Walla Walla Conference: 2017
Table of Contents
Morning Scenes in Scripture
Address—Bill Brockmeier
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No.
Oh Jesus, friend unfailing, how dear art thou to me our cares, our fears of sailing, I find my strength in thee. Why should my feet grow weary of this my Pilgrim way? Rough though the path and dreary, it ends in perfect day. This is a lengthy hymn, but it's rich in thought and expression, so I'd like to sing it all. 16 in the appendix.
Oh Jesus, friend Unfaith.
Why shut my feet?
Free.
Harvest.
Not my court as pleasure.
Compared to Christ with thee.
Thy sorrow.
And peace and joy for me.
I lost once more Jesus.
Like Christ?
For me, divine.
But when my blood most precious.
This cannot be.
What fills my heart with?
Wideness.
Tis thine.
Abundant grace.
Where can I look?
Inside.
Jesus.
On my face.
Providing.
My love, can there grow full.
In thee, my rap, you tidings no good.
We hope thou will fall.
Oh, I'll wake you up and Glory.
Your charms are spread in vain.
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I gaze on Jesus.
There shall find dwell with God.
For every.
Trivia for distress.
Salvation.
Sure, help and quiet.
No Fear of all.
Prevailing.
Right.
Lord Jesus, we thank Thee that we have heard a sweeter story, that we have found a truer gain.
We thank Thee, blessed Savior, for that great love that brought thee down.
I'll just go all the way to Calvary for us bear our sins and own body on the tree.
To show forth the expression of God's love and all of the sweetness, all of its fullness. Thank you blessed Lord, I was gone into death without arisen from the grave. Our, the glorified one, and thou who hast loved us unto death, now does desire our affection and our response to thy love.
Bless you, Lord, we look up to thee this afternoon with, with uh.
Confidence in that love, and yet knowing that thou would speak to us.
And now it's working each heart, and now it's have a so for thyself, blessed Lord, hear the little time that might be left to us. And as we, our God and Father now would purpose open my precious word, we would do so with reverence and pray that thou is used for our blessing, for our edification, our exhortation and comfort. And so I looked at the Argonne, that indeed Thy word might affectionately work in US that it might not simply.
A little more knowledge or a little bit more of, of, of insight, but that our God now it's uh, use thy word and and blessing this afternoon. So we seek thy help when we ask it all, our Father giving thanks in that worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I'd like to read part of a couple of expressions to begin with the 1St in Genesis chapter one.
Genesis chapter one and verse.
5.
And God called the light day.
And the darkness he called night, and the evening and the morning were the first day.
That expression is found five additional times in this first chapter of Genesis. The evening and the morning were the first day. Oh, you say your Jewish reckoning of time, I would suggest is the divine reckoning of time. God orders in the quantifies day as as the evening and the morning gods.
Day. It begins in the evening. It ends in the morning. Now turn over to Proverbs chapter 4, if you would.
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Proverbs 4 and verse 14. It references the path of the wicked.
But down in verse 18 it says the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day for the dead. Darby translation puts it, But the path of the righteous is as the shining light, going on and brightening until the day be fully come.
Again, in verse 19 it speaks of the way of the wicked is His darkness, but in contrast to that way, that path of darkness is the path of the just that goes on and brightens until the day before He comes. We often say, and rightfully so, that the day in which we live is getting darker and darker. Indeed, in Second Timothy we read that evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Even within the Christian testimony, things are not improving, not getting better.
They are worsening and that's true, but that's only one aspect of the truth. We turn to 1St John. We would find the expression the darkness has passed and the true light now shineth, or rather should be. The darkness is passing, but the true light now shineth. Lee now stand in the light of God revealed. And despite the darkness of this world and and especially the moral and spiritual darkness, we live in the hour.
Of Christ rejection. And so it's night and it's darkness, but that darkness is passing. We look on.
To the coming day of glory we look on. To the day when it's going to be fully come, we look on. To the morning indeed, of the Lord's return and that coming Kingdom.
Been thinking a little bit of late of mornings, you know, years ago when I was a young person.
Thank God for every remembrance. Our dear brother Clarence Lundini said years ago, he says you have a Wollstone's books, Doctor WTP Wolsten. I said that when my parents have them and he said I asked you if you had them. I said, well, no, I don't have a copy. And he said here. And so some of my first books of ministry ever read in a young person. I encourage you, you're not too young to start reading them. They're very understandable. The gospel messages with a lot of substance to them. The first book I read was Seekers for Light.
And the second one was night scenes in Scripture. Very interesting, very instructive. Just nice to sit and read these wonderful, uh, invigorating messages.
And so the night season and the night in Scripture not only would speak of the hour of Christ's rejection, it would speak also of dark times in our life, whether it's matter, regrettably, of sin, and sometimes hours of sadness.
The sorrow suffering its night. Now the psalmist could say that weeping may endure for a night.
But joy cometh in the morning, and so that morning may be the return of our blessed Lord.
And weeping may endure a long time, but joy does come in the morning. And yet you also have the thought of the night or the night seasons in scripture.
As that personal, that very intimate, that very private.
Life and our relationship with the Lord and it's instructive to go through scripture to consider these things in the nice seasons. But I I don't want to pursue the night scenes and scripture this afternoon or the the night seasons. I'd like to focus a little bit more on the morning on the morning.
Before we move into some, what we might speak and suggest is mornings in a typical way that would bring before us a new beginning and a new day. I'd like to read a couple of verses that have reference very specifically to the morning of the day. The 1St is in the 5th Psalm, and again, neither of these two scriptures are unfamiliar to most of us, but it's good to be reminded of them.
As you read, I think Peter's ministry, especially he, he spoke that he would stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance. It wasn't that he was presenting a new line of things necessarily, or a different aspect of things, but he was reminding the believers of something that they knew already that they needed to be stirred up with. And so often where we fail in our life is not that we didn't know something, but we didn't act on what we did know, or we weren't stirred up and exercised, convicted with respect to it. The Psalm 5.
And verse 3.
David says, My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. And then the other verse, companion verse, if you will, Isaiah chapter 50.
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Prophetically looking on to the Lord Jesus, that perfect dependent man.
In verse four, the Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned.
Are the instructed or of the disciple that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary?
He wakeneth morning by warning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
There's two things that should characterize us in the morning. The 1St is that the Lord should hear our voice.
In the morning, in the morning, I will hear my voice and I will look up in the sense of anticipation. And that's how we should begin every day. And the Lord can hear our voices even if we don't audibly speak. A lot is nice to pray audibly as well. But there's something else besides him hearing our voice, and that's us hearing his voice. And we find the Lord Jesus is that perfect example, the one who awakened morning by morning to hear, to hear.
A word in season. Why that he might know how to speak a word to him.
That is weary. Why often is it? Do you not have something to say to someone when something needs to be said?
Because we haven't first heard from the Lord.
And therefore we go. We have nothing but, O our blessed Lord, He heard, He heard is the learned.
So that in the Lord hear our voice, and may we hear His voice. Now turn to First Samuel chapter 2, if you would.
Like to look at several, uh, passages of scripture here, I should say First Samuel chapter 3 that I bring before us the thought of mourning, and I trust that would umm.
Be some lessons or some points for encouragement in our life.
First Samuel chapter 3 verse one. And the child ministered unto the Lord before Eli in the word of the Lord is precious, and that is very rare. In those days there was no open vision.
And umm, verse three. And Aaron, the lamp of God, went out to the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.
Samuel was laid down to sleep.
Except time. I'm not going to go through what this passage. Perhaps you're familiar with it. How?
Very sadly, the Lord did not speak through to Eli or through Eli. He was the high Priest, but there was issues with Eli and the Lord was going to move in a different direction.
And the Lord begins to speak to Samuel, one that was nurtured up by his mother and cared for, uh, bringing that code even as he was in in the Eli's under his responsibility.
And the Lord speaks to to Samuel and he doesn't know how to react. He doesn't know how to respond. He thinks it's Eli that's speaking to him and troubles Eli perhaps a bit, waking him from sleep. And finally Eli recognizes it's the Lord that is speaking to this young man and says, Samuel, this is what you say when the Lord speaks to you. And I just say this is a practical word.
That.
Those of us that when we're younger.
Sometimes we don't know how to react, perhaps to different things. The Lord is laid on your heart and and sometimes we say things or act in such a way that we ruffle some feathers.
Because you just don't know how to respond to it. Well, I, I think Eli was perhaps a bit, uh, perhaps even irritated at the third or fourth time when Sammy interrupted him from the night of slumber. And yet he realized the Lord was speaking to this man. And I think it's a nice word for us as a brother in the audience tonight that.
Probably 35 years ago said to me, he said, you know, Bill, the exercises that you have are from the Lord. And so maybe I didn't respond to it in the right way, but you know, when the Lord begins to speak to you, may we be sensitive to it in the night seasons. And it's that which is that intentionally personal relationship between you and the Lord. The Lord is laying things on your heart and convicting you. Well, we find that.
The Lord speaks to Samuel and it's really a message of judgment.
It's a very powerful word. Verse 11 The Lord said to Sam, You behold, I will do a thing in Israel at which both.
The ears of everyone that heareth it shall tingle in that day. I will perform against Eli in all things which I have spoken concerning this house. When I begin, thou also make an end. For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. And therefore I have sworn into the House of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged.
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With sacrifice nor offering forever. And Samuel has this way on his mind all night long.
But now the morning comes, the night seasons are past, and Samuel lay until the morning and open the doors of the House of the Lord. He did his service, and it says Samuel feared to show Eli the vision. This is a morning of trepidation.
God has given Samuel a word to speak. He's not a.
He's not an old man, he's not a middle-aged man. He's a young man if he's a boy and he has a message of the most solemn consequences that now he's going to have to deliver to an aged man and he's not eager to do it. He's full of fear. But we find that this morning of trepidation becomes the morning of declaration. He doesn't want to deliver the message, but his hand is forced when Eli says in verse 17, what is the thing that the Lord has said unto thee, I pray?
Hide it not from me, God do so to thee, and more also if thou hide anything from me of all things.
That he said unto thee. And Samuel told him every wit, and his nothing from him.
And he said, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good.
So see Eli.
Here is this message from Samuel, and I think it's so, so appropriate of the spirit that Samuel had. He had a very heavy message to deliver to Eli. He wasn't eager to do it. He was fearful, and yet he must make declaration of that. And so I just like to especially encourage you, dear younger ones, that as we start out in the pathway of faith, there is fear in bearing testimony for the Lord. I want to tell you briefly two men that I worked with.
Jim was a client of ours and this goes back a number of years. He was a strong man physically. Hockey player. He was a man of.
Influence a man of piercing eyes and, and, uh, really was a very intimidating figure And I, uh, was my, uh, I worked with him one day and said, well, I'll take, uh, we'll take you out to lunch and is this time to give thanks for the food. I, I, I have never had such a struggle in my life to say, oh, my head and give thanks to the Buddha.
I can't do it now with Jim sitting across the table.
But the Lord gave me grace about my head for a brief moment and I looked up and he's staring at me with his eyes just boring through me. He said did you just give thanks for your food? And I said I did. He smiled and stuck his hand across the table and says thank the Lord. He said I'm a believer but I was too scared to do that.
You know, this man carried himself in such a way in front of the world though. But we immediately had a rapport and a relationship there that there was a situation that came up later on at work and it was not something that I wanted to be involved in. He was, he was involved with it and my boss said I will not, I will not ask him to excuse you from this event. He said you will call him yourself. I said that would be fine.
So, Jim, this is Bill.
Spoke briefly and said that's fine brother, I I understand.
But may the Lord give us grace to have courage.
Uh, to in the smallest way to acknowledge him in that way. But now I want to mention about Joe.
I had umm.
I don't want to give too much background here, but I worked with the man, he professed the Lord and at one point he, umm, he uh.
He had gone to work from a different company and he came back and I had spoken to him before about the things of the Lord.
And so it was after office hours, you can mail back with the company and it's open workstation workspaces and cubicles. And so I went in and said, hey Joe, you're still reading the word.
He looked at me like that and said quiet.
I don't want anybody know that I'm anyone around here to know I'm a Christian, he says. There's some things in my life that just aren't right, so I don't want them to know that I'm a Christian. So don't, don't, don't bring that up to me again.
I felt my my hands were tied, as we say.
And I saw that man make one horrible decision after another.
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We never spoke but.
The comments that he made to me.
One e-mail, he said to me, he wrote to me.
There was enmity there towards me.
What can I say? Here is a man professed to be a brother in Christ, and that he was.
Some years went by and I found out that, uh, someone said, well, I just got, well, I was gone on a trip and they came back and said I went to Joe's funeral. 49 years of age. He had, uh, developed into quite the bodybuilder.
HGH nutritional supplements and etcetera. He was, he had become quite a physical specimen and I felt so sick and hard to see the tragedy that his life had become. I was grateful to hear that.
That the Lord had restored him from the message that was given by a brother at his funeral had restored him to himself.
But I just briefly mentioned those two examples of the one who.
Who came out and confessed the Lord needed some encouragement. But here's another who wanted no part, no scripture speaks of the armor of light and what a safeguard it is that we confess Christ, that we in some way identify ourselves with him. Now we sometimes say, well, you don't have to do that with your mouth. You can do that in other ways with your action. And I understand that. But it is a great safeguard to confess the Lord Jesus with our mouth. Well, here it was a morning of trepidation for Samuel, but it was a morning of.
And that we find that that was the beginning of his great work and being used of the Lord. Now let's turn over back to Genesis chapter 32.
Because these mornings are are very real. For Samuel it was the beginning of very marvelous service, a blessing for the people of God.
But now we look at the story of Jacob.
And Jacob is to meet his brother.
Esau They had not left on good terms.
Specifically, you wanted to kill him.
Though we find in verse 24 of chapter 32.
And Jacob was left alone, and the rest of the man with him, until the breaking of the day.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joy.
As he wrestled with him.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
And he said, What is thy name? And he said Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more, Jacob, but Israel. For as a Prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed? Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it without us? Ask after my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. For I have seen God face to face in my life is preserved. And as he passed over Penuel, the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh.
Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which is at the hollow of the thigh under this day, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. Hold your place, Sir. I just want to read another verse in the.
Hosea.
Chapter 12.
In reference to Jacob in verse 3.
He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God or and in his strength he wrestled with God.
Yeah, he had power over the Angel and prevailed. He wept and made supplication unto him. He found him in Bethel, and there he spanked with us. Well, here we find it's been noted that it doesn't say that in the Genesis 32 here that he wrestled with a man. A man wrestled with him.
And in our life we recognize that there are times that God and his sovereign grace has come in and begun to work in our life. It wasn't that we it was a fruit of our diligence or of our devotedness or something of the sort. We realize that God has stepped in and began to work with us. As it relates to a certain matter, we find that Jacob had been very resourceful. We made that he is a merchant man. The balances of deceit are in his hands. He loveth to oppress. Jake was marked by.
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TV was marked by oppression. He was not a he was not a man that was honorable in that way. He did value the inheritance of God. But now God is going to speak to this man and he wrestles with him. And in Hosea it says in his strength, Jacob's strength, he wrestled with him. But you know he did not prevail in his strength by strength till no man prevailed. How did he prevail against him?
I so enjoyed an article I recently read.
The Christian friend on this subject.
And the writer rings out this thought. What is it that so claims the heart of a mother?
Is it the strongest, most demanding voice of a man?
As I would restore her to response immediately. No, it's the cry of her child.
It's the cry of weakness. He prevailed in weakness. The Lord had wrestled with Jacob, and Jacob wrestled in his strength. He wrestled with the Angel until the man, the Angel of the Lord, touches him and cripples him so that he's going to halt from that day forward.
And so in our lives, there is that which God, if there's gonna be anything for God, he's gonna have to come in some way and cripple us to come in and recognize we are not gonna go through this life standing tall and our own strength and our own energy and our own abilities and our own intellect and stand strong and finish strong. Know we're gonna have to be broken. We're gonna have to be weak. And again, this is a matter of Jacob the Angel wrestling with Jacob.
And he touches him. So how does he prevail then? He said, he says, let me go. He says, I'm not going to let you go. He's going to cling. And we sing in that hymn.
M 316 To him our weakness claims.
Jacob was gonna cling to him. He was not gonna let him go. And so he prevailed, not in his strength, but he prevailed in weakness. There was a lot of lessons for Jacob still to learn, but this great lesson was the breaking of Jacob, was the making of Jacob.
It was the morning of devastation, everything that Jacob would want to honor to build him up, and now?
He walks with a limp.
But this was what would form that man to ultimately be used of God and bless you. And so the sun rises on him when a morning this was and so sometimes those things and whatever it might be.
Some sort trial, some misunderstanding, some slander, something in some way that the Lord allows in our life that just cripples us and lays us low. That's where he can come in to begin the work and blessing. Now let's turn over please to the.
I'd like to turn to mark chapter 15 for the next morning.
Indeed, this is the morning of the crucifixion.
Mark, Chapter 15.
And straight away in the morning the chief resell the consultation with the elders and the scribes, and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried them away, and delivered him to Pilate.
And uh, Pilot asked him, Arthel, the king of the Jews, And the answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priests accused him of many things, but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they witnessed against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing. So that Pilate marvelled now at that beast to release unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made.
Insurrection with him who had committed murder, and the insurrection in the multitude crying aloud, began to desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
The pilot answered them, saying, Will you that I release unto you the king of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy, But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
And Pilate answered and said again into them, What will you then, that I shall do unto him whom you call the King of the Jews? And they cried out.
Again crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done?
And they cried out the more exceedingly crucified him. And so Pilate willing to content the people.
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Released for Alison to them, and delivered Jesus, when he discouraged him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium. And they called together the whole band. And they clothed them with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, and began to salute him. Hail, King of the Jews. And they smote him on the head with a Reed, and it spit upon him. And bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him.
And put off, put his own clothes on him and let him out.
To crucify him.
Perhaps we'll stop there. What a morning. This was the darkest morning.
That this world has ever seen, when this world, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor, religious and political, all united as one man to crucify the Lord of glory, the Creator, the one who came to bless and the one who came to say what a morning this was.
You know this morning of accusation, this morning of crucifixion, there was nothing for our blessed Lord to learn, but there's much for us to learn in this go back to chapter 14 just for a moment. This thought is often struck me here in verse 65. Well, let's read from verse 63. Then the high priest rent his clothes and said what need we any further witness? You have heard the blasphemy. What think ye and they all condemned him to be guilty of death and some.
Spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him prophecy. And the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands. Here it's a religious.
Man, a high priest and the Blessed Lord is spit upon as well as buffeted, hit with a clenched fist and hit with a slap. You know a a slap stings more and is more insulting than a clenched fist. But the blessed Lord Jesus suffered and he was spit upon.
By this religious crowd, but we go into chapter 15 and verse 19. Now it's the Roman praetorian, it's the soldiers, it's the civil side, Jew, Gentile alike, and they spit on the blessed Son of God. You know Paul's desire was to have fellowship with Christ suffering.
Enjoyed a comment recently read where brother put it this way. He said that.
When we realize that everything that happens to us in life is for the purpose of conforming us more to the image of Christ, it resolves a great deal of anxiety.
And so as we read what our blessed Lord, you know, there may be things that happen to us that we don't like, that we don't care for, indeed, some things that are just outright unjust.
But the blessed Lord Jesus, he knew it all before us and with Him there's plenty of things that.
The Lord sees even if no man's eye sees, but with the blessed Lord Jesus He took it all and how we need to familiarize ourselves, and I mean that in the most meaningful sense, familiarize herself in the good way of the sufferings the blessed Lord Jesus went through at the hands of man. We can never enter into what He suffered at the hand of God in the ills, atoning sufferings where his soul was made an offerings for sin.
And where in those hours of darkness, he likewise offered himself as a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savor to God?
Would always consider what the Lord Jesus went through Indiana, every form of injury that man could keep upon him. The ridicule, the disdain, the mockery suggesting everyone against him. So I look for some to take comfort and there was none. And so the blessed Lord Jesus here in this hour of crucifixion, of accusation of cruelty that was rendered to him.
You know, I think it was a little cold, Mr. Darby said. He says love for Jesus.
Puts one to work. I know of no other way. And you know, if there's to be anything in our life, our poor life for the Lord.
It's gonna be a result of affection for Christ. It's not guilt driven.
It's not duty driven.
It's not a spirit of competition.
It's the response of simple love for the one who died for us, and to consider all that he suffered. And as the Lord may in this wisdom allow us to face things that we don't appreciate, may we think back on this Blessed One and to realize that in these things He is conforming us more to His image.
Now if you would go over to John chapter 20.
For if we have this morning of crucifixion here in John 20, we have the morning of resurrection.
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John 20 and verse one the first day of the week cometh marrying Magdalene early, when it was yet dark unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone take taken away from the sepulchre.
And she goes and gets Peter and the disciples, and then.
They come to the grave, the sepulchre, in verse 10. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
But Mary stood without the sepulchre weeping, and then she wept. She stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, and seeth 2 angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, Why weepest thou?
She Seth into them, because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she has thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew now that it was Jesus. Jesus hath, and her woman, Why weepest thou whom seekest thou she supposing him to be the garden of Seth and him? Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith, and her Mary she turned herself and Seth unto him.
Rabona, which is the same Master Jesus hath under, touched me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend into my Father, and your father, and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
Good morning, good morning of Victory, the first day of the week, the Lord's Day.
This glorious day when the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and we find the disciples there. They'd gone back to their own home and no sense hanging around. They sized the situation up. They loved their Lord, truly. But we have to move on with life despite the sorrow. But there was a woman we find in Mark that the Lord had cast 7 demons out of her.
And she wasn't leaving. She stood without the self of her weeping.
We're familiar with the three Marys. There's more than three Marys. There's several Marys in Scripture, but the three Marys that are prominent in Scripture, Mary the Mother of our Lord and how precious to consider her and the sorrow that thou dear woman went through and prophetically has said a sword shall Pierce through thy own sword. Also to think of Mary the Mother of our Lord to to realize what it was for her to see her first born son so cruelly treated, despised and crucified. What a heart, what a pain for a mother's heart.
Mary, the Mother of our Lord. And then Mary of Bethany, we see affection blended with intelligence who anointed the body of Jesus before the day of His burial. So he was alive and he could appreciate the outpouring of her affection towards Him. Mary of Bethany, what in the wonderful example she is, but here is Mary Magdalene. She did not have the intelligence of Mary of Bethany, but she had this affection. So you said well that was lacking well.
Sometimes the Lord takes what's lacking our own deficiency and turns it into a marvelous blessing. But she wasn't going to go.
She didn't understand the truth of resurrection either, but she stays there. She just wants to be near there.
And weeps.
Well, we do find that the Lord does does address her. Why we face out.
Home seekers style.
Well, why was she weeping?
Because the Lord had died, Lord had crucified.
Whom, who, who, who, whom seek us out. Why are you here? And so she engages in this conversation and we find that devotedness and love. She say, well, if you think him, he's a gardener there. And if you've taken him away, I, I will, I will, as you say here, tell me where that was late him and I will take him away. What? What strength did she have to do that? But such was her devotedness to the Lord. But now we find something so precious here.
At the darkest time in her soul's history here, where it all seemed to be lost.
She hears that word, Mary.
She'd heard that before.
It says in John that he calls his own sheep by name. And she had been having conversation with the Lord, but when he spoke her name she turned herself immediately. She knew who that was, it could be none other. And she says, Rabonae, this is the morning of adoration.
And this is what the Lord desires from our hearts, that we that He transfixes our object. He is the only one worthy of our love and our devotedness, our praise, our honor, our worship. And we see it exemplified here in Mary of Magdalene. One word He says Mary, and she worships him. Rabona.
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But now something too is most remarkable as well. If we go through First Corinthians chapter 15, we have those that were publicly saw the Lord and those that gave witness to his resurrection to establish the fact, because the gospel is based on fact, the truth, the fact of the resurrection. But Mary Magdalene wasn't isn't listed. There wasn't her place on the public side, and yet we find this woman.
Is given really the essence of John's ministry and John's writing the wonderful matter of the Father? I ascend unto my Father.
Send to them I ascended to my father and your father and to my God and your God. And Mary delivers this message now to the disciples to think this one, even the revelations always my father. It doesn't bring out the scope that Paul's truth really brings out. But we also have in John's that he is our father. But one final point here before we turn to the last passage. Mary Magdalene comes and speaks to the disciples that she has seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her.
And isn't that what we want from the scripture? It says in Thessalonians Paul writes that the word of God which effectually worked in you that believe.
She wasn't just simply passing on something that hurt. She had heard or something that she had read. It says that He had spoken these things unto her. She got it directly from the Lord.
I'm not saying there's nothing that we haven't got through the Lord through a human instrument, but how we need to take these things is from the Lord.
She, he had spoken these things unto her and the result was we see where this woman lacking perhaps in intelligence, but not lacking in affection, and she is marked by adoration and that's what the Lord desires from us. Now let's turn over to the 21St chapter for the last passage here again, because of time, we.
We won't read it all. We do find that.
Simon Peter says I go fishing and others go with him and they they toil all night but then in verse.
Verse four, it says the morning was now come, but let's drop down in verse.
11 Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes in 153 for all their for so many, yet was not the net broken. Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples first asked him, Who art thou, knowing that it was the Lord?
Jesus then cometh and taketh bread and giveth them and fish. Likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that he was risen from the dead.
So when they are dying, Jesus saith the Simon Peter. Simon sent a Jonas lovest thou me more than these He Seth on him. Ye Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto thee, Feed my lambs. He saith him again the second time. Simon sent the Jonas, Lovest thou me? He saith on the em gay Lord, thou knowest said I love thee, He saith on him Feed my sheep. He saith on him the third time. Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was great because he said unto him The third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him.
Thou knowest all things, I know us that I love thee, Jesus saith on him feet my sheep.
This is the MA. This is the morning of restoration, the public restoration of Peter.
There's a beautiful verse, there's a short verse in Luke chapter 24 when the two that come down, Maya said on the way to Emmaus and they come back to Jerusalem and the, uh, the word is given out of the Lord's resurrection. But there's one verse that says there that the Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared unto Simon.
I thought I would so like to know what was said in that conversation.
But then I'm so glad. I don't know, because it was, it was, it is not my business. It was the Lord's business with Peter. And there was that moment of private restoration. Peter had denied his Lord with oaths and curses. He had wept bitterly when the Lord looked on him because he felt the guilt of his sin, the failure to his Lord. He denied his Lord and he felt it deeply and there was no solace.
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He failed as Lord, he denied his Lord, He wept bitterly.
But we find that the Lord is going to break Peter and form him for a vessel for his own service. But there is that private.
Exchange between the Lord and Simon. And so there is that important matter with everyone of our souls. You know, says in Revelation as it relates to the overcomer there in Pergamos, that I will give him a whitestone, that stone of approval and a new name written that no man knows saving he that receives it. There are there are rewards, public rewards connected with the Kingdom, but I love to think of that private award and there's a name.
It's not even maybe a Senecilia reward, it's a special name that the Lord has.
It's a secret between the Lord and you forever.
So much is public, so much is in the day, but there is that which is intensely private and there is that with Peter, these intensely private moments, and there are moments that are too sacred.
That are too personal for any man to intrude and such was the case with Simon Peter, but here we have the public restoration of Peter because he had said in well meaning he know all should deny the yet will not I but he's the one that denied the Lord and yet so the Lord says and brings of this official. He says that you have caught. We know is the sovereignty of God that put the fish there and then that but he says come and die.
Now John's gospel begins come and see, and it ends with come and die.
Come and feast with me.
At least three of the overcomers in Revelation, the promises to eat, to eat of the tree of life, to eat of the hidden man, to Sup with me, thou fellowship with the blessed Lord. And so he probes this question that perhaps should have read this in the Darby translation, because it's a little clear when the Lord has Simon the son of Jonas love us, thou me, and he says thou knowest I am attached to thee.
The lesser form.
And when the Lord's answer to that is.
1St it's feed my sheep.
Feed my lambs, shepherd my lamb, she shepherd my sheep, and then feed my sheep.
But the Lord is seeking to bring Peter down to that point.
On the very point where he failed in, but he's going to restore him before them all. And then finally, when the Lord is grieved, because the Lord says it three times.
He was being truthful, He was being honest and he said I've attached to the well in the list is are you even attached to me? And I love this thought. He said, Lord, thou knowest all things and perhaps you, perhaps there's one, perhaps here. I don't impugn anybody. I've been there, but perhaps you've been there and you say maybe there's nothing in my life that would show there's any affection for the Lord Jesus.
And he says, Lord, you know all things. He just commits himself to the omniscience of the Lord.
And since you know all things, you do know that I'm attached to you, he said. Feed my sheep.
Why is that? Because that's the response of one that loves the Lord to feed and to shepherd and care for the sheep. You know David, it says he was a man after God's own heart. And there's many thoughts.
