SHOWING FORTH CHRIST'S DEATH
OR
SHOWING FORTH CHRIST IN YOU?Maurice M Johnson
Los Angeles, California
January 3, 1966
... a particular line, in the case, maybe with some, that have never noticed it clearly before. Anyway, it'll help us all to go back over it, and to be guarded.
Now this is what I am accused of believing and what all who (shall I say) attend my ministry or profess to believe the same thing, we are accused of being "Bullingerites". Now let me say just here that just as we could say of Wesleyites, the Methodists are still in some parts of the world called Wesley, they even have the Wesleyan Church. John Wesley repudiated the use of his name that way. He said, "Who are Methodists.?" and so forth, and he ... he repudiated the idea, but it later became the accepted of course, and Wesleyan and the Methodist. Same way with Luther. Luther said, "Who is Luther but dust and ashes. Call yourselves Christians for Him who died for you."
I had a Lutheran preacher just... day before yesterday, a retired man; Did you get to meet him?
(comment from audience) Yes, I did.
He's a dear brother, don't you think. He may be out this afternoon?
(comment from audience) Might be.
May be this afternoon. I invited him to come. I met him at the barber shop. Retired Lutheran preacher from Houston, Texas. He's 70 years of age. We found that he's visiting his father just one ... in the same block where our dear brother here lives. I called him and he said he ... he'll report in a minute maybe. Well this dear brother, and I think he's a dear brother, when I told him I was just a Christian, I was a member of the ... well he said, "But what do they call you?" "Oh", I said, "they call us lots of things." And he said, "Well, now that's the way with us Lutherans," he said, "we were just called Lutherans", "Well," I said, "Paul was called a "pestilent fellow", but you never heard him use it as a name." And I said, "We just refuse to take any of the epithets or any of the slang or any of the nicknames. Why take a nickname when we have the name that's above every name?
What I'm starting to say you see is that to be called a Bullingerite, it may be a compliment in the eyes of the person if they know something about what Bullinger taught, about the Bible being the Word of God, verbally inspired. He was profoundly fine and beautiful. The late E.W. Bullinger was one of the most profound Bible scholars that I have ever read of in my life; he's an amazing man. And that which made him so influential was by no means his extreme dispensationalism. But on many, many subjects he was a profound man. And he taught the virgin birth, deity of Christ, the sinless law-fulfilling life, the substitutionary vicarious atonement of Christ, the bodily resurrection, the bodily ascension, the personal reign of Christ in the glory, and His personal visible return to catch ... I mean, to catch the true church away, and then after the tribulation period to come back and establish the kingdom, and that He's going to reign on earth for a thousand years... with Israel restored, that is a penitent remnant of Israel that will have been regathered to Palestine and repent and become the kingdom people.
Bullinger taught all those beautiful truths. But that was not the distinctive thing. The Plymouth Brethren teach all of that. J N Darby, F W Grant, William Kelly, C H Mackintosh back in the days of Bullinger and a little bit earlier. They lived contemporary with Bullinger's last years, but those I mentioned there came back ... J N Darby came out of the Church of England in 1820-something. He was an Anglican clergyman and a scholarly man. He wrote a translation of the New Testament scriptures and he has a Greek lexicon. I don't know what it's all about. I look at it and it's Greek to me. But his scholarship was astounding. But the thing that made him distinctive was his extreme dispensational position.
So we're called "Bullingerites". Now why? Because Bullinger taught that water baptism and the physical supper is not for the church which is Christ's body.
Well I'm quite sure he's right. Brother Lyman Johnson's grandfather Lyman Johnson taught that, and his father Burnett taught that. But they didn't teach Bullinger's extreme dispensationalism. The Quakers teach that water baptism and the physical supper's not for the present church dispensation. But they mess up a lot of other scriptures and take the name Quaker.
So the fact we believe what Bullinger taught, I do and I hope most all of you do, the fact that we believe what Bullinger taught in his conclusion about water baptism and the supper, that it's not for this present dispensation, in no sense at all makes us Bullingerites. What... anymore than it makes us Quakers, or makes us "Salvation Army". The so-called "Salvation Army" does not practice, the leaders do not practice water baptism, physical supper for today. But those are not distinctive "Salvation Army" doctrines, nor are they distinctive Quaker doctrines. And they're not distinctive or peculiar to Bullinger.
The peculiar Bullinger teaching is ... now I'm sure this is important because you ... YOU ... we are accused of being Bullingerites, we are accused of being radical dispensationalists by people who have a little bit of truth sometimes on the subject, and sometimes by people who just like to use that word in a way that kind of sounds, " ... why you're a Bullingerite." Start off with a warning "boo", you see. I want to bring out again that Bullinger was used of God... I have his Companion Bible with notes in it. I read years ago from Lewis Sperry Chafer whom I regarded as the finest dispensational Bible teacher that remained in the denominations. He founded the Dallas Seminary. McGee is a graduate under Chafer. And Chafer was not an extreme dispensationalist as I understand and he didn't really accept Bullinger's extreme position, but he commented on Bullinger. He said, "I have," words to this effect, "I wouldn't take anything for the Companion Bible. I use it," and he referred very warmly and in a commendable way to the late E W Bullinger.
Now, we're Bullingerites some people say because we do not believe; I do not and I hope you don't -- we do not believe that the church which is Christ's body has physical ordinances. Since I've gone that far and there's two or three or more here that don't ... maybe never knew before that we take that position on the physical supper. Let me give you just very briefly, and if you'll humbly and prayerfully think it through, I mean by that think it through, think it with this Book, bring your thoughts down here and rightly divide the Word. You will appreciate it I'm sure... the beauty of it and the truthfulness of it, or the truthfulness first I should say and then the beauty.
One day I was studying, of course I'd had other things that began to make me doubt the regular denominational, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Methodist position on the physical supper, and of course l couldn't see in the Word of God things that I'd been taught, but something there about the supper, the Lord the last night He was betrayed, and Paul said, so forth, "Do this ... as oft as you do this you show forth the Lord's death until He come," 1 Corinthians 11.
Then I saw one day in connection with this ... with 1 Corinthians 11:26, "As oft as you do this you do show forth the Lord's death tilt He come," saw that Paul Said, Colossians 1, "God would now make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles". Get the language there, mystery or sacred secret. "God would now make known the riches of the glory of this mystery," He doesn't want it to be a secret any longer, a mystery any longer, He'd now make it known, "the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we show forth". Same word in the Greek they tell us in some translations, 'preach', "whom we preach".
Now what's the difference between showing forth Christ's death until He come and showing forth Christ in you? It's the difference between the early Jewish Christians who were looking for the Messiah to bodily come back any minute. And that was their hope as Paul says in Acts 26, the hope of Israel. And he held it before the Jewish believers, and the Gentile believers in that early day, more or less sat back and so forth. And ... but when the truth of the mystery was revealed fully, the mystery of Colossians 1:26-27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we show forth", then he goes on to say in the 2nd chapter, "Why we're complete in Christ. Don't let anybody judge you in respect to meat or drink or holyday or the Sabbath day or new moon, which things are shadows of things to come, but the body is of Christ".
Well I certainly think as a member of the body... I'm one member and you're a member, all that are saved are members of the church which is Christ's body, members of the church which is Christ's body. Now took at my simple ... it's sublimely simple because I still have it with me and you have them too, these members of this body.
