Open your Bibles at Matthew chapter 13.
We began reading at verse 47 this morning.
Perhaps we'll do the same now.
Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a
net which was thrown into the sea and
gathered fish of every kind.
When it was full, it was drawn to
shore and then sat down and sorted the
good into vessels that cast through the bad
away.
So it will be at the end of
the age the angels shall come out and
sever or separate the wicked from the righteous
or the evil from the righteous and throw
them into the furnace of fire.
There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus said to them, Have you understood all
this or all these things?
They said to him, Yes, Lord.
And he said to them, Therefore every scribe
who has been trained for the Kingdom of
Heaven is like a householder who brings out
of his treasure things new and old.
Now, just before we turn to the last
of those verses, let me remind you, they
didn't quite finish the parable there of the
net.
We saw, if you've got in your notes
correctly, that this speaks of the function of
the Church today and then as one of
the parables which is emphasizing the end of
the age, it speaks of the fact of
severance in verse 48, when the boundary is
set, the fact of severance and the finality
of separation.
Now, that's the one I just want to
touch on now before I move into the
last part, the last verse, the finality of
separation.
Verse 50, The angels are doing this and
shall cast through them into a furnace of
fire.
It's quite amazing really to think that one
day the hands that were nailed to a
cross will call out his angels to do
this, a furnace of fire.
Is that literal flame, I wonder?
I really don't know.
But it's a picture that our Lord drew
here and elsewhere and however terrifying it may
be, let's not try to escape the fact
that the sin of rejecting Jesus is so
awful that nothing less than hell is demanded.
May I just repeat that?
The sin of rejecting Christ is so awful
that nothing less than hell is demanded.
The only picture of hell in the Bible
is given to us by the one who
came to save us from it in Luke
chapter 16.
Don't trouble to look it up now.
Luke chapter 16, verse 19.
And the picture he gives there is of
humanity with all faculties in their position, physically,
mentally, everything there, but no power at all
to satisfy them.
I don't believe that the flame someone is
enduring in hell is something that hasn't been
experienced on earth beforehand.
I don't believe it's first of all felt
in hell.
Whoever experiences it there has fanned that flame
when he's on earth.
He's fed it and felt the flame of
pride, selfishness and added fuel to it.
I think probably that many times he's tried
to stamp it out.
Many times he's tried to ease the intensity
by satisfying its craving.
But in hell, the picture that Jesus gives
us, is that flame burns all the more
fiercely but does nothing to satisfy it.
There, as the story tells us, men will
weep and gnash their teeth.
But I, of course, couldn't finish the picture
there.
Do you know this lovely hymn?
It was sung when I was a youth.
I don't know if it's sung now or
do you know it?
It is a thing most wonderful, almost too
wonderful to be that God's own son should
come from heaven and die to save a
child like me.
I sometimes think about the cross and shut
my eyes and try to see the cruel
nails and crown of thorns and Jesus crucified
for me.
It is most wonderful to know his love
for me so strong and so pure, so
sure.
But it's more wonderful to know my love
for him so faint and poor.
And yet, yet I want to love thee,
Lord.
Light the flame within my heart.
And I will love thee more and more
until I see thee as thou art.
Thank the Lord.
There's another flame that can be lit in
your heart and mine.
The flame of love for Jesus.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit
and with fire.
He can put out the flame of hell
and light the flame of heaven before it's
too late.
And I hope that all of us are
asking him to do that.
In the light of the searching truth in
this parable of certain severance one day we
need to let his love flood our hearts
and our lives be poured out in his
service.
Yes?
Verse 43.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the
sun in the kingdom of their Father.
That's the ultimate.
Freed from all association with evil.
Touched with the glory of heaven.
Caught by seeing the very face of Jesus.
One day a glorious church not having spot
or wrinkle or any such thing.
But you don't need to wait till heaven
where the Spirit of the Lord is there
is liberty.
There is freedom.
And we all with open face beholding as
in a mirror or reflecting as in a
mirror the glory of the Lord are changed
into his likeness from glory to glory.
That's it.
Oh, that's a terrific word.
Reflecting.
