1 00:00:00,350 --> 00:00:01,370 I'd like to turn to the Old Testament 2 00:00:01,370 --> 00:00:02,670 book of Leviticus, please. 3 00:00:07,230 --> 00:00:10,850 Leviticus chapter 23, to start the readings this 4 00:00:10,850 --> 00:00:11,110 morning. 5 00:00:16,480 --> 00:00:19,280 So we've been challenged in the very first 6 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:22,200 message of living for the kingdom and what 7 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,500 we put into it, and then we've been 8 00:00:24,500 --> 00:00:28,320 reminded of carnality and being spiritual, and maybe 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:29,980 there's a young person here and you're wondering, 10 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:31,000 well, where do I start? 11 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:33,220 Where do I start? 12 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,220 It starts with the heart. 13 00:00:37,460 --> 00:00:37,980 With the heart. 14 00:00:38,860 --> 00:00:41,240 As Scott was preaching and talking about older 15 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,700 brethren being jealous of younger brethren, I learned 16 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:47,060 something as an older brother physically that has 17 00:00:47,060 --> 00:00:48,280 been good for me spiritually. 18 00:00:48,540 --> 00:00:51,360 If your younger if your younger sibling isn't 19 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,560 better at you than in everything, you didn't 20 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:55,260 do your job. 21 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:00,180 Because you should know, you should teach them 22 00:01:00,180 --> 00:01:03,379 everything you know, and if they don't learn 23 00:01:03,379 --> 00:01:05,160 one thing more, they didn't do their job. 24 00:01:06,360 --> 00:01:07,760 So you look at it that way. 25 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,540 If the young if the young people that 26 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:12,300 the older ones are taking along, if they 27 00:01:12,300 --> 00:01:14,060 don't know everything that you know by the 28 00:01:14,060 --> 00:01:15,700 time you're gone, you didn't do your job. 29 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:18,560 And you younger ones, if you don't add 30 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,580 something to that on your own, you didn't 31 00:01:21,580 --> 00:01:22,340 do your job. 32 00:01:23,260 --> 00:01:25,620 And so you see the progression as as 33 00:01:25,620 --> 00:01:28,160 the assembly testimony carries on and as you 34 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:31,320 grow in your spiritual life, it should be 35 00:01:31,320 --> 00:01:31,960 a crescendo. 36 00:01:32,980 --> 00:01:33,720 But it's not. 37 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:35,340 It's not. 38 00:01:35,380 --> 00:01:36,800 And that's because of carnality. 39 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:38,720 So what I'd like to just look at 40 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:40,440 simply here in just a few moments is 41 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:41,940 is where do we start? 42 00:01:41,980 --> 00:01:43,120 And we start with the heart. 43 00:01:43,780 --> 00:01:45,400 And I want what's on my mind is 44 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:47,340 really examining ourselves. 45 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:49,680 Really being honest. 46 00:01:49,780 --> 00:01:51,620 And there's different places in in the Old 47 00:01:51,620 --> 00:01:53,600 Testament and even in Corinthians. 48 00:01:54,020 --> 00:01:55,420 But we'll just try to look at these 49 00:01:55,420 --> 00:01:56,240 just very simply. 50 00:01:57,420 --> 00:02:00,060 And then we might get the idea of 51 00:02:00,060 --> 00:02:01,100 how this all starts. 52 00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,460 Leviticus 23 and verse number 26. 53 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:07,520 And the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Also 54 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,560 on the tenth day of this seventh month 55 00:02:09,560 --> 00:02:11,740 there shall be a day of atonement. 56 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:14,140 It shall be a holy convocation unto you, 57 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,260 and ye shall afflict your souls. 58 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:17,680 That's the word I'm looking for. 59 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:19,120 That's the idea. 60 00:02:19,420 --> 00:02:20,940 Afflict your soul. 61 00:02:21,120 --> 00:02:23,000 Stan Wells, if you've ever preached with him, 62 00:02:23,540 --> 00:02:25,780 he'd say, Oh boy, we'll go home and 63 00:02:25,780 --> 00:02:27,080 we'll afflict our soul. 64 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,560 I wondered what in the world did that 65 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:29,840 mean. 66 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:31,100 All right. 67 00:02:31,500 --> 00:02:33,380 I've done that to Stan's face so I 68 00:02:33,380 --> 00:02:34,000 can do it here. 69 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:35,020 All right. 70 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:38,900 What does it mean to afflict our soul? 71 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:40,720 Now we'll keep reading here. 72 00:02:42,140 --> 00:02:44,680 He shall be cut off, or that's too 73 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:45,240 far down. 74 00:02:45,580 --> 00:02:47,040 Verse 27 we were at. 75 00:02:48,140 --> 00:02:50,100 Ye shall afflict your soul and offer an 76 00:02:50,100 --> 00:02:52,140 offering made by fire unto the Lord, and 77 00:02:52,140 --> 00:02:53,860 ye shall do no work in that same 78 00:02:53,860 --> 00:02:54,180 day. 79 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:56,800 For it is a day of atonement to 80 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:59,520 make atonement for you before the Lord your 81 00:02:59,520 --> 00:02:59,820 God. 82 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:02,340 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not 83 00:03:02,340 --> 00:03:05,960 be afflicted in that same day, he shall 84 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:08,640 be cut off from among the people. 85 00:03:08,640 --> 00:03:10,680 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any 86 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:13,640 work in that same day, the same soul 87 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:17,060 will I destroy from among his people. 88 00:03:17,300 --> 00:03:19,820 We'll take a reading now in 1 Chronicles 89 00:03:19,820 --> 00:03:23,800 chapter 22. 90 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:28,280 1 Chronicles 22. 