Now suppose these members are going to have a meeting. And they are going to have a meeting to show forth the death of the head until it comes. You say, "wait a minute. I don't get that." No you can't. But anyway I'll go back over it. These members of this body are going to have a meeting now to show forth the death of the head until it comes, "until He come." You say, "Well that's hopeless contradiction". That's right. It's hopeless contradiction for members of the body of Christ to show forth the death of the head tilt it comes. That's hopeless contradiction.
But for those godly Jewish disciples, looking for the Messiah to come back because He hadn't yet told them that He's going to build a new thing, the church which is His body, and He's going to put them, the few Jewish believers and the Gentile believers, He's going to make the twain one new man. He's going to break down the middle wall of partition, Ephesians 2, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, the enmity between the Jew and the Gentile. It separated the Jew and the Gentile. God built the wall. He didn't give different meats and drinks and different baptisms, carnal ordinances to Gentiles. But He did to Israel, they were types and shadows. Paul said in Ephesians 2, "God has broken down the middle wall of partition", what for? "for to make of the twain", and he's been talking about the Jew and the Gentile, "for to make of the twain", the believing Jew and the believing Gentile, "one new man".
Now as members of that new man, it's the same as the body, Christ is the head, the church is His body as members of the new man, Colossians 2, Paul said, "Don't let anybody judge you in respect of meat or drink or Sabbath day or new moon, those things are shadows of things to come, but the body is of Christ". The church of Jesus Christ has been cluttered up and confused by and hopelessly divided by trying to find out which shadows they ought to practice. God-given shadows, and He's called shadows of substance. Well the substance of those shadows, except where it speaks of Christ personally, was what God's going to do with Israel in the future.
Well I got clear off on this thing now, but it's a wonderful thing to get off on all right. And I hope you see clearly ... maybe there's somebody here this morning the Lord wanted me to bring this for especially, and it didn't hurt me a bit to go over it again I'll tell you. To see, to rightly divide the Word of Truth on these matters. There are dear people who think that it's just awful, it's just terrible, it's ungodly for us not to observe the physical supper.
Years ago when I was in some tent meetings in San Diego, I ... had announced I was going to speak on something about the second coming of Christ in the afternoon, Sunday afternoon. And in the small crowd that came was a rather distinguished looking gentleman and his wife (I learned later), they came up and sat near the front. He had a little [gap on tape] anyway, "My dear brother that's a good word you gave". Well there's nothing wrong with that terminology, but it's kind of a form. He said, "What church are you a member of?" or something. I said, "Well just the church which is Christ's body". "Yes, fine. You're not any denomination?" I said, "No, no, not any denominational organization!" He said "Where were you this morning?" Well l thought immediately, "I know what he has in mind. I believe I do". In other words, "You're not at our meeting". The Gospel Hall over there not very far away, where they always show forth the Lord's death the Lord's day morning, they say. "Where were you this morning?" And this came to me, honestly it did, and I thanked the Lord for it... this came to me right away, and I said, "I was letting no man judge me in respect of meat or drink or holyday". Well if I had thrown a wet dishrag in his face, it wouldn't have changed his attitude more quickly. I just quoted that scripture, I was letting no man judge me in respect of meat or drink or holyday or Sabbath day.
Well God help us to want to be what we are, I mean in our daily walk and talk and be glad we are as Christians, and to want to live out the new life.
Now, did you get ... you got it clear enough to think about if you haven't already, that members of the church which is Christ's body, and why did the Spirit of God use that language if He didn't want us to think first of what we know about human bodies and heads. First to go from the known to what, at beginning, is unknown. The church, Christians today constitute the body of which Christ is the head. Now watch. And why is that language used? It's not used to confuse, it's used to clarify, make plain to us.
Now again. This is the one thing, the first thing that stopped me and arrested me and begin to teach me on the matter ... the question of the church which is Christ's body and the physical supper of a religious spiritual nature, they would say. How can members of my body show forth the death of the head of this body until it comes? That is utterly impossible. Only contradiction of thoughts. And thank God I know it's a contradiction of God's dispensational programs.
That's why the last and only mention of the physical supper in the entire Christian scriptures, church scriptures I mean, Epistles and all, the only mention and the last mention is in 1 Corinthians. Well what's wrong with that? Nothing's wrong with it, but let's rightly divide it. 1 Corinthians was written to overgrown babes, Paul said so. And he said, "I haven't given you a thing but milk". Now just imagine, the most profound of all teaching and practices in Christendom is the ''Lord's supper", physical. And Paul said, "I haven't given you a thing but milk". And he said, "Now l delivered unto you how the Lord took bread the night He was betrayed and the cup and said, "This is the new testament in My blood". I gave you nothing but milk, I haven't fed you any meat because hitherto you're not able to bear it. I fed you like babies. You're carnal. I've given you milk like babies."
Now ... and dealing with the tongues movement, I said some months ago over the radio and other places, that to take anything that was milk back there, was supposed to have given way to the meat of God's present dispensational program, is to take milk that's so old it's plenty sour, and Christendom is soured by the sour milk. Now that may be mixing figures." but what I'm thinking about is true. Sour milk, and it's a sour mess, present day Christendom.
Don't forget that the one institution that makes the most of the bread and grape juice is mystery Babylon that old whore. Maybe you might say, "Well they have teaching that's true that they ..." That's true. But that is it to Romanism. The mass, the mass is the whole thing. All the rest is just trimmings. Now that's their own doctrine, the mass. Now that's why they say, "Our church is of the tents," t-e-n-t-s, "tents of the god of the eucharist of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine," and all the rest is just trimmings. That's the one act they say, the mass is the church, and so forth. That's why the pope when he wanted to pull off the most spectacular and most significant of all Roman Catholic performances when he was over here, given publicity internationally by being invited to speak at the United Nations. He pulled off the most magnificent and diabolically clever drama that he could possibly have pulled off when he got the Yankee Stadium and said the mass. After he manufactured Jesus Christ ...
Because they say you know that they make Christ, after he said, "Hoc est corpus meum" over a piece of bread and wine, "This is my body", and he was speaking they say as another Christ, using Christ's own words, "Hoc est ...", that is the Latin, "This is my body". And that's what Christ said over bread and grape juice. And they say that Christ meant right then and there, He was crucified! Once that gets a hold of you, you'll say, "Wait a minute. The Roman Catholics don't believe that Christ was crucified on the cross for our sins". "Why they certainly do. They have the Church of the Bleeding Heart and they have the crosses and crucifixes ..." "Wait a minute, wait a minute. When did Christ offer Himself as a sacrifice? Not on the cross! But when He said, "Hoc ..." when He said, "This is my body". "When I saw that I tell you I think it removed the last vestige of doubt in my mind as to whether Roman Catholicism was a diabolical, antichrist counterfeit. Don't forget that they positively teach, and it isn't just a little accidental statement occasionally, it's the basic, it's the fundamental, it's the rotten heart of their doctrine that Jesus Christ offered Himself without spot to God, He offered Himself a sacrifice when He said, "This is my body", when He instituted the mass. And not only that, but He ate Himself, and He drank Himself. He said, "I will not anymore drink of the fruit of the vine until I drink it with you in the kingdom". He drank it, He drank Himself according to their own statement.
