Ottawa Conference: 1982, Blessings (64:8)
Address—G.H. Hayhoe
I'd like to read a few scriptures. First of all, dear young people from. Isaiah chapter 64. Isaiah chapter 64. And the eighth verse. But now, oh Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay, and thou our Potter, and we all are the work of thy thy hand. And then would you turn over to Romans chapter 12? Romans chapter 12 and verse one. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice. Holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. And then in Acts chapter 22. Acts Chapter 22. And the tenth verse. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And then First Thessalonians. Chapter 5. First Thessalonians, chapter 5. And the 23rd verse. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved, blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Well, dear young people, the thought that was on my heart this afternoon was to speak of how these things apply to every part of our lives. It's a very blessed thing to begin with, the realization that the Lord is the Potter and that we are the clay, that He has a right to do just as He pleases us with each one of us. And it's a very blessed thing to know that what He pleased us to do is bless us. It may not be an exact. The way that we would choose because it says in Isaiah chapter 55, my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts. And so we might have a certain plan for our lives, a certain idea that we think would be the best. But you know, God's plan may be different for us. And are we willing to put ourselves into his hand as the Potter, and we just as the clay, and willing to recognize that He can do as he wishes and that he truly wants to bless us there? Used to. My father used to say this. He said every failure in our lives is the result of not believing in the goodness of God. And you know if we really believe that. God was good and that He really was seeking our blessing than we would find it easy to yield to Him. But the great work of the enemy, dear young people, is to get a doubt into our minds as to whether what God is planning for us is really the best. If it wouldn't be a little better if we had some idea, some way that we could plan our own lives instead of submitting to His plan. In our lives, well, when we look at Calvary and we see how much he loved us, we see the great cost by which he redeemed us, then it's not hard for us to bow to a love like that. I often think of how when God created man and put him in the garden of Eden, he created him, a responsible God conscious being.
Composed of three parts, spirit, soul and body, The spirit is the God conscious intelligent part of our being, the soul is the seed of the emotions and appetites and desires and the body is the physical God made us in. This way, and he made man not like the Lord creation. He gave the Lord creation instincts. And you know how animals and other of the lower creation do things by instincts. Those instincts don't change because they're God-given for the preservation of the animal and for their good. But he didn't intend that to be the way with man. He gave man a God conscious part to his being. He told Adam what would be for his good in the Garden of Eden and told him that if he didn't follow his directions it would not be for his good. Adam didn't believe what God said, Eve didn't believe what God said. They thought they were going to find something apart from His will. They listened to the tempter who suggested that God was holding back something that was really for their good, but in reality they found out that it was not solved. What God hath given them was for their good and by disobeying God. They only reap the result of it. It's true they became wise having the knowledge of good and evil, but it's a sad thing to have the knowledge of good and evil and not have the power to do good nor the power to refrain from evil. There are more people that are miserable in this world because of a bad conscience and because they know, in spite of all their arguments, that they are sinners and they're doing what's wrong and that they're not answering to God. And many of them. Are wrecking their lives. Many of them are just frustrated and everything because they don't recognize that they do have a responsibility to God. They're not like the lower creation. Man is a triune being. I say spirit, soul and body. But you know, when man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God did something very wonderful. To me, it's just as if he said, well you've spoiled this world through your sin, but I'm going to invite you to another place that you can't spoil and at infinite cost. A far greater cross than creation. For when God created this world, he only had to speak the word he commanded and it was done. He spake and everything was ordered according to his plan and this whole universe. Upon God's plan. And so man spoiled this world, and he's fallen spirit, soul, and body. He is a fallen creature. But now through redemption, God has found a way so that you and I can be brought into a relationship with Him, that we can have fellowship with Him, that we can do His will, that we can yield ourselves to Him. And find that blessing that He intends us to enjoy in this world, and then in that coming day of glory, to be spirit, soul and body in His presence. Everything in eternal joy. I say again, He's invited us to that place. The cost was the cost of giving His Son. And the Lord Jesus did that mighty work on Calvary's cross in order that we might be fitted to be there. But we find further, after God had made the promise of the coming Redeemer, after he had shown His grace to man, even though he had failed, we find that man still departed again from God farther and farther. And there's a very sad picture presented to us in Romans chapter 1. And there we see. Man in his departure from God in the three parts. Of his being. And we can see the very same thing today. It says even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Man doesn't like to retain God in his knowledge. And so it's a very serious thing. And I warn you, dear young people. When man gives up God, God gives up man.
