Craig, David: Growth In The Family ~ 1 Pe 1

Our reading tonight is, first of all, in the First Epistle of Peter, please. The First Epistle of Peter. Now, just to couple up with last week's meeting, we shall begin in chapter one and at verse twenty two. Seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit, unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently, being born again not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever. Verse one of chapter two. Wherefore laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, as newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if so be you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Now a second reading in the second epistle, just over a page or so. The second Epistle of Peter, chapter three, verse fourteen. He has been bringing before his hearers, in the previous verses of this chapter, the ending up of the ages, the tremendous conflagration seen at the coming judgment. In verse fourteen, he now applies his message. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent, that you may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Verse seventeen. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things before, beware lest ye also being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, both now and forever. Amen. Now come back a few pages to the second epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter one. Paul and Silvanus and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians, in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all toward each other abounded, because that your faith groweth exceedingly. Now, another reading in the Epistle to the Ephesians, just a little before this now. Ephesians chapter 4. Now, beginning from about verse 7 in this context, there's reference to the giving of the gifts to men by the risen Christ for the purpose seen in verse twelve, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Come down to verse fifteen, Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Now I want another scripture reference in the second epistle of Paul to Timothy. Second Timothy. Verse fourteen of chapter three. Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, truly furnished unto all good works. So the Lord will bless to us his good work. Now, last, last Lord's Day, we introduced our subject by speaking on entering God's family, and I trust that every soul in the meeting has had this experience. One just wonders, after the type of gospel meeting we had, will there not still be somebody here that was with us then, and you're not yet saved? I would say there'd be a crowning glory of this meeting tonight, if as the result, before I'm finished speaking, you would look to Christ and know the joy that I have known for fifty years, the joy of your sins forgiven. Now, in speaking of the entering of the family, we first of all spoke of the need for entering. Then we spoke of the way of entering, and finally the results of entering the family. Now, just to hook on, we found that that text covered it all beautifully in two Corinthians five seventeen. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. Now, I meant to say, but time didn't allow last week, we could sum that up in four little points that's worth remembering. A new creation infers that every believer that has entered God's family has got, to begin with, a new standing. Prior to being born again, we were seen in Adam. He was our federal head. We were members of a fallen race. When we were born into God's family, we were transferred from one element to another. Christ becomes the federal head, seen in the fifth chapter of Romans, as by one man's obedience, many were made righteous. So we've been brought into God's family, and we have an entirely, have entirely a new standing. Then, secondly, not only is there a new standing, but there comes as the result new desires. A new standing because I'm in a new family. New desires because I have a new nature. Prior to entering God's family, we had only one nature, that with which we were born, fallen and depraved, not able in it to please God by any means. But when we came to Christ, when we were born again, when eternal life was infused into our souls, simultaneously we were indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Consequently, every born again soul is possessed of the Holy Spirit. Now, even in this city where we are, there are many genuine Christians. There are many in Ulster whom I know and whom I greatly respect because of their consistent living, and yet they seem to have a false appreciation, a wrong appreciation of this blessed truth. They imagine that you're born again, and sometime after you get a second experience, which is termed often the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Now, I want to cover that with one text tonight from the eighth chapter of Romans, not ridiculing our friends at all, but simply bringing the point to the final ground and board of appeal. In Romans chapter eight, we read this: If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. Now, that doesn't mean the disposition of Christ, for Christ had no disposition. There's not a member of Adam's race, there's not a believer in the meeting tonight but has his and her unique disposition. Christ had none. Christ was the sum total of all humanity. Away back in the typical teaching, fine incense had to be used in the worship of God. Sweet incense, beaten small. It was made out of four different ingredients, and those ingredients, the Bible said, had to be of light weight, pounded together with the art of the apothecary, pure and holy. It meant it typified the Lord Jesus, in whom every moral grace met in absolute and perfect proportion. So