That have been brought out that have been very helpful why that might be so for myself. I like several thoughts, but I I do like the fact that he was a man after God's own heart because he loved the sheep. You know, at the beginning of his reign when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Urias. When Nathan the prophet is sent to David.
With a message for God, he uses the parable of of the sheep, the EW lamb, and David's anger burned.
When he considers the concept of this the poor man being robbed, a man by force, resting this sheep and killing it.
David loved the sheep, but you know at the end of his and it brought him to repentance and the end of his days when he sinned in numbering the people. And he says to the Lord, as he sees the effect of what his sin had caused among the people of God, he says, but As for these sheep, what have they done?
This is all on me.
That's for these sheep. What have they done? He loved the sheep, and so he was a man after God's own heart. You know, may the Lord indeed, uh, draw each of our hearts out more to love the Lord's people.
Feed my sheep, shepherd my sheep.
You know it's a umm.
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Solemn word that we've heard before in Acts 9. The Lord Jesus could say Saul, Saul by persecutest thou me? He felt it all, though there in the glorious Saul Tarsus, raging anger against the people of God.
The Lord felt it personally, and so may the Lord indeed expand our hearts of affection towards His own people. The Lord loves His own. Although just a few considerations. There's many. There's many mornings in scripture. There's many night seasons, but perhaps there'll be a few, especially those of you that are younger, but perhaps some of us that are older too that have not been.
Adequately courageous and and identifying ourselves with our Lord that even if it's a morning of trepidation that that that it might be a morning of declaration.
That we we come out on whose side that we're on. We belong to Christ. And then those things in our lives, sometimes these devastating things that come in, whether it's a sorrow, whether it's a matter that just fills us with shame. Something of the sort that realized that the Lord is is is working that we might cling to him. You know, I didn't mention I perhaps I should. The children of Israel don't eat of the hollow of the of the thigh to this day.
That is, if you see in me or I see in you a failure.
Perhaps where the Lord has touched you, you have failed. Don't feed on it. Don't feed on it. Yeah.
No, it's to humble us and to bring us to the Lord, but we don't feast on the failures of our brethren and all to realize the Lord is using that for their good and blessing. And then too, if the Lord brings us into those circumstances, not that we could ever taste anything of what our blessed Lord went through and suffering at the hand of man, but perhaps He gives you to see just a little flavor of it. It's an opportunity to have fellowship with His sufferings that we might appreciate Him more, the love that He had for us. And then that morning of adoration.
To realize that all the Lord has done for us and that as we read His Word, our hearts are drawn and affection and adoration to the man Christ Jesus. And then too, if we have wandered from him, or if we've gotten a little too big for our britches or whatever it might be, and the Lord has to humble us and and bring us down, may we be thankful for that, that morning of restoration.
He restoreth my soul.
Well, I think we've got a few minutes. I.
Sure, it'd be nice to sing 77 in the appendix.
Dark, dark within the midnight.
But Dayspring is at hand.
Glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land.
77 in the appendix.
The sense of time.
Are sinking.
The dawn of heaven.
Breaks.
The.
Summer morning.
Sign for the.
Fair sweet morn awakes.
Dark, dark has been.
The Midnight.
Dayspring is at hand.
And glory, Glory.
Dweller.
Hear any manual's land?
Oh, crisis.
A fountain.
The deep sweet.
World of love.
The streams on Earth.
I tasted more deep.
Altering.
Above.
Thereto an ocean.
Fullness.
Is mirror sea dust expand?
And glory, Glory.
To love.
Any manual's land?
With mercy and.
01:00:04
With judgment.
My.
Work no time evil.
And.
Sorrow.
Werlaster with his love.
Oh, bless the hand that.
Knighted.
Oh bless.
The heart of that land.
I am I beloved.
And might be lost. That's mine.
He brings.
A poor, vile sin.
Ner into his House of wine.
Top on his merit, I know no safer stand.
Nodding where glory dwelleth.
Any manual's land?
The bright eyes, not her garment.
About her dear bridegroom's face.
I will not gaze at.
Glory.
But on my king of grace.
Not that the Crown.
But on his Pearson.
The Lamb.
Is.
All the glory.
Let's pray.
Or Jesus indeed, we see you through a cloud, darkly, then face to face, and we'll know even as we're known. Thank you for that bright morning that awaits indeed that morning without clouds. Blessed Lord, when death will be swallowed up in victory. And blessed Lord will be with thee and see thee face to face. Our hearts will be full, and our lips will be.
And loose to sing thy praise eternally with gratitude. Thanksgiving. We pray that these things might be so even now.
Things how that was worked with us and all the way they always let us indeed with mercy and with judgment. Our web of time thou hast woven and even the dews of sorrow of and luster with thy love. So we pray our God that in these things we might hear thy voice and hear thy voice, blessed Lord, and we might respond to the in greater affection and greater appreciation and Nobel before thee give thanks for this time together.
Commanding our way to Thee now with Thanksgiving, our Father, precious name of the Lord Jesus.
E-mail.
Hymnsing
Hebrews 10:19-24
Reading
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I'd gladly follow.
The.
First Thessalonians, chapter 5.
1St Thessalonians 5, verse 16.
Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing in everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the spirit, despise not prophesying, prove all things, hold fast that which is good, abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless.
Under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, let's pray.
Our God, our Father.
We're here together, uh, crowd of people, most of us believers in the Lord Jesus.
All of us in different states of soul and and.
Ages.
And no one of us.
Know the needs that are here.
Not all of us put together, yet we know that you know them.
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And that if we are here LED of the Spirit, that many if not all those needs would be addressed. So help us. We pray that there would be that true waiting on your leading and that, uh, each one of us would go away with a blessing. We pray it in Jesus name, Amen.
I'd like to suggest a passage that we might take up.
Hebrews, chapter 10.
Our brother read from it this morning in the prayer meeting, which was an encouragement.
And in view of the fact that we have only two reading meetings at the conference, I would suggest starting with verse 19.
What I had on my heart was the fact that up until this point there has been in Hebrews a good deal of teaching.
Aimed, of course, more specifically at the Jews and seeking to bring them into the full knowledge of all that they had in Christ and.
Into the blessings that were theirs, in contrast with what they had in the Old Testament. But then in verse 19 and going on to the end of the chapter, there are practical exhortations which I suggest have a real bearing on you and me today.
What do my brethren think of that?
Thank you.
10 and starting with verse 19.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, is flesh, and having an high Priest over the House of God.
Let us draw an ear with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promise. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching.
Or if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for, for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
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He that despised Moses law died without mercy, under two or three witnesses.
Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done thus by unto the Spirit of grace?
For we know him that hath said Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord.
And again the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions.
Partly whilst you were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while she became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of their goods.
Knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance, cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God.
You might receive the promise, forget a little while, and he that shall come will come, and he will not tarry. Now the Josh shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.
Mate.
So there are many others here that can very well bring out what is in these verses. But what I had on my heart was the thought that on the one hand.
The Spirit of God here seeks to bring all of us, not just the Hebrew believers to whom this epistle was primarily addressed, but to bring all of us into the good of what we have in Christ. What a contrast it is to what they had in the Old Testament and how limited it was in those days.
And yet, on the other hand, there had been, sad to say, among some of those Jewish believers, are drawing back. And earlier on, they had to be reminded that they weren't able to be fed with meat the way they should have been able to be fed. They still needed milk. They hadn't matured properly. And what had happened? They had drawn back.
As it says.
There had been a time when there was real joy in Christ, when there was a real desire to have more of him. But the opposition was very intense, the difficulties were real, and as a result they had perhaps some of them become discouraged, and it was a lot easier to fall back into the patterns of Judaism and to the things that they had known for hundreds of years.
And let's face it, so it is today among believers. Judaism has crept into Christianity in a very large way, and it has, sad to say, brought Christianity down to the level of a worldly religion, which admittedly makes it more popular and more comfortable and more respectable. But the Spirit of God using the author of Hebrews, very likely the apostle Paul.
To recall them to the wonderful privileges that were theirs and all that they had in Christ.
And there are some very practical exhortations along that line which we need to remember. So those were some of the thoughts I had in suggesting the chapter.
Part of the pencil has comes to a close formally with the 18th verse of this chapter. So from chapters one through 1018 we have the doctrinal portion of the epistle. Then from the 19th verse we get the practical expectations based on the truth that he's laid down in the earlier chapters. There is a pivotal word there in the 19th verse, therefore.
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Therefore, so he's.
Laying down things in the earlier part of the pistol that he's going to now exhort them to take advantage of practically. And the first and foremost expectation that he has is that we should draw near and, and take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to enter into God's presence as worshippers and as priests. So he's exhorting them to behave as priests, to function as priests.
Without even mentioning actually that they are pretty, he implies that all through the passage.
And it's also, of course, confirmed, that is the true priesthood of believers is confirmed by the Apostle Peter and his epistle and also John in the writing of the Book of Revelation. So it's, we take it that, uh, every believer is a priest. And this is the opportunity that we have to enter into the presence of our Lord and draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith.
What an incredible privilege we have that Old Testament Saints did not have.
We do it by the blood of Jesus, that is, having an understanding of what the blood of Christ has accomplished before God.
If you look back in the 9th chapter, you'll find that He entered into the holiest by his own blood. That's your verse 12. But by his own blood he entered once into the holy place of the holy, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and now we can, by virtue of that same blood, enter the holiest of all. Notice it doesn't say in Chapter 9 that he entered the holiest with his blood.
But by his blood, there are ones who have got off track with that thought that the work wasn't finished on the cross. He had to take his blood to have him literally and present it to on the throne. But that's not the thought at all otherwise, and we carry a type too far, the type of the uh.
So when we launch into a scripture, it's good to understand.
What is characteristic about it? And I think this first verse that we started with the 19th verse, gives us a real indication of what's characteristic of Hebrews and it's characteristic of Christianity. Notice that he says here that we enter into the holiest, we come in to the holiest. You know, in the Old Testament, they, the people, they couldn't enter into the holiest, but we, every one of us, we enter into the holiest.
But Christianity is such that we enter with boldness into the holiest.
Because our consciences have been purged from sin by that precious blood. And Bill, you use the word contrast. And I was thinking, uh, when, when the brother was reading the passage, there's a verse in Luke chapter one where we see that scene with, uh, uh, before the, uh, birth of John the Baptist. We see the scene in Luke chapter one.
Their temple. And there's one particular verse that has struck me for many years as I thought about the contrast between the old system and what we have in Christianity is Luke 1 and it's verse 10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without.
At the time of incense, they were outside because according to that system, they did not have an entrance into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Yet that work had not been accomplished and.
Something that is characteristic of Christianity, which we don't want to lose sight of at all. You mentioned Judaistic thinking and practices coming in. All of those things tend to keep the believer at a distance. In John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus revealed the Father to us, and we have fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And in the terms of Hebrews, we by what he has done.
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By that completed work on the cross, we are invited to come in with boldness and to address Him as Father. It's a precious difference that we have between that old system and what we have in Christianity. We don't wanna lose sight of that.
To enter into the old test.
Boldness, that's all.
Another.
And if we might make mention of this, and I think it's an important thing for each of us to bear in mind.
Every believer is a priest.
Every believer, every brother, every sister, we have the privilege of drawing near.
Now God recognizes a gift in the assembly, we know that, and in a meeting like this, perhaps those who have more gifts should take more part. But in something like the remembrance of the Lord, it is the privilege of every believer to approach as a priest, and it is the privilege of every brother to be involved, not necessarily all at one meeting, but it is the privilege of.
Every brother for his voice, at times led by the Spirit, to be raised in Thanksgiving and praise and worship.
Can the sisters be in the current of God's thoughts and enjoy all that? Indeed they can, even though they don't take part audibly. But that means exercise. That means a walk with the Lord. That means a concern about what my life is during the week.
It's a lot easier to come together for the natural man and just say let someone else look after it all. But that is not true Christianity, is it? That is what happened in the history of the church. That is what Satan wants to see, and it brings Christianity down. But for each one of us, what a privilege on the one hand to have this nearness by which to draw near.
But on the other hand, to share in our hearts the exercise.
What did those priests have to do?
First of all, and we know it's mentioned here in verse 22, they had to have their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. That's the blood. They had to be washed with pure water. That was the bathing all over. But then what is not mentioned here, there had to be the washing at the labor of the hands and feet before they approach. Well, for you and me, it's not the hands that have to be washed because we don't bring an imperfect sacrifice.
But our feet morally need to be washed to come into the Lord's presence, don't they? And so there is privilege and responsibility that go hand in hand, don't they?
You say that when we just had the prayer meeting and, uh, if someone is standing up and praying that I can be in the presence of the Lord saying Amen is that I don't have to be the one speaking to enter the sanctuary, do I?
And I think that's, yeah, I think that's something just a practical thing. Sometimes we're just listening to what the matter the person who's speaking says. But.
It's a real exercise to keep my mind in the presence of the Lord saying Amen.
I I think too, it's nice to umm.
What we see there that we're holy and without blame before him and love, that's beautiful, isn't it? It's not, it's not looking at it from our point of view, It's looking at it from God's point of view. That's, that's what he delights in. He delights to have us there wholly and without blame before him and love. That's, that's beautiful because it's the opposite side to know that he delights to have you in his presence.
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So when we say we come in boldly, we come in boldly into the presence of a God that loves us, a God that delights to have us to be there, to be able to exercise our, our priesthood. And it's acceptable in his presence. So I just think that's, you know, sometimes I think about, well, we talk about what we love the Lord, but what's the beautiful balance is that he loves us and he longs to have us to be with himself. So that that's just the other side of it. It's just to me, it brings joy.
To know that when I'm in the presence of the Father, are we collectively or in the presence of the Father? There there is a communion, there is a joy, one with another.
You enter a special place, it affects us. You go into I've never been in Queen Elizabeth's palace, but I would assume if I went into her palace, I'd I'd be impressed, you know, I I'd be quiet and but just that I'm allowed to go in is is such a privilege, you know, so we have access into the holiest by the blood of Jesus and we enter.
And what happens when we enter? Do we realize who's there?
We come boldly, but then we should be affected, shouldn't we, by realizing the presence of the Lord? And we are greeting with it, greeting with a smile and with God's favor. And oh, so we had a good disposition of soul to go in. And when we came in, it should affect us even more. So we can come in every one of us, uh, at home, uh, at any time, at any moment, with boldness, assurance.
And we can come together as we did this morning, I trust we did too at the beginning of this meeting and be affected by that wonderful privilege of being in the presence of the Lord Jesus himself, you know, and then twinkling of an eye, we're going to be there physically.
We can be there by the Spirit. Now, as we enter into the holiest, there he is.
Hebrews. We get the contrast between Judaism and Christianity, don't we? And then many respects, it's the contrast between the Old Testament and the New Testament. And I've said this before, but I've appreciated a statement that I got from another, he said. In the Old Testament, we had three things. It was a book of unfulfilled promises. It was a book of unexplained ceremonies and types.
And it was a book of unsatisfied longings. But in the New Testament we get the compliment of all three, don't we? And so Hebrews is the great book of typology. It teaches us in many respects the contrast between Christianity and Judaism, using many types. The Old Testament was like a museum. Perhaps the New Testament is the reality, not just the figure, but the reality. I think Mr.
If I remember right, who said that in the Old Testament and under Judaism they were outside the holiest but inside the camp and Christianity were inside the holiest of all?
But outside the camp. And that pretty much summarizes what we have, don't we?
It's a new and living way. It says here in verse 20, I says, ah, way in our King James Version, but I understand it should be the the new and living way that has been consecrated or dedicated for us to the veil, which is to say his flesh. It has come as a result of the finished work of Christ through his death on the cross. This great opportunity to have access into the presence of God is, uh, now ours. It's called new because it's not an adjunct to old Judaism.
There's not some sort of a repair job or anything like that. It's absolutely an altogether a new way of approach based on the finished work of Christ. It's also a living way because one requires a a new life to be able to participate in in this incredible privilege. 1 needs to be born of God. I might add seal with the Holy Spirit as well. But the point here is that it's a it's a living way. One needs to have a life, a new life, a divine life to be able to appreciate and enjoy.
This incredible privilege in the Old Testament, in contrast to that, one could enjoy all of the sights and sounds and the grandeur of the temple. We don't even be born of God. You can go in and listen to the music, the choir, and see all the trappings that were there in the temple and enjoy to a certain degree what was there without even being born of God. But this new and living way requires that a person may be.
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Have been born again and resting in the finished work of Christ.
There, that is to say, his flesh.
This, umm, if you read it in Matthew chapter 27.
Verse 50.
And 51.
I'm reading from the French and Jesus, having cried with a loud voice, gave up the ghost and behold.
The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top.
To the bottom.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 23.
Luke 23, verse 44.
Or it was a $6 and there was darkness over all the land until the 9th hour.
And the sun was darkened.
And the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
And Jesus crying with a loud voice, said Father.
Into thy hands I commend my spirit. And having said that, he gave up the ghost.
Noticed that uh in Matthew and the veil is rent from the top to the bottom after he dies.
And in Luke, the Spirit of God has reported that the veil was rent in the midst. It doesn't say from the top to the bottom.
Before he gives up the ghost.
And I've enjoyed the Todd brethren.
Of the Lord on the cross, a tasting second death, and his soul and his flesh.
Before he gave up the ghost and died physically and the veil was rent at that time from top to the bottom. I've enjoyed this thought here once in connection with the veil, which is his flesh.
I know commentators that I've read have said well loop doesn't follow.
The chronology. But the Spirit of God does not use the same words and does not record it in the same manner. And I think it is to have our souls taken up with that blessed One on the cross.
Spirit of vented in Scripture.
The fact that that veil did speak of Christ, didn't it? Everything about that veil, the blue, the purple, the scarlet, the fine twine linen, it was all Speaking of Christ, everything that He was, and if you could put it this way, everything that God was to. And in that sense He was that veil that was rent, wasn't He? He was the veil and so.
We enter in.
Through the veil, that is to say his flesh. As you say, Michelle, there was a cost involved in it, the death of God's beloved Son. If you and I have the privilege of entering into the holiest, there was a tremendous cost involved, wasn't there? Should we look lightly on that privilege? Should we despise it? Should we say it doesn't matter? I have an idea that after the cross, the Jewish authorities repaired that veil and put it right back up again.
But God has rented in the person of Christ, and made the way open into the holiest. How sad, then, to go back to that which would put man at a distance from God, and would, as it were, despise that which God has opened up for us at such a cost.
Doesn't it bring out two sides as well as our privilege to enter directly into the presence of God? Likewise, now God has come out to man. In Solomon's day he dwelt behind thick curtains, but now we have God fully revealed through the death of Christ.
00:35:26
What Scripture does, and I've always appreciated, he said Scripture tells us what God is and what we are. And that's really the truth, isn't it? Just wanted to make another comment about Hebrews because again, it's so important to understand the context when we read Scripture. I think it was Lord Cecil who made the comment that in the book of Romans, Romans is the great epistle of justification. We have justification in its two forms.
Justification by faith regarding our the sin question and justification of life, which which, uh, has to do with the question of our sin nature and how God deals with our sin nature and makes us part of a new creation. But in the book of Hebrews, we don't even have justification mentioned. So what's the difference? Justification, Mr. Cecil said, was at least Hebrews is the great epistle of sanctification.
And I believe in the verses we read, we have a nice example of the three types of sanctification. The verses we've been reading. Verse 22, we have what's called positional sanctification or sometimes called absolute sanctification. Verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Why? Here's positional sanctification, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. That's the blood.
And our bodies washed with pure water. That's our new standing before God.
So that's absolute sanctification. When I was saved, I was sanctified for time and for eternity. But if we look down a few verses where we read in verse 29, we get a different type of sanctification. Speaking about those who.
Really sin willfully, and verse 29. And how much of how much sore punishment suppose ye? Shall he be thought worthy, who have trodden under foot the Son of God?
And have counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite under the spirit of grace. Well, that's speaking about an apostate here, somebody who never was real.
Who never was positionally sanctified. So this is what we call provisional sanctification. They were in the place of blessing, but they despised it and uh, as a result, uh.
They showed contempt towards the grace of God. They were in a sanctified position outwardly, but it was never vital or real. So each one of us here is in a position, uh, in a, uh, provisional sanctification. Those of us that have been raised in Christian families, we're in an outward place, a blessing, but we need to lay hold of the blessing ourselves. So there we have provisional sanctification. It's merely an outward position.
Important as it is.
A tremendous blessing. I've never been to India or some of these other countries that others have been. They don't have that same position. But, uh, we in this country by and large are provisionally sanctified. We're in the place of blessing, but we need to lay hold of it to make it vital. And then in verse, uh, 38, we have the third type of sanctification, what's often called practical sanctification. It has to do with our state of soul. Now the just shall live.
By faith. That's the secret of practical sanctification, isn't it? It's a day by day, moment by moment thing living up to our position as being wholly sanctified. So we have.
Three types of sanctification in these verses is what characterizes the book of Hebrews. Provisional sanctification is merely the outward privilege. We may turn our back on it as these did in this chapter.
There's positional sanctification, which is, which is absolute. When I'm saved, I'm positionally sanctified, and by God's grace that never changes its absolute sanctification. But then there's practical sanctification.
The day by day, walking in communion with the Lord so that we grow more like Christ.
00:40:02
So much confusion in Christianity about Hebrews 6, Hebrews 10, and sanctification. I was wondering, uh, is could we say that he sanctified the people? This was collective sanctification because of their association. It didn't require personal faith. Whereas we had in the 14th verse by one offering, he had perfected forever them that are sanctified. That would be personal sanctification because faith is exercised.
On the provision of God. And what about verse 10? We have been sanctified by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Would that be collective, personal, or I'm just asking?
Because there is so much out there about basic security that is attacked by using verses in Hebrews.
That's, uh, absolute sanctification, isn't it there in that chapter. And I might mention that many people that speak about sanctification, uh, speak of it only in the practical sense. Uh, that's common in, in Christianity, Uh, they speak about the fact that we are growing and grace, that's our state, but they don't understand the positional side or even the provisional side. So I think that's a good point to keep in mind.
When you read much of the literature of our brethren in the camp, they seem to limit sanctification to merely the practical sanctification. But it's much more than that, isn't it? It has to be positional first. I have a statement again, Again, I got it from somebody else, but it says in the as to the contrast between the Old and the New Testament, I think it's helpful in this regard. It says God's people were being trained and LED upwards and onward from a religion of outward restraint.
That's the Old Testament. They had rules and regulations. It was all outward restraint to a religion of inward constraint. That's the New Testament. It begins with reality and it results in an outward, uh, outward form that, uh, is consistent with that inward reality. It was a system going from a system of outward precepts to a system of inward principles. There's the contrast between Judaism and Christianity again, isn't it?
Exhortations from God about the danger of being in a place of privilege where the things of God are known without having faith. You see that even in the Old Testament, and Paul uses that as an example, we might say, of that positional sanctification, where you would want to know that that soul had faith in God, that it wasn't just a positional identification.
And I was thinking of Paul's words in First Corinthians chapter 10, where the apostle Paul, he lays this at the feet of the Corinthians because we know that there was reason, the apostle had reason to think that there might be unreality among them.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.
In hopes that there would not be some that in the end would be found naked. In other words, there was no faith with them. First Corinthians chapter 10 after he spoke in Chapter 9 of keeping his body under living a life of discipline, making sure that what he had was real. Bruce chapter in the end of Chapter 9 he is speaking to about himself about all running the race.
All our fathers were under the cloud.
And all pass through the sea. We know these stories from the Old Testament. They were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ, but with many of them.
00:45:16
God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness, their bodies were strewed in the wilderness and we learn it isn't, isn't this the wilderness journey of Israel is one of the things that God takes perhaps more than anything else to teach us these lessons that there is this positional thing, but everyone wants to have faith and isn't the writer of Hebrews addressing them in this way? He again, he wants to make sure.
That there's no one there that would seem to come short of it and wouldn't lay hold of that which has brought them inside into the holiest.
Numbers, Chapter 21.
How do I get into that beautiful position? How do I get into that beautiful position of let's read it again there, that we've had before us, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh. And having a high priest over the House of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance. How do I get to that full assurance? Well, let's read numbers here.
Well, we'll start with verse #21 verse 5.
And the people spake against God and against Moses. Wherefore have he brought us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our sole loaf of this light bread. And the Lord set fire, a serpent among the people, and they fit the people. And much people of Israel died. I think when you get bit by one of those type of serpents that someone said it was like the desert adder, which you have like a minute to six minutes to live.
And set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that everyone that is bitten when he looketh.
Upon it shall live.
The Son of Man.
And you take one look, one look does it, one look at that one on the cross. And what he did with his precious blood shed there puts you clearly in that wonderful position when you acknowledge he died for me. It's that simple to be in that wonderful place. Let's not complicate it. It's that's what puts you there. And what happens when you receive that free gift?
In, in desperation, he lifted a wooden feather that had the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son cleanses me from all sin on it. And that was his expression that I believe he no longer could even express with words that, uh, he wanted to be saved, but it was that he was on his deathbed. He died three days later. But I'll never forget the look that came over that man's face when he realized it was that simple. He'd been complicating it, he said, all his life before.
And but he couldn't express it at the time. And so he listed that little feather up, and the peace of God came over because that feather head on it, those precious words, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses me from all sin.
And are not real and this portion of Scripture is really designed to do 2 Things for us, isn't it? It's to give those that are believers to be encouraged and thankful for the position that they've been brought into and the privilege of being able to worship and to pray to go into the presence of the Father and enjoy his love. And that's the that's what we're taking up with here really. But there is the other side of it as well that there's the danger that.
That's what we just had. But but the gospel is necessary and it does reach out. But this is designed to address it in a little different way. Are you even real? And so I, I think that's being addressed here. Correct me if I'm wrong.
00:55:10
Going back to that question on sanctification, I use an example. I've heard it from somebody else and it's used all the time. If I have a pile of dirty dishes and I clean the dishes, I'm not going to put the clean dishes back on the pile of dirty dishes. I'm going to put them aside. I'm going to set them apart.
And this is what God has done with those that have trusted Christ as their Savior. He set us apart, but he hasn't left us on the sink. He's had us seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's the position that we have. It's, it's wonderful. That's positional sanctification, isn't it, That I sanctify myself for them. His sanctification belongs to us. God has put you and I in heaven, in him, and he's gonna come perhaps today, and he's gonna introduce us in the twinkling of an eye.
In his very presence in heaven, that's a sanctification that belongs to us, to the work of Christ.
Yeah, I understand the word New Testament, uh, as is often translated holiness. So the thought of sanctification, Randy, isn't it that it's holiness, isn't it? And when we're saved, we're brought into a holy position. God declares us to be holy, not only cleared from every charge against us, that's justification. That's a negative thing, perhaps as some positive elements to it, but we're also brought into a holy position and God says.
Be holy. At least that's the practical side. But we are holy, aren't we? God recognizes us as holy. That's positional sanctification. And then practical sanctification is what I just mentioned. Now be ye holy. The outward form should be consistent with the inward reality.
Good to remember here that while our King James translates the word faith, I think you mentioned the word expectation. The word really should be hope, shouldn't it? Let us hold fast the confession, we might say, of our hope without wavering. What had happened to those dear Jewish believers? They were losing the sense of a heavenly hope and drifting down to the level of this world.
01:00:10
That's what they've been used to. And of course, their hopes had been dashed to the ground. They looked for a coming Kingdom and it wasn't happening, and there they were without it. Well, the whole effort of Satan today, or I shouldn't say the whole effort because he has many different efforts, but one of the main efforts of Satan today is to, as we said earlier, bring down Christianity.
To the level of a worldly religion and set our sights down here. He wants us to hold fast the confession of that hope without wavering. If I have the Lord's coming before me and that hope of a heavenly home, what a difference it makes to my life down here. My whole outlook is predicated on something that is future, not something that is around me down here.
And so that's an exhortation. It's one that they needed in that day very specially, but it's one we need today too, don't we?
There is life in the look at the crew, they find one. There is life at this moment for thee that looks Sinner. Look unto him, and be saved unto him who was nailed to the tree.
Look, look, look and live.
There is life in the world and the cruise he fight once there is life fastest moment for the.
Is a waste of soul on the cross? Hast thou see his cry of distress? Had thou heard?
There is life in the look at the Cruise C51. There is light at this movement for the.
We are healed by His rights. Would thou as to the worse, as He is our righteousness vague.
The best role of heaven he busy foot on all. Could thou Bender brave?
Right, what is the end of the world hath appeared and completed the world is because.
01:05:08
Look, look, look. Gambling.
There is light in the wood at the cruise C5 Plus there is light at this moment for the.
08/8 with rejoice, think from Jesus that one the life everlasting again.
There is life in Oslo as a cruise she might want. There is life that is flow, movement for thee.
And lust, and her look unto him, and be safe, and all by the Father and she.
Was Lord God, Lord, Lord Lloyd, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord and Lord, Lord, Lord and the Lord Lord, Lord and then.
