I always thought that in heaven Peter was going to be the choir master, but I'm going to put a word in for Brother Andrew. On the first Saturday evening I was here, last Saturday evening, remember the chairman, my dear brother the chairman, said that I would come to the front and introduce myself. Nobody rebuked me for not doing that. I didn't introduce myself and I haven't done so yet. I don't suppose I shall by the end of the week. It's very difficult for an Englishman to introduce himself, you know. If I went over to England and said, I'm David Clifford, they'd say, so what? They would, really. But I'm getting into your good American ways. I think that's one of the good ways. For instance, there was one ship went down somewhere in one of the islands of the Pacific, and they knew that some had been rescued or found their way to one of the islands nearby, and after some months they found four men on the island. And the Scotsman and the party, they had difficulty in finding him. He was around the other side somewhere exploring. You know how a Scotsman explored everything. Apologies to him. It's like an interesting thing. And the American, they couldn't help seeing the American is right in the middle of the island, trying to build a skyscraper. But the two Englishmen were still sitting on the beach, looking at one another, waiting to be introduced. Yes. Well, you know, we're very, very strict on etiquette in our country, and that's why some of you will think we're a bit stuffy in some ways. But I'm very glad to come to your country from time to time and sort of let my hair down and be natural. You can't... be sharp, don't be flat, be natural. So that's what we're trying to do. Well, now we're going to read together the word and a portion again from Colossians, Paul's letter to the Colossians. Verse thirteen, the end of verse thirteen of chapter one. His dear son, God's dear son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For in him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him. And he is before all things and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. I think perhaps we ought to continue the reading. I was going to miss out some verses. It's difficult to miss them out in this connection tonight. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, By him I say whether they be things in earth and things in heaven. And you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by which it works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you wholly and unblameable and unretrievable in his sight. If you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven. Wherefore I, Paul, am made a minister, who now rejoiced in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation, the stewardship of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, to fully preach the word of God. even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, that now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make known what is the richest of the glory of this ministry among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect, spiritually mature in Christ Jesus, whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. The beginning of chapter three, please. If you then be arisen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall he also appear with him in glory. Verse twenty three, whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. May God bless to us all the public reading of the Holy Scriptures and now our meditation upon it. I feel I must recapitulate a little for the sake of those who haven't been with us so often. Indeed, maybe some are here for the first time tonight in my meetings anyway. Delighted to see you. And we have been discussing together some of the main themes of the prison epistles. Paul's letters to various Christian gatherings and people from prison in Rome, A.V. and AD sixty-three. We noticed when we gave the introduction that the Apostle Paul went to prison in Rome in the will of God. There was a lot of blessing through this, and there always is. No matter where you are, as long as you're in the will of God, there should be a lot of blessing. And there was a lot of blessing for him, a lot of blessing for others, and a lot of blessing for us. through the fact that while he was there in prison in Rome, he, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, penned these letters, four of them have come down to us and have been preserved by the Spirit of God for us. And we have been looking at some of the reasons why Paul wrote these letters and some of the main themes in them. And we have found that in the letter to the Ephesians there is a lot of doctrine. About twenty-one major Bible doctrines are seen in this short letter to Ephesians alone. And there's so much about the church and her union with her law, so much about believers and their position in Christ, as well as their tactical way of living and what it should be because they are in Christ and joined to him eternally. Then we have seen in the letter to the Philippians that the Apostle loved them dearly and they loved him. They had been having fellowship with him from the first day they met him by the riverside in Philippi in Macedonia, where he went in answer to the Macedonian call one night, got in the morning and immediately obeyed the word of the Lord