Address—Bob Thonney
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Every ton confessed his name.
Ryan Samiri.
Oregon, who endures us inner shame?
From the glory, From the glory.
God doth now his worth proclaim.
From the glory, From the glory.
God does now his worth proclaim.
Men across to him awarded.
Man, the Savior crucified.
This world's glory times recorded God's unjust.
This fight.
By thy glory. By the glory.
Christ was claimed on earth. Who died?
By the glory. By the glory.
Christ was claimed on earth. Who died?
Son of Man is incarnation.
Open first, the tale of grace.
Son of Man into creation.
Leader of our chosen race.
Well may glory. Well may glory.
Crown him in the ordered place.
Well make glory. Well make glory.
Crown him in the OR for their place.
Let's pray, Father.
What a tremendous joy it is to our hearts to look up into the glory and to see Thy beloved Son.
The one who hung on that shameful cross.
In the highest position of the whole universe.
Lord Jesus, we bow, we worship, we praise thee for who thou art, for what thou hast done.
This afternoon here we are again, just a few of thy people, but with the desire to open thy word and to speak a little bit from it. And we confess our own complete insufficiency. But we're looking up, Lord Jesus to thee, that thou it's overrule and give according to thy heart, not according to our thoughts. We pray and ask for.
The liberty of Thy Spirit in speaking and hearing. In the name, Father of our Lord Jesus, we ask, Amen.
Like to start by reading.
In John Chapter 7.
Verse 37.
In the last day.
That great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit.
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Which they that believe on him should receive.
For the Holy Ghost was not yet given.
Because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
In our meetings we've been talking in the readings of the Lord Jesus and the power of resurrection that was evident in Him, that death could not exist in His presence. He was the Lord of life. He was that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested into us. Wonderful, wonderful person.
I'd like to speak a little bit beyond what we had.
And what is referred to here are two cardinal truths of the present era in which we live.
Number one.
There was gonna be a man at the glory at the right hand of the glory of God #2 The Spirit would be given.
And it's speaking here in this verse, anticipating what was going to happen and did happen, as we will see in the book of the Acts.
I know, brother, and I've spoken on this before, and I must say that I thoroughly enjoy these two things, and my desire is not to speak anything new here this afternoon, but to present it for the enjoyment of our hearts. To me it is most wonderful to think that there was a man who walked through this world.
A perfect man.
A man who was God manifest in the flesh.
Wonderful to think about it unrecognized in the main, a few did recognize him, like we had of Martha's confession of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God which should come into the world. Wonderful that a few did recognize him, but in the main, not recognized, not seen, no beauty that we should desire Him.
And he was condemned to the most awful death possible in the cross. That was man's estimation of God's beloved Son.
There he hung on those that cross, brethren.
For those six hours, 3 hours. The object of man's ridicule in the last three hours.
The object.
Of this storm of God's wrath.
It fell in all its fury on his blessed head. The waves and billows of divine judgment rolled over him for three hours.
And he bore at all, and the exhausted it, and he cried at his finished, and he died and shed his blood.
And God raised him from the dead the third day.
God has been fully vindicated in His holy character by the work of the Lord Jesus. And so God, when He raised him from the dead, did not quit raising him until Jesus as a man was far above all principality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Another beautiful thing, brother, and by faith to be able to look up into the glory, and to see.
There's one of the human race in the glory of God.
Our Lord Jesus Christ and Ephesians, it says he's far above all heavens. So in the heavens you want to think about he's far above all heavens. Wonderful wonderful church, but not any less is the wonderful truth too that goes along with it that in that place.
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He has sent the Holy Spirit into this world to unite a redeemed people to Himself.
As members of his body, so intimate is that relationship between.
The Lord Jesus and us, that he called to Saul of Tarsus out of heaven to say, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Well, this is in anticipation. I'd like to go over to the book of the Acts just to show you the actual facts, these actual 2 happenings in the history of the Word of God.
In chapter one we have the first part.
A man going into the glory of God.
Verse nine of chapter one and when he that's the Lord Jesus had spoken these things while they beheld he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. There is his ascension into glory. What was it on the other side of that cloud? It's wonderful to think about it rather than there are a few suggestions in Scripture.
Of the glory of that moment.
