BLESSING
Tim VanderHoek
Malachi 3: 10; Acts 17: 21-25, 30; 20: 7, 8; Revelation 1: 9-11; 2 Timothy 3: 16, 17
I would like to link on with the thought of blessing and the thought of joy. This verse in Malachi has been before me, particularly in view of the three days meetings that we anticipate, but the side of blessing, “pour you out a blessing”. God’s posture is to open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. I was thinking of how He has done that, and how He continues to do that, and that led my thoughts to the verses in Acts. If we think of the testimony that has gone out, God has a testimony to man. We were speaking of the discourse there (Paul being an apostle, one who would speak from God), the message of the gospel which has gone out to bless man. Think of this as a blessing going out publicly, bringing souls to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. There is a blessing that is currently being enjoyed in souls coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour.
The window of the heavens pouring out a blessing is the public proclamation of the gospel. Paul was speaking to those who would have some knowledge that there was a God and yet here the light of the word of God coming in through Paul is to be a testimony to those who had a need to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savour, to come to know the one true God, as the Thessalonians did; to serve the true God and wait for a sign from heaven.
The blessing, the posture of God, is seen in the blessing that goes out today through His word, and His word being spoken. The scriptures are given by inspiration, so the word of God which we are privileged to have in our hands is to us a means by which these windows of heaven have been opened and we have had this blessing poured out. We have the inspired word of God before us, the authoritative way in which that public testimony goes out today concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
We see Paul here in Acts discoursing, He says, “I announce to you”; he stood up in the midst of these unbelievers and proclaimed the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, proclaimed the one true God.
In chapter 20 we see this discourse continued but in a special way, the windows of heaven being opened and a blessing pouring forth as we have the apostle discoursing to those privileged to hear what he has to say to those on the inside. They are those who have come to know the Lord as Saviour, those who have been privileged to come under the sound of the ministry that would bring in the fulness of light. The upper room is separate from this scene: we know that the windows of heaven would be open, think of how it flows into this upper room. There were many lights in the upper room, the fulness of light is available, there is a place of blessing and privilege. Not to stretch these scriptures, but we see how he discoursed until midnight, the fulness of it. An upper room would be apart from this world. The word of God and the windows that are open were pouring out a blessing to those in the upper room, those that had been taken up as having come to know the Lord as Saviour, being indwelt by the Spirit and being brought into relationship with the Father. We see here the discourse that went on and the privilege. The word discourse is used and differentiated from the word later on, but there is an authoritative side of things. Later on the footnote speaks of what is more conversational, after the one was taken up and given life. But here there is an authoritative aspect of that light from heaven, the windows of heaven being opened, the blessing pouring forth and bringing us into a place of enjoyment, a place of light.
I connected the window of heaven with the apostle John being by himself; separate in such a way that he could be used to write something. We have the writings inspired before us, but think of the privilege he had of having the windows of heaven opened in such a way that he was instructed to record it, “I became in the Spirit”. The Spirit of God records for us all that would be for our blessing, not just meeting our need, but brought into such a place of blessing and joy. Here the apostle is set aside to write in a book and send to the seven assemblies. The seven assemblies are a thought of completeness, the thought of scope, all of the assemblies are complete, there is no lack of what has been written for us and brought to us with clarity and authority.
We can then refer to the scripture in 2 Timothy, “every scripture is divinely inspired, and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”, all of these would be for us, but I think there is a response then, “that the man of God may be complete, fully fitted to every good work”. The thought of “complete” there is as to qualifications, but we think how all of this is for now; joy is not something reserved for heaven, but we would know that our joy is now. Let our joy be full. The Spirit is here for us to enjoy things in the fulness of joy now. So it is as to blessing; this window that was opened and poured out a blessing did not refer to something to be reserved for a future time, but something for us now. The blessing is now.
The thought as to “that the man of God may be complete”, is not something that is for a future day, but it is “fully fitted to every good work”. The blessings are being afforded to us to take up and enjoy now, the posture of heaven, God’s thought is to pour out the blessing. Although we may be taken up with things that are difficult at times, we would have blessing. So, may God bless this word.
DENTON
2 March 2004