PERSONS AVAILABLE FOR THE MASTER’S USE
D. J. Wright
Luke 2: 8–20, 25–38; 10: 38–42; Acts 16: 6–10; 2 Timothy 2: 20, 21; 4: 9–11
I would seek help from the Lord to say something about availability to the Lord Jesus, being a vessel fit for the Master’s use. In reading these scriptures I would like to show that with all these persons that were available to the Lord, there were moral characteristics that marked them.
Firstly there were these shepherds, they were “abiding without, and keeping watch by night over their flock”. The occupation of a shepherd is of intense interest to heaven. We see that some of those that God used distinctly in the Old Testament, were marked by it. Moses for example, for forty years he tended his father-in-law’s flock in the backside of the desert. And David too was a shepherd. He was not even invited to that meeting in 1 Samuel 16, when a king was to be anointed to replace Saul. But we are told that he was a shepherd; caring for others, unselfish service. Heaven took account of it, and heaven took account of these shepherds and they were vessels therefore, that heaven could communicate with. “And lo, an angel of the Lord was there by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they feared with great fear”. But they were about to receive a message from heaven that was very, very, important in view of a babe that had been born in David’s city. “Fear not, for behold, I announce to you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people; for today a Saviour has been born to you in David’s city, who is Christ the Lord”. I wonder whether we ponder the greatness of this event, that One a divine Person, actually took the stoop into manhood as a babe; One who was God overall blessed forever, yet He came into flesh and blood condition. O wonder of the incarnation! But He never ceased to be what He was by reason of what He became, but was perfect in what He became. Luke presents the Lord Jesus to us as a dependent Man; the emphasis now on this babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes lying in a manger, emphasises the feature of dependence. There is nothing so helpless in that way as a newborn babe. Everything has to be done for it; the Lord of glory came in in such a way. There were those who were waiting for the Messiah, but because the Lord Jesus came in this way they missed Him. I think that they would have thought that He would have come in pomp and ceremony, but He came as a lowly babe; wonder of the universe!
Luke also presents to us the Lord Jesus as a praying man; One that was dependent. And these shepherds were told as to the greatness of the personage that was born that day in David’s city. Now the Lord Jesus came into David’s city, and the previous section in this chapter tells us that there was no room for them in the inn; no room for that kind of man that was so delightful to heaven. But the shepherds were apart from all that was proceeding in David’s city. There was the census, the place was packed with people, and I doubt not they had their inns and their entertainments; but the shepherds were apart from it, so that they were persons with whom heaven could communicate in relation to the greatness of the Babe that was there. The shepherds were not content just to be told as to the Saviour that had been born, but it says “it came to pass, as the angels departed from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another. Let us make our way then now as far as Bethlehem, and let us see this thing that is come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us”; they were interested, they followed it up, they wanted to witness it for themselves, and they came with haste. The King’s business requires haste, “and found both Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in the manger”; what a spectacle for them! But everything was in the way of confirmation of what the angel had told them. Heaven was astir in relation to the news that a Saviour had been born. But it says “having seen it they made known about the country the thing which had been said to them concerning this child”, that is they were a testimony to it. Their testimony was definite because they had witnessed it, not only what had been said from heaven by the angel, but what they witnessed themselves; they were available. But then it says, “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all things which they had heard and seen, as it had been said to them”. So they not only had part in testimony, but they had part in what was God-ward, “glorifying and praising God for all things which they had heard and seen”. Now these shepherds were selected in a definite way by heaven to receive this communication. There were certain moral characteristics that marked them, and therefore they were available.
Now in Simeon we see another person who was available. And the first thing that is said about him is that he was “just and pious” and then it says “the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it was divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit”. You get an impression, dear brethren, of a man here who lived close to heaven. We read in the end of Malachi that those who feared Jehovah spoke often one to another (Malachi 3: 16), and I believe Simeon and Anna were two of those persons. This scripture gives us a key to what they spoke of when they were together; they spoke of Christ, they were waiting for Him to come. Now we are at the end of the dispensation and we are waiting for Christ, and as together today we enjoy speaking about Him. Perhaps we could speak about Him a little more often in the home, it would help I think to elevate the level of the fellowship. He is the centre, He is our bond, we are drawn together because we all love Him, and I think the more He is in our hearts, the more we would speak of Him. But Simeon “came in the Spirit into the temple”, such a person was available to receive divine communication. I wonder how I or you may be, in coming to a meeting like this, come in the Spirit. If we do the Spirit is free. So when the Lord Jesus appeared, the Babe came in, Simeon had no doubts as to who He was, he says, “Lord, now thou lettest thy bondman go, according to thy word, in peace”. He was fully satisfied that he had seen the Lord’s salvation and that now he could depart. He blessed Him in his arms. What a person Simeon was, he was for the magnification of this One, this holy Babe.
