Vestal Conference: 2018
Table of Contents
Overcomers
Open—Bill Prost
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.
And we've seen #36 in the Bank of the book.
3-6 in the appendix.
We go to meatballs.
I don't know, I cry out right now. We're praying that you can smell anything, mood, anything before they're saying if you're doing anything together compared to management. Uh, I don't know if you.
Umm, I'm sorry.
Bye, bye, bye bye.
No.
Because of the enabling hello.
Uh oh, oh oh oh, 04 hours ago and four hours and then after that.
Oh my God.
The same photography by mountain side. I can't even through their minds, That's all. And trust, so long as I don't know if you've heard anything.
We read some scriptures before we ask the Lord's help.
First Corinthians, chapter 14.
1St 29.
This verse has two parts.
Both are equally important.
Let the prophets speak.
Two or three.
And let the other judge.
Verse 31 We may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and may, and all may be comforted and encouraged.
And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
First Peter, chapter 4.
Verse 11.
If any man speak.
Let him speak as the oracles of God.
Benny man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth.
That God in all things may be glorified.
Through Jesus Christ, to whom he praised and dominion, forever and ever. Amen.
Any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God. John, Chapter 7.
Inverse in verse 18.
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He that speaketh of or from himself.
Seek of his own glory.
Aston Hotel.
The blessed God and our Father.
Standing one with our brethren, who has prepared these meetings, their burden for them and for this meeting in particular.
That the head in glory.
Would have liberty in his own house to direct.
Their God and our Father, we are in deep need at this hour of a word from thee.
And our desire is that the one who laid down his life for us would alone have the preeminence and be glorified.
We would be in fear and trembling to stand in a place where we would be presuming to speak as the oracles of God.
And yet we think of the Apostle Paul, who expressed his weakness, who expressed his need to be prayed for, for boldness.
Because it was to that weak vessel you had given such a high.
Such a high calling and charge to complete the Word of God. And so we do pray our God and our Father for boldness for those to whom you have given a word this day.
For thy people.
And those of us who would be find it so easily to open our mouths.
Would remember those words. He who speaks of himself seeks his own glory.
So our God and our Father, we go forward in faith as our brothers who have stepped forward in faith to have this meeting at this time, We do look to you, our God and our Father.
For a word for thyself.
We're here for Jesus sake.
We're here for him.
Give us that our daughter and our Father, that we need to be here, His witnesses in this dark scene, this day. Meet this meeting to thee and ask it in His precious name, that name we love, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd like to speak for a few minutes on one verse that has been particularly before me lately.
And I have no problem in confessing to all of you.
That it has been before me because I so often fail in it.
Maybe others can relate to it in the same way, so please turn with me to Romans chapter 12.
Romans, chapter 12.
This is a very practical verse.
And as we know, it is at the end of a chapter that brings before us a number of practical exhortations based on the doctrine that has already been given. As we know, the main doctrine of Romans is given in the 1St 8 chapters and then Paul takes a bit of a digression to talk about Israel and where they would come into the picture.
Through chapters 9:10 and 11:00.
But then, beginning with chapter 12, there are a number of practical exhortations, very down to earth, very needful for us.
But notice the last verse in the chapter, verse 21.
Be not overcome of evil.
But overcome evil with good.
This verse has been very familiar to me just about all my life.
And I'll tell you why. It'll bring a smile to some of you. I grew up in the days when they still read the word of God in schools.
And when I finished Grade 6, that was as far as that particular school went, and we had to go to another school for grades seven and eight.
But at the end of grade six, they had a bit of a graduation ceremony, and one of the students in our grade six class was detailed to do the Bible reading at that graduation ceremony.
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And the Bible reading was Romans 12 verses 5 to 21.
But in order that he might read it properly and without stumbling, he was required to read it in front of the class every day for a month before the graduation. And as a result, most of us pretty well learned it by heart. Maybe he did too. He hardly needed the Bible when he got there anyway. He did his job well. But most of us got a good grounding in Romans 12.
I regret that those days are past and that the Word of God is.
No longer read, at least in Canadian schools, and I understand not in US schools either.
But this verse, I would suggest, gives a balance to the Christian life that is most necessary. On the one hand a negative thing and on the other hand a positive thing. And Christianity is both.
On the one hand, we are not to be overcome of evil.
I want to make several applications of that, first of all in the world around us.
Because it is very easy to be overcome by what is going on in the world around us. I feel it, you feel it, we all feel it.
But if I may be permitted to say so, I believe some of you young people are feeling it, perhaps even more than I.
As you live and move in school and in the business world, you are finding the evil coming at you from every side.
And ultimately, there is no way of avoiding it. Some parents are home schooling their children in order to avoid the evil in the schools, and that's a good thing. Perhaps there's no one perfect way of educating children. But sooner or later we have to come face to face, don't we, with the evil that is in the world.
What happens when we encounter that evil? Let's turn to a verse in Second Peter that shows us the principle.
We find the word overcome in much of the New Testament. It's in the Old Testament as well. John uses it repeatedly, but so does Paul. As we have seen, so does Peter. It's used extensively.
Second Peter chapter 2 and verse.
19.
Now here it's talking about the world and the government of God in the world, but it is particularly talking about how the spirit of the world and those who are not true have infiltrated the profession of Christianity. Very serious, because what you and I are encountering in the world here in North America is what has become of Christianity.
In countries like Canada and the United States.
That were once founded on Christian principles. Notice what it says here in verse nineteen of two Peter 2.
While they promised them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. And here's the word For of whom a man is overcome, the same is he brought into or in *******.
*******.
And the world wants to bring you and me into ******* by promising liberty. But then we find out that very quickly it's *******. And that goes on all the time in natural things in this world. And there are those who are lured into situations where they are promised liberty and all kinds of good things, only to find that it is a trick. And the end result is to bring them into *******. And that is one of Satan's Wiles that he uses.
Extensively in this world and ultimately on you and me as believers.
And so you and I have a responsibility to avoid the evil that is in this world and not to be overcome by it.
How can we do that?
Is there a way to overcome the ******* in this world? Let's turn to a verse in the First Epistle of John, chapter 5.
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An excellent verse which it is very good to remember. First John, chapter 5.
And verse four, first John 5 and verse 4.
For whatsoever is born of God.
Overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Now at first glance this might seem to be a little bit difficult to understand because I said at the start of what I was talking about that I failed most miserably many times, and still do, in carrying out what we had in that verse in Romans 12. But here in John it seems to indicate that.
It's a blanket statement. John's making a blanket statement.
We have to get used to that in the writings of John, because John speaks in the abstract. To use a common phrase, John says it like it is bad grammar, but it makes the point. John says it like it is. John tells us simply in the abstract that whatsoever is born of God over cometh the world.
That means to you and me that God has given us everything.
To overcome this world and not to be overcome of evil.
But then he goes on to say, this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, and that brings before us the solemn truth that an overcomer cannot trust in his own strength. And if you and I go out there seeking in our own strength to be overcomers, we are going to find that we don't have it. We are going to find that Satan is stronger than we are, and that he and all his tricks in this world is not going to.
Rest until he has you and me in *******.
And I might point something out here because there is a well known man out in Christendom today whom I admire very much, and I will not name him, but he is very versed in what might be called Christian apologetics. And he does an excellent job of refuting arguments by people who think they know what they're talking about and who think they can box him in by arguments.
Trying to.
Denigrate and destroy the Word of God.
And usually he can manage to put them in their place.
I say to you, there is a place for that. There is a place for that. We won't turn to it. But in the book of Proverbs there is the verse that says, answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. There is a place for that.
But that same man also has said, and again, I'm not throwing stones, I merely want to point something out that's important to remember. That same man says, don't send young people to college merely with a good knowledge of the word of God.
They need to know Christian apologetics. They need to know how to answer arguments, because the world very often will say we don't recognize the Bible as an authority.
Is that a valid argument?
I suggest that it is not.
I prefer rather what one of our old writers from the 1800s said, He said in simple terms, if I had a sharp knife or a sword in my hand and a man were to argue with me that it was not real, but that it was merely made of plastic or rubber or some such thing.
He said I wouldn't do it as a Christian, but there would be a very practical and effective way of demonstrating to him that that knife or that sword was real and you all know what I'm talking about.
For man says the sword isn't real. Use it on him. He'll soon find out whether it's real or not.
As I say, there is a place for Christian apologetics. But when we use the word of God, who gets the glory? The Lord? If I'm able to silence someone's clever arguments, maybe I start to think of myself as being rather good at it.
But when I use the word of God, He gets the glory and it is the sword of the Spirit as we get in Ephesians chapter 6 used by the Spirit of God in convicting power.
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I remember well a story about a man who was a drug addict and a believer was seeking to reach him with the gospel, and he went over repeatedly to that man's home, usually, of course, because the man and his wife tended to be poor. The man spent most of his money on drugs, and when he came he always carried a nice big pizza under his arm to serve when they got there. And so his presence in the home was always welcome, even if the message he gave wasn't welcome.
And one time that drug addict simply said to him.
You know, everyone needs a crutch in this world and you have yours and I have mine. You have your Bible, your Christianity, that's your crutch, and I have my drugs. So let's each one use our crutch and be content with it.
Well, in telling of it afterward, that drug addict said the man didn't try to. The Christian man, that is, didn't try to argue with me, didn't try to go into all the if, ands, buts or wherefores. He simply opened his Bible and read the 53rd of Isaiah.
In retrospect, he said. You know, that chapter charmed me. I had never heard anything like that in my life before that here was someone.
About whom that chapter is speaking.
About whom all those wonderful things were said, who went into death in order that others might be saved. He said it brought me to Christ and didn't answer the question of crutches, but it brought him to Christ. It was the word of God. So going back again, because we don't want to take too much time, but going back again to Romans chapter 12.
Be not overcome of evil.
That takes real strength in the world of today. It takes relying on the Lord so as not to be drawn into the evil that is in this world and how many have been drawn into it. And let me say this, and I say this not pointing the finger anywhere but back here.
Sometimes in our hearts there is a tendency to say, well, I certainly will not be drawn into the grosser forms of evil in this world. I certainly will not be drawn into the things that really will take me down that broad Rd. along with the world.
But is there any harm in enjoying a few things in this world?
To answer that, I would say yes and no.
We are not dead to nature. And that reminds me of a story that once again took place way back in the 1800s, where two believers were riding in a train, one of them older and wiser than the other. And as they were riding along in the train, the older one noticed out the window some rather spectacular and beautiful scenery and pointed it out to the other believer.
So it isn't that beautiful scenery. Isn't that a pretty sight?
All the other ones said yes it is, but brother, you and I are dead to all that.
Well, the older brother said nothing, but as time went on, the conversation turned to other things, particularly the Lord's things, and the time came around to 12 noon, and the older brother rather abruptly got up and started heading off down the aisle.
Oh, the other one said, where are you going? Where are you going? Well, he said, it's 12 noon. I'm going down to the dining car to have some lunch.
All the younger ones said, well, wait a minute, I'll come with you.
Oh, the older brother said. You don't need to. You're dead to all that.
Or, Needless to say, the younger brother got the point.
And he was probably much less dead to that particular angle of things than the older brother. But anyway, the point is we're not dead to nature. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying the things of nature, even though, as the hymn says to us, they bear to us death stand. That is, everything in this world of nature has been stamped with the effect of sin.
But when Paul talks about the world, the apostle Paul, and when John talks about the world, they're not talking about the created world in the sense of what God made. They're talking about the system of things that is the world that started with Cain. They're talking about that vast world system, which.
Started out with Cain's family and which went out from the presence of God. Wanted nothing to do with God and sought to make themselves as happy as possible in a world spoiled by sin. But leaving God totally out of the picture. That is the world that we are in today, and that is the world where evil will come at you and me.
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We are not to be part of that world. Yes, we have to live and move in it. We don't want to become monks or nuns or hermits or something like that.
We are to be a witness to it, but not part of it. And in order to do that, you must walk in communion with the Lord. You need His strength.
But I say to my own heart and to you too, that is only half the battle.
That's only half the battle overcoming consists not merely of not being overcome of evil. It consists in overcoming evil with good.
First of all, let's talk once again about the outside world.
Out in the world of today, we find increasingly, and you know it better than I do, some of you younger ones, we find it increasingly that it is a selfish world. Oh yes, there are people that will help you out now and then and there are people that will do kind deeds. If you start out to cross the street here in America and in Canada, generally speaking, someone will stop and let you pass. There are people who are courteous.
But generally speaking.
It's a dog eat dog world out there, isn't it? People are selfish. People look after themselves 1St and then if there's anything leftover then maybe I'll do something for someone else. And increasingly you and I are finding that attitude overtakes this world so that the love of me, the love of self, is not merely being tolerated, but it is being, it is being proclaimed.
And exalted as the right thing to do.
But as a brother used to tell us back many years ago, the wisdom of God is not merely an improvement on man's wisdom.
It is the direct opposite of it, and the wisdom of God that we find in the Word of God is exemplified in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we get it in Philippians chapter 2, the one who was the only one that had a right to a reputation made himself of no reputation. The one who had a right to everything took a place of having nothing, and went down, down, down, down, all the way to the death of the cross.
That is the way the world thinks, and that is the way God's wisdom thinks. Now you and I are told to overcome evil with good.
I say it to you, in order to overcome evil with good, we are going to have to go down. The world says be proud of yourself, be proud of what you're doing, be proud of who you are. The word of God says not in so many words, but in principle, every form of pride. Excuse me?
Every form of pride is wrong and ought to be condemned. Pride is at the very top of the list of things that is or that are an abomination to the Lord. So let us remember that in order to be an overcomer and overcome evil with good, we have to be ready to go down.
But once we are ready to go down, then we will find ourselves in a position to meet the world and to overcome evil with good.
And it's very interesting to me that even the world is beginning to recognize that, although they have no power to carry it out, but in some cases they're beginning to recognize it. Let me tell a story. And this actually is a true story that I read not too long ago. It's not a Christian story. As far as I know, the individuals were not believers. But it indicates how even the world recognizes the importance of this scriptural principle.
There were two girls in their early teens who in their school were both on the basketball team.
And both were good basketball players, but one of them was exceptionally good.
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And as the season went on, the one that was exceptionally good, Needless to say, scored most of the points for her team more than any other single player.
And as a result, as sad to say often happens, it stirred up in her friend, who was also on the team, a spirit of resentment. She's just a little too good. She's getting all the glory. She's getting all the kudos, all the clapping, all the tears. She's scoring more points than any other player.
And I don't like it.
Is that natural to our own hearts? I'm afraid it is, we have to admit. Well, as a result, that friend who was becoming resentful refused to pass the ball to her good friend that could play well. And every time she had the ball, even if her friend was there in a wide open area where she could pass it to her very well and where she could score a point, she wouldn't pass it to her. She would wait, she would bounce the ball, she would turn around, she would look for somebody else.
Do anything but pass it to that one who was just a little too good.
Well, naturally that was noticed and it had its effect on the team. And finally the girl that was a good player went home to her father and said, dad, what am I going to do? How do I handle this? She's my friend, but no, she doesn't like me. And I'm not trying to do anything wrong, but I just, I'm just playing my best.
Her father gave her some wise advice, she said. Her father said you know what you do? Every time you get the chance, you pass the ball to her. Every time she's in the clear and you have the chance, you pass the ball to her as often as you can.
Well, she apparently went out on the court at the next game, and of course the opportunity presented itself and the conflict in her heart was something else.
There was the opening, there was the chance, and she kept hesitating, and finally her father shouted at her from the bleachers, past the ball to her.
And she did.
And she did it repeatedly, and she recorded afterward. It worked, it worked. Her friend started to score a few points, her friend started to get the claps, her friends started to get the cheers. And lo and behold, without any asking, without any fanfare, her friends started to pass the ball to her again. And the friendship was rekindled and the team was doing better.
Things got well.
That was a worldly illustration, but for you and for me, it has some wisdom in it because it's the wisdom of the word of God. Overcome evil with good. You know, it tells us out in this world.
That we are.
Not to get mad. The world has a saying, don't get mad, get even. Have you heard that one? I think you have. Don't get mad, get even. And I remember a father, a worldly father one time boasting to me. He said my daughter doesn't.
Nearly get mad, she gets mad and gets even. She does both as if, boy, she's she's, she's got to give somebody a double whammy as we would say no, no, the word of God says let none render evil to evil unto any man.
Overcome evil with good.
You and I can afford to overcome evil with good because we have something the world doesn't have. And if I look at every man and woman in this world who isn't saved as someone who's on the way to a lost eternity, it will enable me to do them good.
Even if it brings me down and I suffer loss as a result of it. Why? Because it gives me a chance to tell them about Christ. It gives me a chance to tell them about Christ. I ought not to be the friend of the world in the sense that I will be an enemy with God.
John's epistle tells us that. But I ought to be, in one other sense, the world's best friend, because if someone in the world needs help, the Christian ought to be the first one there. And I've told this story before, but it happened in India about 15 years ago, where there was a terrible earthquake up in the state of Gujarat in northwest India. And who rallied to their defense and helped all the believers from all over India, including some who were gathered to the Lord's name. They ran up there.
Food and clean water and shelter and blankets and help to dig people out of the rubble and help them get reestablished. It had a tremendous effect because people said, look at that, the government here tells us how bad these Christians are and that we need to get rid of them. But when the chips are down and we really need help, who comes to our help? The Christians? And it had a tremendous effect and many, I believe, were brought to Christ through it.
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Overcome evil with good.
But may I touch on something sensitive?
Does it have a place?
Among the Lord's people and in the assembly. Overcoming evil with good.
We sometimes hear the defense, but we have to do what's right before the Lord.
I can remember many years ago having a discussion with a sister whom I knew well.
And there were problems and difficulties in the assembly where she was.
And I knew her well enough to know that her attitude was not what it should have been.
And when we talked a little bit, because I knew her well and there was no bad feeling between us, I can still hear her response over and over again. But we have to do what's right before the Lord. We have to do what's right before the Lord. We have to do what's right before the Lord.
I wouldn't take away from that for one moment.
But it's interesting, isn't it, that if we were to go to Galatians chapter 5 and read about the fruits of the Spirit, it's interesting that righteousness is not one of them.
Does that mean the believer is not to be righteous? Of course not. But why does it not say that righteousness is a fruit of the Spirit? Oh, because I believe, if I could say it this way, that Paul, he doesn't need to say that righteousness should undergird everything, but there is the danger of righteousness overtaking that which is of supreme importance.
Lovejoy.
Peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
All of those things.
No, the Pharisees stood for righteousness too, and the Lord had to accuse them of neglecting the weightier matters of the law.
May I suggest to my own heart more than any other, that there is a danger.
Among ourselves of not doing that, the danger of neglecting those weightier matters, the fruits of the Spirit.
Yes, we should not neglect righteousness. That goes without saying. Absolutely not. But the one who exhibits the fruits of the Spirit in grace will never stoop to compromising what is right, because those fruits cannot be born in an atmosphere of unrighteousness. It cannot be.
But righteousness can be emphasized at the expense of those fruits, and it reminds me of what an old brother said many years ago in writing on the subject. He said it is not righteousness that reigns among the people of God.
But rather, according to Romans 5, grace reigns through righteousness. There is a big difference. Overcome evil with good, and when I overcome evil with good. Oh, that is the spirit of the blessed Lord and Master who marked out the path before us. And He did. The Lord Jesus did not merely have the negative side of not being overcome of evil.
But he overcame evil with good.
No, I don't want to be misunderstood. Is there room for a rebuke At times, yes, there is. Is there room for correction at times? Yes, there is.
But I thought it was good the way our brother Steve mentioned the woman at the well. Did she need a bit of a rebuke? Yes, she did. She wanted to talk religion while she was living a sinful life. But the Lord didn't have to review her openly, did he? He simply quietly exposed her lifestyle, and her conscience did the rest.
But then did she say, as perhaps many people would say, well, I don't want to be around this man. He knows too much. He knows all about me. I don't want to be around him too long.
No, what? Why did she not run away and say, OK Sir, you got your drink, we'll see you maybe later. No. Oh, there was something in the approach of that beloved master, the Lord Jesus the captivated her heart and his brother Steve said She started asking questions and she got answers. May you and me overcome evil with good to the point.
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That not only this world, but our dear beloved brethren.
Will want to know more, will want us to be a help to them, and maybe they be a help to us too in overcoming evil with good.
Deliverers
Open—Paul House
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.
Turn please to Nehemiah Chapter 9 and enjoying the UH.
Ezra Nehemiah Lee.
And I would like to speak this morning.
A little further.
Along the lines of what our brother just brought before us.
I stand here not as one that has achieved anything.
But as one who has a desire.
To please the Lord Jesus and I trust that each one of us are here this afternoon because or this morning because we have that same desire. We want to please the Lord Jesus in our lives and we just.
May it be that each one of us would be encouraged. So Nehemiah, Chapter 9.
Israel had been.
In the Promised Land, God had blessed them.
But because of their unfaithfulness, there'd been that captivity.
They'd been in the land of Babylon for 70 years, and then there was a returning to the land. Nehemiah was used of God to build the wall around Jerusalem.
And there was tremendous blessing to the few that were able to return.
But Nehemiah was able to take a very low place. I enjoyed what Bill said about that.
Nehemiah took a low place. He confessed the weakness.
And why they were there in that weakness. Let's start with.
Verse 21 of Chapter 9 The a 40 years stood thou sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lack nothing. Their clothes wax not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover, thou gavest them kingdoms and nations in this divide them into corners.
And so on verse 23 their children also multiplied thou as the stars of heaven, and broadest them into the land, concerning which thou hast promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subdued them before them, the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave us them into their hands with their kings and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities in a fat land.
Possessed houses full of all good things, all goods wells, digged vineyards, and all of yards and fruit trees and abundance. So they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great goodness.
Now this verse. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against Thee, and cast Thy law behind their backs, and slew Thy prophets, which testified against them, to turn them to Thee, and they wrought great provocations. Therefore Thou deliverest them into the hand of their enemies who vexed them, And in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou Hearst them from heaven, and according to Thy manifold mercies, thou.
And saviors who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.
But after they had rest, they didn't go again before thee, therefore left to thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them. Yet when they returned and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven and many times.
Dost thou deliver them according to thy mercies? So this morning I want to talk a little bit about deliverers.
We just had about overcomers. I wanna talk now about deliverers.
This is individuals that God used to deliver his people in time of need.
Time of need because of departure.
And I stand here.
As one who is weak.
And we are weak.
We're no better.
Than perhaps we could say we're no better than Israel was in their day. Why? You know, we have received so much good so freely from the hand of God, but what have we done with it?
And have we cast the things of God behind our backs?
Are we too busy?
Sad to say, often I am too busy.
Perhaps there's other things in your life.
That are overcoming you.
You know, I don't have a I don't have trouble with video games.
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I did.
When I was a young person, the video games.
Were very trivial games.
The engineering that was in the software at that time was very, very low end. The graphics were pathetic.
But I still enjoyed them. There was something that drew me into it.
Things like Tetris, you say, well, you like that. So yeah, I enjoyed that. It was a challenge to me and thankfully I didn't get sucked in by it. But, you know, there might be somebody here today and you are sucked in by it. You're overcome. So what do you need to do? You need to be delivered, and perhaps there's somebody here today.
