THE OPENED HEAVENS
F.C.Mutton
Luke 3: 21,22; Acts 7: 54-60; Malachi 3: 8-10; Revelation 11: 19
The impression before me, beloved brethren, is as to heaven being opened. We sang of that in our hymn (No 132): 'The heavens are opened now'. You could hardly speak of anything greater than that, that as a result of the work of Christ and His ascension, His ascending up where He was before, the heavens are opened. That is a magnificent thing, a surpassing thing. Alas, how often it may be one's gaze and occupation is earthbound. I am sure the word would come in as we have it so often in the Old Testament: "Lift up now thine eyes" (see Gen 13: 14). What a privilege, what a favour, what an outlet, that we can look into heaven and that the heavens are opened in view of the outpouring from heaven of its richest favour and blessing!
I feel the need of strengthening to refer for a moment to what was unique in the opening of the heavens upon Jesus. Never had such a thing happened before, because never before had there been an object of absolute complacency on earth upon which heaven could be opened. What a moment this was! the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, in manhood, having taken up that relationship of Son and that precious, hidden, secret life completed. What a life it was! The Father's voice says "In thee I have found my delight". We have a glimpse of that life at the age of twelve, a model for us all when we are young. I expect there are a good many here this afternoon who are about the age of twelve. That period of life round about that age is most important and significant, because you are growing up. You may feel, naturally, pleased with that. You are emerging from childhood and that gives a natural pleasure. I know a few boys and girls and it is natural to like to grow up, but let us grow up in relation to the Lord Jesus. He is the pattern at every age. I remember Mr Gardiner saying that if we are young we can think that the Lord Jesus has been our age. Is not that affecting? He has been the exact age which you are, and at that age He was delightful to the Father. So we are to feed upon Him. As we were impressed earlier, everything springs from love to Christ.
I have a book by Thomas a Kempis, written many centuries ago, called 'The Imitation of Christ'. It is a depressing book because that dear man was trying to imitate Christ in his own power, and the more he tried the more miserable and self-condemned he felt. But if we know our Lord Jesus as Saviour and Lord, we love Him. Then the next great blessing is the reception of the Holy Spirit, giving us power to feed upon Him, to contemplate Him, to see Him in the Scriptures, to get impressions of Him in the meetings and in ministry. And as we feed upon Him we shall become like Him, and we shall never become like Him unless we feed upon Him, because what we feed upon forms us. Therefore may we all be warned against feeding on what is in the world in its corruption. We need more than ever to be warned against that, the corrupting influence of the world in its Sodom character.
But I have diverted. Here we have Jesus commencing His path of public service. It begins with what speaks of His committal, even to death, to the will of His God. That is what His baptism meant. How touching that is! At the very threshold of His public service was this action. "Jesus having been baptised and praying"; a holy, dependent, praying Man, His one object, His one motive, the Father's will; hence His prayer. He goes down into the waters of death in order that the will of God might be effected, because it could be effected in no other way, and that you and I who were in death, subject to its penalty and its power, might be gloriously emancipated to have part with Him beyond death in a character of things that is incorruptible, in a life that is related to His own by the Holy Spirit. "All the people having been baptised": in principle the whole race is seen as going down in death, and one Man comes out of it.
So it says "and Jesus having been baptised and praying... the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight". I would not attempt to say much as to it. It is more for reverent, holy and worshipful contemplation. But let us contemplate it, let us feed upon it. For the first time here in public appearance, and anointed by the Holy Spirit, was an answer to the eternal divine pleasure, that God should have man for Himself. Here was the blest unfailing assurance that every divine purpose would be secured and established for time and eternity. But not only that; in this Person Himself there was all that which drew out the Father's infinite pleasure and delight, His active delight, involving His complacency, His rest: "Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight". I would say, beloved, without any hesitation, that everything that is for the Father's pleasure must be of Christ's character. The baptism of all the people speaks of the removal of all else. Just as the flood was the removal of the whole order of things which was corrupt and stood condemned, so here baptism speaks of the removal of all that was offensive and all that challenged God, and the glorious bringing to light, in another Man out of death, of all that is for His infinite complacency.
As we come to Acts 7 we find a man, Stephen, to whom the heavens were opened. This brings us to the time in which we are. This, of course, was something special, heaven's answer to the sacrificial testimony and faithfulness of this man who, in a devotion that bore the marks of his Master, was about to lay down his life in faithfulness to the Lord Jesus. In that sense, it was special, but in another sense beloved what Stephen saw is open for us to see so that we, like him, may derive from it comfort and power and strength and assurance to continue here in faithfulness in the light of the opened heavens and what is in them. What a moment this was! Stephen had rendered his testimony, a remarkable testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit and of the utmost encouragement to us, because it shows the answer to what the Lord said, "It shall be given to you in that hour what ye shall speak", Matt 10: 19. In this critical hour the Spirit enabled Stephen with accuracy and pungency to range over Old Testament history, binding it all together in a moral arrangement of irresistible power, and to bring it all up to date and lay it upon the consciences of the opposers, the haters of Christ, the haters of His name. He says, "of whom ye have now become deliverers up and murderers!" (v 52).
