Toledo Conference: 1990
Table of Contents
2 Timothy 1:1-7
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Thing to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. To Timothy, my dearly beloved Son, Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, greatly desiring to see thee being mindful of my tears, that I may be filled with joy when I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith, that is indeed which dwelt first in my grandmother Lois and in my mother Eunice.
And I am persuaded that him be also, Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee.
By the putting out of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me as prisoner. But be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Whereunto I am appointed A preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, For the which 'cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US.
This thou knowest that all they that are in Asia, which are in Asia, be turned away from me.
Of whom are Phi delis and homogeneous? The Lord give mercy unto the House of onusiferous.
For he off refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently and found me.
The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day. And how many things? And how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
I think most of us are acquainted with the character of the epistles to Timothy.
In the first one we have the House of God in order, and in the second one the House of God in disorder.
And so, in the first epistle he takes up the whole position of the assembly here in this world.
It was to be the pillar and ground of the truth, and there was to be a pattern of godliness. That is, the Lord Jesus is the perfect pattern. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. That is what is the secret of a godly life? Well, it's the pathway of the Lord Jesus. Then he shows through the epistle how it affects every part of our lives, our attitudes toward government care of those who are near and dear.
Interest in the interests of Christ here in this world, and all it has to do with the Church as a testimony here in the earth and how beautifully it's brought out, touching every part of life, even looking after money that God has entrusted to us.
But when we come to the second epistle, things had got into a state of disorder. There was a departure from the truth. Things were not as they should be. And I think it's very precious in the second epistle how he charges this young man, Timothy, her brother has just been talking to those who are young. He's charging this young man, Timothy as to his privilege and responsibility in a day like this, and that there was something committed to him and to the assembly.
And he was responsible as an individual to keep that, to stand for it. And I believe, brethren, these are the days in which we live. And also, I think it is most important of all, is the Spirit in which it is done in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. We can stand for truth in a cold way, or we can stand for it in faith and love, and that which has become so dear and precious to us that we desire, others would know for their own good and blessing, as well As for the glory of God.
Well, I just mentioned this because I believe this is the character of the second epistle and directly suited to the very days in which we're living now.
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It's very lovely the way he brings this in by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus.
That's good for us to always bear in mind that the will of God, the heart of God.
Is the source of all blessing. There's nothing that originated with us. Sin entered by man.
But all blessing originates in the heart of God, and then the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus that you and I now possess. Life in a risen Christ. Every one of us present as believers, have a life within us that is capable of entering into the thoughts and purposes of God. And the Spirit of God has been given as the power, but the promise of life that is.
There is something special about this present time I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, and the more abundant life is not just.
A character, and shall I say, a kind of life that some Christians live and some don't. That's not the thought. It is what is characteristic of Christianity that you and I possess life. In a risen Christ, you and I possess life.
In a fullness that was not known and enjoyed in the Old Testament, if a boy was here and his father was here, but he'd been separated from him for many years, and he didn't even recognize his own father, he wouldn't have the same enjoyment of the relationship. But if he knew his father, knew the love of his father, there would be an enjoyment of the relationship. And you and I rather now have been brought into this circle. The more abundant life is life in a risen Christ.
Life by which we can enter into and enjoy what is in the heart of God in a way that it never was revealed before until Christianity.
That's really the thought of verse 10. Is it not that he has an old death and has brought to light or or has brought life an incorruptibility to light through the gospel. It wasn't really known. It wasn't revealed until that time.
It's interesting how that he doesn't. He doesn't refer to our being members of the one body here, although he was the apostle especially chosen to bring that truth out. But he goes back to something even more basic and fundamental than that, and that is the life which is in Christ Jesus He touches, you might say, along the side of the Apostle John's ministry who spoke of that eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested to us and we have that life in the sun.
So here Paul, in a time of ruin, and I think it's so important to remember this.
In a time of ruin, what is it that really links us with other Saints? It's the life which is in Christ Jesus, isn't it? That same life that makes US1 in the family of God? Probably the most basic and fundamental of all truths, isn't it?
I'd like to ask questions.
Turning the expression verse one, the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. And please turn to Titus Chapter one.
Where you have.
A similar concept.
And it's really the 1St and Titus that I'd like to ask some help about.
Titus Chapter One, verse 2.
In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised.
There's that word promise before the world began.
Now to whom did he promise it?
And who did the promising?
Could we have a word on this word promise? Why does it say?
Promised Who did the promising and to whom?
Was the promise made before the world began? Could we have some help on that?
Before the answer is given, I'd like to read one more verse in First John 2.
I just had mentioned that he links with John's ministry First John 225.
And this is the promise that he hath promised us. Even eternal life. That's the same line that Paul takes up in Second Timothy. Maybe someone can answer Ron's question. Keep going. No, no. Go ahead, I.
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Well, I was thinking of the passage in Second Corinthians chapter 2.
Perhaps we could begin at the 17th verse.
When I therefore was thus minded, did I use Lightness Chapter One, verse 17.
Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yay, yay, and nay, nay. But as God is true, our word towards you was not yay and nay, the Son of God Jesus Christ, who has preached among you by us, even by me. And Sylvanus And Timotheus was not yeah and nay, but in him.
Was yay, for all the promises of God in him are yay.
And in him Amen to the glory of God by us. I think in this passage he's making a comparison between the law.
In the law there was a yeah, and there was a nay. And it says if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness had been by the law. The law did not impart life. It made known to man what God required, and there was a yeah if he could keep it. They were to stand upon 1 mountain and pronounce blessings for obedience, and on another mountain and pronounced curses for disobedience. It was all conditional. It was made to depend on something that man could do.
But God had in His eternal purpose as his own Son the source of blessing for man.
And so when God made the promise away, back in the Garden of Eden, that the seed of the woman would bruise, the serpents had into Abraham. In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And God knew that man could never live up to the requirements of the law. But those promises didn't depend. Those original promises, shall I say, didn't depend upon man. They depended on God's promise, the promised seed, who was Christ. And so I believe this was in the eternal counsels of God.
Man was put to the test in innocence. He was put to the test without law, under law, with the promises. Everything failed under the first man. But God had purposes to bless man in Christ. And So what was necessary to improve the old man? No, it couldn't be improved to find some fruit. No, there couldn't be any fruit. But the Lord Jesus was the fulfillment of all that. So the promises are in him. And so I believe it's important to see that God begins in Christianity.
By imparting a new life. And so I believe this is what is referred to in Titus and also here, those promises that were in the heart of God, that didn't Draw Something from man who couldn't produce any fruit for God, but began with the one who glorified God.
And now has imparted to us a new life, a more abundant life. They have been fulfilled in the person of Christ. Those promises. That verse you referred to in Second Corinthians is a very good verse, isn't it? Could be perhaps a brethren that.
These scriptures in the New Testament add light to the Scriptures referred to in the Old, like you promised. You mentioned the promise of the woman's seat, and we have here in the New Testament.
Additional light given you know if you only read these promises in the Old Testament, you do not have the light of the New, which really.
Expands upon what is said in the Old Testament and really gives a new perspective. I think that's correct to say, isn't it? That there is now to us given to understand that with the overthrowing of the enemy?
And the woman seed crushing the serpents head along with that is an impartation of life which goes far beyond anybody dreaming in the Old Testament, You know it goes way beyond that. But we have it now in the new. There's an additional light given to the promises in the old that we do not have if we had not the New Testament.
I was just thinking now that our brother's question was about having life. And even with all these things, God has given us this life so that we have a life that can enter into and enjoy these things. And I think that the figure that set before us in Galatians chapter 4, where it shows the air as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be Lord of all. There was Prince Charles. He was going to school. He had to learn his lessons.
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And he was under the discipline of the school and it wasn't a very abundant life for him.
But a certain stage came in his life when he is now declared publicly to be in a new position.
Now of course, he didn't get a different life at that time, but you and I get, shall I say.
Life in Resurrection, it isn't that it's a different life, but it's a new character of that life.
That we have in Christianity so that we can appreciate this light.
That wasn't. It wasn't given in the Old Testament. That's true. It's come to light through the gospel.
But we also needed a life so that we could enter into it and the comparison between.
The child, when he was going to school under tutors and governors and in the dignity of his position as the heir to the throne, is brought before us to help us understand the position of those in the Old Testament under the law as compared to us now. They had a new life, but it wasn't a very abundant life. It wasn't what scripture speaks of his resurrection life.
I think the thought of the promise of life brought out here and entitus really anti seeds all the promises given in the Old Testament, doesn't it? So it really connects with the eternal purposes of God in Christ.
Yes, I that's good. You will the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus. I think the thought of that is not so much to whom did he promise it, but that He promised it. That is, God has committed himself because of His desire from all eternity to surround himself with those that could enjoy fellowship with him, could enjoy his own fellowship. Truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, in order for that to be realized.
We have to have the same life that he has, so he's promised it. And John says this is the promise that he had promised us, even eternal life. Now, since we are the ones that are going to be brought into this nearness and to this blessedness, the promise that he made without respect to whom he made it, we now can appropriate that for ourselves because he has committed himself to the bestowal of eternal life because of his eternal longing to have children.
That will enjoy himself for all eternity. And Galatians, 4 to which our brother Gordon referred, clearly shows that the Old Testament Saints were children.
But could not be referred to as sons.
The truth of sons of God is strictly Christian, But even the fact that we are children of God, as well as that we are sons of God, can be enjoyed today because of the indwelling Spirit that even the Old Testament Saints did not have the conscious knowledge of what they possessed like you and I have it because the Spirit of God dwells within us.
It's tremendous to live at this time in the history of man, You know, of this world where the truth has come out in Christianity, that it was ever in the heart of God, that he has children and sons. You know, we're children because we have his nature. And the difference between being a child and the Son of God is sonship, speaks of position.
And being a child of God speaks of relationship, and what a wonderful truth that is. And to enjoy that just think even Abraham could not enjoy that relationship as you and I do. And that we by the Spirit can cry ever father. This is eternal life, that they might know thee the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent, Who is He speaking to? He's speaking to the Father.
Only you and I as Christians know God as Father and can say ABBA Father.
Now the fatherhood of God is expressed in different ways in the Scriptures, but I'm speaking now of that relationship of having been brought into the very family of God so that we are children of God, sons of God. Like an old brother once said God had one son and he loved him so much, and he said I'm going to fill heaven with many just like him and we can already enjoy that relationship.
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Now we are in that relationship already now, but there is the future aspect of that which we have in Romans 8, awaiting the adoption or awaiting sonship. But this is tremendous. This is Christianity, beloved and.
This is for you and for me to enjoy. This is what gives us power and motive for Christian living when we realize who we are and into what favor and dignified position we have been brought through the work of the Lord Jesus and the indwelling of the Spirit.
In keeping with these things that we're talking about, verse two should read to Timothy, my dearly beloved child, not son. It's the word born one. It's the word for children that he uses and that goes along with the thought of eternal life that he had come. That that's what brings us into the relationship of a child, isn't it? It's not so much the position of son here that he addresses Timothy in that way, but in keeping with the thought of eternal life, he calls him my dearly beloved child.
The early church was in danger of losing this and drifting back to the ground that Israel were on. So in this chapter, there were those that turned away from Paul and he didn't give up Christ. But they didn't really enjoy the position that we are brought into in Christianity and the particular place that the church occupies in this dispensation. Something that is very wonderful. Padres was not true of those in the Old Testament. They were children. But they didn't, as our brother said, enjoy this relationship.
I believe when the Lord Jesus breathed on the disciples and said receive ye Holy Ghost, it's a picture there of the Lord Jesus taking his place as the head of new creation and saw that he was bringing those disciples into that. And the coming of the Holy Spirit was that which became the power for the enjoyment of all this new place that we are brought into in Christianity. Very blessed for us to see this. It's being lost today as Christendom settles down more.
To the level of the world and world improvement, they don't enjoy the position that we have.
Life that we have that is heavenly in character, Well, I believe it's precious for us to get hold of this and see and enjoy what we have.
And especially in view of the fact that the ruined state is brought before us in the second epistle, Paul gives to us that which we can enjoy and appreciate no matter what the condition of the church and the Christian testimony is. And that is characteristic of that second epistle, isn't it? And it is primarily that which is the individuals part.
That is brought before us in the second epistle. You have the collective side in Chapter 2, but you have especially the individual side. And this is so encouraging for us that we can fall back upon that which you and I individually can enjoy, no matter what the Condition Roundabout is like.
It's helpful to get a little background in connection with the conditions of Paul as he wrote this epistle, I think as we go on into these next few verses, as he seeks to encourage Timothy that if we could look back and see where Paul was, here he is in prison.
And this is Paul's last epistle. This is his last words before he's ready to be offered and be martyred for the testimony of the Lord Jesus.
And so here he is, in this difficult place, if we can believe history. He was in the mammoth time dungeon there in Rome.
A very dark, dank prison where there were no windows, just a hole where food and water were let down to to feed the prisoner. It was cold. Perhaps that's why Paul says the cloak that I left at Troas bring with you. And in these conditions at the end of Paul's life of faith, when things too have broken down and there's there's ruin in the in the church, Paul isn't saying to Timothy, well, Timothy, it's just not worth it to live the Christian life.
You may as well just give up. I've been shipwrecked. I've been beaten, I've been stoned for the testimony of the Lord. And now here I'm in prison and all those that are in Asia have turned away from me.
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At my first answer, no man stood with me. He does mention that, but Paul is not complaining at all about his circumstances here. But instead, in this difficult time of his life, he is seeking to encourage Timothy, who's still out there on the front lines, to be faithful in his service for the Lord. And he's pointing out that it is worth it, he says in the 4th chapter. I fought a good fight, I've kept the faith, and there's a reward laid up for me. And so to speak, he's saying, Timothy, I want you to have that reward too, So he says in chapter 2.
Endure hardness as a good soldier. So if we were to look at this first chapter and I think in these especially in these next 8 verses we see.
To to me anyway, an encouragement or a little blueprint as to how we can be an encouragement to somebody else. We I have written in my Bible over this chapter, encouragement for a believer in a day of difficulty. And so Paul seeks to encourage this young.
Servant of the Lord Timothy, and in verse 2 The first thing that he mentioned here is to Timothy.
My dearly beloved Son. And so he lets him know that he is dear to his heart, that is always.
Spoken to me as I've tried to talk to other young people and brothers and sisters in the Lord, to to the young people in my assembly, to the brothers and sisters back home in Gig Harbor, where I come from. Know that they're dear to my heart, that I love them. Paul left no doubt, first of all in Timothy's mind, that Timothy was loved by the apostle Paul. Then he goes on to say, I'm praying for you and I'm mindful of your tears, Is sympathy for this younger brother. And then he goes on and he calls to remembrance the faith that was in his mother.
And his grandmother. And he says, I'm persuaded that it's in you to confidence in that work of the Lord that was done in Timothy.
And then encouraging him to exercise his gift, to stir up the gift which is in him. So I think here it's helpful to look as we go on into these next verses and see how Paul and these difficult trying time in his own life at the end of his, his pathway here on his way to glory. In these last words, he's writing to encourage Timothy to go on for the Lord. And we see a little pattern or a little blueprint that's helpful for each one of us as we seek to be an encouragement to one another.
It's good to remember too that this is the character of Christianity in the world. It's not intended to be a popular and accepted thing. And so we find, as Paul unfolds, the truth of the church. It's in Ephesians, it's in Colossians where he was a prisoner, and here he's still a prisoner. There's a tendency today to try and make Christianity a popular thing. It is not a popular thing. It's something that brings reproach because.
As we talk about the judgment of this world, and we talk about our portion being heavenly, we cannot expect to be accepted by the world or even the religious world, which would like to improve things and bring about a better social order and all that kind of thing. I believe the whole character of the Christian testimony is developed here, and as our brother said, Timothy, a young man, is encouraged to expect that this is what the type of testimony is.
It's not a popular thing. It's not something that is going to have the glow and acceptance of the world.
So we need to be strengthened in that thing, and we need this grace and mercy and peace. It's all undeserved. Where the objects of mercy, there can be a peace that rules in our hearts, even in the breakdown of everything, because it's what we expect. It's not something abnormal, it's something that we expect. And so Paul had a background in the things of God, but he hadn't learned the truth of Christianity.
He had learned as he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel. He was taught the things that had to do with the.
Jewish order of things. And it was an entirely new thing now for him to.
Except Christianity separated from his nation, separated from his mother's womb. He followed a path of difficulty here in this world.
The word that has exercised me in this first chapter is the word ashamed. And we have it three times. We have it in verse 8 and also we have it in verse 12, and then we have it in verse 16. And in each instance it's in connection with the testimony. And as things are in a deteriorating state and we see and we are surrounded with popularized Christianity.
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Then it becomes a test more and more. Whether or not we're going to be ashamed of the testimony, That's a testing thing for all of our hearts, and I believe there's something to learn in each of these instances.
It is especially.
Called line of things that is unpopular.
And one of the popular things that are being pressed is the family.
And certainly.
We have scriptures addressing that subject in the New Testament, but we have to remember, Beloved, that the real blessing of Christianity is on the other side of Jordan. I believe we don't go too far that.
Many of the things which in themselves are blessing for the believer.
Are really something that would be illustrated by that which was found on the wilderness site of Jordan.
The Lord no doubt had these blessings in mind for His people as well as those on the resurrection side, but they fell short in not wanting that and being satisfied with that, with that which would enhance and improve their life here on earth and their earthly relationship.
Ships. And so we have to remember that Paul brings out the heavenly side and the church truth and so on. And like Brennan had said, Paul is in prison. We have to go and search him out. And we must not be ashamed of that side of the testimony. And especially when it is weak and failing. And you know, beloved brethren, has it ever been anything other than a failing?
And weak testimony. You know we do not present it correctly if we make people believe it's wonderful and glorious and perfect. No, there's much to humble us. But it is still God's testimony that which answers, although feebly, to what God's purpose for his own at the present time is. I'm thankful I'm identified with it by His grace.
And I don't want to be ashamed. Neither do we. Do we want to be ashamed of Paul or of the testimony. It's that which is the dearest to the heart of God in this world.
It's interesting to reflect on the Epistle to the Ephesians.
The first three chapters, this is heavenly truth. It's the highest truth that we have. It's what answers to Joshua to having crossed the Jordan we're seeing seated in the heavenlies in Christ. In the first three chapters we have the doctrine developed, and then in chapter 4-5 and six, and then Paul was speaking in the address about the Christian warfare. He begins that last part by finally brethren put on the whole armor of God.
Having addressed first of all the doctrine in the 1St 3 chapters and then how are we going to live that teaching out in three spheres? The assembly sphere, first verses of chapter 4, the sphere of the world, the rest of chapter 4 and into chapter 5. And then the family, wives, husbands, children, parents, servants, masters. There you have it. So you've got the three spheres where the heavenly truth is to be brought down, so to speak.
And lived out in those three spheres. And probably the most difficult one to live it out in is the family sphere. But it's part there, It's part of the the three spheres and and so we need the whole armor of God, whether it's in the assembly, in our relationships, in the assembly, whether it's in the world or whether it's in the family. We need the whole armor of God in order to walk down here for him consistently with the heavenly truth that we've been brought into.
Connection with the family. I thought it's something to notice here that in this fifth verse it says which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice. And I am persuaded that in thee also we see from this that Lois was apparently a God fearing person, but she had the sorrow of seeing her daughter marry a Greek that was quite contrary to the whole Jewish economy. They were not to marry outside of their own nation.
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It must have been a great grief, but it's lovely to see how the grace of God comes in. And Timothy, who was the child of this marriage, it turns out very brightly for the Lord, so this should be an encouragement. There might be parents who are feeling badly and suffering because of things that have happened within their home, but here we see Paul was earnestly praying and God comes in and this family which evolves a divided home.
Because the Father. We are never told in Scripture that the Father was ever saved or had any part in connection with a Christian testimony. But this is nice to see God's answer to prayer, isn't it?
Because he's one of the brightest lights of the Christian testimony was Timothy, who was the fruit of that unequal yoke.
You mentioned prayer brother and back at first Grief. Paul mentions in connection with to encourage Timothy. He says in the end of the verse I have remembrance of thee in my prayers. Night and day always struck me that it doesn't say day and night says night and day. So perhaps in those long cold hours as Paul was down in that dungeon, maybe with rats running across the floor, we don't know the conditions, but Paul was redeeming the time and he was spending those late hours in prayer.
Someone has said if you can't sleep at night, don't count sheep. Talk to the shepherd. And that's what Paul was doing in those late hours as he was praying night and day for Timothy Anna down in Back in Luke two was one who served God in the temple night and day with fastings and prayers. And so here's another way where we can be a tremendous help and an encouragement to one another. Maybe there's a young person here this afternoon and he said, well, I don't speak up in the assembly and there's all these older brothers there, and yet you may see some difficulties and problems.
Well, there's one thing that you can never be limited in, and that is the ministry of prayer. Paul Mate took advantage of that ministry. Though. He was in prison, he was praying and what a tremendous way to be in health and encouragement. Somebody was saying to me recently, they had visited with me several times over the phone about some problems in their assembly. And then I didn't hear from them for a while. And we talked not too long ago and I said, well, what about the difficulties? He said, well, things are looking up. He said, I guess the turning point for me was when I.
Decided to be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem.
And here's the way we can be a part of the solution is by laboring in prayer, as Paul did here. What a what a way to encourage one another. I took a trip some years ago to the east and had never been there before to a certain assembly. And a brother walked up to me. And we introduced for the very first time an older brother, now probably in his 80s, and he said to me as we introduced, he repeated my name and he says, Oh yes, he said.
I pray for you every day.
Well, several years later I was back at that same assembly and I said, brother, are you still praying for me? There was the same brother, a little more feeble, a little more forgetful. But he said every day, brother, every day. And just at this conference another dear white haired old brother came up to me and he said, I want to tell you that I pray for you every night and every morning what a tremendous encouragement that was to my own soul. It may we, each one of us be exercised that we might be a part of the solution rather than a part of the problem and.
Follow this example that Paul had here and being encouragement in laboring in prayer night and day.
You do have some brother fairly.
I was just thinking of conscience here too, in this first epistle, just backing up the verse three, as I besought thee to abide still.
No, I'm sorry. In in the in the verse 3 thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with a pure conscience. And I think in the first chapter in the first epistle he writing through Timothy.
In the first chapter he says in verse 18.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies that went before.
Indeed, that thou mightest by them mightest war a good warfare.
Holding faith and a good conscience, well the apostles desire was he said that I.
That I might go on with a pure conscience before God. And so he brings this before Timothy, too, doesn't he? And this now in the first epistle, of course, he enjoins him, He says, He gives him this charge, And now, in view of the decline of things, he says.
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That I might serve from with my forefathers with a pure conscience, without ceasing, have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, that he might go on.
With a pure conscience, it says In holding faith many times we we without faith, we're not a child of God at all. But what about the conscience? Perhaps your conscience would slight you about a certain thing. And what is your exercise? Well, I believe it speaks to my heart, at least to my conscience, to judge those things that might be a hindrance, even though I may be a child of faith. It's bringing God into the matter.
And also keeping sin out is a good conscience.
I'd like to ask, in that connection with that third verse, how are we to understand it? He says. I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience.
Um, how do you understand that?
From my forefathers.
Don't you take his answer before King Agrippa, was it? Or Felix? He said, I have lived in all good conscience before God unto this day. And the Lord Jesus said in the end, John 16, the time will come that they that kill you will think that they do God's service. It's very important that our consciences are guided by the word of God, not just by other things. Conscience is like a compass, but a compass isn't much use if you don't have a chart.
You've got to have a chart. What good is it to point to the North if I don't know which direction I want to go?
I have to first of all want to find a direction. I want to go before the compass is any use to me. And so conscience is very important, but it's never very practical apart from the word of God. And so the word of God is what gives us the direction we should go. The conscience is like the compass that tells us we're getting off the course, isn't it? Well, he persecuted the Christians then He had a good conscience. Yes. Yeah.
He had a pure conscience. He did an ignorant paper that wasn't enlightened by the Word. His conscience wasn't enlightened by the word of God.
He didn't know really what direction he should go, but as soon as he met the Lord Jesus on the way.
And then there was a light above the brightness of the sun. He saw the way and he was told what to do. And we as believers can't really live properly with a good conscience unless that conscience is directed by the word of God, can we? So it's not enough to say, well, I have a good conscience in doing this.
It's got to be according to the word of God, the conscience is not necessarily a good guide. It has to be enlightened by the word of God. Paul thought he was doing right and he was doing wrong. Now doesn't that say, isn't that Paul that says that they're zealous for God, but not according to knowledge of his Jewish brethren? So there are a lot of sincere, upright people out there.
Even those who are not Christians, and they think they do God a service, but the light of the truth of God has not illuminated their conscience. But hopefully, when the light of the word of God comes, like it did with Paul when he was smitten there on the road to Damascus, who art thou, Lord? He had thought that he had to do all he could against that name. What an amazing revelation to find out who that wonderful person was.
And then that this wonderful person in grace would reach down to one who had persecuted that which was dearest to him. A lot of grace, you know, But so how important it is we have to be more than zealous. It has to be according to knowledge. And my people are destroyed, the Old Testament prophet laments, because of lack of knowledge. You know, we do sometimes, perhaps.
In belittle in Knowledge you know knowledge according to God.
Being enlightened by the Spirit of God who opens up these scriptures to us is desirable.
Because otherwise we might ourselves be zealous and do exactly the opposite of what we want to do, work against the work of God.
Instead of helping us.
00:45:02
Nice to see also in connection with this Pittsburgh.
A little earlier in connection with the generations that are mentioned, we would almost have a fulfillment of the 78th Psalm, at least the first few verses of that song. Just like to read a few verses there, beginning with the second verse, because I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark things of old which we have heard and known.
And our fathers have told us especially the fourth verse that says we will not hide them.
From their children.
Going to the generations to come.
The praises of the Lord and his strength and his wonderful work.
That he hath done so there's.
3 generations involved in our birth. And that continuance is brought before us again in the second chapter, isn't it? And the second verse, and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to keep others also. So there is a passing down, and there is a passing on that is brought brought before us in these chapters. And how important that is, isn't it?
You might say also that.
Christianity, of course, as well as Judaism.