And it's mine, and the and the crew define one. There is life that is full and for thee.
Does verse 29 show an outward sanctification? You get really. An apostate is outwardly sanctified by the blood in this verse, right? Is that that's what you get? It says this plainly. It says of how much sore punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith?
He was sanctified.
An unholy thing and have done despite under the spirit of grace. So there you get outward sanctification. An apostate was outwardly sanctified by the blood. It was just there was nothing real, but he was set apart by his profession.
That's the way we.
What we get in verse 22 where reality is brought in.
Sprinkled from an evil conscience, that's the blood. But our bodies washed with pure water is the word of God applied by the Spirit of God to give new life. And how important that is. I've enjoyed it this way, and I would be happy to hear the comments of others. But the word of God is really the water, isn't it? The water speaks of the Word of God.
But the word water perhaps is used in Scripture because it implies not merely the Word of God, but the whole effect of it. And so the Spirit uses the Word of God to impart new life. When we have that new life, there's no such thing as being lost again or unsanctified, if we could put it that way.
Is that the way you'd see it, Bruce?
It's uh, these are.
Or borrowed from the consecration of the priests in the Old Testament, as I say, priesthood. The believer is implied all through without actually saying it. And as I say these two figures that you pointed us to really come from the consecration of the priest. The bodies washed, as you say is really a little type of new birth and the heart sprinkled is what happened at the consecration of the priest. They were blood was put upon them. And so the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has when washed in the blood of Christ. And so that's what makes us positionally.
And absolutely sanctified before God set apart for blessing. But he brings in another point here that we don't want to lose, even though it's time to close. And that is that the priest and to operate and function as a priest is a tremendous privilege. But the priest must be priestly. What do I mean by that? He must be in a state of soul to exercise his priesthood. And that's why we have the first two things in that verse that is draw near with a true heart. And then secondly, with a full assurance of faith. What is a true heart?
01:10:27
How does one get a true heart? By judging ourselves.
A heart that is full of, uh, sin and it will not judge itself is not a true heart. And so he wants us to draw near as priests, but we need to do it in a state of soul that is is commiserate with it. And also the full assurance of faith is not the full assurance of our salvation of our souls, but the full assurance that we know. And we have that confidence to stand in the presence of God, a holy God, and not feel guilty or condemned because of the purged conscience. So these are two practical things.
That every priest needs to have a true heart and a full assurance of faith.
Difference between being a priest and being priestly.
Was there someone over here giving out a hymn? I thought I heard some brother.
136.
3/6.
01:15:20
All thou with love more strong.
Than death.
On crunch by good passwords.
Raining throughout the.
Walk of the.
Last time fragrance.
Our God and our Father, how we thank you this morning for this portion.
In my presence, joy to thy heart, Lord Jesus, but thy people to come in boldly.
Provide access for us at such a cost, Lord Jesus, and such a cost. Father, we come and we thank thee today, Father, for thy love to us and for the Lord Jesus and for what belongs to us now in Thee and for these privileges that are ours. And we've come boldly, and we've come with Thanksgiving. Often we come with requests and needs, but we would come to thank you this afternoon and we pray for the rest of our day together. We thank you for this portion this morning. Father, in the blessed name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Hebrews 10:24-32
Reading
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173.
173.
4 Little while, my Lord, shall come, and we shall.
Want nervous to hear all the.
Godfather, yes.
In Jesus name, Amen.
Who may not have been here this morning. We were reading in Hebrews chapter 10.
And we started with verse 19.
And didn't get very far.
But that's all right.
Verse 24. Would that be about right?
Yes.
Hebrews 10, verse 24.
OK.
Hebrews 10 and start with verse 24.
Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching.
For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.
But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
He had despised Moses law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he is sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done death by under the spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me I will recompense, saith the Lord, and again the Lord shall judge his people.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst you were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while she became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me and my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
00:10:11
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. For yet a little while. And he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the Judge shall live by faith. But if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition.
But of them that believed the saving of the soul.
3 aspects of the Christian life or what characterizes Christianity here brought together.
We have faith mentioned in verse 22. We have lovement, or rather hope mentioned in verse 23 if we translate the verse properly. And now we have love.
And it shows us, doesn't it, that when there is new life, when there is that which connects us with Christ, there ought to be the manifestation of it in our lives? And if we could use the term.
It's contagious, and so the exhortation here is to consider one another.
To provoke unto love and to good works.
I don't know if it happens out here in the West, but I sometimes hear it back home.
There isn't enough love among us. I don't see enough love.
Well, that may be true, and it's sad when it happens.
What we need to remind ourselves of is, as a brother once made the remark, in our written ministry, Christianity is not characterized by what it finds, but rather by what it brings.
Is there not enough love? Then let me be exercised to show some.
And I'll find, I believe if I do that, that it will be contagious. And so there's an exhortation here to provoke unto love and to good works. It starts with you and with me. I say that because we Live Today, if we could say it in what Satan has made a world of takers. That's what the world has become, a self-centered place where people say I need this.
And I need that. And that kind of atmosphere, if we're not careful, can creep into our Christianity. But.
True Christianity looks outside of myself first of all for the Lord's glory, and then looks for the good and blessing of others, and looks for an opportunity to show love rather than receive it.
So the lettuce here is practical sanctification, isn't it? And we've mentioned how the first, uh, uh, first 9 1/2 Chapters were really coming up to this point. They laid the foundation, which we spoke about this morning, of positional or absolute sanctification. Now there's the reflex response of that new nature and that new standing and that new object. And that's practical sanctification, isn't it? It reminds me of.
Of the Passover, Remember when there was the Passover, immediately afterwards there was a Feast of Unleavened Bread? Well, the Passover speaks of absolute sanctification, doesn't it? As well as much more. The Feast of Unleavened Bread speaks of the necessity of a life consistent with our new standing. And so it corresponds with practical sanctification, doesn't it? And also, as we spoke about somewhat this morning, to bring the thought a little bit further.
00:15:08
A priest in Israel had to be a member of Aaron's family. In that sense. He was outwardly sanctified or provisionally sanctified as we spoke this morning. Then he had to be consecrated and we spoke about that. That was a one time thing which included blood and cleansing all over his body, completely washed. That's that's what we called positional sanctification and we had that in the last half of verse 22.
But then in their duties they had to wash their hands and their feet. And that's critical, isn't it? Again, we spoke this morning about the importance of exercising priesthood. But as Bruce brought out at the end, it's not just that every man thing is that we have to be clean, be clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. And so there needs to be that communion and that exercise in our individual lives and that's.
Practical sanctification. Now this isn't legality. Some people say, oh, you're just legal. No, it's not legality. Rather it's the proper response of my new standing before God, the proper response of the new life that I have, the proper response of what the Spirit of God who indwells me leads me to. The proper response of me having the right object in Christ. And so it's consistent with my new standing.
Before God, is it not? That's practical sanctification. Legality is what there was in the Old Testament, where it was imposed on them.
To see if there would be an inward response. And we know the answer was there was not an inward response because man is lost as well as guilty. But it's just the opposite in Christianity. It's, uh, the inward reality showing forth appropriate fruit.
And that's the let us as we have in this chapter.
Deuce Prue Kenny, He can bear fruit, but he cannot produce fruit.
If my energy is producing fruit, I'm going to be occupied with my production. If the Spirit of God is allowing me to bear fruit, it's because I'm occupied with the Lord and his glory and he's the one reflected in my life. And so I'm not looking in the mirror at my good works. I just act because that's the life that I have and that's the power that I have and is being carried out. And I'm enjoying the Lord and, you know, enjoying sharing the gospel. You don't go home and say, I, I preach to four people today. You know, you just thank you Lord, for allowing me to speak of you. You know, it's just that inward life that's manifested outwardly. And, and if that is what's happening.
It you're never gonna take any credit for that when it's human energy. Well, we compare ourselves to others either. We're either self satisfied that we get discouraged because we're not living up to what we're supposed to be. But if we're occupied with the Lord, you know, an apple tree gives apples. It doesn't. It just gives apples because it's an apple tree. And so we are in the family of God. We have the life of Christ in US. And if it's active, it's gonna produce the qualities and the virtues of Christ. The truth of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, all these beautiful things produced in the life of a believer.
And if the life is inside, it's going to show up outside. And we could say that collectively, can't we? If we are enjoying collectively the Lord people coming into our meetings, they're going to feel that the Lord is there, there, there there's love and there, there there's affection in there. And there's things that are drawing us. You know, somebody comes into our meeting and we kind of all turn around.
Who's that? You know that's not going to make them feel comfortable.
My brother went into a meeting 1 Lord's day. He was in fellowship and.
Probably came to him after.
And he said, who are you?
I don't think the Lord would ask you like that. Who are you? Hi, brother. I've never met you and I'm glad to see you and make him feel welcome, you know?
So I just mentioned this because we have good work, we have love there, and it's really the energy of the Spirit of God in US. And like that we have that produces that in our life. And you and I are the ones that are burying it. But it's God's power and energy and there's no credit to be taken for that, is there?
And, and if it was developed, I'm sorry that I missed it, but, uh, we have verses 19 and 20 and then between that we, uh, between, uh, 22/23/24 and 25, we have verse 21. And it speaks to the fact that we have a great high priest or a great priest over the House of God. I don't know that anybody developed that thought as.
00:20:25
It seems very pivotal in connection with what we have after we recognize we have boldness to go in before the Father and so so maybe somebody could develop that for us. Verse 21.
Well, I agree, we did. We did skim over it a little bit.
Brother Ed But yes, it's good to mention it sometimes. Hard to know what to emphasize in a chapter when we don't have as much time as we'd like. But the high priesthood of Christ is important, isn't it? In the Old Testament there was a high priest, and then there were other priests who were, if we could say it, ordinary priests who came between the.
Mass of the common people and God, and in that sense they were responsible for mediating between God and the people. But now we know there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And so the high priestly service of Christ is still after the character of Aaron, but it's in the sense of being there to keep us from sinning.
Because he's there for us to go to with our infirmities.
There are things that hinder us, aren't there? There are difficulties and problems that come to us in this life, and we get it back in the 4th chapter of Hebrews. Let us therefore well, we might read it just to get it accurately.
Hebrews, chapter 4.
And verse 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are.
Yeah, without sin. And here's the verse. Let us therefore come boldly under the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So recognizing that we have that great high priest, we avail ourselves of him in order that we might be kept from that what Scripture calls the sin which does so easily beset us, and in order that there might be that holy character.
And that proper priestly position, or not position, but priestly character to come into the presence of the Lord as Bruce was bringing out at the end of the last reading meeting. So it's very important to remember that. And thank you, Ed, for drawing that to our attention.
We have, uh, Aaron's rod that budded and it was a dead thing, came to life and, uh, it blossomed and then it produced fruit. And it's an indication that that the believer has no power or strength or can produce any fruit for the glory of God outside the intercessory work of the Lord Jesus as the great high priest. And so I, I think too, it's pivotal here.
In so much as connection with is asking us to do something and telling us that we have the power to do it because we have one interceding for us. So I just was thinking of that as a typical example of it.
Who have an entrance into the holiest by blood of Jesus, By the blood of Jesus, Then let us approach.
00:25:02
With a full heart. But there's two things that come in between the if and the then, and that touches on two of these particular works of Christ that we see that are characteristic of our day.
He accomplished the work of redemption. Verse 20. We come in by the blood of Jesus, the new and living way which He is dedicated for us through the veil that is His flesh, His work.
And we have a great priest over the House of God. So there's his work for us now in one aspect, his high priestly work. Now we know from other scriptures that he has the work of advocacy relative to our sin, but relative to infirmity and, and the needs that we feel here below, we have the high priestly work of Christ. And I was thinking of how Bruce had mentioned the doctrinal section up to 10/18.
And the writer leads us up to certain points and then he gives us a summary. This is often the way in scripture. And I was thinking about where he's talking about the priest. He talks about the Aaronic priesthood. He talks about the Melchizedek priesthood, the whole thought of priesthood. He brings us to a summary in chapter 8 and verse one. He says, now a summary of the things of which we are speaking is now here, I think is what we that we see the emphasis.
The summary is this priesthood, this priest that I've been describing to you, we have one. We have such a high priest.
His name is Jesus.
And then he goes on from this point. After he summarizes, he then talks about the place where that sacrifice was accomplished. And so we have both the priest and we have the place here, place here we have the priest who is the Lord Jesus Christ. He's accomplished the work, and now he's entered into that place for us.
And we have that place to which we can enter with boldness into His very presence.
What a remarkable work that is.
Bill Testament. The priest never sat down, did they?
But he sat down at the right hand of God. He has these in tight. These precious stones attached before his heart He has the name of.
Played in on His forehead. Holiness onto the Lord. And that's who we have as a great eyed priest, One who loves us perfectly, each one individually, the one who sustains us by his power individually also, and the one that presents everything to God on our behalf in His perfect holiness.
Between standing and sitting, the priest is a real image that helps us to understand Hebrews, both the old system and the new system. The fact that those priests always stood is an image of the incompleteness of the work and the fact that the Lord Jesus sat down in perpetuity at the right hand of God.
Is an image of the final completion of that work. Every believer can say.
That my Savior will never have to stand again to complete that work.
So then the emphasis is, is since we know what the Lord Jesus has done for us and what he is for us as a high priest, it's the emphasis, knowing those things that should encourage our hearts to go forward. And so if that's where he says, let us draw, now we have knowing this tremendous truth that is for us, let us go forward.
It really is the expression of Christian liberty, isn't it, as distinct from Jewish *******?
Let us draw near, let us hold fast, let us love one another to revoke the love and the good works. There's no thou shalt there. It's the response of Christian liberty to do the very things that we would desire to do. And I think it's important to notice, not only is there that looking upon one another to encourage, and perhaps the greatest encouragement is not an exhortation that someone gives me, but rather their example. We've been provoked to love and good works by what we've witnessed in the last day or two, haven't we?
But there's something else further. This is not forsaking the assignment of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.
Or as the custom is.
Like to contrast that with the verse in Luke chapter 4.
00:30:05
In reference to our blessed Lord.
We find at the beginning of Luke chapter 4 that he was full of the Holy Ghost and he was led by the Spirit.
But then it says in verse 16, And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read.
Well, I say this because sometimes we shy away from that word customer habit, as if it is simply, umm, a legal thing. It's just a matter of routine and habit without any response from the heart. What we find, first of all, the Lord Jesus in this chapter is one who is full of the Holy Ghost. His every movement was moved and LED of the Spirit of God. And so we find that that's what marks him. But we find that he had a custom, He had a habit.
And it was where he had been brought up.
He had not known anything else but going to the synagogue, and so consistent with that, he went up to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. So he just saved that to show the blessed Lord himself did have custom. And there are important things. You may shy away from the word, but how important it is, indeed how critical it is that we establish good patterns, good habits in our life. But now we find in Hebrews, if we don't establish those necessary wholesome patterns, we find there are those that have developed another custom. And what was their custom?
Their custom and their habit was to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. It says as the custom is with some, not with all. Now it's helped too, by a remark my brother made some years ago that in Hebrews what we find is harmful to the believer is fatal to the mere professor. And so these things are here for our encouragement in ways that we might be preserved in the wilderness, to not only consider one another, but.
To consider likewise ourselves.
Well, that's very good, Bill. And I think we need to see that here, that in its perhaps real interpretation.
This forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
In the sense in which it's used in Hebrews is a very solemn warning to those who were not real, because that is what would eventually characterize them. It's like the plant that was.
Or the seed that fell on Stony ground and it sprung up seemed to be doing OK. But then as time went on, and as the Lord says, when affliction or persecution arise, for the word's sake.
They become offended and fall off. No real life. And so it's a solemn thing when that's mentioned. But I like that term that you gave us. It's fatal to the unbeliever because it's an indication of a position that is not real. It's an outward position, but no inward reality.
And that's why I believe it goes on to say in verse 26, For if we sin willfully, that is in its essence it's referring to an unbeliever. But the Lord many times in his word gives us something which in its ultimate interpretation refers to an unbeliever, but which is written for warnings for you and me too. And so here we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
We are to be found more and more, as it says, exhorting one another as we see the day approaching.
One more little comment.
The day here, I believe, is the day of judgment. I have no objection to those who.
Want to refer to it as the Lord's coming for us, as we had in the hymn we sung at the beginning. But there really are no definite signs for the Lord's coming for us, are there?
But for coming judgment, yes, there are. And you and I can see them today. And if we see them.
We know that the Lord's coming is even closer than that, but we are entitled to see in the world around us that which shows us the signs of coming or that which shows us that coming judgment is near. And so we're to redouble our efforts, to exhort one another, to redouble our efforts to be together as we are on this occasion, very, very important.
00:35:37
Hebrews has five parenthetical warnings. Uh, this is the 4th. The first one is in chapter 2, The danger of neglect.
The second is in chapter three and four, the danger of unbelief. The third is in chapters end of five and six, the danger of not maturing or growing as a Christian. And then here we have the danger of drawing back. And I agree wholeheartedly with you, Bill, when it says just to skip ahead a little for the sake of time here, but there is a danger of apostasy, of course. That's the point here.
Some who had professed Christianity, and we're going to give it up and go back to the Judaizing system. But at the same time, we can follow that pathway as believers, can't we? But not get to the end. We have the same thing in the end of James, don't we?
A man who's converted from the error of his ways. It's a believer. He doesn't get to the logical end, but nonetheless he lives as a person that does. And so there's a spirit of apostasy as well as the reality of apostasy.
There's a danger of us as believers drawing back from the entrusted deposit the Lord has given to us. Whereas in the full extent, this parenthesis, beginning with verse 26, running to the end of the chapter, does speak about an apostate, one who really is not a believer at all. That's the real warning. But at the same time it speaks to us of the danger of drawing back.
That's why it says uh.
In verse 38, I believe now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. It's any man which would include those of us that are believers that are have that danger of drawing back from the privileges the Lord has entrusted to us.
Example given in the Old Testament of the Book of Numbers of a man who picked up some sticks on the Sabbath day.
And they found him doing that and they brought it to Moses. And Moses asked the Lord what to do. You know, many sacrifices were available in the Old Testament for sin. And they could offer a lamb or offer different sacrifices. And, and he, he was, he was stoned.
Died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. What did he do? He he picked up some sticks, maybe to cook his eggs in the morning. You know, he didn't kill anybody. He didn't take somebody else's wife. He just willfully went ahead.
And did his own will and he was stoned to that.
Now he's comparing that with the sin.
Committed here by trotting on their foot the Son of God, and is steaming the blood of the covenant as an unclean thing.
And insulting the spirit of grace.
How can we compare that, You know, picking up sticks And he was, he was.
He was stoned. How much more serious?
To this fight to seem as nothing.
The Son of God and his work, and the Spirit of God striving with your soul and mine.
It says here if we sin willfully and sin by definition is when I choose my will over what God says in the garden. The Lord said you can't eat of this tree. They had everything, everything was perfect, everything was beautiful. And Satan came and lied to Eve and they turned around and they said, no, we know better than God that fruit is gonna be good for us. And so they ate it. And when they ate it, they lost the blessing. And dear ones, today God wants to bless us. Obedience leads to blessing. That's not legalism.
He wants to bless us and he says here is the line.
00:40:01
This is what you need to do. This is what is gonna be good for you. And when we say, no, I know better than you, this is gonna be good for me. And we go and we break that, we lose the blessing. And you see that? Like, for example, you see that in marriage, the Lord says that we're supposed to keep ourselves for our spouse. That's because He knows the ultimate joy and ultimate blessing. His intimacy in marriage with one partner for life. It's not found in something else. This world tries to sell us all this stuff.
Don't buy it. That's not what God has for us. He has the ultimate blessing in store for us, in mind for us. And we'll get that if we'll obey. Not in a sense of, you know, I have to do this. I have to do this. Like our brother said yesterday, it has to be out of a heart of affection for Christ, the desire to please him, to want that blessing. Lord, I want what you want for me. As for God, His way is perfect. He wants to bless us the very best.
No, of course that a believer can sin willfully.
And we don't need to remind ourselves in this company, although it's important perhaps to say it, that there is no question but that a believer can never lose his salvation. We do sometimes sin willfully. But what we I get, I believe, get here is, as we've already seen, first of all, a warning to one who was drawing back how serious to be as Brother Eric was bringing before us.
Provisionally sanctified by the blood of Christ in the position where the truth was being ministered. That's why it says here the knowledge of the truth. There was a knowledge of the truth, and yet deliberately and willfully to turn away from it and knowing that it was the truth.
But it does have a warning for you and for me if I willfully do that which I know is contrary to the Word of God.
Is it not a serious thing for me as a believer? Yes, it is. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Pardon the reference but it went to my soul and this of course has to be many, many years ago now, but I can remember our late brother Harry Hayhoe in an address saying.
Brethren, do you think someday the judgment seat of Christ, that the Lord will say to me, Hey ho, you were far too careful to obey my word. You should have sidestepped it a little bit here and there and.
You could have been far more useful to me and done far more work and saved far more souls and ministered to far more people if you hadn't been so careful to follow the Scripture, he said. Do you think that's what will happen at the judgment seat of Christ? Well, he didn't need to answer the question. To ask the question was to answer it. And so we need to remember that because it's a difficult day for you and me in the world of today, just as it was.
For these Hebrew believers in their day, tremendous opposition, tremendous pressure to conform to what everyone was doing around them. And yes, you can have your Christianity, but water it down a bit and import things from Judaism. And of course, ultimately, if you can turn back to Judaism, that's what's important. Well, they had received the knowledge of the truth.
And so there was a solemn warning to the unbeliever.
But there is a real warning for you and me too. Have we known the truth of God? Have we known what it is to have the word of God open? Than it is a serious thing, deliberately and willfully to do that which is contrary to the word of God.
The Hebrew believers had a special danger that we do not have, and specifically they had the possibility of going back to the offerings that were offered under the law that they grew up with.
And so often in life the consequences exceed what we ever could have imagined. And so for them to do so that there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. To go back to the old order was to to trot under foot the Son of God. It is to demean his sacrifices nothing. And his blood is nothing, because they've taken up with what they had once left. And there was no more sacrifice for sins. There's no nothing else available. God has nothing else besides the death of his beloved Son.
00:45:22
But you go back to verse 17. We've often noticed this, but it's a good contrast or rather verse 18. Now where a mission of sins is there is no more offering for sin, a very similar expression, no more offering for sin or no more sacrifice for sin. But though that is much greater here, it is not that there's no other sacrifice available, but rather there is none other necessary because God is 1 Sacrifice is the work of Christ. And when one sends remitted, there is no more offering for sin because the work is complete. And we rest on this as we sang in the hymn tis finished here our souls have rest. These believers were taking up.
The professing believers with the danger was to take up with what they had left. And just one other comment too. I think it's a challenge for us whenever we take up the Book of Hebrews. We were not raised under the law. We were not raised in Judaism.
But to have a little bit of help and understanding the book, we do need to read the book of Leviticus in Exodus, especially to have some sense of what these these types of these images are. I just say that in a practical way because in order for us to benefit more fully from a portion, sometimes we have to do a little homework in that regard. And so he's writing a Jewish company of believers. And to them some of these expressions that are not necessarily real familiar to us, to them.
They would have much greater under.
Great privilege results and great responsibility, doesn't it? I've often said that privilege and responsibility are flip sides of the same coin. The higher the privilege, the greater the responsibility. And so in continuing here verse 30 and 31. We know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me. I will recompense, saith the Lord, and again the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The cross of Christ, I've often said, is the greatest event in the annals of eternity. To despise that and how God revealed himself in the cross of Christ is to to trample that under foot is to be hopeless, isn't it? And that's what we have here.
And perhaps the most, if we could use the expression, the most solemn thing about rejecting the sacrifice of Christ.
It's not merely rejecting truth as we get in verse.
26 The knowledge of the truth.
It is rejecting love and grace.
So one thing to reject truth, and that is serious enough. And in the Old Testament man had a measure of truth, which of course, sad to say, the natural man rejected. But now we have one who came not merely in truth, but in grace and truth, and to reject grace and to reject love as.
We might say, if God has not won the heart of man, if God has not won your heart and mind, what more could He do to win it? There is no more sacrifice because God has given the very best that He possibly could. And there could be no more display, no better display of the heart of God than what He has given. And so I think you use that expression rightly.
Bill from the Darby translated translation or maybe someone else used it, but the thought is insulted. The spirit of grace. What an insult to God for man to turn his back on the love and grace that He has shown. But then for you and for me it's also an insult if I turn my back on what he has shown you and me in love and grace.
Not only for our good and blessing.
But also for the honor and glory of Christ.
00:50:05
Apple of Stalin, who was once a theology student.
And he turned his back on God and his name was not Stalin originally. That actually is a name he took it means steel. And he had a steel wool, a will after that. And he became the man who, history tells us, slaughtered some 20 million of his own countrymen. And when he died, his daughter recorded that he, the last act he did was shake his first at God. That's a solemn thing. There is such a thing as apostasy, isn't it?
It's a very real thing.
As pilot, they said crucify him, crucify him. They crucify unto themselves the Son of God. And it's a similar thing here. As they went back to Judaism, they would take sides with those that crucified the Lord. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And the living God used the Roman armies and he slew a million 100,000 of these Jews.
In the year 70 to his Roman armies. So they had no king but Caesar, and that's how Caesar treated them. But it was really the chastisement of God because they rejected his son.
Well, as we remarked earlier, it's beautiful to see in verse 32.
The Spirit of God seeks to recall those dear people back, that is, the true believers.
And hopefully to exercise even unbelievers too, to what they had had at the beginning. There had been a tremendous joy, we know on the day of Pentecost, 3000 of those dear Jewish people were saved. Few days later another 5000 were saved, and doubtless others. As time went on, it says that the work of the Lord grew and multiplied.
Many were turned to the Lord.
But they had a very difficult time and as it says here, they endured verse 32, a great fight of affliction. Now, that doesn't mean that they got into fights. That's not the problem, that's not the thought. But there was a lot of affliction that came upon them because of their swimming against the tide of the Jewish religion.
We know from what we read in the Gospels the fanaticism and the absolute rage that came about when anything was said against what God had given by Moses and all the traditions that man had added on top of it. Well, now here we find that these dear people in turning to Christ and in turning their back upon it.
They had this happen to them too.
Reproaches verse 31 afflictions and not only happening to them, but because they were the companions of others. But what did it result in? It resulted in joy.
And it will. It will result in joy.
We get that in more than one place. We get it in first Peter chapter 4, where it's joy when we fall into divers temptations and there's a joy in standing up for Christ in spite of opposition. But it's not easy. And it just went on and on and on. So that there was a real difficulty for them. I just suggest the thought too, that in our day.
We perhaps don't experience it in the same way here in North America, although there is plenty of it in other parts of the world. But what perhaps is even harder to take is what comes from, and we get this in Second Timothy chapter 3, from within the House of God. That's even more difficult. All that will live godly in Christ Jesus.
00:55:07
Shall suffer persecution that includes everything, but I believe with a particular emphasis on what comes from within the House of God. Because again, we're not pointing the finger. The tendency is right here, but among christened in Christendom today. Satan has done a good job of pulling Christianity down to the level of this world.
Of introducing that which characterized Judaism, and in an outward way that gives Christianity some respect in this world. That's why it's popular.
It's hard to take that kind of persecution. It's hard to take it when someone else who professes to be a Christian says I don't want to be around you, I don't like your version of Christianity, and so on. Again, I say we should meet those oppositions with love and with grace and with the spirit of Christ. But at the same time, it can be very difficult.
And the Spirit of God here in Hebrews recognizes that and recognizes how those Jewish believers.
At least some of them had been.
So oppressed and so pressured that they had given up some of that joy that they had at the beginning. And here there's an opportunity to look back and say, yes, those were happy days in spite of all the opposition, in spite of all the persecution, and they were to be recalled to that.
The temptation for these ones to go back. I have a note in my Bible. This is 8064 and our brother mentioned in 8070, the Romans came and leveled the city and burned the temple to the point that not one block was left upon another. They wouldn't leave this system of things and the Lord just snuffed it out. So there's no way they could go back to it. And it's a word to our own heart and our own soul. What do we have in our lives? All of us have a desire to have something that we can see that we can.
That we can see, feel, you know, that appeals to our flesh. Judaism had things for the sights and for the sounds and and all these things. And we naturally want that we serve an invisible savior. He's invisible to our eyes.
But he's just as real as you and I are, just as real as the chair we sit on.
I remember a brother saying, if you could just see in my mind the Lord Jesus is so real.
He's so real. I know him and for each one of us, as we get up in the morning and we say, Lord, what do you want me to do today? You're the boss, what do you want me to do today? He will guide us. He will lead us. We can have that communion, that relationship. That was his desire. And naturally our hearts, if we don't have that connection, then go to some form. I was just thinking as we were sitting here, there's another umm.
