Vestal Conference: 2012
Table of Contents
John 20:1-16
Reading
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Father, among thy mercies, of which we have been singing, our ability to read.
Be in countries where we are allowed to come together without fear, to live close enough together so that we can have meetings like this.
To have thy word. We know for a long time there were many that didn't have easy access to it. And we do. We have to bless the work of getting the Bible around the world. And now for the meeting before us, we ask you for help.
That Lord Jesus would be glorified and directed to us who didn't force us for our needs, we pray, and alone, worthy and precious name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
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I wonder if we might take up in our reading meetings the Lord Jesus Christ in resurrection as we get Him in the last two chapters of John's gospel.
Just know if any other problems have got a thought on that.
Maybe that'd be nice, brother. Those two chapters crossed my mind earlier, but I've enjoyed them so much I sort of put it out of my mind because I thought, well, you know what? What?
Johns Gospel, chapter 20.
The first day of the week come with Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark unto the sepulchre, and see if the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together.
And the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre, And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying. Yet went he not in. Then come a Simon Peter following him. And when went into the sepulchre, and see if the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself, then went in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulchre.
And he saw and believed, for as yet they knew not the scripture.
That he must rise again from the dead.
Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and see of two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had leaned. And they say unto her, Woman, Why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back.
And saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She's supposing him to be The gardener saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, Which is to say, Master Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your father.
And to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
Then the same day, evening being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
Then said Jesus unto them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father has sent me, Even so send I you.
And when he had, he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas one of the 12, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails.
And thrust my hand into his side. I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach, Hit her thy finger, and behold my hands.
And reach, hit her thy hand, and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God, Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book, but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ.
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The Son of God and that believing he might have life thru his name.
What we have in this chapter is fundamental to Christianity.
It thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God has praised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Paul said, If Christ be not raised, you're still in your sins. And so when we, shall I say, compare Christianity to other religions, we should ask ourselves, well, where's confusion? Oh, he's dead.
Where's Mahomes? What do we have, brethren? We have a risen, glorified Christ. We have an empty tomb and a risen, glorified Christ. And uh, umm, the words that we hold in our hands would have no more authority than, say, the Koran if it wasn't for the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified.
Was laid in the tomb. He rode from the dead.
And God hath now seated him with his own right hand in heavenly glory. We get that in.
Acts.
17.
End of Act 17 where?
That's 31 because He has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained were obvious, given assurance unto all men in the air, praised him from the dead.
And so in this chapter or these chapters, we see the Lord Jesus Christ in resurrection.
But we also see him.
With a care for his own and he introduces them into a new relationship with himself.
Uh, perhaps I can refer.
5 16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh? Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth know we Him no more. And so we see him with his own, with Mary, the disciples, Thomas, Peter, John.
Bringing them into that new relationship with himself, and that's the same relationship that we enjoy today.
It's interesting in that regard that when you read through the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
You'll find that different aspects are brought before us in each gospel as to the person and the work of Christ. And there are some things in one gospel that you don't get in another gospel, in keeping with the aspect of things that the evangelist by the Spirit of God is bringing before us. But I believe in connection with what Brother Dave said, it's very significant to realize that there is one thing that is stressed in each of the four gospels.
And that is the resurrection. So vital is it for us to get a hold of this truth and not miss it, that each one of the four evangelists, at the end of their gospel by the Spirit of God, take a number of verses or even chapters to confirm in one way or another that the Lord Jesus did not merely rise from the dead in spirit, as some have taught through the ages, but that He bodily rose from the dead.
As it says in Luke, the Lord said to the disciples when he appeared to them on one occasion, Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bone as ye see me have. And we need to tenaciously, brethren, hold on to the precious truth of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. When Paul summed up the gospel that he preached, he said that he preached Christ, that he died, he was buried.
And he rose again the third day, according to the scripture. Let's tell a little story that's often been told that helps us to understand the importance.
And significance of what we're saying. Remember some years ago reading about two missionaries that were working and serving the Lord in one of the busy cities of India. And one day they were startled by a large procession coming down the road. And they made inquiries of what was happening. And they were told that supposedly a bone of Buddha had been found and it was being carried in an ornate box down the road. And the followers of Buddha were rejoicing.
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That this phone has supposedly been found. Well, the missionaries, they watched this for a time and later on when they got to their quarters and talked over the matter, they were impressed with that. And as they said, the contrast in Christianity because they concluded that if if a bone of the Lord Jesus were found, it would not have caused great rejoicing amongst the Christians, it would have caused great sorrow. But brethren, thank God, a bone of the Lord Jesus will never be found in this world.
He rose bodily from the dead, and remained on earth between his resurrection and his ascension long enough to give complete and ample testimony to his own of the fact that he had risen from the dead, appearing even to about 500 brethren at one time.
Might think that why is it that the Lord goes to so much detail in connection the Spirit of God goes to so much detail in connection with the appearing of himself to different ones and paragraphs and paragraphs go by in the word of God and he gives exquisite details to how he appeared to Mary Magdalene and it was the first day of the week, the resurrection morning and so on. But he find in the scriptures laced throughout the book of the Acts. The reason why is in chapter 2.
Of Acts verse 32, it says this Jesus hath God raised up whereof we all are witnesses. And so God by his Spirit has raised up those that were witnesses and he documents what the witnesses saw and heard. Now to have a good witness, a a bona fide witness that can corroborate, uh, an event that took place generally needs to have seen something.
Needs to have heard something. And so you have as brother Jim as being, uh, just quoting out of, uh, first Corinthians chapter 15. And it's a good thing perhaps maybe just to read that passage just before we begin.
Taking this up First Corinthians 15 and.
1St 3 For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received. Paul wasn't there at the resurrection. He received the vision from heaven itself from from the Lord Jesus as the risen man in the glory. He says, uh, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, there's a witness.
And he that he was buried, that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
And that he was seen of Cephas or Peter, and then of the 12. After that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James, and then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time, for I am the least of the apostles. Well, God goes into great detail to tell us.
Of these different ones and it's a wonderful privilege as well for those of us that do know the Lord Jesus as savior to.
Be witnesses of the resurrection.
By faith, by grace, the sovereignty of God to be witnesses of the truth to resurrection.
And all of the 12 but John.
Paid for that witness with their blood.
They sealed their testimony with their own blood rather than to give up what they knew and what they had seen.
Not every time, but almost every time that you have a record in the book of Acts that Paul was preaching the gospel and he came to the point of the resurrection. Oftentimes there was a riot or there was an absolute rejection of it. And brother Umm just mentioned it in Acts chapter 17.
It's good to understand this so that when we read through the book of the Acts or read.
What Paul was preaching in the epistles that this was the dividing point.
This was the point that hit the nerve with the Jews, and it hit the nerve with the idolatrous, uh, uh, Gentiles as well. Acts 17 and verse 32. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked.
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Others said we will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit certain men clays unto him and believed so wonderful that umm, we see the work of the Spirit of God and then evidence in creation of resurrection as well. God using that everlasting gospel. The springtime comes, the trees look dead, but the leaves come on those trees and there's there's light. The SAT flows, we get Maple syrup. There's evidence that God has in creation that witnesses to the truth of the fact that the resurrection does exist.
In the Hebrews chapter 2.
Blessed Words Verse 14 As much then, as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through who through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to *******.
Well, this speaks of his death, but his resurrection speaks of his victory over it. And.
Death is is that which all of this creation experiences and has no power over and every time.
A human being dies, or even a a an animal or or one of our pets dies.
There is this undeniable feeling in everyone who witnesses it that this just isn't right.
You just get this sense deep, deep down in your soul, this just, this isn't right. This shouldn't be happening. And so there's a witness in every human being that death is an anomaly. It is something that just isn't right. And uh, and so that is why it hits a nerve when you speak of the resurrection of the dead. I mean, that's the ultimate. I mean, that's resurrection from the dead is the ultimate victory. And that's what the Lord.
Uh, accomplished and, uh, I don't wanna tell stories, but just briefly. I, I was with a man one time. I was looking for a house many, many years ago and uh, we were riding along there. He was a realtor and I said, do you believe in Jesus?
He said yeah, and where, Of course the question took him off guard. He said yeah.
And then I, I kind of knew what, what he meant. So I said, do you believe he rose from the dead? And at that point he said, well, that I, I have a problem with that. I, I believe in his teachings. Well, see, the problem is that when the Lord was teaching and they wanted a sign from him, you know, where are you getting the authority to say these things? Who are you? We wanna sign every time he pointed to what?
I'll rise from the dead.
That's what he every time, as if to say, listen, if I don't rise from the dead, you can just discount everything I've said.
He hinged everything on that one point that he would rise from the dead. And so it's not just a, a, an essential aspect of the Christian faith, as we say it is the Christian faith.
Brother Dave, could you, I've, I've heard you had some thoughts before privately, but could you help us a little with, uh, Acts 23 and uh.
Verse six and the truth of the resurrection that Paul preached.
Sorry, you say at 23 and verse verse 6.
I'll read the verse, but but when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council. Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. Of the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am called in question.
I think it's important to notice and.
If we go back to Mark Nine, first of all, where I first noticed it.
There the disciples have been with the Lord on the mount of Mount Transfiguration, and they come down, and the Lord speaks of his death and resurrection.
And the disciples were cuddled. He said they couldn't understand. Now what you have to do is you have to look at Mr. Darby's translation there because the Lord was not Speaking of the resurrection from the dead, but the Lord in Matthew nine. I think it is the end of Matthew. Mark 9 rather speaks of the resurrection from among the dead. And that's something quite different, the Old Testament Saints like Martha, Mary.
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Mary said to the Lord, I know he'll rise up the last day. Or was it Martha? I'm not quite sure, but anyway, I'll know you're right at the last day. And that was all they knew. They knew of a resurrection at the last day, that what the Lord Jesus Christ introduced was a new truth, and the new truth was a resurrection from among the dead. And that resurrection is.
Divided into two resurrections.
The resurrection of first resurrection in three parts. The person of the Lord Jesus Christ as the first groups of that resurrection.
The first fruits of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary with his resurrection from the dead. The next part is of course when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to take all the through his own to be with himself.
That's the second part of the first resurrection. Then we get the.
The third part of it, and I believe it's loading the 6th, and I think we get them mentioned again in the 20th of Revelation where those who are martyred during the great tribulation, they come into heavenly blessing too.
But so we have the first resurrection, a resurrection from among the dead as we get in Revelation the rest of the dead, all those that run sight, all the price reject us, will not rise again for another thousand years, and then they will be rise for judgment before the great White Throne now.
I think we get in this 23rd chapter of Acts.
Pause failure because we know that Paul was in the wrong place.
We know that the if you'd a fan, shall I say the guy and the Holy Spirit, he wouldn't have been in Jerusalem. We find that once we've taken the wrong step, a series of disasters followed and they fell followed with Paul because he he reviled God's high priest and he had to apologise for it. And it was a bit of a mealy mouthed apology too. But then he L looks at this company Arkansas arrayed against him and he found that some of them were Sadducees and some of them were Pharisees. Now the Pharisees believed in resurrection and the Sadducees. There's there's no such thing as resurrection.
And so Paul decides what he'll do.
And you know, sad to say, he'll try and divide the company against him by mentioning resurrection, but it's significant that he mentions in that verse.
Of the hope of the resurrection of the dead, I am called in question. He does not mention the resurrection from among the dead because if he mentioned the resurrection from among the dead, the Pharisees would have been against him just as much as the. And so it was a device by Paul to try and divide the company. Well, of course it didn't achieve its objective. It caused a riot, But so that's the situation when we get away from the Lord. But what Paul did there, he didn't measure mention that everywhere else he would get it in the ACT where resurrection is mentioned, breathe. Mr. Derby's version, it's the resurrection from among the dead.
And Paul then Acts 23, he didn't mention that.
It just says resurrection as a general subject in order to try and divide the company that was accusing him. It's hard to say it was a failure by Paul, I think quite a bad failure. But it's interesting. Of course. What does the Lord say? Did you come in and rebuke him? Just look at the end of the.
Where is it says he he he, he the Lord comes in and encourages Paul. He says, you've been testimony to me in Jerusalem. You're gonna be a testimony in Rome too. So the Lord as he deals, deals graciously with those that are his own in the chapters that we had before us. So he felt very graciously with Paul in in in Acts 23, verse 11.
That'd be lovely. Is it? Yeah. Yes. Let me see there how gracious the Lord is and Paul and perhaps made a series of bad mistakes. And yet the Lord is gracious to him. And he didn't have to tell for you. You messed it up, You. He didn't have to review Paul. Paul knew that. But then he could come in and grace and say I'm gonna turn this circumstance to my glory.
00:30:16
It says chapter opens, there's brought before us immediately that it's the first day of the week. And that's another thing that is brought before us in all four gospels, confirming that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week. Because the resurrection brings before us a new order of things, the resurrection from among the dead. And so again we have different aspects of what took place.
On the resurrection morning and subsequent to it in different of the gospels, keeping with their character, but the spirit of God has been pleased to tell us in one way or another that it was the first day of the week, and as we go on in the.
New Testament, we find that that is the day that is unique to Christianity. In fact, in Matthew and Mark at the beginning of the chapters that bring before us the resurrection, there's a comment to the effect that it was the end of the Sabbath and, uh, showing that the Sabbath unique to CR, to, uh, Judaism, to the law and to Israel and will again be taken up for them in the coming day. But it has to do with Israel.
Those today who make much of the Sabbath keep the Sabbath in one way or another. Whenever somebody comes along and says they keep the Sabbath, my first question for them is what tribe do you belong to?
Because the Sabbath, as it says, was assigned. God said it was assigned between me and the children of Israel. It is not our day in Christianity. And so the Lord rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
It was on that day that the Spirit of God descended on the day of Pentecost. And it was on that day that the the early believers came together, as we get in Acts 20, to remember the Lord. They came together on the first day of the week to break bread. It very quickly became the exercise and the joy of the early believers to come together on that day to remember the Lord. And it was that day called the Lord's Day.
In Revelation chapter one, where the apostle John himself was on in the Spirit on the Lord's day.
And He was given that blessed revelation that we have for us in that book. But again, I think it's important to stress that it is the first day of the week that the Lord rose from the dead, and that which was of the old order was now going to be set aside for a time.
Interesting in the Old Testament how the Spirit of God uses that Sabbath day, the last day of the week, and measures everything as it were from that last day. If you just look at the Leviticus chapter 25, just as one example in verse 8, thou shalt #7 Sabbath of years unto thee 7 * 7 years, and the space of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be unto thee 40 and nine years. Everything was measured.
By the Sabbath, and it really meant arrest. It was given of God a day that was hallowed of himself that his people might rest. And it was a picture of how the Lord Jesus had rested in creation and that there would be a rest for his people in a future day. And it speaks of the Millennium, the time when the Lord Jesus would reign as king over his own people. And but when you come to this chapter, things are measured, so to speak, from the first day of the week. It's a blessed thing.
And the day, the first day of the week, was not a day of rest.
It was a day when the Lord labored, as it were, among his own, and umm, I have never counted it, but I've wondered sometimes how many there were that the Lord Jesus appeared to on that very first day of the week.
When he had risen from among the dead, how many did he appear to and encourage? That seemed to me like he was busy all day encouraging his own and, umm, just seeking to, uh, confirm them in their faith.
And so the Lord's Day is not a day of rest, even for those of us that know the Lord Jesus as Savior gathered to His precious name. It is a day that we are at liberty to be busy in His labor in one way or another.
But we find that in the day that we live in, the difference is not understood. The Sabbath day is for the Jews, was a part of the Jewish era, and God has superseded that day with a better day.
00:35:01
A day of resurrection, a day of the first day of the week, and it's the day I would add to what you said, Brother Jim, in verse 19. He stood in the midst and says unto them, peace be unto you.
It's the first time that he could say to them peace, and he says it twice. What a wonderful ring it must have had in their ears. Peace was no longer labor on their part to make themselves acceptable to God or labor and the sacrifices, but it was peace on the first day of the week.
I'd like to take up an appointed, our brother Portland, TA touched on.
Regarding that scripture in Hebrews 2.
Part of verse 14 through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death for all their lifetime subject to *******.
Now what we have there is that the devil has power we know, over sin and death, So even that is subject to God's control as we get in job one and two. But the devil has power of sin and death. God reserves him to himself, and only God has the power of resurrection.
Now we got.
When the Lord said.
If I call a week, fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. And he takes the example and I call it God's everyday.
Miracle we take seeds that are dead and we put them in the ground and a little bit of warmth and a little bit of moisture and they become alive again. It's a picture as as a a brother mentioned as resurrection.
And if we go back to the 23rd chapter of John's of Leviticus.
We find there, there was the Feast of the First Ones.
1St 10 Of the 23 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When you come to the end which I give you, and shall reap.
Of the harvest thereof. Then you shall bring a sheet of the first roots of your harvest under the priest, and the priest shall wave the sheath before the Lord to be accepted for you.
Now what is that? Well.
The seed having been put in the ground.
God having given it life.
There was this first sheath that they were able to harvest from the field.
And what did they do? They took it to the priest. And what did he do with it? He waved it.
What do people do when the home team wins the championship?
A week or two ago the Italians won a match in, in in in Europe and I guess our meeting room at Pine Grove is in a very Italian area and the flat, the cars were decked with flags and Tooting on the hall and making a lot of noise all through. You could hear it all through prayer meetings. Well, what we have there is a picture that God has given us of the victory that the Lord Jesus Christ has got achieved over death, sin and death on the cross and his resurrection. And that resurrection speaks of the power of God. Satan cannot.
Produce resurrection. Its a power reserved alone for God if there's anything that Satan would have most liked to do.
It would have been to retain the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in the grace, but God got that victory.
And so we see that petrol in in chapter 23 of Leviticus, they take that sheaf which speaks of resurrection and they waive it. It's almost, shall I say taunting statement because say it looking cool death, but only God has the power of resurrection.
So even in the Old Testament under the law, there were things that had to be carried out on the moral after the Sabbath, or as it sometimes says, on the eighth day. And the priests and the Levites must have wondered why there were certain things that they had to leave over to the Sabbath, certain rights that they couldn't carry out on the South on the Sabbath. They had to leave over to the first day of the week. But we see as we look back in the light of what we have in the New Testament.
That those things had to do with resurrection and those things that had to do with what was really in the mind and the heart of God in the establishment of Christianity, showing us again that that was really what was before God.
00:40:10
And that's what's introduced to us. Just say 2 before we pass on from this first verse, that the stone was rolled away, not so the Lord Jesus could come out in resurrection. It was another testimony as to the empty tomb. I say that because later on we find that the Lord Jesus came and stood in the midst of the disciples, as it says, when the doors were shut for fear of the Jews.
Those four walls and those closed doors were not a hindrance to the Lord Jesus coming and standing in the midst of the disciples, even though he had risen bodily from the dead again, He had, He confirmed that. But those walls were not a hindrance. And so the stone, though it had to be, rolled away at the grave of Lazarus. When many of the Saints arose at the when the Lord rose from the dead, the graves were opened. They had to be. They came out with those same bodies that they went in.
But with the Lord Jesus it was different. He had a body and resurrection that was not subject to physical hindrances, but it was so that there would be testimony, so that Peter and John, so that Mary and others who came early to the sepulchre could look in and have that witness. That testimony. As Robert said, they not only heard, but they are not only saw heard, but they saw what had taken place with their own eyes, and so that they could go away and confirm it to others.
For us, today is going to the Lord. Terry is going to end in the evening. Saturday we'll end this evening. But in Genesis it says the evening and the morning were the first day, because with God everything ends in a burst of light. And so if we looked at Matthew 28, we'd find that the women went to the sepulchre at the end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn, Mr. Kelly says, as it began to grow dark, In other words, the twilight situation, without identifying whether it was morning or evening.
But it was the end of the Sabbath. The Sabbath ended at 6:00.
Our Saturday evening and they were free then to go. They had rested on the Sabbath day and they came to the tomb. They saw it, and then they visited again later and they see the stone rolled away, and the message is given to them of the Lord to go to the disciples. Here we get it specifically with Mary. And somewhere in between that time the Lord was raised from the dead. We have no idea what the point was, but it was early.
On the Lord's day, God was, uh, I don't know if it's the right word, but anxious to raise His well beloved Son from the dead. And it was not far into that first day, perhaps even what we would call our Saturday evening, that the Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. But it was the first day of the week. Two went on the road to Emmaus. Why? They were free from the Sabbath day. Now they could journey and they went to Mass and the Lord met them and they returned to Jerusalem.
And in between there the Lord had, uh, that message had come to the disciples and some of the accounts we have in this chapter, God was anxious to raise him from among the dead. But I just want to give a brief outline because it would be nice to move on in this chapter. First with Mary, we get the hopes of Israel, you might say, after the flesh and the Lord and the Lord refuses that they had refused him and put him on the cross, and a new thing was going to unfold then.
We get them appearing, uh, in the midst of those in that upper room, and we get the true and proper privileges of the church. Then we get with Thomas and we see the, the relationship of the Lord and resurrection with Israel, having rejected the Lord the first time, missing out on the church's blessings.
What Thomas has brought into then in the next chapter we get the Lord in resurrection appearing again on the shores of Galilee to the disciples. And so many things from the synoptic gospels are replayed there, the boat and the fishing and, and the net and so on. And really it's a picture of the Lord in, in, uh, in the dawn of the Millennium coming in and bringing blessing into this world and using that faithful remnant that had come through the tribulation for that blessing.
And so there's this, there's a series of things here, as well as the personal and very, uh, helpful applications to ourselves with these different ones. There are, are, are different views of the Lord and resurrection, whether with Israel. And those hopes are put aside for now, the church's proper blessing, Israel in the coming day being brought into blessing, and then the whole earth and the millennial, uh, reign of Christ, the resurrected Christ.
00:45:30
So, brother Steve.
Part of John's gospel, you would say is prophetical. There is a prophetical element to some of John's writings. The other thing that we might, uh, clarify is that, umm, we hear and it's uh, stated in the scriptures that he was in the grave for three days and in the type of Jonah, 3 days and three nights. Well, it wasn't actually 3 literal days, uh, 24 hour days. He was, uh, betrayed on Thursday night and, uh, he was taken and, uh, had that mock trial and several different occasions was.
Drag from one place to another. And then he was crucified on Friday and then, umm, so he was in the grave part of Friday night. He was in the grave Friday night, all day Saturday, their Sabbath.
And then, just as the Sabbath was over and the first day of the week began to dawn, he rose from among the dead. So part of Friday, all Saturday, and then part of the first day of the week, the Lord's Day. And so.
We need to reckon these things that God has told us these details because the Lord Jesus was, uh, going to be in the grave and he was going to rise again that very first day of the week and as you say.
We're not told exactly when, but he wasn't in the grave one second longer than he needed to be.
That that the Scriptures might be fulfilled and that God's heart might be satisfied. And the resurrection is God's Amen to the work of Calvary. God hath raised him from the dead and seated him at his own right hand. And so if I can just again say it like this, the resurrection, the ascension, and the glorification of Christ are God's Amen to the work of Calvary. They are the proof that God is satisfied with what it was accomplished. The Lord Jesus in John's earlier in John's gospel said.
I have glorified Thee on the earth. I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do. And if we want proof of the truth of that, then what we need to do is look up and see where God has placed him, raised him from the dead, and placed him at his own right hand. But brethren, we don't want to miss the beauty of what we have. In these ones that are specifically mentioned that came early to the sepulchre, we often speak about Mary Magdalene and.
Mary Magdalene, as we often have meditated, is a beautiful picture of devotion. She wasn't intelligent in divine things so much, but she had such affection for the Lord Jesus that she desired to be close to His, His to his person, even if it meant being close to his dead body. That was the affection, because later on when she sees the Lord and supposed him to be the gardener, she says.
If you've taken him away, tell me where he is and I'll go to him, even if it meant being close to his dead body. Brethren, I covet that to my own soul. Do you and I have that kind of affection for Christ? But I'd like to just say this too, in connection with Mary of Bethany, because we often take up these various Marys, and they are, they are beautiful in their proper place and character. Mary Magdalene we find.
Both at the foot of the cross and at the empty tomb, and rightly so. She's there as a picture of devotion and affection to Christ. But I believe, in contrast, it's interesting to notice that Mary of Bethany is neither at the foot of the cross nor is she at the empty tomb. You say, why didn't she have affection for Christ? Yes, she did. But it says of Mary, or the Lord said of Mary, she hath come before.
To anoint me to the burial. If Mary Magdalene is a picture of affection, Mary of Bethany is a picture of intelligence and divine things. She entered in even more than the disciples, I believe.
Into what was taking place in the life of the Lord Jesus. And when she came and anointed Him in the 12Th chapter, she had understanding and came before to anoint him to the burial. And it would have been very out of character for Mary of Bethany to be either at the foot of the cross or at the empty tomb on the resurrection morning. Now when we put those two Marys together, that is what God desires in each believer. He desires affection in divine things.
00:50:23
Mary Magdalene, But he also would have us to be intelligent in divine things. That's Mary of Bethany. But Mary Magdalene certainly is a beautiful picture here of affection to the person of Christ, even though she didn't enter into what was taking place.
