Open—John Kemp
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.
But, brethren, we are still in the wilderness scene.
We are not yet in the glory.
It's wonderful to be together at a conference like this.
We're encouraged. We're built up.
We're strengthened in the inner man, but you cannot live on past experiences.
A conference is a wonderful opportunity. We receive refreshment.
And fellowship that binds us together, but that's not going to give us strength for the days that are ahead. The same problems that you left behind in your assembly will be there when you return.
What we need, brethren, is.
Dependence upon the Lord every step of our pathway.
We need the intercession of the Lord.
As our great High Priest and our advocate, how else could we get through the wilderness scene encompassed with infirmities, failures, weakness on every side in the testimony of those gathered to the Lord's name?
There's much weakness, and we see it in our own hearts, but let us remember that we have an unsailing resource.
In that man at the right hand of God, the Lord took manhood into union with himself.
At His incarnation and He will never give up that manhood for all eternity. And now at God's right hand, He is interceding every hour of every day for you and me. In our weakness, the high priestly work of Christ is to keep us from falling.
The advocacy advocacy of Christ.
Is to restore us when we have failed, how much we need that when we fail, when we sinned, when we dishonored the Lord, His advocacy. Advocacy comes into into the operation for us there at God's right hand. It's His intercession that leads us to judge whatever it is.
That has separated us.
From the Lord and communion with the word of God and with the person of Christ. So I'm going to reverse or two here and then I'll I'll stop because our time is limited. Hebrews chapter 4 verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens.
Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we are not in High Priest.
Which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
But was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, or sin apart. So there we have at God's right hand a living man who has passed through this world before us. He has suffered everything that a righteous man could suffer. He knows the trials of the way he could say.
Reproach us. Broken my heart.
I am full of holiness. He looked for comfort and he didn't receive it. He felt the rejection of man. And we are in the same world that crucified Christ. Yes, there's been great progress.
In science and technology, but the world is the same as the same character.
As the day that they crucified the Son of God and put him to an open shame. But that man has triumphed over all the power of Satan and hell arrayed against him there in the Garden of Gethsemane.
At the at the tomb there to prevent his resurrection, and he broke through every.
00:05:09
Barrier of sin and death and hell.
And he rose in in triumph, and there he is at God's right hand, a living man, touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Are you going through a difficult time in your life? You have some infirmity that is troubling you, distressing you. The Lord understands that perfectly.
Although he had no infirmities, that's a mistake that theologians make. The war did not have infirmities.
But you and I do. And infirmity in itself is not a sin, but it can lead to failure in our lives if we don't draw upon the resources that we have in price there at God's right hand. That infirmity, of whatever character it might be can lead to sin in our lives, murmuring, complaining, as the children of Israel did for so many years.
But the Lord is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. If you look back in the book of Exodus, I think you are familiar with it. The garments of the high priest for glory and beauty, those those were not the garments in which atonement was made. The high priest made atonement in linen garments that were white and pure. But.
The garments of glory and beauty are a picture to us.
Of the intercession of our Lord Jesus at this present time on your behalf. He's living there for you. He has your name upon His heart and upon His shoulders. There were two Onyx stones on each shoulder, six names of one of the tribes of Israel here, and six names on the other shoulder.
Security. Eternal security.
Safety. We will never perish, neither shall any man pluck us out of his hand. But also there were 12 Stones on the breastplate of the high priest. And remember, those stones were not the same. They were all different. You read it. We won't take time to do so in Exodus. I think it's 28 or 29.
Each storm was different, and dear brethren, your name is on.
The heart of the Lord today, He knows all about your weakness and your failure. We all have different personalities. Thank God for that. And we all have different weaknesses and we have different backgrounds and we have different infirmities and we sometimes think, does anyone understand what I am going through?
These trials and distresses.
The Lord perfectly understands.
Brother, brother, Gordon used to say, Well known to Robert and I, There's not very many people that you can pour out your heart to.
