Address—D. 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.
Now let us run. Never tired.
Thy presence shall our comfort be thyself.
Our sole desire.
Our present Savior, while your fear and our sin can come.
In our year.
So I can call attention to that third quarter students, a very precious unchangeable.
My gracious love, our earthly path, has ceased with you.
There knew our feeding heart to move and tender mercy still pursued. If it's ever with us, may they abide.
Those of sin.
That we saw 10166.
Lord, thou hast drawn us after.
Whenever time.
Like president shall more comfort me.
Myself, our whole day, heart.
Our price and say good day, One Lord fear nor sin can fall.
Here for our dear Lord.
Save your wild heart here.
Nor sin, and from.
Unchangeable.
What gracious Lord.
Peace bless you.
Where you are being take heart killers.
Why had their mercy?
Silver swim.
Nothing work with.
God may make a heart.
A close class day and cry every time.
Never when life.
To malify.
Just for a couple of verses. I don't want to spend much time in Malachi, but.
You just turned to Malachi for a minute or two.
First chapter is Malachi and the first verse.
The burden of the word of the Lord.
00:05:00
To Israel by Malachi.
That expression arrested my attention.
Some years ago and I've meditated on it.
And.
I thought of it this way.
God put a burden on the heart of Malachi.
Connection with the word that he had for his people, and what kind of a day was it that now by?
Was called to minister among the people of God wasn't the days of Solomon an all the glory of Israel was was the fame of Solomon went throughout the earth. And there was that bright and beautiful testimony that emanated from the temple that Solomon built in that glorious time of you might say that apex of of the.
History of Israel.
No, you know, it wasn't that.
Was it even the days of?
Ezra and Nehemiah.
When there was that calling back to the time of.
To the place and to the testimony that God has raised up, even though it was just the people that were Remnant, and they came back and took hold of things in effect and real way. No, it's not those days. Things had come down to the very lowest point, far away.
The Old Testament.
You don't have to read far in this book, and we're not going to occupy ourselves with it tonight because I don't think you and I have to be reminded about how low things were in Israel in the time of Malachi.
And I think we feel in some measure how low they are in the.
State in the Lord's people, speaking generally and with respect to those of us who.
Bless and privilege between God within the end of the Word, Jesus Christ.
It's indeed a low day.
Just a little hint of it is given in.
In the various challenges that God gives to the people of Israel, things like a son honors his father and a servant his master. They're six. If I then be a father, where is mine? Honor by be a master, Where is my fears that the Lord host?
Unto you, O priests that despise my name. And what's the response? Wherein have you despised our name? I think if there's anything that characterizes the Book of Malachi.
It's an insensitivity to the state of the people of God.
It's heartbreaking.
God lays something before them and they say in what have we done this? How did we do this?
Beloved brethren and sisters, that is not.
A healthy state of things, not even to recognize what the Lord was so lovingly and graciously bringing to their attention, seeking, to arousing them from the terrible condition that we're in.
Another scripture that comes to mind is.
God says my name shall be great in verse eleven among the heathen.
There's 12 That ye have profaned, in that you say the table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even his feet, is contemptuous.
And you also said what a weariness is it?
You brought that which was torn. I don't think you could get a bleaker picture.
And as they say, it's not my exercise to dwell on that, because that doesn't help us.
By itself, we've got to recognize it, but we've got to see the background against which this book is written. But what's the first point in the burden that God laid?
On Malachi, it's just unbelievably gracious.
00:10:02
Verse two, I have love you.
I have loved you and beloved, if this could be anything that will encourage us and correct us and renew our affections, it's the knowledge of his life for us that's what God would blame us.
Oh, it's true, they said. We're in. That's about one place.
We even called and questioned the love that he had passed forth.
But that was the burden, or the beginning of the burden. I should say. I am lovely. That's the basis on which God is speaking to the minister, basis on which he speaks to you to make tonight I love you.
Isn't that a wonderful thing to lay hold of who God loves us?
And how he is proving that wasn't true.
