Address—P.L. Johnson
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Return to the Prophet Zechariah.
Zechariah chapter 4.
And the Angel that talked with me came again and went to me as a man that is awakened out of his sleep.
And said unto me, What seeth thou? And I said, I have looked. And behold a Candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps which are upon the top thereof.
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl and the other upon the left side thereof.
So I answered in spake to the Angel that talked with me, saying, What are these? My Lord? Did The Angel that talked with me answered, and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he answered, And speaking to me, saying, This is the word of the Lord undesirable, saying not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.
Through art thou, O great mountain.
Before the rub of old I shall become a plain, and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shouting, crying, grace, grace unto it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, The hands of the rubble have laid the foundation of this house.
His hand shall also finish it, and I shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you.
For who hath despised the day of small things?
For they should rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven. They are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the Candlestick, and upon the left side there are? And I answered again, and said unto him, What be these two olive branches, which threw the golden pipes, empty the golden oil out of themselves?
And he answered to me, and said, No, thou not what these be. And I said, no, my Lord.
Then said he, these are the two anointed ones that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.
We've been taking up Zechariah in connection with the Ministry of Encouragement.
Can help for the feeble remnant returned to Jerusalem, building once again the House of God in the place.
Of God's appointment, the divine center.
And here in this 4th chapter we have brought before us.
Principally, I believe, the leading thought in this 4th 4th chapter. We have brought before us the vessel of testimony.
And the power that God supplies.
To furnish.
The light for this testimony?
Might say that the key to it is in verse six, the end of the verse, not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit.
Saith the Lord of Hosts.
That the work was not human.
And the testimony was not man, and so therefore the power.
In which the work was to be carried on, and the testimony was to be carried out was to be designed by the Spirit of God and not by human.
Power or human strength is the leading thought. But now you'll notice in the beginning of the chapter in verse one.
The Angel waked Zechariah as a man that is wakened out of his fleet. Now that's I have no doubt, but what these circumstances are full of meaning. I don't say that we're able always to attach a meaning to every one of the circumstances. Maybe someone has more light on it than I have. But I do believe that everything in the Word of God is important. There are no superfluous words.
And sometimes we.
We can learn something from the Lord by taking an account of a little circumstance like this. He was as a man that was wakened out of his sleep. So this would speak to us that the vision that Zechariah is going to have here is in connection with a time of awakening or revival. In fact, the very word revival has that connotation.
A time of awakening. Speaking of the a revival, I believe that has taken place.
In the history of the Church, we had something before us last evening in regard to this how when God returned to Jerusalem with mercy, we saw that in the Book of Revelation, chapter two and three, that in the course of the Church's history, when we come to the Thyatira period of Thyatira, when the Church is falling into idolatry.
00:05:21
Perhaps Speaking of the the Middle Ages, why the the Spirit of God?
Speak of a remnant, and it's in connection with that remnant that a revival or awakening was affected for the Lord's people and truth was recovered that had been lost and Saints were once again put in possession of the precious truth and ministry that was given originally through the apostles and especially through the ministry of Paul. This reminds me verse one of what we have in chapter 25 of Matthew.
We'll turn to that. We'll just read it rather than refer to it. Perhaps there might be some who are not familiar with what we're speaking about.
Matthew 25.
While we do not have the church as such here in Matthew 25, we do have what refers to the present age, or the present time in the course, you might say, of the Christian testimony in connection with the Kingdom of heaven.
And speaking about the 10 virgins that are brought before us.
And in verse one we see that their original calling was that they were to go forth and meet the bridegroom.
And they had a lamp of profession. And so they were to go forth to meet the bridegroom that speaks to, you might say, of the their original calling. And we know that the, you might say the leading feature.
Or the the feature that underlies the whole truth of Christianity is that God is calling out of this world a people for his name and for heavenly glory, calling them out to to meet the Bridegroom, as it were, the one who's going to come and receive them unto himself and take them.
