Good morning. Remember those
who've requested prayer. I remember especially Inez. Continue to remember her. She's
still doing pretty good. Doing a little bit. Good, good. My family and also the Cunningham
family lost Mr. Cunningham. Been added to the
prayer list. Ken Pruitt and his family got
a call from a fellow I've known for about 40 years up in Virginia. He wants us to pray for his son. James Price. He's a member of the Heart Club.
That's what I got. I don't know. Annie Young. What's her situation? Oh, my goodness. How old is she? Miss young woman. Also, Sarah's
husband, Chris, his sister, Cheryl, Kenny, they live in New York,
sister in law. Yeah, she married to his brother.
Just been diagnosed with colon cancer. I don't know how
advanced it is yet, but remember them and remember her. Cheryl
Candiano is her name. She's married to Chris's brother.
Other than that, I can't think of any. So Jane Price and Annie
Young is added. Okay. Any others? All right. All right. If you have one of
these sheets of paper, this song is written by William Cooper. It looks like his name is Cowper,
but it is Cooper. a man who wrote many great hymns
and who died in a mental institution. Bless his heart. It was said
of him, I forget who his pastor was when they said Cooper had
been put in a mental institution. They said, He may forget the
Lord, the Lord won't forget him. That's the truth. But this is
sung to the tune of Majestic's Weaknesses, and so on, or the
other one we sing, All Things Work Out for Good, so you know
the tune. So, okay. No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright And what she has she misapplies for
want of clearer light, for want of clearer light. How long beneath the law I lay
in bondage and distress. I told the precept to obey, but
told without success. But told without success. Then to abstain from outward
sin was more I feel its power within. I feel I hate it too. I feel I hate it too. ? In all my servile works were
done ? ? A righteousness to raise ? ? Now freely chosen in the
Son ? ? I freely choose His ways ? ? I freely choose His ways
? ? What shall I do was in the Word ? What shall I render to the Lord
is my inquiry now, is my inquiry now. To see the law by Christ
fulfilled, and hear his pardoning voice. Change is a slave into
a child, and duty into choice, and duty into choice. Good words in that song. I like
that. After scripture reading and prayer,
we'll sing hymn number 125. If you have your Bibles, turn
with me to Luke chapter 2. I'm going to read one verse of
scripture. You're familiar with the story. Verse 25, speaking of Simeon,
it says, and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem. His name was Simeon. The same
man was just and devout. waiting for the consolation of
Israel and the Holy Ghost was upon him. Let us pray. Our Father, we are thankful that
the Holy Ghost has revealed to us through the preaching of the
Word the consolation of Israel and has consoled our hearts during
trials and tribulation and has ever-present consolation to us.
We're thankful that we can approach unto you, our father, as a child
and not a slave, as a son and not a servant. Welcome into your
family's presence because of the perfect work of Jesus Christ
on our behalf. We praise you and thank you.
We pray for those who are sick, those who have been added to
the prayer list. We ask, Lord, your help for them. You strengthen
them. Those who've lost loved ones,
we pray for them and their families. Pray for this Miss Young and
Mr. Price. We ask, Lord, you'd be
with them, watch over them. We ask also for Cheryl Caniano. She's been diagnosed with this
as a young woman. We pray that you'd be with her.