91 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,160 David says now to Solomon in verse number 92 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,020 19, he says, Now set your heart and 93 00:03:39,020 --> 00:03:41,500 your soul to seek the Lord your God. 94 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,460 Arise therefore and build ye the sanctuary of 95 00:03:46,460 --> 00:03:48,160 the Lord God to bring the ark of 96 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:49,720 the covenant of the Lord and the holy 97 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:52,520 vessels of God into the house that is 98 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,860 to be built to the name of the 99 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:56,100 Lord. 100 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:57,360 We'll go a little further to the book 101 00:03:57,360 --> 00:03:58,040 of Hosea. 102 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:01,580 Hosea in chapter 10. 103 00:04:10,260 --> 00:04:16,690 Hosea 10 and verse 12 for the sake 104 00:04:16,690 --> 00:04:17,190 of time. 105 00:04:17,930 --> 00:04:19,470 Well, we'll read verse 11. 106 00:04:20,110 --> 00:04:22,830 And Ephraim is as a heifer that is 107 00:04:22,830 --> 00:04:25,050 taught and loveth to tread out the corn. 108 00:04:25,150 --> 00:04:28,730 But I passed over upon her fair neck. 109 00:04:28,750 --> 00:04:30,770 I will make Ephraim to ride. 110 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:34,270 Judah shall plow and Jacob shall break his 111 00:04:34,270 --> 00:04:34,850 clods. 112 00:04:35,870 --> 00:04:40,410 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, 113 00:04:41,130 --> 00:04:43,390 break up your fallow ground for it is 114 00:04:43,390 --> 00:04:46,130 time to seek the Lord till he come 115 00:04:46,130 --> 00:04:49,290 and reign righteousness upon you. 116 00:04:49,810 --> 00:04:51,470 And we'll likely look at a book or 117 00:04:51,470 --> 00:04:54,190 a reading in 1 Corinthians in a moment. 118 00:04:57,980 --> 00:04:59,680 First one, set your heart to seek the 119 00:04:59,680 --> 00:04:59,860 Lord. 120 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:02,540 David is an old man. 121 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,120 We've been reminded of an old man and 122 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:05,520 a young man, and it's time now to 123 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:06,240 pass it on. 124 00:05:07,060 --> 00:05:09,220 And David is telling Solomon and we read 125 00:05:09,220 --> 00:05:11,620 earlier in the chapter that David has accumulated 126 00:05:11,620 --> 00:05:13,980 all the things for the temple, for the 127 00:05:13,980 --> 00:05:14,680 house of God. 128 00:05:15,280 --> 00:05:17,180 It wasn't God's will that David would be 129 00:05:17,180 --> 00:05:17,680 the builder. 130 00:05:18,260 --> 00:05:19,520 And David understood that. 131 00:05:20,020 --> 00:05:22,420 And David understood that because he was a 132 00:05:22,420 --> 00:05:24,380 man of war and that he wasn't going 133 00:05:24,380 --> 00:05:26,120 to be the one, but his heart's desire 134 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:27,000 was to do it. 135 00:05:27,780 --> 00:05:29,500 And really what we have here is an 136 00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,520 example of what Scott has just brought before 137 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:31,740 us. 138 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:33,740 It's time now to pass it on to 139 00:05:33,740 --> 00:05:37,140 the younger man, understanding that he wasn't the 140 00:05:37,140 --> 00:05:38,500 one to do it and that he wasn't 141 00:05:38,500 --> 00:05:40,700 capable of doing it because it wasn't God's 142 00:05:40,700 --> 00:05:40,960 will. 143 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,700 He does everything he can so that Solomon 144 00:05:43,700 --> 00:05:44,520 will thrive. 145 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:47,000 He does everything that he can and in 146 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,500 his power and in his conquest to make 147 00:05:49,500 --> 00:05:52,800 this possible, what was in his heart, even 148 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:54,360 though he would never see it done. 149 00:05:57,680 --> 00:05:59,220 That was a heart that was seeking the 150 00:05:59,220 --> 00:05:59,460 Lord. 151 00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:02,240 And that wasn't a heart that was seeking 152 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:03,140 his own glory. 153 00:06:03,980 --> 00:06:05,900 And so David now, a man after God's 154 00:06:05,900 --> 00:06:08,120 own heart, he goes and he prepares all 155 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:09,960 of the things that are needed, the gold 156 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,320 in abundance, the timbers in abundance, all the 157 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:13,380 materials in abundance. 158 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:16,480 And now he's telling Solomon, Solomon, this is 159 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:16,960 the key. 160 00:06:17,660 --> 00:06:20,340 Set your heart to seek the Lord. 161 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:22,580 Set it there. 162 00:06:25,020 --> 00:06:27,020 You know, when William started off the conference, 163 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:31,120 I was smitten in the first message and 164 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:32,760 I was smitten in the second message. 165 00:06:35,210 --> 00:06:39,250 You see, this is the whole problem is 166 00:06:39,250 --> 00:06:42,910 we're not seeking the Lord with our whole 167 00:06:42,910 --> 00:06:43,230 heart. 168 00:06:43,510 --> 00:06:45,530 We're not seeking the things of God. 169 00:06:45,810 --> 00:06:47,010 We are so distracted. 170 00:06:47,130 --> 00:06:48,210 We're so preoccupied. 171 00:06:48,290 --> 00:06:50,430 We'll get to that in Leviticus that that 172 00:06:50,430 --> 00:06:52,130 we miss out on everything. 173 00:06:53,050 --> 00:06:54,890 And I shouldn't say everything because we get 174 00:06:54,890 --> 00:06:55,450 a little bit. 175 00:06:56,030 --> 00:06:58,510 We miss out on most things that God 176 00:06:58,510 --> 00:07:00,210 has intended for us to enjoy. 177 00:07:02,150 --> 00:07:03,170 We miss them. 178 00:07:03,970 --> 00:07:05,750 Our hands are busy with other things. 179 00:07:05,830 --> 00:07:07,690 Our mind are distracted with other things. 180 00:07:08,150 --> 00:07:11,730 And David is just simply telling Solomon, son, 181 00:07:15,100 --> 00:07:17,240 set your heart to seek the Lord. 182 00:07:17,840 --> 00:07:20,220 Go in for the Lord. 183 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:22,880 Build his house. 184 00:07:23,380 --> 00:07:24,180 Build it up. 185 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,400 Raise up a place for the dwelling of 186 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:27,820 God. 187 00:07:28,580 --> 00:07:30,120 Now, you might be in a local assembly 188 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:31,720 and we're not looking at local assembly. 