And you wanna be a deliverer for the Lord?
I wanna look at a couple of examples of people who delivered the people of God.
But they had to be low first.
They had to be low first in order to be used by the Lord to deliver.
Perhaps you are over being overcome.
But you know, with the Lord's help, that can change.
That can change and to me that's so special in the Word of God because you know God and his love to us. He gives us examples of people in his Word that didn't do too well the beginning.
But God used them in the end for great blessing.
Before we get to a couple of people I like to look at, I want to just read a verse in Second Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians.
Chapter One.
And there was a brother who shared this verse with me.
And it starts well.
First hand, it's part way through a sentence, but I'll just read verse 13 because it says verse 10 of chapter one. Who delivered us from so great at death, and doth deliver in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us.
Now the brother that shared this verse with me was my father.
And you say, well, why did you say it that way? That a brother shared it with me? Well, a lot of us here today have fathers.
We love the Lord Jesus to.
And I know some of you have a father, an earthly father who you're very close to and who you speak to about the Scriptures. And that's very good, very commendable.
But a lot of you perhaps don't.
But that's a resource that you have available to you.
And I would encourage you young people particularly, whose fathers are godly men.
To turn to them and look for help in the scriptures from them. So my dad read this verse to me and he explained it this way.
You know the Lord Jesus, He went to Calvary's cross.
And He delivered us from the wrath to come.
And then it says.
He doth deliver.
Every day of our life, and you know there's a day coming when we will be delivered from this world. The Lord Jesus is gonna take us home to be with himself. And my dad suffers physically. And so that was the tenet of his conversation with me. He looked forward to that day when he would have a changed body.
But I just enjoyed that so much from my dad and you young guys.
Talk to your dad, you young sisters, talk to your dad, talk to your mom. Share the scriptures together. We need help. I gave one example of video games. But there's many other things that we can have in this world before us that can be a real trouble in trial and can take us down. And so this this morning, what I would like to do is look at a couple of people.
That have been a tremendous encouragement to me in my life. So let's turn to Acts Chapter 7.
Acts Chapter 7. This is Stephen speaking to the Jewish people that he was being held by.
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He was Speaking of Moses.
And let's go back.
We know the story of how Moses sought to be a help and he went out.
There's uh.
25 For he supposed his brethren would have understood how the God by his hand would deliver them, but they understood not. And the next day he showed himself unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs EB brethren, why did he wrong one another? But he did his name. But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made the ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday?
Then Moses then fled. Moses that that same at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons. And when 40 years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai an Angel of the Lord, and the flame of fire, and a Bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight, and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.
Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and I'm calm down to deliver them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This Moses, whom they refuse, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? The same did God send to be.
Ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel which appeared to him in the Bush. He brought them out. After that he had showed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the wilderness. 40 years. I'll turn to Chapter 11 of Hebrews, please. We'll read a verse that a little more detail of.
Moses.
Verse 24. Hebrews 11. By faith. Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
So I deliver.
A deliverer, he made a choice in verse 25.
This morning.
God has seen fit to have each one of us be here this morning.
And I put out a challenge to us in this way.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
What will your choice be?
Will you choose to suffer reflection with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a moment?
For a season.
US steam the riches of Christ, greater riches, and the treasure treasures of Egypt.
By faith.
He forsook Egypt.
This is what's necessary.
There's going to be overcoming.
If there's gonna be deliverance.
And we're gonna be a deliverer.
We need faith.
First of all.
Do you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior?
If you do, then you have a new life from the Lord and right now the Holy Spirit is tapping you on the shoulder and you're and saying, yes, what the word of God says is absolutely true and you can be delivered and you can be a deliverer. You can overcome. You can, but it's by the power of God.
It's by having faith and having the source, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In your life, you know Moses made this choice.
He had everything in this world available to him. He had power and money and prestige and everything we naturally want. But he made that choice. And so I present that to you this AF this morning.
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Here's somebody.
That we can follow their faith.
We can read these verses whenever there's a challenge in our hearts, whenever the devil puts something before us, whenever we're tempted to hit the on button.
Whenever we're tempted to open the magazine, whatever it may be.
This verse is here choosing. It's a choice that we make each time.
May God put in our hearts the desire to be a deliverer for the people of God. You know Moses did it in his first, in his strength at first. And so that man called him out. He said, Who made thee a ruler? Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?
40 years went by.
Moses was in the desert, in the wilderness with the Lord.
And then God could use him to be a deliverer for the people of God. But he had made that choice himself, and the result was that then he could be a help to others.
We know each other pretty well, don't we?
The people you're sitting beside you've known for years.
And you have a pretty good idea how they're doing.
And you need to have a pretty good idea what they're into.
You know, there's a couple of people here. I don't wanna name them, but they've been my friends all my life. They know me pretty well.
Few of them have done this to me.
At times they stuck their elbow out when I needed it.
You know if the Lord helps us to be an overcomer.
Can we help our friends?
Our brothers, our sisters, the ones that we spend time with, can we help them too? You know, that's what Moses did. He helped the people of God. You know, we love our friends.
What better way than to encourage them in a spiritual and spiritual things?
Now let's turn back to the Book of Judges for another one third chapter.
There's many that the Holy Spirit refers to as deliverers in the scriptures. Will Passover verse 9 where it speaks about He was a deliverer.
We'll go on to.
The 12Th verse Judges chapter 3. And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord.
And the Lord strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. And he gathered unto him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm trees.
So the children of Israel serve Eglon, the king of Moab, 18 years.
It's a long time, 18 years.
Probably people that are here right now that think they're pretty grown up that are 18 years old.
But 18 years they served. I want to make another application. How many years have you been into the sin that you're into?
Maybe it's 18 years.
Now, I'm not speaking to everybody here, but there's probably some people that have been into the thing that's over overcoming them.
For a long time.
But it doesn't need to be that way anymore. There can be deliverance. And God, in his goodness to Israel, when they had departed from Him, raised up another deliverer.
Verse 15 But when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, the Lord raised them up, a deliverer, Eva, the son of Guerra, a Benjamite, a man left-handed. If you look in your margin, it says a man shut up of his right hand.
And by him the children of Israel sent a present on day along the king of Moab.
And verse 16 he had made him a dagger which had two edges of a cubit length, and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right hand, and he brought the present. I think we know the story that this man was used of God to kill the king of Moab, and he was a deliverer to the people of God.
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We heard how that we need to go down.
I don't wanna read too much into this.
But I think this man might have been handicapped.
He was left-handed.
He brought this present or he used his left hand to kill this king.
And he looked.
Like, not much of A threat.
Here's this man that his right hand was worthless, perhaps.
You had a left hand, so the servants of the King of Moab was like, no, no harm in him, he can't do anything anyway. But he had prepared this sort. The dagger, he had it under his cloak.
And to me, I I just really enjoy this.
You know.
Were insignificant.
Followers of Christ, but there are things that we can do and this man.
Prepared this dagger. He had a purpose and he used the sword very, very successfully.
Perhaps this would speak of applying the Word of God at the right moment, at the right time to be a help to the people of God.
Israel needed a deliverer.
Because of their state.
There's been people.
The Lord is used to help me.
To deliver me when I needed help.
I trust that the Lord will use these few words.
To tap us on the shoulder.
To be willing to be used by the Lord to help others.
To be a deliverer.
To deliver them from situations. You know this man of this king of Moab, he was a really fat man.
And there's lots in this portion that we can meditate upon. But he was a fleshly, overindulgent person.
This was the enemy of God's people.
And this man was a deliverer from this lusty fat king and from all of his overweight people that work for him. They were eating all of Israel's food.
And God used this man to deliver his people. You know, this morning, God's desire.
I really believe, as we heard before, that we would overcome, but that we would have a desire to be a deliverer for God too, and to help others.
#32 in the back.
All right.
All right.
Give me a few minutes. I want to make a.
Thank you, our gracious God and loving Father.
We thank you for this little time together.
To be with those with those of like precious faith.
To hear by word.
Our loving God and Father, that which Thou would provide for us in these few days, we might have our ears opened and our hearts open to receive that which helped us have for us.
Those of all ages might receive something from thee that can we can make it good to our souls. I might grant grace the walk and the truth that thou has given to us. We thank you for the.
Reminder of thy work on the cross, Lord Jesus, that has made us overcomers positionally before the loving God and Father.
And we would seek Thy grace that we might be overcomers practically in our walk and way here in this scene. So we thank you for the word that we had before us, reminding us that we can be overcomers in the Lord Jesus.
Thank you too, that we can look beyond this scene down here to that time when we will be with thee, Lord Jesus, and like thee for all eternity.
What a joyous hope.
That we have before us a certain hope of being forever with thyself above in the Father's house. While we're here, we need Thee. And so we looked at the independence, our loving God and Father, for Thy help and Thy care. For each one say it will be here this day. We thank you for our brethren here to invite us. We pray that Thou would continue to help them here to meet their needs and encourage their hearts and strengthen them.
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We ask these things, our loving God and Father, with Thanksgiving and the precious and the worthy name of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Philippians 2:1-7
Reading
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#186.
186 Jesus of thee, we never retire the new and living food.
And satisfy our heart's desire. Life is in thy blood 186.
Uh, indicating a lot of everything. So I don't know. That's why I'm doing good.
And so I may go on a hot birthday since I'm good at it and we're good night over there.
OK, the.
Hell, where I'm doing it on the Earth airplane, I think the Christmas is all over the world.
May I suggest a very familiar chapter, but one speaking for myself, I think that I need Philippians chapter 2.
It seems to fit with that hymn that our brother gave out to and references already been made to it in the open meeting.
Uh, what would my brethren think about that?
Sounds good, brother.
Thank you Linds. Chapter 2.
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies fulfill ye my joy, that ye that ye be like minded, having the same love, being of 1 accord of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or Vainglory, but in lowliness of mind. But each esteemed others better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. But this mind being you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
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Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in My presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Do all things without murmuring, murmurings, and defeating.
That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as light in the world, holding forth the word of life. That am I rejoice in the day of Christ, That I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.
Gay. And if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. But the same calls also de joy and rejoice with me. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state. For I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ.
But ye know the proof of him that as a as a son with the Father, he has served with me in the Gospel. Him, therefore, I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yeah, I suppose that necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, companion in labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger.
And he that ministered to my wants.
For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye have heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that when ye shall see him, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such and reputation.
Because for the work of Christ He was nigh unto death, not regarding his own life. To supply your lack of service toward me.
We might make a few remarks just by way of introduction.
And of course, this will be going over familiar ground with many here.
But we know that Philippians is the wilderness book of the New Testament, and we also know that it does not, on the one hand, give us any particular new doctrine. Nor was there any serious problem in the Philippian assembly other than the fact that there were some that didn't get along with one another. And I don't mean that that isn't serious, but it didn't in that same sense involve the entire assembly.
So as someone else has put it, the book of Philippians gives us normal Christian experience.
And of course, normal Christian experience involves having Christ brought before us, and so we get Christ brought before us in a little different way in each chapter.
As our life in chapter one, as our pattern or example in chapter 2, as our object in chapter 3, and as our strength in chapter 4. And so here in the second chapter, it's Christ as our pattern or our example.
As someone has said and I, I can't improve on the language, he said. It is the graciousness of the Christian life, in contrast to chapter 3, which is the energy of the Christian life.
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Chapter 2 brings before us more the example of Christ in His perfect manhood.
Chapter 3 gives us a risen Christ in glory as an object.
And so in every way Christ is ministered to us here, but especially in this second chapter, we have him as our pattern or our example for our wilderness pathway in the world where we still are until He comes.
We often read this scripture and should at the breaking of bread and remembering the Lord, but if it's looking at the context of brother Bill said here is Christ as our example and.
Infection, it's almost all of them that they could take of many, many others that would be worship meeting. They present Christ, first of all, is the object of our faith and we rest in his work for a piece of God. But then second, he is the object of our adoration, worship. And finally, of course, it's a hard example that were to follow here and to put this into our lives. And, uh, again, I just invite you sometime to think of all the other scriptures commonly read as the breaking of bread and almost all of them.
She had us utilized him as our Atlanta.
Well, that's very good, Martin, because as you say, we do often read this from verses 5 down to the end of verse 10 or verse 11 at the breaking of bread. And that's most appropriate. Very, very good. But as you say, in the context in which it's given here.
It really is an example for us and so we need to look at it that way and remember that.
We're it's anticipating, of course, we're going ahead, but the atoning sufferings are not brought into the picture here because we could not follow the Lord in that. But it says the death of the cross and there are many believers that have suffered martyrdom for Christ.
Many who have suffered cruel deaths in going all the way down in rejection in this world. So the atoning sufferings are not really in view here, although of course there's nothing wrong with looking at it in that way when we read the scriptures at the remembrance of the Lord.
But what's important to notice here, and it's the same in the third chapter, is that before the apostle launches into, as we might say, before, excuse me, before he launches into.
The Lord Jesus is our example. He discusses the hindrances to our being, examples of what He was. And so in this chapter, in the 1St 3 verses we get things that we have to look out for in our practical lives in order that we might be an example of Christ, just as in the third chapter.
We get things mentioned in the first few verses that are hindrances to our having Christ as our object as a risen Christ in glory. And so here in the 1St 3 verses we have things that hinder us don't we?
The Apostle Paul had received what we would commonly call fellowship, monetary fellowship, in his work for the Lord, and he greatly appreciated it. Philippi wasn't a wealthy assembly, it was relatively poor, but they were one of those who specifically and more than once had fallen mind and really wanted to help with his needs.
And Paul received it from them, no doubt by the hand of Aphroditus, who's mentioned later in this chapter. But then he says, as it were, if you really want me to be truly happy, if you really want me to have comfort of love and fellowship of the spirit.
Here's something else that I really would like to see. And then he says.
That ye be like minded, having the same love being of 1 accord of one mind.
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Little things like that that started out could spoil the piece of an assembly. And he says if you you enjoyed the fact that they thought of him and sent him fellowship, but.
Oh, how it just.
Overwhelmed his heart. To think that there were those in that assembly who weren't getting along with one another and whose seeds of dissension and strife could easily spread to others. Says If you really want me to completely to be completely happy.
That's what I'd like to see.
In the first chapter of First Corinthians there is a admonition given likewise.
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing. Let there be no divisions among you, but that there that ye be, perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Well, we know that there was strike that came in, in Corinth and so these early admonitions were needed and it's, it's nice to see, go back to 2nd Kings chapter 2 and see, uh, Elijah and Elijah in perfect communion. We'll just highlight a few verses and second things chapter 2.
Verse six. And Elijah said unto him, Carry, I pray thee here, for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan instead, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they too went on.
And then at the end of verse seven, there is another expression.
They, too, stood by Jordan.
And the verse 8 so that they too went over on dry ground. And finally in verse 11. And it came to pass as they still went on and thought well.
It's good to see that there was.
A good End 11:30 They still went on in communion one with another. And what a wonderful thing it is when at the end of one's Christian pathway we're still going on in fellowship with our brethren and with the Lord.
Hmm.
This argument continues from verse 25 of the first chapter where it says, having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith, that you rejoicing may be more abunning Christ Jesus for me by my coming to you again. And so they were very encouraged at this thought that he would come again. And they, uh, I really love the apostle. That's what you're referring to and that's what he takes up in verse one. He answers that that was their comfort of love, fellowship of the Spirit, bowels of mercies, and so on towards him.
They expressed it very much, but when it came to one another, it was a different matter. And that's what he went on to say in chapter one, verse 27. Only let your conversation or manner of life be as if he comes the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. This they weren't doing, and that's what he's taking up in these verses.
And it's such a good lesson for us too, because it is very easy to do that, isn't it? It's easy to love brethren from afar with those that we spend time with every week in the local assemblies. Well, that's a different matter, isn't it? And sometimes we struggle perhaps to see the same degree of Christ in them. Well, it's necessary that we should go on and see the mind of Christ so that we can do that.
The question, of course, comes to mind, and it's one that we sometimes face. What do we do if we're not of one mind?
And that happens. How do we handle that? And I'm not talking about something we'll say in natural things where perhaps there can be a difference of thought or a difference of opinion, but perhaps even in the Lord's things we find ourselves not totally of one mind on something. How do we deal with that?
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You're looking at me, Bruce. What would you say? I'm just listening.
Well, I'm asking a question.
It isn't a whole answer, but I, I I believe we see part of an answer in the next chapter and it's always been a comfort to my own soul.
Now, of course, we're not talking about something that touches vital doctrine concerning the person and work of Christ. If there were someone who was wrong on that, we would have to stand very firm. And there can be occasions when we would have to refuse the fellowship of another believer if he or she were willfully going on with something that seriously dishonored our blessed Lord. But in.
Verse.
15 of chapter 3 it says.
Let us therefore as many as be perfect, or the thought there is full grown mature.
Be thus mind, and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mine the same thing.
Paul recognized that every believer didn't mature at the same rate, and some perhaps would be more mature, more, uh, understanding of the Christian faith and the principles of it than others. That is normal in the House of God and in the body of Christ. But it need not stop the fellowship that we enjoy with one another, as it says here.
Whereunto we have already attained.
And so if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God that says shall reveal even this unto you. So that at least is a partial answer to the question I suggest. But maybe others have a thought on it. But to say I asked the question expecting an answer, so I didn't mean to answer it myself. But that's one verse that has been a help to me.
There are sometimes differences that come up over a subject that perhaps is not a vital subject. No, Mr. Garvey and Mr. Bella had differences in terms of their view of baptism and there was one occasion when there was a sister, knowing that they both held different views, tried to get them going on the matter.
She wanted to see how they would respond.
So she put a question and I don't remember the answer.
Knowing that the other brother had a different view of the situation, I think she went to Mr. Darby 1St and said, uh, brother Darby, what do you hold on baptism?
And I said, I love my brother Bellitt very much and I would rather not answer that on this occasion. And then she turned to brother Bella and said, well brother Bella, what do you hold on baptism? And he said my tongue so.
Here there was a controversy that was avoided, and would not have been a very profitable controversy or discussion, and both of these brethren had the discernment not to carry it any further.
They love their brethren more than they love being right.
I suppose that's the spirit that is put before us in this beginning part of the chapter. You know, a, a, a brother noted for his knowledge of the scriptures, said ignorance is our common lot. And every time we learn something, it's just a further proof of our ignorance because we didn't know it before. And so with that in mind, we, we press on. It's, it's not, uh, something necessarily to be ashamed of that we don't have light on a certain subject.
But what we do have, we should have from the Lord and uh, and so, so we have solid material that we've learned from himself. And in those things we have fellowship with one another. And, you know, starting out my work life with, uh, with my hands in the building trades, you know, it was something didn't quite fit right. And the tendency is, uh, one of my bosses used to say, don't force it. Get a bigger hammer.
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And, uh, and that was, you know, meant to be a joke. I think it, but, uh, it's not the way to do it. Uh, the answer is don't force it. And we just wait on the Lord. And in due time, I, I have never had in my Christian life a sincere desire to understand a particular thing where if I didn't wait on the Lord, in due time, the Lord came in and gave me light on that subject that.
Circumstance.
General wait on the Lord and we'll have what we have will be from the Lord and we won't get into these Pickles with with our brethren.
That's interesting here is that the example that's given to us is of the Lord.
Who was right all the time?
And perfect.
It's bad enough that we don't back down when we might be wrong, uh.
You can back down if you're right and it's, uh, there's nothing wrong with doing that.
I think that's what we're told in this chapter. You might be right. There's nothing wrong with backing down. It doesn't mean that you're compromising and you don't have to agree.
But as has been said, you don't have to push forward either. Umm.
That's what's always difficult. It's hard when you really are sure that you're right.
To back down. But isn't that what we're being told here in this chapter? This was the Lord. He was equal with God.
Nothing wrong with him.
This is in basic Christianity you have.
Self denial, self sacrifice, and self judgment.
The first two we have the Lord as an example.
And he denied himself.
And he sacrificed himself. Why? Because there was something wrong there that he deny himself? Because there was something wrong? Of course not. So self denial has nothing to do with whether you're right or wrong.
Uh, as has been said.
Put the Lord, and put our brethren above.
Pressing our point and making sure that we people agree or acknowledge that we're right.
So that's what's difficult for us to grasp sometimes.
It's OK to back down even if you're right.
I like the, uh, thoughts that have been presented here this afternoon. Bill's question, I'd like to highlight the thought around the word, the same mind, thus mind and one mind and, uh, bring just maybe a little bit more to the focus. What is it in the third chapter that is to be minded about Bill brought before us those four things, each chapter having its own.
Thing in in the third chapter.
It's the price. And that brings me back to the illustration rather, Bill, that you used this morning of those two players on the basketball team, as long as they remember that the prize is the state championship or whatever it is that they're aiming for, they keep that in mind. They can have differences of opinion, differences of technique, differences of position on the team. But if they got that goal that that price in front of them, it helps them keep them playing together. And then the other aspect of it, I think is in our chapter, and there's probably more to this thing, but in terms of being A1 mind.
Verse five says, let this mind be in you. And that's the point. I think that, uh, was being brought out. There's a need for humility. And I like that Mister Darby's translation that brings out the thought that we're to consider everybody around us as more excellent than ourselves. And it's interesting. I like it that way because there's a recognition that what we are in Christ is incredible. It's excellent to start with.
But then when I look at myself and I look around at each one of you.
I consider each one of you as more excellent than myself, and it helps us to do what Brother Darby and Brother Bella did. To see the excellence of price in our brethren around us helps us to deal with the differences.
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The first thing that we should do if we're not of one mind about something.
Is hang our head and acknowledge that that's a failure.
Right, that's the first thing.
Not to decide or try to figure out a fight to see who's right. If we not have one mind about something, that's a failure.
And we should, that's the first thing we should do, is acknowledge that.
I think brother Ted, that's what Paul is referring to in verse three, because all too often it can degenerate into strife and Vainglory, can't it? And instead of there being that loneliness which recognizes that as we get in Corinthians, uh, we know in part and we prophecy in part. And so as, uh, uh.
Our brother has already remarked whenever we learn something, it is it is merely a manifestation of the fact that there was ignorance there before. But when there's that loneliness of mind, then the strife in vain glory doesn't get into the picture. Uh.
It's not, well, I'm right and I'm going to prove it if it's the last thing I ever do, but rather being comfortable with the fact that there's so much I don't know that I can well afford to give in, even if I am right. Again, with the clear and definite understanding that we can't, can't compromise that which is due to the Lord Jesus and to His honor and glory in either His person or His work. We can't sacrifice that which is a.
Cardinal and an important doctrine of the Christian faith in the name of keeping the peace. That isn't the thought here, but rather if we don't see eye to eye on something, well, it's all been brought out well, we don't need to add to it.
Her brother, known to many of us. Uh.
We were at a conference and he asked this question, he said. What percentage of all there is to know, do you know?
Well, you can't answer the question without saying you know everything.
Right. The fact is, we never know enough.
And that's what I think we have to, uh, what is being said is loneliness of mind is acknowledging that.
So you never know enough and I love this verse in, uh, First Corinthians chapter 8. I believe it comes to bear on loneliness of mind.
Uh, First Corinthians 8 and verse 2.
Any man thinks.
That he knoweth anything.
How about that?
Any man thinks that he knows anything.