Gives the woman an honored place, and there has been criticism of Paul as being against the women. Far from the thought, We see how Paul is very ready to give credit and this certainly is a lovely recognition and acknowledgement of these godly women. And we see that Paul commends a sister Phoebe there in Romans 16.
In her womanly sphere of service, yes, indeed, Christianity elevates the woman in an honored place. That is in contrast to these dark Eastern religions.
There's a necessity for the stirring up of the gift, too, isn't there the sixth verse, but the in remembrance that thou should have stir up the gift which is in the putting on of my hands. And we find later on too, that he's encouraged to use that gift that had been given. Each one of us has been given a gift of some kind, and each one of us are responsible, the Lord told about the man who has given the talent and just put it in the earth.
And didn't use it. And so it's a responsibility for each one of us. We're not all given exactly the same place, but everyone has been given a gift and we are responsible to use that gift. And someday in the day of manifestation, it's going to be brought out how we use what was given to us. The person who receives a greater gift than another will not have a greater reward. The reward is really according to devotedness, where there was a difference in what was given.
In the parable about the town, then they all received the same reward if they were faithful with what was given.
But where they all received the same, and one gained 10 and another five, then there was a difference, showing us that there's no greater reward for having a greater gift. But there is a reward according to how we use what God has given to us. So this applies to every one of us in this room who are believers. Every one of us have a place to fulfill in the body of Christ, and in the service of the Lord He gave to every man his works. And you might say, well, since I don't have as great a gift to someone else.
But maybe you'll get a better reward than that someone else if you use what has been given to you and use it more diligently. So there's an encouragement, and I think it brings into the natural disposition of Timothy. It appears that he was a very timid sort of person, says here, mindful of thy tears, another place he's encouraged to devote to not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. And quite a few little words that are spoken to show that he was to overcome a natural timidity that he had. Some people don't have that, but others do, and.
Lord alone can help us.
We know those in Titus. They had to be held back. They were doing too much talking.
00:50:01
And he had to tell us that they needed to be held back. So we all have natural dispositions.
Let's teach the exercise to use what the Lord has given to us, and the Lord will take notice of it and not forget it in that day of manifestation.
Need to read first Timothy.
Chapter One.
Verse 18.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on the that thou by them mightest war, a good warfare. In other words, what we have here is that there was a prophecy given concerning Timothy, and the place that he was to fill. He did not receive a gift from Paul with all prior.
Prophecy being made.
At what revealed how we are not told when it was revealed to Paul. But we do know that Paul had fellowship with this and laid his hands on Timothy, and the elder in the first epistle also had fellowship with that. So the reason I'm bringing this up is to make clear for anyone that there is no such a thing as being ordained by man, and that there is a bestowing of a gift.
By some leaders of a church and ordaining somebody to the ministry. And Timothy is an exception here you might say he had to have a special or he had a special place in connection with the truth committed to him by Paul. And there had been a prophecy given or made, and Paul and the elders identified themselves with it, So that I believe the spiritual truth on the subject. So there is no such thing to be looked for today, but hopefully.
We will recognize what anybody has received from the Lord.
And that we will too have fellowship with the work that others are doing for the Lord. We don't go through a ceremony and putting our hands on somebody, but we can typically do this by having fellowship with the work that somebody is doing for the Lord. But one of the early writers said if you laid your hands on somebody, you better take and put your hand in the pocket and support them also. So let's have fellowship, beloved, recognize what the Lord has given someone and have fellowship with what.
The one or the other or anybody is doing for the Lord.
Like contrast connection with the first Timothy 4, where he says they're neglect, not the gift that is in Bacon, but here in second Timothy it stirred up the gift. And our brother Gordon was already pointing out to us all that in first Timothy we see the House of God in order and bringing that up even to our time. If we were to look at an assembly where things are in order, the tendency might be for a younger brother or a timid brother to just sit back.
And neglect responsibility and let others take that to responsibility.
And so Paul reminds Timothy, and a time when things were in order to neglect not the gift which was in him. But here, when things are in disorder, the tendency might be just the opposite, to throw up our hands and say, well, what's to use? How could I be at home? But Paul says no, Timothy says stir up the gift, which is in the fan it into flame. In other words, if ever it was needed, it's now. And so we don't have long. The time is short to to exercise and trade with the talents and use the abilities that the Lord has given us.
And so as we look around and see the ruin each one of us individually, as this is an epistle to an individual, Ken, take courage from this verse to to not lose heart, but to stir up the gift which is in us. That is that what the Lord has given us to use in ministry for him.
That next burst brings out what you were just saying, for God has not given us the spirit of fear.
Timidity, cowardice, but of power and above.
And of a town line.
These three things the spirit of power.
Say Well, we don't have the power to obey as we do. We have the word of God, and we have the Spirit of God.
Who is assured of power, He will enable us to obey every injunction of the word.
And above.
00:55:00
In a day like Second Tennessee, the love of many waxes cold, It's easy to get drawn into yourself and not let the love go out because of the state of things around it. So dark, everyone doing what is right in stone, eyes, all seeking their own things. These are Second Timothy days, so it's the spirit of love that is in US and then not to be carried away by.
Emotionalism and.
Things that are not according to a sound mind. So the spirit is the spirit of a sound mind, the spirit of power, spirit of love, spirit of a sound mind. That's brought out in the last epistle, his second imprisonment, that he wrote to encourage Timothy to be faithful to what he had received. One of the writers put it this way and said this is the exquisite.
Compound.
Of the apothecary the power is softened by the love.
The love is strengthened by the power, and the spirit of wisdom goes to adjust both the power and the love.
And I enjoyed that. The precious ointment of the apothecary. How what a balance there is there. It's just so beautiful, isn't it? Not that we boast great power, but or not that we say we have great love, but both are brought in there. The power and the love are brought into adjustment, and the perfection of the word of God is really that which is needed again. Going back to First Timothy, holding faith, that is bringing God in and embracing it and going on with it.
Would you give us that again, please? Well, I just haven't noticed. Here the power is softened by the love. The love is strengthened by the power. The spirit of wisdom comes to adjust both the power and the love.
That sound mind is sound judgment. Isn't that the thought?
Behind this bird spoke of that didn't even he said, who then is that faithful and wise servant? And the Lord may appoint over his household to give them their portion of meat in due season. So there needs to be the combination, doesn't it? We can be faithful, but not wise, and so we need to have that faithfulness. But it should be directed by.
Love. And it should also be as it says here, with a sound mind or wise discretion. A word gently spoken is like apples of gold and pictures of silver. We've all experienced this. A brother has spoken to us in love, spoken a word of wisdom, and we probably never forgot it all our days because it was really a word from the Lord. Well, we surely need that, don't we?
There's so much today that is religious emotionalism and the groups that go in for that kind of thing.
Set aside the word of God, pretty much, and they're moved by the Spirit. But here Paul tells us in the Word that the Spirit is the spirit of a sound mind, sound, sober, wise, discreet, judgment. And those movements are characterized by that at all. Is it the Spirit that leads them? In that this verse says no.
2 Timothy 1:8-12
Reading
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Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord in order, but be thou a partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.
Who have saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works.
But according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Where unto I am appointed A preacher and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
For the which 'cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day.
Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus.
That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US this thou knowest that all they which are in Asia, be turned away from me, of whom are faigilus and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy under the House of Onusiferous, For he off refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain. But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day, and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus. Thou knowest very well.
Thought.
And in the prayer.
We need to make a few comments as to the House.
My brother Gordon yesterday mentioned that the first Epistle.
Gave us the house in order.
And the expression, the ruin has been mentioned a few times in the readings and the Brothers Prayer just now.
And so the house to which we refer is the corporate testimony that exists on earth.
At that time in the first epistle, when the house was in order.
The house.
Did not have in it what we see around us today.
The house was as God is building it is comprised of living stones.
And does not.
Is not affected by the ruins, but as was mentioned in the prayer.
The ruin is that which man and his responsibility has done to what God initiated on the day of Pentecost in establishing a corporate testimony here.
The ruin is twofold.
The enemy came in early and sowed the seeds of sectarianism.
And very early in the Church's history.
It opened its arms to embrace the world.
So the corporate testimony having been divided into innumerable sex, as they are now in the end of our responsibility here or nearing its end.
And the world having been brought in, and its principles accepted as the principles for the.
Operation of the testimony comprise what we are referring to when we say the ruins.
The corporate testimony broken down by division and accepting the world as and its principles as the means of operating in the House of God, are what we refer to as the ruling. Maybe somebody would like to enlarge on those ideas.
So it seems to be that in this second epistle we need special instruction how to conduct ourselves when things are in a state of ruin. And of course the second chapter gives special instruction when the house is taken on the characteristics of a great house that is harboring not only that which is good, but also that which is false.
And so we certainly need special instruction and in verse 21 of chapter 2 not to get to involve.
In away from our basic chapter, but it says, if a man you see the appeal now is to an individual, it is an individual appeal. It says, if a man therefore purged himself, and Mr. Darby's translation says, in separating himself, it goes even further in thought, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet or fit for the masters use and prepared unto every good work.
00:05:29
I believe there are many dear believers that have acted in some measure on this principle on the light they have and have found themselves isolated. Well, certainly that is not the mind of God that his own should be isolated, because it says not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So then in verse 22 we have instruction for the right pathway. This is in chapter 2.
That we don't go back to the world, to youthful us as it were, but the exhortation is to follow righteousness, as we had last night.
That which God gives us a gift. But in a practical sense, this is the first thing mentioned. It is, we might say, the first principle even of the Kingdom, righteousness, peace, and joy. So it's righteousness, faith, charity, or love and pain.
With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. So verse 22 is a key once again for a corporate testimony.
We should never expect Christianity, Christianity, to be an accepted and popular thing in the world. And so he's preparing me, Timothy, for this position that he's going to occupy, be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord. We know the Lord Jesus, when he went away to how he prepared the disciples in the world, He shall have tribulation. That wasn't to be a strange thing to them, that they would be rejected for, he says if they have rejected me, they'll reject you.
So I believe, brethren, it's good for us to realize this, that if we're going to follow the Lord Jesus, it's going to be a rejected path, but it's going to be a happy path. We are the subjects of grace, and all that grace has done for us is brought before us here. And we're also to walk in the enjoyment of His love, so that while we're a separated people, we have a portion that sustains us in that path, just as in the Old Testament we find in an evil day, Enoch walked with God.
And he had this testimony that he pleased God. So I believe that's a very important starting point.
To expect it to be a rejected testimony, but a very happy path because we can walk in it in the enjoyment of grace and the enjoyment of the love of Christ and the enjoyment of the future that's ahead of us. One is often said that the Christian is the only one who has an intelligent outlook on what is going on in the world. Many of the world are puzzled by events today and as seeing everything breakdown in all kinds of order, going to pieces. But you and I are prepared for all this.
So we walk in peace, as the little hymn says, through scenes of strife and desert life we tread in.
Peace our way. So I believe what he's doing here in this chapter is preparing Timothy.
For this path, it is indeed a path of separation, but a separation to a person.
And that's really what makes it a happy path. And a young couple get married, their separation takes place and they say forsaking all others keep the only for this one. There's a separated path in a sense, but it's to a person whom they love who makes the word, the separation, all worthwhile and a happy step.
And so how lovely it is here. You not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of the Law, our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, to be identified with others in that past. He, thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, were told to expect this. It it doesn't need to come on us by surprise. I think it's very lovely, the way he's preparing, Timothy, for the past that our brother has been saying. It's the last days.
And everything is in disorder. But let us remember the law. It's a narrow path or it's a separated path or it's difficult. It is a happy path because of the company that we're in, our veteran.
00:10:09
Correct me if I go too far, but sometimes we have a view far too narrow of the Lord's testimony. What I mean by that is.
The Lord's testimony is not limited to those gathered to his name on the ground of the one body in separation from evil.
And.
I'm sure that that is what the Lord has brought before us.
And you can only express the truth of the one body.
In the ruin that is round about us in separation, as Mr. Darby said that.
The first principle of unity is separation from evil.
But the power?
To keep that unity is great.
So yet I do believe the Lord's testimony is larger than just those few gathered through the name of the Lord. And I'm thankful for one for anyone who takes a faithful stand on any aspect of the truth of God. And there are those who do not see the truth as to the body of Christ, and walk not in that path, but the testimony of the Lord.
Am I correct? Is larger than just limited to those few?
Both Colossians chapter one of two ministries, doesn't he? The ministry of the gospel out to the whole world, and then the ministry of the truth of the church as the body of Christ. And I believe there are and where, as you say, there are many who are carrying out the gospel, the message of God's pardoning love and grace with great energy, energy that often puts us to shame but if we are fulfilling what God would have us to do in this present time.
Why? There's not only that message that goes out to sinners, but there's also the truth of what God is doing in connection with the church and a testimony to that is very precious to his heart. But as you say, I I think it is important that we recognize that God is using others to carry out the gospel. But he would have us to also walk in the fullness of the truth, says he will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
And after speaking there in Colossians, chapter one of the Ministry of the Truth of the.
One body He speaks of the great zeal on energy that he had in this, for he said that him this is hit all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And I trust I say it humbly, that but unless we see the truth of the Church and its heavenly calling, we will not really have an intelligent outlook. We have perhaps get involved in things that we really should be separated from, but we do not forget the sovereignty of God.
We're thankful for it because if the only gospel testimony was among those gathered to the Lord's name at be exceedingly small. But God is very gracious. He has a large heart. He seeks the blessing of all, the will of all men to be saved. But he does desire us to value and lock in the truth, but not to. And I might just suggest Brett and I just like to look at a verse here in Second Timothy.
Chapter.
Or, and verse 5. And I think there's a force to this that perhaps we overlook. But watch thou in all things endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist. Make full proof of thy ministry. Some have taken it that Timothy did not have the gift of an evangelist, but he has encouraged in it. But I really don't believe, brethren, that's the force of it, because it says make full proof of thy ministry.
I believe that he did have the gift of an evangelist and that there is a danger when we are standing for the truth.
To forget the need of evangelism. And so in this epistle, which particularly brings before us the narrow path of separation to Christ, he says, Don't forget evangelism. It's important, and we're not really filling our full place in the world if we just are occupied with the truth of the one body and a scriptural gathering. Very important, very precious, but, it says.
00:15:09
Watch thou in all things endure, afflictions do the work of an evangelist. So I think there's a beautiful balance in this epistle in where the truth of separation coming out, as it's been remarked from the vessels to dishonor, that we don't lose sight of the importance of the gospel testimony.
What First Corinthians?
Bring that thought to 1St Corinthians chapter one. I was just thinking of verse 2 unto the Church of God which is at Corinth. To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus call Saints with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. It seems that Paul reaches out here, doesn't he?
But the responsibility now is to the individual.
Does it speak to me? Am I exercised? Does the word of God reach my conscience? As to my position, it just seems I'm just submit the thought that Paul goes out here to all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. I wonder, is that thought there?
Perhaps. Of course, the ridiculous thought in First Corinthians is that we often hear it said that there were local conditions in Corinth that Paul was seeking to correct, and I'm sure there were. But he's very insistent in that epistle to show that the directions laid down for that's really order in connection with God's assembly, whether it's in connection with the way we gather at the Lord's table to keep the Lord's supper, or discipline or ministry or.
All those various things are taken up, and it doesn't just apply to those who with whom we may be associated. Every Christian, if he were submissive to the word of God, would find Corinthians instruction, its instruction for Toledo, not just for local conditions in Corinth. And it's good for us to bear that in mind. But I'm sure, as you say, there is a largeness of heart that reaches out to all believers.
But there is no division.
Vision among God's people at that time.
There were inward divisions.
And he deals with that very faithfully and that no doubt when that exists in an assembly will ultimately lead to outward breaks. But that was not the case when the first Epistle to Corinthians was written. But we are in a different situation now. There's this break up.
And many go on in their own way. They have followed those men that would arise from among them.
The elders in Act 20 and they have followed men, and so there are these conditions today. And so there is a path, and there cannot be two paths.
You know, recently a dear brother left the gathered thing very dear to me. But more than four years ago, he said to me, Heinz, I don't believe anymore that there is only one expression of the truth of the one body, I said, I fear that you won't be among us much longer.
If the Lord is in the midst, in various places, amongst the open Brethren, amongst the Baptists, any of these fundamental groups of Christians, why don't I go there?
And if there's problems in the assembly, if there are problems in the assemblies, where I go? If the Lord is in the other place next door, why? Why shouldn't I leave the trouble they go there?
That's exactly what happened. Now we lose stability in our path if we do not by grace seek to maintain that truth. There can be only one expression to the truth of the one body. There can be only one Lord's table. We do not claim that we own that we possess. It's always His table. But by grace we believe we are at that table and there cannot be true.
There would not be an expression of the truth of the one body, if that would be possible.
00:20:01
That would be an expression of the divided state of the body. But the Lord's table speaks of We the many are one law, that one body of which he is the head. And the wonderful truth of Scripture is that we can express that truth in a limited way. We do not have to have all the members of the body of Christ in the locality gathered in one place in order to be at the Lord's table.
And let me, while we are covering or touching on that, say, there are some thoughts being circulated amongst the gathered things that give me concern, not only that the table is elsewhere, even the thought that the table is in every community existing there, although there is not necessarily an expression that sounds to me like a very fanciful way and only one step.
Taught saying the table is in various places of the denominations. We have no scripture to support such a fanciful notion that the table exists in every community. There is just no expression of it. Beware beloved and especially the young people get a hold of these things and hopefully by God's grace you will see it and have grace to maintain it and walk in that path.
I'm glad it's fine. I'm very glad.
That you have spoken this way.
Because we need this ministry.
And I just like to add to what you have said.
That if we believe that the Lord Jesus is in the midst.
Of all of these Christian groups.
Then we must accept the decisions that are made.
From all of these groups, and that is a great absurdity.
It's just an absurdity.
And so.
A verse has been on my heart about this line of truth which you have spoken to us.
And it's this if the trumpet give an uncertain sound.
Who shall prepare himself to the battle?
And we need to hold fast and to teach and not to allow this diversion of of teaching that the Lord Jesus is in the midst in every group and.
I just feel there's a great need for.
Ministry to counteract that tendency that has come among us. And the the sadness is that our young people hear an uncertain sound. And how are they going to prepare themselves for the battle when their teachers give them an uncertain sound? So let's hold fast to what our brother Heinz has said, Brethren, we need very much to hear that right now. That's very much what was on my heart.
When Speaking of the ruin.
Isaiah warns of the time when they call good evil.
An evil good. And when they call light, darkness and darkness light. Now the acceptance of that principle that the Lord Jesus Christ can be in the midst, in many places his calling light, darkness and darkness, light. I say the acceptance of that principle. And that's what universally has happened in the professing church. The principles that have been so clearly stated here this morning are called darkness in those places.
They say that isn't right. You may go to the Church of your choice and when one hears that.
One thinks that the enemy laughs, as it were up his sleeve at God, that he has introduced that into the Church of God, which is accepted, that denies the very fundamental truth, that there is one body but a euro or even a step herder. The Lord is in the midst, according to Matthew 1820 in the Baptist Church, and I do not go there. I despise the presence of the Lord in the midst.
And if we do not receive from those groups, then we acknowledge that we are guilty of Chisholm.
That our position is contrary to Scripture. But this is not the truth. The path of separation is clearly marked out in the Word of God, now beloved.
00:25:09
If the Lord has kept us in this path.
Let us not be proud.
Let us be very careful. There were many who were in their path as one time, at one time and are no longer there.
And have gone into great error. It's the grace of God that can preserve us. And it is the grace of God that will preserve a testimony to the name of the Lord Jesus and to the truth that was brought out 150 years ago. But may he give grace that we be found in that past, that we don't miss it. We are not any different than anyone who has been in that past before and have missed it. So the grace of God can keep us.
It's important for us that the things there is one body, and every believer in the Lord Jesus in this whole world is a member of the body of Christ. That's a fact. But the expression of it is another thing. And I believe that if we carefully observe Scripture, the only thing in scripture in the New Testament that is called the Lord's table is the expression of that one body. There might be a family of ten children.
Their ten children brought into that family. They might refuse to meet together as one family. There might only be two of them. Who would?
Common recognize that there are 10 in that family but the two who are there.
Are expressing the fact if they say, well there's a family of 10, we too are just doing what our father wanted us to do. He wanted us to meet as one family and so those two could fulfill what their father desired them to do. If they said we are the only members of the family, they would be denying what their father wanted them to do. And so brethren, as we break bread, we don't deny the fact that every member of the body of Christ on earth.
Is equally part of that one body as we are. But there is such a thing as the expression of it. And the expression of it, as we have in First Corinthians 10, is to break bread, not as members of a humanly organized group or something, but as members of the body of Christ.
How wonderful it is. And I think it's confusing those two things, that there is one body and the expression of it that makes the difficulty. I'd also like to say another thing. We often think of ourselves as the ones who are doing the acting. But I believe that it's good for us to see that the work of the Spirit of God is to gather to Christ and so.
Would the Spirit of God tell one person to go to that group and then the Spirit of God tell another to go to another? That would be the Spirit of God being the author of confusion. And so it says there is one body in Ephesians 4, but it also says.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, and that is allowing the Spirit of God to lead us.
We see a beautifully exemplified on the day of Pentecost, it says. They were all.
With one accord in the one place, the multitude of the disciples were of one heart and one soul. The coming of the Spirit of God formed that testimony on earth. And they continued in that which God had begun. Well, I believe, just to see the facts of the one body, the expression of it, is a work of the Spirit of God, as you were saying. Very important, not to say, well, we're the faithful too, but that the Spirit of God.
Is maintaining that testimony. We find it back in Israel.
It's very lovely to see how that there were 12 tribes and there was a king over those 12 tribes, but then when the division took place.
By the 10 tribes left the place where God had set up that testimony and one of the kings, I think it was Abijah. It's very lovely when there was a battle between the.
10 tribes. And the two, he made this remark. He said, the table is there, and the 12 loaves are on that table. It was very lovely to think of this man as he spoke to the others. He said, you're represented there at Jerusalem. That's where the 12 loaves are on the table. And he said, now you've separated from that. Well may the Lord keep us, keep us in humility. And as he went out, counting upon God, the Lord undertook for him, as we know.
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Hezekiah and his day did a similar thing to remind them that the Lord hadn't changed in spite of the division, and they all took the humble place, and the Lord blessed them. Well, I just mentioned this because it certainly is true. We shouldn't boast ourselves, but let us be subject to the leading of the Spirit. And most surely he would lead us to that which has been established by the Spirit of God here upon earth.
Thank you for.
Honey.
Philadelphia.
Thou accept my word.
Telling us that force of that verse in Timothy do the work of an evangelist was to encourage Timothy with all of the responsibilities that he had in connection with the assembly matters, that he doesn't allow evangelism to slip through the work of an evangelist. He had that gift, and yet the other could overwhelm him so that he neglected the evangelistic.
Side So there's a there's an element amongst us that has that view, let's face it. That is that we are just to maintain the truth of the assembly and not to be occupied with evangelism. And then there's an element amongst us which is very energetic in getting the gospel out, usually young brethren and we're very thankful for them. That's a wonderful work to get the gospel out. But the the tendency amongst some of them at least is that.
They minimize the importance of the assembly line of truth. And again, thou has kept my word and not denied my name. We can't pick out part of the truth and say we're going to say this is important and the other isn't. We both air, both sides air. If we do that, the whole truth of God is important. We need to evangelize. I like the the illustration that WTP Walston gave an of an evangelist, he said It's like a compass.
With one leg in the assembly, and then he sweeps out and brings souls to Christ, and then brings them into the inn where they can be nourished and instructed into the assembly. So an evangelistic work which is not assembly centered, there's something not right there. It ought to be. The evangelist works out from the assembly and brings souls into the assembly where they can be pastored and shepherded and taught.
The Epistle to the Philippians.
Is often been spoken of as the normal Christian life.
A normal Christian life. Well, the first chapter talks about their energy in the gospel. They went out with the gospel. First chapter is the gospel mind, and then in the second chapter they went down to a humble Christ, the lowly mind. And in the third chapter they had the heavenly mind, the occupation with the heavenly object. They went up to a glorified Christ.
And in the 4th chapter they went on.
They were strengthened to continue in the past. Well, that's normal Christianity, it starts with the gospel. We're going out of the gospel, and where there's not that in an assembly, that's not normal. That's not normal. It's normal for an assembly to have those there that have a gospel outreach. Otherwise the assembly will die. I think one of the saddest things is to come to an assembly, and the only ones there are older people.
We thank God for the older brethren, but if there's no young ones there.
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You say as you leave that place, how long will they continue? We need.
The younger ones to fill in the ranks, and they're the ones that ought to be energetic in the gospel. I know when I was a young man, did a lot of gospel work and on the street corner and visiting hospitals and so on, that's that's good for young brethren to do that. And as one gets older, there's more emphasis on the truth of the assembly. We need both. We need one another, don't we? We need the young. We need the older ones.
To go on together to keep the proper balance so that we don't get lopsided and make some of these statements that are.
That are wrong.
The danger of.
You need to be aware of the danger in taking the position and identifying yourself with that position without recognizing the reason.
There as well and also I have a question what first, Second Timothy, I will currently discuss.
In verse eight, I wanted to raise the question here too. I can't just pick up other references to it.
But it's evident that this first fall personified the gospel that's thought that he would personify it. Does some brother have a?
A thought in this an explanation.
Even in Mr. Darby's reading, he draws A footnote attention to the fact of Paul personifying the gospel.
Being partakers thereof, with it, and so forth.
It brings out the thought of being one with the gospel, doesn't it?
I've appreciated the fact here that it says Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.
Sometimes we can get occupied with our testimony, which is a wrong fight.
And that'll that'll lead us astray. Someone has said whenever we seek to be a testimony, we cease to be one. And when we get ahold of the fact that it's not our testimony, it's the testimony of the Lord, and that's what we have before us. I think of that scripture in Philippians 2 where he says.
That every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Well, if I'm thinking about what people think of me, sometimes it becomes difficult to witness and share the gospel with other people. But when I realized that every time I opened my mouth and speak the gospel to others that it glorifies the Lord Jesus.
Then it's an encouragement, and then it becomes, if our heart is right, an easy thing to do.
