Address—E. Smith
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November 1973 address by Eric Smith.
169.
Lord, we can see by faith in Thee.
A prospect brake and paling.
Where God shall shine in light divine.
The glory.
Ever faded a home above of peace and love, close to thy holy person?
They Saints aware, see glory for him.
And time as I reflect, 169.
Lord, we can see by facing me.
So.
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May we read together from the 16th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew.
The 16th chapter.
Of Matthew.
Verse 13.
When Jesus came into the coast of Cecilia Hillard.
He asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, ends?
And they said some pay thou art, that thou art John the Baptist family liar.
And others. Jeremiah were one of the prophets.
He saith unto them.
But whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered and said.
Though after Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed without thou, Simon Barjona.
For flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee.
But my Father, which is in heaven.
And I say also unto thee, Thou art, that thou art Peter.
And upon this rock I will build my church.
And the gates of hell, or hey be, shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.
And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven.
And whatsoever loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man.
That he was Jesus with Christ.
Well, we'll read just that far from now.
I would like Father as the Lord enabled to stress certain points.
Certain first principles.
That we do need our field in these days.
Confirming the assembly.
We notice here the ones that.
Prophetically.
The assembly.
Is.
Notice it's intimated.
For the first time.
But when we turn over to the Acts of the Apostles.
We find that the assembly there is historically presented.
These are simple clues that we know, but they are very necessary to remind our hearts concerning them.
And when we turn over to the epistles, of course we know that.
There the assembly is.
More, shall we say, formally addressed.
In the Epistles, and then we turn over to the book of the Revelation, we find that the assembly is distinctly, distinctly presented.
Now, these are just basic things, beloved, and things that we ought to dwell upon a little more, perhaps than we do.
So that prophetically this gospel intimates the assembly for the first time.
And as we might, we might repeat as the Acts of the Apostles.
Historically.
Present the assembly.
The epistles formally addressed the assembly.
And the revelation distinctly presents the assembly. And when we speak of the assembly, dear young people, we don't speak of a building.
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That the spiritual edifice.
And it's the material is composed as you know of souls who are born again, saved souls. This is the material of the assembly. All this equation as we have at new original or a called out company.
I called out company of born again soul.
This is Mark. Merely religion, the one this is.
The assembly, the Eclipse here or the called out company?
Of Redeemed 1.
We do know too that it's center or head is the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the.
And.
What of the power there?
Where we turn to the Holy Spirit Himself.
He is the power.
And what about the authorities?
The apology is the word of the living God.
Dear young people.
This book, which we hold in our hands, is the Word of the living God.
I wasn't taught that at one time. I thought I was taught that it's contained the word of God. So I said to the beings that wouldn't be sufficient for me, Sir, because I believe this book can cover to cover that. Holy men of God wrote as they were born along by the Spirit of God. This is the word of the living God. The young men and women, this is the word of the living God.
Or, as Walter Scott, I used to hear him say, it's opening our hands tonight. It'll be open in heaven forever.
Never passed away.
It will never pass away.
He has exalted it above his name forever, O Lord.
My word is heckled in heaven.
So that this called out company.
Composed of born again soul.
Have you, dear ones, experienced this new birth?
Oh, how was thankful is it?
I have known their soul go on for years.
That even that be at the table of the Lord.
To discover.
Thank God that they had never been born again.
We must be born again.
As the child is born into the world.
So the child of God is born by the Spirit of God through the world, and after the next World.
Well, we love to think of it that Christ is the center. Now I'm not taking up every aspect of this thing, but I'm only making certain suggestions which discuss.
Will be our little help to some young person.
Christ is the center.
And the one the body one, body two is the ground of the assembly.
And This is why Satan is making such tremendous attacks upon us today.
We're not going into any controversial things by saying this, beloved, but we do know this.
That if Satan can get the Saints.
Misunderstand this glorious fruit. That's the one body. Truth is the ground of the assembly. Satan can get you to believe. Anything else will scaffold you.
He will. It's his specific work, the battle.
The same.
Yes, but the one body truth.
Is the ground of the assembly.
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The Holy Spirit is power, as we just mentioned, to lead.
And to guide them.
There must be no use of patience of the Spirit of God.
In our ministry, in our service, in our worship.
Or we become.
Like the rest of Christendom today.
Well, these are important matters.
And the Word of God is the sole authority.
What about his practice? A young person came to me today saying, Brother Smith, what is the effect? What is the practice of the of the assembly? And I believe it's holiness.
And when we speak of holiness, dear young people.
To perfect holiness in the field of God.
Is it not to exclude everything from my life and testimony that is country to God's mind and to God's nature?
