The House of God - our responsibilities (1 Tim. 1)

… As viewed as the house of God, the assembly or the church in the New Testament is looked at in numerous ways. I'll try and to remember them. In the epistle to which we were reading this afternoon we have the assembly viewed as the body of Christ with all its attendant privileges of that vessel formed by the Spirit of God at Pentecost, that is in union with Christ its head and in a coming day will be used by God himself to fill out the universe with the fullness of Christ. That same vessel is viewed in Colossians not so much in all its wonder as associated with Christ in glory but as expressive of the mind of Christ practically in the world today. There it is perhaps viewed as every saint of God alive on the earth at any one given moment of time. There is also mentioned in Ephesians and in Corinthians the church or the assembly spoken of as the temple of God. That perhaps for its fulfillments look forward to a future day in the kingdom when God will dwell via the assembly in the midst of the people. The idea of the temple is more connected with a display of the glory of God. Remember what was said of that temple of old of Solomon that it was exceeding magnificent. Beloved brethren it should thrill our souls to realize that the day is coming that the assembly as the temple will be presented to this world and will be that vessel by the which God will display his glory, exceeding magnificent. There is also beloved brethren that which perhaps touches our affections more than anything, the idea of the assembly as the bride of Christ. Again that looks forward to the future at that moment that we alluded to in prayer when the assembly complete shall be presented to himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. A moment that was anticipated way back in Genesis when Eve taken from Adam, of Adam, formed of God for his health meat and his compliment was presented to him and he said this is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. And there was found in that creation that which was suitable to the mind and to the affections of Adam. Beloved brethren there is coming a day when he shall see of the fruit of the travel of his soul when the bride of Christ shall be presented to the bridegroom. John Baptist said he that hath the bride is the bridegroom. What a wonderful moment it is to realize that God is forming in this world a vessel that will satisfy the heart of Christ eternally. There is also the idea of the church as the new Jerusalem which has in view the dispensing and the administration of the blessing of God in the world to come. But tonight beloved brethren we're looking at the assembly for a few minutes as looked at in this epistle of Paul to Timothy particularly as the house of God which is a different matter in many respects to those that we have just enumerated. Now beloved brethren it's not without reason that our dear brother this afternoon referred to the epistle of Paul to Ephesus. And it's not without reason that Paul when writing his letter to Timothy makes allusion to the fact that he had specifically left him at Ephesus to maintain the ministry and what Paul had done there. This of course gives us the authority to link in an intelligent way the letter of Paul to Timothy the first and the second with what the Apostle ministered at Ephesus. And at Ephesus we are acquainted I do trust beloved brethren and if there are those amongst us who have never heard of these things before who have not looked into them I urge you as a student of scripture to study out the things that we speak of in order that you might understand them in order that they might become a treasure in your affections in order that in your love for Christ you may not only be true in your affections to him personally but you might be true also to that which is dear to the heart of Christ and that is the assembly and his people. We are deficient beloved brethren in our affections if we do not grasp the idea of God the purpose of God Christ and the assembly. We are deficient in our service and in our understanding if we divorce that horrible word divorce if we divorce Christ from the assembly or the assembly from Christ in our affections or in our practice. The thought of God is that Christ should have a complement one that should share in all that God has given him in his manhood and in this God will eternally be glorified and satisfied. Beloved brethren I am deeply concerned about the fact that many of these marvelous truths that one alludes to fleetingly and I confess one understands so little. They are the precious truths of God that have come down to us of the labors of men of the last century and beloved brethren we are responsible. I say yes we are responsible and at the judgment seat of Christ we will have to give account of what we have done with those that men of God of the last century gave their lives to recover and handed down to us. We are responsible to God and we will have to give account for it at the judgment seat of Christ and that word responsible is one of the key words to the understanding of the assembly as viewed as the house of God. It is the assembly viewed in responsibility in this world and Paul was concerned about the responsibility of what he had ministered at Ephesus. Go back to Acts chapter 20 he says I have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God. Think of that expression beloved brethren the whole counsel of God. Paul had ministered it there at Ephesus and we have it in his letter to them and he was so concerned about it. Is there any other epistle where we have two prayers word for word we read one of them this afternoon but is there any other epistle that is like this? No there is