BIBLE READINGS ON THE SECOND BLESSING
CHAPTER 08 -- SIX THINGS GOD SAYS HE WILL DO FOR US IN
EZEKIEL 34:11-15
In this lesson the Lord is spoken of as a Shepherd, and we
as the sheep of His pasture. There are six things which God has promised to do
for us within these verses:
I. Ezek. 34:11: "For thus saith the Lord God, Behold,
I, even I, will both search my sheep, and will seek them out." A truth we
forget, that Jesus Christ not only saved us, but also sought us
out. We think we made up our minds to seek the Lord, and we
say: So many years ago we sought
the Lord; so many years ago we found the Lord, forgetting
that years prior to that the Lord sought us.
A few references touching upon that truth:
Luke 19:10: "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to
save that which is lost." Not only
to save, but to "seek and to save."
John 15:16: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen
you." In this His love was manifested. When we were disinterested, wicked,
rebellious, going away from God, He sought us out by His Spirit, by His Word,
by His providences, by His mercies, by. His judgments, God sought us out, It is
marvelous to note to what length God will go to save a soul; how He will single
you out and follow you up by day, and by night; and follow you by the week and
by the month and by the year; He will follow you across the high seas and
across the plains, across the mountains,
and on through the darkness, until He literally runs you
down and corners you, and you can go no farther, and you say: My God, I
surrender. To me it is truly amazing to think of the patience, and of the
persistence, and long-suffering of our God. He does not simply come and knock,
and then go away, but He entreats, and warns, and woos, and inclines, and
draws, and calls, until you have been conquered, and surrender, -- all because
He loved us. He was under no obligations to us. O, how I bless Him that He
sought me out, and gave me no rest, but followed me through the years until I
surrendered.
The next thought in the lesson:
II. Ezek. 34:12: "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock
in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my
sheep, and I will deliver them out of all places where they
have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day."
"And will deliver them." I will do this, He says:
"I will deliver them out of all places where they have
been scattered in the cloudy and dark day."
You understand that, while this lesson has particular
reference to the Israel of old, yet is has an
individual application, and this is the thought I desire to
emphasize; when God sought you out, and found you in your sinfulness and your
wickedness, the next thing you needed was deliverance. Salvation means
deliverance. A few references touching the subject of deliverance:
Matt. 1:21: "And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou
shalt call His name JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins."
Not in their sins, but "from their sins," deliverance from their
sins.
I Thes, 1:10 "And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom
He raised from the dead, even
Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
"Delivered us from the wrath to come." Being saved, or delivered from
our sins, we are delivered from the penalty of our sins, the wrath to come, Men
will admit this, but say, there is so much of sin, and immorality and vice on
every side, that they cannot live without committing sin. Now read,
Gal, 1:4: "Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father." There is deliverance from "this present evil world." We
are in the world, but not of the world. Paul testified to this deliverance in:
Gal, 6:14: "But God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I unto the world." A sort of a double crucifixion: "I
am crucified to the world," and "the world is
crucified unto me" by the cross of Christ. I have no
use for the world, and the world has no use for me, There is
deliverance from "this present evil
world." The ship out in the ocean surrounded by water
is just where it may he of use and service;
and just because it is surrounded by water, is no reason why
it should sink, But the ocean in the
ship is quite another thing; when that vessel springs a
leak, and the ocean gets into the ship, down she goes. So with Christians,
when they are in the world they may be of service, being used of God to the
saving of men; but if you spring a leak, by running onto some snag of
disobedience and unbelief, and this world gets into you, down you go. Because
sin is around us is no reason why we should sin. God means to deliver us from
sin, God can do wonderful things. God can keep fish fresh in salt water, He can
fix a water fowl so it can go under the water and not be wet.
