Address—P. Johnson
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
General Meetings, Columbus, KY. September 1974 Address of Paul Johnson.
278 I think the first stanza as I read it.
We trust that we might be able to see this and the Spirit Savior We long to follow the daily Thy cross to bear and count all else, whatever it be, unworthy of our care. May we sing this indeed as might be the Desire and the Prayer of our Heart. Hymn #278.
Savior to win.
00:05:31
I'm going to read several scriptures that the Lord shall seek to bring them together. First of all, let us read in the Book of Numbers, chapter 4.
Numbers, Chapter 4.
There's two verses here, numbers four and verse 5.
And when the camp set it forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering veil.
And cover the arc of testimony with it.
And shall put their own the covering of badger skins, and shall spread over it a cloth of holy of blue, and shall put in the steves there are.
Now return to Matthew chapter.
3.
Matthew Chapter 3.
Verse one.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Well, this is he that was spoken of by the Prophet.
Isaiah saying, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, preparing you the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight, and the same John had his raiment of Camel's hair.
And a leathern girdle around his loins and his meat was locust and wild honey.
Revelation Chapter 10.
Revelation 10 and verse 8.
And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go, and take the little book which is open in the hand of the Angel which standeth full of sea, and upon the earth.
And I went under the Angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up, and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up. And it was in my mouth sweetest honey. And as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophecy again before many peoples nations.
And tongues and teams.
And now first Timothy, chapter 2.
I.
First Timothy 2 and verse one. I exhort, therefore, that first of all supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving a thanks be made for all men, for kings, and for all that in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, and all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Who gave himself a ransom for all to be to be testified in due time. Where unto I'm ordained A preacher and an apostle, I speak the truth in Christ, and line up a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and Verity. I will therefore that man pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath, and doubting in like manner also that women adorn themselves in modest peril.
00:10:09
With shamefacedness and sobriety, Not with broided hair or gold or pearls, or costly array, but which becometh women professing godliness with good works. Let the women learn in silence, with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor do you serve authority over the man, but to be in silence. And lastly, Second Timothy chapter one.
Second Timothy one and verse one. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved Son, Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience.
That without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see thee being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy. Verse 8. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Well, I trust that these verses and these portions that we've read may not seem to be too far astray and rather scattered.
But these are portions of the word of God that the Lord brought before me in connection with what I had upon my heart to speak to the Saints, and especially to young believers. And that is how that God would desire that we His people.
Be in accord morally.
To be in accord, proper accord morally with His testimony that he has in this world, Well, you can see from the subject that I have before me that I intend to speak to those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
And there might be those in the room who are not the Lord.
And so, of course, they are not identified in any way with the testimony of the Lord.
And there might be those in the room who have professed faith in the Lord Jesus, and it might be genuine. I trust it is would be sad if I am false professors in our midst.
I would trust that everyone who has confessed the Lord Jesus that it is genuine and real.
That you are the Lord, so that you are assured of a place in heaven.
I believe the word of God warrants us to say that every true believer on the Lord Jesus.
Who has believed from the heart the gospel of the grace of God, and knows that Jesus Christ suffered on the cross of Calvary, for my sins is assured of a place in heaven.
And I know that in gospel preaching this is often emphasized, and I'm not saying what I'm going to say now and to defecate that in any way.
We know that. What should it profit a man? He began the whole world and lose his own soul.
Ultimately, of course, that is the question of primary importance, ones eternal destiny.
And that is, of course, the thing that must be settled first and foremost by every individual that you know, that you're a part of the company that's going to be in the glory with the Lord Jesus Christ.
But now we know from experience as well as from the Word of God, that those of us who are saved are not taken immediately to heaven.
There are those who have been saved, who are in this room this afternoon many years. They've known the Lord and they were as fit for heaven and the Lords presence when they first believed as they are now, and they were not left here in order to be more fit.
It wasn't the object at all.
They were not taken to heaven because they were not fit to be there. And you, as a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, as a young believer, if you're a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, you're saved and you're fit for heaven and the glory with the Lord Jesus. But you're not there. You're here in this room this afternoon, and you're not here in this room this afternoon merely because you're young and have not lived out your days. For there are those who have been saved.
00:15:30
And taken to be with the Lord in their youth.
