GUIDANCE FROM HEAVEN
[p. 180] GUIDANCE FROM HEAVEN
Matthew 2:1,2; Matthew 2:9-12; Acts 9: 3 - 6; Acts 10: 9 - 21
I wish to speak about guidance from heaven; it is a feature of our dispensation that light and guidance come from heaven; not from man-made dignitaries, religious dignitaries, ecclesiastical dignitaries, nor man-made councils — guidance is from heaven. Many other things might be said about heaven and its prerogatives in this dispensation, but I confine myself to this one thought, that from the earliest times the heavens were indicated as the source of light and guidance. The sun and the moon as made were set in the heavens “for signs, and for seasons”, and “to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1: 14, 17); the stars also, that is, all were made by God for the purpose stated, and He has never lost sight of this fact, but Christ having entered into heaven accentuates the thought. He has “gone into heaven, ... angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him”, 1 Peter 3: 22. “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3: 21); that is, it is a fixed state of things until a certain time. “Whom the heaven must receive ...” That is, Christ according to divine appointment is there, and hence there is light and guidance from that point, from heaven, beyond any possibility of human interference; so that we can be quite confident as to what comes, knowing whence it comes — that Christ is there, “received up in glory”, and installed there in the place of power. “From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool”, Hebrews 10: 13. He is not quiescent, He is not inactive; He is active, indeed, much more so than we are apt to think. Infinite vigilance is there, the Keeper of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps!
[p. 181] So Matthew, who particularly stresses this point of the heavens, begins early to show that they were active as Jesus was born. What is recorded by Luke is that, “unto you is born this day ... a Saviour”; it was immediate, according to Luke, the announcement by the angel was “this day”. But Matthew gives us a later incident, for the word should read, “Jesus having been born ...” However long before is not stated, but what is stated is that the wise men found “the little child” — not “the babe”; the sign to the shepherds was, “Ye shall find the babe”, but here it is “the little child”. That is, He has advanced in age, so that it is now a matter of history that the King has been born — the “king of the Jews”. It is a matter of history, but history of the greatest possible moment; nothing would be greater as an event, a birth, than the birth of the King of the Jews. Although gentiles, the wise men do not hesitate to refer to Him in this way; not simply as the King of mankind, but the King of the Jews — humbly, although gentiles, respecting the divine choice. It is not a matter of curiosity with them, they are not sightseers, nor are they tourists fulfilling a double purpose — seeing Jerusalem and its environments at the same time, but they come to see the King! Where is He? they say. They do not seek a guide to show them the sights of Jerusalem — it is the King of the Jews they want. And that is all there is today, dear brethren; sights — localities in themselves — lose their value in the presence of the King. It is now a question of the King, what He will do and where He will be. He is not viewed as a Man — He is “the little child”. From the human side there is development. He became a Babe, and grew into manhood, which truth Luke gives in more detail. The sign given of old was that “a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel ... God with us”. This is God’s way.
Matthew makes a great point of things being according to prophecy, and prophecy required that Jesus should come in as He did, and He came in exactly as prophesied of Him. So that when I use the word ‘development’, I mean that He was real in every state He took up; it could not be otherwise; a Babe, a young Child, a Boy, a Man. “Jesus himself”, we are told, “began to be about thirty years of age”, Luke 3: 23. He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man”, Luke 2: 52.
But then in His abstract personality, there is no change. In a word, the truth is the incarnation; that is, a divine Person taking another condition — that is the thought. The mode of taking that condition is described in prophecy, and fulfilled, according to the gospels, with infinite accuracy. We have to understand both sides of the truth. One side is, He is God; “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. He was God! Never personally less than God; but in time, in testimony, as I said, we have the Babe, the little Child, the Boy, and the Man — I am using the exact words of Scripture.
So these wise men from the east arrive at Jerusalem, in their quest of the King — not “the little child”, but “the King”; for that is who He was. As the angels said to the shepherds, “Unto you is born this day ... a Saviour”: not One who was to be that, but it is the Person, the Saviour Himself! And it is not, who will be, but “who is Christ the Lord”. Luke 2: 11. These wise men had that in mind; whatever His age was, He was the King of the Jews. They were looking for the King. There were not before, perhaps, such men in the east as these — what men they were! “We have seen his star in the east”, they say. Who told them it was His star? They had light in their souls from heaven, and they move in that light, they move towards the Jewish position. Jewry was a small affair then, compared to what it was under David and Solomon; but these wise men did not despise it at that time, they came to Jerusalem. There is nothing said about the star until they leave Herod; and they are later divinely directed not to return to him; but still they came to Jerusalem, they came in the direction of the King of the Jews, where He should be born. They would say in their hearts, Where shall we find Him save in the capital of Judaea? They did not know the scripture that He should be born in Bethlehem. There is nothing said about their knowledge of the Scriptures. I speak of this now to show how the work of God manifests itself in those who are the subjects of it. If we get light from heaven about Jesus, the next thing is, Where is He? Where is He to be found? There are many companies who claim to have the Lord with them — independent companies — but no independent company can have the Lord Jesus with them. He was never independent. One great feature of Christ was submission to the will of God. Where is He to be found? Well, if He is the King of the Jews, the men from the east would conclude, He will be found among the Jews — He would not be born among the gentiles.
