Open—Clem Buchanan
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A few thoughts to connect with.
The closing thoughts of the reading meeting this morning.
In John 9 to begin with.
About connecting.
One thought was what our brother has just said.
And that is the verse.
In the words of the Lord Jesus quoted.
By poll.
In DAX 20, it is more blessed to give.
Than to receive.
As we have heard the practical instruction about the marriage state.
That applies there in a very wonderful way.
More blessed to give than to receive.
There are two words in the last chapter in the Bible.
That, I think are very impressive.
They are these.
Worship God, there is nothing.
Higher for you and I that I know at least than that.
Worship God now in the 9th chapter of Acts or 9th chapter of John. This morning our brother got down at the close of the meeting to the time when.
Jesus revealed himself to this man who had been blamed from birth.
And he came and met Jesus.
And in verse 36, he said.
And to he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?
And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
Oh, what a wonderful encounter this was for that man who had been.
Born blind.
Native blindness, which is inherent in all of us that needs to be broken up to learn.
What the light is and who the light is that brings.
Life to.
Us, and that is God manifest in the flesh.
The scent 1 Scent of the Father when we learn Him who He is. The glories of His person when we learn just a little of it and think that God's love was so great that he sent down that One who is light to make known His love, to be offered up on the cross, to put away our sins by the sacrifice.
Of himself to give us sight. And then here it was, this man.
Who had Jesus standing before him?
The one who had given him sight.
And then he.
Learns who he is. The question he had asked in verse 35 No, the Lord let's read verse 35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, dust thou believe on the Son of God. This question the Lord asked the man who had been born blind, to whom he had given sight, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? And then he says in verse 36, Who is he? A very straightforward question, Who is this?
One who is the Son of God, who is the Lord, and he calls Jesus Lord, that I might believe on him. Then Jesus said, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with he. Think of this wonderful encounter. Now this man with his eyes open, standing there face to face with the one who had opened his eyes. What does it produce? Verse.
38.
He said Lord I believe and he worshipped him now back in the 4th chapter.
In the fourth chapter of John.
Some well known verses.
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In.
Verse 19, the woman learns.
And says, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet, because he had revealed her life.
He knew, and then she changes the subject. She doesn't like that subject, she changes it. And our fathers worship in this mountain. Now that was Samaria. And you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh when you shall neither in this mountain, in Samaria, nor yet at Jerusalem.
Worship the Father.
Ye worship, ye know not what we know what we worship.
For salvation is of the Jews, but the hour cometh.
Now notice this. And now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit.
And.
In truth.
Marvelous, that the son of mine, the Son of God.
Would take up this.
Wonderful truth to pronounce.
To this woman.
But it came at the time in the in the Gospel order here, and all is proper.
For the father.
Has been revealed in the Sun as we had in our readings.
And the father is seeking children.
And he gets them through those that receive the Lord Jesus.
That believe on him and are brought into the family.
Because our faith in Christ a result.
Of the purposes and counsels of God being fulfilled in His.
Sovereignty as we had so beautifully before us in our last reading. Oh, it was just wonderful to think that it's the sovereignty of God that would choose you and me.
And come and get us at such a cost and bring us into his family as children.
And to have now, now in this age, the Christian period, a people on the earth that are worshippers, that is set in the more blessed place of giving because that's what we're doing in worship.
It's almost too wonderful to.
Understand, and I guess we don't fully, that God puts us in the more blessed place of giving to Him.
But we give what we have gotten from him, and here is an exercise for every one of us.
In the same chapter 4 back in the 14th.
Verse It reads this way, 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 light. This is a springing will in this chapter, where worship is brought before us.
The picture is a fountain, and it's a true one of what worship is if I had here a clear plastic tube.
And held it in AU shape and water were poured in this side.
It would come down and rise up to the same level on the other side.
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This is the simile that Jesus uses here when he talks about worship. It is the water of life concerning Christ and all his loveliness, who he is that comes down into our ears, sinks down into our hearts, and arises back up in praise, in worship, in adoration. And you and I are the worshippers.
That God is seeking today to worship the Father in that relationship. Worship is to the Father in that known relationship. True worship. God is absolute and true, but it's in the known relationship as Father.
And I believe worship then turns out to be a collective thing.
Individual but collective, because there are others brought into the same fellowship, so that the Lord says.
In answer to the woman's statement about our Father's worship in this mountain.