through this man in this vision. And they gave him some fellowship that first day, and they've been showing him fellowship ever since, sent a love offering, and he was writing to thank them for that offering, and especially to commend to them young Epaphroditus, who brought the gift, and young Timothy, who was quite a mature Christian, and had a great burden in his heart for the blessing of the Philippian Christians. And this is what we were talking about last night. in relation to Philippians chapter two and verse four. Look every man also on the interest of others, and let this mind for others be in you, this unselfish mind, according to verse four and the context be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Because he was thinking of others, and he left the realms of glory with you in his mind, and not only came to this sin cursed earth, because he loved you, but he died. to save you in his matchless grace. Well, now this morning we were thinking about the person and the work of our Lord Jesus. After giving a formal introduction to the letter to the Colossians, we were talking about what Paul, by the Spirit, was saying about the Lord Jesus and his glorious person and his wonderful passion. and his preeminent. Now we did not speak about his preeminent because that is our message this evening with the help of God's Holy Spirit. You remember we sought to sum up the second part of the first chapter under the headings of these three parties here. Verse thirteen is be a son, his passion and person and preeminent. and you, in verse twenty-one, their alienation, and now their reconciliation. So we came around and we met Dr. Dobson and we saw the property and we thought it was very good. The next time I visited it, I noticed we were making up our minds in the will of God with his provision to take it for the commencement of the work. This was twenty-six years ago, twenty-seven years ago. I remember that we had to look around the garden and we noticed that there were a lot of daffodils. It was March and there were thousands of daffodils out. And it was quite a sight. So I took in this right arm a big bunch of daffodils. Then it went over the bottom road into the kitchen garden, and I found that a lot of rhubarb coming up. So I brought in this half a lot of rhubarb, and I put both bunches in the cart, took them home to my wife, and I said to her, there you are, my dear, that is the earnest of your inheritance. And it proved to be absolutely correct, because the next year she was already in there picking her own rhubarb as much as she wanted, and all the daffodils that she could put in the vases. that she had. Now the Holy Spirit has been given to us and the Holy Spirit is the earnest, the foretaste of what we are to get in a coming day. Now that's one of my aside that I was speaking about this morning. I'm trying to think how I was led up the beaten flag to get on that subject. But I was saying to you that we are able to live the Christian life We should live the Christian life because we're in Christ, if we're Christians at all. And we're able to live the Christian life because Christ is in, if we're in Christ. The same the other day when the sponge is in the water, the water is in the sponge. And because Christ is in, that means to say His Spirit is in our hearts, we have the enabling, the sufficiency. All that we need is found in Him for our lives every day. And it's marvelous that these Gentiles who now were in Christ, and Christ was in them, which to them was the hope of glory, and they're enabling for their present Christian life. They were once, according to verse twenty-one, they were once alienated, and enemies in their minds to God. Alienation, you see, is judicial. It is a dismissal from God because of sin and rebellion. And that's where they were. They were without status, and they were without hope in the world. But now they are not only in Colossae, but they are in Christ, and everything that that means. So not only his dear son, but and you. And notice what he says there. And you were not only alienated, but now reconciled. And a definition of reconciliation would be being brought back into the blessings of relationships. And they'd been brought back to God. They were now sons and daughters of the living God reconciled. And not only so, they were justified. This is what it says in verse two, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Do you know that you believing in Christ on one of these days would be presented to God absolutely unblameable and holy and accounted as though you had never sinned. Because all those who believe in Christ, God justifies them. He is just and yet a justifier of the unjust if the unjust just simply believing Jesus. And the blessing of clear vindication from the Holy God to guilty sinners is because of his death. in verse twenty-two. We owe so much to the shed blood, to the death of Christ, his life laid down. Indeed, we owe everything to this. on the golden streets of heaven all men hope to walk someday yet so many are not willing to accept the living way and while others build on good works or opinions if they may hallelujah I'm depending on the blood in the soul cleansing blood of the Savior I've been washed in the crimson flood though the world may say there is hope some other way I'm depending on the blood we have