Address—R. Klassen
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Let's sing together a part of 337.
The God who dwells above we call our Father.
And our friends and blessed thought, his children all shall see him in the end.
Like to sing the 1St 3 verses only of 337?
And we ask God's blessing.
Our God and our Father.
Even the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ we address in this hour.
We thank thee for revealing thyself to us.
As our creator God.
But also to know thee as our Father.
That draws the affections of our hearts to Thee.
And we thank thee that thou hast cared for us as sons and daughters.
Along the pathway, we thank Thee for that divine Ultimate to have us in Thy house very shortly.
And we do ask our Father that in the reading of Thy word, that a few more impressions might be made of Thy heart upon our hearts, and that when that moment arrives, that we would enter there in full and happy communion to be at home and at rest. And so he thanked thee for this very precious privilege of being gathered together.
And to have the liberty of thy spirit to.
Direct and to meet the secret needs of our hearts.
And so we wait before the in expectation.
Of a blessing in the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Let U.S. Open this very precious book 1St to 2nd Corinthians chapter 6.
Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 17.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord.
And touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.
And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Everyone in this room that has been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ.
Are expecting to shortly arrive in the father's house.
Where love there is without any alloy, the hymn writer could say.
And so as we anticipate this glorious moment.
Just to spend a few moments to get a little more acquainted.
With our Father.
And the setting of these verses.
Are verses of exercise.
To come out to be separated from this world and touch not the unclean thing.
Well, we're in a world of much defilement. Easy to be defiled.
When we go to the grocery store or driving down the highway seeing billboards.
Going to school on the job.
But when he says here touch not the unclean thing, there's just been a list that has been given in connection with being unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
What a defilement that is.
Then there's the thought of unrighteousness that's always defiling.
What communion hath light with darkness, darkness, darkness, spiritual darkness?
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There's Belial, yes, the God of this world that has one thing in mind, and that's to corrupt its inhabitants.
There's the infidel that says there's no God.
Don't touch it. To touch something is to have the least amount of contact, but we're called not even to touch it.
Oh, why? Well, because we have a Father that is holy and he's righteous. He's a God of love and of mercy and kindness and were his children.
And their fathers here this afternoon. And mothers, you know how you look at your children. You know how you desire that they would be preserved in purity and with a tender conscience. How much more our Father.
And then he goes on to say, saith the Lord Almighty.
First time we get that word Almighty is in respect to God speaking to Abraham.
As to having children, And in that word Almighty lays a promise.
That regardless of when we live in this world and when we're blessed with a family.
He's there, Almighty, to save, to bless, to preserve, and to keep for his own pleasure.
I'd like to say as a failing father to fathers here in this room.
You have the privilege of giving impressions to your children.
As to the father that you have and if we give right and proper impressions of our Father.
Our children will love us for it.
Some of us have had a heritage where our fathers.
Walked in the fear of God and we valued those impressions that they gave to us.
Of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There might be some here in this room that haven't had that privilege.
Maybe were raised by an ungodly father. Let me say this, you've been brought into a sphere.
Where all this can be made-up to you in the Father that we're going to meditate upon a little.
This father will never fail. And with that, you'll find fathers in the assembly that are going to do your heart good as you commune with them and seek counsel from them.
Let's turn now to First John Chapter 2.
One John chapter 2 and verse 12.
Are right unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake.
All right unto you Father's, because ye have known him, that is from the beginning.
Are right unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because you have known him. That is from the beginning.
I write unto you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
I want to draw on the expression.
That I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him who is from the beginning.
We wouldn't have been surprised if it had said, I write unto you, fathers, because you have had a lot of experience and you can be a help to others.
But it doesn't say that I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him.
Who was from the beginning experiences. All right, but there's something that's more valuable than that, and that's to know God as our Father. And so is the apostle John lengths these three companies together, the fathers, the young men and the children. We find them united, do we not, in having their hearts directed to the Father.
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And when our hearts are directed that way.
Then we're able to carry out what's written of us, and I think of the young men here today.
Just to think of the thrill of hearing it said because you are strong.
And the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
Well, we lift up this standard, should we say, and back away from it and say, well, we haven't hardly answered to that, but that's our Father's desire and he has given us, should I say, the ability to be able to answer to this through his love and through his guidance and through his discipline in our lives.
Now if we'll turn to John, chapter 17.
John 17.
Just a few days prior to this chapter.
The Lord Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration.
And he was there praying and as he prayed.
His face shone as the sun.
What was it that made his face to shine as the sun?