Is he married?
Have we even comprehended it? No. I'm afraid that many times we say I don't see the word loves me. He loves me. Why is this happening? Why is that happening?
But he lays that down as the faces. I love you except the Lord. I don't know about you, but that's an encouragement that no matter how dark the condition, no matter how discouraging the day in which our lot is cast and beloved brethren, I'm convinced that we are not. And you don't. You and I don't have to debate this point. We know it. We're not in the days of the apostles. We recognize that.
Everything has deteriorated from those wonderful days.
But we sometimes forget that we're not even in the days of the recovery of the truth when there was a fresh taking hold of things in the past century, when God worked in such a wonderful way. And I don't mean to despise either what he did at the time of the Reformation. Those are bright spots, and they're encouraging.
And that very same truth you and I have the privilege of maintaining, but against the backdrop of total ruin and departure. What a privilege.
But the thing that he assures himself right at the very beginning is I love.
I have loved you.
Keep in mind that whole black bleak picture and let's turn it over to the.
16th verse of the third chapter verse we often.
Read together and I love this course. I just.
It is such food for our souls and such an encouragement to us. But there's a word at the beginning of that verse that we sometimes don't notice.
That when?
When in the midst of that condition of things.
That was such a burden to Malachi that the Lord had laid on him to bring out into.
And to charge Israel with in the midst of that when you could very easily say what's the use, why should we carry on, why should we try anymore? Everything is all falling apart and you know there's giving up on every side and the enemy is attacking this and you know I, I.
I was heartbroken. I was talking to him.
Brother the other day and told me about someone I loved very much, in fact the fellow that's related to me, the flesh, he said. I just heard that. He says I'm finished with brethren, I'm not going on with bread, and anymore I'm tired.
Oh, what an awful statement.
Here it says Then in the midst of all that then they that feared the Lord.
Take off in one to another. They didn't give up on things.
They had sweet communion together.
And believe me, I don't believe after reading this verse carefully that they sat and talked about troubles among the people of God. I don't think that was their occupation at all. That's soul destroying president and we're still trying to do it in front of our children. And I think we make a great mistake when we do. I know you have to talk about things.
Things that have to be spoken about. There are conditions that have to be addressed, but let's be careful that we don't become occupied. In fact, I think the Spirit of God is bringing before us here. Beloved brethren, and I trust will agree with me that their occupation was with him. They're speaking to one another often.
00:15:23
That was so appreciated by the Lord was not a question of hashing over the troubles that were among the people of God, but I believe that they had their souls taken up with the glory of the Lord.
They had their souls taken up with what was due to him.
I think that's why it says they they feared the Lord, but they feared the Lord in the midst of this careless condition of things.
What? What a weariness it is. And how have we just advised the table of the Lord? How have we polluted it? How have we done this? In the midst of that, there was this little company of believers that fear the Lord, and they spake often one to another.
Many just talk to one another after meeting on some reviews. The expression, I mean, we're not talking about somebody here, of course, Lord, we're talking about the people of Israel. But it wasn't just, well, I saw you at the Temple last week, you know, or the synagogue and we had a few words on the way out the door. I don't believe that was the thought at all.
I believe they took every opportunity to encourage one another to and to speak to one another, and to bring before one another the claims that and the value there is in the name of God, the name of Jehovah, and of course for us is the precious name of Jesus.
And the word heart. It's a sobering thing that the Lord hears everything you say.
I've sat down sometimes at a conference and trust I'm.
Saying this, I sat down at a conference in between meetings and I appreciate those times of fellowship at the conference almost as much as the meeting themselves as the opportunity to sit together and talk together at a table or.
A little after meeting or a little time perhaps in a hospitality room or something like that. A very valuable times. But sometimes I've gone back to my wherever I was staying and I've said to myself, have you stopped to think the word, heard every word that you said to me.
Did you speak gratification to your brethren, or was it rehashing of difficulties, or or was it discouraging to them? Did you encourage your breath? The Lord hearkened and heard, and the book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord.