He looked upon that child, and he now saw that all the promises of God were in that child. “In him”, it says, “is the yea, and in him the amen”, 2 Corinthians 1: 20. I would suggest that this is the “yea”, in coming into manhood and the “amen” was when He was received in glory, bright up there, as having accomplished everything to God’s full satisfaction. Everything for God was encased in this glorious Man. Simeon could go now in peace because he knew that everything for God would be accomplished in that Person. He speaks of Him as “a light for revelation of the Gentiles”, what light he had. Looking forward to the time when the Lord Jesus “came to his own, and his own received him not” (John 1: 11), in fact He was crucified. But through the rejection by His own of Him the gospel has reached the Gentiles, including you and me; what a wonderful thing that is, “a light for revelation of the Gentiles”. Then he says, “Lo, this child is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel” pointing on to the fact that this blessed man would be the test to every man. We see that in the gospels, how He became the test to every man and it is still the case. Things come up sometimes; the issue is in relation to the Person of the Lord Jesus.
And then there was Anna. She is spoken of as a prophetess, but she “did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers”, there was total devotion to God— another moral characteristic that heaven took account of, and therefore she was a vessel that could praise Him and speak of Him to those who waited for redemption. What impressions she must have had, what devotion is seen in this woman. So that it says, “she coming up the same hour gave praise to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who waited for redemption in Jerusalem”. What a place He must have had in her affections. No doubt the circle of things was rather small at the end of Malachi, and these two persons among them, but heaven took account of them. In fact it says “Jehovah observed it”, Malachi 3: 16. Such vessels could be used in relation to the greatness of the testimony, that the Lord Jesus had come in this way into manhood.
Now in chapter 10, I would like to speak of Mary as one whose ear was available. Now we come together today with the express purpose of hearing His word. Is my ear available? Is your ear available? The Lord came into Martha’s house, “a certain woman, Martha by name, received him into her house”. Martha was one that loved the Lord. She was prepared to be hospitable to Him, but the same Martha speaks disrespectfully, not only of Mary but of the Lord Himself. Her ear was not available. She was agitated, she was not a vessel fit for the Master’s use, because her ear was not available; but Mary’s ear was available. Mary had sat down at the feet of Jesus and “was listening to his word”. That word ‘listening’ I think is important. It is not only that you might hear something, and it goes over your head, but she was listening to His word, she was taking it in. Like Paul and Silas in the prison, “the prisoners listened to them” (Acts 16: 25), there was moral power there that caused those persons to listen to what they were saying. Mary chose the good part; that was listening to His word, that is open to each one of us. But is your ear available? Martha says, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Speak to her therefore that she may help me”, but the Lord defended Mary, it gives you some impression of how he appreciated Mary. “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things”. I find I can be like that at times at the expense of hearing His word; but Mary was restful. If your ear is available to the Lord it must be in restfulness, a restful spirit. “Mary has chosen the good part, the which shall not be taken from her”, that part is available to you and me, but we have to make the choice; she “has chosen the good part”. It was something definite that she took up; let our ears be available to the Lord Jesus.
Now in Acts 16, it was a very critical juncture in the testimony. As a result of this the testimony came into Europe, and what I want to point out as to the apostle Paul is the sensitive relationships he had with the Holy Spirit. They were ingredients that were necessary at such a time. Now the Lord Himself could have told Paul directly, to go to Macedonia, but He did not do that. Circumstances arose whereby they had the experience of being forbidden “by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” and then they “attempted to go to Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them”. What sensitiveness that was. He might have in self-will gone anyway, but it would not have been fruitful, and he would not have been a vessel fit for the Master’s use. But then he has this vision, “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night—There was a certain Macedonian man, standing and beseeching him, and saying, Pass over into Macedonia and help us”. Paul was available. “And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to announce to them the glad tidings”. The glad tidings came to Europe and they have remained in these parts right down to the present day. Now it is probably about two thousand years since this took place, and the glad tidings has come into Europe, and it is still here. It was a result of Paul, great apostle as he was, being sensitive in relation to the movements of the testimony. Sadly in the day in which we are, it is an area where light has long been, but where the clouds of apostasy are sweeping in; nevertheless in such a dark day the testimony of the glad tidings is still in Europe.