These wise men thus make their way; they move in the light that had come to them. It was heavenly light — it was a star, one known as the star of Jesus. These men must have been astronomers. They, no doubt, could tell you the names of the planets, but I know of no others who have discovered the star of Jesus! These were the ones. They say, “we have seen his star ...” From another point of view, all the stars are His — He made them all. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”. John 1: 3. There was not one thing made that He did not make! But this star was a peculiar star; evidently not a fixed one; it was a movable one. Being the star of Jesus it moved in relation to Him — necessarily so. It moved in the orbit of that Centre — and that is really the point to be made here, that if we get light about Jesus all our movements must be in relation to Him.
Now Jesus was not at Jerusalem. However accurate their calculations as to where He should be, He was not at Jerusalem. The Scripture did not say that He should be born there; they went to the wrong place. Not that I would discredit these men, far otherwise; but there is nothing indicated about the star at Jerusalem. What one would remark here is, that if one is seeking light — if any light, any little inkling of Christ, comes to one, and one moves in it — it involves another way, not the way that we have been on, or that the natural mind would take. Most of our brethren are in the wrong way. “There is a way that seemeth right ...” you know, to many, but there is “another way”. Of Rahab it is said that she was justified by works “when she had received the messengers and had sent them out another way”, James 2: 25. She is a heavenly personage, in principle. She belonged to Canaan. She was a Canaanite, but she ceases to be that; she began really to be, in type at least, a heavenly personage, when she received the spies. She was justified by works; and anyone who is to be justified by works proceeds on “another way”. He is not a missionary — I mean to say, he is not a man who proceeds on the ordinary religious lines, but on a different way, a way that would be unaccredited by the world, by the religious leaders of this world; if he gets light from heaven he proceeds on “another way”. Let us see to it that, if on wrong lines, the old will not do, old methods will not do. Nor will it do to say to a [p. 185] person, You are on the wrong way; you want to point out the other way if you are to be justified by works. Point them to “another way”. Rahab was justified by works in this sense. As to the magi, we are told “they departed into their own country another way” (verse 12). Heaven had intervened. Do not go to Herod if you want the right way; do not go that way! If you do, you may be incited to murder the brethren! That is what he did; he murdered the little children — terrible wickedness.
Some of us were saying this morning that men may read the Bible, even look into it for guidance, and yet be murderous in their thoughts. That is what Herod did. He gathered all the chief priests and scribes together and demanded of them where Christ should be born. He had recourse to the Scriptures in order to murder! You say of some who oppose the truth and turn away from their brethren. They have the Bible — they read the Bible there and claim to act according to it. Yes, but I may do that, and yet have murder in my heart. Of course, I do not say that it could be literal murder, but we might be hating the brethren and looking for a scripture to justify our hatred of and separation from them, and scripture says, “Every one that hates his brother as a murderer”, 1 John 3: 15.
What these men show is right instinct. When they heard the king, they departed, “and lo, the star which they saw in the east, went before them”. They are on the right line now. “I being in the way”, says one, “the Lord led me”, Genesis 24: 27. True enough, they got light in a way at Jerusalem in spite of the conditions there, but there is no star — no star mentioned there — and the star is the great means of guidance in all this. It is a question of Christ. We must never get out of the light of Christ — it makes all things bright. If the way is there, go in it; that is, “I being in the way, the Lord led me”; and [p. 186] that is what happened; they saw the star and it was joy to their hearts — “they rejoiced with exceeding great joy”.
We should be feeling christians. Many of us are stoical; we receive light in the mind, in a sort of mental way, but there is no joy in the countenance, “I shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance”, says the psalmist; a healthy countenance is a joyful countenance. “They rejoiced with exceeding great joy”, and presently they found the little Child. The star had directed them to the little Child, not Herod; if Herod only knew, he would slay Him, but the star directed them. Dear brethren, if we want to know where Christ is, heavenly light directs us to where He is; not the territory simply, nor the city, but where He is — “where the little child was”. The star directed them, and “When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And having come into the house they saw the little child with Mary his mother ...” “The little child” is always mentioned first, bearing out what I have been saying, that the Person of the Lord is distinguished all the time. He must always be pre-eminent. Every lover of Christ joins with John as he says, “he was before me”, and “He ... is preferred before me”. God will have it so, and love in me will have it so. A lover of Jesus will always make provision for His distinction above all others. And so they bring forth their treasures — gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and they worship!
