Vestal Conference: 2000
Table of Contents
Ephesians 1:1-7
Moses and Egypt
Fish and Honeycomb
Preparing Paul a Lodging
Ephesians 1:7-14
Reading
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First Peter chapter one.
And verse five, first Peter, chapter one, verse 5.
Who are kept?
By the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein he greatly rejoiced, though now for a season if need be, ER, and heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than a goal that perisheth.
It be tried with fire might be found onto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen.
A love in whom, though now you see him not yet believing, he rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Spray.
Our Father and our God.
We have been reminded many times, uh, today of the riches that we have in Christ and all our hearts are bowed and Thanksgiving to the OR gathering a few of us together in this way to have one object before the glories of that blessed eternal Son of thy love to fill and satisfy every longing of our redeemed hearts.
We thank Thee for all that thou hast done, blessed Lord Jesus, and all that thou art doing and all that thou wilt do. It may be today that call shall come, and we're gone into Thy arms, precious Savior, forever.
We pray now that as we turn to Thy Living Word, operative Word powerful, that we may receive that which Thou just have for us and the portion that we have been considering.
May we, uh, the younger ones be able to take in that which would encourage them and stir their hearts into affection to Christ. Thy Spirit alone can do these things. And we pray and count upon thee, blessed God, to make this hour ahead of us, if we're left a time of rich blessing for thy glory, the exaltation of Christ and the blessing of each one of us. And we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Payment.
For seven.
And whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, we already have abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having men know the mystery of His will according to His good pressure, which He had purpose in Himself. But in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together.
In one all things in Christ which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him.
In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the council of His will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.
In whom you also trusted. After that she heard the word truth, the cost of your salvation. In whom also after that he believes were sealed that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchase possession under the praise of His glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the things He's not to give thanks for you, make a mention of you in my prayers.
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and the knowledge of Him.
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His sin, of His inheritance in the Saints? And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wore in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly faces, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion. And every name was named, not only in this world.
00:05:30
But also in that wishes to come and have put all things under his feet, and gave him to his head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him, that all.
We didn't touch on it in the previous meeting, but the expression at the end of verse six is so very precious and important, I wonder if we could just notice it, uh, in a special way.
He has made us accepted in the beloved.
It's a wonderful expression.
So, uh, let me.
Uh, Strand detranslation that says he's taking us into favor in the beloved.
God has.
Accepted us.
Received us in favor, not on the basis of anything in ourselves, but in Him, in the beloved.
The lovely hymn that goes in the beloved accepted of mine and it it sets forth a wonderful line of things that God receives us.
Because we're in Christ.
In other words, all the acceptance that Christ has, we have, and He's called the beloved. 1 here.
Umm, some months ago Brother Windman Hawthorne was visiting down in Willow Grove and I always enjoy when he gets up to give thanks on the Lord's Day morning and bread and he used the expression over and over again. Heavens beloved 1.
Heaven's Beloved 1.
And it burned itself into my soul and I was meditating on it and enjoying it and someone asked me later.
When I remarked about it, Well, does the Scripture ever say to these evidence, beloved one? Well, this is as close as I think you could come to it, isn't it in the beloved?
He's the beloved, and if he's the beloved, he's heaven's beloved one. Believe me, he's accepted, and we're accepted in him.
Safe in Christ, the weakest child stands in all God's favor.
Why? Because he's in Christ. It's a beautiful expression to be in Christ. And then it goes on to say in whom in the verse we're starting with, in whom we have redemption through his blood.
The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
Maybe someone can tell us why?
I understand that versus, I mean authorized version is exactly the same in collections one as it is here, but in Colossians really it doesn't include through his blood.
Someone tell us why that is? Why here it belongs in a collage division?
Because in Colossians is just the person.
Totally the person there.
The headship of Christ or the Lord? You know, the headship of Christ.
All that he is for us here, it's the the.
The blood as part of that work.
Gut reasoning and they weren't really holding their head.
And so it was bringing before the preciousness of the person that did the work, as has been pointed out, is the person that's brought before us. And here is both the person and the means by which he did it.
00:10:08
I think even the younger ones, they all felt, particularly at that stage in life that they've been a place and they don't know whether they're accepted or not. But, and, uh, we go through that little crisis when we're younger, especially whether we're gonna be accepted. But it's a wonderful thing to think that we're accepted in the beloved because of who has done the work and the means by which he's done the work that we're gonna feel at home and having in a way that we never feel felt at home here.
We don't ever really feel at home, even in our own homes. We look around and we see things that aren't finished maybe, or aren't exactly the way we'd like them to be, or in the assembly, or so on, or somebody goes off to school and things aren't exactly the way they want them to be, and so on. But when we get home to heaven, we're going to be. We're going to feel accepted, and we're gonna feel like we're finally home.
Lovely to see here in this chapter that we have 77 fold blessings, don't we? Probably been referred to already. We have.
We we've been chosen.
We have been umm.
Predestinated.
We've been accepted.
I'll step here. We've been forgiven.
We've been inheritance and we're sealed, but right in the center of this is redemption. Redemption.
Three things brought before us.
And in that, in that.
Umm, verse seven we have the middle of that redemption.
It's been wonderful to know that amidst all these things.
We have redemption. That's the key, isn't it? Without that redemption, we were doing nothing about these precious things, but it had been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, so right in the center of this, in whom we have redemption through His blood, Liveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Very beautiful.
That redemption goes right on to the end of the second or last verse of the first chapter of Corinthians.
That redemption is last in the list. That's the redemption of the body. So this one includes that. It's a redemption all the way through, including the redemption our changed bodies like His glory, a body of glory. So it's a full work right into glory.
OK.
Somebody comment on the last part of this one says add to the faithfully Christ Jesus I can in first Peter talks about.
All that as being a faithful brothers and sisters are trying to every believer, isn't it? If somebody could explain that.
We might get the notion that it's referring to a call to Christian and what are you talking about, to the faithful in Christ Jesus?
We're both, umm.
The Saints are the faithful in grace Jesus. It's not. It's a different way of talking about the same group. I think there is a notion in some people's mind that is talking about summer Saints and some are faithful in Christ Jesus. I don't think that's the thought at all. And if you read it carefully, you'll see that it's really the same people, but spoken of in two different ways.
When I talked about a faithful brother, I think that is making a.
Uh, calling attention to it something which characterized a brother and uh, that here does is not that good at all. Here is the thought of this is the Saints and faithful in Christ Jesus.
The position rather than the condition.
00:15:05
Yes, it's the word in that helps us understand that. You say he was faithful to so and so that's the person's condition. But the position we have that in our verse in whom we have redemption, not by whom we have redemption. It's true we have redemption by Christ, but it's in whom we have redemption. So the question is, is could he be refused?
I haven't, no. And I have redemption in him.
She's just even.
When we get the death of Christ.
Usually not all kinds.
We get the resurrection of Christ, Who don't we?
See that in Romans 4 he was delivered for our offenses.
And he was raised again for justification.
How we know? That's how we can positively say that we know that it's all all done. Work is all done because God raised him from among the dead. The cedar did in his own right hand, and the blessed Savior is there without one stem. No sin can ever enter the presence of God. The blessed Lord Jesus is there at God's right hand without any of our sins gone.
Not only has he died, but he's gone back to glory and been accepted as gone. Who's going to challenge that?
No one can challenge that truth.
Because it is God. God brings that before us, doesn't he?
Delivered for our offenses, we delivered in God here raised again, for whom? For our justification, God raised him. So I think it's very beautiful to see that since we have redemption here through His blood, forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, wherein He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. I mean, Brother Barry, some time ago, some years ago, you were mentioning about the explosion and your superlatives of Scripture.
And I see it throughout as we read some descriptions. Notice verse verse 8, wherein He has abounded toward us, abounded toward us in all wisdom and peace.
Always something beyond what the men would expect God is to enforce.
And we know it's not the work, not man's work at all. God's work, isn't it?
The founders were like Niagara Falls.
Pouring over not a limited little supply stream, but abounded. That's what he has furnished us with.
It's not just His grace, which is true, but it's the riches of His grace.
The riches of his parents as as you read through here, you see those precious little things that give us that positive assurance, don't you? Because you read through the word of God.
OK.
I have to remember that this, uh, portion of Scripture, the subject is Christ, the, uh, the apostle could say Christ is all and you know, and so when we read this, we can enjoy the thought that we have the blessings in Christ, but it really does help us to enjoy it and understand the purposes of God and bring us into the enjoyment of these things by understanding that Christ himself is the center of all of these thoughts that we're, we're speaking about.
Yeah.
Because at first.
Verse seven, it begins that point of the work of Christ, doesn't it? First seven down through verse, uh.
12 or 13 messages. And so we see as we read this, we can think God the Father was in the early part of this chapter, but now it's God's Son. The Son of God here is God before us. And it's interesting that it says.
00:20:09
Uh, in whom we have reduction.
God, as God could not die.
But the Lord Jesus Christ took a body was capable of death in order to go into death for you and me, in whom we have redemption, wherein He has abounded toward us, and having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. So how is beautiful all this put? It's put together in such a marvelous way that there can be no question about.
Our eternal salvation.
That's really why that expression faithful in Christ Jesus at the beginning of the chapter is so important, because if the faith is in Christ and the whole very much souls get into difficulty because their eyes are turned in on themselves. And so we see in this chapter especially, we're Speaking of the work of Christ. It gets our eyes off of ourselves and under the one who has done the work and the means by which he has done the work.
And he has.
He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence or intelligence. The question is, we say, well, we didn't know much.
We say did I come to the right the Lord in the right way. It's not what I love that expression in Isaiah by his knowledge on my righteous servant justifier instruct many is not really what what we know is by what he knew is what God knows is the value of the work of Christ. It's important and we get peace by entering into it and so he would bring these things before us, but God would have us look at things from his point of view.
And that's what this chapter does in such a lovely way.
See the expression here in verse 5 having predestinated us on the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, and dropping down to.
Verse 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure.
Which he had purposed in himself.
It's God's good pleasure and delight to bring these precious things to ourselves, isn't it?
These are simple thoughts, but will they ever be fathomed? No.
We will never fathom God's purposes nor His goodwill.
We will ask in it for eternity, but we will never be able to found.
Natural things. Sometimes you see someone abound towards someone in grace or in love and yet do it without wisdom. Romantic love might lead somebody to become infatuated with somebody to the point where they can be irresponsible towards others or towards their parents, towards their job. They might go out and buy some expensive gift and and get themselves unwisely in debt by doing it because they're abounding in love towards someone.
But what God does is always perfect, and when He abounds towards us in love.
And when he shows himself towards us according to the riches of his grace, he does it, as it says here in all wisdom and proves he doesn't have to be, uh, inconsistent with himself in anything that he is in coming out to us in, in this bubbling over way of abounding, just like in the gospel where it's a beautiful thing that's the same we'll enjoy throughout eternity, that God is just and the justifier.
Of him which believeth in Jesus that he has found a way where he can be consistent with his own holiness and his own righteous nature and still justify the vilest Sinner and be just in doing it. That to me is a a beautiful, beautiful thing, and far much more so that the goodness of it falls out to us. But even if we were like angels standing on the side and watching this blessing go through to others, it's a beautiful thing to the mind, the renewed mind just to see how God abounds.
In such, uh, such, uh, uh, full way with wisdom and uh, improving through intelligence.
00:25:07
These things were a mystery in the Old Testament, weren't they? They were hidden, they weren't on display. And it wasn't until the Lord Jesus died and rose again and went back to the Father that it could be the covering could be taken off, so to speak. Remember that when Joseph went down into Egypt and wound up in prison.
It says in the Psalms you sent a man before them. Joseph was fleet feet, was bound in fetters and umm, and he went, uh, was in prison and taken out of prison and exalted, and he was given a new name upon his exaltation in Egypt. And it meant the revealer of secrets, the Lord Jesus had to 1St go into death, come out of death triumphant over it, and go back to the Father before these things could be revealed.
And now the mystery is taken away. Now it's God's delight to unfold these things to us. And it should be our delight and our diligence to look into them and get acquainted with them. This is their eternal portion. It's our where we're everything is at for us forever. And so behooves us to to be diligent. And I'll say this for somebody else to know. This is for I'll leave this for the more educated or the more spiritual or those that are a little older, all of us right from.
They can comprehend should incline our ear and become acquainted with who we are and what's what's in store and who we're linked with.
We see a beautiful illustrated the whole work in the bread and in the cup. The bread occupies us with His body, it's blessed body, and His sufferings.
But there's no blood. The blood was only shed after there was death. And the blood brings the horse, the grace of God that has worked through the blessed Lord Jesus to bring us into this position of grace now to share these delights with the with the sun.
You know the expression in verse umm, not to go backwards at all, but not just to make sure we know that in verse umm 5 adoption.
We think of adoption differently from the way Scripture teaches it. We think of adoption of his child that doesn't have any bears, and someone comes along and says, well, I'll take that job. And that's a very beautiful concept. I don't want to destroy that in anyone's mind. But adoption in the scriptural sense, I think has to do with a formal acknowledging of a son in the Roman system.
Our son was acknowledged as a son.
And that was called adoption. And that is really what, what is the thought. And when we run into the word in scripture, it's not a poor child that didn't have any parents. That was taken up in a nice way. Umm, and many beautiful thoughts have been connected with that. I wouldn't want to destroy that in anyone's mind, but I think we need to understand what adoption means is the formal acknowledgment of sonship is it's, uh, recognizing a person as a son.
And.
Uh, it's been noted before that predestination is not seen ever in scripture as an abstract thing.
Uh, we say if you believe in predestination.
I think people, when they use that expression in that way, they think of kind of a that everything is predetermined. But that's not the thought in Scripture. It always has a purpose.
A destination.
It's always used with a destination predestinated unto.
Actually, in this passage, I think the better word is probably marked out beforehand. Marked out beforehand, but it whether it's that or predestination, it's with an object in view.
00:30:02
The person just isn't predestinated abstractly.
They're predestinated unto something and uh, uh, just keep that in mind and look at it everywhere you see it in Scripture. It's just like an unrelated thing, but it's the same concept that meditation in scripture never is looked at abstractly.
It's been introduced as an abstract thing in, in uh, heathen religions and, and umm, uh, Asian practices that are brought into our country, but it's never treated that way in scripture. It always has an object.
An object.
The deficiency of the story that's often told, and it's a cute story where the naturally born child in the family begins to pick on the adopted child in the family and says, well, you were only adopted, you know, and, and it's kind of, you know, beating on that kid. And, and the story goes, most all heard it that the adopted child brings back a retort that basically they had to take you, you were born in the family. But me they chose.
And and, you know, everybody smiles. It's a nice story, but the deficiency in it is that it gives the impression that being a child in the family, being one of the children and adoption are two different ways to bring you to the same place. Whereas I believe in Paul's gospel or Paul's doctrine, this expression, sonship or adoption, I think sometimes it's translated sonship in the Darby Bible is really a different thought. And that is.
Just it's more John's line of things to bring out beautifully, especially in his epistle. But now that the Lord Jesus like that seed, has fallen to the ground and died and brings forth much fruit, and now those things which were once only true in him, all of us were dead in trespasses and sins, and him was life and him exclusively. Now because of the work of of God in Christ, now it says in the first epistle of John which things are true in him and in you.
And so now there is this life propagated that we all.
Uh, enjoy together. And this is the privilege of children in the family. I could, you know, doing the best I can with my own limited understanding of this, but sonship is one of those. Uh, Stephen Stewart in his prayer in the last reading meeting referred to the dignity. I can't remember exactly how he put it, but the dignity of the place that we now enjoy in Christ and sonship has to do with this new.
Relationship or.
Uh, understanding that the believer now has, we have, like it says in Romans, we have not received the spirit of ******* under fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry of the father. And though it's connected with the election, the stick was already saying, it seems to be coupled with this intimate knowledge of God as our father, so much so that we don't aren't fearful of God as an unknown being, but we know him intimately as one that we can say.
ABBA or parka tube. And this is a unique, one of the unique privileges, uh, personal privileges that we enjoy in Christianity and brought out here, uh, in verse five. I don't know if you took this up in the last meeting or not, but uh, predestinated us, pointed us out ahead of time to this place of being a son and enjoying sonship. One of the personal privileges that Paul.
Uh, reveals to us, common to every Christian.
And of course, much of what Paul reveals his collective common to us all together as members of one body.
Or when school was one time going over with a, a boy, uh, his results and so on. And he said, uh, Harrison, uh, was there, there was another Harrison, uh, is that your brother? Uh, and he said, well, yes, uh, one of us is adopted, but I don't know which one of us.
In other words, they adopted one was accepted as we are in that oneness.
The total oneness.
00:35:01
I'm sorry I didn't say Roland Dave mentioned for joint pairs with fried cell phone. I was just reading that first and my brother is commenting. Have a bother.
Joint heirs of Christ, that's what he brings into a special relationship, doesn't it? Position.
That's really what Paul is trying to bring out in this epistle, isn't it? That we would be intelligent. We get that enrollment. What is your reasonable or intelligent service? Christianity is an intelligent service, but he's bringing us into the intelligence of the position into which we've been brought.
We mentioned the prodigal son.
The Mephibosheth was mentioned. He was like that, that dog with the brick on his chest in the center of the room. But then when he got into David's presence, he said he would. He re he was breathing shame, but when he got into the Lord's presence, he would.
His presence, he realized he was a dead dog. We were seen as alive in our sins and we were also seen dead in our sin trespasses and sins. But now Paul would have us to see the dignity and the position into which we've been brought. And as you've been pointing out, as the Roman acknowledged his son as his son and we we see that in this epistle and then in the he goes on and he wants us to know what the length and.
Heights and depth and breadth of this mystery is.
Together.
The thought of sun, as someone has already said, brings in the thought of dignity, whereas children brings in the thought of relationship. Both are true, but every child of God is both has is in possession of both.
He has a place before God.
As the Son of God.
And dignity and he has a relationship now as a child of God. Marvelous to think that both are true of every child of God. Not all enjoying it, but however that's true. I was looking at that in Norman's date again, but clearly there.
A man praying, have a father have a cry of the children for the father, and father the ones the son.
Our highest elections are all individual.
And this problem that says this book takes up our highest blessings. And so it starts with what is individual. So it's for the statement to the faithful, not for the assembly. That's not for the church, or rather to the individual state. Not only that this, but everywhere goes out to the faithful in the Christ, and it puts us in established justice in the place of sun.
Has been brought up with tons to place the full growth and maturity of dignity and.
I might have a business and have a family and children, but there comes a time when I take my child and I bring him into the family business and I say, son, this is going to be yours someday. You're the heir. And I want to show you everything. I want to show you from the Logan God all the way up to the president's office. I want you to see all how it works. I want you to hear all my plans. I want you to understand everything I'm doing.
And then I go out by hanging a sign in front of that business and it doesn't say steward anymore. It says steward and stuff.
And I've used that for myself as a little illustration of what we've been brought into. God is saying, I want you to tell you all my plans. I want you to hear all my thoughts about my son. I want you to enter into and enjoy all the councils and purposes that I have in Christ. And I want you to enjoy it and walk in there. And he brings us into the place of confiding to us.
The secrets of his own heart.
Some is never contrasted if I can.
Convey the thought. It's never put in opposition to the thought of being a child of God. It's always brought out in contrast to the place of the service.