And the Scripture says, woe unto them in that day when I depart from them. It's a very serious thing to allow your mind to become the plaything of the devil, to allow him to take control of your thoughts and not to retain God in your knowledge. Then too it says. That he gave them over to vile affections. Why? Well, he just wanted to let their affections go loose. And isn't that a great deal of the philosophy of today? Or you just have to indulge yourself as you see best, make your own roles and do your own thing. No one's to tell you what is right, and if you have desires to do things, the only happy thing is to do them well. It's a sad thing when God gives man over to vile affections to just go on in that way and just speak to people who have given themselves over to immorality. Or drink, or any of those other abuses of humanity. Have they found satisfaction in them? Oh, no, no, indeed they haven't. Friends. And then too, it says they dishonored their own bodies between themselves, and God gave them over to that. What a picture of the world in which we live. I don't need to tell you young people about this. These are the three things you hear everywhere, whether it's at school, whether it's in the workshop. Whether it's with your friends on the street or whatever, that's what you hear. Man thinks is he like? He allows his emotions and desires to go after what he likes, and he uses his body the way he likes. Is that the way it should be with us? Well, when the Lord met Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, there was a complete change took place in his life. He no longer was to be controlled by his own desires. He desired now that there would be a new master in his life. Was read to us yesterday when those two disciples heard the voice of the Lord Jesus. And saw him walking there by. They said, Master, where dwellest thou? In other words, they said, Lord, we desire to dwell in thy company. Dear young people, there is no happier portion for you in this life than to walk through life in the company of the Lord Jesus. Does he care about everything in your life? Does he just care whether you're saved and fit for heaven and then let you do the rest? Oh no. I. Tell you that he cares for everything in your life. I've enjoyed reading First Timothy in that connection as though God says that he has something that he has planned in connection with this life. And then it shows us there what his order in connection with all the things that have to do with this life, whether it's in our relationships to one another, to authority in the assembly. Even bodily exercise, it's all spoken about because now God has brought us into a relationship with himself. He cares about everything in your life and mine. Well, it tells us in in Romans chapter 12. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy. Acceptable unto God, which is your. Reasonable or your intelligence service. God gives us as believers an intelligent service to render to him, to just commit ourselves to him and render to him an intelligent service. And when Saul of Tarsus was saved, again, I repeat, he said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Is this the desire? Have you presented yourself to the Lord in this way? And I'm going to. Be not conformed to this world. It could be applied, I suppose, to many outward things, but if you notice the context in which it is spoken, it has to do with an entirely different sort of thing in that chapter. That chapter shows that the whole plan of the natural man is to draw a circle, put himself in the center of the circle, and do everything for himself. That's the world. All is in the world. The lust of the flesh and the flust of the.
