Address—E. Smith
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.
General Meetings, Toledo, November 1971. Addressed by brother Eric Smith.
May we sing together number 184100 and 84. There is a name we love to hear, we love to sing it's worth.
It sounds like music in our ear. The sweetest name on earth. He tells us of a savior's love.
Who died to set us free? It tells us of his precious blood.
The sinners perfect clean Jesus, the name we love so well.
Name we love to hear no St. on earth is worth can tell no heart conceive how the number 184.
This morning.
Good night.
There we are.
00:05:00
We shall just read one verse.
From Matthew 18, Matthew 18, one verse verse 20.
That's verse 20 of Matthew 18.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name.
There am I in the midst of them.
We could read it this way.
Where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them.
That word unto there.
Consequently, would exclude every other name.
That is not.
His own blessed name.
I repeat that being gathered unto the Lord's name, unto his name, would exclude every other name.
We might mention we'll come back to this verse later as the Lord enables.
But I might mention this.
That if you, dear young people who are not at the table of the Lord, and you really belong to Christ.
You're missing a joy that's the greatest and the sweetest joy this side of eternity.
The sweetest place this side of eternity is at the table of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now.
Many questions have come to me from the Latin Saints.
And as there are a number of young Christians there, the assemblies have grown beyond all our most.
Precious, all our hopes have been exceeded. I'm really humbled.
As I think of the work there in Bolivia, so many have been happily gathered to the priceless name of Christ during the long years.
You will remember that it was in on October 12, 1920, I went to Bolivia.
And took.
Principles there that had been taught me not by anyone particularly.
But through the reading of books.
By Mr. Darby and Kelly and Bill and Billet.
And Wigram, my brother Hugh, who was laboring for the Lord in the South of New Zealand, where Mr. Deck labored in those early days.
He sent me books, those books to read when I was a young minister so-called.
You might not remember, but I was preaching for some years for the Baptist affiliated in the city of Melbourne and other cities, and the Lord spoke to me definitely through the reading of those books.
We do recommend the most earnestly to you young believers to read those books. Read them, and prayerfully so.
And you find out that something will happen to your spiritual makeup if you do that.
Well, I got a couple of questions recently from some young Christians.
And this was one.
Brother Smith, I'm putting it into English.
Define, please, in simple terms the difference between those gathered to the Lords name and other religious bodies.
And the other question was this.
Why do we meet as we do?
Well, we've tried Beloved to answer those questions.
In a simple way.
And.
I suggested to these dear ones.
The quite a large number of young people.
They pose these questions.
And I wrote to them and in a simple way suggested a few things.
00:10:07
They want to know.
We meet as we do.
They want to know in simple in simple language the difference.
Between those who are gathered to the precious name of Christ and other religious bodies.
They are wanting to know.
Sometimes we wish that the dear young people in our assemblies would have an interest like that.
In these principles of Holy scripture as regards the gathering name.
We would love to see an interest among you, dear ones, concerning this. I know that there are many who do interest themselves, and there are others who are just very casual about these principles that are so precious. Well, I suggested in the first instance.
We'll make this the number one point because of the preciousness of the name of Christ.
Because of his precious the preciousness of the name of Christ.
I'd like to read a portion. I quoted it in my prayer, I think. Would you like to turn down with me to Ephesians, or rather to Philippians?
And chapter 2.
I could quote it perhaps, but sometimes I get mixed up with the English. We read that if you please. That's Philippians 2.
Verse five Let this mind be in you, which was also in the in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God.
Thought it not robbery to be equal with God?
Made himself of no reputation.
And took upon him the form of a servant, and was made.
In the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself.
And became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name.
Which is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Of things in heaven and things in earth.
And things under the Earth, that is to say, in those internal regions.
Every knee will bow there with no reconciliation. Remember there.
But the bowing there to that name?
And that every tongue should confess.
That Jesus Christ is Lord.
To the glory of God the Father.
I began to be interested in this question of a name.
And in reading carefully through the Word of God, I found.
That the name I then had was not scriptural.
So that was the first thing that impressed my soul, dear young people.
Was I going to replace?
That blessed name with a name that's really put there by man.
So I decided against that.
I'd like to read from Colossians one for a moment or two.
By the way, these are scriptures that interested me when I was gathered to the Lord's name in 1918, where Mr. Deck labored. Those meetings are folded, have folded up, unfortunately.
They do not exist.
There were godly men there in full fellowship with the English meetings.
And that fellowship was made real by the visit of Mr. Darby to those five meetings.
00:15:09
And also the visit of Mr. FT Patterson.
Fellowship was linked up with the home meetings in those early days.
