Conference: 1998

Table of Contents

1. The Lord's Coming
2. Water Oil Christ

The Lord's Coming

Address—J.N. Hyland
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Turn with me please, first of all this evening to John chapter 14, John chapter 14. And I just want to read a clause about the middle of verse three. I will come again. And then I want to connect it with part of a verse in Luke chapter 19.
Luke chapter 19 and verse 13. I just want to read the last four words of the verse.
Occupy till I come.
Well, I had it on my heart this evening to look at some portions of the Word of God that I trust, brethren, will encourage our hearts as to the nearness of the Lords return. And not only so, but I want to look at it in relationship to our responsibility here in this world in view of the Lord's coming. Because I've been impressed to notice in Scripture that God always does two things for His people.
He always gives them an eye to the future, something to look forward to, and He always gives them a present portion and responsibility. You see it illustrated very beautifully with the children of Israel in the Old Testament. God redeemed them by the blood of the Passover lamb.
He brought them by a high hand through the Red Sea. They looked back and they saw their enemies dead, and they rejoiced to have complete deliverance. But then God did two things for them. He gave them a hope. They were going to a land flowing with milk and honey. But what did He do in the interim? Oh, He provided everything that was needed for them.
Step by step and day by day in the wilderness.
Why? When they were hungry, he gave them the manna from heaven. When they were thirsty, he gave them water from the rock. We find that their sandals didn't wear out throughout the whole journey. The pillar of clouds sheltered them and from the sun and guided them by day. The pillar of fire protected them by night. And when they got back, I got to the other side of the wilderness and looked back. They had to own that it was all Jehovah's.
For them that he had provided everything that was needed and He had brought them safely through and I would just say before I comment on this expression that we read in John 14 that I believe we have something very similar here in these chapters that we often speak of as the upper Room ministry. The Lord Jesus had called his disciples and they had walked with him during his public ministry and as we.
Through the Gospels we find that the Lord Jesus provided everything that was needed for them.
During his public ministry, as they walked with him, when they were weary and burdened concerning the death of John the Baptist, Why, they just came and told Jesus everything, and he drew them into that desert place to rest a while when the multitudes were hungry, and no doubt the disciples as well.
What did the Lord Jesus do? Why, he took those loaves and fishes and he blessed them. And there was sufficient food for the multitude and for the disciples because there were 12 baskets left over. In other words, every disciple got a basket to take with them. We find two. There was another occasion when.
They needed a piece of money to pay their tax and the Lord said to Peter, go and cast a hook into the sea.
And when he did that, there was that piece of money and the Lord Jesus said, go and pay for the for me and for thee also. So he had provided everything for them, but the Lord Jesus wasn't going to be with them now in the way he had been those years of his public ministry. In the first verse of the previous chapter, it says that the hour was come that he should depart out of the Father and out of the world under the Father, having loved his own.
Which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. And to my own soul. It's just as if he gathers the disciples together in the upper room and he says, now I'm not going to be with you the way I have been, but I'm going to make full provision for you in my absence. And so in the 13th chapter we have the truth of foot washing and the refreshment that comes from the practical application of God's Word in our lives.
In the 15th chapter we have the truth of the abiding in the vine, and the joy and fruit bearing that that brings. In the 16th chapter, He brings before them the truth of the Comforter, the Spirit who would be the power for their life, as well as the One who would guide them into all truth and bring to remembrance the things that He had spoken to them. He brings before them to the privilege of prayer.
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Resource and Ave. that they were going to have in coming to the father in his name and through him.
And in the 17th chapter he lifts up his eyes to heaven, and he prays for his own.
And not just the little company around him on that occasion, but all those who were going to believe on him.
Just a little foreshadow of his high priestly work that he was going to take up and has taken up since he returned to the glory. Brethren, he's praying for us every hour of every day. His hands are uplifted for us in sympathy and love. But here in the 14th chapter, he brings before them a hope. Because I believe, brethren, that faith always needs an object. You know, I've heard people use the expression blind faith.
Heard it said that faith is a leap in the dark, but that's not so. Faith is not a leap in the dark. It's true that Abraham went out not knowing whither he went, but he did have an object. He looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Because you never give up present advantage unless you have an eye to the future. Sometimes illustrated it this way. A young fellow goes off to college or university.
And perhaps he lives on very little. Maybe his living quarters are not exactly what he would like.
Perhaps he doesn't go out with his friends when he'd like to because he stays in to study. Why does he do that? Well, he's got an eye to the future. He's looking to the time when he'll get his degree and he can give up present advantage because he says when I get my degree, I'm going to get a good job or a better job and things will be different.
And I believe that's why, if you notice carefully in the 11Th chapter of Hebrews, where you have enumerated for us those men and women of faith, every one of them had an object. As I say, Abraham went out, but he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Read of those who didn't receive the promises, but they saw them afar off and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims. Moses endured as seeing him who is invisible. And brethren, we need to have the goal before our souls.
Paul spoke of himself as running a race. Why did he liken the Christian pathway to a race? Because we understand very clearly that when the athlete goes out to participate in the in the race, he's always got the goal in view. He's not going to put everything he has into the race.
Doesn't have the prize in view. And Paul spoke of running a race. He spoke of having the prize in view. And what is the prize in the Christian life? Oh, the prize in the Christian life is always Christ. And that's why it says in Hebrews 12, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith and brother and I just want to encourage our hearts tonight to lift our eyes above the horizons of this sad world, to lift our eyes above the circumstances of life. I don't mean that we're indifferent to the things that God allows in our lives personally, sometimes in the family, often in the assembly. He allows those things to exercise us and to teach.
And so on. And we don't want to be indifferent to those things. But I believe too, brethren, we need to lift our eyes above the circumstances of life and look off to the glory and have the goal in view, have the prize. Paul said he was pressing toward the mark for the prize.
And I just want to encourage our hearts, brethren, here is a promise from the lips of the Lord Jesus himself. I will come again. And it says all the promises of God in him are yay and in him Amen to the glory of God. You know, it's been almost 2000 years since this precious promise was given by the Lord Jesus.
Does that mean he's failed in his promise? Oh, never, brethren, there hath not failed one word of all his good promise which he hath promised. You know, sometimes I have promised things, and I have promised that which is beyond my means to fulfill. And sometimes, when the time came to fulfill the promise, I had to shake my head and say, I'm sorry. I promised too much. Maybe it was a sincere promise, but I promised too much.
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Not only that, but perhaps when I made the promise, I had the resources to fulfill it, but something happened in the interim. Something came in and I lost those resources and I had to say I'm sorry, I can't fill the fulfill the promise, but the Lord Jesus is going to fulfill this promise that.
He made so long ago, and as He looked at this little company, He knew what was in their hearts. He knew their hearts were troubled. He knew that they were afraid as they thought of the Lord Jesus leaving them and going away. And how could He comfort their hearts? How could He say, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. All He could say, I will come again. And brother and I believe that this has been the comfort and the consolation.
Of the people of God all down through the ages. Later on, when the apostle Paul was used to develop this truth and to explain to the Thessalonian brethren very carefully how this promise would be fulfilled, he ended up by saying, Wherefore comfort one another.
With these words, when I go in to visit an elderly person in the nursing home or the hospital, when I go to visit at someone on their deathbed, what comfort would I have apart from the coming of the Lord Jesus? That is, I say for the believer. And I visited those who are in their last moments here on earth.
But all they're just rejoicing because they have the glory before them. They're looking forward to that time when they're going to be with and like the Lord Jesus Christ. And brethren, this evening, is this promise? Is this truth a reality in our souls? I don't mean is it something we can enumerate from Scripture as a doctrinal truth, but is it a reality in our souls? Are we really living from day-to-day?
In the good of the fact that the Lord Jesus is coming at any moment, because I believe in the measure in which you and I are looking for the imminent return of the Lord Jesus. In that measure it will have a practical purifying effect on our lives.
When he takes it up in first John chapter 3 and speaks of that time when we're going to be with and like Christ.
Then he says, And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. It has a practical purifying effect on our on our lives. Oh, may we be watching and waiting and listening for that assembling shout.
