Vestal Conference: 2004
Table of Contents
John 6:1-9
Reading
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Crazy. Well.
Uh, five more crabs.
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Above, the hardening fell.
For 33 and verse 7.
And Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, a far off from the camp.
And called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass that everyone which sought the Lord went out under the Tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. And then in verse 11. And the Lord's spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp, But his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the Tabernacle.
And then?
In verse 13 Now therefore I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I might, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation is thy people.
And he said, My present shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
And then a little later on in verse 18, and he said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory.
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She would just ask the Lord's blessing.
Our loving God and our Father, we thank you for our Savior, the Lord Jesus, and this, uh, little hymn that we've been able to sing about.
Thy love and grace and how Thou it's lead Thy people. And the story of Esko's grapes would tell the end of that path. Well, we think of the blessing, the abundance that Thou does have for Thy people, and how Thou has provided a clean place for Thy people to be found together in Thy presence. Blessed Savior, to read Thy precious and Thy holy word. And so as we take up Thy word, we pray that we might take it up as a holy word.
Every word of God is pure.
And that we might deal with it with reference.
But godly fear and that we might receive profit from it.
That we might have a sense of thy presence.
And to our God, our Father, that we might see some vision of the glory that lies before us.
To be in thy very presence, blessed Savior, very shortly, to be taken out of this scene that rejected the Lord Jesus.
And as heavenly citizens, to sit in thy presence, and a desire to be fed. And so we just cast ourselves upon the an independence would ask you for a blessing that the flesh might be restrained, and that thou by thy Holy Spirit might take.
By word, that it might produce fruit for thyself or God our Father, and affection in our hearts, that it might be returned to thee, blessed Savior, for that great, that mighty work that thou hast accomplished to the glory of thy God and Father.
And for our blessings, so we ask it. We commend this meeting to the our God and ask you for a portion. And the precious and the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
Think to read the whole chapter.
You have to read through uh, from one through 15.
John's Gospel, chapter 6.
After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias, and a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles, which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples, and the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he set unto Philip. When shall we buy bread, that these may eat?
And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him, 200 penny worth of bread are not sufficient for them, that everyone may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here which hath 5 barley loaves and two small fishes. But what are they among so many?
And Jesus said, make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place, so the men sat down in number about 5000. And Jesus took.
The loaves and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down.
And likewise of the fishes, as much as they would when they were filled. He said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remained, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten than those men when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore.
Perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain, himself alone.
The Lord Jesus Christ came down from heaven as the Son of God.
And he went back to heaven after his mission as the Son of Man.
And it's just wonderful to think of that expression in the book of Daniel where it speaks of him as the Ancient of Days. I love that because you see an old brother has been through many a valley and over many a high hill and experience. You find your heart gravitating toward him to draw from his experiences. And so to think of the Lord Jesus as the Ancient of Days.
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Coming into this world as an infant.
Y to seek our eternal blessing, to become a man, that he might draw near to us.
To manifest the wonderful grace of God and meet us in every need like this multitude here.
And so we have him, writer, bringing those two titles together, not only God's Son, but in manhood he had his full part and the union.
And the union of both joined and won, formed the fountain of love in his heart. And.
So does he that we would have before us.
As that One who can meet us in our many needs. As his dear people.
Sometimes you speak to male believers and associate themselves with organizations where there's evidently a lot of signs, signs and miracles and healings, and they have a quite large following because of it. And evidently there are a lot who are following the Lord at this time because it says they saw the miracles, which he did. But if you're only following the Lord because of signs and miracles and wonders, you won't follow the Lord long.
Uh, these folks were following the Lord after they saw this wonderful miracle about the multiplication of the bread.
Not because they had faith in the Lord, but because they hoped to be fed by the Lord, you know, and they thought, well, what better king could we have one who would, uh, minister every temporal need? But the Lord wanted to reach their hearts. And if we don't lay hold of the Lord by faith, we'll not be following very long, will we?
There are two things that were cautioned. How you hear just.
Ask shall more be given than to him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have. And so if we receive the word of God simply because it's been proven to us by, as you say, signs in this case, or by reasonings, then we haven't really received it in the right way.
And that is, I believe, the great danger in many of the books that supposedly support scriptural views of creation, that the faith is not resting on the word of God, but it's really resting upon reasonings. And so it will be undermined by the very ground in which it's on which it was received on the ground of reasoning.
And another Scripture take, says, take heed what you hear, Pretend that hast shall be more, be more, be given unto him that hath not.
S shall be taken away even that what she had. And so if Umm Ruth was warned glean not in another man's field. And if we start to glean and a field other than Boaz's, there were many fields in Israel, we're going to really take lose what we have.
It's not just a question of getting food, but it's getting food where Boaz, the mighty man of wealth was in his field where he was Lord and he could order the maidens and he could order the young servants and so on. That there was order in that field. And, and that is why the assembly we get in Timothy is the pillar in support of the truth that that's where we should receive it. And so we need to listen to what we listen to. Well, here they were following the Lord because of signs.
It's interesting to notice that John the writer.
Accepts the captivity of Rome over Israel. They had authority over the Jews. And so it's when he writes here after these things the Lord had.
Done all these miracles.
Touched hundreds of hearts with his goodness, but he says they went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.
When Rome took over, they tried to.
To put Roman names on, like the lake known as Galilee, they called it Tiberius.
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And we see throughout the Gospels that John submitted to that captivity, and so he uses Roman time when he writes in the book of John. And it's interesting to trace those evidences of captivity. So consequently, the Lord Jesus could not be charged as being a revolutionary and working against the Roman government. He didn't do that.
Now it's really a secret, is it not? For our preservation, dear brethren, to accept the captivity, and not to fight against it, lest we should lose our lives or be apprehended?
We're not here to be forceful and to show who we are, but to walk humbly with our God. And it's in that light that the testimony goes out and we cannot be charged with being revolutionaries and starting a new organization or something. Is that the thought, Brother Ruth? They charge the Lord what's happening? They charge the Lord with forbidding to give tribute to seasonal That wasn't true. Lord says rented to season. And uh, also that he's a king whoso speaketh.
Maketh himself the king, speaketh against Caesar. But that wasn't true either, you know.
These are really exonerated them against that charge, He said what I've written, I've written. That's the great secret in a day of ruin and when we've come under the government of God is it grace will always cause us to submit to the government of God. You see that difference between Saul, He said I've sinned sounds like a confession of sin. He said now honor me before the people he saw cried with tears when he realized what he had lost.
The blessing, but he sought. He sought repentance, but he didn't find it. Why? Because he wanted the blessing rather than to submit to the government of God. And you see in David, a man after God's own heart, that when the proposition was given to him to choose between 3 punishments, he trusted the loving heart of God more than he trusted his own. And this desire to escape, perhaps something has come into our life.
And many things may happen because of our sin and governmentally, and you say, well, isn't he forgiven? Yes, but grace would cause us to submit. Sometimes in the mercy, mercy of God, he lifts it, lifts his government. Somebody smokes before they're saved and they get saved and they completely lose the desire to smoke. But a Christian better not try that because they just get chained in that again. And so this is the principle I believe you're bringing out here is that.
John, he submitted to what the Romans had allowed. You see this in countries of the world. They renamed their cities that were formerly named by conquerors and so on. And it's a question of national pride, but it's very helpful to see these things.
Very lovely to see how that God makes known to us through the Word.
Why this group followed the Lord? Why?
It wasn't because they saw Him, it was because they were thinking, As it says in our chapter here, a great verse two, a great multitude followed Him because they saw His miracles saved by looking at miracles.
You get saved by looking at the person who has committed those Americans, the Lord Jesus himself. This is how we get saved.
I got saved. I didn't know anything about these miracles.
I just knew the Lord Jesus Christ and I needed a savior.
That's all. How precious that is to see, isn't it? So it's interesting how that they saw his miracles, which he did on them, that were dissessed.
Perhaps a little illustration helps in connection with this. Driving down here, we saw about 25 police officers and they stopped people and there were there was evidence that that's what what they were.
And when they stopped somebody in the traffic, they ask them for proof of a driver's license and proof of insurance. That's their right to do that. They have furnished proof, evident proof that they bear the authority of the law. And so the Lord did that. He did miracles to show a sign as to where he came from and what was in his heart. His heart was not to condemn the people, but to bring deliverance from the consequences of their sins. But man has no right to demand of God proof.
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Any more than any of those people would be wise to demand further proof that they were officers of the law.
God has a right to demand reality from us, but we have absolutely no right to. Man has no right to turn to God and demand proofs from Him.
And it's really a really an insolent ground. You often hear people say, well, if you could just prove to me there was a God, God has no man has no right to demand any proof of God from God at all. He's provided abundant proof as to who he is. And by the miracles that the Lord did, we see his power and creation that wouldn't show what was in God's heart towards me. But these miracles that the Lord did were evident proof of what the heart of God was towards poor ruined man.
And they need correction on this, but I believe this is the only miracle that is recorded in all four gospels.
So it really is a momentous thing.
And to think that the one that is there was the one that fed Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. The manna raining down 6 days of the week.
And he fed them with the bread of heaven.
And it's like the same one longs to have a rehearsal of those years in the wilderness that he would now be in the wild, in another wilderness in Israel with a view to feed them. You know, if we want to get someone's air and they're hungry, it's a good idea to feed them first, isn't it?
I I'm afraid this order is reversed, that if you sit here and take the meeting and the preaching and what goes on, we'll feed you afterward.
But I believe the order is divine, that the Lord is going to feed this great multitude.
And his heart is full of compassion for them, not willing that any should perish.
And so as the chapter goes on, he is leading, is he not into that which is spiritual? And that's how we're LED, is that first that is natural, and then that which is spiritual, the beautiful order, is it not?
Perhaps.
Perhaps it can take a little application from this here too. And that was speaking about the multitude. But can we learn something from it here the the multitude wanted, Oh, I should say the multitude came because of the miracles. And what did the Lord do with his own? We find in the third verse of our chapter there it says Jesus went up into a mountain and there he sat with his disciples. What did we learn more about our blessed Lord?
Is it with everyone else around us as if it were the multitude? You know, as we look around us, we see many of us love to be at conferences like this because it is very encouraging that multitude to have support, to have like minded brethren. But what about the time that we really do need? It is in that quietness between our blessed Savior in a place apart from influences of this world? I believe that's what the desert seems really Speaking of.
In the desert, you know there's a difference between a desert and a wilderness.
In the wilderness there may be wild things there, but away from people in the desert there's no sustenance, There's nothing but here. The Lord took them to a mountain apart from everyone else. And what did He have? Some do Just there He sat with His disciples. What lesson is there for us? How often, kitten, we find ourselves sitting at our blessed Savior's feet are by ourselves apart.
A part I'd like to look at perhaps a couple of instances, but to see how we can sit at the Lord's side, I'd like to turn to perhaps a passage in Luke chapter 10.
In the 10th chapter of Luke, we find someone sitting at his feet.
The 39th verse of Luke, chapter 10.
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Luke chapter 10 verse 39 and she had a sister called Mary, but we know you know who this person is by now, Martha, which also.
Sat at Jesus.
Feet and heard his word. You know when we sit beside let's savior. One of the things we can learn is to learn of his word. Can we? We're going to be sitting close by him and learn his word.
I'd like to turn over the John's Gospel Chapter 11.
With another instance where we see someone sitting at Jesus feet.
But by his feet. John 11, verse 32.
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet.
Saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not done.
So we see here, not exactly sitting, but she was by our Lord's feet. She fell down by His feet, close to him. In this case, not just to learn His word. She came to him as a mourner. Isn't that interesting?
We can be there to learn, but we can be there too when we sorrow, when we have problems and difficulties. We see in the case of Mary, she came by his feet as a mourner like to turn to just one more place.
The next chapter over John, chapter 12.
Find someone by his feet again in the third verse.
John chapter 12 verse 3 then took Mary Apost.
A pound of ointment of spikenard very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and wipe his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
What do we find? Marry you at the Lord's speech this time.
Oh she, she came as a worshiper. We need to be a part, brethren, do we not just our Lord, apart from the influences of this world by His feet as a learner of His word. We can comment some more on earth.
And then we can come up as a worshiper.
You know three times that the Passover is mentioned in John's gospel. The first you have is the second chapter. Verse 13 at the beginning of the Lord's ministry says the Jews Passover was at hand.
The second you have in our chapter verse four in the Passover a feast of the Jews was nigh, and the third was in the 11Th is in the 11Th chapter, verse 55, and the Jews Passover was now at hand.
Uh, those Passover came once a year. It brings before us the three years of the Lord's ministry, uh, internal proof as to it confirming to what the Lord had said these three years. I come seeking fruit of this fig tree and find none. You know, it brings before it the internal proof as to the time of the Lord's ministry, approximately three, 3 1/2 years on earth.
What is doing there? Or three times? It doesn't just say the Passover. Is that the Jews Passover?
Whose Passover should really be into the Jews. You know, we as men have our systems going. We have religions, we have things that we can call ours. Is it the Jews Passover? How come it says not? Let's turn to that. We find that in and you said chapter 2 of, uh, of our chapter.
13 verse The first instance we find of the three Passover is mentioned here and the Jews. This I'm sorry, this is John chapter 2, verse 13.
And the Jews Passover was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. I'd like to read a little further because it tells us the conditions of all that Passover and found in the temple. Those are so oxen and sheep and dove and the changes of money setting. So what do we see The Passover is such a solemn feast for the Jewish nation is so they can remember when the Lord he said when I see the blood I will Passover you.
And then they tell the children and the children's children and they have to remember that every year and year after year as we go through scriptures, we find that it's not being remembered very often. So here it's called the Jews Passover because they've forgotten the true meaning of it. It became a ceremony. They're just doing it. The game, brother, and security lessons in there for us too. You know, we do not have to pass over today, not the way it should have been celebrated, but we do have to remembrance of the Lord.
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So we find that.
It is our feast. It is our member remembrance. Let's look at the second passage in our chapter here, chapter uh, six, verse 4 here again, he said, and the Jew in the Passover, a feast of the Jews was 9 feast of the Jews. Let's look at Chapter 11.
The six verse 55.
And the Jews Passover was nigh at end. You know, when the Lord speaks once a twice, in this case, three times. Maybe he's trying to tell us something about his true Passover. Let's turn to Luke chapter 22, a well known portion that we often read on those day morning through chapter 22. Notice how the chapter begins here.
That's now the Feast of now the Feast of Unleavened Bread. June eyed, which is called.
The Passover, Well, we go back to Leviticus chapter 23. We find the distinctions of the seven feasts of Jehovah. We know the Passover is there in the 14th day, on the 10th day. We know the rules from the Word of God. On the 10th day they have to choose that lamb, a lamb without blemish and without spot, and they have to keep it until the 10th day, until the 14th day, and he sets between the evening of the 14th day. They're displaying this lamb.
That's the Passover, and they had to take that blood and put it on the doorposts and then that night there to be inside.
Dare to heat up that lamp and then eat not of it raw nor sodden at all with water, but rose with fire. So we know that what they have to do is to remember the, uh, uh, the, uh, rather they have to look forward to the cross when our blessed Savior is the one who would endure all the sufferings for your sake and my sake. And then in the 23rd chapter, Leviticus, we'll find out, uh, the Feast of the unleavened bread to follow.
And that you have that for seven days when we get here in the in the time of our blessed Lord, the Jews seems to have forgotten that here we find them clearly stated that the Feast of Unleavened bread with 9, which is called the Passover.
Two separate things, isn't it? And we find here toward the end of this, our Lord, He had the last Passover with His disciples. We find we often read that. We have to read that here while we're at it, verse 17.
Perhaps I should start reading in verse 15. And he said unto them with desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you, before I suffer, before I say unto you, I will not anymore eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. And he took the cup and gave thanks. And he said, Take this and divide it among yourselves, before I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God shall come.
Well, that's the Passover that they celebrated. Now, have you noticed here there's no lamb that's a slain that night? At least I don't know of it in this passage. It was provided it was set off, but don't know. We don't read up the slain lamb.
But this is the last Passover. Now we would look at verse 19. We can look at it as perhaps there's a pause in between here. Oh, blessed Savior instituted a new feast to us, a new feast. What is that feast? And he took bread and gave thanks, and Bridget and gave unto them, saying, this is my body which is given for you.
This do in remembrance of me likewise also the cup after supper saying this cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you. Oh, what happened to the Passover? It's a thing of the past in a sense is set aside now. It will come back again and we're reading scriptures. We'll know that in the future day they will celebrate that Passover again in a little bit different way. Here the Lord instituted something new for you and I.
We get to remember him. Is there a difference between the two? Yes, the Passover there to do that once a year here Institute of this we find the disciples later on doing it on the first day of the week.
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What a different, what a blessedness they have. They look forward to the cross. Now we can look back to the cross. To do what? To remember the price that our Savior gave. So those 3 Passover, the Passover of the Jews.
Here for Law Institute is something that we should value, value deep in our hearts. Back then you would say to his disciple with desire, I have desire to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. And today I would say they still have the same desire to be with you.
They have the lovely expression and Jesus lifted up his eyes.
Wall wall assembly Many years ago there was a dear old brother that came to meeting early and when we came into the meeting room we would see him sitting in the close to the front and his eyes were.
Shot and his head was bowed. We had every reason to believe that he was given over to prayer in view of that coming meeting. And then I would watch him and after a while he lift up his eyes and he would look around the meeting room.
And if I could describe that look, it was a look of patient love.
Here we were needy and he was the was the shepherd of the sheep, I have to say, and the impact of him lifting up his eyes. It's with me to this day. And I'd encourage others that are have a shepherd's heart to have somewhat of that character and consciousness of the need of the flock. And so the Lord turns to Philip.
You know he seeks our fellowship as he did Philip.
He said how are we going to feed this multitude? And he asked him, knowing what he himself was going to do.
That happened to us.
There's some responsibility come to us and we say.
Well, I don't know if this would be the multitude or not.
And right at that time we can say, well, the Lord, he knows what he's going to do. And so Philip really has a lovely spirit, does he not? He doesn't say well that we can't feed him multitude like this, but he's in the spirit of a learner as we should ever be learners as to meet the needs of God's people and at the same time want to know the mind of the one who is the.
Great Shepard.
And so in a spirit like like that prevails and our hearts open up, do they not? And as Ben mentioned about sitting at Jesus feet and and listening to his word, oh there it is, there's the wisdom.
And so he isn't going to dispatch anybody to go see what they can find, find a bakery or something. But he does ask questions to us to exercise our hearts, does he not?
Knowing what he himself is going to do.
And the reason you ask, Phillip?
Is because Phillip was from Barseta and if you compare the gospels, you find that this miracle took place in Bethsaida. So if anybody would know where the bakery was, Phillip Wood, That's why the Lord asked Phillip. You know, it's instructive what you say, Ron, about, uh, whom Lord lifting up his eyes in Genesis 24, before Rebecca ever lifted up her eyes, it says that Isaac lifted up his eyes. We think, brethren, that we're looking for the Lord's coming.
Consider how much more the Lord is looking for that return if the Lord direct your hearts to the patience of Christ.
It's beautiful to see these exchanges in the Scripture. I've referred to that one in connection with David and his punishment for numbering the people. To think of Abraham communing with God over Sodom is that we don't have a hard master. And this conversation between the Lord and Philip, knowing what he was going to do and the exchange that takes place between the soul and the Lord over a matter that he might bring us into his mind as to something.
I just want to say this about this expression, the feast of the Jews, because the question was asked me recently, uh, can you take the Lord's Supper anywhere else and at the Lord's table? And negatives in divine things are dangerous. And so we should just put it positively that we have the Lord's Table in First Corinthians chapter 10 and the Lord's Supper in First Corinthians Chapter 11. And it is the intention of the Lord that the Lord's Supper be eaten at the Lord's table.
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Perhaps a little illustration may help. Sometimes we're invited to an anniversary wedding, anniversary celebration of a couple that's been married a long time. And so refreshments are laid out, a cake is decorated and there's refreshments laid out. And so for some reason, or rather you don't want to eat with the rest. And so you say you're going to take your cake and eat it with your friends in the garage, or you're going to go off and eat it at home or somewhere else. And you say, well, is this?
Really celebrating this anniversary? Well, there's a remembrance of the occasion, but it's really spoiled by where it's taken.
And so we see that the Lord's Supper was intended to be beaten at the Lord's table. Is there a remembrance of the Lord when bread and wine are taken?
Uh, one can hardly deny that, but to call it the Lord's Supper? And here we've gotten into a sad situation where the Lord was rejected of the Jews and it's really have to be referred to not as a feast of the Lord, but a feast to the Jews.
Oh, we have another disciple here, Andrew. I think we've enjoyed what the Spirit of God.
Rings before us when, uh, and Andrew, he's a bringer. He's a bringer.
And.
Someone has said he didn't attain to the first rank. I don't like that, but Peter, James and John seem to be the three that were called in on things that the others weren't.
But to have a spirit of Andrew is, you know, is a quiet observation of looking around and sizing things up.
And so we see the wonderful faith in him, he said. There's a lad here that that has a lunch.
And we would have stand there listening to talk like that. We would have wondered, well.
This this isn't gonna work for sure.
But I enjoyed, it's the nicest thought I've ever heard in my life in connection with this lunch. 5 loaves, 2 fishes. And this comes from our brother Glen Buchanan, he said. The loaves. The Lord began to speak to the two on the road to Emmaus concerning Moses.
Satisfied books if I can just make the point.
And the two fishes were the Psalms and the prophets.
And that covers a wide area, doesn't it, in the Old Testament?
The Books of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.
And so the Lord drew out of those, did he not, to restore hearts?
Cold hearts, Indifferent hearts.
We delight to go into the Old Testament now that the New Testament has been revealed and drawn on the Old Testament in a way that the Old Testament Saints couldn't draw because they were not acquainted with the one who they spoke of.
So what a momentous moment this was for this crowd. Now to sit down.
And to see this wonderful conversion.
5 barley loaves and two small fishes.
A multitude of 5000 people.
Another place, women and children.
Interesting, but you mentioned that about Andrew. I was just thinking of the first chapter of John's Gospel. I love you.
At verse 41 of the two which heard him speak.
And followed in was Andrew.
And what did he do? It says Andrew.
Umm, Peter's brother, he first finds his own brother. Simon Says unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted to Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, son of Jonas. Jonas. But I just thought of Andrew.
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He says he, he goes and he finds someone else. He, uh, Andrew was a seeker, wasn't he, As you mentioned, I think before, I see that often times you see in a work of the Lord that there is an individual like an Andrew who is the real key to the blessing. You think of how Barnabas went to see the, uh, the converted Gentile believers in the early days and he was encouraged by what he saw and what does he do?
He goes and gets Paul and brings him, and then the blessing really multiplied. There's so much written about Paul. And of course Paul was an elect and a chosen vessel in a special way that Barnabas wasn't. But if you look at how that blessing spread, it really started with with Barnabas. And that's a good thing, isn't it? To recognize what the Lord has given to others. And Andrew has this spirit. He brings his brother. He recognizes what this lad had and he.
Presents that before the Lord, and I've seen in my own life that there were brothers that most wouldn't even know their names today, but they were key to the blessing of dozens and dozens by working behind the scenes quietly and observing in a selfless manner, uh, what would be helpful for who would be helpful for a situation and, uh, making that happen and being content to stand aside and see the blessing spread.
We really see faith at work too, on discernment because.
200 penny worth, I understand was a considerable sum. I think in Roman wages a penny was a man's was a day's wages. So it was a considerable sum of money. And yet he recognized, uh, Andrew recognized in this something that the Lord could really use. He asked the Lord a question. He didn't come in self-confidence, but looking to the Lord. And you see this, that they appreciate that there is a very great danger and the people of God have gotten into and each one of us have gotten into trouble by seeking great things for ourselves.
And we see that with the Lord when he saw how they cast the money into the treasury. There was that widow and she had her two mites, you know, and uh, she cast it in the Lord appreciated it. But I just struck me in the very next chapter, they walk in and this disciples point out to the Lord the great and costly stones as much as to say to the Lord, you know, this wasn't bought with two mites, but what blessing is flown from her act that perhaps many Saints have dug deeper, given more.
And been encouraged to give the little bit that they had to the Lord by the work that that Lord by that what that woman did unconscious that the eye of God was upon her. And so this boy, he just had a desire obviously to follow the Lord. And he made provision for himself for no one else. And that provision for himself was used in blessing for many. And I think that's really what our brother soul was bringing before us.
In connection with his comments is that UMM Mary was just a Jesus feat for herself.
And uh, yet what blessing has flowed to us because of that?
I see Phillip too, uh, Andrew Zhu have the faith that we may not seem to have. We mentioned faith. I was thinking of the verse. I think it's Zechariah, he said. Uh, perhaps can turn to that in Zechariah.
Thankful, that's probably short verse Zachariah chapter 4, verse 10 we often quoted for Who has despised the day of small things? Who have despised the day of small things? You know, how often have we gone to that trap? When we look at something and say that's not enough here the resource that's needed is among some They need the food.
Where's where the food?
Right there with that land but did they see it You know would we have seen it Probably not No, I should take the word probably out. We wouldn't see it neither do we see problems and difficulties amongst ourselves. Yes, Often do we see that we have solutions? No, because we don't see it at the Lord is in the midst that he can take care of all the problems. Here's the solution is five loaves and two fishes. Now it's not just the loaves if you notice.
In in John is more specific.
In the in Luke it just set the five loaves and John here if we look at it carefully, it says 5 barley loaf. And why is that important to know that it's barley? Well, barley if we know barley that's is not a very good food in a sense his poor man's food. In fact, if I understand it correctly back back then barley really is used for animal feed, the poor, the so poor.
00:50:28
So they would buy barley because that's all they can afford. So first of all, he has something that is very lonely. Now there is something interesting about barley too. Now I don't know anything about farming, so if there are any good farmers here, I stand corrected. But I understand barley is planted in the fall. It fits dormant right through the winter as if it's dead, it has to die. It just sits there doing nothing. But then comes spring. What is the first crop that come up? I understand it's a body, the first fruit of resurrection, isn't it? When they have that feast, we mentioned the seven feasts there, that the Passover, the the fees of the 11 bread is nice. If you go back to Leviticus chapter 23.
You'll find that on the moral after they have the feast of the first fruit. Well, what would they have? That would be early spring that would, I believe is Bali. It's not lonely thing that man despise turned out to be the one that was used to feed all these people. Do we see the Lord in honest? If we truly do, then we should see the power. We should not despise the day of the small things, but to fully have our confidence.
That's all, Lord, but take care of things. In fact, if we were to look at the, the Church of Philadelphia in the third chapter of, of, uh, Revelation, there we find one of the things Lord said to them was, but thou have but a little strength. Uh, but they were honored in something he said, For thou has kept my word and has not denied my name, but the strange brethren that we think we have today.
It might seem that the only two or three in each location, but we have to word of God when it we have the Lord in the midst by by.
Bowing to His word and not denying His name, but the power that we can exhibit today.
Why did why did Naomi and Limaleck leave Bethlehem because there was a famine of What brought them back and when were they brought back? They were brought back at the time of barley harvest because they heard was there was.
Bread. In Bethlehem there was meat and salt.
Resurrection. Let me keep thinking of that. Resurrection is a very important part in Scriptures. You know, we often talk about the death of our blessed Savior, and rightly so. We'll have to remember the two ghosts hand in hand. There's the death and then there's resurrection. He's the first fruit of resurrection on the 10th day. On the 14th day is Passover. Picture of death on the 17th day of the month, early in the morning.
But glorious day in a sense is the resurrection day. And that's when Naomi and Ruth, when they walk back and realize that they have gone through death, in a sense they left. It says they left because of famine. But then when she realized and see the death and resurrection, what did, what did Naomi say? She went out. She went out, watch went out. She came back. Now she realized she didn't come back forward.
In, uh, Luke 12, there's a verse.