And the pride of life, it's all self. And you're in the center of that circle and you live for self. But there's something wonderful happens when you get saved by there's a new center to your life altogether. And that is the blessed one that we've been talking about, the Lord of glory, the one who went to Calvary for you, the one who said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. The one who said to that thief, this day, shall thou be with me? In paradise, and now there's a new center. There's a new will in your life, and it's to do the will of God. It's to seek His will in connection with everything in your life. And so I'm not going to deal with a lot of negatives here, so to speak, but I'm going to talk about what it means to positively in your life seek to do the will of God and that it affects every part of your life. It's a very happy thing to think that there's someone who really seeks your good. And there is, there is. Wouldn't you like to have a friend that you could go to and they knew all about you? You could pour out your heart. I've often said there's very few people you can pour out your heart to because if you tell them everything, they'll never think quite as much of you because they just can't know everything about you and feel the same towards you. But there's one person and he knows all about you and he invites you to pour out your heart. Him to just come to him and tell him everything and know that he is concerned, that he cares. And more than that, his name is wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Fathers, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. You know, schools more and more are recognizing that they have to have counselors, they have to have people that they can. Young people can go to and get some advice in connection with their vocation in life and all this kind of thing because they recognize that young people do need some guidance and they have guidance teachers and so on. But there's one that you and I can turn to who knows far more than any of them. One who knows you through and through, who's walked through this world ahead of you and is the captain of our salvation, bringing us home. The glory who makes you, as some of our brothers have been bringing before us, makes each one of us individuals has a special place for us. Just like the High Priest, he had a separate stone on his heart for everyone of the tribes of Israel. And you are an individual, maybe in a family. We find it hard. To just treat each one of our children as individuals. But God has a vast family and you're an individual in his family. He knows all about your spirit, soul and body. He knows all about your emotions, your desires and everything. And he is seeking your good and blessing. And just before I speak of a few of these things I say, are you willing? Are you willing to present yourself to the Lord and. Lord, here I am. Thou art the Potter, I am the clay. I just want to be guided in my life by thee. I want thee to plan for me, whether it's my job, whether it's where I live, whether it's the company of Christians I associate with, or whatever it may be. What I desire in my life, Lord, is to have thy plan. Do you think he'll say, well, I'm, I'm going to make your life really a very sad one? Well, it's true there may be hardships, there may be difficulties along the way, but I'd rather go over a rough Rd. in good company than the best highway in Canada and not be in good company. I don't mind rough roads when I'm in good company. Sometimes it can even be a little bit of fun going over a rough Rd. in good company and there can be a joy. Paul and Silas sang in the prison. It was a rough Rd. but they sang. Why? Well, because they had the Lord with them, the three Hebrew children in the fire, they could rejoice, and even in the fire because the Lord was with them. And I tell you, he'll never leave you nor forsake you. Well, I just like to turn to a few scriptures in connection with. Having the Lord Jesus in our lives, in everything. Let's turn first of all to 1St Corinthians. Second Corinthians chapter 8.
And the fifth verse. And this they did not, as we hope, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. When Paul said not as we hoped, he meant it was almost more than he could have expected. It was almost more than he could have expected. And so, you know, we desire the best for every young person, but it's almost more than we can expect to think when we hear young people say. Say, well I just want to give myself totally spirit, soul and body to the Lord. I want to acknowledge His claims over me. Notice He says two things, first to the Lord and then unto us. Well we've had those two things before us, first giving ourselves to the Lord and then as it says in first John chapter 3 and verse 16. In fact, I just like to quote John 316 and 1St John 316. In John 316 says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Lord Jesus was the one who came down, and He was the Father's gift. The Father gave His Son first John chapter 3 and verse 16 is. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, in that He laid down His life. For us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We ought to lay down our lives with the brethren. That is, God in love gave his Son, and he says we ought to give ourselves for one another. Is this path of selfishness a happy path? Did you ever find anybody who had given himself in service to the Lord's people that ever felt sorry that He had done so? Oh dear young people, I beseech you to 1St give yourself to the Lord, and then give yourself for the Lord's people. Give yourself for the Lord's people, or it may be a life of sacrifice, but it's more blessed to give than to receive. It's good to be given the privilege of giving because God gave so much for us. And so this is the very first one, and I just wish to apply it to if there's anyone here that's not saved. Is there any young person here and you haven't yet given yourself to the Lord? The devil's saying, don't yield, don't yield. You'll have to give up too much. Oh, what he gives you is far, far more. When Paul realized that he had things that he once valued, when he met the Lord, he said, what things were gained to me? Those I counted lost for Christ. And if the devil's telling you? Well, you've got to give up this and that. If you get saved, I want to present the positive side to you. What will you gain by receiving Him? You will gain salvation, peace with God, a home in heaven 1 to guide you in the pathway of life. One who cares for you, One whom you can turn to in every need. I wouldn't trade places with anyone. Who doesn't know the Lord Jesus as Savior? When you give yourself to him, if you do, you'll be brought into new companionships too. I've often said, as I look over a number of people like this, very, very few of you I would ever have known if the Lord hadn't saved you and saved me. That's what's brought us together. We've been brought into the family of God and in some measure we, I trust, have given ourselves to Him and to one another by the will of God. Now I'd like to turn to 1St Corinthians 7. 1St Corinthians 7 and verse 20. Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Art thou called being a servant? Care not for it, but if thou mayest be free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord being a servant. For a slave is the Lord's freeman. Likewise also he that is called being free is Christ's servant. For Christ's slave you are bought with a price. Be not G the servants of man, brethren, let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God.
