Telling the Truth

Jill Briscoe: Welcome to Telling the Truth with Stewart and Jill Briscoe.

Stuart Briscoe: There is a little verse in the book of Proverbs that says, words suitably spoken are like apples of gold in settings of silver. Now, I have no idea what an apple of gold in the setting of silver is, but apparently it is very very nice indeed. The the reason that I use this particular text as a starting point is this. Is this idea that words suitably spoken are incredibly valuable. And when I was reading that verse on one occasion, I I began to think back to some of the things that people have said to me over the years.

And I have discovered how incredibly valuable some of these things were. And so I like to tell some aspects of my story around the specific things that people have said to me, the apples of gold in settings of silver.

Jill Briscoe: Have you ever heard a word of advice or wisdom that stuck with you? Today on Telling the Truth, Stewart Briscoe shares some of the spiritual aha moments from his years walking with the Lord. But first, joy is a powerful promise for those who follow Jesus, but it often seems so hard to truly experience. We want to help you by sending you Stewart and Jill Briscoe's five message series, Rediscovering Joy, as our way to thank you for your gift to help more people experience life. This special offer ends soon, so call today and request your copy.

1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stewart with today's message, Words to Live By.

Stuart Briscoe: There is a little verse in the book of Proverbs that says, words suitably spoken are like apples of gold in settings of silver. Now, I have no idea what an apple of gold in the setting of silver is, but apparently it is very very nice indeed. The the reason that I use this particular text as a starting point is this. Is this idea that words suitably spoken are incredibly valuable. And when I was reading that verse on one occasion, I I began to think back to some of the things that people have said to me over the years.

And I have discovered how incredibly valuable some of these things were. And so I like to tell some aspects of my story around the specific things that people have said to me, the apples of gold in settings of silver. I was a young boy at the time. I have one brother four years younger than I am, and he was sick. Uh it was a Sunday morning, and my mother had to stay home and look after my younger brother while my father, who was a lay pastor, went to deal with his pastoral duties. And to my intense delight, my mother said that I could stay home that morning.

I didn't have to go and listen to my father. And I was thrilled about that. I got a little stool, and I put it in front of the fireplace. I was sitting on my little stool in front of the fire, and all of a sudden for no known reason to me, the thought occurred to me that my parents were committed believers, and I was not. And I jumped up from the stool, and I ran to the bottom of the stairs, and I shouted up to my mother. I don't remember the exact words, obviously it was a long time ago, but I said something to the effect, mother, I am not a believer.

And she immediately left her other son, who was sick, and decided that her other boy was sicker. And so she came rushing down the stairs. She grabbed her Bible. She opened it at Revelation chapter 3 verse 20. She read it totally out of context and made a very simple application of it. You remember the verse, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice, I will come and sup with him, and he with me. That's the old King James version, which is all we had there. Kid said, no an IV, you know?

What did you read? Anyway, that these these were the dark ages. And so so she read this verse to me, and I could see no connection whatsoever to what I had just said to her, and this verse about somebody knocking on the door and and somebody else opening the door so they could sup with them. And I really didn't know what supping was either. And so fortunately, she was able to explain to me, this is a picture of Christ, risen from the dead, that he is knocking on the door of people's lives quietly, but insistently, because he is giving them the opportunity to invite him into their life.

The initiative is with him. The response is with us. I don't know how much of this she explained to me because I've got years of theology in my mind since these days, but basically this is what she was saying. And so I said to her, well, how do you open the door? I didn't see a door anywhere. Fortunately, she was up to the task of explaining to a young boy basic spiritual principles. And she was able to explain that to me. And she said, well, you you really need to talk to the Lord in prayer.

And I said, I wouldn't know how to pray. And she said, I can help you with that if you'd like me to. And so my mother prayed with me. And and she showed me how I could simply tell the Lord Jesus basically three things, that I needed him, that I wanted him, and that I was willing to open my life to him. So I prayed with my mother on that occasion, and nothing happened. And so I turned to my mother, and I said, did he come in? It's a a perfectly reasonable question, isn't it? And she said, yes, he did.

