Open—N. Berry, R. Boulard, K. Gorgas
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I don't think you need me to tell you that.
We're living in dark days in the history of the world.
The history of Christianity, particularly.
There are three areas that I want, I should say Eris, I suppose, better the present day.
That faces you and me. I look into the faces of teenagers here.
And young women's. And I tell you, I tremble.
Not tremble for you.
To be in these days.
But I tremble for the problems they're going to face you if the Lord doesn't come very soon.
The world plunging down deeper and deeper into violence, corruption, and I don't want to dwell on that, but I just want to let you know that I've got a burden on my heart.
For the younger ones.
And we have opportunities today to hear the truth. I thank God from the bottom of my heart that I've been brought up in the assembly.
And I want to pass on only what I have been taught in the assembly. I don't want to add anything and I don't want to take anything away.
Secondly, we look back and see in God's precious, perfect book that which has been before us in connection with the book of Colossians. It's the same thing there.
The Apostle Paul could detect what was happening in that assembly 2000 years ago when there was the addition to the truth.
Of Christ as the Head.
Human.
Eloquence.
Human philosophies.
And.
We might say.
Delving into codes, there it was right in Colossians looking worshipping of angels and so on.
And what a wonderful thing it is, beloved ones, for you and me to have a book that is today for 1995. And we can draw from Colossians as we have warnings and encouragements to hold the head Christ. We sang in that wonderful hymn 174-O fix our earnest gaze. So, holy Lord.
Unity that with the O the occupied we elsewhere. None I see.
Three.
The word of God.
Goes back into a period 500 years before Christ lived and there was a story that we're going to look at tonight, this afternoon. It carries the same message and I just trust that I get the message as well as passing it on to you. I'm not here to lecture you, but I'm here to point a finger to one person.
Christ. So let's turn in our Bible to see this beautiful story.
Hidden in the Old Testament, not very long. I'm going to go over it fast, quickly, and I'd ask you for your attention because I'm just going to touch the highlights and let you build on it for yourself and your own profit, depending on your state of soul. Second Kings chapter 4.
This was the day. Let me just give a little bit of a background.
00:05:04
This was the day.
When the two one Israel had been divided long before in the days of Rio bomb.
And they were. There were two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, the ones that are back in the land now, 1995, and the 10 tribes who broke up, who went off into idolatry. Idolatry.
Many profits were raised up to speak and warn the two tribes.
But there weren't very many that were raised up to speak to the 10 tribes.
There were two men, particularly as the days got darker and darker and darker. And here are two men, Elijah and Elisha.
And they were called to speak a message from God to those 10 tribes. And if we're not going to trace it, but you can read it for your own profit to see how that those 10 tribes went down and down and down.
Compromising, adding something to what God had ordained for the blessing of his belly and beloved people in those Old Testament days. They were going from bath to worse. And Elijah, as you remember, and Elijah walked together Monday. Elijah was taken to heaven, taken to heaven. You and I may be feeling a little bit like this.
That those that we looked up to and to and were a blessing in our souls, they're going 1 by 1 to the glory, and you and I are being left here to hold the banner of truth for the glory of God and the exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And here's Elisha alone. Things weren't going well for him. He was a man of God and he had power from God to perform a number of miracles. We're not going to go into that. But here we are getting on in the story of Elisha and he's talking with some people. He's talking to the sons of the prophets. I'm looking into the faces of some of the sons of older generation. As a matter of fact, the brother that took the gospel last night.
I knew his great grandfather.
Tell you stories about him.
And those ones have gone from us now. And Elisha might have been feeling very much alone, but he was walking with God day by day.
What were the what were the surroundings about? Uh, uh, those circumstances around them? A famine, A famine.
Was that an accident? No, it wasn't. It was allowed of God because their departure, the giving up, the truth. We're in a day of famine, beloved ones.
Is it an accident? No, it's not. God is speaking to us. He wants you and me to realize not looking at somebody else and blaming them, but looking into my own heart, your own heart. So here is a time when Elijah.
Invites the sons of the Prophet.
Of the profit to a meal. It was the time, as I said, when nothing was growing. So we're going to pick up the story now. He has these young men. I want to address you younger ones on my heart this afternoon. Look now at verse 38.
Second Kings 438 and Elisha came again to Gilgal Oh. I would love to spend time on this, but I just dropped these points. Gilgal Oh, it's a vital spot. It's where there is the teaching of the death to flesh until everything that can add nothing to my Christian life, nothing.
The world, the philosophies, education. Whatever it may. I'm not talking against education.
00:10:03
But I am saying that Satan is subtly leading us into these things that would occupy our mind. And you don't need me to tell you that it's the world is full of it these days. And so here this man Elisha came again to Gilgal. Wonderful story. Right after they crossed the Jordan, they went to Gilgal. A picture of death to the flesh.
