SPIRITUAL RICHES
1 Timothy 6:6,7; Philippians 3:20,21 (to “glory”);
Luke 19:13 (“Trade while I am coming”);
I have been thinking about the matter of spiritual riches. Piety has been mentioned, and the fact is that when we come into this world, we bring nothing in and when we leave this world, we carry nothing out. What matters is the time in between; what we accumulate now and how substantial it is. Our brother had accumulated much in his time here, and what he accumulated were riches which were not passing or temporary. They were marked by what was spiritual, and more than that, by what was eternal. Another feature already alluded to which marked our brother was piety and contentment; these two things existed in his testimony. It says, “piety with contentment is great gain”; that gain is not taken account of by the world. In fact, piety and contentment would sometimes be looked upon as being a distinct disadvantage. But piety and contentment are worth much, much more to God. Think of God seeing persons in this scene who are motivated by something different, persons who go through their life with apparently not much outwardly, but spiritually there is what is being accumulated. It says, “we have brought nothing into the world: it is manifest that neither can we carry anything out”. Every one of us comes into that category, but there is what can be accumulated and built up now in terms of what is spiritual.
So our hope as Christians, as believers in the Lord Jesus, is that there is another commonwealth. It says, “for our commonwealth has its existence in the heavens, from which also we await the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour”. That is the hope which our brother had, and which the vast majority of persons in this room have, those who are awaiting the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. It is a hope that burns brightly in our hearts. His coming is our objective, it is our outlook. This commonwealth is an area where there is support. That is one of the things which characterises it at a time like this, when there has been bereavement and sorrow, and there is a need for comfort. There is an area where the comfort and support of divine Persons can be known. There is a Christian circle known here in which persons would provide support, but really the source of that is in divine Persons who would come in to support just exactly where it is needed. A scripture in the Old Testament says, “underneath are the eternal arms”, Deut.33:27. Think of these arms being able to support us at a time of need, at a time when sorrow would come in, which is perfectly understandable, but divine love is able for that.
Our brother knew what it was to be in this commonwealth. It has a different economy from this world’s. We are used to an economy where there is inflation and deflation, which is marked by instability, but our brother was not interested in these things. He had his hope in another commonwealth, another economy where everything is entirely stable and secure. It is secure because it is underpinned by what used to be known as the gold standard. It was done away with, but the gold standard in Christianity is the Lord Jesus, our Saviour. He is the reason why we are here today. We are here to bury our brother but we are here in the light of the fact that we have a hope that goes beyond death and the grave, because the One whom we are speaking about, Jesus, came here, He went to the cross and He was crucified. His blood was shed in order that you and I could have freedom from the restrictions and the darkness and the whole burden of sin that lay upon us. Sin is seen on every hand. Every way you look at this world, every aspect of it is marked by sin. And yet it is possible to have our hope in another world, another commonwealth which is not marked by sin, not marked by death. What it is marked by is light, love and liberty, and it is all apprehended by faith. Faith is really the nucleus of it. It is faith that makes it work, and it is also faith that makes it substantial, because faith as it says in Hebrews, “is the substantiating of things hoped for”, Heb.11:1. So our hope is a substantial hope. It is not a hope that is intangible, but it is a hope that is real in the heart of every believer here.
Now, you could ask, ‘What is the currency of the commonwealth?’. It says in Luke, “Trade while I am coming”. You might ask what it means to trade in these things? What it means is that if you or I have an impression of the Lord Jesus, it might be just a very simple impression, then you can trade with that. You can pass an impression to someone else and that becomes cumulative, it can be built up. When we were children, there was that old hymn, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know’. Very simple words, and yet in the heart of a believing child there is a reality to them. It is an impression of Jesus, and you can take that impression, no matter how small it is, and you can build on it. So it says, “Trade while I am coming”. Our brother knew what it was to do that, and as he did, he was able to accumulate what was spiritual; spiritual wealth. It became part of his constitution, part of him. That means that there are persons who become formed by this trading. As you and I trade with these impressions of the Lord Jesus, as we turn to Him in prayer, as we have a personal, real and living relationship with Him, we become formed by that relationship and then there is something seen outwardly in our testimony which would reflect the greatness of what Christ is in His Person, in His worth and in the effect that He has on our lives here.
I trust, dear friends, that everyone in this room knows what it is to have a link, a relationship with Jesus, to realise that there is a Saviour available. He is a Saviour and He is also a Friend. And at a time like this, He would come close as a Friend. It says elsewhere that “there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother”, Prov.18:24. No one can come nearer than Jesus. Especially at a time like this, the nearness of divine Persons is a real and known thing.
Another thing that would form the currency of this commonwealth would be affection. David says in Chronicles, “And moreover, in my affection for the house of my God I have given of my own property of gold and silver”. Think of affection, of divine love being answered. Divine love has been fully expressed in the person of Christ. God has made His heart of love known to each one of us. In the time of our greatest need, there was One who came in to meet that need, so now there is to be this answering affection. There is a circle of affection where it is in movement, in response and our affections can answer to the love of divine Persons. Such affection provides atmosphere. A time like this is a time of sorrow, but it is also a time when there is a heavenly atmosphere as we realise that the One who we have to do with transcends the outward weakness of the occasion. Death is the result of weakness, but there is tremendous strength in the realisation that we have to do with a Man who has been into death and shed His blood on that cross, One who is risen from the grave and is ascended. Our hope is not bounded by the limitations of this scene but rather our hope is with Christ where He is now.
In Revelation, it says “Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing”, Rev.5:12. The accumulation of what has been formed in hearts, including our brother’s, over many years is what is substantial, and the outcome of it will be seen in its totality in eternity. Think of all these persons; tens of thousands and thousands of thousands. Millions of persons have known what it is to put their faith in Christ, have known what it is to have the stability and certainty of having to do with the Lord Jesus. Each of them has gone or will go to be with Him, not for time but for eternity. What our brother knew was that, whatever happened in this life, his commonwealth was not here, his commonwealth was in another scene altogether, and his Centre was his Lord and Saviour. That is Jesus, dear friend.
May everyone here know what it is to have to do with the Lord Jesus in such a way and to realise that there is a circle where this can be known, where there are riches and what has true value, not based on our valuation but on God’s valuation. The Father said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”, Matt.17:5. That was God’s valuation; that is the gold standard in Christianity. But then the Father said, “hear him”. I trust everyone in this room has known what it is to hear the voice of Christ as He would speak to each one of us individually, in order that there should be an answering response for His own heart. May He bless the word.
Grangemouth
10 June 2016
P.E. Hogan
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