Section #4
I think a very important contrast is the difference between
Salvation and Service. If only we could see this clearly! We will contrast the difference
between Salvation and Service, and I
trust you will get this straight.
You don’t serve the Lord in order to get saved –
You serve the Lord because you are saved.
A lot of people don’t know
that. They want to end where God says you begin. What do I mean by that? – They hope that by
their good works, they will eventually be saved.
God wants you to know that you are saved. And
because you know that you are saved, you start
to live for Him.
Salvation Made Plain – LESSON 9
Things That Differ: ---Salvation and Service
2 Timothy 2: 15
(15) Study to show
thyself approved unto God.
“Study.” That is God’s
command to his people. Every word is so
important. Have you stopped to think why you are
studying? The first reason for studying the Bible
is to have God’s
approval on your life. Does it not follow, if that
statement is true, then if Christians do not
study their Bible, they cannot have God’s full approval?
I am persuaded that the thing which is going to bring
the greatest judgment upon believers, at the
Judgment Seat of Christ, is the neglect of their
Bible. Many people have Bibles in their home. It is a good book to have around,
but how many people really study their Bible? Why are we studying? – for God’s approval.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman.
Don’t miss that word. You can’t
study and not work. Much study is a
weariness of the flesh. That is what the wise man said. And I remind you again
– Bible study is 10% inspiration, but it is 90% perspiration. You have to work
at it, if you are going to study the Book. For some, it comes easier then for
others.
A workman that needeth not to be ashamed (doing what?) ---
Rightly dividing the Word of
Truth.
I will be using the boxes below to divide the
Scriptures into their correct categories.
(For example: putting “Before Salvation” in the left-hand box, and putting “After Salvation” in the right-hand box)
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Before Salvation |
After Salvation |
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5. Far From God
Ephesians 2: 11-13
EXAMPLE |
5. Nigh To God Ephesians 2: 13
EXAMPLE |
These boxes that we are using, bring truth home to me better
than any other way. You learn to put things where they belong.
You cut straight
the Word of God.
There are certain things that belong to the Jew – give it to the Jew.
There are certain things that belong to the Gentile
– give it to the Gentile. There are things that
belong to the Church – give it to the Church. But don’t try and mix it up, or you won’t see clearly.
We are going to try and rightly
divide the Word of Truth. We are going to put a line between what it
means to be saved, and what it means to serve the Lord. We will put them in their correct box.
Some people get the idea that you serve the Lord in order to get saved. That is backwards!
You can’t serve the Lord until you are saved.
You do not serve, and then
find out you are saved. God wants you to find
out you are saved, so that you can serve him because you are saved.
We have a few statements here. The first one is this:
Salvation
What is Salvation?
Salvation is what God has done for us. God has done for us what we could not
do for ourselves. Salvation has to do with our going to Heaven. I am going to
go to Heaven because I am saved, and only because I am saved.
The second statement is:
Service
What is Service? Service has to do with what you do for the Lord,
and it has to do with living here on earth. You
are here to serve the Lord. Put a line between them and keep them
in the correct box.
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Salvation |
Service |
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1.
A Gift Ephesians 2: 8 Romans 6: 2 Ephesians 2: 9 Romans 5: 10 |
1.
Work (s)
Titus 2: 7, 14 Titus 3: 1, 8, a4 Acts 11: 14 |
1. Salvation Is – A Gift
What is Salvation? – It is a Gift.
Ephesians 2: 8
(8) For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the Gift of God.
I wish every Saint would believe
it. Salvation is a Gift. Who says it is? – God says it is.
Romans 6: 23
It seems so backward to us.
(23) For the wages
of sin is death.
We have the idea that death is going to come whether
we do anything or not.
God says that death is the wages of sin.
But the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There are three ways of obtaining anything in legitimate ways.
1. You
can work and obtain
2. You
can inherit and obtain
3 And
the only other way is – receive it as a Gift.
Is it not positive –
you cannot work for Salvation?
Ephesians 2: 9
(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast
You cannot inherit it
Romans 5: 10
(10) For if, when
we were enemies
Enemies do not receive
inheritance. Have you ever thought of that word “inheritance?” Who gets an
inheritance? – You always have to have some sort of relationship
with somebody, before you will get an inheritance. Basically, inheritance
belongs to sons. Isn’t that right? They belong
to the family. You couldn’t inherit anything in the
realm of Salvation, because you were God’s enemy.
You can’t get it by working for it, and you
can’t get it by inheriting it. What is the other
way? – Gift.
How are you going to be saved? – You have to accept it
God’s way – and God says his Salvation is a Gift. The moment you work
for Salvation, it ceases to be a Gift. The
moment you pay for it in any way, it ceases to be a Gift. You do
not work for gifts. You do not pay for
gifts. A gift may be very valuable, but somebody else
pays for the gift. All you do is receive
it. Salvation is a Gift.
Somebody comes along and says – “Well, if you believe
that, then you are a person who does not believe
in works!” Nothing is farther from the truth.
When you draw the line and put it in the correct box where it belongs, I
believe that I am Saved by Grace through faith, plus nothing.
But I do believe that
it’s required of every Saint to work! – but put
it on the correct side of the line. I don’t work to get
saved. I don’t work to keep saved, I work because I am saved.
1. Service Is – Work (s)
In the light of the studies we have had prior, some of
the Scriptures will come to your mind as we start to read. In the first chapter
of Titus, it is rather interesting that Paul says this:
Titus 2: 1
(1) But speak thou
the things which become sound doctrine,
Where do you begin with your sound
doctrine?
Titus 2: 2
(2)That the aged men
Isn’t that a dignified way of saying “old man?”
(3) the aged women
(4) the young women
Titus 2: 6
(6) young men
The order is
significant. When Paul talks about good doctrine and about works, and about behavior, he doesn’t start with the young people; he starts with the old people. Do you know why
the young people act so badly? – Because they
have had such wonderful examples from the old people
– that’s why. And so if Paul is going to
instruct, he starts with Grandpa.
Titus 2: 2
(2) That the aged men be sober
All these things are saying “be
sensible.” The word “sober” is “be sensible.” Imagine
having to tell Grandpa to be sensible. You would think that Grandpa would be old enough to be sensible. There is nothing sillier
than a silly old man. Don’t ever forget that. There are Grandpas who need to be told how to
behave.
And then who is next? – Grandma.
Imagine telling Grandma to behave herself. But that is what it says. You tell Grandma how to behave, and you tell Grandma that she is to teach
the young women how to behave.
These are some of the good works that Titus talks
about – directed to Saints. Grandpa then Grandma,
then young women.
The older women are to be teachers of good
things. In verse 4, they are to teach the young
women to be sensible and to love their husbands.
Grandma, you are the
one who is responsible to teach the young married women how to love their husbands. What is involved with that? I
thought they always fall
in love before they get married! Well, the other day I
put it this way, and I think it still fits. It
says in Timothy that Adam was not deceived – but
Eve was deceived.
1 Timothy 2: 14
(14) And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived
was in the transgression.
Did all of you women know that you are more easily deceived than men? In this day of liberation,
women don’t want to hear that. But you see, it is the way that God made men,
and God made women. And women are more easily deceived
than men. Notice all the cults that are led by women. Look at the husband you
are sitting beside – isn’t that all the evidence
you need – you are easily deceived!
What happens? – A young lady falls in love with a
young man and he is prince charming. You see, before you
get married, he is a good actor. You know him
according to his acts. But after you get married, you learn to live with him according
to his ways. There is quite a difference between the two. And it is those acts that deceive women. What do I mean? When he comes
to see you during the engagement, this prince charming polishes his shoes and
combs his hair, and wears after shave lotion and gets clean socks – and
everything is in order.
But after you get him,
every time he leaves the bedroom, you would think the rapture had taken place –
because his socks are in one place, his pants in another, and his shoes in
another. Do you know what happens? – You have to learn
how to love him. You thought you loved him before
you got him, but after you get him, that is really when you have to learn to love him. And Paul
writes. Did you know what good doctrine is? – To tell all the Grandmothers and
all the married women to teach the young women how to love their husbands. You
see, they are not as princely after you get them
as you thought they were before you got them.
And Grandma, a married woman, you teach them how
to get along with their partner.
Titus 2: 7
(7) In all things (whether you are young or old or
middle-aged) showing
thyself a pattern of good works.
Is it talking to believers? – You better believe it
is! Somebody says: “Who is to be the pattern?” –
You are, I am.
Don’t point your finger at somebody else, and say of him “He is not setting a
good standard.” What kind of standard are you setting?
You are to be a pattern
of good works because you have believed in God.
That kind of points right home doesn’t it. Alright, you
be a pattern!
Titus 2: 11-14
(11) For the grace
of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
(12) Teaching us
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
(13) Looking for
that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ;
(14) Who gave
himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
And what is the reason
of the peculiarity? – Because they have long faces and black dresses? – NO. That is not what
makes a Christian peculiar. If you have a zeal to be
good, you will be so different than the
rest of the world, they will know there is
something wrong with you.
A peculiar people,
zealous of good works.
God says that you are to be a pattern
of a believer. And you are to be zealous of good
works. And that is good, sound doctrine
according to Paul.
Titus 3: 1
(1) Put them in
mind. (keep telling them) to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be
ready to every good work. In the context – being obedient to Government
is good work
Titus 3: 8
Nothing could be plainer than
this
(8) This is a
faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly
(Keep teaching it, keep
telling it) that they which have believed in God might be careful to
maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
What happens when you
believe? If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart, thou
shalt be saved.
Or could I read it this way?
That they which
are saved might be careful to maintain
good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Now that is written to
you and that is for you. You do not obtain, or
continue to maintain good works in order to get
saved. You are to maintain good works because you
are saved, and it is well-pleasing to God.
Titus 3: 14
(14) And let ours
also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses,
that they be not unfruitful.
What am I getting at? – It doesn’t come naturally. There is an old hymn that begins: I’m so glad I learned to trust thee
I often change it to: I’m so glad I’m learning to trust thee
None
of us have arrived.