It is the time for the worship of the Son of God. The Person of the Son of God has been made clear to us, and it is to draw out our worship. They worship Him! Then we are told that “being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way”. They are spiritual. They are more spiritual than they were when they came. No one ever comes [p. 187] into contact with Jesus and worships Him without being more spiritual, more rich than he ever was before. If you met them now on the return journey you would find them more spiritual than when they were on their way to Jerusalem. Their eyes had seen the King in His beauty! Although a little Child, divine beauty shone there, and it drew forth their homage and their wealth.
Well now, I go on to another side of the truth, that is, to Saul — it is a well-known scripture. What I have in mind now is to point out how a brother gets heavenly guidance; he has been in the wrong way, he has been in the service of the enemy, “breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord”. There are many who are affected in this way, alas! and this scripture is to teach us how one of such receives guidance from heaven, and the kind of guidance he gets. If we read the account given in chapter 22, we shall see that Saul asks the Lord what he is to do, but according to the best manuscripts that question is not in Acts 9; it is omitted — the last half of verse 5 and the first half of verse 6 are omitted in the best version.
The Lord is concerned about this converted man as to how he is to be guided, without his asking, as if the Lord were to say, Now you need guidance. You say, I was converted yesterday. Thank God, but have you moved since? Where have you moved to? As soon as the light comes in from the Lord, you need guidance. Do not forget that you are not to be a free-lance any more — you are not to go where you please any more — many do. And many so-called evangelists let their converts provide for themselves. Not so Jesus! Here, He does not even wait for Saul to ask Him what he should do. The Lord says, as it were, This is imperative, you must get guidance, you must know where to go; if you do not, you will make a great mistake, you will get into wrong company.
[p. 188] Saul, rightly, wanted to know, and every right-minded subject of the work of God will say, What shall I do? Where shall I go? But the Lord anticipates all that here. He says, It must be so, you must know what to do, you must be guided aright. The light shone round about him, and the voice said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” He fell down, and the Lord says “Go into the city ...” Do not trust your own mind. Well, you say, That is a mere accident, for it was near Damascus. The next narrative says, “Go into Damascus” (chapter 22); but here the Lord says, “Go into the city” (verse 6), “and it shall be told thee what thou must do” — what thou must do!
One may say, There are several different companies, I do not know where to go. Well, the Lord says, “Go into the city”. There were other companies there, too, companies to whom he might have gone. He might have gone back to Jerusalem, there were sects there; he belonged to the sect of the Pharisees — he might have gone to them; or he might change his mind and go to the Sadducees, or to the Libertines, but the Lord anticipated all that, and simply enjoins him to go into the city. He did not say, I will go before you and prepare the brethren to look after you, but that is what the Lord had in mind. You may say, Those people that meet down there — I do not know that there is much amongst them. It may be if we had known the few at Damascus we should have said there was not very much there! The Lord had to correct Ananias about Saul. He says, Lord, why this man has come here to bind the saints! How ready we are to intimate that we know better than the Lord! One often sees that — in trivial things, too. It may not occur to us that we are criticising the Lord, but it is the fact. Ananias thought he knew Saul of Tarsus better than the Lord did! Think of what we are capable of! And [p. 189] he was a good brother, too. The apostle Paul says later that he was a pious man, and well spoken of by the Jews there. But the Lord has in mind in sending Saul into the city that He would go before him and provide what he needed, provide guidance. Go into the city, He had said, and it will be told you what you must do.
The brethren there will insist on the principles that govern the house of God, and you must submit to the truth they set before you. And Saul did submit. He says, “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision” (chapter 26: 19). If there is any little bit of light from heaven, do not be disobedient to it. The Lord will tell you where to go, and prepare His people there to help you. The Lord has them here for that purpose. “I will also leave in the midst of thee”, He says, “an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord”, Zephaniah 3: 12. He has them here in this city. You go amongst them and you will get help, the Lord has left them here for you; if they need it, He will prepare them to receive you, to meet your particular case. It may be a difficult one. Certainly Saul’s was a very difficult one, but the Lord made Ananias capable of helping Saul. He went to Ananias and prepared him to receive this brother, and he received him graciously and instructed him. He says, “Why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptised, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (chapter 22: 16). That is what he needed — to call on His Name. Maybe there is someone here seeking light in that way — the Lord would direct you to His people, and if you find them, you will get light amongst them; the Lord has left them here to serve those who are seeking light and help.
