Vestal Conference: 1998
Table of Contents
Ruth 1
Reading
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Consider.
Meaning with roots and the fields of God as much present, they need instruction in the local.
Ruth, Chapter One.
Now came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land.
In a certain manner, Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
And the name of the man was the Limelack, the name of his wife Naomi.
The name of his and two sons, Marilyn and Jillian aphrophytes. With Bethel and Judah, they came into the country of Moab and continued there.
In the limelight, Naomi's husband died and she was left and her two sons and they took them wives of the women of Moab, the name of the one Miss Porfa in the name of the other group, and they dwelled there about 10 years.
Melon and Zillion died also, both of them and the woman who was left of her two sons and her husband.
Then she rose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab, and that the Lord had visited his people and giving them bread.
Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her, and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
And Naomi said unto her, two daughters in law, Go return each to her mother's house. Lord, deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead, and with me, Lord grant you, that you may find rest, each of you in the House of her husband.
Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voice and wept.
And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.
And Naomi said, Turn again my daughters, why will you go with me? Are there yet any more Suns in my womb that they may be your husband's? Turn again, my daughters, Go your way. I am too old to have a husband.
If I should say I have hope, if I should have an husband also tonight, and should also bear sons with G Terry for them until they were grown, would you stay for them from having husbands? Nay, my daughters for agree with me much for your sakes, that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.
And they lifted up their voice and wept again, and Orpha and kissed her mother-in-law. But Ruth clave unto her.
And she said, Behold, my sister-in-law has gone back unto her people, and unto her gods. You turn thou after thy sister-in-law.
And Ruth said, And treat me not to leave thee, or to return from falling after they to whither thou goest I will go. Where thou lodges I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou die will I die.
And there will I be buried, and Lord do so to me, and more also if fought for death part they and me.
When she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. So they too went, until they came to Bethlehem.
They came to pass when they were come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them and they said, is this Naomi?
And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara. So the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again, emptying. Why then call you me, Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Mobitus, the daughter-in-law with her, which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
00:05:21
It's uh, time setting is important to learn. It's in the middle of the time of the judges.
God had raised up men and they have failed or any stuff.
Kings, and they had failed.
And now there are judges and they are failing. So it's a day of darkness as we are living.
And yes, the thread that runs right through this is the thread that leads right up to Christ.
And we realize that we are the dear young people here who are living in days that we, we, I've never seen before. And they're getting darker and quicker and darker. And we need to clean as Ruth did. So that's what she has determined to see.
Was God's hand, and may the Lord help us to see this, that no matter how dark the day is, if there's purpose or heart, as there was in Ruth, the Lord has a purpose in your life and mine. And here Ruth, as we know, became the ancestor, ancestors of none other but the Lord Jesus Christ himself. So he had a purpose in this story.
The Old Testament is God's picture book, isn't it?
And if we read it, we find that there are many lessons for us to learn and it does bring us to the very present day. Because the Word of God is an ever present truth, isn't it it?
Not have passed anything. It's not something that's anti antiquated. It's ever present for us. So I think it's very beautiful to see these pictures that God has for us in the Old Testament.
Last verse of the chapter before. It gives us a pathetic, doesn't it? The 25th verse of the last chapter before chapter before. In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
That's the kind of a day that we're living in today, a day of self will people just going as they wish. And it tends to have its effect upon us even as believers, uh, that instead of making the word of God our guide, we just do whatever we think is all right. But the word of God should always be our guide. But then in the midst of this situation, God picks out a family. And this is very interesting, uh, this family that went down discouraged by the condition among the people of God.
They went down to mall. The mall lights were descendants of Lot and we know how lot Lot left. Abraham thought the well watered plains and was a person who thought, uh, he would seek an easy path. Perhaps he would try and perform the world because he sat in the gate at the Sodom. But uh, his whole life was a lost life because a person can have a saved soul and a lost life. We're saved only through what the Lord Jesus has done through his glorious work upon the cross of Calvary.
But our lives, if we don't live them for him, can be lost. I say again, I lost life but a saved soul.
And so it's very interesting and there are other families here. And so we can apply this to ourselves when, uh, we're living in difficult days when everybody's doing what's right in their own eyes. Do we just follow the crowd or are we exercise what we see for, uh, elimolate? And the, the name of the Elimelech means that God is king. And he should have recognized this, that there was one that a sovereign, right?
Now there is one whom we ought to acknowledge as Lord in our lives where we got discouraged and he thought, oh, there's a family here. I'll just go down into the country of Mullah like Lot did. And, uh, I'll think, uh, a place for my family down there. What a lesson for us brethren. Well, may the Lord help us as we read these details to, uh, make his word our guide. So instead of just following the crowd or getting discouraged, we make this word our God as well we should do.
00:10:13
Very interesting. Uh, the the, the land of Israel.
Is very interesting and as you say.
Gordon.
Every detail has a point in it. Israel, the Dead Sea was 1200 feet below sea level and Jerusalem was, uh, not very high because above that. But there were no rivers in the land, uh, West of Jordan, no rivers at all. Jerusalem was the only capital in the world that has ever been without a river.
Always a river through all the great cities of the world.
What does that mean? Well, it just meant that it was so different that it was totally dependent on rain from heaven.
So is, uh, Egypt, on the other hand, they, they got their sustenance through the floods that came down every year, uh, from the Nile and watered all the land and fertilized it. But Israel was totally dependent on whether and so here.
Various opening of a fan. God had a purpose in this, not to discourage them. And when you and I faced circumstances, they might say, oh, why is the Lord allowing this in my life? Oh, just think of Ruth. Let's start. It was the Lord that he wanted to discourage them. No, he wanted to show them something infinitely better.
And so here in unbelief they go into the very place that they were told not to go to MOA. This man takes his wife and his two boys there, guides them, and they follow. But it was a path downward. But God had a purpose in it of a path upward.
A few years ago I was.
Ministry on this chapter in I believe it was Walla Walla at the conference.
And I mentioned that in the first verse it says when the judges ruled there was famine in the land.
And I made this statement which.
Brother afterwards challenged him.
That whenever judges rule, it causes bad, he says God for the judges there.
Brother did at the meeting and he's correct in that respect. God did raise up judges and uh, I noticed and looking into it a little more.
That it doesn't say so much when the judges rule is in the judges judge a judge. Let me just tell you this in a general way. We can be very good judges. We're we're very active. That being judges. Do we create food for the people of God in doing so? I don't believe so.
I believe that we create family.
And yes, the Lord test through firemen. I agree with that. I believe it. And uh, the famine comes about because of the general unfaithfulness of the people of God.
But the remedy isn't judging, is it?
That doesn't, that doesn't feed the people of God. So I've, uh, rather than leave off that thought, I think I've felt I've appreciated the brother challenging it.
But I still feel that it's umm.
Not what we look for as far as helping the people of God.
What we look for is shepherding them, isn't it? Could we look at it? That's why the Spirit of God will either occupy us with Christ or he'll occupy us with ourselves. And the only reason that he would occupy us with ourselves and our failures is so that we might judge our failure. And so I really believe that the prodigal son, when he went into the far country, he would have eaten the pig's food. And so God brought him to a famine, and the result of that was blessing in his life.
He would return and re arise and return to his father. I suppose the thought of sending food to the prodigal son in the far land, he would have accepted it and he would have appreciated it, but he never would have returned to the father. So I think we have a little bit of this is that God, the Spirit of God acts cause us to judge ourselves. And I believe that that's why a believer can be the happiest person on earth of the most miserable person on earth. Often, umm a believer even is very unhappy and he sees his others that go on in the world, the wicked, and they seem to be having a happy time and untroubled and so on.
00:15:32
And the believer just seems to be mired in unhappiness and it's really the Spirit of God would seek to exercise both the conduct because, umm, the man in the flesh would like to enjoy the things of God when he's going on in a bad pathway.
Interesting to see too the.
Starting off and Brother Gordon has mentioned, the name of the man is my God means my God is King. The name of the woman means my pleasantness.
Well, it's wonderful to realize that you and I have been brought into the family of God and its pleasantness, our excellence. There's nothing to compare with the joy in the Christian life.
So basically these were.
It was a wonderful foundation, but.
They didn't fall in the new. Dear young people, if you just learn these lessons from this book, you'll find pleasantness and you'll find that the Lord is indeed your King and you are. But it's a personal exercise. They were going to experience it and then we to make it very personal and realize that foundationally we are children of God, but God has put us down here.
And test us to see whether we're going to enjoy what we really are in crisis. I think the very place that they were located to and went out from this destructive.
It's Bethlehem, Judah, the House of bread and praise, and I believe that speaks of where we are as we're gathered together.
And what should be in a practical way, but it's the place that God has put established for our bread and for our praise to produce praise. But they went out from that place so well.
I think we've hinted at this the fine and tested.
And famine does come in, but is that any reason to go out from the place of bread and grape? A House of bread and bread stay there. Faith would stay there, wouldn't it?
And God will come in, in fact, not to anticipate if you go down to verse, uh, uh.
Six, the report reaches them that God did commit He had visited his people to give them bread.
See God's faithful, but he tests us with with famine sometimes. And I say to those who are parents, uh, maybe you feel that we're the Lord has gathered you is probably there's just nothing for my family. Don't step out of that path because that's the place where the Lord is going to visit and give prayer.
Just count on him and the exercise is why the founders allowed.
But you notice that when he went out, he did not go to live there permanently, he went there to sojourn.
So Jeremy is, is that a permanent dwelling? No, it's just, I think it comes from the root of the word is just for today, for that day.
Is that what it is, Neil? It comes from the connected with the French and Ajua. Yeah. Just for today, right. Day or two, just stay there. And, uh, often we do that because the enemy is clever with us. It gets us to, to, uh, think that we're going to. We're not taking a permanent deviation. This is just a little time for a couple of days, just until the kids get fed, you know, and what happens.
Well, if you see the immersed UH-2, the end of the verse, it says he continued there.
See, the enemy has gotten them out of the path and now he continues there and how long? It's a long drive, a long time and, uh.
00:20:11
You and I have a profession that the Lord is our King. If we step out of the path, we lose that perfection. Let me let it die. He died. And they only have to say bitterness, bitterness.
But stay where the Lord has the House of bread and praise.
Now, is that arrogant to say that? I hope not. Better. I hope it's faithfully set aside.
We're nothing. So I can look at the collective side of things. And Christianity is known not by what it looks for, but what it brings. And so if there was no bread there.
What was a limit like doing about it? Scripture says, let a man examine himself and I may look around in the assembly and say, well, there's no bread there. But what I'm what is my responsibility? What is my responsibility as a brother or sister? Even in the home, if you say to my mind, there's nothing there. My parents don't seem to value these things.
What is my responsibility and so as we look to that we've taken up this responsibility in the in the place where he was that God would have come in. Remember a friend asked me and passed his friend actually asked me. He said that the minister came and wanted him to sign a paper on his high. And so I've never I've tried to understand ties a little bit. And so I got before the Lord about it and I thought the Bible dictionary and I realized there were three times according to the Bible dictionary there was a tie that was to be kept.
Uh, was to be set aside to go up to Jerusalem for themselves and for the Levites and the strangers. A little bit like we set aside some money to come to a conference. There was a tithe.
That was for the Levites. And then there was a tide that they were to keep at home so that they could receive the stranger and the Levite in their own home. And so if he had felt his own responsibility and his fears of responsibility, I believe, to provide bread for his own, that he wouldn't have gone off looking for something. And often we we go looking for something rather than speaking before the Lord to bring something, we get into trouble.
I see two in that word, that last word of the.
Second verse continued.
That is in the last.
Six or seven years, the 11Th of our table.
Some of them seem to be satisfied to continue on. To me, it's very, very sad. Why is that?
Well, I do believe that discernment is lost when we are away from the presence of the Lord. And so they continued there. And let it be a warning to us all that if we.
Do make those?
Mistake. We're losing the mind of the Lord. I think it's because as a revelation 2 Says, they the Lord looked on Ephesus and he said, I know thy works. I know this, I know that.
Nevertheless, I have someone against it because the left eye first love. Well, I believe that the the giving up of affection to Christ precedes the loss of our discernment, and I believe that this is what was here. They were satisfied to stay there, but the Lord applied more pressure. He had a purpose of of blessing and a positive blessing, but it was they didn't learn it at the beginning.
Anticipated, uh, anticipating a bit. 1 voice husband is taken away. Did she say we're in the wrong place? No, she didn't. And the boys marry into the world mold like one dies. No, they're not getting the sensitive message from the Lord or how sensitive we need to be to get these messages from the Lord.
To mention what our brother said about the judges, I think we should notice in the second chapter of the Judges. What's the worst there? That I believe is important.
Judges 2 verse 16. Nevertheless the Lord raised up judges, the Lord raised up judges which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them, and yet they would not hearken unto the judges. But I do believe that self judgment is very necessary. And any call that brings us back to self judgment, that was really what the work of the judges was. And because they hadn't hearkened under the judges, they were doing their own will. Says Every man did what was right in his own eyes.
00:25:19
And so the proof of it was instead of practicing self judgment, little quotation from another Self judgment is the inseparable condition of work, a condition of, of a work of a walk in communion with God. And so we find that it tells us in the book of, uh, Corinthians, if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. So we believe that self judgment is necessary. Now the spirit in which it does very important.
And if we do it in the right spirit, it can be a real blessing. But rather than we do need self judgment. And I think all of us recognize there are things in our lives that need to be brought under the, uh, authority and light of God's word and that we would see those things. I think it drives them. But I take it that they hadn't hearkened to the judges. They were all doing what was right in their own eyes. And now the story comes in and God singles out this particular family.
And shows us the result of a lack of self judgment.
The other garden, I think that when you see why people leave and why they left, is that you go to a place where I where I exercise nobody's conscious and nobody exercises mine. And that really explains, I believe, what Brother Barry says. People say, well, they're such a relief and I've found such peace and so on because there's nobody to exercise my conscience and I don't exercise anybody's conscience. And therefore poverty comes in and then the ruin as a result of that, you just see the terrible.
Practical ruin, as we see here in the death of these ones comes into the family and those of us yes, you get a little bit older, you start to see what has happened. And so people think of this place. They think of the place being critical and so on. And you do desire that the truth be brought before and loving and a faithful way. But we try to escape that by getting away where nobody is going to touch my conscience. But it is the word continue to Timothy was continue thou. And that's why I made the comment about the collective side. It says let a man examine himself and so let him eat. And so we have to be.
Exercise, not to just look around, but really to see in the circumstances, is what is the Lord saying to me and them.
Because it doesn't begin a little or doesn't begin with big things. It begins with little things, just a little thing. Well, what's wrong with this and what's wrong with that, you know? And then more and more of the departure comes in. And that's, I really believe that's what we need to see. One other thing is too, is that, uh, unbelief always looks at the Lord through circumstances.
I believe that as they looked at their circumstances here and they're really saying the Lord is not here. Well, he was there. He was there, but there was no, uh, a lot of our problems stems from two things, ignorance of himself and of His word and unbelief.
And desiring to do it on. I want to do the train itself Will. Mm-hmm.
And so it's characterized the pathway of division and walking away. And we're, this is not really brought up here, but is characterized by heresy and heresy means to choose. And so now instead of the truth judging me and the whole truth of God, I start to get taken up with issues. And so you'll often find that those that go off, they, they stand very firmly for certain truth and we get taken up with issues, but rather being in the place for the truth judges me and exposes my conscience is that I get taken up with issues and so on.
And rather really than being in the Lord's presence and really being fed and feeding the people of God, but his death is a practical result of it.
Regarding famine, umm.
Some years ago, a brother called my attention to John 21.
And verse, uh.
John 21.
And verse 5.
And the brother made this remark, and I think he's right, he said. One of the most searching questions.
Were the brothers of any local assembly.
In this question of the word raises here Is there anything to eat? Children, is there anything to eat?
00:30:08
Because he holds us responsible to feed the Lord's people. This is a searching question. This brother was commenting that it sometimes grieved him that a brother who did have something to give always felt that immediately the Lord wanted him to go 1000 miles away to administer the Word. But he said the main responsibility is.
The speed of local assembly and it's a searching question. The Lord came and said to them, do you have anything here to eat? Is there any meat? That's what that means. Is there anything here to eat? What is their answer? No.
No. And I just, I've let that scripture speak to me. I trust you all well.
Little place where the Lord is placed is wherever it might be.
If we have anything to give, have we been willing to give out what the Lord has given? And they'll be giving food and the Lord's people?
There's a lot of hungers and I hear about it sometimes.
We're done as we have in the 21St verse. When they only came back. What did she say? I went out hungry. No, I went out of the pool and the Lord had brought me home again, empty. There was plenty there, but she wasn't there in communion with the Lord. She wasn't there in self judgment. So she missed all the blessing that was actually there for her if she was only ready to receive it. And it's not true with us. Very often we get occupied with difficulties.
We, uh, we need to, the need to be judged judges, uh, and evil has to be judged. We have to judge ourselves constantly. But I want a full, that was the House of bread. That was the place of blessing for her. And she found it out. And she didn't say, well, I got something in. She said the Lord, not me. She didn't say I came back, but the Lord had brought me home empty. But she acknowledged the Lord's hand in the whole thing.
Really restored. It's a lovely contrast in the two words.
That we saw.
Continued. They continued there, but then there's a lovely word.
In the in the sixth verse that she might return. How beautiful that word is. What is it requiring humbleness, willingness to go down, and then the Lord returns. At least it turns us back in our thinking.
We need to pray for those dear ones, dear ones that have gone away from us.
And so it's just so sad that little word returned.
Just to humble ourselves and there would be that restoration. So immediately the work starts, but she fails. The mother fails. She to me is a little picture of a Christian who says, yes, I became a Christian, but there wasn't much to it. So I'm giving up. Well, that's what the message that Naomi really was saying is that two daughters in law, you stay here.
What is she saying this for staying here?
She should have known better. So our life effects others very much, whether we're in the enjoyment of Christ or not.
That's our greatest antidote against discouragement and departure return.
Is it true that as to our eternal salvation?
We have to be turned around. I think it was so often we're on a certain course, certain path, We need to be turned around. And so as we are turned around and we get and now we can say, well, we know the Lord Jesus as our savior. Does that mean we're always going in the right path? Not always our our own thoughts come in. So even as a believer, we have to be turned around.
Because the natural vent of our hearts is to go in a certain course. We leave that which God has provided for us. And so we need to be reminded over and over again, Return them, come back. You need to come back. You're going in the wrong direction. And I believe we see that here, don't we?
00:35:14
On the 22nd of blue, the two asked Where will thou that we prepare in the Passover? The Lord said going to the city didn't tell him what street he'll meet a man bearing a pitcher of water. They didn't catch up to the man, they met him and they had to turn. They had to repent, they had to return. Re is to go on the opposite.
Direction.
Pantus from the Latin word to think. They had to chapter change their thinking. This is so important for us to get our thinking from the lower. It means returning.
A couple of years ago I was in the conferencing Lima, Peru.
And there was a dear lady who was a cousin of Brother Valderrama's.
And I noticed she wasn't there and I asked somebody about it. I said, well, she's no longer walking with the assembly.
And uh.
Later in the during the conference, I saw her always. I'm glad to see you.
I said I understand you're not going on anymore with the assembly here. Well, she says. There wasn't much food for my children, and I really wanted my children to get something.
And she said it wasn't really much light beer in this area.
We've got music there and where I'm going and.
We got to think a little bit in the city, which is why you hear that in the conference. I was so hungry I had to come back.
So while she.
Left for her children, she said. I think she felt the poverty of where she was. She wasn't getting fed.
And she had come to the conference because her soul was under it.
I'm thinking of a dear Apostle John in the Book of Revelation.
Uh, just looking at that.
The uh.
Uh.
In chapter one.
The uh.
He could say in verse 10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet.
But something had to happen there. I I say it happened because it did. And that notice what he says. Say I am Alpha and Omega, the 1St and the last. What thou seest right? What thou seest? Write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia. Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Tyra, Stardust, Philadelphia, Laodicea verse 12. And I turn to see the voice.
State when he turned, he got a marvelous revelation, didn't he? The voice had spoken to him. God speaks to us many times, but are we turning around? He's behind the the voice is there What we're going in the wrong direction? I don't say John was going in the wrong direction, but at least we see the picture there that when John turned, it says to see the voice, uh, being turned. I saw seven of golden canisters.
What a revelation John saw by being turned around, and we too, as believers.
True believers, if we only get turned around once in a while, we get going in the wrong directions. We listen to the wrong voices, we hear the wrong things. God wants to turn us around. He has something very precious for us to say.
Good instruction, I believe, for us.
And Naomi says to her two daughters.
Go return. Well, that's the wrong return.
Return she was in a poor state of solar cell phone. I believe this is an important warning to us all. What is our life saying to others? What is our life saying? She is, she says and goes so far as to say the Lord deal kindly with you.
00:40:05
How could she say such a thing?
Go back. Well, what's our life saying to other believers?
Our life pointing on to Christ.
So.
That year, and as we have dealt with the dead and with me, we were just thinking about ourselves.
But she was missing the mind of the Lord. But the girls now are entering the picture. And here is where the testing is switching out to the girls. What are they going to do? And it's so full of instruction, I believe, to see the difference between the two girls.
Say both here, the mother-in-law saying they'll return the Lord, uh, deal kindly with you. Ninth verse. If he goes farther, the Lord grant you that he may find rest. Well, when we get away from the Lord's table, we can find things that will satisfy.
And will Satis will satisfy our condition truly.
1211 and truly, if they've been mindful of that world from once they came out, they had had opportunity to return and so there were things that were convincing, but it wasn't right. Excuse me, go ahead. That brings to mind chapter one. We often think people often say, well, I've got a service for the Lord in this place and so I stay in the wrong place. But she was no service or used to the Lord, but an actual positive hindrance to her daughter. And so we have the principle in Scripture and in connection with judgment too.
Isaiah 1 and 16.
You want us to make you clean, Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. Learn to do well. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow. Well, what was she doing? She was doing the exact opposite. She wasn't believing the prep. She was sending her back to a very place of oppression. Moab for the flesh was after. And so we see this similar principle in Timothy, Second Timothy.
In second Timothy, uh 221, speaking about vessels to dishonor, Moab was a place to dishonor, it was just the ACT less active. But he said, if a man that's individual, therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
Well, the place of service for the Lord's people is where the Lord is. And, uh, she was of no help to her daughters in laws there in that in the wrong place. As a matter of fact, she would have sent them back to there. Yeah.
Very solemn that you actually it says, uh, inverse, umm.
I broke. I've been struck by this, he says in verse.
UH-15 to prove your sister-in-law is going back to her people and to her gods. Go ahead after your sister. How could you do that?
How could you send route back to those false gods? Uh, but when we get away from the Lord in a way like this, there's nothing we can't do.
Determine yourself. The determinism, the awfulness of it doesn't seem to impress her at all. And, uh, even you know the words you're talking. Your sister is going back to her sister gonna come back to her 'cause it returns out and with you go back to.
And what a test that was for Ruth. But how wonderfully she comes through that these verses have run. Uh.
Out, out, uh, there are precious to our goals. The words that root others here, often they're using a winning ceremony and they're very touchy. People say it as well. Not much love is showing. What? All I hear was Naomi. What is she doing in the ninth verse?
Says. Then she kissed them. I can't say.
She wasn't showing our affection, but it was in the wrong direction.
She was kissing them goodbye because they were wanting to go back.
00:45:02
And they all went. They all lift up their voice and wept. They were affected by this, but how beautiful to see.
And that's what happened. The communities are gone. I think it was something 10 years ago. It's a bad thing when we have a site to live when we're not supposed to check. I think the bad thing when we have advice to give when we're not supposed to give it out. And we never will if we're not in community before. Not going to have the right side.
I noticed something short times, I think it is Naomi thought. Each time she uses the large name, each time she uses the large name and uh, in an almost strong sense. But each time it's negative advice. Each time she doesn't say anything really positive.
And you'll notice that growth is not influenced by anything that Naomi said, even though Naomi is using the last name.
What speed is influenced by is is Naomi's basic action.
She's saying my Lord is listening to people and she's showing evidence she's going to go back because that's the right place and that's what Influence wrote.
They are the two important words in verse 18 that Fast reminded.
Naomi, in a sense, steadfastly minded in a heart because she made-up her mind to go back. But she doesn't say anything positive. Not one word here is positive. It would encourage them with their voice.
But there must have been something in the way she acted or influenced growth.
The end of the 13th 1St and it shows how low down there she has something, she says said uh.
The hand of the Lord is gone out against me.
What ceramic is lost?
Oh the the hand of the Lord was just wanting to be laid on her to bless her.
But all the arguments.
All these were strong and apparently on the surface, good. You dear young people, you may hear things that sounds so convincing as to other paths and so on that are easier to get along, and that was not from God.
That's it was a test for.
Other than, and that's just been pointed out, two girls, they hear exactly the same thing.
And they both kissed their mother-in-law in return.
And Orpro like the two C's on the cross, one down and never hear her again. Into the darkness.
But Ruth instead of plays.
To her mother-in-law, Uh, so we need brothers, please do Christ.
Just made some information with returning to our God and say, well, we're not idolaters. Your brother made a helpful comment to me. He said that idolatry was the Judaism with divisions and sectarianism is to Christianity. That seems like a strong statement. But he died that he might gather together and won the children of God that are scattered abroad. It's not a light matter to say, Oh my soul salvation is secure, but I'm not concerned about.
Being gathered together where the Lord is in the midst.
That I can go where I want because an idolatry man took an attribute of God and he made an idol of it and he worshipped it. That was what idolatry was. And so you even see attributes of God represented by various a animals in the Scripture. But idolatry was that I took up a man takes a particular attribute of God and he worships that. And that was the beginning of idolatry. Now it's of course gone farther and farther off, but it's just all foreign to God. And division is man takes a particular part of the truth.
And he forms a a group around that particular part of the truth. And the ironic part is that man rarely is clear on the particular truth that he thinks he's identified himself with. If a group identifies himself with a particular truth, that usually they're wrong about the very truth which is the foundation of their group, often notice that, but it's the same as idolatry. And so man if man's choosing rather than God's choosing.
00:50:17
Got a God blood emergency? Sometimes. A lot of the time is man pride that hurts them more than anything else. And God will humble you out of his love and mercy. If you do not want to obey, He will almost and then you will be exalted in His way. And I think a lot of times that we just take everything for granted. We do not appreciate what God has for us until we are really brought down.
To a level where we are along and then.
We turn to God and pray, you know, and maybe we go through a lot of sorrow before we reach that. I myself have been in it. I thank God for loving this mercy.
I will continue to pray for all of us because the world is lost and that's not up the end. She says the old guy's sister-in-law is gone back. What's bad words until her people and until her God and then she says return thou after thy sister-in-law.
What's the object of our life?
What is the person of the Lord Jesus the object of our life? Here she was pointing to a woman who to another person return after by assistant Detective bitter of a difference between the two girls.
So here she's pleading with Ruth. But how beautiful? 16th version.
And treatment of Don't keep on talking the way you are.
Don't send treatment to go by.
To lead the lecture of crisis.
I sometimes think that we don't agree how far one gets away and is dull, uh, when they get into a wrong path and how many marks of that are on the person.
So when she comes back, they say, is this Naomi? There's something that makes them think of Naomi, but they're they're just perplexed.
