be occupied with those things that we speak of the service and the burden, but here we've been called apart. And I, like the Lord Jesus, said to the disciples, after a busy day, come ye yourselves apart, and rest a while they came with him. It wasn't go ye yourselves apart, but come. You know how lovely I think every one of us have enjoyed particularly the meeting this morning as we just sat quietly around the Lord Jesus and thought about his love and joined in those songs of praise and worship.
And responded to his dying request that we should remember him until he comes.
So he tells us we must deny ourselves and take up the cross. It speaks here about he that loves his life shall lose it. But the one who hates his life, who gives it at the same, shall save it. And you know, it's such a thing in the Bible as having a saved soul, but a lost life wouldn't you like to have? You know your soul is saved. Wouldn't you like to have a life that will be preserved for the glory of the Lord Jesus in that coming day?
When you think of all he's done for us, his wondrous love, doesn't that touch a heartstring and make us say, I want to have a life that will be for his glory, that will meet his approval in that day of manifestation? I believe that was a great desire of the Apostle Paul. Well, how could the disciples meet a situation like this? I think some of us may be here and saying, well, it's all very well for you to talk that way, brother, but you just don't know the cross that I have to bear, and I don't.
But the Lord does. I don't, but I know the Lord does. He understood fully into what each one has to meet. And what did the Lord do when he told him about how it was going to be difficult for them to take up their cross? To give up life here in view of eternity, to suffer reproach for His name's sake, and to meet the trials in the Spirit that they should? How could they do it? Well, he takes them up onto that high mountain.
Tells us. I think it's so lovely in that 28th verse, and it came to pass about an 8 days after these sayings he took Peter.
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And John and James and went up into a mountain to pray.
Yes, a little time after he had told them. Then he takes them, as it were, by the hand.
And takes them up into that high mountain. What was this? Well, I believe it was to give them a vision.
Of coming glory, it tells us in Proverbs chapter 28 where no vision is.
The people perish, and you and I are going to be discouraged. We're going to say life is overwhelming. I can't take it if we lose that vision of coming glory, if we lose the sense of what is ahead of us. But he took them up into the mountain to pray, feeling their utter dependence upon him.
And to know what was ahead and I believe those two things are necessary for us.
We need to have that vision of coming glory, and we need to be dependent. Never think.
That you or I can take one step in the Christian faith pathway in our own strength we cannot. The daily prayer of the Christian ought to be preserved. Me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust. That is the prayer of the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man as he walked through this world. In the Gospel of Luke we find him seven times in prayer. Each one was in a different circumstance and situation.
But he was the perfect, dependent man, and so he teaches us this. And I want to say we need those two particular things constantly, a state of dependence, that we cannot meet the problems of life in our own wisdom or strength, or that we have enough zeal, or that we have enough desire. No, we have to say, without me he can do nothing, the Lord Jesus said and as our brother brought before us the other day.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, so as he took them up into that mountain to pray.
It tells us here. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was quite and glistering. I think we all know that what took place there on the Mount of Transfiguration was a little preview of the Kingdom. Peter speaks of it in his epistle said, We haven't followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty.
Some of those Jews who were looking for the Kingdom to be set up immediately.
Might have felt very frustrated and disappointment, disappointed that their Messiah had been rejected, had crucified and gone back to heaven. But he said to them, it's all secure. We saw a preview of what's ahead. It hasn't come yet. But he goes on to say in that passage until the day dawn in the morning. Star, arise in your heart. We, brethren, are not going to see things set right in this world.
That's after we're gone. We'll see it from the heavenly side, but not while we're here.
We need the Morning Star to arise in our hearts. Do we find things getting worse?
Do we find problems increasing? Well, we don't expect, as I say, to see things set right. But we can have the morning star arise in our hearts. We can get up each morning and say, perhaps today we can be like those who watch for the morning. Oh, how blessed it is our place. Well, he gives us a little preview here. First of all, the Lord Jesus is brought before us. He wasn't his before them. There as the man of sorrows. He was before him, them there as the man of joy.
He was there with his raiment, white and glycerine. He was there displayed.
And we might say we see a little picture of the heavenly and the earthly because we see Moses and Elias.
Who were heavenly people talking with him? And we see the disciples there.
Who belong to the earth, so to speak, and they're talking to Jesus. And there will be in that time of blessing that's coming. There will be the two circles of blessing, the heavenly and the earthly. You and I belong to the heavenly. Perhaps these two men bring before us the two different things. Here we know that Moses went through the article of death, whereas Elijah was taken in a chariot of fire to have them. And we're going to meet people in heaven who never died.