Can I connect with uh?
This chapter in John Luke 12 and verse 42. And the Lord said, who then is that faithful and wise steward whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household to give them their portion of meat in due season. And so the Lord said this to prove Philip because you know, the disciples were in training and there was coming a time when the Lord wasn't going to be here and there was going to be a great multitude before them. The Lord was going to be back in the glory.
So he's proving them now while he's here, he says. Where's your, where are you going to turn, Philip?
Are you going to turn on the great multitude comes?
And they need to be faxed. And so the lesson for him is that he's got to turn to the Lord.
And the Lord delights to use those small, weak things.
For the blessing of his people. And so when he came to Moses, he said to Moses, What is that in my hand? He said to rod, will you come to the end of the chapter? And Moses takes up not the rod, but the rod of God. That insignificant rod was going to be used for blessing. And when Elisha came to that, uh, widow woman who cried to him and her knees, he says, what hast thou in thy house?
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Says nothing but a pot of oil.
On he takes that, and he uses it for blessing, and she and her house lived on it for many days.
And so he delights to use the little resources of his own.
For a great blessing, but they are a little resources. And so Andrew says, what is this among so many Just doesn't see how it's gonna work, but he brings it to the Lord anyways. And so we can bring our little resources to the Lord.
And he blesses them. Well, you know, a loaf is something you can make, you can bake it, but you can't make a fish. And so you find if you bring your little resources to the Lord and lay them at his feet, you'll find He comes in and he adds that which is from himself. And you see the blessing is far wider than that little resource you brought. It expands far more than anything you could have expected because the Lord sent it. Lord is in it, and I just.
The other morning at our house, we had a little reading and the subject of the wheat and Walla Walla came up and this, this, uh, portion came back to my heart, although we didn't speak on it. And the question was put to the children. You know, if you went to Walla Walla a month ago, those fields were just beautiful green with wheat.
Could you go out in that field and, and, uh, get some food?
No, no, you couldn't. But it's a promise of coming blessing. Well, now those fields about this time of year are starting to turn color and soon they'll be fully ripe and ready to harvest. Well, can you go out then and and get something to eat? No, you can't. Well, you could ride the combines and when all the chaff has been taken off those kernels and blown back into the fields and reach in there and get a handful of wheat kernels and.
Now do you have something you can?
You can eat well, you know, you can chew on those kernels a little bit, but it's pretty tough eating. It's still not ready. It's still not ready. So you take it to the grand elevator and it goes to the mills and it's ground into flour. And now you come in and do you have something now that's ready that that can satisfy that you can eat, that you can take in? No, not really. And it's even hard to really get a hold of, put your hand in that flower barrel and try and get some and it just kind of even like the grains, it just runs through your fingers. It's not.
Ready yet and so you add the right ingredients to mix that dough up and you know kids like to come in and pinch a little dough and it's getting there isn't it but it's still not ready to put on the table it's still not ready to feed the people of God and you know we could go into the ingredients the one that comes to mind is salt. You know, after that loaf is baked you say now now here's something I can get a hold of you couldn't pick up those grains really and carry them around you couldn't pick up that flower and carry it around and and meet.
The needs of the hungry. But now you've got a loaf, now you've got something you can get a hold of, and you can you can meet the needs.
But if there wasn't salt in that loaf, you might take a bite and say it doesn't taste too good.
Doesn't taste too good. And you know, we need salt in ourselves. The Lord said we need to practice what we preach. And so to come with a loaf that's been prepared. But if it hasn't been walked in our own selves, then it doesn't taste too good. It doesn't, doesn't have that good wholesome, uh, flavor that we like to see. And so there comes a time and I guess that my heart is perhaps the young brothers here, some of us not so young anymore.
You know, the time comes where there's a great company and the Lord says once he's going to buy bread that these may be fast.
And we need a loan and it might not be much, but it needs, it can't be flour and it can't be the grain. It has to go through that process. It has to have matured in our own souls. And it has to be in a form and a shape that the Saints of God can get a hold of for blessing in their hearts to feed the Saints of God. You know, in the, uh, Darby translation, it describes this lad as a little boy. And I know you're, you're raising a lot of little boys and I'm raising a few little boys and I was one once.
And little boys are not known for planning ahead. I don't want to be speculative here, but I would be surprised. It's possible, but I would be surprised if this little boy set out on this day's, uh, little days event and said, you know, I could get hungry later. I think I better pack myself some something to eat or maybe even something for me to eat. And some of my friends. It's not common to little boys to think that far ahead. 2 minutes, 3 minutes, maybe not. Not the whole day.
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I suspect that there was someone behind the scenes here that had thought about this little boy and what he would need later on. Maybe it was a big sister or maybe it was his dad. It was most likely his mother.
And there had been, I would suspect it's a picture of the moral things that you're pointing to, Steven, that took place in this little boy's home that prepared this little boy to be used.
Providentially for the blessing of so many later on.
And that's just such a huge thing. I know for several years now I've grabbed when I've gone off for a week of vacation with the family, I've grabbed the Christopher Knapp's book, The Kings of Judah and Israel. And, uh, I've started that book, read it once and started to reread it about six times and only get a little ways. But it always impresses me how huge and profound an effect the mother has upon the boy. And these kings with the Spirit of God takes us in the scriptures and.
Kings and Samuel chronicles through these these life after life after life with all this mixture of influence of a good father and a good mother or a wicked father and a godly mother and these and you see the results and it's it's the history and the spirit of God is profoundly helpful for us and you see pictures there and some of those kings that had mothers that did this kind of thing for them that put the.
Reminded them or put the, the loaves and the fishes in the sack to be used later for the blessing of others. So, you know, there's been comments here about the day of small things and a day of weakness. And, and, uh, we make it so much weaker when we get careless in the little things. And we can strengthen the things which remain by seeking to be more faithful in, in what we may call the ABC's of Christianity. My brother that, that kind of took me under his wing when I was a young Christian, used to speak about RPM.
He was a truck driver and he says you can't let your RPMS get low. And he would always explain to me that that's reading and prayer, meditation and these basic things in the household or in our personal life are really the stuff of which a testimony is made in which the Lord uses to.
Encourage others in this day that perhaps is near the very end, before the Lord will call us all home.
There's another aspect that I'd like to just mention in Matthew chapter 17, umm, in connection with some of what you've been speaking out of, brother Bruce, it says in umm, verse, uh, one in Matthew 17, after six days, Jesus taketh Peter and James and John his brother and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart and was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun and his raiment.
Was white as the light, and so he brings them into that place.
And there was a lesson to be learned. There was something that could be viewed of the glory of the Lord Jesus, that moral glory that was just displayed. And then he says a little bit later on, you don't tell anybody about this. And then we find in second Peter, he says in verse chapter one and verse 16, we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His Majesty.
For we receive from God the Father. For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And so there is that which the Lord Jesus Himself does among his people.
That there might be food for his people and that there might be courage to go on in the path of faith. And so we find that there was a a time of discouragement and the Lord had been crucified and yes, he'd risen from the dead.
Now he was drawn high in the glory, and there was opposition to the truth of God.
And what was it that gave these dear ones, Peter, James, and John, the courage to go on? Was to see something, to have remembered something, the glory of the Lord that they'd seen on the mountaintop. And they didn't find out of their own energy that they brought themselves there. It was a work of the Spirit of God using the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus himself brought them there. And so sometimes we find ourselves in a situation that we'd rather not be in.
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But the Lord brings us there and then as a result his people are fed later and that there is something of the glory that we can see. And so here we have this multitude here and in verse three it says there he sat with his disciples.
Did they remember later what they had heard? Did they remember later what they had seen? What a wonderful thing it is for us to sit in the presence of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, and to have the Word open in these meetings. But let us remember.
A little later on, and let us look back and see and take courage and desire to see a glimpse of the glory of the Lord Jesus, that we might be refreshed and that we might have courage to go on in a day of opposition and small things.
Interesting when Umm Isaac was referred to looking for Rebecca but she made that long trip across the desert but when she saw him she got down off the camel and bailed herself.
And we're Speaking of a day of small things. And you know, the Falls Church after the church is raptured is going to say I'm a queen. I am no widow. And she boasts herself. But the proper aspect of the assembly is it's waiting for the Lord has a view of that coming. Glory is to veil itself in the presence of the one that's coming. You referred to Luke chapter 2, Brother Steve and I just like to turn to Luke 24 to a similar passage because we often speak about faithfulness.
And what the consequences practically of this is Luke 20 or Matthew 24 and verse 44?
Therefore be also ready, for in such an hour as you think not, the Son of Man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom if Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat and due season? Blessed is that servant whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing fairly say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his good.
But, and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, he shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunken.
Well, there's two possibilities if there's faithfulness in going on and seeking to feed the people of God.
That's what faithfulness is, but if and what spurs us on to that is to see. But if we're trying to become something great, you gotta whip the people into shape.
And the, and if we're looking for the Kingdom here on this earth, man is going to go out and set to rid the world of evil. And, uh, it just may be it's just an unintelligent thing. We're going to try to, to become something great as the Church of God or as a nation or as anything. We're just going to take on an entirely wrong aspect. But faithfulness would seek to feed the people of God in view of the Lord's coming and just to go on for him and the time.
Terrain will come afterwards.
We go to bed.
01:10:39
Nsnoise.
God and loving Father, we thank thee for the encouragement of this portion that we've had before us. Each of us every day encounters needy souls and we often don't feel that we have much to offer. But we thank you for the encouragement, Lord Jesus, of knowing that we should take our eyes off of ourselves and our limitations and put them on the and Z thy grace efficiency to meet every need. Help us to be willing to offer what we have to encourage and to umm cause others to see the Lord Jesus we.
Ask you for the remainder of the meeting today for help, for blessing. In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Consider Your Ways
Unnamed Servants
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John 6:10-37
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God and loving Father, we thank You as I love to us. We thank You for the ministry of Thy precious Word that has been before us. Let me know about the hour before us, we ask, but Thou wilt guide and direct us.
And that we, we may be found waiting upon deals. You think, Lord Jesus, especially of Thy wondrous love to us. And we think of Thy sorrows without us, Go through on the cross for us, and we praise thee. As we think of these things, we think of the cost to the we think of Thy precious blood that has cleansed us and given us a place of nearness and blessing. And we thank Thee too, that Thy coming is very, very near. I could take place at any moment.
So we thank thee for the assurance that we have. That is a blessed hope that we have Lord Jesus, of being with thee on that day in in that coming day. So we ask for guidance now as we thank you for the meetings that we've had before us and look to the about the portion of thy word to that we might be found praising and honoring thee in this little time that is left. So we ask thy blessing, Lord Jesus and thy precious and in thy worthy name, Amen.
John, Chapter 6.
Verse 11 Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks and distributed to the disciples.
And the disciples to them that were set down, and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remained, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them together, and filled 12 baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above them that had eaten. And those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king.
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He departed again into a mountain, himself alone.
Verse 32.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you.
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you that true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
And said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you.
That ye also have seen me, and believe not all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. In him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will which has sent me, that of all which He hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of Him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him may have everlasting life, And I will raise him up at the last day. The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus the Son of Joseph?
Whose Father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven? Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
And I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, that, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, cometh to me. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your Father's that eat man in the wilderness, and are dead.
This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat their oven, not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give him is my flesh, which I will give.
For the life of the world the Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us?
His flesh to eat.
Hmm.
Well, it's quite a moment to think of the Lord of Glory, the Creator of all things, taking those loaves and giving thanks for them.
And I think of the.
How they all sat down.
In companies of 50, we read in another place and Mark tells us that the grass was green.
'Cause them to get into comfortable circumstances, to be quiet, think of an orderly scene, and then to think of the prayer that must have gone up the Thanksgiving.
And you read from in verse 23.
That this place had a very special mark to it when it says I'll be it. There came other boats from Tiberius nigh under the place.
Where they did to eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks. Not very often we look at a piece of real estate or a place and we associate a prayer that was uttered there. But.
When I was a young man who took a trip with a one of the brothers in the assembly of Pillar and and we came back from the trip and he dropped us off at our house and it was a well driller and he was standing there and that.
Cable was going up and down drilling and we got out of the car there and he said, you know, we ought to thank the Lord for the mercies that we experienced in this trip. And I thought, well, maybe we ought to get out of sight of this man. And he removed his hat and prayed right in front of this man as though he was didn't even count that he was there. He probably got a blessing from that prayer. But I could go right to the spot today where this wonderful prayer.
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Thanksgiving went up from this old pillar, thanking the Lord for the mercies of the trip.
I believe there's something that's touching in connection with giving of thanks. I remember being a child at the table, restless, and wow, I'd sure be glad when this prayer is over with so we can give thanks. And it wasn't particularly long, but it was just a matter of getting us out of the way so we could satisfy our hunger.
And we were visiting on a certain occasion in a home and children were sitting around and.
The father said we'll give thanks and he gave us sweet Thanksgiving for the food, and after he said Amen.
It was silent.
And afterward, we learned that the Father said to the children, you know, we're addressing the Lord, we're thanking him for the provisions on the table. We'd like for you to count 123 before you break the silence.
And I just thought that is wonderful that it's not a matter of getting it out of the way, but we're speaking to the Lord who has provided everything for us.
So the Spirit of God is pleased to record this in His Word.
Of the Lord giving thanks. It's a pattern, isn't it, that God has set before us here. Before we eat, we get nice. Before we take our food, we give thanks. Before we whatever we do, we give a God thanks for it. And I think that's a good pattern to remember. Sometimes we we get into a rush and we're getting them hungry and we want to go and grab something and you don't even always think to thank the Lord for it. But give me a thanks first.
Then we can enjoy what God has already given.
There's a spirit of things in the day and age that we live in, and it's an unthankful spirit.
And the in Colossians it says in chapter 3 in verse 17, whatsoever you do in Word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
I want to recount a little incident that took place in San Antonio as a little illustration of the grace and the kindness of God. I went there, did some business, and the man picked me up at the airport with his son. And, umm, we hadn't had our supper. So we went to a restaurant and ordered our meal. And I gave thanks quietly to myself, bowed my head, just gave thanks for my meal. And the man that I was with, his name is Ralph Marcantonio. And he dug in. He started to eat his meal.
And the little 88 year old lad, he sat there and he wouldn't eat. And I asked him what the problem was. I asked him if the food was the wrong order. Did you not order that meal? He said, yes, that's what I ordered. I, I said, well, is it cold? And he, well, he just wouldn't answer any of the questions. Finally his father leaned over and he's, he asked the boy a question and his son answered the question. And uh, the father said he won't eat unless we give thanks for the meal. Now he said, unless we say grace, grace.
And so I said, well, let's just thank the Lord together for this meal. So we gave thanks for the meal and then I asked the lad where he learned to give thanks for his meal. And, uh, I said, did you learn from your mother to give thanks to God for your meal? He said no.
I said, did you go to Sunday school? Did you learn about how to give thanks to God for the meal at Sunday school? He said no.
I finally, I said. They turned to his father. I said, Ralph, that you teach your son to give thanks for his food.
He hung his head as the tall man, he hung his head low and he said, no, I didn't teach him. He said ever since he was a little lad old enough to speak, he wouldn't eat his meal unless he gave thanks for it. And so no doubt a quickened soul, a young lad. But I said to him, you know, that's a normal thing to do.
To give thanks to God for your food, to give thanks to God for everything that you have. It's a normal thing. It's a that's what a believer ought to do. And so the Lord Jesus here in this chapter that we have did that which was perfectly acceptable to his God and Father and every aspect of his life perfectly fulfilled that which was according to the mind of God in perfect obedience and simplicity gave thanks for his meal. Well, would to God all the Lord's people were just in simplicity.
00:15:03
Bow in a public place and give thanks to the God of heaven for that which is provided for them.
Wonderful to see these examples, how practical they are in our lives. I'm thinking of my dear little granddaughter Sarita.
Uh, twenty months old.
He's been taught that you don't eat before you give thanks.
At that, at that age. So she'll sit there and put her hands on her head while they give thanks.
It's interesting to see that. So cute, but that's what she does.
As soon as they sit down at the table, put their hand on her hand. She wants to know what she's going to eat. Give thanks first.
Well, things have to be divided before they're multiplied, aren't they?
Think of the breaking up. I can hardly imagine taking a loaf in your hand and breaking it up and distributing. And it's still multiplying.
But that's God's principle, isn't it, to divide, to multiply. And so we're not going to sit here this afternoon and try to explain this. This is a miracle, God's power and of his grace and goodness. And as we read on, we're just amazed to think that that crowd of 5000, or more perhaps than they were filled, They weren't just polite, took a little bit so others could help themselves. They were hungry.
I think they were three days, weren't they? Without something to eat, you would be pretty desperate for food and to think of it.
12 baskets leftover. Do I read right?
Verse 12 Says when they were filled.
All that crowd, they were filled.
He said then rather up the fragments.
Remarkable when we think of that. Not only were they filled, but there was so much leftover.
There always is.
He gives the increase.
And in the new translation to the disciples is left out, it's just the Lord distributing. And so the disciples are brought in at first and the questions put to them, What are you going to do, feed this great crowd? But when it really comes down to it, it's the Lord that distributes. And so it always is. And the brothers reminded us of an old sister that would always ask if she missed the meeting, what did the Lord give you? Not who took part, but what did the Lord give you?
And so it's really all that we received truly for our souls that feeds us is from the Lord.
Fragments. Fragments are not inferior things, are they? It's part of the meal.
And you know, there's a lot of fragments that these general meetings, there are things that you take and you take home with you and then years later why they're giving out again. And there's a quote from Brother chapter Brown and some of those teachers that were such a health and the testimony. And so we want to value fragments. It's just a sentence or a thought or an expression.
But given out at the right time. It's food for the soul, isn't it?
Some of those old brethren. I think of Armstead Berry.
I can still remember clearly things he told us.
I couldn't repeat them out here, but I just remember and they were a prophet to my soul, prophet to me.
It says in the scripture in Proverbs that the slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting.
And so the fragments weren't going to gather themselves.
There was going to be energy required and spiritual energy really a picture of it here and so if they're worth going to be a benefit of that which the Lord had provided for his people. Then it was going to require energy and it was going to in spiritual things. There was going to be that slothfulness that would have to be laid aside and it would be done for the Lord. You know there's another thing that we need to bear in mind is that these.
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Dear ones, they had an appreciation for the food, for the bread.
They had an appreciation for the fish, but they really didn't have many of them appreciation for the provider of the fish and for the provider of those loaves. And so as we feed upon Christ and we enjoy something of the ministry that refreshes our hearts and just, uh, touches our affections for Christ, why it ought to be the giver of that food, the provider of that food that is the one that engages the affections of our hearts.
Here's a question asked in Psalm 78, verse 19.
When they tempted God in the wilderness, it says can God furnish a table in the wilderness? Well, you know loose gospel says at this place this feeding over 5000 took place in a desert place. Even though in our chapter it says there was much grass there. The Lord sought their comfort.
The fact that the Lord wrought that miracle should have called to their attention that this was God in their presence, furnishing a table in the wilderness for them. But they did not want the provider. Did they say, you know, the Lord didn't really need those five loaves and two fishes. He didn't need that to multiply. He could have done without what that boy had. But the Lord wants to use whatever little we can give him. Brethren, don't think that what you have is so little. The Lord can never use that. The Lord took that little and multiplied it.
If the Lord hadn't given thanks for that food, it never would have got past that little boy, would it?
I sometimes wondered, uh, especially when I'm traveling and I'm around, uh, I see Orthodox Jews, so-called Orthodox Jews with their, uh, skullcaps and their long sideburns and so on, and they're special dark clothing.
You know you're taught in Scripture that after the time of our distinct blessing is over.
Time that scripture refers to as the fullness of the Gentiles then the Lord is going to come as a deliverer and take away ungodliness from Jacob and bring blessing into his earthly people and we read in the Scriptures about this time when they go when when a godly remnant of Israel goes through such trial and and you wonder what will be their resources will they take up the word of God You know we have these four gospels that.
For, for centuries now, those of us that were saved out of the nations, uh, receive and enjoy as the word of God, whereas to a Jew, he would not consider them the word of God. And I just wonder with the fact that it's 12UH-12 baskets with the, with the, with the fragments, that if it doesn't maybe point to that coming time when, you know, the Lord does so much in one action. And, uh, he's fed our souls and the soul souls of the Saints for hundreds and hundreds of years now.
And, uh, that same Jesus will come again and feed their souls. And how about, you know, want to be speculative about it? But I just wondered, will they, will they pick up after we're gone, books of ministry that we've left behind, expositions of scripture? Umm, will they take up the A after the, if they receive the testimony as to what happened to all of us when the Lord comes and takes us? Will they, uh, will that lend some validity to what we have in our lap today?
I wonder.
If these, these passages in Matthew and and Luke that refer to that special time won't be taken up and received in faith by, uh, by God's earthly people in that day.
Nothing's going to be lost.
Maybe one verse to, uh, confirm that would be Revelation 12.
17.
The dragon was wroth with the woman picture of Israel, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Well, we come to verse 14 then those men when they had seen a miracle that Jesus did, said this is of a truth, that prophet that should come into the world.
00:25:01
Well, we realized that they were somewhat affected by what they had just experienced.
And, uh, as it was mentioned earlier that men are always interested in a Kingdom that, uh, that, uh, you can have all you want to eat and don't have to work that, uh, that gets, uh, your attention quite quickly.
And to use the Lord as a welfare situation. And that's.
About where their thoughts were elevated to. But then they get into a democratic fever, don't they? And now they wanna make him a king. We sit here this afternoon and say, well, that's ridiculous to make a king who is already a king born a king into this world.
But we see man by nature that he's bankrupt, cannot enter into the the spiritual side of things without the Spirit of God doing a work in their souls.
So they were going to he perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king. And he departed again into a mountain, himself alone.
Now we read in the other gospels that when this time arrived, the Lord.
Had his disciples get into the boat.
Get away from the influence of this fever stricken crowd to force him to annoy him to be a king.
I wonder, brethren, when democratic things arise, do we have a boat to get into, to move out from the influence of it? You know, our hearts by nature are democratic. Don't take much to discover that when our rights are being challenged.
Might it be ever so small? We're right there to remind them, look this, I have this right.
That we learn as we go on in our Christian pathway that.
Democratic way of things is a disaster and a loss.
And I believe that God, in His wisdom, allows things to cross our pathway to help us to realize how serious a matter it is to be taken up.
With our thoughts and put God's thoughts secondary.
It's serious.
And what will bring man into subjection is learning Nebuchadnezzar. That's his thought in Daniel chapter 4. And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes under the heavens.
And my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His Kingdom from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth, is reputed as nothing, and He doeth according to His will in the army of the heavens.
And among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand. For say, what doest thou?
Nebuchadnezzar, Gentile powers and the person of Nebuchadnezzar had to learn that the Jews typically, and Job had to learn that that he doeth as it pleaseth him. And a great deal of our difficulty is really with the sovereign.
In a practical way is arguing with God and what he has the right to do. It's an oxymoron. It's a contradiction of terms to say to make somebody a king by force. He's either sovereign or he is not.
James Daniel, the Son of Man, comes before the Ancient of Days, and he received the Kingdom from him. The Lord had taken the Kingdom from these ones. It would have still just been a Kingdom of man like Saul's or like those beasts and Daniel that come up out of the sea, out of the turmoil and confusion and the nation's roundabouts in this world. It would have been nothing. But the Kingdom of that he receives is from the Ancient of Days, and it's going to fill the whole earth.
It's not going to be left to other men. It's not going to pass. In the other hand, he's going to discharge it perfectly for God's glory, but he wouldn't take it from men. And there's a principle here. There's a thought that this world is going to be any better and better by Christianity.
And then it will be acceptable and to offer it to the Lord, as it were, from the efforts of man. But there's going to be nothing produced by the flesh in this world, nothing in the efforts or energy of man. The Lord Jesus is going to bring in the Kingdom himself. He's going to receive it from God, from the ancient of Days.
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Absolute chapter 19 and verse 12. He said therefore a certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom, and to return. He was going to receive it.
Not take it. And it was going to be given to him of the Father. And I was thinking too of the comments that were made earlier. And James it says in verse chapter one and verse 19. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to rock. For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. And so we find in the democratic principle of men, that the wrath of men is evident. And umm, the power, the desire to overturn 1 government and take another one.
And thinking that the will of man will bring benefit to man. And it's not so. And so in spiritual things, it's not the wrath of man. And the wrath of man is often connected with the will of man. And so we could read this. For the will of man worketh not the righteousness of God. And so when the flesh rises up and wroth, and the will is exercised, it does not produce fruit for God. What a blessed, blessed man we have to look to that wouldn't.
Take the Kingdom, he would receive it from his father.
Joy that thought himself alone, he's up in the mountain himself alone. He wasn't up there wishing he could come down and be popular with the people. That was not in his heart. And so we two children going to school and we get out and we get challenges and and we may have opportunity for a promotion and have some temporary value to it.
Maybe, maybe not. And we see that it's going to cost us spiritually. And so we say, well, I'm not going to do it. But is everything totally erased from our heart that we're not wishing that well? Maybe we should have taken this promotion after all.
The Lord himself alone, but you know he was up there.
Praying and looking at his disciples. We didn't read it, but he's looking at his disciples that are in the storm rolling and toiling.
And, you know, sometimes it costs us, does it not, to get into the boat where we're going to give up our rights.
And we think we're alone. And yet the Lord is hard as sympathy was with them.
And he would expend the energy to come down and walk on that water and to go out to be with them.
What an experience. And you know, when they looked, they thought they were seeing an apparition.
They could say fear not, it is I.
Whenever you have a picture of someone to give an accurate picture once faster won't say more. Because I asked brother in the meeting with four children, uh, could you, if I was going to a far away country, could you give me a picture of your father? And each one of them four did exactly what I expected. To them. They were very different pictures, but in together they formed a picture. And if I told you the four pictures, you guessed immediately who it was.
But we see here the Lord went up into a mountain alone to pray, and he said to Nicodemus, even the Son of man, which is in heaven, he was standing before Nicodemus, but he was up there too. And so we have another picture of the Lord asleep in the boat.
And he's gone up into the mountain to pray for us. He's interceding for us. He's aware of what we're going on. But in another instance, he was asleep in the boat. And there are two terms in Scripture for sleep. One describes the condition of our soul and one describes the condition of our body. And whenever that sleep of the body is used, it's it's used in an analogy of death. The bodies of the Saints that slept arose and walked about in Jerusalem.
And so we refer to the one that we lay in the grave. We refer to their body as being asleep. They are absent from the body and present with the Lord, but were warned in First Thessalonians 5. Let us not sleep as others that sleep in the night, that we there is no sleep of the soul in eternity, but there is in time, and we can be as it were. They used that old railroad term, asleep at the switch.
But there is a time when we should be asleep in the boat, and the Lord is describing the condition of his soul when he was asleep in the boat, and there are many things.
In the storm of life that we should be asleep about, believers start worrying about Y2K or this or that or the other thing. And umm, it's not that we're to be insensitive to the dangers of what are going on around us. The world is terrified by terrorism and so on. But there is a secret to realize that there is one that's gone up into a mountain to pray for us. And he's also with us while I'm with you, even unto the end of the age. And, and when he's asleep, we would do well asleep too.
00:35:31
And some get almost upset when these panics come upon the Saints. And I think they'll come with increasing, uh, frequency, you know, about like it did with this Y2K business panic come upon the Saints almost as if you're not listening to the voice of God in this panic. And the Lord was asleep in the boat. So here we haven't gone up into a mountain himself alone and that he's aware of what is going on. He's in the place of power. And we had that in Colossians is that.
He's now head over all things to the church and he's in control right now of all the circumstances of your life and of mine, our health.
Our wealth, the politics of this govern, the world governments and so on. And he's put us in exactly the right situation so that we can, uh, learn the lessons that we have to learn here. And we often resist that and think, well, if I could change things in this world.