I guess you'd call it a practice. There's a hymn to the, uh, Father, the Holy Spirit, the Son, and they break bread. There's a form. Well, where's the spirit? Where's the liberty? Well, when we don't have the liberty E everything, we don't have the connection with the Spirit. We're afraid. So we make a form. Let's not make a form in our lives. Let's seek the Lord, the Apostle Paul, he with all his heart, that I may know him. What did the apostle Paul want? He wanted the Lord Jesus. That's the thing that satisfies our heart. There's nothing wrong with other things in our lives, but that's what's gonna satisfy our heart and our soul.
I wonder if in June 20 and 21 we get an antidote for these things.
Building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
What an exhibition.
And we know the love of God by what he's revealed to us of Christ. And don't we?
01:00:15
So we have to live and move in this world.
And in that sense, some of this world's goods are a necessary thing to us. We all recognize that we have to make a living, at least in the climate in which most of us live here. We have to have a roof over our heads and things like that that are necessary to this life. And the Lord recognizes all of that. But it must have been even more difficult for some of these Jewish believers who had been accustomed.
All their lives to hearing that the mark of God's favor on them was earthly blessing. The mark of God's blessing was to have things down here. But now the Spirit of God seeks to turn them towards something that can never be spoiled.
These dear believers had taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods. I don't know just how that had happened, but it is going on today where people are deprived of their property and deprived of their liberty and in every way given a very, very difficult time in this world. Well, it's not easy to take, not easy to take. We don't have that happen here in North America, at least not right now.
But it is getting more and more difficult to be a Christian here. And what does the Spirit of God seek to do here? Take our eyes up to heaven, where we have a better and an enduring substance.
Again, we need something down here by which to live. The Lord knows that your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things, and the word is, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. The Lord knows how to look after His own, and He does, but how important to have our eye on those heavenly things.
And that is what?
These Hebrew believers who are recalled to and that's what the Spirit of God would recall us to as well.
So would we be right in saying I'm going back now a little bit, but this 25th verse, the reason why they for struck the assembly of ourselves together was because there was nothing there.
To attract.
Those who had made a profession but did not have new life. It would be like going to the breaking of red today. If you're not enjoying the Lord, it could be. It could be the deadest place on earth.
There's no singers, there's no choir, there's there's no music to entertain you. There's all of these things that Christendom has brought in as Judaism to attract a little bit of the flesh so that we can have something. I, I, I understand that in the early days, Christians were called atheists because they didn't have any God. They just met together and there was no idol or anything there. And so they said, well, they're, they're unbelievers.
They don't have a God. Well, that would be a a a reason why these who didn't have life but had a profession didn't want to assemble themselves because there was nothing. And the tendency was to go back to Judaism, which really in 26 verses apostasy. But there there is a tendency in us too want something that we can see and feel.
You know.
Judaism was a sensuous.
Religion, you could hear the you could hear the music, you could hear the singing, you could smell the sacrifice, you could see the priests. They were all, all of these things. The building, you know, all these things are what characterized Judaism today. You see buildings with something. This is a church. Well, the church is not a building, but it is that mixing of Judaism that man has gone back to.
01:05:03
That does attract the flesh.
There is another challenge that the Hebrews had that we don't have in the same way, and that is Jews under the law. They look to earth God for earthly prosperity and bounty. If they were doing the will of God, we read Deuteronomy 28 and it's very clear that they could look for prosperity in the field, prosperity in the home, and abundance in every way. If they honored God, they would be blessed in a material way. Now we may have been taught that, but not correctly as believers, that we don't look for earthly prosperity.
As a result of personal godliness. But the Jews rightly did. It was a promise under the law.
And so now as they transition out of that system, they're giving up literally everything, not only in a religious way, but even in an outward way. And so one of the things the human heart holds most dear is possessions and goods and substance. And now that's gone, too. It's just not the temple. It's just not the priesthood. It's just not the offerings. Now there's a plundering, even if they're good. And he says you have something better.
Must have been difficult for them, as it is for us to consider in a way that which is unseen.
As superior to that which is seen, that which is tangible. And so he encourages them. You have in heaven, not even here in heaven, a better substance, and more than that, it's an enduring substance.
There's several proverbs and likewise in Ecclesiastes we read expressions like better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred there with many verses like that that are good to read and say I see this is better than that. Well, in Hebrews we have a lot of better things as well, but it's better from what was set up of God and Judaism. And now he's saying this was of God. But now I'm going to give you something better. It's what's heavenly. I think of the verse in Hebrews 11 where it says of Moses that he endured.
Seeing him who is invisible and it really gives the essence of this book because it's the sight of faith to lay hold of what God says, even though the natural eye cannot embrace it. And so this was not some academic point of doctrine. They were learning This was everything that they had looked to and could enjoy had been now taken away in their embrace of Christ has finished work. And yet he encourages them. Don't castaway your confidence.
Don't give it up now. They lost everything. But he says you have everything. It's above.
OK.
And I thank our dear brother Barry had a beautiful testimony that he had a confidence of something that was outside of this world.
And he?
Intended that his life be a testimony for our Savior.
And dear young people, I want to make this intensely personal and practical. We have a beautiful example that has gone before us in Barry's life.
It says here that he had a better and enduring substance and that was the one thing that struck me at the funeral.
And just before many here may not realize that just the week before Barry passed into heaven, he gave out #320 and it was obvious to those of us looking around that he was looking for becoming of our Savior. And I just want to make this practical to the young people. We have a choice.
We can live our lives here for ourselves and we'll be the losers. We can live it for what is in heaven, and that's the enduring substance. But it has to be based on where our confidence is.
And I want to connect these two verses. We have a confidence or we can have a confidence in what is laid out for us in heaven. May that be the focus of our lives.
01:10:06
And it's often been said the darkest night is just before the dawn.
When we feel like the Lord has completely given up on us, there's no more going on. There's no way we made the wrong choice. That's often right when the Lord brings in a solution, right when he brings in our, if I could use the word, our salvation. That which we need. We pray and we pray and we pray and we're ready to quit.
And there's the answer right there. Just hang in there one more day. Whatever it is, hang in there. The answer is there. Our confidence is in him. Cast not away. Therefore your confidence. It's like you're going along and and you and you have something and it's and it's to help you. It's your canteen and you're in the wilderness and you're tired and you're hot and you throw it away. That's what you really need. Don't do that. Hold on. There's solution. The answer is gonna be there. The Lord's not gonna fail us, for we have need of patience.
That after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. And this is what we look for. For yet a little while, he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry. The Lord is not just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. He's working. He's doing his work in this world. And when he's done, he's going to come. And like our dear brother just said, there's a perfect example. And our dear brother Barry, who lives for the Lord, what an example to provoke, to love and to good works for each one of us.
And then it says now because of these things now, right now, not tomorrow, not in two weeks, not in a month, not when I'm older, not when I'm retired, now, right now, today, the just shall live by faith to take God at his word. This is what he said is going to work. I believe it and I'm going to do it even if nobody else is going with me. The Lord help us.
But we do need patients very much in doing the will of God, because God lives and moves in eternity, doesn't he? And so we need to remember that and.
Just tell you a quick story took place at the Bhutan conference this year where someone raised the question. They have question and answer meetings over there where people can submit questions in a question box. And this question was, we keep hearing that it's only a little while and we keep hearing that the Lord is coming soon. Why doesn't he come?
Well, pardon the personal reference, but I guess it devolved on me on that occasion to answer the question. So I said, tell me I'd like a show of hands about how many people in this company were saved in the last 10 years.
And quite a few hands went up. Now I said how many were saved in the last 20 years? And I would say 2/3 of the hands went up.
Oh, I said, aren't you glad he waited for you? Aren't you glad the Lord didn't come? 21 years ago you would have been left out. And so as our brother said, the Lord is working. We who are saved have the need of patience to do what? To do the will of God, not our own will, but his will. And just echoing the comment that was made, I can remember one of our well known writers made the remark, he said.
If every other Christian on the face of this earth, we're living in a worldly manner and not going on right with the Lord, that would be no excuse for me to do so. Let's remember that now. I know we'll never be brought to that. According to Second Timothy two, I believe there will always be the with them until the Lord comes. But let's remember I am responsible in myself without reference to anyone else.
To do the will of God in patience.
Stop.
We've had this afternoon to carry on to.
Keep our eyes on the prize and to look forward to that day, to have patience and to wait for it, expectations that we need in this day so sorely. So we just thank you, our gracious God, for thy the leading of Thy spirit and the gift of Thy word and the hope that we have that you have given to us through it. Just thank you for these things. We ask for your blessing on the hours ahead and pray in your precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen, Amen, Amen.
David and Araunah - Failure, Blessing and God's Way in Blessing
Remember, Obey, Submit to Your Leaders
Jacob As an Encouragment to You Who Are Older
Gospel 1
Gospel—Michel Payette
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'd like to welcome everyone to our gospel meeting.
And we'd like to start this evening by singing a hymn on the hymn sheet that was on your seat or handed to you #16.
Hymn #16.
Whosoever heareth shout, shout the sound. Send the blessed tidings all the world around. Spread the joyful news wherever man is found, whosoever will may come #16 On your hymn sheet someone raised a tune for us, please.
We're here at Shout, Shout the time. Send a blessed hiding.
All the world around.
Spread the joyful news wherever man is come, whosoever will may come.
Whosoever will, whosoever will.
Send a blast and reigning over Vale and.
Whosoever will may come.
Whosoever.
Must not be late now the door is open. Enter while you may. Jesus is the truth.
The only living way. Whosoever will, may come. Whosoever will, whosoever will.
Send the proclamation over Bell and Hill.
Here's a loving father also wander home.
Whosoever will make come?
As that's the Lord's blessing before we open the Word of God.
God and our Father, we would thank Thee once again this evening.
For the opportunity to speak of that wonderful message of the Gospel, we would thank the Father for thy concern for us, my love to us, and the gift of the Lord Jesus, my beloved Son, and what he did for us on the cross. And we pray tonight for blessing on our time together. And we do pray, Father, especially for ones in this room, perhaps tonight.
That haven't come yet. And we do thank you for thy long-suffering and patience. That the door is still open and we pray for blessing tonight and we count on His Father and ask it with confidence.
In the blessed name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
I have two books with me and I'm going to talk a bit about these two books or from these books if you allow me.
You know, when I was a young man, I.
I didn't like to read. And so when I had book assignments in school, what I do is I look at the table of contact titled the chapters. Sometimes they had illustrations. So I looked through the illustrations and, and I'd read in the last chapter, something like that. And then I had to write my book review, you know, so I was used to go to the end of the book, you know, to see how it ends.
When I got my first Bible, I started to read from the beginning there and.
In the Old Testament, I had a really hard time because I didn't know the God of the Old Testament. He's the same God as the New Testament, but I hadn't heard of a God like that. And so I decided to go and read the last book, and that was the book of.
Revelation. And that didn't sound too good to me because that book spoke of things terrible. They're gonna happen. Haven't happened yet. But I did get to the 21St chapter, and I'd like to go to Revelation chapter 21 right now.
Because in the 21St chapter of Revelation, we have 1/2.
Be ending. That's a happy portion. The 1St 7 verses. I like to read these with you if I may.
Revelation chapter 21 and from verse one.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away. There was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven.
00:05:11
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold.
The Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and there shall be his people.
And God himself shall be with them and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears.
From their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Right. For these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am the I am Alpha and Omega, and the beginning and the end I will give unto him. That is the first of the fountain.
Of the water of life really He had overcome it. Shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.
You know, if we look around the world tonight, there is sorrow and crying and pain and death.
There's not going to be any more of this in this scene here.
It's a beautiful sea.
And my desire for you.
Is that you're gonna be participating.
When all these things are new.
No more tears, no more pain, no more crying, no more death. It is going to happen.
It says here these words are true and faithful. It's going to happen. It's going to be exactly like it's written in here.
I'd have to read the eight verse.
But.
But the fearful.
And unbelieving.
And the abominable.
And murderers and ************ and sorcerers and adulterers and all liars.
Shall have their part in the lake, which burn it with fire and brimstone, which is.
The second.
Blessing, happiness. No more crying, no more tears.
But weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
If you had your pick.
Well, would you want to be?
Would you wanna be in the first part? That's where I'm gonna be. I hope that's where you're gonna be. But.
Some are gonna be in the park from the eight verse on.
But there are exceptions.
There are exceptions.
I know murderers who are going to be in that part in the first 7 verses.
I know Moses. You've heard of Moses. I'm sure he burned it. An Egyptian did something really bad.
He's gonna be there.
King David.
He did worse than Moses.
He wittedly committed adultery with one of his soldiers wives.
And he tried to cover it up.
And when you couldn't cover it up, he had him killed in a cowardly manner.
He's going to be in the part of those first 7 verses.
Ever told a lie?
He said no, you just told one.
Liars. Their part is in the Lake of Fire.
But many liars are not going to be in the Lake of fire. They're going to be that first part for seven verses. How can that be?
I never killed anybody.
But I'm guilty of lying.
But tonight, I'm not lying to you. I'm reading from the word of God.
00:10:04
As I was considering the gospel this evening, you know.
Sometimes when we preach the gospel, we can speak of of just the beautiful things. All these things you can enter into.
By simple faith in the Lord Jesus. And it's a wonderful thing.
But we got us laid on my heart tonight is the awful thing that is going to happen to someone.
Who's going to partake of what's in the eighth person on?
And the desire of my heart tonight.
And of many in this room, that nobody in this room.
Will be excluded from the blessing of those first 7 verses.
I want your attention.
Do you have a cell phone? Put it away. You have a device? Put it away.
I want your attention. I want you to tell me that I have your attention.
I want you to put your hand up. Please put your hand up. And if there's anybody in your role who doesn't put his hand up, give him a nudge there. You're not paying attention. You have to pay attention. This is the most important subject.
For you and your life for eternity, that's what the gospel message is.
God undertook to take you to heaven and to forgive you anything you might have committed. Described in the eighth verse.
Or anything else not described there that is displeasing to God, God has undertaken to take you to heaven.
And he wants you to go to heaven. He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. And no one in this room is excluded from God's love.
You know, the apostle Paul says the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And I suggest to you tonight, my friend, that every one of us can say that.
And it might not apply to you. You can say the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me, but I do not believe Him.
But I have not put my trust in Him. He has loved me and He has given himself for me.
But I will not have him as my savior.
Would you dare to say that?
You know I have this other little book here.
I use it for notes, you know, and I have some names in here, you know, God has a book.
And he has names in that book.
Perhaps your name is not in my book. It's not important.
Is anybody here named Henriquita?
Nobody. Anybody here named Mirita?
How about you, Danya?
No, you're done. You didn't hear. Oh.
Suleiman.
No Suleiman.
Your name was in here. I might give you $1000.
Your name is in here. I have more names. I have St. Claudia. Anybody here called St. Vautier?
No Benoit.
I have one name in my book.
Anybody here named Cody? Hey, and my friend Cody, Cody Harkins, he's in my book. Hey, you're not going to get $1000.
But you know, when I was thinking of the gospel message last night, I, I was thinking of that, that book of life where the Lord has names in there.
Nice thinking of that. And I said it'd be nice, Lord, if you know.
I just saw a young man and maybe a child. I'm going to ask him if I put his name in there. And I was sitting there this morning and Cody came over to me and he said, are you, are you Mr. Rogers? No, I wasn't. But I did get his name and put down my list here, the name of Cody Harkins. It's not important. Your name is not in my book, you know.
But there is a book here in the 20th chapter.
Of the Book of Revelation.
And I do hope and pray.
00:15:01
That your name is in there.
It's verse 15, Revelation chapter 20 and verse 15.
And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life, not in Michelle's Black Book, doesn't matter.
Whosoever was not found written in the book of life.
Was cast into.
The Lake of Fire.
Somebody said I don't believe in the Lake of fire. Well.
These things are true, my friend. It's the word of God. There is a lake of fire and you do not go in the lake of fire because you're you lied or you're murdered or you're cheated or you stole.
The reason people go into the Lake of Fire is because their name is not written in the Book of Life.
Now, I'm not going to do this.
But some people do that to other people. They lock the doors.
Heard of a Pentecostal pastor, He said.
We lock the doors, we're not gonna leave this room till we got so much money in the collection.
Not a very good testimony.
But tonight, if I could, I'd lock the door and say we I don't want anybody to leave this room.
Until they're sure their name is in the book of life.
So I ask you, young man, young lady, younger ones, My friend Cody. I didn't ask him.
He's got his name in my book, but I trust he has his name in the Lamb's Book of Life. It's called, in another passage, the Lamb's Book of Life.
God puts the name in that book.
Of all the ones that are at the benefit of the work of the Lord Jesus.
The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. Let's go to a verse in.
John's Gospel chapter three. Well known verse.
We use it all the time. It's a beautiful verse.
We can't overuse it.
Young people, young young people, children that go to Sunday school. Some of the first verses they learn by heart.
For God so loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten Son.
This one is called the Lord Jesus.
You know, I have opportunity in the gospel in some therapy houses where people are criminals and have drug problems, gambling problems, all sorts of problems.
And I quote this verse to them.
And I asked them who is this?
God's beloved Son.
And they all say Jesus.
Nobody questions that. We can affirm that this one is the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the Son of God who became a man so he could die.
And he died. Just not any death. He died on the cross.
Objects of derision by man.
And forsaken of God.
This one whose name is Jesus.
He always did those things that pleased His Father. Not like you and me. We did things that displeased God and have every one of us deserve.
Is eternal punishment.
Unless our names are in the Lamb's Book of Life.
We're going to get what we deserve.
And I am never, ever going to get what I deserve. And neither is Moses.
And neither is David.
What about you?
Are you gonna get what you deserve?
Will you have the Lord Jesus?
Receiving what you deserve on the cross, that's the love of God. That's what God has provided for you and me in the gift of His Son. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever.
00:20:00
Whosoever will may come.
Whosoever excludes nobody.
But it only includes those that believe.
None in this room are excluded from God's love. God so loved you.
That he gave his only begotten Son, and delivered him to the torments of the cross, so he could have you in heaven as one of his sons.
And daughters, same for girls. Boys, same thing.
If you put someone before a choice.
Something put before them and say you have to decide.
You can't stay on the fence. You have to go right or you have to go left.
With the gospel, it's a wonderful opportunity to be blessed for eternity. It costs nothing, it costs God everything, and it costs you nothing.
And when you believe God, he's glorified. He becomes a great God.
And the Lord Jesus, a great Savior. What God is looking for in your heart and mind is just a little faith.
And a great saving.
You know, in Christian circle, sometimes they speak a big, big faith. I have a lot of faith, you know, and sometimes when you talk with people like that, you find out they have a lot of faith in a small Savior.
You didn't do that much for them because they might law, they might lose what they gain when they believed or the savior that I have.
He's brought me to perfection forever. We had these verses before us little before our reading there in Hebrews in the verse 14 of chapter 10.
The Scripture says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
That thief on the cross.
He recognized that he was.
Receiving what he deserved from men.
And had he entered into eternity with the weight of his sins, he would have received from God.
What he deserved.
But he didn't enter into eternity like that.
He was one who was cursing the Lord and saying bad things to him, and he had to change your heart.
And he didn't know what to ask, but he didn't see on the cross it says King of the Jews. And he said king must be kingdoms. And he said to the Lord, Lord.
He didn't say save me for giving my sins. He said, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest in thy Kingdom.
It was going to be coming Kingdom. He was the king.
He didn't have much intelligence as to what to ask for.
And what did the Lord tell him today? Thou shalt be with me in paradise, Not just in the Kingdom, on the earth, in paradise with the Lord Jesus.
He might have been a murderer. As far as we know, he had the death penalty on him. He was a malefactor, one who did wrong.
And he's not going to go into the lake of fire like we had in verse eight of chapter 21 of Revelation. He went straight to heaven.
With the Lord.
Is God fair?
The Pharisees would take knock and they fasted three times a week.
Sometimes we think like that, you know, I go to meeting and I follow my mom and dad around and I learn verses by heart. It's all very good, you know?
But none of that could take you to heaven unless you put your trust in the Lord Jesus. And heaven is your Savior. So this man, he was a guilty man.
He was a wicked man. He did many things wrong in society. He wanted to get rid of him, but he went to heaven.
Because he called upon the name of the Lord.
He got more than he asked for.
Why is that? We talked to the right person.
He addressed the right person.
And somebody tells us, you know, in Acts chapter 4 and verse 12, there's no other name given among men whereby we must be saved, and that name is the name of the Lord Jesus.
You call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, you're going to be saved. It says that in the Scripture. On what basis? Because this one who's called Jesus?
00:25:02
Who is the Lord of Lord and King of hymns? He was on the cross, and he bore the penalty, the chastisement of all those that trust in Him.
I don't know how old you are, but I was 27 years old.
When I asked the Lord to be my Savior and I trusted him.
Have you ever done that? It doesn't matter what age you are. You can be young. You can be four or five. Six, doesn't matter.
Lord Jesus, I want you to be my savior. Lord Jesus, save me.
Lord Jesus.
Write my name.
In your book, please. Now if you ask me tonight, Michelle.
This is a souvenir. Would you write your name, my name in your book? Of course.
Come and see me and I'll be glad to write your name, you know, and I'll have some names that match other than Cody's, you know, because the only ones I have are from Cuba and African. None here fit your names.
So tonight if you ask the Lord Jesus.
Would you put your name, my name in your book? Lord Gee, of course you will. That's why he came. You know now, many of you tonight. I know.
You have your name in the Lamb's Book of Life.
I'm going to ask you a question.
I want you to be honest, everyone of you.
I want you to put your hand up. Not right now, if your name is in the Lamb's Book of life.
Once you put your hand up, just a second, not right away, and then I want you to look around.
Because I want you to be honest.
I want you to look around in your room and see if anybody hasn't put their hand up. There's nothing wrong with not putting your hand up. In fact, if you don't know your book, your name is in there. Don't put your hand up.
But I want you, who have their names in the Book of Life, to be concerned.
Because this is, no, this is not funny. I'm, I'm a lighthearted brother. And, you know, I, I, I try to hold back all the time, but I don't do very good at it, you know?
But this is serious matter we've been waiting for eternity.
Is your name in the last book of life? Put your hand up and look around, please.
Some have not put their hand up. You just identify them and you make sure you talk to them and you'd be concerned about them.
Thank you.
Now, once you get back at work on Monday.
Or at school, perhaps college? Your friends at the playground.
Is your name in the book of life?
What about your neighbors? The ones on your right? The ones on your left across the street?
Are there names in the Book of Life?
You know, God knows ahead of time.
What names are in there? Because he's on this year.
But I do believe God is in the business of writing names.
In the Lamb's book of life, my little book here is not very big, you know.
I was just looking at it in the meeting there and I calculated it quickly.
I had some 50 black pages.
22, sorry, 22 black pages. Oh, here we go, 50 black pages with 22 lines, which is 1100 names I could put in this little book. You know, I could film my book here with everybody's name and perhaps your children and grandchildren. I have room for that.
God has room in his book. He so loved the world.
That whosoever.
Could God write in his book of life?
The name of every human being that ever lived on the face of this earth at the end of time. Of course he can.
But go back with me to Revelation chapter 20.
Verse 15.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life?
00:30:01
Was cast into.
The Lake of Fire.
If I read this text correctly.
I'm sure.
That some.
Some will be cast.
Some will be cast.
In the League of Fire.
Because their name wasn't found there. Now sometimes I've heard people say that God's not going to find any names in there that aren't with him already. I can't say that myself from reading the text, because then say all those. It doesn't say all those. It says whosoever is not found. So.
I hope.
That some names are going to be found.
At that last minute, you know, maybe the Lord did write some names. It's his prerogative, you know, He's the Lord, you can do what he wants.
But I can't be sure about that.
I can be sure for me, and I know many in this room, I can tell them by name, their names in there. I'm sure, sure, sure.
But is your name in there?
Those whosoever's one in John 316 He so loved the world, that whosoever believeth in Him, he gave His only begotten Son. Whosoever believeth in Him would not perish.
But have everlasting life.
Perishing forever.
God sets before us a decision, he says. I have the work of my Son for you. I have heaven for you. I have Revelation 21 one to seven for you.
And and that's only if you trust my son. And that's all I require from you is to recognize that you're a Sinner and that I sent my son to die for you. And if you'll just trust him, that's going to be yours forever.
But if you don't.
Your part is going to be.
In the Lake of Fire.
History, John 5, verse 24.
John 524 Verily, verily, I say unto you.
He that heareth.
My word.
I use this very often in the therapy houses.
And I read this verse, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, I asked them.
Who are these?
Not hear his word.
And you know what they say? That's us.
They're hearing the word of God. They recognize God is speaking to them.
He's speaking to us tonight. Cost him a lot to bring sinners to heaven. Cost him the gift of his Son. And he sets it before us. He sets it before you that we might believe He that.
Here is my word and believe it on him that sent me or believeth him that sent me. He's believing the father, the testimony he's given about his son.
That he so loved us and he gave him.
That you would not perish, but have everlasting life.
Verily, verily, I say unto you that heareth my word, and believe, believeth him that sent me, ha not will have has everlasting life.
And he has not, shall not come into condemnation, but his past from death.
And to life, I enjoy the thought that since they passed from death until like their name is in the book of life. Those that have life, they're they're their name is in there. They have life. How did they get life? They believe what God said about his son.
They believe the Lord Jesus Christ, they said Amen. They said yes. They said, Lord, save me. They said, Lord, I trust you. I want you to be my Savior. It doesn't matter how you say it comes from your heart. Little faith, a great Savior, wonderful results. I'm going to see that man in the glory and I look at the Lord Jesus, but that man, I know what his name is, but he was on that cross beside the Lord.
He's going to be there in glory, a malefactor.
00:35:01
How come he's there? Because he has a savior.
You know God makes no exception with sin.
He is just and he has to punish every sin ever committed in this world.
Your sins, my sins. This man sins the sin of the whole world. He has to punish every sin. Every sin has received a just recompensive reward. It has to be like that because he's just.
And so either Jesus pays for your sins on the cross.
Or you pay for your sins yourself.
The Lord Jesus was forsaken on the cross. He said on the cross, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? For what reason would God forsake this one who always did those things that pleased Him? And every word, every thought, every action was a delight to the Father's heart. He forsook him.
Why did he forsake him? He forsook him so he wouldn't have to forsake you to forsake me.
That's how much he values to save you and to bring you to heaven.
He forsook him.
You know, some people say, you know, he felt per SE. You know, he's not that. He felt forsaken. He was forsaken. There was no answer to his cry.
Why was there no answer to his cry? So God in righteousness?
Could answer your cry.
And tonight, my friend, God has a provision for you. You can never call upon the name of the Lord. You can call upon Him tonight.
And God is going to respond to your cry tonight.
He's going to save you and he's going to put your name down in the last book of life.
And you're going to be participating in that scene of glory in Revelation 21 with no more crimes, no more pain, no more death.
Eternity of bliss and happiness. God dwelling with men and us with him. Beautiful portions that we can enjoy as Christians too. So much to be developed, but it starts with knowing this Blessed 1 as your personal Savior.
So I ask you tonight, is your name in there? If it's not in there, you can ask God this very moment as we're speaking, you say, Lord, I don't understand everything. Either I'm young or I'm confused. But I will tell you, dear God, that I want my name in the book of life. I want to be a partaker of those blessings that we've been reading about and I don't want to not want to partake.
Of those things described in the eighth verse, I do not want to partake.
Of what is going to happen to those whose name is not in the book of life, well.
Just a couple of more verses and we'll close in prayer. Acts chapter 4, verse 12. I didn't mention that verse before. We're going to read that.
Acts chapter 4 and verse 12 Neither is there salvation in.
Any other and I might say in anything else.
There's one way to be saved, and it is to a Savior, and his name is the Lord Jesus, and there is no other way, Jesus on the way to truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me. And so it says here, neither is your salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
You want your name. In this book you call upon the name of the Lord.
Lord Jesus, save me. You put your name in his book, so let's just close in prayer.
I've gotten our father this evening.
We just thank you once again for thy love to this world. None that work, love. We're all, we've all been loved.
And we've all been included in the gifts of thy Son and thy purpose to fill thy house.
A creature such as we and we just thank thee for all those of us who've heard the message of thy love and grace and goodness and forgiveness in our Lord Jesus. We thank thee for all those of us who know that our name is in the book of life and we know Father, that could only write our books there, our names there. Pardon me because.
All has been taken care of that those things that we are guilty of, that we be judged for and sent away for for eternity, they have all been taken care of by the Lord Jesus on the cross, when He was forsaken in our stead, when He was punished in our stead, when all the waves and billows of Your judgment, Father, fell upon him instead of us. And we do thank Thee for this very much. And we pray for anyone in this room who still hasn't put their trust in the Lord Jesus.
00:40:26
That the consideration of the consequences might. If it's because of fear, they might come to thee by fear. They're not so good. The draws with cords of love.
