Rockway Conf 2011

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Rockway Conference 2011

PrefaceThese notes were taken in Rockway Valley, Quebec at the conferencespanning September 3 - 5, 2011. Recognizing the value of this ministry forthe exhortation and encouragement of the Lords people, it is beingprinted in this form with the prayer that the Lord will further use it in

blessing for His glory. A special thank you is due to Mr. and Mrs. N.Burgess for editing them.

NoteAll English hymns are taken from the Little Flock Hymn Book; the Frenchhymnsmarked French are taken from Hymnes et Cantiques. Hymns

located in the appendix are marked with an asterisk (*).

Saturday September 3, 2011

Prayer MeetingHymn 189 - O God of matchless grace

1 Peter 5:10-11 - We have a God who is all grace and matchless grace.They are the same thing and because of that we can gather here together.If it wasnt for grace where would we be? He has called us here and that isa wonderful thing. Why? Because of His grace and unto his eternalglory. So we have a destined future. We are called and purposed foreternal glory by Christ Jesus. If it wasnt by Him it would be impossible

to accomplish Gods promises.

After that ye have suffered a while: there are many people who arepersecuted for the Lord. We are not persecuted but we are all tempted.Temptation is a test of faith. We are in a place where we are tempted.Things will be different in eternal glory. In the french it says, A little while.

In a little while The Lord will make us perfect. Not perfect as in sinless, but1


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perfect meaning mature spiritually. He will give us stability in knowingwhere we are and what were doing.

Settle you - Firmness. He is our "Rock of Ages." As gathered weaddress Him as God of Grace and Glory. He had made all things possible.May we be strengthened, stablished and settled because of this timetogether.

Prayer

Hymn 47 - Grace taught our wondering feet

Gospel: Gordon BurgessHymn 73* - I was a wandering sheep

Prayer

I am very privileged to be able to present the gospel to you night. Let'sbegin by reading John 3:7. This is Jesus, speaking to Nicodemus. He issaying that wemustbe born again. Notice that He doesn't say, "It wouldbe nice if you were born again," or something like that. Wemustbe bornagain. Why is God so insistent?

It's because He realizes that all of us were born with a sin nature. How do

we know that? We don't need to learn how to steal, lie, get angry, and soon. Everyone in this room, and everyone in the world, was born this way.

And so, it is necessary that each one of us be born again, not physically,but born as a child of God.

Read John 14:1 - 3. The Lord will come and receive all those who aresaved to Himself. All who are not saved will be left behind for judgment.

Now, read Luke 15:11 & 12. This is a story about a man with two sons.The younger one asked his father for his inheritance; basically, he said, "Iwish you were dead." I want you to understand what the father must havefelt here: he would have felt betrayed.

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Then, v. 13. This son then collected all his money, and wasted it all in thefar country. So many today do the same thing: they don't think about

eternity. They only live for themselves, not for God. But so manyChristians waste their lives and the resources that God has given them onnon-eternal things.

Vv. 14 - 16: Finally, he has spent all. He had no more money, no morefriends. Then, a famine came, and he had to get a job feeding swine. I livenext to a pig farm, and let me tell you, I know when the wind is blowing

south! He would have had a smelly and terrible job. However, he was sopoor that he wanted to eat what the pigs were eating.

Vv. 17 - 19. Well, this prodigal son finally remembered his father. He knewhis father had servants who had a good home and food. He decided to gohome and try to become a servant.

V. 20: So, he headed home. When his father saw him coming, he didn'treprimand his son. He ran out to his son, hugged him, and kissed him. Wefind out that he still loves his son. We are like this son. We have sinnedand displeased God, and are therefore doomed to Hell. Then, the LordJesus Christ took our punishment on the cross; what great love! If weaccept this work of atonement for our sins, we become children of God.

V. 21 - 23: The son confessed to his father that he knew he had donewrong, but he didn't ask to be a servant. He saw how much his fatherloved him. His father brought him the best robe, which is a picture ofGod's righteousness, put on us after salvation. He received a ring, whichrepresents our endless relationship with God. He was given shoes: we aremade fit for God's home. The son was now suited to his father's

presence. He was no longer a rebel, but a son of His father. We, too, aresuiting to God the Father's house after salvation. When the Lord comes,we will be ushered into Heaven. You can have all this, if you realize youare a sinner and take the Lord as your Saviour.

So, I leave it with you: will you continue to live in the pig field of sin, or willyou prepare for Heaven?

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Hymn 48 French - O toi dont le cur nous aime

Prayer

Lord's Day September 4, 2011

Breaking of Break Hymn 24 French - Agneau, victime expiatoire Scripture:

Song of Solomon 1:4b - We are gathered around our Saviour tosing praise His love. Wine speaks of earthly joy. The Love ofChrist gives even more joy.

Jeremiah 31:3 - I have loved thee with an everlasting love is, inthe French, eternal love. Never is there a time when we arenot loved and there will never be a time. He has eternal love.

