When we first gathered here on Wednesday evening, it was mentioned that
God was gathering us in as a family and it is nice to think of it like
that. We are part of the great family of God. Just before leaving WA,
our friends said kindly take our love and greetings to the friends in
SA. It was just a friendly greeting from one part of the family to
another and I love to think I have the privilege of being amongst you
again, to see old friends and also to see new faces. It is a wonderful
privilege.
I was thinking too even as we have been singing, we would see Jesus. I
was thinking of Him as we sometimes think of Him as our Father and the
Elder Brother, and I am sure that is the expression of our hearts as we
would see Jesus. In India amongst the Hindu people, the elder brother
has a special place, they look to him for advice, he has a special place
in the family and I thought of our Elder Brother Jesus, doesn’t He have
a very special place in our hearts and lives? We look to Him, we seek
His guidance, we love to have His spirit, we love to see the evidence of
His spirit here.
I would like to tell you a story about one of our sisters who used to be
in India, Vera an English girl. Her father was a policeman and he rose
to the rank of superintendent. Vera at the age of 12 went with her
mother to the meetings. Her mother was a sincere Presbyterian. However,
as she went to the gospel meetings her heart was turned to Jesus; she
could see there was a right spirit amongst the people where she was. She
came home and told her husband about the meetings. He was a quiet man
but when it came to going to convention, he took Vera and her mother to
convention by car and do you know what appealed to him about the
gathering? They didn’t need a policeman to keep them in order. He
thought that strange, but this is a policeman’s mind. He was used to
going to gatherings where there was a measure of police control, but
just seeing people coming here, with such a quiet spirit, each one doing
what they could do and so on. There is a wonderful spirit in the family
of God. It is one thing people take notice of, how the elderly ones are
cared for, it is lovely to see young ones helping the older ones, each
doing what they can in the family that is truly lovely. You know the
family of God is controlled by one spirit.
When I came from India I spent some time in hospital. I was used to
having a companion in the field, one to read together with, but then I
had my own private reads. I enjoyed looking into the Psalms,
particularly concerning the life of David. I felt I got a deeper
understanding of David’s life, and it was well expressed in the Psalms,
which God has so kindly left us a record. We don’t often get to know the
depths of each other’s heart unless something is spoken. I read other
portions also, and I just felt I wouldn’t like to be a little careless
about reading of Jesus. I wouldn’t like to take Him for granted and
never learn to appreciate His life and His ministry and all that comes
from that in my life. I just felt there was that earnest prayer from my
heart as I came to this convention that, as a person, I would see Jesus
and I have.
We have heard about Him from the platform, we have seen the spirit
manifest in the lives of His people. You know the chorus of that hymn
says on the faithful of the land keep your eyes that we might stand. I
remember an elderly brother worker making a comment on that. That is
very good advice, but he said, keep Jesus as the center of our thoughts;
other lives we read of in the Scripture and those around us we
appreciate, but keep our affections fixed on Jesus. He is the center,
He is the One God sent, He came to earth to show us how to live. Some of
the thoughts I had concerning Him have already been mentioned. I hope
you don’t mind if I repeat these things that have been laid upon my
heart.
I enjoyed thinking of Isaiah; he was a great prophet in his day and he
was a wonderful man. I have heard it said he preached 60 years and I
think during the reign of four Kings. He knew many experiences. God in
kindness gave him three pictures of Jesus, three visions. I believe
those visions would be very, very precious to Isaiah’s heart. We know
they became reality 700 years after this. We have one in the ninth, 11
and 13 chapters, scriptures I am sure we are familiar with. I believe
those pictures would be deeply written upon Isaiah’s heart where showing
the people in the coming pages, 700 years later, when Jesus came in
reality and in the flesh. And we in the 20th century look back to the
life and teachings of Jesus and one great thought came to me, we can
have hope and confidence in the living God who so kindly helped men and
women down through the ages and who would help us to appreciate His own
dear Son. I am sure what is very personal is what we have approved in
our hearts and lives when we heard the gospel.
When I was 16 I was invited to gospel meetings 2 miles from home. These
days it is not far to go when you have a car, we had to get a penny
section with the tram and walk, this we did three nights a week. My
people were religious, we never had the privilege of having preachers in
the home, but there was just something about these meetings and those
people that gripped my heart. I thought in my heart God didn’t love me. I
was the eldest of seven and bore the responsibility in the family. I
used to get into my head sometimes God won’t love you if you tell lies,
if you are disobedient, so I had it in my mind God didn’t love me and
wouldn’t love me. God in kindness showed me in those meetings He did
love me. I’m glad of the assurance and I am glad of the experiences from
the hand of God, as we know what they are to us.
