Toronto Conference: 1967
Table of Contents
Choosing
YP Address—L. Klassen
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Like we opened our meeting this afternoon by singing hymn #172.
Or teach us more.
Of thy blessed ways, thou holy Lamb of God, and fix and root us in Thy grace as those redeemed by blood.
Engrave this deeply in our hearts with an eternal pen, that we may in some small degree return thy love again #172.
Let's pray.
We thank the our loving God and our Father.
Last night in one of the prayers, a brother spoke of the fact that the young people are at a crossroads. It is true that this is a well worn, well recognized expression. Perhaps young people are a little tired of hearing it, being reminded of it, and yet it is true. You will never cease to be true.
There is, for many of you, an important decision to be made.
Perhaps quite soon. The choice of further education, perhaps.
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The choice of a vocation, the choice of a life partner if the Lord tarries, and perhaps for a few, the all important and most important choice of where one will spend eternity. This meeting this afternoon is announced as a meeting for young people, presumably most of them Christians. But one cannot address such an audience without feeling that perhaps there are some.
Who have yet to make this all important choice of where to spend eternity and more of this later on.
Now the agnostic says.
If God is a loving, righteous, holy God, why did he create men with the ability to make a wrong choice? Why didn't he create man in such a way that he would always do that which was right?
And never need to make such a choice between good and evil.
Apart from the fact that God is sovereign and not accountable to us for anything, I believe that there is an answer to this question.
Perhaps we can illustrate it in this way. If you or I had the ability to hypnotize our children or to condition them in some certain way, we might be able to create a condition in them at so that at a command or at a signal they might, for example.
Show us affection. They might put their arms about us, they might kiss us, they might even say that they love us. But if this were nothing more than an automatic response with no feeling behind it, would we appreciate it? Would we enjoy it? I don't believe so, no. What we look for in our children is that particular feeling which responds to the love which we show for them.
I believe this is what God would see in US, not an automatic conditioned response of some sort with nothing behind it. Surely if the One who created this universe and upholds it with the power of His Word had so desired, He could have created an entire race of robots which would do His will unquestioningly, without ever disobeying, without ever asking why He could have created such a race.
Indeed, God in His Holy Word gives us examples of where He used the animal Kingdom in just this way.
Unintelligent service executed for or at the command of God.
Oh, we have a far higher type of service than this to render, do we not?
In Romans 12 Chapter in the first verse we read of this, the prophet, the apostle, asking or beseeching that we might present our bodies a living sacrifice acceptable wholly unto God, which is your reasonable or intelligent service. And I believe that the sense of the word intelligent there is just this. It is that service which is in response to what the Lord has shown to us and revealed to us. And so this is the reason that God has.
Created in US.
It will either to do his will, or sad to say, a will which can be used to refuse to do God's will. Remember the Lord Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, saying to them, You will not come unto me that you might have life, you will not.
Oh, but also we read in Revelation, whosoever will let him come and take of the water of life freely. Well, so much for this matter of a choice.
We see that we have this choice, and with this ability to respond comes also responsibility, and I think it is significant that the two words response and responsibility come from the same root. There is a definite connection between the two. I'd like to read this afternoon about one man whose life illustrates very clearly a number of rather important choices. And this will be Moses and the story as it is recorded in Hebrews 11Th chapter.
Hebrews 11.
Verse 23. Hebrews 11/23.
By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child, and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
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Esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches, and the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith He forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Through faith He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he to destroy the first born should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land.
Which the Egyptians are saying to do. Were drowned.
Now we will see in this little brief account of about Moses that there were three different separate agencies or persons who did the choosing. First of all we find Moses parents and the choice they made.
This is recorded in the 23rd verse. This was not Moses faith, but his parents faith that led him to be hidden for three months in the little ark made of bulrushes and pitched within and without with pitch. As we read in Exodus the 2nd chapter. We don't have time to refer to it today. I think we all know the story very well and I think that we can see in this the hopes and aspirations of every parent, every Christian parent. We read in Acts the 7th chapter where Peter was recounting this same story.
How that they saw that he was a Fairchild and we read there in one translation that he was fair unto God. And I think that this is the crucial point about the parents decision about their son. They recognized in that little child, that little baby, one who was precious to God. And I believe that all of us who have raised children know a little bit of what about what this means.
We recognize in those children.
Something really belongs to God and is valued by Him.
We feel in a sense that this is not someone who belongs completely to us, but rather to the Lord. And so there is, or at least should be within us a desire to keep that little one for the Lord. And so this decision was made to hide the child in this ark for three months. Now we know that this was specifically so that the child would not be found, in answer to the Pharaoh's decree that all these children, these boy children, should be killed.
But in a larger sense, I believe that as we contemplate the future of our children, we sense that the world is out to get our children.
That Satan makes every attempt he can, from the very first moment that child is born, to take that child for his own. And I believe that in the same sense, there is this feeling in our hearts that we would like to hide our child or protect him.
And what better place is there is there than in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Because we know that little arc pitched within and without, with pitch. It's a type of the Lord Jesus, just like the ark that carried Noah in safety was also a type of Christ himself. And so when our children are born, we make this choice. We make this decision to keep these little ones for the Lord, to protect them by whatever means we can from the world, and we commit them to the Lord Jesus. And there is to a sense in which these little ones, before they reach the age of responsibility, are safe.
We know from many scriptures and many principles outlined in Scripture that the little ones who have not reached the age of responsibility are not lost. They do not reach the point if they die before they become older. They do not reach the point at which they can either refuse or choose. So they are somewhat like this baby Moses in the ark, in a place of safety. But then there comes a time when this place of safety is no longer sufficient.
And this may come at different ages for different people, and I'm glad there are some of the younger ones here tonight, this afternoon, who are perhaps at that particular age when they are just becoming old enough to decide for themselves what place they want to have for safety.
And so we read in the 24th verse that there came a time when Moses himself had to make a choice. First, his parents had made the choice.
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And now he had to make his own choice by faith. Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaohs daughter. Well now let's look at look at Moses a little bit in the light of what we know from other scriptures. Again we might refer to Peters description and how nice it is that we have the New Testament to fill in some of the details which we do not have in the old. Peter tells us there that he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. I dare say that the Pharaoh's daughter sent him to the very best schools that Egypt could have.
Provide he was intelligent, he was learned in all these things. Before him there lay a path of unlimited power. I believe we're right in assuming that he could well have become the next pharaoh of Egypt and he might have thought within himself, what a wonderful opportunity for me now to serve the Lord in this place. He has put me here and now I can use my good godly upbringing which I have received from my parents, and I can use this for the blessings of this land, Egypt.
All, Moses had learned more than that on his mother's knee, we can be sure. No, he recognized the fact that he was not among his own people. And we read also in Acts of 7th chapter how he decided to visit his own people, to become associated with his own people. Why? All because they were the Lord's people.
Has he contemplated this choice? I'm sure he must have had some exercise about it. He could well have said no.
Here I am living in the palace with all these advantages, and here are.
The other people, God's people, working hard as slaves from morning to night, every day of their lives, with not enough to eat.
And in tremendous poverty, this is a very difficult decision to make.
