Piousness

… Luke chapter 2 and verse 25. Luke chapter 2 verse 25. And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, and this man was just and pious, and he had a seed, the Lord's Christ. Acts chapter 2. Acts chapter 2 verse 5. Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, pious men, from every nation of those under heaven. And in Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 8 verse 2. And there was a man named Stephen, who made great lamentation over him. And you might just read again a verse in Exodus chapter 29. Exodus chapter 29. And there was a man named Stephen, who made great lamentation over him. And you might just read again a verse in Exodus chapter 29. And there was a man named Stephen, who made great lamentation over him. And you might just read again a verse in Exodus chapter 29. And there was a man named Stephen, who made great lamentation over him. And you might just read again a verse in Exodus chapter 29. What do these verses have to do with the house of God? And, well, I understand that the exercise is for some practical ministry. Well, not that I agree, of course, with a great deal of practical education, but I just want to, dear brethren, to point your hearts to this thought of piousness, you see, that we read about in these three cases, first of all in Luke and then in Acts. Devout men, devout men. And what led me to this word devout is, you see, at the end of our Bible reading, we didn't really have time to develop it, but we came up with a thought about serving our time here with reverence and Godly fear. Now, if you read it in the New Translation, it reverses the old one. It says, serving our time here with Godly fear and reverence. And, well, of course, the Godly fear is the terror. Remember, on one occasion, in our Bible reading in the meeting I was brought up in, they said, what does this mean about dreadful? And one of the dear brothers said, it was fear. Now, I don't think I can make that any clearer to the people of Tenochtitl. It was fear, the terror of all, the great terror. But it's the son of God, reverence, dearly beloved. Reverence. And it's used on a field of time in the New Testament in these occasions. Devout. I know a lot of you are saying, oh, Cornelius was a devout man, but it's a different word to choose, dear. And I just wonder, dearly beloved, in looking at these saints of God, these dear men of God, serving, just and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel. You know, we have, of course, a lot happening here, but today we're looking what is coming again. And, dearly beloved, does that hold us? Is that the all-possessing object of our hearts? The blessed man who went to Calvary for us is coming again. And there's nothing, no one's going to get to him. They're driving the nail of our blessed Lord in the gutter. The Queen might stand up as a defender of the faith, but our blessed Lord will come back as a great defender, and her grenades shall go before him. Are we today, dear friends, dearly beloved, how good we are going about our business as those that are devoted to the Lord's interest, just and devout? I challenge your hearts, and I challenge mine. Where are we found in the neighborhood, dearly beloved, as we jail in the trains, as we are in our offices? We know that those that are devoted to the Lord's interest are in this scene. Yes, there was a brother, an old man. He was being the people promoted. And he had lost it too. He had to run wildly to get on in business. Yes? Devoted to the Lord's interest, submissive, just, and devout. We can be consoled a little bit. Oh, what a consolation. It will beat your hearts, dearly beloved, when he comes again. But of course, he's got another consoler. The Holy Spirit himself. He's with us, isn't he? You know, it's a tragedy when you come across the orphans, isn't it? The fathers and the orphans. It's wonderful when somebody who cares for you, you know, bless his heart, says, I'm not going to leave you as orphans. He says, I'll send one just for you. Why don't you solicit us for your welfare? Oh, how wonderful it is. Yes, we've got the consolation of the Holy Spirit just now. Simon was just and devout. And of course, such a blessed man, one who is devout, can have divine communications. I won't evaluate the thought, dearly beloved. But you know what I mean, don't you? Divine communications. It's a man who's close to God that has divine communications. And then, it's rather significant, you know, who looks right in government, apart from that one case he used. And look there, and then we come to Acts. Chapter 2, where, of course, there's these men, devout men, pious men, from every nation. At that time, they were men whose hearts were unmoved. They had been swallowed by the ravages of the way the Jewish nation was sent abroad, by the persecutions. And their heart didn't lie where they were. They hadn't put their hopes down