I'd like to make the point too that each one of these ones that the Lord is appearing to are believers, and although the resurrection is one of the most, if not the most established fact of history, yet we cannot take it.
Except by faith. And so when we're listening to what we have here today, we have to enter into these things by taste. We refer to 1St Corinthians 15 and about those ones who saw the Lord, the apostle Paul Speaking of himself.
Last one out of two times.
But every one of those who are believers and to go back to John 14.
And through 19, the Lord Jesus says he had a little while.
And the world seeth me no more. But you see me because I live, you shall live also. And so the world does not see him. Talk to people in the world, they say, how do we know that he wrote from the dead? We didn't see him. It's true they didn't, and they won't until he comes again in judgment. But here at these meetings, perhaps just to say something for those who don't yet know him, we have to believe what he says.
What the word of God says about him and when we do these things that we get.
That we're enjoying today. The resurrection will become.
Very clear to us and vital truth. We'll see in them all the power of God and we've had brought before us in Ephesians one, we know it speaks about the power of God there according to His mighty power. And then it says, what about creation? No, it talks about how He breathed the Lord Jesus from the dead. And so for us who are believers, we read about this and we enter into it and we enjoy it.
And this is tremendous, but if you don't know him, it will mean nothing to you.
You need to come and listen to what he has to say about you. You've got to come to the cross and accept Him there and then you too can enter into this with us.
OK, Tim, you might say in a way that's illustrated with the disciples that went into the tomb, it says they believed. In other words, they saw the fact that the body wasn't there and they believed he's not there. But they still hadn't believed his word by faith that he was going to rise from the dead. So they still didn't understand.
And they were satisfied to see an empty tomb. They were satisfied with the linen clothes, but not Mary. Mary wasn't satisfied to see an empty tomb. She wasn't satisfied to see everything laid in order. The only thing that would satisfy Mary's heart was the Lord Jesus himself. And so again I say, she's a picture of divine, of affection in divine things.
We've mentioned the different characteristics of John's Gospel as compared to the Synoptic Gospels.
And in Mary we get perhaps that illustrated. We know that several others went to the tomb that morning, and yet Mary's picked out. And that if we go back to the first chapter of John's Gospel, we get.
1St 11 He came unto his own, which is really, I believe, his own things.
And his own likes his own people.
Primarily the Jews received enough, but as many as received it to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even to them to believe on His name. And so we find that from the very first chapter of John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ is rejected.
By the mass of the Jews.
00:55:00
But that important word but, and what we find in John's gospel is a series of buffs.
The third third chapter starts, but there was a man of of of the Jews named Nicodemus. And we find that the Lord deals with individuals. It's all the law dealing with individuals in John's Gospel, dear Sir Nicodemus, there's the woman woman of Samaria, there's the blind man, there's the woman taken in adultery. The Lord deals intimately with individuals and often with quite long discourses which we don't get in other gospels.
And so here it's true that there are other others that went to the grave, but John picks out Mary. John picks out Mary because the Lord's got a special interest in Mary, and the Lord's got a special interest in you and me today.
And so we see that special interest being exercised when we read John Scott. Well, it's very, very nice to see that bus and the and John's Gospel takes up lots of ducks all the way through John's Gospel, we get a bus.
So we get the **** here with Mary. Its contrast to the other disciples. They went to their own home.
But for Mary, there was no home to go to because the Lord was not there. And I was a boy. We lived in Ethiopia and my father used to drive us every morning to school. And we went through the city of Addis Ababa. And there was a hill in that city that we had to go around, and it was a graveyard. And on that hill there were little shacks, little lean throughs, just enough to curl up under. And there were women on under those little shacks or next to them.
They were widows. They were widows who maybe had no sons. They had nothing. And the one who was everything to them, who took care of them was dead, and they just camped on their graves because they had nowhere else to go. And I thought of that a lot in connection with Mary. There was no home for her here to go to. I don't know that she didn't have a home, but there was no home for her to go to. The Lord was everything to her. He was.
All to her and what a beautiful picture in that way of devoted her.
But even the angels didn't satisfy the heart of Mary, did they?
But she does receive this wonderful revelation from the Lord Jesus himself. And it's interesting that I believe Mary Magdalene in the message that she has given to take to the disciples.
Referred to us by the Lord as my brethren, she is the fulfillment of the blessing of Nabilai that we have in the end of Genesis. When Jacob said not the lie is a hind let loose, and full of goodly words.
The reason I say that is because if you look on a map, you'll find that Magdala, from whence Mary came, was within the boundaries of the tribe of the the inheritance of Nabilai. And I say I believe she was that Hind let loose and full of goodly words. What goodly words she had for the disciples. And who was it that was given these words? It was a woman that loved him. It was Mary who wouldn't even be satisfied with the angels, but wanted to be. As we've been saying, she wanted the person of Christ.
Even if it meant being close to his dead body. But I would like to make a practical comment, just an application in connection with what she thinks when the Lord reveals Himself to her. Because when she first saw the Lord Jesus, she supposed Him to be the gardener. And I believe, brethren, that there are many believers today who suppose the Lord to be the gardener in this dispensation.
You know the Lord Jesus had to answer Mary in a way to show her.
That he was he was no longer going to be in this world and she was number longer going to be associated with him in this world. Again, we quoted henceforth know we know man after the flesh he had to he brought before her the fact that not only was he risen, but that he was going to ascend and the Lord Jesus is not the gardener today. They rejected the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus and his.
Is not the gardener and what the reason I say that is because as many people feel like.
The Christian is a moral force to dress up and change this world today. The Lord Jesus was not going to dress up this world.
01:00:05
A gardener comes in and he dresses the garden, He takes the property, maybe a property that's in complete disarray. I have a friend who's a landscape artist, a landscape architect, and he was hired by his, uh, wife, Sant, to take over a property and to bring some order out of the chaos because it had been let go for many years. And he went in and he did a beautiful job. He dressed that property and it's a beautiful garden today.
But we're not here to dress up the world. The Lord Jesus was not the gardener. He wasn't sending his fourth, his own 4th, to go out and be a moral force to change the world.
He later gives them before he ascends back to the Father. He later gives them the Commission to go into all the world.
And not make it a better place, but to preach the gospel, to tell others how they could be associated with himself.
In resurrection and ascension. And so I say that just as a practical application, Mary supposed him to be the gardener, but she quickly learned that he was not the gardener, not here for the betterment of this world. He was going to leave this world, and that his own were going to be associated with him not simply in resurrection, but in ascension as well.
I'd like to make a a comment on the two angels.
The interesting thing is the angels are sitting down.
The angels are God's servants and a few head servants. Would you pay them to sit around? No, you wouldn't.
In fact, the angels are continually in God's service.
But here we see two angels.
We go back to Genesis three. We find that God.
Place angels. We don't know how many, but more than one.
Cherubims in the.
Garden of Eden to so that man did not.
Access the free of life and live forever and your sins.
We see those cherubims again, I believe in the mercy seat. The marriages were told to make two cherubims of gold, one on each end of the mercy sink and they their faces were one towards another. It says towards the mercy feature, their faces, feet.
What were they doing? What were they looking for?
I were looking for the blood to be put on the mercy seat. Was that blood the blood of a spot you slipped him? Was that blood good enough for God's purposes of of of atonement as it was in those days? That's what occupied those angels. And I believe we see the same 2 angels at the tomb, but what's the difference?
The difference is those angels had seen the Son of God become man and be born in a Manger to a virgin.
They've seen his perfect life here on Earth without fear.
They seen him typing and nailed on that cross.
They seen the three hours of darkness.
They heard the cry. My God, my God, why are thou frustrated me?
It's feeling put in the tune.
And they seem to graze himself for Canes.
And lay aside the graves clothes in an orderly manner.
And exit that too.
Was there anything more for them to do? They were guardians of God's holiness, looking for the blood that was on the mercy seat. They've seen far more than the blood on the mercy seat. They've seen the blood of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ fully accomplishing God's purposes in love and grace. And so they can sit down in Worshipful wonder and all that God had accomplished through the person of the Lord Jesus.
We don't want it backed up, but I would like to just say this too in connection with what follows. When the Lord Jesus says to Mary, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, my God, and your God.
I believe it is pictured in what David just alluded to and that is the linen clothes in the way that they were in the empty tomb. It shows his brother Dave said the order and resurrect even in resurrection.
But I believe it pictures something else, and that is that, as the Lord said to Mary, that He was going to be physically separated from His own for a time in ascension. And so you find that which was wrapped about His head lying in a separate place from that which was wrapped about His body. And so we know later on after He had remained on earth long enough to give complete and ample testimony to His own.
01:05:19
That he had bodily risen from the dead, as we've said, even appearing to about 500 brethren believers at one time. Then his feet left the Mount of Olives, the cloud received him out of their sight, and they saw him no more.
Physically, the head was separated from his own here on earth. Then on the day of Pentecost, something very wonderful took place. The Spirit of God was sent down to link the believers who became the members of the body on Christ of Christ on earth to their living head in glory. And so we are physically separated from the Lord Jesus, waiting for the rapture when we're going to be.
Caught up there with changed bodies to be ever with the Lord. But in the mean time we have that inseparable link of the Spirit of God.
But I say again, that which was wrapped around his head was in a place separate from the body, and then confirmed by the Lord that for a time He himself was going to be physically separated from his own. Although we have that wonderful link so close and so near to the Lord, we cannot nearer be.
The Lord has to reach Mary.
By calling her by name. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. He calls them by name. And the first one he says, woman, why weep this out? There's not a response on her part of recognizing him as the Lord, but then he says Mary.
Immediately, she recognizes that voice.
And you know the Lord has to.
Uh, do the same with us at times.
Because when we go through Soros, our tears can get in the way of seeing the Lord.
And he has to reach in.
And get a hold of us. Our tears can kind of cloud our occupation with our sorrow can cloud our sight of seeing the Lord in it. And he has to get through that. But he does it by calling his sheep by name, Mary.
The first Mary was running in verse one and this other Mary turned herself.
With the God that we turned ourselves to see him.
Maybe we could sing 119?
119.
01:10:22
Right now, let's see if they're going to uh.
Give me a number and I have anything to do with anything.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Umm, the boy said.
Umm.
Augusta girl and loving father.
Comes to her in New York. I said someone, you know, Tabernacle that.
Yeah, just go looking for the emergency.
Witnessing that last.
And now we see there's all two Angela, the two side, uh, where Jesus lay that they were, uh, satisfied. He, he's seen the last we think of Mary and Magdalene.
Does she?
She saw the angels, but she was occupied with the Lord in her yard. We we cleaned the portion. I worked today.
Rephrase these things.
Most Important to the Lord That We Love One Another
Discerning the Will of God
Loving One Another By Divine Love
John 20:17-31
Gospel 1
Gospel—Jim Hyland
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Let's begin the gospel meeting with hymn #15 on the gospel hymn sheet. Oh blessed gospel sound. Yet there is room. It tells to all around. Yep, there is room. The guilty may draw near. Though vile they need not fear with joy they now may hear. Yet there is room hymn #15, if someone will please start it.
Nsnoise.
Oh, and congratulations, comma. Yeah, yeah, that kind of thing.
And that's a great thing And how you put on, Yeah. But I know I never get the room.
Dial Benjamin.
Uh-huh. I'm doing well. I don't know, but.
Let's pray no more about that.
Let's ask God's help and blessing. Our blessing God and Father, how thankful we are to this evening for the glorious gospel message, how thankful we are that it's going forth to whosoever will, and that Christ is still the Savior of sinners. And now, as we've come to the end of these meetings today, we thank thee that we can proclaim once again.
The glorious Gospel that we can present the Lord Jesus in all his loveliness and beauty, And our God we pray that as we open and read thy word, that thou work mightily by thy spirit, that thou D open the eyes of the blind to see beauty in Christ, and that by thy spirit thou will draw souls to that blessed one work. We do pray amongst any that are lost in this room, and refresh the hearts of thine own as we speak again of the precious things of Christ.
So we asked thy health and blessing. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for his glory.
Amen. I'd like to read several portions of the word of God at the beginning of the Gospel meeting. The first one is in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews, chapter 10.
Hebrews, chapter 10 and verse 5. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, He saith, sacrifice and offering, Thou wouldest not but a body hast thou prepared me? And then in John's Gospel, chapter 14.
00:05:20
John's Gospel, chapter 14.
And verse 2.
In my father's house, there are many mansions.
If it were not so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you. And then in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 25 and verse 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And then in Psalm 23.
Psalm 23.
And verse 5.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies, and just one more portion in the book of Amos.
Amos, Chapter 4.
And just an expression near the end of verse 12 prepare.
To meet thy God. Well, as these verses indicate, I have it on my heart and seeking to present the gospel this evening.
To speak a little bit about preparation, I think even the youngest here understands what it means to prepare.
I suppose those who've never hosted a conference like this little realize the preparation that our local brethren put in to having us together. Things have run so smoothly today. We've parked in the parking lot. We've come in, we enjoyed breakfast this morning. We sat down in this room on these chairs. We've had some wonderful meetings. In between the meetings there were refreshments, there were was a meal. After this meeting there's going to be another meal, Lord willing, with a lot of preparation.
Why did things run so smooth today in the logistics of meetings like this? Because our brethren paid attention to details. They made preparation, and we make preparation every day. Those of us who have traveled to these meetings from out of town, we made preparation as well. There was some Pennsylvania, some planning. We sent our names in hopefully, and we then made plans to have the time off to make sure our vehicles were in proper order for the the journey.
We set aside time to travel here. We made sure we had some extra funds so that we could afford gas and a meal along the way. Maybe there's someone who came from a further distance that had to stay overnight somewhere. But there was preparation. Went into these meetings both by our local brethren and by those of us who have attended these meetings. Even this morning, there was preparation. We got up, we got it, took a shower, perhaps. We got dressed, we got in our vehicles, and we came here.
But oh, tonight, for a few moments, we want to talk about preparation that is vital. Preparation that has to do with not just some event here in this world like these meetings, but preparation that has to do with attending the marriage supper of the Lamb, preparation for eternity. You know, there were some who prepared to come to these meetings and things hindered them. I was at the Jenkins a day early and there were some calls and some emails that came in, some cancellations of people who had planned to be here, but.
For one reason or another, they were hindered and sometimes we do make preparation for things.
And as careful as we lay those plans and make those preparations, those plans get frustrated. But oh, tonight it is so vital. It is important that we prepare for eternity. But before we do that, I want to speak about preparation on God's part. Just like there was preparation on the part of those who have invited us here this weekend, so the one who has invited us to come to the marriage Supper of the Lamb has made.
Full and abundant preparation and provision for us.
And so we read of the Lord Jesus. A body hast thou prepared me?
We've been speaking in these meetings of the Lord Jesus coming into this world in incarnation.
00:10:06
It's interesting that if you were to go to a secular dictionary this evening and look up the Word incarnation, you will find something like this.
Christ come in human form. Isn't that interesting? What else could it be? The first time I looked in Webster's dictionary and saw that exact definition, it kind of took me aback. And then I thought, what else could it be? No one else ever came into this world the same way the Lord Jesus came. There is no one else. Whoever came into this world in incarnation, You know, in the Old Testament, the Lord Jesus appeared to various of his own in different forms.
But it never was permanent. It was never reconsidered incarnation. There were those who said they had seen the face of God. In fact, Manoa, Sampson's father, He was afraid they were going to die because they had seen the Lord. But then there came a moment in this world where the God the Father sent forth his son, born of a woman, born of a virgin. In fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy unto us, a child is born. Unto us, the son is given.
A body hast thou prepared me. This was the Lamb, who was verily foreordained before the foundation of the world.
And he came, and oh, it stirs my soul to think of it. Depiction in my mind.
The Lord Jesus is a baby in Bethlehem's Manger, and the angels looked down, and they see for the first time their creator. This was the first time the heavenly host had seen their creator. And no, there was no stir in Jerusalem or Bethlehem or Israel.
There he was, lying in a Manger, upholding all things by the word of his power.
And the angels, what did they do? They went out to the hillside outside Bethlehem.
And an Angel announced to the shepherds the birth of the son of God.
And has the Angel announces the birth of the Son of God. There's a blazing glory, a blaze across the heavens, and all of a sudden with that Angel there's a heavenly host of angels praising God and saying glory to God in the highest peace on earth, goodwill to men. How could the angels keep silent when they look down into that Manger and saw their creator for the first time, the Son of God?
A body hast thou prepared me?
Lord Jesus grew up. The wise men came, they saw a young child, and they worshipped him.
At 12 years of age, he goes up to the temple with his parents and sits in the midst of the doctors asking questions and answering the very questions he asked because they were all amazed at his understanding and answers.
His public ministry begins at about 30 years of age. The Blessed Lord Jesus traverses the dusty streets of Palestine.
From 1 town and city to another, dispensing blessing on every.
And then the moment comes when he allows wicked hands to take a hold of him.
And they take Jesus, and they lead him away to Pilate's judgment Hall.
He shuffled back and forth between Pilate and the high Priest, and back and forth and back and forth.
They lit their hands to pluck the hairs of his cheek. They slapped him. They spit upon him. They scourge him. They put a crown of thorns on that blessed head. They beat it into his brow. They mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.
And then they laid hands on him again, it says. And they took Jesus and led him away to crucify him.
Roman soldiers nailed him to a Roman jibbett, and there he hung bodily as a spectacle for men and angels.
And then the moment came. Yes, it did. The moment came when God said that's enough.
And God crowded the sun and darkness, and in those hours of darkness he bore my sins in his own body on the tree. Can you say that today that he bore your sins in his own body on the tree? I thank God that I can say that.
Later on, after he had laid down his life, because he said of his life, no man taketh it from me. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
00:15:04
The commandment have I received of my father, And after he laid down his precious life, a soldier with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came throughout blood and water.
God never let wicked hands touch the Lord Jesus. Again, Joseph of Arimathea came and it says he begged the body of Jesus, that precious body that had been prepared from a past eternity that had come in incarnation.
Joseph and Nicodemus, with loving hands, took that body down and laid it in Joseph's tomb.
A new tomb in which never a man laid as had been prophesied. And then, as we've had at some length today, the moment came when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. The tomb couldn't hold him, death couldn't hold him and he rose from the dead. And that's why we preach not only Christ crucified, but that he died, he was buried and he rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures. It's what sets Christianity unique from all the other, shall I say so, so-called great religions.
That are practiced and preached in this world. Today we have a tomb in Christianity, but it's an empty tomb.
The body of the Lord Jesus has come out, and the Lord Jesus after we had this afternoon.
Remaining on earth long enough to give ample and complete testimony to his own, He left this world and bodily the Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of God today, and there He's the savior of sinners. There is a Savior on high in the glory, a Savior who suffered on Calvary's tree. A Savior is willing to save. Now, as ever, His arm is almighty, his love great and free.
If we were to read the context of this portion in Hebrews 10.
We would find that the body of the Lord Jesus is brought before us, in contrast to the bodies of those beasts that were sacrificed in the Old Testament, we sometimes sing a hymn that sums it up so very well. Not all the blood of beasts on Jewish altars slain could give the guilty conscience peace or wash away its stain, but Christ the Heavenly Lamb took all our guilt away, a sacrifice of nobler name and richer blood than they.
I'm gonna pause a moment and ask you tonight, are you washed in the blood of the Lord Jesus? Because it's the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, that cleanse us from all sin.
It's through that blood that we have the forgiveness of sins. I'm thankful that I'm redeemed not with corruptible things as silver and gold, not something that changes in value on the market from day-to-day, but I'm redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, and when it says precious, that's God's value of it. I'm thankful that I'm not redeemed on the basis of my estimation of the blood of Christ. I I hope that everyone here.
In some measure can say the blood of Christ is precious to our souls, but I am not redeemed on the basis of my value of the blood of Christ.
Because that's feeble at best. That may change at best. But my redemption tonight is based on God's value of the blood of Christ. And it is as precious to the heart of God tonight as when it was shed on Calvary's cross. And it will be as precious to the heart of God for all eternity when we sing about it there, gathered around himself from every kindred and tongue and people and nation in the Father's house. And that brings me to the next portion that we read, because there's something else that has been prepared.
The Lord Jesus said to the disciples before he went to the cross. I go to prepare a place for you.
Now sometimes when this verse is read, we think of the Lord Jesus up there, getting the house ready, getting it prepared.
You know, when we have company, there's a great deal of preparation goes in to us having company. And that preparation sometimes takes place right up until the company is driving in the driveway. And sometimes we have to slam a closet door too, because the preparations weren't quite complete and we don't want anybody to realize. But that is not the thought in what we have here. The reason the Lord Jesus spoke of it here in the future tense was because two things had not yet happened.
The Lord Jesus had not gone to the cross and accomplished the work of redemption, nor had the Lord Jesus risen from the dead and ascended back to the Father with the marks of atonement in his body. But the moment the Lord Jesus ascended back and sat down at the right hand of God the Father with those marks of atonement in his hands and in his feet and in his side, the house was prepared. The place was prepared. The only thing that is hindering the Lord Jesus from coming now is that the Church of God has not been completed yet.
00:20:25
There's another person to be saved, and maybe it's you tonight. Maybe God in his grace, long-suffering that not willing and not willing that any should perish. Maybe he's waiting for you to come tonight. You know, wouldn't it be wonderful if the last soul to be saved was in this room and before we conclude this gospel meaning and say Amen, you got saved and we were all out of here. Wouldn't that be great? It might be.
Maybe God, in his long-suffering grace, is waiting for you.
Oh, come tonight, don't put it off because there's a wonderful place prepared. There's a home prepared for. You gonna recount a little story?
True story about a singer by the name of Ruthanna Metzger. Maybe some of you have heard her. She's a fairly popular singer, especially in Christian circles, and Ruthanna and her husband Roy were invited some time ago.
To a wedding in Seattle, WA. This was a very posh wedding. In fact, it was to be held on the top two floors of the Columbia Towers, the highest skyscraper in the city of Seattle. And two floors had been reserved for this wedding of a very wealthy couple.
Ruthanna was to sing at the wedding and she and her husband Roy were very excited to be to be invited to such an event.
After the wedding ceremony was completed.
The guests approached a glass and brass stairs that led to the top floor of the Columbia Tower.
Someone ceremoniously cut the ribbon and the guests ascended, following the bride and groom up those stairs.
But at the top of those stairs there was a maitre-d' and he had in his hand a bound book. And you can well guess what was in that bound book. It was a list of the guests who were invited to the reception.
And as Ruthanna and her husband approached, they were asked for their name. Ruthanna said. I'm Ruthanna Metzger and this is my husband, Roy. The maitre-d' turned to that book and he ran his finger up and down the columns.
He said. I'm not finding it. Could you spell it? She spelt it out very slowly and carefully again. He looked to make sure he hadn't missed it. He said, I'm sorry, it's not here. He motioned for one of the waiters to come, and this waiter was asked to usher Ruth, Anna and her husband out of that, out of that. Those towers, as they were ushered to the service elevator. They passed tables loaded with bounties, They said there were whole smoked salmons.
Ice sculptures in the middle of the table. They passed an orchestra in white tuxedos, tuning up to play during the reception. All kinds of wonderful things were going to take place in the next hours.
The waiter unceremoniously ushered them into the service elevator and pressed G for grudge.
They were taken down to the bottom of those towers and silently they walked to their car.
They got in the car and they drove for several minutes before Roy spoke to his wife, he said. Sweetheart, what happened?
Tears filled Ruthannis eyes, she said. You know, when the invitation came, I was busy and I didn't bother to RSVP.
She said. I didn't think I had to. I was the singer at the wedding. Why would I have to?
But you know what that Maitre-d' had told them before he had them ushered out, He said. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, if your name isn't in this book, you cannot attend this reception.
You know, I'm afraid that there are many people who are going to hear similar language to that.
From the lips of the Lord Jesus in a coming day, it doesn't matter who you are.
It doesn't matter what you've done.
He's no respecter of persons, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags all the best things we could do.
00:25:06
But there is a place prepared for those who avail themselves.
Of the finished work of Calvary. But there's another place prepared. But it's interesting that the place prepared in Matthew was never prepared for man. It never was prepared for fallen man. Scripture is very specific as to why hell was prepared. It was prepared for the devil and his angels.
But I believe we find in the context of that and from other Scriptures that those who go on without Christ, those who refuse God's offer of salvation and who will never enter that place called the Father's house, God will have no choice, no choice In His just and righteous character. He will have no choice but to send.
Men and women and young people to a lost eternity. I just want to repeat something that I know has often been repeated in a setting like this. Do you know? As I look into the faces of this audience, I realize that most, if not all of you have heard before the gospel story, and many of you either are or have been brought up in a Christian home.
You know, I've always it's always searched my soul in reading of the ascension of Elijah.
When he went to heaven, the whirlwind, the chariot of fire, to realize who it was that missed Elijah when he was gone.
It wasn't, shall I say, the general populace in Israel. It was the sons of the prophets.
Not solemn. And I wonder if the Lord Jesus were to come today, before this meeting is completed, if there would be some of the sons and daughters of Christian parents left behind in these chairs with the awful realization of what has just taken place.