Uh, that umm, we would be better off. But that's not true. That is true.
The the if the servant is free, he can use it for the Lord, and that's a happy thing if a person is released from *******. But the thought is really resisting what is in the world because he has gone up into the place of power and authority where he sees everything.
Lovely dispensational picture, isn't it? The Lord's on high has a great high priest, and he's sitting there even though he sees that little remnant going through what would typify the the great tribulation toiling. But there's a version, Psalm 110, verse three, that says thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. And so it says right here that then they willingly received him into the ship. They will gladly receive the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes back again.
That little, uh, remnant will ha find their difficulties all over with and uh, they can enter into peace and joy. It says immediately the ship was at the land whither they went. Uh, the Lord will come in on their behalf and the tribulation will, will end when they acknowledge the Lord as their Messiah and uh, receive him. I mean, you get that 53rd chapter of Isaiah's, their national theme of repentance. You know what they, this was him who were rejected. He was our king, you know.
Here they wanted to make him king, given the crown without the cross. But that was not to be. He had to go to the cross first before receiving the crown. They would have gladly received him right then and there to deliver them from the Roman yoke of ******* to provide food every time they were hungry, you know, make miracles. But in their sinful state, God could not do that.
Our brother Norm bought this thought out to us, I believe, and it's just exemplified here in this verse is that as long as their wills were at work, they were gonna toil. But when they willingly received them into the boat, there was an immediate answer to it.
And oftentimes we'll struggle and struggle and struggle with the situation and the reason that our wills are at work.
And that's what I believe our brother was referring to when he said the shortcut. We make a long call for ourselves sometimes just by the sticking by our guns and sticking by our own will and so on, instead of yielding to the Lord. And we see what the end of the pathway is. But the mind of the Lord is, and it's quickly it will be true too, of Israel. They're fighting for that nation, they're fighting for that nation and so on. And my what trouble they've caused in the world.
Uh, as a result of it. But when they finally yield to the Lord, the nation is going to be born in a day.
And they're going to discover that, uh, what a strange thing you get in the last chapter of Isaiah that, uh, that the child is going to be born. And they're going to discover that the labor pains took place 2000 years, that the labor pains came after the birth of the child, that the child was already born 2000 years before.
Who's ever heard of such a thing? But what was it? It's the wills at work. Jacob, the time of Jacob's trouble. He wanted the blessing.
But he struggled for it. But the time of Jacob's trouble isn't over yet, because he's struggling to get his own way. And it's true with you and me, too.
00:40:03
About 15 or 20 years ago, I was at a conference in in the open meeting a, uh, young, youngish brother.
Got up on the platform and I was sitting right where Brother Boulard is, real close there. And I remember looking up and I, I can't remember what was going on in the world at that time. But he painted such a bleak picture of what was going all around that I could just feel myself like a balloon getting more anxious as he, as he laid all this out, just going. And it didn't feel, feel very good. And not that, not that.
Profitable ministry always makes you feel good but.
Right after he got down, an older brother got up and he turned without comment. He turned to Psalm 11.
And he started to read.
Was Adrian Rocha believed that was the brother, second brother, and the Lord put I my trust. How say ye to my soul flee as a bird to your mountain.
And it was just like a pin was put in that.
The balloon of anxiety and it just went right down and I felt uh.
That's right. And then he kept reading. For lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Now that verse is often quoted and and people stop right there, and they shouldn't stop right there. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes behold, his eyelids try the children of men, and so on.
Well, no one has driven nor will drive the Lord out of His holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven.
He abides in a place that is unassailable, and we're with Him. So the troubles may come, but I don't believe it would ever be the Lord's mind or the Shepherd's voice for us to get so rattled by Y2K or whatever the next thing that's coming will be.
And cause us to flee as a bird to any mountain. When I was a little boy, my father used to take me to work in the summer and, uh, sometimes he'd take me in and he'd kind of have to do stuff and leave me standing there and.
Sometimes these big people would come up and say, you know, who are you? And it used to kind of intimidate me. And my answer was usually I look for my dad and I say I'm with him. And uh, then they joke. It scared me like that, but that's really the way we are as believers. We can be simple about some things. When you say I'm with him and, uh, the Lord's stable and secure position in the glory, his grasp over all things in heaven and earth should be enough for us. We're with him.
You may take away all kinds of things out of our life that we have now or that we do now, but that'll be the right thing for us if he does that.
Then his holy temple beholds all things, and we can say all is well if we bear that in mind.
This is a picture of our trials and difficulties, isn't it? Verse 18. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that blows.
There's a wind that's blowing and it goes every which way. Can't tell whether it's West or east. It's just a blowing wind. So when they had verse 19, they had rode about 5 and 20 or 30 furlongs. They they saw Jesus walking on the sea.
And.
Drawing nigh under the ship. And they were afraid. They were afraid. Yet here was the Lord, and he was walking on the water, walking on the sea toward the ship. And what a marvelous, precious thing that is, to know that even though we're in a trial, great trials too sometimes, yet we look out and we see the Lord walking in the sea. All the trials meant nothing to him. He was going to help them.
So it's with us too, isn't it, To know that all the difficulties and trials we have, they will come to an end?
But what He went through we will never never fathom. We will never fathom the sorrow and the suffering that the blessed Lord went through.
All the suffering on the ears, the sorrow that they heaped upon him.
And why?
Because he was a godly man.
00:45:01
And his all this was done.
Not because of his person in that sense, but because of our sins. That's a marvelous thing. Just think about that.
Marvelous. I think he knew all about their troubles. He saw them in the sea. He saw them traveling, uh, in there.
And he said to them.
They uh, but, he said.
He said unto them, It is I be not afraid what words these are. These are company words. It is I you know.
We don't need to fear. We we our fear should be when we displease the Lord. That's the fear we should have.
Our brother suggested that we move ahead in the chapter.
Umm was not to the 32nd 1St, but I was just thinking of this, you know, Mr. Darby made a statement. The moment we try to be a testimony, we cease to be one. And they noticed the conditions under which they got into the boat and they noticed who was with them in the boat. And people are watching and they noticed these things. And uh, the disciples weren't conscious of that, but the people were knowledgeable about the fact.
But the Lord was with him in the boat when they got to the other side. And the Lord we may not, we may become self occupied, but.
The Lord really the, the, the world is taking note of, uh, what is going on?
As this portion goes on, we find the people.
Seem so close to blessing and and yet so far.
And it's ever and always true, as it says in first Corinthians 2 verse 14, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. And so he gets the the conversation of of these that the problem was they had no faith.
Faith was not operative.
And you can get around people that seem to talk so reasonable and seem like they're searching for something. And when the test of faith comes in, they don't have any faith.
But the Lord, he patiently deals with them. You just wonder as time went on, as some of these might have taken the word of God serious that they heard realized that faith acrostic of faith is forsaking all I take him. I love that. That's really the essence of faith.
And so the Lord deals patiently.
But we see this conversation going on until finally the test comes. Says they walked with him no more. Faith was not there.
You see this patience in the life of the Lord here. He was born, and Herod called the scribes to ask where he should be born. They could turn to the Word of God and even point to the very place where he should be born and direct the wise men to go there. And then I think of him as a boy there sitting in the temple, asking the scribes questions, the doctors of the law questions, and and they listen to his answers.
But a respectful boy do not think that he realized that perhaps some of these ones were the very ones that had directed Herod to to find and slay those children.
But then you come to the book of Acts that they marvel at how many of these ones became obedient to the faith.
And so there is not always an immediate work, but there was the patience that you described there, because if there was not going to be a work of God, there would be no work of work at all.
And so we're looking to cause the fruit to to bolt and we're going to ruin it. It's just going to be the product of our our own laborers and really no fruit for God. But if there's just a patient setting before the truth of God and the faithfulness as there was with these ones, and you know, with some, it was going to bear fruit. Many of them came to the obedience of faith.
00:50:02
You see what the Lord Jesus in verse 37 that he has that patience of faith, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me and he was going to wait for it, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
For I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. I'd just like to refer to three scriptures, uh, in connection with the will of the Lord. It says in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 9.
When he came into the world, it says, lo, I come to do thy will, O God, well, you and I came into the world. We're doing our own wills, far from God, without God, without hope in this world, while the Lord Jesus came into this world and he came doing the Father's will. What a blessed thing it is. But then we find in Umm John's Gospel chapter 8 and verse 29, just a couple of chapters over, he says, I do always those things that please him.
And so the entire pathway of our blessed Savior.
He did the Father's will well. What a blessed privilege it is for us to receive Christ as Savior.
And then to have the capacity to do those things that please him, but only the Lord Jesus came into this world pleasing the Father. And so all through that course he did those things that please him. And then if you turn back to Luke's gospel chapter 22, it says in verse 42.
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will but thine be done. And so he left this scene doing the Father's will. What a privilege it is for us to walk in some measure.
In obedience to His will, and then leave this scene doing His will too. But we have one who perfectly came in doing the Father's will, perfectly live the Father's will, and left this scene doing his Father's will.
And he's going to come back again, doing his father's will.
So there's a verse that's very difficult to understand if we don't understand what our brother Ron was speaking about. Faith. He had to say prophetically. I've labored in vain. I've spent my strength for naughty.
Now, I don't think there's anybody in this room. I don't know whether it's whether it's delivering milk or painting houses or building houses that can look better, bridges. I don't think there's anyone who can look back and not think of some job, something that they could have done better in that job. That was not true of the Lord. He had done in a natural way everything in his dealings with people. There's nobody we've ever spoken to or handed a track to.
Or tried to help that we couldn't look back and see some fault in the way in which we did it.
The Lord could not say that, and yet He still had to say, I have labored in vain, I have strength, spent my strength for not everyone that He healed.
Later died, everyone that he rose from the dead, raised from the dead, later died that did not produce that fruit. What produced fruit was faith towards God and it is the only thing that is going to produce fruit in our lives.
And anyone else's life is in the simple obedience of faith.
And we may finagle and and that's Jacobs. That's Jacob's struggle, is that he's gonna finally, after all those thousands of years, realize that he's in simply believing what the word of God says.
And in vowing to that, and what is the struggle of us when we get confused or in a dilemma as we come back and we say, well, it's just, is it not just as our Father's prophet, as the prophet spake unto our fathers. That's exactly what the word of God says.
And so we're we're well, just as we single quickly teach me to return just to come back, return unto thy rest, O my soul is just how did we get saved an anxious soul. We suddenly came to the realization that it's not our feelings. It's not how how we said the words somebody said do it again. If you think it's if you dose your salvation, that's not a good idea because it's not in how you said the words. It's where your faith rests. Did you believe the word of God?
And that's the Saints rest and it's God's rest. And again, as I say reverently that naturally speaking that feeding these this 5000 did not produce a work of God in their soul. Umm it other than for them to simply believe what God had said and to to trust the word of God.
Is the gospel going out today that just preaches Christ is a cure for all our you know woes and trials and the difficulties we've gotten ourselves into through sin our preachers. Christianity is kind of a self help program to.
00:55:14
To help you know, how to get along in life and those kind of things and, and the end result of that kind of a gospel, which is no gospel at all is, is, uh, verse 30. They said, therefore to them, what signs show us thousand that we may see and believe. What dost thou work again, that thought of faith. There was really no faith and the Lord goes through this crowd and he was winnowing out what's real and he's just blowing away the chat and unlike any other.
Man in this world, you know, that was drawing disciples after himself. He he gladly taken the flattery. He put up with everything that wasn't real just to swell the ranks. But the Lord doesn't do that. He winnows out everything that's not real that he might have that which is of faith, that which have been given to him of the Father. And so they come in a pretense like curiosity seekers. How did you get here? And he says he didn't come.
Because you saw the miracles, he exposes their hearts. He just want temporal blessing. He just want to get off easy in this life. You just want to use me for something for your own game. And they say, well, just show us the trick. Just show us how you did that with the loaves and we don't need you anyways. How can show us how we can work the works of God? He says this is the work of God, faith to believe, believe.
Well, you feed us for the next 40 years like Moses fed them in the wilderness. Then we'll talk about faith. And so the gospel of self help and those kind of things results in this in the soul. When you, when, when all my problems are cured, then I'll put my trust in the Lord Jesus, Then I'll believe you Wait till everything's fixed up. Just that's what you're telling me. It's going to be all fixed up. When it is, then I'll believe and we'll talk about believing. It comes to nothing.
I remember Walla Walla a few years ago they had Hebrews 11 and the question was asked why is it you don't find the wilderness journey and all that account of faith. Imagine shoes not wearing out for 40 years because it was as a result of what our brother Norm said really that 40 years was a result of unbelief and the Lord in his mercy Co comes in for us, but it was really a result of unbelief. But faith would really have a slay hold on what God has said.
And I.
Clear up this question about signs because many perhaps hear about these phenomenal sign gifts like healings and tongues and so on and it's gonna help to me to see and and the contradiction. Well, the Lord gave the miracles and the Lord seems to chastise them for coming because of the miracles. The signs were really to show when God was starting something new, what was in his heart. He said Philip said show us the Father and he said he that hath seen me hath seen the father.
Under the law, the law was a very simple principle. Do this and you get that.
They had the evidence of that everywhere. The law said if they followed the law, that none of these diseases would come upon them. Well, the lame and the dying and the sick, the blind, were all evidence that they had not kept the law. The law came looking for something. But what did these signs show to the to them as the Lord did these signs and miracles? It showed the grace that was in the heart of God, that God was going to bless man according not according to what?
To reward them for the good that they had done, but to act towards them according to the goodness that was in the heart of God. That is great. And so there was a sign when the church was started.
Umm, there was signs to show that God was starting something completely new. And I've, I've used this illustration, you see some bulldozers busy in a field and you don't know whether they're building a shopping center or what they're building. And then a sign goes up on the properties.
So that, uh, you know, now what they're building there. When you come back in 40 years and you see houses there and, and playgrounds and schools and so on. And you say, well, I need to sign to know what they're building there. No, you know what's been built. We know that, uh, the Lord has formed a church out of many nationalities, out of all nationalities and out of young and old were evidence that the church is not just a thing for old people, but there's young and, and old and all together.
That we don't need a sign for those things. And so, but there was a sign in the beginning to see what was in the purposes of God. And so these signs were to indicate they were not to prove anything to anybody. Again, as I said, if the police officer stops you with his lights flashing, don't ask him for proof that he's a real police officer, because you'll find out. He'll put a real set of handcuffs on you and take you to real jail. And if man demands proofs of God, it shows that he's entirely in a wrong relationship to God.
01:00:24
God has a right to demand proof of us, not the other way around.
It's a delightful thing to think of on the day of Pentecost that there were 3000 saved and a few days later, 5000 came in and then they were added daily to the church, such as should be saved. And when the Lord told his disciples and his re, uh, connection with his resurrection, if they were to go to Galilee, weren't they? And he would meet them there in a mountain. I thought, you know, that's very interesting. Why is this going to Galilee? But that was really the heart of.
His field of service. And so in Matthew 5, we get that crowd that has gathered around them and he they hear the Sermon on the Mount. And you know, that wasn't given in vain. There were souls there that that the Father had his eye on them, if I could say that. And then in the end, in Matthew, they were to go back to that mountain. I don't know if it's the same one, but I enjoy thinking that it was where the Sermon on the Mount.
Was given there to see the fruit of his laborers, though outwardly it looked like he had labored in vain. And so in verse 37 all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Well, I never realized, or I should say one day after I was saved, that I realized that I had to do with the Father before I did the Son as my Savior.
And it was such a thrill to my heart to realize that at a certain time in my life that it was the Father that brought me to the Lord Jesus as a part of His love gift to His Son.
And that everyone that has been brought in on that basis will never experience rejection. For all that the Father umm giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh me I will in no wise cast out. Could we be any safer than that? And to think that when the bride is complete, that if one member was missing of that bride, his heart could not be satisfied.
We can be satisfied with a little less than what we were expecting or wanted, but not one will be missing in glory. And so there's no slip, should we say, between the Father's love gift to the Son and his work of redemption for us. How wonderful that is when we think of going back to the earlier, uh, part of the, well, it's, uh, fi chapter 5 in, uh, in John.
And verse. I won't read all the verses here, but in verse 40.
And ye will not come to me.
Will not come. We will not come of our own volition.
Hard to conceive that I know in my own case what it was. We'll uh, you will not come to me that you might have life.
And then over here, that verse you quoted.
Him that cometh to me fell in no wise cast out. God even gives us credit for coming. We didn't come. He sought us out. He searched us out. It was a gift of the fathers that gave brought us to him. So how wonderful when you think of all that we had nothing to do with our eternal salvation. Absolutely nothing. And we'll never make any claims to it. When we get home to glory, we'll never say, well, I did this or I did never, never. That would be all right.
I was uh, with a brother and a woman came into his shop looking quite distressed and.
So he spoke to her a bit about the Lord, and it turned out she was a real believer. And he asked the source of her distress and she said, well, I'm married to a man. And he said, ah, don't ever think I'm going to get saved because I'm never, ever going to get saved.
Well, God had other plans. The man's sake got saved.
And so as far as his own will was concerned, he stated flatly said don't expect me ever to get saved because I'm not going to. But I just, I think too, there's something that's helpful to us about in this 37th verse.
01:05:14
Umm, a young brother came to our meeting and he stood up and he said, what? Perhaps every young brother that's ever been asked to take the gospel, he felt the panic of being asked to take the gospel and scratching his head and saying, what should I speak about? And he toiled and wrestled over this all week. And I think that's gone through the heart of everyone that's ever been asked to take the gospel. But the gospel is really preaching what is in the heart of God, and it really exposes what is in the heart of man.
Now you may take up that and you can find it in the book of Genesis and you can find it in the Book of Revelation, but the preaching of the gospel is really what is in the heart of God towards man.
And what his Son has done. The world has wrong thoughts about themselves and wrong thoughts about God. They think God is against them.
A moment that something goes wrong, somebody stands and I don't want to be profane. The first thing they say of car accident, put their hands to their mouth and they say, Oh my God. And they they think that God has had something to do with this or something. Even insurance police talk about acts of God. They have wrong thoughts about God. They think they're getting something. They don't deserve that. They think that man is basically good and if you put them under right conditions, they'll bring out the good that is in them and all of these things. But the preaching of the gospel is really to expose to man what is in the heart of God.
Towards man and it really shows what the wretchedness that is in the heart of man.
And then what the answer of Jesus is to that and it took that thief. You know that those two malefactors railed on the Lord there in Matthew's Gospel and one of them came to himself in the face of the Lord Jesus. And he said, Remember Me acknowledging that he was Lord when thou comest into thy Kingdom. He he he had thought he wanted. He said they were crying save thyself and us. And man wants to be saved so that he could go right on with his life ascending. If those people were still alive in those twin towers today. Do you think many of them?
Would be doing anything different than they had been doing all of their lives. Not one bit. But one man is brought to face to face with the Lord. They realized that the Lord dismanteth on nothing amiss. That this man was for their blessing and for their good. That's what the gospel is.
And you'll find it whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament illustrations of its stories of it. And you can use those to preach that and, uh, preach those facts because man is ignorant of what is in the heart of God and ignorant is what is in his own heart.
This chapter began with the multitude being fed by the Lord, and there is no more common expression of fellowship in this world than to sit down at a meal with someone it's known the world over. It's an expression of communion. And so the the miracle performed and the pursuit of these ones without faith is all the backdrop for what comes later in the chapter as we sing in that little hymn.
Nothing that's good have we? Nothing apart from Thee, Jesus our Lord. If there's going to be any blessing, the disciples had to learn that it was from the Lord. They had to turn to Him to look for that multitude to be fed, though He deigned to use the little resources of his people.
It was from him. There is no basis for communion.
Other than the death and the shedding of the precious blood of Christ in Calvary's cross.
And the eternal life that God can give to the soul based on that work.
Nothing apart from Him. They said we'd like to work the works of God. Without you it is impossible. Nothing.
That's good. Have weighed nothing apart from the Jesus our Lord.
I don't feel that.
That's why the Holy Spirit in the very last book before we get to revelation.
Says keep yourselves in the love of God, keep yourselves. Each one of us has to keep that in our hearts.
We as brethren can encourage one another, we can help one another, but we have to each one, and this particularly for the young ones, to keep yourselves in the love of God. That has to be utmost.
Striving in each one of our hearts as we go through the scene, we have to keep ourselves.
The Lord is always on that path, always on that pathway, and we to walk with Him.
01:10:03
When we get off the path, he stays on the path. He wants us to come back. Come on to me, says all ye that labor in a heavy laden and I will give you rest. We have to get back on the path with him. He's always there. So it's.
It's admonition to us each and every day in the reading of the Word and.
Going to the throne of grace on our knees. Keep yourselves in the love of God.
And when we're in that love, When we're in that love and reading about it and exercising it in our hearts every day.
Is he gonna? Is he gonna reject us? No.
He says, lo, I am with you always, even at the end of the world. That's what he told his his 12 and he's he's told us, I will never leave thee nor forsake me.
But a precious promise we have precious promise, and I and have often thought of three verses down from what he told me in the book of Hebrews. Is Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever?
He's always going to be with us, but we have to keep ourselves. We have to keep ourselves in the love of God.
Every day as we travel this scene and young folks, ensure you have that love of God in your heart, expressed to His precious Son that He gave for you.
Singh.
I'm sorry.
254 I just read these words. Death and judgment are behind us.
Grace and glory are before.
All of billows, roll o'er Jesus.
There they spent their utmost power.
2:54.
Death and judgment.
On the beginning of the day.
Lot more.
Nsnoise.
Jesus.
Christ.
And all the hands in the heart of my heart.
The Inn
Gospel—Robert Boulard
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'd like to welcome everyone to the Gospel meeting tonight. It's the gospel of the grace and the kindness of our God. It's a wonderful thing. It's the only news that this world has that's worth telling. The grace and the kindness and the mercy of the holy God. I'd like to sing #14 on the hymn sheet here.
This little song asks some questions, and these questions need to be answered in the presence of God. And you may think it light to come and to sing little songs like this, but God is going to require an answer. Each one of us, young and old. Have you been to Jesus? Every one of us is going to bow the knee. What a blessed privilege it is for us in this world to bow the knee and to bow the heart.
In the presence of a holy God.
#14.
Let's bow our heads and ask the Lord's blessing in our meeting, our loving God, our Father. Those of us that know Thee, Savior, Lord Jesus cannot, can just address our God as Father. And we would pray tonight for anyone here in this room that knows not the Lord Jesus as Savior that has never had their sins washed away in the blood of the Lamb.
We pray our God that thou hast worked by thy Spirit and thy word might have free course and be glorified, that there might be something for Satan Sinner like tonight, that there might be that fruit for glory, if there's anyone here not saved, lost, without God, without hope in this world. We pray that thou is work by thy Spirit and bring them to the conviction of their sin before thee, and then to see.
The love of Savior, the love and the kindness and the grace of the holy God, we just ask thee for thy blessing and command the hour to thee in the precious and the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Well, I'd like to turn tonight to Luke's Gospel chapter 10 and begin there. Luke's Gospel chapter 10. We'll read from verse 25 down to.
Verse 37.
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up.
And tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he said unto him, What is written in the law? How readest thou?
00:05:07
And he answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and my neighbors thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered, right this dew, and thou shalt live. But he willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
And Jesus, answering, said a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves.
Which stripped him of his raiment and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way. And when he saw him he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him he had compassion on him, and he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine.
And set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on the Morrow when he departed, he took out 2 Pence and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee.
Which now of these three thinkest thou was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves?
And he said, he that showed mercy on him, then said Jesus unto him, Go and do thou likewise.
Well, dear friends, tonight God has a message for each one of us.
And here he's still the Lord Jesus. The Son of God told a story, and he said that a man stood up before him. The Spirit of God records this, that it was a certain lawyer. His name is known. It's not mentioned here. And in the Scriptures, oftentimes the name of an individual is mentioned if it's one of faith, because it's important to the Lord.
And the name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now there are those we heard this afternoon that are hidden servants.
And the name isn't mentioned.
But here this man with an ungodly man, and he stood up in the front.
Of this creator.
Provocative.
Seeking to pick an argument.
And says tempting him, tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
I want to ask you, dear friends tonight, is there anyone here that's coming to this room with a provocative attitude?
To come into the presence of God, the creator God, and to question his authority and to question the destiny of your eternal soul and ask foolish questions in the presence of a holy God. Or was there anyone here that would do that? Oh, the Lord Jesus was patient. Here we have the patience of the Christ exhibited. You and I might have not answered the same way, but the grace and the kindness of a loving Savior.
He gives this man an answer, and God wants to answer your soul's need tonight. You need a savior. You need to have your sins forgiven. You need to have that life restored. This little story that the Lord Jesus told, He says that a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
And you know, Jerusalem was that place where God had chosen the place's name among his people and in that place of privilege and blessing where he desired to bless his people. And we live in a scene that we've been reading of this afternoon that wants the blessing of the creation and the Creator, but without the Creator, without the Son of God. And dear friend, tonight, there's only one source of blessing for your soul and for mine. In this scene, whether saved or lost, there's only one source of blessing. It's the heart of God himself and because of the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
Why? There's mercy, there's blessing that flows from that cross and from the blood that was shed from the Son of God. Oh, we thank God that He could stay there on the cross. It is finished. Oh, He could die there in the darkness. He could. I shouldn't say He died in the darkness, but He suffered in the darkness when the sun hit her light. And every stroke of judgment was laid upon that Savior for my sins.
In those dark hours, oh, if you'll have the Lord Jesus as Savior and acknowledge your need.
He delight to bless and to save your soul this evening. While we think of here, the Lord Jesus, I don't want to spend a lot of time on this particular portion. I'd like to look at some other portions in which the inn is mentioned. But it says here that the Lord Jesus, he told this story. The man went from Jerusalem, a place of blessing, a place where the Lord was, and he went to Jericho. And the name Jericho means a constant pleasant odor.
00:10:29
And you know, this world, their friends, has a constant pleasant odor to the flesh.
But the sin stinks in God's sight. Oh, he sit stinks. He smells it.
Oh, he can speak Isaiah chapter one and say the head is full of bruises and wounds and putrefying sores.
Sin stinks in the presence of God, and your sin stinks.
Before God. And So what is pleasant to the flesh, what is pleasant to this world is not pleasant to a holy God. And so your sin, dear friends, if there's anyone here in this, in this room that doesn't know the Lord Jesus as Savior, and you sit in your seat with the sins of a life lived without God, it stinks in the presence of God.
And what appeals to man is hateful to God. Well, it says that this man, he fell among thieves. You know, there's two words. They're mentioned in John's Gospel, chapter 10. It says thieves and robbers there. And this word, actually, I believe Mr. Darby translates it, robbers. And a thief comes at night and he takes something that nobody's looking for, looking at something that's valuable. But he comes in the night and he stealthily takes it. He removes it.
He takes something that doesn't belong to him and he removes it from the rightful owner.
But the robber plunders in broad daylight. He plunders what isn't his. He breaks through and destroys and takes what he wants. And dear friend, tonight God gives us this little picture. Your life is precious. Your soul is precious. There's only one person that's created like you. God desired to enjoy your company. And what Satan has done is plunder God's creation.
And destroy and steal what wasn't his. And you know, God says the Lord Jesus that he restored that which he took not away. And so he would delight this evening to save your precious soul and to bring you into the knowledge of sins forgiven tonight. And so this man, this picture is given to us, to the Lord Jesus. He says it was this man was stripped of his raiment. And so we're all naked.
In our sins before a holy God, make no mistake of it.
There's not one person in this room that God can't look into the heart and know what's there. It's all naked and opened unto him with whom we have to do. And so this man had no robe.
And you have no covering, dear friend, if you're lost in your sins. No, no covering before God. And So what is it that would cover us all? The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin. O God would desire that you would have a robe of righteousness before him instead of that raiment stained with sin.
Well, we find here that he was wounded.