I learned a lesson one time: my little boy wanted to go
fishing; and, as I was home from an evangelistic tour, I was to go with him,
The first thing to do was to get some bait, and so he went
out to find some fishing worms; he went out to where the
soil was dark, and black, and mucky, and he drew out some fishing worms, and
their little jackets were as clean and shiny, -- not a bit of that black earth
sticking to them, And the Lord seemed to say to me: If I can fix these little
fishing worms so they can crawl through this mire and mud and not become
soiled, cannot I fix you up so you can go through the world and keep clean? I
tell you what I have known the Lord to do: I have known Him to make some
snow-white lilies to grow out of dark black dirt; and I have known Him to make
some snow-white Christians in this sinful world, The Lord can deliver you from
this present evil world, so you will have no trouble with the world. You say
you cannot give up these things, -- that your associates, your kin folks, and
your friends are in your way. When you get struck with heaven's lightning they
will move over, and will give you up. Some people have trouble to give up all
their wicked associates; I had trouble to find mine; they dropped me; they
never invited me to another frolic, to another shindig, or anything of the
kind. If you get God in to your heart, -- get filled with God, they will let
you alone.
Luke 1:73-75. "The oath which He sware to our father
Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand
of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before Him all the days of our life." The thought is, deliverance;
delivered out of the hand of our enemies, to live a holy life. The ego, the
self-life, is the greatest enemy to holiness, When people speak evil of you,
you become offended, and you get "down in the
mouth," and then you have to be prayed up again; and
then when people speak well of you, you
become inflated, exalted, puffed-up, and then you have to be
prayed down. The self-life is the
greatest hindrance to a holy life. The man who hinders you
the most in living a holy life is the man who walks under your hat. But God can
deliver you from any enemy that hinders you from living a holy life; you may
have deliverance from 'sins, deliverance from the penalty of sins, --
deliverance from "this present evil world," the outward foes, and
deliverance from the inward foes, the heart enemies, -- a complete deliverance
from any thing and everything that would prevent a holy life. "'He is
mighty to save and strong to deliver." "He will deliver you out of
all places where you have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day."
III. The third thing He says He will do: -- Ezek. 34:13:
"And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the
countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the
inhabited places of the country." "I will
bring them out from the people." What is that? "I
will bring them out from the people?" That is
separation. God calls for a separate people. His people in
every age have been a separate people;
and it is interesting to note how He speaks of them in that
connection:
Lev. 20:26: "And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the
Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be
Mine." "Ye shall be holy unto Me;" and "I have severed you
from other people, that ye should be Mine."
Ex. 19:4, 5: "Ye have seen what I did unto the
Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself.
Now, therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep my covenant then ye
shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people, for all the earth is
Mine." Is not that beautiful? "Shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me
above all people, for all the earth is Mine." Don't be distressed.
Ex. 19:6: "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests, and an holy nation." "Have severed you from other
people;" ye are "My peculiar treasure above all people;" "a
kingdom of priests; an holy nation." The same thought is found in:
Deut. 7:3: "Neither shalt thou make marriages with
them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt
thou take unto thy son" Intermarrying with the world is contrary
to the scripture, and accounts for much of the sorrow in
this world, and many of the divorce suits in the courts. Well, but you must
marry them to save them, some would say:
Deut, 7:4: "For they will turn away thy son from
following Me, that they may serve other gods; so will the anger of the Lord be
kindled against you, and destroy them suddenly." If I were talking to
young people here I would say, you cannot maintain a deep spiritual experience
and
court the world, much less marry them. You see a young man
or young lady blessed of God, and
receiving attention from the unsaved, it is not hard to tell
what the outcome will be. O, how many hearts are made wretched, and homes
miserable because of the failure to recognize this truth. I would not add a
sorrow to a single heart, but O, how many homes, how many homes where there is
no real happiness! The wife would rear the children for God, but the husband
counteracts her influence largely by his ungodly example. She would have family
worship, and ask the blessing at the table. But she will have to do it, for the
husband has no sympathy with such matters. She would go to the prayer meeting,
and to church; he would go to the lodge, to the theater, and some worldly
doings. She wants Christian people in the home; he wants worldly people in the
home. There is not much congeniality in that kind of life.
Deut, 7:6: "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord
thy God: The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself,
above all people that are upon the face of the earth." "A special
people unto Himself."
Deut, 7:7: "The Lord did not set His love upon you nor
choose you because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the
fewest of all people." Then why did He do it?
Deut, 7:8: "But because the Lord loved you, and because
He would keep the oath which He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord
brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you
out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh, king
of Egypt." Is not that beautiful? He did not set His love upon you because
ye were more in number than other people, but because the Lord loved you, and
He says: "Ye are my peculiar treasure, a special people unto Me above all
people." "Severed you from other people," -- a separate people.
