Open—D. Gorgas, G. Hayhoe
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00:05:18
He turned to the Book of Romans, Chapter One.
Romans, chapter one.
Verse one.
Paul.
A servant of Jesus Christ.
Called to be an apostle separated unto the gospel.
Of God.
Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures.
Going to go back and read the end of verse one again because verse two is parenthetical and so we keep it in our minds as to how it reads.
Called to be an apostle separated under the gospel of God concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness.
By the resurrection from the dead.
Verse 15.
So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel.
To you that aren't Rome. Also for I am not ashamed of the gospel.
I believe the words of Christ are added words in this particular passage.
Go back to verse one. You'll see It's the gospel of God. Is it the gospel of Christ? Of course it is.
But the theme of Paul here is that it's the gospel of God concerning his Son, Jesus Christ. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first.
And also to the Greek for therein is the righteousness of God revealed.
From faith to faith, as it is written, the just.
Shall live by faith.
Beloved brethren, very often in an open ministry meeting, we.
Have what?
I believe is rightly.
That which the Saints often need, which is exhortation.
And consolation.
But there is the aspect of.
Building up and encouraging.
To take hold of the doctrine.
And I have been very concerned in my.
Moving a bit among the Lord's people to find that even the fundamentals of the gospel are being let go. And I'm not talking particularly about those gathered to the Lord's name, but I believe we're certainly included in the danger.
And many strange notions are entering in concerning the gospel.
Some are teaching an easy believism.
And some are.
Teaching corruptions of the doctrine of election.
And I believe this book that we have opened before us, the book of Romans.
Was given by God as a fundamental treatise as to the gospel.
Particularly the 1St 8 chapters.
This book is concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ, the gospel of God.
Concerning his Son Jesus Christ.
And if you want to get your doctrine straight as to the gospel as to.
Its impact on the ways of God as we have in the 9th, 10th and 11Th chapters.
As to its impact on our lives as believers, as we have in the 12Th through the 15th chapters.
00:10:05
This is a wonderful book, and one we ought to understand.
And my purpose here this afternoon is not to occupy the Saints with a lecture on that would be inappropriate, a lecture on the book of Romans, but rather to encourage you to dig into that book and to understand it concerning the gospel of God.
God's good news.
The.
It's interesting that God has given us this book in the place that it is in the scriptures.
After the facts of the Lord's life.
After the four books which touch on his life in ministry.
After the Book of the Acts, which has to do with the circumstances concerning the leading out of the Remnant into a Christian position.
And the establishment of the Christian assembly or the Church, then God is careful that we understand thoroughly.
What the gospel is.
I don't think that.
The Apostle Paul, great mind that he was could have possibly put together a book like this, I know.
That he could not have put together a book like this with all the studying that he could have done, all the background he had in the Jewish scriptures. He could not have put a book like this together on his own.
It has the marks of divine inspiration on it on every page.
And it's a wonderful treatise.
Well laid out.
And I just encouraged the young.
Brothers and sisters that are here and us older ones do to know what Romans teaches.
And if you don't know what Romans teaches, you don't know what the gospel is about.
Paul, as we know, lays out our lost condition in a masterful way in the.
First, second and third chapters and concludes, and we'll turn to that presently. But he concludes that we're all going out of the way. Absolutely every one of us lost and ruined before God. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Whether it's the.
Heathen.
And sometimes it amuses me.
In a solemn way, but it amuses me to hear people get excited about the heathen when you begin to tell them the gospel. Well, what about those that are out in such and such a place that have never heard? But it's interesting that God takes up their case first in the book of Romans, and then he deals with the Gentile moralist, the civilized Gentile world, and finally with the Jew in that wonderful place of privilege, and concludes all under sin.
The.
Now what does the gospel take up?
What is it that Paul is not ashamed of?
You know, sometimes you'll bring.
A view to people, and you're not entirely convinced of its effectiveness, but you talk fast and you convince people anyway, and then later on something breaks down in what you've said and you're ashamed.
But this passage that we have before us here sets out that the Apostle Paul was not ashamed of the gospel.
For it's the power of God unto salvation. In other words, it works.
