BEING AVAILABLE FOR THE LORD AT THE MOMENT

J.Renton

John 18: 4-9; Genesis 3: 8-10; Samuel 10: 20-23; 13: 5-7; Isaiah 6: 1-8

It is in mind to say something about being available to the Lord for what He has in mind for us at the present moment. We are in a time of difficulty and public ruin, but the work of the Lord is going on; the Spirit is here - 'The Spirit all the truth sustains', we sometimes sing (No.436) - and the Spirit is available to help any who are committed to the Lord Jesus and to the testimony. In 2 Timothy, when the ruin of the church publicly came in, Timothy was discouraged, and Paul's word was "God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion. Be not therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner", 2 Tim 1: 7,8. The testimony of our Lord is still here, and the Lord would have every one of us committed to Him and to His testimony at the present time. There is public failure; it is a day such as the prophet Zechariah spoke of: "the day of small things", chap 4: 10. It is a day of small things publicly, but a day of great things secretly and spiritually, because we are near to what we speak of as the rapture, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ when the Spirit and the bride say, Come, when the Father's perfect time will be completed and the Lord Jesus will come for all His own. What a moment that will be! We do well to dwell on the greatness of the moment that is before us. We do not wait for an event exactly, we wait for a Person, but it will be a very great event nevertheless. All the Old Testament saints, from Abel who was the first that we know of to have died all those centuries ago, are going to be raised. The Lord Jesus rules over dead and living (see Rom 14: 9) and the dead in Christ are going to rise. Think of what that will mean, what a moment it will be! All the New Testament saints, those who sleep in Jesus, will be raised at that same moment, and, as Paul writes; "we, the living who remain shall be caught up together with them ... to meet the Lord in the air", 1 Thess 4: 17. We wait for the Lord Himself who will make all this an actuality. The coming of the Lord is imminent. It has been said for many years that His coming is imminent, but it is more imminent than ever it was. Among believers there is a stirring of heart expecting the coming of the Lord. Then look out on the world around us, there is hardly a nation where there is not trouble. On the one hand there is expectancy among believers, on the other hand there is the imminence of the great tribulation and judgment. From both points of view, the coming of the Lord is imminent.

The Lord is therefore looking for persons to have part in His testimony according to His thoughts at the present time. I desire to speak first of all about the Lord Jesus and how available He was at the critical moment in the history of the world when He took upon Himself the great work of redemption. He was available. In Leviticus 16, in connection with the scapegoat, or the goat that was for Azazel as in the New Translation, we read "and Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the living goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and he shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send him away to the wilderness by the hand of a man standing ready" (v 21). Who could answer to the man standing ready except the Lord Jesus Christ who was available to undertake all that was required for the securing of God's will and God's pleasure as well as the blessing of our souls? Thus as we read: "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon him, went forth". Think of that movement on the part of the Lord Jesus, all in view of the will of God and all that that will had in mind! Think of the greatness of divine purpose before the world's foundation and who was going to accomplish it! The One who undertook that great work was the Lord Jesus Christ. Knowing all that was coming upon Him, knowing the suffering involved, knowing the darkness He had to go into, knowing also the One who was going to save Him out of death (for He was going into death): all this was before Him along with all the mocking and animosity of men: "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that were coming upon him went forth". The Lord Jesus was the Man standing ready in view of accomplishing the great work of redemption, in view of securing a universe for God, in view of men recovered for God's pleasure. "Jesus ... knowing all things that were coming upon him"; He knew it all, He faced it all in Gethsemane according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, agonising with His Father regarding that matter and here He "went forth and said to them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus the Nazaraean. Jesus answered, I told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go away; that the word might be fulfilled which he spoke, As to those whom thou hast given me, I have not lost one of them". The Lord will not lose one of His own; knowing all the things that were before Him He went forth alone in view of their salvation. We do not know what is before us, but we need to commit ourselves in our measure. The Lord's committal was full and perfect, but we need to commit ourselves according to our measure to have part in the testimony of our Lord at this time. What a model He is! He is more than a model here, He is an object for our affections. He said "if therefore ye seek me, let these go away". He is the I am; when He said "I am he, they went away backward and fell to the ground". The Lord could have dismissed all the opposition in the power of His Person; but no, He went forth into the suffering way and all that that involved.

