OPPORTUNITIES GIVEN TO PERSONS

A. P. Devenish

Genesis 4: 3–7 (to “door”); 21: 14–21; Luke 7: 40–47; 15: 28–32

These four persons that we have read about, Cain, Hagar, Simon the Pharisee, and the elder son, were all given an opportunity to repent. This is another opportunity we have today to repent. There may not be another opportunity. It is wonderful that in the magnitude of God’s grace He has given us another opportunity to repent. God says to Cain, “Why art thou angry, and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, will not thy countenance look up with confidence? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door”, meaning, according to the note ‘a sin-offering’. That is an allusion typically no doubt to the sufferings of Christ. How near it was to Cain, he could just reach out and appropriate it for himself. Well that is the same today, you just need to reach out in faith and appropriate the work of Christ; He suffered for sins, for your sins. We need to think more of the atoning sufferings of Jesus when He said,

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” What is the answer to that? Each of us should give an answer to that, that it was my sins that necessitated the sufferings of Christ.

The result of that wonderful work at Calvary is available to us so that we might know the forgiveness of sins. In type this was available to Cain. He did not appropriate it, he lost his opportunity.

I trust none here will lose their opportunity of appropriating the death of Christ in view of the forgiveness of sins. It is wonderful to be conscious by the Spirit that our sins are forgiven. Do we really appreciate how Christ has taken on the whole matter of sin and our sins? The atoning sufferings of Christ relate to our sins, our guilt. It says in Matthew, “thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1: 21), and that means the guilt of them, and the power of them, and the love of them. Let us take that in, beloved; it is not only the guilt of them, but to “save his people” means the power of them and the love of them. The reason we do not forsake them is because we love them, but the Lord is a mighty Saviour and will save us from our sins. Cain had the opportunity, and we have a wonderful opportunity today. We may not have another. It is as if you could reach out your hand. It is immediately available. It does not mean doing penance, it does not mean doing things to earn salvation; it means you just reach out in faith and appropriate the sacrifice of Christ, that He suffered for your sins. Peter could say He “bore our sins”. Oh how precious that is, to believers, “himself bore our sins in his body on the tree”, 1 Peter 2: 24.

Now to refer to Hagar. She was an Egyptian handmaid. It would seem that Abraham acquired her in Egypt. It was a sad day when that happened; that into his house came what was Egyptian in character. I would just mention that because it is a sad thing when in our households we allow what is Egyptian in character, and that is the world. But here I want to speak just of Hagar herself. She fled from her mistress, and you may say, Well that is that, that is the finish of her; but God followed her. Wonderful grace. The magnitude of divine grace comes into evidence in this section. God followed her. In chapter 16 when she flees, “the Angel of Jehovah found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur”, Genesis 16: 7. God did not leave her just to go her way. You may say,

Why would God be concerned about her? He is concerned about every one of us, and He would pursue us in order that we might come into the gain of the great system of grace, involving the presence of the Spirit here, that is available to each one of us; the well speaks of that. She is given a wonderful opportunity. We are each given such an opportunity. There is a system of grace which is near to us. It was right there available to her, to quench her thirst and to provide her the resource to go through the wilderness. We might compare it with the woman in John 4, I suppose. She appropriated the well, the fountain of water. This poor woman took advantage of it for the moment, but there was no change with her. It says in the chapter we read that her son “became an archer”, and she “took him a wife out of the land of Egypt”, showing there was no change in her tastes. You remember about Moab that his taste was unchanged, “he hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity—therefore his taste hath remained in him, and his scent is not changed”, Jeremiah 48: 11. You see there was no change with her.

The gospel has in mind that we should be changed; another Man should fill the vision of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ. I might suggest that today divine grace is active to secure your affections and to satisfy your thirst. Oh, you say, I once got a touch in the gospel, I gave my heart to Christ. Where are you now? The angel says in chapter 16, “whence comest thou?

And whither art thou going?” So the Lord has given us another opportunity today to come to the Saviour afresh in our affections and to take advantage of the resources of divine grace that are immediately available. There is no need to go on some distant pilgrimage. God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. I trust God will open your eyes and you will see a well of water, that you will see the wonderful system of grace that is immediately available as resource to maintain you in relation to Christ, and provide you with the means to get through the wilderness. Hagar’s son became an archer. The archers later in this book hated Joseph, it says that they provoked him and shot at him and hated him (Genesis 49: 23). Are the young people growing up with Egyptian tastes, Egyptian thoughts? How terribly sad that is. I suppose being “emptied from vessel to vessel” involves that we judge ourselves. The woman in John 4 judged herself, she judged her course of evil, and what a marvellous transaction took place. The well became to her “a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life”, both cleansing and directing her affections in relation to another scene of things altogether where Christ is. Then in her testimony she could say, “Come, see a man who told me all things I had ever done”. So God is presenting now to you another opportunity. Perhaps you once had a touch in your soul, but where are you now? Have we continued? There is a mighty resource in the Holy Spirit here that God has given us to help us through.

Although Hagar left Abraham’s household, I have no doubt it was on account of Abraham that the Lord followed her and gave her another opportunity. There are many fathers and mothers here, and many of our young ones, our children, have gone away from us. Let us in faith remind God of His promise, it is to you and to your children. Peter says that. Perhaps God will work mightily in view of their salvation, but let us not allow Egyptian things to spoil the preciousness of households in relation to the testimony. Many things are coming into the households. Egyptian things that spoil what a household should be for the pleasure of God, and hinder the blessing coming to us. God has in mind to bless the households of His people. I am assured of that, but there is an opportunity in the glad tidings. I think in a primary sense the result of the glad tidings is to be seen in our households, the children happily coming into the knowledge of the Lord Jesus as Saviour and the availability of the Holy Spirit. The Lord says, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that says to thee,

Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water”, John 4: 10. Oh beloved, it is a barren world. We may think the things in the world are attractive, but it is a barren world, there is nothing for God in it, there is no resource in it that can maintain us in our links with Christ and be a resource for us to go through the wilderness. How much we need that.

