DISTINCTIVENESS

W.Schubert

Jeremiah 15: 15-21, 35: 6-11, 18-19; John 14: 21-23

I had the impression, dear brethren, that the scriptures we have read would apply to us at the present time and tend to encourage us to think a little over the history of the testimony and of the present conditions in which we are. I can only take up a few points in relation to the verses we have read, but one thing is sure, when God does something it will be distinct. If God brings a person to Himself, he is added to a realm of things down here to express His thoughts. I do not think it is in God's mind to save a person and to add this person to the confusion which is in Christendom. This would never be in the divine mind. It happens, we have to confess, but it was never the divine mind. So it is with us personally. We should see that if we have been bought with an incomparable price – nobody can compare the price which has been paid for everyone of us here – then God has in mind to make us distinct personalities, not according to men but according to His own plans. If there is not distinctiveness, we should take it to our hearts and turn to God about it and perhaps also confess that we have lost this distinction. If God does take up and start a special movement by His Spirit, if God does it, it must be distinct. He would not start any movement or a revival just to add to what is not pleasing Him in Christendom.

So I thought Jeremiah would help us in this. He was distinct. He was young when God took him up. He was – as we find in this book – a shepherd, and it was not easy for him to give up his work as a shepherd. He says somewhere in his book that it was not an easy matter for him to give it up, but God took him up, and he speaks in the beginning of this book about what he should be; he should express His thoughts among the people of God. There was not much hope for recovery of this people to their former condition, and it did not really happen, but in spite of this, he was the full expression of what God had to say to His people. It could apply to other men at that time, but he did not depart from it; that is the encouraging thing. He had his discouragement, as we have seen in this chapter here; he got down, he became discouraged because of the conditions. We have to think of John the Baptist, great man that he was he got discouraged when he did not see things running as he thought they should. He said, "Art thou the coming one? or are we to wait for another?" (Matthew 11: 3). What exercise this meant. The Lord did not rebuke him, He brought out what kind of man he was. And so here the Lord recovers Jeremiah. He is listening. He knows the burden of His servants, He knows every burden and He is very feeling about it. But Jeremiah was distinct in what he represented. He served for perhaps fifty years and he had to go down even to Egypt with a rebellious people, but he express ed the divine thought. Dear brethren, we are a few left, but should we not be reminded that God has something distinct in His mind, even if there are only a few? Let us not take on other thoughts less than what God has in mind. We see here another point, He took up Jeremiah, and it was difficult for him because he had always, as expressing the divine thoughts, to stand against the majority of the people of God. He always had to say something that was not pleasing to them. If things are in such a state, if we ourselves are in such a condition, we are not pleased to hear the truth.. I was thinking of the brethren with whom we are linked. God reckons them in a special way. When we think of the beginning of the revival and what God did, it was not a great people, not people recognised in this world, but they bore testimony to the divine thoughts as to Christ's assembly, for which He suffered. Oh, these dear servants, and the saints unknown to us, who have suffered for the truth's sake! He says here, "For thy sake I bear reproach". He was depressed. It was a time of weakness with him. We can feel a little as to it; we can feel with him a little, but he must have felt it very much, "For thy sake I bear reproach". May our reproach be for Christ's sake, not for our failures or our mis behaviour. It should be that we suffer as Christians. Another thing I want to draw attention to is that he had to say, "I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor exulted: I sat alone because of thy hand". How many of our dear brethren have to experience this, that they are alone. I once heard someone saying about a sister sitting alone because of the truth she valued, 'She could have plenty of company; it is her own fault'. Jeremiah says, "I sat alone because of thy hand. You are privileged to have quite a number of brethren here, but there are certain places in the world where there are brethren sitting alone and the Lord comforts them. We find here that the Lord comforted this prophet, and He has comforted others who are alone, because He Himself was alone. It says of Him that "He is... left alone of men" (Isaiah 53: 3). He was alone because He was distinct from every other man. He was alone, and He could have remained alone if He had not died. It says "Ye... shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me" (John 16: 32), but the Lord Jesus Himself felt the loneliness and He can comfort His saints if left alone. He was alone in the fullest sense of the word when He was left by God. He was alone. Note, the word 'alone' is never exhausted by the creature, but applied to the Lord Jesus only He experienced fully what it means to be alone. Paul knew something about being alone. He brings in a word similar to that found in Jeremiah. He writes to us that, "All who are in Asia... have turned away from me" (2 Timothy 1: 15). It must have been a great sorrow for Paul. It was not his fault, not his behaviour, that the brethren left him; it was because of the truth they left him. He had to say these words when he stands before Caesar, before the great power of Rome, that he was alone. He says, "At my first defence no man stood with me, but all deserted me" (2 Timothy 4: 16). It is used in relation to the army sometimes, desertion, but it is used too if a friend leaves you.