To be with Himself, to share that heavenly glory with Him. But we read in verse five that while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
It speaks of the all of those connected and associated with the Christian testimony slumbered in flesh. But in verse six, at midnight there was a crime aid. Behold the bridegroom.
The word coming cometh is omitted in a better reading, for it's really the thought of the bridegroom himself is once again become the the hope and the object brought before those connected with the Christian testimony. And at midnight there was a crime able. This is a awakening out of sleep. Behold the bridegroom now notice go, ye ought to meet him.
That's what was said in verse one. They were went forth to meet the bridegroom.
So it is an awakening or a revival and a return back to God's original fault. The thought of this awakening and revival is that as we had last evening, God has returned to his original fall and we we see that this takes place in the churches history in the message to Philadelphia in Revelation 3.
There we have a return to the original thought of God in regard to the assembly of the Church and the affections of Christ and what the Church is to Christ.
Return to the original thought. Behold the bridegroom go you out to meet them. So we might say that in Jeremiah or in Zechariah here where we have he's awakened out of fleet. We can see that this vision is connected with a day of revival and awakening. So it would apply to us today as those who.
Are in a testimony or associated with a testimony that is connected with a revival or awakening?
What I do believe that when the spirit of God.
Work through men of God in the early part of last century to restore again to the Church of God in a practical way.
The truth, the you might say the full aid of Christianity as given originally through the apostles and especially Pauls ministry. Why that would correspond to the to the epic or period in the Church of history of Philadelphia. And there is a testimony identified with that. Well, I believe here we have the thought that there has been an awakening and a revival and so there is a testimony in connection with it.
00:10:00
But now notice verse 10 in Zechariah 4.
Not only is it a day of a revival and awakening, but it says, Who hath despised the day of small things?
For it was a day of small things. This is another thing that characterizes what we have in Chapter 4, this vision and the testimony in such a day that it is a day of it's a testimony and a day of revival or awakening, and it is the testimony of the Lord in the day of small things.
Now this is this is striking because you know, in the history of the testimony of God set up in this world, it began in great power.
And now, towards the end of that period of history, it's characterized by a day of small things.
In the habit of man thinking, I don't say that it's necessarily always true, but in man's way of thinking.
Things begin little and then they get better and bigger and bigger and improved.
I mean, that's if you examine the philosophy of man, you will find that's always his thought. He never thinks of things deteriorating. He always thinks in terms of things improving and things do not get smaller in his in his calculations, but things always get bigger, as I say, better. So that's his fault. It isn't always so because sometimes what man considers to be progress is really retrogression.
But nonetheless, in his thought is the progress. It's always getting better.
But we find that it's been true with all testimony or any testimony. Every testimony committed demands responsibilities.
Has has ended up, as it were, in connection with a remnant and small thing.
Then he says, Who hath despised the day of small things? Now that question would be very pertinent today for it to be to be identified with something that is small is not, is not attractive to one who is accustomed to thinking according to the mind of man.
For instance, just to be very frank and practical.
Why in in my hometown, and this happened to be when I was still in the building business on on a Monday morning after a so-called Easter Sunday as it's referred to when I appeared on the job. Why one of the salesman for one of the suppliers that supplied me came on the job and he knew, of course that I was a Christian and I had spoken to him before about the Lord.
Or at least in his mind, I guess he would say I was very religious and so he wanted to start the conversation along religious lines.
So he said to me, did you have a great service in your church yesterday? That was his first, first word, he said.
And then he wanted to know, did we have a large turn out?
What is he in his mind that was that was what he would expect on Easter Sunday. You know, when everyone turns out and there is an elaborate service, you see a day of small things. Well, when I spoke to him of the few gathered to the large name, and that we had to remember to the Lord as we do every Lord's day, and that it was another first day of the week to us. Well.
It sort of took the wind out of the conversation and he wanted to change it to other things. Of course it was no attraction. A small thing of that nature was no attraction.
But if I could have spoken about a large service and explain the described to him the finery of the service and the large turn out, we would have probably had quite a conversation along those lines. But it's a day of small things and the tendency is to despise such a thing. We'll now turn back to the Revelation, Chapter 3.