it's not the disposition of Christ, for he had no disposition. It simply means the Spirit of God that worked through Christ while he was here. You remember they said to him one day, or he said to them, no, they said to him that he cast out demons by the prince of demons. But the Lord answered, said, no, by the Spirit of God. That is to say, according to the third chapter of First Timothy, verse fifteen, you may remember this quotation. Great is the mystery of godliness. God is manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit. And so the spirit of Christ is the spirit of God. Now, young believer, when you were born again, the spirit of God came in. Now that you will find proved in the tenth of Acts. Immediately the family of Cornelius looked by faith to the uplifted Christ. To him, said the preacher, give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins and the Holy Ghost, heaven, all them that heard the word. And simultaneously with our faith in Christ came in the divine spirit. And so the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ has new desires because he has within him a new nature. It's called by Peter in his second epistle, chapter one, verse four, the divine nature. Thirdly, he's a new creation because not only has he a new standing in a new family, new desires because of a new nature, but new conduct because of a new power. Prior to being saved, the believer in Christ, he was the victim to sin. He was a slave. Sin was the master. But after the soul is born again, the tables are turned, and the believer in Christ becomes the master and sin's the slave. He gets the power to live over, victoriously over sin. The person that can't live victoriously over sin never was born again. Now, but you say, preacher, I fall at times. We all do. But that's a different story. We shall see that in one of our future addresses. I don't want to go into that tonight because it lies before us in the future, if the Lord will. I only make the comment tonight that the believer in Christ has got a new conduct because he has within him a new power. And finally, because the new creation, we now find is in a new company because he is in a new environment. That's why that a born-again soul is never happy with the unconverted. No born-again soul can fraternize with the unconverted and the happy. That is to say, if you keep your standing and keep the flag out to the end of the mat. There may be that soul, of course, that's looking after salvation and would welcome your company, but generally speaking, the worldling has no place for the born-again soul. The Lord Jesus said so. He said about his own, in speaking to the Father, they're not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I have taken them out of the world, but he said I've sent them back into the world, of course, to be witnesses for him. Now, that brings me to my subject proper tonight. The believer now is a new creation. He has entered God. He's become a child of God. Now, the first thing we look for in the natural realm with a child is growth. My travels around the country as a preacher, I was always very fond of children, and I love as I travel around year after year to see that consistent growth in the little families. It's really good to see. I've been in homes where it's been different. I've been in homes where I've been conducted into a little room, to look down into a cot, see a girlie of twelve years of age. She was only a baby. Very sad sight. No, as in the natural realm, so in the spiritual realm. God expects, if I've entered God's family, my life will be marked by a consistent growth. Now, I want to make this very simple. When we come to First Peter chapter two, this is what he says. Now he says, you've been born again. Now he says, having laid aside all malice. Now you brethren, read your Bibles. You may round the feet here. If you have a Newbury Bible, you will notice the participle's still here. Now, though I left school when I was thirteen and nine months, I can still show you the participle, you know? It's in this passage. Our version says where for laying aside. No, no. It's where for having laid aside. The idea is it's a thing put off like an old garment once for all. The way you would do when you're finished with your summer's coat, after wearing it, I was only going to say three seasons, not many do that now. But after you do, and you lay it aside, and you send it away to some charitable institution or something, say I'll never wear that again. That's exactly the thought in this passage. Having laid aside, taken off a garment that you've worn for a time, but you've made up your mind, I'm not going to wear that garment anymore. Here it is. Having laid aside all malice. What is malice? Malice is the very word that's used for the devil. It's too bad that Peter feeding the sheep has to remind them of this. Now, I said, if you're a born-again soul, this is one of the evidences of your growth. You've laid aside all malice. You're growing in God's family, and this is unknown in the family, malice. Malice is a dreadful thing. One day, a woman in the Old Testament, she saw, she saw her husband pouting. She said, what's your trouble? That's all right, she said, I was down there, that man called Naboth, in a lovely vineyard, tight up against mine. I said to him, sell me a vineyard, neighbor. No, he said, I will not. Well, he said, I'll give you a, I'll even give you a better vineyard than that. No, he said, I'll not part with it. Why was that? Because that man was growing, growing, growing in this sense. He was getting a continued appreciation of the Word of God. This passage says, desire the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow thereby. This man was feeding on the book, and