Well, he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if any man loves God, the same is known of Him. You know, it's in no way intended to be funny, but it's just saying in the world that is actually very true.
As to what is the value, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
And if you know the Lord, that's all you need.
What you know will never be enough to equip you to be one who can stand up and say I'm right all the time.
Only God can do that.
We should also be in a state of learning, attitude of learning. That's why we're here. I'm I'm listening and I'm learning.
Call Susan this uh, fourth verse two he mentions.
Uh, look, not every man on his own and I think we could use the word advantages, but every man also on the advantages of others, you know, to.
Umm, make sure that we're, we're cared for ourselves is as natural to us as breathing. That's just the way we are by nature. We have occasion to go and visit our brother and the Lord in a prison and you go in there and you sit down and wait for him to come in and there's vending machines there.
And you can purchase what you want to share with them and others are there too, visiting their loved ones. And everyone flies over to the vending machines and they all want the salads because that's one of the better things to eat there. And, uh, it's, you just see human nature come out. Everyone's grabbing for what's to their advantage. And I believe that that's our nature. And Paul here is, is saying we need to set what is so natural to a society. We need to look at one who never did anything for his advantage.
00:35:25
The Lord Jesus and then he gives us him as the supreme example, and then he gives as many as four other examples of those that were devoted here. He mentions himself very briefly in verse 17. Yeah. And if I be offered, if he's he's willing to be poured out for others.
As a libation and then he mentions the devotedness of the Philippians here he says upon the sacrifice and service of your faith. So.
If he did two or devoted they were, they were, uh, willing to send once and again to Paul's necessities, says later on. And then he mentions Timothy, his son in the faith, and he says he has no man naturally minded who will care for your state. These are all examples to us in this one chapter of those that look to the advantages of others before advantaging themselves. And then he gives us the papparditis and it's touching.
If we have time to get to this dear brother, what it says about him, but it says here that he was a messenger and he ministered to my wants. Paul could say of him. And then he says at the end of the chapter he regarded not his life to supply your lack of service toward me. These are touching things. These are examples of those that look to the advantages of others instead of themselves. They put others 1St and I, I believe that.
Brethren, if we were to do more of that, we wouldn't have these difficulties. We would be of one mind if we were looking to each other's advantages before our own. Our brother John, uh, referred to Timothy here and I believe in another translation where it says I have no man like minded who will naturally care for your state. It's rendered care with genuine feeling.
And.
That's, that's certainly something that, uh.
Very rare today and I was just thinking two of a few verses that we have in the 13th chapter of First Corinthians concerning charity or love. In verse four says it suffereth long as kind and Vietnam. Charity borneth not itself, is not pumped up, does not behave itself unseemingly. Then it says seeketh not her own.
That fits.
In line with what our our brother John has spoken about earlier.
Others that are considered.
So I can never look on another St. of God if I look carefully at them without seeing a quality that I wish I had. Now you, you may say, oh, I know somebody in Voyage. It's hard to find one. And I have heard that before. And I've heard other stories that would bring a smile to your lips if I repeated them. But.
The point is, I can always look at someone else and see something of Christ or some quality that they have as a Christian that I wish that I had and that gives me to be able to esteem others better than myself. And what a what a privilege that is to do that as a believer, to look at someone else and look at what they have that I do not have.
And hopefully wish I did have.
And it's true, isn't it? And so the thought is here that.
Yes, we are to be aware of our own. I believe the Darby translation uses qualities. We are to be aware of the gifts the Lord has given us. It's not a wrong thing to recognize one's gift or one's line of work or whatever it might be that the Lord has given us. And to do it, that's a good thing. But to be so taken up with myself, But I don't realize what others have, That's a mistake. And yet it's a tendency of the human heart, isn't it? To think that what I'm doing is more important than someone else?
00:40:04
And so how how needful that is if I am going to follow the Lord Jesus. And I like what Brother Ted brought out, that we have the example of one who was always right.
The Lord Jesus, we say it with all reverence, never looked around at someone else and saw a quality that he wished he had.
He had them every quality that was in perfection in a man in this world the Lord Jesus exemplified in His person.
And yet he humbled himself as we get in the next few verses. What would an example for us?
We are not to know one another after the flesh, we are to regard each other with spiritual dignity as.
Those that have been eternally and supremely blessed, picked up from a horrible pit, each one of us, and we are now joint heirs with Christ. We are sons. We have this, this almost, we could say, unbelievable position of favor.
John's father, I can remember him coming years ago to Detroit, Maine, and.
Speak about this, these, these, this, this attitude and he said, well, I walk. I am to walk in humility because I realized my background pit from whence I've been dead. But on the other hand, I'm to walk with dignity because I realize what he has made me and those two aspects really are the beautiful balance of the Christian. So I don't need to occupy myself with your flesh. As a matter of fact, in first Corinthians 13 is a guard for my behavior.
And also instruction on how I'm to deal with my brethren's behavior. But it's all, you might say, news. It's all directed to me as to how I can conduct myself and my thoughts can be defined properly. And that's a help. And so I don't need to be figuring out or looking for that which is of the flesh and you or anyone else except myself, because I am, as Ted already brought out, that one aspect that we have.
Of self judgment.
So the Lord Jesus.
Never had that battle that you and I have. And in that sense, the Apostle Paul was an example or a guide for us, uh, in seeking to wage a good war, failing internally because until we get home, uh, into heaven, the flesh warth against the spirit that we might not do the things that we would. And so my, uh, my uh, portion is a believer, uh, continuously not to be.
Droopy or morbid or anything like that. But it's my it's to be my daily practice, my continual practice to judge myself as the flesh seeks to rear its ugly head, to use that sharp knife on myself. And it might have been Mr. Darby who said those who use the sharp knife on themselves will be very, very gentle on others.
I'd like to read a verse from.
First Chronicles.
And chapter 12 well known.
Verse of those that, uh, came to David, they're, they're uh, various armies that uh, came to him. And in particular, the one I was thinking of was in verse 33, Zebulun.
Zebulun such as went for to battle expert in war with all instruments of war.
50,000 which could keep rank. They were not of double heart.
This letter of thanks for fellowship that the apostle is writing is from prison. He had been with him and he wasn't with them, and they were in a conflict. There were enemies. There were those that came up in his absence that were preaching Christ in order to stir up strikes. There were open adversaries and persecutions. And what was the enemy trying to do? He was trying to.
Destroy that little testimony for Christ and Philippi by breaking the ranks.
And he was using and could use the flesh in each and every one of them.
00:45:06
And so these things to be on guard against are given, and then the only way to keep rank is given. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Paul is saying I'm not here and the conflict is real, and you've got to fill my shoes.
And you can't do it unless it's the mind of Christ in you.
Let this mind be in you. If that's in each one of his own, there'll be a keeping of rank, because Christ's mind isn't divided, it's one. And so after the warnings He gives that which is so necessary. Let this mind be in you. They were not a double heart. They could keep rank and valuable to David in that way. The enemy would like to come in and divide.
The, the, uh, faith of God and this earth because it brings Christ down and that's his aim. And we need this mind of Christ, that lowly mind, if we're going to keep ranked.
Nice to see in that same chapter that goes on to say verse 38, all these men of war that could keep rank came with the perfect heart to Hebron to make David king. So their heart was right as well wasn't?
So going on in our chapter here, we see these various as often as has often been referred to, these various steps downward that our blessed Lord and Master took in coming down into this world.
It says here in verse 6.
Being in the form of God.
Thought it not robbery to be equal with God, we might just mention that that strikes a death blow at those who would deny the deity of the Lord Jesus. There are many false cults out there that would try and make the Lord Jesus a created being that would try and bring him down to the level of a God or a mere man or are created being or something like that.
So this is one verse, and there are many others that strikes a direct blow at any thinking such as that he thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
Then he goes down, down, down.
Made himself of no reputation. It's one thing not to seek a reputation, it's another thing deliberately to make oneself of no reputation.
There are those who have had a reputation who didn't seek it and perhaps didn't want it, but got it anyway because of who they were. And we know that the Lord Jesus, when he was here on earth, there was a time when they were going to take him by force and make him a king.
But they were going to do it for the wrong reasons and at the wrong time, and the Lord would not accept that position at that time. There will be a day when He takes His place as the rightful King, but that was not the time for it. So the Lord Jesus deliberately avoided anything that would have made him of a reputation. Did he have a reputation? In one sense, yes. Crowds followed him, People came after him in order to get what he could offer. Healing food.
Good ministry, good teaching.
But as he could say, I believe in the 7th of John, The world cannot hate you, but me it hateth, because I testify to it that the works thereof are evil. And so the Lord Jesus made himself of no reputation. And as it says, it goes on here, took upon himself, upon him the form of a servant.
What a place for the Son of God.
Reminds me of when the Lord washed the disciples speak.
Said he.
00:50:00
Before it says what he did, it says what he knew.
Umm.
John, Chapter 13.
It says Jesus knowing.
As the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God and went to God.
He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garment.
Just that's enough. It's a picture.
He knew who he was, he knew where he was from and knew where he was going, and he rose up.
And to paraphrase, he humbled himself.
And the beautiful thing is that he remains a servant forever, doesn't he? That's almost incomprehensible. In the picture we get in Exodus 21 of the Hebrew servant, it says he shall be a servant forever. And we get, we don't need to turn to it, but we get that exemplified and other scriptures such as Luke 12, where it says that when the Lord comes and finds.
You and me, we trust watching. What is he going to do? He's going to make us to sit down and then he'll come forth and serve us. It it's it's beyond our understanding to think that the Lord of glory is going to do that. He'll be a servant forever. He says in essence the same thing in the first verse of John 17.
Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. I believe in one sense, the Lord is saying, I have now finished everything you have given me to do on earth as a servant. Now glorify me in order that I may continue serving.
It's it's as I say, it's beyond our understanding. And yet this is the example that is set before us of one who not only took the form of a servant, but remains a servant forever. Does that clash with what we get in this chapter from verses 8 to the end of verse eleven? No, it doesn't.
God has highly exalted him. He does have that name which is above every name. Every knee is going to bow to him, but it will not take away from the fact that He remains a man forever and remains a servant forever.
Because of his deity, because of who he was, it was within his scope, you might say, of authority to be able to take manhood to himself, and even that in the form of a servant come down here amongst men. For a creature to do that is outside of their scope.
Dog is not even if it were able, it's not proper, it's not becoming, it's not their portion to try to become a cat.
And there were apparently angelic beings who left their first estate and introduced confusion into the creation of God, and God had to deal with them governmentally. And today, of course, in the lawless spirit in this world, we see people on every hand trying to do this and do that, or be this and be that, other than the place that God assigned them in nature.
That's the spirit of lawlessness.
And sin but for the Son of God, the one who created all things, sustains them, who had all rights and all power to everything. It's not it's perfectly as it says here in verse six thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Someone could read it in the Darby translation. It's beautiful there Yeah, and and.
I can't doesn't come to mind right now, but.
Thought it not an object of repine to be equal with God? Is that the way it is? I think that exists from memory also translated into some an object to be grasped after. There you go. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. It was proper to him and it was something that in the, in the, uh, it's the riches and the glory of his grace that he should do so that he should come down.
00:55:12
Jake manhood to himself.
And if that weren't enough to remain a man forever, it just goes. It just boggles the mind.
Not sure, I believe there's places in the King James where we're told to humble ourselves. And I believe if you check the translation, umm.
It's to be humbled. I think it's passage, You know, we, as Bruce said, the Lord really only won with the ability to humble himself. Preachers can't do that. But God sets our circumstances up.
That we might be humbled because without humility you can't enjoy grace. And He wants us to enjoy His grace. It's impossible to enjoy grace without humility. And so God in His mercy arranges our circumstances that we might be humbled. Our job in that, in those circumstances, is to let ourselves be humbled. Umm.
And and it's his doing for our good.
In the case of, as we said, the case of where we are not of one mind, that's.
A good opportunity to experience humility.
And I would just suggest, Brother Ted, there are two ways we can be humbled, aren't there? I can be humbled as we get in Peter under the mighty hand of God.
And.
That can be if I at the risk of using the same word, it can be a very humbling experience because if the mighty hand of God humbles me, I better submit to it. But the preferred way to be humble is by what we have here, isn't it? I can be humbled by being in the Lord's presence, because I cannot be proud in His presence. How can I be if I'm occupied with Him? I cannot be anything but humble.
But sometimes the Lord has to humble me under his hand, doesn't He?
I could go back to the beginning of verse seven, it says.
There he made himself of no reputation.
Or I think Darby has emptied himself. So I'd like to ask a question if somebody wonder how far does that go? And the reason for the question is because there are many who teach that, umm, when the Lord Jesus became a man and came into this world, he gave up his deity, He set that aside. I'm wondering if some brother could answer that.
Sir, would would you repeat that? Tim? What is the exact question? The question is how far emptied himself goes. There are those who teach it, and there's thought of emptying himself means that he emptied emptied himself of his deity when he came into this world.
And he was here as a man alone. Now that teaching is widespread in Christendom, and I wonder if someone could give some light on that.
Well, we have one verse again I just suggested as a partial answer in Colossians chapter 2.
Our brother Clifford Brown, whom some of us remember quite well, used to say that there is not one bad teaching out there in the world around us and in the Christian, in Christendom that doesn't have a verse of Scripture that hits it right in the middle in Colossians 2. And verse 9 tells us that doesn't it? In him dwelleth all.
The fullness of the Godhead bodily.
We can't get around that. Yes, it does say he was made in the likeness of men, but if we and and as an another verse that bears on that is Hebrews 2.
Hebrews 2.
Which says.
Verse 14.
For 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 so on. And if I remember rightly, and I'm no scholar in Greek, but I believe Mr. Darby has a footnote in his translation pointing out that those two words translated in our King James as partakers.
01:00:19
Are not the same word in the Greek language. One of them has the thought of that which is characteristic of, in this case, the race. The children are partakers of flesh and blood. The other, which is used the second time, he himself likewise took part of. The same has to do with one who takes part of something that is characteristic of someone else.
But the verb does not say how far that goes.
And we know from other scriptures, it's so clear that the Lord Jesus was just as much a man as you and I. He had a human body, He had a human soul, He had a human spirit, but all without sin. And so I believe it's very clear from the Word of God that there is no way that any part of his deity was compromised in any possible way. And the Scripture certainly.
Need not, we need not have any doubt about that.
I always felt much years ago, hearing the stages that when it comes to our margin incarnation, it was not a matter of subtraction but condition. In other words, it should not give up anything he added to the audience, but in addition to his divine traits, took off the university. It's not a little thing that's kind of helped me. But of course, no matter how we speak to try to explain the information, it goes beyond human understanding and reasoning to protect the worshiping for.
So I think that's important because of the challenge to it and I totally agree with what's said.
I think it's vital that we agree with that, actually. The Lord Jesus never ceased to be what he ever was, did he? He was Emmanuel, God with us. And when he walked as a man on this earth, he was barely God himself still as a baby, and his mother's arms to sustain her in a folder of all things. And that's vital truth that we need to hold.
But it still says here in this verse, empty themselves. And the question is, and what was it that he set aside when he came into this world?
Certainly wasn't his deity, every attribute of deity that ever he had his God in heaven, he still had an earth. Whether omniscient, significance, omnipresence, all of those things you find them laid out in the word of God when he was a man on earth.
But there was the issue of the question of His glory, and I take it to be that maybe some brothers have another thought. But in First Timothy chapter 6 you have there.
Spoken about the Lord Jesus Christ. It says in the end of verse 14 our Lord Jesus Christ.
Which in his own times he shall show, who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality dwelling in delight, which no man can approach. Unto whom no man has seen or can see. To whom he honor and power everlasting. That thought of light unapproachable, How old that he is in his glorious eternal God. How could men bear that, if He came to earth in that way?
He couldn't do that and so that I take it to be what he set aside that.
Intrinsic glory that he has there in the heaven of heavens on earth. He came in the form of a service. It was different. He had to set that aside. And I believe he speaks of that in John 17 and uh, verse five, he says, and now, oh Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was that was the glory that he enjoyed before the foundation of this world.
And before he came into the world as well. But it couldn't be so when he walked among men who could bear that. And now he's looking on in anticipation of that day when it would be so again in John 17.
He created all things right by himself, for himself, this part of his glory as a creator, but in emptying himself. I wonder if that doesn't have to do with scriptures and I. I used to have them written down. I think they're all in John.
01:05:06
He never spoke his own word.
Right. He never did his own will.
So. But as God, what else could he do?
And so I think in emptying himself, it was he never did anything of himself. And what would be wrong? He was perfect sentence. What would be wrong with him speaking his own word or doing his own will, except that he had taken a bondman's place and and got and put himself in the place of man. And we're told in the Scriptures, man's whole duty is to obey. And so.
He never, while he was here as a man, never, not once ever stepped out of that position and took his deity back. You might say he, he was who he was. He couldn't cease to be God. He said before Abraham was. I am. He wasn't referring to his manhood, and he was saying it while he was a man, but he never stepped out of that place. If he had, it would disqualify him as our substitute.
It has nothing to do with whether there is anything wrong with His thoughts, His words, there wasn't. But being in the form of a man, His mission was to be the perfect man and that is to do nothing for himself, of himself. It was all in complete obedience to God and everything he did, even walking on the water He did by the commandment of His Father. We know that because He said I do nothing of myself, the only did what the Father's commandment was.
And I believe that's what emptying himself was. It was. It's nothing for himself, nothing of himself.
It's just the opposite of man.
We have an expression. We use Batman full of himself. It's just the opposite.
It is important as as you quoted there in John chapter 8, where the Lord answered the gainsayers, Thou art not yet 50 years old, you know. Art thou greater than our father Abraham? And he didn't say before Abraham was. I was before Abraham was, I am and I've I've always appreciated the statement and I can't recall where or when I first heard it, but it goes like this. He never stopped being who he was by becoming who he became.
When he took manhood to himself, as our brother has said, he added that.
To himself in an inscrutable way that's beyond our full understanding, that one who dwelt in that inaccessible light was pleased to come out of that light to us in the person of the Son of God, the man Christ Jesus. The apostle John laid his head on his bosom, traveled with him, watched him sleep and eat and labor and walk and work and yet at the end he says in his first epistle, he just.
How does he put it there? He just marvels that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon on our hands, have handled.
Of the word of life. So the life was manifested, seen it bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the father and manifested unto us. What a, what a beautiful, it's inscrutable brother. Uh, Ralph Reeb senior used to used to when, when these subjects would come up, he would, uh, added more than adequately answer the, the question that you brought onto the table today.
But then he would always seem to get around to the Tabernacle and how the staves went through these rings and if the rings were on the shoulder.
Of the, of the special Levi carrying than the ark is always above man's head. And now he's told me that probably a dozen times. And uh, pointing to this fact that the Lord Jesus could say no man knoweth the Father, but the Son and he to whom the son reveals him. But then he goes on to say, no man knoweth the Son but the father period. So in that, uh, well known hymn, the higher mysteries of thy fame, the creatures grasp, transcend.
The Father only thy blessed name, son can comprehend those those questions. I I would never cross my mind, Tim. Mm-hmm to have thought what what what you brought from from others.
01:10:02
But, uh, how beautiful that as, as Bill has brought before us, there's always a perfect scripture to answer any of these mischievous, uh.
Uh, umm, machinations that man brings up.
Nothing left out. Hmm, not a thing left out.
And ultimately.
If we could say it this way, the reason why man has trouble with things like the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and many other things in Scripture is that there is much in the Word of God that is beyond human understanding. You and I can enjoy it, live in the good of it, appreciate it in our own souls, but ultimately we can't understand it. And when man encounters something like that with his natural mind.
His mind says, but I will understand it and he reduces it to what he can understand and of course brings error in in order to do it. You and I when we read all this, ultimately have to say I can't understand it. Person of the Son of God as man is a divine mystery and you and I, I don't believe in eternity, will understand it. And I love that verse that was brought out in First Timothy 6.
There's a dimension of his Godhead glory that no creature can ever behold, because as God, he has a glory that the creature cannot look upon.
Yet he became just as much a man as any one of us here, except without sin.
Might be nice to read those scriptures and, uh, First Corinthians chapter 2.
Says there in verse 11 First Corinthians chapter 2.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, say the spirit of man, which is in him. Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. And we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, which we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak not in the world, which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?
We have the mind of Christ. Everything that we are able to comprehend as believers is given to us of God through the Holy Spirit, and we're able to comprehend certain things that which God reveals to us, and we can enjoy those things. The natural man, he would like to reduce the Lord Jesus Christ down to the level of man Why? Because that takes away all his responsibilities. He can reduce the Lord Jesus down to the level of man. He is no different than any other man.
He can fail, he can sin and takes away the truth of the word of God, but.
Natural man doesn't have the spirit, he doesn't have the discernment. And so when they get into spiritual things, they're just going to re they're they're going to destroy spirituality. They're going to destroy it in such a way that it's going to be pleasing to them.
That's how man works. He wants, he wants the word of God to fit into his lifestyle. But we know that the word of God, he wants, he has a lifestyle for us.
That he wants us to fit into that altogether different.
Just very quickly this, you know, focusing on that phrase he emptied himself and trying to make a doctrine is what it sounds like. Those ones we're doing. Umm, that's just an example, I believe of what it means that no scripture that is of any private interpretation. I believe to read Darby's note on that, it means you can't take a scripture, zero in on scripture and and that just interprets itself. It's got to be interpreted in, in the context of the entire scripture.
01:15:11
Anyone said that he emptied himself of his deity? How many scriptures were brought out here in this meeting and were just immediately refute that? That's a danger. When you look at a scripture and think you see something just because of that scripture all by itself has to take into account everything else.
I wonder if we could sing #61 How wondrous the glories of meat.
Jesus from his face shine. His love is eternal, as sweet as human.
Also divide #61.
Uh-huh. I am waiting.
On the laundry for my life.
Thank you for the wonderful time we've had reading your word this afternoon. Thank you.
For your beloved son that you sent because of your great love for who he is, for what he's done. Father, may we remember the price that he paid to have us as his own and the example that he set for us to follow. And Father, this afternoon we've had a lot of practical things. We've had a lot of useful things.
Also had some deep things, but we've done the easy part now we've talked about it. Please help us to remember them. Please help us to put them into practice in our everyday life. May these thoughts of our Lord Jesus Christ have their good effect in our hearts and in our walk, in the days and the months and the weeks and the years follow. May we be fashioned more like Him for His glory and for yours as well. Pray in His name, give thanks, Amen.
The House of God
Address—Bruce Conrad
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Let's start with our meeting this afternoon with him 168.
I confess that I gave this out on Friday night, the last two verses, and immediately thereafter I felt really, uh, smitten that I didn't, uh, suggest the whole hymn, and my eye went to the top of the page and saw those words. Rejoice then, ye Saints, as your Lord's own command.
Rejoice, for the coming of Jesus draws nigh.
So we have that injunction rejoiced in the Lord Alway, it's on my heart this afternoon to speak about some things that are, uh, at first blush, not all that encouraging. Uh, but it's, it's where we are today and I believe we need to understand it. So no further comment. Let's sing just the 1St 3 verses of 168 If some brother would be.
Kind enough to start that for us, please.
Oh.
Umm.
The Lord together, Lord Jesus, we thank thee that.
We have this hope that that was given us.