Or we will probably be turning to this more than once. Well, we find that there is a correspondence between.
The time of the Remnant in Zechariah's day and what we have in Revelation.
3.
I'm referring again to the Church of Philadelphia. I want to read it rather than just quote it in Revelation 3.
Birthday. I know thy work. Behold, I have set before thee unopened door, and no man can shut it. For thou hast a little strength, other words to be translated. Power. Thou hast a little power. That's what characterized them. But you know there is no assembly of all of the seven brought before.
The soul rejoices the heart of the Lord.
00:15:00
And is so set forth in such a commendable way as this assembly.
At Philadelphia. And yet what characterized them was that they had a little strength. It was nothing grand there. There was nothing imposing. There was nothing that they could ride out in a in papers and pamphlets and circulate around in order to to amaze people with their great success or anything of the sort.
No, but they had, they were characterized by a little power, a little power. It was a, it's characterized by a day of small things. But also I would have put out this, while it says little power, which would indicate a day of small things, the word strength or power should be noted. That is, they had to, we might say they had quality there even if they didn't have quantity.
And you know, I believe that's something to think about.
So those gathered is a large name we want. We don't want to be occupied with quantities, that is numbers.
After all, what is mere numbers? There's nothing wrong with being little. There's nothing wrong with being small, but God looks for quality. That is, it may be only a few, but the few there should be of a quality that would immediate approval. And I believe the thought that it we have here a little string. He doesn't just say there's a few of you. He doesn't say now there's just a little company there.
Because you can have a little company.
Oh, but what's the state? What's the spiritual state of that little company? That isn't the point. The point is, it's true they were small and little, but they had power. And the power they had, of course, was not human power. It was the power of the Holy Spirit. Turned back to the book, the Acts of the Apostles. I think it's chapter 4.
And we'll contrast and yet a little comparison to chapter 4 of Acts and verse 33. Philadelphia had power. It was little power, but it was power.
And I believe we'll see here.
The true thought of a remnant I mentioned the first evening we were together on this subject. The thought of a remnant is that it's a part of the original.
And it bears the features of the original, it's just a smaller portion of it.
And we see that, I believe with Philadelphia that what they had.
Was the same thing that was there in the early church. It was just a smaller portion of speech in a smaller way, verse 33 says. And with great power.
Now, the reason I translated the word in Revelation 3A little power, and I'm not just changing your arbitrarily. You can check it out in the new translation or any interlinear Greek and you'll find that the word translated power here is the same word in the Greek is the word translated strength. In Revelation 3, it's the same word.
And with great power. So in other words, what Philadelphia had was the same thing. They had the same power, but it wasn't great power. Now, it was little power because it was a day of small things. But the quality was the same because they were going on in the power of the Spirit of God. Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit. You see, the power that was there was the Spirit of God, the same power.
That gave the apostles witness to the resurrection here and with great power.
And what was the source of this great power? The Spirit of God.
The source of this great power that the apostles that enable the apostles to give witness of the resurrection was the Holy Spirit. And so the quality was there. But it's a day of small things, and I have felt that this should be an exercise on the part of those gathered to the Lord's name. Not so much. Not that anyone would just glory in smallness or numbers, and not that one would.
Say, oh, well, we don't want to have two or three hundred. We don't want to have two or three thousand or anything of the sort. That isn't the point.
But the point is that we would not be occupied with numbers or quantity, but the quality.
That is, that there might be with those who are there gathered to the Lord's name, that there might be.
Spirituality that there might be the power of the Spirit of God. And you know, it's sometimes I get the feeling when we talk about spirituality and the power of the spirit that someone gets the impression that spirituality is a sort of a nebulous high sounding thing that is elusive. And, and what does it mean that someone is holier than thou and super pious and all of those expressions will hear them sometimes.
00:20:08
But you know, what about a word like in Galatians?
