I remember some years ago teaching that little chorus that we were singing, Magnify the Lord with me, to the children on the beach at Hoyle Square for many years. And that was the grand verity. And I asked the youngsters what it meant to magnify the Lord. And the boy put his hand up, and I said, Yes, son. And he went like this. And he said, Make bigger. You know, that's not a bad description, really, is it? He was looking through the side glass, you know. Magnify it. And yet that's not really it, is it? You see, when I look at my thumb to a spyglass, I don't make the thumb any bigger at all to us. It just appears bigger. The thumb's the same size. But it appears bigger. And we can't make God any bigger than he is. He's God. But if everyone go from this conference, determined to allow the Lord to live his life out to us, I say, He's going to appear much bigger, isn't he? He won't be any bigger, but he'll appear a lot bigger. Oh, that we might magnify the Lord together. I want to read, if I may, the fourth chapter of this very wonderful epistle. One Timothy chapter four. Now the Spirit speaks of it expressly, that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, doctrines of devils, seating lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience teared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meat, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving. For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayers. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nor shalt in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained, but refuse for vain and all wise tables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For godly exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, under that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, for therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those that believe, see things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Shall I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine? Neglect not the gift that is in thee which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them, for they that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine. continue in this, for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee. May the Lord not add his blessing to the reading of his word. It seems to me that this very wonderful chapter has two great divisions today. It seems that, first of all, there is a warning of departure from verses one to seven. And then when we take up the story in verses eight, Right to the end of the chapter, there is the work of diligence, the warning of departure, and the work of diligence. But before we come to this wonderful chapter, I wonder if I could take just a moment or two to remind you of the last verse that we skipped so very, very quickly last evening. The great verse that deals with the person of Jesus Christ. And I feel very convicted that I dare not skip over as quickly as I did last evening the parchment of Jesus Christ. I remember some years ago, maybe I'm going back ten, fifteen years now, I was invited to conduct the city crusade in the city of Gloucester. The brethren that wrote me said this, by the way, we've had quite a number of crusades over the past years. We want this one to be somewhat different. We don't want it just to be an out-and-out evangelistic crusade. We would rather that it be a teaching crusade, where we shall teach many that will come, who know Jesus Christ, the great fundamentals of the Christian faith, and yet at the same time, remember that night by night there will be unconverted there. And so for the two weeks of these gospel services, I took this one verse. And as we looked at it, we started off by reminding ourselves that without controversy, great was the mystery of godliness. But God was manifest in flesh. And the first evening I dealt with the parts of the Lord Jesus. God manifest in flesh. We reminded our hearts again that on that dark Galilee and night, as by faith we would wend our way into Bethlehem's barn, we would change down into the face of a day. And though there was no light in the barn, that save was none other than the light of the world. We reminded our hearts that while there was no food there, that save was the bread of heaven. That while there was no doctor or midwife to care for that woman, that save was the great physician. And we thanked the first evening considering the great doctrine of the Christian faith that God has seen manifest in flesh. The second evening we took the second phrase of that text. He was justified in spirit. And we saw again how the life of the Lord Jesus justified his claim to be none other than Emmanuel God with us. We thought a little of the inquiry that went from the prison when John the Baptist and his disciple saying, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another? How the Lord Jesus went back or sent the message to John that he lay there in prison and said, You go, you tell, you tell the things that thou hast seen and the things that thou has heard, how the lame walk, how the lepers are cleansed, how the dead hear, how the dead are raised from the dead, how the poor have the gospel preached unto them. And it was the word and the walk and the work of the Lord Jesus. that proved that the first statement was true, that he was God manifested flesh, for he was justified in spirit. Second day, we went for the third day, we went for the third door. But he who was God manifested flesh, justified in spirit. He was the one who, indeed, he appeared. I'm sorry. Justified, I've got to look at it. God