And so she says, don't call me down.
But you know, the whole city was moved about her, and that's what touches my heart.
11 Brethren, if someone makes the move back, do you know how hard that is to do it?
Are we moved by that?
Just to think that someone's making a move back and we're gonna see things that aren't good and we're gonna see things that that, uh, are the marks that have been.
But are we rejoicing and seeking to help that one? I often think how hard it must be for a person who has left, uh, the assembly.
To walk in the door the first time.
How hard it must be for them? Do we make it easy for them? I don't mean we should make light of departure from from the truth or or anything. I'm not talking about that.
But do we make it easy for the person to come back, make them understand that they're loved and, uh, that we're glad to see them come back?
She she says don't, don't call me. She still isn't right in her soul it.
Still isn't right there so and you're gonna have to be patient for a while with such a one.
I've seen a few cases like that and it's such a joy to see the person walk in. Or do you sit there and all of us and stay?
Look at this, look at that, that they brought back with them. Well, I don't think we should be happy about what they bring back. The trappings of Low Ave. and put it that way that are brought back. I don't think you ought to be happy about it. I think we ought to be happy that the Lord is looking back. They're on the path and to seek help with the Lord to encourage us.
And, uh, she can't testify wrongly about the Lord, I'm sure she says, uh.
00:55:10
Yet it's true in a sense when she says at the end of the word they went out against her. But I believe the real thing was that the end of the word had gone out in favor of her.
And broader to that point when he says the Lord has brought me low.
That's true. The Lord had brother-in-law.
And we ought to recognize that.
And the hands of the Almighty as the British.
We saw 119 visit where Davidson before I was afflicted. I went to strike, but in mercy he afflicted me.
Do we recognize that?
And do we encourage in our brethren?
Or do we, let me put it this way, do we? Are we moved when the Lord brings one back away? Things that we sometimes don't, we make it hard for a person. I'm just speaking with my own exercise. I think we make it hard because we're interested in establishing that we were right and we were, and that they were wrong. You don't have to rub their noses in it, so to speak, do we? The Lord will take care of that.
The Lord will take care of that. I'm sorry.
Well, I'd say the 16th verse shows how the Lord is looking down on this whole steam and he put in the heart and in the mind of Ruth strong statement, deafness positive from the mind of God. So he makes I don't know how many it is one is first one.
Uh, and treatment not to uh, lead the OR to return from following after the. Now here for whither thou goest I will go.
Strong statements wherever you go. I'm going, yeah, that's a whole heart of devotion to Christ. And the second one.
I will, uh, where thou largest, I will lodge third, Thy people shall be my people. Who gets more personal having to do with the people around, and it's getting higher all the time. And the next one, and thy God, my God, where thou die, will I die. And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me.
And more also is off, but yet partly and maybe I think it's so beautiful to see the the firmness now from the Lord and when we desire first move for the Lord is right in their foot to encourage us and give us this earth.
I was just thinking here, this spoke to me that.
Naomi, she really didn't want those two girls to come back with her. And I was just thinking those girls were not Jews, they were Moabites. And she would have to take them back to Jerusalem and she would have to own that she had made a mistake in leaving the place and and bringing back. And if that it speaks to me.
Am I scared to have to own that I have done wrong? Would that be one of the reasons why she didn't want them to come back?
We don't want to.
We don't want to own that. We've made a mistake. You know, it's OK for her to go back, but not to bring in the two girls.
Knows how far away we can get.
There are several spiritual answers for this question. Why?
Lord, take three men, these three women.
Other men are certainly more responsible as leaders, and so the Lord dealt with them and He dealt with Ruth too, but I mean with Naomi too. But Naomi was humbled by it all and got the blessing from it. There is such a thing as the government of God, as we have in First Corinthians 11. So this caused many or we can strictly among you and Wendy, please. And so those who also been leaders.
01:00:10
At places of responsibility upon the brothers.
Particularly because it puts them in the place of leadership. It shows that sisters certainly, and we see more to vote than us in Rose and more devotedness than Naomi after this than uh, there had been even in men before. And I'm not saying anything to put down any sisters. Certainly they're devoted, uh, often expels Adam brothers, but it doesn't take away from the responsibility of a man.
They were gone 10 years. We should speak of responsibility too, wouldn't it? I think that brothers often blame their wives for things and, uh, they are in the responsible place. Adam Blaine D blamed the Lord and he was responsible. And so there had to be the death of that.
As a reward to all your sisters here.
To your life to be a A.
An example to your daughters, so often the girls following the life of their mother. But it's so beautiful to see that everyone after Israel divided.
All the kings of Judah that went on faithfully for the Lord, the mother's name is mentioned.
Mother's name as mentioned, never once the things that were, uh had turned away from God. Their mothers aren't connected, but how?
Encouraging it is for you to show by not teach your daughters, but show your daughters in the past to walk in.
I've wondered.
So the very if there wasn't something in underneath all the rubbish of the failure of Naomi, there wasn't something that.
Ruth, discern that uh.
Perhaps none of us would have discerned. And Naomi, as that judge said, she's got something. She's got something and I want it. I don't say that to minimize her failure and leaving.
The Lord knows that that's not to be minimized in any way.
Underneath all the rubbish of the trapping of the Moab that were on there, the failure of having gone down there.
It was something that attracted her heart and I believe it was the Spirit of God. Of course it did it. I remember wondering in my youth because I remember reading that I said even the 10th generation was not to come into the congregation.
Puzzle How could they only come into the country?
And I remember reading a reminder, Mr. Kelly, that said sovereign, great sovereign grace. That's where I any of them, Larry.
God's sovereign grace and I just feel that perhaps there was something under all the rubbish.
Of, uh, the Trapezi that might have been honored something said she's got something.
Probably, I think it's 28. There's a depart from iniquity. Understand everything.
So Ruth makes the first move of three women and she gains discernment and perfect apartment. Nothing is going to stop her.
Circumstances mean nothing.
Now you can see that she uh, I just went back to verse 7, wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was.
And her two daughters in law with her and they went on the way to return under the land of Judah. She, uh, she was going in the right direction there. And Ruth, uh, noted this. And it's interesting as it's been said that she had some discernment there to see, well, she's going back to Judith and wherever she goes, that's where I want to go. Keep going back. I wonder if she didn't keep something there or some discernment that she had.
Ruth 2
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Ruth chapter one, verse 22 So Ruth Naomi returned, and Ruth them all by this her daughter-in-law with her, which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
And they only had a kinsman of her husband, a mighty man of wealth of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. And Ruth Emobitis said unto Naomi, Let me go now to the field, and glean ears of corn after him, and whose sight I shall find graves. And she said unto her, Go my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers, And her hat was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz.
Who was of the kindred of Elimelech?
And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant, And that was sent over the reapers. Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was sent over the reapers answered, and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab. And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.
So she came and half continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, herest thou not, my daughter, Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field, and that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? When thou artathurs, go unto the vessels, and drink that of which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him.
Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldst take knowledge of may seeing I am a stranger.
Boaz answered and said unto her, It has fully been showed me all thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband, and how thou hast left of my father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knowest not heretofore.
The Lord recompensed my work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my Lord, for that thou hast comforted me, and for that and thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
And Paul I said unto her, At meal time, come thou hit her, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, And he reached her porch corn, And she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
And when she has risen, was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not, and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them. She may glean them and rebuke her not. So she gleaned in the field until even and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley, And she took it off and went into the city. And her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she brought forth and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today, and where wrought hast thou, blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee? And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz.
Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed and behave the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man who's near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth the Moabite said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth, her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter.
That thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee, not in any other field.
So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest, and dwelt with her mother-in-law.
00:05:07
I was just noticing as we were reading there.
Throughout.
The story? Not completely, but.
Throughout the story, she is Ruth the Moabitess.
It's, it's a constant reminder of where she came from. But when you just go right ahead, just for a minute, uh, in the last chapter 13 verse when she marries Boaz.
It's dropped, so Boaz took root and she became his wife.
New life beginning now.
But the second of Ephesians reminds us constantly the pit from which we have the date, And that's good for us to remember, but also to enjoy our relationship now espoused to Christ, to keep ourselves pure for that day when the marriage will take place.
I think very often there is a purpose to return.
And that's all it ever is, is a purpose.
That is, it doesn't progress and, uh, a purpose to return is good, but it doesn't mean anything unless it results in, in this, uh, completion. And so I think that's why the spirit of God brings before us in verse 22. So she returned and so we have the product of son too. He says, I will rise and go to my father. A lot of people get to that point. I'll do this, I'll do that.
But then what really makes it wonderful is where it says, then he arose and went to his Father. That is purpose translated into active is what counts. I realize it's the Spirit of God that produces both, but the Spirit of God does not produce purpose in our mind for an academic interest. It produces purpose in our mind that it might issue an action.
And so I think it's lovely here to see that you return it. She made that purpose and she returned.
And I just encourage anyone who is in any pathway where it's necessary to return, not to stop short, to go all the way.
Don't let anything stop you on the way. I've seen cases where people.
You're so encouraged to think they've made a turn around and they're coming back to the Lord or coming back to walk in the path that the Lord has marked out. You see that. You hear the purpose, You hear them talk about it.
And then something happens. You don't hear about them.
What happens when the enemy comes in and?
And affects them in this way that he turns them away from completion of them.
It run well. What does hinder you?
Let us go on to the full end of what the per your purpose is. I think it's lovely here. She came back and it was just the beginning of barley harvest. It wasn't anything great. I understand barley was one of the early grains. Is that right? And it was, beg your pardon? Sure, Israel rather than which is the church.
And it was a rather common grave, wasn't it? Yeah. For the board, yes.
But never mind, she came back and the word rewarded her that. At that point I just said you don't stop short.
If the Lord is turning you around in your pathway, I don't care what it is, whether it's ecclesiastically or some other issue. Like don't just take a purpose.
There's a lot of purposes that are made and and then you, you know.
You don't hear any more about it.
I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, but if it doesn't, issue in returning as we have here.
And how blessed to see Ruth wither. That must have been a real encouragement to Naomi to have Ruth with her.
Have we thought of that side of it?
No, I say again. The two of them went together. Yes.
00:10:03
I'm sure it was an encouragement too, but, uh, I just mentioned that sometimes we, we don't realize that the value of fellowship in those things. And here was one who had made-up her mind who really had a purpose. And maybe if there was any faltering on the part of Naomi, No, let's continue on. Let's continue on.
Uh, two are better than one.
That's, uh, scriptural principle, isn't it?
MMM there's been about raised a much more abound. This was a mistake and uh, the life of Naomi and her husband. We see how grace abounds, didn't I? And I was thinking too see you speak of it as a figure that you and the Gentile and casting off of the Jews we have in Romans 11 is the richest of the 10 times we're brought into a wonderful place of blessing, even a nearer place than that which Israel forfeited. And she was too. She was brought in such a wonderful place and to ride a bullet.
God had a perfect timetable, so when they arrived there a harvest, they left in a famine and they returned in a harvest. So it is with everyone on the seat.
Keep me back in the early harvest. And, uh, I've heard it said that guarding is in, in the spiritual way is for beginners and that tweet is for the more learned. So as we see it, she didn't come back. She came back to this one. It was, uh, the beginners to learn, learn as a beginner.
Now the first verse of our second chapter.
Starts the the positive isn't the blessing. God is now entering fully into it. Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Palimelech. His name was Boaz. That means I understand and him his strength.
He didn't have some trouble by the famine.
It was a wealthy man.
Christ, our voice.
I didn't particularly until there was thorough restoration, though the 21St verse of the first chapter I went out full and the Lord had brought me home again, empty.
She acknowledges her mistake. There was no reason for her to go down there. If there was a famine, she wasn't suffering from it because she says I went out full and she doesn't take any credit to herself and said well at least I've come back. She said the Lord has brought me back. That's all we have on the 23rd Psalm. He restoreth my soul. God is always not only willing to say, but also desires to restore. And he alone can save and brethren, He alone can restore. We don't restore ourselves, but.
The Lord doesn't and when is the thorough thing thoroughly judged? The bad decision that she had made and the mistake they had made. Now is the Lord can come in. Often there's a hindrance to blessing because we haven't thoroughly judged them.
So that was really the restoration of Joseph's brethren. When they realized, they asked themselves how could we do this to our father because really it was against him. They later had to deal with what they've done to Joseph and the same thing with the protocol. I will write and go to my father. He was heartless towards his father to divide the inheritance. He couldn't wait for his father to die. That's how you get an inheritance. I mean, he was heartless to his father and said I'll rise and go to my father.
Not to my father's house. And a great mischief is that often we want to undo the damage of what we've gotten into without really getting to the real source of it. And so Mr. Garvey said something that was helpful. We often ask what the will of God is in a situation when the only will of God is that we not be in the situation at all. And so we try to undo the damage of the situation we got into, instead of seeing the point of departure and return, humbling ourselves and returning.
I've enjoyed UH in connection with the thought of famine, the a few couple of verses in Genesis 45.
00:15:08
I think it gives us the secret of what will sustain this. Does God say they'll never be any famine again? I don't believe so, in fact.
Uh, Joseph is telling his brothers.
Uh and uh.
And uh.
Verse 9.
This is what you're to tell my father God has made me Lord of all Egypt. That's really what was to occupy their hearts, wasn't it that the thought of the lordship of Joseph and.
Come down to me, Tarry not.
And thou shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be what near unto me? That's the secret of it. Near to me.
Everything you have.
And there I will maintain it.
That's such an encouragement, beloved, because it goes on to say there's going to be yet five years of famine.
Oh, why would I come down when there's going to be five more years of famine? Because the one who would they were to be near was the one who would sustain them, maintain them.
And if you don't, you're gonna be impondering.
You'll be impoverished.
Well, that to me is a wonderful thought. It's really the person of the Lord that sustains it. And God hasn't said there will be famine. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. There we're going to be.
As we get closer to the end, I believe there's going to be more and more.
Of what maybe corresponds to famine. All around us we see that there's famine. I I still think of that dear lady down in Lima who said I was hungry. That's why I came back.
I was hungry.
Why there was a Lima assembly, some special place to get fed. Not at the time she came back.
In fact, there were a lot of difficulties in the Assembly and I don't think that we ought to think that all difficulties will disappear when we come back. I think it's quite the opposite, but there is one who will sustain.
And that is that's what's that's what our eyes are to be directed is toward him. And that's what we have this mighty man of wealth that's brought before us in whom is strength. And that's where the the.
Sustenance is. That's the one who will personally take an interest out in this dear lady. Who is she?
He notices, Sir, he cares about her, and you'll notice he provides for her as we go along in the chapter. We'll see. He says leave him 7 sheaves, let her go right in among the sheaves and sometimes pull out some handfuls. It's called in our common translation Handfuls of purpose. It's a lovely expression. I mean stuff left there purposely for it. I think we see the Lord do that for us.
And the first verse we have a person was the second person we have the place.
The field, not a field. The field.
That was the place of blessing. That's the place of blessing for us, too. That's where she was going to meet him.
I think it's still very important to pay attention to those articles from the to the from ah, a little letter A out place to the place. It's so very important to pay attention to those little articles.
35 connection with the truth isn't there. Uh, Dad, reckon yourselves to be dead always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. The the our dead. That's a fact that took place. Our old man was crucified with him. Now we're to lay hold of that in a practical way, reckon ourselves dead. But we can't say that's once for all. We learn the truth of it, I trust. But now it's a continual thing always.
Bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. And so things may go along well in our lives for some time. We've learned the truth. We've learned that the flash profits nothing. But we've got to continually be reminded of that, don't we?
00:20:08
Every time we lose sight of that, then there's a step back we lose in our souls.
Beautiful to see in my second verse.
She says.
Let me.
Now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. Here was God's hand and teaching, teaching her to go to the right field, and not on my soul. But she had that.
Teaching from the Lord, I'm sure that she was going to meet the man there.
This is the language of faith. This is the language of faith. I shall find grace. The thing is, you have believers. Do we believe that? Do we really believe that that that he is for us and that he is going to do that?
The answer to faith is yes. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
I was thinking about that. That is an encouragement to her, isn't there? And I think that's important to see there's moral progress in Naomi. Now instead of saying return, she says go do this. And I think that's just delightful. It shows that God has been working in Naomi's soul too. Because the the end of it all is not just the blessing of Ruth. I believe it's also the blessing of Naomi that God has in mind that if you can, I cheat a little and go over to the last.
Chapter.
Just for a moment, Brother Barry did, so maybe I can do it too. Umm.
In verse 14.
The woman stayed in the army. Blessed be the the Lord, or blessed be Jehovah. Who hasn't left you this day without one? Who has the right of redemption? May his name be famous in Israel.
His blessing for Naomi isn't there, so the Spirit of God is working with the two of them and I That to me is a great encouragement to see that it isn't just bringing Ruth into blessing.
Is it Naomi, with all her failure, God is going to bring her into blessing. And I believe that the blessing that she had in taking into her arms that one who, uh, was given to her, I believe as the fruit of, uh, of, uh, the step of faith that she made in coming back from the fields of Moab and the repentance that God worked in her soul is a delight.
It's a delight.
I think you see the progress in her soul, because in the first chapter thy sister-in-law, and here it's now my daughter. That's lovely, isn't it? Do you remember how Saul treated David?
He said to him, he said the son of Jesse, you know, he was the King's son-in-law, you know, But he wasn't treated that way, was he?
Says that the the mother-in-law said go but notice the next word.
I can't find it there.
Uh, the third verse and she went, but it doesn't say.
It reverses now and says and came.
There was someone, someone waiting for her soldiers, as in the case of the arc. Uh, King James says uh, go into the Ark and the new translation says come into the Ark.
So here's the calm, beautiful word Come.
And pain.
Important too, who we go to for advice, the kind of advice that Ruth gave or that Naomi gave in the first chapter was bad advice because she was away from the Lord. But when she is restored, then she gives good advice. And very often we say, well, I've asked others what they think about this. Well, ask ones that really are going on with the Lord and their soul, because Christians, even we who are Christians, can give bad advice if we get away from the Lord as our brother. I remember John Burton, he.
00:25:01
Pointed out how the last chapter of John.
When Peter was away from, when uh, Peter was away from the Lord, he took all those others, six other men, didn't he, fishing and they didn't catch anything. But he said when he was restored to the Lord, he took six down to the House of Cornelius and there was much laughing. It shows how our lives that the Bible says none of us live up to himself and no man dies to himself. Our lives have an effect on others and they for going on with the Lord. We can encourage others, give good advice to others.
For away from the Lord no man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself, for going to affect others, either for good or her otherwise.
Remember your father Gordon is saying so often that luck wasn't in the Bible, you know, and that they said it was somebody say a brother up in the maritime that he knew or something. But, uh, uh, it's true. But here it's seen from the standpoint of, you might say our viewpoint. It says if you happen to light on an allotment that was, uh, was her act like an allotment of Boaz.
Who had control of that?
Go on every circumstance in our lives and we ought to look at it that way because the Spirit of God was directing her toward that person. And what may look like a hat or a happenstance or luck or whatever, somebody might use that word. And I agree with, uh, with, with those who say that Christians should not use the word lucky. Uh, I, I believe that with all my heart, but.
No matter what circumstance, how how it looks, it's gone, gone and everything.
Go ahead. Put POS, put her in that field of Boaz. And as uh, it was pointed out earlier, it was the field wasn't there.
Included in this version says right here it's working. It's blocked in Spanish translation.
That's why I say I know that and that's why I say that it's it's in that sense it is here, but it's only as a from our standpoint, isn't it? From God's standpoint, there's no such thing. God is over that. Who is it that put us in the way? I often marvel brother, and I think back to when I was a young boy was.
About to believe that there wasn't anything left of a of a testimony.
I was about to give up.
I've confessed this before, but maybe I should say it one more time for my own shame. I was about to leave brethren totally and become a a, uh, evangelical pastor of some sort.
But God put me in touch with some who.
Directed me to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And.
And remember thinking it all was lost and somebody put into my hand a pamphlet of Brother Gordon Haydos.
About remembering the Lord and he said God wouldn't tell us to do it and not have a place for us to do it. Didn't you write that, Gordon?
Well, it was in a little pamphlet and I read it and I said, that's right, God doesn't mock us, does he? And he directed us. It's wonderful.
It's grace, isn't it? That's Brother Barry has been reminding us in the ministry lately on the two sides of things, responsibility and grace. God's sovereign.
We are responsible, but when?
When we do, it happens to be in that place.
Is this happenstance that we're there?
Go ahead.
I'd like to pass on the thought. In the end of that third verse it says uh.
The field of the boys, who was of the kindred of eliminating.
00:30:00
Now what was that? What would that mean? Well, I believe.
The proper meaning is that the Lord Jesus is God, but he came right down to.
Man and became a man. So here is boys boy Elimelech is is a a relative and so the Lord has taken that low place to become a man.
I guess I don't explain as well.
Here was the very relative of her father-in-law.
First four is interesting, isn't it? The very first part of the game from Bethlehem? Let's pause and let that sink in for a moment.
The eternal sun.
Became a little child in Bethlehem. Search and look, they said for no profit cometh out of Galilee. No, but they'd never ever taken the time to investigate, did they? That that blessed one became a little child in a Manger. How many years after this approximately the Savior came into the world? Was it 1000 years after this or this story? Yeah, the 1300 the 1300 years. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing story, isn't it? He came from from Bethlehem and yet, you know, he assumed manhood. But I like what one amongst used to say.
In a filming manhood, he never ceased to be God. It's a mystery that our minds can't get around, and we better not try to reason that as many are trying to do today. We simply accept it by faith because that that's it.
I think it's very beautiful to see too, the introduction of Boaz here in verse four. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, largely with you. First thing he tells them, he blesses them.
He says to the reapers, those that were redeemed, the Lord be with you. And they answered him, the Lord bless thee. Well, if we're thinking of this as a natural thought that not too many boss, someone working for a boss can't always agree with the boss. But here was one who it says that the first thing he said to these people said these reapers, the Lord and the Lord be with him.
And they answered, The Lord blessed thee.
So we see the introduction of Boas here is a very precious thing, the grace of God and the Mer mercy of God. Isn't it that his whole desire is to bless him, come down to judge the world he came to bless. This is a form of greedy.
Lovely, isn't it? And the, the, the, the boss says this to the employee. It's so lovely. That's a bottle of regular management relations, isn't it, brother Perry? That would be quite a model for labor management relations. All our, uh, relations like that in our common world are built on this hostility, grumbling and, and the boss wondering who's cheating him and, and, uh, complaining him.
And, uh, I've got to pay these people and all this sort of thing.
But here, there's a flow of blessing out from him. Uh.
And back in the way of their desire for his blessing. I think that's a practical exhortation for us too. If we're working for someone, do we desire the blessing of that one? We should, shouldn't we? Even if he doesn't come and say to us, the Lord be with you, I think we should desire the blessing of that one. And that'll make us, I think, happier employees.
The thing I was doing in connection with the Lord is the Lord is the harvest, isn't he? And we pray the Lord of the harvest that he would thrust forth laborers into his harvest. And I think in a practical sense it's carried out in the end of the gospel of Mark. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them. My lovely, our service isn't very much enough. The Lord works with us and gains to use us, but it's nothing unless He works with us.
I think it's good to trace that in the 21St chapter of John. If we can just go over there for a moment, I just want to share a couple of thoughts I've enjoyed recently in that chapter, the 21St chapter of John.
00:35:09
Let's pick it up from the very first verse.
After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples of the Sea of Tiberias, and on this Wise showed himself. There he is. He's not out there on the water with them. He's standing on the shore, as we learn later in the chapter. I just want to call your attention to that second verse.
Their work together, Simon Peter, nothing here said about them being gathered together. I just want to point that out. Sometimes Christians come together, you know, and they expect blessing.
But there's no room for the Spirit of God to operate. They come together, doesn't they have been gathered together? I like that term in Matthew 18 and 20 because the onus is lifted off of man and it's placed on the Spirit of God. So they come together and of course it names them Simon Peter. Thomas called Didymus, Nathaniel of Canaan, Galilee, sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples. Peter said unto them, I go efficient. I go, well, if you turn them and said Peter, do you have clear direction from the Lord to do this?
He couldn't he would he if he was honest, he would have to say no, I, I'm going, I, I'm going, I, I wanna go out, you know, and I wanna do this. I have all kinds of resources, the boats and and the water and all of these things, but they enter into the ship, as we learn later that might and immediately says what? They caught nothing. But then the Lord later comes into the scene and we find that there's blessed in their soul. But I just wanna point that out because I think it's a it's very interesting. He shows himself a third time. Now one final thing.
They they're fed and then the Lord questions Peter. I think it's very interesting how he does it. He says. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Which is interesting. The thought is Lord I'm fond of.
A question among that three times the last time you said Simon son of Jones, lovest thou me? He says yeah, Lord, thou knowest all things thou knowest that I am attached to thee. That's lovely. That's a lovely truth and and you know it's it's so blessed because what we have in this chapter is Peter going forth in service and self will and he doesn't do a thing. It's the truth of John 15 without me he can do nothing but in the end there's blessing because the Lord comes into the picture.
And, uh, and there can't be anything but blessing. You say, Ed, did he have a word, umm, from the word to do it? I think he had just the opposite. Luke 5 Hence worth out your catchment. The Lord had taken him away from that. And in brighter days they ran their ships on the shore and they left all and followed him, but discouraged him and hadn't had any. And, uh, even though the Lord, uh, mercifully and graciously restores Peter.
In this public way.
In the 21St chapter, I believe that there was that.
But, uh, I'm still trusting of the flesh here, wasn't it? We're gonna go out and fish.
The same henceforth rest too isn't there in 2nd Corinthians 5.
2nd Corinthians 5 and verse uh 6/14.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again, Wherefore henceforth know We know man after the flesh. He though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. We know Him as the man in the glory now, but there's a henceforth for us too, that we henceforth should not live unto ourselves, but unto Him.
There's, it's very, uh, lovely to see that.
The two points, one is the the lowest his eye is cut by this beautiful girl and he says who is this? But what is the the servants say why? They know the whole story. You know the whole story of the background of this girl. And slowly to realize that the spirit knows all these everything about the life of every one of us here and he's working in here in my life.
Uh, to draw us ever closer to Christ. And so here Boaz asks. But these these, uh, this beautiful answer that the servants say. And it says, it is the more whitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Maya. And she said, telling the whole story, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came.
00:40:29
And have continued even from the morning until now, now that she has tarried a little in the house. She didn't waste time going into the house. She was diligent.
It's so beautiful, isn't it, to see that they know newer background and her diligence. How diligent are we, brother?
How diligent with the truth that we have been given. It's lovely to see you too in verse 5.
Then set one after they had answered the Boaz. Then he says in verse in verse 5. Then he said Boaz unto his servant that was said over the reapers. Whose damsel is this? His eye was not he saw her. Doesn't God see each one of us or that?
Doesn't God see each one of us? Isn't his eye upon his own people? And it's interesting here I believe that the service speaks to the Spirit of God doesn't as you were pointing out.
Speaks to the Spirit of God and because it says under the servant that was sent over the reapers.
And he asked, who is damsel is this? And then the servant said that, uh, that was that was set. The servant that was set over the reapers answered and said it is the mall by his damsel. And it came out back with Naomi out of the country Moab. So God knew all, God knows all about our background doesn't. And yet he comes out in his grace and, uh, love and mercy, uh, to bring us into a place of nearness and blessing.