Isaiah 49:5 - This is the strongest tie of love there is in nature.Natural love can break but His cannot.

Galatians 2:20 John 13:1

Hymn 31* - Lord, Thy love has sought and found us Scripture:

Romans 5:6, 8 v.6 - That is us - we are ungodly. v.8 - Christ died for us.

1 Peter 3:18 - The one just person, the Son of God, came and diedfor the unjust which was us before we were saved. The just forthe unjust.

Prayer Hymn 251 v.4 - 6 - Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour Thou Prayer Breaking of Bread Hymn 84* - One there is above all others Ministry:

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Song of Solomon 4:9 - This morning weve been reminded in someof the scripture what our condition was. We were enemies as

Romans says. We were also reminded in the Hymn, Thybeauty, Lord, our souls transport. Think of that contrast. Youmight say His condition was so loving that He should look onus. To understand Song of Solomon you must understand thatit is a discussion between a bride and bridegroom. In the fourthchapter and verse nine is the bridegroom speaking to his bride.v.9a - Imagine this. And we interpret this as the Lord speaking

to His own. He is also the merchant who sold all to buy thepearl of great price. The Lord uses that language to show howhe loves. What a delight to be His own. It is precious for us tobe gathered around Him. May we respond in love.

Song of Solomon 5:9-16 - Chapter 4 has the bridegroom'sdescription of the bride and in 5 we get the bride looking at the

groom and the things she finds beautiful in Him. It is like uslooking upon the Lord. vv.9-16 - The description is beautiful. It sets before us the

perfect man, but this description is before the cross. Thecross changes His appearance. This chapter says nothingabout His crown of thorns.

v.13 - Isaiah 50 says, I gave my back to the smiters and mycheeks to them that plucked off the hair. He was mockedand spit upon.

v.14 - His hands and side were pierced, but the gold ringsspeak of everlasting love.

v.15b - Therefore I have set my face as a flint The flint is

something that gets struck and struck again and again,yet He would not be moved. v.16 - Father, forgive them. There is a story about a lady

who was blind all her life and she finally met a man whocared, but she wouldnt marry him because she couldntsee. Finally, they found a donor and she had an eyetransplant. And when she could see she found out that

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her boyfriend was blind. So she still did not want to gothrough with the marriage and her boyfriend said to her,

Well I hope youre happy, because those are my eyes.He had given her his eyes. We are saved and going toheaven, but do we still care? He should be our Belovedand Friend.

Hymn 328 - Lord Jesus! to tell of Thy love Prayer

Reading Meeting: Hebrews 11: 24 - 27Hymn 85 - O Lord, Thy love's unbounded

Prayer

We've heard the statement: "We make choices, and choices haveconsequences." We saw last night in the gospel a young man who made

choices; he received the consequences of those choices. First, he madebad choices and reaped devastating consequences. Then, he made aright choice, and was blessed for it.

In conference notes from a year gone by, a brother notes that there aremany serious choices that we need to make in life, and the interestingthing is that some of the most important ones are made when we are

young. In Hebrews 11: 24 - 27, we read about the choices Moses made.Lord willing, these verses can be instructive to us as we make choices inour own lives.

We know that Hebrews 11 is a list of the worthies of faith. But what do welearn from Moses specifically? In each of these verses, there is an action

word that can act as a hook for our thoughts: v. 24: refusing

v. 25: choosing

v. 26: esteeming

v. 27: forsaking6


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But before we begin, how can we know that these things that we arediscussing are real? How do we know this isn't just something we sufferthrough each Lord's Day and then forget for the rest of the week? How dowe know that it's real even though it's something we can't see? Theanswer to that is faith. Verse 1 gives us the proof of the eternal reality ofthis: it's more real than the temporal world around us. But "So then faithcometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Alsoread 2 Corinthians 4:18. Our path is one of faith; that is the only way wecan see the unseen. We often think of faith as what helps us believe, but it

is also what gives us the power to help us overcome. Think of the Lordand the disciples on the Sea of Galilee. What if the disciples had askedthe Lord for the faith to go to sleep and trust Him? That's the thoughthere.

Read v. 6: without faith, we can't please God. We must be trusting God100%. And this chapter is full of examples of people who did that. Wemust believe that God exists, and that He rewards those who trust Him.How can we get this faith? "Ask, and ye shall receive" (John 16:24). Also,as we mentioned earlier, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by theword of God" As we continue to read His word, we will grow in faith.

Moses was on a path of growth too: "when he was come to years". God

will test and try our faith. He'll make sure it is real. Part of that testing isseeing what we refuse. Moses had one of the most advantageousrelationships in the world at that time: he was the son of Pharaoh'sdaughter. We might have thanked God for His providence in putting usthere. but God's providence is not always God's will. Moses refused thetemporal blessings to choose something eternal.