Dear friends, this tragedy has come into this world.
Tragedy and sorrow and sin.
Men and women broken with the effects of sin, wounded, and what God desires to do, what the Lord Jesus would delight for you this evening, is to heal that wound. To heal what sin has brought into God's creation and in the grace and the kindness of God to come in through His Son that there might be that healing. If you turn to Isaiah chapter 53.
You find there, I'm not gonna be able to quote it, so I'm gonna read it.
It says in verse five of Isaiah 53 He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.
Oh, we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. Dear friend, tonight we all entered this world wanting our own way and doing our own will.
00:15:06
And it has resulted in a wound that sin has brought. But God in his love wouldn't delight that we wouldn't go through this world wounded and half dead. But he desired, because of the work of the Lord Jesus and the faithfulness of that One who He sent from His bosom into this world. He would delight to heal and to restore that which he took not away.
And so if you have a wounded heart tonight.
You've been wounded by sin, disobedience, rebellion against God, a holy God.
Oh, there's forgiveness, there's a healing, but I can't heal you. It's the Lord Jesus himself that can heal. Oh, what a wonderful physician we have. He's called the great Physician, and it's the bomb of Gilead that he would give, as it were, that your soul's wound might be healed, that you might be in the presence of God, clothed and in your right mind. Or have you ever called to the Lord Jesus?
And ask for mercy, for forgiveness of your sins, that you might be healed.
And that you might have a new life in Christ.
Well, it says here in verse 31 That by chance there came down a certain priest that way, and we saw him pass by on the other side.
Well, there were those that should have been able to intercede for man, but didn't and couldn't.
And no religion.
No religious person is going to get you in heaven. No set of good works will get you into heaven.
It's going to be the work of Christ, the finished, holy, perfect work of that risen man in the glory that will get you to the glory. That blood that was shed. Well, this priest came down that way.
And so did the Levite. You know, there were three people that were walking down.
To Jericho, the man that left Jerusalem and was walking down to Jericho, he was going downward. The priest was going downward as well, and the Levite was going downward. Three of them were traveling in the same direction. And if you read Mr. Darby's translation, it's the Samaritan. He was journeyed. He journeyed up. He came up to that man. He came up to where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him.
And so, dear friends, this world is on a course. It's a downward course, and it's away from God.
And it's a course of ease.
We have a little dog and this morning he wanted to go outside and I got up with that dog. I got dressed, went out.
And he wanted to walk.
And there was a sidewalk, but it was on the other side of the street and it was uphill. And it was a lot of work walking uphill with that dog because he wanted to walk quickly, a little more quickly than I'd care to walk.
But he walked uphill. It was difficult, but coming downhill was easy.
And dear 1:00 tonight.
The enemy of your soul, Satan, would love to have you walk downhill. Easy Street.
Without much effort in the course and the vein of this world, the stream of pleasure.
The stream of self indulgence and justice walk downhill. Just keep going towards Jericho, that place of pleasant constant or odor to the flesh, but that which is so hateful to a holy God.
And dear friend, if you walk in that direction, in that course, God is faithful, and he says it leads into everlasting destruction.
You know they're in the heavens, in the uncreated dwelling place of our God.
The place called heaven and in the Father's house is a holy place. There is no sin. Sin has ruined God's creation. Sin has come in and caused the distance between you and your God, and God would desire that that distance be removed. And it was that reason that He sent the Lord Jesus into this world to die on Calvary's cross and there to shed His blood as a perfect holy sacrifice, a substitute for you.
If you would receive him as your savior.
Would you cry to the Lord for mercy tonight?
Cry to the Lord for mercy. Have you ever cried to the Lord for mercy? Have you been washed in the blood of the Lamb? While we find the Samaritan was a despised man and he journeyed, in the Gospel of Luke we see an order of things that is unique in this gospel. The Lord Jesus is seen walking up to Jerusalem time and time again. You see in this gospel he was walking towards Jerusalem and what was he going to do there, friend?
00:20:28
He was going to lay down His life for you and for me, for you if you'd receive Him as Savior and for me. He was going, and it wasn't going to stop until He went outside those city gates. And He was led those seven times from one place to another in shame and mockery by wicked men, and crucified between two thieves outside the city walls of that city.
And God is going to require of your hand if you know not the Lord Jesus as Savior, and you leave the scene having lived in his world.
And having ignored his grace and His mercy, His offer of mercy and free pardon and forgiveness.
If you've ignored it and you land in that place of everlasting destruction called the Lake of Fire, oh, you're going to remember this meeting. You're going to remember that you continued on to a dark.
Downward path without God, without hope. Oh what love, Dear friends, the Lord Jesus told this story and it says He had compassion on him.
Did you know that a holy God has compassion on you?
That's why you're here tonight.
If he didn't have compassion on you, you wouldn't be here, But he's had compassion on you.
And he wants to display that love and that affection, that grace, that mercy towards you.
Well, it says here that he went to him, up to him, and bound up his wounds, and pouring in oil and wine speaks of the Spirit of God, the oil and the wine, all the joy of knowing the Lord Jesus as Savior.
Do you want to have a happy life?
There's not a young person in this world, I don't believe that doesn't grow to be a teenager so-called and want to have a happy life in this scene. And if you want to have a happy life, dear one, make sure that you walk uphill and make sure that you walk with the Lord Jesus. He's had compassion upon you.
And here he says it's so lovely he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn or to the inn.
And took care of him now, dear friends.
Some of us have other people that work for us.
And there are works jobs that we can allocate to other people.
Delegate, assign different tasks. But this was a mighty work, this work of salvation. It couldn't be delegated to anyone else.
God himself sent his Son.
Into this world and what was it that carried this man to the end? It was the beast, the Lord Jesus own beast.
What carried this blessed man, Lord Jesus, through this scene while he was here? What was it? It was obedience.
It was dependence upon his father.
It was submission to his father's will.
Oh what a blessing to walk through this scene in submission to the will of God, independence upon the Lord.
Are you walking independence upon the Lord? Are you walking in obedience to His word says that God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Have you obeyed?
Well, that's what brings us to the end. And you know, there is only one in that's mentioned here. Mr. Darby translates at the end. And it's a lovely place. God desires to provide a place for his own that's a clean place, a place of fellowship with his fellow, with his creature man, a place, dear friends, a temporary dwelling place in the presence of a holy God.
00:25:04
The inn is a temporary dwelling place in the presence of a holy God. In this scene, where do you dwell?
Where are you living? Are you living in the presence of a holy God?
Or are you living in God's world, in a corner and a piece of it, without any knowledge of God, without any knowledge of His love, without without any recognition of His authority over you in this scene?
All He desires that there would be that cleansing from your sins, cleansed that wound of sin healed the oil and the wine poured in. But dear friends, that's not all that God wants.
He wants you to dwell in His presence.
Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
It wasn't good enough, as it were. The heart of God is too broad just to save men and their sins, men and women and their sins, and to save their souls.
And you give them a new life. No, He wanted them to come and to dwell in his presence.
He wanted them to live.
In a temporary dwelling place in this scene.
In the end. And so God has provided the assembly of those gathered to the Lord's name that you might have a place. God has provided it out of His heart of love and grace. His desire is that you would dwell in His presence and enjoy His presence. Well, we find here that he departed. You know, the Lord Jesus left this scene. He's a holy man. He's seated upon the right hand of the majesty on high. He's arisen, the glorified Savior. He departed.
And dear friend, I want to tell you that you're going to depart this world. Everyone of us has to leave.
The place is stained with sin, disobedience, rebellion against the holy God.
And it stinks with sin. God is going to destroy this world, tells us in the book of Peter, the epistle of Peter. That's going to melt this earth. The elements shall melt with a fervent heat. Oh, he's going to fold up as a vesture, as a a garment, this world and the heavens. And he's going to create a new heavens and a new earth. You have to leave this world.
It's stained with sin, and it's stained with the blood of a holy man, the holy man Christ Jesus, who loved you and gave himself for you. Or would you receive him as Savior? Oh, he has some.
He has compassion for you this evening. Well, their Lord Jesus says here.
In his story, he departed, he took out 2 Pence and gave them to the host. And so dear ones.
Are you saved?
You're in the assembly.
There are those that would reflect the responsibility of the host, those that are part of the oversight of that which God has raised up in His presence in the temporary dwelling place for His own, that there might be blessing and provision for your soul. He's risen up, raised up teachers, He's raised up those that are shepherds. He's made every provision for your soul in this scene, in his presence.
To be there.
Then we find that he says take care of him and so we have that responsibility. Those of us that are older and see the young ones requiring food for the soul, those five barley loaves and those two fish, it's a day of small things that's been mentioned before, but there was a responsibility. And then it says whatsoever thou spend us more, when I come again I will repay thee.
And so God is not unrighteous to forget what is done for himself. I wanna be faithful to you, dear friends. The Lord Jesus is coming again. It is for those of us that know the Lord Jesus as Savior. We look for the Lord Jesus to come. But you know, there's the word of God speaks of another coming. And it says that those of us that love his appearing, it says he shall come.
With 10 thousands of the Saints to execute judgment.
Man cannot live in God's world.
And ignore his creator and escape the consequences.
00:30:02
All what love God has for your soul and for mind to tell us such a thing.
Oh, how He loves us, how He would desire us to be saved from our sins, saved from wrath of the Holy God and brought into the relationship of a son and an heir. Oh, it says that.
Were sons heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ? If we know the Lord Jesus as Savior? What a blessing, what abundance this man was robbed, plundered in broad daylight, but what a blessing the Lord has desired for you to have.
You're going to be a son if you God will treat you as a son. He will bring you into the blessing of a son and an air.
And He will bless you with that shared riches of His mercy eternally.
I'd like to turn.
To the new to the Old Testament, and just look at the first time that the inn is mentioned. It's in Genesis chapter 42.
10 verse 27, but we'll read from verse 25.
Genesis chapter 42 and verse 25 and says, then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into a sack, and to give them provision for the way.
And thus did he unto them, and they laid it their ***** with the corn, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack, and to give his *** provender in the inn, he aspired his money, for behold, it was in his sacks mouth. And he said unto his brethren, My money is restored, and lo, even it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they were afraid, saying one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?
These next few portions that we'll look at.
Reveal.
What is morally acceptable to our God in the end?
I want to tell you, dear friend, tonight.
This little picture of Joseph is a very precious one that the Lord speaks of. This man had been sold by his brethren in the ******* and slavery into Egypt.
And they didn't know that Joseph knew.
And you may think that God doesn't know what has gone on in the past in your life, but thank God that he does. Thank God that you can come to the Lord Jesus and own it all and confess it all. And whoso confesses and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy. Free pardon.
God wants to have mercy on you in love, it says here.
He looked into his sack, opened his sack to give his *** provender an in and despite his money.
For behold, it was in his sacks mouth.
Their heart failed them.
May I ask this question, What is this that God hath done unto us?
Have you ever been in the presence of God and asked that question? What is this that God has done? Has God caused circumstances in your life?
To ask that question, What is this that God hath done? Oh, be sure your sin will find you out.
These men, years before, had sold their brother.
And now go on within the business of restoring their souls. And God has a way, dear friends, of making the knee bend.
Oh, how blessed it is to bend the knee.
But oh, how much more blessed it is to bend the heart to kneel before God, and have the heart bowed, and have the knee bowed too. And so these men came.
It's a little picture to us that the inn is a place of the discernment.
It's a place.
God is able to reveal what is in the depths of man's heart. And so if you come into the presence of a holy God as you come to night, is there that question, are you afraid? Oh, you ought to be afraid to meet a holy God. If you're not saved, if you don't know, not know the Lord Jesus, a Savior, you ought to be afraid. Tonight. These men were afraid.
00:35:06
Well, we'll turn to Exodus chapter 3 and verse eight. I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that that land unto a good land, and a large unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress the.
Them come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And then verse 24 of chapter 4.
Exodus chapter 4 and verse 24 came to pass by the way in the end, that the Lord met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me?
So he let him go.
Then she said, A bloody husband art thou because of the circumcision? And the Lord said to Aaron, Go in the Wilder into the wilderness, and to meet Moses. And he went and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.
And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.
Well, dear friends, the saying is used in the Word of God time and time again.
And it came to pass. God looks at this world, in the history of this world.
Any has spoken prophetically and told us about the end times. He's told us the future ahead of the time. That's what prophecy is. It's history written ahead of the time. And this word, it says it came to pass. And so it's come to pass that you are sitting in your seat tonight and you're hearing the Word of God. You're hearing the gospel of the grace and the kindness and the mercy.
Of a holy God. Oh what a lovely story to be able to tell of the Lord Jesus who loved you.
And gave himself for you. Well, you know we find this in.
This little picture, the Lord met him in the inn, and this woman, this wife of Moses, her name is the poor. It means a little Sparrow, just a little worthless thing, just a little Sparrow. But you know, dear friends, this man Moses was called to do a work for God and a mighty calling. He was going to deliver. He was going to be used of God to deliver the children of Israel, to lead them through the wilderness from Egypt and into the Promised Land.
It was a mighty work, but God was not going to have that work mixed with the flesh.
God was not going to allow the flesh to glory in any way.
And So what appeared to be hidden, what nobody knew except Moses and Zipporah, that this young boy had not been circumcised.
Was a hidden thing, and the flesh would have something to glory in, in the work of God, something that would hinder. Was going to be a mixed work, except that the flesh was dealt with. And so we find, dear friends, that there's no room for the flesh in the inn, in the temporary dwelling place of our God, a holy God, where we can remember the Lord in his death, where we can be together to read his precious word.
There's no place for the flesh. It needs to be dealt with, it needs to be cut off.
You might say, well, I'm not so great a Sinner. I'm better than my neighbor.
Oh, God cannot look upon one sin He will not gloss over one sin He will not forget and cover up unrighteously one sin. They everyone need to be dealt with and at the cross. Dear friend, what a lovely, lovely event took place in those dark hours.
It was a dreadful event for the Lord Jesus. As he bore in the darkness the judgment, He consumed the fire of God's judgment.
There upon the cross, all the other sacrifices, Dear friend, in Israel's time, all the other sacrifices, the fire consumed the sacrifice, and the ashes was evidence that the sacrifice had been offered. But at the cross the fire was consumed, all the judgment was consumed. Dear friend, that you might have your sins forgiven, have you called upon the Lord for mercy? Have you cried to that God of love?
00:40:19
For mercy and compassion. God will not look over one sin. He will not permit the flesh to be mixed with faith. It won't be fruit that's acceptable to Him. And so when we come into the inn, there's no place for the flesh. Now we want to turn to Second Samuel just to read a couple of portions. I think it's chapter 17. Yes, I want to read chapter 17 and verse 27.
It says there in second Samuel 17 and verse 27 it came to pass, when David was come to Mahaneyum, that show by the son of Nehash of Reba of the children of Ammon, and make here the son of Amiel of Lo Debar and Barzilay the Gileadite of Rogelium brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and parched pulse.
And honey and butter and sheep and cheese of kind for David and for the people that were with him to eat.
For they said the people is hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness. And then just turn over to chapter 19 and verse 31, Second Samuel 19 and verse 31. And Barcelai the Gileadite came down from Rogalim and went over Jordan with the king to conduct him over Jordan. Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even 4 score years old, and he provided the king of sustenance.
While he lay at for he was a very great man. And then I don't want to read the whole portion because we don't have time here. But it says in verse 37, Let thy servant, I pray thee, turn back again, that I may die in my own city and be buried by the grave of my father and my of my mother. But behold thy servant Chim Ham, let him go over with my Lord the King, and do him what shall seem good unto thee.
In verse 40 and the king went on to Gilgal and Chim Ham went on with him, and all the people of Judah conducted the king and also half the people of Israel. Well dear friends, we find that this man Chim Hammer will will look at.
Jeremiah chapter 41 And there was a habitation of Chim Ham, and it was the inn. It was that temporary dwelling place that God was going to provide for His own. It was very near Bethlehem, that place of that House of bread.
A blessing that his people might be fed that here we find a red. This portion in second Samuels because there was three there were three friends you know, and they serve the Lord together. They had an appreciation for David.
Three friends make here, the son of Lodibar of Amiel was one of them. Barzillai was another, and there was that other one. They're mentioned by name by this, the divine writer. And it's because in that place, dear friends, there's affection for David, there's affection for the Lord. And you hear if you're here in your sins without God, without hope in this world, you have no affection for Christ, You have no affection for the creator God.
Who made you? And he would desire that there would be that affection restored, that there would be that coming to him, that confession of sin. I say again, Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sin shall have mercy all. We have a loving God who delights to show mercy.
But don't say that I made a mistake. Don't say that I just walked a a course. I'd like to turn over a new leaf. No, confess and forsake, and you'll have mercy in the sight of a holy God. Well, these friends, they came, they had affection for David, and there was that which was fruit for God, and there was blessing. Well, we'll just turn to Jeremiah chapter 41.
This is a remnant that came.
To Jeremiah and we find that the inn is a place of inquiry. You want to inquire of God what the truth is, come into the presence of God and make an inquiry and to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom. And so this is what these men did. It says in verse 17, Jeremiah 41, and verse 17, they departed and dwelt in the habitation of Chim Ham, which is by Bethlehem to go to enter into Egypt.
00:45:20
Because of the Chaldeans, for they were afraid of them. Because Ishmael the son of Nathania had slain Gedelia the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor in the land. Then all the captains of the forces of Johannan, the son of Korea, and Josenia the son of Hoshiya, and all the people, from the least, even unto the greatest, came near, and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us.
Unto the Lord thy God, even for this all this remnant, for he left, we are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do. Behold us, that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk.
And the thing that we may do, well, dear friends, that was a good thing to come into the inn and to make inquiry as to the past that ought to be walked in. And God doesn't want you to be ignorant of his love and His grace and of the path of obedience to His word. And He is an ordained that the word of God might be here in our hands tonight that we know, might know what the path of obedience and faithfulness is.
And so God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.
Have you repented that word? Repent means in French is to rethink.
Rethink your position before God, a holy God. And so these men, they came into Jeremiah's presence. They asked him to inquire of God for them. And notice that it says the Lord thy God, O is the Lord, the Lord your God. We often ask people to pray for us, and that's a good thing. But dear friend, do you pray?
Do you pray? Have you prayed to a holy God?
Have you ever got down on your knees and prayed?
Have you ever sat in your seat and you could do it right now and pray to a holy God and say God be merciful to me, a Sinner?
Well, have you prayed? These men came into the presence of Jeremiah and he inquired of the Lord for them. But you know it says in chapter 43 and verse four, I'll just read it. It says so Johann and the son of Korea and all the captains of the forces and all the people obeyed not the voice of the Lord to dwell in the land of Judah.
You know, in spite of that inquiry that was made in the presence of God, you may be here tonight saying I'm going to come to this gospel meeting and I'm going to ask God for a sign. I'm going to ask God to speak to my soul, then I'll get saved.
But you know, dear friends, we find in this inn that there's no room for self will. There's no place for the self will of man.
And God will is perfect. It's flawless. As for God, his way is perfect. And his word says in Proverbs, it says every word of God is pure. And so he has given us his word. He's given us instruction.
And he's told us of his love. And if you go out this evening without your sins forgiven and in self will.
Having made an inquiry, so to speak, and to have come under the sound of the truth of the grace and the kindness and mercy of a holy God, and to go out in self will and disobedience.
It's a course. It's a downward course, and it leads to the lake of fire. It leads to eternal separation from a holy God. Oh, he loves you too much.
He sent his son. He desired that that.
Which would be restored again, would be that fellowship with you. I say again, he only created one person like you. There's not two people like you, only one.
And God saves souls one at a time. But we find in the Word of God that there is no place for self will in His presence, no in the glorious scene above, in that uncreated dwelling place of our God.
00:50:03
And with the Lord Jesus, there are only those people that want the will of God. There are those that want the will of the Father, that love to follow the Lord Jesus, that want His will in the eternal courts of glory, those that find themselves in heaven because of the finished work of the Lord Jesus.
Enjoy the will of a holy God and enjoy the blessings of that will. And so I say in in picture here in the assembly of those that are gathered to the Lord's name, there is no place for self will.
Oh, you know, it says in the book of Titus, one of the.
Requirements for an overseer, it says not self willed. And why is that? It's because dear ones, that faithful overseer would desire the will of God, not his own will, but the will of God. Oh, what a blessing it is to know what the will of God is and to walk according to that will. Let's just turn now to the New Testament, to Luke's gospel.
Chapter One.
Or chapter 2.
Luke chapter 2.
And verse six, So it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Oh dear friends, this world was created by the Son of God, my Savior. The only perfect man that ever walked this scene. The only man that was born into this scene with a will and a desire to please his God. The only one that went through this scene and in every aspect of his life pleased the Father.
I want to ask you a question. Have you pleased the Father today? Has he delighted in your life? Has he delighted in the thoughts of your heart? Have you enjoyed something of communion, common thoughts with God in connection with that blessed man, Christ Jesus today?
Oh, that's what he delight to have. But you know, he came into this world and he there was no room for him in the inn. There was a temporary dwelling place where he would delight to have his own. This is the picture that we have and there was no room for Him in the inn. Have you any room for Jesus? Have you any room? Have you room for business? Have you room for pleasure? Have you room for Jesus?
Have your room in your heart in your life, or is it so filled with all kinds of other activity?
That you have no room.
Oh, I just plead with you to accept the Lord Jesus as Savior. Now I want to read just one other scripture in John's Gospel chapter 14. This is the last in if you will, but we find here, I'll just read it.
It says in John's Gospel chapter 14, Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe in also in me, in my Father's house are many mansions or abodes. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
Oh dear friends.
There's not going to be a temporary dwelling place eternally for God's people. There's going to be a permanent dwelling place in the presence of their God. There's going to be an abode. There's going to be a place. There's going to be a room for everyone there that has accepted the Lord Jesus as Savior, that has received that free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Have you received the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Oh, if you don't know him as Savior and you're just not sure?
How to be saved? Won't you just ask one of us here? One letter that's older? Ask your mother, your father. Won't you just bow your head? Won't you just bow your heart and ask the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away? God be merciful to me. A Sinner like to sing one more little song #17.
Nsnoise.
Should we just pray and ask the Lord's blessing?
Deborah's Song
Our Resource
John 6:51-66
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Our God and Father, we are so grateful for that which was brought before us in the open meeting. We thank Thee for those things that would stir us up rather than to fall into lethargy and discouragement and lose the brightness of testimony. We think of how Job could look back to former days when they were better days than what he was having then and then to be.
Renewed.
In thy grace, and to rise up, and to be a vessel of testimony, we pray it would work to that end in our own lives. And now, as we would again look into Thy word, we confess to thee how we enjoy thy fellowship, Lord Jesus, and cannot get enough of it. We do hunger and thirst for righteousness.
We're almost home and that was fill our vessels and bring us there.
With our joyful and our hearts satisfied, and they will be satisfied forever in Thee then.
Help us to be in that state now, and ask for the liberty of thy spirit.
To bring out those things that would build us up in our most holy faith. We thank Thee for the effort put forth for our dear brethren here that this could be afforded us. And we wait before thee for the blessing now and thy most worthy and precious name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen.
Johns Gospel, chapter 6, verse 51.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven.
If any man eat of this spread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
Eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood. Dwelleth in me.
And I and him as a living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your Father's, that eat manna and are dead.
00:05:05
He that eateth of this bread shall live forever these things, said he and the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum.
Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This isn't hard saying, Who can hear it? When Jesus knew in Himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? What? And if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before, It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit in their life. But there are some of you that believe not.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
And he said, Therefore said I unto You, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the 12.
Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you? 12 And one of you is the devil. He's fake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him, being one of the 12.
Alright, so I appreciate our brother Don de Graaff focusing back on verse 35, and I just like to reinforce it. It's nice to see this verse hanging up in the meeting room. It's a wonderful gospel verse and when it's acted upon, when one is.
Feeding on the bread of life and drinking the water of life. It's evidence that.
They have a new life, a divine life that has been imparted to them by the Spirit of God.
And.
Eternal life is such a wonderful subject.
And I'm not going to belabor it all only at all, except to notice that four times, uh, in this chapter, we have the expression that's first in, uh, verse, uh, 39. And I think of every time that the Lord said this, that it must have been a special joy to his heart when he said, but should raise it up.
Again at the last day. And again he says in the next verse, I will raise him up at the last day. And then again in verse 44 at the end I will raise him up at the last day. And then again it was read to us in verse 54, the last part, I will raise him up at the last day. What day are we talking about? Oh, it's the resurrection morning that we're looking for.
When he calls us out of this world into his presence, but as this new life is imparted to us, this divine life, it needs to be nurtured, it needs to be fed, it needs to be developed. And so when a soul is saved, they immediately have divine life. And that life cannot die under any circumstances. It may starve and be miserable and upset and.
Ripped in about. But that's why we have general meetings, isn't it? That we might be fed that new life would be developed, but the last day, eternal life will have its fullest display and fullest fruition that can possibly be had when we're raptured up into the presence of the Lord.
Four times in this chapter we read of the Lord coming down.
In verse 33 read which came down from heaven and in uh verse 38 for I came down.
Verse 50 you see this is the bread which comes down from heaven. Verse 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. But.
He's going up again. You see that the end of the chapter, don't you, where verse 62 wasn't? If you shall see the Son of Man ascend up to where he was before, that rings before us. Resurrection. He's going up again. My brother Robert was telling us yesterday about three men who went down in the 10th chapter of Luke's gospel. You know that man who fell among robbers? That's a nice point. Not these.
00:10:12
And the priests and the Levites, they all went down, you know. But it doesn't say that the Samaritan was going that same course, doesn't it?
We need to be reminded that when that moment comes that we are going to enter into Infinity but will never be infinite.
And we're never going to be divine in those eternal courts of glory, but we will have a divine nature to show how close He has brought us to His great heart of love. It has to be that way. But He stands in all preeminence, all sublime beauty and grace, to be the object of our hearts forever. Oh, to have Him now as they the object.
As that wonderful 35th verse gives us the.
Bread of Life, the water of life, gives us freely all we want.
Just like to mention in Exodus chapter 14, there is a a little illustration that we have here of the heart of man and it says in verse 12 in Exodus 14, it's not this, the word that we did tell thee in Egypt saying let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, for it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians and that we should die in the wilderness.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear you not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show you today. For the Egyptians whom you have seen, you shall see them again no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.
And then in verse 15 he says, the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore cryest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel.
That they go forward. Well, there's another place in Exodus, and it speaks of how they long for the food that they'd eaten in Egypt. And there's always the danger in our hearts not to be satisfied with the provision of God and to look back in the past and to see what we once eat in Egypt and to have an appetite for it. And the flesh has an appetite for that which is displeasing to our God. But the new man in Christ has an appetite for that which would nourish him in the path of faith.
And that's the appetite that we need to satisfy. And so we have that.
Umm, nature, not fallen nature, the flesh, the nature of the of the flesh is the sin and the seek after that which is fallen and is of the earth. And So what did they desire? The leeks and the onions, and all those things that were the fruit of this earth. But we have a heavenly bread, and so this is what the Lord says. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. Now they had the source of life and sustenance.
In the scene was going to be Christ himself. And so we need that we've never, never turned back. You know, I often remember and I'll just read the Galatians, uh, our dear brother John Burton, I grew up in the Pine Grove assembly in Ontario and he would often often quote this verse in, uh, Galatians chapter 2 and verse 18. He would say, dear young people, this is a, a serious thing. He says in verse 18, if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
He said, Never, never build the things that we destroyed. If we left the camp, let us walk afar off from the camp, and let us go unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach, and then feed upon Christ.
What a lovely word of admonition for each one of us to feed upon Christ and not to build those things which we destroyed.
What does it mean to feed on Christ? You often see these bracelets that, uh, young people wear, and what would Jesus do? We shouldn't ask what Jesus would do because we could imagine all kinds of things, but we ask, what did Jesus do?