The ******* the children of God in the Old Testament.
Born in the liberty that we know, and it was the same as ******* in Galatians brings that out, though they were children.
Yet they were no different than service. But now in the New Testament, we've been brought into liberty and we've been brought out of the place of ******* and into place of freedom, and it's the place of the sun. And therefore the contrast is so the beginning of this chapter we have chosen and in that sense.
00:40:15
Naturally speaking adoption as we know it in this world, choosing a trial will be part of our family. We've been chosen, although that still doesn't rise up to the full thought of us here. But it goes on to tell us not only are we children, but we have.
The place of full growth, maturity he's confided in throughout all the thoughts of that. He has the purposes in his son. This has to come first. We have to be established in that relationship. We have to be in the good of it.
And knowing the heart of God, who has been before, he can unfold those thoughts to us before, He can abound to us now. Wisdom and support.
You can give to us an understanding of the mystery in which I did all the treasures of wisdom and not.
We have to be in the enjoyment and conscious knowledge of the relationship that we have at home.
Doesn't that then lead us on to the, uh, 9th and 10th versus? He makes known to us, having made known to us the mystery.
Of His will, that which was hidden before, He brings out and communicates it to us. And what is that?
OK. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times?
You might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Those who are old enough to remember our brother Harry Hayo know that he used to call that the key verse of the whole Scripture. I think he was right in that it is because it's the key verse of all God's purposes.
What is the highest thought that God has to gather together or to head up everything in Christ? And then everything flows out from that. And then He takes us into His secret, so to speak, and He makes that known to us and we understand it.
So our participation in it, any blessing that comes to us, is always connected with God's eternal purpose.
Is that great purpose that he had, which was to that Christ should be the center, an object of all?
What I'm going to do?
You're in the Millennium on the Lord Jesus reigns and the dispensation of the fullness of time. You might gather together if you want, all things in place, but he's revealing to us that He's epistle and other scriptures that what He has done with us now it's like that we are not one with Him in Christ. And I was thinking of those verses in John 17 when the Lord alluded to these things.
I did with the verses we read at the end of the chapter John chapter 17.
There's 29. I will pray I for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word. They all may be one.
Father are in me, and I in Thee, but they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that how extensive and the glory which I gave me, I gave, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I and them and Thou be, that they may be perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me and has loved them as Thou loved me. Proudly I will.
That they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may be heard. My glory, which thou hast given me. Foundation of the world, to be born in your love. What love? That love. But we find here the object of that love before the accommodation of the world. Lord Jesus, go over love with that same love. We're going to be before the Father in that same love, and right now in this world, one with Him.
We enjoy these things and the manifest in a practical way that oneness that if you give to us now, they want it twice.
In the second chapter of Ephesians, verse 7 refers to that time when.
I believe that will be manifest.
00:45:01
Two and verse 7.
That he ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Here we will be shining forth in glory with the Lord, with Him, one with him forever, through the defeating riches of his grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
It's rather humbling, uh, brother, to realize that that has been accomplished, that prayer of the Lord Jesus prayed to his Father that they all might be one that has been accomplished. There is that oneness, but what covers us with shame is the display of it today.
The disunity.
I'm getting paid.
Confusion resulting from it outside it is and we have a share and the responsibility and.
For this grand purpose that God has in heading up all things in Christ who are gathering together in one all things in Christ, it's nice to see in verse 12, umm, or in verse 11 rather, that in Him we also have obtained an inheritance. In other words, it isn't just some great purpose that God has had that leaves us out, but it's brought us in. We've obtained an inheritance in Him.
And uh.
We were predestinated or marked out beforehand, according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to His counsel of His own will, that we might be to the praise of His glory.
Who have first trusted in Christ and I think now we need to be careful in these verses to distinguish the we and you because Paul in these verses, I believe if I judge correctly and verses 12 and onward, he's he's talking about the we meaning the believing Jews.
And he goes on in verse UMM 13 to say in whom he also trusted, that is the believers in Ephesus, the Gentile believers in Ephesus. And so umm in verse 12, it's those who first trusted or pre trusted in Christ. In other words, at the beginning of the Christian dispensation there was a little group who did trust in Christ.
And they by grace.
But they were all Jews, weren't they? And, uh, they were, uh, brought into a enormous blessing through that. And they might be to the praise of his glory.
And then he goes on to say, and whom he also trusted. Who's the he? That sucks, isn't it? That's where we're brought in. Uh, and there's some ingredients there. We heard the word of truth.
The Gospel of our salvation.
In whom after that he believed, or I think it's better rendered, having believed he were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
One of the most outstanding examples of that, I believe, is umm, the case of Cornelius.
Uh.
Cornelius, it was told to call, uh Peter, and he might hear words whereby he might be saved.
A lot of people have concluded from that that that Cornelius didn't have light, but I believe it's very abundant that the evidence as you read through the sense of action and to see that he did indeed have life.
But they didn't have what we would call characteristically in Scripture, salvation.
They were born of God. They were accepted of God.
But they needed to hear words whereby they might be saved. They needed to hear what should we say, the gospel of your salvation? And there's a critical verse in that extent and I think might help us understand the passage we're looking at.
00:50:02
Peter opened his mouth in verse 34.
So the truth I I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Every nation that he appears in and works righteousness is acceptable to him, and he says the word which he sent to the sons of Israel.
Preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He's Lord of all you know. You know that word. You didn't know it was for you, but you know the word.
And that testimony has been spread abroad when he goes on to talk about, uh, the crucifixion and the resurrection. And then he comes down to verse 43, which I believe is the critical verse in this to him give all the prophets witness.
And through his name, whosoever that believes on them will receive remission of sins. What is that? That's the gospel of Cornelius's salvation, of our salvation too. And they hear that. They hear the gospel, they believe it. And look at verse 44. While Peter was yet speaking these words, these words.
The Holy Spirit fell upon those who were hearing the Word.
And so the Holy Spirit at that time sealed them.
They became not just people who had life, but they became people who had salvation in our understanding of the Word, and they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Uh, it's a beautiful, I think, and the beautiful illustration of what Paul is teaching us in verses 12 and 13.
You see a lot of various, uh, pardon me, I was going to refer to Eden chapter 2 and verse umm 16, that you might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross. So there wasn't going to be a Jewish church and a Gentile church. And God brings in this truth very quickly, having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to you, which were far off as the Gentiles, Cornelius and his household.
And to them, which were nine, the Jews. For through him we both have access by one sphere into the models.
Uh, this expression pre trusted in Christ, our first trust in Christ maintain the truth that there is going to be blessing for Israel as a nation. That's very important and that is never set aside. We get that in the book of Romans. There's a great deal of effort to set that aside because.
God determined, and I appreciated when our brother Bruce said that God found a way, but when did God find a way? It was an eternity past because all things were created by him and for his pleasure they are and were created. And so God determined in an eternity past that there was going to be blessing on heaven and on earth. And that man's skin did not frustrate that. But God found a way that he could be just in the justifier of them that believe in Jesus, that he could work out his plan to bring all things together in heaven and earth. And so he has an earthly people. But what about these Jews now that trusted the gospel when Peter preached it at the beginning of the act? They're not going to come into the national blessing of the Jews, but they've been brought into, as you pointed out.
There into the blessing of the church because they've been joined together with the Gentiles, the we the we the Jews. Paul was referring to himself and now the Gentiles are formed into one body and so the Jews were brought into those Jews were really brought into blessing ahead of time and then the then there will be blessing on heaven and earth. God is not frustrated. There was not a sort of an afterthought on God's part. I think we're all clear as to that these purposes were formed in an eternity past.
And he wants us to be in the intelligence of them as to what he's working out. And he'll go on to explain in the epistle as to the various families in heaven and earth, so to speak. But we see this that he has given us this earnest heal us with the Holy Spirit of promise. Is that just as in the illustration when the man was lying on the floor with the brick on his chest was given life, that that was a sovereign work of God. That's what we we find in John chapter 3.
But when finally the man, the brick is taken off the man's chest and he says I'm free, that's really, that's really, is it not? When we understand that we believe the gospel of our salvation and we realize what Christ has done and a man is sealed with the Holy Ghost and we see that that that is what our position is.
00:55:17
The difference between life and peace Isn't there life and peace?
Because that and connection with Cornelius.
You said that in in that chapter we were looking at the Chapter 11.
Umm.
Verse 13 And he showed us how he had seen an Angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Java, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall tell the words.
Whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. Look at that expression. Before that do we All thy house shall be saved. In other words, now Cornelius will be peace. He had life before, but now he has peace. I think it's very beautiful.
And it says.
And they began to speak. As they began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us in the beginning. So the Day of Atonement. That was when all Israel confessed their sins of the previous year, and the high priest went in to the holiest of all with those sins and confessed them to God.
The people stood outside waiting for.
Aaron the high priest to come out.
And if.
If there was a delay, they would wonder.
Are our sins forgiven? And they waited, and then finally he appeared, and they knew, seeing it was still alive, because he'd borne their sins there. Now the Lord Jesus has is our high priest, and he has gone into heaven.
And has borne our sins. He never came back. He never came back again. I had never came back. Door. How do we know that we're accepting the Beloved? He has sent the Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit has come down now and tells each one of us here in this room. You have been accepted because the one who took your sins is up in heaven now. And now you can have the assurance.
That you are accepted in the beloved.
Way back, 50 or 60 years ago mentioned that very thing he said, if you were to talk to Cornelius at the opening of the 10th chapter, and you said to Cornelius, are you really saying Cornelius would not have known what you were talking about?
They have life. Indeed he did.
Because it tells us though he did, he was pleased, all the people are gone and he was, he was kind and gracious and so on. But then he says, you come to the 11Th chapter and you ask him how? You say, yes, I know I'm safe now, I know your words whereby he might be saved.
Is it not true in our in our pathway? This individual heard the gospel and attended.
Against my will.
I don't want to speak about myself, but just to mention this little thought, against my will I went.
In that attempt, I was convicted.
And I accept that the Lord is my savings.
But if you'd have asked me weeks later, are you saved? Which was asking well, I, I think so I hope I am I I like to read the Bible and I like to talk about the Lord. I I hope I am.
But then an old sister gave me that verse. These things have I written unto you, that you may know that you have eternal life. Do you believe on the Lord Jesus? I suggest she said, then you can know that you have eternal life. KNOW that was peace to me. That was my peace. So there is a time lapse between life and peace. A lot depends on how we receive.
01:00:04
Truth of God.
Did I say this? Uh, perhaps some of the younger ones are sitting here and thinking, wow, this is stuff. I I have my doubts about this because this doesn't sound like conventional teaching on it.
First of all.
What we need to do is to remember that where God makes a distinction between things, we maintain those distinctions. If I don't understand it, don't be so arrogant is to say if I don't understand it, it can't be true. I've done that in my life and I'm sure some of us have here too. They said, well, I, I, I can understand the word and I don't see that in the word.
Maintain that distinction in your mind, maybe not this afternoon, but maybe in, uh, a week or two from now or a year or two from now, suddenly it'll all fall in place. You'll say, oh, that's what they were talking about, investor. Uh, that's what I heard about and such and such a place and the Lord will make it good to your soul. I've experienced that over my life. And I just encourage any younger one here to say, wait, I'm confused about all of this.
Maintain these distinctions. If God makes a difference, you make the difference too. You may not understand the difference, but acknowledge that there is a difference in the God has a right to make a difference and that he is the one who holds the key to understanding it. And when you do understand it, you'll be so happy that that God has been pleased to reveal it to you and and enjoy it because every truth that he gives us is not to conduct so that we can conduct theology lesson.
Every truth that He gives us is for the blessing and good of our souls. It's for warming our hearts.
It's for the glory of Christ. And I just add those thoughts because, umm, I think brethren did get into a lot of trouble years back by, uh, becoming too theological about some of these things.
And trouble came in among the Lord's people because of it. So I just encourage you to maintain if God makes a difference.
Maybe all along you thought that born again and saved is the same thing.
So God doesn't use the same word. Acknowledge at least that God doesn't use the same word and let him teach you that. But if you decide that they're the same and nobody's ever going to tell me differently, and you'll never learn, you'll never come into the joy of some of these things. That's just a little word for some of the younger ones to so you don't get discouraged, but you just ask questions, think about these things, go to the word about them.
And they'll give you the answer.
And when he does, you'll be blessed in yourself.
Theology too, because it helps to understand how to deal with souls where they are. You know, I heard of the.
A boy recently and he said to me, I'm praying that my Catholic grandmother would become a Christian. I said what she professes to be a Christian. You're confusing her. Tell her she needs to be saved. You know, set before the truth of salvation the finished work of Christ and so, but when we talk about new birth. You may find somebody that very anxious like Cornelius and their soul and what they need is the finished work of Christ said before them.
And that's really what is going to bring them peace.
And so these things, it's good to see that God sovereignly doesn't work to awaken a dead center out of their condition in parks in the divine life that would cause them to seek after God and to set before them the truth of the of the gospel. And that's really, as it's been pointed out, we'll bring them peace. But it helps, it helps know how to deal with souls. It's practical truth.
Going back to that 13 verse about the seating of the Spirit, it's interesting.
As we connected with the story of Cornelius, because we see that he believes the gospel of his salvation and they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. We noticed too that when they received the Spirit, they started speaking in tongues and their constitution about that was just striking to me because Thunder gets to unbelievers and the unbelievers there were the Jews because they were seeing God bringing the gender of this elections, making those those Lena the same as Louise that we're talking about before us breaking down that little wall of partition.
01:05:05
I just want to add that there's confusion now among Christians about the stealing of the Spirit and the proof that one has received the Spirit. We've been talking about that in the first chapter that the doctrine and son, this is what God has been doing and the seal of the Spirit is the seal that adoption that we have now become sons of God through Jesus Christ for taking Jesus Christ. And I'm looking at that verse and go off before.
We know that they did receive the Spirit there in Acts chapter 10 and the proof of it for the believing Jews.
Galatians chapter 4 and verse six. And because we are sons, we went back in the 30.
But our father ABBA Papa has children. That is the truth. But still that we are the Lord. May I just use a homely illustration in connection with the gift of tongues and it's a sign. And what the Spirit of God was doing here is that you may drive by a field and see some bulldozers at work and something starting and you don't know quite what's going on, what's in the builders intention. And so we put somebody says, Oh yes, I think they're building a Jewish retirement community there.
And then a builder puts up a great big sign and he says, uh, this is going to be a housing community. And we have sales staff that speak every language spoken on the face of this earth. And so you say, oh, I know it's not an office building now. I know it's not a shopping center. I know it's going to be a housing community. I know it's not going to be a retirement Center for Jews. It's going to be for all ages and for all languages. And so a sign is put up and that's what the Spirit of God did. He gave a sign to show what he was doing.
Now you come back 30 or 40 years later, the builder doesn't still have the sign up, but what how is the builder's intention shown to those that drive by? It's by the we get that in Colossians is that the power of the spirit is now mentioned, is now manifested in umm, in uh, we see this umm in the 11Th and 12Th 1St strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.
So you don't come back 30 years later and you see all these houses and children running around and older people walking with their walkers and you don't say what was the builder's intention when he was the bulldozer there. You know you can see it. And man doesn't need to wonder what God's intention was in connection with forming the church that even that he even know that Jew and Gentile have been brought together into one body. There may be failures to the testimony of it, but we see what the purpose of God was in that. But the power of the Spirit now is man manifested in the careful maintenance of it. And so just as with the subdivision, the builders intentions are best maintained that people maintain their properties and they.
They use their properties in a way that he intended. I trust the illustrations, not too homely, but it does help us, I think, to understand what a sign was for.
Gospel
Gospel—Michel Payette
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Well, this little hymn we've sung.
I suspect that the hymn writer had been reading in the scriptures and he knew the Lord for himself, I'm sure.
Probably from Revelation chapter 5. We find as we read there in the Book of Revelation, we'll find some some verses that some of the thoughts that we sung sang about for glean from probably.
In Revelation chapter 5.
Is a scene in heaven.
It brings us to heaven. So we're we're going to have a view of things happening in heaven. Let's read this.
Revelation chapter 5 and verse one. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book within, written within, and on the backside sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to lose the seals thereof. And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.
And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Are you Speaking of the Lord Jesus? He's the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David. That's the Lord Jesus.
And verse 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain. Oh, this is the Lord pictured to us as that Lamb of God that was slain to take our sins away, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came, and he took the book out of the hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and 20 elders fell down before the land.
Having everyone of them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of Saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. For thou hast slain, and has redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation, and has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne, and the beast, and the elders, and a number of them was 10,000 * 10,000 and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto him.
That sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts said Amen. And the four and 20 elders fell down and worshipped him. That liveth forever and ever. The beautiful chapter bringing us into heaven, showing us there is one there. The Lamb slain at the center of God's thoughts, center of the throng, throng of angels was also here, a group of people.
That I want to draw your attention to in the ninth verse. And they say, For thou hast slain and hast redeemed us. They're talking about themselves, redeemed us to God by thy blood.
Those that are redeemed here by the blood of the Lamb, where are they? They are in heaven.
Before the throne, in the presence of the Lord Jesus as that Lamb of God.
Where are they from? Because they they come from the earth. They were formerly on the earth and now they're in heaven and they've come from and tells us here out of every kindred or tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Now as we look on the earth, we see that there are different tribes and tongues and people and nations.
Now can anyone give me a name of a nation? You young people and younger ones, you take geography in school. Name a country, Name a nation. You know a nation. Give me a nation.
00:05:07
Let's have a nation.
Handsome words, yes.
France. Thank you, Fran from Quebec, but still. France. France. Yes, France is a nation. It's a language too. And they speak French in France, don't they? They're gonna be French people in heaven. Yes, there are. People from France and heaven. Yes, there will be.
Another nation that you know about.
Yes, Brazil. Yes, Brazil. You know what they speak in Brazil.
Who knows what they speak in Brazil? What language do they speak in Brazil?
Portuguese. Yes, there'll be people that were Portuguese on the earth. They lived in Brazil, but there would be people from Brazil in heaven.
People that spoke Portuguese, every time Portuguese, they'll be in heaven.
I have another nation. Yes, Israel. Yes, Israel. What do they speak in Israel? Do you know what do they speak in Israel? The Old Testament was written in that language.
Wasn't Greek Hebrew? I spoke Hebrew. People speaking Hebrew on the earth being heaven, yes. People from Israel, they'd be in heaven, yes. And they said from every tribe. You could say there's 12 tribes of Israel, you know.
And probably some from everyone of those tribes, you know.
When I was in Benet, there were people there from different tribes. They live in the country of Benin and there'll be people from Benin heaven, you know, but they're different tribes. Some are full and some are Yoruba, some are at Alpha Agaja, all sorts of not go different tribes, you know, but they'll be some of them in heaven. You believe that? Well, I believe it says here in the word of God. So we have a view in heaven. There are people there from every people, kindred tongue and nation. It's wonderful.
They're all singing the same thing about one who has redeemed them with his blood.
Will there be people from the state of New York?
In heaven.
Anybody gonna be in heaven from the state of New York? Oh, I believe so. Some people want to raise their hands. I'm sure they speak English. And from the state of New York? From the United States, yes, I'm sure it'll be a million from Canada also.
But you know, could we say let's start with France? Will everyone from France be in heaven?