So the Lord Jesus gave the disciples this precious promise for the comfort of their hearts.
I will come again, brethren. Wouldn't we be a sad people tonight if our only look was around and back?
You know, it says if in this life only we have hope in Christ, even if it was hope in Christ, but only for this life, it says we are of all men most miserable, but we have hope in Christ not just for this life, but we have hope in Christ for eternity.
And that hope is referred to in different ways in the New Testament. In Titus, it's referred to as a blessed hope, looking for that blessed hope. In Thessalonians, it's referred to as a Good Hope. In Hebrews, it's referred to as a sure and steadfast hope. In Peter, it's referred to as a living hope. They say. In John's ministry, it's referred to as a purifying hope. Brethren, we were without hope at one time.
Without hope, without God in this world. But all we have a hope, a hope unlike any in previous dispensations, the hope of the Lord Jesus returning at any moment to ****** us out of this world, to meet him on the cloud. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. But then I read the expression in Luke's gospel.
Because, as I say, I'd like to look at it in relationship to our responsibility while we wait for the Lord's coming.
Now, I've been impressed to notice that everything in Christianity is in relationship to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. All our responsibility, our pathway here is in view of his coming. That is, shall I say, the pivotal point. That's the fruition of things.
So here he gives this exhortation, Occupy till I come. Now we know the context of this expression. It's in connection with the Lord Jesus who was telling about the noble man who took his journey into a far country and in his absence he gave responsibility to his servants. I might just say in passing that when this same incident is taken up in Matthew's Gospel, we find there's a difference in the respons.
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And the same reward when the man returns, because there it's God's sovereignty and every man is going to have praise of God in that day. But here we find it's just the opposite. It's the same responsibility and a difference of rewards. Because Lukes ministry brings before us man's responsibility and every one of us are responsible.
It doesn't matter how young we are here this evening if we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has a path of faith and service for each one of us, just like the Levites in the Old Testament. You know, under the Levitical order they all had a service and they all had a burden. And it says in Galatians, let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. And isn't it wonderful to think, brethren, that each one of us have been given a little service for Christ in the.
Of the vineyard where he placed us. And you know, it's interesting with the Levites that it wasn't the greatness of the service that counted. It was doing it under the Lord. I say that because the Levite who went around and picked up the pans or kept the cords from tangling or made sure all the pins were together before they moved, he had in a sense just as great a work as the one who carried the boards. And he wasn't to look at the one who was carrying the boards and say.
I wish I was doing that. No, that wasn't what he was given to do. And he's placed the members in the body as it hath pleased him. And again, just like every member of our body, every member has a particular function.
And I suggest, brethren, that sometimes there are assemblies that suffer a lack because there are those in the assembly who do not carry out the little service, the little function that God has given them. In fact, I've sometimes wondered if that isn't something of what Paul was considering when he wrote to the Saints at Colossi. And he said and say to Archippus, take heed to the ministry that thou has received of the Lord, that thou fulfill it.
Knew that perhaps Archippus wasn't carrying out the little service that God had given him to perform there, and that the Saints in the assembly at Colossi were suffering a lack because of it. And so if you lose a hand, well, the other hand can get along. Take over and get along.
But not as well as with two. And so every member is important, every member has a particular function, and we're to occupy till he come. And brethren, may we be exercised in view of the soon return of the Lord Jesus.
That we might redeem the time knowing that the time is short and that we might seek to walk in the path of obedience. It's a path marked out for us very clearly in His Word, and all we have to do is follow on in that path. And He wants to use you. He wants to use you in His service.
Oh, it may not be some great public service, but you know, as I travel from place to place and visit the people of God, I'm so encouraged when I hear about those who are carrying on little hidden services. And I believe there's even encouragement for the sisters because Paul, when he wrote to the Saints that Philippi, he said help those women which labored with me in the gospel, there were sisters who had been a real help and encouragement.
To the apostle Paul, I don't know what they did. Scripture doesn't tell us it's recorded in God's book of remembrance. But in some quiet way they had helped Paul and the furtherance of the gospel. And Paul says don't forget those dear sisters. You help them because they've been a real help to me.
Service for the gospel and so each one of us, brothers and sisters, children and young people, He has something for us to perform. Occupy till I come. But now we're going to turn to some scriptures and we're going to see again, these are all in relationship to the Lords coming.
You know, the path of faith, brethren, is just that. It's a path of faith. And you know, there are certain steps we take in our Christian life that we have to say, well, we trust we have the Lorde mind in taking this step. Now sometimes we look back and in retrospect we say, well, the Lord confirmed that it was of himself. And we say we're thankful that the Lord undertook and directed in this way. And so the path of faith is.
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Path of faith. But brethren, I believe as we look at these further scriptures, it's not a question of should we be occupied with these things, but are we occupied with these things in relationship to the Lords coming? Because when we have a definite word from the Lord in the Scripture, then the only happy thing is to obey. It says be doers of the word and not hearers only. And again when the Lord Jesus spoke to the.
Disciples in John 13, he said, if you know these things, happy are ye if you do them well. Let's go first of all to 1St Corinthians Chapter 11.
First Corinthians, Chapter 11.
And verse 26 For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come. Well, we know in the chapter before the 10th chapter.
He's taken up the subject of the Lord's Table. Then in this chapter he takes up the subject of the Lord's Supper. And to my own soul, brethren, everything that goes before in relationship to the Lord's Table and the Lord's Supper is summed up in this precious verse. For as often you know, I think this is one of the most precious things about being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is that we have the privilege of remembering.
Death, not just twice a year or on a special occasion or once a month or something like that, but we have the privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus in death from week to week. Because as you trace through the book of the Acts and see the history of the early brethren, we find that before the Canon of Scripture was completed, it was already the exercise and joy of the early believers to come together on the first day.
The week to break bread. I love to read that little account at Troas in Acts 20, to see those dear believers winding their way through the dark streets because I suggest that they met in the Evening Lords day. Wasn't a day recognized like it is in a so-called Christian land.
But after they were released from their duties, where, where did they go? All their feet followed that pavement to a certain building, and up those long flights of stairs to the third loft. And what was before their soul? They came together to break bread. And what a privilege they had on that occasion.
Brethren, does it mean something to your heart and mind to have the privilege of remembering the Lord in death? Because when the Lord Jesus took a loaf and a cup in Luke 22 in the upper room, and said to his disciples, this due in remembrance of me.
He knew not only what the hearts of that little company were like, but He knew what my heart was like, and He knew that I was going to need a reminder and that I was going to need it often, as often as she eat this bread and drink this cup. Now I realized that we understand the significance of the loaf and the cup. You know the Lord Jesus himself in Luke 22, He left nothing unexplained as to its meaning.
Jesus didn't just say to his own, when I go away, I want you to Remember Me and leave it up to his own to decide how they were going to commemorate him. No, he explained it very carefully. He set forth the format. He said He explained the significance of the loaf in the cup.
And brethren, when we were gathered together yesterday morning to remember the Lord in his death, there was one loaf on the table. It wasn't many loaves, it wasn't wafers. It was one loaf in the way that the Lord Jesus instituted it. And I trust, brethren, when we viewed that one loaf that we saw.
In that loaf, every member of the body of Christ, because in that loaf, as we get in the chapter before here.
Is represented every St. alive on the face of the earth at that time. They're all seen there, whether they recognize it or not, whether they practically express this truth in the breaking of bread. Every believer alive on the face of the earth is represented in that lobe.
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I believe we really need to keep this before our souls. It's not just those who are there on that occasion. It's not just those who practically express the truth in the breaking of bread throughout the world. But I say every believer and brethren, if we don't keep that before our souls, we're going to become narrow and sectarian.
In our view, then, when we break that bread, it is to be a fresh reminder of his body given in death. For us, then, the cup is a reminder of his precious blood. Notice it's given separate from the loaf, because the separation of the of the blood from the body was the proof of death.
It's not all combined in one as some would tell us, but it's given separately.
