I.H. Klassen
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Well, we saw the subject this morning about, which makes for unity.
And again, I say that unity really comes from submitting ourselves to the Word of God. It doesn't come just because we think it ought to be, because it has to have a righteous basis in order for there to be unity. And so I just want to read a verse in Ephesians 4 to begin with.
And I might say.
Where the practical unity is destroyed in the assembly. Sometimes it isn't because two brothers can't seem to get along.
No, this begins further back than that until Ephesians 4. It tells us. Therefore, I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation with your call. Now that's one expression there, isn't it?
Walking worthy of the vocation were with your called the 1St 3 verses.
And in Ephesians is that vocation.
Uh, then verse 2 with all lowliness and meekness and long-suffering.
Or bearing one another in love. Now, do those words mean anything to us, or are they just there in case I'm in a good frame of mind? No, again and again we need to recall those words and act according to it. And then it says, endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Well.
No, I see a lot of young folks here and I see older ones too. And both of us.
Those of us that are young, those of us that are old, we need help. And I'd like to bring out especially that the power of the believer, whether old or young, really lies in his manner of life.
Now we might get a little pictures a little bit in Caleb and Joshua. Caleb and Joshua were two men that went through the wilderness to the glory of God, but they both speak of a little different line. Joshua speaks of the official side.
That speaks of the Apostolic side of things. Joshua had power to command the children of Israel, but Caleb was a man that wholly followed the Lord. Three times it says he wholly followed the Lord. Well, that's what we have left today is the Caleb. Now if you would look on Scripture, you would find the death of Joshua. And the day came where the apostles passed off the scene, but you look in vain for the death of Caleb.
Now we know Caleb died, but we don't get it in Scripture that Caleb died. And so that character of things, that Caleb character, things who wholly followed the Lord, is where your power and mine lies today in the Christian course. Now a word to young men in the 4th chapter, First Timothy.
And.
I trust that these aren't just words to us because.
The clothes of the history.
It's under and see a man that's running a race. We sometimes see a horse race maybe.
And it's the last lap of the journey that the extra energy is put on to come out, as it were, in the front lines. Well, this is the way it ought to be with us. I believe this last leg of the journey, there ought to be special effort, as it were, to be found in the current of God's thoughts. And what a joy it would be to finish the race that way.
Now it says here to young men in verse 12 of the 4th chapter of First Timothy.
Let no man be despised by you.
Now, why would anybody despise your youth, young man?
Well.
Many times there's quite a reason Noah, a brother that was his parents were after and his brother were after him to turn to the Lord, turn to the Lord, turn to the Lord, well finally turn to the Lord. And he went on happily, but immediately he began to instruct the brethren and criticize in a way, and then he began being rejected.
And he said to me one day, he said they all begged me to go on with the Lord and I'm going with the Lord now. They're putting pressure on me. Well.
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I said, brother, it's good to remember one thing, that God requires that which is passed. And we need to realize that young men, that if maybe somebody does sort of press us down, that they have perhaps a good, pretty good reason. And if they don't have a reason, maybe it's good for us anyway.
And so it says here, be an example of a believer in Word, in conversation, in love.
In spirit, if ever a thing is important today, it's a man's spirit. What kind of a spirit do we have? The Lord had to say to the apostles, Once you know not what spirit, you're all.
A right spirit is something that God honors and that God will stand with Is a is a right spirit and a wrong spirit He won't stand with It might be ever the truth that you contend for, maybe ever so right.
But if your spirit isn't right, if you're in the flesh, the Lord will not identify himself with it. Then in faith and purity. Now with the young man, Timothy was told a number of times to keep himself pure. And purity is very important in relation to bearing testimony. We had some about this morning. Righteousness must be at the bottom of anything. That's going to have a good foundation.
Now it says, verse 15, Meditate upon these things, give thyself holy to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all. Well, the principle with God, that you and I can never raise anyone any higher, and we are ourselves.