The Lord Jesus.
Good as he did in John chapter 17, present himself in the glory saying, Father, I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do wonderful, wonderful, glorious moment. Any according to uh, Hebrews chapter one, it says he sat himself down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Because of the dignity of his person and the sufficiency of his work, he had the right to go right into the presence of God and set himself down at God's right hand. What a glorious person. Who here would dare to go into the Oval Office and sit down by his own instigation at the right hand of the president of the United States? No one would dare do such a thing. But here's a man who goes right into the presence of God.
And sits himself down at the right hand of God. Wonderful truth. Now the second truth is in chapter 2 and let's begin by reading the first verses of that chapter. And when the day of Pentecost and the I think we all know is 5050 days after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, He was 40 days here in this world showing himself by many infallible proofs.
That he was alive. He ate and drank with those that were witnesses.
He was seen at one time of about 500 brethren at one time, so there is no question that he rose bodily from the dead. He said handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see me have. The Lord Jesus was here for 40 days.
And then he was received up in the glory, and 10 days after that, on the day of Pentecost, 50 days when it was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Isn't that interesting? Oh, with one accord in one place. That's a characteristic of Christianity. 1 Oneness, unity. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing.
Mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting, and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as fire, and it sat upon each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So here we have that second part, the Spirit of God coming from heaven.
And according to chapter one, it's called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a collective thing. Never given a scripture that I understand as an individual thing. It is a collective thing. It was to form the body of Christ. It says in first Corinthians chapter 12. For by 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body.
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So this baptism of the Holy Spirit was to form the body of Christ. And that is the truth of the matter from that day till this, even though the public testimony in our days is greatly divided. And if I would ask here in Kirkland, where are these people that they call themselves Christians? They would say, well, one place and another place and another place, it doesn't appear.
That there was one body, but it is still the truth, because the Spirit of God unites to the body of Christ every true believer in the Lord Jesus. So this is the coming of the Spirit of God. Now the book of the Acts is often been called, and I think rightly so, the Acts of the Holy Spirit. And it is interesting, brethren, to see how the Spirit of God moves through this book in one way or another.
Uh, working as a person here in this world and constantly expanding the sphere of the gospel to include those who have believed in the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we have the gospel going out first of all to the Jews. And that's what we have here in this chapter. Notice a little further.
Down it says, verse 37 Now when they heard this, that was Peter's, uh, preaching, they were all pricked in the heart and said unto Peter into the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
What he's talking to here is the Jewish people, the ones who were guilty of the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. They had governmentally judgment hanging over their heads for what they had done, and it was necessary for them to get remission of sins or forgiveness of sins that they be baptized and that way they would receive to the gift of the Holy Ghost.
And so there was about 3000 souls added, verse 41. And verse 42 Says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers.
The apostles doctrine is the basis of the apostles fellowship. We don't establish the norms of fellowship. It is already established by the apostles doctrine and we have here in the New Testament.
The apostles doctrine and if we are in agreement with the apostles doctrine, then we enjoy what is called the apostles fellowship. It says in first John chapter one and truly our fellowship says the apostle John and the plural is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. Wonderful that fellowship, but how do we show that fellowship says in the breaking.
Of bread so this morning we had one loaf on the table representing one body. Because there is no more than one body just one body. And how do we express it? Each one that partakes of it is showing that they are in part a member of that one body. Wonderful way to show that precious truth and prayers. Well, we go on and we find that the testimony is going out to the.
People of Israel with signs and wonders, with tongues, and that was proper in that time, because God had always given to His earthly people Israel signs. It was a tremendous sign when they went out of Egypt, how Moses split the Red Sea and they went across on dry ground to the other side. And then he held his rod out over the Red Sea again, and the Red Sea closed over the Egyptians. Wonderful signs.
So God gives signs here too at the beginning of the Christian era. They didn't have the word of God complete at that time, and God gave them signs to show that this, yes, was a work of God. But in chapter 4, I'd like to read a verse that is, Precious says.
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And verse 32.
The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and one soul. Neither said any of them that ought that the things which he possessed were his own, but they had all things common.