Oh.
I'm afraid I can't say yes.
Well, everyone from Brazil, whoever lived in Brazil, whoever spoke Portuguese, will everyone, whoever spoke Portuguese, be in heaven.
Well, everyone from Israel, be in heaven.
Don't believe so?
Will everyone from the state of New York.
Be in heaven, no.
Sad to say no.
But you don't.
When they're in heaven, they're all together. It's one big groan of people and they have one object. They're no longer Portuguese or French or Hebrew or American or Canadian. They're all one around the Lord Jesus, you know, and they're singing about him. It's a wonderful thing and I don't want to divide the people in heaven.
Because they're one with the Lord Jesus, but I want to categorize them, OK. And I don't want to categorize them by country. We're going to categorize them by name and we're going to make 26 group.
We're gonna say these people in heaven, we could divide in 26 groups.
And what we're gonna do is we're gonna use their names.
Let's say their name starts with an A. We'll put them in the first group.
We'll have a group for every letter in the alphabet. The Hebrew only have 22 letters in the alphabet, but we use 26.
English and French are the same 26. We have 26 groups and we would put people in the group that corresponds to the 1St letter in their name.
Let's suppose we take the first of group AA name that starts with a Anybody know a name that starts with a for? Anybody here have a name that starts with a? Yes.
Amy.
Abbey.
Is that right, Abby? Yeah. There's one name Abby, that would that would be in that first group by anybody else with an A. Yes. Albert as opposed. We have Alphonse in French. Yes. How about a bee?
00:10:12
How about a bee? Yes, a bee.
OK, Ben. Yes, Ben. We have Ben Wine, French, Ben another B Bernard. Yes, Bruce. Yes. So we have two groups here, people that would fit in these groups. They're still on the earth, though. Those are speaking here. We're still on the earth. But if you've been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, you would be in that group if we categorize you this way. What about AC?
Yeah, see Cindy. Yeah, Cindy. Carol.
Yes, Caleb. Yes, beautiful boys and girls. You know, we each have a name and I don't know all your names, but your name would fit in one of these 26 groups. You know, that would include everybody here. We could fit in one of these groups. It would include everybody in America, everybody in the world. In fact, we could categorize in 26 little groups and say, what's your name? There you go. That's easy, isn't it? 26 groups of people. I'm am for Michelle. Some might, you know, I was thinking, how about X? You know who's got an X? He said, yeah, You know, he said, yeah, that's an and I'm sure I'm going to meet exact year in heaven.
And W you got will spread. And William and Zed we have Zeno. I know if you have names in English with Zed, but I'm sure in other countries they have names that start with Z.
Sorry, 26 groups of people by their names, you know, so wonderful thing to consider. How many people could be in heaven in these 26 groups? In fact, there's room in heaven for everybody, you know.
What we sang in our little hymn, it says there we sang the same question over and over again. We've talked about that yesterday. You know, there are questions in the Bible and sometimes they're not answered. They're not answered. And God wants us to answer those questions in the Bible. But the question in our hand and it says, there, will you be there? And I, well, let's put it this way. I'm going to put the question to myself, Will I be there?
Yes, I will. It's not gonna be 26 group and I won't be in the group with the Ms. but my name is Michelle and I'm gonna be there because I have been redeemed with the precious blood.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Doesn't matter how old you are, whether you're a boy or a girl, doesn't matter which country you live in, what language you speak, doesn't matter what color your skin is. It can be in heaven. Everyone can go to heaven because of the work of one person, the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, who has come, who has proved who he was by the miracles that he did, and who's gone to the cross of Calvary. And there he hung between heaven and earth.
For three hours of darkness, to be made sin for us, and to bear in his own body on the tree our sins for people of every kindred and tongue and people and nations. And that's where they're in heaven and they're singing. They're singing about Him. And that's who I'm going to be singing about when I get to heaven. And many in this room, you know.
But I say, with all the Americans, be in heaven, no.
With all the men, women and children that have a name that starts with M, are they going to be in heaven? I'm afraid not.
And I wonder about you tonight.
That's why we have a gospel meeting, because we're concerned about you and we're not the ones that are really concerned about God's, the one that's concerned about you. And he gives us these opportunities to preach the gospel, to tell about the work of his Son, what is done on the cross. And the value is blood to redeem anyone from anywhere at any age with any name, and to bring him to heaven forever for blessing. And God can only do that to the blood of the Lord Jesus because.
It is the blood of the Lord Jesus that cleanseth from Austin. That's the only way God can take away.
My sins and your sins. And he's done so for me, so I can answer. Will I be there?
I can answer yes on the authority of the Word of God, because I received the Lord as my Savior and He's washed my sins in his most precious blood.
Well, you know, we had this in the reading in Ephesians. We had, we spoke about election, how God chooses. We spoke about predestination, how God set where we're going and what we're going to be ahead of time. We also spoke of God calling and that's what the gospel is. God is calling, God is calling you this evening a boy, a girl or an older God is calling you.
00:15:17
To come tonight to believe on the Lord Jesus, to trust in him as your savior. You know there are different ones in the scriptures that were called of the Lord. So there's one that's remarkable. You know, it's.
That man in Mark's Gospel, chapter 8.
Maybe 9?
Looking for the storyboard. To me, yes.
Chapter 10.
46.
And they came to Jericho. That's Mark 10 and 46. And as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charge them that he should hold his peace, but he cried the more a great deal. The son of David, have mercy on me.
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they called a blind man, saying unto him, Be.
Of good comfort rise he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose and came to Jesus.
And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord.
That I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, Thy faith had made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus in the way. You know this man. He heard about Jesus, and he knew. He knew that the Lord Jesus was the one that could help him with his problem. And he got a blessing. He called on the name of the Lord, and he was blessed.
You know, And he said, the Lord says, they told him, he call us. The Lord was calling him, but he was calling on the name of the Lord too, didn't he? And the Lord answered them, and answered, and said to him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? Verse 51.
He was a blind man and.
He longed to have a sight, and the Lord answered his prayer, his request, and gave him his sight.
Beautiful miracle.
Could the Lord have done more for him? Oh yes.
Could the Lord do more for you tonight than He did for this man in giving him his eyesight? Oh yes.
You did a wonderful miracle. You know, in John Chapter 11, there was a man there. His name was Lazarus.
And Jesus loved Lazarus, and he was sick, and the Lord allowed Lazarus to die.
And the Lord went there, and he went where they laid the body, and he called out Lazarus name.
I would think, alas, was to be in heaven in that group of names that start with L but the Lord came and he said Lazarus come forth.
And that man came forth out of death, and he came out there, and the Lord told the disciples to loosen and let them go.
Wonderful miracle.
People have been crying because they lost someone they loved. The Lord brought him back to life.
Could the Lord do something more for us? Yes.
Something more than calling someone out of debt back to life.
The Lord raised someone from the dead. It wouldn't be a guarantee that we read Revelation chapter 5 that seen in heaven. There be no guarantee that they'd be there. That blind man, Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, I expect to see him in my glory. I expect to see him there. Why? He didn't have to be saved. He didn't have to have his sins washed away. He didn't ask to be forgiven. He asked to receive his sight and he got the answer to his prayer. But the Lord Jesus can do more.
00:20:02
Then heal the body and raise the dead. You can forgive sin and wash you whiter than snow, and make you fit for heaven. And He can only do that to you and to me, because He has finished that work on the cross of Calgary. When He healed the sick, all He had to do was to want that, and He healed the sick. When He rose Lazarus from the dead, He just called for his name and he rose him from the dead, because he's the Son of God.
But to wash your sins and to wash my sins, He had to shed his precious blood as a man. He had to die on the cross of Calvary. He had to suffer in our stead. And it's a wonderful scene, you know, in heaven. Revelation chapter 5,000,000 there, I'm sure all there because of the love of God, all because of the gift of God, his Son Jesus Christ, given up on the cross of Calvary, forsaken of God.
For you and me.
Well, you know, tonight God is calling you. He's calling you to put your trust in the Lord Jesus, to receive in your heart as your own personal Savior. Doesn't matter how old you are. It could be just a young boy, young girl, older one. Doesn't matter what nationality you are, doesn't matter what language you speak. Well, if you don't speak English, you can't understand what I'm saying. But God can work that out too. You know, He did gave the gift of tongue so they could hear about the Lord Jesus, each one in their own language.
So far, to me, as the Lord called him, he was already calling on the Lord.
You sure boys and girls here often times you've you've called out your to your mother, your father.
They've answered, you know, but I'm sure many times, mom or dad, I've been calling out your name.
We do it often at home when it's supper time. We open the door in the summer there and I start all those names in our family after the other get mixed up. Doesn't matter. But I call them by name, you know, and sooner or later they show up. It's nice when they show up real quick, but they do show up, you know. And if they don't show up, I actually go and I look for them where they are because we want them for supper. We want them to be home at a certain time, Whatever. We seek them out and we call them by their name because of their children.
Well.
When I'm calling my children, and I'm sure you too, this is not self accusation. Sometimes I could call my boy my boy Paul. I could say Paul, Paul, time for supper.
But if I'm looking for my hammer.
And I know both of my hammer and it's the fifth time I'm looking for my hammer. I might say, oh, my tone is going to change. But if I'm really worried about Paul, if I'm really worried about my child, I'm going to have a different tone in mind. I say, Paul, Paul, where are you? Paul, you know, different voice. I'm calling his name, but it's different, you know, and God has a way of calling us. You know, he calls us. He has a gentle voice when Eli, Eli, Elijah.
Was there and he heard a still small voice. Was the voice of God calling him Samuel. When the Lord called Samuel, he thought Eli was calling him. And it's recorded. Samuel. Samuel. He heard his name and he came. What's the Lord calling him?
He didn't hear a harsh voice. He heard a soft voice, a still small voice. But sometimes, you know, it gets to be urgent.
What? I'm worried as a father or as a parent, you're worried you're looking for your child. Maybe they got lost in the woods. You might not just, you know, say you might start. I'm not going to scream, but you did really hear me, and others would too. Give me a hand, you know?
What about if the house was on fire? It happened in our home. You know, our house was on fire and Paul was in the house and my wife had to go back in and it wasn't, it wasn't in any danger at that time, but she did go back in and bring your money. He was a little child at that time. But you can imagine they're going into a building that's on fire looking for your children and calling them out by name. They might be panic in your voice. Urgency, strength, power there. Say I want to find this child. I want to find this person.
Calling them out by name.
Well, you know.
It tells us in the scriptures about fire. A fire can be.
Something pleasant and we use it, you know, we use it to.
Roast marshmallows, it's good marshmallows on the fire and people use it for cooking and they use it for lighting too. In Africa they use kerosene and they light a fire there and they they use kerosene for lighting. It's quite useful.
00:25:14
But fire can be real destructive.
I just want to say a few things about fire because a lot of us are Christians, you know?
And we sometimes we play around with fire. You know, we tell our kids, I'm sure you do. Dads and moms, they don't play with matches.
Say it lighter. If we don't never play with fire. Fire can be really dangerous. You know, don't play with matches. Well, you know, sometimes as older folks, we play with matches.
We like fires Book of James.
And you're gonna help us out, kids, with this James Chapter 2.
Verse three, chapter 3 rather.
If you had a choice. If you had a choice.
What would you rather be?
A firefighter.
For a fire starter, you know, some people play with fire. They call arsonists. They like fire, they like to see fires and people get killed because people have been lighting fires. What would you rather be a fire fighter or a fighter lighter? But I'd rather be a firefighter. So let's look at James Chapter 3.
Verse 5.
Even so the tongue the tongue is a little member and boasted great things. Behold how great a matter a little fire kindle it and the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body and set it on fire, the course of nature and is set on fire of hell. That's because of our tongue as being something that can light a fire. I have a very simple illustration that's been a a blessing to me when I.
Thought of this because I have a fire starter right here. Right there starts fire. You're not planning to start finding what matches. You're not always planning for the hay and grass and barn to burn. But if you're not careful how you speak, you can light a fire. Now I want a boy or a girl here to give me a hand. You know, you ever hear of sound effects? You make sound effects. Sometimes you imitate animals, sometimes you do that. Ever imitate animals, boys and girls, you do that sometimes. Maybe daddy does that. And I'm not going to ask him to help us tonight.
If he does, but.
Can you can make sound effects? I would like someone to give me an idea of the sound you hear. OK, if you can sound. Let's say you have a fire going here and you put water on the fire. You just throw water on there. What's what are you gonna hear? You hear a sound? I'm sure you hear a sound. What are you gonna hear? Anybody have an idea of the sound that you hear when you throw water on the fire?
Who's giving it to me? I'm hearing it. There it is. Yes, yes. You hear it. Isn't that right?
That's how you put out this kind of fire.
I saw you put it out.
Be quiet.
And then you can help me because I'm starting a fire. You can look at me and say.
We could do it to each other. You know, when we go and we start talking about other people saying things that are not pleasing to the Lord, we can be firefighters.
And it's just a little fire.
It's hard when that fire is spreading in a forest. Fire can't put it out anymore. It gets out of control and it damages lives. You know, Well, that's some of the unhappy things about fire. But, you know, if you keep it from starting, you won't have to put it out. And if it's just starting, it's easy to put it up. That's it. It's gone.
Well, this is fire for Christian, it says in the Proverbs. It says where there's no wood, the fire goes out.
Another verse in Proverbs tells us that fire is, is. I don't say it in English, insatiable. You have that word in English insatiable. Yes. So let's suppose I start a fire and say, OK, you all go and get wood. We all go and get wood. You start going, get wood, and we're gonna put this fire out with the wood. You know, the fire is never gonna say enough, Enough. I can't think anymore. It's not gonna say that. The fire's gonna burn and burn and burn and burn everything. Everything you put on, it's gonna burn.
00:30:03
So there's nothing left to burn and then it's gonna go out.
It tells us in the scripture that there's a fire coming. There's a fire coming. Second Peter, chapter 3.
And the only way it's going to be put out, you know, is when there's nothing left to burn.
When it runs out of wood, when it runs out of things to burn, it's going to.
Be extinguished.
Second Peter.
Chapter 3.
Verse 7.
Second Peter, chapter 3, verse 10-4. But the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire, against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as 1000 years, and 1000 years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness, but his long-suffering to us. Word not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.
In which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
And the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of person ought need it be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God?
Where in the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
Well, you know, boys and girls and older ones too. If you were living in the house that I knew was gonna shortly be set on fire and be completely consumed, I'd be really mean if I didn't. You'd better come out of there. And if I knew it was going to be really, really quick, I'd be a real coward if I didn't insist and say you have to come out of there right now.
And if I didn't go in and call you by your name and say you have to come out right now, but you know, the earth that we're living in and living on is going to be destroyed by fire, it's coming.
Different things are going to take place on the face of the earth, but there's a time coming when the earth that we're living on is going to completely consume and disappear because some people plan on spending a lot of time on the earth.
But it's going to be destroyed by fire, and God is going to make a new heaven and a new earth.
And the ones that are with him in that scene of Revelation Chapter 5, those that have been redeemed with his precious blood from every kindred.
And as the time is getting closer and closer for the Lord to come in judgment.
The voice of God is calling you is more and more pressing.
Perhaps if you would be calling me tonight, he would say Michelle. Michelle, hurry up.
Don't wait.
The Lord Jesus is coming very, very soon, and he's going to take out of the earth those that he's called by his name, by their He's called by their name and brought to himself.
And he's going to come and raise those that are dead in Christ, and those that are alive are going to take them out of this world. And this world is going to go through some terrible times.
Are you gonna be there on the Earth when these terrible times? I'm not.
These terrible times are coming. And you know, the people on the face of the earth at that time, you could put in 26 categories. You could divide them by their names, no matter what color their skin is and what country they live in, what city they live in. They have a name. And some name starts with A and some with B and some with C. And they're gonna be on the earth and we're gonna be in heaven. And it's gonna be a terrible thing. And we would we would want any boy or girl or older one here.
Not to be with that company in heaven.
God would have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. He's not willing that any should perish.
His long-suffering, he's waiting for you.
00:35:00
Now you know every picture falls short. If I was running into a house where you were to bring you out, even my own children, I might not be able to bring them out.
I might just lose consciousness from the smoke. I might perish myself. But the Lord Jesus, the Lord Jesus, he went into the fire judgment for you, for you. That's why it's such a terrible thing to refuse to come when He calls.
Because he loves us so much, He went into the fire of judgment on the cross of Cali. So every boy and girl and older one too, no matter what letter your name starts with, he's calling you right now. Whosoever will may come, He's calling you and he wants you to be there in heaven. He doesn't want you to go through a time of testing and trial. It's coming on the earth. He doesn't want you to go through that destruction of ungodly men. That's coming for all those that dwell on the face of the earth.
And more than that.
You know when the heaven and the earth are all going to be burnt up and they disappear.
There's fire that's still going to be going.
Not on the earth, not in the heavens.
In a place called the Lake of Fire.
The Lake of Fire.
You know, it tells us in the Scriptures that God prepared the lake of fire for the devil and his angels. He didn't prepare that for men.
But some men, some persons will end up in there.
Not because they're sinners.
But because they won't have the Lord Jesus their Savior, they won't accept to come when he bids them come, when he insists, come when he cries out their names come.
When he shuts the door.
It's gonna be too late. Well, it tells us in Revelation chapter 20, our time is almost up.
Verse 11. Revelation 20 and 11.
This is when there is no more.
Heaven and earth as we know them now. Verse 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them, So they're gone.
There are those that are with the Lord and there are those that are standing here before the great white throne. And books are open and he's looking for names in the Book of Life. If anyone was not found written in the book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire. Verse 15. Whosoever was not found written in the book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. God is writing names in the book of life, you know.
He's got names that starts with A&B&C.
I know a man called Peter. He's going to be in heaven.
With all men called Peter, be in heaven.
Probably not.
I know a woman called Martha and one called Mary. They're going to be in heaven.
Miriam.
Well, all the ladies that have a name that starts with envy in heaven.
Will you be in heaven?
Is your name in his book?
And if it's not? If it's not?
I say, why not? Why won't you let them put your name down? Why won't you have them as your savior? Why won't you let them wash your sins away with his precious blood? Why won't you come when he calls? This place is going to burn.
This earth is going to burn, the heavens are going to burn, and the lake of fire is going to burn forever and ever and ever. And he doesn't want you there.
Is your name there? Or if you, if it isn't there tonight, don't wait any longer. We don't know when it's gonna happen. We don't know when the Lord Jesus is gonna come. If you've never done so, you do it. And I say, Lord Jesus, put my name in your book. I want you to wash my sins away. I want you as my Savior. I believe that you died on the cross of Calvary for me. I accept the gift of God.
00:40:05
Eternal life to Jesus Christ our Lord. Just one last word, the book of Proverbs. My brother read this verse this morning and if the thought stayed with me, I'd like to share this with my brother.
Proverbs, chapter 30.
Verse 4.
Who had ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who had gathered the wind in his fists? Who had bound the waters in the garment? Who had established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is his Son's name? If thou can still?
This is an Old Testament question, you know. What was his son's name? They didn't know.
Do you know what is his son's name?
His name is Jesus.
Do you know the answer to that question? What is his son's name? Jesus.
You know what his name is?