You see, that's the first thing that's brought before us about these people is that they feared the Lord. Twice In this verse, he's mentioned that they feared the Lord.
A lot of our difficulties from our brethren is believers are that we have not been walking here before.
We are not walking in the spirit of the Lord, and I'm not saying this to discourage anyone, because the last thing I want to do is discourage someone, but for exercise that there is a lack of fear of the Lord. May the Lord increase that fear. I was just reading an encouraging verse, and I as I was reading it, it just brought before me a fresh.
Time when Charles Krauss and I were talking. And this goes back a lot of years. It goes back to when Frankel remember we were just reminiscing before the meeting 38 years ago. Frank wasn't.
When we were in the army together. I wasn't even gathered at the time, but I remember Charles Krauss mentioning to me a verse.
Be valid. The fear of the Lord all the day long and that has stuck with me. I've gone back to that verse over and over again. That's the secret of a life that's pleasing to the Lord.
Is to walk in the fear of God.
To be concerned for his place, his brains, his glory. To have that before our hearts so often. What's before us? When I speak for myself, we have to answer for yourself. What is before is very often is how do I look to the others. It's not how how I maintain God's brains in this matter. How am I concerned about what is due to the Lord in these things?
00:20:10
And so twice in this verse it speaks to those who feared the Lord in the thought upon his name.
Fought upon this nation.
All that that name brings before us, and this is the name of Jehovah.
And our occupation is with that one whose name is Jacob.
It was a lot connected to your life and beloved as to what his name represents.
And that's where God would have a soccer player. Now, I'd like to cast from this scene that perhaps is a little bit, you might say, on the negative side. And I don't intend it to be that way. But you know, brethren, we can, we can say, well, we don't want any negative ministry. And if we do that, we're we're really in some ways criticizing the word of God because the word of God has a lot of negative ministry in it.
But it isn't solely made. It has as its object the restoration of our affection for Christ. And if God has to bring something before us that hurts and that exercises is, it's not to discourage you. It's not to turn us aside, but rather to stir up in this fresh affection for the person, to praise fresh love for him, fresh care. As to our war, it's a good thing sometimes to look back over our lives and and and think about things. The second of Jeremiah brings that line of things before us. God says, I remember when things were a little different with you.
What's happened? Did I change?
Graciously thought to challenge us in that way. Have you found something in me?
We have to answer no, it's not being married. It's us. It's us.
We're the ones, and it's good for us to look back over our lives and take stock of things and get into the Lord's presence. And that's always the object of the ministry that God has for us that we might call negative. It's never the discouragement of the people of God or the imposition of legal requirements on our beloved brethren. That isn't the thought at all. God wants to stir anew in our hearts that affection for Christ that would produce.
A life pleasing to him.
Does he parking? He surely does. He's written it down and I'd like to take the amount 400 years beyond this point. 400. We call them the Silent Years.
Because God was silent as.
Revelation is concerned doing this, so 400 years and take you on to where I believe that story of that little group in Malachi 316 is brought out again. For our encouragement, let's go to the Gospel of Luke.
Who are these people? Who are these that feared the Lord and the thought upon his name? And you know, I'm delighted as I've meditated on the early chapters of Luke to think that the spirit of God, whatever whatever record he has, and I'm sure it's a wonderful record of these things in in heaven, I believe that also he has given us a record on earth.
Of the same company. Morally, what do I mean by that? I mean that the people that you see in the beginning of the gospel of Luke.
Are the very same people, morally, that God was speaking about, and all during those 400 silent years, I believe that He lets us know that there was that little company of those who hear the Lord and they fought upon His name.
Don't you want to be part of that kind of company? And at the end of Luke, I don't want to get ahead of myself, but at the end of the Gospel of Luke, I believe the Lord Jesus, and reading them out to Bethany takes that same little Jewish remnant.
And takes them out to Christian ground, so to speak.