To see these soon.
In heaven's glory.
Look forward to that happy moment.
Not only we shall be.
Removed from this.
Present scene of glory.
This present scene of of trial and sorrow.
Into heaven itself with thee, to see thee as thou art.
00:05:01
To look upon thee, and see thee and thy joy.
We know thou art the Man of Sorrows once.
A man of patience thou art now.
Soon thou shalt be the man of joy. Thou shalt look upon the fruit and the travail of thy soul.
And be satisfied.
And so, Lord Jesus, we look to Thee as we.
Have a little while here to open thy word.
That would provide for us that which would be for our encouragement, instruction, our comfort.
Pray thou would guide us into that which would serve that end.
We thank thee that thou art still the head of the Church, which is thy body.
I work still ministering nourishment and refreshment to us, and we thank thee for this.
So we just ask for thy help. Thank thee again for all thy love to us, Lord Jesus, for being willing to be the sinner's friend.
Taking our guilty place on Calvary's cross, that we might have an eternal part with Thee. We give Thee thanks, we bless thee. Precious Savior, we ask thy help, my worthy and thy precious name. Amen.
Well, let's turn to get started. Back to First Chronicles 12, where someone referred us today.
As a matter of fact, I think we were just a verse away from.
Verse I was thinking of.
In First Chronicles chapter 12.
Brother Stephen.
I'm going to set the table that these were.
The tribes and the men that were resorting to David after the death of Saul.
Soon to make him king.
In verse 32 is a verse that has been on my heart for a few days.
And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do.
The heads of them were 200, and all their brethren were at their commandment.
I believe the other tribes are numbered. There is no number here.
How many of these men there were?
What distinguished them was that they were men that had understanding of the times.
My exercise this afternoon is to speak about our times and hopefully.
Remind ourselves the backdrop for the benchmark.
Of what is our particular portion in our day?
No, when I was younger like these guys over here.
And we we valued so much the advice and experience of our older brethren.
If I could be 110th.
Of the encouragement to any of you that they were to me.
I would be very thankful.
So we said, well, what, what are you, how should we do this? How do we serve the Lord and how do we do this and how should we do that? And what do you think of this and, and.
I remember Brother Gordon.
Chuckling and smiling like he would when he was asked a question.
And he would often quote that verse in the book of Acts. David served his own generation by the will of God and took on sleep.
And so.
As the men who fight wars for a living learn.
That you can't fight or prepare for the upcoming war with your father's generation who fought a war. It's a different time, a different enemy. There are different resources for them.
For you and I, it's the same enemy, the same resources, but a different time.
My exercise is to go through a little bit of that this this afternoon.
Now it occurs to me with a subject I really would like to take up. Has to do with the House of God.
Subject I have never spoken on before.
You know.
00:10:00
Years ago I heard a brother in a reading meeting exhort us and say, you know, brethren, we we shouldn't beat a cow path through scripture.
And he said he was speaking about the Pentecostal brethren.
And they have had it at that in that era, they had, you know, three or four verses and they kind of hop skipped and jumped through, you know, Acts, uh, Joel 228 and Acts 2. And they had three or four scriptures and they went right across the pasture with these couple verses. If you've encountered the believers of that persuasion.
And we need to be exercising careful that we don't do the same thing.
Now, I grew up in a little house on the edge of a pasture.
And, uh, as a little kid, you don't worry about who owns anything. So we played in the past year and when the brother made the comment, I can recall, I can see it in my eye, how those cows would always walk in this little narrow strip from one end of the posture to the other when the, when the farmer, when they heard him rustling about to bring him water or throw hay out or whatever.
The great big pasture, little tiny past.
They would always walk in.
We have a huge, huge pasture here.
And brothers especially, and the sisters, it ought to be our exercise.
To familiarize ourselves with the whole Council of God.
And a concern that I have in particular is we that are gathered to the Lord's name have become so familiar and conversant in the truth of the one body.
As wonderful as that truth is that I think we neglect the truth that we're in the House of God.
The truth of the one body.
Is connected with foundational, vital Christian doctrines.
We're not members of the one Body because we have faith necessarily. We're members of the one Body because we have the Spirit of God indwelling us after we believe the gospel of our salvation.
God formed that body on the day of Pentecost, and when you got saved and believed the gospel of your salvation as it says in Ephesians, you were sealed without Holy Spirit of promise and added to all the others already in that body.
So that's a wonderful, wonderful truth, and we're united by that spirit to the Lord Jesus himself, who is the head of the body.
That's a wonderful truth, and it brings responsibility, and it points to functions that have been referred to a little bit obliquely today when the brothers read in First Corinthians 14.
But the truth of the truth of the one body, as exalted as it is, is just one aspect.
Of how we are to take stock of our times that we're in, our responsibilities and our privileges, and what the Lord looks for in you and me.
And so if we could say that the truth of the one body or the body of Christ brings before us the the the principle or truth of unity, what does the House of God bring before us? I believe it brings before us behavior it brings before us.
Our behavior and our conduct, especially that which is visible to men and women around us.
I'm not. Please don't. Don't take away from this the impression that I am in any way not appreciative of this wonderful capstone truth.
That we have this special portion that Old Testament Saints, men and women of God never foresaw.
That we are one with Christ, members of his body.
We're joint heirs of the same body.
Joint part takers of his promise.
But the truth of the House of God, you know, it brings before us a line of things that we don't talk about all the time, I think.
In my observation.
It's a little bit easy for us to get complacent.
To get as a brother brought before us, not that we're like ehood, but we could get a little bit complacent and a little bit, you know, that way because we have that truth down. And if that truth speaks of of unity, we say, well, I'm endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and I know the Spirit of God has gathered me together to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:15:05
And so that's where I present myself, and I'm in fellowship there, and I go along with my brethren as members of one body, and those are the brothers and sisters that show up.
Because the scripture has said for men and women of faith, the man of faith says I am a companion of all them that fear thee.
And of them that keep thy precepts. So we don't really choose our friends or our companions. The Lord chooses them. I think, brethren in general, we we have that.
But the danger that I fear in myself and in all of us is that we get a little too content with the fact that this remnant of that one body that has been stirred up as the Israelites were stirred up in the Book of Ezra to go back to Jerusalem, that those of us who have been stirred up about this truth, that we get a little.
Complacent and easy about it. And we just feel like well.
I'm I've checked that box and I checked that box every week because I go to meeting and I'm gathered together to the Lord's name.
Being gathered to the Lord's name is a tremendous, tremendous privilege.
Tremendous.
So many times.
I just have to say, why me? Do you ever ask that question? Why me?
I I think it's a question we'll rhetorically ask when we're at home, when we're glorified to Why me?
When we're in the presence of the Lord, why me? Why would He set us upon me? Because He loved me and He loved you, and He gave us that special privilege.
But when I think of the House of God and I think of behavior and public behavior.
Then I it's. That's not a box I can so easily check.
That's a box that I have to be and I am more exercised about.
Brother gave out to him. My note was yesterday or today.
36 In the back we go to meet the Savior, his glorious face, to see what manner of behavior.
Doth with this hope agree?
Indeed, what manner of behavior?
I grew up in a little house.
30 by 30 matter of fact.
And my dad worked three jobs, so he wasn't there all the time. When he was there, he was really there. We loved loved that and loved him. We didn't think there was anything unusual about working three jobs and only being home a night or two a week.
So my mom wrote. She ran the show.
In the little Scottish Lady with the Lord now.
But I can remember, and it's been coming back to me lately, you know, my brother and I, and we'd be rambunctious, and my sister is probably more athletic than two boys even. And we'd get, you know, messing around in the house.
And she, you know, like a Bantam rooster. And she'd not in the house.
Or she'd say, not in my house.
And she had it in her mind.
What we were supposed to do, when we were supposed to do it, and how it was supposed to be done.
And sometimes there were things that.
You anyway I I think I've made the point.
The Lord Jesus, his Son over his own house.
And he has in view how we're to conduct ourselves in his house. So let's trace briefly.
A few aspects of the House of God.
And I think we'll see that there's almost two parts of it, two parts of it at least that are connected if we go back to, uh, Matthew 16 to start.
The Lord Jesus asks in verse 13 of Matthew 16, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, AM?
Verse 16 Simon Peters answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and sent him. Blessed art thou, Simon Bargona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
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The church had not been built yet. It was a new thing.
He hadn't even started to build the church when he said this.
He said he would build it in the future without specifying when, and the foundation of it was himself. And the foundation is also the confession of who he was, the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And that Peter was able to see that and to know that because our God and Father had revealed it unto him.
Enos read in First Corinthians this afternoon how that is so.
And so we turn over now to Ephesians chapter 2.
And just to pick up in verse, uh, verse 19 of Ephesians chapter 2.
Now, therefore, you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.
In whom he also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
Peter also speaks of us in this capacity as being part of God's building, God's temple, God's house, and says that we are living stones.
In this aspect of the house, we are part of the house.
In this aspect of the house, Christ is the builder and everyone that's put into that house. Every material, every every stone is good.
He does it with divine wisdom and power.
In verse 22 of Ephesians 2.
We read that this building is inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
And the reality is that when the Lord Jesus glorified God on Calvary's cross and laid down his life and death.
That God.
Responded to what he did by raising him out from among all the rest of the dead, causing him to ascend to his own right hand.
That was God's response to the work of the man Christ Jesus.
But it didn't stop there. The man Christ Jesus, the glorified One, sent down the Holy Spirit of God.
To take men and women of faith and for the first time, unite them together into one.
And on the Day of Pentecost, that's what took place.
And now for the first time you have a a, a, a body. Now for the first time, you don't just have individual children of God scattered where they might be, or men and women with faith, but you have that one thing, the church. But also this verse, this 22nd verse teaches us that this ye are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
It's God's habitation.
The Holy Spirit of God has taken up His habitation in this house that Christ has started to build and is still building today.
When I was first saved and and gathered to the Lord's name, I'd be driving with a brother through a little town where I lived in Maine and, uh.
Drive past the Baptist Church.
My brother would say the Spirit of God is not in there brother.
And I'm like.
I am saved maybe six months, eight months or so. I'm like.
I don't know. I have this place in my brain where you where you put stuff that is kind of like pending.
Like OK, I took it in.
That is, this was my my spiritual father.
OK, let me weigh that before the Lord.
The Spirit of God takes has taken his residence and his his habitation on earth is in the house. There's only one house just like there's only one body and the local assembly gather to the Lord's name is never referred to in Scripture as the house. You can put that in your pending place in your mind and you see if you agree with that statement. I think you'll agree with that statement. I cannot think of a single.
00:25:23
And I know men and women have this. You know, when I was a little boy and they took me to the Methodist Church and you take your hat off in the House of God. And that's what they called the church building.
Great. Big thing.
But Scripture doesn't speak of the local assembly that way. It speaks of the house. There is a house and the Spirit of God.
Has taken up his residence there.
And the first aspect that we take up is that Christ is the builder, the materials are all good, the workmanship is perfect, and sooner or later it's gonna be done.
But there's another aspect to it that I think perhaps 1St Corinthians 3 we'll we'll illuminate.
Ross.
1St Corinthians 3 and verse 9.
For year our labor, we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation.
And another bill that's there on. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
Her other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ.
And we'll just stop there for a minute.
Now we have another aspect.
It's not Christ personally speaking about Him directly building, but the Apostle Paul who is writing this refers to himself as a master builder.
In the olden days an architect that was designer builder.
And not only so, he's writing to the Corinthians, implying that they also were builders as well. So now we have another aspect of the house.
Now we have an aspect of the house where you and I are involved in the building and an aspect where the believer is not part of the house. The believer is in the house.
And so now there's the challenge. Are the materials right? Is the workmanship right?
Does it meet the requirements of the one whose house it is?
And so, as it says there in verse 10, let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
And so God wants us to do the right thing.
In accordance with his word and with his mind, and he wants to do it in the right way. Us to do it in the right way.
Now if we turn to First Timothy.
In chapter 3.
More about the House.
And you know, I should say that I haven't studied this out myself, but I think almost every New Testament book.
Especially the epistles have something about the House of God. It's kind of interesting we don't speak about it more.
Romans refers to the.
To the body of Christ, somewhat obliquely, I think.
First Corinthians.
Ephesians, Colossians, and perhaps nowhere else. It doesn't mean that you that you look upon principles or precepts or things addressed in Scripture as if the more times they're mentioned, the more important they are.
What I'm just saying that that exalted truth is not mentioned in every place. The House of God is more frequent in that way, and so in First Timothy 3 verse 14.
These things write I unto thee, Paul writing to Timothy, hoping to come unto thee shortly.
But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth, and without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit scene of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received.
00:30:02
Up into glory.
And.
Again, the House of God connected with behavior.
The House of God is the Church of the living God. There's no question that it's the figure used.
It's the pillar and ground of the truth.
Now sometimes we might think as a pillar that holds something up.
But other times in Scripture, a pillar is something that's meant to mark out something publicly, to make a public statement, or to put something before others publicly.
Like people have memorials today. I suspect that that's more the thought here of the pillar.
God doesn't need us to hold anything vital up.
And this day is kind of like what you and I in English would call the footing.
It takes that pillar and it displays that it it displaces that load of that heavy pillar to where it hits the ground.
In English, we have told Manuel I wouldn't use figures of speech for his translation, but we have that that that that expression where the rubber meets the road.
And to me, that's the stay, the pillar.
In ground or stay of the truth?
And we learn in connection with behavior that there are two chief concerns.
And we probably don't have to go far to find them if you turn the page in your Bible in chapter four of First Timothy.
Verse 16.
Well, let's go back to verse 15. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all. We're talking about what is seen by others.
The character of the house is more public.
Your house on the street of the road where you live is seen by everyone, is seen by your neighbors.
If I come home at the end of the day at 6:00 and my trash cans are still out there, I'm I feel a little bit unhappy about that with a 17 year old boy in the house.
And I drive, we want to be respectful to our neighbors and we want to be orderly and we want to cut our grass and we want, you know, it's, it's, that's the, that's the house.
And if you stop and think about how Paul communicates with Timothy in the lines of things he takes up.
He takes up that which can be seen and tested and viewed by others inside the house as well as outside.
And so in verse 16, take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine.
We're in doing this. Thou shall both save thyself.
And then that hear thee.
Paul had I had had referred to various errors in corruptions which were already coming into the Christian testimony and profession in the first epistle. They're full blown and more dominant and powerful in the second epistle, but they're already on the on his radar, so to speak, in this first epistle. And so the word save here does not refer to the saving of the soul.
But to being delivered from the corrupting.
Influence of these things.
But take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine.
If I remember right in my old Bible and I because of its tattered state, I've got this new one.
I think I wrote in the margin, What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.
Referring, of course, to marriage.
But we can apply it to these things. Take heed unto thyself and to the doctrine.
This has to do with our behavior.
And we need I need to never stop being exercised about my behavior.
And the first thing the Spirit of God mentions is to take heed to myself, as we had a little bit before us about that today. This isn't a box that we check off and we say, got that one?
I'm saved. I know the Lord is my Savior.
I'm saved. Got that? I am gathered to the Lord's name. I understand the truth.
Of the one body, and how I can give practical expression to it as much as I can in my own responsibility, and I'm gathered to the precious name of Christ.
00:35:04
You're in the House of God all the time. We all are. If you've been baptized, if you've made a confession of Christ, if you've been disciple, if you've been raised in a Christian home, you've been discipled and may be baptized too. From your earliest days, you're in the house.
And God dwells in this house.
And we're gonna hopefully, with a little bit of time, address some of what that means to us in our responsibility.
But in our behavior, it's not just doctrine, it's not just knowing the right thing.
It's following the pattern that we had at the end of Chapter 3.
Great is the mystery of godliness. What is it? It's the pathway of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
We are not left to just abstracts in the Word of God. God has been pleased, as we had this afternoon, that He would raise up a man, that he would send his own Son to display everything that God is in perfect measure.
And display it always at the right time and in the right measure, in the right way. And that's the pattern.
We want to think about meekness or loneliness.
Which we can see that in perfection in the man Christ Jesus. That's the pattern for godliness.
And that's what he wants to see.
In my behavior, no matter what my last name is, no matter how long I've been saved or how long I've been at the Lord's Table, or how old I am or how young I am.
Everyone of us shall give account of ourselves before God.
Everyone of us.
So let's just turn over to Second Timothy.
In Second Timothy we have if, if in First Timothy we have.
The apostle taking up order in God's house. In Second Timothy, the apostle takes up by the Spirit of God more the line of things of how disorder has been attacking the order of God's house, which is for the display of God's glory.
And the student of Scripture sees that if Peter takes up practical godliness in his first epistle and 2nd epistle, it's of Peter. It's the breakdown of that.
If we read in First Corinthians the apostle bringing forth order in the Church of God and the place and authority of apostles, in the second epistle we see the breakdown of that.
If we read about the highest truths that we have in Ephesians, and then we read the address to the seven churches in Revelation 2, he addresses the church at Ephesus. You've left your first love.
And so we can say what is man? They aren't mindful of him.
But how wise of God?
To allow these things.
To allow.
The failures of men and women like you and me.
To happen so early.
And in and in similar character on every hand, so that we have the actual Word of God addressing it directly.
What a resource think of where we would be.
Think of where we would be if the if the Canon of scripture ended and everything was going along so nicely.
And the prophets were speaking two or three, and the others were judging, and there was liberty of the Spirit and prayer, and the evangelists were evangelizing, and the pastors were pastoring, and everyone was happy in taking in sound doctrine and walking in personal communion with the Lord. And that's all we had.
And now we look around us when we get saved.
And when we grow up maybe in a Christian home and we start to think about these things and we say this just doesn't look like that at all.
And we would be strongly tempted to just say, you know, I have to put this aside. I'm not sure. I don't see how it applies. But in the wisdom of God, he allowed this failure to come in in the early days of the apostle as sad. I can remember the first time I read through the New Testament. I was older when I was saved. And I can remember for the first, I didn't know the end of the story. And I'm reading through and it's like, oh, man, you don't want that to happen.
And there it is happening.
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Think of how the apostle Paul, when he met the Ephesian elders in Acts chapter 20, he didn't say to them, I think that there's going to be a strong tendency for men of your own selves to rise up and lead men astray, believers astray. I think this might happen. No, he says. I know.
Let me find it and read it.
Quickly verse 29 of Acts 20.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter, and among you, not sparing the flock also of your own selves shall men arise.
Speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore give up, no.
Therefore, watch.
But by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. Now, brethren, I commend you to God.
And to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up.
And to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
It's to me.
A wise provision of the Lord that He allowed this so early.
That we have the inspired Word of God to address it.
And we have the Scriptures, myriads of them, addressing all different aspects of it. For our instruction in a day that adds to its principal characteristics are no different than that day. There's still men rising up. There's still grievous wolves.
There's still strange doctrines, there's still superstition, there's still legality, there's still careless. There's all these things and we have the word of God that addresses it.
He's made provision for us.
Let's turn to Revelation chapter 3.
God's ways are so different.
From man's ways.
When I left the first company I worked for after school.
And went to hire on to a different company, a company for which I now work for over 20 years now.
Nobody met me at my interview and said.
You're applying to a business unit, a business group.
That is the most dysfunctional in the entire company.
The boss is crazy man.
Umm, he drives us all crazy.
We're all demoralized. We can hardly do our job.
He's vicious to the young people trying to learn the business.
None of the other business units want anything to do with them, so our opportunities are limited.
And oh, by the way, the reason that they want somebody's senior like you is because all the other senior guys have pretty much had it.
And they have enough money stashed away to retire.
So good luck. Nobody met me at the door like that.
He said, oh, wonderful company.
Everything positive, everything good. God doesn't do it that way.
God saves us and he doesn't paint a rose colored.
Picture of something that is not.
That he tells us the end of the journey. He tells us we have all the resources that we'll need.
But he's honest with us and says in the world he shall have tribulation.
But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. If you live godly in Christ Jesus, you're gonna suffer persecution.
He says this is the way the church is.
Isn't it instructed that in Matthew's Gospel in the 13th chapter where you have the seven, uh, parables, six of which are simil similitudes of the Kingdom?
He leaves the house and he's going to do a new thing, and so he souls instead of looking for fruit for man, now he's going to do something new.
And you know the end of the story because you've been familiar with it. So you're reading through it, but you stop and think for a minute. And the first three, uh, that have to do with the Kingdom of heaven are all kind of, they're not like that flattering of how things are going to go.
00:45:01
So he said.
Well man, so does sweetness feel but gets overgrown with tears and the Kingdom of heaven is like.
A woman hides 3 measures of meal and the whole thing becomes leavened.
And the little mustard seed just becomes this ridiculously huge tree with all kinds of.
Creatures in it that are undesirable.
That's the way it's it's is this striking that that's the way now the next three are God side.
And that's the Pearl of great price and the treasure found in the field.
And the net is brought to shore and there's good fish in it. That's the other side.
But God is honest, God is faithful, and God puts before us this benchmark of the status of the House of God in our day.
And though I felt that, I was fully persuaded in my mind.
And in my soul, when I took my place at the Lord's table a couple months after I was saved.
It wasn't really until I worked my way through the Old Testament and saw the failure of Israel. Well, actually it starts with the failure of Adam.
And then it goes to the failure of Noah, and then it goes to the failure of government and priesthood and the kings, and all right through.
And there's a little remnant brought back in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. And I said, of course.
That's where I am today. That's the benchmark.
Because all these things were written for our examples, for our instruction.
The things which are written before time are written for our learning.
And God has gone to such an effort to instruct us as to the lay of the land in our day.
So in Revelation chapter 3.
The last church that God addresses in verse 14.
The Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write these things, saith thee, Amen. The faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot. I will that thou art cold or hot. So then, because thou art Luke warm on either cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Thou sayest I am rich, and increase with goods that have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind naked, and so on.
If we were to read in Second Timothy chapter 2.
We would read the fact that this house that God is building and has already constructed has become a great house. And I know you're probably all familiar with Second Timothy chapter 2. It's become a great house, but it's still his house.
And the sobering thing is that God holds us, you and me, responsible for our behavior in this house because it's His house.
And if we were turn to Luke chapter 12, we would read that to whom much is given of the same as much required.
And to whom men commit much of them? Will they ask them more?
How much more could God have possibly committed to you and me?
How much more?
I don't know how much more.
We stand accepted to him, writer says in the place that none but Christ.
As well.
I don't know how.
My I don't know how we could be more.
Privileged and blessed than we are, we are accountable and responsible. And brethren, my exercise is.
That we don't use the truth of the one body that is precious and that we enjoy.
To put ourselves to sleep.
As to our other aspects of our responsibility, that we are all in the House of God.
If we speak about Christendom as if it's everybody else, we are missing the point. It's you. It's me. We're in the house. There's only one.
It's God's house and he has an order in that house. We didn't have the chance to develop it much today.
00:50:02
In Revelation chapter two and three, with the seven churches, the last four, it's pretty clear they go on. They kind of.
Stem out from each other, and they go on until the Lord comes.
And it's that aspect of the Church of God that is again, it's a book of judgment. And so God has committed privilege in this time of the Gentiles and committed special privilege to you and me as as part of the body of Christ and and and in the House of God. And he holds us accountable. That was a true believer going to be poor and wretched and no.
