Christian privileges

… Verse Luke 15, Verse 18, I will rise up and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight. I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy higher servants. And he rose up and went to his father. But while he was yet a long way off, the father saw him. He was moved with compassion and ran and fell upon his neck and covered him with kisses. And his son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight. I am no longer worthy to be called thy son. And the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him. And put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it and to seek to make merry. For this my son was dead and his countenance was lost and has been found. And they began to be merry. In John's first epistle, chapter 3, John's first epistle, chapter 3, verse 1. Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the children of God, the sons of God. For this reason the world knows us not because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the children of God and what we shall be has not yet been manifested. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And in Galatians, chapter 4, verse 4. When the fullness of time has come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under law, that he might redeem those under the law that we might receive sonship. But because we are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So we are no longer a slave, but a son. And of a son, here also, through God. And in Ephesians, chapter 1, and in verse, say, 5. Ephesians 1, verse 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has taken us into favor in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. It was just a dearly beloved day. I was very touched, as I no doubt most of you were, about giving, this afternoon, giving thanks to the Father, giving thanks to the Father. And, you know, it just struck me, really, you know, we do seem to, sometimes, you know, there are these phases, I know there is in my own life, and we don't really fully enter in to the reality, the preciousness of the Father. To enjoy the Father, and the Son, and the blessed Holy Spirit. To enjoy all the wealth that's in these persons of the Godhead, and to think of the Father, the Father. And, you know, that's, I really always like this portion in Luke 15, when we come into the reality of the Father, don't we? Luke, wonderful gospel of the grace of God, chapter 7, the grace. Chapter 10, the riches of his grace. Chapter 15, the glory of his grace, glory of the grace of God. Think of the Father. Oh, that Son, spreading to all his supplicants and riotous living, in sin's distant land of fun, toiling neath the midday sun. There he is, over to eat, husks the swine. And that's where you and I were, dear saint of God. Never let us forget that. We've been plucked as branch in the burning. Maybe some 50 pence debtors, other 500 pence debtors. The blood of Christ has cleansed us. We've been sought and found. Everywhere in that distant land of famine, toiling neath the midday sun. And then we came to ourself, but we know, of course, elsewhere it was the working of the Spirit of God, spoke to us, and that's what brought us to ourself. That brought us to ourself. There we were. How many servants in my father's house, bred enough and to spare? Oh, saint of God. We came to him in all our sin and shame and degradation. Oh, yes, we came in all our rags and sin and shame and degradation. We came to him. We repented, didn't we? It was a complete change of mind. Complete and total reversal change of mind about God, about heaven and about hell, about sin and all these things. Not just feeling sorry for things, no, a complete and total change of mind. A reversal. And oh, you know, there we were in that. There we were in our sins. But we didn't realize that there was a father behind it, pulling us to himself. We came to him. We came in all our sorrow and our shame. We came to him. Oh, this wonderful touch. When he was a long way off, the father saw him. A long way off, the father saw him. And dear saint of God, when you and I turned to Christ, and we turned round and were converted and set off for Christ, the father was there. He was looking for us. And it says he ran forth. Persons in the Godhead are in a hurry to bless. It tells us in Isaiah, you get the chapter, is it 30 somewhere? Judgment is God's strange work. God is not a God of judgment. When I stand in the mound now in Edinburgh, as I used to do all the places, we tell many women that God did not prepare hell for man. No, God prepared hell for Satan and his angels. God prepared heaven for man. The message that we bring, that man must repent, turn to Christ. Oh, and there the father comes forth running, running. In Genesis 24, remember the servant, he ran, he ran. The blessed spirit, type of the spirit of God, divine persons in a hurry to bless, in motion to bless. It's interesting though, by the way, that servant in the Genesis 24, didn't he bring, he gave to Rebecca gifts, didn't he? Articles of silver, articles of gold and clothing. The clothing I would suggest is Romans, the epistle to the Romans. And the articles of gold, the epistle to the Ephesians. And of course, the articles of silver, the epistle