Some of the scriptures read speak of persons who hid themselves. The great danger is that when the call comes to be available to the Lord and His testimony we tend to hide ourselves for different reasons. Adam and his wife hid themselves because they had something on the conscience and therefore they were afraid. That might hinder any one of us. When the woman was deceived and Adam disobeyed, they acquired a conscience. By partaking of the tree they acquired the knowledge of good and evil; therefore because of their sin they were not happy with God. It says: "And they heard the voice of Jehovah Elohim, walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah Elohim, in the midst of the trees of the garden". They hid behind the very trees which had been of God's provision. We can hide ourselves instead of being available. The reason here was because of something on their conscience. You can understand Adam and Eve fearing the presence of God, but there is no reason why any of us should have anything on our conscience to be a hindrance to our committal to the Lord and His testimony, because there is a way in which anything on the conscience can be settled. "If we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins"; and not only forgive our sins but "cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1: 9): to cleanse us, to justify us, to be as clean and pure as if we had never sinned. That is what God offers us in the glad tidings. So we should have nothing on our conscience. Some of us may, like Paul, have some things in our memory to keep us humble, for Paul never forgot that he had persecuted believers, but it was not on his conscience; he was free with God because he had confessed it all, he had had to do with God about it; it was no longer on his conscience, but it was in his memory to keep him humble, and some of us have things in our memory to keep us humble. But there need not be anything on anybody's conscience. One of the gospel hymns says:

'Conscience now no more condemns us

For His own most precious blood

Once for all has washed and cleansed us

Cleansed us in the sight of God' (No.410)

Because of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ because of the work He accomplished, because of His going forth, knowing all that would come upon Him, to clear the ground so that no one, no man, or woman, or child need have anything on their conscience, we therefore need not fear the presence of God but be available for Him, for His service, for His plea sure for His will at the present moment.

Now we come to king Saul who hid himself. King Saul had been given every advantage. If you read the preceding chapters you can see how great advantages were given to him because he was called into a place of responsibility; he was selected for it and he knew he was selected for it. He was given special food by Samuel the prophet; he was given the shoulder: "And Samuel said to the cook Bring the portion that I gave thee, of which I said to thee, Set it by thee. And the cook took up the shoulder, and what was on it and set it before Saul", 1 Sam 9: 23,24. Saul had that advantage; he was given the shoulder to strengthen him for the responsibility that he was to take up. The Lord will not ask us to take up any responsibility that He would not support us in and would not give us strength for. Saul is given this special food, and then he is selected by being anointed, God even giving him another heart (see 1 Sam 10: 9); the Spirit of Jehovah came upon him, he had every advantage, and now the word comes for Saul to go forward; but what do we find? He is hiding among the baggage. Among the baggage is not a very dignified place for one who was called to a place of responsibility.

Each one of us is called to take some responsibility, we are hardly in Christian fellowship if we do not take some responsibility. It was special with king Saul, but each one of us, whether young or old, has some responsibility to fill at the present time. Saul was found hiding in the baggage and was not available when he was needed. It says: "And they sought for him, but he was not to be found", not available at the very moment when he was needed. This is a moment when each one of us is needed to fill his or her part in the testimony and service of God. This is the time. Saul was not found, and "they inquired of Jehovah further, Will the man yet come hither? And Jehovah answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the baggage". Saul was timid, backward, it was not true humility for true humility is not thinking of self at all. Saul was thinking about himself and therefore was not available. Imagine a man who was called upon in this way hiding himself among the baggage! He had to be fetched: "they ran and fetched him". Now is the time for each of us to be available, now is the well-accepted time, now is the day of salvation, now is the time to commit ourselves to the Lord Jesus personally, to His testimony, to God and His service and His will. The flesh, in timidity and backwardness hindered Saul from being available when he was needed.

In chapter 13 we find an extension of this: "And the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed); and the people hid themselves in caves". These people were uncertain, and many are like this at the moment, they are not available because of uncertainty. "The people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in cliffs, and in strongholds, and in pits". There was a great variety of things in which to hide; there are a great variety of things to hide in today where there is uncertainty. Saul was uncertain himself, and to follow any man would cause uncertainty. In chapter 14 Saul said to the priest "Bring hither the ark of God" (v 18), then in the next verse "Withdraw thy hand"; he did not know what he ought to do. The people here are called men of Israel, they ought to have been confiding in God. Jacob's name was changed to Israel, prince of God, dignified person, but the men of Israel saw they were in a strait, the people were distressed, and the people hid themselves as many at the present moment are hiding themselves because of uncertainty. There is no need to be uncertain; our great Leader is to be the Lord Jesus personally, He is the great Leader; we are not to be following any human leader no matter how big he is, like Saul here who was head and shoulders above all the people and who would stand out above them all; that is not one to follow, follow the Lord Jesus.