I said that came to my mind. You know, what's his name? His Son's name is Jesus. And what's his name? Well, you know, his name is Father. His name is Father. How so? We come to know him, you know, to his Son, Jesus Christ. He's called Father because the name of Jesus is the name above every name.
God has given him the name above every name, the name of Jesus. That's the name you know about the name of Jesus, but you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior tonight. What's your name? What letter does it start by? Are you in that group of 26 categories we made-up of those who were in heaven once for every letter of the alphabet, or you with the group on the earth divided the same way?
Classified by the 1St letter and their name.
Tonight.
Receive the Lord Jesus, your Savior. Put your trust in Him.
Tell your mom, tell your dad you've opened your heart, confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you'll be saved. Let's have a word of prayer.
2 Samuel 15
Looking Unto Jesus
Ephesians 1:15-23
Reading
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For 15.
Therefore I also, after I heard of your face in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the Saints, He is not give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, and the knowledge of Him, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us with who believe.
According to the working of his mighty power, which rewarding Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above principality and power.
And mice and dominion, and every name is named not only in this world, but also in that which is become. And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be that head over all things to the church which is his body, the fullness of him, that Phillips All in all.
They read these verses, beloved brethren, and marvel.
At the Apostles faithful prayers.
For those that he loved and knew about.
I don't know about you, but I have a tendency. I hear about something and I read Michelle's account of his visit in Africa and I rejoice about it and get down on my knees and pray for different ones. And then?
Two weeks ago by and I don't even remember some of their names.
Very good.
It seems here that the apostle Paul didn't stop after he heard about the work. And Michelle, I just picked on that as a recent thing that was on my heart. But, uh, the Lord has given us some wonderful things to pray about.
There are, brethren, that we hear about that faith and how the Lord has worked.
The love which they have towards the Saints.
Did we stop praying for them or giving thanks for them?
They need our prayers.
Well, the brand up a little stronger if they sing. I want my friends to pray for me. I need the prayers of those I love. And I think all of us would say that, wouldn't we? We've joined in that we we need the prayers of one another.
We have an enemy that's busy.
And he hasn't stopped yet.
And the moment we start congratulating ourselves about how nice the meetings are going at the time, we open the door for the enemy to come in and begin to, uh, to, uh, attack.
And so we need prayer.
And once they have Bob County because I as a as one circle of acquaintance gets larger and larger.
I asked him. I said, how do you pray for all the brethren that you minister a month?
Well, he said, it's difficult rather to remember that I just asked the Lord to keep them before my soul.
And I think if there's an exercise, the Lord brings certain ones before ourselves, doesn't it?
And sometimes it's at a very critical time that the Lord brings them for your soul. Maybe just traveling along in the car and suddenly you think there's someone that.
You know, and we care about your love.
Lift them up to the Lord. Make mention of them.
I don't even think it's wrong, and I'd be glad to be corrected by my brethren. I don't think it's wrong to have a list of people to pray for and to review that list when you go to prayer. I don't mean to sit and read it off. Please don't misunderstand me, but I have a list of people that you care about, especially if you don't have a memory that brings them all to mind instantly. Uh, I'd be glad to hear what the president thinks about that.
No, that we're not just the level person, but they're short and, uh.
I know I haven't visited some of the ones that left our meeting and I got frisked eyes by uh, out of town people.
00:05:02
For, uh, going to visit them, but the effect is showing a lot of a lot of showing and they're asking for the patient returning to the lower signal. And I heard of a place down on giving this guy.
Ohio.
Someplace where about eight or ten came back because love was showing.
It's one thing to have love, but uh.
But if you're a paddle, Mr. saying, all right, they have in your head, but don't don't keep it in your hand. Let me get down to your heart and then it gets down to your heart kind of worse into your feet and you'll go into the ones you'll really love. And I think he was right.
He also says here in verse 15, Wherefore I also.
After I've heard it, heard of your face, you know Lord Jesus and love unto all the things. There's an order there, isn't there?
Faith in the Lord Jesus, if I have faith in the Lord Jesus, proof, faith in the Lord Jesus, then there's love because also all the things too. So it all fits together, doesn't it? And I think we woven in this also we have a thought down a little later in the verses of hope.
Also, it's it's the same that is faith, love and hope that's woven together throughout all the pistols and just dropping down the verse. Umm.
There was umm.
Yeah, verse 18, the eye that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his home. Hope is delayed certainty. We're not there yet, but how lovely to see that Paul could say.
After I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and lots of all things been looking onward for that day of glory. That's the hope that's set before our business. The day when we're going to see this blessed faith. We're going to be there with him in the in the glory according to the greatness of his power to us with and it's the hope.
Of glory, isn't it?
Might be good to ask ourselves, who are all the Saints?
It says their loved ones are all the same. Once Upon a time I saw a picture book and a photo album that somebody had, and it said the Saints in such and such a town and some other Christians from that town.
And not to make anybody an offender for a word, but who are all the Saints?
Sometimes our the way we express things forms our thoughts, and if we let the scriptures form our thoughts, we'll express them properly. Isn't it every blood bought believer in the Lord Jesus Christ? All the Saints that are in Binghamton, who are they? As every member of the body of Christ, they're called to be fainted God. They're Saints by calling, not by action, but by calling. The Lord has. We wanna have the eyes that the Lord has and to see things that he does and whom he sees, the Church of God which he purchased with his own blood.
It doesn't necessary whether to extensive.
Umm grouping our thoughts of all the things of God wherever we need them. Whoever they are, they may not be gathered to the Lord's name. I met many of them in the in the hospital, in the nursing home who belong to the Lord, know nothing about the truth we're enjoying today. But I can pray for them. I thank God for them because they belong to Christ. They're the Saints of God. All, all of them, not all gathered to the Lord's name. And dear brother-in-law years ago said nice to visit.
Among the various Christians and point out to them the, uh, point them to Christ, he said. You know, we won't. We know that they're not gonna be all gathered to the Lord's name, but he isn't that nice to be able to bring him something that they haven't got.
I think it's beautiful to think of it in that way. Think of all the things that God, because they all belong to Christ, gonna be a a marvelous awakening in that coming day when the hope of glory is realized. We're all gonna be together and get out there. We're not gonna have special rooms for the brethren and special rooms for the other.
Isn't it true that I mean these things? Your heart is drawn to them immediately to say, well, you, you, you love them because they they spoke about the Lord Jesus in respect.
00:10:08
And the name of the Lord Jesus is honored and your your heart is drawn to that and consequently you've been praying for me. That's why the apostle prayed for the Saints in Ephesus because we know that we have some death in life because we love the brethren we need to somebody perhaps in an airport on a box and grocery store maybe don't even know their name, but we find it's driving down the highway and you you know that they're real child with God that are living links. They're closer than perhaps not perhaps.
The the women's relatives is not the Lord, and you remember them they do not even by name, but you think of them, and you love them. But the apostle then prayed, and what was this prayer? That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. And they give unto you the Spirit of wisdom.
Because love is an affection that needs to be controlled by wisdom. So we need wisdom and umm, you see that and and the and the revelation in the knowledge of him. So as we get to know the Lord and the character of the Lord.
We are light in the Lord. God is light, and we are light in the Lord. Six of his dead. Because God is love. It never says that we are lost.
We are the love, and so we need that wisdom of God and the revelation.
In the knowledge of him that we might know, uh, what is the hope of his calling? And it, and it goes on. And that's what the hope of Ephesians is. It's how we can practically to give a compression of this one of the truth.
It's nice of wisdom you don't get that in our universities or any.
Other claims.
But the problem is the the 2nd chapter of Proverbs and verse five and six.
Was the Lord give us wisdom?
And out of his mouth, that is through the word comma. Knowledge and understanding.
After God, you and I adore.
Uh, Sager, the large user's crazy product, give them this rhythm. I don't get it in any other place. That's from him. And the knowledge and understanding is from reading his precious words and meditating on and using the meditation for his glory.
Isn't wisdom the applying or the application of divine knowledge? We have knowledge, you know. I'm sure you met many, and I have too, that they have a lot of knowledge.
But they don't have much wisdom. They don't apply the knowledge. And I think it's, it's, it's in order here, isn't it? So Paul's desire to the Ephesians Saints, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of not just knowledge, but wisdom in the knowledge, in the revelation, uh, and the revelation of the knowledge of him. Well, you know that.
Knowing the Lord Jesus is is is knowledge.
But how do I apply it? Am I applying it with wisdom? So it's, uh, I think there's an order here that is very beautiful because it says then he brings in understanding also, uh, the eyes of your understanding. Or really, I think Mr. Darby renders that your heart, the eyes of your heart, that being enlightened that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the same.
So all this is connected with true knowledge.
And through as a a a appreciation of the person of Christ, isn't it?
A couple illustration of what you say is when we young men get the driver's license, he knows how to drive. He's not always wise about how he uses that knowledge. And that's really what the apostle is really bringing before us here in this, that he wants them to know what the hope of Our Calling is. What is the practical effect that we don't know what the hope of this calling is? If the servant begins to say, my Lord, delay at this coming, what does he begin to do?
The cement service. And what is Christendom taking on the character of today in these lands, ours and yours, that believers who don't really are not expecting the Lord's imminent return. They've got themselves involved in politics and they're beating the men's servants. They're moralizing men, trying to make the world a better place, telling them what they shouldn't do, and so on. I'm not saying we shouldn't touch people's conscience about that which is wrong, but we're not here. But what is the faithful servant doing?
00:15:17
Defeating this Defeating.
And so we don't know what the hope of Our Calling is, and we're gonna be in it's gonna lead to a wrong pathway and we're not gonna have a very intelligent understanding of what to do and how to conduct ourselves.
A little bit of that brother Neil I was thinking of connecting with what Keith was saying earlier that umm I think sometimes we think that our only mission with regard to other Christians is to bring the truth of gathering before. I think that's a great mistake. If that's our idea. There are tremendous needs that when the people that we.
Come into contact with there may be much needs a much higher priority at the moment in those people and we need to reach out to those needs and maybe they need to know uh, how to treat their children or whatever it is. I just use that as an illustration, umm and umm, the truth of gathering I value very highly and I appreciate the grace that has taught it to my own soul, but.
That's not the only thing that God teaches. And the Saints need our ministry. The Saints is a ministry which touches every need of their hearts, every need of their their life. And I think we ought to be ready for that. And it should not be the price of helping them in those in a spiritual way should not be whether they're willing or not to listen to what we have to say about the truth of gathering.
That they could draw a great knowledge of our ability to fight that Christ and Florida and yet the gathering center, they need to know about Him. You know the other aspect.
OK and this is the 8th versus the the position or the OR the you know the position when they have bounded to us in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That's the position of every believer that we have, but in our verse it says the spirit of it. Now that's the character of the original, isn't it very proud of our position and the knowledge that by God's grace is given to us. But is there that lowly Sir.
Humiliating of humility like the Lord Himself.
Viewers wisdom of his spirit was of loneliness.
I was gonna say that the corollary to that, to what you were saying about thinking that the ground of gathering is the topic is to bring before every Christian we might meet out there the coral areas that once we have learned about the place of his appointment, about being gathered through the Lord's name, that we've arrived and that we have no need of, uh, of, of keeping. And, uh, for myself, uh, I'm very thankful that I was, uh.
Thought that practical truth quickly after I would say, but so I myself look upon these things as basic things. Being saved is the beginning of a of a of a life that goes on for eternity and being gathered to the Lord's name, being baptized. These are basic things that are the proper portion of every Christian, but that they're the beginning of your life as a disciple or follower of Christ. They're not some end role or some something that kind of caps you or completes you one for the Lord's table and going in and out amongst the Saints. Then that's the sphere in which we receive teaching.
Umm, you know, getting back to the subject of the constricted sphere of our prayer life, especially in the assembly and, uh, in light of Keith's comment, we tend to get honed in on just a few, but we also tend to get honed in when all of the people we do mention on just their, uh, just their health. You know, how many times did an assembly prayer meeting? And you, you can list the, uh, if 40 people are prayed for, 38 or 39 of them are prayed for only with respect to their physical health and in the uh, and in the uh, uh, essentials and in the book of Acts.
You see the physical health of, of things come up from that time and again, Paul make a mention of it, but you see much more this, this prayer has to do with the search will help of these things in Africa. And he was praying about their spiritual understanding and their attitude, spiritual attitude, if I could put it that way. And, uh, it's refreshing on occasion when you do hear somebody pray for somebody about their spiritual life, uh, like Epiphras at the end of Colossians, he prayed.
00:20:08
For the Saints that they would stand perfect and complete and all the little gods. Every once in a while you'll hear some of you pray something like that, you know, and it's, it's like, yeah. And you sit there and you say, yeah, that's right. That's what we're here for. This, This is, uh, this is what I need. I want somebody praying for me that I'll grow If I have an aching or, or a pain, that's, that's good that they're interested in me. But my spiritual life is, is the important thing. That's important in a prayer meeting too. We pray, as you were saying, we pray many times for the, for those that are ill. And that's, that's right and proper.
But uh, what about praying for?
Those who are going on.
They need prayer too.
They need to be refreshed, they need to be encouraged. So I think that was effort for Slugnant. He prayed that they might be go on together, go on and develop. And that's so we don't, uh, not a climax that we've reached. No, we don't need to pray for that certain one. I mean, longer because now they're gathered to the origin. That's not it.
We we may need more prayers than those that are not gathered to the Lord's name, because the enemy is busy to turn the side into rip the truth apart if he could, which he has done a great, uh, big job.
In the last few years, ripping the things apart, dividing them, we need to pray earnestly concerning that, that the Lord will preserve us and keep us in the path of His treatment.
There is no vision in people passed off with the thing and then the other translation says and so he desired that he is a understanding of the enlightened and there are two things mentioned here. He may know that the hope of your calling and it was the riches of the glorious his inheritance in this thing. We're often concerned with what what I'll comment on the 1St about what the hope of calling him. Naval leaders don't know what they were called to. They were speaking about that a little bit.
Yesterday, like the prodigal, he thought that it would come and return to the product, that we can be a servant. And so if I don't know the relationship into which I've been brought, then how can I conduct myself in that relationship? And speak to many Christians and ask them, they talk about what church do you belong to? And if they just back up a second, what is the church? And they say, well, it's not the building, it's the people. Most of them would say, but do they really understand? We really understand the relationship into what we've been brought, but the hope of Our Calling is.
We need to understand these things and then.
We don't, we often are concerned about what we got and we it's important and vital that we understand what we got. But do we have a conception of what his inheritance in the Saints is? What did he get? He shall see the fruit of his travail of his soul and he shall be satisfied. Nothing will lift us out of our depression and self occupation, but thinking about what Christ saw, he died that he might gather together and won the children of God that are scattered abroad and we consider that.
It will have a practical.
Effect on my heart if I think that Christ died that he might gather together and won the children of God that are scattered abroad. Either people say we'll attend the Church of your choice. That's fine. I'm going to take his salvation and then not care about what he wanted when he died. And so these things Paul is desirous that that they understand.
Spot one and nine and tenant at legal health answer to make place.
Plot with 1:00 and 9:00.
For this 'cause we all, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be fulfilled with the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that he might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being, fruitful in every good work, and increasingly in the knowledge of God.
And you can hear that we are afraid speaking. We constantly, constantly for those who come across.
Whether it be the brethren or other Christians, we see that they may be filled with the knowledge of God's will and all of us in spirit understand.
Are there, are there Christians we've seen who are not brethren? I don't mean to be technical about that because we have to have a large heart about that. And I, I think there's a danger that we, we tend to make that a denominational name. To be frank, we do. And, uh.
00:25:05
I didn't mean you were brother by any means, but I just think we need to keep a large thought about that and understand that every question that we meet is one of the brethren, isn't it? And, uh, they may not like to call themselves that. They may have to want to put some other name on besides that. But, uh, I was thinking to how specific the prayers are here. You know, we're very vague in our prayers sometimes.
But it's nice if we're specific in the prayer.
True. I agree with Bruce in this that they're not physical things here, but they're very specific prayers, aren't they? And uh.
The, uh, the enlightening of their eyes, of the heart, that they would know what the hope of his calling is, but what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints.
What is the best and greatness of his power toward us who believe they are things that specific requests that are made for these Saints, and they're made with intelligence too, because the more we know Saints, we know that there's a particular need.
And I believe an intelligent prayer for those things relates to that need.
And I think that we sometimes delight ourselves in in the laziness of a of a general prayer that doesn't touch specifically in need. That's laziness on our part.
Umm, again, we don't, we're not beating one another in the head about it, but I think that, uh, first of all, we sometimes we don't know one another well enough. We knew we knew one another well enough. We know what specific need is.
But we, we keep each other at a distance, don't we? So that we we don't really get to know what the need is of our brother, our sister talking to us.
In Romans 16 how many he mentions by name and I'm thinking it's not only legacy methods for largeness apart those are on the lower part. Who forget? None and there's a false apology. Salute them and you probably didn't salute them all by name, but.
Quite a few of them are not meeting and no doubt many of them were mentioned by name of his purse to the Lord. So he was sharing in his heart burden for many times and only the Lord can give us an enlarged heart that way to take him more of our others. And sisters, it's nice to pray for the Saints in general.
In a general way, but he didn't know many of them were named and surely mentioned them on names too. We're told above the brethren. And I thought, I just thinking, we truly love the brethren. We're going to want to pray for them by name.
I'm sorry, some time ago, uh, I came across John Kim and hadn't seen him for a while and he hadn't seen me. The first question he asked his brother.
Are you enjoying the Lord? We didn't ask about my health, didn't ask about my job, didn't ask about the weather. He was concerned. Are you enjoying the Lord? And that's how what we should be amongst each other to have that love and that concern. Are we enjoying the love?
Talking to our Catholic priest in the hospital and my wife was there and, uh, he wanted to know how she was and I said she's not very well.
And he said, umm, I suppose you know what the end of all this is? And I said, Oh yes, we read the scriptures, we talk about the Lord and she knows all about it. And we've all gone over this many times. And he says, and what church do you belong to? Well, I said, I'm a Christian gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He looked at me and he said you're one of the brethren right away.
I I looked up at it and I said, you know, if you're saved, you're one of the brethren too.
He said thank you very much and every time I saw him after that, he put his arms around me and give me a big hug. I still remember that dear man.
Your fossils prayer for the Ephesians reminds me of what uh, Elisha, uh, and second team six when uh, Elisha and his servant woke up and found that the city was surrounded by Syrians. Now Elijah's face, I'll just read it. Second Kingdom 6 uh, in verse 14, they came by night and encompassed the city about verse 15. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold and host compassed the city, both with horses and Chariots.
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And the service center to molass my master, how shall we do and he answered fear knowledge for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. Elisha could see the whole situation. He was mature. He was like the apostle Paul in that sense. So then he prayed in verse 17 and Elijah prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee open his eyes that he may see and the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold the mountain was full of horses and Chariots of fire around the battalion and so on and then deliverance comes but.
I I liken that that circumstance very directly to Paul. Paul could see Paul had laid hold of the fact that the same power that God used to raise Christ up him among all the rest of the dead and see him in his own right hand was the power that was available for all of us Saints down here. And he could see, you know, he could see the the the the various it says here the.
The amount full of horses around his mouth. He could see that, but he wanted.