Oh, that's the face of radiant joy.
He had tread the weary paths of life. He was the man of sorrows and the grief acquainted 1.
What happened there in that holy mount?
All there was that communion with the father.
And perhaps at that time there was that committing into the hands of the Lord Jesus as man all things.
As we have pictured in Abraham and Isaac, that that day came when Abraham gave all into the hand of the Son.
And to think of what that meant, oh, I can't tell you the dimensions of what it was that day.
But in the dimensions, dear ones, we were there in his thoughts.
We have been committed into his hands and now he's coming.
Just a few moments away from the cross, and here comes this chapter of mighty intercession.
Oh, what intercession? Even as we read it, we say.
I enter into it so feebly.
But in this chapter we have the Father mentioned six times.
The first two times that the Father is mentioned, it's in connection with the Lord Himself.
And I don't have that before me at this time because I want to go on to the other four.
Times in this chapter that he said, father.
I don't know where this was delivered. It could have been in the temple just prior to the Lord's going out to be taken by the hands of men.
But to think of his heart as he anticipated leaving his disciples.
Anticipate leaving those that were in Bethany and in other places whose hearts affection had been attached to him and he had experienced they had experienced his wonderful grace to them in manifesting the heart of God to guilty and.
And so the first one we'll notice now is in verse 11.
And now I am no more in the world. But these are in the world.
And I come to thee, Holy Father, keep through thine own name those.
Whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.
He addresses the Father as Holy Father.
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Well, we can confidently say, well, I'm sure that the father heard this petition.
But I would like to notice what the Father did about this petition. Let us turn to James Chapter one to see.
James chapter one and verse 16.
Do not air, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Oh just look at those 3 words. The father of lights.
Lights, Here we are, down in this World of Darkness.
And if we read this chapter carefully, we find that there are temptations.
There are evil men, there are seducers, but here's the Father of lights to give light to our pathway that we might be able to discern and see things for what they are.
Oh, what an answer to that petition that we might be one with him.
One this world talks about equal rights.
But you know what would happen to our marriage is if we embrace the thought of equal rights.
Why? It would destroy our happy oneness together, would it not?
A man and a wife, they're one.
And so.
The Lord's desire that we would be one with Him, not equal rights.
Not insubordinate, none of that, but to be one.
And so to think of our Father becoming the Father of lights to us here in this Dark World.
That we might have safe passport through it, that we might have light in our dwellings, that there might be lights in the assembly, all what rich provision he has provided for us. And we're here this afternoon as a testimony that he is light.
Let us turn back to the second one there in the 17th of John.
Verse 21.
That they all may be one as thou Father art in May, and I in thee, That they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Oh, what a petition this is.
That the world.
May have a testimony before their very eyes.
Of the father as seen in the characteristics of his people.
The like to find how the Father responded to this in Two Corinthians chapter one.
Two Corinthians, chapter one and verse 3.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
All here's the answer. He's become the father of mercies.
Why has he become the father of mercies, that you and I might not faint in the way because of trial?
Every one of us in this room, no trial.
We've known what it is to shed tears and felt like we could never dry our face.
As the pressures came in and we were disappointed in one thing and another.
And there was the father of mercies to support us.
You know there has never come a trial in any of our lives.
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That we can't. That we had to say He tempered it all with his mercy.
And if he hadn't have done it, we couldn't have borne it.
Yes, not a trial.
We've experienced his mercies and you know the world is looking on.
And they say we don't understand. How can they take this?
Why aren't they crushed under it? Why are they glorifying God?
In the trial.
Because our Father has come to us as a father of mercies.
It's been mentioned in the prayer meeting connection that.
Family in Florida.
The Father of Mercies is there.
And if we were to draw an air, I'm sure we would receive a blessing, though it seems so hopeless and it's such an extremity.
The father of mercies.
Let us turn back to John 17 for the third one.
Verse 24.
Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.
That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.
For thou lovest me before the foundation.
Of the world.
How is the father going to respond to this petition?
Let us turn to Ephesians chapter one.
Ephesians chapter one and verse 17.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Father of glory may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
The Father of glory.
Has been revealed to our hearts.
What does the Father of Glory mean to you this afternoon? What does it mean to me?
The Father of glory is to take our hearts, our thoughts out of this world.
Into the glory that we're going to shortly arrive at. Don't we need a glimpse of the Father this way?
As we live in a world where the glory of man prevails.
And is exhibited in all its varied forms to distract our attention.
And prospects, perhaps, of making a good living if we strive just right and.
Play the game just right. Here comes the Father of Glory to distract all this.