redemption through his blood having made these through the blood of his cross, reconciled in the body of his flesh through death. Notice in verse twenty-three he says, if you continue in the faith, grounded and settled. Now I understand we believe, if you don't I do, if you'll accept my apology for putting it that way, in the eternal security of the believer. He will never, never let those who trust in him He will never lose their hands. He saves them eternally with eternal life. They are partakers of the divine nature without becoming divine, but they will live forever in Christ. And this, of course, isn't a conditional if at the beginning of verse you see, continuity is the proof of reality. And if they did not continue in the faith grounded and settled, and if they were moved away from the hope of the gospel, this would be a sure sign that they were not the Lord's at all. And this is what we have to face in America today. I know in the few months that I've been here, and my nine or ten appearances in this country, I know what the position is. same as it is in our country, there are many young men and women in our churches and assemblies today who have not personal taking place, having not really had a personal acquaintance and meeting and experience with him. Now this is proved by the fact that many of them, when they get their liberty, they go to another state or to a college or go to another country, they just leave the assembly, they leave the church and give up their profession, showing that they've just been brought up in a Christian home without having a Christian experience themselves. Let us face the fact and lead our boys and girls to Christ before they leave home. That's our responsibility. Remember Mrs. Zebedee? Will I call her Mrs. Zebedee? She was the mother of Zebedee's children. I don't call Mrs. Clifford Mrs. Clifford. I call her other things, of course, that Mrs. Zebedee, you know what she did? She had two sons. And they were grown-up sons. Twenty, twenty-one years of age. She was still in their confidence. talking to them and they to her about spiritual things, about the things that matter most. And do you know what she did? She brought them both to Jesus. How about that? I hope you can still talk to your boys and girls about the Lord Jesus. And it's your responsibility as a father and mother, not just to send them to Sunday school, but to bring them to Christ himself. So I hope you just go home and lead your boys and girls to the Lord Jesus so much. Do that, will you? can. Leave them to the Saviour tonight. They want to be saved. They want to be ready for heaven. And this is our responsibility. And that's what this is ever being. Well, no, it says, if you continue in the faith, grounded and said, continuity is the fruit of reality. We're longing to see that our boys and girls are genuinely born again by the Spirit of God. And as they go on with the Lord, trying to serve him, not just wanting fun in life, but wanting to serve Jesus in life. Not just out for parties and picnics, but out to glorify Christ in their bodies and spirits, which are his. That's the cry in America today before all our churches and assemblies. Get the young people to serve the Lord Jesus. Most of them, it seems to me, in our country it's just the same, if not worse, out of the partisan picnics and fun. Brethren, if we're Christians at all, we are here to put Christ first. And that's our message tonight from this chapter and from this epistle. To put Christ first and glorify him and serve the Lord Jesus and wait for his coming in that way. You don't wait for the coming of Christ by just having fun. And so continuity, I say for the third time, continuity is the proof of reality. Well, not only his dear son and you, but I, Paul. This is in verse at twenty-three. Here he says, the gospel has been preached to you and to everybody, whereof I, Paul, and made a minister. You'll notice that he is not only a minister of the gospel in verse twenty-three, and a minister of the church, in verse twenty-five see the last verse of verse twenty-four which is the church whereof I am made a minister but you'll notice also in verse twenty-eight whom we preach he was a minister of Christ notice it was not what we preach but after going into such great detail about the glory of the eternal Son of God And about the wonders of his matchless work upon the cross of Calvary, shedding his blood. He didn't say what we preach. He said, who we preach? And he was getting on and there was spiritual advancement when he said, I'm not only a minister, a servant. And he said, that's what the word means simply. It's not only a servant of the gospel and a servant of the church, but I am the servant of Christ, whom we preach. Now, any man who is a minister of Christ ministers of Christ. I told you the other day what Whitfield used to say, teaching Christ is the greatest means of converting sinners and of building saints. And this is what Paul said, whom we teach. Warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Well, now you see, later on in Colossians chapter three, We find that the Lord Jesus is seen as the very life of the believer. The apostle here is continuing with the subject of his dear son and the preeminence of the Lord Jesus. And in chapter three he speaks of him as being preeminent as the very life