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FOURTH READING AT VALENCE

WJH Time will not permit us to go through the first nine chapters as one had hoped, in detail, but we might touch a few outstanding features this morning and afternoon, features that I believe the Lord is bringing back. I trust none of our hearts will miss what the Lord is doing, for while the days are to be increasingly dark and difficult publicly, they are to be some of the brightest as we get near the end, so that one would like to suggest to us all, that the thing of greatest importance is to have part in what is of God at the end. The passage we have read in Acts 2 brings forward certain distinct features; the saints are seen persevering in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. They persevere in it. At all costs they were going on with it; they were not interested in any other teaching; they would have no part whatever in any other fellowship. And the Lord is bringing that back. We are not interested in any other teaching; it does not matter if it comes from the most intelligent university on earth; it does not matter if it comes from traditions that date back from before Christ, from Confucius, or from Mahomet. At the end, we are only interested in the teaching of the apostles; we shut our ears to every other teaching. We shall miss our way, surely if we do not keep that attitude. The apostles represent the Lord; they are His accredited representatives; no one else has that place; their teaching is final.

Rem The teaching of the apostles is found in the scriptures; we have no need to go elsewhere.

WJH No; we have no need of any teaching that is not based upon the scriptures. So that in Timothy — the scripture for the last days — the apostle insists on the inspiration of scripture. He says, “every scripture”. He does not exclude Genesis; he says, “every scripture is divinely inspired and is profitable”, 2 Timothy 3: 16. One finds great joy in the way the Lord is endearing the scriptures to His own; they were never more precious than now, when Christendom is tearing them to pieces, and the doctrines of demons are taking their place.

Ques In speaking of the doctrine of the apostles you are thinking not only of the doctrine of the twelve but also of Paul and all the scriptures?

WJH Quite, I would bring in the whole of the scriptures. The apostle Paul says, “Let him that is spiritual acknowledge that the things that I write are the commandments of the Lord”, 1 Corinthians 14: 37. So that I would urge particularly for the young brothers and sisters, that they refuse even to read the teachings that spring from the mind of man, and accept as final the teaching of the apostles.

Ques Would you say that the more we read the scriptures, the greater their authority over our souls becomes?

WJH The apostle says to Timothy, “from a child thou hast known the sacred letters”, 2 Timothy 3: 15. He says they are to thoroughly furnish the man of God, to thoroughly furnish him; that is, he wants nothing else than what is contained in the scriptures. So that the scriptures are exceedingly important.

Ques In saying that you are not excluding ministry which would be on the line of amplifying what we have in scripture?

WJH What the Spirit says to the churches is the living opening up and unfolding of what is in the scripture; it is based upon the scripture, but has a living present voice. Then there is the apostles’ fellowship or communion, which means that we are bound up together, each having a part together in what is of God, in what has come to us through the apostles. At the beginning they had no other fellowship; not one of them would have joined any other fellowship, and that is what we want now; indeed the Lord is bringing it back.

Ques The apostle Paul speaks of fellowship in other terms, but I suppose it would be the same fellowship?

WJH It is different aspects of the same fellowship; there is the fellowship of God’s Son, and the fellowship of the Lord’s body, and the fellowship of His blood, but these are all features of this fellowship. But the point we want to see is that at the beginning there was only one.

Ques And does not the thought of fellowship attach to our position on earth where there are other fellowships? We shall not need it in heaven.

WJH The idea would not have a meaning if there were only one, as in heaven, but the fellowship protects us in a scene of evil and enemies. So that if fellowship with darkness, or fellowship with unbelievers presents itself as a temptation, we are saved by adhering to this; we persevere in the apostles’ fellowship. That is exclusive. In Corinthians the apostle shows that you cannot have the two. He says, “what fellowship of light with darkness,

and what consent of Christ with Belial or what part for a believer along with an unbeliever”, 2 Corinthians 6: 15. It would be well to remember that in business; it would save us from much sorrow, and dishonour to the Lord’s name. It would be well to remember it in marriage. The fellowship of the apostles is exclusive of every other fellowship.

Ques Do we see how far that fellowship goes in Acts 4: 32: “And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one”?

WJH Quite; showing that they were a living organism not an organisation. Masonry is an organisation; it has no heart or soul. But the assembly is an organism with one heart, one soul and one mind. We are approaching the day when the beast will arise (indeed, the beginnings of it are here already), when men and women will have to die if they will not come into his fellowship, if they will not give their minds and their hands to contribute to his system. What will save us from that wicked system is truly accepting one fellowship which excludes every other on earth. Then, besides the fellowship of the apostles, they continued in the breaking of bread; they persevered in the breaking of bread. That is a wonderful feature of the last days of recovery. The real meaning of it was lost for ages, but it is probably the most outstanding feature that has been recovered.

Rem It is not described here as the Lord’s Supper.

WJH I think the “Lord’s Supper” is more connected with public order, but the “breaking of bread” is more what is enjoyed in the hearts of the saints. It says the Lord was made known to them in the breaking of bread (Luke 24: 35). That manifestation was not anything that could be seen with the natural eye. But in coming to the Lord’s Supper there is that which anyone can see; there is the loaf. Anyone can see that. Then there is the cup, out of which everyone drinks. There are not two. All drink out of one cup. It says, “they all drank out of it”, Mark 14: 23. Anyone can see that. So there is the order of the Lord’s Supper, but when the Lord is known to our hearts in the breaking of bread so that we are conscious He is with us, nobody can see that. I think that is the idea of the breaking of bread.

Rem The breaking of bread does not exclude the thought of the cup.

WJH No; in Acts 20 the disciples came together to break bread, which is the Spirit’s way of referring to the feast, and therefore must, of course, include the cup. I think the Lord is making the breaking of bread clearer and more living to our hearts all over the world, and if we are prepared to follow the direction of His teaching, in our hearts and not merely in our minds, I believe He will give an ever-increasing sense of His presence in the breaking of bread. But, you see, the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship must precede that.

Rem Otherwise we shall not have it intelligently.

WJH Indeed, and if we allow any other doctrine or fellowship there will be a condition to which the Lord cannot give His presence. Supposing, for example, I am a Freemason and I come to the breaking of bread, I am linking Christ and Belial together. Do you think I shall have a sense of the Lord’s presence? It is absolutely impossible. Then the apostles persevered in prayers. We shall need to pray more. As the days get darker and the power of Satan increases in the world, the outlet will be to continue in prayer, to pray more, in relation to the Lord’s holy interests. One is conscious that our prayer meetings are taking on a different character.

Ques While they are said to have been “constantly in the temple with one accord”, it says that the breaking of bread was in the house (Acts 2: 46). What is the meaning of that?

WJH It is clear that for a little while there was not a complete break with the Jewish system. It is like the cloud gradually leaving the temple in the book of Ezekiel. But the breaking of bread was not in the temple but in the house.

Ques What is the difference between the house and the upper room?

WJH I do not think there is any difference in principle. It is just to separate the thought of the Jewish temple from where they broke bread. We come into a room so that it might be available to all, but if wickedness increases much more we may have to come together in houses in secret.

Ques You are anticipating difficult times?

WJH “Perilous times”, it says in Timothy, “shall come in the last days”, 2 Timothy 3: 1. But one would like to encourage the brethren, particularly as to their meetings for prayer. The Lord is lifting the meeting for prayer out of the limits of personal and individual matters which properly belong to our homes. The need for prayer as in this scripture, is for those burdened with the care of the Lord’s precious interests. The Lord loves these meetings, and He would give such a sense of His power there as He did here. We read “when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook”, Acts 4: 31.

Rem It says that they persevered in prayers. Elsewhere you have the thought of prayer; there seem to be the two thoughts, the singular and the plural.

WJH That is interesting. Prayer is the general attitude of dependence, as it says, “praying at all seasons with all prayer”, Ephesians 6: 18. That is, we are always in the attitude of dependence on the Lord. But then there are also prayers, that is, direct requests laid upon our hearts which the Lord loves to hear. The prayers in the meeting for prayer ought to take that character, that is, the Lord has put one matter definitely on our hearts, or two or three. But those prayers that embrace everything, have very little real exercise in them. I do not think any of us are great enough to be really burdened as to everything at one time, but the Lord wants direct prayer, prayer for actual matters that we are concerned about as to His interests. So when Peter was in prison the saints prayed for him; they prayed mightily for him (Acts 12: 5). And when the disciples were threatened and commanded not to preach in His name, they prayed about that, that the Lord would strengthen them and grant to His servants that with all boldness they might speak His word (Acts 4: 24 - 30). The Lord loves those prayers; they go up to the throne of God as incense — a sweet and holy smell for God. One would like the prayer meeting to be like that.

Ques You think, then, that a long prayer in the prayer meeting which embraces many things is rather a hindrance?

WJH I believe it is a source of great weakness in the meeting, and it is not real. We know very well that we are not concerned about everything; our hearts are not big enough for that. The great apostle Paul could have the care of all the assemblies (2 Corinthians 11: 28). He could pray night and day for many of the brethren individually, but we are not equal to that. Let us come with what the Lord has put upon our hearts and present that to Him, and He will love to hear it, and He will answer it.

Ques Do you think long prayers hinder the Spirit from speaking in connection with other things?

WJH They hinder other brothers from presenting their direct requests, and so, as our brother pointed out, the disciples persevered in prayers.

Rem Speaking of the incense, it says in Revelation that each of the twenty-four elders had golden bowls “full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints”, Revelation 5: 8.

WJH That is very good; they are full of odours. Each prayer is an addition to the odour.

Rem The psalmist says, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice”, Psalm 141: 2. You would encourage what is vital rather than what is long?

WJH That is the point. What a joy it would be if at the meetings for prayer, there were these beautiful odours going up to God; prayers that long for the Lord’s interests to be maintained, for His name to be glorified. God loves those odours. What a contrast to the awful smells that exist in the world, as it says of Egypt, “and the land stank”, Exodus 8: 15.

Ques Is your thought that each brother rightly exercised would bring in one ingredient for this incense? According to Exodus the incense was compounded of many ingredients.