I was noticing too that the J&D translation at the end of verse seven makes a little different reading than probably.
Would help us in our understanding of it. It says her sitting in the house has been little as yet. In other words, as you were pointing out for the very she doesn't, she hasn't been sitting around. She's been diligent. That isn't exactly evident in our common translation, but it, it's so clear that she wasn't loafing on the job. We do a lot of sitting spiritually, don't we? And, uh, instead of diligently getting at things.
And, uh, I believe the Spirit of God would encourage us through this example of her to keep at it and.
The diligent soul shall be made quiet, he said. And that doesn't put a premium on sitting around and taking coffee breaks.
I'm not condemning coffee breaks, please understand. Uh, but I think that we're built on our whole idea. I have a little pad that somebody gave me those post it notes and up at the top of it, it says when is reset.
And I think that's often our attitude when it's reset. When can we have a little break? Our whole society is built on that. But spiritually it better not be.
Is that the poverty spiritually of itself? It isn't when it's recess. When can we get back to work and get at this and, and see because there's something to be gotten, there's food to be gotten and umm, that's noticed by the.
Service, uh, that's set over the reapers. I like that thought of the Spirit of God being the SER servant said over the reapers. I'm afraid that's forgotten in a practical way.
In the professing church today and brethren were part of the professing church. So let's not, uh, look out there and say, oh, that's over there. If anything gets me upset and a meeting is to say I'll increase in them. They do this and that and the other thing.
I've heard it. It makes me very upset because we are part of it and unless we own our part in it, there's no blessing. I don't say that we're uh, that there isn't a special place the Lord has called us into, and I believe there is.
But we don't take potshots outside. We take potshots at ourselves. And to see, uh, the, the, the failure to give the Holy Spirit.
His place as over the Reapers.
00:45:00
What a beautiful message there is for every one of us here in that eighth verse. It doesn't say come, it says go not. It was departure.
Go, don't go into another field. What was what are what is he saying? Well, he was saying this is the field where you're going to be finding the blessing. So for us, well, not to be narrow butter, but oh, how much we need to realize that. Keep close to the Lord. Don't be dabbling in the other fields. It's only going to add confusion to our life and our thoughts.
It's so beautiful go not to glean in another field, neither go from hand's sake close, but abide here fast by my maidens.
I like the Zod of the Ma, my maiden's wife. Other Christians, Who do we gravitate to when we've got some spare time?
Where do we go? What's our thought of relaxation, Get away or to be with the Lord's people?
But I believe Diligence does not hear and receive that in rooms, umm, where he says in verse, umm, uh, verse 7. But she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.
She was willing to take the low place just to gather, uh, among the sheaves and, and to, uh, be willing to get what she could get. But notice the, what it says. So she came and has continued even from the morning until now, all day long. She gleaned she didn't give up because she couldn't find enough. And I believe there's a lovely thought in that, in that connection that, uh, uh, but then she came. But she, she was diligent in what she was doing, wasn't she?
Uh, we're not always as diligent as that, are we? We sometimes we go along pretty well for a while and we come to a little barrier or there isn't much there. So we give up, we're gonna quit. And that's what's happened among the gathered Saints, much of.
And that's our nine stars as well. Be brought into the assembly and realize you're brought into the presence of someone that knows all about you.
And the, the servant, the unmanned servant here that's over the reapers is in a practical way distributing, you know, a servant is like a, uh, a general foreman. He's, he's the next guy down that kind of directly orders what takes place. And I can recall myself when I was first brought at the assembly, it seemed like somebody had been assigned to follow me around all week long. And then when Wednesday night came and it was a reading meeting and a prayer meeting.
That, uh, these brothers had prepared, uh, what they were gonna give out, uh, to address every situation I was in during the week. Now, I had no relatives or personal friends at that time that were in fellowship there where the Lord's Table was in that place. But it was just an understanding thing every week that I said to myself, this is amazing. And it was the fulfillment of that passage in First Corinthians 14 where a person comes in and makes experience and they observe the.
Manifestations of the Spirit and the assembly, What do they do? They fall down on their faces and they do calmly that God is amongst you of the truth. This is a wonderful thing and many of the experienced it. On the other hand, there are some that have had the privilege of being raised in Christian homes and the brothers that are ministering the word are known sometimes by the term humble. That's humble Bob over there, or Uncle **** or Uncle John, or that's your father, or maybe your older brother.
And don't make the mistake of thinking that.
They don't give them too much credit as if they're going through anything at you or saying, I think I'll bring this out just because Susie needs this or or or loop or God or whatever. Don't fall into that. So no, no man answered the place. Have some com have faith in God that he knows what he's doing in his, uh, his work area and take what you hear in the assembly as irritating it to sometimes can be.
And and you should Potter that and take it from the Lord and benefit from it. How many times have I seen people?
Just kind of slipping at the last minute after the meeting has started, somebody who maybe hasn't been around for 10 years and they slip in and nobody even knows they're there. Half the brothers in the meeting, they don't, they didn't hear somebody come in and they don't even know who's in the background. And sometimes I've seen somebody slip in and I'm mindful of the person's situation and the Spirit of God brings out ministry and I can't believe they're bringing this out. And the Lord brought that person here. This is the thing. And I've seen people leave before the meeting was over because they got offended.
00:50:17
So don't fall into that track. It's a wonderful Christmas to be brought into the presence of one of such a majestic man of wealth, strength as the Lord is, and to think too, that he is the God of all grace. Not only does he know all about us, but he still loves us. And it's a wonderful thing even in this late day.
Everything is under control and he's still providing for us with the gifts, ministering to us nourishment, uh, as it was prayed before this meeting, instruction, correction and all these things and this.
Chapter I think is a beautiful picture. It has been already innovative. Uh, the local assembly where there is so that was just needed even for such a one as as uh, this mollified it, knew all about it. And I gave her a command as brother Berry just said, no, not into another field, not because he wanted to clip her wings, not because he wasn't confident in her. They don't get into trouble again. You've had a rough life. You want to bless her. We stay in this chapter later on this chapter, you see the four hour blessing.
And that's the way we receive our children and with our with our brothers. If we give one another exhortation, it sounds sometimes in a little narrow, a little harsh. Hopefully it's because we have expectation that in that path we'll see this there's going to be blessed. She didn't say, well, it's pretty narrow here. And I can't find too many things like we find in some in some areas and some have said can't find enough here. So I got to spread out. I got to go somewhere else. She didn't do that.
She continued all day long in the field of Boaz. I was thinking of the contrast between uh, uh, Ruth and Dinah. Ruth was to stay by the maidens of Boaz, but in the beginning of Genesis 34, we read a contrast there that Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land.
And to put it bluntly, it resulted in her being violated.
And I just say to the young ladies that are here, you have a choice. You can go out and see the daughters of the land.
But you run that risk and, uh, or you can stay by the mayors of the Lord and there'll be blessing for you there.
Excuse me, very bad. Well, I'm just thinking of the last part of the ninth verse. Thirst.
There's the server says after you're thirsty. Well, that was nice, wasn't it?
Caring not only for the work of the girl was doing, but he says, if you're thirsty.
Go on to the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Are we thirsty for the truth in the meeting? Am I thirsty to hear more?
For my sale I want something different.
But it's great to have, it's very important business for us to have our hunger and our thirst after righteousness. And here is the book where it is to be found. Ezra was told by King Artaxerxes, the head of the country. The book that you're holding in your hand, this is the wisdom of God.
Satisfy every thirst we'll ever have.
The young man drew the water in it, I guess before realized it when we were young as it time to really get into ministry and to get an outline of sound words because it doesn't No years passed quickly and so it was a young manager that were.
It's interesting too, like years ago, uh, I can go back almost 60 years now that this was given to us as younger believers, you know, about, about the, uh, gleaning and about the thirsting for the word of God. And, uh, it's interesting that what was brought before us was that going back 175 years ago now, there were young men who drank from this precious word and they passed it on to us. They gave us something to drink. They gave us ministry that was very precious. And dear young people, many of you are not reading that precious ministry that was given us.
00:55:03
By those young men back there in in the early 1800s and we need it we need the ministry of the word of God concerning the precious truth that there is one place where the Lord has gathered together his people. And I think to it, it's just very interesting to me as it says, go onto the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn and some some have drank from those precious ministry that those young men drew way back there. And when I read some of those some of that ministry I I can't I can't conceive how that they could ever.
To get all that and but they got it from the Lord and they passed it on to us and I believe it's very important to see that.
The next verse shows us the reaction.
In The Girl.
That's so beautiful. She is so humble about the whole thing and she says me, Why me?
Then she fell on her face.
And.
Herself to the ground.
And said unto him, Why?
Have I found grace?
In thine eyes.
So you're saying this de Bois, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? This is this is the effect, beloved ones, that occupational Christ will have on us. It won't make us proud of our position. It will make us humble, not humbling ourselves, but occupation, the occupation with Christ is what humbles us.
We lose a sense of grace in our souls. We have no way to go on.
That is, we're gonna fall flat on our faces, and I believe it's wonderful to see this sense of grace that are here. May the Lord give us more of a sense of that in our own souls present, the grace that has been shown to us. Why are we where we are?
Why are we saved? Because we're better than someone else. Now we all understand that, don't we? That it was God's grace that reached out to us. Why are we got it? Because we're better than someone else.
Why don't we go astray at a testing time? Because we're better. It's the grace of God, isn't it?
And I believe we ought to keep that before us. I believe if there's any sin that has collectively characterized this and whom the Lord has dealt very heavily with, it is pride of positioning.
Oh, brother **** you're weakening on the position. No, I'm not.
Leaving it with all my heart further, but I believe.
It's a grace that brought us there and grace that keeps us there.
And, uh, I believe we need to have a sense of that.
In our souls.
There's a two sides of it. I've always noticed it's in verse 11 what she had done.
And, uh, he takes note of that. The word will take note of that too, won't he? He understands that. But again.
Uh, it's we were nothing and we are nothing.
And if we set up to be something, the Lord will have to blow on us again.
United States isn't connected with a collective testimony not to be misunderstood. The collective testimony is to the truth of the one body. And when we speak about false and errors, the Lord took up of each assembly in particular difficulty in that assembly. And I think that that's important to realize because Boaz, I think there's a lovely order here in connection with Boaz in directing the affairs in his own field. And so, and the servants that they, she should abide with the maidens and the young men should not touch her and so on. And so I think I really believe that it is the local assembly that is to, uh, is to care for the spiritual state and the, the things that are there that there has to be that care.
The Lord will maintain a collective testimony to himself to the end, and he has promised that the, uh, reference that you made to the pamphlet or that comment concerns that in our hearts. But I believe it's wonderful in this chapter to see how Boaz was both, uh, caring for his servants because he said to them, he spoke to them directly back there in the fourth verse, as you pointed out, brother Charles, uh, this conversation, the Lord be with you.
01:00:14
And they answered him, the Lord blessed thee and then he spoke to the overseer, so to speak for the Spirit of God. They spoke to the overseer and he gave directions there. But there is local responsibility for ***** **** and I think that sometimes you often speak as if we're one giant local assembly and we're not There is a collective testimony to the truth, but there's a local response ability and connection with these things and there ought to be an exercise and then an individual exercise that when we seek and I had my.
Finger at that passage in First Corinthians there when Brother brother Bruce referred to it, and so I think it's worth reading.
In connection with that because it touches on this first with her falling on her face.
Just to confirm with brother Bruce has said and the exercise of those that speak in the assembly 1St Corinthians 14 and verse 24.
But it's all processed.
And there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned. He is convinced of all, he is judged of all. And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest. And so, falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
Let me just turn back to, uh, verse 14 in connection with prophecy, verse three. But he that prophesied speaketh on demand to edification, exhortation, and to comfort.
And just say this, because this was written to the local assembly and then to individuals. There is that exhortation.
And the Lord will preserve a collective testimony to the testimony of Corinth, as we know historically wasn't preserved. There is not a testimony, of course, to the truth of the one body today, but he has preserved, he has restored and preserved collective testimony. And so these things, uh, we can generalize them, but I think that we bring them right down connection with Boaz in his field and then individually to the service that he prophesized the edification.
Exhortation and comfort, and then there'd be a desire to speak the mind of God in that way.
Thank you, Neil. That's a good point and I definitely.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Sam Ruga
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Could we begin the gospel meeting this evening and singing together?
#15.
#15.
Oh, blessed and prospect.
And now they lost my life and I have to have a great day today.
Yeah.
Nsnoise. There is roommate Nsnoise.
I thought we might look together.
In Marks Gospel.
Gospel by Mark.
And the third chapter.
Mark 3.
And beginning with verse one.
And he entered again into the synagogue.
And there was a man there which had a withered hand.
And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.
And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand.
Stanford.
And he saith unto them.
Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days or to do evil?
To save life or to kill?
But they held their peace.
And when he had looked.
Round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts. He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand, and he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
Whole as the other.
00:05:01
And the Pharisees went forth and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him.
Now they might destroy him.
UH-2 verses later on.
Verse 28.
Verily I say unto you, all sins.
Shall be forgiven unto the sons of men.
And blasphemies we're with, so ever they shall Blasphemy.
But he that shall blasphemy against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness.
But is in danger.
Of eternal.
Damnation.
We have a scene here that's not too different.
From the very occasion that we are at this evening.
There was a place where people were gathered together to read the word of God, to hear the word of God, and.
They're in the synagogue and it says he entered into the synagogue.
Why? This would make the occasion so much nicer because the Lord Jesus.
Who's there? And send a friend if there be one here tonight.
Let me tell you, the Lord Jesus is here.
And, uh, looking upon this little company and he's observing and he knows the need. He knows your need if you were here to get in your sins, This verse verse tells us there was a man there which had a withered hand. The Son of God had his eye on someone in that room, on someone in that synagogue.
And he saw that he had a knee in his hand was withered.
And I don't think we're.
We're wrong and, and, and, uh, using a portion like this to, to, uh, speak of the gospel and because.
A man in his sins has a need, and he's in deep need. We read that verse there, that all manner of sins shall be forgiven. Men, there's a solemn warning there. But if you, if you resist the Holy Ghost.
If you blasphemy against the testimony by the Spirit of God, you are in danger of eternal damnation, and that's bad. Eternal damnation. That means forever away from God. And there's no one here in their right mind who wants to be completely away from gone because away from the presence of God. It's just all darkness and sadness.
You'll be among a company of people that hate God and you don't really want to be there. And so the Lord Jesus comes into this synagogue. Now we're told in another place that it was the Sabbath day and.
And uh says they watched him.
Whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day?
Let's see, today is Saturday, isn't it? That's what the Sabbath day was. It was on on a Saturday and, uh.
Almost 2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus on a Saturday was in a synagogue and he had his eye on a man who couldn't use.
Luke.
Tells us it was his right hand. He couldn't use his right hand.
It's a bad thing if you're a man like I am and you can't use your right hand. That's my best hand. And that man, he couldn't use his hand. And the Lord looked on that man and his heart went out to him. You know, his heart hasn't changed in 2000 years. We've sung the hymn yet there is room. God's heart goes afterwards for lost sinners. And he's looking at you tonight if you're in your sins and he wants to do something for you.
00:10:18
Just as he wanted to do something.
For this poor man. And it says they watched him.
Everybody here, unless you're in a real bad state of soul, I think you're paying a little attention to what we had before us tonight. But those folks were there with the wrong intention. They didn't want the Lord Jesus. They wanted to see if he would make a mistake on on the Sabbath day. They wanted to catch him going against the law. What a sad attitude that is, you know, if you're here in the wrong state of soul.
You'll never get saved, said a friend. Never. That's why the Lord gave him that warning. Such mighty works he did. And.
They rejected it, so you better be here in the right state of soul. Perhaps you entered this room.
The wrong frame of mind. But would you sit still now and listen? We just read a few verses. We just sit here and listen to the word of God.
What you see with us that the Lord Jesus loves your soul and He wants to help you.
Well, these folks, they watched him whether he would heal them on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him. The world hasn't changed, has it? We Live Today and every calamity that happens, people say, why does God allow this? Why did he let that happen? If God is alive, why did this thing happen? People haven't changed, have they? They want to accuse him.
The same God, the same Savior God who's walking in this thing 2000 years ago today. You can either reject him or accuse him. You can either own him as your Savior and go to glory.
Or you can die in your sins and go to hell. What? What would be enough, right?
You decide your destiny. I can tell you what the Lord Jesus wants it to be. He wants you to go to heaven.
You'll go right on your way to hell.
If you have no heart, the Lord Jesus, that's a bad place to go because it's forever. The Lord says it's eternal damnation.
Forever and ever and ever. Well, he came. He says that that he could give life to men, and that he could give it more abundantly. That's eternal life the Lord Jesus offers.
And so he speaks to the man that had the withered hand. And that's what the Lord Jesus is doing to perhaps a soul here tonight, perhaps to several, maybe there are a number here who are yet in their sins and who need salvation.
And he's speaking to you going to are you going to resist him? What did he tell this man? Did he tell him to do something hard? He said stand up, stand forth.
And that's what you've got to do, my friend. If the Lord Jesus is speaking to you, got to wake up. You got to do something. You got to respond to the call as the Lord Jesus says, to come to him. You've got to come because if you don't respond to the Lord, you'll never be safe. This man could have, couldn't have had his hand handheld if he had just sat in his seat. He had to listen to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And that's what you have to do. You must listen to him. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. And we're reading from the word of God tonight. And we hope we're not in a, in a, in a company here like, uh, was found in the synagogue. They should have been God fearing people in that synagogue. But you know what? They were just religious people. So all they were, they had this outward form.
We don't know what kind of a Bible, if they had any, that they held in their laps, maybe a role if they were wealthy and then they came to hear the word of God.
Pay outward attention, satisfy their religious feelings and go home and never give their heart to God. Well, tonight God wants your heart, my friend.
00:15:09
And so he says to the man, stand forth. That's a courage, didn't it? That's a courage. Here's this man with a withered, upright hand, and the Lord Jesus says, stand up.
Everybody's gonna see.
But he had to. He had to stand up. My friend, perhaps you have a background. Perhaps there's someone sitting right next to you that if you confess the Lord Jesus your Savior, after this meeting, they're going to make fun of you. Don't listen to him. Stand up for Jesus. That's what you got to do. Decide for Christ tonight. That's what you got to do. The Lord Jesus said stand up. How thankful we are. And in this story, this man.
Stood up.
He recognized he had a need. I don't know if he knew the Lord Jesus could meet him in that need.
But he responded to the words of the Lord Jesus. There's no strangers here to the gospel of God's grace. I don't think so. There may be someone listening tonight. So this is the first time you've ever heard about these things. Well, if that's the case, listen attentively my friend, when our hearts go out to those who are gospel hardened.
Who will come to these meetings and even.
Play games and make friends with someone sitting next to you to to distract them from hearing the word of the Lord.
Well, the word meant business. He was speaking to the crowd and he was speaking to the man.
He tells the man to stand forth, and he says to them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days?
Or to do evil.
To save life or to kill?
But they held their peace.
Those are simple words, easy questions the Lord asks.
He wanted the people to answer him.
Is it? Is it right to do good?
Is it right to save life? How many of you would be able to answer that question?
Imagine going into this synagogue and not one person could answer the Son of God. Not one person had the guts to to, to, to tell the truth and now we must tell the truth. These issues are, are eternal issues. Tell the truth. If someone asks if you're safe, come out with it. Are you saved or are you lost?
Have you confessed the Lord as your savior, or haven't you?
Doesn't matter if you read your Bible. Doesn't matter if your wife or your husband is saved. If your brother or sister is saved or you saved, tell the truth.
It's dangerous to do what these people did, says they held their peace.
I thought safety was in keeping quiet.
But you know salvation is of the Lord. You have to take sides with the Lord Jesus. You must answer his question.
When when folks got offended at the Lord, he asked some who was still around him. They said, well, ye also go away.
And, and, and the Lord gave Peter such a beautiful answer. To whom shall we go? Lord? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe in our shore that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Do you believe that, my friend? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God?
Well, it says they held their peace to the Lord. Jesus noticed these things. Does he notice neutrality? Does he notice indifference? Does does he notice when we're not paying attention, when we ignore him, when we don't listen to the message? Certainly he notices, it says, when he had looked around about on them with anger.
00:20:04
We don't often.
Connect that with the Lord Dewey. But doesn't it show us that he was moved?
He says he is grieving for the hardness of their hearts. You have a hardened heart, my friend.
No, Lord Jesus looked at that company and he saw hardened hearts.
What a sad condition.
The scripture says Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He thinks sinners would be ready to receive him helpless on the road to hell. And what does he see? Hardness of heart. I hope your heart is not hard, my friend.
If it is tonight, the Lord Jesus can melt it, He can soften it up. He says, Son, give me thine heart. So maybe tonight if someone here will stand up for Jesus and give their heart to the Lord Jesus Christ, You give me your heart and your wife will follow right behind my friend, and he'll give you eternal life.
Well, he felt it.
The hardness of their hearts.
Did he sit down and discouragement? Was he dismayed? No, he he had told someone to stand up. He had started to work and he was going to finish it. And I like that. I thank the Lord that he finished the work He started in my own course. So he saved me even though I rejected the gospel many, many times.
And have been a sad failure since being saved too.
The Lord had his eye on that man if they didn't want him, if everybody else didn't want him.
And why he was going to go ahead and work with this poor man.
He says stretch forth thine hand. This reminds me of that story in the.
Just say the Old Testament and I know I'm saying.
Uh.
When Jeroboam made a false altar.
He put one Bethel and he put one in in den.
And, uh, he was gonna take it upon himself to offer sacrifice on a false altar. Both things are wrong. And, uh, a man was sent from God. The Talmud was wrong. And that king was so incense. He, he, he said, grab that man, hold him. And he couldn't pull it back. His hand became frozen in the opposite direction.
He was caught red handed.
Trying to stop a man of God from proclaiming the message of the Lord.
Here this poor man, his hand is frozen and and another position, but in every case it's the Son of God who has power to deal with the hand, whether it's it's stiff outward or stiff inward. And you know the Son of God has power to help you no matter what your condition is.
The Lord is able, He is able to save to the uttermost, as I am that come unto God by Him. If you have any question in your soul that the Lord Jesus loves you, if God wants you, if He can save you, erase the thought. God has shown His precious word that He can help the Sinner in any of his need. And so he says to this man, stretch forth thine.
And and he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Whole is the other.
Power.
And the words of the Son of God.
You know how come he is able to stretch his hand?
Because the Son of God has power.
Tremendous power. All we had to do was speak the word.
Some scriptures indicate that when he he did a miracle, he just thought the thing.
00:25:00
And healing took place many miles away.
Other times.
Someone would come behind him.
Because they were too bashful. There's someone here bashful tonight about confessing Jesus.
Don't be that way. But Tom, even if you are come from behind and touch the hem of his garment and and some poor woman did that and she was healed. So the Son of God has power to heal. And we say tonight the Son of God has power to save Wash.
All set. So hey, make us clean so that we feel comfortable in the presence of God, so that we look forward to being with the Lord Jesus Christ. He has the power to save you, my friend. Don't doubt the power of the Son of God. If you're sitting in your seat unsaved because you don't want to be saved, my friend, maybe say you're going to put it off to another time. There's no better time than tonight.
Don't put it off.
I've often said don't grow up and be an old Sinner and then expect to get saved.
Gone infinite mercy saves old sinners.
We heard, I think this afternoon of someone who got saved when they were 52 or something. Then God doubled their life almost.
But don't put it off.
Why not be a young believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? Why not trust in Him this afternoon?
This evening. And so his hand was restored whole as the other.
Now if we were there, if we watched that scene and saw this man who very evidently was crippled, he couldn't use his right hand. If we saw him stand up and at the command of of the Lord Jesus, stretch his hand, what effect would that have on our hearts? If we witnessed such a thing, what effect would it have in your heart?
I'd want to go to the Lord and ask him to help me get rid of my arthritis, my high blood pressure, my bad eyes, and the 600 other things that are wrong with me because I recognize that man has power, tremendous power.
Why not come to Him to have your sins forgiven?
Those that sins which are sky high.
And and and the number gets larger and larger the older we get. Why not come to the Lord Jesus Christ now and have those sins washed away?
Well, how do these people react? It says the Pharisees went forth.
And straightway to cancel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
That was the end of that gospel meeting, everybody, with the exception of that one person as far as the record goes here.
They got together afterwards and said.
How much? At the heart of it is my friends, I wanted to get rid of the sun. I wanted to calculate.
He was joined.
If they wanted to erect Jesus to my thoughts no about your some of my friends living here tonight after this meeting I get out of stay at home glad I thought it was I think.
We know a little bit about that.
For some of us remember the days when the things of the Lord were not precious to our souls.
We know how we treated the word of God. I've heard the testimony of some who got saved in later years, and it wasn't a pleasant thought they had about the things of God. My friend, what are your thoughts tonight after the meeting? Are you going to say you're glad it's over or are you going to say I'm glad I heard the message once more? And tonight I'm going to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. I don't want to be like those Pharisees and uh.
And uh.
Say another place mentions another group and seek to destroy Jesus. Do you want to put him out of your life?
00:30:07
Is that what you wanna do? There's no one here brave enough to raise their hand and say yes. I wanna put the Lord Jesus out of my life, my friend. Don't do it in a practical way. Don't leave this room without Christ. Become a Christian tonight.
Confess him as your Lord tonight, the sign for Christ tonight. These poor people, they took counsel together. How they're going to destroy him? Well, we're sitting in a room tonight where I dare say.
Most, most, many are glad that they heard about the love of the Lord Jesus Christ and his saving power. And tomorrow we're looking forward to coming together in His presence once more. What are you looking forward to tomorrow? Are you glad it's the last day of the meetings so that you can go on your merry way? Well, they took counsel how they might destroy him. My friend, don't destroy the Lord Jesus out of your life.
You do that, and he may destroy you someday.
And he'll destroy you forever. But yet we are saying they couldn't kill him that way. He had to go to Calvary's cross and there give his life. And I believe each one here knows the story of the love of the Lord Jesus. And they are on Calvary's cross. He didn't die for his own sins. He was holy, spotless, undefiled. And yet the scripture says.
We did esteem him stricken of God and afflicted.
Well then, why would God deal with the Lord Jesus if he was a holy and a spotless person? Well, God took his sin, our sins, this man's sins, and the sins of everyone else in this room who trusts in the Lord Jesus, and place them upon the Lord Jesus and dealt with Him. What would have meant for me eternity in the lake of fire and there in Calvary's cross, the Lord Jesus paid the debt.
That I had run up against God, that each one here had run up against God and he paid it and he paid it in full and he paid it willingly. He did it with his whole heart. And then he says, Father, forgive them. You let the gospel message. The Lord Jesus is the only Savior of sinners. Now, my Sinner friend, is he your Savior?
Think about that. Answer the question before the ward.
Could we soon closing?
#22.
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And and.
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Granddaughter of wireless computer Wi-Fi.
Restaurants new reservations for a $1000.50 rupees 9.
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00:35:12
Umm.
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Granddaughter, I don't know if you're going to be sure that I didn't know. What about it? I think it's very beautiful. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You're really good, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Uh, drive Thursday, 4:45.
4, 4353, 33399439.