That you can really unburden your heart to without any reservation. We don't have many people like that in this world. We try to keep those things to ourselves, perhaps with our wife, but.
Remember, there's one that you can pull out your heart to. Read Psalm 42 as the ups and downs of the Christian life. There is one you can pour out your heart to. He understands. He has perfect sympathy. Sympathy.
As our great High Priest, he can uphold us, support us in our weakness.
I do a little bit of gospel work from time to time, but I often feel my weakness when I start out with my hands filled with tracks where I often have to say I don't have the energy. I don't seem to have this spiritual power. Today I have to look up independence on the Lord.
At those times and he comes in marvelously and provides.
What I need to go on in a little service for the Lord. Listen, brethren, the Lord has the record straight, and I don't want to change the thought here, but the Lord is interceding. Your name is on His heart. He has an individual love for every one of you. I'm not a father, but if you are, you know you have an individual.
00:10:21
Understanding.
Of each child, they're different, and so the Lord has an individual love for everyone of you.
He knows all about your background and He loves you in spite of all that you have done. You know, you've probably done something I have that I never thought I would do. That's the heart of man. We are capable of any sin, and if the Lord doesn't keep us, we can fall into any evil and we can drift from the Lord's swings.
And.
We have to have the exhortation, say, to archipelas.
Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received of the Lord, that thou fulfill it. We can become careless. We can start to drift. We don't drift into godliness. Oh no. That's a result of self judgment and walking in obedience and dependence. We can drift away from the Lord very easily. As I said last yesterday, we're not standing still. We're either progressing in our spiritual life.
Understanding more of the precious word of God or we're retrograding, we're going back and.
So we need to be dependent on the Lord every day of our lives, and the conference is a wonderful time for encouragement. But remember.
We need daily feeding upon the Word of God.
We need prayer. How Neil was speaking to me, how often we neglect prayer. That's one of the three.
Provisions the Lord has made in this chapter, the Word of God #2 The priestly work of Christ, which I have tried to describe. And the third, the throne of grace. The greatest victories of your life will be on your knees.
How important that we start the day in prayer and dependence or else we're going to have a defeat that we we know that only too well and but there's supply of grace and time of need mercy to restore us. I'm humbled as I think of the many the hundreds of times the Lord has restored my soul.
And if there is genuine confession?
Of that failure, a self judgment. Don't excuse yourself. That's my weakness, that's the way I'm made. Don't talk like that. The Lord has abundant race to overcome that weakness.
And that that tendency towards something that is contrary to the word of God. Our brother Robert read about the.
The Bride in Revelation 19.
I understand the way in which he applied it. One interpretation to scripture, many applications.
The bride was arrayed. We won't take time to turn them, we just read it.
The bride is arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, and you'll notice the rest of the verse, the flying linen is the righteousnesses of the Saints. It's it should be translated that way, plural righteousnesses of the Saints. It is not divine righteousness. We have that through the work of Christ.
We're perfectly justified. We're reconciled to God through the work of Christ.
That's not the thought in that verse. It is our works, our conduct down here while we are in the wilderness. What we have done by the grace of God for the interest, the extension of the Lord's Kingdom and to be occupied with the interests of Christ, it's going to be manifest in that day.
Prior to the bride being displayed of all her beauty.
Is the judgment seat of Christ and everything in your life? Brethren, mine too will come out at that day of manifestation. Not for judgment. No, it's not a a punishment to you or anyone, but there will be reward and there will be loss. There will be reward for any faithfulness in your life.
00:15:20
Your presence here at this conference.
There'll be a reward for that in the glory. That's part of the fine linen, that's part of the righteousnesses of the Saints. Every little act of devotedness in your life and mine is recorded in the book of Remembrance. The Lord is keeping a record. He and someday a bit of remembrance will be opened there. Your name will be on that page and.
Everything done for Christ will be rewarded, even a cup of cold water, so that encourages us.
Brethren, to live in view of eternity, we're so occupied with the world and with with the thing, with all the confusion and turmoil that we have in the world today. Don't be discouraged. Listen, every discouragement is from the enemy of your soul.