You know, it is those who have heard the gospel many times and refused it that will be sent a strong delusion that they believe a lie. Not the heathen. Not the heathen. It will be those who've heard the truth. But they received not the love of the truth. They refused it. They hardened their hearts. They were indifferent to it. They rejected it. They neglected it. It doesn't matter. But they didn't avail themselves of the work of Calvary, God's offer of salvation through his Son. And they are the ones. You are the one.
Who will be left behind? If the Lord Jesus comes today or you're taken in death, you will be the one who will realize what has happened because the Lord Jesus is coming, he said in John 14. I will come again, and make no mistake about it, when the Lord Jesus comes, there will be for you no second opportunity. Yes, there will be a gospel after we're gone, called the gospel of the Kingdom, but that gospel will be for those who have never had.
Opportunity to receive the gospel of the grace of God, but for those who've had opportunity now.
It says they come and they begin to knock, and they say, Lord, Lord, open unto us.
You know, mostly when you read that expression, Lord, Lord, it's profession. It's those that have known they've had the light, like the virgins, the 10 virgins, the five that were foolish and so on. It's those that have had the light. They said, Lord, Lord, they've made out with profession without inward reality.
But that door will never open. When once the master of the house has risen up and shut to the door, then they begin to knock. But from the other side of that door come those awful words depart from me. I never knew you. And so there are two places prepared. The Father's house, prepared for all those who will come and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ receive him as Savior hell, not prepared for you.
But the end result, if you reject, will be the cat be cast hand and foot into the lake of fire. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? Every time I quote that verse I think of a man from Scotland who was in Johannesburg, South Africa some years ago, and he was walking down the street and he saw what looked like a bulletin in the gutter and on it he he saw $5000 reward.
Well, you can imagine his curiosity was tweaked by what he had to do to get $5000. And so he stopped and he bent over and he picked up that piece of paper. And on the other side it said for the answer to the question, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? That question remains unanswered, but you and I know, you and I know from the word of God what the end result is to those who receive.
00:30:26
Who do not receive the Lord Jesus, those who obey not the gospel.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ. But something else has been prepared, and that's why I read that well known statement in Psalm 23. Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies, because for a moment or two I want to stress upon our souls that in getting saved, it's not just that he has prepared something for the future. Not just that there is a hope in the Father's house set before us. And then we stumble through the rest of this life on our own.
And left to make it the best we can. I say that because I think sometimes when the Gospels presented.
The reaction is, well, I'd like to be saved, but I could never make it. As a Christian, I could never make it either.
Except for God's provision, you know, it tells us in connection with the believer. He's given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. You know the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you come and receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior this evening, you'll get a new life, the very life of Christ. A perfect life. But you'll get more than that. You'll get the power for that life. You know the divine life is a perfect life, but it has no power of itself.
The power for that life is the spirit of God, and not only do you have power for your life.
But we have the word of God as direction for our footsteps. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. We have the living word. We have it for comfort, for edification. We have the Lord Jesus right beside us. Lo, I am with you always, even under the end of the age. He cares for us. When we're down, He carries us and underneath of the everlasting arms, and on and on and on it goes. We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
In Christ, this is a positive side of the gospel. It's the positive side of Christianity.
Sometimes when the Gospels presented people, think of what they'll have to give up if they come to know the Lord. Oh, I gave up were my sins, and I'm glad they're gone. As far as the East is from the West. So far. He removed our transgressions from us. He's blotted them out as a thick cloud. Thy sins and iniquities. I will remember no more. I've said this before, but I'm going to repeat it because I enjoy this. You know it is a.
Interesting expression. I will remember no more. You know, God doesn't forget. I know the children, and I'll sing it too. But in the sea of God's forgetfulness, my sins are gone. And so on. But God doesn't forget. That's human weakness. But there are things he chooses not to remember. Only a divine person can do that. You know. The things I want to forget, I remember. And the things I want to remember, I often forget. But there are things God chooses not to remember. My grandmother had an expression. I forgive and forget, but I always remember.
Well, that's human nature, isn't it? But not with my savior. He's. He doesn't remember them anymore. They're gone. They'll never rise in judgment against me because they're gone once and for all. But have you been brought into this place a blessing? Do you know the Lord Jesus as your savior, or are you going to just shrug it off? You're watching the clock and hope that preacher doesn't go overtime and remembers that the meeting's only 45 minutes long?
This evening and you're waiting to get out of here and have a good time with the other young people and your friends and.
Nothing wrong with that. But oh, I beg of you tonight, in light of what God has prepared, don't spurn God's offer tonight. He's prepared a table before us here in this world, in the presence of our enemies. He's prepared many good things. What would you think of someone who went to a lot of preparation to invite you to a special dinner and you refuse their invitation? You know, there were people like that that the Lord told of He told about a man who made a marriage for his son. And when the right time came for the guests, they had all kinds of excuses why they couldn't come.
And then he said, go out into the highways and byways and as many as you find bid to the marriage.
He said that to his servants. That's what God's servants are doing tonight around this world. That's what I'm trying in my feeble measure to do tonight, bid you to the marriage. But you know that's not the end of it. Because when you have that same story in another gospel, he sends out a servant, singular, And he tells them that servant to compel them to come in. That's the Spirit of God. The Only the Spirit of God can compel you. I conveyed you to the marriage. I convinced you to come to Christ tonight, But thank God, the Spirit of God can compel you to come in. That's why before a gospel meeting, we pray that the Spirit of God will work and take the living Word and apply it in that power.
00:35:33
That you might be saved tonight.
Prepare to meet thy God. We're coming close to the end of this Gospel meeting.
Are you prepared to meet God? You know, the fact that we've had almost 40 minutes of Gospel Meeting tonight is a proof of the love and the mercy and the grace that's in the heart of God. We have sat here for almost 40 minutes because God loves you, God is gracious, and God is giving you one more opportunity to be saved.
During the First World War, there was some heavy fighting at the front in Europe, and I've been to some of those battlefields of Europe and some of those monuments. It's very sobering to stand on those battlefields and look out. You can still see the ridges of ground, where the trenches were and so on, but there was a battle raging and.
Some men were falling, and it was A certain man was hit and wounded, and he fell back from the line of fire into the trench. And his comrades saw what had happened. And he jumped down beside him, took his coat off and put it under his comrade's head to make him a little more comfortable, because he realized that he was mortally wounded and that he was going to die.
And as he bent over to make his friend comfortable, his friend looked up at him.
And he said, Can you tell me the way to heaven?
Interesting, isn't it? Men will shuffle all aside in good times, when there's peace, when there's health, but they're facing eternity. They wanna know the way to heaven. Well, you can't tell a dying man that he's gotta be baptized, or he's gotta keep certain commandments, or he's gotta do certain things. And so his friend in distress looked at his comrade and he said no, I can't tell you the way to heaven, but I'll try to find out.
He jumped back to his post. He asked his comrade beside him. Can you tell me the way to heaven? His friend shook his head. And down the line it went. 16 men. Imagine, all facing the barrels of the guns of the enemy, and none of them knew the way to heaven. Finally, the 16th man pulled a New Testament out of his pocket. He opened it to John. 316 He put his finger on it. He said to his to the 15th man.
Send this testament back down and keep everyone keep their finger on this verse and this is the way to heaven.
And also carefully they passed that thought, that New Testament back down that line of men. Every man was careful to keep his finger on John. 316 Finally it came to the last man. And with his finger on that verse he jumped down beside his dying friend. He read to him those life giving words. His friend drank them in, and he looked up and he said to his comrade, I believe in the Lord Jesus.
And he was ushered into eternity. That was pretty close, wasn't it? But what about you? You might be closer than you think tonight. Yes, you might be closer than you think tonight.
Eternity. Where will you spend eternity? Prepare to meet by God, you know, when we were children, we used to like to lie out in the backyard and we'd find an Ant hill and we'd watch those ants in the summertime. And those ants were always busy. What were they doing? The Book of Proverbs tells us what they were doing. The Book of Proverbs tells us that the ants are small and feeble.
But they're wise because they prepare their meat in the summer. And we would watch those ants and they would have crumbs and things that they were carrying. Sometimes those pieces of food looked like they were three or four times the size of the Ant. But that Ant would struggle to get that food down into that Ant hill down below where the storm was going to rage in a few months. Because by instinct, that aunt knew that it needed to prepare its meat in the summer. You know, sometimes the lower creation by instinct follow their creator better than we.
00:40:15
Who have a God consciousness.
But Scripture cites those ants as being wise because they make preparation. What preparation tonight have you made for eternity? Have you prepared to meet God? You know, there is another example, and I just want to cite it in closing. And this is particularly for the encouragement of any parents or grandparents here who are praying for their children and young people this evening, you know, it says in Hebrews Chapter 11 of Noah.
He prepared an ark to the saving of his house. I find great encouragement in that, and I want to just pass it along to you, you parents who have prepared for eternity, you parents who know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you seek in one way and another, whether it's in the home, whether it's bringing your young people to meetings and Gospels and so on. You seek in one way to bring before them.
That preparation that is needed because we can't save our children and young people, but we bring them to the Lord. And in that way, I believe we prepare an ark to the saving of our house and be comforted to realize that God is interested in our children and our young people. And I believe that one reason why the Lord Jesus hasn't come yet is because he's long-suffering to us. Word. I want to quote that verse we often quoted in the gospel and we misquote it.
Sometimes we quote it like this. God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. That is not what it says.
He says he's long-suffering to us, Word not willing that any should perish. Now he's long-suffering to the lost, that's true. There's plenty of other scriptures to bear that out. But he's long-suffering to us. Word who are praying for loved ones, praying for our children, praying for our young people, praying for a family member, maybe someone that you have been bringing the gospel before at work or school. Why hasn't the Lord come? Because he's long-suffering to you.
Knowing that you want to see that person saved and Noah, I suppose for about 120 years preached righteousness and prepared an ark to the saving of his house. That was only 7 souls himself and seven other souls wasn't a very good record, was it? They replace a preacher like that today, but scripture records. He prepared an ark to the saving of his house. I trust everyone of us here are prepared for eternity. Full provision has been made, Full preparation.
On the part of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And now he says all things are ready.
Com. That's correct. Our God and Father, we thank Thee for the glorious gospel message, and we pray that not one person will get up out of their seat this evening without receiving the Lord Jesus making that preparation to be there in the Father's house in that coming day of glory. Now we thank Thee for this happy day, asking blessing on the rest of our time together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Greatest Need of Our Life Is to Be Saved
Children—Al Coleman
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#4444.
Into a tent where Gypsy boy lay dying alone the close of the day. We all know this one. It's a favor.
Into where?
Let's see what I mean. I'm going to 1000%.
You're supposed to call me.
No, I haven't seen anything around your house the whole day.
I thought again.
The last day, I thought again.
I have been sent over and everything. Didn't you all around the world?
And I can't dance your grandpa, man. Nobody did. Ever. Can't hold me. Please hold on.
Umm, and nobody ever had well to make it being full.
I'll be in 10483 and all around the world.
I can't say I'm glad you're going out, man.
No, I didn't have Northern Ireland, so if you need to give me a call.
You know the prayer of the little gypsy boy is being.
Answered today. Tell it again, tell it again. Salvation story. Repeat over and over and over, and that story will be told until the Lord comes.
Then you won't hear it again.
How many here Have you ever been to a gospel tent? Put up your hand. Oh, boy. Oh, great. Thank you. Thank you. Well.
I'm very familiar with gospel. You know, there's one in Lark Harbor, Newfoundland right now that is up and the story has been told there.
Wonderful. How many children have heard the wonderful news of salvation? How about a choice this morning?
Choice of a hymn? Anybody. Anybody.
What 32 OK, 32 it is.
What 10/1?
Can make me all out again. Nothing but the one at all.
00:05:35
IRMS my friend. I'll be by the way.
What's happening down the stairs? That's well.
Done. Takes me to our.
No, no sound crying though. Nothing but the world of you come.
Nothing and 47 platforms. Nothing but the bloody.
Umm.
It is all my whole family, nothing but the water.
Jason.
Is all my thyself is now nothing but the blood.
Jesus.
One of the crabs yelled in the past, glowed by a God made me light as long as I have. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
And a brother, Norman Berry, probably most of you would remember. And he gave me some advice.
And he said, Ali says when you get up in the podium there to speak, he says, the first thing I want you to do is open your Bible. Good advice it is. And then the next thing I want you to do is to announce the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Good advice. Yes, it is. And then I want you to speak of the cross. The cross.
Where the Lord Jesus was crucified on Calvary's cross for you and I.
And then I want you to tell about sin.
Sin, sin.
So as we look around the room we have to quote that well known verse in Romans 323. It says for all of sinned and come short of the glory of God and there's only one remedy for sin and that is the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I gotta tell you a story.
We had, uh, we lived, we lived in a little fishing village called Frenchman's Cove in Newfoundland. And uh, we had children's meeting in our home. Our basement was usually quite full Thursday night, Friday night and Sunday, late Sunday afternoon, we had, uh, children's meetings. And most of our children came from Frenchman's Cove, Benoit's Cove, and John's Beach.
And we had a very nice time. Many of the boys and girls heard the wonderful news of salvation. Where are they today? Oh, I trust all thee. Most of them in heaven I trust.
00:10:04
Uh, let me tell you about Emily.
Emily was probably about 10 years old and she came to the hobby class in Sunday school. But this particular day we had trouble with the kids. They were unruly and, uh, they were just carrying on something fierce. We picked them up and then Lost Cove and we brought them to our house and, uh, you know, they were just screaming and yelling in the van and, and then all through the meeting that was just.
Bedlam. We just had a horrible time. We couldn't keep the kids still and couldn't keep them from listening.
You know, it's very important to listen to the word of God, isn't it?
Well, we brought them back home and, uh, we dropped them off and we, I'll tell you, we were very discouraged. We just felt terrible on the way home.
And, uh, you know, it was just, it was really hard.
And, uh, but we hadn't dropped Emily off yet.
And she was on the way home and we were talking about how bad it was on, on the bus and and that and then and then little Emily pipes up in the back seat and she said, Mr. Coleman, I wasn't bad today, was I? I said.
No, Emily, you were, you were good and thank you. And then she said this. She said, uh, Mr. Coleman, I've asked the Lord Jesus to Satan.
You know, we were floating up in the clouds for the rest of the way home. You know something? There was a young boy by the name of Joey, Joey O'Connell his name was, and he had two sisters and Susie O'Connell and Gloria O'Connell. They were cute little girls that we, that we saw that we had in our hobby class. And uh, Joey was the ringleader. He just.
Tried everything to just mess up everything. And finally I had to say joy. You know, I can't take you in Sunday school anymore. I can't you just making a horrible time of it for the rest of us. And so I couldn't I didn't bring joy. Well, you know, one day not too long after that, Joy went out to the shed and there was this canoes in the shed and they have a a rope coming down.
Uh, and they hold the back end of the ski. Ski Doo.
Joey hung himself.
He hung himself. He died a little.
A little Gloria O'Connell, she went out there and didn't even know what was going on out there, and she found her brother dead.
Sad situation.
Well, that's the story of Emily, and I'm gonna see Emily in heaven and uh, you look around the room and how many am I gonna see in heaven? I trust all.
Little boys, little girls.
We got a verse to say this morning. What is it are we all gonna say? You're gonna say it good, and you're gonna say it OK. All right. What is the 1St?
Well, let's look at the message of love. Oh, I, I did I leave it there. No. Philippians 419 My God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Let's all say it. My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Boy, I look back in my life and I say wow.
That he has supplied everything in my life.
What a wonderful Savior looking after me and caring for me every day of my life. My God has supplied everything for my life. OK, who's going to say it? OK, go ahead.
OK, Thank you. Good. You can say it too, Attaboy.
7419 Oh, thank you very much. All right.
00:15:32
The greatest need that I would ever need. What do you think it is?
To be saved, to be saved, that's great, that's wonderful. To be safe, that is our greatest need, uh.
My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Let's look at a few verses from the Word of God today.
Hebrews, chapter 13.
Hebrews, chapter 13.
Verse 5 just hit the end of the verse. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
That's beautiful. I will never leave thee, nor for safety.
I looked back in my life and I see this is so I failed him so many, many times that he has never failed me. Think of that. How wonderful. And so, umm, I'm getting to be. Well, I don't want to say it, but I'm getting to be an old man. I, I just, I just had my 80th birthday.
And uh, it's wonderful. I look back on my life and said.
Everything in place. He never forsook me once, never forsook me once, you know. But one of the things that I want to say this morning, his desk is that, umm.
When I was a child, I grew up in a Sunday school and sure, I said my verse, I read my Bible and I listened to my dad and, but you know, I wasn't interested. I'm not interested at all. And so I grew up, I, I never thought about the Lord and I got out into the world and I did all kinds of bad, bad things. And if you had to know me, then you probably would have said.
Forget it.
No, he's too bad. And that's what I was. I was, I was one of the worst persons that you could think of.
But you don't right now, tonight.
Who is standing before you is one of the trophies of God's wondrous grace.
You saved me, You know, there was a sister in our meeting in Vancouver and she said looked at me and she said, uh, Al, if God can save you, there's hope for my son.
And, uh, his Her son is still gathered to the Lord's name in Richmond.
There's hope for you if you're not saved. I want to tell you this one thing, and it's so very, very important. I wasn't saved until I was 24 years old, and those were wasted years, absolutely wasted years when I could have been into this precious word of God.
And reading it, memorizing verses and.
And watching the life of faith unto God.
And there were wasted years and I missed that.
And so, uh, you might say when it comes to the scriptures, I had to catch up because I wasted all those years and how precious it is. I will never leave the nor forsake thee. What a God that we have.
And all the way home, Saviour.
Umm, Brother Philip Gladding, anybody ever remember him? OK, he gave me some verses and I wanted to just pass them on to you. Uh, first of all, in, in Hebrews here it says Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever, uh, the same yesterday you went to Calvary's cross the same today. Who who cares for us and the same.
The one we're gonna spend an eternity with? The same yesterday.
00:20:04
Today and forever yesterday.
Joshua 23.
Joshua 23 and verse 14.
And behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing hath. I want you to specially note. Note that word hath.
Failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you, all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof.
E Fearless. No. And then that's the past, present Joshua, chapter one.
Joshua, chapter one.
Have night Ike at verse 9. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is.
Note that word is today with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Go back one verse.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and thou shalt have good success. That's the formula, isn't it, for this life of faith that we have.
This book of the law shall not be part out of thy mouth.
This should be.
Your constant companion, this precious word of God.
He is with the Withers. You know we want prosperity in our life, don't we? And this is the formula for the precious Word of God.
First Chronicles.
Chapter 28.
And verse 20 And David said to Solomon his son, be strong.
And of good courage. And do it.
Fear not, neither be dismayed for the Lord thy for the Lord God, even thy God will be with thee underline will He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, until thou was finished all the work for the service of the House of the Lord that was written to to Solomon.
And we can take it for ourselves. He will be with thee.
Yeah, you know, I don't know what the future holds for me, but I know that the Lord will be with me, and that's so comforting to know.
I'm gonna tell you a story.
My wife and I.
Are about three or four months ago we, uh, had to do some shopping, OK and uh, the problem was it was a cold rainy morning and the rain was just coming down and uh so we got out of our apartment our apartment and we headed for our car and we really.
Uh, hooked up to get to our car so that we wouldn't get too wet, right?
Now on the way out, there was a box on the lawn, a box about like that.
And.
Somebody dropped their garbage on the lawn, you know, Uh, yeah. Uh, it's a common expression. Don't be a litterbug. And this exactly, probably what happened. There was this box and the lid was partly closed. And so we hurried by heading for the car. And I stopped because I heard a little whimper.
And I looked into that box like that and there was a Guinea pig.
00:25:05
Guinea pig.
And the thing was soaking wet and cold.
You know, I, I, I in our apartment, I can't have animals. They won't let allow animals in our apartment. So I said, well, you know, what can I do? You know, that's what happened. Somebody just said, well, I, I'm just going to get rid of this and I'll dump it anywhere. What a heartless thing to do to a, to a little animal.
So I went to the car and I got in my car and I was just sort of sitting there for a minute. I mean, what can I do? There's a, there's a little Guinea pig and it's cold, it's wet and it's whimpering away. So, uh, what I did was I went back and I sort of, umm, kicked the box over so that the Guinea pig could get out.
And that little Guinea pig got out and he had very smartly, I guess, animal instinct. He had it for a big hedge up there, right? He had it for this big hedge. And you know what happened?
12345.
Baby Guinea pigs falling.
Five of them.
I, you know, I was just dumbfounded. Here's his mother, Guinea pig and five little pigs.
Oh, and they headed for under the Bush and the mother, uh, stood guard in the Bush and the little babies were in there. And so we went shopping and we came back and, uh, the Guinea pig was still there. Umm, I, I mean, what can you do? Hey, umm, so we did. We phoned the SPCA and they shoot him out of that, uh, hope from out of the Bush and that.
I'm gonna read a verse Isaiah chapter 449.
Isaiah 49.
And verse 15 Can a woman forget her suckling child that she should not have compassion on the center of her womb? Yeah, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee.
Not a beautiful verse. I'll never forget you.
The person that had this Guinea pig dumped the Guinea pig so he could forget all about it.
You know what it says next. Behold, I have a grave in thee upon the palms of my hands.
Our names on the palm of his hand eternity will not erase. Impressed on his heart, they remain in March of indelible grace.
You know, this is so special to me.
They dropped that Guinea pig.
And this verse says, Yet I will never forget thee. They wanted to forget all about that Guinea pig, but you know Lord Jesus Christ.
Never forget you.
Never, never forget you.
And then he says, Behold, I have graven thee, and the palms of thy hands. And I think of that. How, how beautiful that is, that that blessed one, the Lord Jesus Christ 2000 years ago.
They put those nails in his hand and I was, I was just sort of meditating on this this morning.
When they when they put those nails in his hand, did the Lord say, What are you trying to do?
You can't have that hand of mine and nail it. Is that what he says?
No, he didn't say that.
He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as the sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. The Lord Jesus never said anything.
He allowed man to put those nails in his hands.
And they took and nailed him to that cross.
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You know, we have often heard this, this expression. It wasn't the nails that held in there on that cross. It was love to you and I, those nails.
What is not what held him on that cross?
He loves us. He loves us with an everlasting love. He could see how.
Sinful we were, and he went willingly to that cross, to die for you and I. And I think of him on those dark hours on Calvary's cross there, and how he could cry out, My God, my God, why is thou forsaken me and I can't? And I think of how much he suffered from the hands of men, those nails that he put, that they put in his hands, and in his thought in his feet.
What, oh God we have? Did you know this wonderful God?
This wonderful savior.
This one same Savior as saying unto you this morning, suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the Kingdom of heaven.
He's inviting lost, guilty sinners to come to him this morning.
Yeah, the gospel last night.
Did you go through the gospel meeting without Christ?
You know for 24 years I went to a gospel, be there and never accepted Christ as my Savior. 24 years you probably saying to me you should have been ashamed of yourself and I am. I am ashamed of my past life. But I am also rejoicing that the Lord Jesus saved me and put me on the heavenly Rd. that leads to the glory.
What a savior, what a wonderful person. This is the one that we're going to spend an eternity with not coming. Scene of glory.
How near is the Lord's coming? How near? How near?
Oh, I believe that that moment is not very far off.
When I look at this whole world that we're living in today.
When everything about God is being erased. Schools, governments everywhere.
Don't mention the name of God.
It's just a little taste of what it's going to be after the Lord comes. Absolute complete apostasy, erase of the name of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. But you know here this morning.
Yes.
Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
I'm going to tell you another story. Would you like a Newfoundland story?
The Despatch, it was a schooner and uh, it was 1835 and it was heading for Boston with 176 passengers and uh, it came, uh, down the South Coast of Newfoundland. Now, uh, to explain, the South Coast of Newfoundland is notorious for wrecked ships.
Rocks, storms. Boy, we could get some real storms there.
And the captain of the despatch saw the.
Ray of the Cape Ray Light Lighthouse. He could see it and so he steered for the Cape Ray Lighthouse. There was also another lighthouse at Port Avast.
And he steered to the wrong lighthouse.
What happened right at the little village of Isle of Mark where I've spent so much time in the severe sister that living there, umm, that boat went on the rocks.
And those 176 passengers were doomed. There was no hope for them. 176 passengers.
There was a young girl by the name of Ann Harvey and she lived in Isle of Wight and, uh, she liked to go down the beach and get, you know, little things that she could find in the beach. And, uh, while she was on the beach, she, no, she noticed a flare go up. Uh oh. And this happened probably quite a few times. So Anne ran home to her father and she says father is the boat out, out in the rocks.
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Well, uh, Mr. Harvey got in his Dory and he got a whole pile of rope and he put his dog in the boat and his son and Anne and they rode out. Well, they could only go so far because it was so rough.
And you know what they did?
They, they had our Newfoundland dog by the name of Hairy Man. And you know, a Newfoundland dog has a real web peak and he can really swim a strong swimmer and they're big and they can take the cold water. And So what they did is they got and put a rope in Hairy Man's mouth and they said go to the wreck and Harry Man took that.