Now the middle of the next part of 38 and there was a dearth or a famine in the land.
I've covered that.
And the sons of the prophets were sitting before him. Beautiful. Who is Elisha? A picture of no one but Christ.
Is that where you're sitting? Is that where I'm sitting? I'm not talking physically, dear younger ones, I'm talking about your life.
Yeah. Is that where you're sitting?
This was the day we were sitting, all these Suns, ones of the next generations may be grandsons, great grandsons. And here they were sitting looking at one man, just looking at him and says there doesn't it, they were before him. And he said unto his servant. Elisha said to his servant.
Set on the great pot. Beautiful grey pot.
Titus 213 says.
Looking for that blessed hope and the appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, great God, he has a great thought for you to feed that day by day. And Elijah says, set on the great part, It's somewhat like the 22nd of Luke where the Lord when they asked the Lord, where wilt thou that we gather? And the Lord told the two, the disciples to go and they would find a man bearing a pitcher of waterfall of the man. And they would be led to a house and they would go to knock on the door and say, where is the gas chamber? And I'm, uh, the man that comes the door says, come in and I'll show you.
It was a great upper room, great upper room, great pot. He is feeding on Christ.
Are you at that great pot room enough for us all, broad enough for every believer on the face of the earth to be feeding to our heavenly delight with that food, even Christ himself? And so he says, set on one man, He tells, set on the great pot, and see the pottage for the sons of the prophets.
They were to have it prepared so that it would be nourishment. I asked you. I asked myself, are we nourishing ourselves with the food that comes from heaven, The Word of God, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is that what you and I are feeding on?
I'll leave those questions for your conscience on my own, verse 39.
Here's the sad note. Doesn't say who it was, but it says and one went out. I want to say this and I know it's kind of touchy.
But I like to compare this story not only with the Christian walk, but what it means to be gathered.
To the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the truth that was revealed by Christ in heaven, in heaven to one man, one man. The Apostle Paul, he got it directly from Christ. The secrets that have been locked in the heart of God from our past eternity not revealed in the annals of time of the Old Testament, revealed to one man.
Brethren, do we value what it means to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?
What has Satan done? He had, he attacked the highest truth 1St and if he can break the foundations of your confidence in the Word of God and the truth of Christ as the one gathering center, he'll do it. He'll do it and he has made great success, as we know, in these 2000 years. So one, where'd he go? It says he went out.
00:15:19
No, I just leave that thought with you. You want a lot of going out these days.
One way Rd. they have good intentions. We have to give them credit for it. Maybe he didn't think very much. On the other hand, maybe he did a lot of thinking. But one of the thoughts he had was I can add something, I can add a little bit. He had a good intention, he's going to get hers. Nothing wrong with herbs, but The thing is there were no herbs around because there was a famine.
And the one thought was prepared and ready to be eaten there, and one went out to gather herbs.
No, I don't want to be lecturing of beloved ones, but are we satisfied?
To be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. It costs. It'll cost us something.
It's a little bit look, not a little bit a great deal look down. And as the days get darker, beloved ones, the test is going to get greater and greater for that truth is going to be attacked more and more.
One went out and it says there.
To gather herbs. Middle of 39.
He went out with a good intention. What did he find? And found Wild Vine.
That's what he found.
I said you're fine, that's what I'll find.
If I look for anything outside of Christ and the assembly that has been established on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down and joined all the Christian believers into one body. And for Ephesians four and three says being diligent, give diligence to maintain that unity of the Spirit, the unity of the Spirit, not the unity of the body. That can't be broken, but the unity of the Spirit can. And you and I can break it.
If we're not having our eyes single upon Jesus Christ.
And so he goes out to find the herb, at least to look for the herbs, and found wild vine. That's the natural condition of a fan of a day of famine. No water. So these gourds, they're hard shelled. Uh, I don't know, I don't want to spend time on that. But it was a hard shelled fruit, uh, probably would grow in a time when there was a lack of.
Of rain.
And he finds wild goods and gathered them.
A lap for it was a scarcity of good, rich life, satisfying food, but there was no lack of the gourds, the wild gourds. And if we're looking around and saying, well, look at that group and look at this group and oh, they got a lot of nice things. Yes, maybe so. But this Christ is the Spirit of God.
Leading the way or our?
Own desires, our own thinking. So he gets a whole lot full. Think about that. Think of those words.
Didn't say a handful a lap full.
And.
Came he went out and he came with his lap full of gourds. Unknown to the others, you'll see it in the morning and shred them into the pot of pottage. Cut them up fine. Cut it very SM small. Any shredders you know, went through a shredder and it was so small that it and the and then it says notice the next thing.