of the believer. Verse three, For you have died and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear. Now the Lord Jesus, after his resurrection, it said of him that he revealed himself to his own in another form. Before we go any further tonight, I want to ask you a very personal question, if I may, in the name of the Lord Jesus your Savior. I know that the Lord Jesus has revealed himself to you as your Savior. He saves you from hell, from the consequences of your sins. Have you ever revealed himself to you in another form? Have you ever known him revealed himself to you as the king of your life, as your master to serve, as your Lord, as he revealed himself to you as the very God of your life, and even more, has he ever revealed himself to you as the life of your life, so that you do not yourself struggle to imitate Jesus, but you rest in Jesus, who is your light, and allow him to live his own life through you to the praise and glory of his name. Dr. F. B. Meyer was traveling on a train towards London once, and he saw a very nice gentleman sitting opposite to him, a young fellow, reading that very, very good book, Imitation of Christ by Thomas A. Kempis. got into conversation with the young man, said, now, the very nice book you're reading there. He said, it certainly is. Well, he said, I've read that and I enjoyed it. He said, yes. Well, he said, now listen, young fellow, I'm going to show you a better way. And he told this young man something, although he'd been a Christian for many years, that he'd never known. That God had given Christ by his spirit to indwell his art and life, to live his own life through him. So that the Christian life was not imitation, but indwelling. For you have died. You have been crucified with Christ. Now at the end of you, that's all that God thinks of you and what you can do in the Christian life. He crucified you with Christ. Now he's given you a new life in his risen son. And your life is hid with Christ in God in Christ who is our life. Your life is the treasure. With Christ he's the treasurer in God. And that is the treasuring. And what a blessing it is when inexperienced Christ is the very life. of the believer. So there you see the preeminence of Christ as the life of the believer, and the practice of the Christ life from verse five to verse sixteen in chapter three, the practice of the Christ life, and then the results of the Christ life as seen in natural relationships. I don't think we'll ever get to this tonight, so I'll just give you very briefly the idea here in my own words. Because you see in verse seventeen the apostles says, whatsoever you do, in word or do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. That is for the sake of the Lord Jesus. And he bears this out again in verse twenty three, saying something similar. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. Put your heart into it. And this is what he's saying. Wives submitting for his sake. Because it's preeminent in your life. Husbands loving for his sake. Children obeying for his sake. Do all for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Power of encouraging for his sake. servants obeying for his sake. And the beginning of chapter four, that verse which really should be at the end of chapter three, as we all know, masters giving, that which is just and equal, for his sake. So we see the results of the Christ life as seen in natural relationships. Now my burden this evening, probably I think I'm a long time getting to it, and I'm sure that Quite right. You're right, I am. And I apologize for that. My main burden is to show you what the Apostle wanted to show, the Christians at Colossae, that because God has made Christ, number one, in every way, they themselves, the Christians at Colossae, should do the same in their church and in their individual life. And that's the key phrase then, that in all things he might have the eminent. So you'll notice he's reminding them very graciously and tactfully and diplomatically as we saw this morning. As they were not giving to Christ his rightful place, at least some of them in the church at Colossae, he said, I want you to know that God has made Christ number one in everything. He goes on to say, you should do this. Well, now he says, Christ, the Lord Jesus, is preeminent in creation. This is verse fifteen. He is the firstborn of every creature. Now, this is saying exactly this, that he is preeminent in creation. How does it say that? Well, you see, the word firstborn does not mean born first. Not talking about the Lord Jesus being born first of all that have been born in God's creation. It's not saying that at all. But firstborn is a title of dignity and not of time. It is simply saying that he is number one in all creation. It is not saying that he is a created being in the sense that you and I are. Because in verse sixteen it goes on to explain, for in him were all things created. They were created in him. They were created by him. That's at the end of the verse. And they were created for him. In him that's the beginning of creation. By him that is the means of creation. And for him that is the end of creation. So in other words, the Lord Jesus himself was the creator. And this is why he is preeminent. He is the firstborn number one in all creation. When the Apostle says that in all things he