That wonderful one heart, one soul. There in the beginning of the crit of the church's history, the Lord's Prayer for unity was answered. Wonderful, wonderful. But the very next chapter we have the first sin coming into the church. What was it? Something gross? It was a lie. Maybe we don't think a lie is that serious.
But it was serious.
And we'll find if you read that portion, we're not going to read it for lack of time. But Ananias who lied didn't tell a lie. He acted a lie. He sold a property for so much and he brought a part of what he sold and put it to the apostles feet as if it were everything when it wasn't.
If he would have said to the apostle Peter and giving that money, we sold the property for so much and we're giving this to the Lord, this part of it to the Lord, I don't think there would have been any problem. But he made it look like he was being more sacrificial than he actually was.
Brethren, it is serious, even a little lie, that we might think sometimes we accommodate those things, but if we're going to enjoy fellowship with God.
That cannot have any place. His wife entered in a little later and she told the lie. Peter said, did you sell the property for so much? She said yes, and she and he were both taken out. I really believe they may have been real believers, but through the government of God they were taken out. I suppose we could say it was a sin unto death in that case.
Not always the same, but it was serious enough in the beginning of the Church's history that they were both taken away in death. Serious. Well, we go on. In chapter 6 we have introduced the.
Seven deacons that were chosen to administrate the material goods of the assembly and.
Help the widows and those that were in need.
And one of them was Steven. Oh man, it says.
Full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Wonderful expression. Full of faith and the Holy Ghost beautiful.
In Chapter 7, Stephen is accused of blasphemy, but he doesn't answer really the accusations that they had against him a blasphemy.
But he simply lays to their charge those that Jewish Sanhedrin, that responsible body of Jewish leaders, that they were resisting the Holy Spirit. Let's go down in Chapter 7.
To verse 51.
Ye stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears.
You do always resist the Holy Ghost. As your Father's dead, so do ye.
Verse UH-55 It says, But he, that's Steven, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord.
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And cast him out of the city, and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit. And he kneeled down, cried with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. When he had said this, he fell asleep. So here is a testimony to the Jewish leaders.
Of the Lord Jesus, and we have here an example of a Christian.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, occupied with that man in the glory. Oh brother, And that's the purpose of the Spirit of God. He comes to occupy us with Christ. You know, sometimes we have to be occupied with ourselves, to judge ourselves. But we need, brethren, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, to be occupied with that glorious man, that God's right hand, and we have it here. Steven wasn't occupied with the stones that they were thrown at him.
And we're killing them with he was occupied with that man in God's right hand. May the Lord help us because that's what Christianity really is like to make one more comment about the Spirit of God in this present age. You know, in the Old Testament he did come upon people. He even came on a man that was supposedly unregenerate saw the first king of Israel.
But he came.
And he went. They never were indwelled. He could not indwell on a permanent basis until redemption had been accomplished. When the Lord Jesus shed his blood, then the grounds were laid so that the Spirit of God could dwell in US forever. And the Spirit of God never goes from a true believer in the Lord Jesus. He's always there.
Wonderful.
Truth to think about. You remember in the Old Testament it was figured, but at the consecration of the priests.
First they had the blood put on their right earlobe and on their right thumb and on their big toe of their right foot. And then on those three places as well was put the oil, which is a figure of the Spirit of God only could be put there when the blood was there first. And so when the Lord Jesus had accomplished redemption on the cross, the basis was laid so that God.
Could send His Spirit on a permanent basis down into this world to unite God's people together to that man in the glory of God. Brethren, let's just stop and let these things sink into our hearts. To me it is most wonderful, these things. And I find that because we don't stop to enjoy them in our souls, we let slip the truth.
Of His presence with us today, little by little by little, we see it happening. I'm not talking about any other group. I'm talking about us. And we need to be exercised, brother, about this. The Spirit of God continues to work here. But immediately after Steven's death, after the rejection of this messenger.
Why doesn't gospel starts to spread out into a wider sphere?
Philip goes down to Samaria and there's great blessing in the gospel. In the end of chapter 8 we have the Ethiopian Munich, a Gentile brought into the number. And then in Chapter 9, God saves the apostle who is going to be the apostle to the Gentiles.
Beautiful. And then in chapter 10, we have Peter.
Sent by the Lord through the Spirit of God to preach to Cornelius and his household. Cornelius was a centurion, he was a Gentile. And it's interesting at the end of chapter 10 when Peter is preaching.