And brethren, may we never forget the cost of our redemption. May we never forget that the precious blood of Christ flowed and He's made peace through the blood of his cross. It's going to be our eternal theme when we get the glory, because we're going to sing as those who are redeemed by His blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. But I just want to pass on another little thought in connection with why the Lord Jesus.
Chose a loaf of bread and fruit of the vine. Now I want to say this carefully, and I'll qualify it. The Lord Jesus, in a sense, could have chosen anything and given it the same significance, but He chose a loaf of bread and fruit of the vine.
My own soul, it's just as if he says I want this to be something that's available to my own in any age, in any part of the world. You know, it's been almost 2000 years since the institution of this precious feast. And you can go almost anywhere in the world and at very little cost and with very little difficulty. You can find in some form a loaf of bread may not be exactly as we think of a loaf of bread.
In some form a loaf of bread, and in some form fruit of the vine. I have had the privilege of sitting down with my brethren in the jungles of Africa and breaking bread. There on the table in some form is a loaf of bread and fruit of the vine. I've had my the privilege of breaking bread.
With my brethren in various of the Caribbean islands, there on the table is a loaf of bread and fruit of the vine. And I know this is a little out of context, but I often think of that question raised by name and servants so long ago. They said, if he had asked me to do some hard thing, would thou not have done it? Brethren, has he asked us to do some hard thing? Has he asked us to obtain emblems that are costly or hard to secure?
No, He's made it so simple and so available to us because brethren, it's His joy in having us around himself to remember him in death. I say that because sometimes we think of our joy to be here on Lords Day morning and to have that privilege and brother, and I trust it does bring joy to your soul and mind. But all if there's been any joy by the grace of God in your heart and mind, His joy.
Us there has far outweighed ours. It was his desire expressed in Luke 22 to have his own around himself on that night. And I know it was the Passover that was in view there, but the Lord Jesus knew too that that was going to be the very spot where he would say.
This do in remembrance of me, and I trust, brethren, that at least in some measure we can say in the language of Isaiah 26, the desire of our souls is to Thy name and to the remembrance of Thee. And then we find it says, Ye do show the Lorde death. How long, brethren, till he come? Now, brethren, I believe that there is still, even in 1998, more than just the privilege of breaking bread.
You know, there's many who break bread, but I believe there is the privilege still of breaking, of partaking of the Lord's Supper at the Lord's table. He has a place where we can be gathered at his table by the spirit around himself. And I say that because he wouldn't say here till I come if he wasn't going to provide a scriptural basis on which to do it. He never asked us to do anything that he doesn't maintain.
A scriptural basis for and so all that's gone before us to the Lord's table and the Lord's Supper. Brethren, it still stands. I know this is the day of ruin. I know the enemy has been successful, but brethren, if we're looking to the Lord as led by the Spirit, He can lead us to the very spot where he would have us remember him in death in a scriptural way. And the challenge that comes home to my own soul is if the Lord Jesus is going to.
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Maintain a place where we can remember Him in death till He come. All the challenge to my own soul is may I by grace be found there when He comes. Brethren, it's only His grace that keeps us. It's His grace that brought brings us. It's His grace that preserves us. And when we get home to glory, I wonder, brethren, I just wonder if there isn't going to be just a little special understanding between your heart and His.
That while you were here in this world that cast him out, you sought by grace to show forth His death till He come. Brethren, it's a blessed privilege preserved to us. May the desire of our souls be to be there. May we seek grace. May the earnest and sincere prayer of your heart and mind be. Preserve me, O God, for indeed do I put my trust. But brethren, I just say, before we pass on to, there is no doubt.
There is no doubt as we read this verse and other verses similar that he wants us to remember him in death. It's not a question of should we remember him in death? It's a question of do we respond to that blessed request? This do in remembrance of me. Now let's go to first Timothy.
Chapter 4 I believe.
First Timothy chapter 4 and verse 13 till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Well, I'm going to take this verse a little bit out of its context. I I realized that here Paul is writing to Timothy, a young man, and desiring to see Timothy and speak these things to him face to face. He says in the meantime, give attendance to reading.
But I'd like to apply it in connection with what we're taking up this evening.
Because I believe there's something very relevant and good for us to consider till I come give attendance to reading. You know, I used to hear it say when I was growing up that meditation was becoming a lost art. But brethren, I wonder if reading isn't becoming a lost art. This is the audio visual computer age.
And brethren, we need to take time to read this blessed book. This exhortation is good for each one of us. Till He comes, give attendance to reading. Do we know what it is to get this blessed book out from day-to-day and read it?
You know, as we read the word of God, it has a practical effect on our lives. We find that first of all Paul, when he wrote to Timothy in the second epistle, he said that the Holy Scriptures were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
That is, it's the Bible that tells us the way of salvation. How would we know God's plan of salvation apart from the Word of God? But he's made it so clear. It says the way of righteousness is so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, may not air therein. And not only so, but it's the Word of God applied in the power of the Spirit that God uses to impart divine life to us. Because we're born again, not a corruptible seed, but incorruptible.
By the word of God that liveth and abideth forever, but then after we are saved, we have that new life, that divine life, and we need food for the divine life. Job said, I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Jeremiah said, Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and they were unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart. Do we know what it is to feed on God's Word if we're going?
Be, shall I say, healthy, fruitful Christians, we need to feed on Christ. And how do we feed on Christ? The Lord Jesus spoke of feeding on the bread that came down from heaven, and that bread was Christ himself. And we feed on Christ by reading this blessed book. Because wherever you read in the word of God, whether it's the Old Testament of the New Testament, the subject is always Christ. Many things about his person and work, but the subject.
Always Christ and I just encourage you to read God's Word in that way. See Christ in every line, even in the Old Testament, because when the Lord Jesus spoke to the two on the way of to Emmaus, it says beginning at Moses and the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. Then too, there's the refreshment that comes from the practical application of God's word in our lives. It's the truth of.
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That we were mentioning earlier, it says in the 119th Psalm, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto, according to thy word. And sometimes put it this way, before we go out in the morning, we need to gather the manna like the children of Israel, because we need food for our souls. We're going out into a spiritual wilderness where there's nothing to feed our souls or sustain the Newman. Plenty to feed our lusts, but nothing.
The Newman and so we need to feed on God's word in the morning and then when we come home at night, we need to have a good wash. We've been in a world of defilement and we need the washing of water by the word. Of course, I would just say in that connection too, that during the day we need to be like David who said, oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day. And so we need God's word. We need it all throughout the day.
It's the sustainment for us as we pass through this world. I might just say, too, that we need the word in the assembly.
Because God has instituted ministry in the assembly in a very wonderful way.
And when the Spirit of God is given liberty in the assembly, why it's in the assembly we learn the truth of God. I don't want to take away from personal reading, but I just want to encourage our hearts to be at the assembly meetings for ministry. It's true that the assembly doesn't teach, but it's in the assembly we learn as taught by the Spirit of God. The assembly is the pillar and ground of the truth.
And you know, I might just say this too. On a practical note, there are so many today who will put a man up at the front.
And they will get part of the truth and one aspect of the truth. But nobody questions that man if he presents something that's wrong. Nobody questions what he's presenting. But, you know, when the Spirit of God is given liberty in the assembly and the truth is ministered, I believe we get a balance in a way that we don't.
Any other in any other place. It's not that the Bible needs balance. It's the most balanced book there is. It's we that need balance. You know, I often think of that verse that says Ephraim is a cake not turned. You know, if you put a cake on the griddle and you don't turn it, it gets too well done on one side and not enough on the other. Man is an extremist by nature. And I've noticed that those who do not avail themselves of ministry in the assembly, they're often like that. They get off on one side of the truth.
They get off on one aspect of things, but if I present something in the assembly that's only one side of things, another can balance it. We're thankful for those who can bring out the doctrinal principles. Others can make a practical application, others can bring out the gospel from the same portion. And we need to avail ourselves of that ministry. You know, brethren, one of the great sins of Israel in the wilderness was that they despised the.
Manner that God gave them. And let's be careful that we don't despise the simple manner that God gives in the local assembly. Maybe it is given in ever so feeble away, but the Word of God is the same. The Lord hasn't changed and the Spirit of God can still minister Christ to us in the assembly according.