We sometimes sing:

'It is not with uncertain step

We tread our desert way;

A well-known voice has called us up

To everlasting day' (No.244)

The Lord said, Follow Me. Our salvation depends on being disciples of the Lord Jesus and following Him. As we desire to follow Him the Holy Spirit will be our support; He will help us, He will indicate the way. We need to be in dependence as to the right way at the present time. The Lord knows the right way; the Shepherd leads the flock the right way; the Spirit leads the right way: "for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God", Rom 8: 14. We need to be led by the Good Shepherd, led by the Spirit, so that there is no uncertainty. Let us thus commit ourselves. The men of Israel hid themselves in caves (natural caves, I suppose), in thickets; cliffs would be high places; and strongholds (it is very difficult to reach persons who are in strongholds); and some were hiding themselves in pits. We are in times when many are hiding themselves, not available but hiding themselves because of uncertainty. Let none of us be uncertain.

Isaiah was available here in chapter 6. It begins: "In the year of the death of king Uzziah, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple". He had a view of something going on normally. It was the year of the death of king Uzziah who had been presumptuous and therefore a leper, but now Isaiah had another view; "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him: each had six wings; with twain he covered his face and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he flew". This is the kind of spirit, and these are the features we need to desire to have, not hiding in thickets and caves and strongholds. They had six wings, with two to cover the face, with two they covered the feet; they are not advertising their movements, they are not making themselves prominent, but they are able to fly, with two they flew, and they would not fly with any uncertainty, they would move with certainty under the Lord's direction. O, to be like one of these Seraphim! "And one called to the other, and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" Would there be such a thing as this going on at the present time? Would there be persons like this on the earth at the present time? If there are I would like to be among them. This is true humility; this is not thinking of self at all, it is not the backwardness of the flesh, but covering the face and covering the feet, all to exalt the Lord who is high and lifted up. "And one called to the other and said, Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory! And the foundations of the thresholds shook". And Isaiah said "Woe unto me! for I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips". He was impressed by what he saw, by a service going on acceptable to God, in principle under the Lord Jesus in the power of the Spirit. As soon as he says "Woe unto me! for I am undone; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ... one of the seraphim flew unto me, and he had in his hand a glowing coal ... and he made it touch my mouth, and said, Behold, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin expiated". Isaiah had right desires to have part in this service and he is made suitable. So the call comes; the Lord says "Whom shall I send ...?" That is what the Lord is saying at the present time; who is going to be available for what He has in mind? It is not what Isaiah had in mind, or what any one of us has in mind, but what the Lord has in mind. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I". I wonder if we are all saying, Here am I, send me. The emphasis is on send not on me - send me. O, what a privilege it is to be sent, not undertaking anything on our own initiative but under the Lord's initiative to be sent, to act under Him, to have part with Him and in His testimony. May every one of us be available for this!

Isaiah was sent to a very difficult people, as the chapter indicates: "Go; and thou shalt say unto this people, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive"; their heart was fat, their ears heavy, their eyes blind, but the chapter goes on to speak of a tenth part, and that tenth part goes through great testing; it is eaten, but what remains is the trunk: "as the terebinth and as the oak whose trunk remaineth after the felling: the holy seed shall be the trunk thereof". We are in the days, dear brethren, of remnant conditions; we have to work with a few available, but let us be among the remaining after the felling: "the holy seed shall be the trunk thereof". There is to be fruit and the pleasure of the Lord sustained in a few, as Isaiah had part in the testimony in smallness and remnant conditions, but under the Lord and for His pleasure. May we all be available! May we all be ready to say, Here am I, in view of the Lord's appeal to us now, and be assured of the Holy Spirit's support in this great work that is going on at the present time, a day of small things publicly but a day of great things in this time of the finishing touches of the Spirit to His nearly two thousand years of assembly formation. May we have part in it for His Name's sake.

CHRISTCHURCH NZ

26 May 1984