But sometimes we need to be warned and we pray tonight that none would delay because the door is still open tonight. And we just thanked you for this and ask for a blessing, Father. And thank you for this time here in Walla Walla. And for those who are with us this evening. We pray for them each one. And thank thee, Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Yes.
Look At Creation and We Are Responsible to the God of Love
Leprosy is a Picture of Sin
Children—Randy Tysor
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.
Uh, go ahead and get started while we're waiting for others to show up. So anybody, any of your kids, uh, first of all, if you want to come sit up front here, kids.
I don't bite too much. So anybody got a Anybody got a song off of this? I don't know if you're all that's real familiar with this, but look at it. See if you got a song you'd like to suggest.
44 OK if 44.
Dying alone.
Whose of salvation we give it, said he.
Nobody has ever has told it to me.
Tell it again. Tell it again.
Salvation Story.
Nobody. Ever.
Told.
Tell it again. Tell it again.
Salvation story, repeat or endorse.
Hold me before.
He caught the last night of his breath just as he entered the Valley of Death.
North and his son never so ever, said he and I am to.
10:40.
Till it again.
Tell it again.
Salvation story, repeat or end all?
Still mountain saige of the.
There hast thou me before?
Very good. Who else has one?
Lots of hands. Let's see who who has has one here for us this morning. Are you awake? OK.
47.
Thank you.
I'm going to make up his duels of his duels, press his duels, his love and his own like the stars of the morning.
Right.
Gems for his Kingdom, all the saved ones, all the bright ones. Hears love and his soul.
Like that you are seeing the morning.
00:05:34
OK, another hand who's who's gonna help us out here? Thank you, buddy. What's?
Jesus loves me. How old are you? 3 Good job, Jesus loves me.
Nsnoise.
Jesus loves me.
Oh, thus loves me. Loves Nightmare.
Nsnoise.
Great.
One or two more.
39 How old are you?
10 Thank you. 39 I got grandchildren so that's why I asked you how old you are. I gotta make sure I'm 3039, right? 39.
The reason I ask you kids your age, we're going to sing one. Uh, we're going to sing one more and then we'll pray. Hang on to that. Will you please hang on to it? We're going to sing one more and then we're going to pray. But I want to tell you a story. Last Lord's Day, I had the gospel meeting in Aberdeen and we talked about a leper.
We're going to talk about a leper this morning, and I've got a grandson that's five years old.
And my daughter-in-law asked him after the meeting, what did grandpa talk about at the meeting? He talked about lions and tigers.
And leopards. And spots.
So.
This is kind of challenge to get down to the five year old. How many here are five years old?
There's one.
Almost five. It's it's a challenge for us old guys to get down to the to the age of five year olds. That's why the Lord gives us grandchildren sometimes. We're not going to talk about leopards and spots. We're going to talk about leopards. OK, what's your number? You have a 99. Thank you. Say again.
29 OK.
29.
35345977.
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Let's, let's close our eyes for a second and ask, uh, the Lord's help and then we'll save verses. If that's OK, we'll have some save verses, our God and Father.
At this the beginning of yet another Lord's Day.
Perhaps the last in this world we know not, but we thank thee for an opportunity in this nation.
Nation this continent to come together in this way and freely without threat from the authorities to to think about thee to sing these songs to read the Bible Lord, we're mindful tonight that in many many countries in this world.
They don't have this privilege. Help us to not take it for granted. Our God and Father, and for these children too, that have grown up most, uh, most in Christian families where they hear thy word read and the stories from the Bible. Lord, help help the families, help these children to take these things to heart.
That they may not grow tired of hearing them as is the norm. So we just ask Thy help and my blessing here this morning and throughout this day.
We commit this meeting to the Lord Jesus for thy direction and thy help in thy precious worthy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. OK, don't go away. I've got a Was there a microphone sitting here? Thank you. Thank you.
It works. OK, who wants to? We're not all gonna have time to say versus here, but who's who wants to?
Who's the young lady? What? How old are you?
For me, yeah, receivers.
Can get out of the water.
Yeah, it was a good start, very good. Thank you for trying.
Sometimes it's a willing, willing spirit first. OK, young lady.
Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4/14. Thank you. That sounds like what you were going to start, right? Whosoever drinketh the water. Good job.
00:20:20
Shall never thirst again, but.
Whosoever drinketh in the water that I still don't show, being him. A well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4/14.
Here's today where you're not gonna put you on that.
You ready?
You can.
Psalms 23 The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want You may give me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He needed me in the pasture.
And his of righteousness for his name's sake. Yet though I walk through the valleys of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For thou art with me that wrought, and thyself.
Staff, they come for me, and prepares the table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my copper on my silver. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House of the Lord forever. Psalms 23. Very good, thank you one more.
OK, a hand and a smile with a combination.
Or I shall give to him.
He shall not thirst.
And in him there should be a well of water springing up into eternal life.
John, 414.
Maybe one more.
OK, clear across the road.
Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him. Well of water spring up into everlasting life. John 414. One of my favorite verses. Thank you very much. OK, I'm gonna turn this off.
Is that what?
OK.
Thank you very much you you guys. I know saying verses in front of a big crowd is, uh, intimidating. Believe me. So turn with me, if you will. If you have a Bible, turn with me to the first chapter of Mark.
If you don't, I'm going to tell you a story. How old are you, young lady in the yellow?
How old are you?
6 Thank you.
Did did it change that quick selling? OK, way, way to go.
Turn with me to Mark Chapter One, I said. We're going to talk about a leper. Not a leopard, but a leper.
And just listen, if you don't have a Bible, Mark chapter one and verse 40. And there came a leper to him. To who?
To the Lord Jesus, OK, there came a leper to him.
Kneeling down to him and saying unto him, If thou wilt thou canst make me clean, Hang on to that for me, will you please, sweetie?
If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed. And he straightly charged him, and forthwith sent him away, and saith unto him, See thou say nothing to any man.
But go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded.
For a testimony unto them.
But he went out and began to publish, publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places, and they came to him from every quarter.
00:25:14
Who who knows what leprosy is?
OK.
It's a skin disease.
Is it a pretty skin disease? No, it's not.
Do we see? Would you hang on to this for me, please? Umm, leprosy? Well, you know what?
I printed out some pictures and they're not pretty.
But last week I didn't print out pictures and we thought we were talking about leopards.
So I know you won't be able to see all these, uh, very far away, and I hope nobody has bad dreams, but I'm just gonna start back here. Umm.
I'm sorry for those of you in the back. What do you see there? What's wrong with that man's hands?
No fingers. He's lost fingers and thumbs.
This is gonna take a minute to show you these pictures. They're they're not pretty. Leprosy is not a pretty, pretty disease. It's a skin disease. Open your eyes. You're not afraid.
See the spots on this man's face there? And this guy is this poor man has lost fingers. I'm sorry. These are this is leprosy and the thing that's in.
OK, before I go any farther.
Do you guys know what pictures are in the Bible? Sometimes. Sometimes we read stories in the Bible and there are pictures of something else.
You understand that?
Uh, I'm gonna give you an example. I'm not gonna talk about David and Goliath, but who? Who's heard the story of David and Goliath? Everybody. OK, who understands that the story of David and Goliath is a picture of something else?
This this guy does. What's it a picture of?
David and Goliath is a picture is is a picture in the Old Testament of something in the New Testament.
You're stumped. You try it anyway. Thank you. Hang on to that. It's a picture of the Lord Jesus on the cross, right?
David.
Slew Goliath, a giant, an enemy just like the Lord Jesus slew the power of Satan on the cross. Do you guys understand that? Because it's kind of important that you understand pictures. She does. I'm seeing the lights coming on. We're gonna leprosy is a picture of something.
Think what's leprosy a picture of?
Another winter sin, leprosy is a horrible horrible.
Skin disease, and it's a picture of sin.
Thank you SO.
Anybody here have leprosy?
No Anybody here have a disease called sin?
Lots of hands going up. So this is the point that I'm trying to get down to the five year olds that leprosy is a horrible disease, but it's just like sin, isn't it?
So I told a white lie the other day. Or maybe I stole a cookie. Mommy said OK, these cookies are don't touch.
And maybe I did a send the other day and it didn't seem so bad. It was just a little little white lie that I told. It wasn't a big whopper.
I'm gonna tell you three things about leprosy, this disease.
It starts out as a spot. Let's say I got a spot on my arm, a white spot. All of a sudden there's this white spot on my arm and oh.
In Israel, when somebody got a spot like that, they were supposed to go to the priests and show it to the priest in Israel, and the priest was supposed to tell him if it was leprosy or not.
But I rather imagine when somebody got that white spot and one of those pictures, I think that man had a lot of spots, right?
00:30:08
I rather imagine that when people got leprosy in Israel they started wearing long sleeve shirts and they started wearing hoods. They would try to cover it up.
Has anybody here ever sinned and tried to cover it up?
Bye.
You think so?
I think a lot of us when we sin, oh, we gotta cover this. I don't want anybody to find this out. I feel so bad. I told a lie and somebody says, what? What? What did you say? And so we tell another lie. We try to cover it up, just like that man with leprosy. This is why.
Leprosy is a picture of sin and you know I skip.
Skip the step here and I want to just say this.
Leprosy is a picture of how God sees sin.
I see sin is kind of oh, that wasn't that big a deal.
God looks down and he sees leprosy as a disease that will destroy your life.
It's a horrible, ugly disease in God's sight. Are you following me?
I'm seeing some smiles.
It's like sin. So first of all, when we sin, we do something like that. We try to cover it up.
But you know, leprosy.
Is like sin in this respect that it spreads.
It starts out as a spot, but it doesn't stay there. It gets bigger and bigger and more parts of the body.
And it spreads and people keep trying to cover it up, but it spreads. It's a disease that will take you. I'm going to show you another picture here in a few minutes of a man that's covered with leprosy.
I heard a young man say recently.
That he grew up in the meeting.
He grew up here in the gospel.
And he kept putting it off. I I'm not quoting him, just exactly the way he said it, that God.
To where it it, it didn't speak to him so much anymore. And, you know, sometimes children, the thought comes into our minds. I know I need to be saved.
I hear the gospel a lot.
But I think I'm going to put it off for a while.
I know there's people here that's had that thought because I had that thought and I didn't even grow up in the meeting, but I was going to be saved someday. But I wanted to have my life. I wanted to have my flame. But you know what? What starts out as a little spot of sin, it spreads and it spreads and it gets bigger and pretty soon it takes over our whole life and it'll destroy.
We go out here around the city.
And you'll see lives that are destroyed by sin so.
Anybody here ever steal? Steal, stolen?
Anybody lied just a little?
Little eye, little white line lie. Anybody looked at anything on the Internet that they shouldn't have? Anybody spread rumors about people?
Oh, this is sin. And if we don't deal with it right now?
It's going to get worse, it's going to get bigger, and it will eventually take over our whole lives. There is something very, very interesting in Leviticus 13 about leprosy.
There comes a time when a person is completely covered from their toes to the top of their head with leprosy. And who knows what it says in the Bible when somebody's completely covered?
They that's very they have to go out of the tribe of Israel. They have to go outside the camp. Would you hang on to that for me? Please Don't lose it.
Umm, that's true. When they get leprosy, they have to go outside the camp.
Not. You're very close, but it's not exactly the answer I'm looking for. What happens when somebody, Uncle Ernie, what happens?
00:35:04
They're clean leprosy from what were you gonna say, honey?
They have to go into the house.
I think I think you're right. I think you're on the right track there. Umm.
Hang on to that. Don't lose that for me.
Uncle Ernie said that they're pronounced clean, and this just doesn't make sense. Somebody's completely covered with leprosy. I'm not a medical doctor like Doctor Pross, but perhaps they weren't contagious anymore. But in God's eyes, they're clean. You try, you got leprosy. Let's imagine.
And you're trying to hide this, and you're trying to hide it, and you're trying to hide it, and the day comes where you can't hide it anymore.
I'm a Sinner. It's the picture. It's when we realize that God sees every bit of me. I can't hide from him. He sees that I'm a Sinner. And it's when we take the place of saying, Lord, I can't hide from you. I'm a Sinner, please save me. What?
What cleanses us from sin?
The precious blood.
The precious blood of Christ. So that's, that's, that's the first half of this here. I'm running out of time. I want to scoot right along, but uh, sin leprosy is like.
Sin it will destroy lives. You can't put it off. It's not going to get better. It's going to get worse and it will horribly ruin your life. I'm going to show you another picture kids here that.
I debated whether whether to show you it's not pretty. This man is covered with leprosy.
It's not pretty, is it?
Look at his eyes. What is his eyes?
What about his eyes?
What about his eyes? Is that a monster's eyes? Said a man's eyes.
OK, wrong quest, wrong answer that. I think I appreciate what you said there, but it's, uh, I looked at this picture of this man covered with leprosy and debated whether to show it to little children or not because it's not pretty. But as I looked at it and I asked my wife, Aunt Kit, what she, what she thought of it, I said, what do you, what do you notice about this picture? Look at the man's eyes.
It's not the eyes of a monster. This looks like a monster. His nose is gone.
Part of his lips are gone.
But it's the eyes of a man.
They look very sad.
And I asked my wife and she said they looked defeated.
Not a monster.
It's a man.
Sin has in the in the picture sin destroys lives, but you know the Lord Jesus, this leper came to the Lord Jesus.
And he said, Lord, you can clean me. You can make me clean if you will. And the Lord says I will. And he put his hands on him. You know, this leprosy is lots of sores and oozing skin. And the Lord put his hands on and said, I'll, I'll save you. Is he willing to save us tonight, today, this morning? Is he willing? Absolutely. Can he do it? Absolutely.
You know, my wife has him that she's sung a lot the last couple days and there's a line in it that says he looked beyond my fault and saw my need. You know, we look at ruined lives and we passed judgment on people sadly, but the Lord Jesus sees the soul and he sees.
Souls in their need, and he in it says.
He looked upon him with compassion. I looked up that word compassion. And it means to have sympathy with somebody with a desire to do something about it. And, you know, when we're saved, we get a new life in US. And all of a sudden I realize, you know, again that we have this new life. I looked at this man and I, I didn't see his horrible skin. I saw his eyes. I saw a man inside there.
00:40:02
The Lord Jesus sees souls in their deep need.
No matter how sinful they are, this man probably, you know, thought he was too dirty, too nasty to be saved. The Lord says, I'll save you. Can you be too dirty? Can you be too far gone? Can you be too bad a Sinner?
The Lord says I'll save you.
Don't put it off, children. It's not gonna get any better. Sand spreads and it destroys. This is a decision that you need to make now, today, right away. Don't put it off. It won't get any better. Sin will destroy your lives. I want to say just real quickly.
The Lord Jesus.
Touch this man.
Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will be thou clean. And as soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.
Uh, that was part A of what I have here and I'm out of time almost. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna scoot through this Part B here. What about after we're saved children? 5 more minutes and we'll be done. OK, So just hang, hang with me a little bit. What about after we're saved? What do you, what do you think You had your hand up?
Cleans by the blood of Jesus, Thank you very much. What do you say? What about our lives after we're saved?
Yes, when we die, we get to go to heaven.
Very, very good answers. The Lord Jesus told this man, He charged him, straightly charged him, and forthwith sent him away, and Seth unto him, See thou say nothing to any man.
Wow, that seems strange, but it came right from the one who had just cleansed him.
But go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them.
Children, this is going to be a a. I'm just going to take a minute here.
It might be a little bit of a challenge for your brains, but I think you guys are smarter and I think.
I think you're pretty smart.
In Israel, the priests had seen a lot of lepers, and it says that there were many lepers in Israel, but I don't think the priests had seen many lepers that were cleansed. I don't know if they'd seen any.
And the Lord Jesus cleansed this leper and said, go show yourself to the priest for a testimony to him.
The priests in Israel needed to know the Messiah was walking the dusty roads of Israel.
But this man knew better than the Lord Jesus.
At least he thought he did. He went out and started telling everybody. The Lord told him very specifically what to do, what not to do. Don't, don't talk to anybody. Go show yourself to the.
To the priests you know, Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul when he got saved on the road to Damascus, saw the Lord Jesus.
Saul saw why persecutest thou me? First thing he said was who art thou Lord? I am Jesus.
Whom thou persecuted.
Who knows what?
Saul said next.
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Lord, what wilt thou have me to do after we're saved?
We don't just go out and do what?
What we think is the right thing to do?
I just would encourage those of you children, those of you young people that are older, that are are saved.
Ask the Lord what He will have you to do. Sometimes people, when I first got saved, Southern Baptist Church, they were trying to push you out into the ministry. I didn't feel like that was what the Lord wanted. The Lord wanted me to go this other direction. But you know, you got to spend time on your knees and time on your face before the Lord. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? I know I've got a will, and there's a lot of things that look like good things to do.
This man went out and told everybody about Jesus. That doesn't seem like a bad thing, does it?
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? That's, that's what we need to come up with afterward after we're saved. Is that exercise? Umm, I'm just gonna close with this little saying, uh, most of us are not called to extraordinary pathways, but to an ordinary everyday pathway with extraordinary purpose of heart.
00:45:24
We you know, and perhaps the Lord may call you to some other thing.
Uh, someday, but you know, for now, he might just want you to have a, have a family. You know, you got young people here going to college. Oh, well, let's see if I become a, a such and such, I can make such and such and I can get to do this and I can get to do this with my life. Those are all good things. Start out with Lord, what do you want me to do?
Alright, we're gonna close in prayer now, but when I'm done praying, I want you to sit still for just one minute, OK? Because we got a couple little treats that we're gonna give out. So we wanna, we can get that done. But uh, let's just close in prayer now. Our God and Father, we thank thee for this time with the children. And Lord pray that their little hearts as well, well as their understandings might be open to the awfulness of sin in my sight. It looks to us.
Not so bad, but Lord, what a what a graphic illustration of how awful sin is in your sight, that it destroys lives. So we ask thy blessing and my help upon my word. And those that are a little older with decisions before them. We know we have many young people that are facing very important decisions in their life. Help them.
Lord Jesus, like Saul to say, Lord, what will thou have me to do, and to wait on thee, and to pray about it.
And to seek thy guidance. So we thank thee for this time together. Look to thee for the meeting that just in front of us, an opportunity to remember thee and thy death, Lord Jesus.
We pray that it might be blessed to our souls, and we pray that we might be in a state of soul to respond to thy dying request, Lord Jesus. So we ask this now in my precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen. Those of you that I paper to.
Would you? I think there's six of you. Come up here, please.
Did I give? I need. I got six of you. There we go. OK.
Dale Harkins from West, uh, Richland did a box for each one of you guys. He wanted me to give him out to each one of you. So it's kind of a little treasure chest that he's carved. They are so cool. Thank you for answering questions, you guys. Each one of you can have one of those.
There you go.
OK, you can go sit down now. You guys. Thank you very much. And for the rest of you kids somewhere.
I hope you like gummy bears 'cause I buy them by the, by the, by the ton. So, OK, you're all you're, you're dismissed from Sunday school. If you kids wanna come up here and grab one of these, I've got gummy bears for everybody. Come ahead, please. Uh, when you're done with the wrappers, uh, put them in Mom's purse, will you please?
God Is For Us; He Wants to Use Us
The Sufferings and Glories of Christ
Prayer the Power of Your Christian Life
Rizpah
Address—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.
They we sing together the 1St 3 verses of #168.
168.
The night is far spent and the day is at hand. No sign to be looked for The stars in the sky.
Rejoice then, ye Saints, tis your Lord's own command. Rejoice, for the coming of Jesus draws nigh. 168 and will sing it to the tune of Home Sweet Home.
The night is for spent and the day is at hand, no?
Sight to bear, look for the stars in the sky.
Rejoice, then you're slaughtered.
Of Jesus draws night.
What a day will that be when the Savior.
Our fears are welcome.
To those.
To have Sheridan.
Is gross.
Hooked Crown and.
Corrupt.
Ed.
And will be theirs.
All right.
Compensation.
For suffering.
And loss.
What is?
Lost in this world?
When compared to the day to the.
Glory.
The third will prompt you.
Berryville.
The third.
Your is coming.
His people.
May say.
The Lord.
We'll just stop there. We might have time to finish it at the end.
Let's look to the Lord in prayer.
Our loving God and our Father, we thank Thee again for the precious words of this hymn.
And indeed, it speaks both to our hearts and to our consciences that the night is far spent and the day is at hand.
On the one hand, we thank the blessed God our Father that that day is near when we shall hear that shout, when that blessed one, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Will come and call us home.
But on the other hand, while we are still here.
We do pray for a suitable state of heart and a walk that is in keeping with those who are expecting our Lord Jesus Christ at any moment.
We own how?
Easily lost in this world affects us.
We own how easily we are persuaded by the spirit of things in this world.
00:05:06
But we do pray, as we open thy word together, that Thou wilt undertake for us.
Give that which is needed for each one.
And that our Lord Jesus Christ might become more precious to us, for we ask God, Lord Jesus, in thy precious and worthy name.
Amen.
I'd like you to turn with me this afternoon to a scripture in the Old Testament.
Second Samuel, chapter 21.
Second Samuel, chapter 21.
The story with which many of us are familiar, and yet I believe it has a lesson for us.
Which is worth repeating.
So let's begin to read in the first verse, and we'll read down to the end of verse 14, Second Samuel 21, verse one.
Then there was a famine in the days of David, three years, year after year. And to David inquired of the Lord, and of the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.
And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them, Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, excuse me, but of the remnant of the Amorites.
And the children of Israel had sworn unto them, and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.
Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you, and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
And to the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house, neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What shall or what ye shall say, that will I do for you?
They and they answered the king, the man that consumed us, that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel.
Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose.
And the king said, I will give them, But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul.
Because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.
But the king took the two sons of Risper, the daughter of Ayah, whom she bare unto Saul, Harmony and Mephibosheth, and the five sons, and noticed this should read.
Of the sister of Michael, the daughter of Saul, you will remember that Michael had no children, it says, until the day of her death. These were the children of her sister, a woman whose name was Mirab.
And the five sons of the sister of the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel, the daughter of Barzillai the Maholithite. And he delivered them into the hands of the Midianites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord. And they fell all 7 together, and were put to death. In the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.
Andrew is for the daughter of Ayah, took sackcloth and spread it for her upon the rock.
From the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. And it was told David what risk for the son of AIA, the concubine of Saul, had done.
And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son.
00:10:03
From the men of Jabish Gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them. When the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa. And he brought up from fence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, And they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son, buried day in the country of Benjamin and Zela.
In the sepulchre of Kish's father.
And they performed all that the king commanded, and after that God was entreated for the land.
We may not speak for a whole hour, I know it's been a long day and especially for many of the children here, but we're going to try and make a few points from this chapter.
That, I believe, are good for each one of us, young and old.
You know God does not relate a story in the Bible simply so that you can hide you and I can have a nice interesting story to read.
You know, when our children were growing up and we had long drives in the car, they would sometimes say, tell us a story and they would sometimes make specific reference to when you were young, tell us daddy about your farm and things like that. And of course, there were usually plenty of good stories, but I'm sorry to say that most of them didn't have any moral value.
However, be that as it may, this story is not in here merely by coincidence.
You know, there are many times in this world when wrong actions are done, not only in the world at large among unbelievers, but there are wrong actions that are done, sad to say, among believers.
And often what happens and I have been guilty of it. Wrong actions are followed by wrong reactions.
And in this story, we have some wrong actions and we have some wrong reactions, but we also have some right reactions. Let's look at them here.
We find and this is.
Perhaps more in the latter time of David's life, we find that there was a famine in the land, and you'll notice that the Spirit of God emphasizes the length of the famine by repeating those words year after year. It must have been difficult. We don't worry too much in North America about not having food to eat because.
After all, if a late frost nips all the buds of the apples in.
Michigan Well, it's all right. The Washington crop will probably be good, then we can get them from Washington. And so we're not too worried about it. But a famine back in ancient times was often very difficult because they didn't have railways and trains and or, or planes and other things and great big cargo ships to bring food from all over the world.
And David here does.
The right thing.
He inquired of the Lord. We want to look at this in the spiritual sense, because sometimes God allows a famine, not so much of food for our bodies, but sometimes He allows a famine among His people of spiritual food. And sometimes, shall I say it out loud, we hear people saying in our assemblies, but we're not being fed.
We are not being fed.
Sometimes that's true, but sometimes perhaps there is a grain of truth to it, and as a result there are complaints and difficulties. What does David do here? As the king? He goes to the Lord. And I would suggest that for you and for me, that's a good way to handle it if the Lord allows a famine in our lives, either individually or collectively.
00:15:08
Let's look to the Lord about it because God wants to feed his people.
He wants to bless them.
And God does not willingly withhold the good food spiritually that we need.
Unless he wants to get our attention.
And the answer wasn't long in coming.
The Lord tells David it is for Saul and for his bloody house because he slew the Gibeonites. And of course, you will remember who the Gibeonites were. They were a mighty nation back in the days of Joshua, and when they realized that they were no match for the armies of Israel, they played a trick.
Excuse me?
They played a trick. They got moldy bread and old clothes and old shoes and all the rest of it and old water bottles that were all split and so on. And then they came to the people of Israel and told them they'd come from a far country, and they said, no, you make a league with us.
And you know, on that occasion Joshua didn't consult the Lord. They made a league with them.
And afterward they found they give you a night slipped right there in the land, and that this was their way of ensuring that they would not be annihilated and driven out by the Israelites.
Well, Saul in his zeal had decided to break the oath that was sworn to the Gibeonites, and he slew a number of them, and the Lord did not forget it.
David might easily have said he didn't say it, but he might easily have said Lord.
That's not my problem, is it? That was Saul's doing. I didn't do it. That happened long before I was king. Do I have to suffer because of a problem that went on when Saul was king?
Sometimes we talk like that, don't we? Sometimes there are questions in our minds that arise, and perhaps we say to ourselves, but that isn't my problem. I had nothing to do with that.
You know, God sometimes tests us by not dealing with an issue right away, but allowing it to go on for a while and then drawing it to our attention. And that is what happened here. The Lord was going to see how people reacted to something that in one sense, yes, was not their doing, but yet God.
Held all.
Israel responsible?
And God sometimes holds His people responsible collectively for what has happened in the past, in order that we may deal with it in His presence.
Let us not take the attitude and say that's not my problem. No, let us remember that if something happened in the past that casts a long shadow, the Lord is giving us the opportunity to deal with it.
With him.
We deal with it with him.
So what happens here?
I believe here that there was failure on David's part.
I don't want to say too much.
I don't know how I would have reacted under the circumstances, but does David consult the Lord again?
Does David ask the Lord what to do about it? No.
I am firmly convinced that if David had gone to the Lord about it.
There might have been a better way of dealing with the problem.
But he didn't. David felt he knew how to handle it. And So what does he say here in verse 3?
Wherefore David said unto the Giunites, What shall I do for you, and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
Oh dear.
00:20:00
For the gibeonites, the ones to say what ought to be done.
Oh, what comes in here? The element of revenge. The element of revenge.
It's a sad thing when that kind of feeling overtakes the people of God. It goes on out in the world.
It goes on all the time where a wrong has been done.
And people will not be satisfied unless there's revenge.
It's only Divine Love operative in our hearts that can prevent that feeling from taking over.
Where the Gibeonites the one to be the ones to be blessing the inheritance of the Lord? Was it their blessing that was going to make the land productive again? Oh no, Oh no.
Was it they that needed to be satisfied? Who had allowed the famine? The Gibeonites? Oh no.
And so here we find that dear David made a mistake. There was a wrong action here.
And the Gibeonites, they take what seems to be very high ground. Oh no, David, we don't want any silver or gold, nor do we want you to kill any man in Israel.
But that man that consumed us, that man that consumed us, we want satisfaction. That used to be the watchword, you know, back in the days when duels were fought. I want satisfaction. And even though duels are not allowed today, people want satisfaction. Someone murders one of their family.
We want that murderer taken to court and justice done.
And here, that's what the Gibeonites wanted.
And what do they say here?
Verse six. Let seven men of his sons, O my, be delivered unto us.
And we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul. Whom the Lord?
Oh, not only do they want revenge, but they're going to put a religious construction on it. They're going to take these men and pretend that this is something that the Lord wants them to do. They're going to hang them up unto the Lord.
Very solemn.
And they mentioned Saul even to the point of acknowledging that he was the one that the Lord did choose.
Now I don't want to read into this what isn't here, but if it's not here, the point I'm going to make I believe is correct.
Is there a sense in which the Gibeonites are saying in a very subtle way?
The Lord put that man on the throne and look what he did to us.
Is there a sense there? I leave you to decide that.
I think there is.
In other words, there is that very subtle way in which the blame.
Can get transferred from man up to the Lord and I hesitate to say it but I have heard it more than once in conversation with people.
I heard it from a brother once where things had gone badly in his life and things had not worked out. And these were his very words. The Lord, the Lord let me down. The Lord really let me down.