You say, "I can't understand it". "Well come and see our beautiful church and come and sing, get your mind off of that." Well of course you can't understand it. That's the reason we've got to have more and more architecture, got to have more and more beautiful music, got to have more and more things to get your mind off of the hopeless, horrible lie.
(comment from audience)
Maybe we'll get to Acts 28. Jack asked if I could give this illustration that I still have the materials with me, thank the Lord, my arms and my hands. I'll let my arm here represent, my elbow here represent, the time here when God baptized Israel unto Moses in the cloud in the sea. Where are we told that?
(answers from audience)
1 Corinthians 10. I like a chorus like that, I don't like solos so well. That was kind of a chorus then, "1 Corinthians 10". Way over in 1 Corinthians Paul by inspiration said, "These things happened unto them". They crossed in the red sea miraculously with the waters divided and so forth. And he said they were baptized unto Moses in the cloud in the sea. "These things happened unto them", I like to read that. That gives the lie to the Modernists who say that... those are myths back there, they're valuable in the Old Testament, but they're not true stories. Paul says by inspiration they happened. Ahh. And Christ over and over again said they happened. But anyway.
Some of you have heard me bring out what I got from somebody else because I never counted myself, that probably 2500 times, probably 2500 times in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Scriptures, we have this expression or it's equivalent, "thus said the Lord" or "the Lord spake by the mouth of the prophet" -- 2500 times we have those recorded lies or the truth. I like to bring out if... if that book, the Old Testament Scriptures, is such a pack of lies on that one point as to where they came from, if the Old Testament Scriptures is such a pack of bald, bold, brazen lies, then how's it happen that a book that's so filthy, so false, still challenges so many people and so many of us love it. No, it doesn't' make sense any other way than it's what it claims to be.
But now... running back, get back on this now. Let my arm here represent God's earthly people Israel, twelve tribe Israel, made a nation, I believe, crystallized as such when that whole group of maybe 2 1/2 - 3 million slaves, slaves of Egypt, of` the Egyptians, when they were baptized... unto Moses in the cloud in the sea. One reason I give that point there is that I'm sure the Scriptures do... where in Jeremiah are we told about a new covenant going to be made?
(comments from audience) Jeremiah 31.
I like the chorus again. Jeremiah 31, Jeremiah 3... I've memorized it this way because it's easy for my puny brain when I have a kind of a peg to hang things on, a mental peg. Jeremiah 31 ...
(comments from audience) Jeremiah 31 ...
... No, wait ... go ahead.
(comment from audience) 31:31.
31:31. Then I jump over to a quotation in the book of Hebrews and it's ...
(comments from audience) 8:8.
Good! That's the way I got it, easily anyway. Jeremiah 31:31. Now there are other verses that talk about it there but that pinpoints quickly in my mind. Jeremiah 31:31 is quoted in Hebrews 8:8. Now don't forget that boys and girls. Jeremiah 31:31, "Behold the days come, said the Lord, I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them ..."
(answers from audience) Out of Egypt.
Out of Egypt. "But this is the covenant I will make with them after those days," and so on, and he tells them about the new covenant. And he goes on to say, "If you can break My covenant with the sun, the moon and the stars, there'll be no day nor night, then you can break My covenant with Israel that it ceases to be a nation." The Seventh Day Adventists have broken God's covenant with the sun, the moon, and stars they say. Now they don't say it that way, but they say it another way, because they say God's through with Israel as a nation. And the so-called . "Jehovah's Witnesses" they put out the sun, the moon, the stars too ... if their claim is true that they're Israel and God's through with the Jewish nation. The Roman Catholics likewise have put out the sun, the moon, and the stars because they also ... the pope says that he's the head of the church, the head of Israel, and the head of the kingdom; that the church is the kingdom, they say, Roman Catholic. And that's why he has a crown, and that's why they have a Vatican state, and that's why they have an army, and why they have stamps, and national red soldiers in the Vatican state because it's the kingdom, the church kingdom, they say.
So they... and the pope, Pope Pius X11 sent a letter to the United Nations ... wait, now wait, was it the United Nations? League of Nations, before the United Nations was hatched. He sent a letter requesting them to officially, as the League of Nations, to officially decree that Jerusalem was an international city. Because the Jews were waking up as never before for 2500 years in wanting to go back to Palestine and have it as their own country, and restore Jerusalem. And the Arab says:, "Nothing doing. We been here a long time, we're going to stay here." And you remember the war came and the Israeli nation today has only a part of Jerusalem, and the old part's still in the hands of Mohammedans and Moslem mosques and like that.
But anyway the pope said, asked the League of Nations, from their standpoint, decree that Jerusalem was an international city. Now that's a lie. And he should have known that according to the Word of God Jerusalem is not an international city. The person who can find Jeremiah 3:17, read it please. Jeremiah 3:17. Jack, I haven't forgotten your ... we're going to come back to my elbows. and arms.
(reading from audience)
They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord ...
... Where is it? "At that time", well we have to read the context to see what time he's talking about, though we're not going to do it now, "at that time they shall call Jerusalem", that doesn't sound like Rome does it. Go ahead.
(reading from audience)
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem ...
That's plain enough. Jerusalem, Jerusalem. And the context makes it plain which Jerusalem he's talking about. And Jeremiah wasn't talking about any Roman Jerusalem, or any Washington with a "Great Society" headquarters. No, but Jerusalem. Well now, I don't want to get any farther away, but come back to my arms please, please.
The Lord ... we're told in 1 Corinthians 10 He baptized Israel unto Moses in the cloud [and] in the sea, and at the same time Jeremiah 31:3 and 31 informs us that God made a covenant with Israel. He said, "In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt."
Now don't forget that. That's a good one to use against the Seventh Day Adventists. They say that the Ten Commandments were given to ... Adam. Especially do they want the seventh day Sabbath. Well I read the Ten Commandments, that covenant, law engraven on stones, was given to Israel "in the day". That's making it, that's pinpointing it plain enough isn't it? "In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt."
All right. In the day Christ was born, Galatians 4:3-4, He was made of a woman, made under the law. And He said, "I didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill. And not one jot or one tittle shall any of My law be destroyed until all be fulfilled." All right, Christ was born under the law, He lived under the law. Then He died for lawbreakers after He'd fulfilled the law and been announced by the Father from heaven, "My beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased". "He died for our sins according to the Scriptures, buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." He promised the disciples He'd called His disciples together before He went back to glory, and "He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures", and that's the Hebrew Scriptures. And then He began with Matthew, Mark, Luke, John to expound them out of the ...
(comment from audience) ... Moses.
Began with Moses, He began with Moses. He began with Moses. (The so-called "Life" magazine here a few months ago had that feature article, beautifully illustrated with Pict...) and said, "Moses didn't write the Pentateuch', Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, "scholars ...", scholars, scholars. That means folks that are bookworms and they maybe just got indigestion eating so much pulp. But anyway scholars, "the wise men are ashamed and taken". Let's come back to the Lord Jesus.
He was living on earth nearly 2000 years nearer Moses' time. And He was with Jews that had been born and brought up under the Mosaic economy and tradition, and He said to them, "Moses wrote of Me". Now they wanted to get something against Him. Don't you think they could of grabbed something right there if they'd have known what the "Life" magazine so-called said. They said, "Why Moses never wrote that." You don't find any Israelite, whether the high priests or the rabbis or any of the rest of them ridiculing Christ's statements about "Moses wrote". Don't forget that. That's a very interesting little sideline.
