It's good to be here again. I know you can live without me. Because you have someone who outlives me. And you have someone who is ever living in your behalf. So I'm not so important after all. And as you look at me, rest assured that I'm no different than what you are. When the doors are closed, then the shade goes down. I'm just as human as you are. And I have my shortcomings as each one has. Then what am I doing here, and how dare I speak to you this memorial conference? Well, if the Lord used Balaam's ass, I'm a good candidate, and here I am. But I do thank God for the... of not only knowing him, but giving me the privilege of calling me to be his instrument. And I pray that this evening and the times in which we are gathered, the Spirit of God will give you such a perspective of himself, of the Lord Jesus Christ. that it will be like it was in the time of John the Baptist when the two who stood with him heard John speak and they followed Jesus. What he said was so effective, what he said was so meaningful, what he said seemed to them so true that they forgot the human instrument and they followed him. So may it be here, that very same experience in each of our lives, though we would see him. It has been said that there are many good speakers, but it has also been said there are very few good listeners. So he that hath been here, let him hear what the Spirit says, says. And there are very few good listeners. Would to God that I had not only a circumcised heart in Him, but also a circumcised ear, slow to speak, swift to hear. Well, we are here for the Memorial Day Conference, and as we are here, we think of many heroes who have been raised up in our country, many heroes throughout the world. And what do they do? They led people, and as they led people, some were victorious, some were not. Those who were victorious who led the people, when they died, the people put up a memorial for them in the form of a statue or a plaque. and memorial has to deal with a day that was but never continued to be because no sooner did the leader lead the people and after giving them a short reading spell they choked to death both the events that was heroic because the heroes died And man being what he is, only repeated failure after failure after failure. So what is Memorial Day? Memorial Day is this. There's a man who begins a movement and has followers. The event takes place. The man died. So after the man and the movement, the man died so they put up a memorial. And what is Memorial Day? It's the memory of a day. And all we can rest assured of is the fact that as they merely gave in that part of the world in which they held sway and led the people, all they could give them was a breathing spell, and then they also died, the people as well as the leader. But when God breathed into Adam the breath of life, Adam became a living soul. And in the sixth chapter of John, the Lord Jesus Christ said, the words that I speak unto you, they are the spirit of life. They are spirit and they are life. My words are as the very breath of life. My words, they are spirit and they are life. And whoever opens their beings to him has the breath of life impregnated within them by the Spirit of God. And at last they become eternal again, headed for glory. And as we think of Memorial Day, we think of him. And why do we think of him, the Lord Jesus who said, the words that I speak unto you, they are the breath of life, in the fact that he lives forever. And as we come from one Sunday morning to another, we come in remembrance of him, the emblems, are only emblems, and they speak of him who lives on, and because he lives on, then we have this assurance, not merely a breath of living and then of defeat, but we have a constant victory in him. We are more than victorious in him who loved us and gave himself for us. He won the battle. And as he won the battle, do you know what he's doing? He's still living in your behalf and in my behalf. That is why if you would turn to the sixth chapter of Hebrews, you would find that the writers... is stirring up these Jewish believers. And as he stirs them up, we read there in the eleventh verse, he says this, and we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end. In other words, what he's saying unto them is this, let your hope be full of assurance to the very end of your life here. Why? Because he lived. He lived. He met the enemy. He won the victory. And he's leading on his people in that victorious triumph that he has gained for us and is telling us through the writer that we should be full of assurance with regard to that hope. that we have. And what is it that seems to take that full assurance and make it dim and meaningless to us? It's the fact that no matter how long we have yet lived, there is a nature from within, which is still a sin nature, there are pressures from without, there's the infirmity of the flesh that is bodily with all its illnesses there are all these things that brings about a dimness so instead of enjoying the full assurance the full assurance of hope unto the end because of that triumph that he has gained for us he goes on to show here as to why our assurance should be full to the very end. For instance, if you would turn with me to the tenth chapter of Hebrews, in Hebrews the tenth chapter, and I want you to notice verse twenty-one, in the tenth chapter of Hebrews and verse twenty-one, we read this. verse twenty tells us we are able to come into God's presence by a new and living way which he had consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh when John the apostle wrote the Gospel of John In verse fourteen of chapter one he said, And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. This, though John is in retrospect of what I realized now, which I could not discern then. As I saw him, as I scrutinized him, And then finally, when he died, he was buried and raised again. We beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. And where was the glory? The glory was in the veil of his flesh. And when that veil was rent asunder, the glory manifested itself. And where is the glory? The glory is up there. And the glory that is up there is within you and within me being made knowledgeable experientially by the Word of God through the Spirit of God and obedience to the will of God. And that's how we see his glory. I am cognizant of the fact that you've had wonderful speakers here. Men whom the Lord has gifted more than he has gifted me and others who have come