To our need, so he says, give attendance to reading, to exhortation.
And to doctrine, brethren, we need to be well grounded in the fundamental truths of this blessed book to go over and over these things, because I believe that's what will keep us in a day when there's every wind of doctrine afoot. Paul was writing to this young man and over and over again, especially in the second epistle, where the their enemy was busy to subvert their souls and to undermine the truth of God. I've never counted, but.
Over again He brings before them the neat Him the need for sound doctrine. Brethren, it's vital. May we store up our minds with the Word of God. May it be a very part of our life as another. As said, may we read it till we think in the very language of Scripture. Now let's go to Revelation chapter 2.
Revelation chapter 2 and verse 25. But that which ye have already, hold fast till I come. And then notice the 11Th verse of the next chapter, chapter 3 and verse 11. Behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Well, here we have, and again notice it's in relationship to the return of the Lord Jesus.
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But here it's an exhortation to hold fast. Now, we were saying earlier, brethren, that it's only the grace of God that keeps us. And that's true. But nevertheless, there needs to be that exercise of faith and that spiritual energy put forth that, shall I say, that purpose of heart that you see with Daniel in the Old Testament, Because I believe it does take purpose of heart to live in days like this. You know, sometimes I hear it said about someone so and so.
Nice desire well desires good, but it's not enough, because the sluggard desireth and hath nothing. It takes purpose of heart. And that's why Barnabas in the book of the Acts went down and exhorted the early brethren, that with purpose of heart they would cleave our whole fast unto the Lord. And here we're told to hold fast that which He have hold fast.
And what did he say? Oh, he said earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to the Saints, not to be looking for something new.
Some fresh light or new revelation. But to earnestly contend for that which had already been given. And brethren, we need to seek grace to earnestly contend for the truth of God, to hold fast until he come. But you say, Jim, you don't know how bad it is. You don't know if I don't know if I can hold fast any longer. Well, that's why I read the verse in the third chapter.
Because here we're not just told to hold fast till he come, but he says, behold, I come quickly, hold fast. Let me illustrate it this way. Suppose you're up on a roof and you slip and you're going over the side of the roof, and you grab the gutter as you're going over, and you're holding on there.
And after a while you say I can't hold on any longer. And someone on the ground says it's just another moment. The ladders almost here, help is on the way. What does that do? Well, it gives you that fresh burst of energy just to hold on a few more moments knowing that deliverance is almost there. That's what he's telling us here, Brendan. He says don't just hold fast till I come. But I'm coming quickly. I'm going to come at any moment. And brethren, with this in view, doesn't it?
Give us that, so to speak, fresh burst of energy just to cling to the precious truth of God. A few more moments. I remember a brother in the Maritimes telling me that when a mariner is out in a boat and he doesn't know where he is and there's a storm, perhaps it's foggy and so on, He said he can always tell when he gets close to land because the water all of a sudden becomes rougher. Brethren, we're almost to land now. Are these rough waters?
They are your adversary. The devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. These are indeed rough waters, rough seas like Peter walked on in Matthew 14. But I believe it's just a proof that the Lord is coming quickly. Well, may he give us that grace then, that spiritual energy that comes from himself, that we might hold fast and notice what he says, that no man take thy crown. I want you to notice.
That I believe that God will have those on this earth who value the truth till he comes. But brethren, if I don't value it, he's going to have someone else to step in who will. Another man is going to take my crown. I'll never lose my salvation, thank God. That's secure in Christ. But another can get the blessing, Another may get the reward. And if I'm not faithful, there will be those that God will raise up who will be faithful well, I say.
May we seek in the in the light of this, he says, Behold, I come quickly. Oh brethren, let's seek to hold fast in his strength until he comes. Now let's go to John 21, John chapter 21 and verse 22. Jesus saith unto him, if I will, that he tarry till I come.
What is that to thee? Follow thou me? Well, just to get the context here, we find that Peter, who had denied his Lord three times with owls and curses, he's been restored to his Lord. He's been restored in his affections. He had that personal interview, no doubt, with the Lord. He's also been restored publicly before his brethren. Because I really believe that one who fails publicly needs to be restored publicly.
And now the Lord Jesus is telling Peter something of the pathway that Peter is going to have in following the Lord. And as Peter listens to this, he sees John standing by, and he turns and he points at John and he says, But Lord, what is this man going to do? And this is the answer that the Lord gave to Peter. If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me again, perhaps an illustration.
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That helped me to understand at least something of the thought in this verse. When we were children at home, particularly my sister and I, we would often be left with a task to do. Perhaps it was to clean off the table after the evening meal and do up the dishes and put them away.
And mother would leave us to the task, and after a while she would come back in the room and she would say, Jim, you're not doing what I asked you to do. And I would usually point at Jennifer and say, well, Jennifer's not doing her part. And mother would say, you do what I asked you to do and I'll take care of Jennifer. Now, that is really, in a sense, what the Lord was telling Peter here, Peter, I've got a path for you. And.
You're responsible to walk in that path. I've got a path to for John, and I'll take care of John. But brethren, the path is individual.
Now let me just temper my remarks by saying this. There is a side to things where we ought to, as it says, have the same care one to another for another. And if I see a brother or sister going on with something that I feel is a detriment to them in their path of faith or something that is contrary to the word of God.
Then I ought to seek grace to go humbly and in love to that brother or sister. But brethren, in the final analysis, when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ, who am I going to be responsible for how well my brother or sister walked in the path of faith? Know how well I walked in the path of faith? Whether I was responsible for what the Lord had entrusted to me and those men that we began with in Luke's Luke 19.
When the nobleman returned, were they responsible for what had been given to another? Oh no. It wasn't a question of what their fellow servant had done with his talents or pounds. It was a question of what that man himself had done with what had been entrusted to him. And brethren, we are going to give an account at the judgment seat of Christ. We are going to be responsible for how well we followed in the path of faith. And so he says here.
Follow thou me. I know we spoke of this the other afternoon, but brethren, how simple it is all he wants devotion, He wants obedience. You know, it's interesting that the the believer is taken up as as sheep in the word of God, because sheep are the one of the few animals that are led you drive cattle You, you, you herd pigs, but you lead sheep. It's one of the.
Animals that is LED. Brethren, He wants us to follow My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they follow me. Oh brethren, may we seek to follow close to that Blessed One in the path He has for us. You know the path is marked out in His word.
It says it's a path that no foul, that the no foul know. If the vultures I have not seen the lions wealth has not trodden it upon it. That is, it's not discerned by the natural eye. It's not walked in in natural strength, but it is a path marked out for us.
David said, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Well, if I tarry till he come, what is that to thee? He brings it right down to the individual. Follow thou me. Now let's go to 1St Corinthians 4, I believe.
One Corinthians 4 and verse five. Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the councils of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God.
Well, here we have an exhortation. Judge nothing before the time until the Lord come. Now I want to comment on this verse very carefully because if you notice in the next chapter, there was something that needed to be judged for God's glory in the assembly at Corinth. There had been an evil allowed at Corinth. That was a moral evil. It was a very serious evil. And the apostle Paul writes to them by inspiration and he leaves nothing unexplained as to how this.
Evil is to be taken up and judged for the Lord's glory. But isn't it interesting, brethren, that before he takes up the subject of something that needed to be judged at Corinth, he says judge nothing before the time until the Lord come? Now, what I'm going to say about this verse doesn't excuse anything.
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Say too, that in the 5th chapter we have actions, and that so often actions need to be judged. In the 4th chapter here we have motives, the hidden things of darkness and the councils of the hearts. But brethren, there's some things we're just going to have to leave till the judgment seat of Christ. Yes, we need to take up actions and deal with them in the assembly often, but I believe there are some things, brethren, that are never going to be straightened out this side of glory. Judge nothing before the time until the Lord.
