The Worker Approved by God — Bill McLeod

Well, good morning. And a funny thing happened. Back in the days when I preached in the logging camps, you know, and I had a little psalm sheet with 14 psalms, and one of them was, All the way to Calgary he went for me.

So, we're singing this psalm. But you know how they were singing it? All the way to Calgary he went for me. They didn't know the difference. They weren't trying to be funny. They thought it was a misprint and a print.

The Worker Approved by God and the Word of Truth

Okay, now I want to read a little bit from 2nd Timothy chapter 2. Verse 7. Consider what I say, and the Lord give you. One translation says, The Lord shall give you understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead, according to my gospel.

When I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore, I endure all things for the elect's sake, that I may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not, yet he abides faithful, he cannot deny himself.

Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about the words, to no profit, but to the suffering of the earth. Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly divining, one translation says rightly handling, the word of truth, but shalling profane and vain babblings.

They will increase, concerning the truth of air, saying that the resurrection is already, and they are overthrowing the faith of some. Nevertheless, they are sealed in Christ. Depart. But that should be studied and shown unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed.

George Mueller, 200 times, before he died, he read it through 100 times, no he didn't, he had 2 ,000 orphans to look after, and a staff of 300, and he said, if I don't pray three hours a day, I can't get the work done.

This day was no longer than ourselves, to make time for prayer, and for studying the eternal word of God. 18th chapter. Had some trouble somewhere, in five verses. But don't put it in with the word day.

Prayer, Scripture, and the King’s Discipline

Did you know this? The kings of Israel, according to Deuteronomy 17, they were not to multiply horses, or chariots, or wives, or gold, or silver, five things. And then, they were supposed to handwrite a copy of the law of Moses.

It's a little different, but quite close to the size of the New Testament. So I was challenged. I decided to do my own copy of the New Testament. It took me about two years. I only did it when I was at home.

So what I've got to have done, and then starting the Old Testament, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalms, that you've written down, people tell me they can't remember, then you better start writing. I have a friend, he's a music teacher, a godly person.

He heard me say something about this one time in a meeting, and he told me he's going to do the same thing. He started doing the Old Testament. I don't know why. And do you know why? He's handwriting.

And I saw his handwriting, and you wouldn't believe it. You would swear it was done by a machine. When he gets finished, he may be finished now. I don't know. He lives somewhere in Alberta. I have to find out.

But I'd sure like to see it. It's not just to have done it yourself, but you learn more. You have to notice every word, every sentence, when you're writing your own copy. I don't know if anybody here is doing this.

I challenge you to try. Start with something like 2 John, 3 John. Don't start with Matthew. You might get discouraged, but just start. Start! Kings were supposed to do that. Aren't we kings and priests?

Yes, we are. So we should take hold of this, I think. Well, why should we? Thy word might not sin against thee. We've sometimes consulted with people. They were doing a certain thing. They didn't know it was condemned in the Bible.

We showed them from the Bible. Maybe they've been doing it for years. So, there's no excuse for being ignorant. Who needs to be ignorant? To a Christian. We all have time. We have to order it right, that's all.

Which is giving God first place. Christ. Those things won't matter. Junk. Some of them are highly educated, maybe 4 or 5 degrees after their name. But they may be battling a lot of junk, too. The Word of God.

I pray in Psalm 119,. So, you're asking God to order your steps in His Word. We can't understand it. Apart from what we see, the things in the Spirit of God, they are foolishness unto Him. Neither can He know that.

For they are spiritually deserving. We need it. We frequently have people who just have trouble reading the Bible. They could read any other book. But when it came to the Bible, somehow, they couldn't get it, they said.

Understanding the Bible Through the Holy Spirit

Jesus told us, He told the disciples. And I think they can stand on that. He told them that. Did you know that was in the Bible today? With Christians. Christians. If you're willing to care. It says in James 1, If you don't believe in the Bible, reading the Bible sometimes 6, 8, 10 hours a day.

You've got to get into that frame of mind. And see it that way. He's in the States for 2 hours a day. And everything you can think of, you know, as far as food is concerned. For the Bible. Which is going to be stuck 7 feet under, right?

Unless He comes back before that. You see their bodies. We pamper them. Feed them. Fold them. Then blame it on something else. The eating. Billy sings that most Americans didn't agree with their teeth.

Receive it with maintenance. A little child said, God. The Bible said. You can know something you don't know. Because we're but a guest today. How much is that? Not enough to fill a thimble, you know.

Nothing. That's where you start with God. You don't know anything. You haven't done anything. There was nothing the Bible said. So, God's outlined. In pride so much. Well, the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.

See, in Old Testament days, they knew what it meant to be converted. Teach sinners on ways and sinners should be converted by the union. David said. So, they knew what it meant to be converted. They knew what it meant.

But today, the law of the Lord is still the law of the Lord. Converting the soul. First Peter 1. Seeing you purify your souls. And obeying the truth through the Spirit. With a pure heart. Firmly. Be born again.