None
of us are as Spiritual as we might be.
None
of us are as Spiritual as we could be.
None
of us are as Spiritual as we should be.
But Praise God, by the help and Grace of God, who is
teaching us – we are learning something about
good works. You have to learn it, and you have
to learn it from God’s Word – because God’s word
is the Book that tells you the difference
between good and evil.
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Salvation |
Service |
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2.
Coming To Christ John 1: 40-42 |
2.
Following After Christ Mark 1: 16-17 Mark 3: 13-14 |
What is Salvation? – It is coming to Christ. I never read John 1 without thinking about
the time I preached in
† John 1: 29 – He takes away sin.
† Verse 33 – He baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
† Verses 35-51 – He changes people.
It is one thing to be saved. It is another thing to be
baptized with the Holy Spirit, but it is another
thing to be learning of the Lord, so that,
little by little, you are being changed. Here
are the words of a chorus (author unknown)
Change me Lord, change me Lord –
Don’t let me stay the same.
For I want to be more like you.
Take my life, make my life –
Just as you want it to be.
O Lord please change me,
Change me dear Lord
When we read about Paul, we have this idea that he was
always like he was, right from the beginning. You read about Peter, and think the same
thing. NO – Peter blundered a lot at the beginning, but I’ll tell you, the Lord
changed him. The Lord is in the business of changing people. And here we have this story:
John 1: 40-42
(40) One of the
two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s
brother.
(41) He first
findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah,
which is being interpreted, the Christ.
(42) And he brought him to Jesus.
What is Salvation? Salvation is coming to Christ.
2. Service – Following After
Christ
What is service? We will now turn to Mark 1. Chronologically,
John precedes Mark in the story of Andrew and Peter.
Mark 1: 16-17
(16) Now as he
walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew (the same two men that we read about in
John) his brother
casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
(17) And Jesus
said unto them, Come ye after me.
What
is Salvation? – It is coming to Christ.
What
is Service? – It is following after Christ.
Come ye after me, and I will make you to become
fishers of men.
Turn now to the third chapter of Mark, and let me show
you, the call to Peter later on. I don’t know how many
calls he had. I don’t know how many calls will
come in your life. The Lord is in the business
of calling people to Salvation
– but the Lord is also in the business of calling
people to service. So often we forget that.
Mark 3: 13-14
(13) And he goeth
up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would.
That’s an interesting statement. How is it that Peter became an apostle? How is it that John became an apostle? Jesus called whom He would. When it comes to service – I know this
– there are certain people serving the Lord, that if it was left up to me, I wouldn’t have called them – but the Lord did anyway. He called whom
He would.
Would it not be wonderful that from this extension
class, - through the teaching of the Word of God, God would signally put His hand
upon some of you and call you to special service?
And like He did to Peter and Andrew, He would say, “leave what you are doing; I
have another job for you.” That is how people are called. And He calls whom he
would. And
calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him.
I can see the Sovereignty
of the Lord in the first statement, but I see the response
of men in the second statement. I see the Sovereignty of God, but I see the responsibility of man. He
called – and they came. If they had not come, we would never have heard of them as being
the great apostles. I am persuaded, that many times, God has called men to
separated ministry, but they have not come. God has called people to the mission field,
but they have not
come. But how gracious God is – He not only
calls once, He may call many
times. He called, and they came.
(14) And he
ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.
Called to be with Him –
especially with Him. You have to come to really
be with Him, before you can ever go out and preach for Him. I’m not talking about
Salvation now – I am talking about service. I
believe there is a call to
Salvation, but I believe there is a call to service.
Spurgeon used to tell his young men “If you can keep out of the ministry, stay
out of it, but if you can’t keep out of
it, you better get in it. If you can’t keep out of it, that is a sure sign that God has called
you to it. But there is a call of God to take up your cross and follow him.”
We are contrasting between Salvation and Service.
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Salvation |
Service |
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3.
Makes One A Saint John 8: 31-32 |
3.
Makes One A Disciple 1 Corinthians 1: 2 1 Corinthians 11:
17-21 |
3. Salvation Makes One A
Saint
1 Corinthians 1: 2 Paul writes to the saints at
Corinth
(2) Unto the
church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord, both theirs and ours:
SAINTS – but they were not so good! We have the idea that saints are good people, and they have to be real good to be real saints.
The reason I have used Corinthians is because (if you read the eleventh
chapter) when they went to church, they got drunk at the Lord’s Table – and
that’s a pretty good indication of the kind of Saints
they were. In other words, when it comes to examples of Saints, they were the poorest – and yet Paul called them Saints. The thing that we need to learn is that when
we are saved, the word SAINT is the family name of all believers.
Illustration
Have you ever met Anne Kettles? Maybe a few of you
have met her, or seen her. She just happens to be my wife. But you see, when I
say Anne Kettles, after forty years, nobody knows who I am talking about –
because forty-one years ago she walked down the aisle of the church. It was the
only time in my life that I lost my voice. When she came down and was standing
there at the altar and the preacher said, “wilt thou?” – I wilted! I could
hardly say anything. I lost my voice completely. But after that service, she
walked out of there, and she was identified with my family
name. For forty-one years she has lost her identification as “Kettles” and now
she has been identified as “Pritchard.” It is her family
name.
When you accept
Christ as your Savior, you become identified with the family
name. And the family name of God’s people is the
name “Saint.” If you could only see that. The
moment you were saved, God called you (in his Book) a Saint.
Now we talk freely about St. Peter. And I think, the last I heard of the Roman
church, they now have, officially, twenty-five hundred saints. I always smile
at what they do. They wait until somebody has been dead for two-hundred years
before they dare call him a Saint. You see, after he is well forgotten, and all his bad
deeds are forgotten, then they Saint him.
But the Lord makes you a Saint, the moment you get saved. We usually don’t go around
calling each other “Saint,” but God says that is what we are. It is our family name. Not that my name means anything, but I use it as an
illustration. My family name is “PRITCHARD.” I
can’t help it! And your family name is SAINT and you can’t
help it! It is not your fault. God called you a Saint
the moment you believed. I don’t look like all
the Pritchards. And some hope I don’t act like
some of the Pritchards. But, whether I act like a Pritchard, or whether I look like
a Pritchard, I am a Pritchard anyway. And I am not that by my behavior, I am that because
of my birth. Are you getting hold of what I am
telling you? What happens when you get saved? –
God puts you down in his Books as belonging to His Saints.
And
when the Saints come marching in
I’m
going to be in that number –
Because that is the family name of all of God’s people. Salvation
makes you a Saint.
Now on the other side
3. Service Makes One A
Disciple
Service makes you a disciple. And some people don’t know the difference between sainthood and discipleship.
Notice as we read John 8. I trust that some of these simple
things will answer some of the problems that we face when we look at
Christians.
John 8: 31-32
(31) Then said
Jesus to those Jews which believed on him.
What happens when you believe? – You are saved. These
are believers.
If ye continue in
my word, then will you be SAVED indeed
NO – it doesn’t say that
If ye continue in
my word, then will you be SAINTS
indeed
NO – it doesn’t say that. You are not a saint because
you continue; you are a saint because of your Salvation. You are saved
when you believe.
What did he say?
If ye continue in
my word, then are ye my DISCIPLES indeed.
And what follows to a disciple?
And ye shall know
the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
When you are saved you are set free.
But the Truth comes along and makes you free as
to your experience.(Disciples) ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
There are some people who are Saints, but they are not very good disciples. A disciple is a follower. But it is more
than that. In the word “disciple” is the word “discipline,” and it goes
together. A disciple is somebody who is following Christ to be disciplined. Now, do you want
to be His disciple? If you are going to be His disciple, He is going to follow you, and discipline you. When he sinned against the Lord, in Psalm 32 the
Psalmist said:
You know, when I sinned I became
very silent
Because, Lord, your hand was
heavy upon me.
Day and night You had your hand
upon me.
May I say this: When you
become a Saint, the Lord wants to make you a disciple, and He says He has you in the palm of His
hand. You may wiggle, and you may try to get out - and all He is going to do is
squeeze you a little harder.
And when the Lord starts squeezing, you will know after a while that it is the Lord. Why does He squeeze His people? Why does He
deal with His people as He does – with chastisement? – Because He is making them disciples.
And a disciple is somebody who follows in order
to learn. And you can’t learn unless you are
disciples or disciplined.
I’m not too excited about our school system today –
because students go to a school in which there isn’t
any discipline. You see, the point is this: - if
there isn’t any discipline you don’t learn very much. You only learn when you are disciplined.
And the Lord has a wonderful way of disciplining His people. Now, if you follow
Him, that is what is going to happen!
On one occasion Peter followed the Lord – but afar off. He wasn’t a very good follower. He wasn’t a
very good disciple of Christ. We sing the hymn “I’m
following Jesus.” Are you really? Are you
really following Him?
There are some times, where you will go, and He will follow you. As
I have said before -- are you really following Him? There are some places where He will not lead you. So be sure you are following. That is what makes a disciple – one who follows.
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Salvation |
Service |
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4.
Receiving Life Ephesians 2: 1 John 3: 36 John 5: 24 John 1: 12 |
4.
Enjoying Life John 10: 10 1 Timothy 6: 17 1 Timothy 2: 2 |
4. Salvation Is – Receiving
Life
You receive a new life in Christ
Ephesians 2:1
(1) And you hath
he quickened, (made alive) who
were dead in trespasses and sins.
John 3: 36
(36) He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.
John 5: 24
(24) Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life.
I have been preaching for many years, and I have gone
to a lot of places where a lot of people have had a lot of questions and
arguments over the fact of everlasting life, and eternal life. I simply say
“Let’s get this straight first. Do you know what happens when you get saved? – God says you receive
life! “He that hath the Son hath life!”
Now just start praising God for the fact that, when
you get saved, you come
alive. You receive
life from God. Alright, that
is what happens when you get saved – LIFE!
John 1: 12
(12) But as many as
received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name:
Now on the other side:
4. Service Is – Enjoying
Life
Jesus said: I am not only come that you
might have life.