Come, you say, well, that sister did something against me, that brother said something, and the Lord never came in and straightened it out. Well, brethren, it may not be straightened out this side of glory. Solomon looked at things under the sun just from a natural standpoint, and he said, that which is crooked cannot be made straight, and the rough places cannot be made plain. Isn't that the way we look at it sometimes? But there's a glorious answer to that in Isaiah 40, looking on to a day of manifestation.
The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Brethren, there's a day when it's all going to be straightened out in the light of His presence. Jonathan was used one time to win a great victory in Israel, and Saul came along and tried to get the credit for himself. But God had the record down properly, and God does have the record down properly.
Mary poured out her ointment at the feet of the Lord, and every one of the disciples spoke out against her, But the Lord placed a proper value on what was done.
And there is a day coming when everything will be straightened out in the light of His presence. And I know, brethren, it takes faith to count on that.
But you know, Paul said, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. You know, he was misunderstood by the brethren he sought to minister to the brethren he loved. Why, he said to the Corinthians, the more I love you, the less I be loved.
They were treating him miserably. They weren't supporting him like they ought to. They were questioning his authority as an apostle. But he said that's all right, I just leave those things. It says of the Lord Jesus, who when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that Judith righteously.
You know, I've sometimes illustrated this way too often when my wife is with me, she carries a little handiwork to do as we travel and visit from place to place.
And I don't profess to know anything about handiwork, but I have noticed that some types of handiwork, if you turn it over to the back of the canvas, it seems like a tangle of threads. And maybe you can't even discern the picture or the pattern from the backside of the canvas. But when she's finished, you turn the canvas over and you see that every one of those seemingly tangled threads had a purpose to make up that beautiful picture.
Brethren, we view things from the backside of the canvas now. Sometimes it just seems like a tangle of circumstances. You say that's never going to be straightened out, but we're going to view it from the other side of the canvas in a coming day. I like the way the hymn writer put it. With mercy and with judgment. My web of time he woven. Ah, the dew of sorrows were lustered with his love.
I'll bless the hand that guided, I'll bless the heart that planned. When, brethren, when throned, where glory dwelleth.
In Emmanuel's land, and there are many things, we are not going to see the fruition of this side of glory. But I've enjoyed a little expression in the end of Revelation.
I know it's just an application, but it says both of the heavenly city itself and that sea in front of the throne of God. It says it's clear as crystal. Now we see through a glass dimly. There's shades and shadows, things we don't understand. But brethren, there's a day coming when it's all going to be clear as crystal. May we be willing to wait that time to judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, and He himself will bring to light the hidden things.
Darkness make manifest the counsels of the heart and then isn't it wonderful? Every man is going to have praise of God in that day. Well, I trust, brethren, these scriptures will encourage our hearts. The Lord Jesus is coming. We may never get home tonight. We may be before we get to our earthly homes. We may be summoned to the Father's house and as God's children, we're going to be safe home. You know, he didn't say I'm going to come again and receive you to the Father's house or to heaven, I should say.
He said, I'm going to receive you to the Father's house or I'm in my Father's house. And then he says something further. I'm going to come again and receive you unto myself. Brethren, that's what's going to make heaven. You know, I have a comfortable home up in Smiths Falls and I'm looking forward to being home, but not because I have a comfortable home, but because of the presence of my loved ones there. And when we get home, I suggest.
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That our occupation is not going to be so much the jeweled walls.
And the gates of Pearl and the Street of Gold and the fine things that will be there. And I suggest it's not even going to be so much one another, although no doubt there will be discourse one with another. But I suggest when we get one glimpse of his lovely face.
We're not going to take our eyes off him for all eternity. Well, may the response of your heart and mind this night be.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, let's pray.
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Water Oil Christ

Address—B. Anstey
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With the passing of our brother Norman Clark, this last week has brought thoughts to my mind with regard to much of what he has given to us through the years that we sat under his ministry, and I like to just speak this afternoon of a passage that I can remember him bringing out to.
Much to the delight of the Saints and encouragement, and I think that it might be just encouraging for each one of us who have missed much of the ministry of his brother and perhaps have not really heard much, might have an opportunity this afternoon to feast on some of these things that he would regularly bring before us in meetings in Richmond or, as it was in those days, Vancouver.
His ministry wasn't particularly.
Strictly doctrinal.
Or strictly practical, with somewhat of a bridge between the two. And it was certainly filled with sweetness of the person that was the object of his life.
And when having said that, I just like to turn to this passage. There's so many passages we could turn to. I thought of this one particularly, and that's in the Kings, second Kings. There's a few little excerpts here from the life of the prophet Elisha, second Kings, chapter 3, verse 16. And he said, that's the prophet Elijah. Thus saith the Lord.
Make this valley full of ditches, where thus saith the Lord, ye shall not see wind.
Neither shall you see rain, yet the valley shall be filled with water, that you may drink both in your cattle and your beasts. Verse 20. And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that behold, their king watered by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. And when the Moab bites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able.
And to put on armor and upward and stood in the border.
And they rose up, excuse me, early in the morning.
And the sun shone upon the water.
And the world might saw the water on the other side is red as blood. And they said this.
It's blood. The kings are surely slain. They have smitten one another. Now therefore mobbed to the spoil chapter 4 and verse one another cried a certain woman of the lives of the sons of the prophet unto Elijah, saying, thy servant, my husband is dead. And thou knowest that thy servant dead fear the Lord. And a creditor has come to take unto him my two sons to be born. And Elijah said unto her, What shall I do for?
Tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said Thy handmaid hath not anything in the house save a pot of oil. And when he said, Go borrow of the vessels abroad of all the neighbors.
Even empty vessels borrow, borrow not a few, and then without come, and thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shall pour out into thine vessels all those vessels.
And thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and her sons, who brought the vessels under. And she poured out. And it came to pass that when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me in another vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go and sell the oil, and pay the debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
Verse 8 And it fell on a day that Elisha passed to Shunam, and there was a great woman, and she constrained and beat bread. And it was so that as OFT as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. And she said unto her husband, Behold now I perceive that this is a holy man of God, which passes by it continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall.
That is set for him there a bed and a table and stool, and a Candlestick, and it shall be.
Now when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither, and it fell on a day that he came thither and turned into the chamber and lay there. I've read three different incidents in the life of Prophet Elisha, and each of them there is an exercise. The exercise was to first of all make room for the water.
And then secondly, to make room for the oil, and then thirdly to make room for the profit.
Himself, these three things are types and we're to read and understand the Old Testament from this typical standpoint and what it teaches us. The water might speak to us of the refreshment of the word of God.
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We know from the New Testament there are many scriptures that tell us that by the washing of the water of the Word of God, Ephesians 5 for instance. And then we have as I said in that 4th chapter. Secondly, they making a room for the oil and the oil is a figure of the Spirit of God in Scripture and there are many scriptures that would bear this out. I trust each here as familiar with that symbol. But then thirdly, we have the making room for the sun, the.
The prophet Elisha and he in this passage is a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. I realized that these passages can be taken in various ways, but for us this afternoon here, we'd like to look at Elisha as a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. What then do we have before us? The need and the exercise to make room for the Word of God in our lives.
The exercise to make room for the Spirit of God in our lives.
And the exercise to make room for the Son of God, Christ himself. In this third chapter, we find that actually in all these chapters, the the ministry of the prophet Elijah is quite interesting. In fact, it is very much a ministry of grace. And that makes us think of the Lord Jesus, particularly as he is depicted in the Gospel of Luke. In fact, you'll find many correlations with the life of Elisha and Luke's gospel, One of them I just mentioned.
He said that there were no lepers. There were many lepers in the land of Israel, but none of them were healed.
In the days of Elijah, except for Naaman the Gentile who was a leper, its only found as I believe in Luke's gospel. But there are a number of different things that you can see correlate that gospel with the life of Elijah. In fact, the various things that Elijah was doing you'll find duplicated by our Lord Jesus even in a greater way in his ministry.
In that gospel loop, raising the dead, feeding, healing.
Helping and so wonderful to see this.
In the life of Elijah, more than that, you'll see too that the time in which Elisha was called the minister, things in Israel were in ruin. The Lord had said back in Deuteronomy that if they were to go on with Him in obedience, that there would be plenty of blessing.
