Address—G.H. Hayhoe
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
The President, it's on my heart to speak of two things, particularly hitherto and henceforth. And there are two scriptures that I had particularly on my mind, and I trust with the Lord's help we can look at them first. One brings before us hitherto, the other one brings for us. And forth with every one of us there's a hitherto up to this moment, there is a henceforth, if the Lord leaves us here, and we would surely desire that the henceforth also might be for Him.
And surely we can say or saying, as we often do, we'll praise Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that's to come. Well, he'd like to turn then to First Samuel, Chapter 7.
I'd like to begin at the third verse.
And Samuel spake unto all the House of Israel, saying, If you do, return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Balaam and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only.
Samuel said gather all of Israel to Mizpah.
And I will pray for you unto the Lord. And they gathered together unto Mizpah, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said, There we have sinned against the Lord. Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpah.
When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mesbah, the Lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry under the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it for a burnt offering fully unto the Lord. Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew dear to battle against Israel.
But the Lord thundered with a great Thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them, and they were smitten before Israel. The men of Israel went out to Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them until he came unto Beth Car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto the Lord helped us.
So here we have this beautiful little expression. Hitherto the Lord helped us. We see a situation in the nation of Israel. Taylor had come in. Things weren't as they should be. The ark of God had been taken from its place too, as much that would indeed humble them and cast them down. But isn't it very lovely to see that there was a turning to the Lord on this occasion?
A Recognizing of Him, and of His goodness, and of his grace.
And so we we process that this time will be a time of blessing to each one of us.
Tells us in the opening verses of this 2nd 7th chapter that the ark of the Lord had been carried away out of Shiloh. People had really departed from the Lord, but the Lord's heart hadn't changed toward His people.
It's very wonderful in the Scripture to notice that God's assurances of love for his people are at times when we might least have expected it.
Was when a wilderness was completed with all its failures that we read? Yeah, he loved the people. All his Saints are in thy hands.
It was when Jeremiah was announcing judgment upon them for their departure that we read that wonderful verse. I'll love thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
It was when children, when the disciples were just about to display their unfaithfulness and forsake the Lord and flee, that we have those wonderful words in.
John 13.
He says having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. The only church that it mentions the Lord's love to his people is the one who's the last one, the one where we might say we'd expected the least. It says as many as I love our rebuke and chasten. So if there's anyone here and you feel well, I've got called toward the Lord. I wonder if he still loves me Well, I want to assure you the very beginning of this meeting that he loves you with an unchanging.
00:05:06
Love, He wants to draw you back to Himself, encourage you, and sure you can, surely you can say too, as Israel did. He, or hitherto the Lord has helped us. Where would any of us be, brethren, if it hadn't been for His help, His grace, His goodness to us in spite of all that we are?
Well, Samuel speaks to them now. On this occasion failure had come in.
But as I say, the Lord's love toward them the same. And Samuel sought to draw their hearts back to himself, but he saw that there was a hindrance.
And perhaps as we look at our own lives, perhaps as some of us are sat in these meetings and we have thought of how we too have grown cold, we have lost our first love. You don't love the Lord and follow Him like we should. Perhaps we might say, well, I think my heart has been stirred. I do want to live more for Him.
What we find here that Samuel says that he says.
Put away, therefore, if he returns, if you do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and asterisk from among you. I don't think there are any of us that have idols like they had in their poems, but we can have idols. We read that in First Epistle of John. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Perhaps to say briefly, an idol is anything that comes between.
Our souls and the Lord.
That gives something to a place, a place to something that puts out the Lord.
And we can be taken up with so many things that become idols to us. Well, when Samuel said this, there was an action on the part of the people. And brother, and I hope our hearts have been stirred that if there is anything in my life or in your life is hindering us, going on to the Lord, hindering us living for him. Henry is giving him his rightful place in our life, that we'll have the grace to do what it says they did. They put away those strange gods, little children.
Keep yourselves from idols. Oh, may the Lord give us grace to do this, because the Lord must have first and only place in our hearts He's worthy. He's done everything that love could do to win that place in our hearts. And He's jealous for that place, that in all things He might have the preeminence. So they did, they put away these things, and then it says they served the Lord only.