That rope and he.
Swam to that boat. I told you it was tough going. Quite a few times you could see him Bob under the water. But he made it to that boat and they tied, uh, got that rope and they tied it and then they came back. Hairy Man came back with another rope and tied it to shore and then they put what they call a breeches boy on that rope.
And you know that 176 passengers were saved that day, all because of a of a Newfoundland dog.
You know, those passengers were so happy.
And, uh, the whole village of Islemort went out and opened all their homes to, uh, uh, to the passengers and fed them and, and, uh, they were there for about two weeks before, umm, they all went and, uh, King George the, yeah, I think it was.
Gave the whole town of Isle of Mort a uh.
Citation for their heroic, heroic work. Do you think those passengers were thankful they were doomed to die?
And did all If you are without Christ this morning, you're doomed to die.
Die without Christ, and it's a solemn thing to face eternity without Christ.
And so I urge everyone here this morning that doesn't know the Lord Jesus as their own Savior that they would come tonight, this morning.
And ask the Lord Jesus to save them. I got one last thing I want to do before I close.
You know I love giving out gospel tracts.
And so I'm going to give. There's only three or four children, OK? I'm gonna give you a gospel tract, OK. And I'm gonna give you one and I'm gonna give you one. And you went, had a girl and you won. Anybody want one?
OK.
How about a voice? OK.
Thank you.
There you go. Thank you.
Now you've got a gospel tract.
What we can do with those tracks?
Pardon.
OK.
OK.
And what was what you said? Your what?
OK. We got some customers down here.
Where? Oh boy.
OK.
00:40:00
Hold on. OK.
Here there's a whole row of them, uh.
Where? OK, gotcha.
Thank you. Thank you.
Yeah, OK.
That's it.
Now I've given these gospel tracts out for a purpose.
You've got a, you've got a gospel tract in your hand. You know what I want you to do with them. I want you to give to your friend that you play with through your school name, through your office mate. Whoever give it to them, let them have this precious word of God. You know, uh, I, umm, when I, when I'm giving up tracks, the, uh, the first one I give out is always the hardest because it takes the most courage.
To give out that gospel threat to the first person after that.
It it you're broken the ice and it seems easier and you can give out more and more and more and more. And so, boys and girls, I want you to learn to share the precious word of God.
With those around you, with your schoolmate, with your friend, whatever. Because in these gospel tractions, the way of salvation, Bible verses and God can use them, God can use.
Even a little boy like you and like you, he can use you. And so this is this is this is a rewarding thing to do, to give out the precious word of God to whosoever will. You know, it's wonderful. It says whosoever will may come. I think we do have that song on our song sheet, don't we?
OK, 16.
Good. Thank you, 16. OK, that's good.
Whosoever.
On the ground.
That's the blood on you. Umm, and so I don't know.
That's ask the Lord's blessing on His Word, loving Father.
We thank you for that precious word, whosoever will may come. We think of how a loving father that still thine arms are outstretched to this world, and we hear from thy precious word. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. We pray this morning that if there's a child or an adult here this morning that have not come, that they might come this morning, for before it's forever too late.
We thank you for the long-suffering heart of mercy lingering over this world, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And we think, we think of the wonderful gospel that is still going out.
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We just pray that in these last closing days that many souls might be saved, and we pray for these gospel tracts also, Father, that that would use them for Thy glory and the blessing of souls. We commit this all to Thee with Thanksgiving to Thee, Lord Jesus, and Thy precious and worthy name. Amen.
Proverbs 30
Address—Robert Boulard
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I'd like to start the meeting this afternoon with him #77 in the appendix.
Number 77 in the appendix.
Nsnoise.
No.
Time.
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My name is on Friday. Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah Nah Nah.
Let's ask the Lord's blessing on our meeting.
Our loving God and our Father, we thank thee for thy heart of love. We thank the our God that though its desire to provide a bride for thy Son.
And in that marvelous work that took place at the Cross of Calvary.
Let's, let's save. You're in the darkness of those three hours, those long, dark hours.
Let us bear the judgment for our sins, to make us fit for Thy holy Presence, for the holiness of our God, and to transform us, as it were.
Into companions 1 Companion one bride that would be suitable to thy companionship eternally and in this scene to represent the as those that are members of thy body. What marvelous grace. And in the little meeting that we have this afternoon, we just asked you the thoughts encourage our hearts to walk with thee and to live in the path of righteousness.
We pray for the little ones here. We ask Thee for special grace for them. We thank thee for the sound of the little ones here in the assembly.
Thank you for our young people. We pray that they might have courage to live for Christ in this day, this wicked day that we live in, and to buy the truth, not to sell it, and to have value for the person of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. And in the words of that little hymn, we think of how thou, it's how it's phrased. I gave my life for thee. What hast Thou given for me?
We pray that there might be a turning around decisions for Christ, not only for salvation, but for Lordship. This afternoon we ask thee to bless thy precious word, give strength to the speaker and our God that each one of us might receive food for our souls. We pray for our older brethren too, perhaps suffering in the body, and we just pray that they might have special grace for the hour before us. So we ask thy blessing, cast ourselves upon thee in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd like to turn to the.
Book of Proverbs this afternoon.
Speak a little bit about a passage of scripture that we don't often read, we don't often really speak of, but was, uh, this chapter the 30th chapter of Proverbs with quoted different verses of Scripture were quoted in this chapter.
During our meetings yesterday, and, uh, I must confess I was enjoying this little passage of scripture personally.
Maybe the last four or five days, and I thought maybe we would take it up here this afternoon. It only takes maybe about 3 or 4 minutes to read the chapter, so we'll read it and then make some comments about it.
The words of Edgar the son of Jakey, even the prophecy. The man spake unto Ethiol, and even unto Ethio and Yuko. Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learn wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy. Who hath ascended up into heaven or descended, who hath gathered the wind in his fists? Who hath found the waters in a garment? Who hath established the ends of all of the earth?
What is his name? What is his Son's name? At Dawkins tell every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Two things have I required of thee. Deny me them not before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord? Or lest I be poor and steel, and take the name of my God in vain. Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he cursed thee, and thou be found guilty. There is a generation that curseth their father, and their doth not bless their mother.
00:10:10
There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, yet is not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, oh, how lofty are their eyes, and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men. The horse Leech hath two daughters crying. Give, give. There are three things that are never satisfied. Yeah, four things. Say not it is enough, the grave.
In the barren womb, the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that saith not, it is enough. The eye that mocketh and his father despised to obey his mother. The Ravens of the valley shall pluck it out, pick it out, and the young eagle shall eat it. There be three things which are too wonderful for me. Yeah, for which I know not. The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of a ship in the midst of the sea.
In the way of a man with a maid, such is the way of an adulterous woman. She eateth and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness. For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear for a servant when he reigneth.
And a fool when he is filled with meat For an odious woman when she is married, and a handmaid that is heir to her mistress. There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise. The answer of people not strong, yet they're they prepare their meat in the summer. The colonies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks. The locusts have no king, yet they go forth all of them.
By bands the spider taketh hold with her hands, and his king. In King's palaces there be three things which go well. Yeah, four are comely and going. A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any.
A greyhound, and then he goat also, and the king against whom there is no rising up, if that was done foolishly, and lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Surely the churning of butter.
The turning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the ringing of the nose bringeth forth blood. So the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strike.
Well, you know, I have a burden on my heart as I see so many young people. I see all the potential in this room and I see, I trust, by the eyes of faith, another generation that has risen up and.
There's some desire of heart, perhaps you're saved, you know the Lord Jesus the Savior, and you have some desire of heart to be here. And I trust it is to know something more of the Savior and to know of this love.
And to learn more of His blessed ways and a desire of heart.
In some measure to buy the truth.
To exchange the folly and the wickedness of this world. To purchase for yourself something that can never be taken away, an inheritance that's reserved for us in heaven, incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not away, as Peter says.
Here you know, it says that there are the words of Eager, the Son of Jakey, even the prophecy, the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ethiol and Yuko. And in this chapter we have the words.
Of eager, as you know, the book of the Proverbs is perhaps divided up into about 6, uh, portions, 6, uh, little divisions. And this is the 6th division. The last chapter is the last division.
And, uh, God by his grace gives.
A man, all that we know about him is that he was the son of Jakey and he gives us a little bit of what he had to say. He had something to say.
But his message wasn't very popular. He had two people that were willing to listen.
And I hope you're prepared to listen to something of the Word of God this afternoon.
But you just don't take from the hand of God the blessings from the hand of God, but that you desire to know His heart and the affection that He has for you.
Because, you know, he went and sold all that he had and bought that one Pearl of great price. He went and he sold all he had. There wasn't anything that he kept for himself. He proved his love at the Cross of Calvary, bought you for himself. And if you were the only Sinner on the face of the earth, he would have purchased you for himself because that's how much he loves you. Someone said to me, well, prove it. Give me a verse of Scripture that says that. I said well.
00:15:11
The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Can you say that this afternoon? If you can't say that this afternoon, I trust that while we're speaking, even now, you'll bow the knee to the Lord Jesus. Every knee shall bow every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Well, this man eager, his name means a gatherer. He was a man of faith and he was gathering a little bit and his, he was the son of Jakey. It means, uh, this name Jakey means umm, a man of.
Piety, or he was a man of the fear of God. So you could read it this way, that the words of a gatherer, the son of the pious.
You have a pious father. Do you have a father that fears God?
I thank God that I had a Father, particularly the 1St 10 years of my life, that feared God, that was pious, who wanted me to go on for the Lord. I didn't even give Him too much encouragement in those days. I had a sin that I really, really valued, I might say, but the sin of sport, the sin of hockey, not a failure, it was a sin whatsoever is not a faith of sin.
It took up my time. It took up the best.
18 years of my life.
I can never recover those years.
Be careful what you bring into the house.
My dad moved into a home and the man was actually one of our relatives left a little television set in the corner of the house.
I moved into a house I've never seen a television set in a home 10 years old.
And I was given up to that addiction of hockey. But this man, eager, he had a father.
He was given up to piety, to the fear of God. He was afraid of displeasing the Lord. Sometimes we're not afraid to displease the Lord, but this is something that God tells us about Eager. He had a good father.
Those of you that are young fathers.
Brother made the comment yesterday that there was perhaps 75% of what we say is given by body language.
Brother Norman Berry used to say that the educators in this world had come up to the conclusion that 85% of what you learn is, is what by what you see.
Very solemn thing.
My children are what they saw. 85% of what my children are is because of what they saw in my my life.
So wonderful that we have an object that can never fail. The Savior, the Lord Jesus, our perfect object.
Well, this man, he had something to say, He had a message from God. He spake unto Ethio and unto Yuko. Well, you know he had a subject. You know what the subject of this chapter is.
It's how to get on in this world, how to get on in this world and to be preserved in it while we walk in it. And he gives little snapshots, as you notice. There's four of this and four of that, three of this, four of that. And he gives a little bit of a snapshot of the character of this world and how we can safely be conducted through it.
Because you have an enemy.
And he's never going to give up, to seek to destroy your life. Doesn't matter how young you are, doesn't matter how old you are, He'll never give up.
And God, in the wisdom of the book of the Proverbs, he's given us 29 chapters of his wisdom, Solomon's wisdom, and the wisdom that the man of Hezekiah copied out of Solomon's Proverbs, and so on. And then, as it were, right here in this 30th chapter, he gives us a little snapshot.
How am I going to preserve my life in this wicked world? How am I going to do it?
And so he says here in verse two, surely I am more brutish or more stupid than any man, Have not the understanding of a man, neither learn thy wisdom nor have the knowledge of the holy. Now isn't that something for somebody to say that they're more stupid than anyone else? And here they are trying to give instruction to two men.
00:20:04
Well, you know, I just want to point this out that this man was a humble man. He knew what it was to be humble.
He wasn't saying look at me, he said to these two men, Ethyl and Euclid.
I'm gonna tell you something, but it's not because I'm so smart.
He didn't go to the schools of men. He neither learned wisdom. Perhaps he never went to what we might call a university. But then he didn't go to a religious school. He didn't have religious training, you might say, nor have the knowledge of the holy or holy things.
He didn't have a formal education in that way, but God was going to use him to give a message. He gave it to those two men. Wasn't very popular, but he gave it and he wanted to give it to you this afternoon if you will receive it.
Would you open up your heart this afternoon to allow the conscience to be exercised in the presence of God? Receive a little message from this man.
Don't you ever feel stupid? Don't you ever feel ignorant?
I pick up this book, I say to my wife. Sometimes I'm so ignorant.
Here I am 56 years old, I hardly know anything in this book.
This man didn't have a high opinion of himself and I hope there's no one here that has a high opinion of themselves.
Because there's only one man that deserves to have a high opinion.
That's the man Christ Jesus who gave himself for us a ransom, never sinned, not even once, didn't have a sinful desire, never had a desire that was out of communion with his Father.
My brother, My twin brother.
Has a little text that he made when he was a young man. You know some of you young people, maybe the children here color the text at a hobby class or something.
I don't have any that I made. Actually, I have one that I made when I was younger.
My brother has one. He carved out a little piece of oak, maybe not even a half an inch thick.
And it's hanging on his wall, up at the top of the stairs of his house.
Has a carving of a little sheep grazing on the grass.
Has three words under it. Says he humbled himself.
I stop and I read that text every time I see it.
Went to God that everyone of you could hang a text like that in your home, in your bedroom. He humbled himself.
Oh, let's never exalt ourselves. Let's exalt the one who God has delighted to exalt into place on the throne, and may he be placed on the throne of our hearts that he might have his way. Well, he says in verse 4.
That who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended, who hath gathered the wind in his fists, Who hath bound up the waters in His in a garment, or who hath established all the ends of the earth, what is His name, and what is His Son's name? If thou canst tell, you know in Job 19 he says that Job says, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand on the earth in the latter day. How did he know that?
How do you know there was a Redeemer?
How did Edgar know that there was a man that was going to ascend up into heaven?
And that there was one who was going to descend.
How did he know?
There was a witness in creation. If you read the 19th Psalm, the first few verses of that Psalm, there's a witness of God in the creation. Those first few verses and then the next few verses are the witness of God, the man in connection with his Word, his word of God. And then the last two or three verses in the 19th Psalm have to do with the witness of God to man through his conscience.
But you know this man eager, we're going to look at some of the things that he knew.
I didn't know that much in this world's wisdom. He didn't know much about religious things, if you might put it that way. He knew what it was to see his father walk in the fear of God. He knew what humility was.
He wasn't trying to exalt himself.
00:25:00
But the other thing is that he knew his God. He knew the Lord.
He didn't have the revelation that you and I have. He didn't have the Word of God, the written Word of God, all of it. He had perhaps some of it, and He had the revelation of the creation. And He had the revelation what God could use in connection with His Word or the creation to shine upon His conscience and to give light. And so He could speak this way. He was a prophet. It says even the prophecy, you know, that's what prophecy is. It's not telling the future. That's not what he's saying here.
Prophecy is having a message from God, from the heart of God, for His people at a particular time.
And this man was giving so a message from the heart of God for everyone of you young people.
Is that the first thing he wanted us to know, that Eager knew was he knew how to be humble?
He wasn't making something of himself. He didn't want to be something in this world. He knew what the world was. The second thing is that he knew his God. He knew something of God himself and he knew that he was the Creator. He could say this. What is his name and what is his Son's name? You know, I want to just say this, young people, if you walk with God.
In communion with the Lord, if you just be a gatherer, just like eager, I see some of you with notepads, just gather little fragments, just little notes, little gems from the Word of God. If you're a gatherer, God's gonna use you in the future. God's gonna use you in a way that you don't know. This man. I don't think he ever knew perhaps that his, this little chapter in the Word of God was going to be put placed in the book of Proverbs alongside with the man that was the wisest man that ever lived. Solomon hears this chapter from Aegar.
But he was a humble man, and I believe God gives us to understand that He walked with his God.
He walked with God, He knew God.
And then he says he points out the word of God here. He says every word of God is pure.
Now there's different words for the word of God, and this is really a saying or an expression that God has, every expression that God has.
Is pure, it's tested, it's true. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.
You know, there's something that the Spirit of God can't do.
There's something that the Spirit of God cannot do in your life, and that is to bring to remembrance the scripture that you've never read.
You have to have read it.
God wants you to read His words and He doesn't want you to add anything to it.
Why, He wants you to read it, and He wants you to trust it. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. You know it says in the, I think it's 119th Psalm, it says Thy word is very pure.
Very pure, it's tested.
He's a protector, if I could put it this way. He's a protector of those that trust him.
Do you believe it?
You know, my father-in-law was in the West Indies and he was there alone. Sometimes he would go with Brother Eric Pilkington, sometimes he would go with Brother Albert Hale, sometimes he took Brother Jim later on in life, several times. One time he was there in the West Indies all by himself and he had to go from one assembly to another and he had to go through a banana Grove where there had been murders in the past and so on.
Dark place and he was going at night from 1 little assembly to another walking on foot.
And he just trusted the Lord for safety as he would go through there.
You know the Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him. He trusted the Lord to walk from one place to another.
On that island.
And he says he just about started. He was almost to the edge of the banana Grove. He showed me the place.
Where he went, maybe he showed Jim. I can't remember whether he showed you or not.
But he got to the edge of that banana Groves and there was an A woman, a black, a black woman that came and walked right alongside with him. And she said, bro, she says this is awful place for a white man all by himself. I walk with you, We talk.
She walked with him through that banana Grove to the next assembly.
When he got to the next assembly, he turned around to say something of his face, a word of thanks to this woman that had walked along with him, and she wasn't there, he said. You know, I've wondered whether that was an Angel.
00:30:08
I want to just encourage your young people.
We read and had brought before us yesterday that every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
His own opinion is what was really held weight with him. But God has given us His Word so that we have something that's tested and proven and that's foolproof. So that we can lay our safety, our soul safety, and the safety of our own lives upon the truth of the Word of God. So that we don't need to guess as to whether or not this is going to work or not.
We'll trust the judgment of God in connection with his truth and will accept what he says in the Word of God. And you know if you do that.
The Lord is going to shield you from danger. He's going to shield you from sin. He's going to shield you from the effects of the enemy and the attacks of the enemy.
He says don't add anything to his words, it's all sufficient. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. While those are things that men are trying to do today is add something to the word of God.
It's not sufficient. We have to have the Word of God and something else not so. We do need instruction. We do need teaching and the traditional teaching of Scripture as we have in Paul's epistles and so on. But what a privilege it is to have the very Word of God and to recognize its purity. Are you trusting it?
Do you know it? Have you ever read through God's Word once? From the first of Genesis, in the beginning, God right to the end. Have you ever done it? I'm ashamed to say it, but I never did it until I was maybe 18 years old and I was brought up in a Christian home. Shame on me.
Do you know how long it takes to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation? I'm told it's approximately 45 to 47 hours.
I thought mine must take three weeks to read through this, no?
Take a week off work and read the word of God. Read it from the front to the back. Maybe you don't have a job. Maybe you're still going to school.
You're on summer vacation. Read it from front to back. There's one thing that will change your life more than anything else and preserve your life.
Is if you read this blessed book.
I look into the faces of those that are older in this room and I believe that every single one of us would say exactly the same thing. The one thing that made a difference in my life.
Was when I picked up this book and I decided I was going to read it from the front to the back.
And by the grace and the mercy of God, I did.
Well, it says here in verse seven that he made this request to the Lord. It's a good thing he had confidence with God. He knew his God. He knew that there would be a listening ear. You know what? Everyone's getting sleepy. Let's sing #5 in the appendix, let's stand and sing #5.
Yeah, I've ordered.
Friends.
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Mariah Carey, Oklahoma.
050800.
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All right, so the first thing that this man Agar knew, he knew how to be humble. The second thing is he knew his God. He walked with his God. He knew the Word. He trusted the Word.
He wouldn't add to it, wouldn't take anything away from it. And now we find that he knew himself. He knew what he was like. He knew the flesh. He knew how weak the flesh was. And so he prayed. He made some requests to his God. I didn't like these requests when I was younger. You know, it says there's, there's 31 Chapters in the book of Proverbs and you read it one, one chapter a day and you get through it every month. I try to do that still.
But I come to this chapter, I didn't like this prayer that he had, says Umm.
Remove far from the vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me, I said. Boy, that's a little too strong for me. I'd like to have it a little easier than that.
I'd like to have something of a wealth of what this world has and live a little easier.
I grew up on the railway. Those first happy 10 years we lived in a shack on the railway, 20 feet by 30 feet, four kids.
Nothing. No leftovers. Everybody had enough to eat.
I thought it might be nice to live like some of the other people live.
But you know, this man knew his heart. I didn't know my heart. He knew that if he had a lot, he might forget God. He might live in independence of God.
Do you pray for something before you go to buy it? You just reach into your wallet and say I think I like that and you take it.
You know I think of the little verse in First Corinthians chapter 4. It says, What hast thou that thou hast not received?
Oh, it wasn't wonderful to get just a little present from the Lord, a little gift from here. Little gift is a car, a little gift of a house, a little gift. Whatever it is, the silver and the gold is mine, he says in Haggai. It's mine, don't you ask him. He didn't think that he would walk in dependence, and he knew his heart. He says he wants these things before he dies. Why?
He knew he was going to leave this world and he wanted to end on a high note.
You're gonna end on a high note.
You're gonna be walking with God, fellowship with the Lord, enjoying heaven on earth as it were, living in the presence of God when he comes to receive you unto himself. We're gonna hear the shout. I we're the generation that's going to hear a shout.
Maybe the Lord will call you home to himself. Maybe you will die. We don't know what the everyone of us has a different story to tell. We're going to have a different story and glory. But he said, you know, I want to end my life on a high note.
He knew, his heart said, you know, if I have all the money that I want.
Hi Mike, deny my God, lest I be full and deny thee, and say, who is the Lord?
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But you know, man is needs balance, needs a little bit.
To provide he needs God knows what we need and this man here, he knew his own heart and he says he was going to put himself in the into the hands of the Lord. Not nice. He says feed me.
With food convenient for me.
He says I don't know what I need.
You choose.
You're letting the Lord choose kind of hard, isn't it?
I went with my daughter. I had the experience of helping.
Some of my children have asked me to go with them when they go to buy a car. I work for the automotive industry for about 25 years, and so I've been in a lot of the factories and I know a lot of the systems and so on. So my daughter asked me to go with her.
Umm, this past Thursday and Friday, she said. I need a car, Daddy, can you help me? Let's go shop for cars.
And there were some choices to make. There's something like 350 different car models, and the world is geared to get you to buy something.
Without any reference for God, just whatever you like, All kinds of an assortment without any dependence upon Him.
And we went to look at some of these vehicles and she said, Daddy, something like this. She said, Daddy, I don't know what to do.
Can you choose for me?
Tell me what you would do, Daddy.
Isn't that nice?
We picked out something that was suitable.
And she has another vehicle to drive.
She didn't know what she needed. And dear brother and sister in Christ, you don't know what you need.
May God give us to understand that we don't know exactly what we need, but He does.
And don't reach for the world, don't reach for the riches. Give me neither riches nor poverty.
And so ask the Lord to provide for you what you need.
And he will what you need. My God shall supply all your need, not all your wants, but all the needs according to his riches. He is rich in grace, rich in love, rich in mercy. But this man, he knew his heart. Do you know your heart?
None of us know how far we can go from the Lord.
How far we can stray from the truth of God, and how far we can stray if we will not walk with God and we will not let Him choose.
The happiest lives that we know of are those in which the Lord is given His due place, the 1St place.
Not the last one.
That in all things he might have the preeminence. Well, this is what this man was saying. He didn't know his own heart. He didn't know if he would steal. Lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain. Accuse not a servant unto his master, lest he cursed thee, and now be found guilty. Well, what's this he's saying?
He's saying, you know, servant or a slave has a hard time, is having a hard time.
And some of us, you know, might be tending in our hearts to have a critical spirit and try to make something harder for somebody else, even though we don't need to, we shouldn't, instead of being tender hearted. And I think that this is what this man wanted. He wanted a tender heart.
I'm gonna read you a little verse of scripture in Ephesians chapter 4I enjoyed this.
Little nugget brother Ted brought out yesterday this little expression. Love one another.
That we find in John's Gospel and in you might say, well, how do I do that? How do I love one another?
Well, you could read First Corinthians chapter 13. You get a lot of instruction there. But there's a little nugget here in Ephesians chapter 4, it says this.
At the end of verse 31, put away from you with all malice all those other things that he had spoken of. And then verse 32 be kind one another, one to another.
Tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. So if you could read it this way.
Be kind, forgiving.
Define a kind, tender hearted and forgiving.
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Because you are forgiven.
You know what it is to be tender hearted.
Means to be quick, to be compassionate, to look at someone as brother Al Coleman looked in this box, as he told us this morning, he looked in this box. His heart yearned for that little animal.
His heart yearned even more when he saw those five little ones come out of that box, too.
He was quick to be compassionate.
Not quick enough to pick it up and then bring it home, but.