They're the barns would burst forth, and their wine presses would burst forth with the abundance of food, and the heavens would give forth the rain, both the early and the latter rain, and so on.
But he also said that if you did not walk with him in obedience, that the disciplines of the Lord would be upon them, and the heavens would become brass, and there would be no rain, and there would be a lack of water for themselves and for their their cattle, and more than that, there would be poverty.
And there would be not an abundance of food to even be able to live. And furthermore, there would be, as an example with the great woman, there would be bearing us the fruit of our own bodies. That is the ability to have children. And we find that is what is represented here in these verses that we have had read to us. There was a problem.
There was no water. The next example was.
The woman there, she was in poverty, a condition that should never befall one of the Abraham's children walking with God. And then we find the Shunamite unable to bear which would might speak to herself bearing a fruit, fruit bearing. I would not want to say that this is a fault of these individuals altogether themselves, but the general condition of things in Israel at the time was that there was great departure.
It was in a day when.
Ahab had passed away, but his posterity was still around and.
It was much idolatry in the land it comes before.
It comes after rather the ministry of Elijah, when Ahab was reigning with his wicked wife Jezebel, who had brought in the Zidonian worship and idolatry. And it comes before, between the work and the raising up of Jihu, to break the power of Jezebel and to eliminate.
In Ahab's house.
And so it was a day when there was still much ruin and among the people of God. And then I should have called the minister at that time.
And what does he do but go about bringing blessing to every situation that he comes to? And each one was so variously different. And it's so wonderful to see him working. And I like to just look at that here for a minute. Now, the first one, you find that there was a need for water.
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These 3 kings had got together, if you know the story, they got themselves into an unequal yoke, a situation they ought not to have been in. But there they were and were thrown divided, and they had made this plan that they were going to make a big circuit and go into the wilderness. They were going to attack the mole bites from behind. That is helping the wilderness. They would never expect them to come from that angle, because remember that the wilderness was on that east side of Moore. Surely if the children of Israel were going to attack, they would come in from the West or the South. And so the Moabites were already.
And only to find out.
That they were going to come in from the east. It sounded like a great plan, but the Lord couldn't bless it because they were mixed with three kings. There was a godly king, Jehoshaphat. There was a man that was an ungodly professor in Durham who was the king of Israel at the time, and then a godless man and wasn't even the Lords at all, the king of Edom and the three linked together.
We're going to accomplish this, and all of their reasoning and all of their planning only got them into trouble.
And that should remind us that each time that we put, shall we say, the the destiny of our own situations in our lives, the hands of human reasoning, we're going to find that it's going to bring forth the same kind of barrenness. And here they were. They got open to the the desert and they found out they hadn't taken enough water and they were in trouble.
And so they call upon the man of God, and Elisha says.
You need to get down in the valley, which would be the low place. And they were to dig the ditches. They were to dig ditches. And the Lord was not going to send rain, but somehow there was going to be water that would fill those ditches, perhaps seep through the banks, I don't know. But the result would be that there would be a great collection of water in those ditches. And so the exercise first there is to make room for the water. And surely if we get in the path of our own devising and we're going to find the barrenness of it and we're going to need.
The refreshment of the word of God, if there's going to be restoration and the Lords blessing and it's going to come about through the same exercise that they went through and that is through digging, through digging they got water, through digging they dug and God provided water. Now if we take this as a symbol, a figure of the word of God, it would tell us that God is well able to provide.
For our souls in the word well able, but the exercise for us is are we willing to dig that we might get the water for our souls that we might be refreshed and sustained in our journey. This is something that required energy and took diligence. The water was not going to come if they were not going to dig. And so we, you and I as Christians, we cannot expect to have someone, oh we give us something from the word.
We're home, we have our Bible readings. Children may not be able to.
To extract from the word of God that which would meet their needs, because they're not able yet. We have Bible readings and we take these things and we try to bring out things that would be of practical use to them for their profit. But there comes a time as we grow in the Lord, as we should learn to be able to take that word and to dig into the word of God ourselves to get refreshment to sustain our own lives.
And if we do not, we are going to come into the same serious situation that they were in. They were going to they lacked water.
And now what we find is they get down, there's a humility and when they meet offering was offered. You find on that 20th verse that might speak to us of giving the Lord his rightful place about the Lord here into it.
If there came water.
Plenty of it, and it fills those ditches to overflowing. And they had plenty to drink for themselves. Now I want to mention something that I distinctly remember hearing a brother Clark mentioned.
And he says here in verse 22 and 23 that when the Moabites rose up in the morning, they looked out over the valley and the sun was just beginning to rise.
All of its power and it shone upon the water. And of course there was a reflection.
Upon the water, and as we know, when the sun comes up in the morning, it's red often, and lands when there is not clouds like we have, and often in the evenings. And you can imagine the glare that it must have came off the water. As they looked out over the valley, they saw what looked to them to be pools of blood. And they figured that the children of Israel had rose up and other kings had killed them and left blood everywhere. So they thought, well, the victory's been one for us. Let's run down there.
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And claim the spoil.
I remember him saying what looked like what was refreshment for the children of God.
Only looked like death to the man of the world.
I thought that was such an apropos remark here. These bull bites men that didn't know anything of the things of the grace of God that the children of Israel knew. They looked on that which was refreshment for the children of God, and they deserted to be death.
But it was a very lifeline for these ones, the children of Israel. And it's just the same, isn't it, when you try to?
Speak about the Word of God or talk about the things that.
May be a refreshment for us to someone you may work with or whatever. Well, they look at going to a Bible meeting or to a prayer meeting or something like this is death. Well, they're talking about the next ball game and they're all excited about who's going to win this thing and they're casting their vote or whatever at work and that this is what sustains them. And here you're talking about going to a Bible meeting while they look at that, which is for your refreshment, what you thirst after.
Oh, to be shut up in a room when they have that, when we can be having what we have, Isn't it true? The man of this world looks on. What is refreshment for the child of God has been nothing more than death. But you know, if we got a communion with the Lord and we haven't had our appetite, perhaps wet as it should be, that may be the same for us. There may be someone right here in this room here this afternoon is just waiting for.
4:30 So you can get out of here to find something that they think will sustain their souls in the way of what the world may have. I don't know. And perhaps they may look at this as rather boring death in that sense. But to the child of God, what is refreshment to us will only look at death, the man of this world. So we have that first great exercise of digging we must dig for.
Paul told Timothy that we are to study, to show himself a Workman that need not be ashamed. Rightly dividing the word of truth. He told him to give himself holy to these things. There's many scriptures that would tell us to dig and we'll find great refreshment. I hope that's the desire for every one of us. And once we begin to taste of the refreshment that there is in the word, it will give us energy to dig more.
And as much as we dig, he will fill.
For the refreshment of his word, Mr. Hale used to say, and Mr. Clark was fond to quote him at different times. He used to say, I'm talking about the senior ham. We can have as much of Christ as we want in our lives, show how much we want. Let's look at the second exercise now. There was this woman. Her husband had died. There was death would come in, poverty had taken place. The creditor was coming.
What a situation, but there was yet a vessel partly full of oil, or at least there was some oil in the vessel, and it was that which she comes to Elisha with.
And almost.
Irremitable situation, how are these going to be sustained? And yet he finds that there is oil and that was enough. The oil is a figure of the Spirit of God. That's something every one of us have, no matter how poverty stricken we may feel that we are with regard to the things of God. We may look at ones who have much spiritual wealth and say I'm not like them, I don't have much. But you do have the pot of oil. You do have the Spirit of God. He's the one that can open up the things of God to you and make you a wealthy man or woman in a spiritual.
And so he says that's enough to have this pot of oil. He says your exercise should be to get vessels so that you can make room enough for the oil. And as many vessels that she brought, we find that the oil was poured out, and they're filled, those vessels with that oil. But notice that fourth verse particularly will not come in. Thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons.
And shall pour out into all the vessels.
Thou shalt set aside that which is full.