And so we're faced, we're, uh, we are what we eat. There's young babies here and every ounce of what we are now passed through our lips. We may not some meals we remember and some we don't, but every ounce of what we are now passed through our lips and we ate it. And to feed on Christ really is to consider him and his pathway here. And so we see how the Lord Jesus reacted to things, how he acted. His life was characterized by submission. We had that.
00:15:19
And obedience.
And so the the Jews reasoned among themselves and they said, well, how can this be? But faith will never understand reason will never understand what faith lays hold of. And so the only way we're going to understand what's the the fruit and blessing of submission is to submit.
If you reason about it first, you're never going to understand it. The only way we're going to understand the blessing of obedience is to obey.
And they said, well, how is it that we can eat his flesh? How can he give us his flesh to eat while we get into the word of God and we see what the Lord Jesus did. And we we do that and we we find Christ in the Gospels and then we find Christ in the Old Testament because we see the Spirit of Jesus. Peter says that the spirit of Christ, which was in them to testify. You see the spirit of Christ in Noah. You see the Spirit of Christ in David.
You see the Spirit of Christ in Moses. There were failures in those ones. There was number failure in the perfect example.
Not in the in the perfect one. In the examples, you all find a flaw, and they're all to be measured by the one that is perfect.
Once you see Christ in the gospels, you can start to see what was of Christ.
And the others, and even in the exercise of seeing what was of Christ in those Old Testament characters and what was not, we begin to see what we begin to discern. We develop discernment because we can discern what was of Christ and Moses and what was of not, what was not of Christ. But it comes from feeding on Christ.
We find the great theme of this book is the person and the work of Christ, and we find those two parts in verse 53. Jesus saith unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except she eat the flesh of the Son of man, that's his person, and drink his blood. You have no life in you, that's his work.
And so they this wonderful thing.
Is what arrests our souls, is it not? And there's that once for all.
Umm, isn't it verse uh 54 Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life. There's the once and for all. That's when we have entered into.
Repentance and realization of what we are in ourselves. We've had it brought very vividly before us in the morning meeting. How far from God we were by nature, sad to say, by practice, and now are brought nigh. And so the transaction of eating and drinking is settled once and for all. But then it goes on, doesn't it, The daily side of it.
In verse 55.
For my flesh is made indeed, and my blood is drank indeed, and eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. That's a daily thing now, isn't it?
Very important is truth that what we have is the person of Christ and its work. It is the person that gives its work, the work, its value. And so you could say well.
Somebody sewed her address and depending on who sewed it, it's going to give value to what you're going to see before you even see it. And so I, I just use that as an example or but.
To really consider who the Lord Jesus Christ is, and I want to say this to the young people, people often say that brethren have divided and split up over all kinds of secondary points. That is not true. You're going to find at the root of every one of these is really the issue is of the Lord Jesus Christ and who he is. And you'll find that the root of every departure is indifferences to the person of Christ.
It may not be opposition, but indifference is almost worse than opposition. It's like people standing watching somebody murdered in cold blood and not picking up the phone to call the police, as it were. Its indifference is almost as bad as those that pull the trigger, if I can use that example. And so you'll find at the root of it, it's this person that is a is at issue and his work. And what a wonderful thing we have to do. We're saved.
00:20:25
It's a daily, as you've been pointing out. It's a daily ongoing thing that we learned who our Savior is and the value of His work.
When we first got saved, we were like those children of Israel walking through the Red Sea. And there was, if you could imagine, there was a wall of water on this side and a wall of water on that side. And the only way to safety was to walk between these walls of water. And all that was keeping those walls of water apart was a mighty wind. That's how we felt the night we got saved. We realized we were in terrible peril and in terrible danger of hell. And we realized that there was danger for the those that did not.
Walk in the path of faith because they saw the Egyptians swallowed up in that water.
And we thought by what relief it was when we got onto safe ground on the other side and the water was behind us and the water was closed and we realized what Christ did. But then, you know, we learned some tremendous value to to the work of Christ and we through the.
By his word and considering him that we realize that he not only took care of what we did, but what we were. And then they stood there in, in on resurrection ground in the land of Canaan. And they looked back over the river Jordan that was rolled back from the city, Adam right back to the salt sea, the lowest place on earth. And they there was no water insight anywhere, not walls of water on either side, but no water on either side.
Water inside anywhere, and they really realized that.
Christ was not only the answer to what they had done, but what they were.
And that's a great relief because if we got to heaven then and we realized that we were just a bunch of forgiven, lying thieves as we had brought before us this morning, we feel pretty embarrassed. I think we were all as children, we maybe did something in somebody's home and then we had to go back there and we'd done something bad. And boy, were we embarrassed to go back to that home. And to think, you know, they know that I took something or I broke something or I said a bad word there. And we're just cringing at climbing into the car and going there. And we would have the same thought to going to heaven if we didn't realize the work of Christ on our behalf that.
We stand absolutely justified before God and so this is a daily ongoing thing is to realize not just that he's taken care of what we've done, but what we were his flesh as meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed, to really realize that he is everything to us and for us.
Who to salvage? Always good. And how do we make good of the food? And I was thinking of the children of Israel. They were fed with manner perfect food on this earth. What do? What did they find after a while? Did they find it turned sour? Did they find that it become no good to the taste? Sure it did. Did the food itself turn bad? No. Perhaps. Let's turn to opacity in Deuteronomy chapter 8.
In Deuteronomy chapter 8 verse three, it tells us that the Lord suffereth them. He humbled them. In verse three He humbled, and he humble thee, and suffer thee the hunger, and fed thee with manner.
Which thou knowest not, neither did thy father know. Well, the food itself was good. They didn't know that it was provided, but the Lord had a lesson for them, because they were not satisfied with it.
They have to learn this, this verse, go on and say that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word. Now we're going to go back to the previous verse in there. Then the Lord explained to us why that they were in the wilderness for 40 years.
For mere 11 days journey they have to spend 40 years. Well, why was that? Let's go back to verse 2 and thou shall remember all the days all the way which the Lord thy God LED thee these 40 years in the wilderness.
To humble thee, to prove thee, to know that what was in thine heart, whether thou keep us, that whether thou would keep us, keep his commandments or no. But we can blame the food. It's us. Our hearts have a natural tendency to be not satisfied with things. In fact, I was thinking to go further as Jeremiah would tell his people, as he tells them to repent. He said there were two problems that people have had been, and I believe it is still the same problem.
00:25:07
That we have today. Listen to Jeremiah.
After two this one verse summed up the problem.
Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 13 For my people have committed to evils, they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. They few themselves, they hew them, our cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Well, I know the thought is about the bread of life, but we know the Lord also, He's got living water. But here I've tried to point out the fact that 2 problems existed for the people of old, same 2 problems that we often face today, the two evils that he mentioned.
They have forsaken me. However we look at problems and difficulties in our lives or in someone else's lives. I believe in most cases we can trace this simple fact that we have forsaken the Lord. Maybe we're going to meeting every week still, but what is it in our hearts for my people have committed to evil. They have forsaken me and we put our Lord first thing in our lives, in everything. Well, when that happens.
Then the second problem almost become automatic. The second problem is this they do uh, and few of them out cisterns, broken cisterns have we find that we have problems and difficulties in our lives. And then the next thing is we seek solutions and often the solution is outside the assembly, often is outside our blessed Lord's guidance. And I even heard some Christians.
Among us would say that they would go to other Christian group because they have counseling or how sad when we know that the answer is right here. We had it before us for the last two days. Having that faith, even though as small as the pro as the solution may be, without the despise. Do we have that faith that we have our Lord in our midst, that he would take care of all of our problems here? Is that living bread of life? Do we depend on that? Do we trust that? Do we put him in our place? In fact, as we eat daily, you know, we think of giving thanks, but do we remind ourselves when we see that loaf on our table, we think of that.
The origin of all life sustenance is our blessed Savior.
John the Baptist sets a wonderful precedent.
In the third chapter of this same book, when they come to him and try to provoke jealousy, that the Lord's disciples baptized more than he did.
And the result, the response, he was just very happy to hear that.
Then he went on to say.
He must increase.
I leave out the Must I decrease?
We cannot decrease if we have, we only can we decrease if we have an increasing price before us and our enjoyment of Him. And so this, these that hear him say this, they now begin to realize that they're going to lose ground as to who they are and what they represent and so on.
And so John the Baptist, he was happy to phase out that Christ would be the object of his disciples that were with him. That was fine. And so we come down to the thing that brings us right to nothing, and that is in verse 63. It is the Spirit that quick enough, the flesh profiteth nothing.
What did you think of that the first time you heard that?
A real recoil wasn't there.
Flesh profiteth nothing, and I'm afraid I have to confess to my brethren that.
This seems to be a life long lesson to learn.
Proverbs chapter 23 and it's also Matthew 18. I'd just like to read a couple of verses to get that connection.
What is it? Why? What do I do? If I do have an appetite for that which I ought not to have an appetite for, what do I do?
Well, it says in Proverbs 23 when thou sittest to eat with a ruler, considered diligently what is before thee.
Do we sit with the ruler? Do we sit when the presence of the Lord? We ought to be careful not to desire that which is not suitable. For what is before the Lord says, Consider diligently what is before thee. Put a knife to thy throat. If thou be a man given to appetite, be not desirous of his dainties, for they are deceitful meat. And so the man of the world has what looks like is going to give him nourishment.
00:30:25
It doesn't give nourishment, It says a little later on in this uh, uh, proverb in the 23rd and verse eight, it says the morsel which thou hast eaten, thou shalt thou vomit up and lose thy sweet words. So what's the what do we do if we have an appetite for that which is not of Christ says use the knife, it's gonna hurt. But there ought to be that self judgment in our lives and so on Chapter 18 of Matthew, it says.
In umm verse eight it says, Wherefore thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and cast them from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life may halt remain, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
And if I know I offend thee, pluck it out, cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into Hellfire. And so he reached out with our hands, and we want to take something that God didn't give us.
What do we do? We take the knife. We exercise self judgment.
What do we do? We have a pot.
We once walked in Egypt and we'd like to walk that path again. We look at the path and we think maybe we could just go there once more.
What do we do? We take the night.
And the past is altered. Better to use that knife of self judgment than not to go but then the eye.
I once lived in Egypt. I'd love to see what was there in Egypt. I I'd just like to see it one more time. I'd just like to see that movie once more.
No, he says, use the knife, cut it off. It's Christ that gives nourishment. And if there's that which the believer feeds on, that's not of Christ. It needs to be given up later on. It doesn't provide nourishment. It's going to have to vomit it out.
Eating is the one of the commonest things and more men have stumbled over this passage of scripture in the religious world as to eating as flesh. But yet it's the simplest activity and we don't always remember what we eat. I would be surprised if very many people can remember what they ate for breakfast 15 days ago.
Umm, but there are special occasions when we remember. I would imagine most of us who go to our brother's house for breakfast tomorrow morning are going to remember 2 weeks from now eating on that occasion. But those occasions are rare and few and in between. But most of the time we get up and we eat what's available or what's our routine for breakfast just to feed ourselves because we know we're going to be faint if we don't. And so so that is true with the things of God is just to take.
That nourishment day by day as is necessary, and there's going to be times when you're going to have special remembrance of those times, but not every time.
And so it's just a simple activity and as our brother has said that the.
Life long lesson is that the flesh profits nothing and often we hear.
About the camp and people say, what are you, maybe the young people are saying, what are they talking about when they talk about going on to him without the camp and so on. The camp is really where they believe that man, the things of God, can be nourished by nourishing the flesh.
And so our brother brought that before us in the meeting that God had done everything. There was nothing more that he could do. He gave in Israel a perfect religion with a perfect music and a perfect sanctuary where everything in that sanctuary perfectly symbolized heavenly things. They didn't understand, I believe they understood that they spoke a better things. But everything there was a perfect order of priesthood. Everything there was imperfection as far as.
Nature was concerned and yet it did not produce fruit for God, and so God has set aside that whole system of things now and he says it's just Christ.
You can't. Our brother quoted that verse about rebuilding those things which we once destroyed. Man tries, and I'm gonna use as an amateur attempt to create symbols in an environment in which to foster the flesh of man.
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And God has already tried that with imperfection, if I may, in natural perfection. And it utterly failed. It wasn't that God's attempt was a failure, it's just that his subjects were a failure. And that's a hard lesson for us to learn. So a brother left the Lord's table and he went to a seminar in Chicago to learn how to play the right kind of music and create the right kind of environment to get people to come into, into churches, they call it. Well, it works. It packs the church.
But it's not going to produce Christ in the soul.
That's what we call the camp.
Thinking of a verse here as the brother was speaking about the knives, I'd like to turn to a verse in First Samuel Chapter 7. Perhaps can illustrate a little bit here. First Samuel Chapter 7. Two verses here that I like to read.
Perhaps one first time your Chapter 7 verse 16. This is Samuel and he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel and Diego and Mizpah and Judge Israel.
In all those places, I was thinking of a circus, how he continuously going around that circuit and what other places that he go to. That's all.
House of God, he knew that he needs to be where the Lord is the House of God. And what is Gilgal Gilgal I believe is something that we often ignore. I Remember Remember a brother used to come and he often used this phrase that sent chills up my spine. He said you got to take out the sharp knife and every time you say it, it just said chills. You know, go go as a place of self judgment, isn't it? We need to go to.
Like Samuel of old, with a circuit Bethel to Gilgal and then to Mizpah, and then back to his own house.
Maybe it would be helpful to make a comment on what the, uh, scriptural meaning of the word flesh is here. Umm, I believe that the believers that have been at the Lord's table for any time hear more about this and understand this more than Christians in general. And perhaps we assume everyone knows it and we kind of Passover it. But the brother in the gospel used the term many times last night about the flesh.
Well, one example that it doesn't mean is when the Lord said the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak, the.
Flesh there is our natural body, just like I have flesh that surrounds my bones and you do and sometimes the Scripture will use an expression or you will, that I'll see him in the flesh. That means I'll see him in this body. But the flesh in this verse 63, the flesh profiteth nothing is the same as a word that we've coined. Sometimes we call it the old nature, which is a term as far as I know is not in the Scripture, but that's sort of OK it's.
It means, I believe the same thing.
So when you hear somebody referring to old nature, you can substitute and really more scripturally you say it's the flesh.
Now, wonderfully, I learn after I'm saved and I begin to learn the gospel, that what Christ went through in his death and resurrection is made good to me in many ways, and one of those ways is he puts me in an entirely new position.
Once I was like in an old company which had its own president and ownership. I was in this company over here and the head of that company was Adam. And God now through the work of Christ and in love to my soul puts me in a whole new position, like being in a whole new company and the head of that company is Christ.
And so.
Death, uh, brings me into that place. And so there's three times in the New Testament, I think, where it speaks of what I was before as the old man, the old Bruce Conrad, the old Ruben Ruga.
What I was in that first company and now I'm in a new position altogether and I'm a new preacher in Christ. And Scripture uses the term the new man. Well, sometimes people use the expression, you know, when they allow the flesh to act. When we're careless, we say, oh, that was the old man. Well, we know what we mean when we say that. But I think strictly speaking, I've always found it helpful to stick with those 3 passages. One's Romans 6 and.
There's one in Ephesians, one in Colossians, but if you look them up in the Darby translation, you'll always see that they're in the past tense.
00:40:06
Well, getting quizzical looks here, so let's turn to, uh, Ephesians four, I think is one of them. Verse 22.
That she having put off concerning the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt or corrupts itself according to the deceitful lusts and being renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that she having put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, and so on. And so in Colossians and Romans 2. It's past tense. And so God sees me in a new position. He regards me now with a new status.
I'm a new creature, there's the new man, a new creation. And then I have to go through experiences, though, and I see myself acting like I used to act before I was saved. And this can be very, very disheartening and troubling to a young believer, especially if he or she is poorly taught. Questions can come into the mind, well, am I no longer saved, or am I not saved enough? Or do I only have half of salvation? And there's doctrines that spring up around all those thoughts, but none of them are true.
The fact, the helpful fact of the matter is that that old nature that I was born with.
Even though I have a new position, there is that practical nature in me that I'm going to have all the way through until the Lord.
Snatches me out of here.
And I'm changed as to my body, and that corrupt nature will be behind me. And Scripture calls that nature the flesh. And so when we have practical instruction throughout the epistles.
It assumes that we understand these basic.
Truths of our position now before God, and it's helpful in a practical way.
So if I'm halfway through my day at work and I go to get a cup of coffee and pretty soon I'm, I'm, I'm the, the other men are there and I and I'm starting to get into silliness with them or something. And I say something inappropriate and I walk away saying why did I say that? That wasn't, I shouldn't have participated in that.
Well, what, what do I do from that point on? Do I act morbid and hang down and and go back and close my door and put my head on my desk? Well, I have the privilege of saying, you know, that's not who I am, that's not what I am, and that's not what is consistent with what Christ died to make me. What was that? That was that old nature, that flesh, that act, and I'm responsible. Then I have the privilege of saying, dissociating myself from that and saying that's not me.
But I take responsibility for it because I allowed the flesh to act. The flesh isn't weak. That kind of flesh is not weak at all. It's very strong. And so in Galatians is one of those places. Galatians 5 is one of those places where we learn that there's a warfare going on.
Galatians 5 verse.
I'll go back to verse 16. This I say then walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the loss of the flesh, for the flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. And these are country, the one to the other, so that you not, cannot, but might not do the things that you would.
So I learned here as well as in other places, when I believe the gospel of my salvation.
I was in dwelt sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me and I have a power now in that new life. That new position I'm in has a power now that wants to, desires to, that is and is able to do the things which please God and which please me now as a new creature in Christ, Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world that says.
And so the flesh still wars against, There's that war that goes on inside me, a flesh worrying against the Spirit. And as these brothers have already brought out, to the extent that I'm careful practically, the psalmist in Psalm 16 said, I have set the Lord all way before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
And so we may not feel one brother was telling me the other mornings that sometimes I get up. He says I change my hours at work if he permits me sharing this so that I could read with my children before I go off to work. And he says, you know, sometimes in the morning, he says I get up and I don't feel like that. That's a good thing that'll bear wonderful fruit. And that's what the psalmist said. I have set the Lord all the way before me. And sometimes you don't feel like eating, but you know you'll be hungry later.
00:45:04
And so it is, there's this practical warfare that goes on. The old brothers where I used to live used to talk about the, the white dog and the black dog and the story about the the two dogs fighting inside. And, and I'm sure you've heard many of these stories too, but these are good foundational and practical tools. There's young men here, they're studying trades to learn how to make a living. And as you learn, you trade, you acquire more tools and they're used. They need to be in your toolbox. You're a Carpenter. You need a catch pole because you're going to make mistakes.
And you need to repair them as quickly and painlessly as you can. And there are scriptural tools that we all need in our toolbox. And one of them is this basic understanding of what we are and what resources we have in ourselves so that we cannot be stumbled or disheartened or go along carelessly either. So this is a wonderful.
Understanding that the Lord has given to us, that is generally taught amongst us, and rarely so amongst our brethren in other places.
Uh, and, uh, their ministry, if you read it or are exposed to it, reflects that, uh, lack of understanding. So it's something to lay hold of as a young person and to, to, uh, to use practically, uh, in your everyday life.
See, in order to just ask the question, why didn't the Lord take the flesh away from us the day he saved us?
It has spared us from a lot of heartache, but he and his wisdom, he's left it with us. Why?
Is it so that we could learn the sufficiency of himself for our pathway? We never would have learned that if we're not for that fact.
He needs to leave a reminder with us too, of what we once were, who was our master?
Otherwise.
You might think quite a bit of ourselves.
Very humbling to.
Have to say that that man act.
But we have wonderful resource to overcome.
The board could have done that, he said. He could have turned strong into praising him. If he needs to be, He has all the power. But in doing so, then the grace of God wouldn't be manifest as the way it is. By having the conditions that we have and having us acknowledging that fact. It magnifies His names. It magnif. It magnified His grace of what He has to do to redeem us, what He has to do to teach us.
As those verses we read in Deuteronomy really in fact, let's turn to that again through purposes in there that we should really learn they were put, they could have been taken into the land in 11 days journey couldn't land. So let's look at that again, Deuteronomy chapter.
Yeah, chapter 8 in verse 2 and thou shalt remember. Well, that's the first thing they have to do, is to remember all the way which the Lord thy God let thee these 40 years.
And then it goes on and it sets in the wilderness to humble thee. Well, that's a big word that we use often. But do we truly understand what being humble with? You know, some of us will chat afterwards. It's often many young people do.
And I remember when brother mentioned a comment of of another brother saying when he talked to him, he didn't see any humbleness in that you know, we know what humbleness is. The Lord want us to be humble before him. Not only that, to prove thee Ah, do we know what's inside our hearts? We know that Jeremiah told us how good our heart is, is deceitful and desperate and waking even we don't know our own heart. So here it says to know what was in thine heart.
Whether thou would keep his commandments or no, you know when the commandments were given. What did the children of Israel say?
You commanded, we will do. And how long did it take for them to fail? Well, we don't know our own hearts, do we? And it is the grace of God that keep us. And then in verse three he goes on and said, He humbled thee and suffered either hunger and so on, so that man will learn that man does not live by bread alone.
You think about the abilities we have. You know, often we boast about how we can help people. Well, the abilities that you have, what did that come from? It's from the Lord, isn't it? And then we read out even simple factors. The Lord said even a glass of cold water given in his name, he's not going to forget it. Well, if we were to boast about giving that glass of cold water, then we have to ask the question, why did that glass come from? And where did that water come from? And where did that desire to give that cold water come from? Is all of the Lord?
00:50:16
And then when they all come that bright day, a certain featuring disc when we get those crowns and then we can truly see laying those crowns before him, saying that he is the one that's worth all the honor and praise. He referred to the past tense Bruce having put off. And maybe that requires a little bit of an explanation because a a young boy went to school and the teacher said about something that.
Wasn't right. She said, well, what are you going to do? And he said, well, we don't do that in our house. He was in the position of having already renounced something before he came to it. And somebody once said to a famous journalist, they said, what about these?
Fundamentalist Christian, Bible thumping Christians, he said. They think they're better than everybody else, and the journalists asked them, he said.
Would if you were hungry, would you steal? Or if you were in a jam, would you tell a lie? And the person stopped and thought and said, well, if I was very hungry I might steal or, he said. Or if I was in a real serious jam, I might tell a lie.
And this ungodly journalist made the comment, she said. That's the difference between you and them. They would never tell a lie and they would rather die than steal.
Now I wish it were true of me, but she recognized that they were in a position of having put those things off. I just say that because often this is attacked as legality. I don't like the term legality. Concision is to hack at the flesh. And so he makes 6 rules. If you don't do this and you don't do this and you don't do this.
You're all right. That's not what we're speaking about. But as a believer, we have purposed in our heart already that we are not going to do that which is displeasing to the Lord. That's what Christianity is.
That's not legality. Legality is saying, well, if there's six things that the brethren don't like and my parents don't like and I don't do them, then I'm going to be regarded as a good Christian. But if there's a purpose of heart that you're going to live to please the Lord, and as we've had, man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And there's a predisposition, if I may put it that way, in a position of having already decided that that's going to be the course and the Lord will give grace and help.
But we need that daily help from the Lord to do that, because our flesh, as we've had, will not improve.
I believe that there is repeating that we have two natures, one nature that's lower than a beast.
And another nature that is higher than angels and you can't improve either one of them. And so it's nice to have God's thoughts. If we don't have God's thoughts, we'll be miserable. But if we have his thoughts, then we can go on happy in our souls. I just wanted to reflect back on what our brother Neil was saying in connection with, uh, coming up with false doctrine in connection with the work or the person of Christ.
That one thing you will always find is unhappiness in the soul, that is.
The earmark that what is being propounded is by a sober face and sometimes unhappiness.
And of course, the underlying thing is that the flesh wants to glory, and that causes the same unhappiness. It's really the the springboard of all false doctrine is to glorify man in some way and to be in competition, sad to say, with God's man. Not only unhappiness, but a lot of questions and no answers as well. Exactly.
It's wonderful to be simple.
In heart and mind. Now it doesn't mean to not know anything, but the simplicity is the thought of being.
What should I say? Impressionable by the Spirit of God.
That's simplicity and I think Mr. Darby says. And that's really perfection.
Teachers within us can often too go back to which do you feed and that's what what would manifest. You know, like our brother's comment, they say, well, just one more movie. Well, by doing so, you're really feeding that old nature and you're encouraging the results that will be exhibited by the old nature or the old man that was mentioned, the flesh wood exhibit. I, I like to use this example and perhaps it's not a very good example, but for young people it made a big impression on me. And someone asked me that when I was younger, he said.
00:55:22
Uh, have you ever been to, uh, have you ever been time that you get very hungry and you walk into the kitchen. The first thing you saw was this big bowl of potato salad. Well, you know, dinner is coming up, but you think that it could be late. So when you see this big bowl of potato salad, you go up there and some of the young men would know what I mean by that. You basically inhale that. So to take your hungers away. Well, shortly after that, mom or someone else may come along and you find out that there was a nice dinner that was already prepared that you didn't know of.
Well, how much of that dinner would you enjoy shortly after you inhale the potato salad? Well, you've been fed, but what were you fed with? Something that would satisfy your soul or your, or really your hunger for that little, little time, but not satisfying what is good. I know there's a worldly phrase now they say you are what you eat, but it's so true. It's what do you feed? You feed them. If you feed upon Christ, then you're gonna find that.
Your walk, your conversation would manifest Christ and people around you would know.
That by looking at you, they can look at you. And you know, for many of us who are parents, it is very difficult to see this. They will see that in our children. And the reflection is there. We can talk. You know, growing up in the assembly, spending the last 40 some odd years in the assembly, I realized something. I realized that many of us know how to walk and behave in front of our graduates, especially at a conference. We see everyone else going on so happily.
And then?
When we are back into our own environment.
We behave differently for some. And you know, when we see unhappiness, I believe is when our two lives do not match, when our our, our exhibition of our walk and our true walk in life do not match together. Then we produce stress, we produce difficulties, we produce anxieties. And you know when we have problems and we have to look at our lives.
If we walk the way we ought to before God and man, and then the result should be obvious. You think of Moses. When Moses was up on that mount in full communion with our God, and when he came back down, did he have to tell them to prove that he was with God? No, the glory on his face was so bright that they could not bear to look upon him. Well, brethren, if you were close to our blessed Savior, I am confident.
And that your results, your work would exhibit to your brethren that you were walking close and been enjoying our blessed Savior.
36 excuse me, maybe a comment on verse 62 would be.
In order.
Next to my Bible I have an exclamation point in the margin.
Where the Lord says what? And if you shall see the Son of man to send up where he was before.
I don't know how long ago I put that exclamation part well mark there, but.
It continues to.
To uh.
Lift up my heart when I rehearse in my mind the truth that I've known not not quite 30 years, that before the man Christ Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem, He was with the Father in eternity past. I went to Sunday schools a little boy faithfully. My mother saw to that, and I had a string of pins for attendance from here to here on my little blazer. But I never learned.
That before.
Jesus became a man. He was the Son of God in eternity with the Father. I learned that after I was saved, and I don't think I'll ever stop enjoying and wondering at that truth for the rest of my life and for all eternity. And I don't like to skip over it whenever we have a chance because I think it's a precious thing to lay hold of. It's essential to who He is.
Earlier in John's Gospel we have the truth that the relationship between the Father and the Son was, as one brother put it, in unoriginated relationship, a relationship just like the persons themselves that had no beginning.
01:00:10
And to think as it says here earlier on when Reuben was making the comment about the living bread coming down from heaven, well how could he have come down from heaven if he wasn't there in the 1St place? John 316 says For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
The sun purely or merely only had his beginning in time. How could that verse make any sense that God could have a son to give?
Well, this is an error that some have fallen into over the over the years and centuries, and it's a horrible one. And conversely, the truth that the Sun was with the Father throughout eternity past is a wonderful one.