He he got the, he got the matter looked after.
But you know.
Beloved brethren, there are some things that God tells us about.
This word tender hearted, that's the only time it's used in the Word of God.
Tender hearted.
Right along with forgiveness. That nice.
This man, Yuko and Ethio, they were sitting under this teacher, you Agar and he's praying perhaps this and he he gives them this instruction. He says accused not a servant or a slave unto his master, unless he cursed the another found guilty. He didn't want to have a critical spirit.
He wanted to have a tender heart for all of God's people, for all those.
Of God's creatures. I'm a little bit like alcohol, and I do like to give out a few gospel tracts. I don't do it like he does. We've gone together and he's better at it than I am. But I give a little gospel track once one in a while, once in a while.
I was in the McDonald's store when I was on the road. I came into the door, walked in and I saw a young man, maybe 20 years old.
Looked like he'd fallen off of his bike. He was all scraped up and had his legs up and he looked in a very bad shape.
And my heart just broke for him.
I went and I used the restroom. I came back out and I took the gospel track out of my little pocket, shirt pocket and I gave it to him and he, he said this to me. I don't want it.
I don't wanna hear you. I don't want it.
I stood there with that gospel tract.
I had to walk away. He didn't want it and he didn't want to hear what I had to say. I just say this.
Sometimes God doesn't tell us what we want to hear, but He tells us the truth.
And he gives us this instruction to be tender hearted to one another. And umm.
Sometimes we don't wanna hear it, but we wanna. We nurse a grudge. We're injustice collectors. But, uh, this man here, Hager desired his brethren to be blessed, those that had poor circumstances, and he wanted to have a soft heart. Now, the fourth thing that he knew is he knew the character of this world. And we're gonna go through this just a little bit. I don't have a lot of time, but he goes through four groups of four and he gives an outline of the character of this wicked world.
So in verse 11 it says there is a generation that curseth their father and doth not bless their mother. That's the first characteristic of this world in connection with how it goes on morally, and that is that there's rebellion, rebellion and particularly against parents curse that their father does not bless their mother.
You ever thank God for your parents?
Thank God you pray for them.
Two.
There was a little boy, he was lying down beside his granny at night before he went to bed.
You said granny, I don't have a daddy.
Oh, she said. You have a daddy.
You have a Father in heaven, He loves you, He's caring for you. He says yes, Granny, but that's not the same.
I want a daddy, he doesn't have a father.
And some of you that have a father that love you.
Father that takes and with their hands provide for you in everything they can do. You value the heart that comes behind it, the heart as well as the hand or you take and then behind the scenes there's curses. You curse the way that your father walks curse pretty strong word doth not bless their mother. How wonderful to bless the mother. You know, we have a a little bit of a habit in our house. Maybe you can pick it up too.
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Sometimes I ask my wife for a glass of water or something. She brings a glass of water. She plunks it down on the table. I say, oh honey, you're so kind. That's why I married you. You're so kind.
You know, someone else does something and, uh, we say, oh, you're so kind. So kind of you, Gabriel, you cut the grass. That's so kind. I really appreciate that.
You know when we get to the glory.
The Lord is going to remind us what it meant to His heart.
Tell them thank you for provision, the provision that was made from the father's heart. We didn't just take from the father's hand, but we appreciated the heart behind the gift. So it's a very serious thing. The world is characterized by rebellion and insolence against authority and the authority of the parents. Second thing is that there is a generation that are pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filth. So this generation is not just the generation of 20 years or something like that.
It's a generation, it's a light kind of individuals. It's they have common characteristics. So the world has a common characteristic. The people morally in this world that live without Christ are characterized by rebellion against authority.
And it says they're characterized by being a generation that's pure in their own eyes. They're self-righteous, yet is not washed from their filthiness. They're guilty before God, but they say they're all right.
I hope there's no one here that's self-righteous, You know, why do we live in this generation, in this world?
Is to manifest the Spirit of Christ.
He took upon himself our sins, who knew no sin.
You did know sin in him is no sin. John says that. Paul, who is the apostle of knowledge, says he knew no sin. Peter, the apostle, apostle of action, says he did no sin.
But He took his, our sins upon Himself. Well, their eyes, their own eyes, their pure and their own eyes. Yet they're not washed from their filthiness characterized by self righteousness. Why is it hard to say I've sinned?
When we were younger and we would go to weddings, different weddings, different ones of our generation, oftentimes brother Gordon took the, uh, wedding and he would say, you know, as a young couple, I want to give you a few sayings. There's a few little expressions and if you remember these expressions, you'll have an easier marriage. It'll be a helpful thing. One is.
I'm sorry.
The next one is please forgive me or I was wrong, I'm sorry I was wrong, please forgive me.
I love you.
But you know, when we're dealing with the holy God, we need to say I've sinned.
Why was David a man after God's own heart? Why? Why does God say that about David? Because as soon as David sinned and God, soon as God told him that he sinned, he says I have sinned.
Against fee thee only have I sinned. That's why he's a man after God's own heart.
He knew what it was to walk in communion with the Lord. He wanted that communion.
Well, the third thing is that says in verse 13, a generation, oh how lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. It speaks of pride. The first thing is umm, here they're rebellion. The 2nd is self righteousness. The next is pride. Pride is sin. I just got something in the mail from the veterans.
Administration or whoever puts these little stickers out for the address on the top of your envelope and had my address on name and and they come with a couple of little pads of paper. I looked it up and I was gonna give it to.
Gabriel But I threw it in the trash. You know what it said?
Little slogan that says American pride.
American Pride.
Pride.
Pride, sinful pride in the sight of God. May God help us not to lift up ourselves.
Not to lift up the nation.
I threw it out. The next thing is, there is a generation whose teeth are swords in their jaw, teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among men.
This little expression he uses really has to do with ex really resorting to violence to get their own way. So that's how the world is, isn't it? Resorts to violence to get their own way.
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Press the Flash.
If you don't give me what I want, I'm going to take it anyway and I'm going to get it.
That's the way the world is, those four things. He goes on another four things in verse 15, and I'm gonna read it the way it reads in Mr. Darby's translation. The Leech has two daughters. Give, Give speaks of covetousness. That's the world covetous. Nanny says there are three things that are never satisfied, yet four things say not it is enough. The grave, the barren womb, the earth is not filled with water, and the fire that saith not it is enough.
Well, you know, this world is never satisfied. It's never going to be satisfied.
I'm going to be satisfied, and I try very hard as I walk through this world one day at a time, to be satisfied with the present circumstances. That's Hebrews chapter 13, if you read it in Mr. Darby's translation. Be satisfied with present circumstances. A believer has that capability because he knows the Lord Jesus. He has a life, the very life of Christ. But the world wants give, give, and then it's not enough. The grave is never satisfied. We live in a scene of death.
And then the Baron Womb, the hope for another generation future that never dies within man, and that's another generation isn't coming up. It's just there's something in the heart of man that isn't. He can't be satisfied. The earth is not filled with water. It doesn't matter how much rain you get here in New York. Just doesn't seem like there's enough rain. Unless the river floods, then we have too much rain.
But then there's a fire, let's say if it is not sayeth not, it is enough.
A fire. What's a fire do? It's destructive. You know when God speaks of fire and the word of God, often times he speaks of the tongue. We don't have time to look at it. Our time is gone. James chapter 2, is it chapter 3? The fire is a tongue.
Rules. I guess we ought to. I'm not going to be able to quote it, James.
Chapter 3. Verse 6.
Verse 5. Even so, the tongue is a little member and boasts with great things. Behold, how great a matter. A little fire kindless, and a tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members that it defileth the whole body.
And set it on fire the course of nature and is set on fire of hell, the tongue destruction.
You know this man agreed. He knew that there was.
An unsatisfactory that a world that could never be satisfied and there was the characteristics of those that are never satisfied is often times that there's a destructive element of what they do. And I just want to make this comment in connection with the tongue. It says where no wood is the fire go without.
And often times we're telling stories we're we're trying to keep the station, the flames alive of whatever story it is that we want, we have.
We're looking down on a brother or sister or whatever it is and we have an opinion and we want everyone to know our opinion.
But the Spirit of God says it's in the book of Proverbs 2 Says where no wood is, the fire goeth out.
I have some.
Advice for you if you could take it.
Let the fire go out.
Stop talking about the situation.
Stop talking about your brother in a negative way.
Go and sit where they sit.
Let the fire go out the eye that Marcus, that his father despises his mother. The Ravens of the valley shall pluck it out, pick it out and the young Eagles shall eat it. I'll just make a comment on that verse and it's really in connection with the governmental ways of God in connection with.
Mocking the Father, despising obedience.
God has given the parents, your parents, the dignity. The Father is a God, a position of dignity and honor from God himself and ought to be reverenced. And the mother has been given a special privilege of guiding the family and guiding the little ones. And to obey is a place, a place of safety. And if you disobey Mother and you despise the instruction of Father.
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What happens in the animal Kingdom? And this man agreed, knew that the animal, the bird comes down.
And he sees a prey and the first thing he does is he picks out the eyes so that his prey is defenseless, and then he attacks that prey and kills it and devours it.
My grandson Gabriel was out at the lake and he said, granny, look, there's a there's a seagull. It's marvelous, just kind of flying around and then just drops into the water and comes out with a fish.
The Swift.
May God give us the desire of heart.
To walk tenderly, tender hearted to one another, and with a desire to obey and to be submissive to those that are in authority over us, that we might not lose our discernment. Let's commend ourselves. Our loving God and our Father, we thank thee for thy precious word. We thank thee for the Lord Jesus.
Who loves us?
Gave himself for us. He's given us instruction in this word, in this, uh, in his word to tell us the character of this world, all of its pride, self righteousness, wickedness that goes on in and umm, we know that we're able to be preserved. And my word will give us wisdom to be preserved. So we thank thee, our God for thy word. We ask thee for help that we might be able to just digest a little of what uh, we've had before us.
And then it might bear fruit for thee, our God, We ask it in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
John 21
Reading
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Can we sing #224?
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Phone call back in Laura ha ha ha ha ha.
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Lord Jesus may have been much occupied with Thy love in these meetings and.
This has been a a subject that has felt and encouraged our hearts, yet we know that it brings with it a tremendous responsibility for us, and we just pray that that would help us to remember Thy love and to show it out.
To return it to the but they show it to one another.
And also to a a dying, perishing world.
So we just ask that I help with that. We ask that I help too. If we opened I work, we pray if I would again feed us. So you consider these wonderful things.
Followings I Resurrection.
Things of the things that I would speak to us. So even things that we have need of today in our lives. We pray that we read this chapter before us that that would exercise each one of us too, as to, uh, what we take up. If that would bring out in the ministry, uh, those special things that I spirit that would meet our needs. So we ask it Lord Jesus and that it would be.
With I praise and my glory we ask it in thy name. Amen.
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Shall we go on? Just write to Chapter 21, John 21.
Johns Gospel, chapter 21.
After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
And on this Wise showed He himself there were together Simon Peter and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathaniel of Cana and Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter saith unto them, I go fishing.
They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately.
And that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, while the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore. And now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord.
Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his Fisher's coat unto him, for he was naked, and had cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from land, but as it were 200 cubits, dragging the net with fishes.
As soon then, as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon and bred. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, and hundreds, and 50, and three, and for all. There were so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine, and none of the disciples Durst asked him.
Who art thou knowing that it was the Lord? Jesus then cometh and taketh bread, and giveth them.
And fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that he was risen from the dead. So when they had died, Jesus saith the Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas. Lovest thou me more than these?
He saith unto him, Yeah, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time. Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yeah, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time. Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me?
And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wittest. But but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee, whither thou wouldest not This Bay key signifying by what death he should glorify God.
And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me. Then Peter turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following, which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is? And said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee?
Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, And what shall this man do? Jesus saith to him. Unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, What is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went the saying abroad among the brethren, that that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die. But if I will that he tarried till I come, what is that to thee? This is the the disciple which testifieth of these things.
And wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.
And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written everyone. I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
It's interesting the.
Testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, your resurrection.
He no longer dispute with the Jews.
The sign that he gave the Jews back in.
John chapter 3, his death and resurrection.
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Bursit sorry about chapter 2, verse 18. Then after the Jews and said, What sign show us no unto us, saying, they'll do these things. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it again. And the Jew said forty and six years, and was this temple in building, and we'll now rear it up in three days. And then John gives us one of those helpful little interpretive notes that he he does and he says, but he spake of the temple of his body.
And so the Lord Jesus Christ gave, shall I say, that ultimate sign to the nation of Israel. And in resurrection that was enough. He does not.
Dispute anymore with the Jews. In fact, I think it's really his next testimony for the one of the Jews will be when he when they say to him, what are these wounds in thy hands but the focus of the Lord in resurrection?
Here is his own people.
And the other thing is of course, that when he appears, he doesn't appear like the umm, like he does so on the mountain transfiguration. He doesn't appear like he does to UMM, to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul wasn't a believer then. At that moment, Paul needed waking up. Paul needed a, a bit of a shock, shall I say.
But we seem.
Really continuing his upper room ministry.
What we see is the man who when he began his ministry.
Meltdown and washed his disciples feet. We've seen him him in lonely grace in the previous chapter.
He could have been mistaken for the gardener.
To those going to Emmaus, their eyes were hold and they didn't actually recognise him, but he was just another traveller.
And so here we find him as a man.
On the beach with a fire, cooking a meal, a very ordinary, shall say domestic scene. And I think there's a, a, perhaps a lesson for us here. If we wanna minister to somebody, we don't do it from a position of superiority. He came down and he as man and as man, he communicates with his own. The other thing is he wants them to feel comfortable if you're minister to somebody.
They've gotta feel comfortable in your presence and so.
The Lord looks at these disciples and they've been fishing all night for court. Nothing. What did they need? Well, they needed a bit of food. And so we find that he, he prepares a meal for him. He comes out and serves them. And so we see the Lord as that lowly servant serving his own so as he can minister to them. I've been impressed at this conference. You know, they didn't make us go hungry, did they? Or what? For three days?
There was many loving hands produced that food, and when the temperature was gonna get too hot, well.
There were some, perhaps some effort to produce an air conditioning system. Wonderful. The Lord will have us.
Comfortable in his present, shall I say, in order that we might be ready.
Able to absorb the ministry that he's given us, that we see him in lowly grace.
He didn't call him like or reveal himself in shining garments like he did in in in on the mountain. Transfiguration.
Orange light that was brighter than the sun, as he did to Paul, but in lowly grace he reveals himself just as a man.
A service looking for those that maybe are going astray a little bit.
Speaking to gather them around himself.
And we see his grace here too, don't we, in dealing with these ones that had fished all night and caught nothing. If this was me, I would have stood on the banks and said, look, you just had some wonderful experiences. You've seen the Lord in your midst. He's revealed himself to you. He said peace be unto you and so on. And now what are you doing? That's not what He did. I think it's so beautiful to see even in resurrection in those days that the Lord Jesus remained on earth, how he dealt with his own in spite of their situation.
The two on the way to Emmaus, yes, they needed to be reviewed, but I hear the tenderness in the voice of the Lord when he says, O fools and slow of heart. I don't think he said that harshly. You know, we don't always get the intonations of the voice in Scripture from the printed page, but sometimes in taking up the life of the Lord Jesus tried to sense what the sound of the intonation of his voice was when he said to his mother, woman, what have I to do to the with thee I don't.
00:15:29
Think it was in the tone of voice. We sometimes think it was in, I think it was all in the tenderness and all the tenderness and love that the Lord Jesus could, uh, could say it in. And so I, I think it's beautiful to see here as he deals with the disciples collectively in the ship, then with Peter's complete restoration, with, uh, Peter's impulsiveness at the end, looking at John and saying, well, Lord, how are you gonna take care of John? What's he gonna do? Lord Jesus handles it with such love and grace and compassion.
And I know, brethren, we've all experienced it, haven't we, in our own lives? There's lots of ups and downs in our lives. You know, we think of the disciples in the chapter before us. We've had gathered around the Lord Jesus, the wonderful experiences that they had there in the Upper Room. Do you know, we've had a wonderful experience this weekend. We've been gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. We've had this little time sheltered here from the world with the person of Christ and before us.
With the happy fellowship of one another, you know, we're gonna leave here like the disciples. We don't always, if I can put it this way, for our purposes, we don't always stay in the upper room, do we? You know, there's the, there's the responsibilities of life. We have to go out and carry on with the things we left when we got here on on Friday. But, you know, isn't it wonderful? The Lord doesn't change and he's interested as we separate and we go different ways after this conference, the Lord is interested where we wherever we are.
Maybe there'll be some failure, maybe we'll forget some of the things we've heard, maybe we won't always do the things that we should. But as it were, he's right there on the banks. He's standing right there, and He's ready to bless when we recognize who he is and we obey His voice.
Uh, give, uh, some brother a review or something like that. Uh, because they're straying off the path. Many, uh, beautiful examples of how to go about it, don't we?
Well, I've sometimes said, Paul, that there's a way to admonish one another without scolding one another. I I believe there's a difference. We can admonish one another and we can do it in love and with grace. We don't have to scold one another. And the Lord Jesus often gave admonishments. He even gave rebuke, but again, he did it with the utmost tenderness and love.
This whole chapter really is about the restoration of Peter, isn't it? And you and I may have given a couple of paragraphs after Peter denied his Lord three times and so on. And he said, well, it's not worth suffering for this man.
But the Lord was going to mightily bless him. He had been his sovereignty picked up Peter and he was going to use them in blessing. And so the whole chapter really is about the restoration of Peter. And then he gives us this little type, little picture of how it ought to be done. As a brother said in verse 12. It's interesting how I'm I'm skipping a lot there, but it says Jesus saith unto them, come and dine. None of those disciples durst ask him, who art thou knowing that it was the Lord?
And really, we're never going to be able to be a help to our brother and to anyone that's really disheartened or turn outside aside from a path of faith in any way if we don't feed them in the natural things of life before we deal with those things that have to do with the spiritual side.
You know, I just take an encouragement during the last four years, it took me to paint my house. I'm weighing up and it rains when I get there and all that kind of stuff. But umm, one day I, I had a, the N wall to paint to scrape. It's a dirty, filthy job. And so I, I got there and I started in the morning and, uh, you know, in Hammer Bay, we all live in the same neighborhood. So it doesn't take long when before you got a crowd of people around wondering what you're doing and what the project is. And so, umm.
Here I was scraping, had a Sander 36 grit sandpaper on my sanding belt and just taken down the house that's filthy and brother comes down and umm, he says uh yeah, I got another scraper.
So I went down the basement. I got another scraper, sharpened it up.
He took it started, he said show me how to sand this thing. So he sanded some more siding. Anyway, make a Long story short, we got the N wall sanded, prepared, painted all in one day.
00:20:09
But there's a bond between that brother and I that didn't exist before.
Sometimes there are hard feelings, sometimes hard, difficult things that took place before in the past.
But they couldn't, they just don't exist anymore. Because He sat where I sat and I sat where he sat and, umm, I think of how there was something that took place here between Peter and the Lord that, uh, is a private thing. But he said them first. And there was restoration. There was a work of restoration between the Lord and Peter himself. But I think there was evidence between the others that were there. The fellowship that they had was a sweet thing.
So it might be helpful to just note before we pass on with this chapter that sometime between.
Peter denying the Lord and the Lord rising from the dead. And this chapter there had been a private, uh, interview with Peter. We know he was seen of Cephas and so on. And the two on the way to Emmaus said that. And, uh, the apostle Paul in the 15th chapter, first Corinthians confirms that. And there was a, so there was a private interview. And evidently in that private interview his conscience was reached. But in this chapter, the Lord's going to reach his heart because both had to be reached.
The conscience always has to be reached, and when there's failure or sin, if there's going to be restoration, the conscience must be reached.
But if there's going to be a following on in the path of faith, if there's going to be the carrying out of the instructions, follow thou me.
The heart has to be reached as well because I think as we've already said in these meetings, where the heart is, then the feet will will follow. So I would like to just say this as we launch out on these first few verses because I think there's probably some young people here who are saying what's wrong with fishing. You know, we know some people who make a very good living. I know some people who make a very good living at different types of fishing. Now, I never fit, never fished much. I couldn't sit still in a boat that long. And so I'm not a fisherman.
But there's nothing wrong with fishing. But when Peter said I go a fishing, he was really going back on the Commission that the Lord had given him.
When he first called him as a disciple at the beginning of the Lord's public ministry.
Because when the Lord called Peter, he said, Henceforth thou shalt catch man.
He said, I will make you fishers of men. The Lord had called Peter to a higher and more noble calling.
And to go back to his old occupation was a little bit like it, says he that putteth his hand to the plough and turneth back is not fit for the Kingdom of heaven.
And so for Peter to go back to his old profession was to go back on the call that the Lord had given him.
And it's very interesting that when Peter said I go a fishing, he didn't ask the others to go with them.
Isn't that interesting? He never asked the others to go with him, but he simply made the statement, I go fishing. And such was the influence of Peter that the others that were with him immediately said, we also go with the, you know, I believe what one of the things we learned from this, brethren, is that Peter being the one who was very prominent amongst the disciples during the Lord's public ministry, held an influence and a sway over the others that perhaps he himself didn't even realize.
And I believe it's a word to all of us that we would pray for those who God puts in a place of leadership.
And influence amongst his people, whether it's in the local assembly, whether it's on a on a broader sphere, because the enemy knows very well if he can get to, he can trip up those in a place of influence and responsibility, a place of leadership amongst the Lord's people. Not only do they miss the path themselves, but they usually take others with them. It's interesting that it wasn't somebody quiet like Andrew who said I go a fishing.
If Andrew had said it, he might not have had the same influence, but it was the one, it was the one who was often the spokesman for the disciples, the one who took, as I say, this prominent place. And so when he says it without even asking the others, they, they go with him. Just to finish my thought, you know, it's a very sad thing when those in a place of influence and leadership missed the path and take others with them because often they are restored, but they rarely bring their followers back. Now there's a happy story here because we find that in Peter's restoration.
00:25:05
The others have the Lord before them too, but it is very solemn thing to think about.
This is the third time that the Lord showed himself his disciples after His resurrection.
In the first two times we saw the church and its privileges and then Israel.
Finally brought into blessing, having not refused to believe the first time, but this little portion here through 14th verse.
Is a picture of the Lord and uh, taking up Israel to use them again for His purpose and blessing in the millennial Kingdom.
And so as you look at this chapter, it sounds very familiar, doesn't it?
Sounds very familiar to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And you get the boat and you get the net and you get the fishers and the fishermen and on the, uh, sea, and they're not catching any fish and they're toiling all night. And it's as if everything's going back to the beginning again. It's like we're starting all over at the beginning of the gospels and the Lord calls them and so on. But it's really a picture of the fact that the Lord is going to renew his associations again with Israel.
And a coming day and where they failed, he's going to pick them up. But in his power, everything in the millennial day is going to be manifested as the power of the Lord to bring in blessing. Israel was not going to bring it in under their own power. The Lord was going to do it. And so you don't get a broken net. You don't get a boat that's sinking. You don't get fish gathered into the boat. You know, they throw out the bad ones like you get in the similitudes of the Kingdom.
Where the good are put into vessels and the bad thrown away. You, you, everything is just imperfection. But that toiling through the night and not catching anything is a little picture of them coming through the tribulation, laboring so hard and producing nothing. But when the Lord appears, that's when the blessing begins to flow, and that's when the fruit comes in and it pictures the great millennial hall for God out of all nations.
And he's going to use Israel to carry out the gospel of the Kingdom, to produce that Great Hall of fishes. With that net. They're numbered exactly. Not one's lost.
Not one is lost in that count. Just wanted to give that brief outline because I think it's very profitable to go on with Peter and, uh, the Lord's work and his soul. But I don't want to miss the fact that it says this is the third time. There's a point that the Spirit of God is making here. It's a picture to us as well as a factual account.
And there's some odd things in this chapter #1 it seems like the previous chapter was the end of the book and could almost take it that way the way it ended.
And also. But it's not. There's more to it and it's a new beginning.
Also the use of the word Tiberius.
Siberia has didn't come along for another 40 years after this actually happened. Click.
And so.
Given as a present event, but there's something right off the bat that is that is different with the timing and it puts up more universal. It puts in a gentile character right off the bat and also at the end of the chapter.
They end up in verse 22 They're.
Uh, Jesus said unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come. What is that to me follow thou me again. There's a sense of of time warping, I guess is an OK work that that it's that there's a coming, but but it's a it's a matter of following the Lord and who they are on the seashore or the lakes actually.
And and it's, it's just out there on the shore. And the Lord, we might say in our mind's eye, we see him walking off in his disciples, following them.
And that is his story of of the budget. He came into this world and he was rejected to begin with.
00:30:02
Who really spent the time to follow him? Not very many. It seemed like a lost work in many ways from our human point of view.
But it's not. He's out there on the shore again, and he walks and they follow.
And the the tranquility, the certain comfortableness from the peace fact is, is here the misunderstanding that they're smoothed over. Follow me. And it's as you say, you take them right into the volume and actually to the door of eternity when we finish this book.