189 00:07:34,220 --> 00:07:36,280 This was Solomon's job was to build God 190 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:37,860 a house on this earth, even though God 191 00:07:37,860 --> 00:07:39,600 doesn't dwell in temples made with hands. 192 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:42,720 But let me put the challenge out to 193 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:43,460 you as an individual. 194 00:07:43,600 --> 00:07:46,140 If you're saved here today and the spirit 195 00:07:46,140 --> 00:07:48,800 of God dwells in you and you are 196 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:50,880 the dwelling place of the spirit of God, 197 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:52,420 build it up. 198 00:07:53,620 --> 00:08:01,320 Build it up personally, your heart, set your 199 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:04,380 heart personally to seek the Lord, never mind 200 00:08:04,380 --> 00:08:08,620 everybody else's heart, never mind everyone else's motive, 201 00:08:09,500 --> 00:08:12,440 never mind everyone else's success or everyone else's 202 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:12,840 failure. 203 00:08:13,540 --> 00:08:15,840 You set your heart to seek the Lord. 204 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:18,320 That's what David's telling Solomon. 205 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:21,340 Build it up. 206 00:08:23,660 --> 00:08:24,620 Cause it to grow. 207 00:08:28,250 --> 00:08:32,630 What advice from an older man? 208 00:08:35,669 --> 00:08:39,150 Dear young people, it starts with the heart. 209 00:08:41,610 --> 00:08:43,650 You can fill your mind with all sorts 210 00:08:43,650 --> 00:08:46,970 of things, all sorts of good things and 211 00:08:46,970 --> 00:08:47,870 all sorts of truth. 212 00:08:47,990 --> 00:08:54,850 But if it doesn't touch the heart, it's 213 00:08:54,850 --> 00:08:55,110 nothing. 214 00:08:56,130 --> 00:08:57,310 It's information. 215 00:08:58,010 --> 00:08:59,330 That's the extent that it goes. 216 00:08:59,410 --> 00:09:01,010 You can be so full of information. 217 00:09:01,970 --> 00:09:04,070 And if it doesn't touch and change the 218 00:09:04,070 --> 00:09:06,970 heart, you've missed it. 219 00:09:08,270 --> 00:09:08,970 You've missed it. 220 00:09:09,330 --> 00:09:11,970 And so David is telling Solomon, and we'll 221 00:09:11,970 --> 00:09:14,890 repeat it again and again, set your heart 222 00:09:14,890 --> 00:09:16,910 to seek the Lord. 223 00:09:18,710 --> 00:09:19,930 Does what does that mean? 224 00:09:19,990 --> 00:09:23,550 That means Solomon, you know, Solomon was in 225 00:09:23,550 --> 00:09:25,490 a privileged position when everything was provided. 226 00:09:26,730 --> 00:09:28,130 We might think, well, that would be a 227 00:09:28,130 --> 00:09:31,150 tremendous, that would be a tremendous position to 228 00:09:31,150 --> 00:09:31,510 be in. 229 00:09:32,990 --> 00:09:34,190 You're in the same thing. 230 00:09:34,350 --> 00:09:35,350 You're in the same position. 231 00:09:36,750 --> 00:09:40,230 Everything that you need to thrive spiritually has 232 00:09:40,230 --> 00:09:44,230 already been provided, provided by the redemption of 233 00:09:44,230 --> 00:09:47,010 the blood of Christ, indwelt by the spirit 234 00:09:47,010 --> 00:09:47,670 of God. 235 00:09:48,150 --> 00:09:49,750 You have the word of God in your 236 00:09:49,750 --> 00:09:51,190 laps and in your hands. 237 00:09:52,390 --> 00:09:55,270 Everything needed to build the house of God 238 00:09:55,270 --> 00:09:56,390 is provided. 239 00:09:58,150 --> 00:10:01,030 It's provided already by God himself. 240 00:10:02,910 --> 00:10:05,570 Set your heart to seek the Lord. 241 00:10:06,350 --> 00:10:07,830 And then the second one is in Leviticus 242 00:10:07,830 --> 00:10:09,070 where we started our reading. 243 00:10:10,230 --> 00:10:12,010 And it's the affliction of the soul. 244 00:10:13,270 --> 00:10:16,030 This is all in context in Leviticus and 245 00:10:16,030 --> 00:10:17,710 in numbers when this is mentioned with the 246 00:10:17,710 --> 00:10:18,450 day of atonement. 247 00:10:19,590 --> 00:10:21,110 And the day of atonement was a very 248 00:10:21,110 --> 00:10:21,750 special day. 249 00:10:21,850 --> 00:10:22,910 And we're not going to get into all 250 00:10:22,910 --> 00:10:24,950 the meanings of the day of atonement, but 251 00:10:24,950 --> 00:10:26,590 it was a holy convocation. 252 00:10:27,390 --> 00:10:29,590 And that convocation is a, is an interesting 253 00:10:29,590 --> 00:10:29,950 word. 254 00:10:30,030 --> 00:10:32,470 It is, it's got different, different types of 255 00:10:32,470 --> 00:10:33,390 meanings in it. 256 00:10:33,430 --> 00:10:35,770 And it's called something that is called out. 257 00:10:36,490 --> 00:10:38,390 And so on this day of atonement, it 258 00:10:38,390 --> 00:10:40,030 was for the whole, it was for the 259 00:10:40,030 --> 00:10:42,150 whole nation, for the whole nation. 260 00:10:42,250 --> 00:10:43,810 And it kind of reminded me of the 261 00:10:43,810 --> 00:10:44,190 assembly. 262 00:10:44,670 --> 00:10:46,010 It's something called out. 263 00:10:46,530 --> 00:10:48,090 It is a public meeting. 264 00:10:48,630 --> 00:10:50,110 It could be a reading. 265 00:10:50,830 --> 00:10:52,290 It could be a rehearsal. 266 00:10:53,190 --> 00:10:55,230 And that's all in the definition of a 267 00:10:55,230 --> 00:10:55,890 convocation. 268 00:10:56,730 --> 00:10:58,550 But it was something that was there for 269 00:10:58,550 --> 00:11:01,630 the, for everyone that was, everyone in the 270 00:11:01,630 --> 00:11:02,450 nation of Israel. 271 00:11:04,190 --> 00:11:06,470 And so this is the solemnity of what's 272 00:11:06,470 --> 00:11:07,270 taking place. 273 00:11:08,330 --> 00:11:10,030 And just to make the application to the 274 00:11:10,030 --> 00:11:13,350 assembly here at this point, we are a 275 00:11:13,350 --> 00:11:14,210 called out company. 276 00:11:15,830 --> 00:11:17,350 We're called out by God. 277 00:11:18,130 --> 00:11:20,470 We're gathered by the spirit of God. 278 00:11:21,470 --> 00:11:23,510 What would have happened if an Israelite would 279 00:11:23,510 --> 00:11:24,410 have missed this day? 280 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:29,780 What would have happened if an Israelite would 281 00:11:29,780 --> 00:11:30,920 have worked on this day? 282 00:11:34,230 --> 00:11:35,230 Well, we read it. 283 00:11:37,620 --> 00:11:39,060 They would have been cut off. 284 00:11:41,660 --> 00:11:42,560 No, I don't know. 285 00:11:44,220 --> 00:11:46,140 But do you look at every assembly gathering 286 00:11:46,140 --> 00:11:46,540 that way? 287 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,220 We're not under the law. 288 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:50,240 That's why this is a heart thing. 289 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,260 But if your heart was genuinely set to 290 00:11:53,260 --> 00:11:55,220 seek the Lord, I see people tell us 291 00:11:55,220 --> 00:11:56,600 and they say, well, I want to serve 292 00:11:56,600 --> 00:11:57,060 the Lord. 293 00:11:57,480 --> 00:11:59,500 I want to see a gospel work started. 