Finally, I wanted to say a word about Peter. I have been speaking about these brethren from the east who want to see the Lord. They want to find [p. 190] Him. They have a little light from heaven about Him, and it shows them where He is; well, they find Him! They have found Him, and they worship Him. Then I spoke of a brother who has just been converted — what guidance it is he needs. He wants to come in amongst the brethren. He may have been very distinguished elsewhere — Saul was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel — but now he must come in humbly and recognise that they know more than he. Those brethren at Damascus knew more than Saul; although he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, he knew less than Ananias. He had to take a low place and come in amongst the brethren and learn from them.
The next person in mind is a brother who is serving with great success. Peter is the leading apostle amongst the twelve, and we are told in the ninth chapter that he went everywhere in his service. He is in Joppa, and is on the house-top; but he has certain reservations in his mind. He needs instruction about the mind of heaven as to humanity. National feelings are inimical to the growth of the saints, and to qualification for the assembly. No mere nationalist can be an assembly man — the assembly is too wide and great a thought for that. Peter was doing great service in his own country, but then God was not the God of the Jews only. He was the God of the gentiles, and He was cleansing the gentiles. Here was a man, a centurion. We may regard such a calling with reserve, but this soldier received light from heaven, and evidently continued in military service. He was in command of the Italian band, and he had a trusted servant and “a pious soldier”, with him, and he sent him for Peter. I am not saying that a christian should be free to become a soldier — if I were one and could be free, I should “use it rather”, but God is no respecter of persons, and what God has cleansed we are not to call common, whatever the man’s employment. If God has taken a lead in that man’s history we are to follow it.
Peter was not ready. What I have in mind now is enlargement in regard to humanity and service to men; for at this juncture in the testimony it is a question of the Son of man; He stands related to all men, not only the Jews. And not only that, God is cleansing men — wonderful thought! “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common”. That is what the voice from heaven said, which came down to Peter’s ears. He is hungry — what has that to do with it? Why did he become very hungry? Because God wanted to speak to him, as it were, through his stomach. Here are eatable things: Oh no, Peter says, I would not eat those. God says, I have cleansed them — “What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common”. This happened three times. Peter, when he gives an account of it, calls the sheet a “vessel”. The ninth chapter speaks of a vessel as applied to a man — an “elect vessel”; the tenth chapter uses the same expression in regard to the sheet bound at the four corners which came to Peter. It is capable of holding what God has cleansed. It looks as if they were all unclean animals — perhaps people looking on us might think we are unclean, but not from the standpoint of heaven — God has cleansed us. What a blessed thought that is! God has done it — saved us and called us — it is by the “washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3: 5) that God saves us.
The Lord, maybe, has a word as to our outlook. Perhaps we are national. Not that I would say a word against any person being subject to the authorities — we should pray for them. They are God’s ministers, whoever they are, in this very city — God’s ministers to us for good. It is well to see that. There is no thought at all of christians interfering [p. 192] with governments ordered of God, they are God’s ministers for good; we are to be subject to them, and pray for them. But then, national feelings, and limiting ourselves to our own country — that is the danger. God is dealing with mankind. It is the kindness and love of God to man that marks the present moment — “to man”, and here is a sheet full of all kinds of creatures, “four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air”. And the voice comes — all to make the minister enlarged in his view, so that he might be used of God in a wider area of mankind. For God had the gentiles in mind for blessing. Simeon said in the temple, in Luke 2, “a light for revelation of the Gentiles ...” — that is what the Child was. The gentiles had come into the view of God for blessing, and that holds good now, hence He would enlarge our view so that our service should take character from that outlook. And Peter says, “it came even to me” (chapter 11: 5). Heaven is thinking of His servant, not now as sent to the circumcision, but sent to the gentiles — making his hand supple so that he might use the key properly, and open the door to the gentiles. The Lord had said, “I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 16: 19), and now he has to use them; as Ananias had to open the door to Saul, Peter has to open the doors of the kingdom to Cornelius and his company — and he does it well. As he is speaking, “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were hearing the word”. It is not simply upon those who were in the company — in meetings such as the present one some may not be listening to all — the point is, “those who were hearing the word”. God did not wait for them to make any confession. He gave them the Spirit before they made any confession; He knew what was going on in their hearts. But the point in mind is that Peter is enlarged by [p. 193] guidance from heaven; and I would urge that the brethren should take up this point and maintain the heavenly outlook — look there, and guidance will come from heaven. It will come even unto you. It came. Peter says, “even unto me”.