Paul had trusted the brethren to be with him, to support him, but he experienced that he was alone; he says, "... no man stood with me, but all deserted me". He was not complaining, he says, "May it not be imputed to them. But the Lord stood with me, and gave me power". May all those who are alone because of His hand, because of the truth, be encouraged to see that the Lord is able to use them as a testimony to His thoughts. He used Paul here for the nations, the great proclamation; nothing was lost. One man stood ·against all the powers of the world and the Lord stood with him, so we may be alone, but not all alone; the Lord is with us in these exercises. The prophet had to face this; it was because of the truth but He says, "If thou return, then will I bring thee again, thou shalt stand before me". The Lord is encouraging the brethren· He would encourage everyone, every locality to return, to return to first principles, return to what the brethren held fast at the beginning of this revival. Why should we not do this, dear brethren? Our desire should be in experiencing the service of the Spirit in filling out m these last broken days what is pleasing to God as to His testimony. There may be a few. I would encourage the younger brethren to see the privilege they have in these few days before the Lord comes, to take on what is handed over to them, to take it on in a faithful way, and in spite of all that is against us all opposition, the Spirit in us is greater than the one who is in the world; the Lord is greater. Oh, how great He is! He would help us. Let us not give up what has been given to us. We are in great danger of giving up and being Just as Christendom, no taste, no distinction Why should it be? Why should it be, dear brethren? Take courage, especially those who are younger; take courage, use all the energy he Spirit gives you to stand for what is pleasing to the Lord m your own life, in your own surrounds and in your own locality. Do not mind if someone is looking at you and thinking you are quite difficult or silly to be m these modern days as your fathers have been. Do not mind it. Be with the Lord. The truth has never changed, the truth cannot be modernised. It is always the same, it is always up to date. Let us stand for it in all simplicity, in a humble spirit. The Lord will help us, I am sure, and He will bring things back to what He promised before. We know that the brethren in the beginning used this word, "Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them". Let us look at what the divine standard is and let us hold to it, and let us return to this, and let others get help by it and not be confused by what we hold or practise in our local assemblies. "And I will make thee unto this people a strong brazen wall... but they shall not prevail against thee". That is what the Lord's word is as to the assembly, and it belongs to each person who would be faithful. We can experience the power to maintain what is pleasing to Him.

Now I have read in Jeremiah 35 and as we think about it, what an encouragement it must have been to Jeremiah to find a family, a tribe, which was firm and was not among those who gave up. They kept what their father Jonadab had said to them. Obedience is marking this family, and it is a fine word at the end of verse 8, "We, our wives, our sons, and our daughters" – old people and younger people, all united in obeying what their father had said. It was difficult what he said to them, very difficult, but it was workable. It may be difficult when we have to maintain separation, when we have to stay away from many things which are displeasing to God, but it is work able. There will be strength to fulfil it. There will be strength for obedient persons, always strength. They lived, as we find here, similar ly to those whom the Lord refers to in Luke 12; they were cared for by God. They had no seed, they did not plant vineyards, they have not even to sow seed, like the birds the Lord refers to. He is caring for us if we are faithful. He will look after everything, look after things even in a practical way better than I can look after things for myself or for my family; He will do it. But they were a testimony; by the government of God they had to come into Jerusalem, and they lived in Jerusalem unchanged. Why should brethren change, why should we be different from what brethren have been many years ago? Why should we take on features of the world, features of Christendom around us? Why should we be like them? Why? It is not the expression of the work of God. It is the expression of weakness and of unfaithfulness and of disobedience. These people were obedient. What an exercise it must have been for them, but there was something distinct in their minds – their father. We have fathers, a few. There are many instructors, but not many fathers. But there have been fathers in the revival of the truth – for me they are fathers. We may not have many things we can rely on, but for me it is absolutely sure and safe if I listen to what they have handed to us; there is no doubt about it. It is a wonderful thing I am sure, brethren, when we keep to it, when we value it. It is not man-made ministry we have; it is given from the ascended Christ. He has given it, so let us value it, and if we keep to it we will receive strength to go on. I do not think the people here felt strong enough to continue in faithfulness and obedience. They must have had the same temptations and testings as we have, but they kept to it, and God used them at the end in Jerusalem in the last days before Jerusalem was invaded; He used them as a testimony. He could point to them for they expressed His thoughts. They listened to the servants; "And I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets rising early and sending, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way" (Jeremiah 35: 15). They represented the result of the service of all His servants and all His prophets, and the promise is given, "There shall not fail to Jonadab the son of Rechab a man to stand before me, for ever". What a thing to have this promise; all things will fail if we continue in disobedience as to the truth. Localities will fail, the testimony will fail. Only with those who are prepared to continue in obedience, obedience to this word, obedience to what the Lord has given to us, will there be this result, will there be a man standing before Jehovah, "Before me, for ever". That is what John has in mind, that things should remain. When Peter was asking, "What of this man? ", the word is, "... he abide... " – the thought is abiding (see John 21: 21,22). So we read this scripture in John 14 which is a great encouragement to us. He speaks in the surroundings of the Supper, and we should think of these chapters as we go to the Supper. If we have the Supper in our minds and our hearts, we should think of these chapters here. It is all in the teaching surrounding the Supper. He says, "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me". We can easily say, 'Lord Jesus, we love Thee', but the Lord wants to have reality. He wants to feel things are true. His commandments would remind us again of the Corinthian epistles. The Lord has given commandments; He gave a new commandment that we love one another – that is a new commandment. And then Paul speaks in the epistle to the Corinthians of the Lord's commandment; you cannot change anything about it. It is not up to us to choose this or that. The whole teaching is His commandment. It says elsewhere that His commandments are not grievous, divine commandments and 2 Timothy 2 would be a commandment too, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord withdraw..." (v.19) – that is a commandment. I think we can say of the whole teaching of the apostle (because Paul says in 1 Timothy 6, "Keep the commandment" (v 14)) – that was nothing grievous. Sometimes there are difficulties with commandments in these democratic times but there is divine commandment, everything is ordered in the creation by God. No heavenly body can choose its own course everything is ordered; and so also in the spiritual realm, everything is under His hand of blessing and under His power.

