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Waterloo Conference - Part 2
Colin Anderson
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In this sermon, the speaker focuses on the importance of unity among believers. He emphasizes the need for Christians to work together and support one another in order to fulfill God's purpose. The speaker also highlights the spiritual blessings that believers have in Jesus Christ and encourages them to walk worthy of their calling. The sermon concludes with the reminder that everything God does is good and that He takes pleasure in His creation.
Sermon Transcription
According as He has chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love has He predestinated us under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His will, wherein He has made us accepted into the love. In whom we have redemption through the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His will, wherein He has designed to reward us in all wisdom and truth, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good favour, to which He has purpose in Himself. That in the dispensation of the fullness of time we might gather together as one whole being in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are thus even in Him, in whom also we have accepted inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worthiest all things after the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, whom He has trusted in Christ, in whom He also trusted after that He had reversed to the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you would believe that thou wouldst hear His promise, which is the earliest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the thirstiest possession of His praise it was. Therefore, I also, after I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, will ask the Lord to say, Please not give thanks for you, making mention of you in my sermons, but the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you His wisdom and revelation, and the knowledge of His glory, and the knowledge of your understanding or heart being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His glory, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance entail, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power for us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He brought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him as a go-around champion that has His presence far above all physicality, and power, and light, and living, and every name that is His. Not only in this world, but also in magnificent countries, He hath put all things under His feet, gave His behavior of all things to the Church, which is His Father, the fullness of Him, and hath filled it all in all. This letter contains much of what we might call the gospel. It tells us about our needs. It tells us about the way the Lord has met our needs, and so I suppose we may say that there is much of the gospel in this letter. It may be compared with how it relates to the Book of Prophets, in which also we have a fuller exposition of the gospel. We have a fuller exposition of the gospel of God, a very wonderful letter. In the Book of Romans, it's interesting to notice that the note that is first struck is the note of our own sinfulness, or of our depravity, as it is said in the first chapter, and indeed on in the second, and in the part of the third, we have an outline for us, the deep need of man, how that man is unutterably sinful. However, in this epistle that we are looking at, it also expounds the gospel of the benefit of Christians, and how the way Christians ought to be the gospel. I don't mean by that gospel feeling. I'm just saying, of course, the grace of God as it is in these epistles. If we turn to this epistle, we find that it's different to the Book of Romans. God does not set before us here in this first chapter the text of our sin. That doesn't come out until we get to the second chapter, where it speaks about us being dead in Christ, as it is. And there's something very instructive in that, isn't there? The Book of Romans presents the gospel to us from the standpoint of the need in the heart of man, and then, depending upon your teachings, presents the gospel to us from the standpoint of the need in the heart of God. Perhaps that needs a little explanation. We understand the need in the heart of man, but man is useless. But there was a need in the heart of God that man is useless. God gave him who he was, the greatest, loving, compassionate, merciful, as well as righteous, and holy God. He is the one who has a desire in his heart to express his love and his grace to all of us who are in utter despair. So, that means, I think, we have in this first chapter, a number of times, the notion of our salvation being according to his will. As we noticed in first part, that if we recognize that we are actually chosen by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, that is, it was his choice. It was his plan. Notice again verse 11, in whom also we have a changing imperative, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worked it all things out of the passion of his own will. And again, in this one, verse 9, having laid down unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he had purposed for himself. This was a divine passion of salvation. This was something that was glorifying the Lord, something that was pleasing to him, and in order to satisfy that need, and that craving, and that love, and that grace that was in his heart, and in order to find expression for it, he looked down upon us and selected us