You might say, Well Paul was a distinct vessel, and so he was, the Lord told Ananias “Go, for this man is an elect vessel to me” (Acts 9: 15), and He also told him “how much he must suffer for my name”. The entry to Europe involved suffering for Paul, but Paul was one who saw the light, a light out of heaven. In chapter 22 of Acts he says “a great light” (Acts 22: 6), in chapter 26 before Agrippa it is “a light above the brightness of the sun” (Acts 26: 13). We cannot take in, in a natural way, anything brighter than the noonday sun, but the effect of that light in his soul became even brighter. And this morning at home we were reading Isaiah 6, where God says “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said. Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6: 8), but before that at the beginning of the chapter it says “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” (Isaiah 6: 1); he saw the glory. Now the prophecy that he was given was not a popular one, but he had seen the glory. He had seen the light, just as the apostle Paul did, the apostle of the Gentiles, the one who was given to complete the word of God (see Colossians 1: 25).
So as we see how things proceed in chapter 16; that the glad tidings enter into Philippi, that there was certain assembly material produced and found, which is essential to the fulfilling of the ministry that was given to Paul. He was given the ministry of the gospel and the ministry of the assembly; he was the former of assemblies. Lydia came to light, one “whose heart the Lord opened to attend to the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16: 14). But where was the man? And then Paul and Silas find themselves in prison, but he had that vision, and this is the place where they went under divine direction. It involves suffering for them, their backs bleeding, and feet in the stocks, but they “were praising God with singing” (Acts 16: 25). Then there was the earthquake and the jailor was secured. Most unlikely material you say, and I would have to say so am I, most unlikely material, but He secured him and his house for the working out of the truth as it came into Europe, involving not only the glad tidings, but the truth of the assembly and the securing of assembly material; Paul was available for this. He concluded that that is where he should go. The sensitive relationships with the Holy Spirit made him morally suitable for the carrying out of this great event when the testimony went westward.
In the second epistle to Timothy, you might say, Well Paul was an apostle, and there are no apostles today. But in 2 Timothy days, in a day of public breakdown and ruin, to be a vessel fit for the Master’s use, does not involve gift; you do not have to be an apostle, you just have to be faithful, and that is open to each one of us. Now in a day of public breakdown and ruin, in a great house the scripture tells us that there are vessels to honour and vessels to dishonour, and how you become a vessel to honour is by separating yourself from the vessels to dishonour, that is an individual action. “If therefore one shall have purified himself from these, in separating himself from them”, that is you come to a definite judgment in relation to what is dishonouring to Christ. I know it goes on to the collective side when we call upon the Lord, and where we follow “righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart”, but firstly there is the separating. Paul shows definitely the way in a day of public breakdown and confusion, we cannot get out of the great house, but he says the way is by separation. Now maybe you, and I certainly have in my life at times, come across persons who are bright Christians, and I would have to say they were more devoted than I was, or they were more evangelical than I was; and I would feel humbled by that and take it to the Lord, but this verse shows that there is more than that to it. This verse shows the importance of our associations. If such persons in themselves may be bright Christians but they are still linked with vessels to dishonour, where there is bad doctrine, or bad principles, it requires separation from them in order that you might be a vessel to honour fit for the Master’s use.
In chapter 4 I will just draw attention to Mark in closing, he was a recovered person. What an encouragement it must have been to the apostle at this time when all in Asia had turned away from him, and when as it says here “Demas has forsaken me, having loved the present age”, other persons had gone elsewhere, “Luke alone is with me”, what an encouragement it must have been to Paul to have Mark recovered. You know he had gone off with Barnabas earlier, allowed natural feelings to come in, but he had parted company with Paul, the one who was the vessel of the testimony, but Mark was recovered. Beloved brethren, if we are here today we are on the principle of those who have been recovered. What did Mark do as a recovered man? He gave us his gospel. Who did he speak about in his gospel? He spoke about the perfect Servant, he spoke about the One who never failed, he spoke about the One who did all things well. He would say, I was not like that, I failed, I lost time. So a word that is often used in his gospel is ‘straightway’. There is no time to be lost now as recovered. But there was Mark he was now again a vessel fit for the Master’s use. Paul says “Take Mark, and bring him with thyself, for he is serviceable to me for ministry”. When lots of persons were turning away from Paul, he says “he is serviceable to me for ministry”. What a comfort that was to him.
Well, we live in a day, beloved brethren, when I think the principle is whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might (Ecclesiastes 9: 10). Whatever that may be, however small and insignificant it may be, it is not always public service like here today, but it may be small things; do it with your might. But remember that if you are to be a vessel fit for the Master’s use, it involves these moral characteristics that heaven can take account of, so that you are usable and you are available. May the Lord bless the word.
Address at Dundee
1 October 2011