Oh, but there was one thing that characterized those poor, downtrodden slaves, and that was that God had set his love upon them. God had not forgotten them. And Moses by faith, makes this very important decision in his life. It says here that he refused to be called a son of Pharaoh's daughter. This meant turning his back on a great deal. It meant that he had to perhaps unlearn many of the.
Elegant ways that he had learned in the court.
Of the Pharaoh, it meant turning his back on a life of ease.
But as we'll see later, he has something better.
To take the place of that which he turned aside. Oh, I think that perhaps many are in this room are at this point now.
Perhaps they have had a good education and they think, now what can I do? What should be my life's work? Well, the word of God does not tell us who should be a physician, who should be a teacher, who should be a farmer or a storekeeper.
But we will see as we go on that there are certain guidelines, there are certain.
Signposts that would point us along the way. All we think about, many of whom we read in Scripture. The one characteristic of their lives, what that was, that was purpose of heart, they cleave to the Lord. We think of Daniel in the court of the king in Babylon. He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a King's meat.
Well, how was it he could have this purpose? Or do we not find it? When the time came, the time of testing, the decree went out that anyone who bowed the knee to anyone except Nebuchadnezzar would have to be slain.
And there came the time when Daniel heard about this, and we read something very interesting about him. We read that as his custom was he knelt down toward Jerusalem to pray. Oh, there's so many who will pray in times of stress, perhaps haven't prayed for a long time. But there was nothing different about Daniel. He was used to doing it. And I believe we could find there the secret of his success, the secret behind his purpose of heart. I believe that we can safely say the same thing about Moses.
That the lessons he had learned and who have been committed to his memory by his mother and the faith that he himself possessed, enabled him to take this very definite stand, so that he first of all refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. All he could have reasoned and said, well, surely I must be here for some purpose. The Lord must want me here because He put me here. Perhaps I can compromise. Perhaps I can still be the son of Pharaoh's daughter and at the same time help my people.
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All the word of God marks a clear path, not a muddy one, not a wavering path, but a straight one, and a narrow 11 which does not allow for any mixture of the world with that which is according to God's will. So here we see a first refused, and then he made his choice, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God and to enjoy the pleasures of sin.
For a season.
All we've often heard.
An explanation. And we've often been reminded of the solemnity of these words, the pleasures of sin for a season. Oh, how temporary these things are. And yet it is important that there are pleasures connected with sin, and these pleasures are not always solely connected with those things which are immoral or illegal.
But rather, they are connected with those things which gratify man's own desires and make him proud to be himself, all those things which feed the flesh, those things in which man might boast and take pleasure apart from the mind of the Lord. Those are all things that we might clasp under the pleasures of sin. But let us remember, they are only for a season. And I dare say that as Moses contemplated the future.
He totaled up all the benefits he might receive.
He could see that at the end of that path there was nothing. There would be nothing left to enjoy after death. And so it was that he could pass that judgment and count those things worthless, just like Paul did the third chapter of Philippians. Those things that were gained to him, he counted but lost that he might gain Christ. They might win Christ. Oh, Moses in the in a sense, in adding up all those blessings and benefits he could hopefully derive from being the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Was willing to count them nothing.
And so he chose to suffer affliction.
With the people of God.
Esteeming the reproach of Christ.
Greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. How many people say, how could he have any appreciation of the reproach of Christ? Here he lived a long time before Christ. He had no direct knowledge of anyone named Christ, although he did prophecy of him in Deuteronomy. We read there how he told a prophet who would come like unto himself, and the people would hear.
So he had this prophetic view. We might say, well, it is not for us to say.
Because we have in God's Word God's view of things not ours, we have here God's own estimate of this very important decision that Moses made, and in God's sight it was imputed to him that that faith.
Was insight of suffering reproach of Christ? And in the New Testament we read of those who suffered reproach because of Christ. And it was as the Lord, as the Lord came through this world. Here it was as Christ, as the Christ, the Messiah, that He suffered reproach. Why? Because it was as Christ that he was sent, as the anointed One, the sent one from God.
Known also as the Messiah, the one who had a rightful claim to all the.
Glory and all the honor that man could heap upon him, the one who, when he came to his own, his own received him not. It was as the Messiah that they would not receive him, or they would receive him as a prophet, as a good man, as a teacher. They called him all these things, and would have accepted him that way, but they did not want him as the sent one from God. And so it was that we read of reproach in the New Testament. It is almost always with respect to the association of the believer with Christ.
We're reading acts about those first believers of Antioch. How?
The Apostles, the.
Servant of God, Barnabas went there, and he labored among these young believers, and he gave them this one admonition that was purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord. And we read there that these humble believers were the first ones who are called Christians. And I believe that the sense of the reference to the term Christian there is one of reproach. I believe most consider that the term as it first was used.
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Was not a very complimentary one. And later on we have King Agrippa saying to Paul.
Almost all persuaders me to be a Christian. Again using the term in sarcasm. And then we have only one more reference to the term Christian in the entire Bible in first Peter 4 verse 16. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. So there we have it, three times the word Christian is used in the entire word of God.
And every time it is used in connection with reproach.
Oh, how different this is from the way the term Christian is used today. I'm sure it's the same in Canada as it is in the United States. Almost anyone can call himself a Christian. People use the term very carelessly without any thought to what it really means.
What did it take in those early believers at Antioch to qualify them as Christians? Did Barnabas tell them? Well, you must. I'm glad you folks of all believed. Now, you must all sign on this list here so you can become members of our church, and we have in Jerusalem so we can recognize you. You must all sign this declaration that you will follow such prescribed rules and regulations as may be laid down for you. You must choose some delegates. You must choose various officials now so you can make a proper church here, No.
Oh, just that one blessed admonition, that with purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord.
And should not this be that which characterizes the believer today, the one who would really call himself a Christian? Oh, we almost hesitate to use the term Christian now and applying it to ourselves, because in the eyes of the world it can mean almost anything or anyone. But if we take the term in the sense that is used in the Scripture as marking out those who walk a separated path from the world about them and who are bearing reproach because of it, oh, then we have a real clear idea of what a Christian is and should be.
So it was that in this particular sense, he suffered the approach of Christ without really knowing clearly who Christ was. He was taking the place of one who was willing to walk a path of rejection by the world and walk according to the Lord's will. And so this set him apart from the world. And isn't it wonderful too that he considered this?
Riches. Greater riches, then.
The treasures in Egypt, oh, I'm sure that his friends and the schools that he attended must have looked on with amazement as they considered what this man, this friend of theirs, was doing, and he was turning his back on all these wonderful privileges and opportunities. They must have thought I'm a fool. But he took this step, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. And here again what faith he had. He didn't have the New Testament telling us of all the exceeding great promises and precious promises that we have in the New Testament.
He didn't know anything of all these things all but he had faith. He trusted that the God whom he was setting out to follow would do that what was right in the end. And so he had respect unto the recombence of the reward.
So now he took one more step by faith. He first took Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him.
Who is invisible?
Oh, we marvel at the face of this man, Moses.
Just think what it meant for him to forsake Egypt. It was one thing to make this declaration. He could still have backed out. But I think we can see in this that he turned his back on it. He forsook it. Oh, we look back at the experience of Lot's wife. You know, she left Sodom, but she never forsook it.