The path of faith is not just about what we don't do, though. It's alsoabout what we do do. If a Christian gave the testimony, "I don't drink, Idon't smoke, I don't swear, I don't . . .", would anyone listening really wantto be a Christian? Those are important, yes, but what we actually do isimportant as well. And so we have to choose. With faith, our choices canbe made with long-term benefit in mind. Often, that will mean short-term

pain for long-term gain. If Moses told his plans to those at the palace, they7


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would have thought he was crazy. If we don't see, by faith, the long-termblessings, then yes, we would be crazy, too. But we have long-termblessings! We can see one of Moses' long-term blessings in the NewTestament: he appeared on the mount of transfiguration with the Lord.

Obadiah is a good example of this. He didn't want to give up what he hadin the king's palace to serve the Lord. Natural wisdom would tell us that ifwe stay in a place of power, we will be able to do God's will better. Butwhere did Moses have to go to get his mission? Into the wilderness, face-

to-face with God. It would have been easy for him to think that he hadmissed God's mind, but then he saw the burning bush and was sent backto Egypt.

But, if Moses had hung on, he would have become Pharaoh, and then hecould have let the people go. So often we say, "If I hadX, I would do Y."However, that's not always God's will. Pharaoh's palace was nice, but it

wasn't where God wanted him. And so, Moses chose to suffer instead.And suffer he did: think of all the Israelites put him through in thewilderness. As one brother said, "they were all a bunch of crooked sticks."That's what Moses chose, and he was blessed in the end. What makesthis more surprising is that Moses didn't have the scriptures to encouragehim; we do! He had only his faith in God.

When we read these stories of the worthies of faith, we know the end ofthe story. That makes their choices look pretty simple. However, don'tforget that they didn't know what was ahead. This shows the strength oftheir faith. We must do the same: make choices, putting our faith in God,not knowing what is ahead. Of course, we must make our choices inaccordance with God's word. We can't choose disobedience and pray for

blessing. We must occupy with the Word and act in faith. We can't expectGod to bless disobedience, even if it had good intentions.

Hymn 256 - Praise the Saviour, ye who know Him

Prayer

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Gospel Meeting: Norman BurgessHymn 63 - All things are ready, Come

Prayer

We were reminded this afternoon that we have to make choices in life andthat they all have consequences (which we don't choose). The mostimportant choice is whether or not you take the Lord Jesus Christ as yourSaviour. We didnt choose to come into this world, but we choose where

we go when we leave it. God has told us how to choose, but leaves thechoice up to us.

Turn to Hebrews 2:3. How shall we escape, if we neglect so greatsalvation?This question is interesting because it has no answer. Thenwhy ask it? Because it should make everyone think. This question is awarning: it tells us that there is something to escape.

It also brings before us Gods great salvation. Why is it great? It is greatbecause of Who did it. It is great because of the immense need for it. It iswonderful that God has provided the way out. He has provided a way forus to come and live with Himself in His glorious home. Someone waswilling and able to provide salvation for you and me.

Not all who are willing to save are able to save. Back in the days of KingHenry I, he and his son William were returning from a trip to Normandy.King Henry had scheduled to leave on an earlier, slower boat; while PrinceWilliam was taking a later but faster boat. The captain of Williams boatwas somewhat smug because he knew that, although they were leavinglater, they would arrive back in England before the King. They set off at

midnight across the English Channel, but it wasnt long before they hitrocks and began to sink. The captain knew that he had the heir to thethrone on board, so he put William and some of his men on a lifeboat andtold them to row to shore. They started off, but then William heard hissister calling to him from the boat, William! Save me! William couldntstand it. They turned the life boat around and headed back to the sinking

ship. As they came along side William opened up his arms to catch his9


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sister and a dozen or so people jumped off the ship, capsized thelifeboat, and they all drowned. William was willing to save, but not able tosave. The Lord Jesus is willing to save, and able to save.

What is amazing is that so many people realized that they needed to besaved. How many people today realize the terrible eternal consequencesof rejecting the great salvation that God has provided? There is a Saviourwith His arms open who is willing and able to save all those who jump toHim.

But lets back up and read this verse in context. Hebrews 2:1, Thereforewe ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have

heard.The word therefore is a concluding word. It shows thatsomething is coming after something else. So lets back up a bit more andgo to the beginning of chapter 1. Hebrews 1:1 starts out with, God. Notwith Paul the Apostle or something else; but, God, who at sundry times

and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by theprophets.If we look in the Old Testament, we know that God has sentmany prophets to his people with messages of warning. But then Goddecided to speak another way.

Hath in these last days." Thats where we are: the Day of Grace whereGod is still presenting His great salvation. And in these days, God has

spoken. Youre not dealing with a preacher this evening, youre dealingwith God. You can ignore me; but when God speaks, I urge you, listen.Listen to the One that determines the consequences of your choices. Howhas He spoken? By his Son.