It is true that Mister **** failed.
He was a sick man.
Old and he failed to maintain that outside place.
For a period, but he repented of it. And in my library I had I before the band that's broke into my home in Bolivia, I had a copy of that letter that he wrote.
He asked his brethren to forgive him, and he knew that the Lord had forgiven him forever.
Moving away from the divine center.
Well, I was commended to the Lord's work there from that center in 1918.
Colossians one.
These are important verses, beloved.
And verse we might read from 15.
It's Speaking of the Lord Jesus.
Who is the image of the invisible God?
The first born of every creature.
For by Him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are inner, visible, and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body of the Church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have.
The preeminence.
Can we?
Float.
Such a glorious description of the Lord Jesus. This by assuming any other name. I try not if we would be faithful to God, faithful to the Word.
Well, this is one of the points that caused me to make a decision. The preciousness of the name of Christ.
I had an experience in Bolivia that really was a test.
For 15 years the Lord sustained me there. I was the only white man there and the only missionary for for 15 long years.
During those 15 years, there were 15 meetings formed.
Which was a remarkable work of grace among those dear people.
But five of these when 12 missions appeared in that area.
Five of these assemblies.
Left suddenly.
And went over to these other religious bodies.
Well, you can imagine my own spiritual children, all of them spiritual children.
Five of these meetings.
Left and gathered with the other religious bodies.
So for five years I never was able to return to those meetings.
You can imagine the tears and the sorrow. I'm not speaking now against any person you know. You'll understand it. I'm speaking about principles. Principles.
They left and as I mentioned, five years past and I did not have any fellowship there once after.
That period, I got a special letter signed by nine of those presidents saying, Brother Smith, we're in the wrong place.
Won't you come? Won't you come?
Well, I said to my late wife. I said, honey, fix me or something from a saddle bag. That means four days on Mulebeck to get there.
And it was the rainy season and sometimes the water was washing up to the saddle to get across those rivers.
00:20:01
I had to cross over 30 times the river to get there. Four days.
At the last day I came across a small village that had a phone. Oh by the way, in their letter they said they would rape me if I let them know and so I sent a phone call to one brother.
And said I would arrive at 5:00, God willing would they wait for me. Well, I got there. They they welcomed me.
And we forgot about eating anything, and we sat down with the word of God in our hands.
Nine of them.
And we finished talking at 2:30 in the morning.
It was then launched the morning.
And they said, Brother Smith, we see the truth.
We understand the truth. We've been wrong.
In mixing up with other religious bodies that do not honor that blessed name.
Well, they said, this is large the morning we shall break bread together. Well, I said no, brethren, will you notify all the meetings concerning the step you've taken?
And they did.
You'd like to know the leading men in that, wouldn't you? One is called Lino Bueno.
The other is called Dominguez choking.
The other is called the metric 10 years and the other Philemon garnika.
Four of the valiant labors for Christ.
Well, that happened.
They had seen the truth of the Gathering Center. They had really understood.
That while they could love those who were not gathered that way because they belonged to Christ, they had learned that the scriptures would not put them where the other religious bodies were. And so.
They left those religious bodies to this day, Needless to say, these men of God.
Have been signally blessed in the ministry of the work well.
I mentioned that by the way.
Then I suggested that there's another thought that came to me as I wrote these brethren.
The grace of God we seek to give the Holy Spirit His place.
Now some of you young people may have heard, I want you to turn to the Gospel of John.
For a while you may have heard somebody talking about the Holy Spirit being.
An influence.
True, He's that mighty influence for God. But the Holy Spirit is a divine person, He is God.
You cannot distinguish between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God.
John 15.
And verse 26.
These are scriptures, you know that?
These dear ones were interested to read and to study them. And verse 26.
We read here, but when the comforter is come.
Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth.
Which proceedeth from the Father. He shall testify of me. Note, He shall testify of me.
And over in John 16.
And verses 13.
On how be it?
When he, the spirit of truth, is come.
He will guide you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself. And we noticed in our translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Inca tongue, it's rather He shall not speak from Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me.
For he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.
Notice then.
00:25:00
That the Holy Spirit is not an influence in that sense that we are sometimes. We sometimes hear other teachers teaching us or trying to teach us. The Holy Spirit is God.
And.
Here we have the gracious work of the Spirit of God. He takes of the things of Christ, and He reveals them unto us, so that.
They learned in those early days, as these young people we trust will learn now.
That the Holy Spirit Himself is a divine person, and that He.
Is able to teach them the word of God.
At one time, some of the younger men years ago thought they would get along very nicely by going to.
Institute.
Well, I believe they were sincere about that.