You have a lovely little hymn that expresses this.
Take down our hearts and let them be forever closed to all but thee. He might have that place.
It's interesting when the Millennial Temple is built, it speaks about the Eastgate, the place where the Lord entered, and it says no one should enter by that gate. It was shut to everyone else but Him.
Shout to everyone else but Him all there's a place in our hearts that no one else should get. Belongs to the Lord. He must have the preeminence willingly gathered together here it says, and they acknowledge that they had sinned. And then it tells us that.
Samuel drew water and poured it out before the Lord. Well, I'm sure all of us can understand what this means. There's a verse that says we're like water spilled upon the ground which cannot be gathered up again. And to me it is pouring out of water was just an expression of their own helplessness. Perhaps you use the expression yourself. Oh, I just felt like water in the presence of that problem.
I just felt I couldn't do anything. Well, that's really the position that they were taking.
And as the possession the Lord wants us to take.
Now in the world there's.
Group called Promise Keepers and they're making promises and making the promises sound quite nice, but.
Bible tells us not to have any confidence in the flesh. Never make a promise that you're not going to do something, because we're most likely to do it.
The children of Israel did that, and before they Moses had received the 10 commandments, they were breaking the first one.
Peter made a promise. He said even if all the other disciples denied the Lord, he never would. Was he sincere? I'm perfectly sure that he was very sincere. I know he loved the Lord. He didn't know his own heart.
And we don't know our own hearts too. Scripture says he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. So I think the little picture here of pouring out water was they put away the strange God as they might have felt, but we really accomplished something. We put this out of our life. But when he's going to judge them and he says just took water and poured it out, were helpless.
00:10:08
Oh, let us forever remember this and look up to the Lord daily and say, Lord, keep me.
I can't keep myself. He's the only one that can keep us from stumbling, and He's able to, and to Him that is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
Well, when this took place, why then another element comes in here and they were worried about this.
These are the Philistines. I think most of us know who the Philistines were. They were the inhabitants of the land before the children of Israel entered, and they were ones that the children of Israel seemed unable to put out. I believe they bring to us the power of the enemy from within, and how often we see that the enemy works not only from without, but from within.
And so the Philistines gathered together against Israel.
And as soon as you make a decision that you want to please the Lord, that you want to follow him and acknowledge him, or you're going to find that Philistines are going to gather together against you, it'll work out something that's going to make it very hard for you to put the Lord 1St and to give him the first place in your plans. Maybe a very near friend, somebody that you really have had a good friendship with and really liked them, could even be someone because.
Because the Philistines dwelled in the land. They weren't people from outside the land. They dwelled in the land. Maybe some friend. I know a dear girl long ago. She really showed a nice desire to please the Lord, but she kept one friend, one friend that really constantly kept dragging her back. And that friend was, in the end, the means of hindering her.
And so tells us here the Philistines gathered together, and the children of Israel were afraid.
Well, might they be afraid Philistines were too strong for them?
Giants Goliath was a giant of the Philistines. In fact it was a whole family of giants and then been for the goodness of God, they never could have overcome those giants. They're still giants in the land too. Still those that are too much for us, but not for the Lord. And so they gathered together and they say to Samuel sees not to pray for us. Well, we do need to pray for one another.
With remarked how the Lord.
Brings before us in his word how Samuel prayed for the people here. Now Paul prayed for the Saints when they were going on. Well, this was at a point where you might say they'd done a lot of wonderful things. They put away the strange gods. They'd come to Samuel and said, pray for us. It was left. It was very nice, but he needed to pray for them. Let's pray for those who were going on well, pray for the ones who show a desire, because Satan knows that and he came out.
In the in the Philistines. And they gathered together great hosts of them. And it tells us here. What did Samuel do? Ninth verse. And Samuel took a sucking lamb and offered it for a bird offering holy unto the Lord. And Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. I think this sucking lamb speaks of dependence. Oh, how needful this is.
That we learn this thing in our life dependence upon the Lord and we constantly recognize that without Him we can do nothing. Paul also could say, though I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me, what is often said, I never measure yourself and say, I think I can do that because the Lord may let you realize you can.