Is God interested in your occupation of life? I know many of you young people are doing a little planning as to what you intend to do in life. Is God interested in this? Are these verses just written about how we come to the meeting and how we read the Bible? No, this has to do with our occupation in life and God has an interest in that too. When the gospel was preached in Corinth, there might have been people who were slaves there and they might have felt very badly. They might have said, oh, there's nothing I can do for the Lord because I'm a slave to an ungodly master. And what can I do for the Lord? Well, I won't turn to it. But in Colossians he tells the slaves he said not to do service with. Not to do eye service as men pleasers, but he said. In singleness of heart is unto the Lord, knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord. Christ here was a poor slave, and he looked at his ungodly master, and he said, I have a higher master, I am serving the Lord. And so he could turn that humdrum job that was so distasteful to him. Into a happy thought that he was actually living a life of service to the Lord. And rendering A testimony to his ungodly master. And God perhaps might use that to the salvation of his master. And now I say for you too. I believe there's a little important consideration in this verse, and that is. Let every man abide. Let every man wherein he is called therein abide with God. And I just want to say to you, dear young people, in thinking of the line of work that you should take up. Ask the Lord to keep you so that you don't choose some line of work where, when you have perhaps spent a lot of time preparing for it, you find that you can't fully glorify God in that particular position. There are things in which a Christian finds that he cannot really glorify God. He might be involved in something. Some union or association or some? Dishonored to the Lord, perhaps expected to tell lies or do things this kind. He can't abide in such a calling with God. And you know, it's very important, dear young people, that you ask the Lord what he wants you to be into. Do a little bit of planning in your life with the Lord's help so that you get into some line of work where at the end of the day. You can do like 1 businessman that I heard about. Many years ago in the days when they had those old royal top desks that perhaps some of you have seen, he used to make tabot when he pulled down his roll top desk at night and went home to say Lord Jesus come. I thought that was very nice. And another man that I knew too, he said he knew another person and he had on his desk. Yes, Lord. Just two words. Yes, Lord, He wanted to do his work. In such a way that he was saying yes to the Lord because if he was asked to do something dishonouring to the Lord, he couldn't say yes to the Lord. He'd have to say yes to his boss and no to the Lord. So be very careful, dear young people. The Lord can put you in a line of work where you can glorify him and it'll be a happy thing when the end of the day comes to be able to say. Lord Jesus, come. To be able, as you do your work day by day, to have the consciousness that you can abide in that calling wherein you are called with God. We're not all called to the same line of work. And God has those who are fitted for all kinds of different things. And we thank Him for it. He has given us all different. Shall I say different bends to our nature? In fact, I believe that when it tells us about the parents helping the children that it speaks about the parents. It says train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. We can think of this in a spiritual way. We can also think that as parents we have a little responsibility in connection with helping our children in getting into something where they can glorify God. Well then there's another one, a question that we might ask, and that's in Jonah chapter 1.