and blessed us in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, this salvation that we have, not only is each time he has said, God has done that, has set forth in the book of Romans, but perhaps even more wonderful still is satisfying the very heart of God. It's something in which he takes pleasure, that new creation of his in Christ Jesus. You remember the old creation? God looked over that old creation, and he said again and again, that it was good, everything that God does is good, and he found satisfaction in that which he had done. So, God looked over the foundation which is provided for us in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he saw that it was good, the most good, and satisfied the heart of God. This one is that we as believers are called to satisfy our heart. We are part of the purpose of the same God, this one who works all things under the counsel of will, and this one who does everything, as he says in verse 6, everything is to the praise of the glory of his grace, and notice the case in verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory. Don't read that as though it said we ought to be. It means that everything he affected in our salvation was that we should be to the praise of his glory, and that's what Herod's account of God is, and in verse 14, that's the last part of the verse, it says unto the praise of his glory. Now, let me write that for the sake of time, and very nicely in this little mention of the praise of his glory at the end of each text, for in the first part, that is converted unto six. If we say unto him praise, that's nine acts in one thought. We have the activity of God the Father, and then in the next part, from verse 6 down to verse 12, where again notice we have that phrase, to the praise of his glory, we have the activity of the Son of God, and then again in a slightly shorter section, from verse 12 down to verse 14, we have the work or the activity of the Spirit of God, and the activity is to the praise of his glory. I would like just briefly make sure I'm going to make sufficient of this section, but just an image that, as we look at this first section, verse one of this, we see that God is the great planner, if you like, every architect of our salvation. He's not God. God the Father to him has attributed the plan of salvation. He has chosen unto him to form the foundation of the world, and it's speaking about the God of sorrow, out of all things of Christ, in verse six. Then, when we look at the second section, and we see the activity of the Son, may I definitely say that he is the executor of the Godhead. He's the one who carries the plan of the architects mentioned in verse six into effect. Without the Son, the plan could not have been carried into effect. Here is something in which Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in the next section, are in perfect harmony. And, if we may look at the first section, verses one to six, as speaking to us of God as the divine architect of the plan, the one who sought to call us to conceive it, and the Son especially as the executor of the plan, then in verses twelve and fourteen, we may see perhaps that the Holy Spirit is the receiver or the confirmer of that plan, for we notice in that section that he is the one who comes to us and makes that plan of salvation which the Lord Jesus brought down from the work of the cross. In the work of the cross, he makes the plan of salvation actual, meaningful in our lives, and reveals that plan to us, and even heals us with his own gracious certainty that we might be eternally secure. So, there we have him as the learner, the confirmer, or, if you like, the substantiator of the plan, the one who brings it into practical effect in our lives. So, we rejoice in the fact that our salvation has glorified God and satisfied him, and that, indeed, the cause for worship, and praise, and thank-give, and one of the apostles says that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the next minute in Christ, and how we do rejoice in all that he has done for us, in his national and unbeatable grace. He prays for them. In verses 16 on to the end, that is, in verse 23, it's the first chapter, he prays for them. He says that, in verse 15, I heard an occasion in the Lord Jesus and love of all the saints. He uses the same supplet in the book of the epistles of the Colossians, and these are the twins that reveal a true work of the grace of God. They reveal a certain truth in the verse when these two things are properly eminent in a person's life. Notice, there is praise in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints. That is the normal expression of the Christian heart. Faith in the Lord Jesus is emphasized there. That is essential. It's faith. There is no blessing from God unless it is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way to the cross. There are not many ways to God other than they slander us. There are many ways in our experience of course which we come to Christ, but Christ is the only way to God, and here we find that many years of their faith in the Lord Jesus. Now, that's not your thing, though. That is just for faith. It is easy to say, oh, I believe in the Lord Jesus. I believe that Jesus Christ, or our saints, or some saints like this, is easy for faith, but the evidence comes out in our love to all the saints. Notice that it's real love. Now, that's an unnatural thing. You know it's unnatural for you to love Christians, or it's natural for you to love your parents. It's natural for you to love those who are near to you, and those who do you good. The most unnatural