Divine Movement; Destructive Movement

Now, our brother has been speaking about the person of the Lord Jesus. I want to talk about the place where his honor dwelled, and it's on my heart to speak to this audience right now on two movements that we need to be aware of, and so we'll read the positive one first, and then the negative. Acts chapter 2, please, verse number 41, movement number 1. Verse 41, Then they that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, in the fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers. Notice the closing statement of verse 47. The Lord added to the church daily, Such as should be saved.

Now, that's the positive. First Corinthians, please, chapter 15, for the next reading. First Corinthians, please, chapter 15.

I want to break in at verse number 12. First Corinthians 15 and verse number 12. Now, if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? Here's the final answer.

Notice verse 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. Chapter 10, please.

First Corinthians chapter 10. We'll break into the reading at verse number 20. Most know this passage.

But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God. And I would not that ye should have fellowship with demons. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.

Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of demons. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? Chapter 11, please. Verse number 7. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God.

But the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man.

Verse 13. Judging yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man of long hair it is a shame unto him? But if a woman of long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given her for a covering. Now, the Lord will bless what our brother has brought to your attention and what we have read.

Now, dear saints of God, I want to say on the positive note, there is nobody in the world of men today like the Lord's people, wherever you go. And there is nothing to equal the assembly where they gather to the precious name of that worthy one that we have talked about. But at this late stage, and as our brother John has reminded us, we are very, very close to the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we are not ignorant of the conditions through which we pass. And today, sad to say, the very foundation of our gathering together unto the Lord Jesus and what we have held dear and practiced for years and what men have taught us that have gone home to the glory has been a seal today. And we need to have a ministry that will stir our hearts simple and to the point to let us know, first of all, what we are involved in.

I see in this audience today more than one that has been received into assembly fellowship very recently or have come from other places. We are delighted that you are here today along with my beloved brethren and sisters who have been here in assembly life for many years. I want to talk about movement number one, a divine movement that's invincible.

All you have to do is read the book of the Acts and you'll find out it started in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and right to Rome and through the three missionary journeys and through those places like Iconium and Lystra and Derbe and Thessalonica and Colossae and Ephesus and Corinth and all the rest of it. Do you think that this is a fly-by-night? I want to tell every one of us today, my own heart first of all, that we're linked with a movement that's invincible and it will never be shaken until the Lord returns. I'm among those that believe there will be a collective gathering and local testimony across the world wherever until he comes again.

And I would suggest that likely most of us would share that view. Conversely, I want to think of a destructive movement that is insidious and is designed by Satan to ruin the testimony and sell us out. I have a burden on my heart today to come to this conference and with the help of God to remind our hearts of where we're at, brethren.

And some that have been among us for years would want to sell us out and they don't realize that they're even involved in this insidious movement of the devil. He can use any of us, as we'll see. And so we turn to the generation and the location that crucified the Lord Jesus.

Imagine those men and the folk that were in the upper room in Acts 1, 120 or thereabouts. And when the Holy Spirit of God came down at Pentecost and there's a tremendous movement and the Spirit of God showed us that it is in the very place where the Savior was rejected and refused and crucified was the very place that the testimony was established. And so Peter stands on the other with him, the 11 of them, and Andrew with him.

He likely was happy that day. He would say to himself, Well, Lord, I don't have the ability that my brother has, but I'm happy that I'm a link in the chain to see him stand here in front of thousands to preach the gospel of the grace of God. And here's how the divine movement, absolutely invincible, commences.

The gospel is preached. Souls listen. Many are stirred.

And they gladly received the Word. They had a time when, they had a manner how, and they had a place where they were one for heaven. I want to say that even in that statement, some dear folk are telling us that's archaic and it belongs to another generation.

I want to tell this audience on the authority of the Bible, that's the New Testament conversion to God. Thank God. They were baptized.

Sadly, there are places today and people are attempting to be in assembly fellowship and they never were baptized. And if you're here this afternoon and you're saved by the grace of God and you're old enough to understand a little of its meaning, God desires that you should be baptized. And so in the local area, one of the assemblies, as most know, tomorrow there will be a scriptural baptism of those that will obey the Lord and baptism as these did.