And I said, how do you know? Now, they I mean these are the sort of question we should ask. You see? And and she said, and here's the apple of gold in the setting of silver. And I'll explain it to you in just a moment. But she said to me, he came in because when he promised, those were the words of a gentleman. Now, in those days they used to say, an Englishman's word is his bond. In other words, we didn't need lots of attorneys in those days because if you said you'd do something, you did it.

And if you said you wouldn't do it, you didn't do it. And there was no point getting into the courts, no point getting into suing people and all this kind of stuff. Your word was your bond. And that was it. And I understood that. And what what my mother explained to me at that particular time in a rather delightful little apple of gold in the setting of silver was this, that the word of Christ, the promise of Christ is the promise of a gentleman. And you can be totally convinced of it. And I want to tell you this, that has become that has been all my life a foundational principle.

Can you see the foundational principle there? It is this, absolute confidence in the trustworthiness of the claims and the promises of Christ. So there's my first apple of gold. Now, the second one relates to my father. He had a um small grocery store. And he sold candy. We called them sweets. And the access and egress to our living quarters was through the through the shop. And I had to walk past the candy counter. Every time I went in, every time I went out. Now, you've heard the expression as happy as a kid in a candy store, right?

Don't believe it. Don't believe it because I had to walk past this wonderful display of candies every time I went in and out. But I was told, they are not yours. You don't touch them. If you want one, you ask. And the answer will probably be no. That was it. This is this is I told you, it was the dark ages that I was growing growing up. So so I dutifully went in and out past these candies and until one day, one day, some overpowering impulse came over me. And as I walked past the candies with a tremendous athletic movement quicker than the human eye could discern.

I whipped a candy out of its container and into my mouth and kept going. And then I heard the voice of God. I felt that's what it was for this voice is Stewart, come here. And it was worse. It wasn't the voice of God. It was my father. And he he gave me a talk. The talk hinged around an apple of gold in the setting of silver, which I will give for you. We never touch what isn't ours. We never touch what isn't ours. Very simple little thing. It's amazing how it becomes a foundational principle for the rest of your life.

In business, in relationships, in in in all kinds of situation. And then he said to me, Stewart, look at me. Now, isn't it interesting when when somebody is rebuking you, how you do not want to make eye contact? You see? And the last thing I want to do is to look at him. But I did because I had no alternative. And my eyes traversed this glistening white impenetrable exterior of his starched apron until my eyes came to his face. And then I saw something really quite fascinating. I saw a stern face. But in the corner of his eye, I detected the trace of a tear.

And in the corner of his mouth, I detected the trace of a smile. And that was my father. Stern, strict, principled with a touch of humor and a compassion. And you know what my father did for me? My father gave to me a beautiful balanced picture of God.

Jill Briscoe: We hope the Holy Spirit is using today 's message to encourage you. And we want you to know that these teachings are only available on air and online because of support from friends like you. When you support Telling the Truth, you're helping connect people all over the world to God's word so they may experience life in him. People like Chris who shares, thank you for your obedience to the Lord's call on your life and sharing the truth and love of Jesus Christ with so many people. You have been and continue to be a phenomenal example of Christ.

My husband came to know the Lord because of your sharing and teaching of the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Thank you from the bottom of my heart lifting you up to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What an encouragement. Thanks so much for sharing with us, Chris. Joy often seems so present on the happy faces you see at church on Sunday and on social media. But does it really characterize your own heart and life? The good news is it can because finding true lasting joy is possible through Christ. In fact, it's a promised fruit of the Holy Spirit.

In their five message series, Rediscovering Joy, Stewart and Jill Briscoe examine the lives of Paul, Nehemiah, and other saints throughout the scriptures and show you what it looks like to re-encounter the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ and your unwavering joy in him. For just a few more days, Rediscovering Joy is our way to thank you for your gift to help more people experience life in Christ. So call today to request your copy before this offer ends. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Okay, now let's get back to Stewart with more of today's message entitled, Words to Live By.