to the Colossians, which we're reading. So there we are. But anyway, that was the servant there. And to number 16, and it says Aaron ran into the midst, type of the Lord Jesus Christ, on a movement in a hurry to bless. Here the father runs. Yes, persons of the Godhead are in a hurry to bless, dear friend. God is ready and willing to bless. There the father, he runs, he runs. It says he was moved with compassion, moved with compassion. Oh, the bow of the father went out to that son. And dear saint of God, the father's love has gone out to us, as we've come back in peace and free. And it says he fell upon his neck and covered him with kisses. Covered him with kisses, fell upon his neck. Oh, the wonder of it. Dear saint of God, do we revel in these things, if we've fully enjoyed the pit from whence we've been dug, and how the father is covering us with kisses when we come back to him. Oh, we would rise in praise and adoration, homage, giving thanks unto the father. What a blessed and wonderful occupation, to give thanks unto the father. Fell on his neck, covered him with kisses. The son repeats, I have sinned against heaven in thy sight, no longer worthy be called thy son. But the father said, bring forth the best robe, bring forth the best robe, the very best. Nothing less than the best, nothing less than the best, for the very worst of earth. Yes, nothing less than the best. Bring forth the best robe. Dressed in God's righteousness alone, presented faultless at the throne. Yes, there we are, we're justified. And that's why I would suggest that quoting in Genesis 24, speaking of justification, would bring out the truth of Romans. Great truth in Romans, justification. And there he's clothed him, best robe put it on him, ring on his hand, that ring of reconciliation, ring of reconciliation. And reconciliation's a great theme in Colossians, isn't it? The ring of reconciliation there. And though, of course, Rebecca had a nose ring, but it doesn't really matter. It was a ring of association. And then, and then it says he put shoes on his feet, shoes on his feet, shoes on his feet. They're all precious. You know, as a slave, there he would have had no shoes, but the shoes on the feet marked him as a son, marked him as a son. Remember, in Jonathan, he loved David, loved David as his own soul. Stripped himself of all his garments, didn't he? Stripped himself of all his garments. But there was one thing he didn't strip himself of. Shoes. Because you see, kept his shoes on, because that entitled him to get back into his father's house, with his kingship. Son of a king, he was a prince. Dear Saint of God, is there something that we're holding on to? Is there something that we're holding on to in our hearts and lives? Have we stripped ourself of everything, but we're still holding on to something? Is there something that we're holding on to that enables us to get into this world and backwards and forwards? Remember, Jonathan, he said to David, I will give thee thy heart's desire. Give thee thy heart's desire. Where was Jonathan when David expressed his heart's desire? Where was Jonathan? It was those with David in rejection, when David expressed his heart's desire. Men who accompanied with him. Mind you, David appreciated the love of Jonathan, didn't he? Don't let us forget that. There might be some lack of devotion, but David still appreciated the love of Jonathan. Now, he was wonderful. A wonderful commendation. The shoes on his feet, and he says, bring forth the fatted calf and kill it. Bring forth the fatted calf. Oh, that wonderful feast of complete and utter reconciliation. The distance removed and brought into this wonderful feast, brought to rest within the circle where God's treasures are displayed. There we drink the living waters, taste the joys that never fade in that blessed circle of divine favor and blessing. Brought into it to enjoy these things, to be together with him. And it says, let us seek to make merry. He was dead, he was lost, has been found. And it says, and they began to be merry. They began to be merry. Never says that they finished, never says that they stopped. And it's significant, isn't it? In the offerings, they are given from God's side in Leviticus 1, the burnt offering, and then the meal offering, and then the peace offering, or the prosperity offering more correctly, then the sins offering, and then the trespass offerings. But when the law of these offerings is given, the peace offering is taken out of order, and it's given last, you see. Because that speaks about fellowship, and communion, and worship, and praise. There's the heave shoulder and the wave breast, and you see, because it indicates that that praise and worship will never end. So there we see an instructive passage in Leviticus. You know, sometimes we read Leviticus and scratch our head and see what's in it, but you know there's little treasures and things there for us, as there is in all the scriptures. So there it is, sun brought back again, lost and found, and all that wonderful praise. And well might our hearts, dear saint of God, as we revel over all that God has given us. Forgiveness through the blood, and justification, reconciliation, sanctification, made at peace with God, children and