of God, and we've been looking
at different places in Scripture where it talks about the mysteries
of God, and you'll recall that Brother Don wrote this book from
a verse in 1 Corinthians chapter
4 verse 1 where it says, let a man so account of us, which
is basically again, I remind us, that's God working in us now let the
man so account of us the ministers of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God we're stewards we're caretakers we we we are
caretakers of the gospel it's his gospel it's Christ Jesus
Christ Jesus is the gospel but we're caretakers our path that we walk on in this
world. We carry, it's like Henry Manning
said, I think it was Mike Smith told me, or somebody told me
they heard Henry Manning say this once, it just leaks from
you. The idea that Christ is God Almighty
in the flesh, it will just leak, you can't help it. It comes out
of your pores of your body, because He is, He makes Himself your
God. and as ministers, as stewards,
as servants to our God. We want men and women to see
that. Now, we've come to chapter 6, and I'll just briefly recap
number 2, 3, 4, and 5. The mysteries of godliness, as
we read in 1 Timothy 3.16. The Mysteries of the Faith, you'll
recall that as we read 1 Timothy 3, 9. The Mysteries of Christ
and the Church, that's Ephesians 5, 30-32. And the Mysteries of
Providence, Romans 11, verses 25-33. And now, we are in Chapter
6, which is the revelation of the mystery of the seven stars
which thou sawest in the right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks."
Now, the world doesn't fully understand what the seven stars
are, and we went through last, the last time we were in our
study, which was two weeks ago, we went through how the stars
are those who shine. Now remember, a star doesn't
give off light. I know they call the sun a star,
but when scriptures talk about stars, it's talking about all
those little lights out in the sky. All those little lights
are a reflection of a light that is generated by another larger
star. Well, that's the same thing you
and I are. We don't generate the light ourselves.
The Earth doesn't generate light itself. But, as a star, we reflect
the light of Jesus Christ in our lives. That's what this is
talking about. Well, it also talks about considering the candlesticks. Every true local church, writes
our brother Don, is a candlestick, a holder of light. A center from which light is
dispelled, he writes. The Lord tells us that ye are
the light of the world. Our Savior said the only reason
for the existence of a local church is to hold forth the light
of life in this world. That's our business. It's not
our business to teach people how to live. Contrary to what the world thinks,
men and women know right from wrong. They know good from evil. We know how to live. What we
need to know, though, is that we cannot live. We cannot live
as the Lord God commands us to, and that is to love God with
all thy heart. I don't care who you are, you
just cannot do it without the help of God Almighty Himself.
It's completely contrary to our flesh to do so. That's what it
means to be enmity with God, to be enmity with the ways of
God. The only reason for our existence is to hold forth the
light of life in this world of darkness and death. Local churches
do not invent light or even improve it. They are simply to hold it
forth. We get the light from Christ,
who is the light of the world. A candlestick has no more light
than is put in it, even so we have no light but Christ. We hold forth the light of truth,
the gospel of Christ, that's what the light of truth is, that
we may guard it, teach it, extend it, We hold forth the light of
purity that we may keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We
hold forth the light of love that we may comfort and gladden
the hearts of men, displaying in the gospel the wondrous love
of God and showing forth the result of his love experienced
in the heart, which is a love for one another. Each local church
is called a golden candlestick. to express the great value of
it. Where else are you going to hear in the world about the
Lord Jesus? From religions? Absolutely not. You're going to hear about the
works of men wherever you go. There's only two types of religions.
There is the religion of grace and the religion of works. I
tried to explain this and I have utterly failed with that couple
that came with their son. They had dinner with us. on the
first of the month, I just utterly failed explaining what I meant
by this. There's two religions. There's
the religion of works. And every single, you can include
Buddhism, you can include Hinduism, you can include all the different
kinds of isms there are, baptisms, Jehovah Witnesses isms, whatever,
Roman isms, You can include all of them. They're all something
you must do. There's only one truth, and that
is grace. God saves by grace, period. You are saved by grace through
faith, not of works, lest men should boast. In the eyes of Christ who loved
the church and gave himself for it, and in the eyes of safe sinners
who have heard the word of the Lord published in Zion, the church
of God is precious, more precious than gold. All true gospel churches
are united in one thing, Christ, who is in the midst of them. Every gospel church I know of
consider one message, and one message only, and that is Christ
in Him crucified. A man by the name of Alfred wrote
this, he said, Don goes on to say this. He says,
though local churches are independent without denominational affiliation,
influence, or obligation, they are not isolated from other gospel
churches. The head of every true church
is Christ. The true church of God has no
other head. Absolute loyalty to the Son of
God is the responsibility of every church and every individual
believer. And all true believers are one
in Christ, one church, one family, one kingdom, one body, one holy
nation, and he gives several verses to look at that. So join
me, if you would, in your Bibles. Let's begin by looking at 1 Corinthians
10-17. Now remember, we're talking about
being one with Christ. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, I'm
sorry, chapter 10. I don't know that we'll look
at all of these, but we'll definitely look at a couple of them. In 1 Corinthians chapter
10, we see this unity, and we've already looked at the mystery
of unity, but for this are one bread and one body, for
we are all partakers of that one bread." We're talking about
the bread from heaven. We're talking about the manna
from heaven. This is what the manna from heaven was a picture
of. It's a picture of the Lord Jesus, who is the bread of life.
He's our... We're going to come to the table
today, and we're going to take to remember Him by, and that
is unleavened bread. Bread that sustains life, the
manna from heaven. That's what this is talking about. For we are all partakers of that
one bread. Let's look at it another way,
shall we? Look over at chapter 12, the same book, 1 Corinthians.
Turn to the right over to chapter 12. Look at verse 13 with me. The mystery of all the churches.
People can say, well, you don't have any, you know, they ask
me this question all the time. What religion are you affiliated
with? I'm affiliated, we're affiliated
with Grace Baptist Churches, that's right. Sovereign Grace
Baptist Churches. Those folks in Danville, they're
also affiliated, they're completely separate. They're completely
unattached to us, except for one thing. We all have the same
head. That's what Brother Don just spoke. We all have Christ
as our number one, that's who we focus on. Christ Jesus the
Lord. Look here at verse 13 of chapter
12. For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether
we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one
Spirit. Let's look at another one, shall
we? A couple of verses over in Ephesians. Continue to the right
there. You'll see, if you go to Philippians, you've gone a
little too far. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter
2. The unity of God's churches. Even though we stand alone, we
stand independent, we are of one family, of one household.
In chapter 2, verse 19 through 22, we read these words, Now
therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints, and of the household of God, and are built upon the
foundation. This is so important. We're built
on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. in whom all the building fitly
framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in
whom ye also are built together for a habitation of God through
the Spirit." Now, if you'd like, I'll be able to give you several
more. You can write these down. You can read Ephesians chapter
3, verse 15, chapter 4, verses 1 through 6, and 1 Peter chapter
2, verse 9, and it'll give you some more verses there. to refer
to, if you wish, on that. But let's go on, shall we? Every
true church, writes Don, of Christ is engaged in one work. And we're
talking about the candlesticks, the mystery of the candlesticks,
spoken of in the book of Revelation. What are they? They are the churches
of God. Each laborer is by one word of
authority, the word of God. Each and every one of us are
guided by that one very thing. We are engaged in one work, and
that is the preaching of the gospel. Each one has the same
goal, the glory of God. We don't want to bring any glory
to us. Oh, Lord help us never to bring
any glory to us at all. Our glory needs to be in Him.
That's why we take every moment we have to give Him the glory
for not leaving us to ourselves. Give Him the glory for calling
us out of that darkness. Each is governed by one rule,
and that is the will of God. What is the will of God? That
Jesus Christ should lose none. No local church in this world
is perfect, writes Don, but each has its own excellence and its
own defects, its own danger and its own duty. The churches of
Corinth, Galatia, all had their peculiar weaknesses
and troubles, their own faults and failures, their superiorities,
I don't know how to say that word, people who hop up, skip
from one local church to another, Looking for one worthy of their
own allegiance will never find what they are seeking. That's so true, isn't it? Have
you ever gone out and looked at other churches? Have you ever
gone to other churches? Some of our brothers and sisters
in Christ, I go down to San Diego quite often. You know, San Diego
is not a perfect church either. Believe it or not, they're just
like us. They have one purpose. They have one desire, just like
you and I, to glorify our Savior, the Lord Jesus. To give Him all
the glory, to say as our brother Roger says all the time, Amen. Oh, these churches, they all
have their failures and their faults. There are no perfect
churches in this world. Churches are made up of saved
sinners, not perfect people and forgiven people. Yet such churches
today, with all their faults, are still true churches with
many excellencies, just as those were in the New Testament era.
As we read our Lord's letters to the churches, we see that
one is loyal to the Lord, another wavering. One is on fire, another
losing its first love. One has a great reputation, though
it is dead. Another is in great poverty,
though it is rich in grace. One church abounds in every good
work, while another is fast asleep. In the church's most full of
life, some are dead. In the church's most dead, some
are full of life. Loyal and faithful men do not
forsake an abandoned ship when it is in trouble. No, they rally
to save it. The only justifiable grounds,
writes Don, for separating from a true gospel church is when
the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ, when
it no longer holds forth the light of the gospel. That was so well written I had
to post that just the other day for the world to see. The Lord Jesus reveals and manifests
himself to his churches to meet their needs. He walks in the
midst of the seven golden candlesticks, not to make people feel good graciously meet the needs of
his people. To the church at Ephesus Christ
reveals himself as he that walketh in the midst to observe and to
correct. To the church at Smyrna he is
the living one who gives the crown of life. To Pergamos, he
comes the sharp sword to sever and to slay, to divide and destroy
from her all that would destroy her. To Thyatira, all that is
dross. To Sardis, the Savior comes as
he who has seven spirits of God to quicken, to revive, and to
give life, raising had the key of David to open
the faithful, all the bountiful treasure of the house of God.
To Laodicea, he is the faithful and true witness to expose her
pride and sin, to call her to repentance, to chasten and to
correct his fallen languished people. The Lord Jesus, who walks
in the midst of his churches, preserves and he keeps Yet he
expects and requires of every local church and every person
in it faithfulness, loyalty, and perseverance no matter what.
Their difficulties are not one of the letters to the seven churches
given us a slightest reason to imagine that The adversities
and the trials of the people would justify laxity, writes
Don, indifference or surrender. No, every one of those letters,
on the contrary, our Lord constantly assures us that His grace is
sufficient. His love is immutable. That means unchangeable. His
faithfulness is sure. His intercession will prevail. His hand is strong. Whatever
your trial, whatever the temptation is for this body, this church,
this gathering of God's people, Christ is greater than our challenge. What is the challenge of rescue
right now other than our individual challenges? I would say the greatest challenge
we have And it's really not a challenge. The Lord is delivering. But it's the challenge of people. One of the greatest things I
hear from each and every one of us is, I sure wish there were
more people here today. Sure would be nice if the Lord
would have some more people in this area. that we could call
brother and sister, wouldn't it? That's our greatest challenge,
I think. He keeps the lights burning.
He provides all that we need for the projects that we need
to keep the buildings up and all that, and to keep the property.
