Pictures of the local assembly

I'd like you to turn with me to 2 Kings, chapter 20, and we'll read from verse 12. 2 Kings 20 and verse 12. At that time Berodach, the son of Biladon, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah, for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and showed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Now another reading in chapter 24, verse 11.

And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came against the city, and his servants did besiege it. And Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his princes and his officers, and the king of Babylon took him in the eighth year of his reign. And he carried out since all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and all the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessel of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said.

And he carried them away, all Jerusalem and all the princes and so on. And we know that God always blesses the reading of his precious word. Now I'm sure each one here knows that the church is not in the Old Testament, nor is it the local assembly in the Old Testament, but there are some beautiful little pictures, I think, of the local assembly.

And that's what I want to speak here about this house, a house of Hezekiah. It was a house that had many treasures. And you remember how the enemy came, and they feigned that they were sympathizing with him in his sickness, and really they were spying out the land.

And they saw all the treasures that were in this house, and all the precious things. And of course later on they were going to come to take them all away. Now you know, I hope, that the local assembly really is a treasure house.

There are so many treasures that we have, and I hope we appreciate all the treasures of the local assembly. If we do, we'll never leave it. And of course the greatest thing of all about the local assembly is the Lord Himself in the midst of His gathered people.

And if He has attracted us to that place, there's nothing that will ever woo us away or win us away from that place. But you know, it is possible to let things slip. And there were days of old, even in Israel, when they let these things slip, and they lost them all.

They lost all the treasures that were taken down to Babylon. And you know the word Babel, it means confusion. And when we think of Babylon today, we think of what we usually call Christendom.

Those that profess to know Him, and very few maybe really do know Him as their Savior. So things can be lost. Thank God there was a time when things were recovered.

And of course the children of Israel were brought back, Judah, were brought back from Babylon, and they re-established some of the truths that had been forgotten by many of them for so many years. Now if you leave God's assembly and go to other places, and this is happening, there are some that you never would have thought that would ever desert God's people as far as the local assembly is concerned. But if they do, you know there's so much to lose.

And I'm very happy with the local assembly. Now the local assembly could be better than it is. All of the local assemblies could be better than they are, but there's no place like the local assembly.

And I treasure it, and I love it, and I hope the older I grow, the more I really treasure the precious things that we have in God's assembly. Now the first one we read off was the silver. Now you know I'm sure that the Old Testament silver speaks of redemption.

And that's a wonderful truth, to know the truth of redemption. Maybe we don't all know it as we should, but redeemed from the slave market of sin. That's where each one of us was before God saved us.

Just like the children of Israel down there in Egypt, they were all in the slave market of sin, and they needed to be redeemed. Now it's a wonderful thing to be associated with God's people where there's a plain simple gospel preached. And you know if you give that up, and if you get into some of these other places, and I don't want to really make a blanket statement.

I've never been in most of them lately anyhow, but you know there's a watered-down gospel that's being preached in other places. And I'm glad that I'm associated with a place where we may not be able to preach the gospel the way we would like to. And some of us maybe we stutter and stammer, but that doesn't bother me.

One of the nights where I couldn't preach in a gospel series, and my partner couldn't seem to preach either, God saved two souls. So he wasn't depending on our eloquence, that's for sure, of the plain simple preaching of the gospel, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Now that's a great truth for anyone to lay hold off, to be redeemed.

What a price was paid. But you know there's another truth regarding redemption, not just to be saved out of the slave market of sin, but to be brought under new ownership. All firstborn are mine.

And I'm glad we have that impressed upon us in the local assembly, that we belong to the Lord. And if we belong to him, we're going to learn about him. And I have read books by other men and so on, and I've heard a little bit about what's preached in some places other than the assemblies.

And you know, it seems that they preach salvation. You need to be saved, but then after that, you can almost do whatever you like. You can go to the church of your choice, and you can just go on in this world and be a whirling, and yet have a profession of salvation.

But you know what, when I preach the gospel from Exodus 12, I ask the question, are you sheltered under the blood? But when I preach to believers from Exodus 12, I ask them, are you feeding on the roast lamb? And that's something that we do, and something that we treasure in the local assembly. The words concerning the Lord Jesus, there's nothing like it, is there? To learn more of him. And that's our focus in conferences and in Bible readings.