It isn't altogether the fact that you're just a young person and you have so many years to live. We know that being the Lords is saving us is not only that we should be taken to the glory, but that each one of us would have a place in His testimony here in this world, that we might be left here in connection with the testimony of himself. But, you know, this is still the day of God's testimony.
We didn't read the verse, but in Revelation 10 we read there that in the days of that.
7th sounding of the 7th trumpet the voice of that Angel, the mystery of God will be completed or finished.
I believe it means that the time of God's testimony, the time of God's testimony is down through the years, will be over, and it will usher in a time of display. That is, the Kingdom of the Millennium is going to be a time when God is going to display all that he has accomplished down through the years, everything headed up in Christ, a great display of heavenly glory and a great display of earthly glory.
All headed up under the person of the Lord Jesus and everything is going to be a setting forth of what God has wrought and what God has accomplished.
At the present time man exhibits his wares, and he exhibits what he has accomplished. But the Millennium is a great day of exhibition when God is going to set forth what he has accomplished, but we have not arrived at that day.
The mysteries of God are connected with the time of testimony, and it's a time of testimony in which we're living. And each one of us as believers on the Lord Jesus Christ or associated identified by the testimony of Christianity in this world. And my exercise was that we as young ones might be exercised that we would be in accord with the testimony.
With which we are associated.
The Testimony of Christianity.
You know, I think in the book of Acts, those believers in the city of.
Of Antioch.
Who believed the gospel of the grace of God, and it had such an effect upon them.
That the people of that city gave them a name.
The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch because.
These people who believe the gospel, it became evident that they were no longer heathen.
Like those who were heathen in that city, and they couldn't identify them with Judaism. No, they didn't comport. They were not in accord with that testimony of Israel.
Well, what were the how could you identify them? Well, the only way they could identify them was giving them that name of Christ, calling them Christians. I believe they're that they were in accord with the testimony. The people recognized that they were of a different sort. They did not fit. They were not in accord with the heathen populace. They were not in accord with the Jewish segment of the population. They were indeed a new company.
Set apart and they were called Christians in Antioch.
Well, that's the thought I had in being in moral accord with the testimony.
Now no doubt the person of the Lord Jesus Christ is the is the great model in this where we know that when he was here he was the one who was in whom the testimony of God was set forth, and He is the model.
But I was thinking in regard to John the Baptist. That's why I read in Matthew chapter 3.
About John the Baptist, if you turn that for a moment.
00:20:03
John brings before us an individual that you might see was in accord with the testimony. I will say at the outset that the particular testimony that John.
Was bearing, of course, is not the testimony of Christianity, and I'm not going into the details of the.
What should I say? The contents of the testimony?
That would be a large subject in itself, for my thought was not so much to take up what Christianity is.
But the fact that God would have us to be in accordance to that, in that to that testimony in a moral and spiritual way.
Now John the Baptist in Matthew 3.
He came with a witness and a testimony.
And it's remarkable. Verse four of Matthew 3 maybe? We've read this many times and the young people have had this in Sunday School. We're all familiar with John the Baptist, and you've seen, or at least descriptions have been given of this man John the best.
But it's remarkable. Why does the Spirit of God call attention?
To his clothing and his food.
You say, well, that's just a part of the story. No, it isn't. You know, there are many things that could have been written in the scriptures that are not written, and there are things that are recorded that did not have to be written. And if they had not been written, we would not have missed them. I mean by that, the meaning historically would have been just as clear without them.
If we had never read this in the word of God, of his clothing and his food.
It would not have in any way interfered with the historical aspect of John's ministry and service.
But the Spirit of God taking account of the fact of his clothing and his food.
Now what do you think the significance of that is? Turn to the 11Th chapter. The Lord Jesus himself calls attention to this to show, I believe, the significance of us.
In the 11Th chapter.
And verse 7. The Lord speaking to the Jews.
To the multitudes Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John.
But with ye out into the wilderness to see.
Reed shaken with a wind. But what went ye out for? To see a man clothed in soft ring?
Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in King's houses.
But what went ye out for? To see a prophet? Yes, he said. He acknowledges that he was a prophet. But more than a prophet, I notice here he mentions the clothing.
If you go out, see a man close and soft, Raymond, you see the clothing of John indicated the character of witness and testimony that he was bearing.
He came as a prophet and we read that he was in the wilderness.
