VanRyn, Elliot: Week Of Meetings 1978-04 ~ The Gospel In Europe

Say brethren with a capital B, I can't stand it. Uh, be that as it may, we're not a voice of the assemblies. We want to serve the assemblies. Uh, and in order to let us have contact with a broad spectrum of assemblies throughout the southeast, we've divided the corporation into three official sources of input. Uh, I'll tell you about two of them, and of course the board of directors speaks for itself, but one is a, is a list of advisors. These are men that, uh, have distinguished themselves in as servants among God's people. Uh, for instance, in Durham, North Carolina, you've got Mr. Det Wilder, in Charlotte you've got Mr. Brown Hall, uh, in Winston-Salem you've got Joe Giordano, and you've got Mr. A. Van Ryan in Florida. The completed list is on the back of a little brochure that I've got, and we've got a few with us, and if you know somebody that may be interested, uh, look at the brochure, look at the articles of faith, and if you agree with that and you would like to, uh, go for a year of intensive training, uh, please fill out the little place on the brochure and send it to us, and we'll send you this nice, uh, catalog that should explain everything. Uh, if you have any questions in addition to that, just write to the Director of Admissions, and they'll be happy to handle them. I'd like to read two little paragraphs, and I think it will pretty well sum up, uh, the attitude of the school. Uh, don't come to be a preacher. Don't come to be an evangelist. Uh, we're not in the business, and it's been underlined from the very beginning. Uh, we don't want to, to, to think for a moment that we're going to turn out professional preachers or anything else. We want to turn out quality spiritual disciplined lives, and that's what we're in the business to do. Uh, and Lord willing, with the type structure that the school will have, and with the emphasis, the heavy emphasis on practical biblical teaching, along with involvement in local assemblies, uh, the Holy Spirit will use this vehicle to serve assemblies. We want people to come back, and they'll fit in. Uh, they'll, they'll be an asset to the local meeting. And here are two little paragraphs that will probably, uh, do a lot toward summarizing our attitude. Great stress to- stress is placed on practical Christianity. It is not enough for one to be academically biblical. One must also be able to communicate this knowledge powerfully and effectively. The Center for Biblical Studies stresses the relationship of the individual Christian to the local church. It is required of all students that they be attached to a local church and be in fellowship and active in its reaching and building others. So, in order to implement this within six weeks after a person comes to the school, they'll have to get involved with a local church. If it's a Baptist, we're not going to require that they go to an assembly, but it'll have to be a fundamental Baptist church in the area. Uh, and they'll have to go to all the regular services. Now, naturally, we're appealing to Assemblies, so most of the folks are going to be from Assemblies, and they'll have to go to all the meetings and make a contribution in this way. If you're interested in getting a regular letter from the school just to let you know about the progress, we'll have this on the back after the meeting. Please sign it. No obligation. Sign it, uh, give your address, and we'll be happy to send you a letter, uh, from the president's office about once every two months. If you have any questions, please feel free to see us after the meeting. Thank you. Well, I'm going to do a little bit in the way of advertising. Uh, also, I mentioned on Monday evening that I had brought a few of my father's books. He's written a number of books, and they are on the back, uh, table there, and there's a sheet there that gives the prices of them. So if you are interested in any of those, why, the remedy is in your own hands. I would like, uh, in as much as I, uh, was told that this is ordinarily your missionary night, the last Wednesday of the month, to, uh, bring a message along those general lines. And for that purpose, if you will, we'll read from Acts chapter sixteen. Acts chapter sixteen. And we'll begin our reading at verse 4, Acts sixteen verse 4. And as they went through the cities, Paul and his company, they delivered them the decrees for to keep that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith and increased in number daily. Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not. They passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. Therefore, loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracea, and the next day to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia and a colony. And we were in that city abiding certain days, and on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made, and we sat down and spake unto the women which resorted thither. Only eternity will reveal the far-reaching effects of this chapter and what is recorded in it. It was the first entry by the apostles with the gospel into Europe. And every one of us here tonight, I believe, are descendants of Europeans. And so we have a great debt under God to the Apostle Paul for not being disobedient to this heavenly vision which he received on this occasion, and he and his company entered into Europe for the first time, and you and I today are still basking in the blessing that has resulted from this. You notice here in this chapter, first of all, that the Spirit of God told Paul where not to go. It says in verse, uh, six, they were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, not the continent, but a province of Asia Minor, not even as b- big as Asia Minor today. It was just a province at that time, much smaller than Asia Minor. The Spirit of God forbade them. And then we read that the Spirit of God suffered them not to go into Bithynia. Paul saw a vision, a man inviting Paul to come and to, uh, enter into Macedonia, a man of Macedonia. Interestingly enough, while a man called the Apostle Paul to that ministry, the first ministry there was to women, because we read, of course, there not be this Philippi was a Roman colony, they didn't have a synagogue. Paul ordinarily went first of all to the synagogue, but instead of doing that, we read that he went down, in verse thirteen, on the Sabbath he went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was want to be made. And we might reasonably ask whether perhaps the reason that Paul and his company came at this time into Europe was not in response to the prayer of these pious women down by the riverside. We know this, that prayer has a tremendous effect in the work of God. You remember we read in Acts chapter four that the disciples, as they assembled together, it says they prayed, and it says as they prayed, the place was shaken, and all the apostles and those disciples gave witness with great power, it says, of the resurrection. The result of their great power flowed from prayer. God shook up the place when they started to pray. And in this same sixteenth chapter of Acts, you read that Paul and Silas are cast into prison, and there was no intervention on the part of God. His servants were beaten cruelly, put in that innermost dungeon, in those stocks, in a very uncomfortable position, and there was no action whatever on the part of God. And then you read this. At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and suddenly there was a great earthquake. And the implication of that is that when men lay hold upon God, then something earth shaking follows. The place was shaken when they prayed. And I think that we do well to remember that when we come together in a prayer meeting, how utterly dependent we are upon God for any blessing, for all blessing must come from Him. We read in the sixth chapter of Acts and the fourth verse how those apostles came to the decision that they, uh, were so much involved in the work of God, they didn't have time to decide which of those widows, the Grecian or the Judean Hebrews, uh, women were going to get, uh, that which was daily ministered to them. They said, choose you out seven men of good report whom we may appoint to this business. And they said, we will give ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. They said, we're going to talk to God before we talk to men. And that's a good thing for us to remember in our service for God. We need to lay hold on God before we speak to men. Well, there's a man asked them, but as I said, they came out and they ministered to women. In fact, in this chapter, you find that the two people that come into God's blessing first are women. You read of Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened, and you read of that damsel, you remember, that chased, uh, Paul and his company every day. And, uh, Paul turned around, and he said to this one who was possessed, he said to the spirit, I command thee, verse eighteen, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. In this chapter, you see how a woman of high moral character was blessed by the ministry of the apostle. And you see also how a woman, you might say, of low moral character was blessed. A women's prayer meeting, and God saw fit that two women, at least, in this chapter were blessed in a remarkable way, perhaps in response to the prayers of these godly women, women. You know, God opens doors, and he closes doors. He shut the doors here, in two instances here, in verses six and seven, but he opened another door. Come over into Macedonia and help us. You know, the Bible says of the Lord Jesus that he's the one who shuts and no man opens, and he's the one that opens and no man shuts. And our business is to take advantage of the open doors, and the fact that they're open doors does not always necessarily mean that it's an easy street, because Paul says, you remember, a great and effectual door is opened unto me. He didn't say it's open, but it says it is opened, because the Lord is the one who opens the doors. A great and effectual door is open unto me, and there are many adversaries. There's much opposition, but God opens doors, and when he opens the doors, no man can shut. I want you to notice some features concerning this call to Paul. First of all, it was a call to an individual. It says that this Macedonian