You know, I may come forth with very, very good ministry sometimes.
But if I'm not in the good of it myself, I'm not going to put anyone else in the good of it.
And then he says, Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine, and continue in them. For in doing this thou shall both save thyself and them that hear me save thyself. Yes, it says that save thyself and save others. Yes, save those that hear you. I sometimes say, We say that the poor Sinner and the gutter.
The love of God can reach you down there no matter how low you are.
You can be raised up to be with Princess. Can't we say that to us? Think that has fallen?
Or I sometimes say, why get new recruits if we can't keep those we have? It's a real exercise to see things falling. By the way, Do we say, well, maybe those?
Those overseers and so forth are not careful enough. No, well, Timothy wasn't an overseer. But we, we are men like Timothy. We need to help one another in these things. Now turn to something for those of us that are older.
And Peter in the first Peter 5.
Now how how important it is that?
Like verse two says.
Now these are the ones that have, we might say the older one.
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind neither as Lords over God's heritage.
No, but being in samples or examples.
And it says, And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory. That they did not await. Likewise the younger submit yourselves unto the elder. Yeah, all of you be subject 1 to another. So it brings them together now, old and young. This verse brings them together. Now with this I'd like to turn to several portions in the Old Testament that.
Again, we might say our principles that have been laid down.
For us and there were never wiser than the Word, and it's really only by the word of God.
And obedience to it, that we're going to be a help to one another and that we're going to bear testimony. So look at the 20th of Deuteronomy.
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And now when the children of Israel were to come into the land, there was going to be conflict. There always is conflict. You'd go on with the Lord and you're going to have some pressure put against you.
It's Satan is against everything that Christ is for, and so these pressures are going to be against you and against me as we want to go on with the Lord.
But the 1St 4 verses the priest is at work, the verses after that the officers are at work, but each of their plates and each bring out really an important side of the truth. Now when thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and see his horses and Chariots and our people more than thou, it always looks that way. That they won this against you is more.
And so we need help. Be not afraid of them, for the Lord thy God is with thee.
Which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and it shall be when ye are come nigh unto the battle.
That the priest shall approach and speak to the people, and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, he approached this day to battle against your enemies, but not your heart faint. Fear not, and do not tremble, neither be terrified because of them. For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies.
Enemies to save you.
Now if you want a picture of that, you would look at first or Second Timothy, one where it says and call comes forth as the priest.
And he says to Timothy, God has not given us the spirit of fear.
Let a power of love and a sound mind, and he says to Timothy, Be not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me. His prisoners will, though the opposer may be great. Remember the apostle Paul as he encourages Timothy in those last days.
And he says, don't be ashamed, because the Lord's going to stand with you.
Well, that's wonderful, but now we come to a little different side of the truth, and I trust you'll understand me, right?
God is for us, but God has an order.
I often hear a brother say when he changes jobs, goes on a new job, that's the his company is sending him to school to learn, learn how to operate the computer or whatever it is. Well, when God is going to use you or me, isn't it fair for him to send us to school? Well, he does. He send us to school and all this one going to school.
He has to bound to the orders of the company, the rules of the company, until you and I have to too. And so it takes up the offices of the people.
No, here the officers come forth and.
Not they don't speak like Paul does to Timothy, but it's more like Paul maybe speaking to Mark in the 15th of March where he said to Mark, Mark.
Yeah, a nice brother, but you know, I don't think you're quite ready for the for the path that your your uncle wants to take you on. And it ended up kind of sad for a while anyway. So the officer shall speak unto the people saying what man is there that hath built a new house and has not dedicated it?
Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in die in the bathroom.
And another man dedicated. Now the first thing we want to learn from that is.
Well, I might suggest the building of a house.
You might have a structure of truth, you might have read Good ministry, and You have a nice house to build as it you have a nice house built.