These people don't need to be baptized to receive.
Forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. How does it happen here? Notice Peter is preaching at the end of chapter 10, and it says in verse 43 to him, to the Lord Jesus, give all the prophets witness that through His name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins. That's the end of Peter's preaching. At least he just got that far.
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When something happened while Peter but yet spoke these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word and they of the circumcision which believed were astonished as many as came with Peter, because that on the holy on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit. So they didn't have to be baptized first, they were baptized afterwards. Notice in verse 48 he says Peter.
He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. So baptism came afterwards, and that's the order. It is because we today are Gentiles. Well, the work continues. And Peter, the last time he really appears in a real public way is in chapter 12. He does appear again in chapter 15 once, but chapter 12.
Really ends his activity as an apostle because the Spirit of God was leading the work to go out into a wider sphere to the Gentiles. And so the apostle to the Gentiles had been saved. And we have perhaps in chapter 12 a little prophetic picture. I won't go into that right now, but notice chapter 13.
Says now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Serene and.
Manette, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch and Saul. There's five in the gathering there at Antioch, and they ministered to the Lord and fasted.
The Holy Ghost said, how did he say it? It really doesn't say. Maybe he used a human mouth. Perhaps he said separate me, Barnabas and Saul for the work we're into. I have called them when they had fasted and prayed. They laid their hands on them. They sent them away. It says here really should be they let them go so they.
Being sent forth.
By the Holy Ghost departed into Seleuccia. So here's the first missionary journey of the Apostle Paul, Paul and Barnabas. Two were sent out not by the assembly because the assembly does not send out laborers. It is the Lord who sends out the laborers. So they are sent out by the Holy Spirit and they preaching the gospel and we have the.
Way things went, but from that time on it was first of all it was Barnabas and Saul. A little later on in the chapter it's Saul or Paul and Barnabas. And so Paul became the main figure through the whole of the rest of the book. Like I say, chapter 15, there was a question about the law and circumcision that had to be settled, and Peter was there and was a help.
In the way it was settled, but it's interesting how the Lord carries his work on and I just like to go on. I'm going to have to curtail this part of it, but just like to make a comment. Getting over to chapter. Well, I'm not gonna speak about it either in chapter 22.
Paul.
Is the prisoner, and he is a prisoner for the rest of the book.
In chapter 28, the end of the book, notice the way the book of the Acts reads or finishes.
Verse 30 All dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence.
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No man forbidding him.
Remember Brother Clem Buchanan making this comment that I enjoy? He says. It was just like the tape recorder ran out there.
And the work goes on and it goes on today. And it is such a tremendous privilege, brother, to see what God continues to do in this world, here in the United States, yes, but in other lands too. I just have to say I, I found it a tremendous blessing just to witness, observe what the Lord is doing. I don't think he's used me so much, but he's used individuals.
In those countries to the South, when I first went with brother Eric Smith to South America in 1967, there was only, I think, 2 gatherings in Peru and there were gatherings in Bolivia. Now there are gatherings scattered almost all across Latin America, brethren, And it's the native people themselves. God working in his body, through his body.
And carrying the blessing on beautiful, wonderful to witness and to be. To realize that we're part of it.
The body of Christ embraces all those brethren. We need to enjoy the truth of the one body. And I want to encourage any that have opportunity to go visit your brethren in Latin America. Do it. It's a blessing some have here. You know what they tell? Ask me in Bolivia when I go, they say how? How come brother, brother, go to Peru and Argentina and Chile to visit. They don't come much to Bolivia.
And frankly, I don't know what to tell them.
I just say that to encourage you, to stir you up, even if you don't know Spanish Scripture provides for translation. So there is a way to go visit your brother and to confirm the truth that even though you're Americans and they're Bolivians, that we are one body in Christ. It is a wonderful, wonderful experience. So may the Lord encourage us in this. Well, that's the book of the Acts I want to use the rest of my time.
About speaking.
Of the Spirit of God in our lives in an individual way, and then as well in a collective way. Let's go to Ephesians chapter one to begin with.
To see some of the ways that the Spirit of God works in the believer in this present day, notice the last verse. The last word of verse 12 is Christ.