not where Paul bends his knees and we have on record the words of his prayer concerning what he had ministered at Ephesus. It was the burden of his soul that it might be maintained. Beloved brethren is it a burden of our soul that the truth of the assembly and what it is to the heart of Christ what it is to the heart of God his masterpiece. Did you know creation is not God's masterpiece because he's going to fold that up and do away with it but the assembly is God's masterpiece. It was in his mind in eternity to bring it about involved the incarnation and the death and the resurrection of Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit and the work of the Holy Spirit today and soon that vessel will be gathered out of this scene to its rightful home. The assembly is the world is not the home of the assembly when Christ comes and calls us to himself we will be raptured to the rightful sphere to which we belong the presence of God and it'll be there eternally for the display of the greatness of God for the honor and majesty of Christ but more than this because there's something greater than display there's something greater than majesty and glory. There has been formed in this world by the death of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit something that will satisfy the heart of God eternally and the truth of the assembly is an integral part of that marvelous fact. Beloved brethren I challenge my heart and I challenge your heart tonight we're nearly all older brethren here tonight beloved brethren and this should be a burden upon us that we have a legacy not only of the death of Christ but a legacy of the labors of men of God and I say again we will have to give answer at the judgment seat of Christ as to what we have done with regards to that truth that we have been the depositories of. It's a serious consideration you know and Paul commanded that gifted young man and imbued him with apostolic authority in order that he might maintain things at Ephesus and I don't think for one moment that what we were reminded of this afternoon that they failed at Ephesus I don't think for one moment that you could lay that failure at the doorstep of Timothy never never. I'm sure that young man labored and put his whole heart into that Commission that Paul gave him beloved brethren that Commission is passed down to you and I. Paul told Timothy to maintain it and to teach others also that they might be able to pass it on to like-minded men and women and beloved brethren I hesitate to say like-minded but beloved brethren nonetheless it's been passed on and down to us and here we are today at the end almost of another year preserved in a remarkable way by the mercy and faithfulness of God. We may not be rightly aware beloved brethren of how indebted do we are to the faithfulness of God that there still is with us what is with us but beloved brethren may we not be complacent it was mentioned in the prayer meeting just now we must not be complacent or that the Spirit of God would revive in our affections the reality and the wonder and the glory of what we've been given that we might be challenged in our affections as we were this afternoon as to where we stand as to the person of Christ but I want to challenge your affections this evening as to where you are in regards to those things that are precious to Christ. The two things go together and that is the burden of Paul's first and second letters to Timothy. He left him at Ephesus to maintain the truth of the assembly there and beloved brethren how significant it is that when you get into the book of the Revelation you see what went wrong. You see there was nothing wrong with the doctrine there was nothing wrong with the energy of what of Timothy there was nothing wrong with what Paul ministered what was wrong was that the saints of God had moved in their affections away from the person of Christ. Beloved brethren if we move away in our affections from the person of Christ there's no point in your listening anymore to what I have to say. It is affection for Christ that will sustain and keep us in regard to the truth of the assembly. I want to bring out to you in the verses that I have read just five things. There are many many other things but I just want to speak tonight of five things that are characteristic and true of the house of God. But let me before I go on to that just underline and show from Scripture because this is absolutely important and vital. Let me show you from Scripture why I say that the truth of the house of God as the assembly is connected with responsibility. It's only used three times in the New Testament. You'll find it hundreds of times in the Old Testament but the term house of God is only used three times. I'm not talking about the name Bethel but the term house of God is only used three times. Now you listen you listen to the tenor and the character of these three quotations. Hebrews chapter 3 verse 6 whose house are we? That's the house of God. Now remember what it says if we hold fast. Now then don't get me wrong that's got nothing to do with salvation. That's got nothing to do with a soul being lost. I simply bring that forward to show you that the truth of the house of God is connected with the truth of our holding fast. Something we're responsible to. Peter in his first letter chapter 4 verse 17 says that judgment begins at the house of God. Have you ever thought of that beloved brethren? It hit me one day very forcibly to consider that when God in his ways takes up the matter of judgment, do you know where he first starts? He starts with his own house. We may talk about the great white throne. We may talk about the judgment seat of Christ. Tremendous and stupendous consideration but when God