THE FEELINGS OF JESUS
A.B.Parker
The earlier part of the word to the assembly in Laodicea speaks of a lukewarm condition, neither cold nor hot. We are in danger if we are in that condition. The two disciples on the way to Emmaus were in that condition - neither cold nor hot. The Lord saw to it that heat came in, and their hearts began to burn; fervency developed. The Lord would speak to us in view of getting out of a lukewarm state; He says "because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spue thee out of my mouth". We ought to pause for a moment and consider the Lord's feelings about those with whom He has to do - those who take His name upon their lips. It is not a word to heathendom, or to the world as such. This is a word to those who are known as the assembly which is in Laodicea. They have a standing religiously and we need to ascertain to what extent we have fitted into such a position. "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and I am grown rich, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou are the wretched and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked". I never expected to see Laodicea enacted before our eyes. We have been brought up to regard Laodicea as the public profession around, but we see there was a state which was truly Laodicean amongst us. It meant there had been Philadelphian conditions because Laodicea is an offshoot from Philadelphia.
It is interesting to see those assemblies in their relation one to another. They are brought in chronologically - it is the history of the church publicly from Ephesus down to Laodicea, but as we know, the first three in their distinctive character have disappeared. The lamp stand was removed from Ephesus and the Ephesian position ceased to be. Smyrna and Pergamos relate to the time of the great pressure under Nero, the time of tremendous suffering and the day of the martyrs peculiarly at the beginning of Christianity. That era has passed, but now we have the last four running on concurrently. Not that they originated concurrently, because they did not. Thyatira represents the system which has headed up in Papacy. Sardis is what we might speak of as Protestantism, which was an outcome or departure from the papal system. It had a name to live, and it did live under Luther and Zwingle and other men of God. There was life there, but that life ceased to be in evidence; it became a dead system. Out of that sprang the Philadelphian recovery. That recovery, in its pristine glory, meant much to the heart of Christ. But there has been a falling away from it, and that is Laodicea. We have seen, right in our very fellowship, in the circle of those with whom we moved, the features of Laodicea show themselves, and we need to overcome, dear brethren. Even Philadelphian conditions require that there be overcomers. So if we find ourselves struggling to get to shore, so to speak, after the shipwreck, we want to be sure that we overcome as the overcomer is called upon to do in Laodicea; also to overcome as the overcomer is called upon in Philadelphia. We do not want to stop short of anything. We want to get right into Philadelphian conditions, personally and collectively. The Lord is very tender, very gracious. When He was here He took account of persons and had compassion on them. It was not only the compassions of a Man, it was the compassions of God coming out through a Man. It is wonderful to see how near God has come to us, that in manhood conditions, understanding and knowing what weariness is, knowing the limitations of humanity, the Lord had compassion, and that compassion was the compassion of God.
And so, as the Lord sends this word through John, He looks right down the ages until the present time and says, I am going to take a fixed attitude in relation to Laodicean conditions, I am going to take a stand in regard to it: "Behold, I stand at the door". That word 'stand' is the same word as used in many places in Scripture, which means having taken a fixed position. Think of the Lord looking down through the dispensation to our day, and saying in regard of this particular day, I am going to take a fixed position to help the brethren. Wonderful encouragement! It is stimulating to think of the Lord thinking down to this moment in which we are, and He says, I am going to take a fixed stand in relation to it; I am ready to help you, I am ready to express My feelings, My compassions, My considerations; I stand at the door and knock, and if any one hears My voice and opens to Me, I will come in and sup with him and he with Me. What favourable conditions in which to get right! Do you not think, dear brethren, that we are experiencing it? Do you not think that the Supper, as we have it, is a means of stimulating our hearts and letting us see that the Lord is with us? But we do not get the Supper until He has supped with us. There is a distinction here: "sup with him and he with me". I wonder if up to now, the Supper may have been His supping with us, or have we really reached the point of supping with Him?