If any man be overtaken in the fault ye with your spiritual restoration. I said that your brother one time I said, Suppose someone were to say that in your meeting ye that are spiritual, would there be any who would be exercised? Either the spiritual or the apostle certainly expected that there would be those that are spiritual.
It is not a matter of pride. We would desire to be spiritual. I believe is one who is endeavoring to to be led and guided by the Spirit of God. He is not. He is not seeking to walk. Now, spiritual doesn't mean perfect. You know, sometimes we get the impression you speak about spirituality and they say, oh, he thinks he's perfect. If you're spiritual, admit, never make a mistake.
Never at any time say something out of line.
All I didn't did, but what it means is this, that if one does act in the flesh.
I believe where there is spirituality, it is it is felt and it is detected and it is judged. That's the thought of the spiritual. It is that there is a spirit of of self judgment, not perfection. We're not going to find that. If the apostle had meant that there would be no one to go restore a brother overtaking in the fall for their none perfect.
And without fault. But either the spiritual, I believe, is those who are seeking to be governed by the Spirit of God and they're, they're going on in a spirit of self judgment. So that when, when the fleshly falls and waves prop up, there is an exercise to judge them and to set them aside. Well, I, I think we should be exercised about whether or not there is spirituality and whether things are done in a spiritual way taken up.
In that regard, that would be a little power, I believe, but it's not going to be manifested, this power in a great way. And another thing sometimes in the thought of the power of the Spirit in the minds of some professing Christian is when you speak about the power of the Spirit, you know what they think about. They think of for how great multitudes of souls being brought in, you know. Oh no.
You get a day of small things and so the power of the Spirit of God may not be manifested that, but you know it takes power to go against the current of this world. And the and the the little power that might be manifest among the Saints gathered, the Lord's name might be exhibited in a way of giving them the strength and the courage to to just be able to go against the current.
You say, well, why do you want to go against the current? Well, all you have to do is examine the current.
About it and you and you know why you want to go against them? Because the currents are all contrary to the mind of God. One reads the word of God and I'm impressed more and more as I read the Bible.
That, to put it plainly, how in a sense impractical the Bible is. If you want to get along in this world, you, you read the scriptures, you read them habitually and then you go out and you work and then your contact and you find people don't think like you find in the Bible. They don't, they don't act that way. They don't, they don't want to act that way. They don't want to go in the way that you find here.
Well, you see, that's that's the current. And so the believer has to go against the current and it does take power.
But if the power is the Spirit of God now it will be great power. But it can be a little power, and that's the quality I'm speaking about.
The quality that the Lord looked for is that power of the Spirit of God to do things according to the mind of the Spirit, and in the power of the Spirit will turn back then to Zechariah.
I want to take a look here at this.
Vision that he had.
Now the Candlestick are the lampstand, this golden lampstand in verse 2.
He looks and he sees a lamp stand of gold.
And there was a bowl upon the top of it. This bowl, of course, was a The object of the bowl was to be a vessel that would contain the oil.
That was supplied by the olive trees.
And.
We're circulated to the lamp by means of the pipes, but we read here that there was a lamp stand, olive gold, with a bowl up on the top of it, and then there were seven lamps. That was to the lamp, of course, is that which gives a light.
00:25:04
And seven pipes to the 7 lands.
Which are on the top thereof, and then two olive trees by it. And we see in verse 12 That these two olive trees.
Supplied the oil.
Through the golden pipes supplying the oil through the lamps. Well, no doubt it went through the.
To the bowl first as a as a receptacle or a vessel that care that that held the oil.
And then from there to the to the lamp, that it might shine out. Well, what does this bring before?
Turn back again to Revelation, this time chapter one.
In Revelation One we have what I believe would interpret this lampstand of gold to it.
Verse 12.
John said. I turned to see the voice that speak with me, and being turned, I saw 7 golden candlesticks or lampstands. Now in verse 20 of the chapter, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars of the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which thou sawest are the seven churches.
The.