was manifest in flesh, justified in spirit, seen of angels. And we spoke not of the birth of Christ or the life of Christ. We spoke of the death of Christ. We reminded ourselves of those lovely words in the twenty-second of Luke, when in Gethsemane's garden of Christ, taste the awfulness of God's wrath. And how we read that the angels appeared and ministered unto him. Why? Appeared unto angels. Angels appeared unto him. And we thought of the death of Christ. We reminded our hearts that while men sometimes say, angels would love to preach the gospel we preach. Angels did preach this. They did preach it. And then we thought indeed of the wonders of the fact that he was preached unto the Gentiles. And as you know, there are seven Gentile epistles. And the burden of every one of those seven Gentile epistles is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Come with me to the first one, and consider the grave epistle to the Romans. And hear the statements concerning the resurrection in that fourth verse of the first chapter, that he is declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. Oh, this is the burden of every Gentile epistle. The Christ is raised from the dead. Then we went on, of course, and reminded them that he was believed on in the world. He was received up in the glory. Never let us forget that this is the doctrine that is brought before, before the Apostle dares to remind them of the warning of departure. he gives them the desperate warning that there will in the last day be departure from these things. There will be those who deny his virtuous birth, those who deny his sinless life, those who deny his atoning death, those who deny his bodily resurrection, those who deny his attention to glory, those who deny the great fundamentals of the faith. Or let's listen to the warning that's given to us now in the fourth chapter. You will notice that the warning of departure is brought to us also under three heading. You will note that first there is the warning concerning enticing words. May I repeat that? The warning concerning enticing words. Verse one, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. Then would you notice there is not only the warning concerning in Christing words, but enforcing observances. Oh, enforcing observances. Verse three, forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from meat. And then there is this warning concerning erroneous teaching. Verse seven, refuse the pain and old void. Fable. Fable. Let's look at the plan. First and right before there is the warning of departure that in the latter days some shall depart from the truth. Now he's already told us in the last verse of the previous chapter what the truth is. But now he says there are those in the latter days who will depart from the truth. I wonder if I may ask you something. Would I be right in saying that the thing that seems to mark our present day is the fact that men and women are teaching after some experience outside of the experience of the Scripture? Would I not be right in saying that never were there days when so many folks are teaching after familiar spirits? Now we in my own country have had a desperate case of this. You see, maybe in my land, in some small measure, when there is a murder, people take notes. Not suggesting you don't in your land. But I wonder if I could just say this as a matter of fact, that you've had this year, and it's not yet the end of July, you have had more murders in the city of Atlanta, Georgia than we had all year last year in our whole country. And that includes the north of Ireland. So you will understand that when there isn't murder in my land, people do take note. It does hit the headlines of the national press. And we have just had a desperately, desperately bitter experience. Some of our dear friends, I believe Christian friends, but nevertheless, some very dear friends, had inspired the charismatic movement teaching. They had gone in for some ecstasy in speaking in tongues. They had gone in for some ecstasy in so-called faith healing. But neither of these things after a while, as they never will, brought satisfaction. So they went a step further into the casting out of demons. Now I want to make one word of desperate warning. Please, do accept it for me in the spirit in which it's given. Whatever you do, be very, very, very careful in dealing with what people have called evil spirits. My experience has been this, that there are young people who don't even understand their own lives. Let alone understand the experiences that others are going through who are deviling with this thing. Let me lift the hand of warning. Beware. Beware. For in my land this charismatic group, there was a Church of England minister and Methodist minister. There were some who had been in fellowship with the assemblies of God's folk and have left them because they felt that they were not bright enough. And they started to cast demons out of a man, and in casting the demons out of the man, he went straight from that charismatic movement, went straight to his home, took a knife, and a chopper and hacked his wife to pieces. Now please, please, I mustn't go any further. I only know that when the matter has come to the law court, the plead is a plead for insanity. The medical profession has said this man became insane because he dabbled with his head. So I am lifting a word of warning, brethren, sisters, be careful. And a word of advice. Make sure you go along and see the slide that Mr. McKenzie is going to show of the work in Athens. He will have something to say. I am sure of the turf of witchcraft and demon protection. You must be there. I hope that we're not going to miss it. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Here are the warnings given. And the warning is given concerning these enticing words that come from seducing spirits and the doctrines of devils. There are such things as evil spirits, but hallelujah, greater is he that is for us than he that is against us. Let's rest in Jesus' life. Sometimes we're asked to think that the devil is stronger than the Lord. Remember, the devil is mighty, but he's not almighty. Remember he can be present, but listen, he cannot be omnipresent. When sometimes I hear brethren in prayer meetings pray like this, Lord thou knowest that almost the first person here will be the devil. I almost feel like shouting praise God, because I know if he's without you, leaving a lot of other folk alone. He can't be in two places at once. Now if demons can, but he can't, never give him more power than he's got. don't ignore his power beware and these are the signs of the latter times praise God Jesus Christ is coming back again and when I see this happening around me then I want to say even so come Christ Jesus then would you notice there are those in latter times who will enforce observances forbidding to marry commanding to abstain from me is not Mr. Jay in which we live. Oh, please, whatever my Bible may say, it leaves us in no doubt of the fact that marriage is of God. It is of God. I was most interested to hear Mr. McKenzie say that he was going off to Africa again very soon, I think it is. He was leaving his wife behind and they'd been married. How many years was it, Mr. McKenzie, no sir? Forty-six years. We're catching you up, sir. We're catching you up. But forty-six years he's been married, and he said he was still in love with his wife. He's mad love her. I think that's grand. I tell you something as well. I haven't been married that long. Thirty-five years we've been married. But I love the girl. I married when I married her, and I love her now. Marriage is of God. It's of God. Make sure we build it and build it well. Make sure we seek to do nothing but will break it down. But in the last days, there will be a rising fan who forbid to marry. Now this is not those who indeed feel that for the sake of the gospel or for the sake of the fact that they suffer with some typical ailment that would be unwise for them to marry or even that they might have to take a wife into a dangerous place and therefore they refuse to marry. Those are the prohibitions in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Corinthians. Those are the prohibitions. But here are those who suggest that there's some higher claim than this. Then they go further and they tell us that there are some leaps we mustn't eat. Now please, I believe with all my heart in the eleventh chapter of Leviticus. I believe there are health rules. I let you into a secret. I like pork. But I'll let you into another secret. There are some countries I go to. I wouldn't touch it with a barbed pole. And this is why God has forbidden certain things that are unclean. They are health laws. There was a people going to the wilderness. And as they went to the wilderness, they would be exposed to all sorts of diseases. And I believe that those health rules are good to gag. You know, I know you poke a great fisherman in America. Well, you are, by the way, you talk. I don't know by what you do, but nevertheless, you're a great fisherman. But I tell you, if I ever come to your house, don't you put a Maxwell in front of me, because I won't eat it. I believe God has forbidden me eating a fish with shells on them. The other way around, I mean, shell them. And I believe he's done it as a health law, not as a spiritual law, but a health law. If you want to catch the visit, Maxwell, I tell you where to go. Tell you where to go. You go to the tour outlet. And that's where you find the biggest ones. They're the scavengers of the sea. The pigs are the scavengers of the earth. And if there's dawns a day when they raise mangrove under hygienic conditions, then I might eat them. But I'm going to say, Lord, I believe you know about the body you made better than I did. I believe they're a health law. But there are people that have turned health laws into spiritual laws. The first time I came to America... I was in Durham, and my good friend, Mr. Welcome, Depp Waller. And he's still my friend, though he called me a doctor. But nevertheless, do you know, my good friend, Mr. Depp Waller, took me down to be on a radio program. And prior to the radio program, there was a good man by the name of Greene. You'll all know him, I'm sure. And, you know, he announced himself as two hundred pounds of spiritual dynamite. Well, he announced it, not me. But that's how he announced it himself. And he was going to speak. He was on the program immediately following us. And he was going to speak on, we're eating hog meat, damn you. Now, that's a real American subject, isn't it? I wonder whatever he was going to say. And I say to this, we're eating hog meat, damn you. Of course, he was having a word about seven say Adventists. That's what he's having to work about. I only know this, that when men and women... make the eating of meat and the repraining from it a condition of salvation, then these other things we are warned against. No, I'm not talking about a person who's a vegetarian because of health reasons. I'm talking of those, as this chapter is talking, who try and make a doctrine where it's not a doctrine. Let me go further, he says, in the last