Because her heart was still there. And even though she physically walked out of that city, yet she showed the fact that her heart was still there by the fact that she turned around and looked back. And in so doing she suffered the same fate as that city. But how much more faith Moses had? He not only refused, but he forsook, he forsook Egypt.
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And he did so in the face of the wrath of the king. And I think that there is a definite sense in which we sometimes have to face the.
Enmity of the world just because we do not go along with those things that they would have us join with them.
And it says that he endured as seeing him who is invisible, all what keeping power there was to encourage him and sustain him in this tremendous step, this tremendous decision that he had to make.
Well, so far now we've had two agencies, we might say making a choice, Moses parents, then Moses, and now I believe we have a third choice made here.
Through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them. Now there was no particular choice involved in the keeping of the Passover, as far as Moses was concerned.
And this is important. Rather, this was something that God himself chose for him. And this is important because we are living in a day now in which men say that it doesn't matter so much how you worship or how what method of religion you follow, as long as you are sincere, you just worship God as you please and everything will be just fine. This is indeed the spirit of the ecumenical movement which is engulfing the entire world today. Freedom of choice to to worship God as we will, as we please.
But this is one choice that God has not left to us, but rather one that He has decided. And we had this brought before us so very vividly this morning in the reading meeting, how God has chosen the foolish things of this world. God chose them. Not Moses, not the most godly man, whoever walked this earth, but God himself chose those foolish things. And certainly to the Egyptians, how foolish it must have been to see these children of Israel killing the lamb on the 14th day of the month.
And sprinkling the blood on the doorpost and the lentil of their houses in which they dwelt. How ridiculous.
It seemed to them how foolish, and yet this was what God told them, and there was not one safe house in all of Egypt where this had not been performed. Why? Because God said so. Not because He had to explain it in any way that would be logical to you, or to me, or to the Egyptians, or to the Israelites. But we do know from elsewhere. In the Word of God, without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.
All that principle was laid down firmly and irrevocably in the very beginning of God's Word, when Adam and Eve sinned and the coats of skins were made to cover their nakedness. And we would dwell on this just long enough to urge any who are in this room today, who are not under the shelter of that blood, to make this decision to enter into this place of safety. It is not yours to choose the method of your salvation.
But you do have this awesome choice of deciding whether you will accept it or not. This is where your will comes in, in choosing or rejecting God's way of salvation. And remember, there is no other place of safety for your never dying soul. Oh, we read the terrible story of that judgment that came upon Egypt that night. How that in every house where there was not the blood on the door, the first born died, and there was weeping throughout all the land of Egypt that night, but everywhere.
Where the blood was on the door, there was joy and confidence within safety. All. We would urge you today, if you have not yet availed yourself of that blood of Jesus Christ which cleanseth us from all sin, that you do so today. In connection with this exercise of the will, our brother AC Brown is sometimes quoted another brother in referring to the invitation of the Gospel. He has said all may come.
None will come, some shall come. We have here in a very few words, the exercise of man's will.
None will come. That means none in his own natural state has the will to come. Oh, as God breaks down that stubborn will of ours, then by that faith which He gives to us, we can't accept this gracious invitation.
So it was that Moses himself had to keep the Passover. He wasn't so good. He couldn't say. Well, after all, with all my education, I'm not like these poor helpless slaves here. Perhaps there's some other way of safety for me. Even though he might be the second most powerful man in all Egypt, he himself had to keep the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land.
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Which the Egyptians are saying to do, were drowned. Now this is very important.
If the children of Israel had merely kept the Passover, had sprinkled blood on their doors and eaten the Passover lamb as they were instructed to do so, and they had done nothing more, what would they have done the next morning? They would have gone back to the pyramids and building these temples for Pharaoh, working as slaves. Oh, there were there were two parts to the redemption of the children of Israel.
One was accomplished by the blood, and then there was another part which had to be accomplished too, and that was their deliverance from Egypt, or the world, as Egypt represents the world to us.
So it was that they went through the Red Sea and in going through the Red Sea we have the same thing I believe that we have in.
In Romans, the 6th chapter where we read as follows.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? This will be perhaps the children of Israel staying in Egypt, just as they had done before. God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Nor ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father.
Even so, we also should walk in newness of life. Oh, I believe this takes us to the place in which the children of Israel found themselves after they've gone through the Red Sea. What had gone between them and Egypt? The Red Sea, which is a type of death. They were now, as far as Egypt was concerned, they were dead.
Oh, it is, We have heard many times. It's the cross of Christ. By the cross of Christ we are crucified unto the world.
And the world, the world is crucified unto us, and we unto the world. So it is that the cross of Christ comes between us and the world, so that we no longer are slaves to the world, to to Satan, to sin. All how important it was that God should provide these definite agencies for the redemption of His people, and how important it was to that He himself made this choice. He did not leave this to Moses, even though he might have been a great leader.
Of His people rather the choice was God's. So in summary then we have these three very important times of decision. We have the decision that the parents make where the little child is born into this world.
The decision to bring up that little child in the nurture and admonition of the Word of God.
But then there comes a time when this responsibility that parents take for their children is no longer sufficient. And this is especially solemn for young people, many of whom perhaps feel that as long as the parents are saved, everything will be well within. But just remember that there came a time in Moses life when he came of age, and how good it is that there is no specific age given here. Otherwise children might say, well, I can safely wait until that time comes.
Because I will not be held accountable until then.
All for your younger children here this afternoon.
If you can in any measure understand the love of God in sending His Son to die on Calvary's cross for you to save you from your sins, then you are right now responsible for that which you know and understand, and it becomes necessary for you to refuse and to choose. And so it was that when Moses came to that age of responsibility, whenever that might have been.
Then He made this extremely important decision, and then when we have made that decision to follow the Lord, whatever the cost may be, then we need to look for that choice that God would make for us all. We read about the good works in Ephesians, the 2nd chapter, which were prepared for us, those good work which God has in His sovereign will.
Prepared for us to do, He has laid out the path for us. It is not for us to choose. And that particular sphere of our relationship with Him which involves worship is also separated out and delineated by God Himself. All the disciples, when they would observe the last Passover, they asked the Lord where He would that they would prepare the Passover, and He directed them.
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And the Lord has directed a path for you and for me too.
Where we can worship him in spirit and in truth as the Lord Jesus spoke of.
To the woman at the well in Samaria, all these things are all spelled out for us. All we have to do is to look in God's holy Word and be subject to it.
And again, in closing, we might just say and emphasize because we feel it's necessary, that that all important decision might still be necessary for some here this afternoon. What will you do with Christ? All the Lord Jesus asked that question.
And we asked it again this afternoon rather than it is the Holy Spirit of God to ask this question perhaps directs it to one who is unsaved here this afternoon. All come under the shelter that blood, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, shed on Calvary's cross.
Lay aside the stubborn will which would keep you from making this decision. Come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior while there's still a chance. And then perhaps we can all say with Joshua at the close, because he said at the close of his life, choose you this day whom he will serve. But As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
We thank you know our God and our Father does not left us at our own devices.
We thank you for that love which has been shed abroad in our hearts so that we can respond to Thy love.
We are told we love because He first loved us, and so we thank Thee for this love which has been shed abroad in our hearts and.
Called out of Darkness
Address—P. Geveden
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In our meeting.
#8 in the appendix, the back of the book.