And I sometimes marvel at young men. They could layoff the book of Ephesians far beyond me, and that's all right. But there's just one thing that I'm interested in is that if they're living in that, they're living in the house that they have built.
And now I'd like to see this one thing here that.
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It says lest you die in battle and another man dedicated. Well, the thing of it is God is going to have all his order, all his principles, all his thoughts carried out and we need to receive the sovereignty of God, especially in our day, realizing that God.
He doesn't need me, as it were, to work.
Contrary to his thought or to his his order in order to get his work done? No, he's going to have his work done. But it's a privilege to do it and we have the privilege to do it. But here's a brother that has built a nice house, as it were.
A man has built this house, but he hasn't lived in it. He's never really made it his own. He has never really been in the good of it. And you know, that man is very in a very critical place. He may, he may get into conflict and he might die in battle because he he just went out to battle before he made these things good.
Now it's wonderful that we have the ministry.
Ministry, God has given it to us and and we wouldn't want to be without it and neither would I discourage any man from searching the ministry. But turn over to chapter 23 to get a little warning there, chapter 23 and verse 24.
Now when thou cometh into thy neighbors vineyard.
Then thou shalt, thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure.
But thou shalt put, thou shalt not put any in thy thusful, or in thy best get. Well, what does that mean? The brother asked me once what that meant. Well, there happened to be Mr. Darby's 34 volumes, or 35, and the index, the side of the room. And I said there is Mr. Darby's vineyard, and you can go to it and you can eat all you want.
And you know, whatever you eat, you simulate, assimilate, and you get the good of it. But supposing you put it in your basket, should we say maybe in your notebook? And then you go out and you begin giving the faint.
The grapes you put in your basket, well, it isn't going to work.
No, there's a warning against that, beloved young brothers.
To search the word, now is the time. To search the ministry, now is the time. Don't wait till you're my age to do it because it's too late then. But remember.
That you go into your neighbor's vineyard and you eat the grapes all you want. You know the love and the courage of the land were such.
That what was mine was yours in a sense, but it wasn't due to carry at all. It go down the street with a basket full of grapes and people think, well what lot of grapes you raised when it wasn't wouldn't be true at all. It wouldn't be your grief, it would be your neighbors grades.
So this has caused many a dear brother to topple over, as it were, because he hasn't really assimilated it, not really lived in it. Now let's turn to the 14th of March to get a picture of a man there.
Now whoever that man was, I quite likely think it could have been Mark installed as Mark brings out the failing servant.
But in the 14th of Mark and verse 51.
And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloud cloth cast about his naked body. And the young man laid hold on him, and he left the linen cloth and fled.
Fled from them naked. Well, you know the linen speaks of righteousness.
And it's wonderful to have be clothed in a practical righteousness. By the grace of God. We are clothed in the righteousness of God, but we need to be clothed in practical righteousness. But this man, he only had it cast about him. He had never really worn it. It's like the man that had never lived in his house. He built a house, but he didn't live in it.
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Until he was a man that just had cast this linen garment or linen cloth about him.
And how easily it came off just at a very.
Time where maybe he wanted to really be faithful, he wanted, no doubt here to follow the Lord. But there were those young men that pulled it off of him because it wasn't real.
And beloved young folks.
You know there's such a thing if you've only got a linen cloth cast about you. It's like a brother said once, he says.
When I went into a place of amusement, I took the Coughlin cloth off and I hung it on the coat rack. Is that what you can do? Is that what I can do? Perhaps Peter kind of did that one time, but don't have a linen garment that comes off that easy.
No, he said. When I came out, I put it back on. He said I was connected with brethren. Well, what a what a sad thing to have only.
Linen cloth cast about you and never really have worn it. Now if you turn over a page you would find some men that were wearing.
Wearing this linen. Chapter 16.
And verse.
Yeah, when they were verse four and when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away.