OK, so umm, uh, the computer has to be for the hardware and whatever you're asking me to grandstore what happened? What happened to the people or something like that, and I don't know how.
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You don't understand what I have to do. Brilliant.
Nsnoise.
I close with a word of prayer.
Children in the Bible
Children—Will Hayhoe
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'd like to welcome all the children to Sunday school this morning.
We have some empty chairs still up at the front here if there's any children that want to come on up. I brought with me a little object lesson and a couple of the objects are pretty small, so you'll get a lot better view if you're up here at the front.
Well, we'll start this morning with singing. I wonder how many of the children here this morning like to sing. Why don't you put up your hand if you like to sing?
Almost everybody's putting their hand up, but we have the hem sheet here. I hope each one of you has one.
And on the back, from numbers 40 to 47, there are some children's hymns.
And uh, who would like to give out the first one?
This morning.
Yes, Sally, what would you like to think?
47 Thank you.
47 When he cometh, when he cometh to make up his jewels. Why? Why do you like this one, Sally?
Is this your favorite one?
I think it's probably because of the jewels, isn't it? This song speaks of jewels. And we'll sing it together. Then we might have a question for you at the end. OK, so let's, uh, sing #47 together. And if I could ask someone to help us this morning by starting the the hymns as we go, please.
OK, that was very good thing. I wonder if one of the children would be brave enough to put up their hand and tell me. In this song it talks about jewels. And what are these jewels?
I wonder if anybody was thinking when we were singing verse 3?
There's a lot of people here this morning, isn't there? But you can just pretend it's just just us up here at the front and uh, then maybe that'll make you a little braver. Yes Well, what, what are the jewels?
The children very good. That's right. It says in verse three, if you look at your hymn sheath and what we just sang verse three, it says little children, little children who love their Redeemer are the jewels, precious jewels, his loved and his own. You see, little children, and for all of us, if we love the Lord Jesus, if we know him, he looks on us as jewels and what what's special about a jewel?
What's special about a jewel?
Maybe I should ask. First of all, in this song it says that we're the jewels. What is a real jewel? What does it look like? Who can tell me?
00:05:10
Something that goes on sometimes on a ring or on a necklace, right? And it shines, it sparkles, right? And it's pretty. And usually they're, umm, something that we value. A jewel isn't something just that you would, uh, wear one day and then never be bothered with again. No, you'd keep it and treasure it and look after it. Well, the Lord Jesus looks down and he thinks of us as his jewels, and he cares for us, doesn't he?
So it's good to, uh, as we sing these songs together, let's think about what we're singing. OK, All right, let's see who would like to choose the next one.
Yes, Leslie, what would you like to think?
46 #46 Oh, the one just before it. OK, let's sing together #46.
And that's another very good song for the children. Now let's before we continue on, let's just bow our heads and we're going to ask the Lord's help and blessing this morning on the time together, OK?
OK, another one, another song.
Yes, Melanie, what would you like?
You know which number.
47 What we already sang 47 You want to choose another one?
Maybe you know one by the first line. Do you know one by the first line at home? These numbers are different than probably the one you sing at home.
Well, Melanie doesn't have another one. Let's see if somebody else have one.
Yes, what would you like? 40 Oh yes, this is a favorite right #40 Jesus loves me.
Yes, I know for the final characteristics of 100000 09009009.
Nsnoise.
Pizza Hut.
On my mind.
Yeah.
Well, that was very good. I wonder if one of the children can tell me a verse from the Bible that would tell us that Jesus loves us.
I think we all know that the Lord Jesus loves us, right? And all these hymns that we're singing here, they come from the Bible. There's verses in the Bible that would show it, show us that these hymns are true. How about you, Jonathan? Do you know a verse from, can you think of a verse in the Bible that tells us that Jesus loves us or that God loves us?
Very good. I thought that's what you were gonna say. John 316 And I think probably many of the children here know that one by heart, don't they? For God so loved the world, says for God so loved the world. That would include everybody here this morning, right?
Definitely. And all the children too. You know, there's a verse in Galatians 2, Galatians 2 and 20. It says the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. That makes a little bit more personal. God loves the whole world and it says that the Son of God loves me. I hope each one of you can say that this morning that Jesus loves me and that you realize it.
OK, another one. Who wants to sing another one?
Do you have one key?
Hi, Brent. I'm sorry, that's Brent.
What a friend we have in Jesus. I think that one's in here. It's not on the Backpage, but we can certainly sing it.
39.
Thank you. Yes #39 that's a very good one for the children too. OK, we'll sing #39 together.
Nsnoise.
Things.
Nsnoise.
OK, well thing two more.
And we're gonna have a little lesson from the Bible.
Yes, Jeremy, what would you like to think #4? OK on the front, OK #4 Perhaps with this one we'll sing just the first and last verses. OK of #4.
Nsnoise.
One more who would like to give out the last one. Yes, Joshua.
41 Good, I'm glad you've chosen one on the back for the children here. Oh, 41 very nice around the throne of God in heaven will many children thing 41.
Nsnoise.
00:20:50
Nsnoise.
Well, it's a real privilege on Lord's Day morning to come together and sing, and this song is telling us about a future day in heaven where there'll be many children.
And what, what's one thing that we're going to be doing? Singing, right? So this morning we could sing a few songs about the Lord Jesus, but there's going to come a day, one day when, when we're up in heaven and forever and ever, we'll be around the throne singing. And our prayer is that each one of the children that's here this morning will be there in that day.
Singing to the Lord Jesus. OK, now I have a little lesson that I brought along this morning. But before we do that, if there's any children here that have spent some time this week memorizing a verse.
If they would like to they we perhaps can make a few minutes for.
One or two or three or four children that want to say a verse.
There's a lot, a lot of people here this morning, probably more than you're used to, right? When you say your verses back at home, is there anyone that's brave enough to stand up and say a verse? Would you like to stand up first?
Being justified freely by His grace through the Redemption.
That is in Christ Jesus, Romans 324. Very good, thank you.
Anybody else?
Let's see anybody. Do you want to say your verse, Joseph? You can stand up and say it. OK, honey.
OK. Thank you.
Anybody else?
You wanna say your first name?
OK. Thank you.
OK, well it's probably others that have memorized versus It's good to memorize God's Word, isn't it? To hide it in our heart. We heard about that yesterday in the readings. We should make ourselves familiar with God's Word. OK, I brought along with me this morning a little lesson that I hope helps the children remember some a story from God's Word.
I brought along something here. I wonder what's this? One of the little children can tell me what? What's this?
I don't know all your names, so I'm going to have to point if that's OK. What what? What do I have here? A Bible. Very good. I hope each one, I'm sure each one of you children probably have your own Bible. Maybe not with you this morning. That's OK. But we're going to open up God's Word, the Bible. And I have in mind the story that includes in the story a little child, a little child. And I think I'm wondering if someone can think of a story in God's Word that includes a little child.
There's more than one. Are you thinking of one?
Samuel very good. I thought of that one this morning. And Samuel was a young boy. And remember the Lord's, there was a the Lord spoke to him at night and at first he didn't recognize the voice who it was. And finally he went to Eli and Eli told him or Eli recognized that it must be the voice of the Lord. And so Samuel did what Eli told him to do. And when the voice came, he said, speak Lord, for thy servant heareth. Samuel was just a young boy. Do you think the Lord Jesus can speak to even young children this morning?
00:25:03
Yeah, I think so. And if, you know, if you talk to the Lord Jesus in prayer or if you read His Word, he can speak to us through His Word and we ought to listen like Samuel did. How about another one? Anybody else think of a story from God's Word that has a little child in it? Yes, Graham.
That's right, Graham said. Moses and the bull rushes. That's very good. Yes, Moses was a young, very young. He was even what we'd say, a baby. And he was placed in bulrushes and the Lord watched over him, too. OK, I'm thinking of a story the that includes a child, and it was a little girl. We've had two boys. I wonder if who can anybody think of a story in the Bible of a little girl, Sally?
The girl who got sick? Yes, there's several in there in the in the Lord Jesus healed young girls that got sick. I'm thinking of a story in the Old Testament of a young girl that got taken from her home.
Can you you know what it is?
Very good. That's exactly what I was thinking of. Remember, there was the story of Naaman. And Naaman was an honorable man, it says among the Syrians. He was a great man. And his wife had a little maiden, a little girl, and she was taken captive from Israel and taken to this foreign land. But you know, she spoke a a word to Naaman's wife and it brought great blessing to Nam. And Naman was a leper. What's that mean?
What's the leper? Anybody tell me what a leper is? Can you tell me what a leper is?
What?
That's right, very good. A kind of disease on our skin. At least that's where it shows up initially big spots. And there's no cure for leprosy. Once you have it, understand that you'll have it for life. But only the Lord can cure. And it was a miracle. But that little maiden spoke a word and told naman of a prophet that could bring blessing. And so that's another example of a little child in the in the.
In the Bible and how the Lord used a little child to speak and it brought blessing.
OK, I'm I have in mind a story in the in the Gospel of John and I have in here a few items and I'm wondering if one of the children would like to come up and pick one of the items out. Come on up. You come on up and and choose one item and you can tell us what it is, OK?
What's that? That's right, a little roll. Thank you. OK, another one. We have 7 objects in here. Graham, would you like to come up please and choose something?
Maybe. Thank you. Another roll. Just about like the first one, right? Try and set this so everyone can see it. OK, it's someone else.
There is something other than a role in here, I can tell you that.
Lastly, would you like to come up?
Someone else you can come on up at the same time. What's that, Leslie? Another roll. Well, you come on up.
N.
So far we have 4.
OK. Would you like to come on up and choose something out of the bag I have here?
Boy, what's that?
Yeah. How many is that in total now?
5 rolls. OK, very good. Now let's see what else we have in here. These are kind of small, but let's see and would you like to come up?
You need to pick something out. You can look in there. You don't have you can.
OK, what's that?
A candy fish. You're right, it is a candy fish. But we'll just for the, for the purpose of our lesson this morning, we're gonna stay at the small fish, OK? And I have one other object in here.
Let's see. Jeremy, would you like to come on up? What do you think's in there before you look?
Really. How did you know I didn't tell you before? Very good. You know, I think what story I'm going to talk about, don't you? Sure enough, it's another small fish. Thank you. OK, I have in mind the story in John's Gospel, chapter 6, and I'm just gonna open up my Bible to that passage and just read a few verses from it.
And this is the story about how the Lord Jesus fed some people. And I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I hope that we can glean a little bit from this story for the children this morning. John's Gospel chapter 6. And we're going to start with verse 5, and I'm going to read down to verse 12.
00:30:08
When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, When shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, Seth unto him. There is a lad here which has five barley loaves and two small fishes. What but what are they among so many?
And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down a number about 5000. And Jesus took the loaves. And when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise of the fishes as much as they would when they were filled. He said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Therefore they gathered them together, and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come.
Into the world.
OK, we have a story here about the Lord Jesus when he was on earth.
And how many people were in this company in our story?
How many people were there?
500 yeah, there was that, but there was more than that too. How many in total?
What? Sorry, Jonathan.
5000 minutes. Jonathan says 5000 men. That's right. So there was probably a lot more than 5000 in total because it says there was also women and children. That's a large company. Have you ever been in a crowd where there's 5000 people?
I don't know that I ever have, at least consciously thinking about it. How many people you think are in this room this morning?
I wonder if one of the children would like to take a guess. If you think, you know how many people in the room this morning, Graham 300 You know, you're perhaps about right. I don't know if there's quite that many, but umm, about 300. Well, here was a situation where the Lord Jesus was out and there was over 5000. There's 5000 men and there's women and children. A large company perhaps. Perhaps there was 20,000 people and.
What? What was the problem?
What was the situation that faced? It wasn't a problem for the Lord Jesus, but it was a situation here. What was lacking William?
That's right, they did not have enough food I want Did everyone of you have breakfast this morning? Put up your hand if you had breakfast this morning.
I think everyone of the children had breakfast this morning. Well that's good and I think probably you are used to having breakfast every morning, right, And lunch and supper too. 3 meals a day. Yes, we have lots to be thankful for, but here there was a large crowd and.
There wasn't enough to eat. Has anybody ever been in that situation where you've been hungry and you haven't had anything to eat?
I think I have to shake my head. You know, we, we live in a land of plenty where we take for granted a meal. It's very often very easy to to obtain. But here there was 5000 people and how many of those people had brought food along to eat?
Put up your hand if you know the answer.
How many people had food to eat? Can you tell me?
Three Well, the Bible says here there was one lad, 1 little boy. And that's what we want to learn a little bit about this morning, about this young boy he brought along. What did he bring along? Well, we've heard this is the the object before us, right? He had five loaves and two small fishes and it says they were barley loaves.
Now I wonder if one of the children was listening and meeting yesterday.
Do you remember, does anybody remember hearing anything about barley yesterday, Graham?
Graham says it's easier than growing wheat, but it's like wheat. Well, that may be true. I'm not a grain farmer myself. What else did we learn about barley?
Remember route? It was at the beginning of barley harvest. Anybody else remember anything we learned about barley yesterday?
00:35:01
Gabbar Lee was a grain that was for the poor people, or is an easier grain to obtain, perhaps. And so it says here that there were five barley loaves, and that's what the the bread was made of. Now these loaves are small loaves, but I think they're probably made of wheat flour. But we'll pretend that they're barley loaves. And you know, it shows us that this young boy, perhaps he was poor, perhaps he was poor, he just had five barley loaves.
And but, you know, the Lord Jesus was able to use what he had.
And you know, little children, and for all of us too, but especially for the children this morning, the Lord Jesus, if we bring something, if we have something, no matter what it is, even if we're, if it's not very much as it were, perhaps you say, well, there's not much I can do for the Lord Jesus when I'm at home with my mom and dad, there's not much I can do. But you know, even if you just obey your parents, that can be honoring to the Lord Jesus, right? What else is something that you can do?
At home that would be honoring to the Lord Jesus. Can anybody?
Give me another example.
What are you thinking of? Obeying your parents? Very good. That's right. It's very important, isn't it? And perhaps your mom gives you a job to do, whatever it may be. And if you obey, that's honoring to the Lord Jesus.
That's what were you thinking about?
A Bible, reading your Bible. Very good. That's right. Certainly we can read our Bibles at home. And if you're too young to read, you can ask your mom and dad to read it to you. Probably most of the children here this morning have parents that are going to be glad to read you the Bible.
That's another thing that we can do well. We see that this boy brought.
Umm, 5 loaves and two small fishes. Now what did the Lord Jesus do with those?
What did the Lord Jesus do with just five barley loaves and two fishes? Yeah.
He made more out of it. And what's that called?
I certainly can't do that this morning. Only the Lord Jesus could do that. And what is it, Jonathan? A miracle. Very good. Yes, it was a miracle. From just five small loaves and two fishes, he fed 5000 men and women and children. And it was a miracle. And how much was leftover at the end, Graham?
How many? 5 baskets. Well, let's look. Let's see. What what were you going to say, Christy? 12 baskets, I think Christie's right. Yes, right. There was 12 baskets left over. There was more leftover, I think than when they started. Certainly all this could probably fit in one basket, right. But I.
So they had done distributing to all that were there. There was 12 baskets leftover. And you know, that would show us that the Lord Jesus, if we allow him to work in our lives, if we obey him, read his word like we've been hearing, then he'll bring blessing and it'll be a great, far greater blessing than we could ever have on our own. You know, if that lad had a brought those that meal, perhaps he could have fed a few others other than himself, right? If he had been willing, he could have maybe fed.
Two or three people around him or four or five, or maybe they could have spread it out a little bit more to 10 or 20, but certainly not 20,000 people. No, only the Lord Jesus could bring in a blessing like that. And so if we're willing to follow him through, to read his word, to obey, then he'll bring a far greater blessing than we could ever do on our own. And so for the children here this morning that know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
Want to encourage you to follow the Lord Jesus and to obey what you know from God's Word. Perhaps your parents read the Bible every morning, and here and there you can pick up a little for those who are older, you can understand more. And let's follow what God has given us in his Word and obey. And so the Lord Jesus got brought great blessing. You know what says at the beginning of the story that perhaps it's not in this account, but in another gospel there's another account of the same incident.
And it says that the Lord Jesus looked out on the great multitude, and he had compassion.
He had compassion. What's that?
What's compassion? Who one of the children here can tell me this morning? What? Give me a definition or what? What do you when you hear the word compassion, what do you think about?
We should be compassionate. What does that mean?
Do you know?
Merciful. That's part of it, perhaps. Yes, that would include it.
00:40:02
What else? Were you gonna say something, Jeremy?
Pity. Yes, that would be, uh, another word that we could use to describe compassion, to enter into the feelings of others, right? The Lord Jesus looked out on that large multitude. He knew that they didn't have any food. It says umm, in the portion, umm.
This He said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do. The Lord Jesus knew full well what He was going to do, but he looked out and He had compassion on that great multitude and He had a care for them. You know, that's another thing that we can even as young children, as young people, we can learn to have a care for others. If you see your brother or your sister, or maybe it's the neighbor next door and they get hurt, or perhaps they have a need, let's have a care for them to enter into their feelings and show love and kindness. And perhaps by by doing so, we have a neighbor.
Next door, who doesn't know the Lord Jesus? Maybe you have a friend next door and you play with them and they don't know the Lord Jesus. Well, you show kindness and show compassion and enter into their circumstances.
You can win them for the Lord Jesus. Well, I trust that we've gleaned some practical lessons from umm, this story and how the Lord Jesus had a care and an interest in even a young lad. And he certainly has an interest in each one of the children here this morning. And there's going to be that day like we sang in that hymn, it says many children around the throne of God in heaven. You know, it doesn't say all the children. And there's a reason. And that's because children, you have a responsibility to trust the Lord Jesus.
And if you do, you'll be among that many that are around the throne in that coming day. OK, our time is almost gone. We'll sing one more short hymn, and then we'll pose in prayer. Who would like to choose it?
Yes. What would you like to think? 35 Oh, number five, OK #5 on the front.
We'll sing all of #5 together.
Nsnoise.
And.
All right. Thank you.
Nsnoise.
I NIN.
GRA N forever.
Lord and oligarchy fires. When I'm going to get a red tomorrow I'm going to have a man that's going to be great. But I suppose, I suppose I don't know.
00:45:04
5439 Three.
OK, let's just bow our heads and we'll close with prayer.
Doors - Going From One Condition to Another
Lazarus - That God May be Glorified
Ruth 3-4
Reading
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I was just wondering if we could just try to.
Get to the end. It's such a beautiful ending to the book. You could bear that in mind and go quickly over there areas and and get to that last section.
413 from then on.
I said 27, I met 17. I didn't have my glasses on.
Which chapter?
One second chapter, verse 17.
Go right to the 4th job. He'd like to include the last two chapters.
Is it possible?
Well, sounds like today, you know, going too far and suggestions. I think it'd be nice if we finished the that second chapter and then.
A little bit on the.
On May 3rd and starting the 14th at the 13th verse.
Start with 217.
So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an evil of barley. And she took it up and went into the city. And her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she brought forth and gave it to her that she had reserved after she was surprised. And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today, and where wrought as thou, blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee? And she showed her mother-in-law, with whom she had wroth, and said.
Man's name with whom I wrought today's Boaz, Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law. Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness.
To the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth Mobitus said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men until they have ended all the harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth, a daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they may be not in any other field. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest.
And of wheat harvest, and dwelt with her mother-in-law. Chapter 3 And then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And that was not Boaz of Ark Hindrid, with whose maidens thou lost. Behold, he went in with barley tonight in the threshing floor. Washed myself therefore in anointing, and put on Put thy raiment to Ponty, and get thee down to the floor. And make not myself known unto the man until he shall have done eating and drinking.
And it's all be when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in and uncover his feet, and lay thee down, and he will tell thee what thus I'll do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. And she went down onto the floor, and did according to all, that her mother-in-law obeyed her.
Own Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry. He went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn, and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
And it came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid, and turned himself, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thine handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid, and thou art near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou the Lord, my daughter, and I hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning.
In so much as thou followest not young men, neither poor nor or rich. Now, my daughter, fear not, I'll do to thee all that thou requires.
For all the city of my people doth know thou art a virtuous woman. Now it is true that I am thy near kinsman. Howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I tarry this night, and shall be in the morning. That if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well, let him do the kinsman's part. But if he will not do the part of the kinsman today, then I will do the part of a kinsman today. As the Lord liveth, lie down until the morning, and she lay down at his feet until the morning.
00:05:04
And she rose up before 1 Could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor also. He said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured 6 measures of barley, and laid it on her, and she went into the city.
When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her, And she said these six measures of barley gave him a.
For he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law, then should see, said she said, Still my daughter, till thou know how the matter will fall to the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing. At this day should we read the 4th chapter?
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife. And when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare her son. And the woman said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel, and she shall be unto thee. He shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age.
So my daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him. And he only took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women, her neighbors, gave it her names. There is a son born to Naomi, and they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Pharaohs. Pharis begat Hezron.
And Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begat a minute dab and a minute dab begat nation.
And Nation begat Salman, and Salman begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.
This portion is very much the the sovereignty of God side God was moving.
In this direction and every detail that we've read was of God. Pretend we might think well.
A little bit strange that this girl would be so familiar with the man, but we must remember that this is holy ground and this woman was a virtuous woman and there wasn't a thought at all of immorality. I think it's a help to the younger ones.
To see that this is what God was doing to move this.
Faithful woman.
Into that position where she would be the the, uh, ancestors of great King David and then on down to Christ.
That was her responsibility side and what she had said. I will go God's part in doing the rest. So it's beautiful to know that our lives are mapped out by God.
And if we walk in his will, we'll take those steps.
And it will be for His glory and our blessing.
Every life of every one of us here has been mapped out by God.
I think it's beautiful to see that she not only gleaned, but she beat out what she had gleaned. And we've been doing some gleaning over these two days, haven't we? Are we going to go home and beat it out?
Let us work it out.
And meditate on it and enjoy it and not only enjoy it, but notice what else she did. She, she gave her mother-in-law some of what she reserved. Have you reserved a little bit to take back with you? Have I, I believe that's God's intention. I think we find that in, umm uh, in the minor profits, it talks about the, the send portions to those who, who have nothing.
00:10:00
There's an awful lot of hungry souls out there, uh, in this, uh, world who are looking for something to eat. And if you and I have been richly fed by the Lord and we've had some handfuls of purpose, haven't we? This is sweet to think the largest purposely put them there for us. What are we going to do with it? Well, we've got to go home and feed it out and exercise beforehand and then, umm.
Eat as much as we we can.
How much is it? So we're satisfied and then reserve some and give it to others. And I think that's God's order in these verses 17 and 18.
It's an exercise for us, isn't it?
I didn't notice something that they, uh, over.
Versus UH-15 to 16 and also in verse, uh, nine or more chapters. And that is that Boaz went to a considerable effort to ensure that there would be a, a tone or a attitude in this, in this workplace, if you will, this, uh, harvest place where.
This young lady would not be damaged or harmed.
Uh, what I'm referring to is verse 15 letter glean among the sheaves and reproach her, not the next verse, verse 16, that she may lean and rebuke her knowledge. And earlier on in the chapter in uh, verse 9.
Have I not charged the old men that they shall not touch them now, using the application of this chapter to a little picture of the assembly, or especially the local assembly? It's extremely important, isn't it?
Especially for those of us that are older that we.
Endeavor that there would be a spirit and tone in the assembly that would promote positive nourishment of all the things. The teaching may be excellent, there may be real clarity and all kinds of gifts, but as First Corinthians 13 teaches us, that there isn't love, which lays, they might say, a background or a backdrop of supportive, for lack of a better word, in the assembly.
And these things are not going to be, uh, unless we all step in, in mercy because they're not going to be received and there's not going to be growth. And we're responsible for those that are coming after us that there would be growth. So I think it's important to remember this side of things and take that with all the exportations with the concern and without being compromising about the truth that we seek to encourage the young folks and new converts, even if they come in their 60s.
Umm, that we, uh, take people the way they come and, uh, seek to, uh, walk together with them and encourage them and see the Apostle Paul writing to the Thessalonians and he says we were gentle among you, umm, and quite full diversity. That's the first Thessalonians chapter, umm.
Verse 7, Verse 60 describes his exercise not to be burdensome as the apostles of Christ. 1St Thessalonians 2 and then in verse 7. But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse. Cherish it for children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because you were dear and blessed.
And then even with the Corinthians who required a sort of a different hand, Paul writes in the second fiscal first chapter that he puts it this way to spare you. I came as not as yet to current, not as though we would have dominion over your face, but to be helpers. I think it's this. So our tendency may be to tell everybody not only what the truth is, but how to apply it in their own life and to reach in too far.
But, uh, I believe we have, we have to realize that, uh, it's by faith that they're going to stand. And on our part, we exercise that. There's an environment, if you will, an attitude that promotes, uh, the growth of the space and that we don't, uh, go in an overreaching way to have dominions to order and over God's heritage, etcetera, by being a demanding or critical spirit of those kind of things. Very important.
Actually, thanks for your call by attention some months ago to, uh, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse eight. That is the part where he says, have I not commanded the young men that they not touch you? That's one of the hedges the Lord has put up for the protection of the southeast of the Saints, for my protection and for the young lady's protections too. And we tend to break those down in our society, don't we? If you do, the serpent's going to bite you.
00:15:19
No doubt about it is there first Corinthians 7 one I've written unto you that is not good for a man not to touch a woman, And we say, Oh well, God is trying to keep me from having pleasure.
He's not. He's putting a hedge for our protector. What's on the other side of the head.
I've appreciated that scripture, especially Bruce in recent months. And since you've pulled it to our attention there now taper, uh, it's, umm, it's something they've got. And that's not the only one. There are many hedges that God has put for our protection. You're not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Is that because God hates unbelievers? No, he's and his son to die for, but he's, we put a hedge there for our protection. Let's not break them down. And, uh, I like the thoughts that the environment that the Lord provides is a safe environment.
For learning the truth, isn't it?
Like, uh, not to be unequal yields, but it also says for us to, uh, to, uh, try and win souls from the unbelieving and the unbelieving people. So we are to, uh.
Fellowship with the brethren and love the brethren, but we are also to to go to try to win souls.
So I see that.
I don't know when we can respond to that.
I think it's an important principle that we don't have to go into their position to win them.
We can stay in the position the Lord has put us in in obedience to the word and still win souls. And, uh, it's a lovely thought. I believe that winning soul started Proverbs 11 and verse 30, either when it goes as wide or I think, uh, Mr. Garvey's translation says the wise winner. So we think sometimes that, umm.
Winning arguments is important.
It's not when you market, it's when you sold. Even as believers in dealing with one another, what are we interested in doing? Winning an argument with a brother or winning him?
And I think it's so important to understand that, but I don't think it would. It requires us to violate one principle of the word of God to win a soul.
That's the point that you mentioned. Good to realize that we're, uh, it mentions about that the, on the unsaved wife and for the 7th chapter, of course, Corinthians, uh, it says there that the wife has become saved and the husband does not that the word that the husband.
Without the word, maybe one by the manner of life of the wife.
The manner of life, that's how we would win and we should be presenting the truth that's been pointed out walking in it.
All right, all right, well then should say that are in the dish. You don't go into the ditch to help him. You may get a rope, but you stay on firm ground and help him by pulling him out. By staying on firm ground with the ditch, you probably get stuck yourself.