And to say, what does it really mean down here? Why are we here?
Are we here to make money and to get rich?
The words of dear old brother Harry hail come before me.
He said God has a tuition for everyone of his children.
A divine tuition so that we're just passing through this world.
In view of being trained for that day of glory.
Oh, what an answer. I think of the Lord Jesus as He knew that His Father would respond in these petitions, would strengthen His heart to be able as a man to go forward and onward to the cross, to bear our sins in His own body on the tree.
That He might have us there in glory with him, but O to have an earnest.
Of it should I say in our, in our passing through this world.
The Father of glory.
Oh, let us go back to the 4th one there in John 17.
Verse 25.
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O righteous Father.
The world hath not known thee.
But I have known they and these have known.
That thou hast sent me.
O here.
He says righteous Father.
All this petition.
Is a searching petition. How would the father?
Respond to this one.
You know, when the thought of righteousness comes up, it might frighten us a little bit.
It might make us realize that we're not just Wanderers here, below and.
Walking after the council of our own will, Righteous Father suggests that now He must come in in righteousness in order that we might be preserved.
Before we go into this one, I'd like to think of the disciples for a moment there in the upper room.
As they heard the last words of the blessed Lord.
And among those last words he could say as the father.
Hath loved me, so have I loved you.
Continue ye in my love.
Toward one another, I believe is the thought.
We see that exemplified beautifully in the life of Jacob and Joseph.
Jacob loved Joseph.
And as we read the chapter, we might think that Jacob was showing favoritism and causing difficulty in his family. We know that his fathers, if we do that in our families, that we're going to bring difficulty.
No, we love our children equally. Each one of them have something to contribute to our hearts, to our homes.
And so Joseph had proved himself, and on him was put the coat of many colors, because he had proved himself.
And the day came when Jacob sent Joseph out to seek the welfare of his brethren.
And we remember how he went to Shechem.
Because that's where he expected to find them. And he was wandering in a field and a man.
Met him there and he inquired if he knew where they were and he said yes, they've gone to Dothan.
You know, Joseph could have just said to that man. Well, how did they seem to you?
And he could have said, well, you know, everything looked OK to me.
They seemed healthy, they seemed happy to go on to the next pasture ground with their flocks and and Joseph could have turned back and gone back to his father.
And brought the report that everything was all right, but he wouldn't do it. Why?
As a father hath loved me, so have I loved you.
And so Joseph goes down to Dothan.
And they see him coming. Why didn't Joseph just survey things from a distance and kind of justice draw a conclusion that everything was all right rather than to go well, knowing what was going to happen?
It was love.
Love that took him right up in the midst of his brethren.
Continue, ye, in my love toward one another. Joseph certainly exhibited that.
We know the rest of the story.
And the end of the story is.
That love won the day. Love had its way. It overcame all.
The obstacle and they're restored to him.
Oh, this is wonderful. Then the Lord Jesus could go on in the upper room to such a wonderful climax when he said.
The Father himself loveth you because.
Ye love me.
That's oneness, isn't it? Yes, this is the love that is to be exhibited.
In this world, in the assembly toward one another and beloved brethren.
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Love is going to win the day. It doesn't look like it sometimes, but it will have the last word. And it's good if it has the last word with us today in our lives in a practical way.
But now the answer to this will turn to Hebrews chapter 12.
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 9.
Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us.
And we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection?
Unto the Father of spirits, and live, for they verily for a few days chastened us after their own.
Pleasure or wisdom, but he for our prophet.
That we might be partakers of His Holiness now, No chastening, for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
Unto them which are exercised thereby.
Oh, to that petition of righteous Father.
He.
Is the father of spirits.
He became the father of spirits because of the many roots of pride.
Within our hearts.
Those secret roots of pride that we did not even realize were there. But.
They have been exposed 1 by 1.
Terribly painful.
Those of us that have been blessed with children.
We know that.
There is native discipline in the home.
And the spirit of a child tells the story. If the spirit is not right, nothing else is either.
We often don't know what's the matter.
As fathers and mothers, we seek it out.
We try to find what it is.
How important that verse is in one John chapter, one that says.
If we confess our sin.
I know when we became parents that.
We certainly didn't know that role at all because we had never been in it.
But we weren't in that role too long when we learned the wisdom of God if we confess our sins.
We felt it was very important that they say they were sorry and that is important.
But to name what brought about the chastening is very, very difficult. But we might say that the pride of the will must be cut off, and so by confessing it, we cut it off. And so if we just go halfway with our children.
