FRESHNESS OF AFFECTION FOR CHRIST

A. P. Devenish

Numbers 11: 4–8; Ezekiel 47: 12; 1 Kings 10: 27; John 20: 24–28; Hebrews 10: 19–22, 29

It is my desire that we may be kept fresh in our affections for Christ, that we may not lose the precious meaning of the truth, the truth as it is in Jesus. The truth is there in the most attractive way; every feature of the truth, the revelation of God is in Jesus attractively.

Because of the perfection of His manhood, it shines in Him unobscured. With us often we obscure the outshining because of what we are, what we may allow. I remember, some years ago, a brother saying that as he got older the truth as to the forgiveness of sins became increasingly precious to him. We thought perhaps that as we got older and acquired a knowledge of the truth that we went beyond that but I believe that the truth of the forgiveness of sins is to be cherished in ever increasing freshness and power in our souls. I hope the forgiveness of sins is precious to you, that it has not lost its savour.

We were speaking of Paul and Barnabas. I think when they came into the testimony, the mighty stream of the testimony was invigorated, was quickened by these men, particularly by Paul who had recently seen the Lord Himself. That wonderful experience on the Damascus road was carried forward in power in his soul and gained in its precious meaning as he recounts it. We can understand that the testimony had perhaps waned in Jerusalem but was given impetus, was stimulated by the coming into the testimony of this elect vessel. Well, you say, that was Paul, but what about you and me? Can we say that because of a recent experience, an experience we have had with Christ, that the testimony has been quickened?

Perhaps we just flow along with it, perhaps we are carried along in its current.

Samson took a fresh jawbone of an ass. It may suggest the death of Christ, not as a mere historical fact but as if it has just happened. The Lord’s supper should be like this to us. It brings the death of Christ in its current meaning into our souls in power, as if it has just taken place. Therefore the Lord says to Thomas, “Bring thy finger here and see my hands; and bring thy hand and put it into my side; and be not unbelieving, but believing”. Thomas had got a little away in his soul; he missed the earlier occasion when the Lord came in amongst them. It is as if the Lord said to Thomas, I want you to have a personal experience that will bring home to you the reality of My sufferings. I think the reference to His side in this second manifestation is perhaps not a reference to the assembly, but to the blood and water that flowed from His side to cleanse such as Thomas and such as we are. Of course the section is an allusion to the Jew coming into blessing, but it also says he was one of the twelve, meaning that we are to apply this experience to ourselves.

May the Lord’s sufferings not lose their preciousness to us. May we not distance ourselves from them. Have we stood by the cross? What a day that was, a day of unfathomed sorrow!

What the Lord went through on our account! it has been said that the answer to that cry; “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27: 46) would be ‘It was my sins that necessitated the forsaking of Jesus’. I say again, do not distance yourself from the cross of Christ. Never let this precious truth lose its meaning; allow your emotions to be moved, your tears to flow, when you ponder the sufferings of Christ.

I read the scripture in Numbers as to the manna. In Exodus 16, the manna had a sweet flavour. It speaks of the life of Jesus here in a scene of adversity, of suffering and neglect. In Exodus 16, it says, “And the house of Israel called its name Manna; and it was like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it was like cake with

honey” (Exodus 16: 31). But when we come to Numbers 11, to their taste, it had lost its sweetness, in Numbers 21 they say, ‘our soul loathes this light bread” (Numbers 21: 5). Think of it! These were persons on whose behalf God had intervened to deliver them from Egypt.

He had brought them into the wilderness and been their stay and comfort and support as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Yet they say, “We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; and now our soul is dried up—there is nothing at all but the manna before our eyes”.

They were remembering the strong flavours of Egypt’s food that would appeal to their natural taste and the manna had lost its appeal to their hearts. They tried to prepare it in different ways to make it palatable to the natural mind and heart, but it had lost its sweetness to them.

May the life of Jesus never lose its sweetness to us. As we read the gospels, may the Spirit help us to ponder that wonderful life and may our souls be freshly quickened. The Man of the gospels; there is no one can compare with Him.