John 10: 10
(10) I am come
that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am sorry to have to say this, but I am persuaded
that the majority of Christians have just enough to be miserable.
You can’t enjoy the Lord and the world at the same time. They just don’t live
in the same house! And Jesus didn’t come to make our miserable life more miserable – Jesus came that we might enjoy it.
1 Timothy 6:
17
Don’t forget that this is
here!
(17) Charge them
that are rich in this world.
We are given, every once-in-a-while, to complain. I don’t think that there should be anybody who
is not aware of
the starving people
in this world. There shouldn’t be anybody in this
country of
Think of what you have! Some of you may think you are very poor, but it
just depends on who you are looking at. If you are looking at the majority in
this world – every Canadian is rich. And so, don’t complain. Thank
God for what you have. So I read it this way:
1 Timothy 6: 17
(17) Charge the Canadians, charge the class, that they be not high-minded.
That is the first thing
that goes with riches. The danger of getting
rich is that if you get too much, you become high-minded. God knows the rules,
and God knows people. If you get this world’s goods, don’t forget this portion. You must
think you are rich in comparison to others, but
if God gives you more (and God could give you
more) – don’t become high-minded. That is a danger. Who for? – For Christians. Christians can think they are above other people because they are rich. The book of James talks about it. The rich man
comes in, and they set him at a good place. The
poor man comes in, and they seat him back there, or tell him to stand back there. That
is how we treat them – because when we get more
riches than somebody else, we get high-minded.
What is the next danger of riches? – trusting in uncertain riches.
1 Timothy 6: 17
(17) Charge them
that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches.
May I say this in passing: All
the riches of this world are all uncertain. I had all kinds of Christian friends who,
three years ago, were millionaires. The recession hit two years ago, and some
of those men who had made millions through Real Estate,
bought too much and over-extended themselves. Now they are paupers! It happened
over night. They never thought it could happen.
Illustration
In 1929 they never thought the crash would come. My
Dad had become quite a successful farmer in the twenties in
In 1926 he built a great big new barn. In 1928 they
had the bumper crop in
But 1929 the crash came, and
my Dad never saw another new car until the
40’s. That was the end of his new cars. And there was a whole new
generation that started in 1940 – right up until 1982. For forty-two years in
Canada, we hadn’t seen a recession. Money came in so easy and went out so easy.
And then suddenly we found out that it wasn’t always going to be that way!
1 Timothy 6: 17
(17) Charge them
that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God.
Learn to trust in a Living God.
Oh I thank God that God is alive. But that is not what I wanted to talk about.
The latter part says: Trust in the living God, who
giveth us richly
all things to enjoy.
God wants His people to enjoy
life. And God wants to teach you that He is going to give you things in order to enjoy life. But don’t start putting your
trust in things. Keep your trust in the Lord. Here is the way to live.
I think my wife and I can honestly say God has taught
us a little bit about contentment. Timothy says Godliness with
contentment is great gain. We go
into lots of big houses to visit, and we go into some very rich houses. They have everything. Do you know what we
say: “we are sure glad that they have it. We are
not coveting it. We don’t need it. God has given
us all we need.
Now somebody comes to your door. He is driving a brand
new car, and of course, maybe deep down inside, you wish
you could do it. And maybe you need one. But
don’t you look at it that way. You thank God that
he has it. Let him enjoy
it.
God gives us richly all things to enjoy. Dear old
brother Gillett used to say: “I never was very rich, because, I guess God knew what He
could trust me with.”
And maybe that is true. God knows how much He can trust you with. And so, He will maybe pull it in
once-in-a-while, so you will learn to trust Him.
I knew some brothers who made out very well in
Saskatchewan -- when I knew them earlier, back in the 30’s in the depression. In the early 40’s they worked hard and long.
And they had to think about everything they
bought.
You know, some of the happiest
days that Anne and I have had (and we are still having happy days) were days
when we really had nothing. We were in awe, to
see how God would supply it – and how wonderful He would do it. I can tell hundreds of
stories about how God has given us richly, so many things to enjoy.
But back to this man who struggled through his life to
buy anything. Whenever he wanted to buy a tractor, he had to think it over and write it down. He said,
“Finally, when it came to
about 1960, and I had been making money for twenty-five years, I came to the
place in life where I had enough money in the bank that I could go and buy any
piece of furniture, equipment, or tractors, and pay cash. When that happened, the kick went out of life.”
Now, that is quite a
testimony from a man who is about 70 years of age.
You remember I told you about the three millionaires I
sat with one night. They said “We have so much money, we can’t enjoy anything!”
Listen, God wants you to enjoy
life. And maybe His way of keeping you enjoying
life, is keeping you on your knees, asking for daily
help! Proverbs says, it is better to eat onions and cabbage, than it is
to eat beef steak where there isn’t any love. A lot
of people have a lot of things, but they haven’t any love.
They can’t enjoy life that way. God wants you to
enjoy life!
Now, how are you going to enjoy life? – By serving the Lord. Salvation will do something for you, but if you are going to enjoy the life, that now
is, the only way to enjoy it, is to start serving the Lord.
Illustration
I feel this should be said to the Glory of God: Before
I got married, I had already been called to be a preacher. God called me to
preach in an old barn loft, when I was fifteen years old. I didn’t have a normal teen-age life, because I started preaching
before I was 18, and I have been at it ever since.
I was already preaching,
and in about 1940, my father said “Lorne, I’d like to give you a quarter
section of land. You are going into the ministry, and we know how tough it can
be. I’ll farm it and I’ll give you the products from the farm, and it will be a
back-up when you go into the ministry.” I still
remember that day when I said to my Dad “I don’t want it.” Many days since,
I’ve had my days of weakness, but I said to him “You
can have it.”
I wouldn’t take it because I had read in Acts about
Barnabas the Levite having land. He sold it, brought the money, and put it at
the apostle’s feet. I’m not saying it was the interpretation
at all, but here is how God talked to me. God
talked to me about the Levites in the Old Testament. They were not to have land,
because the other tribes were to give their 10% and support them. In the separated ministry, they were to be supported for what they did.
I had been with some preachers, and I found out they
had backslidden because they had gone into too
much Real Estate. I took a little book of sayings that I have, and I wrote in
it “Preachers who go into Real Estate often get into a bad
state.” I don’t know if it is true for them all – but it is sure true for a lot. They get entangled.
Well, we got married. The reason I was so scared the
night we got married, was that I didn’t even have a place
to put my wife. I didn’t have a home. It was
1942 when I got engaged, and 1943 when I got married, and all I had was a 1937
Ford. When I was in New York the first time, I saw a great big sign “HAPPINESS IS HAVING A FORD.” Don’t you ever believe it! I had a Ford, and
I never was so broke in my life, because of that
Ford.
Well, when we got married, my salary was $80 per
month. And here I am asking a woman to share life with me, and that Ford car is
costing me $45 per month. How can you ever ask a woman to come and live with
you on $35 per month? Oh, I know, gas was only 30 cents a gallon,
and butter was only 25 cents in those days, and I could get a haircut for only
15 cents.
I was never so embarrassed in all my life. I was going
to an old barber and he was cutting my hair for 15
cents. I went back for a haircut, went in, got the hair cut and he said “I’ve
upped my price to 25 cents, and I only had the
15 cents in my pocket. To this day I owe that man 10 cents. I never went back
and paid him that I can remember – so I have one unpaid debt. The ten cents
just wasn’t there! At the end of the month we would have nothing. But do you know – God supplied for us! God
had ways of supplying. I could stay here all
night recounting those times. Now as I look back – it was the happiest way things happened – the way God did it. God used people from
I went down to preach in
The Lord had Anne have a cousin her size. We don’t talk about it very much. This
cousin had money to buy clothes. She would buy expensive dresses, and because
of her condition, (she had TB) she would never wear them. We would come out to
visit Gramma, and Anne would go down and get a wardrobe
that would last her for a year. People would
wonder where she was getting all of these expensive dresses. They must have thought
we were robbing a bank some place! She was wearing these beautiful dresses, and
it was the Lord who provided it!
The Lord made me the right shape. My brother-in-law is
my size, and he was an executive. In his position he had to keep himself in new suits. He did not
wear them very often, so would pass them on to me, in perfectly good condition.
During the fifties and sixties I did not have to buy any suits.
It didn’t matter if the salaries weren’t very big. God
had ways of looking after us. I look back at it now, and see the hand of God in
the whole thing. God was teaching me. He wants
me to enjoy Him and enjoy life! You start serving the Lord, and God will never be your debtor!
The next point:
|
Salvation |
Service |
|
5.
Receiving The Gift
Of Rest Matthew
11: 28-29 Hebrews 4: 9-10 |
5. Obtaining / Or
Finding Rest Matthew 11: 29 Hebrews
4: 11-12 Psalms 103: 7 Psalms 106: 12 |
5. Salvation Is Receiving The
Gift Of Rest.
Let’s turn to Matthew 11: 28-29 and then to Hebrews.
I’d like us to read these Scripture verses before I comment on them.
Matthew 11: 28
(28) Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
When you come to Christ
– that is Salvation. When you come to Christ, He
gives rest. Can you see how it goes together?
With the Gift of Salvation, is the Gift of rest. Hebrews describes it a little more.
Now look at verse 29
(29) Take my yoke
upon you (and
do what?) and learn of me;
It is not the unsaved people
who learn of Jesus, it is the saved people. It is when you get yoked up with Jesus. Can you visualize a team of
horses, or a yoke of oxen? Do you see what happens when you get the yoke on? Can you see yourself
on one side of the yoke, with Jesus on the other
side?
Take my yoke upon
you. (In other words) – get
hooked up with Me and learn of Me (And what is going to happen?) – you will find I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. Do you see that?
In verse 28 it is a Gift
of rest. Verse 29 there is an attained rest.
They are two different things. Salvation brings
a Gift, but when you get serving the Lord, and pulling with the Lord; you start finding rest
– DAILY REST!
Let’s turn to Hebrews 4. These are my father’s favorite
verses. I have heard him quote these, more than any other part of God’s Word.