Verse 13 in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believe ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. So the Spirit of God in the life of each believer is the seal of God. He puts his seal upon us to Marcus as his the Spirit of God, wonderful, wonderful truth. But not only that verse 14 which is the.
Earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the.
Purchase possession unto the praise of His glory. The redemption of the purchased possession is when the Lord Jesus liberates this whole creation from the domination and the of sin and its corruption, and He's going to redeem it. He's going to set it free. At that time we're going to receive the inheritance with the Lord Jesus, but in the meantime He gives us the earnest of the inheritance.
I remember Brother Gordon Hayhole making a illustration of it and he said supposing there was a property out in the country and the price on it was $10,000. So I go and I want to buy that property. And I say to the owner, I say, Sir, I would like to buy that property and I'm going to give you a down payment of $1 million.
But, brethren, which is greater, the inheritance or the furnace of the inheritance? The Spirit of God is far, far greater. Do we understand? Do we grasp, brethren, the import that the Spirit of God dwells in this body? Wonderful, wonderful truth, wonderful truth.
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Well.
In Second Corinthians chapter one we have another thing that the Spirit of God does.
The ceiling is for security, the earnest is for enjoyment and here in first Corinthians or second Corinthians chapter one and it says here in verse 21. Now he which establishes in with you in Christ.
And has anointed us is God, who has also sealed us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. So there we have one more thing that the Spirit of God does. He is the anointing, and the anointing is for intelligence and power in service. The Lord Jesus is spoken of as having been anointed with the Spirit of God when he went out into his.
Public service.
I'll go over to the 4th chapter and we have some practical reflections too.
In the end of the chapter, verse 29, these are things that you might think, wow, I didn't know that Christians could be involved in these kind of things, lying and stealing.
Brother, we have the flesh in us, and we need to always walk in self judgment, says verse 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the use of edifying, that it may minister grace into the hearers, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Yes, we're see you, but we're not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. And then he says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice, and be a kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ sake hath forgiven you.
Bitterness.
I'm afraid that does a lot more damage against God's people than we realize.
And re listening to some of old brother Harry Hayhoe's meetings recently.
And he says a number of times in them, never entertain a hard thought about any of your brethren in the Lord Jesus. Never, never let that happen. Are we doing that, brother, or do we have some hard feelings?
Towards some brother it's going to be a hindrance. It's going to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Don't let that be case says be kind one to another. Sometimes when I hear the complaints I say, brother, are we putting these things into practice or is this just something we read over and wish that we could we need to put it into practice. Be kind one to another that brother that maybe has spoken something hard about you.
Crossover and embrace him and show him love Scripture speaks about.
Provoking to love and to good works. How do you provoke to love?
Love is what provokes to love. Lord help us in this, brethren.
They want to go back to the first part of this chapter.
To uh, verse two and three says where with all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. That's capital S It's the unity, the spirit of God.
Has formed and we need to endeavor to keep it in the bond of peace. It is a unity that is maintained by the Spirit of God by acting the flesh. I'm not keeping that unity, but the unity is still there and I need to walk and exercise with all loneliness and meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.
Brethren, may the Lord help us to put these things into effect. I love to think of that verse in Matthew Chapter 11 That says the Lord Jesus says, Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
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I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest into your souls. Oh, to walk in meekness and lowliness with the Lord Jesus. How are you going to learn that, brother? You're going to learn that in the yoke with the Lord Jesus. I think I've told it before, but I'll tell it again for some that may not have heard it. Some years ago I was out in the country, Hill Country of Bolivia. We were.
On foot and going from house to house, spreading the gospel. And we came upon this place where they were, uh, I don't know if it was a fair or what it was. They were a lot of people together. And I noticed to one side somebody was training a new ox for the yoke. And what they do is they put an old ox in one side of the yoke and they put the new ox in the other side. And of course that new ox isn't used to that yoke and he doesn't like it.
And he throws his head in the air, he shakes it and rushes forward, charges back. And just for several hours, that ox, that new ox was fighting the yoke.
I looked at that and I said, Lord Jesus.
How I must make you suffer when I have my fits of blessliness, but that's where you're going to learn the yoke. Meekness and loneliness in the yoke with him. The Lord give us to learn those qualities. So important to be able to walk in the truth of the one body if you're not gonna learn those qualities.
