Sermons - Cornerstone Christian Fellowship

From Time To Time - Part Twenty Two

Feb 25, 2024 by: John Herbert | Series: From Time to Time

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Ro 8:13 For if you live [consistently] according to the flesh  you will die ; but if by the Spirit you [consistently] put to death the deeds of the body , you will live .

We will continue to look at the command given in Romans 8:13 in conjunction with God's command to Saul to utterly destroy Amalek.

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Sunday February 25th 2024
From Time to Time – Part 22

1). Ro 8:13 For if you live [consistently] according to the flesh [let Agag live] you will die [the Kingdom will be taken from you]; but if by the Spirit you [consistently] put to death the deeds of the body [utterly destroy Amalek], you will live [reign with Christ in the Kingdom].

We had seen last time how the command given to us here in Romans 8:13 is the antitype to that which we have seen through God’s command to Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites. A nation we will remember, who were the direct descendants of Esau, who had despised his birthright, and the first ones to try to prevent Israel, the descendants of Jacob, from entering the Land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by doing battle with them.
	a). And we had seen that because Saul had not utterly destroyed Amalek, it was an Amalekite who claimed his life and removed the regalia of regality from his body on Mount Gilboa – 2 Sa 1:8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

And to state the obvious, if Saul had followed the Lord’s command when it was first given to him, there would have been no defeat in that future battle, there would have been no Amalekite to end Saul’s life, and his crown and his bracelet would not have been taken from him.
	b). Then in connection with what we saw in the type, we had looked at an additional command for ourselves given through the church in Philadelphia in Revelation Chapter 3 - Re 3:10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

And as we look at these two verses there are two things in particular that we will note. Firstly, beginning with v10. We have patiently endured, we have persevered, over the course of the years so far, and this is something that must continue until our race is done. And our patient endurance has been tested within the context of those who have tried to draw away disciples after themselves, those who have corrupted the Word of the Kingdom, those who have drifted away, and even those who may have apostatized. And because we have remained faithful to the Scriptures throughout all of this, not allowing the false to take hold among us, we are being kept from the hour of trial. Which the Lord has taught us through Mike, to be the corrupting influence of the leaven, the outworking of the distorting work of the tares. He continues to keep us from being swept away by the false teaching that is so prevalent everywhere – 2 Pe 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

Instead of that which we just read in 2 Peter being our experience, we can look instead to what we find in - Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

And again, in v15-16, we can see the importance of not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together so that we will stir up one another and exhort one another with a view to the salvation of our souls as every part does its share. And as we continue to do this, so that seen in 1 Peter Chapter 1 continues to be our reality - 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again [brought us forth from above] to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept [who are protected] by the power of God through faith [through believing that which God has brought forth from above] for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [the unity of the faith]

Then secondly, in Revelation 3:11, the Lord said that His coming, which for us will be the resurrection/rapture of the church, will happen suddenly, just as we see described in – 1 Co 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

And because our appearance before the Lord will happen suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, without any prior warning before it happens, we must continually hold fast to what we have in anticipation of it. And what we have, which we are to continually hold fast to is that which has been brought forth from above, the Word of Truth, the gospel of the glory of Christ, that reveals the hope that is set before us, that which makes possible the unity of the faith – 
1 Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you [constantly] hold fast that word which I preached to you [the gospel of the glory of Christ] —unless you believed in vain.

2 Ti 1: 12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.13 [constantly] Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, [the gospel of the glory of Christ] in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing [the wisdom brought forth from above through the gospel of the glory of Christ, the hope] which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 15 This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

Heb 10:23 Let us [constantly] hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

As we look at these verses that describe constantly holding fast what we have, we will see from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 the connection between holding fast that Word, the gospel of the glory of Christ, and the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In 2 Timothy Chapter 1, we see constantly holding fast the pattern of sound words which we have heard, the gospel of the glory of Christ, sandwiched between Paul’s reference to ‘that Day’, when this gospel will be realized and the turning away from this gospel seen throughout Asia. And then in Hebrews Chapter 10, we are to constantly hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. The word ‘confession’, as we know means to speak the same as. Therefore, we are to constantly speak the same as the gospel of the glory of Christ concerning our hope, ruling with Christ in the coming Day of His glory, and this we must hold fast to. And this we do knowing that it is a living hope because of the Christ’s resurrection, a hope that is ours to be realized by constantly holding fast to the Word of Truth, the pattern of sound words we have heard. And then, still in Hebrews Chapter 10, the connection once again between constantly holding fast the confession of our hope and not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, that we might speak the truth to one another in love – 1 Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear……..

Then to take all this back to the Revelation, Chapter 3, these are the things that we must constantly hold fast to, so that no one may take our crown. With the inference being, that if we do not constantly hold fast to these things, there is every chance our crown will be taken from us. And because of what we have seen in the type through Saul, the only ‘one’ who can take our crown is our old man, the one who has no connection with the hope that is in us. The one typified through the Amalekites. And how would the old man be able to do this? Simply, because we will have not consistently followed the command given to us in Romans 8:13 to put to death the deeds of the body – Eph 4;17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

And all of this connects with that which we had looked at last time, as constantly holding fast to the wisdom brought forth from above, the gospel of the glory of Christ, the hope that is in us, is inseparable from the renewing of our mind, which brings about the ‘metamorphosis’, the only means by which we will keep the old man in the place of death, the very thing we are commanded to do, so that he may not take our crown. But of course, if we should choose not to do this, then our old man may well take our crown and be responsible for our death for the age. Let’s just return to where we began today as a reminder – Ro 8:13 For if you live [consistently] according to the flesh [let Agag live] you will die [the Kingdom will be taken from you]; but if by the Spirit you [consistently] put to death the deeds of the body [utterly destroy Amalek], you will live [reign with Christ in the Kingdom].