The gospel works, and we don't need to be ashamed of it from that standpoint.
If you've never seen anybody saved, and it's a sad thing if you haven't, it sometimes says something to me about.
Where I am in my own soul, how few I have seen saved.
But when someone comes to God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And is turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God. And you see a change in the life your heart is.
Overjoyed, but Paul says here, I'm not ashamed because it's the gospel of the gospel, for it's the power of God. The root word I understand is the same word from which we get our word dynamite.
00:15:12
And there's an apartment connection there that helps us to understand what it does. It's a great power affected in the human life that changes, turns the life completely around and brings them out of darkness into light. It's the power of God unto salvation.
To everyone I wish it were, but it's not. It's to everyone that believe it.
I say I wish it were. God's wisdom is that it isn't. It's to them that believe.
Only from my heart standpoint, there are some people that I just.
I could weep that they you bring them the gospel and they have the need, but they don't. It doesn't do anything in their lives. Why? Because they don't believe. It's the power of God unto salvation into everyone that believeth.
Now the next verse is important. The 17th verse it says for therein in what?
In the gospel is revealed.
The righteousness of God is revealed.
It's revealed, opened up.
What is the righteousness of God? And that disturbs me too. And I urge you to get ahold of what the righteousness of God is because it's it's misunderstood on every side.
As I talk to people who are Christians who love the Lord, and there's very evident that they've received the Lord Jesus Christ and they're saved, but you ask them what is the righteousness of God? Very often the answer will be how the Lord Jesus lived down here in his life. That's not so.
That's the righteousness of Christ, and without that there's no savior.
But the righteousness of God is God's consistency.
With what he is in himself, with what he does for the Sinner, May I repeat that?
The righteousness of God is God's total, absolute consistency with what He is in his own nature, in what He does for the Sinner, and that is revealed only in the gospel.
We would not have it opened up to us, except for the gospel. It's revealed in the gospel God's total and absolute consistency with what He is in his own nature, in what he does for us, for the lost and ruined Sinner.
And it's revealed in the Gospel. Now I'll just mention that this is one of the most orderly books. Every book, of course, is orderly in scripture. But for the human mind to understand a little bit of it, it can be outlined. And I believe when God deals with the gospel he made particular.
Particularly plain the divisions of the book. The 1St 17 verses are an introduction the authors.
Introduction God's introduction to the book through the Apostle Paul.
And then he begins to take up, in a doctrinal way, the book the the Gospel in the next chapters, finishing with the 8th chapter. And I'll tell you a little clue if you're reading through. If you want to see where there is a break in the book, look for a doxology. What's a doxology? That's a word of praise. That's simply a fancy theological word for a word of praise.
If you go to the end of the 8th chapter, you'll see very plainly A doxology as the apostle bursts forth into praise to God.
Then the question comes up if this is true and God is justifying on the basis of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And faith in him alone.
What about the Jews place? How does it fit into the ways of God? Where does it? Where is it? How can we fit everything? God's dealings with his ancient people? Has he cast them away forever? And what? What is the place of the Gentile and the Jew in regard to that? And so he takes 3 chapters and 9th, 10th and 11Th chapters.
I once asked a brother who was in the process of giving up dispensational truth. I said dear brother. I named him by name, brother very dear to me. We spent two hours by a lake one afternoon just talking and talking. And finally I said to him, what do you do with the 9th, 10th and 11Th chapters of the book of Romans? He says. I haven't thought that through yet.
00:20:19
I said you'll never think it through, dear brother, because that is clearly if anything sets forth God's dispensational ways. And when I mean when I say by dispensation his his administrative ways, it's those 3 chapters so clear.
God's blessing upon them in the past as ancient people, Israel.
They're setting aside where does the Gentile come in? How did he come in?
It's an unnatural grafting in what will happen if gentile profession is unfaithful. It will be broken off and the Jew will be brought back in. But it's all in relation to the gospel. Now I want to make another remark before we move beyond that point.
Verse three clearly says that of our chapters clearly says that the gospel of God is concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Don't ever go at the gospel in a theological way.
I often remark to people who are steeped in theology. Theology is a science invented by man to make the plain truth of God.