day, so we'll be enticing words, producing spirits, there will be the enforcing of observances submitting to marry commanding to abstain from me and then there will be erroneous teaching and he calls them profane and old wide fables now whatever you may say about old wide fables you must acknowledge this mustn't you that they are based on no truth whatsoever they are fables They're gossiping things. Oh, let's go back to what our dear brother said yesterday. Let us remember this, that doctrine is based on text. And text is based on doctrine. The last day, the word of warning. But then let's go further, for if there is a warning of departure, there is a work of diligence, and I would much rather talk about this than the other. And one of the things that thrills me here is that these words are addressed to a young man, and I'm so glad. Yesterday speaking of elders and deacons, we were speaking mostly of those that were mature, for it says not a novice. Today we're speaking to you, young folks, and I'm glad of that. I let you into a secret. It's not a thing you're suffering with, but a few years won't look right, really. I only know this, that God has something to say to you, young folks, and what wonderful things he has to say. He says, first of all, whatever else you do, you exercise your mind. Whatever else you do, you establish the truth. Whatever else you do, you be an example to others. Whatever else you do, you employ your talents. Whatever else you do, you give evidence of the truth that lies within you. And whatever else you do, you live a life that is exemplary. And that's a young folk. Okay, let's look at the first one. He says, whatever else you do, you exercise your mind. He says, exercise yourself under godliness. Godliness is profitable unto all things. Having the promise of life, which is, and which is to come. Now he deals here, of course, with bodily exercise as well. Our polite version says, bodily exercise, profit of little. But we are all aware, your marriage in no doubt will say it, if you've a good Bible, that bodily exercise, profit of for a little while. He's not saying bodily exercise, only profit, little. He says it, profit for a little while. And may I ask you something? in the light of a man. What are those years compared to eternity? They're only a little while, aren't they? No bodily exercise profit for a little while. I believe, as brethren and sisters, especially you young folks, I believe that you ought to exercise that body of yours. Remember, it is the temple of the Holy Ghost, if you're a believer. You need to look after it. Having spoken indeed of what I believe to be helpful, now he goes on and reminds us of this. He reminds us of the fact that each one of us must be careful of our bodies, and finally exercise confidence for a little while. I think, I must use that word, I think I have seen this inexperienced. the general is speaking when I come across a brother or a sister who is very difficult to get on with in an assembly that brother and sister when they were youngsters never learned to play ball they never knew what it meant to pass a ball to someone else now I don't know anything about your silly old games here but in my country you show me a brother who's cantankerous and difficult to get on with. I'll show you a brother who never played soccer when he was aboard. You know, he had to be shooting for the goal. He wasn't prepared to pass it to someone else and let him shoot. Never played a game of rugby. He had to be touching the ball down. He didn't know what it meant to pass it to someone else. You know, I stood for a while and watched that game you were playing last night. I was interested in the game. Of course, I was interested in a certain brother who stood on the touch line and shouted and shouted. I was most interested in what he said. But nevertheless, one of the things that I enjoyed about that game yesterday, listen, it wasn't like that golf game, you know, that your husband played. It was a game where everyone was dependent on someone else to win. And that's a good game. That's a good game. You learn something of living with one another. I believe bodily exercise providence. But listen, listen, godliness, half of us for all time. There are some brethren and sisters who no sport of their own couldn't enter into sport. Some of those brethren and sisters, God, give them an extra touch of his spirit, it means to me. The godliest of men. But let's remember... We must exercise our mind as well as our body. Our mind, give thyself, exercise thyself unto Godliness. And then there is the establishing of the truth. Verse eleven. These things command and teach. These things command and teach. What thing? The previous verse. The living God who is the failure of all men, especially of those that believe. Why make sure, young people, that you have a command of the truth? For it is commanding of you as young people to teach. You see, if I've learned one thing, I've learned this. I've learned that young people reach young people. Is that true? Sitting around the table just before my son was married. I don't mean the day, but you know, just before you. He kept looking at me. And after a bit, I said, you've got something on your mind, son? Yes, Dad, he said. I was just thinking, you've had it, haven't you? Oh, oh, dear. You know, when you've said all you've got to say, I don't know if there is any person that I find it difficult to understand. Like a man of my age, and the age maybe of many of us here, who tries to be a teenager. You know, when you get over fifty and you still try to