2 Cor. 6:14: "Be ye not unequally yoked together with
unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness, and
what communion hath light with darkness?" "Be ye
not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Then
how can you be yoked up with oath-bound
secret orders? How can you be in unholy business alliances?
How can you think of intermarrying
with the world? God would have a separate people. And this
thought of separation enters into
every department of our life. Separate in your social life;
separate in your business life. You
cannot follow the tricks of the trade and yet be a
Christian. Separate in your politics. I always did
think that a Christian ought to have better politics than
the saloonkeeper. I should think that a
Christian would feel very contemptible to come out of the
voting booth and know the saloon
keeper and brewer cast the same ballot which he had cast.
Separate not only in these things, but in your very appearance.
2 Cor. 6:15, 16, 17: "And what concord hath Christ with
Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement
hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the
temple of the living God; as God hath said, and I will dwell
in them and walk in them, and I will
be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come ye
out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you."
2. Cor. 6: 18: "And I will be a 'Father unto you, and
ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." I wish I
could tell you how that little word "a" blessed me one time. "A
Father." A real Father. Many men have that title who are not worthy of it.
"Be a Father," a true Father; and do for us, provide for us, love us,
protect us, cherish us, as "a father," if you will come
out and be separate, and touch not the unclean thin g. O,
the thing which paralyzes the church today more than anything else is this
worldliness, -- the church linked arm in arm with the world, And the world speaks
the truth when it says that it can see no difference between you and the world,
They say, "We go to the theater, play cards, dance, go to foot ball games,
horse races, etc., etc., and so do your church members." It is only too
true! Sunday Christians, and week-day devils. God wants a separate people. And
when they point their finger at you, that is saying they see some difference.
You take it as persecution; you should take it as a compliment. If you were
like them they would not say anything. When I ran with the devil's gang, I
lived, as the world did, and I was accepted of them; but the moment I had gone
out and became separate, they said: O you've gone crazy on religion, have you?
By their very taunts they testified that they could see a difference in me. A
separate people, a peculiar people.
Romans 12:2: "And be not conformed to this world: but
be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." It
even enters into the question of dress.
I Peter 3: 1, 2,: "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection
to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the Word, they also may without the
Word be won by the conversation of the wives; while they behold your chaste
conversation, coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward
adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of
apparel." Now you need to distinguish between adornment and that which is
for service. I am not going to lay down a pattern nor a fashion plate for you
folks to dress by. I don't believe the Bible teaches anywhere the uniformity of
dress, the wearing of one color, one cut, and all that. And I am sure that the
Bible is a thousand miles from encouraging slovenliness. What would be becoming
to one would not be becoming to another. But this refers to that which is
simply for show.
People who make no pretense of paying their honest debts are
breaking their necks to keep up with the fashions. God wants you to be separate
from the world. "Let it not he that outward
adorning of plaiting the hair." Now some get into
bondage right there, and think that means platting the hair, but that is
different from plaiting the hair. Plaiting the hair was taking a bright golden
thread and weaving it into the hair, so that anyway the head was turned it
would glisten; that was called plaiting the hair. Putting on of adornment just
for the show, and because it is the fashion. It does not mean that we should
not wear any apparel, but it is speaking of adornment. Some people go to the
extremes, and simply dress up and dress down until they are a spectacle. You
want to have common sense with your religion, But that which is just for show,
and simply because it is the fashion, certainly that is not acceptable with
God. When you follow the fashions of the world, you simply say: My religion
don't quite fill the bill; I want something else. Well, my religion fills the
bill. I like to preach a religion that fries itself in its own fat.
IV. Ezek. 34:13: "And I will bring them out from the
people and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own
land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the
inhabited places of the country." "And will bring them into their own
land," is
the sentence I desire. That is the fourth thing:
1st -- "I will seek them out;"
2nd -- "I will deliver them;"
3rd -- "I will bring them out from the people, and
gather them from the countries;"
4th -- "I will bring them into their own land."
Have we any land coming to us?
If we have, we want to look it up; we must look up the
records in this matter, If there is any land coming to me I want to know it;
please read,
Gen. 17:1: 1: "And when Abraham was ninety years old
and nine -- " (ninety years old and nine, -- note his age,) "the Lord
appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me
and be thou perfect." He is speaking to Abraham.
