Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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Like you to turn with me this afternoon the First Kings Chapter 15, First Kings Chapter 15, and the 16th verse.
And there was war between ASA and Bisha, king of Israel, all their days. And Basha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Rima, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to ASA king of Judah. Then ASA took all of us over, and the goal that were in the treasures of the House of the Lord, and the treasures of the King's house, and delivered them unto the hand of his servants and the king.
Sent them to Ben Haydad, the son of Taberman, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, which dwelleth Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and they, and between my father and thy father. Behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold.
Come and break thy league with Bisha, King of Israel, that he may depart from me. So Ben Hedad hearkened unto King ASA and sent the captains of the host that he had against the cities of Israel and Smolajan and dam and able breath maker and unto and all Sinner us, with all the land of NAFTA life.
We turn over to the 20th chapter. First Kings 20 and then Heda had the king of Syria. Got it. All his holes together.
And there were 30 and two kings with him, and horses and Chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and roared against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel under the city, and said unto him, Thus saith, Then, Hey, dad, thy silver and thy gold is mine.
Thy lies also, and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the King of Israel answered and said, My Lord, O King, according to thy saying, I am blind and all that I have. And the messengers came again and said, Thus speaketh Ben Haydad, saying, Allah, I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold, and thy lives, and thy children, yet I will send.
Servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thine house and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand and take it away.
And now in the 13th verse of this chapter. And behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. And Ahab said By whom?
And he said thus, saith the Lord, even by the young men of the Princess of the provinces.
Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he said, Thou, And he numbered. Then he numbered the young man of the Princess of the Provinces, and there were 232. And after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being 7000.
Now, if you'll turn over to Psalm 119.
119 and verse 92 on the last law had been my delights.
I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts, or with them Thou hast quickened me. I am grind. Save me, for I have sought thy precepts. And in Second Corinthians, chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 14.
For the Lord of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge.
That if one died for us, then we are all dead, and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Well, I see in these portions that we have read the claim of the enemy, all of the people of God, and then in the last the claim that the Lord has over us. And further two conflicting powers, there is that which seeks to claim our hearts or this world. And then the Lord himself, the one who died for us and rose again, the one who paid such a mighty price for us, he has a claim.
00:05:04
Upon us. Well, in First Kings chapter 15 we say something that seems to me very sad. ASA was a godly king in Israel. There was much that was commendable about this man, but when he got into a difficulty, instead of turning to the Lord, he turned to Ben Haydad, King of Syria. And isn't this the danger with us as the Lord looks down upon this company?
He knows each one who belongs to Him. Dear young people, He knows your heart, and perhaps there has been in your life, as there was with ASA, much that is commendable and pleasing to him. He hasn't forgotten that. He has recorded it all. He never forgets anything that is done for him. It is his delight to record whatever is a faith he tells us from even a thought upon. His name is recorded in his book of remembrance.
But often we find ourselves in difficulties.
We find ourselves placed in predicaments where it seems that there is no help and there is a danger of us at such times turning to the world and seeking their help. And so we find dear King ASA here when he found himself in this sad situation where this King Bishop had that were blockaded him, why he turned to.
Ben Haddad, king of Syria, and he offered, he asked him for help.
And what did he have to sacrifice to get the help of this man? While it tells us here, ASA took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the House of the Lord.
What a tremendous sacrifice he made to get the help of this man in this difficult situation. And you know, whenever we turn to the world, we have to make a sacrifice. And can it be that we should make the sacrifice of giving to the world, the place and the things that belong to the Lord Jesus himself?
It seems to me this is very, very act and very challenging for each one of our hearts because we do have great treasures. Surely, as we have been reminded in the meetings, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. God could not have blessed us more richly than He has, but in reality we only have as much of the truth as we walk in.
Sure, we have the blessings, but in actual practice, I say it's only as we walk in the truth that it is really ours.
And when difficulties come, there is a tendency with us not to give up the truth itself, perhaps, but to give up the practice of the truth, to take some careless path. And so here to think that he took the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the House of the Lord.
Know of your young people that you so difficulties that some of us who have not had the face, you're put in a position that is unique. It's different than it was before. And perhaps you feel that we whoever do not always understand that. I'm sure we don't. But nevertheless, I would say this to you, don't make a sacrifice in the things of God in order to get along in this world.