Puts their gaze upon himself in glory. And then we go to the second book of Luke and we find the cooling out of that people for his name that we know as the Christian assembly. And it's a delight to our souls to see how the spirit of God puts his finger on that little fruit. You don't find him in Matthew, because what Matthew is laying before us are the claims of the king and the rejection of the king.
00:25:04
By the nation of Israel, and it's a very solemn picture. But you do find you in Luke. I'd like to just notice a few of them for encouragement.
Let's look at the first chapter of Luke in the fifth verse.
There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the course of obvious, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth, and they were both righteous before God walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blames. Now we could say a lot of things about these two, but the things I'd like to just call attention to first of all.
Is that the Spirit of God pulls attention to the fact that they were obedient in a very practical way to the Old Testament scriptures. God had told them they were to marry within their tribe, and they find that Zacharias at the course of abya with legitimate priesthood in the courses of the priesthood establishment. David.
And Elizabeth were of that triumph of the daughters of Aaron, and they were therefore obedient to God in that wonderful way. And then the verse 6 which is very precious, they were both righteous before gone.
Now that's one sided things. I believe that brings before us to stand.
Not in the false sense of the New Testament, of course, where our standing is so much more secure and clear. But nevertheless, they were righteous before God, and then it goes on to say, walking, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blames. Does that mean they were perfect as far as never airing or sitting? Well, I don't think you have to go far in this chapter to find it. That Zechariah's your man that he was, He failed and believed it.
And the Angel has to give him a governmental.
And a sign of that and giving them to be done until God had worked past that which he did not take hold of fully at the time. But I think the point is that they had a good testimony that went along with their standing. And you know, beloved, I think that's the first thing that the spirit of God be presented for us in connection with the little remnant that we read about in Malachi 3. Not only do they have a perfect standing before God.
That they walk consistent with that.
And they didn't pick and choose among what they'd like to obey. It says, well, commandments of an unworthy of the Lord's language. That is, I believe that within the limits of their human frailty, I believe it is. Zechariah has put it very practically. But Zacharias and Elizabeth read something in the word of God that they had in their hands, which was the Old Testament. They said, oh, let's walk. And they did.
To the glory of God.
It wouldn't that be nice if that was true of us.
God expects that He doesn't. He hasn't let down his standards, no matter how things have gone in those years since during those 400 silent years. And we know that when the Lord came on earth, he found no real fruit.
There was nothing really for God speaking nationally, wasn't it?
That's the side of things. It's very solemn. You can't looking for food and there's nothing.
Oh, what a delight to him.
And to our souls that here was this couple, that in spite of the general ruin, in spite of the general failure, they were not only blameless, they were not only righteous before God. As to expanding what they were angels in a practical way in a war. And I don't know about you, but that exercises my heart.
Because I believe that's what God has something to say for us about practical righteousness.
Then I'd like to know this first aid, because I think it goes along with it and it came to pass that while he executed the police office before God in the order of this course.
00:30:07
Just like we're stuck there from home.
Point out that this man.
Fulfilled his priesthood.
You and I have sat in the presence of the Lord with all the blessed truth of the universal priesthood and believers known to us defended by us.
Perhaps even ministered on to others that are not with us.
When we sit there sometimes and.
And the one year where the priest.
We're the priests.
Where are the ones that are exercising their priesthood?
That are fulfilling Mr. Darby's translation says that they that he fulfilled his priestly service before God like just like to challenge each one of the SO sisters and now I can I don't have to listen No, I don't believe that's true at all. You have to listen just as well every one of us as we come here.
On the.
Especially on the Wednesday morning, it's Gavin around that blessed one to remember him in his death.
There is a priesthood and there's there's there's a fulfilling nothing. And God would exercise our hearts. The little remnant that He brings before us in Malachi 3, and in particular this one example that I think he takes each one with a little lesson to be learned. And in the case of Zechariah, we learned that he fulfilled his priestly service.
Before his brethren? Is that what it says?
We do that sometimes. I don't know about you, but I do sometimes more conscious of fulfilling it before brethren, before God, when we fulfill our priesthood, eliminates before God, before God, and then it says in the order of this course.