My soul repeat his praise, Whose mercies are so great? Whose anger is so slow to rise, so ready to abate.
Eyes, the heavens are raised above the earth. We tread so far the riches of God's grace, Our highest thoughts exceed #8 of some brothers started. Please.
Shall we pray?
Our blessing Go.
Shall we open to the book of Proverbs?
Chapter 30.
Beginning with a statement in verse 5.
Every word of God is pure.
We're in a world of impurity.
We're in a world of sin, corruption and violence.
We're in a world where man is doing his own will.
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And we need to know the will of God.
And we find God's will in his precious word.
And isn't it good to know that we have this source of purity from God Himself through His Word concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Every word of God is pure.
This stands in marked contrast to the writings of men.
For there we find impurity.
And filth that comes from the cesspool of human nature that has fallen and has been ruined by sin that came into this world at the very beginning of the race.
A little later in this chapter, we read of four generations.
Verse 11.
There is a generation that curseth their father.
And doth not bless their mother.
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
There is a generation oh, how lofty are their eyes.
And their eyelids are lifted up.
There is a generation whose teeth are as swords.
And their jaw teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
Are these generations good or bad?
Certainly you will agree, as described here, that they are wicked generations.
Now, is this a description of the world to come when our Lord Jesus Christ shall put down all evil?
And reign in righteousness over this world.
No it isn't.
Is this a description of the state in the Garden at the very beginning of the human race? Not at all.
These descriptions apply now.
Do they not tell us of this world that we are in?
Doesn't this describe conditions with which we are familiar?
There's a generation that curseth their father and does not bless their mother.
Do we not find something of that element?
And greatly increased and this day of ours.
For it brings before us resistance to authority.
You know, the parents, The father particularly, is the Divinely appointed channel for the instruction that we need as we grew up here in this world.
But this generation?
Rebells.
Against that instruction.
That comes in that Channel.
A generation that curseth father.
And does not bless their mother.
Then in verse 12 we have the description of a generation that are pure in their own eyes.
And yet is not washed from their filthiness.
In the days of Our Lord, during His personal ministry on the earth, he spoke of the Pharisees, those religious leaders.
Then delighted in making the outside appearance quite suitable.
But they did not pay attention to that which was inside.
They were occupied with externals.
But you know, we must face the real facts of life.
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If we arrive at blessing.
They were not washed from their filthiness.
Thus corruption that comes in in a situation like that.
And it's always associated with man's religion.
For man is a corrupt being.
And the best that he can do is to Polish up the outside.
But you know it's necessary to be born again.
It's necessary to be washed from our filthiness.
It's necessary to have the precious blood of Christ applied for our sins.
Oh, that is the only remedy for man's sin.
The Precious Blood of Christ.
Shed for the remission of sins.
And there's a generation, oh, how loftier their eyes. You know, men have great ambitions.
Man is proud.
And he lifts up these goals that he wishes to attain.
Are you caught in that kind of generation?
Are you taken away with man's ambitions here in this world?
The things that he enjoys, the fashions and everything of that sort to make himself happy here in this world without God.
These are snapshots, so to speak.
And perhaps there are those present who fit in with this description that we have before us.
Do you come in under the first hitting of those that?
Rebel against authority, those that resist the instruction of the Father, the instruction that comes from God's precious word.
And who does not bless or appreciate his mother?
And, you know, these are the generations.
That men.
Are using to establish new standards in this world.
Men today consider that everything is a development. The human race is a development.
Society is a development and even government is a development.
And we're gaining ground all the time, according to the wisdom of the men of this world, and they're struggling forward and upward and trying to establish better things for the people that inhabit this world.
How can new standards be set?
The number of times that you do a thing, the number of people doing a certain particular thing has no basis for establishing a standard.
We do not need a new morality.
And we do not need to go by situation ethics.
These things that men are promoting in our day in this world where we live.
Every word of God is pure, and we have the right standards laid down in this precious word that God has given to us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
And there's no improvement upon what we have here in this book that God has given us.
The word from himself.
And in verse 14 there's a generation whose teeth are swords.
And there's your teeth as knives. Your teeth are not usually sharp.
But these are this is an extreme sort of condition.
And in this generation we have violence indicated.
So we have resistance to authority, religious pretension.
In verse 12.
And the ambitions of men in verse 13.
Going after Worley pursuits and that was mentioned in this invitation that has brought us together in these meetings.
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And also there was mention of the low moral standards that prevail in this world at this time.
But God's standard is always the same.
And we can never be wiser than God's precious word, and we need to respect it, to honor it, to keep it, to go by it. And we'll have no regrets.
Now with this background.
There's a need of special wisdom.
In this world where we are, so we'll come down to the verse 24.
There before things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise.
Then, Sir, are people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer. The cones are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.
The locusts have no king, yet go they forth, all of them by bands.
The spider taketh hold with their hands and is in King's palaces.
Now this can be helpful to us.
You don't have to be strong to be wise.
These are weak things.
Little things, little upon the earth.
And why seek to be greeted in an earth that is to pass away?
Or the fashion of this world passeth away.
Everything that man is and the glory of man is soon gone.
But therefore little things that are exceeding wise, and these would teach us lessons that we need as we pass this way.
Thence or are people not strong?
Yet they prepare their meat in the summer.
You know, this is the summertime of God's grace.
This is the day of the gospel.
This is a day of privilege.
And certainly we ought to prepare for the future. That's what the end does.
And the first thing needed in preparation for the future is the acknowledgement of the fact that you have sinned and come short of God's glory.
And that you confess your need of Christ owning Him, our Savior and Lord.
That's the first thing needed in preparation for the future.
But oh, there's much more than this.
We're saved to begin with Christ, and we ought to begin with Him, go on with him, and end with him in the glory.
And there is much for us to have in the way of preparation for the future.
As we seek to go on as those that believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
To live by faith as Christians as those that are no the Lord.
All we ought to make use of the precious word of God the directs us into those things.
That will enable us to enter abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We need that because it abides. We can lay up treasures in the heavens, and that's the indication of this. Here they prepare their meat in the summer, they make ready for the stormy winter, and so you can make ready for the future too. And that is the lesson that this little people would teach us.
The answer of people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.
Then next we have the corners.
And they are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks. Perhaps this is the rock badger.
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A little animal about the size of a rabbit.
But he is a defenseless creature. He's not able to take care of himself.
His feet are very soft underneath.
And are not very strong, and he can't dig into the earth or Burrow into the ground as other animals may and can.
Is a defenseless sort of creature, but oh, he's wise.
And he finds his safety in the rocks.
And you know, there's a place of safety for everyone of us. We read in a certain place of a man.
A man shall be in hiding place from the wind.
And are covered from The Tempest as rivers of water, in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a wearied land.
That can be none other than Christ.
He's the Rock.
He's the one that will give you safety.
Protection.
And security in the face of all this evil generation with which we are surrounded.
So we need not only the lesson of the Ant, but that of the corny.
And also that of the locusts in verse 27. The locusts have no king.
You can't go there, forth, all of them by bands.
Well, that's unusual, isn't it?
Is naturally an organizer.
And he thinks he can get along without a captain.
Or some director.
But though there's a certain wisdom in not having a king.
If you get into organization, then you will necessarily go along with the.
But if you gather to the Lord in the midst of his people, who is absent.