But in vain we looked for an institute in the Word of God.
Vain in vain, we look for anything like a mission.
In the word of God with this director.
No, there is one dear young people, who guide you into all truth.
He shall take of the things of Christ. He takes of the things of Christ and reveals them to you.
And there's one ordination of the peace at hand. Yes, I had hands laid on my head.
And the uplifted hand saying I believe.
And I learned after what? What was I believing? What was I believing?
The Lord and His mercy, dear ones, delivered me from the grieve clothes of a worn out Ecclesiastes, and we thank God for the gracious work of the Spirit of God in our lives.
Well then.
We seek by the grace of God to give the Spirit of God His place. Now I want to tell you some an interesting point. This might interest you. It's a very great pleasure to recount this.
When I got back to New Zealand, thoroughly convinced of the ground of gathering through the reading of those books.
Who should meet me? Was my eldest brother, an honoured servant of Christ for years?
And long since with the Lord.
And he said, Eric, I'm going to take you Lords the morning to a meeting.
Would you like to go? I said I certainly would. If you go there, I certainly would like to go.
He said. Now remember, nobody knows you there.
So you just sit back and listen.
I said certain I will.
There were 250 odd, more or less in that meeting in those days when I was commended to the work of the Lord.
And I noticed a table in the center of that gathering, and on the table there was a big bread.
And the goblet of wine with 1 cup.
So I sat there. Very interesting. You can imagine how one would feel.
This was something new to me. And then I began to wonder, who's going to take charge of this meeting?
Who's going to lead this meeting?
I don't see any preacher here.
So you can imagine how I felt.
Though about 15 minutes to 11 They were all quiet. And that's a very nice thing, isn't it, to come 15 minutes before you sit down for table of the lawn.
And they were all in their quietly sitting.
At the hour in 11:00 sharp.
One brother. I didn't know him, of course. Anybody except my own brother. He gave out a hymn. You know which one it was.
Oh Christ, one birds bowed thy head.
My load was laid on thee.
Thou studest in the Sinner stared to bear all I'll for me, and so on.
Well, I thought that was a wonderful hymn. They used this little Flock hymn book, not the one we use now, but the smaller version. They use that for years. Even when I left New Zealand, they were still using.
00:30:05
Well, I thought that was very nice. That's a beautiful hymn.
Then I wondered who will what will happen next?
Well, an elderly brother stood up and he prayed. I never heard a prayer like that. It followed on exactly the lines of the sufferings of Christ.
Now you become very used to this, you dear ones. I know you could become used to these things, but here's one ignorant of everything, sitting there and looking and listening.
Then a brother in another part read from Psalm 22.
And the portion from Psalm 102.
No comments and sat down.
And then they sang another hymn, I just forget which now.
Until it came to the breaking of bread. Then I wondered what would happen then.
Well, 1 old brother got up with his white beard. He stood there at the table and he broke the bread and passed it. They passed it around.
And he sat down, he thanked the Lord, and I remember him saying especially we've come here places save you to remember thee and thy death. All that impressed me, it was to remember the Lord Jesus and his death. That's why we go there. It's preeminently so.
To remember the Lord Jesus in his death is there.
Well.
They partook of it, the same brother came back and he gave thanks for the cup.
And I'll never forget he quoted that Brewers from that same song, same hymn.
Death and the curse were in that cup. Oh, Christ was full for thee.
But thou hast dreamed the last dark drop his empty now for me.
That bitter cup loved, drank it up left but the love for me.
Now at the end of that they sang a hymn. They will. There was a there was a basket then that went round and they put in the the portion that the Lord had given them and then they sang a hymn and the brothers spoke a few words on Psalm 22. I thought it was very nice to follow that same leading of the Spirit of God right through. And in Bolivia you do find that that they follow that same leading. If they begin with the glory of the Lord Jesus, they end with it. If they begin with the suffering, they end with it.
It's very nice. Well, this is my impression. After the meeting came to me, my brother said. Eric, what do you think of it?
Well, I said Brother Hugh, I would love to be there.
I would love to ask from a place. Well, he says. You just wait. You just wait.
And the day came when I asked from the place.
What impressed me, dear one, is the gracious leading of the Spirit of God.
Are we becoming less interested in that glorious fact that the Spirit of God is able and abundantly able to guide us, whether in ministry or in worship?
The Church, Dear Ones, is a is not an organization.
I was brought up to think that the church was an organization. It is not an organization they want, it is an Organism.
An Organism.
Souls redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
Brought into the family of God, whose simple faith what a wonderful thing it is to belong to Christ.
Are we becoming indifferent to this?
That we would.