To remember an older sister many years ago who looked so utterly miserable that I ventured to go up and have a chat with her and oh, she was miserable. Why? And I hesitate to say this, but it's true. And I'm persuaded that she was not the only one. At least I mean in a broad sense.
And she related to me a long tale about some wrong that had been done to her and some things that had happened in her local assembly. And she was. So you could tell that. Well, I'll have to say it, it was anger welling up within her.
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Oh, I said, can you not take that to the Lord and have it out with him and get right with Him first, so that he takes away all that?
Never forget her words, she said. I do try to do that, but the Lord doesn't listen.
Ouch.
Can I believe or talk like that? I've heard it and I could. I could multiply a few more stories. What was her problem? Turn for a moment. Keep your place here, but turn to first Peter 5. Here is an important verse and I just passed this on as an aside.
But it's going to relate to what we see later in the chapter.
First Peter chapter 5 and verse 6.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God.
That he may exalt you in due time. And then what does it say? Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.
It doesn't say humble yourself under the mighty hand of that other brother or sister that wronged you or humbled yourselves under that difficult situation that somehow came into your life. And maybe you and I are tempted to say.
What did I do to deserve this?
And if we don't say it out loud, maybe it goes through our minds a few times. Now back. Well, before we go back, do we sometimes kneel down and really want to do what we get in the seventh verse? Casting all your care upon Him for He careth for you. I would only suggest this. Sometimes we have to go through the sixth verse first.
Sometimes the problem is that we haven't humbled ourselves and accepted it from the Lord.
Accepted it from the Lord.
Then when I've humbled myself under the mighty hand of God.
I can go to the Lord and say, Lord, this is an awful thing in my life, help me to deal with it. And He does, and we can cast the care on him. We can get rid of that desire for revenge. But now going back to Second Samuel 21, where we are here.
What happens?
What goes on here?
We find that, the king said at the end of verse six. I will give them.
Who are the Gibeonites?
To be saying that they emeritated revenge. Who were the Gibeonites to say to the king?
We want revenge.
Doesn't it remind you of the last incident in Matthew's Gospel chapter 18 where the man who had been forgiven those 10,000 talents went and grabbed his fellow servant that owed him 100 pence and insisted that he pay?
Those Gibeonites, they deserve nothing. They should have been all dead men, and it was only because of the grace of God and of course the trick they played on Joshua, that they were alive at all. They should have been wiped out. That was God's command to Joshua, to all those Canaanite nations.
Had they any right to insist on revenge? No.
Brethren, have we, have we got a right to insist on our rights and our revenge and start getting all worked up because someone insulted me or someone said this or did that or the other thing?
No, no, we're like those gibeonites, aren't we?
00:30:03
Those Gibeonites had no right to talk like that. What should they have said? They should have said?
Oh, David.
You're right, that is what Saul did, but we all deserve to die. What right have we to deal with this kind of thing and to ask for some kind of compensation or revenge? If the Lord has shown you that, that is why the famine is David, you look to the Lord as to what to do. But we have no right to get into the mix and be involved.
How appropriate that would have been.
What happens here?
These seven men.
Are taken.
And I've tried to imagine that scene. Here they are. They are the posterity of Saul, five sons of his elder daughter, Mirab, I believe, and these other two from Rizp, the daughter of AI. She was not a wife of Saul. She was a concubine. And you will remember that her name has surfaced before in Scripture.
We will turn to it, but way back at the time when the captain of Saul's army, a man by the name of Abner, was still trying to champion the son of Saul that had not been killed on Mount Gilboa, a son by the name of Ishbosh, Abner was championing, championing that man as king.
And for a while, things went on.
But then you'll remember that is Shabashath and Scripture doesn't tell us the truth of the whole matter. But Ishbosheth accused Abner of going into this woman who was Saul's concubine. And that was the turning point where Abner said that's enough from you. Have I supported you all this time? And now this is the kind of thing you do, accuse me of a fault with this woman.
And from that time onward, of course, Abner was going to turn the Kingdom over to David.
This woman had no right. She had been kicked around. She was a concubine of a king who had been killed in battle, and now she's the subject of a controversy between Ishbosheth and Abner. Whether there was any truth to what Ishbosh accused Abner of, Scripture doesn't say, and it doesn't matter.
But she's still in the picture.
And notice.
What happens?
This is the kernel of what we want to get at today.
And Risper, the daughter of Ayah, took sackcloth and spread it for her upon the rock from the beginning of harvest, until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest upon them by day, nor the beast of the field by night.
Isn't that beautiful?
Here is a poor, despised woman.
And of course, when.
Saul, who was.
Her husband, if we could use the term loosely, he wasn't legitimately, in that sense married to her. She was a concubine. He was off the throne. She was on her own. But she had these two sons, which I presume were hers by Saul. And suddenly, by force, these two sons are taken by the Gibeonites, together with these other five sons of Mirab.
Killed.
And then their bodies hung up in disgrace and insult.
Oh, I've just tried to imagine what it meant to that mother's heart. Here was all she had left. Two boys, and they're taken from her and not merely killed, which was bad enough, but hung up there as a spectacle and given that insulted position.
Of being hung up there so that everyone could look at them.
So what does she do?
All I suggest that here was one who had a right reaction.
They'll give you a nice header. Wrong reaction. But this humble woman had a right reaction. Why?
00:35:08
Here's the picture. She was not thinking, at least primarily, about herself.
Her thoughts were for all of Israel, there had been a famine year after year.
And her former, if I could say it, husband had been the one.
Whose I'll treatment of the Gibeonites was the cause of the famine.
She felt it and she felt the condition of things in Israel.
And instead of.
Getting very, very upset.
Instead of.
Well, in our day, she would have become a terrorist, wouldn't she? She would have done something violent, said This is enough.
My boys did not do this, their father did it, and now here am I, deprived of my two sons because of something their father did and did a long time ago too. No, she spreads out sackcloth. What does that mean? Oh, it speaks in every case. I believe in scripture of the taking of the humble place.
And of acknowledging before the Lord that we are part.
Of the sin and the failure.
How necessary that is, and may I say it perhaps even more today than it ever has been before. Have we any right to say I demand this of the Lord or I demand that, or this isn't happening right, or that isn't happening right? No, we do not. We need to do as.
Ezra did in his time and prior to him, as Daniel did in his day, who took upon themselves the failure of their nation.
And acknowledged it as if they were part of it. I have no doubt that both of those men had not. Let me rephrase that. I have no doubt that neither of those men had participated in the idolatry and the failure that caused Israel to be taken away into captivity. But they acknowledged that their hearts were no better. They acknowledged the sin as if they were part of it.
And as you know, there was a tremendous revelation made to Daniel and there was tremendous blessing in Ezra's time and what happens here.
This woman does much.
Because not only does she spread the sackcloth.
But.
She prevents the birds of the air.
And the beasts of the field from resting on that sackcloth.
She didn't want anything to spoil it. The birds of the air and Scripture speaks of that evil which comes about. It speaks of evil. The birds they nest in that mustard tree in the New Testament that grows into a great tree and so on. She's not going to let that happen.
But was there something else here?
I don't want to read into it what isn't here, but I suggest that in the very act of putting out this sackcloth.
She also prevents the birds of the air from molesting the bodies.
Of her two sons.
She didn't allow that desecration. She didn't allow that public desecration.
That has a voice from my own heart, because sometimes when the government of God falls on someone.
And we had it in the meetings using another scripture, and I'm glad our brother Bill mentioned it in his address. But I'm going to say the same thing.
In this address, don't let's feed on it. Don't let's feed on it. And this woman would not allow those birds of the air either to rest on the sackcloth or to feed on those bodies. There was not going to be that desecration.
That took some doing. Can you imagine having to keep watch day and night? It seems to me that only a mother's heart would be able to do that. But she did it in order that that desecration of the sackcloth.
00:40:11
And of the bodies might not happen.
You and I might say, what good would all that do? The boys were sit, were killed, the damage was done. What's all that going to mean?
Sometimes you know when you and I and I speak now, perhaps to those who.
Are not only young people, but those who might feel that they are rather insignificant in their local meetings. When the Lord by his angels spoke to Gideon, you'll remember he said the Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.
And you'll remember Gideon's response, he said. Oh, he said, my family is poor in Manasseh and I am the least in my father's house.
I am I going to do that? Am I a mighty man of valor? He was.
Why? Because the Lord could use a man who was humbled before him.
And acknowledged the state of things in Israel. The Lord can use you if you and I will spread out the sackcloth before him and if we will refrain from feeding on perhaps those things that have gone on. Yes, from God's standpoint. This was, I believe the righteous government of God.
On Saul's house, from man's standpoint, I believe there could have been a happier way of dealing with it.
Had David looked to the Lord? But here was a woman with a right reaction.
Don't let a wrong action in others provoke a wrong reaction in you and in me. And what happens? Verse 11 And it was told David what Risper, the daughter of AI of the concubine of Saul, had done.
It got right back to the king.
I suggest here, and I'm going to look at it in that way that David speaks to us of the Lord Himself.
You may say, no one's going to notice if I humble myself and pray, and no one's going to notice if I just keep my mouth shut and refuse to feed on the problems and difficulties among the people of God.
It reaches the ears of the Lord. The Lord sees it and what happens? All this to me is most instructive and most encouraging. What happens in verse 12? Excuse me?
And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth Chan.
Where the Philistines had hanged them when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa.
Why did David do that?
What did the bones of Saul and Jonathan have to do with these seven sons of Saul that had been just most recently hanged up there as a result of the Gibeonites wanting them? Why all of a sudden the interest in the bones of Saul and Jonathan that had been?
Slain many, many years before.
Ah, by now the Lord's getting through to David.
I say it to each one here, and especially to the young people. Let me be plain sometimes you may be very dissatisfied with the way things are going in your local assembly.
Let me tell you if you act in the character of Rizpah.
The Lord will notice it, and He has a way of getting through to those who can do something about the problem, and perhaps even more than you and I think.
Yes, Saul had slain the Gibeonites, and so, if we could use the expression, there was some unfinished business that had to be looked after by David.
00:45:05
But it wasn't the only thing.
What had happened to Saul and Jonathan? Oh, you will remember, sad to say that Jonathan did not go into rejection with David. And when that memorable battle occurred on Mount Gilboa, Saul's sons, not just Jonathan, but others of them.
Mount Kishore and others, along with Saul, were killed in that battle.
And the Philistines, in order to emphasize their victory, did the very thing that was done to these seven men whom the Gibeonites killed. They went and hung their bodies up in a place called Beth Chan.
But you will remember that the men of Jabish Gilead came and took them down. They went all night and secretly took them down and buried them. Why the men of Jabish Gilead?
They had good memories, didn't they? They had good memories. They remembered back to the days when Saul, as the king of Israel in his early days, had come to their rescue. They remembered the time when they were in big trouble.
And when?
Their enemies were going to thrust out their right eyes and so on for a reproach against Israel, and they remember that Saul had marshalled the armies of Israel and come to their rescue.
That was beautiful.
You know, excuse me.
Saul was not a godly man.
And sad to say, I have no doubt in my own mind.
That he went into a lost eternity.
But it's interesting that this is recorded of Saul and the men of Jabesh. Gilead remembered it, and if we were to go on to another scripture, which we will not turn to for the moment.
We find that when all the material that was.
Stocked up if we could use the term to build the temple. Solomon's temple. Saul's name is mentioned among those who laid up something for the temple.
I'd like to make an application of that. Sometimes there are, dear brethren.
Who go off the rails, if we might say.
And who end up perhaps with their lives in such a way that we shake our heads and say, what a loss.
First of all, I have to look at my own heart and say yes, and I could easily be one of them.
But then I have to remember.
There at the judgment seat of Christ, there's going to be a reward for what they did for the Lord. And it doesn't hurt to remember us to remember them. It doesn't hurt to remember what they did for the Lord.
And so it is here. There's a reference made to it. And what does David do? He remembers Jonathan, and not only the fact that Jonathan was his good friend, but there had been times when Jonathan acted in a wonderful way to win tremendous victories for the Lord.
Tremendous victories, almost single handed with his armor bearer. He'd gone out against the Philistines and.
Won tremendous victories.
Just make a little remark here and I leave you to decide if it's possible or not. I've said it before.
If you read the catalogue of David's Mighty Men in Second Samuel 23, you will find at the end that it says 30 and seven in all.
But if you count them up.
There are only 36.
I've wondered sometimes if David reserved a place for Jonathan.
I don't know. I don't want to go beyond scripture, but somebody's missing there.
And I have wondered if David didn't put him in because he never in that sense served under David. But if David recognized the heart of Jonathan, and here Saul and Jonathan, the rightful king and his son had never had what we would call a proper barrier. Things hadn't been done properly. And David goes back and does it.
00:50:14
He goes back and does it.
And what does he do in verse 13?
And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.
And of the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin and Zela, in the sepulchre of Kish's father. And they performed all that the king commanded.
And after that God was entreated for the land.
Oh, how beautiful.
All starting off with the action of one humble woman who did not think of herself and of what was due to her, or of the awful act that had just been committed against her two sons. She did not.
Pursue that end of things. And there was tremendous blessing through what she had done. Well, that's all I have to say.
I leave you to meditate on the chapter. There may be other things in there, but let's remember in these last days, the heart that is really for Christ will transcend the individual hurts and problems and difficulties that Satan is going to allow to come in. And if I react to them, Satan as God, his toe in the door.
And once he gets his toe in the door, well, there's no telling how wide he'll push that door open.
And how difficult things will become. But if Satan cannot get a toehold in the door, if my thoughts are first of all for the glory of Christ and then for the blessing of his people, ah, what a difference that's going to make. Well, May God give us the grace to have something of that spirit.
In the last little while before he leaves, before he calls us home.
Let's sing the last two verses of #168.
Verses 4 and 50 Pardon us, Lord, that our love to thy name is so faint, with so much our affections to move. 168 versus 4:00 and 5:00.
Oh, pardon us, Lord, that our love to thy name.
Is so fake with so much.
So much.
Trouble.
So little.
To love.
OK.
Like that which was.
Found in my faithful.
Love.
Task.
Impatience like.
Face to.
Behold.
Just look to the Lord.
Our loving God and our Father, we thank Thee once again for Thy word.
00:55:01
We thank thee for these incidents which thou hast recorded, incidents which were related for our learning.
That we in these last days might have the encouragement of the Scriptures.
And might remember that thy grace.
Goes with us all the way home, so we commend Thy word to thee and pray Thy blessing on it for each one of us.
Some two that have left and are traveling. We bear them up to thee, thanking thee again for all the happy time we have had together over the past three days. For we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Mark Rogers
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Well, we have 15 minutes.
And we have.
Stopped a little early. It reminds me when you're flying an airplane and they get on the sound system.
And they say on the first part of the trip that, uh, we're expected to get into the destination airport in such a, such a time, but with prevailing winds the way they are, why we may get in six months early or 7 minutes early. And now if you're on the inbound of the flight coming home, why, uh, that's a very encouraging thing to be able to arrive home a little early. So we do have indeed.
15 minutes. It kind of reminds me.
Who has flown an airplane or a train to get to this conference raise of hands?
There we go fair amount. Now when you flew that plane or drove in the train, particularly the planes and the terminals, there is a Bank of monitors that are in there that determine generally when you come off one flight and you're going to go to another flight, there is a terminal of of monitors there in which you're looking for your city to find out if you're connecting flight.
Is where you think it's going to be.
And a a moment of panic will happen if you find on the Bank of monitors that your city or your flight is not listed, or if it has the word canceled next to it.
I was in a inbound flight about 3 months ago in the winter time coming from the South coming in through Seatac. So yeah, Seattle, Tacoma, and uh, I was supposed to be making a transfer plane late at night into Pasco, WA.
And we were told on the on the ground down on the other destination that there is a chance that we are going to be late and you will not make your connecting flight. I can assure you that everybody on the plane as we sat there in the terminal was on their phones calling the airline asking what alternatives we had. I was, I was calling the airline to ask what alternatives do I have because this flight was supposed to be arriving at 11:00 at night. I want to get home.
And I know that that flight coming out of Seattle is gonna be the last flight. It's a short flight. It's only 50 minutes, the last flight coming home. And the thought occurred to me, if I do not make that flight, what am I going to do in the Seatac airport at midnight? Now, some of your brethren did come on my mind to give you a call if I needed a place to stay that night when I get there.
There were there's a wing of these little puddle jumpers there.
And in that wing there was a fair amount of flights that were getting canceled. Fortunately my flight I couldn't believe how busy this was. 11/30 at night. My flight I was able to catch home.
And you know, that reminds me of something that every you and everybody in this room right here is on a flight.
Everyone of us is on a pathway, and we have been reading in Hebrews. In fact, there's the analogy of a race. If you went on another chapter or so, there is an analogy of a race. Everyone in this room is in a race or in a pathway.
There is a difference though.
We also were referred to in this last couple, umm uh, yesterday, I believe it was the 1St Corinthians 10, where in that chapter, the very first part of the chapter talking about Israel, there is an all and there's a sum some and all ALL and there's a sum SOME.
Now I can say of a surety that in this room the all says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
That is a certainty that all have sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
But the reason why I'm here for a few minutes is because there is a fear that there is a Psalm in here.
There is an uncertainty that not everyone is on this pathway we have been Speaking of with a savior.
00:05:00
You are walking a pathway. If you're in this room and haven't taken the savior, no doubt that pathway may be fine.
But some in this room, most most importantly, a majority in this room.
Have been walking a path with their savior.
That has taken care.
Of the connecting flight, their savior, who's going to meet them at the end.
And if you're on the pathway tonight?
And are walking alone. Maybe you're walking with a crowd, but you don't have the savior by your side.
Why the end of the flight is a different story.
I'd like to turn to one story briefly, Luke chapter 16.
To describe the pathway of two men.
I'm just going to read in Luke 16.
From verse 19 to the end of the chapter, this story has a lot to say.
Before I share this story, what's striking to me is the fact that the one who is telling it knows exactly what has happened. The very man of glory stepped out of glory came onto this earth.
Knew exactly what was happening behind the scenes. You and I do not know exactly what's behind in the unseen world.
And it says here as he is, as the Lord Jesus is telling these Pharisees in verse 19.
There was a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So they are both on their individual paths. You may say one path was very fared sumptuously. We had everything to eat. He had all the friends over. He had all the partying. He needed the other one.
Scrapping at the gate 2 paths two men. Verse 22. Their flights come to an end and it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. I'd like to stop there and note that the fact is is one man had someone waiting for him at the other end, and one man.
Was buried.
You know, there, there's there's nothing more devastating is to get off a flight expecting someone to be there and no one's there.
It's interesting back in the old days when you could go be at the gates, why you could see that happen quite a bit.
And sometimes you can see it today down on the terminals and what not with baggage claim is there's people wandering around figuring out who they were supposed to meet is not there.
This rich man dies and was buried.
And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments or pain. And CS Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame.
Now there are two things that this man asks. This is the first thing and I want to make note the fact that this man in torment.
He does not ask to get out.
He's being tormented.
And he's asking for some kind of relief.
And my friend, today you may have maybe in an assembly somewhere and you haven't taken the Savior.
That's walking beside you.
And uh, you will be in a situation that if your day is called, and we never know when that day may be, when your day comes up, your flight ends.
If you haven't got the savior next to you, you will find yourself in the same position.
Abraham said, Remember that thou in thy lifetime receiveth the good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. And now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between US and you there is a great goal fixed. So they which cannot pass from tents to you cannot that neither can they pass to us that would come from fence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father.
That thou would send him to my father's house, for I have.
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Five brethren, that he may testify to them, lest they also.
Common to this place of torment.
This is his second request. His second request is merely this send back someone to tell those five brothers not to come here.
And you know something interesting, there are those in this room possibly that have had those that have gone on before.
That may be experiencing this torment.
And they wish to have you, not to join them.
Contrary to what the world says, the world says it's going to be a big party. But this man says, warn my five brethren on the other side.
Well, what does it say here? What's Abraham's statement here in verse 29? Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. You know what, it's interesting. That's the Word of God in that day. The Word of God had it was consisted of Moses and the prophets.
And those five brethren on the other side, on the on the side of living in the world that we're in today, they had this in front of us. You do too.
You have the word of God.
A warning from the other side will not help you.
And I'd like to add to this that just because you may have someone in your past that maybe has gone into a lost eternity would like to warn you there was on the flip side of it, there are those that probably have been praying for you as well.
Generations past, there might be those.
That have been praying for you.
Verse 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham, but if one went into them from the dead.
They will repent, and he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets.
Neither will they be persuaded though. Rose 1 rose from the dead. And today we have the completed word of God. We have one that has been risen from the dead 2000 years ago. And today around the world in Christianity, they're celebrating seven days before his resurrection. And we have the fact of a resurrection of one ascended. We've been talking about He sit at the right hand of the Father.
We have that fact of one that has ascended.
And yet there are still some.
That are rejecting.
And you may be walking this pathway.
Without him.
And when your flight ends, as to we don't know when your flight ends and I don't know when my flight ends, you will be alone.
Because it is awfully nice to get down to the other end of the flight and have someone waiting for you. May I say someone with a capital S.
And so there's a solemn warning for the few minutes we've been here because many in this room, if not all the room, have heard the story of the Lord Jesus.
But to think of what's on the other side in torment. And the poor man did not request to come out.
He was only requesting.
That his pain, his torment would subside and it would not. And then he was concerned about his five brethrens. And there may be those that are concerned about you on the other side. And would you? You have Moses and the prophets and you have the Gospels. You have it all laid out. And that is the only thing that is going to drive you to the Savior who still has his arms.
Open wide today, I can't speak of tomorrow.
I do not know what's gonna happen tomorrow.
And that's what's very precarious in today, in 2017, we all see the instant things are shaking on one end of the globe. It shakes on the other end of the globe, whether it's the markets, whether it's a earthquake, we know about it from one side of the globe to the other side of the globe. And the instance that he comes to take his people out, if you wanna see a visual, there's a visual on that chart over there.
He comes to take his people out. You won't have time because it says.
In a twinkling of an eye, you will not have that decision then.
00:15:04
And so that's why the burden is for the few minutes that we're here as we close.
Is that we have no certainty that all in the room know the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
And so there's been plenty opportunities for these 2 1/2 days. We've taken some tremendous truths of the Lord Jesus and who He is and where He is today. But on the flip side, for a few minutes, understand what's waiting if you reject the Savior that we've been talking about.
Shall we close in prayer?
Our Father, our God, we consider the fact that we have been enjoying these truths of thy Son, O Lord Jesus. And yet, Father, we consider the fact that thy Son came to die for the for this entire world. And yet some have taken the Savior, Lord Jesus, and perhaps others haven't. And we asked suspiciously for those souls right now that they indeed would glass the glass on to.
Thyself, Lord Jesus, on this pathway as their Savior.
Before it is too late, because we have heard the warnings from the other side, and we would ask and plead for any soul in this room that hasn't accepted the Lord Jesus. And so we give thanks for that tremendous work, and we also give thanks for the hope of thy coming Lord Jesus and thy name we pray. Amen.
Open Mtg. 5
Open—M. Payette, B. Prost, J. Boulard
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Lord Jesus.
Forever.
He might.
Have to sing a high glory.
Of.
Praise as my head and my hide.
Let him keep silence in the church, and let him speak to himself and to God. Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If anything be revealed to another that sits by. Let the first hold his peace. For ye may all prophecy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
And the spirits of the Prophet.
Not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the Saints.
Second Samuel chapter.
Give me the chapter a moment.
2nd Chapter 24.
Second Samuel, chapter 24.
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Second Samuel 24, verse 15.
So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed, and they died of the people from then, even Toshiba 70,000 men.
When Angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the Angel that destroyed the people, it is enough to stay. Now thine hand and the Angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of Arona the Jebusite. And David spake unto the Lord, when he saw the Angel that smoked the people, and said, lo.
I have sinned, I have done wickedly and but these sheep, what have they done?
Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my Father's house.
And God came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up rear an altar unto the Lord, in a threshing floor of Arona de Jebusite. And David, according to the saying of God, went up as the Lord commanded, And Arona looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him.
In a row went out and bowed himself before the king, and his fish upon the ground. And Arona said, Wherefore is my Lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Arona said unto David, Let my Lord the king take and OfferUp what seemeth good unto him. Behold, here be oxen for burnt, offering for burnt.
Twice, and instruments, and other instruments of the auction for wood. All these things did Arona, as the king gave unto the as a king give unto the king. And her owner said unto the king, The Lord thy God, except thee. And the king said unto Aronae, But I will surely buy it of thee at a price, neither will Ioffer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, of that which that cost me nothing.
So David bought the treashing floor and the oxen.
For 50 shekels of silver. And they built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was paid from Israel.
Well, I'm sure we've generally most of us are familiar with this portion.
Just like to make a few remarks on this portion and a few others quickly and that you'll be the judge that you might discern as we read in First Corinthians 14.
We find in this account that it was God. That's third David.
And so there was God's purpose to reveal something in his portion to David.
We find many treashing floors in the scriptures and he speaks of testing.
And it was a threshing floor of Verona the Jebusite.
We read when the children of Israel went into the land of Canaan, they were to destroy all the inhabitants therein.
They did not.
There were those that they failed to clean the country of and those that the Lord allowed to subsist in their midst to be a test for them.
Well, here's one Who's Arona de Jebusite? He he shouldn't have been in the land.
But where was the owner, the Jebusite? Well, he was on the treashing floor there. And you'll find out later on when Solomon built the temple. That's where you're going to build a temple because this threshing floor of Verona de Jebusite is on Mount Moriah.
And the Lord drew attention here to that place.
David had taken hold of most of the land. He was the ruler over there and he had the people counted and how much, how much armies he had, and the Lord put him up to that.
But there was this little spot there.
That he hadn't bothered to take. They hold up and he bought it for 50 shekels of silver.
Why would God have such an interest in that place?
Was that holy ground?
You know this, the religious man thinks of holy places and they go to Israel and they and they go and see the empty tomb and the these places that are for pilgrimages, you know.
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But I believe the Lord drew attention to this place because that's where Abraham was called.
To slay his son in Genesis 22.
Because that is the portion of God to mankind is the gift of His Son, and He couldn't tell Abraham about that. Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do?
He told him what? Sodom and Gomorrah, but he couldn't tell him.
About what he was going to do in time when he would send his son into the world. And so he had Abraham go through the motions on Mount Moriah, and he put the wood on his son. And then he put his son on the wood. And then he raised his hand with a knife to slay his son, and God stopped him.
He said God will provide himself a lamb.
And you know that day God did not provide a lamb.
There was a RAM.
Caught in a thicket by the horns and it was offered instead of the sun.
But there was a day coming when the land would be manifested, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. So God would have in the Old Testament, drawn attention to that location because of what it represented to him, what he would have wanted to reveal to Abraham but could not.
And I've revealed to you and me.
Well, there's much going on in Christianity and it's it's wonderful to hear the gospel going out and ministry here and there on the radio and books being published and edifying the people of God. And we can be thankful for that.
But there's little, there's little ground there in which God was so interested.
What does it speak to Assad? Well, I believe it speaks to us of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus God would put before us.
And at the Lord Jesus himself, the night in which he was betrayed, he said this do and remembrance of me.
Remember Me him?
You know, Christianity is about a person that you know.
It's about a person, not we know.
If somebody meets up with a Christian, you should meet meet up with somebody who manifests something.
Of the person living inside him.
And if a person comes into a group of Christians that are in the Prince of the Lord.
They should see something of him represented among them.
And so I've enjoyed this portion here, as God brought David to act this way, and he drew attention to that little spot of land, the threshing floor of Verona de Jebusite he hadn't bothered to take hold of and to possess.
And he bought it for 50 shekels of silver.
And I've enjoyed the thought of 50, you know?
Wonderful things in the scripture with numbers, but you know 50 is is the Lord had people sit in groups of 50 in one of the multiplications of bread, you know, and they had Pentecost was the 50th day, I think a 50th connection with the assembly, you know.
Something we cannot do by ourselves individually.
If you remember the Lord in death.
What we can do that collectively?
And when we do, we're showing the Lord's death.
Till the Lord S coming, no.
Doesn't say that we're showing the Lord's death till he comes.
We're looking back and we're thinking about him.
And is suffering for us and we're looking forward to an event. No good. If you're looking forward to an event, it's a good event.
We should be looking forward to seeing him face to face and hearing his voice and seeing his joy.
And having all his own that he paid for such a price in his presence.
Their brothers and sisters, young people, this is a very simple request from the Lord. The night in which he was betrayed. This do and remembrance of me.
00:15:04
And you know, there was much happening among us and, and I'm, I'm thankful for that, but this is all we did.
We answer to his request from week to week to show his debt till he comes.
I'm sure in his appreciation, he said. Well done, good and faithful servant.
Because what is lacking in Christianity?