294 00:11:59,780 --> 00:12:01,620 I want to, I want to, let's go 295 00:12:01,620 --> 00:12:02,620 preach in somewhere. 296 00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:06,500 But they're only at half the meetings. 297 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:12,840 Their heart's not set to see is not 298 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:13,540 seeking the Lord. 299 00:12:14,980 --> 00:12:16,720 They're not at the Bible study. 300 00:12:17,260 --> 00:12:19,100 There's no time for the prayer meeting. 301 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,420 When they take their vacation, they go someplace 302 00:12:23,420 --> 00:12:24,600 where there's no assembly. 303 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,900 No problem missing a meeting on vacation. 304 00:12:34,140 --> 00:12:35,520 Is that heart seeking the Lord? 305 00:12:37,930 --> 00:12:39,330 We got to be honest because this is 306 00:12:39,330 --> 00:12:40,710 what it means to afflict our soul. 307 00:12:46,260 --> 00:12:52,940 To be honest, to search the soul, to 308 00:12:52,940 --> 00:12:54,660 search the heart. 309 00:13:00,340 --> 00:13:06,030 Honesty with God is priority. 310 00:13:08,790 --> 00:13:10,370 You can fool me and I can fool 311 00:13:10,370 --> 00:13:14,120 you, but raise your hand in here if 312 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:14,880 you can fool God. 313 00:13:17,850 --> 00:13:19,630 And so this day was set apart and 314 00:13:19,630 --> 00:13:22,630 there's different convocations and with different related to 315 00:13:22,630 --> 00:13:23,230 different things. 316 00:13:23,310 --> 00:13:27,050 But just to get the point, that they 317 00:13:27,050 --> 00:13:30,350 were to take this time and they were 318 00:13:30,350 --> 00:13:31,910 to take this day and have a day 319 00:13:31,910 --> 00:13:37,470 of rest for the purpose of self-examination. 320 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,400 Am I, why are we doing what we're 321 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:43,600 doing on the day of atonement? 322 00:13:43,940 --> 00:13:46,160 Obviously it was a day of atonement for 323 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:46,440 sin. 324 00:13:47,900 --> 00:13:49,780 And so they would be stopping and searching 325 00:13:49,780 --> 00:13:50,400 their heart. 326 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,800 Now you can imagine, we think people weren't 327 00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:56,340 busy back then as busy as us. 328 00:13:57,220 --> 00:13:59,320 Everybody in every generation is always too busy. 329 00:14:00,700 --> 00:14:00,920 All right. 330 00:14:02,100 --> 00:14:04,980 Can you imagine when you get the Lord's 331 00:14:04,980 --> 00:14:07,380 day and the Lord's day is not the 332 00:14:07,380 --> 00:14:07,940 Sabbath day. 333 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:09,520 Sunday is not the Sabbath day. 334 00:14:11,020 --> 00:14:13,000 But how hard is it to take a 335 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:14,640 little time and just give it to the 336 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:14,880 Lord? 337 00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,460 Since the introduction of the cell phone, it's 338 00:14:19,460 --> 00:14:20,260 gotten worse. 339 00:14:22,910 --> 00:14:24,790 You have to shut the thing off if 340 00:14:24,790 --> 00:14:25,730 you're going to get along with God. 341 00:14:29,140 --> 00:14:31,740 My attention span went from that of a 342 00:14:31,740 --> 00:14:34,680 field mouse, I think to a grasshopper. 343 00:14:38,410 --> 00:14:41,190 Your mind is this like mine with distractions, 344 00:14:41,850 --> 00:14:43,850 things shooting here and there and everywhere. 345 00:14:45,410 --> 00:14:46,950 And you just looked at the news and 346 00:14:46,950 --> 00:14:48,370 then all of a sudden, 15 minutes later, 347 00:14:48,390 --> 00:14:49,230 you're going to look at the news and 348 00:14:49,230 --> 00:14:50,470 you go through the whole thing and it's 349 00:14:50,470 --> 00:14:51,310 the same stories. 350 00:14:53,130 --> 00:14:57,270 It rewires our mind and it's very hard 351 00:14:57,270 --> 00:14:57,950 to concentrate. 352 00:14:58,170 --> 00:14:59,770 And so here are these people, they're not 353 00:14:59,770 --> 00:15:01,530 supposed to work that day. 354 00:15:04,100 --> 00:15:05,540 And there's always something that you could just, 355 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:06,760 I could just get this done. 356 00:15:07,820 --> 00:15:09,300 If I just did this first, then I 357 00:15:09,300 --> 00:15:10,280 could have some time with the Lord. 358 00:15:10,540 --> 00:15:11,840 It never works that way. 359 00:15:14,730 --> 00:15:17,770 So the challenge here is this, as God 360 00:15:17,770 --> 00:15:21,030 sees me, who am I? 361 00:15:27,210 --> 00:15:30,850 Not who am I at meeting, not who 362 00:15:30,850 --> 00:15:35,010 I am at conference, but as God sees 363 00:15:35,010 --> 00:15:36,970 me, who's the real me? 364 00:15:38,030 --> 00:15:41,390 You ever ask yourself, I ask myself this, 365 00:15:41,630 --> 00:15:43,090 would the real Brandon stand up here? 366 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:50,540 You ever find yourself that way, pretending to 367 00:15:50,540 --> 00:15:51,860 be something that you're not? 368 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:54,500 Sure you do. 369 00:15:57,630 --> 00:15:59,610 And so the day of examining and afflicting 370 00:15:59,610 --> 00:16:03,030 of the soul is to confess their sin. 371 00:16:03,970 --> 00:16:09,520 It's a day of atonement to get alone 372 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:15,220 with God and just to tell God what 373 00:16:15,220 --> 00:16:15,660 I've done. 374 00:16:18,540 --> 00:16:19,960 You ever ask God to show you what 375 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:21,720 you've done that has offended Him? 376 00:16:24,570 --> 00:16:26,390 Sometimes we do things we don't even know. 377 00:16:28,310 --> 00:16:30,110 Today is a time to afflict the soul. 378 00:16:31,370 --> 00:16:33,110 And God shows you what has happened and 379 00:16:33,110 --> 00:16:34,790 God shows you where the problem is and 380 00:16:34,790 --> 00:16:37,090 God shows you why the scriptures have been 381 00:16:37,090 --> 00:16:39,130 silent to you and why prayer has been 382 00:16:39,130 --> 00:16:42,130 flat and why the heavens, it's been like 383 00:16:42,130 --> 00:16:42,710 stone. 384 00:16:44,170 --> 00:16:45,210 Lord, there's something wrong. 385 00:16:45,270 --> 00:16:46,430 I don't know what it is. 386 00:16:47,590 --> 00:16:49,190 Has that ever been the desire of the 387 00:16:49,190 --> 00:16:49,590 heart? 388 00:16:49,930 --> 00:16:52,330 It is if you're searching the heart, seeking 389 00:16:52,330 --> 00:16:53,730 the Lord with all your heart. 