There's nobody else can do that but a
Christian.
I was walking in Central Africa with my
daughter years ago.
And she was a missionary there was, almost
is now.
And it was a lovely night full moon
star shining sort of night that you know
when you're out there with somebody you want
to hold hands.
It was my daughter I was with.
And as we it was as we walked
along the moon was terrific.
Full moon star shining and she said to
me Daddy isn't the moon shining brightly?
And I said to her yes it is
wonderful but I said what fools are we?
You know.
She said what do you mean?
Well you know that the moon can't shine.
It's just a lump of lackluster material.
It's got no capacity to shine but it's
in orbit in relation to the sun.
And it's turned it's face heavenward and it's
catching the reflection of the brightness of the
sun and shining it out into the darkness
of the world.
That's a Christian.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in his wonderful face and the
things of earth grow strangely dim in the
light of his glory and grace.
Nobody but a Christian can reflect Jesus.
That's what the church has to do.
Not think up a new program not have
masses of committees but reflect Christ.
That's what this parable is about.
But now wait a minute.
Let me just turn with you to the
last verse.
Reflecting Christ the function of the church.
But here we have this one about the
householder and it's not surprising really that the
last of these eight parables gives us the
responsibility of the Christian in the world in
which we live.
You notice that this parable which is only
in the space of one verse immediately follows
a question which our Lord put to the
disciples and their answer.
Have you understood this or have you understood
all these things and they say to him
yes Lord now that's very significant because the
responsibility with which they're charged is the outcome
of truth that has been revealed.
This is for all of us.
Let me give it to you again.
The responsibility with which they were charged is
the outcome of truth revealed and understood.
The right to serve the Lord is always
based upon revelation from his word.
Apart from that it's presumption.
The right to serve the Lord is based
upon revelation from the word.
Otherwise it's presumption.
A very wonderful thing here's me diverting again
happened in Edinburgh some time ago at a
church where a well-known Scottish preacher was
minister Alexander White and one day he had
a young fellow in to speak for him
and this fellow was absolutely thrilled that he'd
been asked to preach in this tremendous church
in Edinburgh.
It was full, big church, big crowd and
he went in and then it came time
for him to preach so he came to
the pulpit steps and he rushed up ran
fast up the pulpit and then he began
to preach.
Did you know that in ten minutes he'd
lost his voice.
Absolute disaster.
It had gone.
Couldn't say a thing.
So he had to sit down and afterwards
when the service was over he just came
down looking absolutely miserable.
Could hardly walk and said to this famous
preacher Alexander White, Sir, why do you think
that happened?
Why did that happen to me today?
And he gave a wonderful answer in Scottish
and not altogether good at it Scottish people
would understand I hope you all do.
Alexander White looked at him and said well
if you'd come up to that pulpit the
way you went down you'd have come down
the way you went up.
Got that?
If you came up to that pulpit the
way you came down absolutely in despair and
humiliated if you'd come up that way then
you'd have come down the way you went
up absolutely thrilled and full of joy.
There's something in that worth thinking through.
The right to serve the Lord is based
upon revelation from his word which has been
understood.
Get me?
If one day the Lord leads you for
preaching or teaching the word of God it's
got to burn in your own heart first
you don't understand it.
Like a lesson on homiletics I had from
a negro preacher a black preacher he said
we've asked how he did it prepared his
well he said I reads myself full then
I thinks myself clear then I prays myself
hot then I lets myself loose you can't
beat that.
You no need a course on homiletics you
wait upon like that on the Lord till
the fire burns in your heart then it's
infectious the right to serve is based upon
revelation from God's word which you've understood.
Have you understood these things?
