Five hundred and forty-two, please.
Five, four, two.
He leadeth me, O blessed thoughts, O words
with heavenly comfort, thoughts, Whate'er I do,
where'er I be, Filled with God's hand
that leadeth me.
Five, forty-two, please.
We're at First Peter, and at the first
chapter.
While you're finding the place, let me say,
it's a great joy to see a friend
from Canada here tonight, from that little place
called Hamilton.
Just outside Toronto there a little bit, when
I was at Belch.
I wasn't very far from where you are,
and we're delighted to see you.
And we have a dear missionary brother way
back there from New Guinea tonight, and it's
a great pleasure to see you, sir.
And we're praying for you in these difficult
days.
First Peter, first chapter, and last week we
finished at the end of verse three, at
the end of verse five.
And tonight we're doing six and seven only,
verses six and seven.
This is our fourth night on these seven
verses.
We're going very slowly.
First night we looked at Peter, the word
Peter.
We looked at this great, gifted, godly, gracious
man.
And yet we noticed there were times when
he wiggled and he was a weakling and
he was weeping at times.
And we found him to be very humble
and absolutely human.
One of those chemicals that are threshed out
because in his blunders and in his mistakes
he stole life from so many of us.
And we had a whole night, you remember,
on Peter.
And then the second night we looked at
the people that Peter was preaching to or
writing to.
And we noticed they were Jews scattered throughout
Asia Minor, but they were relaxed.
They were saved Jews, left according to the
foreknowledge of God defined.
And all this was worked out in a
very practical sense through sanctification of the Spirit.
And of course the standard before these believers,
and all believers, and us believers, the standard
of the obedience of Christ.
Yes, as he walked, so should we walk.
And you notice that not only were the
elect and saints defined and had this standard
before them, but they were under our blood,
under the sprinkled blood of Jesus.
And then last week we watched Peter sitting
down to go on with the writing under
the power of the Spirit, of course.
And he began to count the blessings that
belonged to believers.
And as he let them go through his
mind, you know, his heart moved and lifted
its head and he blessed God for this,
blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
And then he began to enumerate these blessings
that moved him.
Yes, the abundant mercy of God hath begotten
them, and they were born again, and they
had a living house, and they had an
inheritance incontestable in heaven, and they were kept
by the power of God through faith.
And I said when we begin to count
our blessings, you know, we begin to bless
God.
And I think we should count them far
more often than we do, or at least
try to count them.
So that's just as far as we've got.
And we're at this portion this evening, verses
6 and 7.
And you know, when Peter had counted these
blessings and his own heart was filled, he
was refreshed by a phrase in verse 6.
He said, wherein ye greatly rejoice.
Jesus brings joy to every believer's heart, no
matter what the circumstances of the hour may
be.
Why, when you begin to realize that you're
one of the elect, that God set his
love upon you before the foundation of the
world, chosen in Christ before the foundation of
the world.
And when you think that the Holy Spirit,
the third person of the Trinity, came upon
you down in this wisdom planet of ours
and set you apart from God, for God,
and that God's abundant mercy hath regenerated you.
You know, sometimes I sit in the prayer
meeting and I begin to go over the
blessings.
I'm elect by God the Father.
I'm saved by grace alone.
I'm regenerated by the power of the Holy
Ghost.
I'm redeemed by blood.
I'm justified by faith.
I'm reconciled to God by the death of
His Son.
I'm translated out of the kingdom of darkness.
I'm accepted in the beloved.
I'm complete in Christ.
Oh, it would splendor your soul, and that's
not the half of them.
Yes.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, do you rejoice in
these blessings?
Oh, this is what we say, these are
the foundations of the belief of God, these
spiritual blessings.
Next week we'll be looking at that great
verse, verse eight, talking about Christ, he said,
whom have they not seen?
He loved.
In whom?
Oh, now you see him not.
Yet believing.
You rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of
glory.
All the wonder of faith.
Yet believing.
You know, faith disembraces him.
It's the arms of faith that make him
yours.
Friend, we rejoice in all that faith has
seen of Christ.
Of course, there are a whole lot of
foundations, I jotted them down.
You know, we rejoice tonight because your name
is written in heaven.
Every believer here, poor insignificant name like mine,
Willie Mullins.
I'm sure that's how they have it up
there, Willie Mullins.
It was written in a book in heaven,
one day by an angel.