For it was very great. And entering into the supper curve, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. Here's a man that was clothed in it. And they were frightened. And he said unto them, Be not afraid. As you see Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified, He is risen, He is not here, and so forth, while he was a man that was clothed in linen, and he could give the message.
Of the Lord's resurrection. So the warning here is.
If.
If you build a house, wonderful, but try it out.
And I sometimes say that you might build a new house, but you don't know what that house will take until it's gone through The Four Seasons of the year. Well, the pipe will freeze, or whether roof leaks or whether the wind blows into it. And so it's the same with a Christian. They have to go through those Four Seasons of the year. Now, they're not all the same. Winter's far more severe than summer, perhaps.
But still the apostle Paul could say, he know what I have been among you at all seasons, whether it was winter, summer, or fall or spring, the apostle Paul could say, Ye know, and he was the same as it were. And so these testings come to the house, and I just might say that.
When Paula and Timothy and Mark.
No, Paul and Barnabas and Mark were together.
And you know, you can just see Paul as he was somewhat distressed when.
Barnabas was bringing Mark and Paul said, you know, Mark, I don't really think you've lived in your house. I think I think you're on the right track and I think you're you're coming along and I think someday the Lord might use you. But right now I can see, remember a while back you turned back when going got kind of rough. And so I just feel you haven't really.
In your house. That would be nice if you went back. Well, I can just see Barnabas get quite upset over that. But I believe Mark went home and turned us over in his mind. And you know sometime later on Paul could say bring Mark with you for he is, he is profitable unto me. So we do profit by these things and.
And even if afternoon we might be able to profit by them because we want to be used, don't we?
Dear young brothers, if the Lord leaves us here, we want to be used for Him.
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But there has to be. We have to come God's way. We have to come his way to be saved. We have to come his way to be servant.
Well, now you come to verse six. What man is he that have planted the vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it?
Let him go home also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And really solemn, isn't it, to die in battle?
Oh, I'm I really am grieved when I see anybody turn aside, but especially a brother that seemed to have died in battle. That is, he went out to fight.
They went out to meet some of these things before he was ready.
He had lived in his house before he had eaten of his vineyard.
Now there's a good lesson I think learned in the vineyard, and if you turn to Leviticus, you will find.
Something about a vineyard there. I think it's the 19th chapter of Leviticus. Yeah, Leviticus 19.
Now you know Vineyard speaks of joy.
In Revelation 6.
It is that they think they're going to mark in their forehead. Well, they didn't get a literal mark there, but their countenance manifested the joy of the Lord.
And so in this vineyard in verse 23.
And when you shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food.
Then he has uncircumcised unto you it shall not be eaten, but in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, to praise the Lord with all. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof.
So yeah, if you came into the land of Canaan and you were a bit slow.
Planting your vineyard, it was five years that you'd have to be there before you could eat of it. If as soon as you come into the land and you planted your vineyard, in five years you could eat of it. But you know, some of us were very slow, as it were, when we came into the land and perhaps we spent don't take five years. And I think we learn a lesson here.
In all the first three years.
It was uncircumcised, it wasn't really fit for God and you know, three speaks of death and resurrection.
And there again, young men and older ones, us older ones too, have we gone through those three years of learning that in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing?
That process has to go on and.
It's wonderful if we can come to realize it. We may break over the traces, but we again have to be recovered to realize that that those first three years are uncircumcised. They're not fit for God at all.
Well, I believe when we come to those three years, the end of those three years.
Then we realize that everything belongs to God. You come to the 4th year.
And isn't it really a delight when we come to the end of ourselves and we see that all glory and all praise belongs to the Lord Jesus and.
Anytime we reflect on ourselves, we, we, it comes to our mind. No, no, everything belongs to the Lord. Well, that's the 4th year. Well then you come to the fifth year and as it were, you get the nourishment from the Lord.
That is, the Lord hath had his portion, and so He, as it were, gives it back to us.
Well, I believe if we realize something of the truth of the vineyard.