And he came as a prophet, preaching repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
And his outward appearance was in keeping an accord with that testimony. For the Lord says here that if he had been clothed and sought Raymond, it wouldn't fit, because those that are arrayed in soft raiment, they're in King's houses.
In other words, his outward appearance, his outward demeanor.
Gave an indication of the witness and the testimony with which he was connected.
He was not connected with a witness in a testimony of royalty in the King's court. No, he was connected with a witness, the testimony of repentance. So you see, the thought here is this, that God would have us to be in accord with the testimony of Christianity as to even outward appearance.
John the Baptist had suited Raymond. That was, in keeping with his testimony, witness. Not only that, but we read too that his food, his meat is mentioned locusts and wild honey. That, of course, was food in connection with the wilderness. It wasn't food that belonged to the King's table.
00:25:08
It was food in keeping with the place that he occupied in the wilderness. And again we see that what he ate was an accord with the testimony that he was called upon to bear on our beloved young people. This is what I had particularly before me, that God would have you and me, each one of us, as his own.
Both as to outward conduct and demeanor, as well as inward state of soul, to be in accord with the testimony.
With which we are connected in this world, a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, the testimony of Christianity. And again, I say I'm not going into all of the aspects of Christianity it's found in the word of God. Most of us are familiar with it. But the point is that we're to be in accord with it, in an outward as well as an inward way for the food, I believe.
Taking note of John's food would speak of that which would give him a an inward accord with the testimony. Food is that, of course, which builds 1UP constitutionally, and we need both the inward state as well as an outward demeanor and deportment and appearance that would be in accord with the testimony. Well, now, first of all, before we.
See in Scripture some evidences of that of the outward and the inward correspondence to the testimony. Let us turn back through Numbers, Chapter 4.
And consider something of the moral features of the testimony. And let me explain what I mean.
Now we know.
That kind of the actual testimony of Christianity is in many ways.
Vastly different from that of Judaism and connection with Israel, we know that God has brought has been brought out in the fullness of light. And when we think of all of the blessings that belong to us as Christians, and all of the blessings that are associated with Christianity, how far it exceeds any testimony that was ever known in this world.
And yet there are certain moral features.
That God would have us to understand in connection with anything that would be associated with Himself as a testimony.
Here in Numbers Chapter 4.
And verse 5. And when the camp setteth forward, you know the book Numbers is the book of the wilderness. That's the way it began. I think if you'll turn back to chapter one. We read there that the Lord speak unto Moses in the wilderness.
Now you know, dear young people, I wonder, when we read in the Old Testament about the wilderness, what does this mean to us?
Well, now of course, it was a physical wilderness in the days in which.
The journeys of the children of Israel are recorded, a physical wilderness. But we know that this is all written typically, and we're to interpret it in a moral and spiritual way. The wilderness, to put it briefly, is what the world has become.
To the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, the.
Moment one is brought to the Lord Jesus.
And is saved by the grace of God. This world becomes to you and me as a wilderness. That is, there is nothing here in this world to sustain you or me in a spiritual way. Absolutely nothing. There are no springs of refreshment.
In all of the institutions of this world.
There might be institutions of this world that can help us as to our physical well-being. There might be institutions that can help us as to expanding our minds and intelligence. But when it comes to the moral and spiritual needs.
Of the individual. There is nothing in the world to sustain 1 to support one or two minister to one. It's a wilderness.
An absolute wilderness, a dry and thirsty land where no water is and you know that's an elementary foam. This is not a fault That belongs to one who has been on the way for 4050 sixty years.
00:30:01
Sometimes we're inclined to want to relegate all of the understanding of Christianity to older Saints. But there there are certain things that young believers should apprehend at the very outset of their Christian life.
And if they do not enter into them or accept them.
They will find difficulty along the pathway and one is that one must understand and accept the fact.
That this world has become a wilderness when you became a believer in the Lord Jesus.
You know, I think in the hearts of young people, this is pretty well known to.
Sometimes young persons are unwilling to take a stand for Christ because they know that if they're saved and they come to the Lord Jesus, that this world is a wilderness.
And they know that they cannot go on with the world and Christ at the same time.
Sad to say, some make the choice of the world and we can only look to the Lord for those young people who make that choice.