But this spirit of our of the Christian profession in our day is the backdrop against which you and I walk day by day.
One day at work.
When I was on a project building a project.
Dam.
The vice president flew in. I was one of the number two guys on the project.
He got the other #2 guy together and me.
At the end of the work day and he said.
I'm firing your boss tomorrow morning.
This is not going to make it.
That's what I gotta do. I gotta fire him in the morning.
So that's what I'm gonna do. So you guys wanna go to dinner?
And so the other man said, well, you know, Lou, I'm kind of busy. I'll pass. And I said I'll pass.
I'll pass. Thank you though. Thank you for the offer.
So we came in in the next morning.
You know, you could. Construction offices are not like, like real engineers offices. Everybody is so polite and courteous and quiet. They're more raucous and loud and.
It's just the way the culture is. You could have heard a pin drop in there.
That morning you could have heard a pin drop. We're all kind of going about our business in that, not fearful ourselves, but we had a feeling of being so sober.
You know, I I like that man and I try to help him.
So the boss went in and closed the door and fired him. He came out and said goodbye and wished us good luck and all he went.
But I've always, I've often remembered that just that tone of things, knowing that judgment was about to fall and how it affected everybody else.
And there's a certain aspect that you and I.
Part of the House of God and the responsible testimony on this earth. Knowing that if we were to trace in the Book of Revelation the most awful and serious judgments that fall upon the various peoples of this earth, and various responsibilities fall upon those who had the most light and never responded to it.
Grace accepted, they say. Light accepted brings more light. Light rejected brings darkness.
And grace slighted.
There's nothing left but judgment, God's strange work.
And these solemn judges that we read about in the Book of Revelation fall.
Upon men and women who thought like I did when I was a young teenager, there's really nothing to this. It's just kind of going to church and you have your name and you go through confirmation and there's nothing real.
And there's thousands, if not millions of people in that condition, and judgment is going to fall.
How we need to be exercised about our own behavior. Because judgment begins at the House of God, it begins now.
And we call on God as our Father, if you call on God as your Father, who without respect of person, judges according to every man's work.
Past the time of your so journey here in fear, not fear that we're gonna fall into condemnation. There is no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus.
But an exercise that our ways, that we would take heed to ourselves and to the doctrine which we haven't really addressed this afternoon, that we would be pleasing to him.
That we had conduct ourselves properly in his house while we wait for his soon return.
You know, I don't want to, I don't need to be a let's turn back to second chronicles again. I'm sorry, First Chronicles where we close to where we started and, uh.
00:55:07
Chapter 11 of First Chronicles.
I was going to say.
And I, I think it's important to bring this up. I know our time is about up.
You know, I, I remember a brother coming to our meeting when I lived in Palmyra and he was, he was a laborer.
And he said I met this Christian in, uh, somewhere on the way, and he says I brought the truth before him.
And I thought, wow, you were quite AB. I didn't say this, but irreverent streak I have. I said, wow, you're quite a brother. You could meet somebody casually and bring like the truth before.
This person was a believer.
To be fair, I know what the brother meant to say was I told him about the ground of gathering and being gathered to the Lord's name.
In Brother Dear Brother Bruce Anstey's book.
He doesn't need my advertising.
And I just met Bruce maybe five years ago in in Lovin.
And so then I started to read his books.
But he's got this book. I, I think it's about unsound doctrinal statements or something like that. But if you read the preface to it.
He makes a point to say and to list a long long list.
Of aspects of the truth of God that were lost sight of from the earliest days of the apostles and not recovered until the last 150 years or so. When a bunch of young men in Ireland and the UK were responded to the Spirit of God and came outside of the established churches and left clerical positions some of them and started to meet together simply as believers, members of the Body of Christ.
And the Lord started to show them things.
And you read that preface sometime at your leisure in that book. It's worth reading. There is such a long list of true the priesthood of every believer, the truth of the of the flesh and the spirit in a new and an old nature.
The prophetic outline of things, of the mystery with with Christ having his glory in a future day in earth and in heaven, the future restoration of Israel, and on and on. There's just a long, long list. I tell you, I I was, I suspected that was true.
And I've meet a lot of Christians and enjoy it immensely. And, and I think I think Bruce is right. And so there's all of this legacy, this wonderful truth. And if you think being gathered to the Lord's name is simply knowing that it's Matthew 18 and 20, there's just this huge pasture.
Full of the wonderful truth of God that has been recovered.
And that is your and my spiritual legacy, not to just enjoy for ourselves.
But to share with our brethren wherever we might meet them.
To share with our brothers and sisters that are in the house.
So that they may learn more and grow more and increase by the knowledge of God.
And so when we read passages like this and enjoy them in First Chronicles 11.
Speaking of the mighty men whom David attracted, verse 12 and after him was Eliezer, the son of Dodo the Hawaii, who was one of the three mighties. He was with David at Pass Damon, by the way, that was the place where David fought Goliath. It's very interesting. And there the Philistines were gathered together to battle, where was a parcel of ground full of barley.
And the people fled before the Philistines, and they set themselves in the midst of that parcel.
And delivered it, and slew the Philistines, and the Lord saved them by a great deliverance.
We turn to Second Samuel and our time is up. You read about Shama and there was a field of lentils. The Spirit of God takes it up that way. And he stood in it and defended it, and the Lord gave great deliverance. That's what I aspire to for myself.
And I look at young people in here, I don't know where the time went and I was you and now I'm me. And life is swifter than a weaver's shuttle.
And we blink twice. And here we are in our last of the of the seven decades.
01:00:06
And so it was. It's so much my desire.
Not just that you defend the truth of Matthew 18 and 20, but that you get and you stand in the field and you value it because of what it is, the precious truth of God. Your hands have been filled. You are a priest of God, and your hands have been filled with these precious things. You've been given all these treasures.
When the Lord comes and we are up and we are glorified with Him, He is going to weigh out what He committed to me and what I have done with it.
It's, it's, it's, it's the way it is that's our gone. And so if the Lord tarries him, we older ones go the way of all flesh. My desire is that you would enjoy the truth more than we ever did and stand in it and defend it and enjoy it and share it with others. Christians that you meet, bring before them these wonderful, precious things of God.
May the Lord encourage us.
That we might behave ourselves a right. That we would be here for His glory.
That we would walk softly.
In light.
Of what is all around us.
In failure of outward testimony that we would walk softly, it's still his mind and will that we rejoice in himself, Because in spite of all the ruin. I don't mean this to be doom and gloom. In spite of all the ruin around.
There's still the precious truth of God that can be enjoyed by every soul who wants to enjoy these precious things. May it be so for you and me. Let's just commend ourselves to the Lord.
Lord God and our Father, we give thee thanks, Thou saith thy.
Art upon us and.
Extract us from this, the broad Rd. that leads to destruction and.
Put our feet upon a heavenly Rd. We thank thee for the assurance that we have, the assurance of faith.
Our shed and I love abroad in our hearts and given us the assurance that soon.
We will be delivered from this world into the presence of thy beloved Son.
Lord Jesus, we have to confess.
How distracted we can be.
Help us to have a single eye.
Help us to be as those ones that knew how to keep rank, that were not of a double heart and was read to us today.
Help us to be a encouragement and blessing to our brethren. Help us to value the things which are really life, young and old. We pray for the young people here. Pray for each one of us, young and old. Lord Jesus, so we'd be here for thy glory, that we will be drinking deeply of those precious things that thou hast brought before us. We might have the enjoyment of Thyself that we will be a light in a dark place.
We would walk in thy steps. We thank thee, Lord Jesus, for all I love. We thank Thee, our God and Father, for the gift of thy beloved Son.
We give thee thanks in his worthy and precious name. Amen.
The Hand of the Lord
Gospel—Francois Leger
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.
We would like to welcome everyone for the Gospel meeting tonight.
Maybe we could start by singing #34.
Hymn #34.
Uh, uh, I'm like, it's very nice.
Can we ask the Lord's help?
O our God and Father.
We just pray tonight.
For help from above.
For conviction, the power of the Spirit, we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
So welcome again to the Gospel meeting tonight.
So tonight I would like to talk to you about the Lord Jesus.
You know, recently I was visiting family and Dorothy and I went to a prayer meeting there.
Then a thought came from him that we sang.
That's him. Our times are in thy hands.
And then a series of thoughts came into my mind concerning the hands of the Lord Jesus.
So tonight I would like to turn to some scriptures.
Where we'll find the hands of the Lord Jesus in different aspects.
First, I would like to turn to a verse in uh, Isaiah chapter 59.
The Book of Isaiah, chapter 59.
And verse one.
Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened.
That it cannot save, neither is here heavy. That it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have separated you between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that you will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity. I'll stop there for now. We've seen this verse.
How the Lord's hand is ready to save tonight.
But you know, there is something that needs to be dealt with. It's a question of sin.
That's what we have in verse 3 here.
The Lord is saying to his people that their hands are defiled with blood.
Sin cannot entered into God's presence and God has provided for a way tonight to be safe.
And that's what we want to talk about tonight.
Want to talk about a wonderful Savior and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ?
So first of all, let's turn to Psalm 8.
There we will consider the hands.
Of the Lord Jesus.
Psalm 8 and verse 3.
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David is saying here, when I consider thy heaven, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, what is now?
You know we read in the Gospel of John.
That everything was made by the Lord Jesus.
You know, we read also in the epistles that the Lord sustains everything by the word of His power.
We read also that it is before all things, and that by Him all things consist. It is wonderful to consider who the Lord Jesus Christ is.
He is a creator of this world.
You know, I like the spring season, you know, when we can go in nature and appreciate, appreciate, you know, the singing of the birds, We can go and look at nature blooming. It's so beautiful. But you know, all these things have been created for the Lord Jesus.
And he is the creator. And you know, today we hear much about people saying that, you know, there is no such a thing about a creator. So these people are going against Christ. This is Spirit and the Antichrist today where people are rejecting the testimony of God and creation.
You know God has two books.
The first book is the Book of Creation.
You know the heavens declare the glory of God.
The other book that God has is the Holy Scripture, the Bible.
Let's turn to a verse in Romans chapter one.
Romans chapter one and verse 20.
We read, for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.
Even his eternal power and God had so that they are without excuse. So to the Pagan world, God is saying here, hey, I gave you the testimony of nature here.
So that you are without excuse.
So as I said earlier, God is speaking to us through the things that He has created.
But you know, we are born with a a disease called sin and because of that disease.
No, we don't see the glory of the Creator.
But you know, 2000 years ago.
In his mercy, God sent his Son into this world.
And it came down here to reveal the heart of his father.
He came down here to go to the Cross of Calvary and order that you could be saved tonight.
Let's turn now to, umm, another portion where we see the hand of the Lord.
John, Chapter 8. Gospel of John.
Chapter 8.
Maybe some of you are familiar with that account here described in Pharisees. They took a woman in adultery and they brought him, brought her to the Lord.
They tried to put a trap in front of the Lord and see how he would react.
So in verse five we see.
Conservatives.
The 7th Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and the Law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what says thou?
And they said this, they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stood down, and with his finger rolled on the ground as though he heard them not so when they continued asking him.
He lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down and rode on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
00:10:08
It's interesting here that these men are trying to trap the Lord.
But, you know, they didn't realize to whom they were talking.
Because the Lord.
Reached her conscience.
These people, you know, they were people who knew the law of God, but they were not real with God.
They were not real with him.
And you know.
The Lord found a way to reach their conscience by writing on the ground. When did He write?
Very interesting.
You know the law of God was written on stones before and years before.
But the Lord wrote something to reach them where they were in their lives.
And you know, tonight the Lord knows how to reach you in your conscience. You know, yesterday I was talking to to a man.
At work and the man told me, he said, you know, we have to take care of our aged parents and.
It's a big task, demands many hours, but you know, we must do it because I don't want to live with a bad conscience. It's just a bad conscience is very heavy, very heavy to bear.
So I would rather make sacrifice now in my life and take care of my parents than to umm to live after with a bad conscience that I didn't do the right thing.
God has given us a conscience.
Conscience is not a guide, but like a policeman, and sometimes it would remind us about things that we're doing wrong.
You know, I knew a man.
It was a radio announcer in near Quebec City.
And he was exercise about, you know, the things of the Lord, and he heard that there was a pastor there in a little town where he was working. So one day decided, he says, I'm gonna call him.
I'd like to meet with him and ask some questions.
So he found a phone number and he found him.
And so the pastor insert a phone and.
And my friend said to him, so I is it possible for me to meet you and like have some questions? He said that.
Are you married?
My friend closed the phone, fell on his knees.
Repented before the Lord.
He said, what is this? Well, this guy that I knew, my friend was living with a woman without being married and he knew that it was wrong. He knew in his conscience that it was wrong. But when the pastor asked the question, it was convinced that you know God is speaking to him, but you know the pastor was asking him this question just to know if you should bring his wife with him when he would go visit him.
Through the Lord as a way to reach us where?
We are today.
You know, I, we had a sister living at a house for a couple of days last winter as she was traveling. And no, she told us that she was brought up in a Christian home and that she heard the gospel often. She went to Bible conference at the meeting, but she said when she became a teenager, so then one night she heard the gospel.
And she was convinced by the Lord.
And then that day, she accepted the Lord as her Savior. Oh, she was happy, of course, to know that her sins were forgiven.
But there was joy in the presence of God also.
There is joy in the prison for one soul. Let's repent. So tonight will there be joy in the presence of God for one person who will come to the Lord Jesus Christ tonight? That's why we have the Gospel meeting tonight. You know, the goal of the Gospel meeting is to invite you to come to the Lord Jesus.
You don't need to to be older. You can come as you are tonight.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and as I said earlier, we all have this disease of sin. The Bible tells us in Romans 323 that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, everyone of us.
There's no exception.
So we see here the Lord Jesus reaching the conscience. Let's turn to a verse now in Romans chapter 2.
Which speaks about the conscience.
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From verse 14 For when the Gentile, which have no law, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts.
The meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another in the day when God shall judge the secrets of man by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. You know, my friend, one day.
God will judge by the Lord Jesus Christ all the secrets of the heart. Do you have secrets in your heart?
Are there some things that are there that nobody knows about?
But the Lord system, you know, not one sin will go in his presence.
You know, I have many secret sins in my life, but at the age of 17 years old, I heard the gospel and I accepted Christ as my Savior. Oh, there's no more secrets now. Everything has been washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Oh my friend.
Tonight can be a happy night for you to know that your conscience can be clear by the blood of Jesus Christ.
You know, recently we.
I think last Sunday we there was a man knowing itch hiking. We don't see that too often today, but you know, the man was a certain age. He had some luggage. So we stopped and we gave him a ride and uh, it was just coming from the hospital from a treatment that he was receiving there. And umm, I know I started to talk with the guy and, and the guy told me, he says, you know, I'm praying every morning and every night. I said, wow.
I was impressed.
So the man is spring every morning and every night, and he told me his prayer. It looks like a very nice prayer.
I said wow. And he said, you know, I I look at all religions and I think that the best religion is God in my heart. And that's it. I said, where are we going from there?
So we'll start to talk with a guy and, uh, so I asked him some questions. He said, you know, I was in the hospital there and then the, uh.
They start to give me some treatment at some point I said that's enough, I'm leaving the office.
In the midst of this treatment, he left the hospital.
I said to him, I said, do you have a hard time with authority in your life? He said, oh, yes, I have a hard time. Oh yes, I don't like authority. I said, OK. I told him, listen, don't you know that a Sinner is a person who says to God, I want to do things my own way?
You may think that a Sinner is a person who's doing great bad things, but a Sinner is a person who says to God, I want to do things my way.
So this man who was at the hospital for something very serious, for his help, he decided in the military and he wanted to go smoke cigarettes outside. He wanted to do his own thing.
But but this man is spring every morning, every night. But this man was not a Christian. He was not saved, or he appeared to be a religious man.
All my friends, are you praying every night and every morning?
It's a good thing to pray.
But there is one prayer tonight.
That could save you.
It's to say to the Lord, Lord, I'm a Sinner.
I need to be safe.
I recognize, Lord, that only your sacrifice on the cross, only your bloodshed, can wash away myself.
That prayer will say.
So this man after we talk a little bit.
He left his way, but he heard the gospel. The seed was sown to his heart.
Maybe the Lord will use this little conversation to reach Him.
So let's turn to another portion now in Matthew chapter 8.
We will see the Lord acting and and mercy there.
That is Matthew chapter 8.
Starting with verse one.
When it was calmed down from the from the mountain, great multitudes followed him, and behold, there came a leper, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt.
Dog can't snake me clean.
And Jesus put forth his hand and touch him, saying, I will.
00:20:03
Be thou clean and immediately is leprosy.
You know, to, uh, to be a leper on those days was a, was a very miserable life.
You know, we're reading the Old Testament in the book of Leviticus that a person who was a leopard, when he would walk on the street, he would say unclean, unclean.
And it had to be part of this phase, had to be covered.
And this man had to live in seclusion alone. He could not live with the rest of the people.
And surely this man must have been, must have been a beggar. I remember in West Africa, coming down the plane there, I was struck the first time I went there to see how many people were leopards there and missing, you know, fingers and begging for money.
And this man here?
Although there was a great multitude following the Lord.
He said I need to come to the Lord. So he came in the presence of the Lord. You know we have seen earlier in John eight that the religious leader, they left the presence of the Lord 1 by 1.
Their conscience for accusing them. They could not stand in the presence of the Lord.
But here that man came the way he was as a leper, which is a picture of a sinful person. He came to the Lord the way he was. And you know, it's interesting, buddy, what his request was. He says, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean or the Lord is able tonight.
And you can do it.
Because He has provided, you know, a sacrifice that has fully glorified God concerning question of sin.
So tonight you can come to him and receive forgiveness.
So this man lived in misery.
But the Lord welcomed him.
Whoever you are tonight.
You may come to the Lord, he says. I will in that comment. To me I will in no wise cast out.
Thing of diversity. We should read it Gospel of Matthew again, Chapter 11, verse 28.
The Lord Jesus says, Come unto me, all ye that labor in our Avi laden, and I will give you rest.
You know money can buy you a good mattress, a good pillow, but will never give you rest.
Only Jesus can be arrested in your conscience and your heart.
Come to him.
You know I came to the Lord at 17 years old.
And I have only one regret.
And my regret is that I didn't come earlier.
All those wasted years.
Let's turn to John, chapter 18.
We're gonna start verse 4.
Jesus is in the garden now.
And he will be arrested soon by the religious leaders.
We face a trial.
So we're gonna read. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Umziki, they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said unto them, I am he. And Jesus also with Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
As soon then, as he had said unto them, I am He.
They went backward and fell to the ground. I'm going to stop there for a minute. It's interesting here they come to arrest the Lord, and you just mentioned I am He and they all.
00:25:01
The Lord had created the world with his mouth.
By one expression they all fall down.
You know the Lord Jesus was a willing victim. He went there willingly to the cross of Calvary.
By obedience to His Father's will and because of His love for you.
For me let's continue here verse 7 then ask you them again, Oh Msiki and they said Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he if therefore you seek me, let these go their way.
That this that the thing might be fulfilled, which is, take of them which thou giveth me.
Have I lost them? Then Sam and Peter, adding a sword, drew it and smote the High Priest's servant and cut off his ear right here. The servant's name was March Marcus.
Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into thy sheep, the sheep the cup which my Father had given me. Shall I not drink it?
Interesting here that.
Peter wants to defend the Lord.
And he did not do the right thing.
Because the Lord has to go to the cross.
So it hurt a man there with a sword.
And you know, the last miracle that the Lord did here on the earth was to repair a mistake of Peter.
Peter was he wanted to do good things for the Lord.
But not with the right spirit.
It's interesting the Lord would use his hands.
And to repair the mistake of this disciple there.
Let's turn to Matthew 27.
Starting with verse 27.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall.
And gathered unto him the old band of soldiers. They stripped him.
And put on him a scarlet robe.
And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head in a Reed in his right hand, and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail King of the Jews.
And this appeared upon him, and took the Reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him.
They took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on him, raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.
You know, we saw earlier all that the religious world, the religious leader, it took the Lord Jesus and.
They brought him for a trial. The Lord went there willingly, and here we find the Roman world here represented and how they despise the Lord Jesus.
It's interesting in all that.
The Lord had said to Peter.
To another gospel. Don't you know, Peter, that I could call my Father and you would send 12 legions of angels defending?
You know it's striking.
That some people have made some calculation and like allegiance could have been like something like 5000 soldiers.
So many young people are good at math here.
You know, 12 Times, you know 5000 and we read and the story of Hezekiah and the Old Testament, that one Angel.
Killed 145,000 persons.
Could you imagine all the?
The power that was available there just by talking to his father.
But no, no.
Endure all the hingomi there. Endure all the shame.
Because of His love for you and for me.
What a savior.
OK, you know it is said here in the portion that we just read that?
The this guy is in like as a king and mocking him and they put that on his right hand there.
00:30:01
I read as a scepter.
Could you imagine that one day all these people, they will bow, they need before the Lord of glory?
Oh, tonight, my friend.
Tonight is the night to bow the knee before the gracious Lord.
Because one day, every knee will bow before him.
But for some, it will be too late.
Tonight.
Is the day of salvation.
As I look at this scene.
You know, after that they, they took him and they crucified him, they pierced his hand.
You know these hands, they only did good.
You know, we read an Azaria that the hands of the people, of the people of God, they were stained with blood. But for the Lord Jesus, everything that he did was pleasing to his Father. It was perfect and everything.
But they crucified him.
I've enjoyed the thought that you know what retained the Lord on the cross.
Was not necessarily the nails.
But again, obedience of his Father, and his love for you and for me.
What a gracious savior.
You know, I would like to turn to another verse now in umm, Psalm 22.
The Bible is such a wonderful book.
You know, in verse 16 we read.
Psalm 22 and verse 16 we read for dogs of capacity, the assembly of the wicked of enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet.
This was written about 1050 years before it happened.
The Bible is such a wonderful boy inspired by the Spirit of God. When David wrote that he was led by the Spirit of God's writer.
But you said, why was he crucified there?
Let's read the first verse.
We read My God, my God, why as thou forsaken me?
Why are thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring?
Verse 3.
Is the answer of that question.
But thou heart holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
The reason why the Lord endure.
All these sufferings and the suffering I want to talk about now is that three hours of suffering when the largest Christ was on the cross and there was darkness over all the earth.
During that time.
The one who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
It was because of God's holiness that the Lord Jesus was being forsaken there.
It was not for things that he had done, because he was without sin.
But it was because of your sin and mine.
God's holiness, God will not accept in His presence once sin.
God has provided a perfect sacrifice to satisfy His glory concerning the question of sin.
Let's turn to another verse in Zechariah.
Chapter 13.
The second last book of the Old Testament.
Zechariah, 13.
And verse 6.
This was written about 400 years, 450 years before Christ, and again written by the inspiration Spirit of God.
The Kariah 13 verse six. And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thy hands?
Then you shall answer those with which I was wounded in the House of my friends.
Oh, this will be said one day when Israel will be restored, but you know, the Lord Jesus was wounded.
00:35:00
In the House of France he came to his people.
And they rejected him.
You know, it has been said I've enjoyed the thought that there is one thing in heaven that is man made.
Only one thing.
It's it's the mark in the hands of the Lord Jesus.