Now Jesus didn't mean sort of have you
understood them like a child will learn a
lesson not that an arithmetic or anything else
what he did meaning was have you grasped
the significance of this have you felt the
pressure upon what you've heard in your heart
have you taken the burden of it to
your heart have you understood are you convinced
to an extent to which the things you've
heard are going to shape your life for
the future have you understood all these things
not a few not the majority but all
of them there's a tremendous difference between understanding
with the mind and the understanding with the
heart what a privilege it is to have
a friend who understands isn't it with whom
he can share let me test you on
this just go over in your mind these
parables again have you understood that the great
majority of people whom God has sown into
the world are unproductive have you understood that
there's an enemy who seeks to sow terrors
and do his deadly work at the heart
of the church have you understood that the
visible church has had an abnormal growth and
taken into itself that which is even and
the tendency of all of us Christians is
to grow just like that have you understood
that the life, your life of communion and
fellowship which God intends us to have for
all of his children have you understood that
that's been marred by the corruption of sin
these are the things which are the root
of a Christian's warfare have you understood have
you understood that beneath the corruption and sinfulness
of your heart and mine there's a treasure
upon which God's heart is set and he
sees the possibility of recovery and total salvation
have you understood that have you understood that
we're partners in the great task of evangelism
worldwide fishing for souls have you understood and
the Lord Jesus faced that little handful of
his followers as I believe he faces us
and with what yearning he asks us have
these things grasped you have you listened to
them merely as rather interesting or perhaps unusual
or perhaps in your mind possibly controversial lectures
have they left you unmoved and as you've
been months here at Capery some of you
have you understood or are we still just
exactly what we were last September have I
understood have I understood the subtlety of the
damage of the devil have I understood through
them all how much Jesus loves you how
much he's sacrificed for you how much he
counts upon you to be his ambassador well
the disciples answered yes Lord future events realise
tell us that they hadn't really completely understood
but it was the only material he had
to work with most of you so he
took them at their word and he just
does that today don't you find sometimes what
poor stuff we are really we're all he
has and the extent to which he can
use us anywhere depends upon these things having
gripped our hearts and given us a great
desire to accept responsibility and serve him now
what is that responsibility first here you need
to get your pen and get ready and
go I mean not leave but ready to
go excuse me oh I'm watching the clock
alright don't worry 12.35 prompt because lunch
is at 12.45 right today good job
I knew that listen here I come every
scribe who has been trained for the kingdom
of heaven now let me stop there it's
quite startling that the Lord introduces that word
scribe into the picture because the scribes were
his enemies chapter 16 21 he declared plainly
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer
many things at the hands of the priests
that's the spiritual authority the elders that's the
civil authority and the scribes that's the moral
authority why were they his enemies where'd they
sprung from well you need to study for
yourself but we go back right to the
time when the children of Israel returned from
captivity in Babylon about 500 years before Christ
and there was a new order arising and
at the head of it a man called
Ezra who made a pulpit of wood and
from it read the law and gave the
sense of it and became the first in
the order of scribes you'll find that if
you want to look at it sometime Nehemiah
chapter 8 verse 4 Nehemiah 8 4 and
here was a great spiritual movement a Bible
movement under Ezra's leadership which sought to apply
the word of God the law of God
to every area of life but as time
passed by the scribes became more and more
concerned with strict letter and built traditions around
it all and added burdens and eventually they
obscured from view the reality of it shut
men from the kingdom because of their interpretation
now here in this parable the Lord is
saying something tremendous he's telling the disciples that
in the light of their understanding of truth
he will transfer the moral authority of the
scribe to them in the light of their
understanding yes we've understood it he's going to
transfer the moral authority from the scribe to
them he's telling them that as men trained
for the kingdom of heaven their responsibility is
to be interpreters of the law of heaven
to display the righteousness of the kingdom in
the world beware therefore he says of the
letter of the law beware of shutting people
out of the kingdom by that and here's
the first responsibility of a Christian taught in
the things of the kingdom disciplined in the
principles of life in the kingdom he's called
on to display the righteousness of the kingdom
kingdom living have these truths gripped you have
you understood very well have you felt the
pressure of them on your heart very well
display it display it in your life the
integrity of discipleship display it interpret to the
world the law of the kingdom by the
quality of life you live let me say
it again interpret to the world the law
of the kingdom kingdom living by the quality
of life you live for instance a new
commandment I give to you said Jesus that
you love one another as I have loved
you display it so that others may see
see how they love each other that's what
impressed them in New Testament times in other
words in a world of law breaking disregard
of any standard of right and wrong once
upon a time that was based in this
country as in many others on the bible
what's right and wrong now it's based on
television in other words there's no standard at
all wave it up do what you like
and a Christian has to dare to be
different and display the righteousness of the kingdom
you'll find that in the sermon on the
mount the Christian is free from the law's