Confused. I don't believe theology ever added anything to the truth of God.
I believe theology has only made it a craft, a profession.
And it puts it in the hands of a certain few who go to some seminary or some college, and they have superior knowledge.
I'd rather hear, and I'm sure you would do. I'd rather hear the truth of God expounded by a man who walks in communion with the Lord than to hear the best schooled theologian on the face of the earth.
One that speaks with unction from the Spirit of God, the other speaks out of his head.
And he may say right things, and he may be a good speaker, but it isn't. What?
It isn't the same as what God would give us through His servants that are schooled at the feet of Jesus.
And in the assembly, too. What a wonderful place to get the truth. And that's one of the things that lays heavily upon my heart. Whatever time the Lord leaves me here, I want to say to my younger brother, and I've said it before, I want to repeat it whatever breath the Lord gives me.
I want to layout God's truth that I receive so wonderfully from men who have gone before.
I want to lay it out in such a way that you can get a hold of it.
Whatever little bit the Lord has given me, I want to share with you while I'm here.
Concerning his Son, That's it. Don't ever detach the gospel from the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no gospel apart from that. It's concerning His Son. That's God's purpose and all the schooling in the world. If you're not in communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and you've lost sight of Him as the central figure in it all, you've lost everything. You've lost everything The gospel is.
Concerning his son.
Jesus Christ, our Lord, how beautifully it's put for us in this chapter.
I want to go over to the third chapter.
We have a marvelous summary of the condition of man.
Beginning in verse nine of the third chapter, Paul has indicted and arraigned before the bar of justice by the Spirit of God, not only the heathen, but the gentile civilized moralist.
And finally, the Jew.
Begins with the Jew, by the way, in chapter 2 and verse 17.
Runs through.
00:25:01
Through chapter 3 and verse 8.
Then he begins to summarize, and he says What then? Are we better than they?
No in no wise, for we have before proved.
Proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. I don't have time to read the intervening verses that indict.
The.
The human race with its guilt.
And we come down to verse.
19.
Now we know that what things, whoever the law says, it says to them who are under the law.
Legalists pay attention. Who did it say it to us? The Church? No.
Says to those who are under the law.
With what purpose that every mouth may be stopped and all the world?
May become guilty before God.
Ah, that's the heart.
Of man's condition, that's where man is guilty before God. Some some particular group, some particularly blessed group were more guilty. But all the world is guilty before God.
Go down to verse.
23 We often quote 23 without 24, but I just love the connection between those two verses.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Solemn truth.
All all have sinned. I'm not preaching the gospel here right now.
But I just say a word that if there's anyone here that has not come to realize that God wants your attention with what's being said here, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Now verse 24 being justified freely by his grace.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. When we come to God, the first thing that concerns a man that concerns you or me is not our sinful nature. I don't think that comes to mind in the beginning of our awareness of things. The beginning of our awareness of things is that we have a multitude of sins to our charge. If we're honest people, we have to admit there's a multitude of sins to our charge.
And the first thing that Paul takes up through the end of chapter 5 and verse 11 is how God deals.
With that multitude of sins.
How he removes righteously.
Those sins from our record in justifies us.
Justifies us.
Freely by His grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, you know.
The grace of God is one of the most wonderful things.
And a sense of it in our souls is important to have a sense of the grace.
Of God that has been shown to us. We've been justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation.
Through faith in his blood.
Now there's two things that the cross declares and concerning the righteousness of God.
And let me illustrate it this way. In the Old Testament we have a man.
Who wrote many of the Psalms?
A dear man, but who sinned grievously.
And yet he wasn't stricken dead.
And we're going to see him in glory.
What a wonderful thought.
And yet what a terrible thing. He not only committed the sin of adultery, but took the man whose wife he had stolen and sent him to his death. He killed.
He killed.
That those two heinous sins were on his record.
How could a holy and righteous God pass by that sin?
You might say that that is a mystery until the cross.
00:30:02
And then it says here to declare.
His righteousness.
For the remission of the sins that are past all those sins from Adam on down.
To the cross, How could a righteous God pass them by?