We may search a little deeper and find out that the trouble lies here and how many times in our lives the children were marrying something. I couldn't understand what they were seeing that they were marrying, but they were marrying their father. And so when discipline was taken up, it was one for them and two for their father.
The father of spirits.
And you know, when we're, we've all experienced it, we've seen it that when a child is disciplined properly, that the result is that the soul is tempered and the spirit is sweetened.
And that's the way our Father deals with us. What a faithful father we have.
And as he exposes these roots in our of pride in our heart.
We recoil at it, we don't want it, we want to protect it, but it has to go if we're going to enjoy the fullness of what the Father has for us.
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And so.
The word is the Father of spirits and live.
You know if we've got a bad conscience about violating the word of God.
Violating our father's will, we may try to look happy and.
And rise above it all and so on. But down underneath there is such heaviness.
Our feet just drag because we're not in communion.
With our Father, and so our Father.
He doesn't come short like I did as an earthly father.
But will bring us to that point where we confess our sin.
We don't have to ask for forgiveness. No, there's no need for that.
Forgiveness is with the Father immediately.
But he must deal with the pride of our hearts. Why?
That we might be partakers of His Holiness.
Roland Dean heard him make this lovely statement that.
Happiness always follows holiness.
Be holy, for I am holy.
And I feel that as we near that glorious moment.
Of being called into the Father's house, that this mounts up in of great importance.
That it seems just as though we would be willing to.
Fall into the arms of our Father and to rest there.
Oh, to know him, to know his love.
You get a hint of it, do you not? In the Song of Solomon, when the writer says, who is this coming up out of the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?
I believe that's the whole point of why we're here in this wilderness, is to learn to lean.
Upon our Father, upon our beloved and.
Being born with independent natures, this is not an overnight work.
No, it's a slow work.
But would to God, as we're come together for these special meetings, I believe we have been through enough to know that this is a very precious privilege that perhaps a few years ago we took for granted and thought would always be.
But our Father has taught us in his faithfulness.
That we don't take anything for granted, and above all, we don't leave pride unjudged collectively in the assembly wherever He must meet these things, that He might be the father of spirits to us. And to think of the Father's desire to have every one of us enter his house with exceeding joy.
Yes, we'll enter there in that character, if we have responded to His discipline. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
All the Father.
Someone has said, are we going to see the father?
In the Father's house.
I enjoy this answer.
Will ever and forever enjoy the presence of the Father.
And will see the Father in the Son all what nearness.
What intimacy? And as we feebly enter into this, does it not just give us a longing to be there?
To be ushered into the Father's house with dignity.
The Lord Jesus bringing us in.
To that inner circle.
To enjoy communion forever.
I long to be there, and I believe we all feel we shortly shall be there. So may our hearts respond then.
To the father of lights.
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To the Father of mercies.
To the Father of glory, and here to the Father of spirits.
And as we anticipate going on in these meetings.
To realize that our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
And with one another shall we close by saying the last two stanzas?
Of 337.
We feel lost for words as we speak.
To thee, but as we speak to thee, we can say that we are a company that are loved.
Of the Father, and we are here in that confidence.
And we think of the day of our salvation.
When we put our faith and trust in our precious Savior.
But to realize later that we had to do with thee first.
For we read that no man cometh unto the sun, except the Father draw him.
We thank Thee for that drawing power that has drawn us into this circle of blessing.
That cannot be measured. We thank Thee to our Father for Thy faithfulness to us as Thy children.
As thou art bringing us along the pathway, we confess that we have been naughty.
And thou hast had to deal with our spirits, for they were wrong.
But all, we thank thee for that restoration.
When we have confessed our sin, thou hast been faithful and justice to forgive us our sin unto.
Cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Our Father.
We thank thee for thy family. We thank thee for every member in it.
Thank thee that thou hast brought us into that family.
And thou and thy grace has chosen our friends for us, and it has dawned upon us what friends thou hast chosen.
To help us in the hard place, to be there when we would faint.
To represent thee as the Father of mercies. To give those words in season to comfort our hearts.
All to think of the day of manifestation when all this will be reviewed.
And all praise will be thine. Our God and Father, we thank Thee for the Lord Jesus who has manifested Thy great heart of love that has cast out all doubt and fear from our hearts.
And when it lurks in the pathway to have it removed yet again.
We thank Thee for divine love, and so we count now upon Thy blessing and the reading of Thy word.
To direct us to that portion that will lift us up.
Give us to see more, our heavenly portion. We thanked thee for this privilege together in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.