Address—A. Roach
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General Meeting Ottawa, October 1961 addressed to young people by Adrian Roach.
To open the meeting by singing hymn #231.
231.
We have pilgrims in the wilderness. Our dwelling is a camp.
Created things though pleasant, now bear to us. Death stand but onward we are speeding, though often let and try. The Holy Ghost is leading home.
To the lamb is bribe #231.
Where pilgrims and the Will Garner.
As well.
Is the creation.
Of.
Pleasure.
Nowhere.
Where they grow.
Oh.
Oh.
Lord.
Stands and we stand.
00:05:00
On the ground.
All again.
Like to have my place there.
And we.
Shall we ask the Lord?
And several passages in the Old Testament I would like to read in the Book of Numbers.
The 26th chapter of the Book of Numbers.
There.
Verse 28.
The sons of Joseph after their families.
Were Manasseh an Ephraim?
Of the sons of Manasseh.
Verse 32.
And of Shemaida, the family of the.
Shamari Deites and a heifer. The family of the heifer, right?
And Zelophehad, the son of heifer, had no son but daughter. And the names of the daughters of Zilahfahad were Malar and Noah, Hoagler, Milker and herzer. These are the families of Manasseh.
Now the 27th chapter of the same book and verse one.
You might read the last verse of the 26th chapter for the connection.
Numbers 26 and verse 65. For the Lord had said of them, they shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not left A man of them saved, Caleb the son of Jefona, and Joshua the son of Nun. Then came the daughters of Gala, Fahad, the son of Heifer, the son of Gilead, the son of Make, here the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph. And these are the names of his daughter.
Malar, Noah, and Hoagler and Milker and Terza. And they stood before Moses, and before Eliezer the priest, and before the Princess, and all the congregation, by the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Our Father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah.
But died in his own sin, and had no son. Why should the name of our father?
Be done away from among his family, because he hath no son. Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our fathers. And Moses brought their 'cause before the Lord, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zalofer had Speak right, Thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren, and thou shall cause the inheritance of their father.
To pass unto them, and now shall speak.
Unto the children of Israel saying, If a man die and have no son.
Then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass on to his daughter.
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The 36th chapter of the same book.
And verse one.
And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Make here the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spake before Moses and before the Princess.
The chief fathers of the children of Israel, And they said the Lord commanded, my Lord.
To give the land for an inheritance by a lot to the children of Israel. And my Lord has was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughter. And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put through the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received.
So shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance, and when the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be.
Then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe, whereunto they are received social, their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers. And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph had said, Well, this is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of ZLAP had.
Let them marry to whom they think best. Only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. So shall not be inheritance of the children of Israel removed from tribe to tribe. For every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, and every daughter that possesseth an inheritance.
In any tribe of the children of Israel.
Shall be wife unto one held the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his father. Neither shall the inheritance removed from one tribe to another tribe, but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance, even as the Lord commanded Moses.
So did the daughters of Zilafa had for Mala, Perza, and Hogler, and Milka and Noah. The daughters of Zalapa had were married unto their fathers, brothers son, and they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh.
The son of Joseph and their inheritance remain in the tribe of the family.
Of their father. One other passage in Joshua 17.
Joshua 17 and the third verse.
But Zilatha had the son of Heifer, the son of Gilead, the son of Make. Here the son of Manasseh had no son but daughters. And these are the names of his daughters, Mala, Noah, Hoagler, Milker, and Terza. And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the Princess, saying the Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance.
Among our brethren, therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord.
He gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their fathers and their fellow 10 portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Beishan, which were on the other side. Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons, and the rest of the NASA's son had the land of Gilead. We'll just turn back to the 26th of numbers to have that before us.
The Apostle Paul at the end of First Corinthians uses a very solemn expression. He makes this statement in the last chapter of First Corinthians. If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema, maranatha. Or if any man loved not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed with a curse.
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The Lord cometh, but on the other side it's a blessed there's a blessed note.