Some of the most amazing truths in the Bible are written here in Hebrews

1 very short words. God had spoken in Old Testament times to Moses andthe like; but He decided not to just speak a few words, but to actuallymanifest Himself through a man: God the Son. God, who is invisible,made Himself visible in human form in the Lord Jesus Christ. He was bornof a virgin in Bethlehem, you know the story. Was that important? Its oneof the most incredible things that has happened. God looked down on aplanet and saw a people that He loved, because He made them. And so

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He comes in order to bring a message about Himself. These are some ofthe amazing things that we get here in Hebrews one. Verse two goes on,Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath

appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." The Onethat made it all is coming to make God known to His creature, man. Hecame so that He could talk our language, reach our hearts, and bringGods great salvation.

Who being the brightness of his [Gods]glory.If Jesus came down here

as a man, then He was a different kind of man. All other men, women andchildren on this earth come under Gods indictment in Romans that Thereis no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.God's glory is His standard of excellence. Its what He looks for. Cananyone get to heaven if they dont meet the standard? I hope not,because when I get there, I want to see a glorious place where Godspeople are without sin and shortcoming. I want to see them made in thelikeness of Jesus Christ. Thats the great salvation that Gods offering! Butall have come short of Gods glory. Jesus came to display this excellence;He was the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.If you want to see God, look at the Lord Jesus in the four-fold revelation ofMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John. How precious it is that God has doneeverything He can to make sure that message comes down to every

single person on this earth.

And upholding all things by the word of his power...Jesus not onlycreated the worlds, but He sustains the worlds! We dont find the galaxiescrashing into each other, because the One that made them is taking careof them. When he had by himself purged our sins...We skip over theLords life, and were already at the cross. When Jesus was on Earth, Hedid something that no one else could do. The cross of Christ is one of themost amazing, incredible, and important things that ever happened. It is atthe very centre of all Gods purposes. Everything behind it looks forwardto it and everything after it looks back to it. How can we neglect thatwhich is so vital? God has spoken and what He has to say is worthlistening to. Well might we take it to heart and give the more earnest heed

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to the things which we have heardforhow shall we escape, if we neglectso great salvation?

The text says that Jesus has purged our sins; what does that mean? Theblood of Jesus Christ his Soncleanseth us fromallsin.Whether our sinsare few or many, there is the cleansing power of the blood of Christ towash them away. He can make us white as snow; He can make us fit forheaven. He can make us meet Gods requirements. Even though we havefallen short of the glory of God, we can stand washed and cleansed by the

blood. What love! How God cares! Not only has our Lord purged our sinsby His death on the cross; but He also went into the grave, rose again,and ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high.In Luke, we seeJesus ascending into the clouds, while blessing His people, until He is outof sight. What must it have looked like on the other side as He comesback to the glory? We find that God had a throne at His right hand readyfor Him; the One Who came, honoured God, and accomplished this greatsalvation. He has crowned Him with glory and honour, and His peopleworship and adore Him. We had that privilege this morning. Its amazing tothink of all that God has done to present that which we should give ourearnest head to: His great salvation. Thats His offer for us tonight. Thereis a Saviour with His arms wide open that is willing and able to save allthat come to Him. All need Him. No one will miss it that has come and

taken Christ as their Saviour. You dont have to be a rebel, or an atheist, oran idolater to come. You just have to be a neglecter.

Weve spoken of choices. When you put a choice off, you are actuallysaying, No for now. Thats your choice, and the consequences willfollow. But how will you escape? Theres nothing else. God has only OneSon, and One Saviour. He has sent that Son to purge our sins and Jesushas ascended back to glory, fully satisfying Gods requirements. I cling tothat blessed Saviour and know that Im saved. Im not neglecting, Imtaking heed.

I've heard a story about how the Minneapolis Times building, seven-storybuilding, caught on fire. The warning sounded and everyone rushed to get

out of the building, except for one reporter in a corner office on the12


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seventh floor, who was sending out news. He typed out, The MinneapolisTimes building is on fire on the first floor. Im on the seventh. A little whilelater, The Minneapolis Times building is on fire on the second floor. Im onthe seventh,(trying to be alarming). And so it went: third floor, fourth floor,fifth floor. Finally, after typing out The Minneapolis Times building is onfire on the sixth floor. Im on the seventh, the reporter thought, Id betterget out of here. He tried to go to the fire escape, but found his wayblocked by fire and smoke. He had neglected it. So he went over to thewindow. He was too high up to jump or to be reached by ladder, but there

was a cable that went from his building to the building across the street.He grasped the cable and started going across, hand over hand.Unfortunately, about halfway across, his strength gave out and he fell tothe street and was picked up dead. He had neglected the way of escape.

I hope that that wont be the story of anyone here. Its your choice. Youcan choose life or you can choose death, and God says, Therefore,choose life." Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. His arms arewide open; its time to jump. Take Him as your Saviour, and have the joy ofeternal life. Have perfect peace knowing that all is well, and have the hopeof glory. Take Jesus now.