That's part of the divine movement that's invincible. Now let me get to the four things. Those people that were around Jerusalem, they never saw the like of it ever in their life before.

And if Luke's numbers are right, there were thousands. And they continued in the teaching, the apostles' teaching. Obviously, that formed the fellowship that we're in.

I can see them. If it was in the outer temple or the homes, there were others watching and they saw these people are on fire. They have learned things that they have never seen before.

You remember when we learned it? And others that were in the same age group or whatever were interested in what we were interested in. And before we knew what we were, there was a group, there was a fellowship formed to discuss these beautiful things. And so they were at the Word together.

The Lord's teaching was paramount. And maybe John would say to Peter, do you remember when we were in the upper room? That's what the Lord taught. And the epistles of the New Testament back home, all of the teaching that we understand and appreciate more than ever.

Are you thankful today that you're saved and that ever you learn your need and learn the pathway to the assembly? One has well said, baptism is not the way into the assembly, but it's at the door of the assembly. The Lord store our hearts along that line. And you see, they're working together, the oneness of the fellowship.

You all know the background, the fellows in a ship. And they're taking the responsibilities and the joys of Christian fellowship in a New Testament assembly. Are you enjoying the fellowship today? The oneness and the things of God.

What will bring us to that point? The Word of God. And so we thank God today for these beloved brethren of a former generation who taught us the Bible and taught us the Word of God and taught us assembly life. And then, of course, they come to the breaking of bread.

That expressed the fellowship. Worshiping together. I wonder if there's anyone here today baptized and saved and you're not in assembly fellowship yet.

And all things being considered equal. The Lord would have you to be part of a New Testament assembly. And my beloved brethren who sit down with the candidates to interview them, they discern in the fear of God that these people are genuine and they have no secret mission or agenda and they want to be part of the fellowship.

Must have been a wonderful day in Jerusalem. And then they broke bread. About 3,000 souls and in the next chapter, 5,000 males and all the rest that went with them.

Obviously, it wasn't feasible to be there indefinitely and that's why the Lord in His sovereignty sent the persecution and they were scattered. And others got the benefit. And then, of course, they're in the prayers together.

They're waiting together. Dear brethren, it's a divine movement. And we need to establish in the fear of God at this late stage and this dispensation that God's plan has never changed.

The blueprint is still the same. And thank God we're part of it. And yet, dear people, would want to sell us out.

Break your very heart. You're people that taught us in earlier years and others in our own age group that once we're moving in this divine movement, they want to change it. I'll give you a simple example as I pass by.

We were at a conference in another location, not in the U.S., and we were having lunch together and this lady sat opposite as we ate, never met them before. And she said, Brother, I want to ask you a simple question. Are there more than one way to worship? How would you answer that? The answer to that in one word is no.

There's only one way to worship. John 4 and other passages. God is spirit.

And they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. And the Father is seeking such to worship him from their very hearts. Well, she says, in our company, we worship through guitars and people get all stirred up.

Is that right? Well, according to the Bible, it's not. Now, we're not here to criticize anybody. We're here today to establish, brethren, are you absolutely convinced that there's no additives to the divine plan that's invincible and will stand the test of time and eternity? I want to turn for a minute or two to the other side.

Maybe I should say that you see that company in Jerusalem. Many a time I have tried to just be part of that company. You see in Acts 2 and verse 44, the assembly was unified.

They were all of one accord. And in chapter 2 and verse 47, the church, the assembly was magnified. And, of course, the assembly was multiplied.

I'm convinced as never before that wherever we have a given assembly and they're carrying on in the fear of God and in other countries, maybe more than some of the homelands, we can see it in action on fire for God and they want to do what the Bible teaches. Right. Here's the other side.

I want to show that there's a destructive movement and it's insidious. It's behind the scenes. That's moving alongside the divine movement.

And I read you very quickly the four places in the book of 1 Corinthians where the old devil attacked the four basic things that we stand on in New Testament life. Brethren, we're not here to criticize. What we're here to do is the warning note that all of us may understand what's happening.

I read you 1 Corinthians chapter 15. There the doctrine of a New Testament assembly and the things surrounding it is challenged. And, of course, the subject is resurrection.