You're not going to walk in the truth of the precious truth that there is one body and keep the unity of the Spirit. In chapter 5, notice another detail about the Spirit of God. It says in verse 818.
Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but the filled with the spirit. Here is an exhortation.
Be not drunk with wine. If a person is drunk with wine, you'll know it by the way they walk, by the way they talk. You know that they're under the influence.
By the way, you can be drunk with other things other than wine.
Anything that you get under the influence of could be sports, it could be music, whatever it is. Things that in themselves are not wrong, but if you get under the influence of them, you're not going to walk as a Christian on a walk. But he says be filled with the Spirit. This is an exhortation. This is what you and I need to be exercised about. Sometimes I say if I have a glass and I want to fill with water, but it's half full of dirt.
How can I fill that with water? I gotta empty out that dirt in there first. And sometimes there's stuff in our lives that don't allow the Spirit of God to fill us. He wants to fill us. He wants us to be completely as His disposal. Brethren, my experience, I don't know, I don't feel like I'm a very good judge of the matter, but I have met a few people that I felt were filled with the Spirit and it was a beautiful experience for me just to be with Him.
Occupied with the Lord Jesus, not occupied with themselves. But this is an exhortation, brethren, are you listening? Be filled with the Spirit.
The Lord help us person drunk with wine, you know it by the way they walk, by the way they talk. Same way with the being filled with the Spirit. You'll know it by the way they walk, by the way they talk.
Uh, one other, uh, thing I want to mention in connection with the individual side and and 1St Corinthians chapter 6 please.
Here we have.
In verse.
19 It says, What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own, or you're bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods. This body the Lord Jesus has bought with his bud. He is sanctified by the Spirit of God.
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He set it apart for a specific purpose. He wants to use you. It does me good to see you young men.
And young sisters here learning the scriptures. Oh wonderful. May the Lord encourage you to go forward in that.
But remember, you are not here for your own purposes. Sometimes we get the idea. I have the purpose to do this in my life.
And sometimes it doesn't work out. You know why? Because the Lord may have a different purpose for you. He has saved you. He has sanctified you for a specific purpose. Let me encourage you, young people don't live for the brief moments of time. I can't believe I've gotten up to 70 years. Can't believe it wasn't that long ago.
And I was a young person and.
And seems like yesterday.
Time is short. Scripture says make use of it because you may not have much more time down here. Make use of it for God's eternal day. Make use of it for what's gonna last forever. And in this chapter, it's warning about sexual sins. Be careful of that because it will hinder you from being an instrument that the Lord can use.
If you've fallen into it, repent and seek restoration with the Lord. But and don't get discouraged, get back on track. But I want to encourage those.
Keep thyself pure. Flee fornication. Wherever there's a suggestion of impropriety, sexual impropriety, get out of there. Don't even stick around. And if there are other young people that want to stick around, you, get going.
I must say young, a young brother was a great help to me in the right direction when I was a young person and help each other. You young people don't go in that direction. These bodies belong to him and we're going to give an account for him. I want to use the last few minutes to speak of the Spirit of God dwelling in this in a collective way. Go back to the third chapter of First Corinthians you have.
The temple used in a collective way. Notice verse 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? Look at Ephesians chapter 2.
And.
Verse.
20 and our build upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building fitly framed together growth into an holy temple in the Lord. That's future. But present is verse 22, in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. God dwells in his people collectively.
And what is he there for? It is like it says in John's Gospel chapter 16. It is to guide us into all truth. And I'd like to go over for the remainder of our time to 1St Corinthians chapter 14, where we have what we call a meeting of the assembly notice.
Actually I'd like to just point out before we read the verses, I have in mind that in verse one of chapter 14 it says follow after charity and desire spiritual. And you'll notice that gifts is an italics which means it wasn't there in the original. Mr. Darby's translation puts spiritual manifestation. In other words, God manifests his presence in spirit through the members of his body.
Through the gifts.
And go down now to verse, uh, 23.
Notice what it says here. If therefore the whole church be coming together into one place, not interesting, the whole church be gathered together into one place and then people complain at the one place is not in the New Testament. Well, I see it here, but I want to say a word of caution, brother, in the way we speak of that sometimes we make ourselves the reference point.