What a servant he was! fearless, and in the spirit of his Master. Beloved, how important it is that we should be marked by being filled with the Holy Spirit. That was what marked Stephen. The Holy Spirit was completely unhindered in this man. May we be greatly and constantly concerned that that might be so with us, so that we may be delivered from all the lawless and unhelpful tendencies that we find in our own hearts, and kept under the power and control and direction of the Holy Spirit so as to be here in the spirit of Christ. That involves with Stephen unerring, unflinching faithfulness, and yet the grace of Jesus as he says "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge". What an extraordinary thing this was! Many of these same persons before whom Stephen was now arraigned had been involved in the condemnation of Jesus, and no doubt the enemy felt that he had successfully eradicated that name and that Person. But here it was again, not in Jesus personally, but in character in another man. They would say, This is Jesus over again. They could not deny it. Not of course that it could be the same. We must ever maintain the absolute uniqueness and pre-eminence of Jesus. Nevertheless as they looked on Stephen they would say, We have seen this character of manhood before, we have seen this spirit before, we have felt the penetrating power of this word before. It was a man full of the Holy Spirit. Although Jesus was in heaven, there was a man here on earth representing Him faithfully. That is what the testimony is. We speak of the testimony; the testimony is that there are men and women here who in the power of the Holy Spirit are in the life and the spirit and the power of the exalted Man who was once here Himself.
There is what Stephen saw and then there is what he said, two separate things: "Being full of the Holy Spirit, having fixed his eyes on heaven, he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God". All this is full of its meaning for us, beloved brethren. Let us in the power of the Holy Spirit fix our eyes on heaven. You may say, Well, it is difficult for me. It was rightly said recently that when you retire you have more time and less distraction. But it is workable for us all. We can all seize a few minutes out of our busy lives to fix our eyes on heaven. Even as we go through the duties and pressures and responsibilities of our daily lives, in spirit we can be in touch with heaven, even momentarily. Our link with heaven is there all the time, but there are moments - let us make more of them - when in the power of the Spirit we can fix our eyes on heaven and see the glory of God and Jesus. We could not speak of anything greater than the glory of God, and nothing is so calculated to remove from us any sense of the imagined glory, the vain glory, of things below. The glory of God is infinitely, supremely, substantially eternal in its character. However we contemplate Him, the glory of His love, the magnificence of His purposes, the greatness of His power and wisdom, His mercy and grace, in all these things the glory of God is radiant. I would like to be more occupied with it. Stephen started with that: "The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham" (v 2). It got Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees and it will get us out of the world. It will also get us, may I say, out of ourselves. As Abraham moved in relation to it, so may we, as having God before us.
"And Jesus standing at the right hand of God": no doubt that had its special bearing here, that even yet there were the divine lingerings over the nation. I think it means too. that Jesus was intensely concerned with His suffering servant. And He is concerned about you and me. Though at the right hand of God He is there on our behalf, all power committed to Him, and you and I are carried there in His affections and in His power. He is at our disposal in so many capacities, our High Priest, our intercessor, our great and supreme lover. "The glory of God, and Jesus": what a scene it is! glorious, altogether removed from this poor, passing scene; a sphere of stability, of glory and love. We are immediately connected with it in the power of the Holy Spirit. How sustaining this would be for Stephen! He does not say all this in testimony. The believer has a lot more in his soul than he says. It should always be like that. But Stephen said what was needed at this ·time: "I behold the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God". Let us testify in the power of what we are seeing and enjoying and there will be effectiveness in it.
All they could do with such a man was to cast him out and stone him, but he was superior to all. "They stoned Stephen, praying" - how like his Master, the praying Man of Luke's gospel - "and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". Was not the Lord delighted to receive Stephen's spirit? That is all that will pass over into eternity in that sense, your spirit, what is formed according to Christ. It is a sobering thought; "the spirits of just men made perfect" (Heb 12: 23) the scripture says; that is, they were made perfect here in the ways of God, involving chastening and discipline. Let us be concerned about our spirits. Stephen here could say in the midst of the greatest provocation and burning hatred, as those stones were being hurled at him, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit". There was not a blemish upon his spirit, not a blemish of retaliation, resentment or complaint. I suppose he would be comparatively young, so able, so gifted, so spiritual, and his career of service was cut short. But how glorious! Christ had been magnified in that man. That was Paul's great objective. May it be ours! that whether in life or death Christ should be magnified in our bodies and our spirits as formed according to Him. Would not the Lord have delight in receiving this man's spirit? It is a very sobering question, Would the Lord at this moment have pleasure in receiving my spirit, or your spirit? Is there something on our spirit? If I may say so, if there is something between me and my brother or sister, I do not think the Lord would have unreserved pleasure in receiving my spirit.