Don't give up that which is yours in Christ. Don't give up the precious truth that God has made known to you and the blessedness of walking in it for any advantage.
No matter how good it may seem, and this seemed like a good cause on the part of ASA because this king Beisha was stopping people from coming up to him and it tells us in another place that many from from.
Israel came up to Judah because they saw that the Lord was with ASA. And so it seemed like a good 'cause here it seemed very noble that he should seek to keep the way open so that these people could come up to Jerusalem. But he went about it in a wrong way. He sacrificed that which belonged to the Lord. It didn't belong to him to give.
He sacrificed it and put it in the hands of Ben Hayden and all dear young people. We're living in days when great pressure is put upon us. The world is making greater demands upon our time, on our attention, on our knowledge than it ever has before. And it's so easy for us to give up the things that belong to the Lord in order to seemingly do what is necessary and good for us in this life.
And it's very dangerous. It's very dangerous. Well, perhaps you might say, but this man did come and help. Yes, he did come and help. But it was a sad thing to think that this king should seek that help in that way. And it does not for the Lords glory and it wasn't for the blessing of this man.
00:10:15
And, Sir, may the Lord grant that if any of us find ourselves sacrificing the things of God for the things of this world, that we may be exercised about it. The Lord, as a claim upon your heart and mind, He has done mirror for us than any other what had been, had ever done for God's people. Or it's true that this King said, there is a league between me and thee, and between thy father, my father, and thy father.
But this was only a disgrace for him to have to say such a thing that he was in league with the King of Syria. And so there may be some connection that you and I have had with the world and therefore we feel a certain obligation to them all. Let us be careful. Let us seek to recognize the Lords claims or the enemy knows just how to entangle us and to get us into such situations and all. I think it's specially true.
When we're young now the Lord give us them to be exercised by what we see in connection with King ASA. Now when we turn over here to the 20th chapter, we find the same man than hedad again, and he comes up against the 10 drives. He had been called by King ASA before a godly king, and now he comes up against the 10 tribes and.
Verse of the 20th chapter. And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus Seth and Haydad, thy silver and thy gold is mine. Ether had given it to him from the House of the word. And now he comes to make a claim upon the 10 tribes. He says, Thy silver and thy goal is mine. And dear young people.
The world is making the same claim for you. It's coming to you and it's saying.
You are to me thy silver and thy gold is mine. You and I recognize the Lords claim. Or do we recognize the claim of this world over us all, you say. But we have to earn a living. It's necessary for us to go to school. Yes, that's true. But I hope that in earning a living and I hope in going to school.
That it's in with a desire in your heart to recognize the love claim, and not the claim of any man over you to recognize the Lord's claim.
Indeed, in everything in our lives, it says ye are not your own. Ye are bought with a price. And so whether it's in the employment you have, by the education you're receiving, the clothes you buy, the place you live, the car you drive, in everything that we have, we ought to recognize that our silver and gold belongs to the Lord and only use it as belonging to Him, as under his authority it's.
He is and were spoken of as being unfaithful in what is another man's If we use our silver and gold as though it belong to ourselves, it belongs to the Lord. Now he goes a step further by wives also, and thy children, even the goodliest. As I look into your faces, dear young people, I think, is that what a wonderful.
Opportunity is set before you.
You're young and if the Lord should leave us here a few years longer. What a mighty blessing you could be for the Lord in the place where you live in the assembly, where you are in the school, where you are in your work. If you really that knowledge that you belong to the Lord. But all of us an enemy that's making a Pearl at your heart. There's an enemy that is saying.
Oh, you must consecrate your money, your ability, your relations, everything.
To get around in this world, to be something here. And this king said, not only thy wives and my children. Even the goodliest, even the goodliest. You remember how the king of Babylon, when he wanted to have men to stand in his palace?
He chose out the very best of the berets from the captivity children in whom was number blemish, having understanding and knowledge and science and the ability to stand before the king, and he used them to promote his own interests. And your young people, if you're getting along in this world, if you have a little extra ability that God has given to you, if you have a little extra money that God has given to you.
00:15:19
Whatever you have, are you going to say, well, I have this extra, it's going to help me to get somewhere in this world. That's what the world is saying.