You talk about putting your footprint on the
moon.
It wouldn't compare with this.
This is my name on the roll.
Put your footprint on the moon and go
to hell after.
But when he put my name into the
Lamb's book of life, I can never be
lost.
Shining angel, rooted down, wouldn't I?
Oh, I rejoice in this, you know.
We rejoice in this.
You remember that the early apostles, the Sanhedrin,
took them in, bent them over the scud's
equal and ripped their backs into the furrows.
You should see the mess.
Oh, blood.
And here they are, their backs are bleeding
and they let them out and they go
round the corner.
And this is what it said the next
time.
They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to
suffer shame for a day.
You know, I think that departed out of
Christianity almost.
They're not getting excited anymore because we're troubled.
They're so cowardly we try to dodge it.
These fellows were rejoicing that they were counted
worthy.
You know, Habakkuk said, even if the labour
of the olives fails, and there's no herd
in the stall and no meat in the
field, he said, yes, I will rejoice in
the Lord.
You know, there's one thing about the Lord.
He's always the same.
He's the same yesterday and today and forever.
He will never change.
No matter what comes in the state.
No matter what happens in the world.
No matter what happens in the province or
through the province.
Oh, look up and you can see Jesus.
That he's still the same, you know.
And he'll never change.
The same tomorrow.
Come what may.
And you can rejoice, you know.
Yes, these are foundations.
I don't need to trail them about too
much.
When God answers prayer, you know, he fills
you with joy.
Oh, how many of us, when we've been
in a tight corner and the battle has
raged, we're like the Gardites of old.
We have cried to God in the battle.
And he answers.
And you know when he answers prayer, it
makes your joy overflow, doesn't it?
Well, Peter's saying to them, when in need,
meekly rejoice.
And you know, some people think that the
way to heaven is all smiles and hallelujahs
and choruses.
Well, you're going to learn differently just now.
Because it's possible for a believer, inside in
the depths of his soul, as he gazes
at the blessings of God, to be rejoicing.
And yet, at the same time, circumstances around
him to be such that he's in great
heaviness at the same time.
Oh, it's a paradox, you know.
This is what Peter said, when in need,
meekly rejoice, though now for a season it
needs be.
You are in heaviness, you man of all
temptations.
You know, that's tremendous, isn't it?
Because, you know, we go way back to
Philippians sometimes, and we quote this, and we
also quote it, and we also believe it.
My God shall supply all your needs.
Of course he will.
It's not that I believe that.
When Paul said, my God, and my God
was very personal, my God, as if he
owned God.
Well, he'd come down through the years with
God.
It'd be the night and the day of
the deep.
He'd been beaten with rods and stripes and
in beds often, and in prisons often.
Somehow God had seen him through.
So he can talk about my God.
My God shall, as being dogmatic about it,
more wavering, my God shall supply all your
needs.
To the widow, you know, he'll be a
husband to the widow, and he'll be a
father to the fatherless, and he'll not break
it even.
Oh, he'll supply your needs.
And it says, my God, and it says,
my God shall.
My God shall supply all.
Isn't that tremendous?
All your needs.
Oh, I could look back down through the
years and tell you a lot of stories
now, but they're mine and I'll keep them.
But he does supply your needs.
But then, you know, if need be, you
have to go through the storm too.
I think sometimes we forget that this is
a part of the need.
Dr. Ryan said to me once, when I
started out preaching among the brethren, I had
a real revival meeting.
He said, I can remember going to California
and having some of the greatest meetings with
ever in the man.
And he said, when one great campaign was
over, you know, all the old oversight came
down to the station, put their arms around
me and hugged me and sent me home,
but not a penny did they give me.
At six, we'll start out with the preaching.
I preached for six long weeks once, every
night in the week except Saturday.
Six weeks.
The assembly was doubled at the end, bringing
in seats, buying new handbooks, wonderful time.
They never gave me one father.
Wonderful fellows, you know.
Go on, I'll have a day or two
in it till you see how it goes.
Man, if you hadn't God, you would die.
Thanks.
But then you see, if need be, Oh,
I work it all in there.
Dr. Ivan's dad said to me, Willie, there
were four days once when I didn't get
any food.
Well, there were four or five days on
the six when I didn't get any either.
Sometimes I think God sees you need something
like that.
Oh, you never thought of it like that,
did you?