commences in judgment he will start with his own house. That beloved brethren is you and I. You and I. Every saint of God and the third one we have read it tonight. Paul in chapter 3 and verse 15 but if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God. Holding fast, judgment, behavior. Three things connected with the house of God. Beloved brethren they're very relevant are they not today? They're very relevant today. How can we maintain Ephesian truth? I trust all of us understand what we mean by that. I know some of us don't like brethren phraseology. It's not brethren phraseology, it's scripture. But the truth of God as presented in the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians concerning the person of Christ, the glory of God and the assembly. And then three chapters at the end, tremendously practical as to godliness and living in this world. Astonishing that Paul even has to tell the Ephesians after illuminating their souls with the truth of the mystery and the purpose of God. Doesn't end the epistle with telling them that they shouldn't tell lies. You see the higher the truth the more practical it becomes. Perhaps that's why some brethren don't like these high truths. They are intensely practical. There's nothing so practical and challenging to my life than the truth of the assembly and what it is to Christ. You study it out and you'll see why. The first feature that I want to speak about is found in verse 11 of chapter 1. I'll read that verse according to Mr. Darby's translation. He speaks of any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine. Now then, he says in verse 11, according to the glad tidings of the glory of the blessed God, there is a standard. There is a yardstick by which everything has to be measured in the house of God. You understand, beloved brethren, that a man's house, naturally speaking, is a reflection of the man who owns it. As a father, as a husband, as a householder, I found that tremendously challenging. Tremendously challenging. My house declares what I am. Your house declares what you are, dear fellow brother and head of a household. Your house testifies to what you are. That's the truth of scripture. We must hold to that and confess it because it's true of God and his house. And the reason why God will take up judgment concerning his house is that he's concerned about that fact, that his house displays and manifests his own character. Oh beloved brethren, we've lost much because we've lost our families and we must, many of us, hang our heads in shame and acknowledge that perhaps our local gatherings have lost a good deal because we've lost our children. Why? That is a question that only each one of us can answer before the Lord. But God give us grace to order our homes in a way that is commendable to the truth of God. We can then rely perhaps in a greater measure upon a faithful God who will secure for himself from our homes that which he can use for his own glory and the maintenance of the testimony. There are any dear young people in this room tonight who are contemplating marriage or have just been married, bear this in mind. Your home and your house should manifest the truth that you hold in your hearts. God give you grace to maintain that. And again I say God give us all grace to make sure that there is nothing in our homes that is not according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. What a standard. You know we are told in Romans are we not that we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We preach that in the gospel don't we. We hail it forth. We've all come short. We've sinned. We've come short of God's glory. Wait a moment. That which we have come short of when we were sinners God sustains as his yardstick in his house. It's the same thing. The measure, the standard, the standard of living, the standard of speaking, the manner of life, the order, the dress, the manners, the morality of God's house is according to the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. Nothing less. Nothing less. That is his standard and God will never, never lower his standard. Is that true in your home? Is that true in your local assembly? Is it true in mine? Brethren this is one of the essential if we are to maintain Ephesians truth. You cannot maintain Ephesians high truth without high morality, without high practical living, without conformity to the truth of God in regard to these practical matters. The cross we were referred to it rightly so this afternoon. There we see the standard of God's holiness, the standard of his righteousness that that sinless head bore that curse and that impeccable sinless body was made sin in order that God might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. God didn't lower his standard at the cross. Far be the thought. Everything of himself as to his glory, his holiness, his righteousness found an answer emphatically at the cross and the one who hung there said with the finality of eternity it is finished. Because in that scene that was given a perfect answer to every facet of the glory and character of God and God will not lower that standard and that is the standard of his house. Woe be you and I if we attempt in our practical living in our home and in our gathering to the Lord's name we attempt to impart into those vicinities anything that cannot stand in the light of the gospel of the glory of the blessed God. What a test. I tell you beloved brethren I say it again there is nothing so practical as the highest truth and here's one of them. The standard of God's house is the standard that is displayed by the gospel of the glory of the blessed God and to fill that out you've got to encompass in your minds the incarnation, that perfect life, that holy