As soon as you start school, they pick you out. They wrote you, you know that very well. And if you have a little better than the others, they, they pick you out and they say, well, we want you for this. We want you for that. You're going to make your mark in this world. And you can have early or if you need to get along, we'll help you to get along in this world. Why? Because the world is making.
A claim upon you, just as Ben Haydad here made a claim upon God's people.
He is making a claim upon you, and he is saying at this very moment by sliver, and thy girl is mine, Thy wives also my children, even the goodliest, are mine. And what did this king of Israel say? The king of Israel answered and said, My Lord, O King, according to thy saying, I am thine and all that I have.
Or could anything be more sad to think that this enemy of God?
Of God's people should come and make such a demand upon King Ahab and upon the people of Israel.
And then to think that this King Ahab should turn around and answer him and say.
I am thine and a soul to this man, my Lord, all house said, is it possible for us to do such a thing? Is it possible for us to say, well, I recognize that I have to do this and I have to do that? And are you saying to the world, yes?
At your service, I'll do what you want me to do. All dear young people, I plead with you. I plead with you. I don't want to interfere in the affairs of your life. As Paul said, not that we have dominion over your face, but our helpers of your joy. Helpers of your joy. Because if you allow the world to to make this claim upon you, and if you live for the world and for the world's things.
What a sad thing, a lost life, but it's possible to have a saved soul and a lost life. The Lord Jesus said he that love of his life shall lose it, that he that hateth his world and this life shall keep it under life eternal. Thank God if you've accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior, your soul can never be lost.
You are saved for time and eternity because the Lord Jesus has paid the price for you. His precious blood has cleansed you and your back with that great price. You belong to Him and nothing construct you from His hand, but you can have a lost life.
And a crazy force to have our last life. Life is an example of it. Life went down into Sodom and I already lived for. And his family and his wife and all. It seemed to be nearest and dearest in his life. When Sodom was burned up, it was last.
Was locked, asked order, are you going to meet lot in heaven? But he had a lost life, a lost life. And this king said, my Lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am lying. And there are two verses that are whispering in your ears, the voice of the enemy, the voice of this world. And it's making a claim upon your heart to your young people. It's making a claim upon your time. It's making a claim upon your relations upon everything that you.
It's telling you to choose a partner and seek something in this world for yourself, to make your mark in this world. I know this is what is being set before you from the very beginning of school to the end. To get along, to be something. And now what are you going to answer? Are you going to answer like Ahab did?
And say I am thine and all that I have.
Well, King, King Van Hedda didn't stop there, and in the fifth verse and the messengers came again and said, Thus speaketh Ben Haydad, saying, Allah, I have sent him to thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy children, yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thine house and the houses of thy servants and.
00:20:01
Shall be that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand and take it away. Or I don't think Ahab realized when he was so agreeable to King Don Hedad that the next step was that Ben Hedad was actually going to send messengers into his house and take away everything that he wanted. And you don't realize when you make this first step toward owning the claims of the world and going along with it, that the next thing.
The world is going to step right into your life, right into your home, and it's going to take what you have for itself. All of us was a sad thing, but this is the way the world does. It already starts by making some demands, and then it isn't long until it principles demands and will take everything that you have all dear young people, I speak to you in love. The Lord Jesus has a claim upon your.
But our furnace world is seeking to have you What had been had ever done for the people of God, or that should have ever made them? This King Ahab willing to do such a thing? What had he done? He hadn't done anything for Israel. It's true he had helped Judith, but he hadn't actually done anything for Israel. And yet this man was afraid of the world, the Bible says.
The fear of man bringeth a snare.
And all how often were afraid to face the work, afraid to face it. And even devoted Christians sometimes, yes, even dear Peter, who was a very faithful disciple of the Lord in many ways. When that little maid said to him, Thou art also one of them, for thy speech be right betrayeth thee. Why he denied his Lord. And there may be some.
Made in your life, some handsome boy in your life that's just saying the very same thing and making a claim upon your heart in your life. And what are you saying? Are you saying yes, I'm done, I'll go right along with you all. What a sad thing to find this. And now he comes and makes this world advance. But he's going to come right into the herb and he's going to take everything that he wishes from the home.
Well, it's nice to see that God intervenes here.
And the 13th verse of this chapter. And behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying.
Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver into thine it, into thine hand this day, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. Or isn't this beautiful, as the little hen that we began with said? And there we are. Grieve him, His promises clear, and love will believe him.
Our father will hear there may be some young person here and you so well.
I'm afraid what you said is true of me and the world has got a hole in from the army. It's stacked into my very life and I don't feel I can free myself from the claims it seems to make upon me. I feel my case is heartless. Or isn't this lovely? This King Ahab thought their case was hopeless too.
Only had such a smile little army in the face of the great multitudes of the army of the king of Syria. And it didn't look like any use. He didn't even call upon the Lord. But all the Lord saw that need and the Lord sent a messenger and he said.
Seen this great multitude, He said. I am going to deliver it into your hand. And dear young person, perhaps this is the point in your life. Perhaps as I speak these words you feel that you have yielded to the world far too much. And you're saying, well, it's got such a hole around me. I feel I can't now turn and follow the Lord wholeheartedly as I would wish to do.
There came a man of God and said that God was going to deliver.
Our great multitude into the hand of this king. Or there's a man of God, though, the Blessed One, who loves your soul, and he's standing before you with his piercing hands, and he is saying, oh, the case is not too difficult for me. The strength of that which is against you may seem overwhelming, but greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Others one who can help you, dear young person.
There is one who is willing to give you the victory over all the power that is against you, and even although you have failed, as this King Ahab had failed, the Lord loves his people and He loves you, and He wants this very meaning to be a turning point in your life.
00:25:18
So, Ahab said. Well, he said, by whom will you deliver?
The people and they have said, by whom? And he said thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the Princess of the provinces, or I think this is very beautiful. Dear young men, I speak to you this afternoon. Dear young men, you to whom God has committed responsibility in a special way. God has said the head of every woman is a man.
God has placed the ministry in the meetings in the hands of the young men.
And our enemy makes a special attack on young men.
The Lord loves his people and he loves you, and he wants this very meaning to be a turning point in your life. So Ahab said, Well, he said, by whom will you deliver the people? And they have said, by whom? And he said thus saith the Lord, even by the young man of the Princess of the provinces.
Or I think this is very beautiful. Dear young men, I speak to you this afternoon. Dear young men, you to whom God has committed responsibility in a special way. God has said the head of every woman is the man. God has placed the ministry in the meetings in the hands of the young man, and her enemy makes a special attack on young men.
We know her back in the land of Egypt, King Pharaoh said that all our eyes were to be thrown into the river, and he makes a special attack on our young men.
And so they have said, well, he said, who's going to who's going to win this battle? He knew that they had very few men and how could it be? And the Lord said.
Even by the young men of the Princess of the Provinces or dear young people. Dear young brothers, how needful this word for you and I are we willing to go out, as it were, in conflict, are willing to take the whole armor of God.
And stand our ground in the face of the great attacks of the enemy upon us. Where can these young men were wearing to go out just 7000 against our great multitude? Well, even less than that. There were only 232 young men.
And then the army was only 7000 higher. Smart it looked, but what a great victory the Lord gave. What a great victory. Everything seemed to be against them, but God was for them. And dear young person, if you will turn and acknowledge before the Lord that you have no strength of your own, but just look up and tell him that you want to acknowledge his claims over you instead of saying.
Well, you have a claim over me. Instead of doing that, we'll just turn and say to the Lord.
While I want to acknowledge your claim over me, I belong to me. And if you're willing to do that, the Lord can come in. The Lord can have you and all. What a privilege to come out for the Lord Jesus when you're young. As we get over, it becomes more difficult as we get around it. Links are formed in life that make it much harder.
But you, dear young men, while you're still in your youth.
What a privilege to turn and recognize the claims of the Lord Jesus over you and tell the Lord right now that you're willing to go forth in this conflict, to take to her hammer of God and in His strength, in the might that He provides, to go and stand fast.
And the Lord is the one who will grant a full and complete victory. He is able. And so he granted a wonderful victory here. And they were, they were the overcomers. The Lord can help you, your young person.
Will not let us turn over.
To back in Corinthians chapter 5, verse 14.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which lived should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
00:30:13
Oh, what a difference here. The king of Syria came and said to Ahab. He said your man, your wife, your children, your server and your God are mine. Does the Lord come to you and say you're mine? Always this lovely. He says the love of Christ constraineth us. If his love doesn't draw your heart, why nothing else will.