So we see that the thought of a lamp stand is connected with the assembly. Now, of course, here in Revelation one there seven in our in our chapter in Zechariah, there was only one lampstand which I believe speaks of the testimony of the Lord in connection with his house set up here in this world to be the pillar and support of the truth. Now the reason I believe there's seven in Revelation.
One rather than one lampstand.
Is the fact that the way in which the truth of the assembly is carried out in a practical way as to our responsibility in regard to it is in a local way? In other words, there is no such thing as the the universal church on earth. There is one Church.
The House of God in First Timothy, I believe, is the church universal, the Church of the living God, the House of God, the Church of the living God, the pillar in support of the truth. That's the church looked at as the universal church. The one church on earth set up by God is his house here on earth in public testimony to be the pillar and support of the truth. But the way this, the way this truth is carried out responsibly is in a local way, in local assembly. The church universal does not act.
There is no such thing as an ecumenical council. That is the Church Universal functioning and acting as a universal church. Now it does. It is true that the church owners act, but it acts through local assembly. That is, when a local assembly acts, it acts for the whole church on earth. But the Church Universal doesn't come together.
We find that principle, I believe, in the ordering of the camp of Israel, typically.
When in the second chapter of the Book of Numbers when we see that each man was to pitch by his own standards and according to his own tribe.
That each tribe had a designated place and each man was to pitch by his own standard. But all of these tribes were given a place round about the Tabernacle. That is, they were all set up in relation to the central thought of the Tabernacle. But each man was to be in his own standards. And so it is with those who are believers on the Lord Jesus, a part of the one universal church. Each one is to have a local connection. You see the church.
In a local way, it functions as a local assembly, and that's why when we have the ardor and in which the church is to function set forth in Scripture, it's written to a local assembly. That is, Paul writes to the Church of God, which is in common.
We do not have in the Epistle to the Ephesians the local.
We do not have the ardor and function of the church in the epistle to the Ephesians, for there it is more the church in its universal character. They have we have the one church on earth in its universal character. But the truth of what the church is, the one church on earth is to be carried out in a in a local way in the local gatherings. And that's what we have in the first Epistle of the Corinthians and the Church of God with you that Khan.
The fact that there are 7 churches here, the seven lampstands Speaking of seven churches does not mean that all of these assemblies were independent of one another. It means that responsibility.
00:30:06
In the church belongs to each one of us in a local way. Each one has his own local connection and his own local responsibilities. And yet that is not.
A disassociated from the fact that all local gatherings are really or a part of that one church which is on earth.
But I referred to this, I didn't want to get off on a digression of that. I referred to chapter one chiefly to connect the fall of a golden lampstand with the thought of the assembly. And back in Zechariah, it's one, and it brings before us the truth of the Church. And I believe this means that God fought for the remnant in a day of revival and awakening, and in a day of small things. His thought is.
The testimony, the church is his testimony set up here in this world.
And we're going to go on with it, despite the fact that it is a day of ruin and failure. We know that there are those.
That they say because of the scattering and because of the divisions and because of all of the circumstances that exist, Well, they're, they, they give us the fault of the church or the assembly as set forth in Scripture. But we want to remember this, that the church is God's vessel of testimony, that here in this world as his vessel of testimony through the whole.
Whole of this this period in which we live, and until the church is taken out.
Turn to 1St Corinthians 12.
I think we have there in First Corinthians 12.
And verse 12, what corresponds to what I was Speaking of as the church being the vessel of testimony for God?
No one individual as an individual fulfills the thought of God as the vessel of testimony. Not that an individual is is not a witness, but God thought is and always has been from the very beginning of this age.
A collective witness and testimony.
Verse 12 far as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of that one body being many, are one body, so also is the church. No, it doesn't say this.
Now we know it's talking about the church, but it says so also is the Christ. Now it's remarkable. Why does it say so also is the Christ?
Why doesn't it say so? Also is the church?
Because the Christ, as it should be, the word be, is found in the original, so also is the Christ. It brings before us the thoughts. The Christ, the Anointed, is the, you might say, the vessel of God's testimony. The Lord Jesus was that when he was here.