thing is that you should love each other. What kind of positive group we are. What a mixed bag. We're all dear people, we're all fair people, whatever you say. We're all here, and it's unnatural that we should love each other unless we take on the work of God and attribute that love to the work of the Spirit of God. See, the Lord Jesus said, marvel not if the world hates you. So, if you were in the world, you would hate the Christians. That is, if your real feelings were brought to the surface. If you're not saved, you don't want to be in their company. Now, thank God if you ever come to the people of God tonight, you wouldn't want to hear the truth of God. That's a wonderful thing. But when you are born again, there's a love that comes into your heart that is born in the Holy Spirit. How does this work out? Well, I remember when I was converted to a religion, when I came to the Lord, then it was nearly 100 years of coaching without the news that I did. And I want to qualify that. There was a time when I realized what salvation was all about, and I think I was probably a child of God before that. He had a decision. When I came to clearly understand the work of God and commit myself to it, a great change took place in my life, and it was something I hadn't expected, it was something for which I didn't make preparation or planning, but it was there. Something to connect. Something very wonderful. You see, up to that time, I did not like the company of the Lord Jesus. I did not want to be with him, but I certainly didn't want to be like him. I had no aspect of the things that they enjoyed. Now, that may have been because I was living unnaturally as a Christian, because I was an atheist. I was an atheist, and I was not really a Christian at all. I don't know. It doesn't matter. It means now I know with whom I believe, and I know whom I believe, and I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. I know that I love the Lord Jesus. 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I know And if we have the Holy Spirit of God at all, there is a desire, be it ever so varied by perhaps some chronology of ours, some materialistic spirit, or whatever else may be affecting our lives, be it ever so varied in our hearts, there is a desire there to be walking worthy of the calling, to be pleasing unto one who has called you, and to behave yourself in the world in such a way as may honor the one who has planned your salvation, the one who has executed your salvation, the one who has revealed that wonderful salvation to you, or you say, I want to walk worthy of that calling wherewith I am called. But I want you to notice something here. You can't do it on your own. You cannot walk worthy of the calling wherewith you are called in such spiritual depth, going up a palm tree, down into the desert, isolated from other trees. There's no such thing as being able to nurture yourself and develop your own spiritual life in a sort of monastic turn. The best way to grow is to be frequently with the Lord's teachings. I have received that. I believe the truth is everywhere found in the Word of God. The best way to grow is to be frequently with the Lord's teachings, because there's an interesting thing when we come to this fourth chapter where he tells us to walk worthy of the location where we will be called in the context we are immediately in the company of our deities. This is a place where you can't walk worthy by yourself. You can't go it alone. Well, you'll notice that in this first section of chapter four, he tells us that we have to grow free in desert to keep the beauty of the Spirit in the long receipt. Now, you can't do that unless you're in touch with other deities, and that's a real case of your spiritual growth. And then I want you to notice that he not only tells us in this first section here to keep together. Well, that's what he might say, given this first section, really, the first few verses of verse three particularly are saying to us, keep together. In the next section that we come to, from verse three on down to verse ten, you have the thought of working together. Working together. If we're to keep together, we are to work together, because in verse seven, I'm sure every one of us is getting ready according to the nature of the game we're playing. So, we keep together in spirit, in harmony, and we learn to work together, each with our different gifts, each with a contribution, and that unique contribution that we can make to the other members of the Body of Christ, and let no one incite you, dear brother, dear sister, whoever you are. Why ever did the Lord say this? For the same reason that he saved me, I have a unique contribution to make to the growth of the Body of Christ, and I say that almost with shame, for I feel I've hurt my guru. I might have to look all right, I don't know whether I do, but I might look all right up here behind the platform of duty, doing the best that I can do. But oh, I'm so proud of you, that in the unconscious moments of life, or in those moments when I'm not bugging myself, I'm not all that I am to you, Christian Jews, Christian Isisters, a life of constant watchfulness that we might be glorified and honoured again. But I have a unique contribution to make to the Body of Christ. See, I do believe in that saying that I found when we came home from Africa, that every man does his own thing. Now, the qualifications I do believe in. In the Church of God, every man does his own thing. He has his own work to do. And won't it matter if I do the thing that belongs to somebody else? And won't it matter to me if he tries to do my