At the end of the Epistle to the Ephesians there it is grace be with them, with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. What a marked difference. Those who love not our Lord Jesus Christ and those who love him in sincerity. And we trust that the Lord will give us a word here this afternoon for all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ.
In sincerity.
Oh, how blessed it is to know the Lord Jesus Christ, to know his love. And I'd like to just make a statement about that word sincerity before we pass on to this subject and the Word sincerity as we have it.
In the English language I understand is taken from 2 Latin words Sina Kara, which means without wax, Without wax in the old days in Rome.
Some of the pottery manufacturers, if the pottery broke or had cracks in it, they would take wax and fill in the crack and smooth it over and they would sell it as though it were 100% perfect. But those dealers who were honest, they would put a sign.
On their product Sina Kara without wax. That is, it was 100% genuine. It was a genuine piece of merchandise. It hadn't been tampered with. And so when it says there those that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, it means without wax, without putting on, without making it look what it really isn't or how it how unnecessary that is.
When we know the wondrous love of the Lord Jesus Christ, not only in giving himself for us, but in daily His love, His care, His watching over us. Oh, I would challenge the hearts of the dear young people this afternoon as well as my own heart. Where will you find a better friend, a more gracious master, a more wonderful Savior, one that can satisfy the heart? Where will you find such?
Or if any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, what an awful position it is to be in. Well, now, our reason for reading these scriptures here this afternoon. There were several principles that are set before us that are especially good, shall we say, for the young, but also for all of us. I was thinking of three things here that are brought out in these scriptures, and they all are related one to another.
They are connected.
First there is relationship. Next there are rights or privileges. Next there are responsibilities. That is, we have 3 Rs. We have relationship. We have the rights of that of that relationship and the the, the responsibilities connected with that relationship. Now every blessing, every privilege and every responsibility that is set before us in the word of God.
Is based on a known relationship. We stand in relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord. We stand in relationship to God as our Father by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, when I was a boy, I lived in my father's home. I had been born there and I was raised there and I had the privileges of that home. I could eat there. I could sleep. I could read.
I had the privileges of that home. Why? Because I was my father's son.
I was in relationship. He was my father and it was his house, it was his facilities, it was what belonged to him.
That as a son in that House, I had the privilege of enjoying those things.
But then there were responsibilities. There were certain responsibilities that I had and and and all of us here can look back. Certain responsibilities connected with the privileges and with the relationship of father and son. Now in these portions that we've read, we find those things coming out in a very practical way. Well, before we look at it, turn a moment to the 5th of Ephesians.
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We want to connect that with the scriptural privileges and scriptural privileges.
And responsibility.
In the 5th of Ephesians.
On the 81St.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord.
Walk as children of light for the fruit of the Spirit, or I believe it should read, For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. Now notice what we were We were darkness. That was the place we were in. But now what a wonderful fact God has taken us from that through faith in the Lord Jesus. And he says now.
Ye are light in the Lord, Ye are light in the Lord. We're brought into relationship with God our Father. We're now before him with a nature, with a holy nature. God says ye are light in the Lord, but now what is the responsibility that goes with it?
Walk as children of light. If we belong to the light, we have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. The darkness has nothing to do with the children of light. And so here we have this wonderful fact that we are light in the Lord. But if that is so, if God is my Father, if Christ is my Savior, then there are responsibilities as well as privileges. And here the responsibility is walk as children of light.
Have Christ before your soul. Have the light of God's Word before your soul. Ye are light in the Lord.
And the Spirit, No doubt the Spirit is needed to produce this fruit. But it is this fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth. And those are the things that characterized the new life that we have in Christ. Goodness, righteousness, truth. No Christian would want to have to do in his walking ways with that which is not goodness, that which is unrighteous or against the truth.
No, those things are connected here with the fruit of the other light and that's our place and our portion before God. Now let us look briefly at this scene that we have in the Old Testament. Here we have relationship.
In the.
26th chapter of Numbers.
Before we can walk as God's children, it is quite evident we must be one of His children.
We cannot be one of God's children because our Father and mother are. There's got to be personal faith. You're all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Faith finds its object in him and everyone here this afternoon that has put his or her trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, our children of God, our children of the Light.