He was he was in himself, you might say, the the vessel of God's testimony. And now he's taken out of this world and there has been farmed here on earth the body of Christ, the mystical body, if you want to use that word, spiritual body, of course not his literal body. And it now as it were, replaces Christ just as he was.
The the witness of God. Now then, as we read in Revelation One, he was that faithful witness.
Now then, so also is the Christ that's referring to the church, the anointed vessel of God, to be for God's testimony here in this world. And notice it isn't an individual.
It's the one body.
Has many members and they're all one body, so that the thought here is not that we are individually.
To be witnesses for Christ. But he has set up here the Christ his anointed, which is the church, the assembly for by 1 Spirit, where we all baptize into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free. And very often we quote this verse and stop there, but notice it says, and have been all made to drink.
Into one spirit.
Well, I believe that's a very practical word. We've been all made to drink.
Into one Spirit, by the one Spirit we were made members of the one body.
But not only that, we've been all made to drink into one spirit. Well, you know.
00:35:03
No doubt that is the Holy Spirit. This is what forms the basis for the exhortation of Paul when he says endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And why could he exhort us to keep the unity of the Spirit? Because we've all been made to drink into one spirit. God has not given me a different spirit from you.
I have a different personality.
As an individual, I have certain traits that you don't have, but we all have received the same spirit.
I haven't received a different spirit from you. We've all been made to drink into one spirit. Sometimes the thought of of giving up collective testimony is well, you know, you can never make people agree. I hear this so often. You can never make people agree. Everyone has different thoughts and that's quite true. But God hasn't given me a different spirit than you. We've all been made to drink into one spirit. This is the this is the practical side of the truth of the one body. He's not only.
Armed us into one body, but He's given us all the same spirit, the same spirit, identical, no difference. And so we can keep the unity of the spirit because we all have the same spirit, but we cannot keep the unity of the Spirit. If we're not walking according to the Spirit, then that's when our various personalities, that's when our various traits come in and rub against one another and grate against one another.
And so that's why it's necessary that there should be.
Humility and loneliness, long-suffering and forbearing with one another because we don't always walk according to the Spirit. But still there should be the exercise endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. For we have all that is, there is the capability of it.
I remember JB Stoney as a remark he made one time and I thought it was very good, he says. We find in Scripture that.
The Christians capabilities are equal to his responsibilities, and that's true. We will find that whatever our responsibilities are, there is the capability for it. Oh, not in the flesh is true, but in the Spirit. And that's the teaching of Zechariah four, That is, that everything is in the power of the Spirit of God. And that's what we find here. There will never be any practical unity among the Saints of God if there is not.
Of being governed by the Spirit of God.
If it's if it's every man doing that which is right in his own eyes, If it's each one bringing his thoughts and you know this is the way.
Fraternities in this world, this is the way they operate their efforts to come to a a unity is a thought of a unanimity of thought is that each one, maybe they have a little meeting together and each one gives his thoughts. They pull their thoughts and there's a pro and con. There's a given taste. And then the result of all this is they arrived at some sort of a formula.
Some sort of a course of action that's agreeable to all. Well, this is not the way the Church of God operates. This is really where each one subject to that one spirit in which we've all been made to dream. It isn't a pooling of ideas. It isn't a matter of pro and con and finding some formula that we can all agree on and then go along on that line. Know it's by the Spirit of God. We've been all made to drink into one spirit. This is that wonderful vessel of testimony. And in Zechariah 4, it's in connection with the day of.
Awakening a day of small things, one might have said, Well, this is possible. This would have been possible back in the days of the apostles.
No, it's possible today because the Spirit of God.
Remained with us. The Spirit of God is here. And so in Philadelphia they had a little power and it was associated with the Spirit. Turn back again now to Zechariah.
Our chapter in Zechariah chapter 4.
And you'll notice I've already anticipated in a way.
About the power of the Spirit being behind the testimony. But notice in verse two again this lampstand.