This province might be getting something that it
needs just now.
So we'll put it on our knees.
Yes.
Peter's talking, he says, wherein ye greatly rejoice,
though not for a season if need be.
Ye are in heaviness.
Through man the fall tests things, the word
should be, not temptations.
Testing.
Ah, the Lord tests the whole bunch of
us.
And we need to be tested, you know.
This is very necessary.
So that you can see the foundations of
the believer's joy.
And you can see the intimation of the
believer's test thing.
You know, this is something that God will
do to you.
And I'll show you tonight how he does
it.
And I'll show you what to do when
he does it.
I want to make you sure that God
will test you.
And then I want to teach you how
he does it.
And then I want to show you what
you should do when he's doing it.
You know that seventh verse, he comes to
the point.
We'll read six again.
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though not for a
season if need be.
Ye are in heaviness.
Through man the fall tests things.
That the trial of your faith.
Oh, I want to get that phrase out
completely tonight.
You know, your faith is a very precious
thing, isn't it?
Oh yes, you know this, don't you?
That without faith, it's impossible to please God.
You can give as much as you like
into the meeting.
You can stay up all night.
You can pray all day.
You can do a thousand million things.
Let me show you this.
Without faith, it's impossible.
You're all out of tune with God.
It's very precious, isn't it?
You know, it was by faith that the
great men in Hebrews chapter 11 overcame and
became more than conquerors.
Yes, it's by faith.
You know, faith is a very precious thing.
But notice what he's saying here.
It's the trial of your faith.
It's a very personal thing because it's got
to come along to us like that tonight.
Never mind the person before you or behind
you or beside you.
It's your faith that's going to be tried.
And let me get this over in case
we miss it.
It is not your love that's being tried.
And it is not your patience that's being
tried.
And it is not your courage that is
being tried.
And it is not your intelligence that's being
tried.
Let me get it over to you once
and for all.
It is your faith.
And faith is a very precious thing.
And your faith is a very personal thing.
And the trial of your faith, that's a
very powerful thing.
Because God is going to try your faith.
You see, the trial of your faith being
much more precious than the gold that tradition.
Men try gold, you know, in the fire
to see just how pure it is.
Well, you know, God is going to try
your faith just to see what it may
not.
And every one of us, you know, sooner
or later will come into this season.
It's the season, of course.
The season of the trying of your faith.
I want to show you how God does
it because that's very important for all of
us.
Let's go to the book of Genesis for
a moment.
And with it, Genesis, chapter 15, verse 16.
Book of Genesis, chapter 15.
Verse 1.
As for these things, the word of the
Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying,
God came round one night and said to
him, See not, Abram, I am thy shield
and thy exceeding grace of all.
Would you like to be absolutely sure that
God is your shield these days?
It is very true that God is thy
refuge and strength in the present health in
time of trouble.
And I live in that world where I
believe that nothing can touch me except the
Lord allows it.
And if it comes with a blast, it
will be quite all right.
I'm perfectly sure the Lord is in control.
So fear not.
Fear not, I am thy shield and thy
exceeding grace of all.
And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou
give me?
Saying, I go childless.
And the shield of my house is this
alleys of Damascus.
When Paul was coming from Mesopotamia, coming through
the Syrian desert, he came to Damascus.
And he picked up a very capable servant
there.
Because it just shows you how old the
city of Damascus is.
I was in it one day.
And the Russians were in command.
They wouldn't let you take a picture or
anything.
My, they were around you like bees, jackboots
on them all.
And when I got them talking to James
Ervin, I just put the camera up and
had a wee chat.
A bit of the country to myself.
And here's some excuse, that's it you know.
And James Ervin said to me, I'll tell
you what he did say.
He says, Blasphemy, you'll have us both in
prison.
He got scared you know, so he did.
Well, Damascus is a very old city.
Now this alleys of Damascus would come to
be the heir of everything.
If Abraham had no child.
And Abraham said, behold to me thou hast
given no seed.
And no one born in my house is
mine heir.
And behold, the word of the Lord came
unto him saying, this shall not be thy
heir.
But me that shall come forth out of
thine own bowels shall be thy heir.
Now I would like to tell you, Abraham
did when God said that to him.
He was almost 99.
You see an old fellow standing up.
And God's talking to him.
God says you're going to have a son.
And out of thine own bowels he'll come.