Hymn 12* / 259 French - Jsus frappe votre porte

Monday September 5, 2011

Prayer MeetingHymn 28 - Lamb of God! Thou now art seated

Read Romans 8:30, 34, 26: - v.30 - I remember a few years back when we

were visiting England and John Stevens' father was still alive He wouldsay the line from our hymn in an excited voice, Oh! the rapture thatawaits us. We should still be excited about it. We read a blessing in verse30, a blessing that goes back into past eternity yet it sounds as if it hasalready happened. We have been singing about it. - v.34 - We have One inglory interceding for us; but this chapter gives a double interceding. - v.

26a - We are not in glory yet but we have the Spirit who helpeth our13


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infirmities - v.26b - We have an Intercessor at the right hand and we haveone with us. We are richly blessed.

Prayer

Reading MeetingHymn 85* - The cross! the cross, oh, thats our gain

Prayer

Hebrews 11:24-27

As we said before, theres a verb in each verse that is a key word. And wewill find that there is faith in each one of these actions; they are not thingsthat we could expect the natural man to do. Since were in the path offaith, we can learn from Moses. We saw that verse 24 had the wordrefused; and in verse 25 had choose. The choices that we make have

consequences.

In verse 26 we have the word esteem. Esteeming the reproach of Christgreater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto therecompense of the reward. Again, this is an action of faith because thenatural man wouldnt esteem the reproach of Christ. What we esteem iswhat we value, or look to. How was it possible for Moses to esteem thereproach of Christ? In the Old Testament theres no mention of Christ. (Ofcourse, when Hebrews was written there was the knowledge of Christ andHis sufferings.) However, Moses chose to be with the people of God, andthat brought reproach. The writer of Hebrews put it in terms that theHebrews, and we, could understand. Have you ever felt the reproach ofChrist? Someone refusing a gospel tract, not accepting a word that we

might give, or the opposition of stating that you believe Creation in anevolutionary school environment. Then there are the reproaches andrebuffs that Christ endured at the hands of His own people; most of whichseemed to come from the hands of the religious leaders, the Scribes andthe Pharisees.

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In Toronto there is a museum that had a display of some of the treasuresof the Pharaohs. The advertisements showed the tremendous wealth thatEgypt had. Moses was in line to be heir to that, and by the worldsstandards he would have been wealthy. Egypt is like the world, we need tobe redeemed out of it. What do we esteem; the riches of this world, orheavenly treasure? You can go down to places with beautiful gardens andlandscaping, fat Buddhas and other good-looking things; or you cancome to this small place in Rockway Valley where the Lord gathers Hisown around Himself. What do we esteem? When we focus on eternal

things in a material-focused world it brings reproach and scorn. Takingsides with the Lord is taking a stand against Egypt and the world, so wecan expect that reproach.

The very end of our passage is important, though. As seeing him who isinvisible.(verse 27). We must have Christ as our object, and then we willbe able to refuse and choose rightly. Faith will see Him, and that esteemmust come before we can choose correctly.

If we identify with the Lord in this world, we will have reproach; but theredoesnt seem to be much reproach for the way that Hindus or Muslimsdress. We have the true faith, and they the false, but it doesnt seem totake us long to fold. When we have faith, though, we wont see the

reproach, but the glory. Faith sees the way, doubt sees the obstacles.Faith doesnt see the hard things, or what it is leaving behind.

If Christians have the true faith, why are they ashamed and the peoplewith false faith arent? Its because these faiths are of the world, and theworld accepts these faiths as fine; but it doesnt accept ours, because itsnot of the world.

We should be thankful for earthly comforts, but where are our hearts?Theyre where our treasure is. The true riches are above, and this Worthyof Faith shows us that the treasures down here are of Egypt.

Now, we cant esteem the reproach of Christ until we esteem Christ. Wehave ravished His heart; but when He has ravished our hearts, the rest of

our behaviour will follow.15


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In v.25, Moses chose affliction over pleasure; and in v.26 he chosereproach over riches. Strange choices. We must note that he refused thepleasures of sin. We cant deny that sin will have pleasure to it, but its stillsin.

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, Keep you longer than youwant to stay, And cost you more than you want to pay.

This sounds like the Prodigal Son, his sin did that to him; but its also trueof Moses in a way. There is a cost to walk in the path of faith. Buy the

truth, and sell it not (Proverbs 23:23). There was a man who knew theBible very well and a person once said to him, Id give the world to knowthe Bible as you do. Thats just what it costs, the man replied. Livingtoday in the light of eternity will have its reward, though, because God isno mans debtor.

There might be a cost to obedience; but there is also a cost todisobedience that Satan hides, and it is a million times greater than thecost of obedience, and is usually only revealed after you disobey.