Here he gave her instructions as to what would make that oil to flow forth and this is what we want, of course, is to have the activity because the flowing forth of the oil is a is a figure of the activity of the Spirit of God, His power evidence in our lives for our health and for our benefit.
But he told her how this was going to be.
At least what was prerequisite for that oil, and that was to go after getting the vessels of providing room, and she was to shut the door upon herself and her sons. And when she did that, when she would pour out, their miracle would happen that the oil would run forth, and there would be plenty of oil that would fill all that she would provide room for. And that tells us something, doesn't it?
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It was, it was so very necessary for her to shut the door upon herself and her Son. And you know, this is one of the reasons why that the Spirit of God is probably not so evident in the life of Christians today. It's because we have been careless to leave the door open to fellowship with this world. And then we wonder why the Spirit of God doesn't take those things of Christ that the brethren tell us in the meetings and to make them precious to us. We open our Bibles or we try to have a time with the Lord. And it's not quite what the brothers are saying down there.
But did you close your door?
Have I got my door carelessly swinging open to the fellowship of this world? And not just upon herself, It was to be upon her sons too. And that takes in the responsibility of headship and home. Although the husband was passed away, it fell upon her nevertheless. Those were in the place of of headship and a home have to be very responsible that we shut through the door those things of the world that are going to come in.
My son asked me on the way here because we we were over Wenatchee and of course we took a motel room and we all know it's in a motel room. As soon as you walk in, there's this big window.
And I'm not talking about looking out over the parking lot, but there's window, but this control thing. And of course we say we'll have to look at that. And and when he wanted to know why, why wouldn't we want to look at that?
And I'm going to quote Mr. Clark again. I hope I can quote this right. But just when the TV was coming out from 1955 or something like this, the advertisements went around and the prairies there and they said.
Buy ATV and bring the world into your home. And he said he used to call his wife Gertie mummy and those of us who remember, and he would say, no Mommy, is that what we want? To bring the world into our home, you know?
I can still remember him saying that.
Well, he was careful to shut the door, wasn't he? And this is what you and I have to do if we're going to have the blessing that the Spirit of God would like to bring into our lives.
And so if the exercise of getting the refreshment of the water of the Word of God in the first instance was dependent upon their digging, now the blessing from the oil being poured out was going to depend upon.
They're shutting the door.
You know it says and James, the fellowship with this world is energy was gone. And so we need to be very carefully, each one of us. I lay my hand upon my own heart as I say these things. When she took that vessel and she poured out, the miracle began. She poured and she poured and she poured and as much as she could provide as far as vessels to contain, there was enough oil to fill it. Isn't that wonderful?
Every bit of room that you and I make.
For the Spirit of God in our lives, He will fill it and will fill it for our blessing. Isn't that wonderful? He will fill it for our blessing. All that she had got as a result of making that room for that Spirit refined the she meant reap the benefit of it because she was told to go and sell that and to pay the debt and then to live off the rest. And the great things the Spirit of God gives to us enables us to live spiritually.
It in a certain sense you know what I'm trying to say now we acquire spiritual truths and things that we can enjoy for the enjoyment of our souls as we read the word of God and we in the presence of the Lord take these things in. But you know you're something you acquire you acquire for life and as we were saying to some of the young people in Kirkland we could go or so that the scribe in the 13th of Matthew. He was to the householder there was to be like a scribe that.
The scribe was to be like a household I guess is the way it goes.
He was to bring things forth out of his treasury, things new and old. And we mentioned that there may be things that we have with with regard to the Kingdom of heaven that are old and things that are new. And the comment was made that we cannot bring forth things out of our treasury, something every one of us should have, a treasury where we put these divine precious things that we enjoy. We'll never be able to take anything out of our treasure if we haven't spent time putting it in.
Time alone with the Lord. Now I realized that the actual application of that verse things old and new is more to do with those things that are old that were said in the Old Testament and that pertained to the Kingdom of heaven, which would be the things that were given in Daniels prophecy. And the things that were new were the new things that Christ was giving and pertained to the Kingdom of heaven, which were the mysteries. I realized that but I'm just saying this in a practical sense that we too have a treasury and we want to put in those things that are.
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That we can collect for our own benefit and blessing for the help of others, and that is going to require.
The diligence of putting in, we cannot take out if we do not put in and so we can live of the rest and what a heritage we can collect over the years. Bill Johnson asked Mr. Clark, where did you learn these things? Where did you ever get them? He said, well, I'm not much of A reader, although we had quite a few books and every time we asked and he said, oh, I gave that book to so. And so he's got the book and we go over and sure enough he have it. So he had read a few, quite a few, but.
Self effacing brother as he was he.
Said, well, it's not. Income doesn't come by intelligence because he had only something like grade 5 education. You know, back around the turn of the century, they didn't go in for a lot of education. And he said the things that he had learned and taken in from the word of God he had got from Sam Denzin. I don't know who Sam Denson is, but he was a man that lived before him probably in the 1800s or whatever. And he said that Sam Denzin only had grade 2 education.
And so that was quite interesting that this man, Grade 2 education, had all this wonderful, precious things and truth.
Of another story here and I'll just make a digression here and I had no intention of saying this, but as I see Dave Whitaker back there I remember telling him this story a few years ago. There was this brother that came and his wife to the meetings. Actually, they had come to a Wayne Coleman's house where we're having Bible readings and he was really enjoying the things that Wayne and myself were bringing out and he was obviously wanted to get to the source of this and so he started asking what college were you trained at What?
Did you then come out of and we said well we got any samurai. We just go down to this old meeting hall down there in the center of Vancouver or we learn these things Well as a matter of fact, neither of us even have a high school diploma and in fact we were not in any way and I don't hear this afternoon evening encourage that necessarily. The Lord may call you to do other things is true, but.
For the young that are here, stay in school. I'm not even suggesting that you should leave.
And that's the Lord, of course, calls you to it. But anyway, we told him that that no, we didn't even, we didn't been to any seminary like that. We've been listening to these old men down at this hole. Well, of course, the next thing is he wanted to go down and see what this was all about. So he he went there and.
And he, of course, could realize that Mister Clark was a leading teacher there and bringing out these things. He came for two or three meetings and finally said, I want to talk to him. And so we went up there. And so Norman got talking to him about.
These things, and of course the man couldn't believe that these things could come from men. It didn't even go to any college, much less to come from this man whom we had told him he only had grade 5 education. So after talking to him, Norman told him that he had learned to lament much of the truth and this man had grade 2 education and that set this man off. He was met and normally didn't know a thing about it because he was just, you know, his self effacing way. And all these are not my own. I just think that have been passed to me by my older brother.
I'm making this point. Why am I making this point Well.
I think I'm trying to bring this notice because it's what the Spirit of God teaches, what the Spirit of God gives, not the schools of men.
Education is not something necessarily that is going to give you the truth of God here. She poured the world out and it was enough for her to live off of more her and herself and her sons and thereafter. How wonderful. Not belittling studies. I'm just saying that it does not take some super brain to take in and learn the truth of God. Sometimes we hear people saying I'm not able to take the word of God. It's so hard, it's difficult. Meanwhile, they're taking calculus in school and all these other things. I can't even.
Speak about.
And yet they can't understand some of the simple moral teachings of the Word of God. And I suggest it's got something to do with the doorway, but I can't always be. It may be the digging that is there isn't the diligence to want to. But whatever the case may be here this afternoon, we need to have what is connected with each of these three exercises. And now let's look at the third. There was this great woman, the Shunammite, and she spotted Elijah. He was coming by the way, and she discerned by the way in which he walked. I.
This is a holy man of God that passes by us continuingly. There was something in the way in which this man walked that gave her to realize this is an ordinary man. And I like to think of that with regard to the Lord Jesus. You open the Bible and you're looking at that blessed person. You should be able to see immediately This is no ordinary man.
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And she discerned, and as I said, I want to look at the election now as a type of Christ, she just turned that he would be a blessing and she wanted fellowship with him. And so she constrained him to come in and eat bread. The idea of eating in Scripture always brings up the thought of fellowship into communion. And so she took.