Well, Abraham could have reasoned a bit there.
But fellows who've got intelligence, they would reason
you see.
They say you're all the way past the
age, you can't have children now.
I'll tell you that Abraham didn't reason with
God at all.
See verse 5.
He brought him forth abroad.
God brought Abraham forth abroad and said, look
now toward heaven and tell the stars if
thou be able to number them.
And he said unto him, just whispered into
his ear, so shall thy seed be.
And he, Abraham, believed in the Lord, just
like that.
You know what he was doing?
He was placing his faith in the presence
of God.
And there were odds against it.
Sarah was too old.
He was too old according to nature.
But if the great God of heaven says,
you're going to have a son, then what's
the use of arguing?
He just believed God.
He was putting his faith in the presence
of God.
Now before I go any further, did God
ever come to you about any issues?
Did he ever give you a promise about
it?
I think that for most of you could
stand up and say, yes, you know, this
happened to me and I've been born before
God and God's faith to me and I've
got a promise.
And you put your faith in the presence
of God.
Faith comes by hearing and healing by the
word of God.
It's the only way you get faith.
You can't have faith when you're ninety-nine
that you're going to have the child if
God hasn't talked to you.
You wouldn't even think you would be a
fanatic and a fool in your mind.
Oh no, but God had spoken.
He had given him a promise.
And I think that all of us have
had promises at times.
You know, God spoke to me about coming
to this church.
He said, behold, three men seek thee.
Three men came to seek me.
One of them's sitting over there, bless him.
And God said, three men seek thee.
Arise and go with them, doubting nothing.
For I have said, as my promise, I
don't need to doubt anything around here.
Oh, the storm blows at times.
The boat, you know.
I'm not going to bother wrecking this boat,
let him tell you.
I don't doubt anything.
Yes.
Once you get the hold of this, you
know, God is promising him something and he's
believing God.
So his faith is in the promise of
God.
Once you get that.
You know, Romans makes that very clear, doesn't
it?
Get this little bit out of Romans again.
Romans chapter 4.
You know, this is truly verse 17, just
to get the connection.
As it is written, Romans 4, 17, I
have made thee a father of many nations
before him whom he believed, even God, to
quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which
be not as though they were who against
hope believed in hope that he might become
the father of many nations according to that
which was spoken, so shall thy seed be.
He took the hold of the promise.
And being not which in faith, he considers
not his own body now dead when he
was about an hundred years old, neither yet
the deadness of Sarah's womb.
He speaketh not that the promise of God
grew on the leaf, but was strong in
faith, giving glory to God, and being fully
persuaded that what God had promised, God was
able also to put on.
That's the sort of faith he had.
He didn't stop to consider his age, nor
he didn't stop to consider the deadness of
Sarah's womb.
He just said, well if you say it
is all right, so it is faith within
the promise of God.
Oh yes, well I can tell you this,
God came round another day to test his
faith.
Yes, this is Genesis 22, have a look
at it now.
Genesis 22.
And this is a good little bit removed
from Genesis 15, isn't it?
Verse 1.
And it came to pass after these things,
that God did...
Tempt is not the right word in the
Hebrew.
God did test Abraham.
The book teaches us that God tempteth no
man.
Temptation is always unto evil, but God can
test your faith.
God did test Abraham, and said unto him,
Abraham, and he said, behold here I am.
And he said, seek now thy son, thine
only son Isaac whom thou lovest, and get
thee into the land of Moriah, and offer
him there for a burnt offering upon one
of the mountains which I will tell thee
of.
Do you know this is the wee fellow
that God promised?
And you know Abraham's heart was overjoyed when
the child came.
He was thrilled.
And then he grew up, and this is
the end.
And he's seventeen years of age now, and
God says, take him up to the hill,
and offer him for a burnt offering.
That's what you call trying the faith.
Take this dark shirt off you, wouldn't you?
God is trying his faith by sacrifice.
Oh yes.
You know, not every sacrifice is made as
a trial of faith.
Oh no, don't let's read into it, tell
them it's not there.
When the alabaster box of ointment was broken,
it was not a trial of faith.
Nobody asked her for it.
Ah no, this was just the expression of
her love.
Oh that's different.
But God's coming round here, knocking the door.
This is all the wee fellow I gave
you.
Oh, take him up to Mount Moriah and
offer him for a burnt offering.
Ah, that test is over.