prayed him. It was very specific. It was a call to an individual, to the Apostle Paul. He prayed him, come over into Macedonia. And it was the result of an individual vision on Paul's part that the gospel was brought into Europe. There's a verse in the Old Testament, in the book of Proverbs, that says, where there is no vision, the people perish. I think there are at least six visions that are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Remember the vision that Peter saw, that great sheet let down. Visions where there's no vision, and God uses men of vision, that have a vision, that catch a vision of something that can be useful in the work of God to get his work done. But I want you to notice this, that while one man got the d- got the, uh, vision, others immediately jumped on the bandwagon. You know, it says in this chapter, it says that they heard this voice, come over to Macedonia and help us. It says he prayed him. It says, and immediately we endeavored to go. I like that. Remember in John chapter twenty one, Peter says, I go fishing. You know, God uses leaders. God uses men of vision. Every work for God that has ever been done starts with one man. God uses men in his work. I go fishing, Peter says. We also go with thee. You know, it's a wonderful thing when there are those who have a vision, are supported by others who catch the vision and are willing to share it. And you know, you and I have a tremendous responsibility in the work of God. We can't all do the same thing, but we can all help in the work of the Lord. I remember some years ago, I was in Nassau in the Bahamas, and I was speaking on a passage in Second Corinthians. I entitled it "Three W's, and it was based on Paul's escape, uh, from prison, not from prison, escape from, uh, Damascus, and it's recorded in Acts chapter nine. He'd just been converted, and it says he preached boldly in the synagogues that Christ is the Son of God. And then, of course, they want to apprehend Paul, and it says that through a wall, through a window and a wall, I should say, through a window and a wall, Paul was let down in a basket and so escaped out of King Aretas' hand. Now, the interesting thing is that the basket there is a wicker basket. The wall, the window, and the wicker basket. And I suggested that, you know, there are always walls, there are always obstacles in connection with any work of God. But there are always windows, because God says, there is no trial taken you, overtaken you, but such as is common to man. But God will, with the trial, have a window. He'll make a way of escape that you may be able to bear. God always has a window in the wall that you may be able to bear. Well, I was going along along that line a little bit, and then I mentioned this. I said, you know, I can imagine those brethren about twenty five years after this incident getting together. George, aren't you glad? How about you, Tom? Sam, aren't you glad that that night, when the whole future of the church on earth hung for a little while on that man that was in that wicker basket, you held on to the ropes. You did your part to support him at a very crucial time. None of Paul's letters had been written at this time. None of the churches which he later was to found, were to found, had been founded at that time. He'd just been saved. Aren't you glad you held on to the ropes? And then I said, I'm sure that, you know, those brethren, as they held on to those ropes, they didn't drop him from twenty feet up. They just kind of let him down gingerly to the ground, and so he escaped out of their hands. And after the meeting, a brother came up to me and he said, uh, I appreciated the ministry, but he says, I didn't agree with something you said. I said, is that right? He said, yes. I said, well, what is it? He said, you said tonight that you were sure that when they let him down, they let him down very carefully. I said, yes, I said that. He said, well, I'm not so sure about that. He says, sometimes your brethren can let you down pretty hard. He saw the vision. Immediately, we endeavored to go. And I think it's important for us to realize that each of us has a very vital part to play in the work of God. We can't all do the same thing. We can't all go. We can all pray. We can all give. We can all do what we can. Now, the call was not only to an individual, it was from an individual. It says there stood a man and prayed him. And what I get out of that is this, that God still uses men to guide his servants in their service for him. Do you believe that? I believe that he does. God uses his men, often uses men to bring the call to his servants. He used Paul to bring the call to Timothy. He used Elijah to bring the call to Elisha. But it is his call. Come over into Macedonia and help. Now, the interesting thing is this. That man from Macedonia did not say, we may read that into that, but he did not say, come over into Macedonia and preach the gospel to us. He didn't say that. What he said was, come over into Macedonia and help us. But you know, it says, and immediately we endeavored to go, assuredly gathering that the Lord, that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. When they, when he heard that