And that in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, come of a woman, come under the law to redeem them that were under the curse of the law. And it's a wonderful thing to think of that.
That the man, the Son of God himself.
Was there throughout all the Trinity His history, if we could put it that way, as a man had a beginning.
And Scripture traces that beginning for us. And the Spirit of God is always jealous around those places where it speaks of his humanity.
If you trace through your Bible and you see a place where it speaks of His humanity, you can go a few verses up usually, or a few verses down.
And if you look for it, you'll see the jealousy of the Spirit of God to preserve to your understanding.
His eternal deity as the eternal Son of God.
When uh, in the gospels the the pronouncement is made the let's go back. I think it's in Luke chapter one.
Luke chapter one, verse 35 And the Angel answered, and said unto her, That is Mary.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing.
Which shall be born of these shall be called the son of God. Somebody put it this way. He never ceased to be what he what he was in becoming what he became and it's just as if in referring to this transition where the.
Eternal Son of God takes manhood to himself. The Spirit of God is right there to call him the Son of God. We sometimes say in the little flock him book without it's lay thy glory by and for us it's come from heaven as the Lamb of God to die.
And it's poetic license to say that, but it's important to lay hold of. I think that essentially he left nothing behind.
She didn't stop being what he was or who he was.
By becoming who he became.
And that's a wonderful thing. So it adds a majesty. I don't know any other English word to add to it, but it adds a profound dignity. As to lighter word, it adds a majesty to the pathway of Jesus as you chat and trace through the Gospel of John. He's walking all the way through the gospel. He walks off the end when we realize who this one was, who he always was. It's a wonderful thing to lay hold on.
That's the fountain of all Christianity's joy, and that's why Brother Ron said that attacking that truth just leads to unhappiness. Just say this to the young people. And I'm glad there doesn't seem to be as much of a problem with that. But all these modern translations, they confuse this issue terribly and with statements like You are my son today have become your father. The statement is blasphemous. Thou art my son this day have begotten thee, that the Son of God was brought into the world and became the Son of man.
That truth is the fountain of all. Christianity's joy is that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
I like what Solomon raised Seven questions in regard to that. Look at a few times. Almost done. I'd like to turn to just the passage in Proverbs chapter 30. He raised seven questions in that one verse, Proverbs chapter 30.
So it's four, he said. Who has ascended up into heaven or descended. That's what we're talking about. That one who descended was who had to send it up or descended who had gathered the wind.
In His first, who hath bound the waters in a garment, who had established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is his Son's name, if thou canst tell?
Verse 66 is a very sad verse in what we have just had before us as to that one that ascended up. So there were those that, well, we just noticed that. I forgot what the new translation is, but time is in italics from that time. But I'd like to use the word truth from that truth. What truth are we talking about that the flesh profiteth nothing?
01:05:22
That this company left.
And what did where did they go and what did they do? They composed the religious world that's well and healthy today.
Have religion without Christ and we have a lot of it and we are under severe test from this company. But then from the tenderest heart of the universe we have then said Jesus under the 12 will ye also go away?
I see, I hear that voice, intensely human, distinctly divine. Will ye also go away? Are we challenged? Are we being challenged?
I fear we are. Will we go away? What are we going to sell out for? What are we going to go to?
To I enjoy the brothers saying if we leave we've got no place to go.
We have no place to go. We're at the end of the road as it is and we're just waiting for the Lord to come and take us home. Is that right for the little?
You follow a man anywhere.
We've lost sight of the person.
Brethren, we just will reach the end of our meetings, but.
So we read a verse in the 15th chapter of John's Gospel that kind of summarizes the preciousness that we've had the last two days.
15th chapter of John's Gospel and verse 9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love, yes.
That should be the prayer that we take away with us, each one to our homes.
He knew he in my love.
He's loved. This wasn't ever lasting. Love. How precious these thoughts have been. And as the Father had loved me, so have I loved you.
Perhaps we could sing that hymn 70 in the appendix.
#70 in the appendix.
What are you doing? What do you mean?
By that.
Makes fun of you.
Right now and everything.
Home, but such is love that He must bring us there to fill that home, to be with Him and all His glory share the Father's house, the Father's heart. All that the Son is given, made ours the objects of His love, and He our joy in heaven. I was 127.
01:10:20
Our blessed God and Father, we do thank Thee for our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and what we've had before us in these meetings so far.
But we marvel, our blessed God and Father, thy love, that in an eternity past without its purpose to bring us into the circle of Thy love.
That ever existing relationship with thy Son to cause us to enjoy thy love to be there.
Be with and morally like him for all eternity. We do thank thee when we consider all that we were by nature and by practice, as we've had before us the tendency to feed that old nature that would take us nowhere but to death.
But we do thank thee, our blessed God and Father, for thy sovereign love that sought and found us, that by Thy Spirit arrested us and brought us into such blessing. We do thank Thee. We thank Thee for thy precious word, We look to Thee for thy continued blessing on the meeting after the dinner, and we do thank Thee for Thy care and Thy love to us. We do pray that these truths would have a practical constraining effect on us. And we do thank Thee that soon, though some in this room have heard it for many years.
Some for a few. We have the growing sense that it'll be just a moment before we're there. And so we just thank Thee for Thy love and our Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen.
As for me
Address—Ron Klassen Sr
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Let's sing together, hymn #174.
All Patient spotless 1.
Been thinking about this one and special way the last two days and we'll sing a little more about him 174.
Let's just ask for the Lord's help and blessing.
Our God and Father, we think of coming to the end of two special days.
Having been in thy presence, have thy spirit ministered to us.
And now coming to the closing meeting.
We pray to support thy trembling servant.
To fit words upon his lips that would be for encouragement, for blessing.
And to be directed to the scriptures of thy word that are written for our blessing.
We thank thee for that blessed man that thou hast given to us to feed upon now.
Through the rest of our life and throughout eternity, we thank Thee for opening our blind eyes.
To understand thy truth, and that he is truth personified.
And so that he might be made a little more precious to us.
To be able to tuck some things away in our minds and hearts that will do us good. We ask these things of Thee and thy most worthy and precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Soap and our precious Bibles to Jeremiah. Somehow we've been in that book off and on the last these last two days.
Go there for a verse. Jeremiah chapter 26.
Five months ago and four days.
Our dear Valerie took her flight.
Into the presence of the ones she loved.
Spirit and soul.
And the Lord, in his wonderful grace, gave us two months to be able to visit her daily, to draw from her, to learn from her.
And to realize that she was going to leave a heritage to her husband, to her children, to her siblings, to her father and mother, to her brethren.
Well, the time came when she drew her last breath.
And you know, our hands were wide open.
00:05:01
We weren't hoping that we could hang on. He brought us to that.
And brought her to that sooner than we. As I look at my brethren this evening, I know that your hearts were with us in a very real way.
Sad to say that her brother never looked better to us in all our life.
Then at this time.
The support in prayer, in conversation and card telephone.
Is overwhelming.
The outpour was it's recorded in heaven.
The thousands of prayers that went up.
Perhaps you prayed as we did, that her life might be spared.
Prayed that she would be relieved of pain.
Pray that it would be a blessing.
Many prayers.
We can say this evening.
That God has given us an answer of peace, sweet peace.
For 40 years.
Or lessons were learned.
School was out for her.
Some of us have a more difficult time in the school of God.
But as she lay in state.
Her well read Bible was by her head.
Open to Jeremiah 26.
Verse 14.
And I'm going to read this verse if you'll permit me.
As she had applied it to herself.
It's Jeremiah speaking and we'll speak about that a little later, but.
To think of her resting in these words. As for me, behold, I am in thy hand.
Deal with me as seemeth good and meat are right unto thee.
I noticed as we converse from day-to-day.
That whenever our subject matters strayed to something down the corridor of time.
She would always listen but never comment.
And this is the reason why.
A spirit of submission to the will of God.
You know it's the Spirit of Christ.
Is what we saw.
And it's that spirit that fortifies our souls to be able to say.
That As for God, His way is perfect.
We do not sorrow as those that have no hope, that's obvious.
What a deliverance from the weeping of the lost things finalized for eternity, never to have another chance.
The die is cast.
But not for us. That Day of Glad reunion is just before us.
Just a few more moments, it could all be over with and there we are with all our loved ones that have gone before.
One has been sober.
As I have kept a little bit of a tally of the Saints gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, going home 1 by 1.
If you were to look at the tally that I have.
For the last year and a half.
One St. per week.
You know, that's a lot of sorrow, isn't it?
Doesn't make any difference if it's an old father or an old mother.
They're weary of life. They go, yet we feel the loss.
And every St. the Lord takes home, there's no replacement.
They have left their testimony and they have gone on home.
Isn't it wonderful to have a Christian heritage?
00:10:03
When I was a boy, we used to.
Go to Spokane, WA for what we call their all day meeting.
There was an old brother that took an interest in me. Very obviously he loved me and sought my spiritual welfare.
And so when my father would say, well, we're going to Spokane for the all day meeting.
There was one thing that I was looking forward to when I went to that meeting, to see this brother somewhere during the day in the reading or whatever.
And his face beaming and he said, isn't it wonderful to be a Christian?
Well, you know, we made a lot of visits up there and it came down to his last few days, made our visit up there and I was waiting for him to say that, but he smiled and encouraged my heart. So I took the liberty to ask him or to say to him, isn't it wonderful to be a Christian and to see.
Those eyes light up.
Soon he was there.
Let's carry the torch, dear ones, dear boys and girls, carry the torch. Isn't it wonderful to be a Christian?
Our verse here has three words of seven letters.
That is the legacy that I enjoy, thinking that our daughter left us. Those words. As for me?
Now we might say at first thought you know that sounds like being self occupied.
And we know that it's a miserable thing to be occupied with ourselves.
Awful, miserable situation, but we can't class this statement with that sort of thing.
This expression is a signal that what is going to follow. It is a statement that has come deep down within the recesses of the heart that have been put there through sorrow, through pressure, through disappointment, through conflict of faith in almost every situation.
Well, I began to pursue this expression a little bit, trying from memory just to jot down a few places where I remembered this taking place. And I got up to about nine times and I couldn't use Young's Concordance because I couldn't put those words together. So I I was helpless that way. And so we were on a trip recently and I was in a brother's home and he was sitting down to his computer. And I asked him, I said, do you have the Bible there on your computer? And he said, I sure do.
I said would you type in the words As for me? So he typed them in and pressed the button and here were 24 times.
24 times. Then he looked at me and he said, would you like to check out the new translation? Well, sure, I'd be happy about that.
So he writes it in again and taps the button in here. There were 41 Times in the new translation.
And most of them were in the book of the Psalms where you would expect to find it were.
There is sorrow and pressure and suffering, and here is this word that follows. As for me.
Here's Jeremiah. He's the man that says these words here in this verse.
Mike Frieda turned to Second Chronicles, chapter 35.
Second Chronicles, chapter 35.
And verse 253525 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah, and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day.
Jeremiah was a prophet that was called somewhere in his teens.
Somewhere along the way, Josiah must have drawn him into the circle of the singers.
Someone has said that the sufferers of today are the singers of tomorrow.
00:15:05
And so here's King Josiah.
A love king that put down idolatry in Israel.
And, uh, made such a wonderful change. It was a bright spot in Israel's history, just for a moment.
And what happened? Here comes Pharaoh Neko, king of Egypt, and he's passing through Israel's land, and Josiah doesn't like it.
He goes out and confronts him, and the king warns them he didn't come to do battle with Israel, he was going down to Karshimi's, one of their enemies.
He wouldn't listen and he lost his life. What a shock.
What a shock to this young heart, Jeremiah. You know, when things are bright, we rally to it. We're so hopeful right in our Xena, so to speak. It's gone.
All the wheels within wheels of God's government. We can't know them.
His purposes are never singular in anything that he does never singular.
And so from this time on, Jeremiah watched a constant going, declining, down, giving up, going back to the idolatry.
Never mind what Josiah tried to establish.
And it went to the the grave, when God had to say there was no remedy, and he put them.
In the captivity, but before he did that.
He gave Jeremiah those messages of deliverance.
Warning and he said.
To his audience. Go out to the enemy, make your life a prey and you'll save your life. Oh, they got indignant about that. Threw him in a pit of mud.
But before they did that.
Go back to our verse in Jeremiah. I'm going to read it as he said it. As for me, behold, I am in your hand. Deal with me as seemeth good, and write unto you.
Would we dare to put ourselves in the hands of those who are angry with us and ready to put us out of circulation?
Let's say that's not too good of an idea.
Here is the Spirit of Christ in Jeremiah. He had the mind of God. There was no question about it. They could save their lives if they would listen.
And then he said, you do with me what you want.
You know, that kind of a spirit saves a world of trouble, doesn't it?
Think about it.
With our brethren.
Feeling indignation about.
What we say by way of help and deliverance.
You know, it saved Jeremiah a lot of trouble, and not only that, they drew him out of the pit when the Chaldeans were coming to utterly destroy.
Israel and they were trying to fill the breaches in this fortify themselves.
And Jeremiah is in the prison. The king orders him a daily portion.
Safest place that he could be in with the assurance of food to eat while the rest were starving to death and whatever.
All we could go on with Jeremiah that we want to touch on a couple others. Well, notice the first time that this is said in the 17th chapter of Genesis.
Genesis chapter 17.
Like for you just to bear with me and speaking in a fragmented way.
For you to develop further as you would so desire, but in Genesis 17 and verse 4.
This is God speaking.
God is not a man, but he condescends to men of low degree.
00:20:00
And he's speaking to Abraham, whom God could say.
Point at him and say, you know Abraham is my friend, that man is my friend and I'm going to tell him re reading verse 3. And Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying, As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.
Why was Abraham God's friend?
Abraham lived in Year of the Chaldees in the shadow of Shinar, that tower that was supposed to reach up to heaven and.
All the confusion that went with it and all the idolatry. But you know, it was a metropolis.
And he saw Abraham when he was alone, and he called him out to go into a land that he had never seen.
To think of the joy of the heart of God, to see this act of obedience, to try to explain to his wife we're leaving. I can't tell you where we're going. She was a remarkable woman.
But the point we want to make is that God is coming out with a deep counsels of his heart to tell Abraham of the promises that he's going to keep with him, and he hasn't fulfilled those promises to this day.
But he's going to.
You say the world is getting bigger, there's more people here and there's more things out of control. How's he gonna do this? God is going to keep his promise because he said As for May.
Everything established in the authority of God.
Let's turn to dear old Jacob.
Chapter.
47.
Chapter 48.
Genesis 48 and verse 7.
And As for me when I came from Paden?
Rachel died by May in the land of Canaan.
In the way when yet there was but a little way to come to Ephraim.
And I buried her there in the way of Ephraim. The same is Bethlehem.
I'm not sure.
How many years this took place before he said this? Maybe 30?
To go on for 30 years without his loved Rachel.
But before he says this to Joseph, he brings up the subject of where he wants to be buried.
And as you read it, he wants Joseph to know that he wants to be buried in The Cave of Machpelah.
To be buried next to Leah.
And he made Joseph swear that he would do this. I wonder why was he so persistent about this?
Well, I have an idea.
That Joseph would have buried his father with Rachel.
Bethlehem.
Why did Jacob be so insistent upon this point?
It just seems natural. Well, that's just the problem.
Those years in Egypt, 17 of them, were the golden years of Jacob's life.
And the model of his life was this as it comes to my heart.
That you and I are blessed in sovereignty.
Blessed in sovereignty? Oh, what do we mean by that?
Well, the contrast is to be blessed of men.
That may work, it may not, but to be blessed in sovereignty.
God allowed Jacob to be deceived and we say we can understand that yes, he was a deceiver. So he just getting back in his basket what he's passed out.
God always has a purpose for what he does, and it's not revenge.
00:25:02
It's that you and I might realize that we're blessed in sovereignty.
When he goes in before Pharaoh.
Why? I might be assuming too much, but Joseph may have looked at his old father on a on a cane.
So father, you know, you're going into the Royal Courts and there's kind of a protocol here. And and if you just wait kind of for Pharaoh to take the lead in conversation.
And he might have looked at his father. He didn't know if he heard him or not. And they go into the throne.
This dear man.
Enjoy the expression that the lesser was blessed of the better. Pharaoh was the lesser and Jacob was the better. And what did he do? He just spoke blessing and blessing to this man.
And, you know, it just left him confused maybe. But I think that his heart probably was touched by this dear old broken down man realized that he may have all the education of Egypt at his fingertips, but this man had something far more from a higher source. So those 17 years and we think of his son Joseph bringing in his two sons for his father to bless them. And he crossed his hands.
In the indignation that Joseph felt.
That he wanted his son Joseph to know that we are only and always blessed by the will of God.
You know that gives character to our lives, doesn't it? Gives purpose.
What are we here for?
We're here to enjoy the sovereignty of God.
Sometimes we hear this balance point of, well, you know, there's the sovereignty of God and there's the responsibility of man.
What is the responsibility of man?
It's to be in sympathy with the sovereignty of God, you say, Well, that sounds pretty easy to be in sympathy with sovereignty. Wait a minute.
Are you in sympathy with the mind of God about your life day by day?
There's warfare, isn't there? We had it this afternoon.
Blessed in sovereignty is the sweetest pillow that we can lay our heads down on. In a time of trial and pressure, the will of the Lord be done.
Let's turn to Joshua about Joshua in the book of Joshua, last chapter of Joshua.
Verse 15.
And if it seemed evil unto you to serve, the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land he dwell. But As for me and my house.
We will serve the Lord.
When the life of Joshua is introduced to us and we have these words spoken to Joshua, choose you out men this day.
The fight with the Amalekites.
You know, there are a lot of choices, aren't there? In our lives. We have to choose many things. The Lord said. You choose Joshua.
The beginning, the introduction of his life, and now here is the closing.
What's all this about?
He went the whole wilderness journey of 40 years.
He was there involved in the conquest of the Canaan for five years.
And they took up their inheritance. They lived in houses that they didn't build. They had orchards they didn't plant and wells that they didn't dig. And you say, this is wonderful, this is next door to heaven.
But as Moses spoke to them in the wilderness, he said utterly destroy the idols that are there. And many of them didn't do it. Probably just thought they just kind of keep him for a, a memorial, some kind or whatever. But we don't play that way, do we? We don't play with idols and not expect to get burnt and drawn into the power of them.
00:30:11
Joshua saw a decline with God's.
Favored people to be given a land that flowed with milk and honey.
And he had to say.
Choose you this day.
Choose.
Who you'll serve.
That came from the very depths of his heart.
Believe if Brother Little was up here this evening we drew out of the depths of his heart, I think he would stand right beside Joshua.
Choose you this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
I've enjoyed traveling among the Lord's people, sometimes just quietly observing the texts that are hanging on the walls in the front room or in the kitchen or in the bedrooms. Wonderful to have a house where you can just see the word of God and, and how many homes I have seen this text and I just rejoice in it because.
If the father says it, it's by faith that he's saying it. He's not guaranteeing that his family will, but he's including them with himself in this desire to serve the Lord.
One of the homes we visited in recently walked up on the porch to reach for the doorbell and right above the doorbell at eye level. As for me, in my house, we will serve the Lord.
Walk into that home, enjoy the sweetest fellowship. You expect it, don't you?
Let's turn to the 17th Psalm, Psalm 17.
This is David.
Prophetically Speaking of the Lord Jesus.
You know when the prophets were given a prophecy.
In the school of God.
He passed them through some things to help them.
Appreciate the prophecy that they wrote.
And so David says in verse 15, As for me?
I will behold thy face in righteousness.
I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
It's quite a challenge to our hearts.
The doctor tells us this next week that we only have a few days to live.
Would this be?
The song of her heart.
As for me?
I will behold thy face in righteousness.
I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.
I think that David entered in some degree to the end of the journey.
And I know that the Old Testament Saints were in fear of the uncertainty of where they were going to go.
But I believe that the Spirit of God was pleased with to any exercise hard to give them the sense of stepping into the presence of the Lord.
Well, to think of applying this to the Lord Jesus, as we remembered his sufferings, his sorrow, his rejection, the disgrace that was poured on him and laid in the lowest pit.
To think of a body.
A body that he had that was not subject to death.
But it was capable of it, but not subject to death.
And to think is the shadow of the cross loomed up before him.
To think of the comfort.
It was like looking beyond the cross. Enjoyed someone describing it this way. You know you're going down into a dark valley and it doesn't look good. It looks pretty uncertain, but you know, you see the sun shining on the hills beyond and that's what you keep your eye on as you go down through the valley.
00:35:17
And so to think of the Lord Jesus being raised by the glory of the Father.
Did he say anything about the suffering was too much? I didn't expect everything. Was there any complaint? Oh no. When he came out of those three hours of darkness, he was compassed about with Songs of Deliverance.
The comfort of the scriptures, there is nothing to compare with it.
How many of the dear Saints of God, Valerie included, to think of the moment, the most momentous moment of our lives, will be to step into the presence of the man whom we have never seen and yet we love him.
He died to set us free. That man of Calvary has won my heart from me. He died to set me free. Blessed man of Calvary.
Chapter 18.
And verse 30.
It's not As for me, but it's As for God.
He is way is perfect.
What kind of a heart?
In mourning and sorrow.
Can say this honestly.
What comfort?
To a broken heart.
Define consolation and meditating on this glorious fact.
As for God.
His way is perfect. I can't tell you this evening why the Lord took Valerie. I cannot tell you, but it doesn't vex my spirit.
Because I rest in this fact that God makes no mistakes.
And that with ease he will show the wonders of his ways in Yonder glory.
Perhaps we'll say quietly to ourselves, My I wished I could have seen that when I was here.
You know, I believe.
This is going to be the universal note of adoring worship from every one of our hearts that know Him as we enter those bright courts of glory and we see the tapestry of God's ways in every one of our lives and very displays it out in the.
Courts of glory and we look and we look for all eternity, we're going to say the greatest feature of glory.
It says matchless Grace. Well see it, we'll look at him.
Oh, may this possess our souls, dear ones, as we include these meetings that we can go home.
With the renewed desire.
To press on toward the goal.
Never mind distractions on the right or the left.
I want to win Christ.
I don't want to be called from some wandering quarter caught up to glory and there atrophy was grace, but the loss.
That my soul feel and it's spoken of.
As those things have to be judged and put away, it speaks of loss. Oh, you know, we want to be gainers in every way and losers and none. And he looks at us and he says.
We're more than conquerors through Him that loves us.
Like to sing one stanza?
Of them 323.
Perhaps some of you know it. If you don't, you can ponder it. But it's very sweet to me.
Dear Mr. Darby compiled the hymn book in his day.
And I understand that the brethren encouraged the sisters to write hymns.
I enjoy that. Consequently, in this hymn book, we have 54 women that contributed to this lovely hymn book.
00:40:08
The talent, the ability through sorrow and bowing to the will of God and accepting the school of the of adversity for our school brings out the richness.
I don't know who wrote this hymn, but as he put it together in verse three, he interjected a stanza of his own.
Probably he didn't want any credit for it. Put it in with this person, brother, whoever it was figuring there would be. No offense, but it's just sublime, isn't it? There with unwary gaze, our eyes on him will rest and satisfy with endless praise the heart supremely blessed one stanza.
Nsnoise.
Wonderful to anticipate the courts of glory when?
The music of heaven will flow like liquid. I don't know how to say it.
Hearts supremely blessed, let's praise Him.
God and our Father, we scarcely know what to say to Thee as we think of that One whom Thou hast given to represent Thy great heart of love and the perfect manifestation of a love that cannot fail, a love that has purposed us for eternal blessing. Oh, to rest in that love, and there in the Father's house.
Their love divine doth rest. What else?
Could satisfy the hearts of those in Jesus blessed.
Father, we ought to thank Thee for our brethren here, for giving them the courage and desire to invite us and to have this outpouring.
And we pray to give them the smile of thine approval for what they have done.
Wait for the day of the manifestation of all things.
And see those things rewarded that work for Thy glory. We thank Thee for Thy matchless grace this evening and Thy most worthy and precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
Open Mtg. 3
Open—D. So, R. Ruga, N. Wood
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Save your through the desert.
When I reached and not supposed to.
Nsnoise.
00:05:11
Nsnoise.
Our God and Father, we thank Thee together for this lovely hymn book that we sing out of and for many years, some of us so apropos to our subject matter, so timely and timeless. We thank Thee for the exultation of our Lord Jesus Christ in these hymns and to have Him glorified before us in words.
And in song and praise and worship.
Come to the time of the open meeting.
Our Father, there are prophets here among us.
And we know that there is that word in season to be given.
That would do us good all the days of our life. We pray for the needed courage and dependence and the liberty of Thy Spirit.
That we might want and all be edified, and to have our feet hasten along the pathway of faith, pressing on to the goal without turning to the right hand nor the left. All we can pass are wandering feet and heart, oh Lord Jesus.
Just be here to bless us and do shower Thy love upon us. We ask it together in that same worthy and precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen.
Like to turn to devote a haggy eye?
Bokohegi, I have only two chapters, 15 verses in the first chapter, 23 verses in the SE 2nd chapter.
Very short book.
I have my heart this afternoon.
To look at some of the conditions.
The people of God, we're in back in the day of haze.
I say this with very heavy hearts because I feel some of us, perhaps many of us, need the encouragement like they did back in those days. Perhaps we can read the 1St chapter first. Hegei chapter one in the second year of Darius the King in the sixth month. In the first day of the month came the word of the Lord by Hagee I the Prophet unto Zerubbabel, the son of Xiaot Yao, governor of Judah.
And unto Joshua the son of Josette the high priest, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying this people say, the time is not the time is not come the time that the Lord's house should be built. Then came the word of the Lord by Hegei the prophet, saying, Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in the CEO houses? And this post lied in ways.
Now therefore saith. Now therefore thou saith, the Lord of hosts, Consider.
Your weight, you have so much and bring in little. You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. Ye clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earneth wages, earnest wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Go up to the mountain and bring wood, and build a house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
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He looked for much, and lo, it came to little, And when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why, sayeth the Lord of hosts? Because of my house That is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
Therefore the heaven over you estate from due, and the earth estate from her fruit.
And I call for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the coin, and upon my.
My new wine, and upon the oil, upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon man, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the lands, the insurable, the son of Chiatiel, and Joshua the son of Josette the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Hegei the prophet, as the Lord their God hath sent him.
And the people did fear before the Lord, then spake Haggai the Lord.
Messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. And the Lord stirreth up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Xiao Tiao, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Josette the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and did work in the House of the Lord of Hosts their God, in the 4th and 20th day.
Of the six months and the second day and the second year of the riots. The king will stop there for now. This is a very interesting book, isn't it Peggy? I know Haggai was written around 520 BC. This is roughly the time after they returned home from captivity. We know they were taken away captive in the land of Babylon. Many of them were taken away. We know man like.
Daniel was taking away captive and then they were in the land for 70 years and after 70 years they returned home. And we read in the book of Ezra we see them return back and when they return back we found that they build the foundation for the House of God. And we read passages in there, seeing that how the young and old were there cheering, some would cried, some would cheer.
As the young people look at it and see what there is, they cheer, and that's the old look at it. They cry because they saw what the former glory was. These are years later. The temple was not built. People were settling in back into their own places.
And now it's the Lord's time for the temple to be rebuilt, and the Lord has to wake his people up all over again. So here the time is being very specific. In the second year of Darius the King, you can go through history and you can find out exactly what time that would have been. So we see here the Lord speaking to his people. What were the conditions of the people at that time?
Well, I believe they were quite well off in the land that they were in. I believe that it is just like us today. Many of us are very well off. We have most of the material blessings that we ever want in this world. Nice homes. As I look around the room, I don't know of anyone here that I would know of do not have a nice house to return home to, but the Lord has a message for His people.