Maybe 5, 10 years. Says there. But it's wonderful. It brings us alive. It kills the old man. In John 5. Your word has quickened. Once or so later. Did you know what happened the other night? In the middle of the night.

God wakened me. And for several hours. It was as if He was standing there. All those Bible verses He gave us in those meetings. All of them came back. And it set me on fire. So, there's a power in the word of God.

It doesn't always happen now. It may happen down the road. But give it faithfully. And people will be blessed. You never know. Quickened. Quickened by the word of God. It has a power. You know that. The desire.

That you may grow. As churches. 1 Peter 2. The same day probably. But there's an answer to that. What is it? Okay. 1 Peter 2. Verse 1. They excite. Envies. And evil speeches. And then it says. Desire.

Holiness, Sin, and Hunger for the Word

As you know. He almost fell off his chair on the floor. He said. I didn't know that was in the Bible. So, we read it in the evening. Desire. All matters. No matter. Just love. No matter what. And guile.

That's what you use when you put a worm on a hook. To catch a fish. And hypocrisy. And hypocrisy. An act on the stage of life. That's the meaning of the word. Envy. Much of that. Somebody's got a bigger car than you have.

Or a bigger house. Or a prettier wife. The Lord Moses told the people. Eight things. They were not to envy. Just love. He tried to trade it in. And get another car. Was that bad enough? That's what terrorism is.

He backed the truck into his new car. He stood there. And he sang the Doxology. He had it right. What manner of persons you ought to be. I say it again. In all holy conduct. And godliness. Looking for and hastening unto the coming of the day of God.

That's great. Laying aside. Malice. God. Foxes. Envies. Then you'll be able. Are you done yet? I already fought. There's always a reason when people said. They don't have a desire. For the word of God.

What is holding you back? What is it your letting stand? Their drinks is sour. The reason why. People are had their. You know. Hunger for the. For the word. Is because their mouth is sour. It gets sour by our sin.

He just stared at me. Never said anything for a few minutes. Then he said. Will send my wife in. Yeah. And admittedly some people are hard to love. And some people are hard to love. Some people they're almost impossible.

That's our business. I was called to be loving. Put a sign outside your church, the friendliest church in town. If you're in the friendliest church in town, you'll likely be in a constant building program.

Daily Bible Reading and Peace

You don't need a sign. That is reading, studying. You can read that too according to his word. Study the Bible, see the greater word. That's the Psalm 1911. But you have to know it. Fourteen chapters a day.

Six in the noon and then I read two chapters from the book of Proverbs every day. Sometimes 4 .15, sometimes 3 .45, so what, you know. Just to have the time to be alone with the word of God and let God speak.

And sometimes it's hard just to let God speak. Okay, great peace have they who love your law and nothing shall offend them. You meet Christians constantly, they're offended by this and offended at somebody or some little deal, you know.

Great peace have they who love their law and nothing shall offend them. So that's a big order, that's the way it should be. Like a tree planted by the rivers of water, he brings forth his fruit in the season.

Whatever he does, oh his leaf doesn't fade. Whatever he does, we'll prosper. Get into the Bible, you get the Bible into your heart. In Mexico, I read a while ago of some churches, they have parents. He just doesn't read any further in the Bible until he's doing it with the missionaries in the area.

It's a constant revival. Everybody is the same. Don't read any further. And so I'm doing what I'm told to be that way, to be right. But the Bible tells us to be right in the spirit of God. You need to get into the Bible and God disciplines you.

Transformation by the Spirit of God

We are all beholden to the glory of the Lord. That's Jesus in the scriptures. We are changed into the same image. To glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord. People sometimes say, I don't see any progress in my life.

You don't have to see it, it's going on. If you're studying the Bible, rightly and faithfully, you are going to change by it. Whether you know it or not. You may not see the changes. But we're changed by the spirit of God, through the word of God.

That's his business. In 24, the writer said that God's testimonies were his counsel. Am I a counselor? You need a counselor? Do you know that there are unconverted psychiatrists, I understand from my reading, and they read the Bible, not because they believe it's true, but because it has, as they have discovered, a fantastic insight into human nature.

They don't know where it comes from. They don't even think about that. But it helps them. So, it was well. The sword of the spirit. Give your testimony. Jesus said in the last. Christians and all, they're weary.

Says John 10. The scripture. Use that Bible. Teaching is your kind of your witness. Get as much of the Bible. She's the highest person in the world. She can't even look at herself in the mirror. What's she saying?

That's why they have to stop her. It's her life. Less than revival. We're satisfied with less than the spirit of God can do. Just reading the Bible should make us see there's something missing. It's an old saying.

Revival, Prayer, and the Power of God

If you've ever gone through a revival fire, you'll smell smoke on your clothes till you die. And that is true. You can't be satisfied. With anything less. When you see. What God can do. Sat down. And the whole congregation turned and fell on their knees and started to pray.