Hebrews 4: 9-10
(9) There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
(10) For he that
is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works,
as God did from
his.
Can you see how those verses have to do with Salvation? Your Salvation is not
by works. What happens when you get saved? – you enter into the work
that has been done, and you find rest from
work. That is Salvation.
Now the other side
5. Service Is Obtaining or
Finding Rest
Hebrews 4: 11-12
(11) Let us labour Why? –
The Bible sounds like it contradicts
itself! – But it really doesn’t.
Let us labour
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example
of unbelief.
(12) For the word of God……
Where do you labour to find rest?
– You labour in the Word of God. Do you see the
connection? You start to study the Word of God.
And what are you going to do when you start to study
the Word of God? – you are going to learn of
Jesus aren’t you?
Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me and you will find rest.
Psalms 103: 7
I want you to get all of
these things together.
(7) He made known
his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
Who knows God better? – Moses.
Israel only knew God by the Way He Acted, but
Moses knew God’s Ways. Let’s go from there to the next one.
Psalm 106: 12-13
(12) Then believed
they his words; they sang his praise.
(13) They soon
forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel
Notice His Works. Do
you know that there are some Christians that only know
God by his Works. He saved me forty years ago, He
baptized, anointed me with the Holy Spirit, and He healed my ulcer ten years
ago. These only testify about the Works of God.
I’m glad God Works in our lives, but you don’t get to know God
by His Works, you get to know God by his Ways.
Remember what I said about the young man before he is
married? You see his works and his ways. You see his acts
and his ways. You don’t know a person until you live with them. You know that is right. We meet at
church, but we really don’t know one-another. I
will tell you, the person who knows me best is my wife.
She not only knows me by the way that I act, but
she knows my ways.
Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me
Illustration
There are two or three things to illustrate here. My
brother Arnold was a lover of horses. And he had a way
with horses (he still has a way with horses.) Back in the days before the
tractors, when we had horses on the farm, I can still see a team that we named
Pete and Prince. They weighed 1800 pounds. They were a team of big Draft horses.
My brother Arnold got a couple of colts that he named
Bird and Fly. Don’t ask me why – because I don’t know! Bird was black, and Fly
was grey. Bird weighed 1200 pounds and Fly weighed 1250 or 1300. They were
little horses. They were a little bigger than ponies, but they weren’t Draft horses.
to pull.
In the Spring, when we would load up grain into a
wagon and hook Pete and Prince onto it, they could not
move the load. They just couldn’t pull together.
The wagon would sink down into the mud, because the frost would go out of the
ground, and they would have to lift that load out of there. That big team couldn’t do
it, and
The heavier one of the two (Fly) would put all fours
into the mud and just lean into the collar, and little Bird would take one leap,
and if the load didn’t come, the tugs broke. I don’t know if you know my
language or not – but something had to move. And
that little team could pull more than any team I saw on anybody’s farm, because they had learned how to pull together.
Did you get my illustration?
Take my yoke upon
you and learn of me. I am meek and lowly, and you are going to find rest.
Listen, your burdens won’t be nearly as heavy when you
are yoked with Jesus. When He is in the traces with you, when He is in the yoke with you – you can be sure He is going to pull His
share of the load.
What is Service? – Service is learning how to pull with Jesus. Service is learning His ways. Listen, the more you study the Book, the more
you are going to know the Ways of God. Did that
sink in? What are we studying the Bible for? People will go to Texas to see God
Act, but they won’t come to a Bible study to
learn God’s Ways. It is far more important to know God’s ways!
Why are there so many Christians that are stumbling in
the mud and falling in the dirt, and having soiled spiritual clothes? – it is
because they haven’t yet learned what it is to
be yoked up with Jesus. You get yoked up with Jesus,
and you are going to find daily rest – something
that He is going to give you, because you are
going to attain it by being in the harness with him.
I don’t know if my farm illustrations help or not, but
I hope I got the point across. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
|
Salvation |
Service |
|
6.
Peace With God Romans 5: 1 The war
is over |
6.
Peace Of God Philippians 4: 6-9 |
We are talking
about the difference of Salvation and Service – contrasting what it means to be saved, and what it means to serve
the Lord.
6. Salvation Is Receiving Peace
With God
Romans 5: 1
(1) Therefore,
You’ve heard me say it before – whenever there is a
“therefore” in the Bible – you stop and see what it is there
for. There is always a reason.
The preceding chapter,
Romans 4: 25 It says of Jesus
(25) Who was
delivered for (or
because of) our
offences, and was raised again for (because
of) our justification.
Romans 5: 1
(1) Therefore (on the basis of what has gone before) being justified by faith.
How do we know we are Justified? – we are Justified
because of the Resurrection. If there had not been a Resurrection, there would not be Justification.
Romans 5: 1
(1) Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
The word I want you to notice is the word “with.” We have peace with
God. In fact the war is over. We were at war with God, but by Justification, we
now have peace with God. The emphasis is on that
little word.
Let’s go to the other side
6. Service Gives Us the
Peace Of God
Philippians 4: 6
(6) Be careful for
nothing (Don’t
worry about anything)
That is a difficult thing – but there it is. How are
you going to keep from worrying?
Be careful for
nothing, but in everything (in every big thing, and in every little thing) by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God,
Then in the 7th verse, it doesn’t talk
about peace with God, but it talks about the
peace of God. When you are saved you receive
peace with God. But when you learn to serve the Lord, and learn
what it is to pray about everything; (because if you are really going to serve
the Lord, that is what you are going to have to
do) you will find the peace of God.
May I say this: always remember – the first answer to any prayer is the peace of God about the situation. Before you see any
other answer, you get peace about it. God has
done something, so you have the peace of God.
Philippians 4: 7-9
(7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.
A dear brother by the name of Neve, who is now in
Heaven, often said, “It not only passes understanding, but misunderstanding too.”
(7) Which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
(8) Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there
be any praise,
think on these things.
(9) Those things
which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and
the God of peace shall be with you.
In the verse 9 it talks about the God of Peace. And in verse 7 it talks about the Peace of God. In serving the Lord we learn something
about the God of Peace, and the Peace of God.
Illustration
Three years ago I received a phone call from Manitoba.
It was on the 11th day of November. A sad thing had happened in our viewpoint. It was concerning the pastor of a church
at Minnedosa, who had, in the course of his life, lost two children killed in
car accidents (a boy and a girl).
On the Wednesday of this particular week (Nov. 1981),
he and his wife were traveling on a country road just outside of Minnedosa. A
car came over the hill and it killed this man’s wife. When I had been there
preaching for them, she played the organ. She was such a help to him, and here,
after having lost two children, he loses his wife.
I arrived in Minnedosa Saturday night on the day of
the funeral, and I sat with this dear brother. I can still see myself. He was sitting
in a big chair, and I was sitting off on his right side. As he looked at me, he
said “I want to tell you something. On Wednesday when my wife was killed, I
told the Lord that it just wasn’t right. It was like cutting off my arm.
I didn’t eat a bite. Finally, on Friday, I asked my two
sons to come and sit beside me. I told them that I was going to tell the Lord exactly
how I felt and exactly what I thought.” And he said “Brother, it wasn’t very
nice what I said. I just poured out my complaint to the Lord. I told him it
wasn’t right for him to take my children, and take my wife. I can’t tell you
what happened – but sitting here in this chair, I committed the whole thing to
the Lord. And suddenly the peace of God struck my soul.”
He held his head and he said
“I had not eaten in three days. I went out into the kitchen, and I ate the
biggest beef sandwich I ever had in my life, and I enjoyed
it – because right in that circumstance, by telling the Lord exactly how
I felt, the peace of God flooded my soul.
Often times, God allows circumstances to come our way,
so that we might have opportunity to prove to
ourselves that there is not only such a thing as the God
of peace, but also the peace of God. There
are many situations I can’t do anything about. But I praise the Lord that I
have experienced a little of this in my lifetime – of being able to commit
things to the Lord, and finding out there is such a thing as peace.
Years ago, I used to be a worry wart. Then I came to the place where I worried about
the fact that I wasn’t worrying! I don’t know if that fits any of you, but really, that is what I did. I got to the
place of “what’s wrong with me?” Listen, there is something about serving the
Lord in such a fashion that you can enjoy the peace of
God.
I went to my doctor in 1968. The doctor told me if I
didn’t change my lifestyle in what I was doing, I would blow my top, because my
blood pressure was so high. I’ve been treated for high blood pressure for all
of these years and I went to my doctor just a few weeks ago, and he took my
blood pressure, and he couldn’t believe it.
He did it again and said “It’s better
than normal.”
And so he cut down my medication from one pill a day
to one on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I went back again and he said “Well,
it is still normal.” He said “Maybe we should
cut you off of the medication, but you might as well use what you have and when
all your pills are gone, we will see how it is going to do.” He said “evidently
you have changed your lifestyle.” Well, all I can say is, I guess by the help of God, I am experiencing a little more of the peace of God. And I thank God for the peace of God
that passes understanding. It is available to all
Saints.
Let’s go on to the next one
|
Salvation |
Service |
|
7. To Do With Relationship John 1: 11-12 1 John 3: 2 |
7. To Do With Fellowship 1 John 1: 7 |
7. Salvation Has To Do With
Relationship
John 1: 11-12
(11) He came unto
his own, and his own received him not.
(12) But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them
that believe on his name:
And then I like this wonderful verse. It has
tremendous facts. If I talk about it constantly, I don’t think I can ever talk about it too
often.
1 John 3: 2
(2) Beloved, now
are we the sons of God.
How did you become a son of God? – by birth – by your rebirth.
By Salvation you are born into the family of God and you are a son of God right now.
You will not become a
son of God tomorrow. You won’t be any more a son
of God tomorrow. You won’t be any more a son of
God when you get to Heaven, than you are right now.
I am no more a son of my father today, than I was the night I was born. I was a
son by birth. When you are a son of God by birth – you are born into the family. Thank God we
belong.
Now this other side
7. Service Has To Do With Fellowship
Somebody said “Fellowship – that is two fellows in a
ship.” I don’t know whether that is good or not!