he saw that he dare not part with the inheritance of his fathers. Even though it was the request of the king, he said, no, I'll not part with the inheritance of my fathers. I'll go by the word of God. So he's, he's pouting. I said, don't worry, I'll get to the vineyard. So they have a big night for neighbor, set him up on high, then she sends other henchmen that drew out the glittering blade. Down goes the man of God in his own blood. However, she says, we down now we haven't possessed the vineyard. It's yours now. No hindrance anymore. But you went round the bend, you met a man in hairy attire, leather and girdle. Oh, said Elijah, you're the man that's troubling Israel, shutting up the heavens, no rain. I'm not troubling Israel, said Elijah, but Ahab, you and your guilty house troubling Israel. And remember this, in the place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, they licked thy blood away, and they did. And the very woman that incited him, shall I say, to go and take the vineyard on the ground of murder, on the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, they licked the blood of Jezebel. I trust there's no child of God in the meeting tonight with malice in their heart. Malice. If you can allow malice to grow as a weed in the soil of your heart, maybe you're never born again. How do you stand in relation to your brethren, your sisters in Christ? Malice. Malice, having laid aside all malice, like an old coat, and all guile. Guile. Young believers, listen. I count this a very, very great privilege to minister God's truth here. And I would like, if I could, in my little while that's left in my ministry for God, if even in this very city, I've now come to reside in its suburbs, if I could be used of God in my poor ministry, feeble and weak, to be into young believers, what ought to be seen in them if they're growing in God's family, I would be hi- highly rewarded for my poor little effort. Guile. Listen, young sister in Christ, never let this characterize your life as a born again soul. It's straight above board. No drawn blinds in your life. No barred oaks. No trying to keep God's eye out of your secret life. All guile. Guile's a tremendous thing. You remember a man in the Old Testament? He had a grievance against another brother. He fled after him one day till he overtook him in the gate of Hebron. Joab was his name. Abner was the good man's name. Abner, he said, I want a wee chat with you. Do you mind? No. Just come aside into the gate here to the choir. Then they went, what do you want to say, Joab? Cold. David says, there's a mighty man, a prince form in Israel. Died Adam as a fool died, his hands were not bound, or his feet put in betters. As a man fell us before wicked men, he fell us down. Guy, terrible business this. If there's one professed believer in Christ I am afraid of and would shun, it's the man that I would imagine would take me by the hand, wish me well, and have up his sleeve the dagger. I give you it when you're not expecting. Having laid aside. Now you'll know why you're growing in the things of God or not, young believer. These things have been left aside and are being laid aside every day. Having laid aside all malice, all guile, all hypocrisies. Hypocrisies. Here's a thing that God hates, detests it. Remember this, sinner friend. If you're not saved on the meeting tonight, let me speak to you. You may imagine you'll slip on through life, and your sins rise mountain high, and that some way or another you'll evade meeting God at the end, but you won't. You'll have to face them before the bar of God. Let the believer remember this. You can't live a double life and grow in God's things. Can't do it. Some have tried this kind of a thing. Here's a man comes back, stands in his master's room to see what the master would have him do. Oh yes, he said, you're in your his eyes. Where were you? Wasn't anywhere, my lord. Went not mine heart with thee? Where did he go? After Naaman. Took from him the talents of silver and the changes of raiment. Had them, of course, and view that Naaman did buy a vineyard or employ some servants and be a great man in the world. And he steps in before his master, and he says without a blush, I went nowhere. I fucked. Brethren, may the blessed God that the steps like into the speaker's heart tonight, and yours as well. Are we absolutely true before God tonight? Are we trying to walk a double course? Play a double man? My friend, it'll do maybe before the eye of men, but not before the eye of. Jerry Bowen said to his wife one day, go and see the man of God about our wee fellow. Is he going to live or is he going to die? But she listened to me. Whatever you do, try and get to know him and get to see him and get to talk to him without him let it, without him knowing who you are and that I'm your husband, or he'll tell you no good. So she disguised herself. And as far as I can see, passed everybody, probably without the slightest detection. When she got to the door of a hijer, she rapped the door, she heard a voice say, Come in, thou wife of Jerry Bone. Why feignest thou thyself to be another? She was playing the hypocrite. A hijer was blind, but his God wasn't blind. A fellow believer, now I don't know who I'm talking to tonight. Maybe there's a young believer, and the devil has has you snared in some way or other, but remember this, you might be able to cover your tracks ninety nine times, but in the hundred, God will expose you. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap, the divine. Leave aside all malice, all guile, all hypocrisies, all envy. So the company one day in the Old Testament, what do you think about Moses and Aaron? Is it too bad that these men think that they're the only men that's all right to enter God's presence? I think we'll try and pull them down a peg and let them know that men in Israel are as holy as they are and can approach God. And the cloud of God comes down. He says, Moses says, God, go and tell these men to prepare their senses. Let them do as they've said they'll do. And if I don't do a thing that's been unknown before in the world, then I'm not Jehovah. So these men prepare their senses, and they come and say, well, we'll bring these two men down a peg. And the blessed God opened the earth, and they went down alive into the... What was that ending? We'll pull these men down and put ourselves up. They should never live in the heart of a child of God. Having laid aside, having laid aside all. Malice, guile, hypocrisy, envy. What next? Somebody whispers in the front line here some evil speaking. I wonder if this is not the most common vice amongst the saints. Young Christians, listen to me. Learn from your fathers and mothers and older saints. Learn the tremendous evil that lies in this evil speaking. Now here's a good principle for you. If you can't say anything good about your fellow believer to your next fellow believer, say nothing. Look for the best in your fellow believer. But I want to tell you, you don't need to tell a lie about a person to speak evil of them. All you have to do is let number A speak to number B with the object and view of lowering in his estimation number C, and I judge that's evil speaking. But there's other when number, when number B sees number C, they feel there's something in between. Who's responsible? Number A. Evil speaking. In the Old Testament, I see a, a woman coming over to her brother. She says, I want a wee chatty in the quiet. She says, what do you think about Moses marrying that wee dark-skinned woman? What do you think about that? Moses, Aaron, Miriam! Out to the door here. The blessed God, in what form he took in this theophany, I don't know. But of the cloud he spoke to Miriam. Miriam, were you not afraid to speak evil of my servant Moses? And she was driven out from the presence of God in Israel, a leper as white as. There wasn't much harm in what you said. The Blessed Lord looked upon it as evil speaking. It was the truth. He married her. It was said in that way that the Blessed God says, were you not afraid to speak evil? My servant, no. Now, I spent longer than that than I intended, but I tell you, the Blessed Lord sends no man of warfare at his own charges, and tonight, if there's going to be growth in those of us who have entered God's family, I laid down this first principle because it's put there by the Holy Spirit. Before there can be growth, there's to be a laying aside of the old life with these terrible vices. Now, you Bible students will be interested to notice this. I gathered it a while ago, and I appreciated it, that after you're through the second chapter of the first epistle of Peter and come to the end, you'll find that in contrast to five vices, you find five virtues. Here they are. He has left an example that we should follow his steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed his cause to him that judgeth righteously to his own self bear our sins in his own body and the truth. What a vivid context. Now, I want to move on, speak for a minute on the divine provision for growth. I want some of the brethren now in the meeting to help me, your Bibles handy. I'm going to ask you, you have seven scriptures, and I want a brother to read. Now, not the same man, but one here and another there. That'll save me turning up the passages. I have them here in my little reference. Now, is everybody ready, and you'll read distinctly? Now, hurry up now, because my time is flying. The first scripture I want now is Psalm one hundred and nineteen and verse eighteen. Come on now, brethren, help us quickly. Psalm one hundred and nineteen and verse eighteen. Everybody listening. Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Thank you. Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Now I want to give the young believers tonight seven rules for growing, and the first is to search the word of God prayerfully. Search it prayerfully. Now the reason of that is this. In two Timothy chapter three that we read together, we read there that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, that is, it's God breathed. And it reminds us of second Corinthians, first Corinthians and the second chapter, verse fourteen. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they're foolishness unto him, neither indeed can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. And so now, says Peter, desiring the sincere milk of the word, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Now the divine provision for growth is the word of God. Now this as newborn babes. Now I don't believe this just refers to a young Christian. I'm fifty years on the road to heaven, and I believe this verse applies to me. For the figure is this, as newborn babes desire. Now the figure is taken from natural life. A child comes into the world, and that child makes its demands in a way that's only true to itself, God-given demand for milk. And that little child has its own way of expressing itself to the mother, give me milk or I'm going to die. That ought to be the desire in the heart of every child of God for the word of God. That I can't live without it. I must have the word of God. Take a long while tonight, but if I could have a questionnaire start from the back of the door yonder to the back of the platform, and put you all through a little examination and ask how much of the Word of God you were able to take in in the week that's passed. How often had your Bible in your hand? What use