sons. Oh, our hearts would fill and well forth in praise and homage and adoration to the Father, giving thanks unto the Father who has fitted us. You see, not only have we been forgiven, but we've been put in a position as if we'd never committed a crime, because we've been cleared by the blood of Christ. And God looks upon his son now, and he is risen again for our justification. And can anything be laid, can any charge be laid to God's elect? No charge can be brought against Christ, and we stand accepted in him. How wonderful and precious that is. And he's made us fit for the presence of God. You know, we could steal from somebody, they could forgive us, but there would always be that distance. But God has fitted us for his presence. That's wonderful, isn't it? Made us meet, fitted us for his presence. That's a precious and blessed thing, dear saint of God, that you and I, who are worms of the dust, we can now enter in, enter into the very presence of a thrice holy, sin-eating God, but enter into him as a father, in all the blessed reality of his presence. How precious and wonderful that is, to enter in. And so, you see, that's why I refer to, referred us to John's epistle, chapter 3. Behold what man of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. We shall be called the children of God, sons of God, it says in the authorised version. The word there, as most of us have been told, really is properly children. It's bringing out the relationship, the wonderful relationship. And wasn't that very good? We experience that relationship in our own ways, as children, don't we? We grow up, and the preciousness of the children, the parents, the intimacy, the blessedness there is of it. And we often, those of us who have been privileged by Gods of children, and then, of course, we see them growing up, and we think back as the way they were when we used to take them down the beach and make sandcastles with them, and then we laid down there, and they covered us with sand, and all we had was a bit of a mouth to breathe. And the way we played around with them, and the things that went on, oh, what wonderful times we had, and blessed times they were. And given by God, you know, given by God, to enjoy these blessed things. And, you know, I do think to some extent, I've said this before here, in this hall, but I think Rabbi Barnes, you know, even he touched it when he spoke about the Cossars Saturday night, didn't he? And he spoke, he says, his wee bit infant, on it, prattling on his knee, prattling on his knee, you see, and his angle drinking bonnily. His wee bit infant, prattling, the way children talk away, no matter what your language is, you can go to France, Spain, Africa, India, anywhere, and you see the children, they sit on their parents' knee, and the way they speak away from them, don't they? Whatever the language is, you know, you know, the love that's flowing out, and the way they like the children with their parents. That's a wonderful thing, isn't it? Very blessed thing. And, you know, dear Saint of God, you and I, in a simple, humble way, we can enter in and enjoy the presence of the Father. Oh, how precious indeed that is, to enjoy these things. Children, and because of that, you see, the world doesn't know us, because it knew him not. The world knows nothing of these things at all. Nothing at all of the reality of us as children before the Father's face. Enjoy these blessed privileges, dear Saint of God, and walk in the light of it, and in the enjoyment of it. Make it clear and evident that these are the things that you're going in for, positive things. They'll notice that you're not doing certain things, but they should also notice that you're enjoying the reality of fellowship and communion with the Lord Jesus and with the Father. The preciousness of that wonderful atmosphere, that family atmosphere, should be characterizing us, and the world doesn't know us. And it says, Beloved, now are we the children of God, and what we shall be has not yet been manifested. It's not been opened up, but we know that when it is, when it is manifested, we shall be like him. Oh, indeed, at the moment, you know, we've been changed from glory unto glory, moral conformity to the Blessed Son. In that coming day, we're going to be physically and actually like him. Oh, all taint of sin removed, all evil done away, he shall dwell with God's beloved, through God's eternal day. Oh, how precious that is. We're going to be with him, and like him forever and ever, for we shall see him. We shall see him as he is. Dear Saint of God, is your heart beating to see him? I'm sure there isn't a heart in this hall that isn't beating and desiring to see that blessed man of Calvary who went all the way to Calvary, laid down his precious life. We shall see him as he is. We're going to be like him. Well might that hope purify us, even as he is pure. Now, we read in Galatians chapter 4 about God sending forth his Son. God sent forth his Son. We can't really take all that in. God sending forth his Son. But as Mr. McBroom used to say, he spoke about the council chambers of eternity. Council chambers of eternity. Persons of the Godhead sitting down and counseling together farther than the sun in that past age of eternity. Then