Uh, the service to see it and it had a call me establishing settling effect upon, uh, the serving just like, uh, it does with us when we get off the eyes of our hearts open too. And that's good, good practical prayer, very specific. And it works regarding in the last century warned about this again because the dangers of mass evangelism and the way that it was carried out in the last community that said it's like a great net passed into the sea taking in good fish and bad and so.
You see the way that evangelism has been done, it's produced a great deal of profession, but he had that com comment. He said I don't worry about it as many as much as some people think because God's work is going to be done. And you see that with the apostle Paul and Philippians two, he had the eyes of his understanding. He could at the same time be concerned about the tendencies and the dangers of what was being done and how it was being done. And and so now most of us know when you speak to people about the Lord.
It's very often you have to.
More work labor with souls because of misconceptions and faulty conceptions that they've been left with and so on and it's a real labor because of the way that the that the truth has been said before them and even with ourselves often socialist, we didn't grow up in the truth. We have to get untangled from wrong ideas and so on. Well it does have a calming effect when you really see what the purposes of God were you see that with the apostle there in prison is vilified that you could be there and.
Lookout and see all of the confusion and uneven preaching Christ of contention and some supposing to add affliction to his bond. What he had before him is the eyes of his understanding opened and he could see what God was doing and he could rest in peace and go on and labor to the Lord in it. And we'll have a comment, as you say, a calming effect on us when we understand those things. But he wanted the Ephesians to see that too. So he prayed in Colossians that I might labor according to his working who want to labor for the Lord, not against the Lord.
The Lord is trying to do something. He's gonna gather every state at the rapture and we wanna labor with the Lord, not labor against the Lord. I preach the gospel and say go attend the Bible believing Church of your choice and my laboring with the Lord or against the Lord.
There's another thing that impossible did in connection with Ephesians in chapter, uh, 20th act, it says in verse 27, I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. And then in verse 36, it says, when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. And so it was a wonderful thing not only to declare unto them the whole counsel of God, but also to pray with them that they might go on it. And I go on in the truth. I would, uh, like to make this comment perhaps, uh, for those that are.
Uh, younger in the face. And that is that sometimes we have the notion that, uh, because we don't have a name to the place that we go to, perhaps, uh, we're a little abnormal and that's not the case. Those that walk in the truth and are gathered to the Lord's name walk in a normal course of Christian fellowship and path of obedience to the word of God. That's the normal thing for a believer to be gathered to the Lord's name, to be found at the place where he's chosen the place's name there. That's a normal thing.
And if we find that we have the reproach of Christ, uh, attached to that place, we walk in a normal course, we share that reproach. It was, if I could put it this way, normal, uh, for the Lord Jesus to be rejected by this world. He wasn't a part of it. He didn't, he couldn't have fellowship with it, but he could love his own. He could preach the truth to his own and he could walk in separation with his own that were called out. But then the apostle here, if I could just point out chapter 4 of Ephesians.
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He says here he pointed to the Ephesians letter that there was going to be provision made for them that they might walk in this normal court before gone. And it says in verse 11, chapter 4 and verse 11. He gave some apostles and some process and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the faith, not for the perfect statement of the Christians gathered in the name of the Lord set through.
But for the perfect thing of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come in the unity of faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, that we might reflect the, the, uh, beauty of the Lord in our lives. And so I say we walk a naturally we walk a normal path in Christian, in the Christian profession, if we're gathered to the Lord's name.
And we walk in the truth, and we seek the truth too. We shouldn't be afraid to speak of the truth as the normal thing when we need a Christian and we say we're gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus, that's the truth. But it's the normal thing for a believer to be gathered to the Lord's name.
One of the lighters, I forgot now which one it was in reading some ministry spoke of one of the Lord's names is gather.
One of his titles is Gather.
And I've heard different ones that they make the curt comment. Well, who are the gathered one? What do you mean gathered? They snorted. This. Well, I'll tell you.
They're condemning that which God has set up, not what man has set up. We didn't set this up. We didn't arrange this. God has done that. He is the gatherer because apart from His gathering, not one of us would be gathered to the Lord's name.
It's his power and his love that has constrained us.
Remember all those who are going to the cell phone churches under different names.
That are lost and if they have a pastor that is not the Lord if he opens the King James Version.
And start reading it. The Holy Spirit is there and we should pray that in our prayers. I believe. I've been doing it for years. And I think it's a good idea to pray that as he opens up there that the Holy Spirit may find an entrance into their hearts of those who are lost. And lately I heard of somebody that came to one of our meetings and they got saved by the hearing, the so-called pastor.
And came in and when they came to home and said, first time I heard the gospel. And that's a sad thing, you know, and when I was young, 17, my first job, I, I was introduced to the Barney game system and I used to have a read my Bible every day and.
Catholic girl came over and said, what are you doing? I said read my Bible. I said you don't know all of that. Only the priest can tell that I said no.
As plain as anything and I read some scriptures. So she asked if she said that what I understand and she did not say it and I said yes and she went to confession and told him his truth that she was saying and told him.
And she came in crying on the Monday and.
Nice and so Madam mainly is 6 years. I don't know. No, she's sobbing like a baby. She says, I'm sorry, I, I went to confession on Friday and I told the police I was believing in this verse. I was saved now. And she says, uh, he said, who, who told you that? She said, look, Chapman, the office and says, well, I'm going to pray that he'll go to hell. And she said that's why I'm crying. I thought, save your tears. He can't pay me in the head when I can't pay you get you into heaven, but I can pray you into heaven.
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And I said, don't you worry about that, But I think there are a lot of people in the churches today that they're seeing they need right something they they don't know what it is, but the way things are going. And I think it was good if we all prayed that these folks would are going to these.
Various religions that have a pastor is not saying that and he opens the scriptures and reads them, but the Holy Spirit will find an entrance into their heart, but they may be led on and looks like they may come into our place to find the truth. By God's grace. That is possible dear brother.
As I believe in prayer and you believe in prayer, and the power of God's prayer is wonderful, we should not forget the lost ones. Brother Bill, you did not mean that it's only by reading the King, Jerry.
We might take it that way and I wanted to be sure, but there are relatives like, uh, well, you take the, uh, Jehovah Witness, they say they have the bottom and that's why our, it's terrible. No, I think it can be saved through the NIV, although I personally don't like to read it myself. I like the King James Version. Some of the versions today, they tell me are leaving off the blood.
And the crucifixion.
Four years ago, I went down to Peru, the first time in modern times. I had been there on business years ago. And as I was going down, before I went down, even I said, you know, I'm going to make a big mistake, a big mess out of things because I don't know what I'm gonna do down there. I don't know, brethren, I don't know the culture. And I asked the different ones that I thought might go down with me. I already asked them and already had his problems to take care of his mother at the time and.
I asked other brothers if they go along with me. It just didn't seem to work out. But still I had the conviction to go and uh, the Lord gave me a conviction. He would, He would help me.
I got down to uh Lima and I was in Doug Buchanan's apartment there and he wasn't there at the time, as in his apartment.
And the second day, brother said, would you like to go to the airport? We're gonna pick up a brother Avelino.
I didn't know Brother Evelina, but I said sure, I'll go out to the airport to pick him up. And we went out and, uh, he got into the car and the first thing he signed in was.
Well, how is that sister that says suspicious of things in the assembly? And how is so and so and how is so and so? And as we're writing back from the airport, I said the Lord gave me a conviction. This is the man that's gonna help you. He was about to, I guess, 10 years my junior, but, uh, he, uh, had been in the Lord's work for many, many years. And the thing that struck me about further Evellina, when we prayed together.
We were together 10 days on that trip and as we prayed together, he prayed for specific needs of the Saints and he knew them. He was a real shepherd. The Lord has taken him home, Took him home. Uh, I remember just before he went, I had the opportunity to go visit him in the Japanese hospital in Santa Cruz and.
We had 2 1/2 hours together.
The unburden is hard about the work in South America. One thing after another is concern for this one, for that one.
And you could see that he understood the Saints and was going to pray specifically for them, for those needs that were on his heart. I don't say he was infallible in that, but it was quite a lesson to me. And I, I treasured that time with him. I left his bedside and he was very, very ill as I left. He said to me, the next time we meet, Brother **** he said, it'll be in the clouds.
And.
I could hardly bear to leave him.
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I went over to UH Lima from there.
And went into brother, Brother Valderrama's house and I was just, well, I was just going to visit Brother Valderrama for lunch and my wife or someone called me and let me know that.
Brother Javelino had gone to be with the Lord.
To everyone traveled with him and he would say, oh, there there's a brother down in this. I must go and see him. I want to see him and start off. Oh, there's another one that let's just go a little bit farther. He knew their name and their address and searched them out.
Yeah, if you know what the needs are and you care about them, I'm sure.
Michelle, now you have specific things you have on your heart for those dear brethren in Africa, don't you?
It's wonderful to think of the work of this one or that one, but the desire of the apostle here, and we may speak of it and certainly it warms our heart to think of different ones, but the burden of the apostles part part in the 19th and 20th first was that we would understand what the work of Christ was, and we may get distracted by speaking or thinking about what we have done for the Lord.
But we think here, if you wanted the Ephesians to know what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe according to the working of his mighty power, not our mighty power, our little service in the Lord, which He wrought in Christ when He raised him from the dead.
The Saints are largely ignorant of what Christ did.
And so one of the most helpful things I credited to Brother Don. But Mr. Darby said it preached facts. Often a young brother stands up in a meeting room. I know I did. And you wonder what you're going to preach about in the gospel. Preach the facts of what Christ has done, who he is, and what he has done.
Not even just how to get saved. It's a wonderful thing, but preach the facts of the the gospel. Many things don't understand what justification is where God has placed us in Christ. I don't think Martin Luther understood what justification was a faithful man of God. Many things don't understand what it is to be justified. Many things don't even understand the word saved anymore. I visited the home and they said, well, I'm praying my Catholic grandmother becomes a Christian.
And they don't understand the language of Scripture. What does it mean to be saved? What does it mean to have eternal life? And so a wonderful work was wrought by Christ when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. And we need to pray that the eyes of the understand the eyes of our understanding would be enlightened that we would understand these things because evil communication, bad doctrine corrupts good manners and the reason that Christendom is in the state that it is in today.
Is because the Saints don't understand what the mighty work of Christ was. There's a lot of activity for Christ, lots of books written about it, but that's I believe what he's really trying to bring before is what is Christ doing now.
What is Christ doing now? A man came in and asked me once visiting with a friend and his pastor came in and he said, tell me something. Do you have a man at your pastor at your church? And I said, yes, we have pastors at our church. I said, I have many that have gone thousands of miles out of their way to care for my soul. So you're not answering my question. I think I was. But you said to me, tell me you have one man to run things in your church. I said yes. And he sits on the throne of God.
He's a good song leader too.
And so we need to understand presently what Price is doing, where he is and what he's doing.
And what he's getting his servants to do, we get that in the later chapters in the 4th chapter.
But that's what we need to understand is to get occupied not with what we're doing, but with what prices have done and what he is doing now.
I was thinking, Neil, I was thinking of the same thought on in a different way that what we're getting here in these verses that we've been considering from verse, umm, umm, well say from verse 16 down through the last verses. What, what is, why is God-given us this? Because of what has gone before the glorious work of God in your soul and mind that has brought us into this marvelous, glorious place.
00:50:06
Of believers brought into, into uh, eternal life and brought into a relationship with God the Father.
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and the the ending of this chapter. These verses are that which God would have us through to show us what our response to this should be.
You know, how do we respond to this? Are we thinking just to ourselves or are we thinking again, going back to the glory of the person of Christ who is brought it all for us on the cross? I believe you're, I agree with your thought there.
I mean, he says he's an elevated above all principality and power and dominion.
Why would we get involved in politics when we know the one who's been said above all that the King's heart is in the Lord's hand as the rivers of water?
Why, you know, uh, brother John Villasale, they gave a young brother looking for a job some good advice. He said go to the top man, want a job, go in and talk to the top man. And uh, I think that was good advice. He said don't be shy. You feel the Lord is likely to work in a place going to talk to the top person.
And if we we really get a sense of where the Lord has been set, he has the keys of David. That speaks of government on the earth. Why are we gonna meddle with politics and then the lower ones down on the rank when we have when we can speak to the very one who has the keys of David, He opens in. No man shuts and he shuts and no man's open. That's the one we need to speak about. We talk about praying about things.
What a mighty power we have in these verses that has been brought before us. The end of verse 19. What is the exceeding greatness of His power to the customer who believed according to the working of his mighty power? The mighty power of God is wrought. Not only the blessed Savior died on the cross, but God has raised him again from among the dead, and He seated that God's right hand.
Ever living to make intercession for us, but I just thought of how VI how beautiful all this is far above all in verse 21 far above all principality. What does it spring before my soul Christ, the work of God, the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross and it should bring out a response to my heart that praise him and thank him for all this wonderful, wonderful work above all, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world, but also in that which is accountable nothing greater.
Little more glorious than this.
What a Savior, what a God we have, and I believe that the apostle is seeking to stir our hearts here to respond to that which God has given us in the opening of this precious little epistle of Ephesians.
The heavenly power, the 21St is the power of the earth.
Before we close and I used to read the second prayer and the third chapter of Ephesians.
On the 21St. Now on to him.
That is **** to do exceedingly abundantly above all, but we ask your thing according to the power that worketh in US unto him, the glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages. World without danger.
Oh man, not a beautiful prayer.
The, uh, the end of the chapter he gave him to be head over all things to the church.
I hope we noticed that that's different from being head of the church.
He said. What is the difference?
Well, I think it's an important difference. He is out of the church. That's clearly brought out in Colossians. He's the head of the church, the body. But here it's a broad thought because it's head over all things to the church. There isn't a thing.
That is not under him as far as we're concerned as part of the Church, we, we can rest that he is ahead over all things. And I was noticing not long ago in connection with Joseph that there are stages or different pronouncements concerning his headship. First, he's thou shalt be over my house.
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Then it goes on and.
He goes, he's made head over all of Egypt.
And not one that person was to lift a finger or do anything without him.
That's very broad, isn't it? That's much broader than being over the House.
But then umm, later on.
It says that He was given a bride, and then it says He went out as head. That's yet ahead, isn't it for us? So the Lord is indeed has the title and we for the Church. He is head over all things. There's no question about that. He's had over all things. What about people around us? Do they acknowledge that? No, they don't, but it's just as true.
In the second Psalm.
Uh, the people imagine a vain thing and they want to cut their pans asunder and God makes a statement. He says, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion or upon Zion, the hill of my holiness? I have set him there. That's where he is. Doesn't matter. All that man, all the man's, uh, opposition to him and, and their attempt to get him out of this.
Public thing. And out of that public thing, it's useless.
It's a main thing.
They're imagining a vain thing to set Christ aside because God has already in purpose put in there.
And for the church then he said over all things, we accept that position. It's wonderful to us that he's over all things. There's not a thing that occurs. You were talking about politics, You know, you who would get up upset about that? If Christ is the head, he's the head of our all things. And I confess that sometimes I get pretty agitated over things that are, uh, occurring. Uh, you read some misdeed of the president or.
Whatever you know, you get a.
Crisis head over all things to the Church, and the more we are in the good of that, the more separated we are from all this confusion around us, and we walk on in that quiet certainty that Christ is the Head.
Where people, umm, you know, wrote a number of hymns in our hymn books, APC. So when it came from one of the wealthiest families in England. But Brother Samar showed me an interesting story that I think illustrates his first as one of his predecessors.
We got discouraged, and he came from one of the most beautiful estates in England, and he went away to a different town, and he married legitimately a young lady, a Miller's daughter, and nobody as far as this world is concerned. And one day the word came that he had come into the inheritance of all that was his father. So we took her into the carriage, and off they went. And as they went by this wonderful gate of the state and saw this palace, she said, to whom does all this belong? And she said to you, he was head over all things to her he was her head before.
But it became manifest to her that He was head over all of that to her. And that is not only true in the future when He takes all that is his, but it is true now. And that surely should rejoice our heart. And so we wouldn't meddle in those things. And so He's in control of those things.
Man may run a great factory or great business or something like that and in favor of his family if I could use that illustration, that doesn't mean his wife should go interfering on how he runs as fast as he head over that tumor for her and so.
That's really is the wonder of to see where Christ has placed it and God has placed us in relation to Christ. He's acquired the right to this issue as man. The beautiful thing to see is the risen man. He has acquired this and to the church is as good as done because we implicitly trust in the eventual manifestation of the counsel of God and we enjoy them already and so this ain't Psalm is quoted here.
In Hebrews 2, we're told very helpfully, that we see not yet all things put under him, but we see Jesus.
01:00:00
Uh, crowd of glory and honor in first Corinthians 15, the same Psalm is quoted, but there we learned something about timing. We learned that it's the manifestation of it is in connection with the first resurrection or the beginning of the thousand year reign. In this chapter, we learned the mysteries that he doesn't take it by himself. He takes it with that mysterious bride that has been given to him during, like you say, with Joseph, he acquired a bride during the time of his rejection.
And when He comes into His glory, He takes it with her and His company. This is a tremendous portion of Scripture. This is a mysterious thing. His body, the fullness of Him that filleth All in all. The church is the fullness of Him that fill All in all. That is a hard to expound upon truth. We can read it, but it's hard for our minds to rise up as such things that God would give that kind of beauty.
In that last verse, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all and all, and the verse before, uh, the head over all things to the assembly, which is his body. And 1St Corinthians 11, it says the lo, which is his body. So the loaf, the church and the assembly.
Are three synonymous words.
Showing the the oneness of that position.
Open Mtg. 2
Open—R. Boulard, M. Payette, K. Gorgas
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Wonder, brethren, if we could look at Hebrews. Chapter 11, verse 23 was mentioned this morning.
In our meeting and in this little him that reminds us.
We have in the chapter that we took up this morning, those few verses in Ephesians chapter one, the sovereignty of God brought, brought out in connection with his purposes, according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And so we know that we never would have chosen Christ, we would have never chosen to follow the Lord Jesus in a path of any sense of obedience to Him at all.
Except that we're for the sovereignty of God this afternoon that finds us here at this little meeting together. But here we find that, uh, in Hebrews Chapter 11, there's, uh, the aspect of faith is brought out, but also the, the aspect of responsibility before God. And it's the grace of God that he brings out this little, uh, picture in Moses. And there's seven things here that I'd like to notice in connection with Moses that God.
In his grace brings out.
We'll just read from verse 23, Hebrews Chapter 11 by full by faith. Moses when he was born was hidden three months of his parents because they saw he was a proper child and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. My faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.
Than to enjoy the pleasures of sin, for a seasoning the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For He had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith He forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. For he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Through faith He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood.
Lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them by faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do were drowned. What we find in the path of Moses that the beginning had to do with his parents. I like that little portion in in Exodus chapter one. I can't quote it, so perhaps we could just read it very briefly.
In chapter 2, I should say verse one, there went a man of the House of Levi and took a wife, a daughter of Levi.
And so here we have two people of faith, two people that were brought up, uh, if you will, in the household of faith, the children of Levi. And that household of faith produced a child that was brought into the world. And that child saw for three months, not only three months, but uh, for several years, saw the effect of faith and what it was to walk in faith in this world.
Not to walk by faith, not to walk by in a path of luxury and a path of ease, but a a path of faith saw Moses, saw his mother and his father walk in a path of faith. And so we find here that God records that by faith, Moses when he was born was hidden. The faith of the parents hid him from the world, hid him from the eye of Pharaoh. And brethren, we need to do well by this word is to remember to hide.