And so Paul brings before them, first of all the test before Timothy, that it's the Lord's testimony. And so he says, don't be ashamed of that. And that's the the important. And then he goes on and mentions himself and says, nor of me his prisoner. Paul was in prison for what? For the testimony of the Lord Jesus. And so because he was one who had been faithful to the Lord's testimony, then he could tell Timothy, Don't be ashamed of me either. So it ought to be an encouragement to us too, to take a stand.
And encourage those who are faithful to the Lord's testimony as was brought out.
Yesterday, that there's three times in this chapter where we have this little expression not ashamed. I think that's a key verse here he says, the Timothy be not thou, therefore ashamed. And then he says in verse 12.
For the which 'cause I suffer these things, nevertheless I am not ashamed. And then he mentions onusiferous in the end of the chapter verse 16.
And.
And so on. And he says about him that he was not ashamed of my change. So he was one who was not ashamed to be identified with the apostle Paul. So Paul wasn't ashamed to be identified with Christ. And the onusiferous wasn't ashamed either. When he went to Rome, he had to search Paul out. I'd noticed that little word there very diligently. Sometimes if we want to be an encouragement to somebody, it's going to take a little effort. And he had to seek him out very diligently. He had to go from one prison cell to another. And everywhere he would go, he would ask.
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The question perhaps is Paul here and people would look at him and say, well, you're identified with this man who?
Preaches about Jesus Christ. And so each place he went, he had to be identified with the Lord until at last he found Paul. And there he could stand next to Paul. And so to speak, say, I stand for what this man stands for. I believe what Paul believes, and he was identified, and he was willing to suffer reproach along with Paul in connection with the testimony of the Lord Jesus. So what an encouragement to us today that we get a hold of the fact that it's the Lord's testimony.
And may we not be ashamed to identify with it and with those who are also identified with it. And that's what Paul is saying here to Timothy, encouraging him not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord. I appreciate your brother.
Speaking well of Christ in the gospel, that it glorifies him and I was encouraged in the end of this epistle in chapter 4.
At these remarks of Paul.
You can deal with the apostle when he was so alone.
But he says in verse 17, Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear. The thought that came before me in connection with this passage is that they didn't necessarily believe, but God wanted them to hear, and God arranged things.
That his beloved apostle was able to preach to these.
Personalities undoubtedly from all over the Roman Empire, when he appeared before the emperor and the testimony in that way was fully known and all the Gentiles could hear in that sense, he was glorified in that. I think that's marvelous. It doesn't indicate that they received it, that they accepted it. But he was glorified that the name of the Lord Jesus as the only savior was magnified. That should encourage us.
Just simply in connection with the preaching of the gospel, the handing out of track, or whatever his name is glorified when he's honored in that way.
But it also says according to the power of God, I think that's important, isn't it?
In other words, the flesh can manifest itself in any activity that we might desire to carry on for God.
But it must be according to the power that he gives and the ability that he gives.
That all the glory goes to him and not to man.
It's important to notice, too, that we must follow God's order of things. I have thought of that in connection with the second chapter, that there's a listing of things not to go over them, but a listing of things that characterizes true service to God in a day of ruined. And if we consider methods in gospel activity, well, it says in verse 5.
And if a man also strives for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strived lawfully, and also the husbandman must first labor, I believe it should read to be partaker of the fruits. So we must keep those things in mind. We can't depart from Divine order in connection with any service. And all of this should speak to our conscience. And of course, there has got to be the diligent He made the diligence he may not.
Allow us to see fruit right away, but diligence is important in these things.
Truth of God ought always to make a fumble, shouldn't it Tells us the man thinketh that he knoweth anything. He knows nothing yet as he ought to know it. And I or you haven't learned the truth in the right way unless it humbles us. And when we think of the wonderful grace that has been shown to us, doesn't it humble us? Why should we have been picked out of the mass of humanity to be in this wonderful place of blessing and association with Christ?
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And so as being gathered to the Lord's name, if laying hold of this doesn't humble us.
That God in his grace should have given us to see these things. Why?
We haven't really appreciated it in the right way, and I believe that's important for us. In the giving forth or in the holding of the Lord must not strive but be gentle to all. Men have to teach patience. So in giving out the truth, let's be sure we give it out in the right spirit. We always see this here. It it brings shame, it brings reproach. But may the Lord keep us individually and collectively going on in humility. We find over and over again that when Israel got exalted and occupied with their own position, and so on.
The Lord had to allow something to bring them down, and perhaps the Lord allows things even in our generation to humble us.
Tonight we're most thankful for this number of people that come together. But may the Lord keep us from any boasting. We're really nothing. We're just a feeble testimony to His grace and goodness. It's His faithfulness that has preserved not only the blessed gospel but also the privilege of meeting in the name of the Lord Jesus alone, according to His word.
Thinking of verse 9 going on for the speaks about the according to the power of God who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling.
Hath saved us and called us.
Well, every child of God enjoys the fact that he belongs to the Lord. He's been saved.
But what about God's calling? What about the instructions in the word given? And I believe Paul here was instructing Timothy as a young man to not only, not only you're not only saved the saved ones here, but God has a calling for you, and it's a holy calling. It's a high calling. And I believe that as it brought as it's brought out here with a holy calling, not according to our works. I think as our brother Gordon has already said, it's no, not because we were better than someone else, not because we were more intelligent or we had a greater degree.
That's not the point at all. It was. It's God's calling. He saved us and He has called us. But it goes back into into eternity, doesn't it? What a marvel to think that you and I've been called. We've been saved. God saw you and He saw me before this world ever began. We don't get that in connection with the Hebrews, with Israel. They were delivered in the time from the foundation of the world, but here.
I think of this so beautiful, but according to his own purpose. It's his calling he has called us. It's according to his own purpose and grace. What is his purpose? Glory. Glory. What do we have now? Grace. We're called to that Peter tells us that grace and glory, and so how beautiful to think. But when was this given? Which was given us?
In Christ Jesus.
Before the world began. Can you enter into this? I cannot.
But it's it's mine. It's yours. How beautiful to think. And Paul brings this before Timothy here.
To encourage him, because I wonder too if the afflictions of the gospel.
Pauls gospel Paul was rejected, his testimony was rejected and he's still rejected. Beloved ones. You speak to those as we've been referring to those outside and you will find that Pauls ministry is not accepted. He is still in prison, he still rejected. And so how beautiful to think that this was all he had. God has saved us. It's his work.
He has called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His.
On purpose He has a purpose for you and for me, and and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus and it's before the world began. Marvel at that precious truth.
Word now is important to rethink how the Lord Jesus said, if I were of this world and would my servants fight? But now is my Kingdom not from him? And it's very important that we distinguish between God dealings with his earthly people and their hopes. Their promises were earthly, they fought with material swords. But there is a new a change now. The Lord Jesus Kingdom is not from hence he says.
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And so we find that we belong to a heavenly position.
And it says he's called us according to his purpose in grace, but now is now made manifest by the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who hath abolished or unknown death, and hath brought life and immortality or incorruptibility to light through the Gospel?
We will not find light. As to the position between death and resurrection in the Old Testament, that's not revealed. No Old Testament St. knew where he was going at the point of death. He knew about resurrection, but he didn't know the interval between death and resurrection. And the Lord brushes aside the curtain in Luke chapter 16 and shows us that there were two intermediate states before the resurrection.
And then the thief on the cross looked on to the Kingdom, and he's given to know something through this blessed one. This day shalt thou be with me in paradise. And the second thing they didn't know. They didn't know what kind of a body they would have in resurrection. They didn't realize how they knew that there was a resurrection. But we have the light of Christianity now. It's now made manifest.
An Old Testament St. feared death. We find all through the Old Testament it was king of terrorism. It's mentioned in Job, but now it's the believer's servant. All things are yours, whether life or death. And so how blessed our position. We understand what death is. It's a servant to bring us absent from the body and present with the Lord our dear sister Levin who's gone, we have no question.
No Old Testament St. knew this, but we know she's absent from the body present with the Lord. It's far better.
We know that we're going to see her again in resurrection with a body of glory like Christ.
Let us appreciate what we have in Christianity. It's often said it's not distinguishing between the Old Testament position and.
What is now made manifest that has kept many Christians from enjoying?
Our present position, I think Mr. Darby made the comment that.
It is misunderstanding the Psalms that has kept Christians from laying hold of their position in Christ. There's nothing about heavenly blessing. Knowing God as Father, those things were not revealed and their hopes were earthly. They waited for the destruction of their enemies to have their portion, whereas we wait for the moment when we'll hear the Lord give that shout and call us home. I believe it's important to that word now.
To distinguish between the possession of Israel and our place.
As belonging to this present place, members of the Body of Christ with a.
Heavenly calling and knowing all these precious things well, may the Lord make them good.
This was all what was given in connection with Paul's gospel that was particularly committed to him.
As a person, because the apostles were the ones who laid the foundation of Christianity.
That's what it means. Build upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone and those who don't lay hold of Pauls ministry, and that which is given to us now is the foundation of Christianity, he says. As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another bill that they're on. They don't enjoy the place that they should enjoy now in this present time.
With our heavenly calling, our heavenly hopes, understanding our position in this world.
I believe this is all very important and brought out here, and this is what Paul is passing on to Timothy. We want to pass this on to our dear young people so they'll grow up not expecting anything from this world that's under judgment, but seeing what our position is, we can live in peace and happiness and have a very precious ministry in these last days.
I thought of it this way in connection with the terminology holy calling. Here it seems to be in contrast to the unholy state that has developed in the ruin of things. And in Philippians it speaks about the high calling or the calling on high. And perhaps that could be in contrast, sad to say, with those that mind earthly things.
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And then in Hebrews he speaks about being partakers of the heavenly calling. Perhaps that's in contrast to the fact that Abraham was called in connection with an earthly portion and blessings. Maybe someone could enlarge on that.
Well, it is important in that day when everything is going to pieces, as we find brought before us in the third chapter, all under the name of Christianity, says they had a form of godliness. But all this list of things that we have in Second Timothy, chapter three in the first few verses is very similar to what we have in the heathen world in Romans, because the knowledge of these things will never keep us brethren, We may know all these things.
So there can be, and there's always this present danger with us all of having a form without the power.
Without it practically making us a holy people, we tend to take on the habits of this world instead of recognizing that it is a holy calling and that the pattern as we have it in the first epistle is the pathway of the Lord Jesus. Here he was in this world, a heavenly man in this world, walking through this world.
Despise and rejected of men. But God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.
In wondrous grace, he walked through this world and now he's committed to us the ministry of reconciliation, that we go to this world. Say, God's not looking for something from you. Everything's in. Under condemnation. The day has been appointed, the judge has been set. But God is a God who's offering pardon and blessing to man, and we carry to them the ministry of reconciliation. I really believe rather than the thought is that.
Man naturally has wrong thoughts about God.
And he has wrong thoughts about himself. He doesn't know his own real condition before God, and he doesn't know the heart of God. And our brother last night tried to bring this before us, that they didn't know their true condition. But God tells us what our condition is. But he also brought before us what the heart of God is toward people like this, like ourselves. And this is the ministry of reconciliation for really saying to the world is you don't know the heart of God.
And you don't know your own condition, but God has found a way to meet you in that condition.
And to deliver you, and to give you a new life and to bring you into a new position. This is our message to the world.
Not trying to bring in a new order in society. Not trying to improve the world. It's under judgment. Well, I believe that's important for us to see what our true ministry is here in this world and our own life is the example before the world as to whether it has affected us. We're called with an holy calling. We're to be careful that we don't take on the ways of the world, but rather walk as those who really belong to heaven.
Through his vessels that picked the paint, the darkest picture.
Second Timothy was Paul's last writings, and we had in the Dorothy conference last weekend the epistle of Jude, the darkest picture there and in verse 20 and Jude he says, but she beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith. And here Paul speaks of.
Our holy calling, our holy calling, the tendency when things have come to the point that we have in these two epistles.
Is to lower the standards, and this is just the very thing that is.
Insisted on by the writers of the New Testament, your most holy faith.
Your holy calling the standard is not to be lowered now sometimes.
When we contend for these foundation truths as we were speaking earlier in this meeting about there's one table, there is only one Lord's table and that's that's quite evident it's not ours. And the those that don't like the stand that we take on that truth say you say it's your table. No we don't and if we say that we're mistaken, it's not our table.
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It's not our testimony as Tim was telling us. And as it says here, it's the Lord's testimony and it's the Lord's table. So we don't have any right to establish an order at his table which is contrary to the order which is already set down for us in the book. That is our responsibility is to acknowledge his order. If I would enter into your house and as a guest, then I stay with many brethren as a guest and I say, well.
In my house we do it this way. Let's change these things. We'll get up at a certain time and.
Will change the order here. Well, the one that the head of the house would say, no, you don't. I set the order in my house. You set the order in your house. But what has man done? He has introduced his order into the House of God.
And he has no right to do that. He's changed the order of things. He's established A1 man ministry.
He's borrowed from Judaism, he's borrowed from paganism and brought all kinds of things so that.
What is presented to the people today as Christianity is a mixture. It's it's not the pure thing any longer. The the ministry that is being given hardly ever speaks of our heavenly calling. In fact, Christians are being urged to get involved in politics, to get involved in social problems and to assert our influence here in order to change the ills of society. Well, as we've been hearing in this meeting, and it's so important to stress these things, that's not why we're here.
We're here to bear testimony to a rejected Christ, and we're identified with him.
And that is a holy calling, and it's also a heavenly calling to be identified with him.
The one the world will not have to join hands with the world to improve its ills and correct them.
Is to say that the ungodly and the Saints of God.
Can join hands those that won't have him and have rejected him.
That we can accomplish good without Christ, while the Christian can't do that if he's true to the principles of the Word of God. And so I agree with the brother. That said, we have to be very careful how we come across.
In standing for the truth that there's only one Lord's table and there can only be one true expression of it, that's true, and we ought to hold that, but at the same time.
We ought to do it with the humbled hearts and bowed heads in the realization.
Of how we have failed in practically carrying these truths out and walking in separation from the world. So we have to be very careful while we hold fast to the truth that we do it in a proper spirit, lest we come across as being proud and superior and looking down upon other Christians as though we're better than they. That's never right and never approved of God.
That unholiness.
I would think of just I know the meanings over but just one verse in Exodus chapter 30 concerning this holy anointing oil. Just read one verse, verse 32, upon man's flesh Shall it not be poured, neither shall you make any other like it. After the composition of it, it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
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2 Timothy 1:13-18
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1.
Second Timothy chapter one and verse 10.
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death.
And have brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, where unto I am appointed a preacher.
And an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, for the which 'cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed.
And am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me in faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus, that good thing which was committed unto thee. Keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US. This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia, be turned away from me, of whom are fidelis, and homogeneous. The Lord give mercy unto the House of Onosiferous, for he off refresh me, and was not ashamed of my chain.
But when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me the Lord. Grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day.
And in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
Good. Not that.
Word abolish in verse 10 should it not?
Be better worded Annulled, in other words, made as it were, legally void because death is still at work, and indeed it will be destroyed as the last enemy in First Corinthians 15. But he will. He has annulled death and he has annulled him too. That has the power of death in Hebrews chapter 2. The Devil. So I believe that's an important thought. Is that not?
Death has actually now become the believer's servant. It was through the death on Calvary's cross that all blessing comes to us.
And also that when we do face physical death, why it just takes us out of a world full of suffering.
To be absent from the body and present with the Lord. And as we were marking this morning, if we know it's something that we know now because of the work that the Lord Jesus has done and the coming of the Holy Spirit of God to bring these things before us. And Paul was the instrument whom God used. That's why he says, I'm an appointed A preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles, and he speaks of it as my gospel also. It was something specially committed to him.
I think that's the importance of what we have in the Epistle to the Hebrews in the 12Th chapter.
It says, see, that you refuse not him that speaketh. For if they refuse not who heard him that spake on earth, how much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven? And brethren, it's the voice of a glorified Christ from heaven that brings before us true Christian position. I believe that's important because sometimes Bibles that have the words of the Lord Jesus Christ spoken here on earth.
In red give us the feeling that the others are not the words of the Lord Jesus. But Paul received his ministry directly from Christ in glory, and what he gave to us is the Lorde own voice speaking from heaven and making these things known through his servant, the Apostle. And it's important that we accept these things given out through the mouth of the apostle and through what God has written down for us in His word.
As the truth of God, especially for this very period in which we live.
What we might call the church, period.
And really, when the Lord Jesus Christ offered the Holy Spirit?
Spoke of his coming after his going on high. He said he will guide you into all truth. That beloved is specifically a reference to these epistles where God unfolds Christianity in his heavenly character. Some have been LED astray by supposing First Timothy 63 excludes some of these words.
From being the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, notice verse three of the preceding chapter. For what we're considering, if any man teach otherwise, and consent not to hold some words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness and so forth. But the Lord of the Apostle Paul says to the Corinthians, if any man think himself to be spiritual, let him acknowledge that these things I write unto you, are the commandments of God.
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So these epistles that we read are just as much the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Spoken by the Spirit of God down here, as they would have been had He been here and spoke on himself.
This tenth verse.
Very basic to get a hold of, to understand it. He has an old death and brought to light two things. Life, Life for the soul. And it should read incorruptibility. Incorruptibility for the body that brings in the thought of resurrection. Life for the soul was not an issue. It's not that it wasn't in the Old Testament, there are passages that speak of it.
But it wasn't necessary to be born again. In order to be a part of the people of God. All one needed to.
To be was to be born in the nation of Israel, needed to be an Israelite. And if he was an Israelite, he was a part of the people of God whether he was born again or not. The Lord taught to Nicodemus, the leader of the Jews, you must be born again. And the ye is plural. It doesn't mean you Nicodemus, but you Jews need a new birth and so it applies to the whole nation. But that's that's been brought to light now in the in the fullest sense of the word.
By the Gospel. And of course it was introduced words which began to be spoken by the Lord Jesus.
And have been.
Repeatedly spoken through the apostles. So here we have the apostle Paul. We tend to think that. We tend to think in in other dispensations, that what is true of this dispensation was always true of the previous one. And that isn't the case. We're living in the day when life for the soul is a necessary thing in order to be.
A part of the people of God in reality, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Northern. So it's essential to be in true relationship with God, to have a new life. But that issue wasn't raised in the Old Testament. That's an issue that has been resolved. He came, He said I'm come, but they might have life and that they might have it abundantly so. The abundant life he gave. Now I'm not denying or saying that the Old Testament Saints didn't have life. They had light. But not, I don't believe Saul of Tarsus. Not Saul of Tarsus.
Saw the king Saul. I don't believe he had life. I believe he was just a man after the flesh. But he was the king of Israel. David, another king of Israel, had life. He was no doubt born again. But that wasn't an issue that was raised in the Old Testament. One could be in the very highest place in Israel. Saul was and just the carnal, just a fleshly man. He never experienced the new birth. I don't believe we'll meet him in heaven.
There are some that feel we might, but I really don't think so. But.
The point is, that issue wasn't raised then that's been brought to light by the gospel.
We can, however, see some clear evidences of faith, can we not? On the part of many. You know, they had life. Oh yes, and like David could say, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever. That was quite a statement of faith, even life forevermore, in the end of Psalm 133. So faith laid hold of that and turned it into a thing of reality. But the light of these things was not.
Revealed it was not, as it were, brought to light until the Gospel. That passage in John chapter one is astounding. It says in him was life and the life was the light of men, Mr. Darby says. You can interchange that in him was light and the light was the life of men. Astounding. It's all centered in a person, the source and the means.
And that really answers your question to this morning, brother, as to the personification of the gospel.
The personification of the gospel.
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According to Romans One, he was the Son of God, the gospel of God concerning his Son. So the glad tidings are that God came down and revealed in the sun as an object of faith, life and immortality, life and incorruptibility. So here we have the glad tidings personified, because it's the sun revealed as that good news come from God. I think it's important, though, to see that in the Old Testament they ought to have known that new birth was necessary.
Because the Lord said to Nicodemus, art thou a master in Israel? And knoweth not these things? There was enough in the Old Testament that they ought to have known that man in his natural state was not acceptable. And all scriptures that spoke of the future blessing of Israel showed that the only blessing that could come was for them to receive a new life, take away the Stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh. But the interval between death and resurrection was not revealed in the Old Testament.
But if you don't see that, it's very difficult to understand that they had no nothing at all. And the expressions of these in the Old Testament was because it wasn't yet brought to light. And so as you read through the Psalms, you can see that very definitely that they thought far as they were concerned, while they looked for the Kingdom and knew that it was going to be brought in, that death was something they didn't fully understand. But now it's been brought to light.
And how blessed for us, brethren, to sit in the light of divine revelation.
And know these two things that were not revealed in the Old Testament. While as I say, I believe they knew that new birth or should have known that new birth was necessary, but this that they when a person died that he would be present with the Lord. What a wonderful revelation. Remember even Martha and Mary understood about the resurrection. I know that my brother shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day, but they didn't know that.
The very person who was there was the resurrection and the light. Well, how blessed is that we have been brought into the light of these things, to know them and enjoy them. What was the burden on the heart of the apostles? What he is passing on to Timothy is not only this brethren, but all that had been revealed to him as one who was the apostle of the Gentiles, 1 to whom the truth of the Church was revealed. That brethren in those times should not lose this precious deposit of truth that is given.
In Christianity. And the Jewish tendency even at that time was to go back to what was known and enjoyed before the cross, and not be in the good of what was now revealed in Christianity. And this is, I believe, what he is Speaking of himself specially appointed to do. And that's why he goes on in the 12 first, for which 'cause I suffer these things.
What did he suffer for? For bringing out the truth of the Church? The Jews, when he went to Jerusalem, would accept him as long as he dealt with the hopes of Israel, and many of them who truly believed would accept that those blessings could only come through the Lord Jesus Christ. But to see what was happening in this church period and the Jew and Gentile were made one in Christ, that the middle wall of partition was broken down in the place of relationship that we had and that our blessing was heavenly.
Those things caused him to suffer as he proclaimed them, but he said he wasn't ashamed.
And he committed his whole course. Brethren, we'll have never, never have any peace in our souls.
In standing for the truth if we if we're just concerned about what men think, Paul said. If I yet please man, I should not be the servant of Christ. But Paul said something like this. I know I misunderstood for standing for the truth that I do, but he said I'm just committing it all to the Lord. It'll all come out in that day when all these things that I've talked about and spoken about me about meet their final fulfillment in that coming day.
And all is manifested at the judgment seat of Christ.
Today is the 1St and act. I was trying to think of where it is, where Paul says that the Lord told him that he would take him out from among the nation of Israel and the Gentiles, but sent him to the Gentiles. I think that's a remarkable verse that the Lord takes this Apostle of the Gentiles and he makes clear.
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That he is taking them out not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles. He is not identified with either of these two groups. He's taking him out and he is sending him now to the Gentiles. Why is that important? Because what we have in Christianity is not just an extension of Judaism and bringing the Gentiles into the blessings that were promised to the Jews.
You know the Lord has taken this minister of the Church.
The Apostle Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles out from amongst the Jews, out from among the Gentiles, and then sending them to the Gentiles in order to bringing them into the church into the same position where he really is outside of both.
The Jews and the Gentiles, I'd like to add.
To those remarks, this thought that.
It seems to me a real evidence of the wisdom of God.
To select a Jew, To bring the truth of the Church to the Gentiles.
Otherwise, man may have said, well this is just a thing that originated with the Gentiles.
And they're trying to work up something for themselves, but I've felt that it was the wisdom of God.
To select a Jew and one who was very well learned in the Jewish religion.
It was the wisdom of God to select a Jew like that to carry the blessed truth to the Gentiles.
So that none can say that the Gentiles work this all up for themselves and by themselves.
But God had a selected vessel who knew well the Jewish economy, and he used him to bring that blessed truth of Christ and the church to the Gentiles. I felt that was a real stroke of God's wisdom.
Just the way he went about it, you know, it seems evident wrong that the Spirit of God was maintaining that unity all the way through, because we know that Peter went down to Samaria. They could not receive the Spirit of God until there was that clear link, because they were in an independent and a false position.
And so we can see that the Spirit of God all the way through was maintaining that unity, even when there could have been a serious cleavage between the Jewish and Gentile believers. And yet we see how God allowed that question to go to Jerusalem and how they discussed the matter. And then an assembly action was taking taken that the Gentiles should not be under law. What grace that was so critical.
A question so important for all ages, in fact, we see how.
The Gentile believers rejoiced when the news was brought of this action, and so it's the spirit of God maintaining that unity. It's very good to see that in the book of Acts.
The verse that our brother referred to as Acts 2616.
In case you want to make a note of that, because it's a very significant.
Addition to the Christian position, ye are not of the world neither Jew nor Gentile. There is no difference, for all have sinned. And it's really better to think in terms of what our brother said sending to you to the nations, because God is now visiting the nations Jew and Gentile to take out a people for his name, so that he establishes in this world a third category.
Of Jews and Gentile, and the Church of God.
That scripture reference should be repeated because the mic doesn't always cut in right away.
Acts 2616 and 17.
Interesting also in his 12Th verse, where he says and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. And then he says in the 14th verse that good thing which was committed unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost. I think that's very lovely Paul, in seeking to go on with that ministry which brought him so much suffering for he says the Apostle of Jesus Christ.
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I mean, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, was because of this truth that he was cast into prison.
But he committed all this misunderstanding that he had with the Jewish people.
All to the Lord, he said, I just leave it. It'll all come out in that day. And then he says, Timothy, there is a deposit. There's something committed to you, and you have something that you are responsible now to go on with. So Paul committed, so to speak, all that he was seeking to do to the Lord. Very blessed for each one of us, brethren, do we seek to go on in the Lord's work and in whatever he has given us to do, no matter what it be that at the end of the day we could just.
Leave it all and commit it all into His hands, feeling that we have sought to act in obedience to His word and according to what He would have us to do, and then realizing that there is something committed to us, something that we are to keep. And he is reminding Timothy that you have something committed to you. Now, Timothy and I believe, rather than that has gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, we have something committed to us. Yeah, I believe it's an individual thing, but I believe it's also a collective thing that if we are going to be a testimony in this world.
To the truth of the Church and its heavenly calling, that there is something that we are responsible to keep, may the Lord give us that grace.
And give us also the grace to just go on in peace, knowing that no matter what is said or done.
We wait. We leave all until that manifestation, if it's done for Him in obedience to His word.
The approval may not be here, but it will come out in that day. Brother Gordon, could you give us a little word on Ezra 7? I've heard you speak of us before about the weighing out and the weighing in of the truth. Ezra. Chapter 738. Yeah.