God's Son came forth. Council. Whom shall I send? Who will go for me? The Son came forth. God sent forth his Son. And of course, coming into manhood, he had to come by the human vehicle to have a bodily form. Came under the law. Says he might redeem those under law. And then notice the Apostle Paul says that we might receive sonship. Jew and Gentile, that we might receive sonship. Oh, how precious. And he says, because you have sons. Because you have sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into our hearts. There are some, you know, feel that we don't really enter into sonship, but we won't enter into sonship till we get to the glory. For Edwin's benefit, I won't mention the writer that says that. But I've seen it in writings. But you know, scripture says here, because you have sons now, God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into our hearts. We have the spirit in our hearts. And you know, as parents, in many cases, of course, it's a very good thing that children inherit their parents' nature. But there are other cases, of course, where it's very sad that children inherit their parents' nature. But it is a fact, of course, true fact, isn't it, that our children inherit our natures. And of course, we as born of God, Peter in the second epistle tells us that we've got the nature of God. We've got the nature of God. And it's rather interesting, you know, that second epistle of Peter, if that wasn't in the Bible, we wouldn't have known we've got the nature of God, would we? But God saw to it when they were arguing over what should be in the scriptures that second Peter was put in. And we know the reality that we've got the nature of God. And so we have the Father's nature. But you know this? Children don't inherit their parents' spirit. No, they don't inherit their parents' spirit. So you see, there would be a situation where you and I, dear saint of God, we could be born of God and of God's nature, but we wouldn't have his spirit. But God makes sure we've got his spirit, doesn't he? You know, we're not left to develop in our own ways, he said, because he has sent out the spirit of his Son into our hearts. Perfect, isn't it? Not some other spirit. No, not the spirit of some wonderful mighty angel. But it's the spirit of his Son he sent into our hearts. Very precious, you know, the spirit. There are several appellations of the spirit, but I think this is almost unique, this appellation of the spirit, the spirit of his Son. Twice the spirit is referred to as God's spirit. Here it's the spirit of his Son and it's sent into our hearts. And what's the first thing it makes us cry? Abba! Father! Abba! Father! And I understand that this word, Abba, is the Aramaic word for Daddy. Daddy. And this is the real intimacy, the nameless of it, that we are brought into, so that we can sit in the preciousness and enjoy the company of the Father in that blessed intimacy as children, as children we do with our parents. Abba! Father! And so the Apostle says, you are no longer slaves but sons. And if you're a son, you're an heir also through God, as that lies before us, dear Saint of God, that we're going to be brought into by the wonderful working of God. Oh, you know, we just haven't got a few little bits and things. No, we've got a vast wonderful vista. Again, if I might quote Mr. McBroom, the revenue of the ages was what he spoke of, the revenue of the ages. Oh, that is a truth, that blessed and wonderful sphere into which you and I have been brought through the wonderful grace of God, dear Saint of God. Now, we've mentioned very much about childhood and that sphere. That's a very blessed and wonderful thing. But, you know, it's great when the children grow up and they get to know our mind more, don't they? You know, I was very touched by the way our dear brother, Max Billiter, in his address at Plum Lane past November, he said how, sorry, April, he said how on occasions he has to go away and visit here and there. And when he came back and children were very young, they were just so pleased to see him and they all, you know, would bound around him. He has seven, so quite a business of getting the seven all over him. But as the children grew up, you see, they began to ask about what he'd been doing, how things had gone on, had there been blessing, what business was he conducting? You see, they were growing up in things. They were taking on the role of maturity, sonship. Isn't that precious? And it's very blessed, you know, in our own lives in the natural sphere when we see that happening. Of course, sometimes nowadays it was a bit too far and they start organising our lives. I've just been there, we were just subjected to that fairly recently as we were over in America visiting our son and he had, you know, a whole lot of things laid out for us to do, you know, and everything was organised for us, you see, and that's probably going a bit too far. Mind you, of course, you sisters, you know, daughters can do it as well, you know, they're pretty good at organising the lives of their parents. However, that's an aside. I don't want to be facetious, I'm just really bringing home that, you know, as we grow in from childhood to get into know more and more the mind of God, what God is