Don't be like the man in Zechariah chapter two or three.
He had a measuring line and he was going around through Jerusalem to measure the size of the city. And if you do that, you're going to be disappointed. You're going to be discouraged because things among the gathered Saints is weak today. But remember, the day is coming. You read there when the Lord is going to be as a fire and.
Glory of Jerusalem, the nation will be restored to.
Kingdom glory and power, and the day is coming when all will be revealed.
Everything that you have done will be manifest.
There is such a thing as a saved soul and a lost life. We hardly have time to speak of lot, but that's a that's a prime example, a saved soul and a lost life. Are you going to meet lost in heaven? Or you say he was in sovereign and the moral condition of his family was was terrible. Is he going to be in heaven? Yes, we're going to meet law in heaven.
But there's not going to be much.
That remains from his life.
He had his eyes on the world.
What was his object was present advantage, and he separated from Abraham, as you know, and his eyes were lifted up on the beautiful plains out there. Why? This is like the Garden of Eden, just like Egypt. That's where Abraham had taken him. So Abraham was responsible for taking law into Egypt, and he got a taste of Egypt that never left him.
But we know the end of law. There he was in the city of Sodom, his soul that his righteous soul vexed every day with the ungodly conduct of that of those people. The judgment of God was hanging over them. Firing brimstone was going to fall, and there was a lot sitting in the gate trying to improve things. He was a dead failure.
He shouldn't have been there at all and finally God in his mercy pulled him out.
And his daughter and his wife look back. Why did she look back?
Her heart was back there in Sodom. That's why she looked back. Her family was there. She didn't believe that God was going to destroy Sodom. No, I don't. I don't believe that. She looked back.
Contrary to what God said to her, don't look back and you know what happened to her. Well, the point that I'm trying to make, perhaps very sailingly, is.
Continue on brethren in the assembly where the Lord has gathered you to his precious name it is the most wonderful privilege you can have this side of the glory don't take the measuring stick out and try to judge the the condition of things we're part of the ruin.
We we can't lift our heads and say that we are the people we failed.
Collectively and certainly we failed. Individually we're conscious of that. But the Lord has not failed, and it's his delight to look down and see a little company. There may be only a small number in your assembly. You say there's no young people, there's not much activity going on. Let's go to this other place. The Lord has gathered you to His name. That is the most precious thing.
00:20:27
On this side of the glory, and if you continue on in the place where he has put his name, like it. I am the Old Testament. You know, David was fleeing for his life. He had been.
He had been expelled from Jerusalem by his own son, Absalom, who was a usurper and took the throne. You know the story. And there was David, fleeing for his life.
And it was a time of tears and crying. He had a little company with him, but it I came along and it I said, David, I want to be with you all, David said.
Why do you want to come with us? It I I can't promise you any glory. I can't promise you any comfort. I'm fleeing for my life. You better go back to your country. It I said no where you are, David, I'm going to be. Is it a difficult path? It doesn't matter. It's your presence that I want. And so, brethren.
I'm familiar with what's going on in the camp.
I have contacts in the camp, I know the amount of activity, but I would just encourage you in closing, remember that the Lord's presence is here in the assembly and collectively the Lord does not connect himself with two companies. You say this is very exclusive. There's one divine ground and gathering if the Lord has LED you here.
Continue. Don't give up.
Like Moses, at one time he was ready to give up and the Lord said to him, go on before the people, be an example. Don't yield to discouragement. You know, I believe the enemy uses discouragement more than anything else in our lives. He's a master at that. That's one of his main weapons.
Discouragement. And if he can discourage you or me.
And he's tried it. He will do so and draw you away from the Word of God, of course, from the assembly gathered to his name and from the fellowship that we are enjoying this weekend. Satan is the author of discouragement, you know.
The first Peter chapter 5.