Well, in this 8th of Ezra tells us here about them making this journey through the enemy's land.
You read the from the 21St verse on. And then it shows us that in the 26th verse of the 8th of Ezra I even weighed unto their hand 650 towns of silver, silver vessels, and hundreds talons.
And a golden 100 talent also 20 basins of gold have 1000 grams, and two vessels of fine copper, precious as gold. And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the Lord, the vessels are holy also, And the silver and the gold are a free will, offering unto the Lord God of your Father's. Watch ye and keep them until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests, and the Levites, and the chief of the fathers of Israel at Jerusalem.
In the chambers of the House of the Lord, so when they arrived there.
We find in the 33rd verse it was all written down by not 33rd, and then in the 34th verse by number and by weight of everyone, and all the weight was written at that time. So they were given these vessels to carry up the House of God at Jerusalem, and when they got there, not only the number of the vessels, but also weight. And that always speaks to my heart because.
I might say, well, we're holding to the truth of the Church, the body of Christ, the rapture, the Lord's coming before the tribulation. But does it have its proper weight with me? That's a question that I could easily ask myself. I say these things. We profess these things as gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. But do they have their weight with us? So that as we go through this world, we act as heavenly men, we act as those who recognize that there is one body?
Loving all the children of God, yet walking in that path as we see this little company just a small we can despise company.
Subject to attack from their enemies but carrying them to Jerusalem then when they got there instead of getting taking any.
Credit to themselves, they offer all these offerings and give thanks that the Lord has done it well. May the Lord give us this sense of a responsibility and of a privilege too. And remember, the day is coming when all will be manifested in His presence.
Were it formed?
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Has been translated picture. I know that's how it is translated into German. And what probably could help us to understand what is the form of sound words. It's like an outline of truth.
And but the Apostle Paul is telling Timothy is Timothy.
Hold fast.
The form of sound words. So you cannot hold fast anything that you don't have. So the challenge is, and I like to throw that out to all of us, but especially to the young ones among us. Do you have a form of sound word? Have you made the truth your own? Have you bought the truth?
So that you clearly see God's purposes, God's thoughts, what God is doing at the present time by his Spirit, and hold fast to that. How important that is, You know, beloved, allow me to read stuff to you that I ran across in the writing of one of the early graduates.
And I wrote it down. I believe it's profitable.
He is commenting this writer on Acts chapter 20 if I remember correctly.
That thus was the body of Christ built up.
It is in this care that we see the most manifest contrast of modern times with the primitive. If the converts are guarded from turning aside, it is in general the most that is attempted.
Zeal habitually goes out for the conversion of sinners and those devoted to that work.
Are regarded as eminently faithful and enlightened if they do not yield to superstition on the one hand, or philosophy on the other.
Truth in the truth is rare.
And particularly unknown even among the teachers not to speak of the convert.
The consequences are deplorable. Teachers and taught in these circumstances, are ever liable to the many misleading influences around beloved. Those are sound words. Now, we do not in any way want to belittle the importance of gospel effort. As it has been pointed out, both truths are our responsibility. But this here speaks especially of that which was the burden of the writer that I've just.
Rat. And so that's the exercise. That we really know the truth, that we enter into it, that we do not only know it intellectually, that that truth controls our very being, our life, our purpose, and that we really walk in and find ways to walk in. And in that way we really prove that we possess the truth.
That's where the outline comes in, and it's very important. I believe, as the scripture mentions, hold fast to form.
For the outline of sound words, if I don't know that I'm a citizen of Canada, I don't know how to act when I cross the border or how I act in my position.
But once I know my possession, then that is a great help to understand what my responsibilities are. If I don't know that I'm a member of the body of Christ, and I don't know what the body of Christ is, then I'll be seeking out to join something that man has set up. But that's why these things are so basic, brethren, that if we understand our position, it has been said that all the exhortations of Christianity are based on what we possess.
So God first acquaints us with what he has done for us, blotted out our whole record of sin so that we're clear as our brother brought before us last night, there were holy and without blame before him in love that he's brought us into the family of God as children.
That he's brought us in as members of the Body of Christ. That our citizenship is in heaven.
Well, once we're established in this outline and see what Christianity really is.
In contrast with the position that they occupied in the Old Testament, then He set before us a whole line of conduct that is suited to the position that were brought into.
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That's what they do, even in government, when a man is accepted or a woman is accepted.
Fight the Good Fight of Faith
A Resource When Trouble Comes
Address—D.C. Buchanan
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.
I believe that our God.
Is a family man type God?
It's wonderful to be members of a family.
And it's wonderful to be members of God's family.
God institute that.
God conceived that idea of family relationship.
And it's wonderful to learn to know what it's like.
As I think about.
Family relationships.
I look back and I think of how I was brought up.
It's a wonderful thing to have Christian parents.
And I want to encourage.
All of us who are Christian parents or members of a family in some way or the other.
And God has given us principles.
He's marked out what family life really should be, and we have many examples. We were already talking this afternoon a little bit about Eunice and Lois and Timothy and so many others we have.
You know, as I look back.
In our home, we got up.
Somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning. Usually it was closer to 7.
We had to make the bus at 7:30.
And then after school was over, there were chores to do, work to be done. And in our family, every morning before we went went out to get that bus, we had a family reading. At least 10 verses are usually a whole chapter was read and we prayed together. And on Wednesday nights we always attended the prayer meeting and reading meeting.
Lord's Days.
Everyone knew the breaking of bread was in the morning and Sunday school in the afternoon.
That's the way I was brought up.
I'm thankful for it.
Now I'm grown up and I have a family and I've traveled around a little bit and I found out that other people have different routines of how they conduct their family, and I believe there are many godly ways how families can carry on.
And I believe each and everyone of us needs to.
Find that out for themselves how God would have us conduct.
Us in our family relationships.
It says, for this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. God was the one that said that he started it all out.
He says I will that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary.
Says Lo. Children are the heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. All these verses would tell us of how God.
Intends.
To have these kind of relationships and to go on, it's God's plan.
And now I'm sure as we are here together this afternoon.
All of us have that desire to go on the way the Lord would have us.
And.
I don't want to stand up here and talk about how bad the world is and how much departure.
We don't need any more of that. We have enough of it. We're bombarded with the world, with changing of our society that was thankfully formed mostly on Christian principles.
It's a wonderful thing, you know that on Lord's Days, most businesses still do shut down.
That's something to be thankful for, but it's a real challenge to us.
As these things change about us and I believe the enemy is making a special attempt to destroy.
00:05:08
The family relationships destroy homes and we had a nice word about the fight of faith and that's part of it.
And sometimes we're not aware of what's going on.
I would like to turn first of all to the 10th chapter of Mark, just to look at one example.
That came in the life of our Lord Jesus.
When some came to him with the question about divorce.
And it's wonderful to see how the Lord answered that just for a principle or two not to be talking about divorce in Mark's Gospel chapter 10.
Verse 2.
Says And the Pharisees came to him, that's the Lord Jesus, and asked him.
Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife tempting him? And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
And Jesus answered and said unto them, From the hardness of your heart, he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made the male and female.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife.
And they train shall be one flesh. So then.
They are no more twain, but one. What therefore God hath joined together?
Let not man put asunder.
I find it very instructive here to see the way the Lord Jesus handled this situation.
It would be wonderful if everyone of our families was in.
100%.
Agreement with God's thoughts about it, but I'm afraid that most all of us here will recognize.
That it's not always so.
And it's one thing to go on together in a family relationship when all things are going well.
But it's another thing when tests come in.
And so I believe there are.
Scriptures that would indicate to us how we're to conduct ourselves in the family.
But there are also principles that will guide us when things go wrong.
To me, it's a wonderful thing, brethren, that no matter what circumstance we may get ourselves into in this day, the grace of God is sufficient to help us and sustain us.
I don't say to Riddus of the circumstances or the results of departure, but the grace of God can come in. I was really impressed with the mention already of how that Timothy, whose father or whose mother married a Greek, and then how God came in and God knew that it was about that time when He was going to bring the Gentiles in. I don't know if they were married before then or not, but most probably so.
Or about that time and God opened up the way.
So that Timothy could be a special blessing. That's just one example of how.
God can come in in spite of ourselves and what I like to say a word of encouragement to those of us who may have difficulties and find that everything's not 100% right in your family life.
Oh brethren, we have a place to go to. We have a resource.
And there is no situation where the grace of God can't come in and help us in our difficulties.
But we don't want to spend our whole lives like that. Our primary purpose is to maintain that Christian relationship that those principles that God has established.
00:10:05
A young man leaving, his father and mother being joined unto his wife, and a new family being started. And if the Lord blesses little ones, coming into the world.
And the training up of that family and so one generation.
Passing on to the next generation a wonderful things.
That God has recovered for us, and this time I believe it's God's way.
And we see the world trying to tear that down. And we're not exempt as Christian from those those kind of temptations that would come in.
Or from the neglect, the lack of reading the scriptures.
Are turning to other sources for our guidance.
In such occasions.
Well, here the Pharisees came to the Lord.
And they have this situation they ask about is it lawful to put away?
A woman to write a bill of divorcement and put her away.
I find it instructive that the Lord first of all returns the question to them.
What would they answer? What did Moses command you?
God had already given them instructions about this, and so the Lord doesn't set aside any of that.
And so it seems to me they must have already known that. Maybe they even suspected he would he would turn back to that. And so they answered yes. Moses allowed a bill of divorcement.
But the Lord doesn't stop there.
He says from the beginning, but from the beginning of the creation.
Well, I should read the first part. His answer is for the hardness of your heart. He wrote you this precept, and then the Lord goes back to the beginning. And that's what I would like to emphasize this afternoon. Brethren, when things get out of order, it's so easy to focus only on our little circle of problems.
And not go back to the beginning.
God instituted these relationships that we're in. God had a perfect plan and man has never improved on it, and he never will improve on God's plan. That's the reason we need to go back to the beginning, because God knew what He was doing when He established all these things and He had a reason for doing things the way He did, even if we don't understand them and as we grow up.
We learn a little bit of these reasons. It's a wonderful thing to learn to know our God.
Through these things.
And I believe that's why those lines of that hymn, that last verse that we sang.
There no stranger, God shall meet thee. It's a wonderful privilege to learn to know our God through these relationships and these circumstances that God has allowed us to be put in. Oh dear brethren.
We ought to know what God is like before we get there.
And I believe that's part of the reason he allows us to go through.
Christian wilderness experience. These things bring out and reinforce in our minds the reality of God in His ways and the vanity of any other way. Many times we have to learn that the hard way. But it's better to learn it the hard way than not to learn it at all. And God is faithful in it all. What a privilege then, it is to be participants, then, of these things.
And to know the relationships that God has with his people, because it seems to me that they're based on.
And similar to the earthly relationships that we have.
From the very beginning of the creation.
Since Adam and Eve, these things began coming out.
Why did God institute marriage here on earth, and tell the young men that they were time, when they grew up, to leave their father and mother, and to be joined unto their wife?
Because God had in view his Son and the bride, that he would have the church.
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I believe that the husband wife relationship is probably the nearest and most blessed earthly relationship you can be in. And that's why I believe God picked that relation out relationship out to be an example of His Son and the Bride of Christ and how we'll be caught up to be with Him in glory. But even now we know Him.
As our bridegroom.
It's a wonderful thing to experiment that relationship in the earthly sense.
And then look up to heaven and recognize that.
The in view of marriage isn't just here on earth and the joys and the blessings and all.
That we can enjoy in it, but this is something to teach us about God's relationship with his people.
That's great. That's wonderful, and I want everyone here to enjoy that, to learn to know it. And I know the young men and the young women are looking forward to the day when they'll enjoy the earthly side of it, God willing. That's wonderful.
But Satan is busy and he always has his imitations, and Satan desires to destroy that relationship.
And the relationship of children to the submission.
Children, obey your parents, the scripture says. We've heard that most of us.
And I suppose if I were to ask here some of those who come from broken homes where that earthly relationship has been damaged or destroyed, or some of the single parents or some of the widows, I'm sure I would get the most adamant defense of God's principles on these things from them, because they have reaped in sorrow when things are out.
A St. With God's plan, they would be the one that would tell us how awful it is when those things are departed from.
Well, these are real things we live with from day-to-day.
And I believe in my own soul that I've learned a whole lot more.
About this subject, just from sitting at home and observing.
In my own home and in my parents home, in other Christian, godly Christian homes where these principles are upheld, where there is that love of the husband to the wife and the submission and the obedience on the part of the children and all these things, the respect.
I didn't learn it from people standing up on the platform, but it is wonderful to talk about it too.
And I want each of us to look to the Lord about this and to look to those homes where you do see God's order upheld and see if God isn't right in establishing it the way He did.
It is so.
Well, the Lord Jesus here.
He goes back to the beginning.
And so when things get out of order in our families or on our own personal life, or for that matter, even in the assemblies.
We have a place to go to. Back to the beginning. How did God set it up?
And that's what's important.
It isn't necessary, I don't believe, to know all the pitfalls there are in life. It's good to be aware of some of the major ones, but we don't want to be occupied with that. We want to be occupied with a positive, with what God has established and what he's written.
I would like to mention though two things.
That I have felt of late, that I think.
Are coming into the society that we live in.
They are the first and last things mentioned in the list in First Timothy five of the last days.
And the first one is men shall be lovers of them all of their own selves.
00:20:06
This self esteem bit.
Is a trend.
I think we need to be aware of it.
I don't want to say anymore about it.
The last thing in that list.
Men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers.
Of God.
I believe that is another thing that those of us as parents.
Those that young people, all of us need to be aware of.
Be careful about these things in the training up of our children.
We have to prepare our children.
For this kind of environment that they're brought up in.
How I believe that rather than putting ourselves as the center of attention.
In trying to get the most potential out of our young people and not of our children.
Christ should be the object.
And if you've ever been caught up in that vicious cycle or vicious circle of being occupied with about yourselves, it's a miserable vicious circle to get in, and it's turning to the Lord that gets us out of that.
Merry go round of ups and downs and highs and lows in our Christian all to be able to focus on Christ.
He's the worthy one. He's the one that's given us life. He's all to us.
And isn't he also enough?
Isn't he the one that would make us choose the grits instead of the beef steak, as the Satan would say in his lie?
That's not the way it really is.
If what the Lord has to offer us in our Christian.
Family relationships isn't better than anything.
This society has invented.
We might as well close up our Bibles and terminate this conference.
But we know it is true.
Man has never improved on God's.
God's principles.
Now I would like to turn back and briefly to the Old Testament to an example in the Book of Two Kings.
A story about the great woman of Shunam. Now we're not going to have time to read the whole story. It would be nice to.
We'll try to pick up little sketches of at least read the first part.
In Two Kings 4.
This account has meant much to me.
To see the faith of this woman and her family relationship.
And how she had faith.
In Second Kings chapter 4.
Beginning with verse 8.
And it fell on a day that Elijah passed to Shoenum, where was a great woman, and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was that as OFT as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, and let us set for him there a bed in the table, and a stool, and a Candlestick, And it shall be.
When he cometh to us, he shall turn in thither, and fell on a day that he.
Came thither, and he turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehezi his servant called the Shunamite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast careful, thou hast been careful for us with all this care. What is to be done for thee? What is thou? Be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host. And she answered, I dwell among my known people.
And he said, What then is to be done for her? And gahe's I answered, Verily, she hath no child, and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood at the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my Lord, the man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid. And the woman conceived, and bear a son at that season.
00:25:06
That Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.
Now I'd like to make just a few comments before we notice the end of the story.
I like to think of this as an example in contrast.
To that previous story about the widow woman who had lost her husband and her two sons were in.
Danger of being taken as slaves.
Because I believe in the first story, we have an example to us of how the Lord is sufficient, the minister of grace is sufficient.
In a time of trouble or in a time when things are out of order.
But I like to think of this story as how God and his love and grace.
Can bless even when things are in order. I say that because sometimes I think we get the impression that in order to properly appreciate grace, we have to do like the prodigal son and get really far away from God.
Now, brethren, I don't think that's necessarily true. And that's the thing that I appreciate so much about this woman.
That this woman didn't have to get far away from the Lord to be content with what she had to live a godly life, pious, diligent, and all the things that we can notice here in this chapter. Brethren, we don't have to go off and learn things the hard way.
God has written these things down in his book so that.
It's even more blessed to learn them without learning them the hard way.
And that's why I would like to speak to ourselves this afternoon.
In order that these things may keep us close to the Lord, keep us appreciating what we have, and go on in that way. And it seems to me that's why she's called at least one of the reasons, a great woman.
She was a great woman. Well, you might just notice here that she.
Had this care for the man of God, appreciation for him and it even seems to be her idea to build onto the house a little room for this for Elisha the servant of the Lord, these things and after she had done all these things.
No doubt Elisha felt a little indebted to her and so he asked her what could he do for her in payment for this.
All breathing. We don't do things as Christians to get paid for it.
There's a higher motive than this and I believe this woman had laid hold of that. That's why she was content, That's why she didn't need to be spoken for before they came and some grand thing done for her.
Oh, she was laying hold of what God had given to her as a as an Israelite woman, and she was content.
Are you content with what God has given you? If God would give you a blank check and let you fill it out for what you wanted, what would you put down on it?
That's a very searching question.
This woman was content with what God had given to her.
She didn't have to be told over and over again that godliness was contentment is great gain.
She had it.
Well, Elisha.
Who was a true servant of God? He felt that he would like to do something in appreciation, and so he asked his eye the servant, and he comes up with a pretty good thing, I think. She doesn't have any children.
That was what a godly Israelite woman looked for, probably more than anything else, because if they didn't have any progeny, they didn't have any one to inherit the land When the Messiah came. It was pretty important thing for them.
Well, the fruit of the womb is his reward, God's reward, and what God gives us in our families is best.
Well.
God gave her a son.
I'm sure she appreciated that, son.
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And those of us who do have families, it's a wonderful thing. But then when we think about bringing up these little ones for the Lord.
And when they get bigger too, sometimes the problems even get bigger as they grow bigger.
How to meet these situations? What are we going to do for these children that the Lord has given us?
Well.
This woman took this gift.
On the basis of grace, she makes this statement. Statement. Do not deceive me.
Well, if we would read on down in the chapter, we'd find out.
Later, that son died.
And let's begin reading from.
Verse 23. Verse 22.
And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the ***** that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him? To day it is neither a new moon nor Sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
Her faith it shall be well. From whom did she receive that son?
From the servant of God, and her confidence was in him. She didn't run to the doctor, she ran to the source that had given her that son.
Oh, what a beautiful example for us. Where do we go when the problems come?
To the one who gave us our children, or to the one who put us in the circumstances that we are in.
That's good. That's wonderful.
And she says to the to the servant Dr. and go forward slack not for the slack not thy writing for me, except I bid thee we already had a little bit about enduring hardship. Another Christian grace that this woman had.
An important issue was at stake here. The life of her son was at stake.
She must get her answer from the man that had given her that son.
And so she goes.
Sometimes it seems like, you know, after we've had a hard week.
And maybe the children come home and they're kind of grumpy and we've had a hard day on top of it. You know, it's kind of easy to kind of let down and become discouraged, but I believe the Lord would have us endure hardness in these relationships.
Why? Because soul's eternal welfare.
Is at stake our children, our loved ones, our family members.
Does God care about them less than we do?
No. And so she comes to the man of God, and the man of God, Elijah he.
Says something about sending to Hazei.
But notice what she says.
She says in verse 28.
Then she said, Did I desire a son of my Lord? Did I not say?
Do not deceive me.
She had said that.
Brethren, if we receive what we have from the Lord.
And seek to go on using it for the Lord.
In a time of trouble, we can rightly go.
To the one who gave us those, thanks.
Turned to him.
If we make a question of our own desserts.
Of anything we have, we get off the ground of grace.
In our Christian pathway and we're on shaky ground.
If all I have is because I deserve it, therefore if I am become unworthy of it, it would be right for God to take it away from me. But this woman had not received that son on that basis.
To me, it's an example of what we have in the New Testament.
Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
That's recognizing the Lordship of Christ in our families.
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This woman is doing that. She goes to the source, she says to him.
Did you take this child away from me in my own? I'm interpreting it how I understand it here.
She's saying to this man of God.
Did you take this thing, this child, away from me?
When it was your idea to give it to me in the beginning, did I have anything to do?
With receiving this child, is this the kind of God that would give and take away?
She has a pretty good argument.
Oh, brethren, if we can turn to the Lord in our problems and receive it from him, if he was, if he wants to take one away, yes, he does have the right.
But when she puts it in that light, I believe Elijah was constrained to go.
And he adds further that when he suggests sending the servant and carrying the rod or the staff, she says she would not leave him.
She would not turn away from that source of her blessing no matter what. Oh brethren, no matter how hard the family situation is, never turn away from the God that blessed you and gave you everything that you have. That would be the worst mistake we could ever make.
Does not God do all things for our good? Yes he does. She believes that she laid hold of it and God gave her back her son. It was a real test for her and to me it's a picture of receiving our children back in resurrection life, being born again. It's not just enough to have a nice family.
The real issue, brethren, today, do those children belong to the Lord?
Is my family going on for him? All of us?
How can we be content when it's not? When it's not that way? She was not. And so in her earnestness she clung to the servant of God. And he goes and gives her back her son. No doubt she was worthy of it. But.
More than that, God wanted to do that because He is good.
Shall we pray?
Words That Come Out of Our Mouth
Address—J. Rule
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Soon, I just wanted to speak on the topic of the mouth, the words that come out of our lips, what we say because they have such an impact on others. You know, though, before I start, it's supposed to be a meeting to young people, addressed to young people. And yet I'm always afraid as I stand up that maybe there's someone here, that if this meeting were to end before we were done, would be left sitting in this seat.
Because their lips.
Had never owned the Lord Jesus as Lord. They had never come to the Lord Jesus and owned that they were a Sinner and received him as Savior. And so before we even start to speak to those who know the Lord Jesus, I just want to address a few remarks to maybe a boy or a girl who's sitting here.
Who's lost? A boy or girl? Who's sitting here? A young person, an adult is on a road that leads to a lost eternity that leads to hell. You know, my wife was talking to somebody the other day.
A boy, a young man, she was driving him home and they had been.
Talking about the Lord Jesus.
She said to him, you're going to have to make a choice.
As to whether to receive the Lord Jesus or not?
He says I have made that choice. There is no God, there is no Lord Jesus Christ and I'm not going to believe in him.
Is that the words of a teenage atheist?
Is that the words of a college student who studied it and decided he was going to reject God? A neo Nazi Skinhead that was going to have nothing to do with the Lord Jesus?
No, that was the words of a little 7 year old boy and he just spit out those words with just the vehemence that I said to them. There is no Lord Jesus Christ, there is no God. I've made my choice and I'm not going to believe in Him.
Maybe you've never said that. Maybe you're a young boy or girl or a teenager sitting here and you've never said anything like that. Wouldn't think of saying anything like that.
But in your hearts you've never said, you've never confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus. Jesus is Lord, and believed in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
That the message was for you, that you're lost and you're here sitting in your seat tonight.
This afternoon and you're on the road to hell.
You know, there's a young man in our assembly where we go in Columbus, OH, and he was there just a few weeks ago, maybe it's a few months ago now. He was a Husky man in his 20s. They called him Blocker, looked like a big Husky youth. He came out with some friends. Some other people had picked him up and brought him to the Gospel meeting. He heard how Jesus loved him.
How he was lost and on the road to hell, but that the Lord Jesus loved them and had a gift of salvation.
Two weeks later we had another special supper where people were invited in. They went to pick up people from that same place where Blocker lived.
Blocker wasn't one of the ones who joined them that night. Some others came, maybe a half a dozen, maybe 10 people from where he lived. But Blocker wasn't with him, he said. Where's Blocker?
He's dead.
Nobody would have thought, including Blocker two weeks before that when he sat in that meeting and heard that the Lord Jesus loved him, that it was going to be the last chance that he would ever have if he had not received the Lord Jesus as his Savior to receive him. Then I don't know whether Blocker had his trust in the Lord Jesus. I don't know as I look around this audience, whether you, young boy or girl or teenager or adult, have ever with your mouth confessed Jesus as Lord. But I would just say if you haven't, the Lord Jesus loves you.
Don't wait until this meeting is over. Don't wait until we're done. But if you are convicted, if you know in your heart you're a lost Sinner.
Maybe you heard Mr. Reeves last night and you think I failed all those 10 commandments.
Don't wait until this meeting is over right now. Just say, Lord Jesus, save me. Lord Jesus, I confess thee is Lord, I want you as my Savior. Do that now.
You know, I want to address my remarks primarily to those of you who know the Lord Jesus.
You know, I must admit, as I stand up here, it's not easy for me to stand up in front of a group. I would rather not stand up in front of a group and talk. I'd be glad to sit down one-on-one and chat with someone for as long as they wanted to talk. But I find it difficult to stand up in front of an audience. When I was at home on Thanksgiving and the phone rang and somebody called me to the phone and they I said, who is it? And they said it's Mr. Enzyme. Mr. Earl Enzyme.
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I thought, I really don't want to speak to Mr. Olenzyn. He's only called me, I think, about twice before in my life.
And both times it was to say, could you have a little word for us or would you speak at something?
And I thought that's probably what he's going to say again. And I really don't want to talk to Mr. Earl Enzyme, but I appreciated that he called enough to give me a chance to really pray about it. And I said, I just want to pray for two or three hours or some time. I just want to have some time and I'll get back with you as to whether I'll talk.
Well, we were just finishing breakfast and afterwards my dad has been his custom ever since. He's been my father. We got together and he said we're going to have a little family reading. They just finished Isaiah. The chapter they were reading in that they had been going through was Jeremiah I.
I'll just read you a couple verses. You don't need to turn to it. But Jeremiah says to the Lord, He says, Oh Lord, God, he says, I can't speak, I'm a child.
The Lord says, Don't say I'm a child, for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces.
You know, I told Mr. Amazon, I said it's hard for me to call back and say I won't speak. I feel like the Lord Jesus would want me to speak.
I hope he gives me a word, something to say. I hope I'm not afraid of your faces as I lookout. But I recognize as young people and as old people, it's hard to speak, to use our mouth for the Lord Jesus.
It's difficult.