Surely this is sold?
This has been brought up to my soul as an old man.
That holiness is the exclusion of everything from my life and testimony that is conscious of God's mind and to God's nature. Are we doing that?
We trust that we are.
Well, we mentioned that the acts of the apostle.
Historically presents the assembly, and so I'd like to turn now to to Act 2.
You'll notice in Matthew 616 the keys were mentioned there. I'm going to go back to that a few moments before we pass on to one day. I was standing in front of that Magnificent.
Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in the old city of Porto Sea. It's a beautiful building and I was talking to the chief cashier of the bank, whom I thought English to. He was very desiring to learn some English, so I taught him some English.
And taught him with the Gospel of John, but it didn't seem to impress him that man has died without Christ.
Said I feel about him a very, very distinguished Spanish American.
So I said to him, what are those keys over the door of the cathedral stuff voices. These are the keys of Saint Paul, of Peter, St. Peter. He says the these are the keys that are open to get into heaven. He opens the deeds.
Well, I said, supposing we look up the scriptures about that and see what the scriptures say about that, and you find that they're not teas of bronze.
North of I am but.
They are.
He announcing through the lips of the apostle Peter the gospel, the grand title. Well, I don't know whether he got the point. Anyway, we went through that quite a bit with him.
And so here the keys are mentioned in Matthew 16.
Deceased Well in at school people uses the key.
And opens the door of grace to the Jews.
In that coop. Maybe just read that for a moment.
Verse 36.
Of X2. Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus.
Whom you have crucified.
Both Lord and Christ.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles men. And then what shall we do?
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Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all them, to verify off even as many as the Lord God shall call. And these many other words did He testify and exhaust them. Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Well, for the one then they had gladly received His word, were baptized the same day, were added unto them about 3000 souls. So here we have the birthday of the Church of the Assembly.
60 days after the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now here are some important methods which we need to face in these days, beloved.
Verse 42.
We find that these continued head fastly in the Apostles doctrine.
This is something, dear young people, we need to pay special attention to in these days. There are so many.
Series abroad today.
That it really demands discernment from the part of the young believer.
It demands discernment to distinguish between what is according to the Word of God and what is not according to the Word of God.
Take, for instance, my dear wife was listening to what another sister had to say. All she said, Francis, you should have heard. You should have heard the preaching of that particular man. I never heard anything like it.
And would you like to listen? He's going to speak right away. So, Francis, I don't usually listen, but I please you. I'll listen to what he has to say.
Now this sister had.
Listen to this man for several years.
And no doubt used to save man, but on this occasion he preached that the church would never would have to go through the tribulation.
And Pope Francis drew the attention of this particular sister through the error.
And she said, honey, the church will never go through the tribulation period. The Lord is going to come and catch us away before that period, she said, I never noticed that all the years. That was his patience. So we need discernment to see young people. We need discernment to distinguish between the truth and what is not the truth. These continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, noted the singular.
I would like to read a little portion here from one of our old residents.
About.
These matters that concern us.
Confirmed the Saints in those days and of course it concerns us these days.
He said.
I'll read from the Spanish.
To confess openly that which we are.
In the presence of that which God is, is always the way to peace and blessing.
Even when only two or three are gathered before God, if it be thus with them.
There will be no disappointment.
Nor deluded hope.
The word for the remnant is sanctified, the Lord God in your heart.
The Holy Spirit does not gather Saints around near views, however true they may be upon which the Church is. The assembly is upon that which the assembly has been, or that which it may be on the earth. But He always gathers them around that blessed person.
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.
Where two or three are gathered together up to my name, Jeremiah and the mission. Dear young people, this is a great truth.
All some of us have paid dearly for.
There's no place so blessed on the face of the earth.
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Has been gathered to the precious name of Christ.
Are we becoming indifferent to this beloved?
Do you young people really and truly?
Say Amen to this or not.
It is true, we need to be very watchful. It goes on to say again, both things, you need to be still in the presence of God.
For there is much independence.
And health will.
And looseness.
Coming in among us.
Written years ago by one of our old English writers concerning the testimony.
No, this is not.
In any way boasting at all, beloved, this is something that's practical.
Are we becoming indistinct to these Apostolic injunctions?
These continued steadfastly in the Apostles Gospel.
1.
In Fellowship.
In Fellowship.
And if we walk in the light?
As he is in the light.
We have fellowship one with another.
And the blood of Christ.
God.
Cleanse yourself from all things.
Then is the breaking of the breast.
I always ask to be a young Christian who are going to look for work.
Don't go too far away from an assembly to get your job if you can help.
Stay close by the assembly where you can remember the blessed Lord.
First day of the week. Don't go too far away from the assembly if it's possible.
