SYMPATHY WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

David Wright

2 Kings 4: 1-7; Matthew 25: 1-13; Revelation 22: 16,17

I think it has been evident in ministry of late that there has been emphasis on the greatness and the scope of the Holy Spirit’s service, particularly relating to the closing days as we are on the eve of translation. The Holy Spirit, speaking reverently, will not fail in His mission: that is assured. His mission relating to the securing of the assembly for Christ and maintaining it in vitality, freshness and response for His heart as we see in the last scripture read, the Holy Spirit will not fail in that mission.

I read these scriptures that we might be exercised to be related to the Spirit so that we are sympathetic with Him in what He is doing in these last days. To see the greatness of what there is in the Holy Spirit, wonderful divine Person, pleased to come here to dwell in us, and, beloved brethren, that we might practically come to the realisation that the Holy Spirit is indispensable to us.

Where we read in 2 Kings 4, we have a widow bereft of all support, and a creditor had come to take away her two children to be bondmen. It was a desperate situation and she turns to the man of God, Elisha, perhaps seeking to look to the man of God that he might have something, but he asks her what she has. As we have said in the reading, in a day of small things we often think of what we have not got, but I would seek to draw attention to the greatness of what we have in the Holy Spirit. As we know the oil is a type of the Holy Spirit. She discounts it, “Thy handmaid has not anything at all in the house, but a pot of oil”, almost discounting altogether what was there. There are no limitations with the Holy Spirit. What this scripture brings out is that any limitations that there are are on our side; the limitations are in the vessels, but the oil stayed. The man of God says to her, “Go, borrow for thyself vessels abroad from all thy neighbours, empty vessels” – empty vessels, vessels that therefore would be ready to be filled in type with the Holy Spirit. There are several persons in scripture who are said to be filled with the Holy Spirit. I find that I am tested as to that, but I can see the potential of it, empty vessels in order that they might be filled with the Holy Spirit. So, in a day of small things, not very many vessels are available, but think of the potential if the vessels that are available are full of the Holy Spirit. We need to be maintained in a spirit of dependence in order to experience this. We have had much teaching, and we have much teaching on our bookshelves and we are thankful for it, and I would encourage all of us, particularly the younger ones, to seek to find time to read more of it. But, in coming together we need this fresh touch of the Spirit, that He would have something in mind. He is the dispenser of heaven’s store, and He has something specifically in mind for us, as we seek to make way for it.

She went from him and shut the door upon him and upon her sons, they brought the vessels to her and she poured out, “And it came to pass when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said to her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed”. That brings out the limitless character of supply in the Holy Spirit, the oil stayed. The Holy Spirit is One that would help us here to fulfil our responsibilities. It says, “She came and told the man of God; and he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons on the rest”. The Holy Spirit would bring us into a very blessed inheritance. We have been “blessed … with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Eph 1: 3), and the Holy Spirit would be the power whereby we are able to be in the enjoyment of those blessings. You sometimes see up and down the country grand old houses of the past, castles may be, and they are descending into ruin because there is not the money necessary to upkeep them. In the Holy Spirit we have One who is able to maintain us in the enjoyment of our spiritual inheritance, that which is not going to fade away, but which is eternal. We have our responsibilities in the service of God and in the testimony and we fulfil that in the power of the Spirit. How can we maintain our part freshly and effectively in the service of God other than in the power of the Holy Spirit? We go out into testimony from the sphere of privilege and it can be seen that there is some difference, that we can carry the testimony to men in the way in which we have been formed by the Spirit Himself in features like Christ, the way we are to fulfil that responsibility. This woman was now able to pay her debt and live with her sons on the rest. You might say, it was like an income for life, that glorious Person, ever available to us to draw on in a spirit of dependence. May we be encouraged from this scripture to see the limitless character of what is available in the Holy Spirit.

I read in Matthew – there we have oil again as a type of the Spirit. We have ten virgins, five of them are foolish and five are prudent. The difference between them was that the prudent had oil with them, and the foolish did not – the wise had oil in their vessels, they had the Spirit with them. It says, “Now the bridegroom tarrying, they all grew heavy and slept”. They all grew heavy and slept, that would include the five prudent. It brings out what we are capable of and that the waiting time is the testing time. Thus, the present time is a testing time. “They all grew heavy and slept”, but then “in the middle of the night there was a cry, Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him”, a most unexpected time. This has been likened to the call at the beginning of the recovery to the truth in the early 1800s when there was the call of the bridegroom in relation to the assembly, and those that were in tune with the Spirit were the ones who responded to that call. Mr. Darby and others had light as to the living Head in heaven and the Holy Spirit here, the body here, and that would involve moving out from what was in the established church in order to enter into and enjoy assembly truth, “Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him”. This found out the five foolish virgins. It says that they did not have oil with them and their torches were going out. First of all it says, “Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their torches”, I take it that unless you trim the torches the light shining out from them would be impaired. It would exercise us to remove anything of the flesh that would hinder the outshining of the light. It is interesting to note that of Enoch it says that before his translation he has the testimony that he had pleased God (see Heb. 11:5). I think typically he was one like a prudent virgin and had oil in his vessel, because he had that testimony that others could take account of that he pleased God. I am sure we would like that testimony ourselves, that before our translation we had the testimony that we pleased God. Light was shining out from him in a dark day, he walked with God.