As we see, it represents the Church as the best of testimony. It was all of gold.
A golden scripture is typical of that which is divine.
And we were signed in Revelation chapter 12 That the Lord Jesus was in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. They were golden.
Reminding us that the Assembly or the Church is a divine institution, it's not a human one.
It is not a human organization, but it's a divine institution still. And the assembly and going on with the thought of the assembly, we're going on with that which is divine. And the lamps would no doubt bring before us the, the, the shining out of the testimony.
00:40:15
And the pipe is that which supplies the oil, and the oil being the Spirit of God. And so we can we can see that here we have the the vessel of testimony and the way this testimony is carried out and, and shining out and giving light as God intend in this Dark World, the light of himself, the divine thing, and it's give out in light.
These lights and it's supplied through the pipe.
Well, this reminds me. You turn back again to this time to Ephesians.
Now the portion in Ephesians chapter 4.
We might say that in the second chapter.
In verse 11, through the end of the chapter, through the rest of the chapter, we have the formation.
Of this vessel of testimony, the Church.
Dear and Gentile forming the one Newman.
House of God.
And so forth. In chapter four we have the the way it functioned, or you might say the shining out of the light.
And in connection with that, we read in verse 7 unto everyone of us, if given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ unto everyone of us.
Unto everyone of us.
Not just some of it here.
There has been a gift according to the giving of Christ, something given. This isn't salvation.
This means that everyone sat in the body as a member of the body has a function.
This is taken up in verse 16.
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplier.
According to the effect we're working the measure of every part make an increase of the body under the edifying of itself in love. So we see that every every one of us has been set in the body as a joint of supply.
By that which every joint supply, a joint of supply. You remember now in Zechariah 4, there were the pipes that supplied the oil that made the light burn. And so the testimony of the Lord is maintained by the Saints supplying and the power of the Spirit, that light and testimony here in this world.
The whole body, every joint supplies something and I would say this, that we are all supplying something.
And I trust we're supplying that which really is furthers the testimony in causing the the light to shine, causing the light to shine more brightly, rather than supplying or anything that might hinder it.
That in verse 11 we have some special gifts in chapter 4 and he gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers.
Well, this of course would also be involved in the in the supply and in making the light shine. And these gifts are for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. That is it. They're given an order like the evangelist. The evangelist, you might say, are the ones who who bring in those joints of supply.
And the preaching of the Gospel. So we see here that the fault of God is saving souls.
Is not merely or only that they might be ransomed from hell and from judgment, but that they might be brought into this testimony that you might be a joint of supply too, and to be brought into this testimony. That's the thought of the evangelist. And when they're brought in the pastor, the teachers care for them, feed them and look after them and maintain them in such a state that they're able to to function as joints of supply and to supply what?
Is beneficial to the testimony that causes the light to shine.
Well.
We see that the assembly is the vessel of testimony shining for God here in this world, and the Saints farming that assembly are looked at his joints of supply. And God has given special gifts, not only to farm them, to bring them in, but to maintain them and to keep them as it were.
In a in a proper condition, so that the flow of oil might continue even in a day of ruin and failure, these things continue. You know, these special gifts in Ephesians 4 are not like the furnishings of the Spirit in in the first chapter of First Corinthians in First Corinthians 12, some of those furnishings of the Spirit are not fitting for a day of ruin and failure, and so they do not continue. But in Ephesians 4, the evangelist pastor.
00:45:19
Continues even in the day of ruin and failure, a day of small things, a day of revival and awakening to keep the pipe, a supply of the joints of supply of the pipes in good order.
Well.
The the major thought, as I said in the beginning here in this chapter.
Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit. That's the Lord of hosts. And then it says, Who art thou, old great mountain before the rubble? Thou shall become a plain well. This speaks about the power to overcome obstacles and.
This mountain, of course, would be would be brought before us as an obstacle.
And there were obstacles in the way of rebuilding the temple.
But he says before the rubble thou shall become a plain well. Perhaps the rubble would be indicated in verse 14.