We're going to meet people who went through the article of death and what did they talk about?
They spake of his deceased that he would accomplish at Jerusalem. That's what occupied us this morning.
So they're deceased. That blessed work accomplished on Calvary. That will be our theme.
For all eternity, as a brother was saying when we were going down to the meal, how wonderful. The man who's the center of it all is the only one who has any marks of Sam. He bears those marks in his hands and feet inside of Calvary. We'll be there in glorified bodies, but we won't have any of those marks. But he will.
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A constant reminder to us for all eternity of the love that led him to Calvary.
And what He did for us to put away our sins in his own body, on the tree. For the disciples went to sleep. The disciples went asleep. They didn't seem to enter into it. And I suppose some of us have to confess that we've come to this meeting and we've been asleep. We haven't really been occupied with the Lord Jesus, like we wish that we had. But the Lord didn't let them stay asleep, did he? They were awakened.
They were awakened up and they saw His glory. And I hope, brethren, that even though perhaps we came here discouraged, half asleep, so to speak, problems of of life had almost overcome us. I hope we've been here and we've wakened up. I don't see how anyone who loves the Lord Jesus could have sat in that meeting this morning and have been wakened up as we thought of our wonderful Savior, the altogether lovely One, and what He has done for us.
They woke up, but now we see things that were a hindrance. They we see Peter. He he didn't know what to say. He was afraid. And sometimes we're just like that. We say, I don't know what to say, so we're in a hurry to say something and we speak out a turn, don't we? Did you ever speak out of turn? I have. We speak out a turn. We speak at the wrong time and say the wrong thing and get occupied with man. And we find here that Peter says, let us make here 3 tabernacles.
It's always a danger when we sit and enjoy the things of the Lord that we get our eyes on. Even the instrument that God used the beloved Apostle John when he received those wonderful revelations in the Book of Revelation. He fell at the feet of the Angel who showed him those things.
Rather than let's cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of? And no meeting that occupies you with man is really going to fill your soul or do lasting blessing. If true ministry ought to point us away from ourselves. If there's something to judge in ourselves, we must, but apart from that needs to point us to the Lord Jesus. And so that voice comes at this moment. This is my beloved Son.
In that.
Hear him in the 35th verse, there came a voice.
Out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son, hear him.
Yes, that's the one we need to listen to, to get up in the morning. And as a psalmist says, cause me to hear thy voice in the morning, show me the way, for in I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee. Oh, how lovely to hear his voice in the morning, directing us for the day, because every day brings its new cares. This is my beloved son, and I don't want to pass over this without saying again that this was really a vision of what was ahead.
And I want for myself, and I trust each one of us here can say we want for ourselves.
To always have that vision of coming glory. I believe Mr. Darby translates that verse in.
Proverbs 38. This way, and where no vision is, the people cast off restraint. Yes. If we really lose sight of that, we're going to say, what's the use? What's the use? The battle's too great, there's too many difficulties, there's too many problems, and I just can't meet the problems. And so we cast off restraint. We just let up a little bit and don't give the Lord Jesus the place that he should have.
In our hearts and in our lives. Well, hear him. I don't want you to go away from here and think about what I have said, but if it has occupied you with the Lord Jesus, why I can rejoice. Because that's the purpose of all ministry. Well, it tells us here that when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone. Jesus was found alone. Yes, they needed to have that sense of his company with them.
And it's a good thing to walk through life with a company in the sense of the Lord's company they've always enjoyed. Perhaps I've spoken of this little point before what we have in the 28th chapter of Matthew. There, in the 28th chapter of Matthew, the Lord gave directions where he wanted his own to assemble in a mountain where Jesus appointed them. They had to listen to those directions that he gave them so that they would be in the place that he wanted them to be and to meet him.
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And those disciples did. And it says they came together, the 11 disciples. And it says when they saw him, they worshipped him. It wasn't the perfect group because it says some doubted and we find all kinds of doubts. Perhaps some things crowd crowded into your mind this morning like they did into mine. And just for a while we were, we lost sight of him. We got occupied with other things. Some doubted and Jesus came. I think that's lovely. Wasn't he in their midst? But it says Jesus came.
And said, all power is given unto me in heaven.