Verse one. Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amiti, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa. And then if you turn over to the third chapter. And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go on to Nineveh that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Well, I just wish to apply this passage about where we live. Jonathan Monaco to Nineveh. And you know, you might say, I don't like it in a city where I am. I'm going to go somewhere else. I assure the Lord said to go there. Perhaps he wants you there, all you say. But the conditions here are so difficult. Well, they certainly weren't desirable for a man of God in Nineveh, were they? But that's where God sent him because he had a work for him to do. And just because the place where you live is a difficult spot. A place where it's hard to live for Christ does not mean that that's not where the Lord wants you. He has a place for each one of us. And sad to say, poor Jonah chose Tarshish, which was the center of commerce. If you read about King Solomon, you would find that the ships of Tarshish brought all kinds of treasures. Up to King Solomon, it was really a place where you could. Shall I say, get wealthy? You could get along and you could have all the pleasant things of life, you young people. Is that the way you're making your choice about where you live? Are you saying, well, I want to live in a place where I can really have all the luxuries and pleasures and good things of life? Or are you willing to listen to the voice of the Lord if he says, arise and go to Nineveh? Well, God was patient with Jonah. Jonah, you know, had to learn by sad experience about his mistake. Some of us in life have had to learn by sad experience that we've made mistakes. We thought we were going to find the thing we wanted, and it was only a disappointment. So in the word of the Lord came to him the second time he went there. And as a result of his visit there, the whole city of Nineveh was spared. What a blessing Jonah was in Nineveh. And to be in the place where the Lord wants you is everything. I've enjoyed that passage in Acts chapter 20 where Paul was speaking to the elders of Ephesus and he said this. He said that his great desire was that he might finish his course with joy and the ministry that he had received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God. Those were the 2 great desires in Paul's life. That he might finish his course with joy. All Christians don't. All Christians don't. All dear young people, if you want to find the path that the Lord has for you, it'll be a happy ending. Paul, it's true, he was beheaded at the end of his life, but he finished his course with joy. He was given a service for the Lord and he fulfilled it. He kept the faith. He didn't compromise. He didn't give up. And I say again, the Lord has a place for every young person in this room, a place where he wants you to live, and instead of planning it yourself, look up and ask Him. Lord, where do you want me to be? I want to be in the place that's pleasing unto Thee, while I say it may not always be the easiest place, but when Jonah obeyed the voice of the Lord. What a wonderful result. Think of the blessing that came to Nineveh when Jonah went down there, and who can tell what blessing it will be for you to be in the place where God wants you to be, where He has something for you to do, and then to go on in that path with joy?
Well then there's another one too I want to look at, and that is in Proverbs chapter 19. Proverbs chapter 19, just the last part of the 19th of the first verse of the 14th verse. Pardon me. Proverbs 19, verse 14 And a prudent wife is from the Lord. Well, here again we find a prudent wife is from the Lord. You know, sometimes we can look around. And we can make a decision based on. Good looks now our, our emotions are stirred or something like that. But let's remember this spirit, soul and body. First of all, you want to displace the matter intelligently. Is that really the person the Lord would have you to be associated with, to be your partner in life? And you ask the Lord about it and you don't let your emotions go ahead of that. Don't let your emotions go ahead of God's will, dear young people. Many, many young people have done that. They've let their emotions go 1St and then afterwards they begin to think well. Maybe that girl isn't the one for me and there's been a lot of frustration and sad to say, if it comes to the time and you get married, then it's for life. What a serious thing. How very important that you should seek the Lord's mind. Your decision should be in that order, spirit, soul and body. And so here we find. Where does a prudent wife come from? From the Lord, or make it a matter of prayer. To your young people, and don't forget that order again, spirit that is you really get before the Lord. You look over the situation. Is the girl suited to you? Is she the one who has Is the boy suited to you? Don't let your emotions go until you have. First of all, considered this carefully in the Lord's presence and don't let your body go till the marriage. Don't let your body go until the marriage. Keep thyself pure. Remember God has. A plan for you, and it's a happy plan. It's a blessed plan. Dear young people, may the Lord help you in this decision. It's going to make or break your life. The partner you have is going to make or break your life. Be sure it's the one the Lord has for you. So remember that order again, spirit, soul and body. And then again, perhaps we could turn to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22 and the seventh verse. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare? Well, he didn't say Lord, can we just hunt for a nice building? Now they asked the Lord, Where wilt thou that we prepare? And I believe there are some young people, perhaps some older ones here today too, who are exercised. Where would the Lord have me to be to remember Him in His death? For this was the very spot where the Lord instituted the Feast of Remembrance. It was so very important that they should ask the Lord. Where he would have them to prepare. And so they did. And he said nothing about whether there would be a nice group of people. He said nothing about what the building would look like or something. They were to be gathered around the person, and they were to be gathered according to His word. And so I just command this to you. Many people seek out a company of Christians that they like, that they feel that they can get along with. That they can work with. But God chooses our friends for us, and it's good for us. I remember what the Lord said to Gideon when he was going to go out. The Lord said, Whom I say shall go with thee, shall go with thee, and whom I say shall not go with thee, shall not go with thee. Gideon didn't choose the company that he associated with the Lord. The Lord did the choosing. And may the Lord grant that we will, everyone of us, ask the Lord this question. Now there's no doubt the Lord wants you, if you're one of his, to remember Him in his death. But it is very good that we should be exercised as to where the Lord would have us to be gathered. And when the disciples asked this, the Lord.