James 1:14-15. Moses often had choices, and they must have startedyoung. Criminals never start with a big crime; they start with a small one.Then one a little bit bigger. And then one a little bit bigger. Their crimes

keep getting bigger and bigger, and their conscience keeps gettingweaker and weaker. It didnt start with stealing a car, it started with acookie from the cookie jar. When we find out that something is wrong, weneed to stop it right there. Sin promises pleasure, but it produces regret.Sometimes we do something for the fun of it, and afterwards think, Whydid I just do that? What was I thinking? Faith also starts young. ForMoses, that was when he was three months old, in a reed basket. Thenthere is the fact that his parents faith was passed on to him.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God will bless those who seek Him, but wemust have faith. God will give it to us if we ask, because He is a givingGod. The woman at the well was there to get water, she left that, though,because she found what Jesus was giving her was better. In organized

religions, God is sometimes represented as a taker, because of the16


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financial need to keep the organization going. God doesnt take whatsgood for us; He keeps us from whats bad for us.

The key word in this passage is faith. Moses made choices by faith. Heleft Egypt because it was as he saw the invisible God, and had Him as hisobject. God will give us faith, if we ask for it. With that faith we can see theOne Who is all lovely, and it should ravish our hearts. Some one has said,If you dont serve Him, its because you dont love Him. And if you dontlove Him, its because you dont know Him; because to know Him is to

love Him, and to love Him is to serve Him.Hymn 185 French - Viens, oh! Viens Seigneur!

Prayer

Ministry Meeting: Steve LabelleHymn 283 - When I survey the wondrous cross

Prayer

Id like to present a few thoughts for last and remnant days. Our Lord andthe apostles told how the world would get to be in the end times, and in 1Timothy 3:1 we find that there will be perilous times like were in right now.

Matthew 18:20. To have an assembly, you cant have less than twopeople. Now, we might think that there are a lot of people here; but thiswould be a very small assembly back in the revival days of the 1800s.

Are we prepared to walk with the Lord as the world gets ready to facejudgment? Romans 15:4. Weve been thinking about Moses as anexample to follow, and this passage tells us that all things written in the

Old Testament were written for our learning. Lets look at Israel for aremnant example to follow.

Lets go all the way back to Solomon. 1 Kings 4:20-21. This shows Israelat its peak. There was peace, wealth, glory and a multitude of people. Thiswas how things started out. Now turn to 1 Kings 11:1-2, 4. Solomonreigned for a total of forty years. Im not quite sure at what point in his

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reign this was, but we do know the result: 1 Kings 12:16-20. After the tentribes left, Reheboam got an army together to bring them back under hiscommand, but God stopped him in Vv.22-24. There were only two tribesleft. Everything was so glorious until this split. There was often fightingbetween Israel and Judah, and hardly ever peace. What had happened?Solomon hadnt obeyed the Scriptures in one simple condition. TheChildren of Israel were not to take wives of the nations around them,because these wives would draw their hearts away. Thats just whathappened to Solomon.

This is what has happened to the church as well. There were beautifulpeaceful times of unity back in the 1800s when there was a great revival ofthe truth. It was a beautiful testimony to the world. However, sin crept in,and in 30 years there were five major divisions. Yet there were alwaysthose who were faithful and carried on. Hebrews 11:35. We dont knowmuch about the people in this verse other than the fact that they lost theirlives being faithful. There always have been, and always will be, those whoare faithful.

Things continued to get worse in Israel, so God sent them prophets; butthings continued to get worse and worse until God had to send the Kingof Assyria to take Israel into captivity and put strangers in their place.

Some of the Israelites had stood strong and gone to Judah, but we stillhave what we call the ten lost tribes. They wont be found until the Lordcomes to reign and brings them back.

Judah had some good kings, but the people would always fall into sinafter they died. Just like Israel, they go worse and worse. Jeremiah was aprophet to these people, and he did all that he could to help them, but the

people did all that they could to block his efforts. 2 Kings 25:3-5, 8-10, 12.Nebuzaradan took Jerusalem, but he left some of the poor people in theland and set Gedaliah over them. Then a man by the name of Ishmaelkilled Gedaliah. The people were afraid that the Chaldees would hurt themfor this, so they fled to Egypt against the word of the Lord. Jerusalem wasin shambles; those who werent captives or dead had fled the country.

How had this happened? Sin had come in. Sin is a destroyer. It destroys18


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individuals, it destroys families, it destroys assemblies, and it destroyscountries. And remember, these things are written as examples for us; andone form of sin is disobedience to Gods will.

Jeremiah prophesied that Judahs captivity would last seventy years. InEzra 1:1-3,5 we read that the Jews had the option of going back to Judahor staying in Babylon. If we were captives, what would our choice be?Would we stay or go? As little as one percent of the Jews went back. Theybuilt the temple, instituted the sacrifices and ordinances, and (later, when

Nehemiah came) they built the wall. They were a remnant. One thing thatthey didnt have was the cloud of the glory of the Lord; that had left beforeJerusalem was destroyed.

It was sometime after these first Jews went back that Ezra also went backto Jerusalem. He might have thought, These people have the temple, thecity, and the sacrifices; this is going to be wonderful!, but he was in for a

disappointment. Read Ezra 9:1-3, 6, 8, & 14. Ezra was so distressed at thesituation of things, that he actually pulled his hair out. We can see hisburden of prayer.