The Greek question is not whether you can do it.
But does the Lord want you to do it? Does the Lord want you to do it? And if He wants you to do it, He'll give you the strength to do it. He'll never say to you, I'd like you to do that little service for me, but I don't know whether I can give you the strength to do it if He wants you to do it, as the verse says.
No man go to warfare at his own charges. Was there ever a young man that went to enlist in the services and the services? The officer?
Said to him, Well, you can provide your own uniform, you can wrap your own health. If you can provide your own ammunition, we'll accept you never.
They said if we accept you, you become our responsibility and we'll look after you. No man goes to warfare at his own charges. And so when Samuel offered up this sucking lamb to me, it brings before us the thought of dependence. Said we can't handle these Philistines, but if we're dependent on the Lord, he can look after this whole situation.
00:15:23
And he did. And he did. Tells us the philosophy Philistines came.
And they came in full power too. But it tells us here. 10th verse.
And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great Thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomforted them, and they were smitten before Israel. The Lord took the whole matter in his hands. He took care of them. Oh, what confidence does I say, Brethren, these meetings are coming to a close.
And sometimes I think of the time the children of Israel.
Or at least the disciples are meant to say went up into that mount of transfiguration. They saw the Lord Jesus transfigured before them. I would think it was perhaps one of the brightest and happiest experiences of their life. And then when they were going to put Moses and Elias on the same ground with the Lord, cloud said, the cloud overshadows them in the voice of the Father said.
This is my beloved son. Hear him.
Now when the cloud was passed, they saw no man save Jesus only.
I often thought that when that happened, they thought we can meet anything. Now we've had this wonderful experience. We just can handle every problem that comes up.
When they came down from the mount, the first problem they met they couldn't handle.
The first problem they met, they couldn't handle. This man came along with a child that had an unclean spirit and they couldn't cast him out. Isn't it so?
And you'll often find us I'd in my own life. One time I thought I really had a wonderful Christian experience and the Lord let me realize how very weak I was The very next day. Oh, you know, we have no strength of our own. And so tells us here. They were smitten before Israel because they had recognized they were thoroughly dependent on the Lord.
They're sucking lamb and we need to just look to the Lord in dependence.
Every moment of the day, with good little verse we can pray over and over again. Preserve me, O God, for indeed do I put my trust. Whatever you see a difficult situation coming, don't say I think I can handle that. But preserve me, O God, for indeed do I put my trust.
Bill tells us here in this 12TH verse.
Then Samuel took a stone, he set it between Mizpah and Shan, called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us?
And as we look back on our lives, we look back on our time here.
I think we can all say this.
Hitherto the Lord hath helped us so many times we have found ourselves.
Difficult situations, situations that were overwhelming in themselves, and we had to confess that we weren't very strong Christians.
That we were just like the children of Israel. He had neglected the Lord, The ark had been neglected. They had taken up with strange gods. Oh, and they looked in their past. They might well be humbled. But here they say, hitherto the Lord has helped us, and we can look back and praise Him. It's a little song. Slather heat again. We'll praise Him for all that is past and trust Him for all that's to come. Before we turn on though, I wish to say again.
Let's not forget this very important lesson that I believe is brought before us here, that the path of blessing is the path of obedience and dependence. Recognize their own health is just pouring out the water. They offered up this sucking lamb. They were dependent on the Lord. The Lord took care of the whole situation and a Philistines were defeated.
And great blessing came as a result.
Now the other one, perhaps a well known 1, is in Second Corinthians chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.
Beginning at the 14th verse.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh, yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh.
00:20:20
Yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Creature, or there is a new creation, old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath committed to us the ministry of reconciliation, to which that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God.
We have made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Well, I'm sure you noticed the word henceforth. I believe it comes in three times. Here the hitherto of our life is past. Up to this moment we have certainly proved the goodness of God, medicine, our sins, and saved us. You know how many mercies have followed us. But there is the henceforth.
The Lord leaves us in a very short time. We'll be going our own ways, back to our own homes, back to our business, back to the assemblies where we come from. There's a henceforth. If the Lord leaves us here may not be very long. I hope it won't. We're looking for the Lord Jesus to come. We can't change the past. The hitherto is past, forever past. We can't change one thing that has taken place there.