And none of them ... they would have been very glad to have grabbed Him and said, "Why He's not even a scholar." They did say this much, "How knowest this man letters not having been to school?" That's a good question wasn't it? His name was Alpha and Omega, the first and last alphabet of the Greek, and in between "the word". And they said, "How knowest this man letters?" And they asked, "How knowest this man letters?"
But now I'm not going to forget entirely this illustration. God gave Israel a covenant, the old testament covenant, and with that covenant He gave them a system of types and shadows and patterns and figures. Now those words are used over and over again especially in Hebrews, and I already quoted awhile ago from Colossians 2, shadows. Shadows or the substance, types or the antitype, patterns... or the things to be ... that was patterned, so forth. In Hebrews 9:8-10 we're told God gave unto Israel "meats and drinks and different baptisms" or washings "carnal ordinances, carnal ordinances imposed on them", now watch, "imposed on them until the time of reformation". Now I'm going to let my fingers here end up ... represent that time of reformation from setting things straight. Now here's Israel typified beginning with the day they became a nation baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea and what ... at which time God gave the covenant, the old testament covenant with its system of meats and drinks and different baptisms. A little while later the tabernacle, a bit later when they got in the promised land, the temple in which all those rituals were divinely carried out, existed, planned, and carried out, that is, when they were obedient Israelites. Then Christ came in the fullness of time, made of a woman, made under the law. And then He died for our sins according to the Scriptures.
But I got up to this point now, the risen Christ called the chief of the Jews together and reasoned with them for hours we're told ... and called the apostles together, the disciples, reasoned with them for hours out of the Hebrew Scriptures teaching to them things that opened their understanding that they might understand the Scripture and beginning at Moses and the prophets He expounded in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself, expounding the kingdom of God.
Now watch. And they then said, "Lord ... " Look. He then said, "John ..." Open your Bibles quickly to the 1st chapter of Acts and we're coming to the 28th I think, later. 1st chapter of Acts. Somebody read where we're ... I sometimes ... I blend that with Luke 24 because they're on the same subject and written humanly by the same writer Luke. But there we have in Acts 1, which is it, 1:5? Read it.
(responses from audience) "For John truly baptized with water ... "
Well before that. What He'd been teaching for forty days.
(responses from audience) "Things pertaining to the kingdom of God."
Fine. Read it John, please.
(John Morey from audience) "To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs ..."
... Speaking of His disciples and all, and said, "To whom He showed Himself alive after His passion" or His death, "He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs". Bishop Pike says the resurrection of Christ is a myth. And others of the religious leaders in Christendom today are saying, "Why of course we don't believe in the bodily resurrection". Christ showed Himself alive to His disciples after His resurrection, He showed Himself alive by many infallible proofs. The late ... I guess it was Arthur T Pierson that wrote the book "Many Infallible Proofs" I believe, yes, it was W E Gladstone that wrote the book that I found a good edition second-hand copy, gave it to your father David, brother Todd, on W E the grand ol' man of law of England, W E Blackstone's (sic) book on ... "The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scriptures." But Pierson wrote the one "By Many Infallible Proofs" and got his title from Acts 1. Christ showed Himself alive, to His disciples, by many infallible proofs ... go ahead please now, continue.
(John Morey from audience) "Being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"
That is one of the most important passages in all the Bible for us today in order for us to understand Gods dispensational program. Now watch. The risen Christ talked to His disciples for forty days. First He showed Himself alive to them for forty days. Well that wasn’t just a chance observation they gave, and just dreamed that He was alive. They were with Him for forty days when He was on earth.
Now don't forget that, because David if I were a lawyer ... every once to awhile I've thought I'd like to be a lawyer. But you don't have to be a lawyer in order to get evidence and try it, do you? You can be a member of the jury sometimes. But if I move back to Dallas sometime I'm going to work with your father I think, and the Lord and get him to be a judge on some cases that have some witnesses you know... and have a trial. I mean ... I've thought of some good things, I mean now like this: "Now here we're going to have some ? come up and say, "Why... what proof has it that Christ was ... " Witness number one, wilt you come up? Do you know?" the apostle James, "I saw Him." "Well did you just see Him once?" "I saw Him every day for forty days. I was with Him." And then bring up another one and have them testify." You know... I'd win my spurs as a lawyer with that kind of testimony as evidence you see. Because many a lawyer has won a bad case, I mean had from his standpoint, because he had marvelous evidence. And he wasn't much of a lawyer maybe, but marvelous evidence. But anyway, back to this.He was with them for forty days, the risen Christ, and He talked to them out of the Hebrew Scriptures, on what subject? "The things pertaining to the kingdom of God." And then He said something new, "John truly," John the Baptist, "truly baptized with water". The Baptists say, "We do too". Campbellite say, "We do three, a whole lot more". Roman Catholics say, "Baptism is the one thing that makes us all Christians. And many of you who are not in the church are separated brethren. And we'll have a dialogue with you, I mean monologue, we do all the talking. You do the listening ? anyhow." But if you've been baptized with water ... that's the position the Roman Catholics are taking now, if you've been baptized with water, "you are a member of the soul of the church".
Well the risen Christ said ? talking to His disciples for forty days of things pertaining to the kingdom, and His subject material was gotten from where? The Hebrew Scriptures. Luke says in Luke 24, "Beginning at Moses, He expounded in them Moses and the psalms and the prophets the things pertaining to Himself". And there we're told the things pertaining to Him in the kingdom. And so when He said ... Acts 1:5 now please.
"John", John the Baptist, "truly baptized with water; but yet', now get that conjunction 'but'. Something different. He didn't say "and yet'. "John truly baptized with water and you're going to have a whole lot more water." Water, water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink in some cases. No, He said, "John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence". And being assembled in one place, they said, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" What made them think of the kingdom being restored to Israel?
(Jack Potter from audience) They'd been hearing it for forty days.
(comment from audience) "In the last days I'll pour out My Spirit upon all flesh."
And Jack just said ... he said, "They'd been hearing it for forty days". He'd been talking to them on that subject for forty days. Before He began to speak to them on that subject for forty days. Before He began to speak to them however from the Hebrew Scriptures about the kingdom, He did something to them.
(comments from audience)
What?
(comments from audience)
"He opened their understanding ..."
(chorus from audience) "... that they might understand the Scriptures."
They didn't have to go to school to study Greek, or formal theology. He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. And you do know, I hope all of you, that that's the only way we can ever understand any thing in the Scriptures. I mean the spiritual, the spiritual truth. We can understand that Christ was, born in a town named Bethlehem according to the Scriptures. Read that the Savior was crucified in a place called Golgotha, "place of a skull", description. Whether you're a infidel or even what now. "Well the record says so, that Book says so." But we don't get the spiritual truth in any of it, unless we let the Lord open our understanding. May God ... you see, that takes away all egotism. "Where is the wise men of this world, the disputer?" They're foolish, they're fools, And the Lord said when He was on earth one time, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank Thee that Thou hast put in peoples' minds the vision of building great seminaries, profound centers of learning that we might have some trained preachers". No, He said, "Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I thank Thee that Thou has hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes". What are you? In ... not in comparison but in contrast to Almighty God which is... except the Scriptures use that, I wouldn't say I'm worthy to be called a babe, not worthy to be called a babe. But I want to be like a little child.