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In connection with that, and I think we do a disservice and we stumble people because they look at us and you're not going to see these precious truths by looking at people. You look at you see them by looking at Christ and that is precious word. We need to point to that. I sometimes say, if I say to a young brother, this is the right place, he's going to act not on Scripture, but when I say about Scripture is that faith?
No.
Faith is based on the Word of God, and what we need to do to establish our young people is to point them to the precious principles of Scripture.
Brother, there's one Spirit and He's going to guide us in unity, not in divergent. May the Lord help us to appreciate the things and to remember that the focus point is not us, it's Christ and His precious Word.
But I'd like to just mention here that it says in verse.
26 How is it then, brethren, when you come together, there's a meeting of the assembly. Everyone of you have a Psalm, have a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done into edifying, so that the purpose of whatever is taken up should be edification that should regulate it, and so may the Lord help us.
All these things are good things in themselves, a doctrine, a revelation, an interpretation, all good things. But what regulates it should be that it be done to edification. And here, brethren, I want to say that as we are together in assembly, we need to be sensitive as to the presence of the Spirit of God in our midst collectively and.
Give place to him collectively. I have to confess, brethren, that at times I have quenched the Spirit in my brethren by speaking too much, and we who take part have to be exercised about that. But there's another error, and it's on the part of those who sit there and sometimes just have decided not to say anything when the Spirit of God is touching you to say something, or to give out a hand, or to give up and give and praise the Lord.
Those are important things.
Just wanted to tell you what happened in Oaxaca, Mexico a number of years ago, and I was there with Brother Eller Cohn and Doug Buchanan. We would go from assembly to assembly, having meetings in the afternoon, need to have a reading meeting in the evening. He would have a gospel meeting and generally he's being the senior brother would get up and he was a tremendous gospel preacher. Brother Ramon was, he would preach first. This particular place he preached first.
And then Doug followed on. And then when Doug sat down.
People were kind of looking at me.
Frankly, I didn't have anything. I just didn't have it. I looked around, looking at me. I guess I better get up and say something.
I finally got up and said something.
I don't remember what it was because it certainly wasn't the Spirit of God that was guiding me. It was just pressure, my apprehension of what they were thinking. And while I was speaking, I noticed another native brother go over and whisper in Ramon's ear.
And went back and sat down and Ramon was very prompt. It's closing the meeting at the hour. When I got done, the hour was over.
Ramon said afterwards, too bad Brother on Hill had something to say and there wasn't any time.
Imagine how I felt.
Awful I had quenched that brother, expressing what the Lord had given him by speaking when I really wasn't led by the Spirit. May the Lord help us, brethren. And I say that in two ways to be exercised, those of us who take part, to be sensitive to the fact that there are others there, and that there are gifts among each one of them that need to be exercised in the ministry, in the assembly.
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And.
On your part, those that are sitting there perhaps coming on the exercise that the Lord wants to use you to be an instrument ready for his use. Don't you sit down and say I'm not saying anything tonight. I'm gonna be completely quiet. That will quench the spirit too. The Lord help us more thing I'd like to say is that when there is real gift. Remember brother Albert. Hey Jose, and to me and it's been an exercise to me.
He says if a brother that has prominent gift.
Remains too much in his own local assembly, he will ruin the assembly. And I think that's something that we need to be exercised about too. God gives a prominent gift. It's to be used and it's given to the whole body of Christ. May the Lord guide us in the use and be brethren. Most of all, I just want to encourage that we be exercised as to what the Lord is guiding. There's a man at the glory at the right hand of the glory of God.
And the Spirit of God unites us to that man, and he's looking down at us this afternoon, and he wants to guide us so that there will be blessing, and he's going to use whomsoever he will. And sometimes he uses instruments that we least expect. The Lord help us to be exercised. Brethren, let's pray. Father, we have spoken briefly about the wonderful truth of the Lord Jesus, his present position.
And are being united to him by Thy Spirit. Help us, Lord Jesus, keep us, guide us, direct us, help us to be exercised. Encourage our dear young people, young men, and especially, but our young sisters as well. Commend ourselves to thee for the rest of the afternoon. And the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.