did you make of it? What did you learn from the Holy Scripture? Now, it's all very well to gather here for the after meeting. It's a great joy to see you. May I count this a great honor? But oh, I would like to put something into you young believers that you'll not forget. Remember this, you'll have to search the word of God prayerfully. That's more than just reading a verse or two, but getting alone with God and pray the prayer of the psalmist, open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. So, newborn babes, there is I have a sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Search it prayerfully. Now, the next scripture. Hurry up and get it now. First Timothy three sixteen seventeen. Who has it first now? If I carry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the mouth of God, which is the church of God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Well, just wheel over to the next, the epistle to the Colossians three sixteen. Thank you. I was a little errant. No, keep on your feet and read it to me. Colossians three sixteen. It was my mistake, brother. Colossians three sixteen. I read First Timothy three sixteen seventeen earlier. Colossians three sixteen. Let the word of Christ That's it. dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. What's the first part of the verse again? Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly Thank you. in all wisdom. Thank you, that's very good. Now the second point is, first search it prayerfully. Psalm one hundred nineteen eighteen. Store it plentifully. Colossians three sixteen, that we've just read. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. We had an old preacher called Duncan Montgomery. He labored in the Braid Valley. He was a Scotsman. You know, I was telling a friend down in County Armagh through the week that the assemblies in the north of Ireland ought to be very thankful for the Scotsman. Now I'm telling you, I have a reason for it. The men that pioneered this country, the six counties, and lived a hard, laborious life for two Scotsmen, planted the assemblies up and down certain parts of the country. It's a man called James Campbell, William Matthews. Following that was a man called William MacLean from Prestwick. Then later on comes Duncan Montgomery. He worked all summer making bread, a baker rising at three in the morning, made sufficient to come to the north of Ireland in the winter and preach the gospel. And he used to say on the bread about Duncan Montgomery, well, there's one thing anyhow, if anything should rise or persecution come, that the word of God should be taken from us, we won't worry as long as we've got Duncan Montgomery. Why? Because he had absolutely stored the Word of God in his heart. He told as an old man, but he never let a day pass by without memorizing a section of the Word of God, and the Word of Christ was dwelling in him rich. May it be an example to us today. Store the Word of God in young believer. Now, who's ready for the next scripture? Two Timothy two fifteen. Two Timothy two fifteen. What are the men in the platform? Right, sir, nice and loud. Search it prayerfully, store it plentifully, study it diligently. Now, when I was a young man, that wasn't yesterday, about nineteen, I worked in a Winston quarry. Some of you Queen students wouldn't like that job, eh? Hard job. Well, the reason I was there, of course, I wanted to help a little assembly. They only work in the district, and I joined in with a number of brethren in the Winston quarry. One day there was a big blast and big lot of stuff brought down for work. But the lovely set maker there called William Binney. They don't need these things so much now, but it was a great trade in those days, and very skillful. He had a huge big stone, much bigger than a table. They called me over, he says, David, could you break that stone? He says, I don't think I could. I have no experience. Let's have a try. Just you see now, it's not an easy job, I know. So I brought the, the big hammer and eh, had a go or two at this stone, but you know, I was really ashamed. I began to sweat and I got red in the back of the neck, and I says everybody's looking at me and I'm doing nothing at all but knocking sparks off the thing. He says, give me the hammer, David. Think I see him yet? He's picked his hands, and he tightened up his belt, and he looked at the hammer, and he reached across the big stone, and he just come down a steady blow like that, right across it. You just see a little mark coming across the stone, then he tipped it in the corner, and it fell in two halves. He says, David, remember this lesson for your life. That's two Timothy two fifteen. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. He had the stone that I had. He had the hammer I had. He had the stance I had. He had the strength I had, but he had what I had. He had the knowledge how to work with a stone. Now, I listen to young preachers. I hope you won't mind that. I'm, I'm not a destructive critic, Bobby. I'm not destructive, you know. But I listen to young preachers, and there's one thing that I'm very careful to do. I was listening this morning, or not critically, to help, and I listened to hear how accurate are the references of the preacher. You can see now, I want to drive this point home from certain books, certain chapters, certain verse, and you can judge by the accuracy of his reference whether or not he's right to dividing the word of truth. Now, my brethren, you must search them prayerfully. You must. And secondly, you must store them richly, and then you must learn how to study them diligently. Now, who's ready for the next one? Nearly half nine, but never mind the clock. Now, this time, two Timothy two verse