might have the preeminent, this is what he's saying, that he should be simply number one. The subject here really, if I can coin a word, is about the firstness of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has made him first, the preeminent one, not only in creation, but in conservance as well. This is verse seventeen. He is before all things, and by him all things consist. As it says in another part, he upholds all things by the word of his power. All authority has been given to the Lord Jesus, in heaven and in earth, all power it is in the universe, and by him all things consist. And if the Lord Jesus took his peated hand away from the control of the universe, it would collapse tonight. He is overall in the universe. He is number one in conservance as well as creation. There's also number one in the church. It says in verse eighteen, He is the head of the body, the church. The Lord Jesus, according to Ephesians one, twenty-two, is the universal head. God gave him to be head over all things to the church. He is also the head of the local company of believers in one Corinthians twelve, twenty-seven. Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular. He's the head. Ephesians five twenty-three is the head of the whole body, the whole church, just as the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church, Ephesians five. And then of course he's the head of the individual member in the church, your head and mine, according to one Corinthians chapter eleven verse three, the head of every man, that is every believing man, is Christ himself. So there's no doubt at all about it from other scriptures which confirm this is true. The Lord Jesus is preeminent in the church. Then in the middle of verse eighteen it says that he's preeminent in the resurrection as well. He's the first born from the dead. You see, not that he's first to be raised from the dead. Or the first of all those that have been raised from the dead or will be raised from the dead. But it's simply saying that in the resurrection the Lord Jesus is number one. He is preeminent in all things God has made him so. And then later on, of course, in verse twenty seven, Christ in you, the hope of the glory. And this is what the apostle wanted to get over to the Colossian Christians, because, you know, they were suggesting, or some of them were, one man in particular, as we noticed in chapter two this morning. This one man in particular was trying to bring this doctrine that there were many other intermediaries between sinful man and a Christ holy God. And the Lord Jesus is only one of many, you know. But how can that be? When we read about the Lord Jesus, who was far greater than all the angels in Hebrews one, being so much better than the angels, he's obtained a more excellent name than they. unto which of these other intermediaries, as the false doctrine said, unto which of any of these did God say, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. When he brings his firstborn into the world, his first begotten into the world, he said, let all the angels of God worship him. Now his angels are ministering spirits, but to the son, he said, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. Thou hast anointed him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. None can with him confess. So the apostle in a very delicate and gracious way, but definite way, was setting Christ in his rightful place and making him to be, as he indeed is, number one. and making him to be that in the sight of the Colossian Christians to whom he was writing. Now the Lord Jesus in Mark chapter one comes into Peter's business life, into Peter's church life, and into Peter's home life, all in Mark chapter one. And in each case the Lord Jesus is given the right of way He has obeyed. He has given the preeminent. He's recognized as number one, trusted and followed, and in every case, the blessing. The Lord Jesus came into his business life and said, Now you come after me, and I'll make you fishies of men. And he followed the Lord Jesus, and thousands turned to the Lord, through Simon Peter's preaching. And he came into his church life, and there was some trouble there. There's sometimes a little bit of trouble in our church life. In this one there was a man with an evil spirit, but the Lord Jesus came. He was given liberty, given the preeminence, and he commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. And peace was stored in the church that day. It was the synagogue in this day. And then of course he comes into Peter's home life because Peter's wife's mother lay sick of a fever. Peter's wife's mother. Now there are some of our separated brethren to say that Peter was never married. Well, if he had a mother-in-law without having a wife, he was a very lucky fellow. And it was Peter's wife's mother who lay sick of the fever. And anon they, that is Andrew and fever, tell him, she's the mother of the old lady. And you remember, they opened the door and invited the Savior into the home. And they made him feel at home. And they gave him the preeminence in the home. Peter did in his business life and in his church life. And what a blessing. You know what happened? Well, he immediately went to where the old lady was on the couch, lying sick of a fever. He lifted her up. And the fever left her. And then we read, she