In a certain sense, the world from our children to hide them from the umm. Those things that would defile them and those things that would umm.
Choke off the fruit that would be born in faith. And so Moses was hid by his parents. And you know that name. Moses means drawn out. He was drawn out. And it was a work of God to draw out Moses out of the river of Egypt, to draw him out. And so Moses didn't save himself out of that river. It was in the sovereignty of God that Moses was taken out of the river. And God had a purpose for him, for his life. And God has a purpose for every one of us in this life.
For thy pleasure we are and were created. Moses was created for the pleasure of God, that his life might be a a path of faith and that might please God, Your life and mine. We were created that we might please God in this theme, that we might walk in a path of faithfulness to God. So Moses was hid by his parents because they saw he was a proper child. Mr. Darby's translation says there he was a beautiful child.
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Who are fair to God? I believe that's the terminology. Fair to God. He was fair to God. Every one of us is fair to God. Everyone redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. But God has created all things for himself, as we've read in Ephesians chapter one. And so we know that God has created all mankind in responsibility before him, in sovereignty. He chooses, He predestinates.
He blesses with all spiritual blessings in Christ, but there's responsibility. And so this is what we have here in responsibility. They saw that he was a proper child or fair to God, and they were not afraid of the King's commandment. And so, you know, the laws of this land and the one to the north of us, many of these laws that are being passed now are not according to the Word of God, not pleasing to God. And we need to recognize that a path of faith will require us to walk before God according to the Word of God.
Not according to the laws of this man, this, this land, or the one to the north of us. We need to remember that a path of faith takes up the Word of God and recognizes that As for God, his way is perfect. And so the purposes of God are perfect. His will is perfect. You and I have a will, and sometimes it's a strong will, and it's not always according to the Word of God, is it? But the will of God is perfect. God's purposes and councils are perfect. They're without flaws.
And so we have here this little picture in in Moses life that his parents were not afraid of the King's commandment. And so they trusted God for that that child and they walked in faith. But then it came time for Moses. He had observed the path of his parents.
He observed their path of faith. He observed, perhaps heard their prayers. Perhaps he'd observed how they spoke to one another. Perhaps he.
Say he observed.
Their appreciation.
For what they had heard of God and so he observed that and then there was a time when he was going to come into responsibility by faith. Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I just want to point out that the Lord Jesus.
In perfection, we'll just look look at Luke's Gospel Chapter 2, just at the end of that that chapter.
The Lord Jesus by faith forsook Egypt, He forsook this world. And by faith, in verse 49, chapter 2 and verse 49 of Luke, he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not, that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and he came and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And so the Lord Jesus knew that he must be about his Father's business. And there comes a time in each one of our lives, those of us that know Christ as Savior, when we have a sense of the age of responsibility that we're at and that we must be about the Father's business, That we have a a walk before God. And it's going to be either a walk in the leisure and the pleasure of this world or a walking path of faith before God.
And that's really the point of our lives in this scene, to walk before God in his sight and to walk in a path of faith. And so here Moses, he came to the age of responsibility, perhaps that age of responsibility in the Lord Jesus. He's he was about 12 years old. And here we have Moses. I don't know exactly how old he was, but there was an age of responsibility and now he chose as it were, he by faith.
In responsibility before God.
He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. You know, this world desires that each one of us would walk in a relationship to him. The world could see that Moses was a man of principle, that could see that Moses was perhaps blessed in what he did in the world, wanted that too. The world wanted Moses strength, his youth, his energy, and Moses by faith.
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Refused.
That relationship. And so sometimes in our Christian pathway, there are those relationships that are a hindrance to us. And God would desire that there would be fruit in our lives. And if there is a relationship that isn't according to the mind of God and was perhaps, uh, placed upon us, uh, in a certain sense that, uh, we recognize by faith that that relationship is a hindrance and we lay it aside.
By faith, Moses did that and it cost him. You know, sometimes it cost us friends to walk in the truth of God. It's not something that we look forward to perhaps, but the Spirit of God would remind us that Moses made a choice and he refused that relationship. Well, that's the first thing he refused. He actually refused something that this world wanted to bestow upon him, a position. He was perhaps the next in line to the king, to Pharaoh.
He could have had an A life of luxury and ease. He could have had honor, glory, He could have had the wealth of Egypt before him. But he refused. And so the world will present things that do not have to do with a path of faith and obedience or devotion to Christ, affection to Christ. Moses refused. Well, that's something that speaks to my heart, to my conscience, Do I refuse?
That position that the world desires to bestow upon me. Well, verse 25 says something else. He did. He chose. Now this is not uh, as we say, it's the sovereignty of God that Moses could choose, but it was in responsibility he chose, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. The word of God is very precise.
And God, in his wisdom, put these things in a particular order.
That they might exercise our consciences and that they might bear that we might bear fruit for him. There's going to be a choice in my life and in yours. We're either going to choose.
To suffer affliction with the people of God. We're going to identify ourselves with the people of God, with the people of faith. You know, I had many people ask me this past week what I was going to do this week. What was I going to do this weekend?
What sort of pleasure and activity was I going to engage in? And I said often times this week I plan to be with other Christians at a Bible conference this Saturday and Lord's Day. And I'd like to use that terminology in the presence of unbelievers. Lord's Day, not Sunday, all they could. It's there's no reproach in saying Sunday. But if you say the Lord's Day, why you bring in the Lord's name and there's a reproach. There's perhaps a little affliction going to go along with that. But identify yourself.
Very young ones. Every one of us needs this. I need it too. We need to identify ourselves with Christ, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God.
Do I identify myself with the people of God, or do I identify myself with the people of this world or a particular profession in life? No, I ought to identify myself with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. So there is pleasure in sin, and Moses had the pleasure of Egypt before him. He had the entertainment of Egypt. He had the culture of Egypt.
Before him, he could have had it. He could have had all of it, He could have had the very best of it. And you and I, in the age that we live in, are in the position with the wealth that we have in this country and the one to the north of us in North America, We can have the best of the entertainment of this world if we want it. And it touches my conscience when I think of how perhaps I engage in listening to some of that entertainment from time to time.
Or just, uh, let my eyes wander from what instead of reading the word of God, reading something that perhaps is feeds that the flesh and not the inner, not the spirit. And so we have Moses here would speak to all of our consciences. He refused. He chose something. He chose the affliction of the people with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And you know.
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If you and I suffer affliction together in a path of faithfulness to Christ, a path of devotion will be able to remember that in the glory desert ways will be rehearsed above. We'll remember spending a few moments together like this in the presence of the Lord and just enjoying Christ together. Well, here we find in verse 26 that because of his choice, because of his refusal, then there's a little progression. Moses could see things from God's point of view.
It says he esteemed something he was esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had recompense unto the He had respect unto the recompense of the reward. You know I was in a place, you know, wicked city, where they have.
A replica of the King Tut's tomb. They have his alabaster replica I believe of his alabaster drinking cup.
He was 19 years old, I believe, when he left this scene. They have his actual bed in that place they have.
A very realistic tomb of King Tut, and it was sorrowful. My heart was moved as I saw that place and I saw what the treasures were that that king had in his burial chamber and the emptiness, the other frustration.
Of what he saw, what he had there, what he had that accompanied him into that tomb darkness. But Moses could see from God's perspective and he had a proper estimation. This is really the root word of this estimating. He had an estimation of that he took and perhaps viewed the, uh, riches of Egypt, the gold coins, you know, in those cabinets in that place that I was in, they had cabinets with security guards and they had some prices on some of the coins and some of the.
Sculptures and the gold objects in the cabinets and they had some prices on some of them 10,000 dollars $25,000 others were marked priceless. Make an offer.
But they're all there in that cabinet, worthless in the sight of God for all eternity, worthless. And Moses could see the some of those very objects. I believe he could see that the gold and the wealth of what Egypt had to offer was going to be worthless in the sight of God, was going to be worthless for all eternity. And so this world wants you to gather up the treasures that it has, the goal that it has, the the objects that you can see.
But there was an estimation. Moses estimated that the value of that material good was worthless in the sight of God. And so that's what faith does. And in responsibility to God he could esteem or estimate that the reproach of Christ was greater riches in the sight of God than the treasures of Egypt. For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward, And so he could see that it was.
Possible to have a safe soul if you will, and a lost life and he wanted to walk before God.
So I say this to myself, do I want to walk before gone? Do I have a respect unto the recompense of the reward? You know, if we turn to 1St Thessalonians, we agreed there.
What the apostle said to the Thessalonians.
And verse 19.
Of chapter two, First Thessalonians 2 and verse 19. For what is our hope?
Our joy for a crown of rejoicing are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming.
Isn't that wonderful?
Can you just imagine the Lord Jesus speaking these words? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming. Perhaps the Father could speak these words.
What is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing are not even me in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? Well, there's going to be a glory associated. There's going to be a reward given. There's going to be that which is an estimate of great value in the sight of God for those that have walked in some devotion, some affection for Christ and have chosen and that have esteemed, have seen from God's point of view.
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That there is something that's better than the riches of Egypt, the treasures of Egypt. Well, verse 27 says that he first took Egypt.
That's the fourth thing. The first one was he refused. The 2nd is he chose. The third is he esteemed, The 4th is that he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.
You know, I had a man in my office not too long ago. He works for me and he's a believer. I hired him and I didn't know that he was a believer when I hired him.
And he said he was having difficulty with one of his children.
And he doesn't know whether his daughter is saved or not. He thinks he might be. But, you know, there's a struggle going on. There's a difficult struggle going on in that girl's life. And there is this struggle if you're going to forsake Egypt or not. And each one of us, perhaps in some stage of our lives has recognized that there was a struggle where we're going to forsake Egypt or not. Were we going to walk in obedience? We were going to walk and.
We experienced some of the affliction with the people of God. Well, it wasn't possible to experience that affliction with the people of God and still go on in fellowship with Egypt. And so by faith and responsibility before God, he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king. So that's what God says. And what the point is this, that Satan is wrong? I believe if I could be, I wanna be reverent, but.
Satan is wrong when one gets saved. Satan is wrong when one has to make that choice, whether to foresee forsake Egypt or not. And when we decide to forsake Egypt, there's a struggle. Satan is at work. There's an enemy of our souls. He doesn't want us to forsake Egypt. He wants us to have a little bit of Egypt, just a little bit of it, not a lot of it. If you don't want all of the fame and going, all the wealth, just take a little bit of it.
But Moses forsook Egypt, the whole thing, the whole principle of what this world stands for, this whole world system, it's entertainment, it's pleasure, it's political power, it's relationships. He gave it all up and he left Egypt. Now you and I by faith can leave Egypt. We can walk in the path of obedience to the Lord Jesus. We can be gathered to his precious name. We can come into His presence. We can leave Egypt. We can forsake Egypt.
And walk by faith while he endured, that's the fifth thing he endured as seeing him who is invisible. And so I believe the thought here is that it's going to take endurance.
I have a little document that I use when I interview people for employment and it has on it. One of the questions is.
Are you a stable, steady individual or are you real hot one day, real productive one day, and then very unproductive another day? One week you're very high, you're all on fire. You're you're just very suitable for, for the job. You're enthusiastic. But then the next week it's another story. Well, I believe the, the picture here is that Moses endured. There was going to be opposition. There were going to be temptations. There were going to be occasions when that relationship would look attractive.
When the world and what it had to offer and what he had forsaken perhaps would look attractive again, perhaps for that little.
Decision that he made, the great decision, I should say, of suffering. Choosing to suffer affliction with the people of God would require endurance.
And God values endurance. God values the fact that those that choose to follow him in a path of faith in the wilderness and forsake Egypt.
And suffer affliction with the people of God. Identify themselves with the people of God He.
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Recognizes that it's a path of endurance and there are those that go on for a little while, perhaps they are very on fire for a week, two weeks, then a week they're down. I must confess I I'm not weighing myself.
We're just on fire for one day, perhaps the Lord's Day, and then Monday. The fire is a little dimmer on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we need to have that refreshment in the presence of the Savior at the reading meeting, at the prayer meeting.
At the gospel meeting or we need to have food, uh, for our souls at the assembly meetings, But then we need Christian fellowship too. And this is something that.
I believe the Spirit of God would bring before us here in verse 28. Through faith He kept the Passover. That's the sixth thing that Moses did. The fifth one he endured. But then through faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the first born should touch them. He kept the Passover. What it meant to the heart of God to see the Passover slain.
And to see all over the land of Egypt that night the Passover lamb eaten the bread, the blood sprinkled on the upper door post, on the lentil on the two side post. What it meant to the heart of God to see His people in obedience and faithfulness, just eating that Passover. Now you and I have the ability to remember the Lord Jesus in His death.
To keep the Lord's day.
To honor the Lord's Day, to eat the Lord's Supper on the Lord's day at the Lord's table. Isn't that wonderful? Every one of us has that privilege. Those of us that know Christ as Savior. There's a place for us that the Lord's table and Moses through faith kept the Passover. It meant something to God. He mentions that here and all the children of Israel blessed. He that destroyed the first born should touch them. So it came. He came under the.
Umm, blessing of that bloodshed, you know. Wonderful to recognize that blood shed and enjoy.
What it means. And then the last thing in verse 7, by faith, they passed through the Red Sea. And so they went a whole company. And Moses, a man of God, walked by faith. And as a result of the path of obedience to the Lord and those choices that he made and the endurance that he had, the refusals that he made, the estimation that he made, God used it. God used Moses.
To bring the people of Israel out.
Into the promised land, they crossed the Red Sea, they went through that Red Sea, it was a picture of baptism, and they went out into the wilderness, they left Egypt. And so he had his life of faith, had an influence on many others. And so this is the point here, because there's a little progression, but there Moses could not have been used, I don't believe, for this work if he had not by faith refused.
By faith made a choice, by faith estimated the value of what Egypt had and seen it from God's point of view. He wouldn't have been able to use be used in this way if he hadn't forsaken Egypt. Why would he lead the whole company of those out from Egypt? God's people? He endured, He was faithful, He had stamina, and then they kept the Passover in obedience.
And faithfulness to God. And then he was used to lead the people of Israel out. Well, this is a path of obedience and faithfulness to God in Moses. He was drawn out. I trust that each one of us is drawn out from this world and has a desire just to please the Lord and to go on. And devotion to Christ.
Proverbs 27, verse 7.
The full soul Lotus and honeycomb.
But to the hungry soul.
Every bitter thing.
Is sweet.
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And a verse in John chapter 21.
John's Gospel, chapter 21.
Verse 5.
And Jesus said unto them.
Children.
Have you eat any meat?
To answer them.
No.
There are many questions in the scriptures you know.
And some of them have are not answered.
Further, uh, Smiler quoted the question this morning. Who shall separate us from?
The love of Christ.
The answer is.
No one we can answer by faith. Nothing, nobody, nothing will separate us from the love of Christ and the love of God.
Here's the Lord's question to his children.
Those disciples had gone fishing, children.
Have you any meat?
And they said no.
And already directed them to cast the net again. They just all night didn't catch anything. But on the Lord's word they did. And they had.
Much the other fishes.
When they got the shore, they found that there was already a fire there, and the Lord already had on the fire some food prepared for them.
This is what I wanna talk about, that question the Lord asking us.
Adding any food? Have you anything to eat? Have you any meat?
We think of the instance in the book of James where it speaks of faith.
Where we meet up with someone who lacks the necessities of life.
What do we do when we meet up with someone that lacks the necessities of life? What does the Lord want us to do?
OK.
He wants us to provide for them.
Make yourself warm, have something to eat. You can't just say that you have to provide for their needs. Help them out with the love of the Lord. And truly as Christians, we're called to do that, to feel that love of God in a practical way to those that are in deep need.
But you know, the necessities of life for us here in North America is quite different, are quite different than what we experiment when we visit Third World countries where people are poor and some have very little for sustenance.
Was in recently in Africa. Dear brother, I was traveling with brother Joseph Pete.
He's an African brother, he's poor but he finds food to eat. But they're used there, they're very used to suffering from.
Hunger, you might say, well, I would call it suffering. Maybe they don't call it suffering, but.
Traveling up north, it was 2:00 in the afternoon and he hadn't had anything to eat yet, and I might have chewed a few peanuts, but I was getting pretty hungry. So we stopped by the roadside and I had a real feast, You know, real feast.
I really mean, it was a piece with sardines and pineapple. You ever had sardines in pineapple? That's terrific. Delicious. Best sardines I've ever had. Best pineapple I ever had because I was hungry. I was really hungry, you know?
The Lord is so good to us. We have this first chapter, Ephesians this morning, feeding our souls, reminding us of the love that tells us in him and the Lord Jesus before the foundation of the world, to have us before him, in love, without blame, unreproachable before him, all from his love, His provision of love.
And this is a question I have from the Lord. Has he anything to eat?
One morning in Porto Novo, we had a we had the mermaids of the Lord, you know.
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And the the brother that broke the bread, he had the same verses it had to mine. And the Lord was telling us we had something to eat. You know, we had that loaf of bread and a cup of wine. And he said before us that we were receiving from his hands to show his death till he comes. And he says, have ye anything to eat?
I know many of you young people, you come to the meetings and uh.
You hear many of these things, but I wonder if you've ever had the question from the Lord.
Have you anything to eat?
That he set before you and not to refuse so far.
For whatever reason, to take and eat a disastrous to do.
Well, this verse in Proverbs, you know, is, uh, is.
Takes us a little bit a little step further than that. Not that we were dying from hunger. We have necessary food in North America.
And we have spiritual food, abundance of spiritual food, brethren.
And I trust we have appetite for it.
But you know when you've had a good meal.
And you're full. Somebody says that. Would you like some of this? Thank you. I'm fine. I've had enough. Happens to us, doesn't it? North America. I heard plenty. And sometimes every week. I've had too much. I've had too much.
So it says here the full.
Soul, loathe it and honeycomb.
Honeycomb is sweet.
It's like dessert, you know?
But to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. Someone that's hungry, you'll give them some stale bread, you'll eat stale bread, be happy for stale bread. And when they get a a loaf of bread in the morning, you can get it for $0.10 Canadian, maybe a nickel America. And in the evening you can get it for less than half that price.
Because they don't have preservatives, it gets dry pretty quick.
Verse 41.
The end of the verse.
Have you eat any meat or have you anything to eat?
How do you hear any meat?
We could say we had a lovely meal downstairs before and we had plenty for our bellies and we're very thankful we had much.
And spiritually, we had a wonderful reading meeting this morning. So we've we've had much, but I believe the question here from the Lord and we missed that.
He's asking if there's anything for him.
For him, have you hear any meat or who? For him? For him, all we've had plenty.
The full soul treaded on their foot the honeycomb, that which is sweet for the heart of the Lord.
So I gave you that verse when I was in met up with some beautiful believers gathered just like us almost.
They're meeting in Porto Novo, where the Saints are gathered there, in other cities, in Benet.
And I asked the brother, and I said, is it sweet for the Lord that he would find us on the first day of the week, on the Lord's Day?
Together to sing praises and to read His word. There's a Lord would enjoy that.
This is enjoyable for the Lord, that we come together and for the first day of the week and that.
We partake of the loaf and a cup of wine. Remembrance of him. Yes, that would be sweet, full, O Lord.