Well I just refer to these other scriptures. Luke is a wonderful gospel. We often speak of Matthew as the assembly gospel, but I think we could speak too of Luke as an assembly gospel because you get in the women in Luke, persons who represent lovely features of the assembly. So I think Simon was to take account of this. It was the grace of the Lord Jesus that caused Him to speak thus, “Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee”. Let us think about that, the Lord has somewhat to say to you and to me. Simon was given the opportunity to come to the Lord Jesus as Saviour, to have his sins forgiven. He was given that opportunity, instead of which he was critical and neglectful of the Lord Jesus. If we just read what Jesus says to him,

“I entered into thy house; thou gavest me not water on my feet ... Thou gavest me not a kiss ... My head with oil thou didst not anoint”. You see how neglectful he was, perhaps not outwardly antagonistic to the Lord but neglecting what was due to the Lord. I would like to raise the exercise with us as to whether we are marked by criticism and neglect. But the woman, I suppose in a sense, represents the assembly in its devotion to Christ, expressing her love for Christ. He says to this Pharisee, “Seest thou this woman?” We should include the truth of the assembly in the glad tidings. It is seen in this gospel. There is this woman, “Seest thou this woman?” In chapter 8 you have the women who ministered to Him of their substance; then you have the woman who had the flux of blood and virtue entered into her from Christ, the element of the truth of the body, for the body is of Christ. In chapter 9 the voice says, “This is my beloved Son—hear him”. In chapter 10 there is a woman sitting at His feet, listening to His word.

What an important furnishing that is for the local assembly to have persons sitting at His feet and listening to His word!

So as I say, not only Matthew is an assembly gospel, but you get lovely features of the assembly seen in these women in Luke. So He says to Simon, “Seest thou this woman?”

Have you ever seen the assembly in your local meeting? Have you seen the attractiveness of the vessel that God has secured for Christ and for His own heart? What does He say about her? He says, “she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair ... she from the time I came in has not ceased kissing my feet ... she has anointed my feet with myrrh”.

How the Lord would maybe open our eyes to see. God opened Hagar’s eyes to see the well.

God may open some young one’s eyes here to see the assembly in its beauty, in its loveliness, in its attractiveness, in its devotion to Christ. “Thou gavest me not a kiss, but she from the time I came in has not ceased kissing my feet”. What constancy of love came into evidence in this woman! Would that the Lord would open eyes here and open hearts, it says of Lydia “whose heart the Lord opened”, Acts 16: 14. That is what we need, beloved, to have our eyes and hearts opened to see the assembly, see it in its attractiveness, in its devotion to Christ, in its love for Christ. What characterises this woman is her love for Christ.

I just refer to Luke 15. This elder son was given an opportunity, “his father went out and besought him”. Can you think of the feelings of the father in that reference? We usually are occupied, and rightly so, with the younger son and the father’s feelings when he “ran, and fell upon his neck, and covered him with kisses”. Have you known that experience? I wonder if each of us has known that, known the Father’s running toward us, falling upon our necks and covering us with kisses. I would that every one might know that. But this older son “became angry and would not go in”. Is there anyone here that will not go in and enjoy the Father’s love, enjoy sonship, enjoy being the object of divine love? So it says, “his father went out and besought him”. Oh the feelings of the father that entered into that verse. He besought him, and he says, “Child, thou art ever with me”. These are wonderful things that he says. We do not perhaps think of them too much, “Child, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine”. Think of what the Father has in His heart for us. We really get the thought of heirship in this section, “Child, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine”. The scripture says, “if son, heir also through God”, Galatians 4: 7. It says in Romans 8, “if children, heirs also—heirs of God, and Christ’s joint heirs”, Romans 8: 17. So he says here, “Child, thou art ever with me, and all that is mine is thine”. You see how attractive the Father’s thoughts are for us. Not only does he set us up in the dignity and glory and blessedness of sonship in the knowledge of the Father’s love, but we can know what it is to be “heirs also; heirs of God, and Christ’s joint heirs”. Think of the father’s heart going out to this elder son. Mr. Renton said in Vancouver some years ago. This chapter leaves us with the father on the threshold of the house beseeching his son to come in. We have to say we do not know what happened after this, but it would seem that he lost his opportunity to come in and enjoy the merriment and the joy in the house. I trust there is no one here who will lose their opportunity to come and enjoy sonship, enjoy what it is to be heirs of God, Christ’s joint heirs, so much that Christ will come into publicly as Man we are to share with Him. Can you think of anything more blessed than that?

Well I just leave these things with us. I trust we will not have to say, Well, that person had another opportunity but we do not know what happened after that. I would say, the Father is on the threshold of the house beseeching each one to come in. We have spoken of forgiveness available for repenting sinners. We have spoken about the system of grace and the Holy Spirit available to us for the asking. Luke speaks about that in chapter 11, he says, “If therefore ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much rather shall the Father who is of heaven give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” (Luke 11: 13). We have spoken about the assembly and our eyes being opened to see the beauty of the assembly. This is one thing that I specially desire for every one of us here, to be like Lydia, “whose heart the Lord opened”. May the Lord open your heart to see the beauty of the assembly, the attractiveness of it in its devotion to Christ, its unselfish devotion to Christ. Do not miss your opportunity! Then to enjoy the truth of sonship and come into the gain and blessedness of where our inheritance is as believers in the Lord Jesus and as having the Holy Spirit. May the Lord bless the word.

Preaching at Ormond Beach
24 December 2000