ministered unto them. And then we read, all the city was gathered together at the door. And then the man with the palsy was brought of four and let down through the roof. You remember all that sort? And it all happened through this, that Peter gave to the Lord Jesus the preeminent. There was a lot of blessing for his mother-in-law. She was restored. A lot of blessing for him and his brother. his wife because you see now instead of having to work hard doing the cooking there was she and they sitting at the table of the lord jesus and the old lady having been ill for so long as they were too pleased to do a bit in the kitchen cook the fish that people had been fishing for and the kids as well you call them french fries i know and bring them in, and they were sitting there with the Lord Jesus. So they had a blessing, resting, communing with the Savior. And then, of course, all the city heard that he was then all crowded to come in, and they all heard the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth, and never man spake like this man. This was a God-man, declaring that the prophet of God, the will of God, and bringing the salvation of God through his atoning death. And the people were gathered around to the afternoon. Then they brought the man sick of a palsy. And the Lord Jesus didn't see his face. But he was healed. But he saw their face. He didn't see them. They were on the roof. But he saw their face. He sang their face. He said to the sick of the palsy's son, Thy sins be forgiven thee. And what a blessing in our church life. And in our home life. And in our business life. when the Lord Jesus is made number one and given the pre-eminence. I want you to close this evening by illustrating the key text that in all things he might have the pre-eminence in this way. In Luke chapter twenty two, the Lord Jesus, or they said, the disciples said to the Lord Jesus, where shall we go and prepare the Passover that we might eat it with you? And he said, now you go to the city and you'll find something rather unusual. You'll find a man doing some work. Because over there the ladies do all the work, you see. The ladies usually carry a pitcher of water in and out of the city gate. Now he said, you'll find a man doing it. That's the man I want you to follow. If you follow him, he'll go into the city and into a certain house. And when you get into that certain house where he enters, you'll find another man. He is the good man of the house. and you shall say to the good manor house, where is the guest room where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? And he shall show you a large upper room furnished, there make ready, and they went, hound the man. He became, unconsciously, I suppose, their guide, just as you and I unconsciously, are guiding others day by day, and I hope we're guiding them the right way. And he led them to this house, and they found the second man who was the good man of the house. And then they found the upper room, and they found everything ready, just as the Lord Jesus had said unto them. You shall say to the good man of the house. Now, this is an old English word. which was used in the year sixteen hundred and eleven when this translation was made, which simply means the tenant of the house. Might have been the owner, but more probably the tenant of the place. He was renting it. He was living there. You should say to the good man of the house, where is the guest room? But what I'm trying to show you is this. Although, that's all that it needs. It's a very, very good illustration of our key text with me. Because you see, this man was a good man in a scriptural sense. Because only a man who does what he did can be good. You know what he did? He got a place ready for the Lord. And it was the preeminent place, the best place, ready for the Lord. Only those who do that can be good. Now, you see, we can never be good by trying to be good. We can only be good by having the good savior come into our hearts and lives and live his own life through us. When he's given the preeminent place, then outward goodness will result. We read of Barnabas. He was a good man, we read Barnabas was, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. Well, of course he was a good man if he was filled with the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the Holy Spirit of Jesus, the good and blessed Saviour. He was filled with him. That's why he was good. Now this is where Luther's matching comes in. Luther used to say we never become righteous by doing what is righteous. But having become righteous in his righteousness, we begin to do what is righteous. Or use the word good if you like. We don't become good by doing what is good. But having become good in his goodness, we begin to do what is good. That is, by his life and his goodness within us and from us and through us. So he said to them, you should say to the good man of the house. This man was a good man in a scriptural sense. He had a place prepared for the Lord. And David one day said, I will not get sweet to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids. until I have found out a place for the Lord. Habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. And God had found a place for him. And he was determined to find a place for the Lord. So they went, found a good man, and they found the