And they knew not. Now in the a little more accurate translation of those words, it says they knew they.
Uh, for they did not know.
00:20:04
They did not know the rest of the sons of the prophets, didn't know. Imperceptible into the assembly can creep things.
That we may, uh, creep in, that we may not be conscious of a little compromise here and a little compromise there and, uh, rode away. It's found. And here was what this man did and they, he gets, the more people didn't say he dumped this into the pot. It says they. So he collected some of his friends possibly and they put it into the pot.
Next verse.
So they poured out for doesn't say the sun, it says men this time 3 descriptions of this group for the men to eat had good intentions, they needed food and so here they start to eat it take it in next part and it came to pass as they were eating.
Of the pottage that they.
Cried out. Notice the words there. They cried out. Not one man cried out and said, whoa, there's something wrong with this food. Somebody might have said, oh, that's that's because you've got the wrong taste. There's nothing wrong with this food. Oh, there was a discernment. And what do you and I need, beloved ones? Heavenly discernment.
Direction by the Spirit of God.
According to the word, they detected that there was poison. Let's read the rest of it and we're eating up the porridge. And they cried out and said, oh, thou man of God, wasn't that lovely? They called right to the man. The man of God was Elijah. That's the one to go to beloved ones when we just don't know when we hear these things.
Uh said and we say, well it sounds logical. Oh, get down on your knees before God besides your bed and cry it to him and ask him to tell you, they said.
Man of God, there is death in the past and if you and I allow ourselves to be indulging into things that are from the human mind.
It's going to be not going to you're not going to lose your salvation, but you're going to lose the joy of your salvation and you're going to learn and lose the the joy of the truth of walking with the Lord with a good conscience day by day as Hebrews brings before us, and they could not eat.
Wonderful.
Now, I'm not talking about legality and I'm not saying Oh no, I'm too superior. No, no, no, no, I don't mean that. But there was discernment from God that there was poison in that pot. They didn't know where it came from, but they had discernment. I asked you, I and I asked myself.
Do I have the discernment from God when things don't go exactly as I like? And when we hear things said, it's rather puzzling sometimes. Uh, get to the Lord, get to him. He's the one, He's the answer. He is the answer, and so.
There verse 41.
But but this is nice, isn't it? But.
He said.
Just a very simple mind. He didn't say, well, I'll have to go and consult some, umm, some of these people are experts on food and see what, uh, they're going to analog analyze this. No, he said simple words and I trust that they will burn into your heart and conscience and mine too this afternoon and said, then bring meal.
Well, if we're a little bit, uh, experienced in reading the book of Leviticus, we find offerings there in the first chapter of Leviticus brings before us the burnt offering. That's the aspect of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for God, not for your sins, for God. That's the highest of them all. The next one is the meal offering and that is like all the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.
00:25:23
Bringing before us the life of Christ. And I have been taught for many years that we have the epistles for the wilderness journey while we're here on earth. But when we get to the glory, we're going to revert to the Gospels, the life of Christ. And that's what you and I need.
Occupation with Christ, his life.
Then bring meal. Let's bring Christ into the picture. Let's bring Christ into the problems, and they'll dissolve in the assemblies.
When Christ is poured into the pot, and he cast it into the pot, and he said, so calm, so undisturbed repose.
And he said, pour out for the sons of the prophets. No for the men, no for the people. Oh, it's not lovely enough for everybody. Yeah, that great pot. Let's share. Let's tell others, uh, and not be ashamed of Christ as the one gathering center, as it was in those Preston days of the days of Pentecost.
How little the blessed Lord Jesus has left on this earth. A little glory as left as he looks down onto this earth today. May you and I, beloved ones, have Christ before us to give him the glory that he deserves. And what does it say then that they may eat that? We've been hearing a lot of truth.
Are you eating that truth? We're going to go out shortly in a few a day or two and we're going to be back at uh, not school, but we're going to be back at work and back in our home areas. Are we going to eat this food that we have been hearing precious ministry of Christ? We're going to eat it. Oh, you dear young ones, you need to eat that. You need to eat it. I see one of the meetings are over is the dash of the young kid.
Down to the dining room. Oh, wonderful. I like to see that. But what about the heavenly food? Yeah.
Whatever are we eating the gourds like the Sunday school at Roland was telling us about this morning? What are we eating? Are we eating? Are the ashes or are the gourds that the world provides or?
As it says there pour out for the people, people everyone tell other believers about Christ as the one gathering center that they may eat and there was no harm in the pot. The harm was liquidated. It was gone because of the administration of Christ as that.
Heavenly food.