My, the little children here are learn... you know my friend, that that boy has learned more maybe the first year of his life than you have in ten years. Because a little child gives attention with intention. They concentrate, they learn.
And we get scattered in our thinking like I'm almost trying to scatter you this morning. But I'll come back again. I'm still going to come to Acts 28.
But now watch. The kingdom ... the risen Christ talked to His disciples for forty days speaking to the kingdom. And said, "John truly baptized with water; but you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence. Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" In other words, there's going to be a kingdom restored to Israel. That's what He'd been talking about for forty days., And He opened their understanding to begin with that they might understand, and so they had clear conception of the kingdom to be restored to Israel. But they didn't know the time.
Now some of you older Christians, that have been Christians for years, some of you folks that have dealt with different cults know that what I've been giving here in the last (what?) 30 minutes, are truths that are almost completely buried today. They are the most clarifying and basic truth: the difference between the kingdom promised to Israel, offered to Israel by the king in a physical form, born in a physical city of the physical king David and came to the physical nation Israel and said, "I'm not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel", and chose His 72 apostles and said, "Don't go to the Gentiles. Don't ... into the city of the Samaritans enter ye not, but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, "The church which is Christ's body is about to be built." No! "As you go, preach, saying, "The kingdom of heaven's at hand."" The reign of heaven on earth is right down here it is now. The king's here. Look at the miracles He's performing. Kingdom miracles. Later He said, "The kingdom shall be taken from you", because they repudiated Himself, and they repudiated His miracles and they attributed them to the devil, Beelzebub. They said, "Why He's casting out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of devils". And Christ said, "A kingdom divided against itself can't stand. If I'm doing this by the devil, then the devil's kingdom is divided against itself. But if I cast out devils by the Holy Spirit, then the kingdom of God is come unto you". And it was there. The king was there. And He was performing kingdom miracles, and He empowered the 12 apostles to perform kingdom miracles, and He empowered the 70 whom He sent out two by two to perform the kingdom miracles.
And Aimee McPherson and Kathryn Kuhlman ... what's her name? I heard her some on the radio. She's performing kingdom miracles. I intended to bring a two-thirds page in the Los Angeles Times, yesterday's, Saturday's, church page, announcing the fellow that's going to speak, and he's got a picture of a great mob of people ... Brazilians, and I think it said 70,000 people in Brazil attended his meeting down there. And they've got clever photography (not so clever either), he's pictured right up front before a microphone and the photographer couldn't get their eyes right on him because ... that crowd of people, they looked the most unhappy, miserable, wretched, bless their dear hearts. (I looked for Camargo in the crowd, but I didn't expect to find him.) But there it is, great throng of Brazilians, supposed to be entranced and thrilled over his kingdom miracles. And they looked bored to tears, "When do we eat?" Anyway, he's the one that was mar... so he's here now, sponsored by churches of almost all denominations, and performing kingdom miracles.
And I heard brother O'Hair said years ago in Chicago in my hearing, "One thing that's interesting to me about all these healing programs beginning with Mrs Eddy's, Christian Science, says there's no such thing as sin, sickness, or death," he said, "I have ... the latest statistics I have is that the death rate among them is one apiece". And if they're not convinced that these professional healing programs where they major on physical healing, that the healings should he put in one of only two classes, with the rarest exception, because God is omnipotent and He can heal if He wants to, see. It's not a question of God's power.
I like to bring that out when the tongues' people and others, "Do you question the power of God brother? I'd be afraid. You're going to be struck dead. You're doubting the power of God." No, no. I believe Jesus Christ can be born of a virgin again, so far as His power's concerned. But I'm quite sure that according to His revealed program is concerned, He's not going to be. It's not a question of His power, it's a question of His program. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ can be crucified on the cross again, let them put nails through His physical hands and feet and a sword in His physical side and a crown of thorns on His physical head, I believe He can do it, but I'm quite sure He's not going to. Because I read it's His program. The purpose for His coming the first time was perfectly realized by Him. He wasn't a failure. He did what He came to do. And He's going to come back and do what He's going to come back to do too, thank God. And He's doing today what He plans to do. He didn't plan to outlaw war in this dispensation. Not at all! He said there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilence! He didn't come to heal all sicknesses. If He had, who would have died?
I like to bring out, it's helpful, if Christ's healing program was carried on because of His tenderness and mercy and love and compassion, if those were His reasons for doing it, then why did He let Lazarus die again, Earl? Why did He let the Syro-Phoenician woman, that there... boy who was ... wasn't it raised from the dead by Elijah, and yet he died again. I like to ask these folks, "Have you met anybody that's 1900 years old? They got healed you know back there and the Lord healed all the diseases". Well nobody that I know of dies of good health. Never in my life heard of somebody because he got so healthy.
The Lord when He was on earth proved that He was the king. He proved that He could reign on earth over all men's enemies. He proved that He could take one little boy's lunch, five loaves and three fishes, and bless and brake it, bless it with prayer to His heavenly Father, and brake it and give it to His disciples, "Now put it, give it out", and fed the multitude of 5000 men besides women and children, and picked up more than He started with.
Why does Oral Roberts and A A Allen, why don't some of the rest of these healers carry on those today? The only fragments they get brothers, is in the boxes that they pass out in the basket you know, collection you see. They want to fill that way but they don't ... none of them ... in other words, the physical miracles the Lord performed proved His physical identity of the fact that He was the king on earth and the kingdom people, and one day He's going to come back.But now watch again please. For forty days the risen Christ talked to His apostles about things pertaining to the kingdom beginning at Moses. Then when He told of something new going to happen pretty soon. "Now John truly baptized with water, but you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence." They said, "Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They were expecting the restoration of the kingdom because they'd heard about it for forty days! They'd heard it expounded by the Lord, risen Christ, beginning with Moses they went al-l-1 the Scriptures through Malachi. They'd had a marvelous education on that specific subject.
But they hadn't heard a word about when it was going to be restored. So when He mentions something new in a few days, "You're going to be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence", "Wilt Thou at this time restore the kingdom?" "lt is not for you to know the times and seasons. But you'll receive power after the Holy Spirit is upon you ... come upon you. You'll be witnesses unto Me. You just go and wait. They waited. The Holy Spirit came upon them. They spoke as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. They began to preach. People were saved that heard the gospel, believed it, of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, forgiveness of sin in His wonderful name because of His work. "What's happened to these believers?" Well they're Jewish believers, apostles and all.
At the next Passover feast, one year from the night He was betrayed, the next Passover, I imagine Peter, James, and John, Philip, Nathaniel, Bartholomew, they got together for the next Jewish Passover. And I imagine I can hear Peter saying, "Hadn't you hoped that He would be here this time?" Because the night He was betrayed He said, "Now you are they which have continued with Me."
And that was the subject I was going to speak on this morning. "Ye are they which have continued with Me during My temptation." How do you like people that continue, that can continue? David, when you're playing basketball ... I understand very, very efficiently (you needn't give me a thing for that), I understand when you're playing, made your name, letter, and I don't know what all in ... in Texas when you were playing basketball, I imagine when the game's tied and you had the ball and then... your guards, all helping you... and you get right there you know, and instead of throwing... you "Hello!", just stop, just stop short of the winning score. They'd have mobbed you almost, boy. "What in the world did he quit for? You're a quitter!" Quitters.