The Lord had been faithful in sending His people into captivity, and Hehad been very gracious in sending a remnant back to Judah. But now theremnant was committing the same sins that they had before! They were

mixing with the people of the nations around them. We need to stayseparated from and unmixed with the people of the world. We also needto be careful that, as a remnant, we dont fall into the same sins that weseparated from. These things were written for our learning.

Then Nehemiah came, and the people built the wall of Jerusalem. Afterthat was completed, Nehemiah had Ezra read the law, and the peoplepromised to obey all the commandments. Nehemiah could only be inJerusalem for a certain period of time, though, and had to return toBabylon. When he was able to come back he found that everything hadbeen let go, and the High Priest had allied with the enemy leader and hadgiven him a room in the temple! Nehemiah 13:6-8. I can imagine that if you

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had been there on that day, you would have seen Tobiahs things flyingout of the temple as Nehemiah cleansed it.

So we have a remnant in the land of Israel. They have the temple, the wall,the law and the sacrifices. But then Ezra and Nehemiah die, and we finallycome to the book of Malachi. There has been more departure; but, asalways, there are a few faithful people. Malachi 1:2a, 7. The Jews werenow saying. The Lord doesnt love us. The sacrifices that they offeredwere to be perfect, and yet they were taking the sick and injured animals

and offering them as sacrifices. Malachi 3:13-15 tells us that they alsosaid, Why do we serve God? It doesnt profit us. The proud and wickedpeople are the people that are prosperous. Israel had gone bad, and yetthere was a remnant; now here that remnant has gone bad, but theres stilla remnant out of it.

Malachi 3:16. This remnant did three things; and remember, these things

were written for our learning. Firstly, they feared the Lord. They didntknow His love, like we do; but they had faith in God and wanted to do Hiswill. Thats the fear of the Lord. It was a hard thing to do, because it wentagainst the current.

Secondly, they spoke often one to another. The Lord gives us timestogether; Lords day meetings, prayer meetings, and just time together

with believers. Its extra special when we can have a time like thisweekend to get together. Hebrews tells us that we need to gathertogether, and so much the more, as ye see the day

approaching(Hebrews 10:25).

Thirdly, they thought on His name. That name was Jehovah for them,but its Jesus for us. He was everything to them, He was the purpose oftheir existence. Thats the way it should be for us. Jesus should be the all-important part; the purpose of our lives. What would it be like to livewithout Him? Well, the worlds tried; and its in a big mess. Jesus name isvery important; for one thing, its the name we gather to (Matthew 18:20).

So in Solomons day, there were thousands of people. In Ezras day there

were hundreds. And in Malachis day, there were maybe dozens. Lets now20


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turn over four hundred years to Matthew 1:18. Here we find two people:Mary, who was in such a spiritual state that God could chose her to be themother of the Lord; and Joseph, who (according to v.19) was a just man.Now go to Luke 1:5 & 6. Here we find two more people who are acontinuation of that remnant in Malachi. Luke 2:8 gives us a few morepeople who were waiting for the Messiah. And He came. In Luke 2:25 wehave another waiting one in Simeon, and in v.36 yet another in Anna.Interestingly, Anna was from the tribe of Asher, which is one of the ten losttribes. Her family must have been one of those that went back to the right

place. Anna told others in Jerusalem who were waiting about the now-come Messiah. They were talking together, waiting for Him, carrying on,and now He had come.

We are waiting for our Lord, and He will come. The question is: when Hecomes, how will He find us? Will He find us learning more about Him, andserving Him more? Or will He find us in the world? Weve just sung, Loveso amazing, so divine, demands our soul, our life, our all. He will take thesaved of us, even if we arent living for Him; but how blessed to be foundwaiting and watching when He comes.

Hymn 78 * - I'm waiting for Thee, Lord

Prayer

Gospel: Dennis FoxHymn 51 * - O what a gift the Father gave

Prayer

This hour has been set aside for the gospel; we all know that the gospel is

God's good news to sinful man.

G - God's

O - offering

S - sinful

P - people

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E- eternal

L - life

There are many different ages here, and those in many differentcircumstances. Many have been blessed to grow up under the sound ofthe scriptures. Perhaps we can look at a few scriptures that outline God'sgiving-ness.

There's a well known verse in John 3; read v. 16. God so loved that He

gave: there's the offering. "For by one offering he hath perfected for everthem that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).

Whenever we try to present the need for the Saviour to the unsaved, theyoften insist that they aren't sinners. Are only certain people sinners? Turn

to Romans 3:23. This doesn't leave anyone out; all are sinners. No onecan say they haven't come short of the glory of God. And God has His

unspeakable gift for every one of us.Turn another page, into ch. 5; read v. 12. We're all familiar with the story of

Adam and Eve, and how sin entered the world. Go to vv. 18 & 19.

You've probably heard the story of the servant harvesting crops in a field:he was going along with his sickle, cutting, and saying, "Curse that Adam"as he went. His master came along and said, "Jim, what's the matter?"