You know, he rejoiced for a while, but
he's in heaviness now.
He's being tested.
I'll tell you how he got up the
mountain, watch it.
We're in Hebrews chapter 11.
I want you to see this, because it's
most important that you see the wording here.
Hebrews 11.
And it's verse 17.
Hebrews 11, verse 17.
By faith, oh let's get a hold of
that.
By faith, Abraham, when he was tried, and
that's the proper word, that's more sensitive.
When he was tried, God's trying his faith,
isn't he?
Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.
And he that had received the promises, offered
up his only begotten son, of whom it
was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed
be called.
Accounting, you know, his faith was still working.
Accounting that God was able to raise him
up, even from the dead.
I'll tell you, he came through with flying
colours, didn't he?
You know, even in that hour of testing,
you know, he held on to the promise
of God.
Hold on to what God says.
God, son of a prick, is worse.
Just believe God, that's all.
Don't question it, man.
Just believe God.
Thank God I'm just one of those simple
creatures who can believe God.
Yes, I just believe God, that's all.
It's a great thing, you know.
That's what Abraham did.
His faith was in the promise.
God tried his faith, and I don't think
anyone will be tried more than that.
Ah, you know, he had a heavy heart,
but he went up the mountain.
He said, I have to put the knife
in him and send him up in flames.
You're able to raise him from the dead.
You'll have to do something about it.
Oh, I tell you, this is how you
win the day, you know.
You just believe God, no matter what happens.
Sometimes God tests your faith in the promises
of God.
I'm going to show you this wee bit,
because this is different.
Acts of the Apostles, and we're at chapter
16.
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 16.
And Paul and Silas and Luke and Timotheus
and many others were going out with the
gospel.
It says in verse 6, Now when they
had gone through Persia and the region of
Ganesha, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost
to preach the word in Asia, it seems
that Paul was going to go into Asia
with the gospel.
But the Holy Ghost moved, and they were
forbidden to go.
Not allowed to go anymore into Asia.
After they would come to Asia, they are
said to go into Britannia.
But the Spirit suffered a lot.
You know, there are many places that some
of us would like to go.
And some of us are not allowed.
I get so many openings all over the
world.
Very kind of the people who send them.
I need to put them on the floor
and get down and kneel beside them because
they can't go where they like.
I just have to go where the Lord
sends me.
And I have to be terribly particular about
it.
And some of the boys are wanting an
answer the next morning.
And there's someone waiting for months.
You can't push me around.
I've got to get my directions from God.
You don't take a notion and send for
me.
You can't do it like that.
God won't allow me.
Of course you're misunderstood when you talk like
this.
Well, watch this.
It says, Both Ed and Ray passing by
as they came down to Truaxe, a little
place on the edge of the Aegean Sea,
and a vision appeared to Paul in the
night.
There stood a man of Macedonia.
And Macedonia was over on the other side
of the Aegean Sea.
And prayed and said, Come over into Macedonia
and help us.
And after he had seen the vision, immediately
we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering
that the Lord had called us for to
preach the Gospel on the day.
You see, they were quite sure about it.
You know, they had got the plan of
God now.
And their faith was in the plan of
God.
God said, you can't go to Asia.
You can't go into Macedonia.
This vision came and they were sure about
it.
Their faith was in the revealed plan of
God.
All right.
Second sail across the Aegean Sea.
Sometime when you take the map and see
Truaxe, and you'll see all the little islands
that lie in the Aegean Sea, and Patmos
lay in there too, you can cross it
and you'll come right across to Philippi.
Now, just let's follow them just now.
Therefore, loosing from Truaxe, we came with a
straight cross to Samathepia, and the next day
to Neapolis, and from thence to Philippi, which
is the chief city of that part of
Macedonia.
Now, I need to read on here, because
I think you should know this story.
You know, they came into Philippi, and you
remember Paul cast a demon out of a
woman in Philippi, and immediately the whole town
got into an uproar, and the two boys,
Paul and Silas, were captured, taken to the
magistrates, and they found themselves in the Philippian
jail with their feet thrust in the stocks
and their bleeding backs against the wall.
It was a dark night.
I was away in the innermost prison.
They just got two of them, I think,
but Lucchi, Tomotti, and some of the others
must have got away.
But no guts at all that Paul and
Silas were put in the inner prison, and
the old hero slammed the door.