Just the hand of God went over the whole place. You know. We see things like that happen again and again over the years. God is able. But we grieve Him. Keeps us in Old Testament teaching. No, Christ said about the tribes.

These you are to have done. Christ put His stamp of approval on tithing. In case you didn't know. So we robbed Him. Will a man rob God? Billy Son said, yes, you bet he will. Because God won't take him to court.

And then. Five minutes later. Not witnessing to God. Do you see it in your own heart? Do you get it? How big is your fire going to be? You know, some Christians are going to go up feet first, holding on to the steering wheel of their new convertible.

You know. Or their proper boat. Or holding on to the doorknob of their $250 ,000 house. It's just plain garbage. You know something? I could live happily in a 10 by 12 tent. If that's all I had. I like the sound of rain on the canvas anyhow.

But anyway. Things. Things. That's what they are. They are things. To close their mouths and freeze. The best for the devil is just a Christian that's frozen. He likes you to be that way. Pray for God to put you into the fire.

He knows how. He'll do it. He'll bless you. I met my dear mom one time. She said, you know, she always called me Will. And she says, you know, Will, I think I've lost God's power. I haven't led anybody to Christ for a whole month.

Well, there's people that live for 50 years. As a Christian, I haven't led anybody to Christ. And I'm not even worried about it, you know. Why is it? Just last week flying down to Indianapolis. I got to talk to the guy next to us.

He accepted Christ. I've written him since to help him out. And it was just so interesting. God stuck him next to me. Because he was hooked on pornography. And when I talked about Christ, and I explained what Christ could do for him, he prayed right there and received the Lord.

Thank God for that. He's able, but, you know, if you don't say anything, what can God do? He's waiting for us to speak up and say something to the people around us. And we can't be selective in that because there's times, I don't know if I mentioned this before.

Maybe I did. I sometimes repeat myself. But as I was coming off a plane, just as we were coming home from Indianapolis, there were some people working for the airplane. They were standing in a row there.

Witnessing Through Tracts and Personal Action

As clear as anything could be, the Lord just said, Have a tract in your hand. I didn't hear a voice, but it was so clear. So I had a tract in my hand. And all of this wine disappeared. There was just one lady left at the end.

So when I got off to her, I thought, This has got to be the one, you know. So I offered her a tract. And dear people, you wouldn't believe me now. She said, A tract? That tells you how to get to heaven?

Oh, she said, That's wonderful. That's wonderful. We sat a few moments there, you know. Supposing I just walk by. It's mostly what we do. We just walk by. Nothing happens. After a while, we figure God is dead.

No, no. We're dead. We're dead. God isn't dead. We're dead. We've got to change this, people. Let's not talk about revival. Let's get into it. Let's do what we can. Have a prayer of life. Pray for unconverted people.

Expect God to bless them. Do something, you know. Don't just sit. For Christ to come. That's not a defiant, we should rather superior. But, in the meantime, study to show yourself a provident to God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing or rightly handling the word of truth.

Study it. It doesn't say you people have got time to study. That's not what it said. It says to every Christian, study to show yourself a provident to God. So forget it. Don't plead ignorance, you know.

I don't have the brains. Listen. Don't talk to God that way. You are not talking to some dumb bat. He can take any life and change it and use it. Did you ever hear about Bat? A place called Nephi. It's a buffer state between China and India.

No missionaries ever been in there. But at this time in India they had a hospital, a test board. And they wanted to pray for some while to get somehow to get into test board. And a guy came up. He heard they had a hospital.

He was healed. And then he heard. He has done his best. He came back out six months later and he said, how do you make churches? The short mother baptized. They couldn't win. He goes back. He comes back another six months.

And he says, to bring them back over there tonight. Thousands being converted, you know. You're right. A big person. Just someone small enough that he won't take the glory from God. Take the credit for it.

I remember one time the Lord asked me this question. Again, I didn't hear a voice. It went like this. If somebody else should get the credit for something you did, would you mind? I should hate it, but a couple of days later I'm in the hall.

Because the glory is God's, not yours. And certainly all people need just to be a Christian who loves God before he loves anybody else. Who is happy if all he has is half a mantle. He doesn't need a lot of things.

Eternal Priorities and the Coming Glory

He has God. Revival. Oh, God. And God will most certainly do this. So many. And I keep, wherever I go for meetings, you meet with people that were in meetings back in the 80s, 70s, whatever. Walking with God.

It's amazing what God has done for many people. And is still doing. Through the Revival Movement. It's not over. I think the greatest days are yet to come. He shall appear in His glory. The New Testament Zion is a church.

Hebrews chapter 12. You are not calm on the Mount Sinai. He'll appear in His glory. In the church. And I believe that has to start somewhere. In your circle. In closing occasion. Some of us have heard hundreds of Revival sermons.

And it hasn't changed us one bit. The same as we were before. It won't change. Ever. Let's get with it. That's not a concern. But I want to be right. But I'll be right. Well, Father. Thank you for sending the Lord Jesus.

To the beginning. For listening to us. And for blessing us.