"If it wasn't for Adam, and his sin in the garden," Jim replied, "I wouldn'thave to be doing this."

"Well, Jim, I'm sorry you feel that way. Why don't you put your sickle awayand take the day off? Come on home, and I'll give you a cup of coffee; mywife just made some pie. You can take it easy for the rest of the day."

So, that's what they did. The master gave Jim a cup of coffee and a pieceof pie. He said, "I've got to go down to the village for a few hours, but justtake your time and enjoy yourself." Before leaving, the master wrote anote, put it in an envelope, and left it on the table. "Enjoy yourself, Jim,but don't read that note."

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Jim was enjoying his coffee and pie, but he kept staring at the note. Aftera while, he was finished his coffee and pie, but he was still looking at thenote. Finally, he couldn't take it any longer, and he opened the envelopeand read the note:

SEE, YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN ADAM; GET BACK TO WORK

Jim found he was no better than Adam; and if we are all honest withourselves, I think we'll find that none of us are better than Adam.

Now, turn to Galatians 3:22. God is offering His gift to sinful people. Areyou convinced that you are a sinner?

I hope we can all admit we are sinners; but the wonderful thing is that Godhas given us His Son. Eternal life is offered so freely, to whosoever will.

Turn to Luke 18. Start at v. 31 - 33. This is near the end of the Lord's

ministry. The Lord should have been able to say that they would put Himon a throne in Jerusalem; but "he came unto his own and his own receivedhim not" (John 1:11). Instead, He went to the cross and became ourSaviour. But how thankful we can be that He rose again!

The Lord knew from the beginning of His ministry that He was goingtoward the cross. At the beginning, Nathaniel asked, "Can any good thing

come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). This brings up to the end of thischapter: in vv. 35 & 36, the Lord is on His way to Jerusalem. And therewas a blind man by the road on the way. He heard the multitude followingthe Lord, and asked what was going on. They told him that "Jesus ofNazareth passeth by" (v. 37). This was a title that Jesus was branded withfrom almost the beginning: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

But the blind man called out, "Thou Son of David . . ." (v. 38). He didn'tcall Jesus a despised Nazarene, but gave Him is rightful place, as part ofthe royal lineage. The Lord should have been crowned, but they rejectedHim.

The crowds around told the blind man to hold his peace. Similarly, wetalked about the reproach we will suffer for the Lord's sake, if we give Him

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His rightful place in our lives. The blind man, "cried so much the more."Hereached out by faith, to someone He couldn't see. The others could seeHim, but they didn't have faith in who He was.

Read v. 40 - 42. He called Him "Lord": another title that He is so worthy toreceive. What a privilege to know Him as Saviour and own Him as Lord.He had a need, and the Lord fulfilled that need, because of the blindman's faith. Here, we find the Lord as the giver: how thankful we can bethat God gave His Son.

We can see the end in v. 43: he received his sight and followed Jesus.Mark says he followed the Lord, "in the way." He followed the Lord's path,and it caused others to give glory to God.

Here, we see the Lord heading to the cross to fulfill the plan ofredemption. This man realized it, not through reasoning or logic, butthrough faith. This can be the same for us today. We've had some veryprecious meetings, presenting some of the Lord's glories. This blind mansaw that, and he reached out in faith. And what that faith brought! Hereceived the blessing of sight, and the devotedness to follow Jesus in theway. May it be so for each of His own here tonight: we've seen what He'sdone for us; may we desire to follow Him more and more.

Conclusion - Steve LabelleTurn to Luke 15: a picture of the gospel, showing a sinful son who turnedhis back on his father and reaped the consequences. But, he eventuallywoke up, returned, and was forgiven. A picture of salvation!

The prodigal son was willful, v. 12. He wanted his own way. He asked hisfather for his portion of the inheritance.

The prodigal son was wayward, v. 13. He didn't want to be under hisfather's authority. His father was righteous and rich, but he wanted to dohis own thing.

The prodigal son was wicked, v. 13. He had his fun, but it was sinful fun.And we are all like that; we are all sinful people: "All we like sheep . . ."

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The prodigal son was wasteful, v. 13. He spent all that his father gave himon his own lusts, for the pleasures of sin. God has given us all manyblessings; are we using them just for ourselves, or for his glory?

The prodigal son was wanting, v. 14. He ran out. The pleasures of sin arefor a season. Satan's gifts don't last long. Sometimes, this is necessary:sometimes, you have to hit the bottom. Now, he has lost everything.

The prodigal son was wakened, v. 17. He woke up, and realized that backhome, even the servants were better off. God is giving many wake-upcalls to the world today, but they are pushing the snooze button. Don'treject God's warnings.

The prodigal son was welcome, v. 22. The father was waiting for him, andreceived him with open arms. The Lord says, "Him that cometh to me I will

in no wise cast out." We know the rest of the story: they rejoiced together.

And all who have received the Lord can rejoice in the knowledge of eternallife.

Hymn 69 * - Oh, the peace forever flowing

Prayer

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Rockway Conf 2011