Why, we might realize that as we give the Lord his proper place, and I don't mean just because the Bible says to give him his proper place. I mean that it has affected our hearts in such a way that we we realize that all glory is to him. Well, then we take the fruit of it in a different way altogether. We take it as from his hands and.
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Then there's real joy.
You know, some think of a man that was you know, he was preaching the gospel and he was he was every time you met him. Isn't it great to know the Lord and and this kind of thing? But one day when he was laid aside on a sick bed while he went up to visit him and you'd say, well, where's all this joy? He was all he was down and nothing was right and all well, it showed that he hadn't.
Eaten of the vineyard. It appeared that He had, but he really hadn't. But I think it's a wonderful thing when the Lord puts us into pressure and trial to be able to submit to it. And if we do submit to it, it's because we realize something of having eaten of our own vineyard. Well, now we have verse 7.
What man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her?
Let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. Well, what would we learn from that? Well, the thought of a wife would speak of increase at home.
Children. And so I believe it's very important and very wonderful that any of us might bring forth fruit at home first.
I may go across the country to serve the Lord, but how about serving the Lord at home? How about starting at home? It may, it needn't be in any great thing, but in perhaps in a very little thing that we might serve the Lord. But it's wonderful to bring forth fruit at home first now.
I don't mean only in the assembly, but that's nice. But in our own homes it's nice to be fruitful.
And then in the assembly at home, I always like to see a young man start at home.
You know, I talked to the children, perhaps maybe opens a gospel meeting, maybe occasionally gives out of him. You never like to see a brother very forward, a young man. But it's nice to be having exercise to sort of fill a little place at home. And I believe if you're born fruit at home, you might go to battle, as it were, and not die in battle. Well, one more test is put on.
And the officer shall speak further on the people, and the they shall say, what man is there, that his spirit is fearful of faint hearted?
Let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart. Well, the officers of the people are still putting forth a test, and now is the final Test. Is there a man that's fearful and afraid?
Oh, I'm really worried about those men that are fearful and afraid. You know why? Because they make one fearful and afraid man can make ten others fearful and afraid.
And how wonderful to come in on the positive side and the way of encouragement like the priest instead of being fearful and afraid sometimes. But here are certain ones that, as it were, they just hang crepe over everything. The number of Saints of God, there is a lot left, yet there is a lot left for the Lord here and.
Wonderful to use what we have, encouraged what we have.
And not to be fearful and afraid. Oh, there's been that idea, you know.
Of we're just at the end, let things go kind of carelessly.
That's real dangerous. You know, some brethren taught that 50 years ago. That's the Lord's Cummings right around the corner. While we're not going to seek to keep things in order in the assembly, but what are we're reaping for that now? And so we have no right and it's very, very, very dangerous to in any way let down or to.
Lower the standards today, if anything.
We need to raise them.
And so we know Gideon's men were put to the test, and when they were put to the test, I think he had.
Well, 32,000, yes, and the test was put. Every man that's fearful and afraid go home. Well, 22,000 went home and of course that left 10,000.
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And the Lord said, well, 10,000 is too many, and so he applied another test. It brought him to the water.
And you know, it was the way they drank water that determined whether they'd be in Gideon's army or not. Now, can you think of anything less than drinking water? No. In the harvest fields, you have maybe a dozen men. They all drink water a little different. Some just golf it down. You think they're going to take the whole jug, and others take their time. And you're real thirsty. But you have to wait till he's through.
And so.
It's a very insignificant thing. And yet this determined whether they'd be in Gideon's army.
And you know, below the Saints of God and young brothers, perhaps some time we see a brother used for a little blessing to somebody. Maybe a soul is saved through them or somebody has helped through them. And we say, well, why didn't the Lord use me?
Well, I believe that what we learn in drinking water is the little things. We think of great things, young men, but it's the way we do little things that God honors. You know, He even says in Timothy, be courteous. Can a young man be courteous? It goes a long ways with an older one to see a young man courteous.