It's what he endured.
So that it could be your Redeemer, my Redeemer.
I see our time is passing. Now let's turn to a verse in the in the Luke 24.
That's Luke 24 verse 50. And he let them help as far as battalion, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them.
And it came to pass, while it last time it was parted from them and carried up into heaven, and they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.
And work continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.
Here is a risen Christ.
The Lord Jesus has been risen. God has been fully satisfied with the work of the Lord Jesus, that He raised him from the dead, and He has also risen for our justification for those who would trust in Him.
You know, the Lord lifted up his hand and he blessed his disciple. Oh, the Lord wants to bless you tonight.
It is a little storied that is being told has happened in Scotland.
There was a a man who owned buildings and then he had a tenant, a poor lady, and she was late to pay her rent.
And umm, yeah, she was a bit late, you know, maybe a couple of months. So the landlord one day came to the door.
And the in knock at the door.
So the woman, she looked through the window, the landlord's coming. So she went and she hid herself in the house.
She didn't want to meet the landlord. She was afraid.
So the the landlord talk again.
And uh.
He said, well, I guess maybe she's not there, But he said maybe. I thought I see something inside the house, but I'll come back in that time.
So one day.
In the little town where they live, the landlord met the lady there.
And, uh, well, the lady was so embarrassed to see the landlord.
And the landlord said to her, listen, I went to your house the other day and I knocked at the door and nobody answered. But I, I thought I said someone in the house. She said, well, I, I was there, but I had no money to pay.
I didn't want to meet you. I I was afraid.
The landlord said to her, listen.
I know you're going through a trouble time now in your life.
I had a bag of food to bring to you. Why did you hide?
This man, the landlord, was coming to bless us, Lady, but Our Lady was afraid.
Because she knew that there was a death that was not paid.
Oh, tonight the good news is that the Lord is knocking.
Is not requiring something from you. He wants to offer you free salvation.
Because the price has been paid on Calvary Cross.
Would you accept the gift of God tonight?
I have a little something here.
What is this?
How do you call that?
At present could be colleagues also.
I have two guests here.
And, you know, I'm very glad that we're invited to come here and.
Such a such a nice time and I would like to offer.
These gifts to a specific person tonight.
I'd like to give one to Tori.
All right, that's it.
00:40:07
No, I dragged him in return for a long distance. How many hours? 20 minutes?
In town, which I guess I'm just awful to work in the Liverpool here.
One of the companies is very important.
What?
In closing, I'd like to read a verse.
In Ephesians chapter 2.
Call.
And verse 8.
You know, I had on my heart since, uh, as I said, a couple of weeks, the uh, subject of the hand of the Lord.
And Friday morning my wife said to me I read something interesting in Christian's calendar.
So that verse was.
Explained, you know by.
The writer of the little page of the calendar. So I'll just read the verse here. For by grace are you saved true faith.
And that not of yourself. It is a gift of God.
You know.
Salvation is by grace. It's a great gift of God.
The hand of God is presenting that gift, and faith is the end that receives it.
You know, I would have liked to give a gift to every young one tonight, but it was not possible. But you know one thing.
God tonight is willing and able to offer the gift of forgiveness, eternal life to everyone that will believe.
We just need to to reach out. I hate to receive it.
Our time is up.
There was a gospel preacher.
Many years ago.
We said to the people to whom we preach.
I'll give you one week to think about it.
And that was a Sunday night.
And they said next week.
I'd like you to take it. That's it. I'll give you one way to think about it. That was fair. One week.
Seven days.
But you know what happened that night? That gospel preacher was in the city of Chicago.
And there came a big fire.
City and many of the people that were there at night perish in the fire.
They did not have time to think about it.
So tonight I'd like to say.
That today is a day of salvation.
Don't say at the next gospel meeting I will take a decision.
It may not be yours, you know, there's a solemn story that I heard from a lady one day. It really spoke to me very loudly about the importance of.
Of the moment.
There was a man who was a pilot for Air Canada, was working in the Toronto area and it was transferred to Montreal. So the day of the move came and so he took two of his daughters with him by car.
To come to Montreal, traveling on the 401.
And his wife took the plane with the youngest kid.
So the, you know, it's about maybe 5 hour rides, so it would stop at the rest areas and at some point there's two sisters. They were sitting at the back, they said.
Why don't we change seats? You know, like I'm tired. Just look at the cars. I'm like, you know, look on the other side.
So they were sitting in the back of the car, so the rest area they just changed seats.
OK, good job. And after you left the ramp there to go on the 401, a big truck came.
Hit the car.
The father and one daughter were killed instantly.
And that woman said, you know, I don't understand why.
But it should have been me there because for a good hour or so I was sitting on that side and then we had just changed 2 minutes before.
00:45:07
You know, it's just solemn. We don't know what tomorrow reserves for us.
So tonight.
Is a night to come to the Lord Jesus Christ? If he had not done so, let's pray.
Well, our God and Father.
We just pray tonight for conviction by the power of His Spirit.
And we just pray that you would.
Reach the heart and conscience tonight.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Hymnsing
Shepherds
Hymnsing Talk—John Bilisoly
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.
But as far as I'm concerned, I think it'd be nice to keep singing. But I've been asked to say a few words, so with the Lord's help, I will.
One thing that's always been an exercise for me and speaking, and I think others that have spoken in this way would testify to this, is that sooner or later the Lord tests you on what you say. So, umm, it's, it's sobering to think about that. Anyway, let's ask the Lord for His help.
Our loving God and our Father, we thank Thee that we can be together and we can sing these hymns. What a wonderful heritage we have. We thank Thee that Thou has put a song in our heart, even praise unto Thy name, and we just ask for Thy help now, so we open Thy precious word. We've had some exercising things today and much to think about, and so we just pray for Thy help as we look into Thy word for just a few moments.
We ask for thy help. We thank thee for thy beloved Son, the one whom we have to speak of.
We thank you for the work on Calvary's cross, for the blessed hope of his coming again. Encourage our hearts, We pray and we pray for the young people too, and their time together later, for safety and their activities. We thank you that they can be together. We ask this now and asking for thy help in Jesus precious and worthy name, Amen.
Well, we've heard some exercising things today. We heard from our brother Bill about being overcomers.
To be not overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good. We also had our brother Paul bring before us.
The thought of deliverance and to be a deliverer, and I trust that what I have on my heart ties in with that what I've been thinking about.
Of late is being shepherds and so I wanna just look briefly at the subject of being shepherds and uh, I wanna start with.
A portion that we're familiar with in Ezekiel chapter 34, where the Spirit of God gives the prophet Ezekiel some words to speak to the conscience of shepherds. And he speaks very forcefully and, umm, it's really kind of a severe indictment, you might say, against these shepherds. But what I wanted to focus on was.
Not so much all of this portion that he speaks about.
But I wanna pick out one phrase here in the third verse that the Lord has been bringing before me over and over again. And it may seem like a strange, umm portion to pick out here, a statement out of this portion. But I feel like that's what the Lord has laid on my heart. And I trust that we can draw an application and that my brother and will bear with me in making an application from this.
Statement here.
But it's in the third verse. I'll just read the verse. Umm, he says ye to the shepherds. He says ye eat the fat, ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed, but you feed not the flock. Now we could read on and it's, it's a kind of, it's a very dismal, sad picture, but the, the little phrase that I wanna focus on.
This evening is Angie clothe you with the wall. Now I can understand readily that.
He criticized them for eating the fat because we're we were told that in their sacrifices the fat was the Lord's, and that's in Leviticus 3, but the fat was to be the Lord's.
And certainly we know it's it's clear. It says you kill them that are fed and you and you feed them not We can understand those things. But why does the Spirit of God give Ezekiel to say?
Umm, that you? You clothed you with the wall.
So I thought about that and umm, I began to to ponder that and and I trust that what I wanna share with you would be from the Lord because I, I believe that.
We need shepherds. Shepherds are an important function in a flock. And just as we need overseers and just as we need deliverers, we also need shepherds. No Paul could talk about uh, to the Corinthians. He could say in that 4th chapter that although you have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers? And I kind of think of that word fathers as similar to.
Shepherds and perhaps each of us in our lives can think of those that we look to and we say, you know.
00:05:02
That person, I, I, they, they've been like a father to me.
I don't know if any of you have had this experience, but how many of you, maybe you children? Uh, two? How many of you have ever seen sheep being shared?
OK, not too many of us, but a handful of us. Well, for the boys and the girls that are in the room here, especially the boys, maybe you've had your mother or your father take out the electric Clippers and give you a haircut. Have you ever had a haircut with the electric Clippers? I hear a few chuckles. I, I did as a boy. Umm, anyway, I was at a place one time where there was, umm, four or five people that were up on a stage like this and they were shearing sheep and, uh, they all had.
Clippers in their hands, and when the time was to start, they began to shear those sheep and they move fast. And those sheep look big and bulky and they had a thick, heavy coat of wool on a fleece of wool. And in just a matter of minutes there was a pile of wool around the sheep. And they looked totally different. They looked.
Scared and and then they, they were frightened, I'm sure, and they and they looked umm.
Like they, they didn't know what to do and they they had lost their, their heavy coat. And some of them even had little trickles of blood coming down where the Clippers had gotten too close to the flesh. Because these men were working against time and they were competing to see who could do the cleanest job and the fastest job of sharing these sheep. Well, I thought about this. You know, we could, we could look at that sheep again by way of application is that which belongs to that sheep.
That's his coat, that's his covering and it's been taken away and.
These shepherds here, they were taking that which belonged to someone else. I think that's the thought here. Perhaps in being closed with the wool, they were taking that which belonged to someone else. And I just thought about that and it was exercising me to think what kind of a shepherd would I be?
Would I take or would I give? Would I give something to the flock or would I take from them?
And that I found that searching for my own heart and that, you know, led me to think about the occasions in the scripture that we have sheep sharing. And there's not very many of them. I was surprised I was only able to find four of them and total in, in the scriptures where there's actually, uh, sheep sharing that's going on. And so I took a look at those.
And that's what I'd like to do tonight is to quickly look at those. We're not gonna develop them because we don't have time. But the first one is, is in Genesis 31. So if we look at that in Genesis 31, maybe before we go there, I would like to just say this. We talked about this covering, umm, being the sheets, wool, his, his fleece, his covering his coat, if you will.
You know, we have quite a bit in scripture about heart covering as believers.
Umm, we're to be close with humility.
And we're told that God, this is Peter speaking to the Saints there in the 5th chapter. And he says to be, yeah, all of you be clothed with humility, for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.
Paul tells us to put on therefore. I've just jotted these down to save time. In Colossians chapter 3, Paul says put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering.
For bearing one another, For giving one another.
Another one is in uh, Romans chapter 13.
Or umm, I'm sorry. And yes, in Romans chapter 13.
It says Paul says to the Saints there he says the night is far spent.
And the days that had put on therefore the Armor of Light.
Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ. He ends up by saying there and so we could look at these things and we could think about that which we have been given as a covering and you know we have an enemy and that's what I want to talk about tonight is that we have an enemy that wants to take away these things that are should be precious to us this covering.
He wants to take it away just like these shepherds were doing to the children of Israel. They were taking away that which belonged to the sheep. And you know, umm, in the coming day. The nation of Israel is referred to in Isaiah chapter 18 as a nation that is umm, scattered and peeled, it says in our translation.
00:10:22
And the King, Mr. Darby's translation, he uses the word ravaged, or if you look at a footnote, he says peeled or plucked. So the there's a a day coming when the nation is going to go through.
Some terrible times at the end of the tribulation period in that time of the consumption. And there's going to be those invading armies that come down and they're going to literally peel away everything in their path. Well, you know, the enemy wants to take that which we've enjoyed today. He wants to take those things that we have in Christ and he wants to take them from us and.
The exercise for us, you know, I think we can all, in a way, be shepherds.
I don't look at being shepherds as a particular gift.
Like being a an instructor or a teacher. But shepherding care is so important and we need it. And we can each be, in our own way, a shepherd. And how? What kind of shepherds are we? We're gonna look at the end of our little talk here shortly. We're gonna look at the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in this same chapter as what kind of a shepherd he is. And that we might.
Seek to imitate the way he shepherds and be like him.
But let's look briefly at these four accounts. We're like I said, we're not gonna develop, develop them. The first one is in Genesis 31. And what I found searching to my own heart was in that in each of these accounts, there is evil going on. There is evil that is being developed, that is going on behind the scenes. So we have in Genesis 31, this is the account of where, and I'm going to presume here that we know these stories.
I'm not going to, to read much, but I just wanna read. Uh, this is where, uh, Jacob is, is fleeing from his father-in-law, Laban. And before he goes, his daughter does something and it tells us what she did in verse 19.
Umm, but I need to read. Let's see here.
It tells us that there was, umm, sheep sharing going on. And I'm trying to find where that is. Yeah. Thank you. Verse 19 of Genesis 31. And Laban went to shear his sheep, and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father's. We won't read anymore. So we know what happened. They're they're leaving. They left in a hurry. And Rachel sees these images and she wants them and she steals them and she hides them in the furniture.
Of her camel that she's on. And we know the story that Laban accuses Jacob.
Of stealing his idols and he he says, uh, whoever has stolen let him be thy servant and so on well we know that Rachel had them but she made excuses she deceived her father and she wasn't found out but.
She stole those idols. Those idols had value to her. And I thought of this, that the what is characterized in this first account where we have this sheep sharing going on is idolatry. And I thought of that, dear young people and each of us here in this room and being a shepherd, are there things in my life that are like idols that hinder me from being a shepherd?
That hinder me from really being able to be a shepherd. Things that I value and that I hang on to.
So I see in this here, I'm gonna call it idolatry. And you know, idolatry is a serious thing. Idolatry is a serious thing and we are, uh, warned against it in the word of God about idolatry, where to flee from idolatry? Paul says, dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I, I believe that idolatry is a hindrance to shepherding care.
And idolatry for us.
Is not what we think of normally as idolatry, but I think each of us can perhaps think of things that are a hindrance to us in reaching out to others, things that are important in our lives that consume a lot of time. Well, it's exercising, isn't it? To think that umm, Rachel stole these idols, idolatry going on in her heart. Now let's go to the next one here in Genesis 38, just a few pages over.
00:15:03
And we have another very sad account. And again, umm, we know that, uh, it involves, uh.
It involves Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, and it tells us here in verse 12. In the process of time, the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife died. And Judah was comforted and went up unto his sheep shearers, to timneth he and his friend Hira the Adolamite. And it was told Tamar saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timna to shear his sheep. Well, I'm again I I can't take the time to read all.
We know what happens, that she goes and she disguise herself as a harlot and Judah goes into her. We have here what I would call immorality. And I believe that that is something too, that can be a real hindrance to shepherding care and morality or inordinate affections. And Paul talks about it. Others in the New Testament talk about the seriousness of this.
I believe that that can be a real hindrance to this wonderful work of shepherding care. Oh, let's be careful, says what Paul says in in first Corinthians 6. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that you are not your own, that you've been bought with a price and so on. So let's be careful that.
This particular problem that is so characteristic in this world.
That wants to take away what we have. That wants to take away this covering. Let's be careful about this. Now let's go on to the next one, the third one, and that's in First Samuel 25. First Samuel chapter 25. And we know the story again, this kind of a sad chapter. Samuel dies at the beginning of the chapter. We're told that. And then David is in rejection. And there's this man named Nabel who has all these sheep.
And we're told here that, uh.
He had umm great his possessions were in Carmel and the mammoth was very great in verse two and he had 3000 sheep and 1000 goats, and he was shearing his sheep and na in Carmel. Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal and the name of his wife Abigail, and she was a woman of good understanding and of a beautiful countenance. But the man was churlish and evil in his doings, and he was at the House of Caleb.
And David heard in the wilderness that Naval did shear his sheep.
So here's another account of the shearing of sheep in Scripture. And what's going on is David comes in a gracious way. He, they have been a wall to this man and to his, his, uh, sheep, uh, herders and, uh, he had, they had protected them from evil beasts and so on and from those that would, uh, seek to steal and rob. And so this man benefited greatly from David's men. And David comes since some of his men.
And he just asked for, uh, anything that naval might be able to spare that that could be a help to him in the way of sustenance. And we know how he treated David. He despised him. Well, I didn't know exactly what label to put on this. You could maybe put other labels. But I think what characterized this in my mind is that here is a man that is acting in the flesh. And we know that the flesh is that sin nature that each of us have. And here is a man that has.
No regard for David, he acts in a very fleshly way and so how serious it is and the flesh in US can be a hindrance to doing this work of shepherding. And so we're told to umm that the the flesh lusteth against the spirit in Galatians and the two are contrary, the one to the other. There's a a warfare going on and the flesh is a real hindrance to us and it's.
It it's something that we each struggle with and we need grace from the Lord to put it down to keep it in the place of death so that we might be able to to go on to enjoy that those things that we have that are covering and that we might be able to to administer to others. Well, I just thought of that here. What a serious umm thing. And we know the consequence of this, that David almost took things into his own hand, but the Lord.
Heard him and the Lord in time dealt himself with this man Abel. Well, I wanna go to the last one, uh, another very set account in Second Samuel chapter 13. And this has to do with, uh, Absalom's uprising, David's own flesh and blood coming against him and seeking to take over the Kingdom.
00:20:11
And so we see here in this 13th chapter.
Umm, in verse 23, and it came to pass after two full years, uh, might just mention too that prior to this, David, umm, Absalom had a sister whose name was Tamar, and he had a stepbrother, I guess it would be who took advantage of her and defiled her. And that angered Absalom and he's going to get revenge, but he waits for two years. But it says in verse 23 that after two full years.
Umm, that Absalom had sheep shares in Vail Hazor, which is beside Ephraim. And Absalom invited all the King's sons. And we know the story that Absalom instructed his men that when I tell you to go after Amnon and kill him. And that's what they did. And so this was right at that time that he used this excuse of these sheep shearers to get all the king sons there. But he was after Amnon for.
Have done to his sister. Well, I thought of this first you have corruption on the part of Amnon's part and then the result of that is violence. And isn't that what so characterizes the enemy of this world, the God of this world? Violence and corruption. It's what drives man. And you know, it can be a hindrance to us. Perhaps not.
Carrying on in the same way, but being identified with it, it permeates our society, it permeates the.
The movie world it it it so much is is that's what's behind it is corruption and violence. And we need dear young people and each of us, we need to be on our guard against this. That would rob us of what we have that covering that those things that are ours and would hinder us from being shepherds. So let's just go back real briefly now because our time is up.
And just look at real quickly at, umm, Exodus 34 again.
And look at these features of the Lord Jesus here in verse 11.
Umm, I'll just read them. For thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I even I both search out my sheep and seek them, or it should be 10 them. And so here the Lord, he searches his sheep, and he also tends his sheep, the thought of care and compassion. And then in verse 12, as a shepherd tendeth, it should be his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I.
Tend my sheep and we'll deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark days. So he delivers them. He tells it tells us that he gathers them in verse 13. I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries, and we'll bring them to their own land. So he feeds them to in verse 14. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall.
Their full be and then it tells us, umm, down in that, uh, 16th verse.
He seeks the loss, he brings them again that have been driven away. He restores the thought of restoring. He brings them again and he binds them up that were broken and he strengthens them that were sick. What wonderful, umm, characteristics of the Lord as a shepherd. And I'm not gonna take the time to develop those. So let's let's think about those for ourselves. Just look at those and think of.
Verses in the New Testament that would bring out these these the way the Lord treats his sheep let's.
Seek to be like him. Let's seek to care for one another in these closing days of this day of grace, to be overcomers, to be deliverers, to be shepherds. And you know, both Paul and Peter speak of have a word to shepherds and and in those both of those words where they say feed Paul, Paul says feed the Church of God and and Peter says.
Feed the the flock of God. Both of those words for feet should be shepherd.
Because shepherding is more than just feeding. We've had food here at this conference, and it's wonderful. But we're gonna go to our own homes and we're gonna go to our own assemblies, and there's ones among us and perhaps ourselves. We all need it. We need shepherding care too, don't we? So we need to follow it up. Not just feed one another, but to shepherd one another.
Let's close the prayer. Our loving God and our Father, we are searched by Thy word.
00:25:02
And we praise that we might be exercised to walk before the in a way that would enable us to be shepherds to one another, that we would not allow the enemy to come in and take away these things that are ours. We know that our salvation is secure without us desire us to have a a full life.
And one pleasing to thee, and to be a help to our brother, to shepherd them.
We just pray for Thy health now. We just commit ourselves into Thy hands. Look to Thee for the day tomorrow to for Thy pouring out upon us again as a house today. We thank Thee in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
The Eyes of the Lord
Children—Jonathan Grinton
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.
Come on up to the front, kids.
Lots of room.
All right, who likes to sing?
Simon likes to sing. Do you want to give one out?
47.
When he cometh, when he comes.
Umm, we're not allowed to go to the heart of the next three days.
To be very quiet in the Lord.
And, umm.
Very good. I like that one. There's a verse in Malachi that talks about that. Simon, are you gonna be one of his jewels?
Are you gonna be a jewel for Jesus? OK, who has another one?
Yes, Jesus loves me.
#40 very good.
Jesus loves me.
And far away you have a lot of Jesus hearts beginning.
Yeah.
Uh, so you need to find a lot to do, yeah.
While swimming, so I don't know.
00:05:28
Uh, humidity, but I have never mind. It's on my mind. Yeah, I see. It's a lot of blood pushes. Yeah. I'm not going to continue to come up tomorrow.
I saw for a minute.
You know, in Nova Scotia, we like to point to ourselves in saying instead of saying me, you do that. Yeah, you want to do that, OK.
So for the last verse in the chorus, instead of saying me, we'll just point to herself, OK? All right?
Jesus.
Loves he will stay lovely.
And translate.
OK.
Oh my God.
Yeah, I mean, it's hard for a while. You have that one time. Do you need any time right now? Yeah, I know. Geez, I thought.
Oh my God.
Well, I heard a few mees, but we usually do. So who does Jesus love me? He does. He loves me. OK, Who else would like to sing at him? Oh, you love to sing?
Way down there, I saw somebody's hand.
Is it you? Yes.
What is it #1 #1 Very good, almost persuaded.
Oh, really? Oh, a certain man of whom we read, who lived in days of old. Who was that certain man? Do you know his name? Zacchaeus.
Right, this is Zacchaeus.
A certain.
Vision hold on one second, or a friend of all the Angola and his daughter of all the other things.
Not expecting more than gold.
13 days, that's what I'm trying to go, but I have to be surprised to know what I'm saying when the competition on the fishing line.
Oh yes, so the asks where some things all over. The sun came over and they followed the human eye and the hum star or Oscar had given him some things more than gold.
He declined the freaking out blinds laughing out so badly. I can't hold thy life. That's why I'm getting hard to get in some things more than cold.
Oh yeah, so we have sex on the same bowl on that. So I'm just getting tolerated. Following $1,000,000 over the same time and how long? Won't give him some things longer than his total.
I'll stop there just for a minute again, I was thinking back to.
When I was a little boy, it's like maybe this fella here or this one, and you know, where I grew up, we had what was called the Gospel Tent.
And it was a great big tent, maybe.
I'm not sure if it was quite as big as this room, but it was pretty big. It was a tent.