Are members of the Body of Christ to look at it in another way?
Members one of another, we've been brought into a sphere of relationship with God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice the relationship here. In the 26th of numbers, verse 28, it says the sons of Joseph. The sons of Joseph Now that we have various names mentioned. And then we come to the 33rd verse where we have these five daughters mentioned. With whom were they in relation?
With Joseph. Joseph is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph was the one who was cast down, cast out by his own people, and persecuted by the Gentiles. And God raised Joseph up. Joseph in that way is a type, the risen Christ. And so these daughters here are seen in relationship with Joseph, that one who is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so this afternoon every believer.
In the Son of God, every believer in that Blessed One stands in that relationship. Or can you say this afternoon, the Lord Jesus Christ is not only my Savior, but He is my Lord. He is my friend, and furthermore, he is the head of the Church of which I am a member, a member of the body of Christ, a member of one of another, linked together by the Holy Spirit and linked to a Christ in glory.
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So we're in relationship all. What an important thing that is to know that we belong to Christ, and to show forth that which is pleasing to him. You know, a missionary one time said to a soldier, I've forgotten what land it was in. But this meant this rather this. The missionary said to the soldier. He said, are you ashamed of your uniform? Are you ashamed of your uniform? Of course, the soldier was not ashamed of his uniform.
Well, to whom do we belong? Do we belong to Christ?
Is our spot the spot of his children? Has he marked us out? Are we marked out in our ways? Does the world have to say to you and me, Well, I wouldn't want to walk in the path you're walking in, but at least I see that you've got something and that you're consistent in what you've got. Does the world see Christ in US? And is the world here Christ?
From our lips, that name spoken in blessed reverence to those round about, well, these daughters. I want to bring out the fact here that first of all, when they're first mentioned, nothing is said about them other than that they are the daughters of this one man and that they are related to Joseph. They belong to Joseph the risen Christ, and they're in relationship with Him. But nothing is said as to why their names are brought in here.
For in these genealogies the sons names are given, but here we only have.
The names mentioned. And it's remarkable that every time they referred to in all these passages, the Spirit of God names them everyone. He doesn't pass over and say the five daughters of Zalafa had he names them each one, or they were all precious in his sight. He cherished each one of them, they were valuable to him, and they all had come forward in faith to lay hold of the privileges that belong to the relationship. Now notice going over to the 27th chapter.
We have.
They're asserting their rights. Now, shall we say spiritual rights privileges. You know, it tells us in the first chapter of John's Gospel that as many as received him to them gave he the right is the thought there to become the children of God? The children of God? Those that trust him have the right to be called the children of God. Isn't that a wonderful, dignified right to be called a son of God, a child of God?
By faith in Christ Jesus, Well, here we have these daughters asserting by faith there's energy of faith shown in these young girls. They're going to claim a blessing. There had been no special.
Provision in the law as to the daughters inheriting, there was provision for the sons and the blessing passed down that way. But now here is a new thing introduced into Israel by the energetic faith.
Of these girls, notice what it says about them, they say in verse 3.
They say our father died in the wilderness. You see, they connect at once here the thought of death with their position. Death is named over them. Our father died in the wilderness. He didn't die under the judgment of Korah. He died for his own sin. It tells us here he died in the wilderness and death is marked over it. Oh, how we see that God is marked death over the world.
While we have our connection with the blessed Lord of Light and Glory, daughter, put the word death over this whole scene through which we pass. But I want to call attention to another thing. In the end of that 65th verse of the 26th chapter, we find these men of faith named Caleb and Joshua. These men who said we we'd be well able to take the land when everybody else with the other spies came back with a bad report.
And there was unbelief that went through Israel. These two men were mighty men of faith, and they lived to go into the possession. And so notice the company in which these daughters of faith find themselves. They're found in company with Caleb and Joshua, these mighty men of faith who would defy the power of the enemy, knowing the strength of the Lord was on their behalf. And so they then mentioned next in the 27th chapter, it says. Then came the daughters of.
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Had we find them standing before Moses in verse 2?