Well, there was a due order. We know that David establish those 24 courses of the priesthood and the Abbia was the 8th one of those.
Way from that, it's it's not original to me, but William Lincoln has very clearly, I think, calculated the birth of the Lord to be sometime in the month of September based on the priesthood of Zechariah being when it was and taking all the dates and filling in the times. And I don't believe the spirit of God occupies us with that. But I just suggested that if you stop to think about it a little bit, you'll see that perhaps the word came. He's Tacernacles. What a wonderful thought.
That is so, but at any rate.
In the order of this course. What's the order of our course?
You see, God had an order in the Old Testament that was in the 24 courses of the priesthood, and they each had their two weekly biweekly.
Service to serve before God and Abby didn't. Obvious priesthood Zacharias. Priesthood of the course of Bobby. He didn't come up in, let's say in the middle of September and say, well, you know, I'd like to take part this month and only did it in the order of his quotes.
Well, what is our order? We don't take turns and we don't say, well brother, someone so close to bread. Last Lords day. I guess it's my turn this week. No, that isn't the order of things in the New Testament, is it? And the order of our course is as led by the Holy Spirit of God.
May we be exercised by them.
And then it causes tension to the fact that in verse 8 his lock was deferring incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
And we don't go into the temple, do we, in the sense of what they did. But as we come into the presence of God, what is it that we're bringing? Self or insects?
What does incense speak of? Oh, it speaks of the fragrance of that blessed one.
More of his perfection.
Which goes up to God as a sweet savor, all that. That might be our occupation in our priesthood, that we might burn that instance before the Lord, that we might do it in the due order of that course. Now, I said, the sisters are kind of part of that part of the priest. Of course they.
And dear sister, I'm sure you know it. I'm just going to repeat it because sometimes we forget it your state.
00:35:01
As you come into the presence of the Lord affects the state of the assembly.
The package goes up to God.
Christ.
I'm sure there are other brothers here who have had the experience, and I have been having a dear sister come up with any after the meeting and study all. Brother, I'm so glad you gave up that hand. That was on my mind and I was thinking about it and just meditating on it and I was thinking, oh Lord, even if you want to pull up a brother, to take that out.
And it's just brought tears to my eyes.
It's brought tears to my eyes because I know in my heart.
But it was on her heart 1St and the Lord took it from her heart and put it into mind.
Wasn't me. It was the state of that dear sister that led to that him being given out on the police for God for the wars that allow for God.
It was due to her state of soul in the presence of the Lord.
It's been an encouragement to me. I just mentioned that to the sisters. I'm sure sometimes you think, what point is it to come have to be quiet. I can't say anything. All your state contributes in such a wonderful way.
To that praise that goes up from the assembly, where the brother who speaks only speaks is the mouthpiece of the assembly.
It's a sad thing if we're sitting there going through the hymn book looking for a favorite and.
That is, that isn't fulfilling our priesthood before the Lord and the reorder of our courses.
You know it's God delights to take the praises of the assembly through the Holy Spirit and audibly present.
Gone through the mouth of the brother, or through the whole assembly, singing to him what a wonderful thing that is.
Brethren is so substitute for God, all the human organization and and human arrangements and putting hymns up on the board. And I don't deny sometimes the brother says to me, don't you think I'm addicted that that the minister who's sitting there selecting those hymns that isn't before the Lord about it? Well, that would be a mean thing to say that he isn't.
How much better, how much better to let the Holy Spirit gather those things up from the from the company of the Lord's people and presented to God using whomsoever He will. What a blessed principle. That is what I don't want to delay to going on that. Let's go over to the.
26 words and the first degree.
And in the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent to God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the House of David. And the virgins name was Mary. And the Angel came in unto her, and said, Hail thou that are quietly favored, the Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled, his saying, and casting their mind what manner of satisfaction this should be. And the Angel said unto her, Fear not married, for thou hast found favor of God, and behold, thou shalt conceive of women, Bring forth the sun, and shall call its name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him in the throne of his father David. And we shall reign over the House of Jacob Forever.