room. Now when this good man was thinking one day, before this happened, of the possibility of the master coming his way, perhaps he sat down in the armchair and talked to himself like this. Well, John, they say the Savior is moving around Galilee and Judea. And if this is the Savior of the world and he comes your way, John, you'll have to do something about it. Let him into the home, find a place for him, get a room ready for him. I know what I do, perhaps he said to himself. There is a room down the yard, a shed we used to use for lumber. We'll get that cleaned out and sorted out and whitewashed it. We'll put a chair in there, and that will do for the master. Did he? No, sir. He said, I have a room upstairs, which is my best room. It is my biggest room. And when the Lord comes, that's the room he's going to have. Some of us are saying that he must be worked in some bad place in our hearts and our hearts. All by the Spirit says in all things, Christ must have a preeminent. the first place of Milan. They went and found a large upper room. And you remember the Lord Jesus said to them, You shall say to the good man, Where is the guest room? And he shall show you a large upper room furnace. And they went there. And what did you think they found? When this man was talking to himself, all good businessmen do? I'm quite sure he said to himself, or did he? Well, when the Saviour comes this way, I'll give him my best room upstairs. I'm afraid I shall not be able to leave all that furniture in that room. You see, some of that furniture is good stuff. And I wouldn't like the disciples to use that. They'd spoil it. Some of them are only fishing them anyway. So I'll move some of that out, and I wouldn't like the Lord Jesus to look in that top drawer on the right. I'll either have to take that whole piece out or else lock that drawer up with a key. Did he say that? No, sir. All the furniture was left at the Lord's disposal. I'm asking you tonight, is all your furniture at the Lord's disposal? That in all things he might have a feeling. Well, you say, yes, that's last night. I went home and I gave my carpet for the Lord and my sideboard for the Lord and my dying feet for the Lord. It's all that the Lord's disclosed. Now, did you do that? Well, if you've given what you've missed, and I will, what you've really missed. You know, you can entertain angels sometimes. And when it's mainly these elephants with me, angels unaware that by giving hospitality to some poor soul who is the Lord, or some servant of the Lord passing by, Anyway, all the furniture is all your furniture at the Lord's disposal. Now, I'm not asking you to take it literally. I asked you that last night. But you can take it literally again tonight if you like. I mentioned the other night in another connection a friend of mine, Arnold Pickling, one of the editors of Echoes of Service in Bath, England. And, you know, one day he came home from a Sunday school. Well, it was actually, I think, from Bible class, which we used to have in those days on a Sunday afternoon at three o'clock. And he said to his wife, she said, you know, Joan, you know, Joan, I don't feel that I'm doing enough for my young people in the Bible tribe. Well, she said, you're there regularly every Sunday. You give up all sorts of things to be there. Well, he said, I only see them one hour in the week, and that's not enough. Well, she said, what are you thinking of doing? Well, he said, I'm thinking of staying here on a Sunday night instead of going out preaching too much. and inviting them to come to the meeting, and then I'd love to bring them into the home afterwards, into the front room. She said, she's open in the front room, did you? She said, do you mean on that carpet? And, you know, she was a bit doubtful. So he said, let's go and have a look at the carpet. So they went in and on into the front room. Now he said, I'm going to suggest an idea that we kneel on this carpet and give it to the Lord Jesus. They knelt together and asked the Lord Jesus, take this carpet and make it his own and use it for its glory. And then, while they were on their knees, they gave the Lord every bit of furniture in the room as well. And then next Sunday, the young people came. And he said it was marvelous how the Lord looked after his own property. For months and years. Marvelous how the Lord looked after his own. So you can take it literally if you like. But that's not really my message for now. I want you to tell me this story. is all your plan at the Lord's disposal? Have you got the preeminence with you? All your gifts and powers and talents, not for your own selfish ends, not in the general rat race of this materialistic age, for your own englandment and home concerts and blessings and bank balances and so on. Oh, for Jesus, all my beings' ransom power. How poor, how spiritually poverty-stricken you will see. And let all your own child is at the Lord's. You remember in the Song of Solomon, chapter one, he came to her place, and she had no fruit to give him, and it was a vineyard, she was ashamed, nothing bad. But in between times she'd learned to follow him, and to trust him and to love him, and to love him supremely, and to give him the first place in our heart and life. And at the end of chapter seven, what a contrast. She took him by the hands. She said, come, my