We're not there to show how little we know or anything like that. We're here to attract people to Christ and to learn more of this wonderful person. So are you feeding on the roast lamb? The head and the legs and the inward parts thereof.

The head. If I'm feasting on the head, I'm going to be like him. If I'm feasting on the legs, I'm going to walk like him.

He has left us an example, Peter said, that we should follow in his steps. If I'm going to eat the inward parts, I'm going to have bowels of compassion like the Lord Jesus Christ did. And even Paul, it affected him.

He said, I long after you all in the tender bowels or in the tender compassions of Jesus Christ. So another wonderful thing to be striving to be more like our blessed Lord. And I hope we get to all the meetings of the local assembly.

It's so important if we want to really learn more and more of this wonderful person. Well, then there's a gold. I hardly need to speak much about the gold.

We've been impressed upon as the deity of the Lord Jesus. What a wonderful person the Lord Jesus is and how he must have felt the sin that was all around him. You know, when our brother was speaking about the day of atonement, a thought came to my mind that, I mean, I've had it before.

It wasn't just a new thought by any means. But you know, Aaron came from his tent and he went to the laver and he went to the altar and so on. I'm not going to go through all the ceremony, but when it all was over, he went right back into his tent.

But you know, the Lord Jesus Christ came from the sanctuary. He came from the sanctuary above into this sinful world, didn't need to go to the labor, but he went directly to the altar, paid the great price of redemption and has gone back triumphantly into heaven, seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. My, isn't it wonderful to contemplate these things, not just to hear what our brethren preach, but to think about them.

And if we get into the word of God, we'll be able to put all our little truths together with them. And that's what makes them so precious really to us, the treasures. He showed them all his precious things.

Is the Lord Jesus precious to you? The truth of redemption precious? What about the truth of his glory and of his deity? My, to think of who he was, who he is, I should say, and where he came right into this world. Holy, harmless, undefiled, we heard, and separate, really the word is separated to sinners. He's gone home to heaven now, made higher than the heavens, and he's in the glory.

There's a man in the glory and soon we're all going to be in the glory. But may the Lord help us to enter a little bit into these things. What about the spices? Well, you know, we had that brought before us at the conference as well.

Spices, surely they must speak to us of the fragrance of the Lord Jesus. And what ascended to God from Calvary? Well, I often say it, maybe it doesn't help to repeat, God hath made him to be sin for us. That's the offering outside the camp and the fierce fire of God consuming the offering.

But then God safeguards the truth who knew no sin. And while that smoke was ascending outside the camp, there was another smoke that was ascending from inside the camp, and that was a sweet-smelling savor as the inward excellencies of the sacrifice were burned upon the altar. My, it's wonderful to be in a place where spices go forth, go up.

Not long ago, I think I spoke a little word, maybe at Mount Sterling. Didn't have much time, but I'm not going to go over it now. But you know, I like to contrast John 11 and John 12.

In John 11, we have the stench of death. Behold, he stinketh, he's decomposed. Don't go near that tomb.

And you know, I've often thought that's what God got from me before he saved me, the stench of death. But when we come into chapter 12, what do we have there? We have the odor of the ointment filling the room. Isn't that wonderful? When we gather together to remember the Lord and we look at our brethren and our sisters, what do we see? We see a tremendous change that has taken place.

And we see the odor of the ointment, not just filling the room or wherever we're met together, but ascending right to the very throne of God in heaven. I tell you, I'm glad that I go to a place where they remember the Lord the first day of every week. Not as seldom as you meet together, as often as you meet together.

And what a beautiful perfume ascends right to the very God of heaven. You know, you could lose that if you went outside the assembly. If you tried to get up and worship in some of these places, they would show you the door.

Wouldn't be long till you were on the outside. But I'm glad that I belong to an assembly and the assemblies that we're associated with, where we can gather together to remember the Lord. It's not really called a worship meeting, but there'd be something wrong if it wasn't our worship meeting.