This book is This chapter is almost.
It almost seems detached, doesn't it? From the rest And, uh.
And I think that.
For me and this, this chapter just for me personally, has always seemed to illustrate the way things are during this church period for his followers. I know my tendency. You know, they were going back as, as Jim said, to their old occupation.
Going out there, working hard and getting enough.
And then they come and they see him and he's there on the shore and he's got what they were trying to get.
He's not only got it, but he's got it on the fire ready to eat.
And, uh, there's just some beautiful things to see in this character. And I, I think about this a lot of times when I come to the Lord's Table.
I've been working all week and I've been trying to, you know, satisfy myself and, you know, and make a living and, and all the things with drudgery that we do. And, and I've, I've come up pretty empty and I come to the Lord's Table and in a sense he's got what I've been trying to get all week.
But he's not.
As has been pointed out, the the beautiful thing about this chapter is the Lord's character. I mean, it is just beautiful.
He doesn't tell them, you know, first of all, he gives them a word and and makes them successful. He doesn't say, well, I mean, make sure you don't catch any fish. You shouldn't be out there doing that anyway.
Instead, he blessed, he really blesses their their efforts.
But then when they come and he's already got fish prepared and everything.
Doesn't ignore what they did, does he?
It's beautiful, he says. Bring some of the fish you've caught, too.
He he's not gonna make him. He's not gonna belittle them and he's not gonna make them feel like what they did was worthless.
He says bring some of the fish you caught also, right? He does say that.
And, uh, it's just beautiful as, as it's been pointed out, the tenderness and the way he handles them. And what I'm saying is this is the way he handles us.
In his resurrection in this time and and it's to be honest, it's it's the reason I called him 224 because I'm I'm reminded of those words and that him.
You know when we reflect how apartment to turn the eye from thee.
They were turning away. They were going back, as Jim pointed out.
But it says and yet to finally still the same.
They came on shore.
And they found the Lord still the same.
They, you know, we change, he changes not. So there's just, you know, a part. Again, this chapter is kind of lifted out in a part and, uh, and speaks to us of all these things that are both the, uh, the dispensational aspects and just the, the aspects of his character and our character and the way we are. And, and then after we come together in meeting, you know, you find Peter looking at his brother, you know.
So we do that too and just see the way the Lord handles us. This is the way He handles us.
The key to their blessing here was their obedience, wasn't it? They had gone at the word of Peter that he was going fishing. They'd gone out and they toiled all night and caught nothing. And again, it wasn't that it was wrong activity, but activity. But when we carry out activity without the sanction of the Lord and what we do, that's all it is. It may be good activity, maybe nothing wrong with it, but that's all it is.
But when we act under the constraint and guidance and obedience of the blessed Lord, then that activity is going to turn into fruit and blessing. And when I read this, it always amazed me. The boys can understand this little bit always amazed me that the fish were only on one side of the boat. Who was in control of the fish? It was the Lord. He was the one that upholds all things by the word of His power. And so when they acted in obedience to cast their net on the other side.
00:35:24
Normally when you go fishing, if there's a school of fish around, it doesn't matter where you cast the net, they're all swimming around and moving around and so on. But when they cast the net on the other side, then it was full. But I would, I, I would, I wanna go back to what Steve said before we pass on with perhaps some more practical applications. And that is that, as Steve said, the number here is given to us, the exact number of the fish. And I believe it fits with the little picture that Steven has Steve has brought before us with the larger numbers in Scripture. You have to break them down.
Numbers in Scripture are very, very significant, and we often miss something if we don't take heed to the significance of the numbers that are given to us. God doesn't just number things randomly, there's always a significance to it. And so there were 150 and three fish. You'll find in Scripture that 100 the the number 100 often denotes complete salvation.
I'll give you 3 examples if we were to go back to Nehemiah chapter 3 where you have the building of the wall.
The first gate that was set up was the Sheep Gate, and we understand why. It's the basis of all blessings and the tower that was over against the sheep Gate with Mia, and Mia means 100.
It denotes complete salvation, and then it says, what man of you having 100 sheep, if he lose 1, does he not go and leave the 90 and nine and go and find it and so on. It's another indication the Lord spoke of the wheat it would bring forth 3060 and 100 fold. 100 is a full head of wheat, complete salvation. And I believe that's what's denoted here in the number of 100. Because, brethren, there's a day coming when there's going to be complete salvation for the nation of Israel.
They're going to be saved. They're going to have to realize through the tribulation that they can't do it on their own.
You know, they're trying to save themselves nationally today. They're trying to line up with the United States and the allied forces and peace pacts and summits and negotiations. They're going to come to a point so excruciating will be their circumstances and the tribulation. They're going to come to a point where they realize they can't bring about their own deliverance, their own salvation. And then they're going to cry to the Lord and he is going to come in with complete deliverance, complete salvation for them.
The next number is 50 because that speaks of Jubilee. You remember the 50th year was the year of Jubilee for Israel and brethren when they looked to the Lord and He comes in on their behalf. What a jubilee it's going to be for Israel.
It's going to be complete deliverance and complete joy for Israel when he establishes them in their land in that day.
But what's the basis of it? The number three, that's death and resurrection. And we've had before us that they are going to have to recognize both the Ju, the, the godly remnant, the Jewish remnant, and Israel as a nation. They're going to have to realize in seeing those wounds in his hands and in his feet and in his side, they're going to have to realize that if there's any blessing, any salvation, any jubilee for them, it is based on what took place.
At Calvary's cross long ago. So I think it's helpful to see that the number is not only specific, but the number itself has significant.
Another possible significant.
Uh, back in the time of Elijah, uh, the wicked king.
Since captain in the 50s.
To get Elijah.
And there are three such companies.
And that's 153.
There is judgment, but then there was grace administered when the captain went up the hill and fell asleep. And so again there will be that time, whether or the there will be the recognition of judgment having come into this world, but there will be those that will fall.
At the feet of the Lord and will be ushered into blessings.
00:40:01
So maybe that's another figure of 153.
Just a suggestion.
We're talking about the significance of numbers. Does anyone have any thoughts on the 200 cubits?
And they saw brother, not so much the numbers that they weren't far right at the end of the Tribulation. They're not far from that point where they're going to be brought into blessing.
Couple of things too that are interesting, one with John and one with Peter.
As the brother mentioned, there had been an interview between the Lord and Peter sometime earlier and Peter had been restored to the Lord.
And so when he hears it to the Lord, he's not afraid to be near him. This isn't the first time he's seen the Lord. He's not afraid to be near him, but he's not going to be near him in a way that would be unseemly, because Grace teaches us to walk in a way that's pleasing to him.
But the other thing is John, the one who was closest to the Lord, you know, he sees what's happened. What does he say? He says it's the Lord.
Yeah, it's a wonderful thing in our lives to be so close to the Lord's heart that when we see the circumstances around us, that may be whatever the Lord allows me to say, Oh, that's the Lord. I know even though he's far enough away I can't see his face. John says that's the Lord. That's the Lord. He recognized him by what was taking place. He says that's the way the Lord works.
He was familiar with his heart. I just think that's a lovely, lovely state to be in.
Be able to see and what the Lord allows in our lives. Oh, that's the Lord.
I was just wondering too in connection with your question not being a far off. When we were dead and trespassed and sinned we couldn't see a far off and when we get away from the Lord we couldn't see it far off. But they were near enough they could see, they recognized who their Lord Savior was.
I was thinking too when John said that, uh, it is the Lord. What does Peter do? He, he was naked. He, he, he hurt himself. Uh, so the cold jumps into the water.
And what he had done.
He had backstage his back from his Commission and the old man had taken charge, so to speak. And because of that, there was.
He was naked, uh, those who are with him, they couldn't see him close with the, with the clothes, with the Rover righteousness because he wasn't doing anything with glorifying the Lord. He was just doing that looks for the old man.
And oftentimes, uh, and I was thinking of the same, same thing in connection with seeing our character in here, is that, uh, when we realize that, you know, we not only have gone back ourselves, but we've taken others back with us, that, uh, we feel exposed. We suddenly realize that and we feel the light shining upon us, right? And, and we feel naked in a, in a, in a moral sense.
And uh.
So what is he doing? Cast himself in the sea? He clothes himself, but he casts himself in the sea. And I think it's a beautiful picture. We don't, of course, get baptized again, but what baptism means can come home fresh to us again.
We deserved, you know, death and, uh, and our feeling is that we should just be, we should just be cast into the sea. Umm, so it's a kind of a picture of what our reaction is in that, uh, in that circumstance, I just say, brother Ted, if you look at the, uh.
The next verse and the other disciples came, and a little ship Peter got there first.
That there wasn't any. Peter didn't want to peer naked in the Lord's presence. He he wanted to be there in a way that was suitable to the Lord. But he got there first. Isn't that Peter? Impetuous Peter. He threw himself into the sea. I'm gonna wait for the boat to get there. That was too slow. He wanted to be right there.
You know, we think we'd want to be the other way and swim out in the middle of the sea and hope we just drown rather than have to be the Lord's presence after denying them. But there had been that restoration. He wanted to be there first. And, uh, but there was another work, as mentioned.
00:45:07
Uh, previously that had to take place. And what does he find when he gets there? There's a call of fires. Where did he last see a call of fire?
Caiaphas Hall.
Last time he was at a coal of fire, he saw the Lord turn and look on him.
You went out what, bitterly?
And he comes again, and here's a call of fires.
It's gonna be at work. It's gotta be rough before the Lord can commit the most precious thing to him in the hands of Peter.
It's interesting that there's no rebuke here, is there? The Lord in grace, He doesn't have to rebuke.
And if there's been failure in our part, then we get into the presence of the Lord, it becomes pretty evident to us where we've gone wrong. Uh, these disciples, it says that they, umm.
None of the disciples just asked him, who art thou knowing that was it. They were it was the Lord. They've been brought into the presence of the Lord and all of a sudden they had to say how stupid we were. Why did we spend a night of fishing when the thought could have given us the boat pull in, in, in in 5 minutes. And so it is when the Lord is so gracious in this respect, he doesn't have to rebuke. Just getting into his presence makes the whole thing clear and they and and they judge what they've done.
And there I've always had the sense when it says no one endures asked him who he was, knowing it was the Lord that they.
Even though Peter was anxious to get right there with him, as he approached him, I believe he began to slow down. And I think I may be reading this into it, but I've always had the impression they were somewhat speechless. Like it started to hit them, the whole situation, how gracious the Lord was, how unfaithful they had been, and, and yet how gracious he is. And, uh, and again, related to the Lord's table. I often feel that way that you get to the Lord's table and you realize.
How faithless you've been, and how faithful he is and unchanging, and how gracious he is.
And it leaves you speechless. You know, I I so appreciate our brothers giving a thanks at the table that it was it was short, it was very brief. And you just had the sense that he felt like nothing else but.
What can I say?
Except thanks, you know, I mean, what do you, what can we say to these things?
What can we say to these things when we realize all that he is and all that he's done for us?
You know what? What shall I render onto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?
I'll take the cup of salvation. We're just receivers. We really, we really don't feel we can offer anything back.
The work of restoration is really a process. Isn't it beautiful to see it in connection with Peter? Because in the chapter before we noticed that when they were told that the tomb was empty, they rose up to run and Peter started out first. But the other disciple whom Jesus loved ended up out running Peter because he was the one who was in the enjoyment of the Lord's love. But here is our brother Steven said we find that Peter, when he recognized his.
Who the Lord is. It's not John that gets there first, it's Peter. Because again, between the two instances, there had evidently been this private interview and the work of restoration had already begun.
If I can just put it this way, it's because we have two times in this chapter the expression the disciple whom Jesus loved. And there's it's five times, I think we've already mentioned it, but you have John in this gospel referring to himself five times as the disciple whom Jesus loved. But Peter perhaps styled himself more as the disciple who loved Jesus. And he did love the Lord. He really loved the Lord, but he had to learn his own heart and.
This was this work was going on, but the Lord now in this interview that he's going to have with Peter in this chapter, he really draws out Peter's heart and there's a restoration that is completed. But it's interesting as we go down these verses to notice that Peter no longer really styles himself as the disciple who loves Jesus. He just says, Lord, you know, he did love the Lord, but he leaves it to the Lord's assessment. And what I want to say, brethren, is I believe that what is going to preserve us in the path of faith and service and in following the Lord.
00:50:14
Is not so much to be occupied with our love for the Lord, but to be occupied with His love for us.
And it's interesting, at the end of it all, the Lord says twice to Peter to follow him.
He never says that to John, you know, he never had to because John what? And and I know John shouldn't have gone fishing either. And but John's the one that was quickest, had the quickest perception to see who was on the shore. But he never says to John in this chapter, follow me. He says it twice to Peter. He didn't have to say it to John. John was the disciple whom Jesus loved, but Peter needed to have his heart brought out and he needed the reminder to follow the the Lord Jesus.
But I think it's beautiful, as I say, to see that Peter no longer is boasting or trusting in his love for the Lord like he was earlier, though all deny that. Yet will not I deny thee? No, he just says, Lord, you know what's in my heart. You assess it for yourself.
When therefore they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, Lovest thou me more than these?
He says to him, Lord, thou knowest that I am attached to this.
He says to him feed my lounge.
He says him to him again the second time. Simon, son of Jonas. Lovest thou me? He says to him gay.
Now now is that I'm attached to it.
He says to him, Feed my sheep, shepherd my sheep, he said to him the third time Simon son of Jonas, half hour attached to me.
Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Art thou attached to me?
And he said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things, Thou knowest that I am attached to thee. Now notice that word la, which is umm appears in the English version. It's translated or this. There's actually 2 words in the Greek. One is the agape, which is sure, I call it divine love, and the other one is Philo, which is a word used for friendliness or brotherly love.
And we see that the Lord uses the Word for divine love the first two times he's talked to Peter, but Peter cannot respond at that level.
Now, first of all, it's it's notable that he takes Peter up on the basis of his profession.
But Peter says they all will deny thee, I won't. And so first question is Peter, do you love me more than these others? And Peter can't reply at that level of divine love. And he says, you know, you know I'm attached to it. He uses the Philo word and then the Lord just doesn't. Some I say use the comparison with others. He says just simply, do you love me? And he uses that word agape.
And Peter has to reply again and he says, well, he uses the Philo word, you know, I, you know, I'm a friend of yours, but he can't quite rise to that. And then of course, the Lord uses the Philo word to Peter. And that gets Peter upset because Peter knew it was so important that the Lord loved him. He knew that that he wanted not just the Lord, shall I say, to be a friend, but he wanted to pull his bee in the full light of divine love. Now, when we think of that word as arcade.
It's the word used to describe the love of the Father to the Son.
If that's the measure, and if you go back to John 17, I think it's important here to get that connect, get the connection.
John 17.
I think it's the Oh dear, I can't find it now.
Yes, first 23.
End of the verse. Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. You know, we're enjoying the thought of God's love this morning. But how do we measure God's love? What's the measure of God's love to live? It's the measure of his love to his own Son, the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:55:13
You know.
If the Lord had asked me that question, I don't think I could use the agape word either.
We have to say we are sometimes seeing our love is some of times love and joy still absent, but peace with him remains the same. No change. Jehovah knows. I don't think I could use that agape word. It would've been and but nevertheless when I'm told to love my brother, it's the agape word and it's only the Holy Spirit working through my new Mon new nature. But it makes being able to love my brother in price.
So as far as posting of my love for the Lord, could I use the agape word? I, I, I I'd have to leave that to my predator comment on that, but I I I sympathize with.
Peter Sweetness, shall I say.
It was the measure of God's love to us it.
The measure of God's love to come, something. He loves me that much, as much as He loves His own Son, He did love towards me. Can I respond well through the Holy Spirit, through my new nature? Yes, I can respond in the measure. But can I respond to that extent? I have to leave that.
And so it's illustrated, isn't it, with the bride and the Song of Solomon? I know it's often been mentioned, but.
What is it that's going to give us a deeper appreciation and understanding of that love that our brother David's been Speaking of?
It's not to try to generate that love within ourselves, but or to be occupied with our love for the Lord, as we've been saying. But I've appreciated with the bride. You know, the bride was asleep. You know, Peter had failed.
The bride was asleep, and we find in the Song of Solomon, as the dialogue progresses between the bride and the bridegroom. I know there are some others that cut in the daughters of Jerusalem and the friends of the bridegroom, but it's basically a dialogue between the bride and the bridegroom. And the bridegroom seeks to awaken the bride in her affections. But as the bride wakes up and she's drawn to the bridegroom, what is it that deepens her affections for the bridegroom?
Not worrying about what had just happened, that she'd fallen asleep and wasn't in the enjoyment of his person and love.
Know as she is occupied with the qualities and beauties of the bridegroom and his love for her, she becomes less and less occupied with her response and what she is, and more and more occupied with himself and his love. And at the end of it all, she says he is altogether lovely. And you get the definite sense, don't you, that as you come to the end of that dialogue.
Her love is far deeper for the bridegroom than it's ever been before.
Why? Because she tried to generate that response within herself. No, occupied with himself and his qualities and his love for her, there has been an unconscious awakening of her heart like she has never experienced before. And brother, and I believe that's the way it is with us. As we've been saying in these meetings, the more we appreciate and understand that divine love and that relationship of love between the Father and the Son and then His love toward us.
It will unconsciously deepen that love for himself.
Peter had denied the Lord three times.
Three times the Lord asked them that question.
But why in front of his brother? Why in front of the other disciples?
Because.
There was not only a work in Peter's heart, but there was a work that had to go on in their hearts too.
And the Lord would not only restore Peter to useful service, but he would do it in a way that his brethren saw that too.
And could appreciate it.
And so it was a difficult thing for Peter to go through for that restoration.
But he had boasted in front of all the others, and the Lord needed to restore him in front of all the others as well.
And the other disciples had said the same thing too. At the time, you know, we focus on Peter and Peter's the one that did deny the Lord three times with those in curses. But when he made the boast initially it says, and so said all the disciples. And I believe the other disciples had to learn not only what was in Peter's heart, but more particularly perhaps what was in their their hearts as well. The other reason I believe there were had to be public restoration is because Peter.
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Was going to be given a public service in ministry in uh, in the early church, but it's beautiful. Our time is slipping by and I don't want to miss this when the Lord gives this Commission to Peter, the Lord could have said feed my flock or shepherd my flock and that would have included everyone. He didn't do that. He said shepherd my lambs, shepherd my sheep. You know, when I read this, I think of what it says in the.
In Isaiah it's chapter 40, I think it's verse 11, it says he shall feed his flock like a shepherd. He shall gather the lambs in his arms and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
And I believe from that verse, what we learn is that the Lord Jesus as our shepherd understands that there's various needs amongst the the sheep. I've never cared for sheep. My father did in his younger days.
And he told us that a Good Shepherd takes up the sheep on an individual basis, where they are in their growth and their present need. And so a shepherd recognizes there are lambs. They need a different kind of care and a different kind of food than the sheep. There are some who are perhaps injured, some who are weary, some who are tired, some who are not quite as strong as others. The Lord Jesus, he looks down into this room this weekend. He knows all the different individual needs as well as the collective of each of his sheep. We've had our children with us, our young people.
Some who are perhaps just saved, some who haven't got very far in their Christian life, others who are further along and more mature and spiritual things. And the Lord Jesus as our shepherd delights to take us up and feed us and care for us where we are. He knows some of us need to be LED. Maybe some of us need to be carried as well. But I believe Peter needed to learn this lesson because Peter, who was given the responsibility of shepherds.
Shepherding the flock of God after the Lord Jesus had departed from the scene, he needed to learn that like the Good Shepherd, the great Shepherd, that there were going to be individual needs. And brethren, if we're going to care for the sheep, we've got to realize that we can't give the lambs adult food. We sometimes we need to carry our brethren. Do we know what it is to carry our brethren? You know, we like to be leaders.
But do we know what it is to carry our bread? It's a lot harder to carry someone than to just lead them. You know, sometimes said, I believe, brethren, that in the local assembly there are those who perhaps they're never gonna learn to walk on their own. They're gonna need to be carried. And that's OK. We need to take them up and learn to carry them. And I believe that every one of us, Peter, had a special place as a shepherd. Yes. And there are still those that are called elders or shepherds, whatever word you want to use.
They have a special office of responsibility, but I believe there's something to say to everyone of us here, brothers and sisters alike. We can all seek to shepherd and care for the people of God, but we can't do it unless we get down where they are, in the enjoyment of the Lord's love for us and the understanding that each one of them has. Each one of the lambs and the sheep have an individual need.
We have spoken about the conscience.
We've spoken about umm, our appreciation, the love of the Lord and Peter. He needed to have his conscience touched and I just wonder how the resurrection relates to the conscience.
Sometimes we have guilt in our hearts, and Peter had guilt because he had denied the Lord.
And the Lord was working on him. He had that private discussion with Peter and he worked at Peter's conscience and he was able to take that guilt away. And how does the resurrection affect our conscience? If you look in Romans chapter 4.
In verse 25.
Verse 24 and 25 we see that God raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.
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In Jesus our Lord, who is delivered for our offenses and was raised again.
For a justification raise, for a justification, you may say, well, I thought we were RA. We were justified by his blood. We're justified by faith. Yes, we are justified by his blood, but.
There has to be the resurrection. Without the resurrection, our faith is in vain. And so the Lord Jesus resurrection was able to help us imply the guilt, to be able to to apply the blood, to take away our guilt, to give us that good conscience so we can come into the presence of the Lord like Peter was able to come freely into the presence of the Lord there around the coals of fire.
And then his conscience needed to or his then he needed his heart to be touched too. And if you look in Romans chapter 8.
Verse 29 talks about being conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren. There the first born brings in the resurrection.
And then you go on down to verse 343033. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justify it. There is a justification again that touches the conscience. Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died here rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God.
Who make its intercession for us and so the Lord Jesus has been raised. He's been seated at the right hand of God and he's there to make intercession for us and when we and he's able to be our advocate. So bring us back into a relationship that touches our heart, helps us to appreciate the love of the Lord, what he's done for us and makes us fit for his service. And in verse 35 it says who shall separate us from the love of Christ.
But we get the answer later in the chapter. Nothing can separate us.
From the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so I like to compare those that the resurrection with the justification and the intercession that we have both for our conscience and for our hearts.
Will never feed the flock of God, will never be able to shepherd the sheep if we don't maintain a good conscience and a tender heart.
There are two things that are absolutely necessary. You want to go home and be a blessing in your local assembly after these meetings. You must first of all maintain a good conscience before God, and you must maintain a tender heart, and God can use you in much blessing.
I'd like to mention something to the end towards the end of the chapter before we close.
As we get the disciples, as their brother mentioned, just kind of walking off into the sunset, so to speak, down the shore with the Lord. But the Lord speaks of John and he says, if he tarries till I come, what is that to thee? He told Peter how he was going to die. He was going to follow the Lord to prison and to death as he said he would. And he did by the grace of God and glorified God in a martyr's death. But John continued on.
In time, Paul was raised up. In that wonderful truth of the mystery was unfolded a wise master builder.
He laid the foundation and the building was erected, so to speak, doctrinally and Paul's epistles.
And then Paul died of martyrs death too. Both of those disciples, both of those apostles were told by the Lord they were going to die. They were the exceptions. All the rest expected the Lord to come, and as we do too.
But that house was built, so to speak. But John continues on. And we finally find John in Revelation, and he's in that little Isle of Patmos for the Word, for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
And where is he looking? He's looking out over Asia, where Paul's sphere of ministry has been. Peter's gone. That sphere is closed. Paul's gone. And what's left, He's looking out over those assemblies where Paul's ministry has been and he's watching over. And that's what John's ministry does today. You know, down in twin orchards where we had the flood last year, there's you can go through. It looks kind of nice in the day, but go through at night and there's a lot of houses with no lights in the windows.
There's no life you know you can have the house as the wise master builder built, but John's ministry is the life that's in it.
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Polite in the windows.
And right at the end of Paul's life, just before he died, that martyr's death in two Timothy chapter one, the last epistle he wrote, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, according to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus, if there's anything precious in this day of ruin.
On the sight of God. It's the life of Christ manifested in his Saints down here below, and without it, the house is dead. It's empty. We need John's ministry. We need Paul's too. We need Peter's. But John is left, as it were, finally the last, looking out over everything else. We can't forget John's ministry.
Jesus, my Saviour, thou art mine, the Father's gift of love divine.
All that has done and all there are now the portion of my heart I'm 193.
Amongst our own beginnings on.
Ourselves and I'm going to go to the.
Dial Frankie.
Stop.
Around.
And.
You try, our blessed God and Father, how thankful we are for that which has been before us of the Person of Christ, from these two chapters that we have taken up in these readings, and that which has been before us as to practical exhortation as well. And now, as we have come to the end of these meetings, our God, we would seek grace that we might be doers of the Word and not hearers only. We pray that our hearts might go out more to the Person of Christ.
So we might follow that exhortation given to Peter so long ago. Follow thou me. So he asked thy blessing, and look to thee for the gospel to follow. To asking this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for his glory. Amen.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Bry'n Ross
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Uh, whatever I like about whatever it's been again.