Stuart Briscoe: Let's move along quickly. I was growing up in in a Christian environment. It was a consistent Christian environment. It was a strict Christian environment. There were aspects of it that I didn't agree with. There are aspects of it that to this day I don't agree with. But I am extremely grateful for the foundational principles that were put there. In England we we had in those days an iniquitous educational system that required a boy when he was 10 years of age on one Saturday morning to sit a series of examinations. And the results would determine whether he could go to a grammar school which would lead to university and to the professions, or if he failed it, he would go to an artisan school in which he would go into into a trade.

So in other words, in the English system in those days your professional career was determined one Saturday morning when you were 10 years of age. That was how it worked. Well, my parents were concerned about this, so they made me give me it was the 11 it was called the 11 plus exam when you're 11. My parents made me sit it when I was 10 just for practice. I didn't know what they were doing, so I went and sat the thing. And to everybody's amazement, I passed. And so now as a 10 year old, they stick me in with the 11 year olds.

But the first day in school, the head master came in and said, we've made a mistake. We've admitted three too many students. And so I thought, oh well, they're going to send me back where I belong anyway. And I was kind of relieved about that anyway. They said, so we've taken the top three in the county, and we're going to put them into the second grade. And I was one of the three. So now as a 10 year old and with the 12 year olds. So I graduated from high school when I was 16 instead of 18, but they wouldn't let me go to university.

And so I said, what do I do for two years? And they said, you didn't do very well at Latin. And so the best that they could come up with was that I do two extra years of Latin. Well, I was ecstatic about that as you can imagine. So I just I just left school. I I just left. I said, I'm I'm out of here. And I went and got a job in a bank. And they sent me to another town. And my parents made sure that I went to a little church of the same variety as the little church they belonged to.

It wasn't as little a church as the little church I'd grown up in. How little was the church I grew up in? Well, my brother and I were the Sunday school. Until we grew up and we became the youth group. I mean I I kid I kid you not. That was it. I I look at the programs we have at Elmbrook for all our kids and all the people. Oh, we need this, we need that, we need the I say you don't need any of it. You don't need any of it. It's amazing what you can do without, but anyway, that's that's another subject.

So I go to this little church. I'm there about three weeks, and a total stranger came up to me. And he said to me, how old are you? He didn't ask my name. He didn't know who I was. How how old are you? I said, I'm I am 17. He said, it's time you were preaching. I said I said pardon? I mean that's what the English say pardon. The American just say huh? What pardon? I said, it's time you were preaching. I I can't preach. I can't preach. And here's the apple of gold in the setting of silver.

How do you know you can't do what you've never attempted? How do you know you can't do what you've never attempted? Well, I mean that that put a you know torpedo under my water line. But he didn't just leave me to sink slowly in the West. He said, you will preach a week from Tuesday to the youth group. And your subject is the church at Ephesus. Now, at that juncture I was not aware that they had a church at Ephesus. But you'll be surprised to know that I became highly motivated. I wanted to learn all that I possibly could about the church at Ephesus.

Why? Because I was suddenly a born theologian. Suddenly I was a raving evangelist, right? No. No, my motivation was this, I don't want to make an utter fool of myself and show everybody that I don't know anything about the church at You see, the interesting thing is this, that God doesn't always wait for the most noble motivation. You know why? Because if he did, nothing would ever happen. It's it's amazing that that God will take somebody's pure is is is only motivation is just want to make a fool of himself. The day comes. I stand in front of the group.

I've got my notes on the church at Ephesus. I dare not look at the people I'm speaking to. I dare not look at the clock. I just buried my face in my notes. But after I'd finished my first section, I thought I I better see how the time's going because I just knew that you know the terror of the public speaker just starting out is the clock won't have moved. Nothing will have happened. And you don't want to stop because you're going to be greeted by that awful silence of disapproval. And so you just try to keep going saying what you've said.

So I I stole a surreptitious glance at the clock. And to my amazement, it had moved. In fact, it had moved very rapidly indeed. In fact, it it already moved past finishing time. And I'd only just finished my first point. And I blurted out, I know what I wanted to say, but what actually came out was not what I intended. What what came out was, I'm I'm terribly sorry. I I don't know how to stop. What I meant was, I'm sorry. I don't know how to draw this to a conclusion. I don't I don't know how to stop.