I been thinking about Richard Bailey this week so many times. I didn't make ... didn't make the message, studied for, twice and prayed, but I just wasn't ready, the message that I told you last Sunday I had announced on KGGF Coffeyville, Kansas, that I was going to give this Sunday this morning at 9:00 Coffeyville, Kansas, covers all of Tulsa and Oklahoma City and Wichita, Kansas, and Joplin, Missouri, and towns in between there, very fine station. Was going to speak on "Unburied Corpse ... Unburied Dead at Sectarian Funerals', "Unburied Dead at Sectarian Funerals", but I just wasn't ready. So I announced on the program this morning that I presume they played there in Coffeyville, that I postponed and God willing I will next Sunday.
But I plan on bringing out that several years ago I was riding with a young man from California in my car in eastern Oklahoma coming from Ft Worth up to Tulsa, and he got to telling me about his boyhood. He said, "When 1 was fifteen years of age, my brother and I just two in the family children", two years younger brother I believe, "mother came one day, came to us and said, "Boys, you won't see your father again." And we said, "What do you mean mama?" "Well he's left. He's not coming back anymore."" And he said, "Oh-h. I was shocked, l was hurt, was cut." He said, "I know what it means to feel lonely."
I've been thinking about that lately a good many times, Dick Bailey, lonely. Oh I hope and pray he feels lone, cause he's departed from the good fight of faith. Tragic departure. 1 believe he could have entered into this tax case, his. name appears, and we had to explain before the judge, that the federal attorney asked us, "What about Richard Bailey? He's one of those whose name's mentioned in this. case." And we had to give some explanation, that he wouldn't come... wasn't preaching now with us and so forth. Quitters. Durwood Lane. Quitters. Quitters.
"I keep my body under lest after I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway," the apostle Paul said. "Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present world." How would you like to have a boy born ... suppose you'd read this story to you and your wife, been very familiar with it, about Demas, a younger preacher forsaking Paul because of love of the present world, and you and your wife from that too, "Well let's name our first boy Demas." "What? Name him Demas? Why don't they name him Judas?" Another quitter, another forsaken.
Young Christians, let's keep on keeping on. Just keep on keeping on. Any of you athletics ever encourage a fellow, player, that got tired maybe and was discouraged maybe, maybe they made a blunder or they couldn't... go through the last yardage that was a touchdown in the fourth down and they didn't make it and they just ... and you ... did you ever go to them and say, "Ah you're doing fine. Keep on. Won't be much longer. Keep on. We're going to mmm mmm."? I love to see and hear about things like that. "Keep on. Don't, don't faint, don't weary." Encourage, encourage... "keep on keeping on."
Well now back again. "Ye are they", the risen Christ said to the apostles the night He was betrayed, "ye are they which have continued with Me in My temptations, and I appoint unto you a kingdom." How you like that Russ? You didn't faint, Judas left. Judas went out and sold Me for thirty pieces of silver and you stayed. "Ye are they which have continued with Me", just a little while before that Judas was gone, and here the eleven are. Don't you imagine that they were thrilled, far as they could, not having the Holy Spirit in them up to that time, don't you imagine they were thrilled at that? Yes. Maybe Peter said, "I fainted, but I got up again. I fainted, I was such a coward". Don't you imagine Simon Peter, "Oh I'm so glad I didn't stay fainted. I'm so glad I didn't stay out, warming my hands by the enemy's fire". How you like that: did you ever get your hands cold, cold feet? Cold feet! and going to warm your hands by the enemy's fire. Peter did, when Christ was going through that mock trial you remember. But thank God when he saw the Lord come back out; the Bible says he turned away and went out and wept bitterly, he wept bitterly. I thank God for people that can weep with that kind of bitter tears of shame and sorrow. Do you know what it means to weep bitterly like Peter did? Don't be afraid to weep if you should. Don't be afraid to weep bitterly if you should be bitterly ashamed of yourself.
Anyway, "Ye are they which have continued with Me during My temptation and I appoint unto you a kingdom." Watch now, "I appoint unto you a kingdom." A kingdom! for folks that have been no more faithful than these... Well they stayed with Him by His help. "I appoint unto you a kingdom as My Father has appointed to Me. You'll sit at My table, in My kingdom," now watch, I'm coming right back where I left awhile ago, "you shall sit at My table in My kingdom and eat and drink with Me, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." But He's crucified a little later. Talked with them for forty days of the resurrection ministry about the same kingdom. Goes back to glory. One year has passed to the next Passover, and He's not there. And here the apostles are now (we've branched off), here the apostles are, those same eleven, sitting down at the Passover supper. I can hear Peter maybe say, "John hadn't you hoped that He'd be with us by this time? He's going to, He's going to come back, and we're going to sit at His table, at His ... and eat and drink with Him in His kingdom, then sit on thrones. Well, let's show forth His death until He comes."
That's the it! "Let's show forth His death until He comes", because that was the relationship of the godly Jews, apostles, all that was there hope, that was their expectancy in the baby days of the church. But not after the truth was revealed that you believing Jews with the believing Gentiles are made one new man called "the body of Christ", and "God would now make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you." I imagine I can see Peter, James, and John, Philip, Nathaniel, Bartholomew, say, "Well ah, we're not to think of ourselves sitting at a table with a empty chair "showing forth His death until He comes" every once in awhile are we?" "Let no man judge you in respect to meat or drink or holyday or Sabbath day, those things are shadows" of what? "things to come, but the body is of Christ."
So never again ... in 2 Corinthians, no mention of the supper, no mention of it in Galatians, Ephesians, Romans, no mention of it Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, no mention of it in 1 and 2 and 3 John, no mention of it in 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, no mention of it for the church which is His body. That's why I don't observe a physical supper.
Now it may be that there's someone here this morning, I saw one that maybe kind of provoked me to say ... I don't want that dear soul to think, "Oh, I just met these folks recently. Up to now I thought that they loved the Lord, but now they got some strange, weird doctrine about the supper." And I think it kind of like about what the same experience, heartache that Jack Langford expressed to me two weeks ago in the morning, week ago last Monday, from last Monday. He said, "Brother Maurice, it's awfully sad. Brother so-and-so down there, he said he wasn't going to come among us again, at all. We didn't make enough of Paul's ministry." He's a Bullinger. And Jack thought, and you thought too, didn't you Glenn? that he was really accepting the truth that the church which is Christ's body is a spiritual institution, it didn't have to begin after Acts 28.
But now watch please, I'll read Acts 28, and I'll ... of course you say I'm going to be through, I'm going to let the girls and boys say their verses and we'll be through. Not immediately, but directly. Acts 28. All during the book of Acts ... Oh, I mustn't forget your illustration because I must do it now, Jack.
(comment from audience. laughter)
Now I let my hand here represent, my thumb here represent Pentecost, Acts 2. That's the position of Pentecost, Acts 2. And this arm represents God's earthly people Israel that has the Ten Commandment old covenant with its system of God-given meats and drinks and different baptisms, carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. Let my other hand and arm represent the new man, the church which is Christ's body. And let my other thumb represent Acts 28:28. So here between my thumbs is the book of Acts period, from Acts 2 to Acts 28. I have here two programs.