I want you to turn to 1 John. I can tell you a few
things that have happened in my lifetime, in doing what I am going to do. One
student, in the midst of it, who hadn’t been saved very long, and he hadn’t
changed much in the course of his language, broke right out in swear words, but
he swore right at me as I did what I am going to
do, so don’t you do that to me!
I want to read it interpretively.
I am going to deliberately insert something, for
the sake of you seeing something, before we get
to it.
1 John 1: 1-8
(1) That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we believers have seen with our believer’s eyes, which we believers have looked upon, and our believer’s hands have handled of the Word
of life:
(2) For the life
was manifested, and we believers have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you believers that eternal life, which was
with the Father, and was manifested unto us believers.
(3) That which we believers have seen and heard declare we believers unto you believers, that ye believers also may have
fellowship with us believers.
Now do you believe it is talking to believers? I am trying to get across to you that the
whole chapter is to believers. Is it not
possible for believers to have fellowship with other believers?
And truly our
fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.
I think you are quite sure that that is talking about believer’s fellowship with the
Father. That is only
believers.
(4) And these
things write we believers unto you believers, that your believer’s joy may be full.
(5) This then is
the message which we believers have heard of him, and declare unto you believers, that God is light, and in him
is no darkness at all.
(6) If we believers say that we believers have fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, we believers lie and we believers do not the truth.
(7) But if we believers walk in the light, as he is in
the light, we believers have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son goes on cleansing us believers from all sin.
(8) If we believers say that we believers have not sinned, we believers deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us believers.
Now, I did that to give
you this:
1 John 1: 9-10
(9) If we believers confess our believer sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us believers our sins and to cleanse us believers from all our unrighteousness.
(10) If we believers say that we believers have not sinned, we believers make him a liar, and his word is
not in us believers.
1 John 2: 1-2
(1) My little
children, these things write I unto you believers that ye sin not. And if any believer sins, we believers have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
(2) And he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for our believer’s sins only, but for the sins of
the whole world.
Can you see the distinction? To whom is this chapter
directed? – This chapter is not directed to the world. This chapter is directed to the world of believers. And what does it say in verse seven?
1 John 1: 7
(7) If we walk in
the light
Is it possible for believers to not walk in the light? If it were not possible, this statement would not be here.
But if we
believers walk in the light
What are we going to have? – We are going to have
fellowship with other believers. We have fellowship one with another.
God does not intend you
to walk in my light. I’ve been saved longer than
most of you and I should be walking in more
light than you. God intends every believer to
walk in the light that he has. You see, somebody who just gets saved, can’t walk in my light.
My problem is, and your problem, and our problem as Saints
is – we always are trying to make the other
fellow walk in our footsteps. We are trying to
make him walk in our light. And that is not
right. If you walk in the Light that God has
given you; and if I walk
in the Light that God has given me, we are going
to have fellowship with one-another. Even though you may have been saved for a
short time, and me for a long time – the key to fellowship is walking in the Light
that God gives to us. Walking in the light will be serving
the Lord – that is when you are walking in the
Light.
Illustration
It is rather sad, and yet, I am glad that I can tell
you this next story. I went to a camp meeting years ago, when I was a very
young preacher, and I witnessed something that I never want
to witness again. The preachers at the camp meeting could
not get along!
The Bible teacher would teach something in the morning,
and the Evangelist would get up at night and tear apart everything he said. The
Bible teacher would rebut the next morning, on what the Evangelist had said. By
Wednesday of the week, we were all ready to go
home, because there wasn’t any fellowship.
In those days they had prayer meetings early in the
morning. I love it – I read in Billy Graham’s Magazine just very recently, that
over in Korea they go to prayer at 4:30a.m. every
morning. There are thousands of people praying at
Well, at this camp
meeting, prayer was from
O Lord (I can still hear him) O Lord – to walk in the Light. (And he would be silent. And then, after a few moments of
silence), O Lord (I can still hear the groan) O Lord, to walk in the
Light.
That man said nothing but that
for sixty solid minutes – for one whole hour. I didn’t do any praying, I just
listened to him. And there I was kneeling beside him and he is pouring out this
word – O Lord, to walk in the Light.
I didn’t know my Bible then, and I didn’t know why he was praying like that. But that man knew his Bible. There were preachers who were not
having fellowship on the grounds, and they were trying to lead us, and he wasn’t trying to exhort them – he was holding on to God
Almighty.
O Lord, let these men walk in
the Light – because if we walk in the Light
We are going to have fellowship
one with another.
I’m glad I can line up my theology with God’s Word. Do
you know how to get in fellowship? – Walk in the Light.
If we walk in the Light as He is in the Light,
you won’t have to manufacture some artificial fellowship. It will be the real thing – because God
is the one who makes the fellowship. What happens when you serve? – You enjoy special fellowship with
the Lord.
Illustration
I have a little book, and in it are stories of famous
Christians. There is a story in here, and it makes me weep every time I read it
– a story about “Holy Anne.” Did any of you ever read the book on “Holy Anne?”
She died in
This little girl was so simple that she went to school
for seven days, only to be sent home, because they said she couldn’t learn
anything; so she was rendered out as a servant for people. In the due course of
time she became a Christian. She never went to school, so she couldn’t read. But this
book tells me she learned to read her Bible. God taught her to read her Bible. She couldn’t read a
newspaper, but she could read her Bible.
And in here, it is just amazing – the special fellowship this girl had with the Lord. She
would talk to the Lord about simple things, and the Lord would answer her. And
people all over the country would send for this girl for prayer – because she had
a special fellowship with the Lord. What I am
trying to tell you is, serving the Lord is not a drudgery.
It should not be a drudgery, because it is an
opportunity for God’s children to have special
fellowship with the Lord.
There is another story in the book about Peter
Cartright. Have you ever heard of Peter Cartright? You should read some of
those old stories. They will bless your heart. Peter Cartright was a Methodist
circuit-riding preacher. One story recounts the time when somebody was stealing
chickens. He always seemed to come up
with the answers. This was in the back woods of
On this occasion he said “When everybody comes
tonight, I am going to tell you who is stealing the chickens.” And so, he got a
rooster, and an old tub that had been placed on an open fire and had soot all
over the bottom of it.
Toward evening he said “We are going to put this
rooster under the blackened tub; we are going to stand in a circle and
everybody in the congregation is going to walk up and put his hands on the bottom
of the tub. And when the thief touches the
bottom of the tub the rooster is going to crow.
Cartright knew more
about roosters than that! But after everybody
went around, and the rooster didn’t crow, he said, “Now let’s see your hands.”
Everybody put out their hands, but there was one fellow who didn’t take any
chance. He had no soot on his fingers – because
it was on the bottom of the tub, and everybody else
touched it, but the thief. He said “there is your man.” He caught him!
The book tells about one night when he was riding his
horse. He was making his way for a Sunday teaching session and he came to an
Inn along the way. He had seven miles to go, but his horse was so tired that he
had to stop for the night. And I’ll tell you, Peter Cartright was walking with the Lord! He is one of those outstanding
men of history.
The Innkeeper said “We will do the best we can for you
– but this is Saturday night, and we always have a dance on Saturday night. You
won’t get much sleep, but if you can put up with the noise of the dance, you
are welcome to stay for the night.” Cartright said “Well, my horse has to rest
anyway, so I am going to stay for the night.”
They took down the dining room table, and got ready
for the dance. And here is this stranger sitting in the corner. The colored man
took his violin, and got it all ready to go, and one of the young ladies,
seeing this stranger in the corner, went over and said “Sir, would you honor me
when we have the first dance tonight? The preacher hesitated for a minute, and
then he said “I believe I will.”
He led the girl out to the center of the floor, and he
held on to both her hands, and he said “I have learned, in the last number of
years, that I should never do anything without praying first.
And so he dropped on his knees, and holding on to the girl’s hands, he started
to pray all Heaven down on the place. And as that man prayed, the girl dropped
to her knees, and cried out to God for Salvation.
Before the night was finished, fifteen people got saved. The meeting went on all Saturday night, and
all day Sunday. And by Sunday evening, thirty-two
people had been saved. Before he left,
the Innkeeper became the leader of the group, and a Methodist church was
started at that dance hall. I want to tell you, that kind
of thing is a special walk with the Lord. You
see, history is full of that. What I am trying
to tell you is that there is such a thing as fellowship
– not only with one-another, but fellowship with the Lord.
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Salvation |
Service |
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8. No Cost To You Revelation 22: 17 Isaiah 55: 1 Jesus paid it all, or he paid nothing at all. |
8. There Is A Cost To You Luke 9: 23-26 Luke 18: 29-30 Matthew 4: 18-22 |
8. Salvation Is No
Cost to You
I want you to notice that I didn’t
say “NO COST.”
It cost Jesus everything, but it doesn’t
cost you anything.
Revelation 22: 17
(17) And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And to him
that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life
freely.
We sing: Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. It doesn’t cost you
anything to get saved. Why? – Jesus paid it all – that is why. But if you are going
to serve the Lord, it is a different thing.
Isaiah 55: 1
(1) Ho every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy,
and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
8. Serving the Lord – There Will Be a Cost To You
This is where people need to see the difference. You do not
serve the Lord to get saved – you serve the Lord
because you are
saved.
Let’s turn to Luke. Jesus is talking.
Luke 9: 23
(23) And he said
to them all, If any man will come after me.
Remember the earlier point? – What is Salvation? – It
is coming to Christ. What is service? – It is following Christ – coming
after Christ.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself (on Sunday morning) and take up his cross and follow me.
That’s the way it is for most
Christians. But it doesn’t say that. It says: Let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 9: 24-26
(24) For whosoever
will save his life (Not
soul. Don’t read soul into that.) shall lose it; but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
(25) For what is a
man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
(26) For whoever
shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s and of the holy
angels.
All I want you to notice at this moment is – if you
are going to come after Jesus, you have to take
up your cross. What that means to everybody, I don’t know. But I want to say
this: basically the cross always involves the cost.