Mentioning a father's death in verse 3. Now why did they come before?
Moses for this privilege, what was their purpose? What did they have? What was their motive? Was it just simply that they wanted to enjoy the inheritance? That was a good thing. What was it that motivated their hearts?
Verse four tells us they had the honor and the glory.
Of their father at heart, they said, Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family? Because he hath no son. They were not looking out directly at first here for that privilege. Yes, they were looking for the privilege, but they connected it with the glory and the name of their father. Oh, what a challenge that is to our hearts. Whose interests are we looking after in this world?
Is the interest of Christ predominant? Is that what is before our hearts day by day, not just simply during the three glorious days of a conference, but as Christ before our hearts at other times? I would like to use an illustration here some years back.
One of the steamship companies in the United States decided they would send a steamer into Shanghai at the Red China, knowing right well that there might be some trouble from it. So both the United States and British navies decided to set up or destroy a patrol off Shanghai. So the British commander took his position and the American commander took his position. The American commander got all kinds of instructions from Washington DC.
How he was to handle this case? He had quite a lot of paper telling him what to do. But later on, after the incident was passed, the American commander was at Hong Kong at a dinner where he met the British commander of the other unit. And so the American was interested in no one instructions his British counterpart had received. And so he asked him, he said, what were your instructions. All said the British commander. He said my Admiral was very brief.
All he said was set up the patrol and when in doubt, act to protect Her Majesty's interests. That's all the instructions I got all As I read that I thought, what a what an illustration. That is. Whose interests are we to act for in this world? When in doubt, act to protect Her Majesty's interests? Well, the Word of God would take away any doubts from us as to how these interests should be protected. The glory of the Lord Jesus.
Is that predominant? It ought to be. It searches our hearts as we make the statement. We realize how short we come, but nevertheless, this is God's challenge to our souls. They say. Why should the name of our Father be done away from among his family because he hath no son? Was it right for them to insist on this privilege? Well, Moses had no immediate instructions, but Moses went to the Lord about it. In verse five. He brought their cause before the Lord.
Well, with these that are insisting on an inheritance, shall they receive it? Is it their portion? And verse six says, the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of the Lotah had speak right, They speak right. Oh, how wonderful is if we lay hold of the privileges that belong to us as Christians? The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.
Faith would make us bold in the presence of God. When sin would drive us away, our conscience would drive us away. But here, these daughters, they act in faith. They act for the glory of another, while at the same time putting forth a hand of faith for their own privileges. And so how those things are connected.
Relationship with Joseph The tribe of Joseph is to receive an inheritance. Their father's name may be blotted out, and their their their zealous for their father's name, and for the tribe of Joseph. And so God comes in. He gives a special word to them through Moses. In the seventh verse, the daughters of Zelophehad speak right. Thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their fathers, brethren.
Oh, how good it is, dear young believer, and all the ones who to clay hold of everything that God has given us. Now suppose we turn to the 36th chapter, because there's responsibility connected with privilege and relationship. If God is my father, and I have the privileges of the family of God, then if he be a father, where is his honor? And if he be my Lord, If he Lord, where is the reverence and respect? So here now we have.
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Other voices heard in the 36th chapter.
It says in verse one, the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Make, here the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spake before Moses and before the Princess, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. Well, you know, it's very nice to see here, shall we say, the interest of the elder brethren in what these young daughters had done.
They had put forth the hand of faith to lay hold of privileges, but now we find the older ones, the chief fathers. They look at the whole, the whole situation, and they have before them not only the good of all Israel and the good of their tribe.
And the good of these daughters. But they are thinking of God's order of things. God had set up a certain order, and they were jealous here and anxious that that order be maintained. And that while they are in no way interfere or set aside the privileges of the daughters of Zalafa had notice that they bring in a responsibility. They bring in the responsibility. If you five daughters of faith are going to enter into that inheritance, here's a responsibility that goes along with it.
And so when our Christian pathway are we ready as those who love our Lord Jesus Christ.
In sincerity to walk in accordance with our responsibilities as well as our privileges. Notice what follows these men, these chief men.