Can I ask those brethren, is it sweet for the Lord?
That they come together and we come together in the vision.
Separate because of whatever reason.
Is that sweet for the Lord?
Well, it says in our proverbs there, uh, for the hungry soul, even that which is better, the sweet.
The Lord takes what we bring.
He takes us the way we are.
He enjoys what is to be enjoyed.
But you know these disciples in Luke chapter 24.
They gave him some fish.
It was cooked. It wasn't raw. Fish had been prepared. There was something that had been prepared that was given to him, something prepared for him. And they gave him a honeycomb, something sweet for his heart.
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Young people here, older ones too. This is what's on my heart.
That our hearts would be turned to Him and that we would answer that question.
Have you hear any meat?
That the answer of our hearts would be.
That we would bring something sweet for him.
Something prepared for him.
There's a hymn in French we sing, and I sang it with these brethren, you know, that we're not gathered with, and it says, what sweetness in this worship of brethren, where the Holy Spirit is our conductor.
And I was thinking about him. You know what sweetness in this worship of brethren? And the question that the Spirit of God put to me was sweetness for who?
Sweetness or who? Sweetness for us or sweetness for him?
And I told these brothers, and they would have been, it would be sweetness for him if those things that are keeping us apart will be dealt with. If those things in your life are keeping you from the Lord's table are dealt with. If those things in your life that are keeping you from enjoying the Lord fully and giving him the fullness that he deserves from your heart, that they'd be dealt with. And that we would have our largest satisfied with every bitter thing that he appreciates though, because.
He's so gracious, but that our hearts would be too forgiven. Some of that big fish, cooked fish and a honeycomb just for him to be there just for him. That he would find that sweetness and you and I being there in unity for him, going on together for him.
Going on in our brothers meeting, dealing with issues and peace. For him, for his glory. Because we love him, because he's the worthy 1.
I'd like to look for just a minute at a verse in Philemon.
Phylleman, verse 22.
And just the beginning of the verse.
But with all, prepare me also a lodging. And something that Paul wrote to this man. But prepare me. But with all, prepare me also at lodging. Now let's go over to the book of Acts. In the last chapter of the book of Acts.
In the West two versus of this book.
And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching and preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
I think, I hope I'm not reading too much into this to think that there's some instruction here for us that speaks more than just the historically of poll and how for our interest, how he was living out the last years of his life, he wrote there to find Lehman with all prepare me a lodging.
We need individually.
To prepare a place for Paul's teaching in our hearts and in our lives. He's an instrument that the Lord used to unfold many wonderful truths to us. And it was basically in the course of Christendom, the setting aside of Paul's teaching, that allowed the church to intermingle with the world.
We need to prepare personally a place for Paul's teaching in our life, the characteristic of the church.
Distinct from Israel, I have it linked with the Lord Jesus Christ in a heavenly calling. Those are things that the Lord used Paul to bring out. He speaks of my gospel, human Gentiles, one body together. Those things, we need to make room for them in our life because they will as we, uh, my brother spoke to us in the beginning here. The separation from this world is it's needed in our life.
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The course of things separate from the course of this world, we need that, Paul said. All days that are in Asia are turned away from me.
He didn't say they turned away from the Lord. They denied the faith. He said they turned away from me. I believe that brings before us the turning away from what he had brought out, what the Spirit of God had used him to bring out So individually there's that importance of preparing for Paul for his teaching of lodging a place where they'll stay with us, where we can dig through and I remember reading in a a book on the history of the church that when Paul's.
A copy somewhere was found of the epistles that Paul wrote, the letters that he wrote, many, and this is around 800 I believe, AD somewhere in that time period many people were saved. Many were liberated from the dark times that were coming upon the whole professing, umm, the whole part of the world that was professing Christianity. They called them the Pelicans and they were people that were liberated from this darkness that had crept in.
With all prepare meal lodging that's individual. But then we read in the book of Acts here at the end that Umm Paul dwelled two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him.
The book of Acts gives us the transition from the Jews as God's favorite people and the the Jerusalem is the center of worship.
To getting into the Gentiles and the gospel spreading out and it being something not confined to a locality. Remember that the Lord Jesus said that the time would come. We're not in Jerusalem or in this mountain, but in spirit and truth. Would God have worshippers? Because God is a worshiper and those that worship him must worship him in spirit.
And in truth.
And how would we get from the end of the Gospels to the beginning of the book of Romans? It would be in kind of an incoherent jump to us, wouldn't it, if it wasn't for the book of Acts that gives us that transition there. But it comes to a close here and says Paul dwelt in his own two whole years in his own hired house. Well, you know, we still have Paul's teaching here and God has appointed it specifically for this time period. The sum of likened to a parentheses.
In God's dealing with Israel, that is, the day of Pentecost marked the beginning of the church, and the rapture will mark the end of the church being here on this earth. And the special application of Paul's teaching is in regard to the church. Behold, I show you a mystery. I speak concerning Christ and the church. Two whole years in his own hired house, 2000 years roughly, have gone by.
And the impact of those the importance, I should say, of those things that Paul brought out right in the beginning that were the of the foundation how believers are to meet together. What is their standing. The very things that we've had in the reading meeting here. God's purposes, God's counsels concerning Christ in the church. There still needs to be a dwelling place for Paul's teaching for his doctrine two whole years in his own hired house. What's that bring before us? Well, it says if we looked in Hebrews.
Chapter 13 that we seek no continuing here, we seek no continuing city, we seek one to come.
Those that are living in a a building a house for themselves expect to be there for a while. If you were sent on a mission that you know was going to be for two years to a certain area, you wouldn't consume half that time building a house for yourself. Would you be content to dwell in a hired 1?
It brings before us a transient state, doesn't it? Confessing that we're about pilgrims and strangers here.
He dwelt in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him.
Scripture says he that's weak in the faith receive ye and not the Downing disputations. It tells us, uh, in that same book of Philemon, umm, the message was receive them as a brother. It's to be in our hearts to receive all the command unto us. Now there's some that Scripture tells us not to receive, aren't there? There's those to come bring another gospel, those that teach things unsound concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, those who are following their own belly.
But here our heart is to encompass who the Lord has received, those that he's received. We can have no higher standard than what he has himself, those that he gave his own life for the Church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Our hearts are to encompass all that are in that who are the brethren? It's all that have a common father, is it not? And it is all those that are part of God's family. That's what makes us.
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Brothers and sisters in Christ, here's the attitude of Paul's doctrine is that it receives all, umm, receiving all that came in unto him.
Preaching and teaching, preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching those things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him. Well, what was the key to us having that confidence? Do you think as he spoke to things concerning the Kingdom of heaven, Kingdom of God announcing that?
This world in which we live is aching for a message.
People are desperate to know what's really real. It's not to say they're going to receive it, but as we heard earlier in the Reading meeting, our job is to proclaim that glad tidings, to speak of those things concerning the Kingdom of God.
God delights that by the foolishness of preaching to save those that He's marked out for eternal life. What a privilege it is to be messengers. That's our business that we're to be about, isn't it just? And that's what Paul's teaching with teachers, isn't it? Preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ. Not to be teaching all the history of churches and where they split and at what juncture and how. If you get on this side of the issue, you're right, and on that side of the issue you're wrong and so on, but the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our message, and it's not this, I don't mean to say we're to be ignorant of what's going on and christened them or throughout the the world, but the object of our conversation, the object that we are to point and direct each conversation toward with souls is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the center, he is the object with all confidence. No man forbidding him if we set up to.
Lay aside these principles under which Paul lived and set up build for ourselves houses, so to speak, try to build systems are enduring, umm, structures. If we, umm, if that's what we're looking for, we're gonna lose our confidence as we speak if we set up and engage so often, you know, I just in closing to tell a little story. Umm, we had breakfast with a brother once who, who was involved in child evangelism and.
Some regard and through his life and someone asked him how how he was getting along financially and he said, well, to tell you the truth, it's been really rough the last few years. They used to be a lot of different churches and missions and groups that send a lot of things, he said. But it's it's pretty rough right now.
And one in the company there asked them, how is it, uh, do you think that the Saints are less generous or just caught up in this world and making a living and have forgotten about, uh, forgotten about the gospel? He said, I don't think it's that at all. I think that what it is, the things give as much as they did before. So much is consumed in real estate and in how to pay for the snow plowing, cutting the grass and the carpets in this place, in that place and so on. So I think they give us much, but so much is paid in interest on mortgages and so on.
A very searching thing, isn't it?
Paul dwelt in his own hired house. He recognized the transientness of.
Is passing through here and what are the markets as believers as we sang in that him farewell to this world's fleeting joys that we're not building anything here our our direction, our energies, our money, our time might go to the Kingdom of God keep preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching those things concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.
Open Mtg. 6
Open—N. Berry, N. Wood
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Now the Lord has given us two happy heart warming days.
Now.
If the lower doesn't come.
We're back into.
The world, yeah.
Not distrust that what the Lord has laid on my heart is for His glory and the blessing and the encouragement for each one of us as we face this darkening world.
Let's turn please turn to Second Samuel, Chapter 15.
This is the story, beloved ones that can.
Fill your heart.
With the fire that comes from the Lord to face, no matter what the difficulties are and we're heading for them.
I believe it in my the depth of my soul.
Joshua said when he came to the Jordan, he had never passed this way before.
Hitherto and I believe that we are facing those days. As Paul said in the last days, perilous times shall come. My son was saying me when I was speaking about this, he said, Well, don't discourage people. I don't want to discourage you, beloved ones, but I want to warm your heart toward Christ and to cleave with him.
With purpose of heart now the Word of God.
Is wonderful. It has pictures.
I sat on my father's knee and I heard the Old Testament stories that I never could forget.
This is one of those stories.
David was God's appointed king, and here's a picture for you and for me of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's King of the future day.
He's on the throne.
Seemed rather peaceful, but lurking in the background was rebellion by his own son.
And this, I believe, is a serious picture. You dear young ones Here, boys and girls, I have, I want, I'll have to go rather quickly through this story, but if you give me your attention, we can get the highlights of it. King David.
Let's read it.
Percent Second Samuel 15.
Verse one.
And came to pass after these after this that.
Absalom. Now here's the sun, a handsome young man.
Prepared him Chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him. I won't repeat it too often. It's a picture of the subtly and the violence of Satan that is against you and me.
To rob you and me of our joy of knowing the Savior and of being gathered to His blessed, precious name. He hates the name of the Lord Jesus.
This is what Abbott was scheming and he organized here. He has organization. You know, the world has organization, The Lord has order here, He has organization, organization. And Absalom rose up early. He was in earnest.
And stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man that had a controversy had a problem, came to the king, King David, for judgment.
00:05:07
Then Absalom called him, and said unto him, and said, Of what city art thou?
Showing an interest, apparent interest in him. And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. It doesn't answer one of the tribes, but obviously he was. And Absalom said unto him.
See, thy matters are good and right. I haven't even heard the matters, and here he is and it's subtlety saying you're right.
To win him. To win him, to deceive him, to turn his heart away. And but there is no man deputed of the King to hear thee creating a feeling of insufficiency. You don't. You don't have anybody to help you.
And so let's go over the 6th, 1St.
And on this manner did Absalom to a few of Israel. No, all of Israel is going to test every one of us. Here Satan is going to try to rob you, and may of our joy. And he is, He'll use subtlety or violence toward the woman or toward the man, the roaring lion, the hissing serpent.
As I came to the king for judgment, so Absalom notice this stole.
The hearts of the men of Judah is trying to do this to every one of us steal away. I know that the scripture says in whom the go in whom the God of this world, that Satan has blinded the minds. He works through the minds. But here in that Old Testament day he had uh, he stole the hearts of the men.
Of Israel He stole their hearts. Verse 10.
But Absalom.
There is subtly more again, and asylum sent spies throughout a few of the places. No, oh, he is working on every one of us, as I said, all the tribes of Israel.
Saying as soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say Absalom Rena in Hebron. There was the beginning of rebellion. And I don't want to be harping on the same pain point, but I just want to say that this is your life and my life in this world today and Satan is doing exactly the same. God knows this and he has.
Planted this story as a warning, as an encouragement to stir your heart and affection to Christ and to be able to stand. But here are the subtlety first, the subtleties first.
Here is Adzinum proclaimed to be the king. Let's go down to the 13th verse. And there came a messenger to David.
Does the Lord know your problems? Yes, he does. He knows what's subtle, what Satan is trying to do to you. And here is what he's saying.
And there came a messenger to David saying the hearts of the men of Judah are after Absalom.
David, as I repeat, is a picture of Christ.
The heart that you're is in you, Satan would deceive you and turn you away for Christ. Verse 14 And David said unto Here again is our word all, all.
His servants.
That were with him in at Jerusalem. Let me pause there for now.
I love this expression, all that we're with him. Are you with the Lord?
Is he the one, the primary one of your life? All those that do it doesn't say everybody was, but all those were all like it says. And they thought the Old Testament, that days got darker, all that were present. All that were present. And so he says arise and let us flee.
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How do you get that point?
It wasn't going to be our fight.
But the Lord is saying to everyone of us now in this world, led by the God of this world, Satan.
Let us separate ourselves from the world and everything that is so enticing and apparent, apparently attractive to the eyes and to the mind. These are the two things that Satan uses. And so here he says arise and let us leave. That wasn't a very good message.
And neither is the message that you and I are to be separating ourselves from the world. And you, dear young boys and girls, you say, Oh, you got to have a little bit of fun once in a while. Yes, but don't forget that Satan is after your soul. Not to. If you are the Lord again, take your salvation away. But he, He'll surely spoil your joy in the Lord, and this is what he's trying to do to you today.
Or when you face the world tomorrow.
Four, We shall not else escape from Absalom. Now just let me pause there for a minute. He was giving direct instruction, and you and I need that director instruction. He'll give it to you. He doesn't let us find our own way through this world. And David is giving explicit instruction what to do. I am I.
Are you obedient to what he is saying to you and to me? Are we listening? Are we obeying?
And uh, we shall escape from Abraham makespeed. Uh, make speed. What does that mean? Don't go to sleep.
And the tendency is for us to be indifferent. And that's the disease of the day. Indifference, easy going. So what, Who cares? Here is what David is saying.
Lest he under UH overtake us suddenly, he's warning against the subtleties. And this by God's grace, I want to try to pass on to the younger ones today.
To take the warnings that God is giving you, you can't be half in the world and half in the following the Lord. And so let's go on and bring and bring evil on us.
And smite the city with this the the edge of the sword.
This verse 15.
And the King's servant said unto the king.
Lovely, behold.
Thy servants are ready. Are you?
Are you ready?
You can be.
Are ready and to do whatsoever, my Lord the king shall appoint total obedience.
Uh, we don't like obedience though. And nobody wants to be told what to do. And the world is just saying they don't need to obey. Your parents, you dear young, the ones you. You know that better than I do. But here is what David is saying and.
Verse 16 And the king went forth and all.
His household. He took his household with him.
After him.
And the king left ten women which were concubines to keep the house. Now here is David leading. Now how they are going to escape. He knows you and I don't know the subtlety of Satan and we can't, but we have the source that's in the the scriptures and in the Lord. They that speak, the Lord understand everything.
00:15:04
Proverbs 28 and five, The secret is with us. It's in the Lord. And so he says verse. Well, let's go back just to the 16th a minute. David is just trying to visualize this. David is starting off now, and there are three positions that are mentioned here.
And the first one.
16th verse And all his household after him. This whole family was following after him.
17 Here's the second position. And the king went forth, and all again all the people after him.
Second position.
And tarried in a place that was far off, a separated place. Now, I've been hearing this since I was a kid. Uh, It's a separated place that we have to take away from this world we're following. A rejected savior.
I am I are you.
This was the instruction that David was giving.
And the 18th verse. And all his servants passed on beside him and all the Cherathites. These were not even Jewish people. These were some of the Gentile people. That's what you and I are.
And all the uh telephytes and all the githites that was from Gad.
600 men which came after him from gas passed on before the king. There we have the three positions now.
The the heim beside him and in front of him. What does that mean? Well, of course, I'm sure you know where two or three are gathered together. There am I in the midst. What a privilege it is for you and me in this desperate world to be gathered alone to the blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you there?
Are you one of those ones? It wasn't everybody, but the household was there. How lovely to have our household at the table.
With us, our children.
19 Very important verse now notice this.
Then said the king to Itei, the Gitai. Let me pause there. Here's a special man as David is going around to see the ones that are with him. Oh, what is this? This is a fellow from Gap.
Who is that? That was Goliath.
That was the Goliath, the giant, the David as a young man had killed.
And here's one of his father, his people.
With David, what is that telling us? Oh, you might. I meet many people that have never had the privilege that most of us here have had, our fathers and mothers, uh, at the Lord's table. But there are many that we have contracts with that don't have that blessed privilege of being brought up in Christian homes, and it's very difficult sometimes for them to, uh, adjust to it.
And here's one of them.
It's AI of gas.
Yeah, so I thought it was the enemy of Israel. And here's a man standing with David.
Are you one of those?
You dear boys and girls, do you stand for the Lord?
For Gentiles. And we can be like one of those. And then he says in the middle of the 19th verse, Wherefore goes out after? Wherefore goest thou also with us? What are you doing? What are you following us for? What is he saying that for he was testing him, Testing him in reality? Is there reality in your heart and mind Reality?
00:20:04
Not talking nice language and living otherwise.
Here he's testing this man. What are you doing here?
Listen to his reply.
And then he was not only the 1St, a little bit more returned to thy place. He's testing him.
Just you want to follow me or want to go back? Here's the opportunity, Lots of opportunities to give up these following of the Lord, for thou art a stranger and also an exile.
There he had the opportunity to go verse 20. Whereas thou camest but yesterday, or just a a a new one here. It just came along yesterday. You want to follow me? Should I this day make thee go up and down with us? Seeing I go with her, I may return thou and take back thy brethren. Mercy and truth be with thee. Give him the opportunity. Next. Verse 21. And it's AI, answered the king.
And said, oh, I just trust that each one of us will say this in our heart.
And he said.
The answers.
As the Lord liveth, it doesn't say the king is great to the Lord, as the Lord liveth, and as my Lord the king liveth, surely in what place my Lord the king shall be whether?
I wanted to read this.
Who is was in earnest?
I'm ready to die.
Whether in death doesn't say life or death, it says death or life. Our life, the worst, death, I'm ready, he says.
Even there also will thy servant be.
David stops testing them and look. Listen to what he says. Verse 22 and David said to its AI go and pass over and it's AI. The gitite passed over and all his men and all the little ones that were with.
No.
Just for you younger ones.
The ACI had some children. Maybe there was a teenage boy there and he might say to his dad.
I I got a good job.
And they do have to have to lose that. What did they say, son?
What is the HI, it's David C or?
He answers and says.
David is the king.
Son, we're following him. Maybe one of the little girls put yourself in there. Maybe one of the little girls said to Pete, I, Dad, do we have to go out here in the woods? I wanna go back to my bedroom.
Oh darling, we're following David.
It's difficult, I know.
And maybe the little girl would say, All right, Daddy, a wonderful.
Are you saying that?
All the family was with them.
The little ones that were with him.
Verse 23 And all the country wept with a loud verse. No rejoicing. Uh, in the circumstances. Let's not try to think our uh, circumstances are happy. It's it's a trying time. And so they're all weeping and all the people passed over. Oh, notice that the king also himself, The Lord was at least David was with him. The Lord is with you and me in all our trials.