So we can never or should never violate the Word of God in order to help someone really hindering them, teaching them obedience to the word is not important, but it's important that we obey the words and we become an example in that way.
And in the sense the truth of the gospel is looked at as obeying the gospel, isn't it? It's an act of submission to the will of of God, who he commands all men everywhere to repent and to accept the work of the Lord Jesus, which he's done for our salvation.
He just had a little experience of that, yeah.
In place and for example, there's a big warning not to go to his pier. Her flag is raised doubly worn people of the danger while a young man jumped into the water. And so his friend, seeing his predicament jumped into the water after the statement when they both drown. Very sad. And that was just a few days after somebody else had gone out there and slipped into the water. And there was a great little sympathy and sorrow over this one. It slipped into water. We'll see Two others went out there and one fooling around fell into the water.
00:20:14
Somebody's thinking he could save him lost his own logic. So what she said is very important is that you have to stay on the ground in which, uh, God has given us to occupy our communal health and maybe in great peril ourselves. Say thyself and obviously hear that first of all, I'm saving yourself and then then the other to hear you.
Years ago, umm, well, in fact, 1936, we made a trip to Florida, my father and mother and Jack and I and, uh, see my great grandfather in Key West. And most of you knew my father's character, you know, he was a very daring man. I just like to go over the edge, you know?
Challenge of something. Yeah. Well, he drove out on the beach and one of the places down in Florida, I don't know where it was now, but he got stuck modeled A4, you got stuck out there on the beach, called tow trucker, Tow truck came out and the tow truck got stuck.
We had to get a tow truck for the tow truck tow truck. And I think that just bears out what you're saying. You know, you don't go into a bad situation.
It's stuck in our our minds because it not only cost one tow truck, it costs 2 trucks two times.
The second chapter. So she kept fast by the maiden. Oh boy.
That's exactly what they've been told to glean until the end of barley harvest. It arrived at the beginning of barley harvest. And here she's continuing on and off the wheat harvest and dwelt with her mother-in-law. How, uh, Christian like this is, isn't it? Yeah.
It was.
Fellowship and obedience.
Interesting there that it says that verse 22 and Naomi said to Hunter Ruth her daughter-in-law at the 2nd chapter. Umm is good. My daughter. I go at the row office of 80s that they meet the not in any other field. If we compromise if we if we see you're putting the gospel first. Why I'm not disparaging the gospel. That's a needed thing, isn't it but God is sovereign.
And God can save even apart from anything that we may do. We can be saved by the life of a Christian, as you were pointing out, Neil, he can save by 1 by by one's life. But when we talk to somebody about the gospel, where do we direct them after they get saved?
That's a good question. Where do they go in Christendom? After their if they if they get saved, where do they go?
You see that's, that's there's a, there's a, there's a compromise there.
They're not being brought to the end where they can be fed and nourished because.
It's it's not the full gospel. Somebody said to me one time, you have the full gospel. I said, well, by the grace of God, yes, I said, you know what the full gospel is.
You get your your soul, you get saved and then where you go, Oh well, you go to the Church of your choice. I said not, not much, Scripture says.
God wants to bring you to the place where he's gathered his people together. There's only one place, and that's where the Lord Jesus is and where he is owned and where His authority is owned and where his his everything concerning the Lord. That's the necessary thing, isn't it? I think of our dear brother John Kemp traveling all over the world with pounds and hundreds of pounds of literature and money, gives them the gospel. Where does he lead them? Where does he direct them?
To the end.
He directs them to the assembly.
And I believe I see, I see that here in in pictures that it says they that they meet the knot in any other fear.
You could look at John 11 because we often think of the job in terms of it meeting our needs. Would it be can can become a very selfish thing in John 11?
00:25:08
And it's all known. And I believe this is John added these few lines to kayak. This is prophecy, wonderful prophecy. John 11.
50.
Umm, or consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people.
And that the whole nation perished not, and this is based not of himself, of being high priest, that if he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation and not for that nation only, but that he should gather together in one, The children of God were scattered abroad. We often think of the Gospel simply in terms of Christ dying for us, meeting our needs. But he died that he might gather together and won the children. I thought they were scattered abroad. And so the Gospel simply becomes a selfish thing if I think, well, my need is met. But what was his desire in God?
What was his purpose in diamond she gather together in one of the Chamber of Broadway scattered abroad. It's a very important part of the gospel and so to say well, you're saved now tend to change your choice. It's to speak to take the blessing and I just completely deny him his desire and dying very serious thing. We don't have to look at it as the light thing that people can stay attend the truth of your choice.
I'd like to make a suggestion.
Our time is very limited.
And umm, our brother Mary has an exercise regarding versus 13 and forwarding chapter 4. I wonder if we could ask him to just give us an overview of the third chapter and then we could go on to those verses. Would that be agreeable?
First, would it be agreeable to brother Barry?
And so.
Like the very first verse of the third chapter. Now Naomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her.
My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee? Shall it may be that it may be well with thee.
Naomi was the mother-in-law, but she her concern was blessing a large blessing on her daughter-in-law. And how sweet that is for us all to remember.
That we should be concerned for the welfare of everyone, not only in our family, this was in her family, but for the welfare of the of the and the growth of of each one and the and the assembly.
And then she outlines.
Uh, who this man is so beautiful there in that second verse and now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast behold, he was he Winova barley tonight and the threshing floor. Well read some of the details of it and again emphasize.
This was a picture, I believe a picture. Not the church, but a picture of the church.
Giving herself we have, we haven't been married yet to the Lord. The marriage is going to take place, but it's a betrothal and a betrothal is different than an engagement. You can break an engagement with people, uh, people, a couple can exchange rings and then things don't go so well and they decide, well, maybe we're not fit for, we're not suited for each other.
Uh, she was saying yes, I was thinking the same. So they just give back the rings and at the end of it, but it's a betrothal and the betrothal required a legal separation. Now we have been Devo, we have been.
Betrothed to Christ, fall spoken of that I present you as a chase version to Christ. Beloved ones, this is our position today.
We're going through this world and Christ is our husband to be and he's waiting there and we want to keep ourselves pure, pure girl. It's it's going to be a marriage of a boy. Why she keeps herself pure for him. She doesn't say, well, my boyfriend is on the other side of the continent, but so I'll go out with other ones. She doesn't do that.
00:30:07
If she's wanting to be faithful to him, she just says no, I'll for bear. That is our position and I believe here was the beginning of it where Naomi says this. Now you give yourself in the threshing floor.
You do this and do that. I explain exactly what to do, not immorality, but I think it's a beautiful picture of.
Our devotion today to Christ. And so she did. She did exactly what she was told. She didn't vary it. She didn't exaggerated, she didn't push too much. She just did exactly what she was told. And the man responds.
And he said that the man says, we know that this is a virtuous woman. You dear each one of us. We are the bride of Christ to come. He's waiting there in the glory, and we're waiting here for him. We're a spouse to him. May we keep ourselves pure from this world, friendship with the world.
And Matthew with God, oh, may there be the desire in our heart to see in this beautiful picture how she carried out exactly what was told her and the man toward the end of it. 14th verse she lay at his feet until the morning, and she rose up before 1 Could know another. And he said.
Let it not be known.
That a woman came into the floor, he might say, well, he was a little bit smooth about this. No, it's holy ground, beloved ones, this is holy ground and.
She did exactly what she was told.
And 15 And he said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it, and so on.
And 16 and when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. The mother-in-law again is concerned and interested in asks all the details and how lovely it is for us to be concerned. There's a person in Isaiah that says.
To seek the welfare of.
I forget the last word, but I'll each other. Are we? Do we love each other? And are we concerned about our spiritual wealth or not only our health, but our spiritual airplane?
When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou? And 17 And she said, these six measures of barley gave it to me. Well, I believe that that the food that the Lord gives us along the way, food for our souls, we can go away from these meetings feeling that the Lord has given us.
This precious food.
Truth concerning the Person of Christ.
May we guard this and walk in us.
18 is so lovely too.
And she said.
Sit still.
Sit still.
Is that good advice for you very young people? Don't be impatient.
Sit still. The Lord has a purpose of blessing in your life. Sit still.
Until.
Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter shall fall. Let's remember that verse. Take that word with us. How is the matter going to fall? Why is it we've been singing? The precious Savior is going to come with a shout to call the bride and welcome into his arms. This is our destiny. And so he's saying.
00:35:15
Until.
I was very globally versed and I Ezra 7 around 28 or so and it says watch.
Keep until all the same verse. Watch. Keep until and this is much the same. This is what you and I need to be doing, not to be looking for something unusual or something startling quiet going on with the Lord.
Please sit still until.
We have been taught in the New Testament the many of the secrets they didn't know, but it's been tight.
Like the last statement there that even the 1St.
This for the man, will not be in rest until he has finished the thing. This day. Maybe sometimes we get restless to be home. But you think of him. I mean, he's watched this church for nearly 2000 years and he's watched her through difficult times, perilous times. And he's watched, you know, the shedding of the blood of his martyrs. He has watched the perilous times when, you know, when she, uh, wanted to link up with the political things in this world. We've seen the whole thing.
Right down to probably, brethren, the most dangerous day.
Of her sojourn in this world, which I believe is the present day, and I'll tell you why. Because we live in a day of indifference and heartlessness for the Lord Jesus. What can you do with people who are indifferent and have no heart? What could I do? You know, What could you do if your wife had no heart towards you, your husband had no heart towards you? But isn't it lovely? I would state that here. The man will not be in rest until he had finished the thing. This day. We often speak of our longing for him, but brethren, it is nothing.
In comparison to the long that he has for us, but to be his name.
The beginning of the fourth capture, there was another man that was closer.
In the relationship and had the first title, so it outlines there how?
Boaz and confidence and waiting on the Lord, patiently waiting.
He gives this other man the opportunity to have to raise up.
A family with with Ruth and he says no, it'll spoil my own inheritance.
So the door is opened now for boys. No hinders. So lovely to see the boys was waiting for this. Well, this can be a figure, I believe of the law.
As, uh, it might say that the priority, but the Lord Jesus has waited and when?
The work of redemption is completed. Now the door is open for the Church to come forward.
Pardon.
Yes, the law would have an opportunity, but the law couldn't save anybody, just condemned, exposed what sin is. And so that has been settled now at the Cross of Calvary.
We look at Ruth, there's a picture of the, uh, the remnant of Israel that's going to be brought into blessing in the coming days. It's a beautiful thing on that too, that.
The law couldn't bring that nation into blessing, not because there was a defect in the law, but the defect in managed. But Ruth is going to be blessed, as we'll see in this chapter. And Israel in the coming days is going to be blessed on the principle of grace.
00:40:01
So we nations and if you ask their opinion, she went to the United Nations in New York and say what do you think of the fact that that the Son of God is going to come back from heaven and exalt 1 nation over all the rest?
That nation is gonna be the head of all the nations, and that nation is gonna be Israel. Why? They would suspect.
And they would give you reason after reason why that was unfair or unjust or whatever.
I suppose it might be the same if uh.
You know, if you and I was, if somebody was to go back into our past life and ask our associates, uh, what do you think of the fact that this, uh, Bruce Conrad guy, this, uh, you know what? My, uh, you know, it's gonna end up bearing the image of the Son of God. I'm going to be in glory.
Full of perfect acceptance from love there. They probably say the same thing. I've got all this, that and the other thing. We stand there and the principle of solid grace. And I think it's beautiful not only to think of the center as being justified that way in that day, but the thing that makes you all they've improved.
And, uh, finally, at the end of the day, they're gonna be brought in on that wonderful, wonderful Christ consulting principle of grace. And that's going to be a wonderful thing. I believe you'll rejoice in it on his behalf too. And we'll be able, I believe, to observe it and to rejoice in that part of the trace.
The Lord does not have two bribes.
Neither here nor in the case of Summer Solomon.
This is a picture of a bride, but not unearthly bride and bride. He's going to only have one heavenly taken from Israel and the Jew and the Gentile.
Could we go ahead with our?
Uh, 13th verse of the last chapter.
May I make a practical point whether notice the expression the Lord gave her conception?
We sometimes act like in this modern way of thinking that we that's something that we have under our control. We don't. It's the Lord and we want to acknowledge that.
I don't want to build any great doctrine on it, simply to understand that. And the moment we lose respect for that, and I think we have as a society, the moment we do this, respect for that, we can get into anything.
Well, let's remember that it's the Lord that does it.
I don't think we really realized.
How much the influences of this world has come in and affected our thinking in regards to these things. I really don't think we really understand how. How much of A ramification is that on us and impact that it's had on us? I won't take the time to turn to it, but there's a verse.
Umm, yeah, I think it's an Amos 8:00 and 9:00 or 9:00 and 8:00, can't remember which in connection with the statement was made. There's no birth because there's no conception or no gestation, and there's no gestation because there's no conception. But the thing we need to realize that the Lord controls all of that. No light without Him. He controls it. Uh, he gives it. He has the right to take it.
And because man was created in the image of God, we need to have our thoughts formed by the Word of God, not by men. Man is never right. He has never been right, and he never will be right. And it's wonderful to go to the Word of God and see what God's mind is about this. I want to encourage all of us, and myself as included. Let's not go to the Word of God with our own thoughts. Let's go to the Word of God and say, Lord, what is in this book that you want to teach me?
I want to hear, Lord, what Thou just have to say on this. And that's the place of blessing and safety for every one of us.
That's very important business. Go go to the word of God, bring something you're seeking to get something in front of them and that that's very important. And I think I agree. That's the part that's where intellectualism comes in. Man and his, his own thoughts and his own intellectualism. He comes to the word of God. He got certain views, certain thoughts.
00:45:14
And he tries to fit those in with the word of God. If that doesn't work, it doesn't work. He's going to get into confusion, further confusion.
But if you don't ask questions, you won't find nothing matter.
You sure that's true? Oh, I said that I bought all that was little. Like why is it that the purchase price is not given?
Television.
You'll never be able to have any raw eternity.
At 15, first complete say a big circle doesn't.
That starts off by.
The father-in-law taking his family away from God's center.
And he dies in the two sons die. It looks as if it's the end of everything, but there it says, And he shall be under thee, a restorer of life.
Is it referring? He says he said OK, where to relax the child or her husband?
Think of the world as the present day.
I heard someone make a statement, You know, well, I don't want any children. They're just a nuisance, you know?
I say people are in this day and age are saying I don't want any children. They're just going to be a nuisance. They're just going to get in the way. If you think that they're coming today at the Lord tarry. You know when those children will be a very valuable thing. I think of you know, couples with forego you know, children and they think that well this and that and and they don't. I think of one couple at the present time. They don't have any children at all. I think if the Lord carries someday they're going to be in a nursing home. Nobody to come to visit them or anything like that. Often think of that, you know, when I read this verse.
And there is European in nine old age. But that's some of the outcome, you know, of selfishness. It is brought with pitfalls in these things, you know.
All right, I was just wondering too if I don't see it in this verse. UH-15.
A God coming in in such a way as to complete a circle. You know, to read all this without the answer, without thinking it sounds like a lot of confusion to us, wouldn't it? But God brings us now into a completed circle, like it says He shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life.
A nourisher of thine old age for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons. It's just an interesting thing to see how God has put this all together. If the Lord himself, who else could do this?
Man would only make further confusion. But he brings it together, doesn't he? Completes the circle.
There's two repentance, congratulations. The Lord couldn't restore to her husband and her two sons that He gave her something better. And so there always ought to be the confidence in the heart of our heart, condemn as God is greater than our hearts, and the knowledge that God will come in and bless them if there's true repentance towards God and true restoration. But often there's a struggling in our souls to try to recapture the thing that we lost through our unfaithfulness, and there is no real recovery of that.
Where there was repentance, God could give her something better.
It went back to Naomi's returning.
What happened? What is it that you received this? What do you mean? It's very beautiful to see. That was all she did. She went back.
To her own land. But what did God do for her? You made all these arrangements for her and she could say this child is mine. Wonderful truth, isn't it beautiful?
00:50:08
It's so wonderful to grasp.
Verse 16 she became a nurse to it. Verse 17 what did they say?
Important to ma'am, they own it.
And the grand thing about it is that 1300 years in this very same town, think of it, let the weight of it sink in 1300 years later, in this very town, the true kinsman Redeemer was born. This isn't a fairy tale, you know, This is reality. This is reality.
What a wonderful day. Just thrills us all to think of it. God coming in, in the sovereign ways, bringing the whole thing together over ruling in spite of man's failure over ruling because it's because of sin, blessing as a result of it. And I think that one of the reasons why we're going to cast our crowns at his feet someday, because we're going to realize the ways in which that sovereign hand came in and ruled overruled when we made such a mess.
I'd like to ask a difficult question, or maybe, maybe uh, an ignorant question on my part, but umm.
They called his name Obed and I see the footnote that says without a Redeemer.
Why would that be? Is it? What would be the lesson in that equivalent? This child without a Redeemer?
Mr. Slater is not here. I'd ask him about it because he doesn't know some Hebrew and ask him whether that's correct or not, but it just seems puzzling to me. I don't doubt Mr. Garvey's no refers to the Son being born that is Obed. It makes me wonder why would it say without a Redeemer?
Well my wonder brother Nick and she mentioned the answer doesn't fall on the 15th 1St in this whole picture of Israel giving birth. You know the woman with the 12 stars in her head giving birth to the Son of God, that he was to be a restorer of thy life that obed as a picture himself of Christ was without a Redeemer. It's only a suggestion.
God give us a little picture in Peter's address where he says to the nation, especially to the elders, there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. I think, brethren, that there's significance there. I really do. They the nation at the present time, what are they looking for? They're looking for the Messiah, right? They don't realize that he's already come.
That he's been rejected. The remnant of course, is gonna be instructed in the future day to look for him. I I think of that person Daniel and I think we should turn to it because it's a very beautiful verse 11 Chapter, Daniel.
It could be the last chapter, but I'll get to it there in a minute.
Very, very significant verse.
Look at Daniel.
The 12Th chapter.
Verse three, chapter 12, Daniel verse three. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Don't say they are the stars as the stars. These little articles are very, very important. You know, we've been kind of mentioning that all through the conference of both these little articles as this dark heavenly wisdom given to the awakened ones to teach the remnant the truth about these wonderful things.
And they're gonna be ready to receive him when he comes. When he when he comes, the nation of course, is going to perish in unbelief. They don't believe. They don't believe at the present time. They're not going to believe. Thank God, he's going to save the tents of Judah, just a little remnant of faith. And then of course, the 10 tribes brought him to blessing later and so on. But I want to point that out that there's no salvation in any other. There's no salvation for the Gentile apart from Christ. And there's no salvation for the Jew either if they embrace that false Messiah.
That's the warning and it's very important to see that the more people would realize, you know, that there are things afoot in the in the world today. One of the most popular women in America at the present time does not believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. She believes that there are many ways. Where is she getting the idea from? From this new Age philosophy that's just sweeping into this country, That's where.
00:55:25
I'm recognizing the Redeemer. It's very interesting in the last chapter of Isaiah.
Not to wander too far from my chapter, but in Isaiah chapter 66 and verse 7.
Before she traveled she brought forth. Before her pain came, she was delivered of a man's child. Who had heard such a thing? Who has seen such a thing? Such things shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day shall a nation be born at one. For as soon as Zion travels she brought forth her children.
Well, the what a wonderful thing that the Lord was born 2000 years before Israel went through the labor pain, so to speak. They yet have to live through their labor pains, but the sun is already born and they don't know if they don't recognize it.
The law could not do in those weeks through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh for sin condemns it in the flesh. So the first one who had right was this kinsman who was brought in in the first part of the chapter, and he couldn't redeem. But then here comes the Redeemer. And so the law couldn't do it. And their brothers just remarked. This is interesting passage there in Isaiah that.
They're going to see when they look upon that one who is pierced that the Redeemer was born long before while they were traveling, trying to get blessing under the law.
And this means too, that, umm, that Ruth becomes the great grandmother of David, doesn't the one born as the grandfather of David makes it all very, uh, very real. I think when you think of that, this isn't something remote back right after the flood is coming right down to David's time. So, uh.
He became the man of God's own thoughts.
And umm, yet, uh, his great grandmother was brought in by sovereign grace.
Matthew, I'll just read it, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.
The son of Abraham.
What? What a sweet and here is a faithful girl woman faithful to the Lord, who is brought in from that land of more that was.
For 10 generations they were not to be brought into the congregation of Israel. The grace of God. Oh, let's not forget that grace of God that would bring that poor woman.
Right into the very.
Thread that line of golden line that leads right on to Christ.
So we all can.
Realize our privileges and our responsibility to remain faithful to Christ. Cast what may.
Doesn't it say even the Senate generation, if I'm not under any that is, it seems as if there was to be never that they were to come in. I don't know. That's how I read it. Maybe I'm going very just asking that as a question.
#23 just to read that word as you mentioned earlier.
Even to the 10th generation, shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord forever? That's God's government.
Verse 3, Deuteronomy 23 three. And that's 'cause government translation says even their 10th generation, not everything. And uh, then God comes in and grace.
And bring this loose them all by this and it's interesting it's been mentioned several times where it's wherever 3 edges route the mole bike.
01:00:07
Well, the grace of God comes in there, doesn't it?
What about ourselves? Do we deserve it?
Grace of God, we will Northeast I I make this statement quite often and I'm I'm the more I'm I'm every time I say that, I'm more convinced myself that I do not understand the grace of God. I believe it, but I can't say that I understand it.
Really you should change.
And you just see the sovereign working of the grace of God and amongst this complicated story of man's treachery and.
Deception. And yet you see the sovereign working of the grace of God even regarding Ferris in the 18th, 1St year. I'm sorry.
With the Malachi, isn't it Malachi is.
Two of my own like.
I think it's James dude that says whatsoever a man saw us that shall he also reap that the statement in God's word. Whatsoever man souls that shall he also reap that the government of God, but the grace of God. Second Timothy 213. If we are unfaithful.
He remained faithful. He cannot deny himself. That's what we follow back on, brother, not on our life, but on the perfection of the grace of God that shows us even when he knew that we would so often make a failure after we've been saved, as many of us can have to confess, but the grace of God.
He remains faithful.
And shallow forever.
They could, she couldn't. And then later she brings her in. Now they do not. They say that's not the truth. God didn't tell the truth. I said wait a minute.
You don't want to say that because you don't know anything of the grace of God. If you deny that you don't know anything. And man is in the government of God even though he thinks he isn't. But the grace of God comes in and brings in this one into the royal line. What a beautiful thing. I would just like to make a comment. **** asked about the name of that and I looked it up in the proper names and it says worshipping or serving law.
And they only named her son worshipping her, serving home a lot nicer than the other thoughts he had had the better. That's leaves me much more satisfied.
Can we enclosing seeing that grand old millennial hymn, hail to the Lord's anointed great Davis Greater Son?
Gospel 2
Gospel—Ed Wilson
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Well, this is the last gospel meeting of the conference.
Honor, we might open tonight with him #34 in our little sheet, Precious, precious blood of Jesus.
Shed on Calvary, Shed for rebels and for sinners, Shed for me.
Very personal.
It's been shed for rebels, It's been shed for centers.
And there isn't a person in this room that does not fit that category right there. We're all rebels. We're all sinners. And so we can say that Jesus shed his precious blood for me. Yeah.
Lovely truth, precious blood that hath redeemed us. And I hope that everyone in this room tonight can say this. In truth, precious blood which hath redeemed is gonna make it personal and say that precious blood was shed for me.
All the prices paid.
They're lovely to realize that that price has been paid in full.
In full.
Perfect pardon now is offered. Peace is made. Thank God it's been made.
I don't know where I would be tonight, and I don't know for a moment on what my soul could rest on if peace had not been made through the blood of Jesus.
I want you to think about that for a moment.
Where would any one of us in this room be tonight?
If peace had not been made.
Thank God it's been forever, forever settled on God's terms.
Though thy sins are red like Crimson, deep and scarlet glow, Jesus precious blood can make them white as snow.
Every time I think of this verse, I think of an illustration that we did years and years ago in a Sunday school.
One of the boys brought in one of the whitest shirts he could find.
And I mean, to look at it, you'd say that is a white shirt.
No grease on it, no grime, nothing. Sunday school teacher made us take it outside and light on the snow bank. It was yellow in comparison to the snow.
And I love these simple little illustrations, you know, because as a child, I believe the Lord uses these things to make little impressions upon our hearts and our minds.
I thought about that, isn't that amazing?
Precious, precious blood of Jesus ever offered free. God offers it.
And FI offer you something, you might question it, but God offers salvation. Ever offered free? Oh, believe it all, receive it. That's not enough to believe it up here. We have to believe it down in the heart. If with the heart, man believes. And by the way, the feet follow the heart.
The feet follow the heart. Wherever the treasure is, that's where the heart is going to be. Have we found that treasure in Christ? I hope everyone in the room tonight when we leave here, we can say of a truth, I found my treasure in Jesus.
Alright, let's sing this in together.
First John chapter one and verse 7. Let's turn to it.
I want the last clause in that seventh verse. The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, God's Son, cleanses us, cleans us from all sin.
Do you and I have any idea how offensive spin is in the presence of a holy God?
I think it was the prophet Ezekiel was taken by the Lord to look through a little hole in the wall.
What he saw was great abominations.
One speck of thin in the presence of a holy God.
That's worse than an ocean of sin before your eyes and mind.
Did you know that?
The holy gaze of God as he looks down.
He cannot tolerate sin in any shape, particle or form.
I wanna tell you tonight that outside golf, outside Jerusalem, on Golf Office Hill almost 20 centuries ago.
00:05:05
A mountain of sin was laid upon the head of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I remember as a child in Sunday school singing that hymn that we often used to sing a children's chorus. My sins were as high as a mountain.
They brought them down to the fountain.
What is the fountain of precious blood of Christ?
You know what happened that day is the fact that your sins and my sins, your sins and mine, if we're trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those sins, that mountain of sins was swallowed by a fountain.
Thank you, Vic.
Precious blood of Jesus shed. John 19 tells us very very clearly that that Roman soldier came and with a spear pierced the side of the Lord Jesus. Was it the blood and Gethsemane that saved? No.
Was it the blood that he received at that scourging post in Pilot's judgment hall? Was that the blood that saved us? No, it's all precious.
What was the blood that saved?
Hear the words and I'm quoting them. John 19 but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side and forthwith came their out blood and water. Listen carefully now. And he that saw their record and his record is true. I love that and he knows that he say it's true that ye might believe. Do you believe that tonight? Do you believe that the blood of Jesus Christ.
From his ribbon side is that which alone can take away your sins and give you divine life.
Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. How is it in this day in which we live, that we're beginning to hear voices telling us that there are other ways? There's only one way.
One of the most popular women in the United States right now is telling us that they're that Jesus is only one of many ways. This woman is a multi millionaire by the way.
And this is what she proclaims. There are other ways than Jesus. It's not true.
The only man who never lied, who could not lie, because in him was no sin. He knew no sin, He did no sin. He said this, except he believed that I and he ye shall die in your sin, and where I am you cannot come. That's pretty plain, isn't it? John 14 and six says I am the way, the truth and the like. No man cometh under the Father.
But by me there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. You notice how it goes from the singular way to the plural wave. Interesting, isn't it?
There's a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. You know, it's interesting. It's like he starts down a road. Oh, well, this looks good. So I think I'll deviate and I'll go off here, Right.