And we sometimes don't do it. I thought of that verse in Timothy. It says be thou an example of the believers in Word.
First thing it says is in words. Sometimes people have said, you know, and it's true. Our lives speak so loud nobody can hear what we say.
That's sometimes true.
But you know, it's also true, I don't believe that you and I can live our life. Just saying I'm going to live for the Lord Jesus and never tell somebody why we're living as we're living.
We've got to speak up and say and tell them what it is that motivates us, what's in our heart.
We need to speak out for the Lord Jesus, and that's difficult for most of us to do. It's difficult for us to talk. Often we talked.
When I shouldn't say things I shouldn't, then I'm quiet when I should be talking.
But the Lord wants each of you, young or old, to speak for him.
You know, I read about a lady just recently, her name was Carol. I don't remember her last name. And she was going to address some ladies. She was going to talk to them.
He's going to have to be speaking to him. And the first piece had gotten up and this person was a very eloquent speaker and had spoken wonderfully. And it was talking about Southeast Asia and the work that was going on there and the suffering people were doing for the Lord Jesus in Southeast, as you told about this one woman.
And some soldiers had come to her house to take away her Bible and everything she had but spoke about the Lord Jesus. She'd hidden it under the cold ashes in the fireplace, thinking they wouldn't find it there, but they'd look for Bibles before they knew where to find them. And they found that Bible under the cold ashes, and they took it out.
And she says, please don't take my Bible, it's the only thing I have that tells me about my Jesus. And they said shut up lady.
She said please don't take my Bible. It's the only thing I have that tells me about my Jesus.
They got angry with that Lady. They took her out. They stripped her of all her clothes.
They put her up on a platform.
And people came by and mocked her and spit on her, and all she had was her Bible as she knelt there on that platform with nothing to cover her, with her head bowed, not in shame, but praying to the Lord Jesus, the one who she valued. After four hours, they took her back down. They took her Bible away. And she says, please don't take my Bible. It's the only thing that I have that tells me about my Jesus.
They got angry with her. They took her hands and they stretched them above her heads like this. They put her down on the ground and they took her hands and with hammers beat them to a pulp.
So even to this day, she can't even hold a piece of food.
The next speaker got up and this lady, her name was Bev. She told about how when she was younger in her life a few years back, how the Lord Jesus she felt was calling she and her husband to go out and serve him. And she said Lord Jesus anytime, anywhere, anything, as they walked with her husband and three children to kind of dedicate themselves to serve the Lord. And two years later, she was in New Guinea, just a hot 2 feet between the walls and the roof service would come in. And she said, Lord, I didn't mean this when I said that.
And she cried and for the next two weeks wanted to go back home. But finally the Lord.
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Allowed her to have victory through that.
They serve the Lord and saw people saved. And then her older son went back home to the United States, and she hated to see him go.
To go back to the United States. And she said, Lord, I can't give up my kids to see them go back and leave us. I didn't mean this when I said anytime, anywhere, anything. But she prayed and the Lord gave her courage. Two years later, she came back home to be reunited. They were back at home in furlough. They got a call in the middle of the night. The phone started ringing. She went to the door and the policeman said there's been a serious accident. We think your son's girlfriend is going to live, but I'm sorry to say your son didn't make it.
And the devil said, is that what you meant when you said any time, anywhere, anything?
But the Lord gave her victory.
She was able to rejoice in it. And then there's Lady Carol was to get up and speak later to these group of women and she thought, listen to what these people have done. I can't do that. I have nothing to say. I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have anything special. My hands haven't been beaten to a pulp. I haven't given up my children or my family. And she said she just felt the Lord was saying in her heart, that's what I want to stand up there, an ordinary person.
You know, as I look around, we're ordinary people. Most of us aren't going to be called to a mission field in North Africa or in Eastern Europe or in South America. If he calls you go tremendous. It's great if that's what he has for you. But most of us here are just ordinary people.
But the Lord wants us to be willing to say anytime, anywhere, anything, when you go to school, whether it's a private school, whether it's an inner city school, whether it's a Christian School that you're involved in, I don't know your high school, your college, your work, whether you're a plumber, electrician, or a doctor or pharmacist.
It doesn't matter. We're ordinary people doing ordinary jobs. And that's what the Lord Jesus wants to call today to serve him, because we have an extraordinary God who loves to work through ordinary people to show his power.
And that's what he wants to do through you and me today.
So that we are willing to speak out for the Lord Jesus Christ and what He's done for us.
But you know what comes out of our mouth? What comes out of my mouth depends a lot on what I've been taken in.
You know, it says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.
You know that's true.
You know, if I'm thinking about things, if I'm thinking about a new car and I'm going to get a new car, a new van, then probably when I meet you, I'll ask you what kind of van do you have or what kind of car do you have or what do you think about it? Because that's what I've really been thinking about. There's nothing wrong in that. I have to get a new van periodically to haul my seven kids around.
There's nothing wrong in that. But is that what my focus is? Is that what your focus is? Those things of this life, it's going to make a difference in what I've been thinking about as to what I talk about.
And you know, I realize as I stand here to speak to you young people.
You know, I'm not a young person anymore. I try to be at times. I can't keep up with the kids when we play a basketball game they're getting so that my own kids can beat me and certainly the other kids in the meeting can play a game. So I can't keep up. I don't even understand fully the issues you go through. Some of the temptations today are the very same ones I went through. You know, I appreciate it For young people that came here today, that are here in this meeting today, you had some of you had a choice that was probably hard for you to make.
Ohio State's play Michigan right now.
And I suspect a lot of people, some of the young people, made a choice to watch that game, Go watch it somewhere. That's a difficult choice to make. I admit. That's still a temptation for me today. Right now, those kinds of things are a temptation to want to enjoy the things of this world. Is there something wrong in a football game? No. But the Lord Jesus Christ has something that's a lot better than a football game, a lot better than Michigan beating Ohio State or Ohio State.
Eating Michigan, he has some joy, he has some excitement. He has something to offer us.
That lasts far more than any excitement can ever last out of those kinds of things.
But I'm sometimes afraid to talk about it.
And part of the problem is because I haven't been getting the right stuff inside. You know, I work as a data processing and they say garbage in.
Garbage out. What that means is if you give a program the wrong information, the computer isn't going to mess up. It does its thing and it gives you some garbage out because you didn't put the right input into the computer. That sometimes happens in my life. Does that happen in yours where we haven't spent any time or enough time with the Lord Jesus? I remember, you know, a turning point in my life was when I was 15 years old, I went to a Wheaton conference. Brother Ron Reeves was there and I remember him taking his watch and holding it up and says we're going to have one minute silence. He was talking to us young people.
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And he just held that watch for one minute.
Let us sit there and then he said, you spend 5 minutes in the morning alone with the Lord Jesus. Would you be willing to give just five of those minutes out of the day for him?
You know, my parents had always had a Bible reading. We came up and at 7:00 we knew we had to be at the table at 7:00 because that's when my dad had the Bible reading before he left for work.
But you know, I had never got up myself ahead of that. I read at night and that was fine. I read a chapter at night or it's a few verses at night and prayed before I went to bed. But I never got up and started my day spending a little time with the Lord Jesus. And I remember going home and getting an alarm clock after that said I'm going to get up 15 minutes early.
And I'm going to spend a little time with the Lord Jesus. That was the best decision I ever made.
Those few moments spent with the Lord Jesus talking to him, trying to let him talk to me.
So that I might have something in here. It was an important time for me. I was just going from junior high to high school.
And I've been a pretty lousy.
Pretty lousy testimony.
My junior high.
Probably not many kids knew I was a Christian.
If they did, probably the example I was setting wasn't a very good testimony.
And, you know, I was ready to start to high school and it's a new school, and I thought maybe it's a new chance to kind of ask the Lord to help me do a better job, maybe pick some different friends.
And I really prayed about it that summer. And the Lord Jesus that first day allowed me to meet a Christian on the very first day. I have no idea How I Met him. I can't imagine I said something to him first about the Lord Jesus. But somehow I found out he was a Christian. Bob Romine, the Lord Jesus allowed Bob Romine to be in my class, to be next to me, for me to find out he was a Christian. So I would have somebody to help me, somebody to encourage me, so maybe I would have some courage to speak out for the Lord Jesus.
You know, are you spending anytime? Are you spending even 5 minutes young person with the Lord Jesus at the beginning of the day?
I encourage you to do that. You know, I talked to some people at Red Time Red Pine when I was up there this summer about how I had started to neglect reading and prayer at night. Just this year. I was too busy.
I could maybe argue some of the things I was doing were right, looking after my family or maybe helping some other people that weren't my family. But I got too tired at night for my reading and for my prayer.
So I just hop in bed and think I was going to pray to the Lord when I was in bed lying there and you know, the next thing I knew, the alarm was ringing.
And it made a difference in my life.
You know, outwardly maybe nobody in our assembly knew that. Maybe they didn't notice it. But deep down here I knew something was wrong. I wasn't nearly as happy. I wasn't speaking to people about the Lord Jesus, talking about them. Are you doing that?
Opening your lips for Him. The Lord Jesus wants you to do that. You know, there's a few things I want to look at as we have time too.
Things in which ways we can use our lips for the Lord Jesus. The first one is in prayer.
We might just look at a verse on that and Song of Solomon chapter 2 and verse 14.
Song of Solomon chapter 2 verse 14, about the middle of the verse, says Let me see thy countenance.
Let me hear thy voice. I start out with prayer because that's something you can do quietly yourself. Nobody has to hear you. Maybe it's hard for you to speak out to someone else.
Maybe you can't talk out loud to someone else about the Lord Jesus, but I would tell you just start out talking to the Lord Jesus in prayer. You know, I enjoyed what Tim Cederland said how how neat it was for when that older man that came up to him and said, Tim, I've been praying for you every day for I pray for you every morning and every night. How that encouraged him.
Then I'll bet if you were to ask Tim or me or anyone else and one of you young people came up and said, John, I'm really praying for you. I know it's a tough job raising your kids or I'm just praying for you for whatever reason.
That would be tremendous to know that somebody was praying for me.
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That's something you can do, young person, that is going to make a difference. You know, when I was at Carrollton Conference this year, I briefly mentioned a young man. His name's Tilden. He'd just been saved two days before.
Tilton is an alcoholic.
He's been drinking since he was nine years old. He's now 29.
Children used to do a lot of drug running plus using a lot of drugs.
And Tilden was saved just two days before Carrollton.
In spite of his being involved in Satanism. In spite of his being involved in alcoholism and drugs.
We were saved. Is it going to be all easy for children now? And I remember coming to Wheaton or Chicago conference and Marion Carmichael from Toronto came up to me and she says how's children doing?
She says. I've been praying for him every day since Carrollton. I thought, man, is that ever neat. No wonder children's been able to begin to go on for the Lord Jesus.
Their hands been praying for him. That young person in her prayers. I'm convinced. And there's others too that have prayed for children.
They made a difference.
Is he having a rough time? He's having a very rough time.
But prayers of young people like yourself make a difference.
The Lord Jesus wants to hear your voice.
You know, I love it. Sometimes. My kids will come up, maybe my five year old and Christopher will come up and I'll be sitting in the chair maybe, and he's not supposed to get down from the table, but he does and he comes up behind me and then he puts his arms around his neck and says, Daddy, I love you.
Maybe my 6 year old daughter. Do I love that? You bet I do. I love to have them come up and Justice put his arms around me and say Daddy, I love you.
Do you think I'd like to hear that from my teenagers?
I sure do if they say to me the same words, Daddy.
I love you.
That's special to me. You know, I was just telling my parents. My dad's almost 80 years old.
You think if I go up to him and say Daddy, I love you?
Like Dennis, I'm 80 years old. I've heard that so many times it doesn't mean a thing.
It means a lot to a parent. What about you, young brother? Young sister?
You get up in the morning, just say Lord Jesus, I love you.
You tell them that.
Is that hard to do? That's with our lips. Imagine the joy it brings to the heart of God for you just to lift up your voice and say Lord Jesus.
I love you.
He loves that and what would be really exciting too.
Young brother.
To hear you stand up Sunday morning.
Just stand up, say Lord Jesus, we love you.
I say there's no reverence. I believe God himself would say Amen. He loves to hear that.
Glory brought to his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you done that? Have you spoken out with your lips for him?
Quietly in your own room.
Or speak out.
On behalf of us.
In the meeting, the Lord Jesus wants to hear that. He wants to hear our praise. We might look at a verse.
It just says that in Hebrews.
Hebrews 13 and verse 15.
It says by Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips.
Giving thanks to his name, but to do good and to communicate forget not. For with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The sacrifice of praise. That's not always easy to praise the Lord Jesus, is it? Sometimes you just don't feel like it.
I get my car and it's early in the morning and I'm going to work and maybe it's been hard getting up and maybe it's been hard getting the kids off to school and maybe I've had to discipline one of them.
And I don't feel like praising the Lord.
Maybe it's a sacrifice to do it.
To just start singing some hymn or some song and say praise the Lord Jesus, praise to him. How good is the God we adore? I want to praise you Lord, much more than I do. To sing something to him, to give praise and honor to him with our lips, with your lips. You know, young person that brings joy to the heart of God, what does he lump it with? But to do good and communicate, Forget not, for with such sacrifices you might see someone else doing lots of workouts there. You think for the Lord Jesus, they're working hard, doing good for other people.
00:25:31
On behalf of the Lord Jesus, communicating, perhaps taking lots of their financial gain and using that for the Lord Jesus.
If you're praising the Lord Jesus in your heart, if you're praising him out loud, he puts all those together and he says with those sacrifices, God looks at the mall as a sacrifice. He is well pleased. He wants the praise of your lips and he wants the praise of my lips. You know, there's a young man that I work with. His name is Greg Rimi. And if you're talking about a football nut, he that's him. He is crazy about football. And I am sure that right now he's in Ohio Stadium screaming his head off for whatever it is half time or the middle of the game or whatever point they are in the game. Greg Remy is there screaming his head off.
When they played Iowa a couple weeks ago, Greg came in and he said, man. He says when Jeff Graham caught that pass right as time was expiring at the end of the first half, he says, I grabbed my Ohio State flag and I ran down the street singing the Ohio State March song all the way up and down the street. And he says at the end of the game, with one second left, when Bobby Olive caught this pass with one second left to score the winning touchdown, he said, I grabbed it again and ran down the street screaming my head off and singing the Ohio State fight song.
He not ashamed of the Ohio State team. Whether they win or lose, he's yelling for them.
But you know me.
I might be singing, maybe in the car and somebody pulls up and I want them to see I'm singing and they'll think something's wrong with me. But they may have their rock music blaring out so loud I can't even hear myself think and jumping up and down and bouncing and singing to it. And we're afraid to praise the Lord Jesus. He wants that praise of your heart. It means a lot to Him, young people, He really values it. Maybe you can't get out there and do something like someone else is, but you can do that. And I guarantee you if you do that.
You'll find some other things that will happen in your life because you'll want to do more.
And he'll want to use you.
Are you willing to speak out for the Lord Jesus, to praise Him, to pray to Him?
And I'd like to look at one other, and that's in Psalms 40 and verse three. I want to tell you what the results of that phrase is.
Psalms 40 and verse three. It says, He hath put a new song in my mouth. Even praise unto our God. Many shall see it in fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
When you start having some joy in the Lord, when you praise Him, when He gives you courage to speak out for Him, others are going to trust in Him.
They're going to turn to the Lord Jesus. You're going to have an opportunity to share with them what Jesus has done for you.
Maybe you can't explain it real well.
You know, we were down just a few weeks ago.
Helping some people that didn't have any place to stay. There was a number of young people down there doing it.
And, you know, these people didn't have any place to go. They didn't have food to eat, and they were helping provide food for them and find them a place to stay.
There was a young girl there, she's 16 years old.
She comes to the Assembly in Columbus. Her name's Rosa.
Now Rose is a beautiful girl on the outside and the inside. A year ago, Rosa was on the receiving end of that. She was a homeless person.
With a rotten life and Rosa put her trust in the Lord Jesus.
And Rosa was down there because she said, I want to go down there where people helped me. And she was with the other young people. And a girl came in that was upset and distraught, a drug problem. And Rosa, she's a Hispanic girl with her big brown eyes. She just looked at her and she said, you know, I was here a year ago and these people helped show me Jesus.
And he's changed my life.
She didn't tell the gospel, she didn't know how to perhaps explain it. But I believe that Roses testimony had an impact. Maybe you don't know how to explain it very well.
Can you bring someone to Jesus? Can you speak up and tell them about Jesus? And I can tell you, if you see someone come to know the Lord Jesus, maybe just because you're there, sitting there being an encouragement to someone else, maybe you don't have courage to speak. Come down and sit with someone else who wants to do it because two of you'll make it easier.
00:30:11
If you see somebody saved, I've seen the joy in a young person's eyes or a young girl's eyes.
When they said you know what?
I knelt down with Belinda when she prayed and asked Jesus to come into her heart.
She's my best friend now. Why is she your best friend? Because she was there when it happened.
You know it will bring a joy to your heart that surpasses any joy.
That this world has to offer. It was when I was 15 years old and went out to the East Coast.
Was at the tent and heard some of the meetings. I wasn't the one speaking. I was 15. I couldn't talk and stand up there.
But I saw people get saved, come to know the Lord Jesus.
And it did something to my heart. It said there's something exciting there and seeing this happen, to see the Lord Jesus work and change a heart.
And I had trust. In a small measure, it gave me a desire to see hearts changed.
The Lord Jesus wants you to do that, to be there, and if you're praising Him, you're going to see others come to Him.
You know, it's going to be hard for me. It's going to be hard to think, you know, I thought, I think, what if the Lord Jesus comes and that person that works next to me at work?
And I'm gone.
Goodness, I don't think John ever said anything to me about it.
I remember never saying anything about the Lord Jesus.
Do you ever stop and think? Do I ever stop and think about my friends that may end up in hell?
And I've never said anything to them.
The Lord Jesus wants us to speak for Him. He wants us to use our lips.
To speak out in salvation.
You know, I want to say one thing too. I know it's difficult because you're worried about what people will think, your friends at school, maybe your friends in the meeting, how you go about it or whatever. You know, I worry about what people think. And I have to confess to you, before I came in here, I was over in the meeting over there where it says the men's room where they can go in and rest. And I was in there praying, but I was in there also writing down some notes here because I forget where places are in the Bible. I wanted to jot down some things so I would remember where a verse was in the Bible.
And I have my back to the door. I was kneeling there praying, and I'd written some down. And, you know, I heard a couple of people come in. I don't know who they were, some men I assumed to lie down. And you know what I did?
I took this and kind of slid it under the Bible because I was kind of embarrassed thinking somebody's going to think you shouldn't have notes up here.
You shouldn't take notes when you're talking. You know? I'm embarrassed too for what people think instead of justice saying.
I think the Lord Jesus wants me to write something down, so maybe I'll remember it, that I ought to put it down. Sometimes we're too worried about what somebody is going to think. Instead of saying, what does the Lord Jesus think? I just want to serve him. I just want to speak for him. He'll help me.
And then somebody today said, you know, when someone's been saved, we should be able to bring them to the Assembly as a place that they can be encouraged.
Now what a challenge to us.
Is the assembly a place?
We can bring our friends when they're saved.
So they're encouraged.
Is that just for the young people? No, that's for me.
That's that's for my brother, that's for my sisters, that's for all of us.
Like somebody said, are we going to be part of the problem or part of the solution? You know, we can complain and say the assembly isn't a place. Nobody's going to reach out to them or they're not going to understand them. You're there, young people, I don't understand and I can't relate to your friends nearly as well as you can. If somebody brings a friend, I can try to be friendly, I can try to speak to them, but you're going to be able to relate to a young person coming in that a friend brings much better than I can.
Can you speak out? You know, we might just look at a verse in Isaiah.
Isaiah 40. Excuse me, Maybe it's.
Isaiah 50.
Isaiah 50 and verse four. The Lord has given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to Him that is weary.
We know how to do that.
We know how to speak to someone else when they come in. You know, the people that have just been saved are going to be weary. Perhaps that's why they turn to the Lord. They're discouraged, they're sad. They were embedded in sin. That's what their whole life has been. They've been wallowing in this swamp for 10 or 20 or 30 or 70 years. They're not going to jump out of that swamp in one day. It's going to be a long road out. Am I going to be there? Are you going to be there again? You young people? When a young person comes in, you can be the one to help them much better than I can.
00:35:23
Maybe it's just your friends that have been there all their life and they're discouraged.
You know, do you take the time to listen, to be a word of encouragement? You can be an encouragement to all ages.
You know, Mark Ramsey had a great meeting just a few weeks ago and he talked about a car and all the different parts. And he had the kids say, tell me, you know, what do you need to make a car go? And they come up with things like engine and fuel and you need a body on it, windshield wipers so you can see where you're going and lights and the whole bit. And then he took that and he related it to all the things we need in a Christian life so that we can go through life for the Lord Jesus. You know, when he was done, my daughter, one of my younger children said to me, she said, I really like that. That was good. I really followed that. That was I really liked that meeting tonight. I said, did you tell Mark Ramsey?
You might like to hear that. It would be an encouragement to him to know.
You know, sometimes I know some of this older ones, maybe we make comments in the meeting and you can't understand them. Once in a while we might make one that you follow and some that you do understand. Maybe tell us after say, you know, that was really good at that point. I really liked the way you illustrated that. That really helped me. Then that might help someone know that next time I ought to use the same. I understand how they can follow it. You know, you can encourage us.
Just like Marianne Carmichael encouraged me to know she was praying for Tilden.
For a young girl to tell the person that spoke, I really understood that and I really liked that.
That encourages It's not to puff someone up, it's to encourage them because they get discouraged.
Old people, young people, I know you young people get discouraged. You see the difficulties.
Perhaps you see us as part of the difficulties at times and you get discouraged.
You know we all fail.
And the Bible says to confess our faults 1 to another. That's another way we can use our tongue. Admit the faults and the failures. Do we do that?
Or do we try to hide it? Do I try to hide it because I don't want to admit a failure?
Now I came to a meeting just a month ago.
I ask prayer for three people. I ask prayer for children.
Because Tilden had just fallen badly again with his alcohol problem, I asked prayer for someone else that was making, I thought, a mistake in a job decision, and I asked prayer for.
Another person who'd been saved in February.
But had swindled somebody in the meeting out of money and taken it and spent it and got drunk.
And was going off away from the Lord now. Those seemed like 3 nice prayer requests perhaps?
You know what I told the brothers at the Caribbean afterwards?
I said that was the wrong prayer request.
You know what I should have said to you? I'm so discouraged I feel like giving up.
I'm just so discouraged, all these families, some of these people that we thought maybe we could help and everyone of them seems to be making the wrong decisions. And I'm just so tired and discouraged. I just, I feel like what's the point in even trying? I just don't feel like going on and I should have asked prayer for me sounded good what I'd ask prayer for.
But right here, you know I admit that I'm discouraged.
I guess because I was thinking maybe I could help these people. I can't help those people.
The Lord Jesus can help them. His power can help them. He can deliver children from alcohol and drugs, just as he saved his soul.
Is our assembly a place where I can come and say I've got a problem? I'm discouraged.
I've got a problem. My marriage is in a shambles. My wife and I are fighting all the time. I've got a problem with my children.
I've got a problem at work. I've got a problem with this weakness in my life. Brothers and sisters, can you pray for me?
Maybe it doesn't have to be publicly in our assembly. Maybe there needs to be somebody though I can go to it says confess my false one to another.
If I don't confess them when they're little, and I wait until they've grown totally out of proportion, how is there going to be any help?
I've waited, perhaps till it's almost too late. Not too late for the God we serve.
But perhaps too late because I've waited too long. Our assembly should be a place.
Where somebody can come and say I've got a problem. The people that have just been saved have the problems. Are those what we have in the assembly?
Do they hear me say to my brother when I make a mistake, I'm sorry?
I'm sorry, Brother Kuiper. I'm sorry, Brother Mark. I'm sorry Brother Whoever or Sister whoever.
00:40:07
Now, how can we expect a young person to say I'm sorry about something?
They've never heard me say ever admit a failure.
Ever confess a fall?
Have they heard that? Are we really open and real? Oh, the Lord wants us to use our lips for Him.
To speak out in praise. To own our failure when we have it.
To encourage one another when somebody's down, just somebody to listen to.
Many young people, the kind that somebody can come to you if they've got a problem and you'll really listen. Do you care? I know you care for each other. When you listen, try to help encourage them. Encourage us. Show us how to encourage us. You can make a difference for the Lord Jesus. You have the energy, you have the tongue, that powerful thing that can turn for good or for evil.
And the Lord wants you to yield it to Him so he can use it for His honor and glory.
Sometimes that's going to be admitting I made a mistake. Sometimes it's going to be asking for help.
Sometimes it's going to be praising the Lord, sometimes it's going to be speaking for Him.
Oh, I just wish that we could go out of here with the desire to use that tongue for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus. We can't do it without His help. I can't do it without His help.
But with his help using that tongue.
What a tremendous blessing you can be to your assembly. You can be a help, you can encourage. You can pray.
And you can bring honor and glory to the one who died for you.
It's not very long until we're going to stand in front of them. We're going to see those nail prints in his hands. We're going to see the nail marks in his feet, that spear mark in his side. We'll praise him for all eternity.
Can we use our tongues, our lips, for His honor and glory in this short time now so that we might be able to hear Him say thank you?
Well done in those areas where we used it for him.
What just wasn't prayer?
Take Up Our Cross and Follow Him
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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I'd like to turn Brethren to the 9th chapter of Luke Luke's Gospel, Chapter 9, beginning at the.
23rd verse.
Luke 9 and verse 23.
And he said to the mall, if any man will come after me.
Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever shall it will save his life shall lose it. But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it the 28th verse. And it came to pass about an 8 days after these sayings he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias.
Who appeared in glory and spake of his deceased, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake they saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make 3 tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them.
And they feared as they entered into the cloud, and there came a voice out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved Son, hear him. When the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone, and they kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
And it came to pass that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him, and behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, for he is mine only child.
And all the spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him that he formeth again.
And bruising him hardly departed from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out. I had to cast him out, and they could not. And Jesus answering said, Oh faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and suffer you? Bring thy son hit her, and he was as he was yet a coming. The devil threw him down and tear him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed a child, and delivered him again.