That God in his goodness and grace will come in through the power of the Spirit of God in his precious word, to give them to see the vanity of it all, and to turn from this world and its vanity to the Lord Jesus. Because while it is true that when one is saved the world becomes a wilderness, that isn't to say that he's bereft of any joy and any blessing or any refreshment. He will find far more in the Spirit of God.
Far more in the Word of God, far more in communion and fellowship with the Father and the Son than he could have ever found in this world and all that he had to offer. Now, I know that's not new. I know that's not a startling revelationary statement that has never been heard before. But I do trust that the young people will take these things to heart. You remember back in the book of Exodus when God sent Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh.
To release his people in the very beginning, the very first words to Pharaoh were that he should let his people go, that they might make a feast unto me in the wilderness. Now that's what I meant when I said the thought of the wilderness is an elementary thought. It's that which we meet at the very beginning of our pathway to recognize that the world is a wilderness. And that's what we have here in numbers. And so we see the camp is setting forward.
You know, it's a wonderful privilege, really.
For us to be able to be identified and associated with the testimony of the Lord in the wilderness.
I believe everyone who has entered into any amount of truth at all would concur in what I say when I say that if we could have lived in this world sixty 7080 years without Christ and no absolutely that would be saved for heaven on our deathbed.
We wouldn't want to choose that course. We would have rather been saved when we were young and to be able to live those 4050 or maybe 60 years in connection with the testimony of the Lord, No, dear young people, the thought of putting it off and putting it off your salvation to some later day thinking that it's better perhaps to be able to do all of the things you want to do in this world and get saved in the end is not really better after all.
It is not better after all I remember. I'm sure there are others too. Heard the remark of our brother Harry Hayhoe used to say many times, and it impressed me the first time I heard it. And I might say the 30 or 40th time I heard it. Because he said it many times, that you never met a man who walked with the Lord all of his life and then in the end said, I wish I hadn't done it. He said no, and you never will.
And that's true, young people. You never will. It's the privilege to be able to be identified with the testimony of the Lord when you're young, when you're young in the wilderness, to be identified with this testimony. What I noticed in verse five of numbers 4.
We read there about the end of the verse, the ark of the testimony. Now I suppose most of us are familiar enough with the word, even the Old Testament, to know that the ark here is that ark that was made according to the instructions that God gave Moses.
00:35:16
Upon which was put the mercy seat. That ark was brought into the very holy of Holies.
And it was there that God met with the high priest the ark of Sheatham wood, and overlaid with gold. It was small.
And we know that this arc is typical of the person of the Lord Jesus.
Now there are some things in regard to the Tabernacle that you can bring the church in the assembly, like the Tabernacle itself, that is, those hangings, the curtains.
And then the coverings of the goat hair and the badger skins, and the ram skins dyed red, and the boards. You can bring the assembly in there as being the habitation of God through the Spirit. But the ark is typical of the Lord Jesus himself personally.
And I don't believe that you can in any way bring in the Saints there. It's the person of the Lord Jesus. And I think you'll find that sometimes it's called the Ark of God.
And then it's called on other occasions, the Ark of the Covenant.
Here it's called the Ark of the Testimony.
Speaking of the same arc.
It all speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I would like to connect that with the first chapter of Matthew.
Where we have the beginning of the New Testament.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ. We have now presented the man the ark, and we have him presented there in three ways, and I believe would correspond to the arc.
We read there about the Virgin bearing a son, and thou shalt call his name Emmanuel.
Which is God with us. I believe that's the ark of the Ark of God, God with his people.
And then you remember there it is also said that thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. I think that would correspond to the arc of the covenant, because the ark of the covenant brings before us the terms on which God could be in the midst of his people. The ark of God means God in the midst of his people. The ark of the covenant are the terms on which God can be with his people, and God could never be with us apart from the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And he's bearing our sins on the cross of Calvary.
But then you remember also in Matthew one it says there.
That of the Lord Jesus that he was called Christ.
Of whom is we speak of the as we come to the end of the genealogy?
And he had called the Christ there. I believe it's the thought of the ark of the testimony as the Christ, He is the one in whom all of the testimony of God is set forth.
So we have the Ark of the testimony, the Ark of God, and I believe we have the Ark of the Covenant, all in Matthew, one in connection with the person, the introduction into this world of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now that expression is called Christ.
Speak of him here in testimony.
In testimony for God.