And it is going to cost you something, if you
are going to follow the Lord. Will you always
remember that?
Let’s turn to Matthew 4. It illustrates very well what
I am talking about. What is the cost involved in
discipleship?
Matthew 4: 18-20
(18) And Jesus,
walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew
his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
(19) And he saith
unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Now notice verse 20. What did it cost them?
(20) And they
straightway left their nets, and followed him.
Peter and Andrew did not
leave their nets in order to get saved. They
left their nets in order to serve the Lord. What
was their net? – Their business. Some people
have been called to leave their business to go
and serve the Lord.
Illustration
I never read that, but I think of my brother-in-law –
Eldon Johnson – who is in the land of Africa. Since 1950 he has spent most of
his life there. He was a young man, and the oldest son of his father. His
father was willing to retire earlier. He said “Eldon, you can have my farm and
farm it for me.” Eldon said he had a call on his
heart to be a missionary, but he thought he
would take over the farm and support missionaries.
I have heard Eldon tell this only once in all the times I have heard him speak. He said,
“One day in July, when the wheat was standing tall, and very green and
beautiful, God taught me, in five minutes, what He
could do. A hail storm came over, and it wiped out that crop, and took every
bit of it away. And while I was standing watching it, I made up my mind that I
better go to
God taught me that it could cost me a lot more to stay at home, than to go.” That is what Jesus is saying here.
Well, Peter and Andrew left their nets.
Matthew 4: 21-22
(21) And going on
from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his
brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called
them.
Now notice the difference
(22) And they
immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
For Peter, he didn’t have to leave his family, he only had to leave his business. But for James and John, they had to leave their father and their nets in order to follow Jesus.
You don’t have to leave your family to get saved,
but you may have to leave your family in order to serve.
You don’t have to leave your business to get saved,
but you may have to leave it if you are going to serve
the Lord. Can you see what I am talking about? There is a cost involved.
Now Luke 18. These are some very precious verses to me.
Earlier Peter had been called to follow Jesus. Now he says:
Luke 18: 28-30
(28) Then Peter
said, Lo we have left all, and followed thee.
(29) And he said
unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or
parents, or brethren or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
(30) Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
Now listen, you don’t have to leave your house to get saved, but you may have
to leave it to serve. You don’t have to leave
your parents to get saved, but you may have to leave them to serve.
You won’t have to leave your children or your
wife to get saved, but you might have to do it to serve.
One thing, to get very personal here, regarding Billy
Graham. Somebody says “Isn’t it wonderful that that man goes all over the world
preaching the Gospel. Isn’t it romantic!”
Listen, it has cost him
many a day and many a week, and many a month away from his wife, and away from
his family. God has been gracious to him, and he testifies to that. But listen,
he has had to do that for the
Illustration
My sister has lived in a mud house most of the time in
Africa for the Gospel’s sake. But the Lord says He is going to reward her.
When we got married,
the first house we had, we paid $6 a month for. If there is anything Anne
likes, it is a nice house. And that was a horrible one,
let me tell you that.
In 1955 we moved to the town of
So we moved into this brand new house in the fall, and
in the spring we received a call to Moose Jaw. We just got settled, and Anne
had the rooms decorated exactly the way she wanted. It was the first new house she was in.
We moved out of a brand new
house in Eston, and we went to the oldest house in
We moved back to Eston in 1959. I guess the Bible
School thought that if they got us a new house
they would keep us there. We went from rented house to rented house, and
finally, they brought in a shell of a house. We designed it and had it built on
Bible School property. We moved into it in 1965. In 1966, we had just settled
in a brand new house, and we received a call to go to Regina. My wife had to
move out of it again. And it has been like this ever since we got married –
from a beautiful house into nothing. And we aren’t complaining.
Now we are living in a suite, and I guess we will be in that until we go to
Heaven. What am I telling you? – we’ve had to leave house after house for the Gospel’s sake. You don’t do it to get saved, but you might have to do it to serve the Lord.
Let me tell you – after all these years of serving,
it’s worth it all. And it will be worth it all when we see Jesus.
We have been talking about the cost involved in service, emphasizing there is no
cost to you in order to be saved, but
there will be a cost involved to serve the Lord. And the cost will not be identical
from one to another. For some, it is house, for
some it is parents, for some it is brethren. For some, it may be wife
or children. But whatever it cost us to
serve the Lord, let me remind you of this: it will cost you more if you don’t. Will
you always remember that?
Illustration
I went visiting with Phil Davies back in 1949. We were
touring southern Saskatchewan, and we went into a home where a lady was sitting
in a wheelchair. I guess I will never forget this as long as I live. This dear
soul was now very aged, and had a shaking Palsy. She took my hand and she took
Phil’s hand as she sat in her wheel chair. She said: “Young men, let me tell
you something – when I was a young lady in England, the Lord called me to be a
missionary.” I tell this story not to scare
anybody, but just to illustrate.
She said “The Lord called me to be a missionary, but
my family and my friends persuaded me that it would cost
me too much to serve the Lord. So rather than go where I knew God wanted me to go, I chose to come to Canada,
and it was here that I married.” She finished her statement with this: “Boys,
it could never have cost me as much to have served
the Lord, as it has cost me not to serve the
Lord.”
Will you always remember that? The best place for any child of God, is in the will of God. And it is far
safer to be in the will of God in Africa,
than it is to be in Canada, out of the will of
God. I’ve simply used
You know, some people pray “Make me a missionary and I
will go any place – but please don’t send me to
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Salvation |
Service |
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9. Ends In Rapture
And Glorification 1 Thessalonians 4:
13-18 1 John 3: 2-3 Philippians 3: 20-21 Titus 2: 11-13 Romans 8: 30 The Rapture is not a reward. It is part of Salvation
which is all a free Gift to the one who
believes. |
9. Ends In Rewards And
Manifestation 1 Corinthians 4: 5 Revelation 22: 12 1 John 2: 28 Romans 14: 12 1 Corinthians 3: 8-15 Revelation 3: 11 |
9. Salvation Will End In
Rapture and Glorification
I don’t want to take anything for granted. What do I
mean by Rapture? Let’s go back to that wonderful
portion in First Thessalonians. What do I mean by Rapture? – Here is what I
mean:
1 Thessalonians 4:
13-18
(13) But I would
not have you to be ignorant brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
(14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
(15) For this we
say unto you by the word of the Lord that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
(16) For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
(17) Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
That is what I mean by “Rapture.” What
is ahead for every believer? – There is going to be a meeting
in the air. Did you ever hear it sung?
There’s going to be a meeting
in the air
And I am going to be there
Why am I going to be
there? And why are you going to be there? – Because
you are saved. Rapture is part of our Salvation. What do I mean by “Rapture?” This is what I mean:
1 John 3: 2-3
(2) Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we
shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
That’s what I mean by “Rapture.” That’s what I mean by Glorification. The end of my
Salvation is the Pledge of God, that I’m going to be like
Jesus Christ.
(3) And every man
that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
What do I mean by “Rapture” and “Glorification?” – This is what I mean:
Philippians 3:
20-21
(20) For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
(21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to
subdue all things unto himself.
I don’t have to read more.
What do I mean by Rapture and Glorification? I mean, the Day when the Lord Comes in the air, and the Day
the Lord changes us,
so our bodies are like His forever. Won’t that
be a great day! The Rapture is not a reward.
Will you get that! The Rapture is not a reward
for good behavior. It is part of our Salvation,
which, from beginning to end, is a free Gift.
I am going to go up in the Rapture – not because of what I have
done, but I am going up in the Rapture because of what Christ has done. He is my Salvation, and my hope is in
nothing but Jesus Christ.
Now we have to balance it on the other side. What is
the end of service?
9. Service Ends In Rewards and
Manifestation
Turn to 1 Corinthians 4. I want to say what I have to
say, very carefully and cautiously, as we read these words.
1 Corinthians 4: 5
Paul says:
(5) Therefore
judge nothing before the time
In the context, that may
create a problem for some. There are Scriptures
that tell me I am to judge. May I make a
distinction in passing, without proving it? You are to judge the actions of men, but you are not
to judge the motives of men. Will you
remember that little something! You have to judge the actions
of men. But you are not to judge the motives of men. Why? – Only the Lord knows the heart – that is
why!
Judge nothing before
the time (when
is the time?) until
the Lord come (what is the Lord going to
do when he comes?) who
both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts.
What’s the judgment of the believer going to be? – not
basically your outward action – the judgment is
going to be the inward condition.
Do you remember the case of Peter in John: 21 when
Peter had denied his Lord and we judge his action
for doing that? Jesus came to Peter and said: “Peter, do you love Me?” He didn’t say “you denied Me.” He didn’t say
one word about it. Jesus didn’t say “you cursed and swore.” He didn’t say a
word about it. He simply said “Do you love Me?”
And then He said again “Do you love Me?” And
then He said a third time “Do you love Me?” What was He doing? He was not examining his action,
He was examining his heart.
What is the Judgment Seat going to be? – An
examination of the hearts. And it is very
sobering. There is nothing more sobering than
this. God is going to bring to light, and manifest the counsels
of the hearts. But take heart everybody, and read it the way it is, and sees what it says, and have a glory spout like
I do whenever I read it.
And then shall every man have praise of God.
It doesn’t say that you
are going to praise God. The context is not
talking about the Judgment of the unsaved – it
is talking about the Judgment of the saved. When
the Lord comes, we are all going to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, He is going to make manifest the counsels of
our heart. And praise God, He is going to be
able to praise every believer. Do you know why?
Every believer, some time or other, will have done something
with his heart, as unto the Lord.
The thing that is going to bring reward, is not what you have done primarily with your hands, and
not what you have done primarily with your tongue. The thing that is going to
bring reward, is what you have done with your heart as for the Lord.
Illustration
May I illustrate? Let’s go to a Missionary meeting.
That’s where it hurts me most. When I go to a
Missionary meeting, and I have a dollar in my pocket book – (and believe me,
I’ve had lots of those times when I’ve only had
a dollar) – and the offering is taken for Missions, I take out my pocket book
and I so easily give the dollar. But, my heart says: “If I had a thousand,
I’d give it.” The Lord sees it, and He writes it in His Book. The Lord sees what
my heart said.