thing? Now, of course, it doesn't mean I do it my God-given way, but if I do that thing which God has expected me to do, they might be able to take me to the ministry which is achieved in the Lord, that being full fellowship. It's got to do with me. I like what I do. That's what I have to do. The things of the Lord. I know that's where my difficulty lies. I know who my Lord is. You may not know. I don't know. Well, let's just say that sometimes it can be true, which is a testimony that it's You are a Baptist. You are a Baptist in the Church. But as we speak to those outstanding people, we find that even those who are in a place of faith, and moreover, to confirm this, we find that they are never taking on faith. And he said, Mr. Smart, he said, I'm scared of this. It speaks to his courage. He said, you are a Baptist. He said, you know. He said, they don't understand who I am. They don't ask me to preach the gospel. And I don't know why they do. So on and so forth. But do you get the point? I think you might be the last one. I'm not sure. You might be very great, but you can't be a Baptist or a prophet. But you see, we discover what our thing is. We prove what is the work that the Lord has to do. And our thing is something. It's usually something that's a humble thing. It's usually something that, well, it doesn't give you the faith that you must have. Because in order to serve as a Baptist Christ, and to effectively serve, we have to be humble people. We have to be prepared to walk in plain feet as we would be. And that's how we learn to do our thing, our experience humility. I'm going to come back to that when we study this in a little more detail perhaps next time. So another tip, let me just give you the outline of what we're doing. In verses 1 through to 6 then, you can divide it a little bit. I'm dividing it a little bit arbitrarily. But in verses 1 to 6, you have the word speak together. In verses 7 to 11, you have the word worship together. And in Mark's verse, and I want you to notice this, in verses 12 to 16, you have growing together. Till we all come into unity as a place. So it's that. Verse 13. Verse 15. We must speak the truth in love and grow up into Him in all things which we do today in Christ. Speaking together. Working together. Growing together. And that's the only way you can walk well beyond the location where is your home. I don't know about you. That's the only way. Are you moving with the people of God? Have you found from God's Word where God wants you to be? Have you found the fellowship of all people? Have you understood what it is He wants you to do in relationship to other believers? Do you understand He wants you with church fellowship? Then put yourself wholeheartedly into that fellowship, and work for the blessing of others, and you will grow. If you try to work for the blessing of yourself, if you try to make your own spiritual life at home, you'll get nowhere. A such thing will become such church, and no good to anybody. But if you grow together with the faith, and if anything, if you need to get something good, share it with the Lord's people. And if it comes down to you, keep it, and if it lacks something, you'll lose it. I don't want to speak of the name of the love to tell a joke, and unfortunately I do. When I say unfortunately, I don't mean to tell a joke. I don't mean to go wrong with it. I don't mean to tell a joke that fits into that, but I remember in the days when I was quite a joker as a young man, I had no reason to remember jokes, because as soon as I heard a joke, I thought it was somebody else. And I still remember some of those jokes today. Some of my brothers today. If you want to be blessed by some truth, if you want to find deep in your own soul a meaningful spirit in your own life, share it with the people of God. Share it with us. Let me encourage you. Now, that's a law of suffering. Young or old, you're not here tonight. Responsibility and courage. But anyway, perhaps someone here is a little bit older, and you've just become a Christian now. That's a law of suffering. You have an opportunity to share with the Lord's people. That which will help them to get where they need to be. I hope so. Oh, it's amazing how your expression of love to Lord Jesus will help you. I've often been going, visiting people, and I've gone and I've got in mind some scriptures that I'd like to share with them, some thoughts that I'd like to give them, and I'm sure there's going to be a blessing to them. And I get there and maybe there's some saintly brother or sister who knows, and quite a few people think that this would be, and perhaps not one, too well thought into things for God, but I have a commitment to do it. And when I get there, and I get into contemplation for that, there's a reason to say to me, I would enjoy something that's not the word of God. I know lots of that. And she gives me some very simple thoughts, nothing very profound, nothing that's scientific, any heady theological work or anything like that, but something meaningful and precious to her, or to him, that Lord Jesus would know what it does to me. It makes me grow. It thrills my soul. It's peace. It teaches me something more from Lord Jesus. Now, I'm not saying that it affects my experience, but anyone who visits the Lord's people will experience that. So, let's teach together, let's learn together, and in consequence, let's grow together. And thus we shall fulfill what we have in this life. We shall walk worthy of the location wherewith we are called. Amen. Amen.
Waterloo Conference - Part 2
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