In these brief verses 15 and 23, you can add that up 38 verses you'll find the Lord speaks to them five times. The Lord said to them, consider your ways this afternoon. Dear brethren, I believe the Lord is speaking to us as much to consider our ways.
What is He telling his people in verse 2? Lord's message to them, The Lord. Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying this. People say the time is not come. Lord calling you, He wants you to help in His house too. It's a time for you to help.
Maybe you're too young.
Maybe you have a family and you're too busy.
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Maybe you're too old.
Do we have a reason for not helping in the Lord's house? Maybe we're just simply too busy with you and what we're doing.
The time is not come, the time that the Lord's power should be built. And then we find the word of Peggy, I came. What is what does he say to us? Is it time for you OE to dwell and see your houses? And this house lie in waste? You know the temple, the foundation that they build is going back into rooms that we have a foundation that we believe in. Is there something that we need to strengthen?
Do we keep looking back at problems and difficulties and point fingers one at another?
While while.
This house lied in waste. And what do we do at the meantime? Dwell and seal houses.
Verse five, let the Lord say to them, and I believe this is the question for us all, therefore saith the Lord of hosts.
Three simple words. Consider your weight. Is there anything you have to consider today for yourself?
You know, it's very easy for us to sit there and listen and enjoy one another's company, enjoy one another from the Word of God, and then when we leave, we forget what we learn and go back to our own habits.
I know why it's easy, because I do it. We're all guilty of that, are we not? Lord, just consider your way. What are you to consider?
Now the Lord give them some example in verse 6.
You have so much and bring in little.
You eat, but you have not enough. You drink, but you are not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there is none warm. And he that earneth wages, earnest wages to put it into a bag with holes. You know, maybe some of the young people may not be able to appreciate that many were family here. I think you know what this verse means, don't you? Many of us have gone through that in different part of life. You know you. So I mentioned earlier, I'm not much of A farmer. In fact, I'm not a farmer at all.
I don't even know how to grow things, the only plants I have are stuff I can buy from the supermarket.
So I don't really know what it means to sew, but here it's the EF so much and bring in little.
No, the farmer's aim, I understand that she take this little seeds and you want to bring in many folds.
That's what they hope to do.
You saw your brain in that hole.
You eat, but not enough.
Well, we ate. Was it enough? It was a good lunch. In fact, I know many of us, I often say that a meeting like this is the hardest meeting because we're so full that we fall asleep and we see different heads bobbing up and down there as an indication that we had a good meal. Well, there are times that we feel that even though we eat, it's not enough. We never satisfy. We're not satisfied with what we have. You drink, but you're not filled.
Ye clothe you with his nuns warmth.
Do you feel that whatever you do is always lacking?
Even when you go buy clothes, we feel we don't have enough. In the closet. We have many.
I know some sisters tell me they love to shop. They're not concerned about clothes. They want shoes. You know when they go shopping, they want to have more shoes. Well, it's not enough.
And he that earneth wages, oh, that he speaks volume to me.
Earnest wages.
He that earnest wages, earnest wages to put it into a bag would hold. You know how many of us have used those terms can make the ends meet. It seems that the harder we work.
The more bills we have to pay and then we work longer hours, then there are more bills to pay. It's like we put money into that bag, that bag for our boats. We find that.
Sometimes it may not be just from money standpoint. Maybe it seems that there are more problems and difficulties in our lives. Can we apply that too? It seems that just as you get out of one problem, there's another problem that comes. It just seems that life is so full of problems and difficulties. But what is the Lord telling us here?
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Verse 7 here is the Lord of hosts. He said consider your ways. Have you ever sit and look and consider your weight? You know, we can tell people what to do. I think we're all very good at that. It's so easy to give advice, isn't it? To tell people we look at someone and say, you know, what you need to do is just this, this and this.
If we sit down, we are this morning before us this morning, the quiet time away, away from the crowd in that desert place, in that wilderness, as if it were so we can have time to be with our Lord, hear the Lord speaking to us. He said consider your ways, sit and think and listen to see and hear what the Lord have for you. Verse 7, second time he said to them, consider.
Your ways. We don't have much time to go into it in detail. Let's move on. Verse 8. Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build a house and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Oh, what does he want them to do? There they go. They go up to the mountain just like we were told to be at that mountain apart. Bring wood, think of Christ.
That humanity's side of Christ.
Enjoy our blessed Savior, bring him into your life. In their case there is a bill the house for our Lord, and he said I will take pleasure in it and I will glorify saith the Lord. How often that our lives are taken up with me.
Everything it seems that we want and do as the word I in it. Am I correct in saying so? Why does this happen to me?
Why is this about me? Oh, the Lord says here, consider your wage. Let's Take Me Out of the question for the moment. Go up to the mountain, bring wood and build a house and I will take pleasure in it and I will glorify it. Verse nine, you look for much and low. It came to little, and when you brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why?
Say, yes, the Lord of hosts, because of my house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven OV over you is day from dude, and the earth is stayed from her first fruit. For I call for a dwelt upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon and the corn, and so on, and at the end it's just upon the cattle and upon all the labor of.
The off the hands. So the Lord tells us here your problems and your difficulties. Look at this here he said I did blow upon it. He caused those problems and circumstances in your lives so that you can know to depend on the one who has power over all here in the case of rain, who stopped the rain. We knew in Deuteronomy. He tell his people that when they go into that good land.
He said he will give them the first reign and the latter reign, who control it all.
We know that do we acknowledge that everything is in his hand and he can blow on it when we do not follow his weight and his will and his weight Here he reminded them again, he said because my house is is waste.
And turn ye every man unto his own house. Well, we don't have that house to speak up per SE. But how do we take that in practical sense?
All have our own homes. We all say that we have to provide for our family, and rightly so.
I was thinking of that Hebrew servant of all you know. He wouldn't go from slavery. He said I love my master, my wife and my children, therefore I would not go.
He wouldn't go free. He would rather have his ear bore without awe at the doorpost. Because he loved his Master. He knew the importance and the priority that he should put into place. He didn't say I love my children. He didn't say I don't love my wife. No, he said, I love my children. I'm sorry, he said, I love my master, my wife and my children. He knew that the Lord must come first.
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His wife and then his children, in that order.
So where are we at with the Lord's house? Where is it? No, I have the privilege of visiting various places from time to time and one of the things we find sad is often on last day morning we see quite a few out.
Lord's Day morning. Come Lord's Day evening, you know that and more likely expect not to see the same crowd.
And then come to the weeknight meeting, we see fewer still.
Could we take that as an application? May I suggest that as an example of an application of the Lord's house that we do not take care of? And then we wonder why as we try and we struggle and things do not come into place. Ah, and find it here. The Lord said, I did blow upon it. Let's move on as our time is going like to leave some time for others.
Let's go down to.
Verse 13.
Then speak Haggy Eye, the Lord's messenger, in the Lord's message, unto the people, saying, I am with you.
Saith the Lord, what comforting word they have that the Lord has promised that He is with them. Do we have that assurance? Do we have that assurance that the Lord is with us? Oh, and the Lord remind them more. So I'd like to read the next few verses in the next chapter very briefly.
Chapter 2 In the seventh month of the In the one and 20th day of the month came the word of the Lord by the prophet Hegei, saying, Speak now unto rubble, the son of Shia, Shia Tiao, governor of Judah, And to Joshua the son of Josiah the high priest. And to the residue of the people, saying, Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory, and how do ye see it now?
Is it not in your eyes, in comparison of it, as nothing yet? Now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua son of Josette the high priest, and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, according to the word that I covenant with you when you came out of Egypt.
So my spirit remaineth among you, for thus saith the Lord of hosts, who will stop there for a minute. Well, we find that in these passages here the Lord when he's ready to work, he didn't take a lot of time. You know, sometimes things seems to take so long to get established. If you look at this chapter is quite interesting. The book start off by saying in the second year of Darius the king in the sixth month, the first day.
In the second chapter is the 7th month on the 20th day. I'm, I'm sorry, in the seventh month, in the one and 20th day from chapter one to chapter 2 is from the six months, the first day to the 7th month. So that was one month and 21 days. The Lord start to work in that very short time. When is his time? You know, sometimes we'll forget to wait for his time. You know, there's him that goes.
We wait His time, so shall the night soon end in blissful day. We need to wait for Him and His time. So here in just a mere one month and 21 days, the Lord raised these people up, and He raised three questions to them that I feel we ought to ask ourselves as well. In verse three, if you look at that one short verse, we find three parts to that verse.
The first question he raised What is this? Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?
Who is left among you who saw this house in her first glory? While the house that Solomon built, to give you an idea of the house they refer to, the house was built around 1005 BC and it was destroyed at about 587 BC. This is about 520 BC. You do the math, Maybe some.
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Could still recall the splendor and glory of the Temple of Solomon. So the question is raised, who is left among you? You know, we have brothers here in the 80s and 90s. As I said jokingly to one brother, he is more than twice my age. That will give you an idea how old he is. He's more than twice my age. And I can look at some of the young people here and say I am two to three times your age.
But here some of the older ones may be able to look back and see the former glory of something.
Well, what is that? Something I don't know.
Who have seen the former glory? Could it be the day when we were gathered with 600 people in one place that we can boast about? I remember when I went to Toronto for the first time in 1970, when I walked into that meeting room, they were all there were about 5-6 hundred people gathered in that room as one assembly. Do I look back and say, look at the former glory?
Oh, that's the question raised. Who is left among you? Are you looking at what's in the past?
Second question, let's go on. And how do you see it now?
Whatever that glory was.
How do you see it now?
I can go back to that same assembly.
And she may be a feeble few, 20-30, maybe 40 people.
Perhaps some can look back further and tell more Splendor story than that, but how do you see it now?
One more question here.
The last, perhaps not truly a question, may be a remark, depending on how you look at it.
Is it not?
In your eyes.
In comparison of it.
As nothing.
Solemn questions.
How do you see it now?
He said in your eyes.
In comparison of it.
As nothing.
I cannot answer that question for you.
You need to be a part.
In that mountain place as if it were at the siege of Jesus.
And ask that question, let's turn to that verse in Zechariah again.
Zechariah just a few pages over Chapter 4.
Per Six.
Who for who hath despised the day of small things?
Who has despised the days of small things? By the way, if you look at the beginning of Zechariah, Ego parallel with Peggy Eyed, If you look at the time, there's only a few months after that. Let the Lord raise up Zechariah to write this book. It is in the eighth month, in the second year, when the Lord when it's his time, things happens very quickly according to his time and will.
So we have three questions before us. Who Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?
How do you see it now?
Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Now let's go on, see if we can get some answers. Verse 4 yet. Now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord be and be strong, O Joshua.
Verse to what the latter part of that verse and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts. Oh, they are told to work, work on the House of the Lord, because it's his house. And when we put things of his first to honor his glory, then the rest of our lives those pieces will start falling into place. And God here give us 3 assurance that I can see from these scriptures.
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We see three. There were three questions asked. Now there are three assurance. I believe that the Lord has given them and we still have the same assurance today. Toward the latter part of verse 4. You find the Lord's promise with them. I am with you. Is that promise enough? Do we feel the Lord's presence that He is with us? Do we believe that the Lord is with us?
Do we truly believe that he is in our midst? The Lord says I am with you verse five and according to the word that I covenanted with you.
Here's the second comfort or assurance. He is with us. His word is with us.
And then one more part.
So another part of verse five, My spirit remaineth among you. Fear not.
What comfort we should have to have Him with us, His Word and His Spirit.
What more do we have that's lacking? We won't have time to go through the rest of the chapter. I think the rest of the chapter is very nice to you to go into holiness and so on and the way we should walk. But let's read just verse 18 and 19 to complete the thought here. Verse 18. Consider now from this day and upward.
Consider now.
You heard it, you know it.
Would you consider it now as if it's afresh to you from this day and upward? Would you consider your way before the Lord, the end of the end of verse 18?
It changes a little bit.
It sets. Consider it, consider it.
You know, after hearing what Brother Dave SO had to tell us, we might be a little discouraged. Things are not what they used to be.
And we may say, well, what's the sense of going on?
The tendency to give up.
You know, dear brethren.
Let me read you a verse in John chapter five. One verse in John chapter 5.
Verse 17 says.
But Jesus answered them. My Father worketh hitherto.
And I work. That is God the Father worked in the Old Testament, in creation. He worked with the children of Israel. That's the past my Father worked hitherto or until now.
And then the Lord says, and I work. The Lord was working while he was here on earth.
The Lord worked in redemption.
But redemption has been accomplished. Now what?
Is anyone working today?
Father and the son worked. Is anyone working today?
I would like to speak about four unnamed servants.
4 unnamed servants. Maybe the first would be in order morally. Luke chapter 14.
Luke chapter 14. We'll see if anybody's working today.
Luke chapter 14, verse 16. He said unto them, and then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many.
And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden come, for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him whom I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it, I pray that you have me excused. Another said I have bought 5 yoga boxes and I go to prove them, I pray thee have me excused. Another said I have married a wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and showed his Lord these things.
Then the master of the house being angry, and said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in Hit her the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind, And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled, before I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste.
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Of my supper.
You know, when you get the comparable passage to this Luke 14 and Matthew 22, you find it's in the plural servants. And those servants when they go out, they cannot do as this servant in this chapter does. They beseech, they implore, we who we may plead with men to come to the Lord. But this servant that is mentioned here, he compels, he convicts, as you have in John 17.
Just read that for a second to get that straight. What the Lord says about that servant.
Need not turn into it, but I think it's a 17 uh on the 16th chapter of John rather.
And when he has come, verse eight, he will approve the world of sin or if you have a marginal convince, the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of sin, because they believe not on me of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more of judgment because the Prince of this world is judged. That's what this servant would do. He would convict men of sin.
Leave them to repentance. Thankfully, so many in this room have been led to repentance by the indwelling work, the Spirit of God.
But you know, God must not only furnish the board that is the food pair of the table and he has in the person of His Son, but He must also provide all the guests or else nobody would come, not a single invited guest would come. None of us would partake of God's salvation. We're there. Not the work of the Spirit convicting us of our sinful need of salvation, that we're sinners and we need a Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ is that Savior.
Look at the flimsy excuses they give. First that I bought a piece of ground. You know, in Proverbs chapter 31, there's the virtuous woman and says of her that she goes out and she considered carefully a field and then she buys it. This fellow, he buys a piece of ground first and then he's going to go see it. And the other one, he bought 10 oxen. He bought 10 oxen. And was he afraid the oxen was going to run away from him? They belong to him, right? He bought them. They're not going to go anywhere. Why didn't he avail himself of the invitation and come to the feast that was freely provided?
The third fellow he married a wife. Of course, it never dawned him that he could bring his wife to. I'm sure she would have been invited to to come. The Spirit of God is bringing before us out. Man will make every kind of excuse to avail himself of that which God has so freely provided. And yet this servant, he accomplishes his purpose. It says that right here.
Uh-huh.
Verse 22 Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded.
You know, you travel around the world and you see so many souls. The more you travel, the more you feel you're just a drop in a bucket. Lord, how can all these souls, how can they get saved? You know, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me every last, all that's destined for eternal salvation is going to be saved. And in spite of our own unfaithfulness, God is going to save every last soul that He intends to have in glory. It is done as thou hast commanded. The Spirit of God will work in every heart. He's going to accomplish it.
The Spirit of God is faithful even though he works unnamed in this passage. Genesis chapter 24, the second mention of unnamed servant.
He has a different office in this chapter.
You're well aware of that the purpose of this servant whose name is not given to us.
Purposely left out of the chapter.
Is to seek to win.
To adorn and to lead and bring.
To her husband, a bride, everything that is disposal, everything that Abram had was at his disposal to accomplish his purpose. Here he's much in prayer and dependence. He doesn't speak of his own except that which is given to him. All that we have in the word of God is indicted by the Spirit of God.
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And the Spirit of God would occupy us with that heavenly man.
And all that we have in him.
What about Rebecca? If she had not been occupied with the one that was being portrayed to her, she certainly never would have gone.
Those were acquaintances wanted to detain her at the least 10 days.
We'll now go with this man. What is our response, dear brethren?
We desire this afternoon, as we sit here to go, to be with that man and glory of whom we've heard so much about.
Will we go?
As his love when our hearts affection.
What do you suppose this servant occupied Rebecca with, you know, 13 times?
The servant refers to Abram as my master, but when at the end of the journey they see Isaac, he says he is my master, he is my master.
I am father of one Co equal and deity.
She left all her acquaintances behind. She believed a report that was brought to her brethren. We've not seen miracles by and large in our day and age. I don't say that God cannot work miracles. And He has another place in China and elsewhere.
But we've received a report by Faith pretty much as the queen of Sheba, the Gentile woman. She heard a report and she believed it and she acted on it in faith. She was not disappointed. Neither will we be.
And so she goes.
When she finds out that that was Isaac, she takes a veil and covers herself. Submission the subject to him. The servant passes off the scene. His mission is accomplished.
What is the purpose of the Christian here today? To engage in politics to make this world a better place in which to live.
But to live for a heavenly Isaac, to walk in separation from this world.
That servant, this unnamed servant, was to occupy that young girl with the ho, one with whom she was going to be united, another a named servant in Luke chapter 22, verse seven. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
And he said unto them, Behold, when you're entered into the city, there shall a man meet you.
Bearing a pitcher of water, follow him into the house where he enters in, and ye shall say unto the good men of the house. The Master said unto thee, Where is the gas chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples?
He shall show you a large upper room furnished.
There make ready. And they went and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. He was a servant man.
Carrying a pitcher of water. Usually the women did that. This man stands out. He's a male doing the work of the servants. His name is not given to us, but his mission is most important.
They are going to celebrate the last Passover.
Often, though, we're reminded Lords a morning that we are there to celebrate the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're the disciples, free to decide for themselves where they were going to celebrate this Passover.
I'm sure John had a nice house. He took the Lord's mother to it.
Scared for her, disciples all went to their own homes. Their homes? Would that have been suitable or adequate? Was it up to them to decide where they would keep this last Passover? No, they were to follow a servant bearing a pitcher of water.
Does the Lord tell us today, you know, it doesn't matter where you want to, uh, fellowship. There are plenty of Christians and nice, nice Christians in this denomination. That group over there. You go to the place of your choice.
They were to follow the man bearing the pitcher of water, the Spirit of God, led by the word of God. And the two never go counter the one to the other. They always go jointly. Don't tell me that you're praying about an unscriptural marriage.
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We are praying about following a course which is dishonoring to the Lord. Might as well give up such prayer. God's not going to answer it.
The Spirit of God would lead us to that place where the Lord has chosen. He's not. He didn't say, look, you go to the place where you have relatives, and there you prepare a Passover.
No, there was one place that was separated. It was.
Remove from this world. It was a large upper room furnished.
Large room for all the Lord's people to be there at the Lord's table.
Upper separated from this world. He wasn't down on ground level.
Furnished with what?
Stained glass windows? A nice choir. You think our singing is the best in the world here? Far be it. You think our meeting rooms are the most commodious? Not so.
But it's furnished if Christ isn't there. Dear brethren, what do you have? An empty shell?
But if Christ is there, then nothing else counts if the Lord is there. And that's where this unnamed servant would take us to.
And they found, as you said unto them, you'll never be disappointed if you follow that servant with the Spirit of God would lead to last the 4th unnamed servant Ruth chapter 2 may read verse four and this is a logical sequence because first, as you know, the servant would lead in salvation.
Then the servant would lead us to.
Uh, our heavenly calling in Christ, and as to remembrance as we await his return from heaven. But then we have this 4th servant mentioned in the four second chapter of Ruth, whose name is not given to us, says, And behold, Boaz came from the 2nd chapter of Ruth. And the fourth verse, Behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers.
The Lord be with you. And they answered him. The Lord bless thee Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers. Whose damsel is this?
And the servant that was said over the reapers answered and said it is them all by this damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab, so forth and so on.
This servant that was set over the Reapers.
Is one who I'd like to speak about.
We need not seek a place for ourselves amongst the Lord's people.
Tells us in Ephesians 4 and the first Corinthians chapter 12 That the Spirit divided severally to every man as he will. You don't have to go to some theological seminary and.
Again, some education and theology to have a place amongst the Lord's people.
The Spirit of God equips a person.
And gives gifts to different ones, although we feel our weakness.
This servant that was sent over the Reapers knew all about the Reapers, knew all about this Moabitish woman, and was able to inform Boaz as to her history.
The Spirit of God knows our inclinations.
And there is no such thing.
In the body of Christ as an unnecessary member, there's a place for each member in your body to perform a specific function. Don't tell me that you're a vestigial organ that has no no function as.
Some in the medical profession thought you had the tonsils. You know you can remove the tonsils in other parts. It performs no function. They're finding out it certainly does. You have a function in the body of Christ.
And the Spirit of God divides to everyone severally as he will. The Reaper here reports to the Master Boaz.
His name isn't given to us.
The Spirit of God is working today, dear brethren, in this world, accomplishing his purposes. Will we let him or we gonna hinder the Spirit? It tells us in First Thessalonians and also in Ephesians about quenching the Spirit and about grieving the Spirit of God whereby your seals until the day of redemption. You know that's a wonderful thought. The Spirit of God will not leave us as he did King Saul of old. Perhaps David was fearful of that in the 51St song when he says take not the Holy Spirit from me.
00:55:09
He saw what happened to his predecessor and the Spirit of God came upon him and then left. That will never happen to us. We're sealed with the Spirit of God until the day of redemption, till the Lord comes. We have that divine indwelling guest and the Spirit of God is working in this world. Brethren, my spirit remaineth with you. I enjoy that Dave that was in there. My spirit remaineth with you and will until the Lord comes.
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01:00:22
Verse 2 not convey our steady progress more than conquerors we shall be Fri whatever the danger looks to thee, and none but thee.
And then in the middle of the next verse, in thy presence we can conquer, we can suffer, we can die.
Wandering from thee we are feeble. Let thy love, Lord, keep us nigh.
You know, I was thinking just very briefly in numbers chapter 13, uh, with the children of Israel in the, in the wilderness, they've been into the wilderness probably 13 months and they're up at Katie's Barnier, which is just South of the promised land. And the Lord wants to send the children of Israel directly home into the promised land. And he sends by the including Joshua and Caleb into the promised land as by a glance.
And, uh, they bring back fruit from, uh, from the promised land, gorgeous fruit. And of course, Joshua and Caleb are tremendously encouraged. They want the children of Israel to walk right into the land and, and play the enemies. And this would have been a tremendous shortcut. Uh, but, uh, you know, the children of Israel lacked faith to do that. And it's not for me to criticize anybody because I failed so much.
But nevertheless they did, and the Lord was so.
Upset about that, that he said, you know, children of Israel, you're, you're gonna be a fool 40 years in the wilderness. And for about 30-8 years, he marked them from Cadence Barnier down to the Gulf of Aqaba and back again for some 38 years. Finally, at the end of that time, it was the Lord's time to bring them into Canaan. And he brought them straight N through Edom and Mogg and, uh, to cross the Jordan. Well, you know, uh, they had an opportunity of a short cut, uh, to the glory, let's say, to the promised land.
And so the question I asked today, do we have a shortcut? Is there a shortcut for us to the promised land, to heaven?
And you say, I know normally we all love, we're gonna get there in due time, but you know, I believe there is a shortcut for you and I and, uh, little I know about it, but I know a little about it. There's brethren here that know a lot about it. But if we take the path that would be pleasing to the Lord that the Lord would have for us as we enjoy the Lord as we go along, it'll be a very happy path and it'll seem very short.
Now, dear young people, from the converse is this If we turn our backs on the Lord, we're going to enter into a long life of failure after failure after failure.
And discouragement, all kinds of sorrow without the Lord to help us. That my young person is going to be a long, long life. Just think for a moment about the, uh, those two disciples on the way to a Mass.
They left tourism so discouraged the Lord had been crucified. They counted on them to.
I'll leave the the new Kingdom and he was gone. And there they went on the road to Emmaus. And as you and I watched those.
We watched to discourage breath and we can just see their steps drag. Well, that's me. But you know, once they, uh, the Lord of course, came along, they didn't know him. But once, uh, they got to Emmaus and to their home, they invited the Lord inside and he revealed himself to him and to them in the breaking of breast. And you know what it says? Uh, this is that night. Now remember, they took them all day to get there. And at night it said.
They rose up the same hour and came to Jerusalem and you know.
Full of joy. And you and I can see their steps as they come back to Jerusalem, the very same distance. And it must have seemed very, very short to them. And so I submit to, to you and to my own heart that there is a short cut to the heavens. It may be the same mile, but it's gonna seem much shorter. As I say, I don't know much about it. I I'm trying to know more about it. And there's many brethren here that know a great deal about that. Let's just pray.
01:05:18
Our God and our Father, we thank Thee for all of this, uh, word that we've been having about.
The wilderness. And we know we're right in it, Lord, but we can see the end in view.
And, uh, we know, as David said long ago, we're gonna be with thee and we shall be satisfied, nice and old Lord, too, that Thou art gonna be satisfied too, in my brine. Just help everyone of us, Lord, to have more joy in our hearts than in our lives, than to go on for Thee. Give us the strength. We've just sung that hymn. Failure leadeth by thy power. We thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for the time together here in thy precious name. Amen.
I know.
Open Mtg. 6
Open—S. Ruga, D. DeGraaf
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
The 5th chapter in the Book of Judges.
Then sang.
Deborah and Barrick, the son of Benoit on that day, sang.
Praise thee, the Lord, for the avenging of Israel.
When the people willingly offered themselves hero, ye kings give ear, O ye Princess.
I even I will sing unto the Lord, I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel. Lord, when thou wentest out of seer, when thou marchest out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped. The clouds also dropped water. The mountains melted from before the Lord, even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath. In the days of jail.
The highways were unoccupied and the travelers walked through byways.
The inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel until that I.
Deborah Rose.
That I arose a mother in Israel.
00:05:04
They chose New Gods.
Then was the war on the gates? Was there a shield or a spear seen among 40,000 in Israel?
My heart is toward the.
Governors of Israel had offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless you the Lord.
Speak ye that ride on white ***** ye that sit in judgment, and by the way, and walk by the way.
They that are delivered from the noise of The Archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of His villages in Israel. Then shall the people of the Lord.
Go down to the gates.
Awake, Awake, Deborah. Awake. Awake. Utter a song. Arise, Baron and Levi. Captivity, captivity. Captive, thou son of a Benowen. Then he made him. There remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people. The Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.
Add AV frame was their root of them against Amalek after thee Benjamin among thy people, out of Maker came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handled the pen of the Rider and the Princess of Issachar were with Deborah, even Issachar.
And also Barrack. He was sent on foot into the valley.
For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart. Why boatest thou among the sheep foals, to hear the bleedings of the flocks?
For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of Horn Gilead abode beyond Jordan. And why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the seashore.
And abode in his breeches.
Zebulun and Affili were a people that jeopardized their lives unto the death. In the high places of the field. The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan and Tanakh by the waters of Megiddo. They took no gain of money.
They fought from heaven. The stars in their courses fought against Cicero. The river of Chrysanthemum swept them away with an ancient river, the river of Caishon.
O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
Then with a horse host broken by the means of the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones, Percy Murahs.
Said the Angel of the Lord.
The inhabitants thereof, because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
Blessed above women shall jail the wife of Hebrew the teenide be blessed shall she be above women in the tent He asked water, and she gave him milk. She brought forth butter and lordly dish.
She put her hand to the nail and her right hand to the workman's hammer, and with the hammer she smote. Cicero she smote off his head when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
At her feet he bowed, he lay down, he fell, he lay down. At her feet he bowed, he fell where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
Thou might be the whole chapter. The mother of sister looked out at a window and cried through the lattice. Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his Chariots? Her wise ladies, answered Harriet. She returned an answer to herself. As they not speed, have they not divided the prey to every man, a damsel or two, to sister? Of prey, of divers colors, of prey, of diverse colors, of needlework, of diverse colors, of needlework on both sides.