But we have the henceforth of our lives, and Paul is Speaking of this. He has talked in this chapter about the judgment seat of Christ when all is going to be made manifest, and he sought to live in view of that time. He couldn't change the past, as I say, but there was a henceforth in his life and where he began, it says.
In the 14th verse.
For the love of Christ constraineth us.
Because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Well, here what here we see what gives us the power for the path that's yet ahead of us. And what is that? Well, it's the enjoyment of the love of Christ. You know, brethren, just to illustrate this, I've often used the illustration of a magnet because this verse doesn't say the love of Christ should constrain us. It states that as an absolute fact.
Why is it so then you say that we are not always constrained by His love. We allow other motivations to come into our lives. We don't follow the Lord like we should. We don't live for Him like we should.
But it says here as an actual fact, the love of Christ constraineth us. Well, Susan, I were to have a magnet here in my hands, and there were some nails here on the floor. I wouldn't stand here and say, now what this magnet should. I wouldn't use the word should. I would say this magnet moves nails.
And you say, well, they're not moving much the matter. They're not moving. I don't see anything. You say this magnet moves nails. What is the problem? What is the difficulty? There's nothing wrong with that magnet. It has all the force within it that's necessary.
But the nails are too far away, they're not close enough. And sometimes, brethren, we're like Peter. We follow a far off and we don't feel the constraint of His love. We acknowledge our hearts are cold. Is it because His love is diminished toward us? Never, never. As we said at the beginning, it's always the same. And He assures us of at Evening Times we most need it.
So I say to you, what was the real good magnet this?
Nothing wrong with this magnet. Well, what would I do? I get close, James says draw an eye to God and he will draw nigh to you. So I bring the bag that down and I get close to those nails and they jump. They jump right up to the magnet. There is plenty of pull in the magnet.
00:25:01
Just the that the magnet needed to be close and you know we do. We're like Peter. Sometimes I say we follow a far off Peter. Did the Lord love Peter when he was following a far off? Yes, yes, He said, I prayed for thee that thy faith failed not he knew he'd get discouraged when this happened and well, he he might well we might too if he looked at ourselves. And so the magnet comes down.
Those are aluminum nails. There you could have the most powerful magnets that you like.
The aluminum nails would not move. Wasn't there rusty nails There doesn't make any difference whether they're rusty or whether they're shiny and the magnet comes down. They feel the pool of that magnet. You get pretty rusty too. Sometimes we allow the influences of the world to make it pretty rusty, and we're not fresh as we should in that. But all how wonderful, isn't it very often true? We come to a meeting, our hearts were cold and we come away and the hearts.
3rd Because magnets come close, we have felt the warmth of the love of Christ constraineth us.
Constrains us, drawing power that we should not live unto ourselves. Where will those nails go?
Do they have a pre designed plan where they're going to go? Do they choose where they're going to go? You know, and the magnet comes close. They just go wherever the magnet takes them, magnet moves them around. As long as they're close to the magnet, they're moved. And the Lord has various plans for each one of us, to every man his work. He didn't put us all in the same assembly. He didn't put us all in the same school, the same university.
For us all the same, John, He put us in the place where He wanted us, and that we could be for him. The love of Christ constraineth us, that we should not live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. How much time have we got left for this henceforth, henceforth, I don't know, you don't know.
Lord may take us away very soon at his coming. It'll be a wonderful thing.
But you know it's a privilege to live in this world for Him, and He's left us here, brethren, for that purpose, that we should not live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. So he will direct you. He gives you direction in His word.
Were decisions that we make according to His Word, there are also things that as we're near to Him, He shows us His mind and will. And so we need the two things in our lives, the reading of the Word which gives us positive direction and end prayer for all those very little situations that arise in life. Lord, what shall I do in this situation?
And he gives us guidance. So it says we should not live unto ourselves.
But unto him who died for us.
And rose again. Yes, he paid an awful price, a tremendous price, and we might belong to him.