What is lacking in your life and mind is more appreciation for Him, who He is and what He's done. When He comes, when we're gonna be in the heavens, He's gonna fill the holy place with His glory. And we will behold that, every one of us. There'll be no question, no distraction, nothing else. And so David was distracted in his Kingdom, and he had not bothered to redeem that little piece of land.
But he bought it, and he offered offerings there without knowing what to represent.
And I trust by God's grace, with His help, we understand a little bit of why it would have been so precious to God's heart to pinpoint that specific location on which the temple was going to build, to be built. And we know everything is built now. No other foundation can any man lay save that which has been laid, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, let's go to another portion now in Second Samuel still.
Chapter 6.
We know the children of Israel had been unfaithful and God has allowed their enemies to prosper.
And in their presumption, in one of their wars they brought the ark of the Lord and the enemies.
Took possession of that precious piece of furniture and the Lord brought it back himself. He didn't send the armies to.
To bring it back, it came back by itself on a cart by two milking cows, I believe they were, they had their veals and they they would have stayed with their young and they just went and they and they came back to the land of Israel. He brought it back himself.
And I'm gonna bet him as they looked into the ark and a lot of them died and they got afraid and so they they didn't bring it where it should have been. But in Second Samuel chapter 6, David recognizes the Lord has been blessing that man where the ark was blessed his household and said we're going to bring it up.
And so, in chapter six of Second Samuel, they decide to bring it up.
And it says verse three. And they set the ark of God upon a new cork, and brought it out of the House of Abinadab that was in giver. And as I heal the sons of Abinadab drain the new carton, they brought it out of the House of Abinadab, which was a giver accompanying the ark of God, and a heel went before the ark. And David in all the husts of Israel played before the Lord.
On all manners of instruments made of pure wood, even on harps and salt trees, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals, and when they came.
To Nacon's threshing floor, Huzzah puts forth his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it for the auction shook it. Or they slipped, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Azza, and God smote him there for his error that he died there. He died by the ark of God.
What we find here a a good proposition. They wanted to do something good.
They wanted to bring the ark back, but they didn't do it according to the instructions from the word of God was to be carried on the shoulders by the coat, and here they put it on the arch. That's like the Philistines had done was a new card driven by the auction. You know what does that speak to us? Well, the oxen, I believe, speak of those that labor for the Lord, relying on certain specific ones.
To carry on with the testimony.
And I don't believe that's from, that's from the Lord. We had that before us, everyone of us.
Our priests, and we should be able to fulfill our priestly function before the Lord. The Lord can take a take care of his art. And so when Aza saw that maybe it was gonna fall, he put his hand for it to stay.
And God smote them.
God doesn't need you or me to preserve His testimony.
And perhaps year ones, we might not want to go back in history, but.
Our heart upon failures of brethren, but I believe much of the failures that have come upon us has been putting forward our hands.
00:20:04
Not realizing in whose presence we are. He doesn't need my biceps. He doesn't need my strength. He can take care of his own testimony and we need to be quiet in His presence, no matter how much we know, because He's the Lord.
And so this is what happened. You know, abinadab means noble fathers. They've been brought up to know things by their noble father, and they knew things. And their names mean Azam means strength, and a heel means brotherly. So brotherly strength, that's a dangerous thing.
Brotherly strength is a dangerous thing.
That's what happened here. God revealed His displeasure with that here, and Huzzah pays it with his life. And so may we be reminded, dear ones, we are so thankful for every opportunity to be together. We're so thankful for the liberty to gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus, to have His word before us and have His Spirit available to lead us.
And he does that in conferences, but he also does that in local assemblies when problems come up, when difficulties arise.
And we don't know what to do.
Should I turn left or should I turn right? I got those reversed, but I'm French. Should I go left or should I go right? I shouldn't go anywhere if the Lord hasn't given direction. We should just stay put and wait on the Lord. It's a hard thing to be patient, you know, time goes by and something's going to happen if we don't do something and we just get that biceps there and we we got to do this.
And we do it.
And it doesn't workout as well as we'd expected because others would have done it otherwise. And there's displeasure in what's been done. So I just use this portion here because when they will bring out the ark finally, they will carry it the way it should have been carried. And there's a way to carry things out in the presence of the Lord. And I'm sure you know all about this, but it's good to be reminded and that we step back and let the Lord have the 1St place that we step back and let the Spirit do the leading.
And it's not a question of how much I know. It's a question of affection and love for the Lord and love for his people that he's gonna care for. So I just wanna turn to another portion. I'd like to just leave room for others. It's in the book of judges.
Chapter One.
Now in the book of Joshua it says after the death of Moses and the book of Judges first chapter one verse not to the death of Joshua.
Now, these people were used to have a leader, somebody they could see and they could hear and he could say we're going to do this, we're going to do that.
But they were gone now.
And it says here now, after the death of Joshua came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the Lord.
Who asked the Lord? The children of Israel. They had no physical, visible leader.
But the Lord and they asked the Lord, and the Lord made his mind known to them.
And they responded to that. How are we going to roll the mind of the Lord? We asked the Lord about his mind.
And he brings to us communion of thought about things.
We're getting the same thoughts by the Spirit of God and we know this is from Him. Not from me, not from you, it's from Him. It's the same thought. He's leading us, He's telling.
This land now and they're going to meet up with enemies. And then incidentally, that's where the jubbies I came from. He he wasn't taken out of the land, but they come and it's Judah and Simeon verse three, he asked his brother to come along with him because Judah was the one that was chosen to go up first. And it says verse four and Judah went up and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the parasites into their hands and they slew of them in Bezek 10,000 men.
And they found Adonai Bezeq and Bezeq, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the parasites.
But Adonai Bezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him.
And cut off his thumbs and great toes. And at night, Bezek said. Three score and 10 kings having their thumbs and their toes cut off.
Gathered their meal under my table, as I have done, so God hath requited me, and they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
00:25:07
When they go up into the land, it strikes me.
That there's a Lord's Table there.
Adenai means Lord.
Lord of the lightning or Lord of dispersion? He had a table.
And he had 70 kings.
Picking up under his table, he cut off their thumbs and their great toes. They were impaired, and they were laying hold of things, and they were impaired in their walking.
But there were sons of kings, there were kings. Brother mentioned this morning about priests and kings from the Book of Revelation.
Every one of us who knows the Lord Jesus, our Savior, our priests and kings, we're going to reign with Him.
But you know the priests in the Old Testament.
When they consecrated them, they had.
Blood put on her.
Down with the right hand, a low with the right ear and the big toe of the right toe.
Couldn't do that to these fellows because they didn't have them.
And two, if you're going to be in a priesthood, you are not to have any bodily imperfection. You're missing a tongue. You have a bodily imperfection and you could not be a priest.
Wonderful verses we had this morning in the portion just before when we read.
He had perfected forever. He had made us perfect forever by his sacrifice. That's how you and I, we can be priests.
Because before God, we're perfect. We're not mixing anything to be able to serve Him. He's given us all that.
But this man here, Adonai Bezak, he had a table and he took pleasure, I believe, in submitting others to his.
His glory, not like our Lord, you know, the Lord elevates us and He has to sit with Him at his table. Well, what a privilege, dear ones. And we speak of the Lord's table off times and when you hear that discourse, it's like a thing.
It's like a doctrine. The Lord's Table is like a doctrine.
Sitting with the Lord at his table.
What a privilege.
What a privilege.
And what has he set before us at his table?
His suffering and death.
For you and me.
Remember Me?
What a privilege there was.
I trust nobody.
And I will not ever. I hope I never did impair you.
From laying hold of that.
Impair you from walking in that truth.
By an attitude.
Of lording over others. That's what he did.
Lording over Saints.
Taking authority over them.
Impairing them from laying hold of things that the Lord would have them lay hold of.
They'll they'll hold of it if you tell them because you're dominating over them.
And I was in a church system, and what the leader of that church system said, that was the truth, till the Lord showed me this is the truth.
Sometimes we speak of.
Recovered truth.
I trust that what we mean by that is not the library of books that I have at home, and I appreciate. I'm sure you do too.
But I believe the recovered truth is the person of the Lord and who he is, what he's done, and the word of God, what it teaches about him. And we thank the Lord for every ministry from every brother to the centuries that has helped us to lay hold of more of the Lord Jesus. And so I just wanted to mention this because when they went into the land and there was no more physical leader.
They ran up against this one man and.
Didn't take long before he was set aside and he died in Jerusalem. And I just wanted to use that as an example for us because we had that place there that was brought before David. The Lord wants us to be around himself and he wants us to remember him in death and the way to carry out things. We saw that with David that they didn't carry out the.
00:30:20
Uh, moving on the art, you might say of, of handling it there in a manner that was according to the word of God. And that should be an exercise to us as we value the privilege of being around the Lord and gathered to his name. And then his final portion here, that the Lord would keep us, myself and others too, who have a liberty and might say among the Saints to speak of those things of the Lord are teaching or whatever, that we would never impair other believers from being able to lay hold of things and to walk according to the liberty that they have.
In the Lord Jesus.
Perhaps we can turn to two scriptures in the Word of God that I believe bring some balance before us.
In what, to me anyway, seems like a bit of a sensitive subject.
Turn first to the same book in which we have had our readings, Hebrews.
This time to the last chapter, Chapter 13.
Hebrews, chapter 13.
And verse 7.
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God.
Whose faith follow?
Considering the end of their conversation.
And then further on in the same chapter, verse 17.
Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourself.
For they watch for your souls, as they that must give account.
That they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you.
I'm looking around at many in this room who, like myself, grew up under the sound of what I fully believe is the whole truth of God.
I don't mind confessing to you that there were times in my life when I was brought to rock bottom.
And where I went to the Lord and said, Lord, show me.
The precious truth of thy word, and then give me the grace to walk in it.
And I lookout here today on a group of people and many of you are young people and maybe you are going through something of the same exercise.
But possibly you look around.
And you don't see what we talked about this morning, at least not in your eyes, the fruit of what you feel the truth ought to produce.
Turn back to a scripture in Matthew. I think it's chapter 23.
The.
To me it's very solemn.
Matthew 23.
Going back to when our Lord Jesus was here on earth.
And notice what he says here in verse one.
Then speak Jesus to the multitude and to his disciples, saying.
The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat.
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe that observe and do, but do not ye after their works, For they say and do not.
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Sometimes it becomes difficult to do what the older ones say when through the eyes of younger ones, perhaps we say and do not.
I, for one, have to hang my head.
Because there have been too many times in my life when I have had more to say with my mouth than I walked in with my feet.
I started university back in the early 1960s and there are others here who can no doubt relate to this.
Because beginning with the 1960s, there was a tremendous upheaval, a tremendous rebellion by young people against what they perceived was an established authority.
The establishment, if you like.
And they rebelled against it. Why?
Because they saw what they perceived to be an outward form with no reality to it.
I must say that I sympathized with them in their feelings because I knew what they were talking about. And I hastened to say, I'm not talking about the local assembly where I was raised, or about those gathered to the Lord's name. But back in the days in which I grew up, the world in general at least paid lip service.
To Christian principles. When I went to public school, the Bible was read in the school. The Lord's Prayer was said every morning.
And it was even true when our children went to school as well. We respected that. It was very, very good. But then young people who grew up suddenly began to see that all of that outward form, good though it might have been, didn't really translate into practical life with their parents and with many people to whom they looked up.
And as a consequence, they said what?
Is the point. What is the point? Pardon me, I'm going to avail myself of one of these bottles of water.
The young people began to say, what is the point? Why should we pay lip service to something that does not seem to have any substance to it?
Getting closer to home.
And I'm not talking only to young people, but maybe in your local assembly and maybe sometimes when you go to a Bible conference, you say there doesn't seem to be the substance there in the lives of those who hold on to and maintain that this is the truth of God.
Rest assured that you are in some good company I.
I remember well hearing an address when I was a boy from a brother that was old enough to be my grandfather.
Who said quote? I did not want to be part of Brethren. I thought they were far too narrow.
It's nothing new.
And there were those, way back in the 1800s, who listened to those who wrote our written ministry.
And they said that's far too narrow. I want a wider path.
They could hardly accuse some of those dear brothers of not walking in it. But even in that day, no doubt there were those who at least maintained the truth in an outward way, but perhaps didn't walk in it in the way that they should. I say to each one.
You and I have to be ready to go right back to the Word of God.
Yes, we should obey those that have the rule over us and submit ourselves.
00:40:01
But I can well remember a brother who is now with the Lord, telling me about how when he was a young man and he was concerned about some failure in one of the older brethren in his local assembly, an older brother who took considerable part in the meetings.
He approached his father about the whole question and said, Father, what about that? His father's remark was rather terse and to the point.
He said son.
Referring to Hebrews 13 and seven, which he didn't refer to, he expected that his son would recognize the Scripture. He said son, it does not say whose failures follow. It says whose faith follow. I say that to each one of us today.
The truth of God stands firm. We talked about it a little bit in Lawrenceville and some here were there.
Where we read in the scripture where the Lord Jesus would say to his disciples, and ye shall know the truth.
And the truth Show what constrict your life.
Restrict your usefulness? Absolutely not, and the truth shall make you free.
Free from what? Free from everything in this world? Free from ourselves to be like if we walk in it. That vessel about whom Paul speaks in Second Timothy 2.
Ready for every good work.
Is there a need to look up to and honor those who minister the word to us? Indeed there is. Not only in the setting of a conference like this, but in the setting of your local assembly. But in looking at them, you are going to see failure in every one of them. Yes you are. Don't expect perfection down here.
There is only one in whom you and I.
Will find absolute perfection. It reminds me of a story that took place in the same area where I now live. As most of you know, my wife and I moved a little over a year and a half ago to Eastern Ontario and in that area, many, many years ago, I suppose at least 130 years ago, there was a difficulty among the people of God.
And there was a brother there who got so discouraged and so downcast by all that was going on.
That he was prepared to leave.
But as many brethren were in those days, he farmed for a living, and as he was out there in the field plowing, he had plenty of time to Mull things over because he didn't have to pay a lot of attention to things. He knew how to plow very well, and once he got going with that furrow, once he, as they say in farming jargon, once he was able to strike out and get one or two straight furrows in the field.
Then he just followed the one that he'd gone along before, and so he was meditating. And as he thought about it, the Lord laid this scripture very heavily on his heart.
This man hath done nothing amiss.
Oh, he thought, Why am I there? Why am I there in that assembly? Is it because of my brethren?
And the Lord brought it very forcibly home to him.
You are there because the Lord is there, and if the Lord is there, he is the one to whom you must look.
Your brethren can be a tremendous help to you, but they are a help only insofar as they bring you closer to Christ and minister Christ to your soul.
But then if there is failure there, and the Lord allows failure because Satan will attack what is true more than anything else. Satan will, even if I can say it this way, tolerate blessing in the gospel if he can take a good shot at the truth of the one body at the person of Christ in that way, because he knows that if he can drag believers as we.
Saying in the readings down to the level of a worldly religion, humanly speaking, he has gained his point over them. Oh yes, they may still preach the gospel. They may still be in that sense of testimony, and we thank God for it. But if he can destroy that heavenly calling, if he can bring them down to the level of a worldly religion, he has succeeded in making them lose, humanly speaking.
00:45:25
Everything.
So let us remember that, and let us remember. And this remark was made in Lawrenceville as well. Don't put your brethren between yourself and the Lord.
And that's what happens as spiritual power declines.
What happens? The clerical system takes over. Let someone else do it.
And pretty soon we become those who want to listen. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the exercise of gift. That's a different thing. But as we had in the readings today, every believer is a priest, and the Lord looks for believers to be a company of live Christians who hold the truth in exercise.
And who use? And you have a gift. Every believer has one.
Who use that gift for the Lord in the right time and place. But then what's the other side of the excuse me, what's the other side of the coin? Let's turn to first Peter chapter 5.
We've been reading in Hebrews 13 about the need to submit ourselves, about the need to obey those that have the rule over us. Very needful.
But now the Word of God is beautifully balanced, and notice what it says here in first Peter 5.
The elders which are among you, I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.
Neither is being Lords over God's heritage.
But being in samples to the flock.
And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
And then notice after all that we get the comment. Likewise you younger submit yourselves under the elder. They all of you be subject 1 to another and be clothed with humility.
For God resisteth the proud.
And giveth grace to the humble.
In the previous verses, the exercise and the exhortation was to those who are in a position of submission.
But here we have an exhortation to those in a position of elderhood, those in a position of responsibility, authority.
Very, very important. There is a character in which the truth should be maintained, and that is why when.
The apostle John, by the Spirit of God, addresses those seven assemblies in Asia. Whom does he write to? To the Angel of the church in Ephesus, in Smyrna, in Pergamos and Thyatira, and so on. Why the Angel? Oh, because God looks to those who take the leadership in the local assembly and holds them responsible for the character.
Which they foster in that assembly.
What a responsibility.
Permit me to reminisce a little if that's OK.
I well remember listening to an address and I could even tell you the year kind of dates me 1958. Wow, long time ago.
00:50:04
And the brother in that address, he was reminiscing.
And he went back a long way, too. And he said something like this. He said, I could tell you today what Brother Potter ministered on at the Saint Louis conference in 1900. And five, he said, that's 53 years ago. He said I could tell you today what he ministered on.
But then he made a comment that really stuck with me, and I was, as you can well imagine, pretty young at the time.
He said I have listened to many gifted brethren.
But he said what impressed me was not so much their gift, but their godliness, and that is what lent the weight to their words.
Brethren, it's true.
It was their godliness that lent the weight to their words.
And as I look back on the brethren under whose ministry I have been able to sit, and many others in this room would stand here and say the same thing, what was it that impressed us? Perhaps more than anything else, it was their walk and their ways. Oh yes, they were gifted, many of them.
And we thank God for their gift. But sometimes there were those that did not say a whole lot.
But their godliness made its mark on us and changed our lives.
They may not have been terribly gifted, but there was something about them that when they did say something.
It really carried weight. And so here the elders are exhorted, not so much as to what they say, although that is included in it, but what their walk is like.
They were to have the character of shepherds. They were to take oversight willingly, with a ready mind, and above all, by being examples to the flock.
The best character of those who take the lead is to have such a life that someone else looks on and says, He makes me want to follow Christ and he attracts not primarily to himself and I might also say to herself.
He attracts.
She attracts not so much to themselves, but to Christ.
How precious that is, I say to each one of us. Let us remember that.
Sometimes.
And I say again, not specifically to young people, but maybe more so to them, the grass does look a little greener on the other side of the fence. But let us remember, and pardon my stressing it, but we had it in the readings. It is never, never, never right to do something that you know.
Is contrary to the word of God.
Others may be able to do it, and the Lord may bless them because maybe they do not know any better.
And maybe the word of God has not had that same impact on their soul because of where and how they have been brought up. But if you and I know the precious truth of God.
We are responsible to walk in it, and God, I do not believe, is going to bless that which deliberately and willfully goes contrary to His Word. Let's remember that.
But on the other side of the coin.
If there are those whom the Lord is using in our local assemblies to take the lead in ministry.
Oh, let it be with the whole truth of God presented as we get in Ephesians chapter 4. The truth.
As it is in Jesus, as the truth is in Jesus, what does that do? That connects me with that blessed One, with everything that He is and all that he exhibited, an absolute perfection.
00:55:15
Down here, the embodiment of everything that is the truth is found in that blessed One. And so the truth of God is not simply some high sounding group of principles that we hold. It is that it's a group of precious principles that are revealed in the Word of God. But it is much more than that. It is connected with Christ himself and all that he is in the.
Of what He is and in the living out of that new life which we have been given in Christ, which delights to walk according to that truth in every aspect of our lives down here. Well, I want to leave a few minutes if there's another brother that has a word for us. But may we remember the beautiful balance in the things of God.
And may there be that interest on the part of myself?
Not to walk or to criticize the failures of others so much as to see their faithfulness. But on the other hand, for those in responsibility and those in influence, may we remember that there's a way that the truth of God needs to be ministered and above all, walked in that will commend it to others. And that's what we need.
I'd like to.
Share just a few words of encouragement to those who are older.
Umm.
Very often there's encouragement minister to those who are younger and the words that were just broken spoken by Brother Bill there, I'm sure for those who are older must be very humbling to consider. It's a way your life in the light of the way it's being lived, but just a few very brief words of encouragement from.
A a little story in the Old Testament.
And the individual I'd like to look at very briefly here, the time is very limited, is Jacob.
So let's look very briefly at a few points in the life of Jacob here, and I trust that will be an encouragement for those of you who are older.
So let's turn to.
Genesis Chapter.
Genesis chapter 45.
Genesis chapter 45 and verse 28.
It's Needless to say that Jacob and his wife lived a very checkered life. There was a lot of failure in the life of Jacob, and I think we're all very familiar with this.
But just looking here at this verse, Genesis 45, verse 28, Israel said it is enough.
And you, dear older brethren.
As you've, as you've lived your life and you've come to appreciate and enjoy the Lord in your life, even through failures.
And, and Jacob's life was full of failures. You can come to the end of your life and you can say it is enough. And you can dispense to those of us who are younger some of that fullness that you've received, some of that enjoyment of Christ.
And you can, you can come to the end of your life as those who are filled, those who are overflowing. And you can, you can say it is enough. And as we look at the rest of the character of Jacob's life from this point forward, he is one as he is in the land of Egypt there, and he's dispensing blessing all around. He's one who is being filled.
01:00:16
Yes, there is failure in Jacob's life. Yes, there was points in Jacob's life that he would not point to himself as an example.
But he would say at this point in his life it is enough. And as he would reflect on his life, just like to look at a verse in Genesis 48 here.
The end of verse 15. Let's just read Genesis 48 verse 15 and I'll I'll change one word as it's translated in the new translation. He blessed Joseph and said, God, before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac did walk.
The God which shepherded me.
All my life long unto this day.
And in spite of what failure there may have been, and there's no one of us who've walked any amount of time before the Lord, and we won't acknowledge that there's been failure and much failure.
But Jacob, in spite of that, would say, the God which shepherded me.
And that is a treasure that you have as you look back at the Lord shepherding you, caring for you, your life long.
And you can in turn, as as was mentioned in Peter, there to care for the flock of God, as you would then exhibit that same character that is being shown to you.
By the Lord our Shepherd, as you would then exhibit that to your brethren, and seek to lead them along, and to encourage them and comfort them.
That's a rich heritage, that's a rich treasure that you have.
The Lord.
Sorry, God, before whom my father's Abraham and Isaac did walk, the gods which shepherded me.
All my life long on to this day, just a a rich treasure. And then just one very last look here at the end of Jacob's life.
He passed away in Egypt there.
And verse seven of Genesis chapter 50, Joseph went up to bury his father and justice. Note these different ones who are noted here. So Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh.
The elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the House of Joseph and his brethren in his father's house, only their little ones and their flocks and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen all these different ones.
That Jacob touched as he, as he's there in the land of Egypt, one who is filled, it is enough, and he's dispensing blessing to the whole land of Egypt.
He, he sits there as a patriarch of the whole land. It would see him as one who is so rich. He finally realized how rich he was. And he's dispensing that blessing to those who were younger, those who were greatly loved and dear to his heart. And he becomes the patriarch of that whole land, these ones who came and, and who who weep. And there's that lamentation.
At that, that threshing floor, we had threshing floors mentioned a little earlier in this, in this meeting. But as they weep there at that threshing floor, that was not simply because of what Joseph had done for the land. That was not simply in sympathy for Joseph. Hear this, dear old man.
In spite of his failures in his past life, he endeared himself to that whole land.
And they mourn that loss. And so, as one who is younger, here this afternoon.
Just a desire to encourage those of you who are older. We need you, those of us who are younger.
And perhaps you don't realize it, but as, uh, as, as some of those who are older are taken home 1 by 1. Those of us who are younger, we do weep.
Yeah, it you may not see it sometimes we may not show it, but as we lose some of you dear older ones.
We weep, and this, the whole land of Egypt was weeping here.
And so just to take that position, take take that privilege, that body of experience that you've been given that you've been privileged to have.
And dispensed that blessing to those around and to shepherd the flock of God. It's not because you're perfect.
But because of the God which shepherded you, and you would exhibit that same shepherd and care for those who are younger and those who you love dearly.
01:05:15
Can we sing #206?
Oh Lord, we know it. Markers. No, I swear the song.
Nsnoise and.
Then.
Please hear me. Please. MMM. I'm sorry. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Nsnoise.
Shall we read one verse in closing?
Hebrews 11.
Verse 21.
By faith, Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph.
And worshiped leading on the top of his staff.
So we commend ourselves.
Our God and our loving Father, we do, thankfully.
For this day and 1/2.
Bitter past.
And you thought it's Terry?
Another day to look forward to, to be over thy word.
We do thank Steve that.
That was instituted in order.
Whereby these things are passed down.
One generation to the next.
And the truth is carried on.
And we?
Would look to thee for thy help.
Each one of us in our proper station.
To take the place that we're in.
The younger.
To take that opportunity to lay hold of thy things.
01:10:03
And then as we grow in the enjoyment of them.
To seek to share them the others.
And to pass on.
The responsibility.
It's been given us from the Good Shepherd.
To feed the flock of God.
Feed his Lambs.
We do thank you for the exercise of our brethren here to provide such an opportunity.
Pray for a rich blessing on them especially.
Thank you for all these things.
The name of our Lord Jesus Christ we do pray. Amen. Amen.
Open Mtg. 9
Open—M. Richerzhagen, D. Newby, J. Ruga
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.
Lord, thy love sunbound and so sweet, so far, so free.
I would love trembles and wherever I AM.
Verse 13.
And he said two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus that was from Jerusalem, about 3 score furlongs.
00:05:10
And they talk together of all those things, that which had happened. And it came to pass that while they commune together.
And reasoned, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
Their eyes were holding that they should not know him.
And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these, that you have one to another as you walk, and are sad?
And the one of them, whose name was Cleophis answer answering, said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty indeed, and word before God and all.
The people and now the chief priests and the rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and have crucified him.
And we trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel. And beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done.
We'll go down to verse 25. Then he said unto them, O fools, slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken, but not Christ, who have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory. And beginning at Moses all the prophets, he expounded unto them, and all the Scriptures the things.
Concerning him.
We'll just go to verse 32.
And they said one to another.
Did not our heart turn within us while He talked with us, by the way, and while He opened to us the scriptures we pray?
Our God and our Father we.
Come before thee umm regarding this meeting, an open meeting.
Thou knowest the hearts of each one in this room.
Now notice those that.
Perhaps have burdens, concerns, waiting matters in their life.
Thou knowest exactly what we need from the scriptures.
To encourage our hearts.
To build us up.
To make the Lord Jesus more precious to us.
We would ask our Father, the Dao would stir two or three that seemeth good to thee, to give us a word in season, to cause our hearts to burn within us, to give us to rejoice when we consider just what manner of people we are.
That God our Father is occupied and cares about our needs. So we plead with thee that those that are stirred up.
Might have a word from thyself in season. Moved by the Spirit of God, we oust this in our Lord Jesus Christ. Precious name, Amen.
00:10:15
Bear with me, I trust I have the mind of the Lord. We read a verse.
Ezekiel.
Ezekiel, 3310.
Her brother shared And it says this, it has this question and this goes out to all of us.
How should we then live?
Turn to Hebrews 11.
Verse six it says, But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, that he exists, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
You see, dear ones, today God is for us.
He wants to bless us.
He wants to use our lives for His glory.
And when we have that perspective, it changes how we live our lives.
There's a verse, umm, if we turn to Deuteronomy.
33.
Deuteronomy 3325.
And it says this, the last part of the verse says, As thy days, so shall thy strength be.
And I think sometimes we have expectations of what God is going to do for us. We place him in our we place ourselves in his hand, and then we expect something.
And he doesn't work like that. He's God. He made the world. Everything works.
The sun rises, the sunsets, the moon responds it, it moves the tides. Everything works beautifully, perfectly.
We asked him Lord this is what we want and then we need to just leave it with him.
As thy day, so shall thy strength be as we go through life and we face challenges.
He's going to give us his strength to accomplish what we need to do to be his people, to be his servants in this scene. And sometimes, you know, people say, well, you need to have faith and, and we act in a certain way and we look for a deliverance. And sometimes people aren't delivered and that doesn't mean that God failed them. I was thinking the other day as our brethren were talking about Jim Elliott.
He said he is no fool to give up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
And how did the Lord spread that message? He took his life.
Was Jim Elliott sad that that happened? No possible way. He's with the Lord. He's been with the Lord for years. And the Lord used his life and his death to spread his message. If we could talk to Jim today, we would ask him, was it worth it? Yeah, absolutely. And I'm not saying that God doesn't answer prayer, because he does. But we need to realize as we go to him that he is does not have to do what we want him to do.
He's God. He has his own program.
His own way that He's working. So as we look at this question, how then shall we live? Number one, we have to have the right perspective. We have to realize that God is for us. When we have challenges and trials in our lives, we have to realize we're not. He's not trying to break us down.
