Hymn 304. Psalm 122,
"Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord for there are
set thrones of
judgement, the throne of the house of David." Jeremiah 10:23, "Oh Lord, I know that the
way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to
direct his
steps. Oh Lord, correct me, but with judgement, not in Thine
anger lest Thou
bring me to nothing." When people went to convention, or
gatherings, in the Old
Testament, they came to set thrones of judgement. We do not
see that in the
world. Here, truth does not alter, it is eternal. In the world,
there is
judgement for the wealthy, and judgement for those who are
poorer. Even in the
judicial courts, there are differences in judgement for those
who are older and
to those who are younger, but with God, there is truth, there
are set thrones of
judgement. There is nothing more stable than this, because it
does not change.
In the world, there is a generation gap between young people
and old people, and
it is quite a problem. Older people feel there is a distance
between them
because the young have advanced education. Recently, a young
man professed who
had been a Methodist, and when he went to his first fellowship
meeting, there
were some people there who were 80, some were middle aged, and
some young
people. His first impressions were that they were all
together, the young and
the old and there was a good feeling amongst them, and there
was a blending
together in the meeting. In the church where he had been, there
was a gap
between the young and the old. In God's family, the
judgement of truth applies for everyone, because we accept
what is right, we
have the courage to set a standard, to fly the flag. The young
people, the rich
people, the poor people, it makes no difference the standard
of truth is
eternal. We all know that the alteration has to come in us. We
do not stretch
the truth, but we bring the bricks to the line, we do not
stretch the line to
the bricks, for we would have a weak building if we did that.
We want to accept
the set thrones of judgement, to have the courage to hold the
line. This is why
the religious world today is weak, it is unattractive. In
Jeremiah it says, "Oh
Lord correct me, but with judgement." This is a mature man
speaking, a spiritual
man. We need guidance, we need correction, but we need it with
judgement. This
is not someone's opinion, but what is right. A course
correction is not a
penalty. The ships that sail the oceans make many course
corrections, but if
they do not correct them they pay the penalty. Even in good
weather, there are
the tidal drifts, and the captain may be hardly conscious of
coming off course,
but he needs to have a course correction to get on course,
otherwise he will
pay the penalty when the ship is on the rocks. There is no
ship designed to go
on the rocks. One time a ship did go
onto the rocks, and in the captain's testimony, he said that the
ship did not
respond. He knew where the ship ought to go, but there was a
malfunction in the
steering gear, and he could not bring it on course. It is
wonderful to respond
to course corrections, when the Lord is His mercy corrects,
either in a
meeting, in a gospel meeting, or on our knees. One time, I was
at the helm of a
ship, and when I touched the wheel, how quickly I saw the bow
coming around. It
is not easy to keep it constant, and I want to keep my little
ship in line with
truth. I said to the captain of the ship, "What is that mark
there on the map?"
He said, "They are hidden rocks." He knew the course to take,
that mark pointed
to a hazard and he kept away. When we sense that we are near
danger, we need to
get away. We might take a chance and we might get over, we
might be able to
skirt around, but every danger point is there in the book, the
Bible. The
message is loud and clear, correct me, but with judgement.
Jeremiah was no
novice, he was a mature man, and he realised he needed help. I have been thinking of a
man in the Bible aged 17, who died when he was 110; Joseph. He
was in the land
of Egypt, and he told his family not to leave his bones in
Egypt, he did not
want to finish in Egypt. We know that he physically died in
Egypt and was buried,
but he had this deep feeling that he did not want to leave his
bones in Egypt.
This was the vision he had all his life, he wanted to arrive
at a safe harbour.
He was willing for course correction. His bones were buried in
Shechem - it is referred
to as a city of refuge in the Promised Land. It was there
where he had fought
some battles, where he had made vows, where he had had deep
experiences and
that is where he finished. That is the place where his
brethren were rough on
him. If we begin in the care of God's love and if we are
willing for correction
along life's way, we will finish where we began. They were
binding sheaves in
the field, and his sheaf stood upright. This was Joseph's
vision, his sheaf
stood upright. He could look into the future and have a God
inspired vision. We
look at Joseph's life and we say that he did the right thing
at the right time,
but here he was looking ahead. He could not see the future, he
was making the
story, and he got a vision from God. One time, I asked an
engineer, "What is the strongest bearing strength of a pillar?"
He said that any
support has the greatest strength in the upright position. The
poles of the
tent are upright, and they are able to bear the weight of the
tent. The post
can lean in any direction, and it becomes weaker. To the
degree that it leans,
it loses its bearing strength. We have inclinations to lean,
we are influenced
by many things, and we lose our bearing strength, and finally
the pole lies
down and bears nothing. Maximum bearing strength is upright.
There are many
things that cause us to lean, there are pressures at school,
at college, at
university, in the business life, and we are drawn away by the
trends in the
world, there is pressure placed upon us to incline to the
trends in the world.