WJH I think that is very helpful. When the Lord prayed, there was always much incense. Take the prayer that He taught His disciples; what incense there is in that. Father, Thy name be hallowed. Think of a desire like that rising up from the earth, where His name has been blasphemed, and used in oaths and curses! Then He says, Thy kingdom come. He prays for a kingdom where God is absolute, where the will of the creature has no place whatever, but where all is subject to God. What blessed incense!

Rem The prayer of the disciples is addressed to God as “Sovereign”, and at the end the place is shaken.

WJH That is very good. Indeed, He is recognised, too, as Creator. And God desires that as we draw near to Him there should be in our hearts a sense of His majesty as Creator. The apostles say, “Thou art the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea”(verse 24). How great God is! There is nothing like His work, and we are to draw near to Him with the sense of that. He made heaven. Then He made the earth. And He made the sea. Men cannot create one drop of water. So that God would give us a sense of His majesty as Creator. We need that in drawing near to Him. “Holy and terrible is his name”, Psalm 111: 9.

Rem That would have been Abraham’s knowledge of God as the Almighty God. That must be behind all our prayers.

WJH Quite; every fresh knowledge of God gathers up what has preceded; it does not leave it behind, but includes it. So that if we lose the sense of the Creator in our hearts, we may lose the joy of redemption, and the liberty of sonship. We need to remember that we are always creatures, and that God is always Creator. While there are blessings beyond, we must never forget that He is the Creator. So that in Revelation 4 the twenty-four elders fall down before God and say, “Thou hast created all things, and for thy will they were and they have been created”. Then in chapter 5 they fall down before God and the Lamb and say, “Thou art worthy ... for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God”. But the two are continuous, and they should be continued in our hearts, so that we draw near to God with this in our hearts, that He is the Creator, who is blessed for ever. He is the redeeming God, and He is God our Father. We want these thoughts in our hearts and minds as we draw near to Him in prayer.

Rem So in 1 Timothy, which treats of prayer, it is established that He is the invisible God (1 Timothy 1: 17).

WJH Quite so. He is the “King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God” So that Paul says, to whom be glory and honour for ever and ever.

Rem It says that Peter and John went up together to the temple to pray at the hour of prayer, so that we have the thought of a special time for coming together. But there is also the thought of constantly praying.

WJH Yes; they are both in scripture. Praying always is that you are always dependent, but then there is the thought of a place where prayer is wont to be made, and the apostle Paul was careful to go there (Acts 16: 13). It would be well for us to have the same care. The Lord would like to see us all where prayer is wont to be made, to add more to the holy incense that goes up to God.

WJH I think we might touch on the end of chapter 4 where what comes to light is that at the beginning everyone was on the line of sacrifice. It says, “no one called anything he had his own”, Acts 4: 32. In chapter 2 it says that they had all things common (Acts 2: 44). The Lord was so precious to each heart, His interests so real to them, and His return so imminent. The two men had said that He was coming back again, and every one of them ceased to look on anything he had as his own, as simply for himself, as that with which to please himself, with which to gratify his heart. Every single thing he had, he held for the Lord and made it available as required. And the Lord wants that feature back.

Rem At the last moment we shall need these things more and more.

WJH Supposing the Lord whispered to your heart by the Spirit that you would not taste death till you had seen the Lord’s Christ, How differently you would view everything you had! Your body, you would put it on His altar. Your time, every minute you have to spare devoted to Him. Your money, you would not hold it for yourself. Your home, it would be where His interests have a place. Your motor car, it would be not simply for yourself, but for the Lord’s interests. So it says, no one called anything his own. You have an impression of Christ, some ray of light from God? That is not for yourself; it is to share with your brethren. I believe that is what the Lord wants now, and He is getting it in many hearts. We want to be in that.

Rem Features are coming to light such as were seen in Anna and Simeon.

WJH That is what is happening, conditions that He can love. He says to Philadelphia, I will make them to know that I have loved thee. It is not that I will love thee after the rapture, but I have loved thee, here on earth. There is what is lovable to His heart. And that is what was at the beginning. The Lord looked down from heaven and saw here on earth a company of which He could say, that is “Me”. It is like a wife who is part of her husband. So it says, They are no longer twain, but one flesh (Matthew 19: 5). In Acts 9 the Lord looks down and He says, My bride is there; one that is part of Myself, one that I love. And the Lord will find that at the end. We want to be in that.

Ques Is that suggested in the reference to Barnabas which is said to mean, “son of consolation”?

WJH That is very good; Barnabas was one that had a name through sacrifice. In a world where self is the centre of everything that everybody does, here is a man who sells what he has and puts it at the Lord’s disposal. What consolation from a scene like this! Consolation for the Lord and for the brethren, for the apostles name him.

Ques And do you think the Lord would add to a state of things like this?

WJH Quite so; He would like to bring in three thousand in one day into that, and I expect He will add very distinctly at the end, if not in immense quantity, in true quality.

Rem Speaking of drawing near to the throne of grace, we can bring all our requests with confidence.

WJH Yes; there is an immense supply available if only we come to where we can get it.

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