Advantage of the opportunity when he went walking by to call him in and to have fellowship with him.
He never asked her to go in, but he always turned in when she invited him. And it's just the same with the Lord Jesus. You know, he stands outside our lives, so to speak, and he passes by and there's an opportunity every day for us to invite him in, that we can have fellowship with him. He never invites himself.
He doesn't push himself on it, but he never turns away. One invitation for a child of God to invite him in, that we might have fellowship with him. And this is what she did. And he would turn in as often as he passed by. But something happened. Her appetite for fellowship with this man of God grew. She wanted more than just an occasional visit. What she wanted was to have his abiding presence with her. And so she suggests.
Husband, let's make a little chamber that we can have him more prolonged stays and this is too should be something that every child of God should desire to have the fellowship of the Son of God, not just some fleeting little glimpse of communion with him, but to have no the abiding presence of his of his fellowship. Now we were singing at him. What was the number what we were singing that it hadn't been in there.
76 Thank you 276.
May we in thy love of thy, and to know in full communion the sweetness, all the sweetness of thy love. How wonderful. Well, she suggests that a little chamber be made. And I can remember Mr. Clark bringing this out so beautifully. He said, what is the little chamber? Stick to herself, he said, I'll tell you what it is. It's our heart.
It's our heart because you and I, if we're going to have the fellowship of the Son of God.
Where two are going to have to make a little place in our hearts, a little chamber for him to come, a place that's just for him, that he can dwell. And isn't this what the apostle told, or at least encouraged and wrote to the Ephesians, and he prayed that Christ may dwell in your heart?
That ye may be rooted and grounded in love, that you may be able to all the Saints to comprehend the length and the depth of the bed and to know the love of Christ. Yes, this is what God wants for us is that we would make him that chamber. Make him a little chamber place where he can't abide, and we can enjoy the fellowship of sweet communion with him. Now it says make a place on the wall. That's not translated right. Apparently it should be.
Make a chamber, a little chamber with walls, Yes. She suggested to her husband that he would need to have walls on this chamber if it was going to be suitable for this man of God. And what do walls speak to us of in the Bible? Well, the walls in Scripture always speak to ourselves. Separation, doesn't it? Separation. And she knew, and we ought to know that if our hearts have not got the walls of separation.
A fellowship with this world that they have not been erected, it won't be a suitable place for fellowship for him to come. No, we have to be careful that there is with that chamber that we should be building in our hearts for him.
There would be walls. We need to be careful. And that reminds us of another hymn. Take thou our hearts and let them be forever closed to all but thee. 294 And that's what the Lord needs if it's going to be a suitable dwelling place for him. And then in verse 10, a little further in that verse, it says, and let us sit there for him. A bad, a bad. Why, what's a bad? Speak to us of place of rest?
Oh, isn't that wonderful, that we can provide something for the Son of God in our hearts, something that would give him rest and delight?
Isn't this something that there should be a desire in our hearts may have rest.
And then the table table.
What would a table speak to itself in Scripture? It's always a symbol of fellowship. He has to have sweet fellowship with him, and surely there is much that we need to have fellowship with him to learn, which is the next thing. A stool. The stool would speak to us of sitting at his feet.
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That's the place of the learner, that we might hear His Word, and surely He is much to communicate to us. And so let's make sure that there is that stool there, that posture of taking that place at His feet where He can give us the word of God. And that reminds me of Mary. Think of Mary there in the 10th of Luke.
She says that good part shall not be taken away from her. She had taken time out from the busy schedule of the work that around the house to sit at Jesus feet and hear his word. And this is what we need to do too, to have that that stool for for him to teach us. And we need to always be open to instruction from that blessed man.
That should fill our hearts. Some Christians don't think it's necessary to be taught.
They don't think the doctrine or the teachings of Scripture all that necessarily important. And someone once said, what does it really matter what we hold as long as we all love each other and get along? Oh, that's not at all accurate. We should love and get along, but what we hold is very important. What we and we need to have divine understanding and insight into the heart and mind of God. And this is going to come through learning at the feet of Jesus and then a Candlestick.
She thought that of that, too. What is the Candlestick? Speak to herself. To shine for him. If we're going to dwell, have him dwell in our hearts and to enjoy His company. Hear His word. There's going to, and there will be a shining forth for him, a testimony rendered for him. And so it fell on a day that he came through there, and chamber was provided for him. What do you think he did?
That's not big enough for me. I don't want that. I don't.
I'm not staying here. No. It says he came and he turned in and he lay there. He appreciated it. And you know, I just think of this. If you and I have the exercise to make him a little chamber, he will never turn it down and he will never.
Be a little but little space that our hearts may provide. He appreciated it and He came in and He lay there. What was her, her, her, her difficulty. I touched on it already at the beginning. The fruit of her body. She had no children. This period of Him. Deuteronomy 28. I think it is connected with the low state of God's people that He should be one of the ways in which He would touch.
People. And so he says to gaze, I call the Shunamite, and we see what we can do for a blessing for her. And you know, that's just what the Lord wants to do in a practical way in our lives. We let him in. We give him that chamber, so to speak, that place where He can dwell in our hearts and affection. And He is ready and willing to touch our lives in blessing.
He was ready and willing to dispense a blessing to this woman.
And so he asked you elected, he spoken to the king of the captain of the host. You want some fame and she said I dwell among my people. She had not that desire at all. She wanted his company and anybody who's touched the company of and the presence of the Lord Jesus fellowship with him is not going to want the fellowship for this world, its honors and glory. No. So he went and asked his eye what should be done for her and gaze. I said she has no child. Well, we know the story. What happened was that he said she will have.
Child. And in a certain season the following year, according to time of life, we find that she bears fruit of her body. And as a child, it wasn't without difficulty and wasn't without a problem. But what we find here in this passage is that she's now bearing fruit. And that would speak to us of the fruit bearing that each one of us as believers will do.
When there is that place made for Christ.
In our hearts and in our lives.
Now let's look back at these three things here very quickly. The exercise in the first instance was to dig that we might get the water of the Word. The exercise in the second instance was that we might shut the door to the fellowship of this world, that the Spirit of God may flow forth and blessing. And now the exercise of this third instance was that we might make him a place for him to dwell and notice. We might make him. I want to emphasize this.
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That is just something that we have to do. There may be there may have been rubbish in that part of the house, there may have been things that need to be cleared out. If it was going to be made, it was going to be something that had to be done, that they had to do.
Now we're going to make time for Christ and fellowship with Him. It's going to begin with ourselves.
And we need to renovate our lives, shall I say, if there's too much in it in the way of recreation and whatever else there may be, we need to have a moral renovation of our lives and to make that place for him. Then there will be the result of the bearing of fruit. It's not so sorrow in this woman's life. It's not without trouble. The pathway is never presented in in the path of following the Lord and faith.
One that it was easy. We find that the child is born.
We find that when he was grown that what happens is he goes out to his father and the reapers in the middle of the day and I guess he got sunstroke. He says my head, my head. Father says carry him to the mother. Doesn't seem like he had much interest in the the family as the mother certainly did. They carried him to the mother and he died. The child died. What a sorrow. The man of God had brought a blessing into her life and now a sorrow here comes in.
Perhaps it was sunstroke, we don't know.
But whatever the case is, you find here what she did.
She had, when he had taken them in, you brought him to his mother. Verse 20. And she sat on her, and he sat on her knees until noon, and then died. This was because the child was grown.
This tells us that one.
Child may get to an age where he's grown.
That we cannot always put all of the blinders in the restraints that a Christian home may have for a small child and children grow they get to in the age of teens there is there's nothing.
Left for us to do when they get full grown, but to do with what we have in that 20th verse.
And that is to hold your son on your knees. That speaks with a prayer, doesn't it? And that's what she did. The child dies, she goes to Elijah. We find it lengthen the chapter. I had no intention of taking up the latter part of the chapter. That he brings a blessing and recovers the child from the situation that he had gone himself into. That is the condition of death and blessing again is brought into the home. What a passage of scripture we have 3.
Exercises. I hope that's something that each one of us I've got an exercise for this afternoon.
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