Garnes, Arthur: Samson-04 ~ The Upward Calling

You know, I enjoyed our brother's presentation. When you think of a young man that can handle the scriptures so beautifully. Paul tells us that we are to rightly divide the word of truth, and I want to tell you it was rightly divided by our brother. And the others that come up from time to time. Be encouraged. Keep studying. Now we want today to continue our study of Samson. Judges, chapter thirteen, please. This great man of God. Judges chapter thirteen verse twenty five. And Samson went down. Verse five. then Samson went down. Verse ten, his father went down. Verse nineteen, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, he went down. Samson's fatal mistake. He went down. To go down is fatal. Genesis chapter twelve, please. Genesis chapter twelve. Now you'll have to bear with me. You see, my greatest critics are my children. Daddy, you turn to too many scriptures. Well, I don't know any other way to present the word of God. My wife was very gentle. You mispronounced that word. But those children, and I guess they would reprimand me if they were here today, but we're going to look at several scriptures. Genesis chapter twelve, verse ten. There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down. Now, we won't read the rest of it, but you read it when you, but you know, you, you know the story. He got in trouble. He went down. Chapter thirteen, verse one. Abram went up, and then he got the blessing. Chapter twenty six of Genesis. Genesis chapter twenty six. Verse two. But let's read verse one. Chapter twenty six of Genesis, verse one. There was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. Isaac went unto Abimelech, king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. The Lord appeared unto him and said, do not go down. His father went down, and he was about to go down. It has been said that we should not make the mistakes of our fathers, but don't repeat the errors of our grandfathers. Ours is an upward road. We've read verse two. Verse twenty three. Isaac went up. Who told him to go up? God told him don't go down. Who told him to go up? Was he correct in going up? Did he do the right thing when he went up? The next verse, please. The Lord appeared unto him and said, I am the God of Abraham, thy father. Fear not, I am with thee. And when you're going up, you're in the will of the Lord. Luke chapter ten, very familiar portion. Luke chapter ten. Verse thirty, Well-known parable spoken by our Lord. And Jesus answering said, a certain man went down. And you know the rest of the story, got into trouble. Samson was in trouble because he went down. And we will be in trouble if we go down. Philippians chapter three, Verse fourteen. Philippians chapter three verse fourteen. I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward calling of God. Ours is an upward calling, not a downward calling. Verse twenty: Our citizenship is in heaven. We don't belong down here. Our citizenship is above, in heaven. And we should behave and act like heavenly citizens. How do you tell a foreigner when you see him? Well, the first thing you see him in the distance, you tell that he's a foreigner by the way he's dressed. And we should be so conducting ourselves that people will look at us and say, he doesn't belong here. You tell a foreigner by his accent, and we should speak a heavenly language with a foreign accent, and they should be able to tell that we have an upward calling, that we are citizens of heaven by our speech. Certain words we don't use. I remember several times in the office at the one of the hospitals in New York, fellow physicians would come in and they would start their profanity. Oh, pardon me, you don't talk that way. They are to tell us by our speech. Colossians chapter three, please. Verses one and two. The upward way. If you then, or since you then, is better, are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your mind, your affection on things above. We are to be characterized by an upward gaze, an upward walk, and not a downward walk. If we walk downward, we're going to be in trouble. Favorite verse of mine, Hebrews three and one. Many of our brothers here know that I quote this very often. Hebrews three and verse one. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, not a downward calling. We as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ ours, there's an upward look, an upward march, an onward march, partakers of a heavenly calling. Chapter eleven, please. Chapter eleven. verse thirteen, Speaking of Abraham and Sarah, Hebrews eleven and thirteen. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. We don't belong down here, beloved. Stop looking down, look up. They that say such things plainly say that they seek a country. Truly, if they had been mindful of that country from which they came, they might have had opportunity to have returned. I have not heard it here, but when I was in New York, in the assembly, saints came from various places, especially from the Caribbean islands, and they were so proud of where they came from. These folks forgot where they came from. They were looking for a heavenly city. And you know something? If we're all looking for the same city and going to the same city, there'll be harmony, wouldn't there? Remember saying you came from there, I came... Ours is an upward calling. Now turn with me, please, to the book of Exodus. And now you see how I'm turning here and there in the book. Exodus chapter nineteen, verse three. Exodus nineteen and verse three. And Moses went up unto God. Verse twenty four, The Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, you and Aaron. And when Aaron was up there, some wonderful things happened. God gave him the Ten Commandments and then gave him the pattern for the tabernacle. Do you want God to speak to you and commune with? Go up, not down. First Kings chapter eighteen. First Kings chapter eighteen. verse forty two. First Kings eighteen, verse forty two. Ahab went up to eat and to drink. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. Back in nineteen seventy three, God gave me the privilege of standing in front of Mount Carmel. I was at the foot of the mountain. The mountain rises anywhere from fifteen hundred to eighteen hundred feet high. And I looked at that mountain, and I said, is that the mountain that Elijah climbed up? I want to tell you that's a tough climb. And Elijah didn't have the equipment that we have today, and he wasn't a young man, and I wondered how in the world did he make it? He went up to the top of Carmel. The Christian pathway upward is not an easy road. But let's read on. Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. Tough climb. Cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees and began to pray. Said to his servant, go up now and look toward the sea. He went up and looked and said, there is nothing. He said, go again seven times. When you're in the presence of the Lord and he doesn't answer your prayer the first time, you don't stop. Persistence. We read that in the book of Luke. But let's read on. It came to pass at the seventh time that he said, behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand. He said, go up, say unto Ahab, prepare your chariot. Now mark that, beloved. Ahab was to prepare a chariot. It came to pass, verse forty five, in the meanwhile that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. Ahab rode in his chariot. We just read that he had a, he was in a chariot, and came to Jezreel. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He was at the mount. He girded up his loins, oh, notice this last sentence, beloved, and ran before Ahab. I like the Berkeley translation. He outran Ahab. Now get the picture. An elderly man climbs up fifteen to eighteen hundred feet, a rough climb. Then he climbs down, and back you, climbing down is not easy. Did you read recently of that man that was a mountain climber coming down, there was an accident, and he tumbled all the way down? We didn't have mountains in New York City, where I was born and raised. We had some hills. But we did have some tall buildings, and from time to time I was required to go up the skyscrapers. And one day I took the elevator to the thirty fifth floor, and I decided that I would walk down. Beloved, let me tell you something, walking down is hard. You walk down three or four flights, and you are tired. And I marvel at those people in the Twin Towers that had to walk down from those great heights. And when Elijah walked down, that was tiring. He walked up, he walked down. Now let's read. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah. He girded up his loins, and out ran Ahab in the tracks. You talk about thrillers. You don't have to go to the store and buy a thriller. There are plenty of them in the book. An elderly man goes up several feet, climbs down, and then outruns a horse. My, my, my. Does that make you feel good? And there are a lot of them in the Bible. But how was he able to outrun this horse? How do you explain it? He must have been tired when he got to the top, tired when he got to the bottom, and then he outruns a horse. How did he do it? Isaiah chapter forty. uh Isaiah chapter forty. How did Elijah, after such a climb and descent, outrun a horse? I wouldn't even try to outrun a horse after sleeping and being well rested. How did Elijah, Elijah do it? Isaiah chapter forty and verse thirty. Even the youth shall fail and be weary, and the young men shall stumble and fall. But, oh, now look at this verse. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, shall mount up with wings as eagles, shall run and not be weary, shall walk and not faint. That's how Abraham, that's how Elijah was able to outrun the horse. He'd been at the mountaintop in communion with the Lord, and when he came down, he took on the horse and beat him. You talk about horse races. I remember years ago listening to a fellow on the TV. He was remarkable in a way because he could recite the horse winners in all the races for the last ten years, but those were horses against horses, and here's an elderly man just as tired as he can be, and he outran a horse. I- isn't that thrilling? There are a lot of thrills in the book, beloved. You don't have to go to the store and buy a mystery book. All the thrills are right in here. Ezekiel chapter one. The upward way, looking upward. That's the direction that God would have us to take. The upward road. Ezekiel chapter one, verse one. It came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives. He's a captive. By the river Kebah, heavens were open, and I saw visions of God. The upward look. Now look at chapter 2, verse one. He said to me, Son of man, stand up, and I will speak to thee. You want to hear God's voice? Go up. Get alone with the word of God. You'll hear his voice. And he'll tell you some wonderful things. He'll guide you in your course right down here on Earth. But if you're down, you won't hear God's voice. You've got to be up to hear his voice. Matthew chapter seventeen. Matthew chapter seventeen. The upward way. Samson's error was in that he went down. If we are to succeed spiritually, we must go up. Matthew chapter seventeen verse one. After six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his disciples, and bringeth them where? Up into a high mountain. And you know the rest of it, the vision that they saw. I repeat, if we're going to get word from God and see his will and know his will and communicate with him, we've got to go up. There were two prisoners in the same cell. One saw mud, and the other saw stars. Why do you? One was looking down, of course, and the other was looking up. The upward look. And in the midst of the storms, and the we've been reading recently of the hurricanes, these terrible storms causing much devastation. Do you know that if you get to the center of the storm, there's a play of space, and you look right up and see the sky? That's where we want to be. Not in the storm, in the world, but not of the world. Looking up. In the early days, when people were first coming to the United States and Canada, there was a husband and wife. And he made a clearing there of some trees and built a little place for himself and his wife. And his wife complained, I can't see out all these trees, I can't see out. And he said, look up. Stop looking around, beloved. Look up. And we'll see wonderful things. Oh, you say, how do you look up? Get alone with this book. That's how you look up, and you'll see some wonderful things. But you know the upward road is not an easy road? There's a hymn not in our hymn book. It's not an easy road. Acts chapter nine, please. Acts chapter nine. m Verse three. As he journeyed, that is Paul, he came near Damascus. Suddenly there shined round about him a light from where? From heaven. There no light from hell. There no light from here below. All light comes from above. He fell to earth and heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? He said, who art thou, Lord? The Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Chapter fourteen, please. His salvation. Chapter fourteen. verses nineteen and twenty. And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing that he had been