Comfort her, strengthen her, and may she turn her eyes to
Jesus Christ. Help us now, Lord, as we gather
here together to worship you in spirit and in truth. may your
holy spirit be our guide into all truth and take the things
of christ and reveal them unto us we pray in his precious name
amen hymn number 125 jesus paid it all Child of weakness, watch and
pray. Find in me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. For now indeed I find Thy power
and Thine alone Can change a leper's spots And melt the heart of stone
Jesus paid it all All the debt I owe ? Nothing good have I ? Whereby
thy grace to claim ? I'll wash my garments white ? In the blood
of Calvary's Lamb ? Jesus paid it all ? All the debt I owe I stand in incomplete. Jesus died, my soul to save. My lips shall still repeat. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owe. Sin has left a crimson stain. Let us stand esteemed to receive
the altar this morning, please. Let us pray. Father, again we
come in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, the blessed name, the
only name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. It is in that name we approach unto thee, is that name
we render our gifts. We know that what we give unto
thee is because it has first been given to us. All things
are yours, we are yours, we are bought with a price, we are not
our own. So as we return this unto thee, let us do it with
a knowledge that we have first received it at the good grace
and mercy at your hand, and do so with joy in our hearts. Pray
in Christ's name, amen. Yeah. your attention back to Luke chapter
2 and verse 25. This speaks of a man named Simeon
who was a devout man and a just man. That means he was justified
and he was sold out for the Lord and he was looking for the consolation
of Israel. What that means was that as a
student of the Old Testament he knew it preached of the Messiah
the one who would bring peace and consolation to Israel, and
that's what he looked for. He looked for the Savior. And
when he held the Savior in his hands, our Lord was going to
be circumcised the eighth day. He was just an infant. He was
brought to the temple. Two turtle doves were offered
up as a sacrifice at the time. And when Simeon took the baby
in his arms, he looked him in the face and said, I'm ready
to depart. I can die now. Because he didn't
want to die until he saw the consolation of Israel. He looked
in the face of an infant. Did he see the cross? I don't
know. He saw the person. He saw the child. And he says,
Lord, you can take me home. I've seen thy salvation. I've
seen thy salvation. I'm ready to die. and in that
moment he was consoled in his heart by the consolation of Israel. Now the Word of God, if you read
it in the Psalms especially, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and
many times in the Prophets, you'll find that our Lord is very faithful
in giving consolation to his people. He consoles his people,
gives them solace Here of late I've needed and waited for the
consolation of Israel also. The loss of my mother and being
around my family and sadness. You want to get off by yourself
and just speak to the Lord. Console my heart. Console my
heart. Our Lord is gracious in his providential
supply. He always takes care to console
his people. Every believer Every believer
at some time in his or her sojourn here knows by experience that
a great part of their life on this planet is spent waiting
and hoping and looking for the consolation of Israel. The concept
of consolation presupposes an estate where solace and comfort
is needed and longed for. To those who need no consolation,
Christ is of little importance. But to the needy, to the brokenhearted,
to the faint, to the one who suffers under trial and tribulation,
under doubts and fear, Christ is the precious consolation of
Israel. He is that balm in Gilead, that physician that is there.
Christ is the only consolation that a believer has. The principle
of consolation or being consoled or comforted is not foreign to
the Word of God. It is common in the Word of God.
Why? Because if you are a child of God, what you are going to
experience is tribulation and troubles. That is the promise
of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this world, you will have
many things. You will have many fathers, many
mothers, many homes, many places with tribulations and troubles
to follow. In our text, the first thing
revealed is that Christ is not a general or a generic or a universal
consolation, though He is put forth as such in many preaching
today. But right now, in the present
situation that's going on, He's not considered much at all. But
this consolation that's spoken of here is not an offer or a
proffer. It's distinctly and exclusively the consolation of
someone Simeon looked for the consolation of Israel. When you
see the word Israel, whether it is in the Old Testament in
historical fact, in picture and type, it is a picture of the
elect, of God, those chosen of God into salvation. He is not
said to be the consolation of all people in the world, because
he is not. He is not. He is the consolation
of Israel. Israel for whom Christ is consolation
is true Israel. The Church of the Living God.
The Israel of God is what it is called. In Galatians chapter
6, Paul says, And peace be to the Israel of God. The revelation
of this is first seen in the fact that Israel includes the
elect among the Jews as well as the Gentiles in the very text
that we just read from. In verse 32, it says that this
One who is the salvation of God is a light to lighten the Gentiles. and the glory of thy people Israel.
So Gentiles are included in Israel. Israel, true Israel, is the elect
of God, redeemed by the Lamb slain out of every nation, tribe,
tongue, and people upon the face of this earth. It is those who
have had their hearts touched and opened, their hearts circumcised
and changed by Jesus Christ. Our Lord said that through Paul
in Romans chapter 2 after he talks about the state of the
mind of Israel as a nation, of the Jews as a people, as the
Jews as a religion. He says, He is not a Jew who
is one outwardly, whose circumcision is of the flesh, but he is a
Jew who is one inwardly, whose circumcision is of the heart,
whose praise is of God and not of men. Israel is the spiritual
seed of Abraham. Paul said in Romans chapter 9,
all that is Israel is not Israel. All that is of Israel is not
Israel. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. These who are
born of Isaac's seed are the true children of Abraham. It also says that all who believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 29 are the
children of Abraham. He wasn't talking to a bunch
of Jews when he wrote to the Galatian church. These were Hellenistic
Greeks that he was talking to. Israel, true Israel, are the
people of the eternal covenant of grace. When Paul wrote to
the Galatian church concerning the birth of Isaac and Ishmael,
he said that whole shooting match back there, that great story
of Sarah wanting a son so bad that she gave her handmaid Hagar
to Isaac, or rather to Abraham, and he got her pregnant, and
she had a son named Ishmael, which means God hears, and he wanted that son to be
the heir of his house. In fact, he said, when the Lord
told him that he was going to, God said, I'm going to give you
a son, he said, won't you let it be Israel, Ishmael? Let it
be Ishmael. He loved the boy. But he was
the son born of the power of the flesh, the power of Abraham
as a virile, fertile person and his fertile handmaid. God says,
I'm going to give you a child. And they were advanced in age.