But I want to point out that the old devil knows how to get to the source and how dear people can become a ploy with him. And before they know where they are, they're selling us out in doctrine. Are you absolutely straight today and standing on the foundation of New Testament principles? And so, what we read, Paul's a father of the work.

He said to these people, he says, How say some of you that there's no resurrection of the dead? He says to them, there are many witnesses to attest to the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And one of them he uses, above a thousand eyes at one time were glued on the one that stood on the resurrection side of Calvary. And he's really saying to these people, Do you really know what you're talking about? He goes on to show, if they were right, the implications of no resurrection.

The Lord Jesus Christ wouldn't be raised from the dead. We would be in our sins and we'd be, all men, most miserable and all the rest of it. But I love the positive note.

He tells the dissenters in the Corinthian assembly, whoever they were, now Christ has become the first fruits of them that slept. Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph for His foes. Oh dear brethren, today are we absolutely satisfied in what we believe and teach and practice.

I'm totally amazed of how we've been challenged in places. I'm talking about assemblies. And dear people, that have practiced the New Testament principles for years are moving in another direction.

Are we with it today? Do we understand what the old devil is doing to us? How about the fellowship? Well, I read you one or two verses there in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. How the old devil knew exactly how to weaken the testimony. And he's been a long time at it.

And he knows how to handle it. And here are people, and they're assuming to be in two fellowships at once, undermining the fellowship of a New Testament assembly. And so most of you know that these Corinthians were frequenting the idols' temple.

And if English words mean anything, Paul as an apostle, a man sent from God, that at a yearning for these believers, he says, man, you can't do it. You cannot be in two fellowships at one time. Maybe you don't have that problem here.

I hope you don't. But I know some dear people in assembly life. And they're happy to frequent other fellowships and be in the same company of the Lord's people and New Testament assembly.

Paul says you can't do it. Brethren, maybe you haven't had the opportunity, but I have been with some of these people and have had the opportunity of opening this Scripture and appealing to the dear souls. And some would say if it's in the Bible, we'll bow to it.

Others say, no, that's archaic. We don't want it. That's of a former day.

That's right up to date. The Lord helped us to appreciate more than ever are we putting our back and soul into assembly life, brethren, or are we wasting our time with other things? On the rising generation, we need to challenge our hearts today. Are we absolutely satisfied that we're on the rock and that we're in the assembly gathered to His precious name? Here's another one.

You see, in the order of Acts 2, He's assailing the breaking of bread. And you all know the context of 1 Corinthians 11. I hope you do from verse 17 down.

And here are people and their meeting at the end of the first day of the week. They likely had to work, some of them slaves and all the rest of it. And they came together at the end of the day and they wanted to have a love feast to get to know each other and sit down and enjoy friendship.

But it says out of this, Paul says, don't praise you in this. Some of you are drunken and others are hungry. Beg you, brethren, as we pass by, you would wait a long time to be drunk with grape juice.

Just think that out. Now, that's not the subject that I want to talk about, but it's absolutely true. And Paul says to the men, listen, you're in no state to Lord's Supper.

What does he do? He goes back to the headland. What is the old devil doing? He knew exactly how to hinder the work of God even at the Lord's Supper. And so the book says right in this passage, and I won't deal with it save to say, let every man examine himself, prove himself.

Nothing to do with 1 Corinthians 5, but in our attitude and in our affection and our priorities. Young men, today I want to tell you from my heart, you can't run the world late on Saturday night and come and rise and give thanks to God for His Son on the Lord's Day morning. In our experience over the years, young men have sought to do it.

And brethren, I hope you all understand what we're talking about. We're not here again to criticize people, but we're here to show you what's happening. And here's two young men, and they spent Saturday night in a disco looking for young women and came home absolutely stoiches and then want to take part in the Lord's Day morning at the Lord's Supper.

You can't do it. That's what Paul says. And the old devil knows how to ruin things.

Sad. What does Paul do? Well, Paul goes back to the headline and he goes down to show that this was the first record likely in the parchment of what took place the night in which he instituted the feast. And he goes down the different things that I can't deal with right now.

Now, this is very delicate. And I hope I can handle this right. Some of my brethren that are more capable than I am and senior in the work of God could maybe handle it better.