But you know in First Corinthians chapter 12 we have the assembly called Christ. You remember that verse? We might just read First Corinthians chapter 12.
And verse 12.
Or as the body is 1 and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ.
Well, now this is not this is not the Ark.
This is not the Lord Jesus Christ personally, because verse 13 explains what he means. For by 1 Spirit where we all baptized into one we.
Whether we be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit. So when he says there, so also is Christ or the Christ. He's not talking about the Lord Jesus Christ personally. He's talking about the assembly, the body of Christ here as being the vessel of God's testimony.
00:40:03
The Lord Jesus would call the Christ the one in whom the testimony of God was set forth. And we might say that everything of God, everything of God, in the way of testimony in this world, was set forth livingly in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ when He was here. And now He looks to those who constitute the assembly here, as it were, to carry on that testimony. And so the assembly is called the Christ.
You might say, well, that's a rather large order, You know, beloved young people. It is a rather large order. But I like the last part of that verse, 13. And we've been all made to drink into one spirit, but we're not for that.
If it were not for that, I don't know that there would be much point in talking about the one body.
But we've been all made to drink into one spirit, and it's only in the spirit of God.
That we are able to carry on the testimony of God in any measure of unity, in any measure of faithfulness and any measure of purity, if we're in the flesh and if we're according to human fault and if we take up with worldly principles and practices.
This wonderful truth will be marred. We will not be in accord with the testimony we've been all made to drink into one spirit. And what do you think that one spirit is? Why, we read in Romans 8, many men have not the Spirit of Christ. Oh yes, it's the Spirit of God, but it's also the call the Spirit of Christ, for it is the Spirit of Christ that forms Christ in you and in me. It's the only thing that will, Nothing else will form Christ in the believer, but the Spirit of Christ in a practical way.
And if one is taking up with the things of this world, he will not be farmed according to Christ, for it is the Spirit of God that does so. And we've all been made to drink into the one spirit. You say I'm just a young person. I haven't been into the word of God as many years as brother or sister, so and so. I know so little. But you have the same spirit. Every believer has the same spirit. We've all been made to drink into one spirit, one might say, well, you know, I was, I was reared and very humble circumstances.
And I didn't have much of a chance in this world and education and so forth. Maybe that you received the same spirit as every other believer in Christ. We've all been made to drink into one spirit, the spirit of Christ. The spirit of God indwells you as a young believer. Indwells me indwells. Every child of God, every one of us been made to drink into one spirit. And so it's a wonderful fall here we have brought before us in connection with the assembly.
And testimony. Now turn back to numbers. Again, I just want to briefly touch upon what we have here.
In regard to the Ark of testimony, now while I've mentioned the Ark of the Cub and the Ark of God, it's the same arc, but the emphasis here is on the arc of testimony, perhaps because it's in the wilderness mode, is that this testimony should be carried through.
Notice at the end of verse 6.
After everything was covered, they said she'll put the saves there up. You know what? The staves, where do you not?
Well, pretty simply, there were the handles.
The handles whereby this arc could be carried.
Is the only means whereby it could be carried. Now we know later on when it was brought into the temple, the staves were taken out, but here the staves were put in because the object is that this arc should be carried through the wilderness as the ark of testimony as the ark of testimony.
It would speak to us of the fact that as long as we are in this world beloved young people, we do not know how long that will be.
We do not know how long that will be. We know the Lord Jesus Christ is coming. That we know for sure. We know the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon, that we know for sure. Of course, that is a relative expression.
As some who are older in this room can testify, it's always amusing to me sometimes to hear the various.
Ways in which time is referred to. Sometimes you hear a man say some remark, you know, and they say, well, when was that? He says, oh, it's not many years ago.
00:45:02
Maybe 25 or 30 and some young person got a Snickers 25 or 30 years ago.
Yes. So it's relative when you speak about soon, we do not know how long we'll be here. It may be a few years.
It may be just a few hours, but the point is that as long as we're here, the staves are to be in the ark, the testimonies be carried through.
There are many in this room here this afternoon who can remember.
Men who were used of God in the testimony and in a sense preserve the testimony through their ministry, through their life, through their prayers, through their pastoral work, and they're not here.
Well, now, there are others that are seeking to go on in a test. The testimony and to, you might say, be in accord with the testimony.