Gave very, very specific directions to them. They only had. In simplicity, follow the directions. And it says, they went and found as he had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. And so is there anyone here who's exercised about this? May the Lord give you to follow the direction of His word. Remember again the order, spirit, soul and body, not just saying, Well, I like those people. And I'm going to take myself there, putting the emotions. And then the body. But remember, the Spirit comes first. I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless. If you want to do what's pleasing to the Lord, seek His will before you take the first step. Ask the Lord to show you in the light of His Word what He would have you to do and where He would have you to be. And if you do that, you'll certainly never, never be disappointed. Many of us can say that there has been many exercises that we have had to go through, but what a joy and what a peace to be in the path that God has marked out for US1 Time there was a disappointment came among the disciples. And Peter said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. He didn't have his eye on people, he had his eye on the Lord. And he said, Lord. I want to be where thou art, and that's the whole thing. It's His presence that makes the place, just as His presence will make heaven. Well, I just want to turn before I close this for a minute to First Peter chapter 5. First Peter chapter 5, verse 6. Humble yourselves, therefore unto the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in new time, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth. For you be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. Well, perhaps this is the hardest one of all. At least it is for me. And perhaps it's for some young people here too. And that is submission. We come to certain decisions in life. We decide, we'll say about these different things, we receive the Lord as our savior, we decide about the place we're going to live, we decide about the company we'll be associated with, even decide about a partner. But one of the things that I find hardest, and perhaps there's some young people here that are finding it hard too, and that is submission. That's one of the hardest things when God brings something into our life that doesn't look like the best to us, but it is what he sees is right. It's awfully hard to look up and say, Lord, not my will, but thine be done. And so I want to say this about these verses. They speak to my own heart. Did you ever have a care and you bring it to the Lord? You want to leave it there and you say I can. Every time I pray about it, I take up again, and I really want to leave it there, but I don't. I carry it away with me. Well, I've often said, remember that the sixth verse, the sixth verse is part of the same sentence as the 7th. It says, Humble yourselves therefore unto the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. What? Of being able to cast our care upon the Lord. It's to humble ourselves under His hand, whatever He orders. And I've sometimes had to say to myself, when something adverse and difficult to receive came into my life, supposing the Lord came and stood right beside you and said, now listen, Gordon, I'll change these things and I'll make them just the way you'd like them. I know the way you'd like them, and I'll change the whole thing and make it just the way you like. But it's not my will for you. Would I say, oh please Lord, change it the way I like, I think it would work out. Or would I say, Lord, just help me to submit? Just help me to say yes, Lord, just help me to leave it with thee. I want to tell you that then and not till then, can you cast your care on the Lord.
There may be young people that are going through just that. And you notice what the next verse says. Be sober, be vigilant because the adversary, you're the devil is a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And when is he going to devour you? Some people have applied the roaring lion, the persecution. I see the roaring lion is discouragement, A discouraged Christian. The devil's right there and said, why? If God loves you and cares for you, and he is really the Potter, why has he let this thing turn out this way? Why? And the devil comes along and he gets you discouraged. You lose sight of the Lord. You start to say, well, I'm going to have to choose my own way. Say, I've seen many dear young people do that. I beseech you, dear young people, don't do it. Don't do it. Just bow before the Lord and say, Lord, just help me to take it from thee and there will be a peace that will come into your heart. The peace of God that passes all understanding. The peace Jesus left with his disciples, the peace with which the Lord Jesus went forth from Gethsemane to Calvary because he was submissive. To His Father's will. How May God grant your young people that your spirit and your soul and your body may be preserved blameless? Your spirit in the fact that you look up and you want to acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the captain directing your life, the soul that you don't let your emotions run after things that are not according to His mind and will, and that your body takes. Shoe into the places and into the path. That's according to His will. It says in the last verse. I believe it is in First Corinthians 6. Ye are not your own. You are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods.