Listening to our brethren who spoke last night, it was perfectly evident
that one of the principal thoughts in their minds was that God might
speak to us again. I suppose a Convention never begins without that
thought being expressed, “Lord be not silent unto me, but in Thy mercy
speak again.” I would like to say a little about this voice we are
hoping to hear.
Psalm 29. This psalm tells us a lot about what the voice of God can
accomplish. I remember when I was young and small what my father’s voice
meant in the home. He was respected to a great extent and we feared his
voice because we knew he would sustain his word. I give advice to
fathers, “Sustain your word.” Otherwise you lose the respect of your
children. My father sustained his word and we respected his voice. We
also respected our mother’s voice which was a different voice. I had two
headmasters whose voice was the voice of authority and I respected
their voices.
But there came a time, as there comes with most of you, when you and I
heard another voice. My father’s voice was a voice of authority and my
mother’s and my headmasters’ voices were voices of authority, but they
were not like the voice of God. It is not possible to express what the
voice of God is. There is no voice like it. Although there were voices
of authority I was accustomed to listen to, there was no voice before I
heard the Gospel, that was like the voice of God. My father’s voice gave
fear and respect and it humbled us. The voice of God has a different
effect that no other voice ever had, never, never, never.
That was the voice that spoke to Jacob, the still small voice. It is
also a voice speaking sweetly and gently but it is not always like that.
I felt like Jacob when he said, “This is a dreadful place.” I had come
face to face with the choice of determining my eternal destiny. My
experience was like Jacob’s. Jacob said, “This is none other than the
voice of God and the gate of heaven.” He feared. He had never heard a
voice like that before.
Psalm 29:5 speaks of the voice of God breaking the cedars. One man in
the Scriptures reminded me of the cedar and that was Paul. God’s voice
was sufficiently strong to break the will of a man like that. Paul was
deeply rooted in the tradition of the elders who had lived before him
and he was confident in it. You can be thankful for the one voice alone
that could break your spirit and humble you and change your course.
There is no other voice that could do that.
Psalm 29:4, “The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is
full of majesty.” I will be very, very thankful if in some little
measure this voice that is powerful and different from any other voice
is majestic. There are superlatives we could use but they are hardly
sufficient to describe the greatness of God and the greatness of His
voice.
The voice of God to John in Revelation was like the voice of many
waters. There are two huge waterfalls where I labour. There are very few
like them in the world. It is very sobering to listen to them for they
speak of power and they can speak of other things too. It is sobering to
listen to them and remember what John said. He said he heard the voice
as of a trumpet. I am very thankful, extremely grateful that I heard a
clear, penetrating sound that I could never mistake when I heard the
voice of God in the Gospel. Jesus said to Peter, “Upon this rock I will
build my church.” Peter had heard this voice of God as a trumpet.
In Revelation 4 John heard this voice as being like a trumpet and that
was how I heard it the first time. I believe God would like us to hear
His voice here as clearly as you heard it the first time. It should be a
clear, penetrating sound leaving no doubt in your mind as to who was
speaking.
John said, “I heard his voice as a trumpet and as many waters.” John
heard it then as he had heard it the first time and God would like us to
hear His voice as we heard it the first time.
I will tell a simple illustration from where I have been labouring in
the hope that it will help you to understand how great is the voice of
God. It is a voice that is powerful and full of majesty. Psalm 68:33,
“To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; lo,
he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice.” It is no ordinary
voice. Over where I have been labouring we have a president and he has a
lot of authority. He is not just an ordinary man. Often a newspaper
will publish, “Tomorrow at such and such a time, the President will
address the nation.”
Even though I am not a Brazilian it impresses me. I am an Australian
with a little bit of John’s nationality mixed in with it. [This would be
John Clark who spoke with a strong Scottish accent.] “Tomorrow the
President will speak to the nation.” A little while ago you got advice
about these meetings. It is a little like saying to you, “On 23rd
December at 10:00 am, God will speak to His nation.” When the President
speaks to the nation of Brazil it is a very special occasion. Why have
you come so far in the summer heat to be here? It is because it is for
you a very special occasion. The God who presides (a term used in the
Portuguese Bible) over His nation will speak.
I Peter 2:9 speaks of a holy nation: a royal priesthood, an holy nation.
From the beginning God wanted His nation an holy nation, different from
other nations, a great nation. God said to Abraham, “I will make of
thee a great nation.” He was not thinking of numbers. It is not good to
measure by numbers and it is not numbers that make a great nation. God
was not thinking solely of numbers but of a conduct totally different
from the nations about. The hill of God is a high hill. The teachings of
God are high above the teachings of men. God will put before us
teachings that are far superior to any other. God is high and lofty and
inhabiteth eternity and He wants a holy nation whose conduct, manner of
life, conversation is far above the people round about.
When the newspaper announces that the President will address the nation,
the address is on radio and television. Then the following day, the
newspapers publish what he said. In all Brazil there are nearly a
hundred million people but there is no voice like the president with so
great authority, no voice more worthy of respect. So the greatness of
God, who has presided over this nation since the beginning of time, has
plans for this Convention. The Lord is presiding as He presided in old
time. There is no voice in Brazil with so much authority as the voice of
the president. The day after he speaks, I buy the newspaper and find
the complete text of the president’s address to the nation. Sometimes I
read every bit of it to find out what he had in mind.
Samuel let none of God’s words fall to the ground. He was very young but
the voice of God was very great to him. One time our old Brother Tom
Turner was preaching and having a very good meeting. He said, “Would you
like to be like a Samuel?” God would like to awake that in us, a
response like, “Yes I would, Lord.” Sometimes I read every word the
president said to try to understand what he has in mind for his people. I
am surprised at the thought, the feeling, the understanding of the
problems of his people. You might be surprised here what the great God
who presides over His nation, has in mind for you. I read of people
being amazed. I hope you go out amazed at the depth of privilege,
amazed. I am amazed at how much this great man thinks of the Brazilian
nation. He wants for it to be a great nation.
Proverbs 14:34, “Righteousness exalteth a nation.” A standard of conduct
will exalt a nation. When a nation has decent laws and honourable laws
it becomes great. When the standard deteriorates, their prestige goes
down. Even in a natural sense, righteousness exalteth a nation and it is
more so spiritually. Righteousness exalteth a nation and individuals.
Brazil is very different from Australia. It has a frontier with ten
other countries. There are twelve nations in Latin America and Brazil
has a frontier with ten other countries. The President’s mind is on what
could happen on the frontier. Neighbours are friendly but they have to
be particular regarding the frontiers and to avoid undesirable elements
infiltrating. This holy nation, this great nation to which we are
privileged to belong to, also has a lot of neighbours.
Think of the map of Israel in old times. There were the Ammonites, the
Edomites, the Moabites, the Philistines. Was the influence of any of
them ever desirable? Would the people of God and the kings of old time
feel uninterested in their frontiers of the Ammonites, the Edomites, the
Moabites and the Philistines? They had to think a tremendous lot about
the frontiers where they were very close to neighbours.
Our field is near Paraguay. People over the border line are not subject
to our president nor to our laws. They have a different constitution and
a different government. We are in touch daily with people not under the
same God nor the same laws. Are our frontiers important? The president
wants loyal men on the frontiers and I like to think our God could put
us on the frontier and we would not let Him down. Never let any
influence come in from any other government. On the frontiers of Brazil
are little groups of soldiers willing to give their life for their
country, that nothing foreign to the country could come in.
Are we loyal and valiant for the truth? On the frontier, never let God
down. Keep the nation holy and clean and great. Our president is a wise
man. There is national security and most governments are very concerned
about it. These Brothers and Sisters each side of the platform are also
concerned about national security in a spiritual sense. When they give
advice different from what you spiritually would like to hear, it is in
the interest of national security.
The harp has some very sweet sounds but also deep, solemn sounds. Not
all we hear is sweet. Some has a deep and solemn sound. Our human
father’s voice wasn’t always the same. When God speaks in a deep, solemn
voice it is in the interest of national security. Before going to
Special Meetings I was reading in a newspaper. The president had spoken
and made a decree that bus drivers show a certain deference and kindness
to passengers to give greater comfort and security and safety. He
decided the passengers should do all they could to help the motorists.