The cross shows how he could.
He forbore and all those sacrifices that were offered that set forth Christ.
Would have never removed those sins for the Apostle Paul. I believe in Hebrews says it is impossible.
That the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. It was impossible.
What was the purpose of them? To set forth Christ in the figure. And when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, the Lord Jesus went to the cross of Calvary. And God's righteousness in having passed, David's sin by is declared and made plain that God made no compromise. God made no.
Passing over something that he could not have passed over as a righteous God.
It was all dealt with, but it was dealt with at the cross of Calvary, and that was revealed and declared through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ there on the cross.
Sometimes I've said to people, if you want to understand 25 and 26, put a little cross.
In between the two verses because that's where the cross comes, is right there the remission of the sins that are passed. And then verse 26 says to declare. I say at this time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
I illustrate it this way.
Here's a man who goes through his life.
An alcoholic or whatever other kind of Sinner you might want to say.
That's only one type of sin.
But this man staggers into a gospel mission. He's 63 years old and his body is wasted and he's ruined.
His family's gone. Everything's gone. He sits there bleary eyed, under the sound of the word of God, and somehow the spirit of God gets through to his conscience and soul.
And he puts his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He falls down before the Lord and he.
Comes to the Lord and he's saved.
And that man is instantly assured that he'll have a place with the Lord Jesus Christ.
In glory.
He doesn't have to go back and make amends for all the mess that he's made as far as his soul's salvation is concerned, There may be a lot of amends to make in his life in a governmental way, but as far as his soul is concerned, he's saved gloriously, completely, truly.
And here is a man who lives all his life on the right side of things as far as man is concerned.
Never with a thought of God, and gozu, and new eternity without God.
Without Christ.
And God sends the one into eternal judgment and the other one is received into glory. How can God be a righteous God and do that? And that's a puzzle to many, isn't it?
Many people stumble at that to declare. I say at this time his righteousness.
That he might be just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. That's what it is. Do you believe in Jesus and you're justified?
There's more. The end of Chapter 4 says we were It was delivered for our offenses.
That's all those sins that had piled up against us. He was delivered for them and raised for our justification.
And then chapter 5 and verse one says, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ, peace with God. What a wonderful thing, every sin removed and righteously removed from before the presence of God but now?
The story of the apple tree that my grandmother had in Albany, NY.
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Knobby Horrible apples, only good for the boys to fight with, and we used to throw them back and forth at one another and hit each other with them and that's all they were good for. Finally, my grandmother said cut that tree down and we did.
Previously we gathered up all those bad apples every year and thrown them into a cider press or something, but they were not good for anything really.
Put out the garbage. Now the tree was cut down, but something happened. After a few years, I went back to Albany as a tree grown up. Flowers on it. Apples coming out. Oh, maybe we're going to get good ones this time. Same old gnarled rotten worm, eaten hard apples.
Why? Because the nature was the same that produced them. And so in chapter 5 and verse 12 The apostles attention changes from the offenses, the individual sins to something else that's called sin, that which produces the rotten apples, so to speak. What's God do with that? Does he forgive it? No. God never forgives that He condemns it. Chapter 8. And I'm going to sit down with that verse.
Verse chapter 8 and verse 3 for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. What did he do?
With that nature, he condemned it.
Condemned it, and in the death of Christ, not only were my sins put away.
That all that I was is forever removed before the presence of God. What a wonderful thing.
So God deals not only with the fruit, but He deals with the root.
And that brings you then to the end of the doctrinal part of the book. May the Lord encourage us.
The reason I spoke on this, Beloved, is not to reach souls in the gospel so much as to stir our hearts that we might get the doctrine of the Gospel clear in our minds. It's under attack everywhere and we need to know what it teaches. And may I just say this is a wonderful little book by Mr. Stanley. I don't know if Bruce has it in there. Called Life Through Death on the book of Romans. I very much recommend it to our younger brothers and sisters.
Her brother has been bringing before us the precious truth of the possession the believer has been brought into. And I was just thinking, brethren, of the 16th song that's bringing before us the pathway of the Lord Jesus through this world as the perfect dependent man, I wonder if we could just look at that. Psalm, Psalm 16.