Because when we're occupied with Christ, surely our hearts will well up in praise and worship and adoration. That's one of the great treasures. And people that have left God's assembly, if you ask them what they miss, most of them, if they're honest, they'll say, I miss the breaking of bread.

Why do you ever leave it then? It means so much. And sometimes when hearts get cold, that's the last meeting that they give up. May the Lord help us to be, enter into all the gatherings of God's people and enjoy all the privileges we have to pray together and so on and to worship together.

What about the ointment or the margin of my Bible says the oil. When I get two things like this, the ointment and the oil, I'll just latch on to both of them and then I won't lose anything. You know, the ointment is for the sick.

And you know, sometimes we can maybe become a little bit sick in the spiritual things. And there's ointment that can be poured in by our brethren and sisters, even in private, as well as ministry and public. But what about the oil, the Holy Spirit, the direction of the Holy Spirit? Where could you ever get a place like that where the Holy Spirit is in control? People come among us and they wonder who's ordering this thing.

And then how does it go along? So, so smoothly led by the Holy Spirit. Now, I'm not professing to say that we're always led by the Holy Spirit, but we come exercise to a meeting. It doesn't mean that we have to necessarily take part, but we come exercise and I don't have any rights.

It's not a democratic institution, but it's a, it's a place where the Spirit of God has the right. I have no rights, but the Spirit of God has a right to choose any brother to get up upon his feet. And it's wonderful if we, if we really entering into the meeting, you know what they taught us early on, we're almost afraid to do it.

They said the first hymn, the breaking of bread is so important. And you know, it is sometimes we can take things lightly, but the first time really should set, set the tone of the meeting. And I like it when brethren can pick up something, maybe out of the first time of really God is in it.

And it, it flavors the whole worship. I was in a big conference lately and say like Mr. Gustafson said, far away from here. And you know, when the hymns were being sung, do you know what I said to my wife? I think this is family favorites.

That used to be a program in the radio, you know, where people phoned in their favorite hymns, but this isn't a place for family favorites. This is a place where we'll come together where the Holy Spirit would lead. You can't get that outside the local assembly.

As far as I know, if you can find a place more scriptural and assemblies were associated with, I'm going to go there, but I haven't found any. I'm not really looking much because I'm very happy where I am. I'm happy for all the treasures.

I count these things as treasures. They're valuable. And it's something that we really put, there's no price we can really put on them.

How wonderful to be part of a local assembly and to really enter into it, not just to be a member. We don't want to just membership, get our name on the roll. That's not the important thing.

The important thing is to be really part of that assembly and be able to enter into all the activities of the local assembly. And then it speaks about the jewels and the armor. The margin, my margin says jewels.

Well, if you look at it as armor, of course, you know, it's a place where we're built up, isn't it? To withstand the enemy. None of us, not one of us is strong enough to make it on our own. And that's not what God wants.

They continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and in the fellowship. We need fellowship, things in common, and we enjoy these things and we enjoy one another. We have a love for the Lord's people.

And we need to have a greater love for the Lord. There's nothing wrong with telling the Lord, my, I love you, and I love this place where your name is. And the place where we're built up, Satan is assailing God's people in general, but he's really going after the local assembly.

And the more scriptural we want to be, it seems the more trouble that he wants to cause. But we shouldn't give him ground to work in. We shouldn't open the gates.

And if we have a love, we're not going to be criticizing one another and bringing in that's so easy. And that's something that I think most of us maybe can do more than we should. We shouldn't be critical.

We should be helping God's people. If there's something wrong, we want to try and build them up so they can withstand the onslaught, onset of the enemy. But what about the jewels, the beauty? We've been reminded recently that it's not outward adorning that's in question.

What are the beauties that we see in the local assembly? Well, I'll tell you some that I see. I want to be an encouragement to the sisters. Sometimes they can come in for a little bit of abuse.

Maybe that's not a good word for it, but anyhow, what beauty do we see in the sisters? Well, we see it in their dress, to be dressed properly and modestly. That's something that we appreciate. That's not what the world's teaching.

The world's saying, show as much of your body as you can. But that's not, I'm not saying we have to go into the Amish or anything like that, but we need to be modestly dressed. And the sisters, I can see that.

I'm not complaining about it. I'm appreciating all the sisters that are modestly dressed. And you know, God appreciates it.