The president was interested in this little thing. If you want to know
how much God is interested in the affairs of His holy nation, and your
individual affairs, read John’s writing to the seven churches in Asia.
The great God of Heaven has studied your needs before hand. He has been
trying to prepare these men and women to minister to your needs so they
might be met. He said, “I know thy works...” He knew when they were sick
and when they were wrong. He knew.
I read to an elder Brother in Brazil, an Englishman, this bit in the
paper of the president’s message to drivers and passengers. He listened
and said, “I wonder will they co-operate.” You know, would I hurt
anybody’s feelings if I said that probably God has that in mind about
you and me? It is no trouble to get you to come and no trouble to get
you to listen, no difficulty to get you to sit quietly and listen. Would
the great God who presides over all this, wonder if we will co-operate?
A young Brazilian Worker said about his own nation, “That’s the unknown
quantity.” It is not difficult to get you to come and listen, but when
you leave here how much are you going to co-operate?
How much do people co-operate? People may be driving a car and the speed
limit says 35 mph and they are doing 45 mph. Is that co-operation? The
authority responsible for safety on the roads determines what is safe.
Do we co-operate with good laws? The Lord who presides over our nation
tells us wonderful things and we enjoy them, but do we co-operate? That
is the unknown quantity, how much we are going to co-operate. Our future
depends to some degree on being in meetings and listening, but it
depends more on the degree to which we co-operate. We have wonderful
meetings and a wonderful atmosphere at Convention but the future depends
on the degree to which we co-operate with what the God of this great
nation presiding over us says.
The president is so often grieved because people are ill, and some are
ill unnecessarily. Yes, he made it clear in an address to the nation
that he wants to raise the standard of righteousness, the standard of
conduct, the standard of education, but also he would like them to be a
healthier people. He has done a lot to put remedies for good health
within their reach. I don’t know you people in NSW very much. What is
the state of your health? I think that on the part of many it is good
but I suspect some are a little sick spiritually. I have no doubt that
the God of this holy nation we are privileged to belong to is deeply
interested to help. The promises God made to His people were that if
they would keep His promises then no diseases of Egypt would come upon
His people. That was a marvelous thing. There were probably several
million people and this was a real possibility.
II Peter 1:16, “We have not followed cunningly devised fables when we
made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is
not a fabulous story without basis or solidarity. It is not a story
without facts. This was Truth. They were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
There are some great things in the Scriptures and they are absolutely
true. Here was a whole nation surrounded by the diseases of Egypt
physically, spiritually and naturally yet God promised that if they
would keep His laws there would be no illness, no place for a doctor.
There was not one sick person in that nation. It was well within their
reach. Perfect spiritual health is within your reach and mine.
Jeremiah 30:12, “This saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable and thy
wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy cause that thou mayest be
bound up. Thou hast no healing medicines.” That is an excellent message
for a Gospel meeting. That is like the state people find themselves in
before they turn to the great Physician. There is no one to bind up
their wounds, no one to plead their cause, no one to give medicine, no
eye to pity. But it was the people of God who got into this state. Some
may be discouraged. Discouragement is the weapon of the enemy. God
doesn’t discourage. Some may be bruised, grieved and discouraged.
Verse 16, “Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured.” Those
are wonderful words. The discourager will be devoured. We can go away
feeling God has devoured the devourer, discouragement is swallowed up.
“All thy adversaries, every one of them shall go into captivity and they
that spoil thee shall be a spoil and all they that prey upon thee shall
I give for a prey.” It is a wonderful verse. “For I will restore health
unto thee and I will heal thee of thy wounds.” God who presides over
His holy nation had that in mind before you came to Silverdale. If the
devourer discouraged you he will be devoured. The adversary will be
spoiled and made a prey. Although there seemed no remedy, He will give
the remedy. “I will restore health unto thee and then I will heal thy
wounds.”
The voice of this great God is so mighty and powerful and so different
from every other voice. How much He has thought about us and has studied
our individual case and need, and he wants to supply the remedy so that
you might be healed again. May we hear His voice as in the beginning,
as the voice of a trumpet. May we respond to it and go out to
co-operate.
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