About chapter Zechariah, these are the two anointed ones that stand before the Lord of the whole earth, and I believe this refers to Derubable and Joshua the High Priest.
And the word anointed ones here literally is sons of oil. And so it would bring before us that derubable here is set before us is one.
Who is undertaking the work of God?
In a day of awakening, a day of small things, he's undertaking the work of God. The mountains have to be, as it were, removed the obstacles in order to continue this building of the temple, the House of God and the rubble would be one who is as a sum of oil, doing this work in the power of the Spirit of God and according to the Spirit of God.
I want to read in Second Corinthians chapter 10 a very important principle for us in connection with the service of the law.
Because I think the thought of a mountain being reduced to a plane.
Which speak of service?
Conflict.
And we want to see in Two Corinthians 12, it's not by might nor by power, by any human method or means.
But by the Spirit of God. Now the apostle Paul says in verse 2, But I beseech you, that I may not be bold.
2nd Corinthians 10 I'm reading may not be bold when I'm present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh, for though we walk in the flesh, that is in the body.
We're still in the body, he says. We do not war, and those that word war after the flesh. This has to do with church.
This is not so much the thought of worship, and sometimes we are inclined to think that when it comes to the worship of God, like it's a breaking of bread. Well, yes, everything there should be by the Spirit. We don't want to bring in human instruments of music and so forth there. Well, that's all by the Spirit of God. So when it comes to search, well, we want to take up a different principle.
But the apostle says, no, we don't roar after the flesh either. We don't. We don't worship after according to the flesh, but we don't work according to the flesh.
For the weapons or the literally the arms of our warfare, the means see, the arms of warfare are the means that one.
Use it or the instruments of war, the means he uses to wage war. That's the arms of warfare.
So this would have reference to the mean.
That we're to use in in that you might say the conflict of the truth, the gospel, even going out. The means that we're employees is are not carnal. That is they're not fleshly. They're not according to flesh, but they're mighty according to God. It should be. That is, they may not be mighty according to man. That is, man would look at it, He said, oh, that's a very poor means. You'll never get any work done for God that way.
Because according to man, in order to get things accomplished, you have to have you've got to organize and you've got to really do things according to a salesmanship fashion. But he says there might be according to God, according to God's reckonings, as it were. It's it's powerful because it's not according to flesh to the pulling down a stronghold, casting down imaginations are the thoughts of man and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringeth into Capt.
Every thought to the obedience of the Christ. Well, the apostle is saying here.
00:50:05
That he does not employ.
Fleshly means.
In his Christian warfare, no, he's going to, he's not going to employ fleshly means, but he employs that which is mighty according to God. It's according to the Spirit. And this is a real test. It's a real test. The real question, the real test in Christian service is not is this effective? That's not the real test. The real test is, is it according to the Spirit of God?
Is it compatible with the Spirit of God? Is this what the Spirit of God would lead us to do?
And to employ and to use, as we find what he has set forth in his practice, words, if not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord. And this in a day of scattering.
I think that sometimes we're inclined to believe that in a day of scattering and weakness and small things we have to employ.
Different methods than was employed in the day when everything was going on. Well, Oh no, it's still by the Spirit. That's what Zechariah 4 would teach. A day of a revival and awakening and small things. It's still by my Spirit. That's the Lord. The same principle, the same testimony that lampstand.
All of gold. And by the Spirit it's the same witness, the same testimony, and the same power. And so he would encourage them to go on and build that temple. And even if they would go on in the power of the Spirit, well, these mountains would be reduced to a plane.
Well, this, I believe, would be instructive and helpful and encouraging for us in a day of ruining failure because we do have the the availability of the Spirit that is the Spirit of God is still with us. That's one of the things we have in Haggai. My spirit remaineth.
With you, as well as the words that He's covenanted, as it were, with us, the Word in the Spirit of God, in his presence.
But we do have the availability of the Spirit of God to count upon him in his power to.
Maintain some quality that would be for the Lord's pleasure and glory, and also in His service and witness and in His testimony.