Their loved ones. May we be feeding ourselves on Christ.
Rather, might we turn to the first chapter of the book of Ruth very, very briefly, and Ruth and I'd like to read a couple of verses in Second Samuel and 1St Kings.
So we just had in the hymn that we sang, the last verse of this little hymn written by J&D Will keep us love divine near thee that we are nothingness may know. And ever to thy glory be walking in faith while here below. It takes purpose of heart to walk in faith to walk by faith that takes purpose of heart while here. If we just read a few verses in the book of Ruth, to be brief.
In umm from verse one of chapter one.
Now it came to pass in the days of the judges, when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah went to soldier, and in the country of Moab he and his wife and his two sons. And then verse 5 And Malon and Kalyan died also, both of them, And the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab.
00:30:22
How that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her, and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
And then it says in verse 9, The Lord grant you, that ye may find rest, each of you, in the House of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice and wept. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people, and then down a little further.
In verse 14. And they lifted up their voice, and wept again. And Orpha kissed her mother-in-law, but Roost clave unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law has gone back unto her people, and unto her gods, return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee, For whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge.
Thy people shall be my people, and thy God shall be my God.
My purpose here is to just very briefly read these verses about Ruth. She was out of the land of Moab, and if we will read a little bit further on in the Word of God and it reveals there that the God of the Moab was Keemosh.
Ruth had never been to the land of Israel.
We have uh, here very instructive situation where the Lord tells us, the Spirit of God tells us that Naomi told them to go to her mother's house. What was that house like?
It had no doubt an idol in it, perhaps if it didn't have an idol in it. That household was new to God, Kimash. That's the kind of house that that girl came from.
Well, we ought to be thankful for each one here that has been brought up in a Christian home that hasn't had an idol in the home. And we ought to be thankful for the position that we're in here this afternoon. I often find myself at home reading my Bible and I lift up myself, my head, and I thank God for his sovereign grace. Sovereign grace that I am reading my Bible.
At home, dear friends, today, brethren, should we not lift up our voices in sovereign grace? We're sitting here in this little room with our Bibles on our knees, bringing Christ before one another so that Christ might be precious before us. This girl, she knew the what Key Mosh was. I don't know what Key Mosh really was, but she didn't want to go back there. She had heard perhaps something of the land of Israel and the bread that was there.
And she by faith, wanted to leave that place. She didn't want to go back to her mother's house. She wanted to go into the land of Israel. And she said at the end of her sixteen, my God, thy God, pardon me, my people, thy people shall be my people, and thy God, my God. So she had seen in faith that the God of Israel was a God that required faith.
And she wanted to go unto that God. If you look just a little further on in the book of Ruth here, it says.
In verse, uh.
14.
We'll read the last chapter of Ruth in verse 14, Ruth chapter 4 and verse 14. It says, the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that thy name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee restorer of thy life, and a nourisher in thine old age for thy daughter-in-law which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons hath borne him. And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom, and it became nursed onto it. And the women, her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi, and they called his name.
00:35:00
All bad. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Dear brethren, I don't think Ruth ever forgot where she came from.
When David heard the story of Ruth, he heard the story, no doubt, about his great grandmother. He knew where she came from.
Young people, do you know where you come from?
You know where your parents, if they bought the truth, where did they come from? They bought the truth. You're here this afternoon. Ruth knew where she came from. David heard where Ruth came from. David never went back to Moab to, to quash. He lived in faith before God. Well, I want to turn to Second Samuel, chapter 12.
In verse 24, Second Samuel chapter 12 and verse 24.
Just one phrase in that verse, right at the end it says he called his name Solomon and the Lord loved him.
And then if you'll turn to 1St Kings.
Chapter 3.
And verse 3.
I'll read the two little lines together here. It says that verse in Second Samuel chapter 12 and in First Kings chapter 3 and verse three it says.
His name was Solomon, and the Lord loved him, and Solomon loved the Lord.
I love those two lines. I love those two verses of Scripture. The Spirit of God records that God loves Solomon and God loves every one of us here in this room. He knows each one. He knows the burdens of each one. He knows the pathway of each one. He knows the obedience, the faithfulness of each one, and even the disobedience and unfaithfulness of each one of us. And he loves us. Solomon here was at the beginning of his pathway and when he was born.
God records in his Word that the Lord loved him.
When Solomon was a little bit older.
When he became king, it says that Solomon loved the Lord.
That's a real encouragement to my heart.
Solomon started off very well.
What we'll find as we go on in this book that Solomon forgot where Ruth came from.
Solomon loved the Lord and if we look at verse in chapter three of First Kings, the first verse it says Solomon made an affinity, made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David.
I won't get into all the types, but if you look just very briefly at Deuteronomy chapter 17, we'll let you read the whole thing on your own time, but for our own exercise, it should speak to us here. It says in Deuteronomy chapter 17 and verse 16. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to the end that he should multiply horses. For as much as the Lord has said unto him unto you, you shall henceforth return no more that way.
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turned not away. Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Well, we find that Solomon blessed, was blessed of the Lord.
He was given, uh, many riches. He walked in faith for a time. But it says in verse 9 here of chapter three of First Kings, it says that solemn asks for something. He asked for something that was good. He said, give therefore thy servant and understanding heart. If you look in your margin, it says a hearing heart. Give therefore thy servant and a hearing heart. Do we have heart, dear brethren, to hear?
The voice of the Lord, the Lord in his purposes of love, says to us, don't multiply things in this scene. They may be good in themselves, but don't multiply them in this scene. They'll take your heart and turn it aside from following the Lord. Well, there was there's three incidences in Solomon's life I'd look to. I'd like to just mention very briefly in connection with his walk, the Lord appeared to Solomon twice.
00:40:10
And he talked to him once.
He appeared to Solomon twice.
And the last time he didn't appear to him, we're not told in Scripture he appeared to him. We're told that the Lord talked to Solomon.
Well, if we'll find the first time that he spoke to him and appeared to him is in Chapter 3.
And it's connection in connection with the sacrifices. I'd like to read verses four and five of First Kings three. It says the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there for there was for that was the great high place. 1000 burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar in Gibeon. The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night. And then you can read on your own what God said to him a little further on it says in verse 15 of the same chapter.
And Solomon awoke, and behold, it was a dream, and he came to Jerusalem.
And stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. And offered up burnt offerings, and offered.
Peace offerings and made a feast to all his servants.
Dear brethren, there are a good many high places in this world. There are places to offer a burnt offering.
That are not in keeping with what the order that the that the word of God spells out for us in scripture. So here we have Solomon going to Jerusalem. Why did he go to Jerusalem?
If you'll look at First Chronicles chapter 21, we won't look at it here, but you'll find there that God told David where that place was, that he had chosen to place his name. And David brought the ark to that place. The ark speaks of the presence of God, the presence of God amongst His people, Israel. And so Solomon didn't go back to the high place in Gibeon. The Tabernacle was there, all the tents and so on.
They were there, but Solomon went, he came to Jerusalem then he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. He had some communion with Christ, with the Lord God, his God communion that the peace offering. So that's the first time that Solomon.
And then if you look a little further on in Chapter 9, I believe.
Chapter 9 and verse 2.
The Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and my supplication thou hast made before me. I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, and put my name there forever. Mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
Loving brethren, there is a place in this scene where the Lord has cha chosen to place His name, and his eyes and his heart are there perpetually until he takes us home to be with himself. The Lord's heart is there. His people are there. His heart is there. Pharaoh knew, we heard yesterday of how Farrell wanted the children left in Egypt. He wanted the children left there. He knew that the heart.
Of the fathers and the mothers would be taken up with their children and they'd soon be back to Egypt. But here the Lord, his people are in the assembly. His heart is there, his eyes are there too. Well, that was a promise that the Lord made to Solomon and he appeared to him there a second time. Well, let's look at the third time, the last time that God spoke to Solomon that we have a record of is in Chapter 11.
And.
Verse two, First Kings 11 and verse 2.
The Lord part way through the verse, the Lord said unto the children of Israel, you shall not go in unto into them, neither shall they come into you unto you, for surely they will turn your heart after their gods. And Solomon clay to these in love. And a little further path on in verse four, part way through verse four. And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
00:45:07
And then it says in verse 7 then did Solomon build and high place for Camash the abomination of Moab? In verse 9 the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.
Every one of us has to buy the truth the word of God tells us by the truth and sell it not also tells us to guide thine heart in the way. Guide thine heart in the way. Solomon, dear man of God, man of faith, we're gonna see Solomon in glory. I forgot to guide his heart in the way He forgot where Ruth came from. I have, uh, often imagined.
A conversation between Ruth and her great, great great grandson Solomon.
What would she say to him?
I left Moab, I left Camash, I left my family that was taken up in idolatry. And you went back to idolatry. You went back, you built.
A host, a high place for key mock, in the very land of Israel, where the living God lives and reigns, where he gave us the word of God. Why did you do it, Solomon?
But dear friends, this scripture has exercised my soul how to exercise each one of us. Where did we come from?
The Lord has worked to bring us here to this place this morning, this afternoon. God has worked very hard in your life to save your soul, says that Solomon, God loves Solomon, and then it says a little later on that Solomon loved the Lord. God worked in your heart, in your soul by his Spirit to make you his.
He has purchased you. He worked hard in your sorrow, in your heart, to get you to confess that you are a Sinner on the way to hell and to accept His Son as Savior. I trust there's no one here in this room that's lost this afternoon. He worked hard to do that, and He's worked hard to bring you, to make you by faith see the place where He has chosen to place His name. I trust you have seen that place. I trust you've found it. Ruth went to Jerusalem. Ruth went to Bethlehem. Actually, she went to Bethlehem. She went into the land of Israel to the House of bread.
But Solomon.
Forgot.
Where his great, great great grandmother came from.
Dear brethren, let us not forget those that went before us and bought the truth and passed it on from one generation to another.
And with tears from one generation to another on their knees.
Have prayed that we would not sell the truth and that we would remember where they came from. Each one of us has a different story to tell, but the work of the Spirit of God.
That brings us into His presence, that gathers us. If you look in the Scriptures, any time that the Spirit of God gathers the people together, you'll you can enjoy thoughts of how it's the work of the Spirit of God. I'll tell you one little story before I leave this portion.
I worked with a lady once not too long ago. Her name is Brenda.
She was brought up in a Christian home.
He was brought up in a home.
Where they went to Sunday school and where they were brought to meetings week by week.
And she married an unbeliever.
We're never told that Pharaoh's daughter had faith in God.
With an unequal yoke, he should have never had many of the wives that he had.
This girl married an unbeliever.
She had two children. I went to visit that girl one day. I delivered something to her house.
And I saw the two girls there. I'd never seen them before. And then later on at work that week, I asked her.
Whether they were saved or not, did they know the Lord Jesus as their Savior? And she said no.
00:50:04
They don't know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. They've never accepted the Lord Jesus as their savior.
And I said, did you never bring them to the meeting? Did you never bring them to the gospel meeting? Did you never bring them to Sunday school? No, I never did.
My mother sometimes brought them to Sunday school.
Brenda, did you read your children Bible stories? Did you read them a Bible calendar in the morning before they went to school? Did you sit down and read them the Scriptures? No.
Dear brethren, I told that girl that God saved her precious soul. She'll never be lost. She can't be lost. She'll be in glory. But unless in sovereign grace the Lord comes in, she'll be in glory and her children will be in hell.
It's a very solemn thing to marry.
An unbeliever.
Very, very solemn thing to marry an unbeliever and go on and lose the testimony of a life that perhaps has begun. Well, the Lord loves Solomon, and Solomon loved the Lord.
If you're a young person and you're in an.
Going out with someone, perhaps that's not saved or contemplating such a move? Don't do it.
Don't do it. It's very, very dangerous thing. Solomon Sun lost his Kingdom, the bulk of his Kingdom, as a result of an unequal yoke and a result of not personally buying the truth and remembering where he came from.
Chapter 3.
Verse 20.
For our conversation or that citizenship, our citizens citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fastened like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. In a couple of days this country that we live in is gonna celebrate a birthday.
There'll be fireworks and parades and lots of excitement and speeches and patriotic feelings all around, but we if we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are not citizens here.
I said that's a strange thing to say with an American flag right behind you, but we're not. We're citizens of heaven and these things have been brought before us in the Reading meeting. Our life is hid up there with Christ and that's where our citizenship is. When I was a little boy I lived over in Switzerland and every year on the 4th of July, the American ambassador, Ambassador Tubby I think his name was.
With with the American citizens in Switzerland would put together a 4th of July.
Celebration and Americans would all come together and remember that they were Americans in this foreign land. But you wouldn't see us voting in the Swiss elections, would you? He wouldn't get speeches pertaining to how to make Switzerland a little bit more comfortable for Americans there. No, we sense that we were in an earthly sense. We were citizens of a different country and we had no business in the affairs of the country in which we lived.
Now it was brought before us that there's.
Sometimes there's wild gourds that are thrown into the pot and as a wild gourd that's thrown into the pot of chrysanthemum. And that's the notion that we have some business with the governments of this world. And I'd like you to next few minutes to just look at a few scriptures pertaining to government and see what God has to say about it, where it came from, what is this end and what's the Christians relation to it. And just close with a look at the coming government. And it'll never be taken away.
Let's just look for a moment in the book of Genesis.
Right at the end of the flood. Right after the flood.
In terms of the the uh.
The 9th chapter of Genesis.
00:55:03
And the fifth verse.
Well, let's just look at the first verse to begin, God bless Noah and his sons and send it to them. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. And then was committed dominion over all the things in the earth. First of all, heaven. Surely your blood, your blood of your lives will I require at the hand of every beast. Will I require it in the hand of uh, and at the hand of man at the hand of every man's brother will I require the life of man? Who's thou shed if man's blood by man.