Were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
There he says another thing. Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh, He, though we have known Christ after the flesh, it now henceforth know Him no more. Perhaps that little phrase might be a little difficult. It just simply means that when the Lord Jesus was here after the flesh, He was born of the tribe of Israel, and He said He was sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
But now his salvation goes out to the ends of the earth.
We know him as the one who's head of new creation, Benny, Mamdi and Christ. I believe the correct translation is there is a new creation in that new creation. You and Jen Paler 1.
Can inform societies of.
Those of similar trades, you're interested. If you're a mechanic, you might belong to that kind of a club or something, or your businessman, you might belong to another. What is it that brings us together? It's not because we have a common trade or something. It's because God has brought us into the family of God. As I looked at this audience, I don't believe there's one person in this room that I would even know if I hadn't been brought into the family of God.
And being brought into the family.
Of God I am brought into that circle of fellowship, the fellowship of the Saints of God. What a marvelous place we're brought into, so it says.
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And that it gives us here a little bit of what our possession really is. We're ambassadors in this world, and as we're ambassadors in this world, we're here to represent heaven. This is an ambassador in a country is there to represent his country, not part of it. He doesn't take part in the voting, doesn't take part in his political affairs.
00:30:20
Our brother Gil used to say we're we are interested.
That, he said. We're not involved. We care about what's going on. We should.
Involved because we belong to heaven. And what a message we have to this world.
Telling them about how sinful man can be reconciled and can be made the righteousness of God in Christ.
Were brought into We who were once far off are in such a perfect place of acceptance, wholly and without blame before him in love.
Well, I'd just like to turn to before we close through passage in the end of Matthew, if I could just speak of it. As for the present we've talked about hitherto and we've talked about henceforth. I just like to look at this little passage here in the end of the Matthew, the last chapter and the 16th verse.
Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them, and when they saw him, they worshiped him. But some doubted.
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Who ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Here we see something that we can enjoy, if I might put it in this way for the present.
We were once far off. We've been brought nigh. There was a hitherto, there is a henceforth. Here's something very beautiful. The Lord Jesus was risen from the dead, and He wanted His disciples to be gathered around Him. He had said where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them now in resurrection. They didn't choose the place where they would meet Him.
They must listen carefully to his directions.
There was a mountain where Jesus appointed.
And so I trust each one of us.
We won't be making our own choice. We'll be saying, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? We'll be following the directions of His precious word and He will show us how we're to meet together. I won't go into it in detail because there isn't time, but we know that we have been speaking about gathering as members of the body of Christ, that one loaf on the table.
The privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus and His death until He comes.
Well, these 11 disciples must have listened to the Lord's instruction, because every one of them were there going to be lovely if all those who were redeemed of the blood of Christ were around him. He went, they came together, and when they saw Him, they worshiped Him.
When we gathered yesterday around the Lord Jesus and he remembered him and in his death, but I believe in the measure in which we saw him there in our midst by faith in that measure, there was really worship in our hearts. It couldn't help but be so. I have to thank the Lord of glory, Creator of the universe, the head of the body of the church gaining to be in the midst of two or three.
Gathered to his precious name, and in the other case he showed to them his.
Anthony side here. We don't read this but they were gathered when they saw him. They worshiped him. But it says some doubted.
Well, it wasn't a perfect company, was it? And I'm sure that as we sat there yesterday.
We had perhaps some doubts come into our minds too.
Not doubts perhaps about salvation, but doubts about a lot of other things. Why did the Lord allow this happen? Why did things turn out this way? Our minds wandered and we a lot of doubts come into our minds. But I think the Lord's answer was very beautiful because He knew. You know, when doubts come into your mind, other people may not know. They may think you're sitting there and they may not know that the Lord knows.
Says a verse in the Bible that says, I know the thoughts that come into your mind. Every one of them. Well, the Lord answered it, and his answer to me is very beautiful. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Know the way. This verse comes to me as if the Lord saw me sitting there and he knew there was a doubt in my mind. He just caught a hold of my shoulder and said, Gordon, I know what's going through your mind.
00:35:08
I could very easily remove that problem. Everyone. I will. I have all power in heaven and earth.
And if I'm leaving that difficulty in your life, why? It's my perfect will.
