Notes from Merlin Affleck-04 Didsbury AB convention
Jun 1, 2018 13:14:12 GMT -5
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Post by Get off of TMB on Jun 1, 2018 13:14:12 GMT -5
CHRISTIANITY 18 INCHES TOO HIGH
#1 Didsbury, Alberta Convention Canada 2004
Merlin Affleck:
Hymn 204 – My Need
We come together as eagles because we know where the carcase is; so we gather because we cannot stay away. We did no advertising but we are all here because Jesus is here. When Jesus returns all will be there because nothing can stop us; the carcase is there and we want to be there. The thought that has been very real to me is this: we could have a head knowledge of these things, this truth, but yet not have it in our heart; we could have Christianity 18 inches too high, and this is a warning to me. I have been surrounded by grandparents, parents who were in this truth, but yet I could have it 18 inches too high.
I Corinthians 10:1 - "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea". These people were under the cloud, a type of being under the spirit of God, surrounded by the spirit of God, but the problem was that the spirit and presence of God was not in their heart. I could be here at convention professing to serve God, surrounded by the presence of God, and yet not have it in my heart. They all passed through the sea, typical of leaving Egypt behind; they all professed when they left Egypt behind but they did not separate Egypt out of their hearts. In their hearts they still looked to Egypt. These people made good choices, they were baptized and God was pleased with that, but the bottom line was that they were Christians 18 inches too high.
Solomon made a very wonderful start. I Kings 3:3 says that Solomon loved the Lord, then God appeared to him and asked him what he would give him. He could have asked for nice things but he did not. It is interesting that God appeared to Solomon by night in a dream and it has appealed to me that God wanted to know what was in his heart. If Solomon was awake when God asked the question, he could have thought it through and the answer would come from his head, but the answer came from his heart, not from his head. What came out of his heart was wonderful but the story did not end there. Chapter 11 we find that Solomon loved many strange women and God warned him about them, that they would turn away his heart, and we see that is what happened. He got old and weak and his wives turned away his heart.
Then in verse 6 we see that Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord. Solomon knew what was right in his head but he did not have it in his heart, and this is the warning to us; we know what is right, we could have it in our head but not in our heart. This brings a conflict. What Solomon loved, another love took over and took the first place and led him to do wrong. This is the lesson for us today; we need to be careful what we love in our heart. We can have a conflict, knowing what is right in our head but yet follow what is in our heart. We need to be taking stock to see how we are doing and John 21 will help us to take stock. Verse 5 - "Children, have ye any meat?” The answer is no. We take stock at the end of the year and there is nothing in the net, we have lost our peace, our joy, our love. Jesus asked Peter, "Lovest thou me more than these?" Peter replied, "Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee, Jesus saith unto him, feed my lambs". Jesus put His finger on what was in his heart. Peter knew the right answer in his head but there was another love there, there was a conflict and Jesus put His finger on the problem, gently showed him what was in his heart and told him to feed what he loved.
In Genesis 25, we see that Isaac had the same conflict. Esau and Jacob had been born and Isaac knew from God that the elder would serve the younger. Rebecca and Isaac both knew that; in their heads they knew God’s will. Isaac loved Esau because he loved the venison that Esau caught and our enemy is aware of our weakness; he is aware of what is in our heart. Isaac had a desire to do what is right in the sight of God, but he also loved venison and he followed what he loved. In his head he knew the right answer and he almost put the blessing on the wrong person. When it comes to it, we will follow what we love and not what we know to be right. It’s wonderful when what is in our heart and head is the same.
I have made a study of salt and I have connected what Jesus spoke which preceded His instructions on salt. Salt is only form if it does not have any savour; it looks good and we can look professing but there is no power or no essence there. In Matthew 5, Jesus speaks about all the blesseds; you can have the form of being humble, the form of being pure in heart, the form of meekness, the form of hungering after the righteousness of heaven and yet not have the essence in your heart, not have the salt.
Then Jesus spoke of our eye, hand and foot offending; we need to cut them off, and then Jesus spoke of salt again. What Jesus is saying: we could be looking at something that is wrong and we are not prepared to cut it off, then I have a professing form but no power and no essence. If my hand is involved in some activity that is wrong and I am not willing to cut it off then I just have a form. If my foot is taking me somewhere I should not go and I do not deal with it then definitely I will have no power in my life.