And in earth I like to think about little company. There was the Lord in the midst. What does it mean? He came. It's just as if he saw me sitting there doubting. And he put his hand on me and says, Gordon, is there a problem in your life? I have power to take it away if I have left it with you. Perhaps that's the burden I appointed for you. But I have the power to take away. Oh, how blessed Jesus came. Even in that happy moment He came and touched them. What a savior we have. Well, finally the little meeting had to break up.
Did they have to leave the Lord's company? Well, collectively yes, but not individually. Not individually. So before they parted, the Lord Jesus told him that he had a little service for them. And also he said, And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And so as we leave these meetings and go while we cannot enjoy the presence of the Lord collectively, perhaps as we drive our cars and as we meet the problems of life.
We can enjoy His presence individually. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. Oh, what a blessed savior we have here. They were alone with Jesus and he kept it close. They told no man that it is. The world can't understand what it is as it was read this morning in First John 3. The world knoweth us not because it knew him, not The world doesn't understand the true motives that govern the heart of the Christian. Don't expect them to understand. They can't.
They ought to see the difference in our lives, and they will if we're walking in his company.
But don't expect them to understand. They must be brought to know him first, and we can tell them of him so they will be brought to know him.
But let's not forget, they won't understand. The world knoweth us not because it knew him not well. This was a lovely experience, you would say. Surely their problems are all answered now, that wonderful occasion that they had been up on the mount with the Lord Jesus. Everything from that day on is going to be all right. I remember in the peace offering, which is really the communion offering, and I might say that communion is common thoughts. I used to have a little difficulty about that. Perhaps others did are in communion or out of communion.
But actually the word communion means common thoughts, and so you and I are walking in communion.
We're entering into and sharing and enjoying the very thoughts of God in our souls. That's communion. That's why sin breaks it. And when we confess it or restore it again to communion again, enjoying His thoughts, well, in the peace offering, they could enjoy it at the time it was offered. Sometimes there might be the energy to keep it over to the second day, but they couldn't keep it over to the third. No, we might leave here and you might say.
Tomorrow. Oh, I'm just living on the good of what I enjoyed. But the day after he began to feel or need something again to freshen it up. If I can use that expression in your life, don't you? Yes, you need something else. And the disciples, apparently, as they went down from the hill, were very occupied with what they had seen, but quite unprepared for what they were going to find. Quite unprepared, I say, for what they were going to find. And we see their weakness coming out.
As I said, he used to sometimes speak of this when Rapid Otter Lake and we enjoyed a happy time together.
That when leaving all those difficulties you left behind all those problems and perhaps some worse situations meet you after you enjoy a happy time of fellowship. And so it tells us here, notice this in the 37th version. It came to pass that on the next day when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. Now we find a problem, a family problem, the different problems in this chapter problem that they went to sleep when they should have been awake to see his glory.
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Problem of bringing in Moses and Elias, when it ought to have been Jesus only and now.
Come down from the mound, another problem, a family problem. This man comes out, and it says in the 838th verse, And behold, the man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, for he is my only child. And Lord Spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him, and he foameth again, and, bruising, bruising him, hardly departed from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not.
An impossible situation as far as they were concerned. And I know that this is often true, that there are problems. Perhaps many sitting right here say when I go back there's a problem in our family, the difficulty. And it just seems the enemy is so much at work it seems impossible. I sought the help of other Christians. They haven't helped me. Yes, it actually said they brought this boy to the disciples. And the disciples couldn't help either. They couldn't cast this child out.
What do they need? Who did they need? There's only one answer. And ask the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus. And so how long had this been? Oh, it wasn't just something that happened yesterday.
The Lord said how long of a child. I don't know how old this boy was, but they certainly had had a trial for a long time. I would gather from this boy and how often these trials go on in our lives. Maybe we prayed about it, maybe we sought help, but it just seems it goes on well. At last he brought him to the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus was able to take care of the situation. And isn't this lovely? There's no, there's no situation too difficult for him.
We sing that little song. There is nothing too hard for Jesus, that there is nothing that he cannot do. I don't say it's always his will to take us out of the problem. Sometimes he leaves us in it and says my strength is made perfect in weakness. That was sold with beloved Apostle Paul. He had a difficulty. He had a physical infirmity, we're told.
And if he sought the Lord three times, he would say, surely such a great person as the apostles who walked so near the Lord. The Lord wouldn't leave a problem with him. Surely he'd take it away. No, he didn't. I believe if we can put the answer like this, the Lord said, No, Paul, I'm not going to take away the problem. But my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
That the beloved apostle rebel and say, I have seen other people get out of problems, Why does the Lord lead me in it? Listen to what he said most gladly. I rather glory in mine infirmity, that the power of Christ may rest upon me, he said. I've learned something by this.