A young man.
Well, when I think of home, I'm away from the assembly there, and all the other brothers are gone too. Some have gone to Phoenix and California.
And so it's left the middle-aged brothers there.
But those that the Lord is using for the ministry, there are those that wash the dishes and swept the floor at our team meetings or all day meetings. Well, there were those that came and ate their dinner and were all the next meeting and as soon as that meeting was over, they were off and they were sure to be back for supper, but they had no thought of cleaning the table.
Or washing the dishes.
And so where are they today? So, beloved brothers, don't be afraid of these little things. Those were the ones that were chosen for Gideon's army. So we have living in your house, eating of your vineyard, marrying the the wife. And then be careful about being fearful and afraid and be careful how we do little things.
Insignificant things all.
To me, they're the important things.
Man gets up and preaches the gospel. That's nice, but to me that isn't near as great as perhaps helping an elderly sister or comforting someone and something that nobody else exactly sees. Now I'd like to speak a word to those of us that are older in the 17th chapter of the same book.
Now you get the thought of administration here in 17 and verse 14.
And.
We know it was in God's thoughts to have a king.
When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee and shall possess.
Possess it, and shall dwell therein, and shall say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me.
Now notice these that are set there are only 17 verse 14 these that are set up in administration.
Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose now.
You know it says an axe. Feed the flock of God over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.
Not where your brethren have made you an overseer, no.
And.
The time came before Paul's departure that the apostles didn't choose overseers anymore.
Paul could say over which the Holy Ghost have made you overseers. So we have to be careful in oversight that I don't step into oversight because my father was there no or maybe even because I'm the oldest brother and I I say this carefully, but.
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It's one that the Lord puts there and then it says.
From among thy brethren shall thou set king over thee. Thou mayest not set a stranger over thee which is not thy brother.
Well, how important that this one that is, as it were in administration, is a brother.
Now there's no better place to look to find the definition of things in the Word of God. Whether it's foot washing, you turn to Genesis 18 and many other things. You go back. But to find what a brother is you would go to.
The 4th chapter of Genesis.
And we find there that Cain is never called a brother, but Abel is called a brother 7 times and you can count them.
Verse two of chapter 4 and she again bare his brother Abel.
And then verse 8, Cain talked with Abel, his brother.
And came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother.
And slew him. And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not.
Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth into the me from the ground, and thou art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. Well, I think 7 times Abel is called a brother, but Cain is never called a brother. So I think what we would learn from that is that a brother?
Must have the right sacrifice. Abel had the Lamb. And so our brother all by all means has to be saved. He couldn't be a brother otherwise. But furthermore, I think Cain was seeking the welfare of, I mean, Abel was seeking the welfare of his brother Cain. He doesn't call Cain a brother, but he was seeking the welfare of Cain.
So I believe you might get the definition of a brother from that one.
That has the right sacrifice and one that has an interest in another.
To help them.
Well then it says in verse 16.
But he shall not multiply horses to himself.
Nor cause the people to return to Egypt to the end that he should multiply horses. For as much as the Lord has said unto you, ye shall henceforth return no more that way. No horses. What do horses speak of in Scripture? Horses speak of a natural force, natural strength. And so when it comes to the assembly, when it comes to administration.
You may be a very good manager in a store. You may be very good at handling men in construction.
And you might be a doctor and able to direct your patience and all, but if you bring that into the assembly, it doesn't work.
Thou shalt not multiply horses. I don't say that a brother with these managing abilities can be used.
You know, and maybe a building or something, but in when it comes to administration of the Saints, we cannot use natural force and natural ability. We have to say, Lord, what do you want us to do? And how many times we have caused things to go back to Egypt, back to the world.
Because we have used means.
And things that that.
Have stumbled them so one in administration was not to multiply horses. Oh it's really sad when we think of some that we have cause to go back to Egypt. You know if they're out of Egypt, let's keep them out of Egypt. But again I say when it comes to acting administration.