And in prayer, these are the four Apostolic anchors. Dear young people.
I'd like to turn over for a little while to Act 27.
Where we get something of the ruin.
That went on with the shipwrecked there.
Notice there are 4 anchors that were cast out of the ship to try and save it from going on the rocks in verse 29 of Acts 27.
Then feeling lest we should have fallen upon rocks.
They cast 4 anchors out of the stern and wish for the day.
Here we get 4 anchors cast out of the stern of the ship.
Favor from being raped.
But alas, these anchors were cut.
All of the ship went upon the rock.
270 odd persons aboard, including the Apostle Paul.
And we get some special.
Polite ministry here, of course, in this chapter, which we're not going to dwell on now.
But what we need, what we want to express this afternoon that.
The assembly.
The church.
In the mind of God is ever perfect. All dear young people never forget that.
The rule is great, the profession church is in ruins, but in the mind of God the assembly is ever perfect. It couldn't be otherwise.
Well, he is the anxious that cut away.
And we find here 200 free score and 16 trolls.
In verse 37.
Lightning the ship.
He made taking a little food to strengthen themselves. They lighten the ship, they sprout the wheat into the sea.
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And when it was they, they knew not the land, but they discovered a certain creep with the shore into the which they were minded as it were possible to bust in the kids.
And when they had taken up the anchors or customers resource.
They committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rubber bands, and hoisted up the mainstream to the wings.
And made towards y'all.
Though the testimony is enrolled in the professing church, here we have the apostle Paul saved and those with him.
It's a little remnant testimony verse 44 and the rest, some on boards and some on broken piece of the ship.
And so it came to pass that the escapes all saved the land.
Now I'd like to dwell a little while.
On what occurred afterwards.
And then come back.
To the teaching that's upon my soul.
First one of chapter 28 and when they were escaped then they knew that the island was called Malika.
And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness, but for they kindled a fire, and received us everyone, because of the present rain, because of the cold.
And when Paul had gathered the bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, they came a Viper or a serpent out of the heat, and passed on his hand.
And when the Barbarians saw the venomous beasts hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is American, whom though he has escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffered not to live.
And he took off the beast into the fire.
And felt no harm the young people, which is the teaching of Romans 6.
Then he shall not have dominion over you.
Roman 6.
He shook the beast into the fire.
And felt no harm.
I want to tell you a story or two and I hope you not get too excited about this.
In the tackle war.
Where I have the privilege of preaching to thousands of troops during the three years.
In that section there are what you call Python.
And I have never seen such immense creatures in my life.
One of the officers made a friend of one that was 20 feet long.
And he used to shoot a pig, a wild pig or a hab believe they call him in Hispanics. They're wild pigs.
And see this Bruce.
Once a week.
With great Booth would wind itself around the pig and make a long string of pig, all the bones broken, and begin the operation of swallowing it.
Well, that brute began to know him.
I was scared of that thing, but it got to know him and they got to love him.
So that every time you saw this conversation, rise up on its tail. And by the way, they can sing just 20 feet. If they're 20 feet long, they can jump 20 feet. So lookout for one of these pythons.
They hang in those jungle trees, you know, and drop on the wild pig and on the wild deer of that jungle area and wind around them and make a long string out of the coaching so they can follow them.
Well, whenever this group saw this officer rise up on his tail. And what do you think he did?
It wound its tail, ground him so lovingly and so quietly.
And then relax his grip.
And fell at his feet and made a big coil of service.
Well, after the war, the officer said I can make some money out of this.
So he took this route in a special cave till a path to capital.
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And he had a building specially prepared with lights that were subdued and imitation jungles.
And the big screen.
Hundreds of people died to see this event.
This great creature was on the platform in Coil.
We would suddenly there would be a flashlight turned on the creature, and he would walk towards his numbers, would stand on his tail and wind itself round him. You know some of the women fainted the thought of it.
Painted.
And then a straight.
Down the.
Would fall the blinds.
Please.
Well, this went on for some time.
One night.
It was a real squeak, Sweet crawler. He wound himself around that poor man and you could hear the bone cracking.
What had happened? He played too long with a snake.
He played too long with the snake.
He's played too long with the serpent, dear young people.
Let me warn you concerning one important matter.
Yummy nano.
Can be the safeguard of your moral.
Or they might not be the safeguard of your mother.
I repeat that.
Your manners might be and could be the safeguard of your morals.
Or they might not be replaced out of your mouth. Dear young people, beware of the.
You know my old teacher of Hebrew, the little I know of Hebrew, an old Jew from Poland who taught me some Hebrew.
And I said to him.
So what is the meaning of certain in the heap?