2). We will remember that Philadelphia is the only one of the seven churches seen in the Revelation who receive only commendation from the Lord and not condemnation. This is the church to whom the Lord said – Re 3:8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept [held fast] My word, and have not denied My name. [the confession of our hope]

The open door which no one can shut was set before them because they had a little strength, compared with being kept by the power of God through faith. And they had kept His Word, had held fast to it, and had not denied the Lord’s name by holding fast the confession of their hope without wavering. They had then, persevered. Yet despite this exemplary perseverance, they had to constantly maintain their hold on what they had so that their crown could not be taken from them. Consequently, we will realize that even for those comprising the Philadelphia church, continued diligence is essential, because of the ever-present old man – Ro 10:12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

2 Pe 1:10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

3). And the possibility of the old man doing exactly that seen through the Amalekite killing Saul that remained and remains a possibility for those Christians pictured through the church of Philadelphia, can be found again in another event from Saul’s life – 1 Sa 22:11 So the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob. And they all came to the king. 12 And Saul said, “Hear now, son of Ahitub!” He answered, “Here I am, my lord.” 13 Then Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword, and have inquired of God for him, that he should rise against me, to lie in wait, as it is this day?” 14 So Ahimelech answered the king and said, “And who among all your servants is as faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, who goes at your bidding, and is honorable in your house? 15 Did I then begin to inquire of God for him? Far be it from me! Let not the king impute anything to his servant, or to any in the house of my father. For your servant knew nothing of all this, little or much.” 16 And the king said, “You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house!” 17 Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, “Turn and kill the priests of the LORD, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.” But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the LORD. 18 And the king said to Doeg, “You turn and kill the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod.

It is a measure of the total depravity into which Saul had sunk that he would turn his hand against the priests of the Lord because of their association with David. However, Saul’s depravity is not what we are going to focus on, rather we will focus on the means by which the priests of the Lord were killed.
	a). We have already established that within the typology, it is only the man of the flesh, the old man, if allowed to have the ascendancy, who can take the crown of regality from the new man. And this is pictured for us in this particular event as we see that Saul’s servants, ‘who stood about him’ ‘would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord’. Only one person was prepared to do this, Doeg the Edomite – Ge 36:1 Now this is the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom…… 8 So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom. 9 And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.

So then, Doeg, who his daddy is? Esau, who despised his birthright. And in this Doeg and the Amalekite on Mount Gilboa, being of the same origin, present two parts of the same picture with respect to the two facets of the heavenly calling which we possess – Re 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us a kingdom [therefore kings] and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Through the Amalekite, a descendant of Esau who despised his birthright, on Mount Gilboa, Saul’s kingdom and his crown were taken from him, picturing the old man who has not been properly dealt with through faithful obedience to Romans 8:13 being responsible for the Christian’s loss of the Kingdom, and the loss of one of the crowns of rulership to be relinquished by the twenty four Elders and Satan’s angels, in that Day. And through Doeg the Edomite, a descendant of Esau who despised his birthright, killing the priests of the Lord we find the picture of the old man who has not been properly dealt with responsible for the death for the age of those who could have been a part of the kingdom of priests, the holy nation.
	b). Whichever way we come at this we will realize that now is the time that we have to deal with the old man according to the Scriptures, to renew our mind, to hold fast what we have, to assemble ourselves together to exhort one another, so as to make sure that our old man does not take our crown in that coming Day – Eph 5:15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

The time that we have now is the only time that we have available to us and none of us know how much time is left for each one of us individually. But we do know that the night is far spent, and the Day is at hand, we do know that our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed, we do know that the two-thousand years of this dispensation is all but expired, and we know that suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye we will find ourselves removed from Man’s Day into the Lord’s Day. Removed from the time of sowing to the time when we will reap what we have sown – Ga 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption [destruction], but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap life for the age. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Consistently sowing to our flesh would be to consistently let the old man have the ascendancy in our lives. Or to use the image from our study, to keep Amalek alive. And should we do this, then the outcome for us at the Judgment Seat has been graphically pictured through the type - 1 Sa 15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me.” So Agag came to him cautiously. And Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 But Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.

And this same truth, following the same type, providing another Judgment Seat picture, is given through the account of the Amalekite who killed Saul and brought his crown and bracelet to David recorded in – 2 Sa 1:13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.” 14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD'S anointed.’ ”

And as we take this picture to the description of the seven churches appearing before the Lord in Judgment, we will find this – 
Re 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

To which we can add – Heb 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

In that soon coming Day it will be the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge us by the Word of God, the written Word which is the wisdom from above that has been brought forth to us. And if we have held fast to that Word so that our mind and our new man have been renewed, bringing about the ‘metamorphosis’ that will keep the old man in the place of death, then we will be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. But if not, then we know what to expect – 1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, [keeping within the context of our present study – consistently putting to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit] wood, hay, straw [let Amalek live – consistently sow to the flesh], 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. [He will not be totally consumed in the fire, but will come from it with nothing, no crown, no Kingdom. Just naked and ashamed]

It would not be too difficult for us to work out which of these is the best option here. But as we also know, that knowing it and believing it are two different things - 2 Co 6:1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

We will pick this up again next time if we remain and the Lord is willing, and we have prayed.

From Time To Time - Part Twenty Two

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From Time To Time - Part Twenty Two

Feb 25, 2024

Speaker: John Herbert

Series: From Time to Time

Category: Sunday Morning

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A Recap from the Sermon