The flesh has no place.
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And if we're going to use natural means and natural forces?
We're up to to turn people back the way they came.
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart be not turned away. Wise. That's an unhappy thought, isn't it? Wise?
Well, where do I speak of a divided affection?
You know we're living in.
A strange day in a way, as I've come through the families in the Western Canada and a good many places the Saints are related in certain assemblies in assembly there's the Johnsons and the assembly, there's another name and so on. Well, so we have to be careful as to.
When we have a judgment, as it were, in administration.
That we are not partial. Now naturally, if you had wives, that certainly would bring in the thought of partiality.
But the scripture says to be without partiality and so.
There is real dangerous as it were in the present day to as it were multiply wise.
Well then, it says, neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Well, you know the world has a slogan. Money talks.
Now I'm not saying it's wrong to have any money, no, But remember, money doesn't give you prestige.
Not when it comes to assembly administration. That's wonderful to see a brother who who has money that's able to be unaffected by it and when he, as it were, carries out his his place of administration in the assembly that he isn't in any way affected by his prestige.
So it's very nice to see a professional man that's not affected by his prestige.
And it's danger. They're in a hard spot because of the way they help the Saints free of charge many times. But when it comes to administration, we need to be very careful that we don't.
Put money.
As a as a pedestal, as it were, so they were not to multiply horses, not to multiply wise, not to multiply southern gold. And then it adds in verse 18, It shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his Kingdom, that he shall write.
In a couple law in the book, out of which out of that which is before the priest and the Levi, yes, they were to take the original book.
And the king was to copy that book.
Well, if you want to get acquainted with a book, you certainly would by copying it. And so this would be involved that the man in administration needs to know gods and God's order.
And remember, he was not to copy what the king before him had copied or the king before him. No, no, because, you know, the first king would make some mistakes. We can be sure that. And so the next one would make those mistakes plus his own. And pretty soon, what do you have? And so we need to be very careful that we always return to the original. What does the Scripture say?
It certainly solves a lot of things.
If you can say what does the scripture say and then it adds here.
Verse 19 It shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes to do them.
Well, you know another beautiful thing there is that God has given us a good book here, a good translation, and there's real safety in staying with it. We know that men have translated and interpreted till there's what they call the Bible that if you pick it up and read it, you hardly recognize it. All the beauty is gone. Why is because they've made it to fit the 1St man and.
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Not as.
As a word of God really is that it's taught us by the Spirit. Well anyway to read in it. And now notice verse 20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turned not aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left to the end that he may prolong his days in his Kingdom, He and his children in the midst of Israel.
You know, I'm thinking of how it was that perhaps I know of six assemblies that are there no more.
Well, really what has happened is because of a breakdown in administration.
People were turned back to Egypt and the young were spared and consequently.
They're they're gone and so it says that you may prolong your days in a nice to see an assembly grow and prolonged.
Well.
I trust that we might get a little glimpse here that the young man, and of course that's to us too. But remember to live in your own house. What is truth if you don't live in it? What is truth if it isn't practical? Thank God that we have positional truth and we need that first. But then.
Deuteronomy 20 tells us how we might live in that we may eat of our own vineyard and be careful about our neighbors vineyard. Let's go eat of it, but let's not put it in our basket.
And then to bring forth fruit at home. And remember especially how little things are done. Little favors, little kinds. Kindness to your mother.
Sometimes the things laying around in the house wouldn't be wonderful for a young man to pick those things up. He might say, well, that's a girl's job, but really not, not any more than yours or mine. We can do those little things and they'll.
They, as it were, will give a little power to what we have to say and then to remember those of us that are older in administration.
Not to multiply horses and to be a brother, a true brother.
And multiply wives, multiply sovereign goal. Don't use that in administration, but to copy the word and to get the good out of it.