He's preparing us for our next greatest victory. He's refining us. He's making us more holy. He's making us more like unto His Son. And none of us want trials. Nobody wants trials. But when they come, don't fight them. Let the Lord work what He's trying to work in our hearts.
OK, let's turn to Romans 12.
There's a couple verses here.
And maybe I'll say this while you're turning, there are those of us who have been here. We were here at 8:00 on Friday and we were here until 10:30, which is 14 1/2 hours. And yesterday we were here from whatever it was 13 hours.
00:15:00
And the purpose of that?
Was to express love.
It was to express love when someone gives you a homemade gift, when someone thinks of you and they make you something.
They're expressing their love to you.
And I was thinking about how so many people have thanked us. It is our pleasure. It was a joy to serve you to make this venue possible. Thank the Lord, we trust he gives all the blessing we got. We get all the blessing, He gets all the glory. But I was thinking about as, as people were thanking us, you know what? Think of what the Lord Jesus did. Think of God the Father sending his Son. Why did he do that? For God so loved the world. Why did he do that?
Because He loved, He loved us, He loved you and you and you and you and you and you and you and you that much. He loves you so much. And the Lord Jesus, he tells us in his word through the apostle Paul, the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Dear one, if you were the only one here on this earth, the Lord Jesus would have come and He would have given his life for you.
He loves you that much, our brother shared the other day, and he talked about the affection. You know, as we live our lives, how shall we live? It's not duty. Duty is not going to work.
It's not a bunch of rules. It's not gonna work. You're not strong enough.
None of these things are gonna work. It's our affection. It's the affection of Christ in our hearts that draws out our affection for Him.
Are we going to follow him? Do we want to follow him? Here in Romans 12 it says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.
I beseech you, it's not a commandment, it's an it's a begging. I beseech you that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Why is it our reasonable service? Because he bought us. We're not our own, we're His.
Do we live like we belong to somebody else?
The Lord help us to not try. And it's not that we don't plan, we need to make plans.
But we need to do them in the fear of the Lord, to walk in the fear of the Lord, to present your bodies.
A living sacrifice wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, because He owns us. And then it says, Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God.
I went to, uh, I went to the Community College, I've shared this before. I went to the Community College and there was a, a young man who's a believer and we were in my dad's office and we were talking about this verse that you might prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. And he said God has three wills, his perfect will, his goodwill and his acceptable will.
And I said, where do you get that? And so we looked at this verse and I asked him this question. I said, do you really want less than God's very best for your life?
And I told him, if you say yes, don't even say yes because I don't even wanna hear it.
I don't wanna know. And I ask you tonight, today, is there anyone in here that would honestly say I want less than God's very best? He wants to bless you. And I'm not talking about a new car, a new house. I'm talking about blessings from God, love and joy and peace. And yeah, he wants to take care of us. And yeah, he wants us to have transportation, but it's not about stuff.
Do we want God's very best?
Steve Hall quoted a verse. I don't see him Uh, uh, a little stands and it goes like this. He knows, he loves, he cares no truth, some other shall dim. He gives the very best to those who leave the choice to him.
Dear ones, do you want the very best? Let me say it this way. If we knew what He knows, we'd choose what He chooses for. As for God, His way is perfect.
We can't see around the bend. We say, oh Lord, if I just had this. Oh, if I just had that. We don't know what's coming.
We need to leave it with him. Lord, if it's your will, maybe this would be this looks good. Is that your will? Is that your very best? And then you'll see if it is, he'll say yes, go for it. But we need to have that in our hearts.
Do we want God's very best Speaking of that, and I'm going to be very, very careful. It turned to 1St Corinthians 7.
Burgers.
00:20:08
1St Corinthians 7 verse one. Now concerning things whereof you wrote unto me, It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
And our brother shared last night, we're not, I'm not gonna reiterate what he shared, but God has given us boundaries, OK? And he says the reason he made boundaries is because we're safe inside them.
They're not to keep us out of something else, They're to make us safe. There was a study that was done about boundaries, and there were all these little kids at a grade school and they had built the school, but they didn't have a fence yet. And all the kids hung around the building until the day came. They finished the fence and all the kids were free to play on the whole playground. That's what what God wants for you and for me. He wants us to be at liberty. And I'm not talking about liberty for sin, liberty to live our lives to the boundaries.
Cornell told me. He asked me what the number one success principle was, and I said I have no idea.
I said will you help me? He said no, you gotta figure it out yourself. I said please help me. So he helped me. It's to stay within your boundaries.
God is not cheating you.
He wants your very best Him that cometh to God must believe that He is, that He exists.
And he rewards those who diligently seek him. And I will say this to the dear young people, This verse right here is God's edge for your physical relationship. You're safe clear up to that edge. And some people would say that's goofy. Do you believe God or do you believe what it seems like? And I will say this, when you stand at the altar, how holy do you want to be? How pure? Let me use the word pure.
Do you wanna be 100% pure on that day? Do you wanna be 99% pure? Maybe it'll be OK if you were 95% pure. Maybe it was 93. What if it was 88?
No, dear one, we wanna be 100% pure.
We want to be all in.
For the Lord 100%. Let's turn to Galatians chapter 5.
It was mentioned earlier about habits.
And I will say this, that habits will make or break you. A habit will be your very best friend or your very worst enemy.
And one of the habits that I encourage you to make and I try and uphold every single day is to spend time with the Lord and spend time in His Word. It says faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. How do you get more faith? You spend more time in the book.
You spend more time in his presence. Lord, what do you want me to do? Wake up in the morning and say, Lord, you're the boss, you're the boss, what do you want me to do? Apart from him, we can do nothing.
We can work and work and work and work and work, and we're building the sandcastle right before the tide unless we're doing exactly what he wants us to do and then he will bless it. So let's turn here in Galatians 5. So we have to have the right perspective that God is for us.
We want to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. We wanna realize when God puts a boundary and he says that's not for you, it's because it's for our good, because he has something better for us.
When we sin, we say no God, I know better than you. You don't know how good that is for me. And I will say this every time we sin, we believe a lie.
Every single time we're gonna take something that's not ours and we say, oh man, it'll be really nice to have that. The moment you have it, you wish you didn't.
How am I going to get it back? How? How am I going to say where I was? How? Just don't do that. It feels so good to be free.
It feels so good to be free, just to be honest with the Lord, to be free before him. OK, umm, Galatians 5 verse 16. So we have the habits. Verse 16. This I say then walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the flesh. Lust sit against the spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. These are contrary, the one to the other. So inside of me, inside of every one of us in this room is the flesh.
OK, my flesh is capable of doing anything that anybody else's.
At all. Any sin that anybody's ever committed. I never understood that when I was younger. How could this person, this godly person, commit adultery or murder somebody? Let me tell you, our flesh is exactly the same as anybody else's.
00:25:00
Exactly. It can do anything what we need to do in a practical way, how then shall we live is we need to starve the flesh and feed the spirit and it's in acknowledging our life. Like our brother shared the other night, we can't grow.
In ourselves, there's nothing in US.
We need to acknowledge the Lord is is our life. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall he also appear with him in glory. But we in a practical way, every day we can be starving the flesh. My dad used this analogy. He used to visit the penitentiary and there was a brother that was up there and they had a a prayer meeting and they asked him one day to share and he said I have two dogs inside of me, a black dog and a white dog.
One dog is always stronger. They're never the same. The one that's stronger is the one that I feed.
That's a practical choice.
Whatever we feed, do you feed your flesh? Do I feed my flesh? If we do, we lose. When we sin, we lose God's blessing. He wants to give it to us. He will give it to us unless we say no, I'm not going to take it. I'm going to do it my way. And He says, OK, there you go. But He wants to bless us. So we need to have that. The last thing I want to share and then I'm going to wrap this up is in First Timothy chapter 6.
And I want you to know, dear young people.
It warms my heart. It warms our hearts to see you here. You're the future.
In a very real way, In a practical way.
The Lord's testimony testimony is going to go on, it will, he promised.
But it only works for you if you take it up, if you say this is mine, this is worth living for. I'm telling you guys, there's nothing in this world that's worth your time and attention. It's not. I'm not saying you don't have to go to work. I'm not saying you don't have to live in this world. That's all. You gotta have a house, you gotta have a car, you gotta have a job, whatever. But what is your heart attached to? Where your treasure is there where your heart be also. May our treasure be Him, the Lord Jesus and glory, the one who loved me and gave himself.
For me, the one, each one of us can say that the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
So let me just say this, OK, It's nine. I actually don't know the year. Probably Uncle Ernie does. Germany is taking over France. And in World War One, they just bombed the goodness out of everything. Just the ground was just absolutely pulverized. And they're pretty. The Germans were pretty smart. They said we don't wanna do that. It's a waste of manpower, and we tear up the ground. What we're gonna do is we're gonna surround and take it and use it for us in the war. So sure enough, they go through and they take over France.
Just like that, they call it blitzkrieg, the lightning war. And they were. I mean, it was just like that. France was out of the war.
Well, there is a famous museum in France and it was full of millions and millions and millions of dollars of art.
They didn't want the Germans to get it.
And they said, what are we gonna do? We, we, I mean, the Germans are all over here. What are we gonna do? And they said, you know what we're gonna have to do?
We're gonna have to split this museum up and hide it until the war is over.
Here you take this picture.
And I'm sure somebody, a high C, was writing down who got what so they could get it back. Here you take this picture, Here you take this picture. And the Germans rolled into town and all the art was gone. It was entrusted. It was given to someone to take care of. And it says in First Timothy 620 right here, this is the apostle Paul speaking to Timothy, his son in the faith.
And when we encourage you, dear, dear young people.
It's because we've been on this path. It's worth it. You're going the right way. I understand. In this world, there's so many distractions. Turn them off. Listen to him. If you can't hear his voice, shut off your phone, shut off Facebook, shut all that stuff off. There's so many distractions in this world. Don't listen to them. You get to choose. The other day we updated a computer and there's all this garbage and just like, why are they doing this? And I look for.
Song on my phone and it's wait, my song's right here. Why do I have to go through all this stuff? Do you know why? Because they wanna distract you. They want you to go look at this and then this and then this and then this. Because they can sell ads and all this stuff. Because you're looking through all this. Don't do that. That's your choice. It's your time.
So they had all these pictures and they were entrusted to this one. And here is the apostle Paul speaking to Timothy, and he says this is his son. This is his son, the one he's poured his life into. And I know what it's like. It's like on the other side, because my dear beloved Uncle Jack, my dear beloved brother, he poured his life into me. And you older ones, find a younger brother, find a younger sister and pour your life into him. That's the best investment you'll ever make.
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With your time, it'll change this world, It'll change eternity.
Paul says right here in first Timothy 620 Oh Timothy, his beloved son. He says keep that which is committed to thy trust. I don't know. I don't know exactly what year that was 194142.
194142 The war was over in 45 S for at least two years, maybe three years. All those paintings.
Were hidden away all over France. I don't know that the Germans found any of them. They may not have found found some of them, but they're those. Those paintings were kept. I was thinking about it. What would that be like at my house? Where would I put that painting? I can't have it in my living room because they might come in and see it. So I got to hide it. But it's got to be safe.
Right. This truth is being committed to us, to you. Will you take that? Will you take that trust? And will you preserve it? Will you take care of it? Will you let it be yours? At my company the other day, we spent I don't know how much time trying to redo this bonus thing because I don't want to just tell my staff, wonderful as they are, this is the way we're gonna do it because I want them to want to do it because they wanna do it.
And as parents, we need to train our children that way. But this, this thing that's been entrusted to us, keep that which has been committed to that trust, it's been given to us. We need to take that and value it for what it is. This is the word of God. It has every answer for every question, any question in our lives.
Do we read it? Does it mean something to us?
If it does, it will change our lives. We'll be different people.
I pray the Lord would work and stir in our hearts that we might have as we see him. It's not in us. It's not even about us. It's when we see him, as we see him, the Lord Jesus that we would have a desire man. I want to know him. I want to please him. I want to live for him. So let me just re I I'm done. Just let me go back over for clarity of thought. How shall we live? We got to have the right perspective that God.
For us that he wants to bless us, OK.
Do we want the very best? That's a question every single one of us has to answer. When I'm looking for a new vehicle, do I ask the Lord? When I'm looking to buy a house, how about a wife? How about a husband? Do I ask the Lord? Do I want His very best? We need to starve the flesh and feed the spirit, and we need to keep that which has been entrusted to us.
Stop.
Second Peter chapter one and verse 15.
We've been having some readings and discussing some passages in Hebrews.
And in Hebrews we have something that was written.
That had been spoken by the Lord.
And was confirmed unto us by those who.
In second Peter chapter one and verse 15, the apostle Peter says, Speaking of the time when he would shortly put off the body that he was in. He says, Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be after may be able.
After my deceased to have these things always.
In remembrance.
There came a day when the apostles passed off the scene.
Where do we find ourselves today?
2000 years down the road, almost.
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Brethren, those of us who are Christians today.
We are the inheritors of something that is good.
We are the inheritors of the only thing.
That has ever given man liberty and freedom.
The only thing that has ever given men a clear conscience before God.
We celebrated his death this morning.
And there was a day when Peter knew that he was going to pass off the scene.
I believe that, uh, we can be somewhat assured that, uh, the Apostle John was the last one that passed off the scene.
Maybe about 100 AD or so.
His writings are generally considered to be among the last that were written in the New Testament.
There came a day when all of those who had heard the Lord Jesus.
And that would include the Apostle Paul himself. We know he passed away at a certain point in history.
Probably before some of the other apostles did.
And he was no longer here.
And another generation arose.
And many of us have been encouraged by the words of a brother of a past generation. I never met him. He was with the Lord before I came around.
As well as many others, and I think I hear the sentiment here in these meetings this time that we've been enjoying in the Word. There is a desire to take what we have from the Word of God in the purest form that we can have it and hand it to the next generation. It's the passing of a baton to the next generation.
The Apostle Paul speaks of running a race.
He uses a number of different images that show that there is one generation that laborers.
And then the next generation has to take up the baton in that race, running in a race course. And the Apostle Peter was one of those. He was going to pass off the scene.
And he wanted the believers to be reminded to have in their remembrance these things that we are the inheritors of now in our late day, in the last hour, you know, the last hour, the last days that began at the time of the Lord and the apostles. Even the apostle John, he says, children, it is the last hour.
And there are things that are characteristic of the last hour.
In which we are now, if we go on in this passage, and I'm thinking of some of the things that we've taken up in Hebrews and an exhortation that the writer to Hebrews would give us and something that we can see in the Scriptures. But we might be reminded now the brother, brother Ed, he read those verses in the 24th of Luke where the Lord Jesus in resurrection, He met with those two on the road to Emmaus.
And it came to a point where he had to upgrade them for their unbelief.
But what did he do on the road to Emmaus? He took the written word of God.
And he used it to show them something of the personal word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. He showed them in the scriptures He began at Moses right at the beginning of the Bible.
And he opened to them in the Scriptures all of the things concerning himself. Now that expression concerning himself is the occupation of the Christian. The Christian is the one who is taken up with the things concerning himself, because as we celebrated with the emblems on the table.
This morning.
We are here.
Because a work of redemption, the only work of redemption that ever could have been accomplished that would satisfy the holiness of God, has been done.
But he did not end with the work of redemption.
He now is there in the rightful place that is His, at the right hand of the Father.
And he is waiting.
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Until his enemies be made the footstool of his feet, according to prophecy.
What is he doing while he is waiting?
Well, he is our high priest.
He is our advocate before the Father.
He is gathering a people out of Jews and Gentiles to form His bride.
And as far as we are aware, that work has not yet been finished. There may be much that remains to be done.
He is also giving the opportunity for us to have fellowship with him in that work.
He wants us to be partakers with himself of what he is doing. And as we go on a few verses in this chapter in second Peter chapter one.
Think of that expression in Luke chapter 24.
Where he talked about, he says, ought not Christ to have suffered aught that is an expression of divine necessity. That's like saying the Son of Man must be lifted up.
If we were to be here today with the Word of God before us, then it is a divine necessity that we must be redeemed because we could not be in His presence.
Without the issue of sin having been resolved, and he has now resolved that issue to perfection, so that there need be no distance between the believer and himself.
Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? No.
You can take those two things. Peter also refers to that, the sufferings of Christ and the glories after these.
And you can basically you can take those two things, his sufferings and his glory, and you can write that as the theme right over the entire Word of God. This book, from Genesis to Revelation, is the divinely inspired story of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow.
There's no greater occupation for a Christian today than to be taken up with the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow. Now let's look at that in an aspect here in which Peter extrapolates at verse 16. This is a very important statement and young people especially as you are getting started on the Christian pathway.
Please keep in mind and our brother just touched on on something along this line and there have been a few things that have been mentioned.
That have brought this to my mind. We have not followed cunningly devised fables, the new translation says. Cleverly imagined fables. You know, there's a lot of stuff out there that's really clever.
But scratch beneath the surface and it's trash.
It's absolute trash.
We don't want to be deceived by something that presents itself to us with all kind of cleverness.
Sounds very plausible, but I will guarantee you that in many things you get beneath the surface a little bit and you will find that it's all an effort.
To undermine the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow.
When you are young.
Pursue.
A study of the Word of God.
Learn objective and rational principles of biblical interpretation.
I am reminded.
In the passage in Hebrews that we took up in the 10th chapter, we didn't go all the way down through there, but.
As you go down in that chapter and there were there were a few comments made about it, the expression for if we sin willfully.
And some of the brothers brought out things about how the will can become involved with something.
The book of the book of Proverbs, I think, is very helpful. It's been spoken of as a young man's book.
Keep thy heart with all diligence.
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Keep thy heart above all that is kept.
Watch your affections, watch the movements of your mind. Be aware of what attracts you and what you are drawn toward.
You know, there are a lot of people who will say, you know, I stay away from this or I stay away from this. But I've read some very interesting things. A man's character is much more.
Manifested in what he likes than what he dislikes. If you want to see what a person is really like, look at what they like. What are their preferences? What are they drawn towards? Learn when you are young to be drawn towards the thing that establish you in the faith.
That will help you to lay hold of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow.
Avoid cunningly devised fables.
You know, it's been, it's been said before. I'm sure most of us have heard it. If it's true, it's not new.
And if it's new, it's not true.
One of the issues that's addressed, especially for a younger person as you're beginning the road.
Is to take up with the things that will help you to have discernment, Peter says. We have not followed cunningly devised fables, cleverly imagined fables.
When we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But were eyewitnesses of his glory. Now that takes us back to the Apostolic inheritance. You know, most of the men that were that wrote the New Testament, some of them were among the apostles. The apostles we know from some Scriptures. That's a broader term than just the 12 That were with him. There were those who were of note among the apostles.
But all of these different ones were either eyewitnesses or.
We read the writings of those who were there with him.
On the Holy Mount he talks about that here.
Those who accompanied with the Lord Jesus and heard His ministry, as it says in one Timothy chapter 6, wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. They heard those words and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they were given to write those words down. You know, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters five to seven. That's pretty long.
And we might wonder, how did they get that down? Well, the Spirit of God, as the Lord Jesus says in the 14th of John, he will bring to your remembrance the things which I have spoken to you, and we have every reason to believe.
Along with men of God who have studied these things, that we have reliable documents here that present to us our Lord Jesus Christ and His sufferings and His glory, we have every reason to have confidence in the written Word of God and how the written Word of God brings before us.
The living Word of God. So as we go on down here.
These eyewitnesses tell us that he, our Lord Jesus, received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard.
When we were with him on the holy mountain, now those men, those apostles that the Lord took with him up onto the Mount of Transfiguration, we call it, they saw him Transfigured before them. They saw him there in company with Moses and Elijah, and they were told not to reveal that.
Until the Son of Man was risen from the dead.
Here we see the glory of the personal Word of God, the One.
Who was the Word made flesh? The one whom these apostles, they had the privilege of being, if you'll notice the new translation of Luke chapter one, attendance on the Word. They were there with him, so they saw in his glory, and then later saw the sufferings.
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Of the one who was the Word made flesh. What a wonderful thing that is.
And here today we are in 2017 talking about these things. That in itself is a mark of the grace of God.
But Peter goes a little bit further here.
He speaks of the ones who were there with him in the Holy Mount.
And then in verse 19 he says we have also a more sure word of prophecy.
Here we have the written word.
Where unto ye do well, that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.
Until the day dawn and the day arro Daystar, Rise in your hearts, knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
And these are the ones who wrote those books down. You know, when we look at expressions like this, I think of the last 27 chapters of the book of Isaiah where we see the spiritual or the moral restoration of of of Israel to their God. And we see in such a beautiful way the sufferings of their Messiah.
And His glory as he restores them to himself.
Spend your time in these things.
You know, we talk about things that we that it's good to to give up and to stay away from. But another side of that is that if we develop the habits. The brother spoke of habits. It's been mentioned a number of times.
If we develop the habit of taking up with certain things, then what you find is those other things that might come in and captivate us. We don't have room for them. It's like the illustration that Brother used of the two dogs.
We wanna learn to spend our time with the things that, uh, that make for edification first of ourselves and then what might be found for blessing for others as well.
You know in the passage of Hebrews to go back to that for justice a moment.
Think of that expression again if we sin willfully.
After having received the knowledge of the truth.
I mentioned the verse in Proverbs.
About keeping your heart.
Above all that is kept for out of it are the issues of life.
You might take a look at Hebrews chapter 3.
There are three hearts that are mentioned there and there's a progression.
And that's in one of those parentheses that Brother Eric mentioned in the book of Hebrews. And he wanted to guard these Saints. He wanted to guard them. He wanted them to be able to go on unto perfection on the spiritual maturity. And the first thing in the third chapter that he worked when he when he brings out the thought of Israel in the wilderness, and he quotes from the 95th Psalm.
He says Harden.
Not your heart.
That's the first step.
I think that most of us in the room have probably known someone where there seemed to be some tenderness.
But then a point comes where there's a hardening of the heart.
And after the heart is hardened, he says, an erring heart, that's the heart that strays.
What do we often stray towards? We often stray towards a cunningly devised fable.
And the last that he mentions, there is an evil heart of unbelief.
Just to finish up.
Think of a time back in the Old Testament, in the days of Josiah.
When the book of the law of God was discovered.
It had been lost for some period of time and it was discovered.
And it was brought out, and it was read before the king.
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What did he do?
He bowed before the word of God that was brought out to him, and they sent to hold of the prophetess.
And you know if you take those words of hold of the prophetess in Second Kings chapter 22.
And you look at them, they give us some nice little expressions that I think help us to understand the thrust of Hebrews.
And I want to emphasize at the end this last point about the heart.
What does she say about the king? She says tell the man.
That sent you to me.
Because thy heart was tender.
And you humbled yourself before me.
That's the thing that she says about him. She goes on to say other things. And dear people of God and dear young people, as you're here today, think about as you take up the word of God.
That you develop a heart that is tender towards what God has revealed.
And would bring you to the point where you would humble yourself before God.
And I can tell you that that will be the way to go on in a life.
For the glory of the Lord, where the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow will become meaningful. First of all, for you and for your family and for your brethren.
Quick thought, brethren, in regards to.
What has been said by our two brothers, I can't help but think with our brethren here in Walla Walla after so many years.
Having the desire to put on the conference again.
But you know, brethren, we have to go to Chapter 11 of the Gospel of Luke, and I'm sure this is what has happened here in Walla Walla.
Luke Chapter 11 and verse one.
And it came to pass, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
Am I correct, brethren, in saying that there's been much prayer that has gone up to have a conference like this by our brethren here in Walla Walla?
Prayer it's the it's the gas pedal of the Christian life. If you get on your knees, dear young person like our brother just exhorted us, you want to have power in your life. It's prayer. Get on your knees, lift up your voice to your Savior, to your Lord. And may I just stop there and say I pray that each one of the young people here.
Know the Lord Jesus Christ.
As your Savior, because these words will be absolutely meaningless to you if you're still lost in your sins. May you look at your heart and if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ is your Savior, get down on your knees and accept Christ as your Savior. Because everything that you've heard, the last two brothers that have stood up here, it doesn't work with the unbeliever.
Now let's take a look very quickly here in this chapter, verse 3.
Give us day by day Our Daily Bread.
And forgive us our sins.
Just a thought on this first.
The day by day bread, there's dependence. Do you have a need, dear young person, older person, you have sorrow in your life. Is there a, a, some disaster you're going through dependence on the Lord and the other one is obedience. There has to be obedience to the word of God as our brother just exhorted us.
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Obedience. How do you expect to have power in your life?
How do you expect to be a testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ if you're not praying?
Did we not sit around the table this morning? And we started with the hymn 150 that every knee will bow.
Dear young person, you have two knees.
Bow them before the Lord Jesus, and may I recommend that you bow them by the side of your bed in the evening hours and in the morning hours. Get up and have prayer in your life morning and night, and if you have the chance to pray during the day like Daniel did three times a day.
Pray in the middle of the day, Obedience and dependence We also have in this same chapter. For the sake of time, we'll go down to verse 8. Because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity, our brother was talking about all the distractions with the Internet and cell phones and everything else. What's importunity?
Do you think if you raise your voice to the Lord Jesus Christ, you're going to get an answering machine?
Absolutely not. The Lord is going to hear you because of your importunity, the fact that you come to him with a need. He's got his ears open 24/7 and he knows your needs before you even ask.
Dear young person, how can we make shipwreck if we have a savior that knows what we need and we haven't even lifted up our voice to him importunity. We have in our assembly down South a family and they have a a young girl.
And she?
Will use importunity to go and talk to her mother. You'll be talking to her mother and she comes up and she says mom, I wanna do this, you know I, I, I want this you know she uses importunity, she comes in and she knows that her mother will.
Give her what she wants and what's good for her.
Importunity the Lord will answer and in verse nine we're exhorted in this same chapter it says ask and it will be given you. How many of us ask we do we go sometimes we ask for things but you notice something else in this verse it says seek what's it mean to seek? The Lord wants us to be in earnest. You ask for direction in in your education you ask for direction and.
Me. He wants you to be in earnest. He wants you to not only ask, he wants you to be in earnest. He wants you to seek.
And ye shall find knock, and it shall be opened. It's a little more intense, isn't it?
One snocking.
Not have you ever asked, knocked on the and asked the Lord for something? I mean, are you in earnest?
You know, a lot of times, and as you grow up you have a tendency to think of things. And I'll be quite honest with you, when I was about 8 years old, I came to the Lord and I was raised in Dorothy, NJ and I heard Brother beg, I heard Brother Christensen, I heard Albert, Hey ho, Gordon Hayhoe. And they would present the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and I would sit there in that assembly and I said to myself.
I don't ever have to worry about getting out of grade school. The Lord's going to come.
Don't ever have to go worry about going to high school. The Lord's going to come. I don't have to worry about college. The Lord's going to come. And I don't have to worry about getting married or getting a job because the Lord's going to come.
Last year I had to do something in my life that I never thought I'd do. Had to apply for Medicare. 65 years. You've got to apply for Medicare in the US.
And yet I can stand up here and tell you I feel like the Lord is going to come, perhaps this afternoon. He's going to come almost, I'm sure of it in my soul, because I can read His precious word and be assured of it, His coming again.
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And you know, dear young person, if you want to have power in your life.
Pray, lift your voice up to the Lord Jesus. We have had the last couple of days here, should we say a mountain top experience. But you know as well as I, at the end of this day, some of us are gonna head on the highway. We're gonna head home. And how much will we retain our enjoyment of what we have had here at the conference? How much, how long will it last?
You know, I have to confess. You know, sometimes I've come to conferences.
And I think it lasts until I get out that door because you get bombarded with all the cares of this life, packing the luggage, getting going. But I'll tell you where I really find the enjoyment is when it's quiet and I'm back on my knees before the Lord and the Lord as our brother.
Let's see, what was his name? Dan Anderson. We used to listen to Dan Anderson's.
Uh, stories in Dorothy and he made this comment and I never have forgotten it, he said.
How do you young people expect to know the mind of God if you've never read His word?
Have you ever thought about that? How do you?
You expect to know the mind of God if you've never read His word.
Dear young person, take this book. Read it from cover to cover. You got two knees. Get on your knees and lift your voice up to your blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He hears you 24/7. He'll never deny you.
Great. Our God and Father, we thank you for the words that's been before our hearts. Thank you indeed for the expectations that we've heard.
To let them search our hearts and bring us into Thy presence, Lord Jesus and conscious way.
Help us to walk in the past without having to walk in. We thank thee indeed for the happy town of Fellowship. We've had these.
Last couple of days and we just asked you to reward our local brethren for all their efforts and bringing us together like this. Thank you most of all our God for thy Son, for the word that Thou hast given to us in our hands may be treated as a real treasure. Maybe be found pouring over thy precious words, learning the truth. May it be our God that the Lord Jesus himself will be.
Yeah, affecting our life immediately. So we ask these few things. We give you our thanks to the name of my son, the Lord Jesus. Amen.
God Made Them