two. I'll go through in a second. Two Timothy two verse two. Thank you. The things that thou hast heard of me amongst many witnesses, the same commit thou to faith of man, he shall be able to teach others also. Thank you very much, brother. Very good. Now you can easily see what's behind Paul's mind to Timothy here. Now first it's search it prayerfully, store it plentifully, study it diligently, speak it faithfully, speak it faithfully. You don't always get the applause of man when you speak the word of God faithfully, but you have to do it. And you young sisters, in your business, you young men in your business, when you have an opportunity, don't be afraid to speak the word of God faithfully. Man, you God will bless you for it. Never hold back the truth. You have nothing to be ashamed of, for you stand in Christ. You have everything in the word of God to give you a sure standing. Never be ashamed of the Lord Jesus. Speak the word of God faithfully. Now, I can't stay with that much as I would. Now, I want the next scripture. Psalm 126, verse 6. Psalm 126, verse 6. Quickly now. Right, one here, brother. He that goes forth Fourth on and wheat weepeth bearing bearing such precious a seed seed shall shall does doubtless it come come again again with re- rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Lovely. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Now, search it prayerfully, store it plentifully, study it diligently, speak it faithfully, sow it expectantly. He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious. Now here's the idea. This lovely psalm would describe when Israel, the remnant of which came back from Babylon to their own land. They had to go out and plow. They've been lying for seventy years, derelict. And as those men plowed, the older men who were still alive could remember the golden fields of golden grain in the days of Israel's possession, but now they look around as a barren waste. But they burn the plow. The young men plow, hold the handles, and they go up and down furrow after furrow. And the old men are shedding tears. What a change to the early days when God was with us. These young men go and plow. Well, then they sow the precious seed that God has given them, and again, as they sow and as they weep. Now the first is we have an energetic Christian sowing, an exercise Christian weeping, bearing precious seed, an expectant Christian, coming again rejoicing, an exalted Christian. Oh, young men and women, make much of the scriptures. Now, the point is beautiful, isn't it? First of all, search it, search it prayerfully. Store it plentifully. Study it diligently. Speak it faithfully. Sow it expectantly. And now, please, second Corinthians four, verses one One and and two. two. Right, son, everybody listening. Therefore, think we of this ministry, that we have received mercy with gentleness, but have realized the hidden things of his own state, not walking in craftiness, not handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of the Lord. Lovely passage. I hope you'll consider that passage again on your private reading. Now, the idea here is search it prayerfully, store it plentifully, study it diligently, speak it faithfully, sow it expectantly, and show it practically. Show it practically, says the apostle. Not to can say, well, now you've been handling the word of God deceitfully. No, no, he says, not us. We've renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. Not walking craftily or handing the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of truth, commanding ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. What does this mean? Showing the word of God practically working through your life. I preached the gospel years ago in Clonas, County Monaghan, when I was a younger man, very Catholic town. The lovely little man there called Charlie McGrath, he died in Bangor some time ago and went to the glory. Charlie was the postman, little saved man. You know, Charlie McGrath was saved eight years before he knew it. Do you ever hear the thing of that in your life? He was eight years before he knew it. There was a change took place in little Charlie's life, and there wasn't a soul in that country knew a thing about conversion. And the little man, he had no burden of sin from that moment. And Mr. David Ray, now in the glory, pitched the big tent in Clonas, and Charlie went the first night, and when he heard David Ray preaching and giving his testimony, my, says, that's what I got eight years ago. And so he had. One day he was at this door, and this lady says, Charlie, will you post me a few letters? Well, surely, he says. Whether it was near Christmas time or not, but she handed a big bundle of letters and some silver for the postage, the wee man put in his pocket. The Catholic woman had just flicked next door the day before. She said to the woman, would you trust that wee man with your money? But she says, Charlie McGrath. I would trust him with my soul if I had to do. That's showing the word of God practically. A man living it out. And the thing that's marrying the testimonies of brethren today, and I speak without fear of contradiction. It's not the lack of principle. Our principles are a hundred percent gathering in the name of the Lord Jesus. But I want to ask you, what about the practice in the lives of our, of us as individuals? It's the individual that makes the collective company. Now, my last point, and then my brethren can close. I'm not near done, you know, but I'll have to finish. That's just it. Now here's our seventh point. The book of Titus now, Paul's letter to Titus, chapter one and verse 9. Now here's the seventh. Titus one and nine. This is applied to the overseer, but I'll apply it in the proper