along. And you will listen to men over and over again. But they cannot be your experience. They can only manifest him. And to see the glory of God is only possible through the Word of God by the Spirit of God who's the author of it, and the most vital, pivotal, foundational fact is obedience to that very will of God. Then the glory is experienced within an individual's being. Then right after that he says this, what has been the result of it? When the veil of his flesh was rent, where is he? Verse twenty one, and having a high priest over the house of God. There are some of you here who are more sensitive in your makeup The sensitivity is of such nature that you can perceive quickly the things of the Lord, and at the same time you can be just as sensitively hurt by what people say. You're very sensitive in your perception. You're very slow to trust. You're very slow to make friends. you're very slow to take another person's word. But here it says, a new and a living way has been opened unto you. You have a high priest over the house of God. Therefore, being that you have a high priest over the house of God and over the household of God, then don't stand out on the periphery. Draw near, come nigh. This epistle has revolutionized my own Christian life. This epistle made me realize like no other book, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, that we have not only a Savior, but we have a living Savior. not merely a living Savior who dallys around in heaven, tell Mel, but a living Savior who's constantly, perpetually, vitally working in your behalf and in my behalf. You're sitting here, you're sitting here, I'm standing here, but what is he doing? He is up there working in your behalf and in my behalf. The work of Christ did not cease at Calvary. The work of the Lord Jesus Christ is still going on in behalf of his believing one. He is constantly working in our behalf. Here we see a new and a living way. And what way is it new and living? Because we have an high priest over the house of God. But even though he's over the house of God, what is he doing there? What is he doing? Very well, says the writer. in the ninth chapter in verse twenty-four, for Christ is not entered into the holy places, made with hands, like in the Old Testament, the holy place, and the holy of holies. That tabernacle was merely made with hands, and that tabernacle and the things thereof are only figures of the truth. Then where did he go? He went into heaven. itself. Why did he go into heaven? What is he doing there? The Word of God tells us to appear in the presence of God for us. I don't know what you're thinking about right now. I wish I knew. I wish I'd take the litter off and see what you're thinking about. But he's appearing in the presence of God for you. for you for you for you and you and for me he is there he is working then if he's appearing in the presence of God for us what kind of a work is it an effective work can it stop at any time turn with me to the seventh chapter and verse twenty four and in the seventh chapter and verse twenty-four, but this man, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Being that it's unchangeable, And this priest is not like Aaron who died. And when he died, his work ceased. And somebody else, another high priest, had to replace him. And when he died, another had to replace him. And there was nothing constant, nothing that the people could rely on, wondering if even the high priest was acceptable in God's sight. But here, But this man, because he continueth ever, have an unchangeable priesthood. So his word for you, his word for you, his word for me, it is constant. Who can be as constant a lover as the Lord Jesus Christ? Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly. Who can be so confident? The most faithful wife, the most faithful husband, the most devoted children, cannot come near to his faithfulness and devotedness and constancy as in the blessed person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He continues ever and he has an unchanging priesthood. Very well. Then what he is doing up there, though you and for me, can never fail. Never. How do we know that? Look at chapter seven again in verse twenty-five. Wherefore he is able also to save them, no matter how deep down they are, whether in depression, whether wallowing in some habit over which the enemy has gained way with that child of God, no matter how low, no matter how impossible the situation, no matter how utterly hopeless it might be, wherefore he is able us to save them to the uttermost, from where to where, from here. no matter how horrible it may be, in the experience I'm passing through, to the uttermost glories that are awaiting me up there. So it says to me, wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him sealing that he ever liveth to make intercession for them. Tell me, I need encouragement. I'm human. just as you are. But tell me, is this thus far a blessing to your soul? Is it? Yes, indeed. And that is why, as we are here for this conference, may he be thought upon, and may he be blessed, and may we thank God not for mere help, but which we should be thankful. not for mundane blessings that make us comfortable for which we should be thankful, but we should be thankful for the Lord God himself. So seeing all this, I want you to notice, in the, what is he interceding for? I would love to know, say we all, what is he doing? What is he saying? Is it acceptable? I want you to hold your place thus far here and turn with me to Zechariah the third chapter. In Zechariah the third chapter, I want you to notice something. It shows how Jehovah Jesus will bring back Israel unto himself. And when he does so, he will have the enemy of Israel, the enemy of the whole world, stand in opposition to God's desire. And we notice here in verse one, And he showed me Joshua the high priest. Now Joshua here stands representatively for the nation Israel. the remnant. And remember what the Lord said concerning Israel in the book of Exodus, the nineteenth chapter, ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests. Well here, as he brings them back unto himself, he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord. And as Joshua was standing there. Look at verse three. Now Joshua was clothed with what kind of garment? Filthy garment. Showed the character of the people. And they stood there before the angel. Look at verse one again. As they stood there, Satan was standing at his right hand to resist. to resist God from bringing back these sinful people unto himself. And as, although the Scripture doesn't say so, as he could point out reason after reason, reason after reason, why they were sinful and God being so holy, he should not take them back. He should condemn them. And verse two. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuked thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuked thee. Have they not suffered for their sins? Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Here we get an insight as to what Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, our Lord and Savior is doing on the right hand of the Father. He is praying for us. The enemy accuses us day and night, and there he is presenting his righteousness in our behalf. Very well then, turn to the seventeenth chapter of John. I know I skipped, I jumped, I rotate and whatnot, and some people say, I can't seem to follow you. Well, I say either I'm not a good leader or you're not a good follower. One of the three. But I want you to notice something. Here we see the Holy of Holies. If I have time, in chapter twelve through chapter sixteen I could show that each piece of furniture in the tabernacle of the Old Testament is mentioned in chapter twelve, chapter thirteen, chapter fourteen, and fifteen, and sixteen, and now we come to the Holy of Holies where the high priest enters in. in behalf of his people. And you will notice as I read the nature, the character of his intercession, these words made Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. There he is. Although he was not yet crucified, He was crucified in will before he was crucified in thee. So there he is saying this, The hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy son also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life. to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work. In other words, it was finished in will. I have finished the work, which thou gavest me to do. And now as he goes on praying, I want you to notice, especially verse eleven, verse ten, and all mine is prayed for the disciples, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine. and I am glorified in them, or I will be glorified in them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. He prays for those who need leaving. Then I want you to notice, verse twenty, neither pray I for these alone, for for them also which I will leave on me through their word. That one, in this prayer, that once in this high priestly prayer is the intercession related to mundane earthly things. It is all spiritual. It is spiritual and all has reference to heavenly blessings. Well, if that be the case and you say it's true, I see it here. Is not the Lord God concerned about my earthly needs and All that pertains to them, yes, he is. But he said, I want you to notice this, Matthew. He says, before you even ask, before you even pray, your Father, know it that you have need of these things. He knows that you have need of these things, and he will give them proportionately as the need arises. But here everything is spiritual. And what is he praying for? He is praying that we might be kept from evil. See, although Hebrews doesn't tell us exactly what he is saying, exactly what is being deceived for in our behalf, here in the seventeenth chapter it opens the veil to us, so to speak, the veil of heaven. And we see, first of all, he is praying that we'll be kept from evil in verse fifteen. I pray not that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. Then he prays that we'll be separated from the world system. Look at verse six. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Dine they were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. He also prayed that the believer would be qualified for service. Look at verse twenty-one. that they all may be one as thou father art me and I in thee that they also may be one knows that the world may believe that thou hast sent me and how does this qualify us for service in a world that is torn apart a world that can see a group of unified believers thinking the same thing desiring the same one, praising the same God, walking in this world system unto him. At last they see a united group of people. And beyond me, ever since Adam's fall has been there ready to divide us. Fracturous, fragmented us in different denominations. and different viewpoints, and the enemy has been able to get in so that what is Christianity is shown by television, what is Christianity is shown by sex, and so there is no unified belief, a group of believers. You'll find them two and three, and it's only that kind of individuals who are qualified for service. And last of all, he prayed that we might be brought safely home to heaven. Look at verse twenty-four. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world, and therefore he's still there on the right-handed father, protecting us, keeping us, and at last that we might be safely brought into his presence. But his whole heart is open to us here in verses eleven and twelve, and the whole of his work is manifesting his heart toward us when he said in verse eleven, and now I am no more in the world. I am no more in the world. And when he said in that prayer, now I am no more in the world, what significance did it have? All deep significance. Deep. For I want you to notice in verse thirty-three, these things of chapter sixteen, these things have I spoken unto you that in me we might have peace. In the world, you shall have tribulation. Father, I am no more in the world. In the world you shall have tribulation. And when he prayed as he did, he said, I am no more in the world, but these are in the world. In the world you shall have tribulation. And then we see his tender sympathy. He says, Father, I come to thee. While with them he was their comforter, he was their counselor, he was their companion, he was their present help, but now things were going to change. He could no longer be there personally to be their counselor, their comforter, their companion, and their guide. He couldn't be there anymore. Things have been altered. I am no more in the world. Once while he was here, he was in the world. The world was made by him, and the world knew him not. They didn't know him. He was hated and about to be rejected and then to be crucified. He sought rest among us, and what did the world give him? They gave him a grave. He was hungry in our midst, and what did the world give him for