suffering, that death on Calvary, that resurrection, that glory, that's all involved in the gospel of the glory of the blessed God and that is the standard that God will maintain as to his house. We need to be before the Lord to ask for grace and faithfulness to maintain that standard in our individual life, in our home and in our gathering together. The first thing. The second thing is found in chapter 2. The second thing that I am talking about found in chapter 2. We find that in the midst of the house of God there is known and declared the attitude of the heart of God towards men. You see beloved brethren we gather up in this truth of the house of God the modern idea which is with us of evangelism. It's an integral part of the truth of the assembly as viewed as the house of God. We are responsible to maintain in our gatherings and in our lives the fact that in the sight of God our Saviour who will have all men to be saved come to the acknowledgement of the truth. That is the heart of God and to this end because there is one God and one mediator between God and men the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all. Oh beloved brethren do we cherish rightly in our hearts the knowledge of a Saviour God? You know you can't read first and second Timothy and Titus without constantly coming up against this beautiful name a Saviour God. A God who saves. It was never far you know from the affection of the Apostle Paul. This is a true and faithful saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. You see his heart flowed out to men and women round about him because that heart was full of the knowledge of a Saviour God. Beloved brethren that testimony has been given to us. Brethren never give up the preaching of the glad tidings. You may be small you may never see anybody walk in the door but never give up the truth of a Saviour God because God will have all men to be saved and one of the things that he has left us to maintain in this world is that testimony. If the world will not hear it remember what Paul said in second Corinthians. He says if our gospel be hid it is hid in the minds of them it is veiled in the minds of them's that are perishing. What does he mean by that? He says the veil is not on me it's on them. Beloved is the veil on us? Is our gospel hid because it's our fault? Can we say like Paul my gospel is not veiled and if it is it's veiled in the minds of those who do not believe and perishing. He as it were discharges any idea that he was not doing anything that he should do in regard to the proclamation of God as a Saviour God. Beloved brethren keep this in our affections and in our gatherings that we have in our hearts the knowledge of a Saviour God. A God who gave Jesus to die in order that men who are perishing like I was once might be saved and made fit for glory. Beloved brethren I'll tell you candidly that there is nothing often that thrills my soul in hearing a young man or a gifted brother preach a sound powerful gospel. It thrills my soul the reality and the wonder of what God has done in the death of Christ for on the behalf for his own glory for men and women who are bound for hell. Beloved brethren we are responsible in our gathering to maintain the truth of a Saviour God one who in his love will have all men to be saved and in order to prove it to demonstrate it gave his own son his dearly beloved to die at Calgary in order that a basis might be laid whereby all men might be saved. We are responsible to maintain the truth in the house of God of a Saviour God. The third thing man's true dignity is known there. We don't often speak you know in our gatherings today about the dignity of a Christian. I believe our dear brother Alan this afternoon touched on it in a very homely way. I'm very very thankful that I sat at the feet of an aged uncle who was very old-fashioned. I can remember the day that I came into fellowship and he said to me you'll wear a dark suit, black shoes and a white shirt and a sober tie. He himself always came to the morning meeting in a morning suit. You know what he told me once is he can remember in his young day he lived in Lowestow when when you walk to the meeting and you look down the street you could pick them out. Saints of God they were different. He said it's old-fashioned. Yes it's old-fashioned because what's old is true and what's new isn't true. I better not tell you who said that. It probably put me off the platform. Beloved there is a dignity about the Saint of God there should be. It's not that we want to be different. The Word of God says we are different but beloved brethren that difference should be seen in our manner of life, in our living, all that we say and all that we do. Of course it must spring from that which is inward. If it's just an outward garment put on it's useless. It's despicable. It's what the Lord says about the Pharisees. They wore long clothes and had phylacteries about their arms. It was all outward. Inside was rotten. Yes we can be like that. Beloved brethren let us not swing the pendulum completely the other way. There should be a dignity about a Christian because there is a dignity about God's host. You know you wouldn't dare some of you to go and see the Queen in the way you come to the meetings. Never mind. It springs from the affections. But man's true dignity is in relation to the matter of prayer. You may look in the world today and see men of high power and you may think they have a dignified position. But you know in the sight of God man in his true dignity is when he's prying. It is you know. That's man's true dignity when he stands and has intercourse with his God, his maker as they say in the world. I prefer to say with my father. That is the true dignity of a man or a woman having intercourse with God. That was what Adam was created for. That was what garden was set in that. That was why Adam was placed in that garden. That God might commune with him. That's the first thought in regard to man. And that is man's true dignity. When he stands in right relationship, in peace, at rest, in communion, with no clout, in perfect harmony, when a man stands with clean hands it says, holy hands uplifted, speaking to his father. That's man's true dignity. I wonder beloved brethren if we've all viewed the prayer meeting like that. I'm very thankful that I find myself in my local assembly amongst brethren who value the prayer meeting and who attend the prayer meeting and who use the prayer meeting for an expression of intercourse with God. And beloved brethren there are times when that meeting is the most stimulating of all. I can think of many times when perhaps feeling jaded and downcast and worried because of business and problems and difficulties and that horrible world out there. It invades the soul and you go to the prayer meeting and you kneel down with your brethren. We still kneel down at Faraday Road. And you hear this brother and that brother pouring out the heart in intercourse with a God who is hearing. And what happens? You may not get all your prayers answered beloved brethren but there is a miracle happens. You find your soul is lifted. You find your strength, your faith is strengthened. And something is wrought within here that lifts you up and sustains you and gives you the power to go onward for another day. Don't neglect the prayer meeting because it's part of the truth of the house of God because there man is seen in his true dignity having intercourse and I use that word in its right setting. The most intimate of relationship it is there can be known in prayer and supplication and intercession in the prayer meeting. It's not limited to the prayer meeting. It's a tremendous challenge beloved brethren to maintain that thing in the home but it should be there as well and it's a challenge also to maintain it individually. Do you only pray at night? Do you only pray in the morning? Do you always say the same thing when you give thanks for food? You ever thought of giving thanks for food? You ever thought of turning it into a few moments intercourse with God? Not just for the food but for everything. Why I always say the same recital at every mealtime? I may be throwing stones but beloved brethren there is an opportunity even if you're at work and given thanks for a sandwich and a cup of coffee. Turn it into a moment of intercourse with God and you'll find that the soul will be encouraged and helped and God will be glorified. These are testing things, they are little things but they are part of the responsibility that we are given to maintain as to the house of God. That's men. Now he goes on and talks about in like manner also. Tremendously challenging my fellow brother. I will therefore that men pray everywhere lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. Hands that are not contaminated. A faith that is real and sincere. Heart that is going out responsive to God on the behalf of men. Tremendously challenging you know. If we don't maintain such a thing fellow brother don't wonder that we're not very successful in many of the things that we do. What about the women? You see there has to be a conformity amongst the dear sisters. Thank God for godly sisters. Mr. Darby said you know that sisters are the backbone of the assembly. Thank God for praying women. The young sister, there's an aged sister that I know of in the Midlands who never gets out but I know for a fact that every day she prays for me and many many others. Saints are women praying at home. They've got a great big list. They go all around the country bearing up those that are serving the Lord. That's true godliness. That's true piety. That's true dignity. May not be thought much of in the world but of great value in the sight of God. Like men are also women. Adorn themselves in modesty. You know what a day that we live in when we hear so much about the liberation of women. It's not you know it's the condemnation of women. It's the ensnaring of women by the devil in drawing them away from the truth of God as to their position. I know many of the problems of wearing of hats and many of other things like that beloved brethren. I know of an assembly in the Midlands that just has just lost eight souls because they have held fast to the truth of women covering their heads. They've just lost eight souls because a brother and his family wouldn't have it. Such things never ought to be beloved brethren. If in our affections we hold rightly the truth of God as to men and as to women many of these difficulties will disappear. And without going in the details listen to this lovely verse. In light manner also women adorn themselves modestly, sobriety, with sobriety. Not with that which will attract the attention to them. What a reversal to the world. What do women do in the world beloved brethren? They do everything they possibly can to attract the male. That's the very opposite to the truth that we have here. The very opposite. That is a woman out of place according to God. A woman in her place here. That which becometh women professing godliness. Brethren these things are very challenging. I'm not throwing stone. Far be the thought. But my dear fellow young brethren make sure that you understand prayerfully before the Lord why these things are spoken of and why it's essential to hold fast to them because they are connected with the glory of God. They are connected with the glory of Christ and they are connected with the truth of the house of God. That is why it's essential to hold fast to them and you and I are responsible to the Lord to do so. The mystery of piety at the end of chapter 3 comes before us. Beloved brethren I deplore the fact that I have not arrived at this point earlier because here I believe is that which is in the very center of the truth of the house of God, the truth as to the person and the work of Christ. He who was manifest in the flesh, he who was justified of the Spirit, he who was seen of angels, he who was preached on to the Gentiles and has been believed on in the world, he who was received up into glory. Wonderful truth. One would love to spend time on each one of those. The incarnation, the world will soon celebrate it. It's all empty, it's all tinsel. Be careful how much of it you impart into your home, dear beloved brethren. Much of it is dishonoring to the person of Christ. God was manifest in the flesh, seen of angels, their creator. The Spirit of God descended upon him and abode upon him and everything that that majestic person did was in absolute and full accord with the holiness of the Holy Spirit. Everything that he did the Spirit of God justified as being holy and pure. Preached unto the Gentile, the subject of preaching and the object of faith, believed on in the world, the subject of teaching and preaching and the object of faith, received up into glory. The one that has glorified God, God has glorified and will now glorify him yet again. All these marvelous truths should be held in the affections and bosom of the assembly and we are responsible to hold fast to these truths. We were exhorted this afternoon as to it. They're all round about us but we are responsible to God to maintain the truth concerning the person and the work of Christ. The mystery of piety is known there in a practical way so it affects every department in the house of God and the last thing is very challenging. The voice of the Spirit of God is known in the house of God. Paul says the Spirit speaketh expressly. I'm not going into what the Spirit says in these verses. I'm just drawing to your attention the fact that in the house of God when it is according to God the Spirit's voice is heard. What the Spirit is saying is known and heard in the assembly. Read the seven churches, this expression comes through again and again. He that is to hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. What the Spirit of God is saying, is teaching, is bringing to remembrance, is glorifying. All these things are expressions that are used of the Holy Spirit. He will bring to your remembrance, he will take of mine, he shall glorify me. They are some of the things that the Spirit of God says in a positive way. Where is that voice known and heard? In the house of God. That's where it's known and heard. You know it's not without significance that the first mention of the house of God in scripture is in regard to that erring old patriarch Jacob. You can see the pattern can't you? God didn't speak of the house of God in regard to Abraham or Isaac. He brought in the truth partially of the house of God concerning erring Jacob. You know he was running from his brother, he laid himself down to sleep on a stone for a pillow and he dreamed. When you go home tonight I trust you have been interested in what I have said. Read through the revelation and the communication that he got from God at that moment and you'll find again many things concerning the truth of the house of God. But at the end you know it comments on the fact that he saw a ladder that reached up to heaven and the angels of God were ascending and descending on that spot. And it was when he saw that that he said this is the house of God. You see there you get the idea. It is that spot, that sphere on earth where there is communion and intercourse and administration between earth and heaven. It's where the mind of God is known. It's where God has been revealed. It's where there's rest. It's where there's security. God said to him I will be with thee. There a faithful God is known. I will preserve thee and bring thee again to this place. And it is where at that moment Jacob was aware of the majesty of God and he said this is a dreadful place. But you see there the idea of dignity. He realized that at that time he was not in a fit condition for the house of God and it came home upon him. But you know God was faithful and brought him back and you know he set up that pillar. Remarkable isn't it that we've read the assembly which is the pillar and support of the truth. See the idea of witness and testimony flows out from the house of God. And in illustration of that Jacob reared up that pillar and poured all oil on it and a drink offering. This he said is the house of God. Brethren you and I are responsible to maintain these things as a witness in this world. A faithful and true witness to what God is, to who Christ is, to what God has done, to what Christ has done, to what the Holy Spirit of God is doing today and what God will secure yet from this world, you and I, for his own glory and for the heart of Christ eternally. God give us grace to hold fast to these things. God give us grace to stir us up beloved brethren. Let us not be complacent. Let us not be downhearted. Yes in your private lives get into the presence of God like Nehemiah and Daniel and those other men of God who got down and confessed all the breakdowns as if it was their own. That is necessary beloved brethren. But let us stir ourselves. Let there be a revival in our hearts to the person of Christ. May there be a revival in our gatherings as to faithfulness to Christ and may there be a revival of true worship and true praise to God the source and the father of all. May the Lord help us in regard to these things for his name's sake. …