I was thinking of the love of Jesus that was mentioned so kindly last
night, when He was 12 years of age He did that journey to Jerusalem, His
parents are leaving thinking He was with them. I thought of Jesus as a
boy of 12, He was probably helping someone who was traveling with them,
He would have that in His life at the age of 12 and bought up in a saved
home. This is a very nice mark. His mother and father wouldn’t worry
until night came when they would expect Him to rest and He didn’t come. I
tried to think a little of the concern of Mary and Joseph as they
realized He is not with us. The only thing to do was to go back. They
had gone a day’s journey, they went back three days and searched.
Imagine how concerned they would be, the precious life that was given to
them, they did not know where He was. They found them in the least
expected place.
He said “wist ye not that I must be about my father’s business?” God’s
spirit was doing something in His life, God was beginning to work. We
see that sometimes in a child today. Beginning to be concerned about
spiritual things in homes where God’s loved and honored and go to
meetings and have the servants of God around them, young hearts are
stirred and moved. It says He went home with them. There is another
little thought there. Sometimes as the multitude of our thoughts and
activities of life, maybe we are so absorbed in other things we get busy
and take it for granted He is with us.
There was a young woman I was speaking to from W.A., I hadn’t seen her
for many years; she was troubled in her soul, she was telling me for
some years she and her husband lived in another city and had some
business. I could get up in the morning and send my child to school and
my husband to his business and then after that have a quiet time. They
came back to the farm and there seemed to be one thing after another. I
said she would just have to get up a little earlier if she wanted to
have the spirit of God, the spirit of Christ with her. She realized she
was losing out. I felt we need to be careful, we could just get careless
and take for granted He is with us. He wants to know that we really
love Him as He loved us. I think there would be, from the depths of all
our hearts gathered here, the desire that we could indeed get fresh
glimpses of Jesus.
I thought of Jesus at the age of 30. God worked on His heart and He was
moved by the spirit of God to take other steps in obedience by going
forth to preach the gospel, and there was Satan ready to tempt Him and
he tried everything he knew. You know the wall of separation was well
fixed. Then it tells us that he left Jesus for a season. Later on we
read of Jesus saying, the prince of this world has nothing in Me. He
kept up the wall of separation, He kept the influence of Satan out, and
He kept the right things in. Don’t we need to do that, because Satan
will never give up trying to tempt us; he will always be there to try
and tempt and hinder us.
I was thinking to of some of the lovely marks of Jesus. We know so well
the spirit He had, the great humility, the great patience and the
compassion and love. I thought of the time we read of Him sitting on the
well. It says He was weary of the journey. It is the only time we read
of Jesus being tired. I am glad it is there. We know He was tempted in
all points as we are, and we get tired and weary. We can’t help it, our
bodies are like that in the cares of life. I thought of Jesus sitting
there, quietly thinking, a needy soul came along and as a result of that
contact led to a mi
Ilma Jenyns - Oak Lodge conv. 1979 [Ilma labored many years in India, started in the work in Western Australia in 1933]
When we first gathered here on Wednesday evening, it was mentioned that
God was gathering us in as a family and it is nice to think of it like
that. We are part of the great family of God. Just before leaving WA,
our friends said kindly take our love and greetings to the friends in
SA. It was just a friendly greeting from one part of the family to
another and I love to think I have the privilege of being amongst you
again, to see old friends and also to see new faces. It is a wonderful
privilege.
I was thinking too even as we have been singing, we would see Jesus. I
was thinking of Him as we sometimes think of Him as our Father and the
Elder Brother, and I am sure that is the expression of our hearts as we
would see Jesus. In India amongst the Hindu people, the elder brother
has a special place, they look to him for advice, he has a special place
in the family and I thought of our Elder Brother Jesus, doesn’t He have
a very special place in our hearts and lives? We look to Him, we seek
His guidance, we love to have His spirit, we love to see the evidence of
His spirit here.
I would like to tell you a story about one of our sisters who used to be
in India, Vera an English girl. Her father was a policeman and he rose
to the rank of superintendent. Vera at the age of 12 went with her
mother to the meetings. Her mother was a sincere Presbyterian. However,
as she went to the gospel meetings her heart was turned to Jesus; she
could see there was a right spirit amongst the people where she was. She
came home and told her husband about the meetings. He was a quiet man
but when it came to going to convention, he took Vera and her mother to
convention by car and do you know what appealed to him about the
gathering? They didn’t need a policeman to keep them in order. He
thought that strange, but this is a policeman’s mind. He was used to
going to gatherings where there was a measure of police control, but
just seeing people coming here, with such a quiet spirit, each one doing
what they could do and so on. There is a wonderful spirit in the family
of God. It is one thing people take notice of, how the elderly ones are
cared for, it is lovely to see young ones helping the older ones, each
doing what they can in the family that is truly lovely. You know the
family of God is controlled by one spirit.