there, no. Their heart lay in Jerusalem. And don't we see something of it in the 137th Psalm? Let my right hand forget its tongue, cunning, before I forget thee, O Jerusalem. And there, by the Lord, shall we have the assembly, the truth of the assembly, and the saints of God in our hearts, in our prayers. Are they a burden upon us? The Apostle Paul, he said, that which comes upon me, the anxious care, the little worries, is the one. There's two words for care in the New Testament, and that one there. There's no doubt about it. It was the anxious care and the worries. Well, remember, you can't be like the Apostle Paul. He had a brother or sister. There's some brother or sister that needs a visit, and a bit of a help by his picture. Oh, they need it, you know. There was a woman by the name of Regulus, who was a dear secretary in our office. She wasn't Regulus, but she was a saint of God. And she used to come and see me about. They had her problems, and she had a sick husband, and things like that. And there was a man, a real believer, quite good guy. I'd give him a year, he'd give him a year. He was a decent, devout man. He was a good man. And they had the interest of God at heart. And that's what God is giving us today. Those who've got an interest at heart, devout men, and a loving nation. And then, of course, there was that in Acts, Chapter 8. Devout men. Bill of Stephen. The great meditation of Stephen. There he was, the servant of the testimony of God. And he set out the first martyr. And all we were prepared to stand beside the faithful saints in the line of the martyrs. To stand for God today. You know, dear Mr. McBroom, somebody once said to him, Oh, I've never had grace to die. He said, What you need is grace to live for Christ. And all of us seek that grace to be found here. To be identified with the testimony of the saints of God. Marked by this devoutness. And, you know, I think we need to be moved only to ourselves. Devout would bring to me the thought of devotedness. Devotedness. And that's what God is looking for today. Those that are devoted to the Lord and His interest. It challenged my heart. I didn't intend to get up here, but rather get up on a cane. He said to me about the Lord. And, of course, He challenged my heart. Probably 29 years ago, He said that to me first. But He said to me, Do you love the Lord? This tells me to Exodus 29. Where it says, A man shall not take a brand of consecrating. One who has given up to the interest of God. Oh, you know, I just wonder, I wish I could put it all out, but it's there. In the scriptures. The fact. Oh, the energy of that blessed man who was here for the praise and glory of God. Oh, his energy. Who has given up for God here. The fact. And the fact, too. The neck of the liver of that which purifies the kidneys. Oh, the purified. The prince of the world. Come and have nothing to eat. Pure within and pure without. The sacrifice of a walk with water. To make them pure. He was the holy one. The all together spotless one. What a blessed and wonderful Savior it is. Wonderful bread, cake of olive bread. Oh, I'm speaking of the wonderful preciousness of Christ. Is he everything to you? Oh, Jesus Christ is far more to me than my own gravings. I fancy He could be. What a wonderful Savior is Jesus. And He's an all the way home Savior. That blessed man. Was it good of me to have seen your body, man? There in your life, have you seen Him? Do you know Him in reality? Oh, yes, you see, I trusted Him. But is He everything to you? Is He everything to you? Oh, and the hands are filled. That's what consecration is, you know. Hands being filled. There's a lot about consecration today, you know, going around. And the Lord being filled with Christ. Everything from God comes out in that blessed man. And our hands are filled with Christ. He's the one that will present you God. And He will give you. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies. Living sacrifice. Holy acceptable unto God. Which is the least that can be expected of you for your reasonable service. And so you say, well, what has this got to do with the house of God? Well, in this chapter, at the end of it, it doesn't say. And I will tell of the tent of meeting and the altar. And I will have a hell of heaven and the sun that they may serve with Christ. And I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel and will be their God. Dearly beloved, God's house today. As we've had to talk this afternoon again, I don't want to escape. He's dwelling in his saints. The saints of God today are the house of God. They compose it. God is dwelling among us. He's dwelling among the people who are devoted to his interest here. And devoted to that blessed man who went to Calvary. Boy, he's coming again for us. All that our hands might be filled with as we lift him up. The glorious of his work we bring. The glorified we see. The perfection of God is in Calvary. …