And they're getting older and then they're young ones here this afternoon, I'm not going to say.
That the older generation here is going to pass on. I'm not going to say that the middle-aged generation is going to pass on and that the you younger ones are one of these days going to be the older generation. I can't say that we don't know. The Lord may come.
And the Lord may not come, and it may be that some of the older ones pass on. But the point is that as long as the Saints are here, as long as you and I are here as believers on the Lord Jesus, the staves are there in the ark to be carried through. The testimony is to be maintained.
And we are to be in accord with that testimony. The testimony is not to be all heard and changed to suit the time.
You do not find any such principle in the word of God. The testimony remains the same. You know the testimony is essentially independent of this world Christianity, and I think that's one of the things involved in notice here in this chapter 4, before they carry the ark, the first thing they do is in verse five is to take the covering veil down and cover the ark. Remember the veil.
Was that which formed the entrance into the Holy Place.
And we're told in Hebrews 10 that that veil speaks of Christ himself personally in the flesh. That is a man here in this world.
We have now boldness to enter in within the veil, that is to say through His flesh by that newly living way. And the veil is what is covered over the ark of the testimony, and we won't turn back to it. But if you were to turn back to Exodus chapter 26, I believe it is, you'll find a description of that veil, and you'll find that the veil is made of blue and purple and scarlet fine twine linen with cherubim embroidered bones.
The first thing that is involved is blue.
We know, of course, that blue is a heavenly color, speaks of heaven. Now I mentioned that because as I said, that the Christian testimony is independent of this world. And so we see in the person of the Lord Jesus when he was here. We see in him the heavenly man, the one who came down from heaven and the one who goes back to heaven. That's what we find in John's gospel. Is it true?
He came forth from God out of heaven. Again, I'll leave the world and go back to heaven. That's what characterizes John's gospel, The blue, the heavenly testimony, the one who comes from God and goes back to God. But you remember in the book of Acts when Peter goes up into the housetop to pray.
10th Chapter of Acts And he has seized a vision of a great sheep Let down out of heaven, comes down from heaven.
After God speaks to him that she's taken back up with them, I believe that is, that is with symbolic of the Christian testimony. It's really that which comes down out of heaven and goes back to heaven doesn't this earth at all. It's not a part of this world it did not have. It does not have its source in this world. It does not have its object or its end in any connection with things of this world at all. It's down here a little while for the blessing of men, if you might say it's dipped down.
And it's going to be taken back up. It comes down from God and goes back to God and the Lord Jesus set that forth livingly himself. In John's Gospel we see the blue. If you remember. Also another color in that veil was the purple. And I would suggest you that the purple would speak of the Gospel of Matthew. The royal color, it's the it's the thought of the Kingdom. The Lord Jesus was here.
00:50:05
And he set forth livingly in his own person the truth of the Kingdom, the power of God, the rule of God, the authority of God. What do you see? That's a part of the Christian testimony. Or we might say that that is a moral feature, a characteristic of the Christian testimony, not so much the content of it. But Christianity is to be characterized by recognizing the rights of God and the rights of Christ, and that man has no rights.
I know that's radical. Some young people say my that's radical. It is radical. But according to the word of God, man has no rights. And the Kingdom is really the asserting of the rights of God, the rights of Christ. And we find that the Lord Jesus, when he was here, he set that forth, living in himself. What he recognized no other authorities but of God, although he was subject to the powers that be because the power that be ordained of God.
That's why we're subject to the powers that be not because we approve of them, not because we think they're morally right. And the Christian never indulges in trying to determine whether or not a certain course of the government is morally right or wrong. The powers that be are ordained of God.
And we're really being subject to God and owning God's rights when we're subject to the power to be in the Lord Jesus was when he was here.
Well, we find another color, not only the purple but the scarlet. What would the Scarlet Speaker? I believe scarlet is the true glory of man in contrast to vain glory.
Is a very illustrious color, and it speaks of the true glory of man. And that would be, I think, found in Mark's Gospel what we find in the gospel of Mark the Lord Jesus serving God in the liberty of sonship. It starts off the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Let the true glory of man, not serving God slavishly, not serving God alike under the law, not serving God out of fear. And you know they are those in this world that they take up anything that they want to do for God in a sense of fear and dread. I mean by that they fear if they don't do it, they will be maybe punished or they'll not get a reward or something in this heart. But to serve God in the liberty of sonship, that means that one is in the consciousness.