And so he wrote it down NACASH which is just simple, not pass.
And you would be surprised that many of the eagle words are Hebrew words.
So it was intensely interesting to me.
Intensely so. Not kind.
Will I said explain it? He said. You know, Adam was imbued with special power of intelligence.
God made him that way. He wasn't an unbeliever in that sense like some of them.
And as these animals passed by, Adam gave the name.
And suddenly a brilliant creep who went by.
Who writes that we had as if he would hold his hands up, couldn't look upon. He was so bright and he said not past.
The The shining one. The shining one.
All dear young people.
May I just warn you again?
Of the serpent.
The serpent says he's a shining one, and you know.
There's a word in the ink, that kind. It's near Pence, and it's hidden.
And what do you think it means?
It means suffering.
Who compromised?
Who compromised?
That's the work of the enemy.
If Satan can get you beloved young men and women to make a compromise with the devil with a certain he'll do it.
And he will do it on one thing.
This blessed book.
For along with that word.
Compromise in the Inka tango. Hebrew.
It supplicates.
Suffering to compromise of possible.
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Now you see, I'm coming to that point that's upon my soul.
Are we going to compromise truth?
Or not.
Am I compromising truth?
I am at the front of life.
But there's one thing I would make known to you, dear young people this afternoon, that the great danger today is compromised with proof.
Home command.
To please someone.
To please another person.
Will even tell the truth.
This is the workplace.
Now that I don't want to hop on there too much.
But I'm talking from the depth of my poor heart.
Is it possible, beloved?
Old and young.
To compromise with pro gusted please our human beings.
Are we willing to compromise divine truth?
To please.
A poor human being.
Just to keep on the good side of someone.
God forbid.
Now we must minister truth and love.
And loving food. And I believe that the teaching of the epistles of John.
Loving truth and truth and love.
But let us not play with a certain.
Too much and compromise.
With the truth of God's Word.
All. How faithful.
To do so.
Someone said where you won't have a friend in the world.
Oh yes you will.
Mr. Darby, on commenting on the Whitestone of the Book of the Revelation, says it's peace.
Of God's commendations.
And beloved, would you sooner have the commendation of your Savior than all the applause of this for Him held going well?
Now back again, just for a few minutes.
To move you.
For all of them, that's Matthew 18.
And 20.
Verse 20.
Where two or three are gathered together.
Really is a little word with three letters magazine unto my name.
Where am I in the mid season?
And years ago I got out a little.
Word for the Saints from this word in this way.
I'll put it into the English.
Where?
The divine place.
Where do all three?
The divine testimony.
And that is the lowest plurality, beloved.
Our desert.
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The divine preparation.
And preparation, by the way, is not a favorite word among many of God's dear people, but it's through Christ.
Really.
Separation to Christ.
And consequently.
From this world, it seems.
It ended system.
I remember reading what Mr. McIntosh wrote many years ago.
I was still in system and I picked up, got ahold of, well, I really got it from my beer Barber Hughes, a full set of PHM on the Pentacles.
And I read their report.
That impressed me in those early days.
He speaks of the privilege of being gathered through the name of Christ.
He said this place into which we have been diverse.
Is a precious place.
Then he went on to say.
That to remain there and to make it more.
Is not present, but faithfulness to God. Faithfulness to God.
Our gather divine separation.
Unto my name, the divine sufficiency.
There are mine, the divine presence.
In the mid.
The divine Center.
Of them.
The Divine Approval translated from Spanish.
No, dear one.
One day, a missile came to tell you. Play for tell you.
And led him to Christ as a staff Sergeant in the war.
In 1930. The beginning of 1934.
He has gone on ever since.
To the law, which is something to play the Lord for. They don't all go on. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not talking to perfection anywhere.
Because they are mortals like anybody else, but their table has gone on for God all these long years.
He hasn't looked back.
One day I miss, you said.
Why don't you join up with us?
We notice that your ministry is graceful.
You're just a few here, why don't you join up with us?
And he looked at that mission, man, you know what he said? He said, Sir, can you have any more of the Lord Jesus with your hundreds than we have with the tools of the thieves and.
Quoted this verse.
Where two or three are gathered together under my name.
Where am I?
In the midst of.
Well, Needless to say, the missionary has nothing more to say.
He had nothing more to say.
Will singer hymn now?
Would you kindly turn to 1 number?
99.
On Christ salvation, rest secure.
Morocco ages Master Bureau.
Nor can that they fill the throne.
Which rests upon the living soul.
No other hope shall intervene on him will, on him willing.
Of the foundations we the soul and build on Christ.
The living Stone.
On quite sounding.
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On where?
You are.