00:10:11
Meet for the next of them that take the spoil.
So that all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them love him be as the Son, when he goeth forth in his might.
The land had rest 40 years.
It's amazing in this book of judges.
Which tells us so much of the.
Failures of God's people, their low state.
But there's a song in it.
Can God's people sing?
When things aren't.
Going just right.
Now if the Lord comes in and blessing.
In restoration in his keeping power.
There can be a song in our hearts, and here we find a.
This uh.
Can't call her sister.
This, uh, St. of God.
Umm, she's singing. She and uh, and and Barrett.
I thought, and that's something here in the book of Judges, just two people are singing when God helped his people.
Some years before that.
Uh, there might have been a million people singing.
Moses sang. Miriam sang. All of Israel sang. Huge multitude.
But now there's just two who take up a song of praise to the Lord, you see?
God is always going to have a testimony, brethren.
And here it's just two, but there was two. And they sang because they had witnessed that God had wrought for them.
And, uh, that's a nice spirit to get into when we realize that God is for us despite our weakness, that we, uh, praise the Lord. And that's the beginning of power, I'm convinced to God's people and that we worship the Lord and we give him his, uh, rightful place in our hearts.
And then he'll have.
The rightful place in our lives and the blessing can continue.
Certain things.
Seem to have come specially before Deborah's heart in this song.
So I must confess I often go over scriptures real quick that I don't understand.
You ever done that? Come to a portion and the word of God and wow, what's the Lord telling us there? And this is one of those chapters.
That this poor man has misused in that way.
Perhaps it's the?
Present circumstances to which the Lord has passed us through.
And brought it.
Before us this afternoon.
And Deborah notices some things after their praising the Lord.
One thing that causes her to praise the Lord is the people willingly offered themselves in verse 2.
Willingly offered themselves.
And it is a beautiful thing when there's work to be done for the Lord, the God's people offer themselves willingly.
They stood up and they were going to fight the enemy.
And it it meant so much to her, she says, I, even though I will sing unto the Lord.
When she thinks of the people willingly offering themselves.
00:15:01
We can easily sit back, dear ones. And uh.
Let others take the sweat in the brunt of what has to be done for the ward. But are we going to stand up for the truth? Are we gonna willingly offer ourselves? Are we gonna cause joy to the heart of two or three who want to praise and honor the Lord?
It meant something to Deborah and Barrett.
And she remembers the difficult time they had.
See uh in verse uh six it says the highways were unoccupied. The travelers walked through the byways.
And that was characteristic of the book of Judges. Every man did that which is right in his own eyes. There was no liberty to walk in the path that God had marked out. There was danger there.
The the enemy had the upper hand and.
She reminds the people in song that the highways were unoccupied now. We have even had some conferences canceled.
Because of the difficulties.
And this St. of God.
Remembers that after they had won the battle in the previous chapter.
She mentions it.
In song.
They couldn't have fellowship as they used to in verse 7.
The inhabitants of the villages ceased. They ceased in Israel.
Until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
I used to when I was younger here, great reverend speak of.
So and so being a mother in Israel. And I had the sense in my soul that.
They must be speaking good of that person, of that sister.
And this is where that expression comes from.
I, Deborah Rose, I arose the Mother in Israel.
Now the apostle Paul had to remind his dear brethren in Corinth that.
They didn't have many fathers.
And perhaps, dear brethren, we don't have many mothers.
Now it says that Deborah was the, uh, wife of, uh. I think his name is Lappador. Anyway, it mentions her husband.
But it doesn't mention any children that she had. But yet she calls herself a mother in Israel.
Well, mothers in Scripture.
And naturally speaking, we associate with having.
Children, and we also associate mothers with having care and concern for those children and for the family. Well, here is a Saint of God who had care and concern for the people of God.
And it wasn't till this mother rose up.
That the highways were free of the enemy again, and that folks could return in any measure of safety to their villages.
And half fellowship one with another.
And it has come to my ears, dear brethren.
And the difficulty we're going through that sometimes.
The brother is clear in a matter, but his wife isn't.
Is that a mother in Israel? Is that someone who cares for the good and blessing of God's people?
Ah, my dear brothers and Lord, if you have a wife who's 100% behind you and your desire to walk through the Lord, thank for the Lord for that.
Thanks a lot for that. We need that.
What a a word for those of you who aren't married yet. Don't look at a girl for what she looks like. Look at her for what she is. Is she giving her mother in Israel?
00:20:09
If it is, your desire to be a father among God's people is the one you're looking at, is she gonna walk with you and the Lord? Or when difficulties come, is she gonna make it hard for you to stand up for the Lord?
Serious business.
And it it it got burned home to this dear St. of God. She recognized that things didn't turn around till she.
Took a stand for the Lord.
Well, sometimes the mothers in Israel don't have their husbands with them. May God give you the grace to still go on for the Lord. There's a place for the sister even under those circumstances. We don't read that her husband came with her when Barrack went to the battle.
There is a place, you know, we need fathers in the assembly.
And we need mothers.
Now, why was there the difficulty in the days of uh?
Shamgar and jail.
She knew this mother in Israel knew why they had trouble. They in verse 8 says they chose New Gods.
Whenever there is a difficulty among God's people, there is a reason for it.
There is a reason.
What was the difficulty here? New Gods? Something had come in between.
Israel and Jehovah.
And, uh, and, and if we examine ourselves, we see that things have come in among us that ought not to be there. Those gods didn't belong there. Did the Lord know they were there? Oh, he knew they were there. And it hurt him. And you read through this book and he sends judges because they go ******* after these things that are against him, that displaced him.
The Lord wants our whole hearts. He doesn't want to have. He doesn't want a peace. He wants our whole hearts. And unless we.
Realize that in the depths of our soul that He wants our whole heart. We're going to let things come in between US and the Lord.
Then was worn the gates she see she she she knew why they had problems. They chose new guards and there was war.
And every affliction that comes among God's people like this, it's because we forsaken the Lord and one thing or another and there's war in the gates. Problems come and how do they confront the problem? They couldn't find a shield or a spear among 40,000 What a what a sad statement that is. Israel had marched out of out of Egypt with their armies.
They can't find.
A shield or a spear and 40,000 people, 40,000 people, unarmed, unable to resist. The enemy couldn't do a thing. Why? Because they chose other 'cause you see how weak we get, dear ones, when we let something come between our souls and the Lord. And Deborah sought, and she recorded it in this song for us.
And she sang it with Barrett.
Our hymns don't like that we sing sometimes. They remind us of the token path in our our failure, and yet the Lord's goodness to us.
And we need to be reminded that we get our eyes off the Lord and that He has to bring us back to Himself.
Well.
She notices something else. There were those who were doing quite well riding on white *****.
They sit in judgment, they walk by the way, and there are those who.
Who benefited from the acts of the others, from those who willingly offered themselves in the beginning of the chapter and.
00:25:04
She wants him to take notice of it.
There shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord speaketh, and that word says is meditate in the margin. Think about it. You know sometimes we take the meetings for granted, but of course, some brethren hours on and east.
Hours in in discussing things together and weighing things before the Lord. Fighting the battles of the Lord.
And we take it for granted.
Ah, she, she, she speaks to those and she says think about it, think about it.
We ought to think about it.
Unless we borrow the truth for ourselves, it's going to slip right away from us.
Well.
It's amazing she notices those who came out to the battle.
Ephraim.
Benjamin.
Zebulon.
Issachar in verse 15.
Embarrassed, he was sent on foot into the valley.
She noticed these folks who.
Who came to the battle?
Do do we take notice of those who are standing up for the Lord? Perhaps some of you come from an assembly where there are those who argued against the truth.
Have you noticed those who stood up for the truth?
Stood firm. Sometimes they're called names. They should have been called even. They stood firm. Deborah thinks of all these folks who came to them. I don't know if it was 10,000 men total. She thinks that these 10,000 people out of all the hundreds of thousands in Israel and it meant something to her heart. Oh, that might mean something to our heart when there are those among us whose.
Stand for the truth, willing to fight the Lord's battles.
As she noticed those who are doing good.
She also notices other things.
And, uh, verse 15 for the divisions of Reuben, there were great thoughts of heart.
Why impotest thou among the sheepfolds? To hear the bleedings of the flock? And she says it again. So the divisions of Reuben, there were great searchings of heart. You know, Reuben could, this tribe could, uh, stay at home and think about it all they want.
The enemy was still going to confront God's people and oppress them unless something was done about the enemy.
And you know, we hear of those who claim they're praying about the situation, all these searchings of the heart that the divisions of Reuben, they're great, but they don't do anything. And that's because they can't. When there's a righteous cause among God's people, there should be no question in our souls about rallying to it. And let us not hide under a covered and said, oh, I'm praying about it. I'm looking to the Lord.
Oh, if you're ignoring God's Word, don't look to the Lord because He's not going to give you any wisdom in the matter. He can't. He never goes beyond His Word, and His Word is the only resource that He's given us today. He wants us to be obedient to His precious Word.
And Debra and Barrick.
They record that in this song, the division, great thoughts of heart. Oh, I'm waiting on the Lord. We hear that too. You're not waiting on the Lord because the Lord is has shown us in his precious word. He's already told us what to do. He's made it clear what we need to do is be subject to the word of God. Be obedient to the word of God. That doesn't come easy because.
We have Adam's nature in US.
We're no better than he was.
All I had to do is obey and they could have stayed in the garden, but they disobeyed and it's no different for us. So a believer if we disobey the word of God, if we ignore, if we treat it lightly is be real difficulty among us. They'll be the searching of heart. You can meditate all you want. These divisions they'll happen again and again because we're not waiting on the Lord Jesus.
00:30:13
And Gilead, he stayed over there and Dan was in ships and actually he was by the seashore. They were comfortable enough. While I get involved, isn't that a state that we sink into? What others handle it? We speak that way. So there, these other tribes, they were content with their business. Things are going smooth in their assembly. Why should they get occupied?
Well.
She doesn't keep dwelling on that kind of thing.
Her heart is on higher thoughts. Lost you matters, she says. Zebulun. And that's the line where people.
That jeopardy their lives unto the death in the high places of the field. Ah, this is what you really want to dwell on. There was there were two tribes. They really went at it. They put their lives on the table, so to speak.
For the good of God's people.
And we've got to recognize that when Saints of God take a faithful stand, it's for the good of God's people. Otherwise there won't be a testimony.
There wouldn't be one if there weren't those who were faithful.
And I just understand from these next few verses that Deborah and Barack realized.
Where the help really came from, the Lord was helping them.
Uh, they fought from heaven. Stars in their courses.
Fought against Cicero and that's where our help is coming from.
If any of us, by the grace of God, are exercised to make a right decision to stand up for the truth of the word of God, it's the Lord who put those desires in our hearts. And he even used nature. It seems the, uh, this river caisson destroyed some of them. The Lord she recognized though, that it was the Lord working on behalf of his people. And even in this difficulty, we should be able to recognize the Lord working.
On behalf of his people.
And he might have a testimony when he comes.
I don't like to read the 23rd verse.
I don't think it's properly Christian language. We don't speak like that.
Alright, I found the Apostle Paul saying some words like that. If any man loved not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed.
But, uh, hers E Miraz.
Said the Angel of the Lord. The Angel of the Lord is saying that.
Why curse Miros, the inhabitants thereof? Because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
I don't know if we can find this town or this place, Miraz if we look for it, but uh.
I have a sense that it may have been very close to where the battle was.
They could have easily helped. They might have been able to give the soldiers water, food, whatever they needed. They might have been able to tell them where the enemy was fleeing to. But they did nothing.
And the Spirit of God.
Has this song recorded where Deborah and Barrick say Curse ye me Ross?
What a lesson to us, dear brethren. Are we sitting idly by when we can help God's people?
Didn't the question here so much if we're offering ourselves willingly as in the beginning of the chapter, but just sitting still and doing nothing? There are some who even say we're going to see which way it goes. Oh, I'll say it. That is. Curse ye me, Ross.
00:35:03
You can't find it on the map.
Send.
Uh-huh. She gets so. That's a bad method. Sad meditation, isn't it? She gets over it and barracks, and we have some cheerful words. Blessed above women shall jail. The wife of Hebrew, the key knight be blessed, shall she be above women in the tent now Jail.
Was the wife of Hebrew in the previous chapter plainly tells us that.
He was friendly with the enemy.
Doesn't call her mother in Israel but I suspect she was close to it. Jail. She had a husband.
That was betraying God's people and, and he ought to have been friendly. He was a keen knight. He ought to have been friendly to God's people. But he, he, he changed sides and you know, he's Speaking of the sister's place. Sometimes it's difficult if your husband doesn't want to please the Lord. Well, she was still subject to him, but, uh.
When the opportunity presented itself to her, this woman was faithful, beautiful. Her husband wasn't at home at the time, and the situation presented itself to her. And she killed the chief leader of that army that Israel was fighting. Beautiful.
Barrack was told he wasn't going to to get the credit for the victory.
Well, he was chasing sister on foot and we don't want to look down and unbear because his name made it in the 11Th chapter of Hebrews.
Barrett was a man of faith, but in in times of weakness and declension, maybe men of faith need help by the mothers in Israel. Are there any mothers in Israel? I hope this room is filled with them.
We can search our own hearts in that matter.
And it says Blessed shall.
She be above women in the tent.
I would like to think that it was a difficult thing for Deborah to go with his army. She was a woman out of her place. Today we'd say a sister out of her place.
But if if that's what it took to to encourage Barrett to go ahead and destroy the enemy, she would come.
But she never forgot her place, because here she says, blessed shall she be above women in the tent. Isn't that beautiful? An Old Testament St. realized the truth that we're told in the New Testament, that the sisters should be keepers at home.
Uh, uh, jail was a keeper at home. And, and you said, what, what can you do at home? Well, she killed the general. That's what she did. She stayed home and she won the battle. Oh, you can't beat obedience to the word of God, my dear Brevin. Could that be one of the reasons of our low state? We don't hesitate to send our daughters off to, to, to, to get educations in the universities, to, to give them professions.
But Scripture says that she's gonna be blessed above women in the tent.
How beautiful the word of God is. And there here's this St. of God in the tent. The man comes in. He's thirsty and hungry. She treats him right.
She offers him a nice comfortable spot and then she does when she can.
What had to be done to the Lord's enemies?
Hey God give us grace and encourage us to go on for himself, to stand for the truth. We don't want anyone to save us. Cursed be me, Ross. Maybe some here have come from an assembly. We're just doing nothing.
May the Lord speak to her heart and wake us up and cause us to rally around folks like Deborah and Baron so that we can sing the praises of the Lord for the victory He gives us.
00:40:13
Could we turn to the book of Isaiah chapter 5 we've heard here this afternoon?
A song. Song of Deborah.
In Barrack.
Like debris, just a couple verses. Take just a few minutes and read some scriptures with just a few comments. Isaiah chapter 5.
In the first verse.
Now I will sing to my well beloved.
A song of my beloved touching his vineyard.
My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.
And he fenced it.
And gathered out the stones thereof.
And planted it with a choicest vine.
And built a tower in the midst of it.
And also made a winepress therein and he looked that it should bring forth grapes.
And it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, I pray you betix me and my vineyard.
What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it, wherefore when I looked at it, should bring forth grapes?
Brought it forth.
Wild Grapes, a brother of yours gone by, has commented on this verse in Isaiah chapter 5 and verse four. That in the understanding of this verse, is the key to the understanding of all of the Old Testament.
And here there's a song I will sing to my well beloved. A song of my beloved.
Touching His vineyard, you can feel just in the reading of this verse, the affections, the deep affections from the heart for those dear ones. This was God's choices, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah.
And in the understanding of the heart of God.
And then understanding of the thoughts of God towards his people.
It's such a blessing and such a help in our understanding not only of these times, but in the understanding of His Word and of His ways and His desires for each of us.
And how unfortunate the how sad, but yet how true it is that that which is so dear to him.
He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
We can see those seeds of failure and of weakness in our own hearts.
Just thinking as we were reading in John chapter 6.
In our readings yesterday there was a verse. Maybe it was briefly commented on.
John chapter 6 and verse 35 the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. Many here know, I'm sure know that the word I am is used in John seven times. The Lord Jesus speaking just like to read in connection at the very end of the previous chapter.
John chapter 5 and verse 46 For had ye believed Moses?
You would have believed me.
For He wrote of me, but if you believe not his writings, how shall you believe my words? The Lord Jesus was speaking to His own, His people.
They had Moses, they had the prophets.
Had they believed Moses, you would have believed me. Luke chapter 24.
And whenever this account is read.
We can think of oneself, how often we are troubled. Luke chapter 24.
In verse 13.
And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem, about 3 score furlongs, and they talked together of all these things which had happened, came to pass that while they communed together and reasoned.
Jesus himself.
Drew near.
And went with them, but their eyes were holding that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these? They have one to another, as ye walk.
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And are sad.
Have there been times, dear ones, this year and in years gone by? Do we have communed one with another and we have walked?
And we had talked one with another, and we have been sad.
The things that have passed us by, the sorrows and the failures, the roots of which we can see in our own heart, in our own walk. And one of them, whose name was Cleopas, the other one is not mentioned by name. Answering, said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty indeed in Word before God.
And all the people and all the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be crucif, to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it should have been He which should have redeemed Israel. And besides all this, today is the third day since these things were done. Yeah, and certain women also our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre, and they found not his body.
And they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels which said that he was alive.
Here we have again women who are faithful, and we have again a word from an Angel.
And certain of them which are with us went to the sepulchre, and found it Even so, as the woman had said. But Him they saw not. Then he said unto them, O fools, or O foolish ones, and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And again we have in connection with John 5 and 46, and beginning at Moses.
And all the prophets, the five, and the two Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning.
Himself And they drew nigh unto the village whither they went, and he made as though he would have gone further.
He doesn't force himself on us. There are other ones who make choices and take up a different path. He doesn't force himself.
But they constrained him saying.
Abide with us. What a wonderful response. For it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in. We've sung. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. What a day we have to look forward. But here the day is far spent. And he went into tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meet with them, he took bread and blessed it and break and gave it to them.
And their eyes were opened and he knew, they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another. Did not our heart burn within us? There were those ones of all whose heartburn within them when they had this word and it was delivered to them over 100 years ago. The wonderful truth we can enjoy. Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scripture and they rose up this very same hour.
And returned to Jerusalem and found the 11 gathered together in them that were with him.
They were obedient, and they found it was exactly as He told them. What a wonderful picture. The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon, And they told what things were done in the way, and how He was known of them in the breaking.
Of bread, dear young one, do you want to know the Lord Jesus? Do you really want to know Him? The Apostle Paul could say that I may know Him in the power of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his sufferings.
Do you really wanna know him?
Don't look around in this world. Don't look around in the other places where you can find things to hear in your hearts and in your thoughts. The answers aren't there. I grew up in a day when as a young child we would sit towards the back and there was over 1000 in Chicago and Montreal and in Ottawa and I couldn't even see the people who were speaking. I could just hear their voices. And I thought how wonderful to be with so many.
So many.
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There's only one you really need, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ. There's only one He was there. That was all that mattered. And they told what things were done in the way and how He was known of them how.
In the braking.
Brand as time permits, I just like to briefly turn to those IMS. You know, the Lord Jesus.
God revealed himself to Moses in Exodus 3 and verse 14. We don't need to turn to it, He said to Moses through the burning Bush. I am that I am in the Lord Jesus and speaking to his people in the Gospel of John, the gospel of the Son of God.
He said I am. And what do we learn? Well, just briefly touch on these as time permits. John 6 and verse 35.
You know, mankind for ages and for generations and for thousands of years has sought for answers. And now in this last century, some of them think they've found some. They look for answers in outer space. They look for answers in technology. They look for answers in understanding of history.
But all the answers are found in that very one who spoke and commanded.
And it was created as upholding all things by the word of His power. The great I am, they look for sustenance. Where is sustenance? In John 6 and verse 34. They then said, They unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Sustenance Every man you would meet on the street, in your classroom, at school, in your neighborhood, in your workplace.
You'll find he wants sustenance.
Here is sustenance, Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. John Chapter 9.
Or chapter 8.
John, Chapter 8.
Man seeks sustenance doesn't to you. Man also seeks illumination. Man wants to shine on solutions to the darkest and most difficult problems. He seeks illumination.
Verse 12 of John chapter 8. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light.
Of life Chapter 9 and verse 5 verse four as well. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work as long as I am in the world.
I am the light of the world. Man seeks sustenance. He seeks illumination.
We turn to the 10th chapter.
He also thinks if I could use this word entrance.
I live in a country and a city near Toronto where.
Thousands of people come from all over the world in my office. They're people from dozens of countries in Europe and in Asia, and they come to Canada seeking freedom, seeking resources, seeking wealth and comfort. They want entrance into Canada. They want entrance into an opportunity to do what they think would help them, would bless them, would benefit them. Man seeks an entrance. Well, we have one who gives us an entrance or something far better than the United States. This is the birthday of that country. There's something far better than this country.
John, Chapter 10.
In verse 2. But he that entereth by the door is the shepherd of the sheep to him the Porter. The Porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. Verse 7 Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
Verse nine. I am the door by me, If any man enter in, ye shall be saved, and shall go in.
And out in fine pasture, you know, young people, younger ones.
They want something that's comfortable, something that will satisfy well, you know the deepest longing of every heart. It has been said there's a God shaped vacuum inside everyone and only those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will have it satisfied. Only the Lord Jesus can satisfy. The Lord Jesus said he came that he that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly.
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I am the door by me there's only one. If any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out.
In fine pasture, man seek sustenance. He seeks illumination, he seeks entrance, and he seeks caring. Everyone wishes to be loved. I have met ones in high school and in college and in my workplace, and you can tell I'm speaking with them and communing with them and spending time.
They want someone who cares. I still remember meeting someone in high school and I talked to him for a while and when I was done, may have just been a study hall. He said I want to know your name. And he wrote down my name. And I said, why do you write down my name? He said I keep a list of friends. He said people who care about me. I want to remember the ones who care about me. And the deep, deepest longing of every human heart is to be loved and to be cared about.
And there is one who cares so deeply, so immeasurably great, whose love was so great. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Verse 11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Verse 14 I am the Good Shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, Even so know I the Father.
And I lay down my life.
For the sheep.
The Lord Jesus paid a terrible price. He bore the sins of all. Who would believe that He might have you and I in his home together in the Father's house. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I've said this on a few previous occasions, and I'll say it again.
In six days He created the heavens and the earth. He spoke the stars into existence.
But dear ones, he's been spending 2000 years preparing a home for you and for me. That's our home. We're just passing through, as it were. We're creatures created for eternity, placed into a time.
We've been placed into this moment of time, the very closing days of the day of grace. God would delight to use you to accomplish His purposes in the small area where you are in the school classroom, in the job, in the neighborhood, in the small little way to be a light. The Lord Jesus desires to provide sustenance and illumination and entrance and caring.
And Hope John, Chapter 11 Hope.
Nearly a year ago.
A cousin of mine was taken.
Climbing down a steep embankment.
In his hands let go.
He fell and he was gone into the arms of his savior.
And you know.
There's still an ache in many hearts for that loss. And you know, I truly believe that there are many hearts here tonight who have aches, who have sorrows, who have wounds, who have griefs, loved ones maybe lost their life, maybe gone a far from the fold, from the shepherd, from the Savior, ones who you care deeply about their hurts that I can't touch, their sorrows that I can't reach. But there is one who knows all about them. There's one who knows the very inward deepest sorrows and griefs and difficulties that you and I can face.
And he can answer every question, and he can provide hope. John, Chapter 11.
Verse 21 Here's dear Martha. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus saith unto her, I am.
The resurrection and the life, He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this? She saith unto him. Yeah, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which could should come into the world.
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There were things she didn't understand, but there was one thing she knew this one thing, just like in John 9 where the man who was blind, I couldn't understand many things, but one thing he could understand that once he was blind and now he could see. Jesus told her I am the resurrection. In the life there is one who provides hope. We sorrow not as others who have no hope. The Lord Jesus will soon, any moment, maybe today come.
And take us home to be with Him. The Lord Jesus provides for us sustenance, illumination, entrance, tearing hope.
And he provides answers John chapter 14, John chapter 14, and verse 6.
I'll start with reading in verse five of the Gospel of John, chapter 14.
Thomas Seth and him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father, but.
By me. Here's the one who has all the answers. There's a group of cults called The Way International and they would present a false way. There's many false ways in this world.
But we can open this book. God's Word is forever settled in the heavens.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
Joe could say I've esteemed the words of thy mouth more than thy necessary food.
You know we all desire success.
And you know, in 31,000 verses in this book, there's only one verse that I know of.
That has the word success, Joshua one and verse eight, that thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
Day and night, this book has the answers.
Mankind would seek success, mankind would seek all these things that have been mentioned and yet they're found in the person of that one, the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, in John chapter 15, we started by singing a song of my well beloved unto his vineyard. I'll just read a few verses and close John 15 and verse one. I am the true vine, and my father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he take it away, and every branch that beareth fruity purges it.
That it may bear bring forth more fruit. You know, we sometimes wonder why are we allowed to go through this trial? There is no difficulty that the Lord allows us to pass through, but yet there's a needs be on our part, and a purpose of blessing on His part. And so there's purging that goes on, that it may bring forth more fruit. Fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. Now you're clean through the word which I've spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine.
No more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do.
Nothing.
Nothing.
Thankfully we have that companion verse in Philippians 4. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. For here it says, Without me ye can do nothing. The man abide not in me is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
Do you want things to be done unto you? You have to abide in Him.
And you know, it says in the Psalms, Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Well, how does He do that? Does He give us everything we want? No, if we delight in Him, He changes our heart, that the things in which we delight are the things which also delight his heart. The light thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. I was just thinking on Friday night for those of you who weren't here.
The lights went off and.
The person in charge came over and he turned the switch and turned the lights back on and there was a buzzing. I was thinking a little later, you know, there we had earthly light. The lights failed and so they turned them back on. And so we put up, we went through the prayer meeting and everyone prayed as if nothing had happened. There was a little buzzing and we had to endure that. But you know, today and they're having the gospel or the evening meeting 1/2 an hour early so we can enjoy.
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The light from above.
In the very beginning, God divided the light and the darkness. The Lord Jesus said, while I'm in the world, I'm the light of the world. I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And you know we can have heavenly light. God can give us heavenly light on our pathway from the great I am from the one in whom is all the source, all the blessings, all the resources that we need in this pathway every moment.
Until we're taking home the glory, it's all found in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, that heavenly light. When there was darkness in Egypt during one of the plagues, the children of Israel, they found light in their dwellings.
You know, you choose the earthly light you may find like we found Friday night. There's a buzzing, there's a distraction, there's that, there's that, which will be a harm in seeking to discern the mind of God and seeking to walk in the path which God has given us. That buzzing will continue. If you seek the earthly light, the earthly light is all around you in the universities and the schools and the workplaces and the friends that don't love the Lord Jesus Christ. But God has given us heavenly light, Abide in him, the Lord Jesus.
Is the answer. We all have questions. We all have sorrows, We all have difficulties. Turn to Him. He is our wonderful resource.
39135015670, 10-4.
And our Father, we thank Thee for Thy precious word. We thank Thee that Thou hast told us in my word that the entrance of Thy word giveth light.
And we would just desire that thy word would enter in.
Exercised conscience of each one of us.
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And into our hearts.
That our hearts affections might be engaged with Thyself, blessed Savior, for Thou art worthy. And so we just thank Thee for Thy word. We pray that it might bear fruit for Thy glory, for Thy honor among Thy people, and that we might continue on with Thyself, Lord Jesus, as the object bright and fair before our souls. So we ask this, we commend the rest of this day to Thee. We ask Thee for Thy blessing upon our fellowship together. And that the words.
Of the Lord's people might be to encourage and to strengthen one another. So we just ask it, we give thanks now on the precious and the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.