And an old man who for for some unknown reason was sitting on the back row said, shut up and sit down. The man who started me off with this situation came up to me rather accusingly. He said to me, you didn't finish. I said, well, well, no. He said, you'll finish it next week. And so I was back the next week with the conclusion. I I made sure of this with the conclusion of my talk on the church at Ephesus. And I thought, well, that's great. That's the end of my preaching career. Now, I can relax.

But I I was wrong. This fellow came up to me, and he said, now, the lot of little churches around here don't have pastors. And he said, I've put you on the Methodist circuit. And so I said, what does that mean? He said, it means that you get on your bicycle on a Sunday afternoon, and you ride out to the little villages around here, and you take the service in the little Methodist churches. Well, in those days, you see, we it was this was before teenagers knew they could rebel. We we thought that you're supposed to do what you're told.

And so I dutifully got on my bicycle and and started going off. And And I said, what do I do? And he said, you you pick two or three hymns and you and you and you have a couple of prayers and you take a collection, and then you talk them. I said, what about? He said, the church at Ephesus. And so And so I began to evangelize the whole area on the subject of the church at Ephesus. So that that was that that was how it started. Okay, so so see what's happened so far. These are the words of a gentleman.

We never touch what isn't ours. And how do you know you can't do what you've never attempted? Okay, now there's some foundational principles coming here. They're called apples of gold in the setting of silver.

Jill Briscoe: You're hearing from Stewart Briscoe today on Telling the Truth. He's coming right back, but first there's a special resource you'll want to hear about. Telling the Truth reaches people all over the world with the life giving truth of Jesus Christ. Your gift today can help even more people experience life in Jesus Christ, which is why we'll say thanks by sending you Stewart and Jill Briscoe's five message series, Rediscovering Joy. In it, Stewart and Jill examine the lives of Paul, Nehemiah, and other saints throughout the scriptures and show you what it looks like to re-encounter the grace and mercy of God in Jesus Christ and your unwavering joy in him.

Rediscovering Joy is our way to thank you for your gift to help more people experience life in Christ. But this special offer ends this week, so call today to request your copy. 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Stewart to answer a few questions for you and wrap up today's teaching. Stewart, how can we know that God's promises are absolutely true?

Stuart Briscoe: Well, now be careful here and don't get alarmed. I'm not going to say they're not absolutely true, but we we we've got to understand the the promises of God, under what circumstances were these promises made? To whom were these promises made? Were these promises conditional? You see, what one of the tendencies that we have when we study our Bibles or read read our Bibles is we come across, for instance, a a promise that was made to the children of Israel in bondage in Egypt for just for example, or when when they were when they're being taken off into captivity in Babylon, and God is making specific promises to Israel in that situation and it is predicated on certain conditions.

All right? We we need to we need to unearth all this information. And then we we can be in a position to say, all right, now how much of that is applicable to me in my life? And in my circumstances. And this requires very careful study and very careful prayerful and meditative thought.

Jill Briscoe: And what's your advice to people who are afraid of God and see him as a God of judgment?

Stuart Briscoe: My advice to to people who are afraid of of God is to encourage them to recognize that there are many facets to the character and the nature of God. And my experience is instead of coming across many people who are afraid of God I I I think I come across more people who as the Bible says, there's no fear of God in their eyes. And so it's it is rather interesting to to hear that that that there are still people who have a fear of God. There there is there is a sense in which scripture does explain to us, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews chapter 12 says this. In other words, he is a God who is holy and righteous. He is a God of judgment. What we have to realize is this, that we are utterly helpless as sinful people before a holy righteous God. But the wonder of it all is that he has demonstrated his love and grace in Christ. And so if they fear his judgment, that's appropriate. But they should also see the converse in his character, and they should love him for his grace.

Jill Briscoe: Thanks so much, Stewart. We hope today's message has encouraged you. And just a reminder that for a few more days you can get Stewart and Jill Briscoe's five message series, Rediscovering Joy, when you give to help keep these messages coming your way and impacting lives around the world. So call now to request your copy of Rediscovering Joy before this offer ends. 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online when you visit tellingthetruth.org. Thanks so much for being here today. Join us again tomorrow as Stewart continues to share his words of wisdom that have molded his faith over the years.

Listen in and experience life next time on Telling the Truth.