Now Bullinger says no, there were not two programs during the book of Acts. Bullinger says the church which is Christ's body couldn't have begun until the end of Acts. But I'm quite sure that that's not true, that the church which is Christ's body began historically when the Holy Spirit was sent down by the glorified Christ upon all believers and that baptized them into a new institution. But the temple was left standing and the apostles went right on into the temple in Jerusalem. Even the apostle Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, he went to the temple from time to time. And he went to the Jews first.
So now watch. But Israel is called the natural olive tree in Romans the 11th chapter, figuratively speaking, the natural olive tree. I'm going to let my fingers here represent four of the branches, more than four, but you'll just see four of them, four of the branches of the natural ... Israel nationally. Now watch. I think that in all probably Israel nationally was broken off, I mean the branch of Israel representatively in Jerusalem, was broken off well after they had rejected Peter's message and then they rejected Stephen's Spirit indicted message and stoned him to death. I think that probably that that natural olive branch was broken off, God was through dealing with Jerusalem as such. We don't find Paul engaged in any ministry at Jerusalem. We find Paul saved shortly after Stephen was stoned to death, preaching to Israel, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the truth". And he gave that marvelous panoramic view of God dealing with Israel, and then they stone him to death.
And there's a man there while they're stoning him that ... hated the Christians. He was a profound Jew, brought up in the straightest sect of the Pharisees and the school of Gamaliel, he said concerning ... "Why," he said, "I was a Hebrew of the Hebrews", Saul of Tarsus. But probably being an upper crust in Israel's program, he didn't resort to the common hoi polloi of picking up stones, so he allowed the stoners to put their coats at his feet. And here he's standing, Saul of Tarsus. He hates the name Jesus. He doesn't believe for a minute that Jesus of Nazareth, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?", He didn't believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Messiah. He was looking for the Messiah. He wanted the king of the Jews to come back, but he didn't think He's going to come in a meek form, and let them spit in His face and crown Him with thorns. He thought it was a awful travesty, that they would think that Jesus ... "Why He's dead. He's dead. He's a disillusioned fake and thief and liar, fraud. My older brethren ... they killed Him and I'm glad they did, and I'm going to kill everybody I can get a hold of that believes that Jesus is the Christ." And he said, "I went around with more zeal than anybody persecuting the church of God."
So here is Saul standing there. Next chapter we read, 3rd chapter, he's breathing out threatenings against the Christians. But now watch. Here's Saul standing there and allowing the stoners to put their coats at his feet. And this young Stephen, or this man Stephen, filled with the Holy Spirit who came to glorify Christ, he's proving that Jesus is the Christ. And they gnash on him with their teeth and stop their ears as they stone him to death. His face shone like an angel we're told, and he said, "I see the heavens open".
Some have heard me bring out, don't ever let anybody think that Christ was a martyr. I preached years ago when they invited me to be assistant pastor Church of the Open Door and asked me to come preach. I preached Sunday night, went out over their own radio then, I preached on, "Was Christ a Martyr or Sin-Bearer?" I saw this truth then in 1926 ... 25, I preached down there. Was... how long back would that be?
(answer from audience)
Forty-one years ago. That's before some of you discovered America. Forty-one broken off.
Look, Acts ... in Jerusalem that olive branch was broken off. Then Paul in Acts 13 said he went to the Jews first over there, when they reject the message from the Old Testament Scriptures about Jesus being the Messiah, the Savior, king of the Jews, and he told them that they’re broken off. Then he goes to the next place Acts 18 and when they reject the message, he said, "I turn to Gentiles. They'll hear it". Then he goes to Acts ... goes to Rome, the last outlying post where there are a great crowd of Jews. And he calls the chief of the Jews together we’re told in Acts 28. He called the chief of the Jews together and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures for hours proving that Jesus was the Messiah, is the Messiah. When they reject it, he said, "Well" ...
Let's read it now, Acts 28. And I really went a long way around didn’t I to get to Acts 28. But I enjoyed the route. It wasn't a detour, I mean it wasn't an ugly detour. It's a detour if I outlined the highway right, but it wasn't an ugly detour.
Oh-h-h-h, I would to God that we could have more people that don't realize these things to preach these things to. But you, I've encouraged some of you a little bit maybe. Some of you who've seen these things for years, I hope there's nobody here who says, "That's old stuff. I've heard that years ago". Hope you say, "Oh-h, I haven't let it grip me like it should". They’re the clarifying truths. They're the clarifying truths.. It shows what God's doing today. He's not trying to build a kingdom. Why I don't wonder at all that the people who don't know Christ as the Savior and don't know Him by the Word, they say, "Well... the Jews tell us... we've met them many times down at Pershing Square and then at MacArthur Park and other places, "Ah, you Christians have had it now for two thousand years now and what’ve you done? Look at the world. What's your Christian program? Look at it. Heh-heh-heh. Look at the world today, your Christianity in charge now for nineteen hundred years." What Christianity? What are you talking about, Christianity? A mongrel, a bastard Judaism, a mixture of church and kingdom, a mixture of Israel and Gentile with nominal Christians. The Lord's program has been carried out perfectly just exactly like He planned it. Just exactly like He planned it.
Lest I do forget it I want to mention what I started to tell you about Jack. I said, "Jack", and Jean last night together, I said, "Jack, I'm glad to believe my dear brother that you were hurt, you talked like that when you called me Monday, that you were grieved that that dear man down in San Diego ..." He told me, "I've got some sad news to tell you brother Maurice". I said, "I'm glad to believe Jack that you ... it didn't prepare you physically at all for your ordeal. It weakened you". But I said, "I remember in Philippians Paul said that Epaphroditus is sick of a fever nigh unto death".
(comment from audience) "For the work of the Lord."
"For the work of the Lord." Did you ever overdo? Edgar mentioned, "My Jean called my wife and just went into detail about your mother and said, "Oh, Mrs Smith, Eleanor, was so sweet and of course so efficient as a nurse", said, and she went on into detail what she did". And last night they told me again, told me again. Jack didn't tell so much, he didn't feel like talking, but Jean did ... yet. Well I said the uninspired fellow said, "Sweet are the uses of adversity". Well that seems almost inspired; the truth he gave was very fine. "Sweet are the uses of adversity." When we have trials and tribulations, God's able to make them precious experiences. And I said, "You're going to have a closer fellowship with sister Eleanor Smith from now on aren't you? Going to have more appreciative understanding. And then you, the one ... taking care of the children like that. And whoever it was of you that went down with your car, offered to take him down to the hospital at midnight and so forth. That's what God wants. Talk about insurance. "I have insurance, I’m insured. Call my insurance agent." What about you helping your brethren? "If you pass by and see your brother have need of this world's goods and shut up your bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in you?" we read in the Word of God. God wants you and me to help each other. He wants you and me to love each other. He wants you and me to bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.
So I was glad to believe and tell Jack that I don't doubt at all Jack that you ... I said, "You remember Paul said, "Oh that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection". What for? "So I may feel powerful." No! "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings." Christ suffered for others, He suffered for others. Do you know what it means to suffer for others? Do you know what it means to be selfish? One of the saddest things about a selfish person is they don't know it. They don't know it. They say, "I love me". They’re selfish.
Acts 28. Paul got to Rome, 17th verse,
And it came to pass after the three days
Paul called the chief of the Jews together.That three days, and three in the Scriptures is very interesting, of course very significant. Among other things I'm quite sure it means ‘separation’. Christ in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Jonah, disobedient prophet, in the belly of the whale three days and three nights. Three, three, three. After three days Paul got to Rome and he waited three days.