Preserve me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust, O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord, my goodness extendeth not to thee, but to the Saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied, that hasten after another God. Their drink offerings of blood, will I not offer nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup.
Now maintaineth my life.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places. Yeah, I have a goodly heritage.
I will bless the Lord who have given me counsel my reigns. Also instruct me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved, Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, or hades, neither wilt thou suffer Thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life. In thy presence is fullness of joy. At thy right hand there are pleasures.
Forevermore.
My brother is brought before us the wonderful truth of the work of Christ and what it has done for us, so that we not only know the forgiveness of sins, but we're justified from all things, or as it says in the 5th of Romans, justification of life. And I think that's a very blessed thing for us to understand, brethren, that some have said, well, justification is just as if I had never seen, but that would only put me in the position of Adam before he fell.
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He hadn't yet then, but thank God it's far better than that. God doesn't just put us in the position of unfallen atom, He puts us in Christ. And so justification of life means that every believer in this room is before God not only forgiven all his sins, but before God in a life that never sinned at all. And that is how God sees us. And he tells us to reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin.
But alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, Perhaps the 7th of Romans brings before us in a practical way.
The conflict that goes on because we're slow to learn, that we're slow to give up the thought that there is anything good in the first man.
We don't believe that it's totally condemned. We think there's something there. But, brethren, they are in the flesh. Cannot please God. I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. That fallen nature within us cannot be improved.
And so we are before God in Christ, and God sees us in that position. So what I was thinking of in connection with this chapter.
Is that blessed man, the Lord Jesus, the one who walked through this world?
Who only he was that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.
There was one who walked through this world, who never had any tendency to do what's wrong.
And he has given us his life. And now by wrecking the old man dead, we have a perfect pattern in the life of the Lord Jesus of godliness. That's what it means in that verse in First Timothy 3 without controversy. Great is the mystery. It doesn't say of God, but great is the mystery of godliness. That is the secret of godliness is the pathway of the Lord Jesus as he walked through this world. In all the circumstances that we have to meet in our pathway, He walked through this world.
And only manifested that blessed life that He is Himself.
The very life of Christ. And there He manifested and He left us an example that we should follow His steps. What a pattern for us. And this 16 Psalm, I believe, brings him before us, walking through this world as the dependent man. Why do we fall? Because we're independent. Why did Adam fall? He was independent. He thought he could just act on his own.
And he reached out for what was forbidden. But here we find the Lord Jesus.
In this world, we're just noticing together when we were talking about.
How the Lord Jesus began the pathway of Israel over again, so to speak. It says out of Egypt have I called my son? We know how the Lord Jesus was brought down into Egypt after he was born and then he comes back into the land. We see him tempted of the devil answering every temptation by saying it is written, it is written.
Adam the first Adam. Why he didn't?
He reasoned for himself and he was overcome, But the Lord Jesus?
Answered every temptation by it is written. And then he went about displaying the heart of God to man, so much so that he could say He that hath seen me has seen the Father and brethren. What I wish to say is that you and I possess his life. We often excuse ourselves for failure, but you have within you the very life of Christ, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear not who will be.
But who is our life shall appear. Every believer in this room has a life.
But never ascend and cannot sin. What a wonderful thing. The reason we sin, I say again, is because we allow the old man. We don't reckon the old man dead, and so we allow it. If we walked as the Lord Jesus down in this world, we wouldn't meet any circumstance in our own wisdom or in our own strength. We would walk as he walked. Preserve me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust.
He's going to have all the kingdoms of this world, but he wouldn't take them from Satan. He's waiting the Father's time. How long has he waited? He hasn't received them yet. The day is coming when the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. But he's waiting. He's the man of patience. You and I get impatient. We don't want to wait God's time. In our private circumstances, sometimes even in the assembly, we're not willing to wait God's time.
00:45:26
But all how blessed the pathway of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, may this be our daily constant prayer. Preserve me, O God, because I have a strong character. Now in B, do I put my trust? Our confidence is not in ourselves, or should not be, but in ourselves. But in the Lord, I should say our confidence should be in Him. And so it says.