To his Father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered everyone at the all these all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink deep, sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of man. But they understood not this his saying, and it was hid from them that they perceived it not. And they feared to ask him of that saying.
Then there arose A reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest, And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child.
And set him by him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name?
Receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth him that sent me, For he that is least among you among you all the same shall be great. And John answered and said, Master, We saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followed not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not, for he that is not against us, is for us. And it came to pass from the time.
Was come that he should be received up.
He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Well, I was just thinking, brethren, how the Lord has given us indeed a very happy time here.
And how we've enjoyed this time, apart away from business and its cares and perhaps many other cares that might be pressing upon us to be gathered here, to be occupied with the Lord Jesus. But we know that we have to return home again. And we know that many of the difficulties that we had before we came here are going to meet us freshly again when we return. And I think this is a very precious passage in that connection, because we see the Lord Jesus anticipating, understanding fully that need.
00:05:00
For He knows all about us. He knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust. He knows all our tendencies and everything about us, and we're all individuals as we sit here. We're all different. The disciples were all different. But how blessed to know that the Lord enters into every situation. And it seems to me that it's brought out particularly in this chapter where we began. It says that the Lord said in that 23rd verse.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Notice this his cross. Now we certainly know about the cross of the Lord Jesus, and how there He on that cross died for us, shed His precious blood to put our sins away and to make us His very own. But what does this mean about take up his cross? Well, I believe, brethren, that it answers something to what was given to the Levites.
Back in the Book of Numbers, we find that those Levites were brought to Aaron, and he appointed to each one his service and to each one his burden. Every one of us have some little service to do. We've been reminded a good deal of this in the meetings, and how the service the Lord has given to us differs, one having one place to fulfill in the vineyard, another having another place, and each of us being given the strength that we need to fill that little corner in the vineyard.
As we often seen you in your small corner and I in mine, but we also have different burdens. Just like those Levites. They weren't all given the same things to carry. Some might be given the holy vessels, some might be given things that were much more difficult, like the heavy boards. Some might be given such light things as the pins. What would keep their minds at peace? Well, just knowing that that was what was appointed to them. And I believe that's what is referred to in Galatians.
Where Paul says, Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone.
And not in another Isn't it lovely? Just to think that God is a neighbor can make us happy.
In the very corner where he has put us, he can give us the strength that we need to carry the cross that you and I may have the burden.
And he can also give us grace for the little service that he has for us.
And we can be happy in it, as I say, many of us before we came to this meeting.
Or may be occupied with those things that we speak of the service and the burden, but here we've been called apart. And I, like the Lord Jesus, said to the disciples, after a busy day, come ye yourselves apart, and rest a while they came with him. It wasn't go ye yourselves apart, but come. You know how lovely I think every one of us have enjoyed particularly the meeting this morning as we just sat quietly around the Lord Jesus and thought about his love and joined in those songs of praise and worship.
And responded to his dying request that we should remember him until he comes.
So he tells us we must deny ourselves and take up the cross. It speaks here about he that loves his life shall lose it. But the one who hates his life, who gives it at the same, shall save it. And you know, it's such a thing in the Bible as having a saved soul, but a lost life wouldn't you like to have? You know your soul is saved. Wouldn't you like to have a life that will be preserved for the glory of the Lord Jesus in that coming day?
When you think of all he's done for us, his wondrous love, doesn't that touch a heartstring and make us say, I want to have a life that will be for his glory, that will meet his approval in that day of manifestation? I believe that was a great desire of the Apostle Paul. Well, how could the disciples meet a situation like this? I think some of us may be here and saying, well, it's all very well for you to talk that way, brother, but you just don't know the cross that I have to bear, and I don't.
But the Lord does. I don't, but I know the Lord does. He understood fully into what each one has to meet. And what did the Lord do when he told him about how it was going to be difficult for them to take up their cross? To give up life here in view of eternity, to suffer reproach for His name's sake, and to meet the trials in the Spirit that they should? How could they do it? Well, he takes them up onto that high mountain.
Tells us. I think it's so lovely in that 28th verse, and it came to pass about an 8 days after these sayings he took Peter.
00:10:01
And John and James and went up into a mountain to pray.
Yes, a little time after he had told them. Then he takes them, as it were, by the hand.
And takes them up into that high mountain. What was this? Well, I believe it was to give them a vision.
Of coming glory, it tells us in Proverbs chapter 28 where no vision is.
The people perish, and you and I are going to be discouraged. We're going to say life is overwhelming. I can't take it if we lose that vision of coming glory, if we lose the sense of what is ahead of us. But he took them up into the mountain to pray, feeling their utter dependence upon him.
And to know what was ahead and I believe those two things are necessary for us.
We need to have that vision of coming glory, and we need to be dependent. Never think.
That you or I can take one step in the Christian faith pathway in our own strength we cannot. The daily prayer of the Christian ought to be preserved. Me, O God, for in thee do I put my trust. That is the prayer of the Lord Jesus as the perfect dependent man as he walked through this world. In the Gospel of Luke we find him seven times in prayer. Each one was in a different circumstance and situation.
But he was the perfect, dependent man, and so he teaches us this. And I want to say we need those two particular things constantly, a state of dependence, that we cannot meet the problems of life in our own wisdom or strength, or that we have enough zeal, or that we have enough desire. No, we have to say, without me he can do nothing, the Lord Jesus said and as our brother brought before us the other day.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me, so as he took them up into that mountain to pray.
It tells us here. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was quite and glistering. I think we all know that what took place there on the Mount of Transfiguration was a little preview of the Kingdom. Peter speaks of it in his epistle said, We haven't followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty.
Some of those Jews who were looking for the Kingdom to be set up immediately.
Might have felt very frustrated and disappointment, disappointed that their Messiah had been rejected, had crucified and gone back to heaven. But he said to them, it's all secure. We saw a preview of what's ahead. It hasn't come yet. But he goes on to say in that passage until the day dawn in the morning. Star, arise in your heart. We, brethren, are not going to see things set right in this world.
That's after we're gone. We'll see it from the heavenly side, but not while we're here.
We need the Morning Star to arise in our hearts. Do we find things getting worse?
Do we find problems increasing? Well, we don't expect, as I say, to see things set right. But we can have the morning star arise in our hearts. We can get up each morning and say, perhaps today we can be like those who watch for the morning. Oh, how blessed it is our place. Well, he gives us a little preview here. First of all, the Lord Jesus is brought before us. He wasn't his before them. There as the man of sorrows. He was before him, them there as the man of joy.
He was there with his raiment, white and glycerine. He was there displayed.
And we might say we see a little picture of the heavenly and the earthly because we see Moses and Elias.
Who were heavenly people talking with him? And we see the disciples there.
Who belong to the earth, so to speak, and they're talking to Jesus. And there will be in that time of blessing that's coming. There will be the two circles of blessing, the heavenly and the earthly. You and I belong to the heavenly. Perhaps these two men bring before us the two different things. Here we know that Moses went through the article of death, whereas Elijah was taken in a chariot of fire to have them. And we're going to meet people in heaven who never died.
We're going to meet people who went through the article of death and what did they talk about?
They spake of his deceased that he would accomplish at Jerusalem. That's what occupied us this morning.
So they're deceased. That blessed work accomplished on Calvary. That will be our theme.
For all eternity, as a brother was saying when we were going down to the meal, how wonderful. The man who's the center of it all is the only one who has any marks of Sam. He bears those marks in his hands and feet inside of Calvary. We'll be there in glorified bodies, but we won't have any of those marks. But he will.
00:15:19
A constant reminder to us for all eternity of the love that led him to Calvary.
And what He did for us to put away our sins in his own body, on the tree. For the disciples went to sleep. The disciples went asleep. They didn't seem to enter into it. And I suppose some of us have to confess that we've come to this meeting and we've been asleep. We haven't really been occupied with the Lord Jesus, like we wish that we had. But the Lord didn't let them stay asleep, did he? They were awakened.
They were awakened up and they saw His glory. And I hope, brethren, that even though perhaps we came here discouraged, half asleep, so to speak, problems of of life had almost overcome us. I hope we've been here and we've wakened up. I don't see how anyone who loves the Lord Jesus could have sat in that meeting this morning and have been wakened up as we thought of our wonderful Savior, the altogether lovely One, and what He has done for us.
They woke up, but now we see things that were a hindrance. They we see Peter. He he didn't know what to say. He was afraid. And sometimes we're just like that. We say, I don't know what to say, so we're in a hurry to say something and we speak out a turn, don't we? Did you ever speak out of turn? I have. We speak out a turn. We speak at the wrong time and say the wrong thing and get occupied with man. And we find here that Peter says, let us make here 3 tabernacles.
It's always a danger when we sit and enjoy the things of the Lord that we get our eyes on. Even the instrument that God used the beloved Apostle John when he received those wonderful revelations in the Book of Revelation. He fell at the feet of the Angel who showed him those things.
Rather than let's cease from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for wherein is he to be accounted of? And no meeting that occupies you with man is really going to fill your soul or do lasting blessing. If true ministry ought to point us away from ourselves. If there's something to judge in ourselves, we must, but apart from that needs to point us to the Lord Jesus. And so that voice comes at this moment. This is my beloved Son.
In that.
Hear him in the 35th verse, there came a voice.
Out of the cloud saying, This is my beloved son, hear him.
Yes, that's the one we need to listen to, to get up in the morning. And as a psalmist says, cause me to hear thy voice in the morning, show me the way, for in I should walk, for I lift up my soul unto thee. Oh, how lovely to hear his voice in the morning, directing us for the day, because every day brings its new cares. This is my beloved son, and I don't want to pass over this without saying again that this was really a vision of what was ahead.
And I want for myself, and I trust each one of us here can say we want for ourselves.
To always have that vision of coming glory. I believe Mr. Darby translates that verse in.
Proverbs 38. This way, and where no vision is, the people cast off restraint. Yes. If we really lose sight of that, we're going to say, what's the use? What's the use? The battle's too great, there's too many difficulties, there's too many problems, and I just can't meet the problems. And so we cast off restraint. We just let up a little bit and don't give the Lord Jesus the place that he should have.
In our hearts and in our lives. Well, hear him. I don't want you to go away from here and think about what I have said, but if it has occupied you with the Lord Jesus, why I can rejoice. Because that's the purpose of all ministry. Well, it tells us here that when the voice was passed, Jesus was found alone. Jesus was found alone. Yes, they needed to have that sense of his company with them.
And it's a good thing to walk through life with a company in the sense of the Lord's company they've always enjoyed. Perhaps I've spoken of this little point before what we have in the 28th chapter of Matthew. There, in the 28th chapter of Matthew, the Lord gave directions where he wanted his own to assemble in a mountain where Jesus appointed them. They had to listen to those directions that he gave them so that they would be in the place that he wanted them to be and to meet him.
00:20:18
And those disciples did. And it says they came together, the 11 disciples. And it says when they saw him, they worshipped him. It wasn't the perfect group because it says some doubted and we find all kinds of doubts. Perhaps some things crowd crowded into your mind this morning like they did into mine. And just for a while we were, we lost sight of him. We got occupied with other things. Some doubted and Jesus came. I think that's lovely. Wasn't he in their midst? But it says Jesus came.
And said, all power is given unto me in heaven.
And in earth I like to think about little company. There was the Lord in the midst. What does it mean? He came. It's just as if he saw me sitting there doubting. And he put his hand on me and says, Gordon, is there a problem in your life? I have power to take it away if I have left it with you. Perhaps that's the burden I appointed for you. But I have the power to take away. Oh, how blessed Jesus came. Even in that happy moment He came and touched them. What a savior we have. Well, finally the little meeting had to break up.
Did they have to leave the Lord's company? Well, collectively yes, but not individually. Not individually. So before they parted, the Lord Jesus told him that he had a little service for them. And also he said, And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. And so as we leave these meetings and go while we cannot enjoy the presence of the Lord collectively, perhaps as we drive our cars and as we meet the problems of life.
We can enjoy His presence individually. He'll never leave us nor forsake us. Oh, what a blessed savior we have here. They were alone with Jesus and he kept it close. They told no man that it is. The world can't understand what it is as it was read this morning in First John 3. The world knoweth us not because it knew him, not The world doesn't understand the true motives that govern the heart of the Christian. Don't expect them to understand. They can't.
They ought to see the difference in our lives, and they will if we're walking in his company.
But don't expect them to understand. They must be brought to know him first, and we can tell them of him so they will be brought to know him.
But let's not forget, they won't understand. The world knoweth us not because it knew him not well. This was a lovely experience, you would say. Surely their problems are all answered now, that wonderful occasion that they had been up on the mount with the Lord Jesus. Everything from that day on is going to be all right. I remember in the peace offering, which is really the communion offering, and I might say that communion is common thoughts. I used to have a little difficulty about that. Perhaps others did are in communion or out of communion.
But actually the word communion means common thoughts, and so you and I are walking in communion.
We're entering into and sharing and enjoying the very thoughts of God in our souls. That's communion. That's why sin breaks it. And when we confess it or restore it again to communion again, enjoying His thoughts, well, in the peace offering, they could enjoy it at the time it was offered. Sometimes there might be the energy to keep it over to the second day, but they couldn't keep it over to the third. No, we might leave here and you might say.
Tomorrow. Oh, I'm just living on the good of what I enjoyed. But the day after he began to feel or need something again to freshen it up. If I can use that expression in your life, don't you? Yes, you need something else. And the disciples, apparently, as they went down from the hill, were very occupied with what they had seen, but quite unprepared for what they were going to find. Quite unprepared, I say, for what they were going to find. And we see their weakness coming out.
As I said, he used to sometimes speak of this when Rapid Otter Lake and we enjoyed a happy time together.
That when leaving all those difficulties you left behind all those problems and perhaps some worse situations meet you after you enjoy a happy time of fellowship. And so it tells us here, notice this in the 37th version. It came to pass that on the next day when they were come down from the hill, much people met him. Now we find a problem, a family problem, the different problems in this chapter problem that they went to sleep when they should have been awake to see his glory.
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Problem of bringing in Moses and Elias, when it ought to have been Jesus only and now.
Come down from the mound, another problem, a family problem. This man comes out, and it says in the 838th verse, And behold, the man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son, for he is my only child. And Lord Spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him, and he foameth again, and, bruising, bruising him, hardly departed from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not.
An impossible situation as far as they were concerned. And I know that this is often true, that there are problems. Perhaps many sitting right here say when I go back there's a problem in our family, the difficulty. And it just seems the enemy is so much at work it seems impossible. I sought the help of other Christians. They haven't helped me. Yes, it actually said they brought this boy to the disciples. And the disciples couldn't help either. They couldn't cast this child out.
What do they need? Who did they need? There's only one answer. And ask the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus. And so how long had this been? Oh, it wasn't just something that happened yesterday.
The Lord said how long of a child. I don't know how old this boy was, but they certainly had had a trial for a long time. I would gather from this boy and how often these trials go on in our lives. Maybe we prayed about it, maybe we sought help, but it just seems it goes on well. At last he brought him to the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus was able to take care of the situation. And isn't this lovely? There's no, there's no situation too difficult for him.
We sing that little song. There is nothing too hard for Jesus, that there is nothing that he cannot do. I don't say it's always his will to take us out of the problem. Sometimes he leaves us in it and says my strength is made perfect in weakness. That was sold with beloved Apostle Paul. He had a difficulty. He had a physical infirmity, we're told.
And if he sought the Lord three times, he would say, surely such a great person as the apostles who walked so near the Lord. The Lord wouldn't leave a problem with him. Surely he'd take it away. No, he didn't. I believe if we can put the answer like this, the Lord said, No, Paul, I'm not going to take away the problem. But my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
That the beloved apostle rebel and say, I have seen other people get out of problems, Why does the Lord lead me in it? Listen to what he said most gladly. I rather glory in mine infirmity, that the power of Christ may rest upon me, he said. I've learned something by this.
That I could never learn in any other way. And sometimes the Lord leaves situations in our lives because we need it to keep us humble, lowly, independent. Maybe I can repeat the story that I've told before about the boy who was flying the kite. It was a nice windy day and the kite was doing so nicely and it was going up and he was letting out more string. And finally a man came along and said, that boy. What? His son? What are you doing? Holding your kite down? Can't you see it's trying to go up and you're just holding it down with that? Why don't you let it go and let it go up?
Well, we all know what happened, don't we? He did let go. And what happened while the kite came down. And, you know, brethren, some of the things that are holding us down are keeping us up. They're keeping us dependent. They're keeping us in the place where we realize that we can't do anything of ourselves. And the Lord sees it fit to leave that difficulty. In this case, He delivered this man. The disciples couldn't do it. Maybe you say I've sought all kinds of advice. I've listened to so many.
Well, and the multitude of counselors, their safety. Sometimes it's good to listen to advice, but the only one who's the real answer is the Lord Jesus. He is the only one. And as he spoke to that little doubting company there in the 28th chapter of Matthew, and Jesus came. He didn't say I'm going to take away your problems, but he said all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Well, tells us then.
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That they besought the disciples. They couldn't. The disciples asked the Lord about it. It doesn't record it here. And the Lord said, this kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting. I believe those two things bring before us two thoughts. Prayer, Speaking of dependence and fasting. Self denial. Sometimes I have to be honest and say sometimes I would want to get out of problems just to make it easier for myself. It'd be an awful lot easier to get away from that problem.
That sometimes the Lord lets us fast. He has to. He lets us go to a time when we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him. And so the Lord had to teach this even to the disciples. This kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting. Well, the Lord came in, in this case, and then it says here.
In the.
46th verse Then there arose A reasoning among them.
Which should be which of them should be the greatest? And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, looked on a child and set him by him.
And suddenly they whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me, and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me. For he that is least among you the same shall be great. Well, here we found another difficulty. There was a problem. Some of our problems is because we want to be on top ourselves. I don't like to see somebody else get ahead of us. And this makes some of our problems too, doesn't it? And so.
We find here that who you would think after the disciples had been up on the mount and had seen the Lord Jesus transfigured, had seen Moses and Elias, had heard the subject of their discourse, had so seen that the Lord could handle his situation with this boy, that they wouldn't fall into this trap. But you know, we escaped one, we fall into another. Sometimes constant dependence. We have to be constantly dependent, and when we seem to be overcoming, perhaps in one sphere.
There's another point that may not be guarded. We like to be somebody important. We like people to look up to us. I believe says about the Lord Jesus that he was meek and lowly in heart. And if I could define it, I believe I could put it like this. A lowly person is one who takes the low place. A meek person is one who doesn't resent it when he's put in a low place. Maybe you take a low place. Maybe you say I want to take a low profile among my brethren.
But how do we feel, brethren, when somebody says don't listen to that person and put you down, How do you feel? Then how do I feel?
Well, there's a little pride in our hearts. We don't like that, do we? The Lord Jesus was meek and lowly in heart. Who, when he was reviled, reviled. Not again. When he suffered, He threatened not. Maybe you're going through an experience and someone's pushing it down, some boys, some girl, some young person, and somebody's pushing it out and it really hurts, doesn't it? And you say I can't take it. Well, the Lord Jesus brought a little child, put him in the midst and said that that was the greatest.
That simplicity of a child, a child who's not really seeking to put itself forward, just delights to be picked up and loved and experienced the kindness of its parents. Oh, the Lord Jesus takes this little child. This was another difficulty. I say again, I want you to notice they come down from the mount on the mount. They've been asleep and they should have been awake. They were going to put Moses and Elias on the same platform or a similar platform with the Lord Jesus, although they put him first.
Now when they come down from the mount, there was a family problem they couldn't handle.
And the Lord took care of that for them. And now there's a problem about who's going to be the greatest? Are we going to accept that when we're pushed down a little bit? Can we take this from the Lord? Oh, how beautifully the Lord meets this situation. He could have, He could have really rebuked them, but well, I think it's so lovely, he that is least among you, he says. In another place where they were calling like this too, he said.
In in another place where they were.
In the same way he said he are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
And I appoint unto you a Kingdom. Well, I think that's so lovely. He recognized that there was that in him in them which was of himself which he could reward. Sometimes we only see faults. The Lord Jesus always saw what was pleasing to him. And if there's any verse that I think is wonderful about the judgment seat of Christ, it's that verse in 2nd Corinthians 4 where it says where it says when our motives are made manifest in that day and then.
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Shall every man have praise of God? Isn't that lovely? I can see every reason I should praise him. But there won't be a Christian that stands there at the judgment seat of Christ. There won't be something in his life that the Lord will pick out and that he will value and that he'll reward. May we see what we can in others, that is of Christ may not always appreciate everything. I'm sure everyone doesn't appreciate everything in me, But may we see what is of the Lord Jesus?
In one another the Lord sees that the Lord values it Dear they which have continued with me in thy temptation you might have said you just a group of quarreling people wanting to have the important place. Oh, how beautiful the grace was in Christ Jesus.
Then we go on here in the 49th verse John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. Jesus said unto him, forbid him not, for he that is not against us is for us Lesson we have to learn sometimes to leave others with the Lord. We are responsible for our own service. We ought to try and help one another, but you know we have to often just leave things with the Lord.
That's important for us because the Bible says everyone of us shall give account of himself.
To God. And so Lord teaches them this lesson. I can be thankful. You can be thankful. Just like Paul was in Philippians. He says some indeed preach Christ of envy and strife and some of goodwill. But he said, I rejoice. Christ is preached, and either in do rejoice, yeah, and will rejoice. Oh, how lovely to see the Spirit in which the Lord met every situation. But this trouble that disciples that.
Somebody else was doing something who wasn't associated with them. We'd like to think that we're quite important in the service that we do, but we can leave the service of others with the Lord. But we are responsible for ourselves, and we need, as Paul did, to live in view of that day. And it says in this 51St verse came to pass when the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face.
To go to Jerusalem. There is a deep meaning in this passage.
You know, back in the 21St chapter of Genesis, when a Hebrew servant had served his time.
Then he could go out free. But if he had been given a wife, and by that wife he had children, then he had a choice to make. If he went out free, he had to go free alone. But if he wanted the company of his wife and children, he had to go to the judges. He had to have his ear bored through with an all and become a servant forever. The Lord Jesus. If one can speak reverently, he came to this point. The time came that he was to be received up is the only person who had a right.
To go back to heaven in his own right. I had no right. I was a Sinner. Is her brother brought before us. I would have been shut out forever from those courts of glory, but he had a right to go back. But when the time came that he should be received up, he said. I I love my master, my wife and my children.
I love every believer sitting in this room, every young person, every older one. I love them, and I don't want heaven alone. I want to have their company and I am going on to Jerusalem. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. He knew what would befall him. But brethren, he loved us that much. We face difficulties and we falter and we make bad decisions and everything. But here the Lord faced, shall I say, the greatest difficulty that is ever possible to think of, to be made sin for us, to bear the wrath of God.
And he went on. He set his face to go to Jerusalem. Why? Because he loved you and he loved me. Said, I want to, I want to have you with me. I want you to share the father's house with me. And I am going to the cross that you might be there. And when we get there, it says he'll make us sit down to meet and come forth and serve us. Brother, this is the this is the person we're talking about. As our brother said this morning, he's all together lovely. He's the chiefest among 10,000.
And he's worthy of everything in your life and mine. As I say again, you may have a cross that I don't know anything about, but the Lord does. All power is given to Him in heaven and in earth. And if you find it difficult to take up that cross and follow me, follow the Lord Jesus. I should say why the Lord Jesus wants to take you up and give you a little preview in your soul of what awaits you. He wants to tell you that even although there's a lot of problems that you can't handle, He knows all about them.
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And he loves you and he loves me just the same. And he went to Calvary to die for us because he wanted us to be there. How may his love touch our hearts? We have to leave this. We have to come down from the mount, as it were. And there's still all these problems at the bottom of the mountain. There's still all these situations. There's family problems. There is quarreling. Sometimes even among the Lord's people, there's jealousy because somebody's doing something and.
We're not satisfied to leave things with the Lord, with all kinds of things that come into our lives. But the Lord loves us. Oh, how gracious, how wonderful. May keep us brethren his comings near. Perhaps we're going to see him face to face before this day is over. But maybe he'll leave us here a little longer. And if he does, the problems will not lessen, the problems will increase. But with multiplied griefs there's multiplied grace.
Oh, may the Lord give us to cleave to him with purpose of heart and go on in a little while that remains for us till he comes. Wonder if we could just sing rather than the last verse.
Sin-Righteousness-Judgement
Gospel—R. Reeves
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Like to read tonight. It's found in John's Gospel, chapter 16.
In John's Gospel, chapter 16.
And verse 8.
These are the words of the Lord.
Jesus Christ.
John's Gospel 16 verse 8 and when he is, I'll read verse 7.
Verse seven of John 16. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away.
For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.
But if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin.
And of righteousness.
And of judgment.
Of sin because they believe not on me.
Of righteousness because I go to my father.
And you see me no more.
Of judgment.
Because the Prince of this world is judged.
It's a great comfort to my heart, dear friends tonight.
To know that.
I have helping me in this.
Gospel meeting.
The greatest missionary.
That there has ever been.
This missionary who is here to help me tonight.
Is a missionary who has visited every land.
In the world.
And this missionary who is here to help me tonight.
Speaks every language on earth.
This missionary is the Holy Spirit.
Who is present in this room?
And his mission?
Has been stated.
In these words that we have read together.
When he has come, he will reprove the world of sin.
And of righteousness.
And of judgment.
So tonight I would like to.
Speak on those three things.
Sin. Righteousness.
And judgment.
And it is the mission of the Holy Spirit.
To use the word of God on these three subjects.
Who convict?
Men and women, boys and girls.
Of their need of Christ.
Let's talk first about sin.
Please turn with me to Exodus chapter.
20.
What is sin?
We have no other source of information on this subject.
Except the Holy Word of God.
Because the Word of God will tell us what sin is.
And.
Let's take a little test tonight.
This test consists of 10 questions.
And let's each one of us ask ourselves these 10 questions.
As we read some verses in Exodus chapter 20.
Verse one says and God spake all these words saying.
I am the Lord thy God.
Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of *******.
Thou shalt have no other gods.
Before me.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The first question that.
We are asked.
Is have we ever had?
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Something in our lives.
That was more important.
To us than God.
Have I have you?
Ever had anything in our lives that is to us, more important?
Thank God.
It's quite a question, isn't it?
Verse four says, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above.