Instead of the gracious leading of the Spirit of God.
Trust more to organize.
Services. We cannot. We don't want that, beloved. That's not good.
00:35:01
He is able, the Spirit of God is able. Well, this is very interesting to my soul to recount this because.
We seek to give the Holy Spirit His place, the preciousness of His name number one. We would seek, by the grace of God, to give the Holy Spirit His place.
And we long for the days to come back.
When the assemblies were spiritual enough.
To leave the meeting as an open meeting.
Those who were in the energy of the flesh dare not get up because of the power of the Spirit of God.
There was another point we sought to make from the fulfilling of Hebrew 13. I would like to read a little from Hebrews. There's one verse there of Hebrews 13.
And verse.
13 of this.
Let us go forth.
Therefore unto him.
Without the camp.
Bearing his reproach.
What is the camp?
It's this organized system of religion, it is true.
This epistle was addressed to the Hebrew Christians, of course, as you know, and they were much.
Addicted to temple worship and so on.
But God has set it aside.
Is Christianity, dear ones, is not a mere adjunct?
At all. It's a reality.
Now let us go forth unto him, Therefore unto him it says outside the camp. They were seen in the camp, if you read back in the Old Testament.
There was sin there, and we read in Exodus 33, seven that the 10th meeting was moved outside the camp because of it. It was moved out afar off.
Power off.
From the camp.
Are we still unconvinced that we are in the right place by being gathered to the precious name of Christ?
Or are we going tasting sermons? Dear young people listening to this message over the radio, and I warn you concerning that you can be easily tripped up with these messages. There are many preachers who have an element of truth, but suddenly there's something there that's not according to the Word. And oftentimes we do not have discernment to discern this.
Are we satisfied with the Lord Jesus? I want to tell you what happened with the Italians.
One day a missionary came to him and said, tell you, why don't you come to us? We are thousands in the States, we are thousands, and here you are just a handful.
Well, what did tell you say to him?
He said this, dear brother, he says, can you have any more of the Lord Jesus with your thousand than we have with the twos and the threes?
And the missionary had nothing to say. And then he quoted Matthew 18 and 24. Where two or three.
Gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Can you have any more dear young people of the Lord Jesus with the thousands that you can have with the twos and the threes? You just can't.
For where two or three are gathered together unto my name, their mind in the midst of them.
And all the sweetest place on earth, as I mentioned before, is just there, gathered through their precious name.
Apart from all religious systems where the Spirit of God is open and free.
Hmm, to work?
And to think of the things of Christ and reveal the monthly.
00:40:07
I often think of the case of David. You know, a few gathered around him in The Cave of a Dalam.
They weren't very, very nice. They were rather a motley crew, weren't they? Well.
But we do as we read on concerning those who gathered to David, who is a type of the Lord Jesus.
When everything was broken and shattered in Israel, God triumphed His cause, His cause, through the man of His choice.
To David, God kept in his car.
Who? The man of his choice? Yes, he did.
It's nice then to.
Separate yourselves from ecclesiastical error. Now just read with me. Just please. The time goes on.
Timothy, 19 to 22.
19 Nevertheless the foundation of God.
Standeth your having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that name of the name of Christ the Lord.
Depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also wood and earth, of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel and to honor.
Sanctify then meet from a master's use and prepared.
Unto every good work.
The professing church they want is indeed in ruin, but the church in the mind of God is ever perfect. It never could be otherwise.
And here we have in these days of conflict.
When things were in ruin, we have this wonderful second epistle, the mast, that poor route, inspired by the Spirit of God.
Speaks of the foundation of God standing, sure.
And he speaks here in a great house. And that's what.
The camp is today a great House of systematized religion.
Where the Spirit of God is unable.
To you to work with the full liberty that belongs to that divine person.
The foundation of gods and the fuel, that's something you can really and truly rest on.
The Lord knows them that are his.
That's the church in this universal aspect.
And let everyone that name of the name of the Lord, it comes back to a local meeting. Depart from iniquity.
And in this great house there are not only vessels of gold. Gold speaks of deity, of divine righteousness.
Silver would speak of redemption, and then the lesser things of lesser value would and of earth, and it says he has some to honor and some to dishonour.
Do you know when I was a theological student, I could never trust my professors.
Never trust them. One day in deep soul trouble, I said, Sir, do you believe that this is the word of God?
And he said it contains the word of God.
So that then I said, Sir, this is rather conflicting.
Then you would say that part of it is not the word of God and part is exactly exactly.
Oh dear ones, how blessed it is to know that this book.
Is the word of the living God.
I believe this book from cover to cover.