He takes care of all of those needs. It'd be nice to have somebody
who could play the piano, wouldn't it? It would be nice to have
a couple of men to lead in singing and help us out with covering
the pulpit when I might travel. And I think he's providing that
with us. I think our brother Mike Giolatti and Edward are
coming around a little bit and becoming more helpful. What are our needs? What are
our difficulties here? I know this, that whatever they
are, our Lord will sustain us as we cling to Him. Look over
1 Corinthians chapter 10 again if you would. Go back to the
left in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 10 once again. Let's look at
a verse there real quick and then I'll bring this to a close. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 we
read in verse 13 this time, There hath no temptation taken you,
but such as is common to man. But God is faithful." You know,
that's what I keep telling those dear folks down there in San
Diego. God is faithful. Brother Gabe
Stoniker and I were talking about it, and he mentioned this. He
said, if God's people are there, you know he's going to feed them.
How do we know? Because he's faithful. He's faithful
to feed his sheep. God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with
the temptation also make a way to escape that ye may be able
to bear it. Our Lord God will preserve or
remove the candlestick according to our fidelity or infidelity
to Christ and His Gospel. That's what we read in Revelation
2, verse 5. Judgment must begin in the house
of God. 1 Peter 4, 17. And it shall. It shall, writes
Don. When our Lord spots unfaithfulness
in us, He will do one of two things. Either He will chasten
us and drive away our sin, or He will judge us and sweep us
away in His wrath. If God loves us, our wrath that
we deserve has been placed on our Savior, so there's only one
thing, one thing that could be done, and that's chastening. Chastening means correcting. Chastening means turning, a turning. No true church has anything to
fear, writes Don, except indifference to Christ. If any local church
is to be preserved and persevere in the service of Christ, each
member must himself overcome those things that hinder obedience
and impede faithfulness to Christ. This is the mystery of the stars
and the candlesticks. The stars are God's appointed
pastors. The candlesticks are gospel churches,
the people that are gathered together in buildings to worship
God. The churches are made up of sinners
saved by the grace of God. While the security of the church
is the work of Christ alone, the success or failure, life
or death of the church is the responsibility of each member.
Look over at Revelation 3. Turn to Revelation 3 and read
with me just 19-22. Revelation 3, verse 19, as many
as I love. Now, I want to stop there for
just a moment. We're talking about the Lord chastening a church. Maybe I'm stepping out too far
on a limb here. Maybe I'm not. But we know that the Lord chastens
those that He loves, and He disposes those that He doesn't. He leads
them to the wrath of God. If we look at our dear brothers
and sisters in San Diego, and we understand this, they've been
under a lot of chastening, haven't they? They've been chasing the
Lord a great deal. They had a pastor who preached
that the world is flat, and that if you don't believe that, you're
going to hell. And then the Lord sent them another
man, and for some reason the things didn't work out there
as well, and the other man has left now and left the church
to himself. Did you notice that the church is still gathered
together? This is the blessing gathered to do what? To worship
Christ in truth and in spirit. If the Lord was going to dispose
of that church, He would have disposed of it and turned them
over to themselves. Yet He continues to give them
perseverance. and the desire to come together
to do one thing, and that is to hear the truth. Guess what? Isn't that why we're
gathered together? Is it not the same thing for
you and I? To hear the truth! To come together
twice a week, or how many ever times the Lord brings us together,
and hear about our Savior, who He is, what He's done, and where
He is right now. Folks, it's such a blessing to
know that our Lord still has His congregations, His churches
spread throughout this world. And each and every one of us
are doing the very thing that God has commanded us to do, and
that is to believe our Savior. Believe our Savior. Back in Revelation
chapter 3, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous,
therefore, and repent." Are you going through some tough times?
You know, those folks down in San Diego, they're going through
some pretty tough times. They've gone through some...
They wonder, is it me? Did my deodorant worn off? Do
I smell bad now? Is it us? Are we doing something
wrong? Glory be that we have some troubles!
Glory be that we have some troubles! Rather than just being left to
ourselves to wander in darkness like we did once before. Oh! Behold, I stand at the door,
saith the Lord in verse 20, and knock, if any man hear my voice,
and open the door, I will come in unto him, and will suck with
him, and he in with me. To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am
sat now with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Oh,
how I pray the Lord.