condemnation but never from responsibility to fulfil it
and that can't become in his own strength
it's only possible by the life of the
spirit of God within us therefore I'm responsible
and you are to display the righteousness of
the kingdom in my life and to just
declare to other people what it means to
have the rule of the kingdom every scribe
who is a disciple in the kingdom is
like to a householder that's a word which
has a very different meaning today the actual
Greek word has the English word in it
despot let me spell out for you the
Greek word there if you'd like to put
it down it would be impressive if you
have a Greek word in your notes as
long as you remember it ready ready O
-I-K O-D E-S-P O
-T-E-S I'll contest the Ts O
-I-K O-D E-S P-O
-T-E-S it has the word despot
in it it's usually used in the New
Testament in relation to the absolute authority of
Christ a word of absolute authority now here's
a word which is a tremendous illustration of
what happens to us when we're mastered by
the revelation of truth when you're gripped by
it when the things of the kingdom grip
you and you understand them and you know
the inner secrets and you're aware of ultimate
issues one day at the end of the
age you become a householder unfortunately side one
of the Cape and Ray master copy runs
out at this point and the next few
sentences were lost before the cassette was turned
over the speaker was making the point that
a householder in scripture was virtually a despot
with tremendous power and control he went on
to make a comparison with our own queen's
householder who manages the running of her household
that person is closely in touch with the
queen is responsible for getting her wishes carried
out and he has control over everything concerning
her court a man in intimate touch with
her queen in a position of tremendous authority
responsible for carrying out the queen's rule making
known her wishes and getting them put into
practice and such a responsibility is one whose
heart is gripped by God's truth just let
me ask you to get this down my
surrender to truth has placed me in closest
touch with the one who is truth and
therefore gives me power to pray and such
a person has never any need to apologize
for his faith with an open bible and
a burdened heart he will declare the truth
which has gripped him with authority and conviction
which reaches people everywhere there's nothing more miserable
than to listen to people some people speak
on the holy spirit who obviously haven't got
him cold as oh but boy oh I
go back in my mind a long time
now when I was a while to your
age three or four generations ago and a
back sliding christian in business miserable a believer
oh yes that's misery making him miserable do
you know a funny thing my steps were
directed most sunday evenings to the central hall
westminster headquarters of the methodist church and there's
a man there who preached every sunday and
he wore a long black coat he had
a great big wing collar he had long
hippie hair nothing new about that it came
right over his head white hair and glasses
and you know he read every word he
spoke read just like this all the time
and once every five or ten minutes because
he preached for about an hour and there
were three thousand people there and you could
hear a pin drop and about once every
five or ten minutes he would look up
and when he looked up you saw the
glory and i would say to myself that
man has got what i need the glory
and that church building is almost empty these
days and this country lacks desperately men like
that what a privilege it was to go
to chicago and after a few months to
become a close friend of aw toza and
what an experience it was when he called
me on the phone one day and said
you'll probably have a tough time at moody
church they're very dispensational etc etc but he
said if you'd like to come and pray
with me i would love to have you
i said oh wonderful would i like it
i'd love it but when and where well
he said on the south shore of lake
michigan any time between five o'clock and
eight o'clock in the morning so i
choked a bit i said well that's a
bit early and he lived thirty miles from
where i lived however i went and you
know i would say this if he was
here and there he was to tell you
himself any day between april and october i'd
find him from five o'clock to late
in the morning flat on his face with
an open bible seeking the lord three hours
i didn't go very often it was early
and moreover it was holy ground that man
told them you should get all his books
they're worth reading be sure you do all
his books especially the knowledge of the holy
that's a great book oh there are those
too but uh you know that man was
minister of one of the largest churches in
chicago on the south side with a congregation
of three thousand people and i used to
hear him preach every week because he was
on woody buble institute radio and you heard
the words coming with authority god doesn't want
cleverness he doesn't want education he doesn't want
masses of degrees by degrees you can empty
a church but he wants heavens fire coming
through the man whose heart has been broken
at the cross but who's understood who's understood
all these things because in that man's life
there is the authority the power of the
holy spirit act one eight he shall be
witnesses unto me and you shall receive power
after that the holy spirit is called upon
you there's really a little explanation needed about
that because there are two words in the
new testament which can translate power in act
one eight you have the word dunamis other
places you would have authority exousia that word
is confined to the lord jesus himself all
authority is given unto me go ye therefore
into the ends of the earth and preach
he never delegates that authority to anybody it's
his but you shall receive power dunamis after
the spirit has come upon you big difference
between the two i walked down have
you circus
circus circus circus circus circus circus circus circus
when i got down to piccadilly traffic lights
broke down and in an emergency a little
fat london policeman most unusual type you don't
know men like that usually well big big
people but this man very fat almost as
broad as he was tall he'd gone on
duty temporarily and he was this little man
with one hand on his hips and the
other hand up here and standing there he
was in complete control.