Many changes come in the world, but they are only to get money
out of your
pocket, only commercial gimmicks. If we lean, we are losing our
bearing
strength. Joseph never lost his bearing strength. He was a man
of quality; he
saw the standard of uprightness. There was an influence of his
loyalty, honour,
dignity, that lives on. There is no nobler goal that anyone
could have than we
aim to honour truth. When Joseph went to the
house of Potiphar, the Lord was with him, it was seen that the
Lord was with
him. He did not have to say that he was a Christian, but
others saw that the
Lord was with him, it was obvious. That is the strength to the
ministry, when
it is obvious that the Lord is with others, by their conduct.
Sometimes people
defend a certain lifestyle and they say it is only the spirit
that matters, but
the spirit tells its own story. If I have the spirit of God,
there is no need to
defend, if I have it, there is no need to tell it. In
Potiphar's house, we read
of this godless woman trying to take away Joseph's testimony.
Immorality could
affect God's people in the world today. She was not worried
about Joseph's
testimony. It wasn't just a matter of Joseph saying that he
might lose his job,
because he was a single man and she was a married woman, but
Joseph said he
would not sit before God. His sheaf stood upright, he was
living before God, he
had a conviction from God that kept him secure. Many things
will seek to spoil
your testimony, smear your life. It cost Joseph a lot, he
finished up in the
dungeon. He had a quickened conscience; he was a noble young
man. He did not
lose his identity in the prison; they referred to him as a
Hebrew. He had been
above the temptation. Sin does not mean a thing in this world,
even in the
religious world, as long as you do not get caught. Joseph
could not go to
convention like this, he could not go to special meetings, he
was all alone,
but he never lost his identity, he was a man who was
different. He stood and
identified the truth, he did not merge. Sometimes on the
freeways, we see the
sing, merging traffic and you see the cars clearly on the
approach, and a
little later, they have merged with the other traffic and you
cannot tell which
car is which. Joseph maintained his identity. There was many a
course
correction. Joseph did not lose his heart in the dungeon, or
lose his heart in
the dungeon, or lose his head on the throne. Later when he was
before Pharaoh,
he could say, "The answer of the dream is not in me, but God
will give an answer
of peace." He was not big time, he was a humble man and this is
the key for
success; God will give the answer. He was only the agent and
God was able to
work effectively. Later when Joseph's
brethren came, because of the famine, Joseph had a definite
bargaining power;
they were on the wrong side. They were starving, but he had
the food, but
Joseph did not think that way, because there had been so many
course
corrections. He did not seek personal gain, and we can see
people among us,
back ground people, who are in a bargaining position, but they
have retracted
in an experience and the victory has gone to the kingdom. This
is a useful
life, when you lose, and the kingdom wins. This brings joy and
satisfaction.
Joseph could not refrain himself, and he wept aloud, "Come near
to me, I pray
thee." When I went into the work, I was told to always be firm
but never be hard.
There will never be tears from a person who is hard. Joseph
had tears and he
had softness in his spirit. He did not bargain, but his words
were
irresistible, had a softening influence, come and they came.
Joseph was a
spirit guided, surrendered man, honourable man, had softness
and had tears. He had more than corn in
the barn and he had love in his heart. We can negotiate far
better with what is
in the heart, rather than what is in our hand. We can give
what is in our hand,
and that brings competitiveness, but when we give what is in
our hearts, it is
far more effectual. This is the way to bring family unity,
when we are
grateful. This does not come cheaply, but those who have it,
like Joseph, produce
unity and we are grateful for them. Joseph's father could say
about him that he
was a fruitful bow by a well, the archers hated him, but
Joseph never went over
the wall, his life was inside the wall, but his influence went
over the wall.
His whole life was lived within the wall. You live within the
wall, and your
influence will go over the wall. It was not easy, others hated
him, but his
arms were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob. He had used
the bow, but God
gave him the strength. From thence is the shepherd, the stone
of Israel. Jesus
was the stone and the shepherd of Israel. Jacob, an old man,
could see in
Joseph that he represented Christ. A young man with an eternal
vision, bringing
such inspiration, he represented Jesus. Then we read of his brethren coming to him after his father had died. Forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father and Joseph wept when they spoke unto him. This was a wonderful thing, this sealed it. Don't worry, fear not, I am not God. He showed the character of God. You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. This was no small, mean thinking. Joseph had a big heart. He comforted them. He shed tears of feeling, there was a good feeling amongst them, he comforted them. Later Joseph said that he would die, and God would visit them, and would bring them out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, and Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel that they would carry out his bones from hence. Joseph died. He knew that God would not leave them, and he did not want to leave his bones in this godless environment. He was buried in Shechem where he had met his brethren, where he had faced many a struggle, where he came to the place of total surrender, and that is where he finished. |