To cite.
You can go along in safety.
According to the presence of the Lord in the midst of his people.
The marginal reading is different, the locus of no king. Yet go they forth, all of them, and gathered together.
All their safety in being gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 1820 and also a verse in First Corinthians 5 that comes to mind about the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse four in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you're gathered together, and my Spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, they had a problem there. How could they take care of it? Only through the presence of the Lord in their midst and by His power in His name?
Or let us think of what a privilege it is. It is to be associated with those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And let us go forth as being gathered together.
And if you gather with those that are doing the right thing, you usually do the right thing yourself if you go in the way of those that are doing the wrong thing.
Then you'll likely do the wrong thing too. So there's safety in this going forth in bands as the locals having no king but to going forth as gathered together.
And in verse 28.
We have the spider.
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That taketh hold with their hands and is in King's palaces.
Now this can be either the spider or perhaps a little animal.
Lizard like.
That is found in many places, even in the King's palaces.
And this little lizard taketh holder with her hands.
And those feet are hands.
Our little vacuum cups.
So you can look up and see this little being clinging to the wall going across the top.
And how can it do it? Well, it's because of that little vacuum.
That works against the principle of.
Force that pulls downward.
The law of gravitation.
Well, in this do we not see something of the principle of faith?
It's only by faith that we can escape the troubles that would come to us from this series or this group of generations by which we are surrounded.
The just shall live by faith, and that's what we need, young people.
Are our lives actuated by faith? Do we believe God's word?
Do we act upon the precious word, the instruction that He's given us for our safety, good and blessing?
In these numerous pages in the various books of the Bible.
Or there's all the wisdom that we need for our earthly journey, and should we not make use of it?
Perhaps this verse would lead us over to the Epistle to the Ephesians, where we read about being blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, blessings in Christ up there.
And those are the blessings that really count.
What we have here can be soon gone is transient, temporal, short lived.
And goal. But what we have in Christ, what we have by faith, abides.
It is forever.
Always and let us.
Take heed to these lessons.
That of the end, that of the Coney and that of the locust, and also the spider, or that little animal that walks in the King's palaces. That's our destiny, and we can be in the enjoyment of those precious things already.
Why are we here?
Oh, we need that. And since we've made reference to the word.
Let's notice something in John 14 as we turn over to read about another generation and one of the epistles, John 14 for the moment.
In John 14.
We have the promise of our Lord's return.
I go to prepare a place for you, he says.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
We read this often.
We are glad about this statement.
And we cling to this promise. And he will never disappoint us. He is coming again to receive us unto himself. He wants us with him.
But you know, there's another coming in this chapter.
And sometimes we miss it. We fail to see it. Look in verse 18.
I will not leave you comfortless or as often.
I will come to you.
Have you realized anything of that?
Have you had that experience?
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We read a little further verse, 21 He that hath My Commandments.
The Lord has left with us certain orders or teachings.
He speaks of these as his commandments, not the commandments of Moses. Those are not in question here.
He left my commandments, and to keep them it is that loveth me.
And he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him.
And will manifest myself to him.
The Lord comes to his people in that way.
And if you own His authority, submit to him, you will have some realization of that manifestation in your heart and life.
And no doubt this would generally apply to all of the Lord's people, for at some time or other they've enjoyed the Lorde company, the sense of his presence with them, something of the preciousness of his word.
But below in another verse, we have something that goes beyond this. This is a conditional sort of thing.
Verse 23 Jesus answered and said unto them unto him.
If a man loved me, he will keep my word.
And my father will love him.
And that we will come under him.
And make our abode with him.
All this seems to be connected with the attention that we give to the precious word of God.
And our souls being drawn into communion with what has been revealed to us.
And we have this constant abiding presence of the Father and the Son in our hearts and lives.
Oh, do you know anything better than that, dear young people?
Why not consider it? Why be satisfied with less?
Why turn to the occupations of this world, its pursuits?
And disappointments, of course.
When you have this open to you.
All that is what you need.
Attention to the precious word of God that brings before your soul the Father and the Son.
Now we'll turn over Q, the first epistle up there.
We could read about a generation in Matthew.
Of which the Lord remarked that it wouldn't pass away until all those things had taken place that he was telling about at that time.
And you know, that's a long generation, isn't it?
We usually think of a generation as being about 30 years.
But the Lord was Speaking of a generation that has lasted now for 2000 years.
There were Christ rejecters when he was speaking.
There have been Christ rejecters ever since he went away. And there will be Christ rejecters here in this world when He returns. So that generation has continued a long time, But there will be an end to it. Yes, judgment. What must one day overtake this world? But we were turning to Peter's first epistle to notice.
A generation that is brought to our attention there.
At first Peter chapter 2 and verse 9.
But ye are a chosen generation.
A royal priesthood?
And holy nation.
A peculiar are purchased people.
Rajee should show forth the praises or virtues of him who have called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Or is this where you fit in?
That would be best.
This would be correct.
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And why not, if you've never before been connected with this chosen generation, this royal priesthood?
Come to the Savior today.
And have a place among his people for he wants you.
And he gave his life for you.
He was willing to go to Calvary's cross.
And there lay down his life, and take it again in order that you might have this which abides.
And have the privilege.
Of showing forth the virtues of him with calls you out of darkness.
Into his marvelous light.
Oh, that's where you belong. That's where you are in Christ. You've been called out of darkness into his marvelous light. So why dabble with those evil generations?
That will spoil your happiness and blight your soul and ruin your testimony, robbing you of the enjoyment of Christ.
And your need Christ, not only as Savior, but as your Lord and as the object of your heart.
And having him as the object of your heart, and that vision of the glory that belongs to the believer and given to us in this precious word, you can be preserved.
Unto that coming Kingdom, and kept in simplicity as gathered together unto himself.
Shall we use number?
#15
in closing.
All that we were, our sins, our guilt, our death with all our own, all that we are, we owe to Thee, thou God of grace alone, #15.
As I.
Glory.
Our Blessed Lord, our Father, we.
Purpose & Prayer
Address—C. Andersen
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
General Meetings, Toronto, March 1967 Address for Brother Anderson.
Let us turn to hymn #46 in the appendix, please.
Have I an object, Lord below, which would divide my heart with thee, which would divert it even flow in answer to thy constancy? Oh, teach me quickly to return and 'cause my heart afresh to burn #46 in the back of the book.
All right. And of Jacob Jacob.
So there are 1054 dollars blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah.
Shall we pray?
I would like to read one verse in Psalm 27.
Verse 4.
One thing have I desired of the Lord.
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That will I seek after that I may dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
Perhaps the last should read to inquire of him in his temple.
Farmers tires before him. One thing here.
And surely it's the Lord himself. But he says I have desired it.
No doubt you dear young people who know the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior. You have desires and I'm sure you're the Lord. You have a desire to please him, to walk worthy of him.
You don't want to walk carelessly. Surely you do have a desire that when the Lord comes, you might have been walking pleasing to him, that you might hear his well done, Thou good and faithful servant. Surely all of us have that kind of a desire, because as soon as you're born again, you have a new life in nature that has heavenly desires, divine desires.
And isn't it a marvelous thing to know that?
That when we are children of God born again, that there is a life in nature in us that has holy, heavenly, new desires.