And then along comes something else which pleases the air, and he deviates on to that.
You know, it's interesting that in this country at the present time, there are many, many things that are given forth to men and women that will make them happy, that will bring satisfaction. So they think because there is, according to Hebrews 11, pleasure and sin for a season, right? There is pleasure in sin for a season, but there's no permanent, true, fulfilling and lasting peace and joy. You're only going to have that in the work of Christ.
I wanna tell you this tonight, as that work has satisfied the heart of God. You think?
Think of what that work can do for us if we admit it by faith into our hearts. If that work has satisfied God forever. Think of what that work will do for you and me if it's admitted into the heart by faith. I'm thankful to say tonight that by the grace of God, I've done this, and I believe that many in this room have done that.
Not because we're anything.
Let me quote you Ephesians 24 By grace are you saved through faith and that.
Not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of work, lest any man should boast.
Let's call Romans 10:00 and 9:00. If thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in thine heart, not the head, the heart, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Why is confession so important?
00:10:08
Why is confession with the most so important?
Well, it's important, Manward.
Because if you leave this world, if you pass on in depth and you have not made a clear statement, people are gonna wonder. They come and they say, well, you know, that person passed on. Did you ever hear them confess? The Lord? Have you ever heard that? And sometimes people, well, no, I I've never, ever heard that one give a clear confession. It makes you wonder, doesn't it?
So it's with the confession of the most, and then it's the belief in the heart that God has raised him from the dead, because tonight our God is the God of resurrection.
That's the greatest power that's known. He brought world into existence by the word of his power. But think of it. In order to redeem a guilty soul, in order to give him divine life, he had to be the God of resurrection.
That's power. That's what it says in Ephesians 1, by the way. That's what it says in Ephesians one. According to the working of his mighty power, or according to the working of the might of his power. Think of it. Think how powerful this God is, and yet a working of the power of his might to bring a Sinner to himself.
To bring them from darkness to light, to bring them from the authority of Satan and translate him into the Kingdom of the Son of his love. That's power. That's real power. Lovely to realize that our Lord Jesus possesses that power. Have you been there? Have you accepted this one? Do you have divine life right now? The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleans us from all sins.
And that's really strange that men and women have the idea fixed in their mind.
That God can only cleanse people from some sin.
And go to a murder in a prison, and you present the gospel to them, he says. You mean to tell me that God can forgive the sin of murder?
That God can forgive a bank robber.
That God can forgive someone who's committed fornication or whatever. God can do that.
You know, it's the little words and scriptures that are so precious, aren't they? That little word ALL all, but how profound it is all sin. And then we think of that verse in Romans 3 and 23. All had sinned and come short of the glory of God. How simple that is. And yet how profound it is all, not just some, it's all.
The blood of Jesus Christ is done cleans us from all sins.
You know day I got saved.
Just like what happened to this, I know this is what happened. In the sight of God, He reached down.
He killed me.
Razmi and newness of life. Was Christ what you're looking at tonight as an individual now who's no longer seen under that old endemic condition and that wonderful who but God could do that?
You know, man, tonight, what does man want to do? Man wants to take this old Adamic fallen nature and he wants to fix it up right? He wants to educate it. It's educated flesh. He wants to refine it. It's refined flesh. He wants to make it good in the eyes of his fellow man. But he never ever stopped to think of the most important thing of all. What does he look like in the eyes of a thrice holy God?
Would you like to see what God has to say about what an individual looks like in his thin in the presence of a thrice holy God? Let's turn over to Isaiah 1 in 18 and we'll see exactly what God has to say about this, because it's very plain. It's very straightforward.
This is what God has to say.
And by the way, Israel was probably one of the best specimens.
A band that we can find in its natural setting.
Hear what God has to say about it's very important book of Isaiah chapter one.
That's diverse.
Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord.
00:15:04
So your sins be a scarlet. They shall be as white as snow, though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool.
That's a lovely statement.
Where is the verse in this chapter that says from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot? OK verse 6.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it. Wounds, bruises and putrefying sores.
That's not a very pretty picture, is it?
Suppose you and I were in this room and someone came into this room who had stores all over their body that were oozing.
Just a math.
Uh, uh, uh, uh, a dead person just oozing these things. Oh, it's awful. Why? You wanna get out of their presence probably as quickly as you can. What is God telling us in this verse?
This is what he sees as he looks at the awful condition of man in his sin.
That's what he sees.
And men and women have the thought fixed in their mind that they think they're pretty good.
This is what God tells us and it's lovely as we quoted, as we've read this verse 18. Come now, come now, He says, let us reason together. You know, men do a lot of reasoning. They do a lot of reasoning. They think a lot of things and they've used this wonderful gift of thought and reason, you know, to even rule out the very existence of the Creator. Isn't that amazing? All the grace and the patience of God. I wanna tell you tonight, He may be waiting just for you.
He may be waiting just for you. God's house is filling fast, but I'm telling you this, one of these days that last call is gonna be gathered in.
If you linger till the darkness, you may sure you will surely miss your way. You're gonna miss it. God's not always gonna hold the door of mercy open.
It's gonna close, and very soon.
Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. O your sins be a scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as well. Now everyone knows where wool comes from.
Comes from sheep.
It's a lovely thing to realize tonight that every person in this room who's saved, by the grace of God, they are the sheep of his pasture. They are.
What warmth have we provided for him?
None. None is natural men. There's nothing we can give him, he said. The cattle on 1000 Hills are mine. If I was hungry, I wouldn't tell you.
One thing He wants, One thing He wants. I want your kids to listen to this. That's one thing that the Lord wants from you.
You know what it is?
It's the heart.
That's what he wants from you. He wants your heart. He says, My son, give me thine heart. The enemy wants to take your heart. He wants to break it and leave it unfulfilled, and he'll keep it. There are many men and women tonight who have learned to their sorrow that the devil pays down wages.
That's what you get at the end of a work week, right? You get wages. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. Our Lord then paid down wages. Wages.
Pleasure and sin for a season, but there's fearful and frightful wages to pay at the end of it all. Solemn to think of it.
That's the truth.
I wanna turn over to averse now in second currency in chapter one.
2nd Corinthians, chapter one.
I'm reading a verse here now which is true of every person in this room who would say, but I'm going to speak a little bit more about this verb.
And how it could be true of you, my friend tonight, if you're here without Jesus.
As this verse could be true of you, I know this verse is true, and it's going to be true of every person who knows Jesus as their Savior. I have a confession to make to you tonight. One of the most fascinating numbers in the Word of God is the #3.
Divine and adequate testimony, that's what it is. The #3 Let's look at this wonderful verse. It's verse 10.
00:20:04
Who delivered us from so great to death? I wanna turn this question right directly to you. Can you say that the Lord Jesus Christ has delivered you from the wrath to come? Because it's coming even now, dear, when the storm clouds are gathering on the horizon, things are getting worse for this world. They're looking for a man to lead them out of their problems. They're looking for individuals to fix things. They know that things are not right. I love that poem that someone wrote a few years ago.
The outlook is not very good.
Things are as black as night. It's getting worse. As I said, those storm clouds are gathering on the horizon. They are. It's almost like we can hear the rumble of the Thunder in the distance. Everyone here has seen a thunderstorm. You know those. Those clouds roll in. Everything get so still and so quiet. It's almost eerie before the storm breaks. I often wonder sometimes that that aren't that isn't where we are at the present time.
Just kind of like a little low, just uh, kind of a stillness, kind of a quietness. People wondering with bated breath what's going to happen next.
And they're going to wonder and the fury of that storm is going to break upon the Christ rejecting world. I want to tell you it's coming and it's coming very, very quickly. I want to stay tonight. There's deliverance for you. If you'll believe you'll be able to say who delivered us from so great a death thinking of Moses. You know, this morning we read that verse in the 12Th of Hebrews.
The status of the sons of Israel. He was standing there looking at Mount Sinai, all of smoking on fire. And he said, I exceedingly fear and tremble. Think of it. Here's a mountain that engulfed by fire and darkness and the sound of the trumpet that's just getting louder and louder and the people are just pleading with them. You know, we don't want to hear the voice of God speaking to us in such a way. I wanna tell you tonight, friend, there was a storm that burst on Mount Calvary.
Nearly 20th centuries ago. That was more awful than what happened announced on EI that day. Hold your place here and let's go back to the Book of Job, the 38th chapter.
The 38th chapter of Job.
I wanna read the ninth verse.
This is Jehovah speaking.
When I made the cloud, the garment thereof in thick darkness, a swaddling band for it.
We have a tendency to look at this chapter and think of it in the aspect of natural creation, and it's true. But I think the Spirit of God has something more in mind because this was just not any cloud. This was Z cloud. Pay attention to the article here. Z cloud at high noon on Calvary. Can't you get the picture? A Son of God is suspended there on a cross of wood between two thieves, between heaven and earth. The jeering multitude are hurling insult after insult. Adam, if thou be the Christ, come down from the cross. That's unbelief, you know, and we'll believe. They wouldn't have believed.
And at high noon, this scene is in raft and engulfed in darkness.
How graphic this verse is in describing this?
When I made the cloud the garment thereof, Jesus was the solitary man in that darkness.
In those hours, think of it.
And thick darkness of swaddling band forest. Interesting. You know, when he came into this world as a little child, he was swaddled in clothes and laid in a Manger.
Showing us the poverty into which he came. Although I wanna tell you tonight, my friends, no poverty like this, when he was all alone in that darkness, and the sins of everyone who would believe were placed upon him there. I wanna ask you tonight, have your sins been put there for your sins placed upon him?
Have you accepted him as your savior? Have you looked away to that cross and said Jesus died for me? Oh, the shame of it. It was my sins that put him there.
It was the thins of all of those who would believe. Have you believed that Jesus died for you? What a frightful thing that must have been.
00:25:03
Latin engulfed in darkness.
And do you know he was forsaken of God too? Psalm 22 to the chief musician concerning behind the morning.
He was there in the midst of his foes, just like a deer.
Very graphic assignment is in describing to what they're the various ones who surrounded him. There were the bulls of Beijing.
Everyone here, I'm sure, has seen a bull, big and powerful. He would, in a company of those bulls at Baytown, the religious leaders of his day.
They haunted him, they questioned him, they tried to entrap him, and in the end they condemned him to death. Think of it, an innocent man. Then the dogs were found there. The Gentile soldiers, I believe, tells us there in the Gospels that they gathered together the whole band into that judgment hall. And that's something one innocent man and a whole band gathered around him, and they laid wound and strife upon him.
And some have told us what it was like when they brought that lash down upon him again and again and again. And they made his back, as the Thomas tells us, his back like a plowed field. I don't know if you've ever plowed a field. I have. I lived on a farm with a child. I remember being on the tractor watching that ground being rolled under Nyaz to think to myself, boy, if this field could talk, Think of the pain and the agony.
You think of it, the Lord Jesus, we read that verse this morning in Isaiah 52. It's it's his visage was so hard, more than any man and his form more than the sons of men. He didn't have to take it. He submitted to it in love and in grace to the will of God his Father. And he did it for your blessing and for mine, but he did not have to submit to it. You know, we die because we have to. He died because he chose to.
And that lovely he chose to lay down his life.
Can you say he laid it down for me?
Can you? Can you say Jesus died for me? It was for me that he was forsaken in those hours of darkness upon the tree. It was for me that God the Father.
Had to turn it back upon his son.
Because God is so holy, those eyes cannot look upon sin. There it was, and all of its awfulness upon our substitute, and God turned his back upon His Son. What poverty? This was real poverty.
You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. What poverty was his?
I'd love to tell that story, and I'll tell you that I've been saved since about the age of 10. But I'll tell you that that story to me gets sweeter every time I hear it.
And while there are arguments that the hymn writer I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me, and that is personal.
This is a great chapter. You know it's 38 some.
One of our brothers home in the assembly used to say that this chapter is an unanswerable proof of the majesty, the power of God, but interspersed in these verses as the cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what makes it so majestic.
What a great chapter it is.
And you know, some of the most profound statements in the word of God are questions.
Questions. God asks us questions He asked a man here. Questions. True, Joe couldn't answer them. But you know God would ask these questions to you and to me tonight. Look. Look at some of them. Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Where were you?
Where were you and I when Jesus Christ died upon Calvary's cross and wrought that great work of redemption? When the foundation of our salvation was laid, where were we?
Did we advise him in it? According to Romans 11, we didn't.
Who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counselor? Did we counsel him on salvation? No, no, You know, when it was presented to me as a child for the first time, even though I was raised in a Christian home, I thought it was the most fantastic thing I ever heard. Why would God be interested in me? Why would God lay the foundation for my salvation? Why would God do such a thing? Out of the millions of people alive in the world tonight, why would God be interested in me?
00:30:08
I'll tell you this, you can't get around that wonderful verse in John 316, can you? For God so loved the world.
That whosoever put your name in there, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What a great thing whosoever believeth, whosoever. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved, even a callin in tonight.
Are you gonna call on someone else and call on someone else? You're gonna be lost. And call on the name of the Lord. You'll be saved.
And I vividly remember conference three years ago in Stellarton.
And I remember that there was this young girl who was very troubled about her soul, very troubled. And I remember her making the statement. She said to me this, she said, part of me wants to believe, but the other part of me, I find it almost impossible to believe.
I said well you better listen to the part that tells you to believe.
Better listen to the part that tells you to believe. What is it that you find so fantastic that you can't believe? She said, I find it so fantastic that people lived to be such a great age in Genesis 900, sometimes 900 plus years. They have a problem with that. She said, yes, why do you have a problem with it? While she said I can't really see how people could live that long. I said, my dear, it's part of the inspired word of God.
He had stated it as a fact.
Listen to the what? What is it then that you do believe? She said, Well, when I think of the work of Calvary and I think of the fact that he died for me, she said I can accept that. I said that's all you need. That's all you need.
I'm happy to say that about two or three days later, she did accept the Lord as her savior. What a wonderful thing, you know.
Unbelief is a terrible thing. Unbelief is an awful thing.
And that heads the list, by the way, of those in Revelation who will be one day confined to the Lake of Fire. It is what? The fearful and the unbelieving.
The fearful and the unbelieving. And then it gives the awful list of the rest. But it's the fearful and the unbelieving. What does it mean by fearful? I believe the fearful there is those who are afraid to confess the Lord. They're afraid that their friends are gonna make fun of them.
I think of a dear brother that I know in Christ. It's not at the Lord's table anymore. Through discouragement, he got away. But I remember sitting, you know, in a class in Fredericton and oh, we had this teacher and he was awful. He was an agnostic, you know.
And I remember him vividly saying one day he said, you know, he said when Jesus Christ was crucified, when they put him on the cross, they broke every bone in his body. And never forget Doug's answer.
He said to him, he said, Mr. McFadden, he said that's a lie. He said, my Bible tells me that the bone of him shall not be broken. He said, I want to tell you something, Sir, the Bible is right. There wasn't a bone broken.
Auto testimony. I wasn't a bone broken. Think of it suspended there between heaven and earth and not a bone broken. Those nails going through his hands and his feet, Not a bone broken. See, the whole thing was miraculous.
And then the shedding of his precious blood. How can I tell you about it?
How can I tell you about it, France? It was a miracle.
You asked any undertaker in this town, when you cut into a dead body, when it starts to bleed, you stop immediately. There's still life there.
I want to tell you that day.
When they pierced his eye, a glorious stream of blood and water came forth. Is that what you're trusting in tonight? Heaven will be your force. And if you are?
Heaven, That's what God looks for, the precious blood of Jesus.
Was a wonderful thing when the first creation was laid. So glorious, it says, when the morning star sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.
But you know, heaven has never heard. Heaven has never heard a song that's going to be sung there very, very soon.
You know, they sang here, these morning stars and the sons of God, they sang, but heaven is going to hear another song very, very soon. And everyone this morning who had the privilege of being here in the presence of the Lord Jesus, we learned a few bars of that song that we're going to sing up there, Revelation chapter 5. Let's turn to it and we'll see what it is.
I hope everyone in this room attended. The sound of my voice tonight is going to be able to hear and is going to be able to think this wonderful song.
00:35:05
5th of Revelation.
Verse 9 Revelation the 5th chapter, the ninth verse they sung a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book.
And also on the fields there.
For that I'll explain.
And it has redeemed that to to God by thy blood.
That beautiful every kindred in tongue and people and nation now in the original via was not there as is redeemed to God.
I wanna tell you tonight that the work of Calvary is such an immense work.
That only God could describe it to him.
You think of how that precious blood has reached all the way back to the beginning of time, and it pardoned Adam, it pardoned Abraham, it pardoned David, it pardoned Solomon, it pardoned all of those Old Testament things.
Think of the power of that precious blood that has brought multitudes in in the present day, from Pentecost up until the present moment, until that moment when the Lord Jesus is going to call the church home millions.
God has been glorified in the work of Calvary.
What a thing this is going to be.
And if the Lord Jesus comes tonight?
All of those ones, those faithful ones who will pass through that tribulation, they're going to overcome the wicked one. They're going to wash their robes white and clean in the blood of the land. Let's take it on a little further. All a blessing that will accrue to this world through that millennial reign of Christ. When he reigns from the river to the ends of the earth, it will be as a result of the cross worker teeth.
Let's take it even further into the eternal state. God is one day going to remove from this world after it's burned up. As we learned that from Second Peter 3. The heavens and the earth will be dissolved by fire. God is one day, through the work of Calvary's cross, going to remove every particle and trace of sin from His universe forever. You know why? Because of the cross of teeth.
What an immense work.
I wanna tell you tonight that this poor speaker is not worthy to stand up here and tell you what God has done.
What the Christ of God has done through that wonderful work on Calvary's cross, I'm inadequate to tell it.
But the more that I think of it, the more filled my heart with joy, and I think that Jesus Christ has glorified God in the work of Calvary's cross.
Are you tonight under the shelter of the precious blood of Jesus? Are you, have you been there? Have you come there? Have you received Him as your Savior? Are you going to be a part of this company that have trusted Him as their personal Savior, have had their sins washed away and that precious blood, and have divine life?
Are you?
Servant of the Lord put that question to my wife when she was a little girl, and she said, well, I hope so.
He was faithful with her, he said. Well, if you hope so, you're not saved.
She said, well, that was very blunt, but she said that's exactly what I needed to hear. There's no hoping friends.
There's no hoping I am. I'm either in Christ or I'm in my sins.
And if I'm in my fins, I'm not in Christ. And if I'm in Christ, I'm not in my sins. And that's, oh, I think that is, I think that's so wonderful.
Can you say that tonight? Can you say that Jesus died for me? Can you make it personal?
Can you make it personal?
They sung the new song.
Bauert worthy to take the book, I wanna tell you tonight, I don't think.
If there's any possible way that you and I can Plumb the depth that's wrapped up in this wonderful verse.
If you and I in our in the state that we're in at the present time, if we could be transported into heaven right now and see these things in our mortal bodies, we couldn't stand it. It would be so overwhelming to us that our hearts would almost burst.
Thank God we're gonna get a new body. We're going to get a new body.
To be able to appreciate all of these things and not just like him, Adverse and 2nd Corinthians, let's go back and look at it again. We mentioned the first part of it. Let's go back to it again, Second Corinthians chapter one.
00:40:08
He delivered us who delivered us past tense from so great a death and thus deliver. After you get saved, you're not left to go on in this world by yourself.
You know I couldn't live a day in this world where not for the fact that above pleading my case is my great High Priest.
Some put it this way, go down the road and you see a big gravel truck coming towards you. The devil had his way to the whole thing upset on top of your car.
Preserved by him. Makes you wonder sometimes people cut off all of a sudden.
Had they accepted Jesus as their Savior, how they might have been preserved had they known Him as their Savior.
You know the wicked are set in slippery places according to the Psalms.
Through their eyes, stand up with fatness, and they have more than their heart could wish. I'm talking about the unsaved, unregenerate man. And yet they're set in flipper places and they go down to hell in a moment. I'm not sound like an awful thing to say, but it's the truth. How they could have been preserved if they've been trusting the Lord Jesus. And even if they do pass through the article of death, they're ready. They're ready. Think of how the Lord Jesus has entered into the domain of the King of Terrors and robbed him of his power. Jesus has done that.
Isn't that lovely?
The believer doesn't have to fear death. He looks on and he says, if it's my will to go, Lord Jesus, it'll just be to be with thee, which is far better.
David had an understanding of that, didn't EA though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, art with me. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. The Savior who gave us breath brings light and triumph there, said the hymn writer.
In the last few minutes, I wanna look at the last part of this verse. We have deliverance from the penalty of our sin. We have deliverance, OK, from the power of sin seen in the second part of this verse. One day you and I are gonna be translated out of this world and we're gonna be delivered from the very presence of sin itself. And a wonderful thing, I think, that one day Jesus is going to comment on bodily going to be delivered out of this present evil world. What a day. That's what it means here in the last part of this verse. I believe in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.
And I tell you tonight that the Lord Jesus Christ is one day, and it just might very well be tonight. I'll tell you, this earth does not have much time left. The clock is ticking away. The sand is running from the top vial into the bottom one, and soon that sand is gonna be all run out. Time is going to run out for this world.
You know the only reason why things have continued to the present day is because of the fact that a precious Savior died outside the walls of Jerusalem on that cross almost 2000 years ago. Agnostics and atheists who deny Him and deny His person and deny His work don't realize that the only reason why planet Earth has continued to the present time is because of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you know that?
And yet people market. They make fun of it. They don't believe it.
I'll never change the fact that it's a blessed truth and a wondrous reality.
Who delivered us from still greater depth, past tense and death. Delivered in whom we trust He will yet deliver us. We have a dear brother home on our assembly, I said the other day. He passed the age of 100 the other day.
Ever we go and visit them.
The first thing that comes out of his mouth.
I'm not looking for debt, I'm looking for the Lord to come.
I'm looking for the Lord to come.
What our blessed hope it is and a certain reality. And it's getting more certain every day, you know, that we're closer now than we were this time last night.
Perhaps tonight the Lord Jesus will come and it will be over.
It will be over.
Surely we're looking for it.
If you're here tonight in your sins, it would be the most terrifying thing that I can think of to be left behind. Think of it to be left behind.
I can't think of anything more awful, anything more terrifying than to be left behind.
Especially you younger children.
If you have parents that love you, you have parents that have presented the gospel to you. They have told you that it's time to seek the Lord. It's time.
00:45:03
In those time charts that were written a few years ago, I remember one line in that time chart that just seemed to jump right off the page at me.
It would be extremely sad, says the time chart.
If those ones who were left here and known as the moral term of earth dwellers.
We're children of Christian parents who had the opportunity of receiving Christ as their Savior but said no, not tonight.
I want you. I want you to let that sink in for just a moment. Your mom and dad have prayed with you. They prayed for you.
They've said to you.
You need to accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
You need to. It's not an option. You know what we mean by option. It's not something that we can take or leave. It's an absoluteness. Necessity. It's a necessity.
You don't have life apart from the Lord Jesus.
In Newfoundland, I mentioned that.
We started that gospel meeting on Saturday night by singing one of the probably one of the most.
Beth loved him of all time. I'm gonna finish with this.
If you don't mind, I'm gonna relate a little story about a cousin of mine.
I think probably the greatest children's hymn that ever was written was that one Jesus loves me. This I know.
For the Bible tells me so little one to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. I had a cousin who was ten years of age.
And I remember after I was saved, I longed to see Glenn's 8.
And one day when he was there in the house, he got the Bible down.
And our Redham John 316, said. Glenn, I wanna read you something.
And I read them that verse. For God so loved the world, but he gave his only begotten Son. Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He was. He was about 10 or 11 at the time.
Same age as what I was.
And, you know, he said. I believe that.
And it got saved, accepted Christ as a savior.
About two years after that.
Glenn developed a tumor on his brain.
Was behind his eyes.
And I've never seen a more pathetic side in my life, that dear little boy.
The tumor just kept growing and growing and growing and it got to the point where it was beginning to affect his his vision and it affected his mind and it affected his bodily functions.
I remember Mom going into the hospital and holding that dear little boy in her arm 14.
Years of age.
And in the end, all he could do was mouth a few words of that hymn that he learned in Sunday school as a little boy.
She used to hold him in her arms and hold him up close and he would just whisper a little word.
Jesus loves me.
I remember the last Sunday school picnic. He was that.
And he had a race. He won a race.
And he won a pride, and it had a little verse on it, and the verse was that one that I just quoted for God to love the world.
I'm going to see him.
According to see him someday in that cemetery where he was laid to rest.
There's another grave beside that one.
Two brothers.
One drowned in 1959 at the age of 14.
I never heard Donnie give a clear confession of the Lord Jesus as a savior. He's his oldest brother.
Got up one Sunday morning, he said to his parents that I'm going swimming today.
Parents said no, Donny, today is Sunday. It's the Lord's Day sun. So I don't care that I'm going anyway. I don't care what you say. Don't out the door. Went away to Quinn and he lost his life. He drowned 14 years of age. Never ever heard a clear confession of crime from his mouth.
00:50:05
Think of it. And yet this other boy I know I'm going to see him. There was that clear confession of the Lord Jesus.
Two boys, two brothers, same cemetery, side by side, 14 years of age.
Going to England Sunday, he confessed the Lord Jesus with his mouth.
Are you going to do that? Are you going to confess Him with your mother? Are you going to believe in your heart that Jesus died for you at the personal Savior who waits the night for you?
Now, if you knew the heart of Jesus, if you knew the heart of a loving God, you could not, you could not resist.
I I'll come or Jesus, I will confess my sin to thee, I'll repent, and I'll re easily as my Savior. I'm not going to ask you to come into this filthy heart of mine. I'm going to ask you to take this filthy heart of mine and wash it whiter than the snow, and then come into it.
As nothing more friends that's needed that for 50 minutes now we've presented 55 minutes now we've presented the gospel of the grace of God.
Confess him with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. You will. You will be saved.
You turn away and I'm gonna guarantee you this, that if you die in your sins, there's going to come a day when God is going to resurrect you. You're going to stand before the Lord Jesus. That record on your life is going to be opened and everything is going to be there. Every thought, every deed, every gospel meeting you sat in and the fact that you rejected Jesus.
I love what one among us here has said so well. If a man committed something against you that was worthy of death.
And you went with them and you and, and you got right down there in the cell with them in the prison. And you pleaded with him to accept the pardon. And he said, get out of here. I don't wanna talk to you. What could you do for an individual like that? That's what God has done. I love the two words, mercy and grace. And I'll finish with this. I was out West of talking to our brother Lawrence Gill. And I know he won't mind me using this. He gave us, gave me two of the most beautiful illustrations of mercy and grace that I've ever heard in my life.
If someone murdered my son and I forgave him, I would be mercy. But if I took the very murderer who murdered my son and brought him right into my family and I made him my own child, that would be great. Oh, brethren, that's what God has done. That's what God has done with you and with me. I want to ask you here tonight, one here in your thin, do you realize that God loves you, That God, in spite of what you are and what you have done, he offers salvation and pardon.
Through the finished work of the Lord Jesus. Will you take it tonight?
If you're not sure, stay behind and talk with some of us. We'd be glad to go over the scriptures with you and show you these wonderful things. We have life tonight and we want you to have life. We don't want you to leave this room without Jesus. It might be the most fatal step you ever take. It might be fatal. I think it's something Bob Bowman told us about a man he was speaking to down South, or rather someone who was speaking to this individual that he knew. He gave a man the gospel and the man in fury turned away and he said, I don't believe it. I don't believe it. He turned around to walk away and he died of a heart attack right there on the spot. No hope.