Somebody suggested once that Silas might have said,
You're a fine boy, aren't you?
You had a vision, oh, you had a
vision.
You knew all about it, mate.
You knew the plan of God, didn't you?
You see where you landed us.
He didn't talk like that at all.
Men of God don't talk like that.
I'll tell you when their feet were thrust
in the stocks, they were sitting on the
back side with their feet thrust in the
stocks and their hands against the wall.
They began to sing.
In the middle of the night, singing.
These boys, believe God, were in the plan,
yes?
Oh, yes, their faith in the plan was
being tested by suffering.
How about that?
By suffering.
Oh, yes, God is testing their faith by
suffering.
Sometimes he does that, you know, puts you
on the brunt of your back and gives
you a day or two to think about
things.
Oh, well, you're still in his hands.
Wonderful, you know, to have faith like this.
Yes, you know, sometimes God tests your faith
in his promise by sacrifice.
He asks you for something and it sinks
you.
Sometimes he tests your faith in his plan.
Have you learned the plan of God for
your life?
Do you know about it?
The time you did, were you only fiddling
around?
What does he want you to do?
Ah, you need to get the plan of
God clear and plain.
I know God's plan for me, just to
teach this word and preach the gospel.
That's all I'm fit for.
Stevie Patterson used to say to me, well,
that's all you're good for.
Don't do anything else.
He used to scold me.
Yes, I want to show you this before
we get to the end of this, because
this is tremendous.
Let's go to 1 Kings.
1 Book of Kings, and it's chapter 17.
1 Book of Kings, chapter 17.
Now, I want you to follow this, because
this is very good for young people.
1 Kings 17, verse 1.
And Elijah the fish-bite, who was thus
the inhabitant of Gilead.
Gilead's all it says to us about him.
Don't get any great genealogy here.
He was just Elijah the fish-bite.
That's how he comes on the page of
Scripture.
He comes like a boat from the blue.
There were terrible days then in the nation.
Ahab was making havoc of the land.
And this man of God appears.
Why he's called Elijah the fish-bite just
means this, that he came from a little
place, the Cork, Jordan, in the lands of
Gilead, called Fish Bay.
There's a little village up there.
I was way up on the banks of
Jordan, looking over togs at one day.
And Fish Bay is in the land of
Gilead.
And just because it says he was of
the inhabitants of Gilead, I think he belongs
to the tribe of God, because the tribe
of God was given the land of Gilead.
I believe he was a Gaddite.
And mind you, this book says a thing
or two about the Gaddites.
It says they had faces like the faces
of lions.
And I think this fellow lives up to
that very well.
Because he's Elijah the fish-bite, who was
of the inhabitants of Gilead.
He just marched it into the palace, you
know, and to Ahab, this great king that
was throwing everybody around.
And he looked at the king's woman of
faith and said, As the Lord God of
Israel liveth before whom I stand, there shall
not be dew nor rain these years.
And that bit really tickles me.
He didn't say we'll put a rain off
for a day or two.
He says there's going to be no rain
for years.
And mind you, there was no rain for
three years and six months.
And I want you to see how bold
he was.
He says there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my words.
Well, that's the fellow taking the king to
the market, all right.
Can you get that into your head now?
And I think the king might have laughed
at this fellow and had him thrown out.
I'm not sure of that, but possibly.
But it turns out that the history of
Israel records this, that this man prayed and
the heavens were stayed for three years and
six months.
Now, I want you to get this.
Verse 2, when he got out of the
palace.
And the word of the Lord came unto
him saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee
eastward and hide thyself by the brook Cherub,
that is before Jordan.
It was one of the little tributaries of
Jordan.
And once when Mr. Torrance and I were
crossing over the Allenby Bridge there, I said
to an old Jordanian, where is Cherub here?
And what do you know about it?
I'm more than you do.
He said, I can tell you where it
is.
It's up a road a wee bit.
Yes, it's in Cherub.
And what's this?
God said, Get thee hence, turn thee eastward,
hide thyself by the brook Cherub, that is
before Jordan, and it shall be that thou
shalt drink of the brook.
And I have commanded the ravens to feed
thee there.
So he went and did according unto the
word of the Lord, for he went and
dropped by the brook Cherub, that is before
Jordan, and the ravens brought him bread and
flesh in the morning, bread and flesh in
the evening, and he drank of the brook.