Not a bus dare move.
And I looked at him and said, not
to him but to myself, you think you're
no end of a guy, controlling all that
lot.
I would just love it if you would
mind just going away from there a bit,
going home and coming back and putting on
a suit of clothes like mine and standing
there and doing that.
In less than 30 seconds you'd be in
a hospital, probably dead.
Those drivers, those buses, these cars, they didn't
care for a fat little London policeman.
But I tell you something, they had great
respect for the authority of the uniform we
wore.
The respect of that, and they didn't move
an inch.
Well now, let me be quiet.
But I tell you, people don't care a
hoot about us, maybe, but I tell you
also that when the word of God that
is understood gets through my life, to them,
they have a mighty respect for the authority.
When they see that authority practiced in you,
that appeals to them.
That's our job.
As I say, not merely education, not merely
fundamental theological praying, nor necessarily somebody with a
great intellectual appetite.
The Lord tells me to my comfort that
he has chosen the foolish, the weak, the
things that are not, to confound those who
are.
It does require a heart in which God's
word burns like a fire, and a spirit
in you that's absolutely restless until that word
triumphs in the heart of other people.
If I dare be so, um, I don't
know what, but perhaps lacking in tact, one
of the greatest examples of that kind here
at Cape Henry was Johann.
Some of you know him.
Out in Israel now.
Gone through absolute hell on earth in his
life.
But aye, boy, is he strong for God.
Because, get this down, only truth which first
grips you and causes you to live by
its precepts will ever grip anybody else.
And I'll repeat that.
Only truth which first grips you and causes
you to live by it will grip anybody
else.
To declare the rule of the kingdom means
I'm living that way.
By what a difference would happen in our
churches, in our country.
We are to display the righteousness of God,
of the kingdom, and declare the rule of
the kingdom.
And the last five minutes, I have to
disperse the riches of the kingdom.
A householder which brings out of his treasure
things new and old.
As householders of the kingdom, we have great
resources.
And the thought of course here is he
scatters them lavishly.
We've access to an unlimited treasure store in
the word of God.
And in it, there are things new and
old, as the parable says.
Every blessing that has come to the world
has come through men who knew God, declared
his authority, dispersed his riches.
And the great business of the Christian is
to dig into the treasure store of the
word of God, and from the old things
which never change, bring forth the application of
them to the day in which I live.
Do remember that I'm not here, you're not
here in the world now, to catch the
spirit of the age.
We're not here to imitate it, not here
to provide Christian entertainment, or masses of church
programs.
As long as I think like that, I'd
be a miserable failure.
But I am here and you are here
to apply the truth of God's word to
every circle of life.
To declare as Billy Graham says a thousand
times, the Bible says.
The Bible says.
I'm saying it to live by it.
To declare the rule of the kingdom, to
disperse the riches of the kingdom.
Yes, constantly.
I think the thing we best do is
to get back to our Bibles and relate
every bit of our life to them.
I think I had better leave it at
that.
Well it's been great to be with you
and I hope to see you again in
June.
Thank you so much and for your patience.