For that is in earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God.
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, under the third and 4th generation of them that hate me.
And showing mercy unto thousands.
Of them that love me.
And keep my commandments.
This is the second question in our test.
Have we ever owed owed allegiance?
Have we ever bowed down?
Or served.
Anyone but God.
Have we chosen in any way at anytime?
To devote ourselves to the service.
Of anything that is visible.
And is not related.
To our maker.
Our God.
That's the second question.
Have we? Have I? Have you?
Let's go to the third question.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
For the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
That's our third question. Have I ever used the name of God?
In a way that was irreverent.
Have I ever used the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord?
In a way that was not calling upon him for help.
For speaking well of His Majesty and his accomplishments.
Have I ever used the name of God in vain?
That's the third question.
That we are asking ourselves.
How are you doing on this test so far?
4th question is in verse 8. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
The 4th question is this. You know there are seven days in a week.
And if you divide 7 into 100%.
You'll get a number, something like as I remember doing it.
Last night in my mind, while I was praying before the Lord, it seems like it's about 14.3%.
Here God asks for one 4.3% of our time.
And the 4th test is.
Have you? Have I?
Given God 14% or 14.3%.
Of our time.
Have you? Have I?
That's the question #4.
Verse 12 question #5.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Have I ever thought or said?
Or acted in a way that dishonored my parents.
Have you?
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A pretty heavy question, isn't it?
That's a test.
Verse 13 is #6.
Thou shalt not kill.
Well.
Have I ever wished that somebody that I knew or heard about was dead?
Has my heart ever been so hard that?
It would think about someone who was perhaps even abusing others.
And I wish they were dead.
Have you ever had that spirit rise up in my heart?
And though I may not have actually killed someone.
Have I ever had such a thought?
That could lead to that.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
That's test #7.
You know, these are not easy questions.
I don't like these questions not to commit adultery.
We men, have we ever looked?
With lust upon someone that's not our wives.
Young girls, have you ever had any unclean thoughts about a certain young man that you?
Liked and admired.
Have you? Would you like to have all your thoughts printed?
Would you?
8th question number.
15.
Thou shalt not steal.
Oh, I don't like that one.
Did you ever take something that did not belong to you?
This hurts.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Did you ever say anything that was not true?
Did you ever tell a lie?
These questions don't. We wish we could get to another list somewhere. That wouldn't hurt quite as bad.
And I shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
You ever deliberately say something that was a just?
A downright lie?
The tense question.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house.
I shall not cover thy neighbor's wife.
Nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his *** nor anything that is thy neighbor, not even his car.
Her dress.
These questions hurt.
Did you ever see somebody have something that you wanted?
Well, we've we've come to this test.
We've had 10 questions.
Is there anyone in this room that's passed the test?
You know, you're a nice looking group of people. You really are.
But now tell me, is there anyone in this room?
That would dare raise their hand and say, Mr. Reeves, you know I like that test.
Nothing touched my conscience at all, and it was easy for me to get through that test. I wasn't guilty of anything that you spoke of.
I dare say that nobody would dare raise their hand, and certainly the speaker.
In fact, we've had 10 questions on this test.
And frankly, I want to share with you my friends.
That my score is very, very low.
My score on this test is low.
And I'm ashamed. I wouldn't want to tell you how low it is.
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This list these 10 questions. This test is hard on me.
And my life, because I scored a very, very low score.
Would anyone?
Say to me.
Now that we have passed, that we have gone through this test, would anyone dare say?
I am not a Sinner.
Oh, I don't think anyone would dare say that.
We'd all have to confess that this test has exposed us.
This test has shown us what we are and the facts are stubborn things. The facts are these. We have sinned.
I have sinned.
And all of these things in some way or another, or at least most of them, I suppose we can say we failed here.
And I've missed it there.
In truth, I have sinned.
There's nothing like the Word of God to expose our sins.
And so my friend, I don't find this a chapter that really inspires me.
I don't find that a chapter that comforts me at all.
It only exposes me.
As a Sinner.
Does it expose you to?
Yes, we have sinned.
You know, it's a serious thing to be a Sinner.
We're told in the word of God that there will never enter into heaven one sin, not one.
And we have the record in the book of Genesis of the effects of justice, one sin.
When God made man, he put him in a wonderful garden and he said, now there's one thing I don't want you to do.
And that very thing man did.
And God had to.
Send him out of the Garden of Eden because he and his wife had done the very thing God told them not to do.
And beloved friends.
Just think of the effect of one sin.
Because of that one sin on the part of our great great.
Great great great grandfather and grandmother because of the effect of that sin.
We have the overcrowded jails.
We have the hospitals in every land. We have broken homes. We have hungry, disappointed hearts.
We have wars. We have bloodshed.
One sin brought all of this, and because of one sin.
That first man and his wife could not enter and enjoy the paradise of God.
That was just the effect of one sin. Now would you dare or would I dare take our test score?
Would you want to take your test score?
And present it to God and say.
I'm not as bad as Adam.
Well, it's true that Adam messed up. Can't deny that. But you see, I'm not quite as bad as he was. Would you dare present your test score to God and say something like that?
What will you and I have to honestly admit as we face the pages of this?
Word of God, we must honestly admit that we have sinned.
Against God.
And our dear friend sin is serious. Sin can ever enter the holy courts of God.
And we're all guilty before God.
And if there's someone in this room tonight that is feeling the pinch.
And you say to me or think as I speak, you say, you know, Mr. Reeves.
I don't think I ever saw it that clearly before.
I thought I was fairly decent person.
And now I wish I hadn't come to your meeting.
In fact, I wish I could escape.
I just don't feel comfortable anymore.
Because you have shown to me from the pages of God's Word that I have sinned.
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Let me remind you, dear friends, that.
If those are your thoughts.
And those are your feelings and convictions.
I want to tell you that you're feeling that way. Is the result.
Of this unseen missionary who has come to our meeting tonight for the very purpose of convicting you of your sin.
That's why he's here.
And if you feel as you have never felt before, that you have sinned against God.
It's not because I know it.
But it's because God knows it.
Well, now there was another subject we wanted to talk about, and that's righteousness.
Now will you please turn with me to Romans chapter 3?
Romans, chapter 3. Righteousness.
Do you know what righteousness is?
It's the quality of being right.
And we could say that righteousness is rightness.
Maybe someone is saying now in their hearts.
Don't talk about that.
Because you have just got through telling me of my wrongness.
And if you start telling me about rightness.
You better leave me out because I don't qualify.
Well, we are going to talk about rightness. That's what we came here for.
Romans chapter 3.
Where the subject is rightness.
Verse 10 of Romans 3.
As it is written, there is none righteous.
No, not one.
I've often been amazed at that verse and wondered why the Word of God puts it that way. There is none, right?
Why didn't why didn't they just put a period there and say that's it, there's none, right? We've already found that out in reading the 10 Commandments. There's none, right?
And you have admitted, I think, in your heart with me.
We are not right.
Why does it say there's none, right?
No, not one. It's like God is saying Somebody might read that wrongly and say.
There is none righteous except me.
And it's the Lord anticipating what we're thinking, he said. No, not.
1.
There is none that understandeth verse 11. There is none that seeketh after God.
Did you come to this meeting really looking for God?
Or did you come for some other purpose?
There is none that seeketh after God.
They're all gone out of the way. You know, this word, all that's that's a heavy word.
It's amazing how the Word of God uses words like that.
And he doesn't leave any exceptions. There is.
They're all going out of the way.
They together become unprofitable.
There is none that doeth good. Now here it is again.
No, not.
One so there.
That's it.
No, not one.
Oh, I thought the Bible was a nice book that said nice things in poems and sweet stories.
Why do people read things like this?
Well.
We're going to find out.
No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre.
With their tongues they have used deceit.
Here we are again. We're reading Romans, but it's saying the same thing that we read about in Exodus.
You see, friends, this is the Bible. This is the Holy Word of God.
It has Old and New Testament, but it's just one book. It's God's book.
With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of ASPs is under their lips.
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
00:25:03
Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Destruction and misery are in their ways and the way of peace. Have they not known? There's No Fear of God before their eyes.
Now, is this talking about your neighbor?
Can you see any possibility? Will you allow me just one possibility?
That it could be speaking about you.
Now nobody's got to twist my arm and say, Mr. Reeves, he sure doesn't apply to you.
I have to say, would you like a full length?
Picture of Maine.
Here it is.
There's No Fear of God before their eyes.
You know when God takes pictures, he shows the whole works.
This is not very encouraging.
But I'd like to ask you to read on a few verses and we're going to find something that's.
Very, very interesting about rightness.
Righteousness.
Verse 19 says Now we know that what things so ever the law says, that's the 10 commandments. It says to them who are under the law.
That every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty.
Before God.
Well, I'll never forget that time I got caught for speeding on the way to work when I was a younger man and.
And I had to go and see the judge. I didn't like to do that. I.
I had to get the coffee cream that day and I was late for work and I was going too fast and and he wanted me to go meet the judge and so on.
And I went there and.
I didn't like the question the judge asked me.
He said guilty or not guilty?
I didn't like that question.
Because that put me in a corner.
I didn't have any escape, that's all, he said to me. Ronald Reeves. Guilty or not guilty?
I wanted to change the subject.
Guilty or not guilty? You know, I only had one thing I could say and say it honestly.
Guilty, your honor.
That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God's friends.
We have to admit.
That this is where we are.
Guilty before God.
There is no other reply we can give.
The evidence is too strong. We don't even need a jury. We've got the eternal God that saw the whole thing guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. Well, that's logical because if the law just condemns me and tells me how bad I am, how can it make me good?
How can a list of questions that makes me feel bad because they're true. How can a list of questions make me feel good?
By the deeds of the law, through no flesh be justified, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Why we found out tonight that we're worse sinners than we thought we were.
Haven't we? Have you found that out?
Did you find out that you're pretty good after all you say? Oh, I'll take my I'll take my chances. I I'm better than most of them. And that may be true.
But have we not discovered already tonight that?
The law can't do anything for us, it only condemns us.
And makes us feel worse. But let's go to verse 21. But now.
The rightness of God.
Without the law.
Is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
Now we're going to get somewhere. God is going to tell us about a new kind of rightness.
That's not based upon the 10 commandments or his love.
You're going to tell us about a new kind of rightness. Oh, you say say on Brother Ron. Tell me more about it, because you see that other kind of rightness.
I can't measure up to that, but if you've got a new kind of rightness I won't hear about.
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Now the rightness, the righteousness of God without the law.
Is manifested.
Verse 22 Even the rightness of God.
Which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there is no difference, for all have sinned.
And come short of the glory of God, Ah.
Hey, a little light starting to break.
That He Is-What He Is-Who He Is
Gospel—C. Hendricks
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.
Please turn with me to a verse in First Timothy chapter 3.
One Timothy 3.
Verse 16.
One Timothy 316.
And without controversy.
Great is the mystery of godliness.
There are six things now that are mentioned. God was manifest.
In the flesh.
Justified in the spirit.
Scene of angels.
Preached unto the Gentiles.
Believed on in the world.
Received up into glory.
You notice the verse?
This mystery of godliness which is great.
Begins with the.
Tremendous statement.
A statement that.
Transcends our puny, finite minds to grasp.
God.
The infinite.
The inscrutable.
The holy, the righteous.
The Majestic God.
Was manifest in the flesh.
It is a truth that transcends our intellect.
It is a truth that it goes beyond anyone's ability to really fathom.
This wondrous truth.
That God, the creator, the sustainer.
The upholder of the universe.
Became flesh.
He was manifest in the flesh. God come down.
That's the gospel of the grace of God.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich.
Rich in glory, rich in that Godhead oneness that he had with the Father.
And the Spirit.
For God is a Trinity.
We learned that.
I was talking to a brother recently and he gave me these. Very simple.
But.
Profound thoughts on the 1St 3 numbers.
Of our numerical system.
I'd like to pass it on to you. It's something that the youngest here can grasp.
The number one.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 11.
The number one brings before us that he is.
The number one brings before us that God is.
In the beginning, God.
And then it tells us that he created.
The heavens and the earth.
The number 2.
Brings before us what he who he.
What he is, what he is.
Number one is that he is, #2 is what he is.
And we were singing that in our hymn. What is he?
God is light.
And God is love.
That's what he is. You know, there are millions of people in this world that don't know those truths.
Some deny that he is.
And they don't know what He is as light and love as light. He is infinite holiness. He is absolute purity, for there is nothing purer than light.
He is truth and righteousness.
Is light.
He is of pure eyes than to behold evil, and he cannot look at iniquity.
He is light and darkness, cannot abide in his presence.
And the state of man is that he is in darkness.
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The two are as incompatible as you could conceive of.
Man is darkness and God is light.
But he is also love.
And because he is love.
We have that verse that I began with this afternoon. God was manifest in the flesh.
Because he is love.
He dwells. We'll look at that verse in First Timothy 6.
He dwells in light, unapproachable.
As light he is beyond the creatures Ken.
Beyond the creatures understanding.
Unapproachable light.
And so, in order for him to manifest himself to man, he had to.
Come out of that light, that essential essence in which the deity dwells. No creature can dwell in that light.
He dwells in unapproachable light.
In order for the creature to know him, he had to come out, and so he who is love as well.
Came down into his own creation. God was manifest.
In the flesh.
He became a man.
That we might know him. You know, there are many people. They think that God is like the old grandfather sitting in his rocking chair on the porch and looking down at the anthill and watching those busy ants doing their activity of the day, but totally apart from them and disassociated from them just with interest, looking at them but not taking any active part in their affairs.
And that's the concept that there are 1,000,000 in this world have of God.
But this book doesn't tell me that. This book tells me that this being who is?
Essentially, light in love and dwells in the unapproachable light.
But he came out of that in order to reveal himself to man because he is love and he wants to bring us.
Into fellowship with himself.
He wants to save your precious soul. He made you.
You are his because he created you. He owns you, everyone of you in this room. He owns everyone.
Of His creatures you are His by creation.
And only if you receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior will you be His by redemption.
By redemption.
To be brought back, I like to tell the story of the little boy that built this.
Sailing boat. And he took it out. It was his he had bought, He had bought it, and he had assembled it. He had made it. He was its creator. And he sailed it on the lake, and the wind was stronger than he calculated, and the string broke, and it was taken away, and he lost it.
And one day, some weeks later, he was walking down the street and he was looking into this.
Window of the shop, the pawn shop. He saw his little ship, his little boat there.
And he immediately went inside and he said, you've got my boat in your window.
And the pawn shop owner said, that's not your boat now. It may have been before, but you lost it in its mind now.
If you want it, you'll have to buy it back.
How much? And he gave them the price and he didn't have that money S he went home and told his father, and his father said, well son, I have some chores for you and I'll put you to work and you can earn the money. And he did that and he went back.
And he bought his boat back.
He wanted it so much, so he owned it doubly. He was its creator, He was its maker, and he was also its Redeemer.
That's what God has done. That's the simple gospel God made you.
He created you and he loves you so much that he wants you to be.
In fellowship with himself, he wants you by his side for all eternity.
So God is love?
Two profound statements. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
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So all the evil that is in the world is darkness.
The world is characterized by darkness. This is a scene where darkness covers the land.
Darkness, man's evil deeds, they are all darkness. We were once darkness, but now are we light in the Lord, and as children of God, we're to walk as children of light.
As those that belong to him who is light.
And also to walk in love.
For we belong to him Who is love?
The number three brings before us who he is.
The number one is that he is the #2.
Is what he is, light and love, and the number three is who he is. And for that we need the New Testament Revelation.
That.
You get it in the very formula for baptism going into all the world.
And make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name.
Not names, but the name of the Father and of the Son.
Now the Holy Ghost, that's who he is. Blessed Trinity.
Three persons, one God.
One in purpose thought will motive action.
1.
One has put it this way, the Lord Jesus did not have.
One will with the Father, he had the same will with the Father, for they were.
One the same.
And the Spirit of God.
Three persons, you say. I don't understand that. Neither do I.
The essential persons of the Trinity.
It's hidden, the very first.
Chapters in Genesis when God was going to make man, he counsels.
The Persons of the Trinity are found consulting among themselves and.
It is written, they said, God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness.
God speaking and He is 1.
One God, Light and Love.
Yet He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Now the Father didn't come into the world to save sinners.
The Spirit didn't come into the world and become a man.
But the son did.
The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
The Son said to God the Father. Here am I. Send me.
He sent him for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For the Father sent the son not to condemn the world.
But that the world through him might be saved.
He sent him, He gave him. These are expressions that the Word of God uses.
To describe that act of God the Father in sending.
Giving his son into this world and then we're told later.
After the Son accomplished the work that was given him of the Father to do.
By dying on the cross for our sins.
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and he rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures. That's the gospel.
The death burial in the resurrection of Christ, That's the gospel God sent him for that purpose. That was the ultimate purpose for which he came.
He came to die for our sins. Can you say that your sins are gone?
You can only say that if you have received him as your savior.
So the number one is brings before us that God is the #2 brings before us what he is light and love, and the number three brings before us who he is, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, the first verse of the Bible brings that truth out.
00:15:02
It's hidden there. It says in the beginning, God, and that's the Hebrew word Elohim.
The plural.
Literally, you would say gods, but the verb created.
Is in the singular.
And you can't say gods because it's a singular verb. It's God in the three persons.
And it's unique in the Hebrew tongue.
They have a singular form.
For Justice One.
They have a dual form for two, and they have the plural form for three or more, and in English it's either singular or plural, and plural means two or more, but in Hebrew the plural means three or more. It excludes one and two, and Elohim is in the plural excluding one or two.
So the Old Testament says that that God had the deity. God consists of at least three persons.
Could be more as far as that's revealed, but the New Testament makes it very clear.
It is 3 The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
That's who God is. You know, there are millions of people that don't know that.
They don't know that. The whole Moslem world denies that.
The whole Hindu world has a multiplicity of gods.
They don't know the true and living God three persons.
In one divine essence.
So that they are one.
And the same.
But only one of those persons came down here and assumed flesh.
He's the one we normally think of as the second person of the Trinity. I don't like to speak of first, second and third persons as though that's that's rank because there's no such thing. They're Co equal.
Father the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is not superior to the Son, and the Father is not superior to the Spirit. They are all one. They are all the same in the Godhead.
But as soon as the Lord Jesus came down.
And left that essential glory, left the form of God.
He assumed a different form. Let's read it. Let's turn to Philippians 2.
Philippians chapter 2.
It's again another very, very profound.
Passage of Scripture.
The passage begins with.
Verse five, let this mind be in you. He's writing to believers at Philippi.
Which was also in Christ Jesus.
What was his mind?
Who being in the form of God.
Now no creature can be in the form of God. Only God can be in God's form.
So this expression without any question proves.
That this person of whom we are reading was God, and he existed in the very form of God.
No creature can exist in the form of God.
All creatures exist in the form of a servant.
Every creature is a servant.
To do the will of his Creator.
And when this creature does his own will independent of the Creator, that is called sin.
Sin is lawlessness. It's independence of the Creator. It is asserting one's own will.
Independent of God, who made me.
That's sin. That's the very principle, the root principle, of sin, lawlessness.
Independence of God.
Well, here was a being who being in the form of God, Christ Jesus, It's talking about him.
He was in the eternal past before anything was brought into existence. He was in the form of God.
And only in that form He existed, in no other form but the form of deity.
And as being in the form of God, he acted of and from himself, and from his own will.
00:20:03
He didn't have to give account to anyone else because.
He was God.
All the angels that were created by him were at his bidding.
They were servants. All creatures are servants.
Through this infinite being who was there in the form of God and nothing else.
All his actions proceeded from himself.
He was not subject to anything outside of himself.
They were, that was all subject to him.
Because he was in the form of God.
Says it thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Another translation puts it this way.
And I like it very much.
He thought it. He thought it not something to be grasped, and held tenaciously to.
That is his attitude. His thought was not I am God.
And nothing less. And I will never assume anything less. I will never become anything less than God.
I am God and I.
Will retain the form of God only, and never take up anything that would be lower than that. That wasn't his thought. He thought it not robbery. He thought it not something to be grasped and held onto to tenaciously. This is mine. The being in the form of God is mine, and I'll never relinquish it, nor give it up and become anything less. He did not think that way. In fact, it was the opposite.
He laid it aside. He laid aside his glory.
He thought it not robbery. He thought it not a thing to be grasped to be on equality with God. He was God.
He was, in the form of God, equal with the Father in the Spirit, in that inscrutable light, that essence of Godhead glory that no creature can approach to.
Dwelling in the unapproachable light the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, but here.
This descent begins with his thought, his mind.
Was to relinquish that outward form of deity.
And take upon himself the form of a servant, a slave. The word is slave.
So it says, but made himself of no reputation. Literally. In the original it is he emptied himself.
And what did he empty himself out? The outward form of deity?
He didn't empty himself of deity, He couldn't cease to be God, but he emptied himself of the outward form of it.
By taking upon himself the form of a servant.
That's what it says.
And he took upon him the form of a servant.
Now he could have done that and become an Angel, because angels are servants.
But he didn't become an Angel.
It says.
He was made in the likeness of men.
So he went lower than the angels, for the angels are of a higher creatorial order than man.
He went below the angels. God was manifest in flesh. The angels are not flesh, they are spirits.
God came down to where we are.
To where you and I are.
Can you grasp that? Can I grasp that? Stupendous.
Infinite truth. God was manifest in the flesh. The Word was made flesh.
The word was made something that he had never been before. He assumed manhood, He assumed humanity. He became a servant.
He who had never obeyed, he who only gave commands.
He who acted oven from himself, because there was nothing outside of himself that he was subject to.
He was God, and he was in the form of God. Now he takes upon himself.
It was his mind to lay aside that outward form and to come down.
This grandfather leaves his chair and he becomes one of those ants so that he could mingle with them and help them in their problems. That's the picture.
00:25:05
God has come into this, his own creation.
He's come into his own creation. He's the first born when he came. He has to be. He has to be the preeminent 1.
The Creator become a man.
This is the most stupendous truth.
I think this is November 25th. In one month the world will celebrate the birth of Christ. Christian world.
But very, very few. I don't believe he was born on that day, but that doesn't change what I'm going to say.
The truth of Scripture is that God was manifest in the flesh. He did become a man.
And he didn't enter this world as a full grown man like Adam. The first created man was created complete and full and grown. And Eve too was absolutely necessary that that be so. The first pair had to be fully complete. Everything that God created had to be in its full complete state at the time he created it, or wouldn't have functioned.
But the Lord Jesus, He came and he was the Son of Man, something Adam never was. He wasn't the Son of Man, He was the Son of God by creation.
But he wasn't the Son of Man. He had no earthly parents, but the Lord Jesus had an earthly mother.
He didn't have an earthly father, for he was begotten of the Holy Spirit.
By divine power.
A different order of man, but true man, spirit, soul, and body.
Perfect man, every bit as much a man as Adam was.
But holy.
And in Christ we see holy humanity, in Adam we see.
Innocent humanity. And he lost it. He fell.
But holiness is abhorrence of evil, and delight in what is good and the Holy Son of God.
Could not sin.
It's not enough to say he did not sin, but he was impeccable. He was absolutely beyond sin. He was holy.
Holy, Holy, you know why do the seraphim in Isaiah 6 cry? Holy, holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. There you get 2 trinities, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, God, Almighty, All intimations of the three persons that we have been speaking about and we know them as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
He was in the form of God. He thought it not something to be grasped and held on to tenaciously.
But he emptied himself, made himself of no reputation.
And he took upon him the form of a servant, and from that moment.
When he became a man.
Obedience was proper to him.
Obedience. He took the subject place. He took the place where obedience was proper to him. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. Though he was son, he learned obedience.
Obedience was not something that was proper to him in Godhead glory, but it was when he became a servant.
Think of it. God was here.
On this earth.
A lowly man, Jesus of Nazareth.
Born in Bethlehem's Manger. Born in the stable. Laid in a Manger.
No room for him in the end. Think of it. The creator of the universe came into his own creation. They didn't know him. They didn't recognize him. They didn't want him. There was no room for him.
That's the condition the world was in.
That's the condition the world is in today.
He's been cast out.
You notice that verse I read at the beginning, God was manifest in the flesh ends with.
Received up into glory.
There is a man in the glory tonight.
God was here on earth in flesh.
He became a man.
And now, as man, he's ascended up to the highest place in heaven.
Above every principality and power and authority, in every name that is named not only in this world, but in that which is to come, and everything has been placed under the feet of that man.
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That one who was God over all, blessed forever He became a man, and as man he walked through this world in perfect obedience to his Father who sent him.
Do you know him tonight, this afternoon? Do you know that one whom to know is life eternal? Listen to this. The sum and substance of all blessedness, both in this life and in that which is to come, is to know God, and he can only be known in the person of his Son who came here to reveal Him.
He came here.
To where we were to reveal the heart of God.
The holiness of God and the love of God.
He came to reveal it to us.
God is so holy.
That in order to put our sins away, it required that Blessed One to go to the cross of ignominy and shame, and to suffer the infinite suffering that it required from the hands of a holy sin. Hating God against your sins and mine, He bore them in his body on the tree. He exhausted divine wrath against sin, and He cried out. At the end of those three hours of darkness. It is finished.
The work of redemption, the work of atonement, is finished. We present to you this afternoon a finished work.
Done by the God man.
The only one that could lay his hand upon God, because he was God and he could lay his hand upon man because he became a man.
He has brought you and me to God.
If you know him as your savior. If you've received him as your savior.
And your Lord.
You know, when I think of.
Sometimes how we get so occupied with our problems, the trials, the difficulties of life.
And we dare to say, how could God do that to me?
We dare to say words like that.
Do we realize when we speak thus?
Of whom we are speaking.
He doesn't have to give account of any of his matters.
He doesn't have to explain to us why he is doing what he is doing in our lives.
But he's shown us in a way that breaks the hardest heart down.
His love for us. Where do you see it? Look at the cross. God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son. He could not give more and He would not give less.
To win this poor, wretched heart of mine and yours, Has he won your heart?
Have you seen him in infinite love, coming all the way from Yonder glory to this world, an outcast from the very birth?
An outcast at his death, given a criminal's death. The most ignominious, shameful, wretched death that man has ever contrived.
To give to one of his mortal fellows.
And he gave it to the Creator.
The death of crucifixion.
Surely there would have been some expression?