Sighs down correct for the house development Development Agency? Mm-hmm. Here's my one employee, dear May may bring it rain. Anyhow, I'm alone and they've been getting.
Whatever it's beginning with, I know what I'm not doing. Anything like humidity.
You know what I mean? That's why I can't do Oh yes God and give you a link to Him. And I want one of my soul. I'd like to hear.
We're getting well done.
But I don't want to be in this 1505 three digging hearts were playing river and playing play and praying in the rock alone and say it's a million.
With anything but I don't know.
It's amazing. I don't, but you know if you can get the cough and stuff like.
And I can represent.
Crying and I thought everything is high and my heart.
Wednesday and, well, not ready.
Came in thus far and all that must be training.
Yeah, this morning there's a little painting, praying, anything else alone and. And then.
They send cried well, they convene. Her eyes scanned him, 107 while thrust out of work that he had done.
Little bit of sun thine now may run.
Anything cried? Well, they.
Didn't exercise, but I don't die for me giving you thyself forever. And all of them. Actually, it started to rain.
Whenever I sing this song, I'm always impressed by that line in the first verse. Could not wash the sin of years. And at least two brothers have spoken on the same aspect of coming to know the Lord Jesus at a later time in their life. I was saved as a brother Al was in 24 years of age.
And, uh, the Lord plucked me from the.
The miry clay from the pit put me on a solid rock.
That's part of the story that we're going to enter into today is how in your life you can do the same for you no matter how old you are, from the youngest to the oldest. But before that, let's, uh, look to him in a word of prayer.
Our Father and our God, we do give thee thanks this time for the blessed message.
Of Thy saving love through the person and work of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Though there be many in the audience tonight, we just pray especially that there might be that one, perhaps more, but that one whose heart needs to be touched by Thy grace this day. That they might indeed see their need for a Savior. That they might indeed rejoice in the fact that there is a salvation provided by Thy loving hands, and grasp it as one would a a rope when one is drowning.
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So we thank Thee for Thy great love. Hast Thy presence to be with us this night, Thy power to be seen through Thy word in the hearts of those who are listening, whether St. or Sinner, we do give Thee thanks and ask Thy blessing to continue in His most precious worthy name, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
A young man was returning after the war was over.
He had planned to go home to work back in his father's factory, where he was in charge of the trucking end of the the business. On his way, he picked up another young man whom he recognized from the same town. As they were driving along in this car, this man who knew the Lord Jesus Christ turned to the other man. He said, So what are your plans? The young man said, Well, if you're kind enough to take me, I'll go back home.
Said OK, he said. And then what?
He said well I plan to go home, live with my parents for a while until I can get settled and find a job.
You said and then what said Well, I plan to, uh, I've been in touch with my girlfriend all this time while I was away and she's still favorable to me. So perhaps we'll, uh, settle down and get married.
Can you turn to whom? He said. And then what he said. Well, perhaps we'll get a host and have children and I'll get a job and we'll continue on that way.
He said. And then what?
Said well, perhaps I'll retire and become a grandfather and have children around my knees and things like that.
And then what?
He said well.
I guess I'll die and he said. And then what?
And then went.
Men have given no thought to what would happen after he died, but much thought to what was ahead of him or what he thought would be ahead of him. And for you and I, perhaps that's the same thing that strikes us. But you know the word of God tells us in Hebrews Chapter 9. It says it is appointed unto man wants to die, which as we know as if we see around and was expressed by another brother. Although something in US doesn't strike as being normal. It's the natural form of things we die.
But how many of us give thought to what happens after we die?
And the scripture after that says, but after this the judgment.
There's judgment after we die and many times we hear people saying, well, this world is all there is. My life is such a wreck, This has happened or that has happened. Surely God is punishing me now and there'll be a better life in the future.
What a sad hope they have without the Lord Jesus Christ, for he is the only hope they have. You know the word of God or in any book when you read a book. Sometimes I I love to read books. I love to hold books when I read them. I'm not one of these technology people who like to have the plastic ones, you know, in the words pop up at you and you can turn the page and it automatically. I like the the feel of a turning the page, you know, in the word of God. Some of you probably old fashioned like me in that.
But sometimes you get people who, who start out I I like reading from start to finish too. I'm one of those ones who like to read the word of God from beginning to end. Or, or a book for a start for the first chapter and you go to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th. Every now and then you get people who read the 1St chapter and get so interested that the next thing they do is they turn to the last chapter because they want to find out how everything turns out. And it means that the middle part is kind of, yeah. It just fills in the blanks.
If we were to turn to the last, the second last chapter of the Bible in the Book of Revelation.
Sometimes they do that, you know the especially in the mystery book, they, they can't stand the suspense of going through the whole book, so they turn to the end to find out what the end is. The Book of Revelation, chapter 20.
In regards to this judgment.
Revelation chapter 20 verse 11 Says, And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, whose face the earth and heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great stand before God, and the books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which are written in the books according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast in the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of Fire.
00:10:03
The next chapter.
Gives us this wonderful chapter of describing the the bride of Christ. And then chapter 22, of course, gives us that wonderful chapter of what it's going to be to be with the Lord. But for some of you here, this is where it ends, right here. This is the end of the book for you. For some of us, however, we can continue on reading to the end of the book because of God's marvelous grace. I'd like to take a look at basically one verse in Scripture, Isaiah 53. It's a verse that perhaps we all can recite, those of us who know the Lord, Isaiah 53, six.
I'm kind of impressed sometimes by how the way the word of God is laid out.
That there's sort of three pathways or three phases in this verse. Isaiah 53, six.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Many of these points have been touched.
Already.
Uh, in the meetings that we have had, but I'd like to ask three questions in response to these three situations we find ourselves in. And the first one I would ask.
How brave are you?
You're here tonight without the Lord. How brave are you? How brave do you think you are?
In the history of the United States especially and in Canada, but we think of, uh, the stories that are spoken about 911 and the, the acts of bravery that committed during that time of crisis and another situations where many people have risked their lives to save others and how brave they are to doing these things.
But I just wonder about the bravery of some who perhaps have attended the meetings, have attended gospel meetings.
Have perhaps maybe been raised in Christian homes as was mentioned, and have not yet received the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
Doesn't seem strange to you to do that. Don't you seem out of place for a Christian who knows the Lord Jesus Christ? And once you receive them as your Savior and you be indwelt by the Spirit of God, the world takes on a whole new meaning to you.
And you see things for how they really are and the wickedness that envelops it. And, and we're called to keep away from the world and be strangers in it. And it's wonderful how the Lord protects us and keeps us from these things. But sometimes I wonder if the opposite is true of those who spend their lives in the meeting without knowing the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
Doesn't it seem strange to you to be in the company of people who love the Lord, people who know their hope is in heaven and talk always about these things of the Lord, And yet within your heart it doesn't beat the same, doesn't have the same resounding feelings when the Lord is mentioned?
We are called as Christians to stand alone sometimes as I think of Daniel as a perfect example of that against the world. But I would ask you, how is it to stand alone against the Christians that your life is such that you can fake it amongst your brothers and sisters in Christ? It would take a lot of courage to do that I would think, not to give in to the challenge that the Lord gives. I spent used to spend my summers in a fishing village.
And, uh, we would go out on the boats. Even as a young lad, I'd spend time out fishing. It was, uh, trawling. So you had to cut bait and stuff like that. And one of the things that astounded me after a while is if everybody's been on a boat, some of you been on a boat that's sort of like putt, putt, putt, putt. I mean, you've been on a boat, but how many have you been on boats in like 20 foot waves?
It's not the most fun, especially when you're only in a 40 foot boat that's half the size of the waves. It tends to go a little bit up and down and you can get seasick, even the best of us. But the one thing that I found the most astounding thing is most of the fishermen that I knew.
Didn't know how to swim, wasn't even an option for them. You couldn't teach them to swim, even if they're life depended on it, which you might have, because they realized that in order to swim, it would only prolong the inevitable. And in the North Atlantic, the seas can be very cold, very treacherous, and they would rather surrender to the sea than struggle with it.
Couldn't believe that, but that's the truth. So I would ask those out there who perhaps don't know the Lord Jesus.
Or even some of us, perhaps in our Christian lives.
00:15:01
Are we going along with what's in front of us? Are we living the life as a Christian without meeting the challenges that God puts in our lives? Especially, are we trying to to be what we are not? Because we know all the right words, we know all the right things to say, we know all the right things to do.
Because you know, having Christ in your life does two things. It completes it sometimes it complicates it because now you have to make decisions you never had to make before. Now you have to look at the world and now you have to may perhaps give things up or look at them in another way. Perhaps you might have to talk to your friends about the Lord Jesus and that might cause some friction which was never there before.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
The Lord's desire that.
We be with Him. Man was created to have fellowship with God, and he was to enjoy that fellowship. But sin came in and destroyed that, and because of that, each one of us is affected by that sin.
And we've all gone astray from a God who loves us and cares for us. Hence the reason for this meeting. And every time that, uh, people go out giving out tracks and all those other things.
When you think about what we read about in Revelation, that there will come a time for judgment, do you think that you could stand before God and plead your case by yourself?
You think you would have the audacity and the strength to stand before a holy God and plead your case?
Standing in your own righteousness before Him.
Somehow I don't think so.
But that's a challenge that I would throw to you.
There's a fine line between bravery and foolishness, and anyone who commits acts of bravery would let you know that quite quickly that most of the decisions they made that are taken on as being brave were just decisions that they made in a moment of time, not realizing the danger to their own lives as they went forth.
The book of Psalms chapter 14, Psalm 14 has a wonderful.
Uh, verse there, the very first verse.
Psalm 14 verse one says the fool has said in his heart there is no God.
And if you have a Bible such as mine, you'll see that there that there is, is in italics. So therefore it's just put in there in a sense to make it more, umm, palatable to us who know English. So in essence, it says the fool is set in his heart. No God, no God.
It's as if somebody could stand there and shake their puny fist at God and say, No God, I don't want you in my life. Despite who you are and all that you've done, I still don't want you in my life. And sad to say, this can be just as true in the life of a Christian as one who does not know him. But it just shows the disobedience in our hearts, the desire to be free from God's blessed intervention in our lives, the way that He wants to mold us and shape us in caring, love and concern for us. And yet.
We willingly would rather have it our way and do it our way.
God has given man a free will and the ability to make decisions and choices on his own.
It's sad to see that most of those decisions and choices we make, especially before we know the Lord Jesus, are conditioned by the sin that we see around us, the sinners in our own hearts, the selfishness, the pride that exists. My dad was a a, a man who was very simple in his ways, very simple in his speech, and most of the wisdom he gave me was very simple wisdom. But umm.
And it's hard to be thankful sometimes when your father tells you something that that, as was expressed, is is wasted your life. My father is one of his philosophies was try everything, anything you want to do, try it because you'll never be good at anything unless you do. And he was thinking more in the sports. My father was a sportsman. And so he was thinking in the time in the sense of sports, if you wanted to go and play a particular sport, then go and try it. Go and practice a bit and and get to know the rules and then go. So when you go to play, you won't be the last person picked on the field. You'll have some idea of what's going on.
But there's an old saying that says, you know, if you'll try anything, you'll try everything, you'll fall for anything. And that's the the sad hole that perhaps many of us fall into. My history was such that before I came to know the Lord, I tried every Ave. that was offered to me, whether it was drugs and alcohol, into martial arts, into bikes, motorcycles, playing rock'n'roll, all these things that whatever the world had for me, I grasped it and I took it.
00:20:20
And the world has so much out there to offer to you and to me in that sense.
But as the scripture verse says.
We've all gone astray. Each one has gone according to his own way, and it was expressed that it did what was right in his own eyes.
We have such a problem with that because of sin in our lives.
That we find it hard to breakthrough that barrier. What's what I feel is right as compared to what what really is right.
There are so many things in our way, and I think that that the word in in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah chapter 2 That the Lord speaks.
Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 13 says, For my people have committed two evils, they have broken, forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
There's nothing sadder than a wasted life in that sense.
Where you can look back and hopefully there's not many that can do that. Look back at your life and realize all the waste of time that you spent trying to fulfill what you thought was right and proper in your own eyes and realizing.
They weren't getting you anywhere. They weren't bringing you any satisfaction. They were wasted, wasted and wasted time. And here the Lord expresses this in His word. It was like they say he hewed demote cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. They're absolutely useless. You may be able to take a sip out of them and that's it. But when you're thirsty, you need a good drink of Clearwater. And at all they all you could drink out of these things were a sip of muddy water.
Mm-hmm.
Do you realize the power and protection that the Lord gives in our lives even after this very moment? Those of us who know the Lord perhaps realize a little bit more. But even if you're here tonight and you don't know the Lord as your Savior, do you realize that tonight? That after this very point in your life, even if you were to look back and have some memories and recollections, how the Lord has protected you and kept you for this very moment in your life? That you might hear the word of God preached? That you might attend this conference and somehow.
Your heart might be opened by His grace, His wonderful grace to save you.
He's kept you all this time.
Back in the book of Isaiah, chapter 53.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own waiver sex, and the Lord has laid on him.
The iniquity of us all. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. One of my favorite songs is Psalm 103, and the reason that is, is because it expresses something.
That.
In one verse.
Which is answered by this.
For Psalm 103.
Verse 10 says he has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
God had every right to do so. He has not dealt with us after our sins.
What does that mean? Dealt with us after our sins. The Word of God tells us specifically that the wages of sin is death.
When sin came into the world through the disobedience of Adam.
Death appeared on the scene.
Our sins deserve death. Your sins and my sins. Sometimes we tend to, umm, make them small sins, big sins, white sins, black sins, yellow sins, Gray sins, whatever color you want to call them. But sin is sin in the eyes of God. He makes no difference. A sin is a sin, and every sin deserves death for you and for me. We can see that in the book of Romans.
Chapter 3.
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And I love how when God wants to make a point, he makes a point that there's no arguing with.
And though I've heard man and is trying to argue it, well, I mean, let's take a look. Romans chapter 3, verse 23. Very simple verse.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. How many is all?
Everybody, oh it's inclusive, it includes everybody. How can you escape that? But the Word of God says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, there is no one that doesn't come under that condemnation.
So if you're here tonight.
That's where you're at. You're a part of that all.
All of sin and come short of the glory of God. That sin that you have in your life deserves death.
Death.
Proverbs, chapter 14.
Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
When you think about all the wonderful, wonderful, maybe not the choice word, but when you think of all the world has to offer and I look in my own life and experience what I've experienced, the ends of these all things are death. If you really want to know how much.
Enjoyment there is in them.
I would invite you.
To a few graveyards, because I can point you to the gravestones of those who were once my friends who engaged in some things that I did.
By the time I was saved, 22 friends had died from gang wars, biker wars, alcohol overdose, drug overdose, being shot, and other forms of death. The Lord really used these things to wake me up and realize that the end of these things is death.
That was what awaited me, even though they were in a sense, as they say, sin is pleasurable for a season. I enjoyed them for a season, but never was really quite convinced of their end until I started watching my friends dropping like flies and realizing that the end of these things is death. What I choose, or what you choose on your own?
If you.
Deny God at his place in your life. If you choose these things on your own, the end is death.
That's what awaits you.
We do not choose when death comes.
Which was made quite evidently to me in the deaths of my friends, but also for yourself. And you read about these things all the time and we hear about things, young children, old people.
Dying suddenly, car accidents happen. All these things happen in a split second. **** you're gone.
And then that book in Revelation becomes a reality for you. You'll be standing before the judgment throne of Christ.
You'll be seated standing there with not a word of explanation because you didn't have a chance to change.
Your life.
He did not reward us according to our iniquities, Your iniquities, my iniquities. Why? Because he laid it all.
On his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, he bore the penalty and the pain for you and for me. And it's really hard to comprehend when you think about it, that He bore the sin of.
The whole wrath of God, the entire wrath of God against sin, was born on the shoulders of His Son for three hours of darkness. We we see in the Scriptures how God poured His wrath out on His Son for sin, and the end result is that His Son could say it is finished, the payment has been made, God is totally satisfied, and because of that, those who believe on that perfect work can go free.
If you receive what God has for you through the person and work of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, I often think of of those when they think about people and you talk to them and you say, well, I hope to get to heaven. My good works will get me there. And perhaps they they talk about this or they talk about that.
Umm, if any of you own a cat or a dog.
How many of you own a cat or a dog?
OK, so you'll know what I'm gonna say is basically true.
00:30:04
When a cat or a dog face the door, what did they do?
The cat sits there, stares at the door.
Does the door move when the cat stares at the door?
Leslie Cat is telekinetic and looking. Open the door. The door stays shut. The dog dog comes the door. He wants to get out. He barks. Let me help. I want to get out. I got to get out.
But there's nothing they can do to open that door other than what they can do. The cat stares.
The door doesn't open, The dog barks. Unless the door is remotely operated by dog barking, it doesn't open.
And when I think of these two, the, the, the cat, you know, the cat is very a proud creature. Most cats are very proud. And a dog is always sort of, you know, look at me, look at me, look at me, look at me, look what am I doing? Look at me. And you get that sense of what I mean. Have you ever seen people like that?
And you think about what they're saying to you in the light of, oh, I can get to heaven on my good works or I can get to heaven this way because I'm always doing this and always doing that. I always think the cats and the dogs at the door, because there's no way those cats and dogs can get through that door by being cats and dogs.
There's just no way they can do it. Somebody has to open the door for them in order to get them to the other side.
I know that's very simple, but think about it in the context of what we've been talking about. The door to heaven is closed.
To anyone who doesn't have the proper ticket, doesn't know the person who's gonna open the door for them, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He can open that door to heaven, to an inheritance that waits us. If you read in the Scriptures, there's so much that waits beyond that door for you to take the chance and have him open it for you. And what a wonderful opportunity it is when the Lord Jesus presents himself to you and says yes.
You're a Sinner, You're a sin. They're sinning your life. You're dirty, You're filthy. You're wicked.
But I paid for the price of all those things.
I paid for them all and received that payment that I've done it all for you on your behalf. Just receive it, accept it that it's been done for you, and confess that yes, I was a wicked Sinner.
I lived my whole life in rebellion and disobedience against God.
Father, I have sinned as the prodigal Son. I have sinned against you. I have sinned against heaven. I have sinned against God.
And realize that in reality that that's the whole story of your life, and that God was so willing to receive you and have fellowship with you. But those sins must be dealt with in order to do that.
That was that door.
That door had to be there to protect the holiness of God, but he was willing to send his own son to pay the penalty for you by paying that penalty that was rightfully yours, rightfully mine, on the cross of Calvary, to shed His blood, to cleanse us so that that door to heaven could be open.
God has given us some senses and it was mentioned before and I had to try to remember what they were. Apparently there's five, but I think there's seven.
There's the sense of sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste.
There's two other senses that I think God has given US1 is a sense of emptiness.
And the other is the sense of sin, because in each one of us there's a sense of knowing what's wrong and what's right. We may not agree with it, we may argue with it, we may try to self justify what's right and what's wrong. My right and wrong might not be the same as your right and wrong.
But in each one of us we have a sense of what is right and what is wrong that I believe God is placed there.
In an effort to show us our need for Him. And the other thing is we have a sense of emptiness that God has placed in each one of us to show us our need of Him. And it's a need that can only be filled by God alone. And I go back to what I was telling when my dad said to try everything and what the world offers. We see so many times people who have tried these things in the world to try to fill that hole and have come up empty and unsatisfied. And not only that, perhaps they've become damaged.
And hurt, dismayed and discouraged. And so many negative things have happened from what they thought was positive in the 1St place. The only remedy for that, the only remedy for that whole in our hearts is the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:35:09
Isaiah 59.
Just to reiterate a bit.
Isaiah 59 verse two says this.
In hopes that we can understand, it says, But your iniquities are separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear.
God is desiring for you to be with Him. It's your sins that have kept Him from you.
That had turned his face from you, and they have to be atoned for it. They have to be paid for, and they were paid for by the precious blood of his son.
You have to acknowledge.
That you have that need in you.
We can try to run from it, we can try to hide from it, but it's always gonna be there until it's filled by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps we can sing a quick hymn to remind us of the cats and dogs.
A singer.
Thing number a quick little hit is 43.
Hymn #43.
We're from the Maritimes.
And part of being from the maritimes is that we are drawn to the sea.
And people have always put many substitutes in our way and saying, well, if you go to the prairies and you see the rustling, we we blowing back and forth, it's just like being on the ocean. And I agree that the movements there, but there's no smell. There's no sound of the rushing waves that come along with that.
We need to be where the sea is. We need to hear it, we need to see it, we need to smell it.
Because it's just part of us. It's part of our nature. Perhaps if you're not from the Maritimes you don't understand that, but perhaps you might be from the mountains.
And whenever you go away, when you come back, the things that you, you miss the most is the mountains, the heights, the trees on the mountains or whatever it might be, wherever you might be, there's always a place that you call home and you're attracted to it. But I, I say that from my own practical experiences being a Maritimer that were drawn to this, either something in US that draws us to the sea, we have to have the sea. Many times we say when we go to places, oh, I'd like to live here. And then we think about it for a minute.
And then we realize.
Yeah, we'd like to live here, but there's no ocean. There's nothing that we don't hear the waves coming in. When we go, uh, traveling, we like to be at places if we have a choice of being in land or by the sea, it's the sea we choose every time.
And the reason I say that is because I trust that in the hearts of each one of us who know the Lord Jesus.
That there's a drawing to him in the same way, maybe even in a more realistic way.
Do we feel that need to, as was expressed in the first Epistle of John? Do we need to see him, to hear him, to feel him, to touch him and allow him to do the same in our lives?
To show us the way to go, to provide guidance and protection and wisdom in the things that we need to know.
To be so close to Him that we can hear Him when He speaks to us, maybe not in an audible voice, but we get a sense of of what He wants for us to do by reading His word, by allowing Spirit to guide us, by perhaps bringing people into our lives that will share with us wisdom and experience and knowledge.
What a wonderful joy it is when He does speak to our hearts. And many of us have that experience and can enjoy it and express it one with another. And I believe that's why we have meetings such as ministry meetings and in the reading meetings also, we can share what God has shown to us. There's so much to offer, so much God has to offer to you and to me. And if you're here tonight and you don't know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
00:40:11
I pray that these few words that I've spoken might have.
Brought some.
Light that His word might have entered into your heart, that perhaps you might have seen your need for salvation, realizing that you are a Sinner.
I don't know whether you're a cat or a dog.
But.
I know that you're a Sinner, I know you need a Savior, and I know that that door will not open for you unless you receive them as your Savior.
The Lord's desire is that He, like I say, He created man so he could have fellowship with him and enjoy him, and he provides all that's necessary to do that.
In the personal work of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So tonight.
I pray would be the night that you would receive him as your Savior, that you would confess your sins and realize that He paid the price for them.
That you can be free from the burden and guilt of your sins and walk in newness of life as He's promised in His Word. What a wonderful Savior we have.
In order to provide for us such a great and wonderful provision, perhaps we could sing a.
In closing #34.
Precious, precious blood of Jesus.
Shed on, Calvary said. Shed for rebels and for sinners. Shed for me. Let me start that, please.
OK, all right. Well then probably. Umm, now then it's closer.
To me and man.
Precious, precious blood of Jesus.
Ever offered free? Oh, believe it or receive it.
Tis for the Let's thank Him, our Father and our God. We do indeed give thee thanks for the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We thank thee, Father, for the perfect submission, the perfect, willing and obedient submission of Thy dear Son.
Who is willing to go to the cross of Calvary for sinners such as me and such as us all in the Saudi tonight we thank Thee for the truth and testimony of Thy word, which tells us exactly what we are in truth.
Sinners needing a Savior. And we pray tonight that there might be one, if not many, whose hearts might have been changed tonight, like the knowledge that there is such a Savior available to them, freely offered from my gracious hand in the person and work of Thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Pray that there might be light shed into their hearts tonight, that they might see their need and accept this gracious gift and forever change their lives, that they may walk a newness of life.
00:45:09
And in fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Spirit. So we thank thee once again for this opportunity and pray especially wherever the gospel is preached, that the Lord Jesus is upheld as the only Savior of sinners, that there might be blessing in his most precious and worthy name, the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Open Mtg. 2
Open—T. Porter, F. Leger, J. Hyland
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.
#312.
70.
Panel.
Of our game, I don't know if I'm not allowed to go out and when I come out of school I'd rather go.
Jelly Frame.
Father, we just looked to thee.
Thank you for another privilege, being in the presence of thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior of and we consider this meeting as before us, uh.
An open meeting, uh, ministry is Lord Manly, Lord Jesus, and we just look to Thee for thy health and thy blessing.
We looked at the two that the ones that get up to speak, they'll speak as the oracles of God, Lord Jesus and minister those things that are needful for us, for our comfort, for our edification, exhortation and and even correction if necessary. Lord Jesus, so we just look to thee for this. We pray the ones that get up.
What they have in their heart, they truly enjoyed in their own souls. Lord Jesus.