Gen. 17:8: "And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and will be their God."
"All the land of Canaan." "To thee and thy
seed after thee."
Gal. 3:29: "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise." Is that so? "If ye be
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise?"
What was the promise? All the land of Canaan; "to thee and to thy seed
after thee." But you have to be Christ's first, and if Christ's, then are
you Abraham's seed, and heirs of the promise; and the promise is, all the land of Canaan. The Holy Ghost's interpretation of that promise is found in:
Luke 1:73-75: "The oath which He sware to our father
Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand
of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before Him all the days of our life." "The oath which He sware to
Abraham," what is the original? The land of Canaan, But what does the Holy
Ghost say about it in our dispensation? "That he would grant unto
us." It is a grant. I challenge you to find in the Old
Testament where God said that to Abraham in those words.
Luke 1:73-75 is what the Holy Ghost
says that oath means to us. And you have to be Christians in
order to be Abraham's seed. Then you are heirs to his promise. Our Father has
made a will, and His will is your sanctification; then you had better probate
the will and obtain the inheritance.
The holiness people all concur when we say that Canaan is a type of the sanctified life. The promise to Abraham and to Israel is the promise He has given to us, -- the promise of holiness.
"I used to think that Canaan was somewhere up on high,
Where I perhaps might go, whene'er I came to die.
But when I came to Jesus and at His cross did bow
I got salvation through the blood
And I'm living in Canaan now."
That promise: "I will bring them into their own land,
is equivalent to the promise: I will sanctify them. It comes as a second
blessing, a second experience, And if Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
only then can you claim the promise.
The next thing God says He will do in the lesson:
V. Ezek. 34:14: "I will feed them in a good pasture,
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be; there shall they lie
in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the high mountains of
Israel." What does that signify? Give a sheep all it can eat and it is
satisfied. The
thought I get here is that He will satisfy us; He will
satisfy the cravings of the soul. Good pasture; fat pasture; high mountains of
Israel. Not down in the swamp which breeds malaria and
mosquitoes, and frogs. Mosquitoes are backbiters, and frogs
are croakers, you know, -- they all
live down there, but they are not up in the hill country.
Now you would like to know what the bill of fare is. We are
all interested in this question of feeding, -- of pasture; our eating is of
interest to all of us. I have been so near to death's door
several times that if I had quit eating I would have died,
We are all interested in this question, We will get this by contrast, We will
find first what the bill of fare was in Egypt:
Ex, 11:5: "We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks and the onions and the
garlic." Just imagine what a breath these folks must
have had! fish, onions, and garlic all mixed up. That was
the bill of fare in Egypt. You see it was
the truck of their own raising. Some say they did not raise
fish, but I should like to know how they ate them before they raised them.
Now the bill of fare in the wilderness:
Ex. 16:35: "And the children of Israel did eat manna
forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they
came unto the borders of the land of Canaan." Forty years they had manna:
For breakfast they had manna;
For dinner they had manna;
For supper they had manna.
The next morning they had manna; and, for a change, for
dinner they had manna; and then for supper they had manna. The following day
they had manna for breakfast; likely to have some
guests and company, so for an extra dish for dinner they
will have manna; and for supper they will have manna. It was manna, manna,
manna, manna, manna, the same thing over and over again, until it became
exceedingly monotonous, and they lusted for flesh and wished themselves back in
Egypt.
God never intended that manna should be used for forty
years. It was supposed that they should have made the journey in from eleven to
fourteen or fifteen days, and manna was just a transient diet. And, though that
manna came from heaven, and though it is said to be angels' food, it
spoiled:
Ex. 16:20: "Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto
Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and
stank; and Moses was wroth with them." A fellow who did not want to go out
to the midweek prayer meeting, tried to get enough on Sunday to last through
the week, and it got stale. Every time they get up to testify you know exactly
what they are going to
say: "I was converted forty years ago down there behind
Pap's red barn." The same thing over and over; their prayer is
stereotyped. If you are bound to live on that experience, I would try to get a
fresh dish occasionally. If you can say nothing else for a change, I would turn
it the other end to once in a while; I'd have a change somehow.