In Samaria and you, you, you say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. He gives her some light.
And, says a woman, believe me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, not in some area, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Now I believe in type that Samaria.
Corresponds to the state of confusion around us because the Samaritans were a mixed people.
Who brought the Lord into their?
Worship in connection with their idols.
Back in the 17th chapter of one of the Kings, you can look it up where the Samaritans originated and come from, which I think to me speaks of the confusion around us in Christendom that that is not the place to worship. But.
Hold this place and turn to Galatians.
Just for a comment which may bear a little on that.
In the fourth chapter of Galatians a verse 25 for this Hager or Hagar is.
Galatians 425.
Typically she is Mount Sinai where the law was given in Arabia and answer to Jerusalem, which now is that is when the Lord was here.
Jerusalem was still under that legal system, and that is what answers to Jerusalem, which now is and is in ******* with their children. That's the old yoke of the law then, he says. But Jerusalem, which is above, is free. Who is the mother of us now. Our worship then is above.
This Jerusalem which is above in this day and age, worship is not offered in the city of Jerusalem. There's a Mosque of Omar upon that old hilltop there now.
And there's no temple. God took that away too. But that's by the way.
But what the Lord was teaching, it's not what you Samaritans say, which is a mixed up thing and it's not even going to be the old legal system of the test of the place of the law for that was the ended at the cross. But then he points on neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father back in our chapter 4 of John.
So.
Ye worship, you know, not want. It's a confused thing in most of Christendom.
Worship in the Church of your choice. Where do you find that in scripture? You worship. You know not what we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews. Salvation came in by the way of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, you and I are set at liberty, but a liberty which learns of Christ and wants to give and wants to open up our voices and.
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Our heart in praise, in worship, in adoration.
To where the Lord has gone for us as our faithful and merciful High Priest. The veil of the temple opened up, and Christ now gone into the holy places not made with hands to appear in the presence of God, for us to take the.
Expressions of our lips.
In praise, thou art worthy in song.
Thinking and contemplating of Christ and all He has done for us.
That by the Spirit we have entrance there into the holiest of all, and that Christ is there, as it were, to lead in that singing. And so this is where we worship. But I do believe that in connection with that place in heaven, there is a literal place on earth.
Where this flows forth and I'm going to have to say.
Only one locally that is connected with that spot.
One place on earth has connected with that place in heaven where the Lord is given His place in the midst. If we are left here for the meeting tomorrow, it will be represented here where the Lord is owned and a company is met together in His name.
And there's one little on the table.
To announce.
That Jesus lives.
And he lives in his Saints, and we are livingly.
Linked up with him. I'll go back in closing to a verse in Exodus if I can find it. Some brother can help me. Maybe it's the verse that says.
None shall appear before me. Empty. Thought I could turn right to it, but I don't. Thank you. That's that's another place that will serve.
Yes, thank you. And here we have 3 feasts in this chapter which the Jews were to keep, and they are typical.
And here we come with the Jewish or the list of the piece in the 16th verse, Deuteronomy 1616. Then reading it three times in a year, shalt thou.
Shall all thy mails appear before the Lord?
Thy God in the place which he shall choose in the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
And in the Feast of Weeks and in the Feast of Tabernacles, and they shall not appear before me empty, we are keeping these first two feasts, that is the Feast of the Passover, which is the unleavened bread, and the Feast of Weeks, which is Pentecost, as a memorial looking back to what the Lord did for us on the cross. The third one is Jewish, but the instruction fits.
And not just three times in the year, which brings in an occasion to suggest that.
The Lord's Table is just mentioned once in Scripture.
And the Lord's Supper just mentioned once in Scripture and the Lord's Day is just mentioned once in Scripture sufficient to exercise our hearts and we're not under a legal system to say thou shalt worship the Lord or remember the Lord Jesus every seven days or another number if you want to set it there early. They did it from day-to-day and but it seems that the Lord.
Realizing our need both as to weakness and as to forgetfulness has settled it down to each Lords day, because it became a custom to in the days of the disciples to come together to break bread upon the first day of the week. But this speaks to my heart. They shall not appear before the Lord empty now. We have had our hearts filled with Christ in these.
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Meetings, and may it be so, not just when we come to a conference.
But to fill our hearts, our souls with Christ, all his wonders, every day in our homes, in our local assemblies, so that when we come to give, we have something to offer, our highest, our most blessed privilege.