So it is interesting for us to look at the Lord s commandments if He speaks to those who have them. He does not mention people who do not have them: "He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me".

I think of these chapters in the epistle to the Corinthians. Sometimes things are weakened in these days, the teaching of the Lord, the teaching of these letters. People say, It was only the mind of Paul; it does not matter. It does matter; it is of all importance. Think of the commandments; the Lord's supper is not really a commandment, but it is included in the teaching, and in the teaching surrounding the Supper (we mentioned it already), there is also plain teaching in 1 Corinthians 10 which is needed for us to look at to protect the fellowship we have been called into, "Ye have been called into the fellowship of His Son..." (1 Corinthians 1: 9). What a place, what great things we have been called into, and we mentioned before that there are things we cannot do. Things have to be looked at, dear brethren – certain things we cannot do. There were two companies in Corinth before Paul came – there were Greeks and Jews, two different bodies, two different people, different customs; but there was now the most important one, the assembly of God. Therefore, we should be without any offence to Jews or Greeks and the assembly of God, but if we do what we like, we may be offensive to the assembly of God. Sometimes it is said, and I think we cannot agree with it, that the inward side is important, the outward does not matter so much. That is not true: the inward and the outward is balanced in Scripture. The inward is what God can see; no man can see your heart, your thoughts; but the outward is what angels see, what men can see, and there will be no testimony if the inward could be right and the outward not. Be sure, there is no testimony in it and God does not approve of this. We may speak about practical matters: we all have exercises in our localities. The younger brethren should be encouraged to look into this, that you cannot do certain things. Mixed marriages: they cannot be. If sisters cut their hair, it cannot be. It is not a matter of patience: I do not agree with this. It cannot be, it is no testimony. It is not testimony according to 1 Corinthians 11. That is the difference as to Jews and Greeks: they may do what they like. It is not right for them to do what they like, but it is not our matter; our matter is to look at what is with us where you cannot do what you like: otherwise there is no blessing linked with it. You are not in joy if you just get on as the world. I know there cannot be joy with you; half a Christian is not the divine thought. We should be fully in it. The price has been paid in a full way, not in part but a full way, and God gives in full measure, everything is unreserved. We come to the Supper tomorrow morning and we find the emblems, and they remind us that there has been unreserved giving, and our response should be without any reserve. The Lord would be full of joy. It says here, "And I... will manifest myself to him". What a wonderful thing that the one who has His commandments and keeps them, "He it is that loves me". It does not say, 'He it is that obeys me, is obedient' but "He... loves me". Love is a very exalted thought. Things have come to us out of a realm where love is at home, and love should work among us and should be responded to. God is desiring to give to those who love Him – not to those whom He loves but who love Him. Oh, we are very small in our response to Him, but He will pick up every little feature of love for Him. And the Lord will enlarge that person. It is mentioned so to one here, but it is, as I said, in the surroundings of the Lord's supper; it will not be on an individual basis. We spoke of Jeremiah that he was alone. No-one would choose to be alone. Circumstantially it may come about, but no one need be alone with his own thoughts, his own desires. Even if it is spoken here to one person, it is, I think, experienced in the assembly; the assembly is in mind. The Lord says, "I... will manifest myself to him", and then He adds, "If any one love me, he will keep my word". It is a wonderful experience that "I... will manifest myself to him", that we get His word more intimately, it is near ness linked with this word of the Lord, "and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him". What can we ask more, dear brethren, as a result of faithfulness, obedience and love than to have the experience of this wonderful visit of the Father and the Lord Jesus, and we can realise it by the presence of the Holy Spirit? God has in mind to make Himself known to men. He wants to have us under the fresh impression of His love and His desire to be with men. It says in Revelation that God will dwell with men. It is His desire really, it comes out from Him. We would never have thought about this, but He desires it and He wants us all in it, young and old. What progress young sisters and young brothers will make if they start with this experience and with this expectation, with this promise the Lord gives. He will not fail. He will respond and He will answer. May the Lord help us and strengthen us! For His Name's sake.

EDINBURGH

12 October 1985