And of this Kingdom there should be no way.
Well.
Comment on a number of things in this, but I'd like to point out about your daughter and that I believe that we as those who are rejecting excesses of Catholicism.
Sometimes.
Bad to understand that this woman is indeed blessed.
Among women, among women, that is not out of the place.
But God would not have us in any way despises this chosen vessel. What a privilege to carry.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
In his manhood.
Under her heart for nine months and a careful hands this human needs, They want to say too much because we're treading on very holy ground when you talk about it. But I think we want to keep that in perspective and realize what a wonderful privilege it was for her to be that chosen vessel. But you know, God calls attention to something that's kind of despised and laughed at today. But I just want to read it without comment.
00:40:25
Any young people here tonight? Because there's a few and.
And I just want to be sure that we notice this. It says to a virgin styles to a man whose name is chosen.
Yeah, just leave it there for your conscience.
God does not sanctuary.
Anything that would violate that?
That work?
Point that we have in the 27th verse.
It's laughter. It's made fun of today.
God highly favored that woman, and he held.
She was a chosen vessel.
Say that the whole truth.
The whole truth of the sinless humanity from Lord Jesus Christ.
Kindness upon that fury.
Practical theory.
In court case.
That is.
The truth as to the sinless humanity of the Lord would be impuned, or other than what the Spirit of God gives us here.
Now there's another thing about her verse 38. She says, you hold the handmaid of the Lord we want to be according to thy word. And Major departed from her, And Mary arose in those days, and went into the Hill Country with haste into the city of Judah, and entered into the House of Zechariah, and saluted Elizabeth.
Time to say they want to skip over a few verses and get down.
To 56 and Mary a bogey are.
About 3 months and returned to her own house.
The Angel comes and would like to picture this with me. The Angel comes Gabriel and he makes this wonderful announcement to her and immediately after she learns about Elizabeth.
And finds out that it was six months apart.
Names of total six months.
Very practical.
Blessed Resolved.
She picks up and she goes to her elder Kim's woman.
For two purposes, I can believe. I don't think I'm stretching strictly to say this.
For practical help to her in a difficult time, remember she was an older lady. She went to her for practical health. I think of the world the wonderful revelation that she had just received.
To fellowship with her and you could see what they talked about. Did they talk about things about the practical side of of of of the children and when what they were going to do? That's perfectly proper. There's nothing wrong with that. That's one of the delights of motherhood. We have 13 grandchildren. And sometimes I, I, I enter into more a little bit of connection with the grandchildren. What a joy it is to think about the coming of the child and all the things that you've connected with that the practical side of it, the naming of the baby and all of these wonderful things that happened. And I don't want to take away at all from that, but, you know, there was a higher level too.
Of their community.
Had to do with the glories of that blessed One.
And what God has done in fulfilling His Word and at last, after all these centuries, making good the promise that he made in the third chapter of Genesis in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's just beautiful, and those three months must have been precious for both of them and encouragement to Elizabeth at a difficult time.
It's interesting that Mary doesn't stay into the baby's boy.
She leaves and goes back, and I don't know if I'm right on this. I've talked to some brethren about it, and I'd rather think it's so. I don't think that the Lord revealed the matter to Joseph until Mary got back. I've read it carefully in all the gospel accounts, and I wouldn't press the thought on my brethren, not in any way. I just suggested, for your consideration, that she perhaps spent that entire time.
00:45:20
In her own personal exercise with the Lord, shared only with Elizabeth as to what she had learned.
Because when Joseph finds out.
And if you think about the timing of it, now that Mary has been carrying a child about three months.
Comes back.
Now The thing is evident, and now Joseph says it.
I don't know what to do.
And he's put through a test. He didn't know what the situation was. He was upright. God honored him for his uprightness.
Didn't leave him in doubt very long.
But there was that little exercise.
I think it's just sweet to think about what a communion they must have had together once the Angel had.