bread? They gave him a stone, as the psalmist tells us. The heir of all things was about to return to the Father who sent him. The captain of our salvation was soon to lay down the sword and the shield, and as he was going to put them aside, he was soon to shed his last tear, his last pain, his last sorrow, his last sorrow was soon to be experienced. All that and then would soon be over. But these are in the world, and I come to thee, my father. That's when your thought is really subduing. When he says, I am no more in the world. No more. I come to thee. I come to thee, thyself, but these are in the world. I come to thee, my father, for rest. Thou art my portion, my home, but these are in the world. I come into thy presence, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore, my Father. I come where the river of life flows from the throne of God. I'm coming, my Father, and as I am coming, I come where you are, but these are in the wilderness. In the world they shall have tribulation. Oh, my Father, I am concerned about them. They're in the wilderness. I come where no enemy can follow me, where no temptation can ever assail me anymore. I come to thee when there is no weariness, no distress for me. but these are in the world. I come to take the trophies that you're going to give me. I come not only for the trophies, my Father, because of victory I come to grasp the scepter that you have for me to wear the crown and to ascend unto the throne I have been weary here but I shall be weary no more the way has been rough and thorny but it is all over all over for me my father but these are in the world and in the world they're having tribulation I come to see thy faith. I come to hear the angels praise thee. But these are in the world. But don't forget my Father. Who are these for whom I am praying? My Father, remember what you said concerning them. And I'm reminding you in verse eleven toward the end. They are those whom thou hast given me. They are my inheritance. You gave them to me. They belong to me. I bought them. They are mine. I'm feeling that they are mine. They are my flock, my redeemed, my portion, my bride. All these are in the world. And I come to thee. And in the next verse, While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou hast given me, I have kept. And none of them is lost, but the Son of Petition. Now he's asking the Father to take care of them. Does he take care? Will he take care? Oh, yes, he will take care. In conclusion, tell with me to First Peter, the first chapter. First Peter, chapter one. And in chapter one, I want you to notice verses four and five. We have been saved. We have been saved. making God his inheritance according to Paul's writing to the Ephesians and chapter one of Ephesians. But what kind of an inheritance? Verse four, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that faded not away. How do I know it will not fade away? Because he prayed for me. He prayed for them. He's praying for you. He's praying for me. It cannot fade away. Then where is it? It is right here at the end of verse four. It is reserved in heaven for you. So don't look for it here, beloved. Don't look for the miracles to come to pass in your life. that will prove that you have God's favor, not so. You are complete in him. You are accepted in the beloved. The inheritance is not in this world system that corrupted and corrupting and corruptible is reserved in heaven for you, and where a man's treasure is buried, his heart is awesome. but being that's reserved in heaven for you and for me, how can I be sure that I will come to embrace the inheritance that I have in him that's reserved in heaven for me? Verse five, who are kept by the power of God to faith unto salvation, soon to be revealed in the last time wherein don't let your hands hang down don't let your knees be feeble don't groan like I do and my wife will tell you I do don't do that but the word of God says wherein greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation. Hallelujah! He's coming. And if he's not coming soon, I don't know when he's coming, but everything seems to be pointing toward that direction. In the meantime, what is he doing? Well, the world is falling apart, nuclear, vision and all these things are killing myriads of people. Plains are wrecking blood. Everything is falling apart. What is he doing? He is there making intercession for you and for me. We are very precious in his sight. And the preciousness of our word cannot be exceeded by the sacrifice that was made by the life of the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Let me see you smile. Yes. It's rejoicing, it's comforting. Do you know what I'm doing? As I'm ministering to where it's you, I'm being encouraged in my own soul. So you're doing me a favor in my being here. So let us rejoice in what we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. A memorial, a memorial that the world that large does not see. but only the child of God knows of, and he's alive within our souls. A memorial raised to him. He is still living, and his work is triumphant at Calvary, and his work is constantly triumphant at the right hand of the Father. And the end of the book of the Revelation says this, behold, I come quickly. Surely I come quickly. And the response of each of us should be what? Amen. Amen. Now this is just the beginning of the good things the Lord has for us. Shall we pray? We praise the Our Father. We ask if it be possible. Humanly, it's impossible. But with God, all things are possible. Multiply our tongues to sing thy praise. All for a thousand tongues to praise by dear Redeemer's name. And so our Father, we praise thee. We praise thee for thy son. We praise thee for thy blessed spirit. We praise thee for thy words. We praise thee for the heroes of faith that have laid down their lives to keep the church of the living God continuing from age to age. We praise thee for every child of God whose life is a reproach. to those who are ungodly. We praise thee for those who are humble servants hidden behind the scenes. We praise thee for this place. We praise thee, our Father, that heaven is filled with thy praises, and we shall soon out-trace the heavenly chorus while we are in thy presence. Oh, our Father, hasten the day. We look forward to it. Even so come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. We ask it our Father in his name, for his sake, for his glory, and you cannot refuse that kind of prayer, our Father. Amen.