 |
| 16. PAY THE PRICE When our Lord was sent to the world, He came on a very important mission. That mission was purely a mission of love and mercy. He sought no higher glory than He had when the contract or covenant was made. It is said of Him, “He hath sent me to preach the Gospel to the poor. To bind up the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison doors to them that are bound, and preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” This work will not all be done until the poor shall all hear the Gospel and the prison doors shall be opened and the prisoners set free by the conditions of their pardon. The broken hearts shall be bound up and healed because those who have slipped and fell have paid the uttermost farthing for their wrong and been redeemed from Hell. This mission of our Lord will not end until that time has come. He sealed the contract or covenant by the shedding of His blood and going to the prison, saying, Be ye lifted ye everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in. The voice within said, “Who is this King of glory’?” “The Lord of Hosts. He is the King, He is the King of Glory. Be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in.” He went in and preached [161] to them. Conquered Hell and the grave. He paid the price, he went on His mission. He got the work done and sits at the right hand of God. He only asks a reason able service from us. He paid the price by sacrifice. We will have to sacrifice. Gather My saints together unto Me those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. We may have to climb the mountain but before we are ready to make the climb we must condition ourselves and obtain testimony. Jesus said, “If any man will do His will He shall know. That will must first be done well, and then we may expect Him to meet our sacrifice with a blessing. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, and ye shall find rest to your souls. These signs shall follow them that believe. The condition of our heart will determine the extent of our pardon. If we don’t want to work, our hearts are not right with God. He that knew His Father’s will and prepared not Himself neither did according to His will, will be beaten with many stripes. Many will pass the test on some of the commandments such as Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, and Thou shalt not lie. But when that young man of Matthew 19 met the test of one of the greatest commandments, it brought sorrow to his heart because his heart was set on his worldly goods. The celestial law of God is really hard to keep if our hearts and lives are not conditioned by love and devotion, brotherly kindness and charity. We may have been baptized and come with faith and repentance to a degree and received confirmation by the laying on of hands and felt a sense of security. But real security is manifest to you when all these are seasoned and flavored with love until our hearts will overflow with [162] brotherly kindness and charity and we will be determined to help the group bear their burdens “and so fulfill the law of Christ.’’ Did you read that in the Scripture? Well, it’s there, and what are you going to do about it? Pay the price. You will not get it if you don’t. We will not go to paradise On flowery beds of ease, While others work to win the prize, And sail on stormy seas, Sure we must work if we would win, So give us courage Lord, We bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy Word. ABIDE WITH ME What an inspiration to hear a sermon delivered under the power of the Comforter, by the gift given to the man who is called of God, as was Aaron. Or experience a wonderful testimony or prayer. What heavenly peace is in our hearts, and we wish we could stay under that Holy power, or we wish we could carry it to our friends. How wonderful it is when the darkness deepens around us and we can say with faith, ‘Lord Abide With Me.’’ When we keep His commandments we have a conscience void of offense and faith reigns in our being, when we really believe. The witness of God is greater than all. It may conic in a heavenly vision or a spiritual dream, or the Lord might speak to us by the voice of His Spirit as He spoke to the lad Samuel when he was only 8 or ten years old. God will make it plain. Now in order to receive a blessing like that, it is necessary for us to be clean inside and out. The Spirit of God does not dwell in unholy temples. It might [163] warn an unholy man, or knock him down as in the case of Saul of Tarsus. But it will not stay there until we have swept the floor clean and made a good place for it to dwell. Brush out those cobwebs of unbelief and sweeten the place where they were. Dig out those thistles of greed and thorns of selfishness that blight the soul and turn you off on a crossroad or a bypath just to please a well dressed man or woman who has a little mo and wants you to go with them to some dive or den or some playhouse of the devil. Stand. Having your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, the word of God, and a knowledge that you have made an honest try. Yes He wants us to live in a clean house and then He will send that tender Spirit to dwell in a clean temple. So how necessary it is to fit our lives for the Master’s service. Can’t even assist in His work unless we are humble and full of love. Possessing faith, hope and charity. These characteristics that are compared to gold, silver and precious stones. The materials that will stand the test of fire. Those lively stones that shine with Heavenly lustre and fits us to qualify. They are bound together in that holy union which is called the law of the Celestial Kingdom. A holy Priesthood, Without this live-giving power, the priesthood could not feed the church and it would die. Lord abide with me. I’m sitting alone tonight, thinking of days gone by. Of the loved ones that were with me, And I wondered why they were taken from me, And if I