390 00:16:54,150 --> 00:16:55,530 Lord, what is in the way? 391 00:17:00,130 --> 00:17:00,830 Afflict the soul. 392 00:17:01,910 --> 00:17:03,390 God shows us what's in the way. 393 00:17:05,700 --> 00:17:08,339 We confess it and we forsake it and 394 00:17:08,339 --> 00:17:10,260 that is the beauty of the blood of 395 00:17:10,260 --> 00:17:10,940 Jesus Christ. 396 00:17:11,020 --> 00:17:12,740 His son cleanses us from all sin. 397 00:17:13,700 --> 00:17:16,260 We forsake it and we go on. 398 00:17:17,859 --> 00:17:18,660 We go on. 399 00:17:19,740 --> 00:17:22,300 So they're to search their heart. 400 00:17:22,700 --> 00:17:24,940 They are to confess their sin. 401 00:17:25,380 --> 00:17:28,360 They are to be still in the presence 402 00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:29,040 of God. 403 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,140 And it is indeed a time of great 404 00:17:32,140 --> 00:17:37,060 searching and affliction. 405 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:39,320 Afflict your soul. 406 00:17:41,460 --> 00:17:42,340 To browbeat it. 407 00:17:43,020 --> 00:17:43,920 That's the word. 408 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:46,520 To browbeat yourself. 409 00:17:47,740 --> 00:17:49,380 Well, if you've ever done that, you've come 410 00:17:49,380 --> 00:17:51,360 away, I hope, a little humbler than when 411 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:51,820 you started. 412 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:54,880 Because what takes place is this. 413 00:17:55,060 --> 00:17:57,040 As we're afflicting our soul and as we're 414 00:17:57,040 --> 00:17:59,520 asking God, what is the troubles in my 415 00:17:59,520 --> 00:17:59,740 life? 416 00:17:59,820 --> 00:18:01,220 What is the hindrance in my life? 417 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:03,220 And God starts to show us and we 418 00:18:03,220 --> 00:18:05,340 start to confess our sin and a change 419 00:18:05,340 --> 00:18:06,560 starts to take place. 420 00:18:08,380 --> 00:18:09,800 And it's called humility. 421 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:11,800 Humility. 422 00:18:13,340 --> 00:18:14,620 My grandma had a sign. 423 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,020 It's hard to be humble when you're perfect 424 00:18:16,020 --> 00:18:16,600 in every way. 425 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:23,240 You see, we think that way. 426 00:18:25,990 --> 00:18:28,770 We think that we're the spiritual ones and 427 00:18:30,910 --> 00:18:31,750 we're like the Pharisee. 428 00:18:31,870 --> 00:18:33,550 I thank you that I'm not like that 429 00:18:33,550 --> 00:18:33,910 person. 430 00:18:35,030 --> 00:18:35,770 Other men are. 431 00:18:35,830 --> 00:18:37,450 That's all others is really the Pharisee. 432 00:18:37,530 --> 00:18:39,090 I thank that I'm not like anybody else. 433 00:18:40,150 --> 00:18:41,450 That's how proud he was. 434 00:18:42,790 --> 00:18:44,950 And so we're searching the Lord and we're 435 00:18:44,950 --> 00:18:48,250 afflicting our souls and so Solomon is going 436 00:18:48,250 --> 00:18:49,510 to build up. 437 00:18:51,230 --> 00:18:52,870 He's going to search the Lord and he's 438 00:18:52,870 --> 00:18:54,550 going to build the things of God up. 439 00:18:54,590 --> 00:18:56,030 He's not going to tear them down. 440 00:18:57,590 --> 00:18:59,190 If you're really searching the Lord, are you 441 00:18:59,190 --> 00:19:00,170 tearing down Christians? 442 00:19:01,850 --> 00:19:03,510 If you're seeking the Lord with all your 443 00:19:03,510 --> 00:19:07,010 heart, are you backbiting? 444 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:10,220 Are we rumor spreading? 445 00:19:12,630 --> 00:19:13,770 Can't have them both. 446 00:19:15,250 --> 00:19:16,190 You can't do both. 447 00:19:16,810 --> 00:19:18,370 And so we'll go on. 448 00:19:19,190 --> 00:19:23,210 We come to Hosea and there he tells, 449 00:19:23,930 --> 00:19:27,470 the prophet tells him from God to till 450 00:19:27,470 --> 00:19:32,870 up the fallow ground, to till it up. 451 00:19:35,060 --> 00:19:36,380 Seek the Lord. 452 00:19:37,060 --> 00:19:39,980 It is time to seek the Lord. 453 00:19:42,030 --> 00:19:44,450 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy, 454 00:19:45,070 --> 00:19:47,070 break up your fallow ground. 455 00:19:47,170 --> 00:19:48,790 Now I had to look that up too, 456 00:19:48,930 --> 00:19:50,790 because I always had in my head that 457 00:19:50,790 --> 00:19:52,670 fallow ground was just ground that wasn't being 458 00:19:52,670 --> 00:19:53,190 farmed. 459 00:19:54,130 --> 00:19:55,390 It was just lying dormant. 460 00:19:55,490 --> 00:19:58,230 But the word here is to break up 461 00:19:58,230 --> 00:20:02,630 the already plowed ground, to till the plowed 462 00:20:02,630 --> 00:20:02,950 ground. 463 00:20:03,030 --> 00:20:04,710 So it's taking it really the next step 464 00:20:04,710 --> 00:20:05,830 according to the wording. 465 00:20:06,850 --> 00:20:07,970 And so there's been a work that has 466 00:20:07,970 --> 00:20:08,490 been started. 467 00:20:08,610 --> 00:20:11,470 The ground has been plowed, but it's not 468 00:20:11,470 --> 00:20:13,230 yet ready to receive the seed. 469 00:20:14,050 --> 00:20:16,170 And you plow the ground, at least in 470 00:20:16,170 --> 00:20:16,730 the old days. 471 00:20:16,810 --> 00:20:18,430 Now there's the no till and that messes 472 00:20:18,430 --> 00:20:18,990 this all up. 473 00:20:19,190 --> 00:20:21,390 But when they plowed the ground and they 474 00:20:21,390 --> 00:20:23,510 turned over the soil and you had your 475 00:20:23,510 --> 00:20:25,890 furrow and it just kept rolling it over 476 00:20:25,890 --> 00:20:29,090 on top of the next round, it would 477 00:20:29,090 --> 00:20:29,650 roll it over. 478 00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:31,030 Then you'd go over with the disc or 479 00:20:31,030 --> 00:20:33,330 the field cultivator or whatever, and you're tilling 480 00:20:33,330 --> 00:20:33,430 it. 481 00:20:33,550 --> 00:20:35,330 And what you're doing is you're taking that 482 00:20:35,330 --> 00:20:38,450 which is rough and that is clumpy and 483 00:20:38,450 --> 00:20:40,730 large, and you're breaking it down so that 484 00:20:40,730 --> 00:20:44,630 the soil is fine and it can receive 485 00:20:44,630 --> 00:20:45,370 the seed. 486 00:20:47,290 --> 00:20:49,630 And this is what he's telling these people 487 00:20:49,630 --> 00:20:52,130 to break that fallow ground up, sow in 488 00:20:52,130 --> 00:20:54,730 righteousness and reap in mercy. 489 00:20:54,870 --> 00:20:56,590 And what you sow is what you reap. 490 00:20:58,250 --> 00:21:00,410 To sow in righteousness and to reap it 491 00:21:00,410 --> 00:21:03,730 in mercy, to break it up, break up 492 00:21:03,730 --> 00:21:05,990 the ground, build up the things of God, 493 00:21:07,050 --> 00:21:12,230 but to break down the soil so that 494 00:21:12,230 --> 00:21:13,330 it can bring forth fruit. 495 00:21:15,410 --> 00:21:16,610 And so then we look at the heart 496 00:21:16,610 --> 00:21:21,270 and we look at the hard heart. 497 00:21:26,170 --> 00:21:27,910 You ever get so hard hearted that the 498 00:21:27,910 --> 00:21:28,730 seed can't grow? 499 00:21:30,270 --> 00:21:31,090 Yeah, you have. 500 00:21:33,980 --> 00:21:35,520 You want to seek the Lord, but the 501 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:36,440 heart is hard. 502 00:21:39,790 --> 00:21:42,590 It's the stony ground. 