Then the five foolish asked the five prudent to give them of their oil. The oil can only be obtained in that way by a transaction; what I have I cannot pass on to you and you cannot pass on to me. We have to have the transaction for ourselves; thus the difference between reality and profession. We spoke a little about profession in the day in which we are and we can easily drift into it, the five foolish were like that. They were those who professed, but the oil was not there, the Spirit was not there, and they were not ready when the Bridegroom came. They say, “Go rather to those that sell, and buy for yourselves. But as they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and the ones that were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterwards come also the rest of the virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us”, they use the Lord’s Name but He says, “I do not know you” – how solemn that is. It brings out the importance of the reality that we spoke of, that we are vessels in which the Holy Spirit is free and maintaining us in affection for Christ, maintaining in us bridal affection for Christ, for the Bridegroom when He comes. He says, “Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour”. That is a word for us in the waiting time. We do not know the day nor the hour, but we have the provision in the Holy Spirit to be kept alert and sensitive as to what divine movements are in the last days in which we are. May we know something of it.

In Revelation we see the great culmination of triumph in this dispensation in which we are. It is very encouraging. It says, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies”. Our brother spoke of what was collective in the reading, and this verse shows that the Spirit would maintain that right until the finish. To suggest anything otherwise is a slight on the blessed service of the Holy Spirit Himself. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies”, and as the Holy Spirit is free certain things are maintained; they will be maintained right until the finish. “I Jesus”, that is you might say the personality of Christ stamped upon everything and that would be so as the Holy Spirit has His sway. The divine stamp of Christ is seen in everything that finds its source in the Holy Spirit. It says, “I am the root and offspring of David”, Rev. 22:16. That is another thing that the Holy Spirit will maintain, the greatness of the Person of Christ. He will maintain it in our affection, He will maintain it as truth. The root of David involves His deity and the aspect that John speaks of in his gospel, but I say for the help of our young that we live in a day when there are sects around who deny the deity of Christ. That is they deny that the Lord Jesus is God, but the Lord Jesus in coming into manhood never ceased to be what He was by reason of what He became, but He was perfect in what He became. The Holy Spirit would maintain that in our affections, that the Lord Jesus stands out distinct as a glorious Man. The ‘offspring’ side in Matthew’s gospel brings out the reality of His manhood and yet He never ceased to be God. How great the Person of the Lord Jesus is and the Holy Spirit would maintain that in our affections right until the end.

Then He says, “the bright and morning star”, the harbinger of a new day. What a day that will be when Christ will be supreme, when He will be publicly vindicated. The light of that should shine in our hearts. We sang at the outset as to the darkness there is all around us and yet the radiancy of the light that shines can be seen in the bright and morning star, a day soon to come in when there will be no sighing or crying which is so related to the scene in which we are, but He will give us some sense of the greatness of the One who is the harbinger of a new day, who will bring in a day when every tear will be taken away and Christ will have His place of supremacy. Then he says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come” – what a wonderful triumph that is! It is not unity, it is more than that, it is unison which brings out what the Holy Spirit has wrought in the bride. The Lord Jesus has lost much through the breakdown of man in the dispensation in which we are, in the public breakdown and ruin in which we have had our part. He has lost much, but here we see that it is all recovered, because of the power, the presence and the service of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit and the bride say “Come”. He will have recovered to Himself the assembly in all its beauty, in all its glory, without spot, without wrinkle or any of such things. What a wonderful climax of the dispensation in which we are! How great it is! May we be encouraged to take account of this. May we be exercised to be related to the Spirit so that we are ready for the call that is so soon to come, the summons to heaven.

Then it goes on to say, “And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is athirst come; he that will, let him take the water of life freely”. Another thing I believe that the Holy Spirit would maintain is the evangelical spirit right until the Lord comes. There is that available in the gospel to all men, “whosoever will” – it is available to all, there is none turned away, but the greatness of what the Holy Spirit holds is available to all. The Lord Jesus as the living water, the Spirit in its living character is available, “he that will, let him take the water of life freely”. It is just a simple impression I had. On the one hand it is a great encouragement that the Spirit will not fail in His mission. These scriptures plainly bring that out and there will be that maintained in a way of assembly response right until the end of the dispensation, but let us be exercised to be related to the Spirit so that the reality of Christianity might be known and enjoyed and that we are ready and sensitive as to the leadings of the Spirit in the present day. May it be so, for His Name’s sake.

Walton

15 June 2002