But it's on my heart to say a word about it. We haven't heard a word about it for a while. And I want to say to my dear sisters that this is not a hobby horse of mine.

But I want to speak from my heart to all of us today that the old devil is getting ground on the great truth of 1 Corinthians 11. The first section has to do with headship. And of course, I take it, and you can correct me if I'm wrong afterwards, that the sisters in Corinth seemingly were taking public part on their heads uncovered.

And Paul writes to correct that condition. Now, can you see it? The invincible divine movement continues. But the old devil knew exactly how to handle it.

And he went to the doctrine first and he corrupted it. And he went to the fellowship and he says, I'll destroy it. And he went to the breaking of bread and they're not able to go there because of their unspiritual condition.

And now he's right on the truth of headship. Not popular today, but I want to show that the old devil is so clever and is so cunning that he can ruin us in this very point. And so, as most know, Paul just says in this particular part, the sister comes to all the public gatherings with their head covered and the brethren with their head uncovered.

And somebody says, well, why should the sisters have their head covered? I want to suggest to you that argument number one is because the order of creation. Now, I can't go into the details. Number two, it's divine order.

God is the head of Christ. Christ is the head of the man and man is the head of the woman. I didn't even read that.

I take it this audience knows the context better than I do. Now, what happened? What did the old devil do? The old devil could see that he was added from the Garden of Eden. And in Genesis chapter 3, Eve stepped out of her spear and it was attack on the headship.

And in the assembly, it was exactly the same thing. And it would seem that these dear people, these female species, the female gender in the assembly, there at Corinth, had in some way or another cut their hair. Now, I don't know what you think about this, but I want you to just pause a minute.

And if I have read the passage correctly, the passage says there are two coverings. On one is a veil. On the other is a vesture.

You look the words up till you see. My brethren that are better taught in the original than I am will verify what I'm saying. Dear sister today, we're delighted to see you.

And we thank God for every sister that knows of the two coverings. But the old devil is making inroads. And many feel absolutely free to just do what they like.

Could I get the point across as I sit down? I was in company of a young woman married with three teenagers. I have no doubt she was a believer in the Lord Jesus. I want us all to look at this.

And as the discussion went on, she says, Brother, I want you to help me. I said, What's your problem? She says, I read the Bible and I pray to the Lord, but I can't get anything from the Scripture. And my prayers are not going higher than the roof of any suggestions.

Dear soul, has her hair shown right off short above her ears. And in earlier days, she had lovely long hair. And I said to her, Could I get in close here and make a suggestion to you that you need to practice what you know before you can get more light from the Holy Bible.

How would you like to handle it? We don't want to insult anybody. Oh, dear brethren, we want to help people. I want to tell you what got to her very heart.

She sat there and wept her heart out. And her husband said, I've told you. You're here today in that category.

God help you. And somebody says, Why should I do it? There was one that gave his all for you and for me at Calvary. He braved the storms of the wrath of God that I might behed.

He says, There's a very small thing that I can do in return to bow to the Holy Bible. And dear brethren, on our side it's the same. And people give the argument all the time, You know, how long is long and how short is short.

Well, talk to me after the meeting if you want. I was in an assembly just before I came here. And the dear young fellow, very intelligent, and he had long hair.

And I asked the brethren who interviewed him, Did you mention it to him? In all fairness, did you read 1 Corinthians 11 to him? Now we're at the brethren. And they all hung their head and said, No, Stan, we didn't. Well, I said, brethren, you need to tell that young man.

Because if he gets away with it, others will try it on for size. Can you get a little today of the person of the Lord Jesus in the storms of life? He's the answer. Can you get the message and the place where His honor dwelleth and the divine movement that's absolutely invincible, that will stand the test right to the very close? Don't forget, there's a destructive movement and it's insidious and it will ruin us if we let it get the best of us.

God, store our hearts today as all who come to this desk will give us something that will store us, brethren. We're in 2008. We're just about at the shore.

He's at the ship. I like that thought, John. We'll soon hear the shout, God, help us.

I would like to ask you as I sit down, what movement would you like to be part of? Would you like to be part of the divine movement that will never change, absolutely invincible? Or would you want to become a pawn on that movement that's destructive and insidious? The Lord bless His Word to all our hearts.