But, have you ever noticed, when you have a thousand
dollars in your pocket book, and the offering is taken – you have a dollar heart? Have you ever noticed that? Do you see
how people are made? The more you have, the smaller your
heart is. And the less you have, the bigger your heart is. I know that from experience.
I’ve gone to some very poor homes where all they had
were eggs and potatoes to serve, but there is always
room at the table for one more. People who don’t have much, have big hearts.
Maybe that is why God keeps so many of His Saints poor – because He is going to
reward them on the reckoning day.
Illustration
A Scotsman went to church in
the old days of the English money, I’m not sure if I know the money any more,
but he had intended to put in a Shilling, and he
put in a Crown. Afterwards, he went to the usher
and said “I made a mistake this morning – I put the wrong coin in the plate.
Could I get back the change?” The Scots usher said “No sir, I’m keeping what
I’ve got.” Well, he said “I’ll be rewarded for it anyway.” Oh no you won’t. Although you put a Crown in the plate,
you only had a Shilling heart, and the Lord is
going to reward you for the Shilling, not for the Crown.” God looks at your heart.
Illustration
I remember one church I pastored. I’m almost ashamed
to tell it. We used to make dough with dough pans, and that’s
what we used as offering plates. After our mission became a church, some of the
dignified people thought it was time we do something better
than passing dough pans around. So they had a meeting as to what kind of
offering plates we would buy. Would we buy these expensive silver-bordered
offering plates, or would we buy the bags with a long handle on it, that you could
stick under somebody’s nose.
I can remember that one
fellow stood up and he said “Don’t buy the bags, let’s buy the big open silver plates.”
If I was as old as I am now, I think I would have rebuked him on the spot. Here
is what he said: “A brother takes out his purse, and he puts in ten dollars. I
see him put in the ten dollars on the open plate, then that encourages me to put in ten dollars.” Oh the hypocrisy of that! You shouldn’t give a dollar because
somebody else is giving a dollar. You shouldn’t give ten dollars because
somebody else does it. There are things going on in this world, and I believe
that Saints are being robbed!
Illustration
I was in a meeting that I walked out of in Regina. A
big Evangelist from the States had put twelve chairs across the front. They
were taking a public offering from three-thousand people in the congregation. If
you promised to give, or would give a thousand dollars
that night, you could come and sit on the chair in front of the meeting. And
I’m sorry to say, that before he was finished, all twelve chairs were filled.
The only thing that was wrong
with that is, I happened to know one of those men. One of those men was from a
little church in southern Saskatchewan where the pastor
was starving, and didn’t have enough money to live on. And there was this
man, sitting in this big meeting, parading his thousand dollar gift! Listen,
God hates it. God despises it. When it comes to your giving,
let not your
right hand know what your left hand doeth.
When it comes to tithing,
that is a different thing. Tithing is one thing, but giving
is another thing. The only kind of gifts that are going to count at the
Judgment Seat, are the gifts given from your heart.
Have you ever noticed this about singing? God basically
has made two kinds of people. God has made Canaries and Crows. Canaries were
made to sing. Crows were not meant to sing. Some
of you people may belong to the Crows. The crows
can really identify with this.
A beautiful singer stands up and sings a solo on
Sunday morning, and the crow says “My, if I had a voice like that, I’d sing and
sing and sing for the Lord.” The Lord sees it and writes it down in his Book.
But have you ever noticed that some people who can sing, have to be coaxed
to sing. And the people who can’t sing – the
people who can’t even carry a tune, are singing all the time. Have you noticed that?
The old professor was trying to teach a woman to sing,
and he threw up his hands in despair. He said “I play the white keys and I play
the black keys, and all the time you sing in the cracks!”
There are people who are always singing in the cracks,
but I tell you, they are making a joyful noise
unto the Lord. And that joyful noise they are making unto the Lord is going to
be rewarded – because the Lord is looking at the
hearts. Are you getting the point of the text?
Then will make
manifest the counsels of the hearts
I was on a board of a camp, before I should have been,
because I was too young
to know anything about it. It was back in the days when they had just started
bringing in these professionals. I’ve got a lot of thought about these
professionals, because of some things done back then.
Back in the thirties (the depression) somebody heard
the name of a big singer from a way down east, and somebody had written and
said “Let’s have this singer come and sing at the camp.” We wrote him a letter,
and he wrote back (remember, this was in the depression
- in the thirties) “I will come and sing two solos a night if you pay my
expenses both ways, and if you pay me one-hundred dollars a day.”
On the board was dear brother Hallelujah Brown. He
said “Brethren, let’s forget the big singer, and let’s go find a little
seven-year-old girl that will come on the platform, and stand and sing from her
heart unto the Lord. The Lord will be more pleased with some little girl who will sing to the
Lord with all of her heart, than some big fellow who has to be paid one-hundred
dollars to sing a song.”
I’m all with that! And I think it is time we all realized that! The thing that pleases the Lord is
what you do with your heart. Again I say, the Lord
is going to see, that some time or other, you have done something with your heart, and he is going to praise every saint!
Revelation 22: 12
(12) And behold, I
come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
You don’t work to get
saved. You don’t work to keep saved. But you
work to please the Lord, and the Lord has
promised that when he comes, he is going to reward
every believer for his work. Isn’t that gracious? Somebody says “I’m not
interested in rewards.” There is something wrong with you if you are not!
1 John 2: 28
We must be consistent
with interpretation. John has written to believers.
(28) And now,
little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
I just want to ask you one thing. Is it possible that
when the Lord comes there will be believers who will be ashamed? That’s not talking to the
world – that is talking to you. There is a possibility of saints being ashamed at the day of
reward – at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Let me go back to Luke 9, where I read earlier, and
let me tie this in with what we have read. I’m going to read again starting from
verse 23, but this time I want you to observe
verse 26.
Luke 9: 23-25
(23) And he said
to them all, If any man will come after me (service, discipleship) let
him
V deny himself, and
V take up his cross, and
V follow me.
(24) For whosoever
will save his life shall lose it;
If you are going to try to keep
your life for yourself, you are going to lose it
– not your soul, but your life. You try and keep your life for yourself, you are going to lose
it.
but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
For Jesus’ sake! Jesus is going to see that it is saved. That’s a wonderful promise.
(25) For what is a
man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself or be cast away?
Paul says in
1 Corinthians 9:
27
(27) But I keep
under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway (a crack pot – put up on the shelf,
useless, no longer a service to God. It is possible for God’s children to no
longer be a service to him.)
Luke 9: 26
(26) For whosoever
shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he
shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s and of the holy angels.
1 John 2: 28
(28) And now,
little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him
at his coming.
Listen, if you are going to
be ashamed of the Lord, the Lord is going to be
ashamed of you. Study
to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who
needeth not to
be ashamed.
When I go up in the Rapture, Romans teaches that I am going to go up
clothed with the Righteousness of Christ. My
clothing will be spotless and white – His
righteousness.
But when I come back with the Lord, I’m going to be clothed in my Righteousness (what I
have done.) My clothing will be what I have
done.
Revelation 19: 7
(7) Let us be glad
and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come.
In the context of Revelation 19:9, it is talking about
the marriage Supper of the Lamb. Why do I know it is the supper? – I’m going to
read it the way that it isn’t so you will see it
the way that it is.
And his BRIDE hath made herself ready-- NO!
Does it say that? It doesn’t say the BRIDE
has made herself ready. It says the WIFE has made herself ready. What is the difference
between the bride and the wife? – The wedding.
Who goes to the supper? – Not the bride – the
bride goes to the marriage. But after the marriage, the wife goes to the supper. And
this is the supper - where the wife gets ready
for the supper.
I don’t have to make myself
ready to go up in the Rapture, to be married to my Lord – He has done that. But there is another aspect of the Coming
of the Lord. The Lord is going to return, and when He returns, I am going to
come back – not in His Righteousness, but in mine.
Read the next verse
Revelation 19: 8
(8) And to her (to the wife) was
granted that
she should be arrayed in fine linen.
Isaiah says that all our
Righteousness are as filthy rags. Do you see the work of the unsaved? – It is clothing, but it is filthy rags. What is the Righteousness of God? – A beautiful garment.
that she should be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness
of saints.
The Righteousness is not
of Jesus Christ – but of the Saints! Somebody
says “Does it matter that I live right?” – Yes it does – not to make the Rapture, but it matters how you live because of:
V the Day of Judgment, and
V the Day of the Reward, and
V the Day of the Return.
It matters in the light of what is ahead on the program. You are going to be manifest.
How is service going to end? It is going to end with rewards
and manifestation. What is going to be manifest?
– Our works as Christians. They are going to be
sorted out.
Illustration
You may find this hard to believe. It is no wonder
that I didn’t get much education. I went to a school room where grades 1 to 12
were all in the same room. Grade 1 was the first few seats, and grade 2 the
next and so on. One teacher was trying
to teach 12 grades, and when I was very small, I would have to stand in front
of those students in the higher grades.
In grade 4, we had our “readers” that we had to read
from. As we sat in the row, we would know when we would have to read. Believe
it or not, I was a nervous kid when I was little.
Some people can hardly believe that now.
My turn would come, and I’d stand up in front of the
class to read from my reader. I would know my turn was coming, and I’d know
what I had to read, because I would memorize it
the night before. I would be standing in front of, what to me, was a big crowd,
and I would be holding my book upside-down. Since then I have always had a soft
heart for people who say “I find it hard to do something in public.”
I’d like to tell you about my brother Arnold who had a
nervous breakdown. On one occasion a father of a bride insisted that he give
the toast at this particular wedding. And
As we were going in to the reception, Arnold came to
me and said “Lorne, I can’t give this toast, I just can’t do it. Will you do it
for me?” We didn’t say a word. We went in, and the time came. Fortunately, the
M.C. said “And now brother Pritchard will give the toast.” He didn’t say which one, so I stood up and gave the toast for my
brother, because he couldn’t do it.