That I could never learn in any other way. And sometimes the Lord leaves situations in our lives because we need it to keep us humble, lowly, independent. Maybe I can repeat the story that I've told before about the boy who was flying the kite. It was a nice windy day and the kite was doing so nicely and it was going up and he was letting out more string. And finally a man came along and said, that boy. What? His son? What are you doing? Holding your kite down? Can't you see it's trying to go up and you're just holding it down with that? Why don't you let it go and let it go up?
Well, we all know what happened, don't we? He did let go. And what happened while the kite came down. And, you know, brethren, some of the things that are holding us down are keeping us up. They're keeping us dependent. They're keeping us in the place where we realize that we can't do anything of ourselves. And the Lord sees it fit to leave that difficulty. In this case, He delivered this man. The disciples couldn't do it. Maybe you say I've sought all kinds of advice. I've listened to so many.
Well, and the multitude of counselors, their safety. Sometimes it's good to listen to advice, but the only one who's the real answer is the Lord Jesus. He is the only one. And as he spoke to that little doubting company there in the 28th chapter of Matthew, and Jesus came. He didn't say I'm going to take away your problems, but he said all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Well, tells us then.
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That they besought the disciples. They couldn't. The disciples asked the Lord about it. It doesn't record it here. And the Lord said, this kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting. I believe those two things bring before us two thoughts. Prayer, Speaking of dependence and fasting. Self denial. Sometimes I have to be honest and say sometimes I would want to get out of problems just to make it easier for myself. It'd be an awful lot easier to get away from that problem.
That sometimes the Lord lets us fast. He has to. He lets us go to a time when we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. And so the Lord had to teach this even to the disciples. This kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting. Well, the Lord came in, in this case, and then it says here.
In the.
46th verse Then there arose A reasoning among them.
Which should be which of them should be the greatest? And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, looked on a child and set him by him.
And suddenly they whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me. For he that is least among you the same shall be great. Well, here we found another difficulty. There was a problem. Some of our problems is because we want to be on top ourselves. I don't like to see somebody else get ahead of us. And this makes some of our problems too, doesn't it? And so.
We find here that who you would think after the disciples had been up on the mount and had seen the Lord Jesus transfigured, had seen Moses and Elias, had heard the subject of their discourse, had so seen that the Lord could handle his situation with this boy, that they wouldn't fall into this trap. But you know, we escaped one, we fall into another. Sometimes constant dependence. We have to be constantly dependent, and when we seem to be overcoming, perhaps in one sphere.
There's another point that may not be guarded. We like to be somebody important. We like people to look up to us. I believe says about the Lord Jesus that he was meek and lowly in heart. And if I could define it, I believe I could put it like this. A lowly person is one who takes the low place. A meek person is one who doesn't resent it when he's put in a low place. Maybe you take a low place. Maybe you say I want to take a low profile among my brethren.
But how do we feel, brethren, when somebody says don't listen to that person and put you down, How do you feel? Then how do I feel?
Well, there's a little pride in our hearts. We don't like that, do we? The Lord Jesus was meek and lowly in heart. Who, when he was reviled, reviled. Not again. When he suffered, He threatened not. Maybe you're going through an experience and someone's pushing it down, some boys, some girl, some young person, and somebody's pushing it out and it really hurts, doesn't it? And you say I can't take it. Well, the Lord Jesus brought a little child, put him in the midst and said that that was the greatest.
That simplicity of a child, a child who's not really seeking to put itself forward, just delights to be picked up and loved and experienced the kindness of its parents. Oh, the Lord Jesus takes this little child. This was another difficulty. I say again, I want you to notice they come down from the mount on the mount. They've been asleep and they should have been awake. They were going to put Moses and Elias on the same platform or a similar platform with the Lord Jesus, although they put him first.
Now when they come down from the mount, there was a family problem they couldn't handle.
And the Lord took care of that for them. And now there's a problem about who's going to be the greatest? Are we going to accept that when we're pushed down a little bit? Can we take this from the Lord? Oh, how beautifully the Lord meets this situation. He could have, He could have really rebuked them, but well, I think it's so lovely, he that is least among you, he says. In another place where they were calling like this too, he said.
In in another place where they were.