00:10:00
And we went into it. We sang him just like this in the gospel time.
And Mr. Blenner has it would get us to say, oh, yes, oh, yes, there's something more, something more than gold. To know your sins are all forgiven and that you're on your way to heaven is something more than gold and that you're on your way to heaven. I think we can try to fit that in there for the last two verses, OK.
Thus Savior came on the way. I can start again.
We've got our own volumes and everything, and that's why we're on the scale of our way Sooner. We'll have a minute starting from modernization goals.
Oh see, your face is 17. I'm not high by the time you.
I think we've got prosthetics and what's that? But there's a fire and then fall.
Well, let's look at it. Yeah, there's something you can call us on every time I'm doing. Well, I guess it's all you're going to do now. There's any time for a long story and getting out together for all this year for any consumers have to be in front of anything more than having control. Well, that must have been pretty special time for Zacchaeus, don't you think?
To climb up in that tree.
Why did he climb up in the tree?
To see Jesus.
See the Lord Jesus, didn't he?
And the Lord Jesus came walking along, and he loved Zacchaeus, and he looked up in the tree and he saw him. What would you do? What would you do if the Lord Jesus came to vessel today?
Wow, that's a really good answer. I think I would like to do that too. Would you like to see him? Me too. I think I'd like to see him.
Or would you hide in your house and be afraid to go? No.
Has suffered little children to come on to me. He would love to see us. He wanted to see Zacchaeus too and he said Zacchaeus come down.
I'm gonna go visit you today.
OK, who else? Oh, way back here.
3939.
What a friend we have.
I've been angry at my relationship. I don't understand everything. Dear God and Christmas.
Uh-huh. Great things. We can try and drive everything.
Ignore it on the planet MJ.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not a problem. But why I can't eat and why I don't know.
And if you're supposed to call us and lower the maintenance?
I'm very good as long as you get away.
00:15:12
Nsnoise.
While those girls sound really good down there with everybody, maybe we should stand up.
The thing wide, wide is the ocean. How's that?
We need to move around a little bit, get freed up. It's warm in here too. OK. You ready?
Ready.
Let's ask the Lord for some help for Sunday school. Our God and Father, we thank you for.
This time together, this morning, this Lord's Day, we thank thee that we can come here and sing these hymns. We know that it's love to hear us. Lord, We just pray for a little message from thee for the children and and everyone in the room.
Learned that it would be understood and clear. We pray that if there are any here that still have enough sea to wash their sins away, I see to come into their heart that they might do so right now, today.
So we just pray for this and thy name, Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Well, I'm really excited to be here.
I'd like to come into the conference. Do you like coming to the conference? Yes, it's fun. Do you like Sunday school? You do? Yeah. I asked that already. Well, do you like gifts? You do. Mr. Legend last night spoke a little bit about gifts and the gospel message, didn't he? I know he said that he wished. He wished that he could give a gift to everybody.
In the front rows, did everybody get a gift? Today, did everybody get a gift?
Well if you didn't get a gift, let me know after and and I'll have one for you.
Well, I didn't want to talk a lot about gifts.
But I wanted to know.
If somebody could tell me.
What a gift is.
Can somebody tell me what a gift is? This gentleman right here?
That somebody gives the same to you. Do you have to take it?
You don't have to take it. You don't have to. Well, is it nice to take it?
Yeah, it is nice to take it.
What kind of gifts?
Does God give? Yes.
Excellent. His beloved son, the Lord Jesus. Does anybody know a verse that speaks of that gift Isaac?
Well, yeah, that's a good verse, John 316, but I was thinking of one that might speak of the gift.
Yes, it is the gift of God that's very good.
I think Romans 6 and 23. Does anybody know that one Savannah?
What is it? The wages?
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, right? The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well, I was thinking.
Of.
00:20:00
How he gave us that gift.
And you know, as a father, I like to give gifts to my children.
I like to give them things. I like them happy.
I like it when they're thankful that their mom and I give them things, but do you think that we give them the gift?
So that they might take it and do something bad with it.
Do you think that? No.
So I gave you all a pencil and a pad today.
And my intention would not be that you would take that pencil and pad and sit in your chair.
And write mean things.
Or make funny.
Not not nice pictures.
My idea was that maybe.
You write something nice, or maybe a verse. Something good might come out of the pencil in the pad.
Maybe you'd write something that you remembered from the meetings, maybe Sunday school, And it reminded me of a verse that I've known for a long time in Proverbs.
Chapter 17.
If you have your bibles, you can turn to it.
Does anybody have their Bible?
Open the Proverbs 17.
OK, do you wanna read verse 8 Caleb nice and loud?
Stand up, stand up.
Go ahead.
A gift is as the precious stone in the eyes within that it has it, that hath it whithersoever eterneth it prosperous very good.
And so I was thinking of that verse.
In the way that it ends, it says whithersoever it turneth it prosperous. And you know we give gifts to our children and to ones we love because we want something good to come of it.
And so the Lord Jesus came as the gift of God, and he died on the cross for you.
And he shed his blood to wash her sins away. Have you believed that? Have you accepted that gift? Yes, I have. I asked the Lord Jesus when I was a little boy to save me, to wash my sins away.
And you know God gives us that gift.
Because he wants us to do well with it. He wants us to do good.
He wants us to do good.
And it started making me think a little bit.
About how have you ever heard people say about fearing the Lord? Have you ever heard anybody say that?
About fearing God.
Anybody you've heard that? Yeah. Anybody else, Savannah, you've heard that? Well.
It made me think.
About a verse that my mom made me learn when I was a little boy. And it's in Proverbs as well.
In its Proverbs chapter 15.
And verse 3.
Proverbs chapter 15 and verse three. Who would like to read that? Savannah would. I'm getting lots of help.
Go ahead.
Right, it says the evil and the good, the eyes of the Lord are in every place. And you know I was afraid as a little boy.
To do something wrong because I knew the Lord Jesus could see me.
Do you ever think of that, boys and girls, That the Lord Jesus sees everything you do? Do you remember that hymn?
He sees what we do and He hears what we say. My Lord is watching all the time, time, time. Do you remember that one, Simon? Right.
Well, what is it then? What is it then?
That makes us or allows us to do things because we think mommy and daddy aren't watching.
What is it? Does that ever happened? It does. I wanna tell you a story about Ruthie.
I hope I got her name right, but Ruthie was a little girl. She was just about 3-3 years old. Anybody here 3?
00:25:03
Anybody three years old?
Yeah, well, Ruthie was three.
And Ruthie likes to play outside.
And in her yard there was a bank that went way down over the side to another bunch of houses below.
And, you know, there was some big kids down there and, and a dog and she likes to go over to the bank and look down and see the kids playing. And there was a post there. You know what a post is? A piece of wood sticking up.
And she would go over and she'd hold her arm around that post and she'd have her little doll in her other arm, and she'd lean out over the bank and look down at the kids playing and look at that dog that she liked to see playing. And she'd spin around the post just like she saw the big kids doing.
But the problem was, was that mommy and daddy told Ruthie she wasn't allowed to do that.
They said don't do that, you might fall down. That's dangerous.
So Ruthie would go outside.
And put up your hand. It's OK Put up your hand. If this rings a bell with you, Ruthie would go outside and she would look back and see if mommy and daddy were looking.
And if they weren't, she'd go over to the edge and she'd put her arm around the post again. And she'd watch and she'd go around the post and she'd go around the post.
It rings a bell with me. I did that. I did things like that. And then she'd hear the door open and oh, she'd stop and she'd.
Stand there like everything was good because mommy and daddy couldn't see her.
Because mommy and Daddy, why had she forgotten? Yes.
That's right, she forgot that the Lord Jesus and God could see everything that she was doing. And so, you know, mommy went back in and the door shut and Ruthie went back to the post going around and all of a sudden she heard a shout. Come quick.
Come quick, your little girl has fallen over the Cliff.
Ruthie was disobedient.
And she fell over the Cliff.
Well.
Ruthie forgot that the Lord Jesus could see everything she was doing and she was disobedient. And you know, her mommy and daddy ran out and they grabbed Ruthie and they her dad carried her back up into the house and believe it, she had not a mark. She had fallen all the way down over that bank and they couldn't find but a scratch. The Lord had kept her all that way to the bottom of the bank and she was safe.
Because he loved her.
But do you think?
Do you think that she did good with the gift that God gave her because she believed in the Lord Jesus?
Do you think she did good? No.
Well.
I had a whole bunch of different verses about the eyes of the Lord and you know, it says our ways are before his eyes, He sees us.
He sees us.
And I wonder what it is that makes us forget that. You know, my, my children might laugh, but I'm a big child. I'm 45 now.
And I have a problem that when I'm on these trips I like to get there.
I don't wanna be held up.
I wanna get there and the faster I can get there the better it is.
And so I sometimes drive too fast. And, you know, they put signs on the road, don't they? What do those signs say? Yeah, they say a speed limit.
And you know, sometimes I go over that speed limit.
Is that right? Is that a good thing? It's not a good thing. And you know what I do when I'm doing that? I wanna tell you. I wanna be honest with you. I look.
And I wonder if there's a black or a blue car or a white car further up the highway that might have lights on the roof, who would it be?
00:30:04
The police.
And I'm wondering if you'll see me. I'm wondering if I'll get caught.
What have I forgotten?
Anybody else? What have I forgotten? Simon Jesus is watching. I have forgotten that the Lord Jesus sees everything that I do.
Everything. So now that's a little girl, that's a big man.
And now I'll tell you a story about a little boy.
Anybody here 8?
Levi's 888 well.
Do you like stories? You like stories? OK, well this is out of a Bible story book. I should have said that in the beginning. So is Ruthie, and you can have the same book. These stories are good, but this story is about a little boy named Freddy.
And Freddie was eight years old, You know, back when I was a little boy, we had a melt truck. Does anybody where you live now have a melt truck that comes to your house? Does anybody have a milk truck live out in the country? They come to your door? Well, I lived in a little fishing village in Laurenville, New Brunswick, and there was a melt truck that drove right to our house every day, I believe.
Well, little Freddy.
And some of the boys in the neighborhood like to jump on the truck on the side of the truck because it would have a big door that opened and you could jump on and you could go for a ride. That sounds like fun.
Isaac says yes. Well.
Little Freddy would jump on the truck and he'd go for a ride down the road and when the truck would make his nuts next stop, Brady would jump off.
He would jump off and he'd go home while his mom caught him.
And she said, Freddy, I don't want you to do that anymore. That's a very dangerous thing. I don't want you to do it.
One day, the milk truck came into the yard and parked.
And Freddie was there, and he looked around and the milkman was talking to his mom.
And he said, oh, this is the perfect time, nobody.
Can.
See me?
He said this is the perfect time, nobody can see me. So Freddy went around the other side of the truck. He jumped on the truck and he held on. The milkman stopped talking to his mom and he got in the truck.
He pulled away. He heard a funny noise.
He heard a big thump.
And what sounded like a little boy screaming.
He screeched to a halt.
And he got out of the melt truck.
And he went back and what do you think he found? What did he find?
Sounds pretty. What was wrong with Freddy?
Do you know the story? You're right, he fell off the truck.
And he was unconscious. He was knocked out. He hit his head so hard.
That he was like asleep laying on the road.
Isn't that scary?
That's scary.
What did Freddie do wrong?
Yes, he disobeyed and he forgot what?
That Jesus was watching, that God could see everything that Freddie was doing, and he sees everything that everybody in this room does, every second, every minute, every hour of every day.
And he never stops watching over us. He never stops watching for us because he loves us.
And when we're disobedient?
Sometimes.
He shows us that he's watching, and he showed Freddie and he showed Ruthie.
And he showed Mr. Grinton.
Because one day we were coming home from a trip and I had the kids in my truck.
And you know, I passed the car on a three lane highway. They have the passing lane up the middle of the road. And I was so frustrated with the lady that I went and I passed her on the wrong the wrong side. You're supposed to pass in the middle. And I went up on the right and I came over the highway over the top. And guess what was on the other side of the road? Yes.
00:35:20
A police officer and RCMP a Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
And he was sitting on the opposite side of the road minding his business and mine, and his lights came on instantly. And I said, oh boy, I've been caught.
But was I not already caught? Wasn't I already caught Because who saw me?
God saw me. The Father saw me.
I was bringing nothing good.
Out of the gift of belonging to him, I was bringing nothing good.
Well, I had to set an example before my children because they were all there. And so I apologized to the policeman and I told him I was sorry.
And you know, he was very good to me. I still got a ticket, but it wasn't a big ticket. And in Nova Scotia, you lose your license, you know, for seven days.
Seven days if you get a big ticket, and I drive for a living, so I didn't lose my license because he gave me a smaller fine.
But I wasn't bringing good for the gift that God had given me.
And I've been thinking of this verse a lot lately.
And in connection with fearing the Lord and doing the right thing instead of the wrong thing, because he sees the evil and the good. Remember, I've been thinking of a verse in First Corinthians chapter 10 a lot. If somebody has their Bible open, maybe you could read it for me in First Corinthians chapter 10.
Anybody like to read it?
Somebody different, maybe? Jack, you wanna read it? Yeah.
You wanna read the Bible?
OK.
First Corinthians, chapter 10.
Can you read this No say whether therefore.
Ye eat or drink or whatsoever you do.
Do all to the glory of God. Very good, thank you. Whatsoever you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.
I can honestly tell you today.
That my behavior driving my truck before that policeman was not for the glory of God.
I can tell you that Freddie and Ruthie, by being disobedient to their parents, they disobeyed God and they did nothing, nothing for the glory of God.
To your children and everyone here, consider the things that we do before his eyes. Consider the things that we say before him. Mr. Conrad yesterday spoke of our behavior.
He spoke of our behavior.
If you're afraid that mommy and daddy might see you.
Don't you think that we should be afraid?
Of our Father, God the Father of what he sees. Don't you think that we should be afraid of that?
Because.
When we disobeyed mommy and daddy, what happens besides you getting in trouble? What happens? What happens with mommy and daddy? They get what?
Anybody.
What?
What happens when you're disobedient? What do mommy and daddy get?
Anybody have a word?
That's the word I'm looking for, Caleb. They get disappointed.
It gets disappointed. I don't wanna say they get mad. They get disappointed. And if you will, will you, Mr. Pross, tell me what it was that Mister Hayhoe said about disappointment. I can't remember how you said it just before we were talking.
00:40:12
Do you remember?
No, OK, I don't remember either.
It is about fearing the Lord, and that it yes.
The fear of the Lord for a believer is the fear of taking one step without His guidance and the fear of disappointing one who has done so much for us. Thank you, thank you.
That's that's it.
And there's no way I could have remembered all of that by myself so.
Remember that.
Remember that, children and everyone else.
When we're disobedient, we disappoint Him.
And, you know, we talked of behavior in the household of God.
We might disappoint one another as well. I know in my house where I live with my wife and my kids, if one child gets in trouble, it affects the whole house.
The day that I got in trouble for speeding, being disobedient to the speed law, it affected my whole house, It affected everybody. So consider these things that He sees what we do, He hears what we say. My Lord is watching all the time, time, time.
Does anybody have another hymn they'd like to sing?
This little lady here, I forget your name, Alana.
#8 on the sheet. OK, I didn't bring my sheet.
#8.
All right, shall we gather?
Up.
Challenge the air and you're from our life. If you told me to be gone, don't stop on everything. You're just going to go out and ask everybody.
Here's what I'm already down in the water, you know, so it's gone. Uh, when you can't get anything, go ahead. You're going to tell the way you can go out and get. Come on. Yeah, Yeah. That's a blindness. So I have to say anything to your heart.
No, no, we are the same as God of being.
On the 10-4 and it's a lot of things, yeah, yeah, I can't fly this way. It's going to go and we're going to, uh.
Well, I'm thankful for you all being here.
And I hope you had a little bit of fun at Sunday school. I was just thinking, I had made a few little notes of little verses that you might remember. In First Samuel 15 and 22, it says it's better to obey. It is. It's better to obey. And you know, it tells us in Isaiah chapter 118.
00:45:21
Well, I think it's actually verse 20, but it says to obey. He wants us to obey. So remember that. Remember that when you're obeying those gifts that He has given you the gift of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Then we can go and do good things and prosper for him, and he'll be happy. He'll be pleased, not disappointed. He'd be pleased with our behavior. Let's pray. Our God and Father, we thank Thee for the Sunday School time together and for the same. We thank you for these stories and for the verses from thy word, Lord, that Thy eyes does see everything that we do.
The good and the bad. And Lord, we pray that we might.
Really want to do only good things for the things that please thee, like the Lord Jesus Christ, how He did only the things that pleased the Father. And so Lord, we first pray that each one is accepted that gift of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ into their hearts.
And then we pray that we might do good with that gift. And so we just ask you for the remainder of the day, and we think of our Savior and how we're about to come and remember him. If it be thy will, Lord, we just pray that we might bring glory and honor to thee in thy precious name, Thy name we pray, Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
David's Mighty Men
Address—Bill Prost
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Could we sing together #283?
283.
A hymn written by Isaac Watts, who was probably one of the fathers of English hymns.
Maybe most know the story, but it's worth telling how that he was very concerned about the poor hymns that were sung in the.
Church, which he attended with his father back in the 1600s.
And his father's short retort was Well then, son, give us something better thinking that would be the end of it.
It was only the beginning because the next Sunday Isaac Watts produced to him and everybody took to it, and he began to write more hymns, and as I say again, he became one of the fathers of English hymn writers. This hymn is particularly appropriate, and I trust we would sing at each one as a prayer #283.
When we.
Let's look to the Lord.
Loving God our Father.
We trust that we sing these words from our hearts.
When we consider that one.
00:05:01
Whose death we remember this morning by an old and beloved son.
And surely we have to own with the hymn writer that we're the whole realm of nature, ours.
It were an offering far too small.
We pray, then, as we open Thy word this afternoon, that Thou wilt speak not merely to our consciences, but also to our hearts.
And may that One who loved us and died for us be before us His honor and His glory, as we had before us this morning.
We pray for those that are traveling, asking Thy mercies and care for them, and commending our time together to Thee, for we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I feel LED this afternoon to turn to a scripture.
On which I have spoken before.
And there are perhaps some sitting here that have heard me speak on it, but I feel led to speak on it again, and I trust it's from the Lord. And for this reason, we're living in a world where man is increasingly regarding everything, with the horizon only of this world.
Man is increasingly.
Looking at everything.
Through the eyes of what we might call secular humanism.
Which in essence says that the end point of everything is the happiness of man.
Of course, man can only fail in that because there's only one that can make him happy. And yet, even though a man like Solomon tried thousands of years ago to make himself happy with everything that was in this world.
And had to own that it was all vanity. And, as the JND translation puts it, pursuit of the wind. I say in spite of all that.
Man keeps trying.
But I'd like to take us to an Old Testament Scripture that in type brings before us, I suggest, the judgment seat of Christ. And for you and for me as believers, I believe that ought to influence at least my own heart more than it does.
The Apostle Paul a number of times referred to in simple terms, that day. That day. What did he mean? I am persuaded he could say that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. That day, I suggest, was the judgment seat of Christ for believers.
When everything in your life and mine will be reviewed.
And when the Lord will put His stamp, either of approval or otherwise, on the way we have lived down here.
I suggest to you that there will probably be some big surprises.
And that there will probably be those who relatively insignificant as far as we are concerned, are recorded the highest honors.
And conversely, there may be those whom we had thought.
Would be given a great reward.
Who will find more burned up than they thought would be?
Turn with me then, please to second Samuel 2/3.
Second Samuel, chapter 23.
We are going with the Lord's help this afternoon to speak about 10 men.
Ten men.
Nine of whom are named in this chapter and one who is not.
There are many others recorded in this chapter, and there are quite a few about whom we know.
Very little, or perhaps nothing, that's in keeping with the chapter. There will be many who will come forward at the judgment seat of Christ whom we have never known. But there are some in this chapter whose names we know, and we know why they were rewarded.
00:10:12
Because this chapter gives us David's review of his mighty men at the end of his life, or close to the end when he looks back on what had transpired during his reign and says what really had pleased him.
Let's begin with verse 8.
Second Samuel 23 and verse 8. These be the names of the mighty men whom David had the Tachmanite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains. The same was Adino the Esnite.
He lifts up his spear against 800, whom he slew at one time.
There's a slight correction necessary here, and I believe it's made in the Darby translation. It should read He stood up against 800 who were slain at that time or close to that.
And after him was Eliezer the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were gathered there together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone. Away he arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave under the sword. And the Lord wrought a great victory that day.
And the people returned after him only to spoil.
And after him was Shama the son of Agay. The Harare and the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentils. And the people fled from the Philistines, But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines and the Lord.
Brought a great victory.
In the days in which all this took place, it was quite right in that dispensation for men to use the sword against the enemies of the Lord.
It's not your place and mine right now. The day for judgment will come, but it is not today. But morally and spiritually speaking, I suggest to each one that you and I are in a battle, Not a physical battle, but a spiritual one. And as it says in the New Testament, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.
So on there is a need for Christian warfare.
And these three men who head the list, it's very interesting. As far as I can see in Scripture, they are not mentioned anywhere else.
Many others are mentioned in things concerning David's military campaigns and the things that happened to him when he was.
Becoming king and until he sat on the throne. There are various ones mentioned and we'll see some of them, but as far as I can see, other than in First Chronicles Chapter 11, which is the parallel chapter to this, I don't know.
That these men's names are mentioned anywhere else, they are some of those who are singled out, but who did what they did quietly before the Lord and without seeking their own glory.
This man, Adino the Esnite, it simply says he stood against 800.
I can't imagine that it does not say that he slew them all, as it is implied in our King James.
But he stood up against 800. How could he do it?
He could only do it with the Lord's help.
And I say to you and me, the devil is ranging 800 against us today.
And it will come to the point in these last days when you and I may have to stand alone. It's nice to be able to have those with us who can stand with us. A tremendous encouragement.
But sometimes we have to stand alone against overwhelming odds.
00:15:05
This man Eliezer, the whole height, it's noteworthy, and it says so in verse 10, that his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword.
Doesn't require a lot of imagination to realize what the teaching is here, does it? What is the sword? Typically for you and me, it's this precious book.
But notice it's the sword of the spirit.
You and I cannot live a careless worldly life as a Christian and then expect suddenly to pull the sword of the Spirit out of our scabbard and be able to use it.
No, it doesn't work that way.
An old brother was once raising the question in a reading meeting. What is your sword? And somebody quite properly said to him, It's the word of God.
And he said, yes, but that's only part of it. It's that part of the word of God that you have read, meditated upon, and walked in. That is your sword.
Let's remember that.
But his hand clave unto the sword, and he wrought a great victory.
Did I quote that correctly?
No, I didn't.
The Lord brought a great victory. Let's remember that sometimes we like to take credit to ourselves.
Let's remember the Lord wins the victory when we use His word. He gets the glory. What happens afterward? Oh, the rest of the people, it says, returned only to spoil.
And there's nothing said here that Eliezer got upset about that or said, hey, wait a minute now this is my spoil. I'm the one that stood here and defended this land. I'm the one that stood against the Philistines.
No, don't be afraid to share the spoil, even if the Lord uses you to win the victory.
So then here's this man, Shama.
And I think if I had been there, humanly speaking, I might have said, what's a field of lentils worth?