From that holy sufferer.
That would call upon God to judge.
That wicked rabble crowd that surrounded Golgotha's Hill.
No, father, forgive them.
For they know not what they do.
Those were his words.
That won the heart of one of the thieves on the cross, for there were two crucified with him.
And he said finally to the Lord.
Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
The Lord says, you don't have to wait for that today. Thou shalt be with me in paradise.
For he died for his sins.
But there was only one of the two that were saved. The other one still died in unbelief.
So that we can't presume upon his love.
We can't deny it.
He has proven it by the greatest expression of love.
He is exhausted, His own resources God has in expressing His love for the likes of us.
00:35:02
God was manifest in the flesh.
It's striking that that first Timothy 316 doesn't have the cross in it.
Says He was justified in the Spirit. Everything that he did when he was here below was in the power of the Holy Spirit.
His final act of obedience was the cross, and it says that he offered himself by the eternal spirit without spot to God everything that he did.
Was in the power of the Holy Spirit justified in the Spirit declared to be the only righteous man that ever was here?
By the power of the Spirit of God.
And even in the act of putting our sins away, it was in the power of the Spirit.
Scene of Angels. We mentioned that when he became a man, he bypassed the angels. They had never seen their creator.
For he dwells in unapproachable light, but now he came out of that light and becomes a servant, just like they were.
He even took a lower place than the angels.
They saw him at his birth. They announced his birth.
His name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins in the Garden of Gethsemane.
An Angel appeared to him, strengthening him when he was.
Considering what it would cost him.
To go to the cross and put our sins away, and he sweat, as it were great drops of blood. Oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass for me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.
There you see the perfection of his humanity expressing the horror of his soul at being separated from his God.
When he was forsaken.
That was necessary in order to accomplish our redemption.
That boy that lost his little sailing ship? He paid a finite sum to get it back.
God, in order to get you back, to get me back, has paid an infinite sum.
An infinite cost, An infinite price.
Cost of our redemption.
Paul says it this way. The Son of God. He doesn't say The Son of Man. There of Galatians 220.
The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
The one who was the Son of man hanging on that cross was none other, none less than the Son of God.
Co equal with the father.
And yet his man, he died.
He suffered. He paid the penalty for sin. Being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
That's how low he went.
He could not go lower.
He went to the very bottom.
And God has highly exalted him now.
Giving him a name which is above every name. Do you know this person? Do you know him personally? Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace thereby good shall come unto thee, oh to know him.
This is life eternal. He said. That they might know thee, Father, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
God has now come out and revealed himself to us.
God the Son became a man to reach us.
To lay his hand upon us. John says it this way. First, John One says that which was from the beginning, which we've heard, they had heard him, which we've seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled, of the word of life he did was not just some phantom. It was not just a voice from heaven. It was not just a vision seen for a moment, but they had heard him, they had contemplated him, they had handled him.
They had eaten and drunk with him.
Yet how close he came to us.
He wasn't aloof from man like the mighty kings.
You can't even enter their presence unless you have permission, He the Creator came down.
He who knows everything became a man, and it says in Luke two he as a boy of 12, he increased in wisdom and stature, both in favor with God and man he learned.
Every morning he awoke and he his ears were open to hear as the instructed, and he gathered fresh instruction from his father. You say, well how could he know everything and need to be taught and need to learn? Because he was God, he knew everything. Because he was man he learned.
00:40:17
In Luke, in John Four, he sat wearied on his journey as he was.
But Isaiah tells us of that same one. It says. Let me read it to you in Isaiah 40. Such a precious.
Verse. I can't quote it properly, so I'll have to read it. It says Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understanding from the foundations of the earth?
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof.
Are as grasshoppers.
Says the nations are as a drop of a bucket and counted as the small dust of the balance. He taketh it up as a very little thing. All nations before him are as nothing. They are countered to him less than nothing in vanity.
But in verse 28 it says, Hast thou not known, Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth?
Fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding.
And yet he learned.
And yet he was a wearied man in John 4 the very gospel that presents him in his essential deity.
The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He who was in the beginning with God.
He became flesh, you say. I don't grasp that. I don't grasp it. None of us can. It's beyond us. It's if we could understand the person of Christ.
In fact, the Word of God tells us we can't understand it. Turn to Matthew 11.
Turn to Matthew 11.
I must close, you know. Just a moment. Just a moment, brethren. Matthew 11, This one verse.
Verse 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father.
Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
You see, the sun reveals to us the father, so we know the father. Even the youngest child in the family knows the father. That's.
Characteristic knowledge to know the Father. But it says only the Father knows the Son. Why does it say that?
Because he's God and man in one person, so there's a sense in which we can't fully fathom him.
And yet I ask you, as we close this gospel meaning, do you know him?
As your Lord and Savior, do you know him in a personal way? Have you come?
To become acquainted with him, acquaint now thyself with him, be at peace.
Do you know the one that came?
And became a man.
You know Jesus.
Jesus means Jehovah the Savior.
The one who saves his people from their sins. Do you know Jesus? Do you know the Lord Jesus?
Do you know the Son of God who became the Son of Man?
To save your precious soul, you've died on the cross for your precious soul who rose again, that you might be justified and cleared of every charge of guilt, who lives in the glory now? And he's preaching the gospel from the glory through this servant and other servants all over the land. He's preaching the gospel, He says. Come unto me.
I'll give you rest. Do you know him?
His person is inscrutable. We cannot fathom, we cannot put together, we cannot grasp. It exceeds the puniness of our intellect, God and man and one person, but it's a revelation from God. This is the most glorious person in the universe. The Son of God who loved me, gave himself from me. Make that your own. Make that your own this afternoon.
And you'll come into the greatest blessing that's possible for a creature to have.
You'll know God.
The only way he can be known.
As revealed to us in the person of his son.
I've gone over, so let's just close in prayer.
Open Mtg.
Open—R. Klassen, E. Pilkington
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Let's open this very precious book to First Samuel, Chapter 25.
First Samuel chapter 25 and verse one.
And Samuel died, and all the Israelites were gathered together.
And lamented him.
And buried him in his house at Raema.
And David arose and went down to the wilderness of Perrin.
There was a man in Moen whose possessions were in Carmel.
And the man was very great and he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.
Now the name of the man was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail.
And she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance. But the man was curlish.
And evil in his doings. And he was of the House of Caleb.
Yesterday we had a very searching word.
In connection with covetousness and contentment.
And I'd just like to compliment that word with just a little supplement by way of illustration.
Of both aspects.
Now we have before us a couple by the name of Nabel and Abigail.
And I suppose that if we had attended their wedding.
That we would have said they make quite a striking pair, and we might have wished them well and prayed that the Lord's blessing would be upon their marriage.
And we would see them begin life together.
And there would be trying to get started.
And to establish a home.
Now we have before us God's account of this couple, and we wonder what happened.
What came in that?
This man neighbor became churlish.
You know there's a time of courtship.
And that courtship is a time when we get acquainted with the one that we love and purpose to marry.
And many of us thought when we got married that we knew each other very well.
But after we got married, we realized that there was some recesses of the heart that were never laid bare.
And consequently.
There come strains.
In the marriage tie.
And you know, I never exposed to my wife.
The fact that I had a covetous heart.
I wanted to keep that head because that might.
Turn the marriage off.
And so as we begin to make our way, we find that things start testing our hearts and exposing what is there.
And so I think of Nabal as having in his heart a root there that he never laid bare to Abigail.
And it began to work, the spirit of covetousness.
And we just asked the question here. It tells us that the man was very great and that he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats.
And we can ask the question candidly, can we not? Where did he get these things and how did he get them?
If we turn back to the 15th chapter of First Samuel, we'll read there just a little bit.
As perhaps a hint of something.
One Samuel 15 and verse 10.
00:05:02
Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying.
It repenteth me that I have set up salt to be king.
For he has turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.
And it grieves Samuel. And he cried unto the Lord.
All night.
I'd just like to pause.
There, it's an indication of a very serious thing.
To think of a servant of the Lord crying all night.
There is something here that is working that he sees is going to have a sad effect.
Upon God's people.
And thank God for every servant that has passed through this.
Travail to weep all night before the Lord to come in and deliver his people.
Now we read on verse 12 and when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning.
It was told Samuel saying, Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place, and has gone about and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.
Now to get just a little bit of a backdrop here.
Saul was to go and to utterly destroy the Amalekites.
Utterly destroy them.
And he went down and he did some destructive work, but I don't know how much he did and probably didn't do too much.
He looked at all of Amalek's goods and decided we're going to save as much of this as we can.
What for? Well, you know when we got two principles working in our heart, The principle of covetousness.
And trying to appear godly, that we have a real job on our hands.
And this is the position that Saul took, and that is that they saved the best of Amalek.
We're going to use it to sacrifice to the Lord.
But this last verse that we read is a very strange verse. We'll just read it again. And Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set him up a place and has gone about and passed on.
You know that reminds me.
Of what we call making a business deal under the table.
The facts just aren't out in the open. What did Saul do there in Carmel?
Now, I don't know if Nabal was involved in this situation, but I'd like to suppose the principle of it at least.
That he would come to Enable and Abigail and say you know, you've been quite successful in your business.
And we just like to give you an extra help, a helping hand here to get on and to get ahead.
And we'll just leave some of these sheep of Amalek with you, some of the flock, and we'll just divide the profits.
Well, Can you imagine a man and his wife facing this kind of a situation?
And the wife saying, well, you know, I don't know whether we ought to do this.
Enables say, oh, I'm sure it's all right. It'll, it'll turn out OK in the end. The profits that we make will just use it.
As we would use today to help in the gospel and to forward other good causes.
And so The thing is overruled.
And it's the same place. It's Carmel.
Now, if we turn back here to chapter 25 again.
It tells us. And Samuel died.
Samuel died and all the Israelites were gathered together.
You know, we can say that Samuel's time of mourning and service were over.
And he was he entered in to God's rest.
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And, you know, it tells us here that all Israel was gathered together.
You know, if we spend our energy to unite the heart of God's people to the Lord.
There's going to be a reflection probably at the day of our departure.
Of hearts that have been touched and want to show respect.
At that particular time.
And so it isn't by chance that it tells us that Samuel died because.
If we could visualize that great company that came together.
That death usually suggests that we come together.
And all arguing and complaining and hard feelings are just off limits for a little bit.
And it's sad when families are united at a time like that, when they can't be united other times.
But I see this little time here where maybe Saul was there with his Royal Courts and David may have been there with his men. We don't know. But when this little span of time is over with David goes where goes to Carmel.
Our brother reminded us, or rather we sang to him yesterday, that God moves a mysterious ways his wonders to perform.
And God moved David providentially to go to Carmel to be a wall of protection to all of Naples interests. That seems strange, doesn't it?
And God is going to use that occasion to expose Nabel's heart, and he's going to teach David a very invaluable lesson.
That is going to remember all the days of his life.
So they're there as a wall of protection. And if we drop down now to verse 15.
But the men were very good unto us, and we were not hurt.
Neither missed we anything as long as we were conversant with them when we were in the fields.
Now no doubt to be a wall of protection was to keep the robbers and those that went about the countryside plundering, and no doubt these servants that were in the field were mighty glad to have David and his men there to protect them.
And so it speaks about being conversant in the field. I'd like to suppose that.
One of Nabal's men said to one of David's man or vice versa. One of David's men said to one of neighbors men.
What is it like to work for your master neighbor?
And the man might say, well, it's kind of slim pickings we.
We do get along all right. He gives us enough to eat.
And we put in long hours for him. I think we recognize language like that today. And then once a year he gives us kind of a a good party to kind of lift our morale and so we can kind of coast into the next year.
And.
So it would be interesting to have heard those conversations, but now this man asked David's man, why are you associated with David?
Seems to me like you have kind of a hard lot.
I understand that David is a runaway slave.
And this servant might say, well, you know, the truth of the matter is that David is the anointed king of Israel and that he's going to sit on the throne of Israel.
According to the ministry of Samuel.
And to think of the effect of these conversations going back and forth.
And now we find that things are brought to the crisis.
David and his men are hungry and they have rendered an invaluable service.
00:15:01
And they come at a time when Nabal is well able to show his appreciation.
And what does he do?
But he just goads the men that David had sent.
They brought back their report and you know how it affected David.
It affected David to murder.
That's the effect that came over his soul.
You know it tells us in first Peter, let none of you suffer as a murderer.
What a light that sheds upon that expression.
Sometimes circumstances become so hard and so pressing.
That you just feel you would be vindicated in acting in that capacity.
But you know, to murder somebody because you're hungry will not stand in the courts of the land, and neither will it stand before God.
And so he goes with his men.
And here's this lovely character. Abigail meets him in the cupboard of the hill.
I like to think that the servant.
That went to Abigail was one that had been affected by Samuel's ministry.
Samuel's ministry was a ministry of reconciliation.
And reconciliation is that we would be reconciled to God in everything.
And in every aspect of our life, what a ministry that is.
Reconciliation is such a precious ministry that it just molds our hearts and minds to enter into heaven itself.
And I rejoice whenever I hear that ministry, and we've had much of it before us in these last two days.
Abigail was affected by that ministry in such a way that she could meet a man who had murder in his face.
And Pierce through the barrier with the Ministry of Reconciliation.
And I see that rigid form of David, as she's talking, begin to relax, to shift his weight a little bit.
All he recognizes the ministry.
Now to notice a point in verse 28.
Abigail speaking, she says, I pray thee, forgive the trespass.
Of thine handmaid for the Lord will certainly make my Lord as a sure house.
Because my Lord fighteth the battles of the Lord, and evil hath not been found in him all thy days.
Now what did she mean forgive my trespass?
I believe that Abigail's was simply saying this to David. I have to admit that I was of one mind with my husband in connection with his attitude toward you.
I looked at you like he said, as a runaway slave that rebelled against his master, but I realized that that wasn't the case at all. Now why had Nabal imbibe that?
Covetousness. A covetous heart judges everything wrong. A covetous heart has its own advantage in mind and nothing else.
And so Naples going on in high gear, is he not?
Making some goal that is set before him.
And the Lord, you know, allows him to have this great feasting.
Where you just let go and everything runs together and and goes upside down.
A night of folly and pride.
What a night.
To think of that's the night that this world is having and trying to.
Grind their way through.
Oh, how thankful we should be to have been called by God's marvelous grace.
00:20:02
To be the companions of the Lord Jesus Christ, because that would be our lot.
We would choose that if it had not been for that wonderful grace that we just have sung about.
Now David answers in verse 32 answers Abigail.
And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me.
And blessed be thy advice.
Blessed be Thou, which has kept me this day from coming to shed blood and from avenging myself with my own hand.
You know, the truth of the matter is that David intended to kill Abigail.
And he admits it if you read it.
And David says, Blessed be thy discernment.
The new translation is Blessed be thy discernment. What is discernment?
Discernment is the ability to see through a thing for what it really is. That's discernment.
There are clouds that come into our own personal life. There are clouds that come over the family. There are clouds, dark clouds that come into the assembly.
And it takes discernment to see through all that what is working and what is the way of deliverance.
What lesson did David learn that day?
I love to think that he learned the lesson of showing mercy.
And that characterized David the rest of his life. What a horrible blot this would have been on David's life to have done this.
And then to become king of Israel, something he would never have lived down.
And so we find several times that wonderful expression.
The sure mercies of David, and we follow him through his life, and when he when he would have had a cause to put a man to death, he would not allow death to come in. He would rather show mercy. And surely that is the character of the one again who has called us. He has shown us mercy.
And now it's our privilege to show mercy and kindness to one another.
Well, it tells us.
In verse 36 in Abigail came to Nabel and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king.
And Nabel's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken.
Wherefore she told him nothing less or more until the morning light. And it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabel. And his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became a stone. They came to pass about 10 days after that the Lord smote Nabal that he died.
Well, to think of the message of the morning light.
Oh, Abigail is a lovely character. She knew how to carry herself.
There was virtue with her. There was a spirit of Christ in her.
And when the morning light comes, what does she say? She says, in essence, to her husband Abel, you know.
Is the king is going to be the king of Israel?
To think of the shocking news that would penetrate that man's armor.
Of self-defense to learn the man that he was deriding was going to be the king of Israel.
How's that going to affect his covetousness?
What advantage is he going to have with David on the throne?
You know, every man decides his own judgment.
For what we mete out shall be meted out to us again.
00:25:07
You know the Lord gave Nabel 10 days. I believe he had his mind.
I believe he could think clearly.
His whole life coming before him, The sham of it all.
To see the spirit that had overtaken him and ruled him in life.
You know, in this world.
Some business deals are horrible.
And some of us have gotten ahead of the Lord and have undertaken to do things ourselves.
And we got maybe part way or midway in our venture.
And all of a sudden, we found that we were in misfortune.
We couldn't gain the objective that we wanted and the ******* was so terrible that we were just willing to.
To get out from under it anyway we could.
And so a shrewd businessman comes and looks over the situation. He says, well, I'll offer you this.
And you know the value of it is worth more than that, but he sees a good deal.
And we hear his cold words through his teeth. Business is business.
And to be successful, you don't allow your heart to rule your head.
Cold terminologies.
I wonder if Nabel had some reflections like this in these 10 days.
Space to repent, space to make it right.
But buried under the spirit of covetousness, the Lord smote him, and he died.
What a pitiful end to a couple at the beginning seems so promising.
To have it in like this.
It's not the Bible current.
Doesn't it answer two things today so clearly? Oh, how we need the direction of God's word that we be preserved from the snares and the footballs.
Now that someone else might have an opportunity, I just want to conclude verse 41. And she arose and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord.
Well, David had sent word to call for Abigail to come and be his wife. And don't you love that language? I want to say that that language is because of contentment of heart. As I look on my brethren and think of so many kindnesses that they have done that we say, you know, they would be willing to do anything for you.
Just like Abigail to think of washing dirty feet.
Of the servants, I'm sure she was willing to do it, but I doubt that she ever did.
And you know, I believe it's that way in our lives, that we would be willing to do anything for our brethren, regardless of how grungy the task may be. But very seldom are we ever called to it. But nevertheless, the potential and the willingness of it is there because we have come into divine contentment.
Now how does this story end?
David took Abigail to be his wife.
And they were blessed with a boy by the name of Daniel.
You read it in two Chronicles 3 and verse one.
Blessed with a son named Daniel.
And you say?
Well, do you read anymore about him?
No, the curtain of silence comes over Daniel and his life.
What happened to him?
He was in that family, you know, where there's a lot of strife and competition.
And a lot of things going.
Things in high gear.
There's no mention of Daniel.
He's not in that picture. Why I love to think that, Daniel. Fruit of contentment.
00:30:03
He was a concerted boy, he was a contented young man just to be on the outskirts of things, to keep out of the middle of the fast lane and just let life go by as it will.
It is a fruit of contentment.
And as.
Wives and husbands, fathers and mothers.
How invaluable it is.
That we bear the character of contentment in every aspect of our life.
If the challenge as it was mentioned yesterday.
It's 13.
But it's the path of blessing.
And I'd like to just re echo from the depth of my heart what was quoted yesterday.
Godliness.
With contentment.
It was great game.
I'm sure we've all enjoyed the.
The Life of David.
And I would like to continue.
Ray, David.
We return to our first Chronicles chapter 12.
We know that, David.
Is the United king of Israel.
But we find.
That he is not raining.
We find that he is rejected.
And he's living in exile.
Well, we know what the Lord Jesus.
Is rejected by this world.
And as we think.
At that time of day when he's going to have us with himself.
In the glory.
Or how it becomes that how worthwhile to be followers by bless the Lord and to be guided by him that they don't allow anything or anybody come in between him and us. And so if we think of David, we know that David.
Was rejected.
And after he gets that wonderful victory over Goliath.
When all that Saul thought to kill David.
It was that spirit of jealousy.
Install that caused him to seek the life of David know how careful that and we need to be because we all have that old nature within us.
And that old nature can lead to a lot of jealousy and if we allow it in our lives and our hearts.
It is going to bring Saul.
Not only to ourselves, but the God's people. Well, to continue with David, I'd like to read the first Chronicles chapter 12.
Now these are they that came to David to ziglag.
Well, yet kept himself close because of Saul, the son of Kate.
And they were a mighty man, helpers of the war.
They are armed with bulls that could use both the right hand and the left and hurling stones and cute narrow of a bowl, even a small thread of Benjamin. Nice to see that the whole brethren who killed the Benjamins were following David to go down now to the verse 8.
And of the Ganites they separate themselves onto David, into the whole, to the wilderness.
Men of might and men of war fit for the battle. Look at how Shield and Buckler whose faces were like the face of Lion.
They were swift as a rose upon the mountain.
Make it down a little further.
16 And there came of the children of Benjamin and Judah to the whole unto David.
And David went out to meet them.
And answer instead of them. If you become peaceably through unto me to help me, my heart shall be knit unto you.
But if you become to betray me to mine enemies, then there is no wrong in mine hands.
The God of our fathers looked around and reduced it. Then the Spirit came upon a mafia to a thief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we David, and on my side, thou son of death, a teeth speak beyond to the peace be design helpers for thy God helpeth thee. And Dave received them, and made them cast them of the dam.
00:35:17
I just stopped there, just for a few moments. We find here Amassia.
And Hamas was chief of captains.
But his heart was attracted to David.
Oh, I'm sure Amassy I never forgot as those who followed David never forgot.
That David was Israel's savior.
He had saved them from the hands of the Philistines, and so their heart was with David.
And here we find a Matthias going out to David. He still rejected.
But his heart was with Damon. And so he leads Saul, and he goes to David. And I like his confession. He says to David of verse 18. When are we David? And on my side, thou son of Jesse?
And Amassia means my burden.
And you know, for those who have a burden, we reminded this morning that Matthew.
11 and 28 come on to me. Oh yeah, we're in our heavy laden and I will give you rest. All master could have no rest while he wasn't with David. He had no arrests as he was there with Saul. And so the time came when he separated from Saul, he left Saul and he killed himself to David. So I like that confession and I hope everybody hear this afternoon can say to the Lord Jesus.
Thine are we the Lord Jesus, and are thy side? Oh, how wonderful tooth belong to him.
And so whether that love for Him, it will lead us to separate it from the things of this world, from those in this world, it was cautious to separate because we can have no peace nor fellowship for those who do not love our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now there's something else here.
They not only join themselves with David and own allegiance to David, I bought they they followed him now electrical down a little further in verse 33 instead of time.
Of Zebulun such as went forth to battle, well, we might read 32.
And other children of Issager, which were men of understanding of the times to know what is or ought to do.
The heads of them are 200, and all their brothers were at their commandments.
Of zebulun such as went forth to war to battle expert in war with all into the war 50,000 which could keep ranked they were not a double heart.
Well, you notice in verse 32, but the man of Israel, they had an understanding of the time.
And they love. We need to have an understanding of the times today.
You have an understanding of what the Lord wants you to do. Do I?
You know, I often think of the 111Th song, I think it's the 10th verse. It says this a good understanding have all they that do his commandments. And so if we want to have a good understanding, we know what God's will is for us.
We must obey.
A good understanding of all they do. That little word do has only two letters.
But it is so important.
You know on John epistle it says love not the world.
And so that little word do is very, very important.
The Lord Jesus said to his own, If you love me.
Keep my word. And that is the proof, the evidence that we do love the Lord Jesus.
When we keep his word, when we fall off him, even though it might mean reproach. And so these men, their heart were attracted.
I like to notice something else in this 33rd verse. These men.
They could keep rent, there were 50,000 of them but they could keep the rank.
And I believe rather than that is what is needed today. God wants his people.
00:40:02
To keep rank, that is to go on together.
How are we going to keep rank?
There's only one way to keep our eye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we get our eye on any other, we will not be able to keep rain. I sometimes tell of a.
A parade in our town.
We're all a college students March down a Main St.
And they were marching and they were keeping rank. It was just a pleasure to stand on the side and watch how they could keep rank as they marched down the street.
There was a leader at the front.
They had their eye on the leader.
And as I stood on the side, I noticed one young man.
He turned his head just for a moment to look that a friend on the sidewalk. And that one look caused him to get out of rank and he bumped into the other. And you know what that means? They're close together and it gets upset. And so I felt sorry for that young man. But I often think how if we get our eye on somebody else, anything in this world that would take our eye off the Lord who is a captain of our salvation.
We're not going to be able to keep rent, no. And so what's nice about these men, They were not only export of war, but they could keep rent.
Going down to verse 38.
All these men of war that could keep rank came with a perfect heart.
To Hebron to make David king over all Israel and all the rest also visible with one heart.
The next David King.
And there they were with David three days, eating and drinking for their brethren.
Had prepared for them.
Moreover, they that were not even on Isaac or and Zebra and NASA brought bread of Nazareth on camels and mules.
And so on. And there was great joy in Israel. Well, it makes me think, you know, all these three days of meeting, how good it seems to be here. Our brethren have prepared so abundantly for every need, and all that fellowship has been sweet. But you know, if we leave this bill needing, and we go back to our home.
Are we going to be able to keep ranked with our brethren? Are we going to be able to go on or are we going to allow little things to come in that would hinder us from keeping right? Oh, how sad it is when brethren do not keep rest. It causes there's a reason for it and the reason we can point inward to ourselves. It's pride and how we need to judge that we have the flesh, each one of us, and the Word of God.
I think my dear old brother.
Here's the report, best often from John's Section 63. It is a spirit that quicken us. The flesh profiteth nothing. We all have the flesh. Let's remember. It's a spirit that quicken us. And the flesh prophet of nothing.
And then when we think of other verses, why we can think also of Galatians 6 is that we might just turn to it.
You walk in the spirit, you will not fulfill a lust of effect.
It's not the 6th chapter, but I must find everything.
Thank you.
Yes, that's the worst. Blatant 5 and 16.
This I say, then walk in the Spirit.
And ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh less against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary 1 to the other.
So that you cannot do the things that ye would.
Well.
That's just what I had before me, brethren, how important it is to walk in the Spirit. And if we walk in the Spirit.
We are not going to fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Unless we remember in Romans 8, I believe it's eight. These are in the flesh. Cannot please God.
00:45:03
And I'm sure in our inmost heart, we all who love the Lord want to please Him.
And so I just had those two verses on my heart.
And may the Lord help us.
To keep right, to go on together, keeping our eyes on our blessed Lord till He comes.
2 Timothy 1:8
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