These things are testing. They are not discouraging. Let us, if we are conscious of anything, get to the Lord and get things right. But here was this beloved man who could just ask the Lord to receive his spirit and the Lord would have delighted to do that. "And kneeling down, he cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge". How he was formed according to Christ! These were the breathings of the man himself. This was the outgoing of his soul. He did not want this sin laid to their charge, and he goes out in the moral glory of being like his Master in suffering. "And having said this, he fell asleep". What a touching expression! Beyond their reach, taken care of by Jesus, peaceful, restful, he fell asleep.
Now I want to refer to the verse in Malachi. We do experience what is spoken of there. I am quite sure it has been experienced in this place this week, and I trust in all our localities, the windows of heaven being opened. But, as with all these things, there is room to experience it more. It was conditional here. There was a bad state with some, as the opening of this prophecy says. They were really defrauding God. For example, when they brought offerings they were bringing the lame and the sick. What was not of any use to anyone else they brought to God for sacrifice. You and I may do that; we may just give Him the bits and pieces of our time and our interest, most of it being spent on myself or my own circle of things and God just having what is left. That is not right. The challenge is, from Malachi, "Will a man rob God?". These are solemn things. We have been taken up in grace, but it is possible to rob God. Infinite divine expenditure has been incurred that we might belong to God. As we had in the reading: "mine shall they be", Num 3: 13. God puts in His claim to us, not only as Creator but as Redeemer. Do not let us rob God. So the call here is, "Will a man rob God? But ye rob me. And ye say, Wherein do we rob thee? In tithes and heave-offerings... and me ye rob"; that is, they were not rendering to God what was due to Him, that great principle set out by our Lord Jesus, "Pay then what is Caesar's to Caesar, and what is God's to God" (Matt 22: 21), a simple principle by which we should seek to regulate our lives, so that what should be rendered to God may be rendered to Him.
"Bring the whole tithe into the treasure-house, that there may be food in my house". Well, beloved, may we be concerned to do this. The withholding of it may take many forms. I may be careless as to my links with the Lord, as to personal habits in relation to prayer and reading and reflection. Another form it can take is that I may have something and I may withhold it. A young brother may be over-timid. For that reason the brethren are not getting the gain of what he has; he is withholding the tithe. You have an obligation that what the Lord has given you is to be put into circulation, as He would indicate and as the Spirit would give grace and power, in the assembly. If you have something it is for the saints. It does not mean that you have to force it on them at the very first opportunity, but at least let us be available under the Lord's hand. We may otherwise be withholding the tithe. Maybe you are withholding your prayers. Perhaps we have given up praying as we should for our local brethren; perhaps we have given up exercise. Perhaps I expect the other brethren to run the reading; I am not putting my shoulder to the wheel. I am not bringing the whole tithe of committal.
"And prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I open not to you the windows of the heavens, and pour you out a blessing, till there be no place for it". What a promise! Oh may we overcome these reservations, these hindrances! And may we in the sobriety of love's committal commit ourselves to the Lord and to His people, to the truth, and to being available in whatever way the Lord would have us available, where He has set us, in the Spirit's power so that there is food in His house. Then we shall prove the windows of heaven being opened in a most abundant way. We do experience it and it is one of the most precious things in our lives as we come together for readings and ministry meetings, that something comes in out of heaven. It comes through the brethren but it is heavenly in character and freshness and it fills our hearts and sends us home thankful and rejoicing. You may say, It does not always happen. Then that would turn us to the Lord, would it not?, in secret in exercise that the next time we come together the opened windows of heaven may be experienced in fuller measure. But they are open - wonderful fact of this dispensation! And it is up to you and me that in our moral and spiritual state we are such as to enter into the experience of the windows of heaven being· opened and to contribute to the local experience of it.
At the end of Revelation 11, relating to a period after the church has been taken, God's ways unfold in the most solemn judgment and yet at many points we find companies secured, answering to the then testimony, for divine pleasure. Here at a moment of extraordinary pressure, when the seventh angel has sounded his trumpet, it says "the temple of God in the heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple" - a view of heaven for the comfort of the faithful, suffering remnant. Although we live in a different and much more favoured time, this is to be experienced now. There are many pressures. We are not to be insensitive to what presses upon men in general, the spread of communism and many other threatening powers of lawlessness, strife and anarchy which to men may appear to offer a prospect that is appalling and hopeless. We are not to be unfeeling, and certainly our prayers should include these matters in a very specific way both personally and as we come together for assembly prayer. But, beloved, we have an outlet and we have an outlook. "The temple of God in the heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple". Christ is there! All is safe, all is assured, all is restful and peaceful there. The ark of His covenant is the assurance, as we remember that the tables of stone were there enshrined in the ark, that every thought of God for His own glory and in relation to His beloved people is going through to glorious finality. This would steady and stabilise us and keep us restful and peaceful, indeed worshipful. May it be so, for His Name's sake.
GRANGEMOUTH
19 January 1980