It speaks of Satan as a roaring lion. We often connect that with persecution. However, when the Saints of God have been persecuted, they're usually bright and happy. But if a If a believer becomes discouraged and is hang, sound, hands hang down and his knees become feeble, and he begins to miss the meetings.
Perhaps the first one he misses is the prayer meeting. I said yesterday, that's the pulse of the assembly, the prayer meeting. And gradually discouragement comes in and and then Satan has won the victory. The Wiles of the Devil, Ephesians chapter 6, I believe the Wiles of the of the devil.
Is this he?
Will try to discourage you and.
He doesn't want you to believe that those circumstances he has allowed in your life are for your good.
Doubts as to the goodness that is in the heart of God is the result is the cause of all our faith doubting the goodness that is in the heart of God. Satan's a master at it, and if he can do it, he has won the victory. That's one of his Wiles, the Wiles of Satan. Brethren, let us continue on as our brother.
Robert has said we're just on the threshold of the Lord's return.
00:25:02
And we are to hold fast that which thou hast. Let no man take thy crown. You can't lose your eternal life, but you can lose your crown. And let us remember that the Lord will reward every act of devotedness in your life. The sisters this morning didn't take part.
It would be disobedience to the word of God if they publicly took part, but every thought that you sisters have had about the Lord Jesus this morning.
About His love and grace in our beautiful meeting this morning. That's recorded in heaven. That's recorded and it's going to be rewarded.
Sometimes I don't know idea how it is with my beloved brethren, but I find Lord's Day mourning. The enemy takes my mind here, there, and everywhere. But we need to. We need. I don't like to use the word focus, but you know what I mean. We need to think about.
The sufferings of Christ, the cost of our redemption, His love, unspeakable love, the the gift of God.
In the person and work of His beloved Son. And He would have us.
Not only did He die in order to have your company for eternity in heaven, we know that for sure the Lord wants to have your company now in this world. He wants you to walk with Him to enjoy His company. But if there's something in your life that is contrary to the Word of God, whatever it is, it's going to be.
A barrier to your communion with the Lord.
And if you don't have communion with the Lord, you've lost everything that is worth living for. May we be careful in our walk. Walk carefully and prayerfully, and remember that we have a great High priest interceding for us every hour of every day. And we have the Word of God to direct, to comfort, to instruct, to support, to give us wisdom.
For every step of the pathway, Divine wisdom.
In the world of turmoil and unrest, and also I'll just close. We are left here for one reason, brethren. We are left here to be a testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Like I my wife is Brazilian, as you all know.
At one time we were invited to a social event. There was nothing immoral about it in Ottawa, where all the Brazilians in the Ottawa area were invited to meet the ambassador to Brazil and his wife. So we went. We took some gospel material with us in Portuguese.
My wife is, I think, the best distributor of of Portuguese material that I know.
And we met the ambassador and his wife.
It was a privilege, but that man, a place of honor and respect. He was appointed by the government of Brazil. He lives in Ottawa. I know his house. I've never been invited, but I know where he lives. Beautiful house, but you know, he's a stranger here in in Canada. He doesn't belong here. He belongs to Brazil.
And he's only here to represent his country. And if you, if he does get.
Involved in the politics in Ottawa.
The president of Brazil will recall him immediately. He is there to represent Brazil, and that's what you and I are here for, to represent Christ, to hold forth the word of life. We are surrounded by souls that are perishing and going on to a lost eternity, and we have the root of life. Where you say I'm not an evangelist.
Well, there's not very many of them.
With Doctor Russell was asked the question, he said. I would think Doctor Wolston was an evangelist if anyone was, he says. I don't know.
But I'm trying to do the work of an evangelist, so everyone of us, young and old.
Sisters and brothers, we can be an ambassador for Christ. We can throw forth the word of life, and we can.
00:30:00
We can be a representation of Christ because the world is watching. They're watching closely. They know how a Christian should walk. Well, I've gone too far and I've jumped around. But may the Lord bless these few thoughts, and may we continue on, brethren, in the path of faith and faithfulness, until we hear the shout.
Maybe tonight. Thank you.