Think of it. Think of it.
I wanna tell you tonight.
God isn't fooling when he says, boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. You can have salvation tonight. God wants you to have salvation tonight. He wants you to be cleansed from your sins, and he wants to make you. Will you let him? Will you let him? Let's pray.
Little Flock and Echoes of Grace
Open Mtg. 2
Open—N. Berry, D. Gorgas
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.
Well, I trust that with the Lord.
Laid on my heart, maybe.
Blessing and encouragement in line with these two hymns and our brother wins prayer.
Consciousness of God's love and this is being light as well now as I look around.
I see.
Nice number. I've had a happy time. Lord has richly blessed our time together.
I also realized that each one of us, from the younger ones right up to you are older, are in different states or condition. State of soul you might say.
And I just trust that what I have in mind.
Will be profitable for each one of us in our particular way. I won't go into all those points, but I trust that this will be so that some might be.
Happy and elated and others maybe passing through times of difficulties, the very young ones, many questions about life and so on.
So I'd like to speak about.
Doors. Doors.
The scripture has many doors.
A door is how we go from 1:00 room to another or from one condition to another.
The Lord Jesus himself said I am the door.
He is the center of everything.
By me of any man enter in, he shall be saved. This is salvation. But I'm going to be speaking more about the door in our Christian life.
Many doors there, as I said.
I've given a a word or a name to each one.
And I trust that this is will be a help to us. So let's turn now to second UH Corre UH Chronicles Chapter 29.
The first door.
I might use the word diligence, diligence.
Here is Israel now divided.
Consider a number of hundreds of years after Solomon, and all is a wonderful unity. It was divided.
You know and I know about what lies behind division is faith. He would divide constantly. He had succeeded in dividing Israel.
2 tribes remained faithful Judah and Benjamin.
10 went off under Jeroboam and they immediately set up. He immediately set up two centers choice, one up in the north, the other down in the South. Convenience.
But Judah was faithful and.
I think now about the kings of.
Dude and this one.
Thank you.
It's Hezekiah.
Hezekiah.
It was.
Not. Well, I won't go into that. Yet. He was a faithful king, Very faithful king.
Lord, bless them richly.
It has to do with doors.
So let's look now at the few verses.
Hezekiah began to reign when he was 25 years old and he reigned 9 and 20 years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Abaya.
The daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father, had done in the first year of his reign.
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In the first month opened he the door of the House of the Lord, and repaired them.
That's enough reading for a moment.
I'm going to speak to you young people.
About parents and to those of you who are young parents.
Hezekiah.
Didn't have a faithful father.
Acer was a very dishonorable king, so the Hezekiah was brought up in a family.
Where there were mixed feelings between he and his wife.
Her name was Abaya, which means my God is my Father is the Lord for God.
She was a faithful woman. As I mentioned in the meetings the other day, every time that there was a faithful king in Judah, the mother's name has been mentioned. I say this in encouragement now to mothers.
He was brought up. Well, let's look at the verse that shows it.
And go back to the previous chapter, verse 24.
Now this is Ahaz the fi. The Father and Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the House of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the House of God, and shut up the doors of the House of the Lord. And he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. What could be more awful? Another.
A land.
That belonged to the Lord. Here's what.
Did Andre as Hezekiah grew up, he saw what was going on.
Now I say this to you, the younger ones, very young ones. It might be very small, it might be just seven years of age.
And there may be those things in your family that, uh, disturb you.
Make it difficult for you.
And this is a word of encouragement to even the the younger ones. Here was a young fellow. He's 25 years of age. Not gonna ask is there any person here 25 years of age? But it was he was young and he suddenly finds himself the king. Well, the natural thing would be for him to say what can I do to make myself popular? And I'll build a lot of nice new buildings and there'll be wonderful for me or I'll bring in social programs.
As it will be very popular, no, we had a priority.
Priority And that was the Lord.
And that you and I, beloved young ones here have one object before you That doesn't matter what the difficulties may be, doesn't matter what our background is, doesn't matter what the circumstances are. If you purpose in your heart, you're going to put the Lord first. You may find doors here. They were very damaged, terrible condition in that temple.
It was just full of corruption and and dirt and so on. And here he is. And what does the first, what is the first move that he does? He thinks of the Lord's glory and he says we're going to open those doors.
Gonna open the doors to the Lord's house. What about the assembly in our life? Is that priority with you and me? Do we keep that door open? Is it first in our thoughts the Lord's glory?
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Hezekiah did, and not only as we read there, did he.
He he found the door destroyed. They were jammed and jammed and and they they wouldn't open.
He not normally forces them open, but he repairs them. I ask you, I ask myself. I ask each one of us, are we a repairer in the assembly?
Do we keep that flow of communication between rooms in our life and between our brethren to keep that door open?
He did. He opened that door in spite of all his difficulties.
Well.
I don't know. I don't take too much time. But I'm just leaving that point with you. What I call this is diligence. Nice word. Diligence.
What's it mean? It means to the out note, note.
In spite of difficulties, diligence, season four and three.
Says that we are to use all diligence to maintain the unity of the spirit. Diligence. That means if you have an opportunity or you want to go and do something and your parents ask you to do something and you say for the Lord's sake, you say it to yourself, I'm going to do this for what I'm told.
That's diligence. And maybe there's something that is a little bit difficult for you. That's diligence. I hope you're getting that word diligence.
He used diligence in opening up that door. So there is the first one diligence. Now let's go over to ACT Chapter 12.
New Testament there's another man.
Name is Peter.
Been with the Lord.
All the things that were the saws, He accompanied the Lord, and now the Lord is gone back to heaven, and here he is and he is in trouble.
He's in trouble for his faithfulness. Are you willing to suffer a little bit? Are you willing to put up with things for the sake of the Lord?
Oh, it's worth it. 1000 times beloved younger ones and older ones. This is the life of joy and happiness and peace and contentment and fulfillment in your life. Peter was in this condition, but he was suffering for it. And here he's not having the opportunity to open the doors, but we find that he is locked up behind the door.
He's in prison. Let's look at her.
UH Acts 12.
PM verse five Peter therefore was kept in.
His locked doors, you might feel, uh, my parents are too strict with me and I just feel as if I'm in a prison. Oh remember Peter? He was there for his faithfulness to the Lord and the Lord as we sang so beautifully in those two hymns. Why? The circumstances may be difficult and you might have to put up with things that you don't like to.
Uh, to do. And here Peter is suffering, because he is in the prison, the verse. 5 But prayer was made without ceasing of the church or the assembly unto God for him, and when Herod would have brought him forth.
The same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers.
Bound with two chains and the keepers before the door kept.
Approving There he is. Prison door locked with there. What's he doing? Is he fracking? Is he distressed? Is he disturbed? Is he depressed? He's sleeping.
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Sleeping, sleeping with confidence in the Lord.
I hear people saying I am so worried I just couldn't sleep. I went last night. Oh beloved ones, here is now.
Dependence. First, one diligence here is dependence. Now he is dependent on the Lord and He's asleep. Verse 7. And behold, the Angel of the Lord. I think this is so wonderful.
God dispatches an Angel out of heaven go down into that prison. Peter uh, as he says to the Angel, came upon him and a light shined in the prison and he smoked Peter on the side and raised him up, saying arise up quickly and his teens fell off from his hands.
Experience that in your life you will feel faithful if you're putting the Lord 1St. And the Angel said unto him, Now the Angel is talking.
Instructed by the Lord, gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did.
He was obedient.
Capped by garments of OC. Put an over a Co A sculled out. Put an overcoat on. Everything was being taken care of by that Angel. He knew it all because God told him and follow me, oh it's beautiful. I follow me. He didn't have any decisions to make but to follow and so went out. He goes out.
And followed him and wished not. That means he didn't know whether it was true and I thought it was maybe having a dream.
With two which was done by the Angel, but the thought, but thought he saw a vision when they were passed. Now notice there when they were passed.
The second, No, the 1St and the 2nd Ward, they're going from door fast. Through the doors they came onto the oh, there's an obstacle, Iron Gate. This is a tough one. And it's closed. It's closed because it's holding them in there. What happens that?
Leads into the city and of the city which opened.
And them personal.
The door starts to swing open just when they come along.
Isn't that wonderful? That's my Lord.
As we want to do, you do, dear young ones and older ones here this afternoon. Trust them, have confidence in them.
Which opened unto them of his own accord, and they went out, and passed on through one street, and forthwith the Angel departed from him.
There's the second one, Delivery.
May you might say, well, I haven't had much diligence in my life, but here is faithful confidence in the Lord and here is deliverance. Deliverance.
Now let's go to the third might. Here might be another situation where there is carelessness in your life. I've been carelessness in my life for sure.
And let's now.
Look in Revelation chapter 3 verse 20.
And here we will now see another door.
4/20.
Behold.
I stand at the door.
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And knock or am knocking.
Here is the state that the Church.
Is projected.
By the Spirit of God to the Apostle John.
And beloved ones who are in those dark days now, and they're getting darker. My son was saying it's not really getting darker, but it's getting darker faster. And it's true.
And here were dark days.
You might be in dark days, too. You might be.
Going on with things in your life that down deep in your heart, you got a conscience of it, You're at the Lord's table. Possibly.
And that's gonna be happy.
Not like the 24th of Luke. The Lord followed those two that were going away from God center as to Emmaus. And here now is the Lord not as as sometimes it's spoken of as as uh salvation that the Lord is knocking at your heart door. I don't believe that's the meaning at all. It's of a believer, A believer, and the Lord is outside the door.
And he's waiting to come in and he's knocking. They feel the knocking, sometimes the lower.
What you want, He wants to come into your life more into your heart.
He wants there to be in there with you.
Positionally he is, but experimentally made the outside. And so here now is the third word I put here, Restoration. Isn't it lovely to see? We have quite a few young people in our Montreal meeting and they have gone through a real time of testing, but we can thank the Lord that they have realized some of them, even their families divided, some have gone off.
They have taken a stand for the Lord for the purpose of heart, and they're much stronger as a result of it. And they're seeking to encourage each other to go on for the Lord. Oh, what have they done? They heard the knock.
They weren't going by their minds, reasoning and saying, oh, let's try this, this other group, hey, don't bother you, don't bother your conscience, do you Go there.
Knock of the Lord knocking in your heart.
Wants to have full place in your life and your heart. Does he have it? No answer to me. But the Lord desires this. He wants to restore your soul. 23rd Psalm. So beautiful. Why there? You're thinking green pastures and so on. What's the next verse say? He restores our soul. We quickly get out of communion with the Lord. Foolish thoughts take us out of communion. And so the Lord wants us to be maintained in that.
Happy with communion with him inside the door, just reach out and open the door and say Lord Jesus.
Lord Jesus.
I don't want you outside.
I want you inside with me.
That's the third door.
4th one now.
Encouragement.
Let's go over to Corinthians.
First Corinthians chapter 16.
Here, the next one is encouragement.
My looking into the faces of some of you who are encouraging each other and yourself to go on. Have you been restored in your soil? Lovely to see it now. The Lord wants to encourage you.
I came to these meetings to bring, I hope to bring encouragement to some of you.
One younger ones and older ones where I'm going away from this meeting.
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I'm encouraged myself. I got the encouragement. These meetings have been right from the Lord for to encourage us all. And so here is encouragement. Let's read it.
And verse 8 That's First Corinthians 16 verse 8.
But.
I will carry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
For a great door and effectual are a great door is Darby translation. For a great door is opened to me and an effectual 1 Isn't that nice?
Are we looking for doors?
To go through.
The Lord says now that this is. I should pause for a moment. Some of them have been responsibility and some of them are sovereignty. We sang in our hand of that sovereign love. Sovereignty. Just me simply means this, that God is doing everything. He's moving all the scenes of your life. Definitely. That's the sovereignty of God. He has His purposes.
Of blessing eternally with the glory, and the glory with him. But he has his ways, and the wilderness of Israel is a picture of his ways. His purpose was to put them into that land, but his ways were dubious, and they were for their good. So here we see that the Lord opened doors effectual. What's that word? Effectual means? Oh, it's going to have an effect.
Give the Lord I speak, I spoke, I speak. I trust in reverence.
Skip the lower a chance to work and to encourage you If I ask you to raise your hands if you'd like to be encouraged, I'm sure every hand would go up. The Lord wants. He's the God of all encouragement. First uh Corinthians. Second Corinthians chapter one tells us that and he's the God of all encouragement. And here the apostle Paul is saying for a Greek door, for a Greek door is opened.
Sovereignty. He didn't open it. The lower opener.
And beloved ones.
There are open doors for us. Are we going into them or are we using them?
Are we using them?
There was the door being opened and then what does it say? It's going to be easy for you. No, it doesn't. What's it say?
And there are many adversaries, you dear young ones again.
The friends around you, when they see you standing for the Lord, what do they do? They make fun of you. They're an adversary. They're an instrument of Satan to discourage you. But the Lord allows those He He tests us, He opens up the door and encourages us. And then he said, uh, speaking reverently, The Lord allows difficulties in your life, but not to discourage, but just to encourage you and to strengthen you.
Strengthen you in your life and my life for the Lord.
So here is encouragement. A great door opened up.
And many adversaries. Well, that's enough. It won't take too much time now. This is encouragement. Last one now is in Revelation 3, verse 8.
A letter to one of the assemblies.
Verse 8.
Lord speaking, I know thy work. Behold, Now here's the sovereignty side again I have set before.
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The and opened, past tense.
God's work opened at the path of tense.
This God's side of it, an open door. Oh dear young ones. And each one of us here are we conscious of the fact that we have, as we were reminded this morning, the privilege of being gathered alone to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to the one gathering center only.
I was just saying to one of her brother in the early first centuries when they they used to call the Mediterranean the Christian League because there were so many Christians all around us. But it wasn't any time that it went downhill, Satan.
Came in and they turned away and went into different things. And what happened? Dark ages for 1000 years.
And then in the 1700s, the Reformation came along, A light burst again, and there were thousands uh saved to the preaching of Martin Luther and others too. I didn't know the truth. Uh. We don't read anything about the truth of uh what Paul was teaching through and given by the Lord in the glory. Not at all. There wasn't any of Paul's teachings.
And the result was there are a whole lot of denominations all came up and they're still around.
Today, and the darkness went down again.
And around 1832 God once more stirred. He stirred the heart of brethren in Ireland and England, and oh, what light shone again, and that truth that had been given to the apostle Paul?
Is brought back and through the writings of the Brethren.
Do you value them in the in our store in Montreal, hardly any ministry is being bought these days. Oh, have you gotten ministry in your home by your father, Buck? Read it. Read it. That's the way to strengthen you. That's the way to take the opportunity. That's the word I used for this one opportunity. You and I have the opportunity not only in speaking the gospel.
Now, I hope I don't overstep myself, but I want to try to make this claim that's in my heart. And that is so often we lay total stress on the preaching of the gospel.
And what about the tooth that has been given loaned to us of Christ as the one gathering center?
Do we value that? Do we speak to others? The Scripture says, How shall they hear without a preacher? If we I have to speak bluntly, If we aren't telling the truth of Christ as the one gathering center, other Christians around us are not going to hear it. But if you and I are living it in our daily life, and if we are taking the opportunities, uh, that are spoken of here.
The door is open for us.
Are we faithful in this?
Well, beloved one, I just leave these thoughts with you and I trust.
That I haven't said anything that would offend anyone, but I just trust that I can be a bit of an encouragement to each one of us to go through those doors. Diligence.
1St that's one and then there was deliverance.
And then there was restoration.
And then there was encouragement. And then there was the door of opportunity. May the Lord enable us to go through those doors for His glory. The time is short. We don't have much more time. May the Lord help us to go on for Him.
Before I get into the passage of Scripture that I believe the Lord has laid on my heart, let me just say something. I want to say it publicly.
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Our young people have been encouraging me so much lately.
I don't know if all of you know, but.
Some months ago.
The forum was started on the e-mail.
Which they called YP. I guess it's obvious why they called it YP for young people.
And uh.
They let a couple of us old fellows listen in. There was no limitation, but Ken Haslip and Doug Nicolette and I have been listening in.
And I open up that mail sometimes in the morning.
And tears of joy come down my face as I read what the young people are meditating on enjoying.
Don't embarrass anybody, but I just tell you that Leanne Donnelly has been a special encouragement.
Name me full well.
Philip Belgalli.
And I have been blessed, and Doug Nicolette has said the same thing we're blessed by.
Keep on.
Keep on.
Some of us were very discouraged a few years ago when we saw so many of the young people turned aside.
And I, for one, was.
Down in the dumps about it.
The Lord knew I needed the encouragement, and now I'm encouraged and I just thank the Lord for it. And that's not what's on my heart, but it just listening to Mr. Berry about the the uh, the doors. I couldn't help but think of these dear young people who have, I believe, taken advantage of doors, opened them. By the way, if you'd like to know anything about how to participate in that forum or listen to it, at least you don't have to write anything. You just just, uh uh, you can open it up and read it.
And be encouraged by it and do nothing more about it. But if you'd like to, why any of those young people that are here can tell you. And I even wrote up a little something the other day about it so you'd know how to get on to it.
Gospel of John.
Let me add this.
Some of you know.
How my father raised us in regard to young people's movements.
And uh, some of you were very patient with my.
Very strong views on the subject.
I still believe that God doesn't want to have a schism in the body. I believe that with all my heart.
But I've enjoyed seeing that.
There is a way that the young people can.
Edify one another without making a system in the body.
And I just thank the Lord for the grace that enabled me to to uh, enjoy that and and uh.
Let's never make a schism in the body. God has no intention of that.
He never intended that the young people go off by themselves and do their own thing, but he did intend that we encourage one another and that you be encouraged by those of us who are older.
We wanna do that. Alright, John 11.
The two hymns that we sang at the beginning of the meeting brought this passage before me in a particular way.
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. And was that Mary, which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick?
Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
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Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode 2 days still in the same place where he was. Then after that set thee to his disciples, let us go into Judea again. His disciples say unto him, Master the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither again?
Jesus answered, Are there not 12 hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, who stumbleth, not, because he sees the light of this world, but if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him. These things said he, And after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, But I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he'll do well.
Howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest and sleep. Then Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
And I'm glad for your sakes, that I was not there to the intent that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him.
Then said Thomas, who is called Bitamus unto his fellow disciples. Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Then when Jesus came, he found he had lain in the grave four days already.
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem about 15 furlongs off, and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.
Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary sat still in the house.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died.
But I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it thee.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha said unto him, I know that he should rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the light. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. Believeth thou this? She saith unto him, Yeah, Lord, I believe that thou art to Christ the Son of God, which should come into the world.
And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister, secretly, saying, The master is come and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
Now Jesus was not yet come into town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then, which were with her in the house, and comforted her when they saw Mary, That she rose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, to goeth unto the grave, to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, which came with her.
He groaned in the Spirit, and was troubled, and said, where he relayed him, They say unto him, Lord, come and say.
Than that precious verse that in English is the shortest verse in the Bible. I found out it's not quite in Spanish there's one verse with a a letter less. I think in Spanish thou shalt not till there's no Mataras in Spanish. So I have to be careful. It's in English. It's the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept.
Then said the Jews, behold how he loved him.
And some of them said, Could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused, that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. And Jesus, Jesus said, Take ye away the stone, Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he has been dead for days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said, I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou should see the glory of God. And then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee, that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always, But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
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And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice. Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. And Jesus, Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
And many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done. We'll stop there.
I don't know how many verses we'll get to look at, but this is a very precious chapter.
We learned a lot about the Lord's ways.
It touches my heart to.
Every time I read about Bethany in scripture.
Very unique town. As far as I know it's not mentioned in the Old Testament. It's a New Testament town.
You know, there there's Bethlehem. Well, we know Bethlehem is in the Old Testament. We read about it yesterday in the reading meetings, didn't we? And uh, there are many others, Jericho and Jerusalem and all of those. But as far as I know, Bethany is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
But it had a very special significance to the Lord in His earthly pathway. May I say this beloved brethren, it was the only place I believe, in this world where the Lord Jesus could find.
A place where he was appreciated.
When he came into Jerusalem in triumph.
It's very significant that he went out of Jerusalem that same day. Unwanted, yes, the people who said Hosanna to the son of David.
But the nation rejected him.
And where did he go when he went out? He went to Bethany. He went to Bethany.
It touches the heart, doesn't it?
There was a place where the Lord was appreciated, where there were these three that cared about him, that loved him.
Three that were very dear to him.
Lazarus Jesus friend.
Martha I mean we think of Martha generally in connection with her preoccupation with service in the uh 10th of Luke. But I don't believe that's really characteristic of her. I think there's a lesson to be learned of it and how often it's spoken to me about getting preoccupied with service and even daring to tell the Lord don't you care about somebody else is not helping me and and would you please speak your money? She didn't even say please. She said speak to.
Her now that she helped me. Have you ever prayed that I have?
I'm ashamed to say that, but.
We have done that, haven't we?
We feel alone in service in some place and we say, Lord, there's so and so that isn't working. Speak to him.
The word says you know you're all tied up in your service. I believe that's what he was telling you. You're tied up. You're preoccupied.
The word in Spanish is preoccupado.
It's to be very tied up and involved in it.
Cumbered is our English word you're cumbered about.
With your service, don't be cumbered with service.
Service is wonderful for the Lord, but don't be cumbered with it. Well, I don't wanna spend a lot of time on that, but I just wanna show what kind of a city this was. A town it was. It's called the town of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. That's what it was known for. I wonder if the towns we live in.
Give a character or get their character from how we live for the Lord, how dear he is to us.
And now one of them is sick.
Sickness happens, doesn't it?
Sickness happens.
Suddenly, sometimes you you don't expect it, but it's there at the door.
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And you think, what can, what can we do? And we rush and we get to the doctors and we take every remedy we can get.
But sometimes it gets beyond us. There's something we can't. We just can't cope with it. And I don't wanna limit it to physical sickness, but there are things that come in, in a Christian household that are beyond our capability to deal with.
Maybe something to do with the child. It may be something to do with a husband or a wife.
It's just beyond we. We have no way of dealing with it. We don't know how to deal with it.
But the sisters know what they can do.
They send a message to the Lord, and they say, Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick. Isn't that sweet how they put it? We've used that in our prayer meetings sometimes, and I just always moves me to hear it. Lord, he whom thou lovest or she whom thou lovest is sick.
Does he care?
He cares more than we do about it. He cares more than we do about it. He cares infinitely for us.
Now the Lord has a strange answer.
Strange at least.
First reading when the Lord heard that when Jesus heard it, verse four, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Didn't he die?
Didn't he die? Wasn't it a fatal illness? Yes, it was. But the purpose for which it was allowed was not death.
That's an interesting point. Even where death comes in, beloved, it's wonderful to realize that the object for which those things are allowed is not death, but it's for the glory of God, and that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
He said wait a minute, How can that be?
Doesn't Paul say that, whether by life or by death?
God might be glorified.
And do you know of any cases where in the death of one that we loved very much?
God didn't come in and raise him from the dead, but he was glorified by it. He was glorified by it. Some strange cases, sometimes a terrible accident, and one is taken.
And it almost seems as if.
The Lord has forgotten us, or forgotten the one that's involved.
But what an assurance to our souls that in all of these things.
The purpose of it is for the glory of God, and that the Son of the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Now verse five is very, very critical. It's important.
When the Spirit of God knew where to put verse 5.
Because if you went right into verse 6 without verse five, you might wonder if it was so that Jesus loved them.
But just so that you don't get any idea that his what he does in the rest of this chapter has anything to do with a lack of love.
I've talked to Seoul. Sometimes God doesn't love me because he allowed my Erving or whoever it was to die, or my my Joe or whatever.
If God loved me, He wouldn't have let so and so die.
But here's the assurance Jesus loved Martha.
Whatever else he did in this chapter.
It's based on that.
He loved Martha, and I think it's interesting that he says. And her sister. We tend to be hard on Martha.
And we probably make a little more of Mary.
But the Lord loved both of them.
And he names Martha here, just so you don't get an idea that maybe one was just a little bit above the other. Jesus loved Martha and her sister.
And Last and Lazarus.
00:55:01
And then we read this strange verse 6 When Jesus heard therefore that he was sick, he abode 2 days, still in the same place where he was.
You ever heard this? Where was the Lord when I needed it? When I needed them? When my my son was dying? Where was the Lord?
It's a terrible thing, but I hear it often.
Maybe we've even said it.
In our perplexity and bitterness and unbelief, we've said where was the Lord?
He stayed there for two days longer.
Now Paul Hadley pointed out, and I think it's a good point. He pointed out that.
When he did finally get there.
He had already been dead and in the grave four days, so he didn't die during the two days. I used to think that perhaps he died during those two days, but it's, uh, I think, rather evident that there was a purpose in those two days. But.
He was already gone, but I don't think that's the point.
But after the two days, he said to his disciples, let us go into Judea again.
Most disciple says they were going to kill you. Are you going to go back into that place again?
You're gonna go there again.
Verse 9 is very interesting. The Lord says are there not 12 hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, we stumble, if not because he sees the light of this world.
That is, the Lord brings before him. There's only a certain limited amount of daylight in the day.
And things have to be done.
And he was going to go do them. Wherever the Father sent him, he was going to go because he was in the light. He was the light.
Verse 11, he says Our friend Lazarus sleepers. I love that expression. Our friend Lazarus.
Our friend Lazarus.
It wasn't because the Lord didn't like Lazarus that he didn't go to.
To, uh, prevent him from dying? Our friend Lazarus.
And he says I go that I may wake him out of sleep. That verse was it means a lot to me because when our brother Avelino Chavez went to be with the Lord.
I was in. Uh.
Lima. I had just seen him a few days before and 13 days before in the hospital in Santa Cruz in Bolivia.
And uh, my wife tried to call me at Lima to tell me about it and she couldn't get through. And I guess Doug Buchanan got through finally and told me that Avelino had gone home to be with the Lord.
And I was 5 minutes away from going out to see our brother.
Uh, to have lunch with our brother Raul Valderrama who is not in too good a health at that time himself.
And I thought, Oh my, I'm going to have to tell him this news. And I wonder how I'll tell him, because I'm afraid it's going to.
Effective.
And we got to the house and I had been praying about how to break the news to Brother.
Valderrama, as we came in and greeted one another, I said, Brother Valderrama, would you sit down? I have a scripture to read you.
Oh, alright, you sat down.
I said would you turn to John 1111?
Let me turn to it.
I said Our friend Abolino sleepeth.
No, maybe, he said. No, maybe. Don't tell me.
But the Lord used that scripture to ease.
The news into our brothers consciousness.
And then I read the rest of the verse. The Lord says I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. I said It won't be.
Until the Lord comes. But he is going to awaken out of sleep. And I say to any of you who have lost loved ones or will lose loved ones in the next little while. Because it's a world that keeps going that way, doesn't it? Another one passes on another one. You can take assurance from this the Lord is going to raise wake the amount of sleep.
What a comfort.
Well, the disciples don't understand that. They say, Lord, if you're sleeping, that's good, You know he's going to get better.
All right, says I'm talking about something different in verse.