And difficulties and passed over the Brookhedron, and all the people passed over toward the way of the Pleasant Valley. No wilderness.
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Wilderness. This is what we're in. We're in the wilderness. Following. This is reality, dear ones, It's real. This is the story of your life, as I said.
It's a wilderness.
Let's go down farther.
Around to 30, and David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet. Oh, what's that? That's the Mount of Olives.
Where Jesus died on the cross 1000 years later.
Because they go down that Kedron Valley. I've walked in there several times.
And wept as he went. Jesus wept and David wept. Don't be afraid to cry, We're in desperate days.
And he went barefoot. Nothing attractive to the eyes, David, barefoot.
A rejected savior we follow.
And with him, and that was with him and covered every man his head. And they went up weeping as they went. Now that's the end of that part of the story.
Now, are you and I faithful? Is this the end of the story? Does it just go on and on and on? Now we're going to look into the inside of it. Let's go.
Over to the the 18th chapter.
That's the 18th chapter first verse.
And they were numbered. The people that were with him and set captains of thousands and captives of hundreds over them. Here David is now organizing his own little army. He's going to choose three men.
Put yourself here in this story.
What's the first one?
Verse 2 David sent forth a third part of the people under the hand of Joab.
That was his nephew and a third park under the hand of Abishai that was also another nephew, his brother.
Joe, I have his brother. Notice this and the third part under the hand of its AI.
Oh, it's not wonderful.
I I want to tell you this, that if you and I are faithful in this life, Hebrews chapter 2 tells us that when the Lord comes, and after He has come and taken us to heaven, and he comes back in his glory to the degree commensurate with your life, you are going to replace the angels. Hebrews 2 Says He's going to set, the Lord is going to set aside the angels, and the faithful ones in this day of grace are going to replace the angels. And if you and I are faithful.
To Christ.
There's a reward. You don't act for the reward, but we act for Christ. But he's not gonna overlook the faithfulness, and he won't miss anything that you do for the Lord. And there's a reward coming. As I said, it's the Lord, not the rewards.
Verse 9.
And all and and Absalom met the servants of David.
And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak. And he was taken up between the heaven and the earth. And the Li the mule went under from under him, and went away he had he was a handsome man, and he had a tremendous head of hair.
His pride, no doubt. And he's on his donkey, and he goes under a tree, and his hair catches in the tree, and the donkey goes on on his left. And one of the men kill him. He's dead. And this is going to happen to the enemy of our souls.
00:30:13
Let's not forget that it may look difficult, but it's not over yet now.
Just a little bit more.
Verse 17.
18 Chapter 18 Verse 17 And they took Absalom and cast him into a great pit.
That's going to be Satan's end.
Into the bottomless pit, the one that is subtly trying to deceive us at this end. The story is here, so encouraging to us.
And and a heap of stones upon him.
Now on last verse 28 and.
A Jaime has called and said under the king when there was message brought to him about Absalom being dead.
All is well. Can you say that?
All as well, difficult guests. Oh yes, but that's not the end of the story. The end of the story as we were singing that end just now. The glory ahead of us and the wilderness, the present. Oh, that our heart, you dear young ones, and each one of us, myself included.
This Christ, the attraction of our hearts, difficult whatever it may be, the end is not yet. Keep on dear beloved ones. Day is getting difficult. But here's the end of the story. David is proclaimed king and so it will be the blessed Lord Jesus Christ. Our rejected Savior today is going to reign over this earth and the whole this whole world.
Ezekiel tells us you're going to light up with his glory.
Is it worth it? You answered by your life.
I was thinking that as their brother was speaking.
That most admonishments in the Scriptures, whether it's the Old Testament or the New.
Either are about warnings from the world, or from the flesh, or from the devil, or they point us to the Lord. And as our brother has been discussing this chapter, he so nicely brought out both the dangers of the world and the Satan and of the flesh, and then how he pointed us to Christ. So I'd like to spend just a little more time.
Umm. This latter part uh. In Hebrews chapter 12 briefly.
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2.
And I just want to read the 1St 3 words.
Looking unto Jesus.
You know, you and I and everybody here, we have someone that we look up to and we admire. Uh, you and I know that it may be somebody in our assembly, it may be our mother, our father. It may be a sports figure.
Or something of that nature, Perhaps a military general?
Umm, but you know, as we look at the sports figures.
They don't last very long. They may establish a fine record, they may be a brilliant player, but you know, before very long, uh, they have passed off the theme and there's someone else comes along that does even better than they. What a marvelous thing it is to have the Lord Jesus as the one that we look up to and the one that we admire for we read.
00:35:16
Jesus Christ.
The same yesterday.
The same today and the same forever. Isn't that a marvelous thing? We think of Absalom. There's a lot of people and that they looked up to add them. He was a very handsome person, very clever. But you know, he didn't last very long. But it's the true David that we want to look up to. Umm.
You know, we talk about, uh, the Lord Jesus, his person and his work.
And it's a marvelous thing. Is working on Calvary's cross. And we're never to forget that. We never want to forget it. And we'll, we'll remember. It's all eternity. But I want to speak just a little bit about his person today. Not in any deep way. And depressed, some of the very young may say, well, what do you mean by his person?
Well, you know, we could say that, umm, such a person, you know, went to the Olympics last year and they won the figure skating championship.
So we know what that person did. They they were a tremendous Gator and they won the figure skating championship. But you say, well, what was that person like? And you say, well, I don't know what he was like.
And so you know, our Lord Jesus went to the cross and died for us. And he loved us so much. Uh, but there's much more than that, isn't there? When we talk to his person, we talk about what he was like. Well, we know first of all he was God and he was man at the same time. But I want to talk this afternoon.
A little bit, if I may, about his beauty. But before I do, uh, let's go back to umm uh John the Baptist time in uh, John's Gospel, chapter one. Uh, perhaps for the we won't turn. You know the the two scriptures. I mean, perhaps for the first time, maybe for the first time, the uh John the Baptist saw the Lord. He was surrounded by his disciples.
And you know, he said to that is, John the Baptist was surrounded by his own disciples, and perhaps he saw the Lord for the first time. And you know what he said? He pointed to him, and he said to his disciples.
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
Now I believe it says the next day John saw him again. And what did John say that time? He said, behold the Lamb of God. You know, don't you think that John the Baptist was so?
Taken with his person that he never got to say the rest of that line that he said on the first day. And so there are so many beauties in the person of Christ.
Uh, that we that can draw into itself, huh? And uh, the young people here, I want you to stick with me because he is a beautiful person. There isn't anything that compares. Let's turn then to the Song of Solomon chapter 5.
I I don't know of any more beautiful.
Uh, passage in the Bible. Then what we have here?
The son of Solomon is talking about.
A bridegroom that is seeking a bride, and it's about the remnant Israel. But this afternoon let's us appropriate this for ourselves, because if umm. Israel could look, the remnant could look so beautiful in the bridegroom's eyes, and the bridegroom could look so beautiful in the remnant size. What must it be for us who are going to be with them for all eternity and the bride of Christ in heaven?
Well, so it's appropriate this for ourselves, but let's start with verse 8. This uh young woman, uh who was so taken with the bridegroom, our Lord Jesus. Uh, she gets her eyes off the Lord and she's looking for him.
And she's looking in the wrong place, But that's alright. First one. Uh, verse 8. Rather so. Those that are around her, she says, I charge you, oh daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved that you tell him that I am love sick. What is thy beloved more than another beloved old Thou fearest among women, what is thy beloved more than another beloved that thou that so charge us? And here we have.
00:40:28
Several verses that are so beautiful I'll just read them. My beloved is white and Ruddy, the cheapest among 10,000. His head is as the most fine gold. His locks are bushy and black as a Raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters washed with milk and fitly thread. His cheeks are as a bed of spices.
As sweet flowers, his lips like lilies dropping sweet smelling mirrors. His hands are his gold rings set with the barrel. His belly is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold. His countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the Cedars. His mouth is most sweet.
Yeah, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved and this is my friend or daughters of Jerusalem. Before I say anything, it turned with me very quickly to Exodus early on.
Exodus chapter 3.
Exodus chapter 3 and verse 2.
And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire, and of the midst of a Bush. And he looked and beheld the Bush burned with fire, and the Bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will turn aside and see this great sight. Why the Bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called upon him out of the midst of the Bush. And said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And this is the part that I want to draw attention to. And he said, draw a lot. My hit her, put off my shoes from off thy feet, for the place where on thou standest is holy ground. And so before I say anything about the this beautiful passage, we have to remember that this is the Lord of glory that we're talking about. So it's a very reverent thing. But what a beautiful description.
All that he were this marvelous and wonderful to our eyes all the time.
But umm, here we have it. Uh the uh woman starts off. My beloved is white and Ruddy the cheapest among ten thousands. Oh, isn't the Lord Jesus white and Ruddy? Isn't he the Holy One, the one that uh delights in that which is pure and good? And he's ready because he shed his blood for us on Calvary.
Great. An utter lie. Who would hush the heaven sent story of the lamb that came to die. Isn't he the bright one? Is there anybody?
That could compare. Oh, no. Says he's the cheapest among 10,000. You know, when we think of that, uh, we think, well, that number isn't high enough, is it? He's certainly the cheapest among anybody in Binghamton, NY state, United States. He's the chief of billions and billions. But you know, perhaps you and I, we don't get to know well.
Uh, 10,000 people in our whole lives. Maybe that's what it means. We don't get to know 10,000 people very well. And so he's the cheapest of anybody that we know. Isn't that nice? Umm and uh. And then Mr. Darby, uh translates that, uh, lifted up, raised, uh, lifted up as a banner. Isn't that nice? Lifted up as a banner. That means you and I have to look up.
If we're going to see the beauties in that in our beloved one, and then it starts in in more detail at verse 11, his head as is, as is the most fine gold.
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That right away it tells us about his divinity. He's gone and umm, and then the most fine gold, well, you know, the most fine gold would be 24 karat gold.
We don't get to see that very often. It's much too soft for dental fillings, and it's much too soft for rings and eyeglasses. In order to get enough strength for those things, other metals have to be added to them to make that the product card. But isn't it nice to think that, uh, the Lord is pure gold? He's 24, karat gold and all that that implies. But one.
Uh, I have one thought I'd like to share with you with you about that.
Uh, there's a softness there. There's a softness, isn't there? Oh, he loves this. I want to read it from 93 and 93. I just want to read a line there from a hymn that, uh, it's like the other that we quoted.
Verse two, it says There from that eternal brightness, have his thought flowed forth in love? He, in his great love would have us ever there with him above. So there's a softness to find gold. As a matter of fact, if we had fine gold, we could bite on it and leave our tooth marks behind. So it is a softness there, Doesn't it see? How about his marvelous love to it?
And then it says his locks are bushy and black.
You know the Lord was the true Nazarite, and so he had a judge long hair.
Another translation says for his locks are flowing. What does that suggest to us? Doesn't that suggest to us?
That, uh, well, we think of the father in the prodigal Son. How the father ran out because he saw the prodigal son coming back to him. He ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And uh, when one runs with long hair, the hair flows out behind. Oh, isn't our Lord in a hurry to bless us? And you know, he's also in a hurry to bring us back home to glory with him.
You know, the Lord could have set up, established a program, a lengthy program, to get us to the glory. But it says in a moment, in the twinkling of a knife at the last trunk, the Lord will sweep down and in the air and call us home. Can't you just see his hair flowing at that moment as we're hurry to be with him as he hurries his home to the Father's house? And it's black as a Raven?
Uh, elsewhere, like in Daniel, we read about the ancient of days whose hair was quite as wool, and it's the judge character There isn't. It's nothing of that here. Here is the strong bridegroom, uh, in full manhood. Uh, his hair is black as a Raven. You know the Lord uh uh was crucified that I I I suppose age 33 1/2.
And I like to think that in the coming day that that, uh, he just takes on from there. One of the translations reads uh every time it says Lamb in the in Revelation it says the young lamb, the lamb, of course, freshly slain. A young lamb and oh, he's gonna be that probably eternity, isn't he?
We know that the bride, after 1000 years, is going to look as fresh and beautiful as as when the marriage took place. So we're sure that the Lord Jesus is going to be the very same. Oh, it's there. It's black, no Gray, and it's no streaks of Gray. And then it says his eyes. Or is the eyes of marvelous. Uh. Well, let me tell you, uh, one time when we lived in Oak Park.
Umm, one of my friends. It won't hurt to tell you his name, but Morris, we used to room together.
And I've got interested in one of the young sisters there. And uh, he took her out a couple of times. Uh, but none of us knew that, uh, there was any real interest. Well, one time I came bud and I came early to the hall. We were at the back and uh and the door opened and in come this young lady.
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And I took a look at the young lady, and her eyes were so dilated. And I looked at buds, and Bud's eyes were so dilated too, that it give the game away. And Bud said to me, would I know you saw that. Just keep that to yourself. Well, when there's umm when there's real love there uh, the bridegroom and the and the bride to be uh. All the eyes play such an important part and he he looks the uh at us with all the perfection that uh is in himself. Isn't that a marvelous thing?
His eyes.
And then it says his eyes is the eyes of Doug. Now doves are so peaceful and as the Lord looks at us uh that have been bought with his precious blood, there's not a cloud I'm sure crosses his eye as he sees all of us that uh our we've been our sins have been washed away. We're spotless in his sight and umm but then it says, uh washed with milk.
Well, we're reading the scriptures one thing about milk and that is that that many things. But milk is that would satisfy.
And I suppose when it says uh the eyes, it means the the whites of the eyes.
Washed with milk. Uh, that which satisfies. This is a lovely thought, brethren, That and young people that as he looks at you and I.
As we compose the Bride of Christ, he sees something that is perfectly satisfied with you know, that's so hard to imagine. What a marvelous thing that he can look at us and will in a future day.
And and perfectly satisfied. You know, we read that in the end of umm, Isaiah 53, don't we? He shall see of the travel of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Oh, how marvelous that is. And then, umm, fitly set. Fitly set. Oh uh, I'm sure Paul could tell us more about this, but as I'm thinking of 50, that uh, the eyes are completely lined.
And both eyes are looking at uh, his beloved 1.
Both eyes and then his lips like Lily drooping, sweet smelling myrrh. How marvelous the lips of the Lord Jesus even in the gospel, uh as he calls out. Come on to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest how marvelous that is. And then for his own the sweet words that He has had for us during this conference and as we read certain important portions of the scripture, how sweet they are and how encouraging they are.
And dropping sweet smelling myrrh and then his hands are as gold rings set with the barrel. Well, you know the rings. A ring has no beginning and no end, and so I like to think uh, that uh perhaps this means that is his arms.
Uh, he that this is an internal embrace that he has with us as his arms, his hands are around us. They're as gold rings. There's no beginning and no end at wherein is embraced forever and ever.
His belly is as bright ivory, overlaid with sapphire as well. We know ivory is a precious.
Uh, precious substance. Uh, from the uh, tusks of the elephant And it's.
It's a little off white, but it's it's very rich and you know, it makes me think about, our brother said. That was so lovely. I think our brother little the other day yesterday.
Uh, perhaps it wasn't brother Little, but anyway, some brother read uh the the umm chat of the verse in John 21.
Where he said that, the Lord said, Brethren, have ye any meat? And I thought that was so lovely that the Lord would ask of the disciples, have you got anything to feed me? Well, isn't it marvelous? Here now we see his belly as his bright ivory overlaid with sapphire.
Oh, that which is involved with food.
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I would accept from his bride those pure things that she has prepared, all because of him, and through his grace. His legs are his pillars of marble.
All those legs and feet that took him through the the valleys and hills of Judea to bless all those people, to reach all those people that needed him, it says they are as pillars of marble, uh, so permanent. And the marble can be polished so nicely. Another beauty, but, you know, I think the legs also in first Thatcher, you know, there's a friend of mine in, uh, the meeting in uh, Tampa.
Mark Carlson? M, UH, Mark Carlson? Yes. And you know, when Merck and I sit down in the chairs, our shoulders are at the same level.
But you know, when we both get up, that's where the difference is. Mark starts to unfold his legs, and by the time he threw, he's away, way up there. And you know, isn't this nice that we think of the Lord Jesus and the stature that he has, oh, the preeminence that this one has set upon sockets of fine gold, divine righteousness, his countenance.
Or his bearing is his Lebanon.
Excellent. As the theaters, you know, as we look at this one, it's not hard to tell that he's royalty, that you know, I believe that's what this means. Oh, there's majesty in that one that we're going to be married to in the coming day.
Umm. His mouth is most sweet. Oh, that's so nice. I won't stop on that. But isn't that nice? Yeah, he is all together lovely. This is my beloved And this is my friend. Oh, daughters of Jerusalem. I just want to add a couple other thoughts. Umm.
Umm.
You know, the Lord is so interested in us, He's not only interested.
But he is so taken with us. I mean, He loves us. We're going to compose His bride for all eternity. We're going to compose His bride. And umm, I want to think about Adam for a moment. Umm, of course, when Adam was formed.
Eden was made, and of course before that the animals were made. And Adam had the privilege of naming each animal and each fowl of the air. God brought them to them, an animal. And uh, Adam had a name for each one. And it must have been a very interesting, a lot of pleasure for Adam. But you know, then Adam, of course, uh was put in the garden and there was something missing, wasn't there? Adam looked around and of course he saw those animals.
And he must have thought to himself, there's nobody here like me, anything like me. There's nobody in the pool, anything like me. Beautiful is the places.
And umm, but we know the answer. God had an answer for that. He had to help me for him. And uh, I won't go into his side. Uh, the that operation or what it means because we know that. But I had another thought there and that is that, uh, when Adam woke up from that surgery here he sees these this beautiful woman that God has prepared for him and and don't you think Adam said in his heart.
Oh, finally there's somebody that looks just like me. Finally, another human being. Yes, female, but he looks like me. Isn't that something? I want to turn to That song that we sang at the beginning, One 62162, I believe.
And you know, I'm sure this is how the Lord considers the bride. Oh, finally, here's someone that looked a little like me. Look at the second stands of 162. Oh, isn't that lovely? Each shall the Savior's likeness bear. Isn't that something? Umm. How the Lord, of course, umm could love us. Well, we know how.
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Because he is love, and we know He's implanted within us a life just like his own. And so on that coming day after the uh umm, the uh judgment seat of Christ and the marriage Supper the Lamb comes along, every one of us will be there, uh as that we sang in this second song. Each of the Saviors, likeness, Bear, and uh, we see in chapter 4.
Verse 9 The Lord, this is the bridegroom. Speaking of the bride, he said, Thou hast ravished my heart.
My sister, my spouse, thou has ravished my heart with one of thine eyes. This, and that's, uh, so gracious but it's a it's such a marvelous time for us. But isn't going to be a lovely time for the Lord Jesus too? And so for all of us here, I would say don't forget.
To look unto Jesus, that one, that, uh, there's never anybody that can compare, uh, with that marvelous beauties. And uh, you know, we sing often times about being home with the Lord, and often times there's a line in there that says this. Umm, he'll fill our heart with glad surprise, that is, We'll be so surprised that it's so much better than we ever thought. Don't you think that's what that line means?
There's not what the Queen of Sheba said.