Of his relationship to God and in that liberty of knowing God his father, and that relationship of being someone serves because he's a son and you are a beloved young people. We read a scripture that we're all sons of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Son of God, and it is your privilege to to serve the Lord, and that doesn't necessarily mean to go out.
Into foreign fields we read that those in Thessalonica, they turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God. They were serving God in their daily.
Vocations or applications, whichever one you want to use. Some would think of it as an application. Our real vocation is is to follow the Lord. But whatever would be our employment, whatever would be the circumstances in which we're found to serve the Lord in them.
To serve the Lord in them we know in the Epistle to the Colossians, Paul says of the slaves.
Slaves. I'm not talking about now employees.
A slave, a slave, was not at liberty to bargain for a wage. He wasn't liberty to bargain for anything. He had to work for his master sent him. And yet in Colossians we're told of those slaves that they were to do their work under the Lord, he says, For ye serve the Lord Christ. Yet those slaves were serving the Lord in doing their duties and their chores.
And it's the privilege of everyone of us to serve in the liberty of sonship, like the Lord Jesus here as the Son of God serving in marks gospel. And then we have the fine twine linen. And I would suggest that that bring before us Looper the fine twin linen speaks of that, of that righteousness, that purity in regard to humanity that we find set forth in the Lord Jesus. Oh, what a perfect man we find in Luke, and one could go into that in detail.
And no doubt that would be a part of the testimony to that believers are those now.
Has indwelled by the Spirit of God. We read in Romans 8 that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in US.
00:55:06
You ever think of that? That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in US who walk not according to the pledge, but according to the Spirit? That's what it requires to walk in the Spirit. It will not fulfill fleshes, lusts. And then the cherubim entwined their embroidered there, I believe would speak of that discernment in connection with the ways of God. The cherubim were associated with the with the government of God.
And speaks of that discernment.
In which his government is carried out. And so the Lord Jesus, when he was here, he had that it had that discernment of the mind and ways of God. It exhibited you. Well, I believe all of that's found in the veil. And then we have the badger skins, the badger skins, which speak of separation.
You see, the veil was put over the arm.
That's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is set forth livingly all of the elements, you might say, of God's testimony in this world and his moral features and.
Now we have the badger skin that speaks of separation in order to protect and preserve. But here the badger skins were not outward and seen like in the Tabernacle. You remember the Tabernacle, we have the curtains, and then we have the we had the curtain of hair and the ramskins dyed red, and the badger skins over that, so that the badger skins were seen externally. And I believe that would speak of, you might say, outward separation like come out from among them and be ye separate.
Saith the Lord. But here the badger skin were not seen, for over the badger skins would put a cloth of gluten. What was seen was the cloth of blue in the testimony, But the badger skin had to be there. I believe it speaks of that inward separation, that inward separation of heart and mind and spirit. And you know, really I want to say this, young people, about worldliness. We often hear that word world. In this we often hear words of warning about worldliness.
But world in it is a spirit, and state and attitude 1 can be just as worldly in a monastery as you can be right out in the midst of a factory.
It's the spirit in which one takes up things in this world. You can take them up in a world away as being a part of.
Or you can. You can be in the midst of it, going about your duties and your chores. You might be found walking down the streets and someone come into that city, and there you are, walking down the street on your way to work, or guarding on your way to school or on your way to shop. And you're right in the midst of many people. But there's a difference.
You're going there, and you're in a different spirit, in a different attitude. Your desire is to serve the Lord. You have before you the desire to be in accord with the testimony of which you identified in Christianity. And so you might be outwardly in these things, but you're not in the same spirit. Well, so the badger skins would be that inverse separation, I believe, and the outward would be the cloth. Now I want to just touch on this last form.
The cloth with what was seen. The cloth of blue that is, There's an album.
And you remember I referred to John the Baptist the two things in regard to John the Baptist. There was his outward dress as which could be seen, the camels, the coat of camels, hair and the leather girdle that could be seen. And then the food was that which went went in. So there was the inner aspect and there was the outer. That's why I read in Revelation 10 for you remember there there was one who was told to take a little book and eat it up.