be a teenager, is there anything worse, really? I'm not a teenager. I let you into a secret. I will. I never was one. They never called us teenagers when I was that age. I won't tell you what they did call us. But I never was a teenager. That's a new name. I only know. that in the things of God it's good when young people work amongst young people. Now I do not mean to the exclusion of those that are older. The Church of God is a family, and in family, mum and dad are there as well as the children. I'm not partial to these just youth gatherings. But I do know this, that you young folks, you must teach the world. I command thee, teach, and if the young man holds right in. Do you teach the other young folks? And then when you notice he goes further, and he speaks not only of the establishing of the truth, but the example to others in verse twelve. He says, Let no man despise thy youth. No, don't let you, young people, don't let hope despise your youth. Mr. McKenzie, sir, may I ask you a question? You were talking about Anthony Norris Grove, who was the first man who left England to Baghdad at the commencement of what I may call the missionary enterprise among the Christians you and I love. At Mr. McKenzie, how old was Anthony Norris Grove when he went to Baghdad? Are you not sure? Oh, I can say anything now, and no one can contradict me. By the way, that gives me another plug. You ought to buy that book, turning the world upside down. But Anthony Norris Groves was twenty-five years of age. Some of that folk would say he's only a youngster. And he went to Maggot. Do you know how old Mr. Darby was when he left the Church of England? He was twenty-one years of age. Do you know how old Lord Congleton was when he gathered with a company of Christians twenty-three years of age? Listen. The revival of tribal truths concerning the church didn't start with all bewitched men. Let no man despise thy youth. But, listen, if they weren't pleased, if they were not according to the following words, they could have done nothing. They were an example. why he says these things command and teach let no man despise our youth but see thou an example of the believer in words in our personal conversation in conversation and you know the word conversation is behavior our conversation our politics our behavior is in heaven He says you be an example in words, personal conversation, in conversation in our behavior, in charity, in love, in spirit, in our disposition, in faith, our confidence in God, in purity, in our thoughts and actions. And it's a young man and a young woman. Listen, you young folks. Are you an example to each one of us in this service today? You can be, you know. God never intended you just to be followers but leaders. Be an example in your personal conversation. Be an example in your behavior. Be an example in your love. Be an example in your disposition. Be an example in your confidence in God. Be an example in your thought connection. Knowing how to behave ourselves in the church of God. I say it's desperately practical, isn't it? Desperately practical. And then he goes further, as he says, and explore your talents. Ensure your talents. Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Because neglect not the gift that is within me. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them. Give thyself completely to them. Be earnest about this thing. Don't play the fool. I know of no way to know the Bible, but read it. Do you know another way? Can you bow your knee and say, God, God, I want to know the Bible. Give me some vision that I might know the Bible. Will you get up as barren as you knelt down, and you're pretty barren when you pray like that? There's only one way. If you want to know the Word of God, you've got to read it. Meditate on it. Why, he says, give thyself, give thyself Holy Ghost. And the evidence shall be seen. Please, the evidence shall be seen. Verse fifteen. Thy happening may appear to all men. That's it, isn't it? That's it. Listen. I've got to be careful because Mary's coming tonight. But if I'm not a better husband to reading the Bible, then the Bible's no good to me. You hear that? And my sister, if you're not a better wife to reading the word of God, then you ought to be. And my brother, younger brother, my younger sister, if you're not a better son, if you're not a better daughter to reading the word of God, you ought to be. Let it be evidently seen by all men that these things are true. Oh, God, give us. to realize that the one in whose birth and life and death and resurrection, in his attention to glory, proved that he was God over all, blessed forever. May he so live his life out to us, that there will be a living which is exemplary. Verse sixteen, take heed to thyself, and unto the doctrine, continue in them, that thou shalt both save thyself, and then that here, not eternal salvation, Save thyself and them that hear. Do you want life? May I use Lindsay's egg again. Do you want life with a capital L? Do you really want the salvation of God? Do you want to enjoy it? And I tell you what to do. Take E to thyself and the doctrine. And hallelujah. You'll find life. And that's more of us. God promised that it may be true. in our life do you think we may sing that little chorus again sir let the Lord just close let the Lord have his way in your life every day there's no rest there's no peace until the Lord has his way could I ask could I ask we sing it thoughtfully and quietly with some expression remember that this surely what Timothy's writing about. Let the Lord have his word in your life every day.