503 00:21:43,410 --> 00:21:48,150 It's the wayside ground, but the seed can't 504 00:21:48,150 --> 00:21:48,450 grow. 505 00:21:51,470 --> 00:21:53,070 You ever wonder why you can't put into 506 00:21:53,070 --> 00:21:55,590 practice what you've learned? 507 00:21:58,240 --> 00:21:59,660 You know it in your head, but it 508 00:21:59,660 --> 00:22:01,840 doesn't bring forth, it doesn't, it doesn't work 509 00:22:01,840 --> 00:22:03,340 its way out in everyday life. 510 00:22:07,790 --> 00:22:12,050 Well, if you're genuinely saved, and sometimes people 511 00:22:12,050 --> 00:22:13,510 aren't saved and they hear the word and 512 00:22:13,510 --> 00:22:15,050 they wonder why they can't, why it never 513 00:22:15,050 --> 00:22:16,730 produces, reproduces itself. 514 00:22:17,510 --> 00:22:19,250 And that is a reality. 515 00:22:19,390 --> 00:22:21,250 It'll be a greater reality on the way 516 00:22:21,250 --> 00:22:22,330 out as William already brought. 517 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,540 Sinners that are dead in sins cannot spiritually 518 00:22:28,540 --> 00:22:29,740 please God. 519 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:31,400 It's impossible. 520 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:37,220 And as the age moves on, and I 521 00:22:37,220 --> 00:22:39,760 agree with William said about the fowls, that's 522 00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:41,000 the fowls that stole the seed. 523 00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:46,820 And it's, you just think about it. 524 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:49,560 Just to make the application to this day 525 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:50,040 and age. 526 00:22:52,930 --> 00:22:55,970 The false teachers that come in to the 527 00:22:55,970 --> 00:22:56,370 assembly. 528 00:22:57,790 --> 00:23:00,170 The false gospels that are being preached. 529 00:23:02,090 --> 00:23:05,550 And the, I could probably say billions of 530 00:23:05,550 --> 00:23:06,810 souls that think they're saved. 531 00:23:06,810 --> 00:23:09,910 And they're on their way to hell. 532 00:23:10,950 --> 00:23:13,050 And they can't work out what they've learned. 533 00:23:13,910 --> 00:23:15,410 But for the Christian, it's different. 534 00:23:16,190 --> 00:23:17,830 With the spirit of God and with everlasting 535 00:23:17,830 --> 00:23:20,310 life, and the seed comes in, and although 536 00:23:20,310 --> 00:23:21,710 it's not growing, what's going on? 537 00:23:21,770 --> 00:23:23,270 Well, there's a problem then with the heart. 538 00:23:24,890 --> 00:23:27,450 The truth has entered into the mind, but 539 00:23:27,450 --> 00:23:28,350 it can't be lived out. 540 00:23:28,390 --> 00:23:29,330 It can't be worked out. 541 00:23:29,390 --> 00:23:29,790 Why is that? 542 00:23:29,830 --> 00:23:31,650 Because the heart, the heart is hard. 543 00:23:32,930 --> 00:23:34,130 There's been a work of God that has 544 00:23:34,130 --> 00:23:36,370 already been established, it has already been started, 545 00:23:36,610 --> 00:23:37,970 but the seed's not growing. 546 00:23:39,790 --> 00:23:43,270 And the prophet's saying, break up that plowed 547 00:23:43,270 --> 00:23:43,710 ground. 548 00:23:45,630 --> 00:23:46,570 Break it up. 549 00:23:49,790 --> 00:23:53,730 And sometimes, sometimes God breaks our heart. 550 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:01,520 That feeling where your stomach is, or your 551 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:04,120 heart is in your stomach, and it's all 552 00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:05,520 in the middle of your throat, and you 553 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,700 just can't hardly, you can't hardly breathe. 554 00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:12,380 And you can't eat. 555 00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,400 And you're pying away from a broken heart. 556 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,540 What's God doing? 557 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:30,920 He's making our heart usable. 558 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,400 Without going into any details, I remember a 559 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:40,540 time well, when God broke my heart. 560 00:24:44,190 --> 00:24:45,770 And it was the best thing that ever 561 00:24:45,770 --> 00:24:46,410 happened to me. 562 00:24:50,830 --> 00:24:52,790 Because we get set in our ways, and 563 00:24:52,790 --> 00:24:54,010 we get set in our thinking, and we 564 00:24:54,010 --> 00:24:55,750 get set with our heart, and our heart's 565 00:24:55,750 --> 00:24:57,330 desire, and all these things. 566 00:24:57,510 --> 00:24:59,870 But he says, break up the plowed ground. 567 00:25:01,430 --> 00:25:02,890 Are you really seeking the Lord? 568 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,020 You see, if you have a broken heart, 569 00:25:08,460 --> 00:25:12,080 and your heart is in his hand, he 570 00:25:12,080 --> 00:25:13,240 can turn it wherever he will. 571 00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:16,280 He can do that anyway, but he's looking 572 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:20,640 for a response from your heart, and from 573 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:20,940 mine. 574 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:25,480 So you've got, set your heart to seek 575 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:25,880 the Lord. 576 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,600 You've got the affliction of the soul, the 577 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,080 examination of really what's going on inside. 578 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:34,640 The soul searching, as it were. 579 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:36,800 What is it that I'm really looking for 580 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:37,400 in this life? 581 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:39,340 What is it really that I'm striving for 582 00:25:39,340 --> 00:25:39,860 in this life? 583 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:41,560 What is it really then that my heart 584 00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:42,480 is set upon? 585 00:25:46,220 --> 00:25:47,540 Is it to be set upon to be 586 00:25:47,540 --> 00:25:47,840 rich? 587 00:25:50,300 --> 00:25:51,680 Set upon to be famous? 588 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:55,880 He says, break up that hard ground. 589 00:25:58,360 --> 00:25:59,780 So we're going to just, I know these 590 00:25:59,780 --> 00:26:00,600 are just applications. 591 00:26:00,740 --> 00:26:02,060 We're going to go to 1 Corinthians now. 592 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,980 I'm in that awkward stage of ministry where 593 00:26:07,980 --> 00:26:09,460 you just have a little bit left, and 594 00:26:09,460 --> 00:26:11,900 a little more time than you can probably 595 00:26:11,900 --> 00:26:12,340 take up. 596 00:26:12,380 --> 00:26:12,860 But we'll do it. 597 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:14,020 We can do it, and we'll sit down. 598 00:26:15,380 --> 00:26:17,580 1 Corinthians in chapter 11. 599 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:24,020 Verse number 28. 600 00:26:35,190 --> 00:26:36,810 Context here is the breaking of bread. 601 00:26:38,050 --> 00:26:39,510 And then verse 27, we'll start. 602 00:26:39,650 --> 00:26:41,910 Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink 603 00:26:41,910 --> 00:26:43,890 this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be 604 00:26:43,890 --> 00:26:45,330 guilty of the body and the blood of 605 00:26:45,330 --> 00:26:45,690 the Lord. 606 00:26:47,030 --> 00:26:49,250 But let a man examine himself, and so 607 00:26:49,250 --> 00:26:52,330 let him eat of that cup. 608 00:26:53,290 --> 00:26:56,930 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth 609 00:26:56,930 --> 00:27:00,230 and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the 610 00:27:00,230 --> 00:27:00,850 Lord's body. 611 00:27:00,970 --> 00:27:03,210 For this cause many are weak and sickly 612 00:27:03,210 --> 00:27:05,410 among you, and many sleep. 613 00:27:06,030 --> 00:27:08,250 For if we would judge ourselves, we should 614 00:27:08,250 --> 00:27:08,970 not be judged. 615 00:27:09,130 --> 00:27:11,030 But when we are judged, we are chastened 616 00:27:11,030 --> 00:27:13,390 of the Lord, that we should not be 617 00:27:13,390 --> 00:27:15,810 condemned with the world. 618 00:27:17,510 --> 00:27:18,410 The examination. 619 00:27:20,590 --> 00:27:21,650 The examination. 620 00:27:21,830 --> 00:27:22,910 The self-examination. 621 00:27:23,490 --> 00:27:25,410 This word is used again in chapter 13, 622 00:27:25,570 --> 00:27:26,550 and we'll get there in a moment. 623 00:27:26,930 --> 00:27:28,550 But here in the context of the breaking 624 00:27:28,550 --> 00:27:29,130 of the bread. 625 00:27:31,490 --> 00:27:34,390 To examine oneself, is there anything in me 626 00:27:34,390 --> 00:27:38,780 before I break this bread? 627 00:27:40,100 --> 00:27:42,060 Should be done before the breaking of bread, 628 00:27:42,140 --> 00:27:42,720 I would assume. 629 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:49,040 But is there anything in in me that 630 00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:53,340 would bring defilement into this situation? 631 00:27:58,070 --> 00:28:02,030 Anything that I have done where I shouldn't 632 00:28:02,030 --> 00:28:02,490 be here? 633 00:28:07,310 --> 00:28:09,330 That's an examination, isn't it? 634 00:28:10,390 --> 00:28:11,950 Oh, for when we all get up and 635 00:28:11,950 --> 00:28:13,690 when Sunday morning we'll say and we do 636 00:28:13,690 --> 00:28:16,350 our, we have our little morning devotion or 637 00:28:16,350 --> 00:28:18,590 our prayer or whatever comes first, and then 638 00:28:18,590 --> 00:28:20,770 we we think, okay, I'm going to remember 639 00:28:20,770 --> 00:28:21,170 the little Lord. 640 00:28:21,270 --> 00:28:22,690 Is there anything this week that I have 641 00:28:22,690 --> 00:28:23,790 done that I shouldn't be here? 642 00:28:25,150 --> 00:28:26,670 Is there anything that I have done that 643 00:28:26,670 --> 00:28:28,350 I need to confess before I go there? 644 00:28:29,070 --> 00:28:30,370 You see what's taking place. 645 00:28:30,470 --> 00:28:32,410 It's really a New Testament aspect of affliction 646 00:28:32,410 --> 00:28:33,030 of the soul. 647 00:28:34,670 --> 00:28:36,850 It's really the searching out of of the 648 00:28:36,850 --> 00:28:38,990 reality of the week and the solemnity of 649 00:28:38,990 --> 00:28:40,530 I'm going to have, going to a meeting, 650 00:28:40,610 --> 00:28:41,910 I'm going to meet with the Lord in 651 00:28:41,910 --> 00:28:45,270 the midst, and we're going to, we're going 652 00:28:45,270 --> 00:28:47,010 to remember the Lord in His own appointed 653 00:28:47,010 --> 00:28:47,410 way. 654 00:28:49,070 --> 00:28:52,450 And I'm a member of this assembly, and 655 00:28:52,450 --> 00:28:53,790 I'm accountable to God. 656 00:28:54,910 --> 00:28:56,990 Is there anything in me that could hinder 657 00:28:56,990 --> 00:29:00,510 the Spirit of God from presiding over and 658 00:29:00,510 --> 00:29:02,730 from blessing this gathering of God's people? 659 00:29:05,700 --> 00:29:07,540 You've been to breaking of breads where something's 660 00:29:07,540 --> 00:29:08,420 been off, haven't you? 661 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,540 Where you couldn't, where you had thoughts that 662 00:29:13,540 --> 00:29:15,200 you enjoy, but it didn't seem like there 663 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:16,800 was any continuity. 664 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,120 It was helter-skelter. 665 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:20,340 It was here and there, and there was 666 00:29:20,340 --> 00:29:22,260 everywhere, and there was just not a unity 667 00:29:22,260 --> 00:29:22,920 of the Spirit. 668 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:27,720 And we've felt the grief in it, haven't 669 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:27,900 you? 670 00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:29,860 Like what was wrong today? 671 00:29:32,750 --> 00:29:33,950 Is there not a cause? 672 00:29:37,130 --> 00:29:39,270 And so the reality and the solemnity of 673 00:29:39,270 --> 00:29:44,490 you and I examining ourselves as we come 674 00:29:44,490 --> 00:29:53,040 together, you see, I believe, and this is 675 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,060 scriptural, that as we're gathered together in the 676 00:29:56,060 --> 00:29:58,700 name with the Lord in our midst, it's 677 00:29:58,700 --> 00:30:00,520 His desire to speak at every meeting. 678 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:04,860 It's the desire of God to communicate to 679 00:30:04,860 --> 00:30:08,960 His people in every gathering without a doubt. 680 00:30:10,060 --> 00:30:12,840 It is God's desire in whatever way we 681 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:16,540 need the communication, whether it is chastening, rebuke, 682 00:30:16,620 --> 00:30:19,480 exhortation, whatever it might be. 683 00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:23,860 Every time we come together, we should leave 684 00:30:23,860 --> 00:30:25,660 knowing God has spoken to me. 685 00:30:27,140 --> 00:30:31,980 Every conference, every preacher that gets up. 686 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,440 Now, we don't always say, well, Brandon sure 687 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,420 wasted half an hour this morning. 688 00:30:40,900 --> 00:30:43,120 But even in this, the reading of the 689 00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,640 scriptures, there should be something for every one 690 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,860 of us in every speaker if we're listening. 691 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,500 Whether you like the speaker or not, it's 692 00:30:55,500 --> 00:30:56,360 the Word of God. 693 00:30:57,740 --> 00:31:01,880 And so to examine myself, and it says, 694 00:31:02,100 --> 00:31:03,780 this is the solemn part. 695 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:06,560 For this cause, many are weak and sickly 696 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,100 among you, and some are dead. 697 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,300 This isn't the sleep of a boring preacher. 698 00:31:18,710 --> 00:31:19,930 Are we seeking the Lord? 699 00:31:24,900 --> 00:31:28,800 So are we setting our heart to seek 700 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:29,260 the Lord? 701 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:36,400 And Paul says, listen, in Corinth, this is 702 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:36,900 a problem. 703 00:31:39,990 --> 00:31:41,630 There's a lot of problems in Corinth. 704 00:31:42,470 --> 00:31:43,890 We won't go into the list. 705 00:31:45,330 --> 00:31:49,450 But the point is this, we're not immune 706 00:31:49,450 --> 00:31:50,270 to those problems. 707 00:31:52,170 --> 00:31:53,830 We are prone to those problems. 708 00:31:55,970 --> 00:31:58,590 So to seek the Lord. 709 00:31:58,810 --> 00:32:05,340 Chapter 13, verse number five. 710 00:32:10,180 --> 00:32:11,340 Examine yourself. 711 00:32:11,380 --> 00:32:11,880 Here it is. 712 00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:14,920 Examine yourself, whether you be in the faith, 713 00:32:15,700 --> 00:32:18,740 prove your own selves, how that Jesus Christ 714 00:32:18,740 --> 00:32:22,760 is in you, except you be reprobates. 715 00:32:23,260 --> 00:32:24,940 Let a man examine himself. 716 00:32:25,420 --> 00:32:29,120 Examine yourself, scrutinize yourself, whether you be in 717 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,440 the faith, prove or test your own selves, 718 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:35,960 how that Jesus Christ is in you. 719 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:37,720 How does a person test himself if the 720 00:32:37,720 --> 00:32:38,300 Lord is in him? 721 00:32:41,550 --> 00:32:43,070 It's kind of a mystery, isn't it? 722 00:32:44,810 --> 00:32:46,550 Well, I'm not going to test myself by 723 00:32:46,550 --> 00:32:50,550 my feeling, my feelings, because my feelings are 724 00:32:50,550 --> 00:32:51,230 going to change. 725 00:32:53,430 --> 00:32:54,590 They're going to come and they're going to 726 00:32:54,590 --> 00:32:54,770 go. 727 00:32:54,890 --> 00:32:57,550 And sometimes I'm going to feel spiritual and 728 00:32:57,550 --> 00:32:59,190 sometimes I'm not going to feel spiritual. 729 00:32:59,350 --> 00:33:00,970 And sometimes I'm just going to feel just 730 00:33:00,970 --> 00:33:02,110 plain bad in every way. 731 00:33:02,670 --> 00:33:03,410 How do I know? 732 00:33:05,190 --> 00:33:06,770 How do I examine myself? 733 00:33:07,790 --> 00:33:10,110 We examine ourselves by the word of God, 734 00:33:10,390 --> 00:33:12,990 by the truth of the scripture, by the 735 00:33:12,990 --> 00:33:14,090 promises of God. 736 00:33:16,410 --> 00:33:17,670 Do I examine myself? 737 00:33:17,770 --> 00:33:19,070 Has there been a change in my life? 738 00:33:19,970 --> 00:33:21,570 This is hard for some young people that 739 00:33:21,570 --> 00:33:23,710 are saved because they were saved little and 740 00:33:23,710 --> 00:33:24,830 there wasn't a whole lot of change in 741 00:33:24,830 --> 00:33:26,990 their life and they weren't living a deep 742 00:33:26,990 --> 00:33:28,530 life of sin at the age of eight. 743 00:33:31,740 --> 00:33:33,100 How do you know you're saved? 744 00:33:37,870 --> 00:33:40,170 Is there any desire whatsoever for the things 745 00:33:40,170 --> 00:33:40,590 of God? 746 00:33:44,180 --> 00:33:45,840 Now, I've met people in the few little 747 00:33:45,840 --> 00:33:47,920 travels I've done that have say they're saved 748 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:50,440 and they have no desire whatsoever for anything 749 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:51,740 of the things of God. 750 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:01,200 Examine yourself. 751 00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:04,100 Examine the heart. 752 00:34:08,370 --> 00:34:09,830 I've met people that say that they're saved 753 00:34:09,830 --> 00:34:11,469 and they've never ever had a power to 754 00:34:11,469 --> 00:34:12,429 say no to a sin. 755 00:34:16,139 --> 00:34:21,130 Never any power over sin. 756 00:34:22,270 --> 00:34:28,060 Now, we all still sin, but you know 757 00:34:28,060 --> 00:34:33,440 that the great reality is this, that if 758 00:34:33,440 --> 00:34:34,760 any man be in Christ, he's a new 759 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:35,120 creature. 760 00:34:38,770 --> 00:34:39,949 The searching of the heart. 761 00:34:42,750 --> 00:34:45,770 A new desire than we had before we 762 00:34:45,770 --> 00:34:46,310 were saved. 763 00:34:47,090 --> 00:34:48,010 A new life. 764 00:34:49,110 --> 00:34:51,409 Really, that's what we display really on baptism, 765 00:34:51,610 --> 00:34:51,830 isn't it? 766 00:34:51,830 --> 00:34:52,870 I'm not what I used to be. 767 00:34:53,030 --> 00:34:55,350 There's a new life. 768 00:34:55,570 --> 00:34:56,570 There's a new desire. 769 00:34:56,890 --> 00:34:58,910 There's a new reality about us. 770 00:35:01,410 --> 00:35:04,210 And you see, Paul says examine ourself because 771 00:35:04,210 --> 00:35:07,350 sometimes we get to the state where we 772 00:35:07,350 --> 00:35:08,490 need to examine ourself. 773 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:14,620 And so maybe this morning as we've been 774 00:35:14,620 --> 00:35:19,480 encouraged to live for God and to spend 775 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:24,930 all for Him, it's a morning just to 776 00:35:24,930 --> 00:35:25,770 examine ourself. 777 00:35:26,710 --> 00:35:29,710 We've examined ourselves whether we're spiritual or whether 778 00:35:29,710 --> 00:35:30,250 we're carnal. 779 00:35:30,850 --> 00:35:32,890 And Scott has given us good examples on 780 00:35:32,890 --> 00:35:36,850 the indicators of which one we are at 781 00:35:36,850 --> 00:35:37,930 that particular time. 782 00:35:40,140 --> 00:35:41,980 But I believe that everyone here come to 783 00:35:41,980 --> 00:35:43,740 this conference to hear something from God. 784 00:35:47,210 --> 00:35:48,530 It's time to seek the Lord. 785 00:35:50,570 --> 00:35:53,590 Set your heart to seek the Lord. 786 00:35:54,470 --> 00:35:56,450 Break up the fallow ground. 787 00:35:58,510 --> 00:36:00,330 Afflict our souls. 788 00:36:02,150 --> 00:36:04,770 Examine ourselves. 789 00:36:07,820 --> 00:36:10,400 That the channel of communication between us and 790 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:13,040 God might have no hindrances. 791 00:36:14,620 --> 00:36:16,200 That we will know the mind of God 792 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,040 and the will of God and have the 793 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,620 power to carry it out.