He has a claim upon you.
Because he loved you and gave himself for you what had been had done.
For of our people of Israel, absolutely nothing. What has certain in this world done that is really worthwhile for you?
All its pleasures are only for a season. But all, dear young person, what is the Lord Jesus done for you?
The love of Christ constraineth US1 is often remarked, does not say the love of Christ should constrain us. It states it as a fact. The light of Christ constraineth us. That is, if I had some nails here, and I had a magnet, I could hold a magnet that far away, and the nails just stay perfectly still, quite unmoved by the force that's in.
But if I bring the magnet down, you begin to see the nails move and it doesn't long as the magnet gets closer than they begin to jump and they jump up to the magnet. Why wouldn't they feel the Pearl away up here and leave and come up?
Well, they weren't near enough to the magnet, and there's power in the love of Christ to constrain your heart and mind. But perhaps we're like dear Peter, we're following a far off. We haven't allowed the Lord Jesus there to as it will come near to us and warm our hearts with His love.
We've allowed everything, silver and gold and things here, material things, progress in this world to come between US and him. But it's not because there isn't constraining power in his laws. I say it doesn't say it should constrain, it says it does. But what is necessary?
Or will you just look up and say, Lord Jesus, I want to be near thee?
I want to be near thee, because if you're near him, he'll come strain your heart.
He will constrain your heart, and He will first you, that He will make you want to live not unto yourself, but unto Him. It's not that He forces you, it's His love constrains you. And so how blessed it is to see here as I.
That love stirs the heart. Why it makes us want to live, not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us, or what a price He paid for us.
His land could not give less, His love could not give more.
Gave himself the little hymn, says himself. He gave our poor hearts to win as ever. Love, love like thine from the paths of folly and shame and sin, and fill them with joy. Divine, that precious Savior is coming to you.
And he is not telling you your wives, your children, your silver, and your gold or mine.
But as it worries hurling up his piercing hands and he's saying, I love you, I gave myself for you. And what is the response of your heart going to be? You know, when king, when Abraham went out and won that great victory, when he returned, there were two that met him. There was the king of Sodom and there was Melchizedek. The king of Sodom offered him riches, the king of milk, the king.
Came to bless him, and the Lord comes to you. The world comes to you. Which one are you going to answer? Let us turn to that passage we read in Psalm 119.
So I'm 119.
And verse 92 Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction. I will never forget thy precepts, for thou hast quickened thee. I am thy, I am thy king. Ahab said to Ben Hedad, I am thine. He called in my Lord.
00:35:17
What does the psalmist say? Oh, he said. What a word.
Has been. I will never forget thy precepts, he said. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should have perished. And Ahab would have perished too, if the Lord hadn't stepped in. And all your young people, I commend to you the precious word of God. Are you reading it? The more you read it, the more you learn of that precious Savior who loves you, who's done so much for you.
Memorial field constraint of his love, and the more you will be led to say like the pharmacy here I am thine we all know that lovely little hymn. I am dying. Oh Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told our love to me, but our land to rise in the arms of faith.
And be closer drawn to thee. And so I say again, there have asked two claims upon your heart and mine. There is the claim of the world. There's a claim of the enemy of your soul seeking to lead you away. And if you have yielded to it, as Orhab did, it's not too late.
Turn to the Lord as you can live the rest of your time.
For him, for you, Sir. Well, I don't think I'm doing anything very wrong. Is there anything in 2nd Corinthians 5 there about doing anything very wrong? No, that isn't the point there. It says that they should not, we should not live unto ourselves, live unto ourselves. I'm not here to say whether you're doing something very wrong or not. I don't know that much about the personal lives of each one.
What the Lord does and you do but.
I ask you, and I ask my own heart, are we living unto ourselves?
Are under Him. This is a great question. Are we living unto ourselves or unto Him? The things you and I may be doing may be quite harmless and yet done herself, and the things that we are doing don't have a wrong order than no value in His sight at all. What if we would just look up?
And recognize his claim over us and seek to look to him. Or what a privilege.
His love will satisfy your heart and mind for our eternity, and He wants to satisfy your heart and mine right now. Oh, May God grant that each one of us may look up and say, I am I.