way just in a moment as well. Got it? Right? Hurry up, that's right, son. Here's a wee lad. Look at the size of that conorita. Now, everybody listening, can we get the good of it? Thanks very much, son. Now I'll, I'll put up the seven points to you, and I hope you remember them. Search it prayerfully, store it plentifully, study it diligently, speak it faithfully, sow it expectantly, show it practically, and stand for it manfully. Take the word of God, dwell in it, stand for it as a faithful witness. And mind you, it's great to do this. Would you give me three minutes to tell you a sweet story? I said I'd be home at ten o'clock if the Lord will, so all right, yeah, fifteen minutes have been gone. When I was coming back from the States and the SS America, my partner in life said she wanted to go in and write a letter in the library, and the sea wasn't too calm, and I said, I'll come and sit near hand just in case that you don't feel the best of form. So, went into the library, it was well filled, and I noticed a very nice American lady sitting on a sofa here, and a Pakistanian sitting here in full dress, and I was just down a bit for Mr. John sitting here, and they were talking quite loud, and of course, without being curious, I, I couldn't accept I had to this, I could hear all they were saying. And one thing that impressed, impressed me was this Pakistanian, his English was beautiful. He didn't seem like a foreigner at all. Indeed, I believe that in his early days he was reading the mission school. That's my impression. You'll know why in a moment when I tell you why I say that. His diction was just lovely, and I was intrigued, and I listened. Come around to that they dealt with politics. I wasn't much interested in Pakistani poli- politics, but they they they came round the corner, and she said to him, now you're a Mohammedan, is that right? He said, that's right. She says, is it so that you people put great stress on the cow in your worship? Oh, he says we do, because he said, if you know the book of Moses at all, you know that the cow was looked upon as a clean animal. Now he said, you British people or American people, whichever you are, he says, now you would feed, eh, for instance, without any reluctance on the pig. Now he says, we wouldn't touch that, he said, because the book of Moses said that, that unclean. He said, do you read the New Testament, man? He says, do. So you remember the story of Peter when he was up on the rooftop? He saw a sheet let down from heaven. There was clean and unclean things in it, no doubt cows and pigs as well, and creeping things, reptiles. The Lord said, rise, Peter, kill and eat. He said, not so, Lord, I haven't touched anything unclean. Now, does you see the point? Even Peter wouldn't even put his finger to that because it was unclean. Well, now I was just at breaking point. They had to come out. Now I said, listen, my dear friend, you'll pardon me, but I couldn't but listen to your conversation, and I think you didn't go far enough with that precious scripture in the tenth chapter of Acts. Oh, he says, evidently you know the New New Testament. Well, he says, I have been reading it for a good number of years now. He says, are you aware, sir, that the New Testament has contradictions in it? Well, say, really, I never found that out in all my reading. I'll give you one, he said, and by this time the library was all ears. Now he said, listen, you know Matthew twelve, don't you? As Jonah was three days and three nights on the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights on the heart of the earth. So that's right, proper quotation, and it was properly quoted. Well, now he said, I want to ask you a straight question. Do you believe that was a type of Christ? I said, it is a type of Christ, for Jesus said it is a type. It's a sign. I see. Now he says, tell me, did Jonah die in the whale's belly? Well, I said, there are some teachers think that he did. Because he cried out of the belly of Hades, cried I. That's the unseen world. So I don't know. So it wouldn't be impossible for God to give him life again, but I, I don't know that's in the passage. Well, now he said, I'll tell you why I bring up this contradiction. He said Jesus of Nazareth was a good teacher. We believe that. He came to the nation of Israel. He failed in his mission. They put him on a tree, and he swooned and came away to this eastern land to be the Allah of our religion. Maybe you never knew before, that's the sort of basis of Mohammedism. Well, I said to him, sir, did you just say there Jesus was a good teacher? He said he was. So do you say he was a good man? He said he was a good man. He said, tell me, would a good man tell lies? No answer. So he explained this to me. The Lord said, the Son of Man must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the chief priests and scribes and the slain. So as a slain man dead? No answer. At that time, I suppose there were seventy people gathered around her feet. Now I said, sir, if you give me the opportunity, I'll explain to you the meaning of the sheet in Acts tail. I'll explain to this audience the meaning of a sign. And before I finished that day, in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, I had these people sitting at my feet listening to the best story ever tell in mortal. After it was over, about seventeen gathered round me to tell me the story of the conversion in earlier days. Ah, the lifting up, standing manfully for the teaching of the word of God. We're living in days when the fundamentals are being taken from us by the modernists. Young men and women, may my little stammering message tonight give you a love for the sincere milk of the world, and then you'll grow in God's family.