01:00:01
14 He speaks very plainly to them. He says Lazarus is dead, Lazarus is dead.
Oh, those words are so final, aren't they?
Here one you love and here is dead.
But how better if we can think of it as sleeping and the Lord is going to raise him out of sleep?
Then he says in verse 15. I'm glad for your sakes, I wasn't there.
I'm glad I wasn't there.
So that you might believe.
No, let's go to him now.
And you know, as hard as we are on Thomas, beloved brethren, and we are.
Doubting commerce. And we use them as an illustration all the time of unbelief.
Thomas here says.
To the disciples, let's go that we may die with him. He doesn't have a very bright outlook on it. He's sure they're gonna die but does he say, well let's go because we sure don't wanna die do as it does. He said let's guys know that go that we may die with him. And I believe those words are recorded. I believe God valued those words even though they might have been a little bit of a a gloomy look at the thing a lack of faith on Thomas part.
There was no lack of devotion. There was there. Let's go that we may die with him.
When Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
There's a certain finality about that too, isn't there?
There's no possibility that he well, maybe just.
Was in a coma or something. This is real. This is real death. Real death.
Now, Martha, here's that Jesus is coming.
So she goes right to it. And we've heard, I think someone remarked during these meetings that Mary sat still in the house. Don't miss that point. Mary sat still in the house. She waited for him to call.
The market goes.
And she says to him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. Is there a little reproach in that? I don't know.
I don't want to read in more than I should into it.
But I've always had that sense that there's a little bit of reproach.
Or bitterness in her heart. Lord, if you had only been here, this wouldn't have happened.
But then she adds, and it's very sweet. I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it to thee.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Oh, I say to you, every one of us that have laid a loved one to rest, what a thought. Thy brother shall rise again.
I remember when the day my dad died, he called us all together and he said, you know, this is, if I'm not mistaken, this is the day the Lord is going to Take Me Home.
Was the Lord's Day afternoon?
We were all there and of course our hearts were deeply affected thinking of that. But he said this, he said it may not happen.
He said because we may be all caught up before the day is out and he says and even if I go home to be with the Lord, you may not get me into the grave.
Because the Lord may come while you're taking me out to bury me. What a hope, brother. What a hope.
It's real, isn't it?
Thy brother shall rise again while Martha says I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. But the Lord wasn't talking about that. He was talking about an out resurrection, wasn't he? And resurrection from among the dead.
In this case a special one.
And Jesus answers her with these words of triumph and glory. I am the resurrection and the light. He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Marcy, do you believe this?
What a confession she makes. Yeah, Lord.
I believe not only I believe it, I believe that thou art the Messiah, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
Her apprehension was nice. Wasn't it? Very sweet to see what she saw.
01:05:03
And then, as soon as she says that, she goes and she calls Mary. Now Mary comes. Does she delay? Look at verse. Uh, 29 As soon as Mary heard the Master was calling for her, she arose quickly, quickly, and came to him.
While the Jews follow him, follow her out, they said. She's going out to the grave to weep.
Was that where she was going to the grave to weep?
Sometimes we go to the grave that weep, don't we?
There's nothing wrong with weeping.
But that isn't what their occupation here is.
Jesus had called for.
And I'd like to notice in verse 32 That says then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him.
And I'm going to skip a few words and say what she said. Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. I don't think it's fair to say that Mary said anything different from what Martha said, but I think it's the position that was important.
As the position that was important.
She fell down at his feet.
It's as if she says.
Yes, I I've got this in my heart. I'm wondering why it is. It's all this is going through my mind. I wonder why you didn't come when we sent for you. I'm wondering about it. But you get to his feet. And she says, Lord, I know that everything, every circumstance that thou dost permit in my life.
Is for my blessing and I accept it from thy loving hand. She doesn't say that in words. She says it's an action.
Jesus saw her weeping.
Jesus sees every tear that you shed, my beloved brother and sister.
You may think that nobody notices the tears. Nobody cares. I was talking to a dear sister yesterday.
Thinking about, she got to thinking about her, her mother being going to be with the Lord, and she began to cry.
Now I noticed those tiers, but suppose I hadn't. Is there one who does? Yes, one who cares. Look at verse 2033. It says when Jesus therefore saw her weeping.
So as you've groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
You know, this is a wonderful thought. Here is one who had the power over death, The one who had absolute power over death.
And he's standing there, and he's beholding the results of it, of sin in this world.
And he sees Mary crying, one he loved. He sees the Jews crying and weeping.
And I'm sure he was thinking too, of the four days that Lazarus was in the grave, his friend was in the grave.
And we get that wonderful statement.
First he says where have you laid him? Where is he? Some people think it doesn't matter where you lay someone after their after they die.
I think this teaches us that the Lord cares, the Lord cares. I think the case of Moses too shows that the Lord cares. He buried him.
He buried him. The Lord buried him. Probably used Michael in that action, but he he buried him.
But it groans in spirit.
He entered fully into the results of what death had sinned, and had sinned and death had brought into this world. The Lord entered into it in a perfect way.
It's too much for me sometimes, brethren, to even think about that.
Touched with the sympathy within.
What a blessed savior.
It groaned.
Deeply.
Side He was troubled.
01:10:05
Then it says this pressure, this thing. Jesus wept.
Jesus, wept Martha.
With her declaration of faith in the Lord heard the wonderful, the wonderful words I am the resurrection of the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. What a, what a, what words of triumph that was they were.
But Mary, who got down at his blessed feet and submitted to him in the circumstances of life.
Who understood in some measure, God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.
Who understood?
That he had a purpose of blessing. Mary felt his sympathetic.
Tiers.
Saw his sympathetic tears.
I'm not sure, but somebody who knew Greek told me one time that this means he burst into tears. He burst into tears. Anyone can verify that or correct me on that. But I remember reading her reading that in a commentary, he he burst into tears.
Well, we know the rest of the story.
Martha says The Lord says take away the stone.
Take away the stone. Let me tell you something I used to think. I'm ashamed to admit it when I was a boy. I used to think that the reason the stone was rolled away by the Angel when the Lord was raised from the dead was to let him out.
It was many years until I remember, Mr. Begg said. If you think that, you're wrong, he said. He opened it up to let them see the empty tomb.
Do you think the stone would have kept him there?
No way, No way.
Oh wonders our glorious hour when Jesus revived and left the grave. But in Lazarus case.
The stone was opened.
The stone was opened. The stinks as Martha. Don't do that.
Don't do that.
And he says Lazarus come forth. We've been reminded many times that the reason it says Lazarus come forth is that if he had just said come forth.
It would have been a lot of people come forth.
I'm not sure that's the reason, but I think there's something very precious about it. Saying Lazarus, come forth.
And we do know that one of these days he's gonna say, come forth and all the all the dead in Christ shall rise. What a moment, What a moment.
And then?
Here's this. Suddenly in front of the Lord is standing this man bound hand and foot. Now people imagine him and I, I I don't know what scripture makes him think this, but they imagine the Lord. Should. I mean, imagine Lazarus shuffling his way out of the tomb.
I don't believe so. I believe when this Lord said come forth, Lazarus was right there in front of him, raised in power. You can believe what how you wish on it. It's not a dogmatic point, but.
The Lord does say, though, Loosen. Let him go.
There's a lot of GRA grave clothes sometimes, brethren, let's be patient. While the grave clothes are taken off people, we get a little impatient sometimes and we want them to to walk, uh, as if they didn't have them on. But do we help to loosen them? Loosen. Let them go? And he became such a testimony, beloved brethren, to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they sought to kill Lazarus to get rid of that testimony.
But in the 12Th chapter, you see, when they prepared the Lord as supper, there is Lazarus sitting there as the one of the people at that table representing us, raised from the dead. We were there this morning, weren't we? At that table, raised from the dead. We were there in all three characters, I believe, raised from the dead.
Serving.
Not cumbered with service, but serving. And then the highest character was that pouring out of the worship and praise.
01:15:00
Oh man.
Before I get into the passage of Scripture that I believe the Lord has laid on my heart, let me just say something. I wanna say it publicly.
Our young people have been encouraging me so much lately.
I don't know if all of you know, but.
Some months ago.
A forum was started on the e-mail.
Which they called YP. I guess it's obvious why they called it YP for young people.
And uh.
They let a couple of us old fellows listen in. There was no limitation, but Ken Haslip and Doug Nicolette and I have been listening in.
And I open up that mail sometimes in the morning.
And tears of joy come down my face as I read what the young people are meditating on enjoying.
Don't embarrass anybody, but I just tell you that Leanne Donnelly has been a special encouragement.
Name me Colwell.
Philip Belgalli.
And I have been blessed, and Doug Nicolette has said the same thing we're blessed by.
Keep on.
Coupon.
Some of us were very discouraged a few years ago when we saw so many of the young people turned aside.
And I, for one, was.
Down in the dumps about it.
The Lord knew I needed the encouragement, and now I'm encouraged and I just thank the Lord for it. And that's not what's on my heart, but it just listening to Mr. Barry about the the uh, the doors. I couldn't help but think of these dear young people who have, I believe, taken advantage of doors, opened them. By the way, if you'd like to know anything about how to participate in that forum or listen to it, at least you don't have to write anything. You just just, uh uh, you can open it up and read it.
And be encouraged by it.
Do nothing more about it, but if you'd like to, any of those young people that are here can tell you. And I even wrote up a little something the other day about it so you know how to get on to it.
Gospel of John.
Let me add this.
Some of you know.
How my father raised us in regard to young people's movements.
And uh, some of you were very patient with my.
Very strong views on the subject.
I still believe that God doesn't want to have a schism in the body. I believe that with all my heart.
But I've enjoyed seeing that.
There is a way that the young people can.
Edify one another without making a system in the body.
And I just thank the Lord for the grace that enabled me to to uh, enjoy that and and uh.
Let's never make a system in the body. God has no intention of that.
He never intended that the young people go off by themselves and do their own thing, but he did intend that we encourage one another and that you be encouraged by those of us who are older.
We wanna do that. Alright, John 11.
The two hymns that we sang at the beginning of the meeting brought this passage before me in a particular way.
Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair.
Whose brother Lazarus was sick.
Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
01:20:05
When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
When he had heard therefore, that he was sick, he abode 2 days still in the same place where he was. Then after that said he to his disciples, Let us go into Judea again. His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee, and goest thou thither? Again Jesus answered, Are there not 12 hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, He stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world, but if a man walk in the night, he stumbles, because there is no light in him.
These things said he, and after that he said unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, But I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he'll do well.
Howbeit Jesus spake of his death, but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest and sleep. Then Jesus said unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.
And I'm glad for your sakes, that I was not there to the intent that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go unto him.
Then said Thomas, who is called Didymus unto his fellow disciples. Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Then when Jesus came, he found he had lain in the grave four days already.
Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem about 15 furlongs off, and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother.
Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, But Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died.
But I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it thee.
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha said unto him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the light. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. Believeth thou this? She says unto him, Yeah, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
And once he had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister, secretly, saying, a master is come and calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.
Now Jesus was not yet come into town, but was in that place where Martha met him. The Jews then, which were with her in the house, and comforted her when they saw Mary, That she rose up hastily, and went out, followed her, saying, to goeth unto the grave, to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping, which came with her.
He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, where he belayed him, they say unto him, Lord, come and say.
And that precious verse that in English is the shortest verse in the Bible. I found out it's not quite in Spanish. There's one verse with a a letter less. I think in Spanish thou shalt not kill is no mataras in Spanish. And so I have to be careful. It's in English. It's the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept.
Then said the Jews, behold how he loved him.
And some of them said, Could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused, that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. And Jesus, Jesus said, Take ye away the stone, Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he has been dead 4 days.
Jesus saith unto her, Said, I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou should see the glory of God. And then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee, that thou hast heard me, and I knew that thou hearest me always, But because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
01:25:17
And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice. Lazarus, come forth.
And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was bound about with a napkin. And Jesus, Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
And many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done. We'll stop there.
I don't know how many verses we'll get to look at, but this is a very precious chapter.
We learned a lot about the Lord's ways.
It touches my heart to.
Every time I read about Bethany in scripture.
Very unique town. As far as I know it's not mentioned in the Old Testament. It's a New Testament town.
You know, there's there's Bethlehem. Well, we know Bethlehem is in the Old Testament. We read about it yesterday in the reading meetings, didn't we? And uh, there are many others, Jericho and Jerusalem and all of those. But as far as I know, Bethany is not mentioned in the Old Testament.
But it had a very special significance to the Lord in His earthly pathway. May I say this beloved brethren, it was the only place I believe, in this world where the Lord Jesus could find.
A place where he was appreciated.
When he came into Jerusalem in triumph.
It's very significant that he went out of Jerusalem that same day unwanted. Yes, the people had, said Hosanna to the son of David.
But the nation rejected him.
And where did he go when he went out? He went to Bethany. He went to Bethany.
It touches the heart, doesn't it?
There was a place where the Lord was appreciated, where there were these three that cared about him, that loved him.
Three that were very dear to him.
Lazarus Jesus bread.
Martha. I mean, we think of Martha generally in connection with her preoccupation with service in the uh 10th of Luke, but I don't believe that's really characteristic of her. I think there's a lesson to be learned of it and how often it's spoken to me about getting preoccupied with service and even daring to tell the Lord don't you care about somebody else is not helping me and and would you please speak? You're not even she didn't even say please. She said speak to her now that she helped me.
Have you ever prayed that? I have.
I'm ashamed to say that, but.
We have done that, haven't we?
We feel alone in service in some place and we say, Lord, there's so and so that isn't working. Speak to him.
The Lord says you know you're all tied up in your service. I believe that's what he was telling you. You're tied up. You're preoccupied.
The word in Spanish is preoccupado.
It's to be very tied up and involved in it.
Cumbered is our English word you're cumbered about.
Encumbered with your service. Don't be cumbered with service.
Service is wonderful for the Lord, but don't be cumbered with it. Well, I don't wanna spend a lot of time on that, but I just wanna show what kind of a city this was. A town it was. It's called the town of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. That's what it was known for. I wonder if the towns we live in.
Give a character or get their character from how we live for the Lord, how dear he is to us.
Now one of them is sick.
01:30:00
Sickness happens, doesn't it?
Sickness happens suddenly sometimes you you don't expect it, but it's there at the door.
And you think, what can, what can we do? And we rush and we get to the doctors and we take every remedy we can get.
But sometimes it gets beyond this. There's something we can't we just can't cope with it. And I don't wanna limit it to physical sickness, but there are things that come in, in a Christian household that are beyond our capability to deal with.
Maybe something to do with the child. It may be something to do with a husband or a wife.
It's just beyond we. We have no way of dealing with it. We don't know how to deal with it.
But the sisters know what they can do.
They send a message to the Lord, and they say, Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick. Isn't that sweet how they put it? We've used that in our prayer meetings sometimes, and I just always moves me to hear it. Lord, he whom thou lovest or she whom thou lovest is sick.
Does he care?
He cares more than we do about it. He cares more than we do about it. He cares infinitely for us.
Now the Lord has a strange answer.
Strange, at least to.
First reading when the Lord heard that when Jesus heard it, verse four, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Thimidya.
Didn't he die? Wasn't it a fatal illness? Yes, it was. But the purpose for which it was allowed was not death.
That's an interesting point. Even where death comes in, beloved, it's wonderful to realize that the object for which those things are allowed is not death, but it's for the glory of God, and that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
He said wait a minute, How can that be?
Doesn't Paul say that, whether by life or by death?
God might be glorified.
And do you know of any cases where in the death of one that we love very much?
God didn't come in and raise him from the dead, but he was glorified by it. He was glorified by it. Some strange cases, sometimes a terrible accident, and one is taken.
And it almost seems as if.
The Lord has forgotten us, or forgotten the one that's involved.
But what an assurance to our souls that in all of these things.
The purpose of it is for the glory of God, and that the Son of the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Now verse five is very, very critical. It's important.
When the Spirit of God knew where to put verse 5.
Because if you went right into verse 6 without verse five, you might wonder if it was so that Jesus loved them.
But just so that you don't get any idea that his what he does in the rest of this chapter has anything to do with a lack of love.
I've talked to Seoul. Sometimes God doesn't love me because he allowed my Erving or whoever it was to die, or my my Joe or whatever.
If God loved me, He wouldn't have let so and so die.
But here's the assurance Jesus loved Martha.
Whatever else he did in this chapter.
It's based on that.
He loved Martha, and I think it's interesting that he says. And her sister. We tend to be hard on Martha.
And we probably make a little more of Mary.
But the Lord loved both of them.
And he names Martha here, just so you don't get an idea that maybe one was just a little bit above the other. Jesus loved Martha and her sister.
01:35:06
And Lazarus and Lazarus.
And then we read this strange verse 6 When Jesus heard therefore that he was sick, he abode 2 days, still in the same place where he was.
You ever heard this? Where was the Lord when I needed it? When I needed him? When my my son was dying? Where was the Lord?
It's a terrible thing, but I hear it often.
Maybe we've even said it.
In our perplexity and bitterness and unbelief, we've said where was the Lord?
He stayed there for two days longer.
Now Paul Hadley pointed out, and I think it's a good point. He pointed out that.
When he did finally get there.
He had already been dead and in the grave four days, so he didn't die during the two days. I used to think that perhaps he died during those two days, but it's, uh, I think, rather evident that there was a purpose in those two days. But.
He was already gone.
But I don't think that's the point.
But after the two days, he said to his disciples, let us go into Judea again.
Well, his disciples says they were going to kill you. Now you're going to go back into that place again.
Even though they were there again.
Verse 9 is very interesting. The Lord says are there not 12 hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not because he sees the light of this world.
That is, the Lord brings before him. There's only a certain limited amount of daylight in the day.
And things have to be done.
And he was going to go do them. Wherever the Father sent him, he was going to go because he was in the light. He was the light.
Verse 11, he says Our friend Lazarus sleepers. I love that expression. Our friend Lazarus.
Our friend Lazarus.
It wasn't because the Lord didn't like Lazarus that he didn't go to.
To uh.
Prevent him from dying, our friend Vasaris.
And he says I go that I may wake him out of sleep. That verse was it means a lot to me because when our brother Avelino Chavez went to be with the Lord.
I was in. Uh.
Lima. I had just seen him a few days before and 13 days before in the hospital in Santa Cruz, in Bolivia and uh.
My wife tried to call me at Lima to tell me about it. She couldn't get through, and I guess Doug Buchanan got through finally and told me that Avelino had gone home to be with the Lord.
And I was 5 minutes away from going out to see our brother.
Uh, to have lunch with our brother Raul Valderrama, who was not in too good a health at that time himself.
And I said, Oh my, I'm going to have to tell him this news. And I wonder how I'll tell him, because I'm afraid it's going to.
Affect him.
We got to the house and I had been praying about how to break the news to Brother.
Valderrama, as we came in and greeted one another, I said, Brother Valderrama, would you sit down? I have a scripture to read you.
Oh, alright, you sat down.
I said would you turn to John 1111?
Let me turn to it.
I said Our friend Abolino sleepeth.
No, maybe, he said. No, maybe. Don't tell me.
But the Lord used that scripture to ease the.
The news into our brothers.
Consciousness.
And then I read the rest of the verse. The Lord says I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. I said It won't be.
Until the Lord comes. But he is going to awake him out of sleep. And I say to any of you who have lost loved ones or will lose loved ones in the next little while. Because it's a world that keeps going that way, doesn't it? Another one passes on another one. You can take assurance from this, the Lord is going to raise wake the amount of sleep.
What a comfort.
Well, the disciples don't understand that. They say, Lord, if you're sleeping, that's good, You know he's going to get better.
01:40:06
Where it says I'm talking about something different in verse.
14 He speaks very plainly to them. He says Lazarus is dead, Lazarus is dead.
Oh, those words are so final, aren't they?
Here one you love. And here he's dead. He's dead.
But how better if we can think of it as sleeping and the Lord is going to raise him out of sleep?
Then he says in verse 15. I'm glad for your sakes, I wasn't there.
I'm glad I wasn't there.
So that you might believe.
No, let's go to him now.
And you know, as hard as we are on Thomas, beloved brethren, and we are.
Doubting commerce. And we use them as an illustration all the time of unbelief.
Thomas here says.
To the disciples let's go that we may die with him. He doesn't have a very bright outlook on it. He's he's sure they're gonna die. But does he say, well let's go because we sure don't wanna die do as it does. He says let's guys know that go that we may die with him. And I believe those words are recorded. I believe God valued those words even though they might have been a little bit of a a gloomy look at the thing a lack of faith on Thomas part.
There was no lack of devotion. There was there. Let's go that we may die with him.
When Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.
There's a certain finality about that too, isn't there?
There's no possibility that he, you know, maybe just.
Was in a coma or something. This is real. This is real death. Real death.
Now, Martha, here's that Jesus is coming.
So she goes right to it. And we've heard, I think someone remarked during these meetings that Mary sat still in the house. Don't miss that point. Mary sat still in the house. She waited for him to call.
But Martha goes.
And she says to him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. Is there a little reproach in that? I don't know.
I don't want to read in more than I should into it.
But I've always had that sense that there's a little bit of reproach.
Or bitterness in her heart. Lord, if you had only been here, this wouldn't have happened.
But then she adds, and it's very sweet. I know that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it to thee.
And Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Oh, I say to you, every one of us that have laid a loved one to rest, what a thought. Thy brother shall rise again.
I remember when the day my dad died, he called us all together and he said, you know, this is, if I'm not mistaken, this is the day the Lord is going to Take Me Home.
Was the Lord's Day afternoon?
We were all there and of course our hearts were deeply affected thinking of that. But he said this, he said it may not happen.
He said because we may be all caught up before the day is out and he says and even if I go home to be with the Lord, you may not get me into the grave.
Because the Lord may come while you're taking me out to bury me. What a hope, brethren. What a hope.
It's real, isn't it?
Thy brother shall rise again while Martha says I know you rise again in the resurrection at the last day, but the Lord wasn't talking about that. He was talking about an out resurrection, wasn't he? And resurrection from among the dead.
In this case a special one.
Jesus answers her with these words of triumph and glory. I am the resurrection and the light. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Martha, do you believe this?
What a confession she makes. Yay, Lord.
I believe not only I believe it, I believe that thou art the Messiah, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
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Her apprehension was nice. Wasn't it? Very sweet to see what she saw.
And then, as soon as she says that, she goes and she calls Mary. Now Mary comes. Does she delay? Look at verse. Uh, 29 As soon as Mary heard the Master was calling for her, she arose quickly, quickly, and came to him.
While the Jews follow him, follow her out, they said. She's going out to the grave to weep.
Was that where she was going to the grave to weep?
Sometimes we go to the grave to weep, don't we?
There's nothing wrong with weeping.
But that isn't what her occupation here is.
Jesus, it called for.
And I'd like to notice in verse 32 That says then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him.
And I'm going to skip a few words and say what she said. Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. I don't think it's fair to say that Mary said anything different from what Martha said, but I think it's the position that was important.
Is the position that was important.
She fell down at his feet.
It's as if she says.
Yes, I've. I've got this in my heart. I'm wondering why it is. It's all this is going through my mind. I wonder why you didn't come when we sent for you. I'm wondering about it. But you get to his feet. And she says, Lord, I know that everything, every circumstance that thou dost permit in my life.
Is for my blessing and I accept it from thy loving hand. She doesn't say that in words. She says it's an action.
Jesus saw her weeping.
Jesus sees every tear that you shed, my beloved brother and sister.
You may think that nobody notices the tears. Nobody cares. I was talking to a dear sister yesterday.
Thinking about, she got to thinking about her, her mother being going to be with the Lord, and she began to cry.
Now I noticed those tiers, but suppose I hadn't. Is there one who does? Yes, one who cares. Look at verse 2033. It says when Jesus therefore saw her weeping.
Says he groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
You know, this is a wonderful thought. Here is one who had the power over death, The one who had absolute power over death.
And he's standing there, and he's beholding the results of it, of sin in this world.
And he sees Mary crying, one he loved. He sees the Jews crying and weeping.
And I'm sure he was thinking too, of the four days that Lazarus was in the grave, his friend was in the grave.
And we get that wonderful statement.
First he says where have you laid him? Where is he? Some people think it doesn't matter where you lay someone after their after they die.
I think this teaches us that the Lord cares, the Lord cares. I think the case of Moses too shows that the Lord cares. He buried him.
He buried him. The Lord buried him. Probably used Michael in that action, but he he buried him.
But he groans in spirit.
He entered fully into the results of what death had sinned, and had sinned and death had brought into this world. The Lord entered into it in a perfect way.
It's too much for me sometimes, brethren, to even think about that.
Touched with the sympathy within.
What a blessed savior.
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He groaned.
Deeply.
Side He was troubled.
Then it says this pressure, this thing. Jesus wept.
Jesus, wept Martha.
With her declaration of faith in the Lord heard the wonderful, the wonderful words I am, the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. What a, what a, what words of triumph that was they were.
But Mary, who got down at his blessed feet and submitted to him in the circumstances of life.
Who understood in some measure, God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform.
Who understood?
That he had a purpose of blessing. Mary felt his sympathetic.
Tiers.
Saw his sympathetic tears.
I'm not sure, but somebody who knew Greek told me one time that this means he burst into tears. He burst into tears. Anyone can verify that or correct me on that. But I remember reading her reading that in a commentary, he he burst into tears.
Well, we know the rest of the story.
Martha says The Lord says take away the stone.
Take away the stone. Let me tell you something I used to think. I'm ashamed to admit it when I was a boy. I used to think that the reason the stone was rolled away by the Angel when the Lord was raised from the dead was to let him out.
And it was many years until I remember, Mr. Begg said. If you think that, you're wrong, he said. He opened it up to let them see the empty tomb.
Do you think the stone would have kept him there?
No way, No way.
A wondrous hour, glorious hour when Jesus revived and left the grave, but in Lazarus case.
The stone was opened.
The stone was opened. He stinks as Martha. Don't do that. Don't do that.
And he says Lazarus come forth. We've been reminded many times that the reason it says Lazarus come forth is that if he had just said come forth.
It would have been a lot of people come forth.
I'm not sure that's the reason, but I think there's something very precious about it. Saying Lazarus, come forth.
And we do know that one of these days he's going to say, come forth and all the all the dead in Christ shall rise. What a moment, What a moment.
And then?
Here's this. Suddenly in front of the Lord is standing this man bound hand and foot. Now people imagine him and I, I I don't know what scripture makes him think this, but they imagine the Lord. I mean, imagine Lazarus shuffling his way out of the tomb.
I don't believe so. I believe when this Lord said come forth, Lazarus was right there in front of him, raised in power. You can believe what how you wish on it. It's not a dogmatic point, but.
The Lord does say, though loose him, let him go.
There's a lot of grave clothes sometimes, brethren, let's be patient while the grave closer taken off people. We get a little impatient sometimes and we want them to to walk, uh, as if they didn't have them on. But do we help to loosen them, Loosen, let them go. And he became such a testimony, beloved brethren, to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they sought to kill Lazarus to get rid of that testimony.
But in the 12Th chapter, you see when they prepared the Lord as supper, there's Lazarus sitting there as the one of the people at that table, representing us, raised from the dead. We were there this morning, weren't we? At that table, raised from the dead. We were there in all three characters, I believe, raised from the dead.
Serving.
01:55:00
Not cumbered with service, but serving. And then the highest character was that pouring out of the worship and praise.
Oh man.