O my soul, thou has said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord.
My goodness extendeth not to thee. That's simply the thought that the Lord Jesus.
Didn't walk through this world, if I might say it in this way. With a Halo around his head. He walked through this world as a man so that as people looked at him, unless it was revealed to them by the Father, they didn't recognize him. They didn't recognize him. He walked through this world and blessed and perfect humility, But every thought, every word, every action was a telling out of the heart of God, his father.
And so he says in the next verse, but to the things that are in the earth.
And to the Excellent in whom is all my delight, it's not a beautiful verse.
God looks down upon this company here this afternoon, everyone who belongs to him.
Is a St. everyone who belongs to him is one of the excellent of the earth. We're holy and without blame before him in love, brethren. Sometimes we need to look at one another this way too, and think of one another. Just like when Balaam gave his prophecy. What were the people doing in the tents below? Well, they were quarreling and doing things they shouldn't. But he said from the top of the rocks do I behold him.
He hath not a nick beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel. We often wonder how this could be, but that's where God has brought us. He sees us in Christ. We're made the righteousness of God in him. And so we see the Lord Jesus. Where was his delight with the rich and influential of this world? Now we see him with that little household in Bethany. We see him acquainting himself with Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast 7 devils.
How beautiful. The excellent of the earth. We need to look on one another in that way.
It isn't that we're not conscious of the fact that we're four week things and we all fail. But in grace we always ought to think of God's people as God sees them. How lovely the excellent of the earth. And then he gives a little word of warning. Here their sorrow shall be multiplied that hasten after another God, sorrow shall be multiplied. Oh, isn't it true, brethren, we often multiply sorrow in our lives.
Because we hasten after something else, something that's not Christ, something that's not him, something that's not for him. We think, oh, that'll make me happy if I just get that when we get it, it's only multiplied sorrow. But isn't it lovely that we have one who we can set before us and that was ever before the Lord Jesus? And he said the good pleasure of thy will, O God, is my delight.
Even when he was rejected by the nation, and very interestingly, it was the only occasion on which we find the Lord rejoicing in spirit. When was it when rejected by the one whom he had come to bless, He took it from his Father. And he said, I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father.
For SO it seemed good.
In thy sight a brother was talking to a group of children, but one of them was blind, quite handicapped, and he seemed to be giving all the good answers when preacher the brother was talking and he said, he said to him, well, how is it that you who seem to know your Bible so well and love the Lord our blind love. These other children have good eyes and everything seems to be going well for them.
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He said, Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Perfect submission to the ways of God. That's the secret of happiness for us, submission to the ways of God beginning. Preserve me, O God, for in me do I put my trust. Is there someone here? And you're finding your circumstances very difficult. Some young person that has come to the meeting here feeling pretty discouraged by to somebody else, seem to have something, and I don't.
It's easy to feel these things, I might say It's natural. But the Lord is able to fill your heart, able to make you thoroughly happy. Jesus rejoiced in spirit and actually said, I thank the old Father, Lord of heaven and Earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
It says their drink offerings of blood. Will I not offer nor take up their names into my lips?
There was number such drink offerings of blood in the Old Testament order of things for Israel. There were no drink offerings of blood. But we see that they were carrying on a form of worship all of their own. Great deal of that people carry on a form of worship not founded on the word of God, just their own, their own idea. Isn't it good for us even in our worship, brethren? Not to say, well, I like to be with that group, their group, nice group.
Maybe they are. Are you and I where we are because we believe it's according to the word of God?
And because we believe the Lord is there, have often said, if we can meet the Lord in two different places.
In the midst, in two different places, I'm going to form my decision on the basis of people. If there's two places where I can go, I like the people in this place. I don't just like the people in this other place quite so well, but I can meet the Lord in either place. My decision is going to be founded upon people, but if the word of God is my guide and I want to be where the Lord is, that'll settle the question. Just to be where He is. What a privilege.
And it goes on to say, the Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup thou maintainest my lot. Notice there are two things here, my inheritance and my cup. Perhaps they bring before us this thought. The inheritance is all that we possess in Christ. We're heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. All that He possesses. We're joint heirs when He takes things.