There are two parables that explain this in Luke 14 where the one man intends to build a tower and sits down first to count the cost as he wonders if when he starts the project whether he will have enough to finish it. The other man has an army of 10,000 men and goes to face an army of 20,000 men and before they come into combat, he sends a message desiring peace, and then after this Jesus speaks of salt and it seems that it is spoken out of context. Salt is just a form and the man who counts the cost is like a person who professes; he starts and says that he wants to give it the best that I have, and this is not good enough as it will take all that is in us to finish what we start. It’s the same with the army. The object lesson is that we cannot serve God without a full surrender; we will have no power or essence in our lives.
The church of Ephesus, in Revelation 2, left their first love and it seems like there has been a conflict in their hearts and their love changed. I would like to give you an example of this. John and Mary love each other and along comes Frank and he tries to entice Mary away from John and she will just laugh in his face, not a chance as she is not tempted because she loves John very much. Mary would only be in danger if something should happen to the love in her heart, say things were not going very well between them and her love had grown cold and Frank then came to entice her. Mary would think, well I am not too happy…and this happens in the world today. We need to serve with love in our heart for God and His son, to start in the right way having love in our heart and not lose it, for if we do we are very vulnerable. It’s like running in a race; it is not the fellow who is in number ten spot that is a real threat but the one who is number two spot who is trying to get ahead of number one. We all have a number two, but the number three, four and five are not so threatening, the thing that is closest to our heart that will try to overtake our heart.
Then in verse 12 we read of the church of Pergamos; they were doing a lot of good things but God had something against them, "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate". Here was not the problem of loving the right things but a matter of not hating the wrong things. Some also had the doctrine of Balaam; this was socializing with the world and God hated this also. We can bring this to 2004 - it is like going out on Saturday nights, socializing, enjoying the entertainments of the world, going to the meetings and loving the right things but not hating the wrong things. The Nicolaitanes represent permissiveness and this is in the world we live in and this we have to hate, as God hates it.
Luke 6:46 "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Jesus was trying to appeal to the people who call on the Lord and say the right things, saying that you love me, but your actions are not backing it up. We say that we love Jesus, we call Him Lord but then on the other hand our prayers are two minutes long then we run out of the house and forget to read our bibles and yet say I love Jesus. Take a man and his wife; if he tells her that he loves her and yet has no time for her, he gets home late, he has no time to spend with her, how can he say he loves her? Jesus said that those who only say and do not do are like a builder who built his house on the sand but those who say and do are like those who dig deep and found their house on the rock. It is so possible to say the right things but in action not doing it, that what is in the heart and what is in the head is in conflict and one day it will be revealed. We need to so live that our building is secure.
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#1 Didsbury, Alberta Convention Canada 2004
Merlin Affleck:
Hymn 204 – My Need
We come together as eagles because we know where the carcase is; so we gather because we cannot stay away. We did no advertising but we are all here because Jesus is here. When Jesus returns all will be there because nothing can stop us; the carcase is there and we want to be there. The thought that has been very real to me is this: we could have a head knowledge of these things, this truth, but yet not have it in our heart; we could have Christianity 18 inches too high, and this is a warning to me. I have been surrounded by grandparents, parents who were in this truth, but yet I could have it 18 inches too high.
I Corinthians 10:1 - "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea". These people were under the cloud, a type of being under the spirit of God, surrounded by the spirit of God, but the problem was that the spirit and presence of God was not in their heart. I could be here at convention professing to serve God, surrounded by the presence of God, and yet not have it in my heart. They all passed through the sea, typical of leaving Egypt behind; they all professed when they left Egypt behind but they did not separate Egypt out of their hearts. In their hearts they still looked to Egypt. These people made good choices, they were baptized and God was pleased with that, but the bottom line was that they were Christians 18 inches too high.
Solomon made a very wonderful start. I Kings 3:3 says that Solomon loved the Lord, then God appeared to him and asked him what he would give him. He could have asked for nice things but he did not. It is interesting that God appeared to Solomon by night in a dream and it has appealed to me that God wanted to know what was in his heart. If Solomon was awake when God asked the question, he could have thought it through and the answer would come from his head, but the answer came from his heart, not from his head. What came out of his heart was wonderful but the story did not end there. Chapter 11 we find that Solomon loved many strange women and God warned him about them, that they would turn away his heart, and we see that is what happened. He got old and weak and his wives turned away his heart.