Appeared to Joseph, considered Joseph.
Don't fear. Take care that your wife. There's nothing wrong there. I'll tell you what happened. I believe it was a great rejoicing in the two of them. I don't think I'm stretching scripture to imagine lesser time they must have had sharing together the evening the communications that each one of them had received independently. I'm sure of that. As to the timing of it, I can only suggest to it.
It seems to have been a time of testing in between.
To appearances, at any rate, what a wonderful thing it could be when they shared together what God had done and when he was full delight, acknowledged her as his wife.
Well, with Passover, the rest of that chapter and we'll come to the second chapter and the eighth verse.
The scriptures are so well known to us that you can ensure safely Passover the details and leave that for your own personal reading. But I'd like to read.
Verse 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
I've often imagined this scene I had the privilege in 1968 to.
To go out on what they call the shepherds field and that's not him.
Everybody else is flocking to the Church of the activity at so last place I'm going to go. I did go in. I was sorry I went afterwards, but.
What I I don't think because someone they took me down into the grotto where the Lord was supposed to have been born and all adored with silver and and priests around, all around lights playing on and all this sort of pageantry. And if it was replacing, perhaps it was.
It just stayed growing and I preferred myself. I went out on that little field and I tried to think about those shepherds faithfully watching over their flat spraying.
And I believe that's another characteristic of the little remnant that we have in Malachi 3 is faithfulness and the responsibilities of America is committed to us. There's a care for his sheep.
Some of us were talking at supper time tonight.
We're crying, really for shattered upon God's people.
Thank God for every faithful shepherd.
Thank God for the local brothers too, who in obedience to.
The word communicated through Peter and through Paul are shepherding the flock of God. There was a moment taking the oversight. Thank God for that. But there's a real need of a loving in that faithfulness, and I believe the little remnant.
That God notices and pays attention to Luke as if he's saying here are the individual characteristics.
Of that little company that I brought before you with Malachi 3, here they are seen in their details. Here are the particular things that I want to call attention to, and I'm not pretending that I've gathered them up with any sufficiency, But there's a few of them there, aren't there? There's things that exercise our hearts, and these men were there, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by money.
00:50:16
It's a dark day.
And the enemy? Whoa.
See the higher our office.
How do it? The shepherds are busy too. Watching. It isn't so much what we do as it is a watchfulness, and it's important.
And I I think there's a precious thing in what the Apostle Paul says. They watch over your souls as those that have to give an account.
A brother or sister is concerned about me.
And they're watching over my soul. I ought to realize why they're doing that. They're doing it because they have to give an account to God.
There's a day of reckoning coming. There is a Chief Shepherd who's going to appear, and he's going to reward those who are faithful in the carrying out of that responsibility of watching over the fly, and especially beloved in the night in which our mind is cast.
How important, how pleasing to God it is, if there are those who are faith in that.
Well verse 9 And lone Angel of the Lord came upon me, and the glory of the Lord shone round the balcony.
An Angel said unto them, feared not. For behold, I believe good societies of great joy, which shall be to all people who know. That account is so precious that I want to go down to verse 15. And it came to pass as the angels were going away from them into heaven.
The shepherd said, one to another.
I'm going to put it this way to bring out what it does not say.
Well, let's sit down and talk about this.
And think about it and let's study this. You know, let us go even now until that's what happened, and see this thing which has come to pass. Beloved, I believe that the little faithful remnant that we have, Malachi 3, one of the things that characterizes them is not so much that they study the truth as they go see the truth.
And it's feeling.
And experience the truth now. Now you don't misunderstand doctrines of all importance of life.
Without doctrine, there is no Christianity.
But it isn't just the study of the God wants us to.
See this language is continuing.
Which the word is made, but it's the sons of the prophets in the Old Testament we find they say with with correctness to Elijah. Don't you know your master is going to be taking the most of your head today? What did he say to you? I know he's silent. Be quiet.