Kingdoms of this world become his. He's going to share that place. He's going to introduce us to the world as His bride. He'll come to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them that believe. We know these things. We enjoy them as truth. But here that's our inheritance. But my cup.
You might have a large vessel full of some drink that you enjoy. You dip in your cup, you get One Cup full. It's a present enjoyment of what's there, and that's what the Lord wants, for us to have a present enjoyment. Maybe it's only a little bit.
Thou has begun to show me, Lord, but what shall be the ending? I touch the fringe of what thou art.
And this is joy transcending I've only on the rippling shore, Loves, oceans, depths are all before you, and I ought to know what our inheritance is, but we also ought to be in the present enjoyment and of my cup. And then this thou maintainest my lot.
Is there anyone of us that likes to be misunderstood? Is there anyone that likes it when someone forms a wrong judgment? I don't suppose any of us enjoy that feeling, but they'll maintainest my life. It's a good thing to be able to just leave things with the Lord, isn't it? He forms a right appraisal about everything.
Mary poured out that alabaster box appointment on the Lord, and those who ought to have known better found fault with her said To what purpose was this waste?
Did she say nothing? Nothing. What did the Lord say? She hath wrought a good work on me. I'm sure she was glad she kept quiet. The Lord spoke to her. And he said, Wheresoever the gospel is preached in the whole world, this also that this woman hath done, shall be told for a memorial of her. Nobody would know it. Yes, the world was going to know it. Oh, how lovely.
00:55:08
Thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places.
Yeah, I have a goodly heritage.
I've sometimes said we're going to meet Paul and we're going to meet Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in heaven another day. I often like to think about talking to those whom we'll be with for all eternity and the glory. And I'd like to say to them, would you tell me what was the best time that you ever had in your whole life down in this world, on planet Earth? And I wouldn't be surprised, the whole three of them would say.
It was when we were in the fiery furnace. It was so wonderful. The Lord walked with us, The Lord walked with us. The lines are falling unto me in pleasant places. And when the word of God comes home to your soul in power and comforts you in a difficult position and situation, I don't think there's a more pleasant place. I've heard ever so many Christians say I was in such a deep trouble and sorrow. And there was a verse came to me and oh, it just meant so much to me.
I'll never forget what that verse meant to me. On that occasion, the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. Would you call the fiery furnace a pleasant place? I believe in heaven they will, I believe, they'll say. It was such a wonderful experience.
And then he says, yeah, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who have given me counsel. Well, I think that's something we all feel very much that we need of in a world like this.
Life is becoming more and more complex. Either young people, you're finding a more complex world and we who are older did. Because as knowledge increases in the world, life becomes very much more complex. Does the Lord understand every one of those difficult situations in school, on the job, even in the assembly? Does he understand them thoroughly? Yes. Can we turn to him? His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor.
The Mighty God.
The Father of eternity, Prince of peace.
Girl one time was sitting down writing a little note that she was going to send into column in the newspaper that tends to give answers for some of the problems of young people. And she was writing out her problem and her sister who was a believer saw it sitting on the desk. The girl had gone to bed and left it half written and she sat down and just rolled across the bottom of the half written letter. His name shall be called Wonderful.
Counselor, the letter was never mailed. She was introduced to the one who is a counselor. I say to those of us who were older, two or younger, ask the Lord for counsel. Never, never take a step in disobedience to His Word. There's no wisdom or understanding their counsel against the Lord. You'll never, I'll never be wiser than God. Never is worthwhile.
To take a step in disobedience to God's word, so have given me counsel. It's an interesting part to the close of this verse. My reigns also instruct me in the night seasons. I understand the word rains is really kidneys in the original. And that's a very interesting thing because I think most of us know what the kidneys do. They purify the blood and they especially work when we lay down at night and our kidneys go to work.
Now, I think there's a little thought here sometimes. We're pretty brazen and bold and things we say during the day when we put our head on our pillow at night and we begin to think about some of the things we did and said, we There's a little sorting out of these things, aren't there? We say I was foolish to say a thing like that. I acted very foolishly on that occasion. I shouldn't have said that. My reigns instruct me. It's good. It's good. When we lay down at night just to sometimes just look at those things in the light of the Lord's presence, we think of the Lord Jesus.