He was to assimilate it. He was to be a part of him. He was to eat it so that it would affect him inwardly, so that he would be able to stand and prophesied before many peoples and nations and so forth. It was in view of witness and testimony, someone like somewhat like Jeremiah, when he said thy word was found, and I did eat it, thy word, with the joy and rejoicing in my heart, Beloved young people, if we're going to be in accord with the testimony.
Inwardly, we're going to have to read the word of God. We're going to have to find the word of God.
Sweet to our taste. We're going to have to find the word of God palatable to our taste. Read it over and over and over again. This is the most remarkable book in this respect. And this is true. And I know there are others that will concur in this, that the more you read the word of God, the greater appetite you will have for the word of God. The less you read it, the smaller appetite you will have. That is sure and certain. One has proved it in my own experience over the years.
01:00:20
To neglect it even in the slightest will diminish your appetite. And the more you read of it, you'll have a ravenous appetite for the word of God. You'll find you cannot go a day. It'd be hard to go half a day without reading something from the script, that's true.
Appetite is increased in reading the Word. And when we read and we read and we meditate on the Word of God, it has that effect of bringing us into moral according in an inward way, so that our heart and our affections and our motives and our desires are governed by the Word of God. Something comes along and someone says something you know and you say, well, that doesn't that doesn't fit with my ideas. And why doesn't it fit with my ideas? Because I'm a peculiar person. No, I've got my just in the word of God.
I read the word of God. I'm just using this eye now in a general way, so much as a believer. You read the word of God over and over and over so that you have certain outlooks, you have certain motives and desires, and they will be in accord with the testimony of Christianity. But now, finally.
That's the N word. I read that portion in First Timothy 2. For this reason. There we have What is outward? You remember, let's just turn to it. First Timothy two. We have what is outward. Sometimes we're inclined to say, you know, the Lord looks on the heart.
And man looked on the outward appearance. That's all true. But in regard to the testimony, what is outward is taken account of by God. For here in First Timothy 2, God has a testimony going out in this world in order to save persons from this world and to bring them to the knowledge of the truth. Man is a creature of self will, and of independence and of vanity.
We find these things are madness. Is marked, is marked by them.
And God is sending out the gospel to deliver man from that and to bring him into the knowledge of God and all of his ways. Now then, we have here the fact that God says he would desire his people to be so in accord with the testimony and their outward demeanor.
That persons would see all right, you might say, that they commend the testimony that they show forth, that they have been delivered from the world ways. They have been delivered from the vanity, they have been delivered from self will, they have been delivered from independency, and they exhibited even in their outward deportment and dress. The men are seen. Independence. That's not common to man. Man's nature is to be independent, the master of his own hip.
Amanda That's why so many men. They think prayer belongs to old ladies and little children.
Man likes to be independent, but here we find the men are praying they're dependent lifting up holy hands. Oh, we know how man in his ways are unclean and and in a sense we we're talking about men now and contrary to women as a general thing, that men are more unclean. And in regard to their manners and ways to hear holy hands think of that, it shows they've been delivered from the the common uncleanness that are found among men and the independence.
And without wrath, that self assertiveness, that that resourcefulness that is so admired in the world and men, it's not there, no and confidence in another, not in themselves. You see all of the things that men admire. The world is not found here in this company who are in accord with the testimony, this company of men.
They would be admired in the world, but God looks down and said, now they're in accord with my testimony, and they're showing forth that they've been delivered from the world in its way, and they've been brought to the knowledge of God. And what about the women? Oh, they're not there in vanity. They're not there showing off. Look at me.
Drawing attention to themselves because we read there. They're in modest apparel and shameful. They're they're dressed in a way that is in keeping with those who profess confidence, for they're in accord to the testimony they desire that their outward dreams. They desire that their outward manner in demeanor is in accord with the testimony with which they're identified. They want to show that they have been delivered from the self will the world in its divanity and the independency that prevails.
01:05:05
This world, and they've been brought to the knowledge of God. Now they know God and they know God's ways. So this is the outward way both things are involved. John's dress is called the Constitution. Two, and John's food, The testimony is heavenly. Yeah, the testimony asserts God's rights.
The testimony gives us the true glory of man to serve God. The testimony brings before us righteousness in man, as we see in Luke. The testimony brings before us the cherubim, that discernment of the mind and ways of God, all set forth livingly in the person of Christ.
And now we're identified with that testimony, young people. Everyone of us.