voice of that man, he heard the Lord speaking through that man to him, and he says, come preach the gospel. That's the way they interpreted it. They didn't interpret it as a call for material help. They didn't take up a collection and said, you know, there are a lot of poor people over there in Macedonia, and there were poor people, because Paul tells us in second Corinthians chapter eight that that church at Philippi was made up in large part of very, very poor people. He says they gave abundantly out of their deep poverty. They were the poorest of the poor as far as this world is concerned. They really needed to have a collection taken up for them. But they didn't interpret it as a call for material help. They didn't interpret it as a call for medical help. Luke was in the company. Doctor Luke, medical missionary number one. But they didn't interpret it as a call for medical help. You know, the Lord Jesus makes a remarkable statement to his own before he went back to heaven. You know, they had marveled at the works that he had done when he was here on earth. Nicodemus had said, no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. But the Lord Jesus said, greater works than these shall ye do, that all men might marvel. Greater works? Greater works than what the Lord Jesus did? Are his words true? Of course they're true. They're greater works because they last longer. Where is Lazarus today? The Lord Jesus raised him from the dead, but he's long since been rotting in his tomb. Where is Bartimaeus, that one to whom Christ gave sight? His eyes have grown dark in death. The greater works that we do, the works that we do are greater because they're longer. They're greater works because they're wider. The work which the Lord Jesus Christ did when he was here on Earth was limited to a sphere of this Earth's surface smaller than the state in which I reside, the state of Florida. All of his public ministry was limited to that land of Israel, smaller than the state of Florida. But he said to his disciples, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. How many who, Lord? Every creature. There isn't a soul under heaven that the gospel is not available for. The Bible says it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. It's unto all, Paul says, and it's upon all them that believe. It's available. It's wider. And then it's deeper. You know, the Lord Jesus' works had largely to do with physical healing. They healed the bodies. He cleansed the leper. He made the lame to walk. He gave sight to the blind. But oh, blessed be his name, the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ doesn't deal with externals. It deals with the heart of man. Not with the superficial. I know the miracles which the Lord Jesus did typify that internal work, but the Lord Jesus said it and he meant it. He said, greater works than these shall ye do, that all men might marvel. It wasn't a call for agricultural help. You know, the US Peace Corps went over and got involved in, in that way. No, they gathered when the Lord said, come over into Macedonia and help us. They gathered this, that God intended them to preach the gospel, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel unto them. What is the trust that we as Christians have? Well, Paul tells us that you and I have a sacred trust, and you and I are going to be responsible to God for what we have done with this trust. He says that you and I have been put in trust with the gospel, with the gospel, God's power unto salvation to everyone that believes. And you know, in all help that we give to men, anything that you do for men, good as it is, apart from the gospel, is only temporary help. All those to whom Paul went at Philippi, they're all dead. Not one of those to whom he ministered is living today. They've all, the earth has been swept clear of them long, long ago. But oh, he helped them. He didn't help them just for time. He assured them that in believing the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, they were held for all eternity. Help us. You know, the word that is used here is a word, it's a combination word, I mean, that means to shout and to run. It's used in Matthew chapter fifteen and verse twenty five, where Peter says, Lord, help me. It's used in Hebrews chapter four sixteen. Let us therefore, uh, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may find grace to help in every time of need. It's used in Hebrews chapter two and verse eighteen where it says he is able to succor, able to help them that are tempted. Well, in what ways does the gospel help? First of all, the gospel helps because it delivers men from the eternal consequences of sin. Not only does it deliver from the eternal consequences of our sin, but it delivers from the temporal power of sin. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter, it says of the Lord Jesus, rather, in Matthew chapter one, thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall help his people save themselves from their sins. Did you ever read that? For he shall save his people from their sins. And a savior that does not save from the power of sins is not my savior. It says he saves. Sin shall no longer have dominion over over you. He'll save from any sin. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, cleanseth us. Didn't say it cleansed us, it cleanseth us. It's a continuous thing in the believer's life. He cleanseth us from all sin. I love those lines written by Ader Abershon. A savior who died our salvation to win. A savior who knows how to keep us from sin. Yes, this is the savior, the savior we need. He is a savior indeed. And one of these days, he's going to save us from the very presence of sin. There won't be any sin internally. We have that problem now. And there won't be any sin externally. The Bible says that our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior. We shall change these bodies of our humiliation and fashion them like unto his own body of glory. What a day that we have to look forward to as believers. You know, the Bible says that bodily exercise profits for a little. It really is for a little time. As long as you're in this world, it's profitable. But there comes a day when you're no longer able to take your bodily exercise. There comes a day, no matter how much you exercise, all these physical, uh, faddists, they have to give it up someday. I do like one fellow somebody was telling me about since I was here. I think he was seventy four years of age, and he was on a real physical fat as nut, and I think he fell over in a heart attack when he was on a television program. But at any rate, you can get all the medical help that you want, but eventually you have to resign yourself to the fact that all of this kind of thing is only a temporary blessing. Some years ago, my second son, Brent, was driving home, and a lady yelled at him and said, there's a man in the canal, and he stopped his car and jumped out and saved a man from drowning. And every year he receives a Christmas card from this fellow whose life he saved. But, you know, you can save a man from drowning. You can go before the judge, and he saves you from the electric chair. But it really doesn't make too much difference whether you believe in capital punishment or not. You know why? Because God has passed capital punishment upon all men. Isn't that what the Bible says? Death is passed upon all men because all have sinned. You know, in Mark chapter five we read of that man, that demon-possessed man, he said he was dwelling among tombs. That's where you're living. You're dwelling among tombs. This world is a vast graveyard, and until our Lord Jesus Christ comes, no one is getting out of here alive. You can get out of this room alive, but you're not getting out of this world. Isn't that a fact? That's not all the story. The wonderful story is that we have a message that we can tell to men how you can get out of this world alive. You know, the Bible says, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he have died, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. What is that you said, Lord? Shall never die. Believest thou this? The Lord Jesus says in John chapter eight, Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Is it death to leave a world of sin and sickness and sadness and to be ushered into the presence of the Lord? The Bible doesn't call it death for the believer, it calls it sleep. Nothing that men fear more than death, and nothing that men love more than sleep. My dad used to say that there were two things that he, he hated about the, about, uh, a bed. He said that, uh, his mother always wanted him to get in it before he wanted to get in it, and she always wanted him to get out of it before he wanted to get out of it. You know, most of us, we find that we love sleep pretty well. Saved. Come over into Macedonia and help us. I was interested to notice that the word there literally is to come through Macedonia or pass through. I like that. I'll give you a couple instances where that same word is used. In Luke chapter sixteen and verse twenty six, when it's speaking there of, uh, you know, the, uh, rich man and Lazarus, it's, it says there's between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed so that they which would pass from us to you, they can't do it, say, pass. And then it's again in Hebrews eleven and verse twenty nine, the same verse word, it says, by faith they passed through the Red Sea. They passed through. And you know, whenever you carry the gospel anywhere, you're really passing through. That was the experience that Paul had. He brought the gospel here to these Macedonians, and you know the result of it was? He carried it beyond that. There's always the regions beyond where you carry it. You cannot carry the gospel anywhere without carrying it beyond where you're going. That's an impossibility, because the minute souls are saved, they're going to pass it on. That's exactly the way it works. That was the way it worked at Philippi, because Paul says so. You know, when he was ministering elsewhere, he says, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. He says, ye sent once and again unto my necessity. And by reaching these individuals here at Philippi, Paul was enabled to reach beyond and to carry the gospel to others. You know, that's a wonderful thing to realize that if we can help one