The perfect one. Before he chose those 12 disciples, he spent the whole night in prayer to God.
In prayer to God, He knew all about them even before he chose them.
He knew all about them, but he was the perfect dependent man. What an example for us, brethren. My reigns also instruct me in the night season. I have set the Lord always before me because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Oh, how important. Tell the Lord always before us. We think of the Lord Jesus. Who could say I do always those things that please him? Christianity isn't just a system of teaching.
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Our brother has brought before us in a very lovely way what the gospel is, but you could get hold of the theory of it all and not be a happy Christian. But the Lord Jesus is the truth. I am the way, the truth and the life. And if learning the truth, we are not drawn closer to him, we haven't learned it in the right way. I've been thinking a little bit of that verse in First Corinthians 7. I believe it is.
If a man thinketh that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know it. Now that's not so a natural things, that is, you can learn facts of science, mathematics, all kinds of things. You can get them in your head. You don't need to be a spiritual person to get them into your head. Those are natural things. But in divine things if learning the truth of God.
Doesn't humble me. I haven't learned it in the right way. How could I learn?
What God's wonderful grace has been to me and where he has brought me and my responsibilities without being humbled, as I think of the grace that picked me up and the grace that may have been kept me to this day, it humbles me. And if we start boosting, oh, I know this, I'm sure I can handle that truth. I can explain that very well. We better watch out. Learning the truth of God and communion makes us think less of ourselves.
And more of him, so it says.
I have set the Lord always before me because He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. You may know a verse of Scripture wonderful to be acquainted with God's Word, may it be hid in our hearts, but we need to have a person before us. When decisions are made that we're making them in His presence, we're making them to please Him, and that He only can sustain us, brethren.
So I shall not be moved. And there then it goes on and speaks of the Lord Jesus. He looked beyond death, He looked on to resurrection and so. How lovely this is.
Says in the Gospel of Luke, I believe it is the time came that he should be received up, He set his face that he might go to Jerusalem.
When it says the time came that he should be received up, they believe it's something like what we have in the 21St of Exodus.
He was the only person that could go to heaven in his own right. He had perfectly.
Walk to please God his Father in every step of his pathway, and he could go to heaven in his own right. But he was like the Hebrew servant who had served his master well, could have gone out free alone. But he said, I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free. And he went to the judges He went, and our precious Savior, the only one that could enter heaven in his own right, because he had perfectly lived as the dependent perfect man to glorify his Father.
But he said, I want to have, I want to have these brethren here, sitting in this room. I want to have them with me. I don't want to have the joys of heaven alone. I want to have them with me. And he went to Calvary, and this is brought before us his pathway. Here He went through death. He came forth in resurrection because He wanted you, and he wanted me with him for all eternity. Oh, how precious then.
Look beyond this scene. He looked on to the future, he looked on to the glorious day, and he is now raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. He perfectly glorified God. He's sitting there not only in his blessed pathway as man, but he glorified God about the question of sin. And as our brother brought before us, because he has so perfectly glorified God, he's going to have a company in glory around him.
And you'll see of the travel of his soul and be satisfied. Well, thoughts like this.
01:05:04
I trust, encourage us, and I just thought of this little Psalm as it brings before us the pathway of our blessed Savior is a dependent man. What a lovely thing it is to know the position that we've been brought into. But, brethren, it's not just knowing truth. Wonderful it is as it is. But we need to have a person before us, a person who walked in this world, who met all circumstances that we meet day by day, walk through it perfectly.
And He's given us his life. You and I possess the life of Christ, when Christ, who is our life, shall appear.
Then shall we also appear with him in glory, you say? Oh, that's a very difficult path.
We can't do it in our own strength, but oh, it's a blessing and happy path. When we lean upon him, count upon him day by day, moment by moment. Well, brethren, we're getting near the end of our journey here. The Lord is coming soon. May He grant that we not only will get a grasp of the truth, but He'll that we'll set the Lord always before us.
Ah, character creation of love God.
You are your heart.
Lord.