Now for the bill of fare in Canaan; -- our own land; this
will make your mouth water:
Num. 13:17: "And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them: Get you up this way southward, and go up into the
mountain." To go down southward is to go up into
the mountains; you see we are in Canaan, Now hear the
description:
Num. 13:23: "And they came to the brook of Eshcol, and
cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it
between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates and of the
figs." Grapes it takes two men to carry one bunch! I have seen folks come
into Canaan half starved, and see a bunch of grapes and try to pick up one of
those bunches and were unable to carry it; it takes two men to carry one bunch.
Pomegranates, figs.
Num. 13:27: "And they told him and said, We came unto
the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey;
and this is the fruit of it." "Floweth with milk and honey."
Friends, when I got into Canaan the first thing I got was a dish of honey, and
I have been feasting ever since.
Another description of "our own land."
Deut, 8:7: "For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a
good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out
of valleys and hills;" You know the wilderness had trouble
about water. Here are brooks springing out of the valleys
and hills.
Dent, 8:8, 9. "A land of wheat, and barley, and vines;
and fig trees, and pomegranates; a
land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat
bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose
stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass." "A
land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness," -- no famine in
this land; a land wherein thou shalt not lack anything; a land where the stones
are iron, -- the very stones are good for use; and out of the hills you dig
brass.
Dent. 8:10: "When thou hast eaten and art full, then
thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He hath given
thee." Then thou shalt bless the Lord." Well, bless the Lord!
"When thou hast eaten and art full thou shalt bless the Lord." Well,
bless the Lord.
Would you like to know more about it? I can't tell you much
more, you will have to come over and-see. There are still some good corner lots
which have not been taken. Some folks say you
get too good for this world and cannot live long here.
Listen to what God says about it:
Dent. 11:21: "That your days may be multiplied, and
the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your
fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." "The
days of heaven upon earth." Do days multiply to them which live in sin?
Do they have days of heaven upon the earth? You get into a little corner of
heaven; a segment of earth annexed to heaven. A heaven to go to heaven in.
It is marvelous how sanctified people get over singing:
"I want to be an angel and with the angels stand,"
and want to go to heaven, and singing about the "Sweet by and by."
There is so much of heaven down here they don't have time to sing about the
"Sweet by and by." I used to hear people talk about having a heaven
to go to heaven in, but did not know it was promised to them. Feed a sheep as
much as it desires and it is satisfied. Let me give you a few references with
that thought:
Jer. 31:14: "And I will satiate the soul of the priests
with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the
Lord."
Psalm 36:8: "They shall be abundantly satisfied with
the fatness of thy house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy
pleasures." Not only satisfied, but abundantly satisfied, I
was satisfied when the Lord first saved me, but I am getting
more satisfied all the time.
Psalm 107:9: "For He satisfieth the longing soul, and
filleth the hungry soul with goodness." "He satisfieth the longing
soul." He has promised to do it. An experience that does not satisfy you
never quite satisfies Him. God wants to satisfy you. Satisfaction guaranteed,
or no pay, On the fat pastures, the good pastures, the high mountains of Israel. He wants to turn you out into a
clover patch, where the clover is so tall that you have to
tiptoe to bite off the heads. You have been nibbling around in that little
corner of yours until you have about pulled the thing up by the roots. God
wants to turn you out in some fresh clover patch. Amen!
VI. Ezek. 34:15: "I will feed My flock, I will cause
them to lie down, saith the Lord God." "I will cause them to lie
down." What does that suggest? "That is rest, Cause them to lie down;
that is the crowning jewel of this grace, -- soul rest. "I will cause them
to lie down." Instead of struggling, and fuming and fretting, having
conflict, and warfare with carnality, you are reposing in God. Thank God for
soul rest!
Matt. 11:28: "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." A rest promised on the condition that
you come. "I will give you rest."
Matt. 11:29: "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
"Rest unto your souls." That comes after you have taken His
yoke upon you and learned of Him, That is rest to your soul.
First is rest from guilt and condemnation; second is soul rest. Multitudes
affirm that they know nothing about soul rest; they
fret and worry and stew and whine and pine and complain.
Some people are such chronic complainers and fretters, that, if they have
nothing to fret about they will fret because they have
nothing to fret about; they will fret anyway. Faith will
annihilate fret or fret will annihilate faith.