In the same way he said he are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
And I appoint unto you a Kingdom. Well, I think that's so lovely. He recognized that there was that in him in them which was of himself which he could reward. Sometimes we only see faults. The Lord Jesus always saw what was pleasing to him. And if there's any verse that I think is wonderful about the judgment seat of Christ, it's that verse in 2nd Corinthians 4 where it says where it says when our motives are made manifest in that day and then.
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Shall every man have praise of God? Isn't that lovely? I can see every reason I should praise him. But there won't be a Christian that stands there at the judgment seat of Christ. There won't be something in his life that the Lord will pick out and that he will value and that he'll reward. May we see what we can in others, that is of Christ may not always appreciate everything. I'm sure everyone doesn't appreciate everything in me, But may we see what is of the Lord Jesus?
In one another the Lord sees that the Lord values it Dear they which have continued with me in thy temptation you might have said you just a group of quarreling people wanting to have the important place. Oh, how beautiful the grace was in Christ Jesus.
Then we go on here in the 49th verse John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. Jesus said unto him, forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us Lesson we have to learn sometimes to leave others with the Lord. We are responsible for our own service. We ought to try and help one another, but you know we have to often just leave things with the Lord.
That's important for us because the Bible says everyone of us shall give account of himself.
To God. And so Lord teaches them this lesson. I can be thankful. You can be thankful. Just like Paul was in Philippians. He says some indeed preach Christ of envy and strife and some of goodwill. But he said, I rejoice. Christ is preached, and either in do rejoice, yeah, and will rejoice. Oh, how lovely to see the Spirit in which the Lord met every situation. But this trouble that disciples that.
Somebody else was doing something who wasn't associated with them. We'd like to think that we're quite important in the service that we do, but we can leave the service of others with the Lord. But we are responsible for ourselves, and we need, as Paul did, to live in view of that day. And it says in this 51St verse came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face.
To go to Jerusalem. There is a deep meaning in this passage.
You know, back in the 21St chapter of Genesis, when a Hebrew servant had served his time.
Then he could go out free. But if he had been given a wife, and by that wife he had children, then he had a choice to make. If he went out free, he had to go free alone. But if he wanted the company of his wife and children, he had to go to the judges. He had to have his ear bored through with an all and become a servant forever. The Lord Jesus. If one can speak reverently, he came to this point. The time came that he was to be received up is the only person who had a right.
To go back to heaven in his own right. I had no right. I was a Sinner. Is her brother brought before us. I would have been shut out forever from those courts of glory, but he had a right to go back. But when the time came that he should be received up, he said. I I love my master, my wife and my children.
I love every believer sitting in this room, every young person, every older one. I love them, and I don't want heaven alone. I want to have their company and I am going on to Jerusalem. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. He knew what would befall him. But brethren, he loved us that much. We face difficulties and we falter and we make bad decisions and everything. But here the Lord faced, shall I say, the greatest difficulty that is ever possible to think of, to be made sin for us, to bear the wrath of God.
And he went on. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. Why? Because he loved you and he loved me. Said, I want to, I want to have you with me. I want you to share the father's house with me. And I am going to the cross that you might be there. And when we get there, it says he'll make us sit down to meet and come forth and serve us. Brother, this is the this is the person we're talking about. As our brother said this morning, he's all together lovely. He's the chiefest among 10,000.
And he's worthy of everything in your life and mine. As I say again, you may have a cross that I don't know anything about, but the Lord does. All power is given to Him in heaven and in earth. And if you find it difficult to take up that cross and follow me, follow the Lord Jesus. I should say why the Lord Jesus wants to take you up and give you a little preview in your soul of what awaits you. He wants to tell you that even although there's a lot of problems that you can't handle, He knows all about them.
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And he loves you and he loves me just the same. And he went to Calvary to die for us because he wanted us to be there. How may his love touch our hearts? We have to leave this. We have to come down from the mount, as it were. And there's still all these problems at the bottom of the mountain. There's still all these situations. There's family problems. There is quarreling. Sometimes even among the Lord's people, there's jealousy because somebody's doing something and.
We're not satisfied to leave things with the Lord, with all kinds of things that come into our lives. But the Lord loves us. Oh, how gracious, how wonderful. May keep us brethren his comings near. Perhaps we're going to see him face to face before this day is over. But maybe he'll leave us here a little longer. And if he does, the problems will not lessen, the problems will increase. But with multiplied griefs there's multiplied grace.
Oh, may the Lord give us to cleave to him with purpose of heart and go on in a little while that remains for us till he comes. Wonder if we could just sing rather than the last verse.