I had a feeling for him,
because I went through that when I was young. I
tell you, when I would have that turn at reading, I would go home at night and
I would have a nightmare. You think you have had any problems – I’ve
had them. I’d have nightmares and I’d waken up in the middle of the
night in a cold sweat. Do you know why? – I’d see myself standing in front of
the class with my reader, with my underwear on!
Well, what’s wrong with underwear? – it isn’t enough!
There are some Christians who are going to stand
before the Lord, and they are going to be ashamed
because they are going to be scantily clothed in
their righteousness – because we are going to be
manifest on that day. So somebody comes along
and says “Brother, do you believe in the grace of God?” I sure do. That
is why I want to behave myself. I want to behave myself, because I am going to
have to give an account of myself – and so are you.
Romans 14: 10 is talking about us. And in the context
it is talking about the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Romans 14: 10
(10) But why dost
thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we
shall all stand before the judgment seat
of Christ. No
exception.
Now verse 12. They are very sobering words. Are you
saved? Do you know the Lord?
Romans 14: 12
(12) So then every one of us (no exceptions, nobody excused) every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
That is sobering. I’m
going to behave, not to make it. I’m going to behave, because I can’t miss it. It won’t
be like a dentist appointment. You won’t be able
to cancel out.
Have you ever seen yourself? The Lord is going to have
all kinds of time for each of us. And that verse teaches that each of us will
have a personal interview with the Lord Himself.
He’s going to have time for all of us as individuals.
Do you remember the case of Peter? When Peter had
denied his Lord, all the Lord had to do is look
at him, and he went out and wept. Somebody says “Will there be any tears in
Heaven?” – Yes. God is finally
going to wipe away all tears, – but there are
going to be tears. Where? – At the Judgment Seat
of Christ.
Remember
The New Testament says “His Righteous
soul was vexed every day.” His Righteous
soul! He is going to face the Lord, and I think when he looks into the face of
the Lord, he is going to weep. I’d rather live
so I wouldn’t weep
when I see him – wouldn’t you? Every one of us will give
an account of himself.
Colossians 3: 23-25
(23) And
whatsoever ye do (this
is far better than the Law of Moses) do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men;
Can you see that that
verse says there are two ways of doing anything?
You can either do what you do as unto the Lord,
or you do it as unto men.
Let’s go on with the context
(24) Knowing that
of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
(25) But he that
doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect
of persons.
Basically, in the context – what is doing right? Doing right is
doing what you do with your heart to the Lord.
What is doing wrong? Doing wrong is doing what
you do for yourself or for some other man.
Turn to Matthew as illustration.
Matthew 6: 1-2
(1) Take heed (that’s a red flag. That is a sign by the
side of the road saying “pay attention”) that ye do not your alms (your
giving, your good deed) before men, to be seen of
them: (Why?) otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in
heaven.
Isn’t that plain?
(2) Therefore when
thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do
in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.
Do you know what I have written in my Bible? – “Payment
in full.” They have their reward. Listen, if you
do anything to merely be seen of men, or to
receive glory from men – when men see you, Jesus writes “paid in full, reward
accomplished, deed finished.”
Why do you testify? Why do you go to the house of God? Why do you sing in the choir? Why
do you give your money? God’s Word searches – if you do it for the glory of men – for someone to say “What a wonderful Christian
he is” or “look how he supports.” If you do it for men
– when men see you do it – the Lord says “no reward.”
You shall receive
for the wrong you have done.
What is doing right? – Doing
as to the Lord. What is doing wrong? – Doing as unto men.
Revelation 3: 11
(11) Behold, I
come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
What are crowns in the Bible? – Rewards. What does it say? “Let no man take your crown” Is it possible for Saints to lose rewards?
Illustration
I don’t know what year it was, but back in the early
thirties there were missionaries by the name of Wagner, in South America, who
used to visit us. It was in the heart of the depression when things were hard
and tough. In the fall of the year, my Dad had it on his heart to send
one-hundred dollars to this missionary. He argued with himself. He didn’t have it . How would he do it? And the Lord seemed to
say “sell that black three-year-old colt you have in the barn. Sell the colt
and send the money to the missionary.” My Dad argued “I need that colt. I’ll keep that colt, I’ll put my crop in, and after
the crop, I’ll sell it -- and I will send the money then.”
I can remember, about the last week of March, we got a
phone call from a neighbor to come, because one of our horses was in trouble.
Down in what we used to call a “slough,” our neighbor had a sheep fence made of
page wire. Some of it had blown into this slough. This beautiful three-year-old
black colt went in to get a drink and got his feet all tangled up in the page
wire. He worked himself down into it and was in there for days and days.
Finally our neighbor found the colt.
We went down on a Sunday morning with a stone boat and
we pulled that colt out of that hole. We took it home and my Dad did
everything. We worked all day and all night, to try and revive that horse, but
we had to dig a hole and we buried it.
About the same time, my folks got a letter from those missionaries.
It read “On such a date, we desperately needed one-hundred dollars, and someone
in the United States sent us the hundred dollars. We thought you Pritchards
would be glad to hear about it, so we are writing to tell you how the Lord
supplied our need.”
I’ll tell you, my Dad never
got over that. My Dad was a very generous man after that, because God really
talked to him. He said he kept the horse for himself.
He not only lost the horse, but somebody else had sent the money. Who is going to get the
reward? Let no man take thy crown. God has a job
for each one of us to do – and if we won’t do it
– it will be done – somebody will do it. But the one who does it, will be the one
who gets the reward.
Revelation 3: 11
(11) Behold, I
come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Rather a strange statement – “take
thy crown.” It seems to me that there are crowns that are already ours, reserved for a job for us to do. And if we do not
do our job, somebody is going to do it. Now
let’s go to Philippians to illustrate what I am talking about.
Philippians 2: 25-30 Paul says
(25) I supposed it
necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and
fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
(26) For he longed
after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
(27) For indeed he was sick nigh unto death:
He is talking about another brother in the ministry,
and he almost killed himself. Why? He goes on and says
But God had mercy
on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon
sorrow.
(28) I sent him
therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and
that I may be the less sorrowful.
(29) Receive him
therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation:
(30) Because for the work of Christ he was
nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
Can you see it all coming together there? Here is a
man who had worked triple shift. He had done beyond his duty. Why did he have to do beyond his duty? – Because they
weren’t doing theirs. And Paul says Epaphroditus
almost killed himself in the work of the Lord, in fact he got sick doing the Work of the Lord.
That wouldn’t fit in with everybody’s theology, but
there it is in the Bible. He got sick, because he was doing the job for somebody else.
Well, who’s going to get the reward? – Not the one who didn’t
do their work. This man did double his work, and
I’m sure that he is going to get the reward. And
that is why it says “let no man take your crown.”
If you don’t do your
work, it is going to
be done. But you are not going to
get the crown. 1 Corinthians 3 talks about this whole business of working for
the Lord.
1 Corinthians 3:
8-13
(8) Now he that planteth and he that watereth are
one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.
I think every word is so important. God is just. Every
man will receive his own reward, according to
his own labour.
(9) For we are
labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.
(10) According to
the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid
the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
(11) For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
(12) Now if any
man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, (that is one sort of building material) wood, hay, stubble (that
is another sort of building material).
You will notice there are three
things that are permanent, and there are three things that are perishable.
Wood, hay and stubble – perishable. Gold, silver, precious stones – permanent.
(13) Every man’s work (notice it is not plural – works) shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it,
because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try
every man’s work of what sort it is.
Now sort it out. What kind of work? – Whether it is
gold, silver, precious stones; or wood, hay, stubble. What does the fire do to wood? – it reduces it from a big pile to a small one. What does
fire do to hay? – it reduces
it. What does fire do to stubble? – It reduces it. And what is wood? – Dead tree. What is hay? – Dead
grass. What is stubble? – Dead stalks.
What do you have in this portion? – You have live works and you have dead
works. You have works that will stand the fire.
Fire purifies gold and makes it better. Fire makes silver
better. But I want to tell you – fire reduces the other group to ashes. There is nothing
much left.
So what kind of works
are we doing? Are we doing live works, or are we
doing dead works? Are we doing things that are
going to remain? Or are we doing things that are
going to be burned up? That’s the passage, and
that’s what it is talking about.
I think of the Grace of
God. He is going to remove all the wood, hay and stubble. Won’t that be great
when it is all taken out of the road. You can have an awful lot of wood, but
you don’t have to have very much gold, to have
the same value.
Wood, hay and stubble are not very valuable. And what
is it that makes it worth while? – In Colossians we read “Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the
Lord, and not to men.” If you
do what you do as to men, it is wood, hay,
stubble. But if you do it from the heart, as
unto the Lord, you are sending up gold, silver and precious stones.
Let’s go on and read more.
1 Corinthians 3:
14-15
(14) If any man’s
work abide which he hath built thereupon,
he shall receive a reward.
(15) If any man’s
work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
If somebody takes your
crown – can you see where the loss is going to be in there? If somebody takes your crown – all you put together is wood, hay and
stubble. And then when somebody else has done
the job you should have done, you are going to lose your crown. You are not
going to lose your soul. You are not going to lose your life.
But you are going to suffer the loss of your reward.
That’s what it is talking about. So let no man take your
crown. Don’t let anybody rob you of that which God has in store for you.
Brief Review
In these lessons, on the general theme of the doctrine
of Salvation, we have followed a plan. First, by illustration, using the three
crosses, we illustrated what it means to be saved.
And much more than that – what it means to be lost.
Then, we asked and answered the question from Acts 15:
1 “How are we saved?” We concluded that we are
saved by Grace through
Faith. Thirdly, we pointed out the difference
between Before and After
Salvation.
In our last lesson, we have shown the difference
between Salvation and Service. We do not serve
to be saved, we serve because we are saved. We do not end
with Salvation, we begin with Salvation.
God gives us something, in order to have something to
do something with. Aren’t you glad Salvation is something God gives to us? And because He
gives, we can give.