When I came from India I spent some time in hospital. I was used to
having a companion in the field, one to read together with, but then I
had my own private reads. I enjoyed looking into the Psalms,
particularly concerning the life of David. I felt I got a deeper
understanding of David’s life, and it was well expressed in the Psalms,
which God has so kindly left us a record. We don’t often get to know the
depths of each other’s heart unless something is spoken. I read other
portions also, and I just felt I wouldn’t like to be a little careless
about reading of Jesus. I wouldn’t like to take Him for granted and
never learn to appreciate His life and His ministry and all that comes
from that in my life. I just felt there was that earnest prayer from my
heart as I came to this convention that, as a person, I would see Jesus
and I have.
We have heard about Him from the platform, we have seen the spirit
manifest in the lives of His people. You know the chorus of that hymn
says on the faithful of the land keep your eyes that we might stand. I
remember an elderly brother worker making a comment on that. That is
very good advice, but he said, keep Jesus as the center of our thoughts;
other lives we read of in the Scripture and those around us we
appreciate, but keep our affections fixed on Jesus. He is the center,
He is the One God sent, He came to earth to show us how to live. Some of
the thoughts I had concerning Him have already been mentioned. I hope
you don’t mind if I repeat these things that have been laid upon my
heart.
I enjoyed thinking of Isaiah; he was a great prophet in his day and he
was a wonderful man. I have heard it said he preached 60 years and I
think during the reign of four Kings. He knew many experiences. God in
kindness gave him three pictures of Jesus, three visions. I believe
those visions would be very, very precious to Isaiah’s heart. We know
they became reality 700 years after this. We have one in the ninth, 11
and 13 chapters, scriptures I am sure we are familiar with. I believe
those pictures would be deeply written upon Isaiah’s heart where showing
the people in the coming pages, 700 years later, when Jesus came in
reality and in the flesh. And we in the 20th century look back to the
life and teachings of Jesus and one great thought came to me, we can
have hope and confidence in the living God who so kindly helped men and
women down through the ages and who would help us to appreciate His own
dear Son. I am sure what is very personal is what we have approved in
our hearts and lives when we heard the gospel.
When I was 16 I was invited to gospel meetings 2 miles from home. These
days it is not far to go when you have a car, we had to get a penny
section with the tram and walk, this we did three nights a week. My
people were religious, we never had the privilege of having preachers in
the home, but there was just something about these meetings and those
people that gripped my heart. I thought in my heart God didn’t love me. I
was the eldest of seven and bore the responsibility in the family. I
used to get into my head sometimes God won’t love you if you tell lies,
if you are disobedient, so I had it in my mind God didn’t love me and
wouldn’t love me. God in kindness showed me in those meetings He did
love me. I’m glad of the assurance and I am glad of the experiences from
the hand of God, as we know what they are to us.
I was thinking of the love of Jesus that was mentioned so kindly last
night, when He was 12 years of age He did that journey to Jerusalem, His
parents are leaving, thinking He was with them. I thought of Jesus as a
boy of 12, He was probably helping someone who was traveling with them,
He would have that in His life at the age of 12 and bought up in a
saved home. This is a very nice mark. His mother and father wouldn’t
worry until night came when they would expect Him to rest and He didn’t
come. I tried to think a little of the concern of Mary and Joseph as
they realized He is not with us. The only thing to do was to go back.
They had gone a day’s journey, they went back three days and searched.
Imagine how concerned they would be, the precious life that was given to
them, they did not know where He was. They found them in the least
expected place.
He said “wist ye not that I must be about my father’s business?” God’s
spirit was doing something in His life, God was beginning to work. We
see that sometimes in a child today. Beginning to be concerned about
spiritual things in homes where God’s loved and honored and go to
meetings and have the servants of God around them, young hearts are
stirred and moved. It says He went home with them. There is another
little thought there. Sometimes as the multitude of our thoughts and
activities of life, maybe we are so absorbed in other things we get busy
and take it for granted He is with us.
I thought of Jesus at the age of 30. God worked on His heart and He was
moved by the spirit of God to take other steps in obedience by going
forth to preach the gospel, and there was Satan ready to tempt Him and
he tried everything he knew. You know the wall of separation was well
fixed. Then it tells us that he left Jesus for a season. Later on we
read of Jesus saying, the prince of this world has nothing in Me. He
kept up the wall of separation, He kept the influence of Satan out, and
He kept the right things in. Don’t we need to do that, because Satan
will never give up trying to tempt us; he will always be there to try
and tempt and hinder us.