Shall his blood be sent from the image of God made he man? We're taught in school, at least I was, that there's certain things. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights given by our Creator. And that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, and that they derive their just consent from those governed. That the power of government comes from underneath. That people give to a ruling government the power to be over them.
But we don't find that here. We find that power comes down.
God said to man he instituted government in a world that had already fallen as a way to maintain some order and to carry out his plans. So we see the government does not come from underneath, it's given, delegated by God and is backed with. We don't have the time to go through it, but if we look always the command in the New Testament is to be obedient to the governments that are here, even a bad government. What could be worse than the Roman Empire was the Christians.
Is it just because it's a good government that is to be obeyed? No. To submit ourselves to every ordinance of man. They're ordained of God. God has put these things here.
To, umm, work out his own counsel, bring to the book of Daniel.
OK.
Chapter 2 and we won't go in. Well, probably most of us very familiar with the story of Nebuchadnezzar dreamed and he saw an image, and he had a very large thing and had a head of gold.
This area was the silver, brass, legs of iron, feet of clay and iron mixed together.
Verse 37 Now our king, king of kings, for the God of heaven has given thee a Kingdom, power, strength and glory. King Solomon given what have been given world dominion, but he turned away, Israel turned away from God, and the government was given over to the Gentiles. What the Scripture called the times of the Gentiles of the nations was instituted here and it started out in God's opinion, an absolute monarchy was the best, the finest part of the type of government.
Closest related and closest uh in copy to God ruling over mankind. Nebuchadnezzar, head of Feingold What he decreed he could decree whoever he wanted to kill, he could kill. Whoever he wanted to keep alive, he could.
Absolute monarchy, and it's degenerated on down to, uh, I guess you'd call it a constitutional monarchy, A government where the law of the Medes and Persians couldn't be changed and even the king was under the law.
And we're taught in school that that's good, it's better that law is ruled rather than that king is law. But that isn't what God says. And we might as well see here God's estimation. What we're taught in Scripture is directly the opposite of what we're taught in the world pertaining to government, God says.
A descending derived power is the right way and an absolute monarchy. God viewed views as the finest point of uh, type of government. And it disintegrates on in lesser and lesser values as it goes down, but it ends. But let's go to verse 40. The 4th Kingdom shall be strong as iron for as much as iron breaketh in pieces and subdue with all things as an I as iron that breaketh all these, uh, as, uh, as iron that breaketh all these, they're still at breaking pieces and brews. And whereas the thoughts, the feet and toes, part of Potter's clay and part of iron, the Kingdom shall be divided.
But there shall be in it.
Of the strength of the iron. For as much as the thoughts of the iron mixed with myory clay, and as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the Kingdom shall be broken, shall be partly strong and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men. Democracy coming in it, It's held to us, and we're taught that it's the greatest thing, democracy. Or if it can just spread throughout the world, the world to be a better place.
01:00:14
But it won't be. The heart of man is to choose a thief and a robbery.
For God, when man is able to do his own electing, he will not choose the best man. Our hearts want someone to be over us who allow us to sin. When the when the all the different trees came together and had to pick a ruler, what did they pick? The Bramble Bush to rule over them. That's what democracy does. Now am I trying to incite a riot against the United States? God forbid the scripture says to be subject whatever the laws are the law of the land were to be subject to. But let's understand where it's going.
So what happens here? Is this a good, great, wonderful thing? No, it's the weakest point of the government. And let's go on and see what happens. And then these days, uh, but they shall not cleave to one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of these kings shall be the God of heaven, set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume.
All these kingdoms and it shall stand forever. This morning, as we remembered the Lord Jesus in his death, our hearts were also directed by faith to a coming day when he'll be crowned King of kings and Lord of Lords. But God has already exalted him. God has highly exalted him and given him a name that's above every name. And that's God's purpose before he set this whole.
History into existence was to bring honor to His Son and to have Him glorified over an entire race of worshippers just like Him.
That's the whole reason that things came into being.
It didn't it isn't a contingency plan on God's part man, God didn't make man to live in a wonderful garden and man herd. And so as a result, as a reaction, God now has worked out a way of salvation. And this is the best possible remedy to manage four. It's true to remedy demands 4 but it's God's purpose before the foundation of the earth to have its Son glorified. And so very shortly, this.
World government, the world government that exists, and it's a little different in different countries. In the United States it works one way. In Canada it's a little bit different. If you went to Europe. There's other aspects of it all over this government going on. But God has in mind to set a man on the throne, the one who went down into death, the one who went into awful humiliation, the one who veiled this glory and came into this scene and became a man.
Well, in this very scene where he was rejected in a place where he was spit on, where he was nailed to a cross, mocked, pierced.