By the time this promise was made, they were over 100 years
old. And Romans chapter 4 said they were unable to produce a
child. They were dead in that category. No way to produce a
child. And then God gave them Isaac,
and Isaac was born. That whole wonderful story, Paul
says, is an allegory in Galatians chapter 4. He said it's an allegory. It's a story that tells another
story. What's the story it's telling?
He says it's telling the story of the two covenants. The old
covenant, which was natural Israel. The new covenant, which pictured
true Israel. in Isaac, shall our seed be called. Galatians chapter 4, verses 20-28.
Now, true Israel are worshipers of God, and they are worshipers
of God in a particular way. They are worshipers of God in
Jesus Christ, and they know nothing about them that has aught to
do with their salvation, and they refuse to account any of
their salvation to themselves. That's what Paul said to the
Philippian church. He said, We are the circumcision,
again talking to a bunch of Gentiles. The Philippian church was started
in the house of a woman whom God opened her heart by the riverside,
named Lydia. He opened her heart, and the
Philippian church began in her house. In her house. And we have the gospel here in
this nation because of that woman in that house. That's the first
European church in Philippi. And he said to the Philippians,
this bunch of Gentiles, we are the circumcision, who worship
God in the spirit, who rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh. That's who the circumcision are.
Now to Simeon, the consolation of Israel was so magnificent
that it removed from him the very fear of death. He wasn't
afraid of death. He said, I'm ready to die. I'm
ready to die. When he held Christ in his arms,
he was ready to die because he had seen God's salvation. To
some degree, every believer feels the same confidence when he looks
at Christ and sees Christ as when he's preached in the gospel
as the sure declaration that when it comes time for us to
go down to death, Christ is our consolation. Christ is our consolation. I want to look at four things
this morning. I won't keep you very long because I smell some
really good food over there. I'm a little hungry. First thing
is this. First, Christ is our consolation
in the face of religious legalism. That's taught in scripture. Now
what is a legalist? A legalist is someone who would
bring the believer back under the law for righteousness, for
justification, for sanctification, or for rule of life. That's a
legalist. Someone who is under the law. Now when Paul came back to Jerusalem
he brought with him Titus and this boy was saved under the
preaching of the gospel of grace and hadn't been circumcised.
And when he did that in Acts chapter 15, there was an uproar
raised. An uproar raised. It was an account
of a letter sent to the Gentiles of Antioch who had come under
the onslaught of the legalists of Jerusalem. They were told
that trusting Christ was a fine thing. It's a good thing to trust
Christ, but not quite enough. not quite enough to have a truly
righteous standing before God. They were told they had to be
circumcised and keep the law in order to establish a righteousness
that was acceptable to God. The entire epistle of Galatians
and Colossians in a great part was about that incident in Galatians
chapter 2. Paul refers to that time in Jerusalem
and what happened there. And after the first recorded
Bible conference in Jerusalem when Peter got up and answered
these who were saying no these have to be circumcised Peter
says we were under that law and we couldn't do it it was a burden
to us we never got it done these don't have to be circumcised
he says we're saved the same way they are and that's kind
of a really a thing because being a Jew if he had been so proud
of being that fact he would have said they're saved like we are
but he didn't say that He said, We know by the grace of God that
we are saved just like they are. We're saved like the Gentiles
are. How's that? By the grace of God alone through
the preaching of the gospel. That's the only way men are saved.
And he says, That's how we're saved. We're not saved because
we're a Jewish people. We're saved by grace or we're
not saved at all. So they sent a letter to the
believers in Antioch declaring to them that Christ had done
all things necessary to put them in a proper standing with God."