I was thinking to of some of the lovely marks of Jesus. We know so well
the spirit He had, the great humility, the great patience and the
compassion and love. I thought of the time we read of Him sitting on the
well. It says He was weary of the journey. It is the only time we read
of Jesus being tired. I am glad it is there. We know He was tempted in
all points as we are, and we get tired and weary. We can’t help it, our
bodies are like that in the cares of life. I thought of Jesus sitting
there, quietly thinking, a needy soul came along and as a result of that
contact led to a mission in the village, and how Jesus was tired, but
He was always ready to help needy souls. I think that is lovely to think
of our Saviour was always ready in spirit to help us. Today we heard of
Him serving, He is still serving as our intercessor, He is still very
interested in our spiritual welfare. What a wonderful Saviour appears to
us; think of Him in so many ways as recorded in the Scripture.
My thoughts have turned to the first day of the week after He had been
crucified, that little band of women who stood by Him and seen Him
suffer, that was all they could do for Him, the One they loved, they
couldn’t do anything to help Him, only by their presence and their souls
willing to be identified with Him in His shame you could say, it would
mean a lot to our Saviour. Then we read of Joseph coming on the first
day of the week with spices and to anoint His body. I do appreciate
that, even they felt there was nothing they could do, they did the
little they could do. Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
Sometimes we suffer frustration, how do we take these things? God knows
what is in our hearts and we might not accomplish what we set out to do
because of circumstances, it is good to have the desire and God knows.
I couldn’t help but think of Mary in the 12th of John in the home of
Martha, she grasped the opportunity while He was there. Martha at their
home as a housekeeper, would like to prepare something very special for
this servant of God. Mary felt this is the opportunity to learn a little
more. Jesus probably said don’t go to any trouble, as servants often
say that; Mary valued the opportunity she had that day to learn, to
sacrifice, which had a great effect. She was the one who broke the
alabaster box, the fragrances savored that home, it also savored the
life of Jesus at that time. Jesus said let her alone she has done this
for my burying. She didn’t know what it meant to the Saviour, but she
grasped the opportunity and she never had another one.
There is just one little thought, little opportunities come our way of
doing something laid upon our hearts, if we make the best of our
opportunities we will have no regrets. I feel I have regrets by putting
things off, and opportunity may never come again. I hope as we have
gathered here we would indeed see Jesus, we will see again the lovely
qualities in His life and what He means to us, we will go forth from
convention feeling God has been good in giving us a vision of His Son.
As we think of how His love and how He died for our sakes, it would move
us to even be faithful in our generation and show to others how our
faith is fixed on Jesus. He is a center of our affections and He is our
hope. I am sure as God looks down today, He will help us even in our
weakness and need, that we would see Jesus, see Him dying, and see Him
pleading, pleading with us that we would give of our best, so He can
give to us all the very best, for Jesus' sake. ~ ~ ~ssion in the
village, and how Jesus was tired, but He was always ready to help needy
souls. I think that is lovely to think of our Saviour was always ready
in spirit to help us. Today we heard of Him serving, He is still serving
as our intercessor, He is still very interested in our spiritual
welfare. What a wonderful Saviour appears to us; think of Him in so many
ways as recorded in the Scripture.
My thoughts have turned to the first day of the week after He had been
crucified, that little band of women who stood by Him and seen Him
suffer, that was all they could do for Him, the One they loved, they
couldn’t do anything to help Him, only by their presence and their souls
willing to be identified with Him in His shame you could say, it would
mean a lot to our Saviour. Then we read of Joseph coming on the first
day of the week with spices and to anoint His body. I do appreciate
that, even they felt there was nothing they could do, they did the
little they could do. Desire accomplished is sweet to the soul.
Sometimes we suffer frustration, how do we take these things? God knows
what is in our hearts and we might not accomplish what we set out to do
because of circumstances, it is good to have the desire and God knows.
I couldn’t help but think of Mary in the 12th of John in the home of
Martha, she grasped the opportunity while He was there. Martha at their
home as a housekeeper, would like to prepare something very special for
this servant of God. Mary felt this is the opportunity to learn a little
more. Jesus probably said don’t go to any trouble, as servants often
say that; Mary valued the opportunity she had that day to learn, to
sacrifice, which had a great effect. She was the one who broke the
alabaster box, the fragrances savored that home, it also savored the
life of Jesus at that time. Jesus said let her alone she has done this
for my burying. She didn’t know what it meant to the Saviour, but she
grasped the opportunity and she never had another one.
Ilma Jenyns - Oak Lodge conv. 1979 [Ilma labored many years in India, started in the work in Western Australia in 1933]
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