Very wonderful, you know.
Good feeding, that.
Bread and flesh.
There was a doctor given a lecture in
Dr. Crawford's one day, an American dietician.
Clever bloke he was.
And he said, you know, several doctors were
there, and I happened to be among them,
he said, you should never on any occasion
eat protein and starch, it is not right.
I said, could I ask you a question?
Certainly.
I said, God fed Elijah with bread and
flesh in the morning and bread and flesh
in the evening, and that happens to be
protein and starch.
And I would think that God would know
how to feed a fellow better than you
would.
It's awful, that's a bloody thing, you have
to put up with it.
It's a slot of nonsense talk about diet,
and that you must never start on something
about your diet.
And what's this?
Ravens brought him bread and flesh in the
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening,
and he drank of the brook.
God was providing him.
God promised he would provide for him.
This is how a commander is.
Now, you see, he had his faith in
the provision of God.
Ah, yes, he believed that God would provide.
And God did provide.
He was there for six months.
And every morning and every evening the ravens
came, and he drank of the brook.
And then it says in the next verse,
only it came to pass after a while
that the brook dried up.
See that?
You know, that must have made them think
she's sitting down at the edge of the
brook under the tree, and it's all going
fine when the ravens come and the brook's
running, but she's beginning to run swarm.
Have a look at it.
She's up now.
And then she begins to run slower still.
And then she's only a trickle.
And then she's dried up.
You know what God's doing?
God says to him, this man's dead in
his provision.
God knows best.
He might have looked through the trees and
said, Ahoy there!
I thought you were going to keep me
down here.
Has something gone wrong with the work?
No, no, he didn't.
You see, the moment the brook dried up,
God just came around and said, Now, I
want you to go to Sariphas.
And there's a widow woman there, look after
her.
Wonderful what God can do.
You know, sometimes God tests our faith in
his promises by sacrifice.
Sacrifices we must make.
Sometimes God tests our faith in his plans
by suffering.
Sometimes God tests our faith in his provision
by shortages.
Things are on the short for a day
or two.
Just to calm you down.
When he said to Abraham, Go into the
land, it's yours.
I'm giving you the whole land.
The big man smiled with his mouth out
easily.
And the next verse says, There was a
famine in the land.
God cuts things short.
Oh, yes, I want you to get the
hold of this.
If God tests your faith in his promises,
hold on to his promises.
If God has shown you the plan for
your life, never mind the prison and your
feet in the stocks.
Go and work out the plan.
Man, dear, he was only starting it in
the prison.
The jailer got saved and his host got
saved.
The church began in no man.
Listen, if God has said he'll meet our
every need at the end of the journey,
even when you think there's a few shortages,
I don't think that Lord God has lost
control.
He may test you, you know that.
And maybe you need to be tested out.
If let's get back to where we were.
I want you to get this.
We're at 1 Peter, chapter 1.
1 Peter, chapter 1.
I want you to get this very carefully
now, because this is the confirmation of the
believer's race this year.
He says, after enumerating these blessings, he says,
wherein ye gratefully rejoice.
Though now, for a season, if need be,
we are in heaviness, we manifold test things.
Let the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold but perishable, do
it be tried with fire.
Might be found, oh, this faith, might be
found unto praise and honor and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ.
You know, if we look quickly at verse
5, it says, who are kept by the
power of God through faith.
They have exercised faith.
In verse 7, the saints, they exercise with
being examined now.
God was examining the saints.
Our and the day to come, if you
hold on to the promises of God and
keep in the plan, I'll tell you this,
your faith will be exhibited.
Oh, yes, you know, you know, the whole
life of a believer is a work of
faith.
Ah, well, your works will be tried.
Every man's works will be tried.
What about your labor of faith?
Your work of faith, your labor of love,
your patience of hope, how will it come
out of the end?
Brethren and sisters, could I say this carefully
and tenderly to you, in these dark, terrible
days, have faith in God.
That's right.
Faith in God.
God willing, see you next week and we'll
go on from there.
We're at 178 more.
178.
Jesus is coming, sing the glad words, coming
for those he redeemed by his blood, coming
to reign as the glorified Lord.
Jesus is coming again.
178, please.
It's your Lord that's coming.
He's talked to you about it.
Your chance is now, because nobody asks you
any questions, only that you're a believer.
And I'll get you.
Last verse.