And uh, as they present it to us and water us, uh, thy precious word, they themselves will be watered to in it too, Lord Jesus, uh, so that each one that gets up is blessed as well. So we just look for thee for this Lord Jesus, and for thy health and thy blessing and, and anticipated blessing too, Lord Jesus, And we thank thee. And there were the and precious thing, Lord Jesus, Amen.
I'd like to estrate some verses without comment.
One of the speakers that practice intro.
In Genesis.
Genesis 32.
Thank you first 30 and Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for I've seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
And then in the Gospel of John.
John, Chapter 12.
And verse 21.
Saint came therefore to Philip, which was at the stadium of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
And then the verse that was in our chapter this morning.
John 20 and verse 20.
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his thighs. Then were the disciples last, when they saw the Lord.
00:05:03
Could we turn to Luke chapter 6 for a verse?
Luke chapter 6 and verse 46.
And why call ye me Lord? Lord?
And do not things.
Which I say.
These are searching words.
And I believe everyone who would call Jesus Lord would do well.
To have these words echoing in their minds constantly.
Especially in our day.
So the question might arise, what does the Lord say? Said a lot of things.
But one would think that in considering this verse.
That someone who is concerned with what he says here would want to know what was the primary thing, he said.
What seemed to be most important to him?
Turn over to John 15.
Let's, uh, let's start at verse 10.
If you keep my commandments.
You shall abide in my love.
Even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
This is my commandment.
That you loved one another.
As I have loved you.
Verse 17 These things I command you that you love one another.
This portion Chapter 15, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, chapter 17 seemed to be when the Lord was pouring out His heart before He went to die for us.
Mm-hmm. And he expresses what his desire is for us while he's gone, while he's absent in the body. And if you look at the end of John 17, which was where he poured out his heart to the father.
He says, I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them.
And I in them.
So would it be safe to say?
That the most important thing.
To the Lord for us.
His people in his absence.
Because that we love one another. Is that fair to say?
Is there anything that was more important to him if we consider all his words?
And so as Christians.
Everything must flow from this.
There's a portion that's often.
Read at the Lord's Table First Corinthians Chapter 11 and I just point this out as an example. First Corinthians chapter. The portion that's often read starts at verse 23.
And sometimes it goes until verse 26.
Sometimes it goes a little longer.
But I want you to notice something about this portion. It is.
If this is the right word, it is enveloped.
In another subject.
It's in the middle of something.
That Paul was taking issue with the Corinthians about. Do you ever notice that?
Starts in verse 17.
Now this I declare unto you, and I praise you not.
That you come together not for the better, but for the worse.
But first of all, when you come together in the assembly.
I hear that there be divisions among you.
And I partly believe it.
00:10:00
Skip down to verse 20. When you come together, therefore, into one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. What's he saying?
I think they thought they were coming together for the Lord's Supper, right?
But he says you're not.
Why does he say that?
Four. And you know this word for whenever you see that in Scripture.
FOR it means what I'm about to say is the reason for what I just said.
And so why does he say that they didn't come together to eat the Lord's Supper? For in eating everyone taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken.
What have you not houses to eat and drink in, or despise ye the Church of God, and shame them that have not?
What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.
And then he goes into.
What the Lord did for us.
Right.
Because when we have before us the bread and the wine, and we remember the Lord.
And we observe that he gave himself for us.
If we are touched with that.
The reaction should be what?
We would love one another.
And so he says, you come together, you do this, but look at the way you're treating each other.
The way you're treating each other betrays the fact that when you come together.
On the pretense of bringing the Lord to remembrance, and yet you treat each other the way you do.
It's not real.
And you know, as proof that he, this is his subject.
The way we treat one another, if you go down toward the end, he comes back to it and he says.
Wherefore, brethren, verse 33, when ye come together to eat, tarry for one another.
You see, he this scripture we so often have before us at the Lord's table was in the context that was not so positive.
The context was the way that they were treating one another.
Was not according to the heart, the Lords heart.
I think most all of us realize we've been through a lot as the so-called gathered Saints and I hope you don't take the fence when I say the so-called.
There is the gathered Saints, There are those who are gathered for the Lord's name.
We believe that it's us, so we wouldn't be here, right?
But there could be many reasons why I would be among you. Maybe I just like the way you worship. Maybe I like your deportment. Maybe I was brought up in it and I don't know anything else.
There can be all kinds of reasons why someone would be among us, but being gathered to the Lord's name is a reality.
And so when I say the so-called gathered Saints, please forgive me, but I'm referring to what we see.
What's in our hearts, only the Lord really knows.
But we've been through a lot.
Even in the short time that that I've been gathered.
And you know.
If you consider the route of all the troubles that come in and cause divisions, you're going to find that it always starts with a failure to keep the Lord's new command.
That's where it all starts to break down.
You know.
I'm a parent and I understand that sometimes love would have you to express something that doesn't look like love.
But each one of you just need to ask this question when you're dealing with another St. regardless of what the context is.
00:15:07
What I want to be treated the way I'm treating this brother or sister.
That's a simple question.
Is that how I would wanna be treated? Is that how I would wanna be handled?
And I believe that some of us can honestly say that if we were in the condition that we find some that we would want to be treated and not such a pleasant way because that's good for us, right? It's just like taking a child who needs to be trained and you're gonna have to be unpleasant with him. That's part of loving him.
But there are many times when.
It's not before us.
The Lords Commandment.
And we can.
We can do things on the pretense of guarding His Holiness.
Guarding His glory.
But what was what was primary on the heart of the Lord Jesus before he left here?
What was the the one thing that was so important to him? Is it not clear?
That he would look down from the glory.
Upon his own here and see them loving one another.
That's what was on his heart.
And so.
Perhaps we should ask that question.
Most, most men and women.
They have one or two very few things and that are primary with them that are their highest priority and everything else revolves around that.
Am I right?
The Lord would have all of our doings.
Whether with the assembly or with.
Outside the assembly, at work, at school, but primarily in how we treat one another. He would have everything revolve around this.
That she loved one another.
As I have loved you.
Now part of the problem is.
The world's definition of love has influenced us.
You know, we have a hard time with that scripture where he says love your enemies, right? And the reason I believe we have a hard time with that is because to us love means a fuzzy, a warm and fuzzy feeling. And so we interpret what he says is have a warm and fuzzy feeling about your enemies. And we just have a real hard time doing that.
But that isn't what he said.
Love. You know love.
Does what is best for its object.
It does what is best for its object, regardless of how you feel.
It's just so sad.
In any context to see love abandoned.
If you follow the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and three, all the failure starts with what?
I was left by first love.
Now I think we probably would think of that as we the first love or the best love is our love for the Lord, right?
In both the Old and the New Testament.
God did not make a difference between loving Him and loving His own.
He made no difference.
And we need to be reminded of that.
00:20:02
How can a man say that he loves God, whom he has not seen, if he does not love his brother whom he has seen?
And however you treat another child of God, the Lord Jesus.
Considers that is how you treat him.
And you can have all the warm and fuzzy feelings for him, and yet you despise one of his little ones.
You mistreat one of his own.
It's not real.
By the word of the Lord himself, it's not real.
And so many problems and so many issues.
Would just go away.
If we would consider.
This is my commandment.
That she loved one another.
And it's as I have loved you.
We won't go to all the verses in John's epistle, but he brings us out. He said, you know, if the Lord laid down his life for us, we ought to lay down our life for the breadth.
And if you're not willing to give of yourself, you're done with love.
Because by its very definition, the love that is spoken of here.
The Southwest.
It's willing to be inconvenienced.
It's willing to.
Have your interest set aside.
And maybe you wanted to do something, but there's a need that you see.
And to meet that need, you're gonna have to give up what you wanted to do That's love.
This is all very basic.
And yet, I believe all of you will observe when divisions come in, and when things come in, you can see the breakdown. You can point to where love was set aside.
Sometimes even in the name of doing what's right.
Love would not do. What's wrong?
And sometimes what has to be done has to be done.
But it's often troubling and.
I think you know what I was gonna say.
This is important.
When you hear this word, don't point at anybody else.
Don't point to those brethren.
Or that leading one. Or this one. Or that one.
Please just.
Apply this to yourself.
This should be primary in anyone who calls Jesus Lord.
It should be primary, it should be priority #1 because it was with him.
It's what was on his heart before he left.
This is my commandment that you love one another.
As I have loved you, why call ye me Lord? Lord?
And not do what I say.
Having my heart to talk about the will of God.
Something that, uh.
It is very important for us.
In the old stages of our life, it may be that you're in high school and you have to check to look for a subject to study next year or.
Maybe you're a young adult and you're looking for a career.
Maybe looking for a partner for life?
Maybe looking for?
The opportunity for work and looking at a different option that are offered.
But there are many, many situations in our life where we need to discern the will of God.
In Romans 12 verse one to three, we have some encouragement there that will help us to discern the will of God.
So first of all, I'd like to read the second part of verse 2.
That he may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
00:25:09
Well, this is something that you know we all want to experience. We could change the word proved by this term.
That's what the new translation says, to discern what is good, acceptable, and the perfect will of God.
I've enjoyed a thought that we don't discover the will of God, but we discern it. We discern it.
Verse one says, I beseech you, brethren, therefore, that by the mercies of God that you may present your bodies a living sacrifice.
Wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
The first thing that is very important is to realize the mercies of God.
You know if we are to meditate from chapter one.
Then to Chatterhead, we'll discover the great salvation that God provided by the work of Christ, the fact that we are sinners and we cannot save ourselves, but that God provided with such a perfect salvation.
The mercy of God and we eat from Chester 911 The way that God will deal with his people, Israel.
Again in mercy, but in view of all this goodness of God.
We are to offer our bodies a Li the living sacrifice all the acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. You know in the Old Testament the offering or dead animals.
We're encouraged to realize the rights of God over our own lives. If we want to discern the will of God in our lives, we need to realize, as our brother was saying, the Lordship of Christ in our lives.
You know there is a difference between Christianity and churchanity, and I have enjoyed a little illustration of that.
Certianity would be a person who would come to a Christian umm meeting and you would think about the soccer game or go think about going.
You know, doing some sport.
Christianity would be a person that would be playing soccer and thinking about the Lord.
And everything that we do enjoy the Lord Lord's presence, Lord's goodness.
1St is to realize that we we belong to the Lord, we paid a great price and our bodies are His.
Verse two it says and be not conformed to this world.
Not to be moulded by the world.
You know, there is a television company that says some years ago.
Give us 10 years and we will change the mentality of America.
And the the enemy is working hard to.
Change the mentality of people.
Through the different means that are available today.
Do not conform to this world.
Not to go according to the standards of this world.
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
The Word of God as a power to transform.
To renew our minds.
To give us.
Good judgment. Discernment.
I'd like to turn to two verses. The first one will be in Psalm 1.
We'll come back to Romans 13, Romans 12, I must say.
Psalm 1.
Aye, I'll, I'll go, I'll do it fast. But verse 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and his in his law. Does it meditate day and night.
And you shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth its fruit in its season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever you do, it shall prosper.
You know, as we take the time to meditate in the Word of God and to enjoy it in our souls and seek the grace to walk in it.
There is a promise of.
00:30:00
It says that whatever you do shall process.
Through prosperity in the soul comes from meditation of the Word of God. Another portion in the UMM, the book of the Joshua, chapter one.
Joshua chapter one and verse 7.
Only be thou strong and very courageous.
The Dimaus observed to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commended thee turn not from it from the right hand or to the left, said Prosper. Whatsoever thy goeth again I promise of prosperity.
By meditating and doing the Word of God. I just want to encourage you young people to take the time to meditate that precious book. Precious book.
It's the best investment you could do in your life.
As you are faced with important decisions in your life.
The brother was talking about some troubles that came among us some years ago and reason that.
Block of love and lack of devotion to the Lord. But there is one thing that struck me in those days.
In the mid 80s.
We're a group of young people for get together for young people.
And, uh, it was on a Saturday and we went to do some tubing with the young people. We had a great time, was really enjoyable. And in the afternoon we took a break and we had our Bibles and we, we separated in small groups and we had a little, little discussion about the Scripture and then we came back together and we made a little resume of our meditation.
And one of the group there had some questions for the whole group. It was the question was, when was it the last time that you opened your Bible?
And everybody has to write on the little piece of paper, you know, like.
Like a private survey, so everybody would, you would write, you know, when, when the last time they read the Bible.
And you know, I was so surprised that.
About 90% of the group.
That last Saturday, I'd read the Bible the previous Tuesday.
The Assembly Bible reading.
I was struck. I was a, you know, new believer at the time and I was shocked.
And you know, that was the mid 80s came 1991 when there was some trouble in the sunlight.
And I knew many of the young people would go see the leader of the young people and say, hey, what, What do we do? What, what should we do?
That used to be in the Word of God.
Did not buy the truth from the Word of God.
You know we will be tested.
And if we don't get accustomed to read the Word of God and meditate it, we're gonna look to others for answers. And no baby miss like.
So may the Lord, you know, not only for young people, I must say, because.
If the young people are not reading the Bible, what about the parents?
You know we cannot force our children. It's true.
But maybe we can encourage. Maybe we can open the Bible on our table. I know.
I have a hard time to get my family together the one meal sometimes because everybody's flying everywhere for work or for study, other reasons. But it's so precious, so precious.
To ensure as a family that precious thoughts of God.
Just want to encourage you young people and also young parents to invest in the enjoyment of the word of God. You know, sometimes a little 5 minutes after a meal. It's so, so good.
So good.
I've been so blessed by having this little devotion. Sometimes just a little verse would just encourage.
Let's go back to Romans chapter 12, just in conclusion.
So we we read about to realize the rights of the Lord in our lives because of his mercies.
Not to be conformed to this world.
And I'd like to say just a little word about that.
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You know, tech, new technologies can be seen as a good servant, but also as a bad master.
So I would say to you.
You know, the use of Internet and all this kind of thing I would say to you.
May we seek the grace to use it for His glory.
It's very easy to be influenced by this kind of thing and to our mind, influence.
By the value of the world if we are not wise with these things.
But again, it could be a good servant if if it is used for the glory of God.
The last part says that you may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God.
God has a path race for us.
And if we are to discern it, if we are to hear the voice of the Lord.
If we are to make the good choices.
We need to keep close to him.
Ensure by taking time in His word in prayer.
Will help us and you know, the enemy is attacking us very much on these things. Sometimes we are too busy with so many things that we neglect the meditation of the Word of God and prayer. I must say that it's a struggle for me. I have to get up a little earlier sometime, but then I realize that I have to go to bed earlier at night, the night before. That's hard.
Because there are many things to do, but it's worth, it's worth the the effort.
Just the last person closing in Silician.
Chapter One.
It's a prayer of fall for the Philippians.
Philippians chapter one and verse 9.
In this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.
That he may approve things that are excellent.
That she may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ until the glory and praise of God.
I'd like to read verse 10 again, that she may approve things that are excellent, that she may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.
Or we can change a word approved by discern.
They are things that are good.
But there are things that are excellent.
And may the Lord give us to discern those things in our lives.
That are excellent.
And the things that are excellent have been viewed. The glory of the Lord is.
And truly, these things will bring a real fulfillment in our lives.
In the DM will be for his glory and his friends.
We've had something before us this afternoon concerning the subject of love and the will of God. And I was thinking as our brethren were speaking, that really we cannot discern or walk in the will of God unless we have an understanding and appreciation in our souls of the love of God. You know, the Lord Jesus said if a man loved me, he will keep my commandments, and he also said my commandments are not grievous.
Because, as we've often heard, when the heart is engaged, the feet will fall.
I have enjoyed a little definition of purpose of heart. We often think of Daniel and that purpose of heart he had in standing firm in his day. And it was a very difficult day. It wasn't the days when they were back in Judea, back in the in the land of promise. No, it was a very difficult day to stand for the Lord and he purposed in his heart and really purpose of heart is and is a is an object.
Where where an object before us and the heart in motivation motivated by that object. Because if the heart isn't engaged, then when the difficulties come, one is going to turn aside and give up. But what I'd like to do for a few moments now is go back to the thought of love that was brought before us in John's Gospel and to back up perhaps a little bit in what we've had before us and lay a little groundwork that I believe leads up to what our brother Ted.
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Brought before us in connection with love.
I'd like to do it by connecting four well known portions in John's Gospel. The first one is near the end of the third chapter.
John's Gospel, chapter 3 and verse 35.
The Father loveth the Son, and then I want to connect it with a verse in the 17th chapter.
Chapter 17.
And verse 23 I in them, and thou in me.
That they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them.
As thou hast loved me. And then back in the 15th chapter again.
Chapter 15 and verse 9. As the Father hath loved me.
So have I loved you, continue ye in my love, and then just drop down again to the 1St. I believe we had earlier verse 12. This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. So often when we take up any subject in the Word of God. It is hard to move beyond what something means to us. And brethren, don't misunderstand me, I trust that when we take up the subject of the love of God.
The subject of the love of the Lord Jesus that it means everything to our hearts.
But I don't believe we can really appreciate and understand how we are to love one another unless we go back and see what it is in relationship to the Father and the Son. To understand the the what divine love really is, we need to go beyond the fact that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. Now that is a wonderful truth. And so often in a gospel meeting, the gospel preacher will begin, or at least at some point in the gospel meeting.
He will quote that precious gospel verse and it is a wonderful thing. God looks down in this world this afternoon and He loves every person in this world, and so much did he love the world that He sent His Son.
To go to Calvary's cross so that whosoever will might be saved. Wonderful subject, but I don't believe again. As I say, we can understand what divine love really is until we begin with God's side of things. And so we begin here in the end of the third chapter with this precious statement. The Father loveth the Son. We think of the Father's love for us, but just to stop for a few moments and consider the Father's love for the Son. There are three times that this statement is made.
In John's Gospel, it's repeated in the 5th chapter, and it's repeated a third time in the 10th chapter. The Father loveth the Son. And when we think of that relationship that existed from a past eternity, the Father and the Son, the Lord Jesus did not merely simply become the Son in incarnation. He became a man in incarnation, but he was the Son from a past eternity.
That's why Isaiah prophesied unto us. A child is born, that's his incarnation.
But then He quickly adds unto us, The Son is not born, but a son is given. In fact, you never read of the sun being born. The sun was given or sent. The Father sent the Son. He gave His only begotten Son. You have to have something or someone to send something or someone. I don't have any sons. I couldn't send a son to help you in your extremity because I don't have a son myself. But God had a son from a past eternity.
And what kind of a son? A son of whom it says I was daily his delight.
And I believe that Verse has far more reaching thought than just in his pathway here.
It's true he was daily the delight of his Father in his pathway here, and heaven could open up in a voice declare.
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This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, but he was daily the delight of the Father.
From a past eternity. And oh, that's the very one that the Father sent. And think of that relationship that was there from a past eternity, the Father loveth the Son. I say this is the basis. If you and I can just grasp a little bit in our souls, I know we'll never fully grasp it, But if we can just grasp a little bit in our souls this afternoon of what this statement means, the Father.
Loveth the Son, the Son in whom he was well pleased, the Son who never did one thing to please himself, the Son who in his pathway here fully accomplished to the glory of God.
All that he was sent to do and could say, therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life for the sheep. And so I say, this is the basis. But then we have something else developed for us in the 17th chapter where we have the Lord Jesus, what we often refer to as the Lord Jesus, High priestly prayer to his Father. And there he says at the end of that 23rd verse.
And hath loved them as thou hast loved me. I think this is one of the most tremendous statements in the Word of God, one of the most tremendous things to get a hold of in connection with the subject, the thought of divine love. And that is that the Father loves us with the same love that he loves his beloved Son. And that's something to think about, brethren, you and I this afternoon are loved with no less love.
Than the Father has for the Son. The Father loves everyone of His children with that same intensity, that same quality of divine love that He loves His Son. Now I realize that the Lord Jesus, as the only begotten of the Father, remain at, remains and will remain distinct in that way for all eternity, even when the Father's house is filled with children in a coming day and the family of God is complete.
No one will ever, No son or daughter of God will ever take the place.
Of his beloved Son He will remain distinct for all eternity, but nevertheless to realize.
That you and I are loved by the Father as the Father's children with that same love. That He loves the Son. Brethren, if that doesn't draw out our hearts, if that doesn't touch our hearts, I don't know what goes on within our hearts because I believe what will really develop and deepen our love for the Lord Jesus and our love for one another is to be occupied.
And have an appreciation of His love, that divine love, the love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Father for his children. You know, it's not that we are to try to generate some response of love within ourselves. That will not work. That will only do one of two things. It will puff us up, but probably more than more often than not, it will discourage us.
As we realize how little we really do love the Lord, and as we realize how our response changes.
Our love wanes and waxes. That's only going to discourage us. But to go to the Scriptures like this and to be occupied with that love, that never changes.
I know the young people today aren't so familiar with the thermometers that we grew up with where there were numbers down the both sides of a piece of wood and there was a glass tube in the middle with a ball at the at the bottom with some red mercury in it. And according to the temperature, that mercury would move up and down, whether if it was cold, that mercury would drop. If it got warmer, that mercury would rise. You know, that's like my love for the Lord Jesus.
Sometimes it's hot, but more often than not it's cold.
And it says in the last days, the love of many shall wax cold. But there are not. Well, we're numbers on the side. Those numbers are like the love of God. They're like the love of the Lord Jesus. Those numbers remained consistent. Those numbers never changed. And isn't it wonderful that we can rest on something this afternoon that never changes? The love of the Father for the Son and the love of the Father.
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For each of his children. But then we have something else where we read in the 15th chapter.
Let me just read it again, he says in verse 9, As the Father hath loved me.
So have I loved you? Not only are we loved by the Father with that same love that He has for his Son, but we are also loved by the Lord Jesus with that very same divine love. We are doubly loved. We are loved by the Father. We are loved by the Lord Jesus. The love that the Lord Jesus has for you and me, for each one of his own, is the same love that the Father has for the Son. And it is the same love. It is no less love.
Than the Father has for each of his children. You know, any of us who've had children perhaps find it hard, have found it hard to love all of our children equally or at least to express equally that love to each of our children. But oh, God in the Lord Jesus have no favorites. God has no favorites in his large family. The Lord Jesus has no favorites in regard to each of his own. We are loved.
By that same love. But you know, as we're often reminded, whenever we take up any aspect of the truth, there's always something to exercise our consciences and our hearts, always something brought to bear on our souls in regard to what they want. That particular line of truth is that's brought before us. And I don't want to add to what our brother Ted said, but I want to go on now and just notice that verse again that we read later in the chapter.
To complete the little picture that I believe that the Lord gives us, the Spirit of God gives us here in John S Gospel.
And that is the Lord Jesus then, having given these confirmation of his love.
He says this is my commandment, that you love one another. But he doesn't stop there.
You know, if this was the Old Testament, it would say that we're the loved one. We're to love our neighbor as ourselves, and they were to love one another in the Old Testament. But Christianity always supersedes and provides to go beyond what you have in the Old Testament. And so the Lord Jesus looked at this little company around him in anticipation of his departure to the Father. He was going to leave them in a cold world.
But he says this is my commandment, that she loved one another. And then he gives them the standard.
Because has been brought before us, you and I, the love that the practical love that is to be expressed amongst the people of God is no less love than the Father has for the Son. It is no less love than the than the Father has for his children, and it is no less love than the sun has for each of his own. We are to express that same divine love one with another.
It's more than just natural love and like natural love, loves when there's something lovable in the object, when there's something good, and when there's a response. Now don't misunderstand me, Divine love delights in a response. My son, give me thine heart. That's what he wants from our hearts. He died to win our hearts affection. He wants our love. But Divine love while it delights in a response.
It isn't dependent on it. When did God love us? When there was a response in our hearts? When there was anything good in US while we were. God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners.
Christ died for us, and I just want to point out very briefly, we could go through a number of scriptures.
But it's interesting when you come to the epistles that John wrote to the seven churches in his day, there are only two assemblies that the Lord confirms his love to. At the beginning, they lost their first love, but at the end he confirms his love first of all to Philadelphia. And you say, oh, I can understand that. I know why he confirmed his love to Philadelphia. There was a freshness there, a fervency. They were seeking by grace to keep his word.
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And not deny his name, you say? I understand that. But what's the next one? Laodicea. Complete indifference to his claims and his love. As many as I rebuke, as I love, I rebuke. And chasten, did he love them and Laodicea any less than he loved them in Philadelphia? He didn't love their practices, but he loved them just the same. And so if we can just get a hold of this in our souls, I believe it will give us that practical expression of love.
Unconsciously, without trying to generate it within ourselves, it will give us that unconscious.
Practical love that will flow out to one another. And I say again that love that you and I are to show 1 to another is the same love that the father has for the son. John 3.
It is the same love that the Father has for his children, John 17. It is the same love that the Lord Jesus has for his own. John 15. And this is my commandment. It's not a choice. This is my commandment that you love one another. But that's not enough, brethren, with the love that the same love that he has loved us.
296.
Love you Vine, all praise and selling joy of heaven to earth. Come down first fruits of thy new creation. Faithful, holy, may we be joyful in my full salvation. More and more conformed the 296.
Love divine always.
Down.
But I thought they had to go ahead and go together and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Yes.
John 20:19-31