person to Christ, we're helping someone else down the line. That's the way it works. How is the generation gap met? I'll tell you how it's met. You know the reason my children have the gospel? It's because my parents passed it on to me, not by heredity, but they saw that I was exposed to it, and I believed it, trusted Christ as my savior, and I've had the joy of seeing my children, not through my particular ministry, but in one way or another, they've come to Christ. You cannot give the gospel to anyone without benefiting someone else down the line. Come through Macedonia, pass through, and you pass it on to someone else. I think it's interesting to notice the immediate response that these brethren had to the, uh, guidance here in Acts chapter sixteen. The vision indicated where they were to go. You know, sometimes we have calls, you know, in our service to the Lord. We don't always know where to go. I remember reading something Vance Havner said one time, said when he first was preaching the word, he said every time he'd get a letter and say, uh, how about coming to Philadelphia? He said, the Lord's call, go to Philadelphia. Next day he'd get a letter to go to Chicago or someplace else. But he said it became a little difficult when he got three invitations the same day to three different places to know where the Lord wanted him to be. I believe that the Lord guides by circumstances. I believe he guides through his word. I believe he guides by inner conviction. It's not always so easy to know just exactly what the Lord would have us to do. You know, every need is not necessarily a call. I heard about one fellow years ago, and he wasn't a particularly gifted fellow, but he said that he was a farmer, and he said, I saw up in the, uh, sky two letters, PC, PC, Preach Christ, call to the work. And a fellow that knew him pretty well says, how do you know it doesn't mean pick cotton? It doesn't always mean what we like it to mean, and we need to be exercised before the Lord and to listen well to what our brethren have to say about whether we're qualified. God doesn't call unqualified men to service for himself. I'm sure that we're all aware of this. The greatest need in the world today is the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I doubt if there are five percent of this world's population that know Christ as their savior. I doubt that very seriously. I was thinking the other day of what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew's gospel, and he's speaking of the seed, the sower and the seed. He spoke- speaks, you know, of the, the seed where the fowls came and, and stole it away, and of the thorns that came up and choked the seed, and the seed that fell on superficial ground and it didn't bring any fruit, and then of the seed that fell on good ground, and some bought thirty, sixty, and and a fold. But it was a sort of a solemn thought to re- realize this, that seventy five percent of the seed which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of was not productive. Three out of four did not produce fruit. Well, what does that mean to us? Well, I think it should mean this, that we should not be surprised that if people, that people are not going to jump on the bandwagon when we preach the gospel. And I think we should realize this, that our responsibility is to share the gospel with others, but the results are with God. The Lord Jesus spoke, you remember, of that man who sowed the seed, and it sprang up, you know, first the blade, and then, you know, finally the full corn in the air, and he said it, you know, what was the man doing when they were all this was going on? He was sleeping. Sleeping? Yes. And you mean that seed sprang up? Yes. But you know, he had done one thing that was essential. He had sowed the seed. Isn't that what a farmer does? He goes out on his property, and he throws the seed in the ground. He doesn't stand every minute and say, I wonder if that seed's gonna come up. He goes to sleep. He goes about his daily task, and that earth brings it up of its own accord. Who does it? We say the earth, God does it. God makes the seed to grow. And you know, our business is to plant the word of God. We've been put in trust with the gospel, and then to trust God that he will bring it to free- fruition, and to realize that we are workers together with God. Without the sowing of the seed, there's not going to be any fruit, but if we sow the seed, God will take care of the results. May God challenge us and help us in our lives to share the truth of the gospel with others. Shall we pray? Our God, we thank thee for thy precious word. We thank thee for our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee that we have in our hands a message that can change and alter lives for the better now. But we thank you that godliness not on- does not only have promise in the life that now is, but in that which is to come. And we would, our God, appreciate afresh the marvelous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor, that we, through his poverty, might be rich. Bless this gathering tonight and use thy word to help the challenge, and encouragement of each one, we ask in our Savior's name. Amen.