The question has been raised, What proof do we have that the Lord is with us? Well, we want two proofs. We want the proof that He has come in from our side, to sit down and work out with us details of our need, to be strengthened in our faith, to be given confirmation and assurance that we are in the right position where the Spirit of God can support us; and then we want to get over to His side so that we are supplying with Him and entering into His thoughts about God and the things of God and His heavenly thoughts for us. It is a most wonderful example of the grace and manhood of Jesus come into expression to help and recover persons who have some judgment of things, who hear His voice, and open the door to Him. The Lord is finding that the door is shut in certain areas. He would say "my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night", Song of Sol 5: 2. Think of the Lord feeling His outside position! I trust He is not feeling an outside position with us individually or collectively. I can only speak of my experience; I have been with the brethren here at the Supper this morning and I think we have had the sense that the Lord has come to us. He was not left outside; He came in, and as coming in He would sup with us and we with Him - two distinct phases. One is to sit down with Him under the most favourable conditions and go into our matters and settle every problem we might have. If we have any questions, let the Lord come in, and let us know the blessedness of His intimate dealings with us. If we spread out our matters before Him He will answer every question that we have. We may get it while we speak to Him we may get it in the ministry meeting, we may get it at the Supper, but He will see that we get it. He uses one means and another, and yet another, to speak to us and He will use these means. But are we prepared to spread out our problems before Him? Do I find the meetings tiresome? Do I wish they were over? Is there any element in any of us that is not fervent? Do we feel that we want to continue the meeting and go right up and in? Do we want to go right into heaven? If there is any lack of this we tend to be cold, or lukewarm; it is nauseous to Christ. The circumstances at the end of the dispensation are such that we must be one or the other. John's ministry brooks no intermediate condition. He says "God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son that whosoever believes on him may not perish but have life eternal", John 3: 16. There is no intermediate point; we are either perishing or living - that is John's ministry. We are either cold or hot; an in-between position is nauseous to Christ. The hot position He will rapture to Himself; the cold position he will deal with in judgment and do it summarily. Any in-between position is nauseous and will be disposed of. The Lord has come in to make division - to remove the in-between condition and to bring about fervency, and to expose persons who are not right. He is ready to sit down and talk things over with you in the most favourable conditions. Just spread your matters out before Him. He will say, What are your problems? He will sit down with you and say, Spread out your problems. Hezekiah did it; he went into the presence of God; he took the letter from Sennacherib and spread it out before Jehovah. Did not God know what was in the letter? Of course He did. Does not God know our circumstances? Of course He does. But Hezekiah spread the letter out before God. The Lord wants us to spread out our problems before Him. You will find that, as you spread it out, the problem dissolves. The things we hold in the secret of our minds and hearts, these are the things that trouble us. When we spread them out and let the light shine on them we find that troubles dissolve. There is no real trouble there that cannot be met by Christ; it is fear that the enemy has put in our hearts.
Then He says "He that overcomes, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne, as I also have overcome, and have sat down with my Father in his throne". That is a most marvellous stimulation and encouragement! Not only are we to have part in administration with Him, but notice the way He puts it. The Lord knows just how to say things to bring out the best that is in us. He says, If you overcome in these circumstances you will sit down in My throne as I also have overcome. Just think of the Lord comparing our overcoming in these conditions with the way He had overcome in dealing with the great matter of good and evil, the cross and the grave, and all that was involved in accomplishing redemption! He has overcome and the Father said "Sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies as footstool of thy feet", Heb 1: 13. It will be just like that; I will seat you on My throne and I will regard your overcoming in the circumstances in which you are in relation to My overcoming in the tremendous suffering and sorrow and depths to which I went. The attitude of Jesus is most magnanimous. He values any little devotion, any committal, any overcoming. He says, It is as I have overcome. That is marvellous! It cheers my heart, it stimulates my soul. My concern is to be able to impart something in the way of stimulation to my brethren. The Lord is available in all the feelings of His genuine Manhood, to come so near to us if we will only let Him in, and He will say, Just spread out every matter before Me and then when I have settled all your matters you are going to come in with Me and sup with Me and I will let you understand what the Supper really is. You will realise what the remembrance in the Supper really is, what it means to Me to gather up the feelings of My people and present them in the presence of My God as the Minister of the sanctuary. Oh, to get into the current of the feelings of Jesus! May He help us to understand them better.
VICTORIA BC
28 February 1971
THE CHILDREN'S DECISION
The prophet Joel exclaimed "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!" It seems that in a coming day large numbers will witness and suffer God's wrath in judgment on His enemies and those of His earthly people. It will be God's "decision" against the sins of those who reject all His testimonies. A few verses later, however, the prophet spoke about a different valley, one of acacia trees and lovely surroundings. In His mercy God will there preserve in joyful conditions those of His people who will be faithful to Him. They will indeed also be sinners but will be saved by the atoning work of Christ.
Every scripture is for our instruction and we do not need to be at all old to learn from Joel's prophecy what is God's "decision" against sin and those responsible for it. He is always righteous in His judgments: He is equally righteous in His mercies in sparing those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ who died to bear the penalty for them. God's estimate of sin and of sins is fully seen at the cross of Jesus.
The love and goodness of God are shown in His purpose that those who believe on His Son should receive the Holy Spirit and enter into the blessings that He has provided. In the day about which Joel wrote there will be earthly blessings through Christ; now our blessings are in Christ and enjoyed by the presence of the Spirit. The "valley of Shittim" means valley of acacia trees and from this kind of wood much of the tabernacle was made. So it makes us think of God dwelling with His people and this is to be known now as a normal thing in our spirits.
As I write I have before me a paper headed 'Decision', signed and dated by a young boy whom I knew well. He is now with the Lord. In the statement he confessed that he was a sinner before God deserving judgment, but that he believed the Lord Jesus Christ to be his Substitute who bore his sin and its penalty. He accepted Him as his personal Saviour and thanked Him for the forgiveness of his sins, adding that he trusted Him for grace to live a holy life. Is this your decision too?
J.C.Evershed