But you know, it's one thing to have desires for a certain thing, and perhaps we're plagued with.
What we might call procrastination.
We have desires in certain directions. We know we ought to please the Lord, but it doesn't seem that we ever arrive. We're always floundering around, and never really.
Find out what it is to please the Lord, what he really wants, or whenever it rests in our own minds, and have peace about it, that we're really doing what the Lord wants us to do.
But it says here that will I seek after it was not only that the Psalmist had certain good desires for those who determination with him to seek that he might.
Fulfill those desires.
And what was his desire? What was it he was seeking after?
That he might dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of his life, well, that would speak to us of dwelling in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be in the sanctuary.
Now I suppose we could divide this into two parts.
That is, there's an individual aspect of it, and there's a collective aspect. The Lord Jesus has said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. And so we are actually in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ all the time, because he's always with us. But the sad thing is, we're not always conscious of it, and sometimes we're in such a state of soul that we don't appreciate the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ with us, and we're not conscious that He's with us.
But I believe that if we were conscious of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at all times.
Individually, our lives would be different.
Well, this is what the Psalmist was seeking for, to dwell in the Lord's presence.
And not only that, but to behold the beauty of the Lord.
If you get occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ and you begin to see beauties in him, I believe the word beauty means graciousness. If you have, just like Peter said, tasted that the Lord is gracious, you found out something about his graciousness.
You're drawn to him and you want to please him.
And as soon as you find out a little bit about the Lord and have a vision of what the Lord Jesus Christ is.
You lose this desire to look around to find something else to satisfy.
And it wasn't only that he wanted to behold the graciousness of the Lord, but he wanted to inquire of him in his temple.
Enquire of him. I suppose that would bring us bring before us a desire for growth, because it would result in growth inquiring of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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The more we learn of him.
The more we grow, and I believe this is what Peter brings before us in the end of one of his epistles, he says grow in grace.
And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grow in His graciousness, learning more about His grace, how gracious He is. You know, it's the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that melts our hearts. We find out, even though we've been terribly bad if we confess to him and own to him, that we're wretched things, that He forgives all, and we find Him just as precious and just as good as ever.
It's it's going on with those bad things that give us a bad conscience, and then we don't taste that the Lord is gracious.
But Peter is the one who speaks of tasting that the Lord is gracious, and he tasted it after he had failed and had been restored in his soul, and had acknowledged to the Lord his nothingness. Then he found that the Lord was taught him just like he ever was. He tasted that the Lord was gracious sometimes.
We we get away from the Lord, and I can speak from experience in this that if we do something that dishonors the Lord, we get away from him. You know, it's a little difficult to get back to him.
And perhaps we get a feeling, well, what's the use? We might as well go on the way we are, but it gets worse and worse.
All that we might remember that the Lord is gracious and that we can come to Him anytime and confess to him and get right with him, and we'll find that he's just as precious as he ever was.
Inquire of him. What are you learning about the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you inquiring of him?
We have a whole book about him. This Bible is a story concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. There is history in this book, but I would like to call it his story. The story about the Lord Jesus Christ from beginning to end. And wherever you open the book, you can learn of him. Are you opening the book to learn of him?
Don't forget the word and don't forget to be in his presence.
But I hadn't thought to say very much on this verse. I'd been thinking about Daniel.
Daniel has, perhaps.
What might we might say special meaning to me?
I was named Daniel.
And whenever I heard anything read from Daniel.
Or I read it myself.
There was something in it that spoke to my heart. Well, I'm sure that this part of the word of God is there for everyone, even though your name is not Daniel. Because we read that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable. And it's profitable for every one of us.
We might read the first chapter of Daniel.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, came Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand with part of the vessels of the House of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the House of his God. And he brought the vessels unto the treasure House of his God. And the king speak unto espionage, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel.
And of the King's seed, and of the Princess children, in whom was number, blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom and cunning, and knowledge, and understanding, science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the King's palace, And whom they might teach the learning and tongue of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed them a daily provision of the King's meat, and of the wine which he drank, so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king. Now among these were of the children of Judah. Daniel. Hananiah, Michelle.
And Azariah, unto whom the Prince of the eunuchs gave names. For he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar, and to Hannah and I of Shadrach, and to Michel of Meshach, and to Azariah of Abednego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the King's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the Prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the Prince of the eunuchs.
And the Prince of the eunuch said unto Daniel, I fear, my Lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink, For why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? Then shall you make me endanger my head to the king? Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the Prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah initial, and Azariah.
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Prove thy servants I beseech thee 10 days, and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the King's meat. And as thou seest deal with thy servants, so he consented to them in this matter, and prove them 10 days. And at the end of 10 days their countenances appeared fair and fatter, and flesh. Then all the children which did eat the portion of the King's meat. Thus Meltzer took away the portion of their meat and the wine that they should drink, and gave them pugs.
As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the Prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar, and the king communed with them, and among them all was none found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mitchell, and Azariah. Therefore stood they before the king, and in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them 10 times better.
Then all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm, and Daniel continued.
Even unto the first year of King Cyrus.
If we were to take this just simply as a story, isn't it a nice story? Isn't it a lovely story? But I'm sure that this is in the word of God.
For more than just the fact that it's a story, there's a purpose for this being here, because whatever things were written before time were written for our learning that we through.
Face comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Well, there's something here for us to lay hold of by faith, and there's something here to encourage us. And I know you dear young people need more confidence in the word of God. That is faith in the Word. And you need to be encouraged by the word of God because we're living in dangerous days, we're living in terrible days, and anyone that has any.
Touch with the outside world at all knows anything about what's going on. We'll realize that times really are getting worse and worse.
And it's getting to be like it was in the days of Noah, characterized by violence and corruption.
Violence and corruption, well, I believe the violence is connected with in subjection to authority. And I believe the corruption is connected with the moral decline in this world we find both in submission to authority and moral decline. And dear young people, let us guard ourselves that we don't get caught in these things.
In submission to authority, there is constituted authority in this world. God has put it here. It began in the days of Noah. When Noah came out of the ark, a new dispensation of time began, A dispensation, or period of time of human government, and it was instituted by God. And God put the sword into Noah's hand, that he might bring into submission all the people that were under his hand, and if anyone murdered.
Anyone he was to be killed, nor was authorized to use his sword. And you know what's going on today in the world? They're trying to abrogate the law of capital punishment.
This is their indirect violation of the truth and principle of God.
God has put authority in this world, and he has put authority into the hands of men to rule, and he has put authority in the home, too. The parents have authority from God. There's authority in the assembly as well. And may we watch that. We submit to the powers that be, for the powers that be are ordained of God. Do you submit to your parents?
Or you say I'm waiting until I'm 18, until I'm 20, when I can get out from under the influence the the rule of my home. I think that's sad, if you have any thought like that, because there should be respect for parents even until.
You're older, even as long as the parents may live. I believe that the word of God brings this before us, that we're to honor our parents.
And that doesn't mean just when we're children or young people. I believe it means as long as they're living, we should honor them. And even after they're gone, honor the memory of them.
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And then what about the assembly? Oh, there's constituted authority in the assembly. The Lord Jesus Christ has vested authority in in the midst of the two or three or more gathered in his precious name, because his name is what stands for that authority. And in the assembly, surely we ought to bow to the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ that's there if we want to go on happily. Well, I believe if individually were subject to the Lord Jesus Christ and subject to his word, will find no difficulty with being subject to the authority.