They sent him that letter. They were told to disregard the
fusillade being hurled at them by the Judaizers because Christ
had finished the work of salvation and trusting Him was all they
ever needed to do. I wish people believed that,
just to trust Christ alone. He's everything you know. He's
all of it. He's all of salvation from pole
to pole, from beginning to end, from Alpha to Omega. He is the
consolation of Israel. Their reaction when they read
that letter in Galatians chapter 3 and verses 12 through 14, it
says they rejoiced for the consolation. For the consolation. They had
been in trouble with religion. Now there's consolation because
they've been told. And if they trust Christ alone,
that's all of it. That's all of it. Do you trust
Him? The word of their full salvation
wrought by Christ was consolation in the face of the legalist barrage.
This is ever the believer's consolation as we hear the attacks of the
world's religion against Christ alone. because the world is against
Christ alone. They are okay with Christ PLUS
they are okay with Christ and something else. They are okay
with Christ and what you can add to it, but they are not okay
with Christ alone. That is the difference between
the true gospel and all of the false gospels. It is Christ alone
for salvation. Secondly, Christ is not a temporary
or fleeting consolation. Over in II Thessalonians In 2 Thessalonians chapter 2,
verse 16, it says, Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God,
even our Father, which hath loved us, hath given us an everlasting
consolation, an everlasting consolation and a good hope through grace,
a good hope through grace. This passage the believer is
giving everlasting consolation. That means it ain't never end.
This immediately transports us to the realm of eternal counsels
of God. In order to fully appreciate this, we must see the contrasting
distinction that God has made. Our Lord has set the everlasting
consolation over against the everlasting damnation that is
referred to in verses 1 through 12 of 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. Where he talks about those who
would put themselves up as God in the church. say that they're
God, they're sons of perdition, men of sin, exalted himself and
called himself God that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in
the church or the temple of God, showing himself that he's God.
Who does that? What kind of people do that?
You say, well, that guy over in Rome. Well, that ain't what
he's talking about. Rome didn't exist at this time. The Roman
church didn't exist at this time. What is he talking about? Who
in the world would set themselves up as God? in the church anybody
preacher or those that occupy the pew who would say that God
can't save them unless they let him that's setting yourself up
as God these preachers as goofy as they
are and as oxymoronic as their message is they actually say
they tell people pray that God will save somebody and then tell
them that God can't save them unless they let Him. Does that
make sense? Not at all. If God can't save
you unless you let Him, who should you really be praying to? The
person who let God save them. That's who they should really
be praying to, shouldn't they? If it's up to you, then we ought
to pray you'd do something and make our prayers to Jim. That's what we ought to do. Our Lord says no, that's not
how it goes. We have an everlasting consolation.
It's not where these people that set themselves up as God don't
bother us at all. They have no influence on us
whatsoever. Part of their consolation is
the thing spoken in verses 3 through 12 which speaks of these men
And ultimately it says they're damned that God has actually
given them a delusion. God has deluded their minds that
they would actually believe a lie. That's what it says. God sent
them a delusion that they would believe a lie. And why? Because
they love not the truth. They love not the truth. So he sent them a delusion. And
they believe the lie. And you know what God did? According
to this passage, he damned them for the lie that he gave them
to believe. He was going to put them in hell
when he deluded their minds that they would believe a lie and
then damned them for believing the lie. Paul says, Brethren,
thank God, we thank God that that is not your case. He says
in verse 13, We are bound to give thanks always to God for
you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has from the
beginning chosen you to salvation, not to damnation, not to deluded
mind, giving you a lie to believe in and putting you in hell for
it. He's chosen you to salvation through sanctification of spirit
and belief in the truth of the Word, and He's called you by our gospel
through the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is everlasting consolation
because it began before the world was and will never end. The reason
that this is everlasting consolation because those referred to are
chosen to an eternal election and it's a doctrine of love.
He said, Beloved, Beloved, they're set apart for it by the Holy
Spirit. That's what he said. They are called to embrace it
by God-given faith to believe the truth, called to it by the
gospel, and assured of it by the word of God and by obtaining
the glory that is entailed in that thing, in that gospel. That
is what he says. He says, We are bound to give
thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God has chosen you from the beginning. to salvation. How do you do that? Through sanctification
of the Spirit. What is that? Separation. Being
set aside by the Spirit of God. Seen it happen in the preaching
of the gospel over the years? Preaching the gospel to a whole
bunch of people and God separates one out and gives them light.