More people die from over-worry than from overwork, "I
will cause you to lie down." A lady
once said to me: "I lie awake all night and worry, and
I am all worn out." I said: "What good does it do you to worry?"
Worry simply unfits you for the duties of life. Thank God you can get this
blessing! You can have your cares lifted by getting down by your bedside and
giving them over to God, and then go to bed and shut your eyes and go to sleep
and sleep soundly until the next morning. Brother, sister, there is a grace
that will bring you soul rest.
Heb. 3:18-19: "And to whom sware He that they should
not enter into His rest, but to them that believe not? So we see they could not
enter in because of unbelief." He is talking about entering into His rest
in the land of Canaan.
Heb. 4:3: "We which have believed do enter into rest,
as He said, As I have sworn in My
wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works
were finished from the foundation of the world." They DO enter into rest
which have believed.
Heb. 4:4, 5, 6, 9, 10: "For He spake in a certain place
of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all His
works, And in this place again, if they shall enter into My rest. Seeing
therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was
first
preached entered not in because of unbelief:... There
remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of
God. For He that is entered into His rest, He also hath
ceased from his own works, as God did
from His." It is a cessation from your own works. I
wish I could explain it. Brother, that is the
crowning jewel of this grace. When people get this blessing,
how the lines in the countenance
disappear, and anxious cares cease! How do you rest? When
you retire at night after a hard day's
toil you don't get into bed afraid that it will go down; you
just relax; you let go of every weight,
and just rest; glory! Thus you can relax in God.
A great many people are like the man who was on his way to
the mill carrying a sack of
grain; a neighbor, driving along with his spring wagon,
overtook him and invited him to step into
the wagon and ride. He got into the wagon, and took the seat
back of the driver. They opened
conversation, and after a little while the neighbor chanced
to glance around, and he found that his
friend was still hanging onto the sack of grain; and he
said:
Friend, why don't you put it down? He replied: "O, I
thought it was asking too much to ask you to carry me and the grain too."
Many are like that today. God wants to bear you and your burdens too. We go to
the Lord, and we kneel down and say: "Here, Lord, I lay my burden at thy
feet, I lay it all on the altar, amen." And we arise and again pick up the
burden and go away with it. We come back with it again, and say: "Here,
Lord, I give my burdens to thee, amen." And still continue to cling to the
burden.
Isa. 26:3: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." "Perfect
peace." The margin gives it: "Peace, peace." A sort of double
peace,
"whose mind is stayed on Thee." I learned a lesson
one time; I found whenever I was distressed,
and fretted, and worried, I was looking down, I was humping
over; and when you are in a bent
over, downcast position and condition, the devil will load
you up; when you hump over that way
he will stick the bundles on you. So I will not hump over
for him any more. You look down, look
at the people, look at your circumstances, have your eyes on
the folks, and he will load you up
every time. I have seen preachers packing whole churches on
their backs, It is too much. O, thank God, you can keep your mind on Him! and
He will keep you in perfect peace. It is a rest from inward conflict, trouble
with anger, doubts, fear, pride. You don't have to struggle and fret and worry;
thank God! you can get beyond that; it is a settled thing, -- soul rest; you do
not worry and whine any more.
Brother Peter was apprehended and placed into the dungeon,
with the death warrant on him; tomorrow they were going to cut his head off
with Herod's guillotine, and he lies down and
cries and says: O, why does the Lord let this come to me!
(imitating) what will the people say!
what about Mrs. Peter! No, no! I know he had a wife, for the
Bible 'says: "Peter's wife's mother lay sick of a fever." He had a
mother-in-law, so if he had a mother-in-law he had a wife, But he did not whine
and fret; he went to sleep. You remember, he thought he had a dream; he thought
he dreamed; an angel said: "Arise quickly." He got up. And the angel
said: "Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals." He went up to the cell
door and it opened, and the outer gate opened, and he walked through. Notice,
he had to pass through two gates to get free. After he got outside the angel
told him to go on. I can imagine I can see him look around. The fellow thought
he had been dreaming. You know how it is sometimes when you have been dreaming.
And then he said: "Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent His
angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod."