That God has placed in the assembly, and we won't find any difficulty in being subject to the powers that be.
And sometimes we may grumble and complain about the laws that have been made, but let's see grace from the Lord to be obedient. We know how we fail in these things. And when it comes to the speed limit, you know, we think we can we can exceed the speed limit. But we need grace from the Lord in these matters. And I don't suppose that we can point our fingers at one another. And it's not a good thing to do to start pointing fingers at one another, because, you know, as soon as you start pointing at somebody else, there's a finger pointing back at yourself.
So we need to watch that we judge ourselves before the Lord and not be looking at others.
In this first chapter of Daniel, we find what we might call the world set up.
We find here certain things that answer to what we find in the world around us. The children of Israel had failed. The 10 tribes had been taken captive long ago to Assyria, and now the two tribes, Judah and Benjamin, had been taken captive to Babylon.
And God doesn't reckon history according to the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah anymore when we come to the Book of Daniel. But this is where you begin. Gentile history. This begins the times of the Gentiles.
God had committed the government, as it were, of the world, to Israel, but they failed. Why?
Why did he take the government away from them? Because.
They failed, Jeremiah says. My people have committed 2 evils. They have forsaken me, the Fountain of Living Waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Two things for shook the Lord and shot something else.
You know, the first step in getting away in our spiritual lives, in decline, is getting away from the law, forgetting the law, forsaking the Lord.
Perhaps we wonder why.
We're seeking after the things of the world. We look for this and we look for that. We want to. We're trying to find something that will satisfy our hearts in this world. Why is it because we've forgotten the Lord. We've left the Lord. We've forsaken the Lord. The moment you're seeking for something in this world to satisfy you, that's a sign that you've gotten away from the Lord. It's a solemn thing. And you know, dear young people.
We tell on ourselves all we're telling on ourselves all the time.
We're telling out what state of soul we're in.
And if you are seeking the satisfaction.
From things in the world. It's just a sign You've gotten away from the Lord. Because if you're walking with the Lord, you're in His presence. The Lord is filling your heart. There won't be any desire for these things of the world. You won't try to find satisfaction anywhere else.
We see young people all around us as we perhaps are out on the street. We see them going down the street and we know they're not happy, they're dissatisfied, and we see things characterizing them in their drafts and in their ways and all, and you can just see that they're not happy.
They're bored. This seems to be a general condition of things. All over the world. People are bored, bored with life, trying to find something new to satisfy them. Some new thrill, some new adventure.
And all dear young people, people are trying all kinds of things today, and that's why this world is becoming like a Sodom and Gomorrah.
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But let's stay close to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's not drift away from him, cleave to him with purpose of heart. We read here in this portion of Scripture, verse 8. The Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with a portion of the King's meat, nor with the wine which he drank. Therefore he requested of the Prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. Daniel had a purpose, he purpose to be true to the Lord.
Like another one said to some disciples, new converts, he said, cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart. Daniel purposed to cleave to the Lord. He purposed to be true to the Lord. He wouldn't go contrary to the principles and truth that he had learned from the scriptures. He wanted to be true to God and to his Word, and he would not defile himself. He wanted to be separated, separated to God.
And being separated to God meant he was separated from these things that would defile him. If we're only thinking about the negative side of separation, and I'm afraid.
That we're going to get into difficulty. We're going to get ourselves under a sort of a legal system.
Separation does not only have its negative side, it has its positive side. And I believe if we're separated, holy in heart, unto the Lord Jesus Christ, we will not have to worry about setting up for ourselves a set of rules and regulations to keep us. We may have to, in a certain sense, determine that we want to be true to the Lord, But I believe if we are like the Psalmist, as he said in that verse, we just had before us.
If we, like him, have a desire to please the Lord and we're seeking after, the Lord will honor it, the Lord will honor it.
We need to have an object before our hearts and when our hearts are filled with Christ.
There won't be any room for anything else. It's just that simple. The heart filled with Christ.
But as I said, we're in an enemy's land, we're in this world, and there's much that preys upon our time.
And sometimes we think we're busy. And we aren't busy. We waste a lot of time.
You know, dear young people, and this applies to everyone of us, older ones too.
If we spent.
Our wasted time in reading the scriptures, in meditation, quietness before the Lord, reading some good ministry.
I'm sure that it would show in our lives wasted time, oh how much time we waste if we have a real desire to go on with the Lord. I believe one element of seeking after it would be to budget our time to have some kind of an arrangement, some schedule to form.
To follow.
We need to do that sometimes in purposing to go on with the Lord. In purposing to cleave to the Lord and be true to Him, we have to be diligent and budget our time and arrange our time so that we have time to pray, time to read the word. I know of some young brothers that get up early in the morning.
They spend time reading the word. They spend time in meditation.
I spend time in prayer.
And I can tell it in the reading meetings too. Yes, it shows up after a while.
We're sometimes famished and hungry in spiritual things. And why? Well, it's because we're not diligent in Proverbs. It says the diligent soul shall be made fat.
Fat in the things of the Lord.
And sometimes we take something in hunting some spiritual truth.
Some spiritual nugget and.
We don't roast what we take in the hunting. The hunter is supposed to roast what he takes in the hunting. He's supposed to make use of it. And we need to need to ask the Lord for help that we might be able to make use of what we're taking in in these conference meetings.
Daniel was a man of purpose. Do you have a purpose or you just wandering about aimlessly through this life? Oh, I trust that we don't do that. Go on aimlessly through life, and then finally come to the end of our life and have to bewail the fact. Well, I wasted a lot of time that could have been used for the Lord.
00:30:25
The king was the one.
Who had appointed their meat and drink? The king here no doubt represents Satan, who's the Prince of this world, because Satan is the Prince of this world is behind all the scenes.
And the Lord speaks about the whole world lying in the wicked one. And he also speaks of Satan as the God of this world. He's the God of this world religiously.
He's the Prince of this world politically, and let's not forget.
That he's a great power in this scene today and he is doing a lot of things and he's moving human beings.
But I'm so thankful that God is over all, and he's the one that's behind the scenes, and he has all things in control, and he'll not allow Satan to do anything that he shouldn't, that he doesn't want him to do. Oh, how wonderful it is to be in God's hands and to know that he has all things in control. And this is what Daniel knew. He knew that God had all things in control even though they had been taken captive and they were over in Babylon.
He still had confidence in the Lord.
Well, in a way, the church has been taken captive to Babylon 2. The church, all of Christendom has been taken captive into the world. And it's sad sometimes. You can hardly tell what is the world and what is the church. The borderline is so dim you can't see it.
The world has come into the church and the church has gone into the world. And they're walking in a way, we might say, hand in hand. Oh, how sad it is.
But Daniel knew to whom he belonged, and he wasn't going to give in to this ruler.
He dared to take a stand. Do we dare to take a stand? He says prove thy servants. Why did he say that? Was he boasting when he said this? No, I believe what he really meant. Prove the Lord. Prove God.
But of course, it was Daniel and his three companions that were proving God.
But Daniel and his companions were being proved by those people.