beloved. Come into the vineyard. In chapter one, she's trying to keep him out. In chapter seven, she's trying to bring him in. She said, come, let us go into the vineyard. Let us see if the vineyard. She knew very well the vines were flourishing. She said, let us see whether the tender grape appear. And then she went on and said, you know, at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee. Oh, my beloved. All for Jesus. All my beings ransomed ours. It's going to make such a difference. Fruitlessness to fruitfulness when we learn to love the Saviour supremely and give him glory. of the eminent. So it says in Luke twenty-two, that they found exactly as the Lord Jesus said to them, they found the man carrying a pitcher of water, they found the good man of the house, they found the upper room, and they found the furniture all intact, ready for the Lord to use, and when the hour was come, he came in with them and sat down. And he said, with desire, I've desired to eat this part over with you before I got nothing to say. You notice, by Finding a place for the Lord, he found a place for the Lord as well, those who are with the Lord. And it's no good you saying you love the Lord if you don't love your brother. And if you find a place for the Lord, you should have found a place for those who are the Lord as well. All to know something of the breadth of the love of Christ in experience, reaching out to all his own. Non-excluded, all included. because we're all one in Christ Jesus, bound together in the bundle of life with the Lord our God. And this church, in this assembly here, is a fine expression of the oneness of the body of Christ, which I love, and I'm sure is precious to the heart of God. But now they found exactly at his head, and the Lord Jesus told me when the hour was come. Notice the text says, when the hour was come, he sat down. You know, in South Wales, in one of the assemblies, Port Adams down, in Cardiff, they have one of these old clocks, very ancient things. I should get everything up for at an antique dealer's shop, with a pendulum underneath and a glass, you see. And the brethren have painted a text on the glass. And that's the text they put on there. When the hours come, he sat down. Now you might think that's a hint for the preacher to shut up when it's time to get home. But it wasn't a hint for the preacher at all. It was really a hint to the Christians to be there on time, you know, and meet the Lord when it's time for the service. But you know there's more in the text than that. When the hour has come, It seemed to me, as I read it, to be the hour for everybody. It was the hour for communion for the disciples with their Lord. And instead of being taken up with him and giving him the preeminence, they were taken up with themselves. And who was going to be the greatest? And that sort of thing. No wonder the Lord Jesus said, if any men come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. The hour for communion. I didn't make the most of it. And it was the hour for the Lord Jesus. The hour for sacrifice. He said, For this purpose came I unto this hour. He went out from this upper room and gave himself into the hands of simple men who crucified him, nailing him through the tree. And he came into the world for that particular hour. When the hour was come, he was ready and not found wanting. But it was another hour. It was the hour for the good man of the house. The hour in his life he would never forget. when he prepared his best room his first place for the master gave him the preeminent place and all the furniture at the master's disposal and when the hours come he came in and sat down you will never forget it tonight you will thank God for all eternity for tonight if tonight you decide in the quietness of your own heart to make Jesus number one in your heart and mind. Just simply that. Number one. Number one, not number seven, or even number three, not even number two. Firstborn means number one. It is a title of dignity that in all things he might have the preeminence, the person that it is in God's heart. God has made him number one in creation, in his conservance, and in the church. God wants to make him number one in your heart. And when you let him in, give him the preeminent place, with all the furniture, all your powers of his discernment, then God will be glorified in you by the life of Jesus in his rightful place in your heart and life. Unto Christ, the glory in the church. by Christ. Let us pray. Amen. Let us take a moment of silent prayer. Before I pray publicly, I wonder if we might like to pray inaudibly for a moment, every one of us. Perhaps we want to confess our failure or even selfishness. Maybe we want to get right with the Lord tonight and ask him to come into our hearts and lives and be the life of our lives. Lord Jesus, come in and live your life through me. But that's the prayer we are praying now. Maybe you want to pray and say, Lord Jesus, be preeminent, be number one in my heart and life. Take me and all my powers. use them all for thy glory bless thy word to our hearts O God reveal Christ to us in another form as a preeminent one for his name may the grace of the Lord Jesus and thy love our God the fellowship and enabling of the holy indwelling spirit Be with us all tonight and always, until we sleep the slave is saved.