Why did he tell them to be cautioned? Well, they were. They were looking at it as an academic thing. There's nothing more dead in the soul than taking truth academically and dealing with it academically. God wants us to make it good to our souls, something that we enjoy, something that takes up our affection.
Something that we're living through.
Relation is walking from place to place with Elijah. He was in the good of the same thing that they had appeared.
So, he says. Can you be quiet? I'm relentless. I'm going place to place. To me, it's a real thing.
And I think in the case of these these.
Blessed Shepherds.
As they took counsel, one with another, they said let's go and see.
Don't you think they were part of that little remnant that we had to Malachi 3? I think so. And it says, And they waved, came with haste and found Mary and Joseph in the faith line in a Manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the same which was told them concerning this trial and all they had heard. It wondered that those things which you told them by the Champions.
And then I just hastily want to call attention to Mary again. It says that she kept all these things and pondered, for their part, not in their head.
00:55:02
Not in her head, in her heart.
God wants us to be so taken up with the truth that it's our.
That we ponder it in our hearts. That's what meditation is all about, beloved. It isn't some some mystical thing that was invented out in the East, You know, Miss meditation is clearly brought before us in Scripture, but it always has an option, and I believe that it was the object of their parts to the Occupy.
A little rapid camp.
The last two of which you will not speak up about this full attention from your exercise.
Around and semi.
So the end of that picture said in that order from the output many years ago that the mother father-in-law and some of you know and.
Such a dear man of God, he was preaching its Scranton on listening. It's.
Spoke with Cinderella, taking the board in his arms. Mr. Gill called attention after the meeting to something that my father-in-law treasured the rest of his life, Mr.
Translation says that you received.
You receive.
Was a certain respect there, isn't it? It's beautiful you're receiving it, he says now. Lord, let thy servant be part of peace, for mine eyes have seen my salvation.
Was he an old man?
The word doesn't say beloved.
I think it could be perhaps inferred than he was.
But I don't think that's what the Spirit of God is occupying this. I believe that we are in the same position.
Times you're sending it. We have our eyes have seen a salvation, and we're ready to report now.
We don't have to wait to get old.
We don't have to be. My dad is 88 now and he's.
And the enjoyment of that looking forward to coming up the board.
But I thought, sometimes this dad has war.
Reason to say, let my surgeon depart in peace? In some ways, yes. He's got a very cold and happy life.
Whose of the Lord and his path? But I don't think.
In the sense that we have here that you and I were perhaps a little younger.
Grab center, close the over what that is, but I don't think that's a question they should. I think it's a question of satisfactory department, correct?
And once you have gotten your eyes filled with him, once you have been occupied with him, the Spirit of God is taking your heart and occupies you with him.
I think you can say now where there's nothing more to do down here, I'm ready to go. And you can say that at 18 or you can say it at 88.
Lord, we're ready and I need to go. Have I an object, Lord below, to divide my heart with faith, which with divergences and flow, and the answer to thy constituency?
Is there any hope, however, dear? No, nothing be thou be objective, praise and fear still unsatisfied apart.
He was old, you know, It's just encouraging. I can just picture that woman. I don't know if she went out of the temple afterwards. She didn't go out of the temple before.
By the way, I just call attention to the fact there are two words used temple in the Bible and the testament. One is the shrine itself and the other is the might say the temple compound that she really lived in the temple compound. I'm sure she went out of the temple at the South, you know she spoke of him to all.
Action in history.
What did she speak about?
The weather.
The deteriorating conditions in Israel. So she spoke, May that be our object, may that be that which the Spirit of God stirs in your heart and mind.
11:00 will be encouraged. I don't care how dark the day gets.
Will be that.
Encouraging them, and that's why Paul says I believe it's Paul for sure.
Hebrews chapter 10 but encouraging this translation for encouraging one another and so much more. As you see with that approach, are we downcast and thinking everything is 1? There's not much left. Well, that's true in a certain way. It's still hot in you still have that option that the Holy Spirit cuts before our hearts.
01:00:19
And improvement and encouraging one of them.
So much good morning as we see today.