10 days speaks of testing, the number of testing our responsibility and they were just turning over the responsibility of all of this to God. Yes, we have great responsibilities dear young people.
But let's take our responsibilities to God and trust him to enable us, because without the Lord we can do nothing.
So he says let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink. Very simple fare. I believe pulse was made from lentils and on one occasion there was one in Israel that defended a field of lentils, Sham I believe it was. He wouldn't let the enemy take that field. Well, it was food for the people of Israel. It was Canaan's food reminding us of heavenly food.
And surely that's what it must remind us of. Here. Let them give us pulse to eat and water to drink heavenly food. Water, the word of God.
Do you dare?
To feed on the heavenly food, the Lord Jesus Christ food for the soul, the bread from heaven. Do you dare to feed upon the word of God and believe that you're going to benefit from it, rather than feeding upon the things of the world, the wine and the meat that this world wants to provide? The wine speaks of earthly joy, and the meat speaks of that which would appeal to the flesh, the lust of the flesh.
Do you believe that you would become fair, fair and fatter in flesh? That is, that you would really grow in your soul, become strong in the Lord if you just fed on heavenly food, the Lord Jesus Christ and read His Word, meditated upon it?
This is something to cover, you know.
00:35:01
To become strong in the Lord. Paul told Timothy. To be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. God wants us to be strong, not weak. Christian strong.
For laughter they had been tested out, and they had eaten this simple fare. They were brought in before the king, and it says in verse 20, in all matters of wisdom and understanding that the king inquired of them, he found them 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all Israel.
Well, there's something else.
That I'd like to call attention to in connection with Daniel. That's his prayer life.
Daniel had private prayer.
And he was also part of collective A collective prayer meeting.
And over in the second chapter of Daniel, we have this collective prayer meeting.
The king had dreamed a dream and he had forgotten the dream, and he wanted the magicians to tell him what the dream was, and they couldn't.
And of course they said, why nobody ever asked us to do anything like this before. And he was about to kill all all these magicians and wise men. And of course that meant Daniel and his companions were slated to be slain too.
Daniel then asked for opportunity to.
To think about it, to go before the Lord, he asked for time, verse 16. Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time and that he would show the king the interpretation. He seemed to be so confident that God would show him the dream and the interpretation that he could say it even before he went to prayer. Then it says Dan. Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mitchell and Azariah, his companions, that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning the secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men.
Babylon. Well, I had a prayer meeting. I believe the first record we have of a collective prayer meeting.
I believe up until this point all the prayers are individual.
You know the collective prayer meeting is very important. Private prayer is important.
But the assembly prayer meeting is very important too, and I like to see young people at the prayer meeting. I've been in some prayer meetings where I see quite a number of young people and it encourages my heart. Perhaps you think that the older folks.
Are sufficient in themselves. Well, I don't feel that way when I see young people going on for the Lord. Oh, what an encouragement it is to me. It rejoices my heart.
And we like to see our dear young people going on with the Lord. And for the Lord we like to see them in the prayer meeting. You add something to the prayer meeting. You add what we might say, a freshness to the prayer meeting by your presence there.
But what about private prayer? Do you have a time when you?
Are alone with the Lord sometime during the day. If you go over to the 6th chapter of Daniel, you'll find that Daniel had the habit of being on his knees three times a day.
I believe Daniel is a good example for us.
I believe there would be a real difference in our lives if we followed Daniels example, and I believe we would be able to stand against the world and the and against Satan and his Wiles if we followed his example.
Just like Daniel was able to stand, all Daniel was in a difficult spot. Oh, he was just a young man too.
Along with his three companions and look at the three companions.
They took a stand, and they were cast into the fiery furnace.
But the fire didn't touch them. God delivered them.
They were trusting God and I believe if we had asked them, well, do you have great faith, Daniel? Do you have great faith?
Addressing the three companions Oh no, we don't have great faith, but we have a great God. That's what faith is. It lays hold upon God. It trusts him.
Oh, let's not talk about our great faith, but let us talk about a great God, one who is our Father, that we've come to know through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ here in the 6th chapter.
00:40:09
Verse 10 Daniel is on the spot. A decree has been signed that no one should pray to anyone but the king, and if they do pray to anyone else, they must be thrown into the den of lions.
But it says when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being opened in his chamber toward Jerusalem. He kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did it four times. He didn't alter the course of his life. He didn't say, well, I'll just pray twice a day now, or I'll just pray once a day. No, he continued on the same way. He was not moved because his confidence was in God, the one to whom he was praying.
And notice.
It says he opened his chamber toward Jerusalem. That meant he recognized Jerusalem still as the center of God's earthly people.
He still recognized the foundation. All things were in ruin.
God's people had been carried away into the world, to Assyria and to Babylon, but he still believed in the center. He still believed that there was a center, a center of gathering. And according to the prayer that Solomon uttered in in First Kings Chapter 8, and I believe Dino was acquainted with it, he believed that the Lord was still there.
And that if he would pray toward that place, the Lord would hear him.
His prayer was directed toward the center. You know, that's what happens when you come to the prayer meeting. The Lord Jesus Christ is in the midst in the prayer meeting, and we're directing our prayer toward him toward the center.
And you're going to miss something. If you don't come to the prayer meeting, you certainly will. You'll miss being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know, we're talking about being in the presence of the Lord Jesus for all eternity. We're looking forward to it. I hope we are.
You know how we get used to being in the Lord's presence? By being in His presence, in the prayer meeting, in the Reading meeting, in the large day morning meeting, as we were this morning. We get used to being in His presence. We get better acquainted with him that way.
And shouldn't we want to be in the Lord's presence as much as we can?
And when you miss any meeting where the Saints of God are assembled together around the Lord Jesus Christ, you've missed something. You have missed something for all eternity, and you'll never find it again. You'll never make it up. It's gone forever.
You know you when you get to glory, you won't learn.
By experience, as you do down here. This is training time for raining time. This is where we're learning lessons. And you learn lessons by being in the presence of the Lord, not only individually, but collectively too. And if you don't get into the presence of the Lord, look what you're going to miss.
And maybe you'll enter into glory with just a little tiny capacity to enjoy the law. This is the place to develop your capacity for the enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you develop your capacity here by being in His presence, reading His Word, being in His presence in the Assembly. You get better acquainted with Him. You enjoy Him more.
Paul spoke of having our hearts enlarged. And certainly we need our hearts enlarged in these days, that we might enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ in a fuller measure. And the more we enjoy the Lord Jesus Christ, the less use we'll have for the world and the things of the world. Oh, they'll become distasteful. Sometimes you hear a Christian that's going on with the Lord and deploring the fact that somebody wants this and somebody wants that, and perhaps you say, oh, he's just legal.
Why we hear those expressions sometimes?
Dear Godly Saints of God charged with being legal.
But I'm sure the reason they don't want the things of the world is because they are satisfied with Christ. They don't need it.
No, we don't give up these things of the world because somebody laid down a law for us. If that's the only reason we give it up, we'll soon be going back to it, yes. But if we give up the world because Christ is filling our hearts and we continue to go on with Him and He continues to fill our hearts, we won't have any desire to go back to the weak and beggarly elements of this world. Oh, may the Lord keep us going on with himself until He comes to take us home.
When we'll be in His very presence for all eternity shall we bow in prayer.