RELATIONS WITH THE LORD
A. A. Bellamy
Luke 24: 28, 29; John 1: 35–39; 1 Chronicles 4: 21–23
I desire to speak of the Lord’s relations with us, particularly having restoration in view; and then of our relations with Him. In the first scripture, the Lord came into the circumstances of two of His own and, in the second, two of His own came into His circumstances, involving the truth on the one hand as to piety and, on the other, as to spirituality. We should be marked by both features and particularly the latter, because we shall soon be in spiritual conditions for ever. Meanwhile, we are in provisional conditions, such as are envisaged in Luke 24, in which the Lord has to do with us. He came in to serve these two persons so that they might be delivered from their own circumstances in order to be found in the circle where He is supreme. To Laodicea He says, “If any one hear my voice and open the door, I will come in unto him and sup with him”—as we see in Luke 24 and then He adds, “and he with me”—as in John 1, and that leads into eternity. The great need at this present juncture is to be led into eternity. John wrote in order that we might acquire and cultivate the taste for what is spiritual, and the Lord serves us now with this end in view.
Now these brethren were on the way to their objective, Emmaus, and they were downcast. Is any one here downcast? If so, you too are the object of the Lord’s interest. You might hope that He will send someone to help you, but He sent no one to help these two. He undertook to serve them directly and personally Himself, with no intermediary, and they were amenable to His service. The psalmist enquires, “Why art thou cast down, my soul?”, Psalm 42: 11. If this is so, look away from yourself and your circumstances to God revealed in Christ, and you will find that He will be to you “a help in distresses, very readily found”, Psalm 46: 1. The Lord is traversing all the distance required in love to serve His own, for He values every one redeemed by His blood. There is a beautiful word of appeal in Jeremiah 14: 7–9, “Jehovah, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou act for thy name’s sake; for our backslidings are many—we have sinned against thee. Thou hope of Israel, its Saviour in the time of trouble ...”—that is what Jesus was to these two; it is like Paul’s reference to “Christ Jesus our hope”, 1 Timothy 1: l—“why wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a traveller that turneth aside to stay a night?” Think of His being prepared as a wayfaring man, so to speak, to turn aside to stay a night with you. He would turn aside if you let Him. He is standing at the door and is knocking. Just open it to Him.
As going towards Emmaus they were in a dangerous position, but the Lord saved them from it. Had they not been amenable to His service they would not have returned to Jerusalem and to the company into the midst of which He came. So He journeyed with them and listened to all that they had to say as they confided in Him. You can confide in Him too, even if you cannot confide in the nearest and dearest to you naturally. We all need to confide more in Him.
So they drew near to their own village and home, and as the Lord spoke to them their heart burned within them—for they were not lukewarm Laodiceans—and they began to consider for Him. Are we considering for Him? So far as this dispensation is concerned, the day is declining. Are we concerned that the Lord should stay with us when the day is declining?
Alas, I see signs that some are declining. Hosea speaks of Ephraim having “gray hairs ... here and there upon him, and he knoweth it not”, Hosea 7: 9. Gray hairs suggest spiritual decline. Decline is sad enough, but to be in that state and not know it is worse, for that is the condition in Laodicea. Thou “knowest not that thou art the wretched and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked”; but these were not such. They were considering for Him, and He entered in and stayed with them. Jeremiah continues, “Yet thou, Jehovah, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name—leave us not”. Do you ever consider the possibility that the Lord might leave us? There must be suitable conditions if He is to stay. Lydia recognised the need to be judged faithful by Paul if he was to abide with her. So we have to attend to matters if He is to stay with us. He allows moral exercises to come in which test our faithfulness, and as we are faithful He will not leave us. Are we sufficiently concerned that conditions should be such that He might remain with us?
We might be satisfied with the Lord being with us, but He has more in view. He cannot be held in provisional conditions. He disappeared from them, and that occasioned fresh exercise with them to return to Jerusalem the same hour. It does not seem to have taken them long to get back either, for God was working with them that they might reach the objective in His mind, which was that they should be found in the company into which the Lord came. He has the same objective today. Numbers may be few, but consider what is there potentially for Him. In the broken company in Luke they were not bemoaning disappointed hopes but rather were they in a state of spiritual jubilation—“The Lord is indeed risen and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24: 34). They were doubtless thrilled as He Himself came and stood in their midst. He would just serve us to the great end that we too might experience the thrill of heart and stimulation to our affections as He presents Himself living.
Now in the second scripture we have two disciples who were the product of John the baptist’s ministry. There is a great need of persons like them, born and bred in the soil of a ministry which reaches into the depths of the conscience and soul. John patronised nobody; perhaps some might have felt insulted by his ministry and would have turned away. But John was an effective minister because he had come to it that “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3: 30); not just disappearing a little, but right out of sight. It is a man who is nothing who can lead to Christ. I may know that I am nothing, but the test is whether I am nothing (see J. N. Darby’s ‘Letters’, Vol. 2, p.473).
So John pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God and, hearing him speaking, they followed Him. Are you really a follower of Jesus, or has someone, maybe without your realising it, come between your soul and Christ? In these times of recurring sorrow and pressure salvation lies in following Him. As we follow we become objects of His interest. “What seek ye?”, He said. They wished to know where He dwelt. Their desire went beyond having the Lord in their circumstances; they wanted to come into His. He did not give them the address, but said, “Come and see”, and they did. “They abode with him that day”.
Have you come and seen where He abides? If through deep exercise you have, you will never go elsewhere. Many prospect around as to which company of believers is right, this or that, and choose to be identified with it, but it is not exactly a question of a company in this passage. It is a Person who holds them—‘Where abidest thou? ... They ... saw where He abode; and they abode with Him that day’. Then it says, “It was about the tenth hour”. I wish we had a deeper sense of how time is rolling on and of the near return of the Lord. “He that comes will come, and will not delay”, Hebrews 10: 37. At the tenth hour there is not much time left before night descends on this world. The night is coming when no one can work; but these two disciples were with the Lord in His circumstances in the little time left that day.
Now in Chronicles we have certain who “dwelt with the king for his work”. I would appeal to every brother and sister in regard to this. You may feel that you have no particular service, so you leave the work to others. One result of God’s work in us by the Spirit is that there is a desire to be serviceable to the Lord. If you are one of His followers, you are potentially one who can serve Him. He said, “If any one serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall be my servant”, John 12: 26. Being with the Lord relates to the present—not only to the future—and to the present enjoyment of communion with Him. Some want what is new and regard all else as old fashioned, but in this scripture it says, “And these are ancient things”. We are to go on with these ancient things, with what was at the beginning of the dispensation, as those who abide “among plantations and enclosures: there they dwelt with the king for his work”.
These are persons who care for the local assembly so that there may be conditions there exclusively for Christ. Your local plantation cannot be left to look after itself, it must be cultivated or else the weeds will grow quickly enough as in the field of the sluggard (Proverbs 24: 30–34). It is not great exploits that are required, but being with the Lord, in communion with Him, in relation to His work. Let us be found as “God’s fellow-workmen”—journeymen, fellows doing the chief’s work (see note to 1 Corinthians 3: 9).
Let us not despise the day of small things, but rather be amenable to the service of Christ to gather what is in His mind, to be deepened in the desire to find where He dwells and to dwell with Him in relation to His work, for His name’s sake.
Address at St. Albans
22 September 1979