And after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren,
he's still recognizing the chief of the Jews as his brethren, nationally, see. But when he got to Jerusalem at that special conference when the Holy Spirit led him to go by revelation to preach private to the leaders before him, Peter, James, and John, he went there to contend that we're not to know men after the flesh. And the same way in Colossians 2. But he's dealing now to a national olive branch, Israel as a nation.
Called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers,
Israelitish fathers,
yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, l was constrained to appeal unto Caesar.
We're going to talk about that this afternoon here in the Tax Case. Asked different ones of you, I mentioned couple weeks ago and last Sunday, different ones of you, I want to call attention, and we got two cartons of those books, you've already gotten some of them; we're going to talk about that it may. But if you haven't gotten your new copy of the Tax report ... I may mention that at the close.
I appealed to Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of,
still... recognizing Israel as 'my nation', 'my nation'. He said, "To the Jews, I became as a Jew", 1 Corinthians 9.
For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel,
that has nothing to do with the church which is Christ's body, 'the hope of Israel'.
For the hope of Israel./ am bound with this chain.
"They killed the Messiah and I (sic) claimed He was the Messiah. They killed the Lord from heaven and they claimed He was an illegitimate child and should he cut off quickly." But they said ... they said unto him, the chief of these Jews at Rome, said unto Paul,
We neither received letters out of Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came showed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest, for as concerning this sect,
now I've had some sectarians throw that at me. "So what? Paul was in a sect." He was also a "pestilent fellow", they said. And they said he ought to be killed, but they were liars. Of course they thought that the followers of Jesus was a sect, because they didn't know Jesus Christ the Son of God.
As concerning this sect, we know that everywhere it's complimented,
because you can't do any good unless you have a fine reputation. Build a nice building you know, select a name. I had a preacher tell me... I mean a layman, maybe he was a preacher, white man, dressed nicely, tell me at Pershing Square one day in front of a whole crowd of infidel Jews and others, he said, "Maurice Johnson, if there's one minister in Los Angeles County who thinks well of you, I don't know him". Well, I didn't pat myself on the back I can assure you because in some cases l may have been rude, in some cases... I may not have adorned, doubtless I have not always adorned the doctrine of Christ. I admonish our young men sometime, "Be careful when you contend for the truth that you don't do it with a contentious, fleshly carnality". What were you and I, like Paul said, "We were ourselves onetime unthankful, unholy, serving divers lusts".
"We've never heard it, but we know that this sect is everywhere spoken against." Incidentally my dear friends, or rather fundamentally, there isn't any group of people on the face of the earth that can be everywhere spoken against but the people who are strangers and pilgrims down here and who let it be known. "The world loves it own." "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us" that what? "that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore ... the world knoweth us not for it knew Him not." You want to better reputation, in anybody's thinking, than your Christ, your Savior has in their mind? That's the reason I have the attitude I have toward_ two of my dear sisters, my flesh and blood sisters, my baby sister, and the other one, the oldest, she's gone to be with the Lord, and toward my youngest brother and sister-in-law. I don't want them to think for one moment that I doubt that I have a God-ordained position in the church of Jesus Christ. If they reject my God-given position in the church of Jesus Christ, they reject the most precious thing in my life. It's far more precious than flesh and blood relationship. No comparison at all.
I've used the illustration this way: I suppose brother Russell Ross, just moved back down here from Sacramento, suppose he'd come to my house yesterday and would ... I'd recognize him, "Well hello Russ!" "How do you do?" Maybe he'd have said, "Mr Johnson". "Come in." "Just a minute, I have something for you. "What in the world happened here? He'd show credentials, F.B.I. agent. "Well Russ, come in, its supper time now and ..." "Just a minute Mr Johnson, I'm sent here to call you down to our office." "Come on, Russ." He didn't call me brother Maurice. "What’s the matter?" "I'm here Mr Johnson as an agent of the F.B.I." Would he allow me to repudiate his office, his position, and be just old buddies? Not if he deserved the name F.B.I. agent. He'd have to be true to his position, or he would have to report to the F.B.I. superior.
How important is your place as a Christian. I don't want any of my kinfolks my friend or anybody else to think that I am not a minister of Jesus Christ the Lord. Paul said, "I the apostle to the Gentiles magnify myself." "Magnify my office, magnify my office, office." You boys in the military service, Earl LaForce in the First World War, any others here that were, and in the Second World War, and the Korean, so forth, and since then you been in training, and the sailor this morning, you were taught right off the bat I understand, pretty soon, to salute a commissioned officer, whether you respected him personally or not. You respect that office, bars or stripe or whatever it is. Isn't that right? Isn't that what you were taught? You are to respect his position, because he has it! He has it.
"Sect that's everywhere spoken against. We’ve heard about that."
And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified
the church which is Christ's body. No! He testified and expounded
the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus,
where did he get his material?
both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning until evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Same today.
And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Spirit by Isaiah the prophet,
concerning whom "Life" magazine... 1965 said, "There ain't no such animal as Moses the prophet and Moses the writer and Isaiah." Which Isaiah? Bunch of Isaiahs they say. Well the inspired sublime simplicity is, that Moses spake by the Holy ... said, "Well did the Holy Spirit speak by Isaiah the prophet unto them", and he'd been expounding out of Moses we read, the law of Moses.
Saying, Go unto this people."
that is Israel as a nation,
and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed;
willful ignorant you see,
lest they should see with their eyes.
Are you afraid to study? Are you afraid to listen to some truth because you don't want truth that ... that's embarrassing to you? You don't want truth that'll interfere with your program. Is that right? You say like little Tommy of old, "Speak, Thy servant heareth."
For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and should hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts ... heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Just didn't want to be saved.
Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and they'll hear it.
Now watch. Look at my hands again, please, and arms. One after the other the natural olive branches here represented have been broken off. Now Paul's in Rome with the last group of scattered representative Jews. And when they reject his message, "Goodbye". The book of Acts closes with the statement that Paul continued "two whole years in his own hired house speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God and preaching ..." the last verse,
Preaching the kingdom of God,
he explained what happened to the kingdom of God and what's going to happen in the future,
Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
The church which is Christ's body, the kingdom program's gone, taken away, the Jews are scattered, one of the nations, not going to be restored until the fullness of the Gentiles come in. In the meantime, the Lord is taking the believing Jews, the believing Gentiles, Ephesians 2, making one new man, "for with one Spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles and all been made to drink into one Spirit". "And now henceforth", Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5, "henceforth know we no man after the flesh", whether Jew with his physical ordinances or Gentile with his heathenism. We don't know men that way though we have known Christ, we've known Christ made of a woman, made under the law, came not to destroy but to fulfill it. We've known Christ as a minister of the circumcision but we don't know Him that way anymore. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is" what? "he is a new creature: old things passed away; behold, all things become new."
That's what we contended before the federal courts that the church which is Christ's body doesn't need any human, worldly, physical organization. That the body of Jesus Christ, the Latin is 'corpus Christi', 'corpus' for body, 'Christi' Christ in the possessive sense, Christ's church, core... that the church which is Christ's body doesn't need to be re-embodied. What a stupid insult to say that the church needs to be incorporated. What is the church? It's the corpus, the body of Christ.