Where
I've lived, there's only a few friends, and all send their
love to all over
here. In Calcutta — 14 million and only 3 friends. In Delhi —
12 million and one
couple, a man and wife — and they send their love and kisses
to everyone here —
well, I'll pass on the love and leave the rest to you all.
They could sit in any
of these seats here today — they have the same spirit — the
same love. Revelations
7 speaks of an "innumerable company" — and they and you will
make up
that number. Angels an innumerable company of them, but God
can number them
though. God calls them "little ones" — His angels. Nice that
God has
arranged that we be there. Just recently, there was a photo of
the workers taken
here — and we were told to look our best, and the heights
were all arranged,
tallest to shortest, and told to smile, (on the count of 3)
but we'll come out
just as we were — that's how we'll come out. There's lots of
pictures in this
Bible of ours. I like to look at Genesis 49 where there's a
family picture — a
father and 12 sons — all in that picture. I like to think
there's 5 in the back
row, and 4 in the middle row, and 3 in the front. In
Deuteronomy 33 — there they are, all there again — maybe the
placings are a little
different. I was in the Philippines years ago with Ernest
Nelson, and today
he's here — he's still here — that's nice. Well — in the
final picture, Dan's
missing — Revelations 7. I was in
a photo once with a
group of workers and one was fooling about, and that's how
he came out. He was
on the side of the picture, and he just cut off the side
of the picture where
he was, but it spoilt the whole picture. I was visiting a
family once, and
while I was waiting for the meal the lady of the house
gave me a photo album of
her daughter — little Shirley Brown — and there she was —
all the pictures from
baby to 5 years old. Lovely little girl — all the birthday
pictures, etc, and
there she was. Well — shortly this young girl came into
the room, flung her bag
in the corner, and threw off her shoes, and asked, "And who
are you?"
I told her who I was and said, "Come over and talk to
Uncle" — and she
said, "I'm not going to talk to you" - ah? Her grandma came
out and
said, "Don't talk to Uncle like that!" and she just replied
to her
grandma, "You just shut up!" Ah? This is the substance, a
rude little
girl — the real Shirley Brown. In
Psalms 103, it gives us a picture of the true Shirley Brown — 4 sided.
It's a true, ugly
picture of all of us — "sins, iniquities, transgressions, and
diseases" — that's our picture. But the picture changes.
Shirley Brown's book was
very nice but the reality was an awful little spitfire. But
in Psalms 103, the scene
changes. There's 22 pictures here — and they can be enlarged
— all pictures of
our Father, "who heals our diseases, removes our
transgressions, forgives
our iniquities, and removes our sins" — ah, that changes the
picture- and
so now, here we are — no sins, transgressions, iniquities, or
diseases. God
wants us to be a picture like that. There's 22 things that are
His, in this Psalm. His
Name - we have the privilege of bearing His Name. Millions
of people here have
a religious name but not God's name — we do. God's people.
God preparing His
people for eternity — some failed, like King Saul. A tragedy
— David could have
been Saul's best friend. David had the spirit that Jesus had
— he didn't hit back.
He had his troubles — Psalms 40, he got into difficulties — we
get into difficulties,
too. One time, I was watching a little fly — he flew into the
milk jug, and his
wings got all stuck up and there he was. I fished him out,
but he can't fly —
and there he is. It was the best of stuff, good cream (I
nearly put it in my
tea!) but there he is — on the table — flying is his
business, but he can't
fly. After a while, he's able to buzz his wings a little, not
flying yet, but
getting there. Then a bit more buzzing — still not flying
yet — but then there
he is, he's getting going — and after a while he's off and
away. Not bogged
down in bad things, but in good things. What do we get
bogged down in? Good job, nice home —
good things - but if we're too busy, we're too busy. Whether
it's in the
kitchen, at work, or at school — we have the privilege of
declaring God's Holy
Name. That
last verse 351 — good for all workers (and others). How meek are
we workers? I once
saw a little girl leading a great big horse along the road,
and only a piece of
string around his neck — no bridle. "Oh, to be but emptier,
lowlier, meek,
unnoticed and unknown....." "All that's within me..." we
need to
be sensitive about our time — using the Master's time. "Taste and see that the
Lord is good..." Sometimes
we are touched and there's things we don't want to get rid
of. Everything that
God arranges for us is good. Like this convention — like
sitting in the lap of
luxury, ah? This psalm uses the
word-ending "eth" — present, progressive tense. "Healeth all
thy
diseases"...like a man with a sentence of death on him — a
leper. We've
got the sentence of death on us — for sin. Jesus takes our
case — well, really,
we haven't got a case — we've sinned. When Satan accuses us,
Jesus says,
"I've paid the penalty." Psalms 51,
David was in the miry clay — God lifted him out. "Crowneth
thee with
loving kindness." Like the little girl with the thistle in
her foot. Goes
to mother and first of all, she gives her a candy — that
takes care of the
crying (can't cry with a mouthful of candy!) and then mother
takes out the
thorn and it's all fixed. Brother not so sympathetic —
called her a sissy
(brothers can be like that). Lack of balance
— we need balance. Giving our testimony at convention or giving
thanks for the bread
and wine (or giving breakfast thanks), we need balance.
Some give long thanks
like a prayer, and all we need to thank for is the bread,
or the wine, and not
make giving our testimony a whole life story. There were
some boys once who
chased a duck (boys do those sorts of things) but the
trouble was, it died, and
they buried it. Then later on when those same boys got
into trouble for
something else, one of them was going to own up, and the
other one said,
"Remember the duck" — it was used as a threat. Maybe we've
all got a
little "duck" somewhere in the past.
"Youth
renewed like the eagle's" — waiting on the Lord — that's not
hard, no need
to run a mile. "The Lord giveth strength"
— He doesn't sell it, He giveth it. So there's 22 pictures -
from His Holy
Name, to His dominion, in this Psalms 103. When Jesus suffered,
He threatened not.
Human nature wants to pay back. Jesus was in full submission
to His Father. A
little girl in her testimony one time said she was so
naughty that she couldn't
talk to God, so she said she "just knelt and waited for God
to talk to
me." |