They remember that the inheritance would follow the husband and of these daughters married men from the tribe of.
Gad or Reuben or Asher one in the year of Jubilee that that inheritance would go out into those other tribes and it would be lost to Manasseh. There would be confusion produced in Israel. According to the way these daughters would marry. There would be confusion in Israel. And so there was a word on that here and the in the fifth verse.
Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord. Now Moses gets another word from the Lord.
Saying the tribe of the sons of Joseph half said, well, so if the daughters had spoken right, the elder ones here had spoken well also and and God tells us that. And then what follows is this instruction here against an unequal yoke. There was an instruction here of an unequal yoke of an unusual kind. We usually think of an unequal yoke in marriage as the marriage of an unconverted person.
With a converted person, we consider that that no doubt is the most outstanding of it. But here we find that in connection with the daughters of Zalafa had, while they had freedom and liberty to marry whom they think best in verse six, it must be in the family of the tribe of their father. That is, they couldn't go out and say, well, what's wrong with marrying someone from the tribe of Reuben? He's an Israelite.
He's one of the children of God. He's an Israelite, but not what it brought confusion into the tribe of Manasseh. And so they were limited here by the by the word, by the word of the Lord. Let them marry to whom they think best. Only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. What an important instruction this is. It's It would bring a burden before us. It isn't always the wise thing.
It isn't always according to the word of God for one Christian to marry another simply because they are a Christian.
They might not be in the same tribe. They may not be committed to the same principles of the pathway that you and I may have have gathered from the word of God. And so it isn't just one thing to say. Well, this person is a Christian. That settles it. No, it says here they were free to marry whom they would, but only in the tribe of their father. Now, there's a verse in First Corinthians I'd like to read in that connection.
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One Corinthians Chapter 7.
Verse 39 I'm thinking at the end of the verse, but we'll read the whole verse. The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth. But if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will Now, just like the daughters of the Lapa hat, they may marry whom they think best, but only in the tribe. Now it says she is at liberty to be married to whom she will only in the Lord.
All that requires the Lord's mind. That requires first of all a willingness to do the Lord's will.
If any man will us to do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God.
Or whether I speak of myself so that actually it's a willingness on the part of those who love the Lord Jesus Christ to carry out His word. Now let's see what happened. Our time is about up in the.
In the 10th verse of the 36th of numbers.
It says even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughter of the Lopahad. As the Lord commanded all, the word of the Lord was precious to them. The word of the Lord had secured an inheritance to them. And now the word of the Lord brought in addition to the privilege, the word of the Lord brought a responsibility before them. And it says even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did.
The daughters of the La Fahad and notice again all their names are mentioned.
For Marwar, Terza and Hogler and Milka and Noah, the daughters of the Lotah had were married unto their fathers, brothers, sons. They're named again. Every one of them don't ought to say I want you to notice how I value their obedience. I want you to notice what this means to me. I'm recording their names again. You'll notice too, that the two of the names are changed in this listing and all the other listings.
Noah is mentioned second.
And Tarzan laughed. Well, there may be other thoughts here, but one thought that it struck me in reading this that in connection with their obedience there's a change of possession. It seems as though there was greater energy in obeying on the part of Tarzan than of Noah. And so the Spirit of God reverses their names in connection with their obedience. Read the 16th of Romans, and you'll see how God lists then his honor roll there those who labored and those who labored much, and so forth.
And so God's honored and cherished these who sought his will and who sought to obey his word. So may the Lord bless these thoughts. Towards each one is not only the unequal yoke in marriage, but there's the unequal yoke in business and the far more subtle unequal yoke in the religious world. There's no Concorde between Christ and Belial, between the temple of God and idols. And so there's that danger of a religious unequal yoke.
Being unequally yoked together in a religious system which is not according to the word of God. Or may the Lord preserve young and old alike from any of these pitfalls that may present themselves.
So we sing #230 and hymn 231. We were expressing our desires, what we were, but Him 230 gives us the blessed example of the Lord himself. Hymn #230 with some brother starter please.
Great.
We.
Are.