And you're going, how in the world did that happen? Sanctification
of the Spirit. Belief in the truth. How does
a person believe? Does he work up faith? Is he
born with faith? All men have not faith. Paul
said that. All men have not faith. Said
that Thessalonians. How do you believe? That lady
told me one time years ago after I preached the fact that you
couldn't believe unless God gave you faith. She came up to here
and stood right there and looked at these flowers and she said,
I can believe those flowers are God. I said, well go ahead. She couldn't. She couldn't do
that. If you believe it's because God
has changed your mind. That God has given you a new
heart and a new mind and you can't but believe. If you wanted
God's sheep you're going to believe. She said, my sheep hear my voice
and they follow me. They believe. God's sheep believe. He said to those who didn't believe
him, he says the reason you don't believe is because you're not
my sheep. Because my sheep believe. And one time I think it was Peggy
Kerr who's mom asked her, how is it that you believe? Peg said,
I thought I had an answer. And I started to say, then I
realized I had no idea. It's a work of grace and a mysterious,
wondrous thing that God, through the preaching of the gospel,
gives a person faith to believe, and they never stop doing that.
They never stop believing. Through belief in the truth,
whereunto this belief in the truth and the sanctification
of the Spirit, whereunto he called you by our gospel. Paul says this is our gospel.
This is our gospel. A lot of guys have got gospels
that say that in Galatians chapter 1. This is our gospel. The gospel of God's free grace
in Jesus Christ. He says you are called by our
gospel. Called. God's callings And God's gifts
are without repentance. When He calls you, you're called.
That's the effectual call. What is the effectual call? It's
when God takes what men whom He has called to preach generally
say to all people. And He makes that same message
effectual to some. As far as we're concerned, we
don't know whether a person believes or not. We don't know who God's
elect are. They don't have a yellow stripe
down their back telling us who they are. So we preach the gospel to every
creature. To some it's a saver of life and to others it's a
saver of death, but to some it is a saver of life. It's because
God miraculously, wondrously, and if you can explain this to
me, go ahead, makes that word find purchase
in the soul of a man or a woman. And in that instant, they are
believers sold out completely on the gospel. called you by
our gospel. The good news that Christ has
finished salvation and he's called you to that gospel and you've
obtained the glory of Jesus Christ. What does that mean? You have
the righteousness of God. In fact, Christ has been made
to be your righteousness. You're righteous before God,
perfect before God. without the law, without you
doing anything, without you thinking anything, even without you believing
anything, you were made the righteousness of God before you believed. We've
done that through the preaching of the gospel. What a wondrous
thing. I can't figure it out. Don't need to. I know it works. And that translated into something
called a good hope. A good hope through grace. Now that tells us something.
that if there is a good hope, there's also a bad hope. Because
a good hope distinguishes from the bad hope. A lot of people
have hopes. The Pharisees had a hope, they
kept the law. The religious has a hope, he does things that will
make him acceptable before God, praying, giving, attending, all
these things. Fundamentalists has a hope, they've
done the ABCs of salvation to walk down an aisle. everybody's got a whole everybody
does you don't believe that's true tell somebody their center
they'll probably agree with you but they'll qualify that I'm
not as bad as old so-and-so that means I got some hope I got some
hope a good hope is through grace
based on the electing grace of God the sanctification of spirit
the calling of the gospel belief in the truth That's a good hope,
the only good hope, and it's through grace. Thirdly, Christ
is a consolation for those who have fled for refuge to lay hold
of the hope set before them. The hope is faith. The hope is
of faith to lay hold of that hope. Romans 8.24 says, A hope
that can be seen is not a hope. Therefore, those who hope wait
patiently. What are they waiting for? The
consolation. that hope of course is Jesus
Christ according to Hebrews chapter 6 verse 18 where God declared
when he could find no other to swear by he swore by himself
two immutable oaths that you might have what a strong consolation
what is that good hope? God don't change immutable God
don't change He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, and that's
our hope. Did He choose you for the foundation of the world?
Yeah. Well, what if you're like David? Commit adultery. Get a woman pregnant. Have her
husband killed. Just for your own pleasure. David changed. God didn't. David was still the apple of
God's eye. A man after God's own heart. and a god loved him
still didn't change a lick that's our hope you know something about
yourself you know you're going to do things between now and
the time you die you wish you hadn't done you know in your
own past life as a child of God you done things you wish you
hadn't done embarrassing things things you're ashamed of and
that might have changed your relationship with God but it
never changed God's relationship with you that's a good hope That's
a consolation. What a consolation. That's a
strong consolation. If you trust Christ alone, you
have a strong consolation and it's conditioned entirely on
the immutability of God. He will not, I am the Lord. I
change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob,
supplanter, sinner, sneaky, snake in the grass, Jacob, you sons
of Jacob are not consumed because I don't change. Fourthly, Christ
is a consolation to be enjoyed. Over in Philippians chapter 2,
a wondrous passage of Scripture.