I'm not saddle everything. All power is given unto me. There is no situation that this troubling us and bothering us that the Lord couldn't remove if it were his will, but he may leave it there and He may say like he said to Paul, for Paul would just love to have got rid of that thorn in the flesh, whatever it was. And the Lord said, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Oh, how wonderful to have that answer from the Lord.
So he said Jesus came, as I say again, that little expression, just as if he saw me sitting there. I'm one of the little companies 11 There, but I'm one of the little company. He knows what's going through my mind and has it where he says to me, Gordon, don't let that trouble you. I have all power. I could take it away. Oh, how good it is just to trust him. You praise him for all that's past, trust Him for all that's to come. There is a hitherto how good he's been. There is a henceforth, but there is a.
And are we trusting them in the present? Are we trusting Him right now? Or are we burdened down with some big problem or trial comes into our life? So all power is given unto me and have them and in earth.
Then he gives them a little service, and there's a little service for every one of us, brethren.
When solitarsis was saved.
Two questions that he asked. He said, Who art thou, Lord? And then he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? What wilt thou have me to do? He has something to do for each one of us.
A little service he has for you, you can do better than anybody else.
Because if he gives it to you, he'll give you all the grace that's necessary. You don't call it your own charges. It's not going to call you to do something that's too hard for you to do. If he wants you to do it, he'll give you the grace and the strength.
We go at his charges. So it says, Low powers given unto me, and heaven on the earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. Then he speaks about baptism. We won't talk of that, except to mention that it's having the name of Christ placed upon us, bearing His name in this world.
I like to just call attention to this last verse also, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age. Well, may our hearts be willing to be obedient, not just in some things, but in all things. But that little phrase at the end, I think is very precious.
And I like to think of this passage in two ways, the enjoyment of his presence collectively and the enjoyment of his presence individually.
When you gather according to His word, then we have His promise of Himself being there in the midst of two or three are gathered together in my name, There am I in the midst of them. That's His presence collectively. But when we leave, when we return to our homes and so on, then we have another little promise that He's going to be with us individually.
Isn't that very precious? Some of us are going to get in our cars. Does that mean we're going to leave the Lord's presence?
Well, collectively you won't be around him, but individually we can enjoy His presence. Individually, every Christian can enjoy his present. Individually, sisters can enjoy it as they hold other things at home or whatever. Brothers can enjoy it, can enjoy it in business. And we should always be conscious of His presence with us, though I am with you always.
Even.
And we're not realizing his presence. He's still there. He walked with the two on the road to Emmaus, didn't realize he was there, thought it was only a stranger, but he was there. He was listening to their conversation. He comforted their hearts. Well, brethren, what a wonderful Savior we have. We have, as I say, the hitherto. And I think all of us who belong to the Lord, as we look back, we can we count all his.
Dear old brother who had a He was a cripple. He was lame most of his life, and had a very somewhat difficult life one time, and he gave up that little song that many of us know. When upon those billows you were Tempest tossed. When you are discouraged, thinking all is less, Count your blessings, name them one by one. Says Let's sing a ton by ton. He said, Count your blessings, name them one by one. And it will.
00:40:19
Surprise you what the Lord has done rather than we can count them ton by ton. And he didn't have an easy life either, but he counted them ton by ton because he walked in the joy of the Lord. He knew the Lord would never leave him nor forsake forsake him. Well, may the Lord help us. You can't change the past, but we can say how good He's been. We can enjoy his presence collectively as we gather around him individually every day.
We look forward to the future, and say henceforth may He give us grace to live not unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us and rose again.
That's how we sing that little hymn.
Lord, we are thine bought by thy blood. Think it's.
Gotten the number.
52 Thank you.
Lord, we are thine blood, thy blood.
Watch the poor hill tea, slaves of sin.
Matched us for God.
And made thighs.
Dwell with them.
Thou hast our sin.
Full land rings born.
Well.
As Browns land from.
The burning, torn.
We all that. We are all.
Lord, we are thy.
Thy flames we are.
Ourselves.
To be.
Wait.
Praying.
Our hearts are long.
And let us.
Here at all.
Save thy mind display.
In all thy gracious.
And may chime.
Expect the day.
When thou shalt out.
That.