I believe that holy men of God wrote as they were born along by the Spirit of God. Here is a sound foundation for your soul, the word of the living God.
00:45:01
Yes.
Now it says as I talk to one minister, I knew him well.
He was a Baptist, I said, Sir.
We had a talk on this portion, Second Timothy 2.
And I said, do you believe that this is the truth that we are talking about? Yes, Brother Smith, he says that is the truth. I said, what are you going to do about it?
He said I prefer to stay with a hierarchy.
I prefer to stay with a hierarchy.
Well, I said. So you stay there as long as you can.
You stay there as long as you can.
That is to say, if you do not understand the step you take.
And you take it, not understanding it and guided by the Spirit of God into the preciousness of the truth of it. Don't take that step, but let that not dissuade you from everything.
It's the precious, it's the blessed and blessed experience to obey God.
To obeying the truth as it's as light is revealed.
Well, it says he if any man purge himself from these. Do we know what that means?
If any man purge himself from this ecclesiastical thing.
He shall be a vessel and to honor.
Meet for the master's youth.
And I believe you can put in there thoroughly and thoroughly purr, thoroughly prepared unto every good work. And the apostle goes on saying, Flee youthful love, and follow righteousness, faith, love and peace with them that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.
And when I sat there in that meeting, I said there may be failures in these dear ones sitting in this meeting this morning.
But but.
It's a scriptural gathering.
And therefore I asked from a place there.
And I've been happy ever since. Below it happy ever since the.
There's another point and that we can make before we close.
We believe that the body is 1.
Yes, we do.
The body is one. We might read a few verses here.
I'd like to read from First Corinthians 12A while.
Now, you know, you may be well acquainted with these truths, and I'm sure many of you sitting here are well acquainted.
But there has come a day, beloved. I speak as an old man to me, it seems.
That the day has come and is already here when we need to stress these principles anew.
In order to save the grief that goes on among us.
The drift away from the divine center. I believe these principles are urgently needed to be stressed just now.
1St Corinthians 12.
Verse 13 For by 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body?
This is never to be repeated, of course.
Whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be born the free, and have all been made.
To drink into one spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not from hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body.
Where an eye? Where were the hearing if the whole were hearing?
Where was the smelly? But now hath God set the members, everyone of them, in the body, as it hath pleased him?
And if they were, and if they were all one member, where were the bodies? But now are they many members?
Yet but one body.
And so on.
And in verse 27.
That does speak of schism in the body, and we are driven with their faces in the dust these days, beloved because of it.
00:50:06
That there should be no system in the body, but that the member should have the same care.
One for another, and whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ.
And members in particular, yes, we believe that the body is 1, and you get that in Ephesians 4/2.
There is one body.
Will, what are we going to say? We have no time to go into that question. That's a long, it's a long. It's a big matter to even go into that. We have time for that, the one body truth. But we believe these things to be essential, beloved just now.
The preciousness of his name.
The giving of the Holy Spirit His proper place.
The separation from iniquity.
And the stressing continually that law is true, the one body truth. Now when you come back for a moment to Matthew.
18.
And verse 20 again for where two or three.
Are gathered together unto my name. They are mine.
In the midst of them.
Some of you may remember the old Captain Dunlop.
Well, in his Bible this was discovered. His little study on this verse, it has been copied. I know.
Into other places, but I understand.
That in the first instance of the old Captain Dunlop, who got out a little treatise on this verse. And so I took that with me to South America. My brother Hugh got it. I don't know how, but he got it and he gave it to me and I put into Spanish.
And so I'm going to read this.
Some of you may think that it came from another source. Well, that's all right, but this is what I understand. It came from that source.
And he had it this way.
Where the divine place?
Where the divine place?
Two or three the divine testimony.
Are gathered.
Separation to Christ.
The divine place of separation together.
The Divine Oneness.
The divine Oneness, the hunting spirit.
Unto my name.
The divine sufficiency.
There am I, the Divine Presence.
In the midst the divine center.
I thought that was very sweet. I put it into Spanish so often and into Inca too.
For the dear Saints.
Explains it in a very simple way, the preciousness of this verse. Well, we'll now sing a hymn that's getting near the end of the hour.
There was a him I was thinking of and I can't remember the name that. Would a brother suggest something along this line? I had it picked up that I.
Along the line there is a name.
I just forget the the.
The hymn. Perhaps we could find that.
Number six, yes, that's that's it. Thank you.
Number six, Jesus, how much thy name unfolds to every opened year, the pardoned sinners memory holds.
00:55:06
None of the half so dear. Thy name encircles every grace that God, this man could show.
There only could he fully trace and divine a life. Divine below #6 some brothers start.