In verse 1 it says, If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit,
any vows of compassion or mercy, fulfill you my joy that you be
like minded what what mind is he talking about verse 5 let
this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus that's the
mind he's talking about this passage is an admonition to believers
concerning the appreciation and enjoyment of this consolation
in Christ if there be any consolation let this mind be in you the fact
that this everlasting consolation never changes nothing we do or
do not do can affect the absolute surety of this everlasting consolation.
However, Paul makes it clear that the believer may not have
the full enjoyment of it if he fails to see himself in the true
light, fails to view his brethren as he ought. It is plain that the enjoyment
of love and fellowship and compassion and consolation in Christ is
inextricably tied to the believer's consideration of his brethren,
his brothers and his sisters in Christ. see that's what we
have here on this earth my friends what you're looking around you
if indeed we are all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we're
going to spend eternity together and everybody that don't believe
ain't coming with us it's that simple and so Paul makes it clear through
the preaching of the gospel through the admonitions that God gives
him to give to his people that this is a very important matter how we treat our brethren, how
we view our brethren is very important. Let this mind be in
you that you be like-minded, he said. You be like-minded. Paul exhorts the believer to
think in a right manner or be like-minded in love. Love demands
what Paul declares in verse 3 and 4. Let nothing be done through
strife or vain glory. not through a fist fight or for
empty glory that is if you get glory that's when it's empty
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves I wonder what the world would be like if we really
did that if every time I looked at Stan I said he's better than
me and every time Stan looked at me he'd say he's better than
me I wonder what that'd be like I bet we'd be a happy bunch of
people we'd be at peace, we'd be consoled. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others. That does
not say you don't look at your own things at all, it says, because
the Lord also is there. But looking at your own things,
you also look on the things of others. Pay attention to that. And then it says, let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. You mean Christ
did that? Yes. Yes, he did. He did nothing through
strife nor vain glory. He said, I come in lowliness,
riding on a colt of an ass. I am meek and lowly in heart,
and ye shall find rest unto your soul. Christ made himself low.
He made himself low. He esteemed others better than
himself. Why? Because he died for others. He died to make others
righteous. He gave himself. For those who
are totally unworthy of his sacrifice, esteemed others, let this mind
be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. The mind we endeavor to
imitate is the mind of Christ. This, of course, is experientially
relative. It's referred to our relationship
with our brethren because Scripture declares in 1 Corinthians 2 that
we have the mind of Christ. The mind here is the sense is
in the sense as and so. As Christ is of one mind with
God so we are of one mind concerning our brethren. We are equal with
our brethren as Christ is equal with God. That's why it says
he thought it not right to be equal to God and made himself
of no reputation. As Christ laid aside his reputation and became
an obedient servant, so we do also humble ourselves in reference
to our brethren in the same manner, even unto death, because that
is how Christ's obedience is measured here in Philippians
chapter 3, He was obedient even unto death. What does 1 John
chapter 3 say? Hereby we perceive God's love
for us, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to
lay down our life for our brethren. if we love them, if we love them. In seeking to have this mind,
this manner of thinking, we enjoy and appreciate the consolation
in Christ. Christ says if there's going
to be a consolation, here it is. In this world in which we live,
consolation itself is everlasting. It's an act accomplished by God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. It's real and
it assures God Himself. The enjoyment of it, is relative
to our love and care of the household of faith. That's the enjoyment
of this consolation, how we treat our brethren. Our Lord, when
dividing the nations, the goats on his left hand, the sheep on
his right, and telling the sheep on his right, come inherit that
which was given you before the foundation of the world. And
they were just a bunch of sinners like you and I. they didn't know
much. Our Lord said, here's why. You
should inherit the kingdom. Because I was sick and you visited
me. I was hungry and you fed me. I was naked and you clothed
me. I was in prison and you came
and saw me. And the brethren were astonished
and said, wait a minute. When do we ever see you sick?
or naked, or hungry, or imprisoned. Our Lord says, look around you,
inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of these my brethren,
you've done it unto me. Strong consolation. If there
be consolation in this world, we'll find it right here in the
midst of the brethren. Father bless us to our understanding
we pray in Christ's name. Amen.