there. It's not an easy road, an upward road, but it's a sure road. It's a sure road. Chapter sixteen, please. Verse twenty two. Speaking of Paul and Silas. The multitude rose up against them. The magistrates rent off their, tore, tore off their clothes, ripped off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, made their feet fast in the stocks. That's cruel. See, do you know what the stocks are? Stocks are like the front of this. Put the wood together. The next step in the stocks was to put not only the feet, but the hands through two holes in the wood. And the most severe was to put the feet, the hands, and the head. These men hadn't done anything, they were serving God. Now read with me. Verse twenty five. At midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang a duet. How about that? You can only do that when you're looking up. There will be problems, there will be trials, the Lord has told us that, but we are to look up, and we will get blessing. Chapter twenty, please. Verse twenty two. Paul is speaking. Now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me. Do you know what's going to happen to you, beloved? I don't. Save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city that bonds and afflictions abide me. And here's a saved man. All the people in the world having it easy, many of them anyway. And he's serving God, bonds and afflictions. Oh, I like verse twenty four. None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my course with joy. Did he finish his course with joy? Oh yes, we'll read about that. Second Corinthians chapter four. It's not an easy road. Second Corinthians chapter four, verse eight. A servant of the Lord. Looking up. And what do we read? We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. H- how can you be that way? He had the upward look, the upward look. Persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. And I like the translation that reads, knocked down but not knocked out. Oh yeah. It's sometimes hard. We have hardships, but in them all, with that upward look, the Lord delivers us. Chapter six, please. Verse eight. By honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well known, dying and behold we live, chastened and not killed, sorrowful yet always rejoicing. Remember the duet in, in the prison? And in the midst of all of our hardships, we can still rejoice in the Lord. The upward look. Don't look around at the troubles. Look up. You'll find cause for rejoicing. As poor, yet making many rich. Isn't that true? When we offer salvation to the unsaved, we are making them rich. I told this to Brother George many years ago in New York City. I was responsible for a Bible class. And we had a visitor that day. A boy who was raised in the Sunday school, his parents were in the assembly, but he had gone down. Oh, he got up in the world, big social worker, came to the Bible class, and he said, the trouble with you all is you don't do anything for the community. I said, now look, you have come to this assembly, you have taught, been taught in this assembly. What do we present to the community? He said, salvation. I said, what more does the community need? From the time we started, we've been doing good for the community. And when we preach the gospel, we are helping the community. We are helping the unsaved. That's what they need. And beloved, I want to assure you, that's what this United States needs. We have too many groups and too many people fighting God, and they're going to get in trouble. They need us, they need salvation. Chapter eleven, please. Verse twenty four. The Apostle Paul, not an easy road, looking up. Second Corinthians eleven verse twenty four, Of the Jews, five times I received forty stripes, save one. May I see the hands of all that have received one stripe for the Lord Jesus Christ. We are blessed, aren't we? God has been good to us. Thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned. Were you ever stoned for the Lord Jesus Christ? I never was, thank the Lord. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. I never suffered shipwreck. A day and night have I been in the deep. Never happened to me. In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils by the heaving, in perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brethren, in weariness and pain. All of these things he suffered because he was on the own course, the upward course. It's not an easy road, but you know what's good? It's a successful road. You remember the story in the children's books? The turtle and the rabbit, you remember that? Better is the end of a thing, and the end of those that trust in God, end of those with the upward look, we're going to be with him. That's the part that I like. First Thessalonians, please. Chapter four. It may be hard, the upward way, it's not easy, but it's a successful way. I mentioned the rabbit and the hare, you remember the story. Why would the rabbit challenge the turtle to a race? I could never figure that out. I mean, he was supposed to win, but even more to amazing, why did the turtle accept? And they went on the race. You know what happened. Mr. Rabbit went off fast. He was so far ahead, he decided to rest. And Mr. Turtle just plugging along slowly and slowly. And who won the race? The turtle. Yes. And we are going to win the race. There's a hymn, it's not in our hymn book. I've read the end of the book, and we win. The upward way. You know my favorite question. Aren't you glad to save? I surely am. The fire and the torment the my eyes will never see. And in spite of the difficulties, the hardships. I'm going to heaven. Heaven is my home. There is a hymn, it's not in our hymn book. Onward and upward. Onward and upward, not downward. Oh, may we be encouraged to go up. Let's sing in closing, please. Number five ninety five. Onward, Christian soldiers. Now, if you want, you can substitute the word for upward. Fine with me, because we are to go onward and upward, and one day we're going to come out winners. All these other people out there making noise and fuss, and that presidential campaign, I've never heard anything like it. Thank God for salvation. Let's pray. Blessed, precious Heavenly Father, with joy we bow in thy presence. We reverence thee. We thank thee for the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee for salvation. We thank thee for the Holy Spirit and for thy word, which we can read and by which we can grow. May it be ours to have our eyes upward, forward and upward. Bless us as we dismiss. Take care of us in the coming week, we pray, as we give thee thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.