working for, what his will is, not just his will in our individual lives as we were occupied with this afternoon, but the end, the great end God has in view, the great end is that he's going to head up all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things in the earth, even him. To see this, to get a view, to get a deeper and fuller understanding of God's mind and will and purpose, what the Father is working towards, what the Father is working towards and, oh, think of that blessed scene that in the culmination beyond everything in this sphere, in this world, it will be folded up and wrapped up and we're going to go on into that blessed place of eternity in the Father's house and I, and the Lord Jesus, his request was to the Father, wasn't it? Father, I will, his desire, I will, he expressed his will, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, and we sang in that hymn, didn't we? That hymn about Father's love gift. I think if you go through John 17, you'll find it seven times, perfect number about the son speaking of thou hast given me. The assembly, you see, is given to the son. We read in Ephesians here, chosen in Christ before the foundation of all, given to the son. Remember in Genesis 48, when Jacob is speaking to Joseph, he says, I've got one special portion above your brethren, which I took with my sword out of the hand of the Amorite. Oh, that's a way indeed in which the Father has given us to the son, the Father's love gift to the son. Isn't that precious and blessed, dear saint of God, to realize that we are in that blessed place of dignity. And you see, he's predestinated us, marked us out beforehand to place us as sons, place us as sons through Jesus Christ to himself. And it's according to the good pleasure of his will. And well might the apostle rise and say to the praise of the glory of his grace, glory of his grace, nothing less than the best. We're in back into Luke 59 with the glory of his grace. And he's taken us into favor, graced us and placed us in favor in the beloved, in the beloved. That's precious. We have the son of his love, unique, a description of the son. Here's another one, beloved, unique description, placed in the favor, taking us into favor in the beloved. Oh, dear saint of God, could God, we might presently say, do anything more for us? Could God do anything more for us than place us in favor in the beloved? What a precious and blessed place we're in, dear saint of God, through no merit of our own, but only through his wonderful grace, the riches of his grace, the glory of his grace. Well, as we just revel and marvel in these things, there's much more in the scriptures about the father. As we get into these things, you know, he always used to say, get into, didn't we up here? Used to say when I came as a young, young fellow, about 17, the first time I came here, used to say, the brethren up here, get into it, get into these things. And of course, the Newcastle brethren used to say, you only get what you're going for. You get what you're going for. So dear you young, dear young saints, get into these things. And the sooner you start, the better. You need to get into these things as soon as you can and grow in them, make them part of you and go on in these blessed things and enjoy the wonders of the father's love. You know, when you climb mountains and hills, don't, it's wonderful to see the valleys opening up. You begin to see a lot, a lot, a lake there and the lake here. And you say, you know, it says the prospects open to the Christian view of writer as the days go by. And you know, you get into that wonderful vista of the father's love. And that's what eternal life is, dear saint of God, in that blessed sphere, the atmosphere of the love of the father to the son and whereby grace brought into that. I know, you know, there was a brother here in Findochty. He used to say it was Mrs. Sutherland told me about it. She said, they were always saying to me, you know, you're always giving thanks, giving praise at the break of the bread. He says, when I get into the presence of the Lord, it says, I can't, I had my time. And you know, dear saint of God, it says, I cannot keep quiet. And you know, when we get into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see that his death has brought to light the father's heart and ours as one, and now to contemplate him as he is God's well beloved son, where might we rise and praise to him? Loved with that love unmeasurable. He says, the father himself loves you. The father himself loves you because you have loved me. And I believe that I came out from, came out from, where did he come? Where did he come? He came from the bosom of the father. Oh yes. Only one who's in that blessed place of intimacy would speak of that blessed circle, that blessed spirit. Dear saint of God, let us have no inhibitions about rising in praise and homage and adoration to the father, giving thanks unto the father, which made us weak. We partakers of the inheritance of the saints of light. May we know these things in a deeper and fuller way. What does his name say? We bless thee, God and father, with joy before thy face, beyond dark depth forever, we share thy son's blessed place. 67. We bless thee, God and father. …