It's not really what I appreciate that's important. That's what God sees, the ornament of a meek and a quiet spirit. And you know something else? It's wonderful to see the sisters with their heads covered.

That's a great thing, isn't it? You know, that's a very important truth. I'm going to tell you about a man over in Ireland, a man and his wife. Some of us know them, and I know Brother Albert Hull knows Jerry and his wife, Margaret.

And you know, Jerry was a Roman Catholic, and he lived in a very strong Roman Catholic area of Belfast in Ireland. And he started reading his Bible, and he saw he needed to be born again. He asked the priest, the parish priest, he said, how come you never told me I needed to be born again? Well, he said, you know, you should go to a Bible-believing Protestant church.

I don't know if the priest did anything or not. But anyhow, Jerry started searching. I'm not going to tell you all the story, but he was in Toronto, Ontario, and he saw a great big, we call them mega churches, people flocking in.

And he went in there, and he came out, and he said, that's not the place. How did he know that wasn't the place? Well, he said, there's none of those women wearing head coverings. How did he ever learn that? I don't think he had been to a ministry meeting.

He learned it from the Word of God. Isn't that marvelous? And you know, well, he ended up in Lakeshore, Ontario. And on a Sunday morning, he saw a woman driving in a car with a hat on.

And you know what he did? He followed her. And you know where he ended up? In the Lakeshore Gospel Hall. Now, I'm not saying you have to, if you go to a conference 600 miles away, you have to wear your hat the whole way there.

But I'll tell you, that was a tremendous testimony. And if you're going home after the conference to Michigan or somewhere, you don't need to wear your hat all the way home. But it's nice when we come into a building or go out of a building that people can see we still believe in the head coverings.

That's one of the beauties, and I appreciate that. And God appreciates that in the sisters. And the long hair.

Now, maybe you haven't considered that, but the long hair, it's the glory of the woman, isn't it? And I'm sure you'd want to have as much glory as possible. Now, just consider these things. Maybe you've never thought of them.

And I'm not trying to rebuke, I'm trying to encourage. So these are some of the jewels that we have. And then it ends up with the treasures.

It speaks of all the treasures. You know what treasures are? They're things that are valuable. I don't have too many things that are valuable, not material.

Well, my wife's valuable. I know that. I don't want to get into trouble by saying I don't know anything that's valuable.

But actually, these things were priceless. I think my wife's priceless too. But anyhow, these are the truths that are so valuable, and they're priceless.

Do you know what it says about the local assembly in Acts chapter 20? It said it was bought by the blood, or translated by his own blood, better by the blood of his own, or better still, by the blood of his own son. My, what a valuable place God's assembly is. I hope I'll never leave it.

You know, people have left it, and well, let's put it this way, by the grace of God, I hope that I end my days. I'm not thinking of ending them right away, but I hope I'll end them in a local assembly. You know, I read about a place in the Bible, the Old Testament, called Hebron.

It means fellowship or communion. And men like Isaac and some of the Old Testament worthies, where did he die? He died in Hebron. He died in fellowship.

May the Lord help us that we'll continue on in the things of God, and realize what a valuable place the local assembly is, and what treasures there are in it. If you let them slip, and if you get away from them, if you get away into Babylon, as it were, you know what, you're going to lose all these things. You might as well say goodbye to them.

The children of Israel couldn't do things in Babylon that they could do in the Holy Land in their own home. It wasn't until they were recovered, and brought back into the land, and all named, so many names, you say, what about all these names? Well, one time a young man, he read one of these genealogies, and an old brother said to him, I wonder if you called them for their tea, how many would come? You hardly know what their name is, or how to pronounce it, but I'll tell you why their names there, they're all valuable to God. And in David's mighty men, there's some of them that tells you all the great things that God did through them, and there's others that just gives their name, you know.

Why would they be mighty men? Because they were with him in the time of his rejection. So may the Lord help us to realize we're not home yet, we're not reigning, but we're associated with a rejected Christ, and he has brought us into a wide place, a place that's so valuable, so full of treasures. May the Lord help us not to give any of them up, but to enjoy them right through, till traveling days are done.