There are lots more where they come from. They're cheap, they're easy to grow.
Why bother risking my life for a field of lentils?
May I suggest that sometimes the devil will whisper that in your ear when it comes to the things of the Lord, He'll say don't. Don't risk your life, your reputation, your everything down here for something that after all, the Lord knows your heart and the Lord knows you care. So don't risk everything just to defend some point of truth in the Word of God.
The devil will say it's not that important.
For this man, Shama had a heart for the Lord, and he valued the land that the Lord had given them. That was Israel's land, that was Israel's food, and he wasn't prepared to give up any part of it.
People fled from the Philistines, and once again it says the Lord wrought a great victory.
Good morning, Ted, Porter said he was going to go out on a limb.
I'm going to go out too.
I have thought about these three men over a period of years.
And I have wondered.
Was what they did, as is recorded in these first few verses, sufficient to warrant their being placed at the top of the list?
Does it seem like that? It seems as if others did in some ways just as much.
Why then, are they there?
I suggest that what we read next, although these men are not named, so I will not be upset if someone says, well, Bill, you can't prove that. But I suggest that although they're not named, these three men are responsible for what happens next. Let's read on.
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Verse 13.
And three of the 30 chief went down and came to David in the harvest time under The Cave of Adelaim, and with the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Refame. And David was then in an hold, and the Garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
And David long and said, Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. And the three mighty men breakthrough the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate, and took it and brought it to David.
Nevertheless, he would not drink thereof, but poured it out under the Lord.
And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did, these three mighty men.
I leave you to decide whether I'm right in that, but I would suggest that although they're not named, these three men were responsible for this deed.
And it was no like thing.
If you look up on a map.
You will find that The Cave of a Dullum was not particularly near Bethlehem.
And these men?
Had some job to do.
Because it doesn't say they sneaked around during the middle of the night, nor does it say that they.
Somehow camouflage themselves in philistine uniforms or some trick like that.
It says they breakthrough the host of the Philistines.
What for a bucket of water?
Man would say naturally that doesn't make any sense.
We all like to drink good water, don't we?
When I was a boy we had water through a tap, but it came from a sister.
And I can well remember my brother and I being sent by my mother up to a well that was probably about 200 yards away up on the hill by the boss's house, one of those old pumps that you pump the water out of.
But she wanted that water to drink because it was good water straight from the well. And it was. I can remember it to this day.
And David had his favorite well, too.
What was that made these men do it?
Oh, it was David that was before them. Here was the rightful king.
They didn't just see a man who wanted a drink of his favorite well, they saw the man who belonged on the throne, the man who was in rejection.
He should have been able to get any water he wanted and they said we can't, as it were, put him on the throne right now. But he's expressed A wish and no risk is too great to get him that water.
I suggest.
So when you and I come together to remember the Lord.
This is giving the Lord a drink of that water.
Oh, in one sense, there will be plenty of it in the coming day. When the Lord has His rightful place, there will be no problem to offer the Thanksgiving and praise of which He is so worthy.
And I don't want to dwell on this, but I know there are those here who know the Lord Jesus and who love the Lord.
But are who are not remembering him in his death. May I suggest that the Lord longs for that drink from your soul.
Whether or not you are a brother or a sister, that is not the point if you are a brother.
Please pay attention, and I'm going to say it again to what our brother Ted said this morning.
Remember, the Lord gets the drink in the time of His rejection from you and me. And I suggest, typically speaking, that is why these men are at the head of the list. Were they faithful warriors? Indeed they were. Were they brave men? Indeed they were. And we need those kind of men today. We need those.
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And may I say it, we need especially young men who will step out for the Lord, because let me tell you.
If you young men will step out for the Lord boldly, I believe I'm right in saying that the young sisters will gladly follow. And if I'm wrong, maybe some of them will tell me afterward. But they are looking to you for leadership and guidance in this difficult world.
But they are also looking for what these men did for David.
They are looking to you for that devotedness to the Lord that says no sacrifices too great for the one who loved me enough to die for me.
Now, does that mean that you don't have a career? I don't believe so. Does that mean that you don't necessarily get a good education? That I'm not saying that, of course not. The education you get, it depends on, as we have in the Old Testament, and this is from the Darby translation, the tenor of your way. Some people are far better working with their hands. Some people are better at making their living with their heads.
Whatever it is.
The Lord would have us to be diligent in it, and it was brought before us that whatsoever we do were to do it to the glory of God.
But let's remember that all of that is only a means to an end. It reminds me of a story that took place years ago in the 1800s, where a man who was a gospel preacher was one day peddling coal around the streets of, I think it was London, England. But it doesn't matter which city. And in those days, people bought small amounts of coal because they didn't have big.
Coal sellers, the way people used to have in this country back in the days of burning a lot of coal, and so they bought small amounts of it at a time.
And he would have peddled it with a little cart, and people would come and buy 10 lbs, twenty pounds, 30 lbs. And then he'd come back in another few days and they'd buy some more. And one day someone saw him pedaling coal. And she said, oh, I know you.
She said you're the man that goes out there periodically around the streets here and preaches the gospel. But then I didn't know this was your job.
Well, he knew what she meant, but he said very quietly to her. He said, ma'am.
I would only say that this is not really my job. My job is to preach the gospel.
But I do this to pay expenses.
That was well put, very well put. May we all look on what we do down here is paying expenses.
And so these three men head the list.
Service on the one hand, there was plenty of it, but devotedness on the other, and we'll refer back to that in a few minutes, but let's go on.
Three men here now. Now we come to three more.
Verse 18.
And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Xeroy, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against 300, and slew them, and had the name among three. Was he not most honorable of three? Therefore he was their captain. Howbeit he attained not unto the 1St 3.
So there are two sets of three here. The first three we've talked about. Here's the second set, and Abishai is the first among that second set, and he's their captain.
Why wouldn't he have been put in the first three? Was he a brave man? Oh indeed, he was no man braver than Habashi, and several times he demonstrated that, one time even saving David's life when David was.
Going against the son of the giant as it reads and the son of the giant it reads had a new sword, or in the Derby it reads new armor and David was faint.
And a Bishai came to his his rescue.
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He was a brave man. He wasn't afraid of the giant.
But there were times in David's life when Abishai didn't have a heart, that beat In Sync with David. When Shimmy and I, you'll remember through dust and stones at him, when David was fleeing from Absalom, Abishai, he had the whole situation in hand. He said, let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head. And I imagine he was well able to do it.
David had to restrain him.
Another time when David was going to go down to the camp of Saul and Abishai said I'll go with you.
But then here was Saul, lying on the ground in a deep sleep, and Abishai said David, let me smite him and I won't have to do it twice.
And I will imagine that he would not have had to do it twice either. He knew how to do it. David had to say no, no you don't lay your hand on the Lord's anointed. Let the Lord look after that.
Sometimes we are very bold for the Lord.
But we don't have the Lord's mind about what we're doing. David honors abishai.
But he doesn't quite make it to the first three, the ones who were in the background.
Never mentioned before they had the 1St place.
We need Abashais, but they need to remember that they must have a heart that walks in the same path as David did. Walks with Christ our David.
Well, here's another man in verse 20, Benny I, the son of Jehoiada.
The son of a valiant man. Now that was something I'm looking here.
That young men and young women who are sons and daughters of valiant men and women.
Many of you and not all of you. I don't mean to include everyone. Maybe you were brought up in an ungodly home. Consider it a great privilege that the Lord has saved you. But if you were brought up in a Christian home with parents who love the Lord and cared for His things, I would say you are the sons and daughters of valiant men and women.
The son of a valiant man of who had done many acts.
He slew 2 Lion Lake men of Moab. He went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.
My Oh my.
First of all there were these lion like men, but finally the lion itself.
Again, it doesn't take a lot of imagination to know what the lion speaks of. The devil is the lion, and he goes about today as always, as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And I'm sorry to say that he is devouring too many believers today, not in the sense of taking away their salvation, but in rendering them powerless.
Just when they are most needed.
First of all, he has to meet men who are like lions, but behind them is the real lion, the devil. And finally he has to meet him at close quarters in a pit. A lion in a pit who can't imagine. And he didn't have a pistol or a gun in his hand either.
He only had weapons that he could use with his hands, like a sword or a spear. I cannot imagine that.
You and I, if we're going to serve the Lord, have to be able to face the devil. But remember, he knows he's a defeated foe. He knows he's defeated. The Lord defeated him first of all, and rendered him powerless in the temptations in the wilderness. And then he defeated him at the cross. And you and I face a defeated foe. We can get the victory with the Lord's help.
But there was more than that. Verse 21. And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man.
And the Egyptian had a spear in his hand, and he but he went down to him with a staff and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear.
Hmm, what is the Egyptian speak of? Well, that's the world, isn't it? Egypt is the world out of which God calls the believer, but all too often we tend to go back into it.
And here he meets this man, and it looks as if the Egyptian has the upper hand. He has a spear.
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And Veniya has only a staff.
But oh, it's a staff in the hand of the Lord. David had only a stone with a sling, and Goliath had a spear and a sword and all the armor that he needed. But he was no match for David and his stone and sling in the hands of the Lord.
Nor was this man a match for Benny. Ayah, what does he do? He takes that staff and takes the spear away from this man and kills him with his own spear.
No, I'm not suggesting that you and I are to go out and do that kind of thing to the world.
The lost world today needs Christ, but we need to get the victory over the world. You cannot preach Christ to a world if you are part of that world system. And we won't belabor that point because we've had it before us already.
Verse 22 These things did Benny I the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men.
He was more honorable than the 30, but he attained not to the first three and David set him over his guard.
I think of Benny Ayer as a young man who was learning. He's not at the top yet.
We don't have time to turn to it, but if we were to turn on further, we would find out that this man, Benny Ayah, was much used right at the end of David's reign and when Solomon sat on the throne. Whom did Solomon pick out to be the captain of his host?
This same Bennyaya you find the verse. It's there where this same Bennyaya became the captain of Solomon's host.
He has some things to learn. He didn't know it all, but he was content to start by overcoming the devil and overcoming the world. And I say to you that are younger and don't think that we didn't have to go through it sometimes before we can serve the Lord in the fullest way in which one of us ever does that. But before we can serve the Lord in the fullest way, we have some overcoming to do.
Don't be afraid of the school of God.
Don't be afraid if you're not among the first three right away. Bennyaya got there eventually.
But we said there was.
Two sets of. There were two sets of three here, and we have three names in the first three.
And it talks about this three here.
Where is the third one.
Is not named.
I said we'd talk about one man that wasn't named.
And it's very interesting in this chapter at the very end, in the last verse, verse 38.
It says at the end 30 and seven in all.
But if you count the names in this chapter.
There are only 36.
What happened to the other third one?
I'm going to make a suggestion. I can't prove it. I leave it to you to consider.
Is there a place?
In this second three for Jonathan.
Is there a place for him there?
In devotedness he was unequal.
Unequalled.
When David lamented over Jonathan, he could say, Oh my brother Jonathan, thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
And we have no record that David was ever displeased by anything Jonathan did directly to him.
Twice Jonathan came down to David when he was in rejection.
Saul tried to find David and could never catch up with him. Jonathan had no problem knowing where he was and he didn't have a cell phone or Agps either. But he knew where David was and he knew how to go. And it says he encouraged him in the Lord is God.
But what happened?
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Jonathan, it says, once went back to his house and the second time it says he went back to the city.
Oh, his house, with its comforts, had a hold on him.
The city which held Souls Court had a hold on him that he couldn't seem to overcome.
He looked forward to being beside David in the Kingdom.
But he didn't make it. He never served under David.
He was slain, as we know, on Mount Gilboa.
By the Philistines, the very ones whom he previously had been used of the Lord to defeat in a wonderful way earlier in Saul's reign, probably when David was scarcely born, or only a little boy.
Because if you do the math and look at the genealogies carefully, Jonathan was not the same age as David. Jonathan was easily old enough to be David's father. He was not the same age as David.
And Jonathan was winning battles long before David was doing anything like that.
Again, I merely suggest the thought. There is a name missing here, and I have pondered it a bit. Jonathan seems to be the only one that I can think of that fits in there. But for you and for me, what is the teaching? I suggest two things #1 let's not be a Jonathan that has, as someone has said, one thing lacking.
He never served under David, so in that sense David couldn't in this sense name him as one of his mighty men.
Our late brother Eric Smith, whom some here will remember, I think I can say I knew him well.
He used to say how many dear believers there are today who are dead on the battlefield because they are unwilling to go into rejection with Christ.
But on the other hand, at the judgment seat of Christ, there won't be a name missing. There won't be any name missing for anyone who has done something for the Lord down here, It says in First Corinthians chapter 4. Then shall every man have praise of God?
Well, we said we'd talk about 10 men.
We have four more.
Verse 24.
ASA Hell, the brother of Joab, was one of the 30.
Asahel.
We're not going to turn back to the scripture about him.
I think it's good to look it up if you don't know where it is. Asahel was distinguished by something that used to appeal to me when I was young.
Because I always like to run.
And Ace of Hell, it says, was as fleet of foot as a wild Roe.
Have you ever seen a deer running?
They don't seem to put much effort into it, do they? And yet they can sure stay ahead of things.
I can well remember walking out the back of our property when we lived in the Hamilton area and we bordered farms and knew the farmers very well and they had no problem with our walking through their property. Of course, we did favors for them too when they needed it.
And I remember our dog, who was young and in good energy at that time, suddenly flushing out 2 deer in a deep gully, 1A buck and 1A doe, and he thought it was his great duty to chase them. And he sure did. And I can still see him going across that field going, as we would say, flat out.
And the deer didn't seem to have any problem staying ahead of him. And of course, eventually matters came to a head when the deer came to a fence and and of course, the fence stopped him. And that was the end of the chase.
But I couldn't help but admire how beautiful those deer looked. An ace of hell he could run like that.
And did he have a heart for David? He did, and David names him here and in other places. But poor ASA, hell, he came to an untimely end, as you will remember, because he insisted on chasing a man by the name of Abner, who was the captain of Saul's host. He wanted the victory, we would say in modern language. He wanted the kudos of killing an Abner.
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Get the captain of Saul's host. He wanted that glory.
And Abner tried to persuade him not to. ASA hell go go after somebody else. I don't want to have to kill you. How can I hold my head up to your master after that?
But Asahel wouldn't quit.
An Abner kills him.
I take that as a warning to my own soul and a warning to all of us here. Let us not be persuaded to enter into a battle for which we are not equal and for which the Lord has not called us.
It does not say it, but I suspect that there was pride in ASA Hell's heart. After all, he was the brother of Abishai. He was the brother of Joab. He wanted to distinguish himself, I'm sure, but he took on something that he wasn't ready for, and he died before David ever got to the throne.
No, I see that.
David was already reigning over Judah.
But he wasn't king over all Israel, and poor Asahel, he died an untimely death. There's a lesson for us in that, in taking on something that the Lord hasn't called us to do. Now, if He's called you to do it, He'll give you the strength and give you the victory. But if we think we're going to take upon ourselves that which the Lord has not fitted us for.
We may find that we die in the battle.
Let's go down here.
Verse 34.
We're picking out a few names here. We're passing over many. David knew who they were. He knew what they were worth. And at the judgment seat of Christ, there will be many names that we will never have seen before, but whom the Lord will single out for reward. But here's a man in verse 34, the end of the verse, Helium, the son of Ahithophel.
The Galenite.
If you remember your history of David, and I am, I hope, not, assuming too much here and assuming a relative familiarity with the history of some of this.
Ahetha Fell was David's counselor.
And the word of God records that his counsel was so good that it was as if a man had inquired the oracles of God. He was a man gifted of God to give good counsel.
But when David was running away from Absalom.
And when Absalom tried to usurp the throne, this man Ahithophel.
Was out to get David. He was out to get him. And he said to Absalom, Absalom, you give me 12,000 men and I'll go at the head of them and I'll go out and get David when he's unprepared and when he's weak and everybody's not ready for battle. And I'll get him and I'll get the king only. And pretty soon you'll have all Israel united behind you.
As far as it went, it was good counsel.
But we might ask ourselves, why was a hit the fell so ready to do that? Even Absalom says, Is this the way you treat your master, that you defect to me? He didn't. He didn't understand it at first.
There was a reason for it.
And if you read the genealogies, you see why.
Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba.
He was one of the few that knew the inside story about what had gone on between.
David and Bathsheba and how Uriah had been killed by David's miserable planning.
He knew all about that.
And it was his granddaughter's husband who had been taken away, and he said to himself, that man is not fit to sit on the throne.
We know the rest of the story that God appointed a man by the name of Hushai also to give counselor Absalom. But Hushai was not a true man to Absalom. He was a spy. He was on David's side. And who should I gave bad counsel to Absalom? And the Lord made Absalom believe Hushai's counsel was better.
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And poor Ahithophel, he knew that Absalom was done for and it's recorded that you went home and set his house in order and then went and committed suicide.
For what about ilium?
Helium was Bathsheba's father and even closer relationship.
And what does ilium do?
He stays devoted to David. He recognizes the rightful king and stays there.
And he gets his reward.
The lesson for my own soul in this?
Is that sometimes, And let's be frank, there are troubles and difficulties among those gathered to the Lord's name.
And sometimes there may be someone who acts in such a way.
That you and I, it seems, just can't get over it.
Maybe something is done that affects a member of my family or effects a good friend of mine.
And I find it in my heart very difficult.
To get away from the resentment and anger that builds up as a result of what sometimes is such a display of the flesh. Does it happen? You know it does, and maybe I'm guilty of it.
And the tendency is to say I will not put up with that.
I cannot be in fellowship with that. That is so wrong. Eliam could have said that, but what does he recognize? Oh, he recognizes God's rightful king. He recognizes the man whom God has put on the throne. He recognizes an Absalom as a usurper. And he says I will not follow that man even when his father did. That must have been hard.
A Hippophel, the man who gave counsel like the oracles of God.
And yet his son, his son, had to turn his back on his father and watch his father come to a bad end. But he didn't do it.
Very touching.
And a real lesson for you and for me.
Two more men.
Verse 37.
2nd.
Neharrai the bureaucrat armor bearer to Job, the son of Zeroy.
Isn't that interesting?
Who was the captain of David's host? Joab, the son of Zerowaya. He wanted that position. He distinguished himself by getting it.
In fact, the tunnel in the under the city of Jerusalem, through which he must have crawled to defeat.
The enemy that were up on top of that hill in Mount Zion is still called Joab's Tunnel. It's still there, apparently. So they tell me I've never been there.
For this man, Joab was a fleshly man. He wanted, he was ambitious. He wanted a place in this world. Sometimes he knew better than David, but he was out for himself and not for David. And even though he was the captain of David's host all through David's reign, he's not named here. Very, very searching.
For your heart and mind will I get to the judgment seat of Christ and find.
That there isn't much leftover that isn't burned up.
But his armor bears there.
That armor bearer could have looked at Joe, Evans said. This man doesn't really care for David. This man is simply ambitious. This man wants a name for himself. He wants to be out in front. He wants to be the chief captain. And we know that in order to stay in that place, Joab killed two other men.
Whom David has to say he killed two men.
That we're better than himself.
Very, very sad. He killed Abner, the captain of Saul's host, in a subtle way, and he killed a man by the name of a Massa.
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And he killed him also in a subtle way. He didn't do it enough, what we would call a fair fight.
He tricked both of them and killed them, David says. He slew two men that were better than himself.
But he was content, this armour bearer.
To bear the shield and the armor for Joab. Why? Because it was in the service of David. Can you and I look beyond that? Can we work with someone and help someone in their service for the Lord? Even if we don't admire the person, I think we should.
Remember, we're not doing it for ourselves, but for the Lord. Joab was fighting David's battles even though his heart was not one with David, and his armor bearer was there ready to serve. He was right in the forefront of the battle. It was a dangerous place to be, and he gets his reward.
And finally #10 in the last verse, verse 39.
Uriah the Hittite.
We all know the story of Uriah.
How that David did his best.
First of all, to make it appear as if the baby that he had fathered with Bathsheba was in fact Uriah's baby. But that didn't work. Uriah wouldn't go down to his house as he was told to. So then David, we know, sent a letter right in Uriah's own hand telling this man Joab, who was captain of the host, to see to it that Uriah got put in the hottest part of the battle where he would be smitten and killed.
The Lord allowed it to happen. Some have raised the question. Uriah was an innocent man, why didn't the Lord?
Deliver him.
And I don't have a complete answer to that question.
Except that it would have been most difficult for Uriah eventually to come back home.
And it would have had to come out what had happened.
And here he would have had to have seen the one to whom he was so faithful. And remember, he was a Hittite. He was a Hittite. The Hittites were in the land of Canaan long before the Israelites. They dated back at least to the time of Abraham and maybe 1000 years before. History tells us Hittites were around a long time.
And they were a warlike people. But this Hittite was devoted to David. And he would have had to have come back home from the war to find that things that happened between David and his wife. And you can imagine, maybe you can only imagine what it would have meant to him. I believe, for myself anyway, that it was a mercy.
That the Lord did take him away like that so that he wouldn't have had to face that.
But David recognizes the devotedness and the bravery of that man.
The devotedness and the bravery of a man who was not an Israelite, but whose heart was one with David, who wouldn't even go down to his house when the rest of the host of Israel were living in tents and having what we call in general terms of bivouac, having to cook their food, probably over open fires and sleep in tents.
I've slept in tents, yes, it's kind of fun for a while, but I wouldn't wanna live in one all the time. It's not an easy thing.
And he says I'm not going to go down and be comfortable under those circumstances, even though though David told him he could, he got his reward. And if you see someone taken away suddenly, I just say this.
And it seems as if the Lord ought to have delivered them.
We need to be careful about judging why it happened. The Lord may have taken them away.
I can still remember and I'll share this with you as a last verse turned to Isaiah 57 and one.
Isaiah 57 and verse one.
The righteous parish, and no man layeth it to heart.
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And merciful men are taken away.
None, considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil.
To come.
This is a personal note.
But I can still remember.
My late father-in-law, Albert Hayhoe, was called away very suddenly.
After surgery.
Back in 1981.
Was on a Wednesday that he went to be with the Lord. Can still remember getting a short but very poignant phone call from our late brother Paul Jevidan of Kentucky.
He didn't say much, He didn't linger much on the phone, but he simply read me that verse and he said, Bill, I wonder if that's why the Lord took him home.
Sometimes the Lord takes away people whom we would have thought he should spare, but the Lord in his wisdom takes them away for his own reasons. This man Uriah was a faithful man and the Lord was going to take him away rather than having him face.
The terrible difficulties that he would have seen had he lived.
Well, we trust these thoughts can be used of the Lord for the blessing of each one of us. They've meant much. I can honestly say to my own soul, our time is gone, so let's simply close in prayer.
Our loving God and our Father.
We thank Thee for those things which were written aforetime, which were written for our learning, and we thank Thee that Thou hast given us these things, these examples of those who lived thousands of years ago and yet who teach us things and give us lessons which are good for the pathway of faith today. So we commend thy word to thee, to each one of us, and pray that Thou wilt use it in blessing, for we ask it, Lord Jesus, and.
Person worthy name Amen.
Philippians 2:8-16
Philippians 2:17-30
Philippians 2:8-14