Then in verse 6 we see that Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord. Solomon knew what was right in his head but he did not have it in his heart, and this is the warning to us; we know what is right, we could have it in our head but not in our heart. This brings a conflict. What Solomon loved, another love took over and took the first place and led him to do wrong. This is the lesson for us today; we need to be careful what we love in our heart. We can have a conflict, knowing what is right in our head but yet follow what is in our heart. We need to be taking stock to see how we are doing and John 21 will help us to take stock. Verse 5 - "Children, have ye any meat?” The answer is no. We take stock at the end of the year and there is nothing in the net, we have lost our peace, our joy, our love. Jesus asked Peter, "Lovest thou me more than these?" Peter replied, "Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee, Jesus saith unto him, feed my lambs". Jesus put His finger on what was in his heart. Peter knew the right answer in his head but there was another love there, there was a conflict and Jesus put His finger on the problem, gently showed him what was in his heart and told him to feed what he loved.
In Genesis 25, we see that Isaac had the same conflict. Esau and Jacob had been born and Isaac knew from God that the elder would serve the younger. Rebecca and Isaac both knew that; in their heads they knew God’s will. Isaac loved Esau because he loved the venison that Esau caught and our enemy is aware of our weakness; he is aware of what is in our heart. Isaac had a desire to do what is right in the sight of God, but he also loved venison and he followed what he loved. In his head he knew the right answer and he almost put the blessing on the wrong person. When it comes to it, we will follow what we love and not what we know to be right. It’s wonderful when what is in our heart and head is the same.
I have made a study of salt and I have connected what Jesus spoke which preceded His instructions on salt. Salt is only form if it does not have any savour; it looks good and we can look professing but there is no power or no essence there. In Matthew 5, Jesus speaks about all the blesseds; you can have the form of being humble, the form of being pure in heart, the form of meekness, the form of hungering after the righteousness of heaven and yet not have the essence in your heart, not have the salt.
Then Jesus spoke of our eye, hand and foot offending; we need to cut them off, and then Jesus spoke of salt again. What Jesus is saying: we could be looking at something that is wrong and we are not prepared to cut it off, then I have a professing form but no power and no essence. If my hand is involved in some activity that is wrong and I am not willing to cut it off then I just have a form. If my foot is taking me somewhere I should not go and I do not deal with it then definitely I will have no power in my life.
There are two parables that explain this in Luke 14 where the one man intends to build a tower and sits down first to count the cost as he wonders if when he starts the project whether he will have enough to finish it. The other man has an army of 10,000 men and goes to face an army of 20,000 men and before they come into combat, he sends a message desiring peace, and then after this Jesus speaks of salt and it seems that it is spoken out of context. Salt is just a form and the man who counts the cost is like a person who professes; he starts and says that he wants to give it the best that I have, and this is not good enough as it will take all that is in us to finish what we start. It’s the same with the army. The object lesson is that we cannot serve God without a full surrender; we will have no power or essence in our lives.
The church of Ephesus, in Revelation 2, left their first love and it seems like there has been a conflict in their hearts and their love changed. I would like to give you an example of this. John and Mary love each other and along comes Frank and he tries to entice Mary away from John and she will just laugh in his face, not a chance as she is not tempted because she loves John very much. Mary would only be in danger if something should happen to the love in her heart, say things were not going very well between them and her love had grown cold and Frank then came to entice her. Mary would think, well I am not too happy…and this happens in the world today. We need to serve with love in our heart for God and His son, to start in the right way having love in our heart and not lose it, for if we do we are very vulnerable. It’s like running in a race; it is not the fellow who is in number ten spot that is a real threat but the one who is number two spot who is trying to get ahead of number one. We all have a number two, but the number three, four and five are not so threatening, the thing that is closest to our heart that will try to overtake our heart.
Then in verse 12 we read of the church of Pergamos; they were doing a lot of good things but God had something against them, "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate". Here was not the problem of loving the right things but a matter of not hating the wrong things. Some also had the doctrine of Balaam; this was socializing with the world and God hated this also. We can bring this to 2004 - it is like going out on Saturday nights, socializing, enjoying the entertainments of the world, going to the meetings and loving the right things but not hating the wrong things. The Nicolaitanes represent permissiveness and this is in the world we live in and this we have to hate, as God hates it.
Luke 6:46 "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Jesus was trying to appeal to the people who call on the Lord and say the right things, saying that you love me, but your actions are not backing it up. We say that we love Jesus, we call Him Lord but then on the other hand our prayers are two minutes long then we run out of the house and forget to read our bibles and yet say I love Jesus. Take a man and his wife; if he tells her that he loves her and yet has no time for her, he gets home late, he has no time to spend with her, how can he say he loves her? Jesus said that those who only say and do not do are like a builder who built his house on the sand but those who say and do are like those who dig deep and found their house on the rock. It is so possible to say the right things but in action not doing it, that what is in the heart and what is in the head is in conflict and one day it will be revealed. We need to so live that our building is secure.
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