could oniy see, The homes where they now are living, ‘Twould be such a comfort to me. [164] I m sure they were worthy when they answered His call, And it seems that in my thinking, I can see the work they done, And the vision that it brings to me, Is like a golden dawn. The sweet things they said to me, And the work they have done, Inspire me to say, Mv work must be well done. In the lives of those loved ones There was a deep desire, To do the Master’s bidding Whate‘er He would require. In that saintly life and station, Where angels dare to go, They sing the songs of Zion, In life’s eternal glow. This challenge ever meets me, And I am forced to say, Whate’er the task assigned to-me, I’ll do my best and pray That in His Heavenly Kingdom, When the Lord my God shall come, Ill clasp their hands and kiss them And say my work is done. Oscar Case THE LAW OF THE LORD There are many laws and many books on law. Some of them are good and some not so good. The law of the land is necessary and perhaps good and just in most in stances. If we keep the law of God we have no need to break the law of the land. When we consider the law of [165] God, we must conclude that it must be perfect, because God Himself is perfect. So we read. The law of God is perfect converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are just. Can you see the reason for this? If His law was imperfect, we would not know how, when or where to find Him. But his statutes are right. Ps. 19 :8. Therefore, we can go to his word and read the law and the prophets and believe them. They did not write fairy stories, nor a fabrication of lies. But they wrote the truth. Thy word 0 God is truth. John 17. Jesus said it. So that’s settled. His word is true. Now consider it by James 1 :25, Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth there in, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall he blessed in his deed. Hi there. Could you ask for a better promise than that? Well, if you would like a better, read John 7 :17, My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me. If any man will do His will, He shall know the doctrine. II John 9, He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ hath both the Father and the Son. Now isn’t that beautiful? I sure think it is. Are you willing to abide? Are you willing to look into that perfect law and stick to it? Are you willing to say, where He goes I’ll go, what He says I’ll say? That’s good. That’s enough. That’s His will. Now let’s continue in it and gain the great reward. John 3, Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. He had a kingdom into which people could go, and must enter in order to be saved. That kingdom is His by appointment. Luke 22 :29. The pattern was given to Him and He gave it to them. It was perfect, Who could change it? Can you tell? That’s why Jesus said to John - suffer it to be so. For thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Of course that was at His bap- [166] tism. But is baptism an exception? No its a part of the law given through Christ. Read Matt. 5 :19 or Matt. 24. My word shall not pass away. It’s fixed and come to stay. Read Isa. 55 :10-11. It will not return unto me void, but will accomplish that which I please and prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it. He sent it to save the world. It was prosperous at Samaria, Antioch, Jerusalem and other places. The sick were healed, the lame walked and the poor were given the opportunity to obey it, without money or price. His law is perfect not was or will be but is and ever will be. So take the steps that lie told them to take and receive a testimony yourself. He was called, sent, ordained, to preach the Gospel to the poor. Isa. 61 :1-2. Luke 4. He obeyed the principles Himself, faith, repentance, laying on of hands. He also taught and demonstrated the resurrection and the judgment. What shall we say? We must believe in all that and say. its true and eternally fixed as the law of God and is as unchangeable as God Himself. Can you by your cunning devise a substitute? No. Not even angels could do that. They would be cursed. Read Gal. 1 :6 and get up early in the morning and search for it. But before you go out, get down on your knees and tell him (that great Master) that you do believe the message He brought, and that you are willing to humble your self as did the soldiers of General Joshua, who got down on their knees and lapped up the water like a dog. Tell Him you need the living water and would be willing to humble yourself and dress in gunny sacks and sit in ashes to find the church of Jesus Christ and be permitted to enter into it and receive a testimony from Heaven. May His grace be with you. Amen. Oscar Case [167] WHAT SHALL I DO? Is it necessary for me to do anything? Well, I think it is. The idler shall not eat the bread of the laborer. It is not right for any one to impose on others. We should work for our bread if we are able to do so, and we are all convinced that we must earn our way, if we are able to work. So it is in our every day family life we are the Sons of toil. The Lord has so arranged the things that we must have to sustain our bodies, that we are compelled to work for them. Most people like to work. Some times we might run across a lazy man who does not want to work. Such an one should be given a place where he must earn his daily bread. Now we know some men can earn more than others because they are stronger, have a better job, a better advantage, an opportunity, perhaps they have an inheritance. Some money given to them. There’s a wide difference among us. Some are poor, some are rich. The rich young man that came to Jesus as of Matt. 19, thought he was right. He had plenty of money, plenty of goods. He kept some of the commandments. When Jesus talked to him and put him to the test he could not measure up to the law of the celestial kingdom. We have our agency to choose our life and what we will be. [168] |