Garnes, Arthur: Ministry From Philemon-03 ~ Grace And Peace

Am I prop- properly hooked up? Can you hear me? Now we are going to continue our study, and it will be for a while, in the book of Philemon. When you turn to Philemon, I'll tell you what chapter. We want to focus on verse three. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ. Now, we've gone over this, but, but I like a thought. From a temporal point of view, an earthly point of view, Paul was a prisoner of the Romans. But he looked up and beyond that and says, I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ. And that's so nice in our difficulties. We're not subject to this world. We're subject to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon, our dearly beloved and fellow laborer, and to Aphaia and Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house. We've looked at those. Now, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we call the salutation. I like this salutation. In fact, I have begun to use it in my letter writing. You know how you write, dear so and so, I trust that you are well. Dear so and so, I hope. I like this one. Grace and peace be unto you from our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you think of a better salu- better salutation? Wouldn't you want someone to feel that way about you, if you, he or she were writing you? Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and peace. Now, for the sake of time, we're not going to do it, but when you get home, turn to various epistles of Paul and see he uses the same introduction, the same salutation, grace and peace. Now, what is grace? I remember when we were in Sunday school, we were taught unmerited favor, that's all it is. As, uh, in that hymn that we sung, where sin abounded, praise super abounded. Didn't deserve anything, but God in his love and mercy gave us more than we deserve. Unmerited favor. Now, read with me, please, in John chapter one. You know, sometimes as believers, we don't realize what we have. And many parents complain about their children. They don't, you don't realize how well off you are. When I was a boy, you know, that's sort of... And my father had to walk ten miles to school. I walked five blocks. I shouldn't complain. Now, John chapter one, verse seventeen. What is grace? The law was given by Moses, but grace and reality or truth came by Jesus Christ. There's a contrast between the law and grace. Under the law, we find God requiring. Under grace, we find God bestowing. Law is a ministry of condemnation, condemnation. Grace is a ministry of forgiveness. And we could go down the line comparing the two. In the law, under the law, sacrifice was performed and required. Under grace, sacrifice is pro- proclaimed. And so there's a... Oh, one thing I like about the law. The law requires you to do something, but doesn't give you the power. Grace requires you to do something and gives you the power. Or as one man has put it, the law requires you to fly, but doesn't give you wings. Grace, the Lord requires certain things, and he gives you the ability and the wings with which to do it. Grace was given by the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace and truth. And... I have a marker here. Yeah. I'll have to push it up a little higher so that I can get back to it with ease. Grace. Some time ago, this must have been ten years. Remember last Sunday, Eldon Williams spoke to us while we were up in Toronto visiting him. They had a conference up there. And while there, we met a young lady, a genuine Christian, whose husband was one of my trainees. He's a real believer. And we got talking about grace and the goodness of God, and she told this story of a certain lady in some part of Scotland, I believe it was, where she had never seen the ocean or the sea. And someone said to her, would you like to see the sea? She said, I surely would. And when she saw the sea, she was moved. She said, the sea is just like the grace of God. It keeps coming and coming and coming. Isn't that nice? Keeps coming and coming and coming. It's like the ocean. Now, we don't have that hymn in our hymn book, but let me see if I, uh, two thirty seven in our red book. I think that has something to do with grace. Yes. Didn't we sing this? This did. And when they, when the brother gave this out, I said I must be in the will of the Lord. Grace greater than our sin. What a beautiful hymn. Marvelous grace of our loving Lord. Grace that exceeds our sin and guilt. Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Grace, wonderful grace, greater than all our sin. What a salutation. Grace and peace. I would suggest, beloved, the next time you write a letter, use that salutation. I, I believe the person that you write to will appreciate it. Grace and peace be unto you. Peace, oh my, what a subject that is. There are two aspects of peace, Romans five and one. Two aspects of peace. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God. Peace, every believer has peace with God. You don't have to worry about eternal punishment or anything like that. Peace with God. That's salvation. Peace with God. We are no longer concerned about going to the eternal burnings. We have peace with God. Now I'm going to ask you to turn to another hymn. Number ninety nine. And I believe we sang this recently. And I'll tell you why I like this hymn, in addition to what it contains. I hear the words of love, I gaze upon the blood, I see the mighty sacrifice, and I have peace with God. The The first first res- recitation that I had to give in Sunday school was this verse. That's why I like it so much. Now, my fa- dad father modified it a little bit, but I had to get up there on the platform and recite, and he put it this way: Oh, how sweet. I heard the words of love. I gazed upon the blood, I see the mighty sacrifice, and I have peace with God. I was about four years old when I recited that. I still remember it. Peace with God. But there is another peace. Philippians chapter four. Another aspect of peace, I should say. Philippians chapter four, verse seven. Let's read verse six. Be careful for nothing. It's a, it's an odd expression. We don't talk that way, do they do? That's why we need some of these newer translations. But as I've often said, be sure that you have a translation and not a perversion. Be careful for nothing. You know what that means in ordinary English? Don't worry about anything. That's, that's what that means. Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God. In Romans, it was peace with God. The peace with God is an eternal thing. We all have peace with God when you take him as your savior. But the peace of God is a matter of communion, and we don't always realize the peace of God. Now, concerning this matter of peace, turn with me, please, to Isaiah chapter fifty seven and verse twenty. Peace. Peace. I think I had occasion to mention this very recently. It's amazing how they're all striving for peace. The UN and the whole bunch of them, peace, peace, peace. And yet I listened to an admiral the other day, and he says we are improving our weapons. It- it's odd. Oh, if you want peace, why are you improving your weapons? So that the other fellow will be, will do what I say. That's not peace. But so it is. Now, concerning peace, let's read what the word of God says in Isaiah, chapter fifty seven, please, verse twenty. The wicked are like a troubled sea. And that again reminds me of something that I saw for the first time. Being raised in New York City, right in the center there, I never saw the sea. I saw the Hudson River, and I saw the Harlem River, and I saw a few other waterways that you wouldn't want to swim in. But one day my father took me to Atlantic City, and for the first time in my life, I, oh, I must have been about eleven then, I saw the ocean. The day was overcast, and these waves were coming in and coming in and coming in. And this verse says, the wicked are like a troubled sea, no rest, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt, and I saw it that day. There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked. And that's why we have so much confusion in the world. There is no peace. And I'm amazed at these memes that they have. You'd be surprised how many divisions of the UN there are. All filled with intrigue, but they're going to get peace. Each trying to outdo the other, but they want peace. No peace, says my Lord. No peace. But there's a beautiful thought in this same book of Isaiah chapter nine. There is going to be peace. The same book of Isaiah chapter nine, verse six. Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Now, beloved, when the Holy Spirit writes, he writes with divine penetration. What's the difference between a child and a son? And why didn't he put it the other way? Unto us a son is born, and unto us a child is given. Think on that. And it shows you the beauty of the scriptures. The child was born, yes, but the son was given. And who is the son? And he was given, he wasn't born. He was given. You see what I'm getting at? These delicacies in the scripture. I read that and sit down and think on it, and you don't need any TV. This is precious, this is beautiful. A child is born, a son is given, the government shall be upon his shoulder, his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, or I am told that in the Hebrew it is Wonderful Counselor. And there's so many counselors in the world today. Premarital counselors, marital counselors, post-marital counselors, divorce counselors, business counselors, all kind. You want a counselor? Yeah. It tells you. Wonderful counselor. So, beloved, don't go to these people around here that think they know so much. Go to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the wonderful counselor, and he's there for us. The mighty God. The everlasting Father. And I like the way it reads in Darby's translation. Anybody here have a Darby? You know how it reads in Darby? The Father of everlasting. How you do, how do you do that? How do you do that? He is the Father of everlasting. Now, when you penetrate that, come and tell me so you, so I can learn. The Father of everlasting. The Prince of Peace. And we will never have genuine peace until the Prince of Peace reigns. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. Now turn with me, please, to John chapter sixteen. Grace and peace. Verse thirty three. mhm mhm These things have I spoken unto you, that in me, the Lord Jesus Christ, you might have peace. You want peace? You want comfort? You want to go to bed at night, eh, and be able to sleep? Peace in the Lord Jesus Christ. But however, in the world, you're gonna have tribulation, you're gonna have problems. But the two things go together, and we will have problems. We must have problems. How do you know that God can deliver you from something if you have nothing to be, to be delivered from? You've got to have problems, but at the same time, we have peace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you ever noticed that whenever you have a problem, something causing deep concern, if we wouldn't move so much and stay still a little longer, you know, you get something from the Lord to encourage you along the way, to sort of settle you. Try, if you haven't experienced that, try it the next time you have a problem. Just keep still, and the Lord will give you peace. Which reminds me, I didn't intend to do this, but let's look at Psalm chapter three, I believe it is. Some folks claim they can't sleep at night. And one man asked the Christian brother, how do you sleep so well? Do you count sheep at night? And this brother answered, I talk to the shepherd. You want to have peace? You don't have to count sheep. Talk to the shepherd of the sheep. Chapter three, please. Verse five. I laid me down and slept. I awakened, the Lord sustained me. That's how you get peace. These troubles of earth will tend to bother us, especially at night. But if you rely on the Lord, he'll give you peace. Now, chapter four, verse eight. I will both lay me down in peace and sleep. Why? For the Lord only maketh me to dwell in sleep. And so, while we will have problems, at the same time, the Lord does manifest peace. You know the old saying, there's a silver lining to every cloud. The only thing is we don't look for the lining, we look at the cloud. Now, I- I say this in all sincerity because the Lord said, in the word, you're going to have trouble. But look to him, look up to him, and you will see the bright night. I've mentioned this many times about the two men that were in the same prison cell. One saw dirt and the other saw stars. They're both in, both in, in prison, but it depends upon our point of view. And the Lord said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. If you turn to him, you get peace in the midst of difficulties. Difficulties on the job, difficulties in school for you youngsters, difficulties in other activities. Turn to the Lord, and he will give you peace. Now, I've told you this before, and I don't set myself as any example, but I want to be a source of encouragement to the younger ones at school who are having problems. I've had teachers, for no good reason that I could think of, who didn't like me. And I think of another fellow. I didn't do anything. Studied, did my work, read the Bible, prayed every night. And he said to me, after he got to know me, he said, you know, I hated you so I could have killed you. Didn't do anything to him. On graduation day, he called me from a good distance and said, stay there. He brought his mother, I want you to meet Arthur Lawrence. The Lord will give you peace in the midst of the strifes around, but too often we focus on the strife and don't focus on it. And I repeat, he has said, I will never leave you. So in the midst of difficulty, he's there. And we need to focus not so much on the difficulty. Now we need to be aware of it. I'm not saying you should, should ignore it. Some people say these things aren't real. Now, when Lazarus died, that was real because the Lord wept. That, that was, that was genuine. But at the same time, he raised it. And even in the midst of our troubles, I don't say don't recognize them. By all means, recognize them. They're real. But include the Lord in your thinking, in our thinking. Now, how do we cultivate peace? How do we get to this point where we rely on the Lord and turn to the Lord for everything? Genesis thirteen, well, no, no, we know that. In fact, last Sunday, our brother Eldon, uh, turned us to that, where there was a strife between the herdsmen of Lot, herdsmen of Abraham. Let there be no strife between us. We are brothers, and especially among brothers and sisters in the Lord, there should be no strife. And even the Joseph that our brother has been telling us about, we haven't come up to that yet. But after he had taken care of them, you know what he said to them? Don't fall out. They couldn't agree on what to do to him, and he says, I remember you couldn't make up your minds about me, whether to kill me, sell me, or what to do. He said, now don't fall out. And how do we maintain that atmosphere of fellowship and community. Well, there's several scriptures here. Let's look at Mark chapter nine. Grace and peace. Mark chapter nine, I have here verse fifty. Salt is good, but if the salt have lost his saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves and have peace with one another. Have salt in yourself. What is this salt that we have in ourselves? I believe, frankly, it is the very flavor of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives, and that will keep us at peace. Romans Romans and nineteen. Romans fourteen. verse nineteen. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace. Have you ever noticed that there's some people, sad to say, even some believers, they're always looking for trouble. We are to look for the things that make for peace. Grace and peace. First Thessalonians, please, five and thirteen. The latter part of verse thirteen: be at peace among yourselves. Be at peace. And that is, as I say, the communion of peace, communion with the Lord Jesus Christ, and we'll be at peace, and we will show peace to others. We all have, as I have said, peace with God, but the important thing in our day-to-day life is the peace of God, and that is available to us as we maintain communion with the Lord. Oh, second Timothy two and twenty two, two and twenty two. Flee youthful lusts. Let me pause. Because there's a common misunderstanding about these youthful lusts. They're not only in youth. That's that. Ask the older men here, well, there are too many older men here. And if they're on sectarian, don't you deceive yourself. Flee youthful lust, old and young. Follow righteousness, faith, love, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. We are to develop that habit of being peaceful. As I mentioned, some people there are, they can always find something to complain about. I just don't understand. How can you be happy if you're always trying to look for trouble? We are to cultivate. Hebrews twelve and fourteen, please. Grace and peace. Now, I like this. one, twelve and fourteen. Follow peace with all men. Be at peace with everybody. Now, I grant you that it is not always easy to be at peace, so that you read in Romans, as much as you are able. Because some people won't let you be at peace with them. They're ready to fight, they're argumentative, they're always looking for something to complain about. Follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. Grace and peace. And we can fail of the grace of God when we turn away from God and from communion with him. Well, you don't expect his grace to, to have an effect on us. The idea is to maintain communion with God, and we will experience the grace and the peace which he gives. I'll soon be finished. James chapter three verses seventeen and eighteen. Let's Uh, let's start from fourteen, although seventeen and eighteen are the ones that we are particularly interested. If you have bitter envying and strife, and where's the envying and strife? In your heart. That's what I was telling the folks the other day. The problem is not the trees and the environment, the problem's inside. If you have bitter envyings and strife in your hearts, and you know what Jeremiah tells us, that the heart of man is deceitful above all things. Glory not and lie not against the truth. This kind of wisdom, where you're having strife and so, comes not from above. Well, if it doesn't come from be- above, where does it come from? The only one other place for it to come from. And when we find that, uh, there are those that are always fighting and fussing and looking for trouble and stirring up discord, that kind of behavior is from below. Where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But, again, those buts, they're so nice. The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable. You can't be in communion with the Lord and go out to fight with somebody. It's impossible if the Lord is really controlling our lives. Gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Uh, one day we'll talk about all these things. It makes quite a, quite a study. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by them that make peace. If you want to see the fruit of righteousness, then be peaceful. The last scripture, First Peter three, First Peter three. Verses ten and eleven. He that will love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, his lips that they speak no guile. Let him eschew evil and do good. Let him seek peace and follow it. Grace and peace be unto each one here is my prayer. But to maintain these things, we have to maintain a union with the Lord. In the world, you're gonna have trouble. But the Lord says, I will never leave you over six, so he's there. Don't look at trouble, turn and look at the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm finished. Lord said I have overcome the world. He overcame, and through him we can overcome. That's the law. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, again we bow in thy blessed presence. We give thee thanks for the knowledge of the scriptures that thou has given us. We give thee thanks for the privilege of remembering the Lord the way he said that we should, even this morning. We give thee thanks for the Sunday school lesson concerning Joseph and his brethren, and for the thoughts of recent minutes. Grace and peace. Oh, may this be the will and prayer of each believer toward the other believer. Grace and peace. We are about to dismiss. Again, we ask thee to part us with thy blessing upon us. Protect us and bless us during the remainder of this day. And we give thee thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.