Let us think, dear brethren, of the wonderful recovery into which the Lord has graciously brought us. Do we forget in the early days of the recovery, the fervency there was amongst the brethren, the joy to be together over the Scriptures, the wonderful privilege of remembering the Lord? Now that we are at the end of the dispensation, are these experiences any the less wonderful? or have they lost something, in the passage of time, of their true meaning and preciousness? Think of being made suitable to approach God! So we read in Hebrews of the “new and living way”. The note in Mr Darby’s translation is very interesting,

‘Newly’ or ‘recently made’. How old things have become publicly in Christendom, traditional, without life! Even wonderful terms like brethren have lost their meaning, have become hackneyed, commonplace. The relationship between Moses and Aaron illustrates its true meaning. Jehovah says to Moses, “also behold, he goeth out to

meet thee; and when he seeth thee he will be glad in his heart” (Exodus 4: 14), and then it says, “he went, and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him”, Exodus 4: 27. The true meaning of the brother is to be maintained amongst us in its freshness. It is a wonderful matter that the Lord has recovered us and brought us into the fellowship, is it just any fellowship? No, it is the fellowship of God’s Son. Let us be maintained in the dignity and preciousness of such a fellowship.

We were saying that the way is referred to in the note as ‘newly’ or ‘recently made’; it is the

“new and living way”. That is to say, when we approach, we could not do so merely in a formal way, but as realising that the way is open to us by the blood of Jesus and His committal to manhood for ever. These thoughts, exceedingly precious, are not far from us each time we bow our knees to pray. They are never merely historical but current, so that our approach in boldness is with deep feeling as if this entrance into the holy of holies is paved with the freshness of a work recently accomplished and the support of One who as Man is a great Priest.

With Zacharias, at the beginning of Luke, his service had become somewhat perfunctory, lacking in faith. It says, “it fell to him by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense”, Luke 1: 9. He would no doubt function in suitability but perhaps it had become a custom merely, without faith. Even when we give thanks for our food, does not your heart rise up to God in thanksgiving receiving our food with “gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God”, Acts 2: 46. We can give thanks to God on behalf of all men for His goodness. He makes His sun rise on evil and good and He sends His rain on the just and unjust. He is toward men in impartial goodness. Surely something of the fragrance of this would fill our hearts as we speak to God.

I have read about the wonderful river in Ezekiel that flowed out from the sanctuary, becoming deeper until it could not be passed over. It says about the trees, no doubt suggesting the saints, “whose leaf shall not fade, nor their fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, for its waters issue out of the sanctuary”. What a scene of freshness and life! Not only is the fruit for food but the leaf for medicine. How much healing is needed! It has been said that the leaves from the tree of life will be scattered about Jerusalem available for the healing of the nations. As we come into the peace and joy of what issues out of the sanctuary, what comes from the presence of God, there will be rest of soul and healing. Scripture speaks of

“the peace of God, which surpasses every understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus”, Philippians 4: 7. This would settle in perfect peace any disturbed heart, any heart burdened with sorrow or stress. There is healing, too, as we come to the meetings, especially the prayer meeting. Have you not felt the weight of your problems being lifted when coming into the presence of God? Dear brethren, enjoy His presence, enjoy His love, enjoy the Man in His presence.

I would now refer to the scripture in 1 Kings. Things that are of inestimable value are mentioned as losing their value. It says, “the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones”, that is to say he made it common, ordinary. Think of making the precious truth of redemption common. We read in Hebrews “and esteemed the blood of the covenant, whereby he has been sanctified, common”. Then we have this reference to the cedars, “and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance”. I suppose this may be a reference to the saints of God, that we may take account of them as ordinary, from the lowland instead of seeing them as the cedars in all their dignity, the dignity of being the sons of God. In Acts 10, Peter is told not to regard what God has cleansed as common or unclean. At the beginning of Solomon’s reign, he speaks of Thy

great people, and the people that Thou hast chosen, but now he is regarding them as common.

Let us not lose sight of the dignity of the saints and what they are to God but hold them always with respect and affection.

Maybe the Lord has had something to say to us today so that the wonderful recovery into which through mercy we have come, and the preciousness of the truths about which we have spoken, may not lose their true meaning to our hearts, in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Address at Denton
18 October 1997