Head on mocking robes. We had about that this morning. As the hymn says, royal robes shall soon invest thee royal splendors. Crown 9 Brown has a coming day, varies shortly when the Lord Jesus will be glorified, when his feet will come down and touch the Mount of Olives, and he'll take every eye will see him, and then she'll look on him when they Pierce. That's what's coming about. And the Lord will in a moment, in an instant, do away with the World Government.
Is the image will be ground to powder, it will go away as the dust just disappearing. The Lord Jesus will take the ruling representation of world government, the beach this the scripture calls them, and the false prophet, the religious leader of the world. And in umm with the breath of his nostrils, just with his appearance, they'll be thrown alive into the lake of fire and he'll be crowned king of kings, Lord of Lords. The whole world will bow to him and that's what's coming.
Why should we then, if we belong to the Lord Jesus, and if we know that this is a sure hope that definitely will happen in the not too far distant future, if we see it even now, by faith, we see it. It's clear to us. Why should we want in any way to make friends with a government system? I'm not speaking about the United States government in particular, but in a government with a government system that's about to be destroyed.
Remember this morning our brother put those ashes there.
And be as foolish to make friends with those ashes as it would be to try to make friends with the government system of this world. We're not citizens here. It's a temptation to us, and it's the way of Christendom. If we were to look, take the time to read in the Book of Revelation and we read about the great ***** that is the professing Christendom, what do we find? That the kings of the earth commit fornication with it as an interaction between government and religion.
01:05:29
But the word to us has come out of her my people and be separate and touch not the unclean thing have nothing to do with it because we are citizens of the government that's about to be set up. And if we look at a couple of other verses in Daniel, just if we went through in each of the different, umm, visions that were given to Daniel of the end time, it always ends with that government being set up. And, uh, let's just look at 1:00.
7th chapter.
25th verse.
That beats that we spoke of. And he shall speak 25th verse. And he shall speak, uh, great words against the most puns, to wear out the Saints of the Most High. And things have changed times and laws, and they should be given into his hand until a time and time in the divining of times. But the judgment shall fit, and they shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto the end, and the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of and the greatness of the Kingdom.
Under the whole heaven shall be given. Now listen to this. She'll be given to the people of the Saints of the Most High, whose Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom.
And all dominions will serve and obey him. But not only is the Lord Jesus going to be crowned in his rightful place, but here's a wonderful thing, we with him. Can you imagine that? We with Him, all He won, He wanted to share with us.
That's what we have ahead of us.
Let's not make friends in our hearts with a system that's about to be destroyed. And I've quoted this before. There was a man named Jim Elliott. He gave us life for the gospel in Ecuador. I believe when he said something that when I heard it, I went through my heart like an arrow. And I may not quote it exactly right, but I hope to get the gist of it. Here's a fool who will not give up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.
You're a fool if you won't give up what you can't keep. If you love your life and try to keep it. If you wanna make friends and help to try to align perhaps the government of this country or another country with a Christian agenda and you wanna lend your ballot, that sounds so good. Let's lobby, let's vote. Let's call, let's get involved. Let's write a letter here. You wanna make friends with that system, You're fool because you can't keep it. That system is gonna be done. Away, Pass away.
Gone for good. I think we're gonna share. Those of us who would walk with Christ in his rejection will share in his glory.
Not just that the Kingdom will be delivered to him, but here we get it. The king, uh, the it'll be given to the people of the Saints, the Most High, the Lord Jesus will reign and will reign with him. One last verse in Revelation.
Yeah, and we're we've heard it before in this in the meetings here at the last church period that of the will of the people and the sayings of the people is the time that we're in in church history things democracy is coming to Christendom to such an extent that moral.
Are changed according to the will of the people.
If people would like to condone this lifestyle or that, say this is not wrong, this is not right and so on that it can change according to that's the way things are and Christendom, which we are part of, that is all that calls itself Christianity.
But listen to listen to this.
Verse 21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and sat down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit set unto the churches.
The thing is, now we're not going through a persecution of lions coming after us or being cut in pieces, but the temptation now is to wanna commit fornication with the world and with this system.
01:10:05
And the temptation is to wanna get involved in the world's politics and the world's going on. But to the overcomer, to one that can by grace, by faith, say God has saved me, call me out of this. I'll follow the king in his rejection. I'll suffer with him this little while. What's the reward for overcoming in this time? It's to sit with him on his throne, to reign with him as he sits on his father's throne. What a prospect for us.
It's something that we can easily when we focus our eyes on that coming day, that crowning day, when we see that in our.
Gaze is directed on that. It's easy, then, to let go of the things of this world and press on towards the calling on high.
#173.