Well, they were having a prayer-meeting over there in Lydia's house, and they were praying for his deliverance. Peter knocked at the door, and
the damsel named Rhoda came. She was so overjoyed to find that Peter was out
there that she forgot to open the door, and she ran back
and said: Peter's out there. "O, it must be Peter's
ghost; he is down in jail." But they found it was
Peter, really Peter. My, what a time they had in the
prayer-meeting that night! Deliverance,
marvelous deliverance! Grace to lie down and go to sleep
under those conditions? That is soul
rest.
Paul and Silas when they, were apprehended were given
"forty stripes save one." They entertained them very "fast"
in the inner prison; and there, with their backs bleeding and sore, at
midnight they said: "O, why does the Lord allow this;
what will the people think of us! what will
the neighbors say! what will our folks say! what will become
of our influence?" Did they say that? No! About midnight Brother Paul said: Silas, let's sing something. I imagine Silas was the tune chorister. What
shall we sing? Let's sing that good old hymn: "Hark! from the tombs a doleful
sound."
Or perhaps it is that other old hymn:
"See how we grovel here below,
Fond of these creature toys."
May be it was that other hymn:
"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love."
No; it was some revival hymn. They had no machine to furnish
the music, so the chains began to rattle; there was no one to keep time in the
jail, so the jail begins to keep time. The jailer heard the noise, and became
excited, He said there was too much excitement; but it was he that was excited.
Brother Paul said: "Do thyself no harm, we are all here." And you
remember he went
out and prayed with him, and got the jailer and his family
converted, and took them into church that same night; and the jailer started in
the restaurant business for preachers that same night and served a midnight lunch. Then, when it was all over, Paul said to Silas: "Let us skip now
before daylight; better jump the fence now before it is daylight."
Multitudes of fellows would have done that. The way is opened up, and we had
better skip out. But, after the jailer was converted, and after the midnight lunch, they went into their stalls, -- I mean their cells. (Well I have heard of
preachers being stalled, or installed.) They went back into their cells. The
next morning the news got out; the jailer has taken it; things are getting
worse. The chief of police heard about it, and sent word down to let those
preachers go. But Paul said: They have placed us in here without being
condemned, now let them come down and take us out, They had soul rest, That is
what I am trying to get at.
How many persons come to the pastor and say: Mr. Preacher, I
want my letter?
Why, what's the trouble?
Why, haven't you heard about it?
About what?
Well, I've got so much trouble I can't stick. Mrs. Jones
told me that Mrs. Smith told her that she had heard another woman say that she
was acquainted with me and that I had done so-and-so,
and I can't stick; I am worried to death.
Like the man who said he had seen a man who told him that he
was acquainted with a man who knew a man who was acquainted with a man that had
seen a man that knew a man that had
heard a man say that he had seen a man who knew a man
that had heard another man say that he knew a man that heard another man
say that he had seen the devil.
Well most of our troubles come that way. Thank God! you can
get where you will not be disturbed, where your peace will flow as a river;
without may be storm and conflict; within will
be peace and calm. "I will cause you to lie down."
You will get younger; you will live longer; you will look better. I wish I
could tell you about it.
A word about testimony: People say, O well, it's all right;
I'll just live it and not say anything about it; I'll just live it. I insist
that life and testimony must go together.
Deut. 26:1: "And it shall be, when thou art come in
unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and
possessest it, and dwellest therein." Notice, you have come in to possess
it, and to dwell therein. You are not just speculating, experimenting, or
visiting, you have
moved over.
Deut. 26:2: "That thou shalt take of the first of all
the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy
God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the
place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name
there." Up to the Quaker Church, the Methodist Church, the Presbyterian
Church, or wherever the Lord puts His name. Go up with fruit in thy basket.
They can tell by the fruit.
Deut. 26:3: "And thou shalt go unto the priest that
shall be in those days and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy
God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for
to give us." What is the use of professing if you have the fruit? won't
they know it? Yes, but you are to go up and say that you have the blessing, and
if he doubts it, just
shake your basket of fruit at him. Go up with your basket
filled up with the fruit of the Spirit:
peace, joy, love, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
meekness, faith, and so on; and then you are to profess the blessing; and if
they say anything about it, just shake your basket, -- your fruit as well as
your testimony, and testimony as well as the fruit. God wants you to tell it.
Another word as to how to keep the victory after you have
gotten into Canaan, They suffered defeat at Ai; did that prove they were not in
Canaan, and had to throw up the whole thing?
No sir! they were still in Canaan. Well, what must they do?
They must ferret out the Achan, and
kill and destroy everything pertaining to him, and go on to
victory. We cannot cover it over; had
they covered or excused Achan they would have been driven
out of the land; but we must ferret out anything that may cause defeat, and go
on to victory. Defeat is possible, though not necessary; but multitudes, when
they have suffered defeat, give up all and back down. If the devil should get
the advantage, then what shall we do? Ferret out the whole thing, and get under
the blood, and go on shouting the victory, I would not let the devil run me out
of the land. How did they take Jericho? They had instructions, you remember, to
march about the city:
Joshua 6:5: "And it shall come to pass that, when they
make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the
trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the
city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight
before him." F-l-a-t, flat. You remember that the instructions in the second
and third verses were to march about the city six times, -- once each day for
six days; and on the seventh day they were to march about it seven times. Well
the first day they simply marched about the wall; the second morning they
started off and marched around the wall; the third morning they marched around
the wall, About the third day the thing got into the newspapers; and they said:
Joshua is out here with his church, and they are marching around the wall, and
he thinks the thing is going to tumble down there must be some lunatic asylum
broke loose. The fourth day they marched around the wall. The
fourth and fifth days the papers were full of the thing; who
ever heard of such nonsense; they come and march around the wall and think the
thing is going to fall down. The fifth and sixth days they started off and
marched around the wall; and, as they marched around, the city folks came and
sat on the wall and looked down and said: "See, there they go." But
they didn't stop to argue. The sixth day they marched around the wall.
Now you will read in this same chapter:
Joshua 6:20: "So the people shouted when the priests
blew the trumpets; and it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the
trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout,
that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up
into the city, every map straight before him, and they took the city."
"The people shouted with a great shout, and the walls fell down f-l-a-t,
flat." What do you get out of this? They took the city by obeying God and
shouting. They kept walking around and shouting, and God knocked the walls
down. When I get into cold churches, I don't go to scolding them; I just walk
around and shout, and God knocks the walls down; hallelujah! There is such a
thing as shouting before the walls are down. Some people pout before the walls
are down and shout afterwards, but that is not the shout of faith.
Now I want you to see the difference between the crossings:
Ex. 14:16: "But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out
thine hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of Israel shall go on
dry ground through the midst of the sea." You remember how
the sea was divided. They could see their way through; all
the faith they needed was to believe that the waters would not come together,
and they went through on dry ground. There was a human agency, Moses and the
rod opening up the way for them, But when they were crossing the Jordan -- turn to:
Joshua: 5:8, 13, 14: "And Joshua said unto the people,
Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. And
Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of
the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took
up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. And the Lord said unto
Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou
shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye
are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that
bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters
of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come
down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. And it shall come to pass,
when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests
bearing the ark of the covenant before the people." Notice they removed
from their tents for a specific purpose; -- not to go on a frolic, not to go
off on a picnic, but to go over Jordan.
Joshua 3:15: "And as they that bare the ark were come
unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the
brim of the water, (for Jordan overfioweth all its banks
all the time of harvest") They were to cross that Jordan, and it was harvest time, and the Jordan
was out of its banks.
There are a great many people that want to get sanctified
just as they were converted, and they seldom do. I remember when I crossed the Jordan, it was harvest time, and the river was out
of its banks; and the orders were that the soles of the feet
must dip into the brim of the water. That looked pretty risky. Now suppose I
stepped out on the bank and stepped into a muskrat hole, or something of that
kind. Suppose I would claim it and then not have it. So I sang,
"On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wistful eye," etc.
Then I came up, and drew back; I came up again, but the Jordan was out of its banks, and it looked like risky business to jump into that turbulent
stream. I looked up and down some time, to
find if I could not see my way through as I did when I was
first converted; but there was no Moses there to accompany me. Finally I got
desperate, and I said good-bye to the folks, and I sold out all I had, -- I
realized I could not take anything with me; but I got desperate, and said
good-bye (still on the river's brink, imitating the undecided stand), and sink
or